Charging station and charging control method thereof

Abstract

This application belongs to the field of electric vehicle charging and specifically discloses a charging station and a charging control method thereof. The charging station includes: N charging piles, M parallel switches, and a power bus; each parallel switch includes: four ports; a first port of a parallel switch is connected to the output end of a charging pile, a third port is connected to a charging gun corresponding to the charging pile, and a fourth port is connected to the power bus; when the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in a first mode; when the first port is connected to the fourth port, and the fourth port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in a second mode; when the first port is connected to the fourth port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in a third mode; when the first port is connected to the second port, and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the parallel switch operates in a fourth mode. Through this application, the charging needs of electric vehicles of different models and capacities can be met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of electric vehicle charging, and more specifically, to a charging station and a charging control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Existing charging piles are generally one-to-one or one-to-two charging for electric vehicles. They can only provide the same charging service for electric vehicles of different models and capacities. Such services cannot fully utilize the grid resources and are not conducive to improving the user experience. They are mainly used in charging stations or parking lots where similar charging piles are centrally arranged. The electrical schematic diagram of the general charging station charging pile installation is as follows: Figure 1 shown.

[0003] For some plug-in and extended-range hybrid models, the battery capacity is relatively small, and a 30kW~60kW charging pile can be fully charged in less than an hour. When the user controls the vehicle to start charging and does not wait in the vehicle, the vehicle cannot be driven away from the charging pile in time after it is quickly fully charged, which may cause the vehicle to occupy the charging pile for a long time, easily resulting in a waste of charging resources.

[0004] For some pure electric vehicles, a 60kW charging station takes 2 to 3 hours to fully charge. For operating vehicles, the charging power is insufficient and the waiting time is long.

[0005] For larger vehicles like buses and trucks, which have battery capacities greater than 180kWh, charging times are longer. Using ultra-high-power charging piles directly when building charging stations is costly and requires significant grid capacity. Furthermore, idle charging piles waste significant grid resources.

[0006] In summary, some electric vehicles in existing charging stations charge quickly, but they occupy the charging piles for a long time, while some electric vehicles charge slowly and require a lot of waiting time for charging; and an electric vehicle can only be charged by one charging pile to which it is connected, resulting in the charging power of the idle charging piles not being fully utilized. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of the defects of the prior art, the purpose of this application is to provide a charging station and a charging control method thereof, aiming to solve the problem that the charging power and charging control distribution of the existing charging stations are poor, resulting in waste of charging resources.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, in a first aspect, the present application provides a charging station comprising: N charging piles, M parallel switches, and a power bus; N and M are both integers greater than 1;

[0009] Each parallel switch includes: a first port, a second port, a third port, and a fourth port;

[0010] A first port of a parallel switch is connected to the output end of a charging pile, a third port is connected to a charging gun corresponding to the charging pile, and a fourth port is connected to the power bus;

[0011] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the first mode;

[0012] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the fourth port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the second mode;

[0013] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the third mode;

[0014] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the parallel switch operates in a fourth mode;

[0015] When the charging gun connected to a parallel switch is connected to a device to be charged, if the parallel switch works in the first mode, the charging pile connected to it will supply power to the device to be charged alone; if the parallel switch works in the second mode, the charging pile connected to it and the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode will jointly supply power to the device to be charged; if the parallel switch works in the third mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but will supply power to the device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to other parallel switches working in the second mode; if the parallel switch works in the fourth mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode can supply power to the device to be charged.

[0016] In an optional example, when any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode to power the charged device connected to its corresponding charging gun, the parallel switches connected to other charging piles that cannot be used normally need to be switched to the first mode.

[0017] In an optional example, the charging power of each charging pile is the same and is less than a preset power value.

[0018] In an optional example, the charging station further includes: a control module;

[0019] The control module is used to control the M parallel switches to switch working modes.

[0020] In an optional example, the control module is also used to obtain information about at least one device to be charged connected to the charging guns corresponding to the M parallel switches, confirm the charging priority of at least one device to be charged based on the information, and control the M parallel switches to switch the working mode according to the charging priority and the charging power required by the device to be charged.

