Charging control device

Abstract

To provide a charge control device capable of setting a charge amount in consideration of a difference in traveling environment after completion of charging in advance, and suppressing excess and deficiency of the charge amount.SOLUTION: A charging control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a charging control device that controls charging of a battery for traveling mounted on a vehicle, the charging control device including an information acquisition unit that acquires and stores at least information on a parking position of the vehicle and information on a traveling section of the vehicle, the information acquisition unit setting a high-frequency parking position based on the parking position of the vehicle and a frequency at which the vehicle is parked in the parking position. The charging control device is configured to determine whether or not charging of the battery is charging in the high-frequency parking position of the vehicle based on the information accumulated in the information acquisition unit, and to charge the battery with an amount of electric power in consideration of the information in the traveling section from the high-frequency parking position accumulated in the information acquisition unit when the charging is charging in the high-frequency parking position of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charge control device. [Background technology]

[0002] The contactless charging system of Patent Document 1 is equipped with a target setting unit that creates a charging plan including a target SOC (State of Charge) for the battery. The target setting unit divides the average driving distance and the average charging rate decrease into seven day-of-the-week segments on a daily basis, classifies each day-of-the-week segment into multiple long-distance and short-distance groups based on the average driving distance, and sets the target SOC based on the average charging rate decrease included in each group. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-158871 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the amount of power consumed by the battery used for driving an electric vehicle varies depending on factors other than the distance traveled, such as differences in driving time due to the presence or absence of traffic congestion, resulting in differences in power consumption even when the driving distance is the same. Therefore, unless the charging amount is set taking into consideration in advance the driving environment, such as traffic congestion during driving after charging, there is a possibility that the charging amount will be excessive or insufficient depending on the driving environment.However, there was a problem in that the reduction in the average charging rate based on the day of the week classification was not sufficient to deal with the differences in the driving environment after charging was completed.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging control device that can set the charging amount taking into consideration in advance differences in the driving environment after charging is completed, and can prevent the charging amount from becoming excessive or insufficient. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect, the charging control device of the present invention is a charging control device that controls charging of a driving battery installed in a vehicle, and the charging control device has an information acquisition unit that acquires and stores at least information on the parking position of the vehicle and information on the driving section of the vehicle, and the information acquisition unit sets a high-frequency parking position based on the parking position of the vehicle and the frequency with which the vehicle is parked at that parking position, and the charging control device determines whether the charging of the battery is at the high-frequency parking position of the vehicle based on the information stored in the information acquisition unit, and if the charging is at the high-frequency parking position of the vehicle, charges the battery with an amount of electricity that takes into account the information on the driving section from the high-frequency parking position stored in the information acquisition unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the charge amount can be set taking into consideration in advance differences in the driving environment after charging is completed, and excess or deficiency in the charge amount can be prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a charging system including a charging control device. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of charge control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a charge control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle to which a charge control device according to the present invention is applied. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle that runs on power from a battery 2 mounted thereon for running, and includes a positioning device 3 and a charge control device 4.

[0010] The battery 2 is a high-voltage battery used as a power source for a driving motor (not shown) of the vehicle 1, and is made up of a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. The positioning device 3 is a device that acquires position information of the vehicle 1 (information such as the driving position and parking position) by, for example, combining the Global Positioning System (GPS) with map information, or by road-to-vehicle communication.

[0011] The charging control device 4 is a computer that controls the power supplied from the charging facility 5 for charging the battery. The charging equipment 5 may be either a contactless charging equipment that transmits power wirelessly to the battery 2 using a power transmission coil installed in the parking space 6 (in other words, the charging space) and a power receiving coil installed in the vehicle 1, or a cable-type charging equipment that is connected to the vehicle 1 parked in the parking space 6 via a charging cable and transmits power for battery charging to the battery 2. FIG. 1 shows a cable-type charging facility as one embodiment of the charging facility 5.

[0012] Furthermore, the parking space 6 equipped with the charging facility 5 and in which the battery 2 is charged includes parking spaces in parking lots with limited users as well as parking spaces in public parking lots. A parking lot with limited users is, for example, a parking lot used as a storage location for vehicle 1, such as the home of the owner of vehicle 1 or a monthly parking lot, or a parking lot reserved for employees. Public parking lots include, for example, hourly parking lots, parking lots at commercial facilities and hospitals, parking lots at highway service areas, and parking spaces at charging stations located on the side of the road.

[0013] The charge control device 4 includes a wireless communication unit 4A, an information acquisition unit 4B, and a charge control unit 4C. The wireless communication unit 4A transmits to the charging equipment 5, via wireless communication, instructions such as a target charging rate set by the charging control unit 4C.

