Reservation system for homogeneous and heterogenous charger stations

Abstract

A reservation system reserves charging time slots at one or more charging stations for charging an electric vehicle (EV). The reservation system includes a local or remote charging station data store that stores operational data and schedule data for the one or more charging stations and a reservation system data store that stores data from enrolled charging stations and EV subscribers. A reservation system controller authenticates an EV subscriber and matches reservation requests from the authenticated EV subscriber to available charging time slots of available chargers at the one or more charging stations by selecting a charging time slot of a charging station having a charging time, power level, power allotment, and cooling allotment for a charging session that matches the reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber. The duration of the charging sessions may be fixed or dynamic, based on the availability of cooling during and between charging sessions.

Description

RESERVATION SYSTEM FOR HOMOGENEOUS ANDHETEROGENOUS CHARGER STATIONSTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wired and wireless power transfer for charging, and more specifically, to devices, systems, and methods related to power transfer to remote systems such as vehicles including batteries. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to creating valid reservations for charging equipment.BACKGROUND

[0002] General adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is seen as an opportunity to limit point-source pollution on and along motorways. EVs are also seen as more durable and particularly efficient financially for transit and delivery services.

[0003] Range anxiety is the concern that an EV has insufficient energy stored to reach the destination, requiring unanticipated charging to avoid stranding the vehicle driver and any passengers. The use of low-power (<22kW) plug-in, long duration chargers is being supplemented or supplanted by the use of higher-power charging at geographically distributed multi-charger commercial charging stations, partially addressing range anxiety. Higher power charging allows for shorter charging times with first-to-arrive, first-to-charge service. However, the inability to timely access such high power charging is expected to create a different form of range anxiety.SUMMARY

[0004] Various examples are now described to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.

[0005] A reservation system is described that reserves charging time slots at one or more charging stations for charging an electric vehicle (EV). The reservation system includes a reservation system data store that stores at least operational data (e.g., environmental data) and schedule data received from enrolled charging stations and EV subscribers, and a reservation system controller that authenticates an EV subscriber and matches a reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber to available charging time slots of available chargers at the one or more charging stations by selecting a charging time slot of a charging station having a charging time slot, power level, power allotment, and cooling allotment for a charging session that matches the reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber. The system may also include a charging station data store that stores operational data and schedule data formore than one charging station, wherein the charging station data store is remote from, or local to, the more than one charging station and aggregates data from the more than one charging station.

[0006] In sample configurations, the reservation system controller authorizes enrolled EV subscribers to access data of enrolled charging stations and controls secure communications between the enrolled EV subscribers and the enrolled charging stations. The reservation system controller also maintains a global schedule data with updates of charger status for the enrolled charging stations and establishes EV subscriber to available charging time slot assignments. The reservation system controller may further process collected EV subscriber, charger, and charging station data and events using machine learning to predict at least one of future usage of the reservation system, optimized charging station power levels, charging station power storage, charger type and power level deployments, or future power consumption and power delivery.

[0007] In sample configurations, the reservation system data store stores operational data for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station, the operational data including enrolled charging station geographic data, chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station, charger identification, charger status, and station-level charger attributes, data representing the chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station including a charger type and power level, and the charger type indicating at least whether a charger is a plug-in or a wireless power transfer charger. The operational data stored for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station may further include enrolled charging station security information including at least one of identification, authentication, or authorization credentials for secure data transfer, access, and revision.

[0008] The reservation system data store may also store address information for each enrolled charging station, acceptable methods of payment for each enrolled charging station, charging station rules not directly related to charging, and a description of ancillary facilities co-located or near the enrolled charging station. The reservation system data store may further store EV subscriber data including EV model, EV charging capabilities, and EV subscriber affiliation and EV subscriber developed data including past charging data, commonly used or preferred charging station, and power consumption data and trends for the EV subscriber. Additionally, the reservation system data store may store preferences of each EV subscriber including preferred type of charger, charging times of day, charging type by time of day or weather forecast, and reservation records including reservations made, reservations kept, and reservations changed or canceled.

[0009] In sample configurations, each enrolled charging station includes a communications system for communicating the operational data and schedule data for the enrolled charging station to the reservation system controller.

[0010] In further sample configurations, the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of an enrolled charging station in response to a reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the reservation request from the EV subscriber; checking authorization data of the EV subscriber and enabling further access when the EV subscriber has been authorized; using location data from the reservation request to obtain a region or service area identifier, a latitude or longitude, or a polygon of latitudes and longitudes for the location data; obtaining EV charger characteristics for available chargers that may charge a make, model, and version of an EV to be charged, the EV charger characteristics including at least one of maximum charging rate, battery voltage, or nominal vehicle Z-gap between the EV and the charger when the charger is a wireless power transfer charger; looking up charging stations and chargers in a desired area specified in the reservation request to find one or more chargers that satisfy the reservation request; querying the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine availability, charger capabilities, and charger status at a time that satisfies the reservation request; sending a message to place a temporary hold on an available charger having appropriate charger capabilities at the time that satisfies the reservation request; and upon selection of the available charger by the EV subscriber, sending a message to remove the temporary hold and completing a reservation for the charging time slot at the available charger.

[0011] The processor of the reservation system controller may further execute instructions to query the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine a possible charging time, power availability, power allocation for a requested time or time range, and environmental conditions at the one or more chargers. The processor of the reservation system controller also may execute instructions to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of an enrolled charging station in response to a reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including receiving a charger use update advertisement from the selected available charger indicating that the available charger has been reserved.

[0012] In other configurations, the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to change a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger of the enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the EV subscriber, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation and one or more requested changes in the completed reservation;when the selected available charger can accommodate the change reservation request, reserving the selected available charger for an updated reservation including the one or more requested changes in the completed reservation; when the selected available charger cannot accommodate the change reservation request, reserving another charger at the same charging station including the selected available charger when the another charger can accommodate the change reservation request; when another charger at the same charging station cannot accommodate the change reservation request, initiating the process to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of another enrolled charging station in response to a new reservation request from the EV subscriber; and updating the completed reservation or canceling and replacing the completed reservation with a new reservation resulting from the new reservation request from the EV subscriber.

[0013] In still other configurations, the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to change a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger of the enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from selected available charger by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the selected available charger, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation; polling a charging station including the selected available charger to determine whether another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger may satisfy the completed reservation and, when the charging station including the selected available charger includes another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger for satisfying the completed reservation; when the charging station including the selected available charger does not include another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, polling a set of geographically nearby charging stations using data from the completed reservation to identify another charger at a geographically nearby charging station that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger at a geographically nearby charging station for satisfying the completed reservation; and receiving an indication from the EV subscriber that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger, that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the geographically nearby charging station, or that the EV subscriber wishes to initiate a new reservation.

[0014] In other configurations, the reservation system may include a local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger. The local controller executing instructions to establisharrival of the EV subscriber for the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: automatically detecting arrival of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger and verifying a match with a reservation for the charging session that matches the reservation request; informing the reservation system controller of an arrival time of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger; and initiating charging when the selected available charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session that matches the reservation request.

[0015] The local controller may further execute instructions to establish departure of the EV subscriber from the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: upon completion of charging, sending data to the reservation system controller identifying a charging start time, a charging end time, and charger sensor readings of the selected available charger; receiving an acknowledgement from the reservation system controller that the data identifying the charging start time, the charging end time, and the charger sensor readings of the selected available charger have been received by the reservation system controller; and advertising availability of the selected available charger for a new charging reservation.

[0016] In sample configurations, each charging time slot has an equal duration and comprises a guard time for reserving an associated charger until an EV arrives and charging can begin, a power transfer time for charging the EV, and a cooldown time after completion of the power transfer time for cooling the associated charger before a new charging operation may commence.

[0017] In other configurations, each charging time slot may have an adaptive duration and include a guard time for an expected change of start time for a possible delayed arrival of the EV subscriber and an adaptable power transfer time for charging the EV at a power level that is adaptable based on a duration of the delayed arrival and availability of additional cooling for charging at a higher power level during a shortened power transfer time. The charging time slot may include a cooldown time that is based on temperature readings from temperature sensors located at the selected available charger during the power transfer time.

[0018] In still other configurations, the local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger executes instructions to manage the cooldown time to maintain the selected available charger at a temperature below a temperature safety threshold adapted to prevent charging service disruption during charging sessions for the selected available charger.

[0019] In configurations where the selected available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at a charging station, each charger of the charging station may have a staggered start time for chargingrelative to other chargers at the charging station. In such configurations, the local controller may implement a dynamic scheduling system for the plurality of chargers at the charging station whereby each charger may be scheduled based on an ending of a previous reservation and an interval needed for cooling and power allocation before a new charging operation may commence. In such a dynamic scheduling system, the interval needed for cooling and power allocation for each charger is based on a cooling capacity that is available to each charger. In such cases, the cooling capacity is a function of at least measured temperatures of each charger and time available before commencement of the new charging operation.

[0020] In other configurations, the local controller may dynamically control cooling of the selected available charger to support dynamic reservation times by performing operations including: upon receipt of a new reservation request, determining which of at least one charger at the charging station is compatible with the new reservation request and which of the at least one charger is not in use for a requested charging start time; for each compatible charger that is not in use for the requested charging start time, determining an existing thermal load budget from existing reservations and cool-down intervals of the each compatible charger for the requested charging start time; using the determined existing thermal budget, calculating a thermal forecast based on a thermal model and a cooling capacity model of the at least one charger and an expected ambient air temperature for the requested charging start time for the new reservation request; for the at least one charger, calculating a thermal rebudget using information from existing reservations and the new thermal forecast; determining if the new reservation request is allowable for the at least one charger based on the new thermal forecast; and reserving a charger of the at least one charger having a shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements.

[0021] In further configurations, the processor of the reservation system controller may further execute instructions to manage arrival of an EV without a pre-existing reservation at an unreserved charger of a charging station by performing operations including: receiving notification of arrival of the EV without a pre-existing reservation at the unreserved charger; creating a reservation using previously stored EV information for the EV without a pre-existing reservation or information obtained from a message exchange with the EV subscriber associated with the EV without a pre-existing reservation; setting charging parameters using the created reservation; andinitiating charging of the EV without a pre-existing reservation.

[0022] In such configurations, the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to statistically analyze operational data and schedule data received from the one or more charging stations on at least one of a per EV basis, a per EV model basis, a per charging station basis, a per charger basis, a per charger type basis, or a per time-of-day basis to determine trends, patterns, and relationships using a machine learning system to perform optimizations of at least one of a reservation interval or a cool down period.

[0023] The selected available charger may be adapted to include an EV detection system that detects approach of an EV at a charging station including the selected available charger for charging. For example, the EV detection system may include a radio-based alerting system that reports approach of the EV for charging to the local controller. An EV identification system also may be used at or near the charging station that identifies the approaching EV from a license plate of the approaching EV.

[0024] In other configurations, the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to detect and prevent excess reservations by the EV subscriber for charging by performing operations including: setting at least one of time, distance, or power thresholds for comparing two or more EV charging reservations; and when at least one of the time, distance, or power between two or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber do not satisfy the time, distance, or power thresholds, canceling one or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber and informing the EV subscriber of the cancellation of the one or more charging reservations.

[0025] In such configurations, the processor of the reservation system controller may further execute instructions to update data stored in the reservation system data store indicating that the EV subscriber has attempted to make multiple reservations that do not satisfy at least one of the time, distance, or power thresholds.

[0026] The reservation system described herein for reserving charging time slots at a charging station for charging an electric vehicle (EV) may further include an embodiment including a reservation system data store that stores at least operational data and schedule data for the charging station and a reservation system controller that executes instructions to establish arrival of an EV subscriber for a charging session in a charging time slot that matches a reservation request by performing operations including: automatically detecting arrival of the EV subscriber at an available charger of the charging station and verifying a match with a reservation for a charging session that matches the reservation request; andinitiating charging when the available charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session that matches the reservation request.

