Interface module for managing a set of electric charging stations

Abstract

An interface module (10) for managing a set of charging stations for electric vehicles, comprising a housing for mounting between a charging station (100) within the set of charging stations and a T2S socket of said charging station (100), the interface module (10) comprising an electronic circuit (12) controlled by a control unit (102), the electronic circuit (12) being configured to: receive, from the control unit (102), a primary control signal (Sp); and, depending on the value of the primary control signal (Sp), adjust the value of a secondary control signal (Ss) transmitted by a control line (PP) between the charging station (10) and the T2S socket, said control line (PP) being dedicated to communication between the charging station (100) and a vehicle (101) and determining an permissible charging rate. Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 3

Description

Title of the invention: Interface module for managing a set of electric charging stations Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the management of a set of charging stations for electric vehicles, intended to be used in all types of parking lots: underground or above ground, on property or in the tertiary sector. State of the art

[0002] It is known that electric vehicle charging installations can be supplied with public electricity distribution by a public distribution network or private in low voltage private electrical installations.

[0003] In both types of distribution, public or private, there is a problem linked to the management of the limited quantity of electricity available to supply a set of charging stations: • either the power supply is not sized to simultaneously supply all available charging stations; • either to avoid deploying an architecture sized to the maximum potential consumption in terms of the electricity network, but also energy production.

[0004] The problem is therefore linked to energy sobriety and the optimization of a resource, in our case it is the limited quantity of electricity available, when it is shared between several charging stations in order to avoid infrastructure work and / or to avoid oversizing energy production.

[0005] The best-known optimization mode is sprawl, that is, the smoothing of the maximum load of all the charging stations involved in a game of musical chairs. According to criteria defined by the user, orders are given to each of the charging stations in the set whose overall consumption is to be optimized. For this, there are three types of orders: • current is allocated to a charging station (normal operation); • we cut off the transmission of current to a charging station (concept of erasure); • a reduced amount of current is allocated to a charging station (concept of lowering).

[0006] Charging stations can communicate with electric vehicles to exchange information when a charging cable is connected, for example, or when charging is finished and the battery is full. However, charging stations do not cannot communicate with each other so that a charging station goes into temporary standby in favor of a charging station considered to be a higher priority.

[0007] To solve this problem of communication between the charging stations, it is possible to use a control station which measures the electrical consumption of all the charging stations and then erases or lowers the current for a charging station in order to create an overflow.

[0008] This solution can only be used when the charging stations are all supplied by the same manufacturer as the control station. However, this is not always the case because the parking lot of a building, for example, may be equipped with charging stations from different manufacturers.

[0009] Furthermore, certain older installations equipped with a single electric vehicle charging terminal may be equipped with a first-generation terminal which was not capable of performing a lowering or erasing function. Subject of the invention

[0010] The present invention aims to optimize the management of a set of charging stations for electric vehicles, by providing an interchangeable and scalable solution, compatible with use for any brand of charging station and making it possible to optimize the consumption of electric vehicles.

[0011] To this end, the invention relates to an interface module for managing a set of charging terminals for electric vehicles, comprising a housing intended to be fixed between a charging terminal among the set of charging terminals and a socket of said charging terminal, the interface module comprising an electronic circuit controlled by a control unit, the electronic circuit being configured to: • receive, from the control center, a primary control signal, • act, depending on the value of the primary control signal, on the value of a secondary control signal transmitted by a control line connected between the charging station and the socket, said control line being dedicated to communication between the charging station and a vehicle and determining an admissible value of the recharge.

[0012] The interface module may further comprise one or more of the following features.

[0013] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the electronic circuit has two operating modes depending on the value of the primary control signal: • a normal operating mode in which the electronic circuit does not modify the secondary control signal transmitted by the control line and the maximum authorized current is transmitted to the vehicle; • a lowering operating mode in which the electronic circuit modifies the secondary control signal transmitted by the control line to lower the current transmitted to the vehicle.

[0014] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the electronic circuit is configured to receive, from the control unit, a first primary control signal making it possible to define the normal operating mode and the lowering operating mode and a second primary control signal, the electronic circuit being able to define, as a function of the value of the second primary control signal, a third erasure operating mode in which the secondary control signal transmitted by the control line is interrupted and the charging terminal does not transmit any current to the vehicle.

[0015] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the electronic circuit comprises a resistor mounted between an input of the control line downstream of the charging terminal and upstream of the interface module and an output downstream of the interface module intended to be connected to the vehicle through the socket, the electronic circuit further comprises a first switch controlled by the primary control signal mounted in parallel with the resistor,

[0016] the first controlled switch being in the closed state in the normal operating mode, and

[0017] the first controlled switch being in the open state in the lowering operating mode, the resistance adding to the resistance of the control line to modify the secondary control signal transmitted by the control line and lower the current transmitted to the vehicle.

