DE102020206684A1 - Method for recognizing a vehicle to be electrically charged in a collection of vehicles with at least two vehicles in the vicinity of a charging station, in which the coupling process of the charging station with the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging, and a charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for recognizing a vehicle to be electrically charged in a collection of vehicles (3) in the vicinity (4) of a charging station (2), in which a coupling process between the charging station (2) and the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging, with - a first vehicle (7) of the vehicle assembly (3) sends an initialization signal (8) to the charging station (2) with a communication unit (9), - an assignment signal (12) is sent to the charging station (2) with a signaling device (11) - The assigned assignment signal (12) is received with a receiving unit (10) of the charging station (2), (12) the first vehicle (7) to be charged of the vehicle collection (3) is recognized and the upcoming charging process at the charging station (2) is assigned to the first vehicle (7) ft the invention a charging system (1).

Description

The invention relates to a method for recognizing a vehicle to be electrically charged in a collection of vehicles with at least two vehicles in the vicinity of a charging station, in which a coupling process between the charging station and the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging.

The invention also relates to a charging system with an evaluation unit, a communication unit and a transmission device.

Electrically operated vehicles, such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, have an electrical energy store that has to be charged. In particular, electric charging stations or charging stations are used for this purpose. In particular, the electrically operated vehicles can be charged automatically and in particular autonomously with the aid of automated charging stations. In particular, a plug of the charging station is connected to the electrically operated vehicle by a mechanism of the charging station. This takes place in particular via wireless communication between the electrically operated vehicle and the charging station.

the DE 10 2018 200 908 A1 discloses a method for operating a stationary charging station for vehicles having at least one electric drive machine, wherein the vehicle is electrically connected to the charging station in order to carry out a charging process, and wherein an authorization for electrically charging the vehicle by the charging station is checked.

A disadvantage of the known automated charging stations is that the charging station cannot make a clear assignment to a vehicle to be charged, since the charging station does not know whether, for example, the vehicle parked on its left or right is to be charged.

The object of the present invention is to be able to carry out an automated charging process of an electrically operated vehicle in a more reliable manner when there are several vehicles in the vicinity of the automated charging station.

This object is achieved by a method and a charging system according to the independent patent claims. Meaningful further developments result from the subclaims.

One aspect of the invention relates to a method for recognizing a vehicle to be electrically charged in a collection of vehicles with at least two vehicles in the vicinity of a charging station, in which a coupling process between the charging station and the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging. A first vehicle of the vehicle cluster, which are arranged in the vicinity of the charging station, sends an initialization signal, which contains a charging request of the first vehicle for an upcoming charging process, to the charging station with a communication unit of the first vehicle. With a signal device of the first vehicle, an assignment signal, with which the first vehicle is characterized, is transmitted to the charging station, and the transmitted assignment signal is received with a receiving unit of the charging station. The received assignment signal is evaluated with an evaluation unit of the charging station, whereby the first vehicle to be charged in the vehicle collection is recognized based on the evaluation of the assignment signal and the upcoming charging process at the charging station is assigned to the first vehicle, so that the charging station automatically couples with the first vehicle can.

With the proposed method, in particular, an improved automated charging process of an electrically operated vehicle can be carried out. In particular, by assigning the first vehicle to be charged, a more efficient charging process of the first vehicle can be carried out, since the charging station can uniquely identify the first vehicle to be charged. Incorrect coupling of the charging station, which is automatically and thus independently coupled to a vehicle, can thus be avoided. In particular, the proposed method is used to verify the vehicle to be charged from the vehicle collection, so that the charging station constantly knows which vehicle is to be charged in the vicinity of the charging station. In particular, with the help of the evaluation of the assignment signal, a clear and, in particular, exact assignment of the first vehicle to be charged and the charging station takes place. This ensures that the vehicle that has made a charging request for the upcoming charging process is always automatically coupled to the charging station. Furthermore, with the aid of the proposed method, it can be achieved that if a number of vehicles congregate in the vicinity of the charging station, there is no unintentional charging of a vehicle that does not want any charging at all. In this way, unintentional charging processes and, in particular, undesired charging processes can be avoided. This enables an automated charging process between a charging station and an electrically powered vehicle can be carried out more reliably.

