Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to electric vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and a method for charging an electric vehicle.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, electric vehicles (EVs) such as two-wheeled vehicles have gained widespread popularity due to heightened environmental concerns and increased cost competitiveness with conventional gas vehicles. Typically, an electric vehicle (EV) includes a battery as a power source unit which provides power to an electric motor of the EV for propulsion. Further, the battery is a rechargeable Lithium-ion type battery that requires to be charged from a mains supply such that the battery may provide optimal power to propel the vehicle. In view of the same, users who have the EV generally charge the battery for a prolonged time period, for example, overnight.

In overnight charging, the battery gets fully charged within a stipulated time. Further, for the remaining of the time, the battery in the fully charged state still remains connected to the mains supply via the battery charger. This configuration for battery charging has certain limitations such as increasing stress on the battery which may result in imbalance of chemical composition in the battery which affects the efficiency of the battery. Thus, there is a need to provide a system and a method to optimally charge the battery while eliminating the problems of the overnight charging of the battery.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, it is desirable to provide a system and a method that can optimally charge the battery while also reducing one or more above-mentioned problems associated with the overnight charging of the battery.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that is further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure aims to provide a system and a method for optimal charging of an electric vehicle for a prolonged period/overnight.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for charging an electric vehicle, is disclosed. The system includes at least one control unit. The at least one control unit is in communication with the electric vehicle. The at least one control unit is configured to monitor values of a plurality of parameters associated with the electric vehicle and a battery of the electric vehicle. The plurality of parameters comprising at least one intermediate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery. The at least one control unit is configured to compare the monitored values of the plurality of parameters with values of a plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle and the battery. The at least one control unit is configured to determine, based on the comparison, a time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and a reference intermediate SoC, where the time delay corresponds to a time duration in which a charging of the battery is halted. The at least one control unit is configured to perform at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation includes charging the battery of the electric vehicle until the reference intermediate SoC is reached, and halt charging of the battery for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

In another embodiment, a method for charging an electric vehicle is disclosed. The method includes monitoring, by at least one control unit, values of a plurality of parameters associated with the electric vehicle and a battery of the electric vehicle. The plurality of parameters comprising at least one intermediate SoC of the battery. The method includes comparing, by the at least one control unit, the monitored values of the plurality of parameters with values of a plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle and the battery. The method includes determining, by the at least one control unit, a time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and a reference intermediate SoC, based on the comparison, where the time delay corresponds to a time duration in which charging of the battery is halted. The method includes performing, by the at least one control unit, at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation includes charging the battery of the electric vehicle until the reference intermediate SoC is reached, and to halt charging of the battery for the determined delay time when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

The present disclosure provides a configuration of the system along with the method to perform delay and optimal charging of the electric vehicle for the prolonged period/overnight. The system as disclosed maintains the battery life expectancy and the delayed charging of the battery eliminates unnecessary strain in the battery, thus maintaining efficiency of the battery.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system implemented in a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2A illustrates a block diagram of the system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2B illustrates a block diagram depicting at least one control unit of the system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3A illustrates a flowchart depicting a method for charging the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 3B illustrates a detailed methodology performed by a first controller and a second controller of the system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the various embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the present disclosure is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the present disclosure as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the present disclosure relates.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory of the present disclosure and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more…” or “one or more elements is required.”

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by “comprises... a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 100 implemented in a vehicle 110, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the vehicle 110 may be an Electric vehicle (EV) or a battery powered vehicle. The EV or the battery powered vehicle includes, and are not limited to a two-wheeler such as scooters, mopeds, motorbikes/motorcycles, three-wheelers such as auto-rickshaws, four-wheelers such as cars and other Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs) primarily work on the principle of driving an electric motor using the power from the batteries provided in the EV. Furthermore, the electric vehicle may have at least one wheel which is electrically powered to traverse such a vehicle 110. The term ‘wheel’ may be referred to any ground-engaging member which allows traversal of the electric vehicle over a path. The types of EVs include a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), and a Range Extended Electric Vehicle. However, the subsequent paragraphs pertain to the different elements of the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). In an embodiment, the vehicle 110 may be interchangeably referred as the electric vehicle 110, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The electric vehicle 110 may be supported with software modules comprising intelligent features including and not limited to a navigation assistance, a hill assistance, a cloud connectivity, an Over-The-Air (OTA) updates, adaptive display techniques, and so on.

