Management of the charging of an electric vehicle, corresponding charging terminal and corresponding charging management server

Abstract

The invention relates to the management of the charging of an electric vehicle (10), via a charging terminal (14). According to the invention, a method for managing this charging comprises steps of: - connecting (E1) a charging cable (13) between said electric vehicle and said charging terminal; - said charging terminal receiving (E5) authentication data in relation to said electric vehicle; - said charging terminal triggering said charging at the end of an inspection (E6) on said authentication data when the authentication data concern a second user, different from the first user and authorized to carry out charging.

Description

Management of the recharging of an electric vehicle, corresponding recharging station and recharging management server.

[0001] The field of the invention is that of managing the recharging of electric vehicles. More specifically, the invention relates to the monitoring of the electricity consumption generated by such recharging, in particular, but not exclusively, in the case of a professional electric vehicle recharged by its user at home. Prior art

[0002] As part of COP21 (21 ème The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (CFC), an international climate agreement applicable to the 196 signatory countries, was validated on December 12, 2015. This international agreement sets the objective of limiting global warming to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.

[0003] Following on from this agreement, in France, the Tertiary Decree was promulgated in 2019: it constitutes a regulatory obligation committing tertiary sector players to energy sobriety, and requiring them to gradually reduce their energy consumption, by -40% in 2030, -50% in 2040 and -60% in 2050, in relative value over a reference year.

[0004] While most forecasters believe that our energy consumption will decrease by 2050 thanks to greater energy efficiency, they predict an increase in the share of electricity in the energy mix. Indeed, to move away from fossil fuels such as gas, coal, and oil, we will have to electrify our uses (transport, heating, industry). In France, the operator of the Electricity Transmission Network (RTE) estimates that electricity needs will increase by 35% by 2050. At the same time, electricity production costs are expected to increase by around 15%.

[0005] This change in electricity consumption does not seem to be driven solely by changes in heating costs, and the growing enthusiasm for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles plays a significant role. Indeed, France is the second European country where the most 100% electric vehicles are purchased. Thus, in France, 194,730 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were put on the road in 2020, 125,264 more than in 2019, i.e. an increase of +180%. Of these vehicles, 111,000 are electric vehicles (an increase of 159%), and 83,000 are plug-in hybrid vehicles (an increase of 304%).

[0006] More and more companies are choosing to migrate their fleet of combustion engine business vehicles to an all-electric and / or plug-in hybrid fleet. Employees of these companies must regularly recharge their business vehicles. To do this, they can use: Public electric charging stations, which are increasingly rare to find free; Electric charging stations in companies, at their workplace; Electric charging stations at home, for an estimated cost today of around €17c / kWh.

[0007] If employees choose to charge their vehicle at home, the question arises of whether the company will reimburse the employee for the actual costs of charging this electric or hybrid vehicle for professional use.

[0008] Currently, there are charging cost simulators that allow companies and their employees to estimate the cost of recharging an electric vehicle. However, these simulators only provide an estimate of the electricity consumption generated by recharging the battery.

[0009] Additionally, charging your electric car at home requires the user to make some more or less expensive adjustments. Indeed, it is difficult to plug your electric vehicle into a domestic socket, which in France is limited to 10A. Therefore, you must install a reinforced socket and / or a Wallbox® type charging station.

[0010] The reinforced socket must be installed by a professional, in conjunction with a suitable circuit breaker. With a reinforced socket, electric vehicle charging times are slow.

[0011] Wallbox® charging stations are devices designed specifically for charging electric vehicles. There are as many Wallbox® models as there are suppliers (Legrand®, Schneider®, or even specialized manufacturers like EVBox®, which collaborates with Engie®, or even car manufacturers today), and each has its own technology and a wide range of options. Although more expensive to install than a reinforced socket, the Wallbox® charging station has the advantage of allowing faster charging times. It may require the user to increase the power of their electricity meter.In addition, these charging stations, compared to reinforced sockets, offer, for certain models, some additional features, such as an alert by indicator light when the electric vehicle is charged, or connected technology such as Wi-Fi® or Bluetooth®, allowing the vehicle's charging to be controlled from an application on the user's Smartphone.

[0012] However, for the user, the cost of recharging their vehicle from this type of terminal is high, with an 11kW terminal consuming as much energy as eleven small electric heaters.

[0013] To date, there is uncertainty about how companies can reimburse these costs to their employees, as there is no solution that allows an employer, on the one hand, to accurately identify the share of domestic electricity consumption associated with recharging a professional electric vehicle, and on the other hand, in the case of recharging from a domestic terminal, to ensure that the vehicle in question is indeed the professional vehicle, and not the user's personal vehicle.

