Charging system

• US 10,093,193 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2016
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nichicon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nichicon Corporation
• Inventors: Ohkuma, Shigeo, Kinomura, Ryota
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, NGHIA M
• Application Number:
  US15/282,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20170182900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 320104, 320109, 320116-117, 320119, 320122
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/50 Charging stations characterised by energy-storage or power-generation means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

Provided is a charging system that causes usage conditions of chargers to be more equalized than before. A charging system includes a plurality of chargers. A controller of a first charger requests second chargers to output assistance power to a power sharing cable based on second charger information regarding the second charger when charge request from an electrically-powered vehicle connected to a charging port of the first charger exceeds output power capacity of a charging portion.

Claims

1. A charging system for an electrically-powered vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of chargers that include at least a first charger and a second charger and that are capable of communicating with one another, each of the chargers including

at least one charging port detachably attachable to the electrically-powered vehicle,

a charging portion connected to the charging port to output charge power to the charging port in accordance with a charge request from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port, and

a controller configured to control the charging portion; and

a power sharing cable that connects the charging portions of the chargers,

the controller of the first charger configured to request the second charger to output assistance power to the power sharing cable based on second charger information regarding the second charger when the charge request power from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port of the first charger exceeds output power capacity of the charging portion of the first charger, wherein the controller is configured to receive the second charger information at regular time intervals.

2. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the second charger information includes surplus power acquired by subtracting a sum of charge power output by the second charger from output power capacity of the second charger.

3. The charging system according to claim 2, wherein the second charger information further includes a total operating time being a sum of times for which the second charger has output charge power.

4. The charging system according to claim 2, wherein the second charger information further includes an elapsed time from when the second charger becomes into an idling state.

5. The charging system according to claim 2, wherein the controller of the first charger is configured to perform requesting for assistance power outputting only when an excess amount of the charge request power from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port of the first charger exceeding the output power capacity of the first charger is equal to or smaller than a sum of the surplus power of the other chargers including the second charger.

6. The charging system according to claim 1,

wherein each of the chargers further includes an input portion configured to receive setting of a charge reservation provided by a user,

the second charger information further includes the setting of the charge reservation, and

the controller of the first charger is configured to exclude a charger having the charge reservation among the other chargers including the second charger from destinations of request for the assistance power outputting.

7. The charging system according to claim 2,

wherein each of the chargers further includes an input portion configured to receive setting of even charging provided by a user, and

the controller of the first charger is configured, when the setting of even charging is provided, to exclude a charger with surplus power being zero among the other chargers including the second charger from destinations of request for the assistance power outputting and to perform requesting for the assistance power outputting evenly to each of the other chargers that are not excluded.

8. A charging system for an electrically-powered vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of chargers that include at least a first charger and a second charger, each of the chargers including

at least one charging port detachably attachable to the electrically-powered vehicle,

a charging portion connected to the charging port to output charge power to the charging port in accordance with a charge request from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port, and

a controller configured to control the charging portion;

a power sharing cable that connects the charging portions of the chargers; and

a central controller configured to communicate with the respective chargers, the central controller configured to request the second charger to output assistance power to the power sharing cable based on second charger information regarding the second charger when the charge request power from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port of the first charger exceeds output power capacity of the charging portion of the first charger, wherein the central controller is configured to receive the second charger information at regular time intervals.

9. The charging system according to claim 8, wherein the second charger information includes surplus power acquired by subtracting a sum of charge power output by the second charger from output power capacity of the second charger.

10. The charging system according to claim 9, wherein the second charger information further includes a total operating time being a sum of times for which the second charger has output charge power.

11. The charging system according to claim 9, wherein the second charger information further includes an elapsed time from when the second charger becomes into an idling state.

12. The charging system according to claim 9, wherein the controller of the first charger is configured to perform requesting for assistance power outputting only when an excess amount of the charge request power from the electrically-powered vehicle when connected to the charging port of the first charger exceeding the output power capacity of the first charger is equal to or smaller than a sum of the surplus power of the other chargers including the second charger.

13. The charging system according to claim 8,

wherein each of the chargers further includes an input portion configured to receive setting of a charge reservation provided by a user,

the second charger information further includes the setting of the charge reservation, and

the controller of the first charger is configured to exclude a charger having the charge reservation among the other chargers including the second charger from destinations of request for the assistance power outputting.

14. The charging system according to claim 9,

wherein each of the chargers further includes an input portion configured to receive setting of even charging provided by a user, and

the controller of the first charger is configured, when the setting of even charging is provided, to exclude a charger with surplus power being zero among the other chargers including the second charger from destinations of request for the assistance power outputting and to perform requesting for the assistance power outputting evenly to each of the other chargers that are not excluded.