The firmware of the electric vehicle 110 may also comprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) driven modules which enable the prediction of a plurality of parameters such as and not limited to driver/rider behavior, road condition, charging infrastructures/charging grids in the vicinity, and so on. The data pertaining to the intelligent features may be displayed through a display unit present in a vehicle dashboard 202 of the electric vehicle 110. In one embodiment, the display unit may contain a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen of a predefined dimension. In another embodiment, the display unit may contain a Light-Emitting Diode (LED) screen of a predefined dimension. The display unit may be a water-resistant display supporting one or more User-Interface (UI) designs. The electric vehicle 110 may support multiple frequency bands such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and so on. Additionally, the electric vehicle 110 may also be equipped with wireless infrastructure such as, and not limited to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so on to facilitate wireless communication with other EVs or the cloud.

Further, in construction, the electric vehicle 110 typically comprises hardware components such as a battery 108 or a battery module enclosed within a battery casing to form a battery pack 204 (as shown in Figure 2A) and includes a Battery Management System (BMS), an on-board battery charger 106, a Motor Controller Unit (MCU), an electric motor, and an electric transmission system. The primary function of the above-mentioned elements is detailed in the subsequent paragraphs: The battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 (also known as Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB) or traction battery) is re-chargeable in nature and is the primary source of energy required for the operation of the electric vehicle 110. The battery 108 is typically charged using the electric current taken from the grid through a charging infrastructure. The battery 108 may be charged using an Alternating Current (AC) or a Direct Current (DC). In the case of AC input, the on-board battery charger 106 converts the AC signal to DC signal after which the DC signal is transmitted to the battery via the BMS. However, in case of DC charging, the on-board battery charger 106 is bypassed, and the current is transmitted directly to the battery via the BMS. In an embodiment, the on-board battery charger 106 may be interchangeably referred as a battery charger 106, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The battery 108 is made up of a plurality of cells which are grouped into a plurality of modules in a manner in which the temperature difference between the cells does not exceed 5 degrees Celsius. The terms “battery”, “cell”, and “battery cell” may be used interchangeably and may refer to any of a variety of different rechargeable cell compositions and configurations including, but not limited to, lithium-ion (e.g., lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide, other lithium metal oxides, etc.), lithium-ion polymer, nickel metal hydride, nickel cadmium, nickel hydrogen, nickel-zinc, silver zinc, or any other battery type/configuration. The term “battery pack” as used herein may be referred to multiple individual batteries enclosed within a single structure or multi-piece structure. The individual batteries may be electrically interconnected to achieve a desired voltage and capacity for a desired application. The Battery Management System (BMS) is an electronic system whose primary function is to ensure that the battery 108 is operating safely and efficiently. The BMS continuously monitors different parameters of the battery 108 such as temperature, voltage, current and so on, and communicates these parameters to at least one control unit 102 and the Motor Controller Unit (MCU) in the electric vehicle 110 using a plurality of protocols including and not limited to Controller Area Network (CAN) bus protocol which facilitates the communication between the ECU/MCU and other peripheral elements of the electric vehicle 110 without the requirement of a host computer.

In an embodiment, the electric vehicle 110 may be equipped with the system 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 100 may be configured to optimally charge the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 while maintaining the performance of the battery 108.

The constructional and operational aspects of the system 100 may be explained with reference to Figures 2A and 2B in conjunction with Figure 1.

Figure 2A illustrates a block diagram of the system 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2B illustrates a block diagram depicting the at least one control unit 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, the at least one control unit 102, details of which will be explained in subsequent paragraphs.