[0014] If they want to be reimbursed for their expenses by their employer, employees equipped with a professional electric vehicle therefore only have the option of recharging at their workplace, or at a public charging station, where they can provide proof of the amount paid by bank card for recharging their professional vehicle.

[0015] There is therefore a need for a technique for managing the recharging of an electric or hybrid vehicle that does not have these various drawbacks of the prior art. In particular, there is a need for such a technique that makes it possible to monitor the electrical consumption resulting from the recharging of a professional electric vehicle at a domestic recharging station. There is also a need for such a technique that makes it possible to ensure that the electric vehicle recharged at a domestic recharging station is indeed a professional vehicle.

[0016] The invention meets this need by proposing a method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle, by a domestic recharging terminal of the vehicle of a first user, which comprises steps of: - connecting a recharging cable between the electric vehicle and the domestic recharging terminal; - receiving by the domestic recharging terminal of authentication data of the electric vehicle; - triggering of recharging by the domestic recharging terminal following a check of the authentication data when the authentication data

[0017] target a second user, distinct from the first user and authorized to carry out a

[0018] reloading.

[0019] .

[0020] Thus, the invention is based on a completely new and inventive approach to managing the recharging of electric vehicles in a domestic environment. Indeed, the invention proposes to condition the triggering of the recharging of an electric vehicle, in a domestic environment, on the control, by the domestic recharging terminal, of authentication data associated with this vehicle. According to the invention, recharging is authorized when the result of the authentication check indicates that the vehicle belongs to a second user distinct from the first and that the first user is authorized by the second user to charge the vehicle. Thus, after the user has connected the recharging cable connecting the domestic terminal to his vehicle, this recharging only begins if the recharging terminal has been able to verify the authentication data of the vehicle.This allows, for example, to only trigger recharging if the terminal can verify that the vehicle is indeed a vehicle authorized to recharge at this terminal (for example, an electric vehicle from a company fleet). This can also allow, for example, the identification of the vehicle connected to the terminal, to be able to associate the electrical consumption associated with the recharging that begins.

[0021] According to a first embodiment, the vehicle authentication data is an authentication code associated with the vehicle entered by the first user on an input interface associated with the home charging station. Such an input interface may be, for example, a digital keypad, associated with the home charging station: entering the authentication code on this digital keypad conditions the triggering of the charging of the electric vehicle by the home terminal. Such a digital keypad may be provided to the user, with the home terminal of the Wallbox® type, by the company that employs him and entrusts him with a professional electric vehicle. Alternatively, the input interface may be a touch interface, on a screen associated with the charging station, or an audio interface associated with the terminal, to which the user addresses the authentication code in the form of a voice command.Only the authorized user of the electric vehicle has the authentication code to trigger charging, which secures the charging process at the home charging station. The fact that the authentication code is associated with the vehicle can therefore allow it to be specifically identified.

[0022] According to a first characteristic, when the charging cable is connected, the home charging station sends a request for authentication data to a charging management server, capable of generating and transmitting the authentication code to a mobile communication terminal of the first user. According to one aspect, the home charging station is connected to a gateway for access to a local communication network, capable of relaying the request for authentication data that it receives from the home charging station to the charging management server via a wide area communication network.

[0023] Such a charging management server is preferably a server of the company to which the electric vehicle to be charged belongs. Upon receipt of a request for authentication data sent by the home charging station, and relayed to it by the access gateway of the local communication network to which the home charging station is connected, this charging management server generates an authentication code, which it sends to the user's mobile terminal, for example a smartphone-type smartphone. As will be seen in more detail later, the request received from the charging station may contain an identifier of the latter, for example in the form of a serial number.This identifier allows the charging management server to identify the user to whom an authentication code should be sent, by consulting a company database storing in association the identifiers of the Wallbox® installed in the employees' homes, and the latter's contact details (telephone number for example). The charging management server can then generate a charging authorization, including an authentication code transmitted to the employee's mobile terminal, to which is associated the identifier of the home charging station, and for example a time stamp data.

[0024] According to another characteristic, the home charging station is connected to the access gateway using a communication technology belonging to the group comprising:- Wi-Fi® technology;- technology conforming to a G.hn standard as specified by the International Telecommunications Union in recommendations G.9960 and following.