[0018] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the first controlled switch is controlled by the first primary control signal, the electronic circuit further comprises a second switch controlled by the second primary control signal, the second controlled switch being connected in series with the resistor between the input of the control line and the output of the control line, the second controlled switch being in the open state in the third erasing operating mode, the second controlled switch being in the closed state in the normal operating mode and in the lowering operating mode.

[0019] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the first controlled switch and / or the second controlled switch is an electromechanical relay or a MOSFET transistor.

[0020] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the first controlled switch and / or the second controlled switch is an optocoupler.

[0021] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the housing is an insulating housing, the interface module comprising a first connection zone configured for the connection of at least one control wire belonging to the control line of the charging station and a second connection zone comprising at least one conductive control pin configured to be connected to the socket and a third connection zone for the connection of at least one control wire coming from the control unit.

[0022] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the first connection zone is configured for the connection of at least two power wires coming from the charging terminal and a protective wire linked to the ground, and the second connection zone comprising at least two power conductive pins and a protective conductive pin configured to be connected to the socket.

[0023] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the first connection zone is arranged on a first face of the housing and the second connection zone is arranged on a second face of the housing, inclined relative to the second face of the housing, in particular the first and second faces being opposite.

[0024] The physical construction and shape of the housing advantageously give the interface module a very small footprint, allowing it to adapt to any commercial charging station and therefore to combat planned obsolescence since the existing charging stations are retained.

[0025] According to a characteristic of the interface module, it is possible to define a system comprising: - an interface module according to the invention; and - a control center comprising: • a current sensor to measure the value of the current supplying the charging station, • an analysis unit allowing the analysis of information from the current sensor and the generation, according to criteria previously defined by the user, of a primary control signal to the electronic circuit, • an order transmitter allowing the primary control signal to be sent to the electronic circuit.

[0026] According to a characteristic of the interface module, the command transmitter is a dry contact. The dry contact is widely known in the state of the art, easy to implement and does not involve a proprietary language (i.e. a computer protocol linked to a specific brand). This type of universal contact is advantageous for the interchangeability of the invention allowing the management of charging stations of different brands.

[0027] Other advantages and characteristics may emerge from the detailed description which follows. Summary description of the drawings

[0028] The invention will be better understood upon reading the detailed description which follows, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings listed below.

[0029] [Fig.l] represents a block diagram schematically describing the assembly of an interface module according to the invention.

[0030] [Fig.2] represents a perspective view schematically illustrating the mounting of a housing of the interface module on a charging terminal.

[0031] [Fig. 3] represents a block diagram schematically describing an example of an assembly comprising 3 charging stations for 3 electric vehicles in accordance with the invention.

[0032] [Fig.4] shows a perspective view of the interface module of [Fig.2] with and without the housing, in order to show more clearly three connection areas in the interface module allowing the mounting of the interface module on the charging station.

[0033] [Fig.5] represents an electrical diagram of a first embodiment of an electronic circuit of the interface module of [Fig.2].

[0034] [Fig.6] represents an electrical diagram of a second embodiment of the electronic circuit of the interface module of [Fig.2]. Detailed description

[0035] In the figures and in the remainder of the description, the same references represent identical or similar elements. Furthermore, the different elements are not shown to scale so as to enhance the clarity of the figures. Furthermore, the different embodiments and variants are not mutually exclusive and can be combined with each other.

[0036] Figures 1 and 2 schematically represent the assembly of an interface module 10 for managing a set of charging stations for electric vehicles. An example of said set of charging stations for electric vehicles according to the invention is shown in [Fig.3] with 3 charging stations 100a, 100b, 100c corresponding respectively to 3 electric vehicles 101a, 101b, 101c.

[0037] The interface module 10 comprises a housing 11 (shown in [Fig. 2] and 4) intended to be fixed between a charging terminal 100 among the set of charging terminals and a socket of said charging terminal 100. By "socket of said charging terminal", we mean any connection and charging device such as a charging cable, a standardized T2 or T2S type socket.

[0038] An electrical power source 103 (shown in Figures 1 and 3) makes it possible to power the charging station: either through a public distribution network (PDN) supplying all the charging stations, where each charging station is downstream of its own meter; or through a “private” electrical installation, where all the charging stations are downstream of a single meter.

