Control of electrical distribution system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling a power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid. The method includes determining an EV power setpoint for the at least one EV based on the received data; determining a first overload condition based on the EV power setpoint and a first power constraint of the at least one distributed charging station; updating the EV power setpoint based on the first overload condition; determining a second overload condition based on the updated EV power setpoint and a second power constraint of the grid interface; re-determining the EV power setpoint based on the updated EV power setpoint and a second overload condition; and controlling the power distribution system based on the re-determined EV power setpoint. The invention also relates to a corresponding system and a power distribution system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to methods, devices, and systems for controlling a power distribution system. Background Art

[0002] Distribution systems that include distributed power entities face challenges in terms of power distribution. Specifically, power systems that include charging stations configured to be coupled to electric vehicles need to provide sufficient power supply within a desired time window while complying with power constraints, and therefore require distribution control. This challenge becomes apparent and significant in overloaded systems, i.e., the system is unable to recharge all electric vehicles (EVs) at the same time, primarily due to power limitations on the charging equipment and grid interface. For example, peak EV recharging demand within a certain time window of the day may cause the system to be overloaded. This overload condition can be mitigated by control, particularly by utilizing the distributed and centralized architecture of such a system. In addition, integrating renewable resources into the system and enabling vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power transmission further complicates distribution control.

[0003] WO 2020 / 250012 A1 relates to real-time control of an electric vehicle charging station while tracking an aggregate power set point.

[0004] US2021 / 0354583 A1 relates to systems and methods for orderly charging management of charging stations.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for improved control of power distribution systems, in particular power systems comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid. Summary of the invention

[0006] The invention is specified by the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. In the following description, although many features may be designated as optional, it should be recognized that all features included in the independent claims should not be considered optional.

[0007] The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the method comprising: determining an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; determining a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; updating the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; determining a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; redetermining the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and controlling the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0008] According to one embodiment, controlling a power distribution system includes: generating a control signal for at least one converter in at least one distributed charging station based on a re-determined EV power set point, wherein the at least one converter is coupled to a grid interface and at least one EV is coupled to the at least one converter; and controlling the at least one converter based on the generated control signal.

[0009] According to one embodiment, a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one distributed charging station, and the method further includes performing: determining EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on received data; determining a first priority of power flow between the plurality of EVs and the at least one distributed charging station based on a first power constraint; sorting the plurality of EVs based on the first priority of power flow; updating the EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of EVs; and aggregating the updated EV power set points of the plurality of EVs.

[0010] According to one embodiment, a plurality of distributed charging stations are coupled to a grid interface, and wherein a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one of the plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the method further includes performing: determining EV power set points for a plurality of EVs based on the received data; determining a second priority of power flow between a power grid and a plurality of distributed charging stations based on a second power constraint; sorting the plurality of distributed charging stations based on the second priority of power flow; and re-determining EV power set points for the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0012] According to one embodiment, for EVs connected to the same distributed charging station among the plurality of charging stations, the re-determined EV set points of the plurality of EVs are the same, particularly when it is determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations that the power flow between the same distributed charging station and the grid is restricted.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a power set point, in particular an EV to grid discharge set point; and modifying the re-determined EV power set point based on at least one of: the received power set point and the first priority and / or the second priority; or the received power set point and at least one scaling factor.

[0014] According to one embodiment, determining an EV power setpoint of the at least one EV is adapted to the received data, in particular a remaining time period of the power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the received data includes at least one of the following: a battery state of charge of at least one EV, a desired battery state of charge of at least one EV, a battery capacity of at least one EV, a remaining time period of power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station, a first power constraint, or a second power constraint.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the first power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of a grid interface and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the grid interface.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the first power constraint and / or the second power constraint.

[0018] The present disclosure also relates to a device for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the device comprising a processor configured to: determine an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; determine a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; update the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; determine a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; redetermine the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and control the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the processor is further configured to execute the method of any one of the above embodiments.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the device further comprises a memory configured to store the received data and at least the above-mentioned parameters determined by the processor.

[0021] The present disclosure also relates to a device or system for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the device or system comprising a first processor and a second processor, which are configured as follows: the first processor determines an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; the first processor determines a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; the first processor or the second processor updates the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; the second processor determines a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; the second processor redetermines the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and the first processor or the second processor controls the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the first processor and the second processor are further configured to execute the method of any one of the above embodiments.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the device further comprises a memory configured to store the received data and the above-mentioned parameters determined by at least the first processor and the second processor.

[0024] According to one embodiment, only one processor is used in the device or system, and tasks performed by the first processor and the second processor are performed by the one processor.

[0025] According to one embodiment, a plurality of processors are used in a device or system, and tasks performed by a first processor and a second processor are performed by the plurality of processors.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the first processor or the second processor is configured to control the power distribution system in the following manner: the first processor or the second processor generates a control signal for at least one converter in at least one distributed charging station based on the re-determined EV power set point, wherein the at least one converter is coupled to a grid interface and at least one EV is coupled to the at least one converter; and the first processor or the second processor controls the at least one converter based on the generated control signal.

[0027] According to one embodiment, a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one distributed charging station, and the first processor or the second processor is further configured to: determine, by the first processor, EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on received data; determine, by the first processor, a first priority of power flow between the plurality of EVs and at least one distributed charging station based on a first power constraint; sort, by the first processor or the second processor, the plurality of EVs based on the first priority of power flow; update, by the first processor or the second processor, the EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of EVs; and aggregate, by the second processor, the updated EV power set points of the plurality of EVs.

[0028] According to one embodiment, a plurality of distributed charging stations are coupled to a grid interface, and wherein a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one of the plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the first processor or the second processor is also configured to: determine, by the first processor, EV power set points of multiple EVs based on the received data; determine, by the second processor, a second priority of power flow between the power grid and multiple distributed charging stations based on a second power constraint; sort, by the second processor, the multiple distributed charging stations based on the second priority of power flow; and re-determine, by the second processor, the EV power set points of the multiple EVs based on the sorted multiple distributed charging stations.