[0021] In a second aspect, the present application provides a charging control method for a charging station as described in the first aspect and any optional example of the first aspect, including:

[0022] Obtain at least one charging request; the charging request is sent by the device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to the M parallel switches, and each device to be charged sends one charging request;

[0023] Determine the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request, and charge the device with the highest priority first;

[0024] When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected can be used normally and the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected meets the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the first mode; when the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected does not meet the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the second mode; and then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switches connected to the idle charging piles connected to the parallel switches and the parallel switches working in the first mode connected to the non-idle charging piles are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged meets the charging requirement; wherein, the idle charging piles are switched to the third mode in priority over the non-idle charging piles; the charging requirement is: the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged is greater than or equal to the required charging power;

[0025] During the charging process of the device to be charged, when the charging power required by the device to be charged gradually decreases, the parallel switches connected to the non-idle charging piles are preferentially switched back to the first mode one by one, and then the parallel switches connected to the idle charging piles are switched to other modes; finally, when the charging power of the charging pile connected to the device to be charged meets the charging demand, the parallel switches connected to the device to be charged are switched to the first mode.

[0026] In an optional example, when any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally is switched to the first mode; then when none of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally is switched to the fourth mode.

[0027] In an optional example, the method further includes:

[0028] When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected cannot be used normally, the parallel switch connected to it is switched to or maintained in the fourth mode;

[0029] Then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switch connected to the idle charging pile with a parallel switch and the parallel switch working in the first mode connected to the non-idle charging pile are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles powering the device to be charged meets the charging demand; wherein, the idle charging pile is switched to the third mode first compared to the non-idle charging pile.

[0030] In an optional example, the charging request includes: required charging power;

[0031] Determining the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request includes at least one of the following methods:

[0032] When a charging request is received from a device to be charged at the same time or time period, the device to be charged is directly charged;

[0033] When multiple charging requests are received from multiple devices to be charged at the same time or time period, the quick time from the start of charging to the constant voltage charging stage of the multiple devices to be charged is comprehensively considered, and the multiple devices to be charged are assigned priorities with the goal of having a relatively short average quick charging time for the multiple devices to be charged; among them, the charging priority of the charging device requiring a larger charging power is higher than the charging priority of the charging device requiring a smaller charging power, so that the charging device requiring a larger charging power is preferentially charged with constant power by multiple charging piles in parallel, so that the time spent in the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage is relatively short.

[0034] In an optional example, a device to be charged with a lower priority can interrupt the charging process of a device to be charged with a higher priority that is connected to a parallel switch in the first mode, switch the corresponding parallel switch to the third mode, and then switch the corresponding parallel switch back to the first mode, so that the charging pile where the corresponding parallel switch is located continues to charge the device to be charged with a higher priority.

[0035] In an optional example, when charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected can be used normally, but the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected does not meet the charging requirements, or if the charging pile to which it is connected cannot be used normally, then when switching the parallel switch connected to the corresponding charging pile to the third mode, the charging power of the charging pile connected to the parallel switch that is already working in the third mode should be considered.

[0036] In an optional example, when the charging power of the charging pile to which the device to be charged is connected meets the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the first mode, specifically:

[0037] When the charging power of the charging pile connected to the device to be charged meets the charging demand, if there are still parallel switches working in the third mode at this time, if there are parallel switches working in the fourth mode or planned to switch to the fourth mode or the second mode at this time, then at least one parallel switch is retained to work in the third mode without switching, and the other parallel switches are switched from the third mode to other modes; wherein, the number and position of the parallel switches retained in the third mode are determined by the required charging power of the device to be charged connected to the parallel switches working in the fourth mode or planned to switch to the fourth mode or the second mode, and the charging power of the charging pile connected to each third-mode parallel switch.

[0038] In an optional example, aiming to shorten the average fast charging time of the plurality of devices to be charged includes:

[0039] Based on the charging power required by each device to be charged and the charging power of each charging pile connected to the M parallel switches, each device to be charged is allocated at least one charging pile that meets its required charging power for charging, so that each device to be charged can complete the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage relatively quickly and enter the constant voltage charging stage in a relatively short time; among which, a single charging pile can meet the charging needs of various devices to be charged in the constant voltage charging stage.

