Method, system, and computer program product for reserving a charging parking space within a charging station

Abstract

To provide a technology that enables safe and flexible reservation of charging parking spaces within charging stations. [Solution] The present invention relates to a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, the method including the steps of (S1) acquiring charging reservation request information from a vehicle user, (S2) selecting a target charging station based on the charging reservation request information, and (S3) reserving a charging allocation slot at the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information, whereby the vehicle can be charged at any available charging parking space in the target charging station based on the charging allocation slot. The present invention also relates to a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station and a computer program product for implementing the steps of the method. According to the present invention, after a vehicle arrives at a target charging station, the user can freely select a charging parking space that suits the user's preferences and habits. In this way, the user does not need to cancel a current reservation and re-book a charging parking space in order to use a charging parking space that suits the user's preferences and habits, thereby improving the flexibility of charging reservations and the user experience.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of charging electric vehicles, and in particular to a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, and a computer program product for performing the steps of the method according to the invention. [Background technology]

[0002] In the prior art, when making a charging reservation for an electric vehicle, a vehicle user typically needs to perform the following reservation operations while driving the vehicle: First, find a list of charging stations that provide reservation services, select a target charging station from the list of charging stations, click to reserve an available charging parking space within the selected target charging station, and then confirm. On the one hand, the reservation operation is tedious and complicated, and is likely to distract the user while driving, which reduces driving safety. On the other hand, the user can only reserve an available charging parking space within the target charging station and cannot change the reserved charging parking space when the vehicle arrives at the target charging station. This situation specifically occurs when the user finds that only a slow charging parking space is available when the user reserves the charging parking space, but that a fast charging parking space is also available upon arrival at the charging station. Unless the user cancels the current reservation and re-reserves the charging parking space, the user is forced to give up using their preferred fast charging parking space, which significantly reduces the flexibility and user experience of the charging parking space reservation system.

[0003] Therefore, how to safely and flexibly reserve charging parking spaces in charging stations has become a technical problem that currently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To at least partially address the problems in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, and a computer program product for performing the steps of the method according to the present invention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, the method comprising: Step S1: Acquiring charging reservation request information from a vehicle user; Step S2: selecting a target charging station based on the charging reservation request information; Step S3: reserving a charging allocation slot of the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information, whereby the vehicle can be charged at any available charging parking space within the target charging station based on the charging allocation slot.

[0006] The core idea of ​​the present invention is reserving a charging quota at a target charging station, and the charging quota does not specify a fixed charging parking space within the target charging station during the charging reservation phase, but only reserves a quota for a user to charge at any available charging parking space within the target charging station. Compared with the prior art technical solution of reserving a specific fixed charging parking space within the target charging station, in an embodiment according to the present invention, after a vehicle arrives at the target charging station, a user can freely select a charging parking space that meets the user's preferences and habits. In this way, the user does not need to cancel the current reservation and re-book a charging parking space in order to use a charging parking space that meets the user's preferences and habits, thereby improving the flexibility of charging reservation and the user experience.

[0007] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, voice control can be used to obtain a user's charging reservation request information, select a target charging station, and / or reserve a charging slot at the target charging station. The voice control mode, instead of the traditional manual control mode, can effectively avoid operations that distract the user while driving, thereby improving the operation safety of the reservation process.

[0008] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the charging allocation slot may have a preset validity period. If the vehicle fails to arrive at the target charging station after the validity period has elapsed since the user made the reservation, the charging allocation slot reserved by the vehicle user becomes invalid. This configuration can effectively prevent the charging allocation slot of the charging station from being occupied for a long period of time by a vehicle that cannot arrive at the charging station on time, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the charging parking space at the charging station.

[0009] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the charging reservation request information may include charging reservation location information, i.e., location information where the user desires to perform charging. The charging reservation request information may further include user trust level information. Here, the validity period of the charging allocation slot may be set based on the user trust level information, and the higher the user's trust level, the longer the duration of the validity period of the charging allocation slot. In this way, the user can be encouraged to arrive at the reserved target charging station as punctually as possible, and more flexible reservation times can be provided for punctual users.

