Power supply equipment

Abstract

To avoid a state where charging is not performed properly.SOLUTION: A charging system 100 includes an information acquisition unit 140a that acquires charging information regarding the charging of a vehicle 20, a charging determination unit 140b that determines whether a predetermined charging execution condition is satisfied on the basis of the charging information, a setting determination unit 140c that determines that a charging setting error has occurred when the charging execution condition is not satisfied within a planned charging period for which charging is planned, and a notification unit 140d that notifies that a setting error has occurred.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging system capable of charging a battery of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, when the vehicle is parked, it is determined whether the vehicle is parked in a pre-defined charging parking area based on the vehicle position transmitted from the vehicle and vehicle data such as the connection status of the charging cable, and if it is determined that the vehicle is parked in a charging parking area and the charging cable is not connected, a display unit notifies the user that the charging station and the vehicle are not connected by the charging cable. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-042033 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A vehicle user may charge the vehicle at home via an in-vehicle charging cable or a charging stand. In both cases, the user must manually connect the charging connector at the end of the cable to the charging port of the vehicle. If the user forgets to connect the charging connector or if the charging connector is not properly connected to the charging port for some reason, the vehicle may not be charged. Even if the charging connector is properly connected to the charging port, the user may mistakenly perform a charging start operation or a charging mode setting, and the like, and thus the vehicle may not be properly charged.

[0005] Such setting errors, such as forgetting to connect the in-vehicle charging cable or improper charging settings, can cause the vehicle to be unable to secure the SOC required for running. However, it can be difficult to directly identify when a setting error has occurred.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging system capable of avoiding a state in which charging is not performed appropriately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the charging system of the present invention includes an information acquisition unit that acquires charging information regarding vehicle charging, a charging determination unit that determines whether or not a specified charging execution condition is satisfied based on the charging information, a setting determination unit that determines that a charging setting error has occurred if the charging execution condition is not satisfied within a planned charging period for which charging is planned, and a notification unit that notifies that a setting error has occurred.

[0008] The information acquisition unit acquires, as charging information, the electric power in a premises where the vehicle is charged, and the condition for executing charging is that the acquired electric power is equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison electric power.

[0009] The information acquisition unit acquires, as charging information, the power in the premises where the vehicle is charged, and the charging execution condition is that the acquired power remains equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison power for a predetermined charging time or longer.

[0010] The information acquisition unit acquires charging information via the HEMS, the power meter, and the power management server in that order. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid a state in which charging is not being performed appropriately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the charging system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system in the first example of the information acquisition process. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in a second example of the information acquisition process. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in a third example of the information acquisition process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in a fourth example of the information acquisition process. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in a fifth example of the information acquisition process. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in the sixth example of the information acquisition process. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a charging system in the seventh example of the information acquisition process. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the charging determination process. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another flow of the charging determination process. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the setting error determination process. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the notification process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values ​​shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0014] Vehicle users may charge the vehicle's battery at home (user's house). One vehicle charging method is, for example, a socket method in which a single-phase 200V AC charging outlet is attached to a wall near the vehicle and charging is performed using an in-vehicle charging cable. Another method is a stand method in which a dedicated charging stand is connected to the single-phase 200V AC and power is received from the charging stand to charge the vehicle. Vehicle users can start charging by manually connecting a charging connector provided at the end of the in-vehicle charging cable or the charging stand cable to the vehicle's charging port. In the following, charging of a battery provided in a vehicle may simply be referred to as "vehicle charging".

[0015] However, when a person intervenes in charging, the person may forget to connect the on-board charging cable or the charging connector may not be properly connected to the charging port for some reason. Even if the charging connector is properly connected to the charging port, the person may make an error in starting charging or setting the charging mode, and charging of the vehicle may not start properly. Due to such charging setting errors, such as forgetting to connect the on-board charging cable or improper charging settings, the SOC required for running the vehicle may not be secured. However, it may be difficult to directly grasp that a setting error has occurred.

[0016] Therefore, in this embodiment, the occurrence of a setting error is indirectly detected, and a state in which charging is not being performed appropriately is avoided.

[0017] (Charging system) 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the charging system. The charging system in this embodiment first acquires charging information related to charging of the vehicle (S1). Here, the charging information may be any information that allows the user to know that charging is being performed, and includes not only information that directly indicates that charging is being performed, but also information that indirectly indicates that charging is being performed, such as the power consumed by charging.

[0018] Next, the charging system determines whether or not a charging execution condition, which is a condition for assuming that charging has been executed, is met based on the acquired charging information (S2). Next, the charging system determines whether or not a charging setting error has occurred by monitoring whether or not the charging execution condition is met within a planned charging period, which is a period during which charging is planned (S3). Setting errors here include forgetting to connect the on-board charging cable and improper charging setting. If it is determined that a charging setting error has occurred (YES in S3), the charging system notifies the user that a setting error has occurred (S4).

[0019] In this manner, the charging system executes the processes in the order of information acquisition process (S1), charging determination process (S2), setting error determination process (S3), and notification process (S4). Each process will be specifically described below.

[0020] (Information acquisition process S1) First, the information acquisition process for acquiring charging information related to charging will be described. There are multiple routes for acquiring such charging information. Here, the multiple acquisition routes will be illustrated in detail, and the flow of the information acquisition process for each acquisition route will be described.

[0021] (First example of information acquisition processing) 2 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in a first example of the information acquisition process. A user's house 10 receives a supply of electricity (commercial power) from a power grid 14 through a service line 12. In the following embodiment, in the supply path through which power is supplied from the power grid 14, the power grid 14 side is defined as the primary side and the opposite side is defined as the secondary side based on each facility.