[0014] The information acquisition unit 4B acquires information about the parking position of vehicle 1 and the driving section of vehicle 1 from the position information of vehicle 1 provided by the positioning device 3, etc., and links the parking position information with information about the driving section after starting driving from the parking position and records it in the non-volatile memory provided in the charging control device 4, thereby accumulating information for estimating the amount of electricity required when starting driving from the parking position. The information on the parking location of vehicle 1 is information that identifies the parking lot where vehicle 1 is parked, more specifically, the parking space 6 equipped with charging equipment 5 where vehicle 1 is parked and the battery is charged.

[0015] In addition, the information acquisition unit 4B acquires information about traffic congestion on the road where the vehicle 1 starts traveling from the parking lot (parking space 6 equipped with charging equipment 5), specifically, information about the location of the traffic congestion and the amount of electricity consumed during the traffic congestion, as information about the driving section of the vehicle 1. In addition, the information acquisition unit 4B sets a high-frequency parking position based on the parking position of the vehicle 1 and the frequency with which the vehicle 1 parks at the parking position, in other words, a parking position to be subject to charge amount control based on the driving history starting from the parking position.

[0016] The information acquisition unit 4B can store information within the travel section (information about congestion on the road where travel starts from the parking lot) for each of the multiple high-frequency parking locations. In addition, the information acquisition unit 4B can classify the start of vehicle travel from the same high-frequency parking location based on conditions such as date, day of the week, and time of day, and store information within the travel section, i.e., information regarding traffic congestion, for each such classification.

[0017] When the vehicle 1 is parked in a parking space 6 equipped with a charging facility 5, the charging control unit 4C determines whether the parking position is stored in the information acquisition unit 4B as a high-frequency parking position. Then, if the parking position of vehicle 1 is stored in the information acquisition unit 4B as a high-frequency parking position, information (information regarding traffic congestion) within the driving section after starting driving from the high-frequency parking position in the past, which is linked to the high-frequency parking position, is searched for.

[0018] Next, the charging control unit 4C sets a target charging rate taking into consideration information (information about traffic congestion) within the searched travel section, and commands the charging equipment 5 to charge the battery at the set target charging rate. That is, the charge control unit 4C determines the charge target for the current parking operation by referring to the driving environment after the start of driving when the vehicle was previously parked in the same parking position, specifically, the past traffic congestion situation.

[0019] Specifically, based on the information accumulated by the information acquisition unit 4B, the charging control unit 4C predicts the route that the vehicle 1 is likely to take when it starts traveling from the parking lot where it is currently parked, and further determines the probability of traffic congestion on the predicted traveling route. Then, when the charging control unit 4C determines that there is a high possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion when it starts traveling from the parking lot where it was parked this time, it charges the battery 2 with an amount of power that takes into account traveling in traffic congestion (the amount of power consumed during past traffic congestion). In other words, when there is a high possibility of encountering traffic congestion, the charging control unit 4C sets a target charging rate that will not result in a power shortage due to driving in traffic congestion.

[0020] On the other hand, if the charging control unit 4C determines that there is a low possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion when it starts traveling from the parking lot where it is currently parked, it charges the battery 2 with an amount of power that is less than when it is predicted that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion. In other words, when there is a low possibility of encountering traffic congestion, the charging control unit 4C sets a lower target charging rate than when there is a high possibility of encountering traffic congestion, thereby preventing deterioration of the battery 2 due to overcharging.

[0021] The high frequency parking position is a parking position to be controlled that is selected as a parking position in which the stored information within the driving section is reflected in the charging control. Therefore, the charge control device 4 can set a parking lot where the history of the vehicle 1 having parked at least once in the past is stored as a high-frequency parking location. In addition, the charge control device 4 can determine a high-frequency parking location based on whether the parking time per parking session is longer than a predetermined time, whether the number of parking sessions per predetermined period (for example, per week) is greater than a set number, or whether the interval between the end of parking and the next parking session is shorter than a set time.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of charge control by the charge control device 4. In step S101, the charging control device 4 determines whether the vehicle 1 is parked in a parking space 6 equipped with charging equipment 5 and set as a high-frequency parking location based on the location information of the vehicle 1 and accumulated information on the parking location. Then, if the vehicle 1 is not parked in a high-frequency parking position, the charging control device 4 performs parking position learning in step S102 (information acquisition unit 4B), by acquiring and storing information about the parking position and information about the driving section (locations of congestion and amount of power consumed during congestion).

