Network-controlled charging system for electric vehicles

• US 9,610,856 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2013
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Inventors: Lowenthal, Richard, Baxter, Dave, Bhade, Harjinder, Mandal, Praveen
• Primary Examiner(s): TSO, EDWARD H
• Application Number:
  US13/874,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20140152256A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 320104, 320107, 320108, 320114, 320115, 320132, 701 22, 702 63, 903907
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/627 by WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• 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: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00022 using wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00024 by means of mobile telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• 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 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00045 Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/28 : characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks] wireless communication networks H04W ; arrangements for dividing the transmission path H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• 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: 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 20/221 : General power management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 : using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 : using wireless data transmission

Abstract

A network-controlled charge transfer device for electric vehicles includes a control device to turn electric supply on and off to enable and disable charge transfer for electric vehicles, a transceiver to communicate requests for charge transfer with a remote server and receive communications from the remote server, and a controller, coupled with the control device and the transceiver, to cause the control device to turn the electric supply on based on communication from the remote server.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a control device to control application of charge transfer between an electric vehicle and a power source through a charge transfer device;

a transceiver to communicate with a remote server;

a current measuring device to measure current flowing for charge transfer for the electric vehicle;

a controller coupled with the control device, transceiver, and current measuring device, wherein the controller is configured to;

cause the control device to control application of charge transfer to the electric vehicle based on communication received by the transceiver from the remote server,

monitor the output of the current measuring device and maintain a running total of charge transfer for the electric vehicle, and

cause the transceiver to communicate information to the remote server that indicates whether charge transfer is available.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising indicator lights that are connected to said controller, said controller being configured to operate said indicator lights in correspondence with an operational state of said charge transfer device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display unit to display information relating to the charge transfer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle detector coupled to said controller, said vehicle detector being configured to detect a vehicle in a parking space corresponding to said charge transfer device.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle detector is a sonar sensor array.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle detector is a camera.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said vehicle detector is an induction coil in said parking space.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said controller is configured to communicate parking-space availability to said remote server based on input from said vehicle detector.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the transceiver to communicate the running total of charge transfer to the remote server.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control device is to control application of charge transfer by switching an electrical coupler on and off.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the electrical coupler provides a connection to the electric vehicle and is an outlet.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the control device to modify the application of charge transfer based on a communication received as part of a demand response system.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the control device to disable the application of charge transfer based on a communication received as part of a demand response system.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is further to communicate requests for charge transfer to the remote server, wherein the received communications include communications to enable charge transfer in response to a communicated request for charge transfer, and wherein the controller is further to cause the control device to enable application of charge transfer responsive to received communication from the remote server to enable charge transfer.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a communication device coupled with the controller, the communication device to receive the requests for charge transfer.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication from the remote server to control application of charge transfer is part of a demand response system and includes power grid load data, and wherein the controller is further configured to manage charge transfer based on the received power grid load data.

17. A method for charge transfer between an electric vehicle and a power source through a charge transfer device, comprising:

receiving a first communication from a server coupled with the charge transfer device that instructs the charge transfer device to provide charge transfer for charging the electric vehicle;

responsive to receipt of the first communication, providing charge transfer for charging the electric vehicle;

measuring current flowing for the charge transfer for the electric vehicle;

maintaining a total of charge transfer for the electric vehicle;

communicating to the server the total of charge transferred for the electric vehicle;

receiving a second communication from the server to control application of the charge transfer for the electric vehicle as part of a demand response system; and

responsive to receipt of the second communication, modifying the application of charge transfer for the electric vehicle.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein modifying the application of charge transfer comprises disabling the charge transfer for the electric vehicle.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein modifying the application of charge transfer comprises limiting a rate of recharging for the electric vehicle.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein providing the charge transfer includes causing a control device of the charge transfer device to turn on an electric supply.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

prior to providing the charge transfer for charging the electric vehicle, performing the following;

receiving a request for the charge transfer; and

communicating the request to the server for determination of whether to enable charge transfer.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the request for charge transfer is received from a mobile communication device.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second communication are received via a data control unit that is connected to the server through a wide area network.