Fleet Charging Control With Dynamic Station Reservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical charging infrastructure lacks effective management and optimization for multiple vehicles, particularly in terms of determining optimal charging stations based on vehicle positions, battery states, and traffic situations, leading to inefficiencies and potential bottlenecks.
Innovation Solution
A control system that integrates a charging stations database, a drive batteries database, and a fleet navigation system to dynamically select and reserve charging stations for vehicles, considering availability, spatial distribution, traffic situations, and battery states, while also predicting future positions and traffic conditions to optimize the charging process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a charging infrastructure is used for multiple vehicles without effective management, then the charging stations can be accessed by any vehicle, but the workload distribution becomes unoptimized and bottlenecks occur
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary actions by determining optimal charging stations for vehicles in advance, considering current positions, battery states, and traffic situations. The system proactively assigns charging stations and reserves time slots before vehicles arrive, preventing bottlenecks and reducing waiting time at charging infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts charging station assignments based on real-time changes in vehicle positions, battery states of charge, and traffic conditions. The control system continuously monitors and re-optimizes the workload distribution across charging stations, adapting to changing conditions to maintain optimal productivity and minimize waiting time.
2Reliability
If charging stations are assigned without considering traffic situations, then the assignment process is simple, but vehicles may arrive at charging stations at inconvenient times due to traffic delays
Solution Approach 1:
The control system determines optimal charging stations and reserves time slots in advance, before vehicles depart or arrive at charging locations. By performing this assignment preliminarily and considering predicted traffic situations, the system ensures reliable trip planning without requiring complex real-time adjustments during vehicle operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring actual traffic situations and comparing them with predictions. This feedback allows the control system to adjust and optimize future charging station assignments, improving trip planning reliability while managing complexity through learned patterns and predictive models.
3Productivity
If the control system considers all vehicles and charging stations in a region, then optimal charging station selection is achieved, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system segments the charging infrastructure management by processing vehicles and charging stations in defined regions rather than treating the entire fleet and infrastructure as a single system. This spatial segmentation reduces computational complexity by dividing the problem into smaller, manageable regional subsets while still achieving optimal charging station selection within each region.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality optimization by determining charging station assignments based on local conditions in specific regions, including regional traffic patterns, charging station availability, and vehicle distributions. This localized approach enables optimal selection without requiring computationally intensive global optimization across the entire fleet and infrastructure network.
4Productivity
If charging stations are reserved in advance, then charging processes can be scheduled efficiently, but flexibility to adapt to changing vehicle needs is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system maintains dynamic adaptability by continuously monitoring changes in vehicle positions, battery states, and charging station availability. When changes are detected, the system can adjust reservations and reassign charging stations, balancing scheduling efficiency with the flexibility needed to adapt to changing vehicle needs and conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms to monitor actual vehicle needs and charging station status against reservations. This feedback enables the control system to maintain efficient scheduling while adapting to changing conditions by adjusting or canceling reservations as needed, thus preserving both productivity and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a charging infrastructure including spatially distributed electrical charging stations configured to be used by multiple vehicles of a fleet which are powered by drive batteries, the method comprising using a control system, wherein the control system encompasses a charging stations database, containing information about the availability of the electrical charging stations, a drive batteries database, containing information about states of charge of the drive batteries of the vehicles of the fleet, and a fleet navigation system, containing information about the spatial distribution of the vehicles of the fleet and information about respective traffic situations in which the vehicles of the fleet are involved, determining positions of vehicles of the fleet in a defined region and determining states of charge of drive batteries of the vehicles of the fleet in the defined region are, traffic situations in the defined region being taken into account, and depending on the availability of free charging stations and their respective positions in the defined region, depending on positions and states of charge of drive batteries of the vehicles of the fleet in the defined region, and depending on the respective traffic situations in the region, automatically determining, by the control system, for at least one vehicle in the defined region, a charging station to carry out a charging process for the drive battery of the at least one vehicle.