WO2013144954A1

WO2013144954A1 - Service system and method for electric vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2013144954A1
Application number: PCT/IL2013/050274
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoav Heichal; Barak Hershkovitz
Original assignee: Better Place GmbH; Better Place Labs Israel Ltd.
Priority date: 2012-03-29
Filing date: 2013-03-21
Publication date: 2013-10-03
Also published as: IL218926A0; IL218926A

Abstract

An identification system and method for use by a vehicle service station to determine services which are to be provided to vehicles by the service station. The identification system includes: a consumer identification module that is configured and operable for receiving, from a user of the vehicle, consumer data indicative of a consumer to which the service is to be supplied, and a vehicle identification module configured and operable to determine vehicle data indicative of the vehicle to be serviced by the vehicle service station. The identification system also includes a control system configured and operable for utilizing the vehicle data and the consumer data to determine one or more properties of the services to be provided to the vehicle.

Description

SERVICE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

FIELD AND BACKGROUND

This invention is in the field of vehicle service stations and relates to a system and method for determining services to be provided at a vehicle service station for servicing electric vehicles.

A vehicle (e.g., car, truck, plane, boat, motorcycle, autonomous vehicle, robot, forklift truck, etc.) is an integral part of the modern economy. Unfortunately, fossil fuels, like oil which is typically used to power such vehicles, have numerous drawbacks including their dependence on limited sources of fossil fuels, the fact that the sources are often in volatile geographic locations, and also that such fuels produce pollutants and are likely contribute to climate change. One way to address these problems is to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicles.

Recently, gasoline -electric hybrid vehicles have been introduced, which consume substantially less fuel than their traditional internal combustion counterparts, i.e., they have better fuel efficiency. Fully-electric vehicles are also gaining popularity. Batteries play a critical role in the operation of such hybrid and fully-electric vehicles. With a typical electric vehicle battery, the electric vehicle may be able to travel within a distance range of about 160 kilometers before a need to recharge/replace the battery. Then, the spent battery needs to be charged or exchanged to allow the vehicle to travel beyond the single-charge travel range. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Electric vehicles (EV), including partially- or fully-electric driven vehicles, typically utilize servicing to replenish their battery charging state. Replenishing power of an EV is generally provided by power replenishment stations (i.e. service stations) such as a vehicle/battery service station (BSS) including inter alia a charging pole and/or a battery exchange system. Electric vehicle service providers are deploying a network of battery service stations to replenish battery charging state of electric vehicles.

For providing suitable service to an EV, it is important to determine/identify at least one of the type/model of the battery to be serviced and/or a serial/identification number corresponding thereto, or to identify the type/model/serial of the vehicle upon which the battery is installed. Identifying data corresponding to any one or more of such enumerated identification options or any other data suitable for identification of an EV and/or a battery installed thereon is commonly and alternatively referred to herein as vehicle-identification or vehicle -related data determination. It should be noted that generally, the principles of the invention may be used for any type of vehicle-related services obtainable at a vehicle service station. More specifically, the invention relates to battery-related services, and therefore a vehicle service station is referred to herein below as a battery service station (BSS).

Typically, battery power replenishment services (battery exchange/switch and/or battery charging) are provided to consumers who have service agreements with the service provider (e.g. subscription conditions). Various power replenishment services may be associated with different service levels (i.e. service properties) to be provided to different consumers and vehicles. The service level to be provided to a vehicle may for example depend on a type of service level agreement between the consumer and the service provider in association with one or more vehicles of the consumer. Indeed, generally a consumer may be associated with multiple EVs that the same or different users may use regularly or occasionally. The service level to be provided to a certain vehicle may depend on the identity of the consumer associated with the vehicle and may also depend on the concurrent user of the vehicle approaching the BSS to obtain the service. For example a service level agreement between a service provider and a consumer may designate a fixed list of EVs for which service should be provided on the account of the consumer, or it may not be limited to specific EVs. Alternatively or additionally such a service level agreement may indicate over all mileage per month/year for which he consumer is entitled, or number of charges and or number of battery exchanges. Also the service level agreement may be specific to certain one or more users of the vehicle and may have different conditions applied to different users. For example the consumer may be an organization having multiple electric vehicles and multiple vehicle users. In the most general case a different service level may be associated with each combination of consumer- vehicle-user/driver.

To this end, when approaching a BSS to obtain battery services therefrom, typically it is required to identify the consumer associated with the services to be provided to the vehicle as well as the vehicle itself in order to determine the service level that should be provided to the vehicle. Additionally, in some cases it is also required to obtain data indicative of the user/driver of the vehicle to thereby enable determination of the appropriate service level. In this regard, data relating to the service consumer and possibly including also data indicative of the vehicle's concurrent user, is referred to herein generally as consumer related data obtained through a consumer identification procedure. The consumer related data may include for example an identity number indicative of the consumer and possibly also indicative of a specific user/driver associated with the consumer.

Vehicle-identification as well as consumer-identification may be required to allow one or more of the following: billing for battery replenishment services rendered to the identified EV and consumer; determining available services for that vehicle type; determining suitable services to be provided to a specific vehicle type; and determining allowable services for the vehicle in association with the consumer account (i.e. determining the service level for the vehicle) and possibly in association with the specific driver of the vehicle. The service level determination may in some cases be also based on determination of additional properties indicative of the necessity of higher service levels. For example, determining the state of a vehicle's battery (typically, a charge level) and its expected usage may indicate whether a high power replenishment level is indeed required and allow to provide better services to vehicles which actually need them.

Specifically, a battery exchange/switch station (BES) needs to know the type of an EV in order to direct an EV user to a specific exchange lane in the BES or to notify the user that the BES is incapable of handling the specific EV type. In addition, knowledge of the specific EV model and the specific battery installed therein, as well as EV/Battery specific info can assist in the battery selection process performed by the BES. A system and method for selecting battery to be exchanged/switched into EVs based vehicle/battery related data and/or user related data is disclosed for example in U.S. provisional application No. 61/566,529 which is incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, the BES might verify the consumer identity and possibly also the driver's identity (vehicle's user identity) to facilitate service provision with suitable service level.

The present invention relates to a BSS (e.g. BES) that can support both identification of the consumer and vehicle for validating the service level to which the vehicle is entitled.

