Power supply system

Abstract

Charge the vehicle's battery properly. [Solution] The power supply system comprises a distribution board and a control device. The control device identifies the electricity market price for each unit time period in the future and generates a point table in which points indicating the amount of benefits that the power supply business operator will grant to the consumer are associated with unit time periods, configured such that the points corresponding to the first unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively low are higher than the points corresponding to the second unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively high. The control device obtains the consumer's contracted amperage, estimates the current usage trend, which is the trend of the consumer's current usage, determines the charging permission period, which is the time period in which vehicle charging through the distribution board is permitted, based on the contracted amperage and the current usage trend, and determines the planned charging period within the charging permission period in which the points are relatively high, based on the point table.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply system that supplies power from a power grid to a vehicle by way of a customer's distribution board.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for updating a service usage point of a user when power is provided from the user to the power grid by demand response.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A power supply company procures power from, for example, the power market and supplies the power to customers through the power grid. Then, the power supply company receives an electricity bill from the customer as the consideration for the power supply. The customer can supply the power received from the power grid to a vehicle to charge the battery of the vehicle. However, if the charging of the vehicle battery is carried out without a plan, the procurement price of the power from the power market will be high during a time period when the power market price is relatively high, and the profit of the power supply company will decrease. Also, depending on the time period for charging, the sum of the customer's usage current and the battery charging current may exceed the contract ampere.

[0005] In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging system capable of appropriately charging a vehicle battery.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the power supply system of the present invention comprises a distribution board connected to a power grid within the premises of a customer, and a control device managed by a power supplier that supplies power to the distribution board through the power grid. The control device identifies the electricity market price for each unit time period in the future, generates a point table in which points indicating the amount of benefits that the power supplier will grant to the customer are associated with unit time periods, configured such that the points corresponding to a first unit time period with a relatively low electricity market price are higher than the points corresponding to a second unit time period with a relatively high electricity market price, obtains the customer's contracted amperage, estimates the current usage trend, which is the change in the customer's current usage, determines the charging allowance period, which is the period in which vehicle charging through the distribution board is permitted, based on the contracted amperage and the current usage trend, and determines the planned charging period within the charging allowance period in which the points are relatively high, based on the point table.

[0007] The control device may acquire the current used by the customer at the start of the scheduled charging period, and if the sum of the current used and the vehicle's charging current exceeds the contracted amperage, it may re-determine the scheduled charging period.

[0008] The control device may acquire the current used by the customer at the start of the scheduled charging time, and if the sum of the current used and the vehicle's charging current exceeds the contracted amperage, it may control the charging current so as not to exceed the contracted amperage.

[0009] The control device may award points to the customer based on the point table and the charging performance time period, which is the time period during which the vehicle was charged. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to properly charge a vehicle's battery. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the power supply system of this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of a points table. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing performed by the power supply control unit. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing performed by the power supply control unit. [Figure 7] Figure 7 illustrates the process a customer goes through when checking the points table. [Figure 8] Figure 8 illustrates the process for determining the scheduled charging time slot. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a first example in which a control device remotely controls the external charging of a vehicle. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second example in which a control device remotely controls the external charging of a vehicle. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating the process for awarding points. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values ​​shown in these embodiments are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the invention and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted from the illustration.

[0013] (Power supply system 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the power supply system 1 of the present embodiment. The power supply system 1 of the present embodiment includes a general electric power company 2, a customer 3, a vehicle 4, a vehicle management company 5, a terminal device 6, a power market 7, and a power supply company 8.

[0014] The general electric power company 2 has a power plant and a power transmission and distribution network, and supplies power to the customer 3 through the power system 10 based on a contract between the customer 3 and the power supply company 8.

[0015] The customer 3 receives power supply from the power system 10 and uses the power. In the present embodiment, the customer 3 can supply the power received from the power system 10 to the vehicle 4 to charge the battery 40 of the vehicle 4. Since the customer 3 corresponds to a user of the power supply system 1, for convenience of explanation, the customer 3 may be referred to as a user.

[0016] In the premises of the customer 3, a distribution board 20, a meter 22, a connection part 24, and a HEMS (Home Energy Management System) 26 are installed. The distribution board 20 is electrically connected to the power system 10 via the meter 22 and is configured to be able to receive power supplied from the power system 10. A load 28 is connected to the distribution board 20. The load 28 is any electrical device that consumes the power supplied through the distribution board 20.

[0017] The meter 22 measures the power received by the distribution board 20 from the power system 10. The meter 22 is, for example, a smart meter. The meter 22 can establish communication with the general electric power company 2, the power supply company 8, etc. through the communication network 9. Also, the meter 22 can establish communication with the HEMS 26 in the premises of the customer 3. The communication network 9 includes various forms of networks such as, for example, a telephone network, the Internet, a wireless LAN, and a dedicated network.

[0018] The connection unit 24 is electrically connected to the distribution board 20. The connection unit 24 is electrically connectable to the vehicle 4, which will be described later, and is configured to supply power from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4. For example, the connection unit 24 includes an outlet having a connection port 30 to which a cable 38 provided between it and the vehicle 4 can be connected. In addition to the connection port 30, the connection unit 24 may also be a smart outlet (sometimes called an IoT (Internet of Things) outlet) having a communication unit 32 and a switch 34. The communication unit 32 of the connection unit 24 is capable of establishing communication with the HEMS 26 and establishing communication with the power supplier 8, etc., through the HEMS 26 and the communication network 9.

[0019] The switch 34 is configured to allow on / off switching between two contacts. The first contact of the switch 34 is connected to the distribution board 20. The second contact of the switch 34 is connected to the connection port 30. The cable 38 has one connector connected to the connection port 30 and the other connector connected to the vehicle 4, thereby electrically connecting the connection port 30 and the vehicle 4. In other words, the switch 34 can switch the current path between the distribution board 20 and the vehicle 4 on and off. The connection unit 24 can switch the switch 34 on and off in response to control commands received from the power supplier 8, etc., via the communication unit 32. The connection unit 24 may further include a power measuring unit 36 ​​capable of measuring the power flowing through the connection unit 24.

[0020] The connection section 24 may also be configured to include a general outlet with at least a connection port 30, omitting the communication unit 32, switch 34, and power measurement unit 36. Furthermore, the connection section 24 may have a configuration in which the connection port 30 and the cable 38 are integrated.

[0021] HEMS26 is an energy management system that integrates and manages electricity consumption at customer 3 with power generation and storage facilities in real time, aiming to improve energy efficiency while maintaining comfort. For example, HEMS26 can establish communication with the meter 22 and connection unit 24 at customer 3. In addition, HEMS26 can establish communication with power supply companies 8 and others through the communication network 9.

[0022] Vehicle 4 is, for example, an electric vehicle (EV) equipped with a motor-generator as a power source. Vehicle 4 may also be a hybrid electric vehicle equipped with both an engine and a motor-generator as power sources.

[0023] Vehicle 4 has at least a battery 40 and is configured to be able to charge the battery 40 with power supplied from an external source. Hereafter, for the sake of explanation, charging the battery 40 of vehicle 4 with power supplied to vehicle 4 from outside of vehicle 4 may be referred to as external charging of vehicle 4, or simply as charging of vehicle 4.

[0024] The battery 40 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion battery. The battery 40 supplies power to a motor generator, for example, which serves as a power source.

[0025] Vehicle 4 has a battery 40, as well as a communication unit 42, a charging port 44, and an external charging unit 46. The communication unit 42 is capable of establishing communication with vehicle management operators 5, etc., through a communication network 9.

