Vehicle charging and discharging control system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle charging and discharging control system capable of securing sufficient power in an emergency by adjusting remaining capacity of a battery based on forecast information.SOLUTION: A vehicle charging and discharging control system 10 comprises a communication section 12 capable of receiving forecast information and a control section 14 controlling charging and discharging of a battery mounted on a vehicle 20. When the communication section 12 receives the forecast information, the control section 14 determines whether to propose switching to an operation mode that can prevent a decrease in a charge level of the battery mounted on the vehicle 20, including by increasing the charge level, based on the received forecast information. When determining to make the proposal to switch the operation mode, the control section notifies a user, and upon receiving the user's permission, switches the operation mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle charge and discharge control system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology that utilizes the battery mounted on an electric vehicle (BEV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in an emergency such as a power outage or a disaster. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle terminal for emergency notification that operates on the power of a battery when an emergency of a vehicle is detected.

[0003] In addition, there is a technology that uses the battery mounted on a vehicle as an emergency power source and supplies power to the outside. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle power supply control system. According to the system of Patent Document 2, when an emergency notification is received, it is said that the battery can be used efficiently by performing control to expand the range of power supply in the battery.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, when a power outage or disaster occurs and you want to use the battery mounted on the vehicle for purposes other than driving, such as powering home electrical appliances or lighting, the remaining battery level may be low and it may not be fully utilized. The remaining battery level is also affected by factors other than consumption during driving, such as avoiding charging during peak electricity rates and performing slow charging for battery protection. Ordinarily, the above control that does not prioritize ensuring the remaining battery level is effective. On the other hand, there is also a desire to be prepared so that sufficient power can be utilized in an emergency, that is, to ensure the remaining battery level as much as possible.

[0006] Therefore, in this specification, a vehicle charge-discharge control system capable of ensuring sufficient power in an emergency is realized by adjusting the remaining battery level based on forecast information.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The vehicle charge-discharge control system disclosed in this specification includes a communication unit capable of receiving forecast information and a control unit that controls the charge and discharge of the battery mounted on the vehicle. When the communication unit receives the forecast information, the control unit determines whether to propose a switching of the operation mode that can prevent a decrease including an increase in the charge amount of the battery from the received forecast information. When it is determined to make the proposal, it notifies the user, and when it receives permission from the user, it switches the operation mode.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the vehicle charge-discharge control system disclosed in this specification, since the remaining battery level can be adjusted in advance by switching the operation mode based on forecast information, the remaining battery level can be increased even a little in an emergency. In addition, since the operation mode is switched after obtaining the user's permission, it is possible to avoid switching to an operation mode that the user does not desire.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Embodiment for Carrying out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, a vehicle charge-discharge control system will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, the vehicle charge-discharge control system will be described as being mounted on a vehicle, but it is not limited thereto. For example, a part of the vehicle charge-discharge control system may be installed in a vehicle management center or the like outside the vehicle, or may be constructed on the cloud.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle charge-discharge control system. The vehicle charge-discharge control system 10 determines from the forecast information whether it is necessary to use the in-vehicle battery in an emergency. If it is determined to be necessary, for example, in the case of a BEV, it switches to a driving mode with a small decrease in the remaining battery level, and in the case of a PHEV, it switches to a charging mode. It is a system that performs such control. Note that since the above switching to the charging mode leads to an increase in the charge amount of the battery, hereinafter, appropriately, including such an increase, it is expressed as "preventing a decrease in the charge amount of the battery", "a mode capable of securing the remaining amount of the battery", etc.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle charge-discharge control system 10 includes a communication unit 12 and a control unit 14. Further, the communication unit 12 and the control unit 14 exchange data (that is, information data such as forecast information and various information) with various information systems 16, a vehicle management center 18, a vehicle 20 (more specifically, the control unit of the vehicle), and a user terminal 22 via a network (not shown).

[0013] The communication unit 12 has a function of receiving forecast information and various types of information. More specifically, the communication unit 12 receives forecast information and various types of information that may lead to power outages, disasters, etc. from various information systems 16 and the vehicle management center 18 via a network or the like. The information received from the various information systems 16 includes, for example, weather forecast information, power outage forecast information, earthquake forecast information, J-Alert, etc. Also, the information received from the vehicle management center 18 includes, for example, power outage occurrence rate information, etc. Note that the vehicle management center 18 receives forecast information and driving information from the various information systems 16 and the vehicle 20 in advance, and generates power outage occurrence rate information based on those pieces of information.

[0014] The control unit 14 is an electronic control unit having at least a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes and a memory in which control programs and data are stored. The control unit 14 controls the operations of each part of a system (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 20. As an example, the control unit 14 controls the charging and discharging of the battery mounted on the vehicle 20. Also, the control unit 14 controls the communication unit 12 to exchange data with the various information systems 16 and the like.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, the control process performed by the control unit 14 will be further described. The control unit 14 receives driving information and operation mode information from the vehicle 20 periodically or based on predetermined conditions. Examples of the driving information include the own vehicle position information and destination information of the vehicle 20. This driving information is used, for example, when determining whether the power outage information, if any, forecasts the occurrence of a power outage around the vehicle 20 or around the destination.