For example, in some embodiments, the BSS system includes two radio frequency identification (RFID) transceivers. The first is a short range transceiver (e.g. near field communication (NFC) transceiver) that can read a user handheld card/token that the user presents to the reader by placing the card/token over the reading surface of the RFID transceiver. The user handheld card/token may carry data indicative of the consumer to be associated with the services requested and possibly also data indicative of the user. The RFID transceiver used for reading user handheld cards may for example be placed on the side of the entrance lane allowing a user to reach it while driving his EV towards the BES entrance. The second transceiver may be a wider range RFID transceiver that can read RFID tags from distances of several meters (e.g. 1-2 meters). The EV is equipped with an RFID tag being installed in/attached thereto (e.g. in the form of a sticker with glue or other installation). The BES control system includes an identification utility designed to exchange data with the user's handheld RFID card (e.g. at least read the data in the card and detect the RFID card) to verify user identity, and similarly to exchange data with the RFID tag in the EV and detect the EV. The user card's detection may follow the detection of the EV to prevent mis-identification of users not associated with an EV. An identification controller can then utilize the vehicle and consumer data retrieved respectively from the RFID tags of the EV and user, and determine/validate provision of certain services to the vehicle.

It should be noted that for the clarity of the description, two independent identification devices (e.g. RFID/NFC readers) are generally described herein, operable for respectively identifying the vehicle and identifying the consumer/user associated with the vehicle. However, it should be understood that the invention may be implemented with a single identification device (RFID reader) which may be configured/preprogrammed to operate for performing both vehicle and user/consumer identification operations concurrently or sequentially. Validation and/or determination of the types of services to be provided to the vehicle may be performed by communicating the consumer and vehicle related data to a control center or may alternatively be performed by a local control system based on information cached/stored at the BSS and/or in the user and EV cards/tags. Optionally, the user and/or vehicle information may be cached/stored at the BSS dynamically. For example, the BES may communicate with the control center to transmit the identification data and retrieve data corresponding to users/consumers/vehicles for which service is required and which are unrecognized by the BSS based on said identification data (or for which data stored in the BSS is obsolete). For recognized users/vehicles and consumers for which valid data is stored/cached at the BSS, selection of the proper service to be provided to the vehicle may be based on the cached data, and accordingly communication with the control center may be obviated.

The vehicle related data, as well as the consumer related data (possibly including also driver/user information) may serve as input for a battery selection process in which a battery to be exchanged to the vehicle is selected. Also, a BES controller, which is connectable to both of the RFID readers, may be also configured for communicating with an electric entrance gate/barrier for controlling the opening of the gate only when user/EV service permission is validated via the reading of the RFID tags.

Thus, according to a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an identification system for use by vehicle service station (e.g. battery service stations) to determine properties of services to be provided to one or more EVs. The identification system includes a consumer identification module configured and operable for receiving, from a user of the vehicle, consumer data indicative of a consumer to which the service(s) are to be supplied. The identification system also includes a vehicle identification module configured and operable to determine vehicle data indicative of an EV to be serviced by the vehicle service station. The identification system further includes a control system that is configured and operable for utilizing the vehicle data and the consumer data and for determining one or more properties of the services to be provided to the EV.

According to some embodiments of the invention the vehicle identification module includes a wireless communication utility configured and operable for communicating with a vehicle identification device on the vehicle for receiving the vehicle data therefrom. The wireless communication utility may include an RFID and/or an NFC communication module which are configured and operable for short range communication with the vehicle identification device. Typically the short range communication is associated with communication coverage distance of at least few tens of centimeters (e.g. 20 cm) to enable communication with a vehicle located in the vicinity of the vehicle identification module within the coverage distance. In some embodiments of the invention the wireless communication utility is configured with short range communication coverage/distance not exceeding several meters. This prevents ambiguous communication with one or more vehicles located outside the coverage distance and improves security and validity of data communicated via the vehicle identification module.

According to some embodiments of the present invention the consumer identification module of the identification system is configured and operable for communicating with a user's identification device for receiving the consumer data therefrom. The consumer identification module may include a wireless communication module configured and operable for secured wireless communication with the users' identification devices. For example the consumer identification module includes one or more RFID and/or NFC communication modules that are configured and operable for proximal communication with the users' identification devices. Such proximal communication may be associated with communication coverage distance not exceeding several centimeters to thereby improve security of data communicated via the consumer identification module.

It should be noted that according to some embodiments of the present invention the vehicle identification module may be configured for receiving vehicle data that includes data indicative of the type of the vehicle. In turn the control system may be configured and operable for processing that vehicle data to determine available services which can be provided to the vehicle.

It should also be noted that according to some embodiments of the present invention the control system may be configured and operable for processing the consumer data to determine available services which may be provided to the consumer.

For example, the control system may be configured and operable for processing the consumer data together with the vehicle data to determine available services which may be supplied to the consumer for servicing the vehicle. To this end, in some embodiments of the present invention the identification system (e.g. its control system) may be connectable to a data center system and may be configured and operable for communicating one or more data portions of the consumer data and the vehicle data to the data center system and receiving therefrom service data indicative of a list of services suitable to be provided to the vehicle. Also, the control system may be configured for identifying in the list of services, a prioritized list in which priorities are set in accordance with at least one of: a service level property of the consumer; a service level property of the vehicle and an operational state of the vehicle.

In this regard it should be noted that the data center system may include a local data storage associated with the control system and the control system may be configured and operable for utilizing one or more data portions of the consumer-data and/or the vehicle-data for querying the data storage and obtain therefrom at least a part of the list of services (or data indicative thereof).

Alternatively or additionally, the control system may include a network communication module that is adapted for data communication with a remote system of the data center system. The control system may be configured and operable for communicating, to the remote system, one or more data portions of the consumer-data and/or the vehicle-data and receive therefrom at least a part of the list of services (or data indicative thereof).

According to some embodiments of the present invention the identification system (e.g. the control system) is also associated with a service inventory module of the vehicle service station which is adapted for monitoring services available at the vehicle service station. The control system may be configured and operable for processing data indicative of the available services together with data indicative of the list of services suitable to be provided to the vehicle and thereby determine an available service list including one or more available services which were found suitable for the vehicle based on the consumer and vehicle data.

In some embodiments such an available service list includes a prioritized list of available services whose priorities are determined in accordance with at least one of: (i) a service level property of the consumer; (ii) a service level property of the vehicle; and (ii) an operational state of said vehicle. The control system may be adapted for receiving prioritizing properties corresponding to at least one of the vehicle and the consumer for determining one or more available services to be provided to the vehicle. For example the control system may be configured and operable for obtaining a service level data corresponding to the service consumer associated with the vehicle. Such service level data may be received from the user's identification device and/or it may be received from the data center based on the consumer data obtained from the user's identification device.