[0010] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises: Step S4: When the vehicle arrives at the target charging station, determining whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging quota; Step S5: If the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation, allowing the vehicle to select an available charging vehicle in the target charging station and perform charging.

[0011] Optionally, the charging operation of the vehicle may be permitted by a parking pole installed at the entrance of the charging station and / or an intelligent ground lock installed in the charging parking space, wherein a matching logic adapted to a reservation mode of the charging quota of the charging station is set on the charging station side, thereby making the charging parking space available to the vehicle based on the availability of the charging quota at the charging station.

[0012] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the charging reservation request information may further include vehicle license plate information, and the charging allocation slot of the target charging station is reserved based on the vehicle license plate information, and whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation slot is determined by identifying the vehicle license plate information.

[0013] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle user information may be registered by scanning the identification module of the charging parking space of the target charging station, and based on the registered user information, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle user has a valid charging quota.

[0014] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises: Step S6: if the user of the vehicle does not have a valid charging quota, determining whether there is an unreserved charging quota at the target charging station; Step S7: If an unreserved charging allocation slot exists within the target charging station, allowing the vehicle to select an available charging parking space within the target charging station and perform charging.

[0015] In this way, the utilization rate of charging parking spaces at charging stations can be effectively improved, and in particular, charging parking spaces can be secured for users who have made reservations, while excess charging parking spaces can be made available to users who have not made reservations.

[0016] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, which is used to implement a method according to the present invention. The system may include the following components: a user terminal device configured to obtain charging reservation request information of a user of a vehicle, and to select a target charging station and / or reserve a charging allocation slot at the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information; and a charging station configured to charge the vehicle at any available charging parking space in the charging station based on the user's charging allocation slot.

[0017] According to optional embodiments of the present invention, the charging station may include one or more of the following components: at least one charging parking space configured to charge a vehicle based on a user's charging quota; a vehicle identification device configured to identify license plate information of the vehicle; an identification module configured to register user information of the vehicle; a vehicle isolation device configured to isolate a vehicle that does not have a valid charging quota, the vehicle isolation device including, for example, a parking pole installed at the entrance of the charging station and / or an intelligent ground lock installed within the charging parking space; and a charging station back-end module configured to authenticate the validity of the user's charging quota based on the identified license plate information and / or the registered user information, and to send an unlocking signal to the vehicle isolation device based on the validity of the user's charging quota.

[0018] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal device includes a voice control module configured to obtain, for example, via voice control, charging reservation request information of a user, select a target charging station, and / or reserve a charging allocation slot at the target charging station.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product, such as a computer readable program carrier, comprising computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, at least assist in performing the steps of the method according to the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] The principles, features, and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by a more detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In order to clarify the technical problems to be solved by the present invention, technical solutions, and beneficial technical effects, the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and several exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described in this specification are merely used to explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0022] 1 shows a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The following exemplary embodiments describe the method in more detail.

[0023] The method includes steps S1 to S3. In step S1, charging reservation request information of a vehicle user is obtained. In this embodiment of the present invention, the charging reservation request information specifically includes charging reservation location information, i.e., location information where the user wants to perform charging. For example, the user may input the charging reservation request information through voice control by the voice control module 111, so as to effectively avoid operations that distract the user while driving, thereby improving the operational safety of the reservation process.

[0024] In step S2, a target charging station is selected based on the charging reservation request information. Here, a list of charging stations that can provide reservation service within a predetermined distance range of the charging reservation location can be found based on the charging reservation location information in the charging reservation request information, and the user can select the target charging station from the list of charging stations as the charging station he or she wants to reserve. The user may also select the target charging station through voice control by the voice control module 111. The user terminal device 11 may also automatically select a target charging station that matches the user's charging habits from the list of charging stations based on preset user preference information.

