Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to electric vehicles, and more specifically, to a reconfigurable multiport charging station for charging of electric vehicles.

BACKGROUND
[0002] The charging setup used for charging the electric vehicles can be segregated into two categories, namely on-board chargers and off-board chargers, based on how the charger is interfaced with the vehicle. An on-board charger is integrated into the vehicle and is powered up through an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). The EVSE interfaces the on-board charger with the utility grid which supplies Alternating Current to the on-board charger. The off-board charger sits outside the vehicle and provides a DC power directly to the battery of the electric vehicle. Since an on-board charger is inside the vehicle, it adds up to the overall weight and size of the vehicle. On the other hand, an off-board charger is typically devoid of such space limitations and can supply higher power for fast charging of the vehicle.

[0003] Two-wheelers contribute to nearly 75% of the total automobile sales in the Indian automobile sector. With the accelerated adoption of Electric vehicles (EV), a similar trend is observed in EV sales, where electric two-wheelers (scooters) dominate. Currently, there is no standardization in the battery specifications of electric scooters among the different brands and categories. A survey of some presently active electric scooters shows that the battery voltage and current ratings of the batteries vary over a wide range. The portable chargers provided by automakers are specific to each scooter and not interoperable among the different brands and categories of electric scooters. The scarcity of other charging options (public charging stations or battery swapping stations) adds to the range anxiety of EV customers.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a unified charging setup that can cater to a wide variety and segment of EVs. As a result, multiport off-board EV chargers are gaining traction to address the non-standard battery specifications among EVs.

[0005] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY
[0006] The present disclosure relates to a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 for charging of electric vehicles. The reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 comprises a plurality of switching modules 106 with one or more charging ports 108. Further, the reconfigurable multiport charging unit 100 comprises a three-phase input power supply, an Alternating Current-to-Direct Current (AC-DC) Power Factor Correction (PFC) converter 102, a Direct Current-to-Direct Current (DC-DC) converter 104, a first set of relays 110 and second set of relays 112. In an embodiment, the multi-port charging unit 100 may be configured with at least three switching modules 106 to interface the charging unit 100 with a three-phase input power supply. A set of relays (110, 112) within the switching modules 106 are configurable to operate in a first position to facilitate charging of multiple low-power, low voltage electric vehicles or operate in a second position to facilitate charging of a at most three mid-power, high-voltage or a single high-power, high-voltage electric vehicle.

[0007] Further, disclosed herein is a method of operating a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit for electric vehicles. The method comprises determining a type of the electric vehicle, and determining a voltage, current and power level required for charging an electric vehicle. Further, the method comprises operating each of a first set of relays and a second set of relays configured in the charging unit in a first position or a second position to control activation of one or more charging ports in the charging unit. The charging ports, upon activation, supply an output voltage and a current corresponding to the voltage level and the power value required for charging the electric vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises utilizing a predefined control strategy for controlling operation of an AC-DC PFC converter and one or more DC-DC converters configured in the charging unit based on configurations of the first set of relays and the second set of relays and the type of the electric vehicle. The operation of the AC-DC PFC converter comprises actively correcting the power factor of the switching module in the charging unit by a value close to unity by varying a duty ratio of switches of the AC-DC PFC converter. Further, the operation of the AC-DC PFC converter comprises operating the switches of the AC-DC PFC converter using a switching pattern to avoid overlap of voltage and current during switching transitions for achieving a soft turn ‘ON’ and soft turn ‘OFF’.

[0008] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a reconfigurable multiport charging station for charging of electric vehicles in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit for electric vehicles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating operations of an alternating Current-to-Direct Current (AC-DC) Power Factor Correction (PFC) Converter, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4a illustrates a circuit topology for a single module of a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4b illustrates a control block diagram of modules for 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler charging, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4c illustrates a control block diagram of modules for 4-wheeler charging, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 4a – 4d show exemplary charging configurations of the multiport charging station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0019] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

