JP6083553B2 - Electric vehicle charging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging device for charging an electric vehicle such as an electric vehicle.

  As a conventional example, there is a charging stand for an electric vehicle described in Patent Document 1, for example. This charging stand has a plurality of storage spaces inside and a cylindrical stand body 1 standing on the ground where an electric vehicle is parked, and a plurality of removably stored in the storage space of the stand body. It has an outlet unit. The outlet unit includes an outlet to which the power plug of the charging cable is detachably connected, and a housing that holds the outlet and is stored in a storage space of the stand body.

  In the above conventional example, by storing the outlet unit in the storage space of the stand main body, there is an advantage that it is possible to cope with an increase in the number of outlets and the workability of maintenance work such as repair and replacement is improved.

JP 2010-277855 A

  By the way, the charging current required for charging an electric vehicle such as an electric vehicle is often larger than the consumption current of a general electric device such as a television receiver, a refrigerator, or an air conditioner. Therefore, when the electric vehicle or the like is charged at the same time when these electric devices are used, the current supplied from the power system is greatly increased. If the current (usage current) supplied from the power system increases significantly in this way, replace the electrical cable used for wiring with one with a higher capacity, or change the contract power with the power company. Is required. If no countermeasures are taken, overload current will continue to flow for a certain period of time (for example, several seconds), causing the main breaker of the distribution board to trip or the limiter installed by the power company to operate to supply power. There is a risk of stopping.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to charge a large number of electric vehicles in parallel while suppressing an influence on power supply to electric devices other than the electric vehicle.

The charging device for an electric vehicle of the present invention is inserted between a breaker and a plurality of electric vehicles, respectively, and a plurality of charging units that respectively indicate an upper limit value of a charging current to each electric vehicle, and the breaker Current detecting means for detecting a flowing current; adjusting means for adjusting the upper limit value in each charging unit so that a current detected by the current detecting means does not exceed a rated current of the breaker; and at least a plurality of the charging A charging unit connected to the electric vehicle, and a transmission means for transmitting a signal to and from the electric vehicle via the charging cable. the adjusting means, the information of the upper limit value after adjustment is transmitted from the transmission means to the electric vehicle, further, the adjusting means is detected by said current detecting means Current at least a part of the upper limit value in each of the charging units within a range that does not exceed the rated current of the breaker, characterized that you adjust to different values from each other including zero.

  In this electric vehicle charging apparatus, it is preferable that a priority is assigned to the plurality of charging units, and the adjustment unit adjusts the upper limit value of the charging unit having a high priority to a relatively high value. .

  In the electric vehicle charging apparatus, any one of the charging units includes a control unit, and the control unit includes the information on the upper limit value received from the adjusting unit in all the other charging units. It is preferable that the transmission means transmit the electric vehicles.

  In this electric vehicle charging device, it is preferable that the adjusting means is housed in the main body together with the plurality of charging units.

  The charging device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention has an effect that a large number of electric vehicles can be charged in parallel while suppressing the influence on the power supply to electric devices other than the electric vehicle.

It is a block diagram which shows Embodiment 1 of the charging device for electric vehicles which concerns on this invention. It is a top view same as the above. It is a time chart for operation | movement description same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows another form same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows Embodiment 2 of the charging device for electric vehicles which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention is applied to a charging device for an electric vehicle (hereinafter abbreviated as a charging device) that is installed in a building such as an apartment house or an office and charges an electric vehicle using electric power supplied from an electric power system. An embodiment to which a technical idea is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the electric vehicle is not limited to an electric vehicle.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, single-phase, three-wire AC power is supplied from a power system 100 to a building via a distribution board. The distribution board includes a main circuit breaker 110 whose primary side is connected to the power system 100 and a plurality of branch circuit breakers 111 connected to the secondary side of the main circuit breaker 110. However, a limiter (current limiter) may be inserted on the primary side of the main breaker 110. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, an outlet and load (a lighting fixture, an electromagnetic cooker, an air conditioner etc.) are connected to the secondary side of each branch breaker 111 via an indoor wiring.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the charging device of the present embodiment includes a plurality (two in the drawing) of charging units 10 and a control unit 20.

