Controlling a charging system

Abstract

A control system for controlling a charging system of a vehicle configured to receive a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by a user; receive, from a remote s

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a control system and a method for controlling a charging system of a vehicle. Aspects of the invention relate to a control system, a control method, and a vehicle comprising such a control system. BACKGROUND Vehicles utilising an electric propulsion system are increasingly common. Whereas vehicles utilising an internal combustion engine (ICE) can be refuelled rapidly at a fuel filling station, at a price which is not timevariant, the charging of a vehicle battery for an electrically propelled vehicle is generally slower, is at a cost which is dependent in part on charging location (e.g. home, work, public charging station), in part on charging speed (faster charges are typically more expensive per kwh), and in part on time of day (in some cases charging at night is cheaper than charging during the day). As a result, cost, convenience and efficiency of charging an electric vehicle introduces considerations typically not present in the refuelling of an ICE based vehicle. In existing systems, when the user intends to charge at a public location with timed charging settings enabled on the vehicle (to take advantage of a lower electricity tariff at off-peak hours), an explicit switch to immediate charging is required to override the timed charging settings, without which the session at the public location could be cancelled, impacting the cost and time. This could also be redundant and inconvenient to the user. One consideration for electric charging is that, when multiple electric vehiclestake power from the grid at once, there may be overload in the grid and as demand rises the cost also might increase. One way of addressing this is for the grid to command a wall box (charging station) to start or stop charging based on demand. However, not all wall boxes may support this feature, resulting in a lack of consistency. When an electric vehicle is connected for charging in a household (for example), there may be dependencies with household energy consumption. It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system and a method for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, and a vehicle comprising such a control system as claimed in the appended claims. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to: receive a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by a user; receive, from a remote server distinct from both a charging station used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle, a command to initiate charging of a vehicle battery; and charge the vehicle battery in response to the command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from the user; wherein, in the smart charging mode, charging of the vehicle battery only commences upon receipt of the command from the remote server. In this way, the grid is able to directly command the vehicle as well to start / stop charging. As this feature is enabled with preferred geolocation, a necessity factor can also be determined. When the electric vehicle is plugged in for the first time, a handshake mechanism may be initiated between the vehicle cloud and energy provider proxy. Later on, when plugged in, the energy provider is able to create a schedule for the electric vehicle based on grid demand and sends start / stop commands to the vehicle and / or charging station in sync with this schedule. As the grid shall directly command the vehicle, all users are able to gain the benefit from this feature, irrespective of the wall box used. The charging mode may be selected by the user using a portable electronic device. The command to initiate charging may control charging of the vehicle battery in accordance with a charging schedule. The control system may be configured to charge the vehicle battery in accordance with the command to initiate charging when the vehicle is plugged into the charging station and the smart charging mode has been selected. This streamlines the charging process by reducing the number of interactions required by the user at the time of charging. The control system may be configured to notify the remote server that the vehicle is plugged in and is in the smart charging mode. The control system may be configured to: prior to initiating charging of the vehicle battery, determine whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieve charging settings associated with the geographical location; and charge the vehicle battery in accordance with the retrieved charging settings; wherein the retrieved charging settings are associated with the geographical location by the user via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle. The charging settings may comprise a charging rate limit specified by the user. The charging settings may be accessible to the user only via the user interface of the portable electronic device. According to another aspect, there is provided a vehicle comprising a vehicle battery and the control system according to the above. According to another aspect, there is provided a method of controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by a user; receiving, from a remote server distinct from both a charging station used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle, a command to initiate charging of a vehicle battery; and charging the vehicle battery in response to the command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from the user; wherein, in the smart charging mode, charging of the vehicle battery only commences upon receipt of the command from the remote server. According to another aspect, there is provided computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method defined above. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to: prior to initiating charging of a vehicle battery, determine whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieve charging settings associated with the geographical location; and charge the vehicle battery in accordance with the retrieved charging settings; wherein the retrieved charging settings are associated with the geographical location by a user via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to activate timed charging (for example) based on preidentified geographical location or geolocation, and to automate switching between timed charging and immediate charging (for example) to provide a more user-friendly experience. With this technique, the major interaction required from the user is to set the preferences in advance for a particular geographical location (for example at the start of opting for timed charging), after which there is no mandatory user input required to initiate a charging session until and unless the user decides to change the charging behaviour. The technique can empower the user to have a more convenient experience, making the vehicle the enabler of charging sessions. The charging settings may be stored to (at the point of association with the geographical location) a storage device, on or in one or more of the