US 9,182,244 · Granted 2015-11-10
The Patent That Makes Batteries Only Charge From Trusted Machines
Imagine a battery that refuses to charge unless it gets a secret password from the right machine—that's what this patent does. Gogoro built a network of smart charging stations that talk to special batteries, so only authorized machines can fill them up or let them release power to a vehicle.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a system where portable energy storage devices (batteries, supercapacitors) are locked by default and only accept a charge or release power when they receive authentication credentials from an authorized charging machine, device, or vehicle. What's protected here is the specific method of using authentication handshakes to enable or disable power flow in battery networks, including the machines that collect, charge, and distribute these devices.
Why it matters
This patent is the backbone of Gogoro's battery-swapping ecosystem. By requiring authentication, Gogoro prevents counterfeit batteries from entering the network, protects its proprietary charging infrastructure, and ensures batteries only charge at official stations. It's a clever way to lock customers into a service model while preventing tampering or theft—turning individual batteries into nodes in a controlled, profitable network rather than standalone commodity products.
Real-world use
When you pull up to a Gogoro battery-swap station on a scooter, the station reads your battery's credentials and only then unlocks the charging circuit to fill it—or unlocks your battery to release power to your vehicle.
Original USPTO abstract
A network of collection, charging and distribution machines collect, charge and distribute portable electrical energy storage devices (e.g., batteries, supercapacitors or ultracapacitors). To charge, the machines employ electrical current from an external source, such as the electrical grid or an electrical service of an installation location. By default, each portable electrical energy storage device is disabled from accepting a charge unless it receives authentication information from an authorized collection, charging and distribution machine, other authorized charging device, or other authorized device that transmits the authentication credentials. Also, by default, each portable electrical energy storage device is disabled from releasing energy unless it receives authentication information from an external device to which it will provide power, such as a vehicle or other authorization device.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 9,182,244
- Filing date
- 2012-07-26
- Grant date
- 2015-11-10
- Assignee
- Gogoro Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- LUKE HOK-SUM HORACE, TAYLOR MATTHEW WHITING
- CPC class
- G01C21/3682
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