US20160099590A1 - System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs - Google Patents
System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20160099590A1 US20160099590A1 US14/869,297 US201514869297A US2016099590A1 US 20160099590 A1 US20160099590 A1 US 20160099590A1 US 201514869297 A US201514869297 A US 201514869297A US 2016099590 A1 US2016099590 A1 US 2016099590A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- power
- battery packs
- kiosk
- battery pack
- battery
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 title description 33
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title description 17
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 33
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 84
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 claims description 29
- 238000007726 management method Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000012913 prioritisation Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000969 carrier Substances 0.000 description 125
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 44
- 238000012552 review Methods 0.000 description 17
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 9
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 6
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001629 suppression Effects 0.000 description 2
- 235000008694 Humulus lupulus Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 244000025221 Humulus lupulus Species 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000010267 cellular communication Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005520 cutting process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003745 diagnosis Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000036541 health Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005286 illumination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000006872 improvement Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005555 metalworking Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000005336 safety glass Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H02J7/0027—
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F15/00—Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity
- G07F15/003—Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity for electricity
- G07F15/006—Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity for electricity dispensed for the electrical charging of other devices than vehicles
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F7/00—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
- G07F7/06—Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus by returnable containers, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/0013—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/0042—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction
- H02J7/0045—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by the mechanical construction concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
-
- H02J7/0052—
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/007—Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J2207/00—Indexing scheme relating to details of circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J2207/40—Indexing scheme relating to details of circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries adapted for charging from various sources, e.g. AC, DC or multivoltage
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H02J7/00032—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries characterised by data exchange
- H02J7/00045—Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
Definitions
- This application relates to a system and method for renting, transporting, charging, and discharging battery packs, e.g., for power tools or other electrical devices.
- the system includes a kiosk for renting, dispensing and receiving battery packs and a carrier for transporting, charging and discharging the battery packs, e.g., for power tools and other electrical devices.
- cordless tools that are powered by one or more DC power sources, e.g., a rechargeable battery.
- Corded power tools generally are used for heavy duty applications that require high power and/or long runtimes, such as heavy duty sawing, heavy duty drilling and hammering, and heavy duty metal working.
- corded tools require the use of a cord that can be plugged into an AC power outlet.
- a generator e.g. gas powered generator.
- Cordless power tools generally are used for lighter duty applications that require low or medium power and/or short runtimes, such as light duty sawing, light duty drilling, and fastening. As cordless tools tend to be more limited in their power and/or runtime, they have not generally been accepted by the industry for all applications. They are also limited by weight since the higher capacity batteries tend to have greater weight, creating an ergonomic disadvantage.
- conventional power tool battery packs may not be able to run conventional corded power tools or other corded electrical devices, while untransformed AC power may not be able to be used to run cordless power tools.
- the battery packs for cordless power tools may require frequent recharging, may be expensive to purchase, and may be cumbersome to manage on a large construction site.
- An aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the carriers including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving a battery pack; and a kiosk comprising (1) a storage unit configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, (2) a power distribution module configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, and (2) a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and supplying charging power to the carriers, wherein each of the carriers is configured to be alternatively powered by the power distribution module when the carrier is inside the kiosk or by an external power source when the carrier is outside the kiosk to enable the carrier charging circuit to charge a battery pack that is received in the receptacle.
- the receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- the receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- a vending system comprising a power tool; a plurality of battery packs configured to supply power to the power tool; a plurality of battery pack carriers, each carrier including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving one or more of the plurality of battery packs; and a kiosk comprising (1) a storage unit configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, (2) a power distribution module configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, and (3) a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and the battery packs from the kiosk and supplying charging power to the carriers, wherein each of the carriers is configured to be alternatively powered by the power distribution module when the carrier is inside the kiosk or by an external power source when the carrier is outside the kiosk to enable the carrier charging circuit to charge the battery pack that is received in the receptacle.
- the receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- the foregoing exemplary embodiments of the present invention may also comprise circuitry configured to monitor the battery packs in the carriers and to control activation of the carrier charging circuits.
- the foregoing exemplary embodiments of the present invention may also comprise a communications module configured to facilitate communication between the kiosk and an external computing device.
- the communications module may be configured to receive signals corresponding to a user's battery pack carrier order to be vended via the external computing device.
- the communications module may be configured to send signals corresponding to parameters of the battery packs stored in the battery pack storage unit.
- the kiosk may also comprise a retail vending module configured to dispense merchandise for sale to a user.
- the kiosk may also comprise a user interface configured to receive a user's battery pack carrier order to be vended.
- the user interface may comprise a payment processing system.
- the storage unit may also comprise a plurality of bins, each of the plurality of bines configured to receive one or more carriers.
- the kiosk may also comprise a display configured to communicate a charge status of the carriers and
- Each of the bins may include a power connector and the carrier may include a power input connector, wherein the bin power connector is configured to be coupled to the carrier power input connector.
- Each of the bins may include a communications connector and the carrier may include a communications connector, wherein the bin communications connector is configured to be coupled to the carrier communications connector.
- the power distribution module may include an input line configured to be connected to an external source of electrical power and a distribution subsystem configured to distribute the electrical power to the carriers that are received in the storage unit.
- the controller may control dispensing of the carriers from the kiosk by enabling rental of the carriers and battery packs from the kiosk.
- the vending system may comprise a central server in electronic communication with the kiosk.
- the central server may be configured to communicate with a plurality of the kiosks at different geographical locations.
- the central server may be configured to receive remote user inputs of orders for battery packs and carriers.
- the central server may be configured to receive the remote user inputs via a telecommunications connection with a remote electronic computing device.
- the central server may be configured to communicate an order to a kiosk via a telecommunications network.
- the carrier power input connector may be configured to receive an input of electrical power for charging a battery pack received in the receptacle.
- the power input connector may comprise one or more of an AC power input connector and a DC power input connector.
- the carrier communications connector may be configured to send and/or receive communications with the bin through the communications connectors.
- the carrier may comprise a power output connector configured to deliver output power from a battery pack received in the receptacle.
- the power output connector may comprise a DC output connector.
- the power output connector may comprise an AC output connector.
- the carrier may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from a battery pack or a plurality of battery packs to an AC power output at the carrier power output connector.
- the carrier may be configured such that the battery pack(s) generate a DC voltage having a magnitude greater than or equal to a desired AC voltage at the carrier power output connector.
- the kiosk may include a processing unit that is configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the carriers received in the kiosk based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk, the carrier and/or the battery packs received in the carriers.
- the at least one parameter may comprise at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers.
- the carriers and/or battery packs may be configured to power one or more power tools.
- the battery pack(s) can be configured to operate at a first rated voltage and a second rated voltage, the second rated voltage being different than the first rated voltage.
- the receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- a vending system comprising a plurality of battery packs; a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the plurality of carriers including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle, the receptacle configured for receiving one or more of the plurality of battery packs
- the at least one parameter may comprise at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers.
- the battery pack parameter may comprise at least one of a state of charge of the battery pack, a condition of the battery pack, and a rated voltage of the battery pack.
- the battery pack parameter may comprise a state of charge of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a higher state of charge.
- the battery pack parameter may comprise a condition of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a better condition.
- the battery pack parameter may comprise a rated voltage of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a higher rated voltage.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a method comprising storing, in a kiosk, a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the plurality of battery pack carriers including a receptacle for receiving a battery pack and a charging circuit that enables charging of the battery pack via a power source in the kiosk when the carrier is stored in the kiosk and via another power source when the carrier is removed from the kiosk; receiving a user input of a desired battery pack carrier to be rented; selecting a battery pack carrier from among the plurality of stored battery pack carriers, where the battery pack carrier corresponds to the user input of a desired battery pack carrier; enabling the kiosk to dispense the selected battery pack carrier to the user.
- the foregoing embodiment of the present invention may also comprise receiving, in the kiosk, a previously used one of the battery pack carriers.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise enabling, via the kiosk, at least one of the stored battery pack carrier charging circuits to charge battery packs received in the at least one stored battery pack carrier.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise prioritizing the enabling of the at least one of the stored battery pack charging circuits based on a parameter of the kiosk and/or a parameter of the battery pack carriers, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise managing inventory of the stored battery carriers.
- the user input may be received via a user interface on the kiosk or via a remote computing device via an internet connection and the user input may include a desired geographic location of the battery pack carrier to be rented.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise identifying to the user one or more kiosks from a plurality of kiosks that have stored battery pack carriers corresponding to the desired geographic location.
- the user input may include a desired state of charge of a battery pack.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise identifying to the user a battery pack carrier from the stored battery pack carriers with a battery pack that most closely corresponds to the desired state of charge or setting rental prices for the battery pack carriers based upon states of charge of the battery packs in the battery pack carriers or, after dispensing a battery pack carrier, disabling a battery pack in the carrier after a predetermined rental time period has expired.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a method comprising storing, in a battery pack rental kiosk, a plurality of battery packs; charging the battery packs in the kiosk; setting prices of the battery packs based upon parameters of the battery packs; receiving a user input of a desired parameter of a battery pack to be rented; selecting a battery pack from among the plurality of stored battery packs that corresponds to the user input of a desired battery pack parameter; charging the user the set price for the selected battery pack; enabling the kiosk to dispense the selected battery pack to the user.
- the parameter may comprise at least one of a state of charge of the battery pack, a condition of the battery pack, and a rated voltage of the battery pack.
- a power supply apparatus comprising a housing having a receptacle, the receptacle configured to receive a battery pack; a power input connector configured to receive an input of electrical power; a power output connector configured to deliver an output of electrical power; a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using the input of electrical power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power output connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing discharging power from the receptacle to the power output connector, wherein the charging circuit is configured to provide charging power to the receptacle when the housing is received in a vending machine and when the housing is outside of the vending machine and a source of electrical power is connected to the power input connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a communications connector configured to be coupled to a communications line in the vending machine to send and/or receive a signal that causes the charging circuit to provide charging power to the receptacle when the housing is inside of the vending machine.
- the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power or the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of DC input power.
- the power input connector may comprise a first connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second connector configured to receive a source of DC power.
- the power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise at least one battery pack and an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the at least one battery pack to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector.
- the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage
- the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the at least one battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power outlet.
- the switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user.
- the switching device may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing and at least one battery pack wherein the battery pack may be removable from the housing.
- the at least one battery pack may have a first set of electrical terminals that is connectable to a second set of electrical terminals in the receptacle to enable charging and discharging the at least one battery pack in the housing.
- the first set of electrical terminals can be connected to a third set of terminals on an electrical device that is separate from the apparatus, to enable the at least one battery pack to be electrically connected to the electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the housing.
- the electrical device may comprise a power tool, another battery charging device or another electrical device.
- a power supply system comprising a battery pack and a charging and discharging container having a housing with a receptacle, the receptacle configured to removably receive and electrically connect to the battery pack, a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply, a power output connector configured to deliver output power from the battery pack, a charging circuit configured to control charging of the battery pack with the input power when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and a discharging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the battery pack to the power output connector, wherein the power output connector is electrically coupleable to a first electrical device to power the first electrical device when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and wherein the battery pack is electrically coupleable to a second electrical device to power the second electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the receptacle.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a system comprising a battery pack; a first electrical device; a second electrical device; and a charging and discharging container having a housing with a receptacle, the receptacle configured to removably receive and electrically connect to the battery pack, a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply, a power output connector configured to deliver an output power from the battery pack, a charging circuit configured to control charging of the battery pack with the input power when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and a discharging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the battery pack to the power output connector, wherein the power output connector is electrically coupleable to the first electrical device to power the first electrical device when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and wherein the battery pack is electrically coupleable to the second electrical device to power the second electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the receptacle.
- the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power or a source of DC input power.
- the power input connector may comprise a first connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second connector configured to receive a source of DC power.
- the power output connector may comprise an AC connector or a DC connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the battery packs to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector.
- the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage
- the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power output connector.
- the switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user.
- the switching device may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing.
- the first electrical device may comprise an AC power tool and the second electrical device comprises a DC power tool.
- a battery pack container comprising a housing having a receptacle for receiving at least one battery pack; a first power input connector configured to receive power from an AC power supply; a second power input connector configured to receive power from a DC power supply; and a charging circuit coupled to the first and second power input connectors and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using power from at least one of the AC power supply and the DC power supply.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a power output connector coupled to the housing and configured to supply output power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power output connector and to the receptacle, the discharging circuit configured to control discharging of electrical power from the at least one battery pack to the power output connector.
- the power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the at least one battery pack to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector.
- the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage
- the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the at least one battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power outlet.
- the switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user or may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing.
- a portable power supply apparatus comprising a housing having a receptacle for receiving at least one battery pack; a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing; a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply; a power output connector configured to supply power from the housing; a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using the input power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power outlet and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the receptacle to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the receptacle to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise at least one battery pack, wherein the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage, and the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power and/or a source of DC input power.
- the power input connector may comprise a first input connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second input connector configured to receive a source of DC power.
- the power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power output connector.
- the switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user or an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- a portable power supply comprising a housing including a battery connector for electrically coupling to a battery pack; a power input connector configured to receive power from an external power supply; a power output connector configured to supply power from the housing; a switch for selectively coupling the battery connector to the power input connector or the battery connector to the power output connector.
- the switch may include a first switch for coupling the battery connector to the power input connector and a second switch for coupling the battery connector to the power output connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the battery connector, wherein the charging circuit supplies charging power received at the power input connector to the battery connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit coupled to the battery connector and to the power output connector, wherein the inverter circuit is configured to receive DC voltage output from the battery connector, convert the received DC voltage to an AC voltage and supply the AC voltage to the power output connector.
- a portable power supply comprising a carrier comprising a battery connector, the battery connector configured to receive a removable, rechargeable battery pack, a charging circuit coupled to the battery connector to supply charging power to the battery connector, a power supply input connector coupled to the charging circuit configured to receive input power and to provide the input power to the charging circuit, wherein the input power may be received from a variety of power sources.
- the input power may comprise an AC power source and/or a DC power source.
- the power supply input connector may comprise an AC power connector and/or a DC power connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may comprise a receptacle, wherein the receptacle comprises the battery connector.
- the foregoing embodiment may comprise a handle for transporting the carrier containing the battery pack.
- the foregoing embodiment may comprise a cover for the receptacle for securing the battery pack in the receptacle during transportation.
- the system may provide a convenient system and method for users to obtain, charge, and discharge battery packs for use with power tools and other electrical devices.
- FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a rental system of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of a kiosk of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are a front view and a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a bin of the kiosk of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment of a user interface of the kiosk of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram of various exemplary components of the kiosk of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 6 is another block diagram of various exemplary components of the kiosk of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 7 is another exemplary embodiment of a rental system of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is an exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 9 is another exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIGS. 10A-16 are exemplary screen shots of a user interface for use with the rental system of FIG. 1 , related to the flow charts of FIGS. 8 and 9 .
- FIG. 17 is another exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIGS. 18A-22 are exemplary screen shots of another user interface for use with the rental system of FIG. 1 , related to the flow charts of FIG. 17 .
- FIG. 23 is an exemplary embodiment of the kiosk of FIG. 2 .
- FIGS. 24A and 24B are front view and a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a bin and carrier of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 25 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier.
- FIG. 26 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier of FIG. 25 .
- FIG. 27 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier of FIG. 25 .
- FIG. 28 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier of FIG. 25 .
- FIG. 29A is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier of FIG. 25 including six battery packs.
- FIG. 29B is a plan view of the exemplary embodiment of the carrier of FIG. 25 without battery packs.
- FIG. 30 is a simplified schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier and battery packs.
- FIG. 31 is a simplified schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a carrier and a battery pack.
- FIG. 32 is an exemplary flow chart for charging battery packs in a carrier in a kiosk of the rental system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 33 is an exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 34 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 35 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 36 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 37 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 38 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 39 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools.
- FIG. 40 is an exemplary illustration of a rental return warning system of a carrier.
- FIG. 41 is an exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and other electrical devices.
- FIG. 42 is an exemplary illustration of various methods for charging battery packs in a carrier.
- a system 10 for renting, transporting, charging and discharging battery packs includes a vending machine or kiosk 100 , one or more battery pack carriers or trays 200 received in and dispensed by the kiosk 100 , and one or more rechargeable, removable battery packs 300 received in each of the carriers 200 or received directly in the kiosk 100 independent of the carriers 200 .
- the carriers 200 may be configured to charge the battery packs 300 inside and/or outside of the kiosk 100 via one or more power inlets, and to enable discharging the battery packs 300 through one or more power outlets.
- the kiosk 100 may enable receiving, dispensing, and renting the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 , and causing the carriers 200 to charge the battery packs 300 when the carriers 200 are received in the kiosk 100 .
- the kiosk 100 includes a housing 102 with an advertising display area 104 , a battery pack rental area 106 , a retail vending area 108 , and a user interface 110 .
- the advertising display 104 may be a static display (e.g., a static sign) or a dynamic display (e.g., an LCD screen).
- the battery pack rental area 106 includes a plurality of bins 114 .
- Each bin 114 is configured to dispense, receive, store, and provide power for charging one of the carriers 200 and the associated battery packs 300 .
- the bins 114 are each closed by a lockable door 116 , and may each further include a handle 118 .
- the doors 116 are configured to unlock when a user rents or returns one of the carriers 200 .
- the bin 114 includes five walls—two opposing sidewalls 170 , a top wall 172 , a bottom wall 174 , and a rear wall 176 —and the bin door 116 forming a generally rectangular cavity for receiving, housing and dispensing the carrier 200 .
- Each sidewall includes a longitudinal extending rail 184 —providing a pair of rails 184 in each bin 114 .
- the rails 184 will be discussed in more detail below.
- the rear wall 176 of each bin 114 includes a plurality of connectors.
- the rear wall 176 includes a communication connector 178 for providing communication between the kiosk 100 and the carrier 200 and a power connector 180 for providing power to the carrier 200 .
- the rear wall 176 also includes an extension 182 for toggling a carrier charge/discharge switch into charging mode.
- Adjacent to each bin door 116 may be a state of charge display 120 to indicate the state of the carrier, including a state of charge of the battery packs 300 received in the associated bin 114 .
- the display 120 may include multi-colored LED lights to indicate the state of charge of the battery packs (e.g., red, yellow, and green for low, medium, and high).
- the bins may have varied sizes and configurations to accommodate different sizes and configurations of carriers 200 . For example, as shown in FIG.
- a first group 114 a of bins 114 is configured to receive one of the carriers 200 that contains six battery packs 300
- a second group 114 b of bins 114 may be configured to receive individual battery packs not received in a carrier 200 or a carrier 200 having more than six battery packs 300 .
- the retail vending area 108 includes a retail vending display area 122 containing a plurality of products for sale and a vending opening 124 for dispensing the products for sale.
- the products contained in the retail vending area 108 may be products for sale that will be used by persons who rent the battery packs.
- the retail vending area 108 may contain power tools (e.g., electric screwdrivers, drills, saws, outdoor equipment, etc.), power tool accessories (e.g., saw blades, drill bits, screwdriving bits, spools of cutting string, battery pack chargers and charging cords etc.), hand tools (e.g., screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, etc.), and other related products (e.g., work gloves, safety glasses, tool belts, etc.).
- power tools e.g., electric screwdrivers, drills, saws, outdoor equipment, etc.
- power tool accessories e.g., saw blades, drill bits, screwdriving bits, spools of cutting string, battery pack chargers and charging cords etc.
- hand tools e.g., screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, etc.
- other related products e.g., work gloves, safety glasses, tool belts, etc.
- the exemplary user interface 110 may include a display screen 126 , a user input device 128 , and a payment processing area 112 .
- the display screen 126 displays options and information to the user.
- the display screen 126 may be an LCD monitor.
- the user input device 128 allows the user to input information to the kiosk 100 .
- the user input device 128 may include a keyboard or a keypad.
- the user input device may be fully or partially integrated into the display screen 126 , e.g., by implementing the display screen 126 as a touch screen interface.
- the payment processing area 112 may include one or more of a credit card reader 113 , a bar code or a QR code scanner, a RFID sensor configured to communicate with an RFID payment tag, bill and coin receptacles, a receipt printer 115 , and a change receptacle.
- the payment processing area is configured to process payments from users for battery pack rentals, retail sales, and coupon and voucher redemptions.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates an exemplary system architecture for the electronic controls for the kiosk 100 .
- the electronic controls include a power distribution module 130 that controls and distributes power to all of the other modules, as will be described in greater detail below.
- a central processing unit (CPU) 140 and a memory/database module 138 provide centralized control for the other modules: a retail vending module 134 that controls the retail vending area 108 , a battery pack rental module 136 that controls the battery pack rental area 106 , an advertising display module 142 that controls the advertising display area 104 , and a user interface module 144 that controls the user interface 110 .
- CPU central processing unit
- memory/database module 138 provide centralized control for the other modules: a retail vending module 134 that controls the retail vending area 108 , a battery pack rental module 136 that controls the battery pack rental area 106 , an advertising display module 142 that controls the advertising display area 104 , and a user interface module 144 that controls the user interface 110
- auxiliary systems control module 148 e.g., to control HVAC, fire suppression, lights, etc.
- external communications module 146 enables communication between and among the kiosk 100 and other kiosks, servers, databases, and computing devices via one or more telecommunications networks 145 .
- the advertising display module 142 controls the display of advertising information on the advertising display 104 .
- the advertising display module 142 may control illumination of the advertising display 104 .
- the advertising display module 142 may alter and control the advertising display 104 to display various advertisements for goods or services, in accordance with instructions from the central processing unit 140 .
- the advertising display module 142 may control operation of an LCD screen that scrolls through various advertisements.
- the auxiliary systems control module 148 controls several systems that are helpful to operation of the kiosk 100 .
- the auxiliary systems control module 148 may communicate with and receive instructions from the central processing unit 140 .
- the auxiliary systems control module 148 may control HVAC, lighting, and fire suppression systems for the kiosk 100 .
- the retail vending module 134 controls the vending of retail products from the retail vending area 108 .
- the retail vending module 134 may control dispensing of retail goods from the retail vending area 108 upon receipt of instructions from the central processing unit 140 .
- the retail vending module 134 may also sense the inventory of goods in the retail vending area 108 and provide indications of low inventory levels to the central processing unit 140 .
- the battery pack rental module 136 controls the battery pack rental area 106 according to instructions from the central processing unit 140 .
- the battery pack rental area 106 includes the carrier bins 114 , the carriers 200 received in the carrier bins 114 , and the battery packs 300 received in the carriers 200 .
- the power distribution module 130 delivers power to each of the carrier bins 114 (as described in more detail below).
