Method for operating a charging location and charging location terminal

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a charging location (1) by means of a charging location terminal (4) for operating a plurality of charging stations (4) provided at the charging location (1), including charging points (3) which are uniquely assigned an electric vehicle supply equipment ID, EVSE-ID. The charging location terminal (4) is assigned to a terminal back end (6) and communicates therewith. The method has the steps of providing a roaming offer, providing status information and / or condition information, and carrying out a charging operation on the basis of the status information and / or condition information.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Method for operating a charging site and charging site terminal

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The invention relates to a method for operating a charging location with the features of the preamble of claim 1 and to a charging location terminal.

[0005] The following background is intended only to provide information necessary to understand the context of the inventive ideas and concepts disclosed herein. Therefore, this background section may contain patentable subject matter and should not, per se, be considered prior art.

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is offered by many different providers with varying terms and conditions. To make the charging infrastructure generally available to everyone, charging stations are made available at designated charging locations via e-roaming. This allows charging stations operated by various charge point operators (CPOs) to be used. An electric vehicle user concludes a contract with a specific electromobility service provider (abbreviated: EMP or eMSP). The EMP handles the processing of charging transactions and allocation to the electric vehicle user. E-roaming platforms generally do not operate charging infrastructure themselves, but rather facilitate agreements between EMPs and CPOs. The CPOs voluntarily connect with various EMPs via a roaming platform.

[0008] This provides electric vehicle users with easy access to the charging stations of all CPOs with which their specific EMP has signed an e-roaming platform agreement. This creates extensive charging networks for all electric vehicle users. To enable e-roaming, EMPs and CPOs exchange detailed information about charging stations, such as geographical coordinates and authorization information, as well as so-called Charge Detail Records (CDRs), via the e-roaming platform. Electric vehicle users use a mobile application on their smartphone to see on a map where e-roaming-capable charging stations are located, their opening hours, and whether they are currently occupied.

[0009] If an electric vehicle user attempts to charge at an e-roaming-capable charging station, the charging station checks whether the electric vehicle user already has a system entry based on a user ID. If not, the charging station forwards the request to the e-roaming platform. There, it checks whether the electric vehicle user is registered with an EMP. If so, the charging process is initiated and then processed via the e-roaming platform. This enables provider-independent charging and data processing for electric vehicle users.

[0010] The invention is based on the task of expanding the e-roaming process.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] This summary is intended to introduce a selection of features and concepts of the invention that are explained further in the description. This summary is not intended to identify important or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0013] According to the invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by the features of the independent claims.

[0014] Specifically, the task is solved by a method for operating a charging location. The charging location has a charging location terminal for serving a plurality of charging stations. The charging stations are present at the charging location. The charging stations have charging points. The charging points can each be uniquely assigned or identified with an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ID (EVSE ID). The charging location terminal is associated with a terminal backend. This means that corresponding processing runs in the background via the terminal backend, for example, as remote processing of processes associated with the charging location terminal. The terminal backend can be located in a remote cloud and / or, for example, partially integrated on-site at the charging location or in the charging location terminal. The charging location terminal communicates with the terminal backend via a first protocol.

[0015] The method further comprises providing a roaming offer to the terminal backend via a Charge Point Operator (CPO) backend. This roaming offer can also be provided indirectly via a third-party platform. The third-party platform can be connected to the CPO backend, for example, via the same communication protocol (see third protocol below) or a similar protocol. This step can also be the terminal backend receiving the roaming offer from the CPO backend. This providing or receiving takes place via a second protocol. The CPO backend is associated with at least one charging point or at least one charging station of the charging location. This means that corresponding processing runs in the background via the CPO backend, for example as remote processing of processes associated with the CPO, the at least one charging station, and / or the at least one charging point.The CPO backend can be integrated in a remote cloud and / or, for example, at most partially on-site at the charging location, in the charging location terminal, or in the at least one charging station or charging point. The CPO backend communicates with the at least one charging point or charging station of the charging location via a third protocol. The roaming offer contains status information and / or condition information.

[0016] The method further comprises providing the status information and / or condition information from the terminal backend to the charging location terminal. This step can also involve the charging location terminal receiving the status information and / or condition information from the terminal backend. This provision or receipt occurs via the first protocol.

[0017] The method further comprises executing a charging operation at a charging point. The charging point is selected via the corresponding EVSE ID on the charging location terminal, for example, through user interaction. The execution or selection occurs depending on the status information and / or condition information. The execution or the start of execution is based on an interaction between the charging location terminal and a contactless user authorization card that is brought into the immediate vicinity of the charging location terminal. The term "contactless" is to be understood here to mean that the user authorization card enables user identification or user authorization without direct contact with the charging location terminal. The actual authorization of the user (user identification or user authorization) using the user authorization card can take place online. Contact is therefore not required.The contactless user authorization card can be an inactive means, for example, passive. The user authorization card can be configured such that, upon electromagnetic activation by means of a signal sent from the charging location terminal, it releases user information located on the user authorization card. Likewise, the charging location terminal can be configured to emit an electromagnetic activation signal that causes the user authorization card to release the user information located thereon. The immediate proximity can trigger the start of execution. A backend independent of the charging location is used here. The backend independent of the charging location can be a different backend from the CPO backend and the terminal backend that is associated with the user authorization card. Similar statements regardingof the CPO backend and the terminal backend may also be applicable to the independent backend.

[0018] The invention has the advantage of expanding the functionality of the e-roaming process. It also allows for increased flexibility.

[0019] The charging location terminal may be a control panel at a dedicated charging location for a user of an electric vehicle to charge the electric vehicle at the corresponding charging point of the charging station of the charging location.

[0020] The charging location terminal can be independent of the individual charging stations, in particular independent of the charging station terminal(s). The charging station terminal(s) can be the control panels at the respective charging stations.

[0021] The various backends are linked to each other and can be integrated on a server / cloud, enabling background processing independent of the respective backend. The term "independent" in the case of an independent backend may refer to the fact that this backend does not explicitly refer to an electric mobility provider.

[0022] The roaming offer can be understood as a data collection that contains a lot of information about the charging points at the charging location from which a user can choose. The status information can be understood to include information about the status of the charging points at the charging location, for example, indicating whether one or more charging points are occupied, in use, or ready. It can also include information about voltage and current states. For example, the status information can also contain the EVSE ID. The condition information can be understood to include information about providers and / or conditions linked to the corresponding charging points, for example in terms of price, time, environmental protection, type of electricity, and / or quantity of electricity.

[0023] The third protocol can be a self-developed, private protocol that can only be understood by the charging station terminal and / or the terminal backend. This can increase security.

[0024] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0025] The contactless user authorization card can be a bank card. Examples of bank cards include a debit card or a credit card. The user authorization card can be Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled. In this case, the user authorization card can be completely passive.

[0026] This simplifies user authorization.

