Electric vehicle supply equipment control system

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention relate to a control system (100) for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment (200). The electric vehicle supply equipment (200) connectable to an external power source (102) and comprising an internal power source (202), wherein the control system (100) comprises one or more processors (120) collectively configured to: receive an external power signal (410) indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source (102); determine, in dependence on the external power signal (410) not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment (200), that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment (200) from the external power source (102); and in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment (200) from the external power source (102), output a charging power failure signal (420) to the internal power source (202) to cause the internal power source (202) to provide power from the internal power source (202) to an indicator device (204), the indicator device (204) configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source (102).

Description

[0001] JLRP13245GB0

[0002] ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT CONTROL SYSTEM

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present disclosure relates to electric vehicle supply equipment control systems. Aspects of the invention

[0005] 5 relate to a control system, an electric vehicle supply equipment, a method for controlling a control system of an electric vehicle supply equipment, and to computer readable instructions.

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] It is known to provide electric vehicle supply equipment (i.e. an electric vehicle charger) at a location (e.g. private dwelling, charging station, etc) at which a user may charge an electrical energy storage of an electric vehicle. Electric power is provided to the electric vehicle supply equipment from an external power supply (e.g. a power grid), which can be delivered to the energy storage of the vehicle.

[0008] It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art. 5

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system, an electric vehicle supply equipment, a method for controlling a control system of an electric vehicle supply equipment, and computer readable instructions as claimed in the appended claims. 0

[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, the electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source and comprising an internal power source, wherein the control system comprises one or more processors collectively configured to: determine, in dependence on an external power signal not being received by the5 electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; and in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment. Advantageously, if there is a loss of power to the supply0 equipment, the control system can detect this and cause an indicator device to indicate the power loss, so a user is aware of the power loss and act e.g. to investigate the power loss, to use another available supply equipment, etc.

[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, the electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source and comprising an internal power source, wherein the control system comprises one or more processors collectively configured to: receive an external power signal indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determine, in dependence on the external power signal not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the0 electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; and in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, output a charging JLRP13245GB0 power failure signal to the internal power source to cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source. Advantageously, a status of the electric vehicle supply equipment may be determined and indicated, providing accurate diagnostic information

[0013] 5 for a user and an indication that any vehicle charging process in progress or scheduled to take place may be interrupted by the power loss event, even after power from an external power source has stopped being provided to the electric vehicle supply equipment.

[0014] The control system comprises one or more controllers collectively comprising at least one electronic processor having an electrical input for receiving an input signal; and at least one memory device electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor and having instructions stored therein; and wherein the at least one electronic processor is configured to access the at least one memory device and execute the instructions thereon so as to: receive an external power signal indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determine, in dependence on the external power signal not5 being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; and in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, output a charging power failure signal to the internal power source to cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the0 electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.

[0015] Optionally, the indicator device may comprise an output indicator device of the electric vehicle supply equipment. The output indicator device may be configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source, provide an output indication from the electric vehicle supply equipment to indicate the loss of power5 supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source. Advantageously, the electric vehicle supply equipment may outwardly / noticeably indicate that power is not being received from the external power source such that the status of the electric vehicle supply equipment may be determined by a user, thereby alerting a user to a failed charging event and reducing the time taken to determine that a power loss is present for the electric vehicle supply equipment to allow the user to intervene and check the power loss0 issue, use a different supply equipment, or at least be aware of the power loss issue.

[0016] Optionally, the output indication may be a visual indication provided by the output indicator device. The output indication may be provided until one or more of: a user input is provided to stop the provision of the output indication; a predetermined period of time passes from the start of provision of the output indication; and the internal power source, used to power the output indicator device, has no power remaining. Advantageously, by providing the output indication until a user input is received, the control system expends power from the internal power source on providing the output indication only for as long as necessary. That is, once the user has acknowledged the output indication (e.g. that there is a power loss at the electric vehicle supply equipment), further, unnecessary, usage of the finite amount of electrical power of the internal power source0 for the purpose of the output indication is reduced. The same advantage is derived by providing the output indication until a predetermined period of time passes from the start of provision of the output indication. JLRP13245GB0

[0017] Advantageously, by providing the output indication until the internal power source has no remaining power, the control system may improve the visibility of reporting the power loss to the electric vehicle supply equipment to a user for as long as possible. “No remaining power” may be understood to be when a power reading (e.g.

