# US 9,646,435 B2 · Method and apparatus for finding and accessing a vehicle fueling station, including an electric vehicle charging station

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- Number: US 9,646,435 B2
- Document ID: US9646435B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/429,439
- Filed: 2012-03-26
- Published: 2012-07-26
- Granted: 2017-05-09
- Earliest claimed: 2010-03-02
- Assignees: Liberty PlugIns, Inc.
- Applicants: Christopher Scott Outwater; William Gibbens Redmann
- Inventors: Christopher Scott Outwater; William Gibbens Redmann
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9646435B2

## CPC

- G07C 9/27: with central registration
- B60L 53/16: Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
- B60L 53/18: Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
- B60L 53/31: Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
- B60L 53/57: Charging stations without connection to power networks
- B60L 53/65: involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
- B60L 53/665: {Methods related to measuring, billing or payment}
- B60L 53/68: Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
- G06Q 10/02: Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
- G06Q 20/045: {using payment protocols involving tickets}
- G06Q 20/308: {using the Internet of Things}
- G06Q 20/32: using wireless devices
- G06Q 20/3223: {Realising banking transactions through M-devices}
- G06Q 20/3278: {RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices}
- G06Q 20/38215: {Use of certificates or encrypted proofs of transaction rights}
- G06Q 20/3829: {involving key management}
- G06Q 30/06: Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q 50/06: Energy or water supply
- G07C 9/20: involving the use of a pass
- G07C 9/215: {the system having a variable access-code, e.g. varied as a function of time}
- G07C 9/22: in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
- G07C 9/29: the pass containing active electronic elements, e.g. smartcards
- G07F 5/26: Interlocks, e.g. for locking the doors of compartments other than that to be used
- G07F 15/005: {dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles (electrical charging as such, B60L50/00)}
- H04L 9/3247: {involving digital signatures}
- H04L 9/3263: {involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements (network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823)}
- H04L 9/3268: {using certificate validation, registration, distribution or revocation, e.g. certificate revocation list [CRL]}
- H04L 63/0428: {wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload}
- H04L 63/0823: {using certificates (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263)}
- H04L 63/102: {Entity profiles}
- H04W 4/021: Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
- H04W 4/023: {using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds}
- H04W 12/069: using certificates or pre-shared keys
- H04W 12/08: Access security
- B60L 2240/622: by satellite navigation
- B60L 2240/72: Charging station selection relying on external data
- B60L 2240/80: Time limits
- B60L 2250/10: by alarm
- G06Q 2240/00: Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
- G07C 2209/08: With time considerations, e.g. temporary activation, valid time window or time limitations
- H04L 63/0442: {wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30)}
- H04L 2209/56: Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
- H04L 2209/80: Wireless
- H04L 2209/84: Vehicles
- H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
- 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 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility
- 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 30/14: Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- 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
- G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00})
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- 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

A control system and method are provided for a station to dispense fuel to a vehicle, including an electric vehicle, without requiring dedicated access to a communications network, with the advantage that authorization for fleet vehicles or individuals can be obtained from an access management system, using a portable, wireless device, such as a smart phone or a dashboard appliance. The authorization is wirelessly relayed to the station by the wireless device, to enable the dispensing of fuel. Subsequently, a log comprising the transaction is provided to the access management system, through the same or a different wireless, mobile computing device. The log may also report status and other events, such as load shedding.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for the control of dispensing, as of fuel or electrical energy, to vehicles, the method comprising:
a) accepting a first data, with a first station, from a first mobile computing device of a first patron, the first data representative of at least a certificate, the certificate created by a management system and representing an authorization for dispensing;
b) dispensing to a vehicle, with the first station, in response to the first data;
c) making a record in a memory of the first station, the record comprising a second data representing the dispensing and at least an identifying portion of the certificate;
d) providing a third data, by the first station, to a second mobile computing device of any patron, the third data deliverable by the second mobile computing device to the management system, the third data representative of the record;
e) accepting a fourth data, with the first station, from a third mobile computing device of any patron, the fourth data representative of at least an acknowledgment of the record, the acknowledgment created by the management system and representing receipt by the management system of the third data, wherein e) accepting fourth data is further through a second station and the first station has communication with the second station; and,
f) deleting the record from the memory, in response to the fourth data.

### Claim 2

A first station, for dispensing fuel or electricity to vehicles, comprising:
a processor;
a communication module connected to the processor to provide communication with mobile computing devices;
a dispensing element, controllably enabled by the processor, for dispensing at least one of fuel and electricity; and,
a memory accessible to the processor, the memory containing executable instructions, which when executed by the processor perform a process of:
a) accepting a first data, through the communication module, from a first mobile computing device of a first patron, the first data representative of at least a certificate, the certificate created by a management system and representing an authorization for dispensing;
b) dispensing to a vehicle, with the dispensing element, in response to the first data;
c) making a record in the memory, the record comprising a second data representing the dispensing and at least a portion of the certificate;
d) providing a third data, through the communication module, to a second mobile computing device of any patron, the third data deliverable by the second mobile computing device to the management system, the third data representative of the record;
e) accepting a fourth data, through the communication module, from a third mobile computing device of any patron, the fourth data representative of at least an acknowledgment of the record, the acknowledgment created by the management system and representing receipt by the management system of the third data, wherein e) accepting fourth data is further through a second station and the communication module has communication with the second station; and,
f) deleting the record from the memory, in response to the fourth data.