Method and device for setting up an on-board charger in an electrically powered vehicle

Abstract

Method (10) for setting up an on-board charger (10, 12) in an electrically powered vehicle, characterized by the following features: - a proxy resistance of a charging socket (18) of the vehicle is queried (44, 68), - if the proxy resistor is present (46), a master configuration (48, 50, 52) of the on-board charger (10) is carried out and - if the proxy resistor is not present (70), a slave configuration (72, 74, 76) of the on-board charger (12) is carried out.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for setting up an on-board charger in an electrically powered vehicle. The present invention also relates to a corresponding device. State of the art

[0002] An electrically powered vehicle (hybrid or electric vehicle) whose traction battery can be charged via an electrical connection to the stationary power grid is known in automotive engineering as a plug-in vehicle. For particularly fast charging, multiple on-board chargers (OBCs) can be installed in such a vehicle. By default, in such a case, only the first on-board charger is electrically connected to the vehicle's charging socket and logically configured as the "master," while the (optional) additional on-board chargers are logically configured as "slaves" and are connected to the "master" only via a communication line.

[0003] According to EP 2 618 451 A2, a charger network is established by a method that includes switching on a charger, which performs a self-test. The charger communicates with the network via a communication medium, sets itself to master, and can supply power to a battery pack.

[0004] DE 10 2012 200 489 A1 discloses a charging system for use in a vehicle for charging a vehicle battery, comprising a first charging device and a second charging device. The charging devices are connected to a vehicle bus. Each charging device has a master indication digital input and decodes the input to determine its role as a master charging device or slave charging device. The master charging device configures its connection to the vehicle bus to use a master node message set. The slave charging device configures its connection to the vehicle bus to use a slave node message set.

[0005] DE 10 2011 017 567 A1 describes a dual charger system for charging a battery with current regulated by two chargers connected in parallel to the battery, one of the chargers being operated in accordance with a voltage regulation mode and the other charger being operated in accordance with a current regulation mode.

[0006] JP 2014-230332 A discloses a charging device having a plurality of charging modules, each having a microcomputer. Each of the microcomputers includes a memory section for storing master authorization data indicating whether or not the charging module has master authorization, a control section for controlling a charging circuit by detecting whether the charging module is performing master operation or slave operation based on the master authorization data, and a state monitoring section for monitoring a state of each charging circuit itself and generating state data indicating the monitored state. The control section of the charging module, which has master authorization, determines whether or not master operation can continue based on the state data, and if master operation can continue, does not change the master authorization data stored in each memory section.If the master operation cannot be continued, the control unit changes the master authorization data stored in each memory unit and transfers the master authorization to the other charging module. Disclosure of the invention

[0007] The invention provides a method for setting up an on-board charger in an electrically powered vehicle and a corresponding device according to the independent claims.

[0008] This approach is based on the fundamental idea of ​​providing standardized software for each on-board charger (i.e., for both the "master" and "slave" simultaneously), which automatically adapts when the vehicle is first connected to the stationary power grid. In particular, the on-board charger electrically connected to the vehicle's charging socket is configured as the "master." Any additional on-board chargers that are not electrically connected to the charging socket are configured as "slaves" to communicate with the "master." The system automatically configures itself to the appropriate charging power (e.g., 11 kW or 22 kW) depending on the number of on-board chargers installed in the vehicle.

[0009] The advantage is that the software for both the master and slave systems can be maintained, serviced, and tested in a uniform manner; moreover, the software only needs to be installed once during vehicle production.

[0010] Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent patent claims. In particular, automatic configuration of the master or slave is provided by querying the proxy resistor of the charging socket. This proxy resistor is typically used to detect the insertion of a charging plug into the charging socket. The charging plug comprises a temporary resistor that is electrically connected in parallel with the proxy resistor and evaluated by a logic circuit in the on-board charger. Even when the charging plug is not plugged in, a voltage can still be detected via the logic circuit in the on-board charger, which can be used to detect the charging socket.

[0011] Additionally, the functionality of the standard programmable logic controller (PLC) in an on-board charger is only enabled when the on-board charger is configured as the master. Deactivating the PLC functionality in on-board chargers configured as slaves results in savings in standby current. Short description of the drawings

[0012] An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings and is described in more detail below. Fig. 1 shows the situation underlying a method according to the invention. Fig. Figure 2 is a simplified flow chart of the procedure. Embodiments of the invention

[0013] Fig. Figure 1 illustrates the situation. Accordingly, a master-slave concept is provided. The master on-board charger 10 is connected to the entire charging socket periphery 18 via a charging socket connection 16 and detects and handles the entire plug-in procedure. The slave on-board charger 12, on the other hand, is only responsible for providing the additional power. This concept is offered to enable faster charging of the traction battery 14, for example, using public infrastructure. All relevant data for controlling the charging process is exchanged between the master 10 and the slave 12 via a communication path (controller area network, CAN). The master on-board charger 10 is always connected to the charging socket 18, while the slave 12 is only connected to the AC distribution 20, the DC distribution 22, and the communication line between the master 10.

[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates by way of example the sequence of a method 30 according to the invention in the situation according to Fig. 1.

