Management system

Abstract

To achieve both of a suppression of deterioration of a relay and a suppression of a standby power amount of a vehicle.SOLUTION: In a management system performing a management of a vehicle when a vehicle having a power storage device; a connection part that can be connected to a power system; and a relay that performs a connection and a disconnection of the power storage device and the connection part by On / OFF, an ON / OFF of the relay is set in each unit period of a predetermined period to the vehicle, a setting that the relay is ON is changed by giving the priority to an order that the number of continuous of each unit period of the setting that the relay is in OFF from each unit period when the relay is set to the setting of OFF, and the setting of ON / OFF of the relay is confirmed in each unit period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a technology of this type, a charging control method for an on-board power storage device has been proposed in which charging of a vehicle's power storage device is started when surplus power of a solar power generation device is equal to or greater than a predetermined power, and when a PV charging rate, which is a ratio of the amount of power supplied from the solar power generation device to the amount of power supplied to the power storage device, is equal to or greater than the predetermined charging rate at the start of charging of the power storage device, charging of the power storage device is terminated when the PV charging rate falls below the predetermined charging rate, and when the PV charging rate is less than the predetermined charging rate at the start of charging of the power storage device, charging of the power storage device is terminated when the PV charging rate decreases (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-112765 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a management system that manages a vehicle that is connected to a power grid and includes a power storage device, a connection unit that can be connected to a power grid, and a relay that connects and disconnects the power storage device and the connection unit by turning the relay on and off, when the vehicle is connected to the power grid, deterioration of the relay is accelerated if the number of times the relay is switched on and off (the number of times it is opened and closed) increases. In contrast, depending on a method for limiting the number of times the relay is switched on and off, the on time of the relay may be longer, which may increase the standby power consumption of the vehicle.

[0005] The management system of the present disclosure has a primary objective of achieving both suppression of relay deterioration and suppression of standby power consumption of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The management system of the present disclosure employs the following measures to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The management system of the present disclosure includes: A management system for managing a vehicle including a power storage device, a connection unit connectable to an electric power system, and a relay that connects and disconnects the power storage device and the connection unit by turning the relay on and off, when the vehicle is capable of receiving and transmitting power to and from the electric power system, comprising: setting the relay to on or off for each unit period of a predetermined period for the vehicle, changing the relay to on setting preferentially among the unit periods in which the relay is set to off in order of the number of consecutive unit periods in which the relay is set to off, and finalizing the on or off setting of the relay for each unit period; The gist of the present invention is as follows.

[0008] In the management system of the present disclosure, for a vehicle capable of receiving and transmitting power from the power grid, the relay is set to on or off for each unit period of a predetermined period. Then, the relay is changed to on in order of the number of consecutive unit periods in which the relay is set to off among the unit periods in which the relay is set to off. Then, the on or off setting of the relay is confirmed for each unit period. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the number of on / off switching of the relay and to suppress the accelerated deterioration of the relay. In addition, it is possible to suppress a change to on setting for a portion in which the number of consecutive unit periods in which the relay is set to off is large, to suppress an increase in the on time of the relay, and to suppress an increase in the standby power consumption of the vehicle during a predetermined period. As a result, it is possible to achieve both suppression of relay deterioration and suppression of the standby power consumption of the vehicle.

[0009] In the management system disclosed herein, when the number of times the relay is switched on and off within the specified period exceeds a specified number, the relay may be changed to an on setting in order of the fewest consecutive unit periods in which the relay is set to off among the unit periods in which the relay is set to off, until the number of times the relay is switched off becomes equal to or less than the specified number. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a power system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing routine executed by the stand management server 30. [Diagram 3] 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the process of setting the relay 46 to on / off by the station management server 30. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a power system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the power system 10 includes a power grid 12, a grid management server 14, one or more charging stations 20, a station management server 30, and one or more vehicles 40. Note that, although the number of charging stations 20 and vehicles 40 is three each in Fig. 1, this is not limited to this.

[0012] The power system 12 is configured as a power system including power plants, business establishments, factories, homes, etc. The power system management server 14 is a server used by, for example, a power company to manage the power system 12. The power system management server 14 includes a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input / output ports, and communication ports, a communication device, and a storage device such as an SSD or a hard disk. The power system management server 14 is capable of communicating with the station management server 30 via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0013] The charging stand 20 is connected to the power system 12, and includes a stand connector 22 and a stand electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "stand ECU") 24. The stand connector 22 is configured to be connectable to a vehicle connector 44 of a vehicle 40. The stand ECU 24 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input / output ports, and communication ports, and a communication device. The stand ECU 24 is capable of wired and / or wireless communication with the stand management server 30, and is also capable of wired and / or wireless communication with a vehicle electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle ECU") 50 of the vehicle 40 connected to the charging stand 20.

[0014] The station management server 30 is a server used for managing the charging station 20 by, for example, an owner or manager of the charging station 20. The station management server 30 includes a computer, a communication device, and a storage device, similar to the grid management server 14. The station management server 30 is capable of communicating with the grid management server 14 via a communication network such as the Internet, and is capable of communicating with the station ECU 24 of the charging station 20 via a wired and / or wireless connection, and is also capable of communicating with the vehicle ECU 50 of the vehicle 40 via a wired connection via the charging station 20 and / or wirelessly without via the charging station 20.

