CHARGING DEVICE FOR CHARGING THE DRIVE BATTERY OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING ENERGY CONSUMPTION DATA WHEN CHARGING ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a charging device, e.g., a charging cable, for charging the drive battery of an electric vehicle from an energy source suitable for charging the drive battery. The charging device has at least one connection for connecting to the charging connection of the electric vehicle and at least one connection for connecting to the energy source suitable for charging the drive battery. The invention also relates to a method for acquiring energy consumption data when charging electric vehicles from various energy sources.

[0002] Charging cables for electric vehicles are known which, on the one hand, are connected to a standard socket in industrial or household areas and draw energy from there, and on the other hand, supply this energy to a vehicle with a storage battery via a standardized plug connection. EP 3 453 559 B1, for example, discloses such a system. The energy is drawn from a single-phase or three-phase alternating voltage at the values ​​customary in various countries, e.g. 230V / 50Hz in Europe. This energy is passed on unchanged to the vehicle, where it is converted into a direct voltage suitable for charging the vehicle battery. The charging cable typically performs a number of protection and control functions. It monitors the currents through the phases and the neutral conductor and, if a difference exceeds a certain threshold, triggers an alarm and switches off the live conductors to protect people through whom the differential current could flow.This monitoring applies to both AC and DC differential currents. Overcurrents are also detected, and once a threshold is reached, the live conductors are disconnected to protect the lines from overload and thus overheating. Short circuits are also covered by this protection.

[0003] At standard charging stations for electric vehicles, the amount of energy transferred since charging began is recorded and displayed. This allows the energy costs incurred to date to be determined, given the energy price. To bill energy costs, it is currently necessary to manually record and record the energy costs for different vehicles and different energy sources (i.e., withdrawal points) separately.

[0004] Such manual recording is time-consuming because, for billing purposes, the energy costs for different vehicles must be recorded separately, and the energy costs for different energy consumption points must also be recorded separately. For example, if a person uses two electric vehicles, e.g., a private vehicle and a company vehicle, and regularly charges these vehicles at home, it is important for them to record the energy consumption costs for both vehicles separately, as they only receive reimbursement from their employer for the energy costs for the company vehicle. Furthermore, they only receive reimbursement for the energy costs for the company vehicle that are incurred at home, not those incurred in their employer's parking lot.The employee would now have to enter the energy costs of each charging process in the correct place in a table in order to obtain complete documentation of the charging processes sorted by vehicle and power consumption point.

[0005] DE 10 2013 014 527 A1 describes a method for the dynamic and up-to-date provision of information about charging stations for electric vehicles. For this purpose, charging station information is stored in a central computer along with a charging station identifier and location information for the charging station. A charging request sent by a user contains location information for the charging request by identifying a mobile station with the associated geographical information. From the plurality of stored charging station information items, a tuple of charging station information is selected based on the geographical information of the mobile station via which a charging request was transmitted, by comparing it with the respective location information of the charging station, and is transmitted to the user along with current status information.

[0006] US 2010 / 0134067 A1 discloses a charging station for electric vehicles connected to a control unit for controlling a group of charging stations.

[0007] Electricity is dynamically distributed to the charging stations. Access to the charging station is granted based on vehicle operator information, such as the operator's account and contact information, including name, address, email address, and telephone number. A registration portal is provided for this purpose. Vehicle operators can enter their username, password, and payment information via a user interface.

[0008] EP 2 514 625 A2 describes a method for charging electric vehicle batteries using charging stations, whereby authorization is performed using biometric identity information for authorized individuals. This authorized individual can then charge any electric vehicle at the authorized charging station at their own expense.

[0009] DE 10 2015 204 070 B3 discloses an energy transmission connector, a system, and a method. US 2018 / 0001776 A1 discloses a charging cable-integrated control box for charging an electric vehicle and a method for charging an electric vehicle with such a charging cable. DE 10 2010 014 417 A1 discloses an intelligent charging cable for electric vehicles. WO 2020 / 073138 A1 discloses a smart charging cable for electric vehicles.

