AmazonPatent applicationCars & transportInterest 6/10

Amazon patents DC charging system that adjusts voltage based on power needs

Patent drawing from the official filing.

The filing describes a charging station setup that converts standard grid electricity into direct current (DC) to charge battery-powered vehicles. It uses a central power line where the voltage is automatically lowered as more power is drawn, helping manage the load across multiple charging ports.

Why it mattersThis approach could make large-scale vehicle charging more efficient by dynamically balancing power distribution across multiple cars.

In the filing’s own words

Systems and methods are disclosed for charging battery-powered vehicles based on direct current (DC) voltage. The systems may include a bidirectional inverter electrically coupled to an alternating current (AC) grid and a DC bus and a plurality of DC to DC converters electrically coupled to the DC bus to charge one or more battery-powered vehicles. The systems may cause the bidirectional inverter to convert AC voltage from the AC grid to DC voltage to be provided to the DC bus to charge one or more battery-powered vehicles. The systems may cause the bidirectional inverter to adjust the DC voltage to be inversely proportional to an amount of power to charge the one or more battery-powered vehicles electrically coupled to the plurality of DC to DC converters.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A direct current (DC) charging apparatus, comprising: a transformer to step down alternating current (AC) voltage from an AC grid before providing stepped-down AC voltage to a bidirectional inverter electrically coupled to the transformer and a DC bus; a plurality of DC to DC converters electrically coupled to the DC bus to charge one or more battery-powered vehicles; one or more processors; and memory that stores computer-executable instructions that, if executed, cause the one or more processors to: as a result of determining that the voltage on the DC bus is below a threshold, cause one of the one or more battery-powered vehicles electrically coupled to one of the plurality of DC to DC converters to increase the voltage on DC bus; as a result of determining that the voltage on the DC bus is above the threshold, cause the bidirectional inverter to convert the stepped-down AC voltage from the transformer to DC voltage to be provided to the DC bus to charge the one or more battery-powered vehicles; cause the bidirectional inverter to adjust the DC voltage to be inversely proportional to an amount of power to charge the one or more battery-powered vehicles electrically coupled to the plurality of DC to DC converters, wherein individual power consumption for each DC to DC converter is proportional to the DC voltage; and in response to a decrease of the adjusted DC voltage caused by a fault of the DC charging apparatus, cause the bidirectional inverter to continue converting the stepped-down AC voltage for a predetermined amount of time.

Facts

Company: Amazon (Amazon Technologies, Inc.)
Official title: POWER DISTRIBUTION AND DIRECT CURRENT CHARGING
Publication number: US20260296238A1
Application number: 19094428
Filed: Mar 28, 2025
Published: Oct 1, 2026
Inventors: 10
Claims: 20

Classified under

B60L 53/31 Operations & transportB60L 53/11 Operations & transportB60L 53/51 Operations & transportH02J 7/06 Electricity & electronicsH02J 2207/20 Electricity & electronics

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.