Integrated management of electric vehicle charging and non-electric vehicle fueling
An integrated fuel management system can include a switching unit coupled to an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, a computer system, a first electronic unit, and a second electronic unit. The first electronic unit can be coupled to the switching unit and operable for providing state information for the EV charging station to the computer system. The second electronic unit can be coupled to a fueling station for types of vehicles that use fuel and operable for providing state information for the fueling station to the computer system. Further, the computer system can be operable for displaying the state information for the EV charging station and for displaying the state information for the fueling station.
1 . A method of charging an electric vehicle (EV), the method comprising:
sending a charging procedure to an EV charging station to direct charging current to an EV coupled to an output connection of the EV charging station;
receiving first state information for the EV charging station;
receiving second state information for a non-electric fuel station; and
generating a graphical user interface (GUI) based on the first and second state information.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting a load present on the output connection, wherein the charging procedure is performed responsive to the detecting.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that a condition of the charging procedure has been satisfied;
halting the charging procedure responsive to the determining; and
updating the GUI based on the halting to include a graphical indication that the charging procedure is halted.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the condition comprises at least one of:
a predetermined time interval has elapsed; and
a predetermined charging current threshold value is reached.
5 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising directing charging current to another output connection of the EV charging station responsive to the determining.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising directing charging current to other output connections of the EV charging station in a round-robin fashion responsive to the determining.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first state information comprises data per charging transaction.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first state information comprises amperages versus time of the charging current directed to the EV.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the EV charging station is coupled to a switching unit comprising a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to a printed circuit board, wherein the printed circuit board comprises a lower voltage side that powers the CPU, wherein the printed circuit board also comprises a higher voltage side that is operable to receive a charging current delivered from an input power supply, and wherein the lower voltage side is operable to receive power from a lower voltage power supply that is separate from the input power supply.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the EV charging station is coupled to a switching unit, wherein the EV charging station comprises a plurality of output connections, wherein each output connection of the plurality of output connections is couplable to a respective EV, and wherein the switching unit is operable for directing charging current from an input power supply to an output connection of the plurality of output connections in response to a command issued according to the charging procedure.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the EV charging station is coupled to an electronic unit, wherein the electronic unit comprises a component selected from the group consisting of: a card swipe interface; a radio frequency identification (RFID) proximity key and card reader; and an alphanumeric keypad.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-electric fuel station is operable to provide gasoline to a vehicle coupled to the fuel station.
13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embedded therein program instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to execute a method for charging an electric vehicle (EV), the method comprising:
sending a charging procedure to an EV charging station to direct charging current to an EV coupled to an output connection of the EV charging station;
receiving first state information for the EV charging station;
receiving second state information for a non-electric fuel station; and
generating a graphical user interface (GUI) based on the first and second state information.
14 . A method of charging an electric vehicle (EV) using an EV charging station, the method comprising:
accessing an output connection of the EV charging station;
determining if a load is present on the output connection;
determining if a charge is required when the load is present on the output connection;
providing charging current to an EV coupled to the output connection when the charge is required;
receiving first state information for the EV charging station;
receiving second state information for a non-electric fuel station; and
rendering a graphical user interface (GUI) for display on a screen, wherein the GUI comprises a graphical indication that the charging current is provided to the EV on a display device of the EV charging station, and wherein the GUI further comprises at least one of: the first state information; and the second state information.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
determining if a charging condition is satisfied;
halting the charging current when the condition is satisfied; and
updating the GUI to graphically indicate that the charging current is halted.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the charging current is directed to the EV according to a charging procedure.
17 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising directing fuel to a vehicle coupled to the non-electric fueling station, wherein the GUI further comprises a graphical indication that fuel is directed to the vehicle coupled to the non-electric fueling station.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the non-electric fuel station is operable to provide gasoline to the vehicle coupled to the non-electric fueling station.
19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the EV charging station is coupled to an electronic unit, wherein the electronic unit comprises a component selected from the group consisting of: a card swipe interface; a radio frequency identification (RFID) proximity key and card reader, and an alphanumeric keypad.