The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 14, 2023
Filed:
May. 26, 2021
Abb Schweiz Ag, Baden, CH;
Matthew Hetrich, Raleigh, NC (US);
Gregory A. Cole, West Hartford, CT (US);
ABB Schweiz AG, Baden, CH;
Abstract
An automated charging system for an electric vehicle is disclosed that includes a plug with a built-in camera assembly. The camera assembly captures images of a charging port of the electric vehicle, which are processed by one or more processors to estimate the location of the charging port relative to the plug. A control system generates signals for one or more actuators to move the plug relative to the charging port, thereby inserting the plug into the charging port to connect a power supply to the electric vehicle. The images may be processed via an image recognition algorithm and/or one or more machine learning algorithms. In an embodiment, the images are processed by a neural network to estimate the location of the charging port relative to the plug. The plug can also include a tapered structure to make fine adjustments to the position or orientation of the plug during connection.