Battery-assisted electric vehicle charging system and method

• US 10,040,363 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Powin Corporation (Powin Energy Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Powin Energy Corporation
• Inventors: Beaston, Virgil Lee, Williams, Daniel Dee, Emmons, Patten Atwood
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Drew A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhou, Zixuan
• Application Number:
  US14/884,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20170106764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 320109, 320103
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0016 using shunting, discharge or bypass circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

The disclosed systems and methods are directed to a battery assisted charging station. A battery system comprising plurality of batteries and a battery management system software controlling the operations of the battery system, function together with a vehicle charging system that charges electric vehicles using one or both of stored power provided by a battery system, and power provided by a utility power grid. The battery system uses the power grid to charge the batteries therein.

Claims

1. A battery-assisted electric vehicle charging system, the system comprising:

a battery system;

a charging station coupled to the battery system and to an electric power grid, and configured to provide a predetermined amount of power to an electric vehicle;

a first power providing unit coupled to the battery system, the first power providing unit including a first plurality of power providing modules configured to provide a first portion of the predetermined amount of power from the battery system to the electric vehicle, wherein each of the first plurality of power providing modules provides an equal amount of power; and

a second power providing unit coupled to the electric power grid, the second power providing unit including a second plurality of power providing modules configured to provide the second portion of the predetermined amount of power from the electric power grid to the electric vehicle, wherein each of the second plurality of power providing modules provides an equal amount of power, and

wherein at least one of the first plurality of power providing modules is disabled to reduce the first portion of the predetermined amount of power provided to the electric vehicle in response to the electric vehicle exceeding a predefined charge threshold.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount of power is 50 kilowatts (KW).

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the predetermined amount of power is 30 KW and the second portion of the predetermined amount of power is 20 KW.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the predetermined amount of power is 20 KW and the second portion of the predetermined amount of power is 30 KW.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second power providing unit comprises an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter configured to convert AC power from the electric power grid to DC power.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery system comprises:

a plurality of battery packs configured to provide energy to the charging station; and

a controller configured to determine a state of charge of the plurality of battery packs and to prevent the battery packs from providing energy to the charging station in response to determining that the state of charge is below a discharge threshold.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the charging station is further configured to provide a default amount of power to the electric vehicle in response to the controller determining that the state of charge is below the threshold, wherein the default amount of power is less than the predetermined amount of power.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery system is coupled to the electric power grid and is further configured to receive energy from the electric power grid.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the charging station comprises a system controller configured to receive a request for charge from the electric vehicle and to instruct the battery system to provide energy to the charging station in response to the request for charge.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined amount of power is 50 kilowatts (KW).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first portion of the predetermined amount of power is 30 KW and the second portion of the predetermined amount of power is 20 KW.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first portion of the predetermined amount of power is 20 KW and the second portion of the predetermined amount of power is 30 KW.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

discontinuing providing the first portion of power from the battery system in response to a state of charge of the battery system being below a discharge threshold or the electric vehicle being charged.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

discontinuing providing the second portion of power from the electric power grid in response to the electric vehicle being charged.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the first portion of the predetermined amount of power from the battery system comprises:

determining, by a controller disposed in the battery system, a state of charge of a plurality of battery packs disposed in the battery system; and

discharging energy from the plurality of battery packs to provide the first portion of the predetermined amount of power to the charging station until the state of charge is less than a discharge threshold or the electric vehicle is charged.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein providing the first portion of the predetermined amount of power from the battery system comprises:

preventing the plurality of battery packs from providing energy to the charging station in response to determining that the state of charge is below the discharge threshold.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

adding energy to the plurality of battery packs from an electric power grid until the state of charge exceeds a charge threshold.

10. A method for charging an electric vehicle using a battery-assisted electric vehicle charging system, the method comprising:

receiving, at a charging station, a request from an electric vehicle for a predetermined amount of power, wherein the charging station comprises a first power providing unit including a first plurality of power providing modules and a second power providing unit including a second plurality of power providing modules;

providing, by the first plurality of power providing modules of the first power providing unit, a first portion of the predetermined amount of power from a battery system coupled to the charging station in response to the request, wherein each of the first plurality of power providing modules provides an equal amount of power;

providing, by the second plurality of power providing modules of the second power providing unit, a second portion of the predetermined amount of power from an electric power grid coupled to the charging station in response to the request, wherein each of the second plurality of power providing modules provides an equal amount of power; and

disabling at least one of the first plurality of power providing modules of the first power providing unit to reduce the first portion of the predetermined amount of power provided to the electric vehicle in response to the electric vehicle exceeding a predefined charge threshold.