[0022] The user's home 10 is composed of a consumer unit that receives low-voltage electricity, and the scope of the consumer unit is not limited to a house or the like, and may be a building or a part of a building, such as a hospital, factory, hotel, leisure facility, commercial facility, or apartment building, as long as the building is a general-use electrical facility. The user's home 10 may also be called a "premises" to mean an area where a vehicle 20 can be charged. Here, the vehicle 20 is an electric vehicle (EV) that runs by driving an electric motor with electricity stored in a battery, and includes a secondary battery electric vehicle (BEV), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), and the like.

[0023] The user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) 116, and a charging outlet 118.

[0024] The power meter (watt-hour meter) 112 is connected to the power system 14 via the service line 12, and measures the instantaneous current measurement value (A) and voltage flowing between the service line 12 and the distribution board 114. The power meter 112 also derives an instantaneous power measurement value (W) by multiplying the current of the voltage line, the line voltage between the voltage line and the neutral line, and a power factor based on the phase difference between the current and the voltage. Furthermore, the power meter 112 integrates the instantaneous power measurement value (W) to derive, for example, an integrated power measurement value (kWh). However, since the integrated power measurement value in the power meter 112 is an integrated value in 30-minute units, when converting it into an hourly unit, it is necessary to double the integrated power measurement value.

[0025] In this embodiment, the power meter 112 is a smart meter that digitally measures the amount of power used, and includes a communication unit (not shown) that establishes wireless or wired communication with the outside. The communication unit of the power meter 112 can transmit information such as the instantaneous power measurement value (W), the instantaneous power measurement value (W), and the integrated power measurement value (kWh) to the outside, for example, the power management server 130 described later.

[0026] The distribution board 114 is connected to the secondary side of the power meter 112 and distributes electricity (commercial power) supplied from the power system 14 to the on-site wiring 120 .

[0027] The charging outlet 118 is connected to the on-premises wiring 120 of single-phase AC 200V.

[0028] The user connects one end of the on-board charging cable 22 to a charging outlet 118, and connects a charging connector provided on the other end of the on-board charging cable 22 to a charging port of the vehicle 20. In this way, the vehicle 20 can be charged with power obtained from the power grid 14.

[0029] The HEMS 116 is a facility (energy management system) that comprehensively manages the power consumption, power generation equipment, and power storage equipment in the user's home 10 in real time, and aims to improve the efficiency of energy consumption while maintaining comfort. The HEMS 116 has a communication unit (not shown) that establishes wireless or wired communication with the outside.

[0030] In addition to or in place of HEMS 116, various energy management system equipment such as a Building Energy Management System (BEMS), a Factory Energy Management System (FEMS), or a Cluster / Community Energy Management System (CEMS) can be applied depending on the management mode.

[0031] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a charging outlet 118 , an HEMS 116 , a power meter 112 , a power management server 130 , and a charging management server 140 .

[0032] Charging outlet 118 has a power measurement unit 118a. Power measurement unit 118a includes, for example, a current transformer (CT) and measures a current flowing through charging outlet 118. Power measurement unit 118a also includes a voltage transformer (VT) and can detect a line voltage of a voltage line on the secondary side of charging outlet 118 and a power factor based on a phase difference between a current and a voltage. Therefore, power measurement unit 118a can detect power supplied through charging outlet 118 and whether charging is being performed through charging outlet 118.

[0033] In this way, the current, voltage, power factor, power, and whether charging is performed are detected at charging outlet 118. Here, one or more pieces of information selected from the current, voltage, power factor, power, and whether charging is performed are defined as charging information.

[0034] HEMS 116 can establish mutual communication with home appliances, home equipment, etc. by making the home appliances, home equipment, etc. IoT-enabled through a communication standard such as ECHONET Lite (registered trademark). Here, for example, charging outlet 118 and power meter 112 are IoT-enabled through ECHONET Lite. Therefore, HEMS 116 can establish mutual communication with charging outlet 118 and power meter 112. The communication path between power meter 112 and HEMS 116 is called route B.

[0035] The charging outlet 118 establishes communication with the HEMS 116 and transmits charging information to the HEMS 116. The HEMS 116 establishes communication with the power meter 112 and transmits charging information to the power meter 112.

[0036] The power management server 130 is a server managed by the power company, and manages the power supplied to each user's home 10 from the power grid 14. The power management server 130 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a processor (CPU) (not shown), a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The processor of the power management server 130 runs a program to function as a power communication unit 130a, and the RAM functions as a power storage unit 130b.

[0037] The power communication unit 130a of the power management server 130 establishes communication with the power meter 112 through the base station 30 and the network 32, and acquires charging information from the power meter 112. The communication path between the power meter 112 and the power management server 130 is called route A. Such information transmission from the power meter 112 to the power management server 130 is only performed every 30 minutes. Therefore, the charging information is also updated every 30 minutes. The power communication unit 130a stores the acquired charging information in the power storage unit 130b.

[0038] The charging management server 140 is, for example, a server managed by a private business operator or an electricity retailer, and manages, for example, charging of the vehicle 20 at the user's home 10. The charging management server 140 is configured with a semiconductor integrated circuit including a processor (CPU) (not shown), a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The processor of the charging management server 140 operates a program to function as functional units such as an information acquisition unit 140a, a charging determination unit 140b, a setting determination unit 140c, and a notification unit 140d, and the RAM functions as a charging storage unit 140e. A detailed description of these functional units will be given later.