[0040] In general, the above technical solutions conceived by this application have at least the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0041] The present application provides a charging station and a charging control method thereof. The present application designs a parallel switch with four working modes, which can realize the switching between parallel or separate power supply between charging piles; and adjusts the concentrated power through the working mode of the parallel switch to allow each device to be charged to quickly enter the constant voltage charging mode, and then the connected charging pile performs constant voltage charging separately until charging is completed. The charging station provided by the present application has relatively small changes to the original charging station. The fast charging and super charging of the charging equipment can be realized through the parallel charging piles, and the grid capacity can be fully utilized to meet the charging needs of the charging equipment of different models and different capacities. According to the charging time required by the user and the peak and valley band of the current grid, the charging power or the number of parallel charging piles is adjusted to effectively control the charging time and save charging resources. In addition, through the design of the parallel switch working mode, the present application can also realize the normal charging of the connected charging equipment by adjusting the parallel switch for the unusable charging piles, thereby avoiding the charging power of the idle charging piles in the charging station being wasted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection of the charging piles of an existing charging station;

[0043] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a parallel switch connected to a charging pile provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the parallel switches connected to the charging piles provided in the embodiment of the present application operating in different modes;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a flow chart of a control method for a charging station provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 5A This is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection of a charging pile in a working stage provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 5B This is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection of a charging pile in another working stage provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 5C This is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection of a charging pile in another working stage provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 5D This is a schematic diagram of the electrical connection of a charging pile in another working stage provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the following further describes this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0051] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0052] An embodiment of the present application provides a charging station, including: N charging piles, M parallel switches and a power bus; N and M are both integers greater than 1.

[0053] Among them, in the charging station provided in the embodiment of the present application, a charging pile may include one or more charging guns, which can be used to transmit electrical energy to the electric vehicle. One end of the charging gun can be connected to the charging socket of the charging pile, and the other end can be connected to the charging interface of the electric vehicle.

[0054] Furthermore, the parallel switch provided in the embodiment of the present application can be connected between a charging pile and a charging gun connected to it.

[0055] Alternatively, as Figure 2As shown, each parallel switch includes: a first port, a second port, a third port and a fourth port; wherein the first port of a parallel switch is connected to the output end of a charging pile, the third port is connected to a charging gun corresponding to the charging pile, and the fourth port is connected to the power bus.

[0056] For example, the power busbar can be used to connect multiple charging piles in parallel, so as to connect the power of the multiple charging piles in parallel to charge electric vehicles.

[0057] It can be understood that when the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the first mode;

[0058] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the fourth port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the second mode;

[0059] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the third mode;

[0060] When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the parallel switch operates in a fourth mode;

[0061] When the charging gun connected to a parallel switch is connected to a device to be charged, if the parallel switch works in the first mode, the charging pile connected to it will supply power to the device to be charged alone; if the parallel switch works in the second mode, the charging pile connected to it and the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode will jointly supply power to the device to be charged; if the parallel switch works in the third mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but will supply power to the device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to other parallel switches working in the second mode; if the parallel switch works in the fourth mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode can supply power to the device to be charged.

[0062] As an example, when any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode to power the device to be charged connected to its corresponding charging gun, the parallel switches connected to other charging piles that cannot be used normally need to be switched to the first mode.

[0063] It should be noted that when a device to be charged is in the second mode, if the charging pile that is not normally used at this time is in the fourth mode, the charging pile connected to the third mode parallel switch will charge the device to be charged connected to the second mode parallel switch while also charging the device to be charged connected to the fourth mode parallel switch. This will reduce the power of the device to be charged in the second mode. Therefore, in this application, the second mode and the fourth mode are set to exist separately in the charging station. That is, only one device to be charged is in the high-power charging state of the second mode at the same time in the entire charging station. At this time, the charging pile that is not normally used should be switched to the first mode to avoid reducing the charging power of the high-power charging device in the second mode.

[0064] It can be understood that the parallel switch has four ports: one port directly connected to the output of the charging pile, one port used as a flow midpoint, one port directly connected to the charging gun, and one port used to interconnect with other parallel switches to form a power bus. The parallel switch has four different switching modes, which can be switched according to current usage needs to achieve device power expansion, idle power utilization, basic charging functions, and device maintenance functions.

[0065] Optionally, the above-mentioned parallel switch has four different working modes. The first mode to the fourth mode can be respectively called as independent mode, expansion mode, supply mode and maintenance mode according to their functions. Independent mode means that the charging work is completed independently by the charging pile where it is located. Expansion mode means that the charging pile where the switch is located is connected in parallel with the other idle charging piles to achieve high-power charging. Supply mode means that the charging pile where the switch is located is connected in parallel with the other charging piles in expansion mode to achieve power supply. Maintenance mode means that when the charging pile where the switch is located cannot work normally, the parking space and charging gun where the charging pile is located can still complete the charging work with the help of the other charging piles in supply mode. Furthermore, as mentioned above, expansion mode and maintenance mode do not exist at the same time.