[0027] In such configurations, each charging time slot may have an equal duration and comprise a guard time for reserving an associated charger until an EV arrives and charging can begin, a power transfer time for charging the EV, and a cooldown time after completion of the power transfer time for cooling the associated charger before a new charging operation may commence.

[0028] In other configurations, each charging time slot may have an adaptive duration and includes a guard time for an expected change of start time for a possible delayed arrival of the EV subscriber and an adaptable power transfer time for charging the EV at a power level that is adaptable based on a duration of the delayed arrival and availability of additional cooling for charging at a higher power level during a shortened power transfer time. In such configurations, the charging time slot may include a cooldown time that is based on temperature readings from temperature sensors located at the available charger during the power transfer time. Also, the reservation system controller may further execute instructions to manage the cooldown time to maintain the available charger at a temperature below a temperature safety threshold adapted to prevent charging service disruption during charging sessions for the available charger.

[0029] When the available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at the charging station, the reservation system controller may implement a dynamic scheduling system for the plurality of chargers at the charging station whereby each charger may be scheduled based on an ending of a previous reservation and an interval needed for cooling and power allocation before a new charging operation may commence. Also, each charging time slot may have an adaptive duration and include a guard time that is adjustable in accordance with a battery weather charging profile of a vehicle battery of the EV subscriber to adjust the vehicle battery to a desirable temperature range before initiating charging.

[0030] In sample configurations, the interval needed for cooling and power allocation for each charger is based on a cooling capacity that is available to each charger, where the cooling capacity is a function of at least measured temperatures of each charger and time available before commencement of the new charging operation. In such cases, the reservation system controller may dynamically control cooling of the available charger to support dynamic reservation times by performing operations including: upon receipt of a new reservation request, determining which of at least one charger at the charging station is compatible with the new reservation request and which of the at least one charger is not in use for a requested charging start time; for each compatible charger that is not in use for the requested charging start time, determining an existing thermal load budget from existing reservations and cool-down intervals of the each compatible charger for the requested charging start time;using the determined existing thermal budget, calculating a thermal forecast based on a thermal model and a cooling capacity model of the at least one charger and an expected ambient air temperature for the requested charging start time for the new reservation request; for the at least one charger, calculating a thermal rebudget using information from existing reservations and the new thermal forecast; determining if the new reservation request is allowable for the at least one charger based on the new thermal forecast; and reserving a charger of the at least one charger having a shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements.

[0031] This summary section is provided to introduce aspects of the inventive subject matter in a simplified form, with further explanation of the inventive subject matter following in the text of the detailed description. The particular combination and order of elements listed in this summary section is not intended to provide limitation to the elements of the claimed subject matter. Rather, it will be understood that this section provides summarized examples of some of the embodiments described in the Detailed Description below.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The foregoing and other beneficial features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in connection with the attached figures, of which:

[0033] FIG. 1 A is a high level block diagram illustrating the components and interfaces of a reservation system in a sample configuration.

[0034] FIG. IB is a block diagram illustrating the software and data stores of the reservation system controller in a sample configuration.

[0035] FIG. 2 graphically depicts an exemplary multi-charger charging station with both wired and wireless chargers.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functional elements of a mixed mode, multicharger charging station of the type illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0037] FIG. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a reservation query in a sample configuration.

[0038] FIG. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the calculation and evaluation of charger resources to support a response to a reservation query in a sample configuration.

[0039] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for setting of a confirmed charging reservation in a sample configuration.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for a reservation query and confirmation in a sample configuration.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a subscriber initiated change to an existing reservation in a sample configuration.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for changing of an existing EV charging reservation by the subscriber as depicted in FIG. 7 in a sample configuration.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a charger or charging station- initiated change to a reservation in a sample configuration.

[0044] FIG. 10 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for a charging station-initiated change to a reservation in a sample configuration.

[0045] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating the event sequence for handling the arrival of an EV at its reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0046] FIG. 12 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for an EV, with an existing reservation, arriving at a reserved charging station that uses a reservation system in sample configuration.

[0047] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the departure of an EV from a reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0048] FIG. 14 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for an EV departing from a reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0049] FIG. 15 A is a diagram illustrating a simple reservation timeslot in timewise graphical fashion.

[0050] FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating a reservation timeslot with extensible guard time for low temperature operation.

[0051] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a reservation timeslot with adaptive events in a timewise graphical fashion.

[0052] FIG. 17A graphically illustrates an annual ambient temperature mapping.

[0053] FIG. 17B graphically illustrates battery temperature thresholds for an ambient temperature forecast mapping.

[0054] FIG. 18 is a graph illustrating usage of high power for EV charging versus temperature and thermal management over an example calendar day.

[0055] FIG. 19A graphically illustrates a cooling capacity model for a high-power wireless charger.

[0056] FIG. 19B graphically illustrates a cooling capacity model for wireless chargers with shared cooling facilities.

[0057] FIG. 20 is a timing diagram illustrating a non-blocking reservation scheme for a multicharger charging station with fixed reservation intervals in a sample configuration.

[0058] FIG. 21 is a timing diagram illustrating a non-blocking reservation scheme for a multicharger charging station with dynamic reservation intervals in a sample configuration.

[0059] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the calculation of a dynamic cooling interval to support dynamic reservation times as described in FIG. 21 in a sample configuration.

[0060] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for handling the arrival of an EV without a reservation at an unreserved charger of a charging station using the reservation system in a sample configuration.

[0061] FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating typographically a charging station equipped to support on-approach reservation capability in a sample configuration.

[0062] FIG. 25 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for handling the arrival of an EV without a pre-existing reservation at a charging station using the reservation system in a sample configuration.

[0063] FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating typographically a regulation scheme to detect and prevent excess reservations in a sample configuration.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] A detailed description of illustrative embodiments will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-26. Although this description provides a detailed description of possible implementations, it should be noted that these details are intended to be exemplary and in no way delimit the scope of the inventive subject matter.

[0065] To make electric vehicles (EVs) more competitive in the transportation market, drivers (or owners in the case of autonomous or driver-assisted vehicles) should have confidence that the electric vehicle may be recharged as needed or desired. Charging station operators (e.g., government-sponsored or government-associated installations, company charging depots, commercial charging station chains, hybrid fuel / charging stations, company associated ‘parking lot’ charger stations) also desire to have efficient use of charging facilities. A reservation system with subscribed drivers / owners and enrolled stations allows for subscribers to find charging facilities based on selected criteria and for stations to advertise their charging power-levels, availability, location, and service capabilities to subscribers. Service capabilities include charger type (AC, DC, or wireless) and plug-type. The ability to selectively reserve wireless versus wired is of the upmost importance for vehicles and cargo where the driver does not desire to leave the vehicle, is not allowed to leave the vehicle, driver handicap prevents leaving the vehicle, or where there is no driver (i.e., automated EVs) to plug-in the vehicle equipped with wirelessand wired charging options. Full service, staffed stations may exist where the staff may, or is required to, plug-in a plug-in electric vehicle for charging.

[0066] Automating the matching of subscriber’s EV charging needs and desires to the charging stations while maintaining customer privacy and security is the primary function of the reservation system described herein. The reservation system for EV charging described herein is designed to meet multiple goals. First, a reservation once placed should be honored. Second, the reservation system should be easily accessible with minimal need for user interaction (e.g., using voice response system in-vehicle to limit driver distraction). Third, the reservation system should be flexible to tolerate errors in range, power, and time-of-arrival estimates.

[0067] Once a reservation is established using the reservation system, the selected station may send updated information to the subscriber (e.g., change in start time, change in power allocated, change in charger) due to operational issues with station power, cooling, or charger damage or dysfunction. Once a reservation is established, the reservation system also may send updated information to the subscriber including changes in station or charger availability (e.g., power blackouts, brown-outs, environmental disasters (earthquake, flooding, lightning strikes, fires)) or local political or social issues in proximity to the charging station.

[0068] A secondary reservation system capability is to form performance scores for both charging stations and subscribers as a way of encouraging both to fulfill the reservation. Such scores can be computed from data sent from the charging station during or after a reserved charging session.

[0069] Management of cooling resources needed for high-power charging is important not only to minimize post-charging session intervals, but also to eliminate thermally induced safety power cut-offs of the chargers during a charging session. Although a momentary interruption, a thermal cut-off extends the total charging time, lowers the experienced charging rate, and creates concern for drivers as to the safety and efficacy of the charger.

[0070] As used herein, the term charging station means one-or-more chargers situated for public or shared public and private charging. These charging stations can be traditional standalone, sited in parking lots, or deployed in dedicated charging lanes. Reservations at particular charging stations can be automatically limited based on the EV’s charging capabilities. Wired (plug-in) systems, wireless static chargers and wireless dynamic chargers (e.g., electric roads) may all enroll in the reservation system.

[0071] The types of reservations for charging stations include:

[0072] Pre-Journey reservations are seen as especially useful for fleets (e.g., electric delivery vehicles with known, repeated routes). Mid-journey reservations occur when the decision to charge is made by the driver or vehicle automation (e.g., the driver / operator is reminded of a local or nearest charging opportunity before or when a set vehicle state-of-charge (SoC) or range reserve threshold is met) before the intended destination is reached. Mid-Journey reservations are especially useful for unplanned generalized vehicle travel or departures from a planned route (e.g., from unanticipated weather, road construction, or detours). In such as case, the reservation system can re-perform the initial EV-to-charger matching when a reservation has already been made.

[0073] On-approach reservations are a special case where the decision to charge is made when in proximity of a charging station. The selection of charging station is pre-made in this case and the reservation system can be used to find the next available charger (with the shortest wait time) that is vehicle-compatible and has sufficient power and cooling resources for the desired charging session.FIG. 1A

[0074] FIG. 1 A is a high level block diagram illustrating the components and interfaces of a reservation system 100 in a sample configuration. Subsystems depicted include functional software and data entities and may be implemented as programming running on a generic processing platform(s) running a near-real-time operating system on a generic computer processor with digital memory. The processing platforms may be dedicated or shared (as in a Platform-as-a-Service). The reservation system 100 allows access to current charger status and a schedule for each charger station for coordination of arrival time, charging planning, and charging session scheduling while maintaining privacy across clients (e.g., subscribers, fleet providers) by anonymization and abstraction.

[0075] A reservation system controller (RSC) 101 includes a secure datastore and exchange for data from enrolled charging stations and subscribers. The RSC 101 handles matching reservations to available chargers at charging stations. The RSC 101 will be described in more detail below with respect to FIG. IB.

[0076] A fleet customer 102 may appear as a single subscriber authentication credential for authorization of multiple EVs.

[0077] A wholesaler 103 may internally manage member subscriber access using authentications and authorizations provided via a distinct communications network 104. Multiple subscribers 105 and 106 may partake in the reservation service via the wholesaler 103 with subscriber specific data and credentials stored in database 107 that is local to the wholesaler network 103.

[0078] An individual subscriber 108 also may directly connect to the reservation system controller 101 via the secure data services network 109. The secure data services network 109 may be comprised of multiple physical networks (e.g., local wireless data, wide-area wireless data communications, landside fiberoptic, landside wired data networks, and satellite-based point-to-point communications) with all reservation-related communications sent over end-to-end encrypted channels (e.g., VPN). In this scenario, the reservation system controller 101 authenticates the subscriber and authorizes access to allow viewing of potential reservations and for making a reservation using the secure data services network 109 .

[0079] Charging stations 110, 111, and 114, regardless of the number and type of chargers deployed, maintain operational data and schedule data. In this example embodiment, the local operational and schedule data for served charging stations is maintained at an offsite storage as a service (SaaS) vendor aggregator 112 for stations 110 and 111 in database(s) 113. The local operational data and schedule data also may be maintained onsite as shown for charging station 114 including local controller 115 and database(s) 116. Maintaining a local database 116 (or a remote shared datastore 113) allows multiple reservation systems to book the necessary time, power level, power allotment, and cooling allotment for a charging session at the charging stations 110, 111, and 114. By maintaining the schedule, operational, and environmental data locally, both reservation customers and drive -up (e.g., on-approach) customers can be accommodated. The local data scenario also allows diverse ownership of charging stations without need for database concentration. Commonly owned charging stations 117 may use the remote shared scheme with a SaaS vendor 112 to present a single interface to the reservation system controller 101.FIG. IB

[0080] FIG. IB is a block diagram illustrating the software and data stores of the reservation system controller 101 in a sample configuration. In this example, the reservation exchange 118 comprises a redundant, geographically distributed, high-availability computer server cluster, which provides the computing, memory, and storage needed to run the resident applications. The resident applications include the communications handler 119, the security center 120, the scheduler 121, and the performance analyst 122.