[0025] Thus, the home charging station can be connected to the access gateway to a local Wi-Fi® home communication network. Alternatively, G.hn plugs are used to enable the Wallbox® to communicate with the access gateway via the electrical network. This latter solution is particularly advantageous when the home charging station is installed in the basement of the user's home, or in an underground parking lot of a building, in which the quality of the Wi-Fi® radio coverage may be insufficient.

[0026] According to a second embodiment, the authentication data is transmitted to the home charging station by the electric vehicle via the charging cable and includes a unique key for identifying the electric vehicle.

[0027] In this second embodiment, the home charging station and the electric vehicle therefore exchange a unique key when connecting the cable connecting the car and the home charging station. This exchange can be done via the charging cable itself. The vehicle's electrical socket then integrates a communication module dedicated to this exchange of information with the home charging station. A suitable software program can be integrated into the professional vehicle's electrical socket. The communication protocol used will not be detailed here in more detail, as it is not part of the present invention, and which can be any communication protocol suitable for this type of exchange, for example a V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure) type communication protocol, or an extension of the CAN bus, or even communication by Power Line Communication.

[0028] According to one aspect, the authentication data also comprises a profile of the electric vehicle comprising at least certain information relating to the electric vehicle belonging to the group comprising:- an identifier of the electric vehicle;- a mileage of the electric vehicle;- status information of the electric vehicle;- an identifier of the first user of the electric vehicle;- an anomaly detected on the electric vehicle.

[0029] This makes it possible to enrich the contextual information associated with the vehicle's charging, for later storage by the company's charging management server. In addition, this profile allows the home charging station, for example, to determine whether the vehicle that has connected is a company vehicle or the user's personal vehicle.

[0030] Additionally, it is also possible to envisage that the home charging station sends confirmation to the user of the electric vehicle on their mobile terminal that the charging will be charged to their personal account, or to their company's account, depending on the profile of the vehicle they have collected.

[0031] According to another aspect, the home charging station implements authentication of the electric vehicle based on the unique identification key. Such authentication makes it possible to reserve charging only for authenticated vehicles, and therefore authorized to use this home charging station, for example only for vehicles belonging to a company fleet.

[0032] According to another aspect, the charging station transmits to a charging management server information relating to the electrical consumption associated with the charging of the vehicle, in association with at least some of the information in the profile of the electric vehicle. Thus, the Wallbox® sends, for example, the quantity of energy used for charging the vehicle to the company's charging management server, if it has been determined that the vehicle is indeed the user's professional vehicle. The charging management server can then store this information, in association with the information in the profile of the electric vehicle. The cost associated with this energy consumption can then be charged to the company, either directly or via an employee reimbursement procedure.

[0033] The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising program code instructions for implementing a method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle as described above, when executed by a processor.

[0034] The invention also relates to a computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of the method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to the invention as described above.

[0035] Such a recording medium may be any entity or device capable of storing the program. For example, the medium may include a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a USB flash drive or a hard disk.

[0036] On the other hand, such a recording medium may be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means, so that the computer program contained therein is remotely executable. The program according to the invention may in particular be downloaded over a network, for example the Internet.

[0037] Alternatively, the recording medium may be an integrated circuit in which the program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to perform or to be used in performing the aforementioned display control method.

[0038] The invention also relates to a domestic charging station for an electric vehicle, comprising a socket for connecting a charging cable from the electric vehicle to the station, which comprises: - a module for receiving authentication data from the electric vehicle; - a module for controlling the authentication data configured to activate the triggering of charging by the charging station.

[0039] More generally, such a charging station comprises a set of modules, memories and processors allowing the implementation of the method for managing the charging of an electric vehicle described above. Such a station may in particular comprise an interface for entering an authentication code, or be associated with such an interface, such as a digital code box for example. Such a station is preferably connected by wired or wireless link to an access gateway of a local communication network, via which it can connect to a charging management server present on a wide area communication network to which this gateway is connected.

[0040] The invention also relates to a method for controlling the recharging of an electric vehicle implemented by a recharging management server, which comprises steps of: - receiving a request for vehicle authentication data from a home recharging terminal to which the electric vehicle is connected, said home recharging terminal being arranged in a home of a first user and being configured to implement the recharging management method described above; - verifying whether said vehicle belongs to a second user distinct from the first user and whether the first user is authorized to operate a recharging of the vehicle;

[0041] - generation and transmission of an authentication code to a mobile communication terminal of said first user.

[0042] We will see later that the first user is authorized by the second user to recharge the vehicle.

