Vehicle supply equipment communication apparatus and method
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- JAGUAR LAND ROVER LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-06
Smart Images
Figure EP2026052534_06082026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND METHOD
[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] The present disclosure relates to an electric vehicle supply equipment communication with a vehicle. Aspects of the invention relate to a control system for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment, to an electric vehicle supply equipment, to a method for controlling a control system, and to computer-readable instructions.
[0004] BACKGROUND
[0005] It is known to provide to provide an electric vehicle supply equipment at a home address, and a vehicle can be connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment and receive charge therefrom to charge an energy store of the vehicle. Managing communication between an electric vehicle supply equipment and a connected vehicle can be challenging. Efforts have been made to standardise communication between vehicles and an electric vehicle supply equipment in one or more communication protocols. However, not all communication protocols are widely supported, especially by existing vehicles. As such, while a charging operation can be successfully performed with existing vehicles, additional functionalities, which enhance the charging operation, may not be available.
[0006] It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art.
[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system for controlling an electric supply equipment, an electric vehicle supply equipment, a method, and computer-readable instructions as claimed in the appended claims.
[0009] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for an electric vehicle supply equipment, the control system for controlling communication with a vehicle via an established cable connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to: transmit, to the vehicle, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle; receive, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message comprising a vehicle identifier; and store, in a storage means associated with the control system and in response to receiving the SLAC message, the vehicle identifier.
[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a control system for an electric vehicle supply equipment, the control system for controlling communication with a vehicle via an established cable connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to: transmit, to the vehicle, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle; receive, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message, the SLAC message comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process; and store, in a storage means associated with thecontrol system and in response to receiving the SLAG message, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment.
[0011] Advantageously, control systems as disclosed herein aim to, by repurposing the SLAC message and the contents therein, obtain and store a unique vehicle identifier at an early stage of communication with a vehicle.
[0012] The one or more processors may be collectively configured to: transmit, to the vehicle, a SLAC reply message; and in response to transmitting the SLAC reply message, establish a communication link between the vehicle and the electric vehicle supply equipment. Advantageously, information may be transmitted between the vehicle and the electric vehicle supply equipment via the communication link.
[0013] In response to establishment of the communication link between the vehicle and the electric vehicle supply equipment, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to: transmit, to the vehicle, a message for reporting protocols supported by the vehicle which, upon receipt by the vehicle, causes the vehicle to report one or more protocols supported by the vehicle; and receive, from the vehicle, a protocol indicator indicating one or more protocols supported by the vehicle.
[0014] In some examples, the one or more protocols relate to one or more charging and / or communication protocols. Advantageously, control systems as disclosed herein may determine which charging protocols are supported by the vehicle.
[0015] In response to receiving the protocol indicator, the one or more processors may be configured to: determine if the one or more supported protocols comprises a high-level communication protocol; and in response to determining that the one or more supported protocols does not comprise the high-level communication protocol, revert the communication link between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle to a low-level communication link.
[0016] In some examples, the low-level communication link may be a low-level alternating current, AC, communication / charging protocol and the high-level communication link / protocol may be a high-level AC communication / charging protocol.
[0017] Advantageously, the control system may perform low-level communication aided by the obtained vehicle identifier, which is not able to be transmitted to the electric vehicle supply equipment during normal low-level communication. As such, low-level charging may be enhanced.
[0018] In response to reverting communication link between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle to the low-level communication link, the one or more processors may be collectively configured to: report, to the vehicle, a negotiation message indicating that the electric vehicle supply equipment is reverting the communication link to a low-level communication link.Advantageously, a vehicle may be informed of the type of communication that is going to be used by the electric vehicle supply equipment to communicate with the vehicle.
[0019] The one or more processors may be configured to: retrieve the vehicle identifier from the storage means; and compare the retrieved vehicle identifier to a vehicle register, the vehicle register indicative of one or more stored vehicle identifiers each corresponding to vehicles authorised to use the electric vehicle supply equipment.
