SYSTEM FOR MANAGING ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRUBUTION BETWEEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• US 20120083932A1
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Deepak, Phatak, Sujit
• Granted Patent: US 8,639,409 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/291
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/62 Vehicle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/68 Traffic data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/50 by future state prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/06 Controlling transfer of power between connected networks; Controlling sharing of load between connected networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• 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 20/222 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A system for managing electrical power requirements between at least two power grids including a number of automotive vehicles each of which has an electric motor which propels the vehicle at least partly during its operation. An electric battery is contained in each vehicle as well as a wireless transmitter. A processor contained within each vehicle communicates with the wireless transmitter to transmit information to a base station indicative of the state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information, and vehicle destination. The base station or upstream entity processes the data from the multiple vehicles to estimate the geographic power requirements necessary to recharge the batteries and then redirects power among at least two different power grids in order to meet those geographic power requirements.

Claims

1. A system for managing electrical power requirements between at least two power grids comprising:

a plurality of automotive vehicles, each vehicle having an electric motor which propels the vehicle at least partly during the operation of the vehicle,

an electric battery contained in each vehicle to power the electric motor contained on the vehicle,

a wireless transmitter contained in the vehicle,

a processor contained in each vehicle, said processor programmed to communicate the state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information to said transmitter, said transmitter iteratively transmitting said state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information,

a base station which receives said state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information from said vehicles,

a base station processor programmed to receive said state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information received from said vehicles and estimate geographic power requirements to recharge said batteries at the destination or waypoint of the vehicles,

said base station processor being further programmed to provide data for the redirection of power among the at least two power grids as a function of said geographic power requirements.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein said wireless transmitter comprises a cellular telephone.

3. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein said base station processor has access to a database containing historical data on the electrical power requirements and locations of said vehicles during recharging of the vehicle batteries.

4. The system as defined in claim 3 wherein said base station processor is programmed to estimate said electrical power requirements as a function of the day of the week.

5. The system as defined in claim 3 wherein said base station processor is programmed to estimate said electrical power requirements as a function of the time of day.

6. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein said base station is programmed to estimate said electrical requirements as a function of environmental factors.

7. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein each said vehicle contains a navigation system with a mechanism to enter said vehicle destination for said vehicle.

8. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein said base station comprises a base station transmitter which, under control of the base station processor, transmits vehicle rerouting data to said navigation system determined as a function of the available electrical power on said at least two power grids.

9. The system as defined in claim 8 wherein each vehicle is operable under at least two different driving modes, said system programmed to determine an optimized driving mode and said vehicle containing a circuit to automatically set said vehicle to said optimized driving mode.

10. A method for managing electrical power requirements between at least two power grids comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of automotive vehicles, each vehicle having an electric motor which propels the vehicle at least partly during the operation of the vehicle and an electric battery to power the electric motor,

a wireless transmitter contained in the vehicle,

iteratively wirelessly transmitting the state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information,

receiving the state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information at a base station,

estimating the geographic power requirements to recharge said batteries at the destination or waypoint of the vehicles as a function of the state of charge of the battery, vehicle identification information and vehicle destination information received from said vehicles,

redirecting power among the at least two power grids as a function of said geographic power requirements.

11. The method as defined in claim 10 and further comprising the steps of:

maintaining a historical database of the geographic power requirements of the at least two power grids,

accessing said historical database to estimate the power requirements of said at least two power grids.

12. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein said historical database contains power grid requirements as a function of the day of the week.

13. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein said historical database contains power grid requirements as a function of the time of day,

14. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein said estimating step further comprises the steps of estimating the number of vehicles within the geographic area of each power grid, and estimating the likelihood that the vehicles will be electrically connected to the grid at a selected time.