GB2470476A

GB2470476A - Electric vehicle charging station

Info

Publication number: GB2470476A
Application number: GB1008257A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Barry Shrier; Ian Hobday
Original assignee: LIBERTY ELECTRIC CARS Ltd
Current assignee: LIBERTY ELECTRIC CARS Ltd
Priority date: 2009-05-18
Filing date: 2010-05-18
Publication date: 2010-11-24
Also published as: GB0908512D0; GB201008257D0; WO2010133329A3; WO2010133329A2

Abstract

An electric vehicle charging system allows power and bidirectional information flow between the vehicle and the charger station, to allow identification of the vehicle and its battery system, monitoring the system, and other requirements such as temperature pre-conditioning. A plug and cable or an induction charging system may be provided. Information concerning billing and payment may also be exchanged.

Description

CHARGING OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The present invention relates to a multifunctional system such as a plug that can be used for the charging of electric vehicles and in particular to a plug or induction system that can be used with a variety of vehicles with differing charging requirements. The invention further provides the charging system comprising a charger station linked to an electric vehicle by means of the plug and an appropriate cable or by means of an induction system. In addition the invention provides a system whereby the vehicle interior temperature may be preconditioned for the comfort of occupants when they first get in to the vehicle.

There has been a recent growth in battery powered vehicles whether they be hybrid vehicles employing multiple energy systems such as a combustion system and a battery system or vehicles that are 100% driven by electric power. Whatever the nature of the vehicle if it is driven by a battery system there is a need to recharge the batteries. Furthermore, different vehicles will have different battery systems with differing charging requirements. In addition as with garages that supply fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel it is desirable that a battery system can be charged at different locations during a journey. Charging is typically performed by connecting the battery to an electricity supply by a cable and a plug although more recently induction systems whereby, for example, the vehicle is positioned over an induction plate have been proposed.

Each type and make of electric vehicle has a different size of battery pack, different battery chemistry and will require a very wide variety of battery charge and temperature states. Furthermore, during the charging process each pack will behave differently. Depending on the provisions made within the vehicle to cool the batteries during charging the charge rate must be carefully adjusted to avoid the battery pack overheating. S... * *

The charging station, if of a publicly accessible nature, must therefore be capable of * ** correctly supplying a large variety of vehicles. If each vehicle has a unique connection point this would clearly be unmanageable. In addition, the requirements of safety alone dictate that some form of accepted standard charging such as a standard connector be defined.

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Furthermore a public charging station cannot realistically be coin operated. The option of using credit or debit card registration to pay for the electricity consumed during vehicte charging is clearly feasible. However, the process could be greatly streamlined by automatic detection and registration of the vehicle allowing automatic and secure billing typically to a pre-established account.

The invention therefore provides a charging system suitable for use in charging electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The system incorporates a number of interactions such as electrical interactions designed not only to conduct the electrical power from the charger unit to the vehicle battery pack and electrical system but also provides a number of additional features with the function of allowing data communications between the vehicle and the charger unit and the external infrastructure. In a preferred embodiment the system comprises a charging plug and connector and the pins of the plug provide the function of allowing data communications between the vehicle and the charger unit and the external infrastructure.

Another option addressed by the invention is the possibility to pass electricity from the vehicle back to the charging station and perhaps back into a grid system. This could be useful if the vehicle is recharged perhaps overnight when electricity can be cheaper to a level higher than ultimately required and the vehicle may be left idle for a period of time when the excess electricity could be fed back and used for other purposes.

In one embodiment the present invention therefore provides a system for use in the charging of electric vehicles comprising high voltage connection elements providing power and at least one connection for bi-directional information flow between the vehicle and the charger station. The invention preferably provides at least two high voltage connection elements one providing power and the other providing ground. In S..' ***. 30 a preferred embodiment the system is a plug and a connector cable and the plug may be provided with additional connections for bi-directional information flow as : * required by the manner in which the vehicle battery system is to be charged. S...

In the embodiment of the invention employing a plug and a connector cable the connector system of the charger unit will be designed with a socket to receive the S.....

connection elements and the connections for bi-directional flow. Typically the plug will be attached to a cable designed for the transmission of the electricity and also the passage of the information.

It is also envisaged that the charge may be accomplished by induction and the data communication between the vehicle and the charger may be wireless communication usually employing induction plates.

It is envisaged that the vehicle will have an intelligent control centre as will the charger station. In this way the bi-directional information flow can form several functions such as i) identification of the vehicle and its battery system, ii) identification of the power required to charge the battery system, iii) monitoring the system, particularly temperature during charging and the state of charge.

iv) Other requirements of the vehicle such as temperature pre-conditioning.

