Integrated ac electric vehicle charging

Abstract

Integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system with component equipment package and method of converting it into a DC vehicle charging station An integrated electric vehicle charging system, comprising an AC electric vehicle charging station with a component equipment package and a charging conversion method of this vehicle charging station, which is applied to the integrated electric vehicle charging system and can convert anywhere (in the field), at any time with great convenience, rapidly and at minimum cost - except only that of the components of the equipment package - the AC charging station of the system beyond its initial operation as an AC charging station to a DC charging station, using the necessary components of the equipment package.

Description

DescriptionTitle of Invention: Integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system with component equipment package and method of converting it into a DC vehicle charging station

[0001] The present patent belongs to the field of electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering [B60, B60W, B60L, H, HOI, H01M, HO2, H02J, H02M, H04] and relates to the process of converting an electric vehicle charging station with AC charging outlets into a charging station with DC charging outlets.

[0002] Electric vehicle charging stations are already well-known and are divided into two categories based on their function: alternating current (AC) charging stations, and direct current (DC) charging stations.

[0003] AC charging stations are connected directly to the grid, i.e. they are connected either to 230V single-phase AC (single -phase charging stations) or 400V three-phase AC (three-phase charging stations).

[0004] The AC charging stations, after being connected to the electric vehicle with the appropriate cable and communicating with it through the CP and PP signals or whatever signals are necessary in each case, then provide the electric vehicle with AC without any transformation of voltage and current, i.e. they connect the car either to 230V single-phase AC or 400V three-phase AC. The battery only charges with DC, so the electric vehicle battery is charged via a charger built into the electric vehicle that converts the AC into DC (AC / DC converter). That is, the AC charger is never connected directly to the battery but to the car's internal charger, which determines both the amount of energy and the charging time.

[0005] The internal converter of the electric vehicle can charge the battery with power from a few KW up to a maximum of 22KW, we can mention indicatively some common maximum power values from internal converters which are 7KW, 11KW, and 22KW.

[0006] The majority of electric cars so far charge their battery with up to 11KW and very few cars with 22KW.

[0007] In the other category, there are DC chargers, which are connected directly to the grid, usually at 400V three-phase AC, and transform the alternating current (AC) and voltage into direct current (DC).

[0008] The DC charging stations, once connected to the car via the necessary cable, after communication via auxiliary signals, supply energy directly to the battery of the electric vehicle (direct charging), bypassing the internal converter of the electric vehicle. As a consequence, they can give more power directly to the battery, which can start from 20KW or 40KW and reach hundreds of KW, based on the maximumcharging power that the battery can withstand, thus reducing the charging times, which is why they are called "fast chargers".

[0009] Most charging stations installed today are alternating current (AC) charging stations up to 22KW maximum power per outlet, and can have a single or double outlet. This means that, in the case of two 22KW outlets, the installation infrastructure should be specified for a minimum power supply of 44KW.

[0010] The vehicle charging station conversion method, which is applied in the integrated electric vehicle charging system, is mainly applicable to cases of charging stations (AC) connected to the three-phase electricity supply network and having two 22KW outlets each, but can also apply to single 22KW outlet stations.

[0011] The usefulness of this patent can be understood if we consider the following hypothesis. Assuming we have an AC charging station with two 22KW outlets where, as we said previously, the power supply will be at least 44KW. Most cars charge at 11KW, which means that in one hour an electric car will charge its battery with 11 KWh. Therefore, a charging station has 44KW for charging but only 11KW is used to charge an electric car. We understand that, with AC charging stations, you cannot use more energy than 11 KW and in a few cases 22KW. To achieve this, one would need to use a DC charging station. A 40KW DC charging station on the same infrastructure could charge the car battery in one hour with 40KWh, which is about four times as much energy.

[0012] With the existing AC charging stations, the only possible action to increase the charging power provided with the same installation supply is to replace the charging station with a DC station. This implies costs for the new charging station and installation costs.

[0013] This is exactly where this patent applies. The integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system with component equipment package and the method of converting it into a DC vehicle charging station

[0014] presented in this patent, allows us to install it as an AC charger, which is much more economical than the DC ones, and furthermore, due to the fact that most electric cars charge with the internal inverter, which has a power of 11KW and two outlets, we are covered with a 22KW supply.

[0015] And, if in the future, there is a possibility of increasing the power supplied by the power supply network and a DC charging station is required, then, using the equipment package of components and the methodology of this patent, it can be upgraded - modified to DC, i.e., we can convert anywhere (in the field), at any time with great convenience, rapidly and at minimum cost - except only that of the components of the equipment package - the AC charging station of the system beyond its initial operationas an AC charging station to a DC charging station, using the necessary components of the equipment package.

