Energy transaction broker for brokering electric vehicle charging transactions

• US 8,918,336 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2008
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ferro, Erica Haefner, Schurr, Allan James, Trekell, Mark William, Williamson, Paul Stuart
• Primary Examiner(s): OBAID, FATEH M
• Application Number:
  US12/194,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20100049639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,317 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/34
• 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 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/36 of vehicles
• 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 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• 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: 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: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 8/003 Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• 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 10/70 : 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 : Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/12 : Billing, invoicing, buying or selling transactions or other related activities, e.g. cost or usage evaluation

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for brokering a charging process of an electric vehicle. In one embodiment, a process extracts event data associated with the charging process from a charge notification in response to receiving the charge notification indicating that the charging process of the electric vehicle is complete. The event data may include, but is not limited to, duration of the charging process, quantity of electricity transferred, or rate at which electricity was transferred during the charging process. The process then identifies, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process. Thereafter, the process disburses a payment owed to the set of payees. An amount of the payment is calculated using payment terms in profiles of the set of payees. The payment includes funds from at least one of a payer fund and an incentive fund.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of managing a charging process of an electric vehicle, the computer implemented method comprising:

retrieving a set of trip data for a trip;

using the set of trip data to identify a set of options for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle for the trip;

presenting the set of options to the owner or an operator of the electric vehicle;

responsive to receiving an initiation by the operator, initiating the charging process at a charging station;

identifying a set of parties of a transaction for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle;

the electric vehicle and the charging station exchanging a set of data associated with the charging of the electric vehicle;

generating a set of terms and conditions from a set of party preferences, a set of current incentives, and a set of device capabilities;

presenting each of the set of parties with the set of terms and conditions for governing the transaction;

receiving an approval from each of the set of parties regarding the set of terms and conditions presented;

responsive to receiving approval performing at least a portion of the transaction;

responsive to receiving a charge notification that the charging process of the electric vehicle is complete, extracting event data associated with the charging process, wherein the event data is extracted from the charge notification, and wherein the event data comprises a duration of the charging process;

identifying, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process;

responsive to performing the portion of the transaction, disbursing a payment owed to the set of payees, wherein an amount of the payment is calculated using payment terms in profiles of the set of payees, and wherein the payment comprises funds from at least one of a payer fund and an incentive fund.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a payment notification to the set of payees informing the set of payees that the payment has been disbursed; and

wherein the set of payees includes one or more of a utility company, a point of service entity providing a charging station, a government entity specifying a tax applicable to a charging transaction, and any party of the set of parties of the transaction.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a transaction history, wherein the transaction history is derived from the event data and at least includes a time of the charging process, a quantity of electricity transferred, a rate at which electricity was transferred during the charging process, a set of payees participating in the charging process, the date on which a charging process completed, an amount of charge that was delivered to an electric vehicle, a cost of electricity, an overall cost of the charging process, a set of errors that occurred in the processing of the transaction, an identity of the electric vehicle operator who initiated the charging process, the owner of the electric vehicle, the location of the charging station, the date of the charging transaction, a length of time that the electric vehicle was at the charging station, the variable rate of the cost of electricity during the charging transaction, and the utility provider responsible for providing electricity; and

processing the stored transaction history to identify a portion of the set of charging stations that receive less patronage; and

responsive to identifying the portion of the set of charging stations, generating incentives for the portion of the set of charging stations for a set of operators and owners of electric vehicles.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the energy transaction plan from an energy transaction execution engine.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the incentive fund comprises funds provided by the set of payees;

and

wherein the set of trip data includes a set of available incentives, a set of weather conditions, a travel route, and a set of traffic information; and

wherein the set of available incentives at least includes a discount, or a rebate, or a reward; and

wherein the set of parties at least includes the owner of the electric vehicle, the operator of the electric vehicle who initiated the charging process, an owner of the charging station, and an electric utility company providing electricity to an electric power grid associated with the charging station; and

