Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090045815 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING POWER FLOW OF AN ELECTRIC POWER STORAGE DEVICE - An electrical power storage device provides power to crank an internal combustion engine. Thereafter available power from the electric power storage device to crank the engine again is continually updated. Remedial measures are invoked if the available power is less than a predetermined power threshold. | 02-19-2009 |
20090322340 | Method for battery state-of-health monitoring using battery voltage during vehicle starting - A method is provided for determining a battery's state-of-health. An initial battery voltage is measured after a first voltage drop during an initiation of an engine cranking phase. A battery voltage is monitored during the remainder of the engine cranking phase. A lowest battery voltage is determined during the remainder of the engine cranking phase. A determination is made if a voltage difference between the lowest battery voltage and the initial battery voltage at the initiation of the engine cranking phase is less than a voltage threshold. A low battery state-of-health is identified in response to the voltage difference being less than the voltage threshold. | 12-31-2009 |
20100154524 | CRANKING CAPABILITY ESTIMATION FOR A VEHICULAR STARTING SYSTEM - A method is provided for determining a cranking capability of a starting system for an internal combustion engine. An average power output of a battery is determined for the starting system during a start engine cranking interval. A temperature of the starting system is determined at an initiation of the start engine cranking interval. A predetermined average power output capability for a battery having a full state of charge at the determined temperature is looked up. A predetermined minimum average power output required of the battery for starting the respective engine at the determined temperature is looked up. A state of function based on the determined average power outputs is determined. The cranking capability of the starting system is identified in response to the determined state of function. | 06-24-2010 |
20120200298 | Automotive Battery SOC Estimation Based on Voltage Decay - A method is provided for determining a state-of-charge of a battery for a vehicle. The vehicle is in a charging state when the engine is operating and a non-charging state when the engine is not operating. A first battery voltage is measured at a first predetermined time period after battery charging is discontinued in the non-charging state. A first temperature of the battery is measured that coincides with the first battery voltage. A second battery voltage is measured at a second predetermined time. The second predetermined time is greater than the first predetermined time. A second temperature of the battery is measured that coincides with the second battery voltage. An average temperature is calculated based on the first temperature measurement and the second temperature measurement. A fixed time constant is determined based on the average temperature. An open circuit voltage is estimated as a function of the first voltage measurement, the second voltage measurement, and the fixed time constant. A state-of-charge of the battery is determined based on the estimated open circuit voltage. | 08-09-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130309114 | SLIDING VANE POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP - A sliding vane, positive displacement pump is provided which uses a fixed disc configuration wherein a rotor includes a pair of discs affixed to opposite faces of the rotor so as to rotate with the rotor/shaft. Preferably, the discs each have an outer diameter proximate the outer diameter of the rotor and define an outer disc surface which faces radially outwardly towards an opposing, inside surface of the pump head or other casing structure. A dynamic seal is provided along the outside disc diameter which eliminates the formation of slip between end surfaces. The path of fluid traveling from the high pressure pump side near the outlet to the low pressure side of pump near the inlet is controlled with a radial clearance that is defined between the OD of each disc and the ID of the stationary head. This effectively eliminates direct slip paths extending radially across axially-directed end faces | 11-21-2013 |
20140023530 | PISTON PUMP FOR LIQUEFIED GAS - A fuel supply system for a vehicle uses a multi-piston LPG injunction pump which pumps fluid from a storage tank to an engine. The multi-piston pump uses the vehicle's pneumatic air system, wherein the pressurized air of this system alternatingly drives at least two pistons of the piston pump. Each piston moves through a pumping stroke and a return stroke wherein one piston moves through a pumping stroke, while the opposite piston moves through a return stroke. The pump includes barrier fluid chambers surrounding each of the pistons wherein during a pumping stroke of one piston, a first barrier fluid chamber associated with the one piston decreases in volume as the piston displaces through its pumping stroke. This reduction in volume of the barrier chamber drives the barrier fluid out of the first barrier fluid chamber into a second barrier fluid chamber associated with the second piston. By driving the barrier fluid into this second chamber, this pressurizes the second chamber and effects the displacing movement of the second piston through its return stroke as the barrier fluid chamber increases in volume through the movement of the second piston. | 01-23-2014 |
20140271262 | SEAL-LESS PISTON PUMP FOR LIQUEFIED GAS - A fuel supply system for a vehicle uses a seal-less piston LPG injunction pump which pumps fluid from a storage tank to an engine. The pump uses the vehicle's pneumatic air system, wherein the pressurized air of this system alternatingly drives an actuator magnetically coupled to a piston. | 09-18-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120278207 | Transporting Currency - A method of handling currency includes receiving currency into a safe at an origination location. The safe is configured to count and store currency. The method further includes receiving a withdrawal request for an amount of currency stored in the safe. In response to the withdrawal request, the safe deposits the requested amount of currency into a container, associates information with the container, seals the container, and after sealing the container, allows retrieval of the container (e.g., from the safe). The method includes retrieving the sealed container, transporting the sealed container to a destination location, and receiving the sealed container in a secure deposit system at the destination location. | 11-01-2012 |
20120278208 | Transporting Currency - A method of handling currency includes receiving currency into a safe at a first location. The safe is configured to count and store currency. The method further includes receiving a withdrawal request for an amount of currency stored in the safe. In response to the withdrawal request, the safe deposits the requested amount of currency into a container, associates information with the container, seals the container, and after sealing the container, allows retrieval of the container (e.g., from the safe). The method includes retrieving the sealed container, transporting the sealed container to a second location, and receiving the sealed container in a secure deposit system at the second location. | 11-01-2012 |
20130066799 | Transporting Currency - A currency handling system includes a safe at a first location. The safe seals received currency in a tamper evident container before allowing access to the container. The container includes a container body defining a mouth providing access to an inner volume having variable height. The inner volume has a length and width sized to receive and hold currency in a stacked arrangement. The container also includes an information storage device disposed on the container body and a closure fastener disposed on at least one of the mouth and a side wall of the container body for holding the mouth in a permanently closed state, preventing non-destructive access to the inner volume of the container body. The currency handling system also includes a secure deposit system at a second location configured to receive the sealed container. | 03-14-2013 |
20130239184 | Method and System for Controlling a Safe from a Remote Computing Device - Systems and methods for controlling a safe are disclosed. The system includes a safe having one or more networked devices, a mobile computing device, and a virtual safe controller server (VCF). The VCF server is configured to initiate a control session of the safe, determine a role of the user, transmit an instruction to the mobile computing device indicating one or more graphical user interfaces to display based on the role of the user, receive a command from the mobile computing device via the network, and transmit the command to the networked device over the network. The control session provides a user of the mobile computing device control of the networked devices. The role of the user is indicative of actions that the user has permission to perform on the networked devices. The command indicates a commanded action to be performed on a networked device. | 09-12-2013 |
20140058856 | Point-of-Sale System - One aspect of the disclosure provides a point-of-sale terminal system. The system includes a till, a bill manipulator, and a bill acceptor. The till has a plurality of slots, with each slot being configured to hold currency in the form of bills. The bill manipulator is coupled to the plurality of slots, and a bill acceptor is coupled to the bill manipulator. The bill manipulator moves individual bills from the till to the bill acceptor and the bill acceptor outputs bills to a currency storage unit. The system also includes a processing device configured to determine a number of bills in each of the plurality of slots, to determine a number N indicating a number of bills to remove from a slot of the plurality of slots based on the number of bills in the slot, and to command the bill manipulator to transfer N bills from the slot. | 02-27-2014 |