FORD PATENT FILED FOR EV CHARGING COORDINATION SYSTEM

[roamtheworld]

https://fordauthority.com/2023/01/ford-patent-filed-for-ev-charging-coordination-system/
Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an EV charging coordination system, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on June 23rd, 2021, published on December 29th, 2022, and assigned serial number 0414567.

As this Ford patent points out, the problem in some areas is that EV charging stations can get quite full – and unlike a gas station, it typically takes some time for an EV to fully charge. Additionally, the number of chargers present at each station can vary greatly. As such, the patent suggests that some sort of vehicle scheduling system might be beneficial to ensure that owners can easily access a charger when they arrive at a particular location.

Currently, Tesla shows owners how many available chargers a station has in real-time, while Mercedes-Benz plans on allowing owners to make reservations at its own branded charging stations ahead of time. In the case of this patent, users would be able to search nearby chargers, reserve them for a specific time, or even receive some sort of incentive for choosing one charger over another, with those locations ranked by the system in terms of preference.
This patent builds upon some existing ideas in that regard, and seems like a good idea for those that plan on taking frequent road trips in EVs, or for those that don’t have the capability to charge at home. With more and more electric vehicles hitting the road in the coming years and a charging infrastructure that isn’t quite robust enough to keep up, such an idea could help save owners a considerable amount of time and frustration.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Nice development.

EVGo currently shows how many charges are available and in/ out of service by charging rate. It also allows users to make reservations for $3. I find all these features very helpful.

 

[phil]

They're "patenting" searching, reserving and pricing?

Maybe next they can apply for a patent on sliced bread.

 

[silverelan]

https://fordauthority.com/2023/01/ford-patent-filed-for-ev-charging-coordination-system/
Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an EV charging coordination system, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on June 23rd, 2021, published on December 29th, 2022, and assigned serial number 0414567.

As this Ford patent points out, the problem in some areas is that EV charging stations can get quite full – and unlike a gas station, it typically takes some time for an EV to fully charge. Additionally, the number of chargers present at each station can vary greatly. As such, the patent suggests that some sort of vehicle scheduling system might be beneficial to ensure that owners can easily access a charger when they arrive at a particular location.

Currently, Tesla shows owners how many available chargers a station has in real-time, while Mercedes-Benz plans on allowing owners to make reservations at its own branded charging stations ahead of time. In the case of this patent, users would be able to search nearby chargers, reserve them for a specific time, or even receive some sort of incentive for choosing one charger over another, with those locations ranked by the system in terms of preference.
This patent builds upon some existing ideas in that regard, and seems like a good idea for those that plan on taking frequent road trips in EVs, or for those that don’t have the capability to charge at home. With more and more electric vehicles hitting the road in the coming years and a charging infrastructure that isn’t quite robust enough to keep up, such an idea could help save owners a considerable amount of time and frustration.

What would help with throughput is if the MME charged from 10% to 80% faster than 41 minutes. The current expectation is no more than half an hour on 400v architecture. As conservative as Ford is with the ER packs, there's definitely room to shave some time off the charging session.

The second thing to help with congestion is to implement surcharges on the energy to cars charging past 80% on dispensers capable of 150kW+. It's super lame to see a Bolt EV clogging up a 350kW stall pulling just 18kW at 82% and he's been there for over an hour.

 

[roamtheworld]

They're "patenting" searching, reserving and pricing?

Maybe next they can apply for a patent on sliced bread.

Agree
I think the value is third-party suppliers (EV providers) otherwise nothing special

 

[macchiaz-o]

Maybe next they can apply for a patent on sliced bread.

It'd need to be new, obvious, and different from existing patents such as these ones:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US4662257A/en

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7987757B2/en

 

[roamtheworld]

What would help with throughput is if the MME charged from 10% to 80% faster than 41 minutes. The current expectation is no more than half an hour on 400v architecture. As conservative as Ford is with the ER packs, there's definitely room to shave some time off the charging session.

The second thing to help with congestion is to implement surcharges on the energy to cars charging past 80% on dispensers capable of 150kW+. It's super lame to see a Bolt EV clogging up a 350kW stall pulling just 18kW at 82% and he's been there for over an hour.

Our recent experience charging with EA over the new year holiday weekend was very positive with less than 5% to 80% in about 30 to 35 minutes and we spent that time eating. It was the newer EA charger model and we were surprised at the speed.
EA app didn't work so we used plug n play and paid a slightly higher rate but worked as normal.
Got to see several Rivian R1Ts and a R1S while charging as well.

