Charging Control Unit and Charging Control Method

• US 20180147950A1
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Published: 05/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Nakano, Noboru, Shimoida, Yoshio, Yoshida, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 10,647,208 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/14 by input of vehicle departure time
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/60 using power supplied by batteries in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• 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: 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

A charging control unit determines whether the electric vehicles are coupled to the respective charging ports and calculates the estimate value Tc and the estimate value Tr for every charging port coupled. The estimate value Tc is the period from start of charging to completion of charging. The estimate value Tr is the period from completion of charging to departure. The charging control unit, when the electric vehicle coupled t last is set to the N-th vehicle and the electric vehicles already coupled are set to the first to N−1-th vehicles in the order of being coupled, and only when Formula (4) is satisfied by all the first to N−1-th vehicles, starts charging of the N-th vehicle. The charging control unit controls to resume charging of the vehicle that was charging immediately before the N-th vehicle started charging as soon as charging of the N-th vehicle finishes.

Claims

1. A charging control unit including a plurality of charging ports, the charging control unit sequentially charging electric vehicles coupled to the respective charging ports, the charging control unit comprising:

a vehicle coupling determining unit configured to determine whether the electric vehicles are coupled to the respective charging ports or not;

a calculator configured to calculate an estimate value Tc and an estimate value Tr for every charging port that is determined to have a coupling of the electric vehicle by the vehicle coupling determining unit, the estimate value Tc being a period that takes from a start of charging to a completion of charging of the electric vehicle coupled to the charging port, the estimate value Tr being a period from the completion of charging of the electric vehicle to a departure of the electric vehicle; and

a control unit configured to control charging of the electric vehicle on the basis of the estimate value Tc and the estimate value Tr, wherein

the control unit, when the electric vehicle coupled to the charging port last is set to an N-th vehicle and the electric vehicles already coupled to the charging ports are set to first to N−

1-th vehicles in an order of being coupled to the charging ports and N is integer of 3 or more, and only when Formula (1) is satisfied by all the first to N−

1-th vehicles, starts charging of the N-th vehicle and controls to resume charging of the electric vehicle that was charging immediately before the N-th vehicle started charging as soon as charging of the N-th vehicle finishes;

Tr(n)>

Σ

_n+1^NTc 

 

(1)

wherein Tc;

estimate value of period that takes for charging of electric vehicle;

Tr;

estimate value of period from completion of charging of electric vehicle to departure of this electric vehicle; and

1≤

n≤

N−

1.

2. The charging control unit according to claim 1, comprising:

a vehicle information detecting unit configured to detect a battery remaining capacity of the electric vehicle and a target battery charging capacity of the electric vehicle, wherein

the calculator calculates the estimate value Tc on the basis of a difference between the battery remaining capacity of the electric vehicle detected by the vehicle information detecting unit and the target battery charging capacity of the electric vehicle.

3. The control unit for the electric vehicle according to claim 2, comprising:

a planned departure time detecting unit configured to detect a planned departure time of the electric vehicle, wherein

the calculator calculates the estimate value Tr by subtracting the estimate value Tc from a period from a charging start time to the vehicle planned departure time detected by the planned departure time detecting unit.

4. A charging control method using a plurality of charging ports, the charging control method sequentially charging electric vehicles coupled to the respective charging ports, the charging control method comprising:

detecting whether the electric vehicles are coupled to the respective charging ports or not;

calculating an estimate value Tc and an estimate value Tr for every charging port that is determined to have a coupling of the electric vehicle, the estimate value Tc being a period that takes for charging of the electric vehicle coupled to the charging port, the estimate value Tr being a period from a completion of charging of the electric vehicle to a departure of the electric vehicle; and

when the electric vehicle coupled to the charging port last is set to an N-th vehicle and the electric vehicles already coupled to the charging ports are set to first to N−

1-th vehicles in an order of being coupled to the charging ports and N is integer of 3 or more, and only when Formula (2) is satisfied by all the first to N−

1-th vehicles, starting charging of the N-th vehicle and controlling to resume charging of the electric vehicle that was charging immediately before the N-th vehicle started charging as soon as charging of the N-th vehicle finishes;

Tr(n)>

Σ

_n+1^NTc 

 

(2)

wherein Tc;

estimate value of period that takes for charging of electric vehicle;

Tr;

estimate value of period from completion of charging of electric vehicle to departure of this electric vehicle; and

1≤

n≤

N−

1.