A new type of matrix charging stack

Abstract

The application provides a new type of matrix charging stack and belongs to the technical field of electric vehicle charging. It solves the problems of existing charging stack power distribution scheme, such as inflexible expansion, high cost, low energy utilization rate and the like, especially the problems of inconvenient power expansion and large size caused by the expansion of the charging circuit in the multi-matrix scheme. The application proposes an optimized matrix architecture with a fixed output circuit and an expansion power unit as the core, each PDU distribution single board adopts an N-in-X-out mode, and the PDU single board quantity can be conveniently expanded by the parallel board mode to expand the power of the whole machine without increasing the charging circuit. The scheme realizes the complete flexible scheduling of the power module, avoids the waste of the power stack, and significantly reduces the system cost and size. The application also integrates an intelligent scheduling algorithm, V2G bidirectional charging and discharging support and field station level EMS networking energy management function, and is suitable for multi-circuit charging scenes with high requirements for economy, flexibility and intelligence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of high voltage DC charging technology for electric vehicles, specifically relating to an intelligent scheduling split charging pile based on an integrated PDU matrix and its power allocation method. Background Technology

[0002] Existing power distribution methods for electric vehicle charging piles mainly include ring distribution, ring bridge distribution, half-matrix distribution, full-matrix distribution, and multi-matrix distribution. These solutions all have unavoidable technical flaws in practical applications and cannot meet the core requirements of charging stations for "flexible expansion, cost control, and efficient utilization." The ring distribution scheme achieves power scheduling through switches between adjacent charging guns, but it cannot flexibly distribute energy across guns. Furthermore, the long energy links can easily form energy islands, leading to idle charging resources. Although the ring bridge distribution scheme adds switches between non-adjacent charging guns, it has poor scalability. As the number of output circuits increases, the cost increases exponentially, and the power modules need to be bound to fixed output interfaces, making it impossible to achieve free grouping and scheduling.

[0003] The semi-matrix (non-polar matrix) allocation scheme requires power modules to be bound to charging circuits in groups. The number of output circuits corresponds to the number of power module groups in a 1:1 ratio. This makes it impossible to independently schedule individual power modules, which can easily lead to energy waste. For example, when an 800kW main cabinet is configured with 12 output circuits and 20 40kW power modules, the 20 modules need to be forcibly divided into 12 groups. However, the charging power of existing vehicles is mostly 50-60kW. At this time, the power of a single module group is likely to exceed the demand (e.g., 80kW power of 2 module groups), resulting in 20-30kW of energy being idle.

[0004] The full matrix allocation scheme assigns a separate switch to each charging circuit for each power module. As the number of charging circuits increases, the number of switches (including positive and negative terminals) increases exponentially, resulting in extremely high costs and making it difficult to meet the current economic needs of the charging market. The subsequent multi-matrix allocation scheme determines the number of PDU boards based on the number of charging circuits. Although it can expand the number of charging circuits, power expansion is inconvenient, and the cost is high when the number of power modules is small. The matrix is ​​also bulky, and contactors need to be connected in parallel between charging circuits to achieve power allocation.

[0005] In summary, existing power allocation schemes all suffer from common problems such as "conflict between power expansion and cost control," "low energy utilization," and "insufficient scheduling flexibility," which prolong the investment payback period for charging stations and fail to meet the practical application requirements of multi-loop charging and flexible power expansion. Therefore, this invention proposes a novel matrix allocation scheme based on targeted optimizations of existing multi-matrix allocation schemes, aiming to address the aforementioned shortcomings of existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the aforementioned problems in the prior art by providing a novel matrix-type split charging pile and its power distribution method. This charging pile has the advantages of convenient power expansion, flexible scheduling, optimized cost and size, and support for intelligent network management.

[0007] The objective of this invention can be achieved through the following technical solution: a novel matrix charging pile, comprising a control unit, a power unit, a novel matrix distribution unit, an AC input unit, a protection unit, and an interaction unit; The novel matrix distribution unit consists of at least one PDU distribution board. Each PDU distribution board adopts an N-in X-out structure, where N is the number of power units connected to the board and X is the number of charging circuits connected to the board. Several PDU distribution boards can be connected in parallel to expand the total number of power units that the charging pile can access. The control unit communicates with the novel matrix distribution unit and is used to control the power unit to output power to the selected charging circuit through the PDU distribution board according to the vehicle's charging needs.

