WO2014076268A2

WO2014076268A2 - Charging station for charging an electrical consumer and associated method

Info

Publication number: WO2014076268A2
Application number: PCT/EP2013/074033
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Mitschke
Original assignee: Ebee Smart Technologies Gmbh
Priority date: 2012-11-19
Filing date: 2013-11-18
Publication date: 2014-05-22
Also published as: WO2014076268A3; DE102012022963A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging station (1) for charging an electrical consumer (2), characterised in that said charging station (1) comprises a housing designed to close an opening (4) that gives access to an interior of a device (6) comprising a power supply (7) and in that the charging station (1) can be connected to the power supply (7) of the device (6). The invention also relates to a method for charging an electrical consumer (2) using the charging station (1) according to the invention, said charging station (1) being connected to the power supply (7) of the device (6) via the cable (26) on the current meter (21) and the electrical consumer (2) being connected to the charging station (1) via a plug-in connection (25).

Description

Charging station for charging an electrical consumer and method Description:

The present invention relates to a charging station for charging an electrical load, in particular a charging station for charging electric vehicles using lighting masts.

In recent years, the number of electrically powered vehicles, such as electric cars and electric bicycles, has risen steadily thanks to innovative energy storage and more efficient electric motors. Nevertheless, due to the short range of electric vehicles there is a great need for charging stations. Furthermore, with the increasing number of such vehicles also basically the need for charging stations for charging the vehicles in traffic.

Numerous charging stations are described in the prior art. Some charging stations are specially constructed at specially equipped parking spaces in traffic, firmly anchored in the ground and connected to the power grid with partly extra installed power connections. This construction leads to high costs.

A somewhat less expensive alternative to this is described, for example, in DE 20 201 1 100 062 U1. Here a street lamp is described, to which one or more electric charging stations for electric vehicles can be connected. As a result, the existing power supply in the street lights is used and does not need to be provided separately for the charging station. Furthermore, the installation of a charging cable with pulling device is provided in the mast of the street lamp. In this case, a charging cable can then be pulled out of the street light.

DE 20 2010 005 543 U1 further describes a charging station for motor vehicles with a connection for connecting a power cable to a motor vehicle, wherein the gas station is powered by a street lamp with power. The connection can be provided in a separate housing, which is attached to the street lamp and is connected by a new access to be created, or is installed in the mast of the street lamp. In the latter case, access to the port is then controlled for loading by a door or flap to be opened. However, the existing solutions are very costly with separate installation of charging stations or the use of special, additional housings and require special environmental conditions. This also applies to the time-consuming retrofitting or conversion of street lights. This is particularly disadvantageous that the built-in components are protected by the open door in operation bad weather and vandalism and associated damage and manipulation attempts.

Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a charging station, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular can be installed easily and inexpensively. In addition, the charging station should ensure safe operation.

The object is solved by the objects of the invention according to independent claims 1 and 8. Advantageous embodiments are given in the dependent claims.

As far as hereinafter in the description and in the claims the term "circumferential dimensions" is used with respect to the housing, it is to be understood in particular that the housing has a circumference or spatial dimensions, which are designed such that the housing close the access opening can.

As used below in the description and in the claims, the term "access opening to an interior of a device with power supply", including in particular an opening to understand, which allows access to the power supply of the device.

Insofar as the term "store" is used below in the description and in the claims, this includes the charging of energy stores, but also charging in the sense of being supplied with power for the operation of the consumer.

The charging station according to the invention is used for charging an electrical load, wherein the charging station comprises a housing which is designed for closing an existing access opening to an interior of a device with power supply, and the charging station can be connected to the power supply of the device. The charging station according to the invention thus replaces an originally existing locking device. As a mast door, which normally closes the access to the interior of the device.

The housing thereby comprises side walls, as well as a front wall and a rear wall, wherein the rear wall points in the direction of the interior, when the charging station is inserted into the device. The length of the side walls as a whole or their circumferential dimension depends essentially on the circumference of the access opening of the device.

