Charging control device and program

Abstract

To reduce occurrence of trouble due to charging to an electric automobile as compared with a case in which charging to the electric automobile is controlled based upon only electric energy grasped with one standard.SOLUTION: A first power consumption grasping part 61 grasps, based upon the output from a wattmeter 13 provided to facilities, a power consumption that the facilities have in every five minutes. A second power consumption grasping part 62 grasps cumulative electric energy which is a power consumption of the facilities from predetermined reference time. A control part 63 controls charging to an electric automobile by charging facilities 12 based upon an hourly power consumption which is the power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping part 61 and a cumulative power consumption which is the power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping part 62.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a process for setting charging time periods so that the electric vehicle with the longest charging time starts charging at the start time of the night power period, and the electric vehicle with the shortest charging time finishes charging at the end time of the night power period. Patent document 2 discloses a first charger / discharger having a first control unit that controls the charging power to a first storage battery so that the purchased power does not exceed a first set value and a change unit that changes the magnitude relationship between the first set value and a second set value based on an instruction, and a second charger / discharger having a second control unit that controls the charging power to a second storage battery so that the purchased power does not exceed the second set value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-80071 [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-110653 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a facility equipped with charging equipment for electric vehicles, for example, it is conceivable that charging of electric vehicles may be controlled based on the amount of power consumed by the facility so as not to exceed a contracted amount of power. If charging of electric vehicles is controlled based solely on the amount of power consumed determined by a single standard, there is a risk that problems will occur, such as the facility's contracted power amount being exceeded, despite charging being controlled. An object of the present invention is to reduce the occurrence of problems caused by charging an electric vehicle, compared to a case in which the charging of an electric vehicle is controlled based only on the amount of power grasped according to a single criterion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A charging control device to which the present invention is applicable is a charging control device comprising: a first power consumption grasping means for grasping the amount of power consumption of a facility equipped with charging equipment for electric vehicles, the first power consumption grasping means grasping the amount of power consumption during each predetermined time each time the predetermined time elapses; a second power consumption grasping means for grasping the amount of power consumption of the facility from a predetermined reference time; and a control means for controlling charging of the electric vehicle by the charging equipment based on the hourly power consumption which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping means and the cumulative power consumption which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping means.

[0006] Here, the charging facility may further include a required energy grasping means for grasping a required energy amount, which is the amount of energy required to charge non-charging electric vehicles, which are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility but not being charged by the charging facility, and the control means may be configured to charge all of the electric vehicles connected to the charging facility when a first post-addition amount of energy obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per specific time period to the required energy amount per specific time period does not exceed a predetermined threshold, and when a second post-addition amount of energy obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per specific time period to the required energy amount per specific time period does not exceed a predetermined threshold. In addition, the control means may prevent the charging of any of the electric vehicles when at least one of a condition that the first amount of electric power after addition exceeds the predetermined threshold and a condition that the second amount of electric power after addition exceeds the predetermined threshold is satisfied. The charging system may further include a supply power amount grasping means for grasping an amount of power supplied to an electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility, and the control means may stop charging of the electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: the amount of power obtained by subtracting the supply power amount per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold; and the amount of power obtained by subtracting the supply power amount per specific hour from the cumulative power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0007] The charging system may further include a required energy amount grasping means for grasping a required energy amount, which is an amount of energy necessary for charging a non-charging electric vehicle, which is an electric vehicle connected to the charging facility but not being charged by the charging facility, and a supplied energy amount grasping means for grasping an amount of energy supplied to an electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility, wherein the control means may be configured to charge some of the connected electric vehicles, which are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, when the amount of energy obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per first specific time to the required energy amount per first specific time exceeds a predetermined first threshold, a post-subtraction energy amount, which is an amount of energy obtained by subtracting the supplied energy amount per second specific time from the hourly power consumption per second specific time, does not exceed a predetermined second threshold, and a value obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per third specific time to the required energy amount per third specific time does not exceed a predetermined third threshold. The charging facility may further include a per-vehicle power amount grasping means for grasping the amount of power required to charge electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, which is the amount of power required to charge each electric vehicle, and the control means may grasp a quotient obtained by subtracting the post-subtraction power amount from the second threshold value and dividing the result by the per-vehicle power amount per second specific time as the number of connected electric vehicles, and may charge each of the grasped number of connected electric vehicles.

[0008] The control means may also be configured to grasp the time during which charging was performed by the charging facility for each of the connected electric vehicles, which are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, and select the grasped number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles based on the grasped time. The control means may select the identified number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles by giving priority to connected electric vehicles that have been charged by the charging facility for a short period of time. The control means may also grasp the charge amount of each connected electric vehicle, which is an electric vehicle connected to the charging facility, and select the grasped number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles based on the grasped charge amount. The control means may select the determined number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles, giving priority to connected electric vehicles with a small amount of charge.

[0009] When the present invention is considered as a program, the program to which the present invention is applicable is a program for causing a computer to realize a first power consumption grasping function that grasps the amount of power consumption of a facility equipped with charging equipment for electric vehicles, the first power consumption grasping function grasping the amount of power consumption during each predetermined time, a second power consumption grasping function that grasps the amount of power consumption of the facility from a predetermined reference time, and a control function that controls charging of the electric vehicle by the charging equipment based on the hourly power consumption, which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping function, and the cumulative power consumption, which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping function. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of problems caused by charging an electric vehicle, compared to a case where charging of an electric vehicle is controlled based only on the amount of power grasped according to one standard. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a charging system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functions of a charging control device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a charging control device. [Figure 4] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing a specific example of processing. [Diagram 5] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a process for determining whether or not to charge all electric vehicles based on only one of the added electric energy amounts. [Figure 6] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing another example of processing in which it is determined whether or not to charge all electric vehicles based on only one of the added electric energy amounts. [Figure 7] 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating another example of processing executed in the charging system of the present embodiment. [Figure 8]6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating another example of processing executed in the charging system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a charging system 1 according to the present embodiment. The charging system 1 of this embodiment is provided with a facility 10 in which a parking space S for an electric vehicle 3 is provided. The facility 10 is provided with a building 11 such as a residence or a building, charging equipment 12 for charging the electric vehicle 3, and a power meter 13 for monitoring the overall power consumption of the facility 10. The charging equipment 12 is provided with a plurality of chargers 15. Specifically, in this embodiment, three chargers 15, a first charger 151 to a third charger 153, are provided.

