GB2569096A

GB2569096A - A method and system for managing a queue for charging stations

Info

Publication number: GB2569096A
Application number: GB1717025.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stobart Richard
Original assignee: Char Gy Ltd
Current assignee: Char Gy Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-17
Filing date: 2017-10-17
Publication date: 2019-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-17
Also published as: GB2569096B; GB201717025D0

Abstract

A method for managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors 132 comprises: receiving a first request to provide charge at a first charging station connector 108 of the pool of charging station connectors 132; receiving a second request to provide charge at a second charging station connector 110; determining a first priority for the first request in the queue; and determining a second priority for the second request in the queue. The devices 114-118 to be charged may be electric vehicles (EVs). The charging station connectors 132 may be associated with street lights or lamp posts 124-128. Priority may be based on the order of connection, or a priority upgrade transaction. One device 114-118 is charged at a time, and this may be to limit the power drawn in order to meet mains 122 capacity needs. Grid power balancing may be effected by pausing charging.

Description

A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING A QUEUE FOR CHARGING STATIONS

Field of Invention

The present invention is in the field of charging stations. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to managing a queue for a set of charging stations and a charging station.

Background

Electric vehicles (EV) such as electric cars are becoming increasingly popular among consumers for their environmental benefits and potential to save money on fuel. EVs operate on battery power instead of traditional combustion, and the batteries require recharging. The recharging of an EV battery can be inconvenient and time consuming because a user must locate a charging station and, upon connecting the EV to the charging station, wait up to 8 hours for the battery to charge. Because some EVs have a shorter driving range than conventional combustion vehicles, EVs can require more frequent recharging than a combustion vehicle may require refuelling.

Many EV owners charge their vehicles at home. Some EVs may be plugged straight into a main. Some homes do not have electrical wiring that is suitable to support charging batteries, however. In these cases, a homeowner may install a dedicated charging station in their home. Installing a dedicated home charging station may cost £1000, however, and some owners do not have access to this option because they do not have off-street parking adjacent to their homes.

Further options include using a public charging station, which may be used as a primary charging option or a top-up option. Public charging stations often include special power supply infrastructure to be installed, however, and can therefore be expensive to build. Because public charging stations are often positioned in more centralized locations such as supermarkets and petrol stations, instead of residential areas or in office parks, where a user typically leaves his or her EV parked for the multiple hours, it is not always convenient for users to leave an EV at a public charging station long enough to fully charge the battery.

Councils and municipalities provide electric lampposts throughout residential neighbourhoods and business districts, and the lampposts are often adjacent to on-street parking and car parks. Tapping into these public lampposts, or other public electrical infrastructure to provide charge to an EV battery is a challenge, however, due to concerns regarding safely and efficiently managing the power supply to the lampposts. A typical lamppost or set of lampposts, for example, connected to the electricity grid must not draw a current over a maximum threshold. EVs can complicate the management of the public lamppost power resource because they often have a range of charging settings, some of which may exceed the safe maximum current level for a public electrical resource.

The challenge of efficiently managing a power resource for one or more EVs is not exclusive, however. Pre-existing public EV charging stations that offer one-to-one connections between a power resource and an EV are often managed inefficiently as well. An owner must leave the EV parked at the station until the desired charge is obtained, which can take several hours. If an EV is fully charged and an owner does not remove it from the station, the power supply resource may remain unavailable to other users. This leaves the charging station operator at the mercy of the user to make the resource available to other users or manage the charging device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging station that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least provides a useful alternative.

Summary of Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors, a method comprising:

receiving a first request to provide charge at a first charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors;

receiving a second request to provide charge at a second charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors;

determining a first priority for the first request in the queue; and determining a second priority for the second request in the queue.

Other aspects of the invention are described within the claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1:

shows a block diagram illustrating a system 100 in accordance

with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2:

shows a block diagram illustrating a system 200 in accordance

with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3:

shows a block diagram illustrating a system 300 in accordance

with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4:

shows a block diagram illustrating a system 400 in accordance

with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5: shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6: shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7: shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 8: shows a sequence diagram illustrating a method 800 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

The present invention provides a charging station, and a method and system for managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors.

