Electrical charging apparatus, electrical charging station and method for controlling an electrical charging apparatus

Abstract

An electrical charging apparatus (10) for charging an electrical energy store of a motor vehicle (12) has an electrical connection (16) to electrically connect the charging apparatus (10) to a charging station (14) and to interchange electrical energy with the charging station (14). An electrical converter (18) is connected to the electrical connection (16) to interchange the electrical energy with the charging station (14) via the electrical connection (16) and to convert the electrical energy. A control unit (20) is connected to the electrical converter (18) to control the interchange of the electrical energy. A communication interface (22) is assigned to the control unit (20) and is designed to interchange data (34) with the charging station (14). The control unit (20) is designed to control the interchange of the electrical energy on the basis of the data.

Claims

1. An electrical charging apparatus for charging an electrical energy store of a motor vehicle, comprising: an electrical connector configured to removably connect the charging apparatus to a stationary charging station and configured to interchange electrical energy and data with the stationary charging station, wherein the electrical connector has a plurality of phases to interchange the electrical energy with the stationary charging station in a multi-phase manner; a communication interface electrically connected to the electrical connector; an electrical converter configured to be removably coupled to the electrical energy store of the motor vehicle and to convert the electrical energy from the stationary charging station from an alternating current (AC) voltage to a direct current (DC) voltage; an electrical line electrically connecting the communication interface to the electrical converter, the electrical line including a first electrical line and a second electrical line; the first electrical line including a first end and a second end, the first end of the first electrical line connected to the communication interface and the second end of the first electrical line connected to a control unit, the first electrical line forming a bidirectional powerline communication (PLC) channel between the communication interface and the control unit for transmitting data and electrical energy; the second electrical line including a first end and a second end, the first end of the second electrical line connected to the control unit and the second end of the second electrical line connected to the electrical converter, the second electrical line forming a bidirectional PLC channel between the control unit and the electrical converter for transmitting data and electrical energy; the control unit integrated in the electrical line and configured to form an overvoltage protection device; and the communication interface configured to interchange data between the stationary charging station and the control unit via the electrical connector and the first electrical line, wherein, the control unit is configured to independently control the interchange of the electrical energy in each of the phases between the stationary charging station and the charging apparatus via the electrical converter on the basis of the interchange data to prevent high reactive powers, zero point shifts, and asymmetrical network loads, wherein, in the event of an existing asymmetrical network load, the control unit is configured to limit the withdrawal of electrical energy over individual phases or load individual phases more greatly to avoid and/or compensate for the existing asymmetrical network load.

2. The electrical charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data interchanged with the stationary charging station have information relating to a maximum amount of electrical energy in the phases.

3. The electrical charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is connected to the electrical converter via the second electrical line.

4. The electrical charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication interface forms a bidirectional interface for bidirectional data interchange.

5. The electrical charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrical converter is positioned on the motor vehicle.

6. A method for controlling an electrical charging apparatus, comprising: removably connecting an electrical converter of the electrical charging apparatus to a charging station, wherein the electrical connector has a plurality of phases to interchange the electrical energy with the stationary charging station in a multi-phase manner; interchanging data between the electrical charging apparatus and the charging station using a line that transmits electrical energy from the charging station to the electrical charging apparatus; independently interchanging the electrical energy in the phases between the charging station and the electrical converter by controlling the electrical converter on the basis of the interchanged data; and providing a control unit integrated in the line between the electrical converter and the charging station, the control unit configured to form an overvoltage protection device and to control the electrical converter to independently control the interchange of electrical energy in each of the phases between the stationary charging station and the charging apparatus on the basis of the interchanged data to prevent high reactive powers, zero point shifts, and asymmetrical network loads, wherein, in the event of an existing asymmetrical network load, the control unit is configured to limit the withdrawal of electrical energy over individual phases or load individual phases more greatly to avoid and/or compensate for the existing asymmetrical network load.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting authentication data from the charging apparatus to the charging station for authenticating the electrical charging apparatus.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an electrically driven motor vehicle that is connected to a charging station for charging an energy store.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of interchange of data and electrical energy between a charging apparatus and a charging station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) A charging apparatus is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 and is denoted generally by 10. The charging apparatus 10 connects a motor vehicle 12 to a charging station 14 to charge an electrical energy store of the motor vehicle 12 at the charging station 14.

(4) The charging apparatus 10 generally has an electrical connection 16 or a connector 16 to connect the charging apparatus 10 electrically to the charging station 14 and to transmit electrical energy to the charging apparatus 10 or to the electrical energy store of the motor vehicle 12. The charging apparatus 10 has an electrical converter 18 that usually converts alternating current into direct current by a transformer to charge the electrical energy store of the motor vehicle 12 using direct current. The charging apparatus 10 also has a control unit 20 to control the electrical converter 18 and to control or set the withdrawal of electrical energy from the charging station 14. The charging apparatus 10 also has a communication interface 22 that interchanges data between the control unit 20 and the charging station 14. The control unit 20 is designed to control or limit the electrical energy withdrawn from the charging station 14 by the converter 18.

