Patent attributes
The vehicle battery pack exchange system herein described charges renters for the time use interval, the energy needed to recharge the battery pack, and the battery wear their use has caused. Data on battery wear accelerating stress parameters such as current, voltage, temperature, and state of charge is collected for battery packs rented to vehicle users. Wear rates are estimated from the collected data. Then either users are charged for the wear they cause or wear is limited to some predetermined wear rate and users are charged a predetermined battery wear fee per kWh delivered by the battery pack. In either embodiment drivers are displayed information to adapt their driving to battery wear rates. Renters are charged for battery pack usage time, energy supplied by the rental station, and battery wear providing battery owners a secure return on their investment. This system accommodates both short term and sustained long term rentals. Long term rental of a single battery pack for local use gives convenience and low costs while short term rentals provide unlimited range via swapping exhausted packs for recharged units during extended travel.
