Claims:I/We Claim:
1. A plug and play charger device (200) that is adapted to provide power supply to an electric vehicle (212), wherein the plug and play charger device (200) comprises:
characterized in that,
a connector (202) that is configured to receive an input power from an input power source with input wires, wherein the connector (202) comprises an input power connector (214) and a charger system connector (216), wherein the charger system connector (216) is a wire gland that is integrated and configured with the plug and play charger device (200), receives the input power from the input power source, wherein the input power connector (214) is configured to connect with the charger system connector (216) for supplying the input power from the input power source to the plug and play charger device (200);
a controller (206) that receives the input power from the connector (202), determines an output power based on a charging state information of the electric vehicle (212) and conditions the input power based on the determined output power using a power module (208), wherein the controller (206) generates and communicates a signal to obtain the charging state information of the electric vehicle (212); and
an output connector (210) that supplies the determined output power to the electric vehicle (212),
wherein the input power connector (214) is configured to connect with the charger system connector (216) with a twist turn mechanism, wherein the wire gland of the charger system connector (216) comprises at least one of pre-routed input wires from the input power source to the controller (206), or crimped insulation of the input wires from the input power source with the controller (206), that enables the input power connector (214) to supply the input power to the plug and play charger device (200), thereby providing easy installation of the plug and play charger device (200).

2. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug and play charger device (200) comprise one or more protection devices (104) to protect the input power from at least one of over voltage, over current, under voltage, under current or earthing and surge protection.

3. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug and play charger device (200) comprises a metering module (302) to determine input power data and output power data for monitoring the input power and the output power, wherein the input power data is the input power from the input power source and the output power data is the determined output power for charging the electric vehicle (212).


4. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug and play charger device (200) is in a range of 155mm to 165mm height, 120mm to 130mm width and 95mm to 105mm depth.

5. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (106) comprises an optimized printed circuit board to monitor the input power using the metering module (302) and condition the input power using the power module (208).

6. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug and play charger device (200) comprises a communication module (304) to communicate the input power data and the output power data in real-time to a communication device (308), wherein the communication device (308) is communicatively connected to a mobile application associated with users.

7. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (106) is configured to monitor a gun connection status of a gun lock connector (410) and its capacity, to determine the required input power to the plug and play charger device (200) in terms of current and voltage.

8. The plug and play charger device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug and play charger device (200) comprises a RFID reader (306) for authenticating a suitable RFID card to initiate charging of the electric vehicle (212), wherein the RFID reader (306) determines a starting session and an ending session of charging the electric vehicle (212), wherein the RFID reader (306) reads the suitable RFID card to stop the charging session of the electric vehicle (212).

9. A method for manufacturing a plug and play charger device (200) that is adapted to provide power supply to an electric vehicle (212), wherein the method comprises,
integrating, an input power connector (214) with input wires;
integrating, a charger system connector (216) with a wire gland comprising at least one of pre-routed input wires from an input power source to a controller (206) or crimped insulations of the input wires from the input power source with the controller (206); and
connecting, with a twist turn mechanism, the input power connector (214) with the charger system connector (216) to supply the input power to the plug and play charger device (200). , Description:BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0001] The embodiments herein generally relate to a plug and play charger device, more particularly to a plug and play charger device for providing power supply to an electric vehicle with compactness and easy installation.
Description of the Related Art
[0002] There is lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and installing of new charging points for an electric vehicle needs more space, and need more electrical and civil works, that makes the installation of the electric vehicle charger tough.
[0003] Existing electric vehicle chargers are bulky, huge and consume lot of space on wall. Installation of the existing electric vehicle chargers takes more time and need experts/technicians to install it correctly and need technical expertise to connect the electric vehicle charger electrically and commision. FIG. 1A illustrates an installation of an electric vehicle charger 100. The installation of the electric vehicle charger 100 requires opening of the electric vehicle charger 100, routing wiring through electric entry point using appropriate cable glands, stripping of insulation, bushings and fittings to secure the wirings in the electric vehicle charger 100. The electric vehicle charger 100 includes big enclosures to safe guard the wires placed inside. The electric vehicle charger 100 is in size of 400mm length, 300mm breadth and 120mm depth. FIG. 1B illustrates an insulation of one or more input wires 102A-N for installing the electric vehicle charger 100. The one or more input wires 102A-N are stripped of insulation and landed in its each terminal block. After the insulation of the one or more input wires 102A-N, the electric vehicle charger 100 is then re-joined together by tightening terminal screws using a torque driver. The exercise of opening of the electric vehicle charger 100, routing the one or more input wires 102A-N, crimping the insulation, landing the one or more input wires 102A-N, and bushes takes at least two to three hours and lot of technical expertise.
[0004] Accordingly, there remains a need for a plug and play charger device for providing power supply to an electric vehicle with compactness and easy installation without any experts/technicians help and technical expertise.