[0013] The charging system 1 of this embodiment is also provided with a charging control device 60 that controls the charging of the electric vehicle 3 parked in the facility 10. The facility 10 and the charging control device 60 are connected via a communication line such as an Internet line. The charging control device 60 may be provided at a location separate from the facility 10, or may be provided within the facility 10.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functions of the charging control device 60. As shown in FIG. The charging control device 60 includes a first power consumption amount grasping unit 61 , a second power consumption amount grasping unit 62 , a control unit 63 , a required power amount grasping unit 64 , a supplied power amount grasping unit 65 , and a per-unit power amount grasping unit 66 . The first power consumption amount grasping unit 61, which is an example of a first power consumption amount grasping means, grasps, every time a predetermined time has elapsed, the hourly power consumption amount, which is the amount of power consumption during this predetermined time.

[0015] Specifically, the first power consumption grasping unit 61 grasps the amount of power consumption consumed in the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during each five minutes, for example, based on the output from a power meter 13 installed in the facility 10 (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, a case where the predetermined time is 5 minutes will be described as an example, but this predetermined time is not limited to 5 minutes and may be other times than 5 minutes, such as 1 minute, 3 minutes, or 10 minutes.

[0016] The second power consumption determining unit 62, which is an example of a second power consumption determining means, determines the accumulated power consumption, which is the power consumption in the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) from a predetermined reference time. Here, examples of the predetermined reference time include 0 minutes past the hour and 30 minutes past the hour. The second power consumption determining unit 62 determines the accumulated power consumption in the facility 10 from 0 minutes past the hour and from 30 minutes past the hour, based on the output from the power meter 13 provided in the facility 10.

[0017] The control unit 63, as an example of a control means, controls the charging of the electric vehicle 3 by the charging equipment 12 based on the hourly power consumption, which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61, and the cumulative power consumption, which is the amount of power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62. In other words, the control unit 63 generates a control signal for controlling the charging facility 12 based on the hourly power consumption and the accumulated power consumption, and outputs the control signal to the charging facility 12. As a result, in this embodiment, charging of the electric vehicle 3 is performed by the charging facility 12.

[0018] The required power amount grasping unit 64, which is an example of a required power amount grasping means, grasps the required power amount, which is the amount of power required to charge a non-charging electric vehicle 3, which is an electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged. Specifically, the required energy grasping unit 64 grasps the required energy, which is the amount of energy required to charge a non-charging electric vehicle 3, which is an electric vehicle 3 that is connected to the charging facility 12 but is not being charged.

[0019] In this embodiment, information on the amount of power required for charging using one of the chargers 15 among the multiple chargers 15 provided in the charging equipment 12 is stored in an information storage device 202 (described later). The required power amount grasping unit 64 reads out information on this required power amount from the information storage device 202, and obtains information on this power amount (the power amount required for charging by one charger 15).

[0020] The required power grasping unit 64 then multiplies this amount of power required for charging using one charger 15 by the number of electric vehicles 3 not being charged, to grasp the required power, which is the amount of power required for charging the electric vehicles 3 not being charged. More specifically, the required energy grasping unit 64 first grasps the number of non-charging electric vehicles 3 based on information from the charging equipment 12. Then, the required energy grasping unit 64 multiplies the amount of energy required for charging using one charger 15 by this number of vehicles, and grasps the required energy, which is the amount of energy required for charging the non-charging electric vehicles 3. Alternatively, the required power amount grasping unit 64 may obtain information on the required power amount from, for example, the non-charging electric vehicle 3 connected to the charging facility 12.

[0021] The supplied power amount grasping unit 65, which is an example of a supplied power amount grasping means, grasps the amount of power supplied to the electric vehicle 3 being charged by the charging facility 12. Specifically, the supply power amount grasping unit 65 grasps the amount of supply power based on, for example, information from the charging facility 12 and the amount of power required to charge the electric vehicles 3, which is the amount of power required for charging one electric vehicle. More specifically, based on information from the charging facility 12, the supply electricity grasping unit 65 grasps the number of electric vehicles 3 that are actually being charged among the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12. Then, the supply power amount grasping unit 65 multiplies this number by the amount of power required to charge one unit to grasp the supply power amount.

[0022] More specifically, when this process is performed, for example, information on the amount of power required for charging each vehicle is stored in advance in the information storage device 202 (described later). The supply power amount grasping unit 65 then multiplies the number of electric vehicles 3 that are actually being charged by the amount of power required for charging each vehicle, obtained from the information storage device 202, to grasp the amount of supply power. Alternatively, the supply power amount grasping unit 65 may grasp the supply power amount based only on information from the charging facility 12. Specifically, the supply power amount grasping unit 65 may acquire information on the operation status of the charging facility 12 from the charging facility 12, and grasp the supply power amount based on the information on the operation status.

[0023] The per-vehicle power amount grasping unit 66, as an example of a per-vehicle power amount grasping means, grasps the per-vehicle power amount, which is the amount of power required to charge electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12, and is the amount of power required to charge each electric vehicle. Specifically, in this embodiment, information about the amount of power consumed by each vehicle is stored in advance in an information storage device 202 (described later), and the individual vehicle power consumption grasping unit 66 reads and obtains the information about the amount of power consumed by each vehicle from the information storage device 202.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the charging control device 60. As shown in FIG. The charging control device 60 includes an information processing unit 201, an information storage device 202 that stores information, and a network interface 203 that realizes communication via a LAN (=Local Area Network) cable or the like.

[0025] The information processing unit 201 is configured by a computer. The information processing unit 201 includes a CPU (=Central Processing Unit) 211 as an example of a processor. The information processing unit 201 also includes a ROM (=Read Only Memory) 212 in which software is stored, and a RAM (=Random Access Memory) 213 used as a work area. The information storage device 202 is realized by an existing device such as a hard disk drive, a semiconductor memory, or a magnetic tape. The information processing unit 201, the information storage device 202, and the network interface 203 are connected via a bus 206 and a signal line (not shown).

[0026] The program executed by CPU 211 may be provided to charging control device 60 in a state where it is stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk, etc.), an optical recording medium (optical disk, etc.), a magneto-optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, etc. In addition, the program executed by CPU 211 may be provided to charging control device 60 using a communication means such as the Internet.

