WO2020208655A1

WO2020208655A1 - Charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy

Info

Publication number: WO2020208655A1
Application number: PCT/IN2020/050344
Authority: WO
Inventors: Atul ARYA; Praveen MALAV; Dhommata Naresh KUMAR; Yogesh Kumar
Original assignee: Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd.
Priority date: 2019-04-11
Filing date: 2020-04-10
Publication date: 2020-10-15

Abstract

Example techniques for charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy are described. In an example, information regarding a current location of an electric vehicle is obtained. Based on the current location of the electric vehicle, at least one charging station within a predefined area from the current location of the electric vehicle is identified and availability of renewable energy at the at least one charging station to charge the electric is determined. A notification regarding availability of renewable energy at the at least one charging station is provided to a user device of a driver of the electric vehicle.

Description

CHARGING OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES USING RENEWABLE ENERGY

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present subject matter relates, in general, to electric vehicles and, in particular, to charging of electric vehicles. BACKGROUND

[002] With progressive exhaustion of fossil fuels, such as gasoline and the enhanced awareness of environmental protection, more attention is being paid to electric vehicles. Fueling the electric vehicles with electricity offers advantages, such as negligible emission of carbon derivatives, which is not available in conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Other advantages of electrically powered vehicles include reduction in noise of operation of the vehicle. Electric vehicles, interchangeably referred to as EVs, have also gained popularity as their usage involves a onetime investment thereby providing maximum cost effectiveness.

[003] Further, the progressive exhaustion of fossil fuels and increase in air pollution has also led to an increased focus on renewable energy as a viable alternative to power the vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[004] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.

[005] Figure 1 shows a network environment implementing a system for managing charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy sources, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. [006] Figure 2 illustrates a battery management system for an electric vehicle, according to an implementation of the present subject matter.

[007] Figure 3 shows a management terminal for managing charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy sources, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.

[008] Figure 4 illustrates a method for managing charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy sources, in accordance with an implementation of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[009] Electric vehicles (EVs) are generally easy to maintain, their electric motors react quickly, and have very good torque. These and other advantageous features relating to battery operated vehicles have led to electric vehicles, such as electric rickshaws, hereinafter referred to as e-rickshaws, becoming a popular means of transport. Electric vehicles use electricity stored in a battery to operate an electric motor that in turn drives the wheels of the EVs. When depleted, the battery is recharged using grid electricity, either from a wall socket or a charging unit.

[0010] In case of electric vehicles, such as e-rickshaws that are used for commercial purposes, dedicated charging stations are provided for charging of the e- rickshaws, for example, on payment of fees in proportion to consumption of the electricity or duration of charging.

[0011] Generally, the electric vehicles charge at the charging stations using conventional energy. In some cases, the charging stations may have availability of renewable energy for charging the EVs. The charging stations may provide renewable energy alone or in combination with the conventional energy in any proportion. For example, a charging station may have availability of solar power to charge the EVs based on, solar power harvested at that charging station, for example, using solar panels installed at the charging station. In another example, a charging station may have availability of wind energy for charging the EVs. For instance, the wind energy may be generated by a wind turbine and fed to a grid to which the charging station is connected.

[0012] While it is advantageous to use renewable energy and preferable for charging the EVs for cost as well as environmental reasons, the availability of renewable energy is unpredictable. For example, a charging station may have availability of solar power for certain hours of the daytime but not all time. Similarly, a charging station may have availability of wind energy when the wind conditions are favorable. Due to the unpredictability of availability of renewable energy at the charging stations, efficient utilization of renewable energy to charge the EVs is often impeded.

[0013] Utilization of renewable energy to charge the EVs is inefficient due to lack of information regarding availability of renewable energy in a real-time or near- real time basis. In an example situation, it is possible that due to lack of information regarding availability of renewable energy at a certain charging station, an e-rickshaw driver may use conventional energy at another charging station in the vicinity. The use of conventional energy at a time when renewable energy is readily available, results in the renewable energy getting stored for subsequent use. This asserts additional load on charging infrastructure to have a high storage capacity which may incur significant cost.