[0081] The communications handler 119 controls the secure communications between enrolled subscribers and enrolled stations and handles all routing and bridging functions for data transmission.

[0082] The security center 120 provides the functionality for access control via a set of rules designed to determine parties granted access to secured data and communications. Both authenticationand authorization operations are part of the operations of the security center 120. An exemplary access control scheme is that provided by the OAuth 2.0 standard.

[0083] The scheduler 121 maintains the global schedule table with updates of charger status, arrivals, departures, and establishment of EV-to-charger assignments via the communications handler 119.

[0084] The performance analyst 122 handles post-processing of collected subscriber, charger, and charging station data and events into trends and forecasts. Predictions of future system usage, optimized charging station power levels, charging station power storage, charger type and power level deployments, and forecast future power consumption and power delivery can be calculated. The trend analysis and predictions are enabled using common machine learning techniques trained on signal station or single charger type data.

[0085] The Reservation System may keep usage and associated data statistics sent from the enrolled charger stations. Usage data includes reservation time and duration (time slot), power level, total power transferred, cooling usages, arrival and departure times, and environmental data (weather). Two results of trend analysis include charge power transfer curves and weather effects on performance.

[0086] The reservation system controller 101 also maintains at least six database stores 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, and 128. The enrolled charging station database 123 includes the operational information for each charging station and charger at the charging station. The operational information may include station geographic data, chargers deployed (e.g., types, levels, wireless power transfer or plug-in, etc.), and charger identification. The operational data also may include current charger status and station-level attributes (where there is a single charger per station or when multiple chargers share station resources) and may include details on co-located or nearby facilities or services for EVs. The operational data may further include station location environmental data (e.g., temperature, current or forecast weather, current or forecast daylight or dawn / dusk times).

[0087] The enrolled charging station database 123 may further include records of enrolled stations that have electrical source information elements. This information can include a source designation (e.g., solar, hydro, nuclear) or a percentage designation (e.g., 50% solar, 100% hydro) or a multi-source combinational designation (e.g., 100% carbon-free, 100% carbon-neutral, etc.). A time element also may be included to allow enrolled stations to offer a time-of-day variance in designation (e.g., a solar sourced designation during daylight hours).

[0088] Enrolled charging station database 123 also may include station security information including identification, authentication, and authorization credentials for secure data transfer, access, and revision.

[0089] Addressing information (e.g., IP address, DNS address) for each enrolled charging station may be included in the address / payment database 124. Allowed methods of payment also may be included in the address / payment database 124. The address / payment database 124 also may include any charging station rules not directly related to charging. For example, such charging station rules may include (on a per station or per station-type basis) hours of operation, service time or type restrictions (e.g., dedicated fleet use times and then open / mixed use time periods), maximum vehicle dimensions (height, weight, length, turn radius restrictions), and any other vehicle, timing, or use limitations the owner / operator of the charging station wants. The address / payment database 124 also may optionally contain data on amenities and ancillary passenger facilities present (e.g., restrooms, restaurants, child play areas, dog walking areas, shopping, or sightseeing attractions) co-located with, or within a walkable distance of the charging station. Where the charging station is co-located with a transportation hub or commercial entity (store, hotel, industrial park) such information would be stored in the address / payment database 124.

[0090] The subscriber database 125 includes both subscriber-entered data (EV model, EV charging capabilities, affiliations, priorities) as well as developed data (subscriber past charging data, commonly used or preferred charging station(s), power consumption data, and trends). Subscriber database 125 also may include security information for authentication and authorization specific to the subscriber, subscriber electric vehicle, or subscribing fleet.

[0091] The subscriber database 125 also may store information on electrical power preferences. Such preferences can include power source elections (e.g., solar, geothermal, hydro, anything-but-coal, anything-but-nuclear, sustainable, or carbon-neutral) individually or in weighted groupings. Favored charging stations and charging station brands or chains may also be held in the subscriber database 125.

[0092] The global schedule table 126 maps times for subscriber reservations to chargers. Charger availability is predicated on charging station data uploads and updates which include both operational data and schedule data.

[0093] The subscriber preferences database 127 contains information related to subscriber preferences for charging. These preferences may include types of stations, types of chargers, timing to charge during daylight hours, and charger type preference by daylight and / or weather forecast (e.g., prefer wireless over wired chargers when raining, snowing, high-wind, nighttime if vehicle capabilities allow). The subscriber preferences database 127 may contain records data and events such as reservations made, reservations kept, reservations changed or canceled for individual subscribers.

[0094] The Performance Database 128 contains records data and events such as reservation identifiers (IDs), reservations made, reservations kept, reservations changed or canceled with reasons and resolution attempts. Station and EV charging events, errors, and timings, along with station and EVreported station outages, temperature(s), power consumption, and thermal handling as reported may be stored in Performance Database 128 as well.FIG. 2

[0095] FIG. 2 graphically depicts an exemplary multi-charger charging station 117 with both wired and wireless chargers. Set on a drivable surface 201, the multi-charger charging station 117 is shown charging delivery vehicle 202 and passenger buses 203, 204, and 205. The delivery vehicle 202 is being charged using a wireless power transfer (WPT) charger 206. Two buses 203 and 204 are also shown being charged wirelessly via WPT chargers 207 and 208. In this example multi-charger charging station 117, a single bus 205 is being charged via a plug-in cable-based charger 209. The multi-charger charging station 117 is equipped with a local controller 210 that includes processing, data storage and, in this example, a wireless communications base subsystem using antennas 211. Both local (wireless local area networks (WLAN)) and wireless cellular data are supported in this example. For wireless communication system examples, reference is made to U.S. Patent 11,121,740 entitled “NEAR FIELD, FULL DUPLEX DATA LINK FOR RESONANT INDUCTION WIRELESS CHARGING” and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 17 / 207,257 entitled "MODULAR MAGNETIC FLUX CONTROL," both of which are commonly owned and incorporated herein by reference.

[0096] Power electronics 212 for the WPT chargers 206, 207, and 208 is depicted as a separate unit. Power electronics for the wired charger 209 may be contained in the plug-in cable-based charger 209. Underground conduit 213 is used to route power, communications, and cooling to the WPT chargers 206, 207, and 208. A shared cooling structure 214 contains the pumps, coolant reservoir, and heat exchangers necessary to maintain charger temperatures within the operational thermal profile for both the wired charger 209 and wireless chargers 206, 207, and 208. The cooling structure 214 may use passive, semi-active, and active cooling techniques and structures as deployed by the station operator. Examples of passive, semi-active, and active cooling systems are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 18 / 128,763 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF AN INDUCTIVE WIRELESS POWER TRANSMITTER," which is commonly owned and incorporated herein by reference. The thermal management systems disclosed therein are extensible to wired and hybrid wired / wireless power transfer systems of the type shown in FIG. 2.

[0097] Electrical connections to the utility grid and local energy storage (if equipped) are omitted for clarity. Wired data backhaul communications via data services network 109 from the local controller 210 to the reservation system controller 101 is shown. In some installations, the wireless (e.g., cellular) data subsystem 211 may provide the data backhaul or redundant communications.FIG. 3

[0098] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functional elements of a mixed mode, multicharger charging station 117. The local controller (LC) 301 acts as both the gateway and hub for interstation communications and external communications. Shown here as a standalone software application running on on-premise, physical hardware, the LC 301 also may be implemented as SaaS platform(s) that run on cloud infrastructure with appropriate communication interfaces.

[0099] The local database 302 is shown here as a traditional, on-premises database connected to or a subsystem within the LC 301, but the local database 302 can be implemented as a hybrid or cloud database (database that is deployed, delivered, and accessed in the cloud, also known as DaaS (Data-as-a- service)).

[0100] The communications center 303 connects the local controller 301 to both external networks (e.g., the wired (or fiber) or wireless public or private network) and to non-charger (e.g., the near-field duplex radios integrated with the chargers 305 and 306) networks (e.g., WLAN for local data service and geolocation, surveillance cameras for security, or cameras for foreign object detection as described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 17 / 659,452 entitled "FOREIGN OBJECT DETECTION FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS," which is commonly owned and incorporated herein by reference).

[0101] The environmental sensor package 304 connects to the local controller 301 to provide temperature, solar irradiance-and-angle, and weather-related information. Sensors may be located embedded internally in the station’s chargers 305 and 306 and may be sited in proximity to the chargers 305 and 306. It is noted that external third-party systems connected via the communications subsystem 303 can duplicate, supplement, or replace the some of the local sensors 304.

[0102] The multi-charger charging station 117 contains a first charger 305 and a second charger 306. These chargers 305 and 306 may share the same characteristics, and be of the same type (e.g., wireless, wired), the same power class (e.g., Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, fast, DC), and the same model or build. The chargers 305 and 306 also may differ in all characteristics, for example, to serve the expected mix of charging customer EVs. Each charger 305 and 306 may hold operational performance data in a local data store 308 and 309, respectively, for uploading to the station controller 301 or to the reservation system 101.

[0103] In this example, the chargers 305 and 306 share a common power allocation subsystem 307 which is controlled by the LC 301 to deliver the reserved power level and allocation to each charger 305 and 306 during a charging session.FIG. 4A

[0104] FIG. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a reservation query in a sample configuration. This process applies to pre-journey and mid-journey reservations. In the FIG. 4A example, the reservation system 100 covers a regional service area but is extensible to a continental or global scale.

[0105] The requesting entity (e.g., the subscriber) starts by issuing at 401 a Reservation Request (ResReq) to the reservation system controller 101. The reservation system controller 101 issues an authorization interrogation 402 that checks the subscriber authorization data 403 before granting further access.

[0106] As the reservation system 100 can cover wide geographic (potentially non-contiguous) service area(s), a localization check 404 is performed. The reservation system controller 101 issues an inquiry 405 to a Geographic Information System (GIS) 406 using the location provided in the Reservation Request 401 to obtain a region or service area identifier, a latitude and longitude, or a polygon of latitude and longitudes for the provided location which can be in the form of a zip code, postal address, intersection, city, district, or county.

[0107] An EV lookup 407 is performed to query at 408 the EV data 409 to obtain the EV charging characteristics and standard equipped charging apparatus for the make, model, and version of the EV to be charged. Vehicle charging characteristics may include maximum charging rate, battery voltage, nominal vehicle Z-gap, etc. The charging apparatus may include number and geometry of vehicle-based WPT coils, battery voltage, charging plug type, wireless communications available for charging (e.g., near-field, WI-FI, cellular, Zigbee) management. See U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 17 / 207,257 entitled "MODULAR MAGNETIC FLUX CONTROL," which is commonly owned and incorporated herein by reference, for additional details on implementation of the vehicle and ground-equipment profile data in the EV data 409.

[0108] The power level and total power transfer sought as well as a desired start-of-charge time may be included along with the EV charging characteristics in the elements of the Reservation Request 401. Default or calculated values for power transfer level and total power transfer sought based on vehicle data, subscriber preferences, or subscriber history may be entered if not provided.

[0109] The reservation system controller 101 may now perform a lookup of charging station and chargers in the desired area. The regional lookup 410 also may include charging stations in proximity to the desired area. In this example, multiple lookups are performed to find matching, available chargers that fit the reservation request 401.

[0110] Each available charging station in the region is locally queried at 411 for current conditions that include charger availability, power availability, charger capabilities, and charger status.The local charger query 411 includes the EV constraints and preferences obtained from the earlier database query (s) 408.

