Charging arrangement for an electric vehicle and operating method for such a charging arrangement

The charging arrangement, featuring a separate administration unit and payment card terminal, addresses the inflexibility of existing charging stations by enabling secure and flexible payment processing, allowing for retrofitting and improved accessibility.

DE102023133606A1Pending Publication Date: 2025-06-05EV PAY GMBH
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Patent Information

Application Number
DE102023133606
Authority / Receiving Office
DE · DE
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-11-30
Publication Date
2025-06-05

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing charging stations for electric vehicles lack flexibility and cannot be easily retrofitted to support payment processing without integrated payment card terminals, limiting their accessibility and usability.

Method used

A charging arrangement comprising a charging station, a payment card terminal, and an administration unit, where the administration unit is separate from the charging station and payment card terminal, enabling flexible payment processing and retrofitting of existing stations.

Benefits of technology

The solution allows for tamper-proof and secure billing records to be created, ensuring accurate energy pricing and payment processing, while enabling the use of existing charging stations without the need for additional payment terminals.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The invention relates to an operating method for a charging arrangement for an electric vehicle, wherein the charging arrangement comprises at least one charging station (10), at least one payment card terminal (20), and an administration unit (30). The method comprises the following steps: - determining price information about a charging process of an electric vehicle by the administration unit (30); - transmitting the price information about the charging process from the administration unit (30) to the at least one payment card terminal (20); - displaying the price information by the at least one payment card terminal (20); - Reading of payment information by the payment card terminal (20); - carrying out the charging process by the charging station (10) and recording an amount of energy transferred during the charging process by an energy meter (12) of the charging station (10); - Creating a first data set containing the recorded amount of energy and signing the first data set by a first signature unit (13) arranged in the charging station (10); - Transferring the signed first data set from the charging station (10) to the administration unit (30); - creating a second data record comprising the first data record and at least parts of the price information in the administration unit (30) and signing the second data record by a second signature unit (32) assigned to the administration unit (30); and - Providing the signed second data set as a billing document. The invention further relates to a charging arrangement configured to carry out the method.
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Description