[0014] The present invention provides techniques for managing charging of

EVs, such as e-rickshaws at charging stations using renewable energy. The present disclosure describes a system and method for managing charging of the EVs by providing information regarding availability of renewable energy at the charging stations in a real-time or near-real time basis. Thus, the present invention may disseminate information regarding availability of renewable energy at the charging stations to drivers of EVs in real-time or near-real time basis. In an example, the information may include an amount of renewable energy available at each of the charging stations. The amount of renewable energy available at each of the charging stations may be a proportion of the total energy that may be needed to charge an EV. Thus, the drivers are made aware of availability of renewable energy and may choose to avail the same for charging of their vehicles.

[0015] In an example embodiment, when a plurality of EVs is charged using renewable energy at more than one charging stations, the present invention ensures the most effective utilization of the renewable energy and also manages congestion at the charging stations. Accordingly, in an implementation, the present invention not only provides information regarding availability of renewable energy at the charging stations to the drivers of the EVs but also allocates an amount of renewable energy and assigns time slots to the respective EVs for charging at a given charging station.

[0016] In an example, amount of renewable energy allocated for charging an

EV may be based on a driver categorization that may be determined for a driver of the EV. Further, a time slot during which the EV may be charged at a given charging station may also be allocated based on the driver categorization. The driver categorization may be indicative of driving behavior of the driver. In an example, driver categorization‘A’ may indicate the driving behavior that is better than a driver categorization‘B’. In another example, driver categorizations, such as driver categorization ‘G, driver categorization‘2’, . , driver categorization‘5’ may exist wherein each driver categorization is indicative of a ranking provided to the driver of the EV based on the driving behavior of the driver.

[0017] In an example embodiment, for determining the driver categorization for a driver of an EV, the driving behavior may be monitored over a predefined period of time. In an example, the driving behavior may be based on usage of a battery of the EV by the driver. For instance, when a driver drives the EV at very high speed, a rate of battery drainage is high. The output of the battery may be monitored to determine instances of over speeding. More than a predefined number of instances of over speeding over a predefined period of time may be indicative of a poor driving behavior. In an example, the driver categorization may also be based on driver’s history information. The driver’s history information may include, among other things, information regarding any traffic accidents that the driver may have been involved in.

[0018] In an example embodiment, a higher proportion of renewable energy to conventional energy may be made available to a driver having a driver categorization indicative of a good driving behavior. In an example implementation, if availability of renewable energy is limited, charging of the EVs using renewable energy may allowed only to drivers who have been categorized in top categories based on their driving behavior.

[0019] In an example embodiment, the time slot during which an EV may be charged at a given charging station may be allocated based on the driver categorization such that drivers with driving behavior better than others, are assigned a more preferable time slot for charging their respective EVs. In an example, more preferable time slot may be day time as opposed to night time since availability of solar power is higher during the day time. In an example embodiment, it is also possible to offer renewable energy at a discounted rate for charging the EV to the drivers having driver categorization indicative of a good driving behavior.

[0020] A variety of parameters, such as the ones described above may be used independently or in any combination to compute a time slot that results in most effective utilization of the renewable energy available at the charging stations. It is possible that each of the parameters may be assigned a weightage. To illustrate with an example, a readily available time slot may be provided to a driver, irrespective of his driver categorization, in the interest of most effective utilization of the renewable energy available at a charging station.

[0021] The present system and method for charging of e-rickshaws thus manages the charging of e-rickshaws such that not only the renewable energy available at the charging stations is used efficiently but also, charging load of the e-rickshaws to be charged is distributed across the charging stations that have renewable energy available and across time during which renewable energy is available.

[0022] While embodiments of the present invention have been described in context of an e-rickshaw, it will be understood that the same is only to provide an example of implementation of the present invention and is not be construed as a limitation. The teachings of the present invention may be extended to other electric vehicles as applicable.

[0023] It should also be understood that the term renewable energy used herein, refers to energy or electricity generated using renewable energy sources that can be used to charge an EV. Examples of renewable energy sources include but are not restricted to solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, and biomass energy. A person skilled in the art will also understand that electricity generated using such renewable energy sources may be processed to make it suitable for supplying to EVs. Details of techniques relating to generation and processing of electricity generated using such renewable energy sources has not been discussed for sake of brevity of the present description.

