WO2013162431A1

WO2013162431A1 - Charging of vehicles on a road

Info

Publication number: WO2013162431A1
Application number: PCT/SE2012/050426
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johan Hjelm
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2012-04-23
Filing date: 2012-04-23
Publication date: 2013-10-31

Abstract

The invention concerns a method, charging control arrangement, vehicle charging system, computer program and computer program product for charging a vehicle (14) travelling along a road (18) using a charging element (22) provided in or on the road (18). The charging control arrangement (28) receives vehicle data (VD) from the vehicle travelling on the road (18), analyses the vehicle data, selects whether the vehicle (14) is to be charged or not based on the analysing, and in case the vehicle is to be charged: selects the charging element (22) to charge the vehicle, determines a charging time interval, and controls energizing of the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle.

Description

CHARGING OF VEHICLES ON A ROAD

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to the charging of vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a method, charging control arrangement, vehicle charging system, computer program and computer program product for charging a vehicle travelling along a road.

BACKGROUND

Electromagnetic and inductive elements for contactless charging have recently been studied. This type of charging is for instance described in "Wireless Power Transfer System via Magnetic Resonant Coupling at

Restricted Frequency Range - Fixing Resonance Frequency With Impedance Matching" by Teck Chuan Beh, Takehiro Imura, Masaki Kato and Yoichi Hori , http : //www . hori . k . u- tokyo . ac . p/paper_2010/papers/beh/D_bumon201 OBeh . pdf .

Electric vehicles like electric cars, are becoming more and more popular. The interest in electric cars is among many things fuelled by environmental concerns such as global warming. Because of this, technologies for contactless charging of electric vehicles are rapidly developing and being deployed.

WO 2011/016736 does for instance describe a roadway powered electric vehicle system that includes a power supply which makes power available inductively to one or more modules provided in or under a roadway. Such charging, which may use electric induction, magnetic resonance etc. works by a vehicle passing through a magnetic or electric field. The energy from the magnetic or electric field passes into the

batteries, leaving them with a higher charge than when they entered the magnetic or electric field.

However, when performing this type of charging via the road, it is important that the vehicles are charged in a controlled way.

SUMMARY One object of the invention is to allow selective charging of vehicles travelling along a road.

This object is according to a first aspect of the invention achieved through a method for charging a vehicle travelling along a road using a charging element provided in or on the road. The method

comprises :

obtaining vehicle data from the vehicle travelling along the road,

analysing the vehicle data and

selecting whether the vehicle is to be charged or not based on the analysing.

In case the vehicle is to be charged, then the

following further steps of performed

selecting the charging element to charge the vehicle, determining a charging time interval, and energizing the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle. This object is according to a second aspect achieved through a charging control arrangement for controlling charging of a vehicle travelling along a road using a charging element provided in or on the road. The charging control arrangement comprises:

an obtaining unit for receiving vehicle data from the vehicle travelling on the road,

an analysing unit configured to analyse the vehicle data,

a policy control unit configured to select whether the vehicle is to be charged or not based on said

analysing, and

a charging control unit.

In case the vehicle is to be charged the charging control unit is configured to

select the charging element to charge the vehicle, determine a charging time interval, and

control energizing of the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle.

The object is according to a third aspect also achieved through computer program for controlling charging of a vehicle travelling along a road using a charging element provided in or on the road. The computer program comprises computer program code causing a charging control arrangement to obtain vehicle data from the vehicle travelling along the road,

analyse the vehicle data, and

select whether the vehicle is to be charged or not based on the analysing.

In case the vehicle is to be charged the computer program code further causes the charging control arrangement to

control energizing of the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle. The object is furthermore according to a fourth aspect achieved through a computer program product for

controlling charging of a vehicle travelling along a road using a charging element provided in or on the road. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium with a computer program

comprising computer program code that causes a charging control arrangement to

obtain vehicle data from the vehicle travelling along the road,

analyse the vehicle data and

select whether the vehicle is to be charged or not based on the analysing.

select the charging element to charge the vehicle, determine a charging time interval, and control energizing of the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle. The vehicle data may compromise driver identifying data .

In one variation of the first aspect, the selecting of the vehicle comprises selecting the vehicle at least partly based on the driver identifying data.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the policy control unit is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the driver identifying data

The vehicle data may also comprise vehicle type data. Vehicle type data may be data identifying vehicle manufacturer, brand as well as model or make. The vehicle type data may also identify type of use of the vehicle, such as a police vehicle, a military vehicle, an ambulance or a fire department vehicle.

In another variation of the first aspect, the selecting of the vehicle comprises selecting the vehicle at least partly based on the vehicle type data.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect the policy control unit is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the vehicle type data.

The vehicle data may furthermore comprise accumulator charge data. In another variation of the first aspect the selecting of the vehicle is at least partly based on the

accumulator charge data.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect the policy control unit is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the accumulator charge data. The vehicle data may furthermore be obtained at one or more data acquisition positions.

In a variation of the first aspect the obtaining comprises detecting the vehicle data as the vehicle passes the at least one data acquisition position.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the obtaining unit may receive vehicle data that has been detected as the vehicle passes the at least one data acquisition position.

In another variation of the first aspect, the analysing compromises estimating a remaining travelling distance of the vehicle based on the accumulator charge data and investigating the remaining travelling distance and the distance between the data acquisition position and a determined position on the road and the selecting comprises selecting the vehicle for charging based on the investigation of the corresponding remaining travelling distance and the distance between the data acquisition position and the determined position. In a corresponding variation of the second aspect the analysing unit is further configured to estimate a remaining travelling distance of the vehicle based on the accumulator charge data and the policy control unit is configured to investigate the remaining travelling distance and the distance between a data acquisition position and a determined position on the road and select the vehicle for charging based on the

investigation of the remaining travelling distance and said distance between the data acquisition position and the determined position.

The determined position may be a position where the responsibility for the vehicle by a road operator ceases. The determined position may also be a position based on a vehicle being able to reach charging

elements and/or a position based on a safety margin in relation to unplanned events. The estimating of the remaining travelling distance may be based on a model of the driving behaviour of a driver identified via the driver identifying data. The estimating of the remaining travelling distance may furthermore be based on traffic circumstances on the road. The estimating of the remaining travelling distance may also be based on the vehicle type data.