The invention relates to an operating method for a charging arrangement for an electric vehicle, wherein the charging arrangement comprises at least one charging station, at least one payment card terminal and an administration unit. The invention further relates to a charging arrangement with a charging station, payment card terminal and administration unit, which is configured to carry out such an operating method.Charging stations are used for charging traction batteries of electric vehicles, to which charging stations an electric vehicle is connected by means of a suitable charging cable or is connected via an inductive coupling. Electrical energy in the form of direct current or alternating current is then generally transmitted from the charging station to the electric vehicle, and under certain circumstances also from the energy vehicle to the charging station in order to support the energy supply network. Such charging stations are known in the form of possibly self-supporting charging columns or as so-called "wall boxes" for wall mounting.If charging stations are to be accessible to a plurality of persons, i.e. are set up in the public room, for example, or in the area of multi-family houses or on company sites, it is necessary to be able to unambiguously allocate the amount of energy delivered or absorbed to a user of the charging station. Furthermore, the amount of energy delivered or absorbed is to be detected in a reproducible and right-handed manner and presented to the user for checking. Rights bases are to be taken into account if necessary; for example, the requirements of the calibration right must be observed in Germany. Finally, payment modalities are likewise to be defined transparently in advance. This includes, for example, the fact that a user must be informed in a reproducible manner about an energy price of the subsequent charging process before the beginning of a charging process. Conversely, it is to be ensured that a subsequently emitted amount of energy at the aforementioned price is also actually paid for by the user. This requires, for example, the user to specify a payment method by means of which a specific amount of money is reserved in advance and thus ensured.In particular, in order to meet the latter conditions, charging arrangements have become established on the market in which use of a charging station is only possible when a user has logged in beforehand with his payment information to an operator of the charging station and has, for example, an identification card ("charging card") created specifically for this use. However, this procedure greatly restricts users, since it is complicated and sometimes associated with high monthly basic fees to keep a respective charging card available for a multiplicity of different systems which have become established on the market. Even if an electric vehicle is used in a large radius, there is often the situation that an available charging station cannot be used because the matching charging card is not present.In order to make charging stations usable independently of a prior report, a charging station for electric vehicles is known, for example, from the publication EP 3 971 023 A1, which charging station comprises a payment card terminal with which a credit or balance card can be read in. An identification code is then created in the charging station, which identification code comprises at least a part of a credit card number or a gro account number. Furthermore, count values of the amount of energy supplied during a charging process are measured in the charging station and, based on the count values and the identification code, a record for the billing of the charging process is created, which record is stored and can be downloaded by the user for checking purposes. In order to achieve increased security, it is further provided to digitally sign the count values of the energy quantity and the identification code, optionally with an additional identification of the charging station and a piece of time information relating to the charging process, in the charging station, so that the billing record is tamper-proof for the further processing.The method is flexible since, independently of a prior registration and establishment of a customer account with the operator of the charging station, the latter can be used with credit, debit or Giro card. However, the method cannot be implemented with charging stations already installed, which do not have corresponding equipment with a payment card terminal.It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a charging arrangement and an operating method of the type mentioned at the beginning which are flexible in use and which can also be implemented as retrofit solutions with charging stations which do not use an integrated payment card terminal connection.This object is achieved by an operating method and a charging arrangement having the features of the respective independent claim. Advantageous embodiments and developments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.An operating method according to the invention for a charging arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning has the following steps: price information about a charging process of the electric vehicle is determined by the administration unit and transmitted to the at least one payment card terminal. The price information is then displayed by the at least one payment card terminal in order to be viewed by the user. Further, payment information is read in by the payment card terminal. The charging process is carried out by the charging station and an amount of energy transmitted during the charging process is detected by an amount of energy counter of the charging station. Furthermore, a first data record, which contains the detected energy quantity, is created and signed by a first signature unit, which is arranged in the charging station. The signed first data record is sent from the charging station to the administration unit, which then creates a second data record, which comprises the first data record and at least parts of the price information. The second data record is signed in the administration unit by a second signature unit which is assigned to the administration unit. The signed second data record is then provided as a billing record.To create the billing record, and thus in particular also to define a total price for the charging process, two different subcomponents must be present, namely, on the