CN111247024A

CN111247024A - Modular charging system and method for automatically charging electric vehicles

Info

Publication number: CN111247024A
Application number: CN201780096090.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: S·卡拉布鲁恩
Original assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Current assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Priority date: 2017-11-20
Filing date: 2017-11-20
Publication date: 2020-06-05
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-20
Also published as: WO2019095385A1; CN111247024B; DE112017008215T5

Abstract

A modular charging system (100) for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device (118) of an electric vehicle (110) in a parking facility. The charging system (100) includes: at least one automated charging unit (130) comprising a power storage (138); a plurality of automated energy units (140), each automated energy unit comprising a power storage (148), wherein the power storage (138, 148) is configured for storing a predeterminable amount of electrical current. The charging system (100) further comprises at least one back-end server (120) designed for: receiving a charging request for an electric vehicle (110), wherein the charging request includes position data and charge data; requesting an automated charging unit (130) to move to the electric vehicle (110) as a function of the received position data, wherein the automated charging unit (130) is designed to connect a power storage (138) to an electrical energy storage device (118) and to charge the electrical energy storage device; determining a number of automated energy units (140) required to charge an electrical energy storage according to the charge data; and requesting the determined number of automated energy units (140) to be moved to an automated charging unit (130), wherein the automated energy unit (140) is designed for coupling to the automated charging unit (130) or to another automated energy unit (140) in order to enable the power storage to charge the electrical energy storage device (118).

Description

Modular charging system and method for automatically charging electric vehicles

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a modular charging system and method for automatically charging electric vehicles in a parking facility.

Background

Electric vehicles, such as electrically operated bicycles, scooters and motor vehicles, but also partially electrically operated motor vehicles, are known. A partially electrically operated vehicle is a vehicle with a hybrid drive which, in addition to an electric machine, also comprises a further energy converter, usually a conventional internal combustion engine. Hybrid drive concepts may be classified according to their system architecture (series, parallel, or power split hybrid), but also according to the proportion of electrical power (micro-hybrid, moderate hybrid, full hybrid, or range extender). Plug-in hybrid vehicles (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, PHEVs) are an extension of this hybrid technology. In particular, they enable a further reduction in fuel consumption, since their electrical energy storage devices can no longer be (only) charged by the existing internal combustion engine and/or energy recovery (but rather via the power supply system), the increased electrification of the maneuverability of purely electrically driven vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the energy storage devices of which are at least partially charged via the power supply system, and the fact that satisfactory infrastructure of charging stations has not been available since a long time mean for the users of these vehicles that they always have to deal with the state of charge of the electrical energy storage devices for planned or upcoming trips Larger parking lots, etc.). However, as the number of electric vehicles increases, it may happen that a charging station is occupied even though the charging process of the parked vehicle has been completed. In the worst case, the user of the electric vehicle cannot charge the electrical energy storage device and therefore cannot make the planned next trip.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that enables a flexible, efficient and automatic implementation of a charging process of an electric vehicle in a parking facility.

According to the disclosure, this object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The above object is achieved by a modular charging system for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device in a parking facility, comprising:

at least one automated charging unit having a power storage;

a plurality of automated energy units, each having a power storage, wherein the power storage is configured to store a predeterminable amount of current;

at least one back-end server designed for

-receiving a charging request for the electric vehicle, wherein the charging request comprises position data and charge data;

-requesting the automated charging unit to move to the electric vehicle according to the received position data, wherein the automated charging unit is designed for connecting the power storage with the electrical energy storage device and charging the electrical energy storage device;

-determining the number of automated energy units required according to the charging data in order to charge the electrical energy storage device; and is

-requesting the determined number of automated energy units to be moved to the automated charging unit, wherein the automated energy unit is designed for coupling to the automated charging unit or to another automated energy unit, so that the power storage can charge the electrical energy storage device.

The term "electric vehicle" especially refers to cars, trucks, buses, station wagons, motorcycles, etc. having a purely electrical drive or as a plug-in hybrid.

The back-end server is a central data pool and may include computing devices and storage devices, such as databases, where data may be centrally or centrally controlled and stored, managed and processed outside the vehicle. It may be necessary for the user of each electric vehicle to first perform a one-time registration of the electric vehicle (e.g., to establish a suitable account) on the back-end server. The one-time registration may include storage of an appropriate vehicle identification number (ID).

The parking facility may be, for example, an underground parking lot, a parking space or a facility providing other parking lots or parking possibilities, or any combination thereof.