[0026] The charging port 44 is electrically connected to the battery 40 via an external charging unit 46. The charging port 44 is configured to accept a connector for the cable 38. The external charging unit 46 supplies power supplied from an external source to the battery 40 through the charging port 44. The external charging unit 46 may include a switch that can turn the current path between the charging port 44 and the battery 40 on and off. The external charging unit 46 may also have a power conversion function that can convert the power supplied from an external source into power suitable for charging the battery 40. In this case, the external charging unit 46 can control the charging current of the battery 40.

[0027] The vehicle management operator 5, including the vehicle manufacturer, manages the vehicles 4 after they are sold. The vehicle management operator 5 can establish communication with each vehicle 4 through a communication network 9 and obtain location information and charging availability information for each vehicle 4. Here, location information is information indicating the location on a map, and charging availability information is information indicating whether or not charging is possible.

[0028] The terminal device 6 is an electronic device managed by the customer 3. The terminal device 6 may be a portable electronic device such as a smartphone, or a stationary electronic device such as a personal computer.

[0029] The terminal device 6 includes a communication device 50, a user interface 52, a processor 54, and memory 56. The communication device 50 is capable of establishing communication with power supply companies 8 and others through a communication network 9.

[0030] The user interface 52 includes an input device capable of receiving input operations from the customer 3 and an output device capable of presenting various types of information to the customer 3. The input device may include, for example, a touch panel. The output device may include a display device capable of displaying various types of information.

[0031] The processor 54 of the terminal device 6 functions as a terminal control unit 58 that executes various processes related to the terminal device 6 by running a program contained in the memory 56. The terminal control unit 58 can, for example, send and receive information with the power supply company 8 via the communication device 50. In addition, the terminal control unit 58 can display various information on the display device of the user interface 52 in response to input operations to the input device of the user interface 52.

[0032] Electricity Market 7 includes the wholesale electricity trading market where actual amounts of electricity are traded. Hereafter, for the sake of explanation, the price of electricity traded in the wholesale electricity trading market of Electricity Market 7 may be referred to as the electricity market price. The electricity market price fluctuates according to the supply and demand situation of electricity at predetermined unit periods, such as every 30 minutes.

[0033] Power supplier 8 is, for example, a retail electricity provider, which has a contract with customer 3 to supply electricity to customer 3's distribution board 20 through the power grid 10. Power supplier 8 procures electricity from the electricity market 7 and supplies it to customer 3 through the power grid 10. Power supplier 8 also receives electricity charges from customer 3 as payment for the supply of electricity.

[0034] Customer 3 receives electricity from the power supplier 8 and supplies it to vehicle 4, thereby performing external charging of vehicle 4. However, if customer 3 charges vehicle 4 externally without a plan, the cost of procuring electricity from the power market will increase during times when electricity market prices are relatively high, reducing the profits of power supplier 8. Therefore, power supplier 8 encourages customer 3 to charge vehicle 4's battery 40 during times when electricity market prices are relatively low. For example, power supplier 8 rewards customer 3 with more points the lower the electricity market price is when customer 3 charges vehicle 4's battery 40. Power supplier 8 secures profits by encouraging customer 3 to shift the time when vehicle 4's battery 40 is charged to times when electricity market prices are relatively low.

[0035] The power supply operator 8 has a control device 60. The control device 60 has a communication device 62, a storage device 64, a processor 66, and memory 68. The communication device 62 is capable of establishing communication with the customer's meter 22, the customer's HEMS 26, terminal equipment 6, etc., via a communication network 9. The communication device 62 is also capable of connecting with the general electric utility 2, the vehicle management operator 5, and the power market 7 via the communication network 9.

[0036] The storage device 64 is composed of non-volatile storage elements such as a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, and flash memory.

[0037] The processor 66 of the control device 60 executes various processes related to the control device 60 by running programs contained in the memory 68. In addition, the processor 66 of the control device 60 also functions as the table management unit 70, the power supply control unit 72, and the point management unit 74 by executing programs contained in the memory 68.

[0038] The table management unit 70 generates a point table in which points representing the amount of benefits that the power supplier 8 grants to the customer 3 are associated one-to-one with time periods. Points may have monetary value and may be usable, for example, as payment for services provided by the power supplier 8 (e.g., as part of the electricity bill). The table management unit 70 presents the generated point table to the customer 3 by displaying it on the display device of the customer 3's terminal device 6. The point table will be described in detail later.

[0039] The power supply control unit 72 determines the scheduled charging time period, which indicates the time period during which power should be supplied from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4, i.e., the time period during which the vehicle 4 will be externally charged. The power supply control unit 72 can also remotely control the supply of power from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4's battery 40, i.e., the external charging of the vehicle 4. Remote control will be described in detail later.

[0040] The point management unit 74 identifies the charging performance time period, which indicates the time period during which power was supplied from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4, that is, the time period during which external charging of the vehicle 4 was actually performed. Based on the point table and the identified charging performance time period, the point management unit 74 determines the points to be awarded to the customer 3 and awards the points.

[0041] The specific operations of the control device 60, specifically the table management unit 70, the power supply control unit 72, and the point management unit 74, will be described in detail below.

[0042] Figure 2 shows an example of a point table. In Figure 2, each time slot is 30 minutes long, and a day (from 0:00 to 24:00) is divided into 48 time slots. For example, in Figure 2, the first time slot corresponds to the time period from 0:00 to 0:30, and the second time slot corresponds to the time period from 0:30 to 1:00.

[0043] As shown in Figure 2, the points table assigns points to each time period of each day, for example, "5," "10," and "15." In other words, the points table has a one-to-one correspondence between time periods and points. In the points table, each time slot is defined as 30 minutes, the same as the time interval in which electricity market prices fluctuate, so points can be set in accordance with fluctuations in electricity market prices. Points are more valuable the higher the numerical value. The points table is updated as needed.

[0044] Furthermore, the points table associates points with time zones over a predetermined future period relative to the present. For example, the points table sets points for each time zone on each day for a week, starting from one week after the present. In the example in Figure 2, the present is May 11, 20xx, and points for the week starting from May 18, 20xx are set.

[0045] The period covered by the points table is not limited to the example period; it can be set to various periods. For example, the points table may be set so that points are assigned to each time slot on each day for one week starting from the present time. Or, the points table may be set so that points are assigned to each time slot on each day for 10 days starting from three days after the present time.

[0046] In the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, as will be described later, when the vehicle 4 is externally charged through the connection part 24 of the customer 3, points corresponding to the time period in the point table during which the vehicle 4 was externally charged are awarded to the customer 3. Therefore, the customer 3 can obtain more points by performing external charging of the vehicle 4 during time periods when the set point value is high.

[0047] In generating the point table described above, the table management unit 70 first identifies the electricity market price for each predetermined time unit of a predetermined length in the future.

[0048] For example, the table management unit 70 identifies future electricity market prices for each unit of time by deriving estimates of future electricity market prices for each unit of time. The table management unit 70 may, for example, estimate future electricity market prices by analyzing or learning past fluctuations in electricity market prices. The unit of time here may be set to be the same as one segment of the point table (e.g., 30 minutes). More specifically, the table management unit 70 derives estimates of electricity market prices for each unit of time on each day of the period covered by the point table to be generated (e.g., one week starting from one week from the present).

[0049] In the electricity market 7, the electricity market price for each time unit on the following day is determined. Therefore, the table management unit 70 may determine the electricity market price for each time unit in the future (for example, the following day) by obtaining the determined electricity market price for each time unit on the following day from the electricity market 7. By obtaining the determined electricity market price from the electricity market 7, the points for each time unit on the following day in the point table can be set to reflect the determined electricity market price.

