Battery lending system

Abstract

To provide a battery lending system which can lend a battery with a charge amount corresponding to a power amount required by an electric vehicle.SOLUTION: A battery lending system 100 comprises: a communication section 13 (an acquisition section) for acquiring information on a destination of an electric vehicle 40; an estimation section 11a for estimating a power amount required by the electric vehicle 40 for arriving at the destination; and a selection section 11b for selecting a battery trailer 30 to be lent to the electric vehicle 40 among a plurality of battery trailers 30 (batteries), in accordance with the estimated power amount required.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery rental system. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent No. 5113950 (Patent Document 1) discloses a battery trailer system that rents out a battery trailer that is detachably connected to an electric vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5113950 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, there are cases where a battery trailer is rented that is insufficient to accommodate the amount of power required by the electric vehicle. Specifically, there are cases where a battery trailer with an excessively large charge amount is rented out compared to the amount of power required by the electric vehicle. Therefore, there is a need to rent out a battery trailer (battery) that has a charge amount that is appropriate for the amount of power required by the electric vehicle.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a battery rental system that can rent out batteries with a charge amount that matches the amount of power required by an electric vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A battery lending system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a battery lending system that lends at least one of a plurality of batteries that supply power to an electric vehicle to the electric vehicle, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a destination of the electric vehicle, an estimation unit that estimates an amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle to reach the destination, and a selection unit that selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle from among the plurality of batteries based on the estimated required amount of electric power.

[0007] In the battery lending system according to an aspect of the present disclosure, as described above, a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle is selected based on an estimated value of the amount of electric power required to reach the destination. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the selection of a battery having a charge amount that is excessively larger than the estimated required amount of electric power. As a result, it is possible to lend a battery having a charge amount corresponding to the amount of electric power required by the electric vehicle.

[0008] In the battery lending system according to the above aspect, preferably, the plurality of batteries include a first battery and a second battery, and the sum of the remaining charge amount of the electric vehicle and the charge amount of the first battery is equal to or greater than the required amount of electric power, and the second battery has a charge amount larger than that of the first battery. The selection unit selects the first battery as the battery to be lent to the electric vehicle when the first battery and the second battery are available for lending. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the second battery having a larger charge amount than the first battery from being selected, so that the second battery can be lent to a user who needs the second battery.

[0009] In the battery lending system according to the above aspect, preferably, the estimation unit estimates the required amount of electric power based on at least the driving route to the destination using big data in which a plurality of data regarding the relationship between the driving state and driving environment of the electric vehicle and the electric power required for driving are accumulated. With this configuration, by using big data, it is possible to more accurately estimate the amount of electric power required to travel the driving route to the destination.

[0010] In this case, the estimation unit preferably calculates a driving route to the destination for which power consumption is suppressed based on the big data, and estimates the amount of power required if the electric vehicle travels along the driving route for which power control is suppressed. With this configuration, the big data can be used to more accurately calculate a driving route to the destination for which power consumption is suppressed. As a result, the estimated amount of power required can be further reduced.

[0011] In the battery rental system according to the above aspect, the electric vehicle preferably includes a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine. The destination includes an exit of a restricted area where exhaust gas amounts are regulated. The estimation unit estimates the amount of power required for the electric vehicle to travel a route from the entrance to the exit of the restricted area. The selection unit selects a battery to be rented to the electric vehicle from among a plurality of batteries available for rent at the entrance, based on the estimated amount of power required. Here, in the restricted area, restrictions on exhaust gas amounts increase the frequency at which electric vehicles use power to travel, resulting in a relatively large amount of power consumption by the electric vehicle. Therefore, by selecting a battery at the entrance of the restricted area based on the amount of power required to travel the route in the restricted area, it is possible to prevent the electric vehicle from running out of battery power within the restricted area.

[0012] In the battery rental system according to the above aspect, the selection unit preferably selects at least one of a plurality of battery trailers that can be self-propelled or towed, based on the estimated required amount of power. With this configuration, it is possible to rent out a battery trailer that has a charge amount that matches the amount of power required by the electric vehicle.

[0013] In the battery rental system according to the above aspect, the selection unit preferably selects at least one of the plurality of battery devices that can be mounted on the electric vehicle based on the estimated required amount of power. With this configuration, it is possible to rent out a battery device having a charge amount commensurate with the amount of power required by the electric vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present disclosure, a battery having a charge amount corresponding to the amount of power required by an electric vehicle can be lent out.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions will not be repeated.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a battery rental system 100 according to this embodiment. The battery rental system 100 includes a server 10, a rental store 20, and an electric vehicle 40. In the example shown in Fig. 1, two rental stores 20 are shown, but the number of rental stores 20 is not limited to this.