[0027] The charging terminal can initiate NFC communication for user authorization regularly or upon user activation. For example, the charging terminal can be in an idle state, connected state, and / or inactive state, as described below with regard to the remote transmission of data, especially compact data, particularly if there is no user interaction with the charging terminal. A change in state can result in the RRC mode or the RRC state of the charging terminal changing. This can save power and thus costs.

[0028] The status information and / or condition information can be requested regularly by the terminal backend from the CPO backend. Based on the request, the status information and / or condition information can be provided by the CPO backend. This request can be based on compact data exchanged between the terminal backend and the CPO backend.

[0029] This allows a small amount of data to be exchanged in the background, saving corresponding computer resources.

[0030] The second protocol can be based on or be an Open InterCharge Protocol (OICP) or Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) protocol. The third protocol can be based on or be an Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). The first protocol can be a different protocol than the second protocol. The first protocol can be a different protocol than the third protocol. The first protocol can be based on an Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), or TCP / IP.

[0031] This means that different standards can be used to create a flexible and modular system.

[0032] The charging operation can be prepared beforehand by the charging location terminal receiving a confirmation from the independent backend as a result of the interaction. In response to the confirmation, the charging location terminal can send a token relating to the charging operation to be prepared to the terminal backend via the first protocol. In response to receiving the token, the terminal backend can release the thus prepared charging operation via the second protocol. The release can be made by specifying the corresponding EVSE ID. The release can involve communication with the CPO backend. For example, the release can involve a data transfer between the terminal backend and the CPO backend, in which compact data, e.g., the EVSE ID and a flag, are transmitted. The flag can indicate that the charging operation is about to begin.

[0033] Security can thus be increased. The token can be understood as an identification mark that indicates loading authorization.

[0034] The charging station terminal can be a retrofit for the charging station. For example, a fully installed charging station can be retrofitted with the charging station terminal. This allows existing installations to be expanded with additional functionality.

[0035] The charging station terminal can also be a device permanently installed or designated at the charging station. The charging station terminal can be publicly and / or freely accessible, or designed as such. This allows the charging station terminal to be used in conjunction with all available electric vehicles and charging providers.

[0036] After the charging operation has been completed, the charging point associated with the EVSE ID can be requested, for example, from the charging location terminal, to provide the condition information and the power quantity provided during the charging operation. In response to the request, the condition information and the power quantity provided during the charging operation can be provided to the terminal backend, for example, as part of the aforementioned CDRs. The provision can be made directly from the charging point associated with the EVSE ID or the CPO backend. This response can be used to claim an account linked to the contactless user authorization card and connected to the independent backend. The claim or request can be initiated by the charging location terminal. The account can be a bank account linked to the contactless user authorization card.The bank account can be debited according to the condition information and the quantity of services provided during the loading operation.

[0037] The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a computer program. The computer program comprises instructions which, when the computer program is executed by a computer or the charging location terminal, cause the computer or the charging location terminal to carry out the method described above or at least one of the steps thereof. The computer program can, for example, be a module for starting / operating the charging location terminal, as described herein. The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a data carrier. The computer program can be stored on the machine-, processor- or computer-readable data carrier, for example on a permanent or rewritable storage medium. This also includes the possibility of the computer program being made available for downloading on a server or a cloud server, e.g. via a data network such as the Internet or a communication connection such as a wireless connection.

[0038] The above-mentioned task is also solved by a charging location terminal for serving a plurality of charging stations, including charging points, located at the charging location. The charging points are uniquely assigned an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ID (EVSE ID). The charging location terminal is associated with a terminal backend. The charging location terminal communicates with the terminal backend via a first protocol.

[0039] The charging location terminal is configured to receive status information and / or condition information from the terminal backend via a first protocol. The status information and / or condition information is included in a roaming offer.

[0040] The roaming offer was received from a charge point operator (CPO) backend via a second protocol at the terminal backend. The CPO backend is associated with at least one charging point or at least one charging station at the charging location. The CPO backend communicates with the at least one charging point or at least one charging station at the charging location via a third protocol.

[0041] The charging location terminal is configured to initiate a charging operation at a charging point selected via the corresponding EVSE ID at the charging location terminal and depending on the status information and / or condition information based on an interaction between the charging location terminal and a contactless user authorization card brought into its immediate proximity using a backend independent of the charging location.

[0042] In other words, the invention relates to a setup process in which the CPO specifically submits a roaming offer with an EVSE ID (unique charging point identifier), charging location, and condition information. These can be contained, for example, in the aforementioned CDRs. The roaming offer can be forwarded to the backend via the charging location terminal, where a virtual EMP can be created for the roaming offer. The identifier (virtual UID) can be returned to the charging location terminal. The charging location terminal can be associated with / identified by this identifier.

[0043] In other words, the invention also relates to an operational process in which charging cable connector status, condition fluctuations, and additional (new) EVSE IDs related to the roaming offer are queried at the backend's initiative. This can be done live via the charging location terminal.

[0044] In other words, the process can proceed as follows: The electric vehicle user drives to a free parking space, uses a charging cable assigned to the charging point from a charging station at the charging location, and goes to the (only) charging location terminal, which displays all plugged-in charging cable connectors (e.g., using OCPI). The electric vehicle user selects the corresponding EVSE ID, whereupon an amount is triggered / blocked on the bank card (e.g., credit card or debit card) via the backend. The backend then sends a remote start signal. Upon completion of the charging process, the backend queries the CPO, preferably live, for the amount of charging current, and debits an amount corresponding to the amount of charging current from the account linked to the bank card. The previously triggered / blocked amount is then released.

[0045] Even if some of the aspects described above are described with reference to the method, these aspects may also apply to the charging location terminal. Likewise, the aspects described above with reference to the charging location terminal may apply to the method in a corresponding manner. Likewise, corresponding aspects may relate to a charging location or a system comprising a charging location terminal, backend, and / or charging stations at the charging location.

[0046] In one example, the charging location terminal can be implemented using hardware circuits, software means, or a combination thereof. For example, multiple units of the charging location terminal can each be realized in a single physical unit, for example, when multiple functions are implemented in software. The units of the charging location terminal can also be implemented in hardware components. The units of the charging location terminal are each to be understood as functional units that are not necessarily physically separated from one another. For example, the charging location terminal can be implemented at least partially as a computer, field-programmable logic array (FPLA), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microcontroller, CPU (e.g., with multiple cores), graphics processing unit (GPU), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or digital signal processor (DSP).

[0047] For example, methods related to data pipelining, such as compact data, can be used in the charging location terminal. The data or compact data can contain one or more of the following elements: the roaming offer, user information from the user authorization card, status information, condition information, the identifier of the virtual EMP / virtual UID, the EVSE ID, and the amount of power provided during the charging operation. Instead of processing an entire instruction in one clock cycle of the processor used in the display device, only a sub-task of the instruction, such as a portion of the data, is processed. The various sub-tasks of several instructions are processed simultaneously. Furthermore, methods such as multi-threading and further developments of the data can be applied, such as simultaneous multi-threading of the data.This allows for better processor utilization through the parallel use of multiple processor cores. The charging location terminal can be scalar or superscalar. The processor contained in the charging location terminal can be connected to a buffer memory of the charging location terminal, which can temporarily store the data before and / or after the data or part of it is processed. The buffer memory can be integrated into a volatile memory of the charging location terminal, e.g., a (D)RAM, or into a permanent memory of the charging location terminal, e.g., a non-volatile storage device such as an SSD. This can increase the performance of the charging location terminal.