[0020] Advantageously, the vehicle may be more accurately identified, making for a more secure and accurate authorisation process.
[0021] The one or more processors may be configured to: if the retrieved vehicle identifier corresponds to a stored vehicle identifier within the vehicle register, determine that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment. Advantageously, the vehicle may be more accurately identified, making for a more secure and accurate authorisation process.
[0022] The one or more processors may be configured to: in response to determining that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment, output a control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to perform at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier. Advantageously, low-level AC charging / communication may be enhanced by way of the vehicle identifier, which is not conventionally available for low-level AC charging / communication.
[0023] The at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier may comprise retrieving a charging schedule of the vehicle; and the one or more processors may be configured to output the control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to charge the vehicle according to the retrieved charging schedule.
[0024] Advantageously, low-level AC charging / communication may be enhanced by way of the vehicle identifier, which is not conventionally available for low-level AC charging / communication. The vehicle identifier may be a medium access control, MAC, address (e.g. a SLAC MAC address). This may be particularly advantageous because SLAC and / or a SLAC MAC address is not conventionally used at all for low-level AC charging.
[0025] The vehicle identifier may be a medium access control, MAC, address (e.g. a SLAC MAC address) of the vehicle. In some examples, the MAC address may be comprised with in an electric vehicle communication controller identifier (EVCCID). In some examples, the MAC address may be formatted in a hexadecimal binary format. Advantageously the MAC address may uniquely identify the vehicle, thereby aiming to ensure accuracy of an authentication process.
[0026] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided an electric vehicle supply equipment comprising any control system disclosed herein.According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a method for controlling a control system of an electric vehicle supply equipment, the control system for controlling communication with a vehicle via an established cable connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle, the method comprising: transmitting, to the vehicle, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle; receiving, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message, the SLAC message comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process; and storing, in a storage means associated with the control system and in response to receiving the SLAC message, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment.
[0027] According to an aspect of the invention there are provided computer-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform any method disclosed herein.
[0028] Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in anyway and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.
[0029] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0031] Figure 1 shows an electric vehicle supply equipment according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a control system according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0032] Figure 3 shows a flow chart showing a method which control systems disclosed herein are configured to perform according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0033] Figure 4 shows a process which control systems disclosed herein are configured to perform according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0034] Figure 5 shows a process which control systems disclosed herein are configured to perform according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0035] Figure 6 shows a process which control systems disclosed herein are configured to perform according to an embodiment of the invention; and
[0036] Figure 7 shows an arrangement of an electric vehicle supply equipment connected to a vehicle according to embodiments of the invention.
[0037] DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] It is known to provide an electric vehicle supply equipment at a home address, and a vehicle can be connected to the supply equipment and receive charge therefrom to charge an energy store of the vehicle. Discussionherein of supply of electrical charge to the vehicle should be understood as a supply of electrical charge of an energy storage means of the vehicle e.g. a rechargeable battery.
[0039] An electric vehicle supply equipment (or simply supply equipment) may be understood to be a “charger” or “home charger”, i.e. an apparatus which can be connected to a vehicle (and the electrical energy storage of that vehicle) for the provision of charge from the supply equipment to the vehicle, to recharge the electrical energy storage. The vehicle may be a battery electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, for example.
[0040] During the charging process, electric vehicles are connected to an electric vehicle supply equipment via a charging cable. Through the charging cable, in addition to electric power, information may be transmitted between the vehicle and electric vehicle supply equipment to provide further functionality. In some examples, information relating to the vehicle system may be transferred to the electric vehicle supply equipment via the charging cable. In this way, the vehicle and electric vehicle supply equipment may communicate while a cable connection is established therebetween. Such communication may adhere to one or more communication protocols, which standardise the structure of the communication (i.e. how and when each component (vehicle or electric vehicle supply equipment) should receive and / or transmit information to the other component(s)). There is a problem in the art that not every vehicle will adhere to each communication protocol. As such, functionality of electric vehicle supply equipment and / or vehicles during charging may vary, depending on the communication protocols that are supported by the electric vehicle supply equipment and / or the vehicles.