[0024] The above and other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will be better explained with regard to the following description and accompanying figures. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter along with examples described herein and, should not be construed as a limitation to the present subject matter. It is thus understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof. Further, for the sake of simplicity, and without limitation, the same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components. [0025] Figure 1 shows a network environment implementing a system 102 for managing charging of electric vehicles using renewable energy, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

[0026] In an embodiment, the system 102 comprises a plurality of electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2.104-n. (The figure depicts the EV 104-1 and EV 104-2 alone for the ease of depiction.) In an example, the electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2.104-n may be electric rickshaws, electric motorbikes or any other electric vehicles that may need to charge by connecting to a charging station (not shown in figure).

[0027] Each of the EVs 104-1, 104-2.104-n include at least one battery 106- 1, 106-2.106-n, respectively. In an example, the batteries 106-1, 106-2.106-n, may be lithium ion batteries.

[0028] Due to their utility and advantages over other types of batteries, lithium ion batteries, which presently dominate the most recent group of electric vehicles in development including consumer electronics, are preferred. A typical lithium ion battery cell yields 80-90% of discharge efficiency. Examples of the types of lithium ion batteries that can be incorporated in the electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2 104-n can be NCA, NMC, LMO, LiFeP04.

[0029] Following description, to explain concepts relating to charging of the batteries 106-1, 106-2.106-n of the electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2.104-n using renewable energy, is provided in reference to the EV 104-1 and the battery 106-1 of the EV 104-1 for ease of explanation and is applicable to the other EVs 104-2, 104- 3.104-n and their respective batteries 106-1, 106-2.106-n.

[0030] The EV 104-1 includes a charging connector 108-1. The charging connector 108-1 may be understood to be an input terminal to the battery 106-1 that facilitates charging of the battery 106-1 at a charging station, by connecting itself to an output terminal of a charging port at the charging station. Examples of the charging connector 108-1 include but are not limited to mode 2, mode 3 charger or a plug of type 1, or type 2. In accordance with an example embodiment of the present subject matter, the charging connector 108-1 may couple to a source of renewable energy, such as a charging station providing electricity, wherein the electricity generation is based on renewable energy. The charging connector 108-1 may allow charging of the battery 106- 1 using renewable energy alone or in combination with conventional energy in any proportion.

[0031] In accordance with an example embodiment of the present subject matter, the charging connector 108-1 functions in response to instructions given by a battery management system 110-1. The battery management system 110-1 of the EV 104-1 is a component that acts as the control terminal of the battery 106-1. Among other functions, the battery management system 110-1 manages battery functions, such as monitoring current battery charge level, ensuring low consumption of the battery 106-1 when in inactive mode, prevention from overcharging and under discharge. For the purpose of managing the battery functions, the battery management system 110-1 measures various parameters of the battery 106-1, such as battery cell voltage, temperature, etc. In an example, the battery management system 110-1 may also measure various other parameters of the EV 104-1, for example, speed or location of the EV 104-1. Accordingly, the battery management system 110-1 may be communicatively coupled to one or more sensors (not shown) installed in the EV 104- 1.

[0032] In an example, the battery management system, 110-1 may communicate various parameters of the battery 106-1 to a management terminal 112. Further the battery management system 110-1 may control the charging connector 108- 1 and in turn control the battery 106-1, based on control information received from the management terminal 112. (Details of the battery management system 110-1 have been discussed subsequently in reference to Figure 2.)

[0033] The management terminal 112 may be implemented as any of a variety of conventional computing devices, including, server, a mainframe computer, a desktop, a personal computer, a notebook or portable computer, a workstation, and a laptop. Further, in one example, the system 102 may be a distributed or centralized network system in which different computing devices may host one or more of the hardware or software components of the system 102. The management terminal 112 can operate remotely or lie within the vicinity of the charging stations.

[0034] In an example of control of the EV 104-1 by the management terminal

112, the management terminal 112 may indicate availability of renewable energy at a charging station to the battery management system 110-1 and instruct the battery management system 110-1 to avail the same for charging the battery 106-1.