[0018] 5 a current and / or voltage) of the internal power source is substantially zero, not readable by the control system, or below a threshold required to sufficiently power the indicator device.

[0019] In some examples, the output indicator device may be a visual output device of the electric vehicle supply equipment configured to provide the visual output indication. For example, the visual output device may comprise one or more LEDs, a screen, and / or a touchscreen.

[0020] In some examples, the output indicator device may be an audio output device of the electric vehicle supply equipment configured to provide an audio output indication. For example, the audio output device may comprise a speaker, a buzzer, and / or an alarm. 5

[0021] Optionally, the indicator device may comprise a communication circuit. The communication circuit may be configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source: transmit a power loss indicator signal to a remote device remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment, the power loss indicator signal may be configured to cause the remote device to output a power loss indicator indicative of the loss of power to the0 electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source. Advantageously, the status change of the electric vehicle supply equipment no longer receiving power from the external power source may be provided to a remote location, thereby improving reporting of the status change of the electric vehicle supply equipment.

[0022] In some examples, the communication circuit may be configured to transmit a power loss indicator signal using5 a 3G, 4G, or 5G communication network.

[0023] Optionally, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to: in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, determine a point of progress in a charging schedule of supplying power to an energy storage of the vehicle from the0 electric vehicle supply equipment, the point of progress determined at a point in the charging schedule where the supply of charge to the energy storage of the vehicle stopped; and store an indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule. Advantageously, unfulfillment of the charging schedule of the vehicle may be mitigated against, and failed charging events may be reduced.

[0024] Optionally, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to, one or more of: locally store the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule in a storage means of the electric vehicle supply equipment; and transmit the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule to a schedule device located remotely from the electric vehicle supply equipment, the schedule device configured to store one or more charging schedules. Advantageously, by locally storing the indicator of the point of progress, the control0 system may reduce latency in resuming a charging schedule, thereby improving performance of the electric vehicle supply equipment. Advantageously, by transmitting the indicator of the point of progress to the JLRP13245GB0 schedule device, hardware requirements (i.e. storage and / or power requirements) of the electric vehicle supply equipment may be reduced, which may allow for a more simple, compact, and economic design and / or manufacture of the electric vehicle supply equipment.

[0025] 5 Optionally, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to: receive a new external power signal indicative of power again being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determine, in dependence on receipt of the new external power signal, that power can be supplied to the energy storage of the vehicle from the external power source via the electric vehicle supply equipment; in response to determining that power can be supplied by the electric vehicle supply equipment, retrieve the stored indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule; and cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to resume supplying power to the energy storage of the vehicle from the electric vehicle supply equipment according to the stored point of progress in the charging schedule. Advantageously, unfulfillment of the charging schedule of the vehicle may be mitigated against and failed charging events may be reduced. 5 Optionally, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to: output a charging power restored signal to the indicator device to cause the indicator device to output a power restored indicator indicative of the restoration of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source. Advantageously, the control system allows for complete reporting of the electric vehicle supply equipment’s status during a power loss event. 0

[0026] Optionally, the internal power source may comprise one or more of: a battery, and a capacitor. Advantageously, the internal power source may be rechargeable and may not require replacement in the event of complete usage of the internal power source, thereby reducing the service overhead of the electric vehicle supply equipment. 5

[0027] According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source, the electric vehicle supply equipment comprising an internal power source and any control system as disclosed herein. 0 According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, the electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source and comprising an internal power source, the method comprising: receiving an external power signal indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determining, in dependence on the external power signal not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, outputting a charging power failure signal to the internal power source to cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply0 equipment from the external power source. JLRP13245GB0

[0028] According to another aspect of the present invention there are provided computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform any method as disclosed herein.

[0029] 5 Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.