[0039] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the power management server 130 and acquires the charging information stored in the power storage unit 130b. The communication path between the power management server 130 and the business operator such as the charging management server 140 is called a C route. Here, since information updates from the power meter 112 are made every 30 minutes and delays occur in other communication paths due to communication specifications, the time lag from when the charging information is generated until when the information acquisition unit 140a acquires the charging information is, for example, about 60 minutes. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in the charging storage unit 140e.

[0040] In this way, the information acquisition unit 140a can obtain charging information about the user's home 10 via a route that passes through the charging outlet 118, the HEMS 116, the power meter 112, the power management server 130, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0041] Here, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information such as the power of the charging outlet 118 itself, which is the supply source that supplies power to the vehicle 20, and whether charging is occurring. Therefore, the charging information has an amount of information equivalent to information that directly indicates the charging state of the vehicle 20, and it becomes possible to specify with high accuracy that charging is being performed. Note that, although there is a time lag in acquiring the charging information, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by using existing equipment without installing new equipment in the user's home 10.

[0042] (Second example of information acquisition process) Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the second example of the information acquisition process. As in Fig. 2, the user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, and a charging outlet 118. The functions of the power meter 112, the distribution board 114, the HEMS 116, and the charging outlet 118 have been explained using Fig. 2, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0043] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a charging outlet 118, an HEMS 116, and a charging management server 140. The functions of the charging management server 140 have been described with reference to Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0044] Power measurement unit 118a of charging outlet 118 detects the current, voltage, power factor, power, and whether charging is occurring at charging outlet 118, and sets one or more pieces of information selected from the current, voltage, power factor, power, and whether charging is occurring as charging information. Charging outlet 118 establishes communication with HEMS 116 and transmits the charging information to HEMS 116. HEMS 116 holds the charging information.

[0045] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the HEMS 116 through the network 32, and acquires charging information from the HEMS 116. Here, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires the charging information directly from the HEMS 116 without going through the power meter 112 or the power management server 130. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in a charging storage unit 140e.

[0046] In this way, the information acquiring unit 140a can acquire the charging information of the user's home 10 through a simple route passing through the charging outlet 118, the EMS 116, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0047] 2, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information such as the power of the charging outlet 118 itself, which is the supply source that supplies power to the vehicle 20, and whether charging is occurring. Therefore, the charging information has an amount of information equivalent to information that directly indicates the charging state of the vehicle 20, and it becomes possible to specify with high accuracy that charging is being performed. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by using existing equipment, without installing new equipment in the user's home 10.

[0048] (Third example of information acquisition processing) Fig. 4 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the third example of the information acquisition process. As in Fig. 2, the user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, and a charging outlet 118. Here, the distribution board 114, which is different from the first example of the information acquisition process explained using Fig. 2, will be explained in detail, and detailed explanations of the power meter 112, the HEMS 116, and the charging outlet 118, which have the same functions as those in the first example of the information acquisition process, will be omitted.

[0049] The distribution board 114 has an earth leakage breaker 114a and a wiring (safety) breaker 114b. The earth leakage breaker 114a cuts off the supply of electricity in response to detection of an electric leakage. Here, the earth leakage breaker 114a includes the concepts of both an overcurrent breaker with an earth leakage breaker function and an earth leakage breaker having only an earth leakage breaker function. The wiring (safety) breaker 114b is connected to the earth leakage breaker 114a via the internal wiring (main bar), and cuts off the supply of electricity when the current flowing through the on-site wiring 120 exceeds the rated breaking current.

[0050] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, a power meter 112, a power management server 130, and a charging management server 140. The functions of the power management server 130 and the charging management server 140 have been described with reference to Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0051] In the charging system 100 of this embodiment, a power measurement unit 114c is provided in the distribution board 114. The power measurement unit 114c includes, for example, a current transformer (CT) and measures the current flowing through the on-site wiring 120a connecting the wiring breaker 114b and the charging outlet 118. The power measurement unit 114c also includes a potential transformer (VT) and detects the line voltage of the single-phase AC 200V voltage line on the secondary side of the earth leakage breaker 114a and the power factor based on the phase difference between the current and the voltage. Therefore, the power measurement unit 114c can detect the power supplied to the vehicle 20 through the charging outlet 118.

[0052] In this manner, the power measurement unit 114c of the distribution board 114 detects the current, voltage, power factor, and power related to the on-premises wiring 120a connected to the charging outlet 118. Here, the charging information refers to one or more pieces of information selected from the current, voltage, power factor, and power.

[0053] In addition, the power measurement unit 114c is IoT-enabled by ECHONET Lite, and therefore the HEMS 116 can establish communication with the power measurement unit 114c.

[0054] The power measurement unit 114c establishes communication with the HEMS 116 and transmits charging information to the HEMS 116. If the HEMS 116 cannot acquire the voltage and power factor from the power measurement unit 114c, the HEMS 116 may simply multiply the current by 100V (actual voltage 105V×average power factor 95%) to obtain the power. The HEMS 116 establishes communication with the power meter 112 and transmits the charging information to the power meter 112.

[0055] The power communication unit 130a of the power management server 130 establishes communication with the power meter 112 through the base station 30 and the network 32, and acquires charging information from the power meter 112. As described above, information is transmitted from the power meter 112 to the power management server 130 only every 30 minutes. Therefore, the charging information is also updated every 30 minutes. The power communication unit 130a stores the acquired charging information in the power storage unit 130b.

[0056] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the power management server 130 and acquires the charging information stored in the power storage unit 130b. As described above, since the information update from the power meter 112 is performed every 30 minutes and delays occur in other communication paths due to communication specifications, the time lag from when the charging information is generated until when the information acquisition unit 140a acquires the charging information is, for example, about 60 minutes. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in the charging storage unit 140e.