[0020] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0021] Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to electric vehicle chargers. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a reconfigurable multiport charging unit and a control technique for operating the reconfigurable multiport charging unit for public charging of electric vehicles. In an implementation, the reconfigurable multiport charging unit may be configured dynamically for charging either two-wheeler vehicles or three-wheeler vehicles (i.e., vehicles having a voltage requirement in the range of 40V – 120V) or four-wheeler vehicles (i.e., vehicles having a voltage requirement in the range of 250 – 450 V). Also, the multiport charging unit may be configured for charging multiple 2/3-wheelers simultaneously with similar or disparate battery specifications, such that each charging port can be rated to handle power between a few kilowatts (kW) to a few tens of kilowatts (kW). Alternatively, the multiport charging unit can be configured to charge a 4-wheeler or a multi-wheeler vehicle with a charging power ranging between few tens of kilowatts (kW) to few hundreds of kilowatts (kW). In other words, the charging ports on the reconfigurable multiport charging unit may be dynamically configured for charging either two-wheelers, three-wheelers or a high-power multi-wheeler vehicle depending on the requirement at a given point in time. Thus, the multiport charging unit provides a variable voltage control strategy to handle various operating modes. The proposed multiport charging unit and the method of controlling or operating the proposed multiport charging unit are explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 in the following sections of the complete specification.

[0022] It shall be noted that the proposed multiport charging unit and the method of reconfiguring the multiport charging unit to accommodate the charging of batteries of 2/3-wheelers and/or 4-wheeler vehicles is a disruptive innovation that can significantly improve the manufacturability and drive down the cost for public charging solutions. Further, the proposed multiport charging unit optimizes the charging process by dynamically adjusting relay positions, ensuring efficient power factor correction, and activating charging ports based on specific characteristics of the electric vehicle. The proposed multiport charging unit incorporates a smart approach to accommodate various types of vehicles with varying power levels in a reconfigurable charging infrastructure. Thus, the proposed variable voltage control strategy is a key technical feature that helps achieve the interoperability of the multiport charging unit for charging of two/three-wheelers and 4-wheeler vehicles.

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100, which may be used for charging of electric vehicles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may be reconfigured for charging a number of two-wheeler or three-wheeler vehicles or a high-power four-wheeler or a multi-wheeler vehicle.

[0024] In an embodiment, the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may include, without limiting to, one or more switching modules 106 comprising an Alternating Current-to-Direct Current (AC-DC) Power Factor Correction (PFC) converter 102, a Direct Current-to-Direct Current (DC-DC) converter 104, a plurality of ports 108, a first set of relays 110 and a second set of relays 112.

[0025] In an embodiment, the AC-DC PFC converter 102 may comprise a voltage controller, a current limiter for Constant Current (CC) mode, and a PFC current controller. The voltage controller may adjust a reference voltage, Vuw’-ref, based on the Constant-Voltage (CV) limit of the battery being charged. The current limiter limits the peak value of the inductor current, iL, to allow a constant current mode for charging the battery. The PFC current controller modulates the primary bridge duty ratio, dp, to shape the inductor current, iL, into a rectified sinusoid waveform in phase with the grid voltage for the PFC operation.

[0026] In an embodiment, the AC-DC PFC converter 104 may be configured for actively correcting the power factor of the respective switching module. The power factor of the switching module may be corrected by adjusting the duty ratio of the converter switches. According to an embodiment of the invention, a soft turn "ON" and soft turn "OFF" operations may be achieved using a switching pattern to prevent voltage and current overlap during transitions.

[0027] In some implementations, the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may consist of multiple switching modules 106, each of which are equipped with one or more charging ports 108. As an example, the reconfigurable multiport charging unit 100 may be configured with at least three switching modules 106 to interface the reconfigurable multiport charging unit 100 with a three-phase input power supply. In an implementation, the DC-DC converter 104 may be used for changing output voltage, current, or power levels of each of the charging ports 108 based on the requirements of the vehicles connected to the multi-port charging unit 100. The charging ports 108 may be configured to supply an output voltage and current to the connected vehicle. In an embodiment, the output voltage and current supplied by the charging ports 108 may correspond to the specific voltage level and power value required for charging the connected vehicle.

[0028] In an exemplary embodiment, the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may be configured with two sets of relays, namely the first set of relays 110 and the second set of relays 112. The relays (110 and 112) may be configured to control the activation of the charging ports 108 within the switching modules 106. In alternative embodiments, the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may be configured with any number of relays in any configuration (other than the configuration illustrated in the present disclosure) for designing a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit of a desired user case configuration.

