# US 10,245,967 B2 · System and method for managing vehicle charging stations > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,245,967 B2 - Document ID: US10245967B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/436,753 - Filed: 2013-10-17 - Published: 2016-06-23 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2012-10-19 - Assignees: Liberty PlugIns, Inc. - Applicants: Christopher Scott Outwater; William Gibbens Redmann - Inventors: Christopher Scott Outwater; William Gibbens Redmann - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10245967B2 ## CPC - B60L 55/00: Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements - B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer - B60L 53/305: {Communication interfaces} - B60L 53/31: Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles - B60L 53/63: in response to network capacity - B60L 53/65: involving identification of vehicles or their battery types - B60L 53/665: {Methods related to measuring, billing or payment} - B60L 53/68: Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control - H02J 3/17: Demand-responsive operation of AC power transmission or distribution networks - 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} - B60L 2240/34: Cabin temperature - B60L 2240/545: Temperature - B60L 2240/70: Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres - B60L 2240/72: Charging station selection relying on external data - 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 - Y02B 70/3225: Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving - Y02E 60/00: Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - Y02T 10/92: Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles - Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles - 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] - 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] - Y04S 20/222: Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving - Y04S 20/242: Home appliances - Y04S 30/12: Remote or cooperative charging - Y04S 30/14: Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION - Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS ## Abstract A system and method for managing vehicle charging stations such that when at least two of a plurality of electric vehicle charging stations (also known as electric vehicle service equipment, or EVSE) occupied with vehicles awaiting a charge, the present system manages the charging of individual vehicles in cases where the aggregated demand for charging exceeds the capacity of the circuits supplying the plurality of EVSE. By cycling so that only a few of the vehicles are charging at a time, the demand on the circuits is kept below a predetermined limit. In cases where a load shedding event is in progress, the limit can be further reduced. In cases where the cost of electricity is varying dynamically, the system considers a driver's explicit charging requirements (if any) and preferences for opportunistic charging when the price of electricity is not too high. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for managing banks of Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSEs) comprising: a controller, the controller having control over a plurality of EVSEs in a bank, the controller having a queue of requests for charging corresponding to at least one of the EVSEs in the bank, wherein the controller determines a load-shed state and if the load-shed state is no on-going load-shed event, then the controller selects, from the queue of requests, a first set of corresponding EVSEs to be active, the first set having a first aggregate draw up to a first predetermined limit, otherwise, the controller selects, from the queue of requests, a second set of corresponding EVSEs to be active, the second set having a second aggregate draw that does not exceed a second predetermined limit, the second predetermined limit being less than the first predetermined limit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller further has access to user preferences indicating a minimum energy requirement and the controller removes a corresponding request from the queue once the minimum energy requirement has been met. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and to provide the user preferences to the controller. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and transmit the user preferences to a server, wherein the controller has communication with the server. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller further has access to a price feed and user preferences indicating a minimum energy requirement and an acceptable price for additional energy, the controller skipping a corresponding request in the queue while the price feed indicates a current price for electricity that exceeds the acceptable price and the minimum energy requirement has been met. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and provide the user preferences to the controller. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and transmit the user preferences to a server, wherein the controller has communication with the server. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the controller further has access to a price feed and user preferences indicating an acceptable price for energy, the controller skipping a corresponding request in the queue while the price feed indicates a current price for electricity that exceeds the acceptable price. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and provide the user preferences to the controller. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 further comprising a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and transmit the user preferences to a server, wherein the controller has communication with the server. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1 further comprising an at least one current meter; wherein the aggregate draw is determined with the at least one current meter. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1 further comprising an at least one power meter; wherein the aggregate draw is determined with the at least one power meter. ### Claim 13 A system for managing Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSEs) comprising: a controller, the controller having control over a plurality of EVSEs, the controller having a queue of requests for charging corresponding to at least one of the EVSEs in the bank; wherein the controller determines a load-shed state and if the load-shed state is that a load-shed event is in progress, then the controller selects, from the queue of requests, a first set of corresponding EVSEs to be active, wherein a first aggregate demand by the first set results in a first draw from an electrical main not to exceed a first limit, otherwise, the controller selects, from the queue of requests, a second set of corresponding EVSEs to be active, wherein a second aggregate demand by the second set results in a second draw from the electrical main up to a second limit, the first limit being less than the second limit. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the controller further has access to user preferences indicating a minimum energy requirement and the controller removes a corresponding request from the queue once the minimum energy requirement has been met. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 further comprising: a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and to provide the user preferences to the controller. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14 further comprising: a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and transmit the user preferences to a server, wherein the controller has communication with the server. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the controller further has access to a price feed and user preferences indicating a minimum energy requirement and an acceptable price for additional energy, the controller skipping a corresponding request in the queue while the price feed indicates a current price for electricity that exceeds the acceptable price and the minimum energy requirement has been met. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17 further comprising: a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and provide the user preferences to the controller. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17 further comprising: a user interface on a mobile device to set the user preferences and transmit the user preferences to a server, wherein the controller has communication with the server. ### Claim 20 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the controller further has access to a price feed and user preferences indicating an acceptable price for energy, the controller skipping a corresponding request in the queue while the price feed indicates a current price for electricity that exceeds the acceptable price.