Figures 1 and 2 depict systems 100 and 200 respectively, in accordance with an embodiment. Systems 100 and 200 include a pool of charging connectors 132. In systems 100 and 200, pool of charging connectors 132 includes at least two connectors: a first connector 108 and a second connector 110.

First and second connectors 108 and 110, may electrically couple a charging station to an electric vehicle (EV) to an EV battery. First and second connectors 108 and 110 may further provide a communications connection between a processing unit in an EV and a processing unit in a charging station. In examples, first and second connectors 108 and 110 may include their own processing units.

First and second connectors 108 and 110 may include any standardized or non-standardized type connectors, the standardized types including, but not limited to: IEC 62196 Type 2, SAE J1772 Type 1, EU DC CCS Combo 2

Connector Type 2, Chademo Yazaki Connector, or a Tesla Charging Connector.

In further examples, however, systems 100 and 200 may include any number of additional connectors, such as a third connector 112. Each of first, second, or third connectors 108, 110, and 112 may be connected to a respective EV. For example, first connector 108 may be coupled to a first EV 114; second connector 110 may be coupled to a second EV 116; and third connector 112 may be coupled to a third EV 118.

Systems 100 and 200 include mains power 122. Mains power 122 is a power source that may be utilized to charge one or more EV batteries when coupled to one or more of first, second, and third connectors 108, 110, and 112.

In examples, access to mains power 122 may be provided by a council or municipal authority. For example, in systems 100 and 200, mains power 122 may supply power to a master lamppost 124. In the example of system 100, however, mains power 122 may further provide power to one or more additional lampposts, for example a first slave lamppost 126 and a second slave lamppost 128. Master lamppost 124 may include a switch operable to provide mains power 122 to first and second slave lampposts 126 and 128. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the lampposts 124, 126, and 128 may not be necessarily be configured in a master-slave arrangement.

Systems 100 and 200 may include at least a first user device 120. In examples, user device 120 may be a hand-held or mobile computing device such as a smart phone, a tablet, a smart watch, or a wearable device. In further examples, user device 120 may be a computing apparatus such as a laptop or desktop computer, or an app-enabled piece of household hardware.

In examples, systems 100 and 200 may further include one or more additional user devices, such as a second user device 134.

User device 120 may communicate with one or more server(s) 130. Server(s) 130 may be operable to manage a queue at a pool of charging station connectors, as described in relation to the methods of Figures 5 to 7.

Server 130 may be operable to execute instructions or to retrieve and save data in a database. In examples, server 130 may include a single server, or multiple servers in a distributed architecture. In examples, server 130 may support a relational database, a NoSQL database, a distributed database, or any other database known to those of skill.

Each of server 130, client device 120, first charging station 102, second charging station 104, or third charging station 106 may include a processing device 300, as depicted in Figure 3. Processing device 300 includes a processor 302, a memory 304, a communication interface 206, and optionally, a display 308.

Processor 302 may be configured for executing computer instructions, which, when executed on the systems 100 or 200, perform a portion or all of the steps of the methods described in relation to Figures 5 to 8. In embodiments, processor 302 may include one or more processors, as will be understood by those of skill in the art.

Memory 304 may be an electronically readable medium or a computer readable medium configured to store computer program instructions. In examples, memory 304 may include a non-transitory medium.

Stored computer program instructions, when executed on the processor 302, may perform a portion or all of the methods described in relation to Figures 5 to 8.

In examples, portions of the methods described in relation to Figures 5 to 7 may be stored or executed outside of system 100. For example, a portion of the methods described in relation to Figures 5 to 8 may be stored or executed on a combination of a server and cloud storage facility via Internet.

Communications interface 306 may be configured to communicate with devices external to server 130, user device 120, or other servers.

In examples, communications interface 306 may include wired or wireless interfaces. Communications interface 306 may include a short-range or lowpowered wireless standard such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, zigbee, or near field communication (NFC). Communications interface 306 may further include WIFI, 3G, 4G, Ethernet, or any other communications method known to those of skill in the art. Communications interface 306 may incorporate standardized protocols to communicate via a smart meter wide area network. In examples, processing device 300 may request, send, or receive information, save information, or send or receive messages from a remote device over a network or the Internet.