[0050] Furthermore, the table management unit 70 may specify future electricity market prices for each unit of time by combining the deriving of estimated future electricity market prices and obtaining confirmed future electricity market prices. For example, the table management unit 70 may specify the electricity market price for the following day using electricity market prices obtained from the electricity market, and specify the electricity market price for the day after that and beyond using estimated electricity market prices.

[0051] The table management unit 70 generates a point table in which time zones and points are associated such that the points for a first time zone with a relatively low specified electricity market price are higher than the points for a second time zone with a relatively high specified electricity market price.

[0052] For example, in Figure 2, the point value of "10" for the 14th frame on May 18, 20xx, is higher than the point value of "5" for the 3rd frame on May 18, 20xx. This is because the electricity market price in the 14th frame on May 18, 20xx, was lower than the electricity market price in the 3rd frame on May 18, 20xx. In other words, in the point table, points corresponding to periods with low electricity market prices are set higher, and points corresponding to periods with high electricity market prices are set lower.

[0053] The table management unit 70 presents the generated point table to the customer 3, for example, through the terminal device 6. This allows the customer 3 to check the point table as described above. The points in the point table can then serve as an incentive for the customer 3 to decide when to perform external charging of the vehicle 4. Thus, the customer 3 will desire to perform external charging of the vehicle 4 during times when the points are relatively high. In other words, the customer 3 will intentionally choose to perform external charging of the vehicle 4 during times when the points are relatively high, rather than during times when the points are relatively low.

[0054] Thus, if the vehicle 4 is actually externally charged during a time when points are relatively high, the power supplier 8 will procure electricity during a time when electricity market prices are relatively low and supply it to the customer 3. Therefore, even if the power supplier 8 awards points to the customer 3, it will be able to mitigate the decrease in profits caused by supplying electricity to the customer 3.

[0055] Furthermore, if the vehicle 4 is actually externally charged during a time when points are relatively high, the customer 3 can receive relatively high points from the power supplier 8. As a result, the points received by the customer 3 can effectively reduce the burden of electricity charges paid to the power supplier 8.

[0056] Thus, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, by presenting a point table to the consumer 3 through the terminal device 6, it is possible to guide the time of day when power is supplied to the vehicle 4 to a time when electricity market prices are relatively low. As a result, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, both the power supplier 8 and the consumer 3 can enjoy financial benefits.

[0057] The table management unit 70 may, in addition to considering the electricity market price when generating the point table, also consider the specific profits of the electricity supplier 8 when generating the point table.

[0058] More specifically, the table management unit 70 derives the electricity supply profit, which represents the profit that the electricity supplier 8 can obtain by supplying electricity to the consumer 3, for each unit time period. In other words, the electricity supply profit here refers to the profit that the electricity supplier 8 can obtain in a given unit time period if the electricity supplier 8 supplies electricity to the consumer 3 during that unit time period.

[0059] The table management unit 70 derives the electricity supply profit by subtracting the expenses incurred by the electricity supplier 8 in supplying electricity to customer 3 per unit time from the revenue for that unit time obtained from customer 3 by the electricity supplier 8 supplying electricity to customer 3. The table management unit 70 performs this calculation for each unit time. Revenue here corresponds to sales and may be, for example, the electricity rate including fuel adjustment charges expressed per unit time. Expenses here correspond to costs and may be, for example, the electricity procurement price and transmission charges expressed per unit time. The information regarding revenue and expenses here may be pre-stored in the database of the storage device 64 in association with customer 3.

[0060] The table management unit 70 sets points corresponding to each unit time period, within a range that does not exceed the derived power supply profit. The table management unit 70 may also determine an upper limit for point allocation for each unit time period, within a range that does not exceed the power supply profit, and determine the points to be set within a range that does not exceed the upper limit for point allocation. For example, suppose the value obtained by converting the derived power supply profit in a given unit time period into points is "25". In this example, the table management unit 70 may determine the upper limit for point allocation for that unit time period to, for example, "20", and set the points to be set for that unit time period to, for example, "10", so as not to exceed "20". Alternatively, the table management unit 70 may omit determining the upper limit for point allocation and directly determine the points to be set within a range that does not exceed the power supply profit.

[0061] The table management unit 70 is not limited to setting points for all unit time zones in the point table within a range that does not exceed the electricity supply profit for each unit time zone. The table management unit 70 may set points within a range that does not exceed the electricity supply profit for some of the unit time zones in the point table, and allow points to exceed the electricity supply profit for the other unit time zones. In other words, when generating the point table, the table management unit 70 may generate the point table so that it includes unit time zones in which points are set within a range that does not exceed the electricity supply profit for each unit time zone.

[0062] The table management unit 70 may, during periods when electricity supply profits are relatively high, set the points relatively higher, within the limits of not exceeding the maximum point accrual value, and during periods when electricity supply profits are relatively low, set the points relatively lower, within the limits of not exceeding the maximum point accrual value.

[0063] As a result, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the power supply company 8 incurs a deficit by awarding points, thereby securing the profits of the power supply company 8 while awarding points to the consumer 3.

[0064] Furthermore, the table management unit 70 may, in generating the point table, set the points corresponding to the unit time in a predetermined integer unit greater than 1. In the example in Figure 2, the points are set in units of 5 points. However, it is not limited to units of 5 points; it may also be 2 points, 3 points, 4 points, or any integer unit of 6 points or more.

[0065] This makes the points table easier to read, allowing customer 3 to easily grasp the total number of points they can earn.

[0066] Furthermore, the table management unit 70 may, in generating the point table, set a period within the period covered by the point table during which the points are uniform across multiple time units. In the example in Figure 2, the period from the 1st to the 13th time slot on May 18, 20xx, may be set as the period during which the points are uniform. As a result, in the example in Figure 2, during the period from the 1st to the 13th time slot on May 18, 20xx, the points for each time slot are uniformly "5", and the "5" points are consecutive.

[0067] This makes the points table easier to read, and makes it easier for customer 3 to understand the total number of points that can be obtained, such as being able to check whether it is possible to charge vehicle 4 externally using the points over a uniform period.

[0068] Furthermore, under certain conditions, it may be permitted for the points set for a certain unit time period within a period in which points are set uniformly to exceed the electricity supply profit for that unit time period. The specific conditions here may be, for example, that the total value of points for each time period within a period in which points are set uniformly does not exceed the total value of electricity supply profit for each time period within that period. In other words, as long as the electricity supplier 8 does not incur a deficit when considering the entire period in which points are set uniformly, it may be permitted to set points in such a way that the electricity supplier 8 incurs a deficit during certain time periods within that period.

[0069] Furthermore, the system is not limited to setting a uniform point value across multiple time periods; for example, it may also include periods where the points gradually increase or decrease across multiple time periods.

[0070] Furthermore, for late-night hours when electricity market prices fluctuate less, a uniform point system may be established for those late-night hours, for example, from the present time up to 7 days (1 week) from now.

[0071] Furthermore, the table management unit 70 may generate the point table by leaving the points corresponding to the unit time zones unset for some of the periods covered by the point table. In other words, the point table may include unit time zones for which specific points are not indicated. For example, in unit time zones other than late night two days after the electricity market price has not been determined, the points may be higher than the uniform points set for late night two days after that. Therefore, a point table may be generated in which specific points are not set for at least some of the unit time zones other than late night two days after that.

[0072] In this way, once the table management unit 70 generates the point table, the power supply control unit 72 determines the scheduled charging time period, which indicates the time period during which the vehicle 4 will be externally charged, based on input operations by the customer 3 via the terminal device 6, or through automatic calculation.

