Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to systems and methods for electric vehicle charging.
Electric vehicles are becoming more widely used, and the need for electric vehicle charging stations is increasing. Electric vehicle drivers may need assistance in finding and using available electric vehicle charging stations, and electric vehicle charging stations may need to accommodate multiple vehicles at different times.
A method for reserving electric vehicle charging stations may include causing presentation, by at least one processor of a first device, of a mobile application at a second device; receiving, by the at least one processor, a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging station; identifying, by the at least one processor, a first available electric vehicle charging station; causing presentation, by the at least one processor, of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging station at the second device, using the mobile application; receiving, by the at least one processor, a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station; and sending, by the at least one processor, based on the second user request, a command to the first available electric vehicle charging station to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station for a user from which the second user request was received.
A system for reserving electric vehicle charging stations may include electric vehicle charging stations; and memory coupled to at least one processor of a first device, the at least one processor configured to: cause presentation of a mobile application at a second device; receive a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging station of the electric vehicle charging stations; identify a first available electric vehicle charging station of the electric vehicle charging stations; cause presentation of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging station at the second device, using the mobile application; receive a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station; and send, based on the second user request, a command to the first available electric vehicle charging station to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station for a user from which the second user request was received.
A device for reserving electric vehicle charging stations may include memory coupled to at least one processor of a device, the at least one processor configured to: cause presentation of a mobile application at a second device; receive a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging station; identify a first available electric vehicle charging station; cause presentation of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging station at the second device, using the mobile application; receive a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station; and send, based on the second user request, a command to the first available electric vehicle charging station to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging station for a user from which the second user request was received.
A method for distributing power to multiple electrical vehicles using charging ports at a charging station may include detecting a number of electrical vehicles concurrently connected to charging ports of a charging station, wherein the charging ports are serially connected; dividing an available amperage of the charging station by the number of electrical vehicles to generate a first respective amperage to distribute to each of the electrical vehicles via the charging ports; identifying a user request to boost the first respective amperage distributed to a first electrical vehicle of the number of electrical vehicles, via a first charging port of the charging ports, to a first amperage above the first respective amperage; subtracting the first amperage from the available amperage to generate a remaining available amperage in addition to the first amperage; dividing the remaining available amperage of the charging station by the number of electrical vehicles minus the first electrical vehicle to generate a second respective amperage to distribute to each of the electrical vehicles, except the first electrical vehicle, via the charging ports except for the first charging port; and distributing the first amperage to the first charging port while distributing the second respective amperage to the charging ports except for the first charging port.
A retractable electrical vehicle charging device, wherein a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is configured to retract while a button on a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is pressed.
A retractable electrical vehicle charging device, wherein a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is configured to retract when a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is docked.
A retractable electrical vehicle charging device comprising a sensor and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: detect when a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device has not been connected to a vehicle for a period of time; and cause a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device to retract based on the detection.
Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, and the like, for enhancing electric vehicle chargers and reserving electric vehicle charging stations.
As the use of electric vehicles (EVs) increases, so does the need for EV charging stations. EV drivers may need assistance in finding nearby EV charging stations, particularly those with availability. However, even if an EV charging station is available when an EV driver identifies it, the EV charging station may become unavailable by the time the EV arrives (e.g., because another EV may arrive first to use the EV charging station).
EV charging stations also may need to distribute power concurrently to multiple EVs at a time based on an available power and existing load on the grid, with the demand varying based on the number of vehicles concurrently using a charging station and the amount of charge needed per vehicle. Some EV users may demand more power to more quickly charge their EVs at a given time than other EV users at a charging location.
EV drivers may need assistance in estimating how long their EV may take to charge, and the charging time may vary based on factors such as the current charge of an EV battery and the electrical load being consumed concurrently by other vehicles at a charging station, the available power at the charging location, and the load on the grid.