[0048] All technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning generally understood by those skilled in the art in the technical field of electrical power grids; they are to be interpreted based on the definitions found in the dictionary or the technical jargon of this technical field. If technical terms are used incorrectly and thus do not express the technical idea of ​​the present invention, they shall be replaced by technical terms that provide a correct understanding to those skilled in the art.

[0049] The terms "first" and "second" are intended to distinguish components from one another. For example, a first component can be referred to as the second component, and a second component as the first component.

[0050] If it is stated here that a component is "connected" or "communicates" with another component, this may mean, for the purposes of the present disclosure, that these components may also be directly connected or communicate with each other. The term "directly" indicates that no further component is present in between.

[0051] The process steps described herein should not be interpreted as requiring them to be performed in a particular order, unless expressly or implicitly stated otherwise, for example, if these process steps cannot be interchanged for technical reasons. The process steps may also be performed directly one after the other (without any further intervening steps) and / or continuously.

[0052] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Further objects, features, advantages, and possible applications will become apparent from the following description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar elements in the drawings are always provided with the same or similar reference numerals. Detailed explanations of well-known functions and structures are omitted where they would detract from the scope of the invention.

[0054] The drawings show in:

[0055] Fig. 1 a schematic scenario for operating a

[0056] charging location;

[0057] Fig. 2 is a view of a method for operating the

[0058] charging location; and Fig. 3 is a view of a computer used in the method.

[0059] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The method and charging site terminal will now be described with reference to the embodiments. Without being limited thereto, specific details are explained to provide a deeper understanding of the invention.

[0061] Fig. 1 shows a schematic scenario for operating a charging station 1.

[0062] Here, various charging stations 2 with respective charging points 3 are provided at a charging location 1. A charging location terminal 4 is located near the charging stations 4, at the charging location 1, and is responsible for the operational use and operation of the charging points 3 and charging stations 4.

[0063] Various remote communication links are shown schematically in Fig. 1 and are mapped by respective underlying communication protocols 5, 7, 9. A first communication protocol 5 is provided for communication between the charging location terminal 4 and the associated terminal backend 6. Furthermore, a second communication protocol 7 is provided for communication between the terminal backend 6 and the CPO backend 8. A third communication protocol 9 is also provided for communication between the charging stations 3 of the charging location 1 and the CPO backend 8. A further fourth communication protocol can be provided between the terminal backend 6 and the independent backend 10 and / or between the charging location terminal 4 and the independent backend 10. The first, second, third and / or fourth communication protocols differ from one another.The independent backend 10 can be an institution capable of independently authorizing the user of the electric vehicle 11, where unique user identification can be carried out and ensured, such as a credit institution.

[0064] The respective backends 6, 8, and 10 are hosted server-like in different clouds, which are spatially separated from each other and from the charging location 1 (this is schematically indicated by the dashed lines). The functionality of the scenario shown in Fig. 1 for operating the charging location 1 will now be described using the method SO shown in Fig. 2 with reference to the elements of Fig. 1 in order to better understand the concept of the present invention.

[0065] The SO procedure is used to operate charging location 1, which is equipped with charging location terminal 4. Charging location terminal 4 serves the charging stations 4 located at charging location 1, including charging points 3. Each charging point 3 has a unique EVSE ID.

[0066] In S1, the terminal backend 6 receives a roaming offer via the second communication protocol 7 from the CPO backend 8. The roaming offer contains status information and / or condition information. In S2, the charging location terminal (4) receives the status information and / or condition information from the terminal backend (6) via the first communication protocol 5. In S3, the charging point 3 is selected at the charging location terminal 4 according to the EVSE ID. The selection is made depending on the status information and / or condition information. If the charging point is not available or occupied according to the status information, it cannot be selected. If the user of the electric vehicle 11 has preferences regarding costs and / or provider, these can be displayed using the condition information on the charging location terminal 4 and selected accordingly.In S3, the charging operation is then initiated or triggered at the selected charging point 3 based on an interaction between the charging location terminal 4 and a contactless user authorization card brought into its immediate vicinity. In S3, a backend 10 independent of the charging location 1 is used, with which communication takes place via the fourth communication protocol either indirectly from the terminal backend 6 or directly from the charging location terminal 4. The feedback from the independent backend 10 regarding the correct authorization of the user of the electric vehicle 10 enables or releases the execution of the charging operation in S3.

[0067] Thus, before the charging operation is executed in S3, as a result of the interaction between the charging location terminal 4 and the contactless user authorization card brought into its immediate proximity, a confirmation is received from the independent backend 10 stating that the charging operation is permitted. The charging location terminal 4 then sends a token relating to the charging operation to be prepared to the terminal backend 6 via the first communication protocol 5. The terminal backend 6 then releases the thus prepared charging operation in communication with the CPO backend 8 via the second communication protocol 7. Among other things, the corresponding EVSE ID or the selected charging point 3 is specified.

[0068] Once the charging operation is complete, an account linked to the contactless user authorization card and connected to the independent backend 10 is used. This can preferably be done upon request from the charging location terminal 4. The request is sent to the charging point 3 associated with the EVSE ID, which reports back the amount of power provided during the charging operation. The reporting can also be done bypassing the charging location terminal 4. The terminal backend 6 or the charging location terminal 4 then reports a result based on the condition information and the amount of power provided during the charging operation to the independent backend 10. The account connected to the independent backend 10 is then debited with the result, for example, a claimable amount. For example, the amount corresponding to the result is retrieved / debited from the account.The user of the electric vehicle 11 can thus easily charge the electric vehicle 11 with electrical energy. All processes take place in the background, allowing for a highly flexible and modular design.

[0069] The method steps illustrated as blocks of the block diagram in Fig. 2 may, for example, be substantially embodied in a machine-, processor-, or computer-readable medium and thus executed by a computer 12 or processor 13, e.g., as described below with reference to Fig. 3. Examples may further be or refer to a computer program containing program code for executing at least some of the method steps of Fig. 2 when the computer program is executed on the computer 12 or processor 13. An example may also include a non-volatile memory 14 or persistent memory 15, e.g., as also described below with reference to Fig. 3, that is machine-, processor-, or computer-readable and encodes machine-executable, processor-executable, or computer-executable programs with instructions that cause some or all of the method steps to be executed. Fig.Figure 3 schematically shows a block diagram illustrating a computer 12. The computer 12 can, for example, describe at least part of the charging location terminal 4. The computer 12 can also, for example, be at least part of the terminal backend 6 and / or the CPO backend 9.