Figure 4 depicts system 400, in accordance with an embodiment. System 400 may facilitate managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors. System 400 may include queue management server application 402, first user client application 404, and first charging station client application 408. In further examples, system 300 may further include any combination of second user client application 406, second charging station client application 409, payment provider server application 410, electrical provider server application 412, and user information database 414. Additional user client applications and charging station client applications are also possible.

In examples, queue management server application 402, first user client application 404, and first charging station client application 408 may each operate on separate devices. For example, queue management server application 402 may operate on server 130; first user client application 404 may operate on client device 120; and first charging station client application 408 may operate on any one of first, second, or third charging stations 102, 104, or 106. In further examples, however, the functions of queue management server application 402, first user client application 404, and first charging station client application 408 may be distributed across additional computing devices. For example, queue management server application 402 may operate across a group of distributed servers.

In Figure 5 depicts a method 500 for managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors in accordance with an embodiment.

The pool of charging station connectors, for example pool of charging station connectors 132, includes two or more charging station connectors that may connect respective EVs with a power source, such as mains power 122.

The queue includes a sequence of requests to provide current to one or more connectors in the pool of charging station connectors. Each request may be assigned a priority in the queue, as described below. The queue may include any number of requests for any number of charging station connectors.

Method 500 begins with step 502. In step 502, a first request to provide charge at a first charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors is received.

The first request may be associated with a first user or a first EV. For example, the first request may be sent by a user using user device 120 associated with first EV 114, as depicted in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 8 depicts example sequence diagram 800. Sequence diagram 800 depicts the signals, commands, and telemetry that are transmitted between queue management server application 402, first user client application 404, second user client application 406, first charging station application 408, and second charging station application 409.

As depicted in figure 8, a first request 804 may be transmitted from first client user application 404 to queue management server application 402.

In examples, a request may include one or more electronic communications that include information relating to the user requesting a charge and/or the EV associated with the request. A request may further include information relating to the service requested, electrical provider, payment method, or any other information related to requesting an EV charging service.

Method 500 continues with step 504. In step 504, a second request is received to provide charge at a second charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors.

The second request may be associated with a second user or a second EV. For example, the second request may be received from user device 134 associated with second EV 116, as depicted in Figures 1 and 2.

As depicted in figure 8, a second request 806 may be transmitted from second client user application 406 to queue management server application 402.

Method 500 continues with step 506. In step 506, a first priority for the first request in the queue is determined.

Method 500 continues with step 508. In step 508, a second priority for the second request in the queue is determined.

A priority may include a ranking in the queue that indicates which request will receive the next response. In examples, a single request in the queue may be served at a time to provide power to a single connector associated with the request. In further examples, however, it may be possible to service more than one request at a time, by providing power to more than one connector at the same time.

In examples, method 500 may include further steps. For example, method 500 may include step 510. In step 510, a first command may be sent to provide charge at the highest priority charging station connector associated with a highest request in the queue.

The highest priority charging station connector associated with the charging station connector associated with the highest priority request in the queue may be associated with the first request, the second request, or any other request in the queue.

The first command may be an electronic command to open a commandable switch via a client charging station application associated with the charging station. Upon receiving the command, the client charging station application may provide power to an EV coupled to a respective charging station connector.

For example, first command 810 may be sent from queue management server application 402 to second client charging station application 409, as depicted in Figure 8.

In examples, providing charge to the highest priority charging station may comprise providing charge at the first charging station connector or the second charging station connector.

By providing a queue to manage the pool of charging station connectors, it may possible to manage the amount of current supplied from a single mains power source, thereby preventing an overcurrent event. This may allow potential users to connect to a charging station connector and queue up a request before current can be provided, allowing the queue to manage the amount of current provided to the entire pool of charging station connectors.

In examples, the first charging station connector may be associated with a first charging station and the second charging station connector may be associated with a second charging station.

For example, system 100 includes first charging station 102 electrically coupled to first connector 108 and second charging station 104 electrically coupled to second connector 110. In the example of system 100, the mains power 122 provides power to master lamppost 124, which is coupled to first charging station 102, and first slave post 126, which is coupled to second charging station 104. The pool of charging station connectors 132 controls the current that will be supplied to the EVs seeking charge from the mains power 122.

