IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,734,926
Granted Patent B2
US 12,734,926 · App. 18/635,161 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Transport energy transfer using real-time cost information

Inventors: Norman Lu (Fairview, TX); Maximilian Parness (Takoma Park, MD)
Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
B60L53/64B60L53/305B60L53/50B60L53/53B60L53/62B60L53/66
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,734,926
App. No.
18/635,161
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An example operation includes one or more of receiving, at a charging station, a first amount of energy from a transport at a first level and at a time and providing, at the charging station, a second amount of energy to the transport at a level less than the first level at another time.

Claims (47)

1 . A method, comprising:

identifying, by a charging station, that a current real-time unit cost of a second amount of energy to be provided to a transport at a second time, which is after a first time, is greater than a unit cost of a first amount of energy provided to the charging station at the first time, the unit cost being the cost of the first amount of energy at the first time; and

transferring, by a charging station, the second amount of energy to the transport at the second time at the unit cost of the first amount of energy.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the second amount of energy to provide to the transport at the second time based on the first amount of energy.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing, by the charging station, the second amount of energy to the transport in response to a current cost of energy from a power grid being greater than a cost of energy of the first amount of energy.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying that the transport provided the first amount of energy to a different charging station at the first time based on information received from the different charging station, wherein the information comprises an identifier of the transport, a value of the first time, and a level of the first amount of energy.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the current real-time unit cost of the second amount of energy at the second time is less than the unit cost of the first amount of energy.

6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

creating a first blockchain transaction to record the first amount of energy;

creating a second blockchain transaction to record the second amount of energy; and

validating, by a peer group comprising the transport and the charging station, the first blockchain transaction and the second blockchain transaction.

7 . The method of claim 6 , comprising:

committing the first blockchain transaction and the second blockchain transaction to a shared ledger.

8 . A charging station for a transport, the charging station comprising:

a processor that, when executing one or more instructions stored in an associated memory, is configured to:

identify that a current real-time unit cost of a second amount of energy to be provided to a transport at a second time, which is after a first time, is greater than a unit cost of a first amount of energy provided to the charging station at the first time, the unit cost being the cost of the first amount of energy at the first time; and

transfer the second amount of energy to the transport at the second time at the unit cost associated with the first amount of energy.

9 . The charging station of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the second amount of energy to provide to the transport at the second time based on the first amount of energy.

10 . The charging station of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

cause the charging station to provide the second amount of energy to the transport in response to a current cost of energy from a power grid that is greater than a cost of energy of the first amount of energy.

11 . The charging station of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify that the transport provided the first amount of energy to a different charging station at the first time based on information received from the different charging station, wherein the information comprises an identifier of the transport, a value of the first time, and a level of the first amount of energy.

12 . The charging station of claim 8 , wherein the current real-time unit cost of the second amount of energy at the second time is less than the unit cost of the first amount of energy.

13 . The charging station of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

create a first blockchain transaction to record the first amount of energy;

create a second blockchain transaction to record the second amount of energy; and

validate the first blockchain transaction and the second blockchain transaction.

14 . The charging station of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

commit the first blockchain transaction and the second blockchain transaction to a shared ledger.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform:

identifying, by a charging station, that a current real-time unit cost of a second amount of energy to be provided to a transport at a second time, which is after a first time, is greater than a unit cost of a first amount of energy provided to the charging station at the first time, the unit cost being the cost of the first amount of energy at the first time; and

transferring, by a charging station, the second amount of energy to the transport at the second time at the unit cost of the first amount of energy.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the processor to perform:

determining the second amount of energy to provide to the transport at the second time based on the first amount of energy.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the processor to perform:

causing the charging station to provide the second amount of energy to the transport in response to a current cost of energy from a power grid being greater than a cost of energy of the first amount of energy.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the processor to perform:

identifying that the transport provided the first amount of energy to a different charging station at the first time based on information received from the different charging station, wherein the information comprises an identifier of the transport, a value of the first time, and a level of the first amount of energy.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the current real-time unit cost of the second amount of energy at the second time is less than the unit cost of the first amount of energy.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the processor to perform:

creating a first blockchain transaction to record the first amount of energy;

creating a second blockchain transaction to record the second amount of energy; and

validating the first blockchain transaction and the second blockchain transaction.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 15, 2024
From: LU, NORMAN; PARNESS, MAXIMILIAN
To: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reel/Frame 067104/0508 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17147551 · Jan 13, 2021
Related Publication 20240270110A1 · Aug 15, 2024
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