[0025] In step S3, a charging quota at the target charging station is reserved based on the charging reservation request information. Based on the charging quota, the vehicle can be charged at any available charging parking space 120 within the target charging station. Compared with the prior art technical solutions that only allow for the reservation of a fixed charging parking space, the solution of the present invention proposes reserving a charging quota at the target charging station. Furthermore, the charging quota does not specify a fixed charging parking space within the target charging station during the charging reservation phase, but only reserves a quota for the user to charge at any available charging parking space 120 within the target charging station. Therefore, the reservation process of the present invention does not require the selection of a fixed parking space. Simply reserving the charging quota at the target charging station with one click can ensure that the target charging station always reserves an available charging parking space for the user. The charging station may, for example, include fast charging parking spaces and slow charging parking spaces with different charging powers. After the vehicle arrives at the target charging station, the user can freely select a charging parking space that meets their preferences and habits. In this way, a user does not need to cancel a current reservation and re-book a charging parking space in order to use a charging parking space that suits the user's preferences and habits, thereby improving the flexibility of charging reservations and the user experience.

[0026] Here, the charging allocation has a preset validity period. That is, the validity of the charging allocation is set to last for a preset period (e.g., 30 minutes). If the vehicle fails to arrive at the target charging station after the validity period has elapsed since the user made the reservation, the charging allocation reserved by the vehicle user becomes invalid. This configuration can effectively prevent the charging allocation of the charging station from being occupied for a long period by a vehicle that cannot arrive at the charging station on time, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the charging parking space at the charging station.

[0027] Optionally, the charging reservation request information may further include user trust level information, and the validity period of the charging quota is set based on the user trust level information. The higher the user's trust level, the longer the validity period of the charging quota. The user trust level information may be collected during the user's daily charging process. In this way, the user can be encouraged to arrive at the reserved target charging station as punctually as possible, and more flexible reservation times can be provided for punctual users.

[0028] 2 shows a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the following, only differences from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described, and for the sake of brevity, the same steps will not be described again.

[0029] The method may further include steps S4 and S5. In step S4, when the vehicle arrives at the target charging station, it is determined whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation slot. In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the charging reservation request information may further include license plate information of the vehicle. If the user reserves a charging allocation slot at the target charging station based on the license plate information of the vehicle, when the vehicle arrives at the target charging station, the license plate information of the vehicle may be identified by a vehicle identification device 121 (e.g., a camera) located at the entrance of the target charging station, and it is determined whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation slot based on the identified license plate information. Optionally, particularly when the vehicle identification device 121 is not located at the entrance of the target charging station, the user may register the user information of the vehicle by scanning an identification module 123 (e.g., a two-dimensional code) located at the entrance of the target charging station. It is possible to determine whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation slot based on the registered user information.

[0030] It should be noted that the above two charging quota authorization modes can be used in combination with each other according to actual situations, thereby improving the flexibility of charging quota authorization.

[0031] If the vehicle user has a valid charging allocation, in step S5, the vehicle is permitted to select an available charging parking space 120 in the target charging station and perform charging. Here, after it is determined that the vehicle user has a valid charging allocation, a vehicle blocking device 122, specifically a parking pole 1221, installed at the entrance of the target charging station can allow the vehicle to pass, so that the vehicle can enter the target charging station and select any available charging parking space 120 in the target charging station to perform charging, without being limited to any fixed charging parking space.

[0032] In another optional embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle identification device 121 (e.g., a camera) may be installed in each charging parking space 120 of the charging station 12, so that when the vehicle arrives at the charging parking space 120 of the target charging station, it can determine whether the vehicle user has a valid charging quota. An identification module 123 (e.g., a two-dimensional code) may be arranged in each charging parking space 120 to register the vehicle user information, and can also determine whether the vehicle user has a valid charging quota based on the registered user information. Accordingly, an intelligent ground lock 1222 may be arranged in each charging parking space 120 of the charging station 12. The intelligent ground lock 1222 is configured to unlock the charging parking space 120 based on the charging quota of the vehicle user to allow the vehicle to perform charging at the charging parking space 120.

[0033] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, a matching logic adapted to the reservation mode of the charging quota is set at the charging station side, thereby making the charging parking space available to the vehicle based on the availability of the charging quota at the charging station.

