Method and Device for Assisting Filling with Hydrogen

Abstract

A refuelling assistance device that determines one of the following scenarios: (a) that consecutive refuelling operations of a first vehicle at corresponding different fuel stations have taken place without a communication link, and (b) that consecutive refuelling operations at a first fuel station for corresponding different vehicles have taken place without the communication link. In response to determining scenario (a), the control unit causes a communication module of the first vehicle to be checked for establishment of the communication link. In response to determining scenario (b), the control unit causes a communication module of the first fuel station to be checked for establishment of the communication link.

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A refuelling assistance device operable within a system comprising: a plurality of vehicles, including a first vehicle, each having a pressure tank that is refuellable with fuel via a refuelling operation, wherein the refuelling operation may occur at any of a plurality of fuel stations, including a first fuel station, with or without a communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station, the device comprising: a control unit configured to: determine that consecutive refuelling operations of the first vehicle at corresponding different fuel stations of the plurality of fuel stations have taken place without the communication link; determine that consecutive refuelling operations at the first fuel station for corresponding different vehicles of the plurality of vehicles have taken place without the communication link; in response to determining that consecutive refuelling operations of the first vehicle at corresponding different fuel stations of the plurality of fuel stations have taken place without the communication link, cause a communication module of the first vehicle to be checked for establishment of the communication link; and in response to determining that consecutive refuelling operations at the first fuel station for corresponding different vehicles of the plurality of vehicles have taken place without the communication link, cause a communication module of the first fuel station to be checked for establishment of the communication link.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the device forms part of the first vehicle, and wherein the device is configured to receive refuelling operation data relating to whether the refuelling operation has taken place with or without a communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station from the first fuel station or from a central unit for a network of the plurality of fuel stations.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: determine an identifier of the first vehicle, position data relating to a position of the first fuel station and/or a time stamp relating to a point in time of the refuelling operation; and transmit the identifier, the position data and/or the time stamp to the first fuel station or the central unit in order to obtain the refuelling operation data.

13. The device according to claim 10, wherein the first fuel station comprises one or more fuel station sensors which are configured to collect sensor data relating to the fuel which is provided in the refuelling operation; wherein the first vehicle comprises one or more vehicle sensors which are configured to collect sensor data relating to a filling level and/or a filling pressure of the pressure tank; and wherein the device is configured to check and/or calibrate the one or more vehicle sensors on the basis of the sensor data from the one or more fuel station sensors.

14. The device according to claim 10, wherein the device is configured to: determine pressure data relating to a filling pressure of the pressure tank following the refuelling operation; determine temperature data related to a temperature of the fuel in the pressure tank; and determine on the basis of the pressure data and on the basis of the temperature data whether a refuelling operation has taken place with or without a communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station.

15. The device according to claim 10, wherein the communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station allows communication in accordance with SAE J2601 and/or SAE J2799, and/or wherein the fuel comprises H.sub.2.

16. The device according to claim 10, wherein the communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station comprises an infrared communication link.

17. The device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: determine zero, one or more indicators relating to premature termination of the refuelling operation; and on the basis of the zero, one or more indicators, determine whether a refuelling operation has taken place with or without a communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station.

18. A refuelling assistance method useable within a system comprising: a plurality of vehicles, including a first vehicle, each having a pressure tank that is refuellable with fuel via a refuelling operation, wherein the refuelling operation may occur at any of a plurality of fuel stations, including a first fuel station, with or without a communication link between the first vehicle and the first fuel station, the method comprising: determining one of the following scenarios: (a) that consecutive refuelling operations of the first vehicle at corresponding different fuel stations of the plurality of fuel stations have taken place without the communication link, and (b) that consecutive refuelling operations at the first fuel station for corresponding different vehicles of the plurality of vehicles have taken place without the communication link; in response to determining scenario (a), cause a communication module of the first vehicle to be checked for establishment of the communication link; and in response to determining scenario (b), cause a communication module of the first fuel station to be checked for establishment of the communication link.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system for carrying out pressure refueling, in particular hydrogen refueling; and

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for assisting a user when carrying out pressure refueling (e.g. with hydrogen).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] As explained at the outset, the present document is concerned with increasing the comfort and/or the reliability and/or the quality of pressure refueling of a pressure tank with a fuel, in particular with hydrogen. In this context, FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system 100 which comprises a vehicle 110 with a pressure tank 111 and a tank unit or a fuel station 120 for refueling the pressure tank 111 with a fuel (in particular with hydrogen, H.sub.2). The fuel station 120 comprises a fuel hose 121, which can be connected to a coupling element 112 of vehicle 110 via a complementary coupling element 122 in order to create a fluid-tight, in particular gas-tight connection between the fuel hose 121 and a fuel line 114 of the vehicle 110 to the pressure tank 111. To refuel, fuel can be pumped from the fuel station 120 via the fuel hose 121 and via the fuel line 114 into the pressure tank 111.

