Innovative fast charging station for electric vehicles

Abstract

This solution addresses the drawbacks of large-scale fast-charging stations equipped with multiple fast-charging devices, such as the limitation of each fast-charging device only being able to charge at designated locations or being limited to a power output below that of each device. [Solution] By connecting the outputs of multiple fast chargers to their respective busbars and then connecting any two busbars to a single charging cable, double-speed charging is made possible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rapid charging station for electric vehicles (EVs and PHVs) powered by electricity.

Background Art

[0002] Electric vehicles, which are fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, are beginning to spread rapidly. The capacity of the battery increases year by year, and it is less likely to be troubled by so-called battery depletion in the normal use of EVs. However, considering long-distance driving, charging is required during the journey to the destination, so rapid charging stations with multiple rapid charging devices installed along the main roads are needed.

[0003] For such rapid charging stations, it is desirable to install a plurality of rapid charging devices and perform charging efficiently. Regarding this point, many patent documents can already be found. Among them, a useful method is that the user provides information related to the remaining amount of the battery of their own vehicle to a rapid charging reservation site, and the reservation site proposes in advance where to charge during the journey.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

[0005] [[ID=4�]] The rapid charging reservation method described above is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and is indeed reasonable. However, when a vehicle actually arrives at the reserved charging station, there may be cases where the vehicle does not promptly remove the charging plug from the charging device and leave, even though a certain amount of charging has already been completed.

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses a method of removing vehicles that do not leave the charging station after charging by adding an excessively high charging fee. However, the fundamental problem is that a single fast-charging device only has one charging cable.

[0007] Another patent document, 3, discloses a method in which multiple charging compartments are provided, and a rapid charging device is provided with output cables that can charge in each compartment. A separately provided charging control device checks whether the charging time has been set in advance according to the connection order of the charging cables, and if the scheduled charging time has been exceeded, the output of the rapid charging device is switched to the output cable of the next vehicle so that the connection order can be used to charge the next vehicle.

[0008] In this method, even if a vehicle has finished charging to its planned capacity, the fast charger can charge the next vehicle without disconnecting the charging cable, thus ensuring the fast charger is used effectively.

[0009] Furthermore, a product has been developed that charges one vehicle at full output when only one vehicle is being charged, and charges each vehicle at half output when both vehicles are connected simultaneously. In this case, one fast charger can charge up to two vehicles at the same time, eliminating the drawback that users cannot charge their vehicle until the first vehicle to be charged has finished.

[0010] However, in large charging stations with multiple such fast chargers, one fast charger can simultaneously charge two vehicles parked in its designated parking space, but it is independent of the second charger that has been added. Therefore, if the charging in the second parking space is finished, the fast charger will not be used. This drawback becomes more pronounced as the number of fast chargers increases.

[0011] The inventors have filed an invention (Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-212436) that fundamentally solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, namely, the fact that multiple rapid chargers are independent, which means that while one rapid charger can charge two vehicles at half its output, another rapid charger remains idle because there are no connected vehicles.

[0012] The invention relates to a method of connecting the outputs from multiple fast chargers to their respective busbars, and then laying charging cables to individual charging stations so that they can be charged from their respective busbars via selector switches. A major advantage of this method is that the multiple fast chargers can supply charging power to all charging stations. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0013] While the above patent application had the significant advantage of effectively utilizing multiple fast-charging devices, EVs receiving the charging service were charged at a rate below the charging capacity of each charging device, and could not be fast-charged beyond that. The present invention uses the basic configuration of the above patent application to enable fast charging exceeding the maximum charging capacity of each fast-charging device at all charging locations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] In the present invention, in a configuration in which two or more rapid charging devices are installed, each output of which is connected to an independent busbar, and charging cables are installed from each busbar via a selection switch to enable rapid charging at two or more charging locations, each rapid charging device is capable of supplying charging power to all charging locations, and by connecting two or more rapid charging devices in parallel, it is possible to enable rapid charging at one charging location that exceeds the charging capacity of each individual rapid charging device (Claim 1).

[0015] To enable parallel charging, two or more fast chargers connected to a single charging cable are configured to coordinately adjust their output voltages so that their output voltages are the same. (Claim 2)

[0016] When two or more fast chargers are connected in parallel for parallel charging, the coordinated control of the charging voltage can also be performed by the fast charging management device that manages the fast charging station of the present invention. That is, the fast charging management device that manages the fast charging station of the present invention determines the charging order based on the order in which EVs enter the charging location, the timing of connecting the charging cable, and the timing when an EV that was charging finishes charging, and based on this charging order, it is possible to take various fast charging modes such as parallel 2x or more fast charging, parallel 2x fast charging, 1.5x fast charging, single full charge, and half charge (Claim 3).