[0030] According to one embodiment, for EVs connected to the same distributed charging station among the plurality of charging stations, the re-determined EV set points of the plurality of EVs are the same, particularly when it is determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations that the power flow between the same distributed charging station and the grid is restricted.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the second processor is configured to: receive a power set point, in particular an EV to grid discharge set point; and modify the re-determined EV power set point based on at least one of the following items: the received power set point and the first priority and / or the second priority; or the received power set point and at least one scaling factor.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the first processor is configured to determine an EV power setpoint of the at least one EV adapted to the received data, in particular a remaining time period of power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the received data includes at least one of the following: a battery state of charge of at least one EV, a desired battery state of charge of at least one EV, a battery capacity of at least one EV, a remaining time period of power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station, a first power constraint, or a second power constraint.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the first power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of a grid interface and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the grid interface.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the first power constraint and / or the second power constraint.

[0036] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the power constraints of the battery of the at least one EV and / or the power constraints of a charging module coupling the at least one EV to the charging station. According to one embodiment, the minimum power rate between the power constraints of the battery and the power constraints of the charging module forms the minimum discharge power rate of the EV power set point. According to one embodiment, the maximum power rate between the power constraints of the battery and the power constraints of the charging module forms the maximum recharge power rate of the EV power set point.

[0037] The present disclosure also relates to a system for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the system being configured as follows: a first module determines an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; the first module determines a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; the first module or a second module updates the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; the second module determines a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; the second module redetermines the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and the first module or the second module controls the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the first module and the second module are further configured to execute the method of any one of the above embodiments.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the first module or the second module is configured to control the power distribution system in the following manner: the first module or the second module generates a control signal for at least one converter in at least one distributed charging station based on the re-determined EV power set point, wherein the at least one converter is coupled to a grid interface and at least one EV is coupled to the at least one converter; and the first module or the second module controls the at least one converter based on the generated control signal.

[0040] According to one embodiment, a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one distributed charging station, and the system is further configured to: determine, by a first module, EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on received data; determine, by the first module, a first priority of power flow between the plurality of EVs and at least one distributed charging station based on a first power constraint; sort, by the first module or the second module, the plurality of EVs based on the first priority of power flow; update, by the first module or the second module, the EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of EVs; and aggregate, by the second module, the updated EV power set points of the plurality of EVs.

[0041] According to one embodiment, a plurality of distributed charging stations are coupled to a grid interface, and a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one of the plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0042] According to one embodiment, the system is also configured to: determine, by a first module, EV power set points of a plurality of EVs based on the received data; determine, by a second module, a second priority of power flow between a power grid and a plurality of distributed charging stations based on a second power constraint; sort, by the second module, the plurality of distributed charging stations based on the second priority of power flow; and re-determine, by the second module, the EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0043] According to one embodiment, for EVs connected to the same distributed charging station among the plurality of charging stations, the re-determined EV set points of the plurality of EVs are the same, particularly when it is determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations that the power flow between the same distributed charging station and the grid is restricted.

[0044] According to one embodiment, the second module is configured to: receive a power set point, in particular an EV to grid discharge set point; and modify the re-determined EV power set point based on at least one of the following items: the received power set point and the first priority and / or the second priority; or the received power set point and at least one scaling factor.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the first module is configured to determine an EV power setpoint of the at least one EV adapted to the received data, in particular a remaining time period of a power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station.

[0046] According to one embodiment, the received data includes at least one of the following: a battery state of charge of at least one EV, a desired battery state of charge of at least one EV, a battery capacity of at least one EV, a remaining time period of power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station, a first power constraint, or a second power constraint.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the first power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of a grid interface and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the grid interface.

[0048] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the first power constraint and / or the second power constraint.

[0049] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the power constraints of the battery of the at least one EV and / or the power constraints of a charging module coupling the at least one EV to the charging station. According to one embodiment, the minimum power rate between the power constraints of the battery and the power constraints of the charging module forms the minimum discharge power rate of the EV power set point. According to one embodiment, the maximum power rate between the power constraints of the battery and the power constraints of the charging module forms the maximum recharge power rate of the EV power set point.

[0050] The present disclosure also relates to a power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and the apparatus of any one of the above-described embodiments.

[0051] According to one embodiment, the device further comprises a memory configured to store the received data and the above-mentioned parameters determined by at least the first module and the second module.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the power distribution system further comprises a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid.

[0053] The various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed herein are intended to provide features that will become apparent when described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, and devices are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and that it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0054] Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order and / or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely exemplary methods. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an example order, and unless otherwise expressly stated, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0055] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the drawings, description, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0057] Figure 2 A power distribution system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0058] Figure 3 A control scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0059] Figure 4 A table showing various priority indicators formed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0060] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0061] Figure 6 An overload situation determination scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0062] Figure 7 A control scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0063] Figure 8 A control scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0064] Fig. 9 A flow chart of a V2G supporting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0065] Fig.10a ), 10b), and 10c) show devices or systems according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0066] Fig.11a ) and 11b) show systems according to embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] Figure 1A flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. At S101, an EV power set point of at least one EV is determined based on received data. At S102, a first overload condition is determined based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station. At S103, the EV power set point is updated based on the first overload condition. At S104, a second overload condition is determined based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of a grid interface. At S105, the EV power set point is redetermined based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition. At S106, a power distribution system is controlled based on the redetermined EV power set point. According to one embodiment, the first and second overload conditions refer to violations of the first power constraint and the second power constraint, respectively.

[0068] According to one embodiment, the first power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of a grid interface and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the grid interface.

[0069] According to one embodiment, the EV power set point is within the first power constraint and / or the second power constraint.