In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be in communication with the electric vehicle 110. In particular, the at least one control unit 102 may be communicatively coupled to each of the vehicle dashboard 202 and the battery pack 204 of the electric vehicle 110, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 of the electric vehicle 110 may be responsible for managing all the operations of the electric vehicle 110. The key elements of the at least one control unit 102 typically includes (i) a microcontroller core (or processor unit(s)) 208, 220; (ii) memory unit(s) 210, 222; (iii) module(s) 212, 224, and (iv) communication protocols including, but not limited to a CAN protocol, Serial Communication Interface (SCI) protocol and so on. The sequence of programmed instructions and data associated therewith can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the memory unit(s) 210, 222 or a storage device which may be any suitable memory apparatus such as, but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk drive, and the like. In one or more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, non-transitory computer-readable storage media can be embodied with a sequence of programmed instructions for monitoring and controlling the operation of different components of the electric vehicle 110.

The processor may include any computing system which includes, but is not limited to, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Processor (AP), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Visual Processing Unit (VPU), and/or an AI-dedicated processor such as a Neural Processing Unit (NPU). In an embodiment, the processor can be a single processing unit or several units, all of which could include multiple computing units. The processor may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions.

Among other capabilities, the processor is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory. The instructions can be compiled from source code instructions provided in accordance with a programming language such as Java, C++, C#.net or the like. The instructions can also comprise code and data objects provided in accordance with, for example, the Visual Basic™ language, LabVIEW, or another structured or object-oriented programming language. The one or a plurality of processors control the processing of the input data in accordance with a predefined operating rule or artificial intelligence (AI) model stored in the non-volatile memory and the volatile memory. The predefined operating rule or artificial intelligence model is provided through training or learning algorithms which include, but are not limited to, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning.

Furthermore, the modules 212, 224, processes, systems, and devices can be implemented as a single processor or as a distributed processor. Also, the processes, modules 212, 224, and sub-modules described in the various figures of and for embodiments herein may be distributed across multiple computers or systems or may be co-located in a single processor or system. Further, the modules 212, 224 can be implemented in hardware, instructions executed by a processing unit, or by a combination thereof. The processing unit(s) 208, 220 can comprise a computer, a processor, such as the processor, a state machine, a logic array, or any other suitable devices capable of processing instructions.

The processing unit(s) 208, 220 can be a general-purpose processor which executes instructions to cause the general-purpose processor to perform the required tasks or, the processing unit can be dedicated to performing the required functions. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the modules 212, 224 may be machine-readable instructions (software) which, when executed by the processor/processing unit, perform any of the described functionalities. In an embodiment, the modules 212 may include a monitoring module 214, a comparing module 216, and a determining module 218. Similarly, the module 224 may include a generating module 226. The data serves, amongst other things, as a repository for storing data processed, received, and generated by one or more of the modules 212, 224. Exemplary structural embodiment alternatives suitable for implementing the modules 212, 224, sections, systems, means, or processes described herein are provided below.

In the illustrated embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to receive a plurality of parameters 206 from the electric vehicle 110. In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to monitor values of the plurality of parameters 206 associated with the electric vehicle 110 and the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110. In an embodiment, the plurality of parameters 206 may include, but is not limited to, a type of the electric vehicle 110, a type of the battery 108, a type of a battery charger 106, a target State of Charge (SoC), at least one intermediate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery 108, a current SoC, a present clock time, and a target charging time associated with the target SoC. In an embodiment, the at least one intermediate State of Charge may be at least a State of Charge of the battery 108 to be reached by the battery 108 before reaching the target SoC of the battery 108. In an embodiment, the present clock time/real-time may be one of a network time and a Real Time Clock time, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to compare the monitored values of the plurality of parameters with values of a plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle 110 and the battery 108. In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to store the values of the plurality of predefined parameters in a data repository of the at least one control unit 102.

In one embodiment, the values of the predefined parameters may be mapped in a plurality of pre-stored look-up tables. The plurality of look-up tables may be based on mathematical/theoretical models of the battery 108, the electric vehicle 110, electronic in the electric vehicle 110 with low voltage, etc., without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In another embodiment, the mathematical/theoretical models may be implemented in the at least one control unit 102 for operation in the real-time, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to determine, based on the comparison, a time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and a reference intermediate SoC. In an embodiment, the time delay corresponds to a time duration in which a charging of the battery 108 may be halted, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The at least one control unit 102, to determine the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, may identify a look-up table from the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables. The at least one control unit 102 may identify the look-up table, based on the comparison between the monitored values of the plurality of parameters and the values of the plurality of predefined parameters. The at least one control unit 102 may be adapted to determine a value of the time delay and a value of the reference intermediate SoC from the identified look-up table.