- the battery pack rental module 136 includes a battery communications module 150 and a bin dispensing module 152 , each in communication with the central processing unit 140 , and in communication with the carrier bins 114 .
- the battery communications module 150 and the bin dispensing module 152 may be wired with individual communications lines for each carrier bin 114 or may be wired with fewer communications lines (e.g., one line) for all carrier bins 114 with different channels, frequencies or codes communicating between the modules and the receptacles.
- the battery communications module 150 may perform several functions. First, the battery communications module 150 may sense the state of charge of the batteries in the carriers in the bins 114 . The battery communications module 150 delivers this information to the central processing unit for storage in the memory/database module 138 . The battery communications module 150 may also cause the state of charge display 120 to indicate the state of charge of the battery packs in that bin 114 . Second, the battery communications module 150 may sense the condition of the batteries in the bin 114 . If, for example, the condition indicates that the batteries have reached or exceeded their useful life, the battery communications module 150 may communicate this information to the central processing unit 140 and disable further renting of those battery packs.
- the battery communications module 150 may prioritize and control the timing of when the carriers 200 in each bin 114 are allowed to charge the battery packs in their bin 114 .
- the prioritization may be based on a variety of parameters (which may be sensed by the battery communications module 150 , decided in an algorithm executed in the central processing unit 140 and/or stored in the memory/database module 138 ), such as the amount of available charging power, the cost of available charging power, the relative states of charge of the battery packs in the bins, the number of battery packs in each bin, the conditions of the battery packs in each bin, and reservation schedules for renting the battery packs in each bin. Further details about the charging of the batteries in the bins are discussed below.
- the bin dispensing module 152 controls when to open the various bins to enable a user to insert or remove a carrier 200 and battery packs 300 into or from the bins. For example, based on a rental order received and/or processed in the central processing unit 140 and/or stored in the memory/database module 138 , the bin dispensing module 152 may unlock a door 116 of a particular bin 114 and enable removal of the carrier 200 and battery packs 300 in that bin 114 .
- the bin dispensing module 152 may identify an empty bin 114 and unlock the door 116 to that bin 114 to enable insertion of a carrier 200 and battery packs 300 in the bin 114 .
- the bin dispensing module 152 may monitor or control which of several available carriers 200 should be rented in response to a rental request, based on factors such as the state of charge, age, or condition of the battery packs and the duration that the battery packs have been received in the bins.
- the external communications module 146 enables the central processing unit 140 of one or more kiosks 100 to communicate with each other and with one or more external computing or communication devices, such as one or more central servers 160 , one or more personal computers or workstations 162 , one or more smartphones or tablet computers 164 , etc. Communication between and among the kiosks 100 and these devices 160 , 162 , 164 may be via one or more telecommunications networks 145 such as internets, intranets, virtual private networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), cellular communications networks, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth® communication networks, LANs, WANs, fiber optic communications networks, cable communications networks, satellite communication networks, etc.
- PSTNs public switched telephone networks
- cellular communications networks such as Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth® communication networks, LANs, WANs, fiber optic communications networks, cable communications networks, satellite communication networks, etc.
- computing devices such as smartphones and tablets may communicate directly with kiosks, bypassing the central servers and the telecommunications networks.
- the computing devices and communications networks shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 facilitate remote communication and management among owners and customers and kiosks, such as: reserving and ordering rental battery packs; purchasing and reserving retail goods; communicating with users when a rental battery pack is due for return; inventory management of kiosks; locating kiosks with available battery packs for rental at the closest geographic locations, and sending advertisements regarding the kiosk products to customers and potential customers of the kiosks.
- operation of the kiosk 100 may be controlled locally by user interaction with the user interface 110 on the kiosk 100 .
- FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an exemplary flow chart 400 for user interaction with the user interface 110 on the kiosk.
- FIGS. 10A-16 illustrate exemplary screen shots of the user interface 110 when implementing the flow chart 400 in FIGS. 8 and 9 .
- the central processing unit 140 directs the user interface control module 144 to control the user interface 110 and the payment processing area 112 .
- the user interface control module 144 controls the information that is displayed on the screen 126 , based on instructions from the central processing unit 140 .
- the user interface control module 144 also receives and processes input into the user input device 128 of desired actions such as renting carriers 200 and battery packs 300 , returning carriers 200 and battery packs 300 , or purchasing retail items, and transmits signals corresponding to this information to the central processing unit 140 for further processing.
- the user interface control module 126 receives and processes payments received in the payment processing area 112 , and transmits signals corresponding to this information to the central processing unit 140 for further processing.
- the user approaches the kiosk 100 and activates the user interface 110 , e.g., by touching it.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select a language (e.g., English, Spanish, etc.).
- a language e.g., English, Spanish, etc.
- an action prompt requests that the user sign in with an existing user ID and password, register with a new user ID or password, or proceed as a guest without a user ID and password.
- the user interface 110 main menu prompts the user to select among several actions: Rental, Return, Reserve, Retail, Pick-Up Order and Info.
- the rental subroutine 410 is activated to enable the user to select and rent one or more carriers 200 and battery packs 300 for rental.
- the user interface prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental.
- the carriers and battery packs may be priced according to the number of packs in the carrier and the state of charge of the packs (e.g., 100%, 80%, 60%, etc.).
- the user may also be prompted to select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days).
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to review the selected rental battery packs that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of a rental agreement.
- the kiosk 110 may also provide the user with a notification of the rental due date (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt).
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to pay for the rental (e.g., via credit card, voucher, gift card, cash, corporate account, etc.).
- the kiosk 110 places a hold on the user's account and/or credit card in an amount to ensure timely return of the rental battery packs (e.g., for the retail value of the carrier and battery packs).
- the bin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one or more the bin doors 116 to enable the user, at step 426 , to retrieve the rented carrier(s) and associated battery pack(s).
- the user interface 110 may indicate to the user which bin(s) have been unlocked.
- the user closes the bin door(s), thus ending the transaction at step 429 .
- a record of the rental transaction (including, e.g., an identifier of carrier and battery packs rented, payment information, credit card hold information, and user ID) is stored in the memory/database module 138 , and may also be communicated by the external communications module 146 to a central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone.
- the return subroutine 430 is executed to enable a user to return a previously rented carrier and associated battery packs.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to identify the carriers and packs to be returned by swiping the credit card used in the previous transaction or by inputting a login ID and password.
- the user interface 110 communicates the previous payment information to the central processing unit 140 , which retrieves from the memory/database module 138 the record containing the identification information and quantify of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 rented.
- the central processing unit 140 retrieves from the memory/database module 138 the record containing the identification information and quantify of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 rented.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to choose which ones and how many of the rented carriers and battery packs to return to the kiosk 100 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to identify any of the rented battery packs 300 that may be damaged or underperforming.
- the bin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one or more bin doors 116 to enable the user to return the carriers and battery packs.
- the user interface 110 identifies which bins 114 have been unlocked for return of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 .
- the user returns the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 to the open bins 114 .
- the kiosk 100 verifies that the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are the ones that should be returned. This can be performed, for example, by scanning a bar code or QR code on the carrier and/or battery packs, by sensing an RFID tag on the carrier and/or battery packs, or by identification of a electronic signal generated by the carriers and/or battery packs.
- the central processing unit 140 causes the bin dispensing module 152 to lock the bin door(s) 116 to the bins 114 into which the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 have been returned.
- the central processing unit 140 interfaces with the memory/database module 138 and the external communications module 146 to release the hold on the user's credit card or corporate account, thus terminating the return transaction at step 449 .
- the reserve subroutine 450 is executed to enable a user to reserve a rental carrier 200 and battery packs 300 for a later time.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select a future date and time for a reservation for a carrier 200 and battery packs 300 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental. The price may be based on the number of packs rented and their state of charge.
- the user may select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days).
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to review an electronic shopping cart into which the rental selections have been placed.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of the rental agreement.
- the kiosk 110 provides the user with a notification of the rental date and time (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt).
- a notification of the rental date and time e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to process a payment for the rental (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, etc.).
- the kiosk 110 places a hold on the user's account and/or credit card in to hold the reservation.
- the central processing unit 140 stores a record corresponding to the reservation in the memory/database module 138 and/or causes the external communications module 146 to place a record of the reservation in the central server 160 , thus ending the Reserve transaction at step 468 .
- the central processing unit 140 or the central server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification.
- the user is given the option to obtain directions to the kiosk 100 , review the order, or cancel or modify the order.
- the user then proceeds to the kiosk 100 to pick up the rented carriers and battery packs, as described below.
- the user arrives at the kiosk 100 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to provide the payment method used for the previous transaction (e.g., by swiping the credit card used in the payment processing area 112 ) or to input an account login ID and password.
- the user interface 110 communicates the previous payment information or account ID and password to the central processing unit 140 , which retrieves from the memory/database module 138 or a central server 160 a record containing identification information and quantity of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 that have been reserved.
- the central processing unit 140 retrieves from the memory/database module 138 or a central server 160 a record containing identification information and quantity of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 that have been reserved.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to rent additional carriers and battery packs (as described above with respect to the Rental subroutine) or purchase additional goods (as described below with respect to the Retail subroutine).
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to review the shopping cart, which now includes any additional rental battery packs or retail goods that have been ordered.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to process a payment for the additional rental or retail goods (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash, etc.).
- the bin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one or more the bin doors 116 to enable the user, at step 486 , to retrieve the rented carrier(s) 200 and associated battery pack(s) 300 .
- the user interface 110 indicates to the user which bin(s) have been unlocked.
- the user closes the bin door(s), thus ending the transaction at step 489 .
- a record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of carrier and battery packs rented, payment information, credit card hold information, and user ID) is stored in the memory/database module 138 , and may also be communicated by the external communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone.
- the retail subroutine 490 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products through the kiosk 100 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select between Onsite purchases and Online purchases. If, at step 492 , the user selects Onsite, then the Onsite subroutine 494 is executed.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select the item and quantity from among the items available for immediate sale in the retail vending area 108 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to review the selected items that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area 112 to process a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash etc.).
- the kiosk 100 dispenses the item and provides a receipt for the purchase (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, or printed receipt), thus ending the transaction at step 502 .
- a record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module 138 , and may also be communicated by the external communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone.
- the online subroutine 504 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products not available onsite in the kiosk 100 .
- the user interface 110 may prompt the user to select from among a plurality of manufacturers or retailers of products similar to those sold in the kiosk.
- the user interface 110 may display an online e-commerce website of a selected manufacturer or retailer of products to enable online ordering just as one would do on the traditional e-commerce website.
- the external communications module 146 may communicate, via the internet, and download to the user interface 110 the e-commerce website of the selected manufacturer or retailer or a specially designed e-commerce app or interface for display on the user interface 110 .
- the user then shops on the e-commerce website for the desired goods to be purchased.
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area 112 to process a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash, etc.).
- the machine then dispenses a receipt for the purchase (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, or printed receipt), thus ending the transaction at step 512 .
- a record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module 138 , and may also be communicated by the external communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone.
- the information subroutine 520 is executed to enable a user to obtain certain information and assistance via the user interface 110 .
- the user interface 110 prompts the user to select among a menu of information options, including at least one or more of the following options.
- the information displayed on the user interface 110 may be stored locally in the memory/database module 138 or remotely at a central server 160 or elsewhere on the internet, and may be retrieved by instructions from the central processing unit 140 and/or external communications module 146 , and displayed on the user interface 110 by the user interface control module 144 .
- the user interface 110 enables the user to register for an account or review and modify account information such as user ID, password, credit card, corporate account number, etc.
- account information such as user ID, password, credit card, corporate account number, etc.
- the user interface 110 enables the user to review his or her history for battery pack rental usage.
- the user interface 110 enables the user to view targeted advertising and promotions, such as video promotions directed to products similar to those previously purchased by that user.
- the user interface 110 allows the user to review the battery pack rental agreement policy.
- the user interface 110 allows the user to view other kiosk locations, and to review the inventory for battery pack rentals and retail vending at these other locations.
- the user interface 110 enables the user to obtain information about obtaining a kiosk at a new location, such as a worksite or jobsite.
- the user interface 110 enables the user to compare the cost of operating gas powered power tools vs. the cost of battery pack rentals for cordless power tools.
- the user interface 110 allows the user to send an invitation (such as an e-mail or text message) to friends or colleagues, inviting them to try the kiosk.
- the user interface 110 displays instructional videos, such as how to use the carrier, how the battery pack rentals work, etc.
- the user interface 110 links to an app store or displays a QR code that can be scanned by the user's smartphone, to enable the user to download an app to allow for interaction with the kiosk 110 , as described below.
- the user interface 110 allows the user to view a local weather forecast.
- the user interface 110 allows the user to contact a service center (e.g., via electronic mail or live online chat).
- the user interface 110 allows the user to report a problem with the kiosk or the rental carriers or battery packs.
- the user can complete a form to leave a comment or suggestion for the owner of the kiosk.
- modified versions of the Reserve, Retail, and Info transactions may be implemented remotely on a mobile smartphone or tablet computer app or on a website accessed via a user's personal computer.
- the smartphone, tablet, or personal computer communicates, via a telecommunications network, with one or more kiosks 100 and/or with one or central servers, as illustrated in FIG. 6 .
- the smartphone app will be described in detail below. However, it should be understood that a tablet app or a website can be implemented with similar functionality.
- FIG. 17 is a flow chart 600 that illustrates some of the functionality of an app.
- FIGS. 18-22 are smartphone screenshots that illustrate some of the functionality of an app. These and other implementations are within the scope of this disclosure.
- an action prompt requests that the user sign in with an existing user ID and password or register with a new user ID or password.
- the main menu prompts the user to select among several actions: Reserve, Retail, and Information.
- the reserve subroutine 610 is executed to enable a user to reserve a rental carrier 200 and battery packs 300 for pick up from a kiosk 100 at a later time.
- the app prompts the user to select a geographic location for a kiosk 100 .
- the app may access the smartphone's location services to find the kiosks located closest to the user at that time.
- the user may be prompted to enter an address or zip code to find the kiosks 100 closest to the particular address or zip code.
- the kiosks may be viewed in a map view or by address.
- the app prompts the user to select a future date and time for a reservation for renting carriers 200 and battery packs 300 .
- the app prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental. The price may be based on the number of packs rented and their state of charge. In other implementations, the user may select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days).
- the app prompts the user to review an electronic shopping cart into which the rental selections have been placed.
- the app prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of the rental agreement.
- the app provides the user with a notification of the rental date and time (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt).
- the app prompts the user for payment information for the rental (e.g., via credit card, debit card, or corporate account).
- the app places a hold on the user's corporate account and/or credit card in to hold the reservation.
- the transaction ends with the app communicating with the kiosk 100 and/or the central server to store a record corresponding to the reservation.
- the central processing unit 140 or the central server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification.
- the user is given the option to obtain directions to the kiosk 110 , review the order, or cancel or modify the order.
- the user then proceeds to the kiosk 110 to pick up the rented carriers and battery packs, as described in the Pick-Up transaction above.
- the retail subroutine 630 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products via the kiosk rental app.
- the app prompts the user to select between Kiosk purchases (for pick-up at the kiosk) and Online purchases (for home delivery or pick-up at a retailer). If, at step 632 , the user selects Kiosk, then the Kiosk subroutine 634 is executed.
- the app prompts the user to select a geographic location for a kiosk 100 . The app may access the smartphone's location services to find the kiosk(s) located closest to the user at that time.
- the user may be prompted to enter an address or zip code to find the kiosks 100 closest to the particular address or zip code.
- the kiosks may be viewed in a map view or by address.
- the app prompts the user to select the item and quantity from among the items available for immediate sale in the retail vending area 108 of the kiosk 100 .
- the app prompts the user to review the selected items that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart.
- the app prompts the user to make a payment for the purchase, e.g., via credit card, debit card, corporate account, etc.
- the transaction ends with the app communicating with the kiosk 100 and/or the central server to store a record corresponding to the reservation.
- the central processing unit 140 or the central server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification.
- the user is given the option to obtain directions to the kiosk 110 , review the order, or cancel or modify the order.
- the user then proceeds to the kiosk 110 to pick up the purchased items.
- the reserved retail products may be held for the user for a limited period of time, after which, if the user fails to pick up the products, they are returned to the inventory and the user's payment is refunded.
- the online subroutine 650 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products from an online e-commerce website or store.
- the app may prompt the user to select from among a plurality of manufacturers or retailers of products similar to those sold in the kiosk.
- the app may display or link to an online e-commerce website, app, or specially designed user interface of a selected manufacturer or retailer of products to enable online ordering just as one would do on the traditional e-commerce website. The user then shops on the e-commerce website for the desired goods to be purchased.
- the app or the e-commerce website prompts the user to make a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, debit card, corporate account, etc.).
- the app then sends a receipt for the purchase to the user (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, etc.), thus ending the transaction at step 658 .
- a record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module, and may also be communicated by the external communications module to the central server.
- the information subroutine 660 is executed to enable a user to obtain certain information and assistance via the app.
- the display screen prompts the user to select among a menu of information options, including at least one or more of the following options. For each option, the information displayed to the user may be stored locally in the app, or remotely at a central server 160 or elsewhere on the internet.
- the app enables the user to register for an account or review and modify account information such as user ID, password, credit card, corporate account number, etc.
- the app enables the user to review his or her history for battery pack rental usage.
- the app enables the user to view targeted advertising and promotions, such as video promotions directed to products similar to those previously purchased by that user.
- the app allows the user to review the battery pack rental agreement policy.
- the app allows the user to search for kiosk locations, and to review the inventory for battery pack rentals and retail vending at these locations.
- the app enables the user to obtain information about obtaining a kiosk at a new location, such as a worksite or jobsite.
- the user interface 110 enables the user to compare the cost of operating gas powered power tools vs. the cost of battery pack rentals for cordless power tools.
- the app allows the user to send an invitation (such as an e-mail or text message) to friends or colleagues, inviting them to try the kiosk or the kiosk app.
- the app displays instructional videos, such as how to use the carrier, how the battery pack rentals work, etc.
- the app allows the user to view a local weather forecast.
- the app allows the user to contact a service center (e.g., via electronic mail or live online chat).
- the app allows the user to report a problem with a kiosk or rental carriers or battery packs.
- the user can complete a form to leave a comment or suggestion for the owner of the kiosk.
- the app can also provide in app notifications 690 or e-mail or text notifications to remind a user when rental carriers and battery packs are due to be returned to the kiosk.
- This notification may be stored locally in the app (running in the background) or may be pushed to the user's smartphone from the central server.
- the app notifies the user that the rental carriers and packs are due to be returned in three hours.
- the power distribution module 130 is coupled to a source of external electrical power 132 , e.g., an AC mains line, batteries, solar panels, a generator, etc. via a plug or connector 133 .
- the power distribution module 130 distributes the electrical power to the other areas and modules of the kiosk 100 , including to the battery pack rental area 106 and module 136 , the retail vending area 108 and module 134 , the user interface 110 and module 144 , and the advertising display area 104 and module 142 .
- the power distribution module 130 may include circuits to modify, rectify, transform, divide, modulate, regulate and/or invert the incoming electrical signals for distribution to the various areas and modules of the kiosk 100 by means known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
- the power distribution module 130 may transform an incoming AC signal to a DC signal to distribute to some of the components.
- the power distribution module 130 may include one or more fuses or circuit breakers 131 to prevent overload of the circuits in the various modules of the kiosk 100 .
- an exemplary power distribution module is coupled to a 240V, 50 A power source such as an AC mains line 132 .
- the power distribution 130 splits the 240V AC power source into two 120V AC power sources. distributed over a power bus or power supply lines.
- the power distribution module 130 distributes the 120V AC power supply to each bin 114 over a power bus or power supply line 135 .
- the power distribution module 130 may include a fuse 131 , for example a 10 A fuse, on the AC power supply line prior to the bins 114 .
- the power distribution module 130 also provides power to the CPU 140 . Either the power distribution module 130 or the CPU 140 may include circuitry to convert the 120V AC power supply to the appropriate voltage for the CPU 140 , as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
- each bin 114 includes a communications connector 178 and as discussed in more detail below, each carrier 200 includes a communications connector that is configured to couple to the bin communications connector 178 .
- These communications connectors allow the CPU 140 to monitor and communicate with the bins 114 , the carriers 200 and the batteries 300 to manage receiving, dispensing, and renting the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 , and monitoring and/or managing the charging of the battery packs 300 by the carriers 200 .
- FIG. 24 there is illustrated a view of the bin 114 from a front side of the kiosk 100 including an exemplary carrier 200 .
- the bin 114 includes two sidewalls 170 , a top wall 172 and a bottom wall 174 .
- each of the sidewalls includes the rails 184 .
- the bin communications connector 178 coupled to the carrier communications connector 216 and the bin power connector 180 coupled to the carrier AC power input connector 212 .
- the illustrated carrier 200 includes a housing 202 and a carrying handle 206 .
- the carrier housing 200 includes side walls. Each of the sidewalls includes a longitudinal groove 220 .
- Each carrier housing groove 220 is configured to receive one of the bin sidewall rails 184 when the carrier 200 is received in the bin 114 .
- These grooves 220 and rails 184 insure that the carrier AC power input connector 212 , the carrier communications connector 216 and the charge/discharge switch 222 align with the bin power connector 180 , the bin communications connector 178 , and the bin extension 182 , respectively, when the carrier 200 is received in the bin 114 .
- the rails 184 may be adjustable to accommodate various size carriers 200 .
- the rails 184 may serve to keep the carrier 200 raised from the bottom wall 174 to allow air cooling of the carrier 200 when the battery packs 300 are being charged inside the bin 114 .
- the carrier 200 may also include a door or cover 204 .
- the cover 204 may be transparent.
- the carrier housing 202 includes a plurality of receptacles 208 . Each receptacle 208 is configured to receive one the rechargeable, removable battery packs 300 .
- the cover 204 may be configured to allow access to a plurality of the receptacles 208 . In an alternate exemplary embodiment, there may be an individual cover 204 for each receptacle 208 .
- the cover(s) may include latching system elements configured to operate with corresponding latching system elements on the carrier housing 202 to fix the cover 204 to the housing 202 and to allow a user to open and close the door(s).
- the carrier 200 may include one or more security features, e.g., loops or latches 209 to receive one or more user applied padlocks 210 or other security locking devices to lock the cover(s) 204 to the carrier housing 202 .
- the housing 202 includes six receptacles 208 a - f for receiving six battery packs 300 a - f , respectively.
- the carrier 200 may have any number of receptacles 208 for receiving a corresponding number of battery packs 300 .
- each receptacle 208 includes a terminal block 256 for electrically coupling the battery pack 300 to the internal circuitry of the carrier 200 .