  The control unit 20 includes current sensors 21 and 22, a current detection unit 23, a charging current adjustment unit 24, a communication unit 25, and the like. The current detection unit 23 uses the current sensor 21 to detect the magnitude (current value) of the current (hereinafter referred to as the main current) supplied from the power system 100 to the primary side of the main breaker 110, and branches. The current sensor 22 detects the magnitude (current value) of the charging current supplied from the breaker 111 to each charging unit 10. The charging current adjustment unit 24 includes a microcomputer as a main component, and adjusts the upper limit value of the charging current in each charging unit 10 so that the main current detected by the current detection unit 23 does not exceed the rated current of the main circuit breaker 110. I do. The communication unit 25 performs communication (signal transmission) with each charging unit 10, and performs, for example, serial communication based on the RS485 standard. However, the communication method of the communication unit 25 is not limited to the RS485 standard, and power line carrier communication, wireless communication (for example, low power wireless communication, etc.) may be used.

  The charging unit 10 includes a charging connector 11, a charging cable 12, an opening / closing unit 13, a charging control unit 14, a communication unit 15, and the like. The charging unit 10 is installed near a parking space (garage) of the electric vehicle and is connected to a branch circuit branched by a branch breaker 111 of a distribution board. The charging cable 12 is formed by covering a power supply line 12A through which a charging current supplied to an electric vehicle flows and a transmission line 12B through which a pilot signal (described later) is transmitted with an insulating sheath, and a charging connector 11 is provided at a tip portion. ing. The charging connector 11 is plugged in and connected to an insertion port (inlet) provided in the body of the electric vehicle. Then, when the charging connector 11 is plugged into the socket, the charging current is supplied from the power system 100 via the distribution board and the charging unit 10, and the charging control unit 14 of the charging unit 10 and the electric vehicle are charged. It is possible to transmit a pilot signal to / from an ECU (electronic control unit).

  The open / close unit 13 has an electromagnetic relay inserted into the power supply path from the branch breaker 111 to the power supply line 12A, and opens and closes the power supply path by turning on / off the electromagnetic relay according to an instruction from the charge control unit 14 To do. In addition, the charging control unit 14 detects the unbalanced current flowing through the power supply path, determines that a leakage has occurred when the detection level of the unbalanced current exceeds a threshold value, and controls the switching unit 13 Open the power supply path. The communication unit 15 performs communication (RS485 standard serial communication) with the communication unit 25 of the control unit 20.

  Here, the basic charging operation of the charging unit 10 will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. First, when the charging connector 11 is connected to the outlet of the electric vehicle at time t0, a predetermined voltage V1 (for example, V1 = 12 volts) is applied from the charging control unit 14 to the transmission line 12B. The voltage applied to the transmission line 12B becomes a transmission medium for a control pilot (CPLT) signal (hereinafter abbreviated as a pilot signal), and the charging ECU and the charging are charged as described later according to the voltage level and the duty ratio. Various information is exchanged with the control unit 14.

  When the charging ECU detects the pilot signal of voltage V1, it lowers the voltage level of the pilot signal from V1 to V2 (for example, V2 = 9 volts) (time t1 to t2). When the charging control unit 14 detects that the pilot signal has decreased from V1 to V2, the charging control unit 14 outputs a pulsed pilot signal having a predetermined frequency (for example, 1 kilohertz) (from time t2). The signal level of the pilot signal is ± V1, but the upper limit level is stepped down to V2. The duty ratio of the pilot signal indicates an upper limit value of the charging current (current capacity of the charging unit 10), and is set in advance for each charging unit 10. For example, when the current capacity is 12 amperes, the duty ratio is set to 20%, and when the current capacity is 30 amperes, the duty ratio is set to 50%. When the charging ECU detects the duty ratio of the pilot signal and recognizes the current capacity, it lowers the voltage level of the pilot signal from V2 to V3 (for example, 6V) (time t3). When the charging control unit 14 detects that the signal level of the pilot signal has decreased from V2 to V3, the charging control unit 14 closes the opening / closing unit 13 and starts supplying charging power.

  The charging ECU sets a current value (≦ current capacity) for charging the storage battery to the target level based on the current capacity, and outputs a charge command to the charger mounted on the electric vehicle. The charger that has received the charging command charges the storage battery while adjusting the charging current so as not to exceed the current value set by the charging ECU (from time t3). When the charge level of the storage battery reaches the target level, the charging ECU outputs a charge end command to the charger to finish charging the storage battery, and returns the voltage level of the pilot signal from V3 to V2 (time t4) . When the charger receives the charging end command, the charger ends the charging of the storage battery.