In one or more embodiments, a mobile application may facilitate EV charging station reservations and payments. A user may identify an EV charging station with the mobile application, which may indicate whether there is an available charging station or will be an available charging station within an amount of time. EV drivers may reserve an available charging station for a period of time so that the EV drivers do not need to wait (at least longer than a time presented to the user via the mobile application) for an available charging station. The mobile application may allow for pre- and post-payment of EV charging stations, user/EV customization, notifications regarding available charging stations, prices, etc., and vehicle registration. The number of reservations allowed at a given charging station may be capped, and the cap may vary based on the time of day, time of year, traffic conditions, weather, and the like. As referred to herein, a charging station may include one or more chargers (e.g., charging ports). When multiple chargers are at a charging station, the chargers may be linked in serial on a same electrical circuit.
In one or more embodiments, when an EV arrives at a charging station, the charging station may verify the identity of the EV and/or driver to ensure that charging stations are not taken by unreserved EVs in place of reserved EVs. When an unreserved EV arrives at a charging station that has not been reserved, the unreserved EV may be allowed to connect to and receive power from the charging station. When an unreserved EV arrives at a charging station that has been reserved, the charging station may prevent power distribution to the unreserved EV to ensure that the charging station remains available for a reserved EV. Charging stations may use lighting or other indicators to communicate to a driver or EV that the charging station is available or reserved. The charging station availability may be indicated using the mobile application as well.
In one or more embodiments, the charging station dynamically may adjust the individual loads distributed to each connected EV based on the available overall load, the number of EVs, the charge needed for each EV, whether an EV has reserved the charging station, whether the EV has paid a premium for faster charging, and the like.
In one or more embodiments, the charging station may predict the amount of time needed to charge an EV. As a driver's vehicle is being charged, the mobile application may offer to the driver, via a predictive analysis on expected status of the charging, when the vehicle will be 80% and/or 100% charged, etc. The predicted charging status may be continuously updated based on conditions (e.g., other vehicles expected to arrive, new vehicles that have arrived, existing vehicles nearing full charge or expectation of any vehicles departing, and any other conditions that may speed up or slow down a charge). Additional analysis can be provided to depict historical data for a charger based on times of day or historical patterns of use for a location. For example, a charging station may provide users a percentage increase in charge per hour based on the time the EV has been connected or is expected to connect to the charging station. Some chargers in public areas may historically have higher demand than others, thereby making a decision to select between different chargers easier.
In one or more embodiments, to facilitate the EV charging station rental (e.g., in contrast with a pay-per-use PPU), a system may include a management system, a gateway, a mobile application, and on-board EV charging station hardware. The gateway may communicate with the management system, which may facilitate EV charging station rentals and charging boosts via the mobile application. For example, the gateway may use an OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) for communication with the management system. The gateway may instruct an EV charger what power to apply based on the power distribution determined by the management system for rented and PPU charging station uses. The EV charging station may manage the power distribution to one or more EVs based on the gateway's instructions, may lock and unlock the EV chargers, and may monitor power usage for metering purposes. The mobile application may communicate with the CSMS to present available EVs, estimated charging times, and prices, and to allow users to select EV charging stations to rent and boost, and to facilitate payments for EV charging stations. The gateway may provide a software-based load-management for the EV charging stations without requiring additional EV charging station hardware. For any user account, the management system may manage boost, cost, duration, rentals, property commissions, and mark-ups based on cost from an energy supplier, for example.
In one or more embodiments, the gateway may synchronize communication between the EV chargers and the management system (e.g., using OCPP as the communication protocol). In this manner, the management system may not communicate directly with the EV chargers. Instead, the gateway may receive traffic from the EV chargers and route the traffic to and from the management system. The gateway also may perform power management and load balancing (e.g., important for the boost function). The gateway may receive mobile application requests, via the management system, and perform the corresponding function for the relevant EV chargers, such as changing the load balanced across the charging bank and allowing one charger to charge at maximum output when using boost.