- the battery packs 300 may be convertible battery packs, as disclosed and described in provisional U.S. Patent Application Nos. 61/944,953 filed May 18, 2014, 62/000,112 filed May 19, 2014 and 62/046,546 filed Sep. 5, 2014, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/715,258, filed May 18, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
- the battery packs 300 may be any one of the embodiments described in the aforementioned provisional applications.
- the carrier terminal block would be configured in the same manner as the power tool terminal block for a corresponding convertible battery pack as disclosed and described in the aforementioned U.S. Provisional applications.
- the exemplary battery packs 300 are 20V/60V rated voltage battery packs, however battery packs 300 having other rated voltages are contemplated and encompassed by the present disclosure. Additionally, in alternate exemplary embodiments, the battery packs 300 may be non-convertible battery packs such as the battery packs disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,787, which is incorporated herein by reference. These battery packs 300 may be any of a variety of rated voltages, for example 20V, 40V, 60V, etc.
- the housing 202 also includes an AC power input connector 212 , e.g., a 3 prong 120 VAC male plug or female receptacle, a universal DC power input connector 214 for connecting to a DC power supply, e.g., a 12V car charger port, a USB port, and/or a trailer adapter port, and a communications connector 216 , e.g., a USB port, a serial port, or a set of electrical contacts.
- the carrier 200 also includes a power output connector 218 .
- the power output connector 218 is an AC power output connector.
- the power output connector 218 is a DC power output connector.
- the carrier 200 also includes a switch 222 for switching between a charging mode of operation that charges the battery packs 300 using electrical power input through the power input connectors 212 , 214 , and a discharging mode of operation that outputs electrical power from the battery packs 300 through the power output connector 218 .
- the external switch 222 may be replaced with an automatic internal switch and a current sensor for the AC and DC power inputs such that the internal switch switches to charging mode when the current sensor senses an input current and switches to discharge mode when the current sensor does not sense an input current.
- the kiosk 100 includes the power supply line 135 coupled to the bin power connector 180 of each bin 114 .
- the bin power connector 180 is configured to electrically and mechanically couple with the carrier AC power input connector 212 when the carrier 200 is received in the bin 114 .
- the kiosk 100 includes the communications line 137 coupled to the bin communications connector 178 .
- the bin communications connector is configured to electrically and mechanically couple with the carrier communications connector 216 when the carrier 200 is received in the bin 114 .
- the communications line 137 and the communications connectors 178 , 216 enable communications between the kiosk 100 and the carrier 200 to manage and/or control when and how the power delivered through the power input line 135 is used to charge the battery packs 300 .
- the carrier 200 includes a plurality of electrical and electronic components for monitoring, managing and/or controlling the charging and discharging of the battery packs 300 . More particularly, the carrier 200 includes a system management unit (SMU) 250 .
- the SMU 250 may be configured as a single printed circuit assembly or may be configured as two printed circuit assemblies 250 a , 250 b —as illustrated in FIG. 30 —or may be configured as more than two printed circuit assemblies.
- the SMU 250 may include a processor and may include a charge/discharge control module 252 .
- the carrier 200 may be configured to include a charge/discharge control module 252 for each battery 300 —as illustrated in FIG.
- the charge/discharge control modules 252 communicate with the SMU 250 which in turn communicates with the kiosk 100 through a plurality of communication lines 254 connected to the communication connector 216 .
- Each receptacle 208 includes a terminal block 256 and each battery pack 300 includes a terminal block 310 . Furthermore, the charge/discharge control modules 252 are electrically connected to the battery packs 300 via the receptacle terminal block 256 and the battery pack terminal block 310 . The charge/discharge control module 252 controls a plurality of switches 258 to provide a charging current to the battery packs 300 through the carrier power supply lines 260 , the receptacle terminal block 256 and the battery pack terminal block 310 —as will be discussed in more detail below.
- the SMU 250 also communicates with a power supply 262 coupled to the AC power input connector 212 and a power supply 264 coupled to the DC power input connector 214 .
- the AC power supply 262 may be, for example, a 120 VAC to 60 VDC power supply and the DC power supply 264 may be, for example, a 12 VDC to 60 VDC power supply to supply power to the battery packs 300 .
- the power supplies 262 , 264 will be configured to provide a charging voltage equal to the rated charging voltage of the battery pack configuration of a particular carrier 200 . For example, if all of the battery packs are 60 V battery packs then the power supplies will be configured to provide a 60 VDC output. Alternatively, if all of the battery packs are 20 V battery packs then the power supplies will be configured to provide a 20 VDC output.
- the SMU 250 also communicates with an inverter 266 .
- the inverter 266 may be a pure sine wave inverter, a modified sign wave inverter, a pulse wave inverter or any other inverter capable of providing an AC output signal or an approximated AC output signal for providing power to AC electrical and electronic devices.
- the inverter 266 is electrically connected to the power output connector 218 .
- the inverter is a 189 VDC to 120 VAC, square wave approximation of sine wave inverter.
- the carrier 200 does not include an inverter and only provides DC output power.
- the SMU 250 is also electrically connected to the discharge/charge mode switch 222 .
- a charge signal is sent to the SMU 250 .
- the SMU 250 sends a signal to the inverter 266 to turn the inverter 266 off, sends a signal to the power supply 262 , 264 to turn the power supply 262 , 264 on, and selectively sends a signal to the switches 258 to close the switches 258 to selectively connect the battery packs 300 to the power supplies 262 , 264 .
- the SMU 250 and the charge/discharge control modules 252 will operate to charge the appropriate carriers 200 and battery packs 300 .
- a discharge signal is sent to the SMU 250 .
- the SMU 250 sends a signal to the inverter 266 to turn the inverter 266 on, sends a signal to the power supply 262 , 264 to turn the power supply 262 , 264 off, and selectively sends a signal to the switches 258 to selectively open the switches 258 to disconnect the battery packs 300 from the power supplies 262 , 264 .
- the carrier 200 may also include a plurality of door switches 268 .
- the door switches 268 ensure that the terminal blocks of an empty receptacle are not of a dangerous electrical potential when the door 204 is open. More particularly if the door 204 is open and two receptacles 208 a , 208 b have fully charged battery packs 300 a , 300 b inserted therein and a third receptacle 208 c does not have a battery pack 300 c inserted therein a voltage across the empty terminal block could be approximately 60V. And if the door was open and the door switches were not present a user could conceivably touch the terminals at a dangerous electrical potential and receive a potentially dangerous shock.
- the carrier 200 does not include a charger and the kiosk 100 does include a charger.
- the battery packs 300 may only be charged when the carrier 200 is in the kiosk bin 114 or connected to a separate charger that could provide equivalent charging functionality to that of the kiosk 100 .
- the carrier 200 can communicate with each of the plurality of battery packs 300 for purposes of identifying a particular battery pack 300 , performing a status diagnosis of the battery pack 300 and/or reporting data logging associated with the battery pack 300 .
- the carrier 200 can communicate with the kiosk 100 through the carrier communication lines 306 , the carrier communication connector 216 , the bin communication connector 178 and the kiosk communication lines 137 when the carrier 200 is in the kiosk bin 114 for transferring information regarding the status and health of the battery packs 300 and carrier 200 , regarding the identification of the battery packs 300 , regarding the data logging information associated with the battery packs 300 , and for receiving charge instructions from the kiosk 100 .
- the kiosk 100 may provide charging power to the carrier 200 through the kiosk power supply lines 135 , the bin power connector 180 , the carrier AC power input connector 212 , the AC power supply 262 , and the carrier power supply lines 260 .
- alternate power sources may provide charging power to the carrier 200 .
- an AC mains line power supply may provide charging power to the carrier 200 through a power supply cord connected to the carrier AC power input connector 212 , the carrier AC power supply 262 and the carrier power supply lines 260 .
- an automotive power supply, a solar power supply or a trailer power supply may provide charging power to the carrier 200 through a supply cord connected to the carrier DC power input connector 214 , the carrier DC power supply 264 and the carrier power supply lines 260 .
- the kiosk 100 may include software and/or hardware programmed to implement a process 700 to actively manage the charging of multiple carriers 200 and battery packs 300 received in the bins 114 .
- the kiosk CPU 140 queries returned carrier 200 for information about the authentication ID (step 704 ), the state of charge (step 706 ), the DC impedance (step 708 ), data-logging information (e.g., time uses, charge cycles, shutdowns, etc.) (step 710 ), faults (step 712 ), and charge readiness state (step 714 ) for each pack in each carrier.
- data-logging information e.g., time uses, charge cycles, shutdowns, etc.
- this information is stored in the kiosk memory/database module 138 , transmitted to the central server 160 , and/or associated with one or more user accounts.
- the user is informed of the fault and prompted for action (e.g., prompting the user to remove the faulty carrier and battery packs and to insert the correct carrier and battery packs into the bins).
- the kiosk CPU 140 queries each of the carriers 200 stored in the kiosk 100 for their system state. For example, at step 722 , the kiosk CPU 140 queries the state of charge for each of the carriers 200 and battery packs 300 stored in the kiosk 100 . At step 724 , the kiosk CPU 140 queries which carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are ready for charging. At step 726 , the kiosk CPU 140 queries which carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are currently charging and in which mode of charging.
- the kiosk CPU 140 prioritizes the charging order of the carriers 200 based on a variety of preference rules, such as, for example, which battery packs 300 are near full state of charge or end of charging (step 730 ), which battery packs 300 have better performance (e.g., capacity, impedance) (step 732 ), when certain carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are reserved for future rental (step 734 ), and limits on total power delivery capability of the kiosk (step 736 ).
- preference rules such as, for example, which battery packs 300 are near full state of charge or end of charging (step 730 ), which battery packs 300 have better performance (e.g., capacity, impedance) (step 732 ), when certain carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are reserved for future rental (step 734 ), and limits on total power delivery capability of the kiosk (step 736 ).
- a charge enable signal is delivered via the communications connectors 176 , 216 to the carrier(s) that have been selected for priority charging according to the preference rules.
- the carriers 200 that have received the charge enable signals charge the battery packs 300 located in those carriers 200 .
- each carrier 200 sends a disable signal to the kiosk CPU 140 when the charging is complete, when the battery packs 300 or carriers 200 exceed a temperature threshold, or when there is a fault in the charging.
- the disable signal the carrier 200 will stop charging the battery packs, and the CPU 140 will send a charge enable signal to the next carrier 200 in the priority order.
- the CPU 140 queries the carriers 200 as to whether all of the battery packs 300 in each carrier 200 are fully charged.
- step 728 the CPU 140 returns to step 728 to reassign priority to the carriers 200 . If all battery packs 300 are fully charged, then at step 746 , the kiosk switches to a battery pack standby management mode in which it maintains the state of charge of all of the battery packs received in the kiosk.
- the carrier 200 can output a power supply signal from the power supply output connector 218 in the form of a waveform that is an approximation of an AC mains line power supply allowing the carrier output to operate nearly all corded electrical devices, including for example, power tools and home appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, etc.
- the battery pack 300 may be a convertible battery pack, for example any one of the battery packs disclosed and described in the above-referenced U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/944,953 filed May 18, 2014, 62/000,112 filed May 19, 2014 and 62/046,546 filed Sep. 5, 2014. As such, the battery pack 300 will not be described in detail.
- the battery pack 300 includes a plurality of cells 306 .
- the battery pack 300 also includes a battery terminal block 310 .
- the battery terminal block 310 includes a plurality of battery terminals 312 .
- the battery terminals 312 include a first subset of terminals 312 a that serve as power terminals 312 a and a second subset of terminals 312 b that serve as communications or signal terminals 312 b .
- the battery pack 300 also includes a printed circuit assembly 314 .
- the PCA 314 is unique to a rental battery pack 300 .
- the rental PCA 314 may allow for 60V charging.
- the rental PCA 314 may include a clock and generate an expiration disable signal to disable the battery pack after a certain rental period has ended. This disable signal could be transmitted from the battery PCA 314 to the carrier 200 .
- the rental PCA 314 may also include authentication and serial number information for communication to the carrier 200 to ensure that only appropriate battery packs are being used in conjunction with the carrier 200 .
- the battery PCA 314 may also include a processor and a memory element, for example, an EEPROM to store the aforementioned information and other battery related information.
- the battery pack may be a standard retail battery pack with a standard PCA 314 that operates with the carrier 200 , the carrier SMU 250 and the charge/discharge control module 252 .
- the battery pack may also be discharged into an electrical device (e.g., a power tool) independent of the carrier by connecting the battery pack directly to the electrical device via the battery terminal block 310 .
- the discharge circuitry may be located inside of the electrical device, may be incorporated into the battery pack, or some combination thereof.
- the battery pack 300 may be able to be charged by a separate charger independent of the carrier 200 by connecting the battery pack 300 directly to the charger via the battery pack terminal block 310 .
- the charging circuitry may be located in the charger, in the battery pack 300 , or in some combination thereof.
- the battery pack 300 may be connected to an alternative charging and discharging electrical device such as a radio charger.
- the receptacle terminal block 256 includes a plurality of carrier terminals 270 .
- the carrier terminals 270 include a first subset of terminals 270 a that serve as power terminals 270 a and a second subset of terminals 270 b that serve as communications or signal terminals 270 b .
- the carrier 200 includes the charge/discharge control module 252 .
- the charge/discharge control module 252 is connected to the carrier terminal block 256 by the communication lines 272 which in turn are connected to the carrier communication/signal terminals 270 b .
- the charge/discharge control module 252 also controls the carrier charge control switches 258 to enable/disable charging of the battery packs 300 .
- the charge/discharge control module 252 may also be connected to the power discharge lines 274 to enable/disable discharging of the battery packs 300 .
- the charge/discharge control module 252 may also process and/or transmit the communication signals from the battery pack 300 to the SMU 250 .
- the carrier 200 may discharge in various configurations.
- the carrier can output 120V RMS AC, 15 A waveform through the inverter 266 —the three battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c produce 180V peak voltage for input to the inverter 266 .
- one of the receptacles, for example 208 a does not have a battery pack 300 a therein the circuit will be open and the other two battery packs 300 b , 300 c will not be able to discharge.
- the three battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c are discharging a 120V AC supply
- the three other battery packs 300 d , 300 e , 300 f from the carrier 200 may be used to operate various electrical devices for example, the convertible battery packs 300 d , 300 e could be used to provide power to two 20V rated voltage power tools and the battery pack 300 f could be used to provide power to a 60V rated voltage power tool.
- the battery pack 300 d could be used to provide power to a 20V rated voltage power tool and the battery packs 300 e , 300 f could be used to provide power to a 120V rated voltage AC/DC power tool.
- the carrier 200 may also provide an AC power supply when the carrier is connected to an AC input power source. Particularly, when the carrier 200 is connected to an AC power supply, for example an AC mains line, the carrier 200 could operate as a power supply pass through by employing a switch and thereby bypassing the internal power supply 314 and the inverter 318 and providing an AC power supply directly from the AC input connector 212 to the AC output connector 218 .
- an AC power supply for example an AC mains line
- the carrier 200 when the carrier 200 is connected to an AC power supply, for example an AC mains line, and there are three battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c in the carrier, the carrier 200 can provide AC power supply out from the battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c through the inverter 266 and power output connector 218 and when power is not being drawn from the battery packs 300 /inverter 266 , the carrier 200 can charge the battery packs 300 a , 300 b 300 c .
- an AC power supply for example an AC mains line
- the carrier 200 can provide AC power supply out from the battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c through the inverter 266 and power output connector 218 and when power is not being drawn from the battery packs 300 /inverter 266 , the carrier 200 can charge the battery packs 300 a , 300 b 300 c .
- the carrier 200 can provide an AC power supply out from three of the battery packs 300 a , 300 b , 300 c while simultaneously charging the remaining battery packs 300 d and/or 300 e and/or 300 f.
- the carrier 200 may also provide very high power output to a specialized high power connector 230 .
- a specialized high power connector 230 may be configured to restrict the DC power supply for a line of power tools specifically configured to operate with the carrier 200 in this mode.
- FIGS. 33-41 schematically illustrate relationships between the carriers 200 , the battery packs 300 and a variety of power tools and other electrical devices.
- FIG. 33 schematically illustrates that the carrier 200 may be used to store and charge a plurality of the battery packs 300 .
- the battery packs may be used to power a variety of power tools 800 including a set of low rated voltage DC power tools 802 (e.g., under 40V, such as 4V, 8V, 12V, 18V, 20V, 24V and/or 36V), a set of medium rated voltage DC power tools 804 (e.g., 40V to 80V, such as 40V, 54V, 60V, 72V, and/or 80V), and a set of high rated voltage DC-only or AC/DC power tools 806 (e.g., 100V to 240V, such as 100V, 110V, 120V, 220V, 230V and/or 240V).
- a set of low rated voltage DC power tools 802 e.g., under
- the battery packs 300 may include one or more convertible battery packs, each of which may be converted between (1) a first rated voltage and a first rated capacity and (2) a second rated voltage and a second rated capacity that are different than the first rated voltage and the first rated capacity.
- a convertible battery pack may be convertible between a low rated voltage that corresponds to the low rated voltage power tools 802 and a medium rated voltage that corresponds to the medium rated voltage power tools 804 .
- a convertible battery pack 300 in its low rated voltage configuration can power a low rated voltage power tool 802
- a convertible battery pack 300 in its medium rated voltage configuration can power a medium rated voltage power tool 804
- a pair of convertible battery packs 300 in their medium rated voltage configuration can together power a high rated voltage power tool 806 .
- the battery packs 300 may be convertible between a 20V rated voltage and a 60V rated voltage so that one battery pack can power a 20V low rated voltage power tool 802 when the battery pack 300 is in its 20V configuration and can power a 60V medium rated voltage power tool when the battery pack is in its 60V configuration, and a pair of the battery packs 300 in their 60V configuration can power a 120V high rated voltage power tool.
- the high rated voltage power tool 804 is an AC/DC power tool that can be alternatively powered by an AC input
- the AC/DC high rated voltage power tool 804 can be powered by connecting an AC cord between the AC power output connector 218 of the carrier 200 and an AC input of the AC/DC high rated voltage power tool 804 .
- FIG. 34 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a carrier 200 , battery packs 300 , and power tools 800 in use.
- three battery packs 300 are stored and being charged in the carrier 200 by an AC power supply 810 .
- two battery packs 300 are being used to power a first cordless power tool 812 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 60V or 120V blower) and one battery pack 300 is being used to power a second cordless power tool 814 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer).
- a first rated voltage e.g., a 60V or 120V blower
- a second cordless power tool 814 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer).
- one battery pack 300 is being used to power a first cordless power tool 816 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer), and two battery packs 300 are being used to power a second cordless power tool 816 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 60V or 120V blower). Meanwhile, three battery packs stored in the carrier 200 are being used to power an AC-only corded power tool 820 (e.g., an AC chain saw) via a cord connected to the AC power output connector 218 of the carrier.
- a first rated voltage e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer
- a second cordless power tool 816 having a second rated voltage e.g., a 60V or 120V blower
- one convertible battery pack 300 is being used to power a first cordless power tool 822 having a low rated voltage (e.g., a 20V circular saw), one convertible battery pack 300 is being used to power a second cordless power tool 824 having a medium rated voltage (e.g., a 60V circular saw), and two convertible battery packs 300 are being used to power a third cordless or AC/DC power tool 826 having a high rated voltage (e.g., a 120V miter saw). Meanwhile, two battery packs 300 are stored and being charged in the carrier 200 by an AC power supply.
- a low rated voltage e.g., a 20V circular saw
- a second cordless power tool 824 having a medium rated voltage (e.g., a 60V circular saw)
- two convertible battery packs 300 are being used to power a third cordless or AC/DC power tool 826 having a high rated voltage (e.g., a 120V miter saw).
- two battery packs 300 are stored and being charged in the
- one battery pack 300 is being used to power a first cordless power tool 830 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 60V circular saw), and one battery pack 300 is being used to power a second cordless or AC/DC power tool 832 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 120V miter saw).
- three battery packs stored in the carrier 200 are being used to power an AC-only corded power tool 834 (e.g., an AC hammer) via a cord connected to the AC power output connector 218 of the carrier 200 .
- a plurality of battery packs 300 in a carrier 200 are being used to power a high powered AC tool 836 (e.g., a 120V or 180V jackhammer) via a cord connected to the AC power output connector 218 of the carrier 200 .
- a high powered AC tool 836 e.g., a 120V or 180V jackhammer
- other carriers 200 containing additional battery packs 300 await use. This enables a user to power the high powered AC tool for an entire work day.
- the carrier 200 disables at the end of a predetermined rental period (e.g., three days).
- An indicator LED 280 on the carrier flashes to notify the user to return the carrier 200 to the kiosk.
- an alert is transmitted wirelessly to an app on the user's cell phone or tablet computer 840 .
- the user may renew the rental period for an additional amount of time (e.g., one more day).
- the carrier 200 containing a plurality of battery packs 300 may be used to power an AC electrical device or appliance 842 (e.g., a refrigerator) via a cord connected to the AC power output connector 218 .
- an AC electrical device or appliance 842 e.g., a refrigerator
- the carrier 200 containing a plurality of battery packs 300 may be used to power an AC electrical device or appliance 844 (e.g., a television) via a cord connected to the AC power output connector 218 .
- an AC electrical device or appliance 844 e.g., a television
- FIG. 42 schematically illustrates the various ways for a user to charge the battery packs 300 in a carrier 200 while transporting it in a vehicle 850 from a first rental kiosk location A to a second rental kiosk location B.
- the carrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from a trailer adapter port 852 to the universal DC power input connector 214 .
- the carrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from a solar cell array 854 to the universal DC power input connector 214 .
- the carrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from a 12V car charger port 856 to the universal DC power input connector 214 .
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
A system includes a plurality of battery packs, a plurality of battery pack trays, and a kiosk. Each tray includes a battery charging circuit and one or more receptacles for receiving one or more of the battery packs. The kiosk includes a storage unit configured to receive and store the plurality of battery pack trays, a power module configured to deliver power to the battery pack trays, and a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the trays and the battery packs from the kiosk. Each tray is configured to be alternatively powered by the power module in the kiosk or by an external power source apart from the kiosk to enable the charging circuit in the tray to charge the battery pack that is received in each receptacle.
Description
- This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/060,305, filed Oct. 6, 2014, titled “System and Method for Renting, Charging, and Discharging Battery Packs,” which is incorporated by reference. This application also incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/917,128, filed Nov. 1, 2010, titled “Portable Alternating Current Inverter Having Reduced Impedance Losses,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/037,290, filed Feb. 28, 2008, titled “Portable Power Supply,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/891,540, filed Feb. 26, 2007.
