Charging authentication management apparatus

Abstract

To provide a charging authentication management apparatus which precisely carry out authentication of a charging stand for an electric vehicle.SOLUTION: A charging authentication management apparatus according to the present invention has a history management unit for storing, as history information, authentication result for a charging stand for an electric vehicle in association with information relating to the charging stand, and a provision unit for generating information relating to at least one of the charting stand and an authentication method for the charging stand on the basis of the history information to provide it.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging authentication management device. [Background technology]

[0002] When charging an electric vehicle at a charging station, there is a technology called PnC (Plug-and-Charge) that performs authentication such as identity confirmation when the electric vehicle is connected to the charging station's plug. PnC performs authentication (TLS (Transport Layer Security) authentication and billing authentication) using certificates that comply with ISO15118-2 / -20 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-61185 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the content of the certificate profile and interpretation of the type definition used to authenticate electric vehicle charging stations differ depending on the charging station management company or charging service provider that issues the certificate, so authentication may not be performed correctly.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide a charging authentication management device that more accurately authenticates a charging station for an electric vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the charging authentication management device according to the present disclosure includes a history management unit that links authentication results for charging stations for electric vehicles with information about the charging stations and stores them as history information, and a provision unit that generates and provides information about the charging stations and at least one authentication method for the charging stations based on the history information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to more accurately authenticate an electric vehicle at a charging station. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a charging authentication management device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining authentication for a charging station according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the charging authentication management process according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a charging authentication management system and a charging authentication management device that are the subject of operations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by a person skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] (Configuration of charging authentication management device 10) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a charging authentication management device according to an embodiment. The charging authentication management device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is, for example, an information processing device such as a desktop PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, or a server computer that is installed in a center that manages authentication for charging stations for electric vehicles. The electric vehicle is realized using either a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). Note that while FIG. 1 illustrates the charging authentication management device 10 as a single computer, for example, the charging authentication management device 10 may be configured with a plurality of computers. Furthermore, the charging authentication management device 10 may be, for example, a cloud computer device. The charging authentication management device 10 includes, for example, a communication unit 20, a storage unit 30, and a control unit 40.

[0011] The communication unit 20 is a processing unit that controls communication with other devices, such as an information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle or a smartphone with a vehicle navigation application installed, and is, for example, a communication interface such as a network interface card.

[0012] The storage unit 30 is a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various data and programs executed by the control unit 40, for example.

[0013] The control unit 40 is a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. The control unit 40 includes a history management unit 41 and a providing unit 42, for example.

[0014] For example, the history management unit 41 associates the authentication result for the charging station of the electric vehicle with information about the charging station and stores the result as history information in the storage unit 30. The information about the charging station may be, for example, an identifier of the charging station, a management company for the charging station, or a company that provides the charging service.

[0015] The providing unit 42 generates information about at least one of charging stations to be presented to the user and authentication methods for the charging stations, for example, based on the history information stored in the storage unit 30, and provides the information to the vehicle navigation system or a smartphone navigation app. The charging stations and authentication methods to be presented to the user may be, for example, charging stations recommended when the user performs a navigation search, or authentication methods recommended for charging stations near where the user has parked.

[0016] Next, an example of authentication for a charging station according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining authentication for a charging station according to the embodiment. Assume that an electrically powered vehicle 50 shown in FIG. 2 has previously successfully performed PnC authentication (TLS authentication and billing authentication) for charging station A, but has previously failed for charging station B-1 (TLS authentication failed, and billing authentication was not performed). Assume also that charging stations B-1 to B-3 are from the same manufacturer, and that charging stations A and B-3 are supported by charging station management company a, and B-1 and B-2 are supported by charging station management company b. Note that the association between the charging stations and the supporting charging station management companies can be determined using a vehicle navigation system or a smartphone navigation app.

