Vehicle charging system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle charging system which executes short-time charging in a busy period by shifting a charger to a high output mode.SOLUTION: The vehicle charging system includes: a plurality of chargers 2; a storage battery board 3 which supplies the power of a storage battery 31 to each charger 2 in addition to commercial power; and a management server 4 which manages the storage battery board 3 through a communication network N. The storage battery board 3 includes a converter unit 32, an inverter unit 33, and an external communication unit 35 which communicates with the management server 4. The charger 2 has two-step charging modes including a low output mode, which does not use the storage battery 31, and a high output mode which uses the storage battery 31. The management server 4 includes a calendar information storage unit 41 which stores a busy period in which the charger 2 is frequently used. Based on the information in the calendar information storage unit 41, a management server CPU 42 sets the charging mode through the storage battery board 3 to the high output mode in the busy period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle charging system including a plurality of chargers for charging a storage battery mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Charging stands installed in service areas or the like for charging vehicles are becoming widespread, which have a high-output charging function enabling charging in a short time. For example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of chargers and a centralized battery pack for supplying a charging current to the chargers are provided, and a battery for performing high-speed charging is arranged in the centralized battery pack to enable rapid charging.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Since the charger having the above high-output charging function enables high-output charging, it could be effectively utilized during peak periods. However, when performing high-output charging, the administrator had to operate a changeover switch to switch between low-output charging and high-output charging, resulting in a heavy burden on the administrator.

[0005] Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle charging system that shifts the charger to a high-output mode during peak periods to perform short-time charging.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle charging system having a plurality of chargers for supplying charging power to connected vehicles, a battery panel for supplying the power of a storage battery to the chargers in addition to commercial power, and a management server for managing the battery panel via a communication network. The battery panel has an AC / DC conversion unit for converting commercial power into direct current, a DC / AC conversion unit for supplying the output of the AC / DC conversion unit and the output of the storage battery to the chargers, and an external communication unit for communicating with the management server. On the other hand, the charger has a two-stage charging mode including a low output mode and a high output mode for performing vehicle charging with a current larger than that in the low output mode. The management server has a calendar information storage unit for storing a busy period during which the charger is frequently used, and a switching control unit for performing switching of the charging mode of each charger via the battery panel. The switching control unit is characterized in that, based on the information in the calendar information storage unit, the charging mode is set to the high output mode during the busy period. According to this configuration, since it automatically shifts to the high output mode during the busy period, vehicle charging can be carried out according to the congestion situation, which is convenient for users. In addition, since there is no need for switching work between low output / high output, the burden on the administrator can be reduced.

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is the configuration according to claim 1, further having a camera for recognizing the presence or absence of vehicles waiting for charging, transmitting the captured image of the camera to the management server, the management server having a situation determination unit for determining the charger usage situation based on the captured image information of the camera transmitted from the battery panel, and the switching control unit being characterized in that, even if it is not the busy period, when the situation determination unit determines that there is a vehicle waiting for charging, the charging mode of the charger is changed to the high output mode. According to this configuration, even if it is not the busy period, since it switches to the high output mode according to the congestion degree of the charger, it is convenient for users.

[0008] The invention according to claim 3 is the configuration according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the management server obtains the remaining charge amount information of the storage battery from the battery panel, and does not shift to the high output mode if the remaining charge amount is below a predetermined amount. According to this configuration, even when the conditions for shifting to the high-output mode are met, if the charge level of the storage battery is below a predetermined amount, the shift will not occur. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the high-output mode from being changed to the low-output mode midway, and it is easy for the user to grasp the time until the charging is completed.

[0009] The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in any one of claims 1 to 3, the charger has a mode display unit for displaying the charging mode, and the current charging mode is displayed. According to this configuration, since the current charging mode, whether it is the low-output mode or the high-output mode, is displayed on the charger, it is easy for the user to grasp the charging mode.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, since it automatically shifts to the high-output mode during peak hours, vehicle charging according to the congestion situation can be implemented, which is convenient for the user. In addition, since there is no need to switch between low output / high output, the burden on the administrator can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle charging system according to the present invention, in which the battery board is shown in blocks. The vehicle charging system 1 includes a charger 2 to which a vehicle 5 to be charged is connected, a battery board 3 having a storage battery 31 and controlling the charger 2, a management server 4 for managing the battery board 3, and the like. Further, a vehicle detection sensor 7 for recognizing the vehicle 5 connected to the charger 2 and a camera 8 for grasping the charging waiting situation are connected to the battery board 3.

