FIRMWARE UPDATE BY CENTRAL CONTROL MODULE OF A CHARGING STATION

Abstract

A charging station for charging electrically operated vehicles in particular a charging pole has a central control module and at least one secondary module. The secondary module has its own firmware memory and is connected to the central control module via a communication link. The central control module is configured to obtain a firmware update for the at least one secondary module and to cause installation of the obtained firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module. The invention further relates to a method for controlling a charging station carried out on a central control module of a charging station, in which a firmware update for an secondary module of the charging station is obtained, in particular received via communication link to an external server, and in which the installation of the obtained firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module is caused.

Claims

1. A charging station for charging electrically operated vehicles, in particular charging pole, having a central control module and having at least one secondary module, the secondary module having its own firmware memory and being connected to the central control module via a communication link, wherein, the central control module is configured to obtain a firmware update for the at least one secondary module and to cause installation of the obtained firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module.

2. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the central control module is configured in the form of a central control circuit board, and/or in that the at least one secondary module is configured in the form of a secondary circuit board having a firmware memory.

3. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the charging station comprises a plurality of secondary modules, each having its own firmware memory, the secondary modules being connected to the central control module via communication links and in that the central control unit is configured to obtain a respective firmware update for the individual secondary modules and to cause installation of the respective obtained firmware update in the firmware memory of the respective secondary module.

4. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the communication interface is provided for a communication link between the central control module and an external server, and the central control module is configured to receive a firmware update for an secondary module via the communication link.

5. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the central control module is configured to store the current firmware status of the at least one secondary module in a memory of the central control module.

6. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the central control module is configured to check the availability of a firmware update for an secondary module via a communication link to an external server, in particular by comparing an available firmware status obtained via the communication link with a current firmware status of a secondary module.

7. The charging station according to claim 1, wherein the central control module is configured to carry out the obtaining of an available firmware update for a secondary module or the causing of the installation of the available firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module as a function of the result of a firmware compatibility check.

8. The charging station according to claim 7, wherein the firmware compatibility check comprises a check of the compatibility of the firmware update available for the one secondary module with the firmware status of another secondary module or of the central control module.

9. The charging station according to claim 7, wherein the firmware compatibility check comprises a check of the compatibility of the firmware update available for the one secondary module with a firmware update available for another secondary module or for the central control module.

10. A method for controlling a charging station, carried out on a central control module of a charging station, in particular of a charging station according to claim 1, in which a firmware update for a secondary module of the charging station is obtained, in particular received via a communication link to an external server, and in which the installation of the obtained firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module is caused.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the availability of a firmware update for a secondary module of the charging station is checked via a communication link with an external server, wherein in particular an available firmware status is obtained via the communication link and compared with a current firmware status of the secondary module.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the obtaining of an available firmware update for an secondary module or the causing of the installation of the available firmware update in the firmware memory of the secondary module is carried out as a function of the result of a firmware compatibility check.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the compatibility of the firmware update available for the one secondary module with the firmware status of another secondary module or of the central control module is checked during the firmware compatibility check.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the compatibility of the firmware update available for the one secondary module with a firmware update available for another secondary module or for the central control module is checked during the firmware compatibility check.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Further advantages and features of the charging station and of the method emerge from the following description of exemplary embodiments, reference being made to the appended drawing.

[0034] In the drawing:

[0035] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the charging station in the form of a charging pole in a schematic representation,

[0036] FIGS. 2-3 show alternative exemplary embodiments of the charging station in a schematic representation,

[0037] FIG. 4 shows the central control module of the charging station of FIG. 1 in a schematic representation,

[0038] FIG. 5 shows a secondary module of the charging station of FIG. 1 in a schematic representation,

[0039] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of the method for controlling a charging station as a flowchart,

[0040] FIG. 7a-b show examples of available firmware statuses,

[0041] FIG. 8 shows an example of stored firmware statuses, and

[0042] FIG. 9a-c show examples of compatibility data sets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a charging station 2 in the form of a charging pole for providing electrical power for charging an electrically operable vehicle 4. To this end, the charging pole 2 comprises a current connection 6 on the network side, to which, in order to supply electricity, the charging station 2 can be connected to a local distribution network 8, an underground cable 10 of which is schematically represented in FIG. 1.

