Automatic and Dynamic Home Electricity Load Balancing for the Purpose of EV Charging

• US 20110221393A1
• Filed: 03/14/2011
• Published: 09/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TurboPatent Corp.
• Inventors: Billmaier, James A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,232,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/02 using a single network for simultaneous distribution of power at different frequencies; using a single network for simultaneous distribution of ac power and of dc power
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• 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: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

An electric vehicle charging system includes logic collocated with an electric service panel to monitor a total present electric current consumption value for all electric consumers below a point in the service panel; a first input to receive the present electric current consumption value from the logic collocated with the service panel, and to compare the present electric current consumption value with a maximum current capacity value for the service panel; a second input to receive electric current from the service panel; an output to supply electric charging power to at least one electric vehicle; and logic to set an electric charging current drawn from the service panel through the second input and provided to the electric vehicle charging output to a value less than a difference between the maximum current capacity for the service panel and a sum of the present electric current consumption value and the current consumption value of a largest expected electric consumer.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging system, comprising:

logic collocated with an electric service panel to monitor a total present electric current consumption value for all electric consumers below a point in the service panel;

an first input to receive the present electric current consumption value from the logic collocated with the service panel, and to compare the present electric current consumption value with a maximum current capacity value for the service panel;

a second input to receive electric current from the service panel;

an output to supply electric charging power to at least one electric vehicle;

logic to set an electric charging current drawn from the service panel through the second input and provided to the electric vehicle charging output to a value less than a difference between the maximum current capacity for the service panel and a sum of the present electric current consumption value and the current consumption value of a largest expected electric consumer.

2. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising:

the largest expected electric consumer is a group of more than one electric consumers that are expected to be active at the same time, based on one or more of the time of day or day of the week.

3. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising:

the logic collocated with the electric service panel is adapted to interface with the electric service panel in the same manner as a circuit breaker device.

4. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 3, further comprising:

the system includes a logic setting for an offset amount of current reflecting a location of the logic collocated on the service panel along a hot rail of the service panel, the offset amount representing an amount of electricity used by electric consumers served by breakers above the collocated logic on the hot rail.

5. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising:

the output includes multiple couplers to interface with multiple electric vehicles; and

logic to load share the supply of electric charging power among the multiple couplers.

6. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 5, further comprising:

logic to allocate the supply of electric charging power among the couplers according to charging requirements of the electric vehicles.

7. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 6, further comprising:

logic to allocate the supply of electric charging power asymmetrically among the electric vehicles.

8. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising:

the supply of electric charging power provided to the output is inversely proportional to an amount of time until a next driving session for a coupled electric vehicle and directly proportional to an amount of depletion of a battery of the coupled electric vehicle.

9. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 5, further comprising:

the supply of electric charging power is allocated among the electric vehicles based upon one or the more following;

an electric vehicle battery size;

an electric vehicle battery status;

an electric vehicle battery average mean, median, or mode of daily miles driven;

a charging history for an electric vehicle.

10. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 7, further comprising:

logic to allocate the supply of electric charging power based on a rotating asymmetric duty cycle.

11. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising:

logic to output a charging status for an electric vehicle to an interface whereby the charging status is communicated wirelessly to a consumer'"'"'s wireless receiving data device.