Patent Application
20230302949
The disclosure relates generally to management methods and systems for electric vehicle charging stations, and, more particularly to electric vehicle charging station management methods and systems in the case of roaming charging.
Recently, with the rising awareness of environmental protection and electric vehicle technology advances, the development of electric vehicles powered by electrical energy to replace traditional vehicles powered by fossil fuels has gradually become an important goal in the automotive field, thus making electric vehicles become more and more popular. In order to increase the range and willingness to use electric vehicles, many countries or cities have begun to set up charging stations in public places to provide electricity to electric vehicles, and have also begun to plan the deployment of a large number of charging stations in urban areas or scenic areas, so as to make the charging of electric vehicles more convenient.
Currently, different electric vehicle charging stations can be set up and managed by different charging station operators. To provide a more user-friendly electric vehicle charging experience, many operators of electric vehicle charging stations have developed applications on mobile phones that allow users to search for electric vehicle charging stations, start charging, stop charging, and view charging progress and other functions. Individual charging station operators can invite users to become members and offer a variety of charging options to meet the needs of different users.
As electric vehicle users may carry out long-distance or cross-regional movement, such as traveling, and there may only be EV charging stations of a particular charging station operator in a particular area. As a result, it is often the case that members of one charging station operator goes to another charging station operator's electric vehicle charging station to charge their vehicles. In view of this, the industry refers to this behavior as “roaming charging”. Conventionally, a member of charging station operator A can use the application of a charging station operator A to activate the electric vehicle charging station of a charging station operator B. Users must identify the operator data and electric vehicle charging station information by themselves, and enter them into the application to request charging permission from the backend platform of the charging station operator A. The foregoing process is very complicated and cumbersome process for ordinary users, which in turn makes roaming charging difficult for the users.
In an electric vehicle charging station management method for roaming charging, a mobile device first executes an application program to obtain identification data of an electric vehicle charging station, and transmits charging request data at least including the identification data to a first server corresponding to the application program through a first network. The first server determines a charging station operator of the electric vehicle charging station according to the charging request data, and transmits the charging request data to a second server of the charging station operator through a second network. The second server transmits a charging start instruction to the electric vehicle charging station through a third network in response to the charging request data, so that the electric vehicle charging station starts to perform a charging operation.
An embodiment of an electric vehicle charging station management system for roaming charging comprises at least one electric vehicle charging station, a mobile device, a first server, and a second server. The electric vehicle charging station is electrically coupled with an electric vehicle. The mobile device executes an application program to obtain identification data of an electric vehicle charging station, and transmits charging request data at least including the identification data to a first server corresponding to the application program through a first network. The first server determines a charging station operator of the electric vehicle charging station according to the charging request data, and transmits the charging request data to a second server of the charging station operator through a second network. The second server transmits a charging start instruction to the electric vehicle charging station through a third network in response to the charging request data, so that the electric vehicle charging station starts to perform a charging operation.
In some embodiments, a scanning function of the application program is used to scan a two-dimensional barcode corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station, so as to obtain identification data of the electric vehicle charging station. The first server parses the identification data in the charging request data according to a coding logic to determine the charging station operator corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station.
In some embodiments, the first server obtains a charging station code of the electric vehicle charging station and operator data corresponding to the charging station operator from the identification data according to the coding logic.
In some embodiments, the mobile device further obtains operator data of the electric vehicle charging station, and integrates the operator data into the charging request data, and sends the charging request data to the first server corresponding to the application program.
In some embodiments, the first network is a wireless network provided by a charging station operator of the electric vehicle charging station, and the mobile device obtains the operator data of the charging station operator through the wireless network.
In some embodiments, the mobile device obtains a geographic location through a positioning unit, and determines the operator data based on the geographic location and a charging station database.
In some embodiments, the mobile device uses a wireless receiving unit to receive a broadcast signal through a wireless network, and determines the operator data according to the broadcast signal.
In some embodiments, the mobile device obtains a geographic location through a positioning unit, integrates the geographic location into the charging request data, and sends the charging request data to the first server corresponding to the application program. The first server determines the charging station operator of the electric vehicle charging station according to the geographic location and a charging station database.
In some embodiments, the second server receives charging data corresponding to the charging operation from the electric vehicle charging station through the third network. The second server calculates a charging fee according to the charging data, and sends the charging fee to the first server through the second network.
Electric vehicle charging station management methods for roaming charging may take the form of a program code embodied in a tangible media. When the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed method.
The invention will become more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. It should be understood that the embodiments may be realized in software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.