[0017] The charging authentication management device 10 stores, for example, successful and unsuccessful PnC authentication experiences, i.e., authentication results, as history information, and uses the history information to generate information such as charging stations and authentication methods to be recommended to the user of the electric vehicle 50 in the future. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , the charging authentication management device 10 can recommend, to the user of the electric vehicle 50, charging station B-3, which uses the same certificate as charging station B-1, where an unsuccessful experience occurred, instead of recommending charging station B-2, where an unsuccessful experience occurred. A method for not recommending a charging station is, for example, graying out charging station B-2 when the user searches using a navigation system to prevent it from being recommended. Note that if the electric vehicle 50 is forced to charge at a charging station where PnC authentication is not recommended, charging using EIM (External Identification Means) can be recommended. For example, when the user parks the electric vehicle 50 near charging station B-2, the charging authentication management device 10 can notify the user that EIM charging is recommended.

[0018] (Charging authentication management process) Next, a charging authentication management process according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, first, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle detects connection with the charging connector of the charging station (step S101).

[0020] Next, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle performs PnC authentication with the charging station according to the authentication sequence of ISO15118-2 / -20, and if the authentication is successful (step S102: Yes), stores the authentication result of the successful experience in the history (step S103).Then, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle performs charging with the charging station through PnC authentication (step S104).

[0021] On the other hand, if the PnC authentication fails (step S102: No) and the failure is due to a certificate (step S105: Yes), the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle stores the authentication result of the failed experience in the history (step S106). If the PnC authentication failure is not due to a certificate (step S105: No), step S106 is skipped. Then, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle performs charging with the charging station through EIM authentication (step S107).

[0022] Next, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle detects that charging at the charging station has ended (step S108).

[0023] Next, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle updates the link between the authentication result and the navigation information of the charging station (step S109) and uploads the updated result to a center that manages authentication of charging stations for electric vehicles, i.e., the charging authentication management device 10 (step S110). The uploaded updated result is linked to the identifier of the corresponding charging station and stored in the storage unit 30 of the charging authentication management device 10 as history information of the authentication result for the charging station for electric vehicles. Furthermore, the updated result of step S109 may be reflected in the vehicle navigation system or smartphone navigation app used by the user as the updated result for the vehicle.

[0024] Next, the vehicle navigation system or the smartphone navigation application periodically acquires the authentication results of the other vehicles from the charging authentication management device 10 and updates the navigation information (step S111). Note that the update of the navigation information here may also include the authentication result of the subject vehicle if it is not performed at the timing of step S109.

[0025] Next, when the user searches for PnC-compatible charging stations using the vehicle navigation system or a smartphone navigation app (step S112: Yes), the navigation system displays search results that deprecate charging stations that have experienced authentication failures and affected charging stations (step S113). Affected charging stations are charging stations that use the same certificate as the charging station that experienced the authentication failure.

[0026] On the other hand, if the user does not search for a PnC-compatible charging station (step S112: No) and an electric vehicle is detected parked near a charging station that has experienced authentication failure or an affected charging station (step S114: Yes), the process proceeds to step S115.

[0027] Next, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle notifies the user by displaying or audibly notifying that EIM charging is switched to or that EIM charging is recommended (step S115). Next, the information processing device mounted on the electric vehicle detects connection to the charging connector of the charging stand (step S116), performs EIM charging (step S117), and detects removal of the charging connector (step S118).

[0028] According to the embodiment described above, the charging authentication management device stores the authentication result for a charging station for an electric vehicle as history information in association with information about the charging station, and generates and provides information about the charging station to be presented to the user and at least one authentication method for the charging station based on the history information, thereby enabling more accurate authentication of the charging station for an electric vehicle.

[0029] Further advantages and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art, and the broader aspects are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Therefore, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and the present invention can be embodied in other forms that incorporate various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the embodiments described in the disclosure of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 10. Charging authentication management device 20 Communications Department 30 Storage section 40 Control Unit 41 History Management Department 42 Providing Department

Claims

[Claim 1] a history management unit that associates an authentication result for an electric vehicle at a charging station with information about the charging station and stores the result as history information; a providing unit that generates and provides information about the charging station and at least one of an authentication method for the charging station based on the history information; A charging authentication management device comprising:

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