[0010] The invention is therefore based on the object of simplifying the billing of energy costs when charging electric vehicles.

[0011] This object is achieved with a charging device according to claim 1. a) the charging device is configured to record a vehicle identification that uniquely identifies the connected electric vehicle, b) the charging device is configured to record the amount of energy charged from the energy source into the electric vehicle during a charging process or a parameter characterising the amount of energy and to store it in a storage device with an assignment to the vehicle identification of the electric vehicle.

[0012] Electric vehicles within the meaning of the present invention are understood to mean, in particular, passenger cars, trucks, and motorcycles that have an electric drive for powering the electric vehicle and a drive battery for supplying the electric drive with electricity. Electric vehicles in this sense include, in particular, purely electric vehicles without combustion engines, as well as electric vehicles with hybrid drives, provided that a charging port is available for externally charging the drive battery from a separate energy source. The electric vehicle is also referred to below as "vehicle" for short.

[0013] The invention has the advantage of offering an extended functionality of the charging device, e.g. a charging cable, whereby a manual or fully or partially automatic detection of the connected vehicle and then an automatic allocation of the amount of energy withdrawn to this vehicle takes place.

[0014] Various designs of the charging device are possible for recording the vehicle identification, for example with an input device for manual entry of the vehicle identification by the user, for example in the form of a keyboard or a touchpad. The charging device can also be configured to carry out fully automatic recording of the vehicle identification, for example by querying the VIN from the vehicle or recording another identification feature that identifies the vehicle. The recording can also be partially manual / automatic, for example by the user using a mobile device, such as a smartphone, to record an identification feature that identifies the vehicle, such as the license plate number or a barcode attached to the vehicle, for example using a camera, and the recorded information is transmitted to the charging device via a data interface.

[0015] One embodiment for recording the vehicle identification is manual entry at the start of the charging process. The user selects a previously registered vehicle on the charging device via a user interface, e.g., a display with buttons or a touch panel integrated into the charging plug or elsewhere on the charging device, and starts the charging process. The amount of energy transferred until the end of the charging process is assigned to this vehicle. Alternatively, the selection can also be made via a smartphone app, with the smartphone being connected to the charging device via a wireless connection. This also allows the user to select the withdrawal point to which the withdrawn energy is assigned.

[0016] In another embodiment, the vehicle is identified using information from the vehicle communication system. Communication can be wired or wireless. With wired communication, the information is transmitted, for example, via powerline communication in accordance with ISO 15118. The data is modulated onto the power line using a high frequency and then decoupled and demodulated at the receiving end. Since there is a galvanic connection between the charging device and the vehicle, this type of communication can be used without any problems. After the user has plugged the charging plug into the electric vehicle's charging port, the vehicle identifies itself, for example, by transmitting the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). This number is unique for each vehicle and allows the charge to be assigned to the vehicle.However, identification is not limited to the transmission of the VIN; other transmitted characteristics are also possible that identify the vehicle as uniquely as possible to this charging cable. For example, information about the options installed in this vehicle could also be considered a unique vehicle identifier due to the enormous number of possible combinations.

[0017] Other options for capturing vehicle identification would be at least a radio connection between the charging device and the vehicle, for example via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The vehicle's MAC address could serve as a unique vehicle identifier and thus as a means of identification. Installing a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi beacon in or on the vehicle and evaluating the transmitted radio data by the charging device would also be a suitable identification feature. To avoid misidentification due to excessive range to neighboring vehicles, a near-field radio connection can be used, e.g., between a transceiver installed in the charging device and an RFID tag attached to the vehicle, e.g., near the vehicle's charging port.

[0018] The charging device can also assign and also store further data determined in the charging device to these stored data, such as time data of the charging process, for example start time and end time.

