SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CHARGING RECOMMENDATION FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Abstract

A charging recommendation system for electric vehicles is disclosed. The system includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured to receive a request from a user interface associated with a vehicle user. The request includes one or more of vehicle route information and a state of charge (SoC) level of the vehicle. The processor is configured to generate a geofence and obtain real-time operator charging amounts from charging station operators located within the geofence. The processor is further configured to determine that a charging demand in the geofence is less than a predetermined threshold and to activate a first mode if the charging demand is less than the predetermined threshold.The processor is further configured to generate a first list of recommended charging stations based on the real-time operator charging amounts in response to activation of the first mode and transmit the first list to the user interface.

Description

REGIONThe present disclosure relates to electric vehicles, and more particularly to systems and methods for recommending charging for electric vehicles.BACKGROUNDAs the number of electric vehicles (EVs) increases, the EV landscape rapidly develops. The EV is operated with electrical energy and a vehicle user must charge the vehicle battery periodically to ensure uninterrupted vehicle operation. The vehicle user may charge the EV at home to the user or at public charging stations. Different public charging stations use a fixed charging model for charging the EV, which may not be advantageous for all participants.There is a need for a resource management system and method that optimally utilize the EV charging station network.SUMMARYThe present disclosure describes a charging recommendation system for electric vehicles that provides charging recommendations to a vehicle user associated with a vehicle. In particular, the system may provide a recommendation for a charging station of a plurality of charging stations at which the vehicle user may charge the vehicle.In some aspects, the system may be configured to generate a recommended charging station list in which the charging stations may be ranked or sorted in a specific order. The system may generate the list based on various parameters. For example, the system may obtain real-time charging facility operator amounts from a plurality of charging station operators associated with the plurality of charging stations residing in a local geofence (e.g., a local geographic area in a road network where the vehicle is likely to require / require charging) and generate / sort the list of charging stations based on the real-time charging operator amounts. The top predefined number of charging stations in the sorted list may be the list of recommended charging stations. In an exemplary aspect, the system may include only those charging stations in the list that offer charging with an amount of charge less than a user-preferred amount of charge (e.g., a maximum amount at which the vehicle user may wish to buy the electrical energy to charge the vehicle via a charging station and associated amount of charge energy required). In further aspects, the system may generate the list based on an assessment of the plurality of charging stations, clean energy assessment, user preferences, and / or the like.In some aspects, the system may be configured to generate the list of recommended charging stations based on a demand for charging in the local geofence. For example, if the charge demand may be greater than a predetermined threshold, the system may allow the vehicle user to input one or more user charge amounts in real-time (such as a first user charge amount, a second user charge amount, and an associated required charge energy) to offer against the real-time operator charge amounts. In some aspects, the system may obtain the first user charge amount and "pair" the first user charge amount with the real-time operator charge amounts. In other words, the system (a) may identify to the vehicle user charging station(s) that may offer the charging with an amount of charge less than or equal to the first amount of charge.When the system identifies the charging station(s), the system may transmit information associated with the identified charging station(s) to a user interface (e.g., a human machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle or a user device associated with the vehicle user). The vehicle user may view the list with the charging station(s) and provide confirmation or select the charging station at which the vehicle user wishes to charge the vehicle. The system may then initiate or enable a transaction between the vehicle user and the charging station.In a scenario where the system does not identify a pair for loading by the first user, the system may receive a second user amount of charge from the vehicle user (via the user interface) in a subsequent cycle of operation associated with the system. In response to receiving the second user charge amount, the system may identify the pair for the second user charge amount in the same manner as for the first user charge amount. In some aspects, the second user charge amount may be greater than the first user charge amount.The present disclosure discloses a charging recommendation system for electric vehicles that provides charging recommendations to a vehicle user. The system facilitates the charging station operator to provide incentives and attract more customers, and enables charging station operators to present an optimized amount of charge to attract more customers. In addition, the system may prioritize user preferences, thereby improving the user / customer experience.These and other advantages of the present disclosure are provided in detail herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe detailed description will be set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical elements. For various embodiments, elements and / or components other than those illustrated in the drawings may be used, and some elements and / or components may not be present in various embodiments. The elements and / or components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout the disclosure, terms in the singular and plural may be used interchangeably depending on the context. FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example electric vehicle (EV) charging recommendation system in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates an example proposal process in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates an example curve of demand and supply of EV charging stations and vehicles in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for charging recommendation for EV in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe disclosure will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown, and is not intended to be limiting.FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which techniques and constructions for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. Environment 100 may include a vehicle 105, which may be a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The vehicle 105 may take the form of any passenger or commercial vehicle, such as a sport utility vehicle, a car, a crossover vehicle, a van, a minivan, a bus, a truck, etc. Further, the vehicle 105 may be a manually driven vehicle and / or configured to operate in a semi-autonomous or a fully autonomous mode. The vehicle 105 may include a traction battery or battery pack ("vehicle battery", not