Grid connected solar battery charging device for home and vehicle energy management

• US 9,153,847 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2011
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Harty, Ryan Douglas Roy
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robbins, Jerry D
• Application Number:
  US13/289,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20130113413A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• Field of Search: 320/101
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• 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: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/465 with solar battery as charging system
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• 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 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/10 Photovoltaic [PV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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 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 battery electric vehicle charging station is disclosed, having grid and vehicle connections with a DC charger and controller that selectively charges the vehicle battery directly with DC power in a first mode and converts DC power from the vehicle battery to drive an inverter in a second mode to provide AC power to a power grid.

Claims

1. A charging station for a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV), comprising:

an inverter including an inverter DC input operative to receive DC input power and an inverter AC output operative to provide AC output power to an AC power grid, the inverter being operable to convert the DC input power to the AC output power;

a DC charger separate from the PEV, including;

a charger DC input operative to receive power from at least one solar DC power source separate from the PEV,

a DC vehicle battery interface coupleable to a PEV DC battery connection, and

a DC charger output coupled to the inverter DC input to provide DC output power to the inverter,

the DC charger being operative in a first mode to provide power from the charger DC input to a vehicle battery interface for direct DC charging of the vehicle battery without AC conversion and in a second mode to provide power from the vehicle battery interface to the charger DC output without AC conversion; and

a controller operatively coupled with the DC charger to selectively switch the DC charger from the first mode to the second mode, wherein the controller is operable to receive an indicator from an external information source and to selectively switch the mode of the DC charger between the first and second modes based at least partially on the indicator, and wherein the indicator includes a grid status, where the controller selectively switches the charger to the second mode if the grid status is unstable.

2. The charging station of claim 1, further including a rectifier, the rectifier including:

a rectifier AC input operative to receive AC power from the AC power grid; and

,

a rectifier DC output operative to selectively convert the AC power to provide DC power to the charger DC input.

3. The charging station of claim 1, comprising a photovoltaic interface coupled with the charger DC input to selectively provide DC power from a connected solar panel DC power source separate from the PEV to charge the vehicle battery.

4. The charging station of claim 3, wherein the photovoltaic interface is further coupled to the DC inverter input to selectively provide power from the solar panel to provide power to the power grid.

5. The charging station of claim 1, the DC charger including a switching circuit operative in the first mode to electrically couple the charger DC input to the vehicle battery interface and in the second mode to electrically couple the vehicle battery interface to the charger DC output.

6. The charging station of claim 1, wherein the external information source is a user-interface operative to receive a user-command.

7. The charging station of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes a current price rate for AC power supplied to the AC power grid, where the controller selectively switches the charger to the second mode if the price rate is greater than a threshold.

8. The charging station of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes an amount of renewable energy generation on the grid, where the controller selectively switches the charger to the first mode if the amount of renewable energy generation on the grid exceeds a predetermined threshold.

9. A method for operating a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging system, the method comprising:

selectively operating a DC charger separate from the PEV in a first mode, including;

directing DC current from a solar DC power source separate from the PEV through a DC charger input to the DC charger, and

directing DC current from the DC charger through a DC vehicle battery interface to a vehicle battery for direct DC charging of the vehicle battery without AC conversion;

selectively operating the DC charger in a second mode, including;

directing DC current from the vehicle battery through the DC vehicle battery interface and through a DC charger to an inverter DC input,

converting the DC current to AC current using an inverter, and

directing AC current from the inverter through an inverter AC output to an AC power grid;

selectively operating a switching circuit based on a received indicator;

making a determination as to whether the received indicator indicates the AC power grid is unstable; and

selectively entering the second mode based on the determination.

10. The method of claim 9, further including selectively operating a switching circuit in the second mode to electrically couple the charger DC input to the DC vehicle battery interface and in the first mode to electrically couple the DC vehicle battery interface to the charger DC output.

11. The method of claim 9, further including directing DC current from a solar panel separate from the PEV through a photovoltaic interface and through a DC charger input to the DC charger in the first mode.

12. The method of claim 9, further including selectively operating the DC charger in a third mode, including:

converting AC current from the AC power grid using a rectifier and charging the vehicle battery using DC current from the rectifier.

13. The method of claim 9, further including in a fourth mode, if no PEV is connected to the DC vehicle battery interface:

directing DC current from a solar panel to the inverter DC input;

converting the DC current to AC current at the inverter; and

directing the AC current from the inverter using the inverter to the AC power grid.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein selectively entering the second mode based on the determination comprises entering the second mode if the indicator indicates a current price rate for AC power supplied to the power grid is a preprogrammed threshold.

15. The method of claim 9, including automatically switching to the second mode at a predetermined time.

16. The method of claim 13, further including:

making a determination as to whether a received indicator includes a quantity of renewable energy generation on the grid; and

selectively entering the first mode if the amount of renewable energy generation on the grid exceeds a predetermined threshold.