[0027] In this embodiment, the CPU 211 executes a program stored in the ROM 212 or the information storage device 202, thereby realizing each of the functional units shown in FIG. In other words, in this embodiment, the CPU 211 executes programs stored in the ROM 212 or the information storage device 202, causing the information processing unit 201 to function as a first power consumption grasping unit 61, a second power consumption grasping unit 62, a control unit 63, a required power consumption grasping unit 64, a supplied power consumption grasping unit 65, and a per-unit power consumption grasping unit 66.

[0028] In this embodiment, the control unit 63 (see FIG. 2) controls the charging of the electric vehicle 3 by the charging equipment 12 based on the hourly power consumption, which is the power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61, and the accumulated power consumption, which is the power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62. More specifically, the control unit 63 determines which of the first to third states the state of the facility 10 corresponds to based on the hourly power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasp unit 61 and the cumulative power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasp unit 62. Then, the control unit 63 controls the charging of the electric vehicle 3 based on the identified state.

[0029] [First state] The control unit 63 determines that the state of the facility 10 is in the first state if the first electric energy amount after addition (described later) does not exceed a predetermined threshold and the second electric energy amount after addition (described later) does not exceed a predetermined threshold. In this case, the control unit 63 controls so that all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 are charged.

[0030] The first power amount after addition refers to the power amount obtained by adding the hourly power consumption amount per specific time period and the required power amount per specific time period. The second power amount after addition refers to the power amount obtained by adding the accumulated power consumption amount per specific time period and the required power amount per specific time period. Further, the required amount of power refers to the amount of power required to charge a non-charging electric vehicle 3, which is an electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged, as described above.

[0031] In this embodiment, a required power amount grasping unit 64, which is an example of a required power amount grasping means, grasps this required power amount. Specifically, as described above, the required power amount determining unit 64 determines the required power amount by multiplying the amount of power required for charging using one charger 15 by the number of electric vehicles 3 not being charged.

[0032] In this embodiment, the first power consumption determining unit 61 determines the hourly power consumption based on the output from the power meter 13. In this embodiment, the second power consumption determining unit 62 determines the cumulative power consumption based on the output from the power meter 13. Then, in this embodiment, the control unit 63 adds the hourly power consumption amount per specific time to the required power amount per specific time, and obtains a first power amount after addition. Furthermore, the control unit 63 adds the accumulated power consumption amount per specific time period to the required power amount per specific time period to obtain a second power amount after the addition.

[0033] Then, if the first amount of electric power after the addition does not exceed a predetermined threshold and the second amount of electric power after the addition does not exceed a predetermined threshold, the control unit 63 determines that the state of the facility 10 is in the first state. In this case, the control unit 63 controls so that all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 are charged.

[0034] 4(A) and (B) are diagrams showing a specific example of the process. The processing example shown in FIG. 4 illustrates a situation in which a total of three electric vehicles 3 are connected to the charging facility 12. In this processing example, as shown by reference symbol 4A in Fig. 4(A), two of the three electric vehicles 3 are in a state of being charged. In this processing example, a charging instruction that instructs the two electric vehicles 3 to be charged is output from the control unit 63, and the two electric vehicles 3 are in a state of being charged. In this processing example, as indicated by reference symbol 4B, one of the three electric vehicles 3 is not being charged.

[0035] The "Charging restricted" displayed in the field indicated by the symbol 4B indicates a state in which charging has been stopped (a state in which no charging instruction has been issued), and in this processing example, charging is not being performed on one of the three electric vehicles 3. In other words, in this processing example, there is one non-charging electric vehicle 3 that is connected to the charging facility 12 but is not being charged. Furthermore, in this processing example, the power required to charge this one non-chargeable electric vehicle 3 is 3 kW, as shown by reference symbol 4C in Fig. 4(A). Here, this 3 kW refers to the power required per hour.

[0036] In this case, the required amount of power grasped by the required amount of power grasping unit 64 is 3 kWh. More specifically, the required power amount grasping unit 64 reads the information 3 kWh from the information storage device 202, and then multiplies the number of non-charging electric vehicles 3, which is "1", by this 3 kWh. As a result, the required power amount determining unit 64 determines that the required power amount is 3 kWh.

[0037] In this processing example, the available power per hour in the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) is 83 kW, as shown by reference symbol 4D in Fig. 4(A). In this embodiment, this 83 kW is a threshold value, which will be described later. More specifically, in this embodiment, the contracted power of facility 10 (the entire facility 10) is 100 kW, but the available power, which is the power that can actually be used per hour, is 5 / 6 of this 100 kW, or 83 kW.

[0038] In this processing example, as shown in FIG. 4(B), a case is illustrated in which the hourly power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61 is 6 kWh. Specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 14:20 and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 6 kWh. In other words, in this processing example, the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 6 kWh.

[0039] Here, the amount of power consumption in the facility 10 is the sum of the amount of power consumption in the building 11 (see FIG. 1) and the amount of power consumption in the charging facility 12. The above-mentioned 6 kWh obtained as the hourly power consumption is the sum of the power consumption in the building 11 and the power consumption in the charging facility 12.

[0040] In this processing example, as shown in FIG. 4(B), a case is illustrated in which the accumulated power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62 is 25 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 14:20 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 14:00 to 14:20 is 25 kWh. In other words, in this processing example, the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the 20 minutes from 14:00 to 14:20 is 25 kWh. Here, similarly to the above, the cumulative power consumption is the sum of the power consumption in the building 11 and the power consumption in the charging facility 12.

[0041] In this processing example, the first power amount after addition obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required power amount per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 75 kWh. As mentioned above, the hourly power consumption is 6 kWh. The required power is 3 kWh. When the hourly power consumption of 6 kWh is converted to the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific period of time, it becomes 72 kWh. More specifically, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific period of time, is calculated using the formula 6kWh*(60 / 5), and is 72kWh.

[0042] Also, as described above, the required amount of electricity, 3 kWh, is originally the amount of electricity required per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific period of time. In this case, the first post-addition power amount obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required power amount per 60 minutes, which is the specific time, is 75 kWh.