By managing the first and second connectors 108 and 110 coupled to separate first and second charging stations 108 and 110, both of which are coupled to the same mains power 122, this may allow the queue to manage the current supplied from mains power 122 to avoid an overcurrent event.

In further examples, however, the first charging station connector and the second charging station connector may be associated with a first charging station.

For example, system 200 includes a single charging station 202, which is electrically coupled to both first connector 108 and second connector 110.

By managing the first and second connectors 108 and 110 coupled to charging station 202, which is coupled to the same master lamp post 124, system 200 may also allow the queue to manage the current supplied from mains power 122 to avoid an over current situation.

In examples, providing charge to the highest priority charging station may include providing charge at a third charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors.

For example, system 100 includes third charging station connector 112. Third charging station connector 112 is coupled to third charging station 106, which is coupled to second slave lamppost 128. Second slave lamppost 128 also receives power from mains power 122.

Similarly, system 200 includes third charging station connector 112. In system 200, third charging station connector 112 is coupled to charging station 202, which is coupled to master lamppost 124.

By providing charge to a third charging station connector, it is possible to serve additional requests in the queue beyond the first and second requests.

In examples, the first request may be received from a first mobile device, such as first mobile device 120.

By allowing a mobile device to send requests, it may be possible to send commands independent of a user interface on the charging station. This may allow a user to flexibly manage the current supplied to an EV.

In further examples, however, it may be possible to enter and send requests via a user interface available on the charging station, as will be understood by those of skill.

In examples, determining the first priority and the second priority in the queue may further comprise determining the first priority based on a first request time and the second priority based on a second request time.

A request time may be the time at which a request is sent or received. For example, the queue may operate on a first come, first served principle.

In examples, determining at least one of the first priority or the second priority in the queue may further include any of the steps of method 600 as shown in Figure 6. For example, method 500 may further include steps 602 and 604. In step 602, it may be determined that a priority upgrade request for the first request or second request is received.

A priority upgrade request may include a request to service a request before one or more other requests in the queue. For example, in the case of a default first come, first served queue, a priority upgrade request may move a request above one received at an earlier time.

For example, Figure 8 depicts priority upgrade request 808. Priority upgrade request 808 may be transmitted from second client user application 406 to queue management server application 402.

In step 604, the respective first request or second request may be associated with an upgraded priority in the queue.

For example, in Figure 8 first request 804 from first client user application 404 may be received before second request 806 from second client user application 406. If the queue is first come, first served, then the first request 804 may receive a higher priority than the second request 806. Upon receiving priority upgrade request 808 from second client user application 406, however, the second request may be associated with an upgraded priority in the queue, giving the second request 804 a higher priority than the first request 804.

In examples, determining the first priority and the second priority in the queue may further include steps 606 and 608. In step 606, it may be determined that at least one of the first request or the second request is associated with a preferred customer status.

In examples, the preferred customer status may include any designation signalling that a particular user receives an upgraded priority in the queue over at least one other subset of the charging station users. For example the preferred customer status may be associated with a purchased membership upgrade or a frequent user designation.

For example, upon receiving first request 804 and second request 806, queue management server application 402 may query user information database 414 to determine whether either the first user associated with first request 804 and the second user associated with second request 806 has a preferred customer status.

In step 608, the respective first request or second request may be associated with a preferred customer priority in the queue. For example, in a queue that is managed first in, first out by default, if the second request is associated with a preferred customer status user, then the second request may associated with the highest priority request in the queue.

In examples, providing charge to the highest priority charging station associated with the highest priority request in the queue may further include step 610. In step 610, it may be determined that a power level preference is associated with the highest priority request. Power may then be provided to the first connector at the associated power level preference.

A power level preference may determine how quickly an EV battery charges. For example, an EV may charge in 30 minutes with a power level above 40 kW. An EV may take from 3 to 4 hours to recharge with 3-40 kW, and 6 to 8 hours with 3kW or less.

Allowing a user to select a power preference level may allow a user to make more economically efficient selections or to expedite charging based on user circumstances. For example, it may be preferable to pay more for a higher power level preference when a car won’t be parked for very long, for example when shopping. Alternatively, it may be preferable to pay for a lower power level preference when parked overnight.

