DE102023109058A1 - Charging system for electrical charging of energy storage devices in accordance with legal requirements and procedures for using the charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

Charging system and a method for electrical charging of energy storage devices in compliance with calibration law. A vehicle (9) in which the energy storage device to be charged is contained is connected to a wall box (2) by means of a charging cable. The charging system includes a measuring device which is arranged in the wall box (2). It is now proposed that the measuring device is designed as an MID meter (3) and that a possibility for user authentication (21) is included on the MID meter (3). The MID meter (3) has several tariff meters (6, 7) which enable different meter readings on the MID meter (3).

Description

The present invention relates to a charging system for electrically charging energy storage devices. Corresponding energy storage devices, also called accumulators or batteries, can be found in many devices, but especially in vehicles that are at least partially powered by electrical energy.

For these areas of application, experts are familiar with various systems for charging energy storage devices. For example, charging stations for electrically powered vehicles are known which are equipped with appropriate billing systems and are networked.

A corresponding system for this is, for example, from the WO 2013 037 516 A1 known. Here, data about the vehicle or user is requested and used for billing with a billing service.

Corresponding charging systems are subject to calibration law, because at least the measuring devices or meters contained in the systems must have appropriate calibrations and should thus be protected against misuse.

The Measurement and Calibration Act or MessEG (Law on the placing on the market and making available of measuring instruments, their use and calibration, and on pre-packaged goods) applies when billing for electrically powered vehicles is calculated based on the electrical energy transmitted. The measurement values required for this must be determined using a measuring device that complies with calibration law.

According to Section 46 of the Measurement and Calibration Act, measuring device type No. 6.8 "Measuring devices and additional equipment in the field of e-mobility" is generally intended for charging electric vehicles. Measuring devices of this type that comply with calibration law meet in particular the requirements of Annex 2 No. 10 of the Measurement and Calibration Ordinance or MessEV (Ordinance on the placing on the market and making available of measuring devices on the market as well as on their use and calibration).

Measurement values for billing purposes must therefore be recorded permanently and proven if necessary if the measurement cannot be repeated and the measuring device can also be used by other people. This is usually the case in particular in the context of private wall boxes.

On the other hand, meters that are used when using wallboxes in a private environment are exempt from the requirements mentioned in Annex 2 No. 10 of the Measurement and Calibration Ordinance, since this is a use that can be attributed to a person via a permanent power output point.

1. 1. Die elektrische Energie wird mit einem Zähler gemessen wird, der ausschließlich zum Laden eines Fahrzeugs verwendet wird und keine weiteren Verbraucher mitzählt.
2. 2. die elektrische Energie über diesen Zähler nur einer Person zuzuordnen ist und
3. 3. das verwendete Messgerät Anforderungen an Elektrizitätszähler eichrechtlicher Art einhält, also konformitätsbewertet oder gültig geeicht ist.

A similar situation arises if, for example, the charging costs for an electric vehicle at private wall boxes are to be reimbursed as part of an employment relationship. According to the calibration authorities, three conditions must be met:

1. 1. The electrical energy is measured with a meter that is used exclusively for charging a vehicle and does not count any other consumers.
2. 2. the electrical energy can only be attributed to one person via this meter and
3. 3. the measuring device used complies with the requirements for electricity meters under legal metrology, i.e. it has been assessed for conformity or has been validly calibrated.

The requirements for the measuring device within the meaning of No. 6.8 of the Rules of Determination Committee pursuant to Section 46 MessEG are not necessary in this case, and therefore no corresponding measuring device is required.

If billing is based on a constant tariff with a longer term, a normal electricity meter that has been assessed for conformity in accordance with the European Measuring Instruments Directive 2014/32/EU and has a valid calibration period also meets the legal calibration requirements.

However, if billing is based on values recorded every 15 minutes, for example, with more frequent tariff changes, an electricity meter is required that also meets the relevant national requirements. In all cases, only differences between measured values from the same measuring device may be used to calculate the electrical energy used during charging.