In yet another variation of the first aspect, the method further comprises determining an amount of energy to be charged into the accumulator of the vehicle . In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the policy control unit is further configured to determine an amount of energy to be charged into the accumulator of the vehicle.

The amount of energy may be sufficient for the vehicle to extend the remaining travelling distance to be equal to or longer than the distance between the data

acquisition position and the determined position.

The amount of energy may furthermore be negotiated in an energy delivery negotiation, which is in a variation of the second aspect performed by the policy control unit via a negotiating unit in the charging control arrangement.

In yet another variation of the first aspect, the method further comprises directing traffic on the road past the charging element so that the vehicle passes over the charging element with a speed suitable for being charged with the amount of energy and the

charging element is energized with a charging pattern adapted to the speed and to charging characteristics of the vehicle.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the charging control arrangement further comprises a traffic directing unit for controlling the directing of the traffic on the road past the charging element so that the vehicle passes over the charging element with a speed suitable for being charged with the amount of energy and the charging control unit is configured to control the energizing of the charging element with a charging pattern adapted to the speed and to charging characteristics of the vehicle. The charging control arrangement may furthermore be comprised in a vehicle charging system for charging a vehicle travelling along a road. The vehicle charging system then also comprises a charging element in or on the road.

The vehicle charging system may further comprise a collecting device at the road for collecting vehicle data . The vehicle charging system may also comprise a driver profile database with models of the driving behaviour of drivers.

The vehicle charging system may further comprise a set of traffic directing devices at the road.

The invention has a number of advantages. It allows selective charging of vehicles. The charging is furthermore performed in a controlled way. This means that an operator is able to select which vehicles that are to be charged, when they are to be charged as well as perhaps also how much a vehicle is to be charged, i.e. the amount of energy to be transferred. In this way it is possible to save energy in that a charging element is only used when needed or desired.

Unnecessary energizing is thus avoided. It should be emphasized that the term

"comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

fig. 1 schematically shows a number of vehicles

travelling on a road as well as a vehicle charging system and a charging control arrangement in the vehicle charging system,

fig. 2 schematically shows a vehicle being charged as it passes an exemplifying charging element of the vehicle charging system,

fig. 3 shows a block schematic of a charging control arrangement,

fig. 4 schematically shows a flow chart of method steps in a method for charging a vehicle travelling along a road,

fig. 5 schematically shows a number of signals

exchanged between a collecting device, units of the charging control arrangement and other devices of the vehicle charging system,

fig. 6 shows a flow chart of method steps for selecting a vehicle travelling along a road to be charged, fig. 7 schematically shows a flow chart of method steps setting out how charging of the selected vehicle is provided, fig. 8 schematically shows a computer program product in the form of a data carrier comprising computer program code for implementing at least some of the method steps, and

fig. 9 schematically shows an example of one type of physical realization of the charging control

arrangement .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of

explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough

understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the

description of the invention with unnecessary details.

The invention is generally directed towards charging of electric vehicles like electric or hybrid cars.

A vehicle is of interest to be charged at other places than in the home of the user, for instance when

travelling along a road. For this purpose one or more charging elements may be provided in or on the road. However, it is important that vehicles are charged in a controlled manner. The vehicles thus have to be

selectively charged. Selective charging may involve deciding which vehicles to charge, how much to charge as well as also sometimes price negotiations and economical transactions in relation to the charging. This selectivity may depend on how far the vehicles are going and their current charge status as well as the technology used in their batteries or accumulators, which may not be amenable to charging before the charge in the batteries or accumulators is below a certain level. The selectivity may also be needed in order to determine a party to be debited for a charging.

There may also exist different rules for battery or accumulator charging applied to different vehicles, which is another reason for applying selectivity.

Furthermore charging elements will normally consume a certain amount of energy when they are energized, even when no charging is occurring. Currently, this means that the charging elements would normally be kept energized at all times and charge also vehicles which do not really need it. This is an unnecessary expense and leads to a waste of energy as well as to economical losses for the energy supplier.

The invention addresses at least some of the above mentioned problems.

All in all there are thus a number of factors that have to be considered when deciding which vehicles to charge. There are sometimes also further decisions that need to be made in relation to charging, such as when charging is to be made, how charging is to be made as well as how the selected vehicle is to be directed in order to be charged. Fig. 1 schematically shows a number of vehicles

traveling along a road 18. There are as an example three vehicles being shown. There is a first vehicle 12, a second vehicle 14 and a third vehicle 16. In the figure there is also shown a vehicle charging system 10. This vehicle charging system 10 comprises a

charging control arrangement 28, which may be realized in the form of a server. The vehicle charging system 10 may also comprise a Driver Identifying Database DID 25, a Vehicle Identifying Database VID 27, a Driving

Pattern Database DPD 26 a collecting device CD 20, a set of traffic directing devices comprising at least one traffic directing device TDD 24 and a number of charging elements comprising at least one charging element CE 22, where the charging element 22 is

provided in or on the road 18. The charging control arrangement 28 is shown as being connected to the databases 25, 26, 27, the collecting device 20 as well as to the charging element 22. The collecting device 20 may employ near field communication (NFC) , and may therefore comprise a Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) reading unit configured to read RFID tags on the vehicles. It may also comprise a camera unit for taking photographs of the vehicles. It may furthermore

comprise for instance a mobile communication unit configured to communicate wirelessly with the vehicles 12, 14, 16 using a suitable wireless communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) . The collecting device 20 may comprise one or more of the above-described units. It should also be understood that these units are mere examples and that the collecting device 20 may be provided with also other units involved in collecting data form the vehicles 12, 14, 16, such as a radar unit measuring the speed. The collecting device 20 can also be a part of a charging element that is able to read data from a passing vehicle. The collecting device 20 does in the example in fig. 1 collect data from the vehicles as they pass a data acquisition position DAP on the road 18. In this case the collecting device 20 is provided at a fixed position by the road 18. There is here also a determined position DP, which in the example given in fig. 1 is shown at an exit section of the road 18, i.e. a part of the road 18 where vehicles leave it. In the example shown in fig. 1 the determined position is a transport responsibility release

position. However, it should be realized that the determined position is not limited to such a placing or to being a transport responsibility release position.

The road 18 in fig. 1 is operated by a road operator. A road operator may be an operator that makes sure that the road 18 is travelable, such as ensures that snow is removed during winter, that the road 18 is repaired, that vehicles that are unable to transport themselves on the road are removed and sometimes also ensuring that the vehicles pay for using the road 18.