[0043] Thus, the invention is based on a new and inventive approach to controlling, in a company for example, the recharging of electric vehicles in a fleet of vehicles, for example a fleet of professional vehicles. Indeed, the invention proposes to carry out an authentication of a vehicle to be recharged, before authorizing such recharging; to do this, a recharging management server, belonging for example to the communication network of a company or connected to the latter, generates an authentication code upon receipt of an authentication request from a recharging station, for example a domestic station. Such a request includes for example an identifier of the recharging station, allowing the server to identify the user associated with it, by consulting a dedicated database.After verifying the identity of this user, for example an employee with an electric company vehicle, the charging management server sends the generated authentication code to a mobile terminal of the user, whose contact details are recorded in the database. It is this code that then allows the user to trigger the charging of their electric vehicle at the charging station.

[0044] According to one aspect, the recharging management server stores an event log in which it records in association the authentication code, an identifier of the recharging terminal contained in the authentication data request and a timestamp data item associated with the request and / or the authentication code. Such a timestamp data item may be associated with the time of receipt of the authentication data request, or with the time of generation or transmission of the authentication code by the server. It makes it possible to date the time of recharging of the electric vehicle, and therefore to identify, in the user's electricity consumption statement, the portion which corresponds to the recharging of his professional electric vehicle.

[0045] Thus, according to another aspect, the recharging management server sends to an electricity meter present on a local communication network to which the recharging terminal is connected, a request to obtain an electricity consumption associated with the recharging, the request to obtain containing said timestamp data.

[0046] The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising program code instructions for implementing a method for controlling the recharging of an electric vehicle as described previously, when executed by a processor.

[0047] The invention also relates to a computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of the method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to the invention as described above.

[0048] Such a recording medium may be any entity or device capable of storing the program. For example, the medium may include a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD-ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a USB flash drive or a hard disk.

[0049] On the other hand, such a recording medium may be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means, so that the computer program contained therein is remotely executable. The program according to the invention may in particular be downloaded over a network, for example the Internet.

[0050] Alternatively, the recording medium may be an integrated circuit in which the program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to perform or to be used in performing the aforementioned display control method.

[0051] The invention finally relates to a server for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle, which comprises a module for receiving a request for authentication data from a recharging terminal to which the electric vehicle is connected, and a module for generating and transmitting an authentication code to a mobile communication terminal of the first user of the vehicle.

[0052] The invention also relates to a, a, and a having in combination all or part of the characteristics set out throughout this document.

[0053] The aforementioned charging station, charging management server and corresponding computer programs have at least the same advantages as those provided by the methods for managing charging and controlling the charging of an electric vehicle according to the present invention. Presentation of figures

[0054] Other aims, characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description, given as a simple illustrative, and non-limiting, example, in relation to the figures, among which:

[0055] presents the context of recharging an electric or hybrid vehicle using a private electric charging station;

[0056] illustrates in schematic form the technique for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0057] illustrates in schematic form the technique for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle in a variant of the embodiment of the;

[0058] presents in schematic form the technique for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to a second embodiment of the invention;

[0059] presents in schematic form the hardware structure of a charging station for an electric vehicle according to the different embodiments of the invention;

[0060] [Fig 6] shows in schematic form the hardware structure of an electric vehicle charging management server according to the different embodiments of the invention.

[0061] Detailed description of embodiments of the invention

[0062] The general principle of the invention is based on the authentication of an electric vehicle, prior to its recharging at a private type recharging terminal, for example in a domestic environment, for the purposes of monitoring the electricity consumption induced by such recharging by a third party entity, for example by a company which owns the vehicle and employs its user.

[0063] We will now present, in relation to the figures, two main embodiments of the invention, in the context, given simply as an example, of recharging a professional electric vehicle connected to a domestic recharging station, at the user's home. The general principle of this technique will be easily extended to the recharging of any other type of electric or hybrid vehicle and to any other recharging station.

[0064] This context is illustrated in synthetic form on the, on which an electric or hybrid vehicle 10 is equipped with a battery 11 and an on-board charger 12. When recharging the battery 11, the user of the vehicle 10 connects a recharging cable 13 between the on-board charger 12 and a recharging terminal 14. Such a recharging terminal 14 is, for example, a Wallbox® type device, which may have been provided to the user by his employer when the professional electric vehicle was made available, or by the vehicle manufacturer when the latter was acquired. Such a recharging terminal 14 is, for example, installed in the garage or basement of the user's home. It is connected to the domestic electrical network, and preferably also to a domestic local communication network, wired or wireless.