[0013] Note that a plurality of chargers 2 are connected to the battery board 3, and the management server 4 manages a plurality of battery boards 3. The charger 2, the vehicle detection sensor 7, and the camera 8 are connected to the battery board 3, and the management server 4 is connected to the battery board 3 via a communication network N.

[0014] In addition to the storage battery 31, the battery board 3 includes a converter unit 32 for converting alternating current to direct current, an inverter unit 33 for supplying charging power to the charger 2, a control controller 34 for controlling the battery board 3, an external communication unit 35 for communicating with the management server 4, and the like. The converter unit 32 has an AC / DC conversion circuit, commercial power is supplied from high-voltage power receiving equipment (not shown), and the output converted to direct current is supplied to the storage battery 31 and the inverter unit 33. The inverter unit 33 has a DC / AC conversion circuit, and the combined power of the direct current power output by the converter unit 32 and the discharge power of the storage battery 31 is converted to alternating current and supplied to the charger 2 as vehicle charging power.

[0015] In addition to controlling the battery board 3, the control controller 34 controls the charger 2 and the storage battery 31. Specifically, in response to an instruction from the management server 4, the control controller 34 switches the charging mode of the charger 2, notifies the management server 4 of the captured images of the vehicle detection sensor 7 and the camera 8 and the remaining charge amount information of the storage battery 31, and controls the charge and discharge of the storage battery 31. A BMS (Battery Management System) for managing charge and discharge is provided in the storage battery 31, and the control controller 34 communicates with this BMS to control the storage battery 31.

[0016] The charger 2 converts the supplied alternating current into direct current internally and supplies it to the vehicle 5. It also has a mode display unit 2a that displays whether the current charging mode is, for example, a low-output mode for charging at 50 kW or a high-output mode for charging at 100 kW.

[0017] The vehicle detection sensor 7 detects the vehicle 5 to which the charger 2 is connected. For example, when the vehicle 5 parks in a parking area for charging, it detects it and notifies the control controller 34.

[0018] The camera 8 is for detecting the vehicle 5 waiting for charging, images the set charging waiting area, and images the vehicle 5 waiting for charging. The control controller 34 determines the congestion situation of the vehicle 5 waiting for charging based on this image information.

[0019] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the management server 4. The management server 4 includes a calendar information storage unit 41 that stores the time, day of the week, time zone, etc. when the chargers are crowded, a management server CPU 42 that controls the management server 4, an image analysis unit 43 that discriminates vehicles from the captured images sent from the camera 8, a management server communication IF 44 that communicates with the battery panel 3, etc. In addition to the information in the calendar information storage unit 41, the management server CPU 42 takes into account the usage information of the charger 2 sent from the battery panel 3, the captured image information of the camera 8, and the power storage amount information of the battery 31, and performs switching control of the output mode of the charger 2. The output modes of the charger 2 mainly include a low-output mode for charging the vehicle mainly with commercial power and a high-output mode for charging with a larger current than the low-output mode using the discharge power of the battery 31 in addition to the commercial power supply. In this way, the management server CPU 42 has functions as a switching control unit for switching the charging mode of the charger 2 and a situation determination unit for determining the usage situation of the charger 2. Note that 9 indicates a management personal computer for inputting calendar information and the like to the management server 4.

[0020] The switching control between the low-output mode and the high-output mode of the charger 2 of the vehicle charging system 1 configured as described above is implemented as follows. Note that this control starts operating when the vehicle 5 is connected to the charger 2. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the switching control, and will be described with reference to this figure. First, it is determined whether it is a peak period when the charger 2 is frequently used (S1). If it is a peak period, the time zone is determined (S2). If it is a time zone when charging congestion occurs (YES in S2), the remaining charge amount of the storage battery 31 in the storage battery panel 3 is checked (S3). If it is 10% or more, the charger 2 is set to the high-output mode (S4). However, if the remaining charge amount is less than 10%, it is set to the low-output mode (S5). Also, if it is not a time zone when charging congestion occurs in S2, it is set to the low-output mode (S5).