[0039] The interface module 10 further comprises an electronic circuit 12 controlled by a control unit 102. On the set of charging terminals of [Fig. 3], it is possible to imagine an architecture where the control unit 102 and the charging terminal 100a are manufactured by the same manufacturer C different, for example, from two other manufacturers A and B respectively manufacturing the charging terminals 100b and 100c. In this case, this is a non-limiting example of an embodiment illustrating the possibility of adapting the interface module 10 to architectures, which are not necessarily single-manufacturer and which allow users to freely choose the manufacturer of the charging terminal.

[0040] Referring to the block diagram of [Fig.l], the electronic circuit 12 is configured to receive a primary control signal Sp from the control unit 102 and to act, depending on the value of the primary control signal Sp, on the value of a secondary control signal Ss transmitted by a control line PP connected between the charging terminal 10 and the socket T2S. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the interface module 10 comprises several conductive terminals, including a conductive terminal allowing the connection of the control line PP between the charging terminal 10 and the socket T2S. The control line PP is dedicated to communication between the charging terminal 100 and a vehicle 101; it makes it possible to detect the presence of a charging cable and to determine an admissible value of the recharge (in particular the admissible current value).In particular, in the context of a T2S socket, the PP control line can be made up of the “Proximity Pilot” line.

[0041] According to a first embodiment, the electronic circuit 12 has two operating modes, depending on the value of the primary control signal Sp: • a normal operating mode in which the electronic circuit 12 does not modify the secondary control signal S s transmitted by the control line PP, in this case, the maximum authorized current is transmitted to the vehicle 101; • a lowering operating mode in which the electronic circuit 12 modifies the secondary control signal S s transmitted by the control line PP to lower the current transmitted to the vehicle 101.

[0042] According to a second embodiment, the electronic circuit 12 is configured to receive, from the control unit 102, a first primary control signal Sp1 and a second primary control signal Sp2. The first primary control signal Sp1 makes it possible to define the normal operating mode and the lowering operating mode, mentioned above. In addition, the electronic circuit 12 can define, depending on the value of the second primary control signal Sp2, a third erasure operating mode, in which the secondary control signal S s transmitted by the control line PP is interrupted and the charging terminal 100 does not transmit any current to the vehicle 101.

[0043] According to the first and second embodiments, and in particular during the second lowering operating mode and the third erasing operating mode, the interface module 10 interfaces with the control line PP to modify the secondary control signal S s transmitted to the vehicle 101 by simulating a lowering signal or an erasing signal allowing respectively either to transmit information to the vehicle 101 that a charging cable of lower nominal intensity has been connected (in this case the vehicle 101 will automatically call for less current which indeed leads to a lowering), or to order the stopping of the charging of the vehicle 101 by interrupting the secondary control signal S s transmitted to the vehicle 101.

[0044] Referring to the electrical diagram of the first embodiment in [Fig.5] and to the block diagram in [Fig.l], the electronic circuit 12 comprises a resistor RI mounted between an input PPin of the control line PP downstream of the charging station 100 and upstream of the interface module 10 and an output PPout downstream of the interface module 10 intended to be connected to the vehicle 101 through the socket T2S. The electronic circuit 12 further comprises a first switch controlled SWab by the primary control signal Sp mounted in parallel with the resistor RI. In the closed state, the first controlled switch SWab can be likened to a simple wire making it possible to define the normal operating mode, by short-circuiting the resistor RI so as not to modify the resistance of the control line PP (and therefore the signal that it transmits to the vehicle 101).In the open state, the first controlled switch SWab allows the lowering operating mode to be defined. In this case, the resistor RI, not being short-circuited, is added to the resistance of the control line PP to modify the secondary control signal Ss transmitted by the control line PP and lower the current transmitted to the vehicle 101.

[0045] Referring now to the electrical diagram of the second embodiment in [Fig. 6], the electronic circuit is configured, as previously described, to receive, from the control unit 102, the first primary control signal Sp1 and the second primary control signal Sp2. The first controlled switch SWab is now controlled by the first primary control signal Sp1. The electronic circuit 12 further comprises a second switch controlled by the second primary control signal Sp2. In this second embodiment, the second controlled switch SWeff is connected in series with the resistor RI between the input PPin and the output PPout of the control line PP. In the open state, the second controlled switch SWeff allows the third erasure operating mode to be defined, in which no current is transmitted from the charging station 100 to the vehicle 101. In the closed state, the second controlled switch SWeff allows the two normal and lowering operating modes to be defined.