[0018] The rental store 20 rents out a battery trailer 30 (see FIG. 2) to an electric vehicle 40. The electric vehicle 40 can rent and return the battery trailer 30 at the rental store 20.

[0019] The rental store 20 is located at each of the entrance 201 (the connecting trunk road 201a connected to the geofencing area 200) and the exit 202 (the connecting trunk road 201b connected to the geofencing area 200) of the geofencing area 200. The geofencing area 200 refers to a regulated area where the amount of exhaust gas is restricted. The electric vehicle 40 is a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine 45 (see FIG. 2). The geofencing area 200 is an example of a "regulated area" in the present disclosure.

[0020] The server 10 includes a control device 11, a storage device 12, and a communication unit 13. The server 10 is a server that manages the rental of battery trailers 30 at rental stores 20. The communication unit 13 is an example of the "acquisition unit" of the present disclosure.

[0021] 2, the battery trailer 30 includes a trailer battery 31 that has a predetermined charge level inside. The battery trailer 30 can be towed by the electric vehicle 40 while connected to the electric vehicle 40 via a connection part 50. The battery trailer 30 (trailer battery 31) is an example of a "battery" in the present disclosure.

[0022] The electric power of the trailer battery 31 is transmitted to the vehicle battery 41 of the electric vehicle 40 via the connection unit 50. This allows the electric vehicle 40 to run using the total amount of charge in its own vehicle battery 41 and the trailer battery 31.

[0023] A specific example is shown in Figure 3. The battery trailer 30 is equipped with a BMS (Battery Management System) 32. The BMS 32 includes a BMU (Battery Management Unit) 32a, multiple BSUs (Battery Support Units) 32b, multiple battery modules 32c, and a charge amount detection unit 32d. The multiple battery modules 32c form a trailer battery 31 (see Figure 2).

[0024] The BMU 32a monitors the current value in the BMS 32 and performs communication control with a higher-level controller, log storage, etc. The BMU 32b monitors the status (voltage, temperature, etc.) of the battery module 32c and supplies power to the BMU 32a. The power storage amount detection unit 32d detects the amount of power stored in the battery module 32c (trailer battery 31) and transmits information about the detected amount of power stored to the communication unit 13 of the server 10 (see FIG. 1).

[0025] Meanwhile, the electric vehicle 40 includes a BMS 42. The BMS 42 includes a BMU 42a, a plurality of BSUs 42b, a plurality of battery modules 42c, and a charge amount detection unit 42d. The plurality of battery modules 42c form a vehicle battery 41 (see FIG. 2). The BMS 42 has a similar configuration to the BMS 32, and therefore detailed description of each function of the BMS 42 will not be repeated.

[0026] The electric vehicle 40 also includes a junction box 43. Electric power from the battery trailer 30 is supplied to the BMS 42 via the junction box 43. The junction box 43 includes a power conversion device (inverter) that converts the power from the battery trailer 30 (BMS 32) into an appropriate power (voltage).

[0027] 3 is merely an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, a BMS may be provided in only one of the battery trailer 30 and the electric vehicle 40. In this case, the other of the battery trailer 30 and the electric vehicle 40 may be provided with a battery module, but may not be provided with a BMU, a BMS, a power storage amount detection unit, etc.

[0028] 1, the storage device 12 stores information used in the programs (for example, maps, mathematical expressions, and various parameters) in addition to the programs executed by the control device 11. The communication unit 13 includes various communication I / Fs. The control device 11 controls the communication unit 13.

[0029] 1, the server 10 (communication unit 13) is configured to be able to communicate with each of the plurality of electric vehicles 40. The communication unit 13 is also configured to be able to communicate with each rental store 20 (a server or the like, not shown).

[0030] As shown in FIG. 4, the communication unit 13 acquires information about the state of the electric vehicle 40 from each of the multiple electric vehicles 40. For example, the communication unit 13 acquires information about the SOC (State Of Charge) of the electric vehicle 40. The communication unit 13 also acquires information about the destination of the electric vehicle 40 (such as the distance to the destination). The communication unit 13 also acquires information about the vehicle state of the electric vehicle 40 (such as information about the load capacity). Note that the information about the destination and the information about the vehicle state are transmitted from the electric vehicle 40 to the communication unit 13 when the electric vehicle 40 is started, or transmitted to the communication unit 13 from a user's mobile terminal or the like before the electric vehicle 40 starts traveling.

