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EP-4741217-A1 - CHARGE POINT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND CHARGE POINT COMMUNICATION METHOD

EP4741217A1EP 4741217 A1EP4741217 A1EP 4741217A1EP-4741217-A1

Abstract

A charge point communication system and a charge point communication method are provided. A first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) is communicatively connected to a charging station management server (CS1). The first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) assigns charging current to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and the first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) within a first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) based on a total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41).

Inventors

  • CHEN, CHING-CHI

Assignees

  • Lite-On Technology Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251105

Claims (19)

  1. A charge point communication system (10, 20, 30, 50, 60), comprising: a first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110), communicatively connected to a charging station management server (CS1); and a plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N), communicatively connected to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110), wherein the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) assigns charging current to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) within a first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) based on a total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41).
  2. The charge point communication system (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) according to claim 1, further comprising: an upper gateway charge point (310), communicatively connected between the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and the charging station management server (CS1).
  3. The charge point communication system (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) according to claim 2, further comprising: a second gateway charge point (320_2), communicatively connected to the upper gateway charge point (310); and a plurality of second client charge points (330_(N+1) to 330_2N), communicatively connected to the second gateway charge point (320_2), wherein the second gateway charge point (320_2) assigns charging current to the second gateway charge point (320_2) and the plurality of second client charge points (330_(N+1) to 330_2N) within a second charge point group (CG42) based on a total current limit of the second charge point group (CG42).
  4. The charge point communication system (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) according to claim 1, further comprising a spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370), communicatively connected to the charging station management server (CS1), wherein when the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) is disconnected from the charging station management server (CS1), the charging station management server (CS1) activates the spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370), so that the spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) is communicatively connected to the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N).
  5. A charge point communication method, comprising: communicatively connecting a first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) to a charging station management server (CS1); communicatively connecting a plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110); and the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) assigning charging current to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) within a first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) based on a total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41).
  6. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) receiving the total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) from the charging station management server (CS1).
  7. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) are communicatively connected to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) via a first physical layer protocol, the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) is communicatively connected to the charging station management server (CS1) via a second physical layer protocol, the first physical layer protocol comprises a wireless local area network protocol, and the second physical layer protocol comprises a mobile communication network protocol.
  8. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: an upper gateway charge point (310), communicatively connecting between the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and the charging station management server (CS1).
  9. The charge point communication method according to claim 8, wherein the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) simultaneously operates in an access point mode and a station mode to communicate with the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) via the access point mode and communicate with the upper gateway charge point (310) via the station mode.
  10. The charge point communication method according to claim 8, further comprising: communicatively connecting a second gateway charge point (320_2) to the upper gateway charge point (310); communicatively connecting a plurality of second client charge points (330_(N+1) to 330_2N) to the second gateway charge point (320_2) ; and the second gateway charge point (320_2) assigning charging current to the second gateway charge point (320_2) and the plurality of second client charge points (330_(N+1) to 330_2N) within a second charge point group (330_(N+1) to 330_2N) based on a total current limit of the second charge point group (CG42).
  11. The charge point communication method according to claim 10, further comprising: the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) receiving the total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) from the charging station management server (CS1); and the second gateway charge point (320_2) receiving the total current limit of the second charge point group (CG42) from the charging station management server (CS1).
  12. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, wherein the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) determines an average current value based on a vehicle connection quantity within the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) and the total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) to implement an average assigning mechanism; and the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) controls the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) to charge vehicles (V51 to V53, V61 to V63, V71 to V73, V81 to V83) by the average current value.
  13. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, wherein when at least one of the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) is disconnected from the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) and becomes an offline charge point, the first client charge point reserves a spare charging current for the offline charge point.
  14. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, wherein the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) determines non-average current values based on time at which vehicles (V51 to V53, V61 to V63, V71 to V73, V81 to V83) are connected to the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) and the total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41) to implement a priority assigning mechanism; and the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) controls the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) are controlled to charge the vehicles (V51 to V53, V61 to V63, V71 to V73, V81 to V83) by the non-average current values.