Another usage situation occurs in an employment relationship when the employer wants to charge his employees for charging at the workplace based on the electrical energy used. This requires the measured values to be stored and the recorded measured values to be made available in accordance with Annex 2 No. 10 of the Measurement and Calibration Ordinance.

The distinction between publicly accessible charging points and non-publicly accessible charging points within the meaning of Section 2 No. 5 of the Charging Station Ordinance is irrelevant here. If a measuring device is used in accordance with number 6.8 of the document of the Rules of Determination Committee pursuant to Section 46 MessEG, these requirements are regularly fulfilled. However, other solutions that are less technically complex and still comply with calibration law are also conceivable.

If it can be ensured that the recorded energy can only be assigned to one party, the regulations of category 6.8 do not apply. Accordingly, if a party is clearly assigned, the measuring device would fall into category 6.1 - EU active power meter. This design means that a commercially available MID-compliant meter in accordance with the directive (2014/32/EU) can be used to bill the energy charged at the home wallbox.

However, if not just one but several parties are charging at the home wallbox, such billing would not be possible, as the electrical energy transferred can/must be assigned to more than one party. However, this case is often found in private environments. This is because there is either an additional private electric vehicle or another company car from another company. The number of parties is usually limited to 2 to 4.

There are various types of charging systems in the private sector. Most wallboxes have neither an energy meter nor a communication interface. Their main task is to provide electrical protection for the charging process.

Slightly more intelligent wallboxes have an energy meter and a communication interface to a backend system, e.g. a billing service in combination with an application. Additional information is made available to users. However, these systems do not claim to be compliant with the relevant billing legislation. There are a few wallboxes on the market that comply with calibration law. However, these devices are very expensive and therefore not widely used.

Category 6.1 meters have much lower requirements than category 6.8 meters. However, in order to take advantage of this benefit and also offer cost-effective solutions, a 1-to-1 relationship must exist between the user's meter and the supply party or billing service.

However, this is not always the case in private environments, as usually 2 to 4 vehicles are charged at one wallbox.

The object of the present invention is therefore to realize a cost-effective retrofitting of the charging system in compliance with calibration law for billing power outputs to several users without a cost-intensive replacement of the charging infrastructure.

This object is achieved with the features of claim 1 and the independent claim 13.

The core of the solution is that several parties can access their own accumulating and tamper-proof meter. The most obvious difference to Category 6.8 metering systems is that the number of parties is limited to the number of secure meters and that, unlike Category 6.8, the entire charging infrastructure is not part of the metering device, but only the meter itself.

The charging system according to the invention includes a vehicle in which the energy storage device to be charged is contained. In principle, any type of vehicle can be charged, but in particular land vehicles that can be driven at least partially with electrical energy and that have electrical energy storage devices.

Furthermore, the charging system according to the invention includes a wall box from which electrical energy can be extracted to charge the energy storage device. A wall box can be any type of energy extraction point, but in particular energy extraction points that are used in or on private households.

The vehicle is connected to the wallbox using a charging cable to create an electrical connection between the wallbox and the vehicle. The vehicle has means to be able to pass on the electrical connection to the energy storage device to be charged.

Also according to the invention, the charging system includes a measuring device that can be arranged in the wallbox. This measuring device measures the amount of electrical energy supplied to the vehicle and can then be used to bill for the electrical energy using a billing service.

The measuring device is now designed as a MID meter. MID is a European Union directive and stands for "Measuring Instruments Directive". The corresponding directive (2014/32/EU) was issued by the EU. Since 2016, only conformity-assessed MID devices may be placed on the market in the EU.

A MID meter does not have to be registered by an authority according to national laws, as was previously the case. calibration, but conformity assessed according to the directive. The corresponding EU directive is also regulated nationally according to German law.

According to the invention, the MID meter also has several tariff meters. This means that the MID meter can provide different meter readings in a verifiable manner. Each driver or vehicle can then be assigned a tariff meter so that only this driver or vehicle uses the respective tariff meter in the MID meter. For verification purposes, the MID meter has a count memory and a communication interface.

