Power control device and power control method

Abstract

This reduces the amount of change in the power output of the fuel cell. [Solution] The power control device 10 includes a receiving unit 121 that receives traffic information indicating the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle S, an acquisition unit 122 that acquires the vehicle speed V of the vehicle S and the charge level C of the battery 4 equipped in the vehicle S, an estimation unit 123 that estimates whether the vehicle S will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed based on the traffic conditions when the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to a first threshold Vth1 and the charge level C is less than a predetermined charge level Cth, and a power control unit 124 that causes the fuel cell 5 equipped in the vehicle S to output a predetermined power WF2 before the vehicle S accelerates, based on the estimation unit 123's estimation that the vehicle S will accelerate. The power control unit 124 charges the battery 4 with the surplus power obtained by subtracting the first power required by the bodywork 7 equipped in the vehicle S and the second power required by the motor 6 equipped in the vehicle S from the predetermined power WF2.

Description

Technical Field

[0006]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power control device and a power control method.

Background Art

[0002] The fuel cell vehicle of Patent Document 1 includes a fuel cell and a battery, and stores surplus power, which is the difference between the power output by the fuel cell and the power required for driving the fuel cell vehicle, in the battery.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a fuel cell vehicle, the greater the acceleration, the greater the change in the power output by the fuel cell per unit time to the motor. And a fuel cell vehicle with a mounted load has a greater weight than other fuel cell vehicles without a mounted load, so the change amount becomes larger during acceleration. Therefore, in a fuel cell vehicle with a mounted load, the change amount tends to become large during acceleration when the traffic jam is resolved, resulting in a problem that the fuel cell is likely to deteriorate.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to reduce the change amount of the power output by the fuel cell.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A power control device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives traffic information indicating the traffic conditions in front of a vehicle; an acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle speed and the charge level of a battery provided in the vehicle; an estimation unit that, when the vehicle speed is below a first threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level, estimates whether the vehicle will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed based on the traffic conditions; and a power control unit that, based on the estimation unit's estimation that the vehicle will accelerate, causes the fuel cell provided in the vehicle to output a predetermined amount of power before the vehicle accelerates, wherein the power control unit charges the battery with the surplus power obtained by subtracting a first amount of power required by the vehicle's bodywork and a second amount of power required by the vehicle's drive source from the predetermined power.

[0007] The power control unit may continue to output the predetermined power after the vehicle has started accelerating, provided that the vehicle speed is below the second threshold and the charge level is below the predetermined charge level.

[0008] The power control unit may output the second power to the fuel cell after the vehicle has started accelerating, while the fuel cell is outputting the predetermined power, if the vehicle speed reaches the second threshold or the charge level reaches the predetermined charge level.

[0009] The traffic information includes gradient information indicating the gradient in front of the vehicle, and the power control unit may set the second threshold smaller when the gradient is uphill than when the gradient is downhill.

[0010] The traffic information includes other vehicle information indicating the speed of other vehicles ahead of the vehicle, and the estimation unit may estimate whether or not the vehicle will accelerate based on the speed of the other vehicles.

[0011] The traffic information includes section information indicating a construction section or congested section ahead of the vehicle, and the estimation unit may estimate whether the vehicle will accelerate or not based on the distance between the vehicle's end of the construction section or congested section and the vehicle's position, and the vehicle speed.

[0012] The estimation unit may use a smaller predetermined time if the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a public road than if the road is an expressway.

[0013] The traffic information includes gradient information indicating the gradient in front of the vehicle, and the estimation unit may set the first threshold smaller when the gradient is uphill than when the gradient is downhill.

[0014] A power control method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes: an acquisition step performed by a processor to acquire the vehicle speed and the charge level of a battery provided in the vehicle; a reception step to receive traffic information indicating the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle; an estimation step, when the vehicle speed is below a first threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level, to estimate whether the vehicle will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed based on the traffic conditions; and a power control step, which, having estimated in the estimation step that the vehicle will accelerate, causes the fuel cell provided in the vehicle to output a predetermined power before the vehicle accelerates, wherein in the power control step, the surplus power obtained by subtracting a first power required by the vehicle's bodywork and a second power required by the vehicle's drive source from the predetermined power is used to charge the battery. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, the effect is to reduce the amount of change in the amount of power output by the fuel cell. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This figure shows an overview of the vehicle S according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the operation of the power control device 10. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing the operation of the power control device 10 when generating a predetermined power. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation in which the fuel cell 5 outputs a predetermined power. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence in the power control device 10.

