Method, system, and apparatus for distributing electricity to electric vehicles, monitoring the distribution thereof, and/or providing automated billing

• US 9,751,417 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2010
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EverCharge Inc. (SK Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EverCharge Inc. (SK Inc.)
• Inventors: Landau-Holdsworth, Mario, Case, Amber, Vielma, Adan
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi, Hani M
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAMPBELL, KELLIE L
• Application Number:
  US12/683,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,798 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35, 705 39, 705 40
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• 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 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 8/003 Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• 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

Abstract

An electricity distribution, monitoring, and control system for recharging electric vehicles. The system may include a plug outlet device having a sensor, and a plug adapter apparatus having a tag. The tag may communicate with the sensor when the plug adapter apparatus is coupled to the plug outlet device. An electric vehicle receives an electric charge from the plug outlet device after an identification number associated with the tag is verified by a remote server. Alternatively, a plug outlet device includes a tag, and an electric vehicle has attached thereto a monitoring and communication device, which may include a sensor. The sensor may communicate with the tag when the electric vehicle is proximally located to the plug outlet device, and obtain authorization from a remote server or the outlet device to charge the electric vehicle. A user account is automatically billed and a provider account is automatically credited.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing, in a database, a plurality of different electricity prices corresponding to a plurality of different locations of a plurality of plug outlet devices;

providing an embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) tag in a plug adapter apparatus that is coupled to a vehicle and separate from the plurality of plug outlet devices;

detecting, by a radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor associated with a particular plug outlet device from among the plurality of plug outlet devices, information about the vehicle including a user identification (ID), from the RFID tag embedded in the plug adapter apparatus that is coupled to the vehicle;

receiving the plug adapter apparatus at the particular plug outlet device;

receiving energy, at the particular plug outlet device, from an energy source;

transmitting, by a microcontroller associated with the particular plug outlet device, the user ID, a station ID associated with a station, and a location of the particular plug outlet device, to a remote computer server via an intermediary wireless communication device;

storing a log of a plurality of communications, by the intermediary wireless communication device, between the particular plug outlet device and the remote computer server;

verifying, by the microcontroller associated with the particular plug outlet device, the user ID and the station ID with the remote computer server;

wherein verifying includes receiving, by the microcontroller associated with the particular plug outlet device, a verification signal from the remote computer server;

when the user ID and the station ID are verified based at least on the verification signal, causing, by the particular plug outlet device, energy to be delivered to the vehicle;

monitoring, by the microcontroller associated with the particular plug outlet device, energy usage by taking measurements using at least one of a voltage sensor or a current sensor;

detecting, by the at least one of the voltage sensor or the current sensor when the vehicle finishes receiving the energy;

communicating, by the microcontroller associated with the particular plug outlet device, an amount of energy provided to the vehicle to the remote computer server;

the remote computer server accessing the database and determining a particular price of electricity from among the plurality of different prices stored in the database;

wherein determining the particular price of electricity further includes accessing the plurality of different locations of the plug outlet devices stored in the database and determining, by the remote computer server, the particular price of electricity for a particular location of the particular plug outlet device from among the plurality of different locations of the plug outlet devices;

wherein determining the particular price of electricity further includes accessing the database and determining, by the remote computer server, the particular price of electricity based on whether a source of the energy is a renewable source of energy;

automatically adjusting an account associated with the vehicle and the user ID by an amount associated with the determined particular price of electricity and the amount of energy provided;

storing, in the database, an account associated with the station having the station ID that is configured to provide the energy to the particular plug outlet device to charge the vehicle;

the remote computer server accessing the database and determining a surcharge from the database;

wherein the surcharge is based on the station having the station ID that is configured to provide the energy to the particular plug outlet device to charge the vehicle;

crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID;

wherein crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID further comprises automatically crediting, by the remote computer server, the account associated with the station having the station ID by an amount corresponding to at least a cost of the energy provided to charge the vehicle; and

wherein crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID further comprises automatically crediting, by the remote computer server, the account associated with the station having the station ID by the surcharge in addition to the amount corresponding to the cost of the energy provided.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting the account further comprises:

deducting from the account associated with the vehicle by the amount associated with the determined particular price of electricity.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the account associated with the vehicle in the database.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating the amount of energy provided to the vehicle to the remote computer server further comprises:

wirelessly transmitting a message to the remote computer server indicating that the vehicle is finished receiving the energy.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein automatically adjusting the account associated with the vehicle further comprises:

automatically adjusting the account associated with the vehicle responsive to the message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting the account associated with the vehicle and the account associated with the station is performed without the use of a credit card.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the plug adapter apparatus further comprises:

electrically receiving the plug adapter apparatus at the particular plug outlet device.

8. A method, comprising:

storing, in a database, a plurality of different prices of electricity based at least on a plurality of different locations of a plurality of plug outlet devices;

detecting, by a radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor included in a monitoring and communication device in a vehicle, information about a particular plug outlet device including a station identification (ID) of a station, from an RFID tag associated with the particular plug outlet device;

receiving energy, at the particular plug outlet device, from an energy source;

transmitting, by the monitoring and communication device in the vehicle, the station ID, a user ID, and a microcontroller ID associated with a microcontroller of the monitoring and communication device, to a remote computer server;

preventing tampering, by the microcontroller, of the monitoring and communication device;

verifying, by the remote computer server, that the station ID is associated with a valid plug-in location;

verifying, by the remote computer server, that the user ID and the microcontroller ID are associated with a valid user account;

wherein verifying includes receiving, by the microcontroller of the monitoring and communication device, a verification signal from the remote computer server;

when the user ID and the microcontroller ID are verified based at least on the verification signal, causing energy to be delivered to the vehicle;

monitoring, by the microcontroller of the monitoring and communication device, energy usage by taking measurements using at least one of a voltage sensor or a current sensor;

detecting, by the at least one of the voltage sensor or the current sensor when the vehicle finishes receiving the energy;

communicating, by the microcontroller of the monitoring and communication device, an amount of energy provided to the vehicle to the remote computer server;

the remote computer server accessing the database and determining a particular price of electricity from among the plurality of different prices stored in the database;

wherein determining the particular price of electricity further includes accessing the plurality of different locations of the plug outlet devices stored in the database and determining, by the remote computer server, the particular price of electricity for a particular location of the particular plug outlet device from among the plurality of different locations of the plug outlet devices;

wherein determining the particular price of electricity further includes accessing the database and determining, by the remote computer server, the particular price of electricity based on whether a source of the energy is a renewable source of energy;

automatically adjusting an account associated with the user ID and the microcontroller ID by an amount associated with the determined particular price of electricity and the amount of energy provided;

storing, in the database, an account associated with the station having the station ID that is configured to provide the energy to the particular plug outlet device to charge the vehicle;

the remote computer server accessing the database and determining a surcharge from the database;

wherein the surcharge is based on the station having the station ID that is configured to provide the energy to the particular plug outlet device to charge the vehicle;

crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID;

wherein crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID further comprises automatically crediting, by the remote computer server, the account associated with the station having the station ID by an amount corresponding to at least a cost of the energy provided to charge the vehicle; and

wherein crediting the account associated with the station having the station ID further comprises automatically crediting, by the remote computer server, the account associated with the station having the station ID by the surcharge in addition to the amount corresponding to the cost of the energy provided.