SUMMARY
[0001] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a plug and play charger device that is adapted to provide power supply to an electric vehicle. The plug and play charger device includes a connector, a controller and an output connector. The connector is configured to receive an input power from an input power source with input wires. The connector includes a charger system connector and an input power connector. The charger system connector is a wire gland that is integrated and configured with the plug and play charger device, receives the input power from the input power source. The input power connector is configured to connect with the charger system connector for supplying the input power from the input power source to the plug and play charger device. The controller receives the input power from the connector, determines an output power based on a charging state information of the electric vehicle and conditions the input power based on the determined output power using a power module. The controller generates and communicates a signal to obtain the charging state information of the electric vehicle. The output connector supplies the determined output power to the electric vehicle. The input power connector is configured to connect with the charger system connector with a twist turn mechanism. The wire gland of the charger system connector includes at least one of the pre-routed input wires from the input power source to the controller, or crimped insulation of the input wires from the input power source with the controller, that enables the input power connector to supply the input power to the plug and play charger device, thereby providing easy installation of the plug and play charger device.
[0002] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device include one or more protection devices to protect the input power from at least one of over voltage, over current, under voltage, under current or earthing and surge protection.
[0001] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device incudes a metering module to determine input power data and output power data for monitoring the input power and the output power. The input power data is the input power from the input power source and the output power data is the determined output power for charging the electric vehicle.
[0002] In some embodiments, the input power connector connects with the charger system connector with a twist turn mechanism.
[0003] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger system is in a range of 155mm to 165mm height, 120mm to 130mm width and 95mm to 105mm depth.
[0004] In some embodiments, the controller includes an optimized printed circuit board to monitor the input power using the metering module and condition the input power using the power module.
[0005] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device includes a communication module to communicate the input power data and the output power data in real-time to a communication device. The communication device is communicatively connected to a mobile application associated with users.
[0006] In some embodiments, wherein the wire gland comprises at least one of routing the input wires from the input power source to the controller, or crimping insulation of the input wires from the input power source with the controller.
[0007] In some embodiments, the controller is configured to monitor a gun connection status of a gun lock connector and its capacity to determine the required input power to the plug and play charger device in terms of current and voltage.
[0008] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device includes a RFID reader for authenticating a suitable RFID card to initiate charging of the electric vehicle. The RFID reader determines a starting session and an ending session of charging the electric vehicle. The RFID reader reads the sutiable RFID card to stop the charging session of the electric vehicle.
[0009] In an aspect, an embodiment herein provides a method for manufacturing a plug and play charger device that is adapted to provide power supply to an electric vehicle. The method includes, (i) integrating an input power connector with input wires, (ii) integrating a charger system connector with a wire gland including at least one of pre-routed input wires from an input power source to a controller or crimped insulations of the inpur wires from the input power source with the controller, and (iii) connecting the input power connector with the charger system connector with a twist turn mechanism, to supply the input power to the plug and play charger device.
[0010] The plug and play charger device includes the connector for easy installation and commissioning that eliminates the need to open the electric vehicle charger during the installation and eliminates the possibilities of human error during wiring and installation of the electric vehicle charger. The connector has to be plugged for installation, and the plug and play charger device is commissioned and ready to operate. The plug and play charger device includes the optimized printed circuit board to make the plug and play charger device compact and smallest. That eliminates the need of large spaces on walls for mounting the electric vehicle charger.
[0011] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1A illustrates an installation of an electric vehicle charger.
[0014] FIG. 1B illustrates an insulation of one or more input wires for installing the electric vehicle charger.
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a plug and play charger device for providing power supply to an electric vehicle according to some embodiments herein;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the plug and play charger device for providing the power supply to the electric vehicle according to some embodiments herein;
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a wiring diagram of the plug and play charger devive of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments herein;
[0018] FIG. 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary views of a charger system connector and an input power connector of the plug and play charger device according to some embodiments herein; and
