Identifying a user of a charging station

• US 10,336,206 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2015
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Uyeki, Robert, Vincent, Charles Bradford, Ran, Xiao Song, Cun, David Wong, Asato, Richard, Luthy, Thomas Clay
• Primary Examiner(s): Chein, Allen C
• Application Number:
  US14/748,468
• Publication Number:
  US 20160375783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,469 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• 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 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with identifying a user of a charging station. According to one embodiment, a system includes a communication logic and an authorization logic. The communication logic aggregates transaction data to an authorizing entity. The transaction data is associated with a user and a chargeable vehicle. The authorization logic receives an authorization request to authorize a transaction between the chargeable vehicle and the charging station. The authorization logic sends a response to the authorization request. The communication also enables the chargeable vehicle to receive a charge from the charging station based on the response to the authorization request.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a communication logic which aggregates transaction data associated with a chargeable vehicle, and sends the aggregated transaction data to an authorizing entity, wherein the authorizing entity identifies a user associated with the chargeable vehicle by comparing the aggregated transaction data with previously stored authorizing data;

an extrapolation logic which receives a list of possible charging stations based on proximity to the chargeable vehicle and identifies a charging station that supplied or is supplying the chargeable vehicle with a charge based, at least in part, on the aggregated transaction data and by a comparison of a received amount of charge by the chargeable vehicle to a dispensed amount of charge from each of the possible charging stations on the list, without receiving specific identification information from the identified charging station interacting with the chargeable vehicle; and

an authorization logic which receives an authorization request from the authorizing entity to authorize a transaction between the chargeable vehicle and the identified charging station based on the aggregated transaction data and the previously stored authorizing data, and receives a confirmation via the user that the user has authority to affirm the transaction between the chargeable vehicle and the identified charging station; and

in response to the confirmation by the user, sending a response to the authorization request,

wherein the communication logic further confirms the charge from the identified charging station based, at least in part, on the response to the authorization request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is implemented in the chargeable vehicle, and wherein the communication logic communicates through a telematics network of the chargeable vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is implemented a device, and wherein the communication logic communicates through a telematics network of the mobile device.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising an identification logic which generates the list of possible charging stations based on user provided parameters.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the identification logic comprises a Geo-Fence logic that generates the list of possible charging stations within specified geographic bounds.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the aggregated transaction data further identifies the identified charging station identified by the extrapolation logic.

7. A system, comprising:

an identification logic which identifies a list of possible charging stations based on user provided parameters;

a communication logic which sends transaction data associated with a chargeable vehicle to an authorizing entity;

wherein the authorizing entity identifies a user associated with the chargeable vehicle by comparing the transaction data with previously stored authorizing data;

an extrapolation logic which receives the list of possible charging stations based on proximity to the chargeable vehicle and identifies a charging station that supplied or is supplying the chargeable vehicle with a charge based, at least in part, on the aggregated transaction data and by a comparison of a received amount of charge by the chargeable vehicle to a dispensed amount of charge from each of the possible charging stations on the list, without receiving specific identification information from the identified charging station interacting with the chargeable vehicle; and

an authorization logic which receives an authorization request from the authorizing entity to authorize a transaction between the chargeable vehicle and an identified charging station based on the transaction data and the previously stored authorizing data; and

receives a confirmation via the user that the user has authority to affirm the transaction between the chargeable vehicle and the identified charging station; and

in response to the confirmation by the user sending a response to the authorization request,

wherein the communication logic is further configured to confirm the chargeable vehicle to receive the charge from the identified charging station based, at least in part, on the response to the authorization request.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is implemented in the chargeable vehicle, and wherein the communication logic communicates through a telematics network of the chargeable vehicle.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is implemented a device, and wherein the communication logic communicates telematics network of the mobile device.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the identification logic:

generates the listing of possible charging stations, wherein the listing is visually represented as a map;

receives a selection of a charging station; and

generates driving directions from a position of the chargeable vehicle to the selected charging station.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the identification logic comprises a Geo-Fence logic that generates the list of possible charging stations within specified geographic bounds.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the Geo-Fence logic automatically reduces the specified geographic bounds in response to detecting proximity of the charging station.

13. A method for identifying a user of a charging station, the method comprising:

sending, by a processor, transaction data associated with a chargeable vehicle to an authorization entity, wherein the transaction data is associated with a user and the chargeable vehicle and the authorizing entity identifies the user associated with the chargeable vehicle by comparing the transaction data with previously stored authorizing data;

identifying, by a processor, a charging station from a list of possible charging stations based on proximity to the chargeable vehicle that supplied or is supplying the chargeable vehicle with a charge based, at least in part, on the transaction data and by a comparison of a received amount of charge by the chargeable vehicle to a dispensed amount of charge from each of the possible charging stations on the list, without receiving specific identification information from the identified charging station interacting with the chargeable vehicle;

receiving, by a processor, an authorization request to authorize the chargeable vehicle to be charged by the identified charging station;

receiving, by a processor, a confirmation via the user that the user has authority to affirm the transaction between the chargeable vehicle and the identified charging station;

sending, by a processor, in response to the confirmation by the user, a response to the authorization request; and

confirming, by a processor, charging of the chargeable vehicle from the identified charging station.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising

generating the listing of possible charging stations, wherein the listing is visually represented as a map;

receiving a selection of a charging station; and

generating driving directions from a position of the chargeable vehicle to the selected charging station.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the listing of possible charging stations is limited to the charging stations within a specified geographic bounds.

16. The method of claim 13, comprising, receiving confirmation from the authorization entity.

17. The method claim 16, wherein the confirmation is an invoice based on the amount of charge supplied to the chargeable vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the confirmation includes information about the identified charging station supplying the chargeable vehicle.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the user is identified when a specified number of values in the transaction data matches a number of values of the authorization data stored by the authorizing entity.