Embodiment for Implementing the Invention

[0017] <Outline of Vehicle S> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the outline of the vehicle S according to the present embodiment. The vehicle S shown in FIG. 1 includes a receiving device 1, a vehicle speed sensor 2, a battery sensor 3, a battery 4, a fuel cell 5, a motor 6, a mounted object 7, and a power control device 10. The vehicle S is a vehicle that travels by driving the motor 6 by supplying power from the fuel cell 5, and is, for example, an FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle).

[0018] The receiving device 1 is a receiver that receives at least any one of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) information, VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) (registered trademark) information, and probe traffic information as traffic information from an external information processing device. The traffic information includes, for example, gradient information indicating the gradient in front of the vehicle S, other vehicle information indicating the speed of other vehicles in front of the vehicle S, and section information indicating a construction section or a traffic jam section in front of the vehicle S.

[0019] The vehicle speed sensor 2 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle S. The battery sensor 3 is a sensor for detecting the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 4. The battery 4 is a power storage device having a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and is a device that outputs power to the mounted object 7 or charges the power generated by the fuel cell 5.

[0020] The fuel cell 5 is a battery that converts chemical energy into electrical energy by reacting a fuel and an oxidant. For example, the fuel cell 5 converts chemical energy into electrical energy by reacting hydrogen stored in a hydrogen tank (not shown) provided in the vehicle S with oxygen contained in the atmosphere (air) to generate water. The fuel cell 5 outputs the converted electrical energy (electric power) to the motor 6 and the mounted equipment 7 or charges the battery 4.

[0021] The motor 6 is an electric motor for driving the vehicle S and is a drive source driven by the electric power supplied from the fuel cell 5. The mounted equipment 7 is equipment provided on the loading platform of the vehicle S and operates by the electric power supplied from the battery 4 and the fuel cell 5, and is, for example, a refrigerator or a freezer.

[0022] The power control device 10 is a device for outputting electric power from the battery 4 and the fuel cell 5. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the power control device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the power control device 10 outputs first electric power from the battery 4 to the mounted equipment 7 and outputs second electric power from the fuel cell 5 to the motor 6. The first electric power is a certain amount of electric power required by the mounted equipment 7 provided in the vehicle S. The second electric power is the electric power required by the motor 6 provided in the vehicle S and is the electric power corresponding to the depression amount of an accelerator pedal (not shown) provided in the vehicle S.

[0023] Incidentally, in the vehicle S, the greater the acceleration of the vehicle S, the greater the change amount of the electric power output from the fuel cell 5 to the motor 6 per unit time. And since the vehicle S is heavier due to having the mounted equipment 7 than other vehicles without the mounted equipment 7, the change amount with respect to the acceleration becomes larger. Therefore, in the vehicle S, for example, during acceleration when the traffic jam is resolved, the change amount tends to be large, so the fuel cell 5 is likely to deteriorate.

[0024] Therefore, the power control device 10 estimates the timing when the congestion will clear based on the traffic information received by the receiving device 1, and generates a predetermined amount of power in the fuel cell 5 from a time before that timing. The predetermined amount of power is, for example, greater than the sum of the second amount of power required for acceleration as the congestion clears and the first amount of power required by the vehicle body 7. Figure 3 shows the operation of the power control device 10 when the predetermined amount of power is generated. As shown in Figure 3, the power control device 10 outputs the first amount of power from the fuel cell 5 to the vehicle body 7, outputs the second amount of power from the fuel cell 5 to the motor 6, and charges the battery 4 with the surplus power, which is the subtracted value obtained by subtracting the first and second amounts of power from the predetermined amount.

