Method for a two-stage authorization of a charging process on a charging post

Abstract

The method for a two-stage authorization of a charging operation includes a first stage and a second stage. In the first stage, a control device allocated to the charging station receives a terminal-side proof of authorization transmitted from a mobile terminal device. The first personal authorization of the charging station user is verified on the basis of the terminal-side proof of authorization, without any action of the charging station user being required. With the given first authorization, the charging cable is released. In the second stage, the vehicle-side proof of authorization is received and verified after the vehicle has been connected to the charging cable, whereupon in response to verification of the vehicle-side proof of authorization, a second authorization is carried out, due to which the charging operation is approved.

Claims

1. A method for a two-stage authorization of a charging operation at a charging station, comprising: receiving, by a control device allocated to the charging station, a terminal-side proof of authorization transmitted by a mobile terminal via a near-field communication link, the charging station charging a vehicle via a charging cable; verifying the terminal-side proof of authorization by the control device and, in response to verification of the terminal-side proof of authorization, establishing a first authorization, releasing the charging cable due to the first authorization; receiving a vehicle-side proof of authorization by the control device; verifying the vehicle-side proof of authorization by the control device and, in response to verification of the vehicle-side proof of authorization, establishing a second authorization; and approving the charging operation due to the second authorization.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal device is carried by a charging station user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal device is a Smart Watch or a Smart Phone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging cable is released by releasing a vehicle-side plug at one end of the charging cable.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the charging cable is released by unlocking of the plug.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the charging cable is released by opening a cover covering the plug.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-field communication link operates a local radio network according to a communication standard of the standard family IEEE 802.11.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-field communication link operates a local radio network according to a communication standard IEEE 802.15.1.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-field communication link operates a local radio network according to Bluetooth specification 4.2.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification of at least one proof of authorization is performed, in part, in cooperation with at least one authorization server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a cryptographically protected data link is established via the near-field communication link.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal-side proof of authorization and/or the vehicle-side proof of authorization comprise a digital certificate.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a digital certificate comprises the terminal-side proof of authorization and/or the vehicle-side proof of authorization.

14. An apparatus for two-stage authorization of a charging operation at a charging station, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor configured: to receive, from a control device allocated to the charging station, a terminal-side proof of authorization transmitted by a mobile terminal via a near-field communication link, the charging station configured for charging a vehicle via a charging cable; to verify the terminal-side proof of authorization and, in response to verification of the terminal-side proof of authorization, establish a first authorization, to release the charging cable in response to the first authorization; to receive a vehicle-side proof of authorization from the control device; to verify the vehicle-side proof of authorization by the control device and, in response to a positive result of verification of the vehicle-side proof of authorization, establish a second authorization; and to approve the charging operation in response to the second authorization.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the mobile terminal device is carried by a charging station user.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the mobile terminal device is a Smart Watch or a Smart Phone.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to release the charging cable by releasing a vehicle-side plug at one end of the charging cable.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to release the charging cable by unlocking the plug.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to release the charging cable by opening a cover covering the plug.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the near-field communication link operates a local radio network according to a communication standard of the standard family IEEE 802.11.

Description

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating a charging infrastructure in cooperation with functional units according to the invention; and

(3) FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

(4) FIG. 1 shows a vehicle EV charging at a charging station CS. Energy is transmitted between charging station CS and vehicle EV via a charging cable CC. For the sake of clarity, further customary functional components within charging station CS which relate to the provision and processing of the electrical charging current are not shown. A control device CTR is allocated to or integrated within charging station CS.

(5) Data transmission between vehicle EV and charging station CS is carried out, for example, by means of Powerline Communication, also known as PLC, via charging cable CC, or alternatively via a separatenot showndata line that extends parallel to charging cable CC.

(6) At anot shownstage before charging cable CC of charging station CS has been connected to vehicle EV, i.e. anot shownplug of charging cable CC is still locked at charging station CS, a wireless near-field communication link NFC is established at control device CTR for connection to a corresponding near-field communication interface of a mobile terminal device MD.

(7) The wireless and bidirectional near-field communication link NFC between control device CTR and mobile terminal device MD is designed using common near-field communication protocols, for example. These include, for example: WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), for example according to a communication standard of the standard family IEEE 802.11; Bluetooth according to a communication standard IEEE 802.15.1, Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE according to an extension of the Bluetooth specifications, for example according to Bluetooth Low Energy Specification 4.2; and/or; transmission methods for the contactless exchange of data by electromagnetic induction using loosely coupled coils, which is also referred to as Near Field Communication.

