Electric vehicle supply equipment with over-current protection
First Claim
1. An electric vehicle supply circuit comprising:
- a charge circuit interrupting device to interrupt a flow of current from a power source to an electric vehicle;
a controller coupled to the charge circuit interrupting device, where the controller is constructed and arranged to control the charge circuit interrupting device in response to a control pilot signal from the electric vehicle; and
an overcurrent protection circuit including a current sensor coupled to the controller, the controller constructed and arranged to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle by controlling the charge circuit interrupting device in response to the current sensor.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An EVSE system includes an electric vehicle supply circuit having overcurrent protection circuit to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle. A current limit may be set by a manufacturer of the EVSE, by a user of the EVSE, by an electric utility, by the EVSE itself in response to a control pilot signal, etc. The current limit may be set to prevent tripping an overcurrent protection device on a branch circuit for the EVSE, to accommodate one or more parameters of an electric vehicle charging facility, etc. The overcurrent protection feature may be integrated into a controller for the electric vehicle supply circuit, or it may be operate independently of the controller.
75 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An electric vehicle supply circuit comprising:
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a charge circuit interrupting device to interrupt a flow of current from a power source to an electric vehicle; a controller coupled to the charge circuit interrupting device, where the controller is constructed and arranged to control the charge circuit interrupting device in response to a control pilot signal from the electric vehicle; and an overcurrent protection circuit including a current sensor coupled to the controller, the controller constructed and arranged to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle by controlling the charge circuit interrupting device in response to the current sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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supplying electric power to an electric vehicle through an electric vehicle supply circuit that is fed by a branch circuit; monitoring the current flowing to the vehicle through the electric vehicle supply circuit using a current sensor; preventing excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle by interrupting the flow of current to the electric vehicle if the current flowing to the vehicle exceeds a limit as detected by the current sensor; and setting the limit to prevent the electric vehicle supply circuit from tripping an overcurrent protection device on the branch circuit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A system comprising:
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an electric vehicle supply circuit having an overcurrent protection feature to interrupt the flow of current from a power source to an electric vehicle if the current flowing to the electric vehicle exceeds a limit; and an interface to input the limit to the electric vehicle supply circuit. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. An electric vehicle supply circuit comprising:
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a charge circuit interrupting device to interrupt a flow of current from a power source to an electric vehicle; a controller coupled to the charge circuit interrupting device, where the controller is constructed and arranged to control the charge circuit interrupting device in response to a control pilot signal from the electric vehicle; a metering circuit; and an overcurrent protection circuit constructed and arranged to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle, where the overcurrent protection circuit is constructed and arranged to operate in response to the metering circuit.
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21. An electric vehicle supply circuit comprising:
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a charge circuit interrupting device to interrupt a flow of current from a power source to an electric vehicle; a controller coupled to the charge circuit interrupting device, where the controller is constructed and arranged to control the charge circuit interrupting device in response to a control pilot signal from the electric vehicle; and an overcurrent protection circuit constructed and arranged to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle, the overcurrent protection circuit constructed and arranged to open the charge circuit interrupting device substantially independently of the controller.
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22. An electric vehicle supply equipment comprising:
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an enclosure including; an electric vehicle supply circuit for providing a flow of current to an electric vehicle from a power source; a charge circuit interrupting device located in the enclosure, the charge circuit interrupting device interrupting the flow of current from the power source to the electric vehicle; a controller located in the enclosure, the controller being coupled to the charge circuit interrupting device, where the controller is constructed and arranged to control the charge circuit interrupting device; and an overcurrent protection circuit located in the enclosure, the overcurrent protection circuit including a current sensor coupled to the controller, the controller constructed and arranged to prevent excessive current from flowing to the electric vehicle by controlling the charge circuit interrupting device in response to the current sensor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification