Charging robot for charging electrical energy store of vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging robot (350) for charging an electrical energy store of a vehicle (100). The charging robot (350) comprises a base unit (310) having a first type of interface module (101) which is designed to form a plug connection with a complementary second type of interface module (111) of the charging station (110); and a robot unit (320) having a robot interface module (111) which is designed to form an electrically conductive connection to a vehicle interface module (101) of the vehicle (100). The charging robot (350) further comprises a connecting element (312) which is designed to electrically conductively connect the interface module (101) of the base unit (310) to the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a charging robot for charging an electrical energy storage device of a (motor) vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Vehicles with electric drives, in particular electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles, include an electrical energy storage device (e.g. a battery), which can be connected to a charging station via a charging device of the vehicle and charged. There are different conductive, i.e. wired, charging technologies for charging the electrical energy storage device. In so-called AC charging or alternating current charging, the charging device is located in the vehicle, which converts direct current (also called DC current) in order to charge the electrical energy storage device. The AC current or alternating current is transmitted on the charging cable between the charging station, in particular the wall box, and the vehicle. In so-called DC charging or direct current charging, a DC (Direct Current) current or direct current is transmitted on the charging cable. DC charging is also often referred to as fast charging, because the charging power during DC charging is usually higher than the charging power during AC charging.

[0003] Manually plugging the charging plug of the charging station into the charging base of the vehicle is inconvenient for the user. Therefore, a charging robot can be used, which is configured to automatically establish a plug connection between the charging plug and the charging base. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical object of this document is to provide a particularly efficient charging robot for charging an electrical energy storage device of a vehicle.

[0005] This task is solved by an independent claim. In addition, advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims. It should be noted that the additional features of the dependent claims of the independent claim can constitute an independent invention independent of the combination of all features of the independent claim without the features of the independent claim or in combination with only part of the features of the independent claim, which can be the technical solution of the independent claim, a divisional application or a subsequent application. The same applies to the technical teachings described in the specification, which can form an invention independent of the features of the independent claim.

[0006] According to one aspect, a charging robot for charging an electrical energy storage device of a (motor) vehicle, in particular a car or a truck or a bus or a motorcycle, is described. The charging robot comprises a base unit having a first-type interface module which is designed to form a plug connection with a complementary second-type interface module of a charging station, in particular a wall box. The base unit can be designed to be fixed to a wall, for example next to a charging station, in particular a wall box.

[0007] The first type of interface module may include or may be a charging stand or a charging socket, in particular a charging stand or a charging socket according to IEC 62196-3. The second type of interface module may include or may be a charging plug, in particular a charging plug according to IEC 62196-3. It should be noted that the various aspects described herein are applicable to any form of interface module, in particular any standard.

[0008] The charging robot also includes a robot unit having a robot interface module, which is configured to form an electrically conductive connection, in particular a plug connection, with a vehicle interface module of the vehicle. In a preferred example, the robot interface module is a second type interface module. In addition, in a preferred example, the vehicle interface module is a first type interface module.

[0009] The robot unit may be designed to move on the ground and / or to move a robot interface module of the robot unit on the ground in order to position the robot interface module of the robot unit relative to the vehicle interface module of the vehicle (and in order to automatically establish an electrically conductive connection, in particular a plug connection, between the two interface modules). For this purpose, the robot unit may include one or more sensors, which are designed to detect sensor data related to the environment of the robot unit, and / or one or more actuators (e.g. electric motors), which are designed to move the robot unit and / or the robot interface module of the robot unit.

[0010] The charging robot further comprises a connecting element, in particular a connecting cable, which is designed to electrically conductively connect the interface module of the base unit to the robot interface module of the robot unit, in particular via a separate electrical line.

[0011] The interface module of the base unit and the robot interface module of the robot unit can each include a plurality of power contacts for transmitting electrical energy for charging an electrical energy storage device of the vehicle. The connecting element of the charging robot can have a plurality of wires, which are each designed to connect corresponding power contacts of the interface module of the base unit and of the robot interface module of the robot unit to each other in an electrically conductive manner one to one.

[0012] Alternatively or additionally, the interface module of the base unit and the robot interface module of the robot unit can each include one or more communication contacts for transmitting data in order to control the charging process. The connecting element of the charging robot can have one or more wires, which are each designed to connect the one or more corresponding communication contacts of the interface module of the base unit and the robot interface module of the robot unit to each other in an electrically conductive manner one to one.

[0013] In particular, the connection element of the charging robot can be designed such that a charging process of an electrical energy storage device of a vehicle coupled to the robot interface module of the robot unit can be controlled by a charging station coupled to the interface module of the base unit via the connection element. Thus, a charging station separate from the charging robot can be used to control a charging process by the charging robot (e.g. in accordance with a specific standard such as IEC 62196 or IEC 61851).