[0041] Communication protocols may be separated into low-level communication protocols and high-level communication protocols. Low-level communication protocols may enable rudimentary information to be transmitted between an electric vehicle supply equipment and a connected vehicle. For example, a low-level communication protocol may permit communication of a charging state and / or a maximum current between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the connected vehicle. High-level communication protocols may enable more complex information to be transmitted between an electric vehicle supply equipment and a connected vehicle than low-level communication protocols. For example, the high-level communication protocol may permit communication of a compatibility, a charging sequence, physical limits, energy demand, charging schedules, sales tariffs, authorizations and payments, and / or the like. Therefore, there exists a problem in the art whereby a vehicle adhering to low-level communication protocols does not benefit from the additional functionality facilitated by high-level communication protocols.
[0042] Further to the above, electric vehicles may be configured for charging in accordance with a direct current (DC) charging scheme, such as “DC fast charging”, and an alternating current (AC) charging scheme. Due to the differences in currents in AC and DC charging schemes, each charging scheme may be subject of one or more respective communication protocols, for example, AC high-level and AC low-level, and DC high-level and DC low-level protocols. Within the current state of the art, high-level AC communication / charging protocols may not be widely supported by existing vehicles.
[0043] Examples disclosed herein aim to provide a vehicle adhering to a low-level communication protocol with some of the additional functionality provided by high-level communication protocols.Figure 1 shows an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 according to embodiments of the invention. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 comprises a control system 100 as disclosed herein. For example, the control system 100 may be the control system discussed in relation to any of Figures 2-6. The electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may comprise a charging gun 202 which can be connected to an electric vehicle and used to provide electrical charge from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to the vehicle (i.e. to a rechargeable energy store of the vehicle). The charging gun 202 may be connected to the vehicle by way of a charging cable. By way of the charging gun and charging cable, a cable connection may be established between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle. The cable connection may be suitable for communication (i.e. the transmission of information) to be performed between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle. In relation to the examples as disclosed herein. The signals / messages / indicators discussed are to be understood as being communicated via the cable connection established between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle. In some examples the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may comprise an output device 204 such as a display screen or visual indicator to indicate information to a user.
[0044] Figure 2 shows a control system 100 according to embodiments of the invention which is for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be comprised within the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 as illustrated in Figure 2 comprises one controller 110, although it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative. The controller 110 comprises processing means 120 and memory means 130. The processing means 120 may be one or more electronic processing device 120 which operably executes computer-readable instructions. The memory means 130 may be one or more memory device 130. The memory means 130 is electrically coupled to the processing means 120. The memory means 130 is configured to store instructions, and the processing means 120 is configured to access the memory means 130 and execute the instructions stored thereon.
[0045] The controller 110 comprises an input means 140 and an output means 150. The input means 140 may comprise an electrical input 140 of the controller 110. The output means 150 may comprise an electrical output 150 of the controller 110. The output 150 is arranged to transmit a charging ready state indicator 155. The charging ready state indicator 155 is indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle 50 (e.g. an energy storage means of the vehicle). The input 140 is arranged to receive, from the vehicle 50, a signal level attenuation characterization (SLAC) message 165 comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process. The memory means 130 may be configured to have stored therein the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle 200 for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200.
[0046] Figure 3 shows a flow chart showing a computer-implemented method 300 which control systems 100 disclosed herein are configured to perform for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The method 300 may be performed by one or more processors 120 executing computer-readable instructions. That is, the method as disclosed herein is a computer-implemented method. The method 300 comprises transmitting 310, to a vehicle, a charging ready state indicator 155 indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 beingready to supply electrical power to the vehicle; receiving 320, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message 165, the SLAC message 165 comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process; and storing 330, in a storage means associated with the control system 100 and in response to receiving the SLAC message 165, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Also according to an embodiment of the present invention, there are provided herein computer-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors (e.g. the processing means 120), cause the one or more processors to perform the method 300 as disclosed herein.