[0017] The rapid charging management device of the present invention also allows users who desire high-speed charging, even at a high cost, to optionally prioritize the charging (Claim 4).

[0018] The present invention provides a rapid charging station in which the output of one rapid charging device is time-divided to enable charging of two or more EVs, thereby reducing the number of EVs waiting to be charged. (Claim 5) [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, in a rapid charging station equipped with a plurality of rapid charging devices, double-speed charging can be achieved by connecting the plurality of rapid charging devices in parallel, so there is a great effect of improving the rapid charging service.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] is the basic circuit diagram of the rapid charging station of the present invention that enables charging anywhere in the four charging compartments with two rapid charging devices CG1 and CG2. [Figure 2] is a diagram summarizing the actual circuit as a switchboard when the above basic circuit is applied to three rapid charging devices and six charging compartments. [Figure 3] is an improved rapid charging device that allows one rapid charging device CG1 to charge two single EVs at full output or two EVs at half output each when charging two EVs, and shows the circuit configuration of the switchboard of the present invention when the other rapid charging device has a single cable. [Figure 4] is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the charging device of the present invention. [Figure 5] is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart in which, in the charging station of the present invention, when a necessary EV for charging enters, the rapid charging device determines the charging priority of the EV and decides whether to perform double-speed charging, charging at rated output, or charging standby according to the charging priority. [Figure 6] is a diagram showing whether to perform double-speed charging, rated output charging, or charging standby for an EV that has entered the charging location according to the charging priority when there are six compartments with three rapid charging devices. [Figure 7] is a diagram showing the charging priority of an EV and whether to perform double-speed charging, rated charging, half-output charging, or charging standby in the case of providing six charging compartments when one rapid charging device has two outputs and the other rapid charging device has one output. [Figure 8]This figure shows an example of a display stand for the rapid charging station of the present invention, which is installed at each charging location and performs tasks such as charging operations and payment settlement. [Modes for carrying out the invention] [Examples]

[0021] Figure 1 shows the basic configuration of the present invention, which includes two rapid chargers and four charging bays. The outputs of each rapid charger, CG1 and CG2, are connected to busbars BUS1 and BUS2, respectively. Each busbar is connected to four selection switches 1A through 2D, and the circuit is configured such that rapid charging begins in the charging bay when any of these switches are turned ON and an EV enters a charging bay and the charging plug is inserted (switches SA through SD are closed).

[0022] In the circuit configuration shown in Figure 1, the two fast chargers can supply charging power to any EV that enters any of the provided charging bays. However, conventionally, when adding a second fast charger to a system that initially had one fast charger providing two charging bays, there was a drawback: because each fast charger operates independently, it could not charge an EV in a charging bay covered by the other fast charger.

[0023] Figure 2 shows the configuration of a power distribution panel that embodies the circuit configuration of a rapid charging station as shown in Figure 1. In this diagram, there are three rapid charging devices and six charging stations. This power distribution panel, along with the rapid charging management device (described later), will be installed inside the cubicle.

[0024] In this type of charging station, the output of the three fast chargers is first routed through a BUS power distribution board. Since it connects from 1 to BUS3, turn on one of the selection switches from 1A to 3F. This allows charging power to be supplied to any of the six compartments.

[0025] Figure 3 shows a fast-charging station with two fast-charging devices, one of which, CG1, has two outlets. It has power, and charges at full output when using only one output, and at half output when using both outputs. This shows the circuit configuration when a new type of rapid charging device is installed.

[0026] As can be seen from the diagram, the rapid charger CG1 has two outputs, each for charging cycles. It is connected to BUS1 and BUS2 of the circuit selection distribution panel. And the charging compartment where it is located Selective ON switching from switch 1A to 2F allows charging to be performed in any of the six compartments. It can deliver power. This is like having three fast-charging stations, which has the effect of increasing the number of EVs that can be charged simultaneously.

[0027] Figure 4 shows that the outputs of multiple rapid chargers are temporarily connected to the BUS on the distribution panel inside the cubicle, and by operating a switch to select a charging location, power can be sent to the charging cable for any charging compartment.

[0028] Each charging bay is equipped with an operation display panel (see Figure 8), which allows for connecting the charging cable, performing charging operations, and settling charges. Furthermore, each charging bay is equipped with a vehicle detection device, which serves as the basis for the rapid charging management system to determine which rapid charging device to use for charging. Based on the signal from the vehicle detection device, the rapid charging system determines the charging order of the EVs, as described later. Based on this charging order, the system then performs double-speed charging or normal charging according to the present invention. We'll decide on things like half-charging.

