Charging cable and method for detecting theft of a charging cable

Abstract

Charging cable (1) for charging an electric vehicle (50), comprising: a plurality of electrical conductors (L1,L2,L3) for transmitting electrical power, wherein the charging cable (1) comprises an electrical resistor (3) on the vehicle side with contacts that can be tapped off from a vehicle-side plug (2), characterized in that the charging cable (1) has two further electrical conductors (4) which are connected to the electrical resistor (3), so that at least one further electrical resistor (6) can be connected in parallel to the electrical resistor (3) on the infrastructure side, wherein the charging cable (1) comprises the at least one further electrical resistor (6) on the infrastructure side, wherein the at least one further electrical resistor (6) is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor (3) via the two further electrical conductors (4), and / or wherein the charging cable (1) is designed such that the two further electrical conductors (4) can be connected to a further electrical resistor (6) arranged on a charging infrastructure device (8).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a charging cable and a method for detecting theft of a charging cable. Furthermore, the invention relates to an electric vehicle, a charging infrastructure device, and a system.

[0002] As the proportion of electric vehicles on the road increases, it is expected that charging infrastructure will also be expanded. Such charging infrastructure includes, for example, wall boxes and / or charging stations, etc. To charge an electric vehicle at a wall box or charging station, the electric vehicle is electrically connected to the wall box or charging station using a charging cable. Since high power outputs of several kilowatts and high currents are used during charging, the charging cables contain electrical conductors with large cross-sections. Due to their large cross-sections, the charging cables contain large quantities of a conductive metal, particularly copper, which has a high monetary value. A controller box arranged on the charging cable, for example an in-cable control box (ICCB) or a cable control and protective device (ICCPD), also has a high monetary value.

[0003] A charging cable theft warning system is known from WO 2014 / 149303 A1. This system comprises a charging cable, a connector coupled to the charging cable, a control device, at least one sensor configured to detect tampering with the charging cable, and an alarm system configured to provide an alarm corresponding to the at least one sensor upon detection of tampering. A sensor may have a quick-disconnect coupling and / or may be configured to monitor an electrical characteristic of the system. A sensor may additionally or alternatively include one or more of a holster, a signal transceiver, and a communication device. The warning may include an audible warning, a visual warning, and / or a signal sent to a remote location. The system may also include a camera.

[0004] Systems, methods, devices, and computer-readable media are known from WO 2013 / 181147 A1. These detect the status of a cable, and in particular a cable of electrical supply equipment. An example of electrical supply equipment is electrical vehicle supply equipment that can be used to charge an electric vehicle. The electric vehicle supply equipment can include a cable for supplying electrical energy from a power source to the electric vehicle. Furthermore, the electric vehicle supply equipment can include a cable detection subcircuit for detecting a status of an associated cable. In particular, the cable detection subcircuit can detect whether the cable has been removed. Furthermore, the electric vehicle supply equipment can take various actions based on results provided by the cable detection subcircuit.

[0005] The invention is based on the object of improving a charging cable and a method for detecting theft of a charging cable. Furthermore, the invention is based on the object of creating an associated electric vehicle, a charging infrastructure device, and a system.

[0006] The object is achieved according to the invention by a charging cable having the features of patent claim 1 and a method having the features of patent claim 9. Furthermore, the object is achieved by an electric vehicle having the features of patent claim 6, a charging infrastructure device having the features of patent claim 7, and a system having the features of patent claim 8. Advantageous embodiments of the invention emerge from the subclaims.

[0007] In particular, a charging cable for charging an electric vehicle is provided, comprising a plurality of electrical conductors for transmitting electrical power, wherein the charging cable comprises an electrical resistor on the vehicle side with contacts that can be tapped off from a vehicle-side plug, wherein the charging cable has two further electrical conductors that are connected to the electrical resistor, so that at least one further electrical resistor can be connected in parallel to the electrical resistor on the infrastructure side.

