IT202000026386A1 - ELECTRIC CHARGING STATION AND INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR A MULTIPLE SUCH CHARGING STATIONS - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION of the industrial invention entitled: "Electric charging station and integrated system for a plurality of such charging stations"

Field of invention

The present invention relates to an electric recharging station. The invention also concerns an integrated system for a plurality of these charging stations.

The invention? been developed with particular regard to an electric charging station that can? be powered by solar energy, even if not ? except that the electric charging station is connected, in addition or alternatively, to the electricity grid. The integrated system of the invention ? usable for managing and querying the state of energy and/or power locally available at the recharging stations according to the invention.

Technology background

As known, the use of rechargeable batteries ? widely used in the consumer electronics sector, for powering a wide range of portable electronic equipment such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, wireless headphones and earphones, cameras, portable electric accumulators (also called power banks) , and what? Street. The use of rechargeable batteries ? it is also growing rapidly for the power supply of electric vehicles, both small ones such as bicycles and scooters, and larger ones such as motorcycles and motor vehicles. Consequently ? growing strongly the need? to have electric charging points for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles.

The spread of charging points for electric vehicles? constantly increasing, in the form of charging columns for larger vehicles and racks for larger vehicles. light. Are traditional charging points connected to the common electricity grid, and draw their power from power plants which are mostly? powered by non-renewable energy sources. With rare exceptions, even the home recharging of portable electronic devices takes place via connection to the normal electricity grid, and therefore? takes place essentially through non-renewable energy sources.

Electric recharging stations powered by photovoltaic panels are known. These charging stations can be installed, for example, in a parking space or in a private parking area, for the individual charging of a few electric vehicles. The main disadvantage of these known systems? the fact that they essentially serve individual or private users, and are not available to the general public. Having been created for individual use, known types of electric recharging stations are also difficult to integrate into an urban fabric to serve many people in a useful and efficient way, with both recharging and mobility needs. very different from each other.

Summary of the invention

The present invention aims to provide a convenient and effective system for providing possibilities? of electric recharging to a large number of people, with potentially widespread distribution within an area, especially but not necessarily urban, even of large dimensions. In the development of the present invention, known solutions have been taken into consideration, with the aim of eliminating their defects and improving their qualities. and performance, above all from the point of view of the public service.

Another purpose of the invention? that of optimizing the recharge resources, and in particular to provide an information, distribution and management service of the recharge resources such as to satisfy the users, guarantee what is already? Is it possible to use equitable and distributed resources of recharge to as many? possible users, and reduce the risk of underutilization of one charging station compared to another. Another purpose? to provide a resource planning tool that can be used to decide whether and where to install new charging stations.

In one of its embodiments, the invention can provide for the construction of one or more electric recharging stations powered by solar energy and/or by the electric grid, having the characteristics indicated in the following claims. The invention can moreover, provide for the creation of an integrated system of such electric recharging stations, usable for the management and interrogation of their status, in particular of the locally available energy and/or power status, according to the characteristics indicated in the relative appended claims.

With the present invention, what will come? described more in detail below, ? It is possible to create public parking and recharging areas for electric vehicles, in which electricity is acquired - and potentially supplied - free of charge. The invention provides for an electricity supply and storage system that can derive from solar energy, possibly connected to the electricity grid to exploit virtual accumulation mechanisms such as on-the-spot metering, aimed at favoring the use of electric vehicles over those powered by fossil fuels.

The invention also lends itself to the creation of public meeting areas, for example in parks and gardens, or to equipping already existing public meeting areas. such as bus and train stops.

The invention lends itself advantageously to the construction of electric recharging stations in which the energy source can also be located far from the area of use, thanks to the arrangement in the area of use of accumulators electrically connected to the distant energy source.

According to a particular aspect, the invention provides for a network connection of all the charging stations which, through a server application, can provide a user's remote terminal with specific information on their location and on their status, in particular on availability? of a free charging socket and energy and/or power sufficient to meet the demands of a user, for example for charging an electric vehicle.