[0008] In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging pile, the control unit includes an A7 controller that communicates with the novel matrix allocation unit and is used to execute a power scheduling algorithm and control the switching of the power allocation link. The B4 controller communicates with the vehicle's BMS and is connected to both the A7 controller and the new matrix distribution unit. It is used to control the relays in the charging output circuit, collect charging and vehicle status data, and feed the information back to the A7 controller. The M4 controller communicates with the B4 controller to upload charging data to the cloud server.

[0009] In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging pile, the A7 controller is connected to the host computer via a UART or Ethernet interface and is used to configure the charging pile parameters, including the number of power modules in the whole machine, the maximum power of each charging gun, the A7 controller address, and whether the networked EMS system is enabled.

[0010] In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging pile, the A7 controller needs to be connected to the host computer via UART or Ethernet to configure the entire charging pile main cabinet, including but not limited to the number of power modules, the maximum power of each gun, whether to equip a networked EMS system, and setting the A7 address, etc. In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging pile, the B4 controller can control the switching of contactors in the output circuit, monitor the output status, fault status, and communication with the vehicle. When an abnormal output status is detected and reaches a set threshold, the output relay is immediately cut off. The M4 controller uploads the data collected by the B4 controller to the cloud, which can record customer data, charging parameters, termination reasons, messages, logs, etc. for each charging order. The data is stored on the server for at least 5 years for easy traceability.

[0011] In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging stack, the B4 controller first communicates with the vehicle's BMS and then with the A7 controller to activate the power module, switching it to the output circuit where B4 is located. Subsequently, it communicates with the insulation detection board corresponding to the output circuit where B4 is located to initiate insulation detection. If no fault is found, the B4 controller reports the charging request from the vehicle to the A7 controller. The A7 controller automatically switches the power module to the charging circuit according to the received request. At this time, the B4 controller closes the relay in the charging output circuit, initiating charging. Simultaneously, the B4 controller generates a log of various information and reports it to the M4 controller, which then reports it to the cloud server. In the aforementioned novel matrix-type split charging pile, if the site is equipped with a network EMS controller, the A7 controller will communicate with the network EMS controller during charging and report the total power of all output circuits corresponding to the main cabinet. Assuming a site has 4 A7 main cabinets with a total power of 4000kW, and the maximum power limit is set to ≤2000kW on the EMS network, the EMS will collect the total power reported by the 4 A7 main cabinets and monitor that the power must not exceed 2000kW. If it exceeds this limit, it will issue a command to the corresponding A7 main cabinet to proportionally limit its power output.

[0012] The power allocation method of the novel matrix split charging pile mentioned above includes the following steps: the control unit schedules one or more power units, and switches the power to the corresponding charging circuit through the PDU allocation board in the novel matrix allocation unit; wherein, the scheduling takes a single power module as the basic unit to realize fully flexible and free matching between the power module and the charging circuit; The power allocation method for the novel matrix-type split charging pile described above also includes an extension step: when it is necessary to increase the total power of the charging pile, the number of PDU allocation boards is increased to access the power units.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. Through the collaboration of the B4 controller and A7 controller, the power module output and matrix energy link closure switching can be precisely controlled according to the BMS requirements sent by the vehicle, eliminating the risk of vehicle burning caused by overcharging at the charging pile, achieving efficient power distribution, and optimizing charging logic; 2. All modules are freely grouped. Regardless of the number of power modules or charging circuits, the allocation is based on a single power module. Power modules do not need to be bound to charging circuits, which can achieve arbitrary and flexible free scheduling. Through algorithm optimization, the lifespan of the power modules is maximized. 3. This technology implements on-demand allocation, using PDU output boards to form a power matrix. When expanding the maximum power, only the number of PDU output boards needs to be expanded, further improving the system's flexibility and scalability. In addition, the system introduces multiple protections to safeguard the safety of the entire device. It also has an interactive unit and an APP, allowing users to monitor charging data in real time, further enhancing the system's intelligent management and convenience. 4. Equipped with a network EMS controller, it can realize the energy management of the whole station, avoid the risk of transformer burning due to excessive load, and lay the hardware foundation for subsequent transformation to smart charging and smart grid. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the circular distribution in this invention.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the ring bridge allocation in this invention.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the allocation of a half-matrix (non-polar matrix) in this invention.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating the full matrix allocation in this invention.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the multi-matrix allocation in this invention.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the main cabinet system of this invention.

[0020] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the PDU power matrix composed of PDU switching modules in this invention.

[0021] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structural layout of the novel 480kW matrix charging stack in this invention.

[0022] Figure 9 The diagram shows the main line connection of the device.

[0023] Figure 10 The diagram shown is an internal layout diagram of a 2-input, 6-output PDU module implementation example.