[0036] The vehicle 110 can comprise a communication module 113 which is designed to exchange data relating to a refueling operation with a corresponding communication module 123 of the fuel station 120. A communication link 103 can thus be established between a vehicle 110 and a fuel station 120 in order to monitor a refueling operation. The communication can take place via an infrared (IR) interface.

[0037] The communication link 103 can be used to transmit pressure data relating to the pressure in the pressure tank 111 to the fuel station 120. The fuel station 120 can then operate the pump for filling the pressure tank 111 as a function of the pressure data, in particular in order to fill the pressure tank 111 with fuel up to a certain maximum pressure.

[0038] If no communication connection 103 can be established between the vehicle 110 and the fuel station 120, the filling pressure that is reached in a refueling operation is typically lower than the possible maximum pressure for safety reasons. In particular, in such a case (which is also referred to as non-COM refueling) a lower filling pressure is reached for the pressure tank 111 than in the case of refueling with data communication (also referred to as COM refueling), since the fuel station 120 can only estimate the actual filling pressure in the pressure tank 111 (as it is not communicated via the communication link 103 from the vehicle 110). The filling pressure reached in non-COM refueling can be, for example, about 5% or more, or 10% or more (e.g. 8%) below the possible maximum pressure. The reduced filling pressure leads to a reduced range for the vehicle 110.

[0039] A defect in and/or soiling of the communication module 113 of the vehicle 110 and/or the communication module 123 of the fuel station 120 can result in only non-COM refueling with reduced filling pressure and no COM refueling with maximum pressure being carried out.

[0040] For refueling with hydrogen or H.sub.2, the aspects of COM refueling and non-COM refueling are defined in the SAE J2601 standard document. This standard document is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. According to SAE J2601, COM refueling with maximum pressure only takes place if a valid data connection 103 has been established between the vehicle 110 and the fuel station 120. The aspects relating to the data link 103 are described in the SAE J2799 standard document, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0041] Non-COM (i.e. non-communication) refueling takes place when the data connection 103 between the vehicle 110 and the fuel station 120 cannot be established or when the data received by the fuel station 120 are not recognized as valid by the fuel station 120. A refueling operation may initially start as COM refueling, but switch to non-COM refueling if there is a problem with signal transmission during refueling. In this case, the fuel station 120 determines a new (reduced) target pressure for the refueling operation.

[0042] The system 100 can comprise a central unit 130 which is configured to communicate with the tank unit or fuel station 120 and/or with the vehicle 110 via a communication link 131. In particular, the central unit 130 can be configured to determine whether COM refueling or non-COM refueling has been carried out at a fuel station 120. Furthermore, the central unit 130 can determine for a plurality of different refueling operations (each with different vehicles 110) whether COM refueling or non-COM refueling has been carried out. Based on this data, it can be checked whether a fuel station 120 has a (permanent) defect in relation to the establishment of a communication link 103. This information can be communicated in order to inform the users of vehicles 110 whether only reduced refueling is possible at the fuel station 120 or whether full refueling is possible.

[0043] It can thus be detected, in particular at the end of an operation of refueling a pressure tank 111 (by the vehicle 110), whether non-COM refueling or COM refueling has been carried out (e.g. on the basis of the filling pressure in the pressure tank 110). This information can be stored in a database and, where applicable, taken into account in journey planning (for subsequent refueling, also for other vehicles).

[0044] The information relating to the type of refueling that has taken place (COM refueling or non-COM refueling) can be transmitted to the fuel station 120 via vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, in particular in order to cause an operator of the fuel station 120 to rectify the error (if it is a fuel station error). If the cause lies with the vehicle 110, a corresponding error entry can be stored in an error memory of the vehicle 110 in order to cause the error to be corrected as part of the maintenance for the vehicle 110.

[0045] A database relating to the type of refueling (COM or non-COM refueling), which is determined and updated by the central unit 130 for example, can allow a vehicle 110, for example, to determine whether the RDI (refueling data interface) signal transmitted by the communication module 113 of the vehicle 110 (e.g. via an infrared-based communication link 113) for a refueling operation has been successfully received by the fuel station 120. The RDI signal can be defined in the SAEJ2601 standard. If the signal was not received, and if it is detected that this is the case at multiple fuel stations 120, then it can be reliably concluded that the communication module 113 of the vehicle 110 is defective.

[0046] The comparison between a certain vehicle 110 and a refueling operation can be achieved, for example, by transmitting an identifier (ID) of the vehicle 110 to the fuel station 120 as part of the data communication 103 (e.g. the vehicle identification number, VIN). Alternatively or additionally, a first database for fuel stations 120 and a second database for vehicles 110 can be maintained, in which individual refueling operations are listed with a time stamp and/or with position data (e.g. GPS coordinates). A match between a vehicle 110 and a certain refueling operation at a certain fuel station 120 can thus be reliably established.

