Mobile charging station for electric cars

Abstract

Mobile charging station for electric cars The subject matter of the invention is a mobile charging station for charging electric vehicles, in which a hydrogen fuel cell (1), a hydrogen storage tank (3), an inverter (4) for high voltage, an inverter (24) for low voltage, a high voltage battery (2), a charger (7) and a robotic arm (6) for automatically connecting the output cable of the charger (7) to the socket of the electric vehicle (30) are arranged on a mobile platform (20) driven by a traction motor (26) powered by a traction battery (22). The movement of the mobile platform (20) is remotely controlled.

Description

[0001] Mobile charging station for electric cars

[0002] Field of the invention

[0003] The invention relates to a mobile charging station for charging electric cars, arranged on a mobile platform

[0004] State of the art

[0005] Electric cars are most often recharged at special stationary charging stations or from the wiring of another building connected to the electricity supply.

[0006] From DE 102017220017, a mobile charging station with a large-capacity battery unit that is mounted on a mobile platform is known. This mobile charging station has means for receiving a vehicle charging request, means for automatically navigating to the vehicle to be charged, and a robotic arm for automatically connecting to the vehicle to be charged.

[0007] US2020376975 discloses a system with hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen storage on a mobile platform. This system has multiple charging ports for concurrent charging multiple plug-in hybrid electric cars.

[0008] Summary of the invention

[0009] The invention is based on the idea of creating a mobile charging station with a hydrogen fuel cell that can be remotely attached by an operator to an electric car for which charging is required, and automatically connected to it by a charging plug.

[0010] The mobile charging station for charging electric cars has a hydrogen fuel cell on the mobile platform as a power source for the electric car charger, a hydrogen storage tank, and a control unit adapted for internal communication between the elements of the mobile charging station. The mobile platform is driven by a traction motor.

[0011] According to the invention, the mobile platform is provided with servo steering to enable remote control of its movement. A robotic arm is also arranged on the mobile platform to automatically connect the charging connector to the electric vehicle socket. For receiving the remote control signal of the mobile platform and for sending the image information, there is further arranged on the mobile platform a receiver-transmitter module, at least one camera for controlling the environment of the mobile platform and a control unit for controlling the servo steering and the traction motor of the mobile platform. The control unit of the mobile charging station, in addition to controlling the operation of the fuel cell and controlling the charging, is also configured to remotely control the movement of the mobile platform via the control unit according to the signal received by the receiver-transmitter module.

[0012] The control unit is preferably a microprocessor control unit with CAN (Controller Area Network) communication buses.

[0013] The hydrogen fuel cell of the mobile charging station according to the invention is preferably a proton exchange membrane fuel cell of at least 50 kW, provided with a water cooler which can be connected to an external circuit for waste heat recovery.

[0014] The high-voltage battery of the mobile charging station according to the invention preferably has a capacity of at least 100 kWh at a voltage of at least 350 V

[0015] The output cable from the charger is preferably carried by a six-axis robotic arm with camera guidance. The robotic arm is preferably equipped with strain gauges for obstacle collision detection and is mounted on an additional telescopic axis to increase its range. The mobile charging station preferably includes a gas and fire detector for reporting possible gas leaks and / or fire, and safeguards for loss of control signals. To enable control from its current location, the mobile charging station has a local control terminal with display and controls.

[0016] Clarification of drawings

[0017] The invention will be explained in more detail by means of a schematic drawing, wherein Fig. 1 shows schematically the communication interconnection of the various elements of a mobile charging station according to the present invention.

[0018] Example of invention embodiment

[0019] A mobile charging station according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has a proton exchange membrane fuel cell 1 which is mounted on a remotely controlled wheeled suspension mobile platform 20. This mobile platform 20 is driven by an electric traction motor 26, its servo steering 25 is electro-hydraulic, the brakes are hydraulic. The traction motor 26 is powered via the control unit 13 from the 48V traction battery 22. The output of the traction motor 26 and the position of the wheels of the mobile platform 20 are controlled by the servo steering 25. The chassis frame structure of the mobile platform 20 is designed to carry all components of the system. A replaceable hydrogen storage tank 3 with composite pressure cylinders and a hydrogen gas reduction station is installed in the central part of the mobile platform 20. The total amount of hydrogen in the filled hydrogen storage tank 3 in this exemplary embodiment is about 15 kg at an operating pressure of 50 MPa. This hydrogen storage tank 3 is the fuel source for fuel cell E When the hydrogen supply is depleted, this is indicated to the operator who can simply replace the hydrogen storage tank 3 with a new, full one.

[0020] Hydrogen storage tank 3 can be filled either at a technical gas supplier or at a standard automotive hydrogen filling station. The hydrogen from the hydrogen storage tank 3, after pressure treatment, is fed into the fuel cell 1, where an electrochemical reaction takes place with the oxygen in the air to produce electricity and waste heat. This heat is dissipated by the water circuit and cooler 5 to the atmosphere. The equipment may include a not shown heat exchanger, which can be used to recover waste heat, for example for heating.