[0043] In other words, the first power amount after addition obtained by adding the value after converting the hourly power consumption to the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes and the required power amount, which is originally the power amount per 60 minutes, is 75 kWh. In this case, the first amount of power after addition, 75 kWh, does not exceed the amount of available power, 83 kWh, which is an example of a predetermined threshold value.

[0044] In addition, in this processing example, the second amount of power after addition obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required amount of power per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 78 kWh. Specifically, the accumulated power consumption per 60 minutes is 75 kWh (=25 kWh*(60 / 20)), the required power amount per 60 minutes is 3 kWh, and the sum of these, the second power amount after addition, is 78 kWh. In this case, the second amount of energy after addition, 78 kWh, does not exceed the available amount of energy, 83 kWh, which is an example of a predetermined threshold value.

[0045] In this way, when each of the first and second amounts of energy after addition does not exceed the available amount of energy of 83 kWh, the control unit 63 determines that the state of the facility 10 is in the first state. In this case, the control unit 63 controls so that all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 are charged. In other words, in this case, the control unit 63 controls so that the one electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged is also charged.

[0046] If the first amount of power after addition and the second amount of power after addition each do not exceed the available amount of power, even if the non-charging electric vehicle 3 is charged, the available amount of power will not be exceeded, and in this case it can be said that there is a surplus of power. In this way, if each of the first electric energy amount after addition and the second electric energy amount after addition does not exceed the available electric energy amount, the control unit 63 turns on all chargers 15 so that charging is performed on all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging equipment 12.

[0047] On the other hand, when at least one of the above two conditions is satisfied, the control unit 63 prevents charging of any of the electric vehicles 3. In other words, when at least one of the conditions that the first amount of electric power after the addition exceeds a predetermined threshold value of 83 kWh and the second amount of electric power after the addition exceeds a predetermined threshold value of 83 kWh is satisfied, the control unit 63 prevents charging of any of the electric vehicles 3.

[0048] If at least one of the two conditions is met, starting to charge the uncharged electric vehicle 3 may result in the available energy amount exceeding 83 kWh. In other words, there is a risk of exceeding the contracted energy amount. For this reason, in this embodiment, when at least one of the above two conditions is satisfied, charging of all electric vehicles 3 is prevented. In other words, when at least one of the above two conditions is satisfied, charging of the non-charging electric vehicle 3 is prevented.

[0049] In this embodiment, if the first amount of power after the addition does not exceed a predetermined threshold value and the second amount of power after the addition does not exceed a predetermined threshold value, all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 are charged. In other words, in this embodiment, if each of the two added electric power amounts, the first added electric power amount and the second added electric power amount, does not exceed a predetermined threshold, all electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 are charged.

[0050] Here, a case will be considered in which it is determined whether or not to charge all of the electric vehicles 3 based on only one of the two added electric energy amounts. In this case, compared to the case where both of the two added power amounts are used, a situation where the power consumption amount in the facility 10 exceeds the available power amount is more likely to occur. In other words, in this case, the power consumption amount in the facility 10 is more likely to exceed the contracted power amount, compared to the case where both of the two added power amounts are used.

[0051] 5(A) and (B) are diagrams showing a processing example in which it is determined whether or not to charge all electric vehicles 3 based on only one of the added electric energy amounts. In the processing example shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 5(B), a case is exemplified in which the current time is 14:20 and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 6 kWh. In other words, in this processing example, the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 6 kWh.

[0052] In this processing example, the accumulated power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62 is 30 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 14:20 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 14:00 to 14:20 is 30 kWh. In other words, this processing example illustrates a case where the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the 20 minutes from 14:00 to 14:20 is 30 kWh.

[0053] In addition, in this processing example, the required amount of power grasped by the required amount of power grasping unit 64 is 3 kWh, similarly to the above. More specifically, in this processing example as well, there is one electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged, as indicated by reference symbol 5A in Fig. 5(A). Therefore, the amount of power required to charge the electric vehicle 3 is 3 kWh. In this processing example, similarly to the above, the contracted power is 100 kW and the available power is 83 kW.

[0054] In this processing example, the first power amount after addition obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required power amount per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 75 kWh. Specifically, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is calculated as 6 kWh * (60 / 5), which is 72 kWh. The required power per 60 minutes is 3 kWh. Therefore, the first power amount after addition is 75 kWh. In this case, the first amount of power after addition, 75 kWh, does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, 83 kWh.

[0055] On the other hand, in this processing example, the second amount of power after addition obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required amount of power per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 93 kWh. Specifically, the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes is calculated as 30 kWh * (60 / 20), which is 90 kWh. The required power per 60 minutes is 3 kWh. Therefore, the second power amount after addition is 93 kWh. In this case, the second amount of power after addition, 93 kWh, exceeds the predetermined threshold value, 83 kWh.

[0056] Here, if it is determined whether or not to charge all electric vehicles 3 based only on the first amount of power after addition, as described above, a situation may occur in which the second amount of power after addition exceeds a predetermined threshold and exceeds the contracted power. In other words, if it is determined whether or not to charge all electric vehicles 3 based only on the first amount of power after addition, a situation may occur in which charging of an electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged begins, causing the amount of power used in the facility 10 to exceed the contracted amount of power.

[0057] In contrast to this, in the case of the present embodiment, when the power consumption is based on both the first power amount after addition and the second power amount after addition, it is detected that the second power amount after addition exceeds the available power amount. In this case, the non-charging electric vehicle 3 is not charged, and the amount of power used in the facility 10 is less likely to exceed the contracted amount of power.

[0058] 6(A) and (B) are diagrams showing another example of processing in which it is determined whether or not to charge all of the electric vehicles 3 based on only one of the added electric energy amounts. In this processing example, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the current time is 14:20, and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 8 kWh. In other words, in this processing example, the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the five minutes from 14:15 to 14:20 is 8 kWh.

[0059] In this processing example, the accumulated power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62 is 20 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 14:20 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 14:00 to 14:20 is 20 kWh. In other words, in this processing example, the amount of power consumption of the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) during the 20 minutes from 14:00 to 14:20 is 20 kWh.

[0060] Also in this processing example, the required power amount grasped by the required power amount grasping unit 64 is 3 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example as well, as indicated by reference symbol 6A in FIG. 6(A), there is one electric vehicle 3 that is not being charged, and in this case, the amount of power required to charge the electric vehicle 3 is 3 kWh. In this processing example, the contracted power is 100 kW, as in the above, and the available power is 83 kW.