[0070] Figure 2 The power distribution system architecture according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the power distribution system is a hybrid centralized-distributed architecture. That is, the system includes at least one distributed component (e.g., a distributed charging station) and a central component (e.g., a common coupling point PCC). Figure 2The power distribution system includes a power grid, a power grid interface (a common coupling point PCC in this example), multiple electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), multiple electric vehicles (EV), and a central controller (equivalent to a device including a processor). EVSE is equivalent to a charging station. Therefore, in order to be consistent with the hybrid architecture, EVSE is referred to as a distributed charging station hereinafter. It is worth noting that the term "distributed" only distinguishes the function of the distributed charging station from the function of the central controller, and does not mean or limit its physical location. That is, multiple distributed charging stations can be located in the same location, for example, in a vehicle charging fleet. PCC couples multiple distributed charging stations to the power grid. Each distributed charging station couples at least one EV to the power grid through PCC. Each distributed charging station includes at least one converter for converting power from the power grid to at least one EV (this process is called EV recharging) or converting power from at least one EV to the power grid (this process is also called EV discharging). According to one embodiment, the distributed charging station is communicatively coupled to at least one EV to allow bidirectional data communication. In this example, the AC / DC converter couples at least one DC / DC converter to the power grid through PCC. Each of the at least one DC / DC couples the EV to the AC / DC converter. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the EV is coupled to the various charging stations through any power transfer connection including a cable connection and / or an inductive wireless coupling.

[0071] Figure 2The power distribution system also includes n distributed modules 221 to 22n, where n is a natural number. According to one embodiment, the distributed module is a first module. According to one embodiment, the distributed module is a first processor. According to one embodiment, the distributed module is a processor. Each of the n distributed modules 221 to 22n determines the EV power set point of the corresponding at least one EV based on the received data. The EV power set point refers to the power rate (powerrate) at which the corresponding EV is charged or discharged. According to one embodiment, the received data includes at least one of the following items: the battery charge state of at least one EV, the expected battery charge state of at least one EV, the battery capacity of at least one EV, the remaining time period of the power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station, the first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station, or the second power constraint of the grid interface. According to one embodiment, the first power constraint includes the inflow power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station and / or the outflow power limit boundary of at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes the inflow power limit boundary of the grid interface and / or the outflow power limit boundary of the grid interface. Each of the n distributed modules 221 to 22n also determines a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and the first power constraint. Therefore, the EV power set point of each EV is updated based on the first overload condition. According to one embodiment, each of the n distributed modules 221-22n also determines a first priority of power flow between multiple EVs and at least one distributed charging station based on the first power constraint; and sorts the multiple EVs based on the first priority of power flow. According to one embodiment, each distributed charging station includes a corresponding distributed module among the n distributed modules 211 to 22n.

[0072] Figure 2The power distribution system further comprises a central controller 231. According to one embodiment, the central controller is a second module. According to one embodiment, the central controller is a second processor. According to one embodiment, the central controller is a processor. The central controller 231 determines a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface. The central controller 231 also redetermines the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition. According to one embodiment, before the EV power set point is redetermined, the updated power set point is preferably aggregated by a set point aggregator 232. According to one embodiment, the set point aggregator may be part of the central controller 231. According to one embodiment, the output of the central controller is a power set point that is used to redetermine individual EV power set points, in particular by scaling using a set point dispatcher 233. According to one embodiment, the central controller 231 comprises a set point dispatcher 233. The redetermined EV power set point is used to control the power distribution system. According to one embodiment, controlling the power distribution system comprises generating a control signal for a converter in a distributed charging station; and controlling at least one converter based on the generated control signal. According to one embodiment, the central controller 231 determines a second priority of power flow between the grid and the plurality of distributed charging stations based on a second power constraint; sorts the plurality of distributed charging stations based on the second priority of power flow; and redetermines EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0073] According to one embodiment, controlling a power distribution system includes: generating a control signal for at least one converter in at least one distributed charging station based on a re-determined EV power set point, wherein the at least one converter is coupled to a grid interface and at least one EV is coupled to the at least one converter; and controlling the at least one converter based on the generated control signal.

[0074] According to one embodiment, a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one distributed charging station, and the method further includes performing: determining EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on received data; determining a first priority of power flow between the plurality of EVs and the at least one distributed charging station based on a first power constraint; sorting the plurality of EVs based on the first priority of power flow; updating the EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of EVs; and aggregating the updated EV power set points of the plurality of EVs.

[0075] According to one embodiment, a plurality of distributed charging stations are coupled to a grid interface, and wherein a plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one of the plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0076] Figure 3A control scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. At 310, an EV power set point, an EV priority (equivalent to a first priority), an EV shutdown due to violation of an EVSE restriction (equivalent to a first power constraint), and a scaling factor are determined. The parameters determined at 310 are collected at a higher level (320), at which time the first priority is sorted, and in the case of a violation of a portion of the PCC restriction (equivalent to a second power constraint), a low priority EV is determined to be shut down. These parameters are aggregated at another higher level (330). According to one embodiment, the control levels 320 and 330 are at the same level. At 330, an EV power set point is determined based on an external set point received when there is a vehicle to grid (V2G) request or based on an EV power set point determined at the charging station level 310. According to one embodiment, at 330, an EV power set point is determined based on the received external set point and the EV power set point determined at the charging station level 310. At 340, an EV power set point is allocated to the corresponding EVSE. According to one embodiment, the EVSE modules at 310 are equivalent to those at 340. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these modules (Module 1 to Module 3) may or may not be physical entities for performing the functions described herein.

[0077] An exemplary mathematical formula for an EV power set point according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is disclosed below.