The electric vehicle may include a communication unit. The communication unit is capable of establishing a communication link with other communication participants, such as other vehicles, back-end servers, etc. The communication unit may comprise a subscriber identity module or a SIM card or a participant identity module for establishing a communication link via the mobile radio system. The participant identity module uniquely identifies a communication unit in the mobile radio network. The communication link may be a data link (e.g., packet switched) and/or a wired connection communication link (e.g., circuit switched). Further, wireless communication links (e.g., wireless fidelity (WiFi), wireless LAN, etc.) via other conventional and future technologies (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN)) may be established with other communication participants via the communication unit. Any communication between the electric vehicle and the other communication participants may take place via the communication unit.

The automated charging unit and the automated energy unit may be self-driven or autonomous driven robotic units designed for automatically moving in the parking facility. The charging unit and the energy unit may each include a communication unit corresponding to the above-described communication unit of the electric vehicle. Each automated charging unit and each automated energy unit may include a power storage. The power storage device is designed to store a predeterminable or predetermined amount of electrical energy and then to output said electrical energy. The charging unit and the energy unit are thus a mobile charging station or a mobile charging robot.

In a first step, a backend server may receive a charging request for the electric vehicle. The charging request may include position data and charge data of the vehicle.

The location data may include data for a geographic location that may be acquired using a navigation satellite system. The navigation satellite system may be any conventional or future global navigation satellite system or GNSS for position determination and navigation by receiving signals from navigation satellites and/or pseudolites. For example, it may be the Global Positioning System (GPS), the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the galileo system, the positioning system and/or the beidou navigation satellite system. In the case of GPS, for example, an electric vehicle or mobile terminal may include a GPS module designed and/or configured to determine actual GPS location data of the electric vehicle or mobile terminal.

Additionally or alternatively thereto, the position data may comprise a position of a digital map of the parking facility, wherein the position data may be recognized and/or detected by the electric vehicle. The back-end server and/or the electric vehicle may have the digital parking facility stored in the storage unit. This is particularly advantageous in parking yards and garages where wireless communication is not available or cannot cover all areas. In another example, the parking request may include a unique identification number of a parking space occupied by the electric vehicle. The unique identification may be readable or posted to each parking space in a readable manner in the form of a QR code, for example.

The charging data may comprise technical charging data of the electric vehicle, for example a type of charging possibility of the energy storage device (e.g. a required type of charging cable according to IEC 62196 or DIN standard DIN EN 62196, inductive charging, etc.). Additionally, the technology charge data may include a charge capacity of the energy storage device and/or an actual state of charge of the energy storage device.

The charging request may be in the form of a request or query in the sense of a client-server paradigm, transmitted to a back-end server, for example.

In a next step, the back-end server may request that the automated charging unit move to the vehicle according to the received location data. For example, the back-end server may send or transmit a message or request to autonomously move to the vehicle via the communication unit. The message may include location data and/or technical data received from the vehicle.

The coupling or connection of the power storage to the electrical energy storage device may be different from one another, in particular depending on the type of charging possibility of the electrical energy storage device. The coupling unit of the charging unit may be designed and/or configured to electromagnetically connect the power storage with the electrical energy storage device. This may be achieved if the technical parameters of the charge data include that the electrical energy storage device can be inductively charged. Additionally or alternatively thereto, the actuator unit of the charging unit may be designed and/or configured to connect the power storage with the power source by means of a suitable charging cable. In this case, the actuator unit may comprise an articulated arm, and thus may be an articulated arm robot. In this case, the articulated arm robot may include a sensor unit that allows the articulated arm robot to connect the power storage with the electric energy storage device via the plug unit of the charging cable. The sensor unit may comprise, for example, one or more force sensors and/or one or more torque sensors. The sensor may be mounted on the actuator unit such that it can connect the power storage with the electrical energy storage means in a manner known in the art. The selection of the plug type may be based on charge data, which in this case includes the desired type of charging cable. The automated charging unit can be designed to establish a connection of the power storage to all conventional electrical energy storage devices according to their charging possibilities or charging capacities. In another example, the charging system may include a plurality of different automated charging units, wherein at least one charging unit has the type of connection required to charge each conventional or future electrical energy storage device.

The automated charging unit may connect the power storage with the electrical energy storage device and charge the electrical energy storage device.

