CLIAMS:We Claim:

1. A system for charging electric vehicles, the system comprising:
a plurality of chargers connected in parallel with each other;
a charger interface board connected to each of the chargers, each of the charger interface board connected with each other through a first controller area network;
a controller to each of the plurality of charges and to at least one of the charger interface board;
a display unit connected to the controller for displaying instructions and charging status of the charging system and the electric vehicle, and
a connector connected to the controller and with a charging port of the electric vehicle,
wherein the connector is capable of reading charge status of the vehicle and providing the status to the controller, thereafter the controller operating the at least one charger interface board to supply the required current and the voltage to the electric vehicle through the connector for charging the vehicle faster.

2. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one of the charger interface board connected to the controller is a master charger interface board capable of controlling and operating remaining the charger interface boards.

3. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first through a first controller area network along with the controller monitors the electronic control unit of the electric vehicle and defines voltage and current required for charging the electric vehicle.

4. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit is connected to the controller by universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter.

5. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least charger interface board is connected to the controller through a second controller area network.

6. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector is connected to the controller through a third controller area network.

7. The charging system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector is a CHAdeMO connector.

8. A method for charging electric vehicles, the method comprising steps of:
observing protocol signals by a controller received from an electronic control unit of the electric vehicle through a connector;
detecting the protocol signals by the controller depending upon the charge status of the electric vehicle;
setting the plurality of charges in charging phase by controller in case the protocol is detected, else, the plurality of charges are set to not charging phase;
selecting current, voltage and temperature management method for charging the vehicle in case the charges are in charge phase;
self testing is performed depending upon the previous current, voltage and temperature management method results in case the charges are not in charge phase; and
auto calibrating the system after self testing for preparing for next charging.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the self testing comprising steps of:
checking if the vehicle is in charging or not;
calculating the current drawing from each of the plurality of the chargers, if the electric vehicle is not charging and check if the current is 3A, if the current is not 3A save the current value, and
logging into the fault if the current is 3A and shutting down the faulty charger accordingly checking all the chargers.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the current, voltage and temperature management method comprising steps of:
checking temperature and current of each of the charger of the plurality of charger;
identifying the charger closed to a ventilation system by indentify the charges with lowest temperature from the plurality of charges, and
supplying higher current charger that is having lower temperature.
,TagSPECI:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and a method for charging electric vehicles, more specifically, the present invention relates to a system and a method for charging electric vehicles that is capable of charging the vehicle faster.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electric vehicles, specifically car are good substitute for cars that are operated by internal combustion engine. The electric car does not emit harmful gases which add to green house effect. Also, the electric car does not generate noise as the electric car is operated by electric motors. Therefore, the electric vehicles is a good substitute for the vehicles that operate on internal combustion engine, as the electric vehicle do not create air as well as noise pollution. But, these vehicles have a problem of charging. These vehicles require electric charging stations. The electric chargers that are use as on date require around 6 to 10 hours for charging these electric vehicles. This problem has resulted into lesser acceptability of the electric vehicle, which other wise have great advantages and benefits over internal combustion engine operated vehicles.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles, which over comes the charging problem of the prior art.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles, which charges the electric vehicle much faster.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles, which reduces substantial time required for charging.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles, which is economical in construction and operation.

Further one object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for charging electric vehicles, which is robust and compact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Figure 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a charging system for charging an electric vehicle in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a flow chart of a method for charging electric vehicles in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a flow chart for the step of self testing of the method of Figure 2;

Figures 4a and 4b show a flow chart for current, voltage and temperature method of the method of figure 1;

Figure 5 shows a flow chart for protocol of the method of figure 2, and

Figure 6 shows an exemplary aesthetic representation of the system of figure 1 in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of this invention, illustrating its features, will now be described in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

The present invention provides a system and method for charging electric vehicles. The system and method charges the electric vehicle much faster in comparison to the existing electric charger used for charging electric vehicles. Further, the system and method reduces substantial time required for charging. Also, the system and method is economical in construction and operation. Moreover, the charging system is robust and compact.

The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols.