[0078] According to one embodiment, the power setpoint EV of at least one EV is determined to be adapted to the received data, in particular the remaining time period of the power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station. That is, when the remaining time period for recharging the k-th EV coupled to the j-th distributed charging station is known, the EV power setpoint is as follows:

[0079]

[0080] in, and They represent the desired final state of charge (SoC) and the current SoC, C j,k Indicates the capacity of the EV battery, T j,k Indicates the remaining time for EV recharging / discharging, R j,kRepresents the remaining demand (i.e., the energy required to complete the recharging / discharging process). Determining the EV power set point based on the remaining time period is hereinafter referred to as a dynamic sensing method. Based on equation (1), the power set point is determined as the power that needs to be supplied to the EV to meet the remaining demand (i.e., to complete the recharging / discharging process) within the remaining recharging time. It is worth noting that equation (1) assumes that the EV under consideration will receive a negative set point. According to one embodiment, the expected final SoC and / or remaining time period are received from each EV (i.e., the EV and / or EV owner provides information through any communication means, including a coupling cable and / or an interface coupling the corresponding EV and the charging station, in particular a graphical user interface of the charging station configured to receive information from the EV owner). According to one embodiment, in the dynamic sensing method, the power set point is determined based on the received data including the expected final SoC and / or the remaining time period. According to one embodiment, in the dynamic sensing method, when the remaining time and / or the expected SoC are not provided, the power set point is determined based on a preset value. The accuracy of equation (1) can be improved by introducing a battery efficiency term for the recharging and discharging process, as shown below:

[0081]

[0082] Among them, η j,k-c and η j,k-d represents the battery efficiency of the recharging and discharging processes, respectively. The accuracy of equation (1') can be further improved by considering the input and output efficiency terms of the charging cable, inductive charging, and / or the charging station. According to one embodiment, at least one EV power set point is modified based on a set point provided from an external source (e.g., an operator through an HMI device). According to one embodiment, a portion of the EV power set points for all EVs are determined based on the received data, and the remaining EV power set points for all EVs are determined based on the set points provided from the external source. This functionality is particularly useful for providing flexibility to the charging system, as it may be necessary to bypass the automatic algorithm to resolve a temporary emergency. In all cases, P j,k are subject to the battery charge rate limits shown below:

[0083] P j,k-min ≤P j,k ≤P j,k-max (2)

[0084] Among them, P j,k-min and P j,k-max Respectively represent the minimum and maximum battery charging rates of the EV.

[0085] According to one embodiment, in the case where there is no remaining time period, the EV power set point is determined as follows:

[0086]

[0087] Among them, P j-min and P j-max denote the input and output limits of the jth charging station, P min and P max denote the import and export limits at the grid interface (i.e., PCC), respectively, and f j,k is a scaling factor for scaling the input or output limit of the jth charging station coupled to the kth EV. max(·) and min(·) are operators for selecting the parameters with maximum and minimum values ​​within the brackets, respectively. Determining the EV power set point without a remaining time period is hereinafter referred to as a static method. According to one embodiment, the first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station includes P j-min and P j-max , the second power constraint of the grid interface includes P min and P max Equation (3) is improved by scaling the recharge or discharge limit (i.e., an amount that is somehow related to the device's limitations and the state of each EV) based on a scaling factor, which may be the remaining SoC gap (equivalently, ) or the remaining requirement to complete the general charging process) to obtain the recharge or discharge rate.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the scaling factor is as follows:

[0089] f j,k =c PCC ·v j,k (4)

[0090] Among them, c PCC represents the scaling factor applicable to all charging stations, v j,k represents the scaling factor of the kth individual charging point available for the jth charging station. Specifically, the scaling factor c PCC This allows scaling the power limits so that the sum of all set points does not violate the PCC limits or the sum of all EVSE limits, equivalently:

[0091]

[0092] in, represents the sum of the input limits of all charging stations in operation, N c represents the number of all charging stations in operation. It is understood by those skilled in the art that by replacing the min(·) operator in equation (5) with the max(·) operator and replacing P j-min Replace with P j-max , we can get C used in the discharge process PCC .

[0093] According to one embodiment, v j,k The remaining SoC gap is determined as follows:

[0094]

[0095] in, represents the total remaining SoC gap of the EV coupled to the jth charging station and is defined as:

[0096]

[0097] Among them, N e,j represents the number of active EV recharging processes in the jth charging station. Equations (6) and (7) show the relationship between the scaling factor and the remaining SoC gap or remaining demand. By considering the SoC gap, the scaling factor of the general EV can be determined by scaling the SoC gap relative to the common scale of all EV active processes, which is represented by the total remaining SoC gap.

[0098] According to one embodiment, v j,k is determined based on the remaining demand as follows:

[0099]

[0100] in, represents the sum of the remaining demands of the active processes at the jth charging station and is defined as:

[0101]

[0102] Scaling the power limit by a factor according to equation (8) can improve the power set point estimate of equation (3) because the battery capacity and SoC gap of EVs may be different from each other. The accuracy of equations (8) and (9) can be improved by introducing the charging and discharging efficiency (if any) and the input and output efficiency of the charger in the same way as shown in equation (1').

[0103] According to one embodiment, v is determined based on the maximum charging rate of the battery of the EV connected to the kth charging point. j,k :

[0104]

[0105] in, represents the sum of the maximum charging rates of EVs coupled to the jth charging station and is defined as:

[0106]

[0107] It is understood by those skilled in the art that equations (10) and (11) refer to the discharge process. It is also understood by those skilled in the art that by replacing P in equations (10) and (11) j,k-max Replace with P j,k-min , we can get the v of the recharging process j,k and In all cases, P j,k are subject to the battery charge rate limits as follows:

[0108] P j,k-min ≤P j,k ≤P j,k-max (12)

[0109] According to one embodiment, when the final desired SoC is not provided and the scaling of the power limit is based on the remaining SoC gap or demand, the preset value is assigned to In the following, any method involving redetermination of SoC is referred to as SoC-flexible method. According to one embodiment, the SoC-flexible approach provides incentives, in particular financial incentives, to EVs that stop the recharging process, especially when the current SoC is lower than the desired final SoC, when the overload situation is determined at the EVSE level and / or PCC level. According to one embodiment, the incentive scheme is determined based on the SoC gap of the EV and / or the severity of the overload situation. According to one embodiment, EVs with a larger SoC gap receive more incentives than EVs with a smaller SoC gap. According to one embodiment, the desired final SoC is determined to be lower than the final SoC. Reset to Default in, Thus, the overload situation is alleviated. According to one embodiment, in the current The final result is greater than expected , the recharging process is terminated. According to one embodiment, when the overload condition is determined as an EVSE level and / or a PCC level, an incentive is provided to the EV that switches from the charging process to the discharging process. According to one embodiment, the external set point overrides the set point determined by the above-mentioned set point determination method (i.e., the static method and the dynamic sensing method). According to one embodiment, when the overload condition is determined as an EVSE level and / or a PCC level, in particular when the overload condition is determined by the distribution system, at least one recharging process switches from the recharging process to the discharging process.

