KR20190083207A - Electric charging system and method for electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging system and a charging method thereof, which can perform convenient charging. The electric vehicle charging system of the present invention comprises: a charger installed for charging an electric vehicle; a user terminal executed by an application to be implemented; and an operating server guiding charging of the electric vehicle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging system,

The present invention relates to a charging system for an electric vehicle, and more particularly, to an electric vehicle charging system which can be installed and operated at low cost and can confirm all information of a charging process through a user's smart phone, A charging system and a charging method.

Due to the global strengthening of environmental remedies and energy saving trends, the development and dissemination of environmentally friendly electric vehicles is rapidly spreading in each country. To this end, a small-scale electric car charging station is installed and operated in a parking lot of a public housing complex or a public parking lot facility, and an electric vehicle charging system capable of operating unmanned is being promoted. The unmanned electric vehicle charging system should be equipped with a system that can control the charging process by using wired / wireless communication means, and should be equipped with a system for checking and checking charging progress in real time.

In the prior art of the electric vehicle charging system as described above, the electric vehicle charging control system and the monitoring method are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 10-2017-0089190 and 10-1856384.

Such an electric vehicle unmanned charging system is difficult to use while the charger is directly operated by a user, and it is difficult to grasp an emergency situation such as a failure in real time and take measures. In addition, there is a limitation in paying the cost of charging and controlling the charging system to be driven under optimum conditions remotely.

In addition, in order to operate the unmanned charging system, a wired / wireless communication facility must be installed together with a charger for controlling the charger. In addition, a large amount of money, manpower, and time are required to install the wired / wireless communication facility.

Open Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0089190 (Electric Vehicle Charging Control System) Registration No. 10-1856384 (Method for Monitoring Charging of Electric Vehicle Battery Using Smart Portable Terminal)

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above problems, and provides an electric vehicle charging system and a charging method for allowing a user to easily search a location of a charging station or a charging device through a smart phone, .

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric vehicle charging system and a charging method which can simplify charging and settlement by charging and reduce operating costs.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an electric vehicle charging system and a charging method capable of improving the convenience of a user by allowing a plurality of electric vehicles to be charged even if the user does not wait separately.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric vehicle charging system including an AC input unit, a receptacle to which an electric vehicle is connected, a current detector connected to a power line of the receptacle to detect a current, A charging electric power calculation unit for calculating electric power charged in an electric car connected to the receptacle based on current information detected by the electric current detection unit and time information of the timer; A communication unit for transmitting / receiving information to / from an external device; and a card reader unit for charging a fee, the charging unit being installed for charging an electric vehicle; A charging guide unit for selecting a specific charger to guide a charge settlement for charging, and a charge guiding unit for guiding the charging start, A user terminal implemented and implemented as an application; A charger management unit for providing information for charging to the user terminal while managing charge and charger information, a terminal management unit for managing a plurality of user terminal information, a charge management unit for managing charge settlement for charging, A DB unit for storing various databases, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the charger management unit, the terminal management unit, the billing management unit, the transmission / reception unit, and the DB unit while being interlocked with the charger and the user terminal. And an operation server having a main control unit for informing charging of the electric vehicle.

Further, the communication unit of the charger is configured by an NB-IoT communication module for transmitting and transmitting one resource block information as a minimum unit of resource allocation.

In addition, the communication unit of the charger is configured to transmit information using a guard band existing between LTE data bands (Regular LTE Data bands).

Also, the searching unit of the user terminal provides peripheral charging station and charger information according to a request of a user, and the charger information includes information on availability of the charger.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging system including a charger having a card reader, a user terminal carried by a charging application, a user terminal carried by a user, an operating server forming a network, (A) requesting and inputting identification information of a charger to a user terminal; (b) providing a plurality of payment means after the charger identification number is input to select a payment means from a user; (c) requesting and charging a charge and charge for charging an electric vehicle according to the selected payment means; (d) requesting connection between the electric vehicle and the charger after the payment is confirmed; (e) checking whether the electric vehicle is connected according to the information transmitted from the charger, and instructing the charger to start charging when the electric vehicle is connected; (f) providing charging status information transmitted from the charger to a user terminal; (g) providing charge completion information transmitted from the charger, and requesting release of the charger and the electric vehicle.

Here, the electric vehicle charging method may further include: (h) storing charging information of the user after the charging start and after the charging is completed.

Also, in the step (c), when the card is inserted through the card reader of the charger, the card information inputted through the card reader is transmitted to the operation server.

In addition, the charging progress state information in step (f) includes information on the amount of electric power charged and remaining charge time information.

