DE102018131784A1 - Topology-dependent charging strategy for hybrid and electric vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing an advantageous charging strategy for hybrid and electric vehicles (motorcycle / car / truck / bus / rail vehicle). According to the invention, it is possible to couple charging processes and SOC strategies while driving to the topology of the direct environment, the active navigation route and learned events and thus to implement an advantageous charging strategy. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a correspondingly configured system arrangement and a computer program product.

Description

The invention relates to a method for providing an advantageous charging strategy for hybrid and electric vehicles. According to the invention, it is possible to couple charging processes and SOC strategies while driving to the topology of the direct environment, the active navigation route and learned events and thus to implement an advantageous charging strategy. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a correspondingly configured system arrangement and a computer program product.

DE 10 2008 008 238 A1 shows a method for the charging strategy of a hybrid drive, by means of an internal combustion engine, an electric machine, a battery and at least one control unit, wherein different charging and discharging functions for the battery are stored in the control unit, the control unit being one of the different charges depending on different input variables - Select or discharge functions, which is then set by a load point shift on the internal combustion engine and the electric machine.

DE 10 2005 044 268 A1 shows a method for controlling or regulating the state of charge of an energy store or the energy flow in a vehicle with a hybrid drive, comprising an internal combustion engine and at least one electric machine, which can be coupled or coupled to a drive train of the vehicle.

DE 103 46 213 A1 shows a method for controlling the state of charge of an energy store in a vehicle with hybrid drive, which has an internal combustion engine and at least one electric machine, which can be coupled or coupled to a drive train of the vehicle. According to this known method, a state of charge of the energy store is regulated as a function of the driving speed of the vehicle.

It is known that so-called hybrid vehicles are characterized in that kinetic energy is recuperated in an overrun phase of the vehicle by means of an electrical machine, i. H. can be converted into electrical energy and stored in an energy store. The stored energy can be used in drive phases of the vehicle to operate the electrical machine as an electric motor and / or to supply the various electrical vehicle systems.

The recuperation mode is normally provided for the operation of electrified vehicles on gradients in order to absorb or reduce the excess potential energy that is released. As a result, the service brake is relieved and can therefore be dimensioned smaller.

In the prior art, it is assumed that the customer can charge the electrical storage of his electrified vehicle 100% even at altitudes from which only a slope can be expected.

Since the accumulator of the electrified vehicle cannot collect any further energy when fully charged, the service brake must fully replace the accumulator in the downhill application scenario. This can lead to the problem of overloading the service brake, since the service brake cannot reach its full potential due to sporadic actuation and possibly reduced dimensions. In return, the service brake for this application scenario must be dimensioned larger than the majority of customers will ever need.

As a result, there is a disadvantageous interplay of possible recuperation energy and design of the physical components in the prior art. Accordingly, there is a need for a method for improved energy management in a motor vehicle that solves or circumvents the problems described above.

It is an object of the present invention to propose an improved method for implementing a charging strategy which enables an advantageous relationship between the explicit charging process and recuperation. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a correspondingly configured system arrangement and to propose a computer program product with control commands which implement the method or at least partially operate the proposed system arrangement.

The object is achieved by a method or a system arrangement with the features according to an independent claim. Further advantageous refinements are specified in the subclaims.

Accordingly, a method for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy of an electrically driven motor vehicle is proposed, comprising reading out a maximum charging capacity; calculating an expected recuperation energy; and carrying out a charging process, a warning function being triggered when a target charging state is reached, the target charging state being calculated as a function of the maximum charging capacity read and the calculated expected recuperation energy.

The proposed method and the system arrangement are efficient since a motor vehicle does not have to be fully charged, but rather it is sufficient that the motor vehicle is charged up to a desired state of charge. This not only has the technical effect that the recuperation can be fully used, but also shortens the charging time for the user. It is disadvantageous in the prior art that time is also required to fully charge the motor vehicle. According to the invention, however, it is possible to abort the charging process after a certain time and to use the converted kinetic energy for further charging.

