Electric vehicle charger cable control system and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charger cable control system and a method thereof. The electric vehicle charger cable control method according to the present invention includes (a) a step of measuring the distance between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed of the charging gun, and (b) a step of determining the driving speed of the cable reel motor based on the distance and moving speed.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charger cable control system and a method thereof. Background Technology

[0003] According to the prior art, a configuration has been proposed to prevent an electric vehicle charger cable from dragging on the floor or getting twisted by measuring the distance between the charger body and the charging gun with a sensor and controlling the motor drive unit and the winding reel.

[0004] This method controls the cable length by simply considering the distance between the charging gun and the charger. However, there is a problem in that errors occur in control due to simple distance measurement alone, caused by the actual direction in which the vehicle is parked for charging (forward / reverse parking) or the location of the charging port (inlet), which varies depending on the electric vehicle model. The problem to be solved

[0006] The present invention is proposed to solve the aforementioned problems and aims to provide an electric vehicle charger cable control system and method capable of preventing errors caused by the position of the electric vehicle charging port (inlet) by calculating the distance between the charger body and the charging gun and the position of the charging gun, determining whether the position of the charging gun aligns with the direction of the charging cable discharge port of the electric vehicle charger, and controlling the cable length according to the determination result. means of solving the problem

[0008] The electric vehicle charger cable control method according to the present invention includes (a) a step of measuring the distance between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed of the charging gun, and (b) a step of determining the driving speed of the cable reel motor based on the distance and moving speed.

[0009] Step (b) above withholds the transmission of a speed control command to the cable reel motor when the distance is less than or equal to the exposed length of the electric vehicle charger cable.

[0010] Step (b) above determines the driving speed for the cable reel motor so that the cable is supplied in correspondence with the moving speed at the point when the distance exceeds the exposed length of the electric vehicle charger cable.

[0011] Step (b) above determines an initial driving speed for the cable reel motor to follow the moving speed, and modifies the determined driving speed for the cable reel motor by taking into account the trend of change of at least one of the distance and moving speed.

[0012] Step (b) above reduces the driving speed of the cable reel motor or stops driving when the distance is within a certain range based on the maximum exposure length or when the rate of change of the distance per hour is less than or equal to a preset value.

[0013] Step (a) above measures the distance by considering the signal transmission and reception strength between the first module placed in the charger or a preset area around the charger and the second module placed in the charging gun.

[0014] Step (a) above estimates the position of the charging gun relative to the discharge port of the charger by using the second distance measured by considering the distance and the signal transmission and reception strength between the charger and a surrounding charger different from the charger, or between the third module and the second module placed in a surrounding area different from the preset area.

[0015] Step (b) above determines whether to increase the driving speed of the cable reel motor using the estimated result of the position of the charging gun.

[0016] The electric vehicle charger cable control system according to the present invention includes a memory storing a program that estimates the position of the charging port of an electric vehicle and controls the driving speed of the reel motor of the charger cable according to the estimation result, and a processor that executes the program, wherein the processor determines the driving speed of the reel motor by considering the moving speed of the charging gun.

[0017] The processor estimates the location of the charging port of the electric vehicle using recognition data for the electric vehicle.

[0018] The above processor estimates the location of the charging port of the electric vehicle by considering the distance between the charging gun and the charger.

[0019] The processor determines the reel motor driving speed to correspond to the moving speed at the point when the separation distance exceeds the exposed length of the charger cable.

[0020] The processor determines an initial value of the reel motor driving speed by considering the separation distance, and changes the reel motor driving speed by using a change trend of at least one of the separation distance and the moving speed.

[0021] The processor above determines the rate of change of the reel motor driving speed using the above change trend.

[0022] The processor estimates the location of the charging port relative to the discharge port of the charger by using the separation distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between the first module placed in the charger or a preset area around the charger and the second module placed in the charging gun, and the second separation distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between the second module and a third module placed in a peripheral area different from the charger or a peripheral area different from the preset area.

