Automatic and dynamic home electricity load balancing for the purpose of EV charging

• US 9,937,812 B1
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Inventors: Billmaier, James A
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, ARUN C
• Application Number:
  US14/198,277
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 320109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/02 using a single network for simultaneous distribution of power at different frequencies; using a single network for simultaneous distribution of ac power and of dc power
• 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 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

An electric vehicle charging system includes logic collocated with an electric service panel to monitor a total present electric current consumption value for all electric consumers below a point in the service panel; a first input to receive the present electric current consumption value from the logic collocated with the service panel, and to compare the present electric current consumption value with a maximum current capacity value for the service panel; a second input to receive electric current from the service panel; an output to supply electric charging power to at least one electric vehicle; and logic to set an electric charging current drawn from the service panel through the second input and provided to the electric vehicle charging output to a value less than a difference between the maximum current capacity for the service panel and a sum of the present electric current consumption value and the current consumption value of a largest expected electric consumer.

Claims

1. A charging unit to charge a set of one or more electric vehicles, comprising:

a processor and a non-transitory machine-readable medium that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging unit to;

receive a present electric current consumption value that represents a total present electric current consumption value at a single electric service panel in which the charging unit is connected,

cause electric charging power to be supplied to the set of one or more electric vehicles through the single electric service panel such that the supplied electric charging power to the set of one or more electric vehicles is a value less than a difference between a maximum current capacity for the single electric service panel and a sum of the present electric current consumption value and a current consumption value of a largest expected electric consumer at the single electric service panel.

2. The charging unit of claim 1, wherein the largest expected electric consumer is a group of more than one electric consumers that are expected to be active at the same time, based on one or more of the time of day or day of the week.

3. The charging unit of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the set of one or more electric vehicles includes at least two electric vehicles; and

wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging unit to;

load share the supply of electric charging power to the at least two electric vehicles.

4. The charging unit of claim 3, wherein the load share of the supply of electric charging power is based at least according to charging requirements of the at least two electric vehicles.

5. The charging unit of claim 3, wherein the load share of the supply of electric charging power is performed asymmetrically among the at least two electric vehicles.

6. The charging unit of claim 5, wherein the load share of the supply of electric charging power is based on a rotating asymmetric duty cycle.

7. The charging unit of claim 3, wherein the load share of the supply of electric charging power among the at least two electric vehicles is based upon one or the more following:

an electric vehicle battery size of each of the at least two electric vehicles;

an electric vehicle battery status of each of the at least two electric vehicles;

an electric vehicle battery average mean, median, or mode of daily miles driven of each of the at least two electric vehicles; and

a charging history of each of the at least two electric vehicles.

8. The charging unit of claim 1, wherein the supply of electric charging power to a particular electric vehicle is inversely proportional to an amount of time until a next driving session for that electric vehicle and directly proportional to an amount of depletion of a battery of that electric vehicle.

9. The charging unit of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory machine-readable medium further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging unit to:

communicate a charging status for the set of one or more electric vehicles to one or more wireless receiving data devices.

10. A method, comprising:

monitoring a total present electric current consumption value at a single electric service panel;

setting electric charging current drawn from the single electric service panel to a set of one or more electric vehicles to be a value less than a difference between a maximum current capacity of the single electric service panel and a sum of the present electric current consumption value and a current consumption value of a largest expected electric consumer at the single electric service panel.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the largest expected electric consumer is a group of more than one electric consumers that are expected to be active at the same time, based on one or more of the time of day or day of the week.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

communicating a charging status for each of the set of one or more electric vehicles to one or more wireless receiving data devices.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

wherein the set of one or more electric vehicles includes at least two electric vehicles; and

load sharing the electric charging current drawn from the single electric service panel to the at least two electric vehicles.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the load sharing of the electric charging current drawn from the single electric service panel to the at least two electric vehicles is performed asymmetrically among the at least two electric vehicles.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the load sharing of the electric charging current drawn from the single electric service panel to the at least two electric vehicles is based at least on charging requirements of the at least two electric vehicles.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the load sharing of the electric charging current drawn from the single electric service panel to the at least two electric vehicles is based upon one or more of the following:

an electric vehicle battery size of each of the at least two electric vehicles,

an electric vehicle battery status of each of the at least two electric vehicles,

an electric vehicle battery average mean, median, or mode of daily miles driven of each of the at least two electric vehicles, and

a charging history of each of the at least two electric vehicles.