US-12623566-B2 - Network edge-based multimodal communication architecture for controlling electric vehicle supply equipment

US12623566B2US 12623566 B2US12623566 B2US 12623566B2US-12623566-B2

Abstract

Provided herein are techniques for managing charging stations with diverse communication capabilities. A system for EVSE management may include a first communication controller in communication with a first network to communicatively couple to a central control system, a second communication controller in communication with a second network to communicatively couple to a first EVSE charger, and a third communication controller in communication with a third network to communicatively couple to a second EVSE charger. A communication adapter may communicatively couple the first communication controller, the second communication controller, and third communication controller to receive a first message from the remote charging manager using a first application protocol, send the first message to the first EVSE charger using a second application protocol, receive a second message from the remote charging manager using the first application protocol, and send the second message to the second EVSE charger using a third application protocol.

Inventors

Chad Holcomb
George Lee
Zachary Ryan GOMEZ
So TRINH
Kodie Nathaniel TORO
Yazid Mazahreh

Assignees

POWERFLEX SYSTEMS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230723

Claims (13)

1 . A method comprising: detecting, by a multimodal communication device, a new charging site device at a charging site that utilizes a communications protocol; determining, by the multimodal communication device, the communications protocol for the new charging site device; determining, by the multimodal communication device, whether the communications protocol of the new charging site device is unique to the charging site; in response to determining that the communications protocol of the new charging site device is not unique to the charging site, updating, by the multimodal communication device, a routing table to include the new charging site device, a communication network the new charging site device will utilize, and an association with currently existing communication hardware; in response to determining that the communications protocol is unique to the charging site, updating, by the multimodal communication device, the routing table and a communication adapter in the multimodal communication device; receiving, by the multimodal communication device, a communication directed to the new charging site device; converting, by the multimodal communication device, the communication to the communications protocol, and sending, by the multimodal communication device, the communication to the new charging site device in the communications protocol.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to determining that the communications protocol is unique to the charging site, updating the communication adapter to accommodate the communications protocol.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the new charging site device includes at least one of a charging station or a distributed energy resource (DER).
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving anew communication from the new charging site device; determining a destination for the new communication: utilizing the routing table to determine a destination communications protocol, converting the new communication to the destination communications protocol, and sending the new communication to the destination.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that an existing charging site device has been removed; and updating the routing table to remove the existing charging site device.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to determining that the commemorations protocol is unique, determining whether an existing communication controller is configured to utilize the communications protocol and, in response to determining that the existing communication controller is not configured to utilize the communications, sending an alert to a site administrator to add at least one of a new communication controller or new communication hardware to accommodate the communications protocol.
7 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a processing system, cause the processing system to: detect a new charging site device at a charging site that utilizes a communications protocol, determine the communications protocol for the new charging site device; determine whether the communications protocol of the new charging site device is unique to the charging site; in response to determining that the communications protocol of the new charging site device is not unique to the charging site, update a routing table to include the new charging site device, a communication network the new charging site device will utilize, and an association with currently existing communication hardware; in response to determining that the communications protocol is unique to the charging site, update the routing table and a communication adapter, receive a communication directed to the new charging site device: convert the communication to the communications protocol; and send the communication to the new charging site device in the communications protocol.
8 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processing system to, in response to determining that the communications protocol is unique to the charging site, update the communication adapter to accommodate the communications protocol.
9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the new charging site device includes at least one of a charging station or a distributed energy resource (DER).
10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processing system to: receive a new communication from the new charging site device; determine a destination for the new communication; utilize the routing table to determine a destination communications protocol; convert the new communication to the destination communications protocol; and send the new communication to the destination.
11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processing system to: determine that an existing charging site device has been removed; and update the routing table to remove the existing charging site device.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processing system to, in response to determining that the communications protocol is unique, determine whether an existing communication controller is configured to utilize the communications protocol.
13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processing system to, in response to determining that the existing communication controller is not configured to utilize the communications protocol, send an alert to a site administrator to add at least one of a new communication controller or new communication hardware to accommodate the communications protocol.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/385,606, filed Nov. 30, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. INTRODUCTION Aspects of the present disclosure relate to management of charging infrastructure to support electrical vehicle fleets. Currently there are many protocols used to communicate between electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) (sometimes referred to as a “charging station”) and central control systems used to operate various aspects of the EVSE (e.g., for billing, for charge management, etc.). Additionally, the EVSE can use many different network interfaces (e.g., Wi-Fi®, Ethernet, cellular, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, etc.) to communicate with the central control system. Generally, manufacturers of EVSE are vertically integrated. That is, the manufactures produce both the EVSE and the local and remote control equipment used to operate the EVSE. In these vertically integrated systems, the manufacturer controls both the protocol and the network interface used by the EVSE. Thus, integration of the systems into a charging site is relatively straightforward. However, different EVSE have different charging characteristics. For example, EVSE may vary in supported charging levels (e.g., as set forth in SAE J1772), maximum charging power (e.g., 1.9 kilowatts (kW), 6.6 kW, 19.2 kW, etc.), the charging current type (e.g. alternating current (AC), direct current (DC)), connector types (e.g., a SAE J1772-compliant connector, a CSS connector, a ChadeMo connector, etc.), and/or cord length, etc. Operators of charging sites that support multiple EVSEs often need chargers with different capabilities. This can be especially true of operators that manage fleets of vehicles with different capabilities and of different makes and models. It is difficult to incorporate different EVSE into a central charging solution. As such, there is a need to overcome these challenges to incorporate many different EVSE into a single central control solution so that adoption and use of environmentally beneficial EV vehicles can be accelerated SUMMARY Provided herein are techniques for managing charging stations with diverse communication capabilities. A system for EVSE management may include a first communication controller in communication with a first network to communicatively couple to a central control system, a second communication controller in communication with a second network to communicatively couple to a first EVSE charger, and a third communication controller in communication with a third network to communicatively couple to a second EVSE charger. A communication adapter may communicatively couple the first communication controller, the second communication controller, and third communication controller to receive a first message from the remote charging manager using a first application protocol, send the first message to the first EVSE charger using a second application protocol, receive a second message from the remote charging manager using the first application protocol, and send the second message to the second EVSE charger using a third application protocol. Embodiments of a method include detecting, a new charging site device at a charging site that utilizes a communications protocol, determining the communications protocol for the new charging site device, and determining whether the communications protocol of the new charging site device is unique to the charging site. In response to determining that the communications protocol of the new charging site device is not unique to the charging site, embodiments may update a routing table to include the new charging site device, a communication network the new charging site device will utilize, and an association with currently existing communication hardware. In response to determining that the communications protocol is unique to the charging site, embodiments may update the routing table and a communication adapter in the multimodal communication device, receive a communication directed to the new charging site device, and convert the communication to the communications protocol. Some embodiments may send the communication to the new charging site device in the communications protocol. Embodiments of a non-transitory computer-readable medium include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a processing system, cause the processing system to detect a new charging site device at a charging site that utilizes a communications protocol, determine the communications protocol for the new charging site device, and determine whether the communications protocol of the new charging site device is unique to the charging site. In response to determining that the communications protocol of the new charging site device is not unique to the charging site, embodiments may update a routing table to include the new charging site device, a