[0025] By operating in this manner, the power control device 10 can keep the power generated by the fuel cell 5 constant, even if the amount of change in the second power increases significantly when congestion is cleared. Furthermore, by generating a predetermined amount of power in the fuel cell 5 from before the congestion is cleared, the power control device 10 can extend the time it takes for the power generated by the fuel cell 5 to reach the predetermined level. As a result, the power control device 10 can reduce the amount of change in the power generated by the fuel cell 5 per unit time, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the fuel cell 5. The configuration and operation of the power control device 10 will be described in detail below.

[0026] <Configuration of the power control device 10> As shown in Figure 1, the power control device 10 has a storage unit 11 and a control unit 12. The control unit 12 has a receiving unit 121, an acquisition unit 122, an estimation unit 123 and a power control unit 124.

[0027] The memory unit 11 has a storage medium such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or SSD (Solid State Drive). The memory unit 11 stores the program executed by the control unit 12 and various information for outputting power from the battery 4 and fuel cell 5.

[0028] The control unit 12 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). By executing the program stored in the memory unit 11, the control unit 12 functions as the receiving unit 121, acquisition unit 122, estimation unit 123, and power control unit 124. The control unit 12 may consist of one processor, or it may consist of multiple processors or a combination of one or more processors and electronic circuits.

[0029] The receiving unit 121 receives traffic information indicating the traffic conditions ahead of vehicle S. The traffic information includes, for example, gradient information, other vehicle information, section information, and road information. The gradient information indicates the type of gradient ahead of vehicle S (uphill gradient, downhill gradient). The other vehicle information indicates the speed and position of one or more other vehicles ahead of vehicle S. The section information indicates the location of a construction section or congested section ahead of vehicle S. The road information indicates the type of road on which vehicle S is traveling (general road, expressway) and the position of vehicle S. The receiving unit 121 receives traffic information by, for example, acquiring at least one of ITS information, VICS information, and probe traffic information as traffic information from the receiving device 1.

[0030] The acquisition unit 122 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle S and the charge level of the battery 4 installed in the vehicle S. For example, the acquisition unit 122 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle S detected by the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the charge level of the battery 4 detected by the battery sensor 3.

[0031] The estimation unit 123 estimates whether vehicle S will accelerate when the traffic congestion on the road it is traveling on has cleared, provided that the battery 4 is in a state where it can be charged. If the vehicle speed is below a first threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level, the estimation unit 123 estimates, based on the traffic conditions, whether vehicle S will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed. The first threshold is the maximum speed of vehicle S in congestion, determined by the estimation unit 123 based on the gradient ahead of vehicle S, and is, for example, a value of 14 km / h or more and less than 22 km / h. For example, if the type of gradient included in the gradient information is an uphill gradient, the estimation unit 123 sets the first threshold to be smaller than if the type of gradient were a downhill gradient. The predetermined charge level is the maximum charge level at which the battery 4 can be charged, and is, for example, a fixed value of 80% or more.

[0032] The predetermined time is an estimated time determined by the estimation unit 123 based on the vehicle speed of vehicle S and the type of road on which vehicle S is traveling. For example, the estimation unit 123 reduces the predetermined time as the vehicle speed acquired by the acquisition unit 122 increases. For example, the estimation unit 123 reduces the predetermined time when the road on which vehicle S is traveling, as included in the road information received by the receiving unit 121, is a general road, compared to when the road is a highway. By operating in this way, the estimation unit 123 can increase the predetermined time on highways where the traffic volume per unit time is less likely to change than on general roads, thereby reducing the amount of change in power when raising the power to a predetermined level.

[0033] The estimation unit 123 estimates, for example, whether vehicle S will accelerate based on the speed of other vehicles. The estimation unit 123 determines the distance between the position of the other vehicle included in the other vehicle information and the position of vehicle S included in the road information, for example, if the speed of the other vehicle ahead of vehicle S included in the other vehicle information received by the receiving unit 121 is equal to or greater than a first threshold. Based on the vehicle speed of vehicle S and the determined distance, the estimation unit 123 calculates the time it will take for vehicle S to reach the position of the other vehicle. If the time to reach the other vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined time, the estimation unit 123 estimates that vehicle S will accelerate; if the time to reach the other vehicle is less than the predetermined time, the estimation unit 123 estimates that vehicle S will not accelerate.