shown) that may provide energy / energy for vehicle propulsion. The vehicle battery may be charged by an external power source, for example, an electric vehicle (EV) charging device. The vehicle 105 may travel on a road network 110, which may be located in a city, rural area, a town, etc.Environment 100 may further include an electric vehicle charging recommendation system 115 (or system 115) and one or more servers 120. The system 115, the server(s) 120, and the vehicle 105 may be communicatively coupled to each other via one or more networks 125. Network(s) 125 illustrates (illustrate) an example communication infrastructure in which the connected devices discussed in various embodiments of this disclosure may communicate. The (die) network(s) 125 may be and / or include the Internet, a private network, a public network, or other configuration operating using any one or more of any known communication protocols, such as transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), Bluetooth ®, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, ultra-wideband (UWB), and cellular technologies such as time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), High-speed packet access (HSPDA), long-term evolution (LTE), global system for mobile communications (GSM), and fifth generation (5G), to name a few examples.In some aspects, the server(s) 120 may be part of a cloud-based computing infrastructure and associated with and / or include a Service Delivery Network (SDN) that provides digital data services to the vehicle 105 and other vehicles (not shown in FIG. 1 ) that may be part of a fleet of vehicles. In some aspects, a fleet operator(s) (not shown), a vehicle user, and / or charging station operator(s) may operate the server(s) 120. In additional aspects, the server(s) 120 may be configured to store charging station information and provide it to the system 115. The charging station information may include, for example, the location of the charging station in the road network 110, a historical evaluation rating of charging stations, a clean energy rating, user feedback associated with one or more charging stations in the road network 110, the work status of the charging station, and / or the like.The system 115 may be configured to provide charging recommendations to a vehicle user associated with the vehicle 105. In particular, the system 115 may be configured to obtain one or more inputs from the vehicle 105 (or a user device / interface associated with the vehicle user), a user device / interface associated with the operator of the remote stations, and / or the server(s) 120, and may provide charging recommendations to the vehicle user based on the obtained inputs. For example, based on the inputs, the system 115 may recommend one or more optimal charging stations to charge the vehicle 105. The details of the recommendation may be understood as follows.In some aspects, the system 115 may receive a request from the vehicle 105 or the user device associated with the vehicle user to provide a recommendation of a charging station to charge the vehicle 105. In some aspects, the request may include, for example, vehicle route information (e.g., a current / source location of the vehicle and a destination location of the vehicle), a current state of charge (SOC) level of the vehicle, user preferences, and / or the like. The user preferences may include a preferred charging speed, the reliability of the charging station (including ease of access to the charging station, work status, etc.), the location of the charging station, rating of the charging station, services / equipment offered proximate the charging station, the SOC endpoint, and / or the like. Alternatively, when the system 115 receives the request, the system 115 may retrieve the vehicle route information, the current SOC level of the vehicle, the user preferences, etc., from the one or more of the vehicle 105, the user device, the server 120, and / or the like.In response to receiving the request, the system 115 may calculate or generate a local geofence. In some aspects, the system 115 may calculate / generate the local geofence based on the vehicle route information. In further aspects, the system 115 may calculate / generate the local geofence based on the current SOC level of the vehicle. The local geofence may be a local geographic area in or around the road network 110 in which the vehicle 105 may be expected to require / require charging based on the vehicle route information and / or the current SOC level of the vehicle.In response to computing / generating the local geofence, the system 115 may determine a load demand in the local geofence in real-time. For example, the system 115 may determine whether a number of requests associated with one or more charging stations (e.g., for charging vehicles at the charging stations) located in the local geofence may be less than a predetermined threshold. In further aspects, the system 115 may determine the charge demand based on the SOC endpoint and real-time traffic details. The system 115 may identify and label charging energy consumption blocks based on such a determination. In response to a determination that the demand may be less than the predetermined threshold, the system 115 may begin operating in a first mode (or first system operating mode) or activate a first system operating mode (e.g., a single bid mode or single EV single round bid system). Alternatively, in response to a determination that the demand may be greater than the predetermined threshold, the system 115 may begin operating in a second mode or activate a second mode (or second system operating mode) of system operation (e.g., a dual bid mode or dual bid continuous system).In the first system operating mode, the system 115 may be configured to obtain real-time operator charging amounts (or a per unit electric charge delivery / sale price to be used for charging EVs) from a plurality of charging station operators / owners. The plurality of charging station operators / owners may be associated with a plurality of charging stations that may be located in the local geofence. In some aspects, the real-time operator charge amount may be a delivery price that the respective charging station operators may be raising for EV charging. One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate from the above description that in the first system operating mode, the system 115 aggregates the real-time delivery price for EV charging associated with the charging stations that may be located in the local geofence. In other aspects, the system 115 may obtain the operator load amounts offline.In response to aggregating the real-time operator charge amounts, the system 115 may generate a first list of recommended charge stations from the plurality of charge stations located in the local geofence for the vehicle 105. In some aspects, the system 115 may generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on the aggregated real-time operator charging amounts associated with the charging stations located in the local geofence. As an example, the system 115 may rank and sort the charging stations in ascending order based on their respective real-time operator charging amounts and generate a list of the 10 best charging stations as the first list of recommended charging stations.In further aspects, the system 115 may be configured to obtain, from a human machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle 105 or the user device associated with the vehicle user, a user charge amount (e.g., a maximum charge amount / purchase price) at which the vehicle user may wish to buy the electrical energy to charge the