[0046] The first controlled switch SWab and / or the second controlled switch SWeff may be an electromechanical relay or a MOSFET transistor. In this case, as can be seen in Figures 5 and 6 for the two embodiments described, a power supply (a 3.3V power supply for example) is essential for the operation of the interface module 10. This power supply may be, for example, a battery, a standard external power supply (connected to the electrical network already present inside the charging station) or via a voltage transformer integrated into the interface module 10 which will draw current from a phase L1 and the neutral N of the charging station, shown in [Fig. 2] and 4. It should be noted that in the current and non-restrictive embodiment of the invention, we are only interested in a single-phase power supply between the phase L1 and the neutral.The other two phases L2 and L3 of the charging station 100 (shown in [Fig.2]) are connected directly to the T2S socket, without being interfaced by the interface module 10.

[0047] The first controlled switch SWab and / or the second controlled switch SWeff may be an optocoupler. In this case, in addition to the power supply necessary for the operation of the interface module 10, the electronic circuit 12 further comprises two bias resistors R2 and R3 allowing the protection and biasing of the optocoupler. The resistor R2 is mounted between the positive terminal of the optocoupler (SWab in [Fig.5] and SWeff in [Fig.6]) and the power supply (potential equal to 3.3 V) while the resistor R3 is mounted between the negative terminal of the optocoupler (for SWab and SWeff in both embodiments) and ground (potential equal to 0 V).

[0048] Referring now to Figures 2 and 4, the housing 11 is an insulating housing that can be formed for example from plastic material. The interface module 10 comprises a first connection zone Zcl configured for the connection of two control wires belonging to the control line PP and to a second control line CP (for Control Pilot in English) of the charging station 100. A second connection zone Zc2 comprising at least one conductive control pin configured to be connected to the socket T2S and a third connection zone Zc3 for the connection of at least one control wire coming from the control unit 102.

[0049] In addition, the first connection zone Zcl is configured for the connection of at least two power wires (the neutral N and the phase L1 in the embodiment example of [Fig.2]) coming from the charging terminal 100 to power the electronic circuit 12 and a protective wire PE linked to the ground, making it possible to evacuate the stray currents and guarantee the quality of the signal. The second connection zone Zc2 comprises at least two power conductive pins and one protective conductive pin configured to be connected to the socket T2S.

[0050] The first connection zone Zcl is arranged on a first face of the housing 11 and the second connection zone Zc2 is arranged on a second face of the housing 11, inclined relative to the second face of the housing 11, in particular the first and second faces being opposite.

[0051] In order to consider the invention more generally, a system S can be defined, as shown in dotted lines in [Fig. 1], comprising an interface module 10 according to the invention and a control unit 102. The control unit 102, arranged in a container such as a cabinet or a master terminal for example, comprises a current sensor 1021 for measuring the value of the current supplying the charging terminal 100. The current sensor 1021 can measure the current on a main line serving all the charging terminals (as can be seen on the set of charging terminals in [Fig. 3]) or for each electrical supply line of each charging terminal in the set.

[0052] The control unit 102 further comprises an analysis unit 1022, allowing the analysis of the information from the current sensor 1021 and the generation, according to criteria previously defined by the user, of a primary control signal to the electronic circuit 12. With reference to the set of charging terminals of [Fig. 3], an example of a scenario implemented by the control unit 102 will now be described. In the case where the value of the current exceeds a certain value, initially set by the user and corresponding to the maximum current that the line serving the charging terminals can transmit or to the maximum current available, the analysis unit 1022 sends an order to lower the current to the charging terminal 100a, for example, for a first duration set by the user in the form of a primary control signal Sp to the electronic circuit 12.If this current reduction is not sufficient to return to a current value lower than the value set by the user, the current supplying the charging station 100b and / or possibly the charging station 100c is also reduced. For a second period set by the user, the current reduction of the charging stations concerned is stopped and the current is measured again. Depending on the result obtained, it would be possible to maintain normal operation or switch to one of the reduction or erasure operating modes.

[0053] The control unit 102 also comprises an order transmitter 1023 making it possible to send the primary control signal Sp to the electronic circuit 12.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the command transmitter may be a dry contact, that is to say a simple switch controlled by the control unit 102 (the analysis unit 1022 in particular) to open or close it according to the primary control signal Sp representative of the current value supplying the charging terminal. The number of wires to be used for producing the dry contact may be 2 wires in the case of the lowering operating mode (illustrated in [Fig.5]) or 4 or 3 wires (by putting a wire in common for the two controlled switches) in the case of the erasure operating mode (illustrated in [Fig.6]).

Claims

Claims

1.

2.

