Electric Vehicle Charging Station Systems

Abstract

An electric vehicle charging station system has at least an EV charging station, the EV charging station including: a supply portion configured to supply electric energy to at least one vehicle battery; a computing device configured to manage the supply of electric energy to an electric vehicle; and a transaction module of a station application, which is stored in the computing device of the EV charging station and can be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station. The transaction module and other modules of or associated with the EV charging station or electric vehicle can utilize asymmetric cryptography and a peer-to-peer network and system to achieve secure supply of electric energy from the EV charging station to the electric vehicle, as well as recording of information about the station supplying electric energy to the vehicle.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 363,060, filed on March 25, 2019, and entitled “ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION SYSTEM,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Technical Field

[0003] At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to electric vehicle charging station systems, and more particularly to electric vehicle charging station systems using asymmetric cryptography and peer-to-peer networks and systems. Background Art

[0004] An electric vehicle charging station, also referred to as an EV charging station, is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electrical energy for recharging electric vehicles such as plug-in electric vehicles, including electric vehicles, neighborhood electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Some electric vehicles have an onboard converter that can be plugged into a standard power outlet or a large-capacity appliance outlet. Other electric vehicles may require or use a charging station that provides electrical conversion or monitoring. The site is also required when the vehicle travels longer distances. An EV charging station can support faster charging at a higher voltage and current than that available from a residential electric vehicle service device. Public EV charging stations are typically streetside facilities provided by electric companies, or located in retail shopping centers and operated by private companies.

[0005] Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public key cryptography, is a cryptographic system that uses a key pair: a public key that can be widely distributed, and a private key that is known only to the owner of the private key. Asymmetric cryptography provides authentication and encryption, in which the public key verifies that the holder of the paired private key sent a message, and in which only the holder of the paired private key can decrypt a message encrypted with the public key. In an asymmetric cryptography system, anyone can encrypt a message using the recipient's public key. The encrypted message can only be decrypted using the recipient's private key. Effective security requires that the private key be kept private, while the public key can be distributed publicly.

[0006] Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that divides tasks or workloads between peer computing devices. Peer computing devices can be equally powerful participants in an application. Peer computing devices are said to form a peer-to-peer network of nodes. Peer computing devices, as devices that operate independently of each other, make a portion of their resources, such as processing power, disk storage, or network bandwidth, directly available to other network participants without the need for central coordination by a server or other type of central computing device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The present disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description given below and the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] Figure 1 An example computing system is shown that can implement an electric vehicle charging station system using asymmetric cryptography and one or more peer-to-peer networks and systems in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 An example portion of an example EV charging station is shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 An example portion of an example electric vehicle is shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 is a flow chart of an example method performed by an example portion of an example EV charging station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example method performed by an example portion of an example electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 Example data included in an example communication sent from an example computing device of an example electric vehicle to an example computing device of an example EV charging station is shown, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 7 Example data included in an example communication sent from an example computing device at an EV charging station to an example computing device at an example electric vehicle is shown, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 8 A portion of an example block chain of blocks is shown, where each block contains information about an example EV charging station supplying electrical energy to an example electric vehicle.

[0016] Fig.9A An apparatus or non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for generating triples according to some embodiments is shown.

[0017] Fig. 9B An apparatus or non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for verifying triples and generating second-layer triples according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] At least some aspects of the present disclosure are directed to an electric vehicle charging station system using asymmetric cryptography and / or peer-to-peer networks and systems. In some examples, the system uses blocks of a blockchain to record information about instances in which an EV charging station supplies electrical energy to an electric vehicle.

[0019] In some embodiments, the system uses asymmetric cryptography for message exchanges between the vehicle and the charging station. The system may use certificates based on asymmetric cryptography to display the identity of the devices of the vehicle and the charging station. Also, the system may use a peer-to-peer network and system to maintain the integrity of the message exchanges between the EV charging station and the vehicle. For example, a block chain network and system may be used by some instances of the system.

[0020] The aforementioned features can be used to protect and maintain the integrity of transactions between vehicles and EV charging stations. The message exchange between these parties is a process that can be protected via a device identity component system. In some embodiments, the transaction records and / or states generated by the message exchange can be stored on a block chain. Therefore, the integrity of the record is protected by the block chain. Asymmetric cryptography can be used for mutual authentication between vehicles and charging stations, which can be seen in certificates, digital signatures on exchanged messages, and / or implementation schemes of device identity component systems. Each party has a public key from the other party of the mutual authentication. In the case of an activated reservation, for example, the two parties can accept each other's certificates. In addition, the exchange of certificates can confirm that each identity and the parties know each other and confirm that there is a reservation between the vehicle and the site, so that payment can be processed according to the reservation.

[0021] The device identity component system may be used for asymmetric cryptography. In such embodiments, the private key may be or may be based on a secret value called a unique device secret (UDS) that is injected during the manufacture of the vehicle's computing device and / or the EV charging station's computing device. Also, in some embodiments, the device identity component system may include a layer L0 that derives K by using a key derivative function (KDF). L0 , Fuse Derived Secret (FDS). In an algorithmic way, K L0= KDF[UDS, HASH("L1's identity")] Other layers (Lk) can provide sets of keys and certificates to the next layer (Lk+1). The layers are the layers of the device architecture starting with the immutable loader L0, followed by the device identity component system core L1, application firmware L2, operating system and application L k+1 Each layer can provide integrity to the next layer, and so on. And, each layer can verify the certificates that show the identity of the devices of the vehicle and the EV charging station.

[0022] Also, to avoid man-in-middle attacks, vehicle and EV charging station message exchanges may be packaged with charging status that occurs during the charging of the vehicle. A man-in-middle attack may occur when another vehicle approaches a station while a valid vehicle is authenticated to charge at the station. After the valid vehicle and station have authenticated each other to start a charging session, and in the middle of the session, another vehicle may connect to the station. This may cause the charging of the other vehicle to be paid for by the valid vehicle. To avoid this from happening, the valid vehicle and station may also periodically transmit signed messages during the session to avoid another vehicle charging using the accounting information of the valid vehicle. Also, each message from a valid vehicle may be distinguished by including a fresh factor in each message, so that another vehicle cannot simply record the message received from the valid vehicle and resend the message again and again and pretend to be a valid vehicle. Also, the message may be signed by the valid vehicle so that another vehicle cannot imitate the valid vehicle.

[0023] Also, one or more ledgers (e.g., one or more blocks of a blockchain) may be used to record messages exchanged between vehicles and stations. For example, each station may have its own ledger associated with it. Each ledger may be implemented by a blockchain so that each recorded message in the ledger may maintain its integrity via a hash feature of a block of the blockchain.

[0024] In some embodiments, each block of the block chain may present a message or messages sent by a vehicle or a station. Alternatively, each block of the block chain may present an instance of an electric energy supply transaction between a vehicle and a station. Each block may include a header with a hash of the previous block and its own hash. The hash itself may be the data of the block encoded or hashed into a Merkle tree, or some other algorithm may be used. Because each block has the hash of the previous block, the block cannot be invalidly replaced by an attacker, and the chain can maintain its integrity. The block may also have one or more instances of an electric energy supply transaction between one or more vehicles and one or more stations.