[0015] The starting point of the method 30 is the installation 32 of the on-board chargers 10, 12 in the vehicle. While the on-board charger 10 is connected (34), among other things, to the charging socket 18, the AC power distribution 20, the DC power distribution 22, and the communication system, the installation 36 of the other on-board charger 12 takes place only to the AC power distribution 20, the DC power distribution 22, and the communication system. The on-board charger 10 is now connected to the charging socket 18 (38), while the on-board charger 12 is not connected to the charging socket 18 (40).

[0016] The following, in Fig. 2 hatched steps are assigned to the learning phase of the underlying algorithm.

[0017] In the case of the on-board charger 10, a proxy resistor of the charging socket 18 is first queried (44). Since the proxy resistor is present (46), the on-board charger 10 is coded as a master (48) by activating its corresponding programmable logic controller. Within the framework of this master configuration 48, 50, 52, the on-board charger 10 configures (50) a CAN matrix stored in the on-board charger 10 to master, thus activating the command set for the charging control of the subsequent slave on-board charger 12. On the other hand, the on-board charger 10 configures (52) its history memory to master, which, among other things, defines the conditions for a charging request of 22 kW by the on-board charger 10.

[0018] After the described master configuration 48, 50, 52, the on-board charger 10 sends (54) a signal (flag) on ​​the CAN and waits for a period of time (timeout 58) - preferably in seconds - specified for the corresponding confirmation from the further on-board charger 12 provided as a slave. If the acknowledgment by the on-board charger 12 were missing within this period of time (60), the on-board charger 10 would configure itself for individual operation (standalone) with a total charging power of 11 kW (62) and a corresponding diagnostic point (64).

[0019] However, the on-board charger 12, which is not connected to the charging socket 18 (66), also queries its proxy resistor (68). Since the proxy resistor is not present here (70), the on-board charger 12 is configured as a slave (72) by deactivating the programmable logic controller reserved exclusively for the master 10.

[0020] Within the scope of the slave configuration 72, 74, 76, the on-board charger 12 also configures (74) the CAN matrix stored therein to slave, thus activating the command set for charging control from the master 10; furthermore, it configures (76) its history memory to slave, thereby defining the conditions for a charging request of 22 kW by the on-board charger 12.

[0021] Following this slave configuration 72, 74, 76, the on-board charger 12 prepares (78) to receive the signal on the CAN. During the specified time period 80, the on-board charger 12 in the present scenario actually receives (82) the signal, configures (84) itself for pair operation with a total charging power of 22 kW, and sends (84) the corresponding confirmation via the CAN to the master 10, which in turn receives it (86).

[0022] In view of the acknowledgement, the on-board charger 10 now configures (88) the 22 kW charging system in the vehicle, adjusts the charging power calculation to 22 kW (90), automatically parameterizes (92) the system adaptively to 22 kW, starts (94) the communication in the vehicle and saves all settings in the master 10 and the slave on-board charger 12.

Claims

[1] Method (10) for setting up an on-board charger (10, 12) in an electrically powered vehicle, characterized by following features: - a proxy resistance of a charging socket (18) of the vehicle is queried (44, 68), - if the proxy resistor is present (46), a master configuration (48, 50, 52) of the on-board charger (10) is carried out and - if the proxy resistor is not present (70), a slave configuration (72, 74, 76) of the on-board charger (12) is carried out. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by following features: - if the master configuration (48, 50, 52) is carried out, a programmable logic controller of the on-board charger (10) is activated and - if the slave configuration (72, 74, 76) is made, the programmable logic controller is deactivated. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by following features: - during the master configuration (48, 50, 52) or the slave configuration (72, 74, 76), the on-board charger (10, 12) configures (50, 74) a CAN matrix stored in the on-board charger (10, 12) and - during the master configuration (48, 50, 52) or the slave configuration (72, 74, 76), the on-board charger (10, 12) configures (52, 76) a history memory of the on-board charger (10, 12). [4] Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by following features: - after the master configuration (48, 50, 52), the on-board charger (10) sends (54) a signal via a CAN of the vehicle and waits for a predetermined period of time (58) for confirmation of the signal by another on-board charger (12) and, - if the confirmation is not received (60) within the time period (58), the on-board charger (10) configures (62) itself for single operation and - makes (66) a diagnosis in individual operation. [5] Method according to claim 4, characterized by following features: - if the additional on-board charger (12) receives the signal (82) within the time period (58), the additional on-board charger (12) configures itself (84) for pair operation and sends the confirmation via the CAN and - the on-board charger (10) receives (86) the confirmation and configures (88) the pair operation in the vehicle. [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by following features: - after the on-board charger (10) has configured pair operation (88), the on-board charger (10) adapts a charging power calculation to pair operation (90), - a parameterization for pair operation is carried out (92) and - communication via CAN is initiated (94) and settings are saved in the on-board chargers (10, 12). [7] Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by following features: - after the slave configuration (72, 74, 76), the on-board charger (10) prepares (78) to receive a signal via a CAN of the vehicle and - waits a specified period of time (80). [8] Device (10, 12) for carrying out a method (30) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by following features: - means for querying (44, 68) a proxy resistance of a charging socket (18) of a vehicle, - means for master configuration (48, 50, 52) of an on-board charger (10) of the vehicle, if the proxy resistor is present (46), and - means for slave configuration (72, 74, 76) of the on-board charger (12) if the proxy resistor is not present (70).

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