Presenting routing information for electric vehicles

• US 9,714,837 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Recargo, Inc. (E.ON SE)
• Original Assignee: Recargo, Inc. (E.ON SE)
• Inventors: Wild, Nick, Manfield, Lucas, North, Forrest, Petrosian, Armen
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/616,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20150226567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/12 by confirmation, e.g. of the input
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• 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 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3605 Destination input or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 : Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/14 : for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle
• 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 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

Systems and methods for identifying available charging stations (e.g., charging stations available to be used by an electric vehicle) and/or determining travel routes for electric vehicles are described. In some embodiments, the systems and methods receive a request to find an available charging station, determine a state of charge for an electric vehicle associated with the request, identifies one or more available charging stations located within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle, the suitable distance based on the determined state of the charge for the electric vehicle, and present information to the electric vehicle, or an associated mobile device, that indicates the identified charging stations.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a request to find an available charging station;

determining a remaining available energy usage for an electric vehicle associated with the request,

wherein the remaining available energy usage is based on a state of charge of a battery of the electric vehicle, a degradation status of the battery of the electric vehicle, a make of the electric vehicle, and an age of the electric vehicle;

identifying one or more available charging stations located within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle, and on a route having an associated predicted energy usage that is less than the remaining available energy usage for the electric vehicle,

wherein the predicted energy usage of the route is based on a distance to be traveled by the electric vehicle along the route, an elevation profile for the route, and current traffic along the route; and

presenting information to the electric vehicle that indicates the identified one or more available charging stations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more available charging stations located within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle includes identifying one or more available charging stations not currently reserved by another electric vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more available charging stations located within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle includes identifying one or more available charging stations not currently charging another electric vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more available charging stations located within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle includes:

determining a travel time associated with the electric vehicle traveling to one or more prospective charging stations; and

selecting prospective charging stations that are predicted to be available to charge the electric vehicle after the determined travel time has lapsed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information to the electric vehicle that indicates the identified charging stations includes displaying icons within a displayed map presented by a mapping application, the icons representative of the available charging stations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information to the electric vehicle that indicates the identified charging stations includes presenting a list of information associated with the available charging stations.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting information to the electric vehicle that indicates the identified charging stations includes displaying, via a displayed map provided by a mapping application of a mobile device associated with the electric vehicle, a graphical element indicating a range of travel available to the electric vehicle based on the determined state of charge for the electric vehicle and icons representative of the available charging stations located within the range of travel available to the electric vehicle.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium whose contents, when executed by a mobile application supported by a mobile device, cause the mobile application to perform operations, comprising:

receiving a request to find an available charging station;

determining a state of charge for an electric vehicle associated with the request;

identifying one or more available charging stations that are located;

within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle, the suitable distance based on the determined state of the charge for the electric vehicle, and

on a route having an associated predicted energy usage that matches the determined state of charge of the electric vehicle,

wherein the associated predicted energy usage for the route is based on a distance traveled by the electric vehicle along the route, an elevation profile for the route, and current traffic along the route; and

displaying, via a displayed map provided by a mapping application of a mobile device associated with the electric vehicle, a graphical element indicating a range of travel available to the electric vehicle based on the determined state of charge for the electric vehicle and icons representative of the one or more available charging stations located within the range of travel available to the electric vehicle.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein receiving a request to find an available charging station includes receiving the request via input provided by a driver of the electric vehicle to the mobile application.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein receiving a request to find an available charging station includes automatically receiving the request when the state of charge of the electric vehicle falls below a threshold state of charge.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the associated predicted energy usage for the route is based on a make of the electric vehicle traveling along the route and an age of the electric vehicle.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving a request to find an available charging station;

determining a state of charge for an electric vehicle associated with the request;

identifying one or more available charging stations that are located;

within a suitable distance to the electric vehicle, the suitable distance based on the determined state of the charge for the electric vehicle, and

on a route having an associated predicted energy usage that matches the determined state of charge of the electric vehicle,

wherein the associated predicted energy usage for the route is based on a distance to be traveled by the electric vehicle along the route, a make of the electric vehicle traveling along the route, and an age of the electric vehicle; and

displaying, via a displayed map provided by a mapping application of a mobile device associated with the electric vehicle, a graphical element indicating a range of travel available to the electric vehicle based on the determined state of charge for the electric vehicle and icons representative of the one or more available charging stations located within the range of travel available to the electric vehicle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a request to find an available charging station includes receiving the request via input provided by a driver of the electric vehicle to the mapping application.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a request to find an available charging station includes automatically receiving the request when the state of charge of the electric vehicle falls below a threshold state of charge.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the associated predicted energy usage for the route is also based on an elevation profile for the route.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the associated predicted energy usage for the route is also based on current traffic along the route.