The inventive solution, it is no longer necessary to existing power supply infrastructure, so any device with power supply to change such that the charging station is realized by means of a structurally complex installation or extension. For this purpose, the existing device for closing the access opening is simply replaced by the charging station according to the invention. This has in addition to the constructive simplicity, which partially exploits the existing interior of the device also has the advantage that the access opening remains completely closed even after the installation of the charging station and in charging mode and the interior is protected from the weather, vandalism and manipulation attempts. In addition, in the event of a repair / re-delivery of the charging station, the access opening can simply be closed again in the meantime by a conventional mast door.

In a preferred embodiment of the charging station according to the invention, the device with power supply is a lighting mast or a current-driven display device for information. In this case, a commonly available mast door or display door which closes the access opening is simply replaced by the cradle.

The lighting mast further comprises one or more bulbs. Under lighting tower is in particular an electrically operated street lamp of any kind to understand, as it is commonly found to illuminate public and private streets and squares. In addition, the lighting mast can have a so-called cable junction box or power connection box as a power supply or end point of the power supply. In some cases, the lighting mast can also provide power through a power outlet.

In the case of a lighting mast, the length of the side walls of the housing as a whole or their circumferential dimension substantially correspond to the circumference of the access opening to the interior of the facility. The edge length of the side walls between the front wall and the rear wall can have a length of 10 to 25 cm, preferably 12 to 19 cm.

In the case of information display devices, these include, in particular, display elements with rotating and / or illuminated advertising information and illuminated traffic signs. In this case, the display devices include, for example, one or more masts with mast doors on which the display elements are arranged.

Furthermore, the charging stations according to the invention can also be used in display devices, e.g. be used at bus stops or to close the local access openings. In this case, the closing devices on the back of the generally cuboid display devices are replaced by the charging stations according to the invention.

Preferably, the electrical load is an electric vehicle, an electric bicycle, an electric bicycle or any other mobile consumer.

In the case of another mobile consumer, for example, sales stands and mobile sales trailers for weekly markets or construction containers are to be understood here.

Preferably, the access opening is firmly closed by the charging station according to the invention by means of one or more closure elements, such as a locking bar or a hook screw. Here are parts of the closure element, so for example the hook, in the interior of the device and by rotation, for example, the screw is fixed by means of the hook, the charging station inside the device or firmly closed.

The housing of the charging station has on its side walls or on the rear wall on a circumferential protruding edge, which is designed so that it completely closes the access opening with inserted charging station. The peripheral edge is preferably 1 to 4 cm wide and adapts to the geometric shape of the device, whereby a tight closing of the access opening is achieved. In addition, a gumming on the edge between device, i. an edge of the access opening, and edge, whereby the closing of the access opening is further improved. Preferably, the closure element is arranged in the edge of the housing.

In a preferred embodiment of the edge, this at least partially has a force-absorbing profile. This has the advantage that in case of accidental or Visible force on the charging station, such as a shock or kick against the charging station, the direct force on the charging station and thus, for example, vibrations are reduced. A force-absorbing profile can be realized for example by a wave-like or U-shaped profile. The "U" of the U-shaped profile can be embedded in the edge in such a way that the open side of the "U" is aligned to the edge of the access opening of the device. In the event of an impact, the legs of the "U" can absorb them by reversible, short-term bending, Similarly, a shock in a wave-like profile can be accommodated by the wave-like profile reversibly deforming for a short time.