[0070] The computer 12 implements one or more steps of the method for operating the charging location 1, as shown in Fig. 2. In particular, the computer 12 provides functionality, such as computer software that runs on the computer 12 and performs one or more steps of the method. In particular, the computer 12 can execute instructions related to the data described herein, which are contained in the computer program described herein, and cause the computer 12 to perform the one or more steps of the method. The data described herein can be compact data and, in particular, can include one or more of the following data or information: the roaming offer, user information of the user authorization card, status information, condition information, the identifier of the virtual EMP / the virtual UID, the EVSE ID and the amount of power provided during the charging operation.These elements are referred to below as compact data.

[0071] It is contemplated herein that computer 12 may take any suitable physical form. By way of example, computer 12 may be embodied at least in part as an embedded computer, system-on-chip (SOC), single-board computer (SBC), server, and / or user equipment (UE). Computer 12 may be unified or distributed; span one or more locations; span one or more machines or data centers; or be located in a cloud, which may include cloud components in a network. Computer 12 may perform one or more steps of the method without substantial spatial or temporal limitations. By way of example, computer 12 may perform one or more steps of the method in real time, in parallel, or in batch mode. Computer 12 may perform step(s) of the method at different times or at different locations.

[0072] The computer 12 has at least one or more of the following components: a processor 13, a volatile memory 14, a persistent memory 15 with a controller 16 and a non-volatile memory (NVM) device 17, a bus 18, an arbiter 19, a communications interface 20, transmitting / receiving means 21, an antenna 22, a power connector 23, a main power supply 24, an auxiliary power supply 25, and an input / output (I / O) interface 26. The components of the computer 12 can be implemented, at least partially, in hardware and / or software. The interconnection of the components of the computer 12 is structured as shown in Fig. 3 merely for the sake of simplicity. In particular, the interconnection and connection can differ in implementation due to signal processing and signaling. Fig. 3 shows, by way of example, that the antenna 22 is an external device and can, of course, also be part of the computer 12 itself.

[0073] The processor 13 has means for executing instructions associated with the compact data, e.g., of the computer program described herein. For example, the processor 14 may load the instructions associated with the compact data contained in the computer program described herein, e.g., from the volatile memory 14 and / or the persistent memory 15, and then execute the instructions, which in turn causes the processor 14 to perform the one or more steps of the method, e.g., as illustrated in Fig. 2. The processor 13 may have an internal register / cache for the compact data, for the instructions associated with the compact data, and / or for associated addresses. The processor 13 may have an FPGA, an FPGA, a microcontroller, a CPU, a GPU, an ASIC, and / or a DSP for accessing the internal register / cache.As an example, to execute instructions related to the compact data, processor 13 may fetch the compact data from processor 13's internal register / cache, volatile memory 14, or persistent storage 15; decrypt and execute the compact data; and then write a result to processor 13's internal register / cache, volatile memory 14, or persistent storage 15.

[0074] As an example, processor 13 may include an instruction cache, a data cache, and / or a translation buffer (TLB). The instructions related to the compact data in the instruction cache may be copies of instructions in volatile memory 14 and / or persistent storage 15, and the instruction cache may accelerate the fetching of these compact data-related instructions by processor 13. The compact data in the data cache may be copies of data for the instructions currently executing on processor 13 and related to the compact data in volatile memory 14 and / or persistent storage 15.The results of previous instructions executing on processor 13 and related to the compact data may be provided for access by subsequent instructions executing on processor 13 and related to the compact data, or for writing to volatile memory 14 and / or persistent storage 15. The data cache may accelerate the read or write operations of processor 13. The addresses in the TLB related to the compact data may be address references to addresses in volatile memory 14 and / or persistent storage 15 to accelerate virtual address translation for processor 13.

[0075] The volatile memory 14 may be a dynamic RAM (DRAM) or a static RAM (SRAM). The volatile memory 14 may, in particular, be embodied as the data storage medium described herein, on which the computer program described herein may be at least temporarily stored. Furthermore, the volatile memory 14 may be a single-channel or multi-channel RAM. The volatile memory 14 may include a main memory for storing instructions related to the compact data for the processor 13, which then executes these instructions; or include the compact data for the processor 13, which the processor 13 uses to operate on it. For example, the computer 12 may load these instructions into the volatile memory 14 from the persistent memory 15 or another source (such as another computer, the network, or the cloud).Processor 13 can then load these instructions from volatile memory 14 into the internal register / cache of processor 13. To execute these instructions, processor 13 can retrieve and decrypt these instructions from the corresponding internal register / cache. During or after executing these instructions, processor 13 can write a result (which can be intermediate or final results) to the internal register / cache. Processor 13 can then write the result to volatile memory 14.

[0076] For example, processor 13 executes only instructions related to the compact data in processor 13's internal register / cache or volatile memory 14 (as opposed to persistent memory 15), and operates only on the compact data in processor 13's internal register / cache or volatile memory 14 (as opposed to persistent memory 15). A memory management unit (MMU - not shown) may be located between processor 13 and volatile memory 14 and may support access to volatile memory 14 requested by processor 13 that is related to the compact data.

[0077] The volatile memory 14 can be a memory shared by the processor 13 and the communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26. The communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 access the shared volatile memory 14 via the processor 13. The communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 can, for example, not contain any built-in memory. In this case, the communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 can share the volatile memory 14 connected to the processor 13. The processor 13 can have a memory access path that enables access to the shared volatile memory 14 associated with the compact data. The communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 access the shared volatile memory 14 via the memory access path of the processor 13.The communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 is provided with access to the shared volatile memory 14 associated with the compact data while the memory access path is active and the processor 13 is inactive. The memory access path is active without intervention by the processor 13. The memory access path is disabled while the processor 13 and the communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 are inactive. The memory access path is enabled without intervention by the processor 13 as soon as a request to couple the memory access path to the processor 13 is received while the memory access path is disabled and the communication interface 20 and / or the I / O interface 26 are active.

[0078] The persistent memory 15 has a mass storage, e.g., a non-volatile memory (NVM) 17 for the compact data or the instructions associated with the compact data. The persistent memory 15 can be embodied, in particular, as the data storage medium described herein, on which the computer program described herein can be stored. For example, the persistent memory 15 can be a solid-state memory (SSD), a flash memory, a non-volatile memory card, a Secure Digital Memory Card (SD), an Embedded Multi Media Card (eMMC), and / or a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The persistent memory 15 can store the compact data in an erasable or non-erasable manner. The persistent memory 15 can be located in the computer 12, i.e., internally, or externally thereto.The persistent memory 15 may include the controller 16, which supports communication for forwarding the compact data between the processor 13 and the persistent memory 15, in particular the NVM 17 of the persistent memory 15.

