NETWORK-CONTROLLED CHARGING SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• US 20120169283A1
• Filed: 03/12/2012
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Inventors: Lowenthal, Richard, Baxter, Dave, Bhade, Harjinder, Mandal, Praveen
• Application Number:
  US13/418,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20120169283A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/627 by WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• 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: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00022 using wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00024 by means of mobile telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00045 Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/28 : characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks] wireless communication networks H04W ; arrangements for dividing the transmission path H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• 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: 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 20/221 : General power management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 : using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 : using wireless data transmission

Abstract

A network-controlled charge transfer device for electric vehicles includes a control device to turn electric supply on and off to enable and disable charge transfer for electric vehicles, a transceiver to communicate requests for charge transfer with a remote server and receive communications from the remote server, and a controller, coupled with the control device and the transceiver, to cause the control device to turn the electric supply on based on communication from the remote server.

Claims

1-87. -87. (canceled)

88. A method in a server for determining availability of network-controlled charge transfer devices for charging electric vehicles, comprising:

storing availability information of a plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices for charging electric vehicles; and

providing the availability information of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices to operators of electric vehicles.

89. The method of claim 88, wherein the availability information is provided to operators of electric vehicles via the Internet.

90. The method of claim 89, wherein the availability information is provided to operators of electric vehicles on a web page accessible via the Internet.

91. The method of claim 88, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable when charging of an electric vehicle using that network-controlled charge transfer device is ongoing.

92. The method of claim 88, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable when vehicle-to-grid charge transfer using that network-controlled charge transfer device is ongoing.

93. The method of claim 88, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable during a time period when use of a parking space that is associated with that network-controlled charge transfer device has been paid for.

94. The method of claim 88, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable during a time period when an electric vehicle has been detected as being parked in a parking space that is associated with that network-controlled charge transfer device.

95. The method of claim 88, further comprising:

collecting at least some of the availability information from a payment station coupled to at least some of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices.

96. The method of claim 88, further comprising:

collecting at least some of the availability information from a data control unit coupled to at least some of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices.

97. An apparatus, comprising:

a computer configured to;

store availability information of a plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices for charging electric vehicles, and

provide the availability information of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices to operators of electric vehicles.

98. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the computer is configured to provide the availability information to operators of electric vehicles via the Internet.

99. The apparatus of claim 98, wherein the computer is configured to provide the availability information to operators of electric vehicles on a web page accessible via the Internet.

100. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable when charging of an electric vehicle using that network-controlled charge transfer device is ongoing.

101. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable when vehicle-to-grid charge transfer using that network-controlled charge transfer device is ongoing.

102. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable during a time period when use of a parking space that is associated with that network-controlled charge transfer device has been paid for.

103. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the availability information indicates that a network-controlled charge transfer device is unavailable during a time period when an electric vehicle has been detected as being parked in a parking space that is associated with that network-controlled charge transfer device.

104. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the computer is further configured to collect at least some of the availability information from a payment station coupled to at least some of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices.

105. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein the computer is further configured to collect at least some of the availability information from a data control unit coupled to at least some of the plurality of network-controlled charge transfer devices.