US 2022/0176840 A1 · Electric Vehicle Charging System and Method

Abstract

An electric vehicle (EV) charging system includes a plurality of electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) units, a plurality of associated EV charging stations, electrical power distribution wires or cables for distributing electrical power from the plurality of EVSE units to the plurality of EV charging stations, and an EVSE communications bus. Each EVSE unit includes a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a solid-state switch that control whether electrical current is able to flow to an associated EV charging station and connected plug-in EV (PEV) load. The MCUs communicate over the EVSE communications bus and, as PEVs charge, plug into, and unplug from the plurality of EV charging stations, reallocate or reapportion an available supply current among the plurality of EVSE units while also dynamically adjusting one or more circuit protection attributes also provided by the EVSE units.

Claims35

Dependent claims

An electric vehicle (EV) charging system, comprising:

a plurality of EV charging stations;
a plurality of EV supply equipment (EVSE) units associated with the plurality of EV charging stations, each EVSE unit including a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a solid-state switch that controls whether electrical current is able to flow to said each EVSE unit's associated EV charging station;
electrical power distribution wires or cables that distribute electrical power from the plurality of EVSE units to the plurality of EV charging stations;
an EVSE communications bus over which the MCUs in the plurality of EVSE units communicate, coordinate, and allocate or apportion an available supply current among the plurality of EVSE units,
wherein the plurality of MCUs is configured to reallocate or reapportion the available supply current among the plurality of EVSE units upon plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) plugging into the EV charging stations to charge and upon PEVs completing charging and unplugging from the EV charging stations and the plurality of solid-state switches is configured to provide circuit protection to a plurality of associated EV charging station and PEVs.

2 more elements

In an electric vehicle (EV) charging system including a plurality of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) units, an EV charge control and circuit protection method, comprising:

allocating or apportioning a supply current among the plurality of EVSE units, each EVSE unit configured to limit, control and adjust a maximum allowable charging current available for supply to an associated EV charging station and plug-in vehicle (PEV);
and
reallocating or reapportioning the supply current among the EVSE units as other PEVs plug into other EV charging stations of the EV charging system to charge and as other PEVs complete charging and unplug from other EV charging stations of the EV charging system,
wherein each EVSE unit is configured to provide circuit protection to its associated EV charging station and PEV, and one or more EVSE units of the plurality of EVSE units is/are configured to adjust its/their maximum allowable charging current(s) depending on how the supply currents is reallocated or reapportioned.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electric Vehicle Charging System and Method

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Electric Vehicle Charging System and Method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims35