Charging support system, charging support method, and control program

Abstract

To provide a charging support system capable of effectively utilizing electricity generated through a solar panel.SOLUTION: A charging support system is for a vehicle comprising a solar panel mounted on a vehicle body and a storage battery which is connected to the solar panel through a charging cable and stores electricity generated through the solar panel. The charging support system includes: a detection section which detects that the vehicle is planned to be parked for a predetermined period or longer; an acquisition section which acquires information on charging of the storage battery when the vehicle is detected to be parked for the predetermined period or longer; a determination section which determines necessity to continue storing the electricity generated through the solar panel based on the information acquired with the acquisition section; and a notification section which urges a driver to connect the charging cable to a storage device outside the vehicle different from the storage battery when no determination is made for the necessity to continue storing the electricity generated through the solar panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging assistance system, a charging assistance method, and a control program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand for effective use of electricity generated by solar panels. Related technology is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a method of predicting the amount of solar power generation, and discharging from a small storage battery to an external large-capacity storage battery when the predicted amount of power generation exceeds a reference value relative to the available capacity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-100956 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, solar power generation is automatically switched from a small storage battery to an external large-capacity storage battery using non-contact charging technology, so in vehicles that do not employ non-contact charging technology, solar power generation cannot be automatically switched from a small battery to an external large-capacity storage battery for discharging. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, there was a problem that electricity generated by a solar panel cannot be effectively used in vehicles that do not employ non-contact charging technology.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above background, and aims to provide a charging support system, a charging support method, and a control program that can effectively utilize electricity generated by a solar panel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The charging support system according to the present disclosure is a charging support system for a vehicle including a solar panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and storing electricity generated by the solar panel, the charging support system including: a detection unit that detects that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; an acquisition unit that acquires information related to charging the storage battery when the detection unit detects that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; a determination unit that determines whether or not it is necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a notification unit that issues a notification to a driver to prompt the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery when the determination unit determines that it is not necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery. This charging support system enables effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in vehicles that do not employ contactless charging technology.

[0008] The charging support method according to the present disclosure is a charging support method for a vehicle including a solar panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and storing electricity generated by the solar panel, the charging support method detects that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more, and when it is detected that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more, obtains information regarding charging of the storage battery, and when it is determined that it is not necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery based on the obtained information, a notification is given to the driver to prompt the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery. This charging support method enables effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in vehicles that do not employ contactless charging technology.

[0009] The control program according to the present disclosure is a control program that causes a computer to execute a charging support process for a vehicle that includes a solar panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery that is connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and stores electricity generated by the solar panel, and causes the computer to execute the following processes: detecting that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; acquiring information about the charging of the storage battery when it is detected that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; determining whether or not it is necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery based on the acquired information; and, when it is determined that it is not necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, issuing a notification to the driver to prompt the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery. This control program enables effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in vehicles that do not employ contactless charging technology. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a charging assistance system, a charging assistance method, and a control program that are capable of effectively utilizing electricity generated by a solar panel. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle to which a charging support system according to a first embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a charging support device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the charging support device according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0013] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle 1 to which a charging support system according to a first embodiment is applied. When the charging support system according to the present embodiment determines that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by a solar panel in a storage battery, it notifies the driver to switch and connect the charging cable from the storage battery to a power storage device outside the vehicle. The driver who receives the notification can switch the charging cable from the storage battery to the power storage device outside the vehicle. This makes it possible to effectively use electricity generated by a solar panel even in a vehicle that does not employ a non-contact charging technology. A specific description will be given below.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the charging support system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1 and includes a charging support device 10, a solar panel 20, a storage battery 30, and a charging cable 40. The charging support device 10 can be referred to as a charging support system by itself. The charging support device 10 is installed in a state in which it can monitor the power generation status of the solar panel 20 and the charging status of the storage battery 30.

[0015] The solar cell panel 20 is a panel that generates electricity from sunlight, and is attached to a part of the body of the vehicle 1. For example, the solar cell panel 20 is attached to the roof, hood, door, or the like of the vehicle 1. In this embodiment, a case in which the solar cell panel 20 is attached on the roof of the vehicle 1 will be described as an example.

