Vehicle authentication for a BEV charger

• US 9,937,811 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2013
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Tabatowski-Bush, Benjamin A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Paul
• Application Number:
  US13/946,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20150022151A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,726 Days
• Field of Search: 320108-109, 320133, 320135
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• 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 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 system has a first communication device configured to selectively associate with a second communication device of a premise system based on a location of the vehicle with respect to the premise system and a vehicle identification. A charging control system is configured to permit charging of the vehicle in response to the selective association between the first and second communication devices.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a vehicle system for use on a vehicle, the vehicle system including a first communication device being configured to exclusively wirelessly authenticate with a second communication device of a premise system remote from the vehicle, such that the second communication device cannot authenticate with other communication devices while authenticated with the first communication device, based on (i) a time between pulses sent and received by the first communication device indicative of a relative location of the vehicle to the premise system and (ii) a vehicle identifier; and

a charging control system configured to permit wireless charging of the vehicle in response to the authentication between the first and second communication devices.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the charging control system is further configured to activate a vehicle charger to wirelessly charge the vehicle in response to the authentication.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device is further configured to terminate the authentication when the vehicle travels farther than a predetermined range from the second communication device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the charging control system is further configured to communicate with a power grid to activate charging of the vehicle.

5. A system comprising:

a communicator configured to receive an authentication request from a vehicle and to cause an exclusive authentication between the communicator and vehicle based on the request and a time between pulses sent and received by the communicator indicating proximate distance between the vehicle and communicator such that the communicator cannot authenticate with other vehicles while authenticated with the vehicle; and

a charger configured to wirelessly charge the vehicle responsive to the authentication.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the communicator is further configured to communicate with a power grid to activate the charger.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the charger is further configured to permit coupling between the vehicle and a primary inductive coil authenticated with the charger in response to the authentication.

8. A vehicle comprising:

a first communicator configured to

wirelessly authenticate with a second communicator of a premise system based on a vehicle identifier and a time between pulses sent and received by the first communicator indicating proximate distance between the vehicle and premise system such that the second communicator cannot authenticate with other communicators, and

responsive to the authentication, generate a charge control command to cause a remote charger to wirelessly charge the vehicle.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the first communicator is further configured to send communication for and receive communication from a power grid.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the first communicator further communicates an authentication request to the second communicator.

11. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the authentication request further includes the vehicle identifier and an authentication protocol.

12. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the authentication between the first and second communicators terminates upon the first communicator moving a predetermined range away from the premise system.