Charging station and electric vehicle

• US 10,391,876 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2016
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Nordbruch, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Oh, Harry Y
• Application Number:
  US15/552,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20180029489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• 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 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/91 Electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2400/112 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2400/114 Super-capacities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/003 for electricity
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• 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 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• 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 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A method for operating a charging station, including establishing a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle; checking, via the communication link, whether a software stored on a processing unit of the electric vehicle has to be updated; and transmitting, as a function of the check, update data for updating the software via the communication link to the electric vehicle with the aid of the charging station so that the software may be updated based on the update data. A charging station, an electric vehicle, a method for operating an electric vehicle, and a computer program, are also described.

Claims

1. A method of operating a charging unit, comprising:

charging, by the charging station, an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a further communication link between the charging station and a server via a communication network;

performing, by the server via the communication link and the further communication link, a defect analysis of a processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining by the server, based on the defect analysis, the processing unit of the electric vehicle has a defect;

determining, by the server, whether a software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

based on determining the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect, at least one of the following actions is carried out with the aid of the charging station;

transmitting a message to an operator of a vehicle fleet when the electric vehicle is part of a vehicle fleet;

transmitting a message to a repair shop of a keeper and/or driver of the electric vehicle to inform the repair shop that the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect;

blocking and/or limiting at least one driving function of the electric vehicle relevant to the defect;

transmitting a message to a breakdown service to commission the breakdown service with a repair of the malfunction; and

transmitting a message to a pick-up service to commission the pick-up service with a pick-up of the electric vehicle.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the electrical energy store of the electric vehicle is charged with the aid of the charging station before the step of establishing.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the communication link is at least one of a wireless communication link and a wired communication link, the wired communication link being formed with the aid of a patch cable which is integrated into a cable conduit including a charging cable for charging an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle, or being formed separately from a cable conduit including a charging cable for charging an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle.

4. A method of operating a charging unit, comprising:

charging, by the charging station, an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a further communication link between the charging station and a server via a communication network;

performing, by the server via the communication link and the further communication link, a defect analysis of a processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, based on the defect analysis, the processing unit of the electric vehicle has a defect;

determining, by the server, whether a software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, the software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

based on determining the software update is sufficient to eliminate the detect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle, transmitting a message to a keeper and/or driver of the electric vehicle, with the aid of the charging station, to request from the keeper and/or driver a confirmation for carrying out an update;

after receiving the confirmation from the keeper and/or driver, transmitting by the server to the electric vehicle via the further communication link and the communication link, the software update for installing on the processing unit of the electric vehicle.

5. A method of operating a charging unit, comprising:

charging, by the charging station, an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a further communication link between the charging station and a server via a communication network;

performing, by the server via the communication link and the further communication link, a defect analysis of a processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining by the server, based on the defect analysis, the processing unit of the electric vehicle has a defect;

determining, by the server, whether a software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle; and

based on determining the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect, a blocking and/or limiting of at least one driving function of the electric vehicle relevant to the defect is carried out with the aid of the charging station.

6. A method of operating a charging unit, comprising:

charging, by the charging station, an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a further communication link between the charging station and a server via a communication network;

performing, by the server via the communication link and the further communication link, a defect analysis of a processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining by the server, based on the defect analysis, the processing unit of the electric vehicle has a defect;

determining, by the server, whether a software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle; and

based on determining the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect, a transmitting of a message to the breakdown service to commission a breakdown service with the repair of the malfunction is carried out with the aid of the charging station.

7. A method of operating a charging unit, comprising:

charging, by the charging station, an electrical energy store of the electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a communication link between the charging station and an electric vehicle;

establishing, by the charging station, a further communication link between the charging station and a server via a communication network;

performing, by the server via the communication link and the further communication link, a defect analysis of a processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining by the server, based on the defect analysis, the processing unit of the electric vehicle has a defect;

determining, by the server, whether a software update is sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle;

determining, by the server, the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect of the processing unit of the electric vehicle; and

based on determining the software update is not sufficient to eliminate the defect, a transmitting of a message to a pick-up service to commission the pick-up service to pick-up the electric vehicle, is carried out with the aid of the charging station.