Charging process control of a charging control

Abstract

Method for controlling the charging process at a charging station for charging an electric vehicle, in which the charging station comprises a control unit referred to as a charging controller and a plurality of components, each with a further control unit, in which a plurality of charging process states are predetermined, in which processes between the charging process states are stored in a program flow chart (100) and in which the program flow chart (100) is executed on the charging controller, wherein, starting from a switch-on process, the charging process states "initialization" (110), "ready to charge" (120), "electric vehicle connected" (130), "insulation measurement" (140), "pre-charging" (150), "charging" (160), "end charging process" (170), and in the event of an error, the charging process states "not ready to charge" (180) and "charging process error" (190) are predetermined, wherein at least one item of status information about a respective charging process state is formed,wherein, with at least one piece of status information, a communication exchange is carried out between the charging control and at least one of the further control units, wherein, if no error occurs, a change is made from a current charging process state to a next charging process state associated with this, as soon as the respective state of the respective at least one further control unit corresponds to a respective charging process state associated with the at least one piece of status information, and wherein, if an error occurs, a change is made to the charging process states "Charging process error" (190) or "Not ready to charge" (180) and, after the error has been rectified, to the charging process state "Ready to charge" (120).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the charging process of a charging control system, in which a battery, for example of an electric vehicle, is electrically charged. Furthermore, a charging control device that carries out the charging process control is claimed.

[0002] Charging parks are designed for charging or rapid charging of electric vehicles. These can have multiple charging stations or charging columns and include additional components, such as a cooling unit, also known as a cooling box, and / or power electronics, designed either as a standalone module (also known as a LEM) with a power electronics control unit, or as a so-called charge box (also known as a CBX) with a charge box controller as the control unit. Communication takes place between the respective components. Furthermore, it must be assumed that the communication components are not located at a central location within a charging park, but are distributed among individual charging columns or charging stations.

[0003] An example of a communication process related to a charging station is the US publication US 2011 / 0276448 A1. This document discloses the communication between the charging station and its user, which displays the amount of energy charged and the associated costs for the user, and involves cashless payment.

[0004] Similarly, US 2013 / 0346308 A1 describes a charging control device that provides a price for a charging session at a charging station based on the requested charging time. Depending on the urgency of a charging session requested by the user and the amount of energy required, different prices can be displayed.

[0005] Charging stations in use around the world are now equipped with various communication components that must implement a charging process externally in compliance with standards. For example, the industry standards DIN EN 61851-1 and DIN SPEC 70121 describe the charging process at a powerline communication level, also known as PLC. However, it is conceivable to agree on a simpler communication between the individual communication components.

[0006] A method for controlling the charging process is mentioned, for example, in document DE 10 2010 040 395 A1, which describes the efficient charging of a vehicle battery by a charging station of a collective charging station. The connected vehicle battery is charged starting from an initial charge level according to a calculated charging priority value.

[0007] DE 10 2017 124 054 A1 discloses a system for a vehicle including an interpack switch configured to connect sections of a traction battery when closed to transfer electrical charge therebetween, and a controller configured to actuate the switch in response to a request to disconnect the sections and initiate a transfer of electrical charge to each of the sections in parallel and simultaneously.

[0008] DE 10 2012 204 675 A1 discloses systems and methods for initiating a charging system.

[0009] DE 10 2012 216 769 A1 discloses a power monitoring system including a vehicle system (20) that monitors the power state of a secondary battery (26) of an electric vehicle (2), and an off-vehicle system (10) that is mounted in a device outside the vehicle (1) and monitors the power supply to the electric vehicle (2).

[0010] DE 10 2011 089 567 A1 discloses a system and a method for evaluating the performance of a supply circuit for electric vehicle charging.

[0011] Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method that ensures simple communication between the communication components. To this end, meaningful states are to be developed that enable clear and secure passage through a charging process. The programming effort for such a charging process control should be as simple as possible, so that the charging process results in a simple process protocol that contains all essential features. Furthermore, the charging process should take all different charging standards into account. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a correspondingly designed charging control device.

