EV Charger Beacon Selection for Accurate Wireless Power Pairing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a charging station with multiple coexisting chargers, electric vehicles (EVs) may incorrectly communicate with a charger other than the one intended for power transfer, leading to inefficient or impossible charging due to signal strength and alignment issues.
Innovation Solution
The EV employs a method to scan beacon signals from multiple chargers using low-level communication schemes such as low power excitation (LPE), magnetic vectoring (MV), and low frequency (LF) antennas, selecting the signal with minimum attenuation for alignment and establishing a communication connection with the appropriate charger through probe and association requests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the EV uses conventional WLAN connection methods in a charging station with multiple chargers, then the EV can establish communication with any charger, but the EV may incorrectly connect to a charger other than the one intended for power transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces beacon signals as an intermediary mechanism between the EV and multiple chargers. These beacons contain unique identifiers and are transmitted by each charger, allowing the EV to distinguish and select the correct charger for power transfer rather than randomly connecting to any available WLAN network.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary beacon scanning and signal attenuation calculation before establishing the actual communication connection. By evaluating beacon signals in advance and selecting the charger with minimum signal attenuation, the EV ensures correct charger selection before committing to a connection, preventing incorrect associations.
2Ease of operation
If the EV selects a charger based on signal strength without considering alignment, then connection establishment is simplified, but power transfer efficiency decreases due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses signal attenuation as a key parameter that reflects both communication quality and physical alignment. By selecting the charger with minimum signal attenuation, the system simultaneously optimizes for easy connection establishment and proper alignment for efficient power transfer, as aligned chargers naturally exhibit lower signal attenuation.
3Reliability
If additional hardware is added to improve charger selection accuracy and alignment detection, then charging reliability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing WLAN communication system multi-functional by using beacon signals for both network discovery/connection establishment and charger identification/alignment assessment. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated hardware for charger selection, as the same communication infrastructure serves multiple purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the chargers' own transmitted beacon signals to provide alignment and identification information, rather than requiring the EV to actively probe or measure physical alignment with separate sensors. The chargers essentially self-identify and provide the necessary information for the EV to make correct selection decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
A connection establishment method, performed by an electric vehicle (EV) being supplied power from a power supply device, may include scanning beacon broadcast in a low-level communication scheme from a plurality of chargers; selecting a beacon signal having a minimum signal attenuation by calculating signal attenuations for a plurality of scanned beacon signals; and establishing a communication connection with an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) associated with a charger transmitting the beacon signal having the minimum signal attenuation.