Cooling device for a vehicle charging station

Abstract

A cooling device cools a charging station or a multiplicity of charging stations of a charging park. The respective charging station has an internal coolant duct for a coolant to flow through the charging station, an input-side coolant connection, an output-side coolant connection, a coolant circuit with a cooling assembly for cooling the coolant, and a pump for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit. The coolant duct of the respective charging station is integrated into the coolant circuit. A heat accumulator or a multiplicity of heat accumulators is integrated into the coolant circuit.

Claims

1. A cooling device for cooling a first charging station and a second charging station of a charging park, each respective charging station having an internal coolant duct for a coolant to flow through the charging station, an input-side coolant connection, and an output-side coolant connection, said cooling device comprising: a coolant circuit having a cooling assembly for cooling the coolant and a pump for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit, wherein the internal coolant duct of each respective charging station is integrated into the coolant circuit, a plurality of heat accumulators integrated into the coolant circuit, the plurality of heat accumulators including a first heat accumulator that is connected to the first charging station and a second heat accumulator that is connected to the second charging station, wherein the pump is positioned at a location in the coolant circuit for delivering the coolant from the cooling assembly to each charging station and sequentially delivering coolant to said first and second heat accumulators.

2. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat accumulators comprise either a phase-change heat accumulator or an enthalpy-based thermal accumulator.

3. The cooling device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the phase-change heat accumulator or the enthalpy-based thermal accumulator has a material which uses a phase transition or a solution enthalpy.

4. The cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the material either is or includes a salt, a salt hydrate, or organic compounds.

5. The cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the material either is or includes either a long-chain organic compounds or paraffin.

6. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat accumulators are arranged in the coolant circuit upstream of the charging stations.

7. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat accumulators are arranged in the coolant circuit downstream of all the charging stations.

8. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat accumulators are arranged in the coolant circuit between two charging stations.

9. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling assembly and the heat accumulators are separate components of the cooling device.

10. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling assembly is positioned upstream of the heat accumulators.

11. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling assembly is positioned upstream of the pump, and the heat accumulators are positioned downstream of the pump.

12. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pump is positioned in the coolant circuit at a location between the cooling assembly and the heat accumulators.

13. The cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling assembly and the heat accumulators each individually and separately function to cool the coolant.

14. A method for operating a cooling device for cooling a first charging station and a second charging station of a charging park, wherein each charging station has an internal coolant duct for a coolant to flow through the charging station, an input-side coolant connection and an output-side coolant connection, the method comprising: cooling the coolant in a coolant circuit with a cooling assembly for cooling the coolant, wherein the internal coolant duct of each respective charging station is integrated into the coolant circuit, and wherein a plurality of heat accumulators are integrated into the coolant circuit, the plurality of heat accumulators including a first heat accumulator that is connected to the first charging station and a second heat accumulator that is connected to the second charging station; pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit using a pump to deliver the coolant from the cooling assembly to each charging station and sequentially deliver coolant to said first and second heat accumulators; and operating the cooling device in such a way that heat is stored in the heat accumulators either before, during, or both before and during operation of the charging stations.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising extracting a stored quantity of heat from the heat accumulators again using the coolant if at least one of the charging stations is not operated for charging.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the text which follows, the invention is explained in more detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawing, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a cooling device with a coolant circuit,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of an alternative cooling device with a coolant circuit, and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective illustration of a cooling device for a charging station or for a charging park with a multiplicity of charging stations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a cooling device 1 for cooling a charging station 2 or a multiplicity of charging stations 2 of a charging park 3.

(6) The respective charging station 2 has here an internal coolant duct 4 for a coolant to flow through the charging station 2, wherein the charging station is provided with an input-side coolant connection 5 and with an output-side coolant connection 6, in order to connect the internal coolant duct 4 of the charging station 2 to a coolant circuit 7, with the result that the coolant which flows into the coolant circuit 7 can also flow through the internal coolant duct 4 and can absorb heat there, in order to be able to cool the charging station or the components thereof, such as, in particular, electronics and/or power electronics, cables, charging cables, etc. In this context, the charging station 2 preferably has a cooling plate which is in thermal contact with the internal coolant duct 4, wherein components to be coded are in thermal contact with the cooling plate.