The charger station would be able to transmit information to the vehicle such as its charging capability and confirmation of receipt of information from the vehicle.

Optional features that could be included comprise information concerning payment for electricity received or delivered, for example, charge account information could be passed to the charger controller from the vehicle by passage of information such as through the information pins of a plug or wireless communication with induction charging. In this way in certain embodiments the role of power conduction by connection of the vehicle control unit to the charger station through the plug and connector system the pin connections may be combined with the data communication function. The data signal could in this case be electrically overlaid upon the main electrical power flowing in the connector pin. a...

*. 30 The invention also proposes that when a plug and connector are used the format of the plug and its associated connector would become standardised into a very limited * ** number of formats to ensure the majority of vehicles would be capable of connecting to the majority of charging stations.

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The invention additionally provides embodiments of the standardised plug that.

enhance ease-of-use and improve safety when used by vehicle operators. a

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The plug which is one aspect of the present invention can include other optional features. For example, it may include a mechanically enabling/shutdown pin. This can provide a safety feature whereby when connected with its mating connector this pin completes a low power, low voltage circuit via a loop. Only when this circuit is completed will the charger be enabled and the higher voltages be applied to the relevant lines and terminals and the information flow activated.

As is usual in high voltage connectors, this enabling/shut down pin is preferably shorter in length than the other power and signal pins in the plug. Thus during connection the "Enable" circuit will be made after all the other connections are securely made. Likewise, should the connector start to become disengaged from the vehicle plug during charging this pin will become disengaged first and will disable all the high voltage lines before their connections are broken and the risk of high-voltage arcing becomes significant.

As a further feature of the plug aspect of the invention the plug can be provided with a thermally activated disconnection pin which is used as a part of the charger's "Enable" circuit preferably in combination with the enable/shutdown pin described above. Overheat conditions may be caused by faulty wiring in the vehicle side connections, poor connector condition, contamination of connector surfaces or deliberate abuse of the charging system and this disconnection pin which conveniently utilises a Bi-metallic element within the connector will, in the event of overheating of the connector block, break the "Enable" circuit so that the charging process will be halted and the risk of damage and perhaps fire due to overheating will be avoided.

In a further embodiment the system may be provided with a billing code supply mechanism which can be used to transmit, from the vehicle to the charger station, a confidential code such as a digital code. The mechanism may be a pin of the plug 30 when used. The billing code would be unique to the vehicle and would represent a financial account against which the cost of the electricity transferred to the vehicle * * can be debited. It can also be used to credit the account if any electricity is passed a.:.. from the vehicle to the charger system. For additional security the charger may S..

* request that the driver of the vehicle enter a matching, but not necessarily identical, code into a key pad on the charger before power will be supplied to the vehicle.

These codes could be similar to those transmitted by vehicle keys to the vehicle ** security system to enable door opening and vehicle operation and would be

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automatically transmitted by the vehicle as a low-voltage signal on this pin when requested by the charger upon completion of the charge "Enable" circuit previously described.

Other desirable but not essential features that may be incorporated in the plug, connector socket system of this invention include * hook and push connection * cable gravity-secured or catch-lock * hi-temp polyamide construction * Face contact sealing * plug (in vehicle) has threaded cover plug * all signal pins are located in individual self aligning cavities * high voltage pins are located in double-walled cavities.

Vehicles such as automobiles, trucks and busses are often provided with conditioning systems such as heating and/or air conditioning systems. These systems may be thermostatically controlled and their operation can be initiated remotely in order to regulate the conditions within the vehicle prior to occupancy. An example of such systems is described in EP 1872987 Al which relates to remote activation of the air conditioning system of a hybrid vehicle. Vehicles may be fuel powered such as by diesel fuel or gasoline or they may be electric powered or they may be what are known as hybrids which are powered by two or more energy sources typically fuel and electricity as in EP 1872987 Al.

