# US 10,766,376 B2 · Power feeding management apparatus, transaction management system, charging equipment and program

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- Number: US 10,766,376 B2
- Document ID: US10766376B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/167,536
- Filed: 2018-10-23
- Published: 2019-02-21
- Granted: 2020-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2016-09-20
- Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Honda Motor Co.,Ltd.
- Inventors: Satoshi Haneda
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10766376B2

## CPC

- B60L 53/65: involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
- B60L 53/665: {Methods related to measuring, billing or payment}
- B60L 55/00: Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
- B60L 2210/30: AC to DC converters
- B60L 2210/40: DC to AC converters
- G06Q 20/18: involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
- G06Q 20/322: {Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]}
- G06Q 50/06: Energy or water supply
- Y02E 60/00: Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
- Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations
- Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/167: Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
- Y04S 10/126: the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
- Y04S 30/14: Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

The apparatus includes: a power feeding side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding side identification information for identifying the power feeding side from a device or a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side; a power receiving side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power receiving side identification information for identifying the power receiving side from a device or a user's communication terminal in the power receiving side; a power feeding information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding information about a power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in the power receiving side; and a transmission unit that associates with one another: the power feeding side identification information; the power receiving side identification information; and the power feeding information, and transmits them to a transaction management apparatus.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A power feeding management apparatus that manages a power feeding from a power feeding side to a power receiving side, comprising:
a power feeding side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding side identification information for identifying the power feeding side from a device in the power feeding side or a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side;
a power receiving side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power receiving side identification information for identifying the power receiving side from a device in the power receiving side or a user's communication terminal in the power receiving side;
a power feeding information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding information about a power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in the power receiving side;
a transmission unit that associates with one another: the power feeding side identification information acquired by the power feeding side identification information acquiring unit; the power receiving side identification information acquired by the power receiving side identification information acquiring unit; and the power feeding information acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit, and transmits them to a transaction management apparatus that manages the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information and the power feeding information;
at least one of (i) a power feeding side connector, which includes an AC input unit and a DC input unit, electrically coupled to the device in the power feeding side, and (ii) a power receiving side connector, which includes an AC output unit and a DC output unit, electrically coupled to the device in the power receiving side;
a switching unit that switches a connection relation between: the AC input unit and the DC input unit; and the AC output unit and the DC output unit, and electrically couples one of the AC input unit and the DC input unit with one of the AC output unit and the DC output unit;
a voltage conversion circuit, which includes a DC-DC converter, an AC-DC converter, and a DC-AC inverter, that converts a power input from the power feeding side and outputs to the power receiving side;
a communication monitoring unit that monitors communication situations of a near field communication or a wired communication between: (a) the power feeding management apparatus; and (b) (i) the device in the power feeding side or the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and (ii) the device in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side; and
a restriction unit that electrically restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receiving side, if the communication monitoring unit detects that a connection between (a) the power feeding management apparatus and (b) at least one of (i) the device in the power feeding side or the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and (ii) the device in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side is disconnected.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information and the power feeding information to the transaction management apparatus, via at least one of the device in the power feeding side, the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, the device in the power receiving side, and the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an encryption unit that encrypts at least one of the power feeding side identification information acquired by the power feeding side identification information acquiring unit, the power receiving side identification information acquired by the power receiving side identification information acquiring unit, and the power feeding information acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit,
wherein the transmission unit transmits the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information or the power feeding information encrypted by the encryption unit, to the transaction management apparatus.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an encryption unit that encrypts at least one of the power feeding side identification information acquired by the power feeding side identification information acquiring unit, the power receiving side identification information acquired by the power receiving side identification information acquiring unit, and the power feeding information acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit,
wherein the transmission unit transmits the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information or the power feeding information encrypted by the encryption unit, to the transaction management apparatus, via at least one of the device in the power feeding side, the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, the device in the power receiving side, and the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a measuring unit that measures a physical amount related to the power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or the power amount fed to the device in the power receiving side; and
a power feeding information generating unit that generates the power feeding information based on the physical amount measured by the measuring unit, wherein
the power feeding information acquiring unit acquires the power feeding information generated by the power feeding information generating unit.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an authentication information storage unit that stores authentication information including at least one of characteristic information indicating a characteristic of the measuring unit and a passphrase used for authentication of the measuring unit or the power feeding management apparatus,
wherein the transmission unit associates with one another: the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information and the power feeding information; at least one of measuring unit identification information for identifying the measuring unit and power feeding management apparatus identification information for identifying the power feeding management apparatus; and the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage unit, and transmits them to the transaction management apparatus.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the power feeding side connector is configured to be electrically coupled to a connector of a first charging cable electrically connected to the device in the power feeding side, and
the power receiving side connector is configured to be electrically coupled to a connector of a second charging cable electrically connected to the device in the power receiving side.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the device in the power feeding side is a first movable object, and
the device in the power receiving side is a second movable object different from the first movable object.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
the power feeding management apparatus is mounted on the first movable object or the second movable object.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the transaction management apparatus intermediates in a power transaction between the power feeding side and the power receiving side and generates agreement information including at least one of the power feeding side identification information and the power receiving side identification information, and
the power feeding management apparatus further comprises:
an agreement information acquiring unit that acquires the agreement information generated by the transaction management apparatus; and
a transaction subject authentication unit that authenticates at least one of the power feeding side and the power receiving side, based on at least one of the power feeding side identification information and the power receiving side identification information included in the agreement information, and based on at least one of the power feeding side identification information acquired by the power feeding side identification information acquiring unit and the power receiving side identification information acquired by the power receiving side identification information acquiring unit.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication monitoring unit monitors communication situations between: the power feeding management apparatus; and the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the restriction unit restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receiving side, if the communication monitoring unit detects an error in a communication between the power feeding management apparatus and at least one of the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication monitoring unit includes an adjustment unit that adjusts a time interval for monitoring the communication situation.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

