Charging contract selection device

Abstract

This allows the application of the cheaper of the two different charging contracts. [Solution] An onboard charging contract selection device that allows charging of an onboard battery at a predetermined charging point under a first contract based on the first rate system of a first charging service provider and charging of a battery under a second contract based on the second rate system of a second charging service provider different from the first charging service provider, is used as if the battery were charged under the contract with the lower of the first charging fee for charging the battery under the first contract and the second charging fee for charging the battery under the second contract.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging contract selection device, and more particularly to an in-vehicle charging contract selection device capable of charging a battery according to a first contract and charging a battery according to a second contract at a predetermined charging location.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of technology, there has been proposed a device that notifies a user of notification information based on the stored past charging fees and the latest charging fees (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this technology, by comparing the past charging fees and the latest charging fees of the vehicle itself, it is possible for the user to easily grasp the level of the charging fees for the vehicle itself.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When charging at home, a charging fee based on the amount of power used for charging is paid based on the electricity rate plan contracted with the power supply company. When charging at a charging station, a charging fee based on the amount of power used for charging, the charging time, and the charging type according to the charging fee plan of the charging station operator is paid. Therefore, since the charging fees are different when charging at home and when charging at a charging station, it is preferable for the user to charge at the lower charging fee if possible.

[0005] The main object of the charging contract selection device of the present disclosure is to enable the application of the cheaper charging among different contracts.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The charging contract selection device of this disclosure employs the following means to achieve the primary objective described above.

[0007] The charging contract selection device in this disclosure is An onboard charging contract selection device that enables charging of an onboard battery at a designated charging point under a first contract based on the first rate system of a first charging service provider, and charging of the said battery under a second contract based on the second rate system of a second charging service provider different from the first charging service provider, When the battery is charged at the designated charging location, the charge shall be treated as if it were charged under the lower of the first charging fee for the battery under the first contract and the second charging fee for the battery under the second contract. It is characterized by the following:

[0008] In the charging contract selection device of this disclosure, when a battery is charged at a predetermined charging location, the device treats the charging as if it were performed under the lower of two contracts: the first charging fee for charging the battery under the first contract based on the first fee structure of the first charging supply business entity, and the second charging fee for charging the battery under the second contract based on the second fee structure of a second charging supply business entity different from the first charging supply business entity. This makes it possible to apply the lower of the two different charging contracts.

[0009] In the charging contract selection device of this disclosure, the first charging supply entity is a power supply entity that charges a fee according to the amount of electricity used based on an electricity rate plan, and the second charging supply entity is a charging billing entity that charges for charging based on a charging billing contract. After charging the battery at a designated charging location as charging the battery under the second contract, if the first charging fee for charging the battery under the first contract is lower than the second charging fee for charging the battery under the second contract, the charging of the battery under the second contract may be treated as charging the battery under the first contract, and the second charging supply entity may be asked to refund the difference between the first and second charging fees. In this way, when charging the battery at a designated charging location, the battery should first be charged as charging the battery under the second contract. That is, the second contract should stipulate that the difference between the first and second charging fees should be refunded. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This diagram shows a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle 20 equipped with a charging contract selection device as one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the charging selection process performed by the vehicle's ECU60 and the processing carried out by charging service providers and power supply service providers based on this process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Next, embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle 20 equipped with a charging contract selection device as one embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in the figure, the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment includes a driving motor 32, an inverter 34, a battery 36 as an energy storage device, a drive power line 38, a system main relay 40, a charger 50, a vehicle connector 52 connected to the charging power line 51, a charging relay 54, and a vehicle electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle ECU") 60. The vehicle ECU 60 corresponds to the charging contract selection device.

[0012] The motor 32 is configured, for example, as a synchronous generator-motor, and the rotor of the motor 32 is connected to a drive shaft DS which is connected to a drive wheel DW via a differential gear. The inverter 34 is connected to the motor 32 and also to a drive power line 38. The motor 32 is rotationally driven by switching control of a plurality of switching elements (not shown) of the inverter 34.

[0013] The battery 36 is configured as, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery and is connected to the drive power line 38. The system main relay 40 is provided on the drive power line 38 and connects and disconnects the inverter 34 side and the battery 36 side.