[0025] Figure 1An example computing system 100 is shown that can implement an electric vehicle charging station system using asymmetric cryptography and one or more peer-to-peer networks and systems according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. System 100 includes at least EV charging station 102, electric vehicle 104, one or more communication networks 118, additional vehicles such as vehicles 160 and 170, additional EV charging station 150, and at least one representative computing node of the peer-to-peer network such as computing node 182.

[0026] EV charging station 102 includes at least a supply portion 106, a charging station computing device 110, and a communication coupling 114 between the charging station computing device 110 and the supply portion 106, the charging station computing device having a vehicle charging application 120 including a blockchain module 122 and a transaction module 124. A power supply coupling 107 can physically connect the supply portion 106 of station 102 with a battery of a vehicle (e.g., battery 108 of electric vehicle 104).

[0027] The electric vehicle 104 includes at least a battery 108, a vehicle computing device 112, and a communication coupling 116 between the vehicle computing device 112 and the battery 108, the vehicle computing device having a vehicle charging application 140 including a blockchain module 122 and a transaction module 144. A power supply coupling 107 may physically connect a supply portion 106 of the station 102 with the battery 108. The connection may be via a wire, cable, or another type of medium for transmitting electrical energy to supply energy to charge the battery of the vehicle.

[0028] The communication network 118 includes at least a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, the Internet, and / or any combination thereof.

[0029] Each of vehicles 160 and 170 includes portions of an electric vehicle, such as computing devices 162 and 172 as shown. EV charging station 150 also includes computing device 152 as well as other portions of the EV charging station. The computing devices (e.g., computing devices 110, 112, 152, 162, and 172) and example typical computing nodes of peer-to-peer networks described herein, computing node 182, and / or any other computer systems or computing machines described herein may be personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, set-top boxes (STBs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, network appliances, servers, network routers, switches or bridges, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequentially or otherwise) specifying actions to be taken by the machine. In addition, although specific to Figure 1Each of the computing devices and computing nodes 182 shown in the figure illustrates a single machine, but the term "machine" shall also be construed to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute one (or more) sets of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies or operations discussed herein. And, Figure 1 Each of the illustrated computing devices (and other computing devices described herein) and computing nodes 182 may each include at least a bus and / or motherboard, one or more controllers (e.g., one or more CPUs), a main memory that may include a temporary data storage device, at least one type of network interface, a storage system that may include a permanent data storage device, and / or any combination thereof.

[0030] Figure 2 1 shows an example portion of an example EV charging station 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. EV charging station 200 can be communicatively coupled to network 118, as shown. In some embodiments, EV charging station 200 is a station 102 or Figure 1 EV charging station 200 includes at least bus 204, controller 206 (e.g., CPU), main memory 208, network interface 210, data storage system 212, power supply 214 or at least a connection to a power supply, and supply portion 216. Depending on the implementation, power supply interface 217 can physically couple supply portion 216 to Figure 3 314 and / or battery 316 of electric vehicle 300 are shown in FIG. Bus 204 communicatively couples controller 206, main memory 208, network interface 210, data storage system 212, and supply portion 216, all of which may be part of a charging station computing device (e.g., charging station computing device 110). EV charging station 200 includes a computer system that includes at least controller 206, main memory 208 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and data storage system 212, which communicate with each other via bus 204 (which may include multiple buses).

[0031] in other words, Figure 22 is a block diagram of an example EV charging station 200 having a computer system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may operate. In some embodiments, the computer system may include a set of instructions for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein when executed. In these embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked via network interface 210) to other machines in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, and / or the Internet (e.g., network 118). The machine may also operate in the capacity of a server or client machine in a client-server network environment as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment (e.g., the peer-to-peer network described herein) or as a server or client machine in a cloud computing infrastructure or environment.

[0032] Controller 206 represents one or more general purpose processing devices, such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, etc. More specifically, the processing device may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or a processor implementing other instruction sets, or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. Controller 206 may also be one or more special purpose processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, etc. Controller 206 is configured to execute instructions for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. Controller 206 may further include a network interface device such as a network interface 210 to communicate via one or more communication networks (e.g., network 118).

[0033] The data storage system 212 may include a machine-readable storage medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more instruction sets or software embodying any one or more methods or functions described herein. The instructions may also reside completely or at least partially within the main memory 208 and / or within the controller 206 during their execution by the computer system, the main memory 208 and the controller 206 also constituting a machine-readable storage medium. Although the memory, controller, and data storage device portions are shown in the example embodiments as each being a single portion, each portion should be considered to include a single portion or multiple portions that can store instructions and perform their corresponding operations. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should also be considered to include any medium capable of storing or encoding an instruction set for execution by a machine and causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methods of the present disclosure. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should accordingly be understood to include (but not limited to) solid-state memory, optical media, and magnetic media.

[0034] In station 200, power is transmitted via supply section 216, which can be controlled via a signal from bus 204, which can be a signal from controller 206. Power is then transmitted from supply section 216 to power supply interface 217. In an electric vehicle (e.g., Figure 3 In the vehicle 300 shown in FIG. 1 , the power received in the interface 217 is transmitted to the battery of the vehicle (eg, Figure 3 The charger controls the charging of the battery. If the charger is in or part of a station, the charger is controlled by signals from bus 304. If the charger is in or part of a vehicle (e.g., see Figure 3 The charger 314 shown in FIG. 2 is then controlled by the bus of the vehicle. The supply portion 216 can be or include a charger, and in these examples, the charger can convert the available power from the power supply 214 according to a certain charging standard.

[0035] Figure 3 1 shows an example portion of an example electric vehicle 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The vehicle 300 can be communicatively coupled to the network 118, as shown. In some embodiments, the vehicle 300 is a vehicle 104 or Figure 1 The electric vehicle 300 includes at least a bus 304, a controller 306 (e.g., a CPU), a main memory 308, a network interface 310, a storage system 312, a charger 314 or at least a connection to a charger, and a battery 316. Depending on the implementation, the power supply interface 217 can electrically couple the supply portion 216 to Figure 3 300 is shown in the figure. The bus 304 communicatively couples the controller 306, the main memory 308, the network interface 310, the data storage system 312, the charger 314, and the battery 316, and all of these parts may be part of a vehicle computing device (e.g., the vehicle computing device 112). The electric vehicle 300 includes a computer system that includes at least the controller 306, the main memory 308 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and the data storage system 312, which communicate with each other via the bus 304 (which may include multiple buses).

[0036] in other words, Figure 33 is a block diagram of an example electric vehicle 300 having a computer system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may operate. In some embodiments, the computer system may include a set of instructions for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein when executed. In these embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked via network interface 310) to other machines in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, and / or the Internet (e.g., network 118). The machine may also operate in the capacity of a server or client machine in a client-server network environment as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment (e.g., the peer-to-peer network described herein) or as a server or client machine in a cloud computing infrastructure or environment.