[0111] The local query and response at 411 is used to verify and update the regional schedule table from the local schedule table and checks of the charging station’s available chargers, power availability, power allocation, charger temperatures, and environmental conditions. Depending on overall system and communications latency, a temporary hold may be placed on the matching, verified chargers, power allocation, and cooling allocation for the desired timespan.

[0112] The matching, available chargers, their charging characteristics, capabilities, and statuses as well as their geographic locations are returned to the requesting reservation system 100 via a Reservation Request Response (ResResp) 412. The subscriber may then elect to make a reservation based on location, charger compatibility, power charging level, power availability, price, and scheduled start and charge completion times.FIG. 4B

[0113] FIG. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the calculation and evaluation of charger resources to support a response to a reservation query in a sample configuration. In FIG. 4B, the local database lookup and computations necessary to validate an incoming reservation query against charging station and chargers availability, compatibility, and capacities is performed. This process applies to pre-journey, mid-journey reservations and those made on-approach.

[0114] As part of the local table update at 411, the incoming reservation request 413 with its informational elements is processed at 414 to verify the charging station’s available chargers via the local schedule table 415 which includes the possible charging time, power availability, and power allocation for the requested time (or time-range). The reservation processing 414 also includes local queries for the potential charger’s temperature 416 and the station’s environmental conditions 417. If a compatible charger is available at or near the desired charging session start time, and if sufficient power and cooling are computed to be available, the local schedule table 415 will be temporarily updated to reserve the charger, power, and cooling capacity for the requested time or time-range, and the offer 418 is sent as the response. The temporary charger, power allocation, and cooling allocation will be canceled, and the entry removed from the local schedule table after a pre-set time interval.FIG. 5

[0115] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for setting of a confirmed charging reservation at one of the pre-identified, compatible, and available chargers in a sample configuration.

[0116] Based on the preceding Reservation Request Response (ResResp) 412, the requesting entity (e.g., the subscriber’s interface device (e.g., a mobile phone application, vehicle-based application, reservation service center application, or interactive voice response system)) starts by issuing a Set Reservation (SetRes) 501 to the reservation system controller 101. The reservation system controller 101 checks for the preceding Reservation Request Response 412 and then forwards the valid Set Reservation 501 to the charging station’s local controller 301 if the requestor identifier matches with the preceding Reservation Request Response 412 and if the Reservation Request Response timer has not expired. If either check fails, the subscriber may be invited to start the reservation process again with the same or new request elements.

[0117] The local controller 301 of the charging station updates the local schedule table at 502 and responds with a success / fail indication to the reservation system controller 101. If the update was successful, the reservation system controller 101 frees any temporary holds on chargers and updates the regional schedule table at 503. The reservation system controller 101 then sends a Set Reservation response (SetResp) 504 to the requesting entity.

[0118] The regional reservation controller may optionally send a charger use update advertisement 505 to a national or continental reservation controller allowing updates to affiliated regional reservation databases across service area boundaries indicating that the designating charging station has been reserved.FIG. 6

[0119] FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for a reservation query and confirmation in a sample configuration. The messaging sequence enables the methods shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5.

[0120] Three functional entities are involved in making a reservation in this example. The Subscriber Terminal Equipment (STE) 601 for the subscriber’s EV, the Reservation System Controller (RSC) 602 (e.g., controller 101 of FIG. 1), and the Charging Station Controller (CSC) 603 (e.g., controller 301 of FIG. 3).

[0121] The initial Reservation Request (ResReq) message 604 originates from the STE 601 and is delivered to the RSC 602. The STE 601 may be implemented as an application program (e.g., on a vehicle-based ‘infotainment’ system, a mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer). Use of an interactive voice response system as an STE 601 is contemplated as minimally interfering with driver attention. Assisted or Automated driving systems may also originate a ResReq message 604.

[0122] The RSC 602 examines the message elements in the ResReq message 604 for the requested target location element. Using the requested target location and desired charging session starttime, the RSC 602 sends a Reservation Information Request (ResInfoReq) message 605 to one or more charging station controllers (CSCs) 603 to poll for charger availability. The RSC 602 may use schedule data already uploaded from the CSC(s) 603 to further reduce the number of charging stations polled.

[0123] Each CSC 603 responds with Reservation Information Response (ResInfoResp) 606 which includes timewise availability of charger(s), power, and charger capabilities on or near the requested time. The RSC 602 updates its local databases and then signals the STE 601 with an Intermediate Reservation Request Response (IResReqResp) 607 with the available stations, station capabilities, locations, and charging session start times. Additional information in the IResReqResp 607 can include cost and station brand / ownership. A response time limit to select a station from those offered may also be included in the Intermediate Reservation Request Response (IResReqResp) message 607.

[0124] To complete the reservation, the STE 601 sends a Set Reservation (SetRes) message 608 with the selected charging station within the response time limit. The RSC 602 passes a Relayed Set Reservation (r_SetRest) message 609 with the station selection to the CSC 603 of the selected station. The CSC 603 of the selected station acknowledges the successful reservation with a Set Reservation Response (SetResResp) message 610 to the RSC 602 which relays the r_SetResResp 611 to the STE 601. The RSC 602 may concurrently send a Free Reservation message 612 to all other stations in the prior ResInfoResp 606 once the selected station acknowledges the successful reservation. The Free Reservation message 612 allows stations to remove any temporary holds placed on charger(s), power, and cooling and accept new reservations that would have conflicted with the desired charging session start time.

[0125] The nominal reservation messaging sequence 613 can be performed for any initial reservation after a canceled reservation. The nominal reservation messaging sequence 613 can be performed pre- or mid-journey originating from any authenticated STE 601.FIG. 7

[0126] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a subscriber-initiated change to an existing reservation in a sample configuration. In the first step 701, the pre-existing reservation has a common identifier at the subscriber’s terminal equipment (STE) 601, the reservation system controller (RSC) 602, and at the reserved charging station controller (CSC) 603. The update 702 includes a geographic location identifier, a reservation start time, power level desired, and total power to be transferred, at least one of which differs from the pre-existing reservation. Based on the data transferred in the update 702, localization 703 can commence. In localization 703, the change requested is examined. If the already reserved charger can accommodate the change, then that will be the elected charger. If an alternative charger at the reserved station can accommodate the change, then that will be the next highest priority election. However, if the reserved station cannot accommodate the change (e.g., the time, powerlevel, power-to-be-transferred, or the station is located beyond a threshold distance from a newly presented geographic location), then a new reservation procedure will be initiated. In the changes step 704, the existing reservation will be updated at the designated charging station or a new reservation will be performed and the existing reservation canceled.

[0127] In the notification step 705, the subscriber will be notified of the success of the reservation update or the need for a new reservation. In the confirmation step 706, the reservation details (or reservation cancellation) are confirmed at each of the STE 601, the RSC 602, and the designated CSC 603.FIG. 8

[0128] FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for changing of an existing EV charging reservation by the subscriber as depicted in FIG. 7 in a sample configuration. As in FIG. 6, three functional entities are involved in making a reservation in this example: the STE 601, the RSC 602, and the CSC 603.

[0129] In an antecedent reservation 613, a charging session start time, power allocation and cooling allocation was made by the charging station and a Reservation ID delivered by the STE 601 as described above with respect to FIG. 6. When the reservation is to be changed, the STE 601 sends a Change Reservation (ChRes) message 801 with the Reservation ID to the RSC 602. A reason code for the change may be included in the ChRes message 801. The RSC 602 relays the r_ChRes message 802 to the CSC 603 of the selected charging station, which may attempt to find local charging resources to match those in the r_ChRes message 802 or may just cancel depending on the request. The Charging Station Response (CSR) 803 is sent to the RSC 602, which passes the relayed Charging Station Response (r_CSR) 804 to the STE 601 to verify the change or cancellation of the antecedent reservation 613.

[0130] If the prior reservation is cancelled, the STE 601, post-notification, may begin a new reservation 613 for a similar time or a different time for the same or a different area.FIG. 9

[0131] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for a charger or charging station initiated change to a reservation in a sample configuration. The allocated resources 901, which may include the reservation ID, the selected charger, a start time, a charging duration, a power allocation, and a cooling allocation, exist in the STE 601, the databases of the RSC 602, and in the databases of the CSC 603. Due to any number of reasons (e.g., charger outage, station storm damage, fire, electrical blackouts, electrical brownouts, equipment failure, thermal management cooling forecast deficiency), the CSC 603predicts that it will fail to fulfill the reservation. In such a case, the CSC 603 sends a change report 902 detailing the need to change or cancel the reservation.

[0132] Rather than immediately cancelling the reservation and forcing the subscriber to begin a new reservation, the RSC 602 polls the original reserved charging station at 903 and then may poll at 904 a set of geographically nearby charging stations using the elements in the prior reservation. If a charger can be found at the original reserved station that meets the selection criteria of time, power allocation, charger capability, power level, and cooling allocation, then the subscriber will be notified of the potential change at 905 and may accept or reject at 906.

[0133] If a charger cannot be found at the original reserved station that meets the selection criteria of time, power allocation, charger capability, power level, and cooling allocation, then the subscriber will be notified at 905 of need for a reservation change and presented with any reservation option(s) found by polling at 904 at station(s) in proximity to the original reserved station. The subscriber can accept a presented option at 906 or begin making a new reservation with a new location, new start time, and / or a new power level criteria.FIG. 10

[0134] FIG. 10 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for a charging station initiated change to a reservation in a sample configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 10, it is assumed that a reservation 613 has been made. The CSC 603 of the reserved charging station alerts the RSC 602 over the secure, authenticated communications link using a Service Change (SerCh) message 1001. The RSC 602 sends new Reservation Information Request (ResInfoReq) message 1002 for the existing request (time, power, charging capability) to the CSC 603 of the reserved charging station and receives a new Reservation Information Response (ResInfoResp) 1003 which includes the current updated timewise availability of charger(s), power, and charger capabilities on or near the requested time for the charging station.

[0135] If the charging station can support the reservation at a different charger without changes to the timing or power, then the RSC 602 signals the STE 601 of the change in charger with a Reservation Update 1004 message. However, if the charging station cannot support moving the reservation to a different charger without changes to the charging session start time or power level, then the RSC 602 may then send Reservation Information Request (ResInfoReq) message 1005 to other charging stations 1006 in the geographic proximity to poll for the resources (power, charger capability, desired start time). Each of the polled charging stations 1006 may respond with Reservation Information Response (ResInfoResp) 1007 which includes timewise availability of charger(s), power, and charger capabilities on or near the requested time. The RSC 602 signals the STE 601 with Update Reservation Request Response(UResReqResp) 1008 with the available stations, station capabilities, locations, and charging session start times.

[0136] The STE 601 may then select one of the other station’s chargers 1006 and charging times, sending a Reselection message 1009 to the RSC 602 indicating the newly selected charger 1006. The RSC 602 completes the reservation by signaling the newly selected charger 1006 with a Change Confirmation (CHGCONF) message 1010 with elected charger, power, time, and a new reservation ID. The RSC 602 also cancels the old reservation at the CSC 603 of the charging station using a CANCEL message 1011 with the old reservation ID.

[0137] If the automatically selected station list is insufficient to the vehicle operator’s needs, then the STE 601 can send a Reselection 1009 message with a CANCEL code to the RSC 602. The RSC 602 then sends a CHGCONF 1010 to the other station(s) 1006 removing any holds placed on charging resources. The RSC 602 also cancels the old reservation at the CSC of the station using a CANCEL message 1011 with the old reservation ID. The STE 601 can then optionally begin placing a new reservation 613 as detailed in FIG 6.FIG. 11

[0138] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating the event sequence for handling the arrival of an EV at a reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0139] The EV arrives at the charging station at 1101 and proceeds to the assigned charger detailed in the reservation. If the EV is early and the charger is occupied, the EV may be queued until the reserved charger position becomes free. In some cases, a change in charger may be required and the EV reassigned to a charger at the same station.

[0140] Once arrival has been detected at 1102, the EV may enter the charging position and plugin or may interface with an alignment system if the charger (and EV) use WPT technology. EV detection preferably is automatic using electro-optical or radio means to detect the EV and to verify a match to the reservation. The RSC 602 is informed of the arrival time.