[0073] As described above, for example, the table management unit 70 presents the generated point table to the customer 3 via the terminal device 6. The customer 3 refers to this point table and determines the planned charging time period, for example, from 0:00 to 5:00, and inputs it into the terminal device 6. The terminal device 6 transmits the planned charging time period to the control device 60. In this way, the table management unit 70 can determine the planned charging time period. The customer 3 can acquire points by charging the battery 40 of the vehicle 4 during the determined time period.

[0074] Furthermore, when the scheduled charging time is automatically calculated, the power supply control unit 72 may predetermine the charging-possible time period, which is the time period during which charging of the vehicle 4 is physically possible, based on input operations from the customer 3 via the terminal device 6, or through machine learning. The charging-possible time period excludes, for example, the time period during which the cable 38 cannot be connected to the vehicle 4 (charging-unavailable time period), such as during commuting hours.

[0075] Customer 3, based on their own schedule, decides on a possible charging time period, for example, from 3:00 to 19:00, and inputs it into the terminal device 6. The terminal device 6 transmits the planned charging time period to the control device 60. In this way, the table management unit 70 can determine the possible charging time period.

[0076] Furthermore, when using machine learning to determine the charging availability period, the power supply control unit 72 sequentially acquires information about the customer's behavior, for example, it uses machine learning to determine the time periods when the customer 3 uses the vehicle 4 for work or leisure, and excludes the time periods when the vehicle 4 is not in a charging area within the customer 3's premises to determine the charging availability period.

[0077] Once the power supply control unit 72 has determined the charging-available time period in this manner, it determines the time period within the charging-available time period during which a predetermined charging time (for example, 5 hours) can be secured continuously as the scheduled charging time period.

[0078] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit 72. In the example in Figure 3, it is assumed that the charging period when it is physically possible to charge the vehicle 4 is determined to be from 3:00 to 19:00, either through input operations by the customer 3 via the terminal device 6 or through machine learning. This is equivalent to determining that the charging period when it is physically impossible to charge the vehicle 4 is from 0:00 to 3:00 and from 19:00 to 24:00.

[0079] Furthermore, if the charging time is set to 5 hours, the power supply control unit 72 identifies candidate charging time slots that can secure 5 hours continuously between 3:00 and 19:00. For example, the power supply control unit 72 can identify 22 candidate charging time slots, such as the 7th to 16th time slots (3:00 to 8:00), the 8th to 17th time slots (3:30 to 8:30), the 9th to 18th time slots (4:00 to 9:00), ..., the 29th to 38th time slots (14:00 to 19:00). The power supply control unit 72 then sums up the points for each unit time slot for all 22 candidate charging time slots. The power supply control unit 72 then determines the time slot with the highest total points among the 22 candidate charging time slots, for example, the 23rd to 32nd time slots (11:00 to 16:00), as the charging time slot.

[0080] For example, in the example in Figure 3, among the 22 candidate time slots for the planned charging period, there are multiple time slots (for example, 6) that result in the highest total points of 200 points, such as slots 18-27 (8:30-13:30), slots 19-28 (9:00-14:00), slots 20-29 (9:30-14:30), slots 21-30 (10:00-15:00), slots 22-31 (10:30-15:30), and slots 23-32 (11:00-16:00). In this case, the power supply control unit 72 determines the latest time slot among the multiple time slots with the highest total points as the planned charging period. However, the power supply control unit 72 is not limited to such examples. It may also determine the earliest time slot among multiple time slots with the highest total points, for example, slots 18 to 27 (8:30 to 13:30), as the scheduled charging time slot, or it may determine an intermediate time slot, for example, slots 20 to 29 (9:30 to 14:30), as the scheduled charging time slot. Alternatively, the power supply control unit 72 may randomly determine the scheduled charging time slot from among multiple time slots with the highest total points. Furthermore, the power supply control unit 72 may determine the scheduled charging time slot using the average or median value instead of the total points.

[0081] Furthermore, although this explanation uses an example where the power supply control unit 72 identifies the one with the highest total points among multiple candidates for the scheduled charging time period, the power supply control unit 72 is not limited to this example. It may also identify a candidate for the scheduled charging time period in which the points of some time slots are relatively higher than the points of some time slots in other scheduled charging time periods. Therefore, if the available charging time period includes a time slot with relatively high points, the power supply control unit 72 may designate that time slot as the scheduled charging time period.

[0082] Furthermore, this explanation assumes that the power supply control unit 72 has determined the charging-available time period, and then determines the time period within that time period in which a predetermined charging time can be continuously secured as the scheduled charging time period. However, the explanation is not limited to this example. For example, if the scheduled charging time period can be selected from the entire 24-hour range, that is, if there is no time period in which charging the vehicle 4 is physically impossible, the power supply control unit 72 may determine the time period within the entire 24-hour range in which a predetermined charging time can be continuously secured as the scheduled charging time period without determining the charging-available time period.

[0083] Furthermore, although this explanation uses a fixed value of 5 hours as the charging time, it is not limited to this case; a variable value may also be used. For example, in a configuration where the control device 60 can communicate with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management operator 5, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the vehicle 4 through the communication device 62 and obtains the current SOC (State of Charge) of the battery 40 in the vehicle 4. The power supply control unit 72 may determine the scheduled charging time based on the premise that the battery 40 will be charged until the SOC reaches "100%" (in other words, fully charged) from the current SOC.

[0084] Furthermore, in an embodiment where the control device 60 is not able to communicate with the vehicle 4, for example, it is difficult for the power supply control unit 72 to obtain the current SOC of the battery 40. In this embodiment, the power supply control unit 72 may determine the scheduled charging time by assuming that the battery 40 will be charged until the SOC of a standard battery 40 goes from "0%" to "100%".

[0085] Furthermore, for example, suppose a series of periods is selected as the period to be included in the scheduled charging time, such that periods with relatively low points are sandwiched between periods with relatively high points and other periods with relatively high points. In such an example, the power supply control unit 72 may determine the scheduled charging time so as to temporarily suspend the power supply when moving from a period with relatively high points to a period with relatively low points, and resume the power supply when moving to another period with high points thereafter.

[0086] This configuration makes it possible to efficiently award points to customer 3 while suppressing the decrease in profits for electricity supplier 8.

[0087] By the way, depending on the time of day when charging is performed, the sum of the current used by customer 3 on load 28 other than external charging (current consumption) and the charging current of vehicle 4 may exceed the contracted amperage. For example, vehicle 4 is equipped with a charging output of 3kW or 6kW. If the charging output is 3kW, the charging current will be 30A. Also, customer 3's contracted amperage is often set to 60A or less so as not to exceed the 60A that triggers the main switch contract. Furthermore, in order to keep the basic charge down, customer 3 tends to set their contracted amperage by adding a small margin to the maximum current that customer 3 is expected to consume.

[0088] If, for example, customer 3 is using load 28 other than external charging of vehicle 4 and a current of 30A or more is being consumed, then starting external charging of vehicle 4 will consume an additional 30A of current. If the contracted amperage is set to less than 60A, this will exceed the contracted capacity and trip the circuit breaker. This would impair the convenience of customer 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the charging schedule time is further narrowed down to a range that does not exceed the contracted amperage.