[0066] As an example, the charging station further includes: a control module;

[0067] The control module is used to control the M parallel switches to switch working modes.

[0068] As an example, the control module is also used to obtain information about at least one device to be charged connected to the charging guns corresponding to the M parallel switches, confirm the charging priority of at least one device to be charged based on the information, and control the M parallel switches to switch the working mode according to the charging priority and the charging power required by the device to be charged.

[0069] In one example, the parallel switch is composed of controllable switches, such as electric circuit breakers, contactors, relays, thyristors, and similar devices. The control module is a circuit or module that aggregates information from the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus or network cables between charging stations and transmits parallel switch control commands. The control module primarily uses the CAN bus for information collection and parallel switch control command issuance. The control module can collect the current operating status, required operating time, and expected operating time of all charging stations within the station and is capable of issuing parallel switch control commands.

[0070] As an example, the charging power of each charging pile is the same and is less than a preset power value.

[0071] It is understood that the charging power of each charging pile in the charging station provided by this application can be different or the same. Those skilled in the art can design the charging power of each charging pile in the charging station according to their needs. For example, the solution provided by this application can be applied to small and medium power charging piles.

[0072] In one embodiment, the device to be charged may be an electric vehicle. In this embodiment of the application, the provided charging station is described in detail using an electric vehicle as an example.

[0073] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the parallel switches connected to the charging piles provided in the embodiment of the present application operating in different modes;

[0074] Charging pile 1 where switch S1 is located works in the first mode, and the charging pile connected to it directly charges the electric vehicle;

[0075] Charging pile 2 where switch S2 is located works in the second mode, using the idle charging pile power and its own power in parallel to charge electric vehicle 2;

[0076] Charging pile 3 where switch S3 is located works in the third mode. At this time, no electric vehicle is connected. The idle power is transmitted to the charging pile where switch S2 is located through the parallel switch to charge electric vehicles 2 and 3.

[0077] The charging pile 4 where the S4 switch is located is under maintenance and is working in the fourth mode, and does not have normal working conditions. The electric car 3 uses the idle power of the charging pile where the S3 switch is located to charge.

[0078] Figure 4 is a flow chart of the control method of the charging station provided in the embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 As shown, the following steps are included:

[0079] Step S101: obtaining at least one charging request; the charging request is sent by a device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to the M parallel switches, with one charging request sent by each device to be charged;

[0080] Step S102, determining the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request, and charging the device with a higher priority first;

[0081] Step S103: When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected can be used normally and the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected meets the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the first mode; if the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected does not meet the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the second mode; and then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switch connected to the idle charging pile connected to the parallel switch and the parallel switch connected to the non-idle charging pile working in the first mode are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged meets the charging requirement; wherein, the idle charging pile is switched to the third mode in priority over the non-idle charging pile; the charging requirement is: the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged is greater than or equal to the required charging power;

[0082] Step S104, during the charging process of the device to be charged, when the charging power required by the device to be charged gradually decreases, the parallel switches connected to the non-idle charging piles are preferentially switched back to the first mode one by one, and then the parallel switches connected to the idle charging piles are switched to other modes; finally, when the charging power of the charging pile connected to the device to be charged meets the charging demand, the parallel switches connected to the device to be charged are switched to the first mode.

[0083] In an optional example, when any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally is switched to the first mode; then when none of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally is switched to the fourth mode.

[0084] Specifically, a charging pile that cannot be used normally refers to a charging pile that is under repair, maintenance or is broken.

[0085] In an optional example, the method further includes:

[0086] When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected cannot be used normally, the parallel switch connected to it is switched to or maintained in the fourth mode;

[0087] Then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switch connected to the idle charging pile with a parallel switch and the parallel switch working in the first mode connected to the non-idle charging pile are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles powering the device to be charged meets the charging demand; wherein, the idle charging pile is switched to the third mode first compared to the non-idle charging pile.

[0088] In an optional example, the charging request includes: required charging power;

[0089] Determining the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request includes at least one of the following methods:

[0090] When a charging request is received from a device to be charged at the same time or time period, the device to be charged is directly charged;

[0091] When multiple charging requests are received from multiple devices to be charged at the same time or time period, the quick time from the start of charging to the constant voltage charging stage of the multiple devices to be charged is comprehensively considered, and the multiple devices to be charged are assigned priorities with the goal of having a relatively short average quick charging time for the multiple devices to be charged; among them, the charging priority of the charging device requiring a larger charging power is higher than the charging priority of the charging device requiring a smaller charging power, so that the charging device requiring a larger charging power is preferentially charged with constant power by multiple charging piles in parallel, so that the time spent in the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage is relatively short.