[0037] Controller 306 represents one or more general purpose processing devices, such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, etc. More specifically, the processing device may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or a processor implementing other instruction sets, or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. Controller 206 may also be one or more special purpose processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, etc. Controller 306 is configured to execute instructions for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. Controller 306 may further include a network interface device such as a network interface 310 to communicate via one or more communication networks (e.g., network 118).

[0038] The data storage system 312 may include a machine-readable storage medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more instruction sets or software embodying any one or more methods or functions described herein. The instructions may also reside completely or at least partially within the main memory 308 and / or within the controller 306 during their execution by the computer system, the main memory 308 and the controller 306 also constituting machine-readable storage media. Although the memory, controller, and data storage device portions are shown in the example embodiments as each being a single portion, each portion should be considered to include a single portion or multiple portions that can store instructions and perform their corresponding operations. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should also be considered to include any medium capable of storing or encoding an instruction set for execution by a machine and causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methods of the present disclosure. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should accordingly be understood to include (but not limited to) solid-state memory, optical media, and magnetic media.

[0039] The charger 314 may include an onboard converter that can be plugged into a standard electrical outlet or a bulk appliance outlet. The charger 314 may control the properties of the electrical energy being conducted to the battery 316 .

[0040] Battery 316 or any other battery described herein may be or include one or more electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) and / or one or more power type batteries, which are batteries used to power the propulsion of an electric vehicle such as any of the vehicles described herein. Battery 316 may be a rechargeable battery. Battery 316 is different from a starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) battery because it is designed to supply power over a duration period. Battery 316 may be or use one or more deep cycle batteries instead of SLI batteries. Battery 316 may be designed with a high ampere-hour capacity. Battery 316 may be characterized by a relatively high power-to-weight ratio, specific energy, and energy density; this may reduce the weight of the vehicle and improve its performance. Battery 316 may include at least one of lead acid ("flooded", deep cycle, and VRLA), NiCd, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, Li ion polymer, and zinc-air and molten salt batteries.

[0041] The power provided by charging station 200 for charging an electric vehicle, such as vehicle 300, may initially come from power supply 214, which may be a power supply external and / or internal to station 200 and may include a power grid, a solar power supply system, and / or a battery pack. Power may be delivered from station 200 to vehicle 300 via a coupling (e.g., power supply coupling 107 or power supply interface 217). Power conducted via the coupling may be used to charge a battery of the vehicle (e.g., battery 108 or 316). Control lines (e.g., couplings 114 and 116 and buses 204 and 304) may operate the battery of the vehicle and a supply portion of the station (e.g., supply portion 106 or 216). The control lines may be respective control lines of the vehicle and the station, as well as one or more control lines that directly link a computing device of the station and the vehicle (e.g., see Figure 1 117). Also, the network connection may link the computing devices via one or more communication networks such as network 118.

[0042] The peer-to-peer network of some embodiments may be a collection of nodes and peer connections. For example, Figure 1 The computing node 182 shown in the figure can be a node of a peer-to-peer network supported by computing devices connected via the network 118. In some embodiments, devices other than the devices of the vehicle and the station are nodes of the peer-to-peer network. Alternatively, the devices of the station and / or the vehicle can be nodes of the peer-to-peer network. For example, the corresponding computer systems of the station 200 and the vehicle 300 can be nodes of the peer-to-peer network. The network can include a peer-to-peer network that can support blockchain. In other words, the vehicle and / or the station may or may not be in a peer-to-peer network, such as a peer-to-peer network that implements blockchain - depending on the embodiment.

[0043] like Figure 1-3As shown in , an EV charging station (e.g., stations 102, 152, and 200) may include a supply portion (e.g., supply portion 106 or 216) configured to supply electrical energy to at least one vehicle battery (e.g., battery 108 or 316). And, the EV charging station may include a computing device (e.g., computing device 110 or 152) that is configured to manage the supply of electrical energy to electric vehicles (e.g., vehicles 104, 160, 170, and 300) and record corresponding messages associated with the supply of energy to a block of a blockchain. For example, if the computing devices of the vehicle and the station (e.g., computing devices 110 and 112) are both computing nodes in a peer-to-peer network (e.g., a blockchain peer-to-peer network), the devices may take turns signing a record of the agreement and then broadcast their respective copies of the record in the peer-to-peer network (e.g., see Figure 8 ).

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown in , the EV charging station may also include a transaction module (e.g., transaction module 124) of a station application (e.g., vehicle charging application 120) stored in and executable by the computing device of the EV charging station. The transaction module may be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to receive a vehicle communication from a vehicle application (e.g., vehicle charging application 140) running on a computing device (e.g., vehicle computing device 112) of an electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104, 160, 170, or 300) among the plurality of electric vehicles to initiate the supply of electrical energy by the EV charging station to the vehicle. The vehicle communication may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate associating the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a charging request, a corresponding freshness factor, and a vehicle digital signature of the request signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key (e.g., see Figure 6 ). It will be understood that, at least for the purposes of this disclosure, a digital signature of or in a message is used to verify that the message is from the entity as stated. A digital signature is not used to verify that the entity is as stated and therefore the entity can be trusted. The freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor of the vehicle communication can be any one or any combination of the following: a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based state of charge of the vehicle, and a time-based state of charge of the vehicle.

[0045] In response to receiving the vehicle communication, the transaction module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to verify the vehicle certificate and then verify the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key.

[0046] In response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature, the transaction module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to send a site communication to the vehicle application. The site communication may include the site identification information, the site public key, a site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, the message, and the site digital signature of the request signed using the site private key corresponding to the site public key (e.g., see Figure 7 ). The message communicated by the site may be one or a combination of the following: a request for payment information, charging status, confirmation, or instruction.

[0047] In response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature, the transaction module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to initiate the supply of electrical energy to the electric vehicle via the supply portion.

[0048] During the supply of electrical energy by the supply portion, the transaction module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to receive a plurality of additional vehicle communications from the vehicle application. Each of the plurality of additional vehicle communications may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a corresponding vehicle digital signature of the communication, and a corresponding freshness factor (e.g., see Figure 6 ).

[0049] In response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications, the transaction module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to verify the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key and determine whether the session between the station application and the vehicle application has expired. The transaction module may also be executable to continue to allow the supply of electrical energy in response to a successful verification of the vehicle digital signature and a determination that the session has not expired. And, the transaction module may also be executable to terminate the supply of electrical energy in response to a determination that at least the session has expired to complete the supply of electrical energy.