In particular, the proposed method is particularly advantageous when there is a collection of at least two vehicles in the vicinity of the charging station. In particular, the vehicle cluster is a plurality of vehicles. In particular, the area around the charging station is meant by the area around the charging station, within which a vehicle to be charged can still be reached with the charging station and in particular with a charging unit or a loading mechanism of the charging station for an automated charging process. For example, the surroundings of the charging station can be defined with a predefined distance. The distance depends on how far the automated loading mechanism, which for example has a robot arm, can move in order to carry out the automated coupling process of the charging station with the vehicle to be charged. In particular, the environment is a zone around the charging station in which intended vehicles can park in order to be able to charge and thus within which the charging station can move and the vehicle can then also reach and couple for charging.

In particular, an initialization signal is generated by the vehicle to be charged, in this case the first vehicle in the vehicle cluster. The initialization signal represents, in particular, a charging request. The first vehicle can thus inform the charging station that a charging process is desired and / or necessary in order to be able to charge an electrical energy store of the vehicle to be charged. The initialization signal can be transmitted in particular with the aid of the communication unit of the first vehicle via a communication connection, such as a wireless communication connection (LTE, 4G, WLAN, Bluetooth, or another cellular radio standard). For example, the initialization signal is automatically sent to the charging station when the first vehicle is in the vicinity of the charging station. For example, the initialization signal can be transmitted automatically at a certain distance between the charging station and the first vehicle.

In particular, the assignment signal is transmitted at the same time or offset with the signaling device of the first vehicle. For example, the assignment signal can be sent out after the initialization signal has been sent out. It is also conceivable that the initialization signal is sent to the charging station at the same time as the assignment signal. With the assignment signal, in particular the charging station is given a precise description or characterization of the first vehicle.

In particular, the received assignment signal is evaluated with the aid of the evaluation unit of the charging station, so that the charging station can precisely or unambiguously verify and assign the first vehicle to be charged. Thus, for example, the automatic coupling process between the charging station and the vehicle to be charged can be carried out automatically with the aid of an automated loading mechanism.

For example, the first vehicle and / or the vehicles in the vehicle cluster can be electrically operated vehicles, such as electric vehicles, plug-in vehicles or hybrid vehicles. The charging station is in particular an electrical charging station or a charging column or a power source. In particular, a conductive and / or inductive charging process of the vehicle to be charged can be carried out with the aid of the charging station. For example, the charging station has a loading mechanism or a robot unit for performing the automatic coupling process between the charging station and the vehicle to be charged.

In particular, the charging station is a stationary charging infrastructure. For example, the charging station is arranged at a predetermined charging point or a parking lot.

In particular, with the aid of the automatic coupling process, a charging plug of the charging station can be automatically connected to a vehicle-side charging connection, so that in particular an electrical energy store of the vehicle to be charged can be supplied with energy.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, based on the assignment of the first vehicle to be charged, the upcoming charging process is released by the charging station and, after the upcoming charging process has been released, a charging unit of the charging station is automatically coupled to the first vehicle for electrical charging. As a result, an improved and, in particular, more efficient electrical charging process of the first vehicle to be charged can take place. Due to the clear assignment of the first vehicle to be charged to the upcoming charging process, the automatic coupling of the charging unit of the charging station can be carried out precisely with the first vehicle to be charged. The first vehicle and in particular an electrical energy store of the first vehicle can thus be supplied with electrical energy. The charging station can use the one-to-one assignment of the first vehicle to be charged the initialization signal sent to the first vehicle and containing the charge request can be precisely assigned. This means that exactly the vehicle that made the charging request for the upcoming charging process can be supplied with electrical energy. By enabling the charging process, it can also be ensured that there can be no unintentional coupling between the charging station on a vehicle that is not to be charged. This means that only the charging process that is intended for the vehicle to be charged can be released. This means that only the vehicle that has made a charging request for an upcoming charging process can be automatically coupled to the charging station.

For example, the electrical charging station can have the charging unit. In particular, the loading unit is a loading mechanism or a loading robot which has a robot arm. With the aid of the charging unit, in particular a charging plug or a coupling element can be automatically moved to the first vehicle so that the coupling process can be carried out. As soon as the charging unit is automatically coupled to the first vehicle, the energy transfer between the charging station and the electrical energy store of the first vehicle takes place automatically.

Another embodiment of the invention provides that, in particular with the initialization signal, position information of a vehicle-side charging connection of the first vehicle is transmitted to the charging station and the automatic coupling between the charging unit and the vehicle-side charging connection is carried out as a function of the position information. By transmitting the position information of the vehicle-side charging connection, the automatic coupling between the charging unit and the vehicle-side charging connection can be carried out after the unambiguous assignment of the first vehicle to be charged and in particular after the charging process has been released. Thus, after the unambiguous assignment of the first vehicle to be charged, the charging unit can automatically be maneuvered or moved to the exact position of the vehicle-side charging connection of the first vehicle. The automatic coupling process and in particular the automatic charging process of the first vehicle can thus be carried out more efficiently. In particular, the automatic charging process of the first vehicle can be carried out more quickly with the aid of the additional position information. The position information of the vehicle-side charging connection enables a more precise and precise coupling of the charging unit to the vehicle-side charging connection.