In one or more embodiments, the mobile application may communicate with the management system, but not the gateway. The mobile application may allow for opt-in commands, such as boost and EV charging station reservations (e.g., rentals and PPU). The mobile application may display charger availability and status in near real-time, and may use wireless communications such as near field communication to authenticate a user and unlock a charger.
In one or more embodiments, the management system may perform charger onboarding and registration (e.g., as part of a charger installation and maintenance). The management system may provide account onboarding (e.g., for rental premises, hospitality, commercial and public parking, and the like). The management system may manage boost cost and duration, and charging station reservation duration, at an account level. The management system may manage any commission payment to be made to a property or real estate investment trust (REIT). The management system may manage price markups on PPU usage. The management system may manage an EV charger type (e.g., rental or PPU) at an account level and/or charger level. The management system may allow multiple rental users to share rented EV spaces. The management system may manage EV reporting (e.g., to users, owners, government entities, etc. in accordance with relevant privacy laws). The management system may manage billing statements for EV users even though the billing may occur outside of the management system. The management system may manage service tickets to report faults and needed maintenance at the EV charging stations.
In one or more embodiments, the EV charger may include a retraction mechanism and retraction activation. The retraction mechanism may include a mechanical means, such as a leaf or coiled spring (e.g., 360 degree locking tooth spindle, only locking on outbound, at any position), a cam-action, piston, hand crank, or foot pump. The retraction mechanism may be motorized and may be adapted for use with heavy gauge cable. The retraction may include a mechanism to sense tension/resistance and stop retraction—for example: stop retraction if the cable is kinked, the cable is twisted or caught under a tire, or wrapped around the stand or someone's foot. Retraction may be activated by pushing a button on the handle with a switch (e.g., only retracts as long as the button is pressed). Retraction may be activated by docking the handle. Retraction may be activated by logic-based on sensor data and/or a timing mechanism—if someone drops the handle and drives away—the charger senses that the handle is not hooked up to a vehicle and retracts on its own after a set period of time/vehicle leaves/user pays. The retraction may occur automatically after a predetermined period, once docked. As the cable is pulled out, there may be minimal resistance in the internal spring. When the cable is plugged back into the charging station, an internal motor may wind the cable up.
In one or more embodiments, the mounting system for the EV charging station may be a dual-mounted pedestal with a swing-away wall mount. A spring or motor may provide a load force and may pull in a cable of the charger. To make the cable easier to pull out of the reel, the charging station may be mounted on a hinge with an internal spring that would allow the charging station to pivot away from the wall to which it may be mounted. When the cable is returned (e.g., reeled in), the internal spring may cause the charging station to hinge back to its original position. To make it easier to pull the cable out of the reel, the charging station may be mounted 90 degrees to the wall (e.g., rather than parallel to the wall).
In one or more embodiments, the EV charging station may include lighting or other indication of the charger status (e.g., available/unavailable, reserved/unreserved, estimated charging time remaining, etc.).
The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in greater detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in
Referring to
In one or more embodiments, when the EV charging station 502 is part of a hotel property, the EV charging station 502 may be unlocked by a room key instead of the mobile application, whether the room key is digital on the device 504 or is a separate fob or tag, for example.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Referring to
As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Compared with
When the third EV 1214 finishes its charge, the EV charging bank 1200 may redistribute the amps previously used by the third EV 1214 to the first and second EVs 1210 and 1212, increasing the charge provided to the first and second EVs 1210 and 1212 (e.g., from 20 amps to 40 amps each).
In
Referring to
Still referring to
In one or more embodiments, the charging station and/or mobile application may have access to data indicative of charging demand at any charging station at different times. Based on the time of day, day of week, traffic conditions, EVs known to be in a given area (e.g., based on user consent and/or data collected in accordance with relevant laws), the charging station and/or mobile application may estimate availability and charging durations, and may use the estimates to allow users to reserve charging stations, to direct drivers to charging stations, to offer incentives to use or not use charging stations, to vary prices of charging an EV, and the like.
