# US 12,005,796 B2 · Liquid cooled charging cable for charging electric vehicles > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,005,796 B2 - Document ID: US12005796B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/346,973 - Filed: 2021-06-14 - Published: 2021-09-30 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2017-04-24 - Assignees: Chargepoint, Inc. - Applicants: ChargePoint, Inc. - Inventors: Peter Vaughan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12005796B2 ## CPC - B60L 53/302: Cooling of charging equipment - B60L 1/003: {to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors} - B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer - B60L 53/18: Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles - B60L 53/30: Constructional details of charging stations - B60L 53/305: {Communication interfaces} - B60L 53/665: {Methods related to measuring, billing or payment} - F28D 15/00: Heat-exchange apparatus with the intermediate heat-transfer medium in closed tubes passing into or through the conduit walls {; Heat-exchange apparatus employing intermediate heat-transfer medium or bodies (F28D17/00, F28D19/00, F28D20/00 take precedence)} - F28D 1/04: with tubular conduits {(F28D1/0246 takes precedence)} - F28D 2021/0028: {for cooling heat generating elements, e.g. for cooling electronic components or electric devices} - F28F 27/00: Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus (control arrangements in general G05) - F28F 2250/08: Fluid driving means, e.g. pumps, fans - 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 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 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 - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16) - 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 An electric vehicle charging station that uses a liquid cooled charging cable is described. The charging station includes a charging port that is configured to connect to a liquid cooled charging cable. The liquid cooled charging cable includes a cooling loop where a return side of the cooling loop is a warm side. The charging station includes a heat exchanger that transfers heat from the warm side of the cooling loop. The charging station includes a pump to pump a cool side of the liquid through the cooling loop. The charging station includes a module that causes the following to be performed in response to a startup sequence of the electric vehicle charging station: iteratively perform operations of operating the pump at increasing speeds and measuring corresponding pressure output until the speed of the pump is at its normal capacity. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electric vehicle charging station, comprising: a charging port that is configured to connect to a liquid cooled charging cable, wherein the liquid cooled charging cable includes a cooling loop for regulating temperature of an electrical connection of the liquid cooled charging cable, wherein a return side of the cooling loop is a warm side, and wherein the cooling loop loops a liquid within the liquid cooled charging cable; a heat exchanger that is configured to transfer heat from the liquid from the warm side of the cooling loop; a pump to pump a cool side of the liquid through a cool side of the cooling loop; a DC current meter that is configured to measure a DC current used by the pump; and a processor configured to execute instructions to cause the following to be performed in response to a startup sequence of the electric vehicle charging station: iteratively perform operations of operating the pump at increasing speeds and determining a corresponding pressure output based on the measured DC current until the speed of the pump is at its normal capacity with a determined pressure output below a pressure threshold, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions to cause current to pass through the liquid cooled charging cable to warm liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable when the electric vehicle charging station is not in use and a connector of the liquid cooled charging cable is connected to the electric vehicle charging station. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions to cause the following to be performed in response to the startup sequence of the electric vehicle charging station: examine the current used by the pump to determine whether the pump is operating at its normal capacity. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the liquid cooled charging cable includes a first cooling loop for a DC positive side of the electrical connection and a second cooling loop for a DC negative side of the electrical connection. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, further comprising: a chiller that is configured to cool liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a radiator. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the instructions to cause current to pass through the liquid cooled charging cable causes an electrical connection at a holder of the connector to be shorted. ### Claim 7 A method in an electric vehicle charging station, comprising: causing current to pass through a liquid cooled charging cable to warm liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable when the electric vehicle charging station is not in use and a connector of the liquid cooled charging cable is connected to the electric vehicle charging station; initiating operation of a pump of the electric vehicle charging station at a first speed in response to a startup sequence, wherein the pump is pumping the liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable through a cooling loop to regulate temperature of an electrical connection of the liquid cooled charging cable, and wherein the first speed is lower than a speed of the pump operating at its normal speed; measuring pressure of the liquid being pumped by the pump operating at the first speed; determining whether the measured pressure exceeds a threshold based on a measured DC current used by the pump; and responsive to determining that the measured pressure does not exceed the threshold, proceeding in an iterative manner of operating the pump at a second speed and measuring pressure of the pump operating at the second speed for a next iteration, until the measured pressure of the pump is at its normal capacity. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising: passing liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable through a heater to warm the liquid when the electric vehicle charging station is not in use. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein operating the pump of the electric vehicle charging station at the first speed is performed responsive to a cold start of the electric vehicle charging station. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein measuring pressure of the liquid being pumped by the pump operating at the first speed includes reading a plurality of pressure readings from a plurality of pressure sensors respectively. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein determining whether the measured pressure exceeds the threshold includes determining whether each of the plurality of pressure readings individually exceeds the threshold. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the current passing through the liquid cooled charging cable causes an electrical connection at a holder of the connector to be shorted. ### Claim 13 An electric vehicle charging station, comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electric vehicle charging station to: cause current to pass through a liquid cooled charging cable to warm liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable when the electric vehicle charging station is not in use and a connector of the liquid cooled charging cable is connected to the electric vehicle charging station; initiate operation of a pump of the electric vehicle charging station at a first speed in response to a startup sequence, wherein the pump is to pump the liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable through a cooling loop to regulate temperature of an electrical connection of the liquid cooled charging cable, and wherein the first speed is lower than a speed of the pump operating at its normal speed; measure pressure of the liquid being pumped by the pump operating at the first speed; determine whether the measured pressure exceeds a threshold based on a measured DC current used by the pump; and responsive to a determination that the measured pressure does not exceed the threshold, proceed in an iterative manner of operating the pump at a second speed and measure pressure of the pump operating at the second speed for a next iteration, until the measured pressure of the pump is at its normal capacity. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the electric vehicle charging station to: cause liquid of the liquid cooled charging cable to be passed through a heater to warm the liquid when the electric vehicle charging station is not in use. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 13, wherein operation of the pump of the electric vehicle charging station at the first speed is to be performed responsive to a cold start of the electric vehicle charging station. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 13, wherein the measurement of pressure of the liquid being pumped by the pump operating at the first speed includes a reading of a plurality of pressure readings from a plurality of pressure sensors respectively. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 16, wherein to determine whether the measured pressure exceeds the threshold includes a determination of whether each of the plurality of pressure readings individually exceeds the threshold. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The electric vehicle charging station of claim 13, wherein the instructions to cause current to pass through the liquid cooled charging cable causes an electrical connection at a holder of the connector to be shorted.