[0092] Furthermore, the above charging priority design may not be based solely on the power requirements of each device to be charged. In some special scenarios, such as devices requiring relatively low power and / or devices that urgently need to be charged, they can send a request or pay an additional expedited fee to set the charging priority of the device to be charged higher, and the charging process of the device cannot be interrupted by the charging of other devices. Those skilled in the art can set the charging priority of the devices to be charged according to the actual scenario.

[0093] Optionally, parameters influencing charging priority may include one or more of the following: the number of idle charging piles in the charging station, the number of vehicles to be charged, and historical matching information. When there are a large number of idle charging piles, all connected charging devices can be charged while all charging piles are charging. When there are fewer idle charging piles, high-power charging devices can be prioritized for charging.

[0094] For example, an average charging time can be set. A pre-designed algorithm can be used to calculate the average charging time for all devices under various charging priority strategies to select the optimal charging priority strategy for charging control. The optimal charging priority strategy is the one with the shortest average charging time, or a priority strategy that satisfies the above average charging time can be selected.

[0095] It is understandable that the above charging time may be the time from the start of charging to the entry into the constant voltage charging stage, or the time from the start of charging to the completion of charging.

[0096] In an optional example, a device to be charged with a lower priority can interrupt the charging process of a device to be charged with a higher priority that is connected to a parallel switch in the first mode, switch the corresponding parallel switch to the third mode, and then switch the corresponding parallel switch back to the first mode, so that the charging pile where the corresponding parallel switch is located continues to charge the device to be charged with a higher priority.

[0097] In an optional example, when charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected can be used normally, but the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected does not meet the charging requirements, or if the charging pile to which it is connected cannot be used normally, then when switching the parallel switch connected to the corresponding charging pile to the third mode, the charging power of the charging pile connected to the parallel switch that is already working in the third mode should be considered.

[0098] In an optional example, when the charging power of the charging pile to which the device to be charged is connected meets the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the first mode, specifically:

[0099] When the charging power of the charging pile connected to the device to be charged meets the charging demand, if there are still parallel switches working in the third mode at this time, if there are parallel switches working in the fourth mode or planned to switch to the fourth mode or the second mode at this time, then at least one parallel switch is retained to work in the third mode without switching, and the other parallel switches are switched from the third mode to other modes; wherein, the number and position of the parallel switches retained in the third mode are determined by the required charging power of the device to be charged connected to the parallel switches working in the fourth mode or planned to switch to the fourth mode or the second mode, and the charging power of the charging pile connected to each third-mode parallel switch.

[0100] In an optional example, aiming to shorten the average fast charging time of the plurality of devices to be charged includes:

[0101] Based on the charging power required by each device to be charged and the charging power of each charging pile connected to the M parallel switches, each device to be charged is allocated at least one charging pile that meets its required charging power for charging, so that each device to be charged can complete the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage relatively quickly and enter the constant voltage charging stage in a relatively short time; among which, a single charging pile can meet the charging needs of various devices to be charged in the constant voltage charging stage.

[0102] In a specific embodiment, according to the charging characteristics of the battery in the device to be charged, constant current, constant power, and finally constant voltage are used to reach the constant voltage stage. As the constant voltage charging time becomes longer and longer, the charging current will gradually decrease, and the charging power will also gradually decrease. Therefore, the overall charging strategy of the charging station is to prioritize the completion of the constant power stage charging of electric vehicles, and then charge them in the constant voltage stage separately. Assuming that the charging power of a single pile is 30kW, the charging power required by electric vehicle 1 is 30kW, the charging power required by electric vehicle 2 is 90kW, and the charging power required by electric vehicle 3 is 60kW. Charging pile 4 is under maintenance and cannot work independently.

[0103] According to the above charging strategy, combined with the Figure 5A To the attached Figure 5D As shown, the working stages of the charging station are as follows:

[0104] 1. Switches S1 and S3 are adjusted to operating mode 3 - supply mode, and switch S2 is adjusted to operating mode 2 - expansion mode. At this time, the charging power of electric vehicle 2 is 90kW. Since the charging station is in operating mode 2 at this time, switch S4 is adjusted to operating mode 1 - independent mode. Since charging pile 4 is under maintenance, electric vehicles 3 and 1 do not start charging. For specific electrical connections, please refer to Figure 5A shown.