[0023] The processor determines whether it is necessary to increase the reel motor driving speed by using the estimation result of the charging port position.

[0024] The processor performs an estimation of the charging port position using the location of the contact point between the circle corresponding to the radius of the separation distance and the circle corresponding to the radius of the second separation distance. Effects of the invention

[0026] According to the present invention, by recognizing not only the distance between the charger and the charging gun but also the position of the charging gun to determine whether the direction of the charging cable discharge port aligns with that of the charging gun, and controlling the cable length accordingly, the occurrence of errors due to the position of the electric vehicle charging port (inlet) is prevented, and the situation where more cable length needs to be discharged from the electric vehicle charger is efficiently responded to, and the possibility of damage is reduced by preventing the cable from dragging on the floor through cable control.

[0027] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an electric vehicle charger cable control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates the determination of the charging gun position according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates the charging gun position determination and cable control process according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a graph related to electric vehicle charger cable speed control according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a computer system for implementing a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0030] The aforementioned objectives of the present invention, as well as other objectives, advantages, and features, and the methods for achieving them, will become clear from the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but can be implemented in various different forms, and the following embodiments are provided merely to easily inform those skilled in the art of the purpose, structure, and effects of the invention, and the scope of the rights of the present invention is defined by the description in the claims.

[0032] Meanwhile, the terms used in this specification are for describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. In this specification, the singular form includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text. As used in this specification, "comprises" and / or "comprising" do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, actions, and / or elements to the mentioned components, steps, actions, and / or elements.

[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates an electric vehicle charger cable control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] The electric vehicle charger cable control method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the step of measuring the distance between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed of the charging gun (S110), and the step of determining the driving speed of the cable reel motor based on the distance and moving speed (S120).

[0036] The charger is a type of charger in which the remaining cable parts are not exposed except for the basic cable exposure, and the cable discharge port refers to the outlet from which the charging cable comes out of the charger. The winding reel on which the cable is wound and the motor drive unit that controls the winding reel are placed inside the charger, and the motor drive unit controls the speed of the motor (winding reel) using the distance between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed of the charging gun.

[0037] Step S120 withholds the transmission of speed control commands to the cable reel motor when the distance between the charging gun and the charger is less than or equal to the exposed length (basic exposed length) of the electric vehicle charger cable.

[0038] Step S120 determines the driving speed of the cable reel motor so that the cable is supplied in correspondence with the moving speed at the point when the distance between the charging gun and the charger exceeds the exposed length of the electric vehicle charger cable (i.e., the moving speed at which the charger cable is moving due to the force of the user pulling).

[0039] Step S120 determines an initial driving speed for the cable reel motor to follow the moving speed, and modifies the determined driving speed for the cable reel motor by considering the change trend of at least one of the distance between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed.

[0040] Step S120 reduces the driving speed of the cable reel motor or stops driving when the distance between the charging gun and the charger falls within a certain range based on the maximum exposure length, or when the rate of change of the distance per hour is less than or equal to a preset value.

[0041] Step S110 measures the distance by considering the signal transmission and reception strength between a first module placed in a preset area around the charger or charger and a second module placed in the charging gun. The module may be composed of a Bluetooth module, a UWB module, etc.

[0042] Step S110 estimates the position of the charging gun based on the discharge port of the charger by using a second distance measured by considering the distance between the charging gun and the charger, and the signal transmission and reception strength between the charger and a surrounding charger or a third module and a second module placed in a surrounding area different from a preset area (as described later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3).

[0043] Step S120 determines whether to increase the driving speed of the cable reel motor using the estimated result of the position of the charging gun.

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is a technical feature of controlling the length of the cable to be discharged from the actual electric vehicle charger to be adjusted differently by considering the location of the inlet, which is configured differently depending on the direction of parking (forward parking / rear parking) or the type of electric vehicle for electric vehicle charging.