wherein the set of data at least includes the capabilities of the electric vehicle, the capabilities of charging station, the current charge stored in electric vehicle, the rate of charging electric vehicle, the price of electricity received from a power grid, identity of the owner, and identity of the operator of the electric vehicle; and

wherein the set of party preferences at least includes a maximum price per kilowatt hour of electricity to be paid by a party, a location where charging may occur, a location where charging may not occur, a rate of charging the electric vehicle, and a minimum amount of charge; and

wherein the set of device capabilities at least includes a set of charging capabilities of the charging station, a set of charging requirements of the electric vehicle, a maximum storage capacity of the electric vehicle on-vehicle storage mechanism, a existing amount of charge in the electric vehicle, and a number of amps of electricity the charging station is capable of providing.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

authenticating the energy transaction plan before sending the payment to the set of payees;

monitoring the network for data transmissions originating from any of the electric power grid, the electric utility company, the charging station, and electric vehicles indicating the transaction should be stopped; and

responsive to receiving an indication the transaction should be stopped, performing actions to stop the flow of electric power to the electric vehicle.

7. A computer program product for managing a charging process of an electric vehicle, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-recordable storage media;

first program instructions for retrieving a set of trip data for a trip;

second program instructions for using the set of trip data to identify a set of options for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle for the trip;

third program instructions for presenting the set of options to the owner or an operator of the electric vehicle;

fourth program instructions for responsive to receiving a initiation by the operator, initiating the charging process at a charging station;

fifth program instructions for identifying a set of parties of a transaction for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle;

sixth program instructions for exchanging, between the electric vehicle and the charging station, a set of data associated with the charging of the electric vehicle;

seventh program instructions for generating a set of terms and conditions from a set of party preferences, a set of current incentives, and a set of device capabilities;

eighth program instructions for presenting each of the set of parties with a set of terms and conditions for governing the transaction;

ninth program instructions for receiving an approval from each of the set of parties regarding the set of terms and conditions presented;

tenth program instructions for responsive to receiving approval performing at least a portion of the transaction;

eleventh program instructions for extracting event data associated with the charging process in response to receiving a charge notification indicating that the charging process of the electric vehicle is complete, wherein the event data is extracted from the charge notification, and wherein the event data comprises a duration of the charging process;

twelfth program instructions for identifying, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process;

thirteenth program instructions for responsive to performing the portion of the transaction, disbursing a payment owed to the set of payees, wherein an amount of the payment is calculated using payment terms in profiles of the set of payees, and wherein the payment comprises funds from at least one of a payer fund and an incentive fund; and

wherein the first program instructions, the second program instructions, the third program instructions, the fourth program instructions, the fifth program instructions, the sixth program instructions, the seventh program instructions, the eighth program instructions, the ninth program instructions, the tenth program instructions, the twelfth program instructions, and the thirteenth program instructions are stored on the computer-recordable storage media.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

fourteenth program instructions for sending a payment notification to the set of payees informing the set of payees that the payment has been disbursed, wherein the fourteenth program instructions are stored on the computer-recordable storage media; and

wherein the set of payees includes one or more of a utility company, a point of service entity providing a charging station, a government entity specifying a tax applicable to a charging transaction, and any party of the set of parties of the transaction.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

fifteenth program instructions for storing a transaction history, wherein the transaction history is derived from the event data and at least includes a time of the charging process, a quantity of electricity transferred, a rate at which electricity was transferred during the charging process, a set of payees participating in the charging process, the date on which a charging process completed, an amount of charge that was delivered to an electric vehicle, a cost of electricity, an overall cost of the charging process, a set of errors that occurred in the processing of the transaction, an identity of the electric vehicle operator who initiated the charging process, the owner of the electric vehicle, the location of the charging station, the date of the charging transaction, a length of time that the electric vehicle was at the charging station, the variable rate of the cost of electricity during the charging transaction, and the utility provider responsible for providing electricity; and

sixteenth program instructions for processing the stored transaction history to identify a portion of the set of charging stations that receive less patronage; and