[0061] In this processing example, the first power amount after addition obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required power amount per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 99 kWh. Specifically, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is calculated as 8 kWh * (60 / 5), which is 96 kWh. The required power per 60 minutes is 3 kWh. Therefore, the sum of these, the first power amount after addition, is 99 kWh. In this case, the first power amount after addition, 99 kWh, exceeds the predetermined threshold value, 83 kWh.

[0062] In addition, in this processing example, the second amount of power after addition obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required amount of power per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 63 kWh. Specifically, the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes is calculated as 20kWh * (60 / 20), which is 60kWh. The required power per 60 minutes is 3kWh. Therefore, the second power amount after addition is 63kWh. In this case, the second amount of power after addition, 63 kWh, does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, 83 kWh.

[0063] Here, if a decision is made as to whether or not to charge all electric vehicles 3 based solely on the second amount of power after addition, as described above, a situation may arise in which the first amount of power after addition exceeds a predetermined threshold and the contracted power is exceeded. In other words, if it is determined whether or not to charge all electric vehicles 3 based solely on the added second amount of electricity, a situation may arise in which charging of a non-charging electric vehicle 3 begins and the amount of electricity used in the facility 10 exceeds the contracted amount of electricity.

[0064] In contrast to this, in the case of the present embodiment, when the power consumption is based on both the first power amount after addition and the second power amount after addition, it is detected that the first power amount after addition exceeds the available power. In this case, the non-charging electric vehicle 3 is not charged, and the amount of power used in the facility 10 is less likely to exceed the contracted amount of power.

[0065] In the present embodiment, the specific time period is 60 minutes as an example. However, the specific time period may be other than 60 minutes, such as 10 minutes or 30 minutes. Furthermore, the specific time serving as a reference for unit conversion when obtaining the first power amount after addition and the specific time serving as a reference for unit conversion when obtaining the second power amount after addition may be different.

[0066] It is only necessary that the unit conversion standards are consistent when determining the first power amount after addition, and that the unit conversion standards are consistent when determining the second power amount after addition. The specific time serving as the reference for unit conversion when obtaining the first power amount after addition and the specific time serving as the reference for unit conversion when obtaining the second power amount after addition may be different. In other words, the unit time used as a reference for comparing the amounts of power may be different. More specifically, the unit time used as a reference for comparing the first amount of power after addition with the threshold may be different from the unit time used as a reference for comparing the second amount of power after addition with the threshold.

[0067] Here, for example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the specific time period that is the basis for unit conversion when calculating the first power amount after addition is 30 minutes. In this case, the hourly power consumption per 30 minutes is 36 kWh (= 6 kWh * (30 / 5)), the required amount of electricity per 30 minutes is 1.5 kWh (= 3 kWh * (30 / 60)), and the sum of these, the first amount of electricity after addition, is 37.5 kWh. In this case, the amount of available electricity per 30 minutes is 41.5 kWh (= 83 kWh / 2). In this case, the first amount of power after addition, 37.5 kWh, does not exceed the available amount of power, 41.5 kWh, which is an example of a predetermined threshold value.

[0068] Also, for example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the specific time period that is the basis for unit conversion when calculating the second amount of power after addition is 10 minutes. If the specific time used as the basis for unit conversion when calculating the second amount of power after addition is 10 minutes, the cumulative power consumption per 10 minutes is 12.5 kWh (= 25 kWh * (10 / 20)). Also, the required amount of power per 10 minutes is 0.5 kWh (= 3 kWh * (10 / 60)). In this case, the second amount of power after addition is 13 kWh. In this case, the available power per 10 minutes is 13.8 kWh (= 83 kWh * (10 / 60)). In this case, the second amount of energy after addition, 13 kWh, does not exceed the available amount of energy, 13.8 kWh, which is an example of a predetermined threshold value.

[0069] [Second state] The control unit 63 determines that the state of the facility 10 is in the second state when at least one of two conditions is satisfied: the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold, and the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific hour from the cumulative power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold. In this case, the control unit 63 stops charging the electric vehicle 3 that is being charged by the charging facility 12.

[0070] This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 7(A) to (C) are diagrams illustrating another example of the process executed in the charging system 1 of the present embodiment. In the processing example shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 7(B), a case is illustrated in which the hourly power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61 is 8 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 15:10 and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 15:05 to 15:10 is 8 kWh.

[0071] In this processing example, the accumulated power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62 is 14 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 15:10 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 15:00 to 15:10 is 14 kWh.

[0072] In this processing example, the amount of supplied power grasped by the supplied power amount grasping unit 65, which is an example of a supplied power amount grasping means, is 6 kWh. In this processing example, as shown by symbol 7A in Figure 7(A), there are two electric vehicles 3 that are currently being charged, and the power supplied to these two electric vehicles 3 is 6 kW (= 3 kW + 3 kW). In this case, the supply power amount grasping unit 65 grasps the supply power amount as 6 kWh. This 6 kWh is the supply power amount per hour. In this processing example, similarly to the above, the contracted power is 100 kW, and the available power is 83 kW.

[0073] In this processing example shown in Figures 7(A) and (B), the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, from the amount of power consumed per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 90 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is 96 kWh (=8 kWh*(60 / 5)), and the power supply amount per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time period, is 6 kWh. In this case, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific hour, 6 kWh, from the amount of power consumed per specific hour, 96 kWh, is 90 kWh.

[0074] Here, this 90 kWh, which is the amount of electricity obtained by subtracting the amount of electricity supplied per specific hour from the hourly electricity consumption per specific hour, is the amount of electricity consumed in building 11 (see Figure 1) per specific hour. This amount of power, 90 kWh, exceeds the predetermined threshold of 83 kWh, and the first condition of exceeding the predetermined threshold is satisfied. In other words, in this processing example, the first condition is satisfied that the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supply per specific time from the amount of hourly power consumption per specific time exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0075] In this case, since there is a risk of exceeding the contracted power, in this embodiment, the control unit 63 stops charging the electric vehicle 3 that is being charged by the charging facility 12. In this processing example, the building 11 alone is consuming power that may exceed the available power. For this reason, in this case, in this embodiment, charging of all electric vehicles 3 that are being charged by the charging equipment 12 is stopped.