[0050] The EV charging station may also include a blockchain management module (e.g., blockchain module 122) of a station application stored in and executable by the computing device of the EV charging station. The blockchain management module may be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to generate a new block of the blockchain (e.g., see Figure 8, which is a new block before blocks 802, 806, and 808 are generated). The blockchain management module may also be executed by the computing device of the EV charging station to record information associated with an instance of electrical energy being supplied by the EV charging station to the electric vehicle to a new block of the blockchain. The blockchain management module may further be executable to record the charging time, the amount of electrical energy supplied, and the amount paid to the new block. The blockchain management module may further be executable to record digital signatures from both the vehicle and the EV charging station to the new block. The blockchain management module may further be executable to generate and record to the new block a hash of all data recorded to the blockchain, which includes a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated. The blockchain management module may further be executable to record to the new block a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated. The hash of the recorded data of the new block may be included in at least one of the digital signatures from the vehicle and the EV charging station.

[0051] The blockchain management module may further be executable to broadcast the recorded data of the new block into the peer-to-peer network. The computing device of the EV charging station may be a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and the computing device of the EV charging station may include a storage system (e.g., storage system 212) configured to store a copy of the recorded data of the new block.

[0052] like Figure 1-3 As shown in FIG. 1 , an electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104, 160, 170, or 300) may include a battery (e.g., battery 108 or 316) configured to receive electrical energy from a supply portion (e.g., supply portion 106 or 216). The electric vehicle may also include a computing device (e.g., vehicle computing device 112) configured to manage receiving electrical energy from a plurality of charging stations (e.g., stations 102, 150, and 200) and record corresponding messages associated with the receipt of energy to a block chain (e.g., see FIG. 1 ). Figure 8 The electric vehicle may also include a transaction module (eg, transaction module 144) of a vehicle application (eg, vehicle charging application 140) stored in and executable by the vehicle's computing device.

[0053] The transaction module of the vehicle application may be executed by the computing device of the vehicle to receive a site communication from a site application (e.g., vehicle charging application 120) running on a computing device of a charging station in the plurality of charging stations (e.g., see computing devices 110 and 152) to continue initiating the supply of electrical energy from the EV charging station to the vehicle. The site communication may include site identification information, a site public key, a site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, a charging response to the vehicle's charging request, and a site digital signature of the response signed using a site private key corresponding to the site public key (e.g., see Figure 7).

[0054] In response to receiving the site communication, the transaction module of the vehicle application may also be executed by the computing device of the vehicle to verify the site certificate and then verify the site digital signature using the site public key.

[0055] In response to successful verification of the site digital signature, the transaction module of the vehicle application may also be executed by the computing device of the vehicle to send a vehicle communication to the site application. The vehicle communication may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate that associates the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, the message, a corresponding freshness factor, and a responsive vehicle digital signature signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key (e.g., see Figure 6 ). The message communicated by the station may be any one or a combination of the following: a request for payment information, a charging status, a confirmation, or an instruction. The freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor communicated by the vehicle may be any one or a combination of the following: a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based charging status of the vehicle, and a time-based charging status of the vehicle.

[0056] In response to successful verification of the site digital signature, the transaction module may also be executable to initiate receipt of electrical energy by the battery of the electric vehicle from the supply portion of the charging station.

[0057] During the receiving of electrical energy from the battery (108), the transaction module of the vehicle application may also be executed by the computing device of the vehicle to receive a plurality of additional site communications from the site application. Each communication of the plurality of additional site communications may include site identification information, a site public key, and a corresponding site digital signature of the communication.

[0058] In response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional site communications, the transaction module of the vehicle application may also be executable by the computing device of the vehicle to verify the site digital signature using the site public key and determine whether the session between the site application (e.g., site application 120) and the vehicle application (e.g., vehicle application 140) has expired. The transaction module may also be executable to continue to allow the receipt of electrical energy in response to a successful verification of the site digital signature and a determination that the session has not expired. The transaction module may also be executable to terminate the receipt of electrical energy in response to a determination that at least the session has expired to complete the supply of electrical energy.

[0059] The electric vehicle (e.g., vehicles 104, 160, 170, and 300) may also include a blockchain management module (e.g., blockchain management module 122) of a vehicle application (e.g., vehicle charging application 140) stored in a computing device (e.g., vehicle computing device 112) of the electric vehicle and executable by the computing device of the electric vehicle. The blockchain management module of the vehicle application may be executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle to generate a new block of the blockchain (e.g., Figure 8 The vehicle application blockchain management module may be executed by a computing device of an electric vehicle to communicate with the electric vehicle in connection with the supply of electrical energy from an EV charging station to the electric vehicle (e.g., see Figure 8 ) to a new block of the blockchain. The blockchain management module may also be executed by the computing device to record the charging time, the amount of electrical energy supplied, and the new block (e.g., see Figure 8 , new block 802) the amount paid. The blockchain management module can also be executed by the computing device to record the digital signatures from both the vehicle and the EV charging station to the new block (see Figure 8 ). The blockchain management module may also be executed by the computing device to generate and record to a new block (e.g., new block 802) a hash of all data recorded to the blockchain, which includes a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to the blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated. The blockchain management module may also be executed to record to the new block the hash of all data recorded to the generation of the new block (e.g., see Figure 8 , a hash of all data of the block of the block chain before the new block 802). The hash of the recorded data of the new block may be included in at least one of the digital signatures from the vehicle and the EV charging station.

[0060] As mentioned herein, it will be understood that, at least for the purposes of this disclosure, a digital signature of or in a message is used to verify that the message is from the entity as stated. A digital signature is not used to verify that the entity is as stated and therefore the entity can be trusted.

[0061] The block chain management module may also be further executed by the computing device of the vehicle to broadcast the recorded data of the new block (e.g., new block 802) to the peer-to-peer network. The computing device of the electric vehicle may be a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and the computing device of the vehicle may include a storage system (e.g., storage system 312) configured to store a copy of the recorded data of the new block.

[0062] Figure 4is a flow chart of an example method 400 performed by an example portion of an example EV charging station (e.g., EV charging station 102, 150, or 200) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 400 begins at step 402 with the following operations: a transaction module (e.g., module 124) of a station application (e.g., application 120) stored in a computing device (e.g., computing device 110) of the EV charging station (e.g., station 102) and executable by the computing device receives a vehicle communication from a vehicle application (e.g., application 140) running on a computing device (e.g., computing device 112) of an electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104) to initiate the supply of electrical energy to the vehicle by the EV charging station (102). The vehicle communication may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate that associates the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a charging request, a corresponding freshness factor, and a vehicle digital signature of the request signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key (e.g., see Figure 6 ). It will be understood that, at least for the purposes of this disclosure, a digital signature of or in a message is used to verify that the message comes from the entity as stated. A digital signature is not used to verify that the entity is as stated and therefore the entity can be trusted.

[0063] At step 404, in response to receiving the vehicle communication, the transaction module verifies the vehicle certificate and then verifies the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key. At step 406, in response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature, the transaction module sends the site communication to the vehicle application. The site communication may include site identification information, site public key, site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, message, and the site digital signature of the request signed using the site private key corresponding to the site public key (e.g., see Figure 7 ). The message communicated by the site may be a request for payment information, charging status, confirmation, instructions, and / or any combination thereof.

