Charging device for vehicle and vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to a charging device (12) for a primary vehicle (10A) and a vehicle (10). The charging device (12) comprises at least one repositionable connection element (14). At least one connection element (14) can be repositioned such that it can be positioned in correspondence with a connection element (14) of a charging device (12) of the secondary vehicle (10B). The charging device (12) is arranged to ensure an inductive charging process between the primary vehicle (10A) and the secondary vehicle (10B) using the connecting element (14).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a charging device for a vehicle and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] The energy storage device of a vehicle that is at least partially electrically powered must be charged regularly so that it can be driven on electric power. In a hybrid vehicle, this can be achieved in part by using the internal combustion engine to provide the charge for the energy storage device.

[0003] Whether it is a hybrid vehicle or a vehicle with electric drive only, the vehicle's energy storage device may be so low in charge that the vehicle can no longer be powered by electric drive. In the case of a hybrid vehicle, this situation may be accompanied by a tank level that is also insufficient to operate the hybrid vehicle via the internal combustion engine.

[0004] In these cases, the vehicle must be towed to a charging station or a refueling station in advance. Alternatively, a mobile charger must be brought along to charge the energy storage device, at least to the point where the vehicle can be operated again. However, such mobile chargers are not very common. In addition, both methods are expensive.

[0005] German patent DE 10 2016 014 034 A1 and US patent US 2022 / 0016987 A1 disclose an inductive charging mechanism, in which a connection element in the front area of ​​the vehicle and a corresponding connection element in the rear area of ​​the charging vehicle are used for the charging process.

[0006] US Pat. No. 9,272,631 B2 discloses a charging device having an inductive charging element in the region of the license plate frame.

[0007] US Patent No. 11,014,464 B2 discloses a charging mechanism using a mobile storage device that can be temporarily connected to a vehicle to transfer charge.

[0008] Chinese patent CN213831558U discloses a parking number plate having an expandable display portion.

[0009] Therefore, there is a need to eliminate or at least reduce the disadvantages of known vehicles or their charging mechanisms. In particular, there is a need to create a charging mechanism by which a vehicle can be charged independently of the availability of charging stations, refueling stations or auxiliary components (such as mobile chargers).

[0010] This problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are given in the dependent claims and in the following description, each of which can represent an aspect of the disclosure alone or in (sub)combination. Summary of the invention

[0011] According to one aspect, some embodiments relate to a charging device for a primary vehicle. The charging device has at least one repositionable connection element. The at least one connection element can be repositioned so that it can be positioned correspondingly to a connection element of a charging device of a secondary vehicle. The charging device is configured to ensure an inductive charging process between the primary vehicle and the secondary vehicle using the connection element.

[0012] The inductive charging process is based on a magnetic field, in which the efficiency of the energy transmission depends largely on the distance and relative orientation of the components involved. Due to the positionability of the connecting element, the connecting element can be positioned in such a way that it is arranged correspondingly to the connecting element of another charging device. In particular, the distance and relative orientation between the correspondingly arranged connecting elements can be optimized to maximize the efficiency of the energy transfer. Advantageously, the charging device is designed as part of the vehicle and, therefore, has an innate convenience. This makes it possible to achieve particularly efficient charging processes, regardless of whether other charging infrastructure (such as mobile chargers) are available. The charging device designed in this way can also be independent of the charging connection type of the wired charging mechanism. For example, the charging device of the present disclosure is therefore particularly helpful for faulty vehicles, because they then have to consider fewer different charging connection types.

[0013] In this example, a secondary vehicle is understood to be a vehicle that is different from the primary vehicle.

[0014] In this case, the repositionability of the connection element means that the connection element can be moved or movable in an operating state of the host vehicle. For example, the operating state can be a parking state of the host vehicle. This means that the repositionability of the connection element cannot be understood as the connection element being positioned in a different position due to maintenance activities. Instead, the repositionability of the connection element represents a dedicated operating function of the host vehicle.

