GB2580293A

GB2580293A - Charging systems, stations, and networks

Info

Publication number: GB2580293A
Application number: GB1818174.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Purnell Leigh
Original assignee: Petalite Ltd
Current assignee: Petalite Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-07
Filing date: 2018-11-07
Publication date: 2020-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-07
Also published as: GB2580293B; GB201818174D0

Abstract

A charging system 1 for charging a plurality of electric vehicles (EVs) includes: a plurality of charging stations 12, each configured to be connected to one or more vehicles for charging; and a charging controller 13 configured to control the electrical power made available to the charging stations for charging the, or each, vehicle. The electrical power made available to the charging stations is based on: a total available electrical power; and one or more factors associated with the, or each, vehicle and/or a respective user of the, or each, vehicle. The factors may include one or more of: make, model, age, year of manufacture of the vehicle; present charge state, capacity, temperature or chemistry of the vehicle battery; temperature of the vehicle and/or ambient temperature near the vehicle; stored information about a previous vehicle charge cycle; a user selected preference; a service subscription level of the user; a payment made by the user for the charging service; an identity of the vehicle or the user of the vehicle; a future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle; total distance travelled by the vehicle since manufacture; and model number of an on-board vehicle charging control system. The power supplied to the vehicle may be tailored specifically to take potential degraded performance of the battery into account.

Description

Title: Charging systems, stations, and networks

Description of Invention

Embodiments relate to the provision of charging systems, stations, networks, and methods for vehicles.

There is an increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles which include batteries to provide electrical power to propel the vehicle. Although some such vehicles may also include internal combustion engines, we refer herein to vehicles requiring connection to an external electrical power supply for periodic battery recharging as electric vehicles (the electrical power being used to propel the vehicle in at least one mode of operation of the vehicle) this includes fully electric vehicles as well as what may be referred to as plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The external power supply used to recharge the batteries of electric vehicles may be, for example a mains electrical power supply. In some instances, a particular facility (such as a car park or parking garage) may have what are referred to as charging stations or points at which electric vehicles can be connected to charging systems to charge the batteries carried by the vehicles.

However, the infrastructure to provide adequate numbers of charging stations for wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles is generally lacking and there is a need to improve the infrastructure.

Improvements in the infrastructure are hampered by existing limitations associated with the power supply used for recharging and also the nature of the facilities in which charging stations may be provided.

In particular, a particular facility will have a maximum electrical power which can be provided collectively to all charging stations of a charging system. This limit may be imposed by the maximum capacity of the electrical power supply for the facility and/or chagrining system for example. As a vehicle may be connected to a charging station for longer than necessary to provide the required electrical power for recharging the battery in that vehicle, many vehicles may need recharging, and the number of charging stations in use will change over time, it is not uncommon for each charging station to have a maximum power output such that the total collective maximum power outputs of all of the charging stations exceeds the electrical power available to the charging system. Accordingly, if electric vehicles are connected to all charging stations of such a charging system, not tall charging stations can be providing electrical power to the connected vehicle at the maximum output power of the charging station.

There is a need, therefore, to manage how available electrical power is distributed between charging stations. Current charging systems are only capable of relatively crude approaches to this problem. This effectively amounts to a queue-based management system in which electrical power is output to the electric vehicles at each charging station s maximum output power or at a level demanded by the vehicle (if less) until the maximum capacity of the electrical power supply has been reached, at which point a further vehicle connected to another charging station of the same charging system will receive no substantial electrical power until there is available capacity created by a reduced demand from one of the vehicles already connected to the charging system (e.g. because the vehicle s battery is fully charged or the vehicle has been disconnected).

These limitations can mean, for example, that an electric vehicle cannot be charged at all, and vehicles must queue to be connected to a limited number of charging stations.