- This application relates to a system and method for renting, transporting, charging, and discharging battery packs, e.g., for power tools or other electrical devices. In one implementation, the system includes a kiosk for renting, dispensing and receiving battery packs and a carrier for transporting, charging and discharging the battery packs, e.g., for power tools and other electrical devices.
- Various types of electric power tools are commonly used in construction, home improvement, outdoor, and do-it-yourself projects. Conventional power tools generally fall into two categories—corded tools that are powered by an AC power source, e.g., an AC mains line, and cordless tools that are powered by one or more DC power sources, e.g., a rechargeable battery.
- Corded power tools generally are used for heavy duty applications that require high power and/or long runtimes, such as heavy duty sawing, heavy duty drilling and hammering, and heavy duty metal working. However, as their name implies, corded tools require the use of a cord that can be plugged into an AC power outlet. In many applications, such as on construction sites, it is not convenient or practical to find an AC power outlet and/or AC power must be generated by a generator, e.g. gas powered generator.
- Cordless power tools generally are used for lighter duty applications that require low or medium power and/or short runtimes, such as light duty sawing, light duty drilling, and fastening. As cordless tools tend to be more limited in their power and/or runtime, they have not generally been accepted by the industry for all applications. They are also limited by weight since the higher capacity batteries tend to have greater weight, creating an ergonomic disadvantage.
- Generally, conventional power tool battery packs may not be able to run conventional corded power tools or other corded electrical devices, while untransformed AC power may not be able to be used to run cordless power tools. Further, the battery packs for cordless power tools may require frequent recharging, may be expensive to purchase, and may be cumbersome to manage on a large construction site.
- An aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the carriers including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving a battery pack; and a kiosk comprising (1) a storage unit configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, (2) a power distribution module configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, and (2) a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and supplying charging power to the carriers, wherein each of the carriers is configured to be alternatively powered by the power distribution module when the carrier is inside the kiosk or by an external power source when the carrier is outside the kiosk to enable the carrier charging circuit to charge a battery pack that is received in the receptacle. The receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery packs; a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the carriers including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving one or more of the plurality of battery packs; and a kiosk comprising (1) a storage unit configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, (2) a power distribution module configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, and (3) a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and the battery packs from the kiosk and supplying charging power to the carriers, wherein each of the carriers is configured to be alternatively powered by the power distribution module when the carrier is inside the kiosk or by an external power source when the carrier is outside the kiosk to enable the carrier charging circuit to charge the battery pack that is received in the receptacle. The receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a power tool; a plurality of battery packs configured to supply power to the power tool; a plurality of battery pack carriers, each carrier including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving one or more of the plurality of battery packs; and a kiosk comprising (1) a storage unit configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, (2) a power distribution module configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, and (3) a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and the battery packs from the kiosk and supplying charging power to the carriers, wherein each of the carriers is configured to be alternatively powered by the power distribution module when the carrier is inside the kiosk or by an external power source when the carrier is outside the kiosk to enable the carrier charging circuit to charge the battery pack that is received in the receptacle. The receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- The foregoing exemplary embodiments of the present invention may also comprise circuitry configured to monitor the battery packs in the carriers and to control activation of the carrier charging circuits. The foregoing exemplary embodiments of the present invention may also comprise a communications module configured to facilitate communication between the kiosk and an external computing device. The communications module may be configured to receive signals corresponding to a user's battery pack carrier order to be vended via the external computing device. The communications module may be configured to send signals corresponding to parameters of the battery packs stored in the battery pack storage unit. The kiosk may also comprise a retail vending module configured to dispense merchandise for sale to a user. The kiosk may also comprise a user interface configured to receive a user's battery pack carrier order to be vended. The user interface may comprise a payment processing system. The storage unit may also comprise a plurality of bins, each of the plurality of bines configured to receive one or more carriers. The kiosk may also comprise a display configured to communicate a charge status of the carriers and/or battery packs in the bins.
- Each of the bins may include a power connector and the carrier may include a power input connector, wherein the bin power connector is configured to be coupled to the carrier power input connector. Each of the bins may include a communications connector and the carrier may include a communications connector, wherein the bin communications connector is configured to be coupled to the carrier communications connector. The power distribution module may include an input line configured to be connected to an external source of electrical power and a distribution subsystem configured to distribute the electrical power to the carriers that are received in the storage unit.
- The controller may control dispensing of the carriers from the kiosk by enabling rental of the carriers and battery packs from the kiosk. The vending system may comprise a central server in electronic communication with the kiosk. The central server may be configured to communicate with a plurality of the kiosks at different geographical locations. The central server may be configured to receive remote user inputs of orders for battery packs and carriers. The central server may be configured to receive the remote user inputs via a telecommunications connection with a remote electronic computing device. The central server may be configured to communicate an order to a kiosk via a telecommunications network.
- The carrier power input connector may be configured to receive an input of electrical power for charging a battery pack received in the receptacle. The power input connector may comprise one or more of an AC power input connector and a DC power input connector. The carrier communications connector may be configured to send and/or receive communications with the bin through the communications connectors. The carrier may comprise a power output connector configured to deliver output power from a battery pack received in the receptacle. The power output connector may comprise a DC output connector. The power output connector may comprise an AC output connector.
- The carrier may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from a battery pack or a plurality of battery packs to an AC power output at the carrier power output connector. The carrier may be configured such that the battery pack(s) generate a DC voltage having a magnitude greater than or equal to a desired AC voltage at the carrier power output connector.
- The kiosk may include a processing unit that is configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the carriers received in the kiosk based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk, the carrier and/or the battery packs received in the carriers. The at least one parameter may comprise at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers.
- The carriers and/or battery packs may be configured to power one or more power tools. The battery pack(s) can be configured to operate at a first rated voltage and a second rated voltage, the second rated voltage being different than the first rated voltage.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a kiosk; a battery pack storage unit in the kiosk configured to receive and store a plurality of battery packs; a battery charger in the kiosk configured to charge one or more of the plurality of battery packs; a power distribution module in the kiosk configured to deliver power to the battery pack charger unit; a controller in the kiosk configured to control vending of the battery packs from the battery pack storage unit; and a processing unit in the kiosk that is configured to prioritize charging of battery packs in the battery pack storage unit based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk and the battery packs received in battery pack storage unit.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the plurality of carriers includes a battery charging circuit and a receptacle, the receptacle configured for receiving a battery pack; and a kiosk comprising a storage unit that is configured to receive and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, a power distribution module that is configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and battery packs from the kiosk, and a processing unit in the kiosk that is configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the battery pack storage unit based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk, the carriers, and the battery packs received in the carriers. The receptacle may comprise a plurality of receptacles and each of the plurality of receptacles may receive a battery pack.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery packs; a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the plurality of carriers including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle, the receptacle configured for receiving one or more of the plurality of battery packs; and a kiosk comprising a storage unit that is configured to receive and store the plurality of battery pack carriers, a power distribution module that is configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the carriers and battery packs from the kiosk, and a processor unit in the kiosk that is configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the battery pack storage unit based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk, the carriers, and the battery packs received in the carriers.
- In the foregoing exemplary embodiments of the present invention the at least one parameter may comprise at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a vending system comprising a plurality of battery packs; and a kiosk comprising a storage unit that is configured to receive, dispense, and store the plurality of battery packs, a power distribution module that is configured to deliver power to the battery pack carriers, a controller that is configured to control dispensing of carriers and battery packs from the kiosk, and a processor unit in the kiosk that is configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the battery pack storage unit; and a user interface configured to allow a user to select a battery pack for rental from among the plurality of stored battery packs based upon user input of a battery pack parameter, wherein prices for the battery packs are set based upon the battery pack parameter.
- In the foregoing aspect of the present invention the battery pack parameter may comprise at least one of a state of charge of the battery pack, a condition of the battery pack, and a rated voltage of the battery pack. The battery pack parameter may comprise a state of charge of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a higher state of charge. The battery pack parameter may comprise a condition of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a better condition. The battery pack parameter may comprise a rated voltage of the battery pack, wherein the prices are set higher for battery packs having a higher rated voltage.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a method comprising storing, in a kiosk, a plurality of battery pack carriers, each of the plurality of battery pack carriers including a receptacle for receiving a battery pack and a charging circuit that enables charging of the battery pack via a power source in the kiosk when the carrier is stored in the kiosk and via another power source when the carrier is removed from the kiosk; receiving a user input of a desired battery pack carrier to be rented; selecting a battery pack carrier from among the plurality of stored battery pack carriers, where the battery pack carrier corresponds to the user input of a desired battery pack carrier; enabling the kiosk to dispense the selected battery pack carrier to the user.
- The foregoing embodiment of the present invention may also comprise receiving, in the kiosk, a previously used one of the battery pack carriers. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise enabling, via the kiosk, at least one of the stored battery pack carrier charging circuits to charge battery packs received in the at least one stored battery pack carrier. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise prioritizing the enabling of the at least one of the stored battery pack charging circuits based on a parameter of the kiosk and/or a parameter of the battery pack carriers, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the carriers, conditions of the battery packs received in the carriers, and reservation schedules for the carriers. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise managing inventory of the stored battery carriers. In the foregoing embodiment, the user input may be received via a user interface on the kiosk or via a remote computing device via an internet connection and the user input may include a desired geographic location of the battery pack carrier to be rented.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise identifying to the user one or more kiosks from a plurality of kiosks that have stored battery pack carriers corresponding to the desired geographic location. In the foregoing embodiment, the user input may include a desired state of charge of a battery pack. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise identifying to the user a battery pack carrier from the stored battery pack carriers with a battery pack that most closely corresponds to the desired state of charge or setting rental prices for the battery pack carriers based upon states of charge of the battery packs in the battery pack carriers or, after dispensing a battery pack carrier, disabling a battery pack in the carrier after a predetermined rental time period has expired.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a method comprising storing, in a battery pack rental kiosk, a plurality of battery packs; charging the battery packs in the kiosk; setting prices of the battery packs based upon parameters of the battery packs; receiving a user input of a desired parameter of a battery pack to be rented; selecting a battery pack from among the plurality of stored battery packs that corresponds to the user input of a desired battery pack parameter; charging the user the set price for the selected battery pack; enabling the kiosk to dispense the selected battery pack to the user.
- In the foregoing embodiment, the parameter may comprise at least one of a state of charge of the battery pack, a condition of the battery pack, and a rated voltage of the battery pack.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a power supply apparatus comprising a housing having a receptacle, the receptacle configured to receive a battery pack; a power input connector configured to receive an input of electrical power; a power output connector configured to deliver an output of electrical power; a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using the input of electrical power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power output connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing discharging power from the receptacle to the power output connector, wherein the charging circuit is configured to provide charging power to the receptacle when the housing is received in a vending machine and when the housing is outside of the vending machine and a source of electrical power is connected to the power input connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a communications connector configured to be coupled to a communications line in the vending machine to send and/or receive a signal that causes the charging circuit to provide charging power to the receptacle when the housing is inside of the vending machine. The power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power or the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of DC input power. The power input connector may comprise a first connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second connector configured to receive a source of DC power. The power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise at least one battery pack and an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the at least one battery pack to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector. The at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage, and the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the at least one battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power outlet. The switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user. The switching device may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing and at least one battery pack wherein the battery pack may be removable from the housing. The at least one battery pack may have a first set of electrical terminals that is connectable to a second set of electrical terminals in the receptacle to enable charging and discharging the at least one battery pack in the housing. The first set of electrical terminals can be connected to a third set of terminals on an electrical device that is separate from the apparatus, to enable the at least one battery pack to be electrically connected to the electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the housing. The electrical device may comprise a power tool, another battery charging device or another electrical device.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a power supply system comprising a battery pack and a charging and discharging container having a housing with a receptacle, the receptacle configured to removably receive and electrically connect to the battery pack, a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply, a power output connector configured to deliver output power from the battery pack, a charging circuit configured to control charging of the battery pack with the input power when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and a discharging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the battery pack to the power output connector, wherein the power output connector is electrically coupleable to a first electrical device to power the first electrical device when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and wherein the battery pack is electrically coupleable to a second electrical device to power the second electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the receptacle.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a system comprising a battery pack; a first electrical device; a second electrical device; and a charging and discharging container having a housing with a receptacle, the receptacle configured to removably receive and electrically connect to the battery pack, a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply, a power output connector configured to deliver an output power from the battery pack, a charging circuit configured to control charging of the battery pack with the input power when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and a discharging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the battery pack to the power output connector, wherein the power output connector is electrically coupleable to the first electrical device to power the first electrical device when the battery pack is received in the receptacle, and wherein the battery pack is electrically coupleable to the second electrical device to power the second electrical device when the battery pack is removed from the receptacle.
- In the foregoing embodiments the power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power or a source of DC input power. The power input connector may comprise a first connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second connector configured to receive a source of DC power. The power output connector may comprise an AC connector or a DC connector. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the battery packs to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector. In the foregoing embodiment, the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage, and the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power output connector. The switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user. The switching device may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing. The first electrical device may comprise an AC power tool and the second electrical device comprises a DC power tool.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a battery pack container comprising a housing having a receptacle for receiving at least one battery pack; a first power input connector configured to receive power from an AC power supply; a second power input connector configured to receive power from a DC power supply; and a charging circuit coupled to the first and second power input connectors and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using power from at least one of the AC power supply and the DC power supply.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a power output connector coupled to the housing and configured to supply output power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power output connector and to the receptacle, the discharging circuit configured to control discharging of electrical power from the at least one battery pack to the power output connector. The power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the at least one battery pack to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector. The at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage, and the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the at least one battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power outlet. The switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user or may include an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a portable power supply apparatus comprising a housing having a receptacle for receiving at least one battery pack; a handle coupled to the housing to enable carrying of the housing; a power input connector configured to receive input power from an external power supply; a power output connector configured to supply power from the housing; a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control providing charging power to the receptacle using the input power; and a discharging circuit coupled to the power outlet and to the receptacle, the charging circuit configured to control discharging of output power from the receptacle to the power output connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit configured to convert a DC power output from the receptacle to an AC power output that is delivered to the power output connector. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise at least one battery pack, wherein the at least one battery pack may be configured to generate a DC voltage that is greater than or equal to a peak value of a desired AC voltage, and the inverter circuit may be configured to convert the DC voltage generated by the battery pack to an AC output voltage with a peak value that is at least as great as the peak value of the desired AC voltage, the AC output voltage being delivered to the power output connector. The power input connector may be configured to receive a source of AC input power and/or a source of DC input power. The power input connector may comprise a first input connector configured to receive a source of AC power and a second input connector configured to receive a source of DC power. The power output connector may comprise an AC connector and/or a DC connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a switching device that enables switching between a charging mode in which the charging circuit is active to charge the battery packs and a discharging mode in which the discharging circuit is active to enable discharge of the battery packs to the power output connector. The switching device may include an external switch that is switchable by a user or an automated switching device that switches to the charging mode upon detecting that the power input connector is coupled to a source of electrical power.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a portable power supply comprising a housing including a battery connector for electrically coupling to a battery pack; a power input connector configured to receive power from an external power supply; a power output connector configured to supply power from the housing; a switch for selectively coupling the battery connector to the power input connector or the battery connector to the power output connector.
- In the foregoing embodiment, the switch may include a first switch for coupling the battery connector to the power input connector and a second switch for coupling the battery connector to the power output connector.
- The foregoing embodiment may also comprise a charging circuit coupled to the power input connector and to the battery connector, wherein the charging circuit supplies charging power received at the power input connector to the battery connector. The foregoing embodiment may also comprise an inverter circuit coupled to the battery connector and to the power output connector, wherein the inverter circuit is configured to receive DC voltage output from the battery connector, convert the received DC voltage to an AC voltage and supply the AC voltage to the power output connector.
- Another aspect of the present invention includes a portable power supply comprising a carrier comprising a battery connector, the battery connector configured to receive a removable, rechargeable battery pack, a charging circuit coupled to the battery connector to supply charging power to the battery connector, a power supply input connector coupled to the charging circuit configured to receive input power and to provide the input power to the charging circuit, wherein the input power may be received from a variety of power sources.
- In the foregoing embodiment the input power may comprise an AC power source and/or a DC power source. In the foregoing embodiment, the power supply input connector may comprise an AC power connector and/or a DC power connector. The foregoing embodiment may comprise a receptacle, wherein the receptacle comprises the battery connector. The foregoing embodiment may comprise a handle for transporting the carrier containing the battery pack. The foregoing embodiment may comprise a cover for the receptacle for securing the battery pack in the receptacle during transportation.