It is in this special context the transport

responsibility release position TRP should be understood. This position is a position where the responsibility for the vehicles 12, 14, 16 on the road 18 ceases for the road operator. After the vehicle has passed this position the road operator has no

responsibility vis-a-vis the vehicles. It has to be stated that this transport responsibility release positions TRP is merely one example of a determined position used in some variations of the invention for determining which vehicles are to be charged and sometimes also the amount of energy to charge them with. A determined position may as an example also be a position set based on a vehicle being able to reach charging elements, based on a safety margin in relation to unplanned events, like queues on the road

construction work on the road, vehicle malfunction, driver patterns .

In order to determine which vehicles that are to be charged and thereafter effectuate the charging, the road operator uses the vehicle charging system 10 and especially the charging control arrangement 28.

Here it should also be mentioned that the operator of the vehicle charging system need not be the road operator. It is also possible that the charging control arrangement 28 is operated by another operator than the road operator, while the rest of the disclosed vehicle charging system may be operated by the road operator. It is furthermore possible that this other operator only operates the charging control arrangement 28 and the charging element, while the rest of the system 10 shown in fig. 1 may be operated by the road operator. The traffic directing device 24 comprises various units for directing the traffic, such as reconfigurable road signs providing speed limits and lane indicators. There are also elements for controlling what information is to be displayed to the vehicles on these signs. In fig. 1 only one road sign, which is a speed limit sign, is shown. It should however be realized that the traffic directing device may comprise several signs of various types along the road and according to some variations especially between the data acquisition position DAP and the transport responsibility release position TRP.

Fig. 2 schematically shows how the actual charging of a vehicle 14 may take place using a charging element 22. A charging element 22 may be of various types, such as a magnetic or an inductive charging element. In this example an inductive charging element is shown. The charging element 22 of this type is typically provided through a controllable AC voltage source 38 connected to a first end of a first winding 36, which first winding has a second end that is grounded. A vehicle, here exemplified by the second vehicle 14, in turn comprises an accumulator or battery 30 connected to a first end of a second winding 34. This second winding 34 has a second end that is grounded. The vehicle 14 is also provided with a communication unit 32, which is connected to the accumulator 30. This connection may be obtained through the use of a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. The communication unit 32 is in this way able to obtain Accumulator Charge Data ACD from the accumulator 30. The communication unit 32 can also receive other types of data via the CAN bus, such as speed data from an odometer, vehicle performance data from other instruments of the vehicle, a driver

identifier from an on-board computer as well as all sorts of other vehicle data present in such an on-board computer. All these, including the accumulator charge data, are examples of vehicle data of the vehicle.

The communication unit 32 may comprise a mobile

communication unit, such as a wireless communication module. It may also comprise for instance an RFID unit comprising an RFID tag, which may be read by an RFID reader. These are just two examples of different types of communication units. It should be realized that several other types of communication technologies can be used for transferring vehicle data VD like

accumulator charge data ACD from the vehicle 14. In fig. 2 the communication unit 32 may for this reason be provided with a measuring unit configured to measure the electrical charge level of the accumulator and which is then transmitted as accumulator charge data ACD. Such a measuring unit can of course also be provided as a separate unit connected to the CAN bus. The voltage source 38 of the charging element 22 may be controlled to apply an AC voltage across the first winding 36, which first winding 36 will transfer power to the second winding 34 of the vehicle 14 if the vehicle passes the charging element 22 as this voltage is applied. How this may be done will be described in more detail later. Fig. 3 shows a block schematic of the charging control arrangement 28. The charging control arrangement comprises a communication interface CI 40. The

communication interface 40 is with advantage a

communication interface 40 via which the charging control arrangement 28 is able to connect to a computer communication network, the Internet or even to a mobile communication network. The communication interface 40 is connected to an obtaining unit OU 42. The obtaining unit 42 is in turn connected to an analysing unit AU 44 and the analysing unit 44 is connected to a policy control unit PCU 47. The policy control unit 47 is connected to further units. It is connected to a charging control unit CCU 46, to a traffic directing unit TDU 48 and may be connected to a negotiating unit NU 49. The negotiating unit 49, the traffic directing unit 48 and the charging control unit 46 are

furthermore also connected to the communication

interface 40.

A first embodiment will now be described with reference being made to fig. 1 - 3 as well as to fig. 4, which shows a flow chart of method steps in a method

according to this first embodiment. Which method is a method for charging a vehicle travelling along a road using a charging element provide in or on the road.

The method starts by the obtaining unit 42 obtaining vehicle data VD from vehicles 12, 14, 16 travelling on or along the road 18, step 50. If the collecting device 20 comprises a reading unit, such as an RFID reading unit, then the obtaining may be performed through the collecting device 20 reading an RFID tag on the

vehicles 12, 14, 16 providing said vehicle data. The collecting device 20 would then send the vehicle data VD to the communication interface 40 of the charging control arrangement 28, via which communication

interface 40 the obtaining unit 42 then receives the vehicle data VD . The reading may then be performed as the vehicles 12, 14, 16 travel past one or more data acquisition positions DAP. As an alternative it is possible that the obtaining unit 42 interrogates the collecting device 20 about the presence of collected vehicle data. If the communication units 32 of the vehicles 12, 14, 16 are wireless communication units, then according to yet another alternative the vehicles may instead send vehicle data VD via a wireless communication network, such as a third generation partnership (3GPP) standardized network like LTE, which data may be sent to the collecting device 20 or even directly to the obtaining unit 42. Such sending may be made regularly such as periodically. It is in this case also possible that the obtaining unit 42 performs an interrogation concerning the presence of vehicle data VD either to the collecting device 20 or directly to the communication units 32 of the vehicles 12, 14, 16. Because of this it should also be realized that the collecting device is optional. As a further alternative it is possible that vehicle data is collected using the charging element. Thus, when a vehicle passes the data acquisition position DAP, the information from the vehicle is collected. The data acquisition position DAP can be linked to a charging element or can be an arbitrarily determined position appropriate for the charging to be activated . The information collection can thus be made from the vehicles using mobile connectivity of the vehicle or at fixed positions such as debiting positions for road toll. It is furthermore possible that different

information collection technics may be needed for different vehicles. In some vehicles the communicating unit comprises a mobile modem, others comprise a wireless LAN interface and yet others an RFID tag.