(7) The coolant circuit 7 is provided with a cooling assembly 8 for cooling the coolant and with a pump 9 for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit 7, wherein the internal coolant duct 4 of the respective charging station 2 is integrated into the coolant circuit 7, with the result that the coolant can flow through the charging stations in a serial and/or parallel fashion. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, the charging stations 2 are arranged in a serial fashion with respect to the through-flow of coolant, but they can also otherwise be connected in a parallel and/or serial fashion. In this context, groups of charging stations 2 can also be connected in parallel, wherein in one group the charging stations 2 are connected in a serial fashion.

(8) Furthermore, in FIG. 1 it is apparent that a heat accumulator 10 or a multiplicity, of heat accumulators 10 is integrated into the coolant circuit 7 in the forerun of the charging station 2 or in the forerun of the charging stations 2. The heat accumulator 10 is preferably connected upstream of a cooling plate of the charging station 2 here. The heat accumulator 10 is, under certain circumstances, arranged separately from the charging station 2 or the charging stations 2 here. The heat accumulator 10 or a heat accumulator 10 can also be integrated into the charging station 2.

(9) The heat, accumulator 10 is preferably a phase-change heat accumulator or, an enthalpy-based thermal accumulator, such as a heat accumulator. In this context, the phase-change heat accumulator or the enthalpy-based thermal accumulator has a material which uses a phase transition, a solution enthalpy, a reaction enthalpy or the like, in order to be able to store heat. In this context, the storable quantity of heat and the storage speed depend on the selection of the material of the heat accumulator and/or on the quantity of material or the arrangement or connection thereof.

(10) The material of the heat accumulator 10 can be or have a salt, a salt hydrate, organic compounds, in particular long-chain organic compounds and/or paraffin.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a cooling device 100 for cooling a charging station 2 or a multiplicity of charging stations 2 of a charging park 3.

(12) The respective charging station 2 also has, like the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, an internal coolant duct 4 for a coolant to flaw through the charging station 2, wherein the charging station is provided with an input-side coolant connection 5 and with an output-side coolant connection 6, in order to connect the internal coolant duct 4 of the charging station 2 to a coolant circuit 7, with the result that the coolant which flows in the coolant circuit 7 can also flow through the internal coolant duct 4 and can absorb heat there, in order to be able to cool the charging station or components thereof, such as, in particular, electronics and/or power electronics, cables, charging cables, etc. In this context, the charging stations preferably have a cooling plate which is in thermal contact with the internal coolant duct 4, wherein components to be cooled are in thermal contact with the cooling plate.

(13) The coolant circuit 7 is provided with a cooling assembly 8 for cooling the coolant and with a pump 9 for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit 7, wherein the internal coolant duct 4 of the respective charging station 2 is integrated into the coolant circuit 7, with the result that the coolant can flow through the charging stations in a serial and/or parallel fashion. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2, the charging stations 2 are also arranged in a serial fashion with respect to the through-flow of coolant, but they can correspondingly also otherwise be connected in a parallel and/or serial fashion. In this context, groups of charging stations 2 can also be connected in a parallel fashion, wherein in one group the charging stations 2 are connected in a serial fashion.

(14) Furthermore, it is apparent in FIG. 2 that a heat accumulator 10 or a multiplicity of heat accumulators 10 is integrated into the coolant circuit 7 in the reflux of one of the charging stations 2 or between two charging stations 2. The heat accumulator 10 is preferably connected downstream of a cooling plate of the charging station 2 here. The heat accumulator 10 is, under certain circumstances, arranged separately from the charging station 2 or from the charging stations 2 here. The heat accumulator 10 or a heat accumulator 10 can also be integrated into the charging station 2.

(15) The heat accumulator 10 is correspondingly again preferably a phase-change heat accumulator or an enthalpy-based thermal accumulator such as a heat accumulator. In this context, the phase-change heat accumulator or the enthalpy-based thermal accumulator has a material which uses a phase transition, a solution enthalpy, a reaction enthalpy or the like in order to be able to store heat. In this context, the storable quantity of heat and the storage speed depend on the selection of the material of the heat accumulator and/or also on the quantity of the material or the arrangement or connection thereof.

(16) The material of the heat accumulator 10 can be or have a salt, a salt hydrate, organic compounds, in particular long-chain organic compounds and/or paraffin.