To assign a driver or a vehicle, the MID meter provides a user authentication option, so that the driver or vehicle must authenticate themselves at the MID meter in order to inform the MID meter which driver or vehicle is currently using the charging system's wallbox and the corresponding amount of electrical energy delivered is counted or measured by the corresponding tariff meter in the MID meter. The individual tariff meters cannot be reset or manipulated in any other way.

By assigning a vehicle or driver to a tariff meter, the 1-to-1 relationship required by calibration law is established. In addition, the visible, cumulative MID meter ensures that all parties can transparently track how much energy was used to charge the respective vehicle.

There are various ways to change tariffs. Either a selector switch is installed near the wallbox and the user sets it as soon as they want to start charging.

The safer option, however, is to activate a specific tariff meter using an authentication system, which requires the driver to authenticate themselves beforehand. The aforementioned tariff change can also be advantageously brought about using the authentication system. The actual switching of the tariff can then be carried out using a remote control device on the MID meter, for example by connecting the MID meter to the billing system.

Such a connection can be implemented via a radio connection (WLAN, GSM, etc.). User authentication is proposed for this purpose, which can be executed, for example, as an application on a mobile device.

This system is an extension of the tariff switching of the energy meter and, by incorporating various security features, ensures that certain tariff meters are used exclusively by certain drivers/vehicles.

The authentication system protects the tariff meter change against misuse. Only authenticated and authorized users can make the tariff change. Authentication can be carried out in various ways.

First, the driver can log into the billing service via the Internet using a user name and password or similar security features as user authentication. This can be done via any device with Internet access, with the billing service providing the corresponding login on the Internet. The billing service then passes the authentication on to the MID meter.

The driver can also use RFID to authenticate themselves either directly on the wallbox or on an additionally mounted RFID reader. The driver needs an RFID object to do this, which serves as user authentication.

Finally, as mentioned above, user authentication can also be implemented as an application on a mobile device. Various transmission paths can be used to exchange data between the device and the MID meter, such as USB, Bluetooth, WLAN or NFC, provided that the MID meter is equipped with an appropriate reading device.

Likewise, the tariff meter can only be changed when no charging process is currently active. One of the principles of the MessEG is that manipulation must be detectable. In order to reduce the possibility of manipulation, the data in the authentication system can be enriched with position and charging data from the company car. This involves accessing APIs from the vehicle manufacturers. This vehicle data can be used to determine whether the active tariff meter matches the vehicle being charged at the time.

The MID meter can receive the tariff change command from the billing service via the communication interface and executes the tariff change on the MID meter.

The communication interface can be implemented in different ways, for example as a digital electrical signal or via a protocol such as Modbus RTU. The interface can be part of of the MID meter or be designed as a separate device. According to MessEV §4, such an additional device is excluded from the regulations of the MessEG.

All data connections can be TLS encrypted so that the data transmission is protected against manipulation using state-of-the-art technology. This can include the connections between the MID meter and the billing service as well as user authentication on the authentication system.

The charging system can also include a digital relay, e.g. a gateway relay. A corresponding relay is arranged between the MID meter and the billing service, such that the communication between the billing service and the MID meter takes place via the digital relay.

The digital relay is preferably a Modbus relay, with communication between the billing service and the MID meter then being carried out via Modbus RTU. The digital relay can form a structural unit with the gateway or be designed as two elements. In the latter case, the gateway acts as an intermediary in the communication between the MID meter and the billing service.

A gateway relay can record charging processes based on threshold detection and the measured electrical power on the MID meter. With digital relays, this recording must be carried out by another device. If the functions of charging process detection and tariff change are combined for charging several vehicles in accordance with legal metrology, additional safety features can be added that prevent incorrect operation.

As an additional function of the relay, a charging process can be switched off by means of an appropriate switching device by disconnecting the electrical supply line to the charging system, so that no charging process can be started or carried out.

Preferably, a plausibility check is proposed in the authentication system, which checks the user authentication for plausibility and prevents implausible user authentication.

For a charging process, it is now proposed that a driver is first registered on the charging system according to the invention by means of user authentication on the authentication system on the MID meter. After authentication, a corresponding tariff meter is activated for the driver and a charging process is recorded by the activated tariff meter.