[0057] In this way, the information acquisition unit 140a can obtain charging information about the user's home 10 via a route that passes through the distribution board 114, the HEMS 116, the power meter 112, the power management server 130, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0058] Here, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information including power related to the on-site wiring 120a connected to the charging outlet 118, rather than power at the charging outlet 118 itself. Therefore, the ratio of information indicating the charging state of the vehicle 20 becomes high in the charging information, and it becomes possible to specify with high accuracy that charging is being performed. Note that, although there is a time lag in acquiring the charging information, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by using existing equipment, without installing new equipment in the user's home 10.

[0059] (Fourth example of information acquisition processing) Fig. 5 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the fourth example of the information acquisition process. As in Fig. 2, the user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, and a charging outlet 118. The functions of the power meter 112, the distribution board 114, the HEMS 116, and the charging outlet 118 have been explained using Figs. 2 and 4, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0060] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, and a charging management server 140. The functions of the charging management server 140 have been described with reference to Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0061] The power measurement unit 114c of the distribution board 114 detects the current, voltage, power factor, and power related to the on-premises wiring 120a connected to the charging outlet 118, and sets one or more pieces of information selected from the current, voltage, power factor, and power as charging information. The power measurement unit 114c establishes communication with the HEMS 116 and transmits the charging information to the HEMS 116. The HEMS 116 holds the charging information.

[0062] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the HEMS 116 through the network 32, and acquires charging information from the HEMS 116. Here, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires the charging information directly from the HEMS 116 without going through the power meter 112 or the power management server 130. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in a charging storage unit 140e.

[0063] In this way, the information acquisition unit 140a can obtain the charging information of the user's home 10 through a simple route passing through the distribution board 114, the HEMS 116, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0064] Here, similar to Fig. 4, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information including power related to the on-site wiring 120a connected to the charging outlet 118, rather than power at the charging outlet 118 itself. Therefore, the charging information has a high ratio of information indicating the charging state of the vehicle 20, making it possible to specify with high accuracy that charging is being performed. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire charging information by utilizing existing facilities, without installing new facilities in the user's home 10.

[0065] (Fifth example of information acquisition processing) Fig. 6 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the fifth example of the information acquisition process. The user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, and a charging outlet 118. The functions of the power meter 112, the distribution board 114, and the charging outlet 118 have been explained using Fig. 2, and therefore detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0066] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a power meter 112, a power management server 130, and a charging management server 140. The functions of the power management server 130 and the charging management server 140 have been described with reference to Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0067] As described above, the power meter 112 derives the instantaneous current measurement value (A), the instantaneous power measurement value (W), and the integrated power measurement value (kWh). Here, the charging information refers to one or more pieces of information selected from the instantaneous current measurement value (A), the instantaneous power measurement value (W), and the integrated power measurement value (kWh) consumed throughout the user's home 10.

[0068] The power communication unit 130a of the power management server 130 establishes communication with the power meter 112 through the base station 30 and the network 32, and acquires charging information from the power meter 112. As described above, information is transmitted from the power meter 112 to the power management server 130 only every 30 minutes. Therefore, the charging information is also updated every 30 minutes. The power communication unit 130a stores the acquired charging information in the power storage unit 130b.

[0069] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the power management server 130 and acquires the charging information stored in the power storage unit 130b. As described above, since the information update from the power meter 112 is performed every 30 minutes and delays occur in other communication paths due to communication specifications, the time lag from when the charging information is generated until when the information acquisition unit 140a acquires the charging information is, for example, about 60 minutes. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in the charging storage unit 140e.

[0070] In this way, the information acquiring unit 140a can acquire the charging information of the user's home 10 through a simple route passing through the power meter 112, the power management server 130, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0071] Here, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information including power consumed throughout the user's home 10, including the power at the charging outlet 118, rather than only the power consumed at the charging outlet 118. Thus, the charging information includes information indicating the charging state of the vehicle 20, although the accuracy of identifying that charging is being performed is low. Note that, although there is a time lag in acquiring the charging information, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by utilizing existing facilities, without installing new facilities at the user's home 10.

[0072] (Sixth example of information acquisition processing) Fig. 7 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the sixth example of the information acquisition process. As in Fig. 2, the user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, a HEMS 116, and a charging outlet 118. The functions of the power meter 112, the distribution board 114, the HEMS 116, and the charging outlet 118 have been explained using Fig. 2, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0073] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a power meter 112, a HEMS 116, and a charging management server 140. The functions of the charging management server 140 have been described with reference to Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0074] The power meter 112 detects the instantaneous current measurement value (A), the instantaneous power measurement value (W), and the integrated power measurement value (kWh) consumed throughout the user's home 10, and sets one or more pieces of information selected from the instantaneous current measurement value (A), the instantaneous power measurement value (W), and the integrated power measurement value (kWh) as charging information. The power meter 112 establishes communication with the HEMS 116 and transmits the charging information to the HEMS 116. The HEMS 116 holds the charging information.

[0075] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the HEMS 116 through the network 32, and acquires charging information from the HEMS 116. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in a charging storage unit 140e.

[0076] In this way, the information acquisition unit 140a can obtain the charging information of the user's home 10 through a simple route passing through the power meter 112, the HEMS 116, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0077] 6, the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information including power consumed throughout the user's home 10, including the power at the charging outlet 118, rather than only power consumed at the charging outlet 118. Thus, although the accuracy of identifying that charging is being performed is low, the charging information includes information indicating the charging state of the vehicle 20. Note that, although there is a time lag in acquiring the charging information, the information acquisition unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by utilizing existing facilities, without installing new facilities in the user's home 10.