Other vehicles may transfer vehicle data employing magnetic induction used for power transfer. The

obtaining unit may need to be able to obtain vehicle data via all possible transfer technologies.

Once the obtaining unit 42 has obtained vehicle data, this vehicle data VD is then forwarded to the analysing unit 44, which goes on and analyses the vehicle data, step 52.

The vehicle data VD may comprise vehicle identifying data, such as data used for identifying type of vehicle. This data may be data identifying a specific vehicle, such as a license registration number. The vehicle identifying data may also comprise vehicle type data, such as data identifying vehicle manufacturer, and possibly also brand as well as model or make. The vehicle type data may also identify type of use of the vehicle, such as if the vehicle is a police vehicle, a military vehicle, an ambulance or a fire department vehicle. The vehicle identifying data may also comprise circumstantial vehicle identifying data, such as data identifying an entity with which the vehicle is associated. The entity may here be a hospital, the police, a car rental agency or company owning the vehicle or being the employer of the driver. The vehicle data may also comprise a request for charging from the vehicle. The vehicle data may further comprise driver

identifying data. Such data may comprise a direct driver identifier, such as social security number and/or a driver license number. It may also comprise other circumstantial driver identifying data, for instance in the form of Biometrics, for instance concerning the layout and shape of the face of the driver. The driver identifying data may furthermore comprise data defining the driving pattern of the driver of the vehicle or data that can be used for determining the driving pattern of the driver.

The vehicle data may also comprise accumulator charge data ACD, which data may comprise data about a current charge level of the accumulator 30 of a vehicle, i.e. charge status data. This data may be provided in the form of a remaining charge, an estimation of a

remaining driving distance made by the vehicle until the accumulator is discharged or a remaining driving time. The vehicle data may also comprise speed data, i.e. data of the speed of the vehicle. Other examples of vehicle data that may be retrieved from on-board sensors of the vehicle through the CAN bus are the age of the accumulator; the general

capabilities of the vehicle (e.g. the engine or motor size) , the current vehicle load (a lightly loaded vehicle can be driven further than a heavily loaded vehicle ) , etc .

Vehicle data concerning the accumulator is thus not limited to the charge status data, but also

capabilities information. Capabilities information is such information as the battery technology as well as the charging capacity, the vehicle energy consumption, etc .

The analysing of the vehicle data VD may be the

analysing of any of above mentioned vehicle data types or an analysis of combinations of the various pieces of vehicle data. In its simplest form an analysis may be the analysis of only one piece of data, for instance vehicle type data, driver identifying data or

accumulator charge data ACD. The analysing may more particularly involve the analysing unit 44 connecting to the driver identifying database 25 in order to obtain a driver identity based on circumstantial driver identifying data, connecting to the driving pattern database 26 in order to obtain the driving pattern of the driver of the vehicle based on the identity of the driver and connecting to the vehicle identifier

database 27 in order to obtain data of the vehicle based on the vehicle identifying data. These pieces of data may be used in order to obtain data about the vehicle and/or the driver. The results of the analysis performed by the analysing unit 44 are then forwarded to the policy control unit 47. The policy control unit 47 then selects, for each vehicle for which vehicle data has been obtained, whether the vehicle is to be charged or not based on the previously performed analysis and a policy, step 54. This means that selection criteria according to a selection policy are applied on the results of the analysis .

The selecting can here be a selecting at least partly based on the driver identifying data of the obtained vehicle data, for instance according to identified driver, at least partly based on the obtained vehicle type data, like based on identified vehicle type as well as at least partly based on the accumulator charge data. It is for instance possible to select a vehicle to be charged if it belongs to the road operator itself, if it belongs to some other service, such as police, hospital or fire department. It is also

possible to select a vehicle for charging if it is associated with a company with which a charging

agreement exists. It is also possible to select the vehicle if the accumulator charge data indicates that the charge level of the accumulator is low. It is also possible that the selecting is made based on a price negotiation concerning the charging and an economical transaction. In another situation the driver of the vehicle decides that it is time to charge the accumulator and therefore the communication unit sends a request for charging of the vehicle. In this case a selection is also made based on the existence of such a request.

The selection may therefore be a selection at least partly based on the driver identifying data. Once a vehicle has been selected, i.e. in case the vehicle is to be charged, the selection is forwarded to the charging control unit 46, which selects a charging element CE 22, step 55, and a charging time interval CTI of this charging element 22, step 56. The charging time interval CTI may here be selected based on an amount of energy or charging amount that is to be supplied or charged into the accumulator 30 of the selected vehicle. The charging time interval CTI may also be selected to occur at a moment at which the vehicle is expected to pass the selected charging element. The time to pass may be determined based on positional data of the selected vehicle, such as the position of the vehicle when the vehicle data VD is obtained. This positional data can be known if the vehicle data VD is obtained from a fixed collecting unit. As an alternative the vehicle data VD may

comprise such positional data. Positional data may for instance be obtained through triangulation in a mobile communication network. The length of the charging time interval CTI and the point in time it is to be provided may also be determined based on the speed of the vehicle in relation to such positional data, the time at which it is collected and optionally also the driving pattern. The speed may be estimated through knowledge about the speed limit, through measuring the speed of the vehicle or through receiving speed data as vehicle data from the vehicle. The length of the time interval may also be determined based on the charge to be provided and the occurrence may be selected

according to a timing scheme. The charging control unit 46 may thus compute which charging elements should be charged at what time, depending on which vehicles are where, and how their drivers usually drive.

The traffic directing unit 48 may be used for directing the selected vehicle to the charging element so that it passes the charging element according to the timing scheme. This unit 48 is optional and may connect to the traffic directing device 24, for instance if there is a need to keep vehicles at a certain maximum speed so that they pass over the charging elements for a certain time. The traffic directing unit 48 can then direct the traffic directing device 24 managing reconfigurable traffic signs showing maximum speed to change to a suitable maximum speed. The traffic directing unit 48 may thus optimize the flow of traffic so that the vehicles that need to be charged pass over the charging elements at the appropriate time and for the

appropriate duration (as computed by the charging control unit ) . Thereafter the charging control unit 46 controls the charging element 22 to be energized during the charging time interval CTI, step 57, i.e. the charging element gets energized as the selected vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle. The control may here involve controlling the charging element for transferring a determined amount of energy to the selected vehicle. The control may, in the example of inductive charging, involve controlling the AC voltage source 38 to provide an AC voltage of an amplitude, frequency and duration

selected to make the first winding 36 transfer the determined charging amount to the second winding 34 of the selected vehicle.

