GB2565895A

GB2565895A - Charging system

Info

Publication number: GB2565895A
Application number: GB1810509.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Hobbs Timothy
Original assignee: Oe Electrics Ltd
Current assignee: Oe Electrics Ltd
Priority date: 2013-06-18
Filing date: 2018-06-27
Publication date: 2019-02-27
Also published as: GB201810509D0

Abstract

A power supply system for at least one electrical item, the system including a charging facility 26 for the selective electric connection of one or more power cells of the electrical item to allow electrical power to be provided to the power cells when provided with, or separated from, the electrical item. The charging facility is provided as part of a moveable device 10 which has another potential functionality to the user, such as a luggage transport trolley which has a power supply provided to allow the electrical power to be provided to the charging facility whilst the moveable device is being used and/or is at rest. The power supply can be one or more batteries 22 which are carried on the trolley and are charged by movement of the trolley and /or via a docking station. The charging facility may include USB A or USB C connectors, or a wireless charger.

Description

Charging System

The invention to which this application relates is apparatus and a system for the provision of electrical power for use in providing a charge to an electrical item in order to allow the operation of the same and particularly to allow a charge to be provided in environments where a mains power supply is not readily accessible. Particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, the system is provided to allow for electrical power to be provided to allow the provision of a charging facility to one or mote batteries of the electrical item in order to allow the same to subsequently be operated without the need for connection to the power supply.

In recent years there has been a proliferation of electrical items which are used for everyday purposes such as the provision of entertainment, information, news, communication via voice, text and/or email and/or the performance of work. In all cases these electrical items can be provided in a portable format which can greatly increase the convenience of use of the same. However, a problem with this is that the items are required to be provided with power in order to operate, and have power at locations where, conventionally, the electrical item would not been used. This means that, on occasion, while a user may be fortunate, to find a mains power socket into which they can plug their power connector, most often they have to rely upon the power provided from the one or more batteries provided with their electrical item in order to allow the item’s portability to be used to advantage.

However it will be appreciated that over time of usage the available power from the battery power supply will expire so rendering the electrical item unusable, until the batteries are recharged. Unfortunately the provision of the available power sockets in many locations, such as public transport hubs, has not kept pace with the proliferation of electrical items so that any sockets which are available are in high demand. Furthermore there is also a potential problem with the provision of the power in terms of cost to the facility provider, which could be considerable should they have to increase the mains power supply sockets which are available for the public use. A further problem is that if the required number of sockets are to be provided, the infrastructure of the public area and the power supply thereto may have to be significantly adapted which may be an expensive requirement.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a system for the provision of electrical power which allows the same to be made available in a larger number in public areas, than is conventionally the case. A further aim is to provide the electrical power in a form which is at least sufficient to provide a charging facility for electrical items which can be selectively connected thereto. A further aim is to provide the charging facility as part of a device which has another function and to allow the charging to be achieved whilst the device is being used for said other function.

A yet further aim is to provide the electrical power system in a format which allows the same to be provided without significant alteration of the structure of the fabric of the structure and location in which the system is provided._A yet further aim is to provide apparatus which can be used to provide a charge to electrical items and to provide the apparatus in a manner such that the same can be moved around a predetermined area and is therefore non-static.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided an electric power supply system to provide an electrical charge for at least one electrical item, said system including a charging facility for the selective electric connection therewith of one or more power cells of the electrical item to allow electrical power to be provided to allow the charging of the one or more power cells when provided with, or separated from, the electrical item, said charging facility provided as part of a moveable device which has another potential functionality to the user and which has a power supply provided therewith to allow the electrical power to be provided to the charging facility whilst the moveable device is being used and/or is at rest.

In one embodiment the said movable device is a trolley. In one embodiment the trolley design is of the type to allow the transport of articles, such as luggage, around the public area by users.

In one embodiment the trolley includes one or more batteries which act as the power supply to the charging facility.