[0078] (Seventh example of information acquisition processing) Fig. 8 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of the charging system 100 in the seventh example of the information acquisition process. The user's home 10 is provided with a power meter 112, a distribution board 114, and a charging outlet 118. The functions of the power meter 112, the distribution board 114, and the charging outlet 118 have been explained using Fig. 2, and therefore detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

[0079] In this embodiment, the charging system 100 includes a vehicle 20, a vehicle management server 150, and a charging management server 140. Here, the vehicle management server 150, which is different from the first example of the information acquisition process described with reference to FIG. 2, will be described in detail.

[0080] Vehicle 20 derives charging information such as the remaining SOC of its own vehicle's battery, the connection state, charging state, and power supply state of on-board charging cable 22. Here, the charging information refers to one or more pieces of information selected from the remaining SOC, connection state, charging state, and power supply state.

[0081] The vehicle management server 150 is a server managed by a vehicle manufacturer, and manages the status of vehicles sold by the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle management server 150 is composed of semiconductor integrated circuits including a processor (CPU) (not shown), a ROM in which programs and the like are stored, and a RAM as a work area. The processor of the vehicle management server 150 operates a program to function as a vehicle communication unit 150a, and the RAM functions as a vehicle storage unit 150b.

[0082] The vehicle communication unit 150a of the vehicle management server 150 establishes communication with the vehicle 20 through a communication standard such as E-Connect, and acquires charging information from the vehicle 20. The vehicle communication unit 150a stores the acquired charging information in the vehicle storage unit 150b. The charging information is used in the vehicle management server 150 to grasp, for example, battery deterioration and the charging status of the user.

[0083] The information acquisition unit 140a of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the vehicle management server 150 and acquires the charging information stored in the vehicle storage unit 150b. The information acquisition unit 140a stores the acquired charging information in the charging storage unit 140e.

[0084] In this way, the information acquisition unit 140a can obtain the charging information of the user's home 10 through a simple route passing through the vehicle 20, the vehicle management server 150, and the charging management server 140 in this order.

[0085] Here, the information acquiring unit 140a acquires the charging information directly from the vehicle 20. Therefore, the charging information accurately indicates the charging state of the vehicle 20, and it becomes possible to specify with high accuracy that charging is being performed. Furthermore, the information acquiring unit 140a can appropriately acquire the charging information by utilizing existing equipment, without providing new equipment in the user's home 10.

[0086] As described above, the charging management server 140 acquires the charging information. There are a plurality of acquisition routes for such information, and the charging management server 140 acquires the charging information by selectively using one or more of the plurality of acquisition routes. When using a plurality of acquisition routes, the charging management server 140 may multiply each piece of information by a reliability coefficient to generate a single piece of information.

[0087] (Charging determination process S2) As described above, the information acquiring unit 140a of the charging management server 140 may acquire charging information related to "electricity". The information acquiring unit 140a may also acquire charging information related to "charging" itself. The charging determining unit 140b of the charging management server 140 determines whether a predetermined charging execution condition is satisfied based on such charging information related to electric power or charging information related to charging itself.

[0088] Here, first, an example will be given in which the charging determination unit 140b determines whether or not a predetermined charging execution condition is satisfied based on charging information related to "electricity".

[0089] The charging determination unit 140b stores the charging information acquired by the information acquisition unit 140a in the charging storage unit 140e in association with the user's home 10 and the time when the charging information was acquired. Therefore, the charging storage unit 140e stores, for example, charging information consumed in the user's home 10 for the past month in chronological order. Note that, as in the fifth and sixth examples of the information acquisition process, when acquiring an integrated power measurement value (kWh) from the power meter 112, the integrated time is in 30-minute units, so the integrated power measurement value needs to be doubled for power conversion.

[0090] (First example of charging determination process) FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the flow of the charging determination process. Here, the charging execution condition is that the power in the charging information is equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison power. The comparison power is a power to be compared with the power in the charging information. The comparison power is, for example, a power obtained by multiplying the maximum power during a predetermined period (for example, one month) by a predetermined rate (for example, 50%). In this case, the charging determination unit 140b first compares the power from the present to the past one month stored in the charging storage unit 140e to extract the maximum power, and multiplies the maximum power by 0.5 to derive the comparison power (S10). Then, the charging determination unit 140b determines whether the power in the latest charging information is equal to or greater than the derived comparison power (S11). As a result, if the power is less than the comparison power (NO in S11), the charging determination unit 140b repeats the process from step S10. If the power is equal to or greater than the comparison power (YES in S11), the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged (S12).

[0091] At the user's home 10, the amount of power consumed is usually small, but a large amount of power is consumed when charging the vehicle 20. Here, it is assumed that charging of the vehicle 20 is also being performed when the power reaches the maximum power, and whether or not the vehicle 20 is being charged is determined based on whether or not the maximum power of the user's home 10 is equal to or greater than a predetermined rate. Note that the predetermined rate is set to 50% here, but is not limited to this case, and it is sufficient to distinguish between power normally consumed and power consumed during charging, and it may be set arbitrarily according to the power usage status of the user's home 10, or the power during normal use and the power during charging may be measured and an intermediate value set.

[0092] (Second example of charging determination process) FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another flow of the charging determination process. Here, the charging execution condition is that the power in the charging information is equal to or higher than a predetermined comparison power and continues for a predetermined charging time or more. The comparison power is, for example, a power obtained by adding a predetermined power (for example, 3 kW) to the average power in a predetermined period (for example, one month), and the predetermined charging time is, for example, two hours. In this case, the charging determination unit 140b first accumulates the power from the present to the past one month accumulated in the charging storage unit 140e, and adds 3 kW to the average power of the accumulated power to derive the comparison power (S20). Then, the charging determination unit 140b determines whether the power in the latest charging information is higher than the derived comparison power or more (S21). As a result, if the power is lower than the comparison power (NO in S21), the charging determination unit 140b repeats the process from step S20. If the power is equal to or higher than the comparison power (YES in S21), the charging determination unit 140b starts counting (S22).