One of the difficulties of conditioning systems such as air conditioning, heating systems or humidity control is that they can deplete the energy supply to the vehicle and this can be particularly problematic with electric powered vehicles especially those where the power is battery supplied. A further difficulty with the remote control of the conditioning and/or heating system is that when it is operating without vehicle **** occupancy, the engine of the vehicle will not be operating and the battery system will not be charging. It is therefore possible that remote operation of the conditioning * ** and/or heating system will deplete the electrical supply system such that the vehicle cannot be started or in the event of an electrically powered vehicle the operation of the conditioning and/or heating system can render the power supply insufficient to drive the vehicle. * * a

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For an air conditioner which air-conditions the inside of a hybrid vehicle that uses an engine and an electric motor as a driving source, a technology that improves control * by pre-air conditioning the inside of the vehicle during engine stop before a vehicle occupant boards the vehicle has been proposed. This type of conditioner for vehicles air-conditions the inside of the vehicle by, for instance, driving a compressor by electric power from a battery. Therefore, a control is required to prevent excess battery discharge.

Accordingly, JP-A No. 2004-230936 proposes an air conditioner for vehicles that prohibits pre-air conditioning when battery voltage is lower than a predetermined value during engine stop even if it is anticipated that a vehicle occupant is going to board the vehicle within a predetermined time.

Furthermore, an air conditioner according to JP-A No. 2002-219926 includes a fuel cell and performs pre-air conditioning using electric power from the fuel cell. The air conditioner prohibits execution of pre-air conditioning when the remaining capacity of the fuel cell is low.

However, in some cases, with the technologies disclosed in the JP-A No. 2004- 230936 and JP-A No. 2002-219926, the vehicle occupant may not be able to operate the pre-air conditioning even if they want to. Therefore, the probability that pre-conditioning will be executed is reduced, thereby causing the problem that there are an increased number of cases when the inside of the vehicle cannot be maintained in

a comfortable state.

The invention therefore further provides a system whereby the electrically operated conditioning and/or heating system of a vehicle may be operated by remote control according to the power supply available. The system further allows the time at which the conditioning and/or heating system is to be activated and/or deactivated to be e.

.... 30 pre-set and changed and in certain circumstances it allows the electrical system to be charged to allow for operation of the conditioning and/or heating system at the : * desired time.

The system of this invention may also include means for preconditioning the vehicle.

In this embodiment whenever the vehicle is connected to a mains electricity supply (for example over night domestic charge, charging point, induction charging), the *SS S software on the vehicle can use a part of this supply to either pre-condition the car to 4' the ideal temperature for the driver, or maintains the temperature of the vehicle after it has been driven somewhere. So for example: driver comes home after work, the vehicle is connected to mains, charging starts when off peak electricity is available, through the night. The car knows the driver will leave for work at 7am next morning (pre-programmed). Therefore at 6.3Oam (time determined by temperature differential between ideal temp for driver and internal temp of car, and ability of a conditioning unit to warm or cool vehicle), the unit is activated and driven by the external power supply until the car arrives at the ideal temperature as set by the driver. Thus running from external supply and not using battery power conserves the batteries and extends the. vehicle range. The driver has the pleasant experience of driving a car "pre-conditioned" to the ideal temperature for him or her. This could be cooling effect in summer or a heating effect in winter.

Equally if the car has been driven and is then plugged into the charging point or sits over the induction plate, the car decides firstly if it needs any more power for the return drive (day time electricity being more expensive it will avoid this unless necessary), .and it then decides how much power it needs to keep the vehicle at the right temperature for the arrival of the driver at a predetermined time. Again the temperature differential between ideal and actual, and the ability of the air conditioning unit will determine what time (if at all) the unit comes on, powered by mains supply to "pre-condition" the car to ideal temperature for the drive home. The system can be activated remotely for example it may be programmed from a mobile phone or other remote personal device to thus alter pre determined timing and temperature settings easily. Imagine that lunch was not planned, and then the driver changes their mind and wants to use the car -sending revised instructions by phone, the car will again decide if it needs more electricity first for the new driving conditions and secondly to "pre-condition" the car.

The system of this invention may be coupled with other energy sources. For *** 30 example it may be coupled with the photo voltaic cells on the roof of the vehicle.

These would then be able to top up the energy system including running the air * ** conditioning in a trickle mode to maintain as close as possible a temperature the car had reached (either warm or cold) when parked up either where external electricity * was not available or when the car decided it's first priority was to top up the batteries for the next journey and it couldn't spare juice for maintaining the temperature via the air conditioning system. In this way the vehicle can be pre-conditioned from the **S * mains supply, or maintained in a good state via the photo voltaic cells.

In a further embodiment at least some of the supply of electricity may be generated by wind turbines mounted strategically on the vehicle and this electricity can be used either to completely or partially charge the Electric Vehicle. The electricity from the turbines maybe stored in batteries and then released to the vehicle once the car is connected to the charging point either by a plug in system or via induction plates and the amount of energy obtained from the charging point adjusted accordingly.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying Figures in which Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the front face of a plug according to the present invention.