An advantage of the present invention ? the possibility? to create electric recharging stations that can be completely disconnected from the electricity grid, and yet be integrated into a wired and/or wireless communication network in such a way as to be managed and interrogated remotely, both by an administrator user and by of various users. Although the total disconnection from the electricity grid is not necessary for the functionality? of the present invention, the potential? in this sense, it makes it possible to install one or more? electric charging stations even in inaccessible or remote areas, for example in refreshment areas on trekking routes and the like.

An advantage of the electric recharging station according to the present invention ? the possibility? also for the private user to obtain low-cost or totally free energy, even beyond the power limit currently available for normal domestic users connected to the electricity grid. Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages will emerge from the detailed description which follows of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, in which:

- figure 1 ? a perspective view of an exemplary solar-powered charging station embodying aspects of the present invention; And

- figure 2 ? a schematic diagram of the active communication network between charging stations, a remote management server and an application on a user terminal.

Detailed description

With reference now to Figure 1, an electric charging station 10 can be powered by solar energy, as well as possibly by the electricity grid. To this end, the electric recharging station 10 comprises one or more? photovoltaic panels 12. Are the photovoltaic panels 12 electrically connected to one or more? accumulators 14. The accumulators 14 can be connected to the power supply only to the photovoltaic panels 12, or they can also be connected to the electric mains, according to the modality? techniques known in the sector. By way of non-limiting example, ? Is it possible to use one or more in the charging station? accumulators of the type commercially known with the name Powerwall of the company? Tesla having capacity? of 13.5 kWh. Naturally, ? Is it possible to use different sizes of accumulators 14, depending on the specific uses for which? intended for the electric charging station 10, and of the type, power and number of photovoltaic panels 12.

Are the accumulators 14 electrically connected at the output to one or more? charging groups, which can vary from station to station according to specific needs and desired configurations. The recharging units each comprise respective power outlets for recharging the electric batteries of mobile devices and/or vehicles. By way of non-limiting example, the charging station 10 can? comprise a recharging unit 16 for electric vehicles, and/or a recharging unit 18 for electric bicycles, and/or a recharging unit 20 for small electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, headphones and earphones, video game consoles and various other such devices.

The recharging units can be conveniently collected in a place of social gathering, such as for example a bus stop, where for example the recharging unit 20 for small electronic devices can be integrated in a bench 22. Conveniently, the photovoltaic panels 12 can be supported by one or more? uprights 24 to form or cover a canopy 26. In a variant of the recharging station 10, the photovoltaic panels are not in the immediate proximity of the of the recharging groups, and are positioned for example on the roofs of surrounding public or private buildings, from where suitably sized electrical conductors depart to transport the electrical energy generated by the photovoltaic panels to the accumulators 14.

As can be seen in figure 1, the recharging station 10 can be conveniently enriched with electrical devices powered by the same accumulators 14 which power the recharging units. For example, charging station 10 can? be equipped with one or more lamps or street lamps 28 or other lighting elements, such as LED strips or panels. Can? be expected to install one or more? video screens 30, for example for informational and/or advertising purposes. Can? the installation of an assistance totem 32 for emergency and/or information calls, connected for example to a central unit via a wired or cellular telephone connection, may be envisaged. Can? be provided for an access point 34 for connectivity? Public WiFi.

Figure 2 illustrates a possible connectivity scheme? of various charging stations of the type described above. By way of example, figure 3 shows four different recharging stations indicated as SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn, although naturally there are no limit on the number of charging stations that can participate in the same connectivity scheme. Each charging station ? configured in its own way with specific groups of recharge and specific power supplies, defined substantially by the capacity? nominal value of the accumulators 14 of each recharging station, and by the power of each of the recharging groups associated with them. The accumulators 14 are sized in a known way, for example on the basis of the power that can be supplied by the photovoltaic panels under typical local conditions of use.

The SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn charging stations are connected via the internet to a server application (SERVER), which can be a remote standalone computer, or a virtual server, or even an application distributed on one or more? servers, for example in the cloud. In any case, the server application comprises at least one database in which data relating to each recharging station is recorded. The data includes both identification data of the recharging station, including the geographical position, the power characteristics and the recharging groups available. The server application also includes a data collection module for each charging station. Each charging station periodically sends information about its status to the data collection module. The information sent by each recharging station can include indications on the state of charge of the accumulators 14, as well as indications and statistics relating to the operation of the photovoltaic panels 12, as well as to the availability of the station itself. Each charging station can be configured to indicate a specific capacity? of recharging associated with each recharging group present in the recharging station itself. By way of example only, in figure 2 yes ? a possible table of the database of the server application is shown, in which each charging station indicates the power of the station, for example with reference to the four standard values of 3.6-7.2-11.0-22.0 kW , and the time available for recharging. These two data substantially represent the energy available in the specific recharging station, for example for each recharging service provided by the recharging units 16 for electric vehicles and by the recharging units 18 for electric bicycles. In the event that the recharging station is connected to the electricity grid, which has no limits in terms of energy supply, the time available? fixed in the configuration phase of the specific station. Naturally ? possible to acquire and memorize additional or different information on the status of each charging station, for example but not limited to the number of free and occupied charging sockets, any errors on the operating status of the system, for example due to malfunctions of the photovoltaic panels and / or accumulators, and cos? Street.

The server application SERVER also comprises a user interface which can be queried from a generic user terminal 40 connected to the Internet. It is therefore possible to query the status of a particular SR1, SR2, SR3 or SRn charging station through a common mobile phone or tablet, for example through a dedicated app, or even through a web application that can also be consulted from the browser of a normal computer . In this way a user can? query the status of a specific charging station and know, for example, the geographical location, the type of charging services available, and their capacity? in terms of possible recharge. Eg ? Is it possible for a user to query the status of a specific solar station to find out if it is equipped with a charging unit for electric cars, and if so, if there is a capacity? sufficient charge or if there are free sockets for recharging your vehicle. By exploiting the geolocation characteristics typical of the user terminal 40, the server application can be prepared to provide information on the charging station pi? close to the user with at least one free socket and able to satisfy the needs? user recharge.

It is possible to develop variants and further functions of the services provided to users. For example, can you set up an alert or message service that warns a user when a specific recharging station becomes available, in the event that the user has requested to be notified. In a form of the server application ? Is it possible to set up a top-up booking service, in which the user requests a certain availability? charge for a given time slot, for example within a certain predetermined distance radius, and the server application sends a booking signal to the nearest charging station. suitable or more? nearby, at a pre-established time based on the status information reported by the specific charging station. In this case, the recharging groups of each recharging station are equipped with selective enabling mechanisms, possibly signaled locally with luminous indicators or information panels, which indicate the availability? charging or not. The same information is naturally supplied to the user terminals 40 which should query the status of the recharging station.

According to a preferred embodiment, the service provided to the user can provide for the display of a map showing the various charging stations SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn in the form of a "speaking" icon, which describes the type and status of the charging station itself. By way of example, various types of icons can be set up which visually identify on the map of the user device an EV type charging station, for charging electric vehicles, or DEVICE, in which, for example, USB charging sockets and for various devices such as notebooks or smartphones. The indications or icons that identify the charging stations can signal different states of the same, which can be, for example, "available", "occupied", "not powered or faulty (off)". The application can be configured in such a way that the user device allows it to interact, by connecting, with a nearby charging station, for example a few meters away, for example to manage the charging operations.