In some cases the control system is configured and operable for obtaining a consumer service level data which may serve as prioritizing property for selecting the services that should be provided to the vehicle. The control system is configured and operable for obtaining a vehicle service level data serving as prioritizing property corresponding to the vehicle. The vehicle and/or consumer service level data may be received respectively from the vehicle- and consumer-identification devices. Alternatively or additionally, they may be received for the data center based on vehicle data and/or consumer data received from the vehicle- and/or consumer-identification devices.

In some embodiments of the present invention the control system is configured and operable for obtaining vehicle operational state data which serves as prioritizing property for selecting the services that should be provided to the vehicle. The vehicle operational state data may correspond to the state of at least one of the vehicles and a battery of the vehicle. The vehicle state data may be received from at least one of the following: (i) vehicle identification device; (ii) from the data center (e.g. based on vehicle data sent thereto); and (iii) via network communication with an onboard controller of the vehicle. Such vehicle operational state data may include data indicative of at least one of the expected usage of the vehicle and the state of charge of a battery installed on the vehicle.

According to another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle/battery service station including at least one battery replenishment service system for servicing EV's batteries. The vehicle service station also includes consumer identification module that is configured and operable for communicating with a user's identification device for receiving therefrom consumer data indicative of a consumer seeking a battery replenishment service. Additionally the vehicle service station includes a vehicle identification module configured and operable for determining vehicle data indicative of an EV for which battery replenishment services should be supplied. According to some embodiments of the present invention the consumer identification module of the vehicle service station is located alongside a service lane of the vehicle service station to enable a driver of the EV, while on the service lane, to access the consumer identification module without leaving his vehicle. Also according to some embodiments the consumer identification module is positioned in a predetermined location, in a vicinity of the service lane of the battery service station, preceding an entrance to a battery servicing zone of the lane. For example the vehicle identification module may be positioned at a selected location in the vehicle service station to enable determination of the vehicle data when the vehicle arrives to that selected location while enabling the vehicle's driver to access the consumer identification module without leaving the vehicle.

According to some embodiments, the vehicle identification module includes a wireless communication module for wirelessly communicating with a vehicle identification device mounted on the vehicle for receiving therefrom the vehicle data. The vehicle identification module may be located along the lane with a predetermined position with respect to the consumer identification module. The predetermined position of the vehicle identification module is configured in accordance with a typical location at which vehicle identification devices are mounted on EVs, and is selected such that when the vehicle is positioned to enable its driver to access the consumer identification module, the vehicle identification device of the vehicle is located within a wireless communication coverage zone of the vehicle identification module. This thereby enables the vehicle identification module to communicate with the vehicle identification device at the same time the vehicle's driver is identified at the consumer identification module of the vehicle service station.

According to some embodiments of the present invention the vehicle service station includes at least one controllable entrance barrier and a control system configured and operable for processing the consumer data and the vehicle data to determine eligibility/entitlement of the vehicle for receiving services (e.g. battery replenishment services) by the vehicle service station. Accordingly the control system may be configured and operable for generating operational instructions for operating the at least one controllable entrance barrier to allow/prevent entrance of entitled/non- entitled vehicles to the service lane of the vehicle service station. According to yet another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for determining services to be provided to a vehicle at a vehicle service station. The method includes receiving, from a user of said vehicle, consumer data indicative of a consumer to which a service is to be supplied, and communicating with a vehicle identification device on the vehicle for obtaining therefrom vehicle data indicative of the vehicle to be serviced by the vehicle service station. Then, processing the vehicle data and the consumer data to determine a list of one or more services suitable to be supplied to the consumer for servicing the vehicle.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the method also includes determining a prioritized list of services based on at least one of the consumer and vehicle data. The method further includes obtaining, from a computerized system associated with the vehicle service station, a list of available services which are available at the service station. Then, one or more services to be actually provided to the vehicle are determined by utilizing the prioritized list of services and the list of available services. Specifically, matching items in both the lists are identified and the matching item(s) having the highest priority(ies) in the prioritized list may be selected as service(s) to be provided to the vehicle.

According to some embodiments, the method of the present invention also includes operating a consumer identification module capable of interacting with a user/driver of the vehicle to obtain the consumer data therefrom. The method also includes operating a vehicle identification module for obtaining the vehicle data via wireless communication with a vehicle identification device on the vehicle. The consumer identification module and the vehicle identification module are located at an entrance lane of the vehicle service station and are respectively positioned such that to allow a driver of the vehicle to interact (directly/manually or indirectly) with the consumer identification module without leaving his vehicle, while the vehicle identification device is in a coverage zone of the a vehicle identification module. Such positioning of the vehicle and consumer identification modules provides fast efficient and simultaneous identification of the vehicle and consumer data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram 100 illustrating a battery service station (BSS) 100 including an identification system 200 configured and operable for identifying a vehicle to be serviced by the BSS and a service consumer associated with the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference is made to Fig. 1 illustrating by way of a block diagram 100 a battery service station (BSS) 100 including an identification system 200 configured and operable according to the present invention for identifying a vehicle 400 approaching to the BSS 100 to be serviced thereby and the identity of a service consumer entity (not shown in the figure) associated with the vehicle 400. The identification system 200 is configured and operable for implementing the methods of the invention as described above and is adapted to determine allowable services which may be provided to the vehicle 400 based on identification of both the vehicle 400 and its associated service consumer. Accordingly, the system may be also configured and operable to determine suitable services that are available in the BSS and which may be provided to the vehicle 400.

Generally the BSS 100 includes one or more battery replenishment systems 102 such as a battery/battery-bay cleaning system and battery exchange systems which are used for servicing/exchanging EV batteries. The BSS 100 may be configured and operable for providing various services to EV's, for example exchanging various types of EV batteries, exchanging an EV battery with batteries having different states of charge (SOC; e.g. partially/fully charged batteries) etc.