  When the charging control unit 14 detects that the pilot signal has changed from V3 to V2, the charging control unit 14 opens the opening / closing unit 13 and stops supplying the charging current. The charging ECU restores the voltage level of the pilot signal to the original V1 (time t5). When the voltage level of the pilot signal returns to V1, the charging control unit 14 stops oscillating at a predetermined frequency, maintains the voltage level of the pilot signal at V1, and returns to the standby state (time t6).

  As described above, the charging unit 10 turns on / off the supply of the charging current to the electric vehicle and instructs the charging ECU of the electric vehicle to specify the upper limit value of the charging current. Controlling charging.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging device of the present embodiment is configured such that a plurality of charging units 10 and a control unit 20 are accommodated in a main body (stand main body) 1 standing on a ground where an electric vehicle is parked. The

  The stand main body 1 is formed in a rectangular tube shape in which the front surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface are opened by assembling three metal plates (left side plate 2, right side plate 3, back plate) formed in a long rectangular plate shape. The opening on the top surface is closed by the flat box-shaped cover 5 formed. A mounting plate (not shown) is attached to the inner side surfaces of the left and right side plates 2 and 3 in parallel with the back plate. That is, the interior of the stand body 1 is divided into front and rear by a mounting plate, the charging unit 10 and the control unit 20 are housed in a space in front of the mounting plate, a power supply cable (not shown) for feeding and a current sensor 21. , 22 and the current detection unit 23 are accommodated (wired) in the space behind the mounting plate.

  A rectangular plate-like panel 7 is attached to the lowermost part of the front surface of the stand body 1. In the stand body 1, five storage spaces (storage spaces) for storing the charging unit 10 and the control unit 20 are arranged in the vertical direction in the front space from the lower end of the cover 5 to the upper end of the panel 7. Has been.

  The charging unit 10 includes an opening / closing unit 13, a charging control unit 14, and a communication unit 15 in a casing 10A formed in a rectangular box shape by a metal plate, and is introduced from an introduction port 10B provided on the front surface. The opening / closing unit 13 is connected to the power supply line 12A of the charging cable 12, and the charging control unit 14 is connected to the transmission line 12B. However, illustration of the charging cable 12 of each charging unit 10 is omitted in FIG.

  The control unit 20 also includes a current detection unit 23, a charging current adjustment unit 24, and a communication unit 25 in a metal case 20A having substantially the same size and shape as the case 10A of the charging unit 10.

  The charging unit 10 and the control unit 20 configured as described above are housed in the housing space in the stand body 1 from the front side, and the case body 10A, 20A is screwed to the mounting plate, thereby the stand body. 1 is fixed. As described above, five storage cavities of the same size are arranged in the vertical direction in the stand main body 1, and in FIG. 2, the control unit 20 is stored in the uppermost storage vacant space. Charging units 10 are stored in the fifth storage spaces. However, the number of charging units 10 stored in the storage space of the stand main body 1 is not limited to four, and a necessary number of charging units 1 to 4 are stored in the storage space of the stand main body 1. It only has to be done. Further, the current detection unit 23, the charging current adjustment unit 24, and the communication unit 25 constituting the control unit 20 may be housed in a distribution board box (not shown) together with the main breaker 110 and the branch breaker 111. .

  Here, the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 3 of the stand main body 1 are provided with two holders 6 arranged in the vertical direction so as to detachably hold the charging connector 11 respectively. The holder 6 has a cylindrical body portion 60 that is open at one end, and an outer casing 61 provided at the opening end of the body portion 60, and stores and holds the distal end portion of the charging connector 11 in the body portion 60. In addition, the charging cable 12 is wound around and held on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk portion 60.

  By the way, charging of an electric vehicle usually requires a large charging current of about several tens of amperes to several tens of amperes. On the other hand, in a normal house or office, the rated current of the main breaker 110 (limiter and main breaker 110 when the limiter is installed) is set to about 30 to 80 amperes. Therefore, when charging a plurality of electric vehicles simultaneously when other load devices are being used, for example, when a new charging unit 10 starts charging, the main current exceeds the rated current, and the main circuit breaker 110 Or the limiter may trip.

  Therefore, the charging current adjusting unit 24 of the control unit 20 sets the upper limit value of the charging current to a value lower than the current upper limit value when the main current flowing through the main circuit breaker 110 exceeds the main capacity (the rated current of the main circuit breaker 110). Command (adjustment command) is transmitted from the communication unit 25.

