Distributed processing network for rechargeable electric vehicle tracking and routing

• US 10,611,251 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2016
• Issued: 04/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NIO Technology Company Limited (Shanghai Anbin Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nio Usa Inc.
• Inventors: Ricci, Christopher P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Goldman, Richard A
• Application Number:
  US15/074,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20170136889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: 701117, 701400, 320109, 320108
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 5/005 without mechanical contact between the collector and the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 5/42 for collecting current from individual contact pieces connected to the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/32 by charging in short intervals along the itinerary, e.g. during short stops
• 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 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60M 7/003 for vehicles using stored power (e.g. charging stations)
• 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 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 control system for a rechargeable vehicle control system, comprises: a processor and a computer readable medium, in communication with the processor, that comprises processor executable instructions. The processor executable instructions comprise: a vehicle tracker that identifies rechargeable electric vehicles currently using a transportation network and tracks a last known position in the transportation network of each rechargeable electric vehicle and a vehicle router that directs the rechargeable electric vehicles to one of plural charging segments located along the transportation routes in the transportation network to receive a charge, thereby load balancing the rechargeable electric vehicles over the plurality of charging segments.

Claims

1. A control system for a rechargeable vehicle control system, comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

identify rechargeable electric vehicles currently using a transportation network and track a last known position in the transportation network of each rechargeable electric vehicle; and

automatically direct the rechargeable electric vehicles to one of plural charging segments in the transportation network to receive a charge and balance (a) an electric load from charging of the rechargeable electric vehicles against (b) the available charging segments.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

determine, for a selected time interval, an amount of electrical energy from a power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable electric vehicles by the plurality of charging segments; and

regulate, via controlling over the selected time interval switches in the transportation network, the electrical energy provided by the charging segments in accordance with the determined amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable electric vehicles.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the determined amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used to charge rechargeable vehicles is dependent upon one or more of current power consumption levels by grid users other than the rechargeable electric vehicles, historical power consumption levels by rechargeable electric vehicles and/or other grid users, and the number of rechargeable electric vehicles currently on the transportation network.

4. The control system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

communicate with each of the rechargeable electric vehicles to obtain information regarding one or more of identity of the owner or operator of the rechargeable electric vehicle, residence of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, utility account of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, type of the rechargeable electric vehicle, charging priority level of the rechargeable electric vehicle, make and/or model of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charge level of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charging requirement of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, destination of the rechargeable electric vehicle, purpose of the current travel of the rechargeable electric vehicle, spatial location of the rechargeable electric vehicle relative to a charging segment, an electronic calendar of an operator of the vehicle, a normal schedule for the operator and number of occupants of the rechargeable electric vehicle;

determine, for each rechargeable electric vehicle, one or more of an amount of electrical charge stored by the rechargeable electric vehicle and an amount of charge currently required by the rechargeable electric vehicle, and direct, based on the one or more of the amount of electrical charge stored by the rechargeable electric vehicle and the amount of charge currently required by the rechargeable electric vehicle, each of the rechargeable electric vehicles to one of the charging segments to receive the charge.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine a current energy usage for all grid users, including the rechargeable electric vehicles, and/or estimate future usage over the selected time interval for all grid users and, based on different classes of grid users, set a budget for each class of grid users, the rechargeable electric vehicles being a class of grid users and the budget for each class of grid users being an amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used by the class of grid users over the selected time interval.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

estimate available power contributions the from rechargeable electric vehicles via the plurality of charging segments to the power grid over the selected time interval and based on the estimated available power contribution determine the budgets for each class of grid users.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine an amount of electrical energy so far consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or a historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval and estimate, based on the one or more of the amount of electrical energy so far consumed by rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or the historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval, a likely amount of power from the grid to be consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the remainder of the selected time interval.

8. A method, comprising:

identifying, by a processor executing a vehicle tracker, rechargeable electric vehicles currently using a transportation network;

tracking, by the processor executing the vehicle tracker, a last known position in the transportation network of each of the identified rechargeable electric vehicles;

assigning a charging priority level to each of the identified rechargeable electric vehicles based on one or more of an amount of electrical charge stored by each rechargeable electric vehicle and an amount of charge currently required by each rechargeable electric vehicle, the charging priority level indicating whether each of the identified rechargeable vehicles is eligible to receive a charge;

comparing each of the assigned charging priority levels to a threshold; and

directing, by a processor executing a vehicle router, ones of the identified rechargeable electric vehicles having charging priority levels that exceed the threshold to one of a plurality of charging segments to receive a charge and balance (a) an electric load from charging of the rechargeable electric vehicles against (b) the plurality of charging segments in the transportation network.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the processor executing a grid load availability evaluator and for a selected time interval, an amount of electrical energy from a power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable electric vehicles by the plurality of charging segments; and