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrate a method of manufacturing a plug and play charger device that is adapted to provide power supply to an electric vehicle according to some embodiments herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0021] As mentioned, there remains a need for a plug and play charger device for providing power supply to an electric vehicle with compactness and easy installation without any experts/technicians help and technical expertise. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 2 through 6, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, preferred embodiments are shown.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a plug and play charger device 200 for providing power supply to an electric vehicle 212 according to some embodiments herein. The plug and play charger device 200 includes a connector 202, one or more protection devices 204, a controller 206, a power module 208, and an output connector 210. The connector 202 receives input power to the plug and play charger device 200. In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device 200 receives the input power from an input power source. The connector 202 may receive the input power with input wires. The input power may be a single phase, 3.3kW and 230 Volts power. The connector 202 includes an input power connector 214 and a charger system connector 216 to receive the input power from the input power source. The input power connector 214 is configured to connect with the input wires from the input power source. The charger system connector 216 is configured with the plug and play charger device 200 to receive the input power from the input power source. In some embodiments, the charger system connector 216 may be a wire gland for receiving the input power. The input power connector 214 is configured to connect with the charger system connector 216 for supplying the input power from the input power source to the plug and play charger device 200. The input power connector 214 and the charger system connector 216 are configured to connect with a twist turn mechanism that provides easy installation of the plug and play charger device 200. In some embodiments, the connector 202 can be a gun connector. In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device 200 can be installed on a wall using a mounting bracket method. The mounting bracket method is designed in a such a way that, the plug and play charger device 200 can be slided in that bracket and locked. In some embodiments, the input system connector 214 is a male connector. In some embodiments, the charger system connector 216 is a female connector that is integrated and built-in part of a terminal block.
[0023] The one or more protection devices 204 protects the input power from at least one of over voltage, over current, under voltage, under current, short circuit, over temperature, ground fault, residual current or earthing and surge protection to minimize safety risks and ensure maximum uptime. In some embodiments, the one or more protection devices 204 includes Type-B RCCB, MCB and the like. The one or more protection devices 204 may protect from undesired conditions and ensures safe charging.
[0024] The plug and play charger device 200 includes one or more different circuitries. In some embodiments, the one or more different circuities include a main controller board and a power supply board. The power from the connector 202 is connected to a barrier terminal which acts as a distribution terminal for Live, Neutral and Power Earth. In some embodiments, the power supply board gets power from these terminals. The power supply board supplies the DC power to the main controller board for charging operation.
[0025] The controller 206 that receives the input power from the connector 202, determines an output power based on a charging state information of the electric vehicle 212. In some embodiments, the main controller board supplies the input power to the controller 206. The controller 206 may obtain the charging state information of the electric vehicle 212 when the output connector 210 is connected to the electric vehicle 212. In some embodiments, the controller 206 generate signals and communicates with the electric vehicle 212 to obtain the charging state information of the electric vehicle. In some embodiments, the controller 206 is configured to resume the charging of the electric vehicle 212 under power cut conditions.
[0026] The power module 208 conditions the input power based on the determined output power and supply to the output connector 210. In some embodiments, the power module 208 conditions the input power in terms of demanded current and voltage. In some embodiments, the power module 208 routs the AC power to the electric vehicle 212. The output connector 210 supplies the determined output power to the electric vehicle 212 for charging the electric vehicle 212. The determined output power may be 7.4 kW. The output connector 210 may be a Type-2 32A socket for charging the electric vehicle 212.
[0027] In some embodiments, the controller 206 is configured to monitor a gun connection status and its capacity to determine the required input power to the plug and play charger device 200 in terms of current and voltage. In some embodiments, the required input power is determined using a proximity pilot detection circuit that detects the change in voltage when the gun connector is connected to the plug and play charger device 200 using a gun lock mechanism. The change in voltage may be different for different ratings of the gun connector. In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device 200 indicates an error if lower capacity gun is connected to the connector 202, preventing wire damage in the plug and play charger device 200. The gun lock mechanism ensures safe discharge power when the gun connector is connected to the plug and play charger device 200. When the gun connector is inserted in the plug and play charger device 200, the gun connector gets locked for charging operation. In some embodiments, the gun connector cannot be removed providing safely charge the vehicle.
[0028] In some embodiments, the wire gland includes at least one of pre-routed the input wires from the input power source to the controller 206, or crimped insulation of the input wires from the input power source with the controller 206 during manufacturing of the connector 202. The wire gland may be an in-built gland with the pre-routed input wires and crimped insulation of the input wires. In some embodiments, the plug and play charger system 200 is in a range of 155mm to 165mm height, 120mm to 130mm width and 95mm to 105mm depth, that eliminates the need of large spaces on walls for mouting the plug and play charger device 200.