[0110] The following discloses EVSE level prioritization and EV power set point redetermination according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, particularly an EV charging process shutdown sequence.

[0111] In overload situations, i.e. when charging station or PCC limits are violated, a suitable set of selected EV charging processes can be shut down or re-regulated at set points. The EV charging processes to be shut down are selected based on a priority order. Priorities may be associated with different measures, which for general EVs may mainly be related to a combination of charging state, energy demand, arrival time and / or departure time, and charging limits. Figure 4 A table of various priority indicators formed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the table lists the priority indicators proposed and used to measure the priority of EV charging processes. It is worth noting that once a priority indicator is selected, it applies to all EV charging processes, so the same indicator is used to evaluate all vehicle priorities. Different priority indicators provide flexibility in application and available measurements and signals. According to one embodiment, in the case of no remaining time, the vehicle can be discarded. Figure 4 The first two priority indicators (slack and slack rate) listed in the table of . According to one embodiment, when the battery capacity of the EV is not available, the priority is determined based on the remaining SoC gap, and the priority is finally adjusted by the arrival time of each EV. In this case, the priorities can be associated by a first-in-first-out (FIFO) method weighted by the SoC gap.

[0112] Priorities are used to establish the relevant vehicles that need to complete ongoing processes and put some processes on standby or completely stop when an emergency occurs. According to one embodiment, putting the EV charging process (recharging or discharging) on ​​standby or completely stopped includes resetting the power set point. According to one embodiment, based on Figure 4 According to one embodiment, the priority index of the table is used to sort the EV charging process. Figure 4 As shown in the table, the ordering of the processes can be sorted in ascending or descending order based on the priority index and any violated limits. In the following, in the event of an overload, the EV charging process with a lower priority than other processes is selected to be shut down first, or the set point is reset. According to one embodiment, the priority index is bypassed. That is, the priority index assigned to the EV based on low or high priority is overridden by an appropriate low or high value. If the EV is set to low priority and high priority, this allows the EV to be the first and last EV to be shut down, respectively. This bypassing may help manage unexpected operating situations and unplanned departures.

[0113] According to one embodiment, the method further includes performing: determining EV power set points for a plurality of EVs based on the received data; determining a second priority of power flow between a power grid and a plurality of distributed charging stations based on a second power constraint; sorting the plurality of distributed charging stations based on the second priority of power flow; and re-determining EV power set points for the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations.

[0114] According to one embodiment, for EVs connected to the same distributed charging station among the plurality of charging stations, the re-determined EV set points of the plurality of EVs are the same, particularly when it is determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations that the power flow between the same distributed charging station and the grid is restricted.

[0115] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the flow chart shows the EV process shutdown and EV power set point update / redetermination sequence in the case of overload at the EVSE and / or PCC level during the recharging process. Although omitted for simplicity, the same scheme applies to the discharging process (replacing the recharging parameters with the discharging parameters as appropriate).

[0116] After initialization and selecting the kth EV in the jth charging station from the EVSEjEV list, at S501, based on the first power constraint, by evaluating To determine the first overload condition, where represents the sum of the EV power set points of the active EVs (i.e., the EV power set point is not zero) in the jth charging station. When the evaluation result of block S501 is true, according to S503, the EV power set point P j,k Set to zero (i.e., turn off the EV charging process). In the subsequent boxes, update and (the sum of all EV set points in all charging stations) and updates the list of closed EV processes. Then, block S505 An evaluation is performed to determine whether further EV power set points need to be re-determined. When the evaluation result of block S505 is true, the (k+1)th EV is selected to perform the evaluation of block S501. When the evaluation result of block S505 is false, in block S504, the sum of all EV power set points of active EVs is calculated. Power limit P for PCC interface min (Second power constraint) is compared. When the evaluation result of block S502 is false, the EV power set point P is re-determined according to block S502. j,k In the subsequent box, update and (the sum of all EV set points in all charging stations), and then evaluate block S504. When the evaluation result of block S504 is true, further EV power set points are adjusted by listing all EVs in all charging stations in the PccEV list. Then, in block S506, the zth EV is selected to be evaluated. When the evaluation result of block S506 is true, the power set point of the zth EV is set to zero and updated in subsequent blocks Then, block S509 is evaluated to determine whether to adjust other EV power set points. When the evaluation result of block S509 is true, the z+1 EV is selected for iterative evaluation in S506. When the evaluation result of block S509 is false, EV power set point redetermination is suspended. When the evaluation result of block S506 is false, the z EV power set point is redetermined according to block S508, and then EV power set point redetermination is suspended.

[0117] It is worth noting that this setpoint redetermination may be necessary if the setpoint is formed using a dynamic sensing approach, since this approach does not take into account EVSE and PCC limits. On the contrary, if the setpoint is derived from a static approach, this setpoint redetermination may be redundant. In fact, this approach takes into account EVSE and PCC limits to determine the charge / discharge rate and, therefore, these limits should be respected automatically. However, in this mode of operation, if the setpoint for some EVs is fixed by external commands, the limits of the EVSE or PCC level may be violated and, therefore, the current setpoint of the operation will be redetermined.

[0118] The following discloses a scaling factor determination method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment, the scaling factor is determined by the set point distributor 233. According to one embodiment, the EV power set point (for recharging or discharging) generated by the central controller 231 is scaled and divided into separate EV power set points (redetermining the EV power set point).

[0119] According to one embodiment, due to limit violations, saturation phenomena, and / or losses of coverage along the charging system or coverage of auxiliary devices, the re-determined power setpoint may differ from the reference generated by the combination of setpoints (formed during the setpoint formation phase).