[0016] The storage battery 30 is connected to the solar panel 20 via a charging cable 40, and stores electricity generated by the solar panel 20. The storage battery 30 can be used as a standby power source, or as a power source if the vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle.

[0017] The charging cable 40 normally connects the solar panel 20 and the storage battery 30. The charging cable 40 can be removed from the storage battery 30 and connected to, for example, an external power storage device. The external power storage device is installed, for example, in a parking lot at home or in the parking lot of a convenience store.

[0018] The charging support device 10 is a device that determines whether or not it is necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel 20 in the storage battery 30 based on the charging status of the storage battery 30, and notifies the driver of the determination result.

[0019] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the charging support device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the charging support device 10 includes a detection unit 11, an acquisition unit 12, a determination unit 13, and a notification unit 14.

[0020] The detection unit 11 detects that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or longer. The fact that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or longer may be input to the charging support device 10 via a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the driver, or via a dedicated operation terminal mounted on the vehicle 1. The detection unit 11 detects that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or longer based on information input via the mobile terminal owned by the driver or a dedicated operation terminal in the vehicle. Alternatively, the detection unit 11 may detect that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or longer by the engine of the vehicle 1 being stopped. The predetermined period can be set arbitrarily.

[0021] When the detection unit 11 detects that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or longer, the acquisition unit 12 acquires information related to the charging of the storage battery 30. Here, the information related to the charging of the storage battery 30 refers to, for example, information related to the charging rate of the storage battery 30, the output voltage of the solar panel 20 (i.e., the current charging efficiency of the storage battery 30 by the solar panel 20), and information related to a weather forecast around the vehicle used to predict the future output voltage of the solar panel 20 (i.e., the future charging efficiency of the storage battery 30 by the solar panel 20).

[0022] The determination unit 13 determines, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 12, whether or not it is necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar cell panel 20 in the storage battery 30.

[0023] For example, when the charging rate of the storage battery 30 is equal to or higher than a predetermined rate (e.g., 75%), the determination unit 13 determines that further charging of the storage battery 30 is unnecessary. The predetermined rate can be set arbitrarily. For example, when the vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle, the predetermined rate may be automatically set to a charging rate that can ensure a power source for the period until the vehicle 1 arrives at home.

[0024] Alternatively, the determination unit 13 may predict a transition in the charging rate of the storage battery 30 during the parking period of the vehicle 1 based on at least one of the current output voltage of the solar panel 20 and the future output voltage of the solar panel 20, and determine whether or not further charging of the storage battery 30 is necessary based on the predicted transition state of the charging rate of the storage battery 30. For example, if the storage battery 30 is fully charged in the early period of the parking period of the vehicle 1 and it is predicted that the storage battery 30 will not be charged from the middle to the later period of the parking period, power generation by the solar panel 20 will be wasted, and therefore the determination unit 13 determines that further charging of the storage battery 30 is unnecessary.

[0025] When the determination unit 13 determines that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel 20 in the storage battery 30, the notification unit 14 notifies the driver to switch and connect the charging cable 40 from the storage battery 30 to a power storage device outside the vehicle. The notification unit 14 may further notify at least any one of the information on the charging rate of the storage battery 30 and the charging rate of the storage battery 30 after the parking period has elapsed. The content of the notification by the notification unit 14 is, for example, output as a voice from a speaker in the vehicle or displayed on a monitor in the vehicle or a monitor of a mobile terminal owned by the user.

[0026] The driver, who knows the contents of the notification, can switch and connect the charging cable 40 from the storage battery 30 to an external power storage device of the vehicle 1. This enables the effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in vehicles that do not employ contactless charging technology.

[0027] (Operation of charging support device 10) Next, the operation of the charging support device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the charging support device 10.

[0028] First, the charging support device 10 detects that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or more by, for example, information input via a mobile terminal owned by the driver or an operation terminal in the vehicle (step S101). When the charging support device 10 detects that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period or more, the charging support device 10 acquires information related to the charging of the storage battery 30 (for example, the charging rate of the storage battery 30) (step S102). Then, based on the acquired information, the charging support device 10 determines whether or not it is necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar cell panel 20 in the storage battery 30 (step S103). For example, when the charging rate of the storage battery 30 is equal to or higher than a predetermined rate, the charging support device 10 determines that further charging of the storage battery 30 is unnecessary. Then, when the charging support device 10 determines that it is not necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar cell panel 20 in the storage battery 30, it notifies the driver to switch and connect the charging cable 40 from the storage battery 30 to a power storage device outside the vehicle (step S104).