[0047] A database relating to the individual refueling operations at at least one fuel station 120 can allow a vehicle 110 to determine information regarding how much fuel was taken on in one refueling operation. Alternatively or additionally, this can be determined from an electronic invoice for a refueling operation (which can be assigned to a specific refueling operation via position data and/or a time stamp, for example).

[0048] The quantity information provided by the fuel station 120 relating to the quantity of fuel provided can be compared with the vehicle's own filling measurement (taking into account the accuracy of the filling measurement), e.g. in order to detect an error in a refueling operation. In a corresponding manner, the quantity information determined by the vehicle 110 can also be transmitted to the fuel station 120 or to the central unit 130. In this way, the quantity sensors of the vehicle 110 and of the fuel station 120 can be compared with one another. This is particularly advantageous for the calibration of the sensor 115 of a vehicle 110, since the sensor system 125 of a fuel station 120 is typically calibrated and can therefore be used as a reference for calibrating the sensor 115 of the vehicle 110. In particular, inaccuracy in the vehicle sensor 115 due to drift or aging can be detected and potentially compensated for.

[0049] The vehicle 110 can thus be configured to estimate the updated filling level of the pressure tank 111 online in a refueling operation on the basis of the currently present (measured) filling level of the pressure tank 111 and on the basis of the filling mass currently provided by the fuel station 120 and, where applicable, display it and/or use it in the calculation of the range of the vehicle 110. Furthermore, on the basis of the filling mass provided by the fuel station 120, the pressure or the temperature of the pressure tank 111 can be inferred via the density of the (gaseous) fuel.

[0050] The vehicle 110 can comprise one or more sensors 115 which are configured to collect sensor data relating to the filling level and/or the filling pressure of the pressure tank 111. Furthermore, the fuel station 120 can comprise one or more sensors 125 which are configured to record sensor data relating to the pressure of the fuel provided and/or relating to the amount of fuel provided. The one or more sensors 125 of the fuel station 120 are typically calibrated. The sensor data provided by the one or more sensors 125 of the fuel station 120 can thus be used to check and/or calibrate the one or more sensors 115 of the vehicle 110.

[0051] The database relating to a fuel station 120 can indicate [0052] whether and, if applicable, in what period of time the fuel station 120 is being serviced and is therefore not available for refueling; and/or [0053] whether the fuel station 120 is defective; and/or [0054] whether the fuel station 120 allows non-COM fueling or COM fueling; and/or [0055] position data relating to the position at which a vehicle 110 should stop in order to allow coupling of the coupling elements 122, 112 (e.g. for fully automatic refueling); and/or [0056] statistical data on the utilization of the fuel station 120 and/or on the price trend for fuel at the fuel station 120.

[0057] The status of fuel stations 120 can thus be determined and updated (e.g. by the central unit 130). The database related to the status of fuel stations 120 can then be provided for refueling operations for vehicles 110.

[0058] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary (potentially computer-implemented) method 200 for assisting in the refueling of a pressure tank 111 of a vehicle 110 with fuel. The pressure tank 111 can in particular be refueled with H.sub.2, or hydrogen. The method 200 can be carried out by the vehicle 110 and/or by the fuel station 120 at which a refueling operation for refueling the pressure tank 111 takes place.

[0059] The method 200 comprises determining 201 whether a refueling operation for refueling the pressure vessel 111 at a fuel station 120 has taken place with or without a communication link 103 between the vehicle 110 and the fuel station 120. The vehicle 110 can be any first vehicle 110 from a plurality of different vehicles 110. The fuel station 120 can be any first fuel station 120 of a plurality of different fuel stations 120. In particular, it can be determined whether COM refueling or non-COM refueling has taken place.

[0060] Furthermore, the method 200 comprises, depending on whether a refueling operation has taken place with or without a communication link 103, effecting 202 a measure for a subsequent refueling operation. A measure can be taken in particular when it has been recognized that a refueling operation has taken place without a communication link 103. As a measure in this case, in particular, the communication module 113, 123 of the vehicle 110 and/or of the fuel station 120 can be checked and, where applicable, repaired. A measure for a subsequent refueling operation for the vehicle 110 (potentially at another fuel station) and/or for the fuel station 120 (potentially for refueling another vehicle) can thus be effected.

[0061] The measures described in this document can be used to increase comfort when refueling and using a vehicle 110 with a pressure fuel tank 111. In particular, improved journey and/or range planning for vehicles 110 can be made possible by providing a database relating to the status of fuel stations 120. The information determined in relation to non-COM refueling can be used to detect defects at an early stage and rectify them, so that the quality of refueling operations can be increased. In a corresponding manner, faults in a vehicle 110 can also be detected and rectified. Such a fault can be detected in particular when multiple consecutive non-COM refueling operations have taken place at different fuel stations 120.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown. In particular, it should be noted that the description and the figures are only intended to illustrate the principle of the proposed methods, devices and systems by way of example.