[0046] FIG. 2 illustrates the determination of the charging gun position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Depending on the vehicle's parking direction (front parking / rear parking), the location of the electric vehicle charging port (inlet) from the charger's perspective varies, and also, due to the charging port (inlet) location differing for each electric vehicle model, the location of the electric vehicle charging port (inlet) from the charger's perspective varies even in the same parking state (front or rear parking).

[0048] Referring to FIG. 2, the location of point A of the parked electric vehicle (EV) may be the inlet location, or point C may be the inlet location. That is, if point A is the inlet location, a cable discharge of length C2 is required, and if point C is the inlet location, a cable discharge of length C1 is required. The simple distance from the discharge port of the charger is the same for both point A and point C as 1, but the required cable lengths C1 and C2 are different.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present invention, cable length control is performed by considering the position of the moving charging gun from the perspective of the charger.

[0050] The distance d1 between the charging gun and the charger and the moving speed v (=d1 / t) are measured, and it is determined whether d1 is greater than the basic exposed length of the cable, and the reel motor is controlled according to the moving speed v of the charging gun, and the distance d2 between d1 and the charging gun and the adjacent charger is measured, and the point of contact between two circles with radius d1 and radius d2 is calculated, and the position (x1, y1) of the charging gun is determined as the point on the vehicle parking direction side among the two points of contact (point A and point B shown in FIG. 2).

[0051] When the charging gun is located in the opposite direction of the charger's discharge port, that is, when point A is determined to be the inlet position, the reel motor is controlled to have a cable discharge speed of v+α.

[0052] When the charging gun is positioned in the direction of the charger's discharge port, that is, when point C is determined to be the inlet position, the reel motor is controlled to set the cable discharge speed to v.

[0053] Afterwards, if there is no change in the value of the distance d1 between the charging gun and the charger, or if the length of the discharge cable reaches the maximum value, cable control is stopped.

[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates the charging gun position determination and cable control process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] In step S301, charging permission is granted from the charger, and the charging gun is disconnected.

[0056] In step S302, the distance d1 between the charging gun and the charger is measured using data obtained by using a distance measuring sensor (e.g., a Bluetooth module). When using a Bluetooth module, the distance is calculated by measuring the signal strength, and the speed of movement v (=d1 / t) is measured using the calculated distance.

[0057] In step S303, check whether the distance d1 between the charging gun and the charger exceeds the basic exposed length of the cable.

[0058] If it is confirmed that it exceeds in step S303, the reel motor is controlled in step S304 to match the moving speed v of the charging gun, and if it is confirmed that it does not exceed in step S303, the reel motor control is not started in step S305.

[0059] In step S306, measure d1 and the distance d2 between the charging gun and the adjacent charger.

[0060] In step S307, the point of contact between a circle with radius d1 and two circles with radius d2 is calculated, and the position (x1, y1) of the charging gun is determined as the point on the vehicle parking direction side among the two points of contact (point A and point B shown in FIG. 2). The control module of the motor drive unit performs the aforementioned calculation and determination.

[0061] In step S308, check whether there is a change in the value of d1 and check whether the length of the discharged cable has not reached the maximum length.

[0062] If it is confirmed in step S308 that the preset condition is not satisfied, the charging line discharge speed is set to 0 in step S310 to stop the charging line reel motor control, and the charging line reel motor control is terminated in step S312.

[0063] If it is confirmed that the preset conditions are satisfied in step S308, in step S309, it is checked whether the charging gun is located on the opposite side relative to the charger discharge port.

[0064] If the charging gun is located on the opposite side of the charger's discharge port (x <x1), 케이블이 더 길게 토출될 수 있도록 케이블 토출속력을 v+ 로 설정한다.

[0065] In step S309, if it is determined that the charging gun is located in the direction of the charger discharge port, the reel motor control of step S304 is performed.

[0066] FIG. 4 illustrates a graph related to electric vehicle charger cable speed control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the process of moving a charging gun from a charger to a vehicle, the discharge speed of the cable is smoothly controlled according to the time (t1) when the charging gun is picked up and started moving, the time (t2, t3) when the charging gun is moved a certain distance or more away from the electric vehicle charger, and the time (t4) when the charging gun is inserted into the electric vehicle, thereby preventing the user from dropping the charging gun due to being startled by the change in the cable discharge speed.

