Patent Application
20240025279
The field of the disclosure relates to electric vehicles, and more particularly, to cross connectors for charging electric vehicles.
An Electric vehicle (EV) is driven by electric motors, which are powered by a rechargeable battery within the EV. As the rechargeable battery has a finite energy storage, the rechargeable battery is typically recharged when the remaining charge falls below a desired charge point. An EV may be recharged in a number of different ways, including recharging the EC at public EV chargers, at-home chargers, etc. Public EV chargers provide the ability to recharge the EV when away from an at-home charger, but different public chargers may utilize different types of charging connectors and/or different mechanisms for authenticating the user, monitoring the energy delivered during charging, and accounting for the cost of the energy transaction. The result is that a typical EV user may be tasked with subscribing to a number of different EV charging services, and/or the EV user may have to bypass some EV chargers that do not support the type of charging connector utilized by the EV.
Further, during EV charging, the user may be tasked with logging into a website or an application for a vendor of the EV charger, and/or may be tasked with swiping a credit card, either of which may be unavailable to the user. Further, during EV charging, it may be difficult to verify the amount of energy provided to the rechargeable battery of the EV, as each EV charging vendor may utilize its own method for calculating the energy delivered. In some cases, the battery management system of the EV may show the energy delivered to and/or stored by the rechargeable battery, but this information may not be accurate.
As charging times may vary from a few minutes to a few hours, it may not be practical for the EV user to remain at the EV charger during the charging process. In addition, different public EV chargers may utilize different methods and/or may not utilize any methods at all, for informing the user of the status of the current charging operation.
Based on the forgoing discussion, it therefore remains desirable to improve upon the operation and performance of the EV charging process for EVs.
In one aspect, a cross-connect cable for charging an EV is provided. The cross-connect cable comprises wiring, a first charging plug, a second charging plug, at least one sensor, and a controller. The wiring comprises one or more power conductors and one or more communication lines. The first charging plug and the second charging plug are electrically coupled to the wiring at opposite ends of the wiring. The at least one sensor is configured to measure a voltage of the one or more power conductors and measure a current carried by the one or more power conductors. The controller is communicatively coupled with the wiring and the at least on sensor. The controller is configured to determine whether the first charging plug and the second charging plug have been electrically connected to a first charging port of a power source and a second charging port of the EV, respectively. The controller is further configured to initiate a charging session from the power source to the EV in response to determining that the first charging plug and the second charging plug have been electrically connected, and calculate, based the voltage and the current, energy delivered from the power source to the EV for the charging session.
In another aspect, a method of operating a cross-connect cable to charge an EV is provided. The method comprises determining, by a controller of the cross-connect cable, whether a first charging plug and a second charging plug of the cross-connect cable have been electrically connected to a first charging port of a power source and a second charging port of the EV, respectively. The first charging plug and the second charging plug are disposed at, and are electrically coupled to, opposite ends of the wiring of the cross-connect cable. The wiring comprises one or more power conductors and one or more communication lines. The method further comprises initiating a charging session from the power source to the EV in response to determining that the first charging plug and the second charging plug have been electrically connected. The method further comprises measuring, by at least one sensor of the cross-connect cable, a voltage of the one or more power conductors, and measuring, by the at least one sensor, a current carried by the one or more power conductors. The method further comprises calculating, by the controller, energy delivered from the power source to the EV for the charging session based the voltage and the current.
In another aspect, a cross-connect cable for charging an EV is provided. The cross-connect cable comprises wiring, a first charging plug, a second charging plug, at least one wireless interface, and a controller. The wiring comprises one or more power conductors and one or more communication lines. The first charging plug and the second charging plug are electrically coupled to the wiring at opposite ends of the wiring. The controller is configured to receive, utilizing the at least one wireless interface, at least one of a key, a certificate, and a password to authenticate a charging session. The controller is further configured to determine whether the first charging plug has been electrically connected to a first charging port of an EV charger and the second charging plug has been electrically connected to a second charging port of the EV. The controller is further configured to transmit, utilizing the at least one wireless interface, the at least one of the key, the certificate, and the password to the EV charger in response to determining that the first charging plug and the second charging plug have been electrically connected, and initiate the charging session from the EV charger to the EV in response to the at least one of the key, the certificate, and the password authenticating the charging session.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings provided herein are meant to illustrate features of embodiments of this disclosure. These features are believed to be applicable in a wide variety of systems comprising one or more embodiments of this disclosure. As such, the drawings are not meant to include all conventional features known by those of ordinary skill in the art to be required for the practice of the embodiments disclosed herein.