A digital relay or a gateway (gateway relay) can be used to prevent a requested charging process that has not been correctly authenticated.

Further features can be seen from the attached figures.

• 1: eine Übersichtszeichnung eines erfindungsgemäßen Ladesystems
• 2: eine schematische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Ladesystems.

They show:

• 1 : an overview drawing of a charging system according to the invention
• 2 : a schematic representation of a charging system according to the invention.

1 shows an overview of an embodiment of the charging system according to the invention. The charging system consists of a wallbox 2, which is suitable for connecting a vehicle using a charging cable. Electrical energy can then be delivered via the wallbox 2 to charge an energy storage device in the vehicle.

The charging system also includes an MID meter 3, which is connected to the wallbox and is designed as an MID meter 3 with multiple tariff meters. The multiple tariff meters can independently measure the amount of energy emitted by the wallbox 2 and used to charge energy storage devices, store it in the MID meter 3 and also read it from the MID meter 3. For this purpose, the MID meter 3 includes an interface for communication.

The charging system is connected to a billing service 10, which handles the billing of the electrical energy required for charging. To do this, the billing service 10 can read and evaluate the respective meter readings of the individual tariff meters of the MID meter 3 via the communication interface.

Likewise, the billing service 10 can release the respective tariff meter for use via the communication interface.

To ensure that only one driver or one vehicle can use one of the tariff meters at a time, the charging system includes an authentication system 1, by means of which a driver must authenticate himself on the charging system. Before authentication, no tariff meter can be used and therefore no electrical energy can be delivered to the wallbox.

The authentication system 1 can be implemented in different ways and can be used, for example, as Application can be run on a mobile device, such as a cell phone. A driver can then log in via the authentication system 1 using known user registration options and thereby activate the tariff meter applicable to him or his vehicle. For this purpose, the authentication system 1 can be connected to the mid-meter 3.

The activation can also be carried out remotely using the billing service 10. The authentication system is then connected to the billing service, for example via an Internet connection. After the billing service has received the user authentication and checked it if necessary, the billing service then influences the MID meter 3 in such a way that the respective tariff meter is activated and the charging process can begin.

The charging system can include a relay 4, which is also connected to the MID meter 3 and the billing service. Using this relay 4, it is possible to activate the corresponding tariff meter. This is to be understood as an additional security measure against misuse of the charging system.

A gateway 5 can also be provided which monitors communication via the communication interface. This can also prevent unauthorized release of the charging process if communication occurs outside the specification of the charging system. If the gateway 5 detects such unauthorized communication, it prevents the activation of the corresponding tariff meter so that no charging process can be carried out on it. In addition, the gateway 5 can report such an unauthorized process to the billing service.

2 shows schematically the individual elements of a charging system according to the invention.

The charging system consists of a wallbox 2, which is suitable for connecting a vehicle using a charging cable. Electrical energy can then be supplied via the wallbox 2 to charge an energy storage device in the vehicle.

The charging system also includes an MID meter 3, which is connected to the wallbox and is designed as an MID meter 3 with several tariff meters (6, 7). The several tariff meters (6, 7) can independently measure the amount of energy emitted by the wallbox 2 and used to charge energy storage devices, store it in the MID meter 3 and also read it from the MID meter 3. For this purpose, the MID meter 3 includes an interface for communication.

The charging system can be connected to a billing service 10, which handles the billing of the electrical energy required for charging. To do this, the billing service 10 can read and evaluate the respective meter readings of the individual tariff meters of the MID meter 3 via the communication interface.

The authentication system 1 can release the respective tariff meter for use via the communication interface. For this purpose, the authentication system 1 can also be connected to the respective tariff meter and also to the billing service via a cloud service.

So that only one driver 8 or one vehicle 9 can use one of the tariff meters (6, 7) at a time, the charging system includes an authentication system 1, by means of which a driver 8 must authenticate himself on the charging system. Before authentication, no tariff meter (6, 7) can be used and thus no electrical energy can be delivered to the wallbox.

