Charging control system, charging control device and storage medium

Abstract

This invention provides a charging control system, a charging control device, and a storage medium for storing charging control programs, all capable of appropriately controlling a charging device even in the event of an emergency. The charging control system includes: a charging device configured to store power to be supplied to a pre-defined facility, the charging device having a first processor; a facility server disposed within a facility; and a charging control device having a second processor configured to: obtain facility reservation plan information related to future planned schedules of the facility from the facility server; calculate the amount of electricity to be supplied to the facility based on the facility's opening and closing schedules included in the facility reservation plan information; and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of electricity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a charging control system, a charging control device, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] There is a known technique for determining the timing of charging and discharging of a charging device based on a predetermined operating plan for the acquisition facility (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-39706 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention

[0007] The goal is to develop a technology that can properly control the charging device even in the event of an emergency, such as when facilities are closed due to an infectious disease outbreak (or school closure).

[0008] The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a charging control system, a charging control device, and a storage medium for storing the charging control program that can properly control the charging device even in the event of an emergency.

[0009] means for solving problems

[0010] The charging control system disclosed herein comprises: a charging device configured to store power to be supplied to a pre-defined facility, the charging device having a first processor; a facility server disposed in the facility; and a charging control device having a second processor configured to: obtain facility reservation plan information related to future reservation plans of the facility from the facility server; calculate the amount of power to be supplied to the facility based on the facility opening reservation plan and closing reservation plan of the facility included in the facility reservation plan information; and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of power.

[0011] The charging control device of the present invention includes a processor configured to: obtain facility reservation plan information related to future reservation plans of the facility from a facility server located in the facility from which power is supplied by the charging device; calculate the amount of electricity to be supplied to the facility based on the facility opening reservation plan and closing reservation plan of the facility included in the facility reservation plan information; and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of electricity.

[0012] The charging control program stored in the storage medium disclosed herein causes the processor to perform the following: obtain facility reservation plan information related to future reservation plans of the facility from a facility server located in the facility from which power is supplied by the charging device; calculate the amount of electricity to be supplied to the facility based on the facility opening reservation plan and closing reservation plan of the facility contained in the facility reservation plan information; and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of electricity.

[0013] The effects of the invention

[0014] According to this disclosure, when conducting urban operations such as smart cities, the electricity stored in charging devices can be utilized efficiently. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing the details of the constituent elements of the charging control system according to the embodiment.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a charging control method executed by the charging control system according to the embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The charging control system, charging control device, and charging control program according to embodiments of this disclosure are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the constituent elements in the following embodiments include elements that can be easily substituted by those skilled in the art, or elements that are substantially the same.

[0018] (Charging control system)

[0019] Reference Figure 1 This document describes a charging control system that includes a charging control device, as described in the embodiments. The charging control system controls the charging of a charging device that supplies power to a pre-defined facility. A "pre-defined facility" refers to a facility where multiple users stay and utilize the equipment, and is the facility from which power is supplied. Examples of such facilities include public facilities such as schools, libraries, and community centers, as well as train stations, subway stations, restaurants, food shops, and shopping centers.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, the charging control system 1 includes a charging control device 10, a facility server 20 disposed in multiple facilities, multiple charging devices 30, and multiple autonomous vehicles 40. The charging control device 10, facility server 20, charging devices 30, and autonomous vehicles 40 all have communication capabilities and are configured to communicate with each other via a network NW. This network NW may consist of, for example, an internet connection network or a mobile phone connection network.

[0021] (Charging control device)

[0022] The charging control device 10 is installed inside or outside the smart city. This charging control device 10 is implemented, for example, via a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer.

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the charging control device 10 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13. Specifically, the control unit 11 includes: a processor composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), etc.; and a memory (main storage unit) composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc.