vehicle and the portable electronic device, or on a remote server. They may be retrieved from that storage device in response to the vehicle arriving at (or within a certain distance of) the geographical location. The control system may be configured to receive charging settings data from the portable electronic device, the charging settings data associating the charging settings with the geographical location. Typically, portable electronic devices have effective, efficient and familiar user interfaces, making it easierto set relatively complex parameters or inputs such as charging settings and geographical locations. Furthermore, the user does not necessarily need to be present at the vehicle in order to carry out the setting operation. The control system may be configured to initiate charging of the vehicle battery at the geographical location using the associated charging settings when the vehicle is electrically connected to a charging station at the geographical location, without requiring further input from the user. This reduces the number of user interactions required, and streamlines the charging process. At the time when the geographical location is associated with the charging settings, the geographical location may be different from the location of the vehicle at that time. That is, when the user sets the charging settings for a particular geographical location, they need not be present at that geographical location. The charging settings may comprise a charging mode, wherein the charging mode controls a timing at which charging of the vehicle takes place. The charging mode may be selected from a group of one or more of a first charging mode in which charging commences upon the vehicle being plugged in to a charging station, a second charging mode in which charging takes place only in a scheduled time period, a third charging mode in which charging takes place outside of a scheduled time period only if required to reach a threshold state of charge by a vehicle departure time, subject to a state of charge of the vehicle battery being predicted to reach a threshold by a departure time, and a fourth charging mode in which charging commences and stops in response to a command from an off-board system. The control system may be configured to receive an override command to use charging settings for the current location of the vehicle which differ from the charging settings associated with the current location of the vehicle for a current or next charging event. This enables the user to actively step in to override their prespecified “default” for the location, in the absence of which override the system charges in accordance with the default. The control system may be configured to: receive a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by the user; receive, from a remote server distinct from both a charging station used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle, a command to initiate charging of the vehicle battery; and charge the vehicle battery in response to the command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from the user; wherein, in the smart charging mode, charging of the vehicle battery only commences upon receipt of the command from the remote server. In this way, and contrary to the conventional approach (in which vehicle charging starts whenever the cable is connected and charge power is available, to be stopped if a stop command is received by a server), no (potentially expensive) charging takes place by default when the vehicle is plugged in (in this particular charging mode), until a commence command is received from the server. The charging settings may comprise a charging rate limit specified by the user. This enables the user to specify a charging rate based on their own knowledge of specific geographical locations, taking into account for example fuse settings, likelihood of multiple vehicles being charged, and so on. In some implementations, the charging settings are accessible to the user only via the user interface of the portable electronic device. This avoids potential conflict between different user inputs on the vehicle HMI and / or charging station and / or portable electronic device. According to another aspect there is provided a vehicle comprising a vehicle battery and the control system as described in the preceding paragraphs. According to another aspect there is provided a method of controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the method comprising: prior to initiating charging of a vehicle battery, determining whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieving charging settings associated with the geographical location; and charging the vehicle battery in accordance with the retrieved charging settings; wherein the retrieved charging settings are associated with the geographical location by a user via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle. According to another aspect there is provided computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to the above. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to: prior to initiating charging of a vehicle battery, determine whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieve charging settings associated with the geographical location; and charge the vehicle battery using the retrieved charging settings; wherein the charging settings comprise a charging rate limit specified by a user. The control system may be configured to store the geographical location in association with one or more charging settings for charging the vehicle battery. The control system may be configured to permit a selection of the geographical location, and the user specified charging rate limit to be associated with the selected geographical location via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle. The control system may be configured to initiate charging of the vehicle battery at the geographical location using the associated charging settings when the vehicle is electrically connected to a charging station at the geographical location, without requiring further input from the user. The selected geographical location may be different from the current location of the vehicle (that is, the location of the vehicle when the geographical location was selected). The control system may be configured to store the user selected charging rate limit if the user has selected it while the vehicle is at the stored geographical location, and to not store the charging current value if the user has selected it while the vehicle is not at the stored geographical location. The control system may be configured to display to the user that the user specified charging rate limit is limiting an instantaneous charge current. The charging settings may be accessible to the user only via a user interface of a portable electronic device. According to another aspect there is provided a vehicle comprising a vehicle battery and the control system according to the above. According to another aspect there is provided a method of controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the method comprising: prior to initiating charging of a vehicle battery, determining whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieving charging settings associated with the geographical location; and charging the vehicle battery using the retrieved charging settings; wherein the charging settings comprise a charging rate limit specified by a user. According to another aspect there is provided computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to the above. Within the scope of this application, it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in anyway and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a system including a vehicle, charging station, server and portable electronic device; Figure 2A shows a schematic representation of a controller for implementing the present technique; Figure 2E3 shows a schematic representation of a non-transitory computer readable storage medium; Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram of a control method for the charging system; Figure 4 is a schematic flow diagram of another control method for the charging system; and Figure 5 is a schematic flow diagram of yet another control method of the charging system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, a system 1 comprises a vehicle 10, a wall box 20, connected to an electricity grid, a portable electronic device 30 used by the driver of the vehicle 10, a remote server 40 associated with an electricity provider. The vehicle 10 comprises one or more electric motors 12 for propelling the vehicle 10, one or more electric batteries 14 for powering the electric motors 12, a charging system 16 for connection to an electricity supply (and in particular for connection to the wall box 20), for charging the vehicle batteries, a controller 18 for controlling vehicle operations including the operation of the charging system 16, and a user interface 19 for presenting information to the user of the vehicle, and for receiving control inputs from the user. The system as illustrated in Figure 1 comprises one controller 18, although it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative. The system is configured to implement any one or more of the methods described herein. Figure 2A illustrates how a control system 208 (which may be implemented in part by the controller 18, in part by the portable electronic device 30 and in part by the charging station 20) may be implemented. The control system 208 of Figure 2A illustrates a controller 200. In other examples, the control system 208 may comprise a plurality of controllers 200 onboard and / or off board the vehicle 10, charging station 20 and / or portable electronic device 30. In examples any suitable control system 208 can be used. The controller 200 of Figure 2A includes at least one processor 202; and at least one memory device 204 electrically coupled to the electronic processor 202 and having instructions 206 (for example a computer program) stored therein, the at least one memory device 204 and the instructions 206 configured to, with the at least one processor 202, cause any one or more of the methods described herein to be performed. Also illustrated in the example of Figure 2A are one or more vehicle systems 226. In examples, the vehicle system(s) 226 can comprise any suitable vehicle system(s). For example, the vehicle system(s) 226 can comprise any suitable vehicle system(s) 226 from which the control system 208 can receive and / or to which the control system 208 can transmit, directly or indirectly, one or more signals 20, for example to control the charging system or torque delivery system (battery 14 and motors 12) of the vehicle 10. Figure 2B illustrates a non-transitory computer readable storage medium 218 comprising the instructions 206 (computer software). Accordingly, Figure 2B illustrates a non-transitory computer readable medium 218 comprising computer readable instructions 206 that, when executed by a processor 202, cause performance of at least one or more of the methods described herein. Figure 3 schematically illustrates a control method carried out by the control system in one implementation. At a step A1 the user selects a location via a user interface of the portable electronic device 30 (which may for example be a smartphone). The user may or may not be in or near the vehicle 10 at this time, and the selected geographical location may be different from a current location of the vehicle 10. The user may for example be in their own home or workplace and configuring charging settings and commonly visited locations for the vehicle 10 for the first time, or may be configuring charging locations on a planned route for a long journey. The selected location is the location which the user is seeking to preconfigure with charging settings, such that when they later arrive at that location with their vehicle 10, charging can be carried out with minimal user interaction. At a step A2 the user enters or otherwise selects charging settings to be associated with that location. The settings may be represented by a charging mode, there being a plurality of charging modes available to select between. The different charging modes each (differently) control a timing at which charging of the vehicle takes place. At a step A3 the selected charging settings are associated with (stored in association with) the selected geographical location, for example in a database accessible to the vehicle 10 and / or the charging station 20. At a step A4 (at a latertime) the vehicle 10 arrives at a location and is plugged into a charging station 20, ready for charging. The vehicle 10 obtains, at a step A5, the location at which the vehicle 10 / charging station 20 is present (geolocation), and obtains the associated charging settings at a step A6, if any such settings are associated with the present location. If there are no charging settings specifically associated with the present location (for example because this location has not been preconfigured by the user), default settings are used, or the user is invited to select appropriate settings for th is instance of charging. The steps A4 to A6 are carried out in advance of the vehicle battery being charged. At a step A7, the vehicle 10 is charged in accordance with the retrieved charging settings. At a step A8 the charging settings may optionally be overridden by a user, for example to initiate vehicle charging immediately rather than waiting for a timing according to the charging settings. In this case, the control system receives an override command to use settings for a current location of the vehicle 10 which differ from the stored settings for a current or next charging event. The override command may be triggered by a user interaction with the portable electronic device 30, a charging inlet, or the vehicle user interface 19. By virtue of the steps A4 to A7, the control system is configured to initiate charging of the vehicle battery at a geographical location using the associated charging settings when the vehicle is electrically connected to a charging point 20 at the geographical location, without requiring further input from a user. In some cases the only input actually required by the user at the charging station is to plug in the cable. The various charging modes which may be selected (according