CHARGE CONTROLLER AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME

• US 20110304304A1
• Filed: 06/10/2011
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: ANKYU, Tatsuya
• Application Number:
  US13/157,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20110304304A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/162
• 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 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• 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

A charge controller supplies current to a plurality of charging devices for charging a battery for a vehicle including an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The charge controller includes a rechargeable battery, a current supply unit and a current distribution controller. The rechargeable battery stores electric power supplied from a power distribution line. The current supply unit supplies current from the rechargeable battery to the charging devices. The current distribution controller determines distribution of the current supplied through the current supply unit to the charging devices based on the charging data about the vehicle received from the charging devices.

Claims

1. A charge controller supplying current to a plurality of charging devices for charging a battery for a vehicle including an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid vehicle comprising:

a rechargeable battery storing electric power supplied from a power distribution line;

a current supply unit supplying current from the rechargeable battery to the charging devices, and

a current distribution controller determining distribution of the current supplied through the current supply unit to the charging devices based on the charging data about the vehicle received from the charging devices.

2. The charge controller according to claim 1, wherein the charging data is scheduled time of using the vehicle and/or data of the remaining amount of electric power in the battery of the vehicle.

3. The charge controller according to claim 2, wherein the distribution of the current is determined such that the charging device for charging the vehicle having the earliest scheduled time is charged preferentially.

4. A method of operating a charge controller for supplying current to a plurality of charging devices for charging a battery for a vehicle including an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle, comprising the steps of:

receiving charging data about the vehicle from the charging devices, and

determining distribution of the current supplied to the charging devices from a rechargeable battery storing electric power supplied from a power distribution line.

5. The method according to 4, wherein the charging data is scheduled time of using the vehicle and/or data of the remaining amount of electric power in the battery of the vehicle.