Methods and systems for facilitating charging sessions for electric vehicles

Abstract

Embodiments of a method and/or system for charging one or more electric vehicles (e.g., based on one or more reserved charging sessions; for charging an electric vehicle during a scheduled time period; etc.) can include: receiving a reservation request (e.g., a reservation request including one or more reservation parameters; etc.); scheduling a reserved charging session based on the reservation request (e.g., based on reservation parameters from the reservation request; etc.); determining a check in at an Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) for the reserved charging session; and/or causing the EVSE to charge the electric vehicle based on the reserved charging session (e.g., during the scheduled time period; etc.).

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 charging a first electric vehicle and a second electric vehicle at a charging location with an Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) unit, wherein the first electric vehicle is associated with a first charging session, and wherein the second electric vehicle is associated with a second charging session,   wherein charging the second electric vehicle comprises permitting access to the charging location for the second charging session upon:
 receiving a reservation request comprising a reservation parameter for the second charging session, 
 scheduling the second charging session based upon the reservation parameter, 
 detecting a check-in involving the second electric vehicle and the charging location, 
 after detecting the check-in at the EVSE unit according to the reservation parameter, causing the EVSE unit to charge the second electric vehicle. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reservation parameter comprises an access code associated with an access group. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the access group is a fleet group. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the charging location comprises a fleet charging location, and wherein causing the EVSE unit to charge the second electric vehicle comprises permitting charging of the second electric vehicle within business hours of the fleet charging location. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the access group is an employee group. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the access group is associated with a ridesharing electrical vehicle group. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reservation parameter comprises a time window. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reservation parameter comprises a charging duration. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the charging location is a shared home charging location. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the EVSE unit to charge the second electric vehicle comprises throttling output of the EVSE unit in response to a demand response event. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the check-in comprises detecting a radio frequency identification (RFID) card used as an access method. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the check-in comprises detecting a mobile application used as an access method. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the EVSE unit permits vehicle to grid (V2G) charging. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the EVSE unit is operable in a disconnected mode in response to a connectivity issue with a cloud-based operation platform supporting a calendar for scheduling the second charging session. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein operating in the disconnected mode comprises at allowing the second electric vehicle to charge during an ad hoc charging session. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein operating in the disconnected mode comprises preventing scheduling of future reserved charging sessions. 
     
     
         17 . A method comprising:
 charging a first electric vehicle and a second electric vehicle at a charging location with an Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) unit, wherein the first electric vehicle is associated with a first charging session, and wherein the second electric vehicle is associated with a second charging session, and wherein the charging location comprises a fleet charging location,   wherein charging the second electric vehicle comprises permitting access to the charging location for the second charging session upon:
 receiving a reservation request comprising an access code associated with a fleet group for the second charging session, 
 scheduling the second charging session based upon the access code, 
 detecting a check-in involving the second electric vehicle and the charging location during business hours of the fleet, 
 after detecting the check-in at the EVSE unit, causing the EVSE unit to charge the second electric vehicle. 
   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein detecting the check-in comprises detecting at least one of: a radio frequency identification (RFID) card and a mobile application used as an access method. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising: receiving a second reservation request for charging at the charging location from a non-fleet entity, comprising a time window during business hours of the fleet. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising permitting charging at the charging location at a pricing level different from charging of the second electric vehicle..