[0047] Examples will be discussed in more detail with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Figure 4 shows a process 400 which control systems 100 disclosed herein are configured to perform for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be comprised within the supply equipment 200.
[0048] The control system 100 is configured to transmit, to the vehicle 50 connected via an established cable connection between the control system 100 and the vehicle 50, a charging ready state indicator 155. A cable connection may be determined as established, in response to the vehicle 50 being connected to the control system 100 (i.e. the electronic vehicle supply equipment 100) via a charging cable of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the control system 100 may determine that the cable connection is established in response to receiving an indicator (i.e. a signal or message) from the vehicle 50 via the cable connection. As such, the term “established” may be understood to mean functional and / or operational. As above, the charging ready state indicator 155 is indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle 50. The charging ready state indicator 155 may be a signal that is sent as part of a communication protocol in which the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 frequently transmits, to the vehicle 50, the charging state. In this way, the control system 100 may be configured to transmit the charging ready state indicator 155 as part of a low-level communication protocol (DC or AC), because such information may be considered rudimentary. However, the charging ready state indicator 155 may be transmitted as part of a high-level communication protocol.
[0049] The control system 100 is configured to receive, from the vehicle 50, a SLAC message 165. In some examples the SLAC message 165 may be transmitted by the vehicle 50 in response to receiving the charging ready state indicator 155. The vehicle 50 may monitor the cable connection between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The vehicle 50 may detect the state of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 being the charging ready state and transmit the SLAC message 165 to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The SLAC message 165 may be transmitted as part of a SLAC process. Within the art, a SLAC process is to be understood as the process in which a vehicle 50 may determine which electric vehicle supply equipment 200 that the vehicle 50 is physically connected to. A SLAC process may typically be employed when a vehicle 50 is positioned in a public charging station, in which there are a plurality of electric vehicle supply equipment also located, available for performing charging with a plurality of vehicles. For example, as part of the SLAC process, the vehicle 50 may transmit a SLAC message 165 to a connected electric vehicle supply equipment 200, via an established cable connection. However, due to a high frequency of a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal of the SLAC message 165, crosstalk with other electric vehicle supply equipment 200, not connected tothe vehicle, via the powerline can exist. As such, a vehicle 50 may use the SLAG process, specifically the attenuation of a signal / message sent during the SLAC process, to determine the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 that is physically connected to the vehicle. For example, a signal / message having a least amount of attenuation may be associated with an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 that is physically connected to the vehicle 50. Therefore, as above, a SLAC process may not be deployed by an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and / or vehicle 50 located at a user’s private dwelling where, commonly, there is a single electric vehicle supply equipment 200 installed for a user’s vehicle(s). Such an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be referred to as a “home charger”. Further, within the art, the SLAC process may be understood as being part of a high-level DC communication protocol, which is well-supported by existing electric vehicles.
[0050] In this way, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 of the present invention operates in accordance with a charging method (i.e. DC charging), which it may not support, for the purposes of communication (rather than charging) with the connected vehicle 50. For example, an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 supporting a DC charging regime requires large amounts of power and extensive infrastructure, which is not available and / or feasible for private dwellings. In this way, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 as disclosed herein may be considered to be an AC charging electric vehicle supply equipment. As such, the control system 100 of the present invention may operate in a new way by, for example, repurposing a SLAC message, which may be transmitted as part of a DC communication protocol, for use with a home electric vehicle supply equipment, which supports AC charging (i.e. charges according to an AC charging protocol).
