Electric vehicle charging stations with touch screen user interface

• US 9,180,784 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2013
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volta Charging, LLC (Shell Plc)
• Original Assignee: Optimization Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Turner, Dexter, Wakeen, James B., Knight, Richard L., Dill, Martin D., Gross, Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US14/100,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20140097795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 320/109, 709/207
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• 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 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: H02J 13/00001 characterised by the display of information or by user interaction, e.g. supervisory control and data acquisition systems [SCADA] or graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• 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 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 : using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses

Abstract

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for using and operating electric vehicle charging stations (“EVCSs”) or electric vehicle supply equipment (“EVSE”) having a touch screen. The touch screen display device can be used, for example, to facilitate user interface with the EVCS/EVSE. The touch screen display apparatus can provide a quick and efficient means for a user to input a wide variety of information. Also disclosed herein are representative embodiments of a network communication system for EVCSs or EVSE.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging station (“

EVCS”

) or electric vehicle supply equipment (“

EVSE”

) comprising;

two or more charging ports, each being configured to be coupled to an electric vehicle and to charge one or more batteries of the electric vehicle;

a display device, the display device having a touch screen interface;

a computer processor, the computer processor being programmed to;

display a user interface on the display device of the EVCS or EVSE;

receive an indication of user interaction with the EVCS or EVSE, the user interaction being received via a touch screen interface associated with the display device;

facilitate a transaction between a user and the EVCS or EVSE by which the user indicates that one or more electric vehicle batteries of an electric vehicle are to be charged via one of one or more charging ports of the EVCS or EVSE; and

control a charging operation that provides an electric charge to the one or more electric vehicle batteries of the electric vehicle via the one of the one or more charging ports of the EVCS or EVSE.

2. The EVCS or EVSE of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is programmed to perform the facilitating the transaction by:

receiving user identification information; and

determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE based on the user identification information.

3. The EVCS or EVSE of claim 2, wherein the determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE comprises accessing user data stored locally at the EVCS or EVSE.

4. The EVCS or EVSE of claim 2, wherein the determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE comprises:

transmitting at least a portion of the user identification information to a remote computer; and

receiving a response from the remote computer indicating whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE.

5. The EVCS or EVSE of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is further programmed to receive a message from a remote computer, the message including a portion indicative of a message expiration time.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

displaying a user interface on a display device of the EVCS or EVSE;

receiving an indication of user interaction with the EVCS or EVSE, the user interaction being received via a touch screen interface associated with the display device;

facilitating a transaction between a user and the EVCS or EVSE by which the user indicates that one or more electric vehicle batteries of an electric vehicle are to be charged via one of one or more charging ports of the EVCS or EVSE; and

controlling a charging operation that provides an electric charge to the one or more electric vehicle batteries of the electric vehicle via the one of the one or more charging ports of the EVCS or EVSE.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the facilitating the transaction between the user and the EVCS or EVSE comprises:

receiving user identification information; and

determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE based on the user identification information.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE comprises accessing user data stored locally at the EVCS or EVSE.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the determining whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE comprises:

transmitting at least a portion of the user identification information to a remote computer; and

receiving a response from the remote computer indicating whether the user is authorized to use the EVCS or EVSE.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises receiving a message from a remote computer, the message including a portion indicative of a message expiration time.