[0064] At step 408, in response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature, the transaction module initiates supplying power to the electric vehicle via a supply portion of the station (e.g., supply portion 106). At step 410, the supply portion supplies power to at least one vehicle battery (e.g., battery 108).

[0065] At step 412, during the supply of electrical energy by the supply portion, the transaction module receives a plurality of additional vehicle communications from a vehicle application (e.g., application 140). Each of the plurality of additional vehicle communications may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a corresponding vehicle digital signature of the communication, and a corresponding freshness factor (e.g., see Figure 6). The freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor of the vehicle communication can be a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based charging state of the vehicle, a time-based charging state of the vehicle, and / or any combination thereof.

[0066] At step 414, in response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications, the module verifies the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key, and at step 416 determines whether the session between the site application (120) and the vehicle application (140) has expired. At step 418, the module continues to allow the supply of power in response to the successful verification of the vehicle digital signature and the determination that the session has not expired. Alternatively, at step 420, the module terminates the supply of power in response to at least the determination that the session has expired to complete the supply of power.

[0067] At step 422, a blockchain management module (e.g., blockchain management module 122) of a station application (e.g., application 120) stored in a computing device (e.g., computing device 110) of an EV charging station (e.g., station 102) generates a new block of the blockchain (e.g., see Figure 8 804 of the blockchain 800 depicted in FIG. 4, which is a new block before generating blocks 802, 806, and 808). At step 424, the blockchain management module records information associated with the instance of electrical energy being supplied to the electric vehicle by the EV charging station to the new block of the blockchain. At step 426, the blockchain management module records the charging time, the amount of electrical energy supplied, and the amount paid to the new block. At step 428, the blockchain management module records the digital signatures from both the vehicle and the EV charging station to the new block.

[0068] At step 430, the blockchain management module generates and records a hash of all data recorded to the blockchain to a new block record, which includes a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to the blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated. At step 432, the blockchain management module generates and records a hash of all data of the blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated to the new block record. The hash of the recorded data of the new block is included in at least one of the digital signatures from the vehicle and the EV charging station. In some embodiments, a record can be considered a block in a blockchain. A record may have data content, such as descriptive data of a transaction, a timestamp, a hash of a previous record. A record may be signed by one or more parties. The digital signature on the record has a hash of the record. The hash of the record will be part of the record itself (e.g., when a hash is calculated for a digital signature, the hash is unknown and cannot be used to calculate the hash itself).

[0069] At step 434, the blockchain management module broadcasts the recorded data of the new block into the peer-to-peer network. In some embodiments, the computing device (e.g., computing device 110) of the EV charging station (e.g., station 102) is a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and in such embodiments, method 400 may further include storing, by a storage system (e.g., storage system 212) of the computing device of the EV charging station, a copy of the recorded data of the new block (e.g., see step 436).

[0070] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example method 500 performed by an example portion of an example electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104, 160, 170, or 300) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 500 begins at step 502 with the following operations: a transaction module (e.g., module 144) of a vehicle application (e.g., application 140) stored in a computing device (e.g., computing device 112) of the electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104) and executable by the computing device receives a site communication from a site application (e.g., application 120) running on a computing device (e.g., computing device 110) of an EV charging station (e.g., station 102) to proceed with initiating the supply of electrical energy from the EV charging station to the vehicle. The site communication may include site identification information, a site public key, a site certificate that associates the site public key to the site identification information, a charging response to the vehicle's charging request, and a site digital signature of the response signed using a site private key corresponding to the site public key (e.g., see Figure 7 ). It will be understood that, at least for the purposes of this disclosure, a digital signature of or in a message is used to verify that the message comes from the entity as stated. A digital signature is not used to verify that the entity is as stated and therefore the entity can be trusted.

[0071] At step 504, in response to receiving the site communication, the transaction module verifies the site certificate and then verifies the site digital signature using the site public key. At step 506, in response to successful verification of the site digital signature, the transaction module sends the vehicle communication to the site application. The vehicle communication may include vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate associating the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a message, a corresponding freshness factor, and a vehicle digital signature of the response signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key (e.g., see Figure 6 ). The message of the vehicle communication may be payment information, charging status, confirmation, instruction, and / or any combination thereof. The freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor of the vehicle communication may be a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based charging status of the vehicle, a time-based charging status of the vehicle, and / or any combination thereof.

[0072] At step 508, in response to successful verification of the site digital signature, the transaction module initiates receiving power from the battery of the electric vehicle (e.g., battery 108) from the supply portion (e.g., supply portion 106) of the EV charging station. At step 510, the battery receives power from the supply portion.

[0073] At step 512, while receiving power from the battery, the transaction module receives a plurality of additional site communications from a site application (e.g., application 120). Each of the plurality of additional site communications may have site identification information, a site public key, and a corresponding site digital signature of the communication (e.g., see Figure 7 ).

[0074] At step 514, in response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional site communications, the module verifies the site digital signature using the site public key, and determines at step 516 whether the session between the site application (120) and the vehicle application (140) has expired. At step 518, the module continues to allow receipt of power in response to successful verification of the site digital signature and a determination that the session has not expired. Alternatively, at step 520, the module terminates receipt of power to complete the supply of power in response to at least a determination that the session has expired.

[0075] At step 522, a blockchain management module (e.g., blockchain management module 122) of a vehicle application (e.g., application 140) stored in a computing device (e.g., computing device 112) of an electric vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104) generates a new block of the blockchain (e.g., new block 802 of blockchain 800). At step 524, the blockchain management module records information associated with an instance of electrical energy being supplied to the electric vehicle by the EV charging station to the new block of the blockchain. At step 526, the blockchain management module records the charging time, the amount of electrical energy supplied, and the amount of electrical energy supplied to the new block (e.g., see Figure 8 , the new block 802) is the amount paid. At step 528, the blockchain management module records the digital signatures from both the vehicle and the EV charging station to the new block.

[0076] At step 530, the blockchain management module generates and records a hash of all data recorded to the blockchain to a new block record, which includes a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to the blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated. At step 532, the blockchain management module generates and records a hash of all data of the blocks of the blockchain before the new block was generated to a new block record. At step 534, the blockchain management module broadcasts the recorded data of the new block to the peer-to-peer network. In some embodiments, the computing device (e.g., computing device 112) of the vehicle (e.g., vehicle 104) is a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and in these embodiments, the method 500 may further include storing a copy of the recorded data of the new block by the storage system (e.g., storage system 312) of the computing device of the vehicle (e.g., see step 536).

[0077] With respect to method 400, method 500, or any other method, process, or operation described herein, in some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processing device (e.g., controller 206 or controller 306), cause the at least one processing device to perform method 400, method 500, or any other method, process, or operation described herein, and / or any combination thereof.