In an embodiment according to the invention of the housing of the charging station, the circumferential protruding edge is arranged on the side walls or on the rear wall such that a part of the housing or the side walls can be inserted into the access opening such that this part protrudes into the interior of the device. The other part of the housing is then outside the device. The side walls of the housing can have an edge length between front wall and rear wall of 10 - 25 cm, preferably 12 - 19 cm. Preferably, the peripheral edge is arranged on the side walls such that the charging station protrudes with its housing or part of the side walls 2 to 8 cm, more preferably 2 to 4 cm into the device, while the remaining part of the side walls of the housing 8 to 15 cm, preferably about 10 cm outside the interior. As a result, on the one hand a part of the interior of the device is used to reduce the supernatant, for example, for reasons of barrier or aesthetic reasons. On the other hand, the unit of charging station and device with charging station is structurally more stable and is thus better protected against vandalism or accidental force.

In a preferred embodiment of the charging station at least the following components are arranged individually or in combination in the housing: an electricity meter with a cable, with which the electricity meter is connected to the power supply, an electronic control unit, a fuse, a residual current circuit breaker, a contactor and a Plug connection element with which the electrical load can be connected to the charging station. The components may be partially disposed on a base plate which is fixed in the housing, for example on the rear wall. The cable which connects the charging station and the power supply can optionally be led through an opening in the rear wall or through an opening in the part of the side wall which is arranged in the interior when the charging station is inserted. The term plug-in element means either a plug or a socket, preferably is a socket.

With regard to the plug connection element, a standardized plug type or corresponding standardized socket is particularly preferably used. The connector element generally comprises the following components: a conductor L1, used in single-phase and three-phase operation with 230V, a conductor L2, used in three-phase operation with a total of 400V three-phase, a conductor L3, used in three-phase operation with a total of 400V three-phase, a neutral conductor , the neutral opposite pole for the three conductors, a control pilot contact, is used for communication between charging station and vehicle, a ground contact, for safe contact to ground the connection and the vehicle during charging, and a proximity contact, the charging station is used to detect a inserted cable and to detect the current strength of the cable via a resistance coding. This allows the charging station to be compatible with all types of vehicles when using a cable without special charging intelligence. In this case, the Ladeintelligenz is realized in the control electronics of the charging station. The communication preferably takes place via pulse width modulation (PWM) and switched resistors or via power line communication (PLC), in each case according to the valid standards.

The control electronics comprise at least the following units individually or in combination: a mobile radio unit, a user identification RFID unit and / or a unit for identifying the connection with respect to the charging station, wherein the term connection means the type of charging cable and / or the load to be charged means.

In a further embodiment of the charging station, this comprises an operating device which is arranged on the housing of the charging station and is set up for communication between a user, the charging station and / or the electrical consumer. For example, the operating device consists of a display and a keyboard or optionally of a touch screen, whereby the communication for handling the loading or the charging process is simplified and / or controlled.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the charging station of the electricity meter with cable, the control electronics, the fuse, the residual current circuit breaker and the contactor within the housing of the charging station and are not visible from the outside, the counter of the electricity meter through a transparent opening in the housing of outside can be visible. By contrast, the plug-in connection element is arranged outside the housing and can be connected to the electrical load. In a particular embodiment, the charging station may additionally comprise a converter of AC charging current to DC charging current, which is also arranged in the housing of the charging station. This embodiment is realized in particular when the converted charging current only has to be low, for example for loading bicycles.

In addition, the charging station may include an interruption switch which interrupts a charging operation when the charging station is partially or completely removed from the access opening during charging, that is, when the access opening no longer closes.

Furthermore, the object is achieved by a method for charging an electrical load using the charging station according to the invention, wherein the charging station is connected via the cable to the electricity meter with the power supply of the device and the electrical load is connected via the connector element with the charging station. The loading station was replaced with an existing closure device for closing the access opening of the device, e.g. a mast door, previously inserted into the access opening.

For this purpose, a so-called cable junction box or power connection box is arranged in the interior of the device, which represents the power supply of the device or the end point of the power supply connection and normally belongs to a power grid operator. At this cable junction box, the cable of the electricity meter of the charging station, for example, connected by an employee of the power grid operator and so the charging station with power. After connecting the charging station, this is inserted into the access opening and thus closes the access opening to the interior. Subsequently, in the externally visible and accessible plug connection of the charging station, preferably a socket, the electrical consumer can be connected by means of a suitable plug or connected to the socket.