In the following specification and the claims, reference will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have the following meanings.
The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.
Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about”, “approximately”, and “substantially”, are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.
As used herein, the terms “processor” and “computer,” and related terms, e.g., “processing device,” “computing device,” and “controller” are not limited to just those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a computer, but broadly refers to a microcontroller, a microcomputer, an analog computer, a programmable logic controller (PLC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and other programmable circuits, and these terms are used interchangeably herein. In the embodiments described herein, “memory” may include, but is not limited to, a computer-readable medium, such as a random-access memory (RAM), a computer-readable non-volatile medium, such as a flash memory. Alternatively, a floppy disk, a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM), a magneto-optical disk (MOD), and/or a digital versatile disc (DVD) may also be used. Also, in the embodiments described herein, additional input channels may be, but are not limited to, computer peripherals associated with an operator interface such as a touchscreen, a mouse, and a keyboard. Alternatively, other computer peripherals may also be used that may include, for example, but not be limited to, a scanner. Furthermore, in the example embodiment, additional output channels may include, but not be limited to, an operator interface monitor or heads-up display. Some embodiments involve the use of one or more electronic or computing devices. Such devices typically include a processor, processing device, or controller, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor, an ASIC, a programmable logic controller (PLC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processing (DSP) device, and/or any other circuit or processing device capable of executing the functions described herein. The methods described herein may be encoded as executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium, including, without limitation, a storage device and/or a memory device. Such instructions, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform at least a portion of the methods described herein. The above examples are not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of the term processor and processing device.
As discussed previously, current public EV charger implementations provide a number of challenges to the EV user, including the use of vendor-specific payment systems, applications, subscriptions, different EV charger connector types, energy monitoring, and notification mechanisms.
In the embodiments described herein, cross-connect cables for EVs are described that include built-in EV charging authorization, charge monitoring, and flash-over disconnect during arc events. The cross-connect cables implement a variety of different EV charger connector types, which provides more flexibility to the user regarding where to charge an EV. The cross-connect cables include current and voltage monitoring and can disconnect the charging session when the voltage, current, and/or power exceed a threshold. Further, the current and voltage monitoring is used to dynamically measure the power supplied to the EV batteries during charging. In various embodiments, the cross-connect cables provide arc flash and IR detection, for detecting flashover events. A controller within the cross-connect cables may include one or more processors, memory, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, ANT, ANT+, near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or other wireless interfaces. The measured energy, current, and/or voltage during charging may be stored in local memory, and the charging data may be shared via Bluetooth or other wireless interfaces to mobile devices (e.g., to a user's cell phone or tablet), or via cellular networks using a modem to cloud storage. The RFID generator may be used to provide EV charging authorization. Further, the controller may utilize NFC interfaces for transmitting authorization signals to the EV charger to authenticate an EV charging session. The controller may include an internal clock, which may be used to record charging power over time (for dynamic energy pricing) with local storage in a file. The controller may also transmit charging information to a mobile device of the user for remote monitoring of the charging session.
Cross-connect cable 102 in this embodiment further comprises a controller 122, which controls the operation of cross-connect cable 102. Controller 122 in this embodiment comprises a processor 124, a memory 126, a trusted platform module (TPM) 128, one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADC) 130, and an input/output (I/O) control module 132. Any of the elements of controller 122 may be separate components or integrated together in different embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, processor 124 and memory 126 are integrated together within TPM 128. Cross-connect cable 102 in this embodiment further comprises one or more wireless interfaces 134 and one or more sensors 136.
In some embodiments, controller 122 can generate a dynamic RFID identification or a dynamic NFC signal during an authorization process with charger 104. Charger 104 receives a key, a certificate, and/or a password via an RFID signal or a NFC signal from cross-connect cable 102. Charger 104 sends the key, the certificate and/or the password to the cloud via a network 138. The cloud checks the key, the certificate, and/or the password with its authorization registry database. Once cross-connect cable 102 provides identification using the key, the certificate, and/or the password, cross-connect cable 102 sends a command to charger 104 to start charging and, and cross-connect cable 102 begins recording the charging information for the charging session.
