# US 2024/0201642 A1 · Energy Management for Non-Charging Load at Site with Charging Station Bidirectionality > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2024/0201642 A1 - Document ID: US20240201642A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 18/066,975 - Filed: 2022-12-15 - Published: 2024-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2022-12-15 - Assignees: Freewire Technologies, Inc. - Applicants: Freewire Technologies, Inc. - Inventors: Nicholas Seroff; Tabish Shibly - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20240201642A1 ## CPC - G05B 15/02: electric - G05B 2219/2639: Energy management, use maximum of cheap power, keep peak load low - 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 - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract In order to provide power for non-charging loads located at charging sites, the systems and methods disclosed herein provide for controlling electric vehicle charging stations to provide alternating current (AC) power to the non-charging loads from power stored in their batteries. One or more charging stations are configured to charge their batteries from an AC power source that also powers a non-charging load at the charging site. Each charging station includes a battery, a bidirectional inverter, and a system controller configured to determine occurrence of a triggering condition associated with availability of the AC power source and to control the bidirectional inverter to convert a direct current (DC) power from the battery into an AC output current to provide to the non-charging load via a local AC circuit at the charging site. The non-charging load may thus be powered without drawing power from the AC power source. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for providing electric power to a non-charging load at a charging site having at least one vehicle charging system, comprising: receiving, at an input port of the vehicle charging system connected to an input alternating current (AC) circuit, an input electric power from an AC power source that further provides AC power to the non-charging load; converting, by a bidirectional inverter of the vehicle charging system, the input electric power into a direct current (DC) energy storage current; charging, with the DC energy storage current, a battery of the vehicle charging system; providing, via a vehicle coupling of the charging system, a charging current from the battery to a vehicle in order to charge a vehicle battery of the vehicle; determining, by a system controller of the vehicle charging system, occurrence of a triggering condition associated with availability of the AC power source based upon power source data regarding the AC power source; and in response to determining occurrence of the triggering condition, controlling, by the system controller, the bidirectional inverter of the vehicle charging system to convert a DC current from the battery into an AC output current, wherein the AC output current is provided via an AC output port to the non-charging load via a local AC circuit at the charging site to power the non-charging load while continuing to provide the charging current to the vehicle from the battery, wherein the AC output port is separate from the input port, wherein the local AC circuit is separate from the input AC circuit, and wherein the vehicle charging system is configured to provide the AC output current to the AC output port only from the bidirectional inverter as an AC current derived from the DC current from the battery. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein determining occurrence of the triggering condition comprises determining the input electric power is no longer being received at the input port. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the AC power source comprises an electric power grid and the triggering condition comprises a demand level of the electric power grid exceeding a demand level threshold for a time interval. ### Claim 4 (canceled) ### Claim 5 (canceled) ### Claim 6 (canceled) ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein determining occurrence of the triggering condition comprises detecting receipt of an electronic message from either a site meter or a centralized management system, the electronic message indicating a demand level for the AC power source exceeds a threshold demand level. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the local AC circuit further connects the vehicle charging system to an additional input port of an additional vehicle charging system at the charging site, and further comprising: in response to determining occurrence of the triggering condition, controlling, by an additional system controller of the additional vehicle charging system, an additional bidirectional inverter of the additional vehicle charging system to convert an additional DC current from an additional battery of the additional vehicle charging system into an additional AC output current, wherein the additional AC output current is provided to the non-charging load via the local AC circuit at the charging site to power the non-charging load. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein each of the system controller and the additional system controller respectively controls providing the AC output current and the additional AC output current according to commands from a centralized management system. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering condition comprises receipt by the system controller of an electronic message including a command to provide the AC output current, and further comprising: monitoring, by a centralized management system, the power source data regarding the AC power source; generating, by the centralized management system, an electronic message including the command to provide the AC output current; and sending, from the centralized management system to the system controller, the electronic message via a communication network. ### Claim 11 A vehicle charging system for providing electric power to a non-charging load at a charging site, comprising: one or more input ports connected to and configured to receive input electric power from an alternating current (AC) power source via an input AC circuit that further provides AC power to the non-charging load; an AC output port connected to a local AC circuit that is separate from the input AC circuit; a battery configured to receive and store direct current (DC) electric power derived from the input electric power; a bidirectional inverter disposed between the one or more input ports and the battery, the bidirectional inverter being configured to convert the input electric power from the one or more input ports into a DC energy storage current to charge the battery and to convert a DC current from the battery into an AC output current to be supplied from the vehicle charging system to the local AC circuit via the AC