The present invention provides a charging station or charger information around a user through a smart phone, and provides a charging and charging method and the like to a smart phone so that the user can conveniently use the charging room or the charger information.

In addition, the present invention can install and operate the charging system at low cost by controlling the charger and the payment means using the existing installed LTE repeater.

In addition, since information is transmitted between the charger and the operation server using the NB-IoT communication module, efficient management and control of the charger installed in the underground parking lot or the outskirts can be performed.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a charger according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a charger according to another embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a screen of a user terminal of a charging station search process according to an embodiment of the present invention,
6A to 6C are diagrams showing a screen of a user terminal of a payment guidance process according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIGS. 7A and 7B are views illustrating a screen of a user terminal of a charge guiding process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an operation server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an electric vehicle charging process according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing a main configuration of a charger according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a view showing a main configuration of a user terminal and a user terminal screen executed by each configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an operation server according to an embodiment of the present invention .

1, the electric vehicle charging system of the present invention includes a charger 100 installed in a parking lot of a public housing complex, a public parking lot or a parking lot of a general building, a user terminal 200 And an operation server 300 for controlling the operation of the charger and the user terminal. The charger 100, the user terminal 200, and the operation server 300 constitute a network connected by communication means such as LTE do. A plurality of chargers 100 are connected to the operation server 300 and a program for implementing an electric vehicle charging system is installed in the user terminal 200 in an application form.

As shown in FIG. 2, the charger 100 is connected to the grid power to charge the electric vehicle. The charger 100 includes an AC input unit 120, an AC input unit 120, A current detection unit 140 connected to the power line of the receptacle 130 and a charging unit 130 connected to the AC input unit 120 through a cut- A timer 160 for providing time information to the control unit and a controller 160 for controlling the charging of the car battery 400 when the electric car is connected to the receptacle 130 A control unit 110, a communication unit 170 for transmitting / receiving various information to be connected to the operation server, and a card reader unit 180 for payment of a fee. Further, although not shown, a memory for storing information such as a charging time, a charging power amount, and the like may be further provided.

Specifically, the AC input unit 120 may be connected to a three-phase four-wire power line, and receives electric power from the system to charge the electric vehicle. The receptacle 130 connects the plug of the electric vehicle to charge the automobile battery 400. [ The charging power calculating unit 150 calculates the electric power charged in the automobile battery 400 using the current information detected by the current detecting unit 140 and the time information of the timer 160 and the like. The timer 160 calculates information such as an expected time required for charging and a charging elapsed time when charging starts based on the charging power amount information received from the operation server 300 (i.e., requested by the user).

The control unit 110 controls the blocking unit 121 to be turned on and off according to the user's request so that charging of the electric vehicle proceeds. That is, when the plug of the electric vehicle is connected to the receptacle 130 and the charge command (that is, the charge request from the user) is received from the operation server 300, the control unit 110 turns on the cut- When the charging power calculated by the charging power calculating unit 150 reaches the charging power amount information received by the operation server 300, the blocking unit 121 is turned off to terminate the charging. The controller 110 for this purpose compares the charge power provided by the charge power calculator 150 with the charge request power in real time.

In addition, the controller 110 controls the communication unit 170 to transmit and receive various information for charging with the operation server 300. That is, the controller 110 transmits information such as the amount of charged electric power, the elapsed time or the remaining charge time, and the completion of the charging to the operation server 300 while the charging is proceeding.

When the card is inserted through the card reader unit 180, the control unit 110 provides the card information to the operation server 300 so that settlement can be performed. That is, when the card reader unit 180 is monitored and the card is inserted, the operation server 300 is requested to approve the card for payment.

Information such as the charging information and the card approval request is transmitted to the operation server through the communication unit 170.

The communication unit 170 is a communication network for transmitting charging and card information to the operation server 300 and is composed of a communication module that can use a communication network installed for communication of a portable terminal such as a smart phone. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is not required to construct a separate wired or wireless communication facility for controlling the charger 100, and it is possible to control by simply mounting a communication module in the charger 100.

 For example, the communication unit 170 may be configured as an IoT (Internet of Thing) module capable of communicating using an LTE communication network, in particular, a NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT) module. The NB-IoT module is a communication method for intermittently transmitting a small amount of information. When applied to a communication module for transmitting charging information of the charger 100 to the operation server 300 as in the present invention, Information can be transmitted / received to / from the operational server 300 with optimum efficiency.

In general, information transmission of IoT module using LTE communication network is performed by main data line. In this case, it is possible to transmit a large amount of information and speed up information transmission speed, but there is a disadvantage that the cost of information transmission is high.