[0035] In another example of control of the EV 104-1 by the management terminal 112, the battery management system 110-1 may obtain speed of the EV 104- 1, for instance, from a sensor of the EV 104-1 and may communicate the same to the management terminal 112. If the management terminal 112 determines that the speed of the EV 104-1 needs to be reduced, for example, based on determining that a current location of the EV 104-1 is in a low speed zone, the management terminal 112 may direct the battery management system 110-1 of the EV 104-1 accordingly. Based on the instructions from the management terminal 112, the battery management system 110-1 may reduce the battery output to the electric motor of the EV 104-1 to reduce speed of the EV 104-1.

[0036] In yet another example of control of the EV 104-1 by the management terminal 112, the management terminal 112 may determine deterioration in the condition of the battery 106-1 of the EV 104-1, based on monitoring maintenance and usage of the battery 106-1 over a period of time. In such example situations, the management terminal 112 may provide control signals to the battery management system 110-1 of the EV 104-1 to control the charging connector 108-1 of the EV 104-

1 such that the charging connector 108-1 charges the battery 106-1 of the EV 104-1 at a controlled rate of charging as opposed to a high rate of charging that may cause damage to the battery 106-1 in its current deteriorated condition. [0037] In an implementation of the system 102 for managing charging of the electric vehicles using renewable energy, the management terminal 112 may be implemented as a centralized entity to control various EVs, such as electric vehicles

104-1, 104-2.104-n connected to the management terminal 112 in the network environment. The respective battery management systems of the EV 104-1, 104-

2.104-n may use various communication techniques to provide information relevant to charging conditions, such as the battery level indication information, the data pertaining to the driver history, the location of the EVs 104-1, 104-2.104-n to the management terminal 112. The management terminal 112 acts as a control node that contains logic circuitry for processing of the data received from the battery management systems of plurality of electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2.104-n. The management terminal 1 12 may process the received information along with other information such as information relating to availability of renewable energy at the charging stations and location of charging stations to manage charging of the electric vehicles using renewable energy.

[0038] The electric vehicles 104-1, 104-2.104-n may connect to the management terminal 112 over a network 114. The network 114 may be a single network or a combination of multiple networks and may use a variety of different communication protocols. The network 114 may be a wireless or a wired network, or a combination thereof. Examples of such individual networks include, but are not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network, Personal Communications Service (PCS) network, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, Next Generation Network (NON), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Depending on the technology, the network 114 includes various network entities, such as gateways, routers; however, such details have been omitted for the sake of brevity of the present description.

[0039] In accordance with an example embodiment of the present subject matter, user devices, such as those in possession of the drivers of the EVs may also be communicatively coupled to the management terminal 112 over the network 114. Example of user devices include, smartphones, personal digital assistant (PDAs), and tablets or any other display device, consisting of applications that may interact with the management terminal 112 to update information processed and transmitted to these devices by the management terminal 112.

[0040] The management terminal 112 may associate user devices, such as user devices 116-1 and 116-2 with their corresponding driver and EVs, for example, based on a registration process. The management terminal 112 may provide information to a driver of an EV by pushing such information to a user device associated with the driver. For instance, the management terminal 112 may provide current information regarding availability of renewable energy at various charging stations in vicinity of an EV, by flashing a message on a display screen of the driver’s user device. In another example, the management terminal 112 may provide information regarding amount of renewable energy available at various charging stations.

[0041] The present described techniques thus allow for timely and effective utilization of renewable energy for charging of the EVs, even in situations where driver of the EVs are unaware of availability of renewable energy at nearby charging stations. Moreover, since the selection of the charging stations is based on various factors, an optimum charging station is chosen effectively for the recharging of the EV using renewable energy.

[0042] As mentioned previously, the management terminal 112 may process the information received from battery management systems of the EV 104-1, 104-

2.104-n along with other information such as information relating availability of renewable energy at the charging stations and location of charging stations to manage charging of the electric vehicles using renewable energy. For the purpose, the management terminal 112 may monitor the charging stations to obtain information, such as information relating to availability of renewable energy at the charging stations in a real-time or near-real time basis.