[0034] The estimation unit 123 may estimate whether vehicle S will accelerate or not based on the distance between the position of the vehicle S end of the construction or congested section and the position of vehicle S, and the vehicle speed. For example, the estimation unit 123 identifies the distance between the position of the vehicle S end of the construction or congested section included in the section information received by the receiving unit 121 and the position of vehicle S included in the road information received by the receiving unit 121. Based on the vehicle speed of vehicle S and the identified distance, the estimation unit 123 calculates the arrival time for vehicle S to reach the end position, estimates that vehicle S will accelerate if the arrival time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time, and estimates that vehicle S will not accelerate if the arrival time is less than the predetermined time.

[0035] The power control unit 124 causes power to be output to at least one of the battery 4 and the fuel cell 5. As shown in Figure 2, the power control unit 124, based on the estimation unit 123's estimation that the vehicle S will not accelerate, causes the battery 4 to output first power to the bodywork 7 and the fuel cell 5 to output second power to the motor 6.

[0036] On the other hand, the power control unit 124, based on the estimation unit 123's estimation that the vehicle S is accelerating, causes the fuel cell 5 in the vehicle S to output a predetermined power even before the vehicle S begins to accelerate. The predetermined power is greater than the sum of the first power and the second power, and is determined by the power control unit 124 based on the type of gradient in front of the vehicle S. For example, if the type of gradient included in the gradient information is an uphill gradient, the power control unit 124 increases the predetermined power more than if the gradient were a downhill gradient. Then, as shown in Figure 3, the power control unit 124 charges the battery 4 with the surplus power obtained by subtracting the first power and the second power from the predetermined power.

[0037] Figure 4 shows an example of the operation in which the fuel cell 5 outputs a predetermined amount of power. The horizontal axis in Figure 4 represents time. The vertical axis in Figure 4 represents "vehicle speed" indicating the vehicle speed of the vehicle S, "fuel cell" indicating the power output by the fuel cell 5, "first power" supplied from the fuel cell 5 to the bodywork 7, "second power" supplied from the fuel cell 5 to the motor 6, and "surplus power" used to charge the battery 4. Figure 4 shows the first threshold Vth1 and the second threshold Vth2. In Figure 4, the charge level of the battery 4 is set to be less than a predetermined charge level.

[0038] At time T1, the power control unit 124, having estimated that the vehicle S will accelerate at time T2 after a predetermined time P1 has elapsed, starts control to increase the output of the fuel cell 5 to a predetermined power (power WF2). Then, at time T3, the power control unit 124 causes the fuel cell 5 to output power WF2. The power control unit 124 causes the fuel cell 5 to output the first power WB1 of power WF2 to the vehicle body 7, and the fuel cell 5 to output the second power WM1 of power WF2 to the motor 6. The power control unit 124 charges the battery 4 with the surplus power WS1 obtained by subtracting the first power WB1 and the second power WM1 from power WF2.

[0039] As described above, the power control unit 124 can maintain the output of the fuel cell 5 at power WF2 even if the traffic jam clears and the vehicle S accelerates after time T2. Furthermore, since the power control unit 124 increases the output of the fuel cell 5 from time T1, it can increase the time it takes to raise the output of the fuel cell 5 from power WF1 to power WF2 compared to increasing the power in response to the acceleration of the vehicle S after time T2. Therefore, the power control unit 124 can reduce the amount of change in power generated by the fuel cell 5, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the fuel cell 5.

[0040] The power control unit 124 continues to output a predetermined power (power WF2) if, for example, after the vehicle S has started accelerating, the vehicle speed is less than the second threshold Vth2 and the charge level is less than a predetermined charge level. The second threshold Vth2 is a speed determined by the power control unit 124 based on the gradient ahead of the vehicle S, at which it can determine that the vehicle S has finished passing through the congested section, and is, for example, a value of 14 km / h or more and less than 22 km / h. The power control unit 124, for example, makes the second threshold Vth2 smaller when the type of gradient included in the gradient information is an uphill gradient than when the type of gradient is a downhill gradient.