[0120] Furthermore, in the case of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, the power set points formed during the power set point formation phase are completely bypassed since the overall set point is fixed at the central level. That is, in the absence of a V2G request, the set point determines the EV power set point based on the EV demand. However, when V2G support is required, the EV need becomes secondary information that needs to be considered. Therefore, at the charging station level, it should be ensured that the set point that meets the V2G request is the set point specified by the V2G request itself. This results in the set points determined at each charging station level being discarded in favor of the set points from the V2G request. In this case, the final set point formed by the central controller is based on a reference set point fixed by an active V2G function (e.g., an external set point or frequency support). According to one embodiment, the final set point can be scaled during active EV charging, which can be achieved by utilizing a scaling factor defined in the set point formation.

[0121] According to one embodiment, the allocator scaling factor for the active k-th EV coupled to the j-th charging station is as follows:

[0122]

[0123] in, and P represents the total set point for the charging and discharging process, respectively, which is defined by the combination of the power set point provided by the set point forming state or the active V2G feature. j,k is determined according to equation (1) or equation (3).

[0124] The following discloses EV power set point redetermination based on PCC-limited EVSE level according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0125] According to one embodiment, the input and output PCC limits, i.e., P min and P max , the EVSE level is scaled as follows:

[0126]

[0127] Wherein, equation (14) is used for the recharging process, and equation (15) is used for the discharging process. According to one embodiment, and is determined as follows:

[0128]

[0129] According to one embodiment, when the charging stations have different rated power levels (or equivalently, rated powers), it is preferably determined according to equations (14) and (15): and According to one embodiment, the scaled PCC limits are combined with the local EVSE limits. According to one embodiment, the binary decision maker T for the recharging process of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station in input mode j,k is determined as follows:

[0130]

[0131] Among them, T j,k represents the binary decision maker for the charging process of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station, ρ j,k represents the priority of the recharging process of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station in the following time interval, wherein the controller reads and acquires the input signals, interprets the inputs according to the implemented algorithms, and generates the desired output signals (mainly reference set points) until the power limits of the EVSE level are no longer violated, in particular following Figure 5 box.

[0132] Figure 6 The overload condition determination scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the overload condition is determined as the first overload condition of the EVSE level based on the EVSE power limit and the PCC power limit as described above. Figure 6 Each of the six EVSEs will scale the PCC power limit and and the corresponding j-th EVSE power limit P j-min and P j-max As input. Therefore, at each EVSE, the EV charging process to be shut down is determined. Therefore, the EV power set point for the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station is determined According to one embodiment, the n distributed modules 221 to 22n determine the EV charging process to be shut down based on the above inputs, and determine the above

[0133] Disclosed below is a PCC-level EV power setpoint redetermination according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, particularly an EV charging process shutdown sequence.

[0134] According to one embodiment, the SoC flexible method is used to resolve the limit violation at the EVSE level and / or the PCC level. According to one embodiment, the EV power set point redetermination at the EVSE level is used to resolve the limit violation at the EVSE level. According to one embodiment, if and / or when the SoC flexible method cannot adequately offset the limit violation, the EV power set point redetermination at the EVSE level is performed. According to one embodiment, in the event of a second overload condition determination (i.e., evaluating the PCC power limit violation at the PCC level), a binary decision maker T of the charging process of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station j,k Determined as follows:

[0135]

[0136] And coupled to the binary decision maker T of the discharge process of the kth EV at the jth charging station j,k Determined as follows:

[0137]

[0138] in, Indicates the number of active charging stations at the currently controlled EVSE cluster, and Represent the input and output PCC limits scaled on the current EVSE controller cluster, respectively. According to one embodiment, According to one embodiment, and Different from the EV power set point redetermination for EVSE level and According to one embodiment, in equation (20) and equation (21), respectively define and as follows:

[0139]

[0140] According to one embodiment, equations (18) and (19) can be applied to all personalized The controller can iterate several times within the controller's loop time until a limit violation is no longer determined.

[0141] Figure 7 The control scheme according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the power limit violation control at the EVSE level and the PCC level is shown. The control scheme includes two groups EVSEs whose PCC limit violations are managed through a multi-layer architecture that includes multiple intermediate shutdown process determination modules. According to one embodiment, Figure 7The control scheme is generated based on equations (18) to (21) According to one embodiment, when the EV power set point is determined according to a static method, the PCC limit may not be automatically violated due to the inherent set point definition. According to one embodiment, when the EV power set point is determined according to a dynamic sensing method, the above Figure 7 According to one embodiment, when an EV power set point is received from an external source, the above Figure 7 control scheme.

[0142] The following discloses set point redetermination according to an embodiment. Specifically, a set point redetermination method can be used in the central controller 231. According to one embodiment, the central controller 231 can compensate for the non-ideality of the entire distribution system, mainly involving active power losses generated by power flow, power conversion stages, discharge processes, and / or recharging processes. Specifically, according to one embodiment, V2G may need to assign an externally provided power set point to an EV set point at the PCC level. That is, according to one embodiment, a power set point is received, in particular an EV to grid discharge set point; and the redetermined EV power set point is modified based on at least one of the following items: the received power set point and the first priority and / or the second priority, or the received power set point and at least one scaling factor. The word "modify" has the same meaning as the words "reset", "redetermine", "override", etc., and can therefore be used interchangeably with them. Figure 8 The above control scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the control scheme is a proportional integral derivative (PID) control scheme that provides a corrective set point. and Represent the cumulative set points for the charging and discharging processes, respectively. and represent the input and output constraints of the PCC (i.e., P min and P max ) defined as a limited amount and According to one embodiment, the auxiliary power setpoint request P F The control loop is based on the power P measured at the PCC. PCC Closed. Figure 8 The feed-forward scheme shown, PID is protected from wind-up saturation, determining δP, which is linearly combined with the limited accumulated charge and discharge set points. The "Aw" block represents the anti-windup used to protect the "PID" block from windup saturation. P R and P Drepresents the output of the central controller 231. According to one embodiment, P R and P D is scaled and divided into individual EV power set points, in particular by the allocator module 233 .