  The charging current adjusting unit 24 determines whether or not each charging unit 10 is being charged from the current value of the charging current detected by the current detecting unit 23, obtains the number M of charging units 10 being charged, and further determines the charging unit 10 The quotient of the total value of the load currents consumed by loads other than those, the difference between the main capacity and the number M is obtained. Then, the charging current adjusting unit 24 determines a current value not larger than the obtained quotient (= (main trunk capacity−load current total value) ÷ M) as the upper limit value. That is, all the charging units 10 being charged are adjusted to the same upper limit value.

  For example, in the situation where three charging units 10 set the upper limit value to 20 amps and charge an electric vehicle, the fourth charging unit 10 starts charging, and the main current exceeds the main capacity. Assuming that Here, assuming that the main capacity is 60 amperes and the total load current is 0 amperes, the charging current adjustment unit 24 sets a current value not larger than 60 amperes / 4 = 15 amperes, for example, 13 amperes to a new charge current. The upper limit value (after adjustment) is determined, and an adjustment command for setting the upper limit value to 13 amperes is transmitted from the communication unit 25 to the four charging units 10.

  In the charging unit 10, the adjustment command transmitted from the control unit 20 is received by the communication unit 15 and passed to the charging control unit 14. When receiving the adjustment command from the charging current adjusting unit 24, the charging control unit 14 changes the duty ratio of the pilot signal to a duty ratio corresponding to the upper limit value specified by the adjustment command.

  The charging ECU of the electric vehicle sets the current value of the charging current again based on the adjusted upper limit value and outputs a charging command to the charger. The charger that has received the charging command charges the storage battery while adjusting the charging current so as not to exceed the new current value set by the charging ECU. As a result, the charging current supplied to each electric vehicle decreases, so that the main current can be prevented from exceeding the rated current of the main circuit breaker 110. That is, according to the charging device of the present embodiment, a large number of electric vehicles are charged in parallel while suppressing the influence on the power supply to electric devices (such as lighting fixtures and air conditioners) other than the electric vehicle (electric vehicle). can do.

  However, when the charging of some of the charging units 10 is completed, the charging current adjusting unit 24 adjusts again to increase the upper limit value of the charging current according to the number of charging units 10 that are continuing to be charged.

  By the way, when the charging current adjusting unit 24 adjusts the upper limit value of the charging current, it is not always necessary to adjust the upper limit values of the plurality of charging units 10 to the same value. For example, depending on the specifications of the charger for an electric vehicle, the upper limit value of the charging current may not be set to less than 6 amperes. In this case, the charging current adjusting unit 24 preferably causes at least one of the charging units 10 being charged to stop charging (sets the upper limit value to zero). That is, by reducing the number of charging units 10 that are charged simultaneously, the upper limit value of the charging current for the charging unit 10 that continues to be charged can be adjusted to 6 amperes or more. However, in the charging current adjustment unit 24, it is preferable to change the charging unit 10 that stops charging every predetermined time.

  Alternatively, when the priority order is assigned to the plurality of charging units 10, it is preferable that the charging current adjustment unit 24 adjust the upper limit value of the charging unit having a higher priority order to a relatively high value. That is, when the main current exceeds the main capacity during charging of the three charging units 10, the charging current adjustment unit 24 charges the remaining two charging units 10 except the one charging unit 10 having the highest priority. Adjust to lower the upper limit of current. For the charging unit 10 with the highest priority, the charging current adjustment unit 24 does not change the upper limit value. In this way, the electric vehicle charged by the specific charging unit 10 (the charging unit 10 having the highest priority) is charged in a short time in preference to the electric vehicle charged by the other charging unit 10. Can do.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4, any one charging unit 10 includes a communication control unit 16 instead of the communication unit 15, and all the other charging units 10 include both the communication unit 15 and the communication control unit 16. It is good also as a structure which is not comprised. The communication control unit 16 notifies the adjustment commands (upper limit information) received from the control unit 20 to the charging control units 14 of all other charging units 10, respectively. In this way, the communication unit 15 is not required for the second and subsequent charging units 10, so that the manufacturing cost of the charging unit 10 can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2)
The present embodiment is characterized in that one charging unit 10 includes a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) charging cables 12 and charging connectors 11 as shown in FIG. However, since the basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the first embodiment, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the charging unit 10 in the present embodiment includes two opening / closing sections 13A and 13B, two charging control sections 14A and 14B, two breakers 17A, 17B, a current detection unit 18, two current sensors 18A and 18B, and a charging current adjustment unit 19 are provided. The two breakers 17A and 17B are, for example, earth leakage breakers, and the primary side is branched and connected to the secondary side of the branch breaker 111 of the distribution board, and the respective secondary sides are connected via the open / close parts 13A and 13B. A feeding line 12A of the charging cable 12 is connected.