[0014] Furthermore, the connecting element of the charging robot can be designed in such a way that the electrical energy for charging the electrical energy storage device can be provided by the charging station via the connecting element. Thus, the electrical energy conversion (in particular the AC / DC conversion) for the charging process by the charging robot can be realized in the charging station which is separate from the charging robot. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a charging device in the charging robot.

[0015] In particular, the charging robot can be designed to carry out a DC charging process and / or an AC charging process of an electrical energy storage device of a vehicle coupled to the robot unit by means of a charging station coupled to the base unit.

[0016] Thus, a charging robot is described which is designed to control a charging process and / or supply electrical energy by the charging robot using a separate charging station, in particular a wall box. Thus, a particularly efficient charging robot can be provided.

[0017] The charging robot can have a locking mechanism for locking the plug connection between the interface module of the base unit and the interface module of the charging station. In addition, the charging robot can have an unlocking element (e.g., an unlocking button and / or an unlocking sensor) which is designed to allow a user to release the lock implemented by the locking mechanism. By providing a releasable locking device, a particularly reliable charging process can be achieved by the charging robot.

[0018] The charging robot, in particular the base unit, may include a power supply module, which is configured to provide electrical energy for operating one or more components of the charging robot, in particular one or more sensors and / or actuators of the charging robot, from a power supply network (for example, from a 230 V network). Thus, a reliable and efficient operation of the charging robot can be achieved.

[0019] The charging robot, in particular the base unit, can include a control unit which is configured to control the charging robot in order to establish an electrically conductive connection, in particular a plug connection, between a robot interface module of the robot unit and a vehicle interface module of the vehicle. Furthermore, the connecting element can include one or more wires for communicating with one or more components of the robot unit, in particular one or more sensors and / or actuators, and / or for supplying them with energy. Thus, a particularly reliable and efficient operation of the charging robot can be achieved.

[0020] It should be noted that the methods, devices and systems described in this article can be used not only alone, but also in combination with other methods, devices and systems described in this article. In addition, each aspect of the methods, devices and systems described in this article can be combined with each other in a variety of ways. In particular, the features of the claims can be combined with each other in a variety of ways. In addition, the features listed in brackets should be understood as optional features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings are as follows:

[0022] Figure 1 A block diagram showing an exemplary charging system;

[0023] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary configuration of contacts for a vehicle charging station; and

[0024] Figure 3 An exemplary charging robot is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] As mentioned at the outset, the present invention relates to providing a particularly efficient charging robot. Against this background, Figure 1 A block diagram of an exemplary charging system with a charging station 110 (e.g. a wall box) and a vehicle 100 is shown. The vehicle 100 comprises an electrical energy storage (not shown) which can be charged with electrical energy from the charging station 110. The vehicle 100 comprises a charging cradle 101 (generally referred to as an interface module) onto which a corresponding (charging) plug 111 of a charging cable 112 can be plugged. The charging cradle 101 and the plug 111 usually form a plug system. The charging cable 112 can be fixedly connected to the charging station 110 (as shown). On the other hand, the charging cable 112 can be connected to the charging station 110 via a plug connection (e.g. in the case of AC charging).

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, a charging station 101 is installed on a vehicle 100. According to the plug standard IEC 62196-3, there are different plug variants: Combo 1, Combo 2, DC-Typ1, DC-Typ2. Figure 2An exemplary Combo 2 charging station 101 having a plurality of contacts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212 is shown. Contact (also referred to as a pin) 202 can be used to transmit a pilot signal (and is connected to a pilot line of a charging cable 112). Contact 201 can be used to transmit an agent signal. Contacts 201, 202 can also be referred to as communication contacts, because they are provided for transmitting communication signals for communication between the charging station 110 and the vehicle 100 regarding the control of the charging process. Contact 205 can be used for the N conductor of the AC current and contact 203 can be used for the first phase L1 of the AC current. Contact 207 can be used for the second phase L2 of the AC current. In addition, contact 206 is used for the third phase L3 of the AC current. Contacts 203, 205, 206, 207 can be referred to as power contacts or AC contacts, because they are provided for transmitting current in order to charge the electrical energy storage device of the vehicle 100. The contact 204 may provide a ground connection. It should be noted that the above configuration of the contacts of the charging station 101 is exemplary only, and other configurations are possible. The charging cable 112 includes wires corresponding to the contacts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207 (if necessary, only for a portion of the contacts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207).