[0019] The storage device can be a storage device of the charging device, i.e., a memory integrated into the charging device, and / or a remote storage device, such as, for example, a server connected or connectable to the charging device via a data network. For example, the data can be stored via the Internet, for example, in a cloud. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, both types of storage can be performed simultaneously, i.e., the data can be stored in a storage device of the charging device and additionally in a remote storage device.

[0020] According to the invention it is provided that a) the charging device is designed to detect an energy source identifier that uniquely identifies the connected energy source, b) the charging device is designed to store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterising the energy quantity in the storage device with an assignment to the energy source identifier of the energy source.

[0021] This has the advantage that the energy source used for charging, hereinafter also referred to as the withdrawal point, can also be recorded in order to record this separately in the data to be stored.

[0022] Various designs of the charging device are possible for recording the energy source identifier, for example with an input device for manual entry of the energy source identifier by the user, for example in the form of a keyboard or a touchpad. The charging device can also be configured to perform fully automatic recording of the energy source identifier, for example by querying the energy source identifier from the energy source via a data line or via the power supply line through which the charging current also flows. Recording can also be partially manual / automatic, for example by the user recording an energy source identifier using the charging device or a mobile device, such as a smartphone, for example using a camera or a barcode reader, and the recorded information is transmitted to the charging device via a data interface, if necessary.The energy source may have an externally visible and therefore optically detectable energy source identification, e.g. a serial number or a barcode.

[0023] In another embodiment, the energy source can be identified by attaching and reading a beacon for a wireless connection, e.g., based on the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi standard. A near-field wireless connection is also possible, e.g., by attaching an RFID tag to the energy source.

[0024] In another embodiment for identifying the point of use, characteristic signals on the individual conductors of the power supply are evaluated. A suitable method for transmitting data is powerline communication, e.g. according to the IEEE 1901 FFT standard. By evaluating unique information from this communication, e.g. the MAC addresses of the communication participants, a unique identification of the energy source can be deduced here too, since powerline adapters are typically used locally and not mobile. Other characteristics of the power lines, in particular modulated radio frequency signals, are also suitable for identification. If there are no signals, it is also conceivable to install a device specifically for this purpose near the energy source. For example, a powerline adapter could be installed there that constantly tries to connect to another device and sends its MAC address in the process.The MAC address can then be used by the charging device as an energy source identifier that uniquely identifies the connected energy source.

[0025] Identifying the power consumption point not only allows for separate energy recording, but can also be used to configure charging process parameters. For example, if it is known that only 6A can be drawn from a particular socket, the charging device automatically adjusts to a maximum current of 6A and communicates this to the vehicle.

[0026] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device is configured to determine at least one charging control parameter based on the energy source identifier, wherein the charging device is configured to adjust the charging power delivered to the drive battery as a function of the charging control parameter. In this way, the charging process can be automatically adapted to the performance of the energy source. The charging device can adjust the charging power delivered to the drive battery according to the at least one charging control parameter, e.g., through internal power control and / or communication with the electric vehicle.

[0027] The recorded energy data, broken down by vehicle and consumption point, is typically stored in the charging cable's electronics, which also includes a memory. Additionally, this data is retrieved as needed via a wireless connection and stored on a smartphone and / or transferred to the cloud. There, the data is analyzed and documented using suitable software.

[0028] It is conceivable that multiple charging devices or charging cables at different locations are used to charge the vehicle. Thanks to internet communication capabilities, all charging devices or charging cables transmit data to the cloud, where the energy consumption data for a specific charging point and a specific vehicle from different charging devices or charging cables is compiled. This provides the user with documentation that covers multiple charging devices or charging cables.

[0029] According to the invention, the charging device is configured to store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity in the storage device with an assignment to a charging device identifier that uniquely identifies the charging device. It is advantageous to store the data in an external storage device remote from the charging device, e.g., in the cloud, a server connected to the Internet, or a mobile device. This has the advantage that the energy consumption data can also be broken down according to the charging devices used.