The additional position information can in particular avoid ascertaining and / or detecting the vehicle-side charging connection. In particular, this means that the charging station does not need an additional camera which has to detect the charging connection on the vehicle side. This results in a more efficient and, in particular, faster automatic coupling process of the charging station with the first vehicle to be charged.

In particular, the position information can be used to transmit and provide an exact position and, in particular, alignment of the vehicle-side charging connection on a body and / or on an underbody and / or on a vehicle rear of the first vehicle.

The vehicle-side charging connection can in particular be a charging socket for performing an automatic plug-in process between a charging plug of the charging unit and the vehicle-side charging connection. It is also conceivable that the vehicle-side charging connection is an inductive coil. As a result, in particular a charging coil of the charging unit is positioned on the inductive coil on the vehicle. Thus, with the aid of the charging unit and the vehicle-side charging connection, either a conductive or an inductive charging process can be carried out.

It is preferably provided that the signaling device of the first vehicle is used to encode the assignment signal with a predefined code or with a predefined frequency, transmission information for decoding the assignment signal being transmitted to the charging station prior to the transmission of the assignment signal. This ensures that there are no errors in the assignment of the vehicle to be charged. The additional transmission of the transmission information can ensure that only the charging station evaluates the assignment signal which was sent out by the first vehicle to be charged. This means that there can be no mix-ups and / or unintentional errors. In this way, the first vehicle to be charged can be clearly assigned to the upcoming charging process. In particular, through the coding and decoding of the assignment signal, a secure and forgery-proof transmission of the assignment signal and the unique assignment that can be carried out with it can be carried out. In particular, with the aid of the coding and decoding of the assignment signal, a data protection-safe transmission of the characteristics of the first vehicle can take place.

In particular, the signal device is used to generate the assignment signal in Dependence on predefined codes and / or predefined sequences. For example, the predefined codes or the predefined sequences can be stored in a database of the signaling device. With the help of the predefined code and the predefined sequence, a clear verification between the first vehicle and the charging station can be carried out. In particular, the most varied types of transmission and types of information can be used to generate the assignment signal. For example, the assignment signal can be coded with optical and / or acoustic codes or sequences. These are then transmitted to the receiving unit of the charging station with the aid of the signaling device and decoded and evaluated with the evaluation unit and the transmitted transmission information. In particular, the transmission information is transmitted via a wireless communication link.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the evaluation unit of the charging station evaluates the received transmission information to determine whether the charging station can evaluate the assignment signal and, if not, then the charging station informs the communication unit of the electrically operated vehicle which transmission type the May have assignment signal. It can thereby be achieved that the charging station can receive and evaluate the transmitted assignment signal at all. This avoids that there are no time delays after the transmission of the assignment signal, since, for example, the charging station cannot evaluate the transmitted assignment signal and the charging station waits for an undefined period of time for a response from the charging station. The charging process or the automatic coupling process of the charging station with the first vehicle to be charged can thus be carried out more efficiently.

By checking the transmission information, it can continuously be achieved that the assignment signal is sent out by the signaling device in such a way that the charging station can also evaluate it.

For example, the assignment signal can be transmitted as an optical signal, and if the charging station is not able to receive optical signals, the first vehicle can for example be informed that an assignment signal can only be received as an acoustic signal. The signal device of the first vehicle can thus generate the assignment signal in such a way that the charging station is also able to receive and evaluate it.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention it is further provided that an acoustic signal transmission is carried out as the type of transmission of the assignment signal, the acoustic signal transmission of the assignment signal being output with a loudspeaker system of the first vehicle, in particular in the direction of the charging station. For example, the assignment signal can be adapted to the provided systems and / or units of the first vehicle. If the first vehicle can only output acoustic signals in the direction of the charging station, the type of transmission of the assignment signal is carried out with acoustic signal transmission. This also checks whether the charging station is also able to receive acoustic signals. This is done in particular with the aid of the transmission information.

