Smart energy distribution methods and systems for electric vehicle charging

• US 9,685,798 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2015
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EverCharge Inc. (SK Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EverCharge Inc. (SK Inc.)
• Inventors: Case, Amber, Appelbaum, Jason, Landau-Holdsworth, Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): PELTON, NATHANIEL R
• Application Number:
  US14/663,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20150266389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 320138
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• 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 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• 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 10/72 : 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 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A power management system can smartly allocate the available power at a location to support more electric vehicles than would otherwise be possible. Power managers can intelligently allocate that power based on the real-time needs of vehicles. A smart energy distribution system can estimate each vehicle'"'"'s current charge level and use such information to efficiently provide electric vehicle charging. The system can respond dynamically to vehicle charge levels, current readings, and/or electrical mains readings, allocating more current where it is needed. The charger profiles can include historic charge cycle information, which can be analyzed under a set of heuristics to predict future charging needs. A local electric vehicle charging mesh network can be provided, which transmits data packets among short-range transceivers of multiple power managers. The local electric vehicle charging mesh network can be connected to a remote server via a cellular connection. The power managers and the local electric vehicle charging mesh network can intelligently allocate power to multiple electric vehicles.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging system, comprising:

one or more first power managers that are located on a first level of a parking structure, each of the one or more first power managers including a short-range wireless transceiver;

one or more second power managers that are located on a second level of the parking structure, each of the one or more second power managers including a short-range wireless transceiver;

a third power manager located on a third level of the parking structure, the third power manager including a short-range wireless transceiver and a long-range cellular transceiver; and

a local electric vehicle charging mesh network configured to interconnect the short-range wireless transceivers of the one or more first power managers, the short-range wireless transceivers of the one or more second power managers, and the short range wireless transceiver of the third power manager,

wherein each of the first, second, and third power managers are configured to receive data packets that are transmitted by each of the first, second, and third power managers on the local electric vehicle charging mesh network, and wherein the long-range cellular transceiver of the third power manager is configured to connect the local electric vehicle charging mesh network to a remote server via a cellular connection.

2. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, wherein the third level of the parking structure is higher in elevation than the second level of the parking structure, and wherein the second level of the parking structure is higher in elevation than the first level of the parking structure.

3. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third power managers are configured to receive, process, and retransmit the data packets that are transmitted on the local electric vehicle charging mesh network by the first, second, and third power managers.

4. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third power managers include a storage unit that is configured to store change events, and wherein the local electric vehicle charging mesh network is configured to transmit the change events among the first, second, and third power managers.

5. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 4, wherein the change events include at least one of a current level of charging for a particular electric vehicle, an electric vehicle disconnection event from a particular power manager from among the first, second, and third power managers, or an electric vehicle connection event to a particular power manager from among the first, second, and third power managers.

6. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 4, wherein the change events include at least one of a charge completing event for a particular electric vehicle or a charge starting event for the particular electric vehicle.

7. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 4, wherein the first, second, and third power managers are configured to store, in the storage unit, a history of the change events.

8. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 7, wherein the first, second, and third power managers are configured to predict future events based at least on the history of the change events and a set of heuristics.

9. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 8, wherein the set of heuristics includes a maximum amount of installed power for a given location and a built-in buffer for adhering to government code.

10. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 8, wherein the set of heuristics includes a normal charging level for a particular electric vehicle and a less-than-normal charging level for the particular electric vehicle, and wherein the first, second, and third power managers are configured to determine whether the particular electric vehicle should receive the normal charging level or the less-than-normal charging level based on the set of heuristics.

11. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 8, wherein each of the first, second, and third power managers include a learning logic section configured to formulate or refine the set of heuristics.

12. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of circuits, wherein each of the first, second, and third power managers includes a circuit identifier (ID) that identifies which circuit from among the plurality of circuits is associated with a corresponding power manager.

13. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third power managers are configured to track via the local electric vehicle mesh network a plurality of electric vehicle identifiers associated with a corresponding plurality of electric vehicles.

14. An electric vehicle charging system, comprising:

one or more power managers configured to charge a plurality of electric vehicles, wherein each of the one or more power managers includes a control logic section, the control logic section being configured to control, via a control signal, a charging level for each of the plurality of electric vehicles;

wherein the one or more power managers are configured to;

allocate, during a first time period, an equal fraction of an allocable amount of power to each of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charge the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the first time period;

allocate, during a second time period, a first fraction of the allocable amount of power to a first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charge the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the second time period;

allocate, during the second time period, a second fraction different from the first fraction of the allocable amount of power to a second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charge the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the second time period;

allocate, during a third time period, a third fraction different from the first and second fractions of the allocable amount of power to the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charge the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the third time period;

allocate, during a fourth time period, a fourth fraction different from the first, second, and third fractions of the allocable amount of power to the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

charge the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the fourth time period,

wherein the one or more power managers are configured to intelligently allocate the allocable amount of power among the plurality of electric vehicles for charging the plurality of electric vehicles, wherein the allocable amount of power is a total amount of installed power for a given location minus a buffer, and wherein the one or more power managers are configured to intelligently and unevenly allocate the allocable amount of power among the plurality of electric vehicles according to a set of heuristics.

15. The electric vehicle charging system of claim 14, wherein the one or more power managers are configured to:

determine a normal charging level for each of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

provide a less-than-normal charging level for one or more of the plurality of electric vehicles using the control signal.

16. A method for intelligently distributing energy for electric vehicle charging, the method comprising:

transmitting data packets among short-range transceivers of a plurality of power managers that are configured to be part of a local electric vehicle charging mesh network;

connecting the local electric vehicle charging mesh network to a remote server via a cellular connection;

intelligently and unevenly allocating power, by the plurality of power managers, to a plurality of electric vehicles using the local electric vehicle charging mesh network;

providing, by the remote server, analytical information about the local electric vehicle charging mesh network;

allocating, during a first time period, an equal fraction of an allocable amount of power to each of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charging, by the power managers, the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the first time period;

allocating, during a second time period, a first fraction of the allocable amount of power to a first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charging, by the power managers, the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the second time period;

allocating, during the second time period, a second fraction different from the first fraction of the allocable amount of power to a second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charging, by the power managers, the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the second time period;

allocating, during a third time period, a third fraction different from the first and second fractions of the allocable amount of power to the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles;

charging, by the power managers, the first subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the third time period;

allocating, during a fourth time period, a fourth fraction different from the first, second, and third fractions of the allocable amount of power to the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

charging, by the power managers, the second subset of the plurality of electric vehicles according to the allocation during the fourth time period.