Further, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to perform at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation may include to charge the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 until the reference intermediate SoC may be reached, and to halt charging of the battery 108 for the determined time delay, when the reference intermediate SoC may be reached.

In an embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to monitor the current SoC of the battery 108 in the real time. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured to determine whether the current SoC may be equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and whether the determined time delay may be lapsed. Further, the at least one control unit 102 determines a new time delay corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC and a next reference intermediate SoC. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured to determine based on the current SoC, when the current SoC may be equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay may be lapsed.

Further, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured to perform the at least one predetermined operation based on the new time delay and the next reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation may include to charge the battery of the electric vehicle 110 until the new reference intermediate SoC may be reached, and to halt charging of the battery 108 for the new time delay when the new reference intermediate SoC may be reached.

Referring to Figure 2b, in the illustrated embodiment, the at least one control unit 102 may include the first controller 104 and the second controller 112. In an embodiment, the first controller 104 may be embodied as a vehicle controller, without departing from the scope of the present embodiment. In an embodiment, the second controller 112 may be in communication with the first controller 104 and embodied as the Battery Management System. The second controller 112 may be disposed in the battery pack 204 installed in the electric vehicle 110. The second controller 112 may be electrically communicatively coupled with the battery 108 and electrically coupled with the battery charger 106.

In an embodiment, the first controller 104 may be configured to perform till determining the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. In particular, to determine the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, the monitoring module 214 monitors values of the plurality of parameters 206 associated with the electric vehicle 110 and the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110.

Further, the first controller 104 may be configured to store the values of the plurality of predefined parameters in a data repository of the first controller 104, where the values of the plurality of predefined parameters may be mapped in the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables. Further, the first controller 104 also identifies the look-up table from the plurality of pre stored look-up tables, based on the comparison between the monitored values of the plurality of parameters 206 and the values of the plurality of predefined parameters performed by the comparing module 216. Further, the determining module 218 determines the value of the delay time and the value of the reference intermediate SoC from the identified look-up table.

Further, the first controller 104 may be configured to communicate the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC to the second controller 112. The first controller 104 may be configured to communicate through a plurality of communication means, for example, CAN, UART, Serial Interfaces, Ethernet and other forms of inter-process communication, i.e, Grpc, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the second controller 112 may be in communication with the battery charger 106 and the first controller 104, simultaneously. The second controller 112 may be adapted to perform the at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. Further, the second controller 112 may be configured to generate an instruction, for the battery charger 106, indicative of charging of the battery 108 until the reference intermediate SoC may be reached. In an embodiment, the battery charger 106 may charge the battery 108 as per the instructions provided by the second controller 112 though a DC current over a DC bus having a predetermined voltage and a predetermined current, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, the second controller 112 may be configured to generate an instruction, for the battery charger 106, indicative of halting the charging of the battery 108 for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC may be reached. In particular, the second controller 112 may include the generating module 226 configured to generate the instructions for the battery charger 106 corresponding to the at least one predetermined operation.

In an embodiment, the second controller 112 may be configured to communicate a feedback indicative of the current SoC to the first controller 104, in the real-time. The second controller 112 may be configured to communicate through a plurality of communication means, for example, CAN, UART, Serial Interfaces, Ethernet and other forms of inter-process communication, i.e, Grpc, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The first controller 104 may be configured to update the reference intermediate SoC based on at least the current SoC of the battery 108.

In an embodiment, once the battery 108 may be charged till the reference intermediate SoC, the reference intermediate SoC becomes the current SoC of the battery 108 in the real-time. The second controller 112 communicates the feedback indicative of the reference intermediate SoC as the feedback indicative of the current SoC to the first controller 104. Further, the first controller 104, based on the feedback indicative of the current SoC, updates the reference intermediate SoC and, accordingly determines the next reference intermediate SoC.