vehicle 105 via a charge station. The system 115 may generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on the user charge amount. For example, the system 115 may provide the recommendation of charging stations for which the real-time operator charging amounts are less than the user charging amounts. In the first mode, the system 115 may be configured to obtain the user charge amount only once.In further aspects, the system 115 may generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on the charging station information stored on the server 120 (e.g., historical charging station rating rating, clean energy rating, user feedback, charging station location, etc.) and / or user preferences described above. As an example, the system 115 may provide a higher ranking for the charging station offering specific services / equipment (e.g., eating or parking facility), even if the amount of charge associated with the charging station may be higher than other charging stations.In response to generating the first list of recommended charging stations, the system 115 may transmit the first list of recommended charging stations to a user interface (e.g., the vehicle HMI, the user device, etc.). In some aspects, the system 115 may cause the vehicle 105 (or the user device) to display the first list of recommended stations on the respective user interface. The vehicle user may view the first list of recommended charging stations on the user interface and may select a charging station from the first list to charge the vehicle 105. The system 115 may receive the input / selection of the charging station from the vehicle user and may direct / redirect the vehicle 105 to the selected charging station. In some aspects, the system 115 may facilitate the vehicle 105 autonomously navigating towards the selected charging station. In other aspects, the system 115 may generate and transmit navigation instructions that may facilitate the vehicle user driving to the selected charging station. Additionally, the system 115 may enable a transaction between the user interface and the selected charging station.In the second system operating mode, the system 115 may obtain the real-time operator charging amounts from the plurality of charging station operators / owners associated with the plurality of charging stations located in the local geofence. In addition to obtaining the real-time operator charge amounts described above, in the second system operating mode, the system 115 may obtain one or more user charge amounts from the user interface (e.g., the vehicle HMI, the user device, etc.) associated with the vehicle user. A user charge amount may be a charge purchase price (e.g., a bid price) at which the vehicle user may wish to buy the electrical energy to charge the vehicle 105 via a charging station. In some aspects, the system 115 may obtain one or more user charge amounts in different / subsequent cycles of the second mode. For example, in some aspects, the system 115 may obtain a first user charge amount (of one or more charge amounts) in a "first cycle" (or a first bid cycle) of the second mode. In response to receiving the first user charge amount, the system 115 may identify charging stations in the local geofence that may offer the charging with a charge amount less than the first user charge amount. In particular, the system 115 may compare the real-time operator charge amounts to the first user charge amount and identify one or more first charge stations (of the plurality of charge stations) that offer the charge with a charge amount less than the first user charge amount based on the comparison.In response to identifying such charging stations, the system 115 may generate a second list of recommended charging stations. The second list of recommended charging stations may include the one or more first charging stations (e.g., identified charging stations) that may offer an amount of charge less than or equal to the first user amount of charge (i.e., the real-time operator amount of charge is less than or equal to the first user amount of charge). The system 115 may be further configured to transmit the second list of recommended charging stations to the user interface (in the same manner as the system 115 transmits the first list of recommended charging stations, as described above) and enable a transaction between the user interface and the selected charging station. Additionally, the system 115 may generate the second list of recommended charging stations based on the charging station information and / or the user preferences stored on the server 120, as described above.On the other hand, if the system 115 cannot identify a charging station that may offer an amount of charge that may be less than or equal to the first user amount of charge, the system 115 may obtain a second user amount of charge (of one or more amounts of charge) from the user interface (of the same vehicle user) in a "second cycle" (or a second bid cycle) of the second mode. In some aspects, the second user charge amount may be greater than the first user charge amount. Alternatively, the second user charge amount may be the same as the first user charge amount (if the vehicle user does not wish to increase the first user charge amount).In response to receiving the second user charge amount, the system 115 may identify charging stations in the local geofence that may offer the charging with a charge amount less than the second user charge amount. In particular, the system 115 may compare the real-time operator charge amounts to the second user charge amount and identify one or more first charge stations (of the plurality of charge stations) that offer the charge with a charge amount less than the second user charge amount based on the comparison. In response to identifying such charging stations, the system 115 may generate a third recommended charging station list and transmit the third recommended charging station list to the user interface. The third list of recommended charging stations may include the one or more second charging stations that may offer an amount of charge that may be less than the second user amount of charge (i.e., the real-time operator amount of charge may be less than the second user amount of charge). In this manner, in the second system mode of operation, the vehicle user may gradually increase the amount that the vehicle user may be ready to pay for the electrical energy until the system 115 determines at least one charging station that may match the offered amount of the user.A detailed process for determining and providing charging recommendations to the vehicle 105 is described below in connection with FIG. 2.The vehicle 105 and system 115 implement and / or perform operations as described herein in the present disclosure in accordance with the user manual and security policies. Additionally, for each action taken by the user, all rules specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 105 (e.g., federal, state, country, city, etc.) should be observed. The notifications, recommendations as provided by the vehicle 105 and / or the system 115 should be treated as suggestions and followed only according to any regulations specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 104.FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example electric vehicle (EV) charging recommendation system 200 (system 200) in accordance with the present disclosure. During the description of FIG. 2, reference may be made to FIGS. 3 and 4.The system 200 may be the same as the system 115. The system 200 described herein may be implemented in hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or a