[0051] The SLAC message 165 comprises a vehicle identifier. The vehicle identifier may be a component within the SLAC message 165. For example, the SLAC message 165 may comprise a medium access control, MAC, address of the vehicle 50. In some examples, the SLAC message 165 may comprise an electric vehicle communication controller identifier (EVCCID). In such examples, the EVCCID may comprise a field containing the MAC address. In any example disclosed herein, the MAC address may be an address unique to each vehicle 50. In some examples, the MAC address may be formatted in a hexadecimal or binary format. Advantageously, based on the MAC address, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be able to clearly identify the vehicle 50 to which it is connected. This may be particularly advantageous when the connected vehicle 50 does not support a high-level AC communication protocol and, as such, is limited to low-level (i.e. “basic”) AC communication protocols. That is, the present invention provides an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 that may enhance a charging experience of a vehicle not supporting a high-level communication protocol and may provide increased functionality by way of the captured vehicle identifier (e.g. a SLAC MAC address).
[0052] The control system 100 is configured to store 430 the vehicle identifier, in response to receiving the SLAC message 165. The control system 100 is configured to store the vehicle identifier in a storage means associated with the control system 100. The storage means associated with the control system 100 may be the memory means 130 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Additionally the storage means may be a storage device that is remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (and thus the control system 100). For example, the control system 100 may be configured to communicate with and access a storagedevice that is maintained in a remote location. The remote storage may be a distributed storage device and / or a cloud storage device. As such, the storage means may be understood to relate to one or more storage devices to which the control system 100 has access.
[0053] The control system 100 may be configured to use the stored vehicle identifier, obtained from the SLAC message 165, for authorisation of the vehicle 50 for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Conventionally, the vehicle identifier within the SLAC message may not have any use and, as such, is not stored. As such, by storing the storing the vehicle identifier, the control system 100 of the present invention is able to obtain and store a unique vehicle identifier at an early stage of communication with a connected vehicle 50.
[0054] Figure 5 shows a process 500 which control systems 100 disclosed herein may be configured to perform for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. As illustrated in Figure 5, the process 500 is initiated by the control system 100 receiving the SLAC message 165 from the connected vehicle 50. The control system 100 (i.e. the one or more processors 120) may be configured to transmit, to the vehicle 50, a SLAC reply message 510. That is, the control system 100 may be configured to transmit the SLAC reply message 510 in response to receiving the SLAC message 165 from the vehicle 50. The SLAC reply message 510 may comprise a response to the transmitted SLAC message 165. For example, the SLAC message 165 may comprise an indicator causing the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to transmit the SLAC reply message 510, such that the vehicle 50 can determine an attenuation of the SLAC reply message 510. With reference to the above SLAC process, the SLAC reply message 510 may be used by the vehicle 50 to determine if the vehicle 50 is physically connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In response to transmitting the SLAC reply message 510 to the vehicle 50, the control system 100 may be configured to establish a communication link 520 between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (i.e. the control system 100). Advantageously, by forming a communication link 520 between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, information may be communicated between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the communication link 520 may be a high-level DC communication link.
[0055] In some examples, in response to transmitting the SLAC reply message 510 to the vehicle 50, the control system 100 may be configured to determine whether a SLAC process has completed. For example, the control system 100 may be configured to await a response from the vehicle 50 that the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, in which the control system 100 is comprised, has been determined to be the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to which the vehicle 50 is connected. In some examples, a SLAC process may fail. For example, a vehicle 50 may not be able to determine which electric vehicle supply equipment 100 it is connected to and / or may not be able to finish the SLAC process. This may be due to any number of reasons such as, poor cable condition, poor cable connections, vehicle battery depleting, the electric vehicle supply equipment losing power (e.g. loss of grid-side power, a “power cut”) and / or the like. In such an event, the control system 100 may be configured to determine that a SLAC process has not completed. For example, the control system 100 may wait for a predetermined period of time after transmitting the SLAC reply message 510 to determine the SLAC process did not successfully complete. In addition, the control system 100 may transmit a SLACchecking message (not illustrated) and await a response from the vehicle 50. In such examples, the control system 100 may be configured to determine if the vehicle identifier, received in the SLAC message 165 and previously stored by the control system 100, is known to the control system 100. For example, the control system 100 may compare the vehicle identifier to a stored one or more vehicle identifiers. The stored one or more vehicle identifiers may be a log of vehicle identifiers previously stored by the control system 100. The stored one or more vehicle identifiers may be stored in a memory device that is local to the control system 100 (.e.g. memory device 130) and / or remote to the control system 100. In dependence on the control system 100 determining that the vehicle identifier is known to the control system 100, the control system 100 may be configured to subsequently use the vehicle identifier for one or more vehicle-related operations. The at least one vehicle-related operation may comprise a compatibility, a charging sequence, physical limits, energy demand, charging schedules, sales tariffs, authorizations and payment, and the like. In dependence on the control system 100 determining that the vehicle identifier is not known to the control system 100, the control system 100 may be configured to retrieve an electric vehicle supply equipment identifier for use as part of the one or more vehicle-related operations.