As indicated above, the data of a specific charging station can be viewed via the user device. As a mere non-limiting example, can one or more? of the following indications relating to the specific charging station:

- identification code of the charging station, for example SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn

- descriptive name of the charging station

- type of charging station (EV, DEVICE or both)

- EV charging station status (available, busy, off)

- status of the DEVICE charging station (available, busy, off) - possible presence of a public wifi connection

- power available for EV charging

- time available for EV recharging, and possibly the maximum recharging time available according to the overcrowding of the recharging station, for example depending on the position of the station itself. In crowded or busy areas, the available EV charging time can be limited to allow everyone to use the service. The time available could be limited by the little energy present at that moment due to a reduced charge of the accumulator, in the event that the charging station is not connected to the electricity grid

- any user booking queue, i.e. the number of users already? booked for charging at that station.

If the user decides to connect to a charging station via the user application, the charging station can supply energy, starting a counter of the time available to the user. It is possible to set up a vehicle detection system in the recharging station, in such a way as to carry out a presence check and warn the user or make the recharging station available again if a vehicle is not detected within a certain period of time. time, such as five minutes. Advantageously, once the recharge ? once started, the connection of the user application with the charging station in use remains active even if the user moves away, in order to monitor the charging status. When the available charging time ends, the charging station can? interrupt the supply of energy for that particular user, to whom messages can be sent so that? take steps to free the charging station. Self ? present a vehicle detection system, pu? a presence check can also be carried out at the end of recharging. If the vehicle? been removed, the connection is terminated and the charging station returns to idle status. If the vehicle is not removed within a certain time limit, for example five minutes, messages can be sent to the user. Failure to remove the vehicle can result in the user being restricted or prevented from connecting in the future to one or more? charging stations.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the embodiments and construction details may vary widely with respect to what has been described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. Electric charging station including one or more? photovoltaic panels (12) electrically connected to one or more? accumulators (14) which are connected in supply to one or more? recharging units (16, 18, 20) comprising respective power outlets for recharging electric batteries of mobile devices and/or vehicles, the recharging station (10) further comprising a communication connection to a remote node for transmission of information comprising at least the state of charge of the accumulators (14). The electric charging station according to claim 1, wherein the charging units are selected from a list comprising: a charging unit (16) for electric motor vehicles, a charging unit (18) for electric bicycles, and a charging unit recharge (20) for small electronic devices, the electric recharge station further comprising one or more? electrical devices (28, 30, 32, 34) powered by the same accumulators (14) which also power one or more? charging groups (16, 18, 20). 3. Electric recharging station according to any one of the preceding claims, completely autonomous and disconnected from the electric mains. 4. Electric recharging station according to claim 1, wherein in the remote node ? a database is set up in which identification information of the electric recharging station is stored, including its geographical position and the number and type of recharging groups (16, 18, 20) available. 5. Integrated system of a plurality? of electric recharging stations according to any one of claims 1 to 4, usable for managing and querying the status of each electric recharging station (SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn) and of the energy and/or power locally available at each of these electric charging stations, in which on one or more? remote nodes to which the electric charging stations are connected individually ? implemented a server application, common to all electric charging stations, comprising a localized or distributed database in which identification information of each electric charging station is stored, including the respective geographical positions and the number and type of charging groups (16, 18, 20) available at each electric charging station (10). 6. Integrated system according to claim 5, wherein the server application provides a remote terminal interrogable module (40) to provide information about each specific electric charging station (10), including its geographical location, the charging groups placed available from said electric recharging station, and the energy and/or power available. 7. Integrated system according to claim 5, wherein each electric recharging station (SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn) ? connected to the remote node through a wired and/or at least partially wireless internet connection. 8. Integrated system according to claim 5, wherein the remote node is single for all electric charging stations (SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn). 9. Integrated system according to claim 5, wherein a remote terminal (40) of a user is provided with indications relating to each recharging station, with indication of the power of the station and the time available for recharging, the server application providing an alert module to inform selected user terminals (40) regarding the status of one or more? desired electric charging stations. 10. Integrated system according to any one of claims 5, wherein a remote terminal (40) of a user can connect to an electric recharging station (SR1, SR2, SR3, SRn) located nearby, to activate the recharging operations.