one hand, price information and, on the other hand, information about the amount of energy drawn.In the method according to the invention, the administration unit has trusted price information since it has provided it itself. Information about the amount of energy drawn, also referred to below as energy information, is likewise present in the charging station in a tamper-proof and thus trusted manner on the basis of the first signature. The provision of the billing record can therefore be effected according to the invention in the administration unit in a more tamper-proof manner and at a high trust level. The second signature, which the administration unit performs, provides the billing receipt with tamper protection for further method steps. The high level of confidence achieved thus remains in further method steps.In an advantageous embodiment of the operating method, the electric vehicle is connected to the at least one charging station before ascertaining the price information, and a message about the connection of the electric vehicle is sent from the at least one charging station to the administration unit. In this way, the electric vehicle is prepared for the charging process and the connection of the electric vehicle initiates the ascertainment of the price information. In alternative embodiments, the ascertainment of the price information can be initiated in a different manner, for example by a user input at the charging station or at the payment card terminal.In a further advantageous embodiment of the operating method, after the reading-in, the payment information is verified by a request at a payment service provider and the charging process is carried out only if the payment information is confirmed. Preferably, clearance information is then sent from the payment card terminal to the administration unit, wherein the clearance information comprises at least parts of the payment information which are assigned to the charging process, and wherein the charging station is instructed by the administration unit to start the charging process.In a further advantageous embodiment of the operating method, the first signature unit is arranged within the energy amount counter and accordingly the signature of the energy amount information takes place directly in the energy amount counter which usually conforms to the calibration law, which further increases the manipulation security.The operating method can advantageously be coordinated by an administration unit which is arranged separately from the charging station and the at least one payment card terminal. The charging station can, but does not have to, have either the payment card terminal or the administration unit. Accordingly, already present charging stations can be integrated without problems into a charging arrangement according to the invention. The operating method and the charging arrangement according to the invention are accordingly particularly well suited for a retrofit solution.In a further advantageous embodiment of the operating method, contact data from the user is specified and read in using the payment information. The billing receipt can be transmitted to the user using the contact data. Alternatively or additionally, in connection with the reading in of the payment information, the user can be provided with a data address, for example an address of a web page, via which the billing record can be retrieved. By making the billing receipt available to the user, the user can validate the billing receipt. For this purpose, a transparency service or transparency software can be provided, which checks the accounting record using public keys of the first signature unit and the second signature unit. The user thus receives a confirmation that the billing receipt has not been manipulated. In addition, the billing receipt can be checked for consistency and correctness, for example by checking the ascertained total price on the basis of the energy information and price information contained in the billing receipt.It can also be provided that the administration unit transmits the billing record to a billing center. Independently of this, it can also be provided that the administration unit transmits a determined total price for the charging process to the payment card terminal. As a result, the payment card presented by the user can be final charged via the payment card terminal in order to complete the payment process.A charging arrangement for an electric vehicle according to the invention comprises at least one charging station, at least one payment card terminal and an administration unit, wherein the administration unit is arranged separately from the charging station and the at least one payment card terminal. The charging arrangement is configured to carry out such a method. The advantages mentioned in connection with the method result, in particular the high trust level of the billing record and the possibility of also using charging stations in the charging arrangement which are not equipped with a payment card terminal.In an advantageous embodiment of the charging arrangement, the at least one payment card terminal is arranged separately from the at least one charging station. The charging arrangement further advantageously has a plurality of charging stations, wherein particularly preferably a shared payment card terminal is assigned to the plurality of charging stations. In this way, a cost-effective charging arrangement is provided, in which it is possible to dispense with the provision of each charging station with its own payment card terminal.