[0076] In addition, in this processing example, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific time from the amount of accumulated power consumption per specific time is 78 kWh. In this processing example, the accumulated power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time period, is 84 kWh (=14 kWh*(60 / 10)), and the power supply amount per specific time period is 6 kWh. In this case, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of supplied power, 6 kWh, from the cumulative power consumption, 84 kWh, is 78 kWh.

[0077] In this case, the second condition that the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supply per specific time from the cumulative amount of power consumption per specific time exceeds the predetermined threshold (83 kWh) is not met. However, in this processing example, since the first condition is satisfied as described above, the control unit 63 stops charging all electric vehicles 3 that are currently being charged by the charging equipment 12.

[0078] Another processing example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7C illustrates an example in which the hourly power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61 is 7 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 16:15 and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 16:10 to 16:15 is 7 kWh.

[0079] In this processing example, the accumulated power consumption grasped by the second power consumption grasping unit 62 is 23 kWh. More specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 16:15 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 16:00 to 16:15 is 23 kWh.

[0080] In this processing example shown in Figure 7 (C), the amount of electricity obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, from the amount of power consumed per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 78 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is 84 kWh (=7 kWh*(60 / 5)), and the power supply amount per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time period, is 6 kWh. In this case, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific hour, 6 kWh, from the amount of power consumed per specific hour, 84 kWh, is 78 kWh.

[0081] Here, this amount of electricity, 78 kWh, obtained by subtracting the amount of electricity supplied per specific hour from the hourly electricity consumption per specific hour, is the amount of electricity consumed in building 11 per specific hour. In this embodiment, the amount of available power per particular time, which is the predetermined threshold, is 83 kWh.

[0082] In this case, the first condition that the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supply per specific time from the hourly power consumption per specific time exceeds a predetermined threshold is not met. Specifically, the amount of electricity of 78 kWh obtained by subtracting the amount of electricity supplied per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour does not exceed the predetermined threshold of 83 kWh, and therefore the first condition of exceeding the predetermined threshold is not satisfied.

[0083] In addition, in this processing example, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific time from the amount of accumulated power consumption per specific time is 86 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 92 kWh (= 23 kWh * (60 / 15)), and the power supply amount per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 6 kWh. By subtracting the supplied amount of electricity, 6 kWh, from the cumulative power consumption, 92 kWh, the total amount of electricity obtained is 86 kWh.

[0084] In this case, the second condition is met that the amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of power supplied per specific time period from the amount of accumulated power consumption per specific time period exceeds a predetermined threshold value. In this processing example, the first condition is not met, but the second condition is met. In this case, the control unit 63 stops charging all electric vehicles 3 that are currently being charged by the charging equipment 12.

[0085] Here, a case has been described in which only one of the two conditions, the first condition and the second condition, is satisfied and the other condition is not satisfied. In this case, as described above, the control unit 63 stops charging all electric vehicles 3 that are currently being charged by the charging equipment 12. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and even if both of the two conditions are satisfied, charging of all electric vehicles 3 being charged by the charging facility 12 is stopped.

[0086] As another processing example, a process may be considered in which charging of the electric vehicle 3 is stopped when both the first condition and the second condition are met, and charging of the electric vehicle 3 is continued when only one of the conditions is met. However, stopping the charging of the electric vehicle 3 when at least one of the two conditions is satisfied makes it less likely that the power consumption will exceed the contracted power, compared to stopping the charging when both of the two conditions are satisfied. As described above, the specific time when subtracting the amount of power supply per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour may be different from the specific time when subtracting the amount of power supply per specific hour from the cumulative power consumption per specific hour.

[0087] [Third state] The control unit 63 determines that the state of the facility 10 is in the third state if the amount of electricity obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per specific hour to the amount of electricity required per specific hour exceeds a predetermined first threshold, the amount of electricity after subtraction, which is the amount of electricity obtained by subtracting the amount of electricity supplied per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour, does not exceed a predetermined second threshold, and the value obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per specific hour to the amount of electricity required per specific hour does not exceed a predetermined third threshold.

[0088] In this case, the control unit 63 controls so that some of the connected electric vehicles 3, which are the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12, are charged. In this embodiment, when neither the first nor second state applies, the system goes to a third state, in which some of the connected electric vehicles 3 are charged.

[0089] In the third state, if charging were to be performed on the non-charging electric vehicles 3 (if charging were to be performed on all electric vehicles 3), the amount of electricity consumed in the facility 10 (the entire facility 10) would exceed the available electricity amount, which is a predetermined threshold value. On the other hand, in the third state, the amount of power consumed only by the building 11 does not exceed the predetermined threshold, and there is a surplus of power. Furthermore, in the third state, the accumulated power consumption is not so large as to reach a predetermined threshold value, and there is a margin of power. In this case, in this embodiment, some of the connected electric vehicles 3 are charged.

[0090] This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating another example of the process executed in the charging system 1. In FIG. In this processing example shown in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 8(B), a case is illustrated in which the hourly power consumption grasped by the first power consumption grasping unit 61 is 7 kWh. Specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 17:00 and the hourly power consumption during the five minutes from 16:55 to 17:00 is 7 kWh.

[0091] In addition, in this processing example, the case where the accumulated power consumption, which is the power consumption amount grasped by the second power consumption amount grasping unit 62, is 38 kWh is illustrated. Specifically, this processing example illustrates a case where the current time is 17:00 and the accumulated power consumption from the reference time of 16:30 to 17:00 is 38 kWh.

[0092] In this processing example, the required amount of power grasped by the required amount of power grasping unit 64 is 3 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, as indicated by reference symbol 8A in Fig. 8(A), there is one non-charging electric vehicle 3, which is an electric vehicle 3 that is connected to the charging facility 12 but is not being charged. In this case, the amount of power required to charge this one non-charging electric vehicle 3 is 3 kWh.

[0093] In this processing example, the amount of supplied power grasped by the supplied power amount grasping unit 65 is 6 kWh. More specifically, in this processing example, there are two electric vehicles 3 being charged, as indicated by reference symbol 8B in Fig. 8(A). In this case, the amount of supplied power grasped by the supplied power amount grasping unit 65 is 6 kWh. In this processing example, the contracted power is 100 kW, as in the above, and the available power is 83 kW.

