Battery sharing system, management device, control method, and program

Abstract

A battery sharing system comprising a battery exchange station, a terminal app that is executed on the user terminal device, and a management device that acquires, from the battery exchange station, station information including information relating to batteries stored in the battery exchange station, wherein the management device acquires, as the station information, information including the exchange history of the batteries in the battery exchange station and / or charging time required to complete battery charging of each of the batteries and uses the acquired station information to estimate availability regarding the battery lending capacity at a predetermined timing at the battery exchange station, and the terminal app receives a designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as estimation conditions for said availability, transmits the estimation conditions to the management device, and causes the user terminal device to execute processing for acquiring and displaying said availability estimated under the estimation conditions by the management device.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery sharing system, a management device, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, research and development has been conducted on battery sharing services that contribute to energy efficiency in order to ensure that more people have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and advanced energy. Battery sharing services are services that allow removable batteries (secondary batteries) used in electric vehicles and the like to be rented, collected, or exchanged at dedicated battery stations. Regarding such battery sharing services, for example, a technology has been proposed that, when a removable battery becomes available, displays on a map the stations that can provide the removable battery and the number of removable batteries available at the station (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2014-529118 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, in a battery sharing service, a user may not always be able to recognize in advance the appropriate timing to use a battery exchange station.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a battery sharing system, a management device, a control method, and a program that enable users to recognize in advance the appropriate timing for using a battery exchange station in a battery sharing service, which will ultimately contribute to energy efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The battery sharing system, management device, control method, and program according to the present invention employ the following configuration. (1): A battery sharing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a battery exchange station that enables a user who has successfully been authenticated to lend, return, or exchange a battery; an application program executed on a user terminal device used by the user, the application program being a terminal application that displays information about the battery exchange station; and a management device that acquires station information from the battery exchange station, the station information including information about the batteries accommodated in the battery exchange station, and the management device stores the battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and the charging status of each battery accommodated in the battery exchange station. and the charging time required for the battery to be fully charged. The terminal application causes the user terminal device to execute a condition specification process that accepts specification of the battery exchange station and the timing as estimation conditions for the battery margin and transmits the specification to the management device, and a display control process that causes the management device to acquire information on the margin estimated by the management device using the estimation conditions from the management device and display the information on the margin estimated by the management device using the estimation conditions.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), the margin estimation unit estimates the margin of the battery exchange station at the timing based on the results of comparing the exchange histories included in the station information with those for the same day of the week and the same time period.

[0008] (3): In the above aspect (1), when the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the display control unit causes the display unit to display battery exchange stations other than the specified battery exchange station as alternative candidates for the specified battery exchange station.

[0009] (4): In the above aspect (1), the management device further includes a rental price determination unit that, when a rental reservation for the battery is made, determines the rental price of the battery based on the estimated margin of the battery exchange station that rents out the battery related to the rental reservation at the date and time of the rental reservation.

[0010] (5): In the above aspect (1), the management device further includes a user authentication unit that performs the user authentication for the user, and the display unit determines the battery exchange station for which the margin of safety is to be displayed based on the user attributes of the user recognized based on the results of the user authentication performed by the user authentication unit.

[0011] (6): A management device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a battery exchange station that enables a user who has successfully authenticated to lend, return, or exchange a battery, and a user terminal device used by the user, capable of communicating with the user terminal device that displays information about the battery exchange station, and that acquires station information from the battery exchange station, including information about the batteries stored in the battery exchange station. The management device comprises: a station information acquisition unit that acquires from the battery exchange station, as station information, information including one or both of the battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and the charging time required to fully charge each battery stored in the battery exchange station; a margin estimation unit that estimates, based on the station information, a margin that is the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing; and a condition specification unit that accepts specification of the battery exchange station and the timing as estimation conditions for the margin by the margin estimation unit. The margin estimation unit transmits information about the margin estimated under the estimation conditions to the management device.

[0012] (7): A control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for a battery sharing system comprising: a battery exchange station that enables a user who has successfully authenticated to lend, return, or exchange a battery; an application program executed on a user terminal device used by the user, the application program being a terminal app that displays information about the battery exchange station on the user terminal device; and a management device that acquires station information about the battery exchange station from the battery exchange station, wherein the management device acquires, as station information, information including one or both of the battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and the charging time required to fully charge each battery contained in the battery exchange station, and estimates a margin that is the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing based on the station information, and the terminal app causes the user terminal device to execute a condition specification process in which the terminal app accepts specification of the battery exchange station and the timing as estimation conditions for the margin and transmits it to the management device; and a display control process in which the management device acquires information about the margin estimated by the management device using the estimation conditions from the management device and displays it on a display unit.

[0013] (8): A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a terminal application that is executed on a user terminal device used by a user and displays, for a user who has successfully been authenticated, information regarding battery exchange stations that enable the lending, return, or replacement of batteries. The program causes a processor of the user terminal device to execute a condition specification process for accepting specification of the battery exchange station and the timing as estimation conditions for the margin, which is the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing, and transmitting the specification to the management device; and a display control process for acquiring information on the margin estimated by the management device using the estimation conditions from the management device and displaying it on a display unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to aspects (1) to (8), a battery sharing system, a management device, a control method, and a program can be provided that enable users in a battery sharing service to recognize in advance the appropriate timing for using a battery exchange station. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a battery sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a detachable battery. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an electric motorcycle. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a battery exchange station. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a lending management unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system configuration of a management device. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal device. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of how available capacity information is displayed by a terminal application. [Figure 9] 10 is a sequence chart showing an example of a processing flow in which a user terminal device cooperates with a management device to display a margin at a specified timing as availability information of a battery exchange station specified as a target station. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method in which a margin estimation unit in the management device estimates a margin at a specified timing for a battery exchange station designated as a target station. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display when a terminal application displays available capacity information of a target station on a user terminal device. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a battery sharing system and a control method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] [1. Overview of the battery sharing system] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a battery sharing system 1 in this embodiment. The battery sharing system 1 is a system that lends batteries to users on the premise that the batteries will be shared by multiple users. Hereinafter, such a battery lending service will be referred to as a "battery sharing service." FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the battery sharing system 1 provides a battery sharing service to a user U. The battery sharing system 1 includes, for example, a battery exchange station 300, a management device 400, and a terminal device 500 of the user U (hereinafter referred to as a "user terminal device"). The battery exchange station 300, the management device 400, and the user terminal device 500 can communicate with each other via a communication network NW. For simplicity, one battery exchange station 300 is shown in the figure, but the battery sharing system 1 may include multiple battery exchange stations 300.