[0012] To achieve the above-mentioned object, a method for charging process control at a charging station for charging an electric vehicle is proposed, in which the charging station comprises a control unit referred to as a charging controller or charging control device and several components, each with a further control unit, in which several charging process states are predetermined, in which processes between the charging process states are stored in a program flow chart and in which the program flow chart is executed on the charging controller, wherein the program flow chart ensures compatibility with at least one predetermined charging standard, wherein, starting from a switch-on process, the charging process states "Initialization", "Ready to charge", "Electric vehicle connected", "Insulation measurement", "Pre-charging", "Charging", "End charging process", and in the event of an error, the charging process states "Not ready to charge" and "Charging process error" are predetermined,wherein at least one item of status information is formed about a respective charging process state, wherein a communication exchange of the charging control with at least one of the further control units is carried out with at least one item of status information, wherein, if no error occurs, a change is made from a current charging process state to a next charging process state associated with this, optionally after a delay time, as soon as the respective state of the respective at least one further control unit corresponds to the respective at least one item of status information, and wherein, if an error occurs, a change is made to the charging process states "Charging process error" or "Not ready to charge" and, after the error has been rectified, to the charging process state "Ready to charge".

[0013] The electric vehicle to be charged can be a motor vehicle with at least one electric drive, for example, a purely electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. The method according to the invention charges a traction battery included in the electric vehicle.

[0014] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, a further control unit is formed by a power electronics control unit. In this case, the charging station comprises the components of the charging station, which includes the charging controller and charging plug at the end of a charging cable, and the power electronics. If necessary, the power electronics, which is equipped with a noisy cooling unit, is located at an appropriate distance from the charging station so as not to disturb the user of the charging station.

[0015] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, a further control unit is formed by a ChargeBox controller. The charging station comprises the components of a charging column, which includes the charging controller and charging plug at the end of a charging cable, and a ChargeBox containing the power electronics, which advantageously includes integrated cooling and, if appropriate, a battery storage unit.

[0016] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, a charging plug control unit is selected as a further control unit. This can be a sensor configured to signal, for example, that the charging plug has been plugged into a charging socket of the electric vehicle and / or that a charging socket cover of the electric vehicle has been opened, etc.

[0017] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, a communication exchange is carried out with a further control unit arranged in an electric vehicle.

[0018] In the context of the present disclosure, communication exchange means a transmission of respective messages or signals between the charging control or the charging control device and one of the other control devices of a charging park or the electric vehicle.

[0019] In yet another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the communication exchange is carried out using powerline communication and / or WLAN and / or LAN and / or mobile radio. The aforementioned means of communication are intended to represent only an exemplary selection and do not limit other possible forms of communication exchange. For example, it is conceivable that the communication exchange between the charging controller and the power electronics takes place via a permanently installed transmission cable, but that communication with an electric vehicle to be charged takes place via mobile radio.

[0020] The following describes a possible program flowchart executed on a charging controller. The power electronics control unit is used as an example. The program flow is also conceivable with the ChargeBoxController instead of the power electronics control unit.

[0021] The program flowchart begins with the charging control unit or charging controller switched off and continues when the charging control unit is switched on. It initially has the "Initialization" charging process state. If an error occurs, the charging process state changes to "Not Ready to Charge." The error could be caused, for example, by incomplete initialization, another internal system error occurring in the charging control unit, or an external system error communicated to the charging control unit. If no error occurs, the "Initialization" charging process state is considered complete. This may also require communication with another control unit, which responds to or confirms the "Initialization" charging process state.

[0022] After the "Initialization" charging process state has been completed without errors, the program flowchart advances to the "Ready to Charge" charging process state. If an error occurs, which can be of an internal or external nature, the system switches to the "Not Ready to Charge" charging process state. As soon as the system is deemed ready to charge, possibly after exchanging communication with the additional control unit, the system then enters the "Ready to Charge" charging process state. If no error occurs and the "Ready to Charge" charging process state is responded to or confirmed by at least one additional control unit, which may be generated by a charging plug control unit that controls a charging plug connected to an electric vehicle, through an exchange of communication, the program flowchart advances to the next "Electric Vehicle Connected" charging process state.