On the other hand, the NB-IoT module transmits low capacity information using 180kHz bandwidth corresponding to one Resource Block, which is the minimum unit of resource allocation. Therefore, since a simple low-capacity information such as a charging power amount, a charging time, and the like is intermittently transmitted between the operation server 300 and the charger 100, the communication unit 170 configured by the NB- So that information can be efficiently transmitted and received between them while accommodating the plurality of chargers 100.

In addition, the communication unit 170 using the NB-IoT module is configured to transmit information using a resource block of a guard band defined in an LTE frequency band. In the LTE frequency band, a guard band of a 180 kHz bandwidth is inserted between LTE data bands (regular LTE data bands) for transmitting normal data. Therefore, the communication unit 170 transmits information using the guard band of the LTE communication, and has the advantage that information can be transmitted at low power without interference with the LTE data.

In addition, since the NB-IoT module simplifies the wireless signal and further increases the transmission distance, information can be transmitted and received even in a position where the wireless signal is not connected. Accordingly, the communication unit 170 can efficiently manage the charger 100 installed at the same location as an underground parking lot or an outer area of the building.

The card reader unit 180 is provided at one side of the charger 100 and allows the user to directly make a payment using a check card or a credit card owned by the user. The card reader unit 180 may be a reader capable of reading a magnetic, chip or RF type card. Information collected by the card reader unit 180 may be provided to the operation server 300 through the communication unit 170 So that the charge for the charge is settled. At this time, a payment process such as card insertion or the like will be provided through the application of the user terminal 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, the charger 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention has a dual receptacle structure. That is, as shown in the drawing, the AC outlet 120 is connected to the first receptacle 130-1 and the second receptacle 130-2, and the first receptacle 130-1 and the second receptacle 130-2 are connected to each other, The switching unit 190 is provided at the front end of the AC outlet 120-2 to selectively connect the first receptacle 130-1 and the second receptacle 130-2 to the AC input unit 120. [

Also, the controller 110 controls the switching unit 190 so that charging is selectively performed from either the first receptacle 130-1 or the second receptacle 130-2. Specifically, when the electric vehicle is connected to the first receptacle 130-1, the controller 110 controls the first receptacle 130-1 to charge the first receptacle 130-1, Even if another electric vehicle is connected to the second receptacle 130-2 for charging, the first receptacle 130-1 is continuously charged and the charging through the first receptacle 130-1 is completed And controls the switching unit 190 so that charging is performed through the second receptacle 130-2.

Therefore, even if the two electric vehicles are connected to each other through the receptacle on both sides with a time difference, the charging of the connected electric vehicle is completed and the charging of the electric vehicle connected sequentially later is completed. The charging can be proceeded.

The charger 100 has a unique number for identifying each charger.

4, the user terminal 200 includes a search unit 210, a settlement guide unit 220, and a charge information unit 230, as shown in FIG. 4, do. The search unit 210, the payment guide unit 220 and the charge information unit 230 are installed in the user terminal 200 in the form of an application, and information is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 200 It displays the information to the user and receives the command from the user.

Specifically, the search unit 210 provides location information of an electric charging station or a charging station, and selects a charging station or a charging station at a specific location from a user. When the user executes the application, the search unit 210 displays the map of the surrounding area and the location where the charger is installed based on the current location of the user.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the search unit 210 provides information such as the address, distance, type of charger installed, and availability of the electric charging station within a radius of 10 km from the user's position, as a list or map information. If the user selects any one of the plurality of charging stations provided in the searching unit 210 as in 5b, the searching unit 210 may acquire information on the charging devices installed in the charging station, that is, ), Connector structure, capacity, cost per hour, and so on. In addition, the search unit 210 may provide the location of the charging station as navigation information. The charging station and the charger information are received from the operation server 300.

The settlement guide unit 220 provides settlement means information and settlement charge information, and receives settlement means and settlement cost (i.e., charge power amount) from a user. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the settlement guide unit 220 may provide a cash settlement unit, a credit card, a mobile phone, or the like as a settlement unit. . Particularly, the above-mentioned cost may be different from the unit power in accordance with the charging time zone such as normal time, peak time, and night time.

Also, the cache can be purchased and accumulated in various types of goods in advance, and the credit card is configured such that a normal credit card owned by the user can be used. The user can select the payment means and the amount of money provided by the payment guide unit 220 on the smartphone to proceed with charging. The payment means and payment fee information are received from the operation server 300.

