POWER DISTRIBUTION DEVICE

• US 20140210267A1
• Filed: 09/16/2011
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishida, Takaharu, Watanabe, Tohru, Rissen, Kazumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,722,443 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/31
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/443 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• 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: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0069 Charging or discharging for charge maintenance, battery initiation or rejuvenation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

There is a request for charging and discharging of a lithium-ion battery with as less degradation as possible. In an operation using only binary values as in conventional technology, however, in a charged state in which the battery is used, there is a high possibility that the battery is used toward accelerating the degradation thereof. In a power distribution device for distributing power between a plurality of batteries and a plurality of customers, when distributing the power of the batteries to the loads of the customers, by being based at least on the degradation information of the batteries, the state of charge, and the temperature data of the batteries, a battery discharging function is achieved that makes the degradation of the batteries minimum.

Claims

1. A power distribution device connected with a plurality of storage batteries and with a load device consuming electric power and operative to distribute electric power from the storage batteries to the load device, said power distribution device comprising:

an acquisition portion for acquiring deterioration degree information indicating degrees of deterioration of the storage batteries from the storage batteries;

a decision portion for making a decision as to which of the storage batteries is discharged first out of the plurality of storage batteries, based on the acquired deterioration degree information; and

a transmission portion for issuing an instruction for electrical discharge to the storage battery decided to be discharged first.

2. The power distribution device according to claim 1,

wherein there is further provided a second acquisition portion for communicating information with said load device,

wherein said second acquisition portion acquires amounts of load of the load device, and

wherein said decision portion judges amounts of variation of the acquired amounts of load and, if the amounts of variation do not exceed a given value, determines which of the storage devices is discharged first out of said plurality of storage batteries based on said acquired deterioration degree information.

3. The power distribution device according to claim 2, wherein said acquisition portion further acquires temperature information about said storage batteries, and wherein said decision portion determines which of said plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the storage batteries based on the acquired temperature information.

4. The power distribution device according to claim 3, wherein said decision portion determines which of said plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the storage batteries such that deterioration of a whole one of said plurality of storage batteries is minimized.

5. The power distribution device according to claim 1,

wherein said load device is plural in number,

wherein the loading devices have respective determined priorities indicating orders of priority in which electric power is supplied to these loading devices, and

wherein said decision portion determines, based on the priorities, which of said plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the storage batteries into which of the loading devices.

6. The power distribution device according to claim 1, wherein there is further provided a calculating portion for calculating incentive to owners possessing said storage batteries, and wherein said decision portion determines into which of the loading devices is electricity discharged, based on results of the calculating portion.

7. A method of distributing electric power from a plurality of storage devices to a load device consuming electric power, said method comprising the steps of:

acquiring deterioration degree information indicating degrees of deterioration of the storage batteries from the plurality of storage batteries;

determining which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the plurality of storage batteries, based on the acquired deterioration degree information; and

issuing an instruction to cause the determined storage battery to electrically discharge.

8. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 7, further comprising the step of acquiring amounts of loads of said load device from the load device, and wherein during said step of determining which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first, amounts of variation in the acquired amounts of load are judged and, if the amounts of variation do not exceed a given value, it is determined which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the plurality of storage batteries based on the acquired deterioration degree information.

9. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 8, further comprising the step of acquiring temperature information about said storage batteries, and wherein during said step of determining which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first, if the acquired amounts of variation exceed a given value, it is determined which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the plurality of storage batteries based on the acquired temperature information.

10. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 9, wherein during said step of determining which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first, it is determined which of the plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the plurality of storage batteries such that deterioration of a whole one of said plurality of storage batteries is reduced to a minimum.

11. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 7,

wherein said load device is plural in number,

wherein the loading devices have respective determined priorities indicating orders of priority in which electric power is supplied to these loading devices, and

wherein during said step of determining which of said plurality of storage batteries is discharged first, it is determined, based on the priorities, which of said plurality of storage batteries is discharged first out of the storage batteries into which of the load devices.

12. The method of distributing electric power according to claim 7, further comprising the step of calculating incentive to owners possessing said storage batteries, wherein during said step of determining which of the storage batteries is discharged first, it is determined into which of the loading devices is electricity delivered based on results of the step of calculating the incentive.

13. A power distribution device connected with a controller that manages storage batteries and a load device consuming electric power, the power distribution device being operative to distribute electric power from the storage batteries to the loading device, said controller being plural in number, said power distribution device comprising:

an acquisition portion for acquiring deterioration degree information indicating degrees of deterioration of the storage batteries from the storage batteries via the controllers;

a decision portion for making a decision as to which of the storage batteries is discharged first out of the storage batteries, based on the acquired deterioration degree information; and

a transmission portion for issuing an instruction for electrical discharge to the storage battery decided to be discharged first via the controller.

14. The power distribution device according to claim 13, further comprising an interface capable of being connected with other power distribution device.