[0023] If the charging process state "Electric vehicle connected", in which communication is taking place with the electric vehicle, is present and the charging plug is disconnected from the electric vehicle, the system returns to the previous charging process state "Ready to charge". If an error is detected elsewhere, the system switches to the charging process state "Charging process error". However, if no error occurs and the electric vehicle responds to the communication exchange, e.g. by requesting an insulation measurement from the power electronics, the charging process state "Insulation measurement" results. The request for the insulation measurement is initiated, for example, by a control unit in the electric vehicle that monitors battery charging. The electric vehicle does not necessarily have to request an insulation measurement, but can also structure the communication exchange using other communication content.Furthermore, the charging process state “Electric vehicle connected” can be changed to the charging process state “End charging process” when the charging process is ended.

[0024] When switching to the "Insulation measurement" charging process state, an insulation measurement of the power electronics is requested from another control unit, which could be the power electronics control unit, for example, and the result of this insulation measurement is awaited. If an error occurs during the insulation measurement, the charging process state changes to the "Charging process error" charging process state. If no error occurs and the power electronics control unit sends a positive result, the next charging process state, "Pre-charging," follows, provided this is also requested or permitted by the electric vehicle via communication. Furthermore, the charging process state can also be switched from the "Insulation measurement" charging process state to the "End charging process" charging process state upon completion of the charging process.

[0025] In the "pre-charging" charging state, a charging cable and any capacitors located on the electric vehicle side and / or in the power electronics are pre-charged. If an error occurs, the charging state changes to the "charging error" charging state. However, if pre-charging is carried out and confirmed by communication, for example with the power electronics control unit, the charging specifications generated through communication with the electric vehicle are transmitted to the power electronics control unit, for example, and the next charging state, "charging," follows, provided that the electric vehicle also requests its start. Furthermore, the charging state can also be changed from the "pre-charging" charging state to the "end charging" charging state upon completion of the charging process.

[0026] In the "Charging" charging state, an electric vehicle's battery is being charged. Through communication with the electric vehicle, the charging specifications are continuously exchanged and forwarded, for example, to the power electronics control unit. If an error occurs, the charging state switches to the "Charging Error" charging state. However, if no error occurs, the battery was successfully charged, and when the electric vehicle requests that the charging process be stopped, the charging state switches to the "End Charging Process" charging state.

[0027] By switching to the "End charging" charging state, the power electronics control unit, for example, is requested to ensure that no current or voltage is present at one of the power electronics outputs. If an error occurs, the charging state switches to the "Charging error" charging state. If no error occurs and the absence of current and voltage is confirmed through communication with, for example, the power electronics control unit, the charging state returns to "Ready to charge" as soon as communication with the electric vehicle has been terminated and, if applicable, the charging cable has been plugged into the charging station.

[0028] The "Charging Error" charging state is reached when an error occurs from the respective charging states "Electric Vehicle Connected," "Insulation Measurement," "Pre-Charging," "Charging," and "Ending Charging." It can transition to the "Ready to Charge" charging state if the error can be corrected and no longer exists, or if the electric vehicle is no longer connected to the charging station. If the error cannot be corrected, however, the charging state switches to the "Not Ready to Charge" charging state.

[0029] Finally, the charging state “Not Ready to Charge” can only be changed to the charging state “Ready to Charge” if, for example, readiness for charging has been restored by correcting the error.

[0030] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention A fast charging process is carried out by means of the charging process control, the high charging power of which is provided either by a high direct voltage and / or a high direct current.

[0031] Furthermore, a charging control device for controlling a charging process by means of a charging sequence controller is claimed, which is arranged in a charging station and on which a charging sequence controller is configured to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims. The sequence of the charging process states takes place in such a way that the respective charging process state is specified by the charging control or the charging control device and transmitted as state information in a communication exchange to an associated component, e.g. the power electronics control unit or the ChargeBoxController. The next charging process state can only be reached by the charging control or the charging control device when the associated component corresponds to the respective state information transmitted to it and no error has occurred.When the charging process state is confirmed by the at least one further control unit, the execution of a section of the program flow chart assigned to the respective charging process state is confirmed.

[0032] Furthermore, a system is claimed that comprises a charging control device according to the invention, a charging station, and a charging plug, optionally including a charging plug control device, for connecting a battery of an electric vehicle. Several systems according to the invention can form a so-called charging park. Dividing the system according to the invention into individual components, which may be spatially distributed, is advantageous in this case, as this allows, for example, a narrow charging station with only minimal obstruction to visibility in traffic.

