Charge calculation apparatus, charge calculation system, and charge calculation method

• US 10,267,835 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2010
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tajima, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawley, Talia F
• Application Number:
  US12/971,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20110161143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,049 Days
• Field of Search: 705 28, 705 1425, 320109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 5/00 Circuit arrangements for transfer of electric power between ac networks and dc networks H02J3/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A charge calculation apparatus, system and method allow for a controller to administer an electric power charging operation to one or more client devices, such as an electric vehicle. The vehicle provides its ID to the controller, which in turn calculates a tax according to the vehicle making the request, and other factors such as taxing jurisdiction, amount of electricity used, timing, etc. By controlling the charging operation in this way, the taxing authorities are able to collect tax revenue for use in maintaining roads from the users of those roads by monitoring which vehicles are using electricity to operate the vehicles on the roads. By keeping track of the vehicle'"'"'s movement within different tax jurisdictions, the tax may be apportioned amongst the different taxing authorities.

Claims

1. An electric charging controller comprising:

circuitry configured to

store, in a memory of the electric charging controller, a plurality of IDs of a plurality of electric vehicles, each ID of the plurality of IDs uniquely identifying each electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles,

receive a request for charging from an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles,

receive, from an electric memory of the electric vehicle, at least a registration location of the electric vehicle and the ID of the electric vehicle,

determine whether the received ID of the electric vehicle is stored in the memory of the electric charging controller,

control charging of the electric vehicle from a power server that receives power from a non-power-grid source in a format compatible with the electric vehicle based on the received ID of the electric vehicle in a case it is determined that the received ID of the electric vehicle is stored in the memory of the electric charging controller, the non-power grid source being configured to transmit electric power independently from a power grid source, and

calculate an amount of tax to be applied for an amount of electricity used from both the power grid and the non-power-grid source in charging of the external vehicle based on the registration location of the electric vehicle.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein:

said circuitry associates said calculated amount of tax to the electric vehicle.

3. The controller of claim 2, wherein said circuitry calculates said amount of tax by including at least one of a state tax rate and a local tax rate according to the registration location.

4. The controller of claim 3, wherein:

the circuitry receives a recorded driving history of said electric vehicle, and said processor the circuitry calculates an apportionment of said amount of tax according to different taxing jurisdictions included in said recorded driving history.

5. The controller of claim 1, wherein said circuitry calculates said amount of tax by including in the calculation at least one of a charging time, and a battery model.

6. The controller of claim 1, wherein said circuitry applies a tax credit as part of calculating said amount of tax, said tax credit corresponding to an incentive offered by a taxing authority.

7. The controller of claim 6, wherein said incentives include incentives for using power supplied from a private electric power source, the private electric power source being an organic source disconnected from an existing commercial power grid.

16. The controller of claim 4, wherein:

the recorded driving history indicates one or more roads on which the electric vehicle has driven, and

the circuitry calculates the amount of tax based on the one or more roads indicated in the recorded driving history.

17. The controller of claim 16, wherein

the recorded driving history further indicates one or more toll roads on which the electric vehicle has driven, and

the circuitry calculates, in addition to the amount of tax, a travel charge based on the one or more toll roads indicated in the recorded driving history.

20. The controller of claim 1, wherein

the registration location identifies a location where the external device is registered for tax purposes.

21. The controller of claim 4, wherein:

said circuitry determines, based on the recorded driving history, a new charging area where said electric vehicle will travel following charging, and

said circuitry calculates the apportionment of said amount of tax according to different taxing jurisdictions included in said new charging area and said recorded driving history.

22. The electric charging controller of claim 1, wherein the electric memory is tamperproof.

23. The controller of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to refer to an external server the ID of the electric vehicle in a case it is determined that the received ID of the electric vehicle is not stored in the memory of the electric charging controller.

8. A method for charging of an electric vehicle, comprising:

storing, in a memory, a plurality of IDs of a plurality of electric vehicles, each ID of the plurality of IDs uniquely identifying each electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles;

receiving, at circuitry, data requesting an electric charge for the electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles;

receiving, from an electric memory of the electric vehicle, a registration location of the electric vehicle and the ID of the electric vehicle;

determining whether the received ID of the electric vehicle is stored in the memory;

controlling, with the circuitry, charging of the electric vehicle from a power server that receives power from a non-power-grid source in a format compatible with the electric vehicle based on the received ID of the electric vehicle in a case it is determined that the received ID of the electric vehicle is stored in the memory of the electric charging controller, the non-power grid source being configured to transmit electric power independently from a power grid source; and

calculating, with the circuitry, an amount of tax for the amount of electricity used to charge the electric vehicle from both the power grid and the non-power-grid source, wherein

said calculating includes calculating said amount of tax based on the registration location of the electric vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

said calculating includes associating the calculated amount of tax to the electric vehicle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein

said calculating includes calculating said amount of tax by including at least one of a state tax rate and a local tax rate according to the registration location.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

said calculating includes calculating an apportionment of said amount of tax according to different taxing jurisdictions included in a recorded driving history.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein an amount of electricity requested is determined after said amount of electricity has been delivered to said electric vehicle.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein said calculating includes calculating said amount of tax by including in the calculation at least one of a charging time, and a battery model.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said calculating includes applying a tax credit as part of calculating said amount tax, said tax credit corresponding to an incentive offered by a taxing authority.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein said incentives include incentives for using power supplied from a private electric power source, the private electric power source being an organic source disconnected from an existing commercial power grid.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the recorded driving history indicates one or more roads on which the electric vehicle has driven, and

the calculating includes calculating the amount of tax based on the one or more roads indicated in the recorded driving history.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein

the recorded driving history further indicates one or more toll roads on which the electric vehicle has driven, and

the calculating includes, in addition to calculating the amount of tax, calculating a travel charge based on the one or more toll roads indicated in the recorded driving history.