In Figure 1 the plug (1) is provided with two sets of high voltage power supply pins.

Pins (2) and (3) are the power supply pins and pins (4) and (5) are the high voltage ground pins. The plug is provided with two data transmitting pins (6) and (7) and a third pin (8) for provision of account information for billing purposes. The plug is further provided with two safety related pins, a short mechanical connection pin (9) that will need to be connected before the other functionalities of the plug/charger connector system can be activated and a thermal disconnect pin (10) comprising a bi-metallic strip that will cause the functionalities of the plug to shut down if overheating occurs.

The socket of the charger connector system which is not shown will be provided with mating recesses for receipt of the various pins of the plug. The socket may in addition be provided with pins for location in recesses formed in the plug.

Figure 2 shows an energy flow system for an electric powered vehicle employing the present invention to precondition the vehicle.

Figure 3 shows an energy flow system for a hybrid, non combustion powered vehicle employing the present invention.

* ** Figure 2 shows a remote controller (11) which can be used to activate the activator (12) for the heating and/or conditioning system (13). Once activated the activator *** * first activates the sensor (14) which determines if there is sufficient power available from energy storage (16) for operation of the heating and/or conditioning unit at (15).

* If sufficient power is available the activator is instructed to start up the heating and/or **.

* conditioning system (13). If however there is not enough power available the a charging mechanism (17) can be activated to provide sufficient energy to enable the sensor to activate the activator or the activator remains deactivated.

In Figure 3 the numerals used in Figure 2 are used to designate the same components as in Figure 2. However the system shown in Figure 3 also includes a Power Contro! System (16) which operates a three component energy supply system of a battery system (17), a kinetic energy system (18), a capacitor system (19) and perhaps a charging mechanism (20). Optionally the power control system may be linked to a means (21) which provides information concerning the energy required for a prospective journey. The power control system is informed by the sensor that the activator (12) has received a request from the controller (11) to start up the heating and/or air conditioning system (13) and it informs the sensor if sufficient power is available and is also selects the power source or sources from (17), (18) and (19) that should be used to the heating and/or air conditioning system. If the charging mechanism (20) is present and there is insufficient power the Power Control System (16) may activate the charging mechanism until sufficient power is available for the sensor to activate the activator. The sensor may, if desired, be integrated into the power control system. * *** * * ****

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Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for use in the charging of electric vehicles comprising high voltage elements providing power and at least one element for bi-directional information flow between the vehicle and the charger station.
2. A system according to claim 1 comprising at least two high voltage elements one providing power and the other providing ground.
3. A system according to Claim I or Claim 2 comprising a plug and cable connector.
4. A system according to Claim 3 provided with additional connections for bi-directional information flow.
5. A system according to any of the preceding Claims in which information flow identifies the vehicle and its battery system.
6. A system according to any of Claims 3 to 5 containing a mechanically enabling/shutdown pin.
7. A plug according to Claim 6 in which the enabling/shutdown pin is shorter in length than the other power and signal pins in the plug.
8. A plug according to any of Claims 3 to 7 provided with a thermally activated disconnection pin.
9. A plug according to Claim 8 in which the disconnection pin comprises a Bi-metallic element. * *
10. A charging system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising an induction : * charging system * *
11. A charging system according to any of the preceding claims in which the information flow identifies the power required to charge the battery system. a S.

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12. A charging system according to any of the preceding claims in which the information flow comprises information from the charger station such as its charging capability and confirmation of receipt of information from the vehicle.
13. A charging system according to any of the preceding claims in which the information flow comprises information concerning payment for electricity received by or delivered from the vehicle.
14. A charging system according to any of the preceding claims provided with a means for billing transmission of a code from the vehicle to the charger station.
15. A charging system according to Claim 14 in which the code is a digital code.
16. A process for charging a vehicle battery system wherein power is supplied from a charger station to the vehicle wherein means are provided to provide information to the charger station concerning the nature of the vehicle and its battery system and its charging requirements.
17. A process according to Claim 16 in which the power is supplied via a plug and cable.
18. A process according to Claim 15 in which the power is supplied by induction.
19. A charger station provided with a socket for engagement with a plug according to any of the preceding claims and a cable connecting the plug to the vehicle for carrying electricity and the information to be transmitted between the charger station and the vehicle. * S **.SS* S5... * S * 55 * S S S...S *..*SS.SS S * S..