[0029] In this way, when the charging assistance system according to the present embodiment determines that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar cell panel 20 in the storage battery 30, it notifies the driver to switch and connect the charging cable from the storage battery 30 to a power storage device external to the vehicle. The driver who receives the notification can switch the charging cable 40 from the storage battery 30 to a power storage device external to the vehicle. This makes it possible to effectively use the electricity generated by the solar cell panel 20 even in vehicles that do not employ contactless charging technology.

[0030] The charging support system according to the present embodiment may further include a mechanism for providing the driver with an incentive (money, points, or a complimentary coupon, etc.) according to the amount of electricity stored in the power storage device external to the vehicle. In this case, for example, the charging support device 10 may further include a management unit that manages the incentive according to the amount of electricity stored in the external power storage device. The management unit manages the destination of the incentive, etc. This is expected to encourage the driver to proactively charge the power storage device external to the vehicle.

[0031] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The present invention is also an invention related to the use of solar panels, and contributes to carbon neutrality, decarbonization, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

[0032] In addition, in the present disclosure, a part or all of the processing of the charging support device 10 can be realized by causing a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a computer program.

[0033] The above-mentioned program includes a set of instructions (or software code) for making the computer perform one or more functions described in the embodiment when the program is loaded into the computer. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or the tangible storage medium includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, a CD-ROM, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, a magnetic cassette, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or the communication medium includes an electrical, optical, acoustic, or other form of propagating signal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 vehicle 10 Charging support device 20. Solar Panels 30 Storage battery 40 Charging cable 11 Detection section 12 Acquisition Department 13. Judgment Department 14 Notification Department

Claims

1. A charging assistance system for a vehicle that is an electric vehicle, the vehicle including a solar panel attached to a vehicle body, and a storage battery that is connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and stores electricity generated by the solar panel, A detection unit that detects whether the vehicle is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period of time or longer; an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding charging of the storage battery when the detection unit detects that the vehicle is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period of time or longer; a determination unit that determines whether or not it is necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; a notification unit that, when the determination unit determines that it is not necessary to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, issues a notification to a driver to urge the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery; and Equipped with When the determination unit determines that the storage battery does not have enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home, it determines that it is necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, and when the determination unit determines that the storage battery has enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home, it determines that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery. Charging assistance system.

2. The acquisition unit further acquires at least one of an output voltage of the solar cell panel and information on a weather forecast around the vehicle for predicting a future output voltage of the solar cell panel. The charging assistance system according to claim 1 .

3. The detection unit detects that the vehicle is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period of time or longer based on at least one of information input via a mobile terminal owned by the driver and information input via an operation terminal mounted on the vehicle. The charging assistance system according to claim 1 .

4. A charging support method for a vehicle that is an electric vehicle including a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery that is connected to the solar cell panel via a charging cable and stores electricity generated by the solar cell panel, comprising: Detecting that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; When it is detected that the vehicle is scheduled to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more, information regarding charging of the storage battery is acquired. When it is determined based on the acquired information that the storage battery does not have enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home, it is determined that it is necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, and when it is determined that the storage battery has enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home, it is determined that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery; When it is determined that there is no need to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, a notification is given to the driver to urge the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery. Charging support method.

5. A control program for causing a computer to execute a charging assistance process for a vehicle that is an electric vehicle including a solar panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery that is connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and stores electricity generated by the solar panel, the control program comprising: detecting that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more; When it is detected that the vehicle is to be parked for a predetermined period of time or more, acquiring information regarding charging of the storage battery; a process of determining that it is necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery when it is determined based on the acquired information that the storage battery does not have enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home, and determining that it is not necessary to continue storing electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery when it is determined that the storage battery has enough electricity stored to drive the vehicle from the parking position to the home; When it is determined that there is no need to continue storing the electricity generated by the solar panel in the storage battery, a process of notifying a driver to prompt the driver to connect the charging cable to an external power storage device other than the storage battery; A control program that causes a computer to execute the above.

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