To this end, according to the present invention the BSS 100 includes or is associated with an identification system 200 that is adapted to determine the consumer of a service to be supplied and the vehicle for which service should be provided. Accordingly, the identification system 200 determines one or more services that may be provided to the vehicle and which are both allowable to the consumer and suitable for the vehicle. The identification system 200 includes a control system 210, which may optionally be a computerized system including a processor 212 and a memory 214. The identification system 200 also includes a consumer identification module 220 and a vehicle identification module 230 both connectable to the control system 210 and adapted for respectively providing the control system 210 with consumer and vehicle information/data allowing the control system 210 to determine services which should be provided to the vehicle. The consumer identification module 220 is configured and operable for communicating with a user's identification device 420 for receiving therefrom consumer data indicative of a consumer seeking battery replenishment service(s). The vehicle identification module 230 is configured and operable for determining vehicle data indicative of an EV 400 for which battery replenishment services should be supplied. The control system 210 may utilize the consumer and vehicle information/data to determine the one or more services to be provided to the vehicle by the BSS. For example a consumer id and vehicle id, which may be included in the consumer and vehicle data, may be used by the control system to retrieve a list of possible services from an external data source such as from data center 300.

A service consumer may be for example a company and/or a person who is subscribed to receiving certain types of battery replenishment services for one or more EVs associated therewith. A service consumer may be associated with various service level agreements (SLAs) according to which he may be entitled to various types of services which may be provided to one or more of his vehicles from the BSS 100. For example, a consumer's SLA may specify the consumer's priority for battery exchange by the BSS wherein higher priority may entitle him to exchange his vehicle's battery with a battery having high state of charge (SOC; e.g. fully charged batteries). Also, a consumer's SLA may be restricted to provision of services to a certain one or more vehicles which are associated with the consumer. In case a consumer is associated with multiple vehicles, the different vehicles may also be associated with different respective service levels (e.g. priorities). Such multiple vehicles may also be of different types thereby requiring different services from the BSS 100. Therefore, in order to provide suitable and allowable service to an EV 400 seeking service from the BSS 100, the BSS 100 should be configured and operable for identifying the EV 400 (e.g. its type or identity) to determine suitable services that may be provided thereto. Additionally, the BSS 100 should be configured and operable to determine a service consumer associated with service provision to the EV to thereby determine allowable services which may be supplied thereto (e.g. in accordance with the consumer's SLA) .

The consumer identification module 220 may include any type of data input modules. For example the consumer identification module 220 may include a key-pad 28 or other module allowing manual data input by a vehicle's user/driver 401. Alternatively or additionally, the consumer identification module 220 may include a data reader module 224, such as a magnetic media reader and/or a barcode reader, which may be configured and operable to allow the user 401 to supply the consumer data through a magnetic card and/or a barcode label. In some embodiments of the invention the consumer identification module 220 includes a wireless communication module (e.g. 222 and/or 226) which is adapted for communicating with a user's identification device that is equipped with complementary wireless capabilities and is adapted to communicate the consumer data through a suitable protocol and/or signal. Such a wireless communication module may be equipped with wide-area-network (WAN; e.g. WLAN, WIFI) and/or with Bluetooth (BT) communication modules 226, as well as with near field communication modules such as NFC and RFID reading devices 222.

According to some embodiments of the invention the consumer identification module 220 is configured and operable with secured data entry techniques which are associated with at least one of the following: preventing/reducing ambiguous consumer identification; preventing/reducing frauds and/or consumer identity thefts; and verify the received data (e.g. verify that the received data is associated with the user 401 and not with by passing users). To this end data security may be provided for example by requiring the input of a password by the user 401 (e.g. through key-pad module 228), and/or by utilizing secure wireless communication. According to some embodiments of the present invention, securing entry of consumer data is obtained by utilizing secured wireless technologies such as NFC/RFID technologies.

In some embodiments of the present invention the consumer identification module 220 includes NFC based user identification module 222 that is configured to operate/read used identification cards only from relatively short distance range of a few centimeters. Such configuration prevents ambiguity in the identification of the entities'/users' communication and makes it hard for third parties to intercept the data exchange between the consumer identification module 220 and user identification tags/cards. In addition in some embodiments of the invention NFC based tags of the users/consumers and/or of the EVs includes a security mechanism allowing encrypted data exchange with the NFC transceiver 222 and/or 232 of the service station 100. Such data encryption may be based for example on signed certificates and/or secret keys that are associated with the users' and/or EVs' NFC tags (420 and/or 430) and which to authenticate the validity and identity of the tag.

In some embodiments of the invention, the consumer identification module 220 is configured and operable to enable quick turnaround of EVs through the BSS 100. For example, the consumer identification module 220 may be associated with a user identification post (e.g. pole or station) that is located alongside a vehicle lane of the BSS, from the driver side thereof. This enables a driver of an EV approaching the BSS, to access the consumer identification module without leaving his vehicle, thus improving agility/efficiency and speed of user identification procedure. The consumer identification post may be located alongside the vehicle lane of the BSS in a position preceding the entrance to a battery servicing region of the BSS/lane. Such positioning of the consumer allows to control (enable/prevent) vehicle entrance to the battery servicing region in accordance with consumer identification.

Indeed, in some cases, a user may be delayed at the consumer identification position due to a long data entry procedure (e.g. for example when a manual data entry technique is utilized). Also, when utilizing contact based (non-wireless) data entry techniques, delays may arise due to users approaching with their vehicles at too great a distance from the consumer identification post/poll. In such cases, the users cannot interact with the consumer identification module 220 without taking time consuming actions such as stepping out from their vehicle or repositioning the vehicle.

Enabling quick turnaround of vehicles and preventing or reducing user delays may be achieved according to some embodiments of the invention by configuring the consumer identification module 220 to allow fast and efficient consumer identification, while being also tolerant user errors and/or slow response thereby reducing user (401) delays at the consumer identification position (post/poll). In such embodiments, wireless data entry technologies, such as NFC/RFID modules 222 and/or WAN/BT modules 226, may be advantageously utilized. Specifically in order to also improve data security, contactless short distance communication such as NFC and RFID may be used. To this end, in some embodiments of the invention the consumer identification module 220 includes close range contactless/wireless interaction modules which provide secured wireless data communication and sufficient tolerance to vehicle mis- positioning, thereby enabling fast and efficient entry of consumer data without being prone to user delays and errors. For example consumer identification module 220 may include an NFC (e.g. RFID) module 222 which allows reading NFC data devices (chips/cards) from within a certain distance range which may be selected to provide sufficient security and fast data entry. Such an NFC/RFID module 222 may be configured and operable for proximal communication with the users' identification devices/chips and may be associated with communication coverage distance not exceeding several tens of centimeters to thereby improve security of the data and reducing the risk of the communicated data being sniffed/monitored from greater distances.

