Charging control device

Abstract

To provide a charge controller capable of preventing occurrence of imbalance between phases when a vehicle having a battery is charged.SOLUTION: A charge controller comprises a processor configured so as to acquire, when a vehicle having a chargeable battery is connected to any one of a plurality of single-phase chargers connected to each phase of three-phase AC, a scheduled starting time of the vehicle and a charged quantity of the battery, to control the chargers so that the three-phase AC is balanced in response to the scheduled starting time and the charged quantity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging control device.

Background Art

[0002] When power is transmitted from a power system by three-phase alternating current, if a correlation imbalance occurs in which the loads of the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase are biased, the burden on the substation increases and the power transmission efficiency also decreases, which is not preferable. Patent Document 1 discloses a control device that suppresses the occurrence of correlation imbalance by controlling the load on the consumer side.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, when charging a vehicle having a battery, various vehicles are connected to the charger. In the technology of Patent Document 1, since it is required that the load on the consumer side can be controlled, it is difficult to apply it to charging a vehicle.

[0005] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how a conventional charging control device controls the charging start time and charging end time of each charger. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that chargers A to C, D to F, and G to I are connected to the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase of three-phase alternating current, respectively, and vehicles equipped with batteries are sequentially connected to these chargers A to I, and the batteries are charged. In Table T16, the time when vehicles are connected to chargers A to I is indicated by dot hatching, and the time when charging is being performed is indicated by diagonal hatching.

[0006] A conventional charging control device starts charging in the order in which vehicles are connected to chargers A to I. Assuming that 6 kW of power is required to charge each vehicle and that chargers A to C charge the vehicles between 9:00 and 10:00, as shown in Table T26, a load of 18 kW is applied only to the U phase, resulting in a correlation imbalance.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a charging control device capable of preventing a correlation imbalance from occurring when charging a vehicle having a battery.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] When a vehicle having a rechargeable battery is connected to any one of a plurality of single-phase chargers connected to each phase of a three-phase alternating current, the charging control device according to the present disclosure acquires the scheduled shipping time of the vehicle and the charge amount of the battery, and is configured to control the charger so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced according to the scheduled shipping time and the charge amount. It includes a processor.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to realize a charging control device capable of preventing a correlation imbalance from occurring when charging a vehicle having a battery.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] The charging control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced and are easy for those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0012] 〔Schematic Configuration of Charging System〕 FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a charging system according to an embodiment. The charging system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a charging control device 2, a plurality of chargers A to I, and vehicles 31 to 39 respectively connected to the chargers A to I. The number of chargers and vehicles may be plural, and the number is not particularly limited. The charging control device 2 and the chargers A to I are each capable of communicating via a network N. The network N is composed of, for example, an Internet line network, a mobile phone line network, or the like.

[0013] The charging control device 2 is configured using a server or the like and controls the charging from the chargers A to I to the vehicles 31 to 39.

[0014] Chargers A to I are connected to any one of the U-phase, V-phase, or W-phase of the three-phase alternating current, and supply the electric power from the power grid to the batteries mounted on vehicles 31 to 39. However, Chargers A to I may be connected between any of the UV, VW, or WU of the three-phase alternating current. In addition, Chargers A to I may have a function of supplying the electric power discharged from the battery of vehicle 31 to the power grid. When vehicle 31 is connected under the control of the charge control device 2, Charger A acquires the scheduled departure time and the SoC (State Of Charge) of vehicle 31, and outputs the acquired scheduled departure time and SoC to the charge control device 2. Chargers B to I may have the same configuration as Charger A.

[0015] Vehicle 31 is a vehicle having a rechargeable battery, and is realized by using any one of HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). In addition, Vehicle 31 may be communicable with the charge control device 2 via the network N. Vehicles 32 to 39 may have the same configuration as Vehicle 31.

[0016] 〔Configuration of Charge Control Device〕 The charge control device 2 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23.

[0017] Under the control of the control unit 22, the communication unit 21 transmits various information to Chargers A to I via the network N and receives various information from Chargers A to I. Specifically, under the control of the control unit 22, the communication unit 21 receives the scheduled departure time and the SoC of vehicle 31. The communication unit 21 is configured by using a communication module or the like capable of transmitting and receiving various information. In addition, the communication unit 21 may be communicable with vehicles 31 to 39 via the network N.