Referring now to figure 1, a schematic block diagram of a charging system (herein after referred as the ‘system 100’) for charging an electric vehicle (not shown) in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. Specifically, batteries of electric vehicle are charged by the system 100. Further, the system 100 includes a plurality of charges. The present invention is shown to include six charges viz 10a to10f. Further, the system 100 includes six charger interface board 20a – 20f, a controller 30, a display unit 40 and a connector 50. All the six charges 10a -10f are connected in parallel with each other. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to used use different number of charger connected in parallel.

Further, each of the charger interface board 20a – 20f is connected to the respective charger 10a – 10f. For example, the charger interface board 20a is connected to the charger 10a, the charger interface board 20b is connected to the charger 10b, the charger interface board 20c is connected to the charger 10c, the charger interface board 20d is connected to the charger 10d, the charger interface board 20e is connected to the charger 10e, and the charger interface board 20f is connected to the charger 10f, the number of the charger interface boards is equality to the number of charges. In case the numbers of charges 10 varies the number of charger interface boards 20 will also vary accordingly. Further, at least one of the charge interface board 20 from all the charge interface boards 20a – 20f is a master charge interface board. In the present invention and only from the purpose of explanation the charge interface board 20f is a master charge interface boards. The master charge interface board 20f is connected to remaining charge controller board 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e through a first controller area network (herein after referred as the CAN) 60.

Further, the master charge interface board 20f is also connected the controller 30 through a second controller area network (herein after referred as the second CAN 62). Generally, CAN is a vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and other devices to communicate with each other within a vehicle without a host computer. The CAN is a message-based protocol, designed specifically for vehicles. The change status of each of the charger 10a – 10f and other faults are communicated to the controller 30 through the master charge interface board 20f and sent to the controller 30 through the second CAN 62.

Referring again to figure 1, the display unit 40 and the connector 50 are connected to the controller 30. The display unit 40 is provided for displaying instructions to an operator operating the system 100 and for display of charging status of the system 10 and that of the electric vehicle. For the purpose of explanation, the display unit 40 used in the system 100 is a dot-matrix display and is connected to the controller 30 through a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UAR T). Further, by reading the instructions in the display unit 40 any person can use the system 100 for charging the electric vehicle. Further, the connector 50 is adapted to connect to the charging port of the electric vehicle. Specifically, the connector 50 is capable of supplying current to the electric vehicle as well as read the electronic controller unit (ECU) of the electric vehicle, thereby detecting the charge status of the electric vehicle and providing same as input to the controller 30. In an embodiment, the connector 50 is connected to the controller through a third CAN 64. Specifically, in the present invention the connector 50 is a CHAdeMO connector. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to use any other similar connector.

Further, after receiving inputs from the connector 50, the controller 30 calculates appropriate current and voltage that would charge the electric vehicle, accordingly the number of chargers 10 that may be required to provide the required voltage and current are defined and accordingly, the master charger control board 20f is operated to connect these batteries and provide the desired current and voltage to be supplied to the electric vehicle through the connector 50.

In another embodiment of the present invention there is also provided a method 200 for charging electric vehicles as shown in figure 2. For the sake of brevity, the method 200 will be explained in conjunction with the system 100 as described above. The method 200 starts at step 210.

At step 212, the controller 30 observes the protocol signals read by the connector 50 from the ECU of the vehicle.

At step 214, the controller 30 detects the protocol signal depending upon the charge status of the electric vehicle.

At step 216, if the protocol is detected by the controller 30 and the controller 30 sets the plurality of charges 10a - 10f in charging phase.

At step 218, if the protocol is not detected the controller 30 sets the plurality of charges 10a - 10f is not charging phase.

If the charges 10a- 10f are start charge phase then at step 220, the current, voltage and temperature management method is triggered by the controller 30 to operate for providing exact calculated voltage and current to charging the electric vehicle.

If the charges 10a – 10f does not start charge phase then at step 222, depending upon the previous data of charge, voltage and temperature recorded periodically, self testing is performed.

Thereafter, at step 224, the system 100 is auto calibrated.

At step 226, the method ends.

Further, the self testing described in step 222 of method 200 further includes following steps.

The self testing starts at step 310.

At step 312, the charging status of the electric vehicle is checked. If the electric vehicle is charging then current, voltage and temperature method is activated.

If the electric vehicle is not charging, the current drawing from each of the plurality of the chargers is checked at step 314.

Further, at step 316 charging current is checked.

