IN-VEHICLE MOUNT TYPE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM, MANAGING SERVER, MANAGING SERVER CONTROL METHOD AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM STORING PROGRAM FOR MANAGING SERVER

• US 20110241824A1
• Filed: 03/29/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kanematsu Communications Ltd. (Kanematsu Corporation), Kanematsu Corporation, Motion Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Kanematsu Communications Ltd. (Kanematsu Corporation), Kanematsu Corporation, Motion Company Limited
• Inventors: UESUGI, Kenichiro
• Application Number:
  US13/074,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20110241824A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.8
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• 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 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

An in-vehicle mount type battery charging system including a charging station having a charger for charging an in-vehicle mount battery of an electric vehicle, and a managing server connected to the charger. The managing server receives registration for enabling use of the charger from a user, authenticates the user when the user uses the charger and allows the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered member. Furthermore, the managing server receives temporary registration for temporarily enabling use of the charger from a user as a nonmember, authenticates the user when the user uses the charger and temporarily allows the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered temporary member.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle mount type battery charging system comprising:

a charging station having a charger for charging an in-vehicle mount battery of an electric vehicle; and

a managing server that is connected to the charger of the charging station so that communications can be performed between the managing server and the charger, wherein the managing server has a member authenticating function of receiving registration for enabling use of the charger from a user, authenticating the user when the user uses the charger and allowing the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered member, and a temporary member authenticating function of receiving temporary registration for temporarily enabling use of the charger from a user as a nonmember, authenticating the user when the user uses the charger and temporarily allowing the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered temporary member.

3. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the temporary registration of the managing server is set to be valid for a fixed period.

4. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the managing server is configured to receive temporary member registration from a user through a portable terminal, and the managing server is provided with a charging station searching unit for searching charging stations available to a user on the basis of position information of the portable terminal and outputting information concerning the searched charging stations to the user through the portable terminal when the managing server receives temporary member registration from the user.

5. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 4, wherein the managing server is further provided with a one-time password issuing unit for generating a one-time password for a temporary member and allocating the generated one-time password to a user when the managing server receives temporary member registration from the user, the charging station is provided with a user interface to which the user can input the one-time password allocated to the user concerned, and when a user uses the charger, the managing server determines on the basis of comparison between the one-time password input through the user interface by the user and the one-time password generated by the one-time password issuing unit whether the user has been registered as a temporary member.

6. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the managing server is further provided with an authentication code issuing unit for generating an authentication code uniquely allocated to a user and outputting the generated authentication code to the user when the managing server receives temporary member registration from the user, the charging station is provided with an authentication code reading device for reading an authentication code, and the managing server determines on the basis of the authentication code read out by the authentication code reading device whether the user has been registered as a temporary member.

7. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the charging station is provided with a card reading device that can read a card ID from an authentication card, and wherein when a user whose card ID is not stored is authenticated, the managing server acquires the card ID of the authentication card by the card reading device in combination with the authentication of the user, stores the acquired card ID in association with user information containing at least information concerning whether the user is a temporary member or not, and when a user whose card ID is stored is authenticated, the managing server acquires the card ID of the authentication card by the card reading device, and authenticates the user on the basis of user information stored in association with the read card ID.

8. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein when receiving temporary member registration from a user, the managing server requests the user to input necessary matters for the temporary member registration, and selects on the basis of the input necessary matters whether the user should be registered as a temporary member.

9. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system according to claim 8, wherein the necessary matters contain a matter for identifying whether accounting can be applied to the user or not, and when receiving temporary member registration from a user, the managing server requests the user to input necessary matters, determines on the basis of the input necessary matters whether accounting can be applied to the user, and registers the user as a temporary member when it is determined that accounting can be applied to the user.

2. The in-vehicle mount type battery charging system, further comprising a lock unit for locking connection between the charger and the in-vehicle mount battery, wherein when a user uses the charger, the connection between the charger and the in-vehicle mount battery is locked by the lock unit in accordance with user'"'"'s instruction of starting charging under a condition that the user is authenticated as any one of a registered member and a registered temporary member by the managing server, and when a user releases the lock of the connection between the charger and the in-vehicle mount battery by the lock unit, the lock of the connection by the lock unit is released under a condition that the managing server authenticates the user as a user who starts the charging.

10. A managing server that is connected to a charger provided in a charging station to charge an in-vehicle mount battery of an electric vehicle so that communications can be performed between the managing server and the charger, wherein the managing server has a member authenticating function of receiving registration for enabling use of the charger from a user, authenticating the user when the user uses the charger and allowing the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered member, and a temporary member authenticating function of receiving temporary registration for temporarily enabling use of the charger from a user as a nonmember, authenticating the user when the user uses the charger and temporarily allowing the user to use the charger when the user is authenticated as a registered temporary member.

11. A method of controlling a managing server that is connected to a charger provided in a charging station to charge an in-vehicle mount battery of an electric vehicle so that communications can be performed between the managing server and the charger, comprising:

receiving registration for enabling use of the charger from a first user;

authenticating the first user when the first user uses the charger;

allowing the first user to use the charger when the first user is authenticated as a registered member;

receiving temporary registration for temporarily enabling use of the charger from a second user as a nonmember;

authenticating the second user when the second user uses the charger; and

temporarily allowing the second user to use the charger when the second user is authenticated as a registered temporary member.

12. A medium storing a computer-readable program for making a computer execute a procedure comprising the steps of:

receiving registration for enabling use of the charger from a first user;

authenticating the first user when the first user uses the charger;

allowing the first user to use the charger when the first user is authenticated as a registered member;

receiving temporary registration for temporarily enabling use of the charger from a second user as a nonmember;

authenticating the second user when the second user uses the charger; and

temporarily allowing the second user to use the charger when the second user is authenticated as a registered temporary member.