The above mentioned control has been described in relation to one charging element. It should be realized that there may exist a number of such elements in series and/or in parallel in or on the road and that the control of one charging element described above can be applied on all of these charging elements. It can in this way be seen that the accumulator of the selected vehicle is charged with energy. The charging is furthermore performed in a controlled way. The road operator is thus able to select which vehicles that are to be charged, when they are to be charged as well as perhaps also how much a vehicle is to be charged, i.e. the amount of energy to be transferred.

In this way it is possible to save energy in that the charging elements are only used when needed or desired. Unnecessary energizing is thus avoided. This can furthermore be combined with performing selection according to a number of different selection policies, such as based on type of vehicle, according to agreements between the road operator and other parties, according to need and according to economical transactions that have been carried out between road operator and vehicle or driver.

A second more detailed embodiment will now be described with reference being made also to fig. 5, 6 and 7, where fig. 5 schematically shows a number of signals exchanged between a vehicle, units of the charging control arrangement and devices of the vehicle charging system, fig. 6 shows a flow chart of method steps for selecting vehicles to be charged and being performed in the charging control arrangement and fig. 7

schematically shows a flow chart of method steps concerning how charging of a vehicle is provided, which is also being performed in the charging control

arrangement 28.

In this second embodiment the collecting device 20 is provided at a fixed location by the road, at the data acquisition position DAP. It is furthermore configured to read vehicle data VD through the use of an RFID reader and also configured to photograph the drivers of the vehicles 12, 14, 16 using a camera.

According to this second embodiment vehicle data VD is obtained from all the vehicles 12, 14, 16 passing the data acquisition position DAP. In this embodiment the vehicle data is furthermore obtained through the collecting unit 20 detecting the vehicle data of a set of vehicles 12, 14, 16 as they pass the data

acquisition position DAP, step 82. This set can be a cluster of vehicles. There may naturally also be more such clusters. The obtaining may here involve reading an RFID tag provided by the communication unit 32 and in this way obtain accumulator charge data ACD, the speed of the vehicle as well as a vehicle identifier, which identifier may be a registration number of the vehicle. In this embodiment it also involves obtaining driver identifying data, which in this case is a photograph taken of the driver. Alternatively the driver may have logged onto an onboard computer before starting to drive and the identity of the driver may have been known in this way. The vehicle identifier is thus possible to obtain through reading out it using RFID. It may also be obtained through a reading using a camera or similar (i.e. the number plate of the car is photographed as the car passes the data acquisition position DAP) .

Thus, when a vehicle passes a data acquisition position DAP, which can be provided in relation to a charging element, an information collection station, a toll collection station, or an arbitrarily determined point appropriate for the charging to be activated, the vehicle data from the vehicle is collected by the collecting device 20. This collecting device 20 may also collect vehicle data from other traffic

information systems, such as roadside cameras, speed measurement devices, and other similar systems. The vehicle data VD of the set of vehicles is then forwarded from the collecting device 20 to the

obtaining unit 42 of the charge control arrangement 28, 58. The obtaining unit 42 then forwards this data to the analysing unit 44. The analysing unit 44 thereafter chooses one vehicle in the set, step 84, and instructs the obtaining unit 42 to obtain vehicle type data based on the vehicle identifier and to obtain a user

identifier based on the driver identifying data, i.e. based on the picture of the driver.

The obtaining unit 42 then sends the vehicle identifier to the vehicle identifying data base 27, which returns data of brand, type and model of the vehicle to the obtaining unit 42, 60. This data of the vehicle has here been located based on the vehicle identifier.

The obtaining unit 42 also connects to the driver identifying database 25 with the driver identifying data and receives an identity of the driver as a response, 62. When connecting to the driver identifying database 25, the obtaining unit 42 also sends data. The data sent to the database may here be the picture, based on which an identification of the driver may be made using Biometrics such as face recognition. All the data of the chosen vehicle is then forwarded from the obtaining unit 42 to the analysing unit 44, 64. The analysing unit 44 then determines the vehicle type VT and determines the identity of the driver based on the previously made identification, step 88, 66. When the driver has been identified in this way the analysing unit 44 requests the obtaining unit 42 to obtain driving pattern data of the driver based on the driver identity.

In the vehicle charging system 10 according to this second embodiment, there exists a driving behaviour model for each driver. Such a model enables predictions of the driving patterns of the driver, and hence how long a given accumulator charge is likely to last when that particular driver is using the vehicle. The driving behaviour model may concern how the driver applies these capabilities, such as how the driver accelerates and decelerates. This model can be used for determining how long the driver can drive on a typical charge. This can be combined with terrain information, i.e. where there are slopes or hills that may require additional energy, or provide additional energy by regenerative braking.

The driving pattern data provides such a driving behaviour model of the driver. Through the use of the databases 25, 26 and 27 it is thus possible that vehicle identities are collated with driver identities, and driving behaviour models. The databases can be provided as a service by the highway operator, or by other actors, such as insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, etc. Regardless of who provides the data, collation of the vehicle identity and the driving behaviour model can be performed through the vehicle registration, and the user model retrieved. As yet an alternative it is possible that the user model is stored in the vehicle and transferred as vehicle data, in which case the analysing unit 44 would link the various pieces of data to each other.

According to this second embodiment, the obtaining unit 42 therefore connects to the driving pattern database 26 and receives driving pattern data as a response, 70. This data is then forwarded to the analysing unit 44, 71. In this way the analysing unit 44 obtains the driving behaviour model DBM, step 90.