[0141] At the reservation start time, when the charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session with no mid-session cool-down interruption to protect the charger electronics, charging can begin at 1103 at the pre-determined rate.

[0142] At the end-of-charging at 1104, the charging session completes or the driver departs, ending the session early. For a wired system, departure includes removal of the plug.

[0143] A data upload 1105 is sent to detail the arrival time, charging start time, charging end time, charger and charger station sensor readings from the CSC 603 of the reserved charging station to the RSC 602, which stores the data for analysis.FIG. 12

[0144] FIG. 12 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for an EV, with an existing reservation 613, arriving at a reserved charging station that uses a reservation system 100. The STE 601 signals arrival by providing an EV_Arrival Message 1201 to the CSC 603 of the charging station using local communications facilities (e.g., Wi-LAN radio, or via a wired or wireless data connection to the charger). The CSC 603 of the charging station provides a message 1202 to the RSC 603 signaling that the EV has arrived for its existing reservation 613. This comprises a first messaging 1203 to signal arrival.

[0145] In an alternative messaging sequence 1204, the STE 601 can signal the CSC 603 using a data connection via the RSC 602 and the wide-area wireless data connection 109 since the reservation includes data connectivity information. The EV_Arrival message 1201 contains a reservation ID, and the RSC 602 forwards the EV_Arrival Message 1201 to the CSC 603.

[0146] The RSC 602 sends the CSC 603 a Res_Arrived message 1205 with the reservation ID to confirm the arrival time as recorded. The CSC 603 of the charging station then signals the RSC 602 that the EV has started to charge at the noted time using a Charging Message 1206 with the reservation ID. The exchange of messages 1207 verifies the reservation is fulfilled and the charging process can begin.FIG. 13

[0147] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the departure of an EV from a reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0148] At the end of the charging session at 1301 (which includes a normal end-of-charging, drive-off, and abnormal failures that end a charging session), the CSC 603 of the charging station completes a data collection at 1302 and sends the collected data at 1303 to the RSC 602. The RSC 602 stores the data at 1304 and then issues an acknowledgement at 1305 to the CSC 603 of the charging station which then releases the local data and advertises at 1306 the availability of charging resources to associated reservation systems.FIG. 14

[0149] FIG. 14 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for an EV departing from a reserved charging station in a sample configuration.

[0150] The end-of-charge event 1401 is initiated when the STE 601 completes a charging session either when the allocated power is transferred or when the EV elects to depart. Message exchange 1401 is used to deliver charging session related information to the reservation system from the charging station. The CSC 603 of the charging station sends a ChargeEnd (ChEnd) message 1402 to the RSC 602which records the details of the charging session (e.g., station, charger, power level, total power transferred, equipment and ambient temperatures, total cooling consumed, STE ID, and session end code (complete, drive-off)). The RSC 602 acknowledges receipt at 1403.

[0151] Optionally, the CSC 603 of the charging station may send a Reservation Information Directive (ResInfoDir) 1404 to all reservation systems that are in correspondence with the CSC 603 of the charging station to advertise the availability of the charger (and updated power allocations and cooling resources available).

[0152] In an alternative case, where the EV canceled or never arrived within the guard time, the Reservation Information Directive (ResInfoDir) message 1404 may be used to inform the RSC 602 both of the missed, uncanceled, reservation and the availably of charging resources.FIG. 15 A

[0153] FIG. 15 A is a diagram illustrating a simple reservation timeslot in timewise graphical fashion. As illustrated, the reservation has a start time 1501 and a duration 1502. In this embodiment, a guard-time 1503 is set to reserve the charger (and power, and cooling) until the vehicle arrives and charging can begin. The power transfer time 1504 may vary from the reserved time due to vehicle Battery Management System constraints on charging level, increasing charger power transfer levels, charger power limited availability, or cooling availability. The power transfer time 1504 may also be shortened by a required (or desired) departure time that results in a lower power charge than requested. A cooldown time 1505 after completion of the power transfer time 1504 may be required before charging service can continue for the charger.FIG. 15B

[0154] FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating a simple reservation timeslot in timewise graphical fashion adapted for cold-weather operations. As illustrated, the reservation has a start time 1501 and a duration 1502. In this embodiment, a guard-time 1503 is set to reserve the charger (and power, and cooling) until the vehicle arrives and charging can begin. For cold weather operation, an additional guard time 1506 may be included in the overall reservation time slot duration to allow battery pack warming to the safety or desired temperature.

[0155] The power transfer time 1504 may vary from the reserved time due to vehicle Battery Management System constraints on charging level, increasing charger power transfer levels, charger power limited availability, or cooling availability. The power transfer time 1504 may also be shortened by a required (or desired) departure time that results in a lower power charge than requested. A cooldowntime 1505 after completion of the power transfer time 1504 may be required before charging service can continue for the charger.FIG. 16

[0156] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a reservation timeslot with adaptive events in a timewise graphical fashion. As illustrated, the reserved charging timeslot starts at 1601 and lasts for a duration 1602. The duration 1602 includes a non-impacting guard time 1603 for an expected start-of-charge-time 1604. If a delayed arrival 1605 (which includes any delays from making a wired connection with verification or alignment of wireless primary and secondary coils) occurs, additional power may be supplied (to the limit of the power allocation, limit of the charger or as allowed by the BMS) over some or all of the remaining charging duration 1606 to achieve the desired power transfer at the designated stop time 1607 allowing the departure time at 1608 to be kept. By increasing the cooling, the greater thermal loading created by the greater-than-estimated power levels while charging can be managed to complete cooldown by the reservation timeslot duration’s end 1609.FIG. 17A

[0157] FIG. 17A graphically illustrates an annual ambient temperature mapping. FIG. 17 provides an example of an environmental temperature forecast useful for estimating a charger’s cooling system thermal transfer rate. In this example for a charging station location, a year 1701 is shown with temperatures 1702 and monthly estimates. For each month, the highest temperature 1703 is shown as well as a statistically likely range of temperatures for the month 1704 portrayed with a median temperature 1705. A minimum temperature 1706 is also marked for each month.

[0158] Using a temperature forecast such as pictured in FIG. 17A allows for both cooling system planning for charger stations and cooling time estimates for the placing of timed charger reservations. Use of shorter-range forecasts is expected to result in better estimates of air temperatures over day or hourly periods. Locally sited temperature sensors at the station, in the chargers, and in the cooling system can be used to manage heat transfer to keep reservation times and durations made well in advance.FIG. 17B

[0159] FIG. 17B graphically illustrates an ambient temperature forecast mapping with battery temperature thresholds. For each month, the highest temperature 1703 is shown as well as a statistically likely range of temperatures for the month 1704 portrayed with a median temperature 1705. A minimum temperature 1706 is also marked for each month. The optimal temperature for charging 1707 may varyaccording to battery chemistry. At the optimal temperature for charging 1707, the probability for battery damage is minimized.

[0160] The nominal battery performance temperature range 1708 is situated between the hot operative range 1709 and the cold operative range 1710. While the battery may be both charged and discharged outside the nominal performance temperature range 1708, such operations may result in battery damage. At or below the critical cold temperature 1711, the battery may fail entirely.

[0161] The optimal battery charging temperature 1707 lies within the nominal performance temperature range 1708. Active battery heating or cooling may be used to attain this temperature (or a range around this temperature) to increase battery longevity.

[0162] Knowledge of battery temperature thresholds with ambient temperature measurements (or forecast) can be used to adjust the advance-of-charging guard time and the post-charging charger cooldown time when a reservation is made. If an on-approach appointment is made, the current battery temperature can be delivered from the EV and used for charging timeslot adjustment.

[0163] Information on EV charging performance in cold weather (the battery cold weather charging profile) can be published by the vehicle or battery pack manufacturer. The profile may be contained in the EV BMS and downloaded to the charging station before or during a charging session for use in determining, for example, the desired length of the guard time 1506 for allowing the temperature of the battery to be adjusted to a desirable temperature range for optimal charging.

[0164] Since the charging station and therefore the reservation system collects charging related information, local weather, and temperature information, the battery cold weather charging profile can be learned for an EV over a range of times and temperature or using performance data developed by multiple charging stations for the same make / model / year of EV across a spread of ambient temperatures.FIG. 18

[0165] FIG. 18 is a graph illustrating usage of high power for EV charging versus temperature and thermal management over an example calendar day.

[0166] Over the 24-hour day 1801, the use of the charger and the air temperature vary. To continue service, the charger electronics temperature should not exceed a safety threshold or a charging session interruption will occur to prevent damage to the electronics. In this dual y-axis graphic, temperatures are depicted on the left-hand Y-axis 1802 and power transferred is depicted on the righthand y-axis 1803.

[0167] In FIG. 18, the ambient air temperature 1804 curve for an example day is shown. The cooling capacity 1805 deployed for the charger (or charging station with multiple chargers) is designed to prevent service interruption during charging sessions. A cooling capacity reserve threshold 1806 isshown. The reserve threshold 1806 is set by design to allow cooling of the charger electronics without interruption with margin for unexpected power transfer generated load or unexpectedly hot ambient conditions. In a well-sized charging system, the maximum generated heat 1807 (as shown by the hourly power transfer graph 1808) during the heat of the day along curve 1804 results in the cooling capacity 1805 not hitting the threshold 1806 to cause a service interruption.FIG. 19A

[0168] FIG. 19A graphically illustrates a cooling capacity model for a high-power wireless charger. The cylinder volume 1901 represents the cooling capacity, while the height1902 is used to show the variable cooling capacity over a time period. In this visualization, a portion of the total cooling capacity is dedicated to a reserve 1903. Cooling capacity dedicated to the current charging session 1904 is depicted. A subsequent charging session already reserved has an allocation 1905. An available allocation 1906 may be dedicated to a future reservation at any time.

[0169] As time passes, the cooling allocations 1904 and 1905 and the free portion 1906 vary as heat is generated by EV charging and transferred by the cooling system. The total cooling capacity 1902 will vary due to ambient temperature, weather, and solar irradiance.FIG. 19B

[0170] FIG. 19B graphically illustrates a cooling capacity model for wireless chargers with a shared cooling reservoir. In FIG. 19B, the chargers 1901 and 1907 each have individual cooling capacities as illustrated in FIG. 19A. A shared cooling resource (active cooling (e.g., refrigeration), semiactive cooling, passive cooling radiator, or a reserve coolant reservoir) 1908 is connected to each charger by throttleable connections 1909 to control the sharing of the cooling resource 1908. As the ambient temperature varies and the coils become heated through use, the cooling resource 1908 may be accessed to selectively cool the charging apparatus as needed to meet the reservation schedule.FIG. 20

[0171] FIG. 20 is a timing diagram illustrating a non-blocking reservation scheme for a multicharger charging station with fixed reservation intervals in a sample configuration. FIG. 20 graphically depicts an example time period 2001 of a charging schedule for three charger stations 2002, 2003, and 2004. This example schedule uses a first fixed reservation interval 2005 and a second fixed reservation interval 2006 for reservations to forestall conflicts between reservations and to maintain adequate guard times and cooling times. This exemplary charging schedule scheme is well suited to new chargerinstallation systems where a non-blocking reservation system for non-interrupted charging sessions is desired.

[0172] In this example, one model of chargers 2002 and 2003 with a first fixed reservation interval 2005 share the station with a second model charger 2004 with a second fixed reservation interval 2006.

[0173] Chargers 2002 and 2003 of similar models and capabilities in this example have the same (fixed) reservation duration interval 2005, but staggered start times 2007 and 2008 to spread the impact of high-power charger power ramp-ups on the power supply (e.g., the utility gird or local power facility). The start time 2009 of the higher-power charger 2004 is similarly shifted to not coincide with the station’s other chargers. Using the fixed interval system allows for charger operation with the minimum cooling capabilities and facilities and at the lowest overhead cost of cooling without the need for mid-charge service interruptions.