[0024] Figure 11 The diagram shown is the external layout of a 2-input, 6-output PDU module implementation example. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The following are specific embodiments of the present invention, which are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 9 , Figure 10 , Figure 11 As shown, a novel matrix charging pile includes a control unit, a power unit, a novel matrix distribution unit, an AC input unit, a protection unit, and an interaction unit. The novel matrix distribution unit consists of at least one PDU distribution board, each with an N-in, X-out structure, where N is the number of power units connected to the board, and X is the number of charging circuits connected to the board. Several PDU distribution boards can be connected in parallel to expand the total number of power units that can be connected to the charging pile. This design first uses a pluggable PDU board as a PDU switch module, then connects the module's tail end with a conductor, thus enabling a modular layout for the entire unit, making it more convenient to use and replace compared to traditional PDU matrices. The control unit communicates with the novel matrix distribution unit and controls the power units to output power to selected charging circuits through the PDU distribution boards according to the vehicle's charging needs.

[0027] To elaborate further, the control unit is divided into the A7 controller, M4 controller, and B4 controller. The A7 controller integrates the matrix scheduling algorithm, communicates with the PDU matrix via CAN, controls the switching of the power distribution link, and automatically controls the power output in the optimal way according to the needs sent by the vehicle. It can also be equipped with an EMS controller, which can communicate with multiple A7s to collect the real-time power of the entire station and perform network control, such as limiting the total load of the entire network and extending the discharge function (electric vehicles can release excess power to achieve grid connection or off-grid self-use), etc. The B4 controller communicates with the M4 and A7 controllers, and also with the vehicle. The B4 controller controls the switching of the output circuit relays, collects charging status and vehicle status data, and feeds the information back to the A7 controller for data adjustment. The information is then fed back to the M4 controller for uploading to the cloud server. Power Unit: Power module, which rectifies AC power into DC power, and can adjust voltage and current. It communicates with the A7 controller via CAN communication for inter-group communication. The new matrix distribution unit consists of power control boards, with power expansion as its core concept. One board can correspond to multiple charging circuits, facilitating scenarios with fixed charging circuits and expanded power. Each board comprises several DC relays, with each relay corresponding to a specific charging circuit, precisely switching the power from the power unit to each circuit. Furthermore, the power control boards communicate via a CAN bus, and each board has a DIP switch to set its communication address. This adds contact detection and voltage detection, replacing traditional I / O control schemes, resulting in lower cost and significantly improved reliability. Interaction unit: The display interface uses RS232, and the touch interface uses the IIC protocol. It can display data and also allow manual input of configuration and control of manual charging. AC input unit: consisting of circuit breakers and contactors, used for AC input power supply; Protection unit: Composed of surge protectors, fast-acting fuses, residual current devices, shunt trip devices, energy meters, insulation detection controllers, smoke and fire sensors, water immersion sensors, DC contactors, etc., designed to prevent and control possible accidents and provide system reliability and safety.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, power scheduling between adjacent guns in the ring distribution room is achieved through switches, and scheduling across guns is not allowed. If scheduling across guns is required, the intermediate charging guns must not be used. The energy link is long, which can easily lead to energy islands.

[0029] like Figure 2 As shown, the ring bridge is based on a ring structure, with a switch added between two non-adjacent charging guns. This solution is not easy to expand, and the cost increases exponentially as the number of output channels increases. Furthermore, the power module must be bound to one output interface first, and free grouping is not possible. That is, when charging a channel, the power module bound to that channel must be used first.

[0030] like Figure 3 The scheme shown first binds the charging module to the charging circuit, then adds output circuits from gun 1 to gun N; then from gun 2 to gun N, output circuits are added. In this scheme, power modules can only be allocated in groups, and the number of output circuits and the number of power module groups are 1:1. That is to say, there can only be as many groups as there are output circuits. This makes it impossible to have a single power module as a group. For example, a common power module is 40kW, and a common product is an 800kW main cabinet with 12 output circuits. If we have 20 modules, we need to divide the 20 power modules into 12 groups, and then bind the groups to the guns. When a certain circuit starts charging, the charging power of existing vehicles is usually 50-60kW. In this scheme, there will be a situation where 2 power modules are in a group, which is 80kW, resulting in a waste of 20-30kW of energy.

[0031] like Figure 4 As shown, each power module has a separate switch to each charging circuit. Thus, on a charging circuit, the number of power modules (N) in the whole machine will be twice that number of switches (both ± poles are required). As the number of charging circuits increases, the cost increases exponentially, making it unsuitable for the current competitive charging market.