[0018] [2. Overview of each part of the battery sharing system] The communication network NW may be a wired communication transmission path, a wireless communication transmission path, or a combination of a wireless communication transmission path and a wired communication transmission path. The communication network NW may include a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a power line communication line, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication line, a road-to-vehicle communication line, etc. The communication network NW may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone network, or (ii) a wireless communication network such as a wireless MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) (e.g., WiMAX (registered trademark)), a wireless LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), or NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0019] The battery 100 is a battery device that is detachably mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. The battery 100 supplies power to the mounted electric motorcycle 200. The battery 100 is charged by a battery exchange station 300. For example, when the remaining capacity of the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200 becomes low, a user U requests the management device 400 to lend out a battery 100 held in a specific battery exchange station 300. When the user U arrives at the battery exchange station 300, the user U removes the battery 100 from the electric motorcycle 200 and returns it to a return space provided at the battery exchange station 300. The battery exchange station 300 charges the returned battery 100 at an appropriate time, preparing the battery 100 for its next use.

[0020] The electric motorcycle 200 consumes power supplied by the battery 100. More specifically, the electric motorcycle 200 moves using the power supplied by the battery 100. If the battery 100 has a storage device, the electric motorcycle 200 may store at least one of the traveling history and operation history of the electric motorcycle 200 in the storage device.

[0021] In FIG. 1 , the electric motorcycle 200 is shown as an example of a use of the battery 100 by the user U, and the use of the battery 100 is not limited to the electric motorcycle 200. The battery 100 may be used as a power source for any electrical device. For example, the battery 100 may be used as a power source for a mobile object that obtains propulsion power from a motor, or as a power source for a stationary power supply device. Examples of mobile objects include automobiles, motorcycles, stand-up vehicles with power units, ships, and aircraft. Examples of automobiles include gasoline-powered vehicles, diesel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, hybrid vehicles, small commuter vehicles, and electric carts. Examples of motorcycles include motorcycles, tricycles, and electric bicycles. Examples of ships include ships, hovercrafts, jet skis, submarines, submersibles, and underwater scooters. Examples of aircraft include airplanes, airships, balloons, helicopters, and drones.

[0022] The battery exchange station 300 holds one or more batteries 100. The battery exchange station 300 charges each of the one or more batteries 100. The battery exchange station 300 executes a lending process for the battery 100 in response to a request from a user U. For example, the lending process for the battery 100 includes user authentication for the user U and a disbursement process for the battery 100.

[0023] For example, user authentication is realized by cooperative processing between the battery exchange station 300 and the management device 400. More specifically, the battery exchange station 300 requests the management device 400 to authenticate a user U who is about to start using the battery exchange station 300, and can determine whether the authentication has been successful based on the authentication result returned from the management device 400. That is, in this embodiment, the management device 400 has a user authentication function, and the battery exchange station 300 permits a user who has been successfully authenticated to use the battery exchange station 300.

[0024] The management device 400 performs various management operations related to the battery sharing system 1. For example, the management device 400 monitors the status and manages the operation of the battery exchange station 300. Furthermore, for example, the management device 400 manages the use of each of the one or more batteries 100. For example, the battery sharing system 1 manages the lending status (e.g., available for lending, unavailable for lending, being lent, etc.), operating status (e.g., charging, discharging, standby, etc.), charging status (e.g., current SOC), storage status (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), degradation status, etc. of each of the one or more batteries 100.

[0025] The management device 400 also has a function of providing information regarding the availability of the battery sharing service (hereinafter referred to as "availability information") to the user U by operating in cooperation with the user terminal device 500. For example, the management device 400 accepts various requests from the user U via the user terminal device 500, executes processing related to the accepted requests, and returns the processing results to the user terminal device 500. Examples of such requests include a search request for searching for a battery exchange station 300 that meets specific conditions, a reservation request for reserving any or a specific battery 100 stored in a specific battery exchange station 300, etc. The user terminal device 500 also outputs information received from the management device 400. The information output may be in the form of an image output, an audio output, an output (recording) to a storage medium, an output (transmission) to another communication device, or other forms.

[0026] The details of the user terminal device 500 are not particularly limited as long as it is an information processing terminal that can communicate with the battery exchange station 300 and the management device 400 via the communication network NW. The user terminal device 500 may be a personal computer, or a portable terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a notebook computer or laptop computer, or a wearable computer.

[0027] [3. Battery Rental] The battery exchange station 300 determines which batteries 100 to lend to the user U from among the batteries 100 housed therein, based on the state of the batteries 100 housed therein and various attribute information (hereinafter referred to as "user information") managed for the user U. The user information may include any information managed for each user regarding the battery sharing service. For example, the user information of the user U may include information such as the content of the service contract concluded between the user U and the service provider when using the battery sharing service, the user U's usage history of the battery 100, a reservation for use of the battery exchange station 300, and a reservation for lending the battery 100. For example, if the user U has a service contract for using two batteries 100, the battery exchange station 300 selects two batteries 100 to lend from among the batteries 100 housed therein whose charging rates exceed the lending threshold.

[0028] [4. Removable battery configuration] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the battery 100. The battery 100 includes, for example, a power storage unit 120, a BMU 130, and a connection unit 140. The BMU 130 includes, for example, a measurement sensor 131 and a memory unit 132. The power storage unit 120 is, for example, a battery pack formed by connecting a plurality of unit cells in series. The unit cells constituting the power storage unit 120 are, for example, secondary batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), nickel-metal hydride batteries, and all-solid-state batteries. The secondary batteries constituting the power storage unit 120 may include, for example, lead-acid batteries, sodium-ion batteries, capacitors such as electric double-layer capacitors, or combined batteries that combine secondary batteries and capacitors. The configuration of the secondary batteries constituting the power storage unit 120 is not particularly limited.