Referring to
In one or more embodiments, the manner in which the EV charging stations of the EV charging banks of
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
When the one or more remote systems 2708 receive requests from the mobile application to reserve an EV charging station at an EV charging bank, the one or more remote systems 2708 may send an indication of such request to the respective gateway of the charging bank controlling the reserved EV charger, including information about the user(s) allowed to use the reserved EV charging station, the start time, end time, and duration of the reservation, authorized accounts (e.g., tied to a user, vehicle, rewards account for a retailer, or the like), and whether a boost has been requested (e.g., a requested amount of power to provide to the reserved EV charging station). The gateway may receive the information from the one or more remote systems 2708 and send commands to its charging stations to increase and/or decrease power distributed by the charging stations (e.g., as described with respect to
The devices 2702 may provide their data to the one or more remote systems 2708 so that when the devices 2702 attempt to access the mobile application, the one or more remote systems 2708 may verify a user's account and vehicle, identify available charging stations and their prices, predict availability of charging station, and present options for reservations, charging boosts, and the like. The devices 2702 may be used to authenticate a user to an EV charging station and authorize use of the EV charging station at an EV charging bank (e.g., as shown in
In one or more embodiments, the communication between the gateways 2710 and 2712 and the one or more remote devices 2708 may use the OCPP or another communication protocol.
In one or more embodiments, an EV charger reservation using the mobile application may be tied to a rewards account. For example, when the EV charging bank 2704 is at a retailer or hotel that offers a rewards account for users, the authorization to the EV charging station to unlock the EV charging station for use may represent an authorization of the rewards account used to make the reservation. In this manner, some EV charging banks and/or charging stations of a charging bank may be limited to rewards accounts at certain times.
In one or more embodiments, the one or more remote devices 2708 may be integrated with a residential/guest ledger (e.g., guestfolio at a hotel). In this manner, the EV charging may be linked to a user's bill for a hotel, apartment, or the like.
Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, OCPP, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi-tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, sixth generation (6G) mobile networks, 3GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks. The communication between the devices 2702, the one or more remote systems 2708, the charging station 2704, and/or the charging station 2706 may use any of the communications networks and techniques described above.
At block 2802, a device (or system, e.g., the one or more remote systems 2708 of
At block 2804, the device may receive a first user request from the mobile application on the second device to identify available electric vehicle charging stations. The user who provides the first user request may consent to providing device and/or EV location data so that the device may determine which EV charging stations are nearby and available, and/or which EV charging stations may be on a route of the vehicle, and/or which EV charging stations may be available at a later time.
At block 2806, the device may identify the available EV charging stations based on location data of the user and location and use data of the EV charging stations. The device may receive charging data from gateways of respective EV charging banks (e.g., the gateway 2710 of the charging bank 2704, the gateway 2712 of the charging bank 2706). The charging data may include information regarding which charging stations are being used and/or available, how long an EV charging station in use has been in use, the amps provided to the EV charging stations, which users and accounts have been authenticated to and authorized by the EV charging stations, and the like.
At block 2808, the device may cause the other device to present, using the mobile application, available EV charging stations as identified at block 2806.
At block 2810, the device may receive a second user request from the mobile application on the other device to reserve one of the EV charging stations at a particular location and time.
At block 2812, the device may reserve the selected EV charging station, based on the second user request, by sending a command to the selected EV charging bank to reserve a charging station for the user (e.g., identified by a user account and/or vehicle identifier). The EV charging bank may send commands to its charging stations to distribute the power (e.g., as described with respect to
At block 2852, a device (or system, e.g., the gateway 2710 of
At block 2854, the device may receive charging data from the EV charging bank, such as which charging stations and the charging bank are in use or available, the amount of charge being provided to vehicles using the charging bank, and the like.