[0079] For example, the NVM 17 can be an NVM package consisting of a buffer chip and NVM chips. The NVM chips each have a status output pin. The controller 16 controls the NVM chips and has a first pin. The buffer chip is connected between the controller 16 and the NVM chips. The buffer chip has a second pin that outputs an external status signal to the first pin of the controller 16, and a third pin that receives internal status signals indicating the respective states of the NVM chips from the status output pins. Furthermore, the buffer chip outputs the external status signal with a fixed period based on the internal status signals. The fixed period can be a duty cycle. The internal status signals indicate either a first or second state. The duty cycle of the external status signal is determined depending on an identifier (ID - e.g.The controller 16 determines the state of the NVM chip(s) that outputs the internal state signal indicating the first state among the NVM chips (initialized when the computer 12 starts up). The controller 16 receives the external state signal from the buffer chip. Based on the external state signal, the controller 16 delivers a status read command to the NVM chips and a write / read command to at least one of the NVM chips through the buffer chip based on the specified period or duty cycle included in the external state signal. The controller 16 writes / reads the compact data to / from the NVM chips that receive the write / read command via the buffer chip.

[0080] A method for reordering the compact data can be used in the persistent storage 15. This involves reordering a stack of compact data using one of the NVMs 17 at one level of the NVM hierarchy. The reordering involves streaming a portion of the compact data stack and retrieving another portion of the compact data stack in parallel with streaming the one portion of the compact data stack. The reordered stack (combined from the one portion and the other portion) is then stored in another NVM of the NVM 17 at a different level of the NVM hierarchy.

[0081] The processor 13 can be connected to the persistent memory 15 directly or indirectly, e.g., via an internal host controller (not shown). The connection can be implemented via a clock bus, command bus, and data bus. This is shown only schematically using bus 18 in Fig. 3. In the case of a separate host controller, this is electrically connected to the processor 13 and to the persistent memory 15. The host controller is preferably part of the processor 13. The persistent memory 15 receives commands associated with the compact data and the compact data in conjunction with a clock signal that is specified by the processor 13 or the host controller on the clock bus. The clock signal clocks the reception of the commands associated with the compact data and the compact data. The processor 13 or the host controller sends a command associated with the compact data to the persistent memory 15 via the command bus. Furthermore, the processor 13 orthe host controller sends the compact data according to the command via the data bus to the persistent memory 15 or receives the compact data from the persistent memory 15 via the data bus. Furthermore, the processor 13 or the host controller sends another command related to the compact data via the command bus to the persistent memory 15, during or before the transmission of the compact data. One command is a command accompanied by the compact data and the other command is a command not accompanied by the compact data. The processor 13 or the host controller sends the other command when the persistent memory 15 is in an active state. The active state of the persistent memory 15 is indicated by the data bus. In the active state, the compact data can be read from the NVM 17 of the persistent memory 15 into a data buffer (e.g.as part of the buffer chips (not shown) of the permanent memory 15 in order to be able to retrieve the compact data more quickly with another command.

[0082] In one example, the NVM 17 may have a clock pin via which the clock signal is received from the controller 16 of the persistent memory 15. The clock signal may be a write enable signal and / or a read enable signal. The NVM 17 may further have first and second I / O pins. The compact data is received from the controller 16 of the persistent memory 15 via the first I / O pin in synchronization with the clock signal. The NVM 17 may further have a command / address buffer (e.g., as part of the buffer chip), a memory cell array (e.g., as part of the NVM chip - not shown), and control logic (not shown). The command / address buffer operates at a first operating speed and, in synchronization with the clock signal, buffers the command and corresponding address associated with the compact data received via the second I / O pin. The NVM 17 may further have an I / O buffer (e.g.,as part of the buffer chip) that operates at the first operating speed and buffers the compact data as read data from the memory cell array or writes the compact data as write data to the memory cell array. The first and second I / O pins can coincide. In this case, the clock signal can be formed by a first and second clock signal, in which the first clock signal only switches during a period in which the command and the address (both related to the compact data) are received from the controller 16, and the second clock signal only switches during a period in which the compact data is received by the controller 16. The first operating speed corresponds to a data input speed or data output speed between the NVM 17 and the controller 16 of the persistent memory 15.The control logic controls an operation with respect to the memory cell array based on the buffered command and the buffered address (both related to the compact data). The control logic operates at a second operating speed that is lower than the first operating speed. The second operating speed corresponds to an internal operating speed of the NVM 17.

[0083] The bus 18 can be understood herein as a subsystem of the computer 12 that transmits the compact data and / or electrical power between the components of the computer 12. The (one) bus 18 can connect the components of the computer 12 via the same set of lines. The bus 18 can be configured for dedicated communication of the compact data between two or more of the components of the computer 12. The bus 18 can have a ring topology, star topology, (partially) meshed topology, bus topology, tree topology, and / or line topology. The bus 18 can have one or more of the following bus types: Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), HyperTransport (HT), Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), PCI Express (PCIe), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), and / or INFINIBAND.

[0084] Bus 18 can be a system bus through which processor 13 is connected to the other components of computer 12. In this case, bus 18 can be synchronous—the compact data is transferred bidirectionally with a clock edge of a bus 18 clock—and / or asynchronous—no clocking, but a handshake is performed to transfer the compact data. In such a semi-synchronous system bus, bus 18 is clocked, but control lines enable wait cycles to allow even slow components, such as persistent memory 15, to be used via bus 18.

[0085] Arbiter 19 can be provided for at least partial control over bus 18. Arbiter 19 can be considered a coprocessor subordinate to processor 13. Arbiter 19 regulates access to bus 18 related to the compact data based on a two-way handshake or three-way handshake. For this purpose, three signals are used: Bus Request (BREQ) for forwarding the compact data, Bus Grant (BGRT) for confirming and authorizing forwarding, and Bus Grant Acknowledge (BGA) for optional forwarding feedback. Arbiter 19 simultaneously receives multiple BREQs from different components of computer 12 via bus 18. Arbiter 19 sorts the BREQs by priority and forwards them sequentially—in a pipeline—to processor 13. Once the processor 13 has received the BREQ, the processor 13 sends the BGRT to the arbiter 19 or directly to the component of the computer 12 that sends the BREQ.A subordinate BREQ of the BREQs in the pipeline—e.g., from another component of computer 12—is forwarded to processor 13 in response to a BGRT sent by processor 13 relating to the BREQ having priority in the pipeline and related to at least a portion of the compact data. The BGRT relating to the subordinate BREQ is sent by processor 13 to arbiter 1 after at least a portion of the compact data has been processed. Arbiter 19 can, for example, in turn, in response to the BGRT relating to the subordinate BREQ, send a BREQ of the BREQs further down the pipeline—e.g., relating to another portion of the compact data—to processor 13. Likewise, in response to each BGRT from processor 13, arbiter 19 can send a respective BGA relating thereto to processor 13. With the procedure described here, a BGA can be omitted entirely.This saves overhead in the communication between the components of the computer 12. That is, instead of a three-way handshake, a two-way handshake is provided.