[0021] On the other hand, if it is not a peak period (NO in S1) and it is determined from the captured image of the camera 8 that there is no vehicle 5 waiting to be charged (NO in S6), it is set to the low-output mode. However, if it is determined that there is a vehicle 5 waiting to be charged even though it is not a peak period (YES in S6), it is confirmed that the remaining battery amount is 10% or more (YES in S7), and the high-output mode is shifted to (S8). However, even if there is a vehicle 5 waiting to be charged and the remaining charge amount is less than 10% (NO in S7), it is set to the low-output mode (S5).

[0022] Note that the information of the vehicle detection sensor 7 is used for detecting a vehicle that continues to park even though the charging is completed. When the management server CPU 42 recognizes such a vehicle 5, it notifies the administrator or the like to promote the efficient use of the charger 2.

[0023] In this way, since it automatically shifts to the high-output mode during peak periods, charging of the vehicle 5 according to the congestion situation can be carried out, which is convenient for users. Also, since there is no need for switching work between low-output / high-output, the burden on the administrator can be reduced. Also, even if it is not a peak period, since the switching to the high-output mode is determined based on the presence or absence of the vehicle 5 waiting to be charged of the charger 2, it is convenient for users. Furthermore, even when the conditions for shifting to the high-power mode are met, if the charge level of the storage battery 31 is below a predetermined amount, the shift will not occur. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the high-power mode from being changed to the low-power mode midway, and it is easier for the user to grasp the time until the charging is completed. In addition, whether it is in the low-power mode or the high-power mode, the current charging mode is displayed on the charger 2, so it is easier for the user to grasp it.

[0024] Incidentally, in the above embodiment, whether the remaining capacity of the storage battery 31 is 10% or more is used as a material for switching judgment to the high-power mode. However, this numerical value is a value that can be changed depending on the storage capacity of the storage battery and the like, and is arbitrary. Also, in the low-power mode, vehicle charging by commercial power is basically used. However, if the storage battery 31 is fully charged or in a nearly fully charged state, the discharge power of the storage battery 31 may be used. Also, when chargers 2 without the high-power mode function are mixed in the system, shift control is only performed on the chargers 2 that can shift to the high-power mode.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0025] 1 ··· Vehicle charging system, 2 ··· Charger, 2a ··· Mode display unit, 3 ··· Storage battery tray, 4 ··· Management server, 5 ··· Vehicle, 7 ··· Vehicle detection sensor, 8 ··· Camera, 31 ··· Storage battery, 32 ··· Converter unit (AC / DC conversion unit), 33 ··· Inverter unit (DC / AC conversion unit), 34 ··· Control controller, 35 ··· External communication unit, 41 ··· Calendar information storage unit, 42 ··· Management server CPU (switching control unit, situation judgment unit), N ··· Communication network.

Claims

1. A vehicle charging system having a plurality of chargers for supplying charging power to connected vehicles, a battery pack for supplying power of the battery pack to the chargers in addition to commercial power, and a management server for managing the battery pack via a communication network, wherein the battery pack includes an AC / DC conversion unit for converting the commercial power into direct current, a DC / AC conversion unit for supplying the output of the AC / DC conversion unit and the output of the battery to the charger, and an external communication unit for communicating with the management server, while the charger has a two-stage charging mode including a low output mode and a high output mode for performing vehicle charging with a current larger than that in the low output mode, the management server includes a calendar information storage unit for storing a peak period during which the charger is frequently used, and a switching control unit for performing switching of the charging mode of each of the chargers via the battery pack, and the switching control unit is characterized in that, based on the information in the calendar information storage unit, the charging mode is set to the high output mode during the peak period.

2. The battery pack has a camera for recognizing the presence or absence of a vehicle waiting for charging, and transmits the captured image of the camera to the management server, the management server has a situation determination unit for determining the charger usage situation based on the captured image information of the camera transmitted from the battery pack, and the switching control unit is characterized in that, even when it is not the peak period, if the situation determination unit determines that there is a vehicle waiting for charging, the charging mode of the charger is changed to the high output mode.

3. The management server obtains the remaining battery charge information of the battery from the battery pack, and is characterized in that, if the remaining battery charge is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, it does not shift to the high output mode.

4. The charger has a mode display unit for displaying the charging mode, and is characterized in that the current charging mode is displayed.

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