[0143] The following discloses the P obtained from the central controller 231 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. R and P D The re-determined EV power set point for the recharging process of the k-th EV coupled to the j-th charging station is as follows:

[0144] P j,k =P R ·s j,k (twenty two)

[0145] And the re-determined EV power set point for the discharge process of the k-th EV coupled to the j-th charging station is as follows:

[0146] P j,k =P D ·s j,k (twenty three)

[0147] Among them, s j,k is the allocator scaling factor determined according to equation (13) according to an embodiment.

[0148] A control method for a power distribution system is disclosed below, with particular focus on V2G applications. According to one embodiment, a power set point, in particular a reference discharge power set point, is received from an external source, in particular from a transmission system operator (TSO) and / or a distribution system operator (DSO). According to one embodiment, the received reference discharge power set point is an overall system reference for all charging stations and EVs coupled thereto. That is, the reference discharge power set point is received and taken into account at the PCC level. Therefore, the re-determined EV power set point is modified based on the received discharge power set point. As mentioned above, the term "modify" has the same meaning as the terms "reset", "redetermine", "override", etc., and can therefore be used interchangeably with them.

[0149] The following discloses an embodiment of modifying the re-determined EV power set point, in particular based on the received power set point, the first priority and / or the second priority. According to one embodiment, based on the received reference discharge power set point, the charging station is iteratively selected from the low recharging priority to the high recharging priority (i.e., the second priority) for the discharge process. Therefore, the discharge power set point is determined for all or selected charging stations. Then, the EV of each charging station is iteratively selected for the discharge process from the low recharging priority to the high recharging priority (i.e., the first priority). According to one embodiment, only the EV of the selected charging station is iteratively selected for the discharge process. Therefore, the EV power set point of all or selected EVs is modified. That is, selecting the EV to participate in the discharge process is a two-step method, in which a suitable charging station is first selected for discharge, and then the EV is selected for discharge based on the received reference discharge power set point, the first priority, and the second priority.

[0150] According to one embodiment, the overall priority of the jth charging station is determined as follows:

[0151]

[0152] Among them, ρ j,k represents the priority of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station, N e,j represents the number of EV charging processes currently active at the jth EVSE. According to one embodiment, when there is power flow between the charging station and the EV, the charging process is considered to be active regardless of the power flow direction, that is, the active charging process includes the recharging process and the discharging process. The total priority of the power distribution system of all charging stations is determined as follows:

[0153]

[0154] Among them, N c represents the number of currently active EVSE processes in the entire distribution system. The discharge power setpoint of the jth charging station is as follows:

[0155]

[0156] Among them, P D is the reference discharge power set point. The term is the conservation factor required to maintain the energy balance of the entire distribution system (i.e., relative to P D ). According to one embodiment, P D <P j-max Established.

[0157] According to one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving a power set point, in particular an EV to grid discharge set point; and modifying the re-determined EV power set point based on at least one of the following items: the received power set point and the first priority and / or the second priority, or the received power set point and at least one scaling factor.

[0158] According to one embodiment, determining an EV power setpoint of the at least one EV is adapted to the received data, in particular a remaining time period of the power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the received data includes at least one of the following: a battery state of charge of at least one EV, a desired battery state of charge of at least one EV, a battery capacity of at least one EV, a remaining time period of power flow between at least one EV and at least one distributed charging station, a first power constraint, or a second power constraint.

[0160] Fig. 9 A flowchart of a V2G support method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, the flowchart selects an EV participating in a discharge process, and modifies the EV power set point of the selected kth EV coupled to the jth charging station based on a priority list. At S901, the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station is selected based on the EVSEjEV priority list. According to one embodiment, the priority list includes active charging processes of EVs. According to one embodiment, the priority list excludes inactive charging processes of EVs and / or discharge processes of EVs, particularly discharges due to external commands received from external operators. At S902, the EV power set point is evaluated based on a threshold voltage. When the situation of S902 is not met, at S903, the maximum discharge rate of the battery of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station is assigned to the power set point. Otherwise, when the situation of S903 is met, the EV power set point remains unchanged. At S904, the total power exchange (P j ) in order to compete with the discharge contribution (P j,D ) are compared. At S905, it is determined whether further EV selection is required. At S906, the EV power setting value is modified (reduced) to follow the j-th charging station discharge power setting point. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the method according to the flowchart keeps as many EVs as possible in a recharging state. It is further understood by those skilled in the art that the method according to the flowchart can realize the recharging process and the charging process of EVs coupled to the same charging station.

[0161] The following discloses an embodiment of modifying the re-determined EV power setpoint, in particular based on the received power setpoint and at least one scaling factor. In this embodiment, all EVs participate in the discharge process to meet P D The modified EV power set point for the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station is as follows:

[0162]

[0163] Among them, s j and j,k denote the scaling factor of the jth charging station and the scaling factor of the kth EV coupled to the jth charging station, respectively, N e is the number of EVs currently connected to all charging stations of the charging facility. According to one embodiment, the scaling factor is determined based on any of the above set point determination methods (determined based on the selected dynamic sensing or limit-based method). According to one embodiment, when the received power set point is a reference recharging power set point, all EVs participate in the recharging process to meet the requirements set by the reference recharging power set point.

[0164] Fig.10a ), 10b) and 10c) show devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, Fig.10a ) shows an apparatus or system for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the apparatus or system comprising a first module 1011 and a second module 1012, which are configured as follows: the first module 1011 determines an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; the first module 1011 determines a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; the first module 1011 or the second module 1012 updates the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; the second module 1012 determines a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; the second module 1012 redetermines the EV power set value based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and the first module 1011 or the second module 1012 controls the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0165] Fig.10b) shows an apparatus or system for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the apparatus or system comprising a first processor 1051 and a second processor 1052, which are configured as follows: the first processor 1051 determines an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; the first processor 1051 determines a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; the first processor 1051 or the second processor 1052 updates the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; the second processor 1052 determines a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; the second processor 1052 redetermines the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and the first processor 1051 or the second processor 1052 controls the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0166] Fig.10c ) shows a device 1010 for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the device comprising a processor 1061, which is configured to: determine an EV power set point of at least one EV based on received data; determine a first overload condition based on the EV power set point and a first power constraint of at least one distributed charging station; update the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; determine a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; redetermine the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; and control the power distribution system based on the redetermined EV power set point.