[0089] The power supply control unit 72 first obtains the contracted amperage of customer 3. If, for example, the power supply business operator 8, as a retail electricity business operator, has the contracted amperage of customer 3 stored in the storage device 64, the power supply control unit 72 refers to that contracted amperage. If the power supply business operator 8, as a retail electricity business operator, does not have the contracted amperage of customer 3 stored in the storage device 64, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with customer 3's HEMS 26 and obtains the contracted amperage from the meter 22 via route B, which is between the HEMS 26 and the meter 22. If the power supply business operator 8, as a retail electricity business operator, does not have the contracted amperage of customer 3 stored in the storage device 64, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the general electricity business operator 2 and obtains the contracted amperage from the general electricity business operator 2 via route C, which is between the general electricity business operator 2 and the power supply business operator 8. Alternatively, the general electricity business operator 2 may obtain the contracted amperage from the meter 22 via route A, which is between the general electricity business operator 2 and the meter 22.

[0090] Furthermore, if the power supply control unit 72 cannot automatically obtain the contracted amperage as described above, it prompts the customer 3 to input the contracted amperage and obtains it directly from the customer 3. Specifically, the customer 3 inputs the contracted amperage into the terminal device 6. The terminal device 6 transmits the contracted amperage to the control device 60. In this way, the power supply control unit 72 can obtain the contracted amperage.

[0091] The power supply control unit 72 estimates the current usage trend, which shows the future trend of current consumption. Specifically, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the customer's HEMS 26 and continuously acquires the current usage from the meter 22 via the B route between the HEMS 26 and the meter 22, and stores it in the memory device 64. The power supply control unit 72 also acquires external factors such as season, temperature, and weather information, as well as internal factors such as the structure of the customer's house and heating and cooling equipment, cooking equipment, and hot water supply equipment, and stores them in the memory device 64 in association with the acquired power. The power supply control unit 72 performs machine learning based on training data that takes past external and internal factors as input and outputs the actual current usage at that time. The power supply control unit 72 then estimates future external and internal factors, or acquires information estimated by others. The power supply control unit 72 estimates the current usage by inputting the estimated external and internal factors into the trained model and represents the future current usage trend.

[0092] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit 72. Let's assume that the power supply control unit 72 uses a trained model to estimate the current usage trend, for example, as shown in Figure 4. Let's assume that the contracted amperage is 60A. In this current usage trend, the current usage from 0:00 to 13:00 and from 22:00 to 24:00 is less than 30A, so even if customer 3 consumes an additional 30A by externally charging vehicle 4, the contracted capacity will not be exceeded. On the other hand, the current usage from 13:00 to 22:00 is 30A or more, so if customer 3 consumes an additional 30A by externally charging vehicle 4, the contracted capacity will be exceeded.

[0093] The power supply control unit 72 subtracts the estimated current usage trend from the acquired contract amperage, for example, 60A, to determine the allowable charging time period, which is the time period during which the contract amperage will not be exceeded even if power is supplied to the vehicle 4.

[0094] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit 72. When the power supply control unit 72 subtracts the estimated current usage trend from 60A, it derives a current usage trend that allows for further use, as shown in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 5, it can be seen that the use of an additional 30A or more of current is permitted between 0:00 and 13:00 and between 22:00 and 24:00. Therefore, as indicated by the hatching in Figure 5, the consumption of a charging current of 30A is permitted between 0:00 and 13:00 and between 22:00 and 24:00. Thus, the power supply control unit 72 determines 0:00 to 13:00 and between 22:00 and 24:00 as the permitted charging time periods.

[0095] Next, the power supply control unit 72 identifies multiple candidate charging time slots that are both charging-enabled and charging-permissible, and determines the one with the relatively high score, or the highest score, among these multiple candidate charging time slots as the charging time slot.

[0096] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of the power supply control unit 72. In the example in Figure 6, it is assumed that the charging time period is determined to be from 3:00 to 19:00 by input operation by the customer 3 via the terminal device 6, or by machine learning. It is also assumed that the permissible charging time periods are determined to be from 0:00 to 13:00 and from 22:00 to 24:00 by machine learning. Furthermore, it is assumed that the charging time is set to 5 hours.

[0097] As shown in Figure 6, the power supply control unit 72 identifies candidate charging time slots where a continuous 5-hour period can be secured between 3:00 and 13:00, which overlaps with the periods of 0:00 to 13:00 and 22:00 to 24:00. For example, the power supply control unit 72 can identify 10 candidate charging time slots, such as the 7th to 16th frames (3:00 to 8:00), the 8th to 17th frames (3:30 to 8:30), the 9th to 18th frames (4:00 to 9:00), ..., the 17th to 26th frames (8:00 to 13:00). The power supply control unit 72 sums up the points for the charging time for all 10 candidate charging time slots. Then, the power supply control unit 72 determines the time slot with the highest total points among the 10 candidate charging time slots, for example, the 17th to 26th frames (8:00 to 13:00), as the charging time slot.

[0098] The power supply control unit 72 may determine the scheduled charging time period using the average or median value instead of the sum of the points. Furthermore, although this explanation uses an example where the power supply control unit 72 identifies the time period with the highest sum of points among multiple candidates for the scheduled charging time period, the power supply control unit 72 is not limited to this example. It may also identify a time period where the points of some of the time slots within that time period are relatively higher than the points of some of the time slots within other scheduled charging time periods. Therefore, the power supply control unit 72 may designate a time period that is both a charging-possible time period and a charging-allowable time period as the scheduled charging time period if it includes a time period with relatively high points.

[0099] Here, the power supply control unit 72 determines a charging schedule with relatively high points from among the charging-possible and charging-allowable time periods and externally charges the vehicle 4. As a result, the consumer 3 can efficiently obtain points while appropriately charging the battery 40 of the vehicle 4.

[0100] In this way, once the power supply control unit 72 determines the scheduled charging time, external charging of the vehicle 4 is performed during the scheduled charging time. External charging of the vehicle 4 may be performed manually by the customer 3 or remotely controlled by the control device 60.

[0101] When customer 3 manually performs external charging, customer 3 connects the cable 38 to the connection port 30 of the connection unit 24 and the charging port 44 of the vehicle 4 at the start of the determined scheduled charging time. In this case, the connection unit 24 may be a regular outlet without a switch 34. When the connection port 30 and the charging port 44 are electrically connected by the cable 38, power is supplied from the distribution board 20 to the battery 40, and external charging of the vehicle 4 is performed.

[0102] When the control device 60 remotely controls external charging, the customer 3 connects the cable 38 to the connection port 30 of the connection unit 24 and the charging port 44 of the vehicle 4 before the determined scheduled charging time. After obtaining consent for remote operation from the customer 3, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the customer 3's HEMS 26 via the communication device 62 according to the scheduled charging time, and establishes communication with the connection unit 24 via the HEMS 26 to control the on / off state of the switch 34 of the connection unit 24. In this way, the control device 60 can control the supply of power from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4.

[0103] For example, the connection unit 24 has a communication unit 32 and a switch 34, and the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 is configured to be in the OFF state when the cable 38 is mechanically connected to the connection port 30. When it is time to start supplying power during the scheduled charging period, the power supply control unit 72 sends a command to the connection unit 24 to turn on the switch 34. As a result, the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 is turned on, and power is supplied from the distribution board 20 to the battery 40. Also, when it is time to stop supplying power during the scheduled charging period, the power supply control unit 72 sends a command to the connection unit 24 to turn off the switch 34. As a result, the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 is turned off, and the supply of power from the distribution board 20 to the battery 40 is stopped.

[0104] Thus, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, a planned charging time period is determined that includes a time period with relatively high points among the time periods that are both charging-possible and charging-allowable, and the supply of power to the vehicle 4 may be controlled according to the determined planned charging time period. As a result, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, even if the consumer 3 is not at the location of the vehicle 4 during the time period with relatively high points, the vehicle 4 can be externally charged during that time period, thereby improving the convenience of the consumer 3.

