Power supply control device and information provision device

• US 9,126,493 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2011
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suganuma, Hideaki, Kuraishi, Mamoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitmore, Stacy
• Application Number:
  US13/519,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20120306446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,660 Days
• Field of Search: 320106-107, 320/109
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/64 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/66 Ambient conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/68 Traffic data
• 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 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/00 Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks
• 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 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A power supply control device including: traffic information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information for roads in the vicinity of the charging station; and control means for controlling an amount of power which is to be supplied to the charging station based on the traffic information (particularly, a traffic flow of vehicles having possibility of using the charging station) acquired by the traffic information acquisition means. An information provision device including: charging station information acquisition means for acquiring information on charging stations; traffic-flow acquisition means for acquiring a traffic flow of vehicles using external electrical energy in the vicinity of each charging station on which the information is acquired by the charging station information acquisition means; and charging station determination means for determining a charging station on which the information is to be provided among the charging station based on the traffic flow acquired by the traffic-flow acquisition means.

Claims

1. A power supply control device controlling the supply of power to a charging station, comprising:

a traffic information acquisition device acquiring traffic information for roads in a vicinity of the charging station; and

a controller controlling an amount of power which is to be supplied to the charging station based on the traffic information for roads in the vicinity of the charging station acquired by the traffic information acquisition device,

wherein the controller estimates a rate of operation of the charging station based on the traffic information and controls the amount of power which is to be supplied to the charging station based on the estimated rate of operation,

wherein the controller takes into consideration at least one of accident information and traffic restriction information at a time of estimating the rate of operation,

wherein the controller controls the amount of power which is to be supplied to the charging station by changing at least one of a power generation amount of private power generation of the charging station and a charged amount of a storage battery of the charging station, and

wherein the traffic information is a counted number of vehicles using external energy in the vicinity of the charging station.

2. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the controller estimates the rate of operation based on the counted number of vehicles and an actual operating situation of the charging station.

3. An information provision device providing information on a charging station to a vehicle requiring charging and being mounted on the vehicle, comprising:

a charging station information acquisition device acquiring information on charging stations;

a traffic-flow acquisition device acquiring a traffic flow of vehicles using external electrical energy in a vicinity of each of the charging stations on which the information is acquired by the charging station information acquisition device; and

a charging station determination device determining the charging station on which the information is to be provided among the charging stations on which the information is acquired by the charging station information acquisition device based on the traffic flow of the vehicles using external electrical energy in the vicinity of each of the charging stations, which is acquired by the traffic-flow acquisition device,

wherein the traffic flow is a counted number of vehicles using external electrical energy in the vicinity of the charging station.

4. The information provision device according to claim 3,

wherein the charging station information acquisition device acquires spec information of charging devices equipped in the charging stations, and

wherein the charging station determination device determines the charging station on which the information is to be provided among the charging stations equipped with the charging devices having specs appropriate for specs relating to charging of the vehicle requiring charging based on the spec information of the charging devices acquired by the charging station information acquisition device.

5. The information provision device according to claim 3,

wherein the charging station information acquisition device acquires information on an operating situation of the charging station, and

wherein the charging station determination device estimates a degree of congestion of the charging station based on the information of the operating situation acquired by the charging station information acquisition device and the traffic flow acquired by the traffic-flow acquisition device and determines the charging station on which the information is to be provided based on the estimated degree of the congestion.

6. The information provision device according to claim 3, wherein the charging station determination device excludes a charging station, of which an amount of power for the charging is likely to be insufficient, at a time of determining the charging station on which the information is to be provided.