Vehicle charging lanes

Abstract

Embodiments include apparatus and methods for implementing lane charging for a roadway. A road segment in a geographic region is identified from a geographic database. The road segment may be identified based on the geographic position of a vehicle. A lane charging management device receives real time data related to the vehicle, the environment, or the electricity associated with the charging station. A lane charging command for a charging device associated with the road segment is generated in response to the real time data.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for implementing roadway charging for a vehicle roadway comprising:
 determining a geographic position of a mobile device;   receiving a charging status from an external device, wherein the charging status describes one or more charging stations for a lane of the vehicle roadway, the lane associated with the geographic position of the mobile device; and   generating a command for the mobile device based on the charging status.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting data from position circuitry for the geographic position of the mobile device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the charging status includes an operation state of a charging station associated with the geographic position of the mobile device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the charging status includes a location of a charging station. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the command for the mobile device is a routing command for the mobile device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 receiving an input for selection of a route including the routing command, the input specifying a shortest route, a fastest route, a greenest route, or a most economical route.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the command for the mobile device is a charging command for the mobile device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the charging command is an instruction of whether to activate or deactivate a battery charging system of the vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a report including the command and a status for the vehicle; and   sending the report to a charge management device for a roadway.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the command is selected based on a status of the vehicle. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the status of the vehicle includes a size of a load of the vehicle, a classification of the vehicle, a hazmat status of vehicle, a battery capacity of the vehicle, or a height of the vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the status of the vehicle includes a capacity to to carry energy from a first electric grid to a second electric grid or to temporarily store energy for a time period. 
     
     
         13 . A system for implementing lane charging for a roadway, the system comprising:
 a charging device integrated with a road surface;   a geographic database including data indicative of a plurality of road segments in a geographic region, including a road segment associated with the road surface of the charging device; and   a lane charging management device configured to receive real time data for at least one of the road segments in the geographic region and generate a command for one or more vehicles based on real time data for availability or rates of power on one or more electric grids.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the command for the one or more vehicles includes a route to a selected electric grid. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the command instructs the one or more vehicles to carry energy from a first electric grid to a second electric grid or to temporarily store energy for a time period. 
     
     
         16 . A method for implementing lane charging for a roadway, the method comprising:
 identifying at least one lane for the roadway;   determining a charging status for one or more charging stations for the at least one lane of the roadway; and   generating a speed command for the at least one lane of the roadway.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the charging status is a charging speed determined by adjustment of an amount of power to the one or more charging stations. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the charging status is associated with vehicle speed. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the speed command instructs a variable speed sign for the at least one lane of the roadway. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 selecting, in response to the charging status, a speed for the speed command corresponding to a variable speed sign.