CHARGE/DISCHARGE ASSIST DEVICE

• US 20140336965A1
• Filed: 08/31/2012
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mori, Kenji, Shiga, Takahiro, Mori, Hiroko
• Application Number:
  US14/241,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20140336965A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/63
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/20 using propulsion power generated by humans or animals
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• 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 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0071 : with a programmable schedule
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 : Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• 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 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• 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: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

An electronic control unit of a charge/discharge assist device has a data input section, a departure/arrival time prediction map generation section, a travel distance prediction map generation section, a rule curve creation section, and a data output section. The input section inputs departure time information, arrival time information, and travel distance information. The prediction map generation section creates a map for providing a predicted departure time in future and a map for providing a predicted arrival time in future. The prediction map generation section creates a departure-time-zone-specific predicted travel distance map for predicting the longest travel distance in each departure time zone. On the basis of the predicted travel distance map, the creation section determines an electric energy required in each time zone and creates a rule curve. The output section creates a charge plan or a discharge plan by using the rule curve and outputs the plan.

Claims

1. A charge/discharge assist device comprising control means for assisting charge or discharge of a battery installed in a piece of equipment, the charge/discharge assist device being wherein

the control means

acquires information concerning past consumption of power of the battery in the equipment,

creates a rule curve representing a relation between time and an estimated necessary electric energy at each point in time which must be reserved before that time on the basis of the acquired information concerning the past consumption of power of the battery in the equipment,

estimates and determines a charge start time at which charge of the battery is to be started or a discharge stop time at which discharge of the battery is to be stopped, by use of the created rule curve, and

outputs the estimated and determined charge start time or discharge stop time.

2. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 1, wherein the control means estimates and determines a latest charge start time which is a latest time at which charge of the battery is to be started or a latest discharge stop time which is a latest time at which discharge of the battery is to be stopped, through use of the created rule curve, by setting a line segment which is tangent to the rule curve in the vicinity of a point corresponding a local maximum value of the rule curve or a line segment whose value is always greater than the estimated necessary electric energy represented by the rule curve.

3. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 2, wherein when the created rule curve has a plurality of local maximum values, the control means sets line segments each of which is tangent to the rule curve in the vicinity of a point representing the corresponding local maximum value or line segments each of which has a value which is always greater than the estimated necessary electric energy represented by the rule curve, estimates and determines latest charge start times or latest discharge stop times by using the line segments, and outputs the earliest one of the latest charge start times or the latest one of the latest discharge stop times.

4. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 2, wherein when the estimated power consumption represented by the created rule curve exceeds an upper limit of the battery capacity of the battery, the control means sets a line segment that passes through a point at which the estimated necessary electric energy coincides with the upper limit of the battery capacity or a line segment whose value is always greater than the estimated necessary electric energy represented by the rule curve, to thereby estimate and determine the latest charge start time, or the control means sets a line segment which passes through the point or a line segment whose value is always greater than the estimated necessary electric energy represented by the rule curve, to thereby estimate and determine the latest discharge stop time.

5. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 2, wherein the control means sets the line segment for estimating and determining the latest charge start time by use of at least one of an amount of electric energy that can be stored in the battery, a predicted ambient temperature at the time when the battery is charged, a charge voltage supplied to the battery, and a charge current supplied to the battery, or the control means sets the line segment for estimating and determining the latest discharge stop time by use of at least one of an amount of electric energy that can be discharged from the battery, a predicted ambient temperature at the time when the battery is charged, a discharge voltage supplied from the battery, and a discharge current supplied from the battery.

6. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 1, wherein

the equipment is a plug-in-type electric vehicle whose battery is charged by an external power supply, and

the control means creates a rule curve representing a relation between time and an estimated necessary electric energy at each point in time which must be reserved before that time on the basis of the information concerning the past consumption of power of the battery in the plug-in-type electric vehicle.

7. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 6, wherein the information concerning the past consumption of power of the battery in the plug-in-type electric vehicle is departure time information indicating a time at which the plug-in-type electric vehicle departed from a predetermined parking position and arrival time information indicating a time at which the plug-in-type electric vehicle arrived at the predetermined parking position, or the information concerning the past consumption of power of the battery in the plug-in-type electric vehicle is travel distance information indicating a travel distance that the plug-in-type electric vehicle has traveled after it departed from the predetermined parking position at the departure time indicated by the departure time information.

8. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 1, wherein the control means creates rule curves for a plurality of pieces of equipment, each of which represents a relation between time and an estimated necessary electric energy at each point in time which must be reserved before that time, on the basis of information concerning the past consumption of power of the battery in each of the plurality of pieces of equipment, estimates and determines a charge start time at which charge of the battery is to be started or a discharge stop time at which discharge of the battery is to be stopped, by use of the created rule curves and in consideration of priority among the plurality of pieces of equipment when they are used, and outputs the estimated and determined charge start time or discharge stop time.

9. A charge/discharge assist device according to claim 8, wherein, in consideration of the priority among the plurality of pieces of equipment, the control means sets line segments each of which is tangent to the corresponding created rule curve in the vicinity of a point corresponding to a local maximum value of the rule curve or line segments each of which has a value which is always greater than the estimated necessary electric energy represented by the rule curve, to thereby estimate and determine the latest charge start time or the latest discharge stop time.