In a particular embodiment, the power supply in the device instead of a cable junction box can also be realized by a simple socket. This may for example be the case when the cable junction box is installed outside the device and the device of the power supply has been connected via a cable to the cable junction box. In this case, the cable of the electricity meter also includes a plug, which can be plugged into the socket. Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The individual figures show:

Fig. 1: a schematic representation of a lighting mast with a mast door according to the prior art;

2 shows a schematic representation of a charging station according to the invention, installed in a lighting mast;

3 shows a schematic representation of a charging station according to the invention in side view;

4 shows a perspective view of a charging station according to the invention installed in a lighting mast;

Fig. 5: a schematic representation of a portion of the charging station with the connector element.

In Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a lighting mast with a mast door according to the prior art. Figure parts shown in the interior of the lighting mast, which are not visible from the outside, are shown in dashed lines.

Shown is the lower part of a lighting mast 6, which stands on the road 12 and is connected to it. In the interior 5, a power supply 7 is shown, which leads to a not shown lighting means of the lighting mast 6. The also not visible access opening 4 (dashed lines) to the interior 5 is closed by a mast door according to the prior art 10 by means of a closure element 1 1.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a charging station according to the invention installed in a lighting mast.

Fig. 2 is substantially similar to Fig. 1, wherein the invisible access opening 4 (shown in phantom) is not closed by the mast door according to the prior art, but by the charging station 1 according to the invention with housing 3. Furthermore, it can be seen that the power supply 7 has a cable junction box 8, to which the cable 26 of the electricity meter 21 (not shown) can be connected to the power supply. Optionally, the cable junction box can also be a power outlet. Furthermore, the connector element 25 and an operating device 50 are shown. Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a charging station according to the invention in side view.

Shown is the charging station 1 with housing 3, front wall 16, rear wall 17, side wall 18 and peripheral edge 14th

The peripheral edge 14 is shown on the side walls 18, but does not necessarily correspond to the actual size ratios in terms of how far the housing 3 or a part of the housing 3 can protrude into the interior of a device. Preferably, the housing protrudes 2 - 4 cm into the interior.

The illustrated components power meter 21 with cable 26, fuse 22, fault current protection switch 23, contactor 24 and control electronics 30 are disposed within the housing 3, wherein they are mounted on a base plate 13. The base plate can be attached to a side wall or rear wall of the housing. Outside the housing 3, the connector element 25 is arranged. Furthermore, the closure element 1 1, which is embedded in the edge 14, shown. The cable 26 has been led through an opening in the rear wall of the housing into the interior and may also have a plug at its end opposite the electricity meter 21 to be connected to the power supply of the device (not shown). Also shown is the transparent opening 15, which allows the view of the electricity meter 21 with counter (not shown).

4 shows a perspective view of a charging station according to the invention, installed in a lighting mast.

Shown is the charging station 1 with housing 3 and peripheral edge 14. The peripheral edge is formed here as part of the rear wall 17 (not shown). At the edge 14, the closure element 1 1 is shown. On the front wall 16 of the housing 3, the connector element 25 is shown. Above the plug-in connection element 25, the mobile radio unit 31 and the user identification RFID unit 32 are arranged in the housing 3 of the charging station 1 (shown by dashed lines), these being visible from outside only in that part of the area of the front wall 16 of the housing 3 is colored at this point, for example. This facilitates the use of transponders or other RFID devices by the user, as the user can see at which point of the housing the RFID unit sits. Below the connector element 25, the electricity meter 21 is arranged in the front wall 16 in the housing 3 of the charging station 1, wherein this, in particular the counter the electricity meter (not shown) is visible through the transparent opening 15, whereby the user can easily read the power consumed.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation of a portion of the housing of the charging station with the first connector element.