The authentication system 1 can be implemented in various ways and can, for example, be run as an application on a mobile device, such as a cell phone. Using known options for user registration 23, a driver 8 can then log in via the authentication system 1 and thereby activate the tariff meter 6, 7 applicable to him or his vehicle 9. The authentication system 1 can be connected to the mid-meter 3 for this purpose.

In order to reduce the possibility of manipulation, the data in the authentication system 1 can be enriched with position and charging data of the vehicle. In this case, APIs of the vehicle manufacturers are accessed. Using this vehicle data 22, it can be determined whether the active tariff meter 6, 7 matches the vehicle 9 charged at that time.

The user registration 23 and/or the vehicle data 22 can be checked by a plausibility check 20 before the user authentication 21 is passed on to the billing service 10 and/or the MID meter 3.

The billing service 10 can be used to assign tariffs according to which billing takes place to the individual tariff meters 6, 7, so that different tariff meters 6, 7 are billed according to different tariffs.

Because each tariff meter is assigned a driver 8 or a vehicle 9 and protective measures have been introduced through authentication and the gateway to prevent misuse, a 1-to-1 relationship is established, as required by calibration law, and an energy meter according to category 6.1 can therefore be used.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

1

authentication system

2

wallbox

3

MID meter

4

relay

5

Gateway

6

First tariff meter

7

Second tariff meter

8

driver

9

vehicle

10

billing service

20

plausibility check

21

user authentication

22

vehicle data

23

user registration

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• WO 2013037516 A1 [0003]

Claims (15)

Charging system for electrical charging of energy storage devices in accordance with calibration law, with a vehicle (9) in which the energy storage device to be charged is contained, with a wall box (2) which is designed to be connected to the vehicle (9) by means of a charging cable and with a measuring device, characterized in that the measuring device is designed as a MID meter (3), that a possibility for user authentication (21) is included on the MID meter (3) and that the MID meter (3) has several tariff meters (6, 7) which enable different meter readings on the MID meter (3). charging system according to claim 1 , characterized in that a tariff from a selection of several tariffs can be selected by the respective tariff counter (6,7) using a selector switch in the charging system. charging system according to claim 1 , characterized in that a tariff from a selection of several tariffs and/or the user authentication (21) can be carried out by an authentication system (1) in the charging system. charging system according to claim 3 , characterized in that the user authentication (21) can be carried out by entering a user registration (23) by means of the authentication system (1). charging system according to claim 3 , characterized in that the user authentication (21) can be carried out via an RFID reader in the charging system. Charging system according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , characterized in that a gateway (5) is included, which is arranged between the MID meter (3) and a billing system (10) or the authentication system (1). charging system according to claim 6 , characterized in that a digital relay (4) is arranged between the MID meter (3) and the billing system (10), which can activate the corresponding tariff meter (6, 7) after user authentication (21) has taken place. charging system according to claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that a gateway (5) and a digital relay (4) are arranged between the MID meter (3) and the billing system (10), which is arranged between the MID meter (3) and/or relay (4) and the billing system (10), wherein the relay (4) and/or the gateway (5) can activate the corresponding tariff meter (6, 7) after user authentication (21) has taken place. Charging system according to one of the Claims 1 until 8 , characterized in that the user authentication (21) can be carried out by a driver (8). Charging system according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 , characterized in that the authentication system (1) is designed as a mobile terminal which can be programmed. Charging system according to one of the Claims 1 until 10 , characterized in that the authentication system (1) includes a plausibility check (20). Charging system according to one of the Claims 1 until 11 , characterized in that the authentication system (1) can be connected to the vehicle and can utilize vehicle data (22). Method for using a charging system according to one of the Claims 6 until 12 , characterized in that firstly a driver (8) is registered at the MID meter (3) by a user authentication (21) on the authentication system (1), then a corresponding tariff meter for the driver (8) is connected to the billing system (10) and finally a charging process for charging the energy storage device is enabled. procedure according to claim 13 , characterized in that vehicle data (22) are additionally used for user authentication (21). procedure according to claim 13 or 14 , characterized in that the gateway (5) and the user authentication (21) ensure that each tariff meter can only be used by one driver (8) or one vehicle (9) during the charging process.

Images