Charging control system, charging control method, and recording medium

• US 9,248,752 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2012
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation, University of Tokyo
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation, University of Tokyo
• Inventors: Kuribayashi, Ryosuke, Yano, Hitoshi, Kudo, Koji, Ogimoto, Kazuhiko, Kataoka, Kazuto, Ikegami, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, SUN J
• Application Number:
  US14/002,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20130335032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 320/137
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• 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: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00034 the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/144 Demand-response operation of the power transmission or distribution network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A charging control system that controls charging of a plurality of vehicles that run on electricity includes: an assignment unit that assigns an order of priority relating to charging to the plurality of vehicles based on a predetermined index; a receiving unit that receives electric power demands that are requested from an electric power supply side; and a control unit that selects from among the plurality of vehicles in the order of highest priority charging-object vehicles in which the ON/OFF setting for turning charging ON and OFF is to be set to ON, and sets the ON/OFF setting of charging-object vehicles to the ON setting. The control unit changes the number of charging-object vehicles in response to changes in electric power demands over time.

Claims

1. A charging control system that controls charging of a plurality of vehicles that run on electric power, the charging control system comprising:

an assignment unit that, based on a predetermined index, assigns to said plurality of vehicles an order of priority relating to charging;

a receiving unit that receives electric power demands that are requested from an electric power supply side; and

a control unit that selects from among said plurality of vehicles, in higher orders according to order of said order of priority, charging-object vehicles in which an ON/OFF setting for ON/OFF of said charging is to be set to ON and sets the ON/OFF setting of said charging-object vehicles to ON,

wherein said control unit changes a number of said charging-object vehicles according to changes of said electric power demands over time,

wherein said assignment unit uses, as said predetermined index, an index that is based on at least one of a charging amount of said vehicles, a charging rate of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging amount of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging rate of said vehicles, a desired charging amount that is necessary for said vehicles, a desired charging speed that is necessary for said vehicles, a permissible charging speed of said vehicles, a time interval required for said desired charging amount in said vehicles, and a time interval in which charging of said vehicles is possible, and

wherein said assignment unit uses, as said predetermined index, an index that is based on a value that is calculated by a formula;

(said desired charging amount, said desired charging rate, or said time interval required for said desired charging)/(said time interval in which said charging is possible).

2. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said control unit controls a charging unit that is connected to a vehicle to control the ON/OFF of charging of that vehicle, and

wherein said assignment unit uses, as said predetermined index, a load amount of said charging unit or a load amount of electric power distribution lines that supply electric power to said charging unit.

3. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said assignment unit uses, as said predetermined index, a state of a storage battery that is installed in a vehicle and for which ON/OFF of said charging is controlled.

4. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said assignment unit uses, as said predetermined index, a content of a contract concluded between an owner of a vehicle and a provider of said charging control system.

5. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said electric power demands requested from the electric power supply side include sudden electric power demands.

6. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said control unit calculates a charging amount per unit time of said plurality of vehicles based on a function that represents the change over time of said electric power demands that are requested from the electric power supply side, uses a total sum of the charging amount to set a target value of charging demand, and changes the number of said charging-object vehicles according to said target value.

7. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the assignment unit is configured to calculate a possible charging time from a scheduled time of a connection completion and a desired charging time margin.

8. The charging control system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the assignment unit is further configured to determine the order of priority relating to the charging based on the possible charging time, a required charge amount, and an inherent charging speed of each of said vehicles.

9. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the assignment unit comprises a charging time calculation unit that, based on a scheduled departure time and a current time, calculates a possible charging time that includes a guaranteed continuous time of connection to a charging equipment.

10. The charging control system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the assignment unit is configured to determine the order of priority relating to the charging based on a possible charging time, a required charge amount, and an inherent charging speed of each of said vehicles.

11. A charging control method in a charging control system that controls charging of a plurality of vehicles that run on electric power, the charging control method comprising:

based on a predetermined index, assigning to said plurality of vehicles an order of priority relating to charging;

receiving electric power demands that are requested from an electric power supply side; and

selecting from among said plurality of vehicles in higher orders according to order of said order of priority charging-object vehicles in which an ON/OFF setting relating to ON/OFF of said charging is to be set to ON and implementing a control procedure to set the ON/OFF setting of said charging-object vehicles to ON,

wherein, in said control procedure, a number of said charging-object vehicles changes according to changes of said electric power demands over time,

wherein, in said assigning to said plurality of vehicles, as said predetermined index, an index is used that is based on at least one of a charging amount of said vehicles, a charging rate of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging amount of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging rate of said vehicles, a desired charging amount that is necessary for said vehicles, a desired charging speed that is necessary for said vehicles, a permissible charging speed of said vehicles, a time interval required for said desired charging amount in said vehicles, and a time interval in which charging of said vehicles is possible, and

wherein, in said assigning to said plurality of vehicles, as said predetermined index, an index that is used based on a value that is calculated by a formula;

(said desired charging amount, said desired charging rate, or said time interval required for said desired charging)/(said time interval in which said charging is possible).

12. The charging control method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said assigning to said plurality of vehicles comprises calculating a possible charging time from a scheduled time of a connection completion and a desired charging time margin.

13. The charging control method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said assigning to said plurality of vehicles further comprises determining the order of priority relating to the charging based on the possible charging time, a required charge amount, and an inherent charging speed of each of said vehicles.

14. The charging control method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said assigning to said plurality of vehicles comprises, based on a scheduled departure time and a current time, calculating a possible charging time that includes a guaranteed continuous time of connection to a charging equipment.

15. A non-transitory recording medium that can be read by a computer and on which a program is recorded that causes the computer for controlling charging of a plurality of vehicles that run on electric power to execute:

an assignment procedure of based on a predetermined index, assigning an order of priority relating to charging to said plurality of vehicles;

a reception procedure of receiving electric power demands that are requested from an electric power supply side; and

a control procedure of selecting from among said plurality of vehicles according to higher orders of said order of priority charging-object vehicles in which an ON/OFF setting for ON/OFF of said charging is to be set to ON and implementing a control procedure to set the ON/OFF setting of said charging-object vehicles to ON,

wherein, in said control procedure, a number of said charging-object vehicles changes according to changes of said electric power demands over time,

wherein, in said assignment procedure, as said predetermined index, an index is used that is based on at least one of a charging amount of said vehicles, a charging rate of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging amount of said vehicles, a permissible range of charging rate of said vehicles, a desired charging amount that is necessary for said vehicles, a desired charging speed that is necessary for said vehicles, a permissible charging speed of said vehicles, a time interval required for said desired charging amount in said vehicles, and a time interval in which charging of said vehicles is possible, and

wherein, in said assignment procedure, as said predetermined index, an index that is used based on a value that is calculated by a formula;

(said desired charging amount, said desired charging rate, or said time interval required for said desired charging)/(said time interval in which said charging is possible).

16. The non-transitory recording medium as set forth in claim 15, wherein said assignment procedure comprises calculating a possible charging time from a scheduled time of a connection completion and a desired charging time margin.

17. The non-transitory recording medium as set forth in claim 16, wherein said assignment procedure further comprises determining the order of priority relating to the charging based on the possible charging time, a required charge amount, and an inherent charging speed of each of said vehicles.

18. The non-transitory recording medium as set forth in claim 15, wherein said assignment procedure comprises, based on a scheduled departure time and a current time, calculating a possible charging time that includes a guaranteed continuous time of connection to a charging equipment.