In Fig. 5, the connector element 25 is shown in the form of a conventional socket, which is arranged on the front wall of the charging station. An electrical load can be connected to this plug connection element 25 by means of a corresponding plug type and a cable connected thereto. The connector element 25 is shown with the following components: The conductor L1 40, where this is used in single-phase and three-phase operation with 230V. The conductor L2 41, which is used in three-phase operation with a total of 400V three-phase, and the conductor L3 42, which is used in three-phase operation with a total of 400V three-phase. Furthermore, a neutral conductor 43 is shown, which acts as a neutral opposite pole for the three conductors 40-43. In addition, the control pilot contact 44, which serves the communication between the charging station and the vehicle, and the ground contact 45 are shown. The latter allows a secure contact to ground the connection and the vehicle during the charging process. Finally, the proximity contact 46 is shown, which serves the charging station for detecting an inserted plug with cable and for detecting the current strength of the cable via a resistance coding.

It is also possible, not shown here, that the corresponding type of plug is arranged as a connector element 25 on the front wall and the electrical load is connected to the aforementioned matching power outlet.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 . charging station

2. electrical consumers

3. Housing

4. Access opening

5. Interior

6. Device with power supply

7. Power supply

8. Cable junction box, socket

10. Mast door according to the prior art

1 1. closure element

12th street

13. Base plate

14. circumferential protruding edge

15. transparent opening

16th front wall

17th back wall

18th sidewall

21. electric meter

22. Fuse

23. Residual current circuit breaker

24th contactor

25. Plug connection element

26. Cable

30. Control electronics

31. mobile unit

32. User identification RFID unit

33. Unit for identifying the connection to the charging station

40. conductor L1

41. Head L2

42. Head L3

43. Neutral

44. Control pilot contact

45. Earth contact

46. Proximity contact

50. Operating device

Claims

claims

1 . Charging station (1) for charging an electrical load (2), characterized in that the charging station (1) comprises a housing (3), which for closing an access opening (4) to an interior (5) of a device (6) with power supply (7) is formed and the charging station (1) to the power supply (7) of the device (6) is connectable and the housing (3) has circumferential dimensions which are equal to or smaller than the circumferential dimension of the access opening (4), and the housing ( 3) comprises a peripheral projecting edge (14) which is formed so that it completely closes the access opening (4), wherein the peripheral protruding edge (14) on the housing (3) is arranged such that a part of the housing (3 ) is inserted into the access opening (4) so that it projects into the interior of the device (6).

2. charging station (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the means (6) with power supply (7) is a lighting mast or a current-driven display device for information.

3. charging station (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electrical load (2) is an electric vehicle, an electric bicycle, an electric bicycle or other consumer.

4. charging station (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing comprises side walls, a front wall and a rear wall and the peripheral protruding edge (14) is arranged on the side walls or the rear wall.

5. charging station (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circumferential projecting edge (14) has a force-absorbing profile.

6. charging station (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the housing (3) at least the following components are arranged individually or in combination: an electricity meter (21) with a cable (26), with which the electricity meter (21 ) to the power supply (7), an electronic control unit (30), a fuse (22), a residual current circuit breaker (23), a contactor (24) and a plug connection element (25), with which the electrical load (2) to the charging station (1) can be connected. Charging station (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the control electronics (30) comprises at least the following units individually or in combination: a mobile radio unit (31), a user identification RFID unit (32) and / or a unit (33 ) for identifying the connection to the charging station (1).

Charging station (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging station (1) comprises an operating device (50) which is arranged on the housing of the charging station (1) and for communication between a user, the charging station (1) and / or the electrical consumer (2) is set up.

A method for charging an electrical load using the charging station (1) according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the charging station (1) via the cable (26) connected to the power meter (21) to the power supply (7) of the device (6) is and the electrical load (2) via the connector element (25) to the charging station (1) is connected.