Systems and Methods for Controlling a Charging Device

• US 20140266039A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Dougherty, John James
• Application Number:
  US13/803,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20140266039A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/14 Balancing the load in a network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• 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 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• 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 30/12 Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A charging device for use with an electric vehicle including a power storage device is provided. The charging device includes a current control device configured to selectively enable current to be received at the charging device from an electrical distribution device and supplied to a power storage device connected to the charging device, and a processor coupled to the current control device. The processor is configured to assign, based at least in part on a connect time of the power storage device to the charging device, a current allocation to said charging device, and control the current control device to enable the current allocation to be at least one of received from the electrical distribution device and supplied by the charging device.

Claims

1. A charging device for use with an electric vehicle including a power storage device, said charging device comprising:

a current control device configured to selectively enable current to be received at said charging device from an electrical distribution device and supplied to a power storage device connected to said charging device; and

a processor coupled to said current control device and configured to;

assign, based at least in part on a connect time of the power storage device to said charging device, a current allocation to said charging device; and

control said current control device to enable the current allocation to be at least one of received from the electrical distribution device and supplied by said charging device.

2. A charging device in accordance with claim 1, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to:

assign the current allocation after assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having a connect time longer than the connect time of the power storage device to said charging device; and

assign the current allocation before assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having a connect time shorter than the connect time of the power storage device to said charging device.

3. A charging device in accordance with claim 1, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to:

determine an available current; and

assign said charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the available current and a current demand associated with said charging device.

4. A charging device in accordance with claim 1, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to assign the current allocation based on at least the connect time and a priority tier associated with said charging device.

5. A charging device in accordance with claim 4, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to:

assign the current allocation after assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having a higher priority tier than the priority tier associated with said charging device;

assign the current allocation after assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having the same priority tier as said charging device and a connect time longer than the connect time of the power storage device to said charging device;

assign the current allocation before assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having the same priority tier as said charging device and a connect time shorter than the connect time of the power storage device to said charging device; and

assign the current allocation before assigning a current allocation to any additional charging devices having a lower priority tier than the priority tier associated with said charging device.

6. A charging device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said charging device further comprises a network interface configured to broadcast a status message that includes the connect time.

7. A system for use in providing current to a plurality of electric vehicles, said system comprising:

a first charging device configured to receive current from an electrical distribution device and supply at least a portion of the current received to a first power storage device;

a second charging device configured to receive current from the electrical distribution device and supply at least a portion of the received current to a second power storage device; and

a processor configured to;

determine a first connect time of said first charging device to the first power storage device;

determine a second connect time of said second charging device to the second power storage device; and

assign a current allocation to said first and second charging devices based at least in part on the first and second connect times.

8. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to:

determine an amount of total available current;

assign said first charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the total available current and a first current demand associated with said first charging device, wherein the first connect time is longer than the second connect time;

calculate an amount of remaining available current; and

assign said second charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the remaining available current and a second current demand associated with said second charging device.

9. A system in accordance with claim 7, wherein said processor is further configured to:

determine a first priority tier associated with said first charging device; and

determine a second priority tier associated with said second charging device, wherein to assign a current allocation, said processor is configured to assign a current allocation based on the first and second connect times and the first and second priority tiers.

10. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first charging device comprises a user interface configured to receive input from a user selecting the first priority tier.

11. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said processing device is configured to:

determine an amount of total available current; and

assign said first charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the total available current and a first current demand associated with said first charging device, wherein the first priority tier is higher than the second priority tier.

12. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said processing device is configured to:

determine an amount of total available current; and

assign said first charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the total available current and a first current demand associated with said first charging device, wherein the first connect time is longer than the second connect time and the first priority tier is the same as the second priority tier.

13. A method for allocating current to a plurality of charging devices communicatively coupled to one another over a peer-to-peer network and each connected to a respective power storage device, said method comprising:

broadcasting, from each of the plurality of charging devices, a status message that includes a connect time of the respective charging device;

receiving, at a processor, the plurality of status messages; and

calculating, using the processor, a current allocation for each of the plurality of charging devices based at least in part on the connect time of each charging device.

14. A method in accordance with claim 13, wherein each of the status messages further includes a priority tier associated with the respective charging device, and wherein calculating a current allocation comprises calculating a current allocation based on the connect time and the priority tier of each charging device.

15. A method in accordance with claim 13, wherein calculating a current allocation comprises:

determining a total available current; and

assigning a first charging device of the plurality of charging devices a current allocation equal to the lesser of the total available current and a first current demand associated with the first charging device, wherein the connect time of the first charging device is the longest connect time of the plurality of charging devices.

16. A method in accordance with claim 15, further comprising

calculating an amount of remaining available current;

and

assigning a second charging device a current allocation equal to the lesser of the remaining available current and a second current demand associated with the second charging device, wherein the connect time of the second charging device is the second longest connect time of the plurality of charging devices.

17. A method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

detecting a communications failure on the peer-to-peer network;

determining a total available current; and

in response to detecting the communications failure, calculating the current allocation for each of the plurality of charging devices as the total available current divided by the number of charging devices in the plurality of charging devices.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein detecting a communications failure comprises receiving, at the processor, at least one status message including a peer communication error flag.

19. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein detecting a communications failure comprises detecting, using the processor, a failure to receive the status message from at least one of the plurality of charging devices.

20. A method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising controlling a current control device of each of the plurality of charging devices to enable each calculated current allocation to be at least one of received at the respective charging device and supplied to the respective power storage device.