Based on this data, the driving behaviour model of the driver, vehicle type data, such as the energy

consumption associated with the driving pattern in the type of vehicle, as well as the accumulator charge data ACD, the analysing unit 44 then estimates the remaining travelling distance RTD of the vehicle, step 92, 72. The remaining travelling distance RTD may be the distance, for instance the minimum distance, that the vehicle is able to travel from the data acquisition position with the current charge level of the

accumulator obtained from the accumulator charge data ACD, i.e. the distance it may be able to travel until the accumulator is fully discharged. The remaining travelling distance RTD is in this second embodiment estimated based on the accumulator charge data ACD and optionally also on one or more of the vehicle type data and the driving behaviour model DBM. It is furthermore also possible to consider such factors as the traffic pattern on the road such as if there are traffic ams or queues. It can also consider the state of the road, like if road construction work is performed, if there is snow or ice. These factors are traffic circumstances, which means that the estimating of the remaining travelling distance can thus also be based on the traffic circumstances of the road. For each driver, a driving behaviour model can thus be known, which enables predictions of the driving

patterns of the driver, and hence how long a given charge is likely to last when that particular driver is using a vehicle. The driving behaviour model concerns how the driver applies these capabilities, such as how the driver accelerates and decelerates, i.e.

determining how long the driver can drive on a typical charge. This can be combined with the terrain

information, i.e. where there are slopes or hills that may require additional energy, or provide additional energy by regenerative braking.

The remaining travelling distance RTD is then forwarded to the policy control unit 47, 73. The policy control unit 47 thereafter determines whether the chosen vehicle is to be charged or not based on a charging policy, 74. In this case the charging policy may specify that a vehicle is to be charged if it has insufficient charge to reach the following exit from the road or end of a specific part of the road. This is done through investigating the remaining travelling distance RTD and a calculated distance CD, which calculated distance CD is based on the determined position DP, which in this second embodiment is the transport responsibility release position TRP on the road. It is more particularly the distance between a data acquisition position and a determined position on the road. The vehicle is then selected for charging based on the investigation of the remaining travelling distance RTD and the calculated distance CD. The investigation may here be a comparison of the remaining travelling distance RTD with the calculated distance. The selection may in this case be made if the remaining travelling distance RTD is shorter than or equal to a calculated distance CD. The policy control unit 47 may thus compare the estimated remaining travelling

distance RTD with the distance between the data

acquisition position DAP and the determined position on the road. The distance between the data acquisition position DAP and the determined position on the road is here thus termed a calculated distance CD, which may also comprise a safety margin. The margin may be set in the charging policies.

The transport responsibility release position TRP may be the position of the first exit that appears on the road 18 after the data acquisition position DAP in the direction of travel of the vehicles. The calculated distance CD may here be the distance between the data acquisition position DAP and this transport

responsibility release position TRP. It may also be the distance between the data acquisition position DAP and the position of the first charging element appearing in the road after the exit in the direction of travel of the vehicles. This means that in one variation of the invention, the calculated distance is the distance between the data acquisition position DAP and the first charging element after a transport responsibility release position TRP. In another variation the calculated distance is the distance between the data acquisition position DAP and the transport

responsibility release position TRP . If, in the second embodiment, the remaining travelling distance RTD of the chosen vehicle in the set being investigated in this way is shorter than or equal to the calculated distance CD, step 94, then the policy control unit 47 selects the vehicle for being charged, step 96, and then there is an investigation of if there are any more vehicles in the set. In case the remaining travelling distance RTD is above the calculated

distance CD, step 94, then the vehicle may not be selected. Also in this case there is an investigation of if there are any remaining vehicles in the set. In case there are more vehicles in the set, step 98, then a next vehicle is chosen, step 84, and the same process is repeated in order to obtain a remaining travelling distance RTD of this vehicle followed by a comparison with calculated distance CD and possible selecting of the vehicle for charging. However if there are no more vehicles in the set, step 98, then the process is ended, step 100. It can in this way be seen that the policy control unit 47 selects a vehicle for charging, 74.

The accumulator charge status of the vehicle is thus measured and transferred to the charging control arrangement 28 as accumulator charge data ACD . In one variation this accumulator charge status is compared with a threshold value. As can be seen the threshold value in this case corresponds to the calculated distance and the charge status corresponds to the remaining travelling distance. If there is a vehicle which has a charge status which is below a threshold value, the process proceeds. The threshold value can be set recursively, as an average of the minimum for the vehicles which did not have to be charged; or it can be computed from information received from the vehicle manufacturers. It is also possible to forego the threshold value and charge the vehicles with the lowest charge first. The accumulator charge status may also be compared to the driving behaviour model. If the driving behaviour model predicts that the driver would be able to drive past the next charging element without the vehicle being charged at the current accumulator charge level, no charging is conducted for the vehicle.

As a vehicle has been selected, the policy control unit 47 thereafter determines an amount of energy that is to be provided to the selected vehicle, step 101, 75. In fig. 1 it is assumed that the second vehicle 14 is selected. The amount of energy may be determined as the amount of energy that is enough for the vehicle to reach the determined position. The amount of energy may thus be an amount that is sufficient for the vehicle to extend the remaining travelling distance to be equal to or longer than the distance between the data

acquisition position and the determined position, where the determined position as an example may be the transport responsibility release position TRP, the position of the first charging element after the transport responsibility release position in the direction of travel of the vehicles or some position in-between. The determination of a charging amount can be made in the same way as described above, i.e.

through considering the speed, accumulator charge data ACD and possibly also vehicle type data and/or driving behaviour model . Here the vehicle type data provides a pattern of energy consumption of the vehicle. In this way charge is selected that provides enough energy to the accumulator for reaching the determined position based on the pattern of energy consumption of the vehicle given the driving pattern and speed of the vehicle .

After the policy control unit 47 has determined the charging amount, it then forwards information about this amount to the charging control unit 46, 76. The charging control unit 46 then performs some processing 77. The charging control unit 46 first selects a charging element CE 22 to charge the vehicle, step 102. The selected charging element 22 is typically an element located between the data acquisition position DAP and the transport responsibility release position TRP . It is furthermore with advantage the charging element closest to the data acquisition position DAP in the direction of travel of the vehicle 14. Thereafter the charging control unit 46 determines a charging time interval CTI, step 103. The charging time interval CTI is here selected based on the amount of energy to be delivered. The determination of charging time interval CTI may furthermore consider the energy transfer capacity of the charging element 22, such as winding size and available voltages and frequencies. It may also consider the size of the vehicle winding. Vehicle winding data may be provided as a part of the vehicle data VD obtained from the vehicle 14 via the collecting device 20. It is also possible that such data may be obtained through knowledge of the winding size used by vehicle make and model. The charging control unit 46 may also determine a point in time that the charging time interval CTI is to occur after the point in time at which the vehicle data VD of the vehicle 14 was obtained by the collecting device 20 at the data acquisition position DAP. This occurrence may be determined based on the speed of the vehicle, both on the detected vehicle speed at the data acquisition position as well as an estimated speed between the data acquisition position and the selected charging element. Here it is also possible to apply the driving behaviour model in the estimation.

