Patent Application
20130332370
A replaceable battery valuation system may include, but is not limited to: at least one replaceable battery module; at least one sensor configured to measure at least one characteristic of the at least one replaceable battery module; and a controller configured to determine a monetary value of at least one replaceable battery module based upon sensor data regarding the at least one characteristic of the at least one replaceable battery module and provide a notification regarding the monetary value.
In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for affecting the herein referenced aspects; the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect the herein referenced method aspects depending upon the design choices of the system designer.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
With the development of batteries having ever-increasing power and storage capacities combined with the proliferation of mobile devices (e.g. smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, automobiles, etc.) employing such batteries, battery replacement/exchange services may be needed to provide users with replacement batteries when performance characteristics of in-use batteries are insufficient for their intended use. In order for a user to efficiently and cost effectively replace/exchange their used batteries, systems and methods for replaceable battery valuation are described herein.
Referring to
As referenced above, it may be desirable for a user needing replacement of a degraded replaceable battery module 101 to make the replacement in an efficient and cost effective manner. As such, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may further include a controller 106 configured to determine a monetary value of the replaceable battery module 101 follow a period of use. For example, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may include one or more sensors 107 configured to measure at least one characteristic of the replaceable battery module 101. For example, the replaceable battery module compartment 102 may include a sensor 107A configured to measure at least one characteristic of the replaceable battery module 101. The sensor 107A may be coupled to the energy storage element 105 of the replaceable battery module 101 when the replaceable battery module 101 is received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102 via at least two cooperating data transmission contacts 108A. The sensor 107A may detect one or more characteristics (e.g. a discharge voltage level, discharge current level, storage capacity, charge depth, temperature, etc.) of the replaceable battery module 101 and provide data associated with those characteristics to a processor 109 for further analysis. Alternately, the controller 106 may include a memory element configured to maintain a battery performance database 110 including performance data associated with the replaceable battery module 101 detected by the sensor 107A over a period of time (e.g. a peak discharge voltage, peak discharge current, average discharge voltage, average discharge current, number of charge cycles, average storage capacity, average charge hold depth, average temperature, etc.). The processor 109 may obtain the battery characteristic data from the battery performance database 110.
In another exemplary embodiment, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 a sensor 107B may be coupled to charging circuitry 111 operably coupling the replaceable battery module 101 to an external energy source 112 (e.g. a power utility grid) to recharge the replaceable battery module 101 when the replaceable battery module 101 is received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102. The sensor 107B may detect one or more characteristics (e.g. recharge voltage level, recharge current level, etc.) of the replaceable battery module 101 and provide data associated with those characteristics to the processor 109 for further analysis. Alternately, the controller 106 battery performance database 110 may store data associated with the replaceable battery module 101 detected by the sensor 107A over a period of time (e.g. a peak recharge voltage, peak recharge current, average recharge voltage, average recharge current, number of charge cycles, average storage capacity, average charge hold depth, average temperature, etc.).
In another embodiment, at least one sensor 107C may be embedded in the replaceable battery module 101. The sensor 1070 may detect one or more characteristics (e.g. individual cell voltage levels) of the energy storage element 105. The sensor may provide data to the controller 106 via data transmission contacts 108B.
In still another embodiment, the replaceable battery module 101 may incorporate a battery controller 113. The battery controller 113 may be operable to provide data from the embedded sensor 107C to the system controller 106 via a wired or wireless digital connection. The battery controller 113 may also be configured to store information on the operating history of the replaceable battery module 101, including historical sensor data for the sensor 1070 such as number of charge/discharge cycles, etc.
Upon detection of battery characteristic data associated with the replaceable battery module 101, the processor 109 may obtain that battery characteristic data from a sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and employ that battery characteristic data to determine a monetary value associated with the replaceable battery module 101 and provide a notification associated with that determined monetary value to a user so as to allow the user to decide whether or not to replace the replaceable battery module 101.
For example, as shown in
In order to determine a monetary value of a replaceable battery module 101 currently received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102 and operably coupled to the controller 106, the processor 109 may obtain battery characteristic data from a sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and perform a comparison with the monetary value data maintained in the monetary value database 114. For example, the processor 109 may obtain “recharge current” data from the sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and compare that “recharge current” data to the various “recharge current” valuation levels maintained in the monetary value database 114 in order to select a monetary value for replaceable battery module 101 having those “recharge current” characteristics.
The processor 109 may also obtain either battery performance database information or monetary value information from an external source. For example, as shown in
More specifically, the processor 109 may determine a rate of change of the monetary value associated with the replaceable battery module 101 over a period of time. For example, the processor 109 may obtain battery characteristic data from a sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 over time and perform multiple comparisons with the monetary value data maintained in the monetary value database 114. The result of each comparison (e.g. a current monetary value associated with the replaceable battery module 101) may be stored to the monetary value database 114. After a number of such comparisons, the processor 109 may retrieve two or more monetary values associated with the replaceable battery module 101 and compute a rate of change of the monetary values associated with the replaceable battery module 101 according to the monetary values associated with the replaceable battery module 101 and a time interval between the computation of those monetary values associated with the replaceable battery module 101.
