Method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle

摘要

A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle with an external power source. In an exemplary embodiment, the method receives one or more utility rate preferences from a user, determines the utility rates of a local utility company, determines the total charging time needed to charge the plug-in electric vehicle, uses the utility rate preferences, the utility rates and the total charging time to develop several charging options that are presented to a user, and charges the plug-in electric vehicle according to the charging option selection made by the user.

主权项

1. A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle with an external power source, comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a utility rate preference from a vehicle user, the utility rate preference establishes a maximum utility rate that the vehicle user is willing to pay; b) determining utility rates; c) determining a total charging time needed to charge the plug-in electric vehicle; d) using the utility rates and the total charging time to develop one or more charging options and presenting the charging options to the user for selection, wherein at least one of the charging options includes a plurality of discontinuous charging segments that together fully charge the plug-in electric vehicle and at least one of the charging options is presented to the user with an estimated cost; and e) charging the plug-in electric vehicle with the external power source according to the charging option selected by the user.