In a next step, the back-end server may determine the number of automated energy units needed to charge the electrical energy storage device according to the charge data. As described above, each power storage may store a predeterminable or predetermined amount of energy. The predetermined amount may be stored in a storage unit of the back-end server. As described above, the charge data of the charge request may include the charge capacity of the energy storage device and the actual state of charge of the energy storage device. From this data, the back-end server may determine the number of automated energy units needed to charge the energy storage device or to charge the energy storage device based on the received charge data. For example, the technical charge data may include a charge amount desired by a user of the electric vehicle and/or a planned departure time and/or a next destination. These parameters may be correspondingly taken into account when determining the number of automated energy units. The amount of current stored in the automated charging unit or its power storage is also considered.

In a next step, the back-end server requests the determined number of automated energy units to move to an automated charging unit. For example, the backend server may send or transmit a message or request to autonomously move to the vehicle via the communication unit. The message may also include location data received from the vehicle. The request may also include coupling with an automated charging unit in such a way that the power storage of each energy unit may charge the electrical energy storage device.

Advantageously, a modular and mobile charging system is thus provided, wherein a mobile charging robot of a type suitable for charging of electric vehicles is applied in a parking facility. Because of the modularity for each electric vehicle, only a predetermined amount of the stored electrical energy required for the respective charging process is provided to the electric vehicle to be charged.

Preferably, the charging request is automatically transmitted from the electric vehicle to the back-end server when the state of charge of the electric energy storage device falls below a predeterminable or predetermined charge level.

For example, in a suitable memory unit may be stored: the predefined state of charge reaches 50% of the charge capacity of the electrical energy storage device (or any other suitable state of charge). The computing unit of the electric vehicle can ascertain that the electric vehicle is located on or enters the parking facility, for example, on the basis of the actual geographic position or in any other suitable manner. The computing unit can now check whether the actual state of charge of the energy storage device falls below a predefined state of charge. If this is the case, the electric vehicle may automatically transmit the charging request to the backend server. The predefined state of charge may be modified at any time by a user of the vehicle via an input and output unit in the vehicle and/or via a mobile terminal.

Advantageously, it is thus avoided that the charging process is inadvertently forgotten.

Preferably, the charging request may be transmitted to the backend server via the mobile terminal.

A mobile terminal is a device capable of wireless communication in a mobile network via a Local Area Network (LAN), such as wireless fidelity (WiFi), or via a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), high speed downlink/uplink packet access (HSDPA, HSUPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX). Communication via other conventional or future communication techniques is possible. The term mobile terminal especially includes smart phones but also other mobile or cellular phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs and all conventional and future electronic devices equipped with technologies for running internet browsers and/or loading and running applications.

The mobile terminal may be linked with the electric vehicle or the user of the electric vehicle via a server, e.g. a back-end server, by means of a previously determined suitable authentication method. As authentication methods, all conventional and future authentication methods are considered, such as awareness (e.g. username and password, PIN, security issues, etc.), personal items (e.g. SIM card, certificate, smart card), biometrics (e.g. fingerprint, facial recognition) and any combination of individual authentication methods. Advantageously, the charging request can thus be transmitted by the user of the electric vehicle to the back-end server independently of his geographical location. This improves the operability and flexibility of the charging system.

Preferably, each of the automated energy units is configured for: when the power storage is discharged, it is decoupled during charging of the electrical energy storage device and moved to the power source to recharge the power storage.

The power source may be a commercial household outlet or a safety plug outlet, a wall charging station or a wall box, or a single charging post or a charging post of a charging station.

As already explained above, the automated energy unit may be coupled to the automated charging unit or to another automated energy unit, so that all power storages may charge the electrical energy storage device. After the coupling, the power storage of the last coupled automation energy unit can first be discharged. When the power storage is discharged, the automated energy unit may automatically move to the energy source or current source and the next power storage for charging the energy storage device is used, as described in more detail below with reference to fig. 3A-3E. Advantageously, the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit 140 can thus be charged and can be used more quickly for the next charging process.

According to a second aspect, the object is achieved by a method for modular, automatic charging of an electrical energy storage device of an electric vehicle in a parking facility, the method comprising:

receiving a charging request to charge the electric vehicle, wherein the charging request includes location data and charge data;

requesting an automated charging unit to move to the electric vehicle according to position data, the automated charging unit comprising a power storage configured for storing a predefinable amount of current;

determining a number of automated energy units required to charge the electrical energy storage device corresponding to the charge data, wherein each automated energy unit comprises a power storage configured to store a predefinable amount of current;

requesting the determined number of automated energy units to be moved to the electric vehicle as a function of the position data, wherein the automated energy units are designed for coupling to an automated charging unit or to another automated energy unit, so that the power storage can charge the electrical energy storage device; and is

And charging the electric energy storage device according to the charge data.

