Mobile EV Charger Routing for On-Route Power Shortages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicles (EVs) often face challenges due to the limited availability of charging stations along their routes, leading to longer trips and potential power shortages, as existing charging stations may be unavailable or inadequately planned, causing inefficiencies and risks of not reaching destinations.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses trip data from EVs to predict power levels and identify available mobile EV charging stations, deploying them to meet the vehicle at specific locations along its route, ensuring timely and efficient charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If EV drivers rely on existing charging stations along their route, then they can charge their vehicles, but the charging stations may be unavailable due to maintenance or occupancy, causing power shortages and trip delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively predicting future power levels before the EV actually runs out of power. The server receives trip data, calculates predicted power levels at various future locations, and identifies potential power shortages before they occur, allowing advance deployment of mobile charging stations.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary between the EV driver and the mobile charging station operator. It receives trip data from the EV, processes the information to predict power levels, and communicates with the mobile charging station to coordinate deployment, eliminating the need for direct driver-station interaction.
2Reliability
If EV drivers take longer routes to include charging stops, then they can ensure their EV has sufficient power, but the trip time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile charging station is deployed in advance to a location along the EV's intended route before the EV arrives. This allows the EV to continue on its original route without detours, as the charging infrastructure is already positioned and ready to serve the vehicle when it reaches the predicted power threshold location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the deployment location and timing of the mobile charging station based on real-time trip data, predicted power levels, and route information. The charging station's position is optimized to meet the EV at the precise location where power depletion is predicted, rather than using fixed charging infrastructure.
3Reliability
If EV drivers make conservative power estimates to ensure reaching destination, then they can avoid power shortages, but they must take significantly longer routes with multiple charging stops
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from actual trip data (power consumption rates, route conditions) to continuously refine predictions of future power levels. This accurate feedback loop allows the system to confidently predict power depletion points and deploy mobile charging stations precisely where needed, eliminating the need for conservative routing.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile charging station provides self-service by autonomously navigating to the predicted power depletion location and positioning itself to serve the EV. The system automatically coordinates the charging session without requiring driver intervention or manual station location, enabling the EV to receive charging assistance on-demand along its route.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations claimed and described herein provide systems and methods for generating instructions for a mobile electric vehicle (EV) charging station to meet an EV at a particular time and place. In one implementation, EV trip data including a remaining range of the EV and an intended route of the EV is collected to determine a range of locations that the EV can stop at along its route without running out of power. Instructions to one of the locations are generated for a mobile EV charging station that is a best fit for arriving at the particular location and for the EV to reach the same location.