  15. The charge point communication method according to claim 13, wherein the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) determines non-average current values based on the spare charging current, time at which vehicles (V51 to V53, V61 to V63, V71 to V73, V81 to V83) are connected to the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N), and the total current limit of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41).
  16. The charge point communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: activating a spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) when the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) is disconnected from the charging station management server (CS1), so that the spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) is communicatively connected to the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N).
  17. The charge point communication method according to claim 8, further comprising: activating a spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) when the upper gateway charge point (310) is disconnected from the charging station management server (CS1), so that the spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) is communicatively connected to the plurality of first gateway charge points (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110).
  18. The charge point communication method according to claim 10, wherein activating the second gateway charge point (320_2) as a spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) when the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) is disconnected from the charging station management server (CS1), so that the second gateway charge point (320_2) is communicatively connected to the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) of the first charge point group (CG11, CG21, CG41).
  19. The charge point communication method according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of first client charge points (120_1 to 120_N, 220_1 to 220_N, 330_1 to 330_N, 520_1 to 520_2, 620_1 to 620_4, 720_1 to 720_2, 820_1 to 820_4, 920, 1120_1 to 1120_N) switch from connecting to the first gateway charge point (110, 210, 320_1, 510, 610, 710, 810, 910, 1110) to connecting to the spare gateway charge point (150, 350, 360, 370) without changing connection setting data.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical Field The disclosure relates to charge point management technology, and particularly relates to a charge point communication system and a charge point communication method. Related Art In order to reduce carbon emissions and address global warming, countries around the world have been actively promoting the development of electric vehicle (EV) technologies h and have set long-term goals to ban the sale of fuel-powered vehicles. Governments and industries are implementing policies and subsidy programs to accelerate the adoption and market growth of EVs. However, as the number of EVs rapidly increases, the expansion and management of charging infrastructure face numerous challenges, particularly in terms of network connectivity and charging coordination. More specifically, as the number of charge point grows, a reliable and stable communication system becomes essential to ensure that all charge points can promptly report their charging status to a central management system or receive dispatch instructions from it in real time. When a large number of charge points need to communicate with the central management system via mobile networks, each point is required to equip with mobile communication functionalities. This places a significant burden on mobile network infrastructure, such as base stations. Furthermore, equipping each charge point with mobile communication functionalities not only increases hardware costs but also incurs high mobile data usage fees, which can be a heavy financial burden for charging station operators. Additionally, the massive data transmission demands from numerous charge points communicating with central management system via mobile networks may lead to base station overload, resulting in degraded communication quality or increased transmission latency. SUMMARY In view of this, the disclosure provides a charge point communication system and a charge point communication method, which adopts hierarchical architecture, which multiple client charge points can communicate with a charging station management server via a gateway charge point, thereby allowing the charge points to share mobile communication network resources. An embodiment of the disclosure provides a charge point communication system including a first gateway charge point and multiple first client charge points. The first gateway charge point may be communicatively connected to a charging station management server. The first client charge points may be communicatively connected to the first gateway charge point. The first gateway charge point assigns charging current to the first gateway charge point and the first client charge points within a first charge point group based on a total current limit of the first charge point group. From another perspective, an embodiment of the disclosure provides a charge point communication method applicable to a charge point communication system. The method includes the following steps. A first gateway charge point is communicatively connected to a charging station management server. Multiple first client charge points are communicatively connected to the first gateway charge point. The first gateway charge point assigns charging current to the first gateway charge point and the first client charge points within a first charge point group based on a total current limit of the first charge point group. Based on the above, in the embodiments of the disclosure, the client charge points may communicate with the charging station management server via the gateway charge point, so that each of the client charge points does not need to be independently connected to a mobile communication network, allowing the charge points to be more flexibly deployed in various charging sites and significantly reducing consumption of mobile communication network resources. In addition, the gateway charge point may perform localized charging load management to achieve more flexible and stable charging scheduling. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a charge point communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic diagrams of a charge point communication system in a single-layer wireless local area network architecture according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are schematic diagrams of a charge point communication system in a multi-layer wireless local area network architecture according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic diagrams of assigning charging current based on an average assigning mechanism according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are schematic diagrams of assigning charging current based on a priority assigning mechanism according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 10 is a flowchart of assigning charging current by a gateway charge point according to an embodiment of the disclosure.FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are schematic diagrams