Electric Kerb - Kerbside electric vehicle charger
This charging device has the ability to bring electric vehicles to the masses, certainly for those who live with on street parking. It is designed to be simplistic, with all users in mind, (not all accessibility features are shown on this website.) Being flush to the surface, water and dirt ingress are known issues, the Electric Kerb has been designed to be waterproof with preventative measures to stop dirt entering the device. Should there be an ingress issue, this product is also designed so that any maintenance and management can be easily and quickly carried out.
This is a charging unit that is designed to blend in, and does not require to be plugged in to bollards, lighting columns or any other street furniture. There is no need to install large equipment. A standalone charge point could be used for a single user. Multiple chargers can be connected together through a small control unit, with all charge points connected through a cloud based system, so your vehicle could be charged from any point installed around the country.
The Electric Kerb, unlike some other kerbside chargers is deliberately small, it doesn’t need to make a massive statement, it needs to charge vehicles. Because of its small size it would be at home on a narrow footpath or at a cinema car park. Substantially less materials will be needed to make this, bringing down production costs, cost savings can be passed to the customers.
Ideally this will be made by injecting moulding, this will allow the device to be strong and robust, as continual improvement will better the product. As this develops, looking into using recycled materials (such as ocean plastics) will be key for sustainable manufacturing.
This has been a solo project, with a recent collaboration for R&D. This invention has Patent Pending (PCT) status. Currently we are developing this, we have detailed design work complete. We have an initial prototype (after collaborating with Lancaster University), in order to show the principles of the idea.
The prototype has fully working electrical components such as RFID Reader Board, OLED Display, and an Ardunio Nano Microcontroller. There is also have a full Circuit Schematic and Full Code.
Many contacts have been made throughout 2020 and we believe that a live trial could be achieved in the near future. Investors welcome, we are happy to discuss.
The latest updates can be found here as soon as practicable, alternatively on the below. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjwedgeineering/