[0041] As shown in Figure 4, the power control unit 124 maintains the power WF2 output by the fuel cell 5 during time P2, for example, from time T2 to time T4. By operating in this manner, the power control unit 124 can ensure that even if the driver of vehicle S increases the amount of accelerator pedal depression due to the easing of congestion, the power control unit 124 outputs power WF2 to the fuel cell 5 during time P2, including the second power WM2 corresponding to the amount of depression. As a result, the power control unit 124 can keep the output of the fuel cell 5 constant during time P2, thereby suppressing the degradation of the fuel cell 5.

[0042] For example, after the vehicle S starts accelerating, the power control unit 124 outputs a second power to the fuel cell 5 when the vehicle speed reaches a second threshold Vth2 or the charge level reaches a predetermined charge level, while the fuel cell 5 is outputting a predetermined power (power WF2). As shown in Figure 4, for example, when the vehicle speed reaches the second threshold Vth2 at time T4, the power control unit 124 outputs a second power to the fuel cell 5 corresponding to the amount the accelerator pedal is pressed from time T4 onward. By operating in this manner, the battery 4 and fuel cell 5 can output power at the same rate after the congestion has cleared as they did at the time before the congestion occurred.

[0043] <Processing sequence in power control device 10> Figure 5 shows an example of a processing sequence in the power control device 10. The processing sequence shown in Figure 5 is a processing sequence that shows the operation in which the power control device 10 decides whether or not to output a predetermined power WF2 to the fuel cell 5. The power control device 10 repeats the processing sequence shown in Figure 5 at a predetermined period (for example, 0.1 seconds).

[0044] The receiving unit 121 acquires traffic information, including gradient information, other vehicle information, section information, and road information, from the receiving device 1 (S11). The acquisition unit 122 acquires the vehicle speed V of vehicle S from the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the charge level C of battery 4 from the battery sensor 3 (S12). The estimation unit 123 terminates processing if the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to the first threshold Vth1 and the charge level C is not less than a predetermined charge level Cth (NO in S13). If the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to the first threshold Vth1 and the charge level C is less than a predetermined charge level Cth (YES in S13), the estimation unit 123 estimates whether or not vehicle S will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed (S14).

[0045] If the estimation unit 123 estimates that the vehicle S will not accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed (NO in S14), the power control unit 124 terminates processing. If the estimation unit 123 estimates that the vehicle S will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed (YES in S14), the power control unit 124 causes the fuel cell 5 to output a predetermined power WF2 (S15).

[0046] The power control unit 124 outputs the first power from the fuel cell 5 to the mounting structure 7, and outputs the second power from the fuel cell 5 to the motor 6. If there is surplus power obtained by subtracting the first and second power from the predetermined power WF2 (YES in S16), the power control unit 124 charges the battery 4 with the surplus power (S17). If there is no surplus power obtained by subtracting the first and second power from the predetermined power WF2 (NO in S16), the power control unit 124 does not charge the battery 4.

[0047] If the vehicle speed V of the vehicle S acquired by the acquisition unit 122 after step S15 is greater than or equal to the second threshold Vth2 (YES in S18), the power control unit 124 stops outputting a predetermined power WF2 (S19) and terminates the process. If the vehicle speed V is less than the second threshold Vth2 (NO in S18), the power control unit 124 determines whether the charge rate C acquired by the acquisition unit 122 in step S18 is less than a predetermined charge rate Cth (S20). If the charge rate C is greater than or equal to the predetermined charge rate Cth (NO in S20), the power control unit 124 stops outputting a predetermined power (S19) and terminates the process. If the charge rate C is less than the predetermined charge rate Cth (YES in S20), the power control unit 124 returns to step S14.

[0048] <Effects of the power control device 10> As described above, the power control device 10 includes a receiving unit 121 that receives traffic information indicating the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle S, an acquisition unit 122 that acquires the vehicle speed V of the vehicle S and the charge level C of the battery 4 equipped in the vehicle S, an estimation unit 123 that estimates whether the vehicle S will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed based on the traffic conditions when the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to a first threshold Vth1 and the charge level C is less than a predetermined charge level Cth, and a power control unit 124 that causes the fuel cell 5 equipped in the vehicle S to output a predetermined power WF2 even before the vehicle S accelerates, based on the estimation unit 123's estimation that the vehicle S will accelerate. The power control unit 124 then charges the battery 4 with the surplus power obtained by subtracting the first power required by the bodywork 7 equipped in the vehicle S and the second power required by the motor 6 equipped in the vehicle S from the predetermined power WF2.