[0029] In an embodiment, the first set of relays 110 may be used for interconnecting the charging ports 108 within the switching modules 106. The first set of relays 110 may be operated in two positions, namely a first position and a second position. The first position may be used for disconnecting one or more charging ports 108 of the switching modules 106, and the second position may be used for connecting the one or more charging ports 108.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second set of relays 112 may be configured in two positions, namely a first position and a second position. The first position may facilitate charging of multiple low-power, low-voltage vehicles. The second position may facilitate charging of either up to three mid-power, high-voltage vehicles or a single high-power, high-voltage vehicle.

[0031] That is, the position of the first set of relays 110 and the second set of relays 112 may be used to dynamically activate the charging ports in a predetermined order. This order may vary the way in which the multi-port charging unit 100 may be used for charging the vehicles. For example, by varying the order of activation of the charging ports 108, the multi-port charging unit 100 may be used for charging a specific number of vehicles according to the power requirements of the vehicles. Here, the power requirements of the vehicles may vary between a low-power low-voltage vehicle (for example, two-wheeler vehicles), a mid-power high-voltage vehicle (for example, three-wheeler vehicles), a combination of both or a high-power, high-voltage vehicle (for example, four-wheeler or multi-wheeler vehicles).

[0032] Although FIG. 1 shows each component of the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 as distinct components, all the components of the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may be interconnected and configured to work in tandem. For example, in some implementations, each of the PFC converter 102, the DC-DC converter 104, the first set of relays 110 and the second set of relays 112 may be configured within the switching modules 106, alongside the charging ports 108. Also, the reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100 may comprise one or more other components, which are not shown explicitly in FIG. 1 for the sake of brevity.

[0033] FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling operations of a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the method 200 may include one or more blocks illustrating a method for operating or controlling operation of the multi-port charging unit 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The method 200 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types.

[0035] The order in which the method 200 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

[0036] At step 202, the method 200 comprises determining the type of Electric Vehicle (EV) that is connected to the multi-port charging unit. As an example, the type of electric vehicle may include, without limiting, a two-wheeler vehicle, a three-wheeler vehicle, a four-wheeler vehicle or any other multi-wheeler vehicle. The vehicle may include, without limiting to, a passenger-class vehicle, a business-class vehicle or a large size commercial vehicle. In an embodiment, the type of the electric vehicle may be determined based on a user input received via a user interface associated with the multi-port charging unit 100. For example, such a user interface may be handled by an operator of the multi-port charging unit 100 or an owner/user of the vehicle. Alternatively, the type of the vehicle may be automatically determined based on power requirements of the vehicle.

[0037] At step 204, of the method 200 comprises determining a voltage, current, and power level required by the vehicle for charging the vehicle. In an embodiment, the voltage, current and power level of the vehicles may be determined when the vehicle is connected to one of the charging ports 108 of the multi-port charging unit 100.

[0038] At step 206, the method 200 comprises operating the first set of relays 110 and the second set of relays 112 to control the activation of the charging ports 108 according to the charging requirements of the connected vehicle. For example, if it is determined that the connected vehicle is a two-wheeler or any other low-power, low-voltage vehicle, the second set of relays 112 may be activated in the first position. Alternatively, if it is determined that the connected vehicle is a high-power, high voltage vehicle, the second set of relays 112 may be operated in the second position.

[0039] At step 208, the method 200 comprises utilizing a predefined control strategy for managing the AC-DC PFC converter 104 and the DC-DC converters 106 based on the configurations of the first set of relays 110 and the second set of relays 112 and according to the type of the electric vehicle being charged.

[0040] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating operations of an alternating Current-to-Direct Current (AC-DC) Power Factor Correction (PFC) Converter, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] The order in which the method 300 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 3, at step 302, the method 300 comprises controlling the AC-DC PFC converter 102 for actively correcting the power factor of the switching module in the multi-port charging unit 100 by a value close to unity by varying a duty ratio of the switches of the AC-DC PFC converter 102. Further, at block 304, the switches of the AC-DC PFC converter 102 may be operated using a switching pattern to avoid overlap of voltage and current during the switching transitions for achieving a soft turn ‘ON’ and soft turn ‘OFF’.