[0018] The control unit 22 is configured using a memory and a processor having hardware such as a CPU. The control unit 22 reads the program recorded in the storage unit 23 into the working area of the memory and executes it, and controls each component etc. through the execution of the program by the processor. Thereby, in the control unit 22, the hardware and the software cooperate to realize a functional module that meets a predetermined purpose. The control unit 22 controls the chargers A to I so that the three-phase alternating current becomes balanced according to the scheduled departure times of the vehicles 31 to 39 received by the communication unit 21 from the chargers A to I and the SoC of the battery. Specifically, the control unit 22 determines the charge start time and the charge end time of each of the chargers A to I according to the scheduled departure time and the SoC.

[0019] The storage unit 23 stores various programs executed by the storage unit 23. Further, the storage unit 23 stores the scheduled departure times of the vehicles 31 to 39 received by the communication unit 21 from the chargers A to I and the SoC of the battery.

[0020] [Processing of the Charge Control Device] Next, the processing executed by the charge control device 2 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the charge control device according to the embodiment controls the charge start time and the charge end time of each charger. In the example of FIG. 2, as in FIG. 7, it is assumed that chargers A to C, D to F, and G to I are connected to the U phase, V phase, and W phase of the three-phase alternating current, respectively, and vehicles 31 to 39 with batteries mounted thereon are sequentially connected to these chargers A to I, and the batteries are charged. In the table T11 of FIG. 2, as in the table T16, the time when the vehicle is connected to the chargers A to I is indicated by dot hatching, and the time when charging is being performed is indicated by diagonal hatching.

[0021] The charge control device 2 determines the charge start time and the charge end time of each of the chargers A to I so that the three-phase alternating current becomes balanced according to the scheduled departure time and the SoC. Assuming that 6 kW of power is required to charge each vehicle, as shown in the table T21 of FIG. 2, the control unit 22 determines the charge start time and the charge end time of each of the chargers A to I so that a load of 6 kW is applied to each of the U phase, V phase, and W phase.

[0022] Specifically, when the charging control device 2 can acquire the scheduled arrival times of the vehicles 31 to 39, the charging control device 2 determines the charging start times and charging end times of the chargers A to I shown in FIG. 2 in advance according to the scheduled arrival time, the scheduled departure time, and the SoC.

[0023] According to the embodiment described above, since the chargers A to I are controlled so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of phase correlation imbalance when charging a vehicle having a battery.

[0024] (Modification 1) When the charging control device 2 cannot acquire the scheduled arrival times of the vehicles 31 to 39, the charging control device 2 makes an appropriate determination each time a vehicle 31 to 39 is connected to the chargers A to I.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the charging control device according to Modification 1 controls the charging start time and charging end time of each charger. As shown in the table T12 of FIG. 3, even if a vehicle is connected to charger A at 9:00, the charging control device 2 does not start charging and waits. At this time, the waiting time is set to the time obtained by subtracting the time required for charging from the scheduled departure time. This is to prevent the charging from not being completed at the scheduled departure time. Similarly, even if vehicles are connected to chargers B and D at 10:00, the charging control device 2 does not start charging and waits.

[0026] Then, when vehicles are connected to chargers C, E, and G at 11:00, the charging control device 2 starts charging the charger A with the earliest scheduled departure time among the U phases, the charger D with the earliest scheduled departure time among the V phases, and the charger G. As a result, as shown in the table T22 of FIG. 3, between 11:00 and 12:00, a load of 6 kW is applied to each of the U phase, V phase, and W phase, respectively, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of phase correlation imbalance.

[0027] Subsequently, when the vehicle is connected to chargers F and I at 12:00, the charge control device 2 starts charging the chargers B, which has an earlier scheduled departure time among the chargers for the vehicles whose charging is not completed in the U-phase, charger E, which has an earlier scheduled departure time in the V-phase, and charger I. As a result, during the period from 12:00 to 13:00, a load of 6 kW is applied to each of the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase, respectively, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of correlation imbalance.

[0028] Furthermore, when the vehicle is connected to charger H at 13:00, the charge control device 2 starts charging charger C, charger F, and charger H for which the charging is not completed. As a result, during the period from 13:00 to 14:00, a load of 6 kW is applied to each of the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase, respectively, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of correlation imbalance.

[0029] According to the first modification example described above, since the chargers A to I are controlled so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of correlation imbalance when supplying power to an arbitrary load.