combination thereof. The system 200 may be communicatively connected to a vehicle 202, a vehicle user device 204 (e.g., a first user device 204), a charging station operator user device 206 (e.g., a second user device 206), and one or more server(s) 208 via a network 210. In some aspects, the system 200 may be a portion of the vehicle 202. In other aspects, the system 200 may be a portion of the server(s) 208. In yet another aspect, system 200 may be part of an external server (not shown), which may not be part of server(s) 208.The vehicle 202 may be the same as the vehicle 105, the server(s) 208 may be the same as the server(s) 120, and the network 210 may be the same as the network 125. The first user device 204 may be associated with a vehicle operator / user (not shown) of the vehicle 202. Each of the first and second user devices 204, 206 may be, for example, a mobile phone, laptop, computer, tablet, wearable device, or any other similar device having communication capabilities.The system 200 may include a variety of entities including, but not limited to, a transceiver 212, a processor 214, and a memory 216. The transceiver 212 may be configured to transmit information to and receive information from the vehicle 202, the first user device 204, the second user device 206, and the server(s) 208 via the network 210.The processor 214 may be arranged in communication with one or more storage devices, e.g., the memory 216 and / or one or more external databases (not shown in FIG. 2 ). The processor 214 may use the memory 216 to store programs as code and / or store data for performing various system operations in accordance with the present disclosure. The memory 216 may be a non-transitory computer readable medium or memory for storing program code for an EV charge recommendation. The memory 216 may include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), etc.), and may include one or more of any nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), etc.).In some aspects, the memory 216 may include a plurality of modules and databases including, but not limited to, a vehicle information database 218, a vehicle user information database 220, a charging station information database 222, and a charging station recommendation module 224. The charging station recommendation module 224 as described herein may be stored in the form of computer-executable instructions, and the processor 214 may be configured and / or programmed to execute the stored computer-executable instructions to perform functions of the system in accordance with the present disclosure.The vehicle information database 218 may store information associated with a plurality of vehicles operating as part of a fleet of vehicles and / or a plurality of passenger vehicles. For example, the vehicle information database 218 may store the vehicle information associated with the vehicle 202. The vehicle information may include vehicle route information and the SOC level of the vehicle, as described above in connection with FIG. 1 In particular, the transceiver 212 may receive / obtain the vehicle information from the vehicle 202 a predefined number of times (e.g., every minute or every 5-10 minutes) and transmit the vehicle information to the vehicle information database 218 for storage purposes. In some aspects, the vehicle route information may include current vehicle route information and upcoming vehicle route information (e.g., destinations for future trips).The vehicle user information database 220 may store the driver information associated with the drivers (i.e., the vehicle users) who can drive the plurality of vehicles operating as part of a fleet of vehicles and / or the plurality of passenger vehicles. For example, the user information database 220 may store the user information associated with the vehicle user. In some aspects, the user information may include the user preferences, one or more user load amounts (including the first user load amount, the second user load amount), as described above in connection with FIG. 1. The transceiver 212 may receive / receive the user information from the first user device 204, the vehicle 202, and / or the server(s) 208 at the predefined frequency or when the vehicle user provides such information. The transceiver 212 may transmit the received user information to the user information database 220 for storage purposes.The charging station information database 222 may store the charging station information described above in connection with FIG. 1. The transceiver 212 may receive / receive the charging station information from the second user device 206 and / or the server(s) 208 at a predefined frequency (e.g., every 5 minutes or 10 minutes) or when the charging station operator provides this information. In some aspects, the charging station information may include, for example, the location of the charging station in the road network 110, a historical rating rating of charging stations, a clean energy rating, user feedback associated with one or more charging stations in the road network 110, the work status of the charging station, and / or the like. The transceiver 212 may send the received charging station information to the charging station information database 222 for storage purposes. In some aspects, the charging station information database 222 may further include / store the real-time operator charging amounts obtained from the plurality of charging stations. In some aspects, the charging station information database 222 may further store information associated with Born or additional services that may be offered by the respective charging station operator.In operation, the transceiver 212 may receive a request from the vehicle 202 (e.g., via the vehicle HMI) or the first user device 204 to provide a recommendation of a charging station to charge the vehicle 202. The processor 214 may receive the request from the transceiver 212. In some aspects, the processor 214 may receive the request when the vehicle user desires to view a recommendation for charging stations. In an example aspect, the request may include vehicle information including, but not limited to, the vehicle route information and the SOC level of the vehicle. In addition, the request may include the user preferences. As described above, the transceiver 212 may transmit the received information to the corresponding vehicle information database 218 and the vehicle user information database 220 for storage purposes.The processor 214 may receive the request (along with the vehicle information and the user preferences) from the transceiver 212. Alternatively, the processor 214 may obtain the vehicle information and user preferences from the respective vehicle information database 218 and the vehicle user information database 220 in response to receiving the request from the transceiver 212.The processor 214 may then calculate or generate a local geofence 302 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) based on the obtained vehicle information. The local geofence 302 may be a local geographic area / zone (e.g., in the road network 110) in which the vehicle 202 may be expected to require / require charging. In some aspects, the processor 214 may calculate / generate the local geofence 302 based on the vehicle route information and / or the current SOC level of the vehicle. As an example, if the current SOC level of the vehicle may be 10% of a maximum SOC level, the processor 214 may generate the local geofence 302 near a current location of a vehicle. Alternatively, if the current SOC level of the vehicle may be greater than 30% of the maximum SOC level, processor 214 may generate local geofence 