System for Managing Vehicle Energy, and Method and Apparatus for Same

• US 20130253746A1
• Filed: 04/20/2012
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T Map Mobility Company Limited (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: SK Planet Co., Ltd. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Choi, Yoon Jeong, Son, Dae Lim, Lee, Eun Bok, Jung, Jun Yong
• Granted Patent: US 8,751,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/00 Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/20 for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/66 Ambient conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• 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 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 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 : Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 : Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 : Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 : Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for managing vehicle energy, and particularly relates to a system for managing vehicle energy, and a method and apparatus for same, which can calculate the amount of electric power needed for operating a vehicle, can sell a surplus amount of electric power that is the current amount of battery power less the calculated amount of electric power, or adjust a number of received location information signals according to the current battery power.

Claims

1-36. -36. (canceled)

37. A vehicle energy management system comprising:

a vehicle management apparatus configured to create current battery power information by checking current battery power, to check the number of times to receive location information signals, to transmit the current battery power information and the number of times to receive to a service apparatus, and if the adjusted number of times to receive location information signals is received from the service apparatus, to receive the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times; and

the service apparatus configured to compare the current battery power with a predetermined threshold when the current battery power information and the number of times are received from the vehicle management apparatus, to adjust the number of times depending on comparison results, and to transmit the adjusted number of times to the vehicle management apparatus.

38. A vehicle energy management system comprising:

a vehicle management apparatus configured to monitor a state of a vehicle, to create current battery power information by checking current battery power, and to provide the current battery power information to a terminal;

a terminal configured to check the number of times to receive location information signals, to transmit to a service apparatus the current battery power information and the number of times to receive location information signals, and if the adjusted number of times to receive location information signals is received from the service apparatus, to receive the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times; and

the service apparatus configured to compare the current battery power with a predetermined threshold when the current battery power information and the number of times are received from the terminal, to adjust the number of times depending on comparison results, and to transmit the adjusted number of times to the terminal.

39. A vehicle management apparatus comprising:

a GPS receiver configured to receive location information signals according to the predetermined number of times; and

a control unit configured to create current battery power information by checking current battery power, to compare the current battery power with a predetermined threshold, to adjust the number of times depending on comparison results, and to control the GPS receiver to receive the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times.

40. The vehicle management apparatus of claim 39, wherein the control unit is further configured to, if the current battery power is lower than the predetermined threshold, decrease the number of times to receive the location information signals.

41. The vehicle management apparatus of claim 39, wherein the control unit is further configured to, if the current battery power is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, maintain or increase the number of times to receive the location information signals.

42. The vehicle management apparatus of claim 39, wherein the control unit is further configured to, while the number of times to receive location information signals is adjusted, periodically check the current battery power, and to compare again the current battery power with the predetermined threshold.

43. A terminal comprising:

a terminal communication unit configured to communicate with a vehicle management apparatus and a service apparatus;

a GPS receiver configured to receive location information signals according to the predetermined number of times; and

a terminal control unit configured to receive current battery power information from the vehicle management apparatus, to check the number of times to receive location information signals, to transmit to the service apparatus the current battery power information and the number of times, and if the adjusted number of times to receive location information signals is received from the service apparatus, to control the GPS receiver to receive the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times.

44. The terminal of claim 43, further comprising:

a terminal storage unit configured to store the number of times to receive the location information signals.

45. A terminal comprising:

a terminal storage unit configured to store the number of times to receive location information signals, and to store a predetermined threshold;

a GPS receiver configured to receive the location information signals according to the number of times; and

a control unit configured to, when current battery power information is received from a vehicle management apparatus, compare the current battery power with the predetermined threshold, to adjust the number of times depending on comparison results, and to control the GPS receiver to receive the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times.

46. A service apparatus comprising:

a service communication unit configured to communicate with at least one vehicle management apparatus or a terminal; and

a service control unit configured to compare current battery power with a predetermined threshold when current battery power information and the number of times to receive location information signals are received from the vehicle management apparatus of the terminal, to adjust the number of times depending on comparison results, and to transmit the adjusted number of times to the vehicle management apparatus or the terminal.

47. A vehicle energy management method comprising steps of:

at a vehicle management apparatus, checking current battery power;

at the vehicle management apparatus, comparing the current battery power with a predetermined threshold;

at the vehicle management apparatus, depending on comparison results, adjusting the number of times to receive location information signals; and

at the vehicle management apparatus, receiving the location information signals according to the adjusted number of times.