Method for establishing an IP-based communications connection between an electric vehicle and a charging control unit

• US 9,497,232 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Heinrich, Andreas, Heuer, Joerg
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Parth
• Application Number:
  US14/112,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20140036989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: 375/238, 375/257, 320/109
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/544 Setting up communications; Call and signalling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/121 : using the power network as support for the transmission

Abstract

A method establishes an IP-based communications connection between an electric vehicle and a charge control unit associated with a charging station assigned an IP address. The electric vehicle is connected to the charging station via a charging cable and/or an inductive charge coupling for charging and/or discharging. A first communication connection that can be used exclusively by the electric vehicle and the charging station is provided via the charging cable and/or the inductive charging coupling. The electric vehicle having the charging control unit and the charging infrastructure can communicate via a second communications connection that can be used in parallel by other electric vehicles and charge control units. An identification is provided to the electric vehicle and the charging control unit. An IP-based communication is established between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit, using the IP address.

Claims

1. A method for establishing an IP-based communications connection between an electric vehicle and a charging control unit assigned to a charging station and allocated an IP address, the charging control unit and the charging station being part of a charging infrastructure, the electric vehicle being connected to the charging station via a charging cable and/or inductive charge coupling for charging and/or discharging an energy store of the electric vehicle, a first communications connection used solely by the electric vehicle and the charging station being provided via the charging cable and/or the inductive charge coupling, and the electric vehicle being able to communicate with the charging control unit and the charging infrastructure via a second communications connection used in a parallel manner by other electric vehicles and other charging control units, which comprises the steps of:

a) providing the electric vehicle and the charging control unit with an identification via the first communications connection, the first communications connection only being used for a transfer of communications data only between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit;

b) allocating a further IP address to the electric vehicle; and

c) setting up an IP-based communication between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit via the second communications connection with an aid of the further IP address allocated to the electric vehicle and the identification provided via the first communications connection.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing step b) by allocating the further IP address to the electric vehicle by the charging infrastructure via the second communications connection and is transmitted to the electric vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises integrating the charging control unit in the charging station.

4. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing the identification via the first communications connection on a basis of a pulse-width-modulated signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing the first and second communications connections via a same line in the charging cable.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second communications connection is a power line communications connection.

7. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing step b) by allocating the further IP address to the electric vehicle using at least one of a dynamic host configuration protocol or a stateless address auto configuration.

8. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing step a) by transmitting the identification from the electric vehicle to the charging control unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, which further comprises sending, via the electric vehicle, the identification transmitted to the charging control unit in step a) via the second communications connection, whereupon the charging control unit, upon receiving the identification, transmits the IP address to the electric vehicle, the IP address transmitted being used to set up the IP-based communication.

10. The method according to claim 8, which further comprises sending, via the charging control unit, the identification transmitted to the charging control unit in step a), together with the IP address, to the electric vehicle via the second communications connection, whereupon the electric vehicle transmits a response to the charging control unit, the IP address transmitted to the electric vehicle being used to set up the IP-based communication.

11. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing step a) by transmitting the identification from the charging control unit to the electric vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the identification is the IP address of the charging control unit which is used to set up the IP-based communication.

13. The method according to claim 11, which further comprises determining the IP address of the charging control unit on a basis of the identification transmitted to the electric vehicle in step a) and is made available to the electric vehicle, the IP address provided being used to set up the IP-based communication.

14. The method according to claim 13, which further comprises sending, via the electric vehicle, the identification transmitted to the electric vehicle in step a) to the charging control unit via the second communications connection, whereupon the charging control unit determines the IP address from the identification and transmits the IP address to the electric vehicle via the second communications connection.

15. The method according to claim 14, which further comprises transmitting in step a), via the electric vehicle, the identification to the charging control unit, in which case, after the identification has been sent to the charging control unit by the electric vehicle via the second communications connection, the charging control unit checks whether the identification received by the charging control unit via the second communications connection matches the identification previously received from the electric vehicle in step a), in which case the method is continued only in the event of a match.