to one example) as charging settings are set out below: A first “charge now” mode in which the vehicle starts the charging immediately when the charging cable is plugged in. This mode is suitable for public charging stations, outside of specified geolocations (as a default mode), and one-time usage inside I at a specified geolocation, for example when specifically selected by the user at the time of plugging in the vehicle. A second “low-tariff only (fixed schedule) mode, in which the user defines a charging time slot for a location, and the vehicle will charge in that time slot only. This mode is cost-oriented, and may not always result in the vehicle being fully charged, but is suitable if full range is not always required for everyday transport. This mode is suitable for use at I within specified geolocations, or for one-time usage outside of those geolocations. A third “preferred hours” mode, in which the user defines a charging slot for a location and the vehicle attempts to predominantly charge in the slot to achieve a selectable state of charge (SoC) (for example a specified percentage of full battery / maximum range). In the third mode, a departure time (from the current location) may be specified, in which case the vehicle is charged considering the departure time as a target time to achieve the selectable state of charge. If no departure time is specified, the vehicle charges considering the end of off-peak hours (end of time slot) as the target time to achieve the selectable state of charge. In the third mode, range is prioritised so as to be able to achieve full vehicle range for everyday transport. That is, whereas in the second mode the charging is timed to minimise cost, in the second mode the charging is timed to achieve maximum range. A fourth “smart charging” mode in which the vehicle waits for the command from an off-board system to start and stop charging. This mode is cost-oriented, and is a passive mode for maximising compatibility with off-board schemes. This mode is suitable for use at specified geolocations. The charging system provides, in this way, for both timed charging, and immediate charging. Timed charging generally seeks to minimize charging costs by prioritising charging for times at which an electricity tariff is relatively low. In this case, when the user plugs the vehicle 10 into a charging station 20 (wall box), charging may not commence immediately, but at a later time. The present technique activates timed charging based on preidentified geolocation. It also seeks to automate the switching between timed charging and immediate charging to provide a more user-friendly experience. The main interaction required from the user is to set the preferences at the start of opting for timed charging, after which there is no mandatory user input required to initiate a charging session until and unless the user voluntarily intends to change the behaviour. More specifically, the user selects timed charging fora particular geographical location in advance (for example prior to a journey, or when first setting up the system upon acquisition of the vehicle 10), and the system then detects when the vehicle 10 is plugged in at that location and automatically adopts timed charging (or immediate charging), depending on the user’s pre-entered preference. An alternative solution could be to avoid the user input and auto learn the preferences. However, this could lead to ambiguity in the initial phase, at which point there are very few incidents to learn from. Figure 4 schematically illustrates a control method carried out by the control system in another implementation, specifically considering how charging is handled depending on the selected charging mode. The method of Figure 4 assumed that the charging mode has already been set by the user, in advance, in accordance with the configuration steps of Figure 3, using the portable electronic device. At a step B1 the vehicle arrives at a charging station and is plugged in. At a step B2 the location of the vehicle / charging station is identified. At a step B3 it is determined whether the identified location corresponds to a stored location having associated charging settings. If not, then default charging settings are used, or alternatively the user may be requested to specify how to proceed (for example, which charging mode to use). If the identified location does correspond to a stored location having associated charging settings, then the charging settings are obtained. In the case where the fourth “smart” charging mode is associated with the current location, at a step B4 a notification is transmitted from the vehicle 10 and / or the charging station 20 to the remote server 40 associated with the electricity grid or electricity provider, and distinct from both the charging station 20 used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle 10. The notification may include a current battery state (charge level), as well as a departure time (and optionally distance) of a planned or predicted onward journey, as well as an indication of a status such as “Plugged in”, “Charging” and “UserOverride”. The location of the charging station may also be included. The departure time may be selected by the user directly, or obtained from a navigation system of the vehicle. In the case of a smart charging mode, the user may select the departure time via an energy provider mobile phone application. At a step B5 the remote server formulates a charging schedule for charging the vehicle 10 (and potentially other vehicles). The charging schedule may be formulated taking into account electricity charges and / or a current demand on the grid. Then, at a step B6 the remote server responds to the notification (and any other data) by transmitting a start command (which might either be transmitted at a suitable start time to trigger immediate charging, or which might indicate a start time at which the vehicle should commence charging). At a step B7 the vehicle battery is charged in response to the start command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from a user. Notably, charging of the vehicle battery does not commence until the command is received from the remote server. If the location of the vehicle / charging station is unknown, the remote server will not send start / stop charging commands, and instead the vehicle and / or charging station will be responsible (potentially under user control) for starting and stopping vehicle charging. Later, optionally, at a step B8, the remote server may preferably issue a stop command (which again might either be transmitted at a suitable start time to trigger immediate charging, or which might indicate a start time at which the vehicle should commence charging), in response to which the charging is stopped at a step B9. The stop command is set in dependence on the charging schedule. In an alternative implementation, charging commands may be received from the remote server irrespective of whether the fourth (smart) charging mode is selected, but may be disregarded in the event that the fourth charging mode is not selected. In any case, with the method of Figure 3, the system is configured to charge the vehicle