[0031] Furthermore, the communication unit 13 acquires information such as traffic conditions, road surface conditions, weather, and temperature via the Internet.

[0032] In addition, the communication unit 13 acquires information on the battery trailers 30 that can be rented from the rental store 20. The communication unit 13 also acquires information on the charge levels of the battery trailers 30 that can be rented. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the communication unit 13 acquires information indicating that the battery trailers 30A to 30C are available for rent and that the charge levels of the battery trailers 30A to 30C are 100 kWh, 200 kWh, and 300 kWh, respectively.

[0033] Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the control device 11 of the server 10 includes an estimation unit 11a and a selection unit 11b. Note that each of the estimation unit 11a and the selection unit 11b represents software that blocks the functional features of the control device 11.

[0034] Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the storage device 12 of the server 10 stores big data 12a in which a plurality of data are accumulated. The plurality of data are data related to the relationship between the running state and running environment of the electric vehicle 40 and the electric power required for running. The above running state includes, for example, vehicle speed, load, and vehicle state (such as tire pressure, etc.). Also, the above running environment includes road state, traffic situation, and weather (temperature, etc.). The big data 12a is formed by aggregating the above data transmitted from each of the plurality of electric vehicles 40 to the server 10 (storage device 12).

[0035] Also, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle 40 to reach the destination. The control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle 40 to reach the destination using the big data 12a stored in the storage device 12.

[0036] Here, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle 40 to reach the destination using artificial intelligence (AI) learned based on the big data 12a. The control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) has learned a plurality of data related to the relationship between the running state and running environment of the electric vehicle 40 and the electric power required for running as learning data.

[0037] Then, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) uses the information on the driving route to the destination (distance, road conditions (such as the degree of unevenness and the number of slopes), and traffic conditions, etc.), the information on the driving environment (temperature, climate, etc.), and the information on the vehicle state (loading amount, tire pressure, etc.) as input data, and outputs an estimated value of the required amount of electric power based on the above learning results.

[0038] Here, in the conventional battery lending system, there may be a case where a battery trailer 30 with a charging amount that is excessively large compared to the amount of electric power required by the electric vehicle 40 is lent out. Therefore, it is desired to lend out a battery trailer 30 having a charging amount corresponding to the amount of electric power required by the electric vehicle 40.

[0039] Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b, see FIG. 5) selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle 40 from among a plurality of battery trailers 30 based on the above-mentioned required amount of electric power estimated by the estimation unit 11a.

[0040] Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, it is assumed that the above-mentioned required amount of electric power estimated by the estimation unit 11a is 250 kWh. And it is assumed that the remaining SOC of the electric vehicle 40 is 70 kWh. In this case, no matter which of the battery trailer 30B and the battery trailer 30C is selected, the electric vehicle 40 can reach the destination. In this case, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) selects the battery trailer 30B with a smaller charging amount. In other words, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) selects the battery trailer 30 with the minimum charging amount from among a plurality of battery trailers 30 that enable the electric vehicle 40 to reach the destination. Then, the communication unit 13 notifies the lending store 20 that the battery trailer 30B has been selected. Note that in the above example, the battery trailer 30B and the battery trailer 30C are respectively examples of the "first battery" and the "second battery" of the present disclosure.

[0041] Here, when the destination of the electric vehicle 40 is the exit 202 (see FIG. 1) of the geofencing area 200, a case where the battery trailer 30 is rented out at the entrance 201 (see FIG. 1) of the geofencing area 200 will be specifically described as an example. In this case, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) calculates a driving route 203 with suppressed power consumption among a plurality of driving routes to the destination (exit 202) based on the big data 12a. Then, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) estimates the necessary amount of electric power when the electric vehicle 40 travels on the driving route 203.

[0042] Specifically, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) uses artificial intelligence (AI) learned based on the big data 12a to calculate the driving route 203 with the minimum power consumption among the plurality of driving routes. In detail, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) refers to the distance of each driving route, the road condition (such as the amount of unevenness and the amount of slopes), and the traffic condition, etc., to estimate the power consumption when traveling on each driving route, and calculates the driving route 203 with the minimum power consumption. Then, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) selects the battery trailer 30 to be rented out to the electric vehicle 40 among the plurality of battery trailers 30 that can be rented out at the rental store 20 at the entrance 201 based on the estimated necessary amount of electric power.

