US 12,377,751 B2
Electric vehicle supply equipment unit configured in an EV charging system
Michael J. Harris, Concord, NC (US); Ryan Kennedy, Cornelius, NC (US); Denis Kouroussis, Markham (CA); and Logan Rosevear, Mooresville, NC (US)
Assigned to Atom Power, Inc., Huntersville, NC (US)
Filed by Atom Power, Inc., Huntersville, NC (US)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/178,024.
Application 18/178,024 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/543,893, filed on Dec. 7, 2021, granted, now 11,884,177.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/122,681, filed on Dec. 8, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0202338 A1, Jun. 29, 2023
Int. Cl. B60L 53/16 (2019.01); B60L 53/67 (2019.01); H02J 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC B60L 53/67 (2019.02) [B60L 53/16 (2019.02); H02J 7/0031 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) unit configured in an EV charging system, the EVSE unit, comprising:
an N number of line-side terminals, wherein N is a counting number greater than zero;
an N number of load-side terminals;
an N number of bi-directional solid-state switches, one each of the bi-directional solid-state switches being coupled between corresponding ones of the line-side terminals and the load-side terminals;
a disconnect unit coupled in series with corresponding ones of the N number of bi-directional solid-state switches that are coupled between corresponding ones of the line-side terminals and the load-side terminals;
an N number of EV charging stations, one each coupled to corresponding ones of the N number of load-side terminals by an N number of phase conductors, wherein each of the N number of charging stations is configurable in three possible states for each of the N number of charging stations and at any given time is configured in one of the three possible states comprising:
an ON state during which the disconnect unit of associated ones of the N number of charging stations is closed and the bidirectional solid-state switch of the individual active ones of the N number of charging stations is ON;
a STANDBY state during which the disconnect unit of associated ones of the N number of charging stations is closed and the bidirectional solid-state switch of the individual active ones of the N number of charging stations is OFF; and
an OFF state during which the disconnect unit of associated ones of the N number of charging stations is open and the bidirectional solid-state switch of the individual ones of the N number of charging stations is OFF;
a neutral conductor coupled to a neutral terminal of the N number of EV charging stations, wherein the neutral conductor is configured to complete a charging circuit with an associated one of the N number of phase conductors supplying a charging current to a plug-in vehicle (PEV); and
a controller configured to provide individual and independent control of the N number of EV charging stations,
wherein the controller and the N number of bidirectional solid-state switches are configured to both control a maximum allowable charging current available to the N number of EV charging stations when one or more PEVs are plugged into associated ones of the N number of EV charging stations and provide circuit protection to the associated ones of the EV charging stations and the one or more PEVs, and to generate the ON state for associated ones of the N number of charging stations when supplying charging current to the associated ones of the N number of charging stations but transitioning temporarily from the ON state to the STANDBY state when dynamically adjusting the maximum allowable charging current available to associated PEVs from the associated N number of charging stations.