[0105] 2. After a period of charging, electric vehicle 2 enters the constant voltage charging stage. When the charging power drops to 60kW, switch S1 is adjusted to working mode 1 - independent mode, and electric vehicle 1 starts charging. For specific electrical connections, please refer to Figure 5B shown.

[0106] 3. After charging for a period of time, the constant voltage charging power of electric vehicle 2 drops to 30kW. At this time, switch S2 is adjusted to working mode 1 - independent mode, switch S1 is adjusted to working mode 3 - supply mode, and switch 4 is adjusted to working mode 4 - maintenance mode. At this time, electric vehicle 1 stops charging and electric vehicle 3 starts charging at 60kW. For specific electrical connections, please refer to Figure 5C shown.

[0107] 4. When electric vehicle 3 enters the constant voltage charging stage and the constant voltage charging power is lower than 30kW, switch S1 is adjusted to working mode 1-independent mode. At this time, electric vehicles 1, 2, and 3 are all connected to the 30kW charging pile and work in constant voltage mode. For specific electrical connections, please refer to Figure 5D shown.

[0108] In summary, the main implementation idea of ​​the charging control method for the charging station provided by the present application is to prioritize power concentration by adjusting the working mode of the parallel switch, so that all electric vehicles can complete the constant current and constant power charging stage as soon as possible and enter the constant voltage charging stage; when entering the constant voltage charging stage, the capacity of the electric vehicle battery is generally around 70%~80%, which can basically meet the charging needs of the user. Then, the electric vehicle is charged at a constant voltage through the independent working mode of each charging pile until the charging is completed. Therefore, the charging station using parallel switches provided by the present application has relatively small changes to the original charging equipment. The fast charging and super charging of electric vehicles can be achieved through the parallel charging piles, which fully utilizes the power grid capacity to meet the charging needs of electric vehicles of different models and capacities. The charging power or the number of parallel charging piles is adjusted according to the charging time required by the user and the peak and valley band of the current power grid, effectively controlling the charging time and saving power grid resources.

[0109] It should be understood that expressions such as "include" and "may include" used in this application indicate the existence of the disclosed functions, operations, or constituent elements, and do not limit one or more additional functions, operations, and constituent elements. In this application, terms such as "include" and / or "have" may be interpreted as indicating specific characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components, or combinations thereof, but may not be interpreted as excluding the existence or possibility of adding one or more other characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[0110] In addition, in this application, the expression "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the associated listed words. For example, the expression "A and / or B" may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.

[0111] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connection" can be a detachable connection or a non-detachable connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Among them, "fixed connection" means that the two are connected to each other and the relative position relationship after the connection remains unchanged. "Rotational connection" means that the two are connected to each other and can rotate relative to each other after the connection. "Sliding connection" means that the two are connected to each other and can slide relative to each other after the connection. The directional terms mentioned in the embodiments of the present application, such as "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "left", "right", etc., are only reference to the directions of the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for better and clearer explanation and understanding of the embodiments of the present application, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the mathematical concepts mentioned include symmetry, equality, parallelism, and perpendicularity. These limitations are all for the current state of the art, rather than being absolutely strict definitions in a mathematical sense. A small amount of deviation is allowed, and it is possible to be approximately symmetric, approximately equal, approximately parallel, or approximately perpendicular. For example, A and B are parallel, which means that A and B are parallel or approximately parallel, and the angle between A and B can be between 0 and 10 degrees. A and B are perpendicular, which means that A and B are perpendicular or approximately perpendicular, and the angle between A and B can be between 80 and 100 degrees.

[0113] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A charging station, characterized in that: include: N charging piles, M parallel switches and power bus; N and M are both integers greater than 1; Each parallel switch includes: a first port, a second port, a third port, and a fourth port; A first port of a parallel switch is connected to the output end of a charging pile, a third port is connected to a charging gun corresponding to the charging pile, and a fourth port is connected to the power bus; When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the first mode; When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the fourth port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the second mode; When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the fourth port, and the second port is connected to the third port, the parallel switch operates in the third mode; When the first port of the parallel switch is connected to the second port, and the third port is connected to the fourth port, the parallel switch operates in a fourth mode; When the charging gun connected to a parallel switch is connected to a device to be charged, if the parallel switch works in the first mode, the charging pile connected to it will supply power to the device to be charged alone; if the parallel switch works in the second mode, the charging pile connected to it and the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode will jointly supply power to the device to be charged; if the parallel switch works in the third mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but will supply power to the device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to other parallel switches working in the second mode; if the parallel switch works in the fourth mode, the charging pile connected to it will not be able to supply power to the device to be charged, but the charging piles connected to other parallel switches working in the third mode can supply power to the device to be charged.