In particular, the first controller 104 may be configured to monitor the current SoC of the battery 108 in the real-time, initially. Further, once the first controller 104 may receive the feedback indicative of the current SoC from the second controller 112, the first controller 104 determine that the current SoC may be equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay is lapsed. Then the first controller 104 may be configured to determine, based on at least the current SoC, the new time delay corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC and the next reference intermediate SoC.

Further, again the first controller 104 may communicate the determined new time delay and next reference intermediate SoC to the second controller 112. The second controller 112 may be configured to perform the at least one predetermined operation based on the determined new time delay and the next reference intermediate SoC. Thus, this configuration ensures the system 100 having a closed loop configuration, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This configuration of the system 100 disclosed that the system 100 incorporates a feed-forward (reference intermediate SoC) and feedback based (feedback indicative of the current SoC) mechanism to ensure a robust and effective charging process of the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110.

The present disclosure also relates to a method 300 for charging the electric vehicle 110 by the system 100 as shown in Figures 3A and 3B. The order in which the method steps are described below is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method steps can be combined in any appropriate order to execute the method or an alternative method. Additionally, individual steps may be deleted from the method, without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.

The method 300 may be performed by the at least one control unit 102, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The method 300 for charging the electric vehicle 110 by the system 100 begins at block 302 where the method includes monitoring, by the at least one control unit 102, values of the plurality of parameters 206 associated with the electric vehicle 110 and the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110. The plurality of parameters 206 comprises at least one intermediate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery 108. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured to store the values of the plurality of predefined parameters in the data repository of the at least one control unit 102 and the values of the plurality of predefined parameters may be mapped in the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables.

At block 304, the method includes comparing, by the at least one control unit 102, the monitored values of the plurality of parameters 206 with values of the plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle 110 and the battery 108.

At block 306, the method includes determining, by the at least one control unit 102, the time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and the reference intermediate SoC, based on the comparison, where the time delay corresponds to the time duration in which the charging of the battery 108 may be halted. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured to identify the look-up table from the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables based on the comparison between the monitored values of the plurality of parameters 206 and values of the plurality of predefined parameters. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured for determining the value of the time delay and the value of the reference intermediate SoC from the identified look-up table.

At block 308, the method includes performing, by the at least one control unit 102, at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation comprises charging the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 until the reference intermediate SoC may be reached, and halting charging of the battery 108 for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC may be reached.

Further, the at least one control unit 102 may be configured for monitoring the current SoC of the battery 108 in the real time. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured for determining whether the current SoC may be equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and whether the determined time delay may lapse.

The at least one control unit 102 may be configured for determining, based on at least the current SoC, the new time delay corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC and the next reference intermediate SoC, when the current SoC may be equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay may lapse. The at least one control unit 102 may be configured for performing the at least one predetermined operation based on the new time delay and the next reference intermediate SoC. The at least one predetermined operation may include charging the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 until the new reference intermediate SoC may be reached, and halting the charging of the battery 108 for the new time delay when the new reference intermediate SoC may be reached.

In particular, referring to Figure 3B, the first controller 104 may be configured for performing the method disclosed in the block 302 to the block 306 to determine the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC.

Further, at the block 310, the first controller 104 may be configured for communicating the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC to the second controller 112.

At the block 312, the second controller 112 may be configured for determining whether the battery 108 may be charged till the reference intermediate SoC. If the second controller 112 determine that the battery 108 may be not yet charged up to the reference intermediate SoC, then the second controller 112 may be configured to perform the at least one of the predetermined operation, i.e., generating the instruction for the battery charger 106, to charge the battery 108 till the reference intermediate SoC may be reached, at block 308a.

Further, if the second controller 112 determines that the battery 108 may be charged till the reference intermediate SoC, then the second controller 112 may be adapted to perform the at least one of the predetermined operations, i.e., generating an instruction for the battery charger 106, indicative of halting the charging of the battery 108 for the determined time delay, at block 308b.