[0033] In an embodiment of the system according to the invention, the system additionally comprises a power electronics control unit, wherein the system is configured to carry out a method according to the invention together with an electric vehicle having a battery to be connected to the charging plug.

[0034] In another embodiment of the system according to the invention, the system additionally comprises a ChargeBoxController, wherein the system is configured to carry out a method according to the invention.

[0035] The system is designed with the charging control device according to the invention and the sufficiently simple program flow chart according to the invention running thereon to ensure compatibility with or with respect to charging standards known to those skilled in the art, such as Chademo, GB / T or CCS.

[0036] Further advantages and embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings.

[0037] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0038] Fig. 1 shows a program flow chart corresponding to an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

[0039] In Fig.1 shows a program flow chart 100 corresponding to an embodiment of the method according to the invention, which runs on a charging control device according to the invention. A power electronics control unit is selected as a further control unit communicating with the charging control device. However, the same program flow would also be conceivable with a ChargeBoxController. Furthermore, the charging control device can communicate with a charging plug control unit. The program flow chart 100 begins with the charging control device in a switched-off state 101 and, upon switching on 102 of the charging control device, which is triggered, for example, by an action on the part of a user, such as inserting a charging plug into a charging socket of an electric vehicle to be charged, removing the charging plug from the charging station, or touching a display of the charging station, transitions to a charging process state "initialization" 110, in which initialization 111 takes place.If an error occurs, which may be due, for example, to incomplete initialization, another internal system error occurring in the charging control unit, or an external system error communicated to the charging control unit, a change 118 to a charging process state "Not Ready to Charge" 180 is carried out. If no error occurs, the charging process state "Initialization" 110 is considered completed and a change 112 to a charging process state "Ready to Charge" 120 takes place. If an error occurs, which may be of an internal or external nature, a change 128 to the charging process state "Not Ready to Charge" 180 takes place. As soon as a readiness to charge 188 is again considered to be given there, possibly after exchanging communication with at least one other control unit, a change 182 to the charging process state "Ready to Charge" 120 follows. If no error occurs and the charging process state "Ready to Charge" 120 is, for example,a charging plug control unit that controls a charging plug connected to an electric vehicle, and / or by the power electronics control unit and / or by the electric vehicle control unit through a communication exchange, a change 123 to a charging process state "Electric vehicle connected" 130 occurs. If, while the charging process state "Electric vehicle connected" 130 is present, in which a communication exchange 133 with the electric vehicle takes place, the charging plug is disconnected from the electric vehicle while the charging plug is not yet locked, a change 132 back to the previous charging process state "Ready to charge" 120 occurs. If an error is detected otherwise, a change 139 to a charging process state "Charging process error" 190 occurs.However, if no error occurs and the electric vehicle responds to the communication exchange by requesting an insulation measurement of the power electronics, a change 134 to a charging process state "Insulation measurement" 140 follows. Furthermore, if the charging process is terminated prematurely, e.g., by the user at the charging station, a change 137 can occur from the charging process state "Electric vehicle connected" 130 to a charging process state "End charging process" 170. With the change 134 to the charging process state "Insulation measurement" 140, the power electronics control unit requests an insulation measurement 144 of the power electronics from the charging control unit via communication exchange and awaits the result of this insulation measurement 144. If an error occurs during the insulation measurement 144, a change 149 to the charging process state "Charging process error" 190 occurs.If no error occurs and the power electronics control unit sends a positive result to the charging control unit, a change 145 to the “Pre-charging” charging process state 150 occurs, provided that this is requested by the electric vehicle via communication with the charging control unit. Furthermore, a change 147 to the “End charging process” charging process state 170 can also occur from the “Insulation measurement” charging process state 140 if the charging process is terminated prematurely. In the “Pre-charging” charging process state 150, a pre-charging 155 of a charging cable, if applicable the power electronics and any capacitances on the electric vehicle side takes place. If an error occurs, a change 159 to the “Charging process error” charging process state 190 occurs. However, if pre-charging 155 is carried out and, for example, a communication exchange is carried out,with the power electronics control unit, the charging specifications established through communication between the charging control unit and the electric vehicle are transmitted, for example, from the charging control unit to the power electronics control unit, and a change 156 to a "charging" charging process state 160 follows, provided that the start of the charging process is also requested by the electric vehicle via communication exchange. Furthermore, a change 157 to the "end charging process" charging process state 170 can also occur from the "pre-charging" charging process state 150 if the charging process is terminated prematurely. In the "charging" charging process state 160, the battery of the electric vehicle is charged, and the charging specifications are continuously exchanged through communication exchange 166 between the charging control unit and the electric vehicle and forwarded, for example, to the power electronics control unit. If an error occurs, a change 169 to the "charging process error" charging process state 190 occurs.However, if no error occurs, the battery was successfully charged and, when the electric vehicle requests that the charging process be ended, a change 167 to the "End charging process" 170 charging process state occurs. With the change to the "End charging process" 170 charging process state, the charging control unit requests the power electronics control unit to establish a current and voltage free state 177 at an output of the power electronics. If an error occurs, a change 179 to the "Charging process error" 190 charging process state occurs. If no error occurs and the current and voltage free state is confirmed by communication with the power electronics control unit, a change 172 to the "Ready to charge" charging process state occurs as soon as the communication with the electric vehicle has been ended and the charging cable has been removed from the vehicle.The charging process state "Charging process error" 190 is reached by terminating the charging process when an error occurs from the respective charging process states "Electric vehicle connected" 130, "Insulation measurement" 140, "Pre-charging" 150, "Charging" 160, and "End charging process" 170. If the error can be rectified 199 or the electric vehicle is no longer connected to the charging station and the error was caused solely by the electric vehicle, a change 192 to the charging process state "Ready to charge" 120 occurs. If, however, the error cannot be rectified, a change is made to the charging process state "Not ready to charge" 180. Finally, a change 182 from the charging process state "Not ready to charge" 180 to the charging process state "Ready to charge" 120 only occurs if, for example, readiness for charging has been restored by rectifying the error.