At block 2856, the device may send the charging data to the management system. In this manner, the device may not communicate directly with the user's device or application used to reserve the EV charging bank.
At block 2858, the device may receive, from the management system, a second indication of an application-originated reservation of a first EV charging station of the EV charging bank. For example, based on the charging data, the management system may present to a user device, via the application, available charging stations including the first EV charging station. When a user reserves the first EV charging station with the application, the reservation is facilitated by the management system and communicated to the device for control of the EV charging bank.
At block 2860, the device may determine, based on the charging data, an amount of amperage to distribute to the first EV charging station for the application-originated reservation. The amount of amperage may depend on the number of EV charging stations using the EV charging bank during the time of the reservation and the amount of amperage that the EV charging bank is capable of providing. The amount of amperage also may depend on whether the reservation and/or any other uses of the EV charging bank include a boost.
At block 2862, the device may send, to the EV charging bank, an instruction to distribute the amount of amperage to the first EV charging station based on authentication of the user of the reservation. When the user authenticates to the first charging station, the EV charging bank may control distribution of amperage to the EV using the first EV charging bank, and may adjust amperage provided to other EVs using the EV charging bank if needed.
It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.
I/O device 2930 may also include an input device (not shown), such as an alphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys for communicating information and/or command selections to the processors 2902-2906. Another type of user input device includes cursor control, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to the processors 2902-2906 and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.
System 2900 may include a dynamic storage device, referred to as main memory 2916, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readable devices coupled to the processor bus 2912 for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processors 2902-2906. Main memory 2916 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the processors 2902-2906. System 2900 may include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other static storage device coupled to the processor bus 2912 for storing static information and instructions for the processors 2902-2906. The system outlined in
According to one embodiment, the above techniques may be performed by computer system 2900 in response to processor 2904 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 2916. These instructions may be read into main memory 2916 from another machine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 2916 may cause processors 2902-2906 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure may include both hardware and software components.
A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media may take the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media and may include removable data storage media, non-removable data storage media, and/or external storage devices made available via a wired or wireless network architecture with such computer program products, including one or more database management products, web server products, application server products, and/or other additional software components. Examples of removable data storage media include Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory (DVD-ROM), magneto-optical disks, flash drives, and the like. Examples of non-removable data storage media include internal magnetic hard disks, SSDs, and the like. The one or more memory devices 2906 may include volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.).
Computer program products containing mechanisms to effectuate the systems and methods in accordance with the presently described technology may reside in main memory 2916, which may be referred to as machine-readable media. It will be appreciated that machine-readable media may include any tangible non-transitory medium that is capable of storing or encoding instructions to perform any one or more of the operations of the present disclosure for execution by a machine or that is capable of storing or encoding data structures and/or modules utilized by or associated with such instructions. Machine-readable media may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more executable instructions or data structures.
Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which are described in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.
The following are example embodiments of the present disclosure and are not mean to be limiting.
Example 1 may include a method for reserving electric vehicle charging ports, the method comprising: causing presentation, by at least one processor of a first device, of a mobile application at a second device; receiving, by the at least one processor, a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging port of an electric vehicle charging station comprising multiple charging ports; identifying, by the at least one processor, a first available electric vehicle charging port; causing presentation, by the at least one processor, of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging port at the second device, using the mobile application; receiving, by the at least one processor, a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port; and sending, by the at least one processor, based on the second user request, a command to the electric vehicle charging station to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port for a user from which the second user request was received.
Example 2 may include the method of example 1, further comprising: receiving, by the electric vehicle charging station, the command; and presenting, by electric vehicle charging station, based on the command, an indication that the first available electric vehicle charging port is reserved.