[0043] The charging stations may implement infrastructure for generation of electricity from renewable energy or may be connected to a plant that may generate electricity from renewable energy. For example, a charging station may be using solar panels for generation of electricity using solar power. In another example, a charging station may have availability of wind energy for charging the EVs. For instance, the wind energy may be generated by a wind turbine and fed to a grid to which the charging station may be connected. In an example, the charging stations may also receive electricity generated using a conventional energy source, such as electricity generated by a thermal power plant by combustion of coal. The charging stations may also receive electricity generated using the renewable energy source and electricity generated using the conventional energy source simultaneously. The charging stations may implement various techniques for combining electricity generated using the renewable energy source with electricity generated using the conventional energy source to provide the same to the EVs for charging.

[0044] Reference is now made to Figure 2 that illustrates a battery management system 200 for an electric vehicle, according to an implementation of the present subject matter. As will be understood the battery management system 200 is similar to the above-explained battery management system 110-1. [0045] The battery management system 200 of an electric vehicle battery may be understood as a control system for a battery (not shown) of the EV, which monitors and controls the battery status and operation. In an example implementation, the battery management system 200 of the present invention, comprises a communication engine 202. The communication engine 202 performs communication between the battery management system and the management terminal 112. The communication is typically based on communication protocols. The communication engine 202 may use several methods of serial or parallel communication, for instance and not limited to, CAN bus communication, which is commonly used in automotive environments, DC- BUS for serial communication, and different types of wireless communication. The communication protocols can vary as per the hardware implementation.

[0046] The communication engine 202 communicates internally with various sensors (not shown) that may be installed on the EV and transmits the inputs obtained from the sensors to the management terminal 112. Based on the inputs obtained from the sensors and other battery information communicated by the communication engine 202 to the management terminal 112, the management terminal 112 provides control information to a control engine 204 of the battery management system 200 to take actions to control the battery and in turn the operation of the EV. For example, the management terminal 112 may provide control information to the control engine 204 of the battery management system 200 to allow charging of the battery using renewable energy that may be available at a charging station.

[0047] The control engine 204 is responsible for controlling the trigger signals sent to a charging connector (not shown). In an example implementation, the control engine 204 controls the charging of the battery as per predefined rule. The control engine 204 instructs the charging connector of the battery to either connect to the supply terminals of the charging station or stop the charging process. The control engine 204 also controls the charging schedule for the electric vehicle by ensuring that the charging is done at a time slot allotted to the EV by the management terminal 112. The control engine 204 also ensures that the charging of the battery is in accordance with instructions provided by the management terminal 112, if any. For example, if the management terminal 112 determines a rate of charging for the battery, the control engine 204 ensures that the battery charges at that specified rate by controlling the charging connecter accordingly.

[0048] In the present description, the engine(s) may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement certain functionalities of the engine(s), such as transmitting signals. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, engine(s) may be implemented by electronic circuitry.

[0049] In an example implementation, the battery management system 200 of the present invention, comprises a data store 206. The data store 206 maybe understood as a memory component to store various data collated, manipulated or otherwise used by the battery management system 200 during operation. The memory component may include any computer-readable medium including, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., EPROM, flash memory, etc.).

[0050] The data store 206 may store information, for example and is not limited to, inputs obtained from the sensors installed on the EV, such as EV position information or current charge level information. The data store 206 may also store instructions communicated to the battery management system 200 by the management terminal 112, such as charging station congestion information. Other examples of information that the data store 206 may store are: customer rating in case of an electric rickshaw, battery maintenance data, drivers credit information, driver’s history information, and information regarding driving actions.

[0051] Figure 3 shows a management terminal 300 for managing charging of electric vehicles, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.

[0052] The management terminal 300, among other things, includes processor(s) 302, memory 304 and interface(s) 306 coupled to the processor(s) 302. The processor(s) 302 may be implemented as microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) 302 is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 304 of the management terminal 300. The system memory 304 may include any computer-readable medium including, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., EEPROM, flash memory, etc.). [0053] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including any functional blocks labelled as“processor(s)”, may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term“processor” should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

[0054] The interface(s) 306 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces that allow the management terminal 300 to interact with battery management systems of one or more EVs. Modules 308 and data 310 may reside in the memory 304. The modules 308 include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like, which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The modules 308 may also comprise other modules 312 that supplement functions of the management terminal 300. The data 310 serves, amongst other things, as a repository for storing data that may be fetched, processed, received, or generated by the modules 308. The data 310 comprises other data 314 corresponding to the other modules 312.