battery in accordance with the command to initiate charging when the vehicle is plugged into a charging unit and the smart charging mode has been selected. The present technique recognises that, in some instances, the decision as to when to start and stop charging may be best made by an external entity (that is, not by the vehicle 10, the user (via the portable electronic device 30) or the charging station 20). Instead, in some instances the grid (or a remote server 40 associated with the grid, orwith an electricity provider) shall directly command the vehicle 10 to start and / or stop charging. When the electric vehicle 10 is plugged in for the first time, a handshake mechanism is initiated between a cloud server associated with the vehicle 10 and energy provider proxy. Later on, when the vehicle 10 is plugged in, the provider creates a schedule for the electric vehicle 10 based on grid demand and sends start / stop command in sync with this schedule. As the grid shall directly command the vehicle 10, all users can get the benefit from this feature, irrespective of the wall box being used to charge the vehicle 10. In the fourth mode, the vehicle will wait until it receives the start command from remote server before commencing charging. In this way, the cost of charging can be reduced by not charging the vehicle during peak rate hours. This configuration is preferable to an alternative arrangement in which charging commences immediately upon the vehicle being plugged in, and then stopping the charge when the vehicle receives a stop command from a remote server after schedule planning. This may cost the user if the period between plugging in and the remote server being able to issue the stop command is a peak rate period. Figure 5 schematically illustrates a variant of the method of Figure 3, in which the specified charging settings include (either additional to the charging mode, or instead of it) a charging rate limit specified by a user. This charging rate limit may be set using the portable electronic device 30 (as per Figure 3), or may be set at the vehicle 10. At a stepCI the user selects a location, either via a user interface of the portable electronic device 30, or via the user interface 19 of the vehicle. The selected location is the location which the user is seeking to preconfigure with a charging rate limit, such that when they later arrive at that location with their vehicle, charging can be carried out with minimal user interaction. At a step C2 the user enters or otherwise selects a charging rate limit to be associated with that location. At a step C3 the selected charging rate limit is associated with (stored in association with) the selected geographical location. At a step C4 the vehicle arrives at a location and is plugged into a charging station, ready for charging. The vehicle obtains, at a step C5, the location at which the vehicle I charging station is present (geolocation), and obtains the associated charging settings (charging rate limit) at a step C6, if any such settings are associated with the present location. If not, default settings (default charging rate) are used, or the user is invited to select appropriate settings for this instance of charging. The steps C4 to C6 are carried out in advance of the vehicle battery being charged. In one implementation, the user preference settings are applied once the vehicle enters the geolocation, and before it is plugged in (that is, the step C5 could be carried out prior to the step C4). At a step C7, the vehicle is charged in accordance with the retrieved charging settings. At a step C8 the charging rate limit may optionally be overridden by a user. In this case, the control system receives an override command to use settings for a current location of a vehicle which differ from the stored settings for a current or next charging event. The override command may be triggered by a user interaction with the portable electronic device, or the vehicle user interface. By virtue of the steps C4 to C7, the control system is configured to initiate charging of the vehicle battery at a geographical location using the associated charging rate limit when the vehicle is electrically connected to a charging point at the geographical location, without requiring further input from a user. In setting the charging rate limit for a particular location, the user may determine the current rate based on household energy consumption and power limit. The user is able to take into account their own judgement of the location, such as the number of vehicles being charged concurrently locally, the fuse settings at the premises. In this way, the user can select the AC charge rate limit for a preferred location. The electric vehicle would rememberthe preference and charge accordingly based on location. When charging, the electric vehicle is also able to offset the power based on the charging station (EVSE -Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) power limit. In this case, the electric vehicle charges using the lower of the charging station limit and the entered user preference. The user can therefore charge the electric vehicle without safety concerns, since they are unable to force the vehicle to use a charge rate limit which exceeds the capability of the charging station. Further, if the vehicle detects a power fluctuation, the charging current is limited, and the limited value stored instead of the user specified limit. The limited value may subsequently be altered, for example if the hardware is upgraded or a temporary situation which led to the fluctuation is remedied. The present technique allows a user to limit the charge current during AC charging session. The option to limit in this way does not exist, and is not displayed to the user, when DC charging. The user can pre-set the AC charge current limit for each saved geolocation. Then, when the vehicle arrives at a saved geolocation and is plugged in, that pre-set AC charge current can be used by default without a need for charge current selection by the user at that location. The system allows the user to set the AC current limit for each saved geolocation. A maximum allowable current limit may be based on AC connector type (for example a Type 1 connector may support 80A, whereas a Type 2 / GBT connector may support 32A). The user is permitted to access geolocation settings while charging and to configure pre-configured current limit there not greater than a maximum allowable hardware limit, which will be in sync with the maximum phase current limit while charging (not necessarily 32A or 80A -could be less depending on off-board supply). While charging, the instantaneous charging current is displayed in the energy tab. The current limit is automatically derated when possible supply side power dissipation is detected via voltage drop. Maximum phase current limit (hardware limit) will not change. The user is allowed to change the current limit. Instantaneous current does not exceed the set current limit. It can be any value below current limit depending on what the vehicle is accepting (low value in the end of charge). The system will not allow instantaneous current to go beyond maximum phase current limit