[0044] In order to charge the vehicle 4, the charging pole 2 is configured to output a charging current through a charging socket 12, to which the vehicle 4 to be charged can be connected by means of a charging cable 14. As an alternative, the charging current may also be output directly through a charging cable connected to the charging pole 2 in a fixed fashion. In this case, the charging socket 12 can be dispensed with.

[0045] In order to control the charging station 2, particularly in order to control a charging process, the charging station 2 comprises charging station electronics 16. The charging station electronics 16 comprise a central control module 18 and a plurality of secondary modules connected thereto, of which three secondary modules 20, 22 and 24 are represented in FIG. 1 by way of example.

[0046] The central control module 18 may, in particular, be a central control circuit board. During operation, software for operating the charging station 2, in particular for carrying out and for monitoring charging processes via the charging socket 12, runs on the central control module 18.

[0047] The individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 may likewise be configured in the form of respective secondary circuit boards. Preferably, the individual secondary modules are configured to control particular functions of the charging station. The secondary module 20 may for example be a control unit for controlling a current transformer 21, which carries out the conversion of the current provided by means of the current connection 6 into the charging current output through the charging socket 12. The secondary module 22 may for example be a control unit for a measurement unit, which measures the current output through the charging socket 12 during a charging process. The secondary module 24 may for example be a control unit for a user interface, for example a touchscreen 25, by means of which a user may log in at the charging station, initiate the start of a charging process and/or carry out a payment process, by corresponding user inputs.

[0048] The individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 are connected to the central control module 18 via corresponding communication links 26, 28, 30. The communication links may, as represented in FIG. 1, be formed directly between the respective secondary modules and the central control module 18. As an alternative, as in the case of the charging station 2 in FIG. 2, it is conceivable to achieve the communication links between the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 and the central control module 18, via a central data bus link 32, to which the individual secondary modules are connected. A further possibility for connecting the secondary modules 20, 22, 24 to the central control module 18 is shown in FIG. 3 for the charging station 2 illustrated therein. In this example, the secondary module 22 is connected to the central control module 18 via the secondary module 20, i.e. the secondary modules are partly connected in series. Furthermore, combinations of the aforementioned connection variants are likewise possible.

[0049] A respective direct communication link between the central control module 18 and the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 (cf. FIG. 1) is preferred, since this design allows direct driving of the secondary modules 20, 22, 24 by the central control module 18 and makes various communication links or protocols possible (for example I.sup.2C data bus, RS-422, etc.).

[0050] An exemplary structure of the control module 18 will be explained below with the aid of FIG. 4.

[0051] The central control module 18 comprises a control unit 36, in particular a microprocessor, a firmware memory 38 in the form of a flash memory, and a memory 40 in the form of a RAM chip, which are respectively connected to the control unit 36. An internal interface 42 is furthermore provided for the communication links of the central control module 18 to the secondary modules 20, 22, 24. In FIG. 4, the internal interface 42 comprises three individual interfaces for the communication links 26, 28, 30, which may be configured for different transmission methods and protocols, depending on the interface of the secondary module in question (for example for an I.sup.2C bus or an RS-422 interface). As an alternative, a plurality or all of the individual interfaces may also be combined to form a bus interface (for example for an I.sup.2C bus), as in the case of the charging station 2 represented in FIG. 2.

[0052] The central control module 18 furthermore comprises an external interface 44, which is configured to establish a communication link 45 to an external server 48, for example via an external network 46 such as the Internet, to which the external server 48 is connected. The external interface 44 may, for example, be a LAN interface or an Internet connection.

[0053] FIG. 5 schematically shows a possible structure of a secondary module using the example of the secondary module 20. The secondary module 20 has its own control unit 50, in particular a microprocessor, and its own firmware memory 52 connected thereto. The secondary module furthermore comprises an interface 54 for the communication link 26 to the central control module 18. The secondary module 20 may also comprise further components which are required for the functionality of the secondary module 20, in particular an interface for connection to the current transformer 21 if the secondary module 20 is provided for controlling the latter. These further components are not shown in FIG. 5 for the sake of clarity.