Claims

[1] Method for controlling the charging process at a charging station for charging an electric vehicle, in which the charging station comprises a control unit referred to as a charging controller and a plurality of components, each with a further control unit, in which a plurality of charging process states are predetermined, in which processes between the charging process states are stored in a program flow chart (100) and in which the program flow chart (100) is executed on the charging controller, wherein, starting from a switch-on process, the charging process states "initialization" (110), "ready to charge" (120), "electric vehicle connected" (130), "insulation measurement" (140), "pre-charging" (150), "charging" (160), "end charging process" (170), and in the event of an error, the charging process states "not ready to charge" (180) and "charging process error" (190) are predetermined, wherein at least one item of status information about a respective charging process state is formed,wherein, with at least one piece of status information, a communication exchange is carried out between the charging control and at least one of the further control units, wherein, if no error occurs, a change is made from a current charging process state to a next charging process state associated with this, as soon as the respective state of the respective at least one further control unit corresponds to a respective charging process state associated with the at least one piece of status information, and wherein, if an error occurs, a change is made to the charging process states "Charging process error" (190) or "Not ready to charge" (180) and, after the error has been rectified, to the charging process state "Ready to charge" (120). [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein one of the further control units is formed by a power electronics control unit. [3] Method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one further control device is formed by a ChargeBoxController. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which a charging plug control unit is selected as one of the further control units. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the communication exchange is carried out with a further control unit arranged in an electric vehicle. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the communication exchange is carried out by means of powerline communication and / or WLAN and / or LAN and / or mobile radio. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which a rapid charging process is carried out by means of the charging sequence control, the high charging power of which is provided either by a high direct voltage or a high direct current. [8] Charging control device for controlling a charging process by means of a charging process control, which is arranged in a charging station and wherein the charging process control is configured to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims. [9] System comprising a charging control device according to claim 8, a charging station and a charging plug to be connected or connectable to a battery of an electric vehicle together with a charging plug control device. [10] System according to claim 9, which additionally comprises a power electronics control unit and is configured to carry out a method according to any one of claims 2, 4 to 7. [11] System according to claim 9, which additionally comprises a ChargeBoxController and is configured to carry out a method according to one of claims 3 to 7.

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