if pre set charging current limit in geolocation is greater than maximum phase current limit in that charging session. The maximum allowable charging current for the AC charging session may be displayed. The maximum phase current limit should be the minimum of the hardware capability, that is of a maximum of charging cable current limit and a maximum of that which the off-board control system (charging station) can provide. With the present technique the AC charging current limit is configurable. This allows the user to change the charging current while AC charging. The charging current value may be stored if the user has modified inside geolocation (that is, if the user sets the charging rate limit at the location at which charging takes place, rather than in advance of reaching that location), or due to automatic derate, or due to a pre-configured value being greater than maximum value. While AC charging at a non-Geolocation, the user selectable charging current value is not stored. The user interface may display to the user that the user defined current limit is limiting the instantaneous charge current. Various vehicle systems may be involved in the present technique. The vehicle infotainment system may be used for setting detecting the current location of the vehicle, identifying the charging mode for the location, overriding the charging mode on a temporary basis, and communicating the charging data to other systems. The Vehicle Supervisory Controller (VSC) may be responsible for deciding on a final charging mode, deciding the charging start and end time, predicting the total charging hours, and for vehicle wake-up control during schedule charging. The Battery Management Control Module (BMCM) may be responsible for detecting a “charge now” button press, and for waking up the system during any charging event if the vehicle is in sleep (wake up may be upon cable plug in or charge now button press). The above examples use charging settings which are either (or both) of a charging mode (controlling a timing of charging) and a charging rate limit (controlling a maximum charging rate, and thus a maximum current / power draw of the charging system). However, other charging settings could be configured instead. In any case, charging settings entered into the portable electronic device are pushed to the vehicle (controller), and actioned when a predetermined geolocation is reached and the vehicle plugged in to a charging station at that geolocation. Charging settings associated with a particular geolocation may be temporarily overridden by the user. The override may be via the portable electronic device, a user interface of the vehicle, or via a user interface of the charging station. Some existing systems provide for preconfigured charging settings for a home location, and for a work location. The charging settings for these two locations may be entered / selected once, and then left. Since the charging settings for a particular location can be expected not to change, or to change very infrequently, the nature of the user interface provided to configure the settings is relatively unimportant with such systems. In contrast, with the present technique a greater number of locations are envisaged. A user may have a number of preset geographical locations at which they may expect to charge their vehicle. Typically each location may be a location at which repeated visits are expected (for example relatives houses, multiple work-places, particular public locations frequented by the user), but in some cases it may be beneficial to be able to program in locations in advance, simply for a single journey. For example, if a user is planning a long trip, they may program in charging settings at a number of geographical locations along the route at which they consider it likely they will stop. Then, upon arrival at each location on the route, they do not need to select or adjust the charging settings, since they have been pre-configured before the journey has started. It is desirable that the steps required by the user at the point of initiating vehicle charging should be a simple and streamlined as possible. This is achieved, in part, by allowing the user to carry out pre-configuration of the charging settings for a particular geographical location in advance, using a portable electronic device (such as a smartphone) distinct and separate from the vehicle. In some implementations at least some of the functionality in preconfiguring charging settings may be provided only via the portable electronic device, with the vehicle-based user interface lacking features permitting the user to carry out such pre-configuration. This reduces confusion or conflict between user configuration via a portable electronic device and a vehicle-based user interface. This represents the offboarding of (timed) charging settings. As a result, in some implementations of the present technique a control system is provided for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, which is able to receive one or more charging settings via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle, and which is able to charge the vehicle battery using the received charging settings, but in which the charging settings are accessible to the user only via a user interface of the portable electronic device (and not, for example, via a user interface of the vehicle, or of a charging station to which the vehicle is being connected). The system permits charging settings to be configured both for present locations, and possible future locations. In the case where the charging settings are being configured for a present location, the portable electronic device (or vehicle) is able to determine a current geographical location at the time when the charging settings are being selected, adjusted or entered by the user, and the charging settings stored in association with that determined geographical location. In the case where the charging settings are being configured for a possible future location, the user is required to select or enter the future location (for example by entering a postcode, searching for an address, or manipulating a digital map), which is then stored in association with the entered charging settings. The illustration of a particular order to the steps illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 does not necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for the steps and the order and arrangement of the steps may be varied. Furthermore, it may be possible for some steps in the method to be omitted. It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A control system for controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to:receive a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by a user;receive, from a remote server distinct from both a charging station used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle, a command to initiate charging of a vehicle battery; andcharge the vehicle battery in response to the command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from the user;wherein, in the smart charging mode, charging of the vehicle battery only commences upon receipt of the command from the remote server.

