{
  "patent_number": "US 9379564",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Electric Cars Safely Pause Charging When You Want to Unplug",
  "original_title": "Charging control apparatus and charging control method",
  "summary": "A system for electric vehicles that safely pauses power flow when a driver signals they want to disconnect the charging cable, preventing electrical arcing or damage.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a safety mechanism for electric vehicles that manages the transition between charging and unplugging. When a user presses a button on the charging cable to initiate disconnection, the system pauses the flow of electricity while keeping the internal safety relays closed for a short, predetermined time. If the user changes their mind and cancels the disconnection request within that window, the car instantly resumes charging without needing a full system restart. If the time expires or the cable is physically removed, the relays open to safely cut power.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover the physical design of the charging plug or the locking mechanism itself.",
    "Does not cover wireless or inductive charging systems that lack a physical cable connection.",
    "Does not cover charging systems that immediately cut power without a pause-and-resume grace period.",
    "Does not cover software-based battery management systems that monitor cell temperature or voltage."
  ],
  "filed": "2011-06-09",
  "granted": "2016-06-28",
  "expires": "2031-06-09",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Nissan Motor Co Ltd",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/nissan-motor-co-ltd",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Utaka Kamishima",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/utaka-kamishima"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "mechanical",
    "energy"
  ],
  "abstract": "A charging control method for controlling a charge operation to a storage unit E 2 of a vehicle, using a charging cable CC that is connected to a charging inlet E 1 of the vehicle and supplies power to the storage unit E 2 from an external power supply BP provided outside the vehicle, the method has detecting connection of the charging cable CC to the charging inlet E 1 , detecting a command signal of a disconnection command unit C 22 of the charging cable CC, pausing the charge operation to the storage unit E 2 while maintaining a closed state of relay switches C 42 , E 5 , E 6 of a vehicle side power supply line for only a predetermined time when detecting the command signal of the disconnection command unit C 22 which indicates the disconnection in a state where the charging cable CC is connected to the charging inlet E 1 , and restarting the charge operation to the storage unit E 2 when detecting a command signal of the disconnection command unit C 22 which indicates cancel of the disconnection during the predetermined time.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9379564/charging-control-apparatus-and-charging-control-method",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9379564/charging-control-apparatus-and-charging-control-method/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US9379564",
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}