[0055] In operation, an EV communication module 316 of the management terminal 300 allows the management terminal 300 to communicate with battery management systems of one or more EVs. The EV communication module 316 enables the management terminal 300 to receive information, such as sensor inputs and battery information from the battery management systems. The EV communication module 316 may store the information received from the battery management systems as EV input data 318 in the data 310 of the management terminal 300. Examples of information received from the battery management systems of the EVs include current battery level information, battery health information and location of the respective EVs. [0056] Based on the information received from the battery management systems of the EVs and other data, such as availability of renewable energy at the charging stations, driver categorization etc., an EV control module 320 of the management terminal 300 may generate control information for each of the EVs. In an example, the control information may make drivers of the EVs aware of current availability of renewable energy at the charging stations for charging of the EVs. The amount of renewable energy available at each of the charging stations may be in a proportion of the total energy that may be needed to charge an EV. Thus, the drivers are made aware of availability of renewable energy and may choose to avail the same for charging of their vehicles. In an example, the control information may also include a time slots for charging of each of the EVs at particular charging station using the renewable energy. The control information can also include a ratio of renewable energy to conventional energy allocated to the certain EV, for example, based on the driver categorization of the driver of that EV.

[0057] The EV control module 320 may store the control information generated for each of the EVs as EV control data 322 in the data 310 of the management terminal

300. The control information generated for each of the EVs may be communicated to the battery management systems of the respective EVs by the EV communication module 316 to enable charging of the EVs based on the control information generated by the management terminal 300. Thus, the management terminal 300 controls the charging of the EVs for effective utilization of renewable energy that may be currently available at the charging stations by providing the relevant information, such as an amount of renewable energy that each of the EV s may use to the EV drivers and by allocating different time slots for charging to the EVs. [0058] Figure 4 illustrates a method 400 for managing charging of electric vehicles for effective utilization of renewable energy, in accordance with an implementation of the present subject matter. Although the method 400 may be implemented in a variety of electric vehicles, for the ease of explanation, the present description of the example method 400 of managing charging of electric vehicles is provided in reference to e-rickshaws. Also, although the method 400 may be implemented in a variety of computing devices, but for the ease of explanation, the present description of the example method 400 of managing charging of electric vehicles is provided in reference to the above-described management terminal 112 or 300.

[0059] The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method 400, or an alternative method. Furthermore, the method 400 may be implemented by processor(s) or computing device(s) through any suitable hardware, non-transitory machine readable instructions, or combination thereof.

[0060] It may be understood that blocks of the method 400 may be performed by programmed computing devices. The blocks of the method 400 may be executed based on instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, as will be readily understood. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include, for example, digital memories, magnetic storage media, such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable digital data storage media.

[0061] Referring to Figure 4, at block 402, a present location of the electric vehicle is determined. The geographic location of the electric vehicle may be determined based on known techniques of determining location, such as through use of Global Positioning System (GPS), triangulation through mobile towers, assisted GPS (A-GPS), and the like. [0062] In an example, the current location may be located by the management terminal. The management terminal may communicate with battery management system which may provide the location information to the management terminal using the GPS of the EV. The management terminal may communicate with a user device associated with the EV to determine the current location.

[0063] At block 404, information regarding remaining charge in the battery of the electric vehicle is obtained. The level of remaining charge in the battery determines the charging needs pertaining to the EV. In an example, the battery level determines the urgency for charging required by an EV. The control engine of the battery management system, monitors the battery level information of the electric vehicle and may transmit the information to the management terminal.

[0064] At block 406, a driver categorization is determined for a driver. The driver categorization may be indicative of driving behavior of the driver. In an example, a first driver categorization may indicate a driving behavior that is better than a second driver categorization. In another example, a driver categorization may rank drivers with a ranking of 1 through 10 based on a comparative analysis of the driving behavior of the drivers. In an example, the driving behavior may be based on usage of a battery of the EV by the driver. The driver categorization may also be based on data is obtained from the sensors installed on the EV, wherein the data is indicative of driving actions of the driver of the EV. In an example, sensors like accelerators, engine speed sensor, voltage sensor, measure the current driving conditions of the EV. Deviation of the current driving conditions of the EV from predefined ideal driving conditions may be indicative of poor driving skills and in turn poor driving behavior. In an example, potentiometers at the accelerators determine an amount of power that is consumed from the battery for application of brakes, for instance the application of brakes can be in response to sudden appearance of objects before the EV or precarious driving of the driver. Accordingly, driving actions like sudden application of brakes can be indication of driving actions of the driver. Also, speed of the EV at low-speed and high-speed zones may be monitored. In another example, erratic driving actions, such as lane changing without activating a turn indicator may monitored by the sensors.