[0029] The BMU 130 controls charging and discharging of the power storage unit 120, performs cell balancing, detects abnormalities in the power storage unit 120, derives the cell temperature of the power storage unit 120, derives the charge / discharge current of the power storage unit 120, and estimates the SOC of the power storage unit 120. The BMU 130 stores the measurement results of the measurement sensor 131 and abnormalities or failures of the power storage unit 120 detected based on the measurement results in the memory unit 132 as battery state information. The measurement sensor 131 is a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, etc. for measuring the state of charge of the power storage unit 120. The measurement sensor 131 outputs the measured voltage, current, temperature, etc. to the BMU 130. Note that a battery 100 that is not electrically operating may be defined as a battery 100 for which a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the end of its previous operation. Any battery 100 other than those defined as such may be defined as an electrically operating battery 100. The electrically operating state may be defined as, for example, a state in which the battery 100 is being charged or a state in which the battery 100 is being discharged. The BUM 130 may record, as the measurement result of the measurement sensor 131, information associating the measurement value with the measurement time in the memory unit 132, or may record, in the memory unit 132, information associating the measurement value with the measurement frequency (a so-called histogram).

[0030] The storage unit 132 includes a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory. The storage unit 132 stores the battery status information described above. The storage unit 132 may also store identification information (battery ID) assigned to the battery 100. When the battery 100 is attached to the electric motorcycle 200, the connection unit 140 is electrically connected to the battery connection unit 210 of the electric motorcycle 200. In this state, the battery 100 supplies the power stored in the power storage unit 120 to the electric motor provided in the electric motorcycle 200.

[0031] [5. Electric bike configuration] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric motorcycle 200. The electric motorcycle 200 runs on the driving force of an electric motor driven by power supplied from a battery 100. However, the electric motorcycle 200 may also be a hybrid electric vehicle that runs on the driving force of a combination of the battery 100 and an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine. The electric motorcycle 200 includes, for example, a battery connection unit 210, a vehicle control unit 220, a traveling driving force output device 230, vehicle sensors 18, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 20, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 22.

[0032] The battery connection unit 210 is electrically connected to the battery 100 when the battery 100 is attached to the electric motorcycle 200. The battery connection unit 210 includes a connection terminal for a power line that receives power from the battery 100, a connection terminal for a communication line that performs data communication between the battery 100 and the vehicle control unit 220, and the like.

[0033] The vehicle control unit 220 acquires measurement results from the vehicle sensors 18, acquires various information (such as SOC and DOD) related to the power storage unit 120 from a BMU (Battery Management Unit) 110 included in the battery 100, and acquires the position of the electric motorcycle 200 from the GNSS receiver 22. The vehicle control unit 220 controls the traveling driving force output device 230 based on the acquired data. The vehicle control unit 220 may transmit the position information of the electric motorcycle 200 acquired from the GNSS receiver 22 to the battery 100 via the battery connection unit 210.

[0034] The vehicle control unit 220 also has a function of acquiring information (hereinafter referred to as "restriction information") relating to usage restrictions on the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200 from the battery 100, and restricting the use of the battery 100 based on the restriction information. The usage restrictions on the battery 100 will be described later.

[0035] The traveling driving force output device 230 includes, for example, an electric motor, an inverter, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the inverter. The ECU controls the power supplied from the battery 100 to the electric motor, for example, by controlling the inverter. The vehicle sensors 18 include various sensors mounted on the electric motorcycle 200, such as a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotational speed sensor, an odometer, and others. The vehicle sensors 18 output the measurement results to the vehicle control unit 220.

[0036] The HMI 20 outputs various information to the user of the electric motorcycle 200 and accepts input operations by the user. The HMI 20 includes, for example, various display devices (which may be touch panels) such as a HUD (Head Up Display) and a meter display unit, a speaker, etc. The GNSS receiver 22 determines the position of the electric motorcycle 200 based on radio waves received from GNSS satellites (such as GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites), for example.

[0037] [6. Battery exchange station configuration] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the battery exchange station 300. The battery exchange station 300 includes an operation unit 301, one or more charging units 320, and a control unit 340. Each of the one or more charging units 320 includes a battery storage chamber 322, a measuring instrument 324, and a charging circuit 326. The operation unit 301 is an input interface for operations to the battery exchange station 300. The operation unit 301 includes, for example, a display device such as a touch panel or a liquid crystal display, and an input device such as a trackball, switches, or buttons. The operation unit 301 outputs information about the input operations to the control unit 340 and displays information output by the control unit 340.

[0038] The charging unit 320 charges the battery 100. A single charging unit 320 may charge a single battery 100, or a single charging unit 320 may charge multiple batteries 100. The battery storage compartment 322 stores the battery 100. The measuring device 324 measures various physical quantities related to the battery 100 stored in the battery storage compartment 322. For example, the measuring device 324 measures the voltage of the battery 100. The measuring device 324 may measure at least one of the charging current and discharging current of the battery 100. The charging circuit 326 supplies power to the battery 100 to charge the battery 100.

[0039] The control unit 340 controls the operation of the battery exchange station 300. For example, the control unit 340 may control the operation of the battery exchange station 300 using information acquired from the management device 400, or may control the operation of the battery exchange station 300 based on instructions from the management device 400. The control unit 340 includes, for example, a communication control unit 342, a charge / discharge control unit 344, a lending management unit 346, and a storage unit 348.

[0040] The communication control unit 342 controls communication between the battery exchange station 300 and external devices. Examples of the external devices include at least one of the battery 100, the management device 400, and the user terminal device 500. The communication control unit 342 may be a communication interface. The communication control unit 342 may be compatible with one or more types of communication methods.

[0041] The charge / discharge control unit 344 controls the charging / discharging of the battery 100 by each of the one or more charging units 320. For example, the charge / discharge control unit 344 controls the charging of the battery 100 by controlling the charging circuit 326. The charge / discharge control unit 344 may also control the discharging of the battery 100 by controlling a discharging circuit (not shown). The charge / discharge control unit 344 controls, for example, the timing to start charging or discharging each of the one or more batteries 100, the timing to end the charging or discharging, the charging rate or discharging rate, etc. The charge / discharge control unit 344 may control the charging operation of at least some of the one or more charging units 320 in accordance with instructions from the lending management unit 346.

[0042] The lending management unit 346 manages the lending of batteries 100 at the battery exchange station 300. For example, the lending management unit 346 may manage the charging of the batteries 100 so that the batteries 100 are lent out in accordance with information (sometimes referred to as reservation information) related to the reservation of one or more batteries 100 that is held in the battery exchange station 300. Reservations for lending batteries 100 are accepted and managed by the management device 400. The reservation information is managed in the management device 400 as information that associates, for example, the identification information of the user who reserved the battery 100, the time at which the user desires to lend the battery 100, the number of batteries 100 that the user desires to lend, and the conditions for the charge state of the batteries 100 desired by the user. When the management device 400 accepts a lending reservation for a specific battery exchange station 300 from a user, the management device 400 manages the reservation information and transmits it to the target battery exchange station 300.