[0030] (Second Modification Example) The charge control device 2 may determine chargers A to I to which the vehicles 31 to 39 are respectively connected so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced, and guide the vehicles 31 to 39 to the determined chargers A to I, respectively.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the charge control device according to the second modification example controls the charge start time and charge end time of each charger. As shown in the table T13 of FIG. 4, the charge control device 2 guides the first-in vehicle to charger A in the U-phase, the second-in vehicle to charger E in the V-phase, and the third-in vehicle to charger I in the W-phase.

[0032] Here, when three vehicles under the conditions shown in FIG. 4 are biasedly connected to chargers of any phase, it is impossible to charge the vehicles while avoiding correlation imbalance. However, according to the charge control device 2, by guiding the vehicles, as shown in the table T23 of FIG. 4, three-phase alternating current can be balanced, and the occurrence of correlation imbalance can be prevented.

[0033] Note that in Modification 2, the method by which the charge control device 2 guides the vehicles is not particularly limited. However, the charge control device 2 may guide each vehicle, for example, by means of a guidance system in a parking lot. Further, the charge control device 2 may guide each vehicle by switching the display of connectable / non-connectable of each charger.

[0034] In addition, since vehicles are often parked near the entrances and exits of facilities and stairways, this set may be repeatedly arranged in the order of the U-phase charger, the V-phase charger, and the W-phase charger from an easily occupied position so that vehicles are evenly connected to the chargers of each phase.

[0035] (Modification 3) The charge control device 2 includes a communication unit 21 capable of communicating with vehicles 31 to 39 via a network N. When the communication unit 21 receives a connection request from vehicles 31 to 39 to chargers A to I, the control unit 22 may acquire the SoC from the vehicle that output the connection request.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the charge control device according to Modification 3 controls the charge start time and the charge end time of each charger. The charge control device 2 calculates the time required for charging from the SoC acquired from the vehicle, and guides the vehicle to any one of chargers A to I so that each vehicle finishes charging by the scheduled departure time. In the table T14 of FIG. 5, a vehicle with a large charge amount and requiring 3 hours for charging is guided to the U-phase charger B, and then a vehicle with a large charge amount and requiring 2 hours for charging is guided to the V-phase charger E. As a result, even when the charge amounts of the vehicles are different, as shown in the table T24 of FIG. 5, the occurrence of correlation imbalance can be prevented.

[0037] (Modification 4) The charging control device 2 may control the charging and discharging of chargers A to I so that the three-phase alternating current becomes balanced according to the scheduled shipping time and the charge amount. Discharging from the vehicle battery means supplying power from the battery to the power system. Also, if any of the chargers A to I can perform rapid charging, for example, the charge amount per unit time is large.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how the charging control device according to Modification 4 controls the charging start time and the charging end time of each charger. As shown in the table T15 of FIG. 6, charger A can perform rapid charging and is assumed to charge 24 kW per hour. In this case, in chargers B and C, by discharging 6 kW each from the battery, as shown in the table T25 of FIG. 6, the three-phase alternating current can be balanced and the occurrence of phase correlation imbalance can be prevented.

[0039] As described above, when an excessive current flows in one phase such as rapid charging, discharging may be performed from other chargers in that phase to prevent the occurrence of phase correlation imbalance.

[0040] Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments represented and described as above. Accordingly, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Explanation of Signs

[0041] 1 Charging system 2 Charging control device 21 Communication unit 22 Control unit 23 Storage unit 31 to 39 Vehicles A to I Chargers N Network

Claims

1. When a vehicle having a rechargeable battery is connected to any one of a plurality of single-phase chargers connected to each phase of a three-phase alternating current, the scheduled departure time of the vehicle and the charge amount of the battery are acquired. A processor configured to control the charger so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced according to the scheduled departure time and the charge amount. A charge control device comprising the same.

2. The processor is The charge control device according to claim 1, wherein the charge start time and the charge end time of the charger are determined according to the scheduled departure time and the charge amount.

3. The processor is Determine the charger to which the vehicle is to be connected so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced, The charge control device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is guided to the determined charger.

4. Comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with the vehicle, When the communication unit receives a connection request from the vehicle to the charger, The charge control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor acquires the charge amount from the vehicle that output the connection request.

5. The processor is The charge control device according to claim 1, wherein the charging and discharging of the charger are controlled so that the three-phase alternating current is balanced according to the scheduled departure time and the charge amount.

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