In one embodiment the movable device is for selective use in a public area such as an airport, of the types which can be used before or after passing through security, train station or the like.

Typically there are provided one or more docking stations at which a trolley or plurality of trolleys can be docked when not in use and from which the same can be removed for use by the user.

In one embodiment the docking station includes electrical connection means which allow a mains power supply to be connected to charge the respective batteries located on the trolleys when the trolleys are docked such that when the trolleys are released from the docking station for use, the batteries for that trolley are charged and user can place or connect their electrical item to allow charging of their electrical item from the charging facility while the trolley is also in use for its function of, for example, luggage moving or storage purposes.

By providing the invention in the manner described, so it is possible to relatively quickly and economically increase the number of charging opportunities which ate available at a public area and therefore allow the public area provider with the possibility of matching or exceeding the user demand for electrical charging opportunities to be available. It also means that the fixed infrastructure of the public area does not have to be greatly adapted other than to install the docking stations and provide batteries on the respective trolleys. At the least therefore the invention provides a relatively quick and temporary fix to the problem, whilst the public area is adapted to provide more “fixed” permanent charging facilities but, equally, there is no reason why the system as described cannot be used as a permanent long term system for the provision of non-static charging functionality.

The form of the charging facility provided on the trolley can be selected to suit the geographical location of the trolley and/or prevalent charging technology at that instant of time. In one example, the socket type which is most commonly used at an instant of time can be selected to be provided on the trolley. In another embodiment, the trolley may include any, or any combination of, a plurality of different connector types, such as contactless connection by inductance charging, or sockets, such as USB Type A, USB Type C connectors, or the like.

In one embodiment the charging facility is provided of a device which has another function and to allow the charging to be achieved whilst the device is being used for said other function. In one embodiment the said other function may be electronic guidance means and/or an information display.

In one embodiment the charging facility for the portable electrical item can be located as part of the handle assembly of the trolley, which may also include any further control or electronic information control or guidance equipment or power adaptation components which may be required. An advantage of providing the same as part of the handle assembly is that the handle assemblies are typically already designed to be relatively robust and therefore can provide protection from damage to the power charging connector.

Typically the batteries mounted on the trolley can be mounted in a relatively unobtrusive location and most typically at the base of the trolley so as not to unduly impact on the available space for placing the luggage thereon. Furthermore the weight of the batteries can be utilised to provide additional balance to the trolley when in use. In one embodiment the batteries and/or power system control means can be located integrally with, and possibly within, the frame of the trolley, which is typically formed by tubular members.

In one embodiment the connection facility between the trolleys and the docking station can be integrated into the frame of the trolleys and a mechanical docking facility is provided between the trolleys and /or the docking station so as to ensure that, when docked, the trolleys are correctly located so as to receive the charge for their respective batteries.

Typically the trolley will be provided with a security system of the type which prevents the trolley from being moved away, or outside of a defined area of permitted use.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a luggage trolley, said trolley including a frame, wheels mounted to the frame and a handle assembly and wherein said trolley includes an electrical charging facility for one or more power cells of an electrical item to allow electrical power to be provided to allow the charging of the one or more power cells when provided with, or separated from, the electrical item, and said charging facility obtains power from a power supply in the form of one or more batteries mounted on the trolley so as to allow the electrical power to be provided to the charging facility whilst the moveable device is being used and/or is at rest.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings; wherein

Figure 1 illustrates in a schematic manner a movable device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention in the form of a trolley;

Figure 2 illustrates a plan view of one embodiment of the handle assembly of the trolley in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a plan view of a series of trolleys in location with respect to a charging location;

Figure 4 illustrates a further embodiment of a movable device in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 5 illustrates a further embodiment of charging a movable item in accordance with the embodiment of Figure 4.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 there is illustrated one embodiment of the invention in which there is provided a troEey 2 for luggage which can be carried on the base frame 4, in this case hand or “carry-on” luggage of a type which is carried by a passenger for an airplane after they have checked in their hold luggage. The base 4 is generally angled so as to encourage the luggage to move towards contact with the back frame 6 and so not topple forwardly as the trolley is being moved along on its wheels 8 in the direction indicated by arrow 10. The trolley includes a handle assembly 12 which includes two end portions 14, 16 and a central portion 18 intermediate the end portions and these can be gripped by the user as they are pushing the trolley. The trolley also includes a basket 20 for the location therein of smaller items and/or in which the item which is to be charged can be located whilst being charged by the charging facility provided on the trolley. The trolleys can be provided in many designs and other than those illustrated herein for the purpose of explanation of the invention.