[0015] The vehicle 40 is configured as an electric vehicle, and includes a motor for driving, an inverter for driving the motor, a battery 42 as an electricity storage device, a vehicle-side connector 44, a relay 46, a bidirectional charging device 48, and a vehicle ECU 50. The battery 42 is configured as, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-hydrogen secondary battery, and exchanges power with the motor via the inverter. The vehicle-side connector 44 is configured to be connectable to the charging station-side connector 22. The relay 46 connects and disconnects the battery 42 and the bidirectional charging device 48 (vehicle-side connector 44) by turning on and off. The bidirectional charging device 48 is configured to perform battery charging, in which power from the power system 12 is supplied to the battery 42 via the charging station 20, and to perform system power supply, in which power from the battery 42 is supplied to the power system 12 via the charging station 20, when the charging station-side connector 22 and the vehicle-side connector 44 are connected and the relay 46 is on. The vehicle ECU 50 includes a microcomputer and a communication device, similar to the station ECU 24. The vehicle ECU 50 calculates the power storage ratio SOC of the battery 42 based on the integrated value of the charge / discharge current of the battery 42. The vehicle ECU 50 can communicate with the station ECU 24 of the charging station 20 by wire and / or wirelessly, and can also communicate with the station management server 30 by wire via the charging station 20 and / or wirelessly without via the charging station 20. The vehicle 40 is not limited to an electric vehicle, but may be a hybrid vehicle having an engine in addition to a hardware configuration similar to that of an electric vehicle, or a fuel cell vehicle having a fuel cell in addition to a hardware configuration similar to that of an electric vehicle. A capacitor may be used as the power storage device instead of the battery 42.

[0016] Next, the operation of the power system 10 of the embodiment will be described. In particular, the on / off management of the relay 46 of the vehicle 40 by the station management server 30 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing routine executed by the station management server 30. This routine is executed periodically (for example, every time a unit period described below elapses). Note that the following description will be given of a case where at least a part of one or more vehicles 40 connected to the charging station 20 can be used as a virtual power plant (VPP), specifically, where the power system 12 can be exchanged via the charging station 20.

[0017] When the processing routine of FIG. 2 is executed, the station management server 30 first sets the relay 46 of the vehicle 40 that can be used as a VPP to be on or off for each unit period of a predetermined period from the present (step S100). Here, the predetermined period may be, for example, 12 hours or 24 hours. The unit period may be, for example, 30 minutes or 1 hour. In the processing of step S100, the relay 46 is set to be on or off for each unit period based on, for example, a supply and demand forecast of the power system 12 from the system management server 14, the power storage ratio SOC of the battery 42 from the vehicle ECU 50, and the standby power of each vehicle 40 when the relay 46 is on and off.

[0018] Next, the number of times Nr that the relay 46 of the vehicle 40 switches on and off within a predetermined period is calculated (step S110), and it is determined whether the calculated number of times Nr is equal to or less than a threshold value Nrref (step S120). Here, the threshold value Nrref is determined as an upper limit number of times that is preferable for suppressing deterioration of the relay 46.

[0019] When the number of times Nr that the relay 46 is switched on and off is greater than the threshold value Nrref in step S120, the variable i is counted up by a value of 1 (step S130). Here, the variable i is set to a value of 0 as an initial value at the start of execution of this routine.

[0020] Next, the number of consecutive unit periods Nc during which the relay 46 is set to off is counted among each unit period of the predetermined period (step S140). Then, the relay 46 is changed to an on setting for unit periods during which the number of consecutive unit periods Nc during which the relay 46 is set to off is equal to or less than the variable i (step S150), and the process returns to step S110. For example, when the relay 46 is set to on, off, on for three consecutive unit periods, two switchings occur because the relay 46 is switched from on to off and from off to on. However, by changing the setting of the relay 46 to on, on, on, these two switchings can be eliminated. In this way, the number of on / off switchings Nr of the relay 46 during a predetermined period can be reduced.

[0021] When the number of times Nr that the relay 46 is switched on and off is equal to or less than the threshold value Nrref in step S120, the on or off setting of the relay 46 is confirmed for each unit period of the predetermined period (step S160), and this routine ends. When the on or off setting of the relay 46 for each unit period of the predetermined period is confirmed, this information is transmitted to the vehicle 40. Based on this information, the vehicle 40 turns the relay 46 on or off for each unit period of the predetermined period. Based on this information, the station management server 30 or the vehicle ECU 50 also predicts the standby power amount of the vehicle 40 for the predetermined period, predicts the transition of the power storage ratio SOC of the battery 42, and predicts the transition of the chargeable and dischargeable amount of the battery 42.