[0030] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device has at least one GNSS module for satellite-based positioning, e.g., according to the GPS standard (GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System). The charging device is configured to store a global position detected by the GNSS module in the storage device and / or transmit it to a receiver. This can significantly further increase the functionality of the charging device.

[0031] For example, this makes it possible to determine the location coordinates of the energy source used for the charging process. This also provides a way to uniquely identify the energy source used and thus, based on the location coordinates, to determine an energy source identifier that uniquely identifies the energy source.

[0032] In general, this functionality allows the location of an electric vehicle's charging process to be recorded and stored. Furthermore, the recorded location can also be useful when the charging device is not currently being used for a charging process, but is, for example, carried in the electric vehicle or transported in another way. For example, this can be used to locate a stolen charging device or a stolen vehicle in which the charging device is being transported.

[0033] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device has a buffer battery, through which at least parts of the charging device continue to be supplied with electrical energy even when the charging device is not connected to the energy source suitable for charging the drive battery. This has the advantage that the charging device can perform individual functions that require electrical energy even when it is not connected to the energy source during a charging process. For example, a communications module or other components necessary for a communications function of the charging device can be supplied with electrical energy by the tester battery. The GNSS module can also be supplied via the buffer battery.

[0034] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device has at least one communication interface, wherein the charging device has a communication function configured to communicate via the communication interface with a mobile terminal, a server, and / or the energy source suitable for or connected to charge the drive battery. This has the advantage that the charging device provides the user with expanded communication functions, for example, for communication with a smartphone or other mobile terminal, or for communication with the Internet, for example, for storing energy consumption data in the cloud.

[0035] The communication interface can be a wired or wireless communication interface. The wired communication interface can be, for example, a powerline communication interface. One or more of the following components can be present in the charging device as a wireless communication interface: a mobile radio module of a cellular mobile network, a WLAN module, or a Bluetooth module. The charging device can also have one or more wired communication interfaces and one or more wireless communication interfaces.

[0036] Alternatively or in addition to analyzing satellite signals, the analysis of cell information during mobile communication can also be used to identify the power consumption point. For example, the charging device can be configured to capture an energy source identifier that uniquely identifies the connected energy source based on the cell information during mobile communication. This is always possible as long as the consumption points to be distinguished are located at a greater distance than the resolution of the localization achieved by a specific positioning technology. Thus, in certain situations, visible Wi-Fi or Bluetooth access points can also be used to identify the consumption point.

[0037] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the communication function is configured to receive at least one charging control parameter via the communication interface, wherein the charging device is configured to adjust the charging power delivered to the drive battery as a function of the received charging control parameter. This allows the control of parameters of the charging process to be further improved. The charging control parameter can, for example, be entered by the user via a mobile device and transmitted to the charging device.

[0038] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the communication function is configured to transmit the charge level of the drive battery, the charging speed, the current driving range of the electric vehicle, and / or the time remaining until a specific charge level of the drive battery is reached via the communication interface. This has the advantage that the charging device provides the user with expanded information functionalities. Depending on the type of electric vehicle, one, several, or all of the aforementioned data may already be provided by the electric vehicle. By implementing such a communication functionality of the charging device, the user of the charging device can always be provided with the same scope of information, regardless of the electric vehicle used.

[0039] According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the communication function is configured to receive, via the communication interface, information about the charging power available from the energy source suitable for charging the drive battery, wherein the charging device is configured to adapt the charging power delivered to the drive battery to the available charging power, at least provided that this does not exceed the maximum permissible charging power for the drive battery. This can further improve the control of parameters of the charging process. In addition, overloading of the energy source is automatically avoided, which is important, for example, if other consumers in the household are already drawing a lot of power and the grid connection is overloaded when the electric vehicle is also charged to full capacity.

[0040] The charging device can, for example, have a charging plug that can be connected to the charging port of the electric vehicle or a connection for such a charging plug, for example for an adapter cable.