[0043] The rental management unit 346 may manage the status of one or more batteries 100 stored in the battery exchange station 300. For example, the rental management unit 346 manages at least one of the operating status, charging status, storage status, and degradation status of the above-mentioned batteries 100. The rental management unit 346 may manage the status of one or more batteries 100 based on the measurement results of the measuring device 324. The rental management unit 346 may detect an abnormality or defect in the battery 100.

[0044] The storage unit 348 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 348 is used as a storage area for various information related to the operation of the battery exchange station 300. For example, the storage unit 348 stores measurement information that associates a time with the measurement result of the measuring device 324 at that time.

[0045] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the lending management unit 346. The lending management unit 346 includes a status monitoring unit 352, a priority determination unit 354, and a lending target determination unit 358. At least some of the functional units included in the lending management unit 346 may be arranged in the management device 400. For example, at least one of the priority determination unit 354 and the lending target determination unit 358 may be arranged in the management device 400.

[0046] The status monitoring unit 352 monitors the status of each of the one or more batteries 100 held in the battery exchange station 300. For example, the status monitoring unit 352 acquires various types of information related to each of the one or more batteries 100. The status monitoring unit 352 may acquire information related to at least one of the operating status, charging status, storage status, and degradation status of each of the one or more batteries 100. The status monitoring unit 352 may transmit this information to the management device 400.

[0047] The state monitoring unit 352 acquires information indicating the amount of power stored in each of one or more batteries 100 held by the battery exchange station 300. For example, the state monitoring unit 352 acquires information indicating the state of charge of the battery 100 to be measured from each of the measuring devices 324 arranged in one or more charging units 320. The information indicating the state of charge may be information indicating the SOC or information for calculating the SOC. Examples of information for calculating the SOC include information indicating the voltage and information indicating the cumulative value of the charging current.

[0048] The priority determination unit 354 determines, for each of the multiple batteries 100 held by the battery exchange station 300, a priority order in which the battery is to be loaned or charged. The priority order in which the battery 100 is to be loaned may be whether the battery 100 is available for loan or may be a priority level for loaning the battery 100. The priority order in which the battery 100 is to be charged may be whether the battery 100 is available for charging or may be a priority level for charging the battery 100. The above priority levels may be indicated by continuous numerical values ​​or by graded divisions. The priority order in which the battery 100 is to be loaned may be the same as the priority order in which the battery 100 is to be charged.

[0049] The lending object determination unit 358 determines a battery 100 to be provided to a specific user in response to a request from the user from among one or more batteries 100 stored in the battery storage chambers 322 of one or more charging units 320. The lending object determination unit 358 may determine a battery 100 to be lent from among the multiple batteries 100 held in the battery exchange station 300.

[0050] For example, the lending object determination unit 358 accesses the user management information 416 described below to acquire information indicating the user attributes of the user (user information). Based on the user attributes of the user, the lending object determination unit 358 extracts a battery 100 to be provided to the user from among the plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery exchange station 300. This allows the lending object determination unit 358 to determine the battery 100 to be provided to the user from among the plurality of batteries 100 in response to a request from the user.

[0051] [7. Management Device Configuration] 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of the management device 400. The management device 400 includes, for example, a storage unit 410, a station information acquisition unit 420, a status monitoring unit 430, a battery management unit 440, a user authentication unit 450, a margin estimation unit 460, a rental price determination unit 470, and a station information transmission unit 480. These components are implemented by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0052] The storage unit 410 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 410 is used as a storage area for various information related to the operation of the management device 400. The storage unit 410 stores, for example, battery management information 412, station management information 414, and user management information 416.

[0053] The battery management information 412 includes various types of information related to each battery 100 to be managed. For example, the battery management information 412 includes, for each battery 100, information on the amount of power stored in the battery 100 (for example, the SOC value). The battery management information 412 also includes, for each battery 100, degradation information indicating the degree of degradation of the battery 100. For example, the degradation information may include the full charge capacity of the battery 100, changes in the full charge capacity (amount of decrease or rate of decrease), charging time, temperature during charging, changes in internal resistance (amount of increase or rate of increase), etc.

[0054] The station management information 414 includes various information related to each of the battery exchange stations 300 to be managed. For example, the station management information 414 includes, for each battery exchange station 300, information indicating the status of the battery exchange station 300, its installation location, and identification information for each of the one or more batteries 100 held by each station.

[0055] The user management information 416 is information (user information) indicating the user attributes of each user. As described above, the user attributes include the user U's contract information regarding the battery sharing service, the user U's usage history of the battery 100, and the like. In addition to these, the user attributes may also include the usage tendency of the battery 100 analyzed for each user. The usage tendency of the battery 100 here refers to the tendency of how the user uses the battery 100, and can be analyzed by the margin estimation unit 460, the rental price determination unit 470, the station information transmission unit 480, and the like, which will be described later.

[0056] The station information acquisition unit 420 acquires necessary information from the battery exchange station 300 and the user terminal device 500 as needed, and generates or updates the battery management information 412, station management information 414, and user management information 416 described above.

[0057] The status monitoring unit 430 monitors each of the battery exchange stations 300 that are the subject of management based on the station management information 414. The station management information 414 is updated by the station information acquisition unit 420 as appropriate according to the monitoring cycle of the status monitoring unit 430.

[0058] The battery management unit 440 manages one or more batteries 100 housed in each battery exchange station 300 based on the battery management information 412. The battery management unit 440 manages, for example, at least one of the operating state, charging state, storage state, and degradation state of the battery 100 to be managed.

[0059] The user authentication unit 450 performs user authentication for users of the battery sharing service. User authentication may be based on a combination of a user ID and a password, or on biometric information such as a fingerprint, voiceprint, or iris information. The user authentication unit 450 may also perform user authentication for users of the battery exchange station 300 in response to a request from the battery exchange station 300.