[0086] Bus 18 may also include a data bus, address bus, and control bus. The compact data is transferred bidirectionally between the components of computer 12 via the data bus. The address bus is operated solely by processor 13 and unidirectionally transfers memory addresses associated with the compact data. The control bus is controlled solely by arbiter 19, e.g., in the sense of a watchdog, and transfers control of it to the processor in the pipelined manner described above to control the transfer of the compact data.

[0087] The communication interface 20 provides a connection point for the transmitting / receiving means 21 or is directly connected to the transmitting / receiving means 21 or is integrated together with the transmitting / receiving means 21. As an example, the communication interface 20 enables the computer 12 to communicate with a network, e.g., with an ad hoc network, a wireless personal area network ((W)PAN), e.g., a Bluetooth WPAN, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a Wi-Fi network, a Wi-Max network, a mobile radio system (e.g., 4G, 5G, or 6G), and / or at least part of the Internet. The transmitting / receiving means 21 can be configured accordingly.

[0088] The transmitting / receiving means 21 provide means for communicating (such as packet-based communication) the compact data between the computer 12 and other communication participants, e.g., to the network connected to the computer 12 (wired - e.g., optical connection instead of antenna 22 - and / or wirelessly - via antenna 22). In particular, the transmitting / receiving means 21 can have a transmitting part and / or a receiving part and be terminated by the antenna 22. The transmitting part and the receiving part can be equipped with different receiving and transmitting antennas (referred to as antenna 22). Likewise, the transmitting part and the receiving part can use the same antenna 22 to transmit the compact data. The antenna 22 can have one or more antennas and can be designed, for example, as a phased array antenna, metasurface antenna, or patch antenna.The transmitting section and the receiving section of the transmitting / receiving means 21 can be coupled to the antenna 22 by means of a duplexer, for example a circulator, a PIN diode duplexer, a balanced duplexer, or a branch duplexer. The duplexer can perform the function of forwarding a radio signal to be transmitted with the compact data from the transmitting section to the antenna 22 and / or a radio signal to be received with the compact data from the antenna 22 to the receiving section. The duplexer can prevent the received radio signal from reaching the transmitting section and the radio signal to be transmitted from reaching the receiving section. The duplexer and the antenna 22 can therefore be impedance-matched to one another with respect to a carrier frequency corresponding to an operating carrier wavelength X. The operating wavelength X can be a 4G or 5G center frequency used for transmission of a predetermined frequency band selected based on this standard.The transmitting / receiving means 21 or an output stage thereof and the antenna 22 can be impedance-matched to one another with respect to the carrier frequency corresponding to the operating carrier wavelength X.

[0089] In one example, processor 13 may include a baseband processor that performs modulation and / or demodulation, encoding, and / or decoding of a baseband signal based on or containing the compact data. This functionality may be at least partially included in transmitting / receiving means 21. For example, the encoding / decoding may occur in processor 13 and the modulation / demodulation in transmitting / receiving means 21. The transmitting / receiving means 21 converts the baseband signal from processor 13 into the radio signal and transmits it via antenna 22, and / or converts the radio signal received by antenna 22 into the baseband signal and forwards it to processor 13. The conversion may include upconversion / downconversion to / from the carrier frequency corresponding to the operating carrier wavelength X.Thus, the transmitting / receiving means 21 can either already receive a coded baseband signal from the processor 13 for modulation in the transmitting / receiving means 21, or receive an uncoded baseband signal from the processor 13 for coding and modulation in the transmitting / receiving means 21. Likewise, the transmitting / receiving means 21 can demodulate and decode the radio signal and forward the thus generated baseband signal to the processor 13, or simply demodulate the radio signal and forward the coded baseband signal to the processor 13. Thus, more cost-effective add-on components can be used, but the complexity of the processor 13 is increased.

[0090] It should be noted that the line drawn between the transmitting / receiving means 21 and the antenna 22 may be a fixed, for example direct, electrically conductive connection, for example by means of preferably impedance-matched transmission line(s).

[0091] The transmitting / receiving means 21 and / or the antenna 22 can be provided monolithically or hybridly on a printed circuit board (not shown), also called a circuit board. The elements used for the transmitting / receiving means 21 can be surface-mounted devices (SMDs). SMD components are soldered directly onto the circuit board using solderable connection pads (flat assembly). The associated technology is surface-mounting technology (SMT). Alternatively or in addition to SMD components, which do not have wire connections, the elements used for the transmitting / receiving means 21 can be wired components mounted using through-hole technology (THT).

[0092] The core layer of the circuit board can be made of electrically insulating material. Conductive connections or tracks (for example, between the transceiver 21 and the antenna 22, and / or on the antenna 22 itself) can be adhered to one side of the electrically insulating material. The other side of the electrically insulating material can be a continuously conductive surface, which can form the GND of the circuit board. Fiber-reinforced plastic or laminated paper can be provided as the insulating material. The tracks can be etched from a layer of metal, such as copper, for example, with a thickness in the range of 20 to 35 μm.

[0093] In particular, at least some or all of the connecting lines may be printed lines in the form of striplines, for example the connecting lines of the circuit board, the transmitting / receiving means 21, the antenna 22 and / or the connection between the transmitting / receiving means 21 and the antenna 22. The striplines may be microstriplines, symmetrical striplines, shielded striplines, coplanar lines and / or double-strip lines.

[0094] The computer 12 as an (NR) UE can be used in Narrow Band (NB) Internet of Things (IoT) applications where only occasional and small amounts of data are sent in the uplink (UL), such as compact data. For example, the compact data can be sent when the computer 12 is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) CONNECTED state, which requires a significant amount of electrical power from the main power supply 24 or the auxiliary power supply 25. However, since the amount of NB-IOT data is small, the compact data can be sent less frequently and more efficiently. In particular, the different RRC states of the computer 12 consume different amounts of resources, and therefore, transitioning between the RRC states can efficiently reduce network resources. The computer 12 can be in one of the following states at any one time: (NR) RRC_CONNECEED state, (NR) RRC INACTIVE state, and (NR) RRC IDLE state.

[0095] When the computer 12 is turned off (e.g., when no electrical power is being supplied by the main power supply 24 and / or the auxiliary power supply 25), the computer 12 is in a disconnected state and is not in any of the three RRC states. After the computer 12 is turned on, the computer 12 may initially transition to the RRC IDLE state. In the RRC IDLE state, the computer 12 may attempt to establish a wireless connection with a serving base station (e.g., gNB - not shown) and transition to the RRC CONNECTED state. After the computer 12 transitions, the computer 12 may also be released from the RRC CONNECTED state to return to the RRC IDLE state. However, after the initial transition to the RRC CONNECTED state, the computer 12 may transition to the RRC INACTIVE state to more efficiently utilize network resources.The RRC_INACTIVE state of computer 12 can be released, resumed, or suspended to transition back to the RRC_CONNECTED state. Furthermore, computer 12 can be released from the RRC_INACTIVE state and transition back to the RRC_IDLE state. The RRC_INACTIVE state minimizes latency and reduces signaling load, thereby more efficiently utilizing network resources and reducing the power consumption of computer 12 during compact data transmission.