Thereafter, if the current is 3A, the fault is logged in at step 318, and if the current is not 3A current value is saved in “CalCurrent” at step 320.

After that at step 322, after reporting the fault at step 318 the respective charger is shut down.

Thereafter, at step 324, all chargers are checked for calibration. If all the chargers are not calibrated again the steps from 312 are repeated. After conforming that all the chargers are calibrated the self testing ends at step 326.

The current, voltage and temperate method checks current, voltage and temperature supplied by each of the charger.

Thereafter, depending upon the temperature of the charges, a charger with the lowest temperature is identified. Further, the charger with the lowest temperate is instructed to supply higher current in comparison to the other charges. Further, all the communications are done through the first, second and thirds CAN 60, 62 and 64. Details flow chart of current, voltage and temperate method is shows in figure. This helps in faster charging of the electric vehicle with approximately 80% less time.

Referring now to figure 4a a block diagram of the current, voltage and temperate method preparatory phase is shown. The charger is identified and continues periodic monitoring of the charger is done. And then current, voltage and temperate method is initiated.

Referring now to figure 4b, a flow chart of a current, voltage and temperate method 220 of figure 2 is elaborated herein after in accordance with the present invention.

At step 510, the method 220 starts.

At step 512, it is checked, whether Programmable (here in after referred as “VPROG”) VPROG is greater than feedback voltage. If the VPROG is greater than feedback voltage, then there is an increment in VPROG at step 514.

If the VPROG is not greater than feedback voltage, the charger from the charges 10a-10f is identified at step 516.

Further at step 518, if the Programmable CURRENT (herein after referred as IPROG) is not equal to feedback of the selected charger, then at step 520 current feedbacks is checked. And if the IPROG is equal to feedback of the selected charger, then at step 528 the selected charger’s temperature is checked.

At step 520, if the current feedback is less than IPROG then at step 524, there is an increment in IPROG of the X charger. If the current feedback is not less than IPROG then at step 526, there is a decrement in IPROG of the X charger. Thereafter, at step 528 the selected charger’s temperature is checked.

At step 528, if the X charger temperature is less than the overall temperature of the other charges, then at step 534 health/workability of the charger is checked based on the charger temperature if its in limit or not. If the selected charger temperature is not less than the overall temperature of the other charges, then at step 530, IPROG of the charger is set according to the look-up table.

Thereafter, at step 532, increment remaining current accordingly. At step 536, calculate the health of X charger. If the X is less than the total number of charger at step 538, then at step 540, total current is checked with the remaining current. If the X is not less than total number of charger, then x is increment and again step 516 is initiated.

If the total current equal to the remaining current at step 540, then at step 542, health of all the charger is checked.

Thereafter at step 544, if the X charger health is greater than set valve, then at step 546, there is an increment in IPROG of the X charger (limit-set)* health h/100.

After that, at step 548, X is checked with reference to number of chargers. If the X is less than number of chargers then again step 540 is repeated.

At step 550, if X is not less than number of chargers then, power fail parameters are recorded. Similarly, health of all the chargers used in the system 100 is checked.

At step 552, the method 220 ends

Further, the protocol detection of step 14 of the method 200 is elaborated in figure 5. Figure 5 shows a flow chart for a method for detecting protocol 400.

The method 400 starts at step 410.

At step 412, all the CAN communication are monitored and are periodically recorded at per-defined internals of 100ms.

Further at step 414, IO (input / output) signalers of the charges are monitored.

Thereafter, at step 416, communication data and the signal behavior is validated.

At step 418, the above data is compared with pre-defined constrains.

At step 420, the method 400 ends.

The present invention provides a system 100 for charging electric vehicles has advantage of charging the electric vehicle total in at around 40 minutes which is much faster in comparison to the existing electric charger used for charging electric vehicles. For example, The off the shelf 1ph 2.2kW power unit required was 3ph 10kW power unit, which required 40 minute for complete charging. Further, the system 100 reduces substantial time required for charging. Also, the system 100 is economical in construction and operation. Furthermore, the system 100 is robust and compact can be installed for personal as well as commercial use near petrol pumps. Further, the safety compliance as per UL2202 is fulfilled by the system 100. Further, the system 100 can have stylized aesthetics as shown figure 6.

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.