Processor 124 comprises any component, system, or device that controls the operation of controller 122. Processor 124 may, for example, execute instructions stored in memory 126 when performing the functions described herein for controller 122. Memory 126 comprises any component, system, or device that stores data. Memory 126 may comprise RAM, EEPROM, FLASH, or combinations thereof.
TPM 128 comprises any component, system, or device which stores secure data. Some examples of secure data include encryption keys and/or certificates and/or passwords, which may be used when controller 122 communicates with external systems. Once controller 122 connects to the cloud (e.g., via network 138), controller 122 may receive the key, the certificate, and/or the password. The certificate and password may include a key to authenticate cross-connect cable 102 with charger. The certificate and key are stored in TPM 128.
Wireless interfaces 134 comprise any component, system, or device which provides wireless connectivity between controller 122 and other devices or systems. For instance, wireless interfaces 134 may communicate directly with user equipment (UE) 140 of a user and/or may communicate with other devices or systems, including UE 140, via network 138. Some examples of UE 140 include smart phones, tablets, smart watches, etc. Some examples of the supported wireless standards for wireless interfaces 134 include Wi-Fi, ANT, ANT+, cellular (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G cellular networks), Bluetooth, NFC, RFID, etc. Network 138 may comprise, in some embodiments, the Internet. Wireless interfaces 134 may be proximate to charging plug 114 and/or charging plug 116 in different embodiments, due to the limited range of some types of wireless communications supported by wireless interfaces 134.
Sensors 136 comprise any component, system, or device, that provides information to controller 122 (e.g., via ADC 130) regarding the operation of cross-connect cable 102. Sensors 136, for instance, may measure voltages (e.g., the voltage at charging plugs 114, 116), current (e.g., the current flowing between charging plugs 114, 116 through wiring 108), temperatures, (e.g., the temperature at charging plugs 114, 116 and/or controller 122 and/or wiring 108). In some embodiments, sensors 136 comprise flashover (arc) sensors and/or infra-red (IR) sensors, which detect electrical discharges at charging plug 114 and/or charging plug 116. Arc sensors convert light lux into a voltage, which may be read by processor 124 to identify an arc flash event and terminate charging (e.g., the voltage generated by the arc sensor exceeds a threshold voltage). IR sensors convert IR signals to a voltage, which may be read by processor 124 to also identify an arc flash event and terminate charging (e.g., the voltage generated by the IR sensor exceeds a threshold voltage). In some embodiments, if the current in cross-connect cable 102 flows in the opposite direction than normal (e.g., current flows from charging port 112 of EV 106 to charging port 110 of charger 104), processor 124 may terminate charging. However, cross-connect cable 102 provides bi-directional charging between EVs in some embodiments. Sensors 136 may be proximate to charging plug 114 and/or charging plug 116 in different embodiments, due to the limited range of some types of flashover sensors.
I/O control module 132 comprises any component, system, or device which interfaces with devices of cross-connect cable 102. For instance, I/O control module 132 may control the operation of a switch 142 which selectively passes current between charging plugs 114, 116 over wiring 108. Switch 142 may comprise solid-state devices, mechanical devices, or combinations thereof. During operation, processor 124 may open/close switch 142 as desired to stop/start charging operations. Processor 124 may open switch 142 when arc events are detected during charging or if the charging current is flowing in the opposite direction (e.g., current flows from charging port 112 of EV 106 to charging port 110 of charger 104). Processor 124 may also open switch 142 if the voltage, current, and/or power at cross-connect cable 102 exceeds a threshold.
Typically, during EV charging there is a need for authorizing a person to do an energy transaction. Often, the user swipes a credit card, RFID card, or may use an application on their mobile device to begin the energy transfer. Cross-connect cable 102 comprises built-in RFID and/or NFC interfaces (via wireless interfaces 134) which transmit authorization information to charger 104 to authenticate charging for EV 106. Sensors 136 monitor the voltages and currents at cross-connect cable 102, which are used to calculate power. Power over charging time is energy, which may be recorded and timestamped using an internal clock (not shown) to record the power over time (for dynamic energy pricing), which may be stored in a local file (e.g., stored in memory 126). Wireless interfaces 134 may be used to transmit charging information to UE 140 and/or other devices or systems via network 138 for remote monitoring. In some embodiments, the charging data is sent via wireless interfaces 134 for EV energy transaction verification and to keep a log of each energy transaction.