[0065] In connection with the, a first embodiment is presented, in which the charging station 14 is equipped with an input interface, allowing a user to enter an authentication code, the control of which by the charging station 14 triggers the recharging of the vehicle 10. In the example of the, the charging station 14 is associated with a digital code box, these two pieces of equipment being for example provided by the company employing the user. An authentication code is therefore required for the use of the charging station. Thus, the company can ensure that the station 14 is only used for recharging electric vehicles which belong to its fleet of professional vehicles, and not for recharging the private vehicle of the user or another member of his family.

[0066] Illustrates in schematic form the different steps implemented during the recharging of the user's professional electric vehicle 10 by the domestic recharging terminal 14. During a step E1, the user connects the recharging cable 13 between his vehicle 10 and the recharging terminal 14. Upon detection of this connection, the recharging terminal transmits, during a step E2, a request for authentication data from the vehicle 10, the verification of which will condition the effective triggering of the recharging of the vehicle 10. In this example, the recharging terminal 14 is connected by a Wi-Fi® type wireless link to a local communication network (or LAN for the English "Local Area Network"), and in particular to an access gateway 15, for example an Orange® Livebox®. This access gateway 15 also forms an access point to a wide area communication network 16, for example the Internet network.The user's electricity meter 17, for example a Linky® communicating meter, is also connected to the local communication network, and to the access gateway 15, by a wireless or wired link.

[0067] The authentication data request sent by the terminal 14 includes an identifier of the latter, for example its serial number. The request is received by the access gateway 15, and routed (step E3), via the wide area communication network 16, to a server 18 for managing the recharging of electric vehicles administered by the company owning the vehicle 10.

[0068] Upon receipt of the request, the charging management server 18 identifies the charging terminal 14 that issued it, using the identifier it contains, and, by consulting a company database, the employee user at whose home this charging terminal 14 was installed. If the request was indeed issued by a charging terminal listed in this database, and the corresponding user is part of the personnel authorized to charge a professional electric vehicle at home, the charging management server 18 generates an authentication code, for example a digital code, which it transmits during a step E4 to a mobile terminal 19 of the user of the vehicle 10. This transmission can be carried out for example by sending an SMS (Short Message Service) type message on a 4G or 5G type radiocommunication network.The user's mobile terminal 19 is, for example, a smartphone-type smartphone or a tablet, and may also be professional equipment provided by the company.

[0069] Upon receipt of this authentication code on his mobile terminal 19, the user enters it during a step E5 on the digital code box 20 associated with the terminal 14, or integrated into the latter. Alternatively, this code can be entered on a touch screen of the terminal 14, or transmitted in the form of a voice command to the latter.

[0070] During a step E6, the recharging terminal 14 checks the authentication code entered by the user, by comparing it to a version of this code that it received from the access gateway.

[0071] At the end of this check, the charging terminal 14 releases the recharging action of the vehicle 10, which can therefore begin.

[0072] It will be noted that during step E4 of generation and transmission of the authentication code by the recharging management server 18, the latter also records, in an event log, all of the contextual information associated with this recharging of the vehicle 10. This contextual information may include the request for authentication data received from the terminal 14, the identifier of the latter that it contains, an associated time stamp, an identifier of the user associated with this recharging terminal 14, an identifier of the vehicle 10, the authentication code generated, etc.

[0073] In addition, the recharging management server 18 can store other information relating to the vehicle 10, such as its mileage, the date of its last recharging, its overall condition, any detected anomaly, etc. This information, such as the mileage and / or the date of the last recharging, can be used to carry out an additional check that it is indeed the professional vehicle that the user is recharging, and not their personal vehicle or that of their spouse.

[0074] At the end of the recharging, the recharging terminal 14 can send a notification of the end of recharging to the server 18, via the access gateway 15. Upon receipt of this notification, the server 18 can send a request to the communicating meter 17, via the access gateway 15, to obtain the electrical consumption induced by the recharging of the vehicle 10. This request includes, for example, the timestamp data generated upon receipt of the authentication data request by the server 18, as well as a timestamp data generated upon receipt of the notification of the end of recharging by the server 18, both being stored in association in the event log kept by the server 18.This time stamp data allows the communicating meter 17 to identify a start time and an end time of recharging of the vehicle 10, and therefore to transmit to the server 18, via the access gateway 15 and the extended communication network 16, the electrical consumption induced by the recharging.

[0075] Based on this consumption information, the top-up management server 18 can determine a reimbursement of expenses to be made to the employee user.

