Method and system for automatic charging of electric vehicles

• US 9,493,087 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PowerHydrant LLC
• Original Assignee: PowerHydrant LLC
• Inventors: Leary, Kevin Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Brian
• Application Number:
  US14/453,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20150042278A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/108, 320/109
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/02 to electric heating circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/14 to electric lighting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/20 for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/22 Microcars, e.g. golf cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/30 Trolleys
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/42 Fork lift trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/662 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/665 Light intensity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/22 Standstill, e.g. zero speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/26 Transition between different drive modes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/147 electro magnetic [EMI]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/36 of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 : relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 : DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 : Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 : Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 : Cables 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: B60L 53/31 : Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/34 : Plug-like or socket-like devices specially adapted for contactless inductive charging of electric vehicles positioning means for charging devices using inductive energy transfer B60L53/38
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/35 : Means for automatic or assisted adjustment of the relative position of charging devices and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/37 : using optical position determination, e.g. using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 : specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• 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 53/665 : 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: B60L 58/13 : Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 : Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/30 : End effector

Abstract

An electric charger resource sharing method and system comprise a charger that supplies electrical energy to a plurality of electric vehicles. The charger includes a robotic arm that articulates to be proximal to each of the electric vehicles for supplying the electrical energy to the electric vehicles and a docking interface at a distal end of the robotic arm that couples with a receptacle on each of the electric vehicles for transferring the electrical energy from the charger to the electric vehicles. A resource management device receives a bid from each electric vehicle, and allocates a portion of the electrical energy for a predetermined period of time to an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles in response to the bid of the electric vehicle.

Claims

1. An electric charger resource sharing system, comprising:

a charger that supplies electrical energy to a plurality of electric vehicles, the charger including;

a robotic arm that articulates to be proximal to each of the electric vehicles for supplying the electrical energy to the electric vehicles; and

a docking interface at a distal end of the robotic arm that couples with a receptacle on each of the electric vehicles for transferring the electrical energy from the charger to the electric vehicles; and

a resource management device that receives a bid from each electric vehicle, compares the bids to each other, and allocates a portion of the electrical energy for a predetermined period of time to an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles having a highest bid of the compared bids in response to the bids of the electric vehicles.

2. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the resource management device divides a period of time into a plurality of time slots, wherein the predetermined period of time is a time slot of the plurality of time slots, and wherein the robotic arm is allocated to the electric vehicle for receiving the allocated portion of the electrical energy in the time slot.

3. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the resource management device removes an electric vehicle from a bid selection in response to a determination by the resource management system that the electric vehicle has a maximum state of charge.

4. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the maximum state of charge is 100% or a manufacturer-specified full charge.

5. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the charger further comprises a base coupled between the robotic arm and a stationary ground or wall surface.

6. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the robotic arm includes a plurality of joints for articulating the robotic arm at least at four degrees of freedom to couple with each electric vehicle.

7. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 5, wherein the joints include rotating joints that include one or more stepper motors for rotating the joints about their own axes.

8. The electric charger resource sharing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electric vehicles includes one to four electric vehicles.

9. A method for selecting an electric vehicle for receiving an allocation of a charging resource, comprising:

selecting each of a plurality of electric vehicles as a candidate for receiving an allocation of a charging resource for a predetermined period of time;

generating by a computer processor a bid value for each of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

selecting in response to a highest bid determined from the bid values one of the electric vehicles for receiving the allocation of the charging resource for the predetermined period of time in response to the bid value corresponding to the one of the electric vehicles; and

providing, by a charger having a robotic arm, the allocation of the charging resource for the predetermined period of time to the selected one of the electric vehicles.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

assigning a time slot for the allocated portion of the electrical energy.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing a charger constructed and arranged to supply electrical energy to a plurality of electric vehicles.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the bid value is a function of a current state of charge.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein an electric vehicle with a maximum state of charge is withdrawn as a candidate for receiving the allocation of the charging resource.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising dividing a period of time into a plurality of time slots, wherein the predetermined period of time is a time slot of the plurality of time slots, and wherein the robotic arm directly couples to the selected electric vehicle for receiving the allocation of the charging resource.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of electric vehicles includes one to four electric vehicles.

16. A computer program product for selecting an electric vehicle for receiving an allocation of a charging resource, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to select each of a plurality of electric vehicles as a candidate for receiving an allocation of a charging resource for a predetermined period of time;

computer readable program code configured to generate a bid value for each of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

computer readable program code configured to compare the bids to each other, and select one of the electric vehicles having a highest bid of the compared bids for receiving the allocation of the charging resource for the predetermined period of time in response to the bid value corresponding to the one of the electric vehicles.