16. The method according to claim 13, which further comprises determining, via the electric vehicle, an intermediate address from the identification transmitted to the electric vehicle in step a) and sends the intermediate address to the charging control unit via the second communications connection, whereupon the charging control unit determines the IP address from the intermediate address and transmits the IP address to the electric vehicle via the second communications connection.

17. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing the identification in step a) or the intermediate address as a token, a URL or a cryptographic key.

18. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing the identification in step a) or the intermediate address as a MAC address.

19. The method according to claim 18, which further comprises transmitting the IP address of the charging control unit to the electric vehicle on a basis of a MAC address via the second communications connection using at least one of Neighbor Discovery or Inverse Neighbor Discovery.

20. The method according to claim 13, which further comprises sending, via the charging control unit, without being asked, a message containing an assignment of the identification or an intermediate address, from which the electric vehicle can derive the identification, to the IP address of the charging control unit via the second communications connection, whereupon the electric vehicle gathers the IP address from the message.

21. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing the identification in step a) to contain an item of key information which is used to encrypt or verify data during communication between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second communications connection is a PLC communications connection in a current-carrying line of the charging cable or in a line in the charging cable which is used to transmit the identification via the first communications connection on a basis of a pulse-width-modulated signal.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the system is programmed to carry out the method according to claim 2.

23. A system for establishing an IP-based communications connection between an electric vehicle having an energy store and a charging station having an assigned charging control unit, an IP address being allocated to the charging control unit, the charging control unit and the charging station being part of a charging infrastructure, the electric vehicle being able to be connected to the charging station via at least one of a charging cable or an inductive charge coupling for charging and/or discharging the energy store of the electric vehicle, the system comprising:

first and second communication connections, said first communications connection for use solely by the electric vehicle and the charging station for transmitting only communications data, the electric vehicle being able to communicate with the charging control unit and the charging infrastructure via said second communications connection which can be used in a parallel manner by other electric vehicles and charging control units;

first means for providing the electric vehicle and the charging control unit with an identification via the first communications connection;

second means for allocating a further IP address to the electric vehicle; and

third means for setting up IP-based communication between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit via the second communications connection with an aid of the further IP address allocated to the electric vehicle and the identification provided via the first communications connection.

25. An electric vehicle for connecting to a charging station via at least one of a charging cable or an inductive charge coupling for at least one of charging or discharging an energy store of the electric vehicle, the electric vehicle comprising:

the energy store;

a first interface for a first communications connection used solely by the electric vehicle and the charging station and being provided via at least one of the charging cable or the inductive charge coupling, said first communications connection providing the electric vehicle and a charging control unit of the charging station with an identification, said first communications connection only being used for a transfer of communications data only between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit; and

a second interface for a second communications connection to be used in a parallel manner by other electric vehicles and other charging control units, said second communications connection used by the electric vehicle to communicate with the charging control unit and the charging station, the electric vehicle being allocated an IP address and being able to communicate via the first and second communications connections in such a manner that IP-based communication is set up between the electric vehicle and the charging control unit via the second communications connection, with an aid of the IP address allocated to the electric vehicle and the identification provided via the first communications connection.

26. A charging station for establishing an IP-based communications connection to an electric vehicle having an energy store, the charging station comprising:

at least one of a charging cable or an inductive charge coupling for at least one of charging or discharging the energy store of the electric vehicle, said at least one charging cable or said inductive charge couple functioning as an interface for a first communications connection, said first communications connection providing the electric vehicle and said charging control unit with an identification, said first communications connection only being used for a transfer of communications data only between the electric vehicle and said charging control unit;

a charging control unit having an IP address; and

an interface for a second communications connection to be used in a parallel manner by other electric vehicles and other charging control units, said second communications connection used by the electric vehicle to communicate with said charging control unit and the charging station, the charging station being able to communicate via the first and second communications connections in such a manner that IP-based communication is set up between the electric vehicle and said charging control unit via the second communications connection, with an aid of the IP address and the identification provided via said first communications connection.