[0015] In this case, an inductive charging process is to be understood in particular as a charging process that does not require a closed conductor for the current transfer. This means that two conductors are not connected together to form a common conductor for the current transfer. Instead, the inductive charging process is based on the fact that energy is at least partially transferred without a structurally formed conductor (more precisely, an induced current is generated, based on which a charge can be obtained).

[0016] Preferably, the respective positions of the connecting elements of the primary vehicle and the secondary vehicle may be such that the respective positioned connecting elements have a predetermined distance and a predetermined relative orientation to each other. In particular, the respective positioned connecting elements may be arranged opposite to each other.

[0017] Alternatively, the corresponding positions of the connecting elements may also be such that the connecting elements are arranged adjacent to each other. In other words, the corresponding positions may also be accompanied by direct contact between the connecting elements.

[0018] Optionally, the repositionable connecting element is movable between at least a standard position and an exposed position. In the exposed position, the connecting element has a predetermined minimum distance from the remaining body of the primary vehicle. The minimum distance from the remaining body of the primary vehicle can ensure a buffer zone to prevent the secondary vehicle from coming into contact with the remaining body of the primary vehicle. The buffer zone is substantially provided by the distance between the standard position and the exposed position of the connecting element.

[0019] Preferably, the repositionable connecting element has at least one inductive component. This enables the generation of a magnetic field with the aim of transmitting energy in a compact manner.

[0020] Alternatively, the sensing component can be a passive component. This has the advantage of reducing the requirements on the underlying electronic circuitry.

[0021] In particular, the passive inductive component can include a magnetic coil. The magnetic coil can advantageously provide a magnetic field with a desired spatial orientation. This enables a spatially directed energy transfer corresponding to the respective positions of the connection elements of the primary vehicle and the secondary vehicle. As a further advantage, the magnetic coil can be used both for generating a magnetic field and for inducing a current based on an external magnetic field. In other words, the magnetic coil opens up the possibility of using the connection element both as an energy transmitter (element generating a magnetic field) and as an energy receiver (element receiving a magnetic field that induces a current). This means that the connection element can transmit and receive energy bidirectionally.

[0022] In some embodiments, the charging device is connected to the energy storage device of the primary vehicle. In this way, the state of charge of the energy storage device of the primary vehicle can be changed by the charging device. In particular, the state of charge of the energy storage device of the primary vehicle can be increased when the charging device of the primary vehicle acts as a receiver. On the other hand, the charging device of the primary vehicle can also act as a transformer, which can be used to increase the state of charge of the energy storage device of other vehicles. This reduces the state of charge of the energy storage device of the primary vehicle.

[0023] Preferably, the repositionable connecting element is arranged to form part of the license plate frame. The license plate frame usually has a similar position in different types of vehicles. Thus, a corresponding positioning of the connecting element of different vehicles can be reliably ensured. In addition, the license plate frame is usually a part of the vehicle body, which is not offset from the remaining body parts in the direction of the vehicle center. In other words, the license plate frame usually has the greatest distance from the center of the vehicle, at least relative to the surrounding parts of the remaining body parts. Therefore, the license plate frame is particularly suitable for preventing the secondary vehicle from coming into contact with the remaining body parts of the primary vehicle.

[0024] Optionally, the charging device has at least one actuator, by which at least one connecting element can be repositioned. In particular, the actuator is configured to reposition the connecting element between a standard position and an exposed position. This in particular allows the connecting element to be repositioned in a specific manner.

[0025] Preferably, the actuator ensures that the connecting element can be moved along at least one axis.

[0026] Alternatively, one actuator may also be provided, or several actuators may be provided, so that the connecting element can be moved along at least two axes or even three axes, which axes are each orthogonal to one another in pairs (corresponding to a Cartesian coordinate system).

[0027] In particular, at least one actuator or a plurality of actuators can be positioned according to an optimized corresponding position with the connection element of the secondary vehicle. This maximizes the efficiency of the energy transmission.