[0060] The margin estimation unit 460 estimates the margin of a battery exchange station 300 designated as an estimation target (hereinafter referred to as the "target station") at a specified specific timing (hereinafter referred to as the "designated timing"). The margin is the degree of likelihood that the target station will be in a state where it can lend out a battery 100 at the specified timing. The margin estimation unit 460 estimates the margin of the target station based on station information acquired from the target station. As described above, the station information is information including one or both of the battery 100 exchange history in the battery exchange station 300 and the charging completion time for each battery 100 accommodated in the battery exchange station 300. The charging completion time is the time required to complete charging of the battery 100. Here, the completion of charging means that the battery 100 has been charged to a level where it can be lent out, and does not necessarily mean that it is fully charged. The level at which the battery 100 can be lent out may be set appropriately depending on the purpose of use of the battery 100, the degree of deterioration of the battery 100, etc. Here, the full charge time is updated as needed as the charging progresses, representing the time from the present to the time when charging is completed. For example, if the charging rate of a certain battery 100 at time T1 is 50% and the time until charging is completed is one hour, the charging completion time of the battery 100 at time T1 is one hour. If the charging rate is then 60% at time T2 and the time until charging is completed is 50 minutes, the charging completion time of the battery 100 at time T2 is updated to 50 minutes. The update interval may be set appropriately depending on the allowable error in estimating the margin of error.

[0061] The rental price determination unit 470 determines the rental price of the battery 100 at the target station and the specified timing based on the margin estimation result by the margin estimation unit 460. For example, the rental price determination unit 470 may determine a higher rental price the higher the margin of the target station at the specified timing, and may determine a lower rental price the lower the margin. The rental price determination unit 470 may be configured to update the rental price when the margin is estimated, or may be configured to determine the rental price when the management device 400 accepts a rental reservation for the battery 100 from the user terminal device 500. The rental price determination unit 470 may determine the rental price based on the margin estimated most recently, or may instruct the margin estimation unit 460 to estimate the margin when determining the rental price.

[0062] The station information transmitter 480 generates station information including information about batteries 100 available for rental by the battery exchange station 300 and transmits the generated station information to the user terminal 500. More specifically, the station information is used when the user terminal 500 displays availability information about the battery exchange station 300, and includes the above-mentioned margin. In addition, the station information transmitter 480 may include in the station information some or all of the battery management information 412 and station management information 414 stored in the storage unit 410, as well as various information acquired based on this management information. The station information transmitter 480 may also generate station information by inquiring of the battery exchange station 300 for necessary information as appropriate.

[0063] [8. Configuration of user terminal device] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal device 500. The user terminal device 500 includes, for example, a storage unit 510, an input unit 520, a display unit 530, and a control unit 540. These components are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0064] The storage unit 510 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The storage unit 510 is used as a storage area for various information related to the operation of the user terminal device 500. For example, the storage unit 510 stores a user application program (hereinafter referred to as a "terminal application") 511 that displays availability information of battery exchange stations 300 in the form of a map. More specifically, the terminal application 511 displays the installation locations of the battery exchange stations 300 on a map, and displays information indicating the remaining capacity of the batteries 100 that each battery exchange station 300 can rent (hereinafter referred to as "remaining capacity information") on the map in association with each station. For example, the remaining capacity information may be displayed near the corresponding battery exchange station 300, or may be displayed at any location on the map together with a display indicating the corresponding battery exchange station 300.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of display of remaining capacity information by the terminal app 511. For example, the first display example G11 in FIG. 8 displays the number of batteries 100 currently available for rental (rentable number) for a specific battery exchange station 300 (hereinafter referred to as "my station") registered in advance by the user as remaining capacity information along with the location of my station on a map. Furthermore, the second display example G12 displays the time required until the number of batteries available for rental becomes zero as remaining capacity information along with the location of my station on a map when the number of batteries available for rental is zero. FIG. 8 is an example of displaying remaining capacity information for the battery exchange station 300 at the current time. However, the terminal app 511 can display remaining capacity information at any time in the future in addition to displaying such current remaining capacity information. The terminal app 511 displays such remaining capacity information based on station information received from the management device 400. The remaining capacity information may be included in the station information in advance, or may be generated by the terminal app 511 based on the station information.

[0066] Returning to FIG. 7 , the input unit 520 includes input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and touch panel. The input unit 520 accepts various operations input by the user, converts the input operations into electrical signals, and outputs the electrical signals to the control unit 540. The input unit 520 may be equipped with an audio input device such as a microphone and configured to accept operation input by audio input. Furthermore, if the input unit 520 includes a touch panel, the input unit 520 may be configured integrally with the display unit 530. Furthermore, the input unit 520 is not limited to being an input device configured as a part of the user terminal device 500. For example, the input unit 520 may be configured as an input interface that inputs electrical signals indicating operations for the user terminal device 500 from an external device configured separately from the user terminal device 500.

[0067] Display unit 530 is configured using a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, or an organic EL display. Alternatively, display unit 530 may be configured as an interface that connects these display devices to its own device. For example, the screen of terminal application 511 is displayed on display unit 530.

[0068] Control unit 540 controls the operation of each unit of user terminal device 500. Control unit 540 includes, for example, authentication request unit 541, display control unit 543, and condition designation unit 545. For example, authentication request unit 541, display control unit 543, and condition designation unit 545 are generated by control unit 540 executing terminal application 511.

[0069] The authentication request unit 541 requests the management device 400 to perform user authentication for the user. At this time, the authentication request unit 541 transmits to the management device 400 authentication information of the user required for user authentication.

[0070] The display control unit 543 executes a display control process for controlling the screen display of the terminal application 511 based on the station information acquired from the management device 400. For example, the station information includes information such as identification information, location information, battery information, and margin of the battery exchange station 300 to be displayed (hereinafter referred to as the "target station"). The display control unit 543 recognizes the position of the target station based on the various information included in the station information, acquires the remaining power information of the target station, and displays the acquired remaining power information on a map in association with the position of the target station (see, for example, FIG. 7).