[0056] The control system 100 may be configured to, in response to establishment of the communication link 520 between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, transmit, to the vehicle 50, a message 530 for reporting protocols supported by the vehicle 50 which, upon receipt by the vehicle 50, causes the vehicle 50 to report one or more protocols supported by the vehicle 50. The message 530 may be a message which, upon receipt by the vehicle 50 may cause the vehicle 50 to transmit a protocol indicator 540 to the control system 100. For example, the vehicle 50 may store the protocol indicator 540 within a storage device associated thereto for provision to external devices, such as the control system 100 and / or electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to receive, from the vehicle 50, the protocol indicator 540. The protocol indicator 540 may indicate one or more protocols supported by the vehicle 50. Each of the one or more protocols may relate to one or more charging protocols and / or communication protocols. For example, during charging of the vehicle 50 by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (i.e. the provision of electrical power from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to the vehicle 50), the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle 50 may communicate with one another and information may be exchanged therebetween in accordance with the one or more protocols. Advantageously, the control system 100 may be able to determine which protocols are supported by the vehicle 50. For example, the control system 100 may determine whether the vehicle 50 is suitable to communicate with the control system 100 using a high-level communication protocol. In the context of a home electric vehicle supply equipment 200, a high-level communication protocol may enhance functionality of a charging operation for a user. For example, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 may be able to provide personalised charging schemes on the basis of a high-level communication protocol, which enables a greater amount of information to be transmitted through the cable connection between the vehicle 50 and the control system 100 / electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the high-level communication protocol may be a high-level AC communication protocol.
[0057] In response to receiving the protocol indicator 540, the one or more processors 120 may be configured to determine 550 if the one or more supported protocols comprises a high-level communication protocol. Forexample, the control system 100 may compare the one or more supported protocols comprised within the protocol indicator 540 to a protocol register. The protocol register may indicate one or more protocols that are supported by the control system 100. The protocol register may be stored in a storage means associated with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. For example, the storage means may be the memory means 130 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and / or may be a storage device remote from, but accessible by, the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In response to determining that the one or more supported protocols does not comprise the high-level communication protocol, the control system 100 may be configured to revert 560 the communication link 520 between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle 50 to a low-level communication link. That is, the control system 100 may be configured to determine that the vehicle 50 does not support the high-level communication protocol, based on the high-level communication protocol not being comprised within the one or more supported protocols of the protocol register, received by the control system 100 from the vehicle 50. In an example, the communication link 520 between the vehicle 50 and the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, facilitating the SLAC process, in response to transmitting the SLAC reply message 510 and / or in response to the SLAC process completing, may be a high-level DC communication link, which is well supported by electric vehicles. In this case, the high-level communication protocol not supported by the vehicle 50 may be a high-level AC communication link (i.e. adhering to a high-level AC communication protocol) and the low-level communication link may be a low-level AC communication link (i.e. adhering to a low-level AC communication protocol). Advantageously, the control system 100 as disclosed herein may be able to perform low-level communication aided by the obtained vehicle identifier, which is not able to be transmitted to the electric vehicle supply equipment during conventional low-level communication. That is, the present invention is particularly advantageous because SLAC and / or a SLAC MAC address (i.e. a vehicle identifier), which may enhance low-level AC charging, is not conventionally used for low-level AC charging. As such, low-level charging may be enhanced by way of the control system 100 as disclosed herein. That is, the control system 100 may establish a high-level DC communication with the vehicle 50, despite the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 not supporting DC charging, to obtain the vehicle identifier such that a vehicle 50, not supporting a high-level AC communication and supporting a low-level AC communication, may have improved charging functionality.