In accordance with the invention, in this embodiment the trolley also includes one or more batteries 22 mounted on a bar 24 of the back frame 6 at a suitable location such that the same will not be impacted by the luggage on the trolley or when the trolley is docked with further trolleys. The battery is connected by cabling which typically passes along the interior of the frame members to a charging facility 26 provided on the central portion 18 of the handle assembly and to a charging means for the battery.

The battery 22 provides power to the charging facility 26 which is shown in one embodiment in Figure 2. In this embodiment the charging facility is provided with a number of different types of connectors, including USB Type A connectors 28, a USB Type C connector 30 and a wireless charging apparatus, such as magnetic resonance surface connector 32 or other system, each of which are available to be selectively used by a user to charge an electrical item and thereby allow a power cell for their electrical item to be charged with power from the battery 22, typically while the trolley is also in use for luggage transport. In this example, one of the USB connectors is shown in connection with a USB plug 34 and cable 36 which is connected to a laptop electrical item 38 which is positioned in the basket 20. Thus the battery provided in the laptop 38 is charged. The charging facility is also provided with any appropriate control means to ensure that the power supplied from the connection means is of the appropriate voltage/current as required for the charging of the items to be safely achieved and thereby allow the charging function to be performed as the trolley is being moved about with the item or a number of items connected to the trolley charging facility.

In one embodiment the battery 22 of the trolley may be charged by the movement of the trolley wheels in a similar manner to that of a dynamo for a cycle. However instead, or in addition, there can be provided a docking station 40 which is shown schematically in Figure 3 and which includes a mains power connection 42 which is connected to elongate conductors 42’, 42” with which a first trolley 2 engages mechanically and electrically via conductors 44’, 44” mounted on the frame of the trolley and which are located so as to contact with the conductors 42’,42” which are typically provided as part of guide means 48. Cable connections pass from the conductors 44’, 44” through, within or along the frame of the trolley to supply charging power to the battery 22 for that trolley. The guide means 48 are typically provided in order to guide the position of the lead trolley 2’ into a mechanical and electrical engagement with the docking station and also allow the subsequent trolleys 2’, 2” to be appropriately mechanically and electrically engaged. When a user wishes to use a trolley they remove the leading trolley 2, in the direction indicated by arrow 50 and when they wish to finish use of the trolley they insert the trolley into the guide means in the direction 52 at end 54. This ensures that in accordance with this system the trolley which has been charged for the longest (i.e. the leading trolley 2), is the trolley which is first removed for use and then this occurs repeatedly with consecutive trolleys 2’, 2” and so on.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a further embodiment of the invention in which there is provided an alternative form of trolley. In this case there is provided a trolley 102 for luggage which can be carried on the base frame 104, in this case for more substantial items of luggage or indeed other bulky items. The base 104 is again angled and connected to a back frame 106 and the trolley is movable along a surface on its wheels 108 in the direction indicated by arrow 110. The trolley includes a handle assembly 112 which includes two end portions 14, 16 and a central portion 18 intermediate the end portions and these can be gripped by the user as they are pushing the trolley. The trolley also includes a basket 120 for the location therein of smaller items. In this embodiment the trolley also includes one or more batteries 122 mounted on a bar 124 of the back frame 106 at a suitable location such that the same will not be impacted by the luggage on the trolley or when the trolley is docked with further trolleys. The battery is connected to a charging facility 26, in this embodiment by cabling which passes along the interior of the frame members to the charging facility provided on the central portion 18 of the handle assembly and to a charging means for the battery. The battery 22 provides power to the charging facility 26 which can be of the same general configuration as that shown in Figure 2 and described previously.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 there is an alternative embodiment of a docking station 140 which is shown schematically in side elevation and which includes a mains power connection 142 which is connected at location 144 to conductors formed as part of the frame base 104 of the trolley 102. Cable connections pass through the frame of the trolley to supply charging power to the battery 122 for that trolley and also to supply power to a location 146 with a conductor provided on the next trolley, 102’, to be docked and so allow the electrical power from mains power connection 142 to be used to charge the battery 122’ of trolley 102’ and so, in torn, battery 122” of trolley 102” when it is docked in position. Guide means 148 are typically provided in order to guide the position of the lead trolley 102’ into a mechanical and electrical engagement with the docking station and also allow the subsequent trolleys 102’, 102” to be appropriately mechanically and electrically engaged.