[0030] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0031] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an electric vehicle supply equipment in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

[0032] Figures 2A-2B show block diagrams each illustrating a control system for an electric vehicle supply0 equipment in accordance with embodiments of the invention;

[0033] Figure 3 shows another schematic representation of an electric vehicle supply equipment in accordance with embodiments of the invention; and

[0034] Figure 4 shows a flow chart showing a method for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 5

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, an electric vehicle supply equipment, a method for controlling a control system of an electric vehicle supply equipment and computer readable instructions. 0

[0037] An electric vehicle supply equipment is an apparatus configured to provide electrical power to an energy store of a vehicle. An electric vehicle supply equipment may be understood to be a “charger”, i.e. an apparatus which can be connected to a vehicle (and the electrical energy storage of that vehicle) for the provision of charge from the supply equipment to the vehicle, to recharge the electrical energy storage. The vehicle may be a battery electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, for example. The electric vehicle supply equipment derives the electrical power from an external power source. However, should power stop being delivered to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source (e.g. a power cut, and / or electrical disconnection between the external power source and the electric vehicle supply equipment), the electric vehicle supply equipment is not able to report the loss of external power supply. This may lead to insufficient / failed charging0 events in which a vehicle energy store cannot be supplied with charge from the supply equipment. A user may be confused as to why the vehicle has not been recharged, for example if the charging cable is connected and JLRP13245GB0 charging is scheduled, the user would expect the vehicle to be recharged according to the schedule. However, the embodiments of the present invention as disclosed herein address these shortcomings in the art.

[0038] With reference to Figure 1 , there is illustrated an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 in accordance with an

[0039] 5 embodiment of the present invention. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is connectable to an external power source 102. The external power source 102 may be configured to provide electrical power to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The external power source 102 may be one or more of a main power outlet, a power grid, an electrical power generator, and a solar power generator. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be connectable to the external power source 102 via a hard-wired electrical connection, an electrical coupling means (i.e. plug and socket arrangement) and / or the like. In this way, “connectable to” may be understood to mean any type of permanent and / or temporary electrical connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the external power source 102. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is connectable to a vehicle and is configured to provide electrical power to an energy store of a vehicle that has been connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may5 be connectable to the vehicle for delivery of electrical power to the energy store via a charging cable (not shown). For example, the charging cable and the vehicle may comprise respective means that couple with each other (e.g. a charging gun of the charging cable and a charging socket / port of the vehicle), forming a suitable conduction path for the supply of electrical charge to the vehicle. Supply of electrical charge to the vehicle should be understood as a supply of electrical charge to an energy storage means of the vehicle e.g. 0 a rechargeable battery.

[0040] The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 comprises an internal power source 202. The internal power source 202 may be a source of electrical power store independent from the external power source 102. The internal power source 202 may be configured to provide power to one or more components of the electric vehicle5 supply equipment 200 in the case that an external power signal is not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. Failure to receive an external power signal may be recognised by the control system 100 to mean that there is no power being provided from the external power source 102 to the supply equipment 200. 0 The internal power source 202 may comprise one or more of a battery and a capacitor. By supplying power to an indicator device of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the internal power source 202 allows the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to indicate a current power failure state (e.g. that power has stopped being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 202). Advantageously, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 as disclosed herein provides improved status indication.

[0041] While electrical power is being provided from the external power source 102 to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the internal power source 202 may be configured to receive a portion of the electrical power received from the external power source 202. In this way, the internal power source 202 may derive its store0 of electrical energy from the external power source 102. Advantageously, the internal power source 202 may JLRP13245GB0 be a rechargeable electrical energy storage unit such as a battery or capacitor, which may not require replacement once the energy store of the internal power source 202 is depleted.

[0042] The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 comprises a control system 100. With reference to Figure 2A, there

[0043] 5 is illustrated a control system 100 for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (as seen illustrated in Figures 1 and 3). The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is connectable to an external power source 102 and comprises an internal power source 202. The control system 100 comprises one or more processors 120. The one or more processors are collectively configured to receive an external power signal 410 indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102.

[0044] The control system 100 is configured to then determine, in dependence on the external power signal 410 not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. 5 The control system 100 is configured to then, in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102, output a charging power failure signal 420 to the internal power source 202 to cause the internal power source 202 to provide power from the internal power source 202 to an indicator device 204. The indicator device 204 is configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. 0