- Advantages may include one or more of the following. The system may provide a convenient system and method for users to obtain, charge, and discharge battery packs for use with power tools and other electrical devices. These and other advantages and features will be apparent from the description and the drawings
-
FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a rental system of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of a kiosk of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3A andFIG. 3B are a front view and a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a bin of the kiosk ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment of a user interface of the kiosk ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of various exemplary components of the kiosk ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 6 is another block diagram of various exemplary components of the kiosk ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 7 is another exemplary embodiment of a rental system of the present invention. -
FIG. 8 is an exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 9 is another exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIGS. 10A-16 are exemplary screen shots of a user interface for use with the rental system ofFIG. 1 , related to the flow charts ofFIGS. 8 and 9 . -
FIG. 17 is another exemplary flow chart for operation of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIGS. 18A-22 are exemplary screen shots of another user interface for use with the rental system ofFIG. 1 , related to the flow charts ofFIG. 17 . -
FIG. 23 is an exemplary embodiment of the kiosk ofFIG. 2 . -
FIGS. 24A and 24B are front view and a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a bin and carrier of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 25 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier. -
FIG. 26 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier ofFIG. 25 . -
FIG. 27 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier ofFIG. 25 . -
FIG. 28 is another isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier ofFIG. 25 . -
FIG. 29A is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the carrier ofFIG. 25 including six battery packs. -
FIG. 29B is a plan view of the exemplary embodiment of the carrier ofFIG. 25 without battery packs. -
FIG. 30 is a simplified schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a carrier and battery packs. -
FIG. 31 is a simplified schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a carrier and a battery pack. -
FIG. 32 is an exemplary flow chart for charging battery packs in a carrier in a kiosk of the rental system ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 33 is an exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 34 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 35 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 36 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 37 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 38 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 39 is another exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and power tools. -
FIG. 40 is an exemplary illustration of a rental return warning system of a carrier. -
FIG. 41 is an exemplary illustration of a relationship between a carrier, battery packs and other electrical devices. -
FIG. 42 is an exemplary illustration of various methods for charging battery packs in a carrier. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , in an exemplary embodiment, asystem 10 for renting, transporting, charging and discharging battery packs (e.g., for power tools and other electrical devices) includes a vending machine orkiosk 100, one or more battery pack carriers ortrays 200 received in and dispensed by thekiosk 100, and one or more rechargeable, removable battery packs 300 received in each of thecarriers 200 or received directly in thekiosk 100 independent of thecarriers 200. Thecarriers 200 may be configured to charge the battery packs 300 inside and/or outside of thekiosk 100 via one or more power inlets, and to enable discharging the battery packs 300 through one or more power outlets. Thekiosk 100 may enable receiving, dispensing, and renting thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300, and causing thecarriers 200 to charge the battery packs 300 when thecarriers 200 are received in thekiosk 100. - Referring also to
FIG. 2 , thekiosk 100 includes ahousing 102 with anadvertising display area 104, a batterypack rental area 106, aretail vending area 108, and auser interface 110. Theadvertising display 104 may be a static display (e.g., a static sign) or a dynamic display (e.g., an LCD screen). - The battery
pack rental area 106 includes a plurality ofbins 114. Eachbin 114 is configured to dispense, receive, store, and provide power for charging one of thecarriers 200 and the associated battery packs 300. Thebins 114 are each closed by alockable door 116, and may each further include ahandle 118. Thedoors 116 are configured to unlock when a user rents or returns one of thecarriers 200. - Referring to
FIGS. 3A and 3B , an example of anempty bin 114 is illustrated. Thebin 114 includes five walls—two opposingsidewalls 170, atop wall 172, abottom wall 174, and arear wall 176—and thebin door 116 forming a generally rectangular cavity for receiving, housing and dispensing thecarrier 200. Each sidewall includes a longitudinal extendingrail 184—providing a pair ofrails 184 in eachbin 114. Therails 184 will be discussed in more detail below. Therear wall 176 of each bin 114 includes a plurality of connectors. Specifically, therear wall 176 includes acommunication connector 178 for providing communication between thekiosk 100 and thecarrier 200 and apower connector 180 for providing power to thecarrier 200. Therear wall 176 also includes anextension 182 for toggling a carrier charge/discharge switch into charging mode. These elements correspond to a plurality of corresponding elements in thecarrier 200, all of which will be discussed in greater detail below. - Adjacent to each
bin door 116 may be a state ofcharge display 120 to indicate the state of the carrier, including a state of charge of the battery packs 300 received in the associatedbin 114. For example, thedisplay 120 may include multi-colored LED lights to indicate the state of charge of the battery packs (e.g., red, yellow, and green for low, medium, and high). The bins may have varied sizes and configurations to accommodate different sizes and configurations ofcarriers 200. For example, as shown inFIG. 2 , afirst group 114 a ofbins 114 is configured to receive one of thecarriers 200 that contains sixbattery packs 300, while asecond group 114 b ofbins 114 may be configured to receive individual battery packs not received in acarrier 200 or acarrier 200 having more than six battery packs 300. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , theretail vending area 108 includes a retailvending display area 122 containing a plurality of products for sale and avending opening 124 for dispensing the products for sale. The products contained in theretail vending area 108 may be products for sale that will be used by persons who rent the battery packs. For example, theretail vending area 108 may contain power tools (e.g., electric screwdrivers, drills, saws, outdoor equipment, etc.), power tool accessories (e.g., saw blades, drill bits, screwdriving bits, spools of cutting string, battery pack chargers and charging cords etc.), hand tools (e.g., screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, etc.), and other related products (e.g., work gloves, safety glasses, tool belts, etc.). - Referring also to
FIG. 4 , theexemplary user interface 110 may include adisplay screen 126, a user input device 128, and apayment processing area 112. Thedisplay screen 126 displays options and information to the user. For example, thedisplay screen 126 may be an LCD monitor. The user input device 128 allows the user to input information to thekiosk 100. For example, the user input device 128 may include a keyboard or a keypad. In other embodiments, the user input device may be fully or partially integrated into thedisplay screen 126, e.g., by implementing thedisplay screen 126 as a touch screen interface. Thepayment processing area 112 may include one or more of a credit card reader 113, a bar code or a QR code scanner, a RFID sensor configured to communicate with an RFID payment tag, bill and coin receptacles, areceipt printer 115, and a change receptacle. The payment processing area is configured to process payments from users for battery pack rentals, retail sales, and coupon and voucher redemptions. -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates an exemplary system architecture for the electronic controls for thekiosk 100. The electronic controls include apower distribution module 130 that controls and distributes power to all of the other modules, as will be described in greater detail below. A central processing unit (CPU) 140 and a memory/database module 138 provide centralized control for the other modules: aretail vending module 134 that controls theretail vending area 108, a batterypack rental module 136 that controls the batterypack rental area 106, anadvertising display module 142 that controls theadvertising display area 104, and auser interface module 144 that controls theuser interface 110. Also coupled to theCPU 140 are an auxiliary systems control module 148 (e.g., to control HVAC, fire suppression, lights, etc.) and anexternal communications module 146. As described in greater detail below, theexternal communications module 146 enables communication between and among thekiosk 100 and other kiosks, servers, databases, and computing devices via one ormore telecommunications networks 145. - The
advertising display module 142 controls the display of advertising information on theadvertising display 104. For example, in a static display, theadvertising display module 142 may control illumination of theadvertising display 104. In a dynamic display, theadvertising display module 142 may alter and control theadvertising display 104 to display various advertisements for goods or services, in accordance with instructions from thecentral processing unit 140. For example, theadvertising display module 142 may control operation of an LCD screen that scrolls through various advertisements. The auxiliarysystems control module 148 controls several systems that are helpful to operation of thekiosk 100. The auxiliarysystems control module 148 may communicate with and receive instructions from thecentral processing unit 140. For example, the auxiliarysystems control module 148 may control HVAC, lighting, and fire suppression systems for thekiosk 100. - The
retail vending module 134 controls the vending of retail products from theretail vending area 108. For example, theretail vending module 134 may control dispensing of retail goods from theretail vending area 108 upon receipt of instructions from thecentral processing unit 140. Theretail vending module 134 may also sense the inventory of goods in theretail vending area 108 and provide indications of low inventory levels to thecentral processing unit 140. These and other implementations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. - Referring also to
FIG. 6 , the batterypack rental module 136 controls the batterypack rental area 106 according to instructions from thecentral processing unit 140. As discussed above, the batterypack rental area 106 includes thecarrier bins 114, thecarriers 200 received in thecarrier bins 114, and the battery packs 300 received in thecarriers 200. Thepower distribution module 130 delivers power to each of the carrier bins 114 (as described in more detail below). The batterypack rental module 136 includes abattery communications module 150 and abin dispensing module 152, each in communication with thecentral processing unit 140, and in communication with thecarrier bins 114. Thebattery communications module 150 and thebin dispensing module 152 may be wired with individual communications lines for eachcarrier bin 114 or may be wired with fewer communications lines (e.g., one line) for allcarrier bins 114 with different channels, frequencies or codes communicating between the modules and the receptacles. - The
battery communications module 150 may perform several functions. First, thebattery communications module 150 may sense the state of charge of the batteries in the carriers in thebins 114. Thebattery communications module 150 delivers this information to the central processing unit for storage in the memory/database module 138. Thebattery communications module 150 may also cause the state ofcharge display 120 to indicate the state of charge of the battery packs in thatbin 114. Second, thebattery communications module 150 may sense the condition of the batteries in thebin 114. If, for example, the condition indicates that the batteries have reached or exceeded their useful life, thebattery communications module 150 may communicate this information to thecentral processing unit 140 and disable further renting of those battery packs. Third, thebattery communications module 150, alone or based on instructions from thecentral processing unit 140, may prioritize and control the timing of when thecarriers 200 in each bin 114 are allowed to charge the battery packs in theirbin 114. The prioritization may be based on a variety of parameters (which may be sensed by thebattery communications module 150, decided in an algorithm executed in thecentral processing unit 140 and/or stored in the memory/database module 138), such as the amount of available charging power, the cost of available charging power, the relative states of charge of the battery packs in the bins, the number of battery packs in each bin, the conditions of the battery packs in each bin, and reservation schedules for renting the battery packs in each bin. Further details about the charging of the batteries in the bins are discussed below. - The
bin dispensing module 152 controls when to open the various bins to enable a user to insert or remove acarrier 200 and battery packs 300 into or from the bins. For example, based on a rental order received and/or processed in thecentral processing unit 140 and/or stored in the memory/database module 138, thebin dispensing module 152 may unlock adoor 116 of aparticular bin 114 and enable removal of thecarrier 200 and battery packs 300 in thatbin 114. Similarly, based on a return order received and/or processed in the central processing unit and/or stored in the memory/database module 138, thebin dispensing module 152 may identify anempty bin 114 and unlock thedoor 116 to thatbin 114 to enable insertion of acarrier 200 and battery packs 300 in thebin 114. Finally, thebin dispensing module 152 may monitor or control which of severalavailable carriers 200 should be rented in response to a rental request, based on factors such as the state of charge, age, or condition of the battery packs and the duration that the battery packs have been received in the bins. - Referring also to
FIG. 7 , theexternal communications module 146 enables thecentral processing unit 140 of one ormore kiosks 100 to communicate with each other and with one or more external computing or communication devices, such as one or morecentral servers 160, one or more personal computers orworkstations 162, one or more smartphones ortablet computers 164, etc. Communication between and among thekiosks 100 and thesedevices more telecommunications networks 145 such as internets, intranets, virtual private networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), cellular communications networks, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth® communication networks, LANs, WANs, fiber optic communications networks, cable communications networks, satellite communication networks, etc. In other embodiments, computing devices such as smartphones and tablets may communicate directly with kiosks, bypassing the central servers and the telecommunications networks. The computing devices and communications networks shown inFIGS. 4 and 7 facilitate remote communication and management among owners and customers and kiosks, such as: reserving and ordering rental battery packs; purchasing and reserving retail goods; communicating with users when a rental battery pack is due for return; inventory management of kiosks; locating kiosks with available battery packs for rental at the closest geographic locations, and sending advertisements regarding the kiosk products to customers and potential customers of the kiosks. - In one implementation, operation of the
kiosk 100 may be controlled locally by user interaction with theuser interface 110 on thekiosk 100.FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate anexemplary flow chart 400 for user interaction with theuser interface 110 on the kiosk.FIGS. 10A-16 illustrate exemplary screen shots of theuser interface 110 when implementing theflow chart 400 inFIGS. 8 and 9 . In implementing these flow charts, thecentral processing unit 140 directs the userinterface control module 144 to control theuser interface 110 and thepayment processing area 112. The userinterface control module 144 controls the information that is displayed on thescreen 126, based on instructions from thecentral processing unit 140. The userinterface control module 144 also receives and processes input into the user input device 128 of desired actions such as rentingcarriers 200 and battery packs 300, returningcarriers 200 and battery packs 300, or purchasing retail items, and transmits signals corresponding to this information to thecentral processing unit 140 for further processing. In addition, the userinterface control module 126 receives and processes payments received in thepayment processing area 112, and transmits signals corresponding to this information to thecentral processing unit 140 for further processing. - Referring to
FIG. 8 , atstep 402, the user approaches thekiosk 100 and activates theuser interface 110, e.g., by touching it. Atstep 404 andFIG. 10A , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select a language (e.g., English, Spanish, etc.). Atstep 406 andFIG. 10B , an action prompt requests that the user sign in with an existing user ID and password, register with a new user ID or password, or proceed as a guest without a user ID and password. Atstep 408 andFIG. 10C , theuser interface 110 main menu prompts the user to select among several actions: Rental, Return, Reserve, Retail, Pick-Up Order and Info. - Rental
- Referring to
FIGS. 8 and 11A-11E , if, atstep 408, the user selects Rental, therental subroutine 410 is activated to enable the user to select and rent one ormore carriers 200 and battery packs 300 for rental. Atstep 412 andFIG. 11A , the user interface prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental. As shown inFIG. 11A , the carriers and battery packs may be priced according to the number of packs in the carrier and the state of charge of the packs (e.g., 100%, 80%, 60%, etc.). The user may also be prompted to select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days). - At
step 414 andFIG. 11B , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to review the selected rental battery packs that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart. Atstep 416 andFIG. 11C , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of a rental agreement. Atstep 418, thekiosk 110 may also provide the user with a notification of the rental due date (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt). Atstep 420 andFIG. 11D , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to pay for the rental (e.g., via credit card, voucher, gift card, cash, corporate account, etc.). Atstep 422, thekiosk 110 places a hold on the user's account and/or credit card in an amount to ensure timely return of the rental battery packs (e.g., for the retail value of the carrier and battery packs). Atstep 424, thebin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one or more thebin doors 116 to enable the user, atstep 426, to retrieve the rented carrier(s) and associated battery pack(s). As shown inFIG. 11E , theuser interface 110 may indicate to the user which bin(s) have been unlocked. Atstep 428, the user closes the bin door(s), thus ending the transaction atstep 429. A record of the rental transaction (including, e.g., an identifier of carrier and battery packs rented, payment information, credit card hold information, and user ID) is stored in the memory/database module 138, and may also be communicated by theexternal communications module 146 to a central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone. - Return
- Referring to
FIGS. 8 and 12A-12D , if, atstep 408, the user selects Return, thereturn subroutine 430 is executed to enable a user to return a previously rented carrier and associated battery packs. Atstep 432 andFIG. 12A , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to identify the carriers and packs to be returned by swiping the credit card used in the previous transaction or by inputting a login ID and password. Atstep 434, theuser interface 110 communicates the previous payment information to thecentral processing unit 140, which retrieves from the memory/database module 138 the record containing the identification information and quantify of thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 rented. Atstep 436 andFIG. 12B , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to choose which ones and how many of the rented carriers and battery packs to return to thekiosk 100. Atstep 438 andFIG. 12C , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to identify any of the rented battery packs 300 that may be damaged or underperforming. - At
step 440, thebin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one ormore bin doors 116 to enable the user to return the carriers and battery packs. As shown inFIG. 12D , theuser interface 110 identifies whichbins 114 have been unlocked for return of thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300. Atstep 442, the user returns thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 to theopen bins 114. Atstep 444, thekiosk 100 verifies that thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 are the ones that should be returned. This can be performed, for example, by scanning a bar code or QR code on the carrier and/or battery packs, by sensing an RFID tag on the carrier and/or battery packs, or by identification of a electronic signal generated by the carriers and/or battery packs. Atstep 446, thecentral processing unit 140 causes thebin dispensing module 152 to lock the bin door(s) 116 to thebins 114 into which thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 have been returned. Atstep 448, thecentral processing unit 140 interfaces with the memory/database module 138 and theexternal communications module 146 to release the hold on the user's credit card or corporate account, thus terminating the return transaction atstep 449. - Reserve
- Referring to
FIGS. 8 and 13A-13F , if, atstep 408, the user selects Reserve, then thereserve subroutine 450 is executed to enable a user to reserve arental carrier 200 and battery packs 300 for a later time. Atstep 452 andFIG. 13A , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select a future date and time for a reservation for acarrier 200 and battery packs 300. Atstep 454 andFIG. 13B , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental. The price may be based on the number of packs rented and their state of charge. In other implementations, the user may select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days). Atstep 456 andFIG. 13C , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to review an electronic shopping cart into which the rental selections have been placed. Atstep 458 andFIG. 13D , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of the rental agreement. Atstep 460, thekiosk 110 provides the user with a notification of the rental date and time (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt). Atstep 462 andFIG. 13E , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to process a payment for the rental (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, etc.). Atstep 464, thekiosk 110 places a hold on the user's account and/or credit card in to hold the reservation. Atstep 466, thecentral processing unit 140 stores a record corresponding to the reservation in the memory/database module 138 and/or causes theexternal communications module 146 to place a record of the reservation in thecentral server 160, thus ending the Reserve transaction atstep 468. - At
step 470 and as shown inFIG. 13F , at a later time closer to the reservation date and time, thecentral processing unit 140 or thecentral server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification. The user is given the option to obtain directions to thekiosk 100, review the order, or cancel or modify the order. The user then proceeds to thekiosk 100 to pick up the rented carriers and battery packs, as described below. - Pick-Up
- Referring to
FIGS. 8 and 14A-14D , in the Pick-Up subroutine, atstep 472, the user arrives at thekiosk 100. Atstep 474 andFIG. 14A , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to provide the payment method used for the previous transaction (e.g., by swiping the credit card used in the payment processing area 112) or to input an account login ID and password. Atstep 476, theuser interface 110 communicates the previous payment information or account ID and password to thecentral processing unit 140, which retrieves from the memory/database module 138 or a central server 160 a record containing identification information and quantity of thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 that have been reserved. Atstep 478 andFIG. 14B , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to rent additional carriers and battery packs (as described above with respect to the Rental subroutine) or purchase additional goods (as described below with respect to the Retail subroutine). Atstep 480 andFIG. 14C , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to review the shopping cart, which now includes any additional rental battery packs or retail goods that have been ordered. - At
step 482 andFIG. 14D , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to use the payment processing area to process a payment for the additional rental or retail goods (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash, etc.). Atstep 484, thebin dispensing module 152 unlocks and/or opens one or more thebin doors 116 to enable the user, atstep 486, to retrieve the rented carrier(s) 200 and associated battery pack(s) 300. As shown inFIG. 14E , theuser interface 110 indicates to the user which bin(s) have been unlocked. Atstep 488, the user closes the bin door(s), thus ending the transaction atstep 489. A record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of carrier and battery packs rented, payment information, credit card hold information, and user ID) is stored in the memory/database module 138, and may also be communicated by theexternal communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone. - Retail
- Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 15A-15G , if, atstep 408, the user selects Retail, then theretail subroutine 490 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products through thekiosk 100. Atstep 492 andFIG. 15A , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select between Onsite purchases and Online purchases. If, atstep 492, the user selects Onsite, then theOnsite subroutine 494 is executed. Atstep 495 andFIG. 15B , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select the item and quantity from among the items available for immediate sale in theretail vending area 108. Atstep 496 andFIG. 15C , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to review the selected items that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart. Atstep 498 andFIG. 15D , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to use thepayment processing area 112 to process a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash etc.). Atstep 500, thekiosk 100 dispenses the item and provides a receipt for the purchase (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, or printed receipt), thus ending the transaction atstep 502. A record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module 138, and may also be communicated by theexternal communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone. - If, at
step 492, the user selects Online, then the online subroutine 504 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products not available onsite in thekiosk 100. Atstep 506 andFIG. 15E , theuser interface 110 may prompt the user to select from among a plurality of manufacturers or retailers of products similar to those sold in the kiosk. Atstep 508 andFIG. 15F , theuser interface 110 may display an online e-commerce website of a selected manufacturer or retailer of products to enable online ordering just as one would do on the traditional e-commerce website. For example, theexternal communications module 146 may communicate, via the internet, and download to theuser interface 110 the e-commerce website of the selected manufacturer or retailer or a specially designed e-commerce app or interface for display on theuser interface 110. The user then shops on the e-commerce website for the desired goods to be purchased. Atstep 510 andFIG. 15G , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to use thepayment processing area 112 to process a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, voucher, corporate account, cash, etc.). The machine then dispenses a receipt for the purchase (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, or printed receipt), thus ending the transaction atstep 512. A record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module 138, and may also be communicated by theexternal communications module 146 to the central server and/or to the user's computing device or mobile phone. - Information
- Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 16 , if, atstep 408, the user selects Info, then theinformation subroutine 520 is executed to enable a user to obtain certain information and assistance via theuser interface 110. In theinformation subroutine 520, and as shown inFIG. 16 , theuser interface 110 prompts the user to select among a menu of information options, including at least one or more of the following options. For each option, the information displayed on theuser interface 110 may be stored locally in the memory/database module 138 or remotely at acentral server 160 or elsewhere on the internet, and may be retrieved by instructions from thecentral processing unit 140 and/orexternal communications module 146, and displayed on theuser interface 110 by the userinterface control module 144. - At option 522, the
user interface 110 enables the user to register for an account or review and modify account information such as user ID, password, credit card, corporate account number, etc. Atoption 524, theuser interface 110 enables the user to review his or her history for battery pack rental usage. At option 526, theuser interface 110 enables the user to view targeted advertising and promotions, such as video promotions directed to products similar to those previously purchased by that user. Atoption 528, theuser interface 110 allows the user to review the battery pack rental agreement policy. Atoption 530, theuser interface 110 allows the user to view other kiosk locations, and to review the inventory for battery pack rentals and retail vending at these other locations. Atoption 532, theuser interface 110 enables the user to obtain information about obtaining a kiosk at a new location, such as a worksite or jobsite. Atoption 534, theuser interface 110 enables the user to compare the cost of operating gas powered power tools vs. the cost of battery pack rentals for cordless power tools. - At
option 536, theuser interface 110 allows the user to send an invitation (such as an e-mail or text message) to friends or colleagues, inviting them to try the kiosk. Atoption 538, theuser interface 110 displays instructional videos, such as how to use the carrier, how the battery pack rentals work, etc. Atoption 540, theuser interface 110 links to an app store or displays a QR code that can be scanned by the user's smartphone, to enable the user to download an app to allow for interaction with thekiosk 110, as described below. Atoption 542, theuser interface 110 allows the user to view a local weather forecast. Atoption 544, theuser interface 110 allows the user to contact a service center (e.g., via electronic mail or live online chat). Atoption 546, theuser interface 110 allows the user to report a problem with the kiosk or the rental carriers or battery packs. Atoption 548, the user can complete a form to leave a comment or suggestion for the owner of the kiosk. - Referring to
FIGS. 17-22 , modified versions of the Reserve, Retail, and Info transactions may be implemented remotely on a mobile smartphone or tablet computer app or on a website accessed via a user's personal computer. The smartphone, tablet, or personal computer communicates, via a telecommunications network, with one ormore kiosks 100 and/or with one or central servers, as illustrated inFIG. 6 . The smartphone app will be described in detail below. However, it should be understood that a tablet app or a website can be implemented with similar functionality.FIG. 17 is aflow chart 600 that illustrates some of the functionality of an app.FIGS. 18-22 are smartphone screenshots that illustrate some of the functionality of an app. These and other implementations are within the scope of this disclosure. - Referring to
FIGS. 17 and 18A-18B , the user first selects a type of transaction to be performed. Atstep 602, andFIG. 18A , an action prompt requests that the user sign in with an existing user ID and password or register with a new user ID or password. Atstep 604 andFIG. 18B , the main menu prompts the user to select among several actions: Reserve, Retail, and Information. - Reserve
- Referring to
FIGS. 17 and 19A-19G , if, atstep 604, the user selects Reserve, then thereserve subroutine 610 is executed to enable a user to reserve arental carrier 200 and battery packs 300 for pick up from akiosk 100 at a later time. Atstep 612 andFIG. 19A , the app prompts the user to select a geographic location for akiosk 100. The app may access the smartphone's location services to find the kiosks located closest to the user at that time. Alternatively, the user may be prompted to enter an address or zip code to find thekiosks 100 closest to the particular address or zip code. The kiosks may be viewed in a map view or by address. Atstep 614 andFIG. 19B , the app prompts the user to select a future date and time for a reservation for rentingcarriers 200 and battery packs 300. Atstep 454 andFIG. 19C , the app prompts the user to select the number of carriers and battery packs for rental. The price may be based on the number of packs rented and their state of charge. In other implementations, the user may select the type of battery packs (e.g., voltage, wattage, capacity, etc.) and/or the rental duration (e.g., number of hours or days). Atstep 618 andFIG. 19D , the app prompts the user to review an electronic shopping cart into which the rental selections have been placed. Atstep 620 andFIG. 19E , the app prompts the user to confirm agreement with the terms of the rental agreement. - At
step 622, the app provides the user with a notification of the rental date and time (e.g., via a text message, an e-mail, or a printed receipt). Atstep 624 andFIG. 19F , the app prompts the user for payment information for the rental (e.g., via credit card, debit card, or corporate account). Atstep 626, the app places a hold on the user's corporate account and/or credit card in to hold the reservation. Atstep 628 the transaction ends with the app communicating with thekiosk 100 and/or the central server to store a record corresponding to the reservation. Atstep 629 and as shown inFIG. 19G , at a later time closer to the reservation date and time, thecentral processing unit 140 or thecentral server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification. The user is given the option to obtain directions to thekiosk 110, review the order, or cancel or modify the order. The user then proceeds to thekiosk 110 to pick up the rented carriers and battery packs, as described in the Pick-Up transaction above. - Retail
- Referring to
FIGS. 17 and 20A-20E , if, atstep 604, the user selects Retail, then theretail subroutine 630 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products via the kiosk rental app. Atstep 632 andFIG. 20A , the app prompts the user to select between Kiosk purchases (for pick-up at the kiosk) and Online purchases (for home delivery or pick-up at a retailer). If, atstep 632, the user selects Kiosk, then theKiosk subroutine 634 is executed. Atstep 636 andFIG. 20B , the app prompts the user to select a geographic location for akiosk 100. The app may access the smartphone's location services to find the kiosk(s) located closest to the user at that time. Alternatively, the user may be prompted to enter an address or zip code to find thekiosks 100 closest to the particular address or zip code. The kiosks may be viewed in a map view or by address. Atstep 638 andFIG. 20B , the app prompts the user to select the item and quantity from among the items available for immediate sale in theretail vending area 108 of thekiosk 100. At step 640 andFIG. 20C , the app prompts the user to review the selected items that have been placed into an electronic shopping cart. Atstep 642 andFIG. 20D , the app prompts the user to make a payment for the purchase, e.g., via credit card, debit card, corporate account, etc. Atstep 644, the transaction ends with the app communicating with thekiosk 100 and/or the central server to store a record corresponding to the reservation. At step 646 and as shown inFIG. 20E , at a later time, thecentral processing unit 140 or thecentral server 160 causes an electronic reminder to be sent to the user, e.g., via text message, automated phone call, e-mail, or app notification. The user is given the option to obtain directions to thekiosk 110, review the order, or cancel or modify the order. The user then proceeds to thekiosk 110 to pick up the purchased items. The reserved retail products may be held for the user for a limited period of time, after which, if the user fails to pick up the products, they are returned to the inventory and the user's payment is refunded. - If, at
step 632, the user selects Online, then theonline subroutine 650 is executed to enable a user to purchase retail products from an online e-commerce website or store. Atstep 652, the app may prompt the user to select from among a plurality of manufacturers or retailers of products similar to those sold in the kiosk. Atstep 654, the app may display or link to an online e-commerce website, app, or specially designed user interface of a selected manufacturer or retailer of products to enable online ordering just as one would do on the traditional e-commerce website. The user then shops on the e-commerce website for the desired goods to be purchased. Atstep 656, the app or the e-commerce website prompts the user to make a payment for the purchase (e.g., via credit card, debit card, corporate account, etc.). The app then sends a receipt for the purchase to the user (e.g., via electronic mail, text message, etc.), thus ending the transaction atstep 658. A record of the transaction (including, e.g., identifier of items purchased, payment information, user ID, etc.) may be stored in the memory/database module, and may also be communicated by the external communications module to the central server. - Information
- Referring to
FIGS. 17 and 21 , if, atstep 602, the user selects Information, then theinformation subroutine 660 is executed to enable a user to obtain certain information and assistance via the app. In theinformation subroutine 660, and as shown inFIG. 21 , the display screen prompts the user to select among a menu of information options, including at least one or more of the following options. For each option, the information displayed to the user may be stored locally in the app, or remotely at acentral server 160 or elsewhere on the internet. - At
option 662, the app enables the user to register for an account or review and modify account information such as user ID, password, credit card, corporate account number, etc. Atoption 664, the app enables the user to review his or her history for battery pack rental usage. Atoption 666, the app enables the user to view targeted advertising and promotions, such as video promotions directed to products similar to those previously purchased by that user. Atoption 668, the app allows the user to review the battery pack rental agreement policy. Atoption 670, the app allows the user to search for kiosk locations, and to review the inventory for battery pack rentals and retail vending at these locations. Atoption 672, the app enables the user to obtain information about obtaining a kiosk at a new location, such as a worksite or jobsite. Atoption 674, theuser interface 110 enables the user to compare the cost of operating gas powered power tools vs. the cost of battery pack rentals for cordless power tools. - At
option 676, the app allows the user to send an invitation (such as an e-mail or text message) to friends or colleagues, inviting them to try the kiosk or the kiosk app. Atoption 678, the app displays instructional videos, such as how to use the carrier, how the battery pack rentals work, etc. Atoption 680, the app allows the user to view a local weather forecast. Atoption 682, the app allows the user to contact a service center (e.g., via electronic mail or live online chat). Atoption 684, the app allows the user to report a problem with a kiosk or rental carriers or battery packs. Atoption 686, the user can complete a form to leave a comment or suggestion for the owner of the kiosk. - Referring to
FIG. 22 , the app can also provide in app notifications 690 or e-mail or text notifications to remind a user when rental carriers and battery packs are due to be returned to the kiosk. This notification may be stored locally in the app (running in the background) or may be pushed to the user's smartphone from the central server. For example, as shown inFIG. 22 , the app notifies the user that the rental carriers and packs are due to be returned in three hours. - Referring to
FIG. 23 , thepower distribution module 130 is coupled to a source of externalelectrical power 132, e.g., an AC mains line, batteries, solar panels, a generator, etc. via a plug orconnector 133. Thepower distribution module 130 distributes the electrical power to the other areas and modules of thekiosk 100, including to the batterypack rental area 106 andmodule 136, theretail vending area 108 andmodule 134, theuser interface 110 andmodule 144, and theadvertising display area 104 andmodule 142. Thepower distribution module 130 may include circuits to modify, rectify, transform, divide, modulate, regulate and/or invert the incoming electrical signals for distribution to the various areas and modules of thekiosk 100 by means known to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, thepower distribution module 130 may transform an incoming AC signal to a DC signal to distribute to some of the components. In addition, thepower distribution module 130 may include one or more fuses orcircuit breakers 131 to prevent overload of the circuits in the various modules of thekiosk 100. - Alternatively, an exemplary power distribution module is coupled to a 240V, 50 A power source such as an
AC mains line 132. Thepower distribution 130 splits the 240V AC power source into two 120V AC power sources. distributed over a power bus or power supply lines. Thepower distribution module 130 distributes the 120V AC power supply to each bin 114 over a power bus orpower supply line 135. Thepower distribution module 130 may include afuse 131, for example a 10A fuse, on the AC power supply line prior to thebins 114. Thepower distribution module 130 also provides power to theCPU 140. Either thepower distribution module 130 or theCPU 140 may include circuitry to convert the 120V AC power supply to the appropriate voltage for theCPU 140, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. - Also illustrated in
FIG. 23 arecommunication lines 137 between theCPU 140 and each of thebins 114. As noted above, eachbin 114 includes acommunications connector 178 and as discussed in more detail below, eachcarrier 200 includes a communications connector that is configured to couple to thebin communications connector 178. These communications connectors allow theCPU 140 to monitor and communicate with thebins 114, thecarriers 200 and thebatteries 300 to manage receiving, dispensing, and renting thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300, and monitoring and/or managing the charging of the battery packs 300 by thecarriers 200. - Referring to
FIG. 24 , there is illustrated a view of thebin 114 from a front side of thekiosk 100 including anexemplary carrier 200. As noted above, thebin 114 includes twosidewalls 170, atop wall 172 and abottom wall 174. As also noted above, each of the sidewalls includes therails 184. Also illustrated inFIG. 24 is thebin communications connector 178 coupled to thecarrier communications connector 216 and thebin power connector 180 coupled to the carrier ACpower input connector 212. - Also referring to
FIGS. 25-29 , theillustrated carrier 200 includes a housing 202 and a carryinghandle 206. Thecarrier housing 200 includes side walls. Each of the sidewalls includes alongitudinal groove 220. Eachcarrier housing groove 220 is configured to receive one of the bin sidewall rails 184 when thecarrier 200 is received in thebin 114. Thesegrooves 220 andrails 184 insure that the carrier ACpower input connector 212, thecarrier communications connector 216 and the charge/discharge switch 222 align with thebin power connector 180, thebin communications connector 178, and thebin extension 182, respectively, when thecarrier 200 is received in thebin 114. Therails 184 may be adjustable to accommodatevarious size carriers 200. Therails 184 may serve to keep thecarrier 200 raised from thebottom wall 174 to allow air cooling of thecarrier 200 when the battery packs 300 are being charged inside thebin 114. - The
carrier 200 may also include a door or cover 204. Thecover 204 may be transparent. The carrier housing 202 includes a plurality of receptacles 208. Each receptacle 208 is configured to receive one the rechargeable, removable battery packs 300. Thecover 204 may be configured to allow access to a plurality of the receptacles 208. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, there may be anindividual cover 204 for each receptacle 208. The cover(s) may include latching system elements configured to operate with corresponding latching system elements on the carrier housing 202 to fix thecover 204 to the housing 202 and to allow a user to open and close the door(s). Thecarrier 200 may include one or more security features, e.g., loops or latches 209 to receive one or more user applied padlocks 210 or other security locking devices to lock the cover(s) 204 to the carrier housing 202. - In the disclosed exemplary embodiment, the housing 202 includes six receptacles 208 a-f for receiving six
battery packs 300 a-f, respectively. However, it should be understood that thecarrier 200 may have any number of receptacles 208 for receiving a corresponding number of battery packs 300. - As illustrated in
FIGS. 29A and 29B , each receptacle 208 includes aterminal block 256 for electrically coupling thebattery pack 300 to the internal circuitry of thecarrier 200. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the battery packs 300 may be convertible battery packs, as disclosed and described in provisional U.S. Patent Application Nos. 61/944,953 filed May 18, 2014, 62/000,112 filed May 19, 2014 and 62/046,546 filed Sep. 5, 2014, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/715,258, filed May 18, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. The battery packs 300 may be any one of the embodiments described in the aforementioned provisional applications. As such, the carrier terminal block would be configured in the same manner as the power tool terminal block for a corresponding convertible battery pack as disclosed and described in the aforementioned U.S. Provisional applications. The exemplary battery packs 300 are 20V/60V rated voltage battery packs, however battery packs 300 having other rated voltages are contemplated and encompassed by the present disclosure. Additionally, in alternate exemplary embodiments, the battery packs 300 may be non-convertible battery packs such as the battery packs disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,787, which is incorporated herein by reference. These battery packs 300 may be any of a variety of rated voltages, for example 20V, 40V, 60V, etc. - The housing 202 also includes an AC
power input connector 212, e.g., a 3prong 120 VAC male plug or female receptacle, a universal DCpower input connector 214 for connecting to a DC power supply, e.g., a 12V car charger port, a USB port, and/or a trailer adapter port, and acommunications connector 216, e.g., a USB port, a serial port, or a set of electrical contacts. Thecarrier 200 also includes apower output connector 218. In a first exemplary embodiment, thepower output connector 218 is an AC power output connector. In a second exemplary embodiment, thepower output connector 218 is a DC power output connector. Thecarrier 200 also includes aswitch 222 for switching between a charging mode of operation that charges the battery packs 300 using electrical power input through thepower input connectors power output connector 218. Alternatively, theexternal switch 222 may be replaced with an automatic internal switch and a current sensor for the AC and DC power inputs such that the internal switch switches to charging mode when the current sensor senses an input current and switches to discharge mode when the current sensor does not sense an input current. - As noted above, the
kiosk 100 includes thepower supply line 135 coupled to thebin power connector 180 of eachbin 114. Thebin power connector 180 is configured to electrically and mechanically couple with the carrier ACpower input connector 212 when thecarrier 200 is received in thebin 114. Also as noted above, thekiosk 100 includes thecommunications line 137 coupled to thebin communications connector 178. The bin communications connector is configured to electrically and mechanically couple with thecarrier communications connector 216 when thecarrier 200 is received in thebin 114. As described in greater detail below, when thecarrier 200 is received in thebin 114, thecommunications line 137 and thecommunications connectors kiosk 100 and thecarrier 200 to manage and/or control when and how the power delivered through thepower input line 135 is used to charge the battery packs 300. - As illustrated in the simplified schematic of
FIG. 30 , thecarrier 200 includes a plurality of electrical and electronic components for monitoring, managing and/or controlling the charging and discharging of the battery packs 300. More particularly, thecarrier 200 includes a system management unit (SMU) 250. The SMU 250 may be configured as a single printed circuit assembly or may be configured as two printedcircuit assemblies FIG. 30 —or may be configured as more than two printed circuit assemblies. The SMU 250 may include a processor and may include a charge/discharge control module 252. Thecarrier 200 may be configured to include a charge/discharge control module 252 for eachbattery 300—as illustrated inFIG. 30 —or may include a single charge/discharge control module 252 for all of thebatteries 300 or may include some other number of charge/discharge control modules. As discussed in more detail below, the charge/discharge control modules 252 communicate with the SMU 250 which in turn communicates with thekiosk 100 through a plurality ofcommunication lines 254 connected to thecommunication connector 216. - Each receptacle 208 includes a
terminal block 256 and eachbattery pack 300 includes aterminal block 310. Furthermore, the charge/discharge control modules 252 are electrically connected to the battery packs 300 via thereceptacle terminal block 256 and the batterypack terminal block 310. The charge/discharge control module 252 controls a plurality ofswitches 258 to provide a charging current to the battery packs 300 through the carrierpower supply lines 260, thereceptacle terminal block 256 and the batterypack terminal block 310—as will be discussed in more detail below. - The SMU 250 also communicates with a
power supply 262 coupled to the ACpower input connector 212 and apower supply 264 coupled to the DCpower input connector 214. TheAC power supply 262 may be, for example, a 120 VAC to 60 VDC power supply and theDC power supply 264 may be, for example, a 12 VDC to 60 VDC power supply to supply power to the battery packs 300. The power supplies 262, 264 will be configured to provide a charging voltage equal to the rated charging voltage of the battery pack configuration of aparticular carrier 200. For example, if all of the battery packs are 60 V battery packs then the power supplies will be configured to provide a 60 VDC output. Alternatively, if all of the battery packs are 20 V battery packs then the power supplies will be configured to provide a 20 VDC output. - The SMU 250 also communicates with an
inverter 266. Theinverter 266 may be a pure sine wave inverter, a modified sign wave inverter, a pulse wave inverter or any other inverter capable of providing an AC output signal or an approximated AC output signal for providing power to AC electrical and electronic devices. Theinverter 266 is electrically connected to thepower output connector 218. In the exemplary embodiment, the inverter is a 189 VDC to 120 VAC, square wave approximation of sine wave inverter. In an alternate embodiment, thecarrier 200 does not include an inverter and only provides DC output power. - The SMU 250 is also electrically connected to the discharge/
charge mode switch 222. Generally speaking, when theswitch 222 is in the charge position, a charge signal is sent to the SMU 250. In turn, the SMU 250 sends a signal to theinverter 266 to turn theinverter 266 off, sends a signal to thepower supply power supply switches 258 to close theswitches 258 to selectively connect the battery packs 300 to the power supplies 262, 264. Depending upon thebattery pack 300 status and thecarrier 200 status, the SMU 250 and the charge/discharge control modules 252 will operate to charge theappropriate carriers 200 and battery packs 300. - Generally speaking, when the
switch 222 is in the discharge position, a discharge signal is sent to the SMU 250. In turn, the SMU 250 sends a signal to theinverter 266 to turn theinverter 266 on, sends a signal to thepower supply power supply switches 258 to selectively open theswitches 258 to disconnect the battery packs 300 from the power supplies 262, 264. - The
carrier 200 may also include a plurality of door switches 268. The door switches 268 ensure that the terminal blocks of an empty receptacle are not of a dangerous electrical potential when thedoor 204 is open. More particularly if thedoor 204 is open and tworeceptacles third receptacle 208 c does not have abattery pack 300 c inserted therein a voltage across the empty terminal block could be approximately 60V. And if the door was open and the door switches were not present a user could conceivably touch the terminals at a dangerous electrical potential and receive a potentially dangerous shock. As such, when thedoor 204 is open all three door switches 268 a, 268 b, 268 c will be open. This will provide an open circuit between carrier receptacle terminal blocks and prevent potential shocks when not all of the receptacles include battery packs 300. - In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the
carrier 200 does not include a charger and thekiosk 100 does include a charger. In this embodiment, the battery packs 300 may only be charged when thecarrier 200 is in thekiosk bin 114 or connected to a separate charger that could provide equivalent charging functionality to that of thekiosk 100. - The
carrier 200 can communicate with each of the plurality of battery packs 300 for purposes of identifying aparticular battery pack 300, performing a status diagnosis of thebattery pack 300 and/or reporting data logging associated with thebattery pack 300. Thecarrier 200 can communicate with thekiosk 100 through thecarrier communication lines 306, thecarrier communication connector 216, thebin communication connector 178 and thekiosk communication lines 137 when thecarrier 200 is in thekiosk bin 114 for transferring information regarding the status and health of the battery packs 300 andcarrier 200, regarding the identification of the battery packs 300, regarding the data logging information associated with the battery packs 300, and for receiving charge instructions from thekiosk 100. - When the
carrier 200 is received in thebin 114 thekiosk 100 may provide charging power to thecarrier 200 through the kioskpower supply lines 135, thebin power connector 180, the carrier ACpower input connector 212, theAC power supply 262, and the carrierpower supply lines 260. When thecarrier 200 is not in thekiosk 100, alternate power sources may provide charging power to thecarrier 200. For example, an AC mains line power supply may provide charging power to thecarrier 200 through a power supply cord connected to the carrier ACpower input connector 212, the carrierAC power supply 262 and the carrierpower supply lines 260. Alternately, for example, an automotive power supply, a solar power supply or a trailer power supply may provide charging power to thecarrier 200 through a supply cord connected to the carrier DCpower input connector 214, the carrierDC power supply 264 and the carrierpower supply lines 260. - Referring to
FIG. 32 , in an exemplary embodiment, thekiosk 100 may include software and/or hardware programmed to implement aprocess 700 to actively manage the charging ofmultiple carriers 200 and battery packs 300 received in thebins 114. Atstep 702, each time acarrier 200 is returned to thekiosk 100, thekiosk CPU 140 queries returnedcarrier 200 for information about the authentication ID (step 704), the state of charge (step 706), the DC impedance (step 708), data-logging information (e.g., time uses, charge cycles, shutdowns, etc.) (step 710), faults (step 712), and charge readiness state (step 714) for each pack in each carrier. Atstep 716, this information is stored in the kiosk memory/database module 138, transmitted to thecentral server 160, and/or associated with one or more user accounts. Atstep 718, if there is an invalid pack ID or fault, the user is informed of the fault and prompted for action (e.g., prompting the user to remove the faulty carrier and battery packs and to insert the correct carrier and battery packs into the bins). - At
step 720, thekiosk CPU 140 queries each of thecarriers 200 stored in thekiosk 100 for their system state. For example, atstep 722, thekiosk CPU 140 queries the state of charge for each of thecarriers 200 and battery packs 300 stored in thekiosk 100. Atstep 724, thekiosk CPU 140 queries whichcarriers 200 and battery packs 300 are ready for charging. Atstep 726, thekiosk CPU 140 queries whichcarriers 200 and battery packs 300 are currently charging and in which mode of charging. Atstep 730, thekiosk CPU 140 prioritizes the charging order of thecarriers 200 based on a variety of preference rules, such as, for example, which battery packs 300 are near full state of charge or end of charging (step 730), which battery packs 300 have better performance (e.g., capacity, impedance) (step 732), whencertain carriers 200 and battery packs 300 are reserved for future rental (step 734), and limits on total power delivery capability of the kiosk (step 736). - At