In addition, subject to battery management systems which may be provided as part of the electric vehicles, the provision of electrical power to vehicles connected to a charging system is primarily driven by either the demand made by the vehicle or the maximum output power of the charging station. This does not allow for sufficient management of the available electrical power capacity for the wider benefit of the users. For example, there are many occasions in which it would be preferable to charge 90% of connected vehicles to a charge level of over 50% than it would be to charge 50% of vehicles to a charge level of over 90%. This is particularly true of inner-city parking facilities, for example, in which vehicles are often making relatively short journeys rather than preparing for a journey at the limit of the vehicle s maximum range. It is also especially pertinent because of the non-linear charging profile of the batteries typically used in such electric vehicles (in which the higher the level of charge of the battery the slower the charging process becomes in relative terms).

There is a need, therefore, to alleviate one or more problems associated with the prior art.

Accordingly, an aspect provides a charging system for charging a plurality of electric vehicles, the charging system including: a plurality of charging stations, each configured to be connected to one or more vehicles for charging; and a charging controller configured to control the electrical power made available to the charging stations for charging the or each vehicle, wherein the charging controller controls the electrical power made available to the charging stations based on a total available electrical power and one or more factors associated with the or each vehicle and/or a respective user of the or each vehicle.

The one or more factors may include one or more of: -the make of the or each vehicle; - the model of the or each vehicle; - the age of the or each vehicle; - the present charge state of the or each vehicle s power storage system; -the temperature of the or each vehicle, its power storage system, and/or the ambient temperature near the or each vehicle; - stored information about a previous charge cycle for the or each vehicle; - a user selected preference; -a service subscription level of the user; - a level of payment made by the user for the charging service; - an identity of the user of the vehicle; - an identity of the vehicle; - a future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle; -a capacity of the battery capacity for the vehicle; - a chemistry of a cell of the battery, or battery, of the vehicle; - a year of vehicle manufacture; - an total distance travelled by the vehicle since manufacture based on regional averages or information regarding the type of vehicle; and - model number of a type of on-board charging control system used in vehicle. The charging system may further include an automatic number plate or licence plate recognition system which is configured to determine an identity of the or each vehicle.

Each charging station may include a user interface configured to receive payment information from the user.

Another aspect provides a network including: a plurality of charging systems according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of charging systems are communicatively coupled to share information about one or more vehicles, the information including at least one of the one or more factors.

The network may further include: a server to provide the communicative coupling, wherein the server is further configured to collect and collate information from the charging systems.

Another aspect provides a charging controller configured for use in a charging system as above.

Embodiments are described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a charging station and vehicle according to some embodiments; Figure 2 shows a network according to some embodiments; and Figures 3 to 11 provide additional details regarding some embodiments.

Embodiments include a charging system 1 for electric vehicles 2 see figures 1 and 2. As indicated herein, the term electric vehicle is used to indicate a vehicle 2 which requires connection to an external electrical power supply periodically for recharging, wherein the electrical power supplied in this manner is used to propel the vehicle 2.

The vehicles 2 may include one or more electric vehicles 2 which use this electrical power supplied by the external power supply as the main source of power to propel the vehicle 2 (i.e. a fully electric vehicle 2). The vehicles 2 may include one or more vehicles 2 which include an on-board electrical power generator (such as an internal combustion engine) which may be used to provide at least some of the power to propel the vehicle (i.e. a plug-in hybrid).

The vehicles 2 may include one or more cars, motorcycles, bicycles, lorries, trucks, vans, buses, coaches, and the like.

Each of the vehicles 2 includes a power storage system 21 which is carried with the vehicle 2 and which is configured to store electrical power from the external electrical power supply. Each of the vehicles 2 includes at least one electric motor 22 used to propel the vehicle 2. The power storage system 21 may, therefore, be configured to supply the stored electrical power to the or each electric motor 22 of the vehicle 2. Each of the vehicles 2 may include a controller 23 which may be in the form of a computing device. The controller 23 may be configured to monitor and/or control one or more functions of the operation of the vehicle 2, the power storage system 21 and/or the electric motor(s) 22. In some embodiments, there may be multiple such controllers 23 in the vehicle 2 and each controller may be configured to control one or more functions of the operation of a part of the vehicle 2.