At block 314, the second controller 112 may be configured for communicating the feedback indicative of the current SoC to the first controller 104, where the first controller 104 may be configured to update the reference intermediate SoC based on at least the current SoC of the battery 108.

In an exemplary implementation, the battery 108 may be connected with the battery charger 106 from 9 PM to 6 AM. In that case, the battery 108 may have 9 hours to be connected with the battery charger 106. Further, the battery 108 may require around 3 hours to achieve the target SoC state. Thus, the predetermined time duration to implement the time delay may be a difference between 9 hours and 3 hours, that is, 6 hours.

Further, the values of the plurality of predefined parameters, for example, values of the at least one intermediate SoC maybe 30%, 60%, and 80%, that may be mapped in the plurality of look-up tables. The target SoC may be 100%. Further, a time corresponding to each of the at least one intermediate SoC may be also mapped in the plurality of look-up tables. The at least one intermediate SoC and the time corresponding to each of the at least one intermediate SoC may be determined based on the type of the battery 108, the composition of the battery 108, etc. Thus, within the span of 6 hours, the at least one control unit 102 divides the implementation of the time delay and the at least one intermediate SoC till which the battery 108 is supposed to get charged.

Now, when the electric vehicle 110 may be configured to get a charge, the plurality of parameters 206 from the electric vehicle 110 may be provided to the first controller 104, in the real-time. For example, the current SoC may be 10%, the at least one intermediate SoCs may be based on the type of battery 108, the composition of battery 108, etc. Further, the first controller 104 may be configured to compare the values of the plurality of parameters with the value of the plurality of predefined parameters. After comparison, the first controller 104 may be configured to determine the time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC based on the value mapped in one of the plurality of look-up tables.

For example, a time delay associated with the 30% of the intermediate SoC, as stored in one of the plurality of look-up tables, may be 2 hours. Further, the real-time current SoC may be 10%. In that case, the first controller 104, after comparison, may determine that the at least one intermediate SoC up to which the battery 108 may supposed to get charged be 30%. Hence, the reference intermediate SoC maybe 30%. Further, the first controller 104 may determine that the time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC 30% maybe 2 hours.

The first controller 104 communicates the reference intermediate SoC as 30% to the second controller 112. The second controller 112 determines whether the battery 108 is charged up to 30%. If the second controller determines that the battery may not yet be charged up to 30%, then the second controller 112 generates the instruction, for the battery charger 106, to charge the battery 108 up to the reference intermediate SoC, i.e., 30%. Further, if the second controller 112 determines that the battery 108 is charged up to 30%, then the second controller 112 generates the instruction, for the battery charger 106, indicative of halting the charging of the battery for the determined time delay, i.e., 2 hours.

Further, once the battery 108 may be charged up to 30%, then 30% becomes the current SoC of the battery 108. Now, the second controller 112 communicates the feedback indicative of the current SoC, i.e., 30% to the first controller 104.

Further, the first controller 104 monitors the current SoC initially. The second controller 112 may be configured to provide the feedback indicative of the current SoC to the first controller 104. Hence, the current SoC may be 30% once the battery may be charged up to 30%. Further, after monitoring the current SoC, the first controller 104 may be configured to determine whether the determined time delay of 2 hours is also lapsed. If the first controller 104 determines that the current SoC is equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay lapses, then the first controller 104 determines the new time delay, i.e., for 1 hour corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC, i.e., 60%. Further, the first controller 104 may also determine the next reference intermediate SoC, i.e., 60%. Further, again the first controller 104 may be configured to communicate the determined new delay time, i.e., 1 hour, and the next successive reference intermediate SoC, i.e., 60% to the second controller 112. The second controller 112 may be configured to perform the at least one predetermined operation based on the new delay time and the next successive reference intermediate SoC. This example states that the system 100 may be a closed-loop system 100.

As would be gathered, the present disclosure ensures the system 100 to charge the battery 108 of the electric vehicle 110 for the prolonged hours that is for overnight. The system 100 and the method 300 provide an optimal charging of the battery 108 for the vehicle 110 by providing the determined time delays and the reference intermediate SoC. The time delays and the reference intermediate SoC may be determined by the at least one control unit 102 while operating cells in an operating range. Further, the time delay halts the charging of the battery which results in optimization of battery aging and battery balancing while operating within constraints of end-of-charge time and admissible cell operating window.