[0041] According to the invention, the charging device is designed as a portable charging device that can be carried in the electric vehicle. This has the advantage that the user can carry their charging device in the electric vehicle currently in use and use it for charging, for example, when frequently changing vehicles or when using rental vehicles.

[0042] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device is designed as a charging cable or part of a charging cable of the electric vehicle. This has the advantage that the charging cable already provides the previously explained functionalities. In particular, no additional device or an additional standard charging cable is required.

[0043] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device is configured to influence at least one parameter of the current charging process or a subsequent charging process based on the detected amount of energy charged or the parameter characterizing the amount of energy, e.g. when the amount of energy or the parameter reaches a predetermined limit. Thus, as a parameter of a current or subsequent charging process, for example, the end of the charging process can be initiated when the amount of energy or the parameter reaches a predetermined limit, e.g. a maximum amount of energy to be charged or maximum energy costs. Other parameters of the charging process can also be influenced, such as the charging power.For example, when a specified amount of charged energy is reached, the charging power can be increased or reduced, for example to benefit from cheaper tariffs.

[0044] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the charging device is configured to record at least one time parameter of the charging process, e.g., the duration of the charging process and / or the current time of the charging process, to relate the at least one time parameter to at least one reference time parameter, and, if the fulfillment of a predetermined criterion is determined, to send a message to a remote device via at least one communication interface and / or to output a signal to the charging device. In this way, the user of the charging device can be given assistance in order to avoid extending the charging process into periods with increased costs, for example, if increased parking fees or blocking fees are incurred at a public charging station after a certain charging duration or after a certain time. The reference time parameter can, for example,a specified maximum duration of the charging process or a desired end time of the charging process. If, for example, a charging process lasting 2 hours is cost-effective at a certain energy source and increased charges apply after 2 hours, the charging device can send a preliminary warning to the user after 1.5 hours, e.g. to their smartphone, and a final warning when the 2 hours have elapsed. The message sent via the communication interface can be sent, for example, in the form of an SMS to a mobile device, or via other interfaces such as Bluetooth or WLAN, e.g. as a push message. In order to output a signal at the charging device, the charging device can have its own signal generator, e.g. an optical signal generator or an acoustic signal generator or both.

[0045] Thus, the time the charging device is connected to a specific energy consumption point can be taken into account as another parameter that is recorded when connecting to the charging device. When the specified dwell time is reached, the charging device sends information to a specified communication device, e.g. an SMS to a mobile device. Other notification methods are also possible, such as push messages to a communication device connected to the Internet or messages to directly connected communication devices via e.g. Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. An acoustic signal from a signal generator within the charging device is also possible. The messages sent include information about the maximum dwell time being reached, but also warnings before this time is reached.

[0046] The object mentioned above is also achieved by a method for recording energy consumption data when charging electric vehicles from different energy sources according to claim 12. The method comprises the following steps: a) the charging devices used to charge the traction battery of a respective electric vehicle record the amount of energy charged from the energy source into the electric vehicle during a charging process or a parameter characterising the amount of energy and store this as energy consumption data in a storage device with an assignment to a vehicle identifier that uniquely identifies the electric vehicle, b) an energy consumption statement is created from the energy consumption data stored in the storage device for each individual electric vehicle or for respective groups of electric vehicles.

[0047] This also allows the previously discussed advantages to be realized. The charging devices can be of the type described above. The user can be provided with an energy consumption statement that clearly displays the energy consumption data for each individual electric vehicle or for specific groups of electric vehicles, for example, along with the respective charging times. This can simplify, for example, fleet management of electric vehicles.

[0048] According to the invention, the charging devices additionally store the recorded charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity in the storage device, along with an assignment to an energy source identifier that uniquely identifies the energy source. In the energy consumption statement, the energy consumption data is differentiated according to the energy sources used in the respective charging processes. This has the advantage that the energy consumption data can also be assigned to the individual energy sources, making it easy to determine whether the energy costs, for example, in the case of a company car, are to be reimbursed by the employer or not. The automatic data recording also achieves improved security against manipulation.