302 slightly further from the current location of a vehicle. The location of the local geofence 302 may also be based on a typical SOC level at which the vehicle user prefers to charge the vehicle 202 (determined based on the historical vehicle charge trend / pattern or user preferences). In some aspects, the size / area of the local geofence 302 may be static. In other aspects, the size / area of the local geofence 302 may be dynamic and may change based on the local demand for electrical energy in the local geofence 302.In response to generating the local geofence 302, the processor 214 may determine a load demand in the local geofence 302. For example, the processor 214 may determine whether the number of requests for electrical energy (from the vehicle 202 and additional vehicles 306 a- d, as shown in FIG. 3 ) associated with the charging stations located in the local geofence 302 may be less than or greater than a predetermined threshold. In response to a determination that the request may be less than the predetermined threshold, processor 214 may activate the first mode (e.g., the single-bid mode) of system operation, as described above in connection with FIG. 1. Alternatively, in response to a determination that the request may be greater than the predetermined threshold, processor 214 may activate the second mode (e.g., the dual-bid mode) of system operation.In the first system operating mode, the processor 214 may obtain the real-time operator charging amounts from the second user device(s) 206 associated with the charging station operators associated with the charging stations 304 a, 304 b, 304 c(collectively referred to as charging stations 304) shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the processor 214 may aggregate the offer / sale price associated with the charging stations 304 located in the local geofence 302 when the system 200 may operate in the first mode. In some aspects, in the first system operating mode, the processor 214 may identify the charging stations 304, which may be located in the local geofence 302, based on the charging station information stored in the charging station information database 222, and then obtain the real-time operator charging amounts for the charging stations 304 from the corresponding second user device(s) 206.In response to obtaining the real-time operator charge amounts associated with the charging stations 304, the processor 214 may generate the first list of recommended charging stations (e.g., a list sorted based on one or more parameters, e.g., offer price of the electrical energy in each charging station, user feedback rating for each charging station, distance of each charging station from the current geolocation of the vehicle, and / or the like). In some aspects, the processor 214 may generate the first list based on the aggregated real-time operator load amounts. In further aspects, the processor 214 may be configured to obtain, from the vehicle HMI or the user device associated with the vehicle user, a user charge amount (e.g., a maximum charge amount / purchase price) at which the vehicle user may wish to buy the electrical energy to charge the vehicle 202 via a charge station. The processor 214 may generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on the user charge amount. For example, the processor 214 may provide the recommendation of charging stations for which the real-time operator charging amounts may be less than the user charging amount. In the first mode, the processor 214 may obtain the user charge amount only once.In further aspects, the processor 214 may generate the first list based on the charging station information stored on the server 208 (e.g., historical charging station rating ratings, clean energy rating, historical user feedbacks, location of the charging stations, etc.). In an example aspect, the processor 214 may obtain information associated with a location of a charging station (from other users and / or the server 208) and may determine whether the charging station is in an insecure zone and may generate the first list based on the determination. In this case, the charging station in the insecure zone may not be included in the first list. In further aspects, processor 214 may aggregate information associated with other facilities / services in local geofence 302 (via server 208, user device 206, or any other device) and may generate the first list based on the aggregated information. For example, the processor 214 may evaluate the devices, such as restaurant, parking, etc., near the location of the charging station and may rank the charging stations in the first list based on the evaluation.In some aspects, processor 214 may evaluate the remaining backup battery storage to buffer (and / or field renewable power generation information) various charging stations and determine an amount of electricity to be drawn from the network by the charging stations and / or an amount of renewable power generation (or any other storage buffer) that may be limited due to insufficient demand. In some aspects, a given charging station may be network bound to a storage buffer or may be part of a larger micronetwork or virtual power plan (VPP) that may or may not be connected to the network. Based on the determination, the processor 214 may assign a clean energy rating to the charging stations and may generate / sort the first list based on the clean energy rating. In some aspects, the processor 214 may obtain the clean energy score as a portion of the charge station information (e.g., from the server 208) and may generate / sort the first list based on the clean energy score.In further aspects, the processor 214 may generate the first list based on the user preferences. For example, if the processor 214 determines that the user prefers a fast charging station at which the user may charge the vehicle 202 in a shorter time (and may buy the electrical energy in a higher amount), the processor 214 may provide (or select) a higher ranking for the charging stations at which the charging speed may be high and / or the waiting time may be shorter.In response to generating the first list, the processor 214 may transmit the first list to the vehicle HMI or the first user device 204. In some aspects, the processor 214 may cause the vehicle 202 (or the first user device 204) to display the first list on the respective user interface. The vehicle user may view the first list on the user interface and may select a charging station from the first list. The processor 214 may receive the input / selection from the first user device 204 and may direct / redirect the vehicle 202 to the selected charging station to enable the vehicle user to conveniently charge the vehicle 202. In further aspects, the processor 214 may initiate / enable a transaction between the vehicle 202 (or the user interface) and the selected charging station in response to receiving the inputs. Additionally, processor 214 may receive user feedback to improve user experience in the future.In some scenarios, the charging station operator(s) may gradually reduce the amount of charging of the real-time operator. For example, the charging station operator(s) may (may) reduce the amount by speculating that the users could be guided to issue more for additional services or conveniences (such as eating during charging their vehicles).In the second system operating mode, the processor 214 may obtain the real-time operator charge amounts associated with the charging stations 304 located in the local geofence 302 (e.g., from the second user device(s) 206) as described above. Additionally, processor 214 may receive additional input from first user