Patents
US 9090253 B2: Method and apparatus for vehicular energy management
- Granted
- 2015-07-28
- Filed
- 2013-01-29 application 13752765
- Type
- Utility · 22 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A vehicle energy management system for gathering, storing the energy, and distributing the stored energy supports various subsystems on the vehicle such as driver comfort systems, payload refrigeration, liftgate mechanisms, and roof de-icing, for example. The system harvests energy from various sources available to the vehicle, such as solar panels, regenerative braking and shock absorbers. The harvested energy is gathered for battery storage. Management logic allocates the stored electricity to various vehicle loads defined by the subsystems, based on factors such as time of day, ambient temperature, and weather conditions, which are used to predict the electrical demand called for by the loads. Harvestable energy sources available to the vehicle, combined with sufficient battery storage, provides electrical power for supporting these loads without relying on an idling engine for providing electrical or hydraulic power to accommodate the vehicle subsystems, such as comfort stations for an idle-free vehicle implementation.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg150728.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eNow, Inc. 7 patents | US company or organization | East Greenwich, RI | eNow, Inc. Form D issuer EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey C. Flath | East Greenwich, RI | 14 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Robert W. Doane | Harwich, MA | 12 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| John Mallon | Wakefield, RI | 3 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Theodore B. Howell | East Greenwich, RI | 1 | Person page FUZZY medium confidence | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Gary T. Wenger | Harvard, MA | 3 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Philip R. Pierce | Fernandina Beach, FL | 7 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B60W | Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function; control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles; road vehicle drive control systems for purposes not related to the control of a particular sub-unit | B60W20/10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B60K | Arrangement or mounting of propulsion units or of transmissions in vehicles; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers in vehicles; auxiliary drives for vehicles; instrumentation or dashboards for vehicles; arrangements in connection with cooling, air intake, gas exhaust or fuel supply of propulsion units in vehicles | B60K16/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B60Y | Indexing scheme relating to aspects cross-cutting vehicle technology | B60Y2200/14 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y02T | Climate change mitigation technologies related to transportation | Y02T10/90 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y10S | Technical subjects covered by former uspc cross-reference art collections [xracs] and digests | Y10S903/903 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-02 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | ENOW SYSTEMS LLC signed 2026-02-02 | NIVALIS ENERGY SYSTEMS LLC HUNT VALLEY, MD | 73662/78 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2023-04-03 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | ENOW, INC. signed 2022-09-01 | ENOW SYSTEMS LLC WARWICK, RI | 63201/440 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2016-05-25 | Security interest Security interest Security interest | ENOW, INC. signed 2016-03-11 | CITIZENS BANK, N.A. PROVIDENCE, RI | 38716/286 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2016-05-19 | Name change Change of name | DOANE, ROBERT signed 2013-01-29 FLATH, JEFFREY C. signed 2013-01-29 PIERCE, PHILIP R. signed 2013-01-29 MALLON, JOHN signed 2013-01-30 WENGER, GARY T. signed 2013-01-30 HOWELL, THEODORE B. signed 2015-05-23 | ENOW, INC. WARWICK, RI | 38642/81 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2013-05-23 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | HOWELL, THEODORE B. signed 2013-05-17 | ENOW WARWICK, RI | 30472/137 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2013-03-25 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | DOANE, ROBERT signed 2013-01-29 FLATH, JEFFREY C. signed 2013-01-29 PIERCE, PHILIP R. signed 2013-01-29 MALLON, JOHN signed 2013-01-30 WENGER, GARY T. signed 2013-01-30 | ENOW WARWICK, RI | 30077/232 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.