[0076] The illustrates an alternative embodiment of the principle of the, in which the various devices present on the local communication network are equipped with G.hn plugs (in French, extension modules), and therefore communicate with each other, no longer by Wi-Fi®, but by a wired technology of the G.hn type, as specified by the International Telecommunications Union in recommendations G.9960 and following. Communication between devices of the local network, and in particular the charging station 14 and the access gateway 15, therefore takes place via the electrical network of the house, or its telephone wiring, or coaxial cables, or by optical fiber. The same devices and the same steps are identified on the by the same numerical references as on the, and will therefore not be described here in more detail. It will be noted on the presence of a G.hn 141 plug associated with the charging terminal 14, and a G.hn 151 plug associated with the access gateway 15.

[0077] This embodiment variant based on G.hn technology is particularly advantageous in the context of a domestic environment in which Wi-Fi coverage may be insufficient, in particular in a context where the charging stations 14 are often installed in a basement or a garage, and out of range of the access gateway 15 of the local communication network.

[0078] We now present, in relation to the, a second embodiment, in which the authentication procedure of the vehicle 10 no longer relies on the entry of an authentication code received from a remote recharging management server, but on a unique key exchange between the recharging terminal 14 and the vehicle 10 when connecting the recharging cable connecting them to each other.

[0079] During a step E10, the user connects the charging cable 13 between the electric vehicle 10 and the charging terminal 14. The connection socket of the vehicle 10 is equipped with a communication module allowing it to exchange messages, via the charging cable 13, with the terminal 14, according to any type of suitable communication protocol (for example, the FTPS protocol, for "File Transfer Protocol Secure"). These exchanges are based in particular on a communication protocol by asymmetric cryptographic key exchanges comprising a public key and a private key, allowing the charging terminal 14 to authenticate the electric vehicle 10, according to a known technique which will therefore not be described here in more detail.

[0080] At the end of this authentication phase, the charging station 14 retrieves the profile of the vehicle 10 (personal or company vehicle), and in particular an identifier of the latter, as well as various associated information such as mileage, overall condition of the vehicle, any detected anomaly, etc.

[0081] After having retrieved this profile, the charging station 14 initiates the recharging of the vehicle 10 during a step referenced E11. During this step, it is in communication with the communicating electricity meter 17 of the user's home, so as to associate the electrical communication generated by the recharging with the profile of the vehicle 10 that it has retrieved.

[0082] This communication, within the local communication network, with any other equipment, such as the electricity meter 17 or the access gateway 15, can be done using any appropriate communication technology, and in particular Wi-Fi® or powerline communication technology (PLC and its developments). In the example of the, communication using the ITU G.hn technology has been shown as an example: the charging station 14 and the access gateway 15 are thus respectively equipped with G.hn extension modules, or plugs, referenced 141 and 151.

[0083] The charging terminal 14 also communicates, via the access gateway 15 to the local home network, with the Internet network 16, which hosts one or more servers 18 for managing the charging of electric vehicles, not shown.

[0084] When the profile of the vehicle 10 indicates to the charging station that it is a professional vehicle, the station 14 transmits, via the access gateway 15, to a company charging management server 18, identified from the profile of the vehicle 10, information relating to the quantity of energy used for charging the vehicle 10 during step E11. The charging management server 18 stores the information and charges the associated costs to the company, either directly or via a reimbursement procedure for the employee user.

[0085] Alternatively, it is possible to envisage implementing an additional confirmation step on the user's mobile terminal that the vehicle 10 will be recharged on his account or that of his company.

[0086] We now present, in relation to the, the material structure of a terminal 14 for domestic recharging of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention. Such a terminal is for example a Wallbox® type device, provided by the employer of the user of the electric vehicle or by the latter's car manufacturer, and installed at the user's home, for example in his garage, the parking lot of his building, or the basement of his house.

[0087] Such a charging station 14 is configured to request, receive and control authentication data associated with the electric vehicle which connects to it, for the purposes of monitoring the electrical consumption associated with the charging of this vehicle, with a view to subsequently handling the associated billing, by the company which owns this vehicle.

[0088] Such a charging station 14 therefore comprises: A REQ_AUTH module for generating a request for vehicle authentication data; A CTRL_AUTH module for controlling this authentication data, which controls the CHG module for electric charging of the vehicle.

[0089] The term module can correspond to a software component as well as to a hardware component or a set of hardware and software components, a software component itself corresponding to one or more computer programs or sub-programs or more generally to any element of a program capable of implementing a function or a set of functions.