Since a height is assigned to each location, the proposed method makes use of this information and, depending on the distance still to be covered, estimates how much energy can be fed back into the battery. The current location can be read out from a navigation device or navigation data, for example. In addition, other sensors are known which can provide an indication of height. This information can be used to estimate how high the expected energy to be fed back is. Since this expected energy does not have to be loaded into the vehicle, the charging process can be terminated prematurely.

The route of the road user is typically known. This is the case since a driver typically drives off a road and consequently it can be estimated in advance whether the driver will now move downhill with his motor vehicle. As a result, only the current course of the road is followed up and it is therefore possible to estimate how high the loss of height is. It is also an option to use navigation data in such a way that a route entered by the driver is used and then it is determined how high the height loss is. Another possibility to estimate how high the loss of height is to analyze already recorded trips and to draw conclusions about where the driver is going. It is possible, for example, that the driver drives the same route to work every morning and then it can be concluded that he will continue to drive this route on other working days. If this route has a gradient, the charging process can be interrupted and the recuperation can be calculated in advance. As a result, the charging process is stopped early.

So that the charging process is interrupted, the proposed method can automatically shut off the energy supply to the motor vehicle or its battery. It is possible that the vehicle generally remains connected to a charging station, but this no longer feeds electricity into the battery.

By means of a corresponding warning function, the charging process can either be interrupted and, alternatively, the driver can be informed that the desired charging state has already been reached. The driver can thus receive a notification which is textually, acoustically or generally optically configured. He can receive this information directly at the charging station or the connected electronics can send a corresponding notification via an air interface. It is particularly advantageous that the driver is informed of how high the desired state of charge is already when the charging process is started, and consequently the driver can adjust early on when the charging process is completed. Typically, charging is completed earlier than conventional methods because the battery is avoided from being fully charged if a slope is imminent.

The upcoming slope can be used to calculate how high the resulting energy is that is fed back into the battery. For this purpose, the manufacturer can supply data that indicate which energy loss can be recovered at which height loss. In general, however, the proposed method can also calculate this energy, for example by analyzing the distance traveled and measuring how much energy was obtained in each case. Consequently, the energy to be obtained can be calculated on the basis of empirical data, or the proposed method uses parameters that describe the vehicle and the gradient. Relevant parameters are the weight of the vehicle and the length of the route to be traveled, including the degree of inclination. From this, it can at least be estimated how high the expected energy is and consequently the vehicle does not have to be charged beforehand with regard to this energy.

The maximum charging capacity of the motor vehicle or its battery can also be stored in a vehicle memory or can be read out by means of a data interface. Corresponding data can also be read out from the charging station and used in the proposed method. It is also possible to determine when a maximum charge of the battery takes place and from this to determine that the maximum charge level has actually been reached. This enables the maximum state of charge to be checked dynamically and an aging process of the battery can be checked. So the proposed method does not rely on the manufacturer having a corresponding one Provides information, but the actual battery can be checked for its maximum charging capacity. If, for example, energy is fed into the battery from a charging station and the battery does not accept any further energy or the state of charge does not change, the maximum charging capacity is reached. This value can be saved and used in relation to the proposed method.

The proposed method can be implemented in such a way that either electronics of the motor vehicle implement the corresponding computing steps or that the method is implemented such that the electronics of the motor vehicle carry out the method steps with electronics of the charging station. The step of reading, calculating and interrupting the charging process can be carried out solely by electronics in the motor vehicle. Alternatively, it is also possible to carry out the reading and the calculation in a charging station and then to have the charging station also interrupt the charging process. In general, the only thing that needs to be provided to the charging station is how much energy is expected to be recovered. From this, the charging station can use the maximum charging capacity read out and the energy to be recovered to calculate when the desired state of charge has been reached. When this state is reached, the charging station can then automatically interrupt the charging process and no longer provide energy.

In order to solve the problems described at the outset, it is proposed to link charging processes and SOC strategy while driving to the topology of the immediate surroundings, the active navigation route and learned events.

This means that, depending on the current altitude and the expected average recuperation energy due to downhill gradients in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, the electrical storage device may only be charged up to a lower SOC than 100%.