[0028] In some embodiments, the charging device has a control device, which is arranged to communicate with the charging device of another vehicle. By communicating with the charging devices of different vehicles, for example, the positioning of the connection elements can be achieved, thereby ensuring an optimized corresponding position of the connection elements of different vehicles. For example, position data of the participating vehicles or participating connection elements can be exchanged (communicated) for this purpose. In addition, the communication enables the exchange of information about the charge state of the energy storage devices of the participating vehicles. In addition, the communication also makes it possible to query the possibility of a charging process between different vehicles or to initialize a charging process between different vehicles. For example, the control device of the charging device can try to query the secondary vehicle whether the secondary vehicle has a corresponding charging device in order to carry out an inductive charging process. In addition, the communication can also carry out corresponding command transmissions, such as command transmissions about the interruption of an ongoing charging process, for example because one of the vehicles involved is to be moved. Ultimately, the communication makes it possible to control the charging process between the participating vehicles as required. Of course, the control device can also be arranged to communicate with the charging devices of other vehicles, for example to form a charging chain as described below.

[0029] Generally, the control device comprises at least one data processing device.

[0030] According to a further aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure also relate to a vehicle having at least one charging device as described above.

[0031] The advantages achieved by the above-described charging device are also correspondingly achieved by a vehicle having a corresponding charging device. In particular, the vehicle is not dependent on the availability of a charging station or a mobile charging device to influence the charge state of the vehicle's energy storage device.

[0032] For the purposes of this disclosure, a vehicle may include in particular land vehicles, i.e., in addition, off-road and on-road vehicles, such as passenger cars, buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles. The vehicle may be manned or unmanned. In addition to pure electric vehicles (BEVs), the vehicle may also be a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

[0033] Optionally, the vehicle's license plate frame comprises a connecting element. The advantages of this have already been explained above.

[0034] Preferably, the vehicle has a front license plate frame and a rear license plate frame. The front license plate frame and the rear license plate frame each have a connecting element of the above-mentioned charging device. This compensates for the relative orientation of the primary vehicle with respect to the secondary vehicle. This means that it does not matter whether the primary vehicle is located in front of or behind the secondary vehicle. In either case, the connecting element of the charging device contained in the front license plate frame can be connected to the connecting element of the charging device contained in the rear license plate frame of another vehicle. In another option, the charging devices can also be connected to each other and have a connecting element, which is included on both sides of the respective front license plate frame or rear license plate frame.

[0035] Furthermore, the present embodiment also enables the formation of a so-called charging chain. For example, the energy storage device of the first vehicle may have a low state of charge. The second vehicle may be arranged adjacent to the first vehicle, and the state of charge of its energy storage device may also be insufficient to charge the first vehicle. However, the third vehicle may then be arranged adjacent to the second vehicle and further away from the first vehicle, and the energy storage device may have a sufficient state of charge and may even increase the state of charge of the first vehicle. In this case, the second vehicle may optionally be used only as an energy transmitter, with one charging device acting as a receiver and one charging device acting as a transformer. Thus, the state of charge of the first vehicle may be increased, although the amount of electricity used for this is provided by the third vehicle at a certain distance from the first vehicle. This configuration is very advantageous for fleets, such as taxi fleets, because the amount of electricity can be distributed among at least part of the fleet. In particular, only a single vehicle in the charging chain can then be connected to a fixed charging station, wherein the state of charge of the remaining vehicles in the charging chain is increased based on an inductive charging process. Thus, the number of required charging stations may be reduced.

[0036] If a vehicle has several charging devices, these charging devices can have a common control unit. This means that the control unit can be designed jointly for all charging devices of the vehicle.

[0037] All features described in relation to the various aspects may be combined with other aspects alone or in (sub)combinations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The present disclosure and further advantageous embodiments and developments thereof are described and explained in more detail below with reference to the examples shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 A simplified schematic diagram of a vehicle having a charging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; Figure 2 A simplified schematic diagram showing a charging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and Figure 3 A vehicle charging chain according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and is not intended to represent the only embodiment, and the same figure numbers in the accompanying drawings represent the same elements. Any embodiment described in this disclosure is only an example or illustration and should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments. The illustrative examples contained herein are not exhaustive and are not limited to the precise form disclosed. Various modifications of the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments. Therefore, the described embodiments are not limited to the embodiments shown, but have the widest possible range of applications consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

[0040] All features disclosed below with respect to the exemplary embodiments and / or the accompanying drawings may be combined with features of various aspects of the present disclosure, including features of the preferred embodiments, alone or in any subcombination, provided that the resulting feature combination is beneficial to a person skilled in the art.

