PLURALITY OF SUCH RECHARGING STATIONS

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an electric recharging station. The invention also relates to an integrated system for a plurality of such recharging stations.

The invention has been developed with particular regard to an electric recharging station which can be supplied with solar energy, even though it is not excluded that the electric recharging station is additionally or alternatively connected to the electrical network. The integrated system of the invention can be used for managing and interrogating the energy and/or power state locally available near the recharging stations according to the invention.

Technological background

As known, the use of rechargeable batteries is widespread in the field of consumer electronics, for supplying power to a wide range of portable electronic equipment, such as cell phones, tablets, portable computers, wireless earphones and headphones, photographic machines, electrical portable accumulators (also referred to as power banks), and so forth. The use of rechargeable batteries is also further increasing rapidly for supplying power to electric vehicles, both of small size, such as, for example, bicycles and kick scooters, and of great size, such as motorcycles and motor vehicles. Consequently, there is a greatly increasing need for providing electric recharging points for the portable electronic devices and the electric vehicles.

The diffusion of recharging points for electric vehicles is increasing constantly, in the form of recharging towers for vehicles of greater dimensions and racks for lighter vehicles. The conventional recharging points are connected to the common electric network and benefit from power supply from the electrical power plants which are mainly supplied by non-renewable energy sources. Except for rare exceptions, the domestic recharging of portable electronic devices is also carried out by means of connection to the normal electrical network and is therefore carried out substantially by means of non-renewable energy sources.

There are known electric recharging stations which are supplied with power by photovoltaic panels. These recharging stations can be fitted, for example, in a parking space or in a private parking area, for individually recharging small electric vehicles. The main disadvantage of these known systems is that they serve substantially single or private users and are not available for the general public. Being conceived for individual use, the electric recharging stations of known type are further difficult to integrate in an urban setting for serving many persons in an advantageous and efficient manner with requirements both for recharging and for mobility which are very different from each other.

Statement of invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a system which is convenient and effective for providing possible ways of electric recharging for a high number of persons, with distribution which is potentially extensive in the context of an area, which is specifically but not necessarily urban and which may also have great dimensions. During the development of the present invention, the known solutions have been taken into consideration with the objective of eliminating the defects therefrom and improving the qualities and the performance levels thereof, particularly with regard to the public service.

Another object of the invention is to optimize the recharging resources and in particular to provide an information, distribution and management service for the recharging resources so as to please users, ensuring to the extent already possible a fair and distributed usage of the recharging resources for as many users as possible, and to reduce the risks of under-use of one recharging station with respect to another one. Another object is to provide a planning instrument for the resources which can be used to decide whether and where to install new recharging stations.

In an embodiment thereof, the invention may provide for the construction of one or more electric recharging stations with a supply of solar energy and/or from the electrical network, having the features set out in the appended claims. The invention may further provide for the construction of an integrated system of such electric recharging stations which can be used for managing and interrogating the state thereof, in particular the energy and/or power state which are locally available, according to the features indicated in the relevant appended claims.

With the present invention, which will be described in greater detail below, it is possible to construct public parking areas and recharging areas for electric vehicles, in which the electrical energy is acquired - and potentially supplied - free of charge. The invention provides for a system for supplying and accumulating electrical energy which can come from solar energy, where applicable connected to the electrical network in order to use virtual accumulation mechanisms, such as net metering, which is directed towards promoting the use of electric vehicles with respect to ones supplied with fossil fuels.

The invention is further suitable for constructing public gathering areas, for example, in parks and gardens, or for equipping public gathering areas which are already in existence, such as, for example, bus and train stops.

The invention is advantageously suitable for constructing electric recharging stations in which the energy source can also be removed far from the area of use as a result of the provision in the area of use of accumulators which are electrically connected to the remote energy source.

According to a particular aspect, the invention provides for networking of all the recharging stations which can, via a server application, supply to the remote terminal of a user specific information relating to the location and the state thereof, in particular the availability of a free recharging socket and energy and/or power sufficient to meet the requirements of a user, for example, for recharging an electric vehicle.

An advantage of the present invention is the possibility of constructing electric recharging stations which can be completely detached from the electrical network but be integrated in a wired and/or wireless communication network so as to be managed and interrogated remotely, both by an administrative user and by various utilizing users. Although the complete removal from the electrical network is not necessary for the purposes of the functionalities of the present invention, the potential in this sense makes it possible also to install one or more electric recharging station (s) in areas which are inaccessible or remote, for example, in rest zones on trekking paths, and the like.

An advantage of the electric recharging station according to the invention is the possibility, also for the private user, of obtaining energy at a low cost or completely free of charge, including beyond the limit of power currently available for normal domestic users connected to the electrical network.