[0049] According to the invention, it is provided that the charging devices additionally store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity in the storage device with an assignment to a charging device identifier that uniquely identifies the respective charging device. In The energy consumption report allows energy consumption data to be broken down according to the charging devices used during the respective charging processes. This has the advantage that the stored data can also be used to track the use of the charging devices.

[0050] The invention will be explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments and drawings. Figure 1 shows a charging cable for an electric vehicle, Figure 2 shows the connection between the electronics of the charging cable and the electric vehicle, Figure 3 shows a charging cable plugged into the charging port of the electric vehicle, Figure 4 shows a household socket for energy extraction, Figure 5 shows a further embodiment of a charging cable, Figure 6 shows a system comprising several charging devices, Figure 7 shows an evaluation of the energy consumption data, and Figure 8 shows a further evaluation of the energy consumption data.

[0051] Figure 1shows a charging device 1 in the form of a charging cable for an electric vehicle 2, which transmits an alternating voltage, as is available in every household, to the electric vehicle 2 for charging the drive battery. The charging device 1 has a housing containing electronics 3, to which a cable 4 with a CEE 16A three-phase plug 5 is connected on one side, in order to connect it to the house electrical installation 6 via this plug connection. On the other side, it is connected to a cable 7, at the end of which is a standardized vehicle charging plug 8 for charging the drive battery. The electronics 3, on the one hand, protects against overcurrent and fault currents in order to protect people and the vehicle in the event of a fault, and, on the other hand, controls the charging current to the vehicle. This type of charging device is referred to in IEC EN 62752 as an in-cable control and protection device (IC-CPD).After this regulation, the electronics can also be divided, with the protective electronics then being located in the connection plug to the house installation, and the control electronics in the charging plug 8 to the vehicle.

[0052] The electronics 3 contain a disconnecting device 10 to safely separate the conductor connection in the event of a fault. For this purpose, the electronics 3 contains measuring devices 11 to detect fault situations. For example, the current carried through the conductors is determined to detect an overload, and all currents carried through the phases and the neutral conductor are added together with the correct sign to detect erroneously diverted currents. This happens for both direct current and alternating current. Furthermore, measuring devices 12 are provided to determine characteristic values ​​for the charge. These include, for example, the voltages, the currents, the number of current-carrying conductors, the transmitted power, the transmitted energy and the general charging status. To ensure that characteristic data can still be retrieved after the charging process, the electronics 3 contains a memory 13 in which the data is stored.This information is displayed on a display 14 located in the electronics housing.

[0053] Furthermore, the electronics 3 contains a communication unit 15 for communicating with the vehicle 2, informing it of the maximum energy that can be drawn via the charging cable in order to avoid overloading the charging device 1 and the household wiring 6. This is done via a PWM (pulse width modulation) signal transmitted to the vehicle 2 or via powerline communication. A high-frequency signal is modulated onto the live wires, thus transmitting data. With powerline communication, data is transmitted in both directions, thus the electronics 3 also knows the data of the vehicle 2, such as the charge level of the drive battery or the vehicle identification number.

[0054] To make the information resulting from the measurements or received from the vehicle 2 available, it is shown interactively on the display 14 or transmitted to other devices or servers via various radio communication options of a mobile radio module 16 of the electronics system 3. Communication takes place via standardized radio communications such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G mobile radio. The device on which the information is displayed either connects directly to the electronics system 3 of the charging cable, or the communication takes place via access points or the cloud. It is also possible to store the data in the cloud and retrieve it from there using a communication device without a connection to the electronics system 3 of the charging cable.