[0008] Furthermore, in particular, a method for detecting theft of a charging cable according to the invention is provided, comprising the steps of: determining an electrical resistance of the parallel-connected electrical resistors on a vehicle side and / or on an infrastructure side by means of a resistance measuring device, comparing the determined electrical resistance with a predetermined resistance value by means of a control device, deriving a charging cable state of the charging cable from a comparison result, outputting the derived charging cable state.

[0009] The charging cable and the method make it possible, in particular, to detect theft of the charging cable. For this purpose, the charging cable has two additional electrical conductors. The two electrical conductors extend, in particular, over the entire length of the charging cable. An electrical resistor is connected to the two electrical conductors on a vehicle-side plug of the charging cable. At least one additional electrical resistor can be connected to the two electrical conductors on the infrastructure side. By measuring the resistance using a resistance measuring device, the electrical resistance of the electrical resistor arranged in the vehicle-side plug and of the at least one additional electrical resistor can be determined. Since the resistance values ​​of the resistors are known, the resistance measurement can be used to determine the current status of the charging cable.In particular, a disconnected charging cable can be detected in this way. This is done by comparing the electrical resistance determined during the resistance measurement with a predetermined resistance value. The predetermined resistance value is in particular the resistance value calculated from all electrical resistors connected in parallel on the two other electrical conductors. However, it can also be provided that a threshold value is used as the predetermined resistance value that lies above a resistance value calculated from all electrical resistors connected in parallel on the two other electrical conductors. If this predetermined resistance value is exceeded, it can be concluded that at least one of the electrical resistors has been removed and the charging cable has been tampered with or removed. A charging cable status is derived from the comparison result.The derived charging cable status is then output, for example, at an interface provided for this purpose, for example as a charging cable status signal.

[0010] One advantage of the invention is that the charging cable's condition can be determined on the vehicle side using resistance measurement. Furthermore, monitoring on the infrastructure side is also possible. The charging cable can therefore be monitored flexibly, allowing further action to be taken in the event of theft or a defective charging cable.

[0011] The charging cable status is particularly a theft status of the charging cable, i.e., the charging cable status indicates whether the charging cable has been tampered with and / or stolen. However, the charging cable status can also refer to a defective charging cable, i.e., in particular, a severed charging cable.

[0012] The charging cable can be designed, in particular, as a Mode 2 charging cable or a Mode 3 charging cable. In principle, however, the invention can also be used in other types of charging cables.

[0013] An electric vehicle is, in particular, a motor vehicle; this can be a purely electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. However, the electric vehicle can also be another aircraft, land vehicle, or watercraft.

[0014] The resistance measuring device and / or the control device can be designed alone or together as a combination of hardware and software, for example as program code executed on a microcontroller or microprocessor.

[0015] In one alternative, the charging cable comprises the at least one additional electrical resistor on the infrastructure side, wherein the at least one additional electrical resistor is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor via the two additional electrical lines. In particular, the at least one additional electrical resistor can be arranged at an infrastructure-side end of the charging cable, for example, in an infrastructure-side connector.

[0016] In a simple embodiment, the charging cable includes a (single) additional electrical resistor. This is then arranged, in particular, at an infrastructure-side part or end of the charging cable. This allows additional costs to be kept to a minimum.

[0017] However, the charging cable can also be provided with several additional electrical resistors. These can, for example, be arranged at equidistant intervals along the two other electrical conductors. With several additional electrical resistors, the location and / or extent of the tampering or theft can be determined or estimated based on the specific resistance value.

[0018] In one embodiment, the electrical resistor is connected to a protective contact and a proximity pilot contact of the plug. This allows existing charging infrastructure solutions to be retained, thus saving costs.

[0019] In one embodiment, it is provided that the electrical resistor and the at least one further electrical resistor have the same resistance value. In particular, it is provided that the resistance values ​​are or are selected such that a total resistance of the parallel-connected electrical resistors corresponds to a resistance value of an electrical resistor that is used as standard between a protective contact and a proximity pilot contact of a vehicle-mounted connector. This makes it possible to continue using existing standards while still expanding the functionality of the charging cable to include theft detection.

