Charging management system

Abstract

To provide a charging management system for enhancing user satisfaction with charging an electric vehicle.SOLUTION: A charging management system for managing normal charging and quick charging for electric vehicles includes: a determination part which determines a usage status of quick charging; and a charging management part for making normal charging available and restricting billing for the normal charging when quick charging is in use.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Charging of electric vehicles can be broadly divided into normal charging and rapid charging, and can be performed using normal chargers and rapid chargers, respectively.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a charging system that is equipped with a normal charger and a rapid charger at a single charging station and is capable of both normal charging and rapid charging. In this charging system, rapid charging is possible for one electric vehicle, while other electric vehicles waiting for rapid charging are charged by normal charging. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-176232 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the charging system of Patent Document 1, the fee for normal charging is charged even to users who actually want to use rapid charging, which means that the users are charged for a charging service that they do not want.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a charge management system that improves user satisfaction with charging of electric vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the charging management system of the present disclosure, which manages normal charging and rapid charging of an electric vehicle, includes a determination unit that determines the usage status of rapid charging, and a charging management unit that, when rapid charging is in use, enables normal charging and limits charges for normal charging. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve an effect of improving user satisfaction with charging of electric vehicles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a charge management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the charge management device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the charge management process executed by the charge management device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, a charge management system and a charge management device that are the main operators of the charge management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by a person skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0011] (Charging management system configuration) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a charge management system according to an embodiment. The charge management system 1 shown in Fig. 1 is, for example, an information processing system that manages normal charging and rapid charging of an electric vehicle, and may include a so-called charging station 50 for the electric vehicle. The electric vehicle is realized using either a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle).

[0012] Charging stand 50 includes, for example, a rapid (DC) charging output connector for rapid charging and a normal (AC) charging output connector for normal charging. Note that there may be one or more AC charging output connectors. Also, for example, the rapid charging charging stand with a DC charging output connector and the normal charging charging stand with an AC charging output connector may be separate stands.

[0013] The charging management system 1 may also include, for example, a charging management device 10 that is an information processing device that manages normal charging and rapid charging of an electric vehicle. The charging management device 10 may, for example, be built into the charging stand 50 or installed separately from the charging stand 50, but the charging management device 10 and the charging stand 50 are connected to be able to communicate with each other. The charging management device 10 determines, for example, the usage status of rapid charging, and when rapid charging is in use, enables normal charging and limits the charge for normal charging.

[0014] (Configuration of the charging management device 10) Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a charge management device according to an embodiment. The charge management device 10 illustrated in Fig. 2 is shown as a single computer, but may be configured, for example, by multiple computers. The charge management device 10 includes, for example, a communication unit 20, a storage unit 30, and a control unit 40.

[0015] The communication unit 20 is a processing unit that controls communication with other devices, and is, for example, a communication interface such as a network interface card. Note that communication between the charge management device 10 and other devices may be performed via various communication networks, such as the Internet or an intranet, regardless of whether it is wired or wireless.

[0016] The storage unit 30 is a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various data and programs executed by the control unit 40, for example.

[0017] The control unit 40 is a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. The control unit 40 includes a determination unit 41 and a charge management unit 42, for example.

[0018] The determination unit 41 determines, for example, the use state of rapid charging. More specifically, the determination unit 41 determines, for example, whether or not a rapid charging port of the charging station 50 is available, and if no available port is available, determines that the electric vehicle is using rapid charging.

[0019] For example, when rapid charging is in use, the charging management unit 42 enables normal charging and limits the charge for normal charging. In other words, for example, when rapid charging is not in use, the charging management unit 42 can control the system so that normal charging is not available and only rapid charging is allowed. Furthermore, limiting the charge for normal charging may mean, for example, making the charge for normal charging free. Furthermore, for example, the charging management unit 42 may keep normal charging open at all times and, when rapid charging is in use, control the system so that the charge for normal charging is free.

[0020] (Charging management processing) Next, a description will be given of the charge management process executed by the charge management device 10. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the charge management process executed by the charge management device according to the embodiment.

[0021] 3, the charging management device 10 detects that a vehicle that wishes to be charged (charge-requesting vehicle) has arrived at a quick charging station (step S101). Regarding the detection of such a vehicle, for example, the vehicle that has arrived at the quick charging station may be detected using an existing object detection technology from an image captured by a camera device communicably connected to the charging management device 10, or may be detected using various sensors.

[0022] Next, the charge management device 10 determines whether a vehicle other than the vehicle detected in step S101 is using rapid charging (step S102). If the other vehicle is not being rapid charged (step S102: No), the charge management device 10 starts rapid charging for the vehicle detected in step S101 (step S103). After step S103 is executed, the charge management process shown in FIG. 3 ends.

[0023] On the other hand, if another vehicle is being rapid charged and there are no available rapid charging ports (step S102: Yes), the charging management device 10 opens the adjacent normal charging station free of charge to the vehicle detected in step S101 (step S104).

[0024] Next, if the vehicle detected in step S101 is not waiting for rapid charging (step S105: No), the charging management device 10 prompts the vehicle to move to another charging station or other location by displaying or communicating (step S106), and the charging management process shown in Figure 3 ends.

[0025] On the other hand, if the vehicle detected in step S101 is waiting for quick charging (step S105: Yes), the charging management device 10 starts normal charging of the vehicle free of charge (step S107). After executing step S107, the charging management device 10 periodically determines whether a quick charging slot is available (step S102), and if a quick charging slot is available, starts quick charging of the vehicle (step S103).

[0026] Regarding the determination of whether to wait for rapid charging in step S105, for example, the charging management device 10 may display a confirmation message on a display provided on a charging stand or the like, asking whether to wait for rapid charging, and have the user select whether to wait for rapid charging by pressing a button or the like, and then make the determination using the result of that selection.

[0027] According to the embodiment described above, the charge management system that manages normal charging and rapid charging of an electric vehicle determines the usage status of rapid charging, and when rapid charging is in use, enables normal charging and limits the charge for normal charging, thereby improving user satisfaction with charging of the electric vehicle. In other words, the charge management system can provide normal charging free of charge to users who would otherwise want rapid charging, thereby preventing the battery of the vehicle from running out while waiting for rapid charging and improving user satisfaction and convenience.

[0028] Further advantages and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art, and the broader aspects are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Therefore, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and the present invention can be embodied in other forms that incorporate various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the embodiments described in the disclosure of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1. Charging management system 10 Charging management device 20 Communications Department 30 Storage section 40 Control Unit 41 Judgment section 42 Charging Management Department 50 charging stations

Claims

[Claim 1] A charging management system that manages normal charging and rapid charging of an electric vehicle, a determination unit for determining a usage state of the rapid charging; a charge management unit that enables the normal charging and limits billing for the normal charging when the rapid charging is in use; A charging management system comprising:

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