 

[Mach1E]

What happens when you pull in and charge at an empty charger and 30 min later someone shows up with a “reservation?”

 

[roamtheworld]

What happens when you pull in and charge at an empty charger and 30 min later someone shows up with a “reservation?”

The software will have to have current usage information and reroute you to another open charger. They could give a warning to the current user. Not sure how that will work with other brands. This is why the main benefit of a Tesla is the charging management. It will take years if ever to get to something usable for the mix-and-match groups of charging networks.
A standard communication platform that will allow the software to make calls and help manage charging sessions in the future.
It's a totally different problem that ICE customers face since we have a clear time-used problem.
I do think as more charging options come online the need for full charge ups on long trips goes down dramatically

 

[sotek2345]

The second thing to help with congestion is to implement surcharges on the energy to cars charging past 80% on dispensers capable of 150kW+. It's super lame to see a Bolt EV clogging up a 350kW stall pulling just 18kW at 82% and he's been there for over an hour.

I can't agree with this until the infrastructure gets much better. There are times you need to go past 80% to reliably make it to the next charger and it seems wrong to penalize that.

Even if not absolutely required, going past 80% can make a significant difference on a trip. I have a route I drive every few months and on the return trip, if I charge to 85% at one stop, I can get all of the way home (with 1% to 2% to spare), but if I only charge to 80%, I need to make another stop, and go off the direct route, to make it. That adds about 30 minutes all told. So charging for an extra 10 minutes saves me 30. I will say, I have never made anyone wait around for me for those 10 minutes though - I am usually the only one there.

 

[The Black Horse]

If they really wanted to "get ahead of the game"

They'd just turn every Ford dealership into a Ford Network EV station. Boom, now you instantly have an amazing network of fast chargers and a giant incentive to buy a Ford EV.

I'm sure people much smarter than me have thought of this. I guess the main problem is Ford dealerships are too busy trying to bend customers over a barrel than find time to be helpful.

( bend customers over a barrel i.e. jacking up prices on Mach-E's and Broncos for one year of fat money but lifelong enemies )

 

[meyousikmann]

I will freely admit I haven't thought this through so may be the dumbest idea ever, but why not change the model from the charge being the destination to the destination providing the charge. It seems that everyone on long distance trips drives to a charge destination and then looks for something to do while charging. That may be walking to a local eatery or retail establishment. I realize some places like hotels, Walmart, and Hy-Vee do this to some level, but the spaces for charging are limited and generally somewhere at the back of the lot. Why not incentivize this on a massive scale. The parking lots already exist at all these destinations so no need to build a separate facility. Planning trips becomes almost a non-issue because you just stop for a bite to eat or to shop and plug in while eating or shopping. Imagine if 50% of the spaces at the Burger King had chargers.

Don't flame me too hard for a dumb idea. As I said, I haven't thought this through but have just been wondering about the idea. Obviously, there are economics to consider here.

 

[21st Century Pony]

This evolving space is a fasciating social and business experiment.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I will freely admit I haven't thought this through so may be the dumbest idea ever, but why not change the model from the charge being the destination to the destination providing the charge. It seems that everyone on long distance trips drives to a charge destination and then looks for something to do while charging. That may be walking to a local eatery or retail establishment. I realize some places like hotels, Walmart, and Hy-Vee do this to some level, but the spaces for charging are limited and generally somewhere at the back of the lot. Why not incentivize this on a massive scale. The parking lots already exist at all these destinations so no need to build a separate facility. Planning trips becomes almost a non-issue because you just stop for a bite to eat or to shop and plug in while eating or shopping. Imagine if 50% of the spaces at the Burger King had chargers.

Don't flame me too hard for a dumb idea. As I said, I haven't thought this through but have just been wondering about the idea. Obviously, there are economics to consider here.

On my multiple multistate trips, I've become a fan of how small towns in Ohio do this. Some have installed / invited installations of 50 - 65 kWh charging stations within a block of their downtown focal points. Very restful and usable, and I now frequent their river parks and local indie eateries as a result while I charge on trips thru Ohio. Much much better than charging in a beltway Walmart parking lot.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Nice development.

EVGo currently shows how many charges are available and in/ out of service by charging rate. It also allows users to make reservations for $3. I find all these features very helpful.

How do they enforce a reservation on a "public" station? I could see if I needed to identify myself before a charge session it could tell me it was reserved for someone else and "refuse" to work, but what about anonymous charging sessions?

I can see a lot of ways this can go sideways...so curious how it works.