EV Charging Metering with Session-to-Session Energy Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Charging devices, especially EV charging devices, face challenges in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of energy metering due to technical malfunctions, hacking, and software bugs, which can lead to incorrect billing.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a monitoring unit that compares the start and stop total energy levels of consecutive charging sessions to detect any discrepancies, using metering units to accumulate energy data and ensuring that all energy delivered during a session is accurately traced and recorded, with the monitoring unit capable of interrupting energy flow if errors are detected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a charging device uses software to control metering and charging sessions, then the device can operate automatically and efficiently, but the system becomes vulnerable to software bugs, hacking, and corruption that can compromise metering accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a monitoring unit as an intermediary component that independently verifies the metering data from the software-controlled metering unit. This monitoring unit acts as a mediator between the software control system and the billing system, checking whether the metered energy values are realistic and consistent with physical constraints, thereby protecting against software bugs and hacking while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring unit continuously monitors the metering data and provides feedback on the plausibility of energy values. When anomalies are detected (such as impossible energy flows or inconsistencies between metering units), the system generates alerts and can prevent billing, creating a feedback loop that maintains metering reliability without reducing automation.
2Reliability
If the system monitors and compares energy levels between consecutive charging sessions, then metering reliability is improved, but the complexity of the system increases due to additional monitoring requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring unit performs preliminary checks on metering data before billing is processed. By verifying the plausibility of energy values in advance and comparing start and stop total energy levels between consecutive sessions, the system detects anomalies early without requiring complex post-processing or additional hardware during charging sessions.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring function is segmented into distinct verification tasks: checking individual metering unit readings, comparing consecutive session totals, validating energy flow directions, and verifying consistency with charging parameters. This segmentation allows the monitoring system to achieve high reliability through multiple simple checks rather than one complex verification mechanism.
3Measurement precision
If the monitoring unit compares start and stop total energy levels of consecutive charging sessions, then detection of wrong energy levels is improved, but the time required for verification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring unit performs preliminary comparisons of total energy levels between consecutive charging sessions as part of the standard verification process. By checking whether the stop total energy level of one session matches the start total energy level of the next session, the system achieves high measurement precision in detecting wrong energy levels without requiring extended verification time, as this comparison is integrated into the normal billing verification workflow.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for energy metering of a charging device, in particular an EV charging device, includes metering an energy level by at least one meter unit during a charging session; monitoring a total energy level of the at least one meter unit with a monitoring unit at least in between two consecutive charging sessions and break/interrupt energy transfer when non-intentional energy transfer is detected; and comparing a start total energy level of a new charging session with a stop total energy level of a previous charging session.