(5) The electrical connector 16 is connected to the control unit 20 via a first electrical line 24 having a plurality of wires, and the control unit 20 is connected to the converter 18 via a second electrical line 26 having a plurality of wires. The first electrical line 24 is used to transmit the data from the communication interface 22 to the control unit 20, and the wires of the first electrical line 24 also are used to transmit the electrical energy. Thus, the first electrical line 24 forms a data channel or a PLC channel that is bidirectional so that data can be transmitted from the control unit 20 to the charging station 14 and from the charging station 14 to the control unit 20. The second electrical line 26 is used to transmit the electrical energy and also is used to transmit the data to the converter 18 or to the motor vehicle 12 so that the second electrical line 26 also forms a bidirectional data channel or a PLC channel.

(6) Electrical energy can be transmitted from the charging station 14 to the motor vehicle 12 in a three-phase manner or in a single-phase manner depending on availability.

(7) The conversion of alternating current into direct current by means of the converter 18, which preferably is a transformer, usually results in a phase shift between the electrical current and the electrical voltage. As a result, electrical reactive power is withdrawn from the charging station 14 or the public network to which the charging station 14 is connected. Furthermore, one-sided phase loads or asymmetrical network loads and zero point shifts may occur during single-phase energy transmission or in the case of a large number of vehicles 12 connected to the charging station 14. In the extreme situation, transmission of the electrical energy to the motor vehicles 12 must be disconnected. The communication interface 22 receives data from the charging station and defines information relating to the maximum possible withdrawal of energy or the maximum possible reactive power or the maximum possible withdrawal of reactive current. As a result, the control unit 20 controls the converter 18 and the withdrawal of energy can be adapted in accordance with the specifications by the charging station 14. Hence, it is possible to limit the withdrawal over individual phases, or individual phases can be loaded more greatly in the event of an existing asymmetrical network load so that the asymmetry of the load can be compensated for. The charging station 14 can thereby control the withdrawal of energy by the individual charging apparatuses by transmitting the data to the communication interface 22 of the charging apparatus 10 to achieve symmetrical withdrawal of energy with power factor correction.

(8) As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 20 is integrated in the electrical line of the charging apparatus 10 and accordingly forms an integrated control unit and an overvoltage protection device (ICCPD) in the electrical line.

(9) The charging station 14 is connected to the electrical network and preferably to the public power supply network 28 and obtains the electrical energy transmitted to the charging apparatus 10 from the public power supply network 28. The charging station 14 accordingly has an electrical connection 30 for connecting the electrical connection 16 of the charging apparatus 10 and also has a communication interface 32 that is connected to the electrical connection 30 to interchange the data with the communication interface 22 of the charging apparatus 16. As a result, the charging station 14 can transmit the electrical energy to the charging apparatus 10 and can interchange the data with the communication interface 22 of the charging apparatus 10 for controlling the energy consumption of the charging apparatus 10.

(10) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of the transmission of energy and data between the charging apparatus and the charging station. The same elements are denoted with the same reference numerals, only the special features being explained here.

(11) The charging station 14 is connected electrically to the public network 28 to withdraw electrical energy from the network 28 and to make it available to the charging apparatus 10. The electrical energy is transmitted from the charging station 14 to the control unit 20 by the first electrical line 24, the data 34 simultaneously being interchanged between the charging station 14 and the control unit 20. In this case, the electrical line for electrical energy transmission simultaneously forms a bidirectional PLC channel. The control unit 20 also is connected electrically to the converter 18 that is inside the motor vehicle 12 in this illustration. The control unit 20 controls the converter 18 on the basis of the data 34. Thus, the converter 18 receives the electrical energy according to the specifications from the charging station or consumes the electrical energy from the charging station 14. The electrical connection between the control unit 20 and the converter 18 is used to transmit the electrical energy simultaneously forms the bidirectional PLC channel. Therefore, the control unit 20 can interchange the data 34 and control data with the converter 18 and the motor vehicle 12 at the same time.

(12) The data 34 may preferably contain information relating to the network load for phases under load or phase numbers under load, information relating to transformer states in the public network 28, specifications for the phase load, feedback relating to instantaneous phase uses by the charging apparatus 10, power calculation for determining the reactive power and predictions of future power drains. Furthermore, the data 34 which are transmitted from the control unit 20 to the charging station 14 may also have authentication data for authenticating the charging apparatus 10 or the motor vehicle 12.

(13) Overall, the charging apparatus 10 and the charging station 14 can be used to implement a controlled power drain, with the result that the electrical energy can be reliably provided and the likelihood of the energy supply being disconnected is minimized.