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment with the aid of figures. The figures show: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a charging arrangement; and FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an operating method for a charging arrangement.FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a charging arrangement according to the invention in the form of a block diagram by way of example. The charging arrangement comprises a charging station 10, a payment card terminal 20 and an administration unit 30. Communication can also take place via the network 40 to other units, not explicitly shown here. The Internet can in particular serve as the network 40. In alternative embodiments, it is also possible to perform a data exchange between two or more of the units shown, i.e. for example between the charging station 10 and the payment card terminal 20 or between the payment card terminal 20 and the administration unit 30, via a data connection operating independently of the network 40. If necessary, such a data connection can also be a wired point-to-point connection.The charging station 10 has a control unit 11 via which communication with the network 40 also takes place. The charging station 10 further has an energy amount meter 12 which comprises a first signature unit 13. In alternative embodiments, the signature unit 13 can also be arranged inside the charging station 10 externally of the energy amount meter 12.Further components which the charging station 10 necessarily or optionally has are not illustrated for reasons of clarity. Such components included, for example, a charging connection for connecting the charging station 10 to an electric vehicle to be charged. A charging socket or a charging cable with charging plug attached fixedly to the charging station 10 can serve as the charging connection. Furthermore, components for supplying energy to the charging station 10 are not shown, in particular for supplying an alternating current, which is generally three-phase and is transmitted either as alternating current or, after rectification, as direct current to the electric vehicle via the charging connection. Alternatively, the charging station 10 can also be connected to a DC voltage bus for its energy supply. In connection with the transmission of the charging current to the electric vehicle, switching and safety elements are also arranged in the charging station 10, for example earth leakage circuit breakers and overcurrent and possibly overvoltage fuses. For controlling the charging process, a charging controller is provided, which can be implemented in the control unit 11 or in a separate unit.Furthermore, the charging station 10 can have display and / or operator control elements, for example a screen, in particular a touchscreen, for displaying information relating to the charging process or for displaying a state of the charging station 10 and / or of the charging process.The charging station 10 can be designed as a charging column, optionally a self-supporting charging column, or can also be suitable for wall mounting, that is to say can be designed as a "wallbox".In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, a payment card terminal 20 is present separately from the charging station 10, which payment card terminal is preferably located in the vicinity of the charging station 10. It can be provided to provide a payment card terminal 20 for a plurality of charging stations 10 set up adjacently.The payment card terminal 20 also comprises a control unit 21 coupled to a card reader 22, to a display unit 23, e.g. a display, and to an operating unit 24, e.g. a keypad.The pay card terminal 20 makes it possible to read out information stored on a card by means of the card reader 22. Depending on how the information is stored on the card, the card reader 22 can be a chip or magnetic card reader into which the card is inserted, or a contactless card reader which reads information wirelessly from the card. For this purpose, the card can be designed, for example, as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) card or can have an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip. The card reader 22 may also be suitable for different card formats or there may be multiple card readers 22 suitable for different cards. For example, a screen (display) may be used as the display unit 23 to notify the user of instructions as to which steps are expected next. The operating unit 24 can comprise a keyboard, with which e.g. a secret number (PIN) can be input.While in the example shown the charging station 10 and the payment card terminal 20 are separate units, it is likewise conceivable for the payment card terminal 20 to be integrated into the charging station 10. If a plurality of charging stations 10 are present, each can be provided with a payment card terminal 20. However, it is also conceivable to arrange a payment card terminal 20 in one of the charging stations 10, which is also used in conjunction with the other charging stations 10.However, it is important to note that the payment card terminal 20 can be arranged and designed separately from the charging station 10, which makes it possible to use charging stations which are already present and do not have a payment card terminal within the scope of a charging arrangement according to the invention in the course of a retrofitting solution.In contrast, the administration unit 30 can advantageously be arranged separately from both the charging station 10 and the payment card terminal 20 in the method according to the invention. It comprises a server 31, which contains, inter alia, a second signature unit 32 or has access to it. Administration unit 30 preferably has a plurality of servers 31, which optionally perform their tasks explained in more detail below in connection with FIG. 2 in a redundant manner and distributed manner.An embodiment of an operating method according to the invention for a charging arrangement is shown in FIG. 2 in the form of a flow chart. The operating method illustrated can be carried out, for example, with the charging arrangement according to FIG. 1 and is described below by way of example with reference to the charging arrangement of FIG. 1.The operating method comprises method steps S 1 to S 12, the representing symbols of which are arranged horizontally in FIG. 2 such that they can be assigned to the various units in which they are executed, specifically to the charging station 10, the payment card terminal 20 and the administration unit 30.In the first step S 1, the user connects his electric vehicle to the charging station 10. The charging station 10 can be a single charging station 10 or else one of a plurality of charging stations 10 to which the payment card terminal 20 is jointly assigned.The charging station 10 then blocks charging plugs or charging cables from being removed, checks compatibility with the connected electric vehicle and determines possible charging parameters, for example a maximum permissible charging current or a maximum permissible charging power. The control unit 11 of the charging station 10 then sends a message about the connection of the electric vehicle that has taken place to the administration unit 30. It is preferably created according to the specifications of the OCPP (open charge point protocol) standard.The transmitted message is received and