seventeenth program instructions for responsive to identifying the portion of the set of charging stations, generating incentives for the portion of the set of charging stations for a set of operators and owners of electric vehicles; and

wherein the fifteenth program instructions, the sixteenth program instructions, and the seventeenth program instructions are stored on the computer-recordable storage media.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the identifying step further comprises:

eighteenth program instructions for receiving the energy transaction plan from an energy transaction execution engine; and

wherein the eighteenth program instructions are stored on the computer-recordable storage media.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the incentive fund comprises funds provided by the set of payees;

and

wherein the set of trip data includes a set of available incentives, a set of weather conditions, a travel route, and a set of traffic information; and

wherein the set of available incentives at least includes a discount, or a rebate, or a reward; and

wherein the set of parties at least includes the owner of the electric vehicle, the operator of the electric vehicle who initiated the charging process, an owner of the charging station, and an electric utility company providing electricity to an electric power grid associated with the charging station; and

wherein the set of data at least includes the capabilities of the electric vehicle, the capabilities of charging station, the current charge stored in electric vehicle, the rate of charging electric vehicle, the price of electricity received from a power grid, identity of the owner, and identity of the operator of the electric vehicle; and

wherein the set of party preferences at least includes a maximum price per kilowatt hour of electricity to be paid by a party, a location where charging may occur, a location where charging may not occur, a rate of charging the electric vehicle, and a minimum amount of charge; and

wherein the set of device capabilities at least includes a set of charging capabilities of the charging station, a set of charging requirements of the electric vehicle, a maximum storage capacity of the electric vehicle on-vehicle storage mechanism, a existing amount of charge in the electric vehicle, and a number of amps of electricity the charging station is capable of providing.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

nineteenth program instructions for authenticating the energy transaction plan before sending the payment to the set of payees;

twentieth program instructions for monitoring the network for data transmissions originating from any of the electric power grid, the electric utility company, the charging station, and electric vehicles indicating the transaction should be stopped; and

twenty first program instructions for responsive to receiving an indication the transaction should be stopped, performing actions to stop the flow of electric power to the electric vehicle; and

wherein the nineteenth program instructions, the twentieth program instructions, and the twenty first program instructions are stored on the computer-recordable storage media.

13. An apparatus for managing a charging process of an electric vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a bus system;

a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes computer usable program code; and

a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to perform steps including;

retrieving a set of trip data for a trip;

using the set of trip data to identify a set of options for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle for the trip;

presenting the set of options to the owner or an operator of the electric vehicle;

responsive to receiving an initiation by the operator, initiating the charging process at a charging station;

identifying a set of parties of a transaction for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle;

the electric vehicle and the charging station exchanging a set of data associated with the charging of the electric vehicle;

generating a set of terms and conditions from a set of party preferences, a set of current incentives, and a set of device capabilities;

presenting each of the set of parties with the set of terms and conditions for governing the transaction;

receiving an approval from each of the set of parties regarding the set of terms and conditions presented;

responsive to receiving approval performing at least a portion of the transaction;

responsive to receiving a charge notification that the charging process of the electric vehicle is complete, extracting event data associated with the charging process, wherein the event data is extracted from the charge notification, and wherein the event data comprises a duration of the charging process;

identifying, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process;

responsive to performing the portion of the transaction, disbursing a payment owed to the set of payees, wherein an amount of the payment is calculated using payment terms in profiles of the set of payees, and wherein the payment comprises funds from at least one of a payer fund and an incentive fund.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable program code to send a payment notification to the set of payees informing the set of payees that the payment has been disbursed;

and

wherein the set of payees includes one or more of a utility company, a point of service entity providing a charging station, a government entity specifying a tax applicable to a charging transaction, and any party of the set of parties of the transaction.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable program code to perform steps including:

storing a transaction history, wherein the transaction history is derived from the event data and at least includes a time of the charging process, a quantity of electricity transferred, a rate at which electricity was transferred during the charging process, a set of payees participating in the charging process, the date on which a charging process completed, an amount of charge that was delivered to an electric vehicle, a cost of electricity, an overall cost of the charging process, a set of errors that occurred in the processing of the transaction, an identity of the electric vehicle operator who initiated the charging process, the owner of the electric vehicle, the location of the charging station, the date of the charging transaction, a length of time that the electric vehicle was at the charging station, the variable rate of the cost of electricity during the charging transaction, and the utility provider responsible for providing electricity; and

processing the stored transaction history to identify a portion of the set of charging stations that receive less patronage; and

responsive to identifying the portion of the set of charging stations, generating incentives for the portion of the set of charging stations for a set of operators and owners of electric vehicles.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the identifying, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process step further comprises:

program instructions for receiving the energy transaction plan from an energy transaction execution engine.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the incentive fund comprises funds provided by the set of payees;

and

wherein the set of trip data includes a set of available incentives, a set of weather conditions, a travel route, and a set of traffic information; and

wherein the set of available incentives at least includes a discount, or a rebate, or a reward; and

wherein the set of parties at least includes the owner of the electric vehicle, the operator of the electric vehicle who initiated the charging process, an owner of the charging station, and an electric utility company providing electricity to an electric power grid associated with the charging station; and

wherein the set of data at least includes the capabilities of the electric vehicle, the capabilities of charging station, the current charge stored in electric vehicle, the rate of charging electric vehicle, the price of electricity received from a power grid, identity of the owner, and identity of the operator of the electric vehicle; and

wherein the set of party preferences at least includes a maximum price per kilowatt hour of electricity to be paid by a party, a location where charging may occur, a location where charging may not occur, a rate of charging the electric vehicle, and a minimum amount of charge; and

wherein the set of device capabilities at least includes a set of charging capabilities of the charging station, a set of charging requirements of the electric vehicle, a maximum storage capacity of the electric vehicle on-vehicle storage mechanism, a existing amount of charge in the electric vehicle, and a number of amps of electricity the charging station is capable of providing.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable program code to perform steps including:

authenticating the energy transaction plan before sending the payment to the set of payees;

monitoring the network for data transmissions originating from any of the electric power grid, the electric utility company, the charging station, and electric vehicles indicating the transaction should be stopped; and

responsive to receiving an indication the transaction should be stopped, performing actions to stop the flow of electric power to the electric vehicle.

19. A system for managing a charging process of an electric vehicle, the system comprising:

a storage device, wherein the storage device stores a set of payee profiles and a set of trip data for a plurality of trips; and

a data processing system for performing;

retrieving a set of trip data for a trip;

using the set of trip data to identify a set of options for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle for the trip;

presenting the set of options to the owner or an operator of the electric vehicle;

responsive to receiving an initiation by the operator, initiating the charging process at a charging station;

identifying a set of parties of a transaction for replenishing the electric charge of an on-vehicle electric storage mechanism of the electric vehicle;

the electric vehicle and the charging station exchanging a set of data associated with the charging of the electric vehicle;

generating a set of terms and conditions from a set of party preferences, a set of current incentives, and a set of device capabilities;

presenting each of the set of parties with the set of terms and conditions for governing the transaction;

receiving an approval from each of the set of parties regarding the set of terms and conditions presented;

responsive to receiving approval performing at least a portion of the transaction;

an energy transaction broker of the data processing system, wherein responsive to performing the portion of the transaction, the energy transaction broker extracts event data associated with the charging process, wherein the event data is extracted from a charge notification, and wherein the event data comprises a duration of the charging process in response to receiving a notification that the charging process of the electric vehicle is complete;

identifies, from an energy transaction plan, a set of payees participating in the charging process; and

disburses a payment owed to the set of payees, wherein an amount of the payment is calculated using payment terms in profiles of the set of payees, and wherein the payment comprises funds from at least one of a payer fund and an incentive fund.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the energy transaction broker sends a payment notification to the set of payees informing the set of payees that the payment has been disbursed;

and

wherein the set of payees includes one or more of a utility company, a point of service entity providing a charging station, a government entity specifying a tax applicable to a charging transaction, and any party of the set of parties of the transaction.