[0024] The control unit 11 loads the program stored in the storage unit 13 into the operating area of ​​the main storage unit and executes it. By executing the program, it controls various components, thereby achieving functions consistent with the intended purpose. The control unit 11 functions as the facility pre-plan information acquisition unit 111, the power calculation unit 112, and the charging control unit 113 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 13.

[0025] The facility reservation plan information acquisition unit 111 obtains information related to the future reservation plans of the facility (hereinafter referred to as "facility reservation plan information") from the facility server 20. This facility reservation plan information includes, for example, the facility's opening reservation plan, closing reservation plan, and operating hours (business hours). Furthermore, the facility reservation plan information acquisition unit 111 can obtain facility reservation plan information not only from the facility server 20, but also from, for example, the terminals of users (or their guardians) using the facility (e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.), or from SNS (social networking services).

[0026] The power calculation unit 112 calculates the power to be supplied to the facility based on the facility opening and closing schedules included in the facility reservation plan information obtained by the facility reservation plan information acquisition unit 111. For example, the power calculation unit 112 can calculate the power by multiplying the facility's opening time within a specified period (e.g., one week) by a pre-defined power consumption per unit time. Alternatively, the power calculation unit 112 can calculate the power by subtracting the power corresponding to the facility's closing time from the power consumption within a pre-defined specified period (e.g., one week).

[0027] Here, for example, if the autonomous vehicle 40 is used as a shuttle vehicle operating normally between the facility and the user's home, or as an emergency shuttle vehicle operating between the facility and the user's home during an outbreak of infectious disease or disaster, the operation of the autonomous vehicle 40 increases. Therefore, in such cases, the power calculation unit 112 calculates the power consumption by considering not only the power supplied to the facility but also the power supplied to the autonomous vehicle 40.

[0028] In this case, the power calculation unit 112 calculates the power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle 40 in a predetermined ratio to ensure that the power supplied to the facility and the power supplied to the autonomous vehicle 40 are in a pre-defined proportion. Furthermore, if the facility's closure schedule is included in the facility's scheduling information, the power calculation unit 112 calculates the power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle 40 in a way that the proportion of power supplied to the facility decreases relative to the predetermined ratio, while the proportion of power supplied to the autonomous vehicle 40 increases relative to the predetermined ratio. In other words, the power calculation unit 112 reduces the power supplied to the facility and increases the power supplied to the autonomous vehicle 40 in response to an increase in the demand of the autonomous vehicle 40. This allows for handling of increased power demand when the demand of the autonomous vehicle 40 increases, preventing power shortages in the autonomous vehicle 40.

[0029] Furthermore, when the facility reservation plan information includes a facility closure reservation plan, the power calculation unit 112 can determine the prescribed ratio based on the number of facilities that will be closed, the number of users of the facilities who will use the autonomous driving vehicle 40, and the rated number of passengers that the autonomous driving vehicle 40 can carry. This allows for a more accurate determination of the power consumption required to ensure the facilities' closure and the power consumption required to ensure the autonomous driving vehicle 40.

[0030] The charging control unit 113 performs charging control of the charging device 30 based on the amount of electricity calculated by the power calculation unit 112. The charging control unit 113 performs charging control to store power exceeding the amount calculated by the power calculation unit 112 in the charging device 30. The specific charging control method performed by the charging control unit 113 is not particularly limited. For example, it can determine the charging amount based on the amount of electricity calculated by the power calculation unit 112 at a predetermined period and charging information (such as the current charging capacity) obtained in advance from the charging device 30, and send instructions to increase or decrease the current or future charging amount according to this charging amount, thereby performing charging control.

[0031] The communication unit 12 is composed, for example, of a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board and a wireless communication line for wireless communication. The communication unit 12 is connected to a network NW, such as the Internet, which is a public communication network. Furthermore, the communication unit 12 communicates with the facility server 20, the charging device 30, and the autonomous vehicle 40 through its connection to this network NW.