[0068] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the discharge speed of the cable is smoothly controlled according to the time when the charging gun is removed from the electric vehicle (t1), the time when the charging gun is moved away from the electric vehicle by a certain amount or more (t2, t3), and the time when the charging gun is inserted into the charger (t4).

[0069] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a computer system for implementing a method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 5, a computer system (1300) may include at least one of a processor (1313), memory (1330), an input interface device (1350), an output interface device (1360), and a storage device (1340) that communicate via a bus (1370). The computer system (1300) may also include a communication device (1320) coupled to a network. The processor (1310) may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device that executes instructions stored in memory (1330) or a storage device (1340). Memory (1330) and storage device (1340) may include various forms of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, memory may include read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). In the embodiments of this description, memory may be located inside or outside the processor, and memory may be connected to the processor through various known means. Memory is a volatile or non-volatile storage medium of various forms, and for example, memory may include read-only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM).

[0071] An electric vehicle charger cable control system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a memory (1330) storing a program that estimates the location of the charging port of an electric vehicle and controls the driving speed of the reel motor of the charger cable according to the estimation result, and a processor (1310) that executes the program, and the processor (1310) determines the driving speed of the reel motor by considering the moving speed of the charging gun.

[0072] The processor (1310) estimates the location of the electric vehicle's charging port using recognition data for the electric vehicle.

[0073] The processor (1310) uses recognition data obtained using an image acquisition device to determine the type of vehicle, whether it is parked in the front or rear, whether it is parked in alignment with the parking lines, whether it is parked closer to or crookedly towards the parking lines, and estimates the location of the charging port of the electric vehicle.

[0074] The processor (1310) estimates the location of the electric vehicle's charging port by taking into account the distance between the charging gun and the charger.

[0075] The processor (1310) determines the reel motor driving speed to correspond to the moving speed at the point when the separation distance exceeds the exposed length of the charger cable.

[0076] The processor (1310) determines an initial value of the reel motor driving speed by considering the separation distance, and changes the reel motor driving speed by using the change trend of at least one of the separation distance and the moving speed.

[0077] The processor (1310) determines the rate of change of the reel motor drive speed using the change trend.

[0078] The processor (1310) estimates the location of the charging port based on the discharge port of the charger by using a separation distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between a first module placed in a preset area around the charger or the charger and a second module placed in the charging gun, and a second separation distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between a third module placed in a preset area different from the charger or the second module.

[0079] The processor (1310) determines whether it is necessary to increase the reel motor driving speed using the estimated result of the charging port position.

[0080] The processor (1310) performs an estimation of the charging port position using the location of the contact point of the circle corresponding to the radius of the separation distance and the circle corresponding to the radius of the second separation distance.

[0081] Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as a method implemented on a computer or as a non-transient computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions. In one embodiment, when executed by a processor, the computer-readable instructions may perform a method according to at least one aspect of the present description.

[0082] The communication device (1320) can transmit or receive wired or wireless signals.

[0083] In addition, the method according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and may be recorded on a computer-readable medium.

[0084] The above computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either individually or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium may be specially designed and configured for embodiments of the present invention, or they may be known and available to a person skilled in the art of computer software. The computer-readable recording medium may include a hardware device configured to store and execute program instructions. For example, the computer-readable recording medium may be magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; ROM; RAM; flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer through an interpreter, etc.