device 204 and other user devices associated with other vehicles 306 a- d. The additional inputs may include one or more user charge amounts (or a charge purchase price associated with the required amount of energy) from the first user device 204. In response to receiving the real-time operator charge amounts associated with the charging stations 304 and the additional inputs, the processor 214 may generate a second list of recommended charging stations and transmit the second list (or cause the second list to be displayed) to the vehicle HMI or the first user device 204.In some aspects, the second system operating mode may be implemented in a dual cycle or a first cycle and a second cycle. Each cycle may be divided into a sequence of time slots / spaces. For example, each cycle may include a first period of time (e.g., a bid period) and a second period of time (e.g., a translation period). In an exemplary aspect, each cycle may be 20 minutes, wherein the first time period of each cycle may be 0 to 10 minutes, and the subsequent second time period may be 10 to 20 minutes. In some aspects, the second period of the first cycle may overlap with the first period of the second cycle.In the first period of the first cycle, the processor 214 may obtain a first user charge amount from the first user device 204 (or the vehicle HMI). For example, processor 214 may receive a purchase price of "5 dollars" at the beginning of the first cycle. Likewise, processor 214 may receive purchase prices from other vehicle users (associated with vehicles 306) located in local geofence 302. The processor 214 may further obtain the real-time operator charging amounts (offer prices) from the second user device(s) 206 associated with the charging stations 304 located in the local geofence 302. The processor 214 may sort the purchase prices of different vehicle users in a descending order to form a Charging Queue Buy (CQB) purchase and sort the offer prices of the different charging station operators in an ascending order to form a Charging Queue Sell (CQS) sale in the order pool.In response to forming the CQB and the CQS and obtaining the first user charge amount and the real-time operator charge amounts, the processor 214 may compare the first user charge amount to the real-time operator charge amounts (considering the total energy available at the charge stations and required by the vehicle 202) and identify charge station(s) that may offer the charge amount less than or equal to the first user charge amount in the first period of the first cycle. For example, the processor 214 may determine whether a charging station is present in the local geofence 302 offering a charging price to an amount less than or equal to 5 dollars (or the processor 214 may determine a "pair" for the first user charging amount or the vehicle 202). If the processor 214 determines that a charging station exists offering charging to an amount less than 5 dollars (i.e., the first user charging amount), the processor 214 may pair the first user charging amount with the operator charging amount (or the corresponding vehicle and the charging station pairs).In response to identifying the pair, the processor 214 may move to the second period of the first cycle to initiate the transaction. In the second period, the processor 214 may be configured to calculate a total amount to be paid by the vehicle user to charge the vehicle 202 at the paired charging station and the amount that the charging station operator (the paired charging station) can receive. In some aspects, the total amount may include the first user charge amount (e.g., bid p), a charge station rating amount (an amount corresponding to the historical charge station rating rating, P ccpa, ), emissions-related or clean energy fees (P ce) ( an amount associated with the clean energy rating, as described above), and / or the like. In some aspects, the total amount may be a weighted function of the charging station rating amount and / or the emissions-related fees. In some aspects, the P ce may be based on standard low carbon fuel credits for lower CO2 ladezeit times, off-cycle fleet credits for CO2 fokussiert smart charge performance; or an extension credit for renewable utility companies. A brief description of the clean energy charges will be provided later in the description below.For example, the total amount that the vehicle user must pay may be: where k1and k2are weights (which may be zero or non-zero).In further aspects, the paired charging station operator may receive: wherein offer is the offer price, k3 is the weight (which may be zero or non-zero); and P a is a service fee.It is known that at some markets, financial price may be tied by policy mechanisms to environmental consequences (including, but not limited to, CO2), such as: standard low carbon fuels credits for CO2 arme charging times; fleet credits for out-of-cycle CO2 fokussiert intelligent charging performance; or an extension credit for renewable utility companies. In the case where such policy mechanism(s) is(are) present and the price or benefit for one or more of the CPO, utility, customer, or vehicle OEM with CO2-focused smart charging is increased, the potential consequence / benefit becomes a differentiating factor via EV charging options.The broad consensus in the art literature is that the boundary emission prediction is the most effective metric to use instead of the average. This is because addition of electricity drawn at a given time contributes to whether a limit power plant is powered on but a basic load power plant is not affected.At charging points, distinguishing features such as on-site battery storage and on-site solar may affect when (and how much) electricity needs to be obtained next from the network due to a candidate charging event at that location. Further, the SOC of backup batteries continues to operate. For example, if candidate station A and candidate station B both have 150 kWh on-site backup battery storage for buffering, but station A has only 5 kWh remaining while station B has 100 kWh remaining, the charging event at station A would result in electricity having to be drawn from the grid. Given the limit grid emissions at the time of the charging event, the quantification that flows into the CO2 element of the price equation is: how much more or less the charging at station A (predominantly grid electricity) causes in proportion to the consumption of the battery storage energy of station B.In some aspects, in response to determining the total amount to be paid by the vehicle user, the processor 214 may transmit the information associated with the total amount and the paired charging station to the vehicle 202 (e.g., the vehicle HMI) and / or the user device 204. When the vehicle user accepts the offer, the vehicle 202 (and / or the vehicle user) may be removed from the job pool. In some aspects, if the processor 214 identifies more than one pairing charging station, the processor 214 may determine the respective total amount that the vehicle user may need to pay in all scenarios, and may rank the list based on the total amount and transmit the list to the vehicle HMI or user device 204 (and the charging station information and user preferences as described above). The vehicle user may view the list and select a charging station and then initiate the transaction as described above.On the other hand, if the processor 214 may not be able to identify the pair for the first user charge amount in the first period of the first cycle, the processor 214 may receive a second user charge amount from the first user device 204 a first period of the second cycle. The second user charge amount may