Charging device for charging a vehicle accumulator

• US 10,166,876 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2011
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Falk, Rainer, Fries, Steffen
• Primary Examiner(s): Pelton, Nathaniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ruiz, Johali Torres
• Application Number:
  US13/979,616
• Publication Number:
  US 20150073591A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,574 Days
• Field of Search: 320104, 320109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 Remote or cooperative charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A vehicle accumulator connected to a charging device is charged by controlling a configurable charge program executed by a control unit of the charge device. The configurable charge program is obtained from a charge program memory, so that the vehicle accumulator can be charged in an optimal manner with an individual charging characteristic.

Claims

1. A charging device for charging each of a plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators, the charging device comprising:

a control unit configured to execute a plurality of different predetermined charge programs corresponding with the plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators, each predetermined charging program being executable by the control unit to control charging of a respective type of vehicle accumulator; and

an accumulator recognition unit configured to, during connection of a particular type of a vehicle accumulator to the charging device via a communication link;

receive, from the vehicle accumulator via the communication link, accumulator identification information indicating the particular type of vehicle accumulator connected to the charging device; and

identify the particular type of vehicle accumulator currently connected to the charging device based on the received accumulator identification information; and

wherein the control unit is further executable to;

access, from the vehicle accumulator via the communication link, a particular predetermined charge program corresponding with the particular type of vehicle accumulator identified by the accumulator recognition unit;

wherein the particular predetermined charge program is transferred to the control unit in cryptographically encrypted form;

in response to accessing the particular predetermined charge program from the vehicle accumulator in cryptographically encrypted form, automatically request a corresponding key for decryption from a server associated with a manufacturer of the particular type of vehicle accumulator;

obtain the decryption key from the server associated with the manufacturer of the particular type of vehicle accumulator, and use the decryption key to decrypt the predetermined charge program received from the vehicle accumulator; and

execute the particular predetermined charge program to control charging of the particular type of vehicle accumulator.

2. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an authentication unit performing authentication of the vehicle accumulator prior to charging by the charging device.

3. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

plurality of different predetermined charge programs corresponding with the plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators are stored in a charge program memory; and

accessing, by said control unit the particular predetermined charging program corresponding with the particular type of vehicle accumulator comprises selecting the particular charge program stored in the charge program memory depending at least one of the particular vehicle accumulator type identified by the accumulator recognition unit.

4. The charging device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the charge program memory is provided in the vehicle accumulator.

5. The charging device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the charge data server connected to the charging device is manufactured by a manufacturer of the vehicle accumulator.

6. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging device is provided in one of a charging post and an electric vehicle.

7. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple sets of predetermined charge programs are stored in the charge program memory for different vehicle accumulators of the same type of vehicle accumulator, each set including:

a fast charge program for charging the respective vehicle accumulator with a high charging current in a first predetermined period of time,

a normal charge program for charging the respective vehicle accumulator with a low charging current in a second predetermined period of time longer than the first predetermined period of time, and

a buffer charge program.

8. A method for charging each of a plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators by a charging device using a plurality of different predetermined charge programs corresponding with the plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators, the method comprising, for each of the different types of vehicle accumulators:

connecting a particular type of vehicle accumulator to the charging device via a communication link;

receiving, at an accumulator recognition unit of the charging device, from the vehicle accumulator via the communication link, accumulator identification information indicating the particular type of vehicle accumulator connected to the charging device;

identifying, by the accumulator recognition unit, based on the received accumulator identification information, the particular type of vehicle accumulator;

obtaining, by a control unit of the charging device, from a charge program memory of the vehicle accumulator via the communication link, a particular predetermined charge program, from the plurality of different predetermined charge programs, that corresponds with the particular type of vehicle accumulator identified by the accumulator recognition unit;

wherein the particular predetermined charge program is transferred to the control unit in cryptographically encrypted form;

in response to obtaining the particular predetermined charge program from the vehicle accumulator in cryptographically encrypted form, automatically requesting a corresponding key for decryption from a server associated with a manufacturer of the particular type of vehicle accumulator;

obtaining the decryption key from the server associated with the manufacturer of the particular type of vehicle accumulator;

using the decryption key to decrypt the charge program received from the vehicle accumulator; and

executing the particular predetermined charge program by the control unit of the charging device to charge the particular type of vehicle accumulator.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising authenticating the vehicle accumulator after connection of the vehicle accumulator to the charging device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the charge program memory stores the plurality of different predetermined charge programs corresponding with the plurality of different types of vehicle accumulators, and

the method further comprising selecting, by the control unit, the particular predetermined charge program based on the particular type of vehicle accumulator identified by the accumulator recognition unit, and accessing the selected particular predetermined charge program from the charge program memory.