[0078] Figure 6 6 shows example data included in an example communication 600 sent from an example computing device of an example electric vehicle to an example computing device of an example EV charging station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. And, Figure 7 Example data included in example communication 700 sent from an example computing device at an EV charging station to an example computing device at an example electric vehicle is shown, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] Asymmetric cryptography can be used for mutual authentication between the electric vehicle and the charging station, which can be seen in certificates, digital signatures on exchanged messages, and / or in embodiments of the device identity composition system (e.g., by Figure 6 The electric vehicle communication and Figure 7 ). Each of the vehicle computing device and the EV charging station computing device has a public key from the other party that is mutually authenticated (e.g., public keys 602 and 702). In the case where there is an active subscription, for example, the two parties may accept each other's certificates (e.g., certificates 604 and 704).

[0080] The exchange of credentials can confirm each identity (e.g., identities 606 and 706) and that the parties are aware of each other and that a reservation exists between the vehicle and the site so that payment can be processed according to the reservation. For example, if credit card or other billing information is on file, this information does not need to be transmitted over the air in the wireless message exchange. The reservation can be based on a prepaid model, or can also be based on another payment / billing option. The reservation is not a prerequisite for the handshake of credentials between the parties.

[0081] The exchange of messages between the vehicle and the station is a process that can be protected via a device identity component system. The device identity component system can be used for asymmetric cryptography. In such embodiments, the private key (e.g., private key 608 or 708) can be or can be based on a confidential value called a unique device secret (UDS) that is injected during the manufacture of the vehicle's computing device and / or the EV charging station's computing device. In some example embodiments of the device identity component system, the UDS can only ever exist within the computing device on which it is provisioned.

[0082] In some embodiments, the device identity composition system may include a layer L0 that derives K by using a key derivative function (KDF). L0 , Fusion Derived Secret (FDS). In an algorithmic way, K L0 = KDF[UDS, HASH("L1's identity")] (see, for example, Figure 6 and 7 The private key K referenced in L2 ). Other layers (L k ) can be transferred to the next layer (L k+1 ) provides a collection of keys and certificates (see, for example, Figure 6 and 7 The public key K referenced in L2 The layers are the device architecture layer starting with the invariant loader L0, followed by the device identity component system core L1, application firmware L2, operating system and application L k+1 Each layer can provide integrity to the next layer, and so on. And, each layer can verify the certificates that show the identity of the devices of the vehicle and the EV charging station.

[0083] In some embodiments, asymmetric cryptography is used for mutual authentication between the vehicle and the EV charging station. Mutual authentication occurs via a local wired and / or wireless network (e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, WIFI network), and is initiated by the vehicle and the charging station exchanging corresponding public key certificates containing digital signatures for mutual authentication. In the case of an activated reservation (activated with, for example, a credit card), the two parties will accept each other's certificates. If there is no reservation, the vehicle may continue to provide a credit card number or some other form of accounting information to the site (e.g., via public key encryption). And, because each party has a public key from the other party of the mutual authentication, encrypted messages can be sent between the parties, and each party can decrypt the message with its own private key (because this technology uses asymmetric cryptography).

[0084] In general, the ownership of the public key is known to the public. If the public key can decrypt a message, it can be inferred that the message was encrypted using the corresponding private key. The message cannot be encrypted by the public key. If only a specific individual vehicle or station has the private key, it can be inferred that the message comes from the specific individual vehicle or station. In order to be able to trust the inferred result, a trusted entity needs to authenticate that the public key does correspond to the private key held by the specific individual vehicle or station, so that the public key can be used to determine the identity of the individual vehicle or station.

[0085] Intentional and unintentional man-in-the-middle attacks can occur due to another vehicle approaching the station while the valid vehicle is authenticated to be charging at the station. After the valid vehicle and the station have authenticated each other to start the charging session, and in the middle of the session, another vehicle may connect to the station. This may cause the charging of the other vehicle to be paid for by the valid vehicle. To avoid this from happening, the valid vehicle and the station may periodically transmit signed messages during the session (e.g., see corresponding digital signatures 610 and 710 of communications 600 and 700) to prevent another vehicle from charging using the valid vehicle's accounting information. For example, the valid vehicle may send a message "VehicleValidID is charging at XYZ timestamp" once a minute, and the station may respond with "StationValidID is charging VehicleValidID at XYZ timestamp" (e.g., see service information 612 and 712). This allows the station to confirm that it is servicing the valid vehicle until the valid vehicle ends the session and / or stops the periodic messages during charging. Also, each message from a valid vehicle may be distinguished by including a freshness factor in each message (see, e.g., freshness factor 614) so ​​that another vehicle cannot simply record messages received from a valid vehicle and resend the message over and over again and pretend to be a valid vehicle. Also, messages may be signed by the valid vehicle so that another vehicle cannot impersonate the valid vehicle. To increase the integrity of messages exchanged between parties, the EV charging station may also include a freshness factor (see, e.g., freshness factor 714).

[0086] Figure 8 A portion of an example block chain 800 of blocks is shown, where each block includes a block header (e.g., see block header 810) and information about an example EV charging station supplying electrical energy to an example electric vehicle. As shown, each block of the portion of block chain 800 is generated by and is associated with at least an EV charging station identified as "Station_A", a first electric vehicle identified as "Vehicle_A", and a second electric vehicle identified as "Vehicle_B". For purposes of this disclosure, it should be understood that Figure 8 The depiction of the block chain 800 in FIG. 1 is only a partial depiction of the block chain, and there may be generated Figure 8 Not depicted are blocks of the blockchain or at least more stations and vehicles associated with them.

[0087] In general, blockchain 800 may be or include a distributed "ledger" or database with duplicate copies of records stored independently on nodes of a peer-to-peer network implementing the blockchain. In some embodiments, no central node is responsible for controlling and / or managing the entire blockchain. Each node may manage, verify its copy, and participate in determining the consistency of the blockchain network.

[0088] Block 802 is depicted as being decomposed so that at least some of the contents of block 802 are depicted. The decomposed illustration of block 802 shows the block including a block header 810 including hashes 812 and 814. Hash 812 may be or include a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the entire block chain before the new block 802 is generated. Specifically, if the vehicle is generating a hash and a new block, hash 812 may be generated at step 532 of method 500. Hash 814 may be or include a hash of all data recorded to the block chain, which includes a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the block chain before the new block is generated. Specifically, if the vehicle is generating a hash and a new block, hash 814 may be generated at step 530 of method 500.

[0089] In some embodiments, the computing devices of the electric vehicle and the EV charging station (e.g., see computing devices 110 and 112) are peer nodes in a peer-to-peer network, such as a network that supports blockchain 800. In such embodiments, each of the devices may store a copy of the recorded data of blocks of the blockchain, such as new block 802 and previous block 808, via a respective storage system. As shown, block 808 is generated and occurs immediately before new block 802. Each of blocks 802 and 808 may include data from one or more transactions associated with supplying electrical energy from the station to the electric vehicle. This data may include data in communications from devices of both the station and the vehicle, such as shown by data in transaction data 816 from the vehicle. Blocks 802 and 808 may also include data from station communications 700 (although Figure 8 not depicted). Figure 8 Also shown is site identification 818 in the transaction data from the vehicle, which may further confirm the legitimacy of the transaction between the site and the vehicle.