[0032] like Figure 5 As shown, the multi-matrix system first divides all power modules into N groups, each with a different number of modules. The output circuits are also divided into N groups. Power scheduling between the charging circuits of these N groups is achieved through contactor switches, thus forming a basic N-matrix framework. This approach uses a fixed number of power modules (i.e., a fixed maximum power), making it easier to expand the number of charging circuits. Each charging circuit corresponds to two PDU boards, and the matrix size is quite large.

[0033] Such as Figure 8 The example shown is a 480kW main cabinet with 8 output circuits, all of which use 4 PDU boards with 2 inputs and 8 outputs, i.e., PDU switch modules 1-4; and 4 more PDU switch modules form a new PDU matrix; the whole machine adopts a box-type package; plug-in design, extremely high integration; if at any time you want to expand the power of the whole main cabinet, you only need to insert new power modules and PDU switch modules. The entire expansion process can be completed within 5 minutes, which greatly simplifies the expansion of complex charging pile requirements. For every 2 power modules added, only one PDU switch module needs to be added.

[0034] Twelve power modules are connected to the PDU switch module via different terminals, named Module 1-Module 12; the charging circuits are named Output Circuit 1-Output Circuit 8. When a charging circuit sends a charging request to the B4 controller at a certain moment, the A7 controller will activate the power module based on the sent request and the overall operating time of the power module, prioritizing the module with the shorter operating time. If the demand increases to more than 40kW but less than 80kW at a certain moment, the power module will be switched to the second power module, and so on. When a relay in the row of the PDU board corresponding to a module is closed, other relays in the same row are not allowed to close (software control). If switching is performed again, only the relays in the corresponding rows of other modules will be activated. Similarly, each module can only close one relay in its current row to prevent backflow. As can be seen from the diagram, each power module has a different path to each output circuit, and there is no fixed grouping. If one or more power modules fail, it will not affect the use of other power modules. If a multi-matrix scheme is adopted, then in this model, the number of PDU boards in the multi-matrix scheme is 16. Moreover, the design of the multi-matrix scheme cannot use pluggable modules. When replacing, the entire PDU matrix must be removed, which is extremely troublesome. The volume is 4 times that of the new matrix scheme. The increase in volume and cost is not conducive to the integration of the whole machine.

[0035] like Figure 9 As shown, both the power distribution circuit and the power converter are integrated modules. From a structural design perspective, inserting each module into its corresponding slot greatly simplifies installation and subsequent maintenance. The back of the module features quick-connect AC input and DC output ports. The power modules are symmetrically arranged at both ends, with each end's DC interface directly connected to the corresponding PDU switch module's DC interface terminal. The AC input terminals of the power modules are L1, L2, and L3, which can be connected to the AC busbar of the bottom AC input circuit. Each PDU switch module has two groups of 16 terminals: 1+ - 8+ and 1- - 8-. Simply connect the corresponding terminals of each PDU switch module from top to bottom, such as connecting the 1+ terminal of PDU switch modules 1-6, and so on. Then connect the final output terminals to the corresponding output circuit for charging. Furthermore, the contactors used in the PDU switch modules are bidirectional non-polarized contactors. This distribution scheme configures different distribution links for each group of modules, and each distribution link is independent and does not interfere with others. Figure 7As shown, assuming module 1 is used for charging the first output circuit and module 3 is used for discharging the third output circuit, the PDU allocation module corresponding to module 1 will close relays 1+ and 1-, while other PDU allocation modules are not allowed to close relay 1. The PDU allocation module corresponding to module 3 will close relays 3+ and 3-, while other PDU allocation modules are not allowed to close relay 3. This achieves the function of simultaneous charging and discharging between different circuits. Therefore, this PDU matrix can theoretically be applied to V2G allocation links.

[0036] like Figure 10 , Figure 11 As shown, three small fans are embedded in the front panel of the PDU module to dissipate heat. Internally, copper busbars connect the matrix connection points to the quick-connect busbars on the edge of the housing. The connectors marked M1+, M2+...M11+, M12+ connect to the DC busbar. Then, connect the corresponding power module output terminals to this busbar. Connect the GUN6#+ output circuit DC busbar and connect the corresponding output circuit charging gun to this busbar. If you need to increase the output current of the charging gun, you only need to increase the size of the corresponding busbar inside the PDU module. The PDU module has heat dissipation holes on the side and two handles on the front panel. In the design of the entire charging equipment, you only need to put the PDU module into the slot and push or pull the handle to complete the installation. Then, lock the busbar at the rear of the PDU module and insert the finished ribbon cable on the front. Since this case shows a PDU solution with 6 charging circuits, if you need to expand the number of charging circuits, you only need to insert the same PDU module and connect them in parallel. This new matrix PDU greatly simplifies the structure of the charging pile, reduces the volume of the charging pile to a certain extent, and reduces material and labor installation costs.