[0041] For purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" means, for example, (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C), including all other possible combinations when more than three elements are listed. In other words, "at least one of A and B" generally means "A and / or B", i.e., "only A", "only B", or "A and B".

[0042] Figure 1 A simplified schematic diagram of a vehicle 10 having a charging device 12 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] In this example, the vehicle 10 includes two charging devices 12 . The first charging device 12 is arranged in the front area of ​​the vehicle 10 . The second charging device 12 is arranged in the rear area of ​​the vehicle 10 .

[0044] Each charging device 12 comprises a connecting element 14A, 14B which, in the present example, is formed as part of a respective license plate frame 16A, 16B.

[0045] The charging device 12 is arranged to reposition the respective connection element 14A, 14B relative to the rest of the body 18 of the vehicle 10. This means that the respective connection element 14A, 14B can adopt at least a standard position and an exposed position in which the respective connection element 14A, 14B is at a different distance from the rest of the body 18 of the vehicle 10.

[0046] In the present example, charging device 12 of vehicle 10 has a single commonly designed control device 20 .

[0047] The control device 20 is connected to at least two connecting elements 14A, 14B.

[0048] The control device 20 includes a data processing device 22 . The control device 20 also communicates with the control devices 20 of the charging devices 12 of other vehicles 10 via the communication device 24 .

[0049] Generally speaking, each charging device 12 may also have a separate control device 20. In this case, it may be provided that the control devices 20 of different charging devices 12 of the same vehicle 10 can communicate with each other.

[0050] In an alternative, the communication device 24 can also be designed as an internal component of the control device 20 .

[0051] Each charging device 12 is also connected to the onboard electrical system of the vehicle 10 , in particular to its energy storage device (not shown here).

[0052] Figure 2 A simplified schematic diagram of a charging device 12 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] The connection element 14A of the charging device 12 of the first vehicle 10A (primary vehicle) is arranged to correspond to the connection element 14B of the charging device 12 of the second vehicle 10B (secondary vehicle).

[0054] The respective connecting elements 14A, 14B are formed in the respective license plate frames 16A, 16B.

[0055] Each charging device 12 comprises at least one actuator 26, by means of which the respective connection element 14 can be repositioned at least along one axis relative to the rest of the body 18 of the respective vehicle 10. In particular, the connection element 14 can be repositioned relative to the rest of the body 18 such that the connection element 14 has a minimum distance 28 relative to the rest of the body 18.

[0056] At the same time, the connecting element 14 is positioned using the actuator 26 to ensure the corresponding positions of the connecting elements 14A, 14B of the different vehicles 10A, 10B.

[0057] One of the connection elements 14A, 14B then generates a magnetic field 30 which induces a current in the other of the connection elements 14A, 14B. In this way, electrical power can be efficiently transferred from the primary vehicle 10A to the secondary vehicle 10B.

[0058] In an alternative, the charging device 12 may also include a plurality of actuators 26 or one actuator that is configured to reposition the connection element 14 along a plurality of mutually orthogonal axes relative to the rest of the vehicle body 18. This ensures that the connection elements 14A, 14B can be positioned relative to each other to optimize the efficiency of the energy transfer.

[0059] Figure 3 A charging chain 32 of a vehicle 10A, 10B, 10C is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] According to this embodiment, the primary vehicle 10A is connected to the secondary vehicle 10B via correspondingly arranged connection elements 14A, 14B- 1 , so that an inductive charging process can be performed therebetween.

[0061] Furthermore, the secondary vehicle 10B is connected to the third vehicle 10C via the connecting elements 14B- 2 , 14C which are arranged correspondingly to each other, so that an inductive charging process can be performed therebetween.