2. The charging station according to claim 1, characterized in that When any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode to supply power to the device to be charged connected to its corresponding charging gun, the parallel switches connected to other charging piles that cannot be used normally need to be switched to the first mode.

3. The charging station according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: Control module; The control module is used to control the M parallel switches to switch working modes.

4. The charging station according to claim 3, characterized in that The control module is further used to obtain information about at least one device to be charged connected to the charging guns corresponding to the M parallel switches, determine the charging priority of at least one device to be charged based on the information, and control the M parallel switches to switch working modes based on the charging priority and the charging power required by the device to be charged.

5. A charging control method for a charging station according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: include: Obtain at least one charging request; the charging request is sent by the device to be charged connected to the charging guns connected to the M parallel switches, and each device to be charged sends one charging request; Determine the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request, and charge the device with the highest priority first; When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected can be used normally and the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected meets the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the first mode; when the charging power of the charging pile to which it is connected does not meet the charging requirement, the parallel switch connected to the device to be charged is switched to the second mode; and then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switches connected to the idle charging piles connected to the parallel switches and the parallel switches working in the first mode connected to the non-idle charging piles are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged meets the charging requirement; wherein, the idle charging piles are switched to the third mode in priority over the non-idle charging piles; the charging requirement is: the parallel power of all charging piles supplying power to the device to be charged is greater than or equal to the required charging power; During the charging process of the device to be charged, when the charging power required by the device to be charged gradually decreases, the parallel switches connected to the non-idle charging piles are preferentially switched back to the first mode one by one, and then the parallel switches connected to the idle charging piles are switched to other modes; finally, when the charging power of the charging pile connected to the device to be charged meets the charging demand, the parallel switches connected to the device to be charged are switched to the first mode.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When any one of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally will be switched to the first mode; then when none of the M parallel switches operates in the second mode, the parallel switch connected to the charging pile that cannot be used normally will be switched to the fourth mode.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Also includes: When charging a device to be charged, if the charging pile to which it is connected cannot be used normally, the parallel switch connected to it is switched to or maintained in the fourth mode; Then, according to the charging power required by the device to be charged, the parallel switch connected to the idle charging pile with a parallel switch and the parallel switch working in the first mode connected to the non-idle charging pile are switched to the third mode until the parallel power of all charging piles powering the device to be charged meets the charging demand; wherein, the idle charging pile is switched to the third mode first compared to the non-idle charging pile.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that The charging request includes: required charging power; Determining the charging priority of the device to be charged according to the at least one charging request includes at least one of the following methods: When a charging request is received from a device to be charged at the same time or time period, the device to be charged is directly charged; When multiple charging requests are received from multiple devices to be charged at the same time or time period, the quick time from the start of charging to the constant voltage charging stage of the multiple devices to be charged is comprehensively considered, and the multiple devices to be charged are assigned priorities with the goal of having a relatively short average quick charging time for the multiple devices to be charged; among them, the charging priority of the charging device requiring a larger charging power is higher than the charging priority of the charging device requiring a smaller charging power, so that the charging device requiring a larger charging power is preferentially charged with constant power by multiple charging piles in parallel, so that the time spent in the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage is relatively short.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that The device to be charged with a lower priority can interrupt the charging process of the device to be charged with a higher priority connected to the parallel switch in the first mode, switch the corresponding parallel switch to the third mode, and then switch the corresponding parallel switch back to the first mode, so that the charging pile where the corresponding parallel switch is located continues to charge the device to be charged with a higher priority.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The goal of achieving a relatively short average fast charging time for multiple devices to be charged includes: Based on the charging power required by each device to be charged and the charging power of each charging pile connected to the M parallel switches, each device to be charged is allocated at least one charging pile that meets its required charging power for charging, so that each device to be charged can complete the constant current charging stage and the constant power charging stage relatively quickly and enter the constant voltage charging stage in a relatively short time; among which, a single charging pile can meet the charging needs of various devices to be charged in the constant voltage charging stage.

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