[0071] In addition to the display control based on such station information, the display control unit 543 may also perform display control based on the user attributes of the user that can be recognized according to the result of user authentication. As described above, the user attributes of the users are managed by the user management information 416 in the management device 400. In this case, the user authentication unit 450 acquires the user attributes of the user who has been successfully authenticated from the user management information 416 and transmits them to the user terminal device 500, whereby the display control unit 543 can recognize the user attributes of the user of the device itself (the user terminal device 500) according to the result of the user authentication of the user. For example, the display control unit 543 can recognize the electrical device for which the user uses the battery 100 (hereinafter referred to as the "application device"), the user's usage history of the battery 100, etc., according to the user authentication result. Furthermore, the display control unit 543 can analyze the user's usage tendency of the battery 100 by analyzing the usage history of the battery 100, battery information corresponding to the usage history, etc. For example, the display control unit 543 can estimate the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 caused by use by the user and analyze the deterioration pattern. For example, the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 can be recognized from changes in the SOC, changes in the full charge capacity, changes in the time required for charging, etc. The display control unit 543 may be configured to determine the battery exchange stations 300 to be displayed and the batteries 100 available for rental based on various user attributes recognized in accordance with the results of user authentication in this way, and to display availability information within that range.

[0072] The condition specification unit 545 specifies the estimation conditions of the margin to be notified as part of the station information when the user terminal device 500 requests the management device 400 to provide station information. As described above, the estimation conditions of the margin include a target station, which is the battery exchange station 300 to be estimated, and a specified timing, which is the timing to be estimated. The condition specification unit 545 accepts input of the estimation conditions by the user via, for example, the input unit 520. The input estimation conditions are transmitted to the management device 400 together with the request to provide station information.

[0073] In this embodiment, the user terminal device 500 can display the margin of the designated battery exchange station 300 (target station) at a designated timing (designated timing) as availability information of the target station.

[0074] [9. Availability information provision process] 9 is a sequence chart showing an example of a processing flow in which user terminal device 500 cooperates with management device 400 to display the margin at a specified timing (designated timing) as availability information of battery exchange station 300 designated as a target station. First, an operation to start terminal application 511 is input in user terminal device 500 (step S101). In response to this start-up operation, control unit 540 starts terminal application 511, whereby authentication request unit 541 and display control unit 543 are generated in user terminal device 500.

[0075] When terminal application 511 is launched in user terminal device 500, authentication request unit 541 first requests management device 400 to authenticate the user (step S102). At this time, authentication request unit 541 transmits authentication information of the user (e.g., a user ID and a password) to management device 400.

[0076] Next, in the management device 400, the user authentication unit 450 receives a request from the user terminal device 500 and performs user authentication for the requesting user (step S103). The user authentication unit 450 notifies the user terminal device 500 of the result of the user authentication (step S104). The following describes a case where the user authentication of the user is successful in step S103, but if the user authentication fails in step S103, the user authentication unit 450 notifies the requesting user terminal device 500 that the user authentication has failed in step S104, and the series of processes ends.

[0077] Next, in the user terminal device 500, in response to successful user authentication of the user, the display control unit 543 requests the management device 400 to provide station information (step S105). At this time, the display control unit 543 presents estimation conditions related to the estimation of the margin level to the management device 400. For example, the display control unit 543 may present to the management device 400 estimation conditions that have been registered in advance by the user in the user terminal device 500, or may be configured to accept input of estimation conditions from the user when requesting the provision of station information.

[0078] Next, in the management device 400, the margin estimation unit 460 recognizes the target station and the specified timing based on the estimation conditions notified from the user terminal device 500, and estimates the margin of the target station at the specified timing based on various management information (battery management information 412, station management information 414, user management information 416, etc.) stored in the storage unit 410 (step S106). Next, the rental price determination unit 470 determines the rental price of the battery 100 at the specified timing of the target station based on the margin estimated by the margin estimation unit 460 in step S106 (step S107). Next, the station information transmission unit 480 generates station information necessary for display control of the terminal application 511 in the user terminal device 500 and transmits it to the user terminal device 500 (step S108). At this time, the station information transmission unit 480 transmits the margin estimated in step S106 and the rental price determined in step S107 to the user terminal device 500, together with the station information.

[0079] Depending on the timing of receiving the request for providing station information, there is a possibility that the management device 400 has not acquired sufficient management information. If such a possibility is anticipated, the station information acquisition unit 420 may be configured to request update information from the battery exchange station 300 in response to successful user authentication (step S201) and acquire the update information from the battery exchange station 300 (step S202). In this case, the station information acquisition unit 420 may perform information update processing on various pieces of management information in the storage unit 410 based on the update information acquired from the battery exchange station 300 (step S203), and then proceed to step S106. By performing such information update processing, the management device 400 can provide more appropriate station information to the user terminal device 500.

[0080] Next, in the user terminal device 500, the display control unit 543 executes a display control process to display availability information of the battery exchange station 300 on the display unit 530 based on the station information provided by the management device 400 (step S108). For example, the display control unit 543 recognizes the target station and the designated timing based on the station information, and displays the margin of the target station at the designated timing. Note that the number of target stations may be one or more. Similarly, the designated timing may be one or more. Furthermore, the margin may be displayed on a map displayed by the terminal application 511 in association with the position of the target station on the map.

[0081] 9, the case where the margin of the battery exchange station 300 is displayed in response to the activation of the terminal application 511 has been described, but the timing at which the margin is displayed may be any timing. For example, the terminal application 511 may display the margin information as illustrated in FIG. 8 upon activation, and then execute processing for displaying the margin in response to an instruction to display the margin by a user operation. For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the user terminal device 500 may execute processing from step S102 onward in response to an operation input to display the margin. In this case, if user authentication has already been successful, the processing related to user authentication (steps S102 to S104) may be omitted.

[0082] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a method by which the margin estimation unit 460 estimates the margin at a specified timing for a battery exchange station 300 designated as a target station in the management device 400. For example, as shown in the matrix of Fig. 9, the margin estimation unit 460 can determine the margin according to a combination of the predicted number of batteries 100 that have completed charging at the target station at the specified timing (hereinafter referred to as the "number of completed charges") and a predicted value of the degree of congestion in the use of the batteries 100 at the target station at the specified timing (hereinafter referred to as the "use congestion degree").

[0083] The degree of busyness in use is represented, for example, by the number of battery 100 replacements predicted to occur at the specified timing. For example, the margin estimation unit 460 compares the number of battery 100 replacements that occurred at the specified timing among the battery 100 replacement histories included in the station information that are on the same day of the week and in the same time period as the specified timing, thereby classifying the number of battery replacements into several groups of representative numbers (or a range of numbers), and can predict the occurrence frequency of each group as the degree of busyness in use.