[0062] Thus, the charging chain 32 enables efficient transfer of power from the primary vehicle 10A to the third vehicle 10C, even though these vehicles 10A, 10C are not arranged adjacent to each other, nor are they directly connected via the respective charging devices 12, but are only indirectly connected via the intermediate secondary vehicle 10B.

[0063] In particular, in the case of a charging chain 32, and in the case of vehicles 10 connected in pairs, the control devices 20 of the vehicles 10 can be arranged to ensure appropriate communication between the vehicles 10. For example, the communication device 24 can be used for this purpose. In this way, inductive charging processes performed by the charging devices 12 can be ensured, which processes can be started, monitored and terminated as required by the respective control device 20.

[0064] Certain embodiments disclosed herein, particularly the control device 20 and the communication device 24, use circuits (e.g., one or more circuits) to implement the standards, protocols, methods, or techniques disclosed herein to operably connect two or more components, generate information, process information, analyze information, generate signals, encode / decode signals, convert signals, send and / or receive signals, control other devices, etc. Any type of circuit may be used.

[0065] In one embodiment, the circuit, such as a control device, includes, among other things, one or more data processing devices, such as a processor (e.g., a microprocessor), a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a system on a chip (SOC), etc., or any combination thereof, and may include discrete digital or analog circuit elements or electronic components, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the circuit includes a hardware circuit implementation (e.g., an analog circuit implementation, a digital circuit implementation, etc., and a combination thereof).

[0066] In one embodiment, the circuit includes a combination of a circuit and a computer program product having software or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that cooperate to cause the device to perform one or more of the protocols, methods, or techniques described herein. In one embodiment, the circuit includes circuits such as microprocessors or components of microprocessors that require firmware, etc. to operate the software. In one embodiment, the circuit includes one or more processors or components thereof and associated software, firmware, hardware, etc.

[0067] Quantities and numbers are mentioned in this application. Unless explicitly stated, these quantities and numbers should not be considered restrictive, but should be considered as examples of possible quantities or numbers in the context of this application. In this case, the term "plurality" can also be used in this application to refer to quantities or numbers. In this case, the term "plurality" refers to any number greater than 1, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. The terms "about", "approximately", "close to", etc. represent plus or minus 5% of the specified value.

[0068] Although the disclosure has been presented and described with reference to one or more embodiments, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding this specification and the annexed drawings.

Claims

1. A charging device (12) for a primary vehicle (10A), wherein the charging device (12) has at least one repositionable connecting element (14), wherein at least one of the connecting elements (14) can be repositioned so that it can be positioned correspondingly to a connecting element (14) of a charging device (12) of a secondary vehicle (10B), and wherein the charging device (12) is configured to ensure an inductive charging process between the primary vehicle (10A) and the secondary vehicle (10B) using the connecting element (14).

2. The charging device (12) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The repositionable connecting element (14) is movable between at least a standard position and an exposed position, wherein the connecting element (14) in the exposed position has a predetermined minimum distance (28) from the rest of the body (18) of the host vehicle (10A).

3. The charging device (12) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The repositionable connecting element (14) includes at least one inductive component.

4. The charging device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that The charging device (12) is connected to the energy storage device of the primary vehicle (10A).

5. The charging device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that The repositionable connecting element (14) is arranged to form part of a license plate frame (16).

6. The charging device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that The charging device (12) comprises at least one actuator (26), by means of which the at least one connecting element (14) can be repositioned.

7. The charging device (12) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that The charging device (12) has a control device (20) which is configured to communicate with a charging device (12) of another vehicle (10).

8. Vehicle (10) comprising at least one charging device (12) according to any of the preceding claims.

9. The vehicle (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that The license plate frame (16) of the vehicle (10) comprises the connecting element (14).

10. The vehicle (10) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The vehicle (10) comprises a front license plate frame (16A) and a rear license plate frame (16B), wherein the front license plate frame (16A) and the rear license plate frame (16B) each comprise a connecting element (14) of the charging device (12) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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