[0020] In one embodiment, the at least one additional electrical resistor is arranged in a controller box of the charging cable. This means that only the charging cable needs to be adapted, while the charging infrastructure can be retained unchanged. The charging cable is, in particular, a Mode 2 charging cable.

[0021] In one embodiment, the at least one additional electrical resistor is arranged in an infrastructure-side connector of the charging cable. This allows the charging cable to be monitored along its entire length.

[0022] In one embodiment of the method, at least one monitoring function and / or an alarm signal is triggered based on the derived charging cable status. This occurs, for example, via the control device. The monitoring function can, for example, include activating a surveillance camera, such as a dashboard camera of the electric vehicle or a camera of the charging infrastructure device. The alarm signal can, for example, be sent as a push message to a vehicle owner and / or an operator of the charging infrastructure.

[0023] Furthermore, in particular, an electric vehicle with an electrical energy storage device is also provided, comprising a charging socket for charging the electrical energy storage device, wherein the charging socket can be connected to a charging cable according to any of the described embodiments, a resistance measuring device for determining an electrical resistance of parallel-connected electrical resistors in the charging cable and, if present, in a charging infrastructure device; and a control device, wherein the control device is designed to compare the determined electrical resistance with a predetermined resistance value, to derive a charging cable state of the charging cable from a comparison result, and to output the derived charging cable state.

[0024] Furthermore, in particular, a charging infrastructure device for charging an electrical energy storage device of an electric vehicle is also created, wherein the charging infrastructure device can be or is connected to a charging cable according to any of the described embodiments, comprising at least one further electrical resistor, wherein the at least one further electrical resistor can be or is connected to a charging cable according to any of the described embodiments in such a way that the at least one further electrical resistor is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor of the charging cable;and / or comprising a resistance measuring device for determining an electrical resistance of parallel-connected electrical resistors in the charging cable and, if present, in the charging infrastructure device, and a control device, wherein the control device is configured to compare the determined electrical resistance with a predetermined resistance value, derive a charging cable state of the charging cable from a comparison result, and output the derived charging cable state. The charging infrastructure device can be, for example, a charging station or a wall box.

[0025] Then, in particular, a system is also created, comprising at least one such charging infrastructure device and at least one charging cable according to any of the described embodiments.

[0026] The invention will be explained in more detail below using preferred embodiments with reference to the figures. Fig. 1a is a schematic representation of a charging socket of an electric vehicle and a vehicle-side plug of a charging cable from the prior art; Fig. 1b a schematic representation of an electrical resistance measured on the vehicle side between the protective contact and the proximity pilot contact over time (state of the art); Fig. 2a a schematic representation of a charging socket of an electric vehicle and a vehicle-side plug of an embodiment of the charging cable; Fig. 2b a schematic representation of an electrical resistance measured on the vehicle side between the protective contact and the proximity pilot contact over time; Fig. 3 a schematic representation of an embodiment of the electric vehicle; Fig. 4 a schematic representation of an embodiment of the charging infrastructure device.

[0027] In Fig. 1a shows a schematic representation of a charging socket 10 of an electric vehicle and a vehicle-side plug 2 of a charging cable 1 from the prior art. The charging cable 1 has three electrical conductors L1, L2, L3 for transmitting electrical power. On the vehicle side, the charging cable 1 further has an electrical resistor 3 with contacts PE, PP that can be tapped off the vehicle-side plug 2. The contacts PE, PP are a protective contact PE and a proximity pilot contact PP, with which the presence of the plug 2 at the charging socket 10 is detected on the vehicle side. A control pilot contact CP and a neutral conductor contact N are also shown. For the sake of clarity, the electrical conductors L1, L2, L3 and further conductors for contacting the other contacts CP, N of the charging cable 1 are only indicated.

