EV Charger Bulk Onboarding With Secure Parent-Child Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to securely and automatically onboard both new and legacy electric vehicle chargers onto cloud-based charging management systems in bulk, requiring manual intervention and lacking support for legacy 'brownfield' chargers without communication capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses a device onboarding system with a control unit to dynamically obtain and validate onboarding parameters, establish connections, and configure features for parent and child chargers, enabling secure, automatic, and bulk onboarding of both greenfield and brownfield chargers onto cloud-based systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual onboarding of chargers is performed by commissioning engineers, then secure integration of individual chargers onto CMS is achieved, but significant time and effort are required for each charger
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring chargers with unique identifiers, cryptographic keys, and communication protocols during manufacturing. This allows chargers to be automatically recognized and integrated into the CMS without manual configuration, significantly reducing onboarding time while maintaining security through pre-established authentication credentials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service through automatic onboarding systems where chargers autonomously register themselves with the CMS. The system automatically discovers chargers, validates their credentials, establishes secure connections, and configures communication parameters without human intervention, eliminating the need for commissioning engineers while maintaining secure integration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional onboarding systems are used, then new chargers can be registered manually, but legacy brownfield chargers without communication capability cannot be onboarded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a multi-functional onboarding system that can handle both greenfield chargers (with communication capabilities) and brownfield chargers (without communication capabilities). The system provides multiple onboarding pathways: automatic wireless onboarding for modern chargers and manual/assisted onboarding for legacy chargers, making the system adaptable to diverse charger types while simplifying the overall process through standardized procedures.
3Productivity
If bulk onboarding is implemented automatically, then onboarding speed increases, but security validation becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the bulk onboarding process into distinct modular stages: charger discovery, credential verification, authentication, configuration, and activation. Each stage has dedicated validation functions that can be independently executed and verified. This modular approach enables rapid automated processing while maintaining comprehensive security checks at each step, managing complexity through structured decomposition.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (300), a device onboarding system (103), a computer program product, and a parent charger (102A-102N) for bulk onboarding onto a cloud-based system (107), devices (101A-101N, 102A-102N), having at least one parent device (102A-102N)) capable of communicating with the cloud-based system (107) and/or child device(s) (101A-101N) connected to the parent device (102A-102N), are provided, and include obtaining, from the parent device (102A-102N) onboarding parameters associated with each of the devices (101A-101N, 102A-102N), dynamically obtaining device verification data, having at least a certificate associated with each of the devices (101A-101N, 102A-102N), based on the onboarding parameters from a device verification system (105), validating the onboarding parameters based on the device verification data, and establishing a connection between the parent device (102A-102N) and the cloud-based system (107) for onboarding the devices (101A-101N, 102A-102N), upon validation.