[0049] With the power control device 10 configured in this way, the power control device 10 ensures that the fuel cell 5 outputs a predetermined power WF2 from a time before the vehicle S begins to accelerate. This allows the power generated by the fuel cell 5 to remain constant even if the vehicle S's acceleration increases. Furthermore, because the power control device 10 causes the fuel cell 5 to output a predetermined power WF2 from a time before the vehicle S accelerates, it can increase the output of the fuel cell 5 with a smaller change than when the vehicle S accelerates. As a result, the power control device 10 can reduce the amount of change in power generated by the fuel cell 5 per unit time, thereby suppressing the degradation of the fuel cell 5.

[0050] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of its gist. For example, all or part of the apparatus can be configured by functionally or physically distributing and integrating in any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combinations are combined with the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1. Receiving device 2. Vehicle speed sensor 3. Battery Sensor 4 batteries 5 fuel cell 6 motors 7 Bodywork 10 Power control device 11 Storage section 12 Control Unit 121 Receiving Unit 122 Acquisition Department 123 Estimation Department 124 Power Control Unit

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives traffic information showing the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle, An acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the charge level of the battery equipped in the vehicle, If the vehicle speed is below a first threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level, an estimation unit estimates whether the vehicle will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed, based on the traffic conditions. The system includes a power control unit that, upon estimating that the vehicle is accelerating, causes the vehicle's fuel cell to output a predetermined amount of power even before the vehicle begins to accelerate, The power control unit charges the battery with the surplus power obtained by subtracting the first power required by the vehicle's bodywork and the second power required by the vehicle's drive source from the predetermined power. Power control device.

2. The power control unit continues to output the predetermined power after the vehicle has started accelerating, provided that the vehicle speed is below a second threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level. The power control device according to claim 1.

3. The power control unit, after the vehicle has started accelerating, outputs the second power to the fuel cell when the vehicle speed reaches the second threshold or the charge level reaches the predetermined charge level, while the fuel cell is outputting the predetermined power. The power control device according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned traffic information includes gradient information indicating the gradient in front of the vehicle, The power control unit reduces the second threshold value when the gradient is an uphill gradient compared to when the gradient is a downhill gradient. The power control device according to claim 2.

5. The aforementioned traffic information includes other vehicle information indicating the speed of other vehicles ahead of the vehicle. The estimation unit estimates whether the vehicle will accelerate or not based on the speed of the other vehicle. The power control device according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned traffic information includes section information indicating a construction zone or congested zone ahead of the vehicle. The estimation unit estimates whether the vehicle will accelerate or not based on the distance between the vehicle's end point in the construction section or the congested section and the vehicle's position, and the vehicle's speed. The power control device according to claim 1.

7. The estimation unit reduces the predetermined time if the road on which the vehicle is traveling is a public road compared to if the road is an expressway. The power control device according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned traffic information includes gradient information indicating the gradient in front of the vehicle, The estimation unit reduces the first threshold to a smaller value when the gradient is an uphill gradient than when the gradient is a downhill gradient. The power control device according to claim 1.

9. The processor executes An acquisition process for acquiring the vehicle speed and the charge level of the battery installed in the vehicle, A receiving process for receiving traffic information indicating the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle, If the vehicle speed is below a first threshold and the charge level is below a predetermined charge level, the estimation step is to estimate whether the vehicle will accelerate after a predetermined time has elapsed, based on the traffic conditions. The estimation step includes a power control step that, based on the estimation that the vehicle will accelerate, causes the fuel cell equipped in the vehicle to output a predetermined amount of power even before the vehicle accelerates. In the power control step, the surplus power obtained by subtracting the first power required by the vehicle's bodywork and the second power required by the vehicle's drive source from the predetermined power is used to charge the battery. Power control method.

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