  The current detection unit 18 individually detects the magnitude (current value) of the charging current supplied from the breakers 17A and 17B to the charging cables 12 using the current sensors 18A and 18B. The communication unit 15 communicates with the communication unit 25 of the control unit 20, receives an adjustment command transmitted from the communication unit 25 of the control unit 20, and passes it to the charging current adjustment unit 19. The charging current adjustment unit 19 includes a microcomputer as a main component, so that the total value of the two charging currents detected by the current detection unit 18 does not exceed the upper limit value specified by the adjustment command received from the communication unit 15. The charge control units 14A and 14B are instructed to adjust the upper limit value.

  The charging current adjusting unit 24 of the control unit 20 determines the upper limit value of the charging current in the charging unit 10 and adjusts it from the communication unit 25 when the main current flowing through the main circuit breaker 110 exceeds the main capacity, as in the first embodiment. Send a command.

  In the charging unit 10, the adjustment command transmitted from the control unit 20 is received by the communication unit 15 and passed to the charging current adjustment unit 19. The charging current adjusting unit 19 determines whether or not the two charging control units 14A and 14B are being charged from the current value of the charging current detected by the current detecting unit 18. When the two charging control units 14A and 14B are both charging, the charging current adjusting unit 19 sets the upper limit value to be half of the upper limit value instructed from the charging current adjusting unit 24 of the control unit 20. An adjustment command is given to the charge control units 14A and 14B. In addition, when only one of the charging control units 14A (or 14B) is being charged, the charging current adjusting unit 19 is charged so as to have an upper limit value instructed from the charging current adjusting unit 24 of the control unit 20. An adjustment command is given to the charging control unit 14A (or 14B) therein.

  Then, the charge control units 14A and 14B that have received the adjustment command from the charge current adjustment unit 19 change the duty ratio of the pilot signal to a duty ratio corresponding to the upper limit value specified by the adjustment command. As a result, the charging current supplied to each electric vehicle decreases, so that the main current can be prevented from exceeding the rated current of the main circuit breaker 110.

  When a plurality of charging devices are installed in one building, only one charging device includes the control unit 20, and the remaining charging devices include only the charging unit 10. The charging unit 10 of the charging device may be controlled.

1 Stand body
10 Charging unit
11 Charging connector
12 Charging cable
14 Charging controller (transmission means)
15 Communication section (transmission means)
21 Current sensor (current detection means)
23 Current detector (current detection means)
24 Charging current adjustment section (adjustment means)
25 Communication unit (Adjustment means)
110 Main breaker (breaker)

Claims (4)

A plurality of charging units inserted between the breaker and the plurality of electric vehicles, respectively, for instructing each electric vehicle with an upper limit value of a charging current; and current detecting means for detecting a current flowing through the breaker; Adjusting means for adjusting the upper limit value in each charging unit so that the current detected by the current detecting means does not exceed the rated current of the breaker; and a main body that houses at least a plurality of the charging units; The charging unit includes a charging cable connected to the electric vehicle, and a transmission unit that transmits a signal to and from the electric vehicle via the charging cable, and the adjustment unit is configured to adjust the upper limit after adjustment. value information is transmitted from said transmission means to said electric vehicle, further, the adjusting means, the current current detected by the detection means the rated current of the breaker At least a portion of the charging device for an electric vehicle characterized that you adjust to different values from each other including zero of the upper limit within a range not exceeding at each charging unit. 2. The electricity according to claim 1 , wherein a priority is assigned to the plurality of charging units, and the adjustment unit adjusts the upper limit value of the charging units having a higher priority to a relatively high value. Vehicle charging device. Any one of the charging units is provided with a control means, and the control means receives the information on the upper limit value received from the adjustment means from the transmission means provided in all of the other charging units, respectively. charging apparatus for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the to be transmitted to. The charging device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the adjusting unit is housed in the main body together with the plurality of charging units .

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