[0016] This patent includes an integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system, the component equipment package and a charging conversion method of the vehicle charging station, which is applied to the integrated electric vehicle charging system.

[0017] This charging station of the integrated system can be modified, and the two existing AC outlets can become two DC outlets and charge with a power of 40KW when only one outlet is used or provide 20KW of DC power to each of the two outlets when used simultaneously.

[0018] In addition, by using this integrated system and conversion method, only one AC outlet could be modified to DC, so we would have the charger with one AC and one DC outlet sharing the total supplied power of 44KW in the most optimal way, if applicable. It shall be capable of charging an electric vehicle from the DC outlet at 40KW, if only that outlet is operated, or charging an electric vehicle from the AC outlet at 22KW, if only that outlet is operated, or sharing the 44KW of the supply on the two outlets, DC and AC, at the option and priority easily determined by the operator.

[0019] The integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system, the component equipment package and the charging station conversion method shown in this patent, are applicable regardless of the type of AC outlet to the charging station, that is, the AC outlet can be an outlet with either a charging connector - electrical socket, or with a built-in cable and charging nozzle.

[0020] And either type of outlet (either one outlet or both) can be modified into a DC outlet with a built-in cable and charging nozzle.

[0021] The drawings below illustrate an example of an application of the conversion method of the integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system, using the component equipment package.

[0022] In drawing 1, we observe the AC charging station of this system before its conversion to DC, which includes a cabinet (1) in which the following are incorporated:

[0023] (a) the two AC charging outlets with charging connectors

[0024] (electrical sockets) (3) (4) and with a charging power of 22KW per outlet, (b) the electrical materials (2),

[0025] (c) the display (5),

[0026] (d) the operation controller (6) containing connector strips and electronic circuits for the communication between the charging station and the vehicle.

[0027] In drawing 2, we observe that the system equipment package includes the following components:

[0028] (a) the two converters, which convert AC and voltage into DC and voltage (9),

[0029] (b) the base-cabinet (7) in which the following are incorporated: the support base (8) of the AC to DC converters, the electrical materials connected to the outlet of each AC to DC converter and the necessary electronic circuits for controlling the continuous operation (11),

[0030] (c) the two DC charging outlets with built-in cable and charging nozzle (10).

[0031] In Drawing 3, we observe the charging station of the integrated system after converting it to a DC station, since we have taken the following conversion steps:

[0032] (a) we disconnect the cables of the AC charging outlets with charging connectors(electrical sockets) (3) (4) and the connector strips of the communication signals connecting the controller to the vehicle, as well as the nuts of the screws holding the bases of the AC charging outlets with charging connectors (electrical sockets) internally, and we remove them,

[0033] (b) we place the pre-assembled base-cabinet (7), which is one of the components of the equipment package, on the top of the charging station of the integrated system (7a), which is secured by screwing a few nuts on screws already present in the charging station cabinet (1), and we connect the operation controller (6) to the electronic circuits controlling the continuous operation (11),

[0034] (c) we integrate the DC converters (9) into the docking stand of the AC-DC converters (8) and then, we connect the power supply of one AC-DC converter to the electrical components of one AC outlet and the other AC-DC converter to the electrical components of the second outlet. Through the components that were meant for the AC outlet, the AC-DC converters are supplied with AC current and voltage to provide their outlets with DC current and voltage.

[0035] (d) we place the DC charging outlets (10) on top of the charging station of the integrated system, as follows: we remove the covers by removing some nuts internally, and we place the DC outlets on the charging station (10a) (10b) by screwing the relevant nuts and making the electrical connections.

[0036] We observe that the two AC outlets to the system charging station are either with charging connectors (electrical sockets) or with a built-in cable and nozzle, may be converted either into two DC charging outlets with built-in charging cable and nozzle or into one DC charging outlet with built-in charging cable and nozzle and the other outlet may remain an AC outlet.

[0037] In fact, if we perform the reverse process by removing the relevant components and making the appropriate connections in the charging station of the system converted to a DC charging station, it can be returned to its original function as an AC station, and accordingly, two or only one of the charging outlets can be converted from DC outletsto AC outlets either by means of charging connectors (electrical sockets) or by means of a built-in cable and nozzle.

[0038] From all of the above, it can be understood that the integrated AC electric vehicle charging station system with the component equipment package and the charging station conversion method of the integrated system enable us to have a double outlet AC charger, because this is our immediate need or because the power supply network initially limits us, but if we then wish to, we can convert our charger to a DC charger outlet or outlets with the minimum cost of conversion, in no time and without the need to change the charger's infrastructure.