[0096] For example, computer 12 may be part of a 4-stage Random Access Channel (RACH) transmission procedure that includes the transmission of four messages (Msgl, Msg2, Msg3, and Msg4) prior to transmitting the compact data to the serving base station. Here, computer 12 may perform random access by sending a RACH preamble—e.g., Msgl—on a RACH resource. The serving base station may respond with a Random Access Response (RAR)—e.g., Msg2. Computer 12 may then send a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection request—e.g., Msg3—on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) (e.g., NR-PUSCH). The serving base station may then respond with an RRC Connection Setup—e.g., Msg4—that completes computer 12's initial access process.This RACH mode is an inefficient way of transmitting the compact data, since transmission of the compact data between the computer 12 and the serving base station only takes place after the four messages.

[0097] Another example: Computer 12 may be part of an Early Data Transmission (EDT) procedure that includes the transmission of two messages (Msgl and Msg2) before transmitting the compact data to the serving base station. That is, in this EDT mode, computer 12 may send the compact data in message 3 (Msg3), and the serving base station may send the downlink (DL) data in message 4 (Msg4) of the (legacy) 4-step RACH mode. This type of compact data transmission is more efficient than 4-step RACH mode. Computer 12 may continue to send / receive UL / DL data packets in EDT mode after Msg4 in the RRC IDLE state or RRC INACTIVE state. Yet another example: Computer 12 may be part of a transmission procedure in which none of Msgl through Msg4 is transmitted before transmitting the compact data.In this Preconfigured UL Resources (PUR) mode, computer 12 immediately sends the compact data to the serving base station in preconfigured resources. This type of UL data packet transmission is more efficient than the two aforementioned RACH and EDT modes. This allows the transmission of UL data packets in the RRC_INACTIVE state. Accordingly, the compact data contained in the UL data packets can be sent periodically or sporadically.

[0098] As described further below, the (NR.)PUR parameters may be adjusted to transmit the compact data more efficiently to better accommodate changing radio conditions and traffic patterns and to provide the computer 12 with improved functionality of transmitting small UL data packets of the compact data in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0099] The computer 12 transmits to the serving base station, e.g., via the transceiver means 21, the UL data packets containing the compact data in the RRC INACTIVE state, based on an (initial) PUR configuration. The (initial) PUR configuration is defined according to a set of PUR parameters (e.g., in connection with 5G NR) comprising one or more of the following elements: a control resource set configuration (CORESET) including a degree of aggregation and repetition types, a PUSCH configuration including a frequency hopping pattern, a UL narrow beam direction for frequency range 2 (FR2), or a transmit-receive point (TRP) mapping.

[0100] The CORESET configuration comprises a UE-specific CORESET configuration or a general CORESET configuration to enable the computer 12 to monitor and decode a downlink control indicator (disinformation) received by the computer 12 (via the transmit / receive means 21) from the serving base station in order to reconfigure the PUR configuration in the RRC INACTIVE state. At least one of the PUR parameters in the RRC INACTIVE state is updated, activated, or deactivated based on the received DCI information. The DCI information may include an acknowledgment (ACK) / negative ACK (NACK) of the PUR transmissions as well as the UL grant for a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) retransmission in case of NACK. The ACK / NACK and the UL grant for the HARQ retransmission may be sent over a UE-specific or common search space.

[0101] Once the PUR is assigned, the PUR configurations can be used for a period of time. However, the radio channel and radio traffic can change constantly, so the (initial) PUR configurations may no longer be suitable for the computer 12 after a certain period of time. Therefore, a reconfiguration mechanism for PUR can be considered. Reconfiguration can be performed via the PUR response message. The PUR response message can contain ACK / NACK of the PUR transmissions (if not included in DCI) and information for reconfiguring the PUR parameters. The PUR response message can be a UE-specific RRC signaling or a Broadcast System Information Block to reconfigure the (initial) PUR configuration and create a new PUR configuration.

[0102] The computer 12 may receive from the serving base station (via the transmitting / receiving means 21) a message indicating that the (initial or newly created) PUR configuration may be released if no UL data packets intended to contain at least part of the compact data are sent for more than a predetermined number of continuous PUR transmissions.

[0103] The computer 12 may receive a message from the serving base station (via the transceiver means 21) indicating to the computer 12 that the computer 12 should fall back to EDT mode or RACH mode in the event of a UL transmission error. The occurrence of the UL transmission error may be determined based on at least one of the following: timing mismatch (TA), low transmit power, deep channel fading, or beam dropout. The computer 12 may receive a signal from the serving base station (via the transceiver means 21) to reconfigure the computer 12 for transmission of the UL data packets containing at least a portion of the compact data in the RRC INACTIVE state based on one or more PUR parameters after the computer 12 has returned to EDT mode or RACH mode.The one or more PUR parameters can be reconfigured based on a request from the computer 12, a radio network load, or a radio link performance. The power connector 23 can be arranged at a dedicated connection point on a housing of the computer 12. The power connector 23 can represent a central power supply point for the components of the computer 12 and connects the computer 12 or its components, preferably the main power supply 24, to an external power source (outside the computer 12). In the case of an integrated main power supply 24, the power connector 23 can also be an integrated part of the computer 12 or the main power supply 24.

[0104] The main power supply 24 supplies at least one or more of the components of the computer 12 with electrical power, e.g., via the bus 18. In particular, the main power supply 24 charges the auxiliary power supply 25 with electrical power, e.g., from outside the computer 12, e.g., in the case that the main power supply 24 is connected to the power source outside the computer 12. Here, the main power supply 24 may represent a preferred component used to power the components of the computer 12 and may, for example, comprise an accumulator or a battery. The main power supply 24 may comprise further components such as voltage regulators, DC voltage stabilizers, series regulators, buck converters, and / or boost converters to meet the respective requirements of the components of the computer 12.Here, the power connector 23 can have either a dedicated fixed power supply connection to the external power source, such as a power grid, or a detachable power supply connection for charging the accumulator or battery of the main power supply 24. For this purpose, the main power supply 24 can have an inverter to provide a predetermined DC power supply from an AC power source connected via the power connector 23 as the external power source. The predetermined DC power supply can also already be provided by a DC power source connected via the power connector 23 as the external power source. The DC power supply can be regulated via the above-mentioned voltage regulators and supplied to the components of the computer 12 as set DC power supplies.