Example 3 may include the method of example 2, further comprising: receiving, by the electric vehicle charging station during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determining, by the electric vehicle charging station, that the user attempt was not made by the user or is unassociated with a second electric vehicle of the user; and preventing, by the first available electric vehicle charging port, distribution of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 4 may include the method of example 2, further comprising: receiving, by the electric vehicle charging station during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determining, by the electric vehicle charging station, that the user attempt was made by the user or is associated with the first electric vehicle of the user; and causing distribution, by the electric vehicle charging station, of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 5 the method of example 1, further comprising: determining that the first electric vehicle charging port is unavailable at a time when the second user request is received; and generating an estimated time when the first electric vehicle charging port is to be available, wherein the indication indicates the estimated time, and wherein the reservation begins at the estimated time.
Example 6 may include the method of example 1, further comprising: generating, based on a battery status of an electric vehicle associated with the user, an estimated time duration needed to fully charge a battery of the electric vehicle.
Example 7 may include the method of example 6, wherein the estimated time is based on a number of electric vehicles estimated to be using the multiple charging ports of the electric vehicle charging station when the electric vehicle is estimated to arrive at the electric vehicle charging station.
Example 8 may include the method of example 1, further comprising: detecting, by the electric vehicle charging station, a number of electric vehicles connected to the multiple charging ports of the electric vehicle charging station; determining, by the electric vehicle charging station, a power distribution for each of the connected electric vehicles based on an available current; and causing distribution, by the electric vehicle charging station, of current to the connected electric vehicles based on the power distribution.
Example 9 may include the method of example 1, further comprising: receiving a third user request from the mobile application to distribute more current to a first electric vehicle of the user while charging the first electric vehicle than to a second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 10 may include the method of example 9, further comprising: reducing, by the electric vehicle charging station, current distributed to the second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 11 may include a system for reserving electric vehicle charging ports, the system comprising: electric vehicle charging stations each comprising multiple charging ports; and memory coupled to at least one processor of a first device, the at least one processor configured to: cause presentation of a mobile application at a second device; receive a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging port of the electric vehicle charging stations; identify a first available electric vehicle charging port of the electric vehicle charging stations; cause presentation of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging port at the second device, using the mobile application; receive a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port; and send, based on the second user request, a command to an electric vehicle charging station comprising the first available electric vehicle charging port to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port for a user from which the second user request was received.
Example 12 may include the system of example 11, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is configured to: receive the command; and present, based on the command, an indication that the first available electric vehicle charging port is reserved.
Example 13 may include the system of example 12, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is further configured to: receive, during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determine that the user attempt was not made by the user or is unassociated with a second electric vehicle of the user; and prevent distribution of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 14 may include the system of example 12, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is further configured to: receive, during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determine that the user attempt was made by the user or is associated with the first electric vehicle of the user; and cause distribution of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 15 may include the system of example 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine that the first electric vehicle charging port is unavailable at a time when the second user request is received; and generate an estimated time when the first electric vehicle charging port is to be available, wherein the indication indicates the estimated time, and wherein the reservation begins at the estimated time.
Example 16 may include the system of example 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generating, based on a battery status of an electric vehicle associated with the user, an estimated time duration needed to fully charge a battery of the electric vehicle.
Example 17 may include the system of example 16, wherein the estimated time is based on a number of electric vehicles estimated to be using the vehicle charging station when the electric vehicle is estimated to arrive at the electric vehicle charging station.
Example 18 may include the system of example 11, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is further configured to: detect a number of electric vehicles connected to charging ports of the electric vehicle charging station; determine a power distribution for each of the connected electric vehicles based on an available current; and cause distribution of current to the connected electric vehicles via the charging ports based on the power distribution.
Example 19 may include the system of example 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a third user request from the mobile application to distribute more current to a first electric vehicle of the user while charging the first electric vehicle than to a second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 20 may include the system of example 19, wherein the electric vehicle charging station is further configured to: reduce current distributed to the second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 21 may include a device for reserving electric vehicle charging ports, the device comprising memory coupled to at least one processor of a device, the at least one processor configured to: cause presentation of a mobile application at a second device; receive a first user request from the mobile application to identify an available electric vehicle charging port; identify a first available electric vehicle charging port of an electric vehicle charging station comprising multiple charging ports; cause presentation of an indication of the first available electric vehicle charging port at the second device, using the mobile application; receive a second user request from the mobile application to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port; and send, based on the second user request, a command to the electric vehicle charging station to reserve the first available electric vehicle charging port for a user from which the second user request was received.