The system 100 and the method 300 as disclosed ensure the optimization of the charging and provide a framework for handling various practical conditions like the different types of cells, part-to-part variances, different types of battery chargers, various battery capacities, power outages, system reboot, system faults resulting in reduced charging currents etc. The system 100 may be configured to use the feed-forward and the feedback-based mechanism to make the charging process robust to the above conditions.

The present configuration of the system 100 ensures the robustness of the charging such that the battery 108 may be charged to the target SoC by the target time within the admissible cell operating window while also ensuring the time delays at the least one intermediate SoC targets. The time delay may be adaptively changed based on various practical conditions that may be encountered.

It will be appreciated that the modules, processes, systems, and devices described above can be implemented in hardware, hardware programmed by software, software instruction stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium or a combination of the above. Embodiments of the methods, processes, modules, devices, and systems (or their sub-components or modules), may be implemented on a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element, an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmed logic circuit such as a programmable logic device (PLD), programmable logic array (PLA), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable array logic (PAL) device, or the like. In general, any process capable of implementing the functions or steps described herein can be used to implement embodiments of the methods, systems, or computer program products (software program stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium).

Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosed methods, processes, modules, devices, systems, and computer program product may be readily implemented, fully or partially, in software using, for example, object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer platforms. Alternatively, embodiments of the disclosed methods, processes, modules, devices, systems, and computer program product can be implemented partially or fully in hardware using, for example, standard logic circuits or a very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design. Other hardware or software can be used to implement embodiments depending on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the systems, the particular function, and/or particular software or hardware system, microprocessor, or microcomputer being utilized.

In this application, unless specifically stated otherwise, the use of the singular includes the plural and the use of “or” means “and/or.” Furthermore, use of the terms “including” or “having” is not limiting. Any range described herein will be understood to include the endpoints and all values between the endpoints. Features of the disclosed embodiments may be combined, rearranged, omitted, etc., within the scope of the invention to produce additional embodiments. Furthermore, certain features may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features , Claims:We Claim:

1. A system (100) for charging an electric vehicle (110), the system (100) comprising:
at least one control unit (102) in communication with the electric vehicle (110), the at least one control unit (102) configured to:
(i) monitor values of a plurality of parameters (206) associated with the electric vehicle (110) and a battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110), the plurality of parameters (206) comprising at least one intermediate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery (108);
(ii) compare the monitored values of the plurality of parameters (206) with values of a plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle (110) and the battery (108);
(iii) determine, based on the comparison, a time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and a reference intermediate SoC, wherein the time delay corresponds to a time duration in which a charging of the battery (108) is halted; and
(iv) perform at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, wherein the at least one predetermined operation comprises:
charge the battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110) until the reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
halt charging of the battery (108) for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of parameters (206) comprises a type of the electric vehicle (110), a type of the battery (108), a type of a battery charger (106), a target SoC, a present clock time, the at least one intermediate SoC, a current SoC, and a target charging time associated with the target SoC.

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit (102) is configured to:
store the values of the plurality of predefined parameters in a data repository of the at least one control unit (102), wherein the values of the plurality of predefined parameters are mapped in a plurality of pre-stored look-up tables.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein to determine the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, the at least one control unit (102) is configured to:
identify a look-up table from the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables based on the comparison between the monitored values of the plurality of parameters (206) and the values of the plurality of predefined parameters; and
determine a value of the time delay and a value of the reference intermediate SoC from the identified look-up table.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit (102) is configured to:
monitor a current SoC of the battery (108) in real-time;
determine whether the current SoC is equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and whether the determined time delay is lapsed;
determine, based on at least the current SoC, a new time delay corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC and a next reference intermediate SoC, when the current SoC is equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay is lapsed; and
perform the at least one predetermined operation based on the new time delay and the next reference intermediate SoC, wherein the at least one predetermined operation comprises:
charge the battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110) until the new reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
halt charging of the battery (108) for the new time delay when the new reference intermediate SoC is reached.