processed by the administration unit 30 in a step S 3. Specifically, the administration unit 30 creates a unique identifier for this process, hereinafter referred to as process ID. The administration unit 30 furthermore determines current price information for a charging process at this point in time at the charging station 10. The price information is compiled, for example, in the form of a further message which is then sent to the payment card terminal 20 assigned to the charging station 10. The transmission can take place, for example, according to the MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol. However, other network-suitable protocols can also be used.In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the plugging of the electric vehicle onto the charging station 10 in step S 1 and the subsequently transmitted message in step S 2 initiate the ascertainment of the price information by the administration unit 30 in step S 3. In alternative embodiments of the method, the determination of the price information can also be initiated in a different manner. For example, it is conceivable for the user to actuate an operating element at the charging station 10 or else at the payment card terminal 20 in order to be informed about prices. A message comparable to that in step S 2 is then sent from the charging station 10 or the payment card terminal 20 to the administration unit 30 in order to create the process ID in the following step S 3 and to ascertain the current price information.The pay card terminal 20 receives the price information from the administration unit 30 in step S4 and displays relevant information from the record on the display unit 23. The information contains the determined prices for the charging process, for example in the form of a basic price for the process and an energy price which specifies the costs per kilowatts hour (kWh). In particular, if the payment card terminal 20 is assigned to a plurality of charging stations 10, a unique identifier of the charging station 10 is also displayed. Further preferably, an amount to be reserved is displayed, which must be ensured by the customer and the payment service provider before the beginning of the charging process in order to start the charging process at all. In credit card payment, provision can be made, for example, to reserve a maximum amount which a user then enables for the pending charging process with respect to his credit card provider.Furthermore, the user is asked with the information on the display unit 23 to select his payment options by inserting a payment card, for example a credit card, a debit card or a Giro card, into the card reader 22 or by holding in readiness the payment card or an equivalent medium, for example a smartphone with an NFC (Near Field Communication) interface.In order to achieve compatibility with known methods in which a payment card other than the payment cards mentioned is used, it can be provided at this point to abort the method according to the invention and to forward the information collected up to now to a known handling method for this type of card, which then coordinates the execution of the loading method. Such card types, which do not belong to the payment cards in the sense of the present application, are, for example, so-called charging cards or fleet cards (e.g. for company vehicle fleets), for which an application to the operator of the charging arrangement is required in advance.The method continues by the user following this in step S5 and communicating his payment information to the payment card terminal 20 by inserting or holding the payment card (or the equivalent medium) in or in front of the card reader 22. Alternatively, the user can abort the process at this point, which is not explicitly shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 2. In the event of a break, corresponding information is sent to the administration unit 30, which in turn informs the charging station 10 in order to release the charging plug or the charging cable again.Furthermore, provision can be made in step S 5 to request contact data of the user. The contact data can be, for example, a telephone number or an email address, which the user can enter via the operating unit 24 and which can subsequently (cf. step S 12) be used to send an accounting record to the user. Alternatively, after this or one of the subsequent steps, a data address can be provided via which the billing receipt can be later retrieved. The data address can be displayed, for example, as a QR (Quick Response) code, which the user can photograph comfortably with his mobile telephone.In a following step S 6, the provided information about the payment card is read in by the card reader 22, in particular a card or account number, and further processed in the payment card terminal 20. In addition, it may be necessary to input a secret number (PIN) to the operation unit 24. Based on the information from the card reader 22, optionally from the operating unit 24, and the information about the maximum amount to be reserved received in step S 4, a request is then sent to the payment service provider located behind the payment card of the user in order to release the transaction and reserve the provided amount.A response of the payment service provider is evaluated by the payment card terminal 20 in a step S7. When the transaction is approved by the payment service provider, the payment card terminal 20 sends a corresponding message to the administration unit 30. In this case, information is again sent to the administration unit 30, which either archives or discards the process and which notifies the charging station 10 to abort the process with respect to the electric vehicle as well and to release the charging plug or charging cable for removal.The release sent to the administration unit 30 in step S 7 is received there in step S 8, whereupon the administration unit 30 sends a further message to the charging station 10 to start the charging process. Preferably, a value of a maximum amount of energy to be delivered, e.g. indicated in kWh, covered by the maximum amount is also transmitted. This message may in turn be formed according to the OCPP standard.If, in alternative embodiments of the method, the price determination was not initiated by connecting the electric vehicle to the charging station 10 in step S 1, the user at the latest now connects the electric vehicle to the charging station 10. For this purpose, it can be requested, for