Charging pile cluster system

Abstract

This application discloses a charging pile cluster system, mainly addressing the technical problems of low energy and equipment module utilization efficiency and poor scheduling flexibility in existing charging pile systems. It includes several charging piles, each equipped with a charging module, a control module, and a communication interface; and a bus for linearly or circularly connecting the charging piles. The control module includes an embedded controller, and the communication interface includes a CAN transceiver connected to the embedded controller. The bus includes a CAN bus for establishing communication connections between the communication interfaces of adjacent charging piles and a power bus for establishing electrical connections between the charging modules of adjacent charging piles. The charging pile cluster system disclosed in this application has advantages such as good scheduling flexibility and low power loss.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of new energy charging piles, specifically to a charging pile cluster system. Background Technology

[0002] As a key infrastructure for electric vehicle energy replenishment, charging piles are essentially power conversion devices. Through technologies such as rectification, filtering, inversion, and power factor correction, they convert AC power from the power grid into DC power suitable for charging electric vehicle batteries, or adjust AC power parameters accordingly. Existing charging systems mostly employ independent charging pile structures. Each charging pile integrates a fixed number of charging modules (such as DC fast charging modules typically with a power output of 30kW or 60kW), and includes a power conversion unit, control unit, and charging interface. Because each charging pile is independent, the charging module is only used by the charging pile it is installed in. If no vehicle is connected, charging becomes idle, wasting charging resources. Furthermore, to meet peak demand (such as 1200kW fast charging), each pile needs to be equipped with a sufficient number of modules, resulting in overall module redundancy and increased system cost. In addition, because the power output of each pile is statically configured, it is impossible to flexibly adjust the output of the charging modules according to demand, leading to relatively low energy utilization efficiency.

[0003] To address the aforementioned issues, the inventors have developed an architecture that utilizes a rectifier cabinet as the charging terminal. The rectifier cabinet centrally houses multiple charging modules (typically high-power rectifier units), distributing DC power to multiple charging terminals (power distribution piles) via a power bus. Each terminal contains only a charging gun and simple control circuitry, relying on the rectifier cabinet for power. However, in implementing the technical solution in this application, the inventors discovered that the rectifier cabinet, as a single power node, can cause the entire charging station to fail if it malfunctions or is overloaded, lacking distributed redundancy. Furthermore, a long-distance power bus (sometimes tens of meters) is required between the rectifier cabinet and the charging terminal, resulting in energy loss and high wiring costs. Simultaneously, due to the high integration of modules within the rectifier cabinet, fault location and replacement require specialized equipment and downtime, leading to long maintenance cycles.

[0004] The information disclosed in this background section is intended only to enhance the understanding of the background technology of this disclosure and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of at least one of the above technical problems, this disclosure provides a charging pile cluster system, which mainly solves the technical problems of low energy and equipment module utilization efficiency and poor scheduling flexibility in existing charging pile systems.

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a charging pile cluster system is provided, comprising a plurality of charging piles respectively equipped with a charging module, a control module and a communication interface, and a bus for linearly or circularly connecting the charging piles; the control module includes an embedded controller, and the communication interface includes a CAN transceiver communicatively connected to the embedded controller; the bus includes a CAN bus for establishing communication connections between the communication interfaces of adjacent charging piles and a power bus for establishing electrical connections between the charging modules of adjacent charging piles.

[0007] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the charging pile includes a pile shell and horizontal guide rails symmetrically fixed to the inner wall of the pile shell, and the charging module is correspondingly slidably embedded between the corresponding horizontal guide rails.

[0008] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the bus is connected to the corresponding communication interface or charging module via pluggable terminals.

[0009] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the length of the power bus between adjacent charging stations is less than 2 meters.

[0010] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the charging pile includes a plurality of charging guns, and the charging module includes a charging sub-module that matches the number of the charging guns and is used to supply power to the corresponding charging guns.

[0011] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the charging guns of the charging pile are electrically connected to a bus tie switch for the charging guns to share a corresponding charging submodule; the bus tie switch is communicatively connected to the control module.

[0012] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the charging guns of adjacent charging piles are electrically connected to a cascaded switch for sharing a corresponding charging module; the cascaded switch is communicatively connected to the control module of the corresponding charging pile.

[0013] One or more technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application have at least the following technical effects or advantages: a ring or linear series connection relationship of a hostless charging pile cluster system is established through a corresponding bus, so that when the current charging pile cannot meet the current charging power demand, all or part of the idle charging modules of the adjacent charging piles can be used, which has a flexible and reliable power allocation and scheduling effect; and due to the series connection relationship, the power scheduling is carried out from near to far, which can effectively reduce unnecessary power loss and achieve the best power supply. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a charging pile in one embodiment of this application.

[0015] Figure 2This is a side view of the internal structure of a charging pile in one embodiment of this application.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a wiring diagram of a charging pile cluster system in one embodiment of this application.

[0017] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Enlarged schematic diagram of part A in the middle.

