Energy management device

• US 7,120,520 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kodaira, Takahiro, Seto, Keisuke, Takakuwa, Kei, Isono, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Douglas S.
• Application Number:
  US10/856,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20040249516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 700/286, 700/295, 700/297, 419/7, 419/13, 307/18, 307/31, 307/80
• US Class Current: 700/297
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/56 Temperature prediction, e.g. for pre-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00016 using a wired telecommunication network or a data transmission bus
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00022 using wireless data transmission
• 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 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• 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: 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 10/14 Energy storage units
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 using wireless data transmission

Abstract

An energy management device is provided in a first energy related system and manages transfer of energy between the first energy related system and a second energy related system remote from the first energy related system, each of the first and second energy related systems including, as an energy related element, at least one of an accumulation unit which accumulates energy, a consumption unit which consumes energy, and a generation unit which generates energy. In the energy management device, a communication unit exchanges information between the first energy related system and the second energy related system, the information related to at least one of the energy consumption, the energy accumulation and the energy generation in each of the first and second energy related systems. A supply control unit controls supplying of energy from one of the first and second energy related systems to the other based on contents of the exchanged information.

Claims

1. An energy management device which is provided in a first energy related system and manages transfer of energy between the first energy related system and a second energy related system remote from the first energy related system, each of the first and second energy related systems including, as an energy related element, at least one of an accumulation unit which accumulates energy, a consumption unit which consumes energy, and a generation unit which generates energy, the energy management device comprising:

a communication unit exchanging information between the first energy related system and the second energy related system, the information relating to at least one of an energy consumption, an energy accumulation and an energy generation in each of the first and second energy related systems; and

a supply control unit controlling supplying of energy from one of the first and second energy related systems to the other based on contents of exchanged information and a request for the supplying of energy.

2. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein the supply control unit comprises a transmitting unit transmitting, prior to the supplying of energy from one of the first and second energy related systems, which is an energy sender, to the other of the first and second energy related systems, which is an energy receiver, a request signal for requesting the supplying of energy of the energy sender to the energy receiver, from the energy receiver to the energy sender, and

the energy sender receives the request signal from the energy receiver and transmits a response signal to the energy receiver, so that the energy sender supplies energy to the energy receiver.

3. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein signals, received and transmitted by the supply control unit, in order to exchange information between the first energy related system and the second energy related system, include a request signal for requesting the supplying of energy of one of the first and second energy related systems to the other, and a response signal for permitting the request of the supplying of energy of one of the first and second energy related systems to the other.

4. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein the communication unit comprises an exchange unit the information between the first energy related system and the second energy related system prior to shifting of a first state in which energy delivery and receiving of energy between the first and second energy related systems is not possible to a second state in which energy delivery and receiving of energy between the first and second energy related systems is possible.

5. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein the second energy related system comprises a plurality of other energy related systems different from the first energy related system, the communication unit is configured to exchange the information between the first energy related system and the plurality of other energy related systems, and the supply control unit is configured to select one of the plurality of other energy related systems as being a system delivering and receiving energy between the first energy related system and the plurality of other energy related systems, based on the contents of the exchanged information.

6. The energy management device according to claim 5 wherein the supply control unit comprises:

a target setting unit setting a desired value required for control of the first energy related system; and

a selection unit selecting one of the plurality of other energy related systems for supplying energy to the first energy related system, based on the desired value and the contents of the exchanged information.

7. The energy management device according to claim 6 wherein the selection unit comprises:

an environmental-information acquisition unit acquiring environmental information related to an environment which affects a consumption of energy in the first energy related system; and

an energy supply mode determination unit selecting one of the plurality of other energy related systems as supplying energy to the first energy related system, based on acquired environmental information, the desired value, and the contents of the exchanged information, so that the energy supply mode determination unit determines an energy supply mode of supplying energy to the first energy related system.

8. The energy management device according to claim 1 further comprising a control unit controlling the first energy related system and computing a desired value for controlling the first energy related system by using power or workload as a unit which is common to the first energy related system and the second energy related system.

9. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein the first energy related system comprises at least two of the consumption unit, the accumulation unit and the generation unit as energy related elements, and the energy management device further comprising a control unit controlling said at least two energy related elements and computing a desired value and an actual value required for control of each of said at least two energy related elements by using power or workload as a unit that is mutually common between said at least two energy related elements.

10. The energy management device according to claim 1 wherein the first energy related system comprises at least one of the consumption unit and the generation unit as the energy related element.