This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2020 104 143.8, filed Feb. 18, 2020, the content of such application being incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The invention relates to a method for operating a charging park for electric vehicles.
WO 2011/145939 A2, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a method for operating a charging park for electric vehicles. This charging park has an air-based or liquid-based cooling system in order to carry away heat from inverters. The intention here is to make it possible to equip power electronics in a simpler manner.
DE 10 2015 101 140 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a charging station for outputting electrical energy to a receiver of electrical energy. The charging station has a cooling device by means of which a charging plug which is in a parked position can be cooled. The cooling is carried out by means of a blower.
Described herein is a method for operating a charging park for electric vehicles which ensures efficient cooling of charging points of the charging park.
In the method for operating the charging park for electric vehicles there is provision that the charging park has a group of charging points which are connected to a central cooling module, wherein components of the respective charging point are cooled as a function of a temperature of the respective component in the charging mode or in the standby mode, as a function of a charging status at the respective charging point and as a function of an ambient temperature.
The respective charging point is a charging station. In the region of this charging station the charging of the electric vehicle which is respectively parked there takes place. The central cooling module constitutes a common cooling module for the group of charging points. In a specific case, this is a maximum of three power electronics modules and three charging cables. For example, just one charging point, i.e. one power electronics module and one charging cable, can also be connected to a cooling module. The charging points which constitute a group are therefore connected to a single central cooling module of this group. The components of the respective charging point are cooled as a function of an ambient temperature, which is to be understood as being the outside temperature.
This method for operating a charging park for electric vehicles permits high efficiency by cooling the group of charging points in accordance with the requirements.
It is considered particularly advantageous if the charging park has a plurality of cooling clusters, wherein the respective cooling cluster has the group of charging points which are connected to the central cooling module. For each group of charging points the cooling cluster therefore has a single central cooling module. This results in a high overall level of system efficiency as a result of the cooling in accordance with the requirements for each cooling cluster.
According to one preferred development there is provision that the respective cooling cluster has charging points, power electronics modules and charging systems. Here, the number of charging points, power electronics modules and charging systems is random, but is in each case >0.
It is considered particularly advantageous if via the central cooling module all the power electronics modules and charging pillars of all the charging systems are cooled in a primary circuit by means of a cooling fluid. In this context, a high level of efficiency of the cooling can be achieved by the use of the cooling fluid.
According to one preferred development there is provision that via a heat exchanger which is assigned to the respective charging pillar a charging cable and/or a charging plug is cooled in a secondary circuit by means of a cooling fluid.
It is considered particularly advantageous if the charging park is controlled by means of a charging management server. This charging management server is preferably supplied with the following information from control devices in order to specify a required cooling stage for the respective cooling cluster:
According to one preferred development of the method there is provision that the cooling is controlled in a control cascade with two control circuits. There is preferably provision that an inner control circuit controls a forward flow temperature as a function of a required cooling capacity of the respective central cooling module. According to one preferred development there is also provision that an outer control circuit controls a forward flow temperature as a function of the ambient temperature of the charging system and the system status.
Particularly before a change into a standby mode, cooling occurs over a cooling runon time when no electric vehicle is detected at the charging point or in the cooling cluster.
The described invention and its developments permit efficient thermal management of the charging park.
According to one aspect of the described development, a high overall system efficiency level is ensured by cooling in accordance with the requirements for each cooling cluster. This is the case because the respective group of charging points is connected to a central cooling module. A high charging capacity is directly available at the start of the charging process by virtue of preliminary temperature regulation of the power electronics modules and in particular of the charging cable in the standby mode. The operating comfort is increased by virtue of preliminary temperature regulation of the charging plug. In addition, condensation water, in particular in the charging pillar, can be avoided or reduced by means of an intelligent cooling controller, in particular when the external temperature is raised. At low external temperatures, a recirculating function of the cooling fluid is provided. The operation of the charging park can be adapted to various fields of use, that is to say use in hot countries or cold countries, and to the size of the charging system.
Further features of the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the appended drawing and the description, without being limited thereto.
In the drawing:
The method relates to the operation of a charging park for electric vehicles. The charging park has a group of charging points, just one charging point LP of which is illustrated in
The transmission of the respective signals between the components is carried out, in particular, by means of Ethernet.
In this context, the charging management server LMS is the function master in the thermal management system TMM and uses the following information from the control devices to specify the required cooling stage for each cooling cluster:
Lem:
Current forward flow and return flow temperature of the power electronics module (LEM) via the signals:
Detection of a charging process by means of the “LKXXy_ChargingProcessStatus” signal and the cooling demand required by it:
The current external temperature (KMXX_ExternalTemperature_approx) by means of the temperature sensor on the cooling module, in order to increase the cooling temperature when the external temperature is raised and to reduce/prevent condensation water.
The request for the required cooling capacity from the charging management server LMS to the cooling module KM is made using the signal “LMSXX_TemperatureControl_Req_KMXX” with the following stages:
Stage 0:
Before the change into the standby mode (stage 1), a runon time of any desired duration is possible, in order to dissipate residual heat. The exception is the change from stage 0 to stage 1.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2020 104 143.8 | Feb 2020 | DE | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20090143929 | Eberhard | Jun 2009 | A1 |
20110193522 | Uesugi | Aug 2011 | A1 |
20110246252 | Uesugi | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20190016225 | Zies | Jan 2019 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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204130973 | Jan 2015 | CN |
207338673 | May 2018 | CN |
102015101140 | Jul 2016 | DE |
2011145939 | Nov 2011 | WO |
WO-2012065897 | May 2012 | WO |
Entry |
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English Translation of the Chinese Office Action for Chinese Application No. 202110097686.0, dated Mar. 28, 2023, 3 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210252988 A1 | Aug 2021 | US |