CHARGING CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20130093393A1
• Filed: 10/05/2010
• Published: 04/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Shimotani, Mitsuo, Mikuriya, Makoto, Sakairi, Takeo, Toma, Eriko
• Application Number:
  US13/704,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20130093393A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/642 Slope of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/645 Type of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• 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 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/64 The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• 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 7/00 : Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• 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 20/222 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Disclosed is a charging control apparatus including: a communication unit 9 that communicates with a charge vehicle 3; an electric fee table 7 in which data that indicates a change of an electric fee with the elapse of time of a system power 4 is set; and a charging schedule processing unit 8 that acquires from the charge vehicle 3 a residual capacity of a battery 27 installed in the charge vehicle 3 via the communication unit 9, and plans a charging schedule to charge the battery 27 from the residual capacity of the battery 27 to a predetermined charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by a predetermined date and time, based on the electric fee table 7.

Claims

1. A charging control apparatus, comprising:

a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle;

an electric fee table in which data that indicates the change of an electric fee of a system power with the elapse of time is set; and

a charging schedule processing unit that acquires from the vehicle a residual capacity of a battery installed in the vehicle via the communication unit, plans a charging schedule to charge the battery installed in the vehicle from the residual capacity of the battery to a charge amount required for traveling to destination at the cheapest electric fee by a predetermined date and time, based on the electric fee table, and causes a charging/discharging unit that charges the battery with the system power to supply the system power to the battery in accordance with the corresponding charging schedule.

2. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a geographic data base that stores geographical data;

a route calculation unit that calculates a scheduled travel route to a destination based on a vehicle position and geographic data read from the geographic data base; and

a required charge amount calculation unit that calculates a required charge amount for the vehicle to travel the corresponding scheduled travel route based on a travel distance of the scheduled travel route calculated by the route calculation unit, and a power consumption amount of the battery per unit travel distance of the vehicle, wherein

the charging schedule processing unit requests the route calculation unit to search a route to a destination that is input using an operation unit to perform an input operation, such that the route calculation unit calculates a scheduled travel route to the destination, and also the required charge amount calculation unit calculates a required charge amount for the corresponding scheduled travel route, and acquires the residual capacity of the battery from the vehicle via the communication unit, and

the charging schedule processing unit plans a charging schedule for charging the battery installed in the vehicle from the residual capacity of the battery to the required charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by the travel start date and time of the vehicle based on the electric fee table.

3. The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a traffic congestion prediction unit that predicts a traffic congestion state of the scheduled travel route from traffic congestion information indicating a traffic congestion state of a road in the past, wherein

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery due to the traffic congestion of the scheduled travel route, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to a traveling speed of the vehicle, and traffic congestion information indicating the traffic congestion state of the scheduled travel route predicted by the traffic congestion prediction unit, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for the travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the corresponding power consumption amount and calculates the required charge amount.

4. The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the geographic data base stores geographic data including undulation information of roads, and

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery according to a slope in undulation of the scheduled travel route, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to the slope in undulation of the road and the undulation information in the roads of the scheduled travel route included in the geographic data read from the geographic data base, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

5. The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the geographic data base stores geographic data including classification information of roads, and

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery according to a traveling speed of the vehicle, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to the traveling speed of the vehicle and the traveling speed of the vehicle defined by the road classification of the scheduled travel route included in the geographic data read from the geographic data base, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

6. The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a power consumption amount of the battery by vehicle interior apparatus to be used at a predicted temperature or in a period of time of a predetermined date and time, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

7. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle further comprises:

a navigation apparatus having a geographic data base that stores geographic data, and a route calculation unit that calculates a scheduled travel route to a destination based on a vehicle position and the geographic data read from the geographic data base; and

a required charge amount calculation unit that calculates a required charge amount for the vehicle to travel the corresponding scheduled travel route, based on a travel distance of the scheduled travel route calculated by the route calculation unit, and a power consumption amount of the battery per unit travel distance of the vehicle, wherein

the charging schedule processing unit requests the vehicle, via the communication unit, to search a route to a destination that is input using an operation unit that performs an input operation, such that the route calculation unit calculates a scheduled travel route to the destination and also the required charge amount calculation unit calculates a required charge amount for the scheduled travel route, and acquires the required charge amount and the residual capacity of the battery from the vehicle via the communication unit, and

the charging schedule processing unit plans a charging schedule for charging the battery installed in the vehicle from the residual capacity of the battery to the required charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by the travel start date and time of the vehicle, based on the electric fee table.

8. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charging schedule processing unit updates the electric fee table in accordance with a real-time electric fee of the system power.

9. The charging control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein in the case where the required charge amount cannot be charged by the predetermined date and time when the charging of the battery is continued at the cheapest electric fee based on the electric fee table that is sequentially updated in accordance with the real-time electric fee of the system power, the charging schedule processing unit plans the charging schedule to continue the charging regardless the electric fee and complete the charging of the battery up to the required charge amount by the predetermined date and time.

10. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the charging/discharging unit supplies the system power to charge the battery, and also supplies power stored in the corresponding battery to the system power side, and

the charging schedule processing unit plans a charging schedule to charge the corresponding battery to the required charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by a predetermined date and time, such that the battery is charged in a period of time when the electric fee is a predetermined threshold or less, and also that power stored in the battery is supplied the to system power side in a period of time when the electric fee exceeds the predetermined threshold.

11. A charging control apparatus, comprising:

a communication unit that communicates between the vehicle and a server apparatus that includes a geographic data base that stores geographic data, a route calculation unit that calculates a scheduled travel route to a destination based on geographic data read from the geographic data base and a vehicle position, and a required charge amount calculation unit that calculates a required charge amount for the vehicle to travel the corresponding scheduled travel route, based on a travel distance of the scheduled travel route calculated by the route calculation unit and a power consumption amount of the battery installed in the corresponding vehicle per unit travel distance of the vehicle;

an electric fee table in which data indicating a change of an electric fee with the elapse of time of a system power is set; and

a charging schedule processing unit that acquires from the vehicle a residual capacity of the battery installed in the vehicle via the communication unit, acquires the required charge amount for the vehicle to travel the scheduled travel route from the server unit, plans a charging schedule to charge the battery installed in the vehicle from the residual capacity of the battery to the required charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by at predetermined date and time, based on the electric fee table, and causes a charging/discharging unit that charges the battery with the system power to supply the system power to the battery in accordance with the corresponding charging schedule.

12. A charging control apparatus installed in a vehicle, comprising:

a electric fee table in which data that indicates a change of an electric fee with the elapse of time of a system power is set;

a route calculation unit that calculates a scheduled travel route to a destination based on geographic data read from a geographic data base and the vehicle position;

a required charge amount calculation unit that calculates a required charge amount for the vehicle to travel the corresponding scheduled travel route, based on a travel distance of the scheduled travel route calculated by the route calculation unit and a power consumption amount of the battery installed in the vehicle per unit travel distance; and

a charging schedule processing unit that acquires from the vehicle a residual capacity of the battery installed in the corresponding vehicle, plans a charging schedule to charge the battery installed in the vehicle from the residual capacity of the battery to the required charge amount at the cheapest electric fee by a predetermined date and time, based on the electric fee table, and causes a charging/discharging unit that charges the battery with the system power to supply the system power to the battery in accordance with the corresponding charging schedule.

13. The charging control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the charging/discharging unit is installed in the vehicle, and the charging schedule processing unit plans the charging schedule for the charging/discharging unit installed in the vehicle.

14. The charging control apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

a traffic congestion prediction unit that predicts a traffic congestion state of the scheduled travel route from traffic congestion information indicating a traffic congestion state of a road in the past, wherein

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery due to the traffic congestion of the scheduled travel route, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to a traveling speed of the vehicle, and traffic congestion information indicating the traffic congestion state of the scheduled travel route predicted for the traffic congestion prediction unit, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for the travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

15. The charging control apparatus according in claim 12, wherein

the geographic data base stores geographic data including undulation information of roads, and

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery due to a slope of the scheduled travel route, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to the slope in height of the road and the undulation information in the roads of the scheduled travel route included in the geographic data read from the geographic data base, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

16. The charging control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the geographic data base stores geographic data including classification information of roads, and

the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a variation of the power consumption amount of the battery according to a traveling speed of the vehicle, based on the power consumption amount of the battery according to the traveling speed of the vehicle and the traveling speed of the vehicle defined by the road classification of the scheduled travel route included in the geographic data read from the geographic data base, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the variation of the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.

17. The charging control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the charging schedule processing unit updates the electric fee table in accordance with a real-time electric fee of the system power.

18. The charging control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the required charge amount calculation unit predicts a power consumption amount of the battery consumed by vehicle interior apparatus operated before a predetermined date and time, corrects the power consumption amount of the battery predicted for a travel on the scheduled travel route with the corresponding power consumption amount, and calculates the required charge amount.