step 738, a charge enable signal is delivered via thecommunications connectors step 740, thecarriers 200 that have received the charge enable signals charge the battery packs 300 located in thosecarriers 200. Atstep 742, eachcarrier 200 sends a disable signal to thekiosk CPU 140 when the charging is complete, when the battery packs 300 orcarriers 200 exceed a temperature threshold, or when there is a fault in the charging. Upon sending the disable signal, thecarrier 200 will stop charging the battery packs, and theCPU 140 will send a charge enable signal to thenext carrier 200 in the priority order. Atstep 744, theCPU 140 queries thecarriers 200 as to whether all of the battery packs 300 in eachcarrier 200 are fully charged. If not, then theCPU 140 returns to step 728 to reassign priority to thecarriers 200. If all battery packs 300 are fully charged, then atstep 746, the kiosk switches to a battery pack standby management mode in which it maintains the state of charge of all of the battery packs received in the kiosk. - The
carrier 200 can output a power supply signal from the powersupply output connector 218 in the form of a waveform that is an approximation of an AC mains line power supply allowing the carrier output to operate nearly all corded electrical devices, including for example, power tools and home appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, etc. - Referring to
FIG. 31 , there is illustrated anexemplary battery pack 300. As noted above, thebattery pack 300 may be a convertible battery pack, for example any one of the battery packs disclosed and described in the above-referenced U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/944,953 filed May 18, 2014, 62/000,112 filed May 19, 2014 and 62/046,546 filed Sep. 5, 2014. As such, thebattery pack 300 will not be described in detail. Thebattery pack 300 includes a plurality ofcells 306. Thebattery pack 300 also includes abattery terminal block 310. Thebattery terminal block 310 includes a plurality of battery terminals 312. The battery terminals 312 include a first subset ofterminals 312 a that serve aspower terminals 312 a and a second subset ofterminals 312 b that serve as communications orsignal terminals 312 b. Thebattery pack 300 also includes a printedcircuit assembly 314. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, thePCA 314 is unique to arental battery pack 300. For example, therental PCA 314 may allow for 60V charging. Furthermore, therental PCA 314 may include a clock and generate an expiration disable signal to disable the battery pack after a certain rental period has ended. This disable signal could be transmitted from thebattery PCA 314 to thecarrier 200. Therental PCA 314 may also include authentication and serial number information for communication to thecarrier 200 to ensure that only appropriate battery packs are being used in conjunction with thecarrier 200. Thebattery PCA 314 may also include a processor and a memory element, for example, an EEPROM to store the aforementioned information and other battery related information. In alternate embodiments, the battery pack may be a standard retail battery pack with astandard PCA 314 that operates with thecarrier 200, the carrier SMU 250 and the charge/discharge control module 252. - The battery pack may also be discharged into an electrical device (e.g., a power tool) independent of the carrier by connecting the battery pack directly to the electrical device via the
battery terminal block 310. In this case, the discharge circuitry may be located inside of the electrical device, may be incorporated into the battery pack, or some combination thereof. Further, thebattery pack 300 may be able to be charged by a separate charger independent of thecarrier 200 by connecting thebattery pack 300 directly to the charger via the batterypack terminal block 310. The charging circuitry may be located in the charger, in thebattery pack 300, or in some combination thereof. In certain embodiments, thebattery pack 300 may be connected to an alternative charging and discharging electrical device such as a radio charger. - Also illustrated in
FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of thereceptacle terminal block 256. Thereceptacle terminal block 256 includes a plurality of carrier terminals 270. The carrier terminals 270 include a first subset ofterminals 270 a that serve aspower terminals 270 a and a second subset ofterminals 270 b that serve as communications orsignal terminals 270 b. As noted above, thecarrier 200 includes the charge/discharge control module 252. The charge/discharge control module 252 is connected to thecarrier terminal block 256 by thecommunication lines 272 which in turn are connected to the carrier communication/signal terminals 270 b. The charge/discharge control module 252 also controls the carrier charge control switches 258 to enable/disable charging of the battery packs 300. The charge/discharge control module 252 may also be connected to thepower discharge lines 274 to enable/disable discharging of the battery packs 300. The charge/discharge control module 252 may also process and/or transmit the communication signals from thebattery pack 300 to the SMU 250. - Referring again to
FIG. 30 , thecarrier 200 may discharge in various configurations. For example, if thereceptacles inverter 266—the threebattery packs inverter 266. However, if one of the receptacles, for example 208 a, does not have abattery pack 300 a therein the circuit will be open and the other twobattery packs battery packs carrier 200 may be used to operate various electrical devices for example, the convertible battery packs 300 d, 300 e could be used to provide power to two 20V rated voltage power tools and thebattery pack 300 f could be used to provide power to a 60V rated voltage power tool. Alternatively, thebattery pack 300 d could be used to provide power to a 20V rated voltage power tool and the battery packs 300 e, 300 f could be used to provide power to a 120V rated voltage AC/DC power tool. - The
carrier 200 may also provide an AC power supply when the carrier is connected to an AC input power source. Particularly, when thecarrier 200 is connected to an AC power supply, for example an AC mains line, thecarrier 200 could operate as a power supply pass through by employing a switch and thereby bypassing theinternal power supply 314 and the inverter 318 and providing an AC power supply directly from theAC input connector 212 to theAC output connector 218. Alternatively, when thecarrier 200 is connected to an AC power supply, for example an AC mains line, and there are threebattery packs carrier 200 can provide AC power supply out from the battery packs 300 a, 300 b, 300 c through theinverter 266 andpower output connector 218 and when power is not being drawn from the battery packs 300/inverter 266, thecarrier 200 can charge the battery packs 300 a, 300b 300 c. Alternatively, if there are more than threebattery packs 300 in thecarrier 200 and thecarrier 200 is connected to an AC power supply, thecarrier 200 can provide an AC power supply out from three of the battery packs 300 a, 300 b, 300 c while simultaneously charging the remaining battery packs 300 d and/or 300 e and/or 300 f. - The
carrier 200 may also provide very high power output to a specializedhigh power connector 230. In a first exemplary embodiment, if all six of the receptacles 208 a-f have 60V battery packs 300 a-f, DC power may be sourced directly from the battery packs 300 a-f—bypassing theinverter 266—and permitting a larger power output on the specializedhigh power connector 230 than would otherwise be possible within the limitations of theinverter 266 or the AC mains line with a circuit limitation, e.g., a circuit breaker. Thespecialized connector 230 may be configured to restrict the DC power supply for a line of power tools specifically configured to operate with thecarrier 200 in this mode. -
FIGS. 33-41 schematically illustrate relationships between thecarriers 200, the battery packs 300 and a variety of power tools and other electrical devices.FIG. 33 schematically illustrates that thecarrier 200 may be used to store and charge a plurality of the battery packs 300. In addition, the battery packs may be used to power a variety ofpower tools 800 including a set of low rated voltage DC power tools 802 (e.g., under 40V, such as 4V, 8V, 12V, 18V, 20V, 24V and/or 36V), a set of medium rated voltage DC power tools 804 (e.g., 40V to 80V, such as 40V, 54V, 60V, 72V, and/or 80V), and a set of high rated voltage DC-only or AC/DC power tools 806 (e.g., 100V to 240V, such as 100V, 110V, 120V, 220V, 230V and/or 240V). In one embodiment, the battery packs 300 may include one or more convertible battery packs, each of which may be converted between (1) a first rated voltage and a first rated capacity and (2) a second rated voltage and a second rated capacity that are different than the first rated voltage and the first rated capacity. For example, a convertible battery pack may be convertible between a low rated voltage that corresponds to the low ratedvoltage power tools 802 and a medium rated voltage that corresponds to the medium ratedvoltage power tools 804. In this case, aconvertible battery pack 300 in its low rated voltage configuration can power a low ratedvoltage power tool 802, aconvertible battery pack 300 in its medium rated voltage configuration can power a medium ratedvoltage power tool 804, and a pair of convertible battery packs 300 in their medium rated voltage configuration can together power a high ratedvoltage power tool 806. For example, the battery packs 300 may be convertible between a 20V rated voltage and a 60V rated voltage so that one battery pack can power a 20V low ratedvoltage power tool 802 when thebattery pack 300 is in its 20V configuration and can power a 60V medium rated voltage power tool when the battery pack is in its 60V configuration, and a pair of the battery packs 300 in their 60V configuration can power a 120V high rated voltage power tool. In addition, if the high ratedvoltage power tool 804 is an AC/DC power tool that can be alternatively powered by an AC input, the AC/DC high ratedvoltage power tool 804 can be powered by connecting an AC cord between the ACpower output connector 218 of thecarrier 200 and an AC input of the AC/DC high ratedvoltage power tool 804. Further details about using convertible battery packs to power a system of low, medium, and high rated voltage power tools can be found in the aforementioned provisional U.S. Patent Application Nos. 61/944,953 filed May 18, 2014, 62/000,112 filed May 19, 2014 and 62/046,546 filed Sep. 5, 2014, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/715,258, filed May 18, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. - Referring to
FIG. 34 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of acarrier 200, battery packs 300, andpower tools 800 in use. In this embodiment, threebattery packs 300 are stored and being charged in thecarrier 200 by anAC power supply 810. In the meantime, twobattery packs 300 are being used to power a firstcordless power tool 812 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 60V or 120V blower) and onebattery pack 300 is being used to power a secondcordless power tool 814 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer). - Referring to
FIG. 35 , in another embodiment, onebattery pack 300 is being used to power a firstcordless power tool 816 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 20V or 40V string trimmer), and twobattery packs 300 are being used to power a secondcordless power tool 816 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 60V or 120V blower). Meanwhile, three battery packs stored in thecarrier 200 are being used to power an AC-only corded power tool 820 (e.g., an AC chain saw) via a cord connected to the ACpower output connector 218 of the carrier. - Referring to
FIG. 36 , in another embodiment, oneconvertible battery pack 300 is being used to power a firstcordless power tool 822 having a low rated voltage (e.g., a 20V circular saw), oneconvertible battery pack 300 is being used to power a secondcordless power tool 824 having a medium rated voltage (e.g., a 60V circular saw), and two convertible battery packs 300 are being used to power a third cordless or AC/DC power tool 826 having a high rated voltage (e.g., a 120V miter saw). Meanwhile, twobattery packs 300 are stored and being charged in thecarrier 200 by an AC power supply. - Referring to
FIG. 37 , in another embodiment, onebattery pack 300 is being used to power a firstcordless power tool 830 having a first rated voltage (e.g., a 60V circular saw), and onebattery pack 300 is being used to power a second cordless or AC/DC power tool 832 having a second rated voltage (e.g., a 120V miter saw). Meanwhile, three battery packs stored in thecarrier 200 are being used to power an AC-only corded power tool 834 (e.g., an AC hammer) via a cord connected to the ACpower output connector 218 of thecarrier 200. - Referring to
FIG. 38 , in another embodiment, a plurality of battery packs 300 in acarrier 200 are being used to power a high powered AC tool 836 (e.g., a 120V or 180V jackhammer) via a cord connected to the ACpower output connector 218 of thecarrier 200. In the meantime,other carriers 200 containing additional battery packs 300 await use. This enables a user to power the high powered AC tool for an entire work day. - Referring to
FIG. 39 , in another embodiment, thecarrier 200 disables at the end of a predetermined rental period (e.g., three days). Anindicator LED 280 on the carrier flashes to notify the user to return thecarrier 200 to the kiosk. In addition, an alert is transmitted wirelessly to an app on the user's cell phone ortablet computer 840. Via the cell phone ortablet computer 840, the user may renew the rental period for an additional amount of time (e.g., one more day). - Referring to
FIG. 40 , in another embodiment, thecarrier 200 containing a plurality of battery packs 300 may be used to power an AC electrical device or appliance 842 (e.g., a refrigerator) via a cord connected to the ACpower output connector 218. - Referring to
FIG. 41 , in another embodiment, thecarrier 200 containing a plurality of battery packs 300 may be used to power an AC electrical device or appliance 844 (e.g., a television) via a cord connected to the ACpower output connector 218. -
FIG. 42 schematically illustrates the various ways for a user to charge the battery packs 300 in acarrier 200 while transporting it in avehicle 850 from a first rental kiosk location A to a second rental kiosk location B. First, thecarrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from atrailer adapter port 852 to the universal DCpower input connector 214. Second, thecarrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from asolar cell array 854 to the universal DCpower input connector 214. Third, thecarrier 200 may be used to charge the battery packs 300 by connecting a cord from a 12Vcar charger port 856 to the universal DCpower input connector 214. - Numerous modifications may be made to the exemplary implementations described above. These and other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
Claims (23)
1. A system comprising:
a plurality of battery packs;
a plurality of battery pack trays, each tray including a battery charging circuit and one or more receptacles for receiving one or more of the battery packs; and
a kiosk comprising a storage unit configured to receive and store the plurality of battery pack trays, a power module configured to deliver power to the battery pack trays, and a controller that is configured to control dispensing of the trays and the battery packs from the kiosk,
wherein each tray is configured to be alternatively powered by the power module in the kiosk or by an external power source apart from the kiosk to enable the charging circuit in the tray to charge the battery pack that is received in each receptacle.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery pack is removable from the at least one of the plurality of battery pack trays and is coupleable to a power tool to power the power tool.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of trays is electrically connectable to a power tool so that the battery pack in the tray provides power to the power tool via the tray without removal of the battery pack from the tray.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a battery pack monitoring module configured to monitor battery packs in the trays and to control activation of the charging circuits in the trays based on the monitoring of the battery packs in the trays.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a communications module configured to facilitate communication between the kiosk and at least one of an external computing device, a central server, and other kiosks.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a user interface configured to receive a user input of a selection of a tray to be vended.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the storage unit comprises a plurality of receptacles, each receptacle configured to receive one of the trays.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a display with indicia of a charge status of battery packs in each of the receptacles.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein each of the receptacles includes a power connector configured to provide electrical power to the tray in the receptacle and a communications connector configured to transmit data to or from the tray in the receptacle.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller controls dispensing of trays from the kiosk by enabling rental of the trays and battery packs from the kiosk.
11. A system comprising:
a plurality of battery packs; and
a kiosk having:
a storage unit configured to receive and store the plurality of battery packs;
a battery charging unit configured to charge one or more of the plurality of battery packs;
a power module configured to deliver power to the battery pack charger unit;
a controller in the kiosk configured to control vending of the battery packs from the storage unit; and
a charging management unit configured to prioritize charging of the battery packs in the battery pack storage unit based upon at least one parameter of the kiosk and the battery packs received in the storage unit.
12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of battery pack trays, each tray including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving one or more of the battery packs, wherein the battery pack trays are configured to be received and stored in the storage unit of the kiosk.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of available charging power in the kiosk, cost of available charging power in the kiosk, state of charge of the battery packs received in the trays, conditions of the battery packs received in the trays, and reservation schedules for the trays.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the power module includes an input line configured to be connected to an external source of electrical power and a distribution subsystem configured to distribute the electrical power to the battery packs that are received in the storage unit.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the charging management unit controls distribution of electrical power to the battery packs through the distribution system based upon the prioritization of charging of the battery packs.
16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a battery pack monitoring module configured to monitor battery packs in the storage unit, wherein the charging management unit controls activation of charging circuits for the battery packs based on monitoring from the battery pack monitoring module.
17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a display with indicia of a charge status of the battery packs in the storage unit.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller controls dispensing of the battery packs from the kiosk by enabling rental of the battery packs from the kiosk.
19. A system comprising:
a plurality of battery packs; and
a kiosk comprising a storage unit configured to receive and store the plurality of battery packs, a power module configured to deliver power to the battery pack trays, a controller that is configured to control dispensing of trays and battery packs from the kiosk, and a monitoring module configured to monitor a parameter of the battery packs in the storage unit; and
a user interface configured to allow a user to select a battery pack for rental from among the plurality of battery packs in the storage unit, wherein rental prices for the battery packs are set based upon the monitored battery pack parameter of each of the battery packs.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the battery pack parameter comprises at least one of a state of charge of the battery pack, a condition of the battery pack, and a rated voltage of the battery pack.
21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the rental prices are set higher for battery packs having a higher state of charge, a better condition, or a higher rated voltage.
23. The system of claim 19 , wherein the kiosk further comprises a charging management unit configured to control charging of the battery packs received in the storage unit.
24. The system of claim 19 , further comprising a plurality of battery pack trays, each tray including a battery charging circuit and a receptacle for receiving one or more of the battery packs, wherein the battery pack trays are configured to be received and stored in the storage unit of the kiosk.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US14/869,297 US20160099590A1 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2015-09-29 | System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs |
US16/250,857 US11011919B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2019-01-17 | Battery carrier system |
US16/890,593 US11031795B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2020-06-02 | Battery carrier system |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201462060305P | 2014-10-06 | 2014-10-06 | |
US14/869,297 US20160099590A1 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2015-09-29 | System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/250,857 Division US11011919B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2019-01-17 | Battery carrier system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20160099590A1 true US20160099590A1 (en) | 2016-04-07 |
Family
ID=54330591
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/869,297 Abandoned US20160099590A1 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2015-09-29 | System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs |
US16/250,857 Active US11011919B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2019-01-17 | Battery carrier system |
US16/890,593 Active US11031795B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2020-06-02 | Battery carrier system |
Family Applications After (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/250,857 Active US11011919B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2019-01-17 | Battery carrier system |
US16/890,593 Active US11031795B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2020-06-02 | Battery carrier system |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US20160099590A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP3018789B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN205862454U (en) |
Cited By (61)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150249353A1 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2015-09-03 | Nrg Energy, Inc. | Power Pack Vending Apparatus, System and Method of Use |
US20160267579A1 (en) * | 2015-03-09 | 2016-09-15 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Rental system and rental management method |
US20170063111A1 (en) * | 2015-08-28 | 2017-03-02 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Battery pack and control method of battery pack |
US20170106521A1 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2017-04-20 | Black & Decker Inc. | Power tool |
US20170228817A1 (en) * | 2016-02-04 | 2017-08-10 | Kenneth R. Brown | Arrangements and methods for renting kayaks |
US20170282736A1 (en) * | 2016-04-01 | 2017-10-05 | Ijuze Corporation Pte Ltd. | Automated system for managing and providing a network of charging stations |
US20170345248A1 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2017-11-30 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
CN107453444A (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2017-12-08 | 苏州易换骑网络科技有限公司 | A kind of charging method for changing electric cabinet and battery of electric vehicle |
CN107627880A (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2018-01-26 | 苏州易换骑网络科技有限公司 | A kind of charging system of electric car |
WO2018078716A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2018-05-03 | 株式会社東芝 | Power supply device with signage, control method for power supply device with signage, and program |
US20180145523A1 (en) * | 2015-04-24 | 2018-05-24 | Hilti Aktiengesellschaft | Network-Operable Battery Charger, Charging System, and Hand-Held Machine Tool |
WO2018094421A1 (en) * | 2016-11-21 | 2018-05-24 | Clean Train Propulsion | Battery leasing and wireless power transfer for passenger rail |
US20180166891A1 (en) * | 2015-08-20 | 2018-06-14 | Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy Co., Ltd. | Charging system |
US20180181967A1 (en) * | 2016-12-22 | 2018-06-28 | Powin Energy Corporation | Battery pack monitoring and warranty tracking system |
US20180253789A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2018-09-06 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
US20180253788A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2018-09-06 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
EP3404630A1 (en) * | 2017-05-19 | 2018-11-21 | Neckhaim Consulting GmbH | Device and method for changing electrical energy storage devices |
CN109051348A (en) * | 2018-09-29 | 2018-12-21 | 杨立艳 | Retail terminal drug intelligent heat preserving management system |
US10206064B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2019-02-12 | Global Tel*Link Corp. | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US20190066073A1 (en) * | 2017-08-29 | 2019-02-28 | T-Mobile Usa, Inc. | Self-service distribution, collection, and diagnostic system for mobile devices |
US20190197608A1 (en) * | 2017-12-27 | 2019-06-27 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | Storage battery module rental system, rental method, and rental program |
CN109986994A (en) * | 2017-12-29 | 2019-07-09 | 睿能创意公司 | Manage the System and method for of interchangeable energy storage device battery switching station |
US10362528B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 | 2019-07-23 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices |
US10432343B2 (en) | 2006-08-16 | 2019-10-01 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | Integration of cellular phone detection and reporting into a prison telephone system |
US20190386497A1 (en) * | 2018-06-15 | 2019-12-19 | Inventus Holdings, Llc | Portable rechargeable battery power pack for cordless power tools |
US10536007B2 (en) | 2011-03-05 | 2020-01-14 | Powin Energy Corporation | Battery energy storage system and control system and applications thereof |
US10600116B2 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2020-03-24 | Omron Corporation | Reservation management device, reservation management system, and reservation management method |
WO2020077176A1 (en) * | 2018-10-12 | 2020-04-16 | Briggs & Stratton Corporation | Battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
US10643272B2 (en) | 2015-11-17 | 2020-05-05 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device |
US10672218B1 (en) * | 2017-06-20 | 2020-06-02 | Rick Lawson | Personal electronic charging station |
WO2020118107A1 (en) * | 2018-12-05 | 2020-06-11 | Social Bicycles Llc | Rechargeable battery kiosk that dynamically alters a charging rate of rechargeable batteries based on usage data |
DE102018222092A1 (en) * | 2018-12-18 | 2020-06-18 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Method for operating a loading device |
US20200194745A1 (en) * | 2017-06-15 | 2020-06-18 | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. | Mobile power for outdoor power supply |
US10735131B2 (en) | 2016-08-24 | 2020-08-04 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices in a correctional facility utilizing portable electronic devices |
US20200250640A1 (en) * | 2017-10-23 | 2020-08-06 | Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated | Modular automated transaction machine |
WO2020159488A1 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2020-08-06 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Device component distribution |
US10749430B2 (en) | 2015-03-13 | 2020-08-18 | Positec Power Tools (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. | Power transmission apparatus and control method therefor, and power supply system |
CN111886777A (en) * | 2018-02-28 | 2020-11-03 | 豪倍公司 | Distributed charging station and method of managing distributed charging stations |
US20210080282A1 (en) * | 2017-04-03 | 2021-03-18 | Power Hero Corp. | Universal automated system for identifying, registering and verifying the existence, location and characteristics of electric and other power outlets by random users and for retrieval and utilization of such parametric data and outlets by all users |
WO2021072978A1 (en) * | 2019-10-15 | 2021-04-22 | 深圳来电科技有限公司 | Power bank shared charging device |
CN112744101A (en) * | 2020-12-25 | 2021-05-04 | 中国第一汽车股份有限公司 | Charging and discharging control system and method and vehicle |
US20210150539A1 (en) * | 2019-11-14 | 2021-05-20 | Tricopian, Llc | Systems and methods for exchanging items and verifying ownership |
US11031795B2 (en) * | 2014-10-06 | 2021-06-08 | Black & Decker Inc. | Battery carrier system |
EP3901870A1 (en) * | 2020-04-20 | 2021-10-27 | Einhell Germany AG | Project-related management of battery packs |
WO2021231703A1 (en) * | 2020-05-13 | 2021-11-18 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Portable power source with low power display |
US20220083957A1 (en) * | 2019-05-08 | 2022-03-17 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Kiosk device having storage bins |
US20220101378A1 (en) * | 2019-01-24 | 2022-03-31 | Emelem Pty Ltd. | System and method for disseminating information to consumers |