The controller 23 or controllers 23 may include a controller 23 (e.g. a charging controller, as this controller may form part of an on-board charging control system 24) which is configured to control at least part of a charging operation of the power storage system 21 when the vehicle 2 is connected to the external power supply. The controller 23 or controllers 23 may include a controller 23 (e.g. a drive controller) which is configured to control the supply of electrical power from the power storage system 21 to the or each electric motor 22.

References herein to charging of a vehicle 2 may, therefore, be references to the charging of the power storage system 21.

The power storage system 21 may include one or more batteries 211 and/or 5 one or more capacitors 212, for example. The or each battery 211 may include a plurality of cells. Likewise, references to the charging of a battery 211 may include the charging of other forms of power storage system 21.

In some embodiments, the power storage system 21 may form part of the on-board charging control system 24 but may form another part of the vehicle 2.

The on-board charging control system 24 may be a control system which is part of the vehicle 2 and which may be carried with the vehicle 2. The onboard charging control system 24 may be configured to control one or more aspects of how electrical power is delivered from the external electrical power supply to the power storage system 21 or a part thereof (e.g. a battery 211 or cell thereof).

The on-board charging control system 24 may include, or be connected, to a 20 vehicle power connector 241 which may be mounted to a part of the vehicle 2. The vehicle power connector 241 may be configured to mate with a charging system power connector 11 (which may be part of the charging system 1).

The charging system power connector 11 may be configured to output electrical power and the vehicle power connector 241 may be configured to receive the electrical power output by the charging system power connector 11. In some embodiments, the charging system power connector 11 is also configured to receive electrical power from the vehicle power connector 241 this may allow the electrical power stored in the power storage system 21, or a part of that power, to be delivered (e.g. returned) to the external electrical power supply.

The vehicle power connector 241 and/or charging system power connector 11 could take a number of different forms. For example, one may be a plug and the other a corresponding socket, or vice versa. The two connectors 241,11 allow electrical communication between the vehicle 2 (e.g. the on-board charging control system 24 and/or power storage system 21) and the external electrical power supply.

In some embodiments, one or both of the vehicle power connector 241 and charging system power connector 11 are provided on cables to allow movement of the (or both) connectors 241,11 with respect to at least part of the vehicle 2.

The charging system 1 includes a plurality of charging stations 12 wherein each charging station 12 includes at least one charging system power connector 11.

The charging system 1 may be fitted within a facility such as a car park or parking garage. The charging system 1 may be located on a street or streets, with the charging stations 12 distributed along the street or streets, for example. In some embodiments, the charging system 1 may be provided to serve a plurality of different properties which may include one or more buildings (such as residential houses or office buildings) or facilities (such as parking garages or car parks).

The charging system 1 is configured to be connected to the external electrical power supply, which may be a mains electrical power supply for example. The term external is used in relation to the power supply to indicate that the power supply is external to the vehicle 2 but may be internal to the facility or property to which it is fitted or configured to be fitted, for example.

The external electrical power supply is, therefore, schematically depicted as including a power station 3 but could take a number of different forms (and may include one or more sources of renewable energy, for example).

The external electrical power supply has a maximum power which it is configured to supply to the charging system 1. This maximum power may be the maximum power which the external electrical power supply can supply to the facility in which the charging system 1 is located and may be dictated by one or more factors which may include limitations imposed by the operator of the external electrical power supply and/or power limitations of electrical equipment associated with the facility or other location in which the charging system 1 is fitted (or is to be fitted).

The charging system 1 may include a charging controller 13 which may be communicatively coupled to each charging station 12. This communicative coupling may be configured to provide control information and/or may provide the electrical connection of the external electrical power supply to the charging stations 12.

The charging controller 13 may be provided external to the vehicles 2. The charging controller 13, through the aforementioned communicative coupling, may be configured to control one or more aspects of the operation of the charging stations 12. In particular, the charging controller 13 may be configured to control the amount of electrical power provided by each charging station 13 to the vehicle or vehicles 2 coupled to that charging station 13 (e.g. through their charging system power connector 11). This may be achieved in a number of different manners but may include controlling the electrical power which is provided to each charging station 13 and/or controlling the amount of electrical power demanded by each charging station 13.