[0045] With reference to Figure 2B, there is illustrated a control system 100 for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (as seen illustrated in Figures 1 and 3). The control system 100 as illustrated in Figure 2 comprises one controller 110, although it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative. The controller 110 comprises processing means 120 and memory means 130. The processing means 120 may be one or more5 electronic processing device 120 which operably executes computer-readable instructions. The memory means 130 may be one or more memory device 120. The memory means 130 is electrically coupled to the processing means 120. The memory means 130 is configured to store instructions, and the processing means 120 is configured to access the memory means 130 and execute the instructions stored thereon. 0 The controller 110 comprises an input means 140 and an output means 150. The input means 140 may comprise an electrical input 140 of the controller 110. The output means 150 may comprise an electrical output 150 of the controller 1 10. The input 140 may be arranged to receive a signal 165 from a component 160 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The signal 165 may be an external power signal 410. The output 150 may be arranged to output a signal 155 to control one or more components 170 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The signal 155 may be a charging failure signal 420. For example, the charging failure signal 420 may be transmitted to an internal power source 202 to cause the internal power source 202 to provide power from the internal power source 202 to an indicator device 204.

[0046] The control system 100 is configured to receive the external power signal 410. The external power signal 4100 is indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power supply 102. The external power signal 410 may be a current signal and / or a voltage signal representative of JLRP13245GB0 the power being provided from the external power source 102 to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. For example, the control system 100 may comprise an ammeter and / or a voltmeter to determine that the external power signal 410 is being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. The control system 100 and / or the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may comprise an

[0047] 5 ohmmeter (to measure resistance), and / or a temperature sensor, in some examples, to determine operation of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200.

[0048] The control system 100 is configured to determine that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102, in dependence on the external power signal 410 not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to periodically (e.g. at regular time intervals) determine whether the external power signal 410 has been received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102 in some examples. The control system 100 may continuously determine whether the external power signal 410 is being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102 in some examples. For5 example, the control system 100 may continuously monitor an ammeter reading and / or a voltmeter reading. If the ammeter reading and / or the voltmeter reading is below a predetermined threshold, or there is no reading present (e.g. the meter reading is substantially zero), the control system 100 may determine that the external power signal 410 is not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and / or that power is not being supplied from the external power source 102. The predetermined threshold may be determined based0 on a minimum current and / or voltage in order for the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to function correctly (e.g. the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 sufficiently providing electrical power to the energy storage of the vehicle and any other auxiliary functions (e.g. communication to remote devices)).

[0049] With reference to Figure 3, there is illustrated an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 according to an5 embodiment of the present invention. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 comprises an indicator device 204. It will be appreciated that this example is illustrative and there may be embodiments wherein the indicator device 204 is external from and connectable to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The indicator device 204 may comprise an output indicator device 205 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The output indicator device 205 may be configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source 202, provide an0 output indication from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to indicate the loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. The output indicator device 205 may outwardly indicate the loss of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The output indication may be a visual indication provided by the output indicator device 205 (which may be then called a visual output indicator device). The visual output device 205 may comprise one or more of light emitting diode(s), a screen and a touchscreen and / or the like. In some examples, the output indication may be an audio indication provided by the output indicator device 205 (which may then be called an audio indicator output device) configured to provide an audio output indication. The audio output device 205 may comprise one or more of a speaker, buzzer, alarm, and / or the like. In some examples, the output indicator device 205 may comprise a plurality of indicator devices 205 configured to provide visual and / or audio output indications. 0 JLRP13245GB0

[0050] The control system 100 may be configured to control the output indication to be provided until a user input is provided to stop the provision of the output indication. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may comprise a user input element (not shown) (e.g. button, dial, touchscreen etc), configured to receive a user input. For example, the output indication may be provided until a user presses a button on the electric vehicle supply

[0051] 5 equipment 200, indicating that the user has acknowledged the output indication and is aware of the loss of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The user may have access to an electronic device (e.g. personal mobile device) that is in direct or indirect (e.g. via an intermediate device / server) communication with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In this example, the electronic device may be configured to receive the user input indicating that the output indication should no longer be output by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and that the user has acknowledged the output indication and is aware of the loss of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200.