In examples, method 500 may further include steps 612 and 614. In step 612, it may be determined that a predetermined time period has passed for the highest priority charging station connector. For example, a predetermined time period may represent the total amount of time that a request will receive priority in the queue. For example, the predetermined time may be 30 minutes, 2, 4, or 6 hours. In examples, the predetermined time period may be requested by the user. In further examples, however, the predetermined time period may be set by queue management server application or a charging station client application to a default value.

In step 614, a new priority may be associated with the highest priority user, the new priority being less than the highest priority. For example, the highest priority user may receive a new priority that is last in the queue. Therefore, after the predetermined time period, if there are other requests in the queue, those other request may be serviced.

By providing a predetermined time period, it may be possible to provide a threshold charge level to the EVs associated with all of the requests in the queue more quickly. The queue management server application may be able to subsequently provide further charge once all of the EVs associated with requests in the queue get a threshold amount of charge.

In examples, method 500 may further include any of the steps of method 700 as shown in Figure 7. For example, method 500 may further include step 702. In step 702, a second command may be sent to provide charge at a second highest priority charging station connector associated with a second highest priority request in the queue.

For example, the second highest priority request may be serviced after the first highest priority request has been serviced for a threshold time period, or after the first highest priority request has been completely serviced.

For example, in Figure 8 it may be seen that second command 812 may be sent from queue management server application 402 to first client charging station application 408 after first command 810. Second command 812 may include a command for the second highest priority charging station connector to provide power to an EV.

By servicing the second highest priority charging station connector, it may be possible to continuously manage multiple requests in the queue.

In examples, method 500 may further include step 704. In step 704, it may be determined that the charge provided to an occupied charging station connector is complete. The occupied charging station connector may be, for example, the first charging station connector or the second charging station connector.

It may be determined that the charge of the associated EV is complete because the current drawn by the EV reduces to zero, a predetermined time period is completed, or a message is received by the EV indicating that the battery is charged. In further examples, other methods of determining whether charge is complete may be possible, as will be known by those of skill.

In examples, the charging station client application may determine that the charge supplied to an EV is complete and transmit a notification to the queue management server application. In further examples, however, the queue management server application may determine that the charge supplied to an

EV is complete based on telemetry received by the charging station client application, or information such as the level of power (or current) provided to and EV and the amount of time that the EV received the power (or current).

In examples, method 500 may further include step 706. In step 706, a charging fee may be calculated for the charge provided to the occupied connector.

The charging fee may be based on the service provided, and may include determining the power level provided, the time spent charging, the total power provided, the membership level of the user, the time of day, the day of the week, or any other variable relating to charging an EV battery.

In examples, method 500 may further include step 708. In step 708, a charge complete notification may be sent.

For example, Figure 8 depicts charge complete notification 814 transmitted from queue management server application 402 to second client user application 406.

By sending a charge complete notification, it may be possible to prompt users to decouple their EVs so that other users may make use of a charging station resource.

In examples, method 500 may further include step 710. In step 710, an additional time fee may be calculated for the additional time that the occupied connector is connected to an EV after the charge provided to the occupied connector is complete.

By assessing an additional time fee, this may allow the queue management server application to discourage users from leaving EVs attached to the charging station after their requests to charge have been serviced. This may make more efficient use of the charging resources.

In examples, method 500 may further include steps 712 and 714. In step 712, a power usage message from a charging station associated with at least one of the first charging station connector may be received.

For example, Figure 8 depicts first client charging application 408 transmitting power usage message 816 to queue management server application 402. The power usage message may include information such as the power level provided and the duration of the time that the power level was provided.

In examples, the information in the power usage message 816 may be determined from a power meter internal to the charging station. In further examples, however, the information in the power usage message 816 may be determined by querying a meter external to the charging station, or by estimating based on assumptions about the power or current provided and usage time.

In step 714, a user cost based on the power usage message may be calculated.

For example queue management server application may determine the user cost based on the power usage message.

In examples, the user cost may be further based on at least one of the priority upgrade request, the preferred customer status, or current level preference.

In examples, the first request may further include an electric provider request, and method 500 may further include step 716. In step 716, an electric provider notification may be sent to an electric provider.

An electric provider request may specify the requested electrical company that a user wishes to purchase power from in an unbundled electricity marketplace. The queue management server application may notify electrical provider server application 412 about the electric provider request by transmitting an electric provider notification to electrical provider server application 412.