[0029] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device 200 includes a power PCB and a power switching unit to condition and switch the input power. The power switching may be from AC power to DC power. In some embodiments, the controller 206 may be a controller PCB to enable the plug and play charger device 200 to supply the determined output power to the electric vehicle 212.
[0030] In some embodiments, the charger system connector 216 includes a charging connector locking mechanisim to lock the charger system connector 216, thereby providing additional safety.
[0031] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the plug and play charger device 200 for providing the power supply to the electric vehicle 212 according to some embodiments herein. The plug and play charger device 200 includes the controller 206, a metering module 302, a communication module 304, a RFID reader 306 and a communication device 308. In some embodiments, the metering module 302, the communication module 304, and the RFID reader 306 are designed on a single Prinited Circuit Board (PCB) to achieve compact size. The controller 206 is communicatively connected with the metering module 302, the communication module 304 and the RFID reader 306. The metering module 302 determines input power data and output power data in electricity units, for monitoring the input power and the output power. In some embodiments, the input power data is the input power from the input power source and the output power data is the determined output power for charging the electric vehicle 212. In some embodiments, the controller 206 activates the metering module 302 to determine the input power data and the output power data. The controller 206 may include an optimized printed circuit board to monitor the input power using the metering module 302 and condition the input power using the power module 208.
[0032] The communication module 304 communicates the input power data and the output power data in real-time to the communication device 308. In some embodiments, the communication module 304 communicates the input power data and the output power data through wirless networks. In some embodiments, the communication can be through any of: 4G, BLE or WiFi. The communication device 308 may be a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) device. In some embodiments, the communication device 308 is communicatively connected to a mobile application associated with a user. In some embodiments, the communication module 304 includes an IoT device to transfer the input power data and the output power data to the communication device 308. The mobile application may include responses that includes electricity units consumed, time consumption, and requests in the form of start and stop the charging session in the plug and play charger device 200. In some embodiments, the users can monitor the amount of electricity units and time consumed for charging the electric vehicle 212.
[0033] The RFID reader 306 is an authentication module that authenticates the user with a suitable RFID card to initiate charging of the electric vehicle 212. The RFID reader 306 reads the suitable RFID card to determine a starting session and an ending session of charging the electric vehicle 212. In some embodiments, the RFID reader 306 reads the suitable RFID card to stop the charging session of the electric vehicle 212. The controller 206 may include a configuration switch to register new RFID cards for user authentication in the RFID reader 306.
[0034] In some embodiments, the plug and play charger device 200 includes a visual indication device and an audio indication device to indicate a status of the plug and play charger device 200. The visual indication device may include a RGB LED and the audio indication device may be a buzzer. The status of the plug and play charger device 200 may be any of: a state of charge, errors, charging, fault, operations, warnings or idle.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a wiring diagram of the plug and play charger devive 200 of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments herein. The wiring diagram includes the connector 202, a power supply board 402, and a main controller board 404. The power supply board 402 is a power supply generator that supplies power to the plug and play charger device 200. In some embodiments, the power supply board 402 supplies power to the main controller board 404. The main controller board 404 includes one or more connection points 406A-N, a Type-2 socket connector 408, a gun lock connector 410, a power monitor 412, a indicator 414, and a power relay 416. The power monitor 412 monitors the input power from any of the connector 202 or the power supply board 402. The gun lock connector 410 determines the required input power to the plug and play charger device 200 using the gun lock mechanism. In some embodiments, the required input power is supplied to the main controller board 404 that determines the output power and supplies the output power to the electric vehicle 212 through the power relay 416. The indicator 414 indicates a status of the plug and play charger device 200 in any of a red colour, a green colour or a blue colour.
[0036] FIG. 5A and 5B illustrate exemplary views of the input power connector 214 and the charger system connector 216 of the plug and play charger device 200 according to some embodiments herein. The functions and explanations of the input power connector 214 and the charger system connector 216 are explained above.
[0037] FIG. 6 illustrate a method of manufacturing the plug and play charger device 200 that is adapted to provide power supply to the electric vehicle 202 according to some embodiments herein. At step 602, the input system connector 214 is integrated with the input wires for the plug and play charger device 200. At step 604, the charger system connector 216 of the plug and play charger device 100 is integrated with the wire gland including at least one of pre-routed input wires from the input power source to the controller 206 or crimped insulations of the input wires from the input power source with the controller 206. At step 606, the input power connector 214 is connected with the charger system connector 216 with the twist turn mechanism, to supply the input power from the input power source to the plug and play charger device 100.
[0038] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.