[0027] The charging station 110 also includes contacts 211, 212 for DC charging, which can be used, for example, for the negative or positive pole of the DC current. The contacts 211, 212 can be referred to as DC contacts and / or power contacts. The charging station 110 can be configured to provide electrical energy for the charging process only via the DC contacts 211, 212 or only via the AC contacts 203, 205, 206, 207, if necessary.

[0028] The control unit of charging station 110 may be configured to inform vehicle 100 of the (possibly maximum) current intensity or charging power that charging station 110 can provide by pulse width modulation of the pilot signal (e.g., with a duty cycle between 7% and 97%). The pilot signal may oscillate between two predefined levels at a predefined frequency (e.g., 1 kHz).

[0029] An example of such a level and / or PWM (pulse width modulation) based communication protocol is the IEC 61851-1 standard. This standard defines different modes, of which in particular mode 3 and mode 4 are associated with charging at the charging station 110. In particular, mode 3 is associated with AC charging at the charging station and mode 4 is associated with DC charging at the charging station 110. Another exemplary standard for the charging process is IEC 62196, as mentioned above.

[0030] It should be noted that various aspects described herein may be applicable to any charging standard and / or proprietary solution.

[0031] The charging station 110 can be designed as a charging robot, which is designed to automatically insert the charging plug 111 into the charging seat 101 of the vehicle 100. For this purpose, the charging robot has a control unit, which is designed to communicate with the vehicle 100 in order to control the charging process. In addition, the charging robot can optionally have an AC / DC or AC / AC converter, which is provided for providing and / or controlling the charging power for the charging process. Providing such a charging robot is associated with relatively high hardware and software costs.

[0032] Figure 3 The system 300 is shown with a charging robot 350 which is designed to use components of an existing charging station 110, in particular components of an existing wall box, so that the charging robot 350 can be provided in a particularly efficient manner. The charging robot 350 comprises a base unit 310 which can be fastened to a wall 302, for example. The charging robot 350 also has a robot unit 320 which is designed to be movable, in particular in order to position a charging plug 111 of the charging robot 350 which is arranged on the robot unit 320 on a charging seat 101 of the vehicle 100 and to insert it into the charging seat of the vehicle 100. Figure 3 In the example shown, the robot unit 320 is designed to move on the ground 301 in order to be able to establish a plug connection with a charging base 101 arranged on the floor of the vehicle 100, for example. Alternatively or in addition, the robot unit 320 can have a robot arm in order to be able to position the charging plug 111 on one side of the vehicle 100, for example.

[0033] The base unit 310 of the charging robot 350 comprises a charging base 101 into which the charging plug 111 of the charging station 110 can be inserted. The charging base 101 is connected to the charging plug 111 of the robot unit 320 via a connecting element 312 of the base unit 310. Here, the individual contacts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212 of the charging base 101 of the base unit 310 can be connected one-to-one with the corresponding contacts 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212 of the charging plug 111 of the robot unit 320 (respectively via individual wires in the connecting element 312).

[0034] The base unit 310 may be designed to lock the plug connection between the charging plug 111 of the charging station 110 and the charging base 101 of the base unit 310. An unlocking element 313 (e.g. a button and / or a sensor) may be provided on the base unit 310, which enables unlocking of the lock. Providing a locking device enables a particularly reliable charging process, since it is possible to reliably prevent the plug connection between the charging plug 111 of the charging station 110 and the charging base 101 of the base unit 310 from being separated under load.

[0035] exist Figure 3 In the example shown, the robot interface module 111 of the robot unit 320 is designed as a charging plug (corresponding to the charging plug 111 of the charging station 110). In addition, the vehicle interface module 101 of the vehicle 100 is designed as a charging socket. It should be noted that other connection types can also be used for the conductive (plug) connection between the robot unit 320 and the vehicle 100. However, when the charging socket of the vehicle 100 (which is also used for direct connection to the charging station 110) is to be used as the vehicle interface module 101 for connecting to the robot interface module 111 of the robot unit 320, it is advantageous to use the same connection type as between the charging station 110 and the base unit 310.

[0036] The base unit 310 may include an energy supply module 311 (e.g., with an AC / DC converter), which is configured to provide electrical energy from a power supply network (e.g., a 230-volt power grid) in order to operate the charging robot 350. The energy supply module 311 may, for example, be connected to the power supply network (e.g., to a socket 303 of the power supply network) (e.g., via a plug connection). The energy supply module 311 may include a voltage converter. However, the electrical energy for charging the electrical energy storage device of the vehicle 100 is not provided by the charging station 110 via the energy supply module 311, but rather by the charging base 101 of the base unit 310.