[0037] It is understandable that the scheduling matrix proposed in this solution is designed to optimize and correct existing features to meet expanded power requirements. Since the rectification function is performed by the rectifier, a true average power cannot be achieved in the equal-distribution charging mode. The power is set based on the number of rectifiers, so the power of a single rectifier multiplied by the number of switches equals the current average power. Furthermore, this solution is easily expandable with liquid cooling because the power density of each energy link is that of a single power module, resulting in a smaller current flow. The relay current carrying capacity is also smaller compared to other group-based allocation modes. Increasing the current flow only requires increasing the size of the DC bus at the output circuit end. It also facilitates expanding the overall power output by simply adding a PDU output board, resulting in a smaller final size. We compare this solution with the multi-matrix solution on the same model. The PDU matrix solution of this new matrix is ​​half the size and a quarter the cost compared to a multi-matrix PDU solution. It has higher integration and is more economical, with more flexible power scheduling. It is fully comparable to the full matrix solution and does not require scheduling via contactors between output circuits.

[0038] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the spirit of the invention. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

[0039] Although this document uses various terms extensively, the possibility of using other terms is not excluded. These terms are used merely for the convenience of describing and explaining the essence of the invention; interpreting them as any additional limitation would contradict the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A novel matrix-type charging stack, characterized in that, It includes a control unit, a power unit, a new matrix distribution unit, an AC input unit, a protection unit, and an interaction unit; The novel matrix distribution unit consists of at least one PDU distribution board. Each PDU distribution board adopts an N-in X-out structure, where N is the number of power units connected to the board and X is the number of charging circuits connected to the board. Several PDU distribution boards can be connected in parallel to expand the total number of power units that the charging pile can access. The control unit communicates with the novel matrix distribution unit and is used to control the power unit to output power to the selected charging circuit through the PDU distribution board according to the vehicle's charging needs.

2. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit includes an A7 controller that communicates with the novel matrix allocation unit and is used to execute a power scheduling algorithm and control the switching of power allocation links. The B4 controller communicates with the vehicle's BMS and is connected to both the A7 controller and the new matrix distribution unit. It is used to control the relays in the charging output circuit, collect charging and vehicle status data, and feed the information back to the A7 controller. The M4 controller communicates with the B4 controller to upload charging data to the cloud server.

3. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 2, characterized in that, The A7 controller is connected to the host computer via a UART or Ethernet interface and is used to configure the charging pile parameters, including the number of power modules in the whole machine, the maximum power of each charging gun, the A7 controller address, and whether the networked EMS system is enabled.

4. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 2, characterized in that, The B4 controller is configured to: after communicating with the vehicle BMS, request the A7 controller to start the power module and switch to the corresponding output circuit, and start the insulation detection; after no fault is found, report the vehicle-side charging demand to the A7 controller, which then controls the power unit output, and finally controls the charging output circuit relay to close to start charging.

5. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PDU distribution board is equipped with a DIP switch for setting the communication address, and several PDU distribution boards communicate with each other via a CAN bus. The PDU distribution board integrates contact status feedback detection and voltage detection functions. The PDU distribution board consists of multiple non-polar contactors, forming a non-polar distribution matrix, which is suitable for V2G bidirectional charging and discharging scenarios.

6. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging pile also includes a network EMS controller that communicates with the A7 controllers of multiple charging piles, used to collect the real-time total power of the site and perform network control.

7. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 6, characterized in that, The network control includes: limiting the total load of the entire station network and scheduling electric vehicles to perform V2G discharge to achieve grid connection or off-grid self-use.

8. The novel matrix charging stack according to claim 6, characterized in that, When charging, the A7 controller reports the total power of all output circuits of the device to the network EMS controller. When the total power exceeds the limit set by the network EMS controller, the network EMS controller sends a command to the A7 controller to limit its power output by proportional or other strategies.

9. The power distribution method for the novel matrix charging pile according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The control unit schedules one or more power units and switches the power to the corresponding charging circuit through the PDU distribution board in the new matrix distribution unit; The scheduling is based on a single power module as the basic unit, realizing fully flexible and free matching between the power module and the charging circuit.

10. The power distribution method for the novel matrix charging pile according to claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes an extension step: when the total power of the charging pile needs to be increased, the number of PDU allocation boards is increased to access the power unit.

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