Preferably, according to some embodiments of the invention, the user identification NFC cards 420 and readers 222 are configured for very short ranges of a few centimeters or less, thereby making it practically impossible for a third party to remotely sniff/listen to data exchange with the card. In this regard it should be noted that EV identification NFC tags/cards 430 and readers 232 may be configured with somewhat broader coverage range. The range of the NFC based EV identification may be selected to prevent, on one hand, ambiguous EV detections (e.g. prevent erroneous identification of EVs which are not approaching the BSS 100) and on the other hand allow convenient and identification of the EVs approaching the BSS lane and preventing unnecessary maneuvering of the EVs.

To this end, it should be noted that according to some embodiments of the present invention, the authorization of BSS services is primarily associated with user identification, while EV identification may be less significant to the service authorization and is mainly used to determine the configuration/type of the services to be provided. Accordingly, in such embodiments less strict security may be required for the data exchange with the vehicle identification device 230 (e.g. between the EV tag 430 and the reader 232). Therefore, EV identification module 232 with relatively broad coverage range (e.g. between 0.2 m and a few meters) may be utilized without presenting significant security breach. According to some embodiments of the invention the consumer identification module 220 is adapted to obtain consumer data including consumer identifying data (consumer-id). The control system may in such embodiments receive the consumer-id and utilize an additional data source such as data center 300 in order to determine services allowable for that consumer and/or to determine one or more properties of the consumer's SLA which may be indicative of such allowable services. Alternatively or additionally, according to some embodiments of the invention the consumer identification module 220 allows communication of sufficient data volumes which may include consumer's related data facilitating determination of the proper services to which the consumer is entitled, thus obviating a need for communicating with additional data sources such as the data center 300. In such embodiments the consumer's related data may for example include consumer service level data that may be indicative of any one or more of the following: a list of the consumer's allowable services, properties of the consumer's SLA (e.g. consumer prioritizing parameters), a list of the vehicles associated with the consumer and/or additional consumer related data.

Specifically, in cases where NFC/RFID communication modules 222 are used, the complementary user/consumer identification device (NFC/RFID chip) may have sufficient data storage capability enabling it to encapsulate to the consumer's related data which enables to determine allowable and suitable services without a need to obtain additional consumer related data from other sources. Accordingly, when a user utilizes such an NFC/RFID chip to interact with consumer identification module 220, the consumer's related data (SLA properties etc) may be downloaded to the consumer identification module 220 and provided to the control system 210 which then determines, in conjunction with vehicle related data, the service to be provided to the user's vehicle.

As noted above according to the present invention, the BSS 100 also includes a vehicle identification module 230 that is configured and operable to determine vehicle data indicative of a vehicle 400 approaching the BSS lane. Vehicle identification module 230 is generally adapted to provide vehicle-related data from which allowable and suitable services, which may be provided to the vehicle, can be determined. For example, the vehicle-related data may include any of the following: the type/module of the vehicle 400, the identity of the vehicle 400, and vehicle service level data which may be indicative, for example, of: a list of services to which the vehicle is entitled in relation to certain consumers, and vehicle prioritizing parameter values corresponding to SLAs of certain consumers in connection with the vehicle. The vehicle-related data may be used to determine which services may be provided to the vehicle 400 by the BSS 100 in accordance with the vehicle's type and also to determine (possibly in conjunction with the consumer-related data) that the specific vehicle 400 is entitled to receive such services.

In this regard it should be noted that according to some embodiments of the invention the identification of an EV 400 approaching to be serviced may be used to reconfigure the battery service stations 100 for providing service to the identified EV 100. To this end, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the identification system 200 is connectable to the BSS controller 180 and is adapted to provide thereto vehicle identification data indicative of the type, model and/or identity of the vehicle which approaches the BSS lane. The BSS controller 180 may be configured and operable to determine and reconfigure the BSS services in accordance with the type/model of the vehicle. For example, the BSS controller 180 may operate, in response to data indicative of the vehicle type of configuring the automatic stop point of a vehicle translation system of the BSS, thereby enabling the BSS to correctly align different vehicle types with respect to a battery switch post on the BSS. Also, information regarding the EV type may be used by the BSS controller 180 to control the size/extent and location of the opening of floor door covering a service station pit through which batteries are exchanged to the EV. Additionally, information regarding the EV type and/or identity may be used by the BSS controller 180 to direct the EV to a specific lane which is specifically suitable for the type of EV or at which suitably charged batteries are stored suited to the identified EV.

According to some embodiments of the invention the vehicle identification module 230 includes wireless communication module that is configured and operable for communicating with a vehicle identification device 430 which may be mounted on board the vehicle 400. The wireless communication may utilize wireless communication modules 236, such as WAN and Bluetooth (BT) and/or short range wireless data modules 232 such as and RFID and NFC. Such wireless modules may be used for receiving vehicle data from a complementary vehicle identification device 430 furnished on the vehicle 400. Alternatively or additionally, the vehicle identification module 230 may include other vehicle identification techniques, for example utilizing imaging modules 234 which are capable to image the vehicle 400 when it is at a certain location in the BSS's lane and process and analyze the vehicle's image to determine vehicle identification data. Processing of such image data may be carried out by a dedicated controller/processing-unit associated with the imaging module 234 or by the control system 210. The image data may be processed to determine vehicle identification such as the vehicle license number and/or vehicle type. To this end, the license plate of the vehicle may serve as the vehicle identification device by which vehicle data is determined by vehicle identification module 230.

As noted above, the vehicle-related data may be indicative of the vehicle's id and/or vehicle service level data (e.g. vehicle's related SLA properties/priorities and/or a list of services which the vehicle is entitled to receive in relation to one or more consumers corresponding thereto) and/or a vehicle-operational state/data such as the SOC of the vehicle's battery and the expected usage of the vehicle. To this end, according to some embodiments of the invention the vehicle identification module 230 may be associated with communication technologies such as wireless communication or near field communication allowing communication of such vehicle-operational data from the on-board vehicle identification device 430 to the control system. The on-board vehicle identification device 430 may be an NFC chip or a network controller and may be associated with sufficient data memory to store the vehicle -related data. Optionally, such an on-board vehicle identification device 430, may also be in communication with the vehicle's on-board computer for receiving therefrom vehicle operational state data in accordance with the vehicle's contemporary state.

