# US 2025/0085117 A1 · Ranking vehicle charging stations

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- Number: US 2025/0085117 A1
- Document ID: US20250085117A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/824,174
- Filed: 2024-09-04
- Published: 2025-03-13
- Earliest claimed: 2023-09-11
- Assignees: Volvo Truck Corporation
- Applicants: Volvo Truck Corporation
- Inventors: Virginie HARTH; Ulf DANIELSSON
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250085117A1

## CPC

- G01C 21/30: Map- or contour-matching
- B60L 53/60: Monitoring or controlling charging stations
- B60L 58/13: Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
- B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- G01C 21/3461: {Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types or segments such as motorways, toll roads or ferries}
- G01C 21/3469: {Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects}
- B60W 2050/146: {Display means}
- B60W 2556/50: of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
- G06Q 50/06: Energy or water supply
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- 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
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- 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

## Abstract

A computer system has a processor device configured to, for each vehicle charging station in a set of vehicle charging stations: receive topography data indicative of elevations within a predefined area around the vehicle charging station; determine, based on the topography data, a maximum possible altitude drop in relation to the vehicle charging station within the area; and determine, based on the maximum possible altitude drop, a vehicle station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station, wherein the vehicle station ranking metric is determined in such a way that a vehicle charging station with a relatively large first maximum possible altitude drop is ranked lower than a vehicle charging station with a relatively small second maximum possible altitude drop.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer system comprising a processor device configured to, for each vehicle charging station in a set of vehicle charging stations:
receive topography data indicative of elevations within a predefined area around the vehicle charging station;
determine, based on the topography data, a maximum possible altitude drop in relation to the vehicle charging station within the area; and
determine, based on the maximum possible altitude drop, a vehicle station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station, wherein the vehicle station ranking metric is determined in such a way that a vehicle charging station with a relatively large first maximum possible altitude drop is ranked lower than a vehicle charging station with a relatively small second maximum possible altitude drop.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, the processor device being configured to provide data adapted to control a display device to present each vehicle charging station in the set of vehicle charging stations using a presentation format being indicative of the vehicle charging station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, the vehicle station ranking metric being additionally based on a distance from the vehicle charging station to a position within the area defining the maximum altitude drop, wherein the vehicle station ranking metric is determined in such a way that, for a given maximum possible altitude drop, a vehicle charging station with a first relatively small distance to the position defining the maximum altitude drop is ranked lower than a vehicle charging station with a second relatively large distance to the position defining the maximum altitude drop.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, wherein the received topography data for each vehicle charging station includes road topography data for possible road-bound routes starting from the charging station.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The computer system of claim 4, wherein the maximum possible altitude drop for each vehicle charging station is determined as a maximum altitude drop among altitude drops along the possible road-bound routes starting from the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The computer system of claim 1, the processor device being configured to, for each vehicle charging station in the set of vehicle charging stations:
determine, based on the maximum possible altitude drop within the area, a measure indicative of a maximum allowable charging level for a vehicle charging at the vehicle charging station, wherein the measure indicative of the maximum allowable charging level is determined in such a way that the maximum allowable charging level at a first vehicle charging station with a first relatively large maximum possible altitude drop is lower than the maximum allowable charging level at a second vehicle charging station with a second relatively small maximum possible altitude drop.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The computer system of claim 6, the processor device being configured to:
receive data indicative of a weight of the vehicle; and
determine, for each vehicle charging station in the set of vehicle charging stations, the maximum allowable charging level additionally based on the weight of the vehicle.

### Claim 8 (depends on 2)

A route planning system, for assisting a driver of an electric vehicle in planning a route, comprising:
the computer system of claim 2; and
a display arrangement including a display device and a display controller, the display controller being configured to receive, from the computer system, data adapted to control the display device to present each vehicle charging station in the set of vehicle charging stations using a presentation format being indicative of the charge station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 9 (depends on 2)

A vehicle comprising a display arrangement including a display device and a display controller, the display controller being configured to receive, from the computer system according to claim 2, data adapted to control the display device to present each vehicle charging station in the first set of vehicle charging stations using a presentation format being indicative of the vehicle charging station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 10

A computer implemented method, comprising, for each vehicle charging station in a set of vehicle charging stations:
receiving, by processing circuitry of a computer system, topography data indicative of elevations within a predefined area around the vehicle charging station;
determining, based on the topography data, a maximum possible altitude drop in relation to the vehicle charging station within the area; and
determining, based on the maximum possible altitude drop, a vehicle station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station, wherein the vehicle station ranking metric is determined in such a way that a vehicle charging station with a first relatively large maximum possible altitude drop is ranked lower than a vehicle charging station with a second relatively small maximum possible altitude drop.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
providing data adapted to control a display device to present each vehicle charging station in the set of vehicle charging stations using a presentation format being indicative of the vehicle charging station ranking metric for the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
determining the vehicle station ranking metric additionally based on a distance from the vehicle charging station to a position within the area defining the maximum altitude drop, wherein the vehicle station ranking metric is determined in such a way that, for a given maximum possible altitude drop, a vehicle charging station with a first relatively small distance to the position defining the maximum altitude drop is ranked lower than a vehicle charging station with a second relatively large distance to the position defining the maximum altitude drop.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the received topography data for each vehicle charging station includes road topography data for possible road-bound routes starting from the vehicle charging station.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

A computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by processing circuitry of the method of claim 10.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by processing circuitry cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of claim 10.