(8) While a charging station user is reaching for charging cable CC, or even when the charging station user is approaching charging station CS, mobile terminal device MD transmits anot shownterminal-side proof of authorization via the previously established near-field communication link NFC.

(9) After receipt of the terminal-side proof of authorization by control device CTR, the terminal-side proof of authorization is verified by control device CTR. During such verification it is checked, for example, whether a preferably personal authorization of the transferred terminal-side proof of authorization can be granted on the basis of control device internal entries, or whether an authorization of the charging station user cannot be granted or has been withdrawn in the meantime due to his transferred terminal-side proofs of authorization. In case of a positive result of the verification, a first authorization is established according to which charging cable CC is released.

(10) The charging station user can now, without separately noticing the release, remove the charging cable CC from a meanwhile unlocked holder of charging station CS and connect it to vehicle EV.

(11) After charging cable CC is connected to vehicle EV as shown in FIG. 1, control device CTR receives the vehicle-side proof of authorizationnot shown in FIG. 1. This receipt of the vehicle-side proof of authorization takes place after vehicle EV has been connected to charging cable CC, which connects the charging station to the vehicle both conductively and communicatively.

(12) Subsequently, a verification of the received vehicle-side proof of authorization is carried out by control device CTR. In case of a positive result of the verification, a second authorization is established and the charging operation is approved on the basis of the second authorization. The approval of the charging operation for a given second authorization causes an allocation of the charging station to the vehicle, whereupon charging of the vehicle is started or can be started.

(13) As shown, the near-field communication link NFC can also be maintained after the charging cable has been plugged in, to control, for example, the charging station during the charging operation via the mobile terminal device MD, to initiate, for example, a control of the charging operation by means of a corresponding entry on the mobile terminal device MD.

(14) Such control may, according to an alternative embodiment, include, for example, the case that a second authorization fails due to a verification of the vehicle-side proof of authorization is failing or is undesired by the charging station user. The latter case of a second authorization being undesired by the charging station user due to a verification of the vehicle-side proof of authorization may occur, for example, if the charging station user wishes billing of the electric energy to be withdrawn on his own account rather than on the basis of the vehicle-side proof of authorization. In this case, the control of the charging operation may comprise that the charging station user causes the approval of charging at his mobile terminal to be authorized not on the basis of the vehicle-side proof of authorization, but on the basis of the terminal-side proof of authorization or another proof of authorization with a personal account of the charging station user.

(15) With the two-stage authorization method according to the invention, the preliminary personal first authorization is replaced by the second authorization. This is particularly advantageous when the vehicle driver is different from an invoice recipient of the charging energy to be invoiced.

(16) The first authorization insofar conduces to a vandalism protection. It is possible for the charging station operator to block certain charging station users on the basis of their terminal-side proofs of authorization, for example due to a previous misuse of charging station CS.

(17) Control device CTR optionally comprises means for maintaining data communication with anot shownauthorization server. The authorization server supports user administration, identification and authorization by charging station CS for the charging operation in a well-known way. In addition, this or another server can undertake other tasks such as determining and billing the electric energy withdrawn from charging station CS.

(18) FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method according to the invention. In accordance with this embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is envisaged that the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 is transferred to control device CTR allocated to charging station CS. Such method is executed in accordance with the invention when the charging station user, together with his mobile terminal device MD, enters the effective range of the near-field communication link NFC established or prepared by control device CTR.

(19) In a direct vicinity of a plurality of charging stations CS, a control link is established to several unoccupied charging stations CS, i.e. charging stations ready for operation and reception, and several potential control links to mobile terminal device MD are provided, when the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 is delivered. Only by connecting the charging cable CC, an allocation between charging station CS and vehicle EV is established. All other charging stations CS not allocated within a definable period of time terminate the control link as a result of a timeout, alternatively or additionally also by an active instruction from the mobile terminal device MD.

(20) To this purpose, a near-field communication interface NFC is formed on the side of control device CTR, via which a transmission of at least a portion of the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 is caused. This terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 is received and temporarily verified by control device CTR.

(21) Depending on whether the charging station CS operates largely stand-alone, or whether a connection and administration of several charging stations by one or more central instances is envisaged, an identification and verification of authorization using the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 by an authorization server SRV1 or with its participation, which is connected to control device CTR via a data network or via adashed drawncontrol line, can be envisaged.