Also, the payment guide unit 220 may guide the user to proceed directly to settlement through the card reader unit 180 of the charger, as shown in FIG. 6C. At this time, the user inserts a check card or a credit card held by the user into the card reader unit 180 to proceed with payment, and the information collected by the card reader unit 180 is transmitted to the operation server 300 And the settlement for the target charge amount is made.

The charging guide unit 230 requests or provides information so that the user can start charging in the charger 100 at a specific location and connects the charging vehicle 100 to the charger 100 and informs the user about the progress of charging . 7A and 7B, the charging guide unit 230 requests and receives a unique number of the charger 100, and provides a method of charging the charger 100 through the user terminal, Time, estimated end time, current charge amount, and the like, and indicates that the charge is completed after the charge is completed. The information provided to the charging guide unit 230 is received from the operation server 300. Therefore, after connecting the electric car to the charger, the user can confirm the progress and the termination through the smartphone without waiting separately on the spot.

The user terminal 200 having the above configuration can be connected to the operation server 300 through the conventional LTE communication network and receive various kinds of information in real time.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operation server 300 manages the operation of a plurality of charging stations and user terminals and collects the information and provides the collected information. The operating server 300 includes a charger managing unit 320 for managing charging stations and charger information, A terminal management unit 330 for managing a user terminal, a payment management unit 340 for managing payment according to charging, a transmission and reception unit 350 for transmitting and receiving information to and from a charger and a user terminal, A DB unit 360, and a main control unit (MCU) 310 for controlling them.

Specifically, the charger managing unit 320 manages location information on the charger and information on each charger installed in a specific location. The information managed by the charger management unit 320 includes an address of a location where the charger is installed, identification information of the charger installed at each location (charger number), a charger name, a charging method (fast or slow), a connector structure, And information on availability. The charger managing unit 320 provides the information to the searching unit 210 or the charging informing unit 230 of the user terminal 200 when the user requests it.

The terminal management unit 330 collects and manages terminal information used by a user. The user terminal information may be collected when the user installs the charging application in his / her smart phone, and the user terminal information may include user information, terminal identification information, and user's vehicle information. The terminal management unit 330 can cumulatively manage charge information for a corresponding user or vehicle based on the information, and can provide benefits such as mileage. In addition, the terminal management unit 330 controls charging to be performed between the user terminal 200 and the charger 100 by interlocking the user terminal information with the charger information.

The payment management unit 340 is a configuration in which a user controls and manages charging based on the use of the charger. The payment management unit 340 provides information such as the payment means and the charge amount through the payment guide unit 220 of the user terminal and selects the user to charge the payment unit according to the user's selection. The payment means usable in the electric vehicle charging system of the present invention can be collected in advance when an application for charging an electric vehicle is installed in a smart phone and can be configured to convert various types of goods into a cache according to a user's choice and accumulate . In addition, the settlement management unit 340 is configured to process the remaining balance after the charge, if there is a request from the user, for the refund.

The transmitter-receiver unit 350 may be configured as an LTE communication module that can use the existing LTE communication network in a configuration for requesting and providing information to a plurality of the chargers 100 and the user terminal 200. The LTE communication module communicates with the charger 100 through the NB-IoT method.

The DB unit 360 stores and manages information necessary for operating the electric vehicle charging system. In the DB unit 360, information including charging station information, charger information, user information, terminal information, vehicle information, and payment information is DB-stored and managed. In addition, the DB unit 360 accumulates and manages charging histories of the respective users in a DB format.

The main control unit 310 controls the charger managing unit 320 to provide various information related to charging to the searching unit 210 or the charging informing unit 230 of the user terminal 200, The charging control unit 340 controls the charging unit 100 to charge the charging unit 300 after charging. The main control unit 310 controls the terminal management unit 330 so that the charging history of the user can be continuously and efficiently managed by interlocking the user terminal with the vehicle information. The main control unit 310 controls the charging station, the charger, the user terminal, And controls the DB unit 360 so that the information is managed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an electric vehicle charging process according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 8A to 8D are views illustrating a screen of a user terminal of an electric vehicle charging process according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric vehicle charging system of the present invention is provided as an application for a user to conveniently use through a smartphone and is installed in advance in the user's smartphone and the operation server 300 is connected to the charger 100 and the user terminal 200 So that charging is performed according to the user's request.

When the user executes a charging application with a smartphone (user terminal) at a specific location (S11), the operation server 300 transmits the charging application to the charging device 100 through the charging guide unit 230, And receives the input from the user (S12, S13). When the user selects or inputs the charger number through the smartphone, the operation server 300 requests payment (S14, S15) while providing charging information (payment information) through the payment guide unit 220. [ At this time, the user can proceed the settlement through the settlement guidance unit of the smartphone, or can insert the card owned by him into the card reader unit 180 provided in the charger, and proceed directly with the settlement.