[0034] 3 shows a flowchart of a method for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the following, only differences from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described, and for the sake of brevity, the same steps will not be described again.

[0035] The method may further include steps S6 and S7. If it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle user does not have a valid charging allocation, it is determined in step S6 whether an unreserved charging allocation exists at the target charging station. If an unreserved charging allocation exists at the target charging station, in step S7, the vehicle is permitted to select an available charging parking space 120 in the target charging station and perform charging. Here, "an unreserved charging allocation exists" means that some of the available charging parking spaces 120 in the target charging station have not been reserved by any user, and as a result, some of the available charging parking spaces 120 can be made available to local vehicles arriving at the charging station 12. Therefore, a vehicle blocking device 122, specifically a parking pole 1221, installed at the entrance of the target charging station can allow the vehicle to pass, so that the vehicle can enter the target charging station and select any available charging parking space 120 in the target charging station to perform charging.

[0036] In another optional embodiment of the present invention, when a vehicle without a valid charging quota arrives at an available charging parking space 120 at a target charging station, if there is an unreserved charging quota in the target charging station, the intelligent ground lock 1222 located at the charging parking space 120 may unlock the charging parking space 120 to allow the vehicle to perform charging at the charging parking space 120.

[0037] In this way, the utilization rate of charging parking spaces at charging stations can be effectively improved, and in particular, charging parking spaces can be secured for users who have made reservations, while excess charging parking spaces can be made available to users who have not made reservations.

[0038] Furthermore, please note that the numbers of the steps described in this specification do not necessarily indicate the order of steps, but are merely used as reference numbers, and the order may be changed according to specific circumstances as long as the technical objectives of the present invention can be achieved.

[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 4 , the system 1 may include the following components: a user terminal device 11 configured to obtain charging reservation request information of a vehicle user, and select a target charging station and / or reserve a charging allocation slot at the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information; and a charging station 12 configured to charge the vehicle at any available charging parking space 120 at the charging station 12 based on the user's charging allocation slot.

[0041] In this embodiment of the present invention, the charging station 12 includes, for example, at least one charging parking space 120, which is configured to charge a vehicle based on a user's charging quota. Multiple charging parking spaces 120 are exemplarily shown in FIG. 4 . A vehicle identification device 121 and / or an identification module 123 are installed at the entrance of the charging station 12. The vehicle identification device 121 is configured to identify the vehicle's license plate information, and the identification module 123 is configured to register the vehicle's user information. The charging station backend module 124 is configured to authenticate the validity of the user's charging quota based on the identified license plate information and / or the registered user information, and to send an unlock signal to the vehicle isolation device 122 based on the validity of the user's charging quota. Here, the vehicle isolation device 122 is specifically a parking pole 1221 installed at the entrance of the charging station 12. If the vehicle user has a valid charging allocation slot, the vehicle blocking device 122, particularly the parking pole 1221, installed at the entrance of the charging station 12 can allow the vehicle to pass, so that the vehicle can enter the charging station 12 and select any available charging parking space 120 within the charging station 12 to perform charging.

[0042] The user terminal device 11 includes a voice control module 111 configured to obtain, for example, via voice control, user charging reservation request information, select a target charging station, and / or reserve a charging slot at the target charging station. The user terminal device 11 may be communicatively connected to the charging station backend module 124 to transmit information obtained by the user terminal device 11 to the charging station backend module 124.

[0043] 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a system for reserving a charging parking space in a charging station according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the following, only differences from the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described, and for the sake of brevity, the description of identical components will not be repeated.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5 , the vehicle identification device 121 and / or the identification module 123 may be disposed in each charging parking space 120 of the charging station 12. For clarity, in another optional embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , only one charging parking space 120 is schematically illustrated. The vehicle identification device 121 (e.g., a camera) is configured to identify license plate information of the vehicle, and the identification module 123 (e.g., a two-dimensional code) is configured to register user information of the vehicle. The vehicle blocking device 122 may be an intelligent ground lock 1222 installed in the charging parking space 120, and the intelligent ground lock 1222 is configured to unlock the charging parking space 120. Here, the charging parking space 120 can be communicatively connected to the charging station back-end module 124, and the charging station back-end module 124 is configured to authenticate the validity of the user's charging quota based on the identified license plate information and / or the registered user information, and to send an unlocking signal to the intelligent ground lock 1222 based on the validity of the user's charging quota.