be greater than the first user charge amount. For example, the second user charge amount may be "6 dollars.". The processor 214 may then determine whether a pair is present for the second user charge amount in the same manner as described above. When the processor 214 identifies the pair for the second user charge amount, the processor 214 may move to the second period of the second cycle (which may be the same as the second period of the first cycle). The processor 214 may continue to perform the process until the purchase price falls below the sale price or when there are no unallocated users and charging stations. The users and the charging stations may remain in the job pool until the processor 214 identifies respective pairs. New vehicle users may be added to the order pool as processor 214 receives more requests to load their respective vehicles in the same local geofence.FIG. 4 illustrates an example curve 400 of demand and supply of EV charging stations and vehicles in accordance with the present disclosure. Specifically, curve 400 represents the amount of charge per unit of energy on the Y axis and a total amount of charge energy on the X axis. Curve 400 represents a typical offer and demand curve of vehicle users (as represented by curve line 402) and charging station operators (as represented by curve line 404) participating in the second mode (bid process). As can be seen from curve 400, the energy price / unit fees for a vehicle / vehicle user decrease as the vehicle charges a larger amount of energy; and the energy price / fees per unit for the charging station increase as more energy is consumed.FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 for charging recommendation for EV in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 5 may be described with further reference to the previous figures, including FIGS. 1-4. The following process is exemplary and is not limited to the steps described below. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer steps shown or described herein and may include these steps in an order different from the order described in the following example embodiments.The method 500 begins at step 502. At step 504, the method 500 may include generating, by the processor 214, a geofence (e.g., the local geofence 302) based on a request to provide a recommendation of a charging station to charge a vehicle associated with a vehicle user. In some aspects, the processor 214 may receive the request from the first user device 204. The request may include one or more of vehicle route information and a state of charge (SoC) level of the vehicle. At step 506, the method 500 may include obtaining, by the processor 214, the real-time operator charge amounts from the second user device 206 associated with a plurality of charging station operators of charging stations located in the local geofence 302. As described above, the local geofence 302 may be generated based on the vehicle route information and / or the current SOC level.At step 508, the method 500 may include determining, by the processor 214, that a charge demand in the local geofence 302 is less than a predetermined threshold. At step 510, method 500 may include activating, by processor 214, the first system operating mode in response to a determination that the charge demand is less than the predetermined threshold. In response to a determination that the charge demand is greater than the predetermined threshold, the processor 214 may activate the second system operating mode.At step 512, the method 500 may include generating, by the processor 214, a first list of recommended charging stations from a plurality of charging stations based on the real-time operator charging amounts. At step 514, the method 500 may include transmitting, by the processor 214, the first list of recommended charging stations to the first user device 204 or the vehicle HMI.The method 500 may end at step 516.In the foregoing disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and illustrate specific implementations in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It should be understood that other implementations may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References in the specification to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include one(s) specific feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment does not necessarily have to include that(s) specific feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such formulations do not necessarily relate to the same embodiment. Further, when a feature(s) structure, or characteristic is described in connection with one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize such feature(s) structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.Further, the functions described herein may be performed in one or more of hardware, software, firmware, digital components, or analog components, as appropriate. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) may be programmed to execute one or more of the systems and procedures described herein. Certain terms used throughout the specification and claims refer to specific system components. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the components may be designated by other terms. In this document, it is not intended to distinguish between components which differ according to the designation, but not in terms of their function.Also, it should be understood that the word "example" as used herein is intended to be non-exclusive and non-limiting. In particular, the word "example" as used herein indicates one of several examples, and it is understood that no undue emphasis or preference is directed to the particular example described.A computer readable medium (also referred to as a processor readable medium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms including, without limitation, non-volatile media and volatile media. Computing devices may include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices, such as those listed above, and may be stored on a computer-readable medium.With reference to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a particular ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order that varies from the order described herein. Further, it should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the claims.Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. From reading the foregoing description, many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided will be apparent. The scope should be determined, not with reference to the foregoing description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood and intended that there will be future developments in the art discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. Overall, it is to be understood that the application may be modified and varied.All terms used in the claims are intended to have their general meaning as known to those skilled in the art of technologies described herein, unless expressly stated to the contrary in this specification. In particular, the use of the singular articles such as "a", "an", "the", "the", etc. is to be understood to mean one or more of the stated elements unless a claim gives an explicit limitation to the contrary. With phrases expressing conditional contexts, such as, but not limited to, "may," "could," "may," or "may possibly," it is generally intended that certain embodiments may include certain features, elements, and / or steps, while other embodiments may not include these unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise will be apparent from the context used. Thus, such phrases expressing conditional