The charging control unit 46 then informs the traffic directing unit 48 about the selected charging element 22, the size or length of the charging time interval CTI as well as the instant in time that the charging time interval is to occur, 78. The policy determining unit 47 also informs the traffic directing unit 48 about the speed of the vehicle 14 at the data

acquisition position DAP, 79.

Since, on freeways, the speed of vehicles may be known, the traffic directing unit 48 may compute a vector and use this vector for controlling the traffic directing device 24. As an alternative, the traffic directing unit may be omitted. Instead it is possible that the charging control unit 46 informs the charging element of the vehicle identifier of the selected vehicle. The charging element may then be provided with a vehicle identifier detector, such as an RFID reader or a camera reading license plates, which vehicle identifier detector can be used to activate the charging element when the need to charge the vehicle arises. Hence, the only times the charging element is energized is when a vehicle which needs to be charged is present. In the second embodiment the traffic directing unit 48 directs the traffic on the road to achieve that the selected vehicle passes the charging element 22 in the charging time interval CIT, step 104. This may involve the traffic directing unit 48 controlling the traffic directing device 24 to cause the selected vehicle 14 to pass the charging element 22 in the charging time interval CTI, 80. This control may be the control to provide the vehicle 14 with guidance about a speed that ensures that it will be above the charging element 22 at the time the charging time interval CTI starts and to still be above the charging element 22 at the time the charging time interval CTI ends. This may be done through providing control signals to the traffic directing device 24 so that the road signs show speed limits to the vehicle 14 that obtains this result. It can in this way be seen that the traffic directing unit 48 controls the traffic directing device 24 to direct traffic on the road past the charging element 22 so that the selected vehicle 14 passes over the charging element 22 with a speed suitable for being charged with the determined amount of energy. The control of the traffic directing device 24 may also comprise controlling the traffic directing device 24 to give the vehicle 14 guiding and directional instructions so that it actually passes over the selected charging element 22.

The traffic directing unit 48 may thus compose a set of directions for the traffic directing device 24

regarding the speed of traffic and which vehicles should pass over the charging elements for how long time and at which times. The traffic directing unit 48 can then direct the traffic directing device 24 to manage reconfigurable traffic signs showing maximum speed to change to a suitable maximum speed. This could work as follows:

The instructions from the policy control unit 47 are received by the traffic directing unit 48. The current vehicle position may be computed and compared to the nearest charging elements. The speed of vehicles surrounding the vehicle to be charged could be

optimized so that the maximum energy will pass into the vehicle to be charged as it passes over the selected charging element. Data may then be given to the traffic directing device 24 so that suitable control

instructions can be passed to traffic lights,

configurable speed limit signs, etc. to maximize the charging effect during the time the selected vehicle is passing over the selected charging element or in case of several charging elements in series and/or in parallel over one or more of the selected charging elements . The charging control unit 46 also ensures that the charging element 20 is energized in the charging time interval, 81, step 106, i.e. as the selected vehicle passes it. The charging element may therefore be energized with a charging pattern adapted to the speed and to charging characteristics of the vehicle.

This may be done through providing control signals to the charging element 22 causing the voltage source 38 to provide a pattern, here in the form of a voltage to the first winding 36 with a frequency and amplitude in the charging time interval CTI that ensures that the determined amount of energy is being transferred to the vehicle 14. In this case the amount of energy may have been determined based on the vehicle type data, such as type, age of the accumulator and weight and load of vehicle in order to be adapted to the charging

characteristics of the vehicle. It is also here

possible that there is a safety margin so that more than the amount ensuring that the determined position is reached is provided.

Finally it is also possible that the negotiating unit 49 is instructed by the policy control unit 47 to be involved in a negotiation with a counterpart associated with the selected vehicle concerning payment for the charging. The counterpart may be the driver of the vehicle, the owner of the vehicle or some entity associated with the vehicle such as the employer or a contractor of the driver. The policy control unit 47 may in this way perform an energy delivery negotiation about the amount of energy via the negotiating unit 49. It is possible that the vehicle charging system is also able to manage the generation of energy, or manage energy provided to the charging system. If this is the case, this energy may be sold on the spot market, where the price will vary. In such circumstances, the energy produced may be sold at a considerable profit at certain times, and in this case it may be desirable to only charge those vehicles which are in danger of stopping otherwise, and then only charge them to a minimum level.

It can in this way be seen that it is for instance possible to ensure that no vehicles are left standing on the road because the accumulators have been

completely discharged, thereby avoiding some

unnecessary vehicle towing activities.

By simply providing a minimum charge, the additional energy available can be sold on the spot market.

However, it may actually be more profitable to sell the energy produced, and buy energy on the spot market. This depends on the relation between futures contracts and spot market prices. Financial contracts can be taken into account. Depending on the operation

intervals of the spot market, the information may be collected in real-time, or in intervals. Provided that the information is collected on intervals which are longer than the time during which a vehicle can be charged, the selection of charging described here can be computed for the duration of the interval and applied accordingly. If the trading interval of the electricity spot market is shorter, an average may be applied that bounds the market pricing to the charging time .

The charging control arrangement is with advantage provided in a computer or server. The various units of the charging control arrangement shown in fig. 3 may as an alternative be provided in various servers .

The units of the charging control arrangement may be provided in the form of a processor with associated program memory including a computer program with computer program code for performing the functionality of these units. Fig. 9 schematically shows one physical realization of charging control arrangement 28

according to this principle with one such processor 112 and program memory 114 connected to a data bus 116. Also the communication interface 40, which may be a network interface controller, is in this variation connected to the data bus 116.

The computer program may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a computer readable storage medium or data carrier, like a CD ROM disc, a memory stick or a server, carrying such a computer program with the computer program code, which will implement the function of the above-described units when being loaded into a computer or server. One such computer program product in the form of a CD ROM disc 108 with the above-mentioned computer program code 110 is schematically shown in fig. 8. While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements. Therefore the invention is only to be limited by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for charging a vehicle (14) travelling

along a road (18) using a charging element (22) provided in or on the road, the method comprising: obtaining (50; 82) vehicle data (VD) from the vehicle (14) travelling along the road,

analysing (52) said vehicle data,

selecting (54; 96) whether the vehicle (14) is to be charged or not based on said analysing,

in case the vehicle is to be charged further

performing

selecting (55; 102) the charging element to charge the vehicle,

determining (56; 103) a charging time interval, and energizing (57; 106) the charging element as the vehicle travels past it during the charging time interval in order to charge the vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the

vehicle data compromises driver identifying data and the selecting of the vehicle comprises selecting the vehicle at least partly based on the driver

identifying data.

