Power supply device and power supply method

• US 9,090,174 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2011
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Patent Trust
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nosaka, Shigekiyo, Igata, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Arun
• Application Number:
  US13/993,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20130257345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/62 in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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
• 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 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Provided are a power supply device and a power supply method which can carry out proper charging even when a plurality of electric automobiles are connected to a charging stand. A charging stand (1) supplies power to electric automobiles (2, 3) by way of the charging cables (4, 5). The charging stand (1) is provided with: a charging cable identification signal transmitter (9) for transmitting a charging cable identification signal to the electric automobiles by way of the charging cables (4, 5); an electric automobile identification signal receiver (10) for receiving an electric automobile identification signal and a charging cable identification signal from the electric automobiles (2, 3) by way of the charging cables (4, 5); and a controller (11) for charging the electric automobiles (2, 3) when the electric automobile identification signal receiver (10) receives the electric automobile identification signal and the charging cable identification signal.

Claims

1. A power supply apparatus to which a plurality of charging cables are connected and which supplies power to an electric vehicle via a corresponding one of the charging cables, the apparatus comprising:

a transmitter that transmits a charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle via the charging cable;

a receiver that receives an electric vehicle identification signal and the charging cable identification signal from the electric vehicle via the charging cable; and

a controller that charges the electric vehicle upon reception of the electric vehicle identification signal and the charging cable identification signal by the receiver.

2. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the charging cables includes a pilot line and a power supply line;

the transmitter transmits the charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle via the pilot line; and

the power supply line is used to supply power to the electric vehicle.

3. The power supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the receiver receives the electric vehicle identification signal from the electric vehicle via the power supply line.

4. The power supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the receiver receives the electric vehicle identification signal from the electric vehicle via the pilot line.

5. The power supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter transmits the charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle via the pilot line when the controller detects a voltage on the pilot line.

6. The power supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmitter retransmits the charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle when the receiver receives no reception response signal with respect to the electric vehicle identification signal or the charging cable identification signal within a prescribed amount of time.

7. The power supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the retransmitted charging cable identification signal has information that is different from a charging cable identification signal transmitted before the retransmission.

8. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter forms the charging cable identification signal by a pulse signal.

9. The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter forms the charging cable identification signal by varying a pulse duty cycle.

11. The power supply apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transmitter retransmits the charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle when the receiver receives no reception response signal with respect to the electric vehicle identification signal or the charging cable identification signal within a prescribed amount of time.

12. The power supply apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the retransmitted charging cable identification signal has information that is different from a charging cable identification signal transmitted before the retransmission.

10. A power supply method that supplies power to an electric vehicle via a corresponding one of a plurality of charging cables, the method comprising:

transmitting a charging cable identification signal to the electric vehicle via the charging cable;

receiving an electric vehicle identification signal and the charging cable identification signal from the electric vehicle via the charging cable; and

charging the electric vehicle.