Preferably, the charging request is transmitted to a backend server via a mobile terminal.

Preferably, each of the automated energy units is designed for: when the power storage is discharged, it is decoupled during charging of the electrical energy storage device and moved to the power source in order to recharge the power storage.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure are illustrated by the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and by a study of the drawings. It is to be appreciated that although the embodiments are described separately, individual features thereof may be combined to form additional embodiments.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic modular charging system for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device of an electric vehicle in a parking facility;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates three exemplary modular automated charging scenarios;

3A-3E illustrate a schematic sequence of a modular automated charging scenario;

fig. 4 shows a flow chart illustrating a method for modular, automatic charging of an electrical energy storage device of an electric vehicle in a parking facility.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary modular charging system 100 for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device 118 of an electric vehicle 110 in a parking facility. The charging system 100 is designed and/or configured to implement a method 300 for modularly and automatically charging the electrical energy storage 118 of the electric vehicle 110. An exemplary implementation of the charging process performed by the charging system 100 is described in more detail with reference to fig. 2 and 3A-3E. The method 300 is exemplarily illustrated in more detail with reference to fig. 4.

The term electric vehicle 110 especially includes passenger cars (PKW), trucks (LKW), buses, station wagons, motorcycles, etc. with purely electrical drive or as plug-in hybrid vehicles. The electric vehicle 110 may include a communication unit 112 capable of establishing communication links with other communication participants (e.g., the backend server 120). Each communication with the vehicle 110 may be performed via the communication unit 112.

The parking facility (not shown) may be, for example, an underground parking lot, a parking lot or a facility providing any other parking space or parking possibility or any combination thereof.

The charging system 100 includes at least one back-end server 120. The back end server 120 is a central data pool and may include a computing device (not shown) and a memory device 125 (e.g., a database). By means of the memory device 125, the data can be centrally or centrally controlled and stored, managed and processed outside the vehicle. It may be desirable for the user 152 of each electric vehicle 110 to first perform a one-time registration of the electric vehicle 110 (e.g., setting up an appropriate account) on the back-end server 120. The one-time registration may include storage of an appropriate vehicle identification number (ID) and other parameters described below.

The charging system 100 includes at least one automated charging unit 130. The automated charging unit 130 may be a self-driven or autonomous-driven robotic unit 130 configured for automatically moving in a parking facility. The charging unit 130 may include a communication unit 132 corresponding to the communication unit 112 of the electric vehicle 110. The automatic charging unit 130 comprises a power storage 138, which is configured to store a predeterminable or predetermined amount of electrical energy and to output it again. The charging unit 130 is thus a mobile charging station or a mobile charging robot 130. Each automation unit 130 may be required to be registered once first at the back-end server 120. Meanwhile, at least one appropriate unique identification number may be stored in the storage unit 125 of the backend server 120. Additionally, the charge capacity of the power storage 138, as well as, if present, the type of actuator unit 136 (e.g., articulated arm, see below) and/or the presence of the coupling unit 135 may be stored. As explained in more detail below, the automated charging unit 130 may include a coupling unit 135 and/or an actuator unit 136 configured for connecting and charging a power storage 138 with the electrical energy storage device 118 of the vehicle 110.

The charging system 100 includes a plurality of automated energy units 140. Each energy unit 140 includes a communication unit 142 that corresponds to the communication unit 112 of the vehicle 110. Each energy unit 140 comprises a power storage 148, which power storage 148 is designed to store a predeterminable or predetermined amount of electrical energy and to output said electrical energy again. The energy unit 140 is a mobile charging station or a mobile charging robot 140 which is configured for coupling to the automated charging unit 130 or to another automated energy unit 140 by means of a coupling unit 145, so that the electrical energy in the power storage 148 can be used for charging the electrical energy storage 118 of the electric vehicle 110. It may be necessary that each of the automated energy units 140 is registered once at the back-end server 120 first. Meanwhile, at least one appropriate unique identification number may be stored in the memory unit 125 of the backend server 120. Additionally, the charge capacity of the power storage 138 may be stored in the memory unit 125. The automated charging unit 140 may be designed and/or configured to notify the backend server 120 via the communication unit 142 when charging the power storage 148.

The backend server 120 may receive a charging request for the electric vehicle 110 in a first step 310. When the state of charge of electrical energy storage device 118 falls below a predeterminable or predetermined charge level, a charge request may be automatically transmitted from electric vehicle 110 to back-end server 120. For example, the predefined state of charge may be stored in a suitable memory unit in the vehicle (not shown) in such a way that it amounts to 50% of the charge capacity of the electrical energy storage device 118. The computing unit (e.g. the control unit 114 of the electric vehicle 110) may find out, for example, that the vehicle is located on or in or enters the parking facility based on the current geographical location (see below) or in any other suitable way. The computing unit 114 may then estimate whether the current state of charge of the energy storage device 118 falls below a predefined state of charge. The actual state of charge of the energy storage device 118 is stored in a suitable memory unit in the conventional electric vehicle 110 and displayed to the user 145. If the predefined state of charge falls below, the electric vehicle 110 may automatically generate a charging request and transmit the charging request to the backend server 120 via the communication unit 112. Advantageously, unintentional forgetting of the charging process is thereby avoided.

Additionally or alternatively, a user 152 of the vehicle 110 (e.g., its owner, an authorized driver, etc.) may manually transmit a charging request to the backend server 120 via a suitable input and output unit 116, such as an infotainment system of the electric vehicle 110.

Further, additionally or alternatively, the user 152 of the vehicle may transmit a charging request to the backend server 120 via the mobile terminal 150. The mobile terminal 150 may be linked to the electric vehicle 110 or the user 152 of the electric vehicle 110 by means of a previously determined suitable authentication method by a server, e.g. the back-end server 120. Advantageously, the charging request may thus be transmitted by the user 152 of the electric vehicle 110 to the backend server 120 independently of his geographical location. This improves operability and flexibility of the charging system 110.

The charging request includes position data and charge data. The position data may comprise data about a geographical position which may be acquired with the aid of a navigation satellite system. In the example of GPS, for example, the electric vehicle 10 and/or the mobile terminal 150 may include a GPS module configured and/or designed to determine current GPS location data of the electric vehicle 110 or the mobile terminal 150 and, if desired, communicate the location data to the control unit 114 of the electric vehicle.

Additionally or alternatively, the location data may include data regarding the location of a digital map of the parking facility, which may be recognized and/or detected (e.g., read in via a camera) by the electric vehicle 110. The back-end server 120 and/or the electric vehicle 110 may have stored a digital map of the parking facility in the storage unit 125. This wireless communication is particularly advantageous in parking lots and garages where wireless communication is not available or does not cover all areas. In a further example, the parking request may include a unique identification of the parking space occupied by electric vehicle 110. The unique identification can be posted at each parking space of the parking facility, for example, in a readable manner or in the form of a QR code.

The charge data may include technical charge data of the electric vehicle 110, for example, one type of charging possibility of the electrical energy storage device 118 (e.g., a desired type of charging cable according to IEC 62196 or DIN standard DIN EN 62196, inductive charging, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the technical charge data may include the charge capacity of the energy storage device 118 and/or the current state of charge of the energy storage device 118.

The charging request may be transmitted to the back-end server 120, for example in the form of a request or query in the sense of a client-server paradigm.

After receiving the charging request, the backend server 120 may estimate the charging request by means of the calculation unit and, in a next step 320, request the automated charging unit 140 to enter or move to the electric vehicle 110 corresponding to the received location data. The automated charging unit 130 may include a control unit 133 configured to autonomously move the charging unit 130 to a location corresponding to the location data in a manner known in the art. As already explained above, the automatic charging unit 130 is designed to connect the power storage 138 to the electrical energy storage device 118 of the electric vehicle 110 and to recharge the power storage. The automated charging unit 130 comprises a coupling unit 135 and/or an actuator unit 136 for connecting the power storage 138 with the electrical energy storage 118.

The coupling or connection of power storage 138 and electrical energy storage device 118 may be different from one another, particularly depending on the type of charging possibilities of electrical energy storage device 118. Coupling unit 135 of charging unit 135 may be configured and/or designed to electromagnetically connect power storage 138 with electrical energy storage device 118. This may be accomplished if the technical parameters of the charge data include that the electrical energy storage device 118 may be inductively charged. Additionally or alternatively thereto, the actuator unit 136 of the charging unit 130 may be configured and/or designed to connect the power storage 118 with the power or current source 220 by means of a suitable charging cable (not shown). In this case, the actuator unit 136 may comprise an articulated arm, and thus be an articulated arm robot. The articulated arm robot may include a sensor unit 134 that enables the articulated arm robot 136 to connect the power storage 138 with the electrical energy storage device 118 via a plug unit of the charging cable. The sensor unit 134 may comprise, for example, one or more force sensors and/or one or more torque sensors. The aforementioned sensor may be attached to the actuator unit 136 such that it can connect the power storage 138 with the electrical energy storage device 118 in a manner known in the art. The selection of the plug type may be based on the charge data, in which case the charge data includes the desired type of charging cable. The automatic charging unit 130 may be configured for connecting the power storage 138 with all conventional electrical energy storage devices 118 according to their charging possibilities or charging capabilities. In another example, charging system 100 may include a plurality of different automated charging units 130, wherein at least one charging unit 130 has the type of connection required to charge each conventional or future electrical energy storage device 118.

