{
  "patent_number": "US 20120091953",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Electric Cars Adjust Charging Speed to Available Power",
  "original_title": "Ac current control of mobile battery chargers",
  "summary": "This patent describes how an electric vehicle's onboard charger intelligently adjusts its charging speed based on the real-time electrical power available from the wall outlet or charging station, preventing overloads and optimizing charge time.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes a system and method for an electric vehicle to manage its battery charging from an AC power source. It works by first figuring out the maximum amount of DC current the vehicle can safely draw, based on how much AC current or power is actually available at that moment (Claim 1a, 5a). Then, the onboard charging system provides an actual DC charging current to the battery, making sure it doesn't go over that calculated maximum (Claim 1b, 5b). For example, if you plug your Tesla into a household outlet, the car's system checks how much power that outlet can safely provide and then charges the battery as fast as possible without tripping the circuit breaker. More complex versions use control loops to fine-tune this process, comparing target voltages and currents to actual readings (Claim 2, 4).",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover charging systems that do not adapt to real-time available AC current or power.",
    "Does not cover off-board charging systems where the charger is external to the vehicle.",
    "Does not cover charging methods that only establish a fixed maximum DC current without responsiveness to real-time AC source conditions.",
    "Does not cover systems that lack a controller to adjust actual DC charging current based on input AC current (Claim 3).",
    "Does not cover charging of non-electric vehicle energy storage systems."
  ],
  "filed": "2010-10-13",
  "granted": null,
  "expires": "2030-10-13",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Tesla Motor",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/tesla-motor",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Anil Paryani",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/anil-paryani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Troy A. Nergaard",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/troy-a-nergaard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew Baglino",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/andrew-baglino"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 11,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "energy",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "A charging system and method that improves utilization of available AC power during onboard charging of energy storage systems of electric vehicles. An onboard charging method for an energy storage system of an electric vehicle, the method using an AC power source, includes a) establishing a maximum DC charging current for the energy storage system responsive to a control signal indicating real-time available current/power from the AC source; and b) controlling a charging system to provide an actual DC charging current, up to the maximum DC charging current, to the energy storage system.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20120091953/ac-current-control-of-mobile-battery-chargers",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20120091953/ac-current-control-of-mobile-battery-chargers/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120091953",
  "relatedPatents": []
}