SCORING CHARGING STATIONS USED BY ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• US 20150032661A1
• Filed: 07/25/2014
• Published: 01/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Recargo, Inc. (E.ON SE)
• Original Assignee: Recargo, Inc. (E.ON SE)
• Inventors: MANFIELD, Lucas, NORTH, Forrest, PETROSIAN, Armen, WILD, Nick
• Application Number:
  US14/341,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20150032661A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/347
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/02 to electric heating circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/14 to electric lighting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/14 Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/34 Cabin temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/425 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/445 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/665 Light intensity
• 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 2250/22 by presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/52 characterised by DC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/62 charged by low-power generators primarily intended to support the batteries, e.g. range extenders
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 : in response to network capacity
• 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 53/68 : Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 : Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 : Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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

A system and method for ranking or scoring charging stations and/or charging events or sessions, and/or performing actions based on the ranking or scoring is described. In some embodiments, a charging station ranking engine is configured to rank charging stations, or potential charging events, based on feedback received from users of the charging stations, such as drivers of electric vehicles, or other dynamically determined factors.

Claims

1. A computerized method, comprising:

accessing information associated with a charging station; and

determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a display element representative of the charging station along with an indicator of the determined score for the charging station via a mapping application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging station includes accessing information associated with check-in actions at the charging stations and provided by users of electric vehicles;

and wherein determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information includes determining a score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based on a date-weighted average of binary station reviews received during the check-in actions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging station includes accessing information associated with check-in actions at the charging stations and provided by users of electric vehicles;

and wherein determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information includes determining a score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based on information received during a most recent check-in action.

5. A system, comprising:

an information module that accesses information associated with multiple charging stations;

a ranking module that ranks each of the charging stations based on the accessed information; and

a display module that is configured to display icons representative of the charging stations along with indicators for rankings assigned to each of the charging stations within a mapping application supported by a mobile device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the information module is configured to access binary charging station reviews associated with check-in actions received via the mapping application and provided by users of electric vehicles that have previously utilized the charging stations.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the information module is configured to access charging station reviews associated with most recent check-in actions received via the mapping application and provided by users of electric vehicles that have most recently utilized the charging stations.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the information module accesses information associated with check-in actions at the charging stations and provided by users of electric vehicles;

and

wherein the ranking module determines a score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based on a date-weighted average of binary station reviews received during the check-in actions.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the ranking module determines a score that is based on a date-weighted average of binary station reviews received during the check-in actions.

10. A computer-readable storage medium whose contents, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations for presenting charging station information to a driver of an electric vehicle, the operations comprising:

accessing information associated with a charging station, the information obtained from reviews provided by drivers of electric vehicles that have utilized the charging station;

determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information; and

causing a mapping application to display an icon representative of the charging station and an indicator representative of the determined score for the charging station.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein causing a mapping application to display an icon representative of the charging station and an indicator representative of the determined score for the charging station includes causing the mapping application to display the icon and the indicator proximate to a route displayed by the mapping application and currently traveled by the electric vehicle.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein causing a mapping application to display an icon representative of the charging station and an indicator representative of the determined score for the charging station includes causing the mapping application to display the icon and the indicator via a mapping application presented by a mobile device associated with the driver of the electric vehicle.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein causing a mapping application to display an icon representative of the charging station and an indicator representative of the determined score for the charging station includes causing the mapping application to display the icon and the indicator via a mapping application presented by a vehicle display within the electric vehicle.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein accessing information associated with a charging station includes accessing information associated with check-in actions at the charging stations and provided by users of electric vehicles;

and wherein determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information includes determining a score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based on a date-weighted average of binary station reviews received during the check-in actions.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein accessing information associated with a charging station includes accessing information associated with check-in actions at the charging stations and provided by users of electric vehicles;

and wherein determining a score for the charging station based on the accessed information includes determining a score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based on information received during a most recent check-in action.