EV Charging Interface for Shared-Circuit Round-Robin Charging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and inefficiency of installing dedicated charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) due to peak demand requirements, leading to inconvenience for EV owners who need to share stations and frequent vehicle repositioning.
Innovation Solution
A system where multiple charging stations share a single power circuit, with a graphical user interface (GUI) for monitoring and managing the network, allowing for round-robin charging and automatic vehicle charging without user intervention, reducing the need for dedicated circuits and enhancing convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple charging stations are installed to satisfy peak demand, then charging availability is improved, but installation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple charging stations share a single power circuit, merging the electrical infrastructure resources. The system dynamically allocates power to different charging stations based on real-time demand, allowing multiple stations to serve multiple vehicles simultaneously without requiring separate dedicated circuits for each station, thereby reducing installation costs while maintaining charging availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic power allocation where the power distribution to each charging station changes in real-time based on which vehicles are connected and charging. The controller monitors the state of each charging station and dynamically switches power delivery to ensure optimal resource utilization, allowing the same physical infrastructure to adapt to varying demand patterns.
2Reliability
If dedicated power circuits are installed for each charging station, then charging reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple charging stations onto a single shared power circuit, eliminating the need for separate dedicated circuits. The system maintains reliability through intelligent power management that dynamically allocates capacity to active charging sessions, ensuring each connected vehicle receives adequate power while sharing the underlying electrical infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
A single power circuit serves multiple charging stations, making the electrical infrastructure universal rather than dedicated. The circuit can dynamically serve different charging stations at different times based on demand, increasing the utilization efficiency of the power infrastructure while reducing the total amount of electrical infrastructure required.
3Device complexity
If charging stations are shared among multiple vehicles, then cost is reduced, but user convenience deteriorates due to frequent vehicle repositioning
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables continuous charging service by dynamically switching power allocation among multiple charging stations. When one charging station completes its session or becomes unavailable, the system seamlessly transitions power to another station, ensuring that charging service continues without interruption to the overall system functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller continuously monitors the status of each charging station (which vehicles are connected, charging rate, remaining capacity) and uses this feedback to make real-time decisions about power allocation. This feedback mechanism allows the system to optimize power distribution dynamically, responding to changing conditions to maintain service quality.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric vehicle (EV) charging system includes a number of output connections (e.g., cables). Each of the output connections is connected to at least one head, and each head can be connected concurrently to an EV. A charging current is directed to a first one of the output connections if a first EV is connected to a head connected to the first one of the output connections. Then, the charging current to the first one of the output connections can be stopped, switched to a second one of the output connections, and restarted if a second EV is connected to a head connected to the second one of the output connections. A graphical user interface (GUI) is rendered on the display of a computer system. The GUI includes elements that indicate which output connection of the charging station is receiving a charging current.