[0023] When learning the parking position, the charging control device 4 (information acquisition unit 4B) acquires and stores driving information from the start to the end of vehicle 1's driving (such as information on the driving position of vehicle 1), congestion position information from the start to the end of vehicle 1's driving (information on the road position and road section where the congestion occurred), information on battery consumption during congestion (in other words, power consumption or reduction in charging rate), and information on battery consumption when driving outside of congestion, etc. In addition, when learning the parking position, the charging control device 4 (information acquisition unit 4B) acquires and stores, for each parking, driving information from the start to the end (parking) of vehicle 1 (such as information on the driving position of vehicle 1), as well as information such as parking frequency, number of parking attempts, parking duration, parking start time, and parking end time.

[0024] The charge control device 4 can determine the distance or duration of low-speed driving from the position information of the vehicle 1 detected by the positioning device 3, and determine whether or not there is a traffic jam. Furthermore, the charge control device 4 can acquire a vehicle speed detection signal from a vehicle speed sensor (or wheel speed sensor) provided in the vehicle 1 and determine whether or not there is a traffic jam.

[0025] On the other hand, if the vehicle 1 is parked in a high-frequency parking position, the charge control device 4 determines in step S103 whether charging of the battery 2 by the charging facility 5 has started. Then, when charging of the battery 2 starts at the high-frequency parking position, the charge control device 4 determines in step S104 whether or not it has acquired traffic congestion information when starting to drive from the high-frequency parking position, that is, whether or not it is in a state where it can determine whether or not there is a possibility of driving in traffic congestion.

[0026] If the congestion information has not been acquired, the charge control device 4 performs charging at a basic charge amount that suppresses deterioration of the battery 2 in step S106. On the other hand, if traffic congestion information has already been acquired, in step S105, the charging control device 4 determines whether there is a high possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion after starting to drive from the current parking position, based on traffic congestion information (traffic congestion history) acquired in the past when the vehicle 1 started to drive from the parking position.

[0027] Then, if there is a high possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion after starting to travel from the current parking position (charging space) (if there is a history of encountering traffic congestion in the past), the charging control device 4 performs charging in step S107, taking into account the amount of power consumption in the traffic congestion. In other words, if the charging control device 4 estimates from past driving history that there is a high possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion after starting to drive from the current parking position (charging space), it increases the amount of charging compared to when there is a low possibility of encountering traffic congestion, thereby preventing the vehicle from running out of power even if it actually encounters traffic congestion.

[0028] On the other hand, if the charge control device 4 estimates from the past driving history that there is a low possibility that the vehicle 1 will encounter traffic congestion after starting to drive from the current parking position (charging space), then in step S106, charging is performed at a basic charging amount that prevents deterioration of the battery 2. In other words, when the vehicle 1 is unlikely to encounter traffic congestion after starting to move from its current parking position, the charge control device 4 suppresses deterioration of the battery 2 by reducing the amount of charge compared to when the vehicle 1 is likely to encounter traffic congestion.

[0029] For example, assume that there are commercial facilities A and B that are frequently used by the user of vehicle 1, and that the roads around commercial facility A are more congested and prone to congestion than the roads around commercial facility B. In this case, when vehicle 1 is parked in the parking lot (charging space) of commercial facility A, the charging control device 4 can charge a larger amount of battery than when vehicle 1 is parked in the parking lot (charging space) of commercial facility B, preventing the vehicle from running out of power on the way home from commercial facility A. Also, when vehicle 1 is parked in commercial facility B, excessive charging is prevented, thereby suppressing deterioration of battery 2. According to this charging control, even if commercial facility A and commercial facility B are located at the same distance from the home of the owner of vehicle 1, the driving distance is the same, and the destination switches between commercial facility A and commercial facility B on the same day of the week, the vehicle can be charged with an appropriate amount of charge, neither too much nor too little, at commercial facility A and commercial facility B.

[0030] Furthermore, even in the same parking lot, if the state of congestion on surrounding roads (the driving route from the parking lot) changes depending on the time of day, day of the week, etc., the charging control device 4 can predict congestion when leaving the parking lot by recording the congestion history according to the time of day, day of the week, etc., and can charge an amount of electricity that takes into account driving in traffic jams if it is a time of day or day when there is a high possibility of encountering congestion. For example, if vehicle 1 is used for commuting, if a company's employee parking lot (employee-only charging space) is a frequently parked location, or if there is congestion caused by employees all returning home at the same time on a day when work ends on time, the charging amount can be set in anticipation of such congestion.

[0031] Furthermore, when traveling to a destination on a highway, if vehicle 1 is parked in a parking lot at a service area (or parking area) along the way and the battery is charged while parked, if a history of parking in the service area's parking lot in the past is saved and there is a history of encountering traffic jams when starting to drive from the service area's parking lot, the amount of electricity charged can take into account driving in traffic jams. In other words, a high-frequency parking location is not limited to a parking lot at the destination, but can also be a parking lot at a temporary rest facility such as a service area, or a charging station that is used regularly can be set as a high-frequency parking location.