[0105] Furthermore, in an embodiment where the control device 60 can communicate with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management company 5, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the vehicle management company 5 through the communication device 62 according to the scheduled charging time, establishes communication with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management company 5, controls the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4, and controls the supply of power to the vehicle 4. In this embodiment, the connection unit 24 does not need to have a switch 34.

[0106] Specifically, when the power supply control unit 72 starts supplying power during the scheduled charging period, it sends a command to the vehicle 4 to turn on the external charging unit 46. This turns on the external charging unit 46, and power is supplied from the distribution board 20 to the battery 40. Furthermore, when the power supply control unit 72 stops supplying power during the scheduled charging period, it sends a command to the vehicle 4 to turn off the external charging unit 46. This turns off the external charging unit 46, and the power supply from the distribution board 20 to the battery 40 is stopped.

[0107] Furthermore, in a configuration where the control device 60 can communicate with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management operator 5, and the connection unit 24 has a switch 34, the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 is in the OFF state when the cable 38 is mechanically connected to the connection port 30. The power supply control unit 72 may control the on / off state of the external charging unit 46 according to the scheduled charging time, as well as control the on / off state of the switch 34.

[0108] Here, if the vehicle 4's current location is within a designated area where it is registered (for example, within the premises of customer 3) and the cable 38 is connected, it can be remotely charged in response to a charging command from the vehicle management company 5. Customer 3 can manually charge the vehicle 4 externally by turning off the remote control of the vehicle 4.

[0109] Here, the power supply control unit 72 of the control device 60 remotely controls the on / off state of the vehicle 4's external charging unit 46 according to the scheduled charging time. As a result, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, the vehicle 4 can be externally charged even if the consumer 3 is not at the vehicle 4's location, and the external charging of the vehicle 4 can be controlled even if the connection unit 24 does not have a switch 34.

[0110] Thus, when external charging is performed, the point management unit 74 determines the number of points to be awarded to the customer 3 based on the actual charging performance time period, and then awards the points.

[0111] Specifically, if the period during which the vehicle 4 is externally charged spans multiple time periods (multiple time slots), the point management unit 74 calculates the points corresponding to each time period during which the vehicle 4 is externally charged, totals them over the entire period during which the vehicle 4 is externally charged, and awards the total points to the customer 3.

[0112] Thus, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, points are automatically awarded to the customer 3 in response to the supply of power from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4, that is, when the vehicle 4 is externally charged. For this reason, the power supply system 1 of this embodiment can improve the convenience of the customer 3.

[0113] In this way, the power supply system 1 can perform external charging of the vehicle 4 during times when the points are relatively high, without exceeding the contracted amperage, thereby improving convenience for the consumer 3.

[0114] The following describes the overall processing flow in the power supply system 1, using Figures 7 to 11, in the following order: checking the point table, determining the scheduled charging time, external charging of vehicle 4, and awarding points.

[0115] Figure 7 illustrates the process when customer 3 checks the point table. When customer 3 wishes to display the point table, they perform a predetermined input operation, such as tapping a software button that instructs the display of the point table through the user interface 52 of the terminal device 6 (S10).

[0116] When the terminal control unit 58 of the terminal device 6 receives the above input operation, it sends a request to transmit the point table to the control device 60 (S11). The request to transmit the point table may include information that identifies the customer 3 who performed the input operation to the terminal device 6.

[0117] When the control device 60's table management unit 70 receives a request to transmit a point table, it executes a table generation process to generate the point table (S12).

[0118] More specifically, the table management unit 70 identifies the electricity market price for each time period covered by the point table by either deriving an estimate of the future electricity market price and / or obtaining the future confirmed electricity market price (S20). The table management unit 70 identifies customer 3 and derives the electricity supply profit for each time period covered by the point table (S21).

[0119] The table management unit 70 determines the points to set for each time period by referring to the identified electricity market price and the derived electricity supply profit (S22). For example, the table management unit 70 determines the points for each time period such that, under the condition that the points to be determined do not exceed the electricity supply profit, the points become relatively smaller during time periods when the electricity market price is relatively high, and relatively larger during time periods when the electricity market price is relatively low.

[0120] The table management unit 70 generates a points table by compiling the points determined for each time period into a table format (S23).

[0121] The table management unit 70 stores the generated point table in the storage device 64 (S24). The table management unit 70 transmits the generated point table to the terminal device 6 (S25).

[0122] When the terminal control unit 58 of the terminal device 6 receives the point table, it presents the received point table to the customer 3 (S30). More specifically, the terminal control unit 58 displays the received point table on the display device of the user interface 52.

[0123] Customer 3 checks the point table presented by the terminal device 6 (S31). For example, customer 3 can check the contents of the point table by looking at the point table displayed on the display device of the terminal device 6.

[0124] In Figure 7, the point table was generated in response to the input operations of customer 3. However, the method of generating the point table is not limited to the input operations of customer 3. For example, the table management unit 70 may generate the point table when predetermined conditions are met, regardless of the input operations of customer 3. The predetermined conditions may be set as appropriate, for example, when a predetermined date and time is reached, or when a predetermined period has elapsed since the last external charging of vehicle 4.

[0125] Figure 8 illustrates the process for determining the scheduled charging time slot. Customer 3 checks the point table and decides the date on which they wish to receive power to vehicle 4, for example, May 18, 20xx. Then, customer 3 performs an input operation to enter the date through the user interface 52 of terminal device 6 (S60).

[0126] Here, an example is given in which customer 3 specifies a date, but the example is not limited to this case. Customer 3 may simply transmit information indicating that they intend to externally charge vehicle 4, and the control device 60 may determine the scheduled charging time, including the date. Furthermore, here, an example is given in which the control device 60 automatically determines the available charging time, charging time, and candidate scheduled charging time based on the date and a point table, etc., but customer 3 may also specify these. In this case, the control device 60 will prioritize the information specified by customer 3 over the automatically generated information.

[0127] When the terminal control unit 58 of the terminal device 6 receives a date input operation, it transmits charging specification information including the input date to the control device 60 (S61). As described above, the charging specification information may include not only the date, but also the available charging time period, charging time, and candidate scheduled charging time period. If the charging specification information includes multiple candidate scheduled charging time periods, it may also include information indicating the priority order corresponding to the multiple candidate scheduled charging time periods. In addition, the charging specification information may include information that identifies the customer 3 who performed the input operation to the terminal device 6, and information that identifies the vehicle 4, such as an identifier.

[0128] The power supply control unit 72 of the control device 60 executes a charging schedule time determination process in response to the reception of charging specification information. More specifically, the power supply control unit 72 acquires the charging specification information (S62). The power supply control unit 72 reads the point table from the storage device 64 (S63).

[0129] The power supply control unit 72 uses machine learning to determine the time periods when customer 3 uses vehicle 4 for business or leisure, and uses the trained model to exclude the time periods when vehicle 4 is not in the charging area within customer 3's premises to determine the charging time period, for example, from 3:00 to 19:00 (S64).

[0130] The power supply control unit 72 continuously acquires the current usage from the meter 22 located on the premises of the customer 3 and stores it in the memory device 64, associating it with external factors, internal factors, etc. The power supply control unit 72 performs machine learning based on training data, which takes past external and internal factors as input and the actual current usage at that time as output. Then, the power supply control unit 72 estimates future external and internal factors, or acquires information estimated by others, and estimates future current usage trends using the trained model (S65).

[0131] The power supply control unit 72 obtains the contracted amperage of the customer 3, subtracts the current usage trend estimated in step S65 from the contracted amperage, and determines the charging tolerance time periods, for example, 0:00 to 13:00 and 22:00 to 24:00, which are the time periods in which the contracted amperage will not be exceeded even if power is supplied to the vehicle 4 (S66).