[0094] In this processing example, the amount of power obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the amount of power required per 60 minutes, which is this specific time, is 87 kWh, which exceeds the predetermined first threshold of 83 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is 84 kWh (=7 kWh*(60 / 5)), and the required power amount per 60 minutes is 3 kWh.

[0095] In this case, the amount of electricity obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the amount of electricity required per 60 minutes, which is a specific time, is 87 kWh, which exceeds the predetermined first threshold of 83 kWh. This means that if the non-charging electric vehicles 3 that are not being charged are charged and all the electric vehicles 3 are charged, the available power will be exceeded. In other words, this means that there is not enough power to charge all the electric vehicles 3, including the non-charging electric vehicles 3.

[0096] In addition, in this processing example, the subtracted power amount obtained by subtracting the supplied power amount per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, from the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 78 kWh, which does not exceed 83 kWh, which is an example of the predetermined second threshold. Specifically, in this processing example, the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes is 84 kWh (=7 kWh*(60 / 5)), and the power supply amount per 60 minutes is 6 kWh.

[0097] In this case, the amount of electricity (electricity amount after subtraction) obtained by subtracting the amount of electricity supplied per 60 minutes from the hourly power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific period of time, is 78 kWh, which does not exceed 83 kWh, which is an example of the predetermined second threshold value. In other words, in this processing example, the power consumed only by the building 11 is 78 kWh, which is less than the available power amount of 83 kWh. In this case, there is a surplus of power for charging the electric vehicle 3.

[0098] In addition, in this processing example, the value obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, to the required power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of this specific time, is 79 kWh, which does not exceed the predetermined third threshold of 83 kWh. Specifically, in this processing example, the cumulative power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 76 kWh (=38 kWh*(60 / 30)). Also, the required power consumption per 60 minutes, which is an example of a specific time, is 3 kWh.

[0099] In this case, the value obtained by adding the accumulated power consumption amount and the required power amount is 79 kWh, which does not exceed the third threshold value of 83 kWh. In this case, the actual power consumption value does not exceed a predetermined threshold value, and a power margin exists. In the above state, in this embodiment, the control unit 63 causes some of the connected electric vehicles 3, which are the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12, to be charged.

[0100] As described above, each of the specific times that serve as the basis for unit conversion may all be the same length of time, such as 60 minutes, or each of the specific times may be different lengths of time. In other words, in this processing example, there are three specific times, and these three specific times may all be the same time or may be different from each other. Also, for example, two of these three specific times may be the same and the other specific time may be different.

[0101] In this embodiment, there is a specific time (hereinafter referred to as the "first specific time") that serves as the basis for unit conversion when determining whether the amount of power obtained by adding the hourly power consumption and the required amount of power exceeds the first threshold. In addition, in this embodiment, there is a specific time (hereinafter referred to as the "second specific time") that serves as the basis for unit conversion performed when determining whether the subtracted power amount obtained by subtracting the supplied power amount from the hourly power consumption amount exceeds the second threshold.

[0102] In addition, in this embodiment, there is a specific time (hereinafter referred to as the "third specific time") that serves as the basis for unit conversion when determining whether the value obtained by adding the accumulated power consumption amount and the required power amount exceeds the third threshold. That is, in this embodiment, there are three specific times: a first specific time, a second specific time, and a third specific time. The first to third specific times may be the same or different from each other. Furthermore, two of the first to third specific times may be the same and the other specific time may be different.

[0103] When the state of the facility 10 is in the third state and charging is to be performed on some of the connected electric vehicles 3, the control unit 63 determines the number of the some of the electric vehicles 3 based on a value obtained by subtracting the post-subtraction electric energy from the second threshold (hereinafter referred to as the "post-subtraction value"). In other words, in this case, the control unit 63 subtracts the post-subtraction power amount, which indicates the amount of power consumed only in the building 11, from the second threshold value, which indicates the amount of available power, to determine the amount of power that can be used to charge the electric vehicles 3. Then, based on this determined amount of power, the control unit 63 determines the number of the above-mentioned partial electric vehicles 3.

[0104] More specifically, in this case, the control unit 63 determines the quotient obtained by dividing the above-mentioned subtracted value by the amount of power per vehicle, which is the amount of power required to charge the electric vehicles 3, as the number of electric vehicles 3 in the part. More specifically, in this case, the control unit 63 grasps the quotient obtained by dividing the above-mentioned post-subtraction value by the electric energy per vehicle per second specific time as the number of the electric vehicles 3 in the part. Then, the control unit 63 controls so that each of the identified number of electric vehicles 3 is charged.

[0105] More specifically, in grasping the number of vehicles, first, the per-vehicle power amount grasping unit 66, which is an example of grasping means, grasps the per-vehicle power amount. That is, the per-vehicle power amount grasping unit 66 grasps the amount of power required for charging electric vehicles 3 connected to charging facility 12, that is, the amount of power required for charging per vehicle. Next, the control unit 63 divides the value after subtraction by the amount of electric power per vehicle per second specific time, and grasps the quotient obtained by this division as the number of electric vehicles 3 in the part. Then, the control unit 63 controls so that each of the identified number of electric vehicles 3 is charged.

[0106] Specifically, in this processing example, the second threshold is, for example, 83 kWh as described above. Also, in this processing example, the amount of power after subtraction is, for example, 78 kWh as described above. Furthermore, it is assumed that the amount of power per unit is, for example, 3 kWh. In this case, the value after subtraction is 5kWh (=83kWh-78kWh). In this case, the value after subtraction (5 kWh), which is the amount of power per 60 minutes, which is an example of the second specific time, is divided by the amount of power per device per 60 minutes, which is an example of the second specific time (= 3 kWh). In this case, the quotient obtained by this division is "1". In this case, the control unit 63 grasps the number of electric vehicles 3 as one.

[0107] Next, the control unit 63 selects some of the electric vehicles 3 to be charged. In other words, the control unit 63 selects some of the electric vehicles 3 to be charged by turning on the charger 15 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, in this processing example, the control unit 63 selects one electric vehicle 3. In making this selection, the control unit 63, for example, grasps the time during which charging by the charging facility 12 was performed for each of the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12. Then, the control unit 63 selects some of the electric vehicles 3 (one electric vehicle 3 in this processing example) based on the grasped time.

