Charging station for electric-powered vehicles

• US 6,225,776 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2000
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wellmon Chai
• Original Assignee: Wellmon Chai
• Inventors: Chai, Wellmon
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIBBITS, PIA FLORENCE
• Application Number:
  US09/641,402
• Time in Patent Office: 257 Days
• Field of Search: 320/109
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• 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 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A charging station includes a plurality of charging sockets, each of which is adapted to be connected to an electric-powered vehicle, and a plurality of switch units, each of which includes a relay switch that interconnects a power supplying circuit and a respective charging socket, and a trigger member connected to the relay switch and controllable so as to control in turn the relay switch to make or break electrical connection between the power supplying circuit and the respective charging socket. A current monitoring unit generates output signals corresponding to amount of current flowing through each of the charging sockets. A processing unit receives the output signals from the current monitoring unit, and controls the trigger members of the switch units to ensure the total amount of current flow through the charging sockets does not exceed a rated current value for the charging station.

Claims

1. A charging station for electric-powered vehicles, comprising:

a power supplying circuit;

a plurality of charging sockets, each of which is adapted to be connected to one of the electric-powered vehicles;

a switching circuit including a plurality of switch units, each of said switch units including a relay switch that interconnects said power supplying circuit and a respective one of said charging sockets, and a trigger member connected to said relay switch and controllable so as to control in turn said relay switch to make or break electrical connection between said power supplying circuit and the respective one of said charging sockets;

a current monitoring unit connected to said charging sockets and operable so as to generate output signals corresponding to amount of current flowing through each of said charging sockets; and

a processing unit connected to said current monitoring unit and said trigger members of said switch units, said processing unit receiving the output signals from said current monitoring unit and controlling said trigger members of said switch units to ensure total amount of current flow through said charging sockets does not exceed a rated current value for said charging station.

2. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a rated current setting unit connected to said processing unit and operable so as to set the rated current value for said charging station.

3. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising an indicator unit connected to said processing unit, said indicator unit including a plurality of indicator lamps, each of which is associated with a respective one of said charging sockets and is controlled by said processing unit to indicate operating state of the respective one of said charging sockets.

4. The charging station of claim 1, wherein said trigger member is a transistor.

5. The charging station of claim 1, further comprising a status detecting unit connected to said processing unit, said status detecting unit including a plurality of micro switches, each of which is operably associated with a respective one of said charging sockets and is adapted to generate an electrical signal that is received by said processing unit when the respective one of said charging sockets is in use.

6. The charging station of claim 1, wherein said current monitoring unit includes:

current sampling means for sampling the currents flowing through each of said charging sockets; and

current converter means, connected to said current sampling means, for converting the currents sampled by said current sampling means into the output signals to be received by said processing unit.

7. The charging station of claim 1, wherein said processing unit includes:

logic circuit means, connected to said current monitoring unit, for encoding the output signals from said current monitoring unit; and

a central processing unit connected to said logic circuit means.