Patent Application
20240308376
There may be provide a system, non-transitory computer readable medium and method for high throughput charging of fast charging electrical vehicles.
The subject matter disclosed herein is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
Because the illustrated embodiments of the present invention may for the most part, be implemented using electronic components and circuits known to those skilled in the art, details will not be explained in any greater extent than that considered necessary as illustrated above, for the understanding and appreciation of the underlying concepts of the present invention and in order not to obfuscate or distract from the teachings of the present invention.
Any reference in the specification to a method should be applied mutatis mutandis to a charging system capable of executing the method and/or to a non-transitory computer readable medium for implementing the charging.
Any reference in the specification to a charging system should be applied mutatis mutandis to a method for charging by the charging system battery and/or to a non-transitory computer readable medium for implementing the charging.
Any reference in the specification to a non-transitory computer readable medium should be applied mutatis mutandis to a method for charging and/or to a charging system that implementing the charging.
Any combination of any module or unit listed in any of the figures, any part of the specification and/or any claims may be provided.
Any combination of any steps of any method illustrated in the specification and/or drawings may be provided.
Any combination of any subject matter of any of claims may be provided.
There is provided a method and/or a non-transitory computer readable medium and/or a charging system for high throughput charging of fast charging electrical vehicles (FCEVs).
High-throughput may mean a throughput that is obtained by serially charging one FCEV after the other.
The suggested solution may involve charging FCEVs by a charging station by applying actual charging patterns (CPs)—at least one of that actual CPs may significantly differ from at least one or more corresponding optimal CPs of one or more FCEVs. The actual CPs are defined to increase the throughput of the charging station—for example by increasing the parallelism of the charging.
The solution may stop the charging of a FCEV—even when the FCEV is not fully charged at the end of the charging—in order to improve the throughput.
Method 100 includes step 110 of obtaining information about optimal CPs of a set of FCEVs. The information may be obtained in one or more manner—for example may be received from manufacturers of the FCEVs, be obtained from various publications regarding the optimal CPs, and the like.
Step 110 is followed by one or more iterations of the next steps (step 120 and/or 130) of method 100.
Step 120 includes determining a set of actual CPs for charging a set of the FCEVs in an at least partially overlapping manner.
A set of FCEVs includes FCEVs that are determined by be charged in an at least partially overlapping manner,
At least partially overlapping manner means that there may be at least a partial overlap between the charging of two or more FCEVs of the set.
Of the set of actual CPs—at least one actual CP is a residual CP.
According to an embodiment—a residual CP of a given FCEV (of the set of the FCEVs) fulfills the following conditions:
A significant difference between the optimal CP of the given FCEV and the actual CP of the given FCEV may be defined in various manners. For example—a significant difference may fulfill at least one of the following:
According to one or more embodiments—the residual CP, once applied, does not reach a heating limitation associated with charging the given FCEV.
According to one or more embodiments—the residual CP, once applied does not reach a chemical limitation associated with charging the given FCEV.
According to one or more embodiments—step 120 includes at least one of the following:
An example of two greedy algorithms that can be used in step 120 are minimum spanning tree algorithm (Prim, Kruskal) and a shortest path algorithm (Dijkstra).
Both look similar, they focus on two different requirements. In minimum spanning tree, requirement is to reach each vertex once and total cost of reaching each vertex is required to be minimum among all possible combinations.
Dijkstra's—Here the goal is to reach from start to end. You are concerned about only these 2 points and optimize the path accordingly.
Krusal's—Here you can start from any point and must visit all the other points in the graph. So, you may not always choose the shortest path for any two points. Instead, the focus is to choose the path that will lead you to a shorter path for all the other points.
In the current application, the inputs are:
The optimization is performed, using the one of greedy algorithms, for minimal charging time for each EV (tch_min(K)) based on the inputs above.
In the current application, there is a “start” and “finish” time for every activity (charging). Each activity is indexed by a number for reference. There are two activity categories.
The total duration gives the cost of performing the activity. That is (finish—start) gives us the durational as the cost of an activity.
Actually, the greedy extent is the number of remaining activities that can be performed in the time of a considered activity.
Step 120 may include:
According to one or more embodiments—step 120 is followed by step 130 of executing at least a part of the charging, by a charging system, of the set of the FCEVs in the at least partially overlapping manner.
According to one or more embodiments—step 130 includes at least one of:
According to one or more embodiments—method 200 starts by step 210 of obtaining a first actual charging pattern (CP) of a first FCEV for charging the first FCEV, by a charging station, during a first charging period.
