System and method for locking a charging port to charge an electric vehicle

A system for locking a charging port to charge an electric vehicle, comprising:

• a memory storing instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
• determine that the electric vehicle is located within a predetermined distance of a charging station;
• determine if the charging station issues parking citations associated with parking of the electric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle;
• determine charging of the electric vehicle and send a command to an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the charging station to enable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the charging port in place to ensure continued attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle;
• when it is determined the charging station issues parking citations, complete user authentication with respect to an operator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism and allow detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle to ensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorized individual and that parking citations are not issued to the operator of the electric vehicle by the charging station;
• and
• when it is determined the charging station does not issue parking citations, disabling the locking mechanism and allowing detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle when someone is attempting to remove the charging port and/or a battery of the electric vehicle has reached a full state of charge.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer, which includes a processor perform a method, the method comprising:

• determining that an electric vehicle is located within a predetermined distance of a charging station;
• determining if the charging station issues parking citations associated with parking of the electric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of a charging port to the electric vehicle;
• determining charging of the electric vehicle and sending a command to an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the charging station to enable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the charging port in place to ensure continued attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle;
• when it is determined the charging station issues parking citations, completing user authentication with respect to an operator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism and allow detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle to ensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorized individual and that parking citations are not issued to the operator of the electric vehicle by the charging station;
• and
• when it is determined the charging station does not issue parking citations, disabling the locking mechanism and allowing detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle when someone is attempting to remove the charging port and/or a battery of the electric vehicle has reached a full state of charge.