During charging, electrical energy storage device 118 is charged with electrical energy in power storage 138.

Because the system 100 is a modular system 100 where the availability of charger robots plays a critical role, the power storage 138 may only store a predetermined amount of electrical energy, which may be less than the storage capacity of the conventional energy storage device 118. For example, the predetermined amount comprises 10% of the average storage capacity of conventional electrical energy storage device 118. The backend server 120 is therefore designed to determine in a next step 330 the number of automated energy units 140 required to charge the electrical energy storage device 118 according to the charging data. As described above, the power storage 148 of each automated energy unit 140 may store a predeterminable or predetermined amount of energy. The predetermined amount may be stored in a storage unit of the backend server 120. In another example, each energy unit may be determined to be 10% of the average storage capacity of a conventional electrical energy storage device 118 based on the modularity of the charging system 100. Furthermore, any other suitable storage capacity may be predetermined. In this case, the storage capacity for each

power storage

148, 138 may be stored globally in the memory unit 125 of the back-end server 120. As described above, the charge data of the charge request may include the charge capacity of the energy storage device 118 and the conventional state of charge of the energy storage device 118. From this data, back-end server 120 may determine the number of automated energy units 140 needed to charge energy storage device 118 according to the charging requirements (full charge, desired amount of charge, charge to a desired departure time, or until a desired next destination is reached, etc.). In particular, the amount of current stored in the automated charging unit 130 or its power storage 138 may also be taken into account.

In a next step 340, the backend server 120 requests the determined number of automated energy units 140 to move to the automated charging unit 130. For example, the backend server 120 may send or transmit a message or request to the control unit 143 via the communication unit 142 that autonomously moves to the automated charging unit 130 according to the location data received with the charging request. As described above, the automated energy unit is configured for coupling or connecting with the automated charging unit 130 or another automated energy unit 140, such that the electrical energy storage device 118 can be charged via the power storage 148 of the respective energy unit 140. In particular, the automation energy unit 140 comprises a coupling unit 145 and a sensor unit 144 comprising a suitable sensor for coupling.

The coupling of the automated energy unit 140 and the charging unit 130 will be further illustrated in more detail below with reference to fig. 2 and 3A-3E.

Electrical energy storage device 118 may now be charged. Advantageously, a modular and mobile charging system 100 is thus provided, in which mobile charger robots 130, 140 (i.e. automated charging units 130 and automated energy units 140) are applied modularly in a parking facility. In particular, by virtue of the modularity of each vehicle 10, only a predetermined amount of stored electrical energy is provided to the electric vehicles 110 to be charged, as the amount of energy to be charged is used to determine the number of energy units 140 required and for the charging process.

Each automated energy unit 140 may be designed to move to a power source or current source 220 during the charging process of the electrical energy storage device 118 when the power storage 148 is discharged in order to recharge the power storage 148.

The power supply 220 may be a commercial household outlet or a safety plug outlet, a wall charging station or a wall box, or a single charging post, or a charging post of a charging station.

As already described above, the automated energy unit 140 may be coupled to the automated charging unit 130 or to another automated energy unit 140 so that all

power storages

138, 148 may charge the electrical energy storage 118. After the coupling, the power storage 148 of the last coupled automation energy unit 140 can first be discharged. When the power storage 148 is discharged, the last coupled automated energy unit 140 may automatically move to the power supply 220 to charge the empty power storage 148. As explained in more detail below with reference to fig. 3A-3E, the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit 140 or the automated charging unit 130 coupled in the previous step can now be used to charge the energy storage device 118. When the charging process is complete, i.e., when the power storage 138 of the automated charging unit 130 is at least partially discharged, the charging unit 130 may also move to the power supply 220 to recharge the power storage 138. If the

power storage

138, 148 is charged, the charging unit 130 or the energy unit 140 may transmit a corresponding standby message to the backend server 120. Advantageously, the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit 140 can thus be charged more quickly for the next charging process and can thus be used more quickly for the next charging process.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates three exemplary modular automated charging scenarios in a parking facility. These exemplary embodiments may be implemented as described above with reference to fig. 1.