[0058] In response to reverting 560 the communication link 520 between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and the vehicle 50 to the low-level communication link; the control system 100 may be configured to report, to the vehicle 50, a negotiation message 570. The negotiation message 570 may indicate that the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is reverting communication to a low-level communication link (i.e. and therefore communicate and / or charge the vehicle 50 in accordance with a low-level communication protocol). Advantageously, the control system 100 may be able to inform the vehicle 50 of the type of communication that is intended for use by the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 for charging and / or communication with the vehicle 50.
[0059] Figure 6 shows a process 600 which control systems 100 disclosed herein may be configured to perform for controlling an electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The control system 100 may be configured to retrieve 610 the vehicle identifier from the storage means. That is, it is to be understood that the process 600 of Figure 6 is to be performed after the control system 100 has stored the vehicle identifier, as is illustrated in Figure 4.The control system 100 may be configured to compare 620 the retrieved vehicle identifier to a vehicle register. The vehicle register may be indicative of one or more stored vehicle identifiers each corresponding to vehicles authorised to use the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The vehicle register may be maintained by the control system 100 in response to one or more user inputs. In some examples, the vehicle register may correspond to a register of one or more vehicle that a user has authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Advantageously, by using the vehicle identifier, which is unique to the vehicle, to identify if the vehicle is associated to the vehicle register, an authorisation procedure is more secure and more accurate. The vehicle register may be stored in a storage means associated with the control system 100. The storage means associated with the control system 100 may be the memory means 130 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. Additionally, the storage means may be a storage device that is remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 / control system 100.
[0060] If the retrieved vehicle identifier corresponds to a stored vehicle identifier within the vehicle register (i.e. the Y branch on the process 600), the control system 100 may be configured to determine 630 that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. As such, the vehicle identifier may be used by the control system 100 to authorise the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In some examples, the retrieved vehicle identifier may not correspond to a stored vehicle identifier within the vehicle register (i.e. the N branch on the process 600). In such examples, the control system 100 may determine that the vehicle is not authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In response to determining that the vehicle is not authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the control system 100 may be configured to transmit 660 an authorisation message to a device associated with a user of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. For example, the device may be the output device 204 of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In other examples, the device may be an electronic device remote from the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (e.g. a user’s personal device). The control system 100 may be configured to receive an authorisation response message from the device associated with the user of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. The authorisation response message may comprise an indication for whether the user confirms or denies the authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200. In response to the vehicle being confirmed as authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the control system 100 may be configured to store the vehicle identifier in the vehicle register.
[0061] In response to determining that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200, the control system 100 may be configured to output 640 a control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to perform at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier. The retrieved vehicle identifier may be stored with at least one associated operation. Advantageously, each authorised vehicle may have a stored preference list of functionality, accessible by the control system 100, which is to be provided for a low-level communication link, thereby enhancing conventional low-level communication. The at least one associated operation may comprise a compatibility, a charging sequence, physical limits, energy demand, charging schedules, sales tariffs, authorizations and payment, and the like.In some examples, the at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier comprises retrieving a charging schedule of the vehicle. In such examples, the control system 100 is configured to output 650 the control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 to charge the vehicle according to the retrieved charging schedule. Advantageously, the control system 100 may provide a personalised, and therefore enhanced, charging functionality to the vehicle, despite using a low-level communication link. For example, the vehicle may support a low-level AC communication / charging protocol and therefore, features such as a compatibility, a charging sequence, physical limits, energy demand, charging schedules, sales tariffs, authorizations and payment, and the like, may not conventionally be available to the vehicle 50. Therefore, by way of the control systems 100 as disclosed herein and the capturing of a vehicle identifier within a SLAC message 165 received by the control system 100, a vehicle may receive improved charging operations.