A transaction management system comprising:
the power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1; and
the transaction management apparatus.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

A charging equipment comprising:
the power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1;
a power feeding side cable electrically coupled to the device in the power feeding side; and
a power receiving side cable electrically coupled to the device in the power receiving side.

### Claim 16

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing thereon a program for causing a computer to perform operations comprising:
acquiring, by a power feeding side identification information acquiring unit, power feeding side identification information for identifying the power feeding side from a device in the power feeding side or a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side;
acquiring, by a power receiving side identification information acquiring unit, power receiving side identification information for identifying the power receiving side from a device in the power receiving side or a user's communication terminal in the power receiving side;
acquiring, by a power feeding information acquiring unit, power feeding information about a power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in the power receiving side;
associating with one another and transmitting, by a transmission unit, to a transaction management apparatus that manages the power feeding side identification information, the power receiving side identification information and the power feeding information: the power feeding side identification information acquired by the power feeding side identification information acquiring unit; the power receiving side identification information acquired by the power receiving side identification information acquiring unit; and the power feeding information acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit;
transferring power using at least one of (i) a power feeding side connector, which includes an AC input unit and a DC input unit, electrically coupled to the device in the power feeding side, and (ii) a power receiving side connector, which includes an AC output unit and a DC output unit, electrically coupled to the device in the power receiving side;
switching a connection, using a switching unit that switches a connection relation between: the AC input unit and the DC input unit; and the AC output unit and the DC output unit, and electrically couples one of the AC input unit and the DC input unit with one of the AC output unit and the DC output unit;
converting a voltage, using a voltage conversion circuit, which includes a DC-DC converter, an AC-DC converter, and a DC-AC inverter, that converts a power input from the power feeding side and outputs to the power receiving side;
monitoring, by a communication monitoring unit, communication situations of a near field communication or a wired communication between: (a) the power feeding management apparatus; and (b) (i) the device in the power feeding side or the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and (ii) the device in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side; and
electrically restricting, by a restriction unit, the power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receiving side, if the communication monitoring unit detects that a connection between (a) the power feeding management apparatus and (b) at least one of (i) the device in the power feeding side or the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side and (ii) the device in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminal in the power receiving side is disconnected.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the power feeding information acquiring unit further acquires a model or a serial number of a charging cable for identifying an instrument used for power feeding.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the power feeding information acquiring unit further acquires information about an external environment including temperature or humidity during the power feeding.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the restriction unit restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receiving side by controlling the switching unit.

### Claim 20 (depends on 1)

The power feeding management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the restriction unit restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receiving side by decreasing a power feeding speed by adjusting a setting value of the voltage conversion circuit.