[0174] With the fixed interval reservation model, each charger station 2002, 2003, and 2004 can begin a charging session 2010-2014 on its periodic interval regardless of when the charging session completes. Subsequent reservations and charging sessions can only begin on the interval boundary. Since the interval duration is based on the maximum required cool-down time, then each charger is cooled before starting a charging session.

[0175] For example, if a charging session 2011 ends at 2015 before an interval has completed at 2016, then the resulting cooling duration is extended, and cooling equipment may be allowed to operate with lower energy consumption or to cool the charging equipment to a below threshold temperature before the next charging session 2012 starts at 2017.

[0176] Higher Power chargers 2004 with longer intervals 2006 have, by design, longer cooldown times. Subsequent reservation intervals start at 2018 with charging equipment cooled to the managed threshold allowing a subsequent charging session 2014 to start at a known time 2018 and charge without a mid-charging session interruption for cooling. The charging session 2014 also may end at 2019 before the next charging interval 2020 is reached.

[0177] The collection of reservation times, arrival times, charging levels requested, charge requested, departure times, charger cooling needed collected by the local stations and reported to the regional reservation system 100 is well suited to both statistical analysis and machine learning (ML) techniques. The example given in FIG. 20 is of an untrained, un-optimized charging schedule.

[0178] The charging data can be analyzed on a per EV basis, per EV model basis, per station basis, per charger, per charger type, and per time-of-day basis. Statistical analysis can be used to determine trends, patterns, and relationships (both causal and correlative) using the labeled quantitative and categorical data. Since the data is well-labeled (as to source, content, and time of collection),supervised learning algorithms for ML are well suited to be used when a specific goal or optimization is desired (e.g., minimizing guard times, optimizing the reservation interval (in fixed interval (FIG. 12) case), and optimizing the cool down period). In some cases, the data can be used with an unsupervised learning algorithm to cluster data and identify patterns, associations, or anomalies from the charger data. A fully trained reservation system 100 will take into consideration ambient temperatures, equipment temperatures, power levels, charging duration, cooling capacity, and the like in making reservations.FIG. 21

[0179] FIG. 21 is a timing diagram illustrating a non-blocking reservation scheme for a multicharger charging station with dynamic reservation intervals in a sample configuration.

[0180] In FIG. 21, a charging station with three chargers is depicted over a time span 2101. This charging station uses a dynamic scheduling system where each charger 2102, 2103, and 2104 may be scheduled based on the previous reservation and a minimized interval needed for cooling and power allocation. In this example, a first charger 2102 has a first reservation 2105 and a second reservation 2106. A second charger 2103 has a first reservation 2107 and a second reservation 2108. A third charger 2104 has a first reservation 2109, a second reservation 2110, and a third reservation 2111. The first charger 2102 has a first intermission 2112 which is made as small as economically feasible by increasing the cooling capacity associated with the first charger 2102. Similarly, the second charger 2103 and third charger 2114 also have minimal intermissions 2113, 2114, and 2115 between charging session allowing for the charging of more vehicles (or transferring more power to each EV) at each charger over the duration 2101.

[0181] The cooling capability and ability to shorten intermissions dynamically allows for additional reservations to be made. For example, the cooling capacity may be brought online to cool the chargers 2102, 2103, and 2104 during active charging times rather than relying upon ambient cooling in order to shorten the respective intermissions between reservations. The amount of cooling capacity used may be a function of at least the measured temperatures of the chargers and the time available before the next reservation. Higher temperatures and / or shorter intervals would require more cooling, while lower temperatures and / or longer intervals would require less cooling.FIG. 22

[0182] FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for the calculation of a dynamic cooling interval to support dynamic reservation times as described in FIG. 21 in a sample configuration.

[0183] The example process starts when a new reservation request is sent at 2201 to the CSC 603. A pre-screening at 2202 determines which chargers are compatible with the service request (power level, power transfer technology) and which chargers are not in use for the requested charging start time.

[0184] For each charger identified in the pre-screening at 2202, the charger’s existing thermal load budget is determined at 2203 from existing reservations and cool-down intervals for the requested start time. The thermal load budget determined at 2203 also contains the goal for charger temperature for the start of the next reservation or the nominal charger temperature if no future reservation yet exists in the service day for the charger.

[0185] Using the thermal budget determined at 2203, a thermal forecast can be calculated at 2204 based on the charger’s thermal model 2205 (which includes the cool-down period needed) and the cooling capacity model 2206 which contains the thermal transfer, storage and dissipation models for the available passive, semi-active, or active cooling subsystems and the expected ambient air temperature for the reservation request start time).

[0186] For each charger, a thermal rebudget is calculated at 2207 using the information from the existing reservations and the new thermal forecast for the reservation. The CSC 603 will examine all thermal rebudgets at 2207 to determine if the new reservation is allowable (and at what is the overhead cost of cooling).

[0187] At 2208, the CSC 603 will grant a reservation to the charger with the shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements to maximize charging station usage.FIG. 23

[0188] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating an event sequence for handling the arrival of an EV without a reservation at an unreserved charger of a charging station using the reservation system in a sample configuration.

[0189] The EV arrives at 2301. The arrival in this case can mean a detection at 2302 of the EV on approach to the charging station or approach to a charger at the charging station via wireless radio or electro-optical means. Upon detection at 2302, the subscriber, the vehicle, or the charging station notifies the reservation system 100 and an immediate reservation attempt at 2303 will be initiated by the reservation system 100 since no reservation for the EV exists at the arrived at charging station. Either using previously stored EV information or a message exchange with the subscriber (EV owner, driver, or operator) associated with the EV, charging parameters are developed and set at 2304 and charging is initiated at 2305. The EV may have a delayed charging session, or a lower or higher charging rate thaninitially desired due to an abundance or scarcity of charging resources (charger type, power allocation, cooling allocation) due to the already reserved resources.

[0190] At the end-of-charging at 2306, the charging session completes or the driver departs, ending the session early. For a wired system, departure includes removal of the plug.

[0191] A data upload 2307 is sent to detail the arrival time, charging start time, charging end time, charger and charger station sensor readings from the CSC 603 of the reserved charging station to the RSC 602, which stores the data for analysis.FIG 24

[0192] FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating typographically a charging station equipped to support on-approach reservation capability in a sample configuration.

[0193] FIG. 24 shows an overhead view of a highway 2401 being used by an EV 2402 on its way to an off-road charging station 2403 for a reserved charging session. In this example, the off-road charging station 2403 is equipped as a rest stop with an on-site relief and refreshment facility 2404. The local operational and schedule data for the off-road charging station 2403 is maintained onsite as shown in FIG. 1 A for charging station 115 with database(s) 116. The various subscriber EV detection systems enable on-approach, automated reservations, as well as pre-journey and mid-journey reservations.

[0194] The charging station 2403 is equipped with radio-based alerting systems. A geofencing boundary 2405 has been made for the incoming EV 2402 which reports its location to the local controller 301 (not shown) at the charging station 2403. The location report can be a periodic stream with the geofence 2405 crossing being detected by the local controller 301, or the position report can be sent once the EV’s onboard systems have detected the geofence boundary 2405 crossing. In this example, a wide- area wireless data network (e.g., cellular) is used to convey the location reporting. The destination address for the location report(s) may be included in the reservation and can be the regional reservation system 100 (which may route to the local controller 301) or the that of the local controller 301 itself. The addressing for the EV onboard electronics would be included in the reservation request along with encryption parameters for secure messaging.

[0195] Additional or alternative geofencing alerts may be set using local wireless local area networks (WLANs) 2406, 2407, and 2408 in proximity to the charging station 2403. A station WLAN 2406 may be sited to provide coverage to the charging station 2403. A first approach WLAN 2407 and a second approach WLAN 2408 may be situated to both provide wireless data coverage to the EV 2402, but also to establish a geofence indication of the upcoming EV arrival time to the local controller 301.

[0196] Non-radio EV identification systems 2409 (e.g., license plate readers) may also be deployed on the approaches to the charging station to either replace or augment the radio-based geofence systems since subscriber license plate or other EV identifiers may be included in the vehicle data.FIG. 25

[0197] FIG. 25 is a timing diagram illustrating an exemplary messaging sequence for an EV, without a pre-existing reservation, arriving at a charging station that uses the reservation system 100.

[0198] The reservation-less EV arrival at the unreserved charging station is established at 1203.

[0199] The RSC 602 sends an EV Information Request 2501 to the STE 601 to request the state of charge (SoC) desired.

[0200] The STE 601 replies with an EV Information Response 2502 which includes the power allocation desired as well as the charging level, charger types supported, and charging type desired. Alternately, the RSC 602 may use subscriber data already known (from the subscriber database 125) as elements in the ResInfoReq message 605 with a default or nominal power allocation in place of the desired state of charge.

[0201] The RSC 602 sends a Reservation Information Request (ResInfoReq) message 605 to the CSC 603 to poll for local charger availability. All potential charging levels and charging types for the EV are included in the ResInfoReq message 605.

[0202] The CSC 603 of the unreserved charging station responds with Reservation Information Response (ResInfoResp) 606 which includes timewise availability of charger(s), power, and charger capabilities on or near the current time. The RSC 602 updates its local databases and then signals the STE 601 with an Intermediate Reservation Request Response (IResReqResp) 607 with the available chargers, and charging session start times at the current charging station with the current CSC 603.

[0203] To complete the reservation, the STE 601 sends a Set Reservation (SetRes) message 608 with the Reservation ID, charger selection (at the current charging station), and charging start time to the RSC 602. The RSC 602 passes a Relayed Set Reservation (r_SetRest) message 609 with charger and charging session start time to the CSC 603 of the unreserved charging station. The CSC 603 of the unreserved charging station acknowledges the successful reservation with a Set Reservation Response (SetResResp) message 610 to the RSC 602 which relays the r_SetResResp 611 to the STE 601.

[0204] The Arrival of the EV can then be matched at 2503 to the reservation and the charging process can begin.FIG. 26

[0205] One problem faced by an EV charging reservation system 100 is gaming the reservation system 100 by subscribers for their own convenience by making multiple reservations with no intention of using them all. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating typographically a regulation scheme to detect and prevent excess reservations in a sample configuration.

[0206] FIG. 26 typographically shows a method for screening reservation attempts. In a geographically described service area 2601, single charger stations 2602, 2603, and 2604, two-charger stations 2605, 2606, and 2607 and three-charger stations 2608 and 2609 are distributed. The reservation system 100 has set time, distance, and power thresholds to prevent excess reservations being made. Threshold checks may be applied between two or more reservations.

[0207] In an operative example, a subscriber makes a valid reservation for a charger at station 2607. Subsequently, the same subscriber makes reservations at two nearby stations 2602 and 2603. Given the distance between stations 2602, 2603, and 2607, the subscriber EV 2610 could not traverse the interstation distances to keep all the reservations, the amount of charge requested exceeds the capacity of the EV, or the reservations violate a minimum distance rule based on distances 2611, 2612, and 2613. In this case, the reservation system 100 may cancel the two later reservations and inform the subscriber, or the reservation system 100 may cancel all three reservations based on past transgressions, forcing the subscriber to restart the reservation process. In proactive cases, time, distance, and power thresholds may be applied between any two reservation attempts to disallow such subscriber behavior. The described reservation screening will also serve to protect charging stations and network resources from malicious actors. The subscriber data 125 may be updated to reflect the subscriber’s behavior.Additional Embodiments

[0208] In the case where the station or charger has lost connection to the reservation system but the local reservation system is intact as of the last updated reservation, the system may store in the cached schedule, the vehicle details, reservation time, reservation duration, charger ID, and power allocation. For each reservation, the subscriber performance score (as generated by the reservation system) also may be included. In such as case, the station can use the subscriber performance score as a proxy for the likelihood of the subscriber vehicle showing up for the reservation.

[0209] In stations that allow drive-up charging (e.g., via an ad hoc reservation) as well as prior reserved charging, contention for charger resources (charging time, power allocation) can occur since drive-up EVs can no longer make reservations for the station. In one operative scenario, drive -up reservation-less subscribers with higher performance scores can be assigned charging resources previously reserved by subscribers with low performance scores (below a threshold set to reflect the low performing subscriber arriving for the reserved charging session).