example, by a corresponding message on the display unit 23 of the payment card terminal 20.The charging station 10 then starts the charging process in a step S 9, which includes, for example, detecting a counter reading of the energy amount counter 12 when the charging process starts. The charging process is carried out until it is ended in a step S 10, whereupon a further value of the energy amount counter 12 is determined. The amount of energy delivered results from the difference between the counter values of the amount of energy counter 12 determined in steps S 9 and S 10. The charging process can be terminated in various ways, either by being interrupted by the user at the charging station 10, by the electric vehicle being fully charged, or by the maximum amount of energy to be delivered, which is covered by the reserved maximum amount, being reached. It is noted that the method can proceed analogously if energy is not drawn from the charging station 10 but rather is emitted by the electric vehicle.After the end of the charging process, the charging station 10 sends a first data record with information about the charging process that has been completed to the administration unit 30, which further data record contains, for example, a data tuple with identifiers of the charging station 10 and information about the starting time and the end time of the charging process that is carried out and in particular the information about the energy quantity that is read out by the energy quantity counter 12. The data tuple is generated in the charging station 10 in accordance with calibration law by the energy quantity meter 12 itself and digitally signed in its first signature unit 13. In particular, the energy information is thus contained in the data tuple in a tamper-proof manner. Conventional and known asymmetric encryption methods can be used for the digital signature, for example RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman). In an advantageous embodiment, the data tuple can be formed according to the OCPP standard as a so-called open charge metering format (OCMF) string.In step S 11, the information received from the administration unit 30 is further processed from the data tuple. In particular, the amount of energy transmitted in the charging process is read out of the data tuple and, if appropriate, verified with the aid of a public key of the first signature unit 13. Together with the price information which the administration unit 30 has determined in the step S3, a total amount to be paid is calculated.The determination of the total price is a tamper-proof and trusted process, since the administration unit 30 has created or provided the price information itself in step S 3 so that its authenticity is secured for the administration unit 30. The energy information, on the other hand, is under the right of calibration and is likewise tamper-proof due to the first signature unit 13 of the energy amount meter 12, so that in step S 11 both relevant subcomponents, the price information and the energy information, are present in a trusted manner to the administration unit 30.It can be provided that the ascertained total price is sent by the administration unit 30 in the form of a further message to the payment card terminal 20, which forwards the total price to be paid to the billing service provider in order to thus charge the payment card presented by the user in step S 7 in the final form and to complete the payment process.All relevant information, i.e. in particular the first data record with the data tuple with the energy information (i.e. for example the OCMF string), the price information and the total price to be paid, are then compiled by the administration unit 30 in the form of a second data record. This can also contain the procedure ID and all data stored in this context by the administration unit 30.In order to guarantee the high level of trust achieved even for subsequent method steps, the administration unit 30 then signs the second data record created by it using the second signature unit 32 in the following step S 12.The administration unit 30 then sends the signed second data record as a billing record, for example, to a billing system of the operator of the charging arrangement. Based on the billing record, the operator of the charging arrangement can make a billing for the payment service provider if this has not been effected directly by the payment card terminal 20, as described above. The billing receipt can also be sent to the user himself if the latter has specified a telephone number in step S 5 or an e-mail address or other contact data via which preferably electronic delivery can take place. Alternatively or additionally, a data address, which may have been presented beforehand, can be used to download the billing receipt.In the example described above, the administration unit 30 sends control instruction directly to the charging station 10. In an alternative embodiment of the method, instead, communication from the administration unit 30 to the charging station 10 for controlling this charging station 10 can take place via a central control device of the charging arrangement, in particular if the charging arrangement comprises a plurality of charging stations 10.In an advantageous embodiment, subsequent verification steps are provided for checking the billing record 11 received from the user.For this purpose, a transparency service is provided, for example in the form of a web application or a web page, which offers the option of loading or uploading the billing receipt. The transparency service checks the integrity of the accounting data record on the basis of publicly available keys of the first signature unit 13 and of the second signature unit 32.Furthermore, the transparency service can check whether the information contained in the billing record is correct in itself. In particular, the energy amount information acquired in steps S 9 and S 10 of the diagram of FIG. 2 and signed by the energy amount counter 12 in the first signature unit 13 can be read out and compared with the energy amount on the basis of which the total price was determined.List of reference characters10 Charging station 11 Control unit 12 Energy amount meter 13 First signature unit 20 Payment card terminal 21 Control unit 22 Card reader 23 Display unit 24 Operating unit 30 Administration unit 31 Server 32 Second signature unit 40 NetworkReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedEP 3 971 023 A1