(22) In case of a positive result of the verification, charging cable CC is released and the charging station user can now connect charging cable CC of charging station CS to a charging socket of vehicle EV.

(23) With a connection of charging cable CC between charging station CS and vehicle EV, the vehicle-side proof of authorization JCRED1 held in vehicle EV is transmitted to control device CTR via a data link between vehicle EV and control device CTRshown in the drawing parallel to the thicker drawn charging cable CCand is received by the control device CTR.

(24) Control device CTR processes the received vehicle-side proof of authorization JCRED1 such that an allocation can be established between charging station CSto which control device CTR is allocatedand vehicle EV. For this purpose, at least a portion of the vehicle-side proof of authorization JCRED1 is evaluated, which comprises, for example, a machine-readable characterization of vehicle EV and/or of the vehicle owner.

(25) Also for the second authorization, an at least partial identification and verification of authorization by authorization server SRV1 by means of the proof of authorization JCRED1 transferred by vehicle EV can be envisaged.

(26) In accordance with an advantageous further development of the invention, it is envisaged to provide a Media Access Control address or MAC address of the vehicle as part of the vehicle-side proof of authorization JCRED1 and/or of the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2. This measure is particularly advantageous since the MAC address of the vehicle is currently already used for a communication between vehicle EV and charging station CS.

(27) To protect against manipulation by malicious charging station users or also against malicious charging station operators, a cryptographic protection of the data communication and certificate-based verification of the proofs of authorization JCRED1; JCRED2 can be carried out in various further developments of the invention.

(28) According to an advantageous further development of the invention, it is envisaged to cryptographically protect the near-field communication link NFC between control device CTR and mobile terminal device MD. The protection is preferably carried out with the involvement of a digital certificate for the cryptographically protected confirmation of properties, in particular of a public key certificate for the confirmation of public keys.

(29) In one embodiment, the involvement of a provisionally verified digital certificate is envisaged. In accordance with this embodiment, a transmission of a provisionally verified digital certificate of mobile terminal device MD or of a verification information extracted therefrom by mobile terminal device MD via NFC near-field communication link to control device CTR is envisaged, by which control device CTR, optionally in cooperation with authorization server SRV1, performs an authorization verification of mobile terminal device MD. Subsequently, a result of this verification is transferred from authorization server SRV1 to control device CTR, which, depending on the received authorization verification result, approves a control of charging station CS by mobile terminal device MD, or not.

(30) Depending on the implementation, the provisionally verified digital certificate is either part of the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2, or the terminal-side proof of authorization JCRED2 is part of the provisionally verified digital certificate. This also applies to the vehicle-side proof of authorization JCRED1.

(31) In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the near-field communication link NFC is cryptographically protected by means of a protocol for encrypting data transmissions, for example by means of Transport Layer Security or TLS, Secure Sockets Layer or SSL, or Internet Protocol Security or IPsec.

(32) With an advantageous further development of the invention, the communication links between control device CTR and authorization server SRV1, as well as between control device CTR and vehicle EV are also each or in total cryptographically protected.

(33) In one embodiment, the result of the verification comprises charging rules for controlling the charging operation by charging station CS. As an alternative to the charging rules themselves, control data or control signals for activating such charging rules by an on-board control device of vehicle EVwhich is not shownmay also be transmitted from control device CTR or from authorization server SRV1 via control device CTR to the on-board control device. These charging rules may also reside in a data memory of the on-board control device of vehicle EV, to which control device CTR of charging station CS has access.

(34) In summary, the method for a two-stage authorization of a charging operation according to the invention ensures a largely user-action-free method, by which in a first stage, a personal authorization of a charging station user for the release of a charging cable is effected, and in a second stage, an authorization for the approval of a charging operation is effected on the basis of a vehicle-side proof of authorization received via the connected charging cable. In the first stage, a control device allocated to the charging station receives a terminal-side proof of authorization transmitted from a mobile terminal device, which is designed as a Smart Watch, for example. The first personal authorization of the charging station user is verified on the basis of the terminal-side proof of authorization, without any action of the charging station user being required. With the given first authorization, the charging cable is released. In a second stage, the vehicle-side proof of authorization is received and verified after the vehicle has been connected to the charging cable, whereupon in case of a positive result of the verification, a second authorization is carried out, due to which the charging operation is approved.