[0084] Here, the number of completed charges represents the available lending capacity of the battery 100, while the usage congestion level is a factor that reduces the available lending capacity. Therefore, the actual available lending capacity of the battery 100 at the specified timing of the target station is expressed as an index value obtained by subtracting the usage congestion level from the number of completed charges. For example, the example matrix in Figure 10 shows an example of determining the available lending capacity when the number of completed charges is assumed to be "0 to 1," "2 to 5," or "6 or more," and the usage congestion level is assumed to be "0 times," "1 to 2 times," or "3 or more."

[0085] In the example of FIG. 10, for example, if the number of completed charges is "2 to 5" and the usage congestion level is "0 times," the actual remaining lending capacity of the battery 100 is "2 to 5," and therefore the margin is determined to be "high (sunny mark)." Also, for example, if the number of completed charges is "2 to 5" and the usage congestion level is "1 to 2 times," the actual remaining lending capacity of the battery 100 is "1 to 3," and therefore the margin is determined to be "medium (cloudy mark)." Also, for example, if the number of completed charges is "2 to 5" and the usage congestion level is "3 or more times," the actual remaining lending capacity of the battery 100 is "0 to 2," and therefore the margin is determined to be "low (rainy mark)."

[0086] The margin estimation unit 460 may determine the margin in response to a request for station information from the user terminal device 500, or may create a matrix such as the example of FIG. 10 as a lookup table for combinations of the number of completed chargings and the usage congestion level that can be predicted. In this case, the margin estimation unit 460 may determine the margin by referring to the lookup table using the predicted results of the number of completed chargings and the usage congestion level acquired in response to the request for station information. Although the margin is expressed as a graded level (e.g., high margin, medium margin, low margin, etc.) in the above description, the margin may also be expressed numerically. For example, the margin estimation unit 460 may use the maximum possible margin as a reference value and calculate the margin as a ratio or percentage of the reference value.

[0087] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a display example when terminal application 511 displays remaining capacity information of target stations on user terminal device 500. For example, in the display example of Fig. 11, when two battery exchange stations 300 (my stations) whose installation locations are represented by icons C1 and C2 on a map are specified as target stations and the time period from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM is specified as the specified timing, the remaining capacity information including the respective margins is displayed on the map in association with the respective installation locations.

[0088] 11, a first display example G21 notifies the user that the battery exchange station 300 associated with icon C1 has a high margin of availability at the specified time and has a surplus of rentable batteries 100 in stock. Also, in Fig. 11, a second display example G22 notifies the user that the battery exchange station 300 associated with icon C2 has a low margin of availability at the specified time and has no rentable batteries 100 in stock, and suggests that the user search for alternative battery exchange stations 300 in the vicinity of the target station. In this way, by displaying the marginal capacity information for the specified battery exchange station 300 at the specified time, the user can recognize the appropriate time to use the battery exchange station 300 in advance and select a more appropriate battery exchange station 300 to use.

[0089] For example, in the example of FIG. 11 , when a user is at point P1 shown on the map, the user recognizes that my station A associated with icon C1 has a higher margin of safety between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM than my station B associated with icon C2, and can plan to use my station A between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. In this case, for example, if the user recognizes that my station A has a higher margin of safety between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM but considers that my station A is far from the current location, the user can search for available battery exchange stations 300 near my station B, which is closer to the current location. In this case, the display control unit 543 of the terminal app 511 identifies battery exchange stations 300 located near my station B in response to an operation to instruct a search for battery exchange stations 300, and transmits a request to the management device 400 to provide station information for the same specified time period (4:00 PM to 6:00 PM in this example) to the management device 400. The user terminal device 500 may pre-store location information of battery exchange stations 300 other than my station, or may inquire about this information from the management device 400.

[0090] The second display example G22 is an example of a mode in which, for a target station whose margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value, battery exchange stations 300 other than the target station are displayed as replacement candidates. While FIG. 11 illustrates a case in which the predetermined value is set to zero, this predetermined value is not limited to zero and may be set arbitrarily. Also, while FIG. 11 illustrates a case in which a search for a battery exchange station 300 that can be a replacement candidate for the target station is performed in response to a user operation, such a search for a replacement candidate may be performed appropriately in response to an estimated margin for the target station, without relying on a user operation. In this case, the margin estimation unit 460 of the management device 400 may search for a replacement candidate battery exchange station 300 in the vicinity of the target station, and the search results may be included in station information and transmitted to the user terminal device 500. In this case, the margin for the replacement candidate may be estimated, and the estimated result may be included in station information and transmitted to the user terminal device 500.

[0091] According to the battery sharing system 1 of the embodiment configured as described above, it is possible to provide more suitable information to users regarding the availability of the battery exchange station 300 in the battery sharing service.

[0092] <Modification> In the above embodiment, the case where the display control unit 543 is provided in the user terminal device 500 has been described, but some or all of the functions of the display control unit 543 may be provided on the management device 400 side. For example, the management device 400 may be configured to generate an image that displays the battery exchange station 300 and its remaining capacity information on a map and transmit the image to the user terminal device 500.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the case where the management device 400 is configured separately from the battery exchange station 300 has been described, but some or all of the functions of the management device 400 may be provided on the battery exchange station 300 side.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the details of the battery sharing system 1 have been described using an example in which the management device 400 manages one or more batteries 100 and one or more battery exchange stations 300. However, the battery sharing system 1 is not limited to this embodiment. At least one of the one or more battery exchange stations 300 may have at least some of the functions of the above-described management device 400. For example, at least one of the one or more battery exchange stations 300 may manage one or more batteries 100. At least one of the one or more battery exchange stations 300 may manage other battery exchange stations 300. In this case, the battery sharing system 1 may or may not include the management device 400.

[0095] In this embodiment, the details of the battery sharing system 1 have been described using as an example a case where the battery exchange station 300 determines a battery 100 to be lent out from among the plurality of batteries 100 stored therein. However, the battery sharing system 1 is not limited to this embodiment. The management device 400 may determine a battery 100 to be lent out from among the plurality of batteries 100 stored in the battery exchange station 300.