EP4002640A1 (en) * | 2020-11-13 | 2022-05-25 | Enercamp Co., Ltd. | Method of controlling charging and discharging of power station equipped with multiple battery packs |
US11361321B2 (en) * | 2016-04-08 | 2022-06-14 | Walmart Apollo, Llc | System and method for self-service returns |
TWI770145B (en) * | 2017-03-22 | 2022-07-11 | 日商本田技研工業股份有限公司 | Information processing apparatus, recording medium, and information processing method |
US20220261719A1 (en) * | 2019-07-12 | 2022-08-18 | Nec Corporation | Sharing management device, terminal, sharing management method, and recording medium |
US11431724B2 (en) * | 2019-08-21 | 2022-08-30 | Hongfujin Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd. | Shared electronic device management device and method |
US11509148B2 (en) * | 2017-06-26 | 2022-11-22 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station |
US11532840B2 (en) | 2018-01-03 | 2022-12-20 | Sung Ub Moon | Energy storage systems with multiple matrix energy flow control and programmable charging and discharging options |
US11556911B2 (en) * | 2016-07-14 | 2023-01-17 | NeoCaddie Inc. | Systems and methods for automated equipment rental |
US20230021528A1 (en) * | 2015-07-31 | 2023-01-26 | CityBeacon IP BV | Multifunctional interactive beacon with mobile device interaction |
USD979489S1 (en) | 2019-01-17 | 2023-02-28 | Hubbell Incorporated | Charge center |
US11626642B2 (en) | 2018-05-04 | 2023-04-11 | Briggs & Stratton, Llc | Modular battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
EP4272903A1 (en) * | 2022-05-04 | 2023-11-08 | Techtronic Cordless GP | Wall-mountable storage system |
USD1009790S1 (en) | 2020-03-19 | 2024-01-02 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Single battery pack inverter |
WO2024043814A1 (en) * | 2022-08-22 | 2024-02-29 | Husqvarna Ab | A system for charging cordless power tool batteries |
Families Citing this family (33)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9893384B2 (en) * | 2014-05-18 | 2018-02-13 | Black & Decker Inc. | Transport system for convertible battery pack |
US10886765B2 (en) * | 2015-11-09 | 2021-01-05 | Johnson Industries, Inc. | Lighted connector for a battery cable |
US11237595B2 (en) | 2016-06-06 | 2022-02-01 | Omnicharge, Inc. | Portable power solutions |
EP3563466B8 (en) * | 2016-12-27 | 2021-09-08 | Omnicharge Inc. | Portable power solutions |
CN108734873A (en) * | 2017-04-13 | 2018-11-02 | 成都宇能通能源开发有限公司 | A kind of electric storage device leasing system |
CN107093280A (en) * | 2017-05-19 | 2017-08-25 | 上海芮匠电子科技有限公司 | A kind of goods rental system and method |
CN107256591B (en) * | 2017-06-19 | 2019-09-17 | 上海工业控制安全创新科技有限公司 | A kind of electric energy sharing method and system |
CN107293056B (en) * | 2017-06-19 | 2020-01-03 | 国网河南省电力公司商丘供电公司 | Electric energy sharing method and system |
CN107480968A (en) * | 2017-06-30 | 2017-12-15 | 苏州花坞信息科技有限公司 | A kind of wireless charging shared system |
CN109326835A (en) * | 2017-07-31 | 2019-02-12 | 周锡卫 | A kind of exchange active control energy storage battery module and control method suitable for manually changing electricity |
CN107276183A (en) * | 2017-08-08 | 2017-10-20 | 张飞凤 | Exchange rack lithium battery systems and management method |
CN107527276A (en) * | 2017-08-22 | 2017-12-29 | 郝敏 | Electronic smoking set rent and sale method, equipment and storage medium based on intelligent vending machine |
CN107705444A (en) * | 2017-08-28 | 2018-02-16 | 苏州花坞信息科技有限公司 | A kind of wireless charging shares charging cabinet |
CN109427001B (en) * | 2017-08-30 | 2022-08-16 | 深圳富泰宏精密工业有限公司 | Mobile power supply leasing management equipment and method |
CN107516383A (en) * | 2017-09-01 | 2017-12-26 | 深圳小气科技有限公司 | Air quality detector gives back device and gives back method |
KR102244636B1 (en) * | 2017-12-19 | 2021-04-26 | 이영조 | System for replacing battery of electric vehicle having energy saving system and driving method thereof |
TWI741245B (en) | 2017-12-29 | 2021-10-01 | 英屬開曼群島商睿能創意公司 | Systems and methods for managing energy storage devices positioned in device exchange station |
TWI740082B (en) | 2017-12-29 | 2021-09-21 | 英屬開曼群島商睿能創意公司 | Method for charging exchangeable energy storage devices positioned in a device-exchange station, sever, and method for mangaing a device-exchange station |
CN108320038A (en) * | 2018-01-23 | 2018-07-24 | 深圳市顺为新能源技术有限公司 | A kind of comprehensive intelligent energy management system |
JP7072050B2 (en) * | 2018-03-26 | 2022-05-19 | 京セラ株式会社 | Control device, information processing device and storage battery search system |
WO2019193599A1 (en) * | 2018-04-02 | 2019-10-10 | Mehul Pravinkant Shukla | Powerbank rental kiosk system |
AU2019281775A1 (en) * | 2018-06-04 | 2021-01-07 | ChargeItSpot, LLC | System and method for providing interconnected and secure mobile device charging stations |
WO2020111242A1 (en) * | 2018-11-29 | 2020-06-04 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Battery use system, charging device, information processing device, battery use method, program, and storage medium |
CN110555955A (en) * | 2019-08-16 | 2019-12-10 | 东莞骑士换电电子科技有限公司 | battery management method and system of intelligent power exchange cabinet with multiple control modes |
CN110853244A (en) * | 2019-11-27 | 2020-02-28 | 倪明权 | Electric vehicle battery leasing method and system |
CN110992595A (en) * | 2020-01-02 | 2020-04-10 | 孙玉强 | Self-service charging method and system for shared charging of mobile power supply |
CN115004502A (en) * | 2020-02-07 | 2022-09-02 | 本田技研工业株式会社 | Power supply device |
CN112145886B (en) * | 2020-08-17 | 2022-08-12 | 酷电科技发展有限公司 | Wall-mounted sharing mobile power supply borrowing and returning equipment |
USD965515S1 (en) | 2020-09-18 | 2022-10-04 | Ariens Company | Battery charger |
CN113034801A (en) * | 2021-03-09 | 2021-06-25 | 上海融和电科融资租赁有限公司 | Method and system for sharing electric vehicle battery |
DE102021106002A1 (en) | 2021-03-11 | 2022-09-15 | Karl Engelhardt | reusable charging system |
WO2023076954A1 (en) * | 2021-10-27 | 2023-05-04 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Smart power tool battery charger based on rental information |
WO2023104204A1 (en) * | 2021-12-09 | 2023-06-15 | 浙江齐享科技有限公司 | Shared power rental system |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20130063073A1 (en) * | 2011-09-09 | 2013-03-14 | Bettery, Inc. | Battery exchange, recharge and recycle apparatus, system and method |
US20140368156A1 (en) * | 2013-06-13 | 2014-12-18 | John Aloe | Battery and Charger Kiosk |
Family Cites Families (19)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP3910255B2 (en) * | 1997-04-18 | 2007-04-25 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Battery rental system |
IT1320305B1 (en) * | 1999-05-25 | 2003-11-26 | Honda Motor Co Ltd | BATTERY CHANGE EQUIPMENT. |
US6104162A (en) | 1999-09-11 | 2000-08-15 | Sainsbury; Simon R. | Method and apparatus for multi-power source for power tools |
US6211652B1 (en) | 2000-02-04 | 2001-04-03 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Discharge protection apparatus for a battery-powered device and a method of preventing overdischarge of a battery |
US7609027B2 (en) | 2001-11-09 | 2009-10-27 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Electrical component, audio component, or electrical combination having a selectively connectable battery charger |
US7332889B2 (en) * | 2001-11-09 | 2008-02-19 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Battery charger |
TWI242318B (en) | 2001-11-29 | 2005-10-21 | Primax Electronics Ltd | Charger capable of converting multiple power sources |
US20050024021A1 (en) * | 2003-05-07 | 2005-02-03 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Battery charger and assembly |
US20080116748A1 (en) | 2006-11-17 | 2008-05-22 | Ming-Hsiang Yeh | Multi-function power storage device |
US9722334B2 (en) | 2010-04-07 | 2017-08-01 | Black & Decker Inc. | Power tool with light unit |
US20130113424A1 (en) * | 2011-09-29 | 2013-05-09 | Michael Lynn Froelich | Temperature-controlled external battery charger and standardized, manually-changable modular battery system for electric-powered vehicles and craft |
US9525293B2 (en) * | 2011-12-30 | 2016-12-20 | Makita Corporation | Battery charger having angled wall in battery receiving opening, and battery pack charging system and cordless power tool system including same |
US11075530B2 (en) * | 2013-03-15 | 2021-07-27 | Gogoro Inc. | Modular system for collection and distribution of electric storage devices |
US9419446B2 (en) * | 2013-05-02 | 2016-08-16 | Custom Leathercraft Manuf. Co., Inc. | Adaptive battery pack-to-universal serial bus power devices |
US20170063114A1 (en) * | 2013-11-15 | 2017-03-02 | Christian Fitch BRIERE | Multi-port battery charging apparatus, system and kit |
US10044197B2 (en) | 2013-12-12 | 2018-08-07 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Portable power supply and battery charger |
CA2905725A1 (en) * | 2014-09-23 | 2016-03-23 | Emerson Electric Co. | Smart dc power supply for ac equipment |
US10389139B2 (en) | 2014-10-06 | 2019-08-20 | Black & Decker, Inc. | Portable power supply |
US20160099590A1 (en) * | 2014-10-06 | 2016-04-07 | Black & Decker Inc. | System and method for renting, charging, and discharging battery packs |
-
2015
- 2015-09-29 US US14/869,297 patent/US20160099590A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2015-10-06 EP EP15188642.1A patent/EP3018789B1/en active Active
- 2015-10-08 CN CN201521145120.7U patent/CN205862454U/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2019
- 2019-01-17 US US16/250,857 patent/US11011919B2/en active Active
-
2020
- 2020-06-02 US US16/890,593 patent/US11031795B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20130063073A1 (en) * | 2011-09-09 | 2013-03-14 | Bettery, Inc. | Battery exchange, recharge and recycle apparatus, system and method |
US20140368156A1 (en) * | 2013-06-13 | 2014-12-18 | John Aloe | Battery and Charger Kiosk |
Cited By (114)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11757560B2 (en) | 2006-08-16 | 2023-09-12 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | Integration of cellular phone detection and reporting into a prison telephone system |
US11258530B2 (en) | 2006-08-16 | 2022-02-22 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | Integration of cellular phone detection and reporting into a prison telephone system |
US10432343B2 (en) | 2006-08-16 | 2019-10-01 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | Integration of cellular phone detection and reporting into a prison telephone system |
US10536007B2 (en) | 2011-03-05 | 2020-01-14 | Powin Energy Corporation | Battery energy storage system and control system and applications thereof |
US11403908B2 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2022-08-02 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US10282935B2 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2019-05-07 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US20190362586A1 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2019-11-28 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US20170358169A1 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2017-12-14 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US11935353B2 (en) | 2013-09-18 | 2024-03-19 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US20170345248A1 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2017-11-30 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US10922915B2 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2021-02-16 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US10217311B2 (en) * | 2013-09-18 | 2019-02-26 | Renovo Software, Inc. | Apparatus for controlling access to and use of portable electronic devices |
US10084329B2 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2018-09-25 | Nrg Energy, Inc. | Power pack vending apparatus, system, and method of use for charging power packs with biased locking arrangement |
US20150249353A1 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2015-09-03 | Nrg Energy, Inc. | Power Pack Vending Apparatus, System and Method of Use |
US11239674B2 (en) * | 2014-02-28 | 2022-02-01 | Nrg Energy, Inc. | Power pack vending apparatus, system and method of use for charging packs with biased locking arrangement |
US11031795B2 (en) * | 2014-10-06 | 2021-06-08 | Black & Decker Inc. | Battery carrier system |
US20230059968A1 (en) * | 2015-03-09 | 2023-02-23 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Rental system and rental management method |
US20160267579A1 (en) * | 2015-03-09 | 2016-09-15 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Rental system and rental management method |
US11601002B2 (en) | 2015-03-13 | 2023-03-07 | Positec Power Tools (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. | Electrical energy transmission apparatus, method for controlling same, and power supply system |
US10749430B2 (en) | 2015-03-13 | 2020-08-18 | Positec Power Tools (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. | Power transmission apparatus and control method therefor, and power supply system |
US20180145523A1 (en) * | 2015-04-24 | 2018-05-24 | Hilti Aktiengesellschaft | Network-Operable Battery Charger, Charging System, and Hand-Held Machine Tool |
US20230021528A1 (en) * | 2015-07-31 | 2023-01-26 | CityBeacon IP BV | Multifunctional interactive beacon with mobile device interaction |
US20180166891A1 (en) * | 2015-08-20 | 2018-06-14 | Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy Co., Ltd. | Charging system |
US10763680B2 (en) * | 2015-08-28 | 2020-09-01 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Battery pack and control method of battery pack based on a usage condition |
US20170063111A1 (en) * | 2015-08-28 | 2017-03-02 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | Battery pack and control method of battery pack |
US11951603B2 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2024-04-09 | Black & Decker Inc. | Brushless motor system for power tools |
US10500708B2 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2019-12-10 | Black & Decker Inc. | Power tool |
US20220134530A1 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2022-05-05 | Black & Decker Inc. | Brushless motor system for power tools |
US11691260B2 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2023-07-04 | Black & Decker Inc. | Brushless motor system for power tools |
US20170106521A1 (en) * | 2015-10-14 | 2017-04-20 | Black & Decker Inc. | Power tool |
US10600116B2 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2020-03-24 | Omron Corporation | Reservation management device, reservation management system, and reservation management method |
US10650444B2 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2020-05-12 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
US20180253789A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2018-09-06 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
US20180253788A1 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2018-09-06 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
US11010824B2 (en) * | 2015-11-17 | 2021-05-18 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device and battery reservation method |
US10643272B2 (en) | 2015-11-17 | 2020-05-05 | Omron Corporation | Battery reservation device |
US20170228817A1 (en) * | 2016-02-04 | 2017-08-10 | Kenneth R. Brown | Arrangements and methods for renting kayaks |
US11912153B2 (en) | 2016-04-01 | 2024-02-27 | Power Hero Corp. | Electric vehicle charging stations |
US10857902B2 (en) * | 2016-04-01 | 2020-12-08 | Power Hero Corp. | Automated system for managing and providing a network of charging stations |
US20170282736A1 (en) * | 2016-04-01 | 2017-10-05 | Ijuze Corporation Pte Ltd. | Automated system for managing and providing a network of charging stations |
US11361321B2 (en) * | 2016-04-08 | 2022-06-14 | Walmart Apollo, Llc | System and method for self-service returns |
US11556911B2 (en) * | 2016-07-14 | 2023-01-17 | NeoCaddie Inc. | Systems and methods for automated equipment rental |
US11606162B2 (en) | 2016-08-24 | 2023-03-14 | Global Tel* Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices in a correctional facility utilizing portable electronic devices |
US10735131B2 (en) | 2016-08-24 | 2020-08-04 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices in a correctional facility utilizing portable electronic devices |
JPWO2018078716A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2019-09-26 | 株式会社東芝 | Power supply apparatus with signage, control method for power supply apparatus with signage, and program |
WO2018078716A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2018-05-03 | 株式会社東芝 | Power supply device with signage, control method for power supply device with signage, and program |
US10473012B2 (en) * | 2016-11-21 | 2019-11-12 | Clean Train Propulsion | Battery leasing and wireless power transfer for passenger rail |
WO2018094421A1 (en) * | 2016-11-21 | 2018-05-24 | Clean Train Propulsion | Battery leasing and wireless power transfer for passenger rail |
US11405750B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2022-08-02 | Global Tel*Link Corp. | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US10681495B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2020-06-09 | Global Tel*Link Corp. | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US11418910B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2022-08-16 | Global Tel*Link Corp. | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US10206064B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2019-02-12 | Global Tel*Link Corp. | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US11778417B2 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2023-10-03 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and locating contraband devices in a secure environment |
US10699278B2 (en) * | 2016-12-22 | 2020-06-30 | Powin Energy Corporation | Battery pack monitoring and warranty tracking system |
US20180181967A1 (en) * | 2016-12-22 | 2018-06-28 | Powin Energy Corporation | Battery pack monitoring and warranty tracking system |
TWI770145B (en) * | 2017-03-22 | 2022-07-11 | 日商本田技研工業股份有限公司 | Information processing apparatus, recording medium, and information processing method |
US11408941B2 (en) * | 2017-03-22 | 2022-08-09 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | Information processing apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, and information processing method |
US20210080282A1 (en) * | 2017-04-03 | 2021-03-18 | Power Hero Corp. | Universal automated system for identifying, registering and verifying the existence, location and characteristics of electric and other power outlets by random users and for retrieval and utilization of such parametric data and outlets by all users |
US11913801B2 (en) * | 2017-04-03 | 2024-02-27 | Power Hero Corp. | Universal automated system for identifying, registering and verifying the existence, location and characteristics of electric and other power outlets by random users and for retrieval and utilization of such parametric data and outlets by all users |
US20230417568A1 (en) * | 2017-04-03 | 2023-12-28 | Power Hero Corp. | Universal automated system for identifying, registering and verifying the existence, location and characteristics of electric and other power outlets by random users and for retrieval and utilization of such parametric data and outlets by all users |
US11796340B2 (en) * | 2017-04-03 | 2023-10-24 | Power Hero Corp. | Universal automated system for identifying, registering and verifying the existence, location and characteristics of electric and other power outlets by random users and for retrieval and utilization of such parametric data and outlets by all users |
US11388648B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 | 2022-07-12 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices |
US11943696B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 | 2024-03-26 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices |
US10887823B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 | 2021-01-05 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices |
US10362528B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 | 2019-07-23 | Global Tel*Link Corporation | System and method for detecting and controlling contraband devices |
EP3404630A1 (en) * | 2017-05-19 | 2018-11-21 | Neckhaim Consulting GmbH | Device and method for changing electrical energy storage devices |
US20200194745A1 (en) * | 2017-06-15 | 2020-06-18 | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. | Mobile power for outdoor power supply |
US10672218B1 (en) * | 2017-06-20 | 2020-06-02 | Rick Lawson | Personal electronic charging station |
US11870279B2 (en) | 2017-06-26 | 2024-01-09 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station |
US11509148B2 (en) * | 2017-06-26 | 2022-11-22 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station |
US10671986B2 (en) * | 2017-08-29 | 2020-06-02 | T-Mobile Usa, Inc. | Self-service distribution, collection, and diagnostic system for mobile devices |
US20190066073A1 (en) * | 2017-08-29 | 2019-02-28 | T-Mobile Usa, Inc. | Self-service distribution, collection, and diagnostic system for mobile devices |
CN107627880A (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2018-01-26 | 苏州易换骑网络科技有限公司 | A kind of charging system of electric car |
CN107453444A (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2017-12-08 | 苏州易换骑网络科技有限公司 | A kind of charging method for changing electric cabinet and battery of electric vehicle |
US11551210B2 (en) * | 2017-10-23 | 2023-01-10 | Diebold Nixdorf Incorporated | Modular automated transaction machine |
US20200250640A1 (en) * | 2017-10-23 | 2020-08-06 | Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated | Modular automated transaction machine |
US10846786B2 (en) * | 2017-12-27 | 2020-11-24 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | Storage battery module rental system, rental method, and rental program |
US20190197608A1 (en) * | 2017-12-27 | 2019-06-27 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | Storage battery module rental system, rental method, and rental program |
US11136008B2 (en) * | 2017-12-29 | 2021-10-05 | Gogoro Inc. | Systems and methods for managing exchangeable energy storage device stations |
CN109986994A (en) * | 2017-12-29 | 2019-07-09 | 睿能创意公司 | Manage the System and method for of interchangeable energy storage device battery switching station |
US11532840B2 (en) | 2018-01-03 | 2022-12-20 | Sung Ub Moon | Energy storage systems with multiple matrix energy flow control and programmable charging and discharging options |
US11901519B2 (en) | 2018-01-03 | 2024-02-13 | Sung Ub Moon | Energy storage systems with multiple matrix energy flow control and programmable charging and discharging options |
US20230072602A1 (en) * | 2018-02-28 | 2023-03-09 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station and method of managing the same |
US11502525B2 (en) * | 2018-02-28 | 2022-11-15 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station and method of managing the same |
US11316353B2 (en) * | 2018-02-28 | 2022-04-26 | Hubbell Incorporated | Distributed charging station |
CN111886777A (en) * | 2018-02-28 | 2020-11-03 | 豪倍公司 | Distributed charging station and method of managing distributed charging stations |
US11626642B2 (en) | 2018-05-04 | 2023-04-11 | Briggs & Stratton, Llc | Modular battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
US20190386497A1 (en) * | 2018-06-15 | 2019-12-19 | Inventus Holdings, Llc | Portable rechargeable battery power pack for cordless power tools |
US10862176B2 (en) * | 2018-06-15 | 2020-12-08 | Florida Power & Light Company | Portable rechargeable battery pack with a selectable battery switch and state of charge display for cordless power tools |
CN109051348A (en) * | 2018-09-29 | 2018-12-21 | 杨立艳 | Retail terminal drug intelligent heat preserving management system |
US20210384746A1 (en) * | 2018-10-12 | 2021-12-09 | Briggs & Stratton, Llc | Battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
US11817731B2 (en) * | 2018-10-12 | 2023-11-14 | Briggs & Stratton, Llc | Battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
WO2020077176A1 (en) * | 2018-10-12 | 2020-04-16 | Briggs & Stratton Corporation | Battery assembly for battery powered equipment |
US11374421B2 (en) | 2018-12-05 | 2022-06-28 | Neutron Holdings, Inc. | Rechargeable battery kiosk that dynamically alters a charging rate of rechargeable batteries based on usage data |
WO2020118107A1 (en) * | 2018-12-05 | 2020-06-11 | Social Bicycles Llc | Rechargeable battery kiosk that dynamically alters a charging rate of rechargeable batteries based on usage data |
US11735939B2 (en) | 2018-12-05 | 2023-08-22 | Neutron Holdings, Inc. | Rechargeable battery kiosk that dynamically alters a charging rate of rechargeable batteries based on usage data |
DE102018222092A1 (en) * | 2018-12-18 | 2020-06-18 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Method for operating a loading device |
USD979489S1 (en) | 2019-01-17 | 2023-02-28 | Hubbell Incorporated | Charge center |
US20220101378A1 (en) * | 2019-01-24 | 2022-03-31 | Emelem Pty Ltd. | System and method for disseminating information to consumers |
TWI732437B (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2021-07-01 | 美商惠普發展公司有限責任合夥企業 | Device component distribution |
WO2020159488A1 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2020-08-06 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Device component distribution |
US20220083957A1 (en) * | 2019-05-08 | 2022-03-17 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Kiosk device having storage bins |
US20220261719A1 (en) * | 2019-07-12 | 2022-08-18 | Nec Corporation | Sharing management device, terminal, sharing management method, and recording medium |
US11431724B2 (en) * | 2019-08-21 | 2022-08-30 | Hongfujin Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd. | Shared electronic device management device and method |
WO2021072978A1 (en) * | 2019-10-15 | 2021-04-22 | 深圳来电科技有限公司 | Power bank shared charging device |
US20210150539A1 (en) * | 2019-11-14 | 2021-05-20 | Tricopian, Llc | Systems and methods for exchanging items and verifying ownership |
USD1009790S1 (en) | 2020-03-19 | 2024-01-02 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Single battery pack inverter |
EP3901870A1 (en) * | 2020-04-20 | 2021-10-27 | Einhell Germany AG | Project-related management of battery packs |
WO2021231703A1 (en) * | 2020-05-13 | 2021-11-18 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Portable power source with low power display |
EP4002640A1 (en) * | 2020-11-13 | 2022-05-25 | Enercamp Co., Ltd. | Method of controlling charging and discharging of power station equipped with multiple battery packs |
US11742675B2 (en) | 2020-11-13 | 2023-08-29 | Enercamp Co., Ltd. | Method of controlling charging and discharging of power station equipped with multiple battery packs |
CN112744101A (en) * | 2020-12-25 | 2021-05-04 | 中国第一汽车股份有限公司 | Charging and discharging control system and method and vehicle |
EP4272903A1 (en) * | 2022-05-04 | 2023-11-08 | Techtronic Cordless GP | Wall-mountable storage system |
WO2024043814A1 (en) * | 2022-08-22 | 2024-02-29 | Husqvarna Ab | A system for charging cordless power tool batteries |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP3018789A2 (en) | 2016-05-11 |
US11031795B2 (en) | 2021-06-08 |
US20200295582A1 (en) | 2020-09-17 |
CN205862454U (en) | 2017-01-04 |
EP3018789A3 (en) | 2016-05-18 |
EP3018789B1 (en) | 2019-11-20 |
US20190157881A1 (en) | 2019-05-23 |
US11011919B2 (en) | 2021-05-18 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US11031795B2 (en) | Battery carrier system | |
US11251623B2 (en) | Portable power supply | |
US9963891B2 (en) | Modular infrastructure device, infrastructure system and method for operating an infrastructure device | |
CN105922883B (en) | The device of smart phone control and notice for electric vehicle charging station | |
CN103828181B (en) | Multiport vehicle DC charging systems with variable power distribution | |
US20120078413A1 (en) | Secured electrical recharging facility method and apparatus | |
CN102273043B (en) | Charging system for electric vehicle | |
US20170085103A1 (en) | Battery charger rental kiosk system | |
US20120303259A1 (en) | Providing Roadside Charging Services | |
EP2495844B1 (en) | Method and system for controlling a network of charging spots for electrical cars | |
JP5489302B2 (en) | Electric vehicle power supply system | |
WO2016044747A1 (en) | Devices, systems and methods for collecting, generating, tracking and/or sharing energy | |
EP2973937A1 (en) | Modular system for collection and distribution of electric storage devices | |
CN108292850A (en) | For the method and system to multiple load supplyings with current measurement value | |
US20050267776A1 (en) | Combo kit and method of providing a combo kit | |
CN102982482A (en) | Systems and methods for auctioning charging times for electric vehicles | |
WO2019025876A1 (en) | Battery exchange program using universal rechargeable batteries, fitting battery cases, battery packs, mini rack and rack systems along with gps tracking for battery exchange stations | |
KR101075521B1 (en) | Building automation system having charging control function of electric vehicle | |
JPWO2011083545A1 (en) | CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE AND CHARGE SYSTEM USING THE CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE | |
JP2010211754A (en) | Charging device | |
EP3320596B1 (en) | Portable battery pack | |
US20210291697A1 (en) | Power trading system for electrically driven vehicle and charging and discharging apparatus | |
JP7334278B2 (en) | Charger/discharger, charger/discharger control method and program | |
WO2011111768A1 (en) | Charging system | |
KR100563137B1 (en) | Method for Operation of mobile phone charger in Store Using Wire/Wireless Communication and the mobile phone charger thereof |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: BLACK & DECKER INC., DELAWARE Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:VELDERMAN, MATTHEW J.;WHITE, DANIEL J.;SEMAN, ANDREW E., JR.;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20151006 TO 20151106;REEL/FRAME:036993/0596 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO PAY ISSUE FEE |