[0029] Figure 5 shows an example of a flowchart for determining the charging order of EVs entering the charging bay and the charging mode of the fast charger for performing double-speed charging according to the present invention. This charging mode determination process is triggered by events such as the EV entering or leaving the charging bay.

[0030] The rapid charging management device is aware of the immediate situation (001) when an EV enters or leaves the parking lot. If an event (002) occurs, and it is a vehicle entering the depot (003), the vehicle detection signal will be sent to the rapid charging management device. The data is sent to the device (004). The rapid charging management device then determines the charging order of the incoming EV. The charging order value is the number of EVs that were immediately in the charging station plus 1.

[0031] Next, (006) the fast charging management device will determine the charging mode, such as whether to charge at double speed, normal charging, or half charge, but the charging order of the EV that has just entered the store If the number of units is less than half of the number of charging circuits (buses), connect two fast chargers in parallel. As shown, the two selection switches connected to the two buses are used to select the charging station for the EV that just arrived. Connect to the power cable. This allows two fast chargers to charge one EV. The invention enables double-speed charging (007).

[0032] If the charging order is greater than half of the charging circuit (008), the two fast chargers are connected in parallel. It is not possible to do so. And if the charging order is less than or equal to the number of charging circuits (009), the rapid charging device Activate the selection switch so that normal charging is performed at the rated output of the device. Also, the charging order However, if the number of charging circuits is exceeded, charging will no longer be possible, and the EV will enter a charging standby state (010). Once the above decisions are made, the flowchart returns to the beginning (001) and the current state is stored.

[0033] In this state, a new departure event occurs, and in the payment step (012), the fee is calculated from the charging time and amount of electricity charged (0013). This information is transmitted to the display / operation stand in the charging bay (014), and when the user pays the fee (015), the charging priority of all EVs is simultaneously raised by one (016). Then, returning to (006) in the flowchart, the rapid charging management device decides again whether double-speed charging is possible and whether the waiting EVs become available for charging.

[0034] Figure 6 illustrates the above explanation in an easy-to-understand way. The figure shows three rapid charging devices (charging circuit). This represents the charging priority mode when the number is 3 and there are 6 charging compartments.

[0035] If there is only one EV in this charging station, that EV will have the highest charging priority. The value is 1. Since there are 3 charging circuits, half of that is 1.5, and the charging priority of 1 is 1. It is less than 5. Therefore, the EV will be charged at double speed (marked with ◎).

[0036] A second E entered this fast-charging station. Since the charging priority for this EV is 2, Since the conditions for double-speed charging are not met, normal charging at the standard rated output (marked with ○) will be performed. This means that the EV with the charging priority of 1 will continue to be charged at double speed.

[0037] Next, if a third EV enters this fast-charging station, the charging order for that EV will be: The answer is 3. Since there are 3 fast chargers (charging circuits), the 3 vehicles in the garage will each be connected to one of the 3 fast chargers, and normal fast charging will be performed. Until then, double-speed charging will be performed. Even EVs that were previously ranked 1st in the charging priority list will switch to normal charging.

[0038] When yet another EV enters the charging queue, the charging priority becomes 4, and since three fast chargers are already in use, the EV enters a charging standby state (marked with a triangle). The 5th and 6th EVs also enter a charging standby state and will remain in a standby state until the charging priority becomes 3. However, once one EV finishes charging, the charging priority of the EV that was 4 becomes 3, so the selection switch for that charging space turns on and normal fast charging becomes possible.

[0039] Next, Figure 7 shows the relationship between charging order and charging mode for the fast charging station in Figure 3, which has two fast charging devices, one of which has two outputs. Since there are three charging circuits, simultaneous charging is possible in three of the six charging bays.

[0040] If there is only one EV, the charging priority is 1, and all three charging circuits of the two fast chargers are connected in parallel to perform double-speed charging (marked with ◎). When a second EV enters the charging station, charging mode 2 is adopted. To select fast charging above the rated speed, for the EV with charging priority 1, operate the selection switch so that BUS1 or BUS2 and BUS3 are connected in parallel as shown in Figure 3. In this case, 1.5 times fast charging (marked with ●) will be performed.

[0041] On the other hand, for EVs in the second charging order, the unused bus from BUS1 to BUS2 will be connected, resulting in half-output charging (marked with a half circle) at half the rated output.