[0018] In the above figures, 1 is the pile housing, 10 is the electrical mounting plate, 2 is the guide rail, 3 is the charging module, 31 is the flange, 4 is the control module, 5 is the CAN bus, 6 is the power bus, 7 is the charging sub-module, 8 is the terminal block, 80 is the fuse, 81 is the copper busbar for the positive terminal of gun A, 82 is the copper busbar for the positive terminal of gun B, 83 is the copper busbar for the negative terminal of gun A, 84 is the copper busbar for the negative terminal of gun B, 85 is the DC contactor for the positive terminal of gun A, 86 is the DC contactor for the positive terminal of gun B, 87 is the shunt and meter assembly, 88 is the DC contactor for the negative terminal of gun A, 89 is the DC contactor for the negative terminal of gun B, 91 is the positive bus tie switch, 92 is the negative bus tie switch, 93 is the positive cascade switch, and 94 is the negative cascade switch. Detailed Implementation

[0019] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "vertical," "horizontal," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application. Furthermore, the terms "connection" and "linkage" in this application, unless otherwise specified, include both direct and indirect connections (linkages).

[0020] The programs involved or relied upon in the following embodiments are all conventional or simple programs in this technical field, and those skilled in the art can make conventional selections or adaptive adjustments according to specific application scenarios. Unless otherwise specified, the devices involved in the following embodiments are all conventional commercially available products.

[0021] To better understand the technical solution of this application, the above technical solution will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0022] To address the technical problems of low energy and equipment module utilization efficiency and poor scheduling flexibility in existing charging pile systems, this example discloses a charging pile cluster system. The charging pile cluster system includes several charging piles, each of which is equipped with a charging module, a control module, and a communication interface.

[0023] See details Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, each charging pile is a column-type pile structure. To realize the charging function of the charging pile, several charging modules are installed inside the pile. For example, in this case, the charging module is a DC fast charging module, which is used to convert the AC power supply into DC power that matches the voltage level of the receiving vehicle. To facilitate the installation and maintenance of the charging module, in this embodiment, see... Figure 2 Several guide rails 2 are symmetrically arranged on the inner wall of the pile housing 1. Each guide rail 2 is fixed horizontally. Correspondingly, the charging module 3 has flanges 31 on both sides that match the guide rails 2. Thus, through the sliding engagement of the flanges 31 and the guide rails 2, the charging module 3 can be installed and removed from the pile housing 1 by pulling it out, greatly facilitating the installation and maintenance of the charging module. In this embodiment, the charging gun is hung at the top of the pile body, and the charging gun establishes an electrical connection with the charging module 3 inside the pile housing, thereby facilitating the transmission of electrical energy output by the charging module to the vehicle charging port.

[0024] In addition, see Figure 1 In order to control the working status of the charging piles, just like existing charging piles, each charging pile in the charging pile cluster system in this example also includes a control module 4. Specifically, in this example, the control module includes an embedded controller, which is used to control the start and stop of the modules in the charging pile, adjust the working status, etc. The control method and program are conventional methods and programs in this field, and will not be described in detail here.

[0025] However, considering that in a charging pile cluster system, if each charging pile operates independently, some piles may be fully loaded or even overloaded while others are idle, resulting in uneven energy distribution within the system and severely impacting the system's efficiency. Therefore, in this embodiment, the charging piles are connected in a ring-shaped series via a bus; in other embodiments, they are connected in a linear series via a bus. Specifically, in this example, each charging pile is also equipped with a communication interface, which includes a CAN transceiver. The CAN transceiver of the communication interface is connected to the embedded controller of the charging pile control module for communication. To achieve reliable and efficient scheduling and system flexibility in the cluster system, in this embodiment, see... Figure 3The bus includes a CAN bus 5 and a power bus 6. Communication interfaces between adjacent charging piles are established via CAN bus 5, enabling linear connections between charging piles and establishing a CAN communication network. Charging modules between adjacent charging piles are connected in a ring via power bus 6. Thus, all charging piles are sequentially connected via the power bus, forming a ring-connected, hostless cluster system. When a charging pile experiences a power shortage, the system promptly calls upon the charging modules of adjacent, relatively idle charging piles to provide power, thereby achieving overall system scheduling flexibility and functional reliability. The controller's procedure for determining the current power idle status of charging piles is a conventional method in this field and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0026] Specifically, this example uses a dual-gun charging pile. The charging pile cluster system includes several charging piles, each equipped with a gun A and a gun B. Correspondingly, the charging module of a single charging pile includes several charging sub-modules corresponding to the charging guns. In this example, see... Figure 2 The charging module has a total of 4 charging sub-modules. Each charging gun is allocated two charging sub-modules, which are used to supply power to the corresponding charging gun during energy refueling. See also Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the internal structure of the charging pile shown in this example illustrates that the electrical mounting plate 10 inside the pile casing is equipped with copper busbars 81 (positive terminal of gun A), 82 (positive terminal of gun B), 83 (negative terminal of gun A), and 84 (negative terminal of gun B) for electrical connection with the corresponding charging module. Copper busbars 81 (positive terminal of gun A) and 82 (positive terminal of gun B) are electrically connected to DC contactors 85 (positive terminal of gun A) and 86 (positive terminal of gun B) via fuses 80. During charging, when the temperature rises to the melting point of the fuse wire, the fuse melts, thus disconnecting the charging path and providing charging protection. Copper terminals 85 (positive terminal of gun A) and 86 (positive terminal of gun B) are respectively equipped with copper posts for connecting the charging guns. These two positive DC contactors are controlled by the control module to control the on / off state of the corresponding charging gun's positive terminal charging line as needed. In addition, the copper busbar 83 for the negative terminal of gun A and the copper busbar 84 for the negative terminal of gun B are electrically connected to the DC contactor 88 for the negative terminal of gun A and the DC contactor 89 for the negative terminal of gun B through a shunt and a meter assembly 87, respectively. The shunt and the meter assembly 87 are used to measure the current flowing through and to measure the electrical energy. The two negative DC contactors are also controlled by the control module to control the on / off of the corresponding gun body negative terminal charging line as needed.

