Charging control device

• US 8,664,916 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2011
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Yuya, Iida, Susumu, Kobayashi, Misayo
• Primary Examiner(s): TSO, EDWARD H
• Application Number:
  US13/228,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20120062168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 320/103, 320/104, 320/107, 320/128, 320/132
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• 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: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• 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 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• 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 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 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A charging control device stores expected driving start time of each of motor vehicles and controls charging operations of the motor vehicles in such a manner as to finish charging a battery mounted to each of the motor vehicles by the corresponding expected driving start time. The charging control device includes a storage unit for storing the expected driving start time of each of the motor vehicles; and a control unit for searching the motor vehicles to find a specific motor vehicle whose charging is expected to be finished by the expected driving start time and causing the specific motor vehicle to discharge an electric power to be used in charging at least one of the motor vehicles other than the specific motor vehicle.

Claims

1. A charging control device for storing expected driving start time of each of motor vehicles and controlling charging operations of the motor vehicles in such a manner as to finish charging a battery mounted to each of the motor vehicles by the corresponding expected driving start time, the charging control device comprising:

a storage unit for storing the expected driving start time of each of the motor vehicles; and

a control unit for searching the motor vehicles to find a specific motor vehicle whose charging is expected to be finished by the expected driving start time and causing the specific motor vehicle to discharge an electric power to be used in charging at least one of the motor vehicles other than the specific motor vehicle.

2. The charging control device of claim 1, wherein the control unit includes:

an information acquiring unit for acquiring information on a battery residual amount and a battery capacity from each of the motor vehicles;

an estimating unit for estimating the time required to charge each of the motor vehicles to a target charging amount obtained by subtracting the residual amount from the battery capacity; and

an opening-closing unit for opening or closing charging routes leading to the motor vehicles,

wherein the control unit searches the motor vehicles based on estimation results of the estimating unit to find a timely-chargeable motor vehicle that can be charged approximately to at least the target charging amount by the expected driving start time and a belatedly charged motor vehicle that cannot be charged to the target charging amount by the expected driving start time and then controls the opening-closing unit to form a discharging route extending from the timely-chargeable motor vehicle to the belatedly charged motor vehicle.

3. The charging control device of claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the opening-closing unit to preferentially charge one of the motor vehicles smaller in the target charging amount than the remaining motor vehicles.

4. The charging control device of claim 2, further comprising:

power supply lines extending from the motor vehicles to an electric appliance other than the motor vehicle,

wherein the control unit further includes a power-supply-line opening/closing unit for opening or closing the power supply lines and controls the power-supply-line opening/closing unit to supply an electric power discharged from the motor vehicles to the electric appliance.

5. The charging control device of claim 3, further comprising:

power supply lines extending from the motor vehicles to an electric appliance other than the motor vehicle,

wherein the control unit further includes a power-supply-line opening/closing unit for opening or closing the power supply lines and controls the power-supply-line opening/closing unit to supply an electric power discharged from the motor vehicles to the electric appliance.