Example 22 may include the device of example 21, wherein at least one processor of the electric vehicle charging station is configured to: receive the command; and present, based on the command, an indication that the first available electric vehicle charging port is reserved.
Example 23 may include the device of example 22, wherein the at least one processor of the electric vehicle charging station is configured to: receive, during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determine that the user attempt was not made by the user or is unassociated with a second electric vehicle of the user; and prevent distribution of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 24 may include the device of example 22, wherein the at least one processor of the electric vehicle charging station is configured to: receive, during the reservation, an indication of a user attempt to charge a first electric vehicle using the first available electric vehicle charging port; determine that the user attempt was made by the user or is associated with the first electric vehicle of the user; and cause distribution of current to the first electric vehicle via the first available electric vehicle charging port.
Example 25 may include the device of example 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine that the first available electric vehicle charging port is unavailable at a time when the second user request is received; and generate an estimated time when the first available electric vehicle charging port is to be available, wherein the indication indicates the estimated time, and wherein the reservation begins at the estimated time.
Example 26 may include the device of example 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generate, based on a battery status of an electric vehicle associated with the user, an estimated time duration needed to fully charge a battery of the electric vehicle.
Example 27 may include the device of example 26, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, wherein the estimated time is based on a number of electric vehicles estimated to be using the electric vehicle charging station when the electric vehicle is estimated to arrive at the electric vehicle charging station.
Example 28 may include the device of example 21, wherein at least one processor of the electric vehicle charging station is configured to: detect a number of electric vehicles connected to the multiple charging ports of the electric vehicle charging station; determine a power distribution for each of the connected electric vehicles based on an available current; and cause distribution of current to the connected electric vehicles based on the power distribution.
Example 29 may include the device of example 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a third user request from the mobile application to distribute more current to a first electric vehicle of the user while charging the first electric vehicle than to a second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 30 may include the device of example 29, wherein at least one processor of the first available electric vehicle charging station is configured to: reduce current distributed to the second electric vehicle while the first electric vehicle is charging.
Example 31 may include a method for distributing power to multiple electrical vehicles using charging ports at a charging station, the method comprising: detecting a number of electrical vehicles concurrently connected to charging ports of a charging station, wherein the charging ports are serially connected; dividing an available amperage of the charging station by the number of electrical vehicles to generate a first respective amperage to distribute to each of the electrical vehicles via the charging ports; identifying a user request to boost the first respective amperage distributed to a first electrical vehicle of the number of electrical vehicles, via a first charging port of the charging ports, to a first amperage above the first respective amperage; subtracting the first amperage from the available amperage to generate a remaining available amperage in addition to the first amperage; dividing the remaining available amperage of the charging station by the number of electrical vehicles minus the first electrical vehicle to generate a second respective amperage to distribute to each of the electrical vehicles, except the first electrical vehicle, via the charging ports except for the first charging port; and distributing the first amperage to the first charging port while distributing the second respective amperage to the charging ports except for the first charging port.
Example 32 may include a retractable electrical vehicle charging device, wherein a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is configured to retract while a button on a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is pressed.
Example 33 may include a retractable electrical vehicle charging device, wherein a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is configured to retract when a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device is docked.
Example 34 may include a retractable electrical vehicle charging device comprising a sensor and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: detect when a handle of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device has not been connected to a vehicle for a period of time; and cause a cable of the retractable electrical vehicle charging device to retract based on the detection.
Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations together with all equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/407,080, filed Sep. 15, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63407080 | Sep 2022 | US |