US-20260124952-A1 - CHARGE CONTROL METHOD, CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

US20260124952A1US 20260124952 A1US20260124952 A1US 20260124952A1US-20260124952-A1

Abstract

A charge control method is implemented by a computer connected to a charging facility that includes a power supply device for an electric vehicle. The method includes executing a first determination and a second determination. The first determination is to determine presence or absence of a security risk in a charging function of the electric vehicle. The security risk is caused by firmware of the electric vehicle. The second determination is to determine whether the charging facility can avoid the security risk by restricting a function of the charging device. The method includes determining a restricted mode of restricting a function of the charging device based on a result of the second determination when a result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk. The method includes controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the determined restricted mode.

Inventors

Hajime TASAKI
Takahiro Yamaguchi
Tomoyuki Haga

Assignees

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251219
Priority Date: 20230629

Claims (10)

1 . A charge control method implemented by a computer as a charge control device communicably connected to a charging facility, the charging facility including a charging device for charging an electric vehicle and a communication network connecting the charging device, the charge control method comprising: executing, based on software information including at least firmware information of at least one electronic control device installed in the electric vehicle, i) a first determination to determine presence or absence of a security risk in a charging function of the electric vehicle, the security risk being caused by firmware of the at least one electronic control device, and ii) a second determination to determine whether the charging facility can avoid the security risk by restricting a function of the charging device; determining a restricted mode of restricting a function of the charging device based on a determination result of the second determination in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk; and controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the determined restricted mode.
2 . The charge control method according to claim 1 , wherein the second determination includes a determination as to whether the security risk is a first type of security risk that is avoided by disconnecting the charging device from the communication network, and the method further comprises, in a case where the security risk is the first type of security risk, controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the restricted mode in which the charging device is disconnected from the communication network.
3 . The charge control method according to claim 1 , further comprising: setting a charging time at which charging is started after a predetermined waiting time in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk and in a case where the second determination indicates that the charging facility can avoid the security risk; executing the first determination again by the charging time; controlling charging to the electric vehicle without restricting a function of the charging device in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates absence of the security risk by the charging time; and controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the restricted mode in which the charging device is disconnected from the communication network in a case where the determination result of the first determination does not indicate absence of the security risk by the charging time.
4 . The charge control method according to claim 2 , further comprising: verifying whether there is an unauthorized alteration of the charging device disconnected from the communication network; reconnecting the charging device to the communication network in a case where there is no unauthorized alteration; rolling back the charging device to further verify whether there is an unauthorized operation in a case where there is the unauthorized alteration; and reconnecting the charging device to the communication network in a case where there is no unauthorized operation.
5 . The charge control method according to claim 3 , further comprising: verifying whether there is an unauthorized alteration of the charging device disconnected from the communication network; reconnecting the charging device to the communication network in a case where there is no unauthorized alteration; rolling back the charging device to further verify whether there is an unauthorized operation in a case where there is the unauthorized alteration; and reconnecting the charging device to the communication network in a case where there is no unauthorized operation.
6 . The charge control method according to claim 4 , wherein the verifying whether there is the unauthorized alteration of the charging device disconnected from the communication network is executed after the charging device completes charging to the electric vehicle or after the charging device is not connected to the electric vehicle.
7 . The charge control method according to claim 5 , wherein the verifying whether there is the unauthorized alteration of the charging device disconnected from the communication network is executed after the charging device completes charging to the electric vehicle or after the charging device is not connected to the electric vehicle.
8 . The charge control method according to claim 1 , further comprising: determining, in the first determination, presence or absence of a security risk in at least one traveling function of the electric vehicle based on the software information, the security risk being caused by firmware of the at least one electronic control device; and permitting charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle after disabling the predetermined function of the electric vehicle in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of a security risk in a predetermined function of the at least one traveling function and in a case where the security risk is avoided by disabling the predetermined function.
9 . A charge control device communicably connected to a charging facility, the charging facility including a charging device for charging an electric vehicle and a communication network connecting the charging device, the charge control device comprising: a memory in which a computer program is stored; and a hardware processor connected to the memory and configured to perform processing by executing the computer program, the processing including: executing, based on software information including at least firmware information of at least one electronic control device installed in the electric vehicle, i) a first determination to determine presence or absence of a security risk in a charging function of the electric vehicle, the security risk being caused by firmware of the at least one electronic control device, and ii) a second determination to determine whether the charging facility can avoid the security risk by restricting a function of the charging device; determining a restricted mode of restricting a function of the charging device based on a determination result of the second determination in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk; and controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the determined restricted mode.
10 . A non-transitory computer readable recording medium on which programmed instructions executable by a computer are recorded, the computer being communicably connected to a charging facility including a charging device for charging an electric vehicle and a communication network connecting the charging device, the programmed instructions causing the computer to perform processing, the processing including: executing, based on software information including at least firmware information of at least one electronic control device installed in the electric vehicle, i) a first determination to determine presence or absence of a security risk in a charging function of the electric vehicle, the security risk being caused by firmware of the at least one electronic control device, and ii) a second determination to determine whether the charging facility can avoid the security risk by restricting a function of the charging device; determining a restricted mode of restricting a function of the charging device based on a determination result of the second determination in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk; and controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the determined restricted mode.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2024/006574, filed on February 22, 2024, which designates the United States and which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-107275, filed on June 29, 2023, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a charge control method, a charge control device, and a recording medium. BACKGROUND In the related art, a technology for protecting a plurality of in-vehicle computers such as electronic control units (ECUs) for controlling a vehicle from a security risk affecting vehicle control such as unauthorized communication has been known (See, for example, Patent literatures: JP 2018-133721 A, JP 2022-037442 A, etc.). Under such circumstances, a vehicle such as an electric vehicle, which is driven by using electric power from a battery, is connected to a charging facility via, for example, a charge cable for charging. In addition, there is a case where charge control is performed by communication via a charge cable. Therefore, in a case where there is a security risk in the in-vehicle computer, the charging facility may be affected. Therefore, there is a need to protect a charging facility connected to an electric vehicle at the time of charging from a security risk caused by the electric vehicle. SUMMARY A charge control method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is implemented by a computer as a charge control device. The charge control device is communicably connected to a charging facility. The charging facility includes a charging device for charging an electric vehicle and a communication network connecting the charging device. The charge control method includes executing a first determination and a second determination based on software information including at least firmware information of at least one electronic control device installed in the electric vehicle. The first determination is to determine presence or absence of a security risk in a charging function of the electric vehicle. The security risk is caused by firmware of the at least one electronic control device. The second determination is to determine whether the charging facility can avoid the security risk by restricting a function of the charging device. The method includes determining a restricted mode of restricting a function of the charging device based on a determination result of the second determination in a case where a determination result of the first determination indicates presence of the security risk. The method includes controlling charging by the charging device to the electric vehicle in the determined restricted mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a charging system according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a charging facility according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a charging station management terminal according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a charging station management server according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a charge control unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an electric vehicle according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a vehicle management server according to the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of vehicle software configuration information according to the first embodiment; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of vehicle management information according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating an example of a charging process in a case where vehicle detection is used as a trigger, the process being executed by the charge control unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating an example of a charging process in a case where vehicle detection is used as a trigger, the process being executed by the charge control unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a verification process for reconnecting the charging device to the facility communication network, the process being executed by the charge control unit according to the first embodiment; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a charging process in a case where vehicle detection is used as a trigger, the process being executed by the charging system according to the first embodiment; FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a verification process for reconnecting the charging device to the facility communication network, the process being executed by the charging