[0093] After the start of timekeeping, the charging determination unit 140b determines whether or not the power in the latest charging information is less than the comparison power (S23). As a result, if the power is less than the comparison power (YES in S23), the charging determination unit 140b returns to the process from step S20. If the power is equal to or greater than the comparison power (NO in S23), the charging determination unit 140b determines that the power is maintained and determines whether or not two hours have passed since the start of timekeeping (S24). As a result, if two hours have not passed since the start of timekeeping (NO in S24), the charging determination unit 140b repeats the process from step S23. If two hours have passed since the start of timekeeping (YES in S24), the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged (S25).

[0094] In the user's home 10, the amount of power consumed is usually small, but a large amount of power is consumed continuously for a long period of time when charging the vehicle 20. Here, the presence or absence of charging of the vehicle 20 is determined based on whether or not a state in which the average power of the user's home 10 is higher than a predetermined power level continues for a predetermined charging time or more.

[0095] Although 3 kW (200 V x 15 A), which is the output power of a general charging station, is used as the predetermined power, this is not limited to the above case, and may be set arbitrarily according to the charging mode at the user's home 10, such as the maximum power during a predetermined period (e.g., one month) multiplied by a predetermined rate (e.g., 50%). Furthermore, although 2 hours, which is the minimum charging time required for 3 kW power, is used as the predetermined charging time, this is not limited to the above case, and may be set arbitrarily according to the charging mode at the user's home 10.

[0096] (Third example of charging determination process) In addition, in the above-mentioned charging execution condition that the power in the charging information remains equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison power for a predetermined charging time or more, the comparison power may be, for example, the power obtained by adding a predetermined power (e.g., 3 kW) to the power a predetermined time ago (e.g., 30 minutes).

[0097] In this case, the charging determination unit 140b extracts the power 30 minutes ago from the present that is stored in the charging storage unit 140e, and derives the comparison power by adding 3 kW to the extracted power. The charging determination unit 140b starts timing when the power in the latest charging information becomes equal to or greater than the derived comparison power, and ends timing when the power becomes less than the comparison power. While timing continues, the charging determination unit 140b does not change the power 30 minutes ago that is the comparison target. The charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged if the state in which the power is higher than the comparison power continues for two hours or more. This process can be realized by the charging determination unit 140b adding a predetermined power to the power 30 minutes ago to derive the comparison power in step S20 of FIG. 10, instead of deriving the comparison power by adding a predetermined power to the average power.

[0098] At the user's home 10, the amount of power consumed is usually small, but when charging the vehicle 20, a large amount of power is consumed continuously for a long period of time. Here, the presence or absence of charging of the vehicle 20 is determined based on whether or not a state in which the power is higher than a predetermined power level, based on the power from a predetermined time ago, i.e., the normal power of the user's home 10, continues for a predetermined charging time or more. Note that, as the predetermined time, 30 minutes, which is the update interval of the information from the power meter 112, is used, but this is not limited to this case and can be set to any time interval as long as it is possible to determine the start time of charging.

[0099] (Fourth example of charging determination process) In the above-mentioned charging execution condition that the power in the charging information remains equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison power for a predetermined charging time or longer, the comparison power may be, for example, a predetermined power (eg, 3 kW).

[0100] In this case, the charging determination unit 140b starts timing when the power in the latest charging information becomes 3 kW or more, and ends timing when it becomes less than 3 kW. Then, when the state in which the power is 3 kW or more continues for two hours or more, the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged. This process can be realized by the charging determination unit 140b simply setting the predetermined power as the comparison power in step S20 of Fig. 10, instead of deriving the comparison power by adding the predetermined power to the average power or deriving the comparison power by adding the predetermined power to the power 30 minutes ago.

[0101] In the user's home 10, the amount of power consumed is usually small, and for example, there are often no devices that consume a large amount of power represented by the predetermined power. On the other hand, when charging the vehicle 20, a large amount of power such as the predetermined power is consumed continuously for a long period of time. Here, in the user's home 10, which only consumes less than the predetermined power when not charging, whether or not the vehicle 20 is being charged is determined based on whether or not a state in which the power is higher than the predetermined power continues for a predetermined charging time or more.

[0102] Next, an example will be given in which the charging determination unit 140b determines whether or not a predetermined charging execution condition is satisfied based on charging information related to "charging" itself.

[0103] (Fifth example of charging determination process) An example of the charging execution condition is that the charging information indicates whether or not the vehicle 20 is being charged. If the charging information indicates that the vehicle 20 is being charged, the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged.

[0104] (Sixth example of charging determination process) Another example of a charging execution condition is that the connection status of the on-vehicle charging cable 22 in the charging information indicates that it is connected. If the connection status of the on-vehicle charging cable 22 indicates that it is connected, the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged.

[0105] (Seventh example of charging determination process) Furthermore, when only the remaining SOC and the charging and power supply states of the battery of the vehicle 20 are transmitted to the charging management server 140 as the charging information instead of the connection state of the on-board charging cable 22 of the vehicle 20, the charging execution conditions may include an increase in the remaining SOC of the battery, a charging state, or a power supply state. If the charging information indicates an increase in the remaining SOC, a charging state, or a power supply state, the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is currently being charged.