[0021] The electrical energy from the fuel cell 1_ is fed to the 350 V high-voltage battery 2 through a 350 V high-voltage DC converter 4 and to the 48 V low-voltage traction battery 22 of the mobile platform 20 through a 48 V low-voltage DC converter 24. The low charge level of the high-voltage battery 2 or the traction battery 22 is the impulse to start the fuel cell L The energy flow is controlled by an algorithm in the control unit 10 with a CAN-type communication bus 31 used for internal communication between the individual components of the mobile charging station. The communication of the control unit 10 via the communication bus 31 with other components of the mobile charging station is indicated by the dashed lines in Fig. 1. The high-voltage battery 2 is used as an energy source for the charger 7 and also as an element that compensates for energy peaks in the system during the charging of the electric vehicles 30, in particular compensating for the low slow response of the fuel cell 1 to the energy demand. The output cable from the charger 7 is preferably carried by a six-axis robotic arm 6 with camera guidance. The robotic arm 6 is mounted on a seventh telescopic axis to increase its reach. The mobile charging station also has a gas and fire detector 12 and other safeguards in case of gas leaks, fire, electrical short circuits and loss of control signals. The robotic arm 6 is equipped with strain gauges to detect a possible collision with an accidental obstacle.

[0022] The remote control of the mobile platform 20 is performed from a remote operator's workstation using the transceiver module 21 communicating with the control unit 10. The receiver-transmitter module 21 receives signals from a remote operator workstation and in turn sends visual and digital information about the status, location and surroundings of the mobile charging station. The mobile platform 20 of the mobile charging station according to the described example embodiment has a body that is equipped with an assembly of cameras 23 for orientation of the remote operator in the surrounding environment while steering the mobile charging station. The remote control can be carried out from a not shown operator workstation equipped with a steering wheel and monitors. This control workstation may be at any distance from the location of the mobile charging station itself. All control and image signals and information are transmitted via communication with back- up. As the charging itself is fully automated, the operator can control other equipment during the charging process.

[0023] The mobile charging station according to the described example can also be controlled on-site via a local control terminal 11 with display and controls.

[0024] When performing charging of the electric car 30 using the mobile charging station according to the present invention, the electric car 30 to be charged is first identified. The electric car 30 to be charged can be identified automatically based on information from the individual electric cars 30 in the respective parking lot about their charge level, or by user ordering, for example, from the CarEn mobile app. The operator then remotely guides and parks the mobile platform 20 near the electric vehicle to be charged, manually guides the robotic arm 6 remotely to a position near the charging socket door of the electric vehicle 30 and starts the automatic process of guiding the charging connector into the socket. The robotic arm 6 finds the socket and connects the charging cable to it using a 3D camera sensor. Information is transmitted via data communication between the charger 7 and the electric vehicle 30 to be charged, and the charging process begins. Charging takes place from a high-voltage battery 2, the voltage of which is suitably adjusted by the charger 7 for the electric vehicle 30 being charged. The high-voltage battery 2 is recharged automatically by starting the fuel cell 1 as required. During charging, the battery charge level of the electric car 30 being charged is monitored. When the desired charge level is reached, the charging process is completed and the robotic arm 6 removes the charging connector from the car and parks itself in its default position on the mobile platform 20. The operator may then move the mobile platform 20 to the next location of use.

[0025] Reference Signs List:

[0026] 1 fuel cell

[0027] 2 high-voltage battery

[0028] 3 hydrogen storage tank

[0029] 4 high-voltage inverter

[0030] 5 cooler

[0031] 6 robot arm

[0032] 7 charger

[0033] 10 controller unit

[0034] 11 control terminal

[0035] 12 gas and fire detector

[0036] 13 control unit

[0037] 20 mobile platform

[0038] 21 receiver-transmitter module

[0039] 22 traction battery

[0040] 23 camera

[0041] 24 low-voltage inverter

[0042] 25 servo steering

[0043] 26 traction motor

[0044] 30 electric car

[0045] 31 CAN bus

Claims

7Claims1. Mobile charging station for charging electric vehicles in which a hydrogen fuel cell (1), a hydrogen storage tank (3), a charger (7) and a control unit (10), are arranged on a mobile platform (20) driven by a traction motor (26) characterized in that the mobile platform (20) is provided with a servo steering (25), wherein on the mobile platform (20) is further arranged a robotic arm (6) for automatically connecting the output cable of the charger (7) to the socket of the electric vehicle (30), a receiver-transmitter module (21) for remotely controlling the mobile platform (20), at least one camera (23) for monitoring the environment of the mobile platform (20), and a control unit (13) for controlling the movement of the mobile platform (20) by means of the servo steering (25) and the traction motor (26) of the mobile platform (20) according to a signal received by the receiver-transmitter module (21).

2. Mobile charging station according to Claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (10) is a microprocessor control unit with CAN-type communication buses (31).

3. Mobile charging station according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the hydrogen fuel cell (1) is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with output of at least 50 kW provided with a water cooler (5).

4. Mobile charging station according to Claim 1 or 2 or 3, characterized in that the hydrogen storage tank (3) has one or more hydrogen pressure cylinders, and is arranged to be replaceable on the mobile platform (20).

5. Mobile charging station according any of the preceding Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the charger (7) is configured to adjust the voltage for the charged electric car.

6. Mobile charging station according any of the preceding Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the robotic arm (6) has six axes with camera guidance, is equipped with strain gauges for detection of collision with any obstacle, and is mounted on a telescopic axis to extend the reach.

87. Mobile charging station according any of the preceding Claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the water cooler (5) can be connected to an external circuit for waste heat recovery.

8. Mobile charging station according any of the preceding Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it includes a gas and fire detector (12) and safeguards for loss of control signals.

9. Mobile charging station according any of the preceding Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is provided with a local control terminal (11) with display and controls.

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