2. The control system of claim 1, wherein the charging mode is selected by the user using a portable electronic device.

3. The control system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the control system is configured to charge the vehicle battery in accordance with the command to initiate charging when the vehicle is plugged into the charging station and the smart charging mode has been selected.

4. The control system of any preceding claim, configured to notify the remote server that the vehicle is plugged in and is in the smart charging mode.

5. The control system of any preceding claim, configured to:prior to initiating charging of the vehicle battery, determine whether a current location of the vehicle corresponds to a stored geographical location, and if so retrieve charging settings associated with the geographical location; andcharge the vehicle battery in accordance with the retrieved charging settings;wherein the retrieved charging settings are associated with the geographical location by the user via a user interface of a portable electronic device separate from the vehicle.

6. The control system according to claim 5, wherein the charging settings comprise a charging rate limit specified by the user.

7. The control system according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the charging settings are accessible to the user only via the user interface of the portable electronic device.

8. A vehicle comprising a vehicle battery and the control system of any preceding claim.

9. A method of controlling a charging system of a vehicle, the method comprising:receiving a charging mode selection command indicative of a smart charging mode selected by a user;receiving, from a remote server distinct from both a charging station used to charge the vehicle and from the vehicle, a command to initiate charging of a vehicle battery; andcharging the vehicle battery in response to the command received from the remote server, without requiring further input from the user;5 wherein, in the smart charging mode, charging of the vehicle battery only commences upon receiptof the command from the remote server.

10. Computer readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 9.

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