6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit (102) comprises:
a first controller (104) embodied as a vehicle controller; and
a second controller (112) in communication with the first controller (104) and embodied as a Battery Management System (BMS).

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first controller (104) is configured to:
perform steps (i)-(iii) as claimed in claim 1; and
communicate the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC to the second controller (112).

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second controller (112) is in communication with a battery charger (106) and configured to perform at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, wherein to perform the at least one predetermined operation, the second controller (112) is configured to:
generate an instruction, for the battery charger (106), indicative of charging of the battery (108) until the reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
generate an instruction, for the battery charger (106), indicative of halting the charging of the battery (108) for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second controller (112) communicates a feedback indicative of a current SoC to the first controller (104), wherein the first controller (104) is configured to update the reference intermediate SoC based on at least the current SoC of the battery (108).

10. A method (300) for charging an electric vehicle (110), comprising:
(i) monitoring (302), by at least one control unit (102), values of a plurality of parameters (206) associated with the electric vehicle (110) and a battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110), the plurality of parameters (206) comprising at least one intermediate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery;
(ii) comparing (304), by the at least one control unit (102), the monitored values of the plurality of parameters (206) with values of a plurality of predefined parameters associated with the electric vehicle (110) and the battery (108);
(iii) determining (306), by the at least one control unit (102), a time delay corresponding to the at least one intermediate SoC, and a reference intermediate SoC, based on the comparison, wherein the time delay corresponds to a time duration in which a charging of the battery (108) is halted;
(iv) performing (308), by the at least one control unit (102), at least one predetermined operation based on the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC, wherein the at least one predetermined operation comprises:
charge the battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110) until the reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
halt charging of the battery (108) for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

11. The method (300) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the method (300) further comprises:
storing the values, by the at least one control unit (102), of the plurality of predefined parameters in a data repository of the at least one control unit (102), wherein the values of the plurality of predefined parameters are mapped in a plurality of pre-stored look-up tables.

12. The method (300) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the determining the time delay and the reference intermediate SoC comprises:
identifying, by the at least one control unit (102), a look-up table from the plurality of pre-stored look-up tables based on the comparison between the monitored values of the plurality of parameters (206) and values of the plurality of predefined parameters; and
determining, by the at least one control unit (102), a value of the time delay and a value of the reference intermediate SoC from the identified look-up table.

13. The method (300) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the method (300) further comprises:
monitoring, by the at least one control unit (102), a current SoC of the battery (108) in real time;
determining, by the at least one control unit (102), whether the current SoC is equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and whether the determined time delay is lapsed;
determining, by the at least one control unit (102), based on at least the current SoC. a new time delay corresponding to the at least one successive intermediate SoC and a next reference intermediate SoC, when the current SoC is equivalent to the reference intermediate SoC and the determined time delay is lapsed;
performing, by the at least one control unit (102), the at least one predetermined operation based on the new time delay and the next reference intermediate SoC, wherein the at least one predetermined operation comprises:
charge the battery (108) of the electric vehicle (110) until the new reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
halt charging of the battery (108) for the new time delay when the new reference intermediate SoC is reached.

14. The method (300) as claimed as claimed in claim 10, wherein the method (300) performed by a first controller (104) of the at least one control unit (102) comprises:
performing steps (i)-(iii) as claimed in claim 10; and
communicating the determined time delay and the reference intermediate SoC to a second controller (112) of the at least one control unit (102).

15. The method (300) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the performing the at least one predetermined operation by the second controller (112) comprises:
generating an instruction, for the battery charger (106), indicative of charging of the battery (108) until the reference intermediate SoC is reached; and
generating an instruction, for the battery charger (106), indicative of halting the charging of the battery (108) for the determined time delay when the reference intermediate SoC is reached.

16. The method (300) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the method (300) further comprises:
communicating, from the second controller (112), a feedback indicative of a current SoC to the first controller (104), wherein the first controller (104) is configured to update the reference intermediate SoC based on at least the current SoC of the battery (108).