It is noted that the user can connect the electric vehicle EV1 and the electric vehicle charging station 112 to each other, such as inserting a charging gun into the charging port of the electric vehicle to send a charging request corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station 112 to use the electric vehicle charging station 112 to perform a charging operation for the electric vehicle EV1. Similarly, the user can connect the electric vehicle EV2 and the electric vehicle charging station 114 to each other, such as inserting a charging gun into the charging port of the electric vehicle to send a charging request corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station 114 to use the electric vehicle charging station 114 to perform a charging operation for the electric vehicle EV2. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the second server 130 may directly or indirectly receive a charging request from a mobile device 140 of the owner of the electric vehicle EV1, and generate a charging authorization command based on the charging request and transmit it to the electric vehicle charging station 112 via the third network 120, so that the electric vehicle charging station 112 outputs power to the electric vehicle EV1, such as an electric scooter or an electric car, which is electrically connected to it, or prohibits the first charging station 112 from outputting power to the electric vehicle EV1. It is reminded that, in some embodiments, the charging request may be accompanied by an identity authentication and/or a payment mechanism, and the charging authorization command will only be generated after the identity authentication and/or payment mechanism is completed. In some embodiments, the user of the electric vehicle EV1 can use his/her mobile device to download and install an application to generate a charging request through the user interface of the application. In some embodiments, the user can scan a Quick Response Code (QR code) on the electric vehicle charging station 112 through the scanning function of the application to generate the above-mentioned charging request, thereby starting a charging operation. In some embodiments, the user can select a specific charging station through the application and execute an activation function to generate the above-mentioned charging request, thereby starting a charging operation. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the owner of the electric vehicle EV1 can use an RFID card to approach an induction area (not shown in
It is noted that, the mobile device 140 may be corresponded to the owner of the electric vehicle, which can be any electronic device capable of Internet access, such as mobile devices, such as mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, global positioning systems, and notebook computers. In some embodiments, the mobile device 140 can receive status information and notifications of the corresponding charging operation from the cloud management server via the network. In some embodiments, the status information and notification may include notifying that the electric vehicle has stopped charging, notifying that the vehicle needed to be moved, and/or notifying that the charging gun of the electric vehicle charging device has been disconnected from the electric vehicle, and so on. It is noted that, in some embodiments, when the owner of the electric vehicle EV1 is a member of the second charging station operator, the mobile device 140 can receive status information and notifications of the corresponding charging operation from the first server 160 corresponding to the second charging station operator via the first network 150.
It is understood that, in some embodiments, the second server 130 can perform a load adjustment operation for the electric vehicle charging stations according to at least one energy management scheme. Specifically, the second server 130 can generate an instruction and send the instruction to the respective electric vehicle charging stations (112, 114) via the third network 120 to control the electric vehicle charging station to output power for charging with a specified power parameter, such as a specified amperage, during a specific period of time to the electric vehicle connected to the station, or to prohibit the electric vehicle charging station from outputting power to the electric vehicle.
The electric vehicle charging station 200 at least comprises a storage unit 212, a network connection unit 214, a charging gun 216, a processing unit 218, and a card reading unit 220. The storage unit 212 may be a memory or a database for storing and recording related data. The data may be related information such as charging station ID of the electric vehicle charging station and charging requests. It should be noted that the aforementioned information is only example, and the invention is not limited thereto. The network connection unit 214 can use a network, such as a wired network, a telecommunications network, and a wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network, to receive, download, or update various parameters and information required for charging management operations. The charging gun 216 may include one or more charging connectors that meet the same charging interface specification or meet different charging interface specifications, and are electrically connected to the corresponding electric vehicle. The processing unit 218 can control the operations of related software and hardware in the electric vehicle charging station 200, and cooperate with the second server 130 to execute the electric vehicle charging station management method for roaming charging of the invention. Related details will be described later. It is noted that, in some embodiments, the processing unit 218 may be a general-purpose controller, a Micro-Control Unit, MCU, or a Digital Signal Processor, DSP, etc., to provide functions of data analysis, processing and calculation, but the present invention is not limited to this. In one embodiment, the processing unit 218 may use the network connection unit 214 to transmit the power state of the corresponding electric vehicle through a network for a cloud management server, such as the second server 130, for subsequent charging management. In another embodiment, the processing unit 218 can obtain the power parameter of a charging operation from the second server 130, determine the output power according to the power parameter received from the second server 130, and output the power to at least one electric vehicle through the charging gun 216 to perform the charging operation. The card reading unit 220 may be an RFID reading unit for sensing information of a physical card, such as RFID card. The information sensed from the RFID card may be a card identification code of the physical card.