Specifically, according to some embodiments of the invention, the vehicle identification module 230 includes an NFC and/or RFID communication module 232 which is configured and operable for short range communication with a vehicle identification device 430 (e.g. with an RFID/NFC tag/chip mounted on the EV 400). The NFC and/or RFID communication modules 232 are configured with short range communication coverage that is selected for improving security of the communicated data (e.g. vehicle-related data) while also improving reliability of the vehicle identifications. For example, the communication coverage distance/range may be limited to the characteristic dimensions of a vehicle (e.g. not exceeding a few meters), thereby preventing ambiguous identification of multiple vehicles at once and reducing the risks of the vehicle-related data being remotely sniffed. Additionally, the communication is also configured with sufficiently broad coverage to allow reliable vehicle identification even under slight variations in the vehicle's position (e.g. of about one meter). For example, the communication module 232 may be configured with communication coverage distance/radius which is greater than a few tens of centimeters and below a few meters (e.g. about one to two meters). Such ranges may serve for improving both vehicle data security and vehicle identification reliability.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the vehicle identification module 230 is associated with a certain vehicle identification position (post) located near the BSS lane. At the vehicle identification post, a receiver/sensor (e.g. RFID transceiver and/or imager) of the vehicle identification module 230 is located. In some cases the position vehicle identification post is selected in accordance with the consumer identification module 220 in a manner enabling the vehicle identification module 230 to determine/obtain vehicle-related data from a vehicle 400 at the same time the consumer data is provided by the vehicle's driver 401 at the consumer identification module 220. Thus, the relative positions of the consumer identification post and vehicle identification post may be configured in accordance with relative positions between the driver's seat and the location at which the vehicle's on-board identification device 430 is mounted in the vehicle. More specifically, the position of the vehicle identification post is setup in accordance with the location of the consumer identification post to enable the vehicle driver to access interaction with the consumer identification module 220, while the vehicle's identification device (NFC chip/ license- plate) 430 is within the coverage range of the vehicle identification module 230 (e.g. within the communication coverage of the NFC module 232 and/or within the field of view of the imager 234).

The control system 210 is connectable to the consumer identification module

220 and to the vehicle identification module 230. The control system 210 is configured and operable for receiving from identification modules 220 & 230 vehicle-related and consumer-related data and to determine properties of one or more battery services to be provided to the vehicle 400.

According to some embodiments of the present invention the BSS includes a controllable entrance barrier (gate) 170 for entering the BSS lane. The control system 210 may be connectable to a control unit (e.g. BSS controller 180) of the gate and configured and operable for selectively operating the gate only upon identifying the vehicle and the consumer related therewith. Possibly the opening of the gate 170 is performed only upon verification that the consumer associated with the vehicle is entitled to receive services from the BSS 100. More specifically, the control system 210 may be configured and operable for processing the consumer data and the vehicle data and determine eligibility of the vehicle 400 for receiving battery replenishment services by the BSS 100 and accordingly generating operational instructions for operating the controllable entrance barrier 170.

As noted above, the consumer-related data may include consumer-service level parameters which may indicate a list of allowable services which may be provided to the consumer's vehicles and/or may indicate prioritizing parameter(s) associated with the consumer's SLA. Also, the vehicle -related data may include vehicle-operational data (e.g. battery SOC) and vehicle service level data that may be indicative for example of a list of allowable services which may be provided to the vehicle. In some embodiments of the invention, the control system 210 may be configured to process the received consumer-related and vehicle-related data to determine services which may be provided to the vehicle 400 (e.g. services which are both allowed for that vehicle in accordance with the SLA and also suitable to the type and operational state of the vehicle).

For example, in some cases a combination of the consumer-related data together with the vehicle service level data (which may be included in the vehicle-related data) may be sufficient to determine services which are allowed and suitable to the specific vehicle 400. Specifically for example, the consumer-related data may include only a consumer identity number while the vehicle-service-level data may include a lookup table (LUT) relating the vehicle with one or more consumer identities wherein for each consumer identity different service level parameters may be associated (e.g. different lists of allowed services or different priority scores). Thus, by comparing the consumer identity number with the LUT in the vehicle service level data, the control system 210 may determine certain allowable services to which the vehicle should be entitled and/or a service priority score of the vehicle. Such a service priority score may for example indicate the level of service to be provided to the vehicle. It should be noted that the vehicle service level data may also include parameters dependent on the vehicle's operational state (e.g. dependent on its battery's SOC and its expected usage). For example the service priority score may depend on the SOC of the vehicle's battery such that lower SOC's are associated with higher service priorities. To this end, vehicle operational state data may also be included in the vehicle -related data and may be used by the control system 210 to determine the service level to be provided to the vehicle 400 (e.g. to determine the service priority score of the vehicle and/or a list of allowed services for the vehicle 400). Based on the service priority of the vehicle, the control system may determine which services are allowed for the vehicle. For example, the list of available services in the BSS inventory may be graded in accordance with their quality (e.g. batteries having higher SOCs are graded higher). Accordingly, a vehicle may be entitled to receive services whose grades are equal or lower than its service level priority. Also by utilizing data indicative of the vehicle's type/model (which may also be included in the vehicle -related data) the control system 210 may operate to determine which services of the BSS 100 are suitable to the vehicle 400.

In another example in some cases a combination of the vehicle -related data together with the consumer-SLA data included in the consumer-related data may also be sufficient to determine services which are allowed and suitable to the specific vehicle 400. Specifically, for example, the vehicle -related data may include only a vehicle identity number and optionally the vehicle's model or type. The consumer's-SLA data may include a LUT relating the consumer to various possible vehicles (vehicle identity numbers) which are in turn also related to one or more sets of SLA properties. Accordingly, by comparing the vehicle's identity number as received by the vehicle's data, with the LUT in the consumer's-SLA data, the control system 210 may determine certain SLA properties to which the vehicle 400 should be entitled. Similarly to the above example, also here the SLA properties may include service priority parameter(s). Having determined the SLA properties to which the vehicle 400 is entitled and the vehicle's type, the control system may determine which services are allowed and suitable to the vehicle 400.

