Mobile terminal, systems and methods for controlling charging and discharging battery

• US 9,399,403 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2014
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BYD Company Limited
• Original Assignee: BYD Company Limited
• Inventors: Lu, Han, Li, Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US14/523,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20150042286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• Field of Search: 320/128, 705/412
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• 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: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• 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: 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 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A method for controlling charging and discharging of a battery, as well as a server and a mobile terminal for controlling charging and discharging of a battery, are provided. The server is configured to obtain electricity pricing information, to provide the electricity pricing information to a mobile terminal, to receive an instruction from the mobile terminal to charge or discharge a battery; and to provide the instruction to a battery management device to charge or discharge the battery resource according to the instruction. The mobile terminal comprises an enquiry unit configured to send an enquiry instruction for information about electricity price to a server, a displaying unit configured to receive the information about electricity price from the server and to display the electricity pricing information; and an inputting unit configured to receive an instruction to manage a battery resource.

Claims

1. A server for controlling charging and discharging of battery, the server being configured to:

obtain electricity pricing information;

provide the electricity pricing information to a mobile terminal;

receive an instruction from the mobile terminal to charge or discharge a battery, the instruction being generated according to the electricity pricing information; and

provide the instruction to a battery management device to charge or discharge the battery,

receive information about a residual electric quantity of the battery from the battery management device;

provide the received information about the residual electric quantity to the mobile terminal;

receive information about a discharging limit from the mobile terminal, the discharging limit being calculated according to the residual electric quantity; and

calculate a time scheduled for discharging the battery based on the received information about the discharging limit;

wherein the instruction provided to the battery management device includes the discharging limit.

2. The server of claim 1, further configured to:

receive information about a residual electric quantity of the battery from the battery management device;

calculate a time scheduled for charging the battery based on the received information about the residual electric quantity; and

provide a message to the mobile terminal to indicate that the battery is fully charged.

3. A mobile terminal for controlling charging and discharging of battery, comprising:

an enquiry unit configured to send an enquiry instruction for information about electricity price to a server;

a displaying unit configured to receive the information about electricity price from the server and to display the electricity pricing information; and

an inputting unit configured to receive an instruction to charge or discharge a battery and to send the instruction to the server, the instruction allowing the server to control a battery management device to charge or discharge the battery according to the instruction.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein the inputting unit comprises a one-touch key.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, further comprising a reminding unit configured to:

compare a first threshold price with the received electricity price; and

provide a reminder to the user to charge the battery when the received electricity price is lower than the first threshold price.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, further comprising a reminding unit configured to:

compare a second threshold price with the received electricity price; and

provide a reminder to the user to discharge the battery when the received electricity price is higher than the second threshold price.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein:

the displaying unit is further configured to display a residual electric quantity of the battery acquired from the server;

the inputting unit is further configured to transmit a discharging limit calculated according to the residual electric quantity to the server and receive a scheduled time for discharging the battery from the server, the scheduled time being calculated according to the discharging limit; and

the displaying unit is further configured to display the scheduled time.