Electric Vehicle Billing Identifier Decoupling Traceability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for billing electric vehicle charging in public areas face challenges due to the need for manual entry or costly automatic reading of contract keys, leading to high operational costs and user discomfort, while also raising concerns about vehicle traceability.
Innovation Solution
A method where a vehicle initiates a charging process and transmits information to a billing center, receiving a current contract key that is stored for subsequent use, allowing automatic updates and eliminating the need for manual entry, while ensuring user-related billing without vehicle traceability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vehicle identifier is used for billing purposes, then the vehicle can be identified for charging, but the vehicle becomes traceable which is undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a billing identifier as an intermediary element that decouples the vehicle identification function from the vehicle itself. Instead of using the vehicle identifier directly for billing, the system uses a separate billing identifier that is transmitted during charging. This mediator allows accurate billing without creating a direct link between the charging transaction and the specific vehicle, thereby preventing traceability while maintaining billing reliability.
2Reliability
If manual entry of contract key is required, then billing can be performed, but user comfort is considerably reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically managing the contract key transmission and storage process. The vehicle automatically receives the current contract key from the billing system and stores it in its memory without requiring manual user intervention. This self-service mechanism maintains billing capability while significantly improving user comfort by eliminating the need for manual contract key entry at each charging session.
Solution Approach 2:
The contract key is transmitted and stored in the vehicle's memory in advance, before the actual charging process begins. This preliminary action ensures that the contract key is already available when needed for billing, eliminating the need for real-time manual entry or automatic reading during charging. The billing system proactively pushes the contract key to the vehicle, preparing the system ahead of time.
3Ease of operation
If automatic reading of contract key is implemented, then user comfort is improved, but costs of charging stations increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the charging station reading the contract key from the vehicle (which would require expensive automatic reading equipment), the system inverts the direction: the billing system transmits the contract key to the vehicle's memory. This reversal eliminates the need for costly card readers or other automatic reading devices at the charging station, while still achieving automatic contract key management and maintaining user comfort.
4Reliability
If contract key is entered before each charging process, then billing accuracy is maintained, but time is lost and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The contract key is stored in the vehicle's memory and automatically reused for subsequent charging processes without requiring re-entry or re-transmission. This continuous availability of the contract key eliminates interruptions in the charging process, maintaining billing accuracy through consistent use of the stored key while significantly improving productivity by removing repetitive entry steps. The useful action of contract key provision becomes continuous rather than repetitive.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a method, device and system for charging electric vehicles. In order to identify an electric vehicle with regards to a billing system, the vehicle is charged (28) in a charging station, information about the charging process is sent (30) from the vehicle, and an actual contract code is received (24) for the vehicle once the information about the charging process has been sent.