The loudspeaker system of the first vehicle can be, for example, an infotainment system or a music system or an external loudspeaker or a vehicle horn or a sound generator. With the aid of the loudspeaker system of the first vehicle, for example, certain acoustic sequences can be transmitted. In particular, the acoustic signal transmission can be carried out with a low-frequency type of signal or a high-frequency type of signal. For example, certain music sequences and / or signal tones can be generated with the loudspeaker system and output in the direction of the charging station. The first vehicle is characterized with the aid of the acoustic signal transmission, so that the charging station can clearly assign the first vehicle on the basis of the acoustic signal transmission.

For example, with the vehicle horn as a loudspeaker system, a predetermined sequence of horn signals can be output in the direction of the charging station. The charging station can therefore use this sequence to assign the first vehicle for the upcoming charging process.

Provision is also preferably made for an optical signal transmission to be carried out as the type of transmission of the assignment signal, the optical signal transmission of the assignment signal taking place with a light device of the first vehicle and / or with a light unit of a vehicle-side charging connection of the first vehicle, in particular in the direction of the charging station. This enables extensive and varied transmission of the assignment signal to be provided. As a result, a characteristic of the first vehicle can be sent to the charging station via optical signals, so that the first vehicle can be assigned to the upcoming charging process on the basis of the optical signal. It is also checked whether the charging station is able to receive and evaluate an optical signal as an assignment signal. This is done in particular with the aid of the transmission information. In particular, when optical signal transmission is used, existing systems and / or units of the first vehicle can be used for the transmission of the assignment signal. This means that additional components and / or units can be dispensed with.

The lighting device of the first vehicle can in particular be a lighting system such as a headlight or a blinker or a hazard warning blinker. The already existing lighting device of the first vehicle can thus be used to generate the assignment signal.

The light unit of the vehicle-side charging connection can in particular be a charging socket LED (light-emitting diode). With the aid of the charging socket LED as a light unit, for example a specific flashing sequence and / or a pulse sequence and / or a color change can be used as optical signal transmission. In particular, with the aid of the light device and / or the light unit, certain light sequences and / or light codes and / or light signals can be used as assignment signals and output in the direction of the charging station.

For example, when using the charging socket LED as a light unit, a flashing sequence can be emitted and received and evaluated, for example, with a photodiode or a phototransistor of the charging station.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention it is provided that a position of the first vehicle in the vicinity of the charging station is determined with a sensor system of the charging station as a function of the assignment of the first vehicle to be charged. As soon as the first vehicle to be charged has been assigned to the upcoming charging process with the aid of the evaluated assignment signal, the first vehicle to be charged can be determined with the sensor system of the charging station. The exact position of the first vehicle in the vicinity of the charging station can be determined with the aid of the sensor system. For example, in addition to the position of the first vehicle, a position of the vehicle-side charging connection can also be determined. The automatic coupling with the first vehicle can thus be carried out with the aid of a robot unit of the charging station.

The sensor system of the charging station can be, for example, several sensors and / or several cameras. In particular, the sensor system can comprise a camera unit and a sensor unit. In particular, after the assignment of the first vehicle to be charged, the position of the first vehicle can be determined automatically with the aid of the sensor system, so that the automatic coupling process between the charging station and the first vehicle can be initiated and carried out. A more precise and more precise coupling between the charging station and the first vehicle can thus take place.

It is also preferably provided that, if the evaluated assignment signal cannot be used to assign the first vehicle to be charged, a further assignment signal, which represents a further characteristic of the first vehicle, is requested from the charging station and generated by the transmission device of the first vehicle and is sent out. If the assignment could not take place, a further assignment process can thus be started so that the assignment can be carried out in particular with the aid of the further assignment signal. It can thus be achieved that, despite the non-assignable first assignment process, the vehicle to be charged can be assigned to the upcoming charging process with the aid of the further assignment signal. A more efficient and thus fail-safe charging process for the first vehicle to be charged can thus be provided.