Brief description of the drawings

Additional features and advantages will be appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the appended drawings which are given purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an example of a station for recharging with solar energy, which incorporates aspects of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the communication network which is active between recharging stations, a server for remote management and an application in a user terminal.

Detailed description

With reference now to Figure 1, an electric recharging station 10 can be supplied with solar energy in addition to optionally via the electrical network. To this end, the electric recharging station 10 comprises one or more photovoltaic panels 12. The photovoltaic panels 12 are electrically connected to one or more accumulators 14. The accumulators 14 can be connected in terms of power supply only to the photovoltaic panels 12 or they can also be connected to the electrical network, in accordance with technical methods known in the sector. By way of non-limiting example, it is possible to use in the recharging station one or more accumulators of the type commercially known by the name Powerwall of the company Tesla, having capacities of 13.5 kWh. Naturally, it is possible to use different sizes of accumulators 14, depending on the specific uses for which the electric recharging station 10 is intended and the type, power and number of photovoltaic panels 12.

The accumulators 14 are electrically connected at the output to one or more recharging groups, which may vary from station to station in accordance with the specific requirements and the desired configurations. The recharging groups each comprise respective power supply sockets for recharging electric batteries of mobile devices and/or vehicles. By way of non-limiting example, the recharging station 10 may comprise a recharging group 16 for electric motor vehicles and/or a recharging group 18 for electric bicycles and/or a recharging group 20 for small electronic devices, such as cell phones, tablets, portable computers, earphones and headphones, consoles for video games and various other devices of the type.

The recharging groups may advantageously be arranged in a social gathering location, such as, for example, a bus stop, where, for example, the recharging group 20 for small electronic devices can be integrated in a bench 22. Advantageously, the photovoltaic panels 12 can be supported by one or more uprights 24 in order to form or cover a roof. In a variant of the recharging station 10, the photovoltaic panels are not in the immediate vicinity of the recharging groups and are positioned, for example, on roofs of surrounding public or private buildings, from where electrical conductors with suitable dimensions for transporting the electrical energy generated by the photovoltaic panels to the accumulators 14 extend. As can be seen in Figure 1, the recharging station 10 can advantageously be supplemented with electric devices supplied by the same accumulators 14 which supply the recharging groups. For example, the recharging station 10 can be provided with one or more lights or street lamps 28 or other illumination elements, for example, LED strips or panels. There may be provision for the installation of one or more video screens 30, for example, for informative and/or advertising purposes. There may be provision for the installation of an assistance kiosk 32 for emergency calls and/or information calls, which is connected, for example, to a central unit via a telephone connection which is wired or cellular. There may be provided an access point 34 for public WiFi connectivity.

Figure 2 illustrates a possible connectivity diagram of various recharging stations of the type described above. By way of example, Figure 2 depicts four different recharging stations which are designated SRI, SR2, SR3, SRn, even if naturally there is no limit on the number of recharging stations which can be involved in the same connectivity diagram. Each recharging station is configured in an individual manner with specific recharging groups and specific supply powers, which are substantially defined by the nominal capacity of the accumulators 14 of each recharging station and by the power of each of the recharging groups associated therewith. The accumulators 14 are sized in known manner, for example, on the basis of the power which can be supplied by the photovoltaic panels under the typical local conditions of use.

The recharging stations SRI, SR2, SR3, SRn are connected via the internet to a server application (SERVER) which may be a remote stand-alone computer or a virtual server or a distributed application on one or more servers, for example, in the cloud. In any case, the server application comprises at least one database in which there are recorded data relating to each recharging station. The data comprise both identification data of the recharging station, including the geographical position, the power characteristics and the recharging groups available. The server application further comprises a data acquisition module for each recharging station. Each recharging station periodically sends to the data acquisition module information relating to the individual state. The information items sent by each recharging station may comprise indications relating to the charging state of the accumulators 14 in addition to indications and statistics relating to the operation of the photovoltaic panels 12 and the availability of the station itself. Each recharging station may be configured to indicate a specific recharging capacity associated with each recharging group present in the recharging station itself. Merely as an indication, Figure 2 depicts a possible table of the database of the server application, in which each recharging station indicates the power of the station, for example, with reference to the four standard values of 3.6- 7.2-11.0-22.0 kW and the time available for the recharging. These two data items substantially represent the energy available in the specific recharging station, for example, for each recharging service provided by the recharging groups 16 for electric motor vehicles and the recharging groups 18 for electric bicycles. If the recharging station is connected to the electrical network, which does not have limitations in terms of supplying energy, the time available is fixed in the configuration step of the specific station. Naturally, it is possible to acquire and store additional or different information relating to the state of each recharging station, for example, but in a non-limiting manner, the number of recharging sockets free and occupied, possible errors in the operating state of the system, for example, as a result of malfunctions of the photovoltaic panels and/or the accumulators, and so on.

