Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
The Generation 2 Voltpost Air is an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger that wraps around the top of a regular, public utility lamppost. The Voltpost Air EV charger is mobile-app-operated, with a charging cable that is lowered and raised from the Voltpost Air wraparound solution, installed at the top of the lamppost (see image below). Thus, the Voltpost Air EV charger Generation 2, like the Generation 1 Voltpost EV charger installed at the base of a lamppost, also cooperates with the existing electric grid infrastructure, built into public lampposts, bypassing the prohibitive costs of new infrastructure.
In a nutshell, the Voltpost solution seeks to resolve the shortage of EV chargers. The absence of widespread availability of EV chargers is believed to ultimately prevent wider use of EV vehicles. As a result, the proportion of fossil fuel burned by cars (which produce 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions) remains insufficiently abated, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, which are assumed to cause global warming.
The cable mechanism invention for the Voltpost Air EV charger is recited in a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application, filed at the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The WIPO patent application WO2024/59088A2, titled Cable mechanism for EV charging station, was published on March 21, 2024. The inventors on record are Chiraag, M. HEBBAR and Alejandro, Enrique VALLEJO, both from California.
Below, the extracted patent Figure 1 depicts a cable mechanism, embodying the invention. According to the invention, the Figure 1 comprises a cable mechanism 100, comprising a housing 130 with an energy input opening 132, and an exit opening 131 (for the charging cable 101). Inside the housing, a motor assembly 110 and a pulley assembly 120 operate a charging cable 101, which has a free end 102, a fixed end 105, a portion 104 in between engaged with the pulley assembly 120, and a portion 103 that leads the charging cable up or down. The pulley assembly 120 moves from a first to a second position to lower the charging cable 101, and from a second to a first position to retract the charging cable. The fixed end of the charging cable 105 is connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) 140. A controller 150 synchronizes the motor 110 drive with the pulley assembly 120 to maintain tension and prevent buckling of the charging cable 101. The free end of the charging cable 102 has a user-control unit 155 with buttons to raise and lower the charging cable 101.
Below, the patent Abstract.
The cable mechanism dispenses and retracts a cable having a free and a fixed end. The cable mechanism includes a motor assembly configured to engage a leading portion of the cable to dispense or retract the cable and a pulley assembly configured to engage a following portion of the cable. The following portion may be arranged between the leading portion and the fixed end of the cable. The pulley assembly may be movable relative to the motor assembly between a first position and a second position. Moving the pulley assembly from the first position to the second position may dispense the cable, and moving the pulley assembly from the second position to the first position may retract the cable.[Abstract WO2024/59088A2]
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