In other words, in some embodiments, the charging controller 13 is configured to control electrical power passing therethrough for delivery to each charging station 12 and this may be achieved independently for each of the plurality of charging stations 12. As such the charging stations 12 cannot provide more electrical power than is delivered to them and so the electrical power output the connected vehicle(s) 2 is controlled.

In some embodiments, the charging controller 13 may communicate a maximum electrical power to be output by the charging station 12 and/or to one or more vehicles 2 coupled to that charging station 12, and the charging station 12 may use that maximum power to control the amount of electrical power drawn from the external electrical power supply.

The charging controller 13 may, therefore, be configured to control the amount of electrical power supplied to each of a plurality of vehicles 2 connected to the charging system 1. The charging controller 13 may be configured to control the amount of electrical power supplied to a first vehicle 2 of the plurality of vehicles 2 independently of the amount of electrical power supplied to a second vehicle 2 of the plurality of vehicles 2. In some embodiments, the charging controller 13 is configured to control the amount of electrical power delivered to each connected vehicle 2 independently of all of the others. In some embodiments, this control is the setting of a maximum available electrical power for that vehicle (whether electrical power is drawn by the vehicle 1 up to that maximum or not). The actual electrical power which is drawn from the charging system 1 by each vehicle 2 may be determined by each vehicle s on-board charging control system 24, for example.

As will be appreciated, therefore, embodiments may permit relatively fine control over the electrical power supplied (or maximum electrical power which may be supplied) to a plurality of vehicles 2 connected to charging system 1 with the charging system 1 potentially supplying different amounts of electrical power to different vehicles 2 at any given time. Some embodiments, therefore, allow for far more complex charging strategies for charging systems 1 with multiple charging stations 12.

In some embodiments, the charging system 1 may be configured to determine the electrical power delivered (or maximum electrical power deliverable) to a particular vehicle 2 based on one or more factors. The or each factor may include one or more of: - the make of the vehicle 2; -the model of the vehicle 2; - the age of the vehicle 2; the present charge state of the vehicle s 2 power storage system 21; the temperature of the vehicle 2, its power storage system 21, and/or the ambient temperature near the vehicle 2; -stored information about a previous charge cycle for the vehicle 2; - a user selected preference; - a service subscription level of the user; - a level of payment made by the user for the charging service; an identity of the user of the vehicle 2; -an identity of the vehicle 2; - a future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle 2; - a capacity of the battery of the vehicle 2; - a chemistry of a cell of the battery, or battery, of the vehicle 2; a year of vehicle 2 manufacture; -an estimated mileage (i.e. total distance travelled by the vehicle 2 since manufacture) based on regional averages or information regarding the type of vehicle 2; and - model number of charger used in vehicle 2 (i.e. the type of on-board charging control system 24).

In some embodiments, one or more of the factors may be received using one or more sensors 14 of the charging system 1. The or each sensor 14 may be communicatively coupled to the charging controller 13 to provide one or more of the factors to the charging controller 13.

The one or more sensors 14 may include an automatic number (or licence) plate recognition (ANPR) system which is configured to identify a licence or number plate number of the vehicle 2. The ANPR system may include a camera to capture an image of at least part of the vehicle 2 including the licence or number plate. The ANPR system may include a computing device configured to receive the image from the camera and to process the image to identify the licence or number plate number. The computing device may be communicatively coupled to the charging controller 13 to provide the licence or number plate number thereto. In some embodiments, the ANPR system and/or the charging controller 13 may be communicatively coupled to a licence or number plate database system 15. The database system 15 may be part of the charging system 1 or may be remotely provided. The licence or number plate number may be provided to the database system 15 (by the charging controller 13 or ANPR system) which may return information about the vehicle 2 in relation to which the number is associated and/or about a user associated with that vehicle 2.

The returned information may include the make of the vehicle 2, the model of the vehicle 2, the age of the vehicle 2, stored information about a previous charge cycle for the vehicle 2, an identity of the user of the vehicle 2, and/or an identity of the vehicle 2, a capacity of the battery of the vehicle 2, a chemistry of a cell of the battery, or battery, of the vehicle 2, a year of vehicle 2 manufacture, an estimated mileage (i.e. total distance travelled by the vehicle 2 since manufacture) based on regional averages or information regarding the type of vehicle 2, and/or model number of charger used in vehicle 2 (i.e. the type of on-board charging control system 24).