In particular, after the first unsuccessful assignment of the first vehicle to be charged by the charging station, a further test criterion can be requested so that the transmission device of the first vehicle can generate a further characteristic which is clearly assigned to the first vehicle. It can thus be achieved that an assignment of the first vehicle to be charged can be carried out in any case. In particular, the assignment process of the assignment signal can be carried out as a cascade-like test, an assignment signal being generated until the first vehicle can be clearly assigned to the upcoming charging process. In particular, with the aid of the further assignment signal, further criteria for the unambiguous assignment of the first vehicle can be transmitted. An intelligent and redundant assignment of the first vehicle to be charged can thus be carried out. In particular, redundant identification or assignment of the first vehicle to be charged can thus be carried out.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a charging system with an evaluation unit, a communication unit and a transmitting device, wherein the charging system is designed to carry out an automatic coupling process of an electrically operated vehicle. In particular, a method according to the previous aspect or a development thereof can be carried out with the aid of the charging system. In particular, the method described above is carried out with the aid of the charging system.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method, carried out by a charging station, for the detection of a vehicle to be electrically charged in a collection of vehicles with at least two vehicles in the vicinity of the charging station, in which a coupling process of the charging station with the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging, with a receiving unit of the charging station receiving an initialization signal sent out by a first vehicle of the vehicle cluster, which is located in the vicinity of the charging station, which contains a charging request from the first vehicle for an upcoming charging process, with the receiving unit of the charging station receiving one from the first The allocation signal sent to the vehicle of the collection of vehicles, with which the first vehicle is characterized, is received, the received allocation signal is evaluated with an evaluation unit of the charging station, with the e to be charged based on the evaluation of the allocation signal The first vehicle of the vehicle collection is recognized and the upcoming charging process at the charging station is assigned to the first vehicle, so that the charging station can automatically couple with the first vehicle.

In one embodiment, the upcoming charging process is released by the charging station based on the assignment of the first vehicle to be charged and, after the upcoming charging process has been released, a charging unit of the charging station is automatically coupled to the first vehicle for electrical charging.

In one embodiment, position information of a vehicle-side charging connection of the first vehicle is also transmitted to the charging station, e.g. with the initialization signal. In such a case, the automatic coupling between the charging unit and the vehicle-side charging connection can be carried out as a function of this position information.

In one embodiment, the assignment signal is coded with a predefined code or a predefined sequence, and transmission information for decoding the assignment signal is received with the receiving unit of the charging station prior to receiving the assignment signal. In an advantageous further embodiment, the evaluation unit of the charging station evaluates the received transmission information to determine whether the charging station can evaluate the assignment signal, and if not, then the charging station informs a communication unit of the first vehicle which types of transmission the assignment signal can have.

In one embodiment, a sensor system of the charging station is used to determine a position of the first vehicle in the vicinity of the charging station as a function of the assignment of the first vehicle to be charged.

In one embodiment, if no assignment of the first vehicle to be charged can be carried out on the basis of the evaluated assignment signal, a further assignment signal, which represents a further characteristic of the first vehicle, is requested from the charging station. The further assignment signal, which is sent by the transmission device of the first vehicle ( 7th ) is generated and transmitted, because it is received and evaluated with the receiving unit of the charging station. The request is sent to a communication unit of the first vehicle with a transmission unit. The transmitter unit can form an integrated unit together with the receiver unit, for example in the form of a transmitter / receiver unit. Instead, the transmitting unit can also be configured separately from the receiving unit.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a charging station which comprises an evaluation unit and a receiving unit, the charging station being able to carry out an embodiment of a method for recognizing a vehicle to be electrically charged in a vehicle collection with at least two vehicles in the vicinity of the charging station, as described above .

The invention also includes further developments of the charging system according to the invention which have features as they have already been described in connection with the further developments of the method according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding developments of the charging system according to the invention are not described again here.

The invention also includes the combinations of the features of the described embodiments.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described below. For this purpose, the single figure shows an exemplary embodiment of an automatic charging process for a vehicle.

The exemplary embodiment explained below is a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the exemplary embodiment, the described components of the embodiment each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another, which also develop the invention independently of one another and are therefore also to be regarded as part of the invention individually or in a combination other than the one shown. Furthermore, the described embodiment can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.

In particular, the figure shows a charging system 1 , the charging system 1 is designed to carry out an automatic coupling process of an electrically operated vehicle. In particular, with the help of the charging system 1 an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle or a plug-in vehicle can be charged.

The charging system 1 in particular has a charging station 2 on. At the charging station 2 it is in particular a stationary charging infrastructure or a power source or a charging device. In particular, with the help of the charging station 2 Conductive or inductive charging of an electrically powered vehicle can be carried out.

In particular is the charging station 2 designed in such a way that a detection of a vehicle to be electrically charged is a vehicle collection 3 in the neighborhood 4th the charging station 2 can be carried out. At the vehicle assembly 3 In particular, it is a large number of electrically powered vehicles. For example, the vehicle cluster 3 consist of two or three or ten vehicles. The vehicle collection 3 is particularly in the area 4th the charging station 2 . In particular is the environment 4th with a defined radius around the charging station 2 Are defined. In particular, all vehicles can be within the area 4th the charging station 2 with the help of the charging station 2 be electrically charged.