The server application SERVER also comprises a user interface which can be interrogated by a generic user terminal 40 which is connected to the internet. Therefore, it is possible to interrogate the state of a particular recharging station SRI, SR2, SR3 or SRn via a common mobile phone or a tablet, for example, via a dedicated app, or via a web application which can also be consulted by the browser of a normal computer. In this manner, a user can interrogate the state of a specific recharging station and can know, for example, the geographical location thereof, the type of recharging services available and the capacity thereof in terms of possible recharging. For example, it is possible for a user to interrogate the state of a specific solar station in order to know if it is provided with a recharging group for electric motor vehicles, and in this case if there is sufficient charging capacity or if there are sockets free for recharging the motor vehicle belonging to the user. Using the typical geolocation characteristics of the user terminal 40, the server application can be provided to supply indications relating to the recharging station which is closest to the user with at least one free socket and which is capable of meeting the recharging needs of the user.

It is possible to develop variants and additional functions of the services provided for the users. For example, it is possible to provide a service of announcements or messages which inform a user when a predetermined recharging station becomes available if the user has made a request to be notified. In a form of the server application, it is possible to impose a reservation service for the recharging, wherein the user requests a given charging availability for a predetermined time slot, for example, in a given predetermined radius of distance, and the server application provides for sending a reservation signal to the recharging station which is most suitable or closest, at a predetermined time on the basis of the information items concerning the state signalled by the specific recharging station. In this case, the recharging groups of each recharging station are provided with selective authorization mechanisms which may optionally be signalled locally with light indicators or information panels which indicate whether recharging is available or not. The same information items are naturally supplied to the user terminals 40 which have to interrogate the state of the recharging station.

According to a preferred embodiment, the service provided to the user can provide for the display of a map setting out the various recharging stations SRI, SR2, SR3, SRn in the form of a "talking" icon which describes the type and the state of the recharging station itself. By way of example, there can be provided various types of icon which visually identify on the map of the user device a recharging station of the EV type, for recharging electric vehicles, or DEVICE, in which there are available, for example, USB recharging sockets and sockets for various devices, such as notebooks or Smartphones. The indications or the icons which identify the recharging stations can indicate different states thereof which can be, for example, "available", "occupied", "not supplied or broken (off)". It is possible to configure the application in such a manner that the user device allows interaction by connecting, with a recharging station which is in the vicinity, for example, a few metres away, for example, in order to manage the recharging operations.

As indicated above, there can be displayed via the user device the data of a specific recharging station. Merely by way of non-limiting example, there can be provided one or more of the following indications in relation to the specific recharging station:

- identification code of the recharging station, for example, SRI, SR2, SR3, SRn,

- descriptive name of the recharging station,

- type of the recharging station (EV, DEVICE or both),

- state of the EV recharging station (available, occupied, off), state of the recharging station DEVICE (available, occupied, off),

- possible presence of a public WiFi connection,

- power available for EV recharging,

- time available for EV recharging and where applicable the maximum recharging time available in accordance with the congestion of the recharging station, for example, depending on the position of the station itself. In the congested or busy zones, the EV recharging time available may be limited in order to allow the service to be used by everyone. The time available could be limited by the small amount of energy present at that time as a result of a reduced charge of the accumulator, if the recharging station is not connected to the electrical network,

- possible user reservation code, that is to say, the number of users already registered for recharging in this station.

If the user decides to connect to a recharging station via the user application, the recharging station can supply energy, causing a meter for the time available for the user to be started. It is possible to provide in the recharging station a vehicle detection system so as to carry out a presence control thereof and to inform the user or to make the recharging station available again if a vehicle is not detected within a specific time period, for example, five minutes. Advantageously, once the recharging operation is started, the connection of the user application to the recharging station being used remains active even if the user moves away so as to monitor the recharging state. When the recharging time available ends, the recharging station can interrupt the supply of energy for this predetermined user, to which there can be sent messages so that the user provides for freeing up the recharging station. If a vehicle detection system is present, there can also be carried out a presence control at the end of the recharging operation. If the vehicle has been removed, the connection is interrupted and the recharging station returns to the free state. If, within a given time limit, for example, five minutes, the vehicle is not removed, messages can be sent to the user. The failure to remove the vehicle may involve the fact that the future connection to one or more recharging station (s) is limited or prevented for the user.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the forms of embodiment and details of construction may be varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.