[0062] Figure 7 shows an arrangement 700 according to embodiments of the invention comprising an electric vehicle supply equipment 200 and a vehicle 50 as disclosed herein. In this example the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 is connected physically to the vehicle 50 via an established cable connection 702. In some examples the established cable connection 702 may be via a charging cable. Information may be transmitted via the established cable connection 702 between the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 (and the control system 100) and the vehicle 50. In some examples, the control system 100 may be configured to transmit, to the vehicle 50, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment 200 being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle 50. The control system 100 may receive, from the vehicle 50, a SLAC, message, the SLAC message comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process. The control system 100 may be configured to store, in a storage means associated with the control system 100 and in response to receiving the SLAC message, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle 50 for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment 200.
[0063] It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.
Claims
CLAIMS1. A control system for an electric vehicle supply equipment, the control system for controlling communication with a vehicle via an established cable connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle, the control system comprising one or more processors collectively configured to:transmit, to the vehicle, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle;receive, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message, the SLAC message comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process; and store, in a storage means associated with the control system and in response to receiving the SLAC message, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment.
2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to:transmit, to the vehicle, a SLAC reply message; andin response to transmitting the SLAC reply message, establish a communication link between the vehicle and the electric vehicle supply equipment.
3. The control system of claim 2, in response to establishment of the communication link between the vehicle and the electric vehicle supply equipment, the one or more processors are collectively configured to:transmit, to the vehicle, a message for reporting protocols supported by the vehicle which, upon receipt by the vehicle, causes the vehicle to report one or more protocols supported by the vehicle; and receive, from the vehicle, a protocol indicator indicating one or more protocols supported by the vehicle.
4. The control system of claim 3, in response to receiving the protocol indicator, the one or more processorsare configured to:determine if the one or more supported protocols comprises a high-level communication protocol; andin response to determining that the one or more supported protocols does not comprise the high-level communication protocol, revert the communication link between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle to a low-level communication link.
5. The control system of claim 4, in response to reverting the communication link between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle to the low-level communication link, the one or more processors are collectively configured to:report, to the vehicle, a negotiation message indicating that the electric vehicle supply equipment is reverting the communication link to a low-level communication.
6. The control system of any of claims 4 and 5, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:retrieve the vehicle identifier from the storage means; andcompare the retrieved vehicle identifier to a vehicle register, the vehicle register indicative of one or more stored vehicle identifiers each corresponding to vehicles authorised to use the electric vehicle supply equipment.
7. The control system of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:if the retrieved vehicle identifier corresponds to a stored vehicle identifier within the vehicle register, determine that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment.
8. The control system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:in response to determining that the vehicle is authorised for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment, output a control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to perform at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier.
9. The control system of claim 8, wherein the at least one operation associated with the retrieved vehicle identifier comprises retrieving a charging schedule of the vehicle; andthe one or more processors are configured to output the control signal to cause the electric vehicle supply equipment to charge the vehicle according to the retrieved charging schedule.
10. The control system of any preceding claim wherein the vehicle identifier is a medium access control, MAC, address of the vehicle.
11. An electric vehicle supply equipment comprising the control system of any preceding claim.
12. A method for controlling a control system of an electric vehicle supply equipment, the control system for controlling communication with a vehicle via an established cable connection between the electric vehicle supply equipment and the vehicle, the method comprising:transmitting, to the vehicle, a charging ready state indicator indicative of the electric vehicle supply equipment being ready to supply electrical power to the vehicle;receiving, from the vehicle, a signal level attenuation characterization, SLAC, message, the SLAC message comprising a vehicle identifier and being received as part of a SLAC process; and storing, in a storage means associated with the control system and in response to receiving the SLAC message, the vehicle identifier for authorisation of the vehicle for use with the electric vehicle supply equipment.
13. Computer-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to claim 12.