[0052] The control system 100 may be configured to control the output indication to be provided until a predetermined period of time passes from the start of provision of the output indication. The control system 100 may be5 configured to, in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102, initiate an output indication timer. The duration of the output indication timer may be predetermined so as to not sound for unnecessary lengths of time, to avoid unnecessarily reducing the energy available for use from the internal power source 202 and / or to not cause a nuisance to people nearby (e.g. if the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is positioned in a public location). 0 The predetermined period of time may be configurable by a user input received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and / or an electronic device associated with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (e.g. an electronic device having paired with and / or previously communicated with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200). Upon expiration of the output indication timer, the control system 100 may be configured to stop further provision of the output indication. Advantageously, electric power available from the internal power5 source 202 may be conserved and unnecessary use of the electrical power of the internal power source 202 may be prevented. An indicator, such as a low energy requirement indicator e.g. an illuminated “fault” LED, may remain active (illuminated), to indicate the indication has been provided due to an error, until the user performs a reset procedure to stop all indications of power supply failure. 0 The output indication may be provided in some examples until the internal power source 202, used to power the output indicator device, has no power remaining. The internal power source 202 is comprised within the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and, in the event of the power not being provided by the external power source 102, the electrical power available from the internal power source 102, while sufficient for powering the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to powerthe indicator device 204, is finite. As such, the output indication may be provided until the electrical power available from the internal power source 202 is insufficient (e.g. the current and voltage of the internal power source 202 being below respective minimum values) to power the indicator device 204 to provide the output indication.

[0053] The above examples may be used in any combination. The output indication may be provided until one or0 more of: a user input is provided to stop the provision of the output indication; a predetermined period of time JLRP13245GB0 passes from the start of provision of the output indication; and the internal power source 202, used to power the output indicator device, has no power remaining.

[0054] The indicator device 204 may comprise a communication circuit 206. While Figure 3 illustrates the indicator

[0055] 5 device 204 comprising both output indicator device 205 and the communication circuit 206, this is illustrative. There may be examples wherein the indicator device 204 comprises either the output indicator device 205 or the communication circuit 206.

[0056] The communication circuit 206 may be configured to communicate using a wired communication protocol and / or a wireless communication protocol. The communication circuit 206 may comprise one or more transmitters and / or transceivers. The communication circuit 206 may be configured to communicate with one or more remote devices 300 via one or more of a 3G communication network, a 4G communication network, a 5G communication network, a Bluetooth connection, and a WiFi communication network. Upon receipt of the electrical power from the internal power source 202, the communication circuit 206 may be provided with5 sufficient power to affect the one or more transmitter and / or transceiver. The communication circuit 206 may be configured to transmit a signal 310 to a remote device 300 remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200.

[0057] The communication circuit 206 may be configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source 202,0 transmit a power loss indicator signal 310 to the remote device 300, such as a user’s personal electronic device. The power loss indicator signal 310 may be configured to cause the remote device 300 to output a power loss indicator indicative of the loss of power of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. In this way, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be configured to alert the remote device 300 of the loss of power at the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. For example, a user5 application (“app”) linked to the supply equipment 200 and present on a user’s smartphone may output a notification to the user on their smartphone to indicate a power loss. Advantageously, an improved control system 100 is provided whereby notification of the power loss to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 can be reported to a device, even when the device is not located in the vicinity of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. 0

[0058] The remote device 300 may be one or more of a remote server system, and a remote electronic device. The remote electronic device may be a mobile electronic device (e.g. a user’s mobile phone device). The remote server system may be a centralised server system configured to coordinate a plurality of electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The remote server system may be configured to further communicate with the mobile electronic device. For example, in response to receiving the power loss indicator signal from the communication circuit 206 I electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the remote server system may be configured to transmit a power loss indication to the mobile electronic device so as to alert a user in possession of the mobile electronic device. 0 The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be configured to charge an energy storage of an electric vehicle according to a charging schedule. For example, the control system 100 may be configured to control the JLRP13245GB0 electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to provide power in accordance with a time of day and / or an estimated time of next use of the electric vehicle. However, if power is no longer being provided to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 will not be able to charge the energy storage of the electric vehicle. The control system 100 may be configured to, in response to determining that power is

[0059] 5 not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102, determine a point of progress in a charging schedule of supplying power to an energy storage of the vehicle from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The point of progress may be determined as a point in the charging schedule where the supply of charge (i.e. electrical power) to the energy storage of the vehicle stopped. For example, the charging schedule may have been configured to extend between 9:00PM and 4:30AM at a nominal charge rate. If a power loss (e.g. a power cut and / or disconnection between the external power source 102 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200) occurs at 1 :00AM, the control system 100 may be configured to determine that the charging schedule was 4 hours into a 7.5 hour charging schedule, with 3.5 hours remaining of the charging schedule at the nominal charge rate. The control system 100 may be configured to store an indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule. The control system may be5 configured to locally store the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule in a storage means (e.g. memory means 130) of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Advantageously, by locally storing the indicator of the point of progress, the control system 100 may reduce latency in resuming a charging schedule, thereby improving performance of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to transmit the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule to a schedule device0 located remotely from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Advantageously, by transmitting the indicator of the point of progress to the schedule device, hardware requirements (i.e. storage and / or power requirements) of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be reduced, which may allow for a more simple, compact, and economic design and / or manufacture of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The schedule device may be configured to store one or more charging schedules associated with the electric5 vehicle supply equipment 200 (e.g. schedules associated with different vehicles and / or user profiles), as well as one or more other electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the schedule device may be the remote device 300, as illustrated in Figure 3.