In particular, with the help of the charging station 2 a coupling process of the charging station 2 can be carried out automatically with the vehicle to be charged for charging. In particular is the charging station 2 designed as an automatic and autonomous charging station. With the help of the charging station 2 automatic inductive or automatic conductive charging can be carried out. In particular, the charging station 2 a loading unit 5 on. With the loading unit 5 it can be, for example, a loading mechanism or a robot or a robot arm. In particular, it is at the end or at the distal end of the loading unit 5 a loading element 6th arranged. With the loading element 6th it can be, for example, a charging plug for carrying out a conductive plug-in process or an inductive unit for carrying out an inductive coupling process. Thus the charging station is 2 equipped to carry out an automatically inductive or automatically conductive charging process.

For example, an embodiment of the invention will now be discussed. A first vehicle can 7th the vehicle collection 3 an initialization signal 8th , which is a charging request for the first vehicle 7th for an upcoming charging process, with a communication unit 9 of the first vehicle 7th to the charging station 2 be sent out. In particular, includes the initialization signal 8th the request for the first vehicle to be loaded 7th for an upcoming and especially necessary electrical charging process. In particular, the initialization signal is transmitted 8th via a wireless communication link such as Bluetooth, WLAN, 4G. The initialization signal sent out 8th can for example with a receiving unit 10 the charging station 2 be received. For example, after receiving the initialization signal 8th the charging station 2 go from a sleep mode to a standby mode. Thus, the charging station can 2 prepare for an upcoming charging process.

In addition to the initialization signal sent out 8th can with a signaling device 11th of the first vehicle 7th an assignment signal 12th also to the charging station 2 be transmitted. In particular, the assignment signal is transmitted 12th after the initialization signal has been sent 8th . At the sending facility 11th it can be a sensor unit, for example. The signaling device 11th is designed in particular in such a way that it receives the assignment signal 12th can generate itself. In particular, the assignment signal 12th generated in such a way that it is the first vehicle 7th characterized. In particular, with the assignment signal 12th an unambiguous assignment and, in particular, an unambiguous verification or identification of the first vehicle 7th be performed.

For example, it can be used as a characteristic of the first vehicle 7th a car brand, a car color, a license plate number, a size, a soiling condition or a vehicle body can be provided. Thus, with the help of the assignment signal 12th the first vehicle 7th can be clearly assigned and verified.

The sent assignment signal 12th can also from the receiving unit 10 the Charging station 2 be received. The assignment signal received 12th is from the receiving unit 10 to an evaluation unit 13th the charging station 2 transfer. With the help of the evaluation unit 13th can use the received assignment signal 12th be evaluated. With the evaluation unit 13th it can be, for example, a computing unit. Based on the evaluation of the assignment signal 12th through the evaluation unit 14th can the first vehicle to be charged 7th that made the charging request can be recognized, and the upcoming charging process at the charging station 2 can this first vehicle 7th can thus be clearly assigned. Through the clear assignment and verification of the first vehicle 7th especially the charging station 2 the automatic coupling process with the first vehicle 7th start and execute.

Based on this clear assignment of the first vehicle to be charged 7th the upcoming charging process from the charging station 2 be released. This release can also be given to the first vehicle, for example, via wireless communication 7th and / or a user of the first vehicle 7th be transmitted. For example, an automatic coupling of the charging unit can be carried out automatically after the upcoming charging process has been released 5 the charging station 2 with the first vehicle 7th for electrical charging. In particular, the loading element is automatically 6th with a vehicle-side charging connection 14th of the first vehicle 7th carried out.

In particular, through the unique assignment of the first vehicle to be charged 7th exactly the vehicle that actually made the charging request can be charged. Thus, a vehicle cannot accidentally accumulate the vehicle 3 instead of the first vehicle 7th with the charging station 2 be coupled.

Furthermore, with the help of the assignment signal 12th a process of pairing the first vehicle 7th and the charging station 2 take place.

Furthermore, with the help of the communication unit 9 of the first vehicle 7th next to the initialization signal 8th an additional position information of the vehicle-side charging connection 14th the charging station 2 be transmitted. As a result, the loading unit in particular 5 the charging station 2 the automatic coupling between the charging element is dependent on this position information 6th and the charging port on the vehicle 14th carry out. This results in an effective and, in particular, precise coupling between the charging station 2 and the first vehicle 7th .