[0032] In addition, the process of changing the charge amount based on past parking and driving history is not limited to being based on a judgment of the possibility of encountering traffic congestion, and the charge control device 4 can acquire and store information on the driving environment related to power consumption other than traffic congestion, and change the charge amount based on the information on the driving environment other than traffic congestion. For example, when the air conditioning device of the vehicle 1 is operated using the battery 2 as a power source, the amount of power consumed will fluctuate greatly depending on whether the air conditioning device is turned on or off.

[0033] Therefore, when starting to drive from a high-frequency parking position, the charge control device 4 predicts whether the vehicle will be driven in an air-conditioned state with the air conditioning device activated, and if it predicts that the vehicle will be driven in an air-conditioned state, it can increase the amount of charge. The charging control device 4 can predict whether the vehicle 1 will be driven in air-conditioned mode based on information such as the average temperature for the current day and the maximum temperature in the weather forecast, and can also make predictions based on this temperature information and the predicted time when the vehicle 1 will start driving.

[0034] In addition, the charge control device 4 can predict whether the user of the vehicle 1 will drive in air-conditioned mode based on the history of the correlation between the temperature and the operation of the air-conditioning device, that is, the learned results of the temperature tendency at which the air-conditioning device is turned on. Furthermore, the charge control device 4 can also determine the amount of charge based on both a prediction of whether or not the vehicle will encounter traffic congestion and a prediction of whether or not the air conditioner will be operated. In addition, the driving environment that affects power consumption includes whether there is traffic congestion, the temperature, whether there is a headwind on the highway, whether the driving route from the parking lot is a steep uphill slope, the vehicle weight, and the unevenness of the road surface.The charging control device 4 can change the amount of charge depending on which of these driving environments the route starting from the parking lot falls into.

[0035] The technical ideas explained in the above embodiments can be used in appropriate combinations as long as no contradiction occurs. Furthermore, although the contents of the present invention have been specifically described with reference to preferred embodiments, it is obvious that a person skilled in the art can adopt various modified embodiments based on the basic technical idea and teachings of the present invention.

[0036] For example, the charging control device 4 is not limited to being mounted on the vehicle 1, but may be provided on the charging facility 5 side or on the cloud side. In addition, the charge control device 4 sets a basic target charging rate based on the average driving distance for each day of the week, the decrease in the average charging rate, etc., and can correct this basic target charging rate based on the predicted occurrence of traffic congestion when starting to drive from a parking lot, etc.

[0037] Furthermore, the vehicle 1 may be configured so that the user of the vehicle 1 can cancel the automatic setting of the target charging rate by the charging control device 4 and arbitrarily set the target charging rate. In addition, the vehicle 1 may be configured so that the user of the vehicle 1 can arbitrarily specify a high-frequency parking position. Furthermore, the charge control device 4 can perform learning to correct the setting of the target charging rate (correction amount of the target charging rate) at the parking position where charging was performed last time, based on the charging rate (remaining amount of power) at the start of charging. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1...vehicle, 2...battery, 3...positioning device, 4...charging control device, 4A...wireless communication unit, 4B...information acquisition unit, 4C...charging control unit, 5...charging equipment

Claims

1. A charge control device that controls charging of a driving battery mounted on a vehicle, The charging control device includes an information acquisition unit that acquires and stores at least information about a parking position of the vehicle and information about a travel section of the vehicle, the information acquisition unit sets a high-frequency parking position based on a parking position of the vehicle and a frequency with which the vehicle is parked at the parking position; The charging control device includes: determining whether the battery is being charged at a high-frequency parking position of the vehicle based on the information stored in the information acquisition unit; When charging the vehicle at a high-frequency parking position, the amount of power charged to the battery is determined by taking into account information about a travel section from the high-frequency parking position stored in the information acquisition unit. Charging control device.

2. The charge control device according to claim 1, The information acquisition unit acquires and stores information about traffic congestion on a road on which the vehicle starts traveling from the high-frequency parking position, When the charge control device determines, based on the information accumulated in the information acquisition unit, that there is a high possibility that the vehicle will encounter traffic congestion when it starts traveling from the high-frequency parking position, the charge control device charges the battery with an amount of power that takes into account traveling in traffic congestion. Charging control device.

3. The charge control device according to claim 2, the information acquisition unit acquires and stores, as information about congestion, information about a congestion location on a road on which the vehicle starts traveling from the high-frequency parking position and information about an amount of power consumed during the congestion, The charge control device predicts a route when the vehicle starts traveling from the high-frequency parking position based on the information accumulated in the information acquisition unit, and when it determines that there is a high possibility of encountering traffic congestion on the predicted route, charges the battery with an amount of power taking into account the amount of power consumption. Charging control device.

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