[0043] FIG. 4a illustrates an exemplary circuit topology for a single module of a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, at least three switching modules may be connected in a ‘STAR’ or ‘DELTA’ (not shown) configuration to realize a three-phase charging unit with up to a few hundreds of kilowatts (kW) capacity. Such a charging unit 100 may be configured to support charging of either two-wheelers or three-wheelers (up to 9 vehicles) or for charging a single high-power four-wheeler or multi-wheeler vehicle. The 2/3-wheeler charging may facilitate charging up to a few tens of kilowatts (kW) at each of the 9 ports (i.e., uu’, vv’, ww’) and the 4-wheeler charging may facilitate charging up to a few hundreds of kilowatts (kW).

[0044] Various charging port configurations, which may be achieved with the proposed multi-port charging unit 100 are summarized (without being limited to) in Table 1 below. The modules being referred to in Table 1 are shown in FIG. 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d.

At all Modules:
R1: position 1
R2: position 2
R3: position 3 At Module 1:
R1: position 1’
R2: position 2’
R3: position 3’

At Modules 2 & 3:
R1: position 1
R2: position 2
R3: position 3 At all Modules:
R1: position 1’
R2: position 2’
R3: position 3’ At all Modules:
R1: position 1’
R2: position 2’
R3: position 3’
Position of Relays:
R4: open
R5: open
R6: open
R7: open Position of Relays:
R4: open
R5: open
R6: open
R7: open Position of Relays:
R4: open
R5: open
R6: open
R7: open Position of Relays:
R4: closed
R5: closed
R6: closed
R7: closed
Charging port usability:

All nine output ports of the charger are available for charging 2/3-wheeler vehicles. Each port facilitates charging of up to a few tens of kW. Charging port usability:

‘Module 1’ is available for 4-wheeler charging up to a few tens of kW.

‘Module 2’ and ‘Module 3’ are available for charging up to six 2/3-wheelers, with a capacity of up to a few tens of kW. Charging port usability:

Three output ports, one on each module, are available for charging three 4-wheelers, each with a capacity up to a few tens kW. Charging port usability:

One output port is available for charging a high-power, high voltage vehicle with up to a few hundreds of kW capacity.

Table 1: Charging port configurations

[0045] FIG. 4b illustrates an exemplary control block diagram of modules configured for 2/3-wheeler charging, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the architecture may include a frontend PFC control and a buck regulator control. In an implementation, an auxiliary capacitor voltage, Vaux, is regulated at a voltage higher than the peak value of the grid voltage, Vg. This indirectly regulates the voltages Vout1, Vout2, Vout3 at the intermediate DC-link capacitors. The PFC current controller may be configured to modulate the primary bridge duty ratio, dp, to make the inductor current, iL, track a desired pattern for power factor correction. Each of the buck regulator control may comprise an output voltage controller, current limiter, and an output current controller. This allows a Constant Current (CC) and a Constant Voltage (CV) mode of charging for 2/3-wheeler batteries at each port. The buck regulator control at each port may facilitate independent charging of the 2/3-wheeler batteries of similar/disparate specifications at each port. The auxiliary capacitor voltage, Vaux is regulated at a voltage higher than the peak value of the grid voltage, Vg. This indirectly regulates the voltages Vout1, Vout2, Vout3 at the intermediate DC link capacitors. The PFC current controller modulates the primary bridge duty ratio, dp, to make the inductor current, iL, track a desired pattern for power factor correction.

[0046] FIG. 4c illustrates an exemplary control block diagram of module configuration for 4-wheeler charging, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4c, the front-end PFC control for 4-wheeler charging may comprise a voltage controller, a current limiter for CC mode, and a PFC current controller. Here, the voltage reference, Vuw’-ref, is adjusted based on the CV limit of the 4-wheeler battery. The current limiter limits the peak value of the inductor current, iL, to allow constant current (CC) mode for 4-wheeler battery charging. The PFC current controller modulates the primary bridge duty ratio, dp to shape the inductor current, iL, into a rectified sinusoid waveform in phase with grid voltage for PFC operation. The control signals from the controllers are fed to a pulse width modulator to generate the gate pulses for the switches. The switching scheme for the primary stage enables soft switching of Saux, S1, S2, S3, S4.