In yet another example, the control system may be adapted for receiving from the consumer identification modules 220, consumer-SLA data (e.g. LUT) that is indicative of various SLA properties to which various vehicles of the consumer are entitled, while also receiving from the vehicle identification modules 230 the vehicle's identity and vehicle's-operational data including the vehicle's state (e.g. SOC). Also here, the control system may be configured and operable to compare the consumer-SLA data/LUT with the vehicle's state and identity and determine the service priority parameter(s) which apply to the vehicle 400. In the above provided examples, the control system 210 operates to determine service level parameters (e.g. service priority) of the vehicle based only on data from the vehicle 400 (i.e. from identification device 430) and from the vehicle's user 401 (e.g. from a identification device 420). However, according to some embodiments, the vehicle-related and consumer-related data may not be by themselves sufficient, for determining the service level parameters associated with the vehicle-consumer pair. For example, in some cases the consumer-related data portion includes only the consumer- id while the vehicle-related data portion includes only the vehicle's number and/or model. In such embodiments, the control system 210 may be associated with an additional data source, such as a data center 300, in which data (e.g. LUT or database) is stored relating the consumers and/or vehicles data portions to data indicative of the service level parameters which should be provided when the vehicles are serviced in relation to the consumers. For example, a database of the data center 300 may relate various pairs of consumer-ids and vehicle-ids with various service level parameters which comply with the consumer's SLA. It is noted that the data center 300 may include a local data storage 310 that is associated with the control system 210 and may be part of the identification system 200 and/or of the BSS 100. Alternatively or additionally, the data center 300 may also include remote system 320 (e.g. it may be a part of a control center of the service provider) and may be associated with the control system 210 through a data communication network. The control system 210 may be associated with a network communication module 216 adapted for communicating with the data center 300 (e.g. with the remote system 320). The control system 210 may be configured and operable for utilizing one or more of the data portions, which are provided from the user and/or from the vehicle, to query the local and/or remote data storage to obtain therefrom, at least partial data indicative of a list of services which can be provided to the vehicle.

Thus in some cases the control system 210 is configured and operable to receive the consumer-related and vehicle-related data and to utilize at least parts of this data in order to retrieve data indicative of the service level parameters corresponding to the services which should be provided to the vehicle 400. For example, the control system 210 may be configured and operable to utilize parts of the consumer-related and vehicle-related data to construct a database query to be executed by the data center for providing the service level parameters. Alternatively or additionally, the control system 210 may be configured and operable to communicate part of this data to a controller of the data center 300 for receiving therefrom, in response, data indicative of the service level parameters. It is noted, that the service level parameters of the vehicle (e.g. those provided by the data-center 300), may include prioritizing parameters which enable the control system 210 to select the most suited service to supply to the vehicle 400 from the available services at the BSS 100. Alternatively or additionally, the service level parameters may also include a list of allowable services that are allowed for that vehicle 400. In the latter case, the control system should determine which service from the list is available at the BSS 100.

Thus, utilizing the service level parameters, the control system 210 may also be configured and operable to determine a service (or a list of one or more services) which is available at the BSS 100 and whose provision is both allowable in accordance with the service level parameters and suitable to the vehicle (e.g. in accordance with the vehicle's type). In some embodiments of the present invention the control system 210 may be associated with an inventory module 101 of the BSS 100. The service inventory module is adapted to monitor the available service inventory at the BSS 100, and may be configured and operable to obtain therefrom service inventory information indicative of available services at the BSS 100. The service inventory information may be processed in conjunction with the list of services which are both suitable and allowable for the vehicle (such a list may be determined based on the vehicle and consumer data as indicated above) to determine an available service list including one or more services which may be provided to the vehicle; namely the available service list includes services which are available at the BSS, as well as being suitable and allowable for the vehicle. In some embodiments of the invention the available service list includes a prioritized list of services whose priorities are determined in accordance with at least one of a service level property of the consumer associated with the vehicle; a service level property of the vehicle and the operational state of said vehicle. In case of interchangeable services of which only one should be provided to the vehicle, the service having the highest priority may be selected. To this end, as indicated above, the control system may be adapted for receiving prioritizing properties corresponding to the vehicle and/or consumer. These may be received and/or determined based on the service level data being received from at least one of the user's identification devices, the data center and the vehicle identification device, and may be also included or computed from the vehicle related data and/or the consumer related data. The prioritizing properties may be used to determine the priority of the vehicle in receiving service and accordingly used to select the proper service to be provided to the vehicle from among the available service list.

For example, the control system 210 may operate to determine which types of

EV-batteries are currently at the BSS 100 and their SOCs. Utilizing the service inventory information together with the service level parameters determined for the vehicle 400, the control system may determine the most suitable service(s) which should be provided to the vehicle 400 by the BSS 100. In some cases, vehicle state data (e.g. vehicle's expected usage), which may be included in the vehicle related data, is also considered by the control system 210 when determining the suitable service to be provided to the vehicle 400. Specifically, based on the vehicle -related and consumer- related data, the control system may determine service-level parameters for the vehicle and then determine which battery that is available in the BSS 100 should be exchanged for the vehicle 400.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An identification system for use by a vehicle service station to determine properties of services to be provided to one or more EVs, the system comprising a consumer identification module configured and operable for receiving, from a user of said vehicle, consumer data indicative of a consumer to which said service is to be supplied; and a vehicle identification module configured and operable to determine vehicle data indicative of an EV to be serviced by the vehicle service station; and a control system configured and operable for utilizing said vehicle data and said consumer data to determine one or more properties of the services to be provided to said EV.

2. The identification system of claim 1 wherein said vehicle identification module includes a wireless communication utility configured and operable for communicating with a vehicle identification device on the vehicle for receiving therefrom said vehicle data.

3. The identification system of claim 2 wherein said wireless communication utility includes at least one of a RFID and NFC communication module configured and operable for short range communication with said vehicle identification device.

4. The identification system of claim 3 wherein said short range communication is associated with communication coverage distance of at least a few tens of centimeters thereby enabling to communicate with a vehicle located in the vicinity of said vehicle identification module within said coverage distance for receiving therefrom said vehicle data.

5. The identification system of claim 4 wherein said short range communication is associated with a communication coverage distance not exceeding several meters thereby preventing ambiguous communication with one or more vehicles located outside said coverage distance and improving security and validity of data communicated via said vehicle identification module.

6. The identification system claim 1 wherein said consumer identification module is configured and operable for communicating with a user's identification device for receiving said consumer data therefrom.

7. The identification system of claim 6 wherein said consumer identification module comprises a wireless communication module configured and operable for secured wireless communication with said users' identification devices.

8. The identification system of claim 6 wherein said consumer identification module includes at least one of a RFID and NFC communication module configured and operable for proximal communication with said users' identification devices.

