Method and apparatus for setting up an on-board charger in an electrically driven vehicle

• US 10,029,578 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2016
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dr Ing hc F Porsche AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Dr Ing hc F Porsche AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Spesser, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): King, Rodney P
• Application Number:
  US15/019,287
• Publication Number:
  US 20160257213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 701 22
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/05 Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1215 Master slave system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/3625 using a time dependent access
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A method is provided for setting up an on-board charger in an electrically driven vehicle with the following features: a proxy resistor of a charging socket of the vehicle is queried (44, 68); if the proxy resistor is present (46), a master configuration (48, 50, 52) of the on-board charger is carried out; and if the proxy resistor is not present (70), a slave configuration (72, 74, 76) of the on-board charger is carried out.

Claims

1. A method for configuring on-board chargers in an electrically-driven vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

querying a proxy resistor of a charging socket of the vehicle to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a first on-board chargers, the proxy resistor adapted for use to detect when a charging plug is attached to the charging socket of the vehicle for enabling electrical power to be delivered to the vehicle;

querying the proxy resistor to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a second on-board charger, wherein the proxy resistor is configured such that the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable by one of the first on-board charger or the second on-board charger;

configuring the first on-board charger as a master on-board charger if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to the first on-board charger; and

configuring the second on-board charger as a slave on-board charger if the presence of the proxy resistor is not detectable with respect to the second on-board charger.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

activating a first programmable logic controller (PLC) of the first on-board charger if the first on-board charger is configured as a master on-board charger; and

deactivating a second PLC of the second on-board charger if the second on-board charger is configured as a slave on-board charger.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

configuring a first controller area network (CAN) matrix stored in the first on-board charger as a master;

configuring a second CAN matrix stored in the second on-board charger as a slave;

configuring a first memory of the first on-board charger as a master; and

configuring a second memory of the second on-board charger as a slave.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a control signal from the master on-board charger via a controller area network (CAN) to the slave on-board charger;

waiting for a confirmation signal from the slave on-board charger for a predefined period;

using the master on-board charger to configure itself for individual operation if the confirmation signal is not received after the predefined period; and

making a diagnosis during individual operation of the master on-board charger.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

using the slave on-board charger to configure itself for paired operation if the slave on-board charger receives the control signal;

transmitting the confirmation signal from the slave on-board charger to the master on-board charger via the CAN;

receiving the confirmation signal by the master on-board charger; and

configuring the master on-board charger for paired operation.

6. The method of in claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

using the master on-board charger to adjust a charging power calculation to the paired operation after the master and slave on-board chargers have been configured for paired operation;

carrying out a parameterization process for the paired operation; and

initiating a communication via the CAN and storing settings in the on-board chargers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

preparing the slave on-board charger to receive a signal via a controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle; and

waiting for a predefined period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable via a charging socket connection, the charging socket connection being between the first on-board charger or the second on-board charger and the charging socket.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein only one of the first on-board charger or the second on-board charger is connected to the charging socket.

10. An apparatus for configuring on-board chargers in an electrically-driven vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

means for querying a proxy resistor of a charging socket of the vehicle to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a first on-board chargers, the proxy resistor adapted for use to detect when a charging plug is attached to the charging socket of the vehicle for enabling electrical power to be transferred from the charging plug to the charging socket;

means for querying the proxy resistor to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a second on-board charger, wherein the proxy resistor is configured such that the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable by one of the first on-bard charger or the second on-board charger;

means for configuring the first on-board charger as a master on-board charger if the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to the first on-board charger; and

means for configuring the second on-board charger as a slave on-board charger if the proxy resistor is not detectable with respect to the second on-board charger.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for activating a first programmable logic controller (PLC) of the first on-board charger if the first on-board charger is configured as a master on-board charger; and

means for deactivating a second PLC of the second on-board charger if the second on-board charger is configured as a slave on-board charger.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for configuring a first controller area network (CAN) matrix stored in the first on-board charger as a master;

means for configuring a second CAN matrix stored in the second on-board charger as a slave;

means for configuring a first memory of the first on-board charger as a master; and

means for configuring a second memory of the second on-board charger as a slave.

13. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having a computer program for configuring on-board chargers in an electrically-driven vehicle, the storage medium comprising logic for:

querying a proxy resistor of a charging socket of the vehicle to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a first on-board chargers, the proxy resistor adapted for use to detect when an external charging plug is attached to the charging socket of the vehicle to allow electrical power to be delivered to the vehicle;

querying the proxy resistor to determine if the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to a second on-board charger, wherein the proxy resistor is configured such that the presence of the proxy resistor is detectable by one of the first on-board charger or the second on-board charger;

configuring the first on-board charger as a master on-board charger if the proxy resistor is detectable with respect to the first on-board charger; and

configuring the second on-board charger as a slave on-board charger if the proxy resistor is not detectable with respect to the second on-board charger.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising logic for:

activating a first programmable logic controller (PLC) of the first on-board charger if the first on-board charger is configured as a master on-board charger; and

deactivating a second PLC of the second on-board charger if the second on-board charger is configured as a slave on-board charger.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising logic for:

configuring a first controller area network (CAN) matrix stored in the first on-board charger as a master;

configuring a second CAN matrix stored in the second on-board charger as a slave;

configuring a first memory of the first on-board charger as a master; and

configuring a second memory of the second on-board charger as a slave.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising logic for:

transmitting a control signal from the master on-board charger via a controller area network (CAN) to the slave on-board charger;

waiting for a confirmation signal from the slave on-board charger for a predefined period;

using the master on-board charger to configure itself for individual operation if the confirmation signal is not received after the predefined period; and

making a diagnosis during individual operation of the master on-board charger.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising logic for:

using the slave on-board charger to configure itself for paired operation if the slave on-board charger receives the control signal;

transmitting the confirmation signal from the slave on-board charger to the master on-board charger via the CAN;

receiving the confirmation signal by the master on-board charger; and

configuring the master on-board charger for paired operation.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of in claim 17, further comprising logic for:

using the master on-board charger to adjust a charging power calculation to the paired operation after the master and slave on-board chargers have been configured for paired operation;

carrying out a parameterization process for the paired operation; and

initiating a communication via the CAN and storing settings in the on-board chargers.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising logic for:

preparing the slave on-board charger to receive a signal via a controller area network (CAN) of the vehicle; and

waiting for a predefined period.