Likewise, the charging station 2 a sensor system 15th exhibit. With the sensor system 15th it can be, for example, a camera unit or a sensor unit. With the help of the sensor system 15th the charging station 2 can depending on the unique assignment of the first vehicle to be charged 7th a position of the first vehicle 7th in the neighborhood 4th the charging station 2 be determined. This enables an even more precise and efficient automatic coupling process between the charging station 2 and the first vehicle 7th be performed. Through the unique identification and, in particular, verification of the first vehicle 7th and the determination of the position can unambiguously and precisely identify the first vehicle to be charged 7th from the charging station 2 be recognized. With this information, a precise coupling between the charging station can be established 2 and the first vehicle 7th with the help of the loading unit 5 take place.

In a further embodiment it is provided that with the signaling device 11th of the first vehicle 7th the assignment signal 12th is encoded or decoded with a predefined code or a predefined sequence. This allows the assignment signal 12th unambiguously to the first vehicle with the aid of the code and / or the sequence 7th and in particular the characteristic of the first vehicle 7th be assigned. The coded assignment signal 12th can with the help of the transmitting device 11th generated accordingly in advance of the transmission. In particular, takes place before the transmission of the coded assignment signal 12th a transmission of transmission information from the transmitting device 11th to the receiving unit 10 the charging station 2 . With the help of the transfer information, the charging station 2 be communicated in what type and form the coding of the assignment signal 12th will take place. Thus, with the help of the transfer information, the charging station 2 and in particular the evaluation unit 13th the charging station 2 the received assignment signal 12th decode and the information content of the assignment signal 12th evaluate. This enables secure and, in particular, data-secure transmission of the assignment signal 12th be performed.

For example, with the evaluation unit 13th the charging station 2 the received transmission information can be evaluated to determine whether the coded assignment signal 12th from the charging station 2 can be evaluated at all. For example, the charging station 2 no possibility of receiving the assignment signal 12th having. It can also be the case that the coded type of the assignment signal 12th not from the evaluation unit 13th the charging station 2 can be decoded. If this is the case, then the charging station 2 the communication unit 9 of the first vehicle 7th communicated which transmission type of the assignment signal 12th from the charging station 2 can be received and evaluated. In this way it can be achieved that a secure and evaluable information of the charging station 2 can be provided. A process-reliable assignment of the first vehicle can thus be achieved 7th be performed.

For example, the assignment signal 12th have different types of transmission. For example, the assignment signal 12th be carried out with an optical signal transmission or with an acoustic signal transmission. In the case of acoustic signal transmission, a light signal or a coded light signal can be sent to the charging station 2 be sent out. In the case of acoustic signal transmission, an acoustic signal, in particular a coded acoustic signal, can be sent to the charging station 2 will be sent.

For example, with a speaker system 16 of the first vehicle 7th the acoustic signal transmission in the direction of the charging station 2 be performed. For example, it can be the speaker system 16 around a sound generator or around a vehicle horn or around a music system or around an infotainment system of the first vehicle 7th Act. A wide variety of acoustic signals can thus be used as an assignment signal 12th the charging station 2 be sent. For example, the frequencies of the acoustic signal can be adjusted. Likewise, certain acoustic sequences and / or, for example, songs and / or horn sequences can be used as an assignment signal 12th be sent.

Furthermore, it can be that with a lighting device 17th of the first vehicle 7th or with a light unit 18th of the vehicle-side charging connection 14th an optical signal as an assignment signal 12th towards the charging station 2 is sent. With the lighting equipment 17th it can in particular be a headlight or a blinker or a hazard warning light of the first vehicle 7th Act. Thus, certain light sequences or light sequences can be used as an assignment signal 12th coded and the charging station 2 be sent. For example, the optical signal can be generated with the aid of the light device 17th be coded in such a way that a light intensity and / or a radiation power is adapted and changed. This can therefore be done from the charging station 2 be evaluated accordingly, so that the assignment of the first vehicle 7th can be carried out. With the light unit 18th it can be, for example, a charging socket LED. With this, different flashing sequences and / or types of pulses and / or color changes can be generated and used as an optical signal for the charging station 2 be transmitted. In this case, for example, with a photodiode or a transistor of the receiving unit 10 this optical signal can be received. This enables an unambiguous assignment and verification of the first vehicle to be charged 7th from the vehicle collection 3 be performed.

For example, the assignment signal 12th take on other forms and types. For example, with the help of windshield wipers of the first vehicle 7th special sequences can be mapped. This can be done with the help of the receiving unit 10 and in particular a camera of the charging station 2 can be received and evaluated. It is also conceivable that with the help of electric window regulators of the first vehicle 7th the windows of the first vehicle 7th be moved at different heights and / or sequences and / or speeds. This can thus be used as an assignment signal 12th from the charging station 2 can be detected and evaluated accordingly.