[0054] The central control module 18 and the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 for controlling various functions of the charging station 2 are typically produced by different manufacturers. The manufacturers respectively equip the modules produced by them with their own firmware, which typically contain instructions for basic functions of the modules, in the factory. In order to keep the firmware of the individual modules up to date, firmware updates have previously been installed in the individual modules on site by a service engineer.

[0055] In order to make this elaborate procedure obsolete and to be able to install firmware updates in the modules of a charging stations regardless of the availability of service engineers, the central control module 18 of the charging station 2 is in the present case configured to obtain firmware updates for the respective secondary modules 20, 22 and 24 via the external interface 44 and cause installation of the respective firmware update in the respective firmware memory (for example firmware memory 52 in the case of the secondary module 20). In this way, the conduct of firmware updates may be achieved centrally via the central control module 18 of the charging station 2.

[0056] To this end, a computer program having instructions, the execution of which in the control unit 36 causes a method for controlling the charging station as described below with the aid of FIG. 6 being carried out, is stored in a memory of the central control module 18, particularly in the firmware memory 38, preferably as part of the firmware stored therein, or in the memory 40.

[0057] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of the control of the charging station 2 as a workflow. The method is carried out in the central control module 18 of the charging station 2.

[0058] The method begins with the program being invoked at the start point 60. This invoking may for example be initiated at predetermined times, in particular at regular time intervals, or at a point in time which is transmitted from the external server 48 via the network 46 to the central control module.

[0059] In the first step 62 of the method, the firmware statuses available on the server 48 for the central control model 18 and the secondary modules 20, 22 and 24 are retrieved. To this end, the central control module 18 is configured to send the corresponding request via the external interface 44 and receive a response of the server 48 relating to the available firmware statuses.

[0060] FIG. 7a shows a possible response 66 of the server 48 to the request of the central control module 18 relating to the currently available firmware updates. In the table, the respective module (Main Module=central control module 18, Module1=secondary module 20, Module2=secondary module 22, Module3=secondary module 24) is indicated in the left column and the version of the respectively associated firmware update available on the server 48 is indicated in the right column. The respectively indicated firmware versions of the individual modules typically relate to different firmwares of different manufacturers, since the individual modules of a charging station are typically of different types and have generally been produced by different manufacturers. According to the server response in FIG. 7a, for example, the firmware version 1.3 is available for the firmware of the main module, the firmware version 2.6 is available for Module1 (secondary module 20), etc.

[0061] FIG. 7b shows another possible response 68 of the server 48 at a later point in time, at which the firmware version 2.7 is already available for Module1.

[0062] In step 63, the central control module obtains the current firmware statuses of the central control module 18 and of the respective secondary modules 20, 22, 24. To this end, the central control module 18 may be configured to send respective requests to the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 via the communication links 26, 28, 30 and receive the respective current firmware statuses of the individual modules. As an alternative, the current firmware statuses of the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 may also be stored in a memory, particularly in the memory 40, of the central control module 18, for example in the form of a table as represented by way of example in FIG. 8.

[0063] FIG. 8 showsin a similar way to the representation in FIG. 7a-bthe firmware versions installed in the respective firmware memories of the respective modules (for example firmware memory 38 of the central control module, firmware memory 52 of the secondary module 20), i.e. the current firmware statuses.

[0064] In step 64, the central control unit compares the available firmware statuses received from the server 48 (Table 68 or 70) with the current firmware statuses in the respective firmware memories (Table 66). The comparison of the firmware statuses stored according to FIG. 8 with the firmware statuses available according to FIG. 7a shows, for example, that firmware updates are available for the secondary modules 22, 24 (Module2, Module3), while the most recent firmwares are already installed for the central control module 18 (Main Module) and the secondary module 20 (Module1).

[0065] In step 72, a case differentiation is made according to whether or not one or more recent firmware update(s) are available. If no more recent updates are available, the method ends at the end point 74. If at least one more recent update is available, the method continues with step 76.

[0066] It has been established that it is not expedient to install each firmware update available for a module immediately, since typically not all firmware versions of the individual modules of a charging station 2 are mutually compatible.