[0028] In Fig. 1b is a schematic representation of a vehicle-side connection between protective contact PE and proximity pilot contact PP ( Fig. 1a) is shown over time (time t). At a time t1, the charging cable 1 is severed and removed. Only the plug 2 remains connected to the charging socket 10. Tampering with or theft of the charging cable 2 cannot be detected.

[0029] In Fig. Figure 2a shows a schematic representation of a charging socket 10 of an electric vehicle and a vehicle-side plug 2 of an embodiment of the charging cable 1. The embodiment shown is basically like the one in the Fig. 1a, the same reference numerals denote the same features and terms.

[0030] In addition, the charging cable 1 has two further electrical conductors 4. The charging cable 1 comprises a controller box 5. A further electrical resistor 6 is arranged in the controller box 5. Alternatively, the further electrical resistor 6 can also be arranged in an infrastructure-side connector 7 of the charging cable 1 or a charging infrastructure device 8. The further electrical resistor 6 is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor 3 via the two further electrical conductors 4. For the sake of clarity, the electrical conductors L1, L2, L3 and further conductors for contacting the other contacts CP, N of the charging cable 1 are only indicated.

[0031] The electrical resistor 3 and the further electrical resistor 6 are selected such that they each have a resistance value twice as high as the electrical resistor 3 used in the prior art (cf. Fig. 1a). This allows an existing standard to continue to be met, since the parallel-connected electrical resistors 3.6 again produce the original resistance value.

[0032] In Fig. 2b is a schematic representation of a vehicle-side connection between protective contact PE and proximity pilot contact PP ( Fig. 2a) is shown over time (time t). Before a time t1, the measured electrical resistance R corresponds to the resistance value of the electrical resistance 3 of the Fig. 1 shown charging cable 1 from the prior art. At a time t1, the charging cable 1 is severed and removed. Only the plug 2 remains on the charging socket 10. Since the further electrical resistor 6 was also removed with the removed part of the charging cable 1, after time t1 only the resistance value of the electrical resistor 3 is recorded. Consequently, the recorded electrical resistance R doubles after time t1. This allows the tampering with or theft of the charging cable 1 to be detected. For example, the recorded electrical resistance R can be compared with a threshold value R thr be compared. If the measured electrical resistance R is above the threshold value R thr , manipulation and / or theft of the charging cable 1 is detected.

[0033] In Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of the electric vehicle 50. The electric vehicle 50 comprises an electrical energy storage device (not shown) and a charging socket 10 for charging the electrical energy storage device. The charging socket 10 can be connected to a charging cable 1 according to the Fig. 2a. The electric vehicle 50 further comprises a resistance measuring device 51 for determining an electrical resistance of parallel-connected electrical resistors 3, 6 in the charging cable 1 ( Fig. 2a) and, if present, in a charging infrastructure facility 7. The electrical resistance 3, 6 is determined in particular between a protective contact PE and a proximity pilot contact PE. Furthermore, the electric vehicle 50 comprises a control device 52, wherein the control device 52 is configured to compare the determined electrical resistance R with a threshold value, i.e., a predetermined resistance value Rthr , to compare, to derive a charging cable state 9 of the charging cable from a comparison result and to output the derived charging cable state 9.

[0034] The resistance measurement can also be carried out in a charging infrastructure device 8. An embodiment of the charging infrastructure device 8 is shown schematically in the Fig. 4. The structure is essentially the same, and the same reference numerals denote the same features and terms. For this purpose, the charging infrastructure device 8 also has a resistance measuring device 51 connected to a charging socket 11 of the charging infrastructure device 8 and a control device 52. The mode of operation is the same as for the electric vehicle described above.