[0027] To achieve energy scheduling among adjacent charging piles in a charging pile cluster, see [link / reference]. Figure 4A positive bus tie switch 91 is electrically connected between the positive terminal copper busbar 81 of gun A and the positive terminal copper busbar 82 of gun B, and a negative bus tie switch 92 is electrically connected between the negative terminal copper busbar 83 of gun A and the negative terminal copper busbar 84 of gun B. The positive and negative bus tie switches 91 and 92 are controlled by a control module. Therefore, when the charging submodule corresponding to one charging gun in the charging pile cannot meet the power demand for energy refueling and the charging submodule corresponding to the other charging gun is fully or partially idle, the control module controls the positive and negative bus tie switches to close, allowing all charging submodules of both guns to participate in energy refueling. The embedded controller's control of the bus tie switch opening and closing, and the determination of power idleness through data feedback from the shunt and meter components, are conventional control procedures in the field and will not be elaborated here. Furthermore, considering that in some cases even if all charging modules of a single charging pile participate, they may not be able to meet the current charging power demand, therefore, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 4 In this example, the positive terminal copper busbar 82 and the negative terminal copper busbar 84 of gun B are electrically connected to the positive cascade switch 93 and the negative cascade switch 94, respectively. See [link / reference]. Figure 3 The positive cascade switch 93 and the negative cascade switch 94 are used to establish electrical connections with adjacent charging piles. Thus, when the current charging pile cannot meet the power demand, adjacent charging piles with idle power are scheduled via the CAN bus, allowing their idle power to participate in the charging power demand of the current charging pile, thereby achieving flexible scheduling of adjacent charging piles. In other embodiments of ring-connected cluster systems, when the power demand of two adjacent charging piles also cannot meet the power demand of the current charging pile, the idle power of the next adjacent charging pile is scheduled via the CAN bus. Therefore, under this scheduling rule, power loss due to transmission distance can be minimized as much as possible.

[0028] In addition, in this embodiment, to facilitate the construction and subsequent maintenance of the cluster system, pluggable terminals are used for quick connection between the CAN bus and the communication interface, and between the power bus and the charging module. For details, please refer to... Figure 1 A terminal block 8 is fixedly installed inside the charging pile housing. Each wiring copper busbar, charging module, and bus establishes a corresponding electrical or communication connection through this terminal block. Furthermore, to reduce power loss due to transmission distance, the length of the power bus used to connect adjacent charging pile charging modules is less than 2 meters in this example. In addition, in some other embodiments, Ethernet communication is used instead of the CAN bus communication used in this example.

[0029] Although some preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0030] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of its inventive concept. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A charging pile cluster system, characterized in that, The system includes several charging piles, each equipped with a charging module, a control module, and a communication interface; a bus for connecting the charging piles linearly or in a ring; the control module includes an embedded controller; the communication interface includes a CAN transceiver connected to the embedded controller; the bus includes a CAN bus for establishing communication connections between the communication interfaces of adjacent charging piles and a power bus for establishing electrical connections between the charging modules of adjacent charging piles.

2. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging pile includes a pile shell and horizontal guide rails symmetrically fixed to the inner wall of the pile shell, and the charging module is slidably embedded between the corresponding horizontal guide rails.

3. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bus is connected to the corresponding communication interface or charging module using pluggable terminals.

4. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length of the power bus between adjacent charging stations is less than 2 meters.

5. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging pile includes a number of charging guns, and the charging module includes a charging sub-module that matches the number of charging guns and is used to supply power to the corresponding charging guns.

6. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The charging guns of the charging pile are electrically connected to each other, and a bus tie switch is provided for the charging guns to share the corresponding charging sub-module; the bus tie switch is communicatively connected to the control module.

7. The charging pile cluster system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The charging guns of adjacent charging piles are electrically connected to a cascaded switch for sharing the corresponding charging module; the cascaded switch is communicatively connected to the control module of the corresponding charging pile.

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