Specifically, fig. 2 shows a first parking space or area 210A in the parking facility in which the first electric vehicle 110_ a is parked. For the electric vehicle 110_ a, a corresponding charging request is received at the back-end server 120. In this example, from the charging request: three units of charge (e.g., 1kW/h) are necessary or desirable for the electrical energy storage device 118_ a. In this example, each

power storage

138, 148 of the automated charging unit 130 and the automated energy unit 140 may store an amount of current for the amount of charge. The back end server 140 has requested the automated charging unit 130 to move to the electric vehicle 110_ a and charge the electrical energy storage device 118_ a. The back-end server has also determined that two automated energy units 140 are necessary to provide the required number of three units of charge. These automated energy units have been moved to parking space 210A in order to charge energy storage device 118_ a.

In the second parking space 210B or the second parking area 210B of the parking facility, in which the second electric vehicle 110_ B is parked, a charging request for the second electric vehicle has been received at the back-end server 120. In this example, the amount of charge for five units of charge from the charge request is necessary or desirable to charge electrical energy storage device 118_ B. Thus, in addition to the automated charging unit 130, four energy units 140 are coupled to the electrical energy storage device 118_ B or the previous energy unit 140, respectively, in order to charge the electrical energy storage device 118_ B.

In the third parking space 210C or the third parking section 210C of the parking facility, the third electric vehicle 110_ C is parked, and for the third electric vehicle 110_ C, the charging request has been received at the back-end server 120. In this example, a charge of nine units of charge from the charge request is necessary or desirable to charge electrical energy storage device 118_ C. Thus, in addition to the automated charging unit 130, eight energy units 140 are each coupled to the electrical energy storage device 118_ C or the respective previous energy unit 140 in order to charge the electrical energy storage device 118_ C.

Fig. 2 therefore shows that the automation charging unit 130 couples or connects the power storage 138 to the electrical energy storage devices 118_ a, 118_ B, 118_ C by means of the coupling unit 135 and/or the actuator unit 136. The first automated energy unit 140 is coupled to the automated charging unit 130, the second automated energy unit 140, the first energy unit 140, and the like.

Due to modularity, the stored electrical energy may be efficiently accommodated by the individual electric vehicles 110_ a, 110_ B, and 110_ C.

Fig. 3A-3E schematically illustrate a flow of an exemplary modular automated charging scenario.

Specifically, fig. 3A shows a first parking area 210A as described above with reference to fig. 2 for a better illustration. In the first parking zone 210A, an electric vehicle 110_ a is parked for which a charging request has been received at the back-end server 120. The automated charging unit 130 has moved to the electric vehicle 110 based on the received position data and has connected the power storage 138 of the automated charging unit with the electrical energy storage device 118A in order to charge the electrical energy storage device 118A. As can be seen in fig. 3B, three charge units are necessary or desirable for electrical energy storage device 118_ a. The back end server 120 has thus determined that two

automated energy units

140A and 140B are necessary to possibly provide the required number of three charging units. The automated energy unit 140A has been coupled to the automated charging unit 130 so that its power storage 148 can charge the electrical energy storage device 118_ a. The automated energy unit 140B has been coupled to the automated energy unit 140A so that the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit can also charge the electrical energy storage device 118_ a. The electrical energy stored in the automation energy unit 140B (or its power storage 148) is now released in order to charge the energy storage device 118_ a.

Fig. 3C shows the next step. When the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit 140B is fully discharged, the automated energy unit 140B is decoupled from the automated energy unit 140A. Now, the energy storage device of the automated energy unit 140A is discharging. Fig. 3D shows that the decoupled automated energy unit 140B has moved to the power supply 220 to recharge the power storage 148. Advantageously, the power storage 148 of the module (or of the automation energy unit 140B) is already charged before the charging process of the electrical energy storage device 118_ a has ended. Thus, the automated energy unit 140B may be more quickly and efficiently applied to or prepared for the next charging process. Fig. 3E shows the state after the power storage 148 of the automation energy unit 140A has been discharged. The energy unit 140A is decoupled from the charging unit 130 and autonomously moves to the power supply 220 in order to charge its power storage 148. The remaining energy of charging unit 130 is then used to charge energy storage device 118_ a. When the power storage 148 of the charging unit 130 is fully discharged, the charging unit 130 may also autonomously move to the power supply 220 to recharge the power storage 138 of the charging unit (not shown).

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for modular, automatic charging of the electrical energy storage device 118 of the electric vehicle 110 in a parking facility as described above with reference to fig. 1, 2 and 3A-3E. The steps of the method may be implemented as described with reference to fig. 1, 2 and 3A-3E.

