Energy system

• US 9,849,803 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Morioka, Yukiko, Sakuma, Hisato, Kudo, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, Robert
• Application Number:
  US14/797,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20150314701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 320101, 320132, 320134
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/28 The renewable source being wind energy wind motors F03D
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/40 wherein a plurality of decentralised, dispersed or local energy generation technologies are operated simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0016 using shunting, discharge or bypass circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/76 Power conversion electric or electronic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

An energy system includes an electric device that consumes electric power, a plurality of storage batteries that supplies stored electric power to the electric device, each of the storage batteries being chargeable and dischargeable under the control of an external device, and an information processor that divides the plurality of storage batteries into families which includes the storage batteries having similar charging and discharging characteristics, and that controls the timings to charge and discharge the storage batteries in the family.

Claims

1. An energy system comprising:

an electric device that consumes electric power;

a plurality of storage batteries that supplies stored electric power to said electric device, each of said storage batteries being individually set to a maximum SOC representing a charging limit and a minimum SOC representing a discharging limit, each of said storage batteries being chargeable and dischargeable under the control of an external device and being capable of measuring SOC values; and

an information processor that designates storage batteries which have reached said minimum SOC as belonging to a charging storage battery group, and that designates storage batteries which have reached said maximum SOC, said charging-stop SOC, or said charging-stop ratio as belonging to a discharging storage battery group, and that sets storage batteries to higher priorities according to the ascending order of SOC values in the storage batteries belonging to the charging storage battery group, and that sets storage batteries to higher priorities according to the descending order of SOC values in the storage batteries belonging to the discharging storage battery group, and that controls the charging and discharging of the storage batteries based on the priorities.

2. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein said information processor sets storage batteries to higher priorities according to the ascending order of the number of charging and discharging cycles of respective storage batteries.

3. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein said information processor carries out charging or discharging a storage battery having priority 1, which is the highest priority, and if the value of the SOC of the storage battery having priority 1 is the same as the value of the SOC of a storage battery having priority 2, which is the second highest priority, or if the utilization ratio within the usable SOC range of the storage battery having priority 1 is the same as the utilization ratio of the storage battery having priority 2, then said information processor carries out charging or discharging a storage battery having priority 1 and priority 2 concurrent with each other.

4. The energy system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a renewable power supply that supplies generated electric power to said electric device and said storage batteries,

wherein said storage batteries are individually set to a maximum SOC representing a charging limit and a minimum SOC representing a discharging limit and are capable of measuring SOC values; and

said information processor controls charging and discharging processes of said storage batteries individually to keep said storage batteries charged until SOC values acquired from said storage batteries reach said maximum SOC when said storage batteries are charged and to keep said storage batteries discharged until SOC values acquired from said storage batteries reach said minimum SOC when said storage batteries are discharged.

5. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein said information processor:

individually establishes, for each of said storage batteries, a charging-stop SOC, which serves as an index for stopping the charging process, lower than said maximum SOC, or a charging-stop ratio within a usable SOC range; and

controls the charging processes of said storage batteries individually to keep said storage batteries charged until SOC values acquired from said storage batteries reach said charging-stop SOC or said charging-stop ratio when said storage batteries are charged.

6. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein either said renewable power supply or said storage batteries are installed in association with an electric power user who has said electric device.

7. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein if the amount of electric power supplied by said renewable power supply is greater than the amount of electric power consumed by said electric device, said information processor carries out at least one process from among a process of supplying the generated electric power to a power distribution system by way of reverse power flow, a process of charging the storage batteries designated as belonging to said charging storage battery group, and a process of reducing the amount of electric power generated by said renewable power supply;

and

wherein if the amount of electric power supplied by said renewable power supply is smaller than the amount of electric power consumed by said electric device, said information processor carries out at least one process from among a process of receiving electric power from the power distribution system, a process of increasing the amount of electric power generated by said renewable power supply, and a process of discharging the storage batteries designated as belonging to said discharging storage battery group.

8. The energy system according to claim 1, wherein said storage batteries include a vehicular storage battery.

9. A hierarchical energy system comprising:

a plurality of energy systems each according to claim 1; and

a secondary information processor which notifies amounts of electric power consumed by the energy systems controlled by the information processors thereof, to the information processors included in the respective energy systems.

10. An information processor for controlling an energy system including:

an electric device that consumes electric power; and

a plurality of storage batteries that supplies stored electric power to said electric device, each of said storage batteries being individually set to a maximum SOC representing a charging limit and a minimum SOC representing a discharging limit, each of said storage batteries being chargeable and dischargeable under the control of an external device and being capable of measuring SOC values,

wherein said information processor comprises;

a processor that designates storage batteries which have reached said minimum SOC as belonging to a charging storage battery group, and that designates storage batteries which have reached said maximum SOC, said charging-stop SOC, or said charging-stop ratio as belonging to a discharging storage battery group, and that sets storage batteries to higher priorities according to the ascending order of SOC values in the storage batteries belonging to the charging storage battery group, and that sets storage batteries to higher priorities according to the descending order of SOC values in the storage batteries belonging to the discharging storage battery group, and that controls the charging and discharging of the storage batteries based on the priorities.