[0035] It can be provided that at least one monitoring function and / or an alarm signal (not shown) is triggered based on the derived charging cable state 9. This is done, for example, by means of the control device 52. The monitoring function can, for example, include activating a surveillance camera, for example a dashboard camera of the electric vehicle 50 or a camera of the charging infrastructure device 8. The alarm signal can, for example, be sent as a push message to a vehicle owner and / or an operator of the charging infrastructure. List of reference symbols 1 charging cable 2 vehicle-side connectors 3 electrical resistance 4 additional electrical conductors 5 Controller Box 6 additional electrical resistance 7 infrastructure-side connector 8 Charging infrastructure facility 9 Charging cable condition 10 Charging socket 11 Charging socket 50 electric vehicles 51 Resistance measuring device 52 Control device L1 electrical conductor L2 electrical conductor L3 electrical conductor PE protective contact PP Proximity Pilot Contact CP Contact N Contact R measured electrical resistance R thr specified resistance value (threshold value) t time t1 time point

Claims

[1] Charging cable (1) for charging an electric vehicle (50), comprising: a plurality of electrical conductors (L1,L2,L3) for transmitting electrical power, wherein the charging cable (1) comprises an electrical resistor (3) on the vehicle side with contacts that can be tapped off from a vehicle-side plug (2), characterized by , that the charging cable (1) has two further electrical conductors (4) which are connected to the electrical resistor (3), so that at least one further electrical resistor (6) can be connected in parallel to the electrical resistor (3) on the infrastructure side, wherein the charging cable (1) comprises the at least one further electrical resistor (6) on the infrastructure side, wherein the at least one further electrical resistor (6) is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor (3) via the two further electrical conductors (4), and / or wherein the charging cable (1) is designed such that the two further electrical conductors (4) can be connected to a further electrical resistor (6) arranged on a charging infrastructure device (8). [2] Charging cable according to claim 1, characterized by that the electrical resistor (3) is connected to a protective contact (PE) and a proximity pilot contact (PP) of the plug (2). [3] Charging cable (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the electrical resistance (3) and the at least one further electrical resistance (6) are of equal resistance value. [4] Charging cable (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one further electrical resistor (6) is arranged in a controller box (5) of the charging cable (1). [5] Charging cable (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the at least one further electrical resistor (6) is arranged in an infrastructure-side plug (7) of the charging cable (1). [6] Electric vehicle (50) with an electrical energy storage device, comprising: a charging socket (10) for charging the electrical energy storage device, wherein the charging socket (10) can be connected to a charging cable (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, a resistance measuring device (51) for determining an electrical resistance (R) of parallel-connected electrical resistors (3, 6) in the charging cable (1) and, if present, in a charging infrastructure device (8), and a control device (52), wherein the control device (52) is designed to compare the determined electrical resistance (R) with a predetermined resistance value (R thr ), to derive a charging cable status (9) of the charging cable (1) from a comparison result and to output the derived charging cable status (9). [7] Charging infrastructure device (8) for charging an electrical energy storage device of an electric vehicle (50), wherein the charging infrastructure device (8) can be connected or is connected to a charging cable (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: at least one further electrical resistor (6), wherein the at least one further electrical resistor (6) can be connected or is connected to a charging cable (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5 in such a way that the at least one further electrical resistor (6) is connected in parallel with the electrical resistor (3) of the charging cable (1); and / or comprehensive: a resistance measuring device (51) for determining an electrical resistance (R) of parallel-connected electrical resistors (3, 6) in the charging cable (1) and, if present, in the charging infrastructure device (8), and a control device (52), wherein the control device (52) is designed to compare the determined electrical resistance (R) with a predetermined resistance value (R thr ), to derive a charging cable state (9) of the charging cable (1) from a comparison result and to output the derived charging cable state (9). [8] System comprising at least one charging infrastructure device (8) according to claim 7 and at least one charging cable (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5. [9] Method for detecting theft of a charging cable (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps: Determining an electrical resistance (R) of the parallel-connected electrical resistors (3, 6) on a vehicle side and / or on an infrastructure side by means of a resistance measuring device (51), Comparing the determined electrical resistance (R) with a given resistance value (R thr) by means of a control device (52), Deriving a charging cable status (9) of the charging cable (1) from a comparison result, Output the derived charging cable status (9).

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