INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND TRANSPORTATION MEANS

• US 20120053742A1
• Filed: 08/23/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsuda, Shinichiro
• Application Number:
  US13/215,442
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053742A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/291
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

There is provided a power transmission/distribution network-control device including a communication section configured to receive a predetermined state quantity of a first storage battery from a first power source control device connected to the first storage battery, and a control section configured to control a first switch, the first switch being for establishing a connection, based on the predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery, between a first charging section which charges the first storage battery or a first linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the first storage battery to a distribution system, and the first storage battery.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a communication section configured to receive a predetermined state quantity of a first storage battery from a first power source control device connected to the first storage battery; and

a control section configured to control a first switch, the first switch being for establishing a connection, based at least in part on the predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery, between a first charging section which charges the first storage battery or a first linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the first storage battery to a distribution system, and the first storage battery.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication section further receives a predetermined state quantity of a second storage battery mounted on first transportation means from a second power source control device connected to the second storage battery, and

wherein the control section controls a second switch, the second switch being for establishing a connection, based at least in part on the predetermined state quantity of the second storage battery, between a second charging section which charges the second storage battery or a second linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the second storage battery to a distribution system, and the second storage battery.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a data storage section in a case where there are one or a plurality of the first storage batteries and one or a plurality of second storage batteries, the data storage section being for storing information on power demand for each of geographically divided areas, and also stores charging capacity of the one or plurality of first storage batteries for each of the areas and charging capacity of the one or plurality of second storage batteries for each of the areas,

wherein the control section calculates a sum total of charging capacity of the one or plurality of first storage batteries and the charging capacity of the one or plurality of second storage batteries for each of the areas, and controls the first switch and the second switch based at least in part on the calculated sum total for each of the areas and the information on power demand stored in the data storage section.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the communication section receives, as the predetermined state quantity of the second storage battery, a remaining charge level value representing an amount of power stored in the second storage battery, and further receives position information of the second storage battery from the first transportation means as history information, and

wherein the control section calculates an estimated consumption amount representing an amount of power of the second storage battery that is estimated to be consumed by driving the first transportation means based at least in part on the history information received by the communication section, and, when an amount of power obtained by subtracting the estimated consumption amount from the remaining charge level value received by the communication section exceeds a first threshold, the control section controls the second switch such that the second linkage section and the second storage battery are connected to each other.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when the amount of power obtained by subtracting the estimated consumption amount from the remaining charge level value received by the communication section is less than a second threshold, the control section controls the second switch such that the second charging section and the second storage battery are connected to each other.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the communication section further receives, in addition to the remaining charge level value, charge/discharge times of the second storage battery as the predetermined state quantity of the second storage battery, and

wherein the control section performs correction in accordance with the charge/discharge times of the second storage battery, with respect to the amount of power obtained by subtracting the estimated consumption amount from the remaining charge level value received by the communication section, and compares the corrected amount of power with the threshold.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when the communication section further receives an expected travel distance from the first transportation means, the control section uses an amount of power corresponding to the expected travel distance received by the communication section instead of the estimated consumption amount.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when an expected travel distance is not received from the first transportation means and an expected travel distance is received from the second transportation means by the communication section, the control section controls a switch such that a second storage battery mounted on the second transportation means is connected to a second linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the second storage battery to a distribution system, instead of controlling the second switch such that the second storage battery mounted on the first transportation means and the second linkage section are connected to each other.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the control section calculates a price of power accumulated in the second storage battery mounted on the second transportation means to be higher than a price of power accumulated in the second storage battery mounted on the first transportation means.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a data storage section in a case where there are one or a plurality of first storage batteries and one or a plurality of second storage batteries, the data storage section being for storing information on power demand for each of geographically divided areas, and also stores charging capacity of the one or plurality of first storage batteries for each of the areas and charging capacity of the one or plurality of second storage batteries for each of the areas,

wherein the control section determines a distribution amount of surplus power generated in the distribution system for each of the areas based at least in part on the information on power demand stored in the data storage section, calculates a sum total of the charging capacity of the one or plurality of first storage batteries for each of the areas, controls, as for an area in which the distribution amount is larger than the sum total, the first switch such that the first charging section and the first storage battery are connected to each other, and, controls, as for an area in which the distribution amount is smaller than the sum total, the first switch such that the first charging section and the first storage battery are connected to each other, based at least in part on geographical distribution of the information on power demand within the area stored in the data storage section.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein, as for an area in which the distribution amount is larger than the sum total, the control section controls the first switch such that the first charging section and the first storage battery are connected to each other and also calculates a difference between the sum total and the distribution amount for each of the areas as a redistribution value, and controls the second switch such that the second charging section and the second storage battery of the area are connected to each other based at least in part on the redistribution value.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a data storage section configured to store an electric power selling history representing a history on electric power selling between areas,

wherein the control section calculates, as for a first area, which is an area that the distribution amount is larger than the sum total, a difference between the sum total and the distribution amount as a redistribution value, calculates a part or all of the redistribution value as a trade-distribution amount to be traded to a second area, which is different from the first area based at least in part on the electric power selling history stored in the data storage section, controls the second switch such that, based at least in part on a value obtained by subtracting the trade-distribution amount from the redistribution value, the second charging section and the second storage battery of the first area are connected to each other, and controls the second switch such that, based on the trade-distribution amount, the second charging section and the second storage battery of the second area are connected to each other.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the communication section receives charge/discharge times of each of the one or plurality of first storage batteries as the predetermined state quantity of each of the one or plurality of first storage batteries, and

wherein the control section controls the first switch such that, as for an area the distribution amount of which is smaller than the sum total, the first storage battery having smaller charge/discharge times is preferentially connected to the first charging section.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein, in a case where there are one or a plurality of the first storage batteries and one or a plurality of the second storage batteries, the communication section receives a remaining charge level value of each of the one or plurality of first storage batteries as the predetermined state quantity of each of the one or plurality of first storage batteries, and also receives a remaining charge level value of each of the one or plurality of second storage batteries as the predetermined state quantity of each of the one or plurality of second storage batteries, and

wherein the control section determines an amount of power generation in a thermal power plant, based on a sum total obtained by adding up a value obtained by subtracting an amount of power corresponding to the estimated consumption amount or the expected travel distance from a sum total of the remaining charge level values of the respective one or plurality of second storage batteries, and a sum total of the remaining charge level values of the respective one or plurality of first storage batteries.

15. An information processing method comprising:

receiving a predetermined state quantity of a first storage battery from a first power source control device connected to the first storage battery; and

controlling a first switch, the first switch being for establishing a connection, based on the predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery, between a first charging section which charges the first storage battery or a first linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the first storage battery to a distribution system, and the first storage battery.

16. An information processing system comprising:

a first power source control device which is connected to a first storage battery and includes a communication section that transmits a predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery; and

an information processing apparatus which includes

a communication section configured to receive the predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery from the first power source control device, and

a control section configured to control a first switch, the first switch being for establishing a connection, based on the predetermined state quantity of the first storage battery, between a first charging section which charges the first storage battery or a first linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the first storage battery to a distribution system, and the first storage battery.

17. Transportation means which mounts a storage battery thereon, and transmits, as history information, position information of the storage battery to an information processing apparatus,

wherein the information processing apparatus calculates an estimated consumption amount representing an amount of power of the storage battery that is estimated to be consumed by driving the transportation means based on the history information, and, when an amount of power obtained by subtracting the estimated consumption amount from a remaining charge level value of the storage battery exceeds a first threshold, the information processing apparatus controls a switch such that a linkage section which transmits power accumulated in the storage battery to a distribution system is connected to the storage battery.