It is understood that, the electric vehicle charging station 200 has an upper power limit value and a lower power limit value. Specifically, the electric vehicle charging station 200 can use the upper power limit value as the power parameter at the highest to output power to the electric vehicle during a charging operation. On the other hand, the electric vehicle charging station 200 needs to use the lower power limit value as the power parameter at least to output power to the electric vehicle during a charging operation. It must be noted that, charging stations of different brands and models may have different upper power limit values for output power and lower power limit values for output power. The present invention is not limited to any value, and the value may be different for different charging stations.
The storage unit 310 may be a memory comprising a database DB, which can store and record related data, such as various data of the electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, in some embodiments, the database DB may also record different users and corresponding user identification codes. In some embodiments, the database DB may record a coding logic. In some embodiments, the database DB may record an coding logic. The coding logic can be used to parse the identification data in the charging request data to determine the identification data of the EV charging station, and/or the corresponding charging station operator/operator data. Through the network connection unit 320, the server 300 can be coupled to and communicates with the electric vehicle charging stations via the network, such as a wired network, a telecommunications network, and a wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network, and transmits related data/signals/commands to different electric vehicle charging stations via the network to control whether the electric vehicle charging stations output power, and specify power parameters for outputting power to electric vehicles. On the other hand, through the network connection unit 320, the server 300 can also be coupled and communicates with the mobile device via the network, and transmit related data/signals/commands to the mobile device via the network. The processor 330 can control the operations of related software and hardware in the server 300, and execute the electric vehicle charging station management methods for roaming charging of the invention. The relevant details will be described later. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the processor 330 may be a general-purpose controller, a Micro-Control Unit, MCU, or a Digital Signal Processor, DSP, etc., to provide data analysis, processing, and calculation functions.
First, in step S410, a mobile device is used to execute an application program to obtain identification data corresponding to an electric vehicle charging station. It is noted that, in this embodiment, the electric vehicle charging station belongs to the first operator and is managed by a second server. The mobile device is a member corresponding to a second charging station operator, and can communicate with a first server through the network. Next, in step S420, the mobile device transmits charging request data including at least one identification data to the first server corresponding to the application program through a first network. In step S430, the first server determines a charging station operator (the first charging station operator) of the electric vehicle charging station according to the charging request data, and in step S440, sends the charging request data to the second server corresponding to the charging station operator (the first charging station operator). In step S450, the second server sends a charging start instruction to the electric vehicle charging station through a third network in response to the charging request data, so that the electric vehicle charging station starts to perform a charging operation. It is noted that, in some embodiments, when the charging operation is in progress, the electric vehicle charging station can continuously transmit the charging data corresponding to the charging operation, such as charging progress, charging fee, etc., to the second server, and the second server can transmit the charging data to the mobile device through the first server.
First, in step S610, a mobile device is used to execute an application program to obtain identification data corresponding to an electric vehicle charging station. Similarly, in this embodiment, the electric vehicle charging station belongs to a first operator and is managed by a second server. The mobile device is a member corresponding to a second charging station operator, and can communicate with a first server through the network. The mobile device can integrate the identification data into charging request data. In step S620, the mobile device obtains the operator data of the electric vehicle charging station, and integrates the operator data into the charging request data. Next, in step S630, the mobile device transmits the charging request data including at least the identification data and the operator data to the first server corresponding to the application program through a first network. In step S640, the first server determines a charging station operator (the first charging station operator) corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station according to the charging request data, and in step S650, sends the charging request data to the second server corresponding to the charging station operator (the first charging station operator). In step S660, the second server sends a charging start instruction to the electric vehicle charging station through a third network in response to the charging request data, so that the electric vehicle charging station starts to perform a charging operation. It is reminded that, similarly, when the charging operation is in progress, the electric vehicle charging station can continuously transmit the charging data corresponding to the charging operation, such as charging progress, charging fee, etc., to the second server, and the second server can transmit the charging data to the mobile device through the first server.
It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the geographic location can be sent to the first server for performing the operator determination. For example, after the mobile device obtains the geographic location through the positioning unit, the mobile device can integrate the geographic location into the charging request data, and send the charging request data to the first server corresponding to the application program. The first server can determine the charging station operator of the electric vehicle charging station according to the geographic location and a charging station database.
Therefore, the electric vehicle charging station management methods and systems for roaming charging of the present invention can provide management of electric vehicle charging station activation across charging station operators during roaming charging, thus reducing the cumbersome operation of the user in the traditional roaming charging situation, and improving the smoothness and satisfaction of the overall charging experience.
Electric vehicle charging station management methods for roaming charging, may take the form of a program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for executing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of a program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for executing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application specific logic circuits.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalent.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111110660 | Mar 2022 | TW | national |