[0085] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention as defined in the following claims also fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim 1 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable performed by an electric vehicle charger cable control system, comprising: (a) measuring the distance between a charging gun and a first charger, the distance between the charging gun and a second charger, and the moving speed of the charging gun; and (b) determining the driving speed of a cable reel motor based on the distance between the charging gun and the first charger, the distance between the charging gun and the second charger, and the moving speed, wherein step (b) calculates the contact point of two circles having a radius of a first length, which is the distance between the charging gun and the first charger, and a second length, which is the distance between the charging gun and the second charger, respectively, and determines the position of the contact point facing the vehicle parking direction as the position of the charging gun, and if the determined position of the charging gun is in the opposite direction of the discharge port of the first charger, the reel motor is controlled to have a cable discharge speed that is relatively faster than when the determined position of the charging gun is in the direction of the discharge port of the first charger. Claim 2 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 1, wherein step (b) withholds the transmission of a speed control command to the cable reel motor when the distance is less than or equal to the exposed length of the electric vehicle charger cable. Claim 3 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 1, wherein step (b) determines a driving speed for the cable reel motor so that the cable is supplied in correspondence with the moving speed at the point in time when the distance exceeds the exposed length of the electric vehicle charger cable. Claim 4 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 3, wherein step (b) determines an initial driving speed for the cable reel motor to follow the moving speed, and modifies the determined driving speed for the cable reel motor by considering the change trend of at least one of the distance and the moving speed. Claim 5 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 3, wherein step (b) reduces the driving speed of the cable reel motor or stops driving when the distance is included within a certain range based on the maximum exposure length or when the rate of change of the distance per hour is less than or equal to a preset value. Claim 6 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 1, wherein step (a) measures the distance by considering the signal transmission and reception strength between the first module placed in a preset area around the first charger or the first charger and the second module placed in the charging gun. Claim 7 A method for controlling an electric vehicle charger cable according to claim 6, wherein step (a) involves estimating the position of the charging gun based on the discharge port of the charger by using the second distance measured by considering the signal transmission and reception strength between the second charger, which is a peripheral charger different from the first charger, or the third module placed in a peripheral area different from the preset area and the second module. Claim 8 delete Claim 9 An electric vehicle charger cable control system comprising: a memory storing a program for estimating the location of a charging port of an electric vehicle and controlling the driving speed of a reel motor of a charger cable according to the estimation result; and a processor for executing said program, wherein the processor determines the driving speed of the reel motor by considering the moving speed of a charging gun, and the processor controls the driving speed of the reel motor based on the results of measuring the distance between the charging gun and a first charger, the distance between the charging gun and a second charger, and the moving speed of the charging gun, wherein the processor calculates the contact point of two circles having a radius of a first length, which is the distance between the charging gun and the first charger, and a second length, which is the distance between the charging gun and the second charger, respectively, and determines the location of the contact point on the vehicle parking direction side as the location of the charging gun, and if the determined location of the charging gun is in the opposite direction of the discharge port of the first charger, the driving speed of the reel motor is controlled such that the cable discharge speed is relatively faster compared to the case where the determined location of the charging gun is in the direction of the discharge port of the first charger. Claim 10 In claim 9, the electric vehicle charger cable control system wherein the processor estimates the location of the charging port of the electric vehicle using recognition data for the electric vehicle. Claim 11 delete Claim 12 An electric vehicle charger cable control system according to claim 9, wherein the processor determines the reel motor driving speed to correspond to the moving speed at the point in time when the distance exceeds the exposed length of the charger cable. Claim 13 An electric vehicle charger cable control system according to claim 12, wherein the processor determines an initial value of the reel motor driving speed by considering the distance, and changes the reel motor driving speed by utilizing a change trend of at least one of the distance and the moving speed. Claim 14 An electric vehicle charger cable control system according to claim 13, wherein the processor determines the rate of change of the reel motor driving speed using the change trend. Claim 15 An electric vehicle charger cable control system according to claim 9, wherein the processor estimates the location of the charging port based on the discharge port of the charger by using a first distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between the first module disposed in a preset area around the first charger or the first charger and the second module disposed in the charging gun, and a second distance measured using the signal transmission and reception strength between the second charger, which is a peripheral charger different from the first charger, or the third module disposed in a peripheral area different from the preset area and the second module. Claim 16 delete Claim 17 delete

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