In a conceivable case, the evaluation of the assignment signal 12th could not be carried out. For example, this can be due to the fact that there is too large a number of different and / or the same vehicles in the area 4th the charging station 2 a one-to-one assignment of the first vehicle 7th could not be carried out. This can be remedied by using the charging station 2 a further assignment signal, which is a further characteristic of the first vehicle 7th represents, is requested. This can be done by the sending facility 11th processed and the further assignment signal again to the charging station 2 be sent. In particular, this enables redundant detection of the first vehicle 7th be performed. This enables, for example, a cascade-like, repetitive check of the assignment signal 12th be carried out until a one-to-one assignment of the first vehicle 7th could be carried out successfully.

List of reference symbols

1

Charging system

2

Charging station

3

Vehicle collection

4th

Surroundings

5

Loading unit

6th

Loading element

7th

first vehicle

8th

Initialization signal

9

Communication unit

10

Receiving unit

11

Signaling device

12th

Assignment signal

13th

Evaluation unit

14th

vehicle-side charging connection

15th

Sensor system

16

Speaker system

17th

Lighting equipment

18th

Light unit

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 102018200908 A1 [0004]

Claims (10)

A method for recognizing an electrically charged vehicle in a collection of vehicles (3) with at least two vehicles in the vicinity (4) of a charging station (2), in which a coupling process between the charging station (2) and the vehicle to be charged is carried out automatically for charging, with - A first vehicle (7) of the vehicle assembly (3), which are arranged in the vicinity (4) of the charging station (2), with an initialization signal (8) which contains a charging request from the first vehicle (7) for an upcoming charging process a communication unit (9) of the first vehicle (7) transmits to the charging station (2), - With a signal device (11) of the first vehicle (7), an assignment signal (12), with which the first vehicle (7) is characterized, is sent to the charging station (2), - The transmitted assignment signal (12) is received with a receiving unit (10) of the charging station (2), - The received assignment signal (12) is evaluated with an evaluation unit (13) of the charging station (2), wherein - Based on the evaluation of the assignment signal (12), the first vehicle (7) to be charged of the vehicle collection (3) is recognized and the upcoming charging process at the charging station (2) is assigned to the first vehicle (7), so that the charging station (2 ) can automatically couple with the first vehicle (7). Procedure according to Claim 1 , the upcoming charging process being released by the charging station (2) based on the assignment of the first vehicle (7) to be charged, and after the upcoming charging process has been released, a charging unit (5) of the charging station (2) is automatically coupled to the first vehicle ( 7) is carried out for electrical charging. Procedure according to Claim 2 , position information of a vehicle-side charging connection (14) of the first vehicle (7) of the charging station (2) is additionally transmitted, and the automatic coupling between the charging unit (5) and the vehicle-side charging connection (14) is carried out as a function of the position information. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein with the signal device (11) of the first vehicle (7) the assignment signal (12) is coded with a predefined code or a predefined sequence, with transmission information for a Decoding of the assignment signal (12) is transmitted to the charging station (2). Procedure according to Claim 4 , with the evaluation unit (13) of the charging station (2) evaluating the received transmission information to determine whether the charging station (2) can evaluate the assignment signal (12), and if not, then the charging station (2) sends the communication unit (9 ) of the first vehicle (7) communicated which types of transmission the assignment signal (12) can have. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an acoustic signal transmission is carried out as the type of transmission of the assignment signal (12), the acoustic signal transmission of the assignment signal (12) with a loudspeaker system (16) of the first vehicle (7), in particular in the direction of the charging station ( 2) is issued. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an optical signal transmission is carried out as the type of transmission of the assignment signal (12), the optical signal transmission of the assignment signal (12) with a light device (17) of the first vehicle (7) and / or with a light unit (18) ) a vehicle-side charging connection (14) of the first vehicle (7), in particular in the direction of the charging station (2). Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein with a sensor system (15) of the charging station (2) depending on the assignment of the first vehicle (7) to be charged, a position of the first vehicle (7) in the vicinity (4) of the charging station (2 ) is determined. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein if the evaluated assignment signal (12) cannot be used to assign the first vehicle (7) to be charged, a further assignment signal (12) which represents a further characteristic of the first vehicle (7) , requested by the charging station (2) and generated and transmitted by the transmitting device (11) of the first vehicle (7). Charging system (1) with an evaluation unit (13), a communication unit (9) and a transmitting device (11), the charging system (1) being designed to carry out an automatic coupling process of an electrically operated vehicle.

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