In another exemplary embodiment, as shown in
Alternately, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to provide one or more notifications regarding the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 over the network 116. For example, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to transmit an e-mail to text message to a user's e-mail or text messaging account or post the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 to a web site accessible by the user.
In another exemplary embodiment, referring to
The network interface device 115 of the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may interface with the network 116 to obtain battery valuation information from the battery valuation database 119 of each battery module replacement station 118. This battery valuation information may be stored to the monetary value database 114 of the replaceable battery valuation system 100. The processor 109 may then carry out replacement battery valuation operations, as described above, with respect to battery valuation information for each battery module replacement station 118, respectively.
In another exemplary embodiment, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may further include a location awareness device 120 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver configured to receive a GPS signal from one or more GPS satellites 121). The location awareness device 120 may be configured to determine a location of a powered device 103 employing the replaceable battery module 101 so as to locate one or more battery module replacement stations 118 in proximity to the powered device 103 such that those battery module replacement stations 118 may be provided to a user as potential options for replacement of a degraded replaceable battery module 101.
For example, as shown in
In another exemplary embodiment, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may maintain a location history database 122. The location history database 122 may be configured to store historical location data as determined by the location awareness device 120 over a period of time. The processor 109 may periodically retrieve the historical location data and analyze the data for trends in the location history. For example, it may be the case that a user drives their vehicle along the same route to work Monday through Friday. Further, there may be multiple battery module replacement stations 118 along the route, each battery module replacement stations 118 having varying battery replacement/exchange valuation information. The processor 109 may determine that on a given day, a particular battery module replacement station 118 may have lower replacement pricing and/or higher exchange credits than other battery module replacement stations 118. Based on the a priori knowledge of the historical location data and the current battery replacement/exchange valuation information, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may provide a predictive recommendation as to a specific battery module replacement station 118 that should be used for replacement of the replaceable battery module 101 when a characteristic of the replaceable battery module 101 indicates that replacement is needed (e.g. detection of a threshold level of degradation of the replaceable battery module 101 by a sensor 107).
In still another exemplary embodiment, referring again to
In still another exemplary embodiment, the replaceable battery module 101 may include a battery identifier 124 (e.g. a bar code, radio frequency identifier, flash chip, etc.) associated with a class of replaceable battery modules 101 and/or a single replaceable battery module 101. When the replaceable battery module 101 is received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102, the processor 109 may interface with the battery identifier 124 (e.g. optically scan a bar code, wirelessly query an RFID, receive a signal associated with a stored identifier) via at least two data transmission contacts 1080 to obtain battery identification information stored by the battery identifier 124. The battery identification information may include information generic to a set of replaceable battery modules 101 including, but not limited to, battery type information, battery configuration information, battery manufacturer information, battery model number, and the like. The battery identification information may include information specific to a single replaceable battery module 101 including, but not limited to, a globally unique identifier (e.g. a serial number), manufacture date, certification data, and the like. In some embodiments, the function of the battery identifier 124 may be provided by the battery controller 113.
Further, in the following figures that depict various flow processes, various operations may be depicted in a box-within-a-box manner. Such depictions may indicate that an operation in an internal box may comprise an optional example embodiment of the operational step illustrated in one or more external boxes. However, it should be understood that internal box operations may be viewed as independent operations separate from any associated external boxes and may be performed in any sequence with respect to all other illustrated operations, or may be performed concurrently.
Operation 402 illustrates receiving at least one replaceable battery module in a battery pack housing. For example, as shown in
Operation 404 illustrates detecting at least one characteristic of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
In another exemplary embodiment, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 a sensor 107B may be coupled to charging circuitry 111 operably coupling the replaceable battery module 101 to an external energy source 112 (e.g. a power utility grid) to recharge the replaceable battery module 101 when the replaceable battery module 101 is received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102. The sensor 107B may detect one or more characteristics (e.g. recharge voltage level, recharge current level, etc.) of the replaceable battery module 101 and provide data associated with those characteristics to the processor 109 for further analysis. Alternately, the controller 106 battery performance database 110 may store data associated with the replaceable battery module 101 detected by the sensor 107A over a period of time (e.g. a peak recharge voltage, peak recharge current, average recharge voltage, average recharge current, number of charge cycles, average storage capacity, average charge hold depth, average temperature, etc.).
Upon detection of battery characteristic data associated with the replaceable battery module 101, the processor 109 may obtain that battery characteristic data from a sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and employ that battery characteristic data to determine a monetary value associated with the replaceable battery module 101 an provide a notification associated with that determined monetary value to a user so as to allow the user to decide whether or not to replace the replaceable battery module 101.