[0132] The power supply control unit 72 refers to the point table and identifies several candidate charging time slots that are both charging-possible and charging-acceptable, during which a continuous charging time (e.g., 5 hours) can be secured. Among these candidate charging time slots, the unit determines the time slot with the relatively high or highest point value, for example, 8:00 to 13:00, as the charging time slot (S67).

[0133] The power supply control unit 72 stores the determined charging schedule time in the storage device 64 (S68). The power supply control unit 72 transmits the determined charging schedule time to the terminal device 6 (S69).

[0134] When the terminal control unit 58 of the terminal device 6 receives a scheduled charging time slot, it presents the received scheduled charging time slot to the customer 3 (S70). More specifically, the terminal control unit 58 displays the received scheduled charging time slot on the display device of the user interface 52.

[0135] Customer 3 confirms the scheduled charging time slot presented by the terminal device 6 (S71). For example, customer 3 can confirm the details of the scheduled charging time slot by looking at the scheduled charging time slot displayed on the display device of the terminal device 6. This allows customer 3 to understand the date and time when the external charging of vehicle 4 will be remotely controlled by the control device 60.

[0136] The power supply control unit 72 may also request a response from the customer 3 to the terminal device 6 regarding whether or not the customer 3 agrees to the determined charging schedule. If the customer 3 does not agree to the charging schedule, the charging schedule may be determined again.

[0137] After confirming the scheduled charging time, customer 3 connects the cable 38 to the connection port 30 of the connection unit 24 and the charging port 44 of the vehicle 4 at any time before the start of external charging of the vehicle 4 indicated in the scheduled charging time (S72).

[0138] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a first example in which the control device 60 remotely controls the external charging of the vehicle 4.

[0139] The power supply control unit 72 determines whether or not it is time to start external charging of vehicle 4 as indicated by the scheduled charging time (S80), and repeats the process in step S80 until it is time to start (NO in S80). When it is time to start external charging of vehicle 4 as indicated by the scheduled charging time (YES in S80), the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the customer's HEMS 26 and obtains the current used from the meter 22 via route B between the HEMS 26 and the meter 22 (S81). The reason why the power supply control unit 72 obtains the current used is explained below.

[0140] The scheduled charging time is set to a time when charging current can be secured. However, the current usage trend shown by the trained model is only an estimate and may not match the actual current usage trend. In such cases, when external charging of vehicle 4 begins, the load 28 of customer 3 may be unexpectedly high, and the sum of customer 3's current usage and vehicle 4's charging current may exceed the contracted amperage. Therefore, the power supply control unit 72 verifies that the contracted capacity will not be exceeded before the start of external charging of vehicle 4.

[0141] The power supply control unit 72 determines whether the charging conditions are met, that is, whether the sum of the current used by customer 3, as obtained by the meter 22, and the charging current of vehicle 4 consumed when external charging of vehicle 4 is started, is less than the contracted amperage (S82). Note that the comparison between the current used by customer 3 and the charging current of vehicle 4 is not limited to the contracted amperage, for example 60A, but may also be made with a value obtained by subtracting a margin (for example 2A) from the contracted amperage, for example 58A.

[0142] If the result of step S82 does not satisfy the charging conditions (NO in S82), the power supply control unit 72 does not immediately start external charging of the vehicle 4, but recalculates the scheduled charging time (S83). Specifically, the power supply control unit 72 repeats the charging time determination process from steps S62 to S69 in Figure 8. However, the power supply control unit 72 may reflect the current usage obtained in step S81 when estimating the current usage transition in step S65. For example, the power supply control unit 72 adds (offsets) the difference between the predicted value of the current usage at the start of the scheduled charging time and the measured value of the current usage obtained in step S81 to the current usage transition and predicts a new current usage transition. In this way, an appropriate scheduled charging time is newly determined. The power supply control unit 72 repeats the process from step S80 based on this new scheduled charging time.

[0143] If the result of step S82 is that the charging conditions are met (YES in S82), the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the vehicle management operator 5, establishes communication with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management operator 5, controls the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4, and starts external charging of the vehicle 4 (S84).

[0144] The power supply control unit 72 determines whether or not the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (S85), and repeats the process in step S85 until the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (YES in S85). Then, when the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (YES in S85), the power supply control unit 72 terminates the external charging of the vehicle 4 (S86).

[0145] The power supply control unit 72 may also notify the customer 3 via the terminal device 6 whether external charging has started as scheduled during the originally scheduled charging time, or whether the scheduled charging time has been changed.

[0146] Here, by checking the current usage at the start of external charging, it is possible to prevent the circuit breaker from tripping due to exceeding the contracted capacity. In addition, by recalculating the scheduled charging time, it is possible to perform external charging of vehicle 4 during a time when points are relatively high, thereby improving convenience for customer 3.

[0147] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second example in which the control device 60 remotely controls the external charging of the vehicle 4.

[0148] The power supply control unit 72 determines whether or not it is time to start external charging of the vehicle 4 as indicated by the scheduled charging time (S90), and repeats the process in step S90 until it is time to start (NO in S90). When it is time to start external charging of the vehicle 4 as indicated by the scheduled charging time (YES in S90), the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the vehicle management company 5, establishes communication with the vehicle 4 through the vehicle management company 5, controls the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4, and starts external charging of the vehicle 4 (S91).

[0149] However, as mentioned above, the current usage trend shown by the trained model is merely an estimate and may not necessarily match the actual current usage trend. In such cases, when external charging of vehicle 4 begins, the load 28 of customer 3 may be unexpectedly high, causing the sum of customer 3's current usage and vehicle 4's charging current to exceed the contracted amperage. Therefore, the power supply control unit 72 controls the charging current during external charging of vehicle 4 so that the sum of customer 3's current usage and vehicle 4's charging current does not exceed the contracted amperage or a value obtained by subtracting a margin from the contracted amperage.

[0150] Specifically, the power supply control unit 72 establishes communication with the customer's HEMS 26 and obtains the current usage from the meter 22 via Route B, which is between the HEMS 26 and the meter 22. When the vehicle 4 is being externally charged, if the current usage obtained from the meter 22 exceeds a value obtained by subtracting a margin from the contracted amperage, for example, 58A, the power supply control unit 72 controls the vehicle 4's external charging unit 46 to reduce the charging current by the difference obtained by subtracting 58A from the current usage obtained from the meter 22. Also, when the vehicle 4 is being externally charged, if the current usage obtained from the meter 22 falls below a value obtained by subtracting a margin from the contracted amperage, the power supply control unit 72 controls the vehicle 4's external charging unit 46 to increase the charging current by the difference obtained by subtracting the current usage obtained from the meter 22 from 58A.

[0151] The power supply control unit 72 determines whether or not the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (S92), and repeats the process in step S92 until the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (YES in S92). Then, when the time for the external charging of the vehicle 4, as indicated by the scheduled charging time, has come to an end (YES in S92), the power supply control unit 72 terminates the external charging of the vehicle 4 (S93).

[0152] Here, an example was given in which the charging current is controlled by controlling the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4. However, if the consumer 3 has equipment that can control the charging current, such as a charging station, the power supply control unit 72 may establish communication with the HEMS 26 and control the charging current of the charging station through the HEMS 26.

[0153] Here, by controlling the charging current, it is possible to prevent the circuit breaker from tripping due to exceeding the contracted capacity. Therefore, it is possible to externally charge vehicle 4 during times when the points are relatively high without exceeding the contracted amperage, thereby improving convenience for customer 3.