[0037] The charging robot 350, in particular the base unit 310, may have a control unit 315 which is provided for controlling the robot unit 320 in order to automatically establish a plug connection between the charging plug 111 of the robot unit 320 and the charging seat 101 of the vehicle 100. For this purpose, one or more sensors (not shown) may be provided on the charging robot 350, in particular on the robot unit 320, which are designed to detect the environment of the robot unit 320. The connecting element 312 between the base unit 310 and the robot unit 320 may have one or more additional lines (in addition to the lines of the charging cable 112 of the charging station 110), for example, to supply one or more components of the robot unit 320 with electrical energy and / or to control the one or more components of the robot unit 320.

[0038] Therefore, one or more functions may be provided in the base unit 310 of the charging robot 350,

[0039] - for continued use of a standard charging interface 101 of an AC or DC wall box 110 which may already be installed and which can be used simultaneously by one or more other electrically driven vehicles 100 , such as a BEV (battery electric vehicle) or a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), which do not have a charging robot device within the vehicle 100 .

[0040] A voltage converter (eg 230 V to low voltage) for continuously supplying the electrical components of the charging robot 350 with voltage (eg as part of the energy supply module 311 ).

[0041] - Temperature sensor (for monitoring the Charging Robot 350).

[0042] - Plug locking device (to increase the reliability of the charging process).

[0043] By means of the measures described here, a particularly efficient charging robot 350 can be provided.

[0044] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. In particular, it should be noted that the description and the drawings are intended only to illustrate the principles of the proposed methods, devices and systems by way of example.

Claims

1. A charging robot (350) for charging an electrical energy storage of a vehicle (100), the charging robot (350) comprising: A base unit (310) having a first type interface module (101) configured to form a plug-in connection with a complementary second type interface module (111) of a charging station (110); A robot unit (320) having a robot interface module (111) configured to form an electrical connection with a vehicle interface module (101) of the vehicle (100); and A connection element (312) configured to electrically connect the interface module (101) of the base unit (310) to the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320), such that through the connection element (312) The charging process of the electrical energy storage of the vehicle (100) coupled to the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) can be controlled by the charging station (110) coupled to the interface module of the base unit (310); and Electrical energy for charging the electrical energy storage can be provided by the charging station (110).

2. The charging robot (350) according to claim 1, wherein The interface module (101) of the base unit (310) and the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) each include a plurality of power contacts (203, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212) for transmitting electrical energy to charge the electrical energy storage of the vehicle (100); and The connection element (312) of the charging robot (350) has a plurality of wires respectively configured to electrically connect the corresponding power contacts (203, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212) of the interface module (101) of the base unit (310) and the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) one-to-one.

3. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The interface module (101) of the base unit (310) and the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) each include one or more communication contacts (201, 202) for transmitting data to control the charging process; and The connection element (312) of the charging robot (350) has one or more wires respectively configured to electrically connect the one or more corresponding communication contacts (201, 202) of the interface module (101) of the base unit (310) and the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) one-to-one.

4. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The charging robot (350) has a locking mechanism for locking the plug-in connection between the interface module (101) of the base unit (310) and the interface module (111) of the charging station (110); and The charging robot (350) has an unlocking element (313) configured to allow a user to release the locking implemented by a locking mechanism.

5. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the charging robot (350), in particular the base unit (310), includes a power supply module (311) configured to provide electrical energy from a power supply network for operating one or more components of the charging robot (350).

6. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the charging robot (350), in particular the base unit (310), includes a control unit (315) configured to control the charging robot (320) to establish an electrically conductive connection, in particular a plug-in connection, between a robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) and a vehicle interface module (101) of the vehicle (100).

7. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the connection element (312) includes one or more wires for communicating with and / or supplying energy to one or more components of the robot unit (320), in particular one or more sensors and / or actuators; and the one or more sensors are in particular configured to detect sensor data related to the environment of the robot unit (320); and the one or more actuators are in particular configured to move the robot unit (320) and / or the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320).

8. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the robot interface module (111) is a second type of interface module (111); and the vehicle interface module (101) is a first type of interface module (101).

9. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the first type of interface module (101) includes a charging dock or a charging socket, in particular a charging dock or a charging socket according to IEC 62196-3; and the second type of interface module (111) includes a charging plug, in particular a charging plug according to IEC 62196-3.

10. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the base unit (310) is configured to be fixed to a wall (302); and / or the robot unit (320) is configured to move on the ground and / or move the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) on the ground (301) in order to position the robot interface module (111) of the robot unit (320) relative to the vehicle interface module (101) of the vehicle (100).

11. The charging robot (350) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The charging robot (350) is configured to perform a DC charging process and / or an AC charging process of an electrical energy storage of a vehicle (100) coupled to a robot unit (320) by means of a charging station (110) coupled to a base unit (310).

Images