Operation 406 illustrates determining a monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module based upon the at least one characteristic of the at least one replacement battery module. For example, as shown in
In order to determine a monetary value of a replaceable battery module 101 currently received within the replaceable battery module compartment 102 and operably coupled to the controller 106, the processor 109 may obtain battery characteristic data from a sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and perform a comparison with the monetary value data maintained in the monetary value database 114. For example, the processor 109 may obtain “recharge current” data from the sensor 107 and/or the battery performance database 110 and compare that “recharge current” data to the various “recharge current” valuation levels maintained in the monetary value database 114 in order to select a monetary value for replaceable battery module 101 having those “recharge current” characteristics.
Operation 408 illustrates providing a notification regarding the monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Alternately, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to provide one or more notifications regarding the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 of the over the network 116. For example, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to transmit an e-mail to text message to a user's e-mail or text messaging account or post the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 to a web site accessible by the user.
Operation 502 illustrates detecting an energy storage level of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 602 illustrates detecting at least one charging cycle of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 604 illustrates storing data associated with a detected charging cycle of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 606 illustrates determining a monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module based upon a number of detected charging cycles for the at least one replacement battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 702 illustrates detecting a recharge capacity of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 802 illustrates determining a rate of change of the monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module based upon the at least one characteristic of the at least one replacement battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 804 illustrates providing a notification regarding the rate of change of the monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Alternately, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to provide one or more notifications regarding the rate of change of the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 of the over the network 116. For example, the processor 109 may cause the network interface device 115 to transmit an e-mail to text message to a user's e-mail or text messaging account or post the rate of change of the monetary valuation of the replaceable battery module 101 to a web site accessible by the user.
Operation 902 illustrates storing data associated with a valuation of the at least one replaceable battery module for at least one battery module replacement station. For example, as shown in
Operation 904 illustrates determining a monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module based upon the data associated with a valuation of the at least one replaceable battery module for at least one battery module replacement station. The processor 109 may then carry out replacement battery valuation operations, as described above with respect to Operation 406, with employing battery valuation information for at least one battery module replacement station 118 stored in battery valuation database 119.
Operation 906 illustrates obtaining the data associated with a valuation of the at least one replaceable battery module for at least one battery module replacement station over a communications network. For example, as shown in
Operation 908 illustrates transmitting at least one characteristic of the at least one replaceable battery module to at least the first battery replacement station and the second battery replacement station. For example, as shown in
Operation 910 illustrates receiving a valuation of the replaceable battery module associated with at least one characteristic of the at least one replaceable battery module from the first battery replacement station and the second battery replacement station. For example, as shown in
In a further embodiment, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may conduct a an auction or other price negotiation with one or more battery module replacement stations 118. For example, it may be the case that battery module replacement station 118A offers a $100 valuation for the replaceable battery module 101 while battery module replacement station 118B offers $105 valuation for the replaceable battery module 101. The controller 106 may compare the valuation offers and transmit a negotiation offer to one or more battery module replacement stations 118. For example, the controller 106 may transmit an offer to match or better the $105 offer by battery module replacement station 118B to the battery module replacement station 118A.
Operation 1002 illustrates determining a location of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 1004 illustrates determining a monetary value of at least one replaceable battery module based on a valuation of the at least one replaceable battery module for at least one battery module replacement station in a region in proximity to the location of the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Operation 1102 illustrates determining a location history associated with the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may maintain a location history database 122. The location history database 122 may be configured to store historical location data as determined by the location awareness device 120 over a period of time. The processor 109 may periodically retrieve the historical location data and analyze the data for trends in the location history.
Operation 1104 illustrates determining a driving history associated with a vehicle powered by the at least one replaceable battery module. For example, the replaceable battery module 101 may be employed in powered device 103 such as an automobile. The location history database 122 may be configured to store historical driving data as determined by the location awareness device 120 over a period of time. The processor 109 may periodically retrieve the historical driving data and analyze the data for trends in the location history. For example, it may be the case that a user drives their vehicle along the same route to work Monday through Friday.
Operation 1106 illustrates determining an optimized opportunity for battery module replacement based upon the driving history. For example, as shown in
Operation 1202 illustrates displaying the monetary value. For example, as shown in
Operation 1302 illustrates receiving an input associated with at least one user-defined parameter related to battery module replacement. For example, the replaceable battery valuation system 100 may include a user input device 123 (e.g. a keyboard, mouse, touch-screen, etc). The user input device 123 may be configured to receive one or more user inputs associated with one or more user-defined parameters related to replacement of the replaceable battery module 101.
Operation 1304 illustrates determining a monetary value of the at least one replaceable battery module based upon the at least one user-defined parameter related to battery module replacement. For example, as shown in
Operation 1402 illustrates receiving a computer-readable identifier associated with the replaceable battery module. For example, as shown in
Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the art has progressed to the point where there is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software can become significant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles by which the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies described herein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that optical aspects of implementations will typically employ optically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware.
The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).
In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein which can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various types of “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electrical circuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.
Those having skill in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.
The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.
It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).
In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.
