System and method for managing electric vehicles

• US 8,935,112 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2009
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Chargepoint, Inc.
• Inventors: Lowenthal, Richard, Tormey, Milton, Solomon, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui, Mohamed
• Application Number:
  US12/372,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,156 Days
• Field of Search: 702/63, 702/184, 702/187, 702/188, 320/109, 701/33
• US Class Current: 702/63
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• 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 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0057 for the hiring or rent of vehicles, e.g. cars, bicycles or wheelchairs car rental G07B15/00
• 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 30/12 Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A system and method for managing a plurality of electric vehicles with a fleet management portal is described herein. In one embodiment, a machine implemented method for managing one or more fleets of electric vehicles includes monitoring one or more fleets of electric vehicles using a fleet management portal associated with a server. Next, the method includes monitoring a plurality of charge transfer devices using the fleet management portal. Next, the method includes receiving charging information from the charge transfer devices. Next, the method includes determining a charging status for each electric vehicle based on the charging information. Next, the method includes generating one or more reports having the charging status for each electric vehicle.

Claims

1. A machine implemented method for managing one or more fleets of electric vehicles, comprising:

monitoring the one or more fleets of electric vehicles using a fleet management portal associated with a server;

monitoring a plurality of charge transfer devices using the fleet management portal;

receiving charging information from the charge transfer devices;

determining a charging status for each electric vehicle based on the charging information received from the charge transfer devices, wherein the charging status for each respective electric vehicle is one of a currently charging state, a fully charged state, and an unknown state;

generating an electric vehicle status report having the charging status for each electric vehicle; and

generating a session report that identifies a plurality of charging sessions, wherein the session report indicates for each one of the identified charging sessions a driver and electric vehicle associated with that charging session.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining a total plug-in time.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining a total energy delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device since a start of the plug-in time.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining an instantaneous power being currently delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein generating the electric vehicle status report further comprises:

generating status information that includes at least one of the following;

summary information for the charging status of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

vehicle status information for each electric vehicle that includes at least one of a license plate identifier, a charging status, a charging station, a power delivered to each electricity storage device, energy delivered to each electricity storage device, a charging session time, and a time period until a electricity storage device is fully charged.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

generating fuel savings information; and

generating green house gas reduction information.

7. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

sending a notification message to a user of an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles for at least one of the following conditions;

the electric vehicle is fully charged;

a time period for plugging in the electric vehicle has expired; and

a time period for checking in the electric vehicle has expired.

8. A non-transitory machine-accessible medium storing executable program instructions which when executed cause a machine to perform a method comprising:

monitoring one or more fleets of electric vehicles using a fleet management portal associated with a server;

monitoring a plurality of charge transfer devices using the fleet management portal;

receiving charging information from the charge transfer devices;

determining a charging status for each electric vehicle based on the charging information received from the charge transfer devices, wherein the charging status for each respective electric vehicle is one of a currently charging state, a fully charged state, and an unknown state;

generating an electric vehicle status report having the charging status for each electric vehicle; and

generating a session report that identifies a plurality of charging sessions, wherein the session report indicates for each one of the identified charging sessions a driver and electric vehicle associated with that charging session.

9. The medium as in claim 8, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining a total plug-in time.

10. The medium as in claim 8, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining a total energy delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device since a start of the plug-in time.

11. The medium as in claim 8, wherein determining the charging status further comprises determining an instantaneous power being currently delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device.

12. The medium as in claim 8, wherein generating the electric vehicle status report further comprises:

generating status information that includes at least one of the following;

summary information for the charging status of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

vehicle status information for each electric vehicle that includes at least one of a license plate identifier, a charging status, a charging station, a power delivered to each electricity storage device, energy delivered to each electricity storage device, a charging session time, and a time period until a electricity storage device is fully charged.

13. The medium as in claim 8, the method further comprising:

generating fuel savings information; and

generating green house gas reduction information.

14. The medium as in claim 8, the method further comprising:

sending a notification message to a user of an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles for at least one of the following conditions;

the electric vehicle is fully charged;

a time period for plugging in the electric vehicle has expired; and

a time period for checking in the electric vehicle has expired.

15. A server for managing a plurality of electric vehicles, comprising:

a processing unit coupled to an input/output (I/O) device;

a memory coupled to the processing unit; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processing unit, the programs including;

instructions for,

monitoring one or more fleets of electric vehicles using a fleet management portal associated with the server;

monitoring a plurality of charge transfer devices using the fleet management portal;

receiving charging information from the charge transfer devices;

determining a charging status for each electric vehicle based on the charging information received from the charge transfer devices, wherein the charging status for each respective electric vehicle is one of a currently charging state, a fully charged state, and an unknown state;

generating an electric vehicle status report having the charging status for each electric vehicle; and

generating a session report that identifies a plurality of charging sessions, wherein the session report indicates for each one of the identified charging sessions a driver and electric vehicle associated with that charging session.

16. The server as in claim 15, wherein determining the charging status further comprises instructions for at least one of determining a total plug-in time, determining a total energy delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device since a start of the plug-in time, and determining an instantaneous power being currently delivered to a vehicle electricity storage device.

17. The server as in claim 15, wherein generating the electric vehicle status report further comprise instructions for generating status information in the report that includes at least one of the following:

summary information for the charging status of the plurality of electric vehicles; and

vehicle status information for each electric vehicle that includes at least one of a license plate identifier, a charging status, a charging station, a power delivered to each electricity storage device, energy delivered to each electricity storage device, a charging session time, and a time period until a electricity storage device is fully charged.

18. The server as in claim 15, wherein the programs further comprise instructions for

sending a notification message to a user of an electric vehicle of the plurality of electric vehicles for at least one of the following conditions:

the electric vehicle is fully charged;

a time period for plugging in the electric vehicle has expired; and

a time period for plugging in the electric vehicle has expired.