[0043] Note that the cost for renting the battery trailer 30 may be determined by the time the battery trailer 30 is rented out, the amount of electric power consumed, the initial charge amount of the battery trailer 30, etc.

[0044] (Control flow of the server) Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the control flow of the selection of the battery trailer 30 by the server 10 will be described.

[0045] First, in step S1, the server 10 (communication unit 13) acquires information regarding the destination of the electric vehicle 40 and information regarding the SOC of the electric vehicle 40. Further, in step S1, the server 10 (communication unit 13) acquires information such as the vehicle state, traffic situation, road surface condition, weather, and temperature of the electric vehicle 40.

[0046] Next, in step S2, the control device 11 (estimation unit 11a) of the server 10 estimates the amount of power required for the electric vehicle 40 to reach the destination based on the information acquired in step S1. In step S2, as described above, the artificial intelligence (AI) learned by the big data 12a stored in the storage device 12 is used to estimate the required amount of power.

[0047] Next, in step S3, the server 10 (communication unit 13) acquires information on the battery trailers 30 that can be rented from the rental store 20. At this time, the server 10 (communication unit 13) also acquires information regarding the charge level of the rentable battery trailers 30. Note that the process of step S3 may be performed before or simultaneously with steps S1 and S2.

[0048] Next, in step S4, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) determines whether there are multiple rentable battery trailers 30 based on the information acquired in step S3. If there are multiple rentable battery trailers 30 (Yes in S4), the process proceeds to step S5. If there are not multiple rentable battery trailers 30 (No in S4), the process proceeds to step S6.

[0049] In step S5, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) selects the battery trailer 30 with the minimum charge level among the multiple rentable battery trailers 30 as the battery trailer 30 to be rented to the electric vehicle 40. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S8.

[0050] In step S6, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) determines whether there is one rentable battery trailer 30. If there is one rentable battery trailer 30 (Yes in S6), the process proceeds to step S7. If there is not one rentable battery trailer 30 (in the case of zero) (No in S7), the process ends.

[0051] In step S7, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) selects one battery trailer 30 that is available for rent as the battery trailer 30 to rent out. After that, the process proceeds to step S8.

[0052] In step S8, the server 10 (communication unit 13) notifies the rental store 20 of the battery trailer 30 to be rented to the electric vehicle 40. Then, the process ends.

[0053] As described above, in this embodiment, the control device 11 includes an estimation unit 11a that estimates the amount of power required for the electric vehicle 40 to arrive at the destination, and a selection unit 11b that selects, from among the multiple battery trailers 30, a battery trailer 30 to rent to the electric vehicle 40 based on the estimated amount of power required. This makes it possible to prevent a battery trailer 30 with a relatively large charge amount from being selected from among the multiple battery trailers 30 that can secure the amount of power required for the electric vehicle 40 to arrive at the destination.

[0054] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the rental store 20 is located at each of the entrance 201 and the exit 202 of the geofencing area 200, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 8 , the rental store 20 may be located at each of the foot 301 and the foot 302 on the opposite side of the mountain pass 300. This allows the electric vehicle 40 to generate regenerative energy by traveling downhill, thereby reducing the need for charging at the foot 301 or the foot 302. Furthermore, the generation of regenerative energy can reduce the burden on the engine 45. Note that if the battery trailer 30 has a charging capacity sufficient to be fully charged with regenerative energy, the need for charging at the rental store 20 is reduced. This reduces the need for installing charging equipment at the rental store 20.

[0055] Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the rental store 20 may be provided at each of the entrance and the exit of the slope road 400 connecting the highland 401 and the lowland 402. That is, the rental store 20 is provided in each of the highland 401 and the lowland 402. In the rental store 20 on the highland 401, the battery trailer 30 may be rented out at a discounted price on the condition that the battery trailer 30 charged with the regenerative energy is returned to the rental store 20 on the lowland 402.

