Electric power control apparatus

• US 9,507,368 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aval Nagasaki Corporation, DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aval Nagasaki Corporation, DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Muneishi, Hiroshi, Ito, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): KASENGE, CHARLES R
• Application Number:
  US13/944,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20140025214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 700/286, 700/291, 700/295
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 5/00 Systems for regulating electric variables by detecting deviations in the electric input to the system and thereby controlling a device within the system to obtain a regulated output
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/14 for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle

Abstract

A power control apparatus includes: a power supply device including multiple power supply elements; a power consumption device; a battery independently arranged from the power supply device and the power consumption device; a supply and consumption balance adjustment device for controlling the power supply device and the battery to supply the electric power to the power consumption device; a prediction device for predicting electric power supply from at least a part of multiple power supply elements and electric power consumption of the power consumption device; a guard value setting device for setting a guard value of a charging and discharging operation of the battery according to a prediction result of the prediction device; and an output device for outputting the guard value to the supply and consumption balance adjustment device.

Claims

1. A power control apparatus comprising:

a power supply device for supplying an electric power, the power supply device including a plurality of power supply elements;

a power consumption device for consuming the electric power;

a battery independently arranged from the power supply device and the power consumption device;

a supply and consumption balance adjustment device for controlling the power supply device and the battery to supply the electric power to the power consumption device;

a prediction device for predicting at least one of electric power supply from at least a part of the plurality of power supply elements and electric power consumption of the power consumption device;

a guard value setting device for setting a guard value of a charging and discharging operation of the battery according to a prediction result of the prediction device; and

an output device for outputting the guard value to the supply and consumption balance adjustment device, wherein

the guard value setting device includes an optimum value search device for determining an optimum value of the charging and discharging operation of the battery according to the prediction result of the prediction device;

the guard value includes a charging guard value and a discharging guard value; and

the guard value setting device sets the charging guard value when the optimum value determined by the optimum value search device relates to a charging operation of the battery, and the guard value setting device sets the discharging guard value when the optimum value determined by the optimum value search device relates to a discharging operation of the battery.

2. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the output device further outputs a command to the supply and consumption balance adjustment device, the command instructing, according to the optimum value, whether the electric power is to be charged in the battery or to be discharged from the battery;

the supply and consumption balance adjustment device prioritizes supplying the electric power from the power supply device to the power consumption device when the command instructs that the electric power is to be charged in the battery; and

the supply and consumption balance adjustment device prioritizes supplying the electric power from the battery to the power consumption device when the command instructs that the electric power is to be discharged from the battery.

3. The power control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the power supply device, the battery and the power consumption device exchange the electric power via a common direct current line;

the supply and consumption balance adjustment device determines based on a voltage of the direct current line whether the electric power to be supplied to the power consumption device is short; and

the supply and consumption balance adjustment device controls an amount of the electric power supply from the power supply device and an amount of the charging and discharging operation of the battery, according to a determination result of the supply and consumption balance adjustment device.

4. The power control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the plurality of power supply elements includes a paid power supply element that requires a cost when the paid power supply element supplies the electric power to the power consumption device; and

the optimum value search device calculates the optimum value of the charging and discharging operation of the battery based on the prediction result of the prediction device in order to reduce the cost to be required by the paid power supply element.

5. The power control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

the paid power supply element includes an introduction device for introducing the electric power from a system power supply.

6. The power control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the plurality of power supply elements includes a renewable energy using element for generating the electric power using renewable energy; and

the optimum value search device calculates the optimum value of the charging and discharging operation of the battery based on the prediction result of the prediction device in order to increase a usage amount of the electric power supplied from the renewable energy using element.

7. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of power supply elements includes an unstable power supply element, of which an available amount of electric power supply is not preliminarily determined; and

the prediction device predicts the electric power supply from the unstable power supply element.

8. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the prediction device predicts during a prediction period having a predetermined time length at predetermined time intervals, which are shorter than the predetermined time length;

the guard value setting device updates the guard value according to the prediction result performed at predetermined time intervals; and

the output device outputs an updated guard value to the supply and consumption balance adjustment device when the guard value is updated.

9. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the power consumption device includes a transmission element for transmitting the electric power to a mobile object.

10. The power control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

the guard value setting device sets the guard value so as to become a charging rate of the battery to be equal to or higher than a lower limit value of the charging rate of the battery; and

the lower limit value is a minimum required electric power for supplying the electric power to the mobile object via the transmission element from the battery.

11. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage device for storing characteristic information of the battery, wherein;

the guard value setting device sets a guard value of a charging and discharging current of the battery as the guard value of the charging and discharging operation of the battery, according to the characteristic information.

12. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the power consumption device includes a conversion device for converting the electric power to thermal energy;

the guard value setting device includes a determination device for determining based on the prediction result whether the conversion device converts the electric power; and

the output device outputs a command signal to the conversion device in accordance with a determination result of the determination device.

13. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the supply and consumption balance adjustment device controls an amount of the electric power supply from the power supply device and an amount of the charging and discharging operation of the battery, according to a determination result of the supply and consumption balance adjustment device.

14. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the charging guard value is a charge upper limit guard value; and

the discharging guard value is a discharge upper limit guard value.

15. The power control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein:

a discharge power of the battery does not exceed the guard value when the guard value setting device sets the discharge upper limit guard value.