ENERGY CHARGING APPARATUS, ENERGY SAVING APPARATUS, ENERGY CONSUMING APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF MANAGING GREEN ENERGY

• US 20120253711A1
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ono, Tomoyuki, Kon, Takayasu, Yamashita, Kei, Nagase, Narumi
• Granted Patent: US 10,380,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/61
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

An energy charging apparatus includes an energy charging unit charging green energy in an energy saving apparatus, a measured amount information acquisition unit acquiring measured amount information that indicates a charged amount of green energy measured by the energy saving apparatus from the corresponding energy saving apparatus, and a certificate issuance unit issuing a certificate for certifying an amount of green energy charged in the energy saving apparatus when a charged amount of green energy charged by the energy charging unit coincides with the charged amount of green energy shown in the measured amount information, wherein the certificate is managed in association with the energy saving apparatus and is discarded if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output from the energy saving apparatus.

Claims

1. An energy charging apparatus comprising:

an energy charging unit charging green energy in an energy saving apparatus;

a measured amount information acquisition unit acquiring measured amount information that indicates a charged amount of green energy measured by the energy saving apparatus from the corresponding energy saving apparatus; and

a certificate issuance unit issuing a certificate for certifying an amount of green energy charged in the energy saving apparatus if a charged amount of green energy charged by the energy charging unit coincides with the charged amount of green energy shown in the measured amount information,

wherein the certificate is managed in association with the energy saving apparatus and is discarded if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output from the energy saving apparatus.

2. The energy charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a certificate providing unit providing the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit with respect to a management system managing the certificate,

wherein the management system manages the certificate in association with the energy saving apparatus and discards the certificate if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output from the energy saving apparatus.

3. The energy charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a certificate providing unit providing the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit to the energy saving apparatus,

wherein the energy saving apparatus preserves the certificate provided by the certificate providing unit and discards the certificate if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output.

4. The energy charging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the measured amount information acquisition unit acquires an electronic signature together with the measured amount information and confirms validity of the measured amount information using the electronic signature, and

the certificate issuance unit confirms the validity of the measured amount information and issues the certificate for certifying the amount of green energy charged in the energy saving apparatus if the charged amount of green energy charged by the energy charging unit coincides with the charged amount of green energy indicated in the measured amount information.

5. An energy saving apparatus comprising:

an energy input unit for inputting energy;

an energy output unit for outputting the energy;

an energy saving unit saving the energy;

a measured amount information generation unit measuring an amount of green energy input through the energy input unit and generating measured amount information that indicates the amount of green energy;

a certificate request unit providing the measured amount information to an energy charging apparatus to which the green energy is input and requesting issuance of a certificate for certifying the input amount of green energy;

a certificate acquisition unit acquiring the certificate from the energy charging apparatus;

a certificate preservation unit preserving the certificate; and

a certificate discard unit discarding the certificate if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output.

6. An energy consuming apparatus comprising:

a measurement unit measuring an amount of green energy that is supplied from an energy saving apparatus if the green energy is supplied from the energy saving apparatus;

a certificate acquisition unit acquiring a certificate managed in association with the energy saving apparatus and certifying the amount of green energy saved in the energy saving apparatus; and

a certificate issuance unit issuing the certificate for certifying the amount of green energy that corresponds to a difference (Y-X) between the amount (X) of green energy supplied from the energy saving apparatus and the amount (Y) of green energy certified by the certificate if the amount (X) of green energy is smaller than the amount (Y) of green energy,

wherein the certificate acquired by the certificate acquisition unit is discarded and the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit is managed in association with the energy saving apparatus.

7. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the certificate acquisition unit acquires the certificate from a management system that manages the certificate, and

the energy consuming apparatus further comprises a certificate providing unit providing the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit to the management system.

8. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the certificate acquisition unit acquires the certificate from the energy saving apparatus, and

the energy consuming apparatus further comprises a certificate providing unit providing the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit to the energy saving apparatus.

9. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a function providing unit providing a first function that is usable when the energy consuming apparatus operates to receive green energy and a second function that is usable irrespective of the type of energy.

10. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a green energy amount notification unit notifying a service providing system providing an additional service depending on a consumed amount of green energy of the amount of green energy that is supplied from the energy saving apparatus,

wherein the green energy amount notification unit notifies the service providing system of apparatus information for identifying a local apparatus and the amount of green energy in association with each other.

11. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the service providing system acquires user information in which a user and the apparatus information are in association with each other and provides the additional service to the user corresponding to the apparatus information notified by the green energy amount notification unit.

12. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a state display unit acquiring a use state of the green energy for each user from the service providing system and displaying information that indicates the use state of the acquired green energy.

13. The energy consuming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the service providing system ranks users in the order of the green energy amount used, and

the state display unit displays the result of the ranking as the information that indicates the use state of the green energy.

14. A method of managing green energy comprising:

charging, by an energy charging apparatus, green energy in an energy saving apparatus;

acquiring measured amount information that indicates a charged amount of green energy measured by the energy saving apparatus from the corresponding energy saving apparatus; and

issuing a certificate for certifying an amount of green energy charged in the energy saving apparatus if a charged amount of green energy charged in the energy saving apparatus coincides with the charged amount of green energy shown in the measured amount information,

wherein the certificate is managed in association with the energy saving apparatus and is discarded if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output from the energy saving apparatus.

15. A method of managing green energy comprising:

Measuring an amount of input green energy and generating measured amount information that indicates the amount of green energy by an energy saving apparatus;

providing the measured amount information to an energy charging apparatus to which the green energy is input and requesting issuance of a certificate for certifying the input amount of green energy;

acquiring the certificate from the energy charging apparatus;

preserving the certificate; and

discarding the certificate if the amount of green energy that is certified by the corresponding certificate is output.

16. A method of managing green energy comprising:

measuring, by an energy consuming apparatus, an amount of green energy that is supplied from an energy saving apparatus if the green energy is supplied from the energy saving apparatus;

acquiring a certificate managed in association with the energy saving apparatus and certifying the amount of green energy saved in the energy saving apparatus; and

issuing the certificate for certifying the amount of green energy that corresponds to a difference (Y-X) between the amount (X) of green energy supplied from the energy saving apparatus and the amount (Y) of green energy certified by the certificate if the amount (X) of green energy is smaller than the amount (Y) of green energy,

wherein the acquired certificate is discarded and the issued certificate is managed in association with the energy saving apparatus.