3. The method according to any previous claim, wherein the vehicle data comprises vehicle type data and the selecting of the vehicle comprises selecting the vehicle at least partly based on the vehicle type data.

4. The method according to any previous claim, wherein the vehicle data comprises accumulator charge data (ACD) and the selecting of the vehicle is at least partly based on the accumulator charge data.

5. The method according to any previous claim, wherein the vehicle data is obtained at one or more data acquisition positions (DAP) and the obtaining comprises detecting the vehicle data as the vehicle passes said at least one data acquisition position.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle data is obtained at one or more data acquisition positions (DAP) and the analysing compromises estimating (92) a remaining travelling distance of the vehicle based on the accumulator charge data and investigating (94) the remaining travelling distance and the distance between the data acquisition position and a determined position on the road and the selecting comprises selecting (96) the vehicle for charging based on the investigation of the corresponding remaining travelling distance and said distance between the data acquisition position and the determined position.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the

determined position is a position (TRP) where the responsibility for the vehicle by a road operator ceases .

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, when dependent on claim 2, wherein the estimating of the remaining travelling distance is based on a model (DBM) of the driving behaviour of a driver identified via the driver identifying data.

9. The method according to any of claims 6 - 8, wherein the estimating of the remaining travelling distance is based on traffic circumstances on the road.

10. The method according to any of claims 6 - 9 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the estimating of the remaining travelling distance is based on the vehicle type data.

11. The method according to any previous claim,

further comprising determining (101) an amount of energy to be charged into the accumulator of the vehicle .

12. The method according to claim 11 when dependent on claim 6, wherein the amount of energy is sufficient for the vehicle to extend the remaining travelling distance to be equal to or longer than the distance between the data acquisition position and the determined position.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the

amount of energy is negotiated in an energy delivery negotiation .

14. The method according to any of claims 11 - 13, further comprising directing (104) traffic on the road past the charging element so that the vehicle (14) passes over the charging element with a speed suitable for being charged with the amount of energy and the charging element is energized with a

charging pattern adapted to the speed and to

charging characteristics of the vehicle.

15. A charging control arrangement (28) for

controlling charging of a vehicle (14) travelling along a road (18) using a charging element (22) provided in or on the road, the charging control arrangement comprising:

an obtaining unit (42) for receiving vehicle data (VD) from the vehicle travelling on the road, an analysing unit (44) configured to analyse said vehicle data,

a policy control unit (47) configured to select whether the vehicle (14) is to be charged or not based on said analysing, and

a charging control unit (46) configured to in case the vehicle is to be charged:

16. The charging control arrangement according to

claim 15, wherein the vehicle data compromises driver identifying data and the policy control unit (47) is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the driver identifying data.

17. The charging control arrangement according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the vehicle data compromises vehicle type data and the policy control unit (47) is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the vehicle type data.

18. The charging control arrangement according to any of claims 15 - 17, wherein the vehicle data

comprises accumulator charge data (ACD) and the policy control unit (47) is configured to select the vehicle at least partly based on the accumulator charge data.

19. The charging control arrangement according to

claim 18, wherein the analysing unit (44) is further configured to estimate a remaining travelling distance (RTD) of the vehicle based on the

accumulator charge data (ACD) and the policy control unit (47) is configured to investigate the remaining travelling distance and the distance between a data acquisition position (DAP) and a determined position on the road and select the vehicle for charging based on the investigation of the remaining

travelling distance and said distance between the data acquisition position and the determined

position .

20. The charging control arrangement according to

claim 19 as dependent on claim 16, wherein the analysing unit (44) is configured to estimate the remaining travelling distance based on a model (DBM) of the driving behaviour of a driver identified via the driver identifying data.

21. The charging control arrangement according to 5 claim 19 or 20 when dependent on claim 17, wherein the analysing unit (44) is configured to estimate the remaining travelling distance based on the vehicle type data.

10 22. The charging control arrangement according to any of claims 15 - 21, wherein the policy control unit (47) is further configured to determine an amount of energy to be charged into the accumulator of the vehicle .

15

23. The charging control arrangement according to

claim 22, further comprising a negotiating unit (49) and the policy control unit is configured to perform an energy delivery negotiation about the amount of

20 energy via the negotiating unit.

24. The charging control arrangement according to

claim 22 or 23, further comprising a traffic

directing unit (48) for controlling the directing of

25 the traffic on the road past the charging element

(22) so that the vehicle (14) passes over the charging element with a speed suitable for being charged with the amount of energy and the charging control unit (46) is configured to control the

30 energizing of the charging element with a charging pattern adapted to the speed and to charging

characteristics of the vehicle.

25. A vehicle charging system (10) for charging a vehicle (14) travelling along a road (18) and comprising a charging element (22) in or on the road and a charging control arrangement (28) according to any of claims 15 - 24.

26. The vehicle charging system according to claim 25, further comprising a collecting device (20) at the road for collecting vehicle data.

27. The vehicle charging system according to claim 25 or 26, further comprising a driver profile database (26) comprising models of the driving behaviour of drivers.

28. The vehicle charging system according to any of claims 25 - 27, further comprising a set of traffic directing devices (24) at the road.

29. A computer program for controlling charging of a vehicle (14) travelling along a road (18) using a charging element (22) provided in or on the road, the computer program comprising computer program code (110) causing a charging control arrangement (28) to

obtain vehicle data (VD) from the vehicle (14) travelling along the road,

analyse said vehicle data,

select whether the vehicle (14) is to be charged or not based on said analysing,

in case the vehicle is to be charged further select the charging element to charge the vehicle, determine a charging time interval, and

30. A computer program product for controlling

charging of a vehicle (14) travelling along a road (18) using a charging element (22) provided in or on the road, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium (108) with a computer program comprising computer program code (110) causing a charging control arrangement (28) to obtain vehicle data (VD) from the vehicle (14) travelling along the road,

analyse said vehicle data,