[0005]

Claims

Operating method for a charging arrangement for an electric vehicle, wherein the charging arrangement comprises at least one charging station (10), at least one payment card terminal (20) and an administration unit (30), comprising the following steps: - ascertaining price information about a charging process of an electric vehicle by the administration unit (30); - transmitting the price information about the charging process from the administration unit (30) to the at least one payment card terminal (20); - presenting the price information by the at least one payment card terminal (20); - reading in payment information by the payment card terminal (20); - carrying out the charging process by the charging station (10) and detecting an amount of energy transmitted in the charging process by an amount of energy counter (12) of the charging station (10); creating a first data record containing the amount of energy acquired and signing the first data record by a first signature unit (13) arranged in the charging station (10); transmitting the signed first data record from the charging station (10) to the administration unit (30); creating a second data record, comprising the first data record and at least parts of the price information, in the administration unit (30) and signing the second data record by a second signature unit (32) assigned to the administration unit (30); and providing the signed second data record as a billing record.Operating method according to Claim 1, in which, before the price information is ascertained, the electric vehicle is connected to the at least one charging station (10), and a message about the connection of the electric vehicle is sent from the at least one charging station (10) to the administration unit (30).Operating method according to Claim 1 or 2, in which, after the reading-in, the payment information is verified by a request at a payment service provider and the loading process is carried out only if the payment information is confirmed.Operating method according to Claim 3, in which an item of clearance information is sent from the payment card terminal (20) to the administration unit (30), the clearance information comprising at least parts of the payment information which is assigned to the charging process, and the charging station (10) being instructed by the administration unit (30) to start the charging process.Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the first signature unit (13) is arranged within the energy amount counter (12).Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 5, in which the administration unit (30) is arranged separately from the charging station (10) and the at least one payment card terminal (20).Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 6, in which contact data from the user is specified with the payment information and in which the billing record is additionally transmitted to the user using the contact data.Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 7, in which, in conjunction with the reading-in of the payment information, the user is provided with a data address via which the billing record can be called up.Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the administration unit (30) transmits the billing record to a billing center.Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 9, in which the administration unit (30) transmits a determined total price for the charging process to the payment card terminal (20)Operating method according to one of Claims 1 to 10, in which the accounting record is checked using public keys of the first signature unit (13) and of the second signature unit (32).Charging arrangement for an electric vehicle, comprising at least one charging station (10), at least one payment card terminal (20) and an administration unit (30), wherein the administration unit (30) is arranged separately from the charging station (10) and the at least one payment card terminal (20) and wherein the charging arrangement is configured to perform a method according to one of claims 1 to 11.Charging arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the at least one payment card terminal (20) is arranged separately from the at least one charging station (10).Charging arrangement according to claim 12 or 13, comprising a plurality of charging stations (10).The charging arrangement of claim 14, wherein a shared payment card terminal (20) is associated with the plurality of charging stations (10).

Citation Information

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