[0090] The charging station 14 conventionally comprises memories M associated with a CPU processor. The memories can be of the ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory) or Flash type. It also comprises an input / output I / O module which can be connected by wired or wireless link 1 to other equipment of the local domestic communication network, such as an access gateway 15 or a communicating electricity meter 17. For example, the link 1 is a wired link of the G.hn type, or a wireless link of the Wi-Fi® type.In the first embodiment described in relation to Figures 2 and 3, the I / O module is the transmission / reception module which manages the transmission of the authentication data request generated by the REQ_AUTH module to the access gateway 15 of the local communication network, and the reception of the authentication data in return, which can be entered by the user on a dedicated HMI of the terminal 14. In the second embodiment described in relation to the, the I / O module is the input / output module which manages the exchanges between the electric vehicle 10 and the terminal 14, via the charging cable 13, and in particular the exchange of asymmetric authentication keys. The I / O module also manages the exchanges between the terminal 14 and the electric meter 13 for monitoring the energy consumption associated with the charging of the vehicle 10.

[0091] The charging station 14 also includes an interface module, referred to as the IHM. This module may be a touch screen integrated into the terminal 14, or a digital code box 20 integrated or connected to the terminal, or even a voice control module. This IHM interface module may be optional in the context of the second embodiment of the.

[0092] In this second embodiment, the CTRL_AUTH module controls the authentication of the vehicle 10 by asymmetric key exchange, and the recovery of the vehicle profile, which can be stored in the memory M, before total or partial sending to the reload management server 18.

[0093] This illustrates only one particular way, among several possible ways, of producing the charging terminal 14, so that it performs the steps of the method detailed above, in relation to figures 1 to 4 (in any one of the different embodiments, or in a combination of these embodiments). Indeed, these steps can be performed indifferently on a reprogrammable computing machine (a PC computer, a DSP processor or a microcontroller) executing a program comprising a sequence of instructions, or on a dedicated computing machine (for example a set of logic gates such as an FPGA or an ASIC, or any other hardware module).

[0094] In the case where the recharging terminal 14 is produced with a reprogrammable computing machine, the corresponding program (i.e. the sequence of instructions) may be stored in a removable storage medium (such as for example a floppy disk, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM) or not, this storage medium being partially or totally readable by a computer or a processor.

[0095] We now present, in relation to [Fig 6], the hardware structure of a server 18 for managing the recharging of electric vehicles according to an embodiment of the invention. Such a server is for example a server hosted by the company of the user of the electric vehicle, which is intended to monitor the electricity consumption, at the homes of its employees, induced by the recharging of professional electric vehicles, for the purpose of covering the associated costs.

[0096] Such a recharging management server 18 is configured to store and update an event log, in which it stores in association certain information relating to the charging of the electric vehicles of the company fleet, which it receives, via an Internet-type wide area communication network to which it is connected, from domestic recharging terminals installed at the homes of the company's employees. Such an event log makes it possible to monitor the electricity consumption induced by the charging of the company's electric vehicles, and therefore the associated costs, for the purposes of direct support or reimbursement to the employee user.

[0097] In the first embodiment described in relation to figures 2 and 3, such a recharging management server 18 is also configured to receive a request for authentication data of an electric vehicle from a domestic recharging terminal, generate an authentication code and transmit it to the mobile terminal of an employee user, whose contact details are stored in a company database accessible to the server, in association with an identifier of the recharging terminal having issued the request.

[0098] The recharging management server 18 conventionally comprises memories M associated with a CPU processor. The memories can be of the ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory) or Flash type. Such memories M are used for storing the corporate database in which the identifiers of the home recharging stations installed at the employees' homes and the latter's contact details, for example the telephone number of their professional mobile terminal, are recorded in association. They are also used for storing the event log in which, for example, a vehicle identifier and data relating to the electrical consumption induced by its recharging are stored in association.Such an event log may also include information relating to a profile of the electric vehicle, such as its general condition, its mileage, or any anomalies noted. In the first embodiment described in relation to Figures 2 and 3, such an event log also stores the authentication data request received from the charging station, the authentication code generated by the server 18, and associated timestamp data.

[0099] Such a recharging management server also comprises a transmission / reception module RX / TX which can be connected by wired or wireless link to a wide area communication network 16. In the various embodiments described in relation to the preceding figures, the RX / TX module is the transmission / reception module which manages the reception of all the data coming from the user's local home communication network, and transmitted by the access gateway 15 via the internet network 16, as well as, in the first embodiment, the transmission of the authentication code to the user's mobile terminal 19.

[0100] Such a recharging management server 18 therefore also comprises a GEN_AUTH module for generating an authentication code, which the user must enter on the HMI of the recharging terminal 14 to trigger the recharging of his electric vehicle 10.