[0060] In some cases, the cause of power not being received from the external power source 102 may be remedied0 and power may resume being provided by the external power source 102 to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In this scenario, electrical power may be received again by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. The control system 100 may be configured to receive a new external power signal indicative of power again being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. For example, an ammeter reading and / or a voltmeter reading may be determined as being above a predetermined threshold.

[0061] The control system 100 may be configured to determine, in dependence on receipt of the new external power signal, that power can be supplied to the energy storage of the vehicle from the external power source 102 via the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the control system 100 may wait for a0 predetermined period of time after receipt of the new external power signal to determine that power can be supplied to the energy storage of the vehicle. Causes of the external power source 102 to stop delivering JLRP13245GB0 power (e.g. power cuts, disconnection between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the external power source 102 and / or the like) to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be frequent. As such, waiting for the predetermined period of time for determining that power can be supplied to the energy storage of the vehicle may prevent frequent starting and stopping of power being supplied to the energy storage of the

[0062] 5 vehicle, preventing potential damage to components of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and / or the vehicle and causing a nuisance to a user.

[0063] In response to determining that power can be supplied by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the control system 100 may be configured to retrieve the stored indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule; and cause the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to resume supplying power to the energy storage of the vehicle from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 according to the stored point of progress in the charging schedule. Returning to the above example, the indicator of the point of progress may indicate that there was 3.5 hours remaining of the charging schedule at the nominal charge rate to complete the charging schedule. Therefore, the control system 100 may operate the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 in accordance with5 the remainder of the charging schedule. In some examples, the charging schedule may indicate a time at which the vehicle is estimated to be next used. The control system 100 may be configured to determine a new charging schedule, such that the energy store of the vehicle may be provided with sufficient energy from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, thereby accounting for any charging time lost during the power loss. 0 The indicator of the point of progress may be stored locally at the storage means (e.g. the memory means 130) of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to access the storage means to access the indicator of the point of progress. The control system 100 may be configured to access the remote device 300 having stored the indicator of the point of progress. For example, the control system 100 may be configured to transmit an indicator request to the remote device 300 to cause the remote5 device 300 to transmit the indicator of the point of progress to the control system 100 (e.g. via the communication circuit 206). Advantageously, by utilising the storage of the remote device 300, hardware requirements of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be reduced which provides a more compact and more simple electric vehicle supply equipment 200 design, as well as a more economic manufacture requirement. This advantage may be particularly pertinent when the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is0 installed at a user’s private dwelling (e.g. their house), where space in which to install the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be limited.

[0064] The control system 100 may be configured to output a charging power restored signal to the indicator device 204 to cause the indicator device 204 to output a power restored indicator indicative of the restoration of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. Advantageously, the provided control system 100 may be configured to report all significant status changes in the case of a power loss. The output indicator device 205, as illustrated in Figure 3, may be configured to, on receipt of the charging power restored signal, provide an output indication from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to indicate power supply from the external power source 102 being restored. As above, the output indicator device 205 may0 provide a visual indication and / or an audio indication to indicate the power supply being restored. The communication circuit 206, as illustrated in Figure 3, may be configured to, on receipt of the charging power JLRP13245GB0 restored signal, transmit the charging power restored signal to the remote device 300 to cause the remote device 300 to output a power restored indicator indicative of the restoration of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102