[0056] Also, in the above embodiment, the control device 11 (selection unit 11b) shows an example of selecting the battery trailer 30 connected to the electric vehicle 40, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 10, a battery device that can be loaded on the electric vehicle 40 may be selected. In FIG. 10, an example in which the battery device 130A is selected from among the battery devices 130A to 130C that can be rented out at the rental store 20 is shown. The battery devices 130A to 130C are loaded in, for example, the trunk room 44 of the electric vehicle 40. The battery devices 130A to 130C are electrically connected to the electric vehicle 40 (vehicle battery 41) by the connection portion 44a in the trunk room 44. Note that the battery devices 130A to 130C are an example of the "battery" of the present disclosure.

[0057] Also, in the above embodiment, the control device 11 shows an example of estimating the amount of power required to reach the destination and selecting the battery trailer 30, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In addition to the above control, the control device may perform control to notify the user of candidates for the rental store 20 from which the battery trailer 30 should be rented.

[0058] Also, in the above embodiment, the control device 11 of the server 10 provided separately from the rental store 20 shows an example of estimating the amount of power required to reach the destination and selecting the battery trailer 30, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a server provided in each rental store 20 may perform the above control.

[0059] Further, a control device provided in the electric vehicle 40 may perform the above control. In this case, information on the battery trailer 30 that can be rented out from the rental store 20 is transmitted to the electric vehicle 40, and based on the transmitted information, the electric vehicle 40 selects the battery trailer 30. Also, an application for using the big data 12a may be available on the electric vehicle 40 or a user's mobile terminal or the like.

[0060] Also, in the above embodiment, an example where the battery trailer 30 is towed by the electric vehicle 40 is shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The battery trailer may run on its own.

[0061] The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is shown not by the description of the above embodiments but by the claims, and it is intended that all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0062] 11a Estimation unit, 11b Selection unit, 12a Big data, 13 Communication unit (acquisition unit), 30 Battery trailer (battery), 30B Battery trailer (first battery), 30C Battery trailer (second battery), 40 Electric vehicle, 45 Engine, 100 Battery rental system, 130A to 130C Battery device (battery), 200 Geofencing area (restricted area), 201 Entrance, 202 Exit, 203 Travel route.

Claims

1. A battery lending system for lending at least one of a plurality of batteries that supply power to an electric vehicle to the electric vehicle, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a destination of the electric vehicle; an estimation unit that estimates an amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle to reach the destination; and a selection unit, wherein each of the plurality of batteries can be loaded in a trunk of the electric vehicle and is electrically connected to a vehicle battery mounted on the electric vehicle in a state of being loaded in the trunk; the selection unit selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle from among the plurality of batteries based on the estimated required amount of electric power.

2. The plurality of batteries include a first battery and a second battery, the sum of the remaining charge amount of the electric vehicle and the charge amount of the first battery is equal to or greater than the required amount of electric power, the second battery has a larger charge amount than the first battery, and when the first battery and the second battery are lendable, the selection unit selects the first battery as a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle. The battery lending system according to claim 1.

3. The estimation unit estimates the required amount of electric power based on at least a driving route to the destination using big data in which a plurality of data regarding the relationship between the driving state and driving environment of the electric vehicle and the electric power required for driving are accumulated. The battery lending system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The estimation unit calculates a driving route to the destination in which power consumption is suppressed based on the big data, and estimates the required amount of electric power when the electric vehicle travels on the driving route in which power consumption is suppressed. The battery lending system according to claim 3.

5. The electric vehicle includes a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine, the destination includes an exit of a regulated area where the amount of exhaust gas is regulated, the estimation unit estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle to travel a driving route from the entrance to the exit of the regulated area, and the selection unit selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle from among the plurality of batteries that are lendable at the entrance based on the estimated required amount of electric power. The battery lending system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The battery lending system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selection unit selects at least one of a plurality of battery trailers capable of traveling by self-running or towing based on the estimated required amount of electric power.

7. The electric vehicle is configured to generate regenerative energy during traveling, The destination includes the first foot of a mountain pass, The estimation unit estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle to travel the travel route from the second foot of the mountain pass, which is on the opposite side of the first foot of the mountain pass, to the first foot of the mountain pass, The battery lending system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selection unit selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle from among the plurality of batteries that can be lent at the second foot of the mountain pass based on the estimated required amount of electric power.

8. The electric vehicle is configured to generate regenerative energy during traveling, The destination includes the lower land of a slope connecting a highland and a lowland, The estimation unit estimates the amount of electric power required for the electric vehicle to travel the travel route from the highland to the lowland, The battery lending system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the selection unit selects a battery to be lent to the electric vehicle from among the plurality of batteries that can be lent at the highland based on the estimated required amount of electric power.

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