9. The identification system of claim 8 wherein said proximal communication is associated with a communication coverage distance not exceeding several centimeters thereby improving security of data communicated via said consumer identification module.

10. The identification system of claim 1 wherein said vehicle identification module is configured for receiving the vehicle data including data indicative of the type of the vehicle; and wherein the control system is configured and operable for processing said vehicle data to determine available services which may be provided to said vehicle.

11. The identification system of claim 1 wherein said control system is configured and operable for processing said consumer data to determine available services which may be provided to said consumer.

12. The identification system of claim 11 wherein the control system is configured and operable for processing said consumer data together with the vehicle data to determine available services which may be supplied to said consumer for servicing said vehicle.

13. The identification system of claim 1 wherein the control system is connectable to a data center system and configured and operable for communicating one or more data portions of the consumer data and the vehicle data to the data center system and receiving therefrom service data indicative of a list of services suitable to be provided to said vehicle.

14. The identification system of claim 13 wherein said control system is configured for identifying in said list of services a prioritized list in accordance with at least one of a service level property of said consumer; a service level property of said vehicle and an operational state of said vehicle.

15. The identification system of claim 13 wherein said data center system comprises local data storage associated with said control system; said control system is configured and operable for utilizing one or more of said data portions to query said data storage and obtain therefrom at least a part of said data indicative of said list of services.

16. The identification system of claim 13 wherein said control system comprises a network communication module adapted for data communication with a remote system of said data center system; said control system is configured and operable for communicating one or more of said data portions to the remote system and receiving therefrom at least a part of the data indicative of said list of services.

17. The identification system of claim 13 wherein said control system is associated with a service inventory module of the vehicle service station adapted for monitoring services available at said battery service station; said control system is configured and operable for processing data indicative of the available services together with data indicative of said list of services suitable to be provided to said vehicle and thereby determine an available service list indicative of one or more available services for said vehicle based on said consumer and vehicle data.

18. The identification system of claim 17 wherein said available service list comprises a prioritized list of available services whose priorities are determined in accordance with at least one of a service level property of said consumer; a service level property of said vehicle and an operational state of said vehicle.

19. The identification system of claim 18 wherein said control system is adapted for receiving prioritizing properties corresponding to at least one of said vehicle and said consumer for determining one or more available services to be provided to said vehicle.

20. The identification system of claim 19 wherein said control system is configured and operable for obtaining a consumer service level data serving as prioritizing property corresponding to said consumer; said consumer service level data being received from at least one of said user's identification device and said data center based on said consumer data.

21. The identification system of claim 19 wherein said control system is configured and operable for obtaining a vehicle service level data serving as prioritizing property corresponding to said vehicle; said vehicle service level data being received from at least one of said vehicle identification device and said data center based on said vehicle data.

22. The identification system of claim 19 wherein said control system is configured and operable for obtaining a vehicle operational state data serving as prioritizing property corresponding to a state of at least one of said vehicle and a battery of said vehicle; said vehicle state data being received from at least one of said vehicle identification devices, said data center based on said vehicle data, and via network communication with an onboard controller of said vehicle.

23. The identification system of claim 22 wherein said vehicle operational state data includes data indicative of at least one of the expected usages of said vehicle and the state of charge of a battery installed on said vehicle.

24. A vehicle service station comprising at least one battery replenishment service system for servicing EV's batteries, a consumer identification module configured and operable for communicating with a user's identification device for receiving therefrom consumer data indicative of a consumer seeking a battery replenishment service; and a vehicle identification module configured and operable for determining vehicle data indicative of an EV for which battery replenishment services should be supplied.

25. The vehicle service station of claim 24 wherein said consumer identification module is located alongside a service lane of said vehicle service station to enable a driver of said EV, while on the service lane, to access said consumer identification module without leaving his vehicle.

26. The vehicle service station of claim 24 wherein said consumer identification module is positioned in a predetermined location in a vicinity of a service lane of said battery service station, said location preceding an entrance to a battery servicing zone of said lane.

27. The vehicle service station of claim 24 wherein said vehicle identification module is positioned at a selected location in said vehicle service station to enable determination of the vehicle data when the vehicle arrives to said selected while enabling the vehicle's driver to access said consumer identification module without leaving the vehicle.

28. The vehicle service station of claim 27 wherein said vehicle identification module includes a wireless communication module for wirelessly communicating with a vehicle identification device mounted on said vehicle for receiving therefrom said vehicle data; said vehicle identification module is located along said lane with a predetermined position with respect to said consumer identification module configured in accordance with typical locations at which vehicle identification devices are mounted on EVs such that when the vehicle is positioned to enable its driver to access said consumer identification module, the vehicle identification device of said vehicle is located within a wireless communication coverage zone of said vehicle identification module thereby enabling said vehicle identification module to receive vehicle data from said vehicle identification device.

29. The vehicle service station of claim 24 comprising at least one controllable entrance barrier and a control system configured and operable for processing said consumer data and said vehicle data and to determine eligibility of said vehicle for receiving battery replenishment services by said vehicle service station and accordingly generating operational instructions for operating said at least one controllable entrance barrier.

30. The vehicle service station of claim 24 comprising a control system configured and operable for utilizing said vehicle data and said consumer data to determine one or more properties of the services to be provided to said EV.

31. A method for determining services to be provided to a vehicle at a vehicle service station, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user of said vehicle, consumer data indicative of a consumer to which a service is to be supplied;

communicating with a vehicle identification device on the vehicle for obtaining therefrom vehicle data indicative of the vehicle to be serviced; and

processing the vehicle data and the consumer data to determine a list of one or more services suitable to be supplied to the consumer for servicing said vehicle.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said list of one or more services is a prioritized list of services determined based on at least one of said consumer and vehicle data; the method comprising obtaining a list of available services which are available at said vehicle service station, and utilizing said prioritized list of services and said list of available services to determine one or more services to be provided to the vehicle.

33. The method of claim 31 comprising:

operating a consumer identification module to obtain said consumer data from, said user;

operating a vehicle identification module to obtain said vehicle data via wireless communication with a vehicle identification device on said vehicle; and

wherein said consumer identification module and said vehicle identification module are located at an entrance lane of the vehicle service station and respectively positioned such that to allow a driver of said vehicle to interact with the consumer identification module without leaving the vehicle, while said vehicle identification device is in a coverage zone of the a vehicle identification module; thereby enabling efficient and simultaneous identification of said vehicle and consumer data.