[0055] Figure 2shows the connection between the electronics 3 of the charging cable and the vehicle 2. There is a galvanic connection through the current-carrying conductors that transmit the energy. For this purpose, a communication device 21 is installed in the vehicle 2, which couples the high frequency of the PLC (Powerline Communication) to the current-carrying conductors in order to send data, or decouples it in order to receive data. A similar communication unit 15 is installed in the electronics 3 and serves as a communication partner for the vehicle 2. It is therefore possible to transmit data in both directions. The data transmitted from the vehicle 2 includes, for example, a unique identifier for the vehicle, e.g. the vehicle identification number, the mileage or the charge level of the drive battery or the range achievable with the current charge level.

[0056] In Figure 3An embodiment of this invention can be seen for the case where the vehicle does not support PLC communication. In order to still clearly identify the vehicle, a near-field communication device 23 is located in the charging plug 8 of the charging cable. This device is capable of establishing a communication connection with a communication partner over a distance of up to a few centimeters. The communication partner can be either a passive device with load modulation or an active device. Typical communications for this purpose use NFC or RFID technology. In this embodiment, the communication partner, an RFID tag 22, is located on the protective flap 24 for the charging plug connection 25 in the vehicle.

[0057] The Figure 4shows the socket 6 for energy consumption in the home. In this version, a Bluetooth beacon 18 is permanently installed in the immediate vicinity of the socket 6. Beacons are small transmitters that transmit a unique identifier at regular intervals. Bluetooth Low Energy technology is used in this version. The electronics 3 in the charging cable also has a Bluetooth Low Energy communication unit 16, which receives the unique identifier of the beacon 18 and assigns the consumed energy to this consumption point.

[0058] Figure 5shows a charging cable that also has a Bluetooth communication device 16, which can be the same one that also detects the information from the beacon 18. The Bluetooth module 16 additionally establishes a communication connection 31 to a smartphone 30 and transmits the data stored in the electronics 3 to the smartphone 30, where it is visualized. Furthermore, settings can be changed via a user interface application (app) on the smartphone 30, with the new settings being transmitted via Bluetooth to the electronics 3 of the charging cable and stored there temporarily or permanently.

[0059] In Figure 6A system is shown that has several charging devices 1a, 1b and a storage device 41 in the internet cloud 40. All charging devices 1a, 1b send their data via their communication modules 16a, 16b using a mobile communications standard to a server with the storage device 41 in the internet cloud 40. The data is retrieved and visualized from a PC workstation 50, which also has an internet connection to this server. The data from the various charging devices can already be pre-processed on the server 41 in the cloud 40 and, for example, summarized by vehicle and discharge point, or the processing takes place on the PC 50 based on the raw data stored in the cloud.

[0060] In Figure 7An example of an evaluation is shown, where the energy quantities transferred by the charging devices 1a, 1b are listed in a matrix according to vehicles and discharge points. A further evaluation of the energy consumption in kWh per 100 km of the individual vehicles is shown in Figure 8 can be seen. Data on the amount of energy charged per vehicle, the mileage, and the battery status at the end of each charge are processed accordingly.

Claims

1. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) for charging the traction battery of an electric vehicle (2) from an energy source suitable for charging the traction battery, the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) having at least one terminal for connection to the charging port of the electric vehicle (2) and at least one terminal for connection to the energy source suitable for charging the traction battery, wherein a) the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is designed as a portable charging device (1, 1a, 1b) that can be carried in the electric vehicle (2), b) wherein the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to detect a vehicle identifier that clearly identifies the connected electric vehicle (2), c) the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) being set up to detect the amount of energy charged from the energy source into the electric vehicle (2) during a charging process or a parameter characterizing the amount of energy and to store it in a storage device (13, 40, 41), which can be a storage device (13) of the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) and / or a remote storage device (40, 41), with an assignment to the vehicle identifier of the electric vehicle (2), characterized in that d) the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to detect an energy source identifier which uniquely identifies the connected energy source, e) wherein the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity with an assignment to the energy source identification of the energy source in the storage device (13, 40, 41), f) wherein the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity with an assignment to a charging device identifier uniquely identifying the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) in the storage device (13, 40, 41), g) it being possible to create an energy consumption list for each individual electric vehicle (2) or for respective groups of electric vehicles (2) from the energy consumption data stored in the storage device (13, 40, 41).

2. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 1, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to determine at least one charging control parameter on the basis of the energy source identification, the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) being set up to adjust the charging power delivered to the traction battery as a function of the charging control parameter.

3. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) has at least one GNSS module, the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) being set up to store a global position detected by means of the GNSS module in the memory device (13, 40, 41) and / or to transmit it to a receiver.

4. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) has a buffer battery, by means of which at least parts of the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) continue to be supplied with electrical energy even if the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is not connected to the energy source suitable for charging the traction battery.

5. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) has at least one communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b), the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) having a communication function which is set up to communicate via the communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b) with a mobile terminal (30) and / or the energy source suitable or connected for charging the traction battery.

6. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to claim 5, characterized in that the communication function is set up to receive at least one charging control parameter via the communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b), the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) being set up to adjust the charging power delivered to the traction battery as a function of the charging control parameter received.

7. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of claims 5 to 6, characterized in that the communication function is set up to transmit, via the communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b), the state of charge of the traction battery, the charging speed, the current driving range of the electric vehicle (2) and / or the remaining time until a specific state of charge of the traction battery is reached.

8. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the communication function is set up to receive, via the communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b), an indication of the charging power available from the energy source suitable for charging the traction battery, the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) being set up to adapt the charging power delivered to the traction battery to the available charging power, at least insofar as this does not exceed the maximum permissible charging power for the traction battery.

9. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is designed as a charging cable or part of a charging cable (4, 7) of the electric vehicle (2).

10. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to influence at least one parameter of the current charging process or of a subsequent charging process on the basis of the detected charged amount of energy or the parameter characterizing the amount of energy.

11. Charging device (1, 1a, 1b) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) is set up to detect at least one time parameter of the charging process, for example the duration of the charging process and / or the current time of the charging process, to relate the at least one time parameter to at least one reference time parameter and, if the fulfillment of a predetermined criterion is determined in the process, to transmit a message to a remote device via at least one communication interface (15, 16, 16a, 16b) and / or to output a signal at the charging device (1, 1a, 1b).

12. Method for recording energy consumption data when charging electric vehicles (2) from different energy sources, each of which is suitable for charging the traction battery of the respective electric vehicle (2), comprising the following steps: a) the charging devices (1, 1a, 1b) used for charging the traction battery of a respective electric vehicle (2), which are designed as portable charging devices (1, 1a, 1b) that can be carried in the electric vehicle (2), detect the amount of energy charged into the electric vehicle (2) from the respective energy source during a charging process or a parameter characterizing the amount of energy and store it as energy consumption data in a storage device (13, 40, 41), which can be a storage device (13) of the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) and / or a remote storage device (40, 41), with an assignment to a vehicle identifier uniquely identifying the electric vehicle (2), characterized in that b) the charging devices (1, 1a, 1b) additionally store the recorded amount of charged energy or the parameter characterizing the amount of energy with an assignment to an energy source identifier uniquely identifying the respective energy source in the storage device (13, 40, 41) and in the energy consumption list a distinction is made between the energy consumption data according to the energy sources used in the respective charging processes, c) the charging devices (1, 1a, 1b) store the detected charged energy quantity or the parameter characterizing the energy quantity with an assignment to a charging device identifier uniquely identifying the charging device (1, 1a, 1b) in the storage device (13, 40, 41), d) the energy consumption data stored in the storage device (13, 40, 41) is used to create an energy consumption list for each individual electric vehicle (2) or for respective groups of electric vehicles (2).

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that the energy consumption data are differentiated in the energy consumption list according to the charging devices (1, 1a, 1b) used in the respective charging processes.