[0167] Fig.11a ) and 11b) show a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, Fig.11a ) shows a power distribution system 1120, which includes at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV and the device of any one of the above-mentioned embodiments. Fig.11b ) shows a power distribution system 1120, which includes at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle EV, a grid interface for coupling at least one distributed charging station to a grid, and a device of any one of the above embodiments. According to one embodiment, the system 1120 or the device 1010 is Fig.10a ) or 10b) of the system or device. According to one embodiment, the device 1010 is Fig.10c ) equipment.

[0168] Although various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they are given as examples only and not as limitations. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the exemplary features and functions of the present disclosure. However, these people will understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of an embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the exemplary embodiments described above.

[0169] It should also be understood that any reference to an element using names such as "first", "second", etc. herein does not generally limit the number or order of these elements. Instead, these names can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing two or more elements or instances of elements. Therefore, referring to a first and a second element does not mean that only two elements can be used, nor does it mean that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0170] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0171] Those skilled in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, units, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementations, analog implementations, or a combination of both), firmware, various forms of programs or design codes containing instructions (for convenience, may be referred to herein as "software" or "software units"), or any combination of these technologies.

[0172] In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, units, circuits, and steps have been generally described above according to their functions. Whether this function is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these technologies, depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not deviate from the scope of this disclosure. According to various embodiments, processors, devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, units, etc. can be configured to perform one or more functions described herein. The term "configured to" or "configured for" used herein with respect to a specified operation or function refers to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, and / or arranged to perform a specified operation or function.

[0173] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative methods, logic blocks, units, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, units, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or device. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but may also be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0174] Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, including any medium capable of transferring a computer program or code from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that a computer can access. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0175] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be used in embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is clear that any suitable functional distribution between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the present disclosure. For example, functions shown as being performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic unit or controller. Therefore, references to specific functional units are only references to suitable means for providing the functions, rather than indications of strict logical or physical structures or organizations.

[0176] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should be given the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as described in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the method comprising: determining an EV power setpoint for the at least one EV based on the received data; determining a first overload condition based on the EV power setpoint and a first power constraint of the at least one distributed charging station; updating the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; determining a second overload condition based on the updated EV power setpoint and a second power constraint of the grid interface; re-determining the EV power set point based on the updated EV power set point and the second overload condition; as well as The power distribution system is controlled based on the re-determined EV power set point.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Controlling the power distribution system comprises: generating a control signal for at least one converter in the at least one distributed charging station based on the re-determined EV power set point, wherein the at least one converter is coupled to the grid interface and the at least one EV is coupled to the at least one converter; and The at least one converter is controlled based on the generated control signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: A plurality of EVs are coupled to the at least one distributed charging station, and the method further comprises executing: determining EV power set points for the plurality of EVs based on the received data; determining a first priority of power flow between the plurality of EVs and the at least one distributed charging station based on the first power constraint; sorting the plurality of EVs based on a first priority of the power flows; updating EV power set points of the plurality of EVs based on the sorted plurality of EVs; as well as The updated EV power set points of the plurality of EVs are aggregated.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: A plurality of distributed charging stations are coupled to the grid interface, and wherein the plurality of EVs are coupled to at least one of the plurality of distributed charging stations.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising executing: determining EV power set points for the plurality of EVs based on the received data; determining a second priority of power flow between the power grid and the plurality of distributed charging stations based on the second power constraint; sorting the plurality of distributed charging stations based on a second priority of the power flows; as well as The EV power set points of the plurality of EVs are re-determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: For EVs connected to the same distributed charging station among the plurality of charging stations, particularly when it is determined based on the sorted plurality of distributed charging stations that power flow between the same distributed charging station and the power grid is restricted, the re-determined EV set points of the plurality of EVs are the same.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising: Receive power set points, especially EV to grid discharge set points; as well as The re-determined EV power setpoint is modified based on at least one of: a received power set point and said first priority and / or said second priority; or The received power setpoint and at least one scaling factor.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: An EV power setpoint for the at least one EV is determined to be adapted to the received data, in particular a remaining time period of power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The received data includes at least one of the following items: a battery charge state of the at least one EV, an expected battery charge state of the at least one EV, a battery capacity of the at least one EV, a remaining time period of power flow between the at least one EV and the at least one distributed charging station, the first power constraint, or the second power constraint.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The first power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of the at least one distributed charging station and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the at least one distributed charging station, and wherein the second power constraint includes an incoming power limit boundary of the grid interface and / or an outgoing power limit boundary of the grid interface.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The EV power set point is within the first power constraint and / or the second power constraint.

12. A system for controlling a power distribution system, the power distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid, the system being configured to: determining, by the first module, an EV power set point for the at least one EV based on the received data; determining, by the first module, a first overload condition based on the EV power setpoint and a first power constraint of the at least one distributed charging station; updating, by the first module or the second module, the EV power set point based on the first overload condition; determining, by the second module, a second overload condition based on the updated EV power set point and a second power constraint of the grid interface; re-determining, by the second module, the EV power setpoint based on the updated EV power setpoint and the second overload condition; and The power distribution system is controlled by the first module or the second module based on the re-determined EV power set point.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein: The system is also configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. An electricity distribution system comprising at least one distributed charging station for coupling to at least one electric vehicle (EV) and a system according to claim 12 or 13.

15. The power distribution system of claim 14, further comprising a grid interface for coupling the at least one distributed charging station to a grid.

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