When controller 122 connects to the cloud (e.g., via network 138), the internal time of controller 122 is synchronized (e.g., via the network time protocol (NTP)) to a time server (not shown). Controller 122 may also synchronize its internal clock via Bluetooth when communicating with a mobile charging application executing on UE 140. Generally, time synced data is continuously incremented in real time. If a time sync is not available, then the internal clock (not shown) of controller 122 is used for time stamping energy transaction data. Cross-connect cable 102 may be self-powered in some embodiments, obtaining power from charger 104 and/or EV 106 when charging plugs 114, 116 are plugged into charging ports 110, 112, respectively. Once cross-connect cable 102 is powered, processor 124 may request a time sync from UE 140 (via a charging application executing on UE 140) or from a time server via network 138 utilizing NTP or some other time synchronization protocol.
In some embodiments, processor 124 performs protocol translations between different charging interfaces. For example, if charging port 110 at charger 104 utilizes CCS2 and charging port 112 at EV 106 utilizes CHAdeMO, then processor 124 may convert CCS2 protocols and control signals at charging plug 114 to CHAdeMO protocols and controls signals for presentation at charging plug 116. Processor 124 may also convert CHAdeMO protocols at charging plug 116 to CCS2 protocols and control signals for presentation at charging plug 114. This allows EV 106 to be charged at a larger number of charging stations utilizing cross-connect cable 102. For example, a user of EV 106 may have a number of different types of cross-connect cable 102, which are used by the user of EV 106 depending on the type of charging port 110 on charger 104 and charging port 112 on EV 106.
During a charging operation, if the voltage, current, and/or power sensed and/or calculated by processor 124 is greater than a threshold amount (e.g., for a pre-defined amount of time), then switch 142 is opened by processor 124 (e.g., via I/O control module 132) to electrically disconnect the power conductors of charging ports 110, 112 from each other and to terminate the charging operation. This termination of charging is independent of charger 104, thereby providing additional safety to the user and/or EV 106.
In some embodiments, I/O control module 132 is coupled with a button (not shown) that allows the user to manually start/stop charging and/or turn on/off controller 122.
In some embodiments, the operator and/or owner of charger 104 utilizes dynamic energy pricing based one demand and supply. During dynamic power measurements performed when charging EV 106, the dynamic energy cost is recorded during an energy transaction. This allows the user of EV 106 to verify the energy transaction information provided by charger 104.
Although
Referring again to
Table 1, below, is one example of an energy record transaction that may be generated by cross-connect cable 102 and sent to the cloud.
The hash (e.g., using SHA256) information is also stored for energy verification, and is used to verify the energy transaction stored in the cloud.
As EV charging can take from several minutes to several hours, having communication capabilities built-in to cross-connect cable 102 enables the charging information to be remotely monitored by a user of EV 106. Using Bluetooth, ANT, and/or ANT+, the user could monitor the charging over several meters away via a mobile application executing at UE 140, without using a cellular connection. This allows the user to remotely start/stop charging and receive any alarms generated by cross-connect cable 102, such as an overvoltage alarm, an over current alarm, an over-power alarm, a flashover event, etc., without using a cellular network.
With respect to
Calculation of: Total charging Energy=±Σt=0TPt*Δt, Δt=time between measurement iteration, and T=total time of the charging period.
In some embodiments, cross-connect cable 102 may be housed within EV 106, as depicted in
In some embodiments, controller 1000 further comprises a power supply module 1040, which provides power to controller 1000. Power supply module 1040 receives electrical power from power conductors 1036, 1038 of wiring 108. In other embodiments, wiring 108 may comprise more or fewer power conductors 1036, 1038.