[0014] The charger 50 is connected to the inverter 34 side of the drive power line 38, beyond the system main relay 40, via a charging power line 51, and is also connected to the vehicle connector 52. The charger 50 charges the battery 36 by adjusting the voltage of commercial power (charging voltage Vchg) supplied from a standard household power supply at home, or by adjusting the voltage of power (charging voltage Vchg) supplied from charging stations located at various locations. The vehicle connector 52 is configured to be connectable to charging connectors installed at home or charging stations. A charging relay 54 is provided between the charger 50 and the vehicle connector 52 on the charging power line 51, and the charging relay 54 connects and disconnects the vehicle connector 52 side from the drive power line 38 side.

[0015] The vehicle ECU 60, although not shown in the diagram, includes a microprocessor with a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input / output ports, and communication ports. Signals from various sensors are input to the vehicle ECU 60 via its input ports. Examples of signals input to the vehicle ECU 60 include the rotational position θm of the motor 32 rotor from a rotational position sensor (e.g., resolver) 32a that detects the rotational position of the motor 32 rotor, the voltage Vb of the battery 36 from a voltage sensor 36a attached between the terminals of the battery 36, the current Ib of the battery 36 from a current sensor 36b attached to the output terminal of the battery 36, the temperature Tb of the battery 36 from a temperature sensor 36c attached to the battery 36, and a connection signal from a connection sensor 53 provided on the vehicle connector 52. In addition, since the vehicle ECU 60 also functions as a vehicle drive control device, information necessary for driving control is also input to the vehicle ECU 60. Examples of this information include the start signal from the start switch, the shift position from the shift position sensor which detects the position of the shift lever, the accelerator opening from the accelerator pedal position sensor which detects the amount the accelerator pedal is pressed, the brake pedal position from the brake pedal position sensor which detects the amount the brake pedal is pressed, and the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor.

[0016] Various control signals are output from the vehicle ECU 60 via its output ports. Examples of signals output from the vehicle ECU 60 include switching control signals to multiple switching elements of the inverter 34, control signals to the system main relay 40, drive control signals to the charger 50, and control signals to the charging relay 54. The vehicle ECU 60 calculates the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 36 based on the current Ib of the battery 36 from the current sensor 36b. The vehicle ECU 60 is capable of wireless communication with the electronic control unit for the charging station at home or at a charging station.

[0017] The vehicle ECU 60 also functions as a charging contract selection device as one embodiment of the present disclosure. For this purpose, it stores an electricity rate plan 64 contracted with a power supply business that supplies electricity to ordinary households such as homes, and a charging plan 66 contracted with a charging charging business that processes charges for charging the battery 36 at charging stations, etc. It has a charging selection unit 62 that performs a charging selection process to determine whether to charge the battery 36 using the electricity rate plan 64 contracted with the power supply business or the charging plan 66 contracted with the charging charging business. The charging selection unit 62 is a functional block realized by integrating hardware and software. The vehicle ECU 60 communicates with the charging charging business 100 when performing the charging selection process.

[0018] Next, the operation of the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment configured in this way will be described, particularly the operation when the vehicle ECU 60 functions as a charging contract selection device and executes the charging selection process. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the charging selection process executed by the vehicle ECU 60 and the processing by the charging billing entity and the power supply entity based on this process. In the figure, the leftmost part is the processing of the vehicle ECU 60, the center is the processing of the power supply entity, and the rightmost part is the processing of the charging billing entity. The user has a contract with the power supply entity for the supply of electricity at home under electricity rate plan 64, and has also a contract with the charging billing entity for the charging of the battery 36 at charging stations under billing plan 66. The following charging selection process will describe the case when charging the battery 36 at home. The charging selection process is executed when the connection signal from the connection sensor 53 detects that a charging connector provided at home or a charging station has been connected to the vehicle connector 52.

[0019] When the charging selection process is executed, first the vehicle ECU 60 sends user information to the charging billing entity 100 (step S100). Upon receiving the user information, the charging billing entity 100 performs user authentication (step S300), confirms that the user is a user of billing plan 66, and sends a charging start instruction to the vehicle ECU 60 (step S310). Upon receiving the charging start instruction, the vehicle ECU 60 turns on the system main relay 40 and the charging relay 54 to control the charger 50 and starts charging the battery 36 with power supplied by the power supply entity (steps S110, S200).