[0032] The storage unit 13 is composed of recording media such as EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), hard disk drive (HDD), and removable media. Examples of removable media include USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and BD (Blu-ray Disc). The storage unit 13 can store operating systems (OS), various programs, various tables, various databases, etc. Furthermore, the storage unit 13 can store, for example, facility scheduling information obtained by the facility scheduling information acquisition unit 111, power calculations calculated by the power calculation unit 112, and the charging amount of the charging device 30 determined by the charging control unit 113, as needed.

[0033] (Facility Server)

[0034] Facility server 20 is a server installed within the facility, implemented, for example, via a workstation or a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer. Facility server 20 sends facility reservation plan information to charging control device 10 at any time or at predetermined intervals. In addition, in the event that the facility suddenly becomes closed due to an infectious disease or disaster, facility server 20 sends facility reservation plan information indicating the situation to charging control device 10 each time.

[0035] (Charging device)

[0036] The charging device 30 is used to store electricity supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle 40. This charging device 30 is implemented, for example, via a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer. Furthermore, the charging device 30 incorporates a battery for storing electricity, a control mechanism for controlling the charging and discharging of the electricity, and so on. Additionally, the charging device 30 sends charging information related to the current charging state to the charging control device 10 at any time or at predetermined intervals.

[0037] (Autonomous vehicles)

[0038] The autonomous vehicle 40 is a vehicle capable of autonomous driving and providing transportation for users of the facility. Examples of autonomous vehicles 40 include, for instance, a shuttle vehicle that normally operates between the facility and a user's home, or a temporary shuttle vehicle that operates between the facility and a user's home when the facility is suddenly closed due to an infectious disease or disaster. The autonomous vehicle 40 is supplied with electricity from the charging device 30, for example, via a charging station.

[0039] (Charging control method)

[0040] Reference Figure 2 This describes an example of the processing procedure of the charging control method executed by the charging control system 1 according to the embodiment.

[0041] First, the charging device 30 sends charging information to the charging control device 10 (step S1). Next, the facility server 20 sends facility reservation plan information to the charging control device 10 (step S2). Alternatively, the order of steps S1 and S2 can be reversed.

[0042] Next, the power calculation unit 112 of the charging control device 10 calculates the power based on the facility's predetermined plan information (step S3). Then, the charging control unit 113 performs charging control of the charging device 30 based on the power calculated in step S3 (step S4). As described above, the charging control method is complete.

[0043] As described above, the charging control system, charging control device, and charging control program according to the embodiments enable efficient utilization of the electricity stored in the charging device 30 during urban operations such as smart cities. Furthermore, the charging control system, charging control device, and charging control program according to the embodiments can also respond to changes in power supply during emergencies such as infectious diseases or disasters.

[0044] For example, if a facility is closed due to an infectious disease or disaster, the power supplied to the facility becomes unnecessary. Therefore, if more than the power consumed is stored in the charging device 30 in advance, the power will be wasted. In addition, storing excess power in the charging device 30 or maintaining a fully charged state for a long time may lead to the deterioration of the battery built into the charging device 30.

[0045] On the other hand, by utilizing the charging control system, charging control device, and charging control program stored in the storage medium involved in the implementation method, the amount of charging to the charging device 30 can be reduced when the facility is closed, thereby suppressing the waste of electricity and the deterioration of the battery.

[0046] Those skilled in the art can readily derive further effects and variations. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details expressed and described above, as well as the exemplary embodiments. Thus, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0047] Symbol Explanation

[0048] 1. Charging Control System

[0049] 10 Charging control device

[0050] 11 Control Department

[0051] 111 Facility Reservation Plan Information Acquisition Department

[0052] 112 Power Calculation Department

[0053] 113 Charging Control Unit

[0054] 12 Ministry of Communications

[0055] 13 Storage Department

[0056] 20 Facility Servers

[0057] 30 Charging devices

[0058] 40 autonomous vehicles

[0059] NW network.