The method 300 includes receiving 310 a charging request to charge the electric vehicle 110, wherein the charging request includes location data and charge data. If the state of charge of electrical energy storage device 118 falls below a pre-determinable charge, a charge request may be automatically transmitted from electric vehicle 110 to back-end server 120. Additionally or alternatively, the charging request may be transmitted to the backend server 120 via the mobile terminal 150 and/or via a suitable vehicle-side input and output unit 116.

The method 300 includes requesting 320 movement of the automated charging unit 130 to the electric vehicle 110 according to the location data, the automated charging unit including the power storage 138 configured for storing a predefinable amount of current.

The method 300 includes determining 330 a number of automated energy units 140 required to charge the electrical energy storage device 118 according to the charge data, wherein each automated energy unit includes a power storage 148 configured to store a predefinable amount of current.

The method 300 comprises requesting 340 a determined number of the automated energy units 140 to be moved to the electric vehicle 110 depending on the position data, wherein the automated energy units 140 are designed for coupling to the automated charging unit 130 or to another energy unit 140, so that the

energy storage devices

138, 148 can charge the electrical energy storage device 118.

Additionally, method 300 includes charging 350 electrical energy storage device 118 based on the charge data. Each of the automated energy units 140 may be configured for: when the power storage 148 of the automated energy unit is discharged, it is decoupled during the charging 350 of the electrical energy storage device 118 and moved to the power source or current source 220 in order to recharge the power storage 148.

Claims

1. Modular charging system (200) for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device (118) of an electric vehicle (110) in a parking facility, comprising:

at least one automated charging unit (130) having a power storage (138);

a plurality of automated energy units (140), each having a power reservoir (148), wherein the power reservoirs (138, 148) are configured for storing a predeterminable amount of electrical current;

at least one back-end server (120) designed for

-receiving a charging request for the electric vehicle (110), wherein the charging request comprises position data and charge data;

-requesting the automated charging unit (130) to move to the electric vehicle (110) according to the received position data, wherein the automated charging unit (130) is designed for connecting the power storage (138) with the electrical energy storage device (118) and charging the electrical energy storage device;

-determining the number of automated energy units required according to the charging data in order to charge the electrical energy storage device (118); and is

-requesting the determined number of automated energy units (140) to be moved to the automated charging unit (130), wherein the automated energy unit (140) is designed for coupling to the automated charging unit (130) or to another automated energy unit (140) to enable the power storage (138, 148) to charge the electrical energy storage (118).

2. The modular charging system (200) of claim 1, wherein the charge request is automatically transmitted from the electric vehicle (110) to the backend server (120) when the state of charge of the electrical energy storage device (118) falls below a predeterminable charge.

3. The modular charging system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging request is transmittable to the backend server (120) via a mobile terminal (150).

4. The modular charging system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each automated energy unit (140) is configured for: when the power storage (148) of the automated energy unit is discharged, the power supply is moved to a power source during charging of the electrical energy storage device (118) in order to recharge the power storage (148).

5. Method (300) for automatically charging an electrical energy storage device (118) of an electric vehicle (110) in a parking facility, the method comprising:

receiving (310) a charging request to charge the electric vehicle (110), wherein the charging request comprises position data and charge data;

requesting (320) an automated charging unit (130) to move to the electric vehicle (110) according to the position data, the automated charging unit comprising a power storage (138) configured for storing a predefinable amount of current;

determining (330) a number of automated energy units (140) that are required for charging the electrical energy storage device (118) according to the charging data, wherein each automated energy unit comprises a power storage (148) configured for storing a predefinable amount of current;

requesting (340) the determined number of automated energy units (140) to move to the electric vehicle (110) depending on the position data, wherein the automated energy units (140) are designed for coupling to the automated charging unit (130) or to another automated energy unit (140) in order to enable the power storage (138, 148) to charge the electrical energy storage device (118); and is

Charging (350) the electrical energy storage device (118) according to the charging data.

6. The method (300) of claim 5, wherein the charge request is automatically transmitted from the electric vehicle (110) to the backend server (120) when the state of charge of the electrical energy storage device (118) falls below a predeterminable charge level.

7. The method (300) of claim 5 or 6, wherein the charging request is transmittable to the backend server (120) via a mobile terminal (150).

8. The method (300) according to any of claims 4 to 7, wherein each automatic energy unit (140) is designed for being decoupled during charging (350) of the electrical energy storage device (118) when the power storage (148) is discharged in order to recharge the power storage (148).