The or each sensor 14 may include a charge state sensor which is configured to communicate with the on-board charging control system 24 to determine the current charge state of the power storage system 21 of the vehicle 2.

In some embodiments, the returned information may be provided directly from the vehicle 2 the on-board charging control system 24 of which may be configured to communicate the aforementioned returned information to the charging controller 13 (e.g. via the charging station 12). This may not include the use of the ANPR system but may include use of a sensor 14 configured to communicate with the vehicle 2 (e.g. with the on-board charging control system 24).

The returned information may be used by the charging system 1 (e.g. by the charging controller 13) to identify a user selected preference, a service subscription level of the user, a level of payment made by the user for the charging service, and/or a future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle 2.

The or each sensor 14 may include a temperature sensor to determine the temperature of the vehicle 2, its power storage system 21, and/or the ambient temperature near the vehicle 2 (which information may be provided by the onboard charging control system 24 in some embodiments).

In some embodiments, one or more of the aforementioned factors may be determined based on user profile information associated with the user and identified on identification of the identity of the user. The identity of the user could be determined in a number of different manners such as identification of the vehicle 2, identification of a payment card of the user, identification of a mobile device of the user, or the like. The user profile information may be may be stored in the charging system 1 or may be accessed from a remote storage system.

A future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle 2 may be input by a user into a mobile device and information regarding the journey (such as the amount of charge required for the journey) provided to the charging system 1 from the mobile device (via the vehicle 2 or otherwise).

The charging system 1 may, therefore, be configured to seek to control the amount of power provided to each vehicle 2 in order to provide a more complex distribution of available power than has previously been considered possible.

In some embodiments, the electrical power provided to a particular vehicle 2 may be determined based on characteristics of that vehicle 2. For example, the identity of the vehicle (or type of vehicle 2, such as make and/or model), may allow the charging system 1 to provide power to that vehicle 2 based on a charging profile for that vehicle 2. This may allow, for example, the charging system 1 to control the charging rate for each vehicle 2 substantially independently. The charging rate for each vehicle 2 may be determined based on an ideal charging profile for that vehicle 2.

In some embodiments, the charging system 1 may be configured to use historic information regarding the charging of the vehicle 2 in order to determine the power to make available to that vehicle 2. In some embodiments, the age of the vehicle 2 may be used to in order to determine the power made available to that vehicle 2. The age may be the age in time (e.g. years) or in terms of the distance travelled by the vehicle 2 in total (e.g. the mileage) or in terms of the number of charge cycles of the battery 211 of the vehicle 2, for example. This may allow specific tailoring of the electrical power made available to the vehicle 2 taking into account potential degraded performance of the battery 211 and/or a characteristic specific to that vehicle 2.

Information regarding a future journey or predicted future journey of the vehicle 2 may be used to determine one or more of a likely time available to charge the vehicle 2 and a likely required level of charge for the vehicle s 2 next journey. This information may be input by the user into the charging system 1 (e.g. using the mobile device) or may be determined by the charging system 1 from a historic record of that vehicle s 2 activity.

There may be a number of charging systems 1, in some embodiments, which are communicatively coupled e.g. in a network to share information about the or each vehicle 2 connected thereto. This may include, for example, historic information about journeys, charging profiles, and charge states. The communicative coupling may be via a server, for example, which may collect and collate the information from the charging systems 1 connected thereto and may be configured to service requests for historic information received from a one of the charging systems 1.

Each charging station 12 may include a user interface which is configured to receive user input which may include one or more of the aforementioned factors. The user interface may be configured to receive payment information from the user. This payment information may be to pay for the charging of their vehicle 2 and/or for parking (e.g. in the facility in relation to which the charging system 1 is provided). The user interface may, for example, include a payment card reader to receive payment information from the user.