[0042] When three EVs enter the charging station, the EV with the first charging priority will be charged at its rated normal rate, while the remaining two will be half-charged. From the fourth EV onwards, the station will enter a standby state.

[0043] Figure 8 shows an example of a display and operation stand installed in a charging bay, illustrating an example of a display and operation panel where users can connect the charging cable to the EV, operate the charging process, and pay the fee.

[0044] As described above, the present invention is a rapid charging station comprising at least two rapid charging devices and charging bays exceeding the number of rapid charging devices, and has the unprecedented feature that all rapid charging devices are utilized efficiently and that two or more rapid charging devices can be connected in parallel to enable rapid charging at double or more speed.

[0045] In the present invention, when charging one EV with two or more fast chargers connected in parallel, it is necessary to make the output voltages of the parallel-connected fast chargers the same. Therefore, the fast charge management device can instruct the fast chargers to connect later to make their output voltages approximately the same before activating the selection switch for parallel connection, or it can start parallel charging by first setting the voltage of both fast chargers to zero and then turning on the two selection switches.

[0046] The basis of this invention is to determine the charging order based on the order in which EVs are brought into the facility, and to determine various charging modes according to that order. The key feature is that it allows you to obtain the "D" (presumably a special fee) through auction. This also makes it possible to purchase items with a high charging priority.

[0047] Furthermore, with EV fast charging, the charging power is automatically reduced as the battery charging progresses. In such a state, the fast charger is not using its full charging capacity. In such cases, regardless of the charging order and charging mode allocation shown in Figures 6 and 7, the EVs can be charged in standby mode by connecting them in parallel using the following method.

[0048] In other words, in the fast-charging station of the present invention, in order to reduce the number of EVs waiting to be charged, time-division connection can be performed to multiple charging cables from a single bus. In this case, by alternately turning on and off two selection switches connected to two charging cables from a single bus in a time-division manner, two EVs can be charged. This is also a major feature of the charging station of the present invention.

[0049] In the above explanation, the event of entering the charging station was used to determine the charging order of newly arrived EVs. However, the event for determining the charging order could also be the moment the EV connects the charging cable at the control panel in the charging station. This has the advantage of excluding cases where a regular car (not an EV) parks in the station.

[0050] Furthermore, even when an EV enters a parking lot, if another EV enters a different charging station and is able to connect its charging cable before the first EV can connect itss, it is possible to prioritize the latter EV's charging. The timing of when to determine the charging order is left to the discretion of the parking lot operator.

[0051] On the other hand, regarding the change in charging order, paragraph 0033 states that the event is triggered when an EV finishes paying for its charging, and all EVs are moved up in the charging order simultaneously. However, the timing for moving up the charging order could also be the time when an EV that was charging finishes charging, or the time when an EV that has finished charging disconnects its charging cable. [Industrial applicability]

[0052] This invention offers a groundbreaking improvement to the fast-charging infrastructure for the growing number of electric vehicles (EVs). Therefore, it is clear that it has high industrial value.

Claims

1. A rapid charging station comprising multiple rapid charging devices, charging bays for more than the multiple rapid charging devices, power lines output from the multiple rapid charging devices, multiple busbars connected to the power lines, a selection switch that can connect the busbars to any charging cable, a rapid charging management device that controls the operation of the selection switch, and a device that detects electric vehicles (hereinafter referred to as EVs) that have entered each charging bay, characterized in that at least two of the busbars can be connected to a single charging cable leading to any charging bay.

2. A rapid charging station according to claim 1, characterized in that when two or more of the busbars are connected to a single charging cable leading to any charging vehicle compartment, the voltages of the two or more busbars are controlled to be substantially the same.

3. In the rapid charging station of claim 1, the control of the selection switch for connecting multiple busbars to a single charging cable is based on the charging order determined by the rapid charging management device. A fast-charging station characterized by its operation based on a specific algorithm.

4. The rapid charging station according to claim 3 is characterized in that the control of the selection switch for connecting multiple busbars to a single charging cable can prioritize the charging of EVs that have opted for high-speed charging, which is an expensive option, regardless of the order in which they enter the station.

5. A fast-charging station comprising multiple fast-charging devices, charging bays for more than the multiple fast-charging devices, power lines output from the multiple fast-charging devices, multiple busbars connected to the power lines, a selection switch that can connect the busbars to any charging cable, a fast-charging management device that controls the operation of the selection switch, and a device that detects electric vehicles (hereinafter referred to as EVs) that have entered each charging bay, characterized in that the number of EVs waiting to be charged can be reduced by connecting one busbar to two charging cables in a time-division manner.

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