[0016] In addition, the operation modes of the vehicle 20 include a traveling mode and a charging mode. Examples of the traveling mode include an energy-saving mode that prioritizes fuel efficiency (i.e., a traveling mode with reduced battery consumption), a sports mode that prioritizes acceleration performance, and a normal traveling mode. An example of the charging mode is a rapid charging mode. When the communication unit 12 receives forecast information from the various information systems 16 and the vehicle management center 18, the control unit 14 determines whether it is necessary to switch the operation mode based on the above-described traveling information and operation mode information. In other words, the control unit 14 determines whether to propose to the user to switch the operation mode. For example, when the vehicle 20 is traveling in the sports mode, since it is a mode that prioritizes running, it accelerates promptly when the accelerator is depressed, and also has the characteristic that the time the engine is running is longer than in other modes. Therefore, although the sports mode does not have good fuel efficiency, it is not a desirable operation mode in a situation where it is desired to increase the remaining battery level even slightly in an emergency. Thus, the control unit 14 proposes to the user to switch to the energy-saving mode or the rapid charging mode. Specifically, the above proposal is notified to the user terminal 22 or the display unit of the touch panel for the driver mounted on the vehicle 20. Then, when permission is received from the user, the control unit 14 switches the operation mode of the vehicle 20 to the proposed operation mode (or, for example, if there are a plurality of proposed operation modes, the operation mode selected by the user from among them).

[0017] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a series of processing flows up to the switching of the operation mode of the vehicle 20 described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the processing sequence of the vehicle charge / discharge control system. More specifically, FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing performed between the vehicle charge / discharge control system 10 according to the embodiment, the various information systems 16, the vehicle management center 18, and the user terminal 22, together with the exchange of data. As described above, in this example, the vehicle charge / discharge control system 10 will be described as being mounted on the vehicle 20.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, forecast information is transmitted from various information systems 16 to the vehicle charging and discharging control system 10 installed in the vehicle 20, and the vehicle charging and discharging control system 10 receives the information through the communication unit 12 (S10). As described above, since the control unit 14 controls the operations of each part in the vehicle charging and discharging control system 10, hereinafter, the control unit 14 is appropriately used as the main body of the process.

[0019] When the control unit 14 determines from the received forecast information and, for example, the driving information and operation mode of the vehicle 20 that are periodically acquired and previously held that it is necessary to propose a switching of the operation mode to the user, the control unit 14 proposes to switch the operation mode to a mode that can secure a larger remaining battery level (S12). The user who has been proposed to switch the operation mode uses the user terminal 22 to permit the switching of the operation mode of the vehicle 20 (S20). Then, upon receiving permission from the user, the control unit 14 switches the operation mode to the permitted mode (S22).

[0020] Also, as another example, forecast information is transmitted from various information systems 16 to the vehicle management center 18 (S14). Then, the vehicle management center 18 that has received the forecast information generates power outage occurrence rate information based on the forecast information. When the power outage occurrence rate information is transmitted to the vehicle charging and discharging control system 10, the vehicle charging and discharging control system 10 receives the information through the communication unit 12 (S16).

[0021] When the control unit 14 determines from the received power outage occurrence rate information and, for example, the driving information and operation mode of the vehicle 20 that are periodically acquired and previously held that it is necessary to propose a switching of the operation mode to the user, the control unit 14 proposes to switch the operation mode to a mode that can secure a larger remaining battery level (S18). The user who has been proposed to switch the operation mode uses the user terminal 22 to permit the switching of the operation mode of the vehicle 20 (S20). Then, upon receiving permission from the user, the control unit 14 switches the operation mode to the permitted mode (S22).

[0022] By the processing of the above example, it is possible to sufficiently secure the remaining amount of the battery. That is, conventionally, even in a vehicle that can supply power to the outside, there is not always enough remaining battery capacity in an emergency, and since it takes a certain amount of time to charge the vehicle in the control after the emergency information is received, there are cases where sufficient power cannot be secured. However, in the vehicle charge / discharge control system disclosed in this specification, since the remaining amount of the battery is adjusted by judging from the forecast information, at the stage when the emergency information is received, a certain amount of power is secured in the battery by switching the operation mode. Furthermore, in the vehicle charge / discharge control system disclosed in this specification, by obtaining the permission of the user, it is possible to avoid switching to an operation mode that the user does not desire.

[0023] Note that the above description is an example, and in the vehicle charge / discharge control system disclosed in this specification, it is determined whether to propose switching to an operation mode that can prevent a decrease including an increase in the charge amount of the battery from the received forecast information, and if permission is received from the user, any configuration may be adopted as long as the operation mode is switched. Therefore, other configurations may be changed as appropriate. For example, by setting in advance the conditions for switching the operation mode of the vehicle to the energy-saving mode or the rapid charge mode, it may be configured to switch the operation mode without inquiring the user.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0024] 10 Vehicle charge / discharge control system, 12 Communication unit, 14 Control unit, 16 Various information systems, 18 Vehicle management center, 20 Vehicle, 22 User terminal.

Claims

【Claim 1】 A communication unit capable of receiving forecast information, A control unit that controls charging and discharging of a battery mounted on a vehicle, Comprising, When the communication unit receives the forecast information, the control unit Determines whether to propose switching to an operation mode that can prevent a decrease including an increase in the charge amount of the battery from the received forecast information, If it is determined to make the proposal, notify the user, When permission from the user is received, switch the operation mode, A vehicle charging and discharging control system characterized by the above.

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