The recuperation energy to be expected on average can be calculated on the basis of rough altitude information in the map material of the navigation system or on the basis of the current altitude determined by GPS. For this purpose, it is proposed either to evaluate the map material at the beginning of the charging process with regard to the expected recuperation energy, or to determine the average likely recuperation energy on the basis of the GPS altitude and the region / country using a map. In the case of an active navigation route and a stopover with the goal of recharging the memory, the expected recuperation energy can be calculated directly from the route. There is also the option of routine detection. In detail, this means that critical situations (memory full, service brake must intervene) are saved and in the next charging process the braking energy converted by the service brake has a limiting effect on the maximum permitted SOC during the charging process.

SOC generally stands for State of Charge and describes the state of charge of an energy store. This value therefore describes how far a battery is charged.

In the following, aspects are partially shown with reference to purely electrically powered vehicles, but this should not be interpreted as restrictive. Rather, the present invention is generally directed both to electric vehicles and to vehicles with an electric motor and internal combustion engine. In this respect, motor vehicles are generally further developed according to the invention. Any motor vehicle, in particular an automobile or a motorcycle, is generally suitable as a motor vehicle. However, the present invention can be used particularly preferably in motor vehicles with hybrid drive or electric drive. Lorries and bus vehicles as well as rail vehicles with purely electrical and hybrid vehicles are also to be included.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the warning function aborts the charging process and / or issues a warning. This has the advantage that it automatically prevents too much energy from being charged or that the driver is informed that he is exceeding the desired state of charge. If the driver now decides that he does not want to continue driving downhill as estimated, but rather continues to drive uphill, the driver can arrange for the charging process not to be interrupted. Ultimately, it is up to the driver to decide whether the charging process should actually be stopped or not.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the calculation of the recuperation energy to be expected comprises reading out a GPS sensor, a location sensor, an altitude, navigation data, a calculated route, a data memory and / or empirically determined data. This has the advantage that there are different ways of determining how high the expected energy to be returned is. The methods described can thus be used to determine the height of the motor vehicle and, moreover, it is possible to estimate which gradient the motor vehicle will drive through. For example, empirically determined data is Data that are collected in previous trips. Since each place has a specific height, it is already possible to get information on how high this place is based on a place name. If this is the highest point on a route, it is estimated that the driver will only move downhill from now on using his motor vehicle.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the expected recuperation energy is calculated by means of a central processing unit which provides the recuperation energy wirelessly. This has the advantage that a server can calculate the information and then transmit it to the respective motor vehicle using a mobile radio interface. It is thus possible to store information on the server and only to inform the server of the current position. If the server keeps track of current location information that is transmitted repeatedly, it can arrange an altitude for each location and can consequently estimate how the further traffic route is and derive a corresponding altitude information. Cloud-based information about typical recuperation energies on certain roads / sections can also be used as input for the algorithm.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the target state of charge corresponds to the maximum charging capacity minus the recuperation energy to be expected. This has the advantage that it is possible to calculate exactly what the desired state of charge is and consequently the charging process can also be estimated in terms of time and is terminated exactly at the desired time.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the target state of charge is smaller than the maximum charge capacity. This has the advantage that the full loading capacity never has to be fed in, but rather the process can be stopped early. This has the advantage that the charging process takes less time and less energy is required.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, an indication of the expected recuperation energy is read out from a user input. This has the advantage that a driver can give an indication of whether he now wants to drive up or down a street or whether he wants to enter route information in the navigation device. In this way it can be determined at any point in time whether an energy to be recovered can be expected.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the motor vehicle communicates with a charging unit while the charging process is being carried out.

This has the advantage that the method steps can be carried out jointly by the motor vehicle and a charging station.

The object is also achieved by a system arrangement for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy of an electrically driven motor vehicle, having an interface unit set up for reading out a maximum charging capacity; a computing unit configured to calculate an expected recuperation energy; and a charging unit is set up to carry out a charging process, wherein a warning function can be triggered when a target charging state is reached, the target charging state being calculated as a function of the maximum charging capacity read and the calculated expected recuperation energy.

The system arrangement can be implemented, for example, by means of electronics that are installed in the motor vehicle. In addition, a charging station or charging station is required, which communicates with the electronics of the motor vehicle by means of an interface unit. The interface unit or the interface units on both sides can provide a wireless or wired communication channel.