[0020] When the battery 36 is fully charged, the vehicle ECU 60 performs charging completion processing, such as turning off the system main relay 40 and the charging relay 54 (step S120), and stores charging information such as the charging start time, charging end time, charging type (whether it is normal charging or rapid charging), and the amount of power charged (step S130), and transmits the charging information to the charging billing entity 100. Once charging is complete, the power supply entity will later bill the user for the electricity supplied according to the electricity rate plan 64 based on the contract with the user (step S210).

[0021] The vehicle ECU 60 that has transmitted the charging information to the charging and billing entity 100 calculates the charging fee A based on the electricity tariff plan 64 and the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66 for the current charging of the battery 36 (step S150), and determines whether the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66 is lower than the charging fee A based on the electricity tariff plan 64 (step S160). When it is determined that the charging fee A based on the electricity tariff plan 64 is lower than the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66, a charging claim with a charge value of 0 is transmitted to the charging and billing entity 100 (step S170). On the other hand, when it is determined that the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66 is lower than the charging fee A based on the electricity tariff plan 64, the difference C is calculated by subtracting the charging fee B from the charging fee A (step S180), and a charging claim for the return of the difference C is transmitted to the charging and billing entity 100 (step S190).

[0022] Upon receiving any of the charging claims (steps S170, S190), the charging and billing entity 100 performs a charging process (step S320), notifies the charging along with the approval of the return of the difference C if there is a difference C (step S330), and ends this process. Note that the vehicle ECU 60 ends this process upon receiving the charging notification from the charging and billing entity 100.

[0023] The charging contract selection device (vehicle ECU 60) installed in the electric vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above calculates the charging fee A based on the electricity tariff plan 64 contracted with the power supply entity and the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66 contracted with the charging and billing entity 100 when charging the battery 36, selects the cheaper charging fee, and performs the settlement process. Thereby, the cheaper charging among the chargings according to different contracts can be applied.

[0024] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, the charging contract selection device (vehicle ECU 60) performs user authentication with the charging billing entity 100 when charging the battery 36 at home. After the battery 36 is fully charged using electricity supplied by the power supply entity, the device calculates the charging fee A based on the electricity rate plan 64 contracted with the power supply entity and the charging fee B based on the billing plan 66 contracted with the charging billing entity 100. If the charging fee B based on billing plan 66 is cheaper than the charging fee A based on electricity rate plan 64, the device requests the charging billing entity 100 to refund the difference C obtained by subtracting the charging fee B from the charging fee A. Based on this request, the charging billing entity 100 performs the billing calculation. As a result, when charging the battery 36 at home, the user can charge the battery 36 using the cheaper of the charging fee A based on electricity rate plan 64 and the charging fee B based on billing plan 66.

[0025] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained. In the embodiment, the power supply entity corresponds to the "first charging supply entity," the electricity rate plan 64 corresponds to the "first rate system," the charging billing entity 100 corresponds to the "second charging supply entity," the billing plan 66 corresponds to the "second rate system," and the vehicle ECU 60 corresponds to the "charging contract selection device."

[0026] Furthermore, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem is merely an example to specifically explain the form in which the embodiment implements the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem, and does not limit the elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiment is merely one specific example of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem.

[0027] Although the present disclosure has been described above using embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial applicability]

[0028] This disclosure can be used in industries such as the manufacturing of charging contract selection devices. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 20 Electric vehicle, 32 Motor, 34 Inverter, 36 Battery, 36a Voltage sensor, 36b Current sensor, 36c Temperature sensor, 38 Power line for drive, 40 System main relay, 50 Charger, 51 Power line for charging, 52 Vehicle connector, 53 Connection sensor, 54 Charging relay, 60 Vehicle ECU, 62 Charging selection unit, 64 Electricity rate plan, 66 Billing plan.

Claims

[Claim 1] An onboard charging contract selection device that enables charging of an onboard battery at a predetermined charging location under a first contract based on the first rate system of a first charging service provider, and charging of the said battery under a second contract based on the second rate system of a second charging service provider different from the first charging service provider, When the battery is charged at the designated charging location, the charge will be treated as if it were charged under the lower of the first charging fee for the battery under the first contract and the second charging fee for the battery under the second contract. A charging contract selection device characterized by the following features.

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