[0047] In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method of dynamically reconfiguring a multi-port charging unit 100 to accommodate the charging of 2/3-wheeler and/or 4-wheeler vehicles, thereby significantly improving the scalability and manufacturability of the charging infrastructure and reducing the cost of deploying public charging solutions. Further, the proposed solution provides an easy and convenient approach for dynamically varying specifications of the charging port by causing changes to positions of relay switches, thereby ensuring efficient power factor correction. The proposed voltage control strategy is a key innovation that helps achieve the interoperability of the charging stations for charging 2/3-wheeler or other multi-wheeler vehicles of varying specifications.

[0048] While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the inventions.

[0049] The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0050] The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0051] The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0052] The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0053] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

[0054] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. ,

C , Claims:1. A reconfigurable multi-port charging unit for electric vehicles, the charging unit comprising:
a plurality of switching modules with one or more charging ports; and
a first set of relays to interconnect the one or more charging ports of the plurality of switching modules.

2. The charging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of switching modules comprise:
an Alternating Current-to-Direct Current (AC-DC) Power Factor Correction (PFC) converter connected to a single-phase input power supply with one or more DC ports;
one or more DC-DC converters; and
a second set of relays.

3. The charging unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second set of relays within the plurality of switching modules are configurable to:
operate in a first position to facilitate charging of multiple low-power, low voltage electric vehicles; or
operate in a second position to facilitate charging of a at most three mid-power, high-voltage or a single high-power, high-voltage electric vehicle.

4. The charging unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second set of relays within a single switching module facilitate the charging of at most three low-power, low-voltage electric vehicles when each of the second set of relays are operated in the first position.

5. The charging unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second set of relays within a single switching module facilitate the charging of at most one mid-power, high-voltage electric vehicle when each of the second set of relays are operated in the second position.

6. The charging unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the AC-DC PFC converter within a switching module is configured to actively correct the power factor of the respective switching module to a value close to unity.
7. The charging unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the one or more DC-DC converters are configurable to modify one or more output voltage or current or power levels of each of the charging ports within each of the switching modules according to requirement of the electric vehicles.

8. The charging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first set of relays are configurable to:
operate in a first position to disconnect one or more charging ports of the plurality of switching modules; or
operate in a second position to connect one or more charging ports of the plurality of switching modules.

9. The charging unit as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first set of relays are configurable to:
operate in a first position to facilitate charging of multiple low-power, low voltage or multiple mid-power, high-voltage or a combination of multiple low-power, low voltage and mid-power, high-voltage electric vehicles; or
operate in a second position to charge a single high-power, high voltage electric vehicle.

10. The charging unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging unit is configured with at least three switching modules to interface with a three-phase input power supply.

11. A method of operating a reconfigurable multi-port charging unit for electric vehicles, the method comprising:
determining a type of the electric vehicle;
determining a voltage, current and power level required for charging an electric vehicle;
operating each of a first set of relays and a second set of relays configured in the charging unit in a first position or a second position to control activation of one or more charging ports in the charging unit, wherein the charging ports, upon activation, supply an output voltage and a current corresponding to the voltage level and the power value required for charging the electric vehicle; and
utilizing a predefined control strategy for controlling operation of an AC-DC PFC converter and one or more DC-DC converters configured in the charging unit based on configurations of the first set of relays and the second set of relays and the type of the electric vehicle.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein operation of the AC-DC PFC converter within a switching module comprises:
actively correcting the power factor of the switching module in the charging unit by a value close to unity by varying a duty ratio of switches of the AC-DC PFC converter; and
operating the switches of the AC-DC PFC converter using a switching pattern to avoid overlap of voltage and current during switching transitions for achieving a soft turn ‘ON’ and soft turn ‘OFF’.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, comprises configuring the first set of relays and the second set of relays to activate the one or more charging ports in a predetermined order to facilitate charging of a predetermined number of low-power, low voltage or mid-power, high-voltage or a combination of low-power, low voltage and mid-power, high-voltage or high-power, high voltage electric vehicles.