According to one or more embodiments the obtaining includes receiving the first actual CP or determining the first actual CP.
According to one or more embodiments—step 210 is followed by step 220 of determining that a second FCEV should be charged during at least a part of the first charging period.
According to one or more embodiments—step 220 is triggered by an arrival of the second FCEV to the charging station, by receiving an indication that the second FCEV should be charged by the charging station, and the like.
According to one or more embodiments step 220 is followed by step 230 of determining a second actual CP of the second FCEV.
According to one or more embodiments step 220 is followed by step 240 of checking whether to change the first actual CP.
According to one or more embodiments—step 240 is followed by step 250 of changing the first actual CP to provide a changes first actual CP, when it is determined to change the first actual CP.
If is determined not to change the first actual CP—the first actual CP maintains unchanged.
According to one or more embodiments—the second actual CP and/or the changed first actual CP is a residual CP.
For example—the changed first CP may be determined based on the second actual CP and may significantly differ from the first optimal CP.
Yet for another example—the second actual CP may be determined based on the first actual CP and may significantly differ from the second optimal CP.
Yet for a further example—the first CP may be determined based on an actual CP of another FCEV—and may significantly differ from the first optimal CP.
According to one or more embodiments—at least one steps 230, 340 or 250 is followed by step 260 of executing at least a part of the charging, by the charging system, of the second FCEVs.
The charging system 300 may include a processing circuit 302 configured to control the charging station, one or more charging units—collectively denoted 304 for charging FCEVs—such as first FCEV 311, second FCEV 312 and third FCEV 313, one or more communication units 306 for communicating with the FCEVs and/or information sources 308 (such as databases or other information sources)—for obtaining information about the FCEVs—for example obtaining information regarding optimal CPs of the FCEVs.
The charging system 300 and especially the processing circuit 302 is configured to execute at least part method 100 and/or method 200. The charging system may be fed by one or more power sources such as a power grid 331, a renewable power source 322 or an energy storage 323.
The first actual CP 31 equals optimal CP 10. The second actual CP 32 is a residual CP that is determined based on the optimal CP 10 (of the second FCEV) and on the first actual CP 31. The second actual CP 32 significantly differs from the optimal CP 10 of the second FCEV. The third actual CP 33 is determined based on the first actual CP, the second actual CP 31 and the part’ 33 of the third actual CP 33 shown in
Assuming that the optimal CP of the three FCEVs equals the first actual CP 31—
The first actual CP 31 (initially equals optimal CP) has a single peak 31-1 located at a first SOC value. The second actual CP 32 has a first local peak 32-1 followed by second peak 32-3, whereas the second peak is located at a second SOC value that exceeds the first SOC value. The second peak 32-3 defines an additional charging region. The CP of many Li ion batteries include re reduction of the charging following the first peak. CP 2 represents an improved Li ion battery that can be charged faster—due to the presence of the additional charging region. The additional charging region also ends at an end point that is higher than the point of a Li battery without the additional charging region—that also increases the charging after the additional charging region. The third actual CP 34 has a peak 33-2 that is located at a third SOC value—way beyond the first SOC value of peak 31-1. The average charging rate at the start SOC segment of the third actual CP 33 is a fraction (for example below 25% of the average charging rate at the start SOC segment of the optimal CP 10).
The shape of the first actual CP 31 significantly differs from the shape of the second actual CP 32 and 31 significantly differs from the shape of the third actual CP 33.
Referring to method 100—and under the assumption that the first actual CP equals an optimal CP, at least one of the following is true:
It has been found that when large currents are applied, the lithium plating rate can be much faster than the transport rate so that a huge concentration gradient forms at the growth front of lithium. In extreme cases, Lithium ions would be depleted at the anode surface and even drop to zero. This is situation even worse at high state of charge regions. Lithium deposits tend to propagate into the receding cation-available regions and form diffusion-limited apical-growing dendrites. Thus, for a standard lithium ion cell with graphite based anode, applying a high charging current at high state of charge is unacceptable, and may result in safety issue.
However, an improved Li ion batteries that include silicon dominant anodes, with as at least 30% silicon by weight, inherently have lower probability of dendrite nucleation and growth due to faster kinetics of alloying reaction than traditional graphite based anodes. Improved ion batteries may be obtained using optimizing cell design and silicon dominant anode structure, which is capable for the extreme fast charging in a wide range of state of charge.
Examples of improved Li ion batteries are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference.
The improved Li ion battery may include, instead of a conventional graphite anode, silicon-based nanoparticles.