[0101] The term module can correspond to a software component as well as to a hardware component or a set of hardware and software components, a software component itself corresponding to one or more computer programs or sub-programs or more generally to any element of a program capable of implementing a function or a set of functions.

[0102] [Fig 6] illustrates only one particular way, among several possible ways, of implementing the reload management server 18, so that it performs the steps of the method detailed above, in relation to figures 1 to 4 (in any one of the different embodiments, or in a combination of these embodiments). Indeed, these steps can be performed indifferently on a reprogrammable computing machine (a PC computer, a DSP processor or a microcontroller) executing a program comprising a sequence of instructions, or on a dedicated computing machine (for example a set of logic gates such as an FPGA or an ASIC, or any other hardware module).

[0103] In the case where the reload management server 18 is produced with a reprogrammable computing machine, the corresponding program (i.e. the sequence of instructions) may be stored in a removable storage medium (such as for example a floppy disk, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM) or not, this storage medium being partially or totally readable by a computer or a processor.

Claims

Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle (10), by a home charging station (14) of said vehicle of a first user, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:- connection (E1) of a charging cable (13) between said electric vehicle and said home charging station;- reception (E5) by said home charging station of authentication data of said electric vehicle;- triggering (E11) of said recharging by said home charging station after a check (E6) of said authentication data when the authentication data refers to a second user, distinct from the first user and authorized to carry out a recharging. Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that said vehicle authentication data is an authentication code associated with the vehicle entered by the first user on an input interface (20) associated with said home charging station. Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that, during said connection of said recharging cable, said home recharging station sends an authentication data request to a recharging management server (18), capable of generating and transmitting said authentication code to a mobile communication terminal (19) of said first user. Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that said home charging station (14) is connected to a gateway (15) for access to a local communication network, capable of relaying said authentication data request which it receives from said home charging station to said recharging management server via a wide area communication network (16). Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that said home charging station (14) is connected to said access gateway (15) according to a communication technology belonging to the group comprising: - a WiFi® technology; - a technology conforming to a G.hn standard as specified by the International Telecommunication Union in recommendations G.9960 and following. Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that said authentication data are transmitted to said home charging station by said electric vehicle via said charging cable (13) and include a unique identification key for said electric vehicle. Method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that said authentication data also include a profile of said electric vehicle comprising at least certain information relating to said electric vehicle belonging to the group including: - an identifier of said electric vehicle; - a mileage of said electric vehicle; - a status information of said electric vehicle; - an identifier of said first user of said electric vehicle; - an anomaly detected on said electric vehicle. Method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that said home charging station implements an authentication of said electric vehicle from said unique identification key. Method of managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 7 and 8, characterized in that said charging station transmits to a recharging management server information relating to the electrical consumption associated with said recharging of said vehicle, in association with at least some of the information of said profile of said electric vehicle. Product computer program comprising program code instructions for implementing a method for managing the recharging of an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, when executed by a processor. A home charging station (14) for an electric vehicle, configured for the implementation of the charging management method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising a connection socket for a charging cable (13) of said electric vehicle (10) to said station, characterized in that it comprises: - a module (RX_AUTH) for receiving authentication data of said electric vehicle; - a module (CTRL_AUTH) for controlling said authentication data configured to activate the triggering of said charging by said charging station. Method of controlling the charging of an electric vehicle implemented by a charging management server (18), characterized in that it comprises steps of:- receiving a request for vehicle authentication data from a home charging station (14) to which said electric vehicle (10) is connected, said home charging station being arranged in a home of a first user and being configured for the implementation of the charging management method according to any one of claims 1 to 5;- checking whether said vehicle belongs to a second user distinct from the first user and whether the first user is authorized to operate a charging of the vehicle;- generating and transmitting an authentication code to a mobile communication terminal (19) of said first user. Method of controlling the charging of an electric vehicle according to claim 12, characterized in that said charging management server (18) stores an event log in which it records in association said authentication code, an identifier of said charging station contained in said authentication data request and a timestamp data associated with said request and / or said authentication code. Method of controlling the charging of an electric vehicle according to claim 13, characterized in that said charging management server (18) addresses to an electric meter (17) present on a local communication network to which said charging station (14) is connected, a request to obtain an electric consumption associated with said charging, said request to obtain containing said timestamp data. Product computer program comprising program code instructions for implementing a method for controlling the recharging of an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 12 to 14, when executed by a processor. Electric vehicle charging management server (18), configured for the implementation of a control method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that it comprises a module for receiving a request for authentication data from a charging station (14) to which said electric vehicle (10) is connected, and a module for generating and transmitting an authentication code to a mobile communication terminal (19) of said first user.

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