[0045] It should be noted that the intelligent ground lock and the parking pole may be used individually to authorize vehicle charging operations, or may be used in conjunction with each other to authorize vehicle charging operations.

[0046] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, these embodiments are merely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Various substitutions and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for reserving a charging parking space (120) in a charging station (12), comprising: Step S1: acquiring charging reservation request information from a vehicle user; Step S2: selecting a target charging station based on the charging reservation request information; Step S3: reserving a charging allocation slot at the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information, wherein the vehicle can be charged at any available charging parking space (120) within the target charging station based on the charging allocation slot; A method comprising:

2. Step S4: when the vehicle arrives at the target charging station, determining whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging quota; Step S5: if the user of the vehicle has a valid charging quota, allowing the vehicle to select an available charging parking space (120) within the target charging station to perform charging; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. Step S6: if the user of the vehicle does not have a valid charging quota, determining whether there is an unreserved charging quota at the target charging station; Step S7: if there is an unreserved charging allocation slot at the target charging station, allowing the vehicle to select an available charging parking space (120) within the target charging station to perform charging; The method of claim 2 further comprising:

4. voice control is used to obtain the user's charging reservation request information, select the target charging station, and / or reserve the charging slot at the target charging station; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The charging reservation request information includes charging reservation location information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. the charging reservation request information includes license plate information of the vehicle, the charging allocation slot at the target charging station is reserved based on the license plate information of the vehicle, and whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging allocation slot is determined by identifying the license plate information of the vehicle. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. User information of the vehicle is registered by scanning an identification module (123) of the charging parking space (120) of the target charging station, and based on the registered user information, it is determined whether the user of the vehicle has a valid charging quota. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. The charging allocation slot has a preset validity period, and if the vehicle cannot arrive at the target charging station even after the validity period has elapsed since the user made the reservation, the charging allocation slot reserved by the user of the vehicle becomes invalid. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. the charging reservation request information includes user trust level information, and the validity period of the charging quota is set based on the user trust level information, such that the higher the trust level of the user, the longer the duration of the validity period of the charging quota; The method of claim 8.

10. The charging operation of the vehicle is permitted by a parking pole (1221) installed at the entrance of the charging station (12) and / or an intelligent ground lock (1222) installed within the charging parking space (120). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

11. A system (1) for reserving a charging parking space (120) at a charging station (12), the system (1) being used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising: a user terminal device (11) configured to acquire charging reservation request information of a vehicle user, and select a target charging station and / or reserve a charging slot at the target charging station based on the charging reservation request information; a charging station (12) configured to charge the vehicle at any available charging parking space (120) within the charging station based on the charging quota of the user; A system (1) comprising:

12. The charging station (12) at least one charging station (120) configured to charge the vehicle based on the charging quota of the user; a vehicle identification device (121) configured to identify license plate information of said vehicle; an identification module (123) configured to register user information of said vehicle; a vehicle blocking device (122) including a parking pole (1221) installed at the entrance of the charging station (12) and / or an intelligent ground lock (1222) installed in the charging parking space (120), the vehicle blocking device (122) being configured to block vehicles that do not have a valid charging quota; and a charging station back-end module (124) configured to authenticate the validity of the charging quota of the user based on the identified license plate information and / or the registered user information, and to send an unlock signal to the vehicle isolation device (122) based on the validity of the charging quota of the user; [0033] The system (1) according to claim 11.

13. The user terminal device (11) includes a voice control module (111); the voice control module (111) is configured to obtain the charging reservation request information of the user, select the target charging station, and / or reserve the charging allocation slot of the target charging station via voice control. A system (1) according to claim 11 or claim 12.

14. a computer program product, such as a computer readable program carrier, comprising computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, at least assist in performing the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 10; Computer program products.

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