(17) In FIGS. 1 and 2, the respective charging station 2 is assigned a temperature sensor 11 which detects the temperature of the charging station or the components thereof, such as, in particular, the cooling plate thereof. The sensor signal of the temperature sensor serves to control the activation or deactivation of the heat accumulator if the latter is configured as a heat accumulator which can be activated in a targeted fashion. As a result, the phase transition etc. or the like can be controlled in a chronological fashion, in order to be able to absorb heat in a targeted fashion.

(18) FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of a cooling device 200 with a charging park 3 with charging stations 2. In this context, the cooling assembly 8 with a pump 9 is preferably arranged spatially separate from the charging stations 2. The charging assembly 8 and the pump 9 are connected in a coolant circuit 7 to coolant lines 12 which also integrate the charging stations 2 in the coolant circuit 7. It is also possible to see a heat accumulator 10 which is embodied as a phase-change accumulator or enthalpy-based thermal accumulator as described above. The latter is preferably arranged in a power electronics housing which is assigned to at least one charging station or the power electronics thereof. In this context, the power electronics of the charging station are suitably not integrated into the charging station but rather integrated separately therefrom into the corresponding power electronics housing. The power electronics of all the charging stations or only some of the charging stations can also be integrated into such a power electronics housing. It is also possible to provide a plurality of such power electronics housings. These are typically integrated thermally into the coolant circuit. In this context, a heat accumulator 10 can be assigned to just one of the power electronics housings or to all of said housings.

(19) The invention also relates to a method for operating a cooling device 1, 100, 200 for cooling a charging station 2 or a multiplicity of charging stations 2 of a charging park 3, wherein the respective charging station 2 has an internal coolant duct 4 for a coolant to flow through the charging station 2, with an input-side coolant connection 5 and with an output-side coolant connection 6. For this purpose, the coolant circuit 7 is provided with the cooling assembly 8 for cooling the coolant and with a pump 9 for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit. In this context, the coolant duct 4 of the respective charging station 2 is integrated into the coolant circuit 7. The at least one heat accumulator or a multiplicity of heat accumulators is also integrated into the coolant circuit. The cooling device 1, 100, 200 is operated here in such a way that heat is stored in the at least one heat accumulator before and/or during operation of a charging station. As a result, pre-cooling of the coolant is brought about and/or a currently generated quantity of heat is stored in the heat accumulator, in order to avoid loading the coolant excessively in thermal terms. The operation of the cooling device is preferably such that a stored quantity of heat is extracted from the heat accumulator again by means of the coolant if the charging station or at least one charging station is not operated for charging, that is to say there is no additional or current high thermal load on the coolant or the cooling assembly.

(20) It is therefore also advantageous for operation if a stored quantity of heat is extracted from the heat accumulator again by means of the coolant if the heat which is present in a charging station or in the charging stations is less than the heat which can be discharged by means of the coolant.

(21) The release of the thermal energy or quantity of heat which is stored in the phase-change material preferably occurs at a time at which no activity at all, or significantly less activity, is detected in the charging park and therefore also a significantly reduced charging power compared to the installed power can also be expected. The detection of the activity can be carried out, for example, by means of the events described below. In addition, it is also possible to quantify the activity:

(22) In this context, movement sensors can be evaluated which monitor the charging park. User inputs can also be evaluated at user units. It is also possible to evaluate the withdrawing of charging plugs from their receptacle on the charging station.

(23) Furthermore, the time of day can be taken into account. Likewise, historical data from preceding days can be evaluated. The external temperature can also be evaluated since cold temperatures shorten the electrical range of vehicles owing to the heating system which is switched on by the drivers, and likewise extremely hot external temperatures shorten the range owing to the use of an air-conditioning system, which requires more frequent charging.

(24) One exemplary embodiment of the invention can provide, for the purpose of feeding back the thermal energy or quantity of heat stored in the phase-change material, that by means of switchable valves the coolant circuit or the coolant is routed past a number of components, for example heat-sensitive ones, in order to prevent them being heated up by the abovementioned thermal energy.

(25) In this way, these components are bypassed and the heated cooling medium is conducted, in particular as directly or quickly as possible, back into the reflux to the cooling system, which absorbs the energy which has been released by the phase-change material.