The anode can include dispersing nanosized silicon particle in a unique conductive organic and inorganic matrix to accommodate the silicon volumetric changes and maintain overall mechanical integrity. Examples of such anodes are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference In addition, an electrolyte, including several organic additives synthesized in-house, stabilizes the cell system over many charge and discharge cycles. Examples of the electrolyte and/or of organic additives are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference. Those additives provide advantages including better safety, thermal stability and long cycle life.
Combining these elements of silicon-based anode in conjugation with highly conductive cathode, improved thermal efficiency, optimized ratio between electrodes, and customized electrolyte enable high energy density while delivering extremely high rate of lithium insertion. Examples of such combinations and/or optimized ratios are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference. This mechanism demonstrates sufficiently low probability of risk of lithium dendrites and better overall safety of XFC.
The improved Li ion battery can be manufactured using a holistic view of the materials and the system electrochemistry of the battery cell is critical. The process may integrates chemistry and engineering sciences, while applying a layer of artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize overall fast charging performance. Examples of the holistic view and/or of the artificial intelligence and/or machine learning are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference. The resulting technology can be implemented in three types of cells—cylinder, prismatic, and pouch—all in various sizes and capacities, depending of the vehicle's battery pack configuration. Examples of resulting technology and/or of implementations in various types of cells are illustrated in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117 that is incorporated herein by reference.
In general, given a set of K FCEVs to be charged in a partially overlapping manner, K being an integer that exceeds one.
While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific examples of embodiments of the invention. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the boundaries between logic blocks are merely illustrative and that alternative embodiments may merge logic blocks or circuit elements or impose an alternate decomposition of functionality upon various logic blocks or circuit elements. Thus, it is to be understood that the architectures depicted herein are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality.
Any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or “operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality.
Any reference to “consisting”, “having” and/or “including” should be applied mutatis mutandis to “consisting” and/or “consisting essentially of”.
Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that boundaries between the above described operations merely illustrative. The multiple operations may be combined into a single operation, a single operation may be distributed in additional operations and operations may be executed at least partially overlapping in time. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include multiple instances of a particular operation, and the order of operations may be altered in various other embodiments.
Also for example, in one embodiment, the illustrated examples may be implemented as circuitry located on a single integrated circuit or within a same device. Alternatively, the examples may be implemented as any number of separate integrated circuits or separate devices interconnected with each other in a suitable manner.
However, other modifications, variations and alternatives are also possible. The specifications and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense.
In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps then those listed in a claim. Furthermore, the terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Also, the use of introductory phrases such as “at least one” and “one or more” in the claims should not be construed to imply that the introduction of another claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an.” The same holds true for the use of definite articles. Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
It is appreciated that various features of the embodiments of the disclosure which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the embodiments of the disclosure which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the disclosure are not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the embodiments of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/490,117, Mar. 14, 2023, that is incorporated herein by reference BACKGROUND A fast charging electrical vehicle (EV) is an electrical vehicle that can be charged at a Crate that exceeds 2 and may range between 4-10 C, 5-50 C, and the like. Each fast charging EV has an optimal charging pattern—that is tailored to the battery of the fast charging EV. Examples of optimal charging patterns are illustrated in the P3 charging index report of July 2022. In general, the evaluated vehicles have an optimal charging pattern that includes (a) a start state of charge (SOC) segment in which the EV battery is relatively empty and the charging rate is high, (b) and intermediate SOC segment in which the charging rate reaches a peak, and (c) an end SOC segment in which the charging rate dramatically decreases. The optimal charging pattern of some vehicles reach the peak relatively early (for example—when the SOC is between 10%-25%—Tesla-Model 3 LR, Mercedes-Benz EQS450+, BMW—14 eDrive40, Hyundai-Kona, Tesla—Model Y LR), and some other vehicle reach the peak relatively late (for example—when the SOC is between 45% and 80%—Porsche—Taycan GTS, Audi—e-Tron GT quattro, Audi e-Tron 55 quattro, KIA EV6, Hyundai—IONIQ 5, Mini-Cooper SE). The different EVs significantly differ from each other by their average charging power consumption—between less than 100 kW and about 350 kW. Chargers at charging stations—especially charging stations that are not located at the residences of the drivers of the fast charging EVs—may be required to charge multiple EVs—virtually at once. The charging process is lengthy and a sequential charging of fast charging EVs—one after the other—may require driver to wait for lengthy periods of time. There is a growing need to speed up the charging process of multiple EVs.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63490117 | Mar 2023 | US |