In another embodiment each trolley may have only one electrical connection location which is positioned so as to allow the electrical connection to the mains power supply connector if it is the leading trolley, or to an electrical conductor on the previous trolley if it is docked subsequent to the leading trolley.

In either embodiment, it can therefore be assured that the battery 22,122 on each respective trolley will have sufficient power charge to allow the same to provide power for charging of the batteries of electrical items and in particular portable or mobile items which are capable of being moved along with the trolley and at the same time be charged when connected to the trolley charging station and the trolley is in use independently of the docking station.

Claims

1. An electric power supply system to provide an electrical charge for at least one electrical item, said system including a charging facility for the selective electric connection therewith of one or more power cells of the electrical item to allow electrical power to be provided to allow the charging of the one or more power cells when provided with, or separated from, the electrical item, said charging facility provided as part of a moveable device which has another potential functionality to the user and which has a power supply provided therewith to allow the electrical power to be provided to the charging facility whilst the moveable device is being used and/or is at rest.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the moveable device is a trolley.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the trolley design is such as to allow the transport of articles thereon.

4. Apparatus according to any preceding claims wherein the trolley includes one or more batteries which act as a power supply to the connector.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the moveable device is for selective use in a public area.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is provided one or more docking stations at which one or more of the moveable devices can be docked when not in use and from which the same can be removed for use.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the docking station includes electrical connection means which allows a mains power supply to be connected thereto to charge the respective batteries located on the moveable devices when the same are docked.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein when the moveable devices are released from the docking station for use, the batteries for that moveable device are charged and the user can connect the electrical item to allow charging of the said electrical item whilst the moveable device is also in use for its function.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the format of the charging facility provided on the moveable device is selected to suit the geographical location of use of the moveable device and/or the electrical charging technology options available at an instant of time.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the charging facility includes any or any combination of a USB type A, USB type C connector and/or wireless charging facility.

11. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the charging facility for charging the portable electric item is located as part of the handle assembly of the moveable device.

12. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the one or more batteries mounted on the moveable device are located at the base of the moveable device.

13. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the one or more batteries and/or power system control means are located integrally with the frame of the moveable device.

14. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the connection facility between the moveable device and the docking station is integrated into the frame of the moveable device and the mechanical docking facility is provided to allow the moveable devices to be located with each other and/or the docking station and provided with electrical charge from the docking station.

15. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims wherein the moveable device is provided with a security system to prevent the trolley from being moved outside of a defined area of permitted use.

16. A luggage trolley, said trolley including a frame, wheels mounted to the frame and a handle assembly and wherein said trolley includes an electrical charging facility for one or more power cells of an electrical item to allow electrical power to be provided to allow the charging of the one or more power cells when provided with, or separated from, the electrical item, and said charging facility obtains power from a power supply in the form of one or more batteries mounted on the trolley so as to allow the electrical power to be provided to the charging facility whilst the moveable device is being used and/or is at rest.