[0106] (Eighth example of charging determination process) Another example of the charging execution condition is that the information acquisition unit 140a acquires charging information indicating that charging is in progress (charging has started) from a user through any communication means such as a smartphone, a personal computer, etc. If the charging determination unit 140b recognizes that the user himself / herself is charging, it determines that the vehicle 20 is currently charging.

[0107] As described above, the charging management server 140 determines whether or not a predetermined charging execution condition is satisfied based on the charging information related to power and the charging information related to the charging itself. A plurality of determination means can be applied to determine whether or not the charging execution condition is satisfied, and the charging management server 140 determines whether or not charging is performed by selectively using one or more of the plurality of determination means.

[0108] (Setting error determination process S3) The setting determination unit 140c of the charging management server 140 determines whether or not the charging execution condition is satisfied within the planned charging period for which charging is planned based on the determination result of the charging determination unit 140b, and if the charging execution condition is not satisfied, determines that a charging setting error has occurred.

[0109] (First example of misconfiguration detection process) 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the setting error determination process. The setting determination unit 140c first sets a planned charging start timing and a planned charging end timing (S30). Here, the planned charging start timing is the timing when charging is planned to start, that is, the start timing of the planned charging period. The planned charging end timing is the timing when charging is planned to end, that is, the end timing of the planned charging period. However, neither timing indicates the actual timing when charging started or the actual timing when charging ended.

[0110] The setting determination unit 140c sets, for example, the date on which the user desires to charge as the planned charging start timing. Specifically, the user inputs the date on which the user desires to charge to any communication means such as a smartphone or a personal computer. The communication means transmits date information including the date on which the user desires to charge to the charging management server 140 in response to a transmission operation by the user. The setting determination unit 140c sets the date information as the planned charging start timing.

[0111] Also, the user may set the date and time interval or charging frequency at which charging is desired as the scheduled charging start timing. For example, the user inputs a day of the week into the communication means. When the date information includes a day of the week, the setting determination unit 140c determines that charging is to be performed on the same day of the week at weekly intervals, and sets that day of the week as the scheduled charging start timing every week thereafter. Also, the user inputs, for example, a day of the month into the communication means. When the date information includes a day, the setting determination unit 140c determines that charging is to be performed on the same day of the week at monthly intervals, and sets that day as the scheduled charging start timing every month thereafter. When the day of the week or the day is set in this way, the time of the scheduled charging start timing is considered to be 0:00 a.m. However, this is not limited to such a case, and any time can be set as the time of the scheduled charging start timing.

[0112] Also, the setting determination unit 140c derives the planned charging end timing by adding a predetermined time (for example, 72 hours) to the set planned charging start timing. Here, the reason why the predetermined time is set to 72 hours (3 days) is that if it is shorter than 72 hours, the notification of the occurrence of a setting error may be unnecessary and the user may feel bothered by the notification, and if it is longer than 72 hours, the charging may already be too late by the time the user receives the notification of the occurrence of a setting error. However, the predetermined time is not limited to this case, and any time may be set.

[0113] After setting the scheduled charging start timing, the setting determination unit 140c waits for the scheduled charging start timing to arrive (S31), and when the scheduled charging start timing arrives (YES in S31), starts counting time (S32). After starting counting time, the setting determination unit 140c determines whether the charging determination unit 140b has determined that the vehicle 20 is being charged (S33). As a result, if the charging determination unit 140b has determined that the vehicle 20 is being charged (YES in S33), the setting determination unit 140c ends the setting error determination process and ends counting time. On the other hand, if the charging determination unit 140b has determined that the vehicle 20 is not being charged, that is, that charging of the vehicle 20 has not yet started (NO in S33), the setting determination unit 140c waits for the scheduled charging end timing to arrive (S34). When the scheduled charging end time arrives (YES in S34), the setting determination unit 140c determines that charging has not been performed by the scheduled charging end time and that a setting error has occurred (S35).

[0114] (Second example of misconfiguration detection process) In addition, in the above, an example has been described in which the user inputs date information through a communication means as the planned charging start timing, but this is not limited to the above case. For example, the planned charging start timing may be set automatically based on the charging settings in the vehicle 20.

[0115] For example, a user may reserve a charging start time in a car navigation system or an in-vehicle dedicated app in the vehicle 20. In this case, as described with reference to FIG. 8, the vehicle communication unit 150a of the vehicle management server 150 establishes communication with the vehicle 20 through a communication standard such as E-Connect, acquires charging information including the charging start time from the vehicle 20, and stores the acquired charging information in the vehicle storage unit 150b. Then, the setting determination unit 140c of the charging management server 140 establishes communication with the vehicle management server 150, and acquires the charging information stored in the vehicle storage unit 150b. The setting determination unit 140c sets the charging start time as a scheduled charging start timing based on the charging information.

[0116] (Third example of misconfiguration detection process) Also, for example, machine learning may be performed based on the execution pattern (charging interval, number of charges, charging time zone) of the user charging the vehicle 20, and the scheduled charging start timing may be set according to the results of the machine learning.

[0117] For example, the setting determination unit 140c stores the date and time when the charging determination unit 140b determines that the vehicle 20 is being charged in the charging storage unit 140e in chronological order. The setting determination unit 140c estimates a regularity (charging pattern) for charging the vehicle 20 by machine learning using the date and time when the vehicle 20 is determined to be being charged as an input. For example, the setting determination unit 140c estimates, by machine learning, that the user charges the vehicle 20 on a specific day of the week in a week or on a specific day of a month. The setting determination unit 140c sets the start time of charging as the scheduled charging start timing based on the estimated regularity in this way.