[0210] Pre-emption of an established reservation also may be performed for emergency or governmental vehicles without regard for performance scores of the pre-emptive subscribers (but can be considered for the displaced subscribers). Similarly, enrolled stations’ performance may be analyzed for presentation to a subscriber based on waiting time, power delivery, or charger availability at the reserved time.

[0211] In some cases, the reputation score may be used to incentivize and reward subscribers (e.g., discounted electrical cost, increase in priority) for maintaining on-time arrival record. Another incentive for subscribers may be offered for selection of a non-prime, off-route charging station (still one based on station charger availability and power allocation) within an off-route distance (and within the SoC / distance estimate), offloading crowded charging stations (or ones approaching a power allocation threshold).CONCLUSION

[0212] While various implementations have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. For example, any of the elements associated with the systems and methods described above may employ any of the desired functionality set forth hereinabove. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred implementation should not be limited by any of the above-described sample implementations.

[0213] As discussed herein, the logic, commands, or instructions that implement aspects of the methods described herein may be provided in a computing system including any number of form factors for the computing system such as desktop or notebook personal computers, mobile devices such as tablets, netbooks, and smartphones, client terminals and server-hosted machine instances, and the like. Another embodiment discussed herein includes the incorporation of the techniques discussed herein into other forms, including into other forms of programmed logic, hardware configurations, or specialized components or modules, including an apparatus with respective means to perform the functions of such techniques. The respective algorithms used to implement the functions of such techniques may include a sequence of some or all of the electronic operations described herein, or other aspects depicted in the accompanying drawings and detailed description below. Such systems and computer-readable media including instructions for implementing the methods described herein also constitute sample embodiments.

[0214] The functions described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-26 may be implemented in software in one embodiment. The software may consist of computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media or computer readable storage device such as one or more non-transitory memories or other type of hardware-based storage devices, either local or networked. Further, suchfunctions correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software may be executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server, or other computer system, turning such computer system into a specifically programmed machine.

[0215] Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, processors, logic, or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms (herein “modules”). Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a machine readable medium. The software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

[0216] Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangible hardware and / or software entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time.

[0217] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that while the disclosure contained herein pertains to the provision of electrical power to vehicles, it should be understood that this is only one of many possible applications, and other embodiments including non-vehicular applications are possible. Accordingly, these and other such applications are included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED:

1. A reservation system for reserving charging time slots at one or more charging stations for charging an electric vehicle (EV), the system comprising: a reservation system data store that stores at least operational data and schedule data received from enrolled charging stations and EV subscribers; and a reservation system controller that authenticates an EV subscriber and matches a reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber to available charging time slots of available chargers at the one or more charging stations by selecting a charging time slot of a charging station having a charging time slot, power level, power allotment, and cooling allotment for a charging session that matches the reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber.

2. The reservation system of claim 1 , further comprising a charging station data store that stores operational data and schedule data for more than one charging station, wherein the charging station data store is remote from the more than one charging station and aggregates data from the more than one charging station.

3. The reservation system of claim 1, further comprising a charging station data store that stores operational data and schedule data for a charging station, wherein the charging station data store is local to the charging station.

4. The reservation system of claim 1 , wherein the operational data includes environmental data local to the one or more charging stations.

5. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system controller authorizes enrolled EV subscribers to access data of enrolled charging stations and controls secure communications between the enrolled EV subscribers and the enrolled charging stations.

6. The reservation system of claim 5, wherein the reservation system controller maintains a global schedule data with updates of charger status for the enrolled charging stations and establishes EV subscriber to available charging time slot assignments.

7. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system controller processes collected EV subscriber, charger, and charging station data and events using machine learning to predict at least one of future usage of the reservation system, optimized charging station power levels, chargingstation power storage, charger type and power level deployments, or future power consumption and power delivery.

8. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system data store stores operational data for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station, the operational data including enrolled charging station geographic data, chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station, charger identification, charger status, and station-level charger attributes, data representing the chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station including a charger type and power level, and the charger type indicating at least whether a charger is a plug-in or a wireless power transfer charger.

9. The reservation system of claim 8, wherein the operational data stored for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station includes enrolled charging station security information including at least one of identification, authentication, or authorization credentials for secure data transfer, access, and revision.

10. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system data store stores address information for each enrolled charging station, acceptable methods of payment for each enrolled charging station, charging station rules not directly related to charging, and a description of ancillary facilities co-located or near the enrolled charging station.

11. The reservation system of claim 1 , wherein the reservation system data store stores EV subscriber data including EV model, EV charging capabilities, and EV subscriber affiliation and EV subscriber developed data including past charging data, commonly used or preferred charging station, and power consumption data and trends for the EV subscriber.

12. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system data store stores preferences of each EV subscriber including preferred type of charger, charging times of day, charging type by time of day or weather forecast, and reservation records including reservations made, reservations kept, and reservations changed or canceled.

13. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein each enrolled charging station comprises a communications system for communicating the operational data and schedule data for the enrolled charging station to the reservation system controller.

14. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of an enrolled charging station in response to a reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the reservation request from the EV subscriber; checking authorization data of the EV subscriber and enabling further access when the EV subscriber has been authorized; using location data from the reservation request to obtain a region or service area identifier, a latitude or longitude, or a polygon of latitudes and longitudes for the location data; obtaining EV charger characteristics for available chargers that may charge a make, model, and version of an EV to be charged, the EV charger characteristics including at least one of maximum charging rate, battery voltage, or nominal vehicle Z-gap between the EV and the charger when the charger is a wireless power transfer charger; looking up charging stations and chargers in a desired area specified in the reservation request to find one or more chargers that satisfy the reservation request; querying the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine availability, charger capabilities, and charger status at a time that satisfies the reservation request; sending a message to place a temporary hold on an available charger having appropriate charger capabilities at the time that satisfies the reservation request; and upon selection of the available charger by the EV subscriber, sending a message to remove the temporary hold and completing a reservation for the charging time slot at the available charger.

15. The reservation system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to query the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine a possible charging time, power availability, power allocation for a requested time or time range, and environmental conditions at the one or more chargers.

16. The reservation system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of an enrolled charging station in response to a reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving a charger use update advertisement from the selected available charger indicating that the available charger has been reserved.

17. The reservation system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to change a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger ofthe enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the EV subscriber, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation and one or more requested changes in the completed reservation; when the selected available charger can accommodate the change reservation request, reserving the selected available charger for an updated reservation including the one or more requested changes in the completed reservation; when the selected available charger cannot accommodate the change reservation request, reserving another charger at the same charging station including the selected available charger when the another charger can accommodate the change reservation request; when another charger at the same charging station cannot accommodate the change reservation request, initiating the process to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of another enrolled charging station in response to a new reservation request from the EV subscriber; and updating the completed reservation or canceling and replacing the completed reservation with a new reservation resulting from the new reservation request from the EV subscriber.

18. The reservation system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to change a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger of the enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from selected available charger by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the selected available charger, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation; polling a charging station including the selected available charger to determine whether another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger may satisfy the completed reservation and, when the charging station including the selected available charger includes another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger for satisfying the completed reservation; when the charging station including the selected available charger does not include another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, polling a set of geographically nearby charging stations using data from the completed reservation to identify another charger at a geographically nearby charging station that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger at a geographically nearby charging station for satisfying the completed reservation; andreceiving an indication from the EV subscriber that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger, that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the geographically nearby charging station, or that the EV subscriber wishes to initiate a new reservation.

19. The reservation system of claim 14, further comprising a local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger, the local controller executing instructions to establish arrival of the EV subscriber for the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: automatically detecting arrival of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger and verifying a match with a reservation for the charging session that matches the reservation request; informing the reservation system controller of an arrival time of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger; and initiating charging when the selected available charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session that matches the reservation request.

20. The reservation system of claim 19, wherein the local controller further executes instructions to establish departure of the EV subscriber from the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: upon completion of charging, sending data to the reservation system controller identifying a charging start time, a charging end time, and charger sensor readings of the selected available charger; receiving an acknowledgement from the reservation system controller that the data identifying the charging start time, the charging end time, and the charger sensor readings of the selected available charger have been received by the reservation system controller; and advertising availability of the selected available charger for a new charging reservation.

21. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein each charging time slot has an equal duration and comprises a guard time for reserving an associated charger until an EV arrives and charging can begin, a power transfer time for charging the EV, and a cooldown time after completion of the power transfer time for cooling the associated charger before a new charging operation may commence.

22. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein each charging time slot has an adaptive duration and includes a guard time for an expected change of start time for a possible delayed arrival of the EV subscriber and an adaptable power transfer time for charging the EV at a power level that isadaptable based on a duration of the delayed arrival and availability of additional cooling for charging at a higher power level during a shortened power transfer time.

23. The reservation system of claim 22, wherein the charging time slot includes a cooldown time that is based on temperature readings from temperature sensors located at the selected available charger during the power transfer time.

24. The reservation system of claim 23, further comprising a local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger, wherein the local charger executes instructions to manage the cooldown time to maintain the selected available charger at a temperature below a temperature safety threshold adapted to prevent charging service disruption during charging sessions for the selected available charger.

25. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the selected available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at a charging station, wherein each charger of the charging station has a staggered start time for charging relative to other chargers at the charging station.

26. The reservation system of claim 1, further comprising a local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger, wherein the selected available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at a charging station, wherein the local controller implements a dynamic scheduling system for the plurality of chargers at the charging station whereby each charger may be scheduled based on an ending of a previous reservation and an interval needed for cooling and power allocation before a new charging operation may commence.

27. The reservation system of claim 26, wherein the interval needed for cooling and power allocation for each charger is based on a cooling capacity that is available to each charger, where the cooling capacity is a function of at least measured temperatures of each charger and time available before commencement of the new charging operation.

28. The reservation system of claim 1, further comprising a local controller at a charging station of the selected available charger, wherein the local controller dynamically controls cooling of the selected available charger to support dynamic reservation times by performing operations including:upon receipt of a new reservation request, determining which of at least one charger at the charging station is compatible with the new reservation request and which of the at least one charger is not in use for a requested charging start time; for each compatible charger that is not in use for the requested charging start time, determining an existing thermal load budget from existing reservations and cool-down intervals of the each compatible charger for the requested charging start time; using the determined existing thermal budget, calculating a thermal forecast based on a thermal model and a cooling capacity model of the at least one charger and an expected ambient air temperature for the requested charging start time for the new reservation request; for the at least one charger, calculating a thermal rebudget using information from existing reservations and the new thermal forecast; determining if the new reservation request is allowable for the at least one charger based on the new thermal forecast; and reserving a charger of the at least one charger having a shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements.

29. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to manage arrival of an EV without a pre-existing reservation at an unreserved charger of a charging station by performing operations including: receiving notification of arrival of the EV without a pre-existing reservation at the unreserved charger; creating a reservation using previously stored EV information for the EV without a pre-existing reservation or information obtained from a message exchange with the EV subscriber associated with the EV without a pre-existing reservation; setting charging parameters using the created reservation; and initiating charging of the EV without a pre-existing reservation.

30. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to statistically analyze operational data and schedule data received from the one or more charging stations on at least one of a per EV basis, a per EV model basis, a per charging station basis, a per charger basis, a per charger type basis, or a per time-of-day basis to determine trends, patterns, and relationships using a machine learning system to perform optimizations of at least one of a reservation interval or a cool down period.

31. The reservation system of claim 1, further comprising a local controller at the selected available charger and an EV detection system that detects approach of an EV at a charging station including the selected available charger for charging, wherein the EV detection system comprises a radiobased alerting system that reports approach of the EV for charging to the local controller.

32. The reservation system of claim 31, further comprising an EV identification system that identifies the approaching EV from a license plate of the approaching EV.

33. The reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation system controller includes a processor that executes instructions to detect and prevent excess reservations by the EV subscriber for charging by performing operations including: setting at least one of time, distance, or power thresholds for comparing two or more EV charging reservations; and when at least one of the time, distance, or power between two or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber do not satisfy the time, distance, or power thresholds, canceling one or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber and informing the EV subscriber of the cancellation of the one or more charging reservations.