[0108] Specifically, the control unit 63 selects some of the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging equipment 12, for example, by giving priority to electric vehicles 3 that have been charged by the charging equipment 12 for a short period of time. In other words, in this case, the control unit 63 selects the electric vehicles 3 in ascending order of the charging time, and selects the part of the electric vehicles 3 described above.

[0109] To explain this more specifically with reference to Fig. 8(C), in the processing example shown in Fig. 8(C), the charging time for the electric vehicle 3 connected to the third charger 153 is 1 hour. The charging time for the electric vehicle 3 connected to the second charger 152 is 2 hours. The charging time for the electric vehicle 3 connected to the first charger 151 is 3 hours. In this case, the control unit 63 selects the electric vehicles 3 connected to the third charger 153 as the part of the electric vehicles 3 to be charged.

[0110] In this case, the control unit 63 turns on the third charger 153 and turns off the remaining chargers 15, that is, the first charger 151 and the second charger 152. In other words, the control unit 63 turns on the chargers 15 to which some of the electric vehicles 3 to be charged are connected, and turns off the remaining chargers 15.

[0111] As another processing example, the control unit 63 may, for example, grasp the charge amount of each electric vehicle 3 connected to the charging facility 12, and select some electric vehicles 3 from among the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12 based on the grasped charge amount. Specifically, in this case, the control unit 63 selects some of the electric vehicles 3 connected to the charging facility 12, for example, by giving priority to electric vehicles 3 with a small amount of charge. In other words, in this case, the control unit 63 selects the electric vehicles 3 in ascending order of the amount of charge of the electric vehicles 3, and selects the part of the electric vehicles 3 described above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 3...electric vehicle, 10...facility, 12...charging equipment, 60...charging control device, 61...first power consumption grasping unit, 62...second power consumption grasping unit, 63...control unit, 64...required power amount grasping unit, 65...supplied power amount grasping unit, 66...per-vehicle power amount grasping unit

Claims

1. a first power consumption grasping means for grasping an amount of power consumption of a facility equipped with an electric vehicle charging facility, the first power consumption grasping means grasping an amount of power consumption during a predetermined time each time the predetermined time elapses; A second power consumption grasping means for grasping the power consumption of the facility from a predetermined reference time; a control means for controlling charging of the electric vehicle by the charging facility based on the hourly power consumption amount that is the power consumption amount grasped by the first power consumption amount grasping means and the accumulated power consumption amount that is the power consumption amount grasped by the second power consumption amount grasping means; A charging control device comprising:

2. a required power amount grasping means for grasping a required power amount which is an amount of power required for charging a non-charging electric vehicle which is an electric vehicle connected to the charging facility and not being charged by the charging facility, 2. The charging control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls so that all electric vehicles connected to the charging facility are charged when a first amount of power after addition obtained by adding together the hourly power consumption per specific time period and the required amount of power per specific time period does not exceed a predetermined threshold, and when a second amount of power after addition obtained by adding together the cumulative power consumption per specific time period and the required amount of power per specific time period does not exceed a predetermined threshold.

3. 3. The charging control device according to claim 2, wherein the control means prevents the charging of all of the electric vehicles when at least one of a condition that the first amount of electric power after the addition exceeds the predetermined threshold and a condition that the second amount of electric power after the addition exceeds the predetermined threshold is satisfied.

4. The charging facility further includes a supply power amount ascertaining means for ascertaining an amount of power supplied to the electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility, 2. The charging control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means stops charging of the electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: an amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of supplied power per specific hour from the hourly power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold; and an amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of supplied power per specific hour from the cumulative power consumption per specific hour exceeds a predetermined threshold.

5. a required power ascertaining means for ascertaining a required power amount that is an amount of power required for charging a non-charging electric vehicle, which is an electric vehicle that is connected to the charging facility and is not being charged by the charging facility; a supply power amount grasping means for grasping an amount of power supplied to the electric vehicle being charged by the charging facility; Further equipped with 2. The charging control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls charging of some of the connected electric vehicles, which are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, when the amount of power obtained by adding the hourly power consumption per first specific time to the required amount of power per first specific time exceeds a predetermined first threshold, a post-subtraction amount of power obtained by subtracting the supplied amount of power per second specific time from the hourly power consumption per second specific time does not exceed a predetermined second threshold, and a value obtained by adding the cumulative power consumption per third specific time to the required amount of power per third specific time does not exceed a predetermined third threshold.

6. The charging facility further includes a vehicle-by-vehicle power amount grasping means for grasping a per-vehicle power amount which is a power amount required for charging an electric vehicle connected to the charging facility, the per-vehicle power amount being a power amount required for charging one electric vehicle; 6. The charging control device according to claim 5, wherein the control means determines a quotient value obtained by subtracting the post-subtraction electric energy from the second threshold value and dividing the value by the electric energy per vehicle per second specific time as the number of connected electric vehicles of the part, and causes charging to be performed on each of the determined number of connected electric vehicles.

7. 7. The charging control device according to claim 6, wherein the control means grasps, for each of the connected electric vehicles that are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, a time during which charging by the charging facility was performed, and selects from the connected electric vehicles the grasped number of connected electric vehicles based on the grasped time.

8. 8. The charging control device according to claim 7, wherein the control means selects the determined number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles by giving priority to connected electric vehicles that have been charged by the charging facility for a short period of time.

9. 7. The charging control device according to claim 6, wherein the control means grasps a charge amount of each of connected electric vehicles that are electric vehicles connected to the charging facility, and selects the grasped number of connected electric vehicles from among the connected electric vehicles based on the grasped charge amount.

10. 10. The charging control device according to claim 9, wherein the control means selects the determined number of connected electric vehicles by giving priority to connected electric vehicles with a small amount of charge from among the connected electric vehicles.

11. a first power consumption grasping function for grasping the power consumption of a facility equipped with an electric vehicle charging facility, the first power consumption grasping function grasping the power consumption during a predetermined time each time the predetermined time elapses; A second power consumption grasping function that grasps the power consumption of the facility from a predetermined reference time; a control function that controls charging of the electric vehicle by the charging facility based on the hourly power consumption, which is the power consumption amount grasped by a first power consumption grasping function, and the accumulated power consumption, which is the power consumption amount grasped by a second power consumption grasping function; A program to make the above happen on a computer.

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