[0118] Note that, here, the judgment result of the charging judgment unit 140b is used as the input for machine learning, but this is not limited to the case, and it is sufficient if past history regarding charging is input through the schedule for charging the vehicle 20 and the results of charging. For example, the setting judgment unit 140c may establish communication with the vehicle management server 150 and acquire charging information stored in the vehicle memory unit 150b, or may acquire a charging history input by the user through a communication means.

[0119] (Notification process S4) When the setting determination unit 140c determines that a setting error has occurred, the notification unit 140d of the charging management server 140 notifies the user that a setting error has occurred.

[0120] (First example of notification processing) FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the notification process. The notification unit 140d first sets the notification timing for notifying the user (S40). The notification unit 140d sets, for example, the day of the week, the date, and the time when the user desires to be notified as the notification timing. Specifically, the user inputs the date when the user desires to be notified to any communication means such as a smartphone or a personal computer. The communication means transmits date information including the day of the week, the date, and the time when the user desires to be notified to the charging management server 140 in response to a transmission operation by the user. The notification unit 140d sets the date information as the notification timing.

[0121] When the notification timing is set, the notification unit 140d waits for the setting determination unit 140c to determine that a setting error has occurred (S41). When it is determined that a setting error has occurred (YES in S41), the notification unit 140d waits for the notification timing to arrive (S42), and when the notification timing arrives (YES in S42), the notification unit 140d notifies the user that a setting error has occurred (S43), and returns to the process from step S41. Note that if the user does not set the notification timing, the setting determination unit 140c immediately notifies the user that a setting error has occurred without waiting for the notification timing to arrive (without performing step S43).

[0122] There are various possible means for notifying the user. For example, the notification unit 140d notifies the user that a setting error has occurred through a pop-up function of any application (navigation application, game application, LINE, myTOKYOGAS, external charging application, email, etc.) in any communication means such as a smartphone or a personal computer owned by the user.

[0123] In addition, the notification unit 140d may notify the user that a setting error has occurred through other communication means, such as a telephone, a car navigation system installed in the vehicle 20, or a cloud-based voice service (Alexa (registered trademark), Siri (registered trademark), etc.).

[0124] In addition, if a charging stand is set up in the user's home 10 and the charging stand is equipped with a speaker or a light-emitting element, the notification unit 140d may notify the user that a setting error has occurred by sounding an alarm through the speaker of the charging stand or by illuminating the light-emitting element.

[0125] (Second example of notification processing) In the above example, the notification unit 140d notifies the user that a setting error has occurred and ends the notification process when the notification timing arrives, but the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the notification process may end only after receiving a confirmation report from the user. Here, the confirmation report indicates a response through a communication means of the user or a dedicated switch at the charging station.

[0126] For example, when a setting error occurs and the notification timing arrives, the notification unit 140d notifies the user that a setting error has occurred. Here, the notification unit 140d waits for a confirmation report from the user and continues to notify the user that a setting error has occurred. Then, when the notification unit 140d receives a confirmation report from the user, it ends the notification that a setting error has occurred and ends the notification process.

[0127] Also, an example has been given here in which notification of a setting error continues until a confirmation report is received from the user, but this is not limited to the above case. Notification may be repeated for a specified period of time, at intervals set by the user (e.g., one day) or at preset time intervals.

[0128] By combining the information acquisition process (S1), charging determination process (S2), setting error determination process (S3), and notification process (S4) of the charging system 100 illustrated above, even if the charging connector is forgotten to be connected or the charging connector is not properly connected to the charging port for some reason, the user can properly understand that such a setting error has occurred, and can quickly avoid a state in which charging is not being performed properly.

[0129] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can think of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0130] For example, in the above-described embodiment, examples have been given in which power is derived by various devices such as the power measurement unit 114c, the power measurement unit 118a, the power meter 112, etc., but the present invention is not limited to such cases. Current, voltage, power factor, etc. may be transmitted as charging information, and power may be derived by the HEMS 116, the power management server 130, the charging management server 140, the vehicle management server 150, etc.

[0131] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example was given in which the information acquisition unit 140a, the charging determination unit 140b, the setting determination unit 140c, and the notification unit 140d are arranged in the charging management server 140, but this is not limited to the case, and they may be arranged in various devices such as the power management server 130, the vehicle management server 150, the HEMS 116 in the user's home 10, the charging outlet 118, etc.

[0132] It should be noted that each step of the information acquisition process (S1), charging determination process (S2), setting error determination process (S3), and notification process (S4) does not necessarily have to be processed chronologically in the order described in the flowchart, and may include parallel or subroutine processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0133] 10 User's home 20 Vehicles 22 Car charging cable 100 Charging System 112 Power Meter 114 Distribution Board 114c Power measurement section 116 HEMS 118 Charging outlet 118a Power measurement section 130 Power Management Server 140 Charging management server 140a Information acquisition section 140b Charge determination section 140c Setting judgment section 140d Notification Department 140e Charging storage section 150 Vehicle management server

Claims

1. an information acquisition unit that acquires charging information related to charging of the vehicle; a charge determination unit that determines whether a predetermined charge execution condition is satisfied based on the charge information; a setting determination unit that determines that a setting error in charging has occurred when the charging execution condition is not satisfied within a planned charging period in which charging is planned; a notification unit that notifies that the setting error has occurred; A charging system comprising:

2. the information acquisition unit acquires, as the charging information, electric power in a premises where the vehicle is charged; The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein the charging execution condition is that the acquired electric power is equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison electric power.

3. the information acquisition unit acquires, as the charging information, electric power in a premises where the vehicle is charged; 2. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the charging execution condition is that the acquired electric power remains equal to or greater than a predetermined comparison power for a predetermined charging time or longer.

4. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein the information acquisition unit acquires the charging information via a HEMS, a power meter, and a power management server in that order.

Images