[0065] In yet another example, the driver categorization may also be based on driver’s history information. The driver’s history information may include, among other things, information regarding any traffic accidents that the driver may have been involved in. Also, maintenance history of the EV may be take into consideration. The maintenance history of the EV includes, among other data, the history of maintenance provided to battery of the EV. In an example, the lithium ion batteries may be employed in the EV, and may require routine maintenance, such as servicing and repair. The servicing may be, for example, routine check-up of charge status of the lithium ion batteries, such that the batteries approaching the end of their estimated life are replaced. In an example, it is taken into consideration that if the battery run time drops below 80% of the original time, and the battery charge time increases significantly, the batteries must be replaced.

[0066] In an implementation of the present method, the maintenance history of the EV may be obtained from a customer database that may be an internal or external data store comprising maintenance records pertaining to EVs that are serviced, for example, by a certain service provider. In an example, along with the maintenance history of the EV, the management terminal may also obtain driver’s history comprising information regarding any traffic accident relating to the driver.

[0067] In one example, information regarding customer feedback regarding the driver of the EV also obtained for determining driver categorization for the driver. The customer feedback may be obtained by the management terminal through an application employed for providing ride services. In an example, the customer feedback can be obtained by the customer providing rating to the driver of the EV. Further, the feedback can also include remarks for the driver based on driver’s driving skills. In an example, the customer feedback acts as a direct channel for driver categorization as it is a real time analysis/experience submitted as feedback by the customer to the management terminal.

[0068] As will be understood based on foregoing description, the determination of the driver categorization is done by monitoring EVs over a predefined period. A driver categorization thus determined previously may be retrieved at block 406 by the management terminal.

[0069] At block 408, one or more charging station(s) within the predefined area from the current location of the EV are identified. The determination of the charging stations maybe based on the type of the EV and charging capabilities of the charging station(s) which may support the charging of the EV. As apparent, the type of the EV may be based on the charging capability of the EV.

[0070] At block 410, current availability of renewable energy at each of the charging stations to charge one or more EVs is determined. In an example, this information is obtained by the management terminal by monitoring the charging stations. The information regarding current availability of renewable energy, in an example, may be communicated to the management terminal by the respective charging stations. The information regarding current availability of renewable energy, enables identification of charging stations capable of handling more load.

[0071] At block 412, based on the information determined at blocks 402 through 410, a time slot is allocated to the electric vehicle for charging at a charging station using renewable energy. The time slot is based on utilization factor of renewable energy available at each of the charging stations as well as cost incurred on an EV to reach the charging station. Thus, non-availability of renewable energy at a charging station in proximity of the EV is weighted against cost that may be incurred in travelling to a charging station that may have renewable energy available.

[0072] In an example, the information determined at blocks 402 through 410 may be used independently or in any combination to compute time slots that results in most effective utilization of the renewable energy available at the charging stations. It is possible that each of the parameters may be assigned a weightage. To illustrate with an example, information regarding remaining charge in the battery of the electric vehicle obtained, at block 404, may indicate that the battery is 40% charged. While the battery may generally need to charge only when the remaining charge in the battery drops to 20% or less, in some example implementations it is possible to assign a low or zero weightage to the current charge on the battery. Accordingly, the battery may be charged even if the battery is 40% charged, in the interest of most effective.

[0073] At block 414, the time slot allocated to the electric vehicle for charging at a charging station, as determined at block 412, is communicated to a driver of the EV. Accordingly, a notification of the time slot and a location of the charging station is provided to a user device of the driver of the EV.

