US 12,252,027 B2
Vehicle docking structure with a solar panel
Jordan Elias Brooks, San Francisco, CA (US); Alexander Timothy Dixon, San Anselmo, CA (US); Robert Andrew Ewaschuk, Brooklyn, NY (US); Chen-Yu Lin, Santa Clara, CA (US); Dawei Liu, San Bruno, CA (US); Scott McDaid, San Francisco, CA (US); Ulhas Subramaniam, Fremont, CA (US); Joseph Daniel Taylor, San Francisco, CA (US); and Jennifer Uang, Emeryville, CA (US)
Assigned to Lyft, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by Lyft, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Dec. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/565,269.
Prior Publication US 2023/0202326 A1, Jun. 29, 2023
Int. Cl. B60L 53/51 (2019.01); B60L 53/65 (2019.01); B60L 53/68 (2019.01)
CPC B60L 53/51 (2019.02) [B60L 53/65 (2019.02); B60L 53/68 (2019.02); B60L 2200/12 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A dock for docking a rideable vehicle, comprising:
a housing structure comprising two side portions and a top portion connecting the two side portions, the two side portions and the top portion defining a cavity for receiving a portion of the rideable vehicle;
an electrically-powered locking assembly, coupled to the housing structure, for securing the housing structure to the rideable vehicle subsequent to the portion of the rideable vehicle being received by the cavity of the housing structure, wherein the portion of the rideable vehicle being received by the cavity of the housing structure is a locking member of the rideable vehicle;
an electrically-powered wireless communication device, located within the housing structure, for enabling data communication over a network to indicate a status of the rideable vehicle relative to the housing structure;
a solar panel, coupled to an external surface of one of the side portions of the housing structure, for independently converting light received by the solar panel into electrical energy; and
a battery that is configured to store the electrical energy converted by the solar panel, wherein the battery is located within the housing structure and is configured to independently power (i) the electrically-powered locking assembly to unlock the rideable vehicle from the housing structure, and (ii) the electrically-powered wireless communication device to indicate the status of the rideable vehicle.