When the settlement through the payment guide unit 220 or the card reader unit 180 is confirmed (S16), the operation server 300 requests the connection of the electric vehicle, that is, the plug connection to the charger 100 (S17 At the same time, the control unit 110 of the charger 100 is requested to confirm the connection of the electric vehicle (S18).

When the connection confirmation of the electric vehicle is received from the charger 100 in step S19, the operation server 300 returns to the charging server 100 to start charging the charging server 100. In step S20, the operation server 300 transmits charging information And manages it.

In addition, the charger 100 transmits all the information including the charging start information, the progress status information, and the charging end information to the operation server 300 (S21-1, S21-2, S21-3) Provides the information transmitted from the charger 100 to the user terminal 200 during the charging process so that the user can check the charging progress process (S22-1, S22-2, S22-3).

On the other hand, when the charging completion information is received from the charger, the operation server 300 provides the charging completion information to the user terminal 200 and requests the electric car to be disconnected from the charger 100 (S23) . At this time, the charger 100 confirms the unplugging and transmits the result to the operation server 300 (S24, S25). The operation server 300 finally obtains the information such as the charging time, .

The charging information is provided to the user terminal 200 through the charging guide unit 230 under the control of the charger management unit 320 and the payment process is controlled by the payment management unit 340, (220). Also, the charger 100 transmits the charging information to the operation server 300 through the communication means using the NB-IoT module so that the charging status can be controlled even from a remote place.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.

100: Charger
110: control unit 120: AC input unit
130: receptacle part 140: current detection part
150: Charging power calculation unit 160: Timer
170: communication unit 180: card reader unit
190:
200: User terminal
210: searching unit 220:
230: Charging guide
300: Operational server
310: MCU 320: Charger management unit
330: terminal management unit 330:
340: Transmitting / receiving unit 350: DB unit

Claims (8)

An AC input unit, a receptacle to which the electric vehicle is connected, a current detector connected to the power line of the receptacle and detecting a current, a timer, current information detected by the current detector and time information of the timer, A controller for controlling charging of the automobile battery when the electric car is connected to the receptacle, and a control unit for transmitting the charging information and the card information to the operating server A charger provided with a communication unit and a card reader unit for paying a fee to charge the electric vehicle;
A charging guide unit for selecting a specific charger to guide a charge settlement for charging, and a charge guiding unit for guiding the charging start, A user terminal implemented and implemented as an application; And
A charger management unit for providing information for charging to the user terminal while managing charging and charging device information, a terminal management unit for managing a plurality of user terminal information, a charge management unit for managing charge settlement for charging, A DB unit for storing various databases, and a controller for controlling the operation of the charger managing unit, the terminal managing unit, the billing managing unit, the transmitting / receiving unit, and the DB unit while being interlocked with the charger and the user terminal And an operating server having a main control unit to guide charging of the electric vehicle. The battery charger according to claim 1,
And an NB-IoT communication module for transmitting and transmitting one resource block information as a minimum unit of resource allocation. The communication device according to claim 2,
And is configured to transmit information using a guard band existing between LTE data bands. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the search unit of the user terminal comprises:
And provides information on the surrounding charging station and the charger according to a request of the user, and the charger information includes information on availability of the charger. A method for charging an electric vehicle, the method comprising: charging a battery charger having a card reader, a user terminal carried by a charging application, a user terminal carried by the user, and an operating server forming a network,
(a) requesting and inputting identification information of a charger to a user terminal;
(b) providing a plurality of payment means after the charger identification number is input to select a payment means from a user;
(c) requesting and charging a charge and charge for charging an electric vehicle according to the selected payment means;
(d) requesting connection between the electric vehicle and the charger after the payment is confirmed;
(e) checking whether the electric vehicle is connected according to the information transmitted from the charger, and instructing the charger to start charging when the electric vehicle is connected;
(f) providing charging status information transmitted from the charger to a user terminal;
(g) providing charging completion information transmitted from the charger, and requesting release of the electric vehicle and the charger. 6. The method of claim 5,
(h) storing charging information of the user after the start of charging and after charging is completed. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the payment of step (c)
And when the card is inserted through the card reader of the charger, the card information inputted through the card reader is transmitted to the operation server. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the charging progress state information of step (f)
The charged electric energy amount information, and the remaining charging time information.

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