3. Interface module (10) for managing a set of terminals charging for electric vehicles, comprising a housing (11) intended to be fixed between a charging terminal (100) among the set of charging terminals and a socket (T2S) of said charging terminal (100), the interface module (10) comprising an electronic circuit (12) controlled by a control unit (102), the electronic circuit (12) being configured to: receive, from the control unit (102), a primary control signal (Sp), acting, depending on the value of the primary control signal (Sp), on the value of a secondary control signal (Ss) transmitted by a control line (PP) connected between the charging terminal (10) and the socket (T2S), said control line (PP) being dedicated to communication between the charging terminal (100) and a vehicle (101) and determining an admissible value of the recharge. Interface module (10) according to claim 1, in which the electronic circuit (12) has two operating modes depending on the value of the primary control signal (Sp): a normal operating mode in which the electronic circuit (12) does not modify the secondary control signal (S s) transmitted by the control line (PP) and the maximum authorized current is transmitted to the vehicle (101); a lowering operating mode in which the electronic circuit (12) modifies the secondary control signal (S s) transmitted by the control line (PP) to lower the current transmitted to the vehicle (101). The interface module (10) of claim 1, wherein the circuit electronics (12) is configured to receive, from the control unit (102), a first primary control signal (Spl) making it possible to define the normal operating mode and the lowering operating mode and a second primary signal control signal (Sp2), the electronic circuit (12) being able to define, as a function of the value of the second primary control signal (Sp2), a third erasure operating mode in which the secondary control signal (S s) transmitted by the control line (PP) is interrupted and the charging terminal (100) does not transmit any current to the vehicle (101).

4. Interface module (10) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the electronic circuit (12) comprises a resistor (RI) mounted between an input (PPin) of the control line (PP) downstream of the charging station (100) and upstream of the interface module (10) and an output (PPout) downstream of the interface module (10) intended to be connected to the vehicle (101) through the socket (T2S), the electronic circuit (12) further comprises a first switch controlled (SWab) by the primary control signal (Sp) mounted in parallel with the resistor (RD, the first controlled switch (SWab) being in the closed state in the normal operating mode, and the first controlled switch (SWab) being in the open state in the lowering operating mode,the resistance (RI) adding to the resistance of the control line (PP) to modify the secondary control signal (Ss) transmitted by the control line (PP) and lower the current transmitted to the vehicle (101).,

5. Interface module (10) according to claim 3 and claim 4, wherein the first controlled switch (SWab) is controlled by the first primary control signal (Spl), the electronic circuit (12) further comprises a second controlled switch (SWeff) by the second primary control signal (Sp2), the second controlled switch (SWeff) being connected in series with the resistor (RI) between the input (PPin) of the control line (PP) and the output (PPout) of the control line (PP), the second controlled switch (SWeff) being in the open state in the third clearing operating mode, the second controlled switch (SWeff) being in the closed state in the normal operating mode and in the lowering operating mode.

6. Interface module (10) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first controlled switch (SWab) and / or the second controlled switch (SWeff) is an electromechanical relay or a MOSFET transistor.

7. Interface module (10) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first controlled switch (SWab) and / or the second controlled switch (SWeff) is an optocoupler.

8. Interface module (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the housing (11) is an insulating housing, the interface module (10) comprising a first connection zone (Zcl) configured for the connection of at least one control wire belonging to the control line (PP) of the charging station (100) and a second connection zone (Zc2) comprising at least one conductive control pin configured to be connected to the socket (T2S) and a third connection zone (Zc3) for the connection of at least one control wire coming from the control unit (102).

9. Interface module (10) according to claim 8, in which the first connection zone (Zcl) is configured for the connection of at least two power wires coming from the charging terminal (100) and a protective wire linked to the ground, and the second connection zone (Zc2) comprising at least two power conductive pins and a protective conductive pin configured to be connected to the socket (T2S).

10. Interface module according to one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the first connection zone (Zcl) is arranged on a first face of the housing (11) and the second connection zone (Zc2) is arranged on a second face of the housing (11), inclined relative to the second face of the housing (11), in particular the first and second faces being opposite.

11. System (S) comprising: - an interface module (10) according to one of the preceding claims; and - a control unit (102) comprising: • a current sensor (1021) for measuring the value of the current supplying the charging terminal (100), • an analysis unit (1022) allowing the analysis of the information from the current sensor (1021) and the generation, according to criteria previously defined by the user, of a primary control signal to the electronic circuit (12), • an order transmitter (1023) for sending the primary control signal to the electronic circuit (12).

12. System (S) according to claim 8, in which the command transmitter (1023) is a dry contact.

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