34. The reservation system of claim 33, wherein the processor of the reservation system controller further executes instructions to update data stored in the reservation system data store indicating that the EV subscriber has attempted to make multiple reservations that do not satisfy at least one of the time, distance, or power thresholds.

35. A method for reserving charging time slots at one or more charging stations for charging an electric vehicle (EV), comprising: storing at least operational data and schedule data received from enrolled charging stations and EV subscribers; authenticating an EV subscriber; and matching a reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber to available charging time slots of available chargers at the one or more charging stations by selecting a charging time slot of a charging station having a charging time slot, power level, power allotment, and cooling allotment for a charging session that matches the reservation request from the authenticated EV subscriber.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the operational data includes environmental local to the one or more charging stations.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising processing collected EV subscriber, charger, and charging station data and events using machine learning to predict at least one of future usage of the reservation system, optimized charging station power levels, charging station power storage, charger type and power level deployments, or future power consumption and power delivery.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein operational data for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station includes enrolled charging station geographic data, chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station, charger identification, charger status, and station-level charger attributes, and data representing the chargers deployed at each enrolled charging station including a charger type and power level, and the charger type indicating at least whether a charger is a plug-in or a wireless power transfer charger.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the operational data stored for each enrolled charging station and charger at the charging station includes enrolled charging station security information including at least one of identification, authentication, or authorization credentials for secure data transfer, access, and revision.

40. The method of claim 35, further comprising storing address information for each enrolled charging station, acceptable methods of payment for each enrolled charging station, charging station rules not directly related to charging, and a description of ancillary facilities co-located or near the enrolled charging station.

41. The method of claim 35, further comprising storing EV subscriber data including EV model, EV charging capabilities, and EV subscriber affiliation and EV subscriber developed data including past charging data, commonly used or preferred charging station, and power consumption data and trends for the EV subscriber.

42. The method of claim 35, further comprising storing preferences of each EV subscriber including preferred type of charger, charging times of day, charging type by time of day or weather forecast, and reservation records including reservations made, reservations kept, and reservations changed or canceled.

43. The method of claim 35, further comprising reserving a charging time slot at a charger of an enrolled charging station in response to a reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the reservation request from the EV subscriber; checking authorization data of the EV subscriber and enabling further access when the EV subscriber has been authorized; using location data from the reservation request to obtain a region or service area identifier, a latitude or longitude, or a polygon of latitudes and longitudes for the location data; obtaining EV charger characteristics for available chargers that may charge a make, model, and version of an EV to be charged, the EV charger characteristics including at least one of maximum charging rate, battery voltage, or nominal vehicle Z-gap between the EV and the charger when the charger is a wireless power transfer charger; looking up charging stations and chargers in a desired area specified in the reservation request to find one or more chargers that satisfy the reservation request; querying the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine availability, charger capabilities, and charger status at a time that satisfies the reservation request; sending a message to place a temporary hold on an available charger having appropriate charger capabilities at the time that satisfies the reservation request; and upon selection of the available charger by the EV subscriber, sending a message to remove the temporary hold and completing a reservation for the charging time slot at the available charger.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising querying the one or more chargers in the desired area to determine a possible charging time, power availability, power allocation for a requested time or time range, and environmental conditions at the one or more chargers.

45. The method of claim 43, further comprising receiving a charger use update advertisement from the selected available charger indicating that the available charger has been reserved.

46. The method of claim 43, further comprising changing a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger of the enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from an EV subscriber by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the EV subscriber, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation and one or more requested changes in the completed reservation;when the selected available charger can accommodate the change reservation request, reserving the selected available charger for an updated reservation including the one or more requested changes in the completed reservation; when the selected available charger cannot accommodate the change reservation request, reserving another charger at the same charging station including the selected available charger when the another charger can accommodate the change reservation request; when another charger at the same charging station cannot accommodate the change reservation request, initiating the process to reserve a charging time slot at a charger of another enrolled charging station in response to a new reservation request from the EV subscriber; and updating the completed reservation or canceling and replacing the completed reservation with a new reservation resulting from the new reservation request from the EV subscriber.

47. The method of claim 43, further comprising changing a reservation of the charging time slot at the charger of the enrolled charging station in response to a change reservation request from selected available charger by performing operations including: receiving the change reservation request from the selected available charger, the change reservation request identifying the completed reservation; polling a charging station including the selected available charger to determine whether another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger may satisfy the completed reservation and, when the charging station including the selected available charger includes another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger for satisfying the completed reservation; when the charging station including the selected available charger does not include another charger that may satisfy the completed reservation, polling a set of geographically nearby charging stations using data from the completed reservation to identify another charger at a geographically nearby charging station that may satisfy the completed reservation, notifying the EV subscriber of the availability of the another charger at a geographically nearby charging station for satisfying the completed reservation; and receiving an indication from the EV subscriber that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the charging station including the selected available charger, that the EV subscriber agrees to charge at the another charger at the geographically nearby charging station, or that the EV subscriber wishes to initiate a new reservation.

48. The method of claim 43, further comprising establishing arrival of the EV subscriber for the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: automatically detecting arrival of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger and verifying a match with a reservation for the charging session that matches the reservation request; informing the reservation system controller of an arrival time of the EV subscriber at the selected available charger; and initiating charging when the selected available charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session that matches the reservation request.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising establishing departure of the EV subscriber from the charging session that matches the reservation request by performing operations including: upon completion of charging, sending data to the reservation system controller identifying a charging start time, a charging end time, and charger sensor readings of the selected available charger; receiving an acknowledgement from the reservation system controller that the data identifying the charging start time, the charging end time, and the charger sensor readings of the selected available charger have been received by the reservation system controller; and advertising availability of the selected available charger for a new charging reservation.

50. The method of claim 35, further comprising managing a cooldown time of the selected available charger to maintain the selected available charger at a temperature below a temperature safety threshold adapted to prevent charging service disruption during charging sessions for the selected available charger.

51. The method of claim 35, wherein the selected available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at a charging station, further comprising staggering a start time of each charger of the charging station for charging relative to other chargers at the charging station.

52. The method of claim 35, wherein the selected available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at a charging station, further comprising implementing a dynamic scheduling system for the plurality of chargers at the charging station whereby each charger may be scheduled based on an ending of a previous reservation and an interval needed for cooling and power allocation before a new charging operation may commence.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the interval needed for cooling and power allocation for each charger is based on a cooling capacity that is available to each charger, where the cooling capacity is a function of at least measured temperatures of each charger and time available before commencement of the new charging operation.

54. The method of claim 35, further comprising dynamically controlling cooling of the selected available charger to support dynamic reservation times by performing operations including: upon receipt of a new reservation request, determining which of at least one charger at the charging station is compatible with the new reservation request and which of the at least one charger is not in use for a requested charging start time; for each compatible charger that is not in use for the requested charging start time, determining an existing thermal load budget from existing reservations and cool-down intervals of the each compatible charger for the requested charging start time; using the determined existing thermal budget, calculating a thermal forecast based on a thermal model and a cooling capacity model of the at least one charger and an expected ambient air temperature for the requested charging start time for the new reservation request; for the at least one charger, calculating a thermal rebudget using information from existing reservations and the new thermal forecast; determining if the new reservation request is allowable for the at least one charger based on the new thermal forecast; and reserving a charger of the at least one charger having a shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements.

55. The method of claim 35, further comprising managing arrival of an EV without a preexisting reservation at an unreserved charger of a charging station by performing operations including: receiving notification of arrival of the EV without a pre-existing reservation at the unreserved charger; creating a reservation using previously stored EV information for the EV without a pre-existing reservation or information obtained from a message exchange with the EV subscriber associated with the EV without a pre-existing reservation; setting charging parameters using the created reservation; and initiating charging of the EV without a pre-existing reservation.

56. The method of claim 35, further comprising statistically analyzing operational data and schedule data received from the one or more charging stations on at least one of a per EV basis, a per EV model basis, a per charging station basis, a per charger basis, a per charger type basis, or a per time-of- day basis to determine trends, patterns, and relationships using a machine learning system to perform optimizations of at least one of a reservation interval or a cool down period.

57. The method of claim 35, further comprising detecting approach of an EV at a charging station including the selected available charger for charging and reporting approach of the EV for charging to a local controller of the selected available charger.

58. The method of claim 35, further comprising detecting and preventing excess reservations by the EV subscriber for charging by performing operations including: setting at least one of time, distance, or power thresholds for comparing two or more EV charging reservations; and when at least one of the time, distance, or power between two or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber do not satisfy the time, distance, or power thresholds, canceling one or more charging reservations by the EV subscriber and informing the EV subscriber of the cancellation of the one or more charging reservations.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising updating data indicating that the EV subscriber has attempted to make multiple reservations that do not satisfy at least one of the time, distance, or power thresholds.

60. A reservation system for reserving charging time slots at a charging station for charging an electric vehicle (EV), the system comprising: a reservation system data store that stores at least operational data and schedule data for the charging station; and a reservation system controller that executes instructions to establish arrival of an EV subscriber for a charging session in a charging time slot that matches a reservation request by performing operations including: automatically detecting arrival of the EV subscriber at an available charger of the charging station and verifying a match with a reservation for a charging session that matches the reservation request; and initiating charging when the available charger is sufficiently cooled to begin the charging session that matches the reservation request.

61. The reservation system of claim 60, wherein each charging time slot has an equal duration and comprises a guard time for reserving an associated charger until an EV arrives and charging can begin, a power transfer time for charging the EV, and a cooldown time after completion of the power transfer time for cooling the associated charger before a new charging operation may commence.

62. The reservation system of claim 60, wherein each charging time slot has an adaptive duration and includes a guard time for an expected change of start time for a possible delayed arrival of the EV subscriber and an adaptable power transfer time for charging the EV at a power level that is adaptable based on a duration of the delayed arrival and availability of additional cooling for charging at a higher power level during a shortened power transfer time.

63. The reservation system of claim 62, wherein the charging time slot includes a cooldown time that is based on temperature readings from temperature sensors located at the available charger during the power transfer time.

64. The reservation system of claim 63, wherein the reservation system controller executes instructions to manage the cooldown time to maintain the available charger at a temperature below a temperature safety threshold adapted to prevent charging service disruption during charging sessions for the available charger.

65. The reservation system of claim 60, wherein each charging time slot has an adaptive duration and includes a guard time that is adjustable in accordance with a battery weather charging profile of a vehicle battery of the EV subscriber to adjust the vehicle battery to a desirable temperature range before initiating charging.

66. The reservation system of claim 60, wherein the available charger is one of a plurality of chargers at the charging station, wherein the reservation system controller implements a dynamic scheduling system for the plurality of chargers at the charging station whereby each charger may be scheduled based on an ending of a previous reservation and an interval needed for cooling and power allocation before a new charging operation may commence.

67. The reservation system of claim 66, wherein the interval needed for cooling and power allocation for each charger is based on a cooling capacity that is available to each charger, where thecooling capacity is a function of at least measured temperatures of each charger and time available before commencement of the new charging operation.

68. The reservation system of claim 60, wherein the reservation system controller dynamically controls cooling of the available charger to support dynamic reservation times by performing operations including: upon receipt of a new reservation request, determining which of at least one charger at the charging station is compatible with the new reservation request and which of the at least one charger is not in use for a requested charging start time; for each compatible charger that is not in use for the requested charging start time, determining an existing thermal load budget from existing reservations and cool-down intervals of the each compatible charger for the requested charging start time; using the determined existing thermal budget, calculating a thermal forecast based on a thermal model and a cooling capacity model of the at least one charger and an expected ambient air temperature for the requested charging start time for the new reservation request; for the at least one charger, calculating a thermal rebudget using information from existing reservations and the new thermal forecast; determining if the new reservation request is allowable for the at least one charger based on the new thermal forecast; and reserving a charger of the at least one charger having a shortest forecast cool-down period or least expensive forecast cool-down period based on cooling requirements.

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