relationships are generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or steps are required in any way for one or more embodiments.In one aspect of the invention, the method includes: obtaining a first user charge amount from the user interface in the second system operating mode; comparing the first user charge amount to the real-time operator charge amounts; identifying one or more first charging stations from the plurality of charging stations offering charges with a charge amount less than the first user charge amount based on the comparison; generating a second list of recommended charging stations comprising the one or more first charging stations; and transmitting the second list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.In one aspect of the invention, the method includes obtaining a second user charge amount from the user interface when no charge station offering charging with a charge amount less than the first user charge amount is identified.In one aspect of the invention, the method includes: comparing the second user charge amount to the real-time operator charge amounts; identifying one or more second charging stations from the plurality of charging stations offering charges with a charge amount less than the second user charge amount based on the comparison; generating a third list of recommended charging stations comprising the one or more second charging stations; and transmitting the third list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.According to the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtain a request from a user interface associated with a vehicle user, the request for one or more of vehicle route information and a state of charge (SoC) level of the vehicle; generate a geofence based on the request; obtain real-time operator charge amounts from a plurality of charging station operators located in the geofence; determine that a charge demand in the geofence is less than a predetermined threshold; in response to a determination that the charge demand is less than the predetermined threshold, activate a first system operating mode; generating a first list of recommended charging stations from a plurality of charging stations based on the real-time operator charging amounts; and transmitting the first list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.According to an embodiment, the processor is further configured to generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on user preferences and information associated with the historical score of the plurality of charging stations.

Claims

A system, comprising: a transceiver configured to receive a request from a user interface associated with a vehicle user, the request comprising one or more of vehicle route information and a state of charge (SoC) level of the vehicle; a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to: generate a geofence based on the request; obtain real-time operator charge amounts from one or more charge station operators located in the geofence; determine that a charge demand in the geofence is less than a predetermined threshold; activate a first system operating mode in response to a determination that the charge demand is less than the predetermined threshold; generating a first list of recommended charging stations from the one or more charging stations based on the real-time operator charging amounts; and transmitting the first list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to generate the first list of recommended charging stations based on the user preferences and information associated with the historical rating of the plurality of charging stations.The system of claim 2, wherein the user preferences comprise one or more of: a preferred charging speed, a charging station reliability, and a charging station location.The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive from the user interface a selection of a charging station from the first list of recommended charging stations.The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to enable a transaction between the user interface and the charging station.The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that the load demand in the geofence is greater than the predetermined threshold; and enable a second system mode of operation.The system of claim 6, wherein in the second system operating mode, the processor is configured to: obtain a first user charge amount from the user interface; compare the first user charge amount to the real-time operator charge amounts; identify one or more first charging stations from the one or more charging stations offering charging with a charge amount less than the first user charge amount based on the comparison; generate a second list of recommended charging stations comprising the one or more first charging stations; and transmit the second list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtain a second user charge amount from the user interface when the processor does not identify a charge station offering charging with an amount of charge less than the first user charge amount based on the comparison.The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the second user charge amount to the real-time operator charge amounts; identify one or more second charging stations from the one or more charging stations offering charges with a charge amount less than the second user charge amount based on the comparison; generate a third list of recommended charging stations comprising the one or more second charging stations; and transmit the third list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.A method for providing a recommendation of a charging station, the method comprising: obtaining, by the processor, a request from a user interface associated with a vehicle user, the request comprising one or more of vehicle route information and a state of charge (SoC) level of the vehicle; generating, by the processor, a geofence based on the request; obtaining, by the processor, real-time operator charging amounts from one or more charging station operators located in the geofence; determining, by the processor, that a charging demand in the geofence is less than a predetermined threshold; activating, by the processor, a first system operating mode in response to a determination that the charge demand is less than the predetermined threshold; generating, by the processor, a first list of recommended charging stations from a plurality of charging stations based on the real-time operator charging amounts; and transmitting, by the processor, the first list of recommended charging stations to the user interface.The method of claim 10, wherein generating the first list of recommended charging stations is based on the user preferences and information associated with the historical rating of the plurality of charging stations.The method of claim 11, wherein the user preferences comprise one or more of: a preferred charging speed, a charging station reliability, and a charging station location.The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining from the user interface a selection of a charging station from the first list of recommended charging stations.The method of claim 13, further comprising facilitating a transaction between the user interface and the charging station.The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining that the charge demand in the geofence is greater than the predetermined threshold; and activating a second system operating mode in response to a determination that the charge demand is greater than the predetermined threshold.

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