Claims

1. A charging control system comprising: a charging device configured to accumulate electric power supplied to a facility set in advance, the charging device having a first processor; a facility server provided in the facility; a charging control device having a second processor configured to acquire facility schedule information related to a future schedule of the facility from the facility server, calculate an amount of electric power supplied to the facility based on an opening schedule and a closing schedule of the facility included in the facility schedule information, and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of electric power; and an autonomous vehicle that is supplied with electric power from the charging device and is capable of being boarded by a user of the facility, the second processor performing: calculating the amounts of electric power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle in such a manner that the amounts of electric power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle are in a predetermined ratio, and in the case where the closing schedule of the facility is included in the facility schedule information, calculating the amounts of electric power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle in such a manner that the ratio of the amount of electric power supplied to the facility decreases relative to the predetermined ratio and the ratio of the amount of electric power supplied to the autonomous vehicle increases relative to the predetermined ratio.

2. The charging control system according to claim 1, wherein the second processor further performs: in the case where the closing schedule of the facility is included in the facility schedule information, determining the predetermined ratio based on the number of facilities that become closed, the number of users of the facility who board the autonomous vehicle, and the boardable rated number of the autonomous vehicle.

3. A charging control device comprising a processor configured to: acquire facility schedule information related to a future schedule of a facility from a facility server provided in the facility that is supplied with electric power from a charging device, calculate an amount of electric power supplied to the facility based on an opening schedule and a closing schedule of the facility included in the facility schedule information, and perform charging control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of electric power, the processor performing: the autonomous vehicle is supplied with electric power from the charging device and is capable of being boarded by a user of the facility, and in the case where the closing schedule of the facility is included in the facility schedule information, calculating the amounts of electric power supplied to the facility and the autonomous vehicle in such a manner that the ratio of the amount of electric power supplied to the facility decreases relative to the predetermined ratio and the ratio of the amount of electric power supplied to the autonomous vehicle increases relative to the predetermined ratio.

4. The charging control device according to claim 3, wherein the processor further performs: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The amount of electricity supplied to the facility and the amount of electricity supplied to the autonomous vehicle are calculated in such a manner that the amount of electricity supplied to the facility and the amount of electricity supplied to the autonomous vehicle become a prescribed ratio, wherein ​ ​ ​ ​ In a case where the facility closing reservation plan is included in the facility reservation plan information, the prescribed ratio is determined in accordance with the number of facilities that become closed, the number of users of the facilities who wish to ride the automated driving vehicle, and the rideable rated number of the automated driving vehicle.

5. A storage medium that holds a charge control program that causes a processor to perform the following: acquiring, from a facility server provided in a facility to which power is supplied from a charging device, facility reservation plan information related to a future reservation plan of the facility, calculating, from an opening reservation plan and a closing reservation plan of the facility included in the facility reservation plan information, an amount of power to be supplied to the facility, performing charge control of the charging device based on the calculated amount of power, calculating the amount of electric power supplied to the facility and the amount of electric power supplied to the autonomous vehicle in such a manner that the amount of electric power supplied to the facility and the amount of electric power supplied to the autonomous vehicle become a prescribed ratio, the automated driving vehicle is supplied with power from the charging device and is able to be ridden by users of the facility, in a case where the facility closing reservation plan is included in the facility reservation plan information, calculating the amounts of power to be supplied to the facility and the automated driving vehicle in a manner such that the proportion of the amount of power to be supplied to the facility decreases relative to the prescribed ratio and the proportion of the amount of power to be supplied to the automated driving vehicle increases relative to the prescribed ratio.

6. The storage medium that holds a charge control program according to claim 5, wherein the processor is caused to further perform the following: in a case where the facility closing reservation plan is included in the facility reservation plan information, the prescribed ratio is determined in accordance with the number of facilities that become closed, the number of users of the facilities who wish to ride the automated driving vehicle, and the rideable rated number of the automated driving vehicle.

Images