[0074] In an example, to ensure that the time slot allocated to the electric vehicle for charging at a charging station is adhered to, the management terminal may also convey the time slot and location of the charging station to the battery management system of the EV. The battery management system of the EV may thus enable charging of the battery only at said time slot and when engaged to a charging port at said charging station.

[0075] Further, at block 416, along with or instead of the time slot allocated to the electric vehicle for charging at a charging station, a notification regarding amount of renewable energy available at the charging station is provided to the driver of the EV.

[0076] The method 400, thus provides a method for charging of e-rickshaws such that not only the renewable energy available at the charging stations is used efficiently but also load of the e-rickshaws to be charged is distributed across the charging stations that have renewable energy available and across time during which renewable energy is available. [0077] Although the subject matter has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain examples and implementations thereof, other

implementations are possible. As such, the present disclosure should not be considered limited to the description of the preferred examples and implementations contained therein.

Claims

I/We Claim:

1. A method comprising:

determining a current location of an electric vehicle;

identifying at least one charging station within a predefined area from the current location of the electric vehicle;

determining availability of renewable energy at the at least one charging station to charge the electric vehicle; and

providing a notification regarding availability of renewable energy at the at least one charging station to a user device of a driver of the electric vehicle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein identifying the at least one charging station further comprises determining that the at least one charging station has charging capabilities to support the charging of the electric vehicle.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

allocating a time slot to the electric vehicle for charging at the at least one charging station; and

providing a notification of the time slot and a location of the at least one charging station to the user device of the driver.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising: obtaining information regarding usage of a battery of the electric vehicle; and determining a driver categorization for the driver of the electric vehicle based at least in part on the information regarding usage of the battery, wherein driver categorization is indicative of driving behavior of the driver, and wherein allocating the time slot to the electric vehicle for charging is based on the driver categorization.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein allocating the time slot for charging the electric vehicle is further based on at least one of an amount of current charge in the battery of the electric vehicle, congestion at the at least one charging station, and traffic congestion in route to the at least one charging station from the current location of the electric vehicle.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein determining the driver categorization for the driver further comprises one or more of:

obtaining information regarding usage of a battery of the electric vehicle; obtaining, from one or more sensors installed on the electric vehicle, data indicative of driving actions of the driver of the electric vehicle; obtaining maintenance history of the electric vehicle; obtaining driver’ s history comprising information regarding any traffic accident relating to the driver; and obtaining information regarding customer feedback regarding the driver of the electric vehicle.

7. A management terminal comprising: a processor; an EV control module, coupled to the processor, to: receive information regarding availability of renewable energy at at least one charging station; and generate control information for a plurality of electric vehicles, the control information to make drivers of a plurality of electric vehicles aware of current availability of renewable energy at the at least one charging station for charging of the plurality of electric vehicles; and an EV communication module, coupled to the processor, to:

communicate the control information to respective drivers of each of the plurality of electric vehicles.

8. The management terminal as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control information further comprises time slots for charging of each of the plurality of electric vehicles at the at least one charging station using the renewable energy.

9. The management terminal as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control information further comprises a ratio of renewable energy to conventional energy allocated to each of the plurality of electric vehicles.

10. The management terminal as claimed in claim 9, wherein the ratio of renewable energy to conventional energy is allocated to each of the plurality of electric vehicles based on a driver categorization of the respective drivers of each of the plurality of electric vehicles, the driver categorization being representative of driving behavior of the respective drivers.

11. The management terminal as claimed in claim 10, wherein the driver categorization of the drivers of each of the plurality of electric vehicles is determined based on usage of a battery of each of the plurality of electric vehicles by the respective drivers.

12. An electric vehicle comprising:

at least one battery; a charging connector to facilitate charging of the at least one battery; and a battery management system to control charging of the electric vehicle by controlling the charging connector to charge the at least one battery based on control information, the control information is to allow charging of the at least one battery using renewable energy available at a charging station.

13. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control information further comprises a time slot for charging the electric vehicle at the charging station using the renewable energy.

14. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the time slots allotted to the electric vehicle is based on a driver categorization of a driver of the electric vehicle, wherein the driver categorization corresponds to driving behavior of the driver of the electric vehicle.

15. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the charging connector controls the charging schedule for the electric vehicle by enabling the charging to be done only at the time slot allotted to the electric vehicle.