[0105] The auxiliary power supply 25 is connected to the volatile memory 14 and / or the permanent memory 15 via the bus 18. The auxiliary power supply 25 is charged by the electrical power of the main power supply 24. The auxiliary power supply 25 can be arranged inside or outside the computer 12, or inside or outside the volatile memory 14 and / or the permanent memory 15. For example, the auxiliary power supply 25 can be housed on a motherboard of the computer 12 to supply the volatile memory 14 and / or the permanent memory 15 with auxiliary power. The auxiliary power supply 25 can, in particular, be embodied in the form of a supercapacitor, an accumulator, and / or a battery. The power capacity / energy capacity of the main power supply 24 can be many times greater, for example, at least 10 times or 50 times greater, than the power capacity / energy capacity of the auxiliary power supply 25.

[0106] The processor 13 monitors changes in the electrical power supplied by the main power supply 24. In the event of a sudden power failure, e.g., if the power source external to the computer 12 is disconnected from the main power supply 24 or the main power supply 24 degrades or fails for another reason, and the processor 13 determines that the electrical power supplied by the main power supply 24 to one or more of the components of the computer 12 has fallen below a threshold, e.g., 0.8 or 0.75 of an operating power of the main power supply 24, the processor 13 causes the auxiliary power supply 25 to assume a remaining supply power for a shutdown of the computer 12. The shutdown includes supplying at least the processor 13, the volatile memory 14, and / or the persistent memory 15 with electrical power for the duration of the shutdown.During the shutdown process, the compact data currently located in the volatile memory 14 and / or the compact data currently being processed in the processor 13, for example, in the register / cache of the processor 13, are transferred from the volatile memory 14 and / or the processor 13 to a meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 15. For this purpose, the meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 15 can be reserved specifically for the shutdown process.

[0107] When the computer 12 boots up and the main power supply 24 resumes operating power, the processor 13 loads the compact data from the meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 15 to enable faster data processing. The meta-area of ​​the persistent memory can be released after the boot process or gradually during the boot process.

[0108] The I / O interface 26 may include an interface to enable user interaction with the computer 12 in an environment of the computer 12. In the specific case of the charging station terminal 4, the I / O interface 26 is connected, for example, to an NFC reader (not shown) to read the contactless user authorization card. The NFC reader is coupled to the processor 13 of the computer 12. The I / O interface 26 may include a device and / or software driver that enables the processor 13 to control the I / O interface 26 to send signals via the NFC reader and, in response to these signals, to receive from the bank authorization card the user information on which the compact data is based or which is represented by the compact data.

[0109] At this point, it should be noted that all parts described above, viewed individually and in any combination, particularly the details shown in the drawings, are claimed as essential to the invention. Modifications to these are familiar to those skilled in the art.

[0110] LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0111] 1 charging station

[0112] 2 charging stations

[0113] 3 charging points

[0114] 4 Charging location terminal

[0115] 5 first protocol

[0116] 6 Terminal backend

[0117] 7 second protocol

[0118] 8 CPO backend

[0119] 9 third protocol

[0120] 10 independent backend

[0121] 11 electric vehicle

[0122] 12 computers

[0123] 13 processors

[0124] 14 Volatile memory

[0125] 15 permanent storage

[0126] 16 controllers

[0127] 17 NVM

[0128] 18 buses

[0129] 19 Arbiters

[0130] 20 Communication interface

[0131] 21 transceivers

[0132] 22 Antenna

[0133] 23 Power connection

[0134] 24 Main power supply

[0135] 25 Auxiliary power supply

[0136] 26 I / O interface

Claims

Claims Method (SO) for operating a charging location (1) with a charging location terminal (4) for serving a plurality of charging stations (4) present at the charging location (1), including charging points (3), which are uniquely assigned to an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ID, EVSE ID, wherein the charging location terminal (4) is associated with a terminal backend (6) and is in communication therewith via a first protocol (5), the method (SO) comprising: Providing (S1) a roaming offer via a second protocol (7) to the terminal backend (6) by a charge point operator, CPO, backend (8) that is associated with at least one charging point (3) or at least one charging station (4) of the charging location (1) and is in communication therewith via a third protocol (9), wherein the roaming offer contains status information and / or condition information; Providing (S2) the status information and / or condition information from the terminal backend (6) to the charging location terminal (4) via the first protocol (5); and Executing (S3) a charging operation at a charging point (3) selected via the corresponding EVSE ID at the charging location terminal (4) and depending on the status information and / or condition information, based on an interaction between the charging location terminal (4) and a contactless user authorization card brought into its immediate vicinity, using a backend (10) independent of the charging location (1). Method (SO) according to claim 1, characterized in that the contactless user authorization card is a bank card, preferably a debit card or credit card, that is Near Field Communication (NFC)-capable. Method (SO) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the status information and / or condition information are regularly requested by the terminal backend (6) from the CPO backend (8) and are provided based on the request by the CPO backend (8). Method (SO) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second protocol (7) is based on the Open InterCharge Protocol (OICP) or the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) protocol, the third protocol (9) is based on the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), and the first protocol (5) is a different protocol from the second protocol (7) and the third protocol (9).Method (SO) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that before the charging operation is carried out (S3), it is prepared in that, as a result of the interaction, the charging location terminal (4) receives a confirmation from the independent backend (10), whereupon the charging location terminal (4) sends a token relating to the charging operation to be prepared to the terminal backend (6) via the first protocol (5), and the terminal backend (6) then releases the charging operation thus prepared in communication with the CPO backend (8) via the second protocol (7), specifying the corresponding EVSE ID. Method (SO) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charging location terminal (4) is a retrofit tool for the charging location (1), or the charging location terminal (4) is a device permanently installed at the charging location (1) that is publicly and freely accessible. Method (SO) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after completion of the charging operation, at the request of the charging location terminal (4) at the charging point (3) associated with the EVSE ID, an account linked to the contactless user authorization card and connected to the independent backend (10) is used based on the condition information and a power quantity provided during the charging operation. Computer program, characterized in that the computer program comprises instructions which, upon execution of the computer program by a computer (12) or by the charging location terminal (4), cause the computer (12) or the charging location terminal (4) to execute the method (SO) according to one of the preceding claims or at least one of the steps thereof. Data carrier (14, 15), characterized in that the computer program according to claim 8 is stored on the data carrier (14, 15).Charging location terminal (4) for operating a plurality of charging stations (4) present at the charging location (1), including charging points (3), which are uniquely assigned to an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ID, EVSE ID, wherein the charging location terminal (4) is associated with a terminal backend (6) and is in communication therewith via a first protocol (5), and the charging location terminal (4) is configured to:. Receiving status information and / or condition information contained in a roaming offer from the terminal backend (6) via the first protocol (5), wherein the roaming offer is provided via a second protocol (7) at which Terminal backend (6) received from a Charge Point Operator, CPO, backend (8) associated with at least one charging point (3) or at least one charging station (4) of the charging location (1) and communicating therewith via a third protocol (9); and Initiating a charging operation at a charging point (3) selected via the corresponding EVSE ID at the charging location terminal (4) and depending on the status information and / or condition information based on an interaction between the charging location terminal (4) and a contactless user authorization card brought into its immediate vicinity using a backend (10) independent of the charging location (1).

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