[0022] In this way, by suppressing the number of times Nr of switching the relay 46 between on and off from increasing, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the relay 46 from being accelerated. Furthermore, by the processing of steps S110 to S150, the relay 46 is changed to the on setting in the order of the number of consecutive unit periods Nc in which the relay 46 is set to off (the consecutive time of the off setting is shortest), so that the part in which the number of consecutive unit periods Nc in which the relay 46 is set to off is large (the consecutive time of the off setting is long) is suppressed from being changed to the on setting, and it is possible to suppress the on time of the relay 46 from being extended. When the relay 46 is on, the standby power of the vehicle 40 is larger than when it is off, so by suppressing the on time of the relay 46 from being extended, it is possible to suppress the standby power amount of the vehicle 40 in a predetermined period from being increased (the amount of decrease in the power storage ratio SOC of the battery 42 from being increased). As a result, it is possible to achieve both suppression of the deterioration of the relay 46 and suppression of the standby power amount of the vehicle 40.

[0023] When there are multiple vehicles 40 that can be used as VPPs, the on or off setting of the relay 46 for each unit period may be different for each vehicle 40, or may be the same for each vehicle 40.

[0024] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the process of setting the on / off of the relay 46 by the station management server 30. In FIG. 3(a) to (c), the numbers are assigned in the order of 1, 2, ... for each unit period from the present to the following. First, the relay 46 is set to on or off for each unit period in a predetermined period. In the example of FIG. 3(a), the relay 46 is set to on for unit periods 1, 3, 5, 9, ..., and the relay 46 is set to off for unit periods 2, 4, 6 to 8, .... Next, when the number of times Nr that the relay 46 is switched on and off within a predetermined period is greater than a threshold value Nrref, the number of consecutive times Nc is counted for the unit periods in which the relay 46 is off among the unit periods in the predetermined period. In the example of FIG. 3(b), the number of consecutive times Nc is counted as 1 for each of the unit periods 2 and 4, and the number of consecutive times Nc is counted as 3 for the unit periods 6 to 8. Then, the unit period in which the relay 46 is off for which the number of consecutive times Nc is 1 is changed to the setting of on. In the example of Fig. 3(c), the relay 46 is changed from an OFF setting to an ON setting in unit periods 2 and 4. As a result, the relay 46 is set to ON in unit periods 1 to 5. This series of processes makes it possible to prevent the number of ON / OFF switching times Nr of the relay 46 from increasing, and to prevent the deterioration of the relay 46 from progressing. In addition, it is possible to prevent the ON time of the relay 46 from becoming long, and to prevent the standby power consumption of the vehicle 40 during a predetermined period from becoming large.

[0025] In the management system of the present embodiment described above, the relay 46 is set to ON or OFF for each unit period of a predetermined period for the vehicle 40. Next, when the number of ON / OFF switching times Nr of the relay 46 in the predetermined period is greater than the threshold value Nrref, the relay 46 is changed to ON in the order of the number of consecutive OFF switching times Nc in the unit periods in which the relay 46 is set to OFF, until the number of switching times Nr becomes equal to or less than the threshold value Nrref. Then, when the number of switching times Nr is equal to or less than the threshold value Nrref, the ON or OFF setting of the relay 46 is confirmed for each unit period. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the number of ON / OFF switching times Nr of the relay 46, and to suppress the deterioration of the relay 46 from being accelerated. In addition, it is possible to suppress a change to ON setting in the part of the unit period in which the relay 46 is set to OFF, which has a large number of consecutive OFF switching times Nc, and to suppress an increase in the standby power consumption of the vehicle 40 in the predetermined period. As a result, it is possible to achieve both suppression of deterioration of the relay 46 and suppression of the standby power consumption of the vehicle 40.

[0026] In the above-described embodiment, the power system 10 includes the grid management server 14 and the station management server 30. However, the grid management server 14 and the station management server 30 may be configured as an integrated unit.

[0027] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on Means for Solving the Problems will be described below. In the embodiment, the battery 42 corresponds to the "power storage device", the relay 46 corresponds to the "relay", the vehicle 40 corresponds to the "vehicle", the power system 12 corresponds to the "power system", and the system management server 14 and the station management server 30 correspond to the "management system".

[0028] Note that the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column does not limit the elements of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column, since the embodiment is an example for specifically explaining the form for implementing the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column should be made based on the description in that column, and the embodiment is merely a specific example of the invention described in the Means for Solving the Problem column.

[0029] The above describes embodiments for implementing the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0030] The present disclosure is applicable to the management system manufacturing industry and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 power system, 12 power grid, 14 grid management server, 20 charging stand, 22 stand side connector, 24 stand ECU, 30 stand management server, 40 vehicle, 42 battery, 44 vehicle side connector, 46 relay, 48 bidirectional charging device, 50 vehicle ECU.

Claims

[Claim 1] A management system for managing a vehicle including a power storage device, a connection unit connectable to an electric power system, and a relay that connects and disconnects the power storage device and the connection unit by turning the relay on and off, when the vehicle is capable of receiving and transmitting power to and from the electric power system, comprising: setting the relay to on or off for each unit period of a predetermined period for the vehicle, changing the relay to on setting preferentially among the unit periods in which the relay is set to off in order of the number of consecutive unit periods in which the relay is set to off, and finalizing the on or off setting of the relay for each unit period; Management system.

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