The object is also achieved by a computer program product with control commands which execute the method and operate the proposed arrangement when they are executed on a computer. The computer program product can use and provide cloud-based information.

According to the invention, it is particularly advantageous that the method can be used to operate the proposed devices and units or the system arrangement. Furthermore, the proposed devices and devices are suitable for carrying out the method according to the invention. The device thus implements structural features which are suitable for carrying out the corresponding method. However, the structural features can also be designed as process steps. The proposed method also contains steps for implementing the function of the structural features.

• 1: ein schematisches Ablaufdiagramm eines Verfahrens bzw. ein Blockschaltbild der Systemanordnung zur Umsetzung einer effizienten und ortsabhängigen Ladestrategie gemäß einem Aspekt der vorliegenden Erfindung.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description, in which aspects of the invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings. The features mentioned in the claims and in the description be essential to the invention individually or in any combination. Likewise, the features mentioned above and those further elaborated here can be used individually or in any combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as exhaustive, but have an exemplary character for explaining the invention. The detailed description is provided for the information of the person skilled in the art, therefore known circuits, structures and methods are not shown or explained in detail in the description in order not to complicate the understanding of the present description. The figure shows:

• 1 : A schematic flow diagram of a method and a block diagram of the system arrangement for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy according to an aspect of the present invention.

1 shows in a schematic flowchart a method for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy of an electrically driven motor vehicle, having a readout 100 a maximum loading capacity; a computing 101 an expected recuperation energy; and an execution 102 a charging process, wherein a warning function is triggered when a target charging state is reached 104 , with the target state of charge depending on the read 100 maximum loading capacity and the calculated 101 expected recuperation energy is calculated 103 becomes.

The person skilled in the art recognizes here that the steps can have further sub-steps and in particular that the method steps can each be carried out iteratively and / or in a different order.

The described method can also be described using functional blocks which describe the structural properties of the system arrangement. So are the individual steps 100-104 to be understood in the same way as structural features which according to 1 can be connected in series. So is 1 also to be understood as a schematic block diagram of the system arrangement.

Not shown here is a data storage device or a computer-readable medium with a computer program product having control commands which implement the proposed method or operate the proposed system arrangement when they are executed on a computer.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is only included 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 102008008238 A1 [0002]
• DE 102005044268 A1 [0003]
• DE 10346213 A1 [0004]

Claims (10)

System arrangement for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy of an electrically driven motor vehicle, comprising: - An interface unit set up to read out (100) a maximum loading capacity; - A computing unit set up to calculate (101) an expected recuperation energy; and - A charging unit is set up to carry out (102) a charging process, wherein a warning function can be triggered (104) when a target charging state is reached, the target charging state depending on the read (100) maximum charging capacity and the calculated (101) expected Recuperation energy is calculated (103). System arrangement according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the warning function is set up to abort the charging process and / or to issue a warning. System arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2nd , characterized in that the calculation (101) of the anticipated recuperation energy reads a GPS sensor, a location sensor, an altitude, navigation data, a calculated route, a data memory, empirically determined data, cloud-based services and / or algorithms for recognizing the Driving behavior regarding route selection includes. System arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the calculation (101) of the recuperation energy to be expected is carried out by means of a central processing unit which provides the recuperation energy wirelessly. System arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the target state of charge corresponds to the maximum charging capacity minus the expected recuperation energy. System arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the target state of charge is less than the maximum loading capacity. System arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an indication of the expected recuperation energy can be read out from a user input. System arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor vehicle communicates with a charging unit during the execution (102) of the charging process. Method for implementing an efficient and location-dependent charging strategy of an electrically driven motor vehicle, comprising: - Reading out (100) a maximum loading capacity; - Calculating (101) an expected recuperation energy; and - Execution (102) of a charging process, a warning function being triggered when a target charging state is reached, the target charging state being calculated as a function of the read (100) maximum charging capacity and the calculated (101) expected recuperation energy ) becomes. Computer program product with control commands that follow the procedure Claim 9 execute when executed on a computer.

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