In some embodiments, the user can opt to pay for increased charging prioritisation such that their vehicle 2 has a higher power made available to 30 use than would otherwise be the case.

The charging system 1 may include a maintenance workstation 16 which may be remote from the or each charging station 12 and which may service multiple charging systems 1, for example. The maintenance workstation 16 may be configured to perform one or more maintenance operations in relation to the charging system 1 and/or each charging station 12. This may include, for example, performing software updates and/or resetting each charging station 12.

In accordance with embodiments, the power provided i.e. made available to each vehicle 2 may be varied by the charging controller 13 over time based on one or more of the factors mentioned herein.

In some embodiments, the charging system 1 may be configured to deliver electrical power from one or more of the vehicles 2 to another of the vehicles 2 and/or to the external electrical power supply. This may enable, for example, excess electrical power in one vehicle 2 to be used to meet a high demand for electrical power within the charging system 1 (a demand which may exceed the available supply, for example). In some embodiments, the excess may be used when it is less expensive to use power from another vehicle 2 than from the external power supply. A user of a vehicle 2 may indicate (e.g. through their mobile device and/or through the charging station 13) that they are willing to make excess electrical power stored in their power storage system 21 available to other vehicles 2. In exchange for the use of the excess, an financial account associated with the user may be credited in respect of the amount of excess power used.

As discussed, the or each factor may be associated with a user and/or a vehicle 2 and may be stored for use by the charging system 1 e.g. in the charging system 1 itself or on a server to which the charging system 1 is communicatively coupled or in a different charging system 1 to which the charging system 1 is communicatively coupled. The one or more factors may, therefore, be used to generate a profile of the user and/or vehicle 2. From this profile, the charging system 1 may predict one or more behaviours or characteristics which are then used to determine (or influence) how to charge the vehicle 2. The profile may include information learnt about charging habits and trends associated with the user and/or vehicle 2.

As will be understood, the mobile device of the user may be used to determine a charging profile for the charging of the vehicle 2. This may include information concerning movements and preferences of the user gathered by the mobile device, information input into the mobile device by the user, the availability of charging at one or more predicted future locations of the vehicle 2 and/or user, the cost of any predicted available charging, and the like.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Although certain example embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of the appended claims is not intended to be limited solely to these embodiments. The claims are to be construed literally, purposively, and/or to encompass equivalents.

Claims

Claims 1. A charging system for charging a plurality of electric vehicles, the charging system including: a plurality of charging stations, each configured to be connected to one or more vehicles for charging; and a charging controller configured to control the electrical power made available to the charging stations for charging the or each vehicle, wherein the charging controller controls the electrical power made available to the charging stations based on a total available electrical power and one or more factors associated with the or each vehicle and/or a respective user of the or each vehicle.
2. A charging system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more factors include one or more of: - the make of the or each vehicle; - the model of the or each vehicle; - the age of the or each vehicle; - the present charge state of the or each vehicle s power storage system; - the temperature of the or each vehicle, its power storage system, and/or the ambient temperature near the or each vehicle; - stored information about a previous charge cycle for the or each vehicle; -a user selected preference; - a service subscription level of the user; - a level of payment made by the user for the charging service; - an identity of the user of the vehicle; - an identity of the vehicle; -a future predicted or indicated journey for the vehicle; - a capacity of the battery of the vehicle; - a chemistry of a cell of the battery, or battery, of the vehicle; - a year of vehicle manufacture; - an total distance travelled by the vehicle since manufacture based on regional averages or information regarding the type of vehicle; and - model number of a type of on-board charging control system used in vehicle.
3. A charging system according to claim 1 or 2, further including an automatic number plate or licence plate recognition system which is configured to determine an identity of the or each vehicle.
4. A charging system according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein each charging station includes a user interface configured to receive payment information from the user.
5. A network including: a plurality of charging systems according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of charging systems are communicatively coupled to share information about one or more vehicles, the information including at least one of the one or more factors.
6. A network according to claim 5, further including: a server to provide the communicative coupling, wherein the server is further configured to collect and collate information from the charging systems.
7. A charging controller configured for use in a charging system according to any of claims 1 to 4.