Claims

Claims

1. 1. An integrated electric vehicle charging system, characterized by the fact that it includes (a) an AC electric vehicle charging station comprising a cabinet (1) in which the following are incorporated: two AC charging outlets (3)(4), electrical materials (2), a display (5), and an operation controller (6); and (b) a component equipment package comprising: two inverters (9), a base-cabinet (7) and two DC charging outlets (10), and by that the vehicle charging station of the integrated charging system, can anywhere (in the field), at any time with great convenience, speed and at a minimum cost, except that of the components of the equipment package, by an appropriate procedure and method, internally exploiting a large part of the charging station infrastructure and using the components of the equipment package, convert from an AC vehicle charging station to a DC vehicle charging station, and, in fact, if the system charging station that has been converted to a DC charging station has the reverse process performed, by removing the relevant components and making the appropriate connections, it can be returned to its original function as an AC station.

2. 2. An integrated electric vehicle charging system according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the AC charging station of said system prior to its conversion to DC comprises a cabinet (1) in which the following are incorporated:(a) the two AC charging outlets with charging connectors (electrical sockets) (3)(4) and with a charging capacity of 22KW per outlet,(b) the electrical materials (2),(c) the display (5),(d) the operation controller (6) containing connector strips and electronic circuits for the communication between the charging station and the vehicle.

3. 3. An integrated electric vehicle charging system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by the fact that the system equipment package includes the following components: (a) the two converters, which convert AC and voltage into DC and voltage (9),(b) the base-cabinet (7) in which the following are incorporated: the support base (8) of the AC to DC converters, the electrical materials connected to the outlet of each AC to DC converter and the necessary electronic circuits for controlling the continuous operation (11),(c) the two DC charging outlets with built-in cable and charging nozzle (10).

4. 4. An integrated electric vehicle charging system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the AC charging outlets at the AC charging station (3) (4) of said system may have built-in nozzle cables instead of connectors (electrical sockets).

5. 5. A vehicle charging station conversion method, which is applied to the integrated electric vehicle charging system according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that, by applying this method to the integrated electric vehicle charging system, we can convert anywhere (in the field), at any time with great convenience, rapidly and at minimum cost - except only that of the components of the equipment package - the AC charging station of the system beyond its initial operation as an AC charging station to a DC charging station, using the necessary components of the equipment package, and, in fact, if the system charging station that has been converted to a DC charging station has the reverse process performed, by removing the relevant components and making the appropriate connections, it can be returned to its original function as an AC station.

6. 6. A vehicle charging station conversion method according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that it comprises the following steps:(a) we disconnect the cables of the AC charging outlets with charging connectors (electrical sockets) (3) (4) and the connector strips of the communication signals connecting the controller to the vehicle, as well as the nuts of the screws holding the bases of the AC charging outlets with charging connectors (electrical sockets) internally, and we remove them,(b) we place the pre-assembled base-cabinet (7), which is one of the components of the equipment package, on the top of the charging station of the integrated system (7a), which is securedby screwing a few nuts on screws already present in the charging station cabinet (1), and we connect the operation controller (6) to the electronic circuits controlling the continuous operation (11),(c) we integrate the DC converters (9) into the docking stand of the AC-DC converters (8) and then, we connect the power supply of one AC-DC converter to the electrical components of one AC outlet and the other AC-DC converter to the electrical components of the second outlet. Through the components that were meant for the AC outlet, the AC-DC converters are supplied with AC current and voltage to provide their outlets with DC current and voltage.(d) we place the DC charging outlets (10) on top of the charging station of the integrated system, as follows: we remove the covers by removing some nuts internally, and we place the DC outlets on the charging station (10a) (10b) by screwing the relevant nuts and making the electrical connections.

7. 7. A charging conversion method according to claims 5 and 6, characterized by the fact that, when the AC charging outlets (3) (4) of the AC charging station of said system have built-in nozzle cables instead of connectors (electrical sockets), each AC outlet can still be converted to DC, by easily removing only the AC outlets and adding the components of the equipment package necessary to convert them to DC outlets.

8. 8. A vehicle charging station conversion method according to claims 5, 6 and 7, characterized by the fact that the two AC outlets to the system charging station are either with charging connectors (electrical sockets) or with a built-in cable and nozzle, may be converted either into two DC charging outlets with built- in charging cable and nozzle or into one DC charging outlet with built-in charging cable and nozzle and the other outlet may remain an AC outlet.

9. 9. A vehicle charging station conversion method according to claims 5, 6, 7 and 8, characterized by the fact that, if we perform the reverse process by removing the relevant components and making the appropriate connections in the charging station of the system converted to a DC charging station, it can be returned to its original function as an AC station, and accordingly, two or only one of the charging outlets can be converted from DC outletsto AC outlets either by means of charging connectors (electrical sockets) or by means of a built-in cable and nozzle.

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