output port, wherein the vehicle charging system is configured to provide the AC output current to the AC output port only from the bidirectional inverter as an AC current derived from the DC current from the battery; a vehicle coupling configured to receive a charging current from the battery and to provide an electrical interconnect between the vehicle charging system and the vehicle in order to provide the charging current to the vehicle; and a system controller comprising one or more processors configured to: provide the charging current from the battery to the vehicle via the vehicle coupling in order to charge a vehicle battery of the vehicle; determine occurrence of a triggering condition associated with availability of the AC power source based upon power source data regarding the AC power source; and in response to determining occurrence of the triggering condition, control the bidirectional inverter of the vehicle charging system to convert the DC current from the battery into the AC output current to provide the AC output current to the non-charging load via the local AC circuit at the charging site to power the non-charging load while continuing to provide the charging current to the vehicle from the battery. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The vehicle charging system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors of the system controller are configured to determine occurrence of the triggering condition by determining the input electric power is no longer being received at the one or more input ports. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The vehicle charging system of claim 11, wherein the AC power source comprises an electric power grid and the triggering condition comprises a demand level of the electric power grid exceeding a demand level threshold for a time interval. ### Claim 14 (canceled) ### Claim 15 (canceled) ### Claim 16 (canceled) ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The vehicle charging system of claim 11, wherein the triggering condition comprises detecting receipt of an electronic message from either a site meter or a centralized management system, the electronic message indicating a demand level for the AC power source exceeds a threshold demand level. ### Claim 18 A site charging system for providing electric power to a non-charging load at a charging site, comprising: a plurality of vehicle charging systems at the charging site connected via a local alternating current (AC) circuit, each vehicle charging system comprising: one or more input ports connected to an input AC circuit and configured to receive input electric power from an AC power source via the input AC circuit that further provides AC power to the non-charging load; an AC output port connected to a local AC circuit that is separate from the input AC circuit; a battery configured to receive and store direct current (DC) electric power derived from the input electric power; a bidirectional inverter disposed between the one or more input ports and the battery, the bidirectional inverter being configured to convert the input electric power from the one or more input ports into a DC energy storage current to charge the battery and to convert a DC current from the battery into an AC output current to be supplied from the vehicle charging system to the local AC circuit via the AC output port, wherein the vehicle charging system is configured to provide the AC output current to the AC output port only from the bidirectional inverter as an AC current derived from the DC current from the battery; a vehicle coupling configured to receive a charging current from the battery and to provide an electrical interconnect between the vehicle charging system and a respective vehicle in order to provide the charging current to the vehicle; and a system controller comprising one or more processors configured to control operation of the respective vehicle charging system to provide the charging current from the battery to the respective vehicle via the vehicle coupling in order to charge a respective vehicle battery of the vehicle; and a centralized management system communicatively connected to the plurality of vehicle charging systems via an electronic communication connection, comprising one or more processors configured to: determine occurrence of a triggering condition associated with availability of the AC power source based upon power source data regarding the AC power source; and in response to determining occurrence of the triggering condition, cause the respective system controllers of at least one of the plurality of charging systems to control the respective bidirectional inverters of the vehicle charging systems to convert the DC currents from the respective batteries into the AC output current to provide the AC output current to the non-charging load via the local AC circuit at the charging site to power the non-charging load while continuing to provide the respective charging current to the respective vehicle from the respective battery. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The site charging system of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors of the centralized management system are further configured to: monitor the power source data regarding the AC power source; generate an electronic message including the command to provide the AC output current; and send the electronic message to each of the respective system controllers of the plurality of vehicle charging systems via a communication network. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The site charging system of claim 19, wherein: the AC power source comprises an electric power grid; the one or more processors of the centralized management system are configured to monitor the power source data by: obtaining the power source data from a server associated with the electric power grid; and determining a demand level associated with the electric power grid based upon the power source data; and the triggering condition comprises the demand level exceeding a demand level threshold for a time interval. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the input electric power is received at the input port at a first voltage and the AC output current is provided to the AC output port at a second voltage different from the first voltage. ### Claim 22 (depends on 11) The vehicle charging system of claim 11, wherein the input electric power is received at the input port at a first voltage and the AC output current is provided to the AC output port at a second voltage different from the first voltage. ### Claim 23 (depends on 19) The site charging system of claim 19, wherein the input electric power is received at the input port of each vehicle charging system at a first voltage and the AC output current is provided to the AC output port of each vehicle charging system at a second voltage different from the first voltage.