The present invention is directed to a methodology of Charge Sharing, Seamless Charging Process and Smart Charging Infrastructure management for Electric Vehicles.
Currently there is no cost effective way to meet the high demand for charge needed for electric vehicles. The number of charging station in California is only 3600 where there are 200,000 electric vehicles owners, hence the need for a solution to meet the demand. Range anxiety among Electric Vehicle drivers is one of the common problem along with out of order charging unit at charging stations, incompatible EV charging network card for usage and payment further added to the range anxiety and slower EV adoption.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a solution that provides:
The other embodiment is for seamless charging process and infrastructure solutions particularly:
(Please See Enclosed Drawing File)
Peer to Peer EV charging Method on Demand: (please refer to
User then selects the location to send a charging, request. The charging request notification is sent via SMS text message to the provider who has the option to either accept or reject the charging request.
If the Charge Provider rejects, then the programming algorithm is used to find the next Charge Provider until the Charging request is accepted.
Once a Provider accepts the Charging request, User is then notified via text message with the charge location address which has a link to GPS based location map. Upon arrival at the Charge location, User connects the cable provided by the Charge Provider onto their electric vehicle socket for electric charge to begin. The time and the coordinate is recorded in a temporary server for billing purpose. As soon as the User is done with charging their electric vehicle, the amount is calculated by the kilowatt of energy and the total amount is charged in dollars to User's credit card or by blockcharge using blockchain payment integration with secured payment gateway that is integrated into the mobile app. A certain percentage of the amount charged is automatically deposited to Charge Providers' account to complete the charge sharing process.
Charge Location Finder:
(Please Refer to
The charge location finder is further enhanced via satellite GPS or WiFi or Bluetooth, depending on the location of the vehicle to the charging unit. The availability is noted on the mobile app when the signal is sent via WiFi or GPS that a charge unit is available. This is achieved by adding sensors and a WiFi enabled micro-controller (such as Raspberry Pi) mounted on the charging unit.
The Bluetooth device has embedded chipset that transmits range of 100 meter, the range is amplified further by placing the Bluetooth in a mesh design among different EV charge units. The signal from the charge unit (GPS or WiFi or Bluetooth) interacts with the signal of the Electric vehicle, it negotiates the best price among other charging stations by an automated pricing mechanism that uses a pre-defined price threshold set by the charge providers and rules algorithm that is applied dynamically in real time integrated into the mobile app. It also checks for availability for the nearest charging location so user don't have to wait in line to get their vehicle charged and it directs user to those locations via Google map.
Price and Availability of the Charging Unit:
(Please Refer to
To add further seamless integration, the sensors in the charging unit sends the signal of its availability and pricing via microcontroller board automatically with the electric vehicle's charging unit so when charge in the electric vehicle reaches a certain threshold, it engages the charge locater app and connects with the nearest charging unit for the available best price for the EV owner and uses google map to the charge unit location to charge the EV.
Smart Charge Infrastructure with IoT: Authenticating Charge Usage and Data Collection:
(Please Refer to
In a smart EV charging system, the required tasks that controller of a charging unit performs are: track users, queue charging, take payment, track power consumption, allocate resources, etc. The implementation of a smart EV charging system requires user sign up through a mobile app, selects their vehicle ID and the charging port the vehicle will plug into at the charging station so that the charging unit can send that information to the central server via cloud and back to the controller at the charging port to initialize the charge sequence.
This is achieved using IoT flow which is essentially a microcontroller board such as Raspberry Pi alongside embedded sensors in the charging unit that collects charging data and uses IoT Gateway to send the data over Cloud via GPS or WiFi. The charge sequence and queuing will depend on the algorithms implemented in the server. The battery state of charge is also obtained via micro-controller board with sensors in the charging unit and the data is sent over the cloud to the central server for data analysis.
Charge Usage Predictability Using Machine Learning and AI:
Data collected by the IoT flow which is using a micro-controller board and sensors and sending data using GPS or WiFi are analyzed. Some of the data collected are: state of charge of the battery data, charge usage pattern with respect to vehicle type, environmental health of the charging unit, etc. These data are trained using machine learning and AI time series prediction model. This model generates predictability of the Charge Usage demand in a Charging infrastructure. The model can also generate information as to the optimal dynamic scheduling of the charging units which in turn saves money for charging infrastructure management.
The data generated from the AI model is also useful for wider grid stabilization. The dynamic scheduling of EV charging can be done using the IoT flow to turn on or off the charging sequence via micro-controller remotely. The environment health data of the charging unit can be used for preventive maintenance. The performance of the charging unit is fed into the AI model, which can predict maintenance failures ahead of time and schedule maintenance accordingly.
Payment Integration Using Block Chain
(Please Refer to
By using an IoT gateway client software at the charging pole which establishes direct connection to the ethereum blockchain in the back-end via GPS or WiFi and uses a smart phone app to communicate with the payment interface. When EV charge is initialized, the payment gateway is accessed and it gets processed when the charge is complete. The blockchain can manage and record all of the payment and charging data, a fully automated authentication ledger system which gives a solution for charging and billing without centralized system or middle man.
This makes EV charging payment process very easy, efficient, secured and transparent for EV owners, EV charging station managers and it is specially applicable for peer to peer EV charging network. This solution enables Electric Vehicles to be in blockchain system through smart contracts to automatically pay the charging station thus making it more efficient. It sets the stage for machine to machine autonomously exchanging service and value.
Claims
The invention herewith . . .
Number | Date | Country | |
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62609283 | Dec 2017 | US |