System and method for electric vehicle charging and billing using a wireless vehicle communication service

• US 10,486,541 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2016
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Littrell, Nathan Bowman
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton, Sara C
• Application Number:
  US15/333,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20170043676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 705412
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/36 of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• 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: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/04 in which the quantity mechanism is set forward automatically by the insertion of a coin
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/08 with means for varying the tariff or changing the price
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 : for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• 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 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A vehicle charging station for use in transmitting charging power to an electric vehicle for use in charging the vehicle is configured to communicatively couple to the electric vehicle via a network connection to a wireless network provider and electrically couple to the electric vehicle via a connector. Vehicle charging station is further configured to receive a unique identifier from the electric vehicle via the network connection, deliver a quantity of electrical charging power to the electric vehicle via the connector, and meter the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle charging station for use in delivering electrical charging power to an electric vehicle that includes a unique identifier associated therewith, said vehicle charging station comprising:

a connector configured to electrically couple the vehicle charging station to the electric vehicle;

a station meter configured to track a quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle via the connector; and

a processor, wherein the processor upon execution of a module, is configured to;

communicatively couple, over a network and via a network connection to a wireless network provider, the vehicle charging station to the electric vehicle;

communicatively couple, over the network, the vehicle charging station to a server system;

receive the unique identifier from the electric vehicle;

transmit the unique identifier to the server system;

wherein the server system determines an account associated with the unique identifier, determines a present balance of the account and generate a charging approval or a charging denial based on the balance;

wherein a charging denial denies access to electrical charging power at the vehicle charging station when the present balance of the account is less than a predetermined amount; and

wherein a charging approval provides access to electrical charging power at the vehicle charging station when the present balance of the account is greater than the predetermined amount;

wherein the processor, upon execution of a module, is further configured to;

receive an input from the server system comprising one of a charging approval and a charging denial;

when the input is a charging denial, prevent a charging output for charging the electric vehicle and display a message indicating a reason for the prevention of the charging output; and

when the input is a charging approval deliver a quantity of electrical charging power to the electric vehicle via the connector and meter the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle via the station meter.

2. A vehicle charging station in accordance with claim 1, wherein said processor, upon execution of the module, is further configured to transmit, to the server system, the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle to determine a transaction amount.

3. A vehicle charging station in accordance with claim 1, wherein said processor, upon execution of the module, is further configured to compare the metered quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle with a metered value determined by the electric vehicle.

4. A vehicle charging station in accordance with claim 1, wherein said processor, upon execution of the module, is configured to display at least one of the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, a monetary value of the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, and a quantity of electrical charging power remaining to be delivered to the electric vehicle.

5. A vehicle charging station in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vehicle charging station is coupled to at least one visual display, the at least one visual display is attached to at least one of the electric vehicle and the vehicle charging station;

and

wherein said processor upon execution of the module, is further configured to output to the at least one display at least one of the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, a monetary value of the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, and a quantity of electrical charging power remaining to be delivered to the electric vehicle.

6. A method for delivering electrical charging power to an electric vehicle that includes a unique identifier associated therewith using a vehicle charging station, said method comprising:

electrically coupling the vehicle charging station to the electric vehicle via a connector;

tracking, by the vehicle charging station, a quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle via the connector;

communicatively coupling, over a network and via a network connection to a wireless network provider, the vehicle charging station to the electric vehicle;

communicatively coupling, over the network, the vehicle charging station to a server system;

receiving the unique identifier from the electric vehicle;

transmitting the unique identifier to the server system;

wherein the server system determines an account associated with the unique identifier, determines a present balance of the account, and generates a charging approval or a charging denial based on the balance;

wherein a charging denial denies access to electrical charging power at the vehicle charging station when the present balance of the account is less than a predetermined amount; and

wherein a charging approval provides access to electrical charging power at the vehicle charging station when the present balance of the account is greater than the predetermined amount;

receiving, by the vehicle charging station, an input from the server system comprising one of a charging approval and a charging denial;

when the input is a charging denial, preventing, by the vehicle charging station, a charging output for charging the electric vehicle and displaying, by the vehicle charging station, a message indicating a reason for the prevention of the charging output;

when the input is a charging approval, delivering, by the vehicle charging station, a quantity of electrical charging power to the electric vehicle via the connector and metering, by the vehicle charging station, the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle via the station meter.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6 further comprising transmitting, to the server, the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle to determine a transaction amount.

8. A method in accordance with claim 6 further comprising comparing the metered quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle with a metered value determined by the electric vehicle.

9. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein the vehicle charging station is coupled to at least one visual display, the at least one visual display is attached to at least one of the electric vehicle and the vehicle charging station, and the method further comprises outputting to the at least one display at least one of a quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, a monetary value of the quantity of electrical charging power delivered to the electric vehicle, and a quantity of electrical charging power remaining to be delivered to the electric vehicle.