[0090] The information included in the exploded depiction of block 802 is only one of many examples of information a block may contain. In some embodiments, a block includes only or additionally includes information that is mentioned as being logged to the block in method 400 or method 500. Also, it should be understood that a block may be associated with multiple vehicles, multiple sites, or any combination thereof.

[0091] Fig.9A An apparatus or non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for generating a triplet according to some embodiments is shown. The triplet may include a public identifier of a party (e.g., an electric vehicle or an EV charging station), a public key of the party, and / or a certificate of the party. The triplet may be found in the messages and communications described herein (e.g., see Figure 6 and 7 ).

[0092] As shown, L0 software 910 and L1 software 912 operate on the identity component device. The identity component device can be part of any of the computing devices described herein. L0 code 910 comprises firmware executed in the ROM of the identity component device. L0 code 910 is responsible for generating a first key (K) according to the following formula L0 ) (also called fusion-derived secret, FDS): FDS = K L0 =KDF(UDS, HASH(identity of L1)), where KDF is a one-way function such as an HMAC-SHA256 function, UDS is a unique device secret set during the manufacturing of the device operating the L0 code 910, HASH includes a second one-way function such as a SHA256 function, and the identity of L1 includes the host configuration parameters of the L1 code 912.

[0093] L0 code 910 output K L0 To L1 code 912, which is then used to generate a triplet representing L1 code 912. This triplet is then output by L1 code 912 to L2 code 914. As discussed, L2 code 914 may include code executed on an external device or (in some embodiments) a remote device. For example, L0 code 910 and L1 code 912 may be executed on a first party, while L2 914 may be executed on a separate party.

[0094] Generally, as described, the L1 code 912 is responsible for generating a triplet of keys (referred to as "alias keys") and the L1 code 912 itself.

[0095] As shown, L1 code 912 generates an identifier for L1 code 912 via asymmetric identifier generator 902. Generator 902 takes K L0 The key is used as a seed and outputs a deterministic public key (ID L1public ) and private key (ID L1private ). L1 code 912 outputs the public key (ID L1public ) to L2 code 914, its use will be Fig. 9B Described in the description content.

[0096] In addition, the L1 code 912 generates a second key pair using a second asymmetric key generator 904. This key generator 904 takes a random number generated by a random number generator 908 as a seed input and outputs a second deterministic public key (K L1public ) and the private key (K L1private ). L1 code 912 outputs the public key (K L1public ) to L2 code 914, its use will be Fig. 9B Described in the description content.

[0097] L1 code 912 also uses double encryption technology to generate the ID certificate portion of the triplet output to L2 code 914. Specifically, L1 code 912 first uses ID L1public The key is used as an encryption key by the first encryption module 906a to encrypt K L1public The key is encrypted to generate an encrypted ciphertext K′. This ciphertext is then used as data supplied to the second encryption module 906b, and the K generated by the second generator 904 is L1private The result of the second encryption module 906B is output as ID L1 The double encrypted ciphertext K" of the certificate. The encryption algorithm (and Fig. 9B The specific choice of the corresponding decryption algorithm in () is not limited in the present disclosure.

[0098] Fig. 9B An apparatus or non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for verifying triples and generating second-layer triples according to some embodiments is shown. Fig. 9B The diagram shown in shows the operation of L2 code 914. However, the operations described herein may be generalized for any layer including L2 code 914 and in addition to L2 code 914 (eg, L3 code 916).

[0099] In the illustrated embodiment, L2 code 914 receives from L1 code 912 such as Fig.9A L2 code 914 performs operations similar to those of L1 code 912 with respect to generating L2 triples, and those details are not repeated herein, but are incorporated by reference for like numbered elements. One notable difference in triple generation circuitry or software is that the first generator uses the K generated by L1 code 912 as L1public The value is the seed, not Fig.9A K described in L0 The value of (fusion-derived-secret).

[0100] In addition, L2 code 914 includes a certificate checker 918, which may be implemented in hardware (i.e., dedicated circuitry) or in software or firmware. Details of certificate checker 918 are shown in exploded view in the figure. Certificate checker 918 verifies the authenticity of triples received from L1 code 912. In some embodiments, certificate checker 918 acts as a gating function for the remaining components (i.e., prevents L2 triples from being generated if they are invalid).

[0101] As shown, the certificate checker 918 uses K L1 The public key is used by the first decryption module 920 to decrypt the ID L1The obtained key M' is then used as the key of the second decryption module 924, which uses the key M' to decrypt the ID L1 Finally, the obtained plaintext M″ is compared with the original public key (K L1public ) is compared. If the result of the comparator is positive, the triple is confirmed to be valid. If not, the triple is marked as invalid.

[0102] In the illustrated embodiment, the credential checker 918 may be executed independently of the triple generation circuitry / software 902, 904, 906a-b. In this way, the triples of various entities may be verified by the L2 code 914.

[0103] Some portions of the previous detailed description have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means by which those skilled in the art of data processing most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here and generally considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations that leads to a desired result. An operation is one that requires physical manipulation of physical quantities. These quantities are typically, but not necessarily, in the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Mainly for reasons of common usage, it has proven convenient at times to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc.

[0104] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms should be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. The present disclosure may be directed to the actions and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within a computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system's memories or registers or other such information storage systems.

[0105] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the intended purpose, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. This computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as (but not limited to) any type of disk (including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks), read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

[0106] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. Various general purpose systems may be used with the programs according to the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized equipment to perform the methods. The structures of a variety of these systems will be presented as set forth in the description below. In addition, the present disclosure is described without reference to any particular programming language. It should be appreciated that a variety of programming languages ​​may be used to implement the teachings of the present disclosure described herein.

[0107] The present disclosure may be provided as a computer program product or software, which may include a machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, and the instructions may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic device) to perform a process according to the present disclosure. The machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a machine (e.g., computer) readable form. In some embodiments, the machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., computer) readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory ("ROM"), a random access memory ("RAM"), a disk storage medium, an optical storage medium, a flash memory component, etc.

[0108] In the foregoing description, embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to specific example embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent that various modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. Therefore, the description and drawings should be viewed in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle charging station, comprising: a supply portion configured to supply electric energy to at least one vehicle battery; a computing device configured to manage the supply of electrical energy to the electric vehicle; as well as a transaction module of a station application, stored in and executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: receiving a vehicle communication from a vehicle application running on a computing device of an electric vehicle of a plurality of electric vehicles to initiate supply of electrical energy by the electric vehicle charging station, the vehicle communication comprising vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate associating the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a charge request, a corresponding freshness factor, and a vehicle digital signature of the request signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key; in response to receiving the vehicle communication, verifying the vehicle certificate and then verifying the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key; In response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature: sending a site communication to the vehicle application, the site communication comprising site identification information, a site public key, a site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, a message, and a site digital signature of the request signed using a site private key corresponding to the site public key; as well as Initiating supply of electric energy to the electric vehicle via the supply portion; and During the supply of said electric energy by said supply section: receiving a plurality of additional vehicle communications from the vehicle application, each communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications comprising the vehicle identification information, the vehicle public key, a respective vehicle digital signature of the communication, and the corresponding freshness factor; as well as In response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications: verifying the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key; determining whether a session between the site application and the vehicle application has expired; continuing to allow said supply of said electrical energy in response to successful verification of said vehicle digital signature and a determination that said session has not expired; as well as The supply of the electrical energy is terminated in response to at least a determination that the session has expired to complete the supply of electrical energy.

2. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, further comprising a blockchain management module of the station application, the blockchain management module being stored in the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station and executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: Generate new blocks of the blockchain; and Information associated with an instance of electrical energy being supplied to an electric vehicle by the electric vehicle charging station is recorded to the new block of the block chain.

3. The electric vehicle charging station according to claim 2, wherein the block chain management module is further executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: record the charging time, the amount of electrical energy supplied, and the amount paid to the new block.

4. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 3, wherein the block chain management module is further executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: record digital signatures from both the vehicle and the electric vehicle charging station to the new block.

5. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 4, wherein the blockchain management module is further executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: Generate and record to the new block a hash of all data recorded to the block chain, including a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the block chain before the new block was generated; and The new block records the hash of all data of the blocks in the block chain before the new block is generated.

6. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 5, wherein the hash of the recorded data of the new block is contained in at least one of the digital signatures from the vehicle and the electric vehicle charging station. 7 . The electric vehicle charging station of claim 5 , wherein the block chain management module is further executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station to: broadcast the recorded data of the new block into a peer-to-peer network.

8. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 7, wherein the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station is a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and wherein the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station includes a storage system configured to store a copy of the recorded data of the new block.

9. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the message communicated by the station is selected from the group consisting of: a request for payment information, a charging status, a confirmation, and an instruction.

10. The electric vehicle charging station of claim 1, wherein the freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor of the vehicle communication is selected from the group consisting of: a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based state of charge of the vehicle, and a time-based state of charge of the vehicle.

11. A method comprising: receiving, by a transaction module of a station application stored in and executed by a computing device of an electric vehicle charging station, a vehicle communication from a vehicle application running on a computing device of an electric vehicle to initiate supply of electrical energy by the electric vehicle charging station, the vehicle communication comprising vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate associating the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a request to charge, a corresponding freshness factor, and a vehicle digital signature of the request signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key; in response to receiving the vehicle communication, verifying, by the transaction module, the vehicle certificate and then verifying the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key; In response to successful verification of the vehicle digital signature: sending, by the transaction module, a site communication to the vehicle application, the site communication comprising site identification information, a site public key, a site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, a message, and a site digital signature of the request signed using a site private key corresponding to the site public key; as well as The transaction module starts supplying electric energy to the electric vehicle via the supply part; as well as supplying electrical energy to at least one vehicle battery by a supply portion of the electric vehicle charging station; During the supply of said electric energy by said supply section: receiving, by the transaction module, a plurality of additional vehicle communications from the vehicle application, each communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications comprising the vehicle identification information, the vehicle public key, a respective vehicle digital signature of the communication, and a respective freshness factor; as well as In response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional vehicle communications: The transaction module verifies the vehicle digital signature using the vehicle public key; determining, by the transaction module, whether a session between the site application and the vehicle application has expired; continuing to allow, by the transaction module, the supply of the electrical energy in response to a successful verification of the vehicle digital signature and a determination that the session has not expired; as well as The supply of the electrical energy is terminated by the transaction module in response to at least a determination that the session has expired to complete the supply of the electrical energy.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: generating, by a blockchain management module of the station application stored in the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station, a new block of the blockchain; as well as Information associated with an instance of electrical energy being supplied to an electric vehicle by the electric vehicle charging station is recorded to the new block of the block chain.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising recording, by the blockchain management module, charging time, amount of electrical energy supplied, and amount paid to the new block.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising recording, by the blockchain management module, digital signatures from both the vehicle and the electric vehicle charging station to the new block.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: A hash of all data recorded to the block chain generated by the block chain management module and recorded to the new block, including a hash of the recorded data of the new block and a hash of all data recorded to blocks of the block chain before the new block was generated; as well as The new block records the hash of all data of the blocks in the block chain before the new block is generated.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the hash of the recorded data of the new block is contained in at least one of the digital signatures from the vehicle and the electric vehicle charging station.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising broadcasting, by the blockchain management module, the recorded data of the new block into a peer-to-peer network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station is a peer node in the peer-to-peer network, and wherein the method further comprises storing, by a storage system of the computing device of the electric vehicle charging station, a copy of the recorded data of the new block.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the message of the station communication is selected from the group consisting of: a request for payment information, a charging status, a confirmation, and an instruction, and wherein the freshness factor in the corresponding freshness factor of the vehicle communication is selected from the group consisting of: a timestamp, a message sequence number, a current total message count, a pseudo-random number, a random number, a percentage-based charging status of the vehicle, and a time-based charging status of the vehicle.

20. An electric vehicle comprising: a battery configured to receive electrical energy from the supply portion; a computing device configured to manage the supply of electrical energy to the electric vehicle; as well as A transaction module for vehicle application, stored in the computing device of the electric vehicle and executed by the computing device of the electric vehicle to: receiving a site communication from a site application running on a computing device of a charging station of the plurality of charging stations to proceed with initiating the supply of electrical energy by the electric vehicle charging station, the site communication comprising site identification information, a site public key, a site certificate associating the site public key to the site identification information, a charging response to a charging request of the electric vehicle, and a site digital signature of the response signed using a site private key corresponding to the site public key; in response to receiving the site communication, verifying the site certificate and then verifying the site digital signature using the site public key; In response to successful verification of the site digital signature: sending a vehicle communication to the site application, the vehicle communication comprising vehicle identification information, a vehicle public key, a vehicle certificate associating the vehicle public key to the vehicle identification information, a message, a corresponding freshness factor, and a responsive vehicle digital signature signed using a vehicle private key corresponding to the vehicle public key; as well as Initially receiving electrical energy from the supply portion of the charging station by the battery of the electric vehicle; as well as During receipt of said electrical energy by said battery: receiving from the site application a plurality of additional site communications, each communication of the plurality of additional site communications comprising the site identification information, the site public key, and a corresponding site digital signature of the communication; as well as In response to receiving a given communication of the plurality of additional site communications: Verifying the site digital signature using the site public key; determining whether a session between the site application and the vehicle application has expired; continuing to allow said receipt of said electrical energy in response to successful verification of said site digital signature and a determination that said session has not expired; as well as The receiving of the electrical energy is terminated in response to at least a determination that the session has expired to complete the supplying of electrical energy.

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