[0067] In order to ensure compatibility of the individual firmwares installed in the modules of the charging station 2, associated compatibility data sets for the available firmware updates are therefore retrieved in step 76. To this end, the central control module 18 sends corresponding requests to the server 48 via the external interface 44 and receives the transmitted compatibility data sets. As an alternative, the compatibility data sets may also be received directly in step 62 together with the dataset relating to the available firmware statuses.

[0068] FIGS. 9a-c show examples of compatibility data sets. FIG. 9a-b show a respective compatibility data set 78, 80 for the firmware updates available according to the table in FIG. 7a for the secondary modules 22, 24 (version 12.6 for Module2 and version 1.26 for Module3). FIG. 9c shows a compatibility data set 82 for the further firmware update available at a later point in time according to the table in FIG. 7b for the secondary module 22 (version 12.7 for Module2).

[0069] The compatibility data sets 78, 80 and 82 for the firmware updates of the individual modules are represented in FIG. 9a-c as a table which lists the respective other modules of the charging station 2 in the left column and in the right column the associated firmware statuses of these other modules, with which the relevant firmware update is compatible. Thus, for the installation of firmware version 12.6 for the secondary module 22 (Module2), it is necessary for the firmware version 1.3 to be installed in the central control module 18, for a firmware version from 2.6 to 2.7 to be installed in the secondary module 20 and for a firmware version from 1.25 to 1.28 to be installed in the secondary module 24.

[0070] In the next step 84 of the method, the check of the compatibility of the firmware updates available for the individual modules with the current and available firmware statuses of the respective other modules is carried out with the aid of the received compatibility data sets.

[0071] In the case of the available firmware statuses according to FIG. 7a and the current firmware statuses according to FIG. 8, this check reveals that the update to version 12.6 available for Module2 is compatible, according to the compatibility data set 78 (FIG. 8a), with the stored and available firmware statuses (FIG. 8) of the other modules. Conversely, the update to version 1.26 available for Module3 is compatible, according to the compatibility data set 80 (FIG. 8b), neither with the stored firmware status 12.5 for Module2 nor with the firmware update 12.6 available for this module.

[0072] In the case of the available firmware statuses according to FIG. 7b and the stored firmware statuses according to FIG. 8, this check reveals that both the firmware update to version 12.7 available for Module2 (compatibility data set 82 in FIG. 8c) and the update to version 1.26 available for Module3 (compatibility data set 80 in FIG. 8b) are compatible with the current and available firmware statuses of the other modules.

[0073] In step 88, the firmware updates to be installed are selected on the basis of the check previously carried out. The firmware updates which are compatible together with the current firmware statuses, or the further firmware updates to be installed, of the other modules are selected so that a set of mutually compatible firmware statuses is obtained.

[0074] In the case of FIG. 7a, only the firmware update to version 12.6 for Module2 would be selected. In the case of FIG. 7b, both the firmware update to version 12.7 for Module2 and the firmware update to version 1.26 available for Module3 would be selected.

[0075] During the subsequent case differentiation 90, the method ends at the end point 92 if no firmware updates have been selected for installation. Otherwise, the selected firmware updates are received from the server 48 in the next step 94. To this end, the central control module 18 sends corresponding requests via the external interface 44 and receives the firmware updates sent by the server 48.

[0076] The obtained firmware updates are installed in the corresponding modules in step 96. To this end, the central control module 18 transmits the firmware update for a secondary module via the corresponding communication link (for example communication link 26 for the secondary module 20) to the respective secondary module so that the firmware update is installed in the firmware memory of the corresponding secondary module. After installation of the respectively selected and received firmware updates has been carried out, the central control module initiates a restart of the respective secondary modules in step 98 by a corresponding instruction being sent via the associated communication link. The method then ends at the end point 100.

[0077] With the method described with the aid of FIG. 6, firmware updates of the individual secondary modules 20, 22, 24 and of the central control module 18 can be carried out centrally by the central control module 18. In this way manual installation of firmware updates in the individual modules of a charging station 2 by a service engineer can be dispensed with. Furthermore, the method automatically makes sure that a set of compatible firmware versions is installed in the individual modules, so that correct operation of the charging station 2 is ensured.

[0078] All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

[0079] The use of the terms a and an and the and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms comprising, having, including, and containing are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning including, but not limited to,) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., such as) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0080] Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.