[0154] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating the process of awarding points. The point management unit 74 of the control device 60 periodically repeats the series of processes shown in Figure 11. For example, the point management unit 74 may start the series of processes shown in Figure 11 at a specific time each day.

[0155] When the predetermined execution timing arrives, the point management unit 74 identifies a charging performance time period for each customer 3, which indicates the time period during which power was supplied from the distribution board 20 to the vehicle 4 (S100).

[0156] For example, the point management unit 74 may identify customer 3 and obtain the power measurement results from the meter 22. Alternatively, in a configuration where the connection unit 24 includes a power measurement unit 36, the point management unit 74 may identify customer 3 and obtain the power measurement results from the power measurement unit 36 ​​of the connection unit 24. The point management unit 74 may also obtain the power measurement results for the period from the previous execution timing to the current execution timing.

[0157] The point management unit 74 may refer to the acquired power measurement results and determine that power supply to vehicle 4 has started at any point in time if the absolute value of the change in the amount of energy increases by a predetermined threshold or more. Alternatively, the point management unit 74 may refer to the acquired power measurement results and determine that power supply to vehicle 4 has stopped at any point in time if the absolute value of the change in the amount of energy decreases by a predetermined threshold or more. The point management unit 74 may then determine the time period between the time it is determined that power supply to vehicle 4 has started and the time it is determined that power supply to vehicle 4 has stopped as the charging performance time period.

[0158] Furthermore, if the point management unit 74 determines that there was no time when the absolute value of the change in energy increased by more than a predetermined threshold, and that there was no time when the absolute value of the change in energy decreased by more than a predetermined threshold, it may determine that there was no time period for charging to be performed during the period from the previous execution timing to the current execution timing.

[0159] Furthermore, when the control device 60 remotely controls the external charging of the vehicle 4, the history of commands transmitted to the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 or the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4 is stored in the storage device 64. Therefore, if the history of commands transmitted to the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 or the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4 is stored in the storage device 64, the point management unit 74 may determine the charging performance time period based on that history. For example, the point management unit 74 may determine the charging performance time period from the time when it transmitted a command to turn on the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 or the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4, and the time when it transmitted a command to turn off the switch 34 of the connection unit 24 or the external charging unit 46 of the vehicle 4.

[0160] Next, the point management unit 74 reads the point table from the storage device 64 (S101). Based on the read point table and the identified charging performance time slot, the point management unit 74 determines the points to be awarded to the customer 3 (S102). For example, the point management unit 74 refers to the point table, identifies the points corresponding to the charging performance time slot, and determines them to be awarded points.

[0161] The point management unit 74 executes the process of assigning the determined points to the customer 3 (S103), and terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 11. For example, the storage device 64 may store a point database that electronically stores and manages the points held by each customer 3. In such a case, the point management unit 74 may perform the point assignment by updating the numerical value of the points held by the identified customer 3 in the point database to the value after the points have been assigned.

[0162] As described above, the power supply system 1 of this embodiment comprises a distribution board 20 connected to the power grid 10 within the premises of the customer 3, and a control device 60 managed by the power supply company 8 that supplies power to the distribution board 20 through the power grid 10. The control device 60 identifies the electricity market price for each unit time period in the future, generates a point table in which points indicating the amount of benefits that the power supply company 8 will grant to the customer 3 are associated with unit time periods, and is configured such that the points corresponding to the first unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively low are higher than the points corresponding to the second unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively high. The control device 60 obtains the contract amperage of the customer 3, estimates the current usage trend, which is the change in the current used by the customer 3, determines the charging permission period, which is the period in which charging of the vehicle 4 through the distribution board 20 is permitted, based on the contract amperage and the current usage trend, and determines the planned charging period in the charging permission period where the points are relatively high, based on the point table.

[0163] As a result, the power supply system 1 of this embodiment makes it possible to guide the time period during which power is supplied to the vehicle 4 to a specific time period. More specifically, since the time period when the points are relatively high corresponds to the time period when the electricity market price is relatively low, the power supply system 1 of this embodiment makes it possible to guide the time period during which power is supplied to the vehicle 4 to a time period when the electricity market price is expected to be low. As a result, in the power supply system 1 of this embodiment, both the power supplier 8 and the consumer 3 can enjoy financial benefits.

[0164] Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications or alterations can be conceived within the scope of the claims, and these will naturally also fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0165] For example, in the embodiment described above, an example is given in which the current used, the current change, the allowable charging time period, the planned charging time period, etc. are determined based on the current. However, the calculation is not limited to this case; if the voltage is constant, such as 100V, the calculation may also be based on the power conversion value.

[0166] Furthermore, for example, the power supply control unit 72 of the control device 60 may, after determining the scheduled charging time period, re-determine and update the scheduled charging time period in response to the approaching date and time for performing external charging of the vehicle 4.

[0167] Furthermore, the table management unit 70 of the control device 60 may generate and update the point table again in response to the approaching date and time for performing external charging of the vehicle 4, after generating the point table.

[0168] Furthermore, even when a scheduled charging time has been determined and the system is waiting for the vehicle 4 to be externally charged, the customer 3 may initiate external charging of the vehicle 4 on their own before the start of power supply during the scheduled charging time. In such cases, the power supply control unit 72 of the control device 60 may cancel the external charging of the vehicle 4 according to the scheduled charging time. Then, in response to the customer 3 initiating external charging of the vehicle 4 on their own, the point management unit 74 of the control device 60 may grant the customer 3 points corresponding to the time period during which the vehicle 4 was externally charged.

[0169] Furthermore, programs that enable a computer to function as a control device, as well as storage media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CDs, DVDs, and BDs that can be read by the computer and store said programs, are also provided. Here, a program refers to a data processing means written in any language or writing method.

[0170] Furthermore, the processes described herein do not necessarily have to be performed chronologically in the order shown in the flowchart; they may include parallel processing or processing by subroutines. [Explanation of symbols]

[0171] 1. Power supply system 3 Consumer 4 vehicles 6 Terminal devices 8 Electricity supply company 10 Power system 20-minute distribution board 22 meters 24 Connection part 26 HEMS 40 batteries 60 Control device 70 Table Management Department 72 Power supply control unit 74 Point Management Department

Claims

1. A distribution board connected to the power grid within the customer's premises, A control device managed by a power supply company that supplies power to the distribution board through the aforementioned power system, Equipped with, The control device is Identify future electricity market prices for each time period, A point table is generated in which points indicating the amount of benefits that the electricity supplier grants to the customer are associated with unit time periods, wherein the points corresponding to a first unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively low are higher than the points corresponding to a second unit time period where the electricity market price is relatively high. Obtain the contracted amperage of the aforementioned consumer, The current usage trend, which is the trend in the current used by the aforementioned consumer, is estimated. Based on the aforementioned contracted amperage and the aforementioned current usage trend, the charging permit time period, which is the time period during which charging of the vehicle through the distribution board is permitted, is determined. A power supply system that determines a planned charging time period within the permitted charging time period in which the points are relatively high, based on the aforementioned point table.

2. The control device is At the start of the scheduled charging period, the current used by the customer is obtained. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein if the sum of the current used and the vehicle's charging current exceeds the contracted amperage, the scheduled charging time period is determined again.

3. The control device is At the start of the scheduled charging period, the current used by the customer is obtained. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein if the sum of the current used and the vehicle's charging current exceeds the contracted amperage, the charging current is controlled so as not to exceed the contracted amperage.

4. The control device is The power supply system according to claim 1, which awards points to the customer based on the point table and the charging performance time period, which is the time period during which the vehicle was charged.

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