In examples, method 500 may further include steps 718 and 720. In step 718, payment information may be received.

Payment information may include, but is not limited to, a credit card number, an account and sort code, or prepaid voucher information. Other payment information is also possible, as will be known to those of skill.

Payment information may be received via electronic message from a user client application.

For example, Figure 8 depicts first user client application 404 transmitting payment information 820 to queue management server application 402.

Alternatively, payment information may be received from the charging station application associated with a charging station that includes a device to facilitate payment. For example, a charging station may include a contactless payment device.

In step 720, a payment request may be sent to a payment server. For example, queue management server application 402 may send a payment request to payment provider server application 410.

In embodiments, method 500 may include the step of receiving a load reduction request from the electric provider. Upon receiving the request, charging may be paused at the pool of charging station connectors for a period of time that may predetermined. This may enable electric providers to manage local power consumption.

A potential advantage of some embodiments of the present invention is the 5 ability to stagger charging of multiple vehicles which enables the use of existing infrastructure such as lamp-posts for municipal lighting systems.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in 10 considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples 15 shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of applicant’s general inventive concept.

Claims

1. A method for managing a queue at a pool of charging station connectors, a method comprising:

receiving a first request to provide charge at a first charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors; receiving a second request to provide charge at a second charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors;

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

sending a first command to provide charge at the highest priority charging station connector associated with a highest request in the queue.

3. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein providing charge to the highest priority charging station comprises providing charge at the first charging station connector or the second charging station connector.

4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first charging station connector is associated with a first charging station and the second charging station connector is associated with a second charging station.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first charging station connector and the second charging station connector are associated with a first charging station.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when dependent on claim 2, wherein providing charge to the highest priority charging station comprises providing charge at a third charging station connector of the pool of charging station connectors.

7. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first request is received from a first mobile device.

8. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein determining the first priority and the second priority in the queue further comprises determining the first priority based on a first request time and the second priority based on a second request time.

9. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein determining at least one of the first priority or the second priority in the queue further comprises:

determining that a priority upgrade request for the first request or second request was received; and associating the respective first request or second request with an upgraded priority in the queue.

10. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein determining the first priority and the second priority in the queue further comprises:

determining that at least one of the first request or the second request is associated with a preferred customer status; and associating the respective first request or second request with a preferred customer priority in the queue.

11. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein providing charge to the highest priority charging station associated with the highest priority request in the queue further comprises: determining a power level preference associated with the highest priority request and providing current to the first connector at the associated power level preference.

12. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

determining that a predetermined time period has passed for the highest priority charging station connector; and associating a new priority with the highest priority user, the new priority being less than the highest priority.

13. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

sending a second command to provide charge at a second highest priority charging station connector associated with a second highest priority request in the queue.

14. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

determining that the charge provided to an occupied charging station connector is complete, wherein the occupied charging station connector is the first charging station connector or the second charging station connector.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

calculating a charging fee for the charge provided to the occupied connector.

16. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

receiving a charge complete notification.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 when dependent on any one of claims 4 or 5, wherein the charge complete notification is sent by the first charging station.

18. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when dependent on claim 14, further comprising:

calculating an additional time fee for additional time the occupied connector is connected after the charge provided to the occupied connector is complete.

19. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

receiving a power usage message from a charging station associated with at least one of the first charging station connector and the second charging station connector; and calculating a user cost based on the power usage message.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the user cost is further based on at least one of the priority upgrade request, the preferred customer status, or power level preference.

21. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the method further comprising:

receiving a load reduction request from an electric provider; and pausing charging at the pool of charging station connectors.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the charging is paused for a predetermined period of time.

23. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

receiving payment information; and sending a payment request to a payment server.

24. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein charging is provided at the first charging station connector until a user stops the charging.

25. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first or second request can be withdrawn

26. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the number of concurrently charging connectors is limited.

27. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each charging station connector exists at a lamp-post.

28. A system configured to manage a queue at a pool of charging station connectors via a method of any one of the preceding claims.

29. A computer program configured to manage a queue at a pool of charging station connectors via a method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

30. An electronically readable medium configured for storing the computer program of claim 29.