[0065] 5 In some examples, the control system 100 may be configured to continuously communicate with the remote device 300 (e.g. the schedule device). For example, the control system 100 may be configured to communicate a signal indicative of the point in progress in the charging schedule continuously or at regular intervals. In some examples, the remote device 300 may be configured to monitor the progress of the charging schedule made by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to transmit the power loss indicator signal 310 to the remote device 300. In response to receiving the power loss indicator signal 310 from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the remote device 300 may be caused to determine the point of progress in the charging schedule, and may store an indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule. In this way, there may be provided a system comprising the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 as disclosed herein and the remote device 300 as disclosed herein, wherein the system is configured to5 perform the processing steps as discussed above. Advantageously, by way of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 transmitting the power loss indicator signal 310 to the remote device 300 and the remote device 300 performing the remaining method steps for determining and storing the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule, processing overheads of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be reduced and imposed on a larger apparatus (e.g. the remote device 300). 0

[0066] Figure 4 illustrates a method 400 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 400 is a method of an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In particular, the method 400 is a method for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 connectable to an external power source 102 and comprising an internal power source 202, the method 300 may be performed by the control5 system 100 illustrated in Figures 1 , 2, and 3. There is also provided computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the control system 100, cause the control system 100 (i.e. the one or more processors) to perform the method 400 or any other method disclosed herein. The computer-readable instructions may be stored in a memory 130 accessible by the one or more processors 120. 0 The method 400 comprises receiving 402 an external power signal 410 indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102; determining 404, in dependence on the external power signal 410 not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102; in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102, outputting 406 a charging power failure signal 420 to the internal power source 202 to cause the internal power source 202 to provide power from the internal power source 202 to an indicator device 204, the indicator device 204 configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 from the external power source 102. 0 It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

JLRP13245GB0CLAIMS1. A control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, the electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source and comprising an internal power source, wherein the control system comprises one or more processors collectively configured to:5 receive an external power signal indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determine, in dependence on the external power signal not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; and in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, output a charging power failure signal to the internal power source to cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.

2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the indicator device comprises an output indicator device of the electric vehicle supply equipment, and wherein the output indicator device is configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source, provide an output indication from the electric vehicle supply equipment to indicate the loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.

3. The control system of claim 2, wherein the output indication is a visual indication provided by the output indicator device, and wherein the output indication is provided until one or more of: a user input is provided to stop the provision of the output indication; a predetermined period of time passes from the start of provision of the output indication; and the internal power source, used to power the output indicator device, has no power remaining.

4. The control system of any preceding claim, wherein the indicator device comprises a communication circuit configured to, on receipt of power from the internal power source: transmit a power loss indicator signal to a remote device remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment, the power loss indicator signal configured to cause the remote device to output a power loss indicator indicative of the loss of powerto the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.

5. The control system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to: in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, determine a point of progress in a charging schedule of supplying power to an energy storage of the vehicle from the electric vehicle supply equipment, the point of progress determined at a point in the charging schedule where the supply of charge to the energy storage of the vehicle stopped; and store an indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule.JLRP13245GB06. The control system of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to, one or more of: locally store the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule in a storage means of the electric vehicle supply equipment; and5 transmit the indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule to a schedule device located remotely from the electric vehicle supply equipment, the schedule device configured to store one or more charging schedules.

7. The control system of any of claims 5 and 6, wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to: receive a new external power signal indicative of power again being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determine, in dependence on receipt of the new external power signal, that power can be supplied to the electric storage of the vehicle from the external power source via the electric vehicle supply equipment; in response to determining that power can be supplied by the electric vehicle supply equipment, retrieve the stored indicator of the point of progress in the charging schedule; and cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to resume supplying power to the energy storage of the vehicle from the electric vehicle supply equipment according to the stored point of progress in the charging schedule.

8. The control system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to: output a charging power restored signal to the indicator device to cause the indicator device to output a power restored indicator indicative of the restoration of power to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.

9. The control system of any preceding claim, wherein the internal power source comprises one or more of: a battery, and a capacitor.

10. An electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source, the electric vehicle supply equipment comprising an internal power source and the control system of any of claims 1 to 9.11 . A method for controlling a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, the electric vehicle supply equipment connectable to an external power source and comprising an internal power source, the method comprising: receiving an external power signal indicative of power being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; determining, in dependence on the external power signal not being received by the electric vehicle supply equipment, that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source; in response to determining that power is not being supplied to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source, outputting a charging power failure signal to the internal power sourceJLRP13245GB0 to cause the internal power source to provide power from the internal power source to an indicator device, the indicator device configured to indicate a loss of power supply to the electric vehicle supply equipment from the external power source.5 12. Computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 11 .16

Images