In this embodiment, wiring 108 comprises one or more control lines 1042 and one or more CAN bus communication lines 1044. In this embodiment, controller 1000 further comprises I/O module 1046, which controls switches 1048, 1050 for power conductors 1036, 1038, respectively. A control line module 1052 provides input/output conversion for control lines 1042, and a CAN bus module 1054 provides a CAN bus interface for processor 1004 to implement a protocol conversion for data sent over CAN bus communication lines 1044. A clock module 1056 provides timekeeping functions for controller 1000 and a display controller 1058 of controller 1000 interfaces with a display 1060, which may be used to provide information to a user of EV 106. Controller 1000 may operate similar to that previously described with respect to controller 122 of
Method 1100 begins by determining (1102) whether a first charging plug and a second charging plug of the cross-connect cable have been electrically connected to a first charging port of a power source and a second charging port of the EV, respectively. For example, controllers 122, 1000 may sense the voltages at charging plugs 114, 116 and/or may detect communications at charging plugs 114, 116, to determine if charging plugs 114, 116 are electrically connected. In another example, a user may indicate the connection via an application executing on UE 140 or via a button on cross-connect cable 102, not shown.
Method 1100 continues by initiating (1104) a charging session from the power source to the EV in response to determining that the first charging plug and the second charging plug have been electrically connected. For example, charger 104 provides electrical power to charging port 110, which is transferred over wires 108 of cross-connect cable 102 and delivered to charging port 112 of EV 106.
Method 1100 continues by measuring (1106) a voltage and a current of one or more power conductors of the cross-connector cable. For example, processor 124 (see
Method 1100 continues by calculating (1108) the energy delivered from the power source to the EV for the charging session based on the voltage and current measurements. For example, processor 124 (see
In an optional embodiment, method 1100 further comprises receiving (see 1202 of
Method 1100 continues in this optional embodiment in
In response to the charging plugs being connected, method 1100 continues in this optional embodiment by transmitting (1204) the at least one of the key, the certificate, and the password to the power source. For example, processor 124 utilizes wireless interfaces 134 to transmit secure information stored at TPM 128 to charger 104 (see
If the cloud authenticates cross-connect cable 102 identification using the key, the certificate, and/or the password, then the cloud sends a command to charger 104 to initiate (1104) the charging session, and method 1100 continues in
In another optional embodiment, method 1100, in response to determining (see 1102 of
In this optional embodiment, method 1100 continues as previously described by initiating (1104) a charging session and measuring (1106) a voltage and current at the power conductors. In this optional embodiment, method 1100 calculates (1304) an instantaneous power based on the voltage(s) and current(s) in the power conductors. For example, processor 1004 (see
Method 1100 continues in this optional embodiment by determining (1306) if the voltage is greater than a threshold voltage. If the voltage is greater than the threshold voltage, then method 1100 terminates (1308) the charging session. For example, processor 124 (see
However, if the voltage is not greater than the threshold voltage, then method 1100 continues by determining (1310) if the current is greater than a threshold current, determining (1312) if the instantaneous power is greater than a threshold power, and determining (1314) if a flashover has occurred. For example, processor 124 (see
If any of the prior checks are true, then method 1100 terminates (1308) the charging session (e.g., by opening switches 142, 1048, 1050). However, if none of these checks are true, then method 1100 continues by calculating (1108) the energy delivered from the power source to the EV for the charging session as previously described for
In some embodiments, initiating the charging session further comprises closing at least one switch controlling an electrical path through the one or more power conductors between the first charging plug and the second charging plug. For example, processor 124 directs I/O control module 132, to initiate the charging session, to close switch 142. Closing switch 142 provides an electrical path through wiring 108 between charging plugs 114, 116. Conversely, opening the switch terminates the charging session. For instance, processor 124 directs I/O control module 132 to open switch 142, which terminates the charging session. In another example, processor 1004 directs I/O module 1046, to initiate the charging session, to close switches 1048, 1050. Closing switches 1048, 1050 provide an electrical path through wiring 108. Conversely, opening the switch terminates the charging session. For instance, processor 1004 directs I/O module 1046 to open switches 1048, 1050, which terminates the charging session
The cross-connect cables 102 described herein provide a number of advantages to the EV user as compared to the typical public charge point, including energy transaction verification, energy transaction history, flexibility regarding where the user can charge the EV by selecting different cross-connect cables 102, simpler authentication using cross-connect cable 102 rather than the vendor-specific authentication methods and application which vary depending on the vendor of the charge point, etc. Further, the cross-connect cables 102 described herein provide bi-directional charging, thereby enabling emergency charging between EVs in cases where an EV no longer has the range to reach a charge point. Each of these, at least, provides technical effects and advantages over the art.
Although specific features of various embodiments of the disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. In accordance with the principles of the disclosure, any feature of a drawing may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing.
This written description uses examples to disclose the embodiments, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