providing, by a switching fabric, over the selected time period the determined amount of electrical energy to charge rechargeable electric vehicles.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determined amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable vehicles depends upon one or more of current power consumption levels by grid users other than the rechargeable electric vehicles, historical power consumption levels by the rechargeable electric vehicles and/or other grid users, and a number of the rechargeable electric vehicles currently on the transportation network.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

communicating, by the processor executing a vehicle analyzer, with each of the rechargeable electric vehicles to obtain information regarding one or more of identity of the owner or operator of the rechargeable electric vehicle, residence of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, utility account of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, type of the rechargeable electric vehicle, the charging priority level of the rechargeable electric vehicle, make and/or model of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charge level of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charging requirement of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, destination of the rechargeable electric vehicle, purpose of the current travel of the rechargeable electric vehicle, spatial location of the rechargeable electric vehicle relative to a charging segment, an electronic calendar of an operator of the vehicle, a normal schedule for the operator, and number of occupants of the rechargeable electric vehicle and determines, for each rechargeable electric vehicle, one or more of the amount of electrical charge stored by the rechargeable electric vehicle and the amount of charge currently required by the rechargeable electric vehicle.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the processor executing the grid load evaluator, a current energy usage for all grid users, including the rechargeable electric vehicles, and/or estimates future usage over the selected time interval for all grid users and, based on different classes of grid users, setting, by the processor executing the grid load evaluator, a budget for each class of grid users, the rechargeable electric vehicles being a class of grid users and the budget for each class of grid users being an amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used by the class of grid users over the selected time interval.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

estimating, by the processor executing a bidirectional load balance mechanism, available power contributions from the rechargeable electric vehicles to the plurality of charging segments in the power grid over the selected time interval and providing the estimated available power contribution to the grid load evaluator for use in determining the budgets for each class of grid users.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the processor, an amount of electrical energy so far consumed by rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or a historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval; and

estimating, by the processor based on the one or more of the amount of electrical energy so far consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or the historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval, a likely amount of power from the grid to be consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the remainder of the selected time interval.

15. A control system for a rechargeable vehicle charging network, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

communicate with each of plural rechargeable electric vehicles and obtain information regarding one or more of identity of the owner or operator of the rechargeable electric vehicle, residence of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, utility account of the rechargeable electric vehicle owner or operator, type of the rechargeable electric vehicle, charging priority level of the rechargeable electric vehicle, make and/or model of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charge level of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, current charging requirement of the rechargeable energy storage of the rechargeable electric vehicle, destination of the rechargeable electric vehicle, purpose of the current travel of the rechargeable electric vehicle, spatial location of the rechargeable electric vehicle relative to a selected charging segment of a plurality of charging segments in a transportation network, an electronic calendar of an operator of the vehicle, a normal schedule for the operator, and number of occupants of the rechargeable electric vehicle and determines, for each rechargeable electric vehicle, one or more of an amount of electrical charge stored by the rechargeable electric vehicle and an amount of charge currently required by the rechargeable electric vehicle; and

direct, based on the one or more of the amount of electrical charge stored by the rechargeable electric vehicle and the amount of charge currently required by the rechargeable electric vehicle, each of the rechargeable electric vehicles to one of the charging segments to receive a charge to balance (a) a charging load of the rechargeable electric vehicles over (b) the plurality of charging segments.

16. The control system of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

regulate, via controlling over the selected time period switches in the transportation network, electrical energy provided by the charging segments in accordance with a predetermined amount of electrical energy from a power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable vehicles, wherein the determined amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable electric vehicles is dependent upon one or more of current power consumption levels by grid users other than the rechargeable electric vehicles, historical power consumption levels by the rechargeable electric vehicles and/or other grid users, and a number of the rechargeable electric vehicles currently on the transportation network; and

determine, for a selected time period, an amount of electrical energy from a power grid that can be used to charge the rechargeable electric vehicles by the plurality of charging segments in the transportation network.

17. The control system of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine a current energy usage for all grid users, including the rechargeable electric vehicles, and/or estimates future usage over the selected time interval for all grid users and, based on different classes of grid users, set a budget for each class of grid users, the rechargeable electric vehicles being a class of grid users and the budget for each class of grid users being an amount of electrical energy from the power grid that can be used by the class of grid users over the selected time interval.

18. The control system of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

estimate available power contributions from rechargeable electric vehicles by the plurality of charging segments to the power grid over the selected time interval and based on the estimated available power contribution determine the budgets for each class of grid users.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine an amount of electrical energy so far consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, a number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or a historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval and estimate, based on the one or more of the amount of electrical energy so far consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles requesting a charge during the selected time interval, the number of rechargeable electric vehicles that have received a charge during the selected time interval, and/or the historic amount of electrical energy consumed by rechargeable electric vehicle charging over a historic time interval, a likely amount of power from the grid to be consumed by the rechargeable electric vehicles over the remainder of the selected time interval.