[0096] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. a battery exchange station that allows a user who has been successfully authenticated to borrow, return, or exchange a battery; an application program executed on a user terminal device used by the user, the application program being a terminal application that displays information about the battery exchange station; a management device that acquires station information from the battery exchange station, the station information including information about the batteries accommodated in the battery exchange station; A battery sharing system comprising: one or more storage media storing computer-readable instructions; one or more processors coupled to the one or more storage media; The one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions to The management device acquiring, from the battery exchange station, information including one or both of a battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and a charging time required to complete charging for each battery accommodated in the battery exchange station as the station information; based on the station information, estimating a margin that indicates the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing; The terminal application a condition designation process of accepting designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as the margin estimation conditions and transmitting the designation to the management device; a display control process for acquiring information on the margin estimated by the management device under the estimation conditions from the management device and displaying the information on the margin on a display unit; causing the user terminal device to execute the Battery sharing system.

[0097] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1...battery sharing system, 100...battery, 120...power storage unit, 130...BMU, 131...measurement sensor, 132...memory unit, 140...connection unit, 200...electric motorcycle, 18...vehicle sensor, 20...HMI, 22...GNSS receiver, 210...battery connection unit, 220...vehicle control unit, 230...driving force output device, 300...battery exchange station, 301...operation unit, 320...charging unit, 320...or more charging units, 322...battery storage chamber, 324...measuring instrument, 326...charging circuit, 340...control unit, 342...communication control unit, 344...charge / discharge control unit, 346...rental management unit, 348...memory unit , 352...status monitoring unit, 354...priority determination unit, 358...lending target determination unit, 400...management device, 410...storage unit, 412...battery management information, 414...station management information, 416...user management information, 420...station information acquisition unit, 430...status monitoring unit, 440...battery management unit, 450...user authentication unit, 460...margin estimation unit, 470...lending price determination unit, 480...station information transmission unit, 500...user terminal device, 510...storage unit, 511...terminal application, 520...input unit, 530...display unit, 540...control unit, 541...authentication request unit, 543...display control unit, 545...condition specification unit

Claims

1. a battery exchange station that allows a user who has been successfully authenticated to borrow, return, or exchange a battery; an application program executed on a user terminal device used by the user, the application program being a terminal application that displays information about the battery exchange station; a management device that acquires station information from the battery exchange station, the station information including information about the batteries accommodated in the battery exchange station; A battery sharing system comprising: the management device includes a station information acquisition unit that acquires, from the battery exchange station, information including one or both of a battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and a charging time required to complete charging for each battery accommodated in the battery exchange station, as the station information; a margin estimation unit that estimates a margin that indicates the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing based on the station information; Equipped with The terminal application a condition designation process of receiving designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as the margin estimation conditions and transmitting the designation to the management device; a display control process for acquiring information on the margin estimated by the management device under the estimation conditions from the management device and displaying the information on the margin on a display unit; The user terminal device executes the following: the display control process causes the display unit to display battery exchange stations other than the designated battery exchange station as alternative candidates for the designated battery exchange station when the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Battery sharing system.

2. the margin estimation unit estimates the margin of the battery exchange station at the timing based on a result of comparing exchange histories for the same day of the week and the same time period among the exchange histories included in the station information. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

3. The management device further includes a rental price determination unit that, when a rental reservation for the battery is made, determines a rental price for the battery based on an estimation result of the margin of the battery exchange station that rents the battery related to the rental reservation at the date and time of the rental reservation. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

4. the management device further includes a user authentication unit that performs the user authentication for the user, the display unit determines a battery exchange station for which the margin is to be displayed based on a user attribute of the user recognized based on a result of the user authentication performed by the user authentication unit. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

5. The display control process: and displaying information on the margin of the battery exchange station at the designated timing on a map in association with the installation location of the battery exchange station on the display unit. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

6. The display control process: The information on the margin of the battery exchange station is displayed on the display unit by expressing the margin as a graded intensity. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

7. The display control process: If the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and causing the display unit to display a message suggesting to the user that the user should search for the other battery exchange station as the alternative candidate in the vicinity of the designated battery exchange station. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

8. The designated battery exchange station is a specific battery exchange station that has been registered in advance by the user. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

9. The margin estimation unit determines the margin according to a combination of the number of batteries that are expected to be fully charged at the designated battery exchange station at the designated time and a predicted value of the degree of congestion of battery usage at the designated battery exchange station at the designated time. The battery sharing system according to claim 1 .

10. A battery exchange station that allows a user who has successfully been authenticated to lend, return, or exchange a battery, and a user terminal device used by the user, the user terminal device being capable of communicating with the user terminal device that displays information about the battery exchange station, and acquiring station information from the battery exchange station that includes information about batteries stored in the battery exchange station, a station information acquisition unit that acquires, from the battery exchange station, information including one or both of a battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and a charging time required to complete charging for each battery accommodated in the battery exchange station, as the station information; a margin estimation unit that estimates a margin that indicates the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing based on the station information; a condition designation unit that accepts designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as conditions for the margin estimation unit to estimate the margin; Equipped with the margin estimation unit transmits information about the margin estimated under the estimation conditions to the user terminal device; When the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the user terminal device displays on a display unit other battery exchange stations than the designated battery exchange station as alternative candidates for the designated battery exchange station. Management device.

11. A control method for a battery sharing system comprising: a battery exchange station that enables a user who has successfully been authenticated to lend, return, or exchange a battery; an application program executed on a user terminal device used by the user, the application program being a terminal application that displays information about the battery exchange station on the user terminal device; and a management device that acquires station information about the battery exchange station from the battery exchange station, The management device acquiring, from the battery exchange station, information including one or both of a battery exchange history at the battery exchange station and a charging time required to complete charging for each battery accommodated in the battery exchange station as the station information; estimating a margin, which is the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing, based on the station information; The terminal application a condition designation process of receiving designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as the margin estimation conditions and transmitting the designation to the management device; a display control process for acquiring information on the margin estimated by the management device under the estimation conditions from the management device and displaying the information on the margin on a display unit; The user terminal device executes the following: the display control process causes the display unit to display battery exchange stations other than the designated battery exchange station as alternative candidates for the designated battery exchange station when the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Control method.

12. A terminal application that is executed on a user terminal device used by a user and displays, for a user who has successfully been authenticated, information about a battery exchange station that allows the user to rent, return, or exchange a battery, A processor of the user terminal device a condition specification process for receiving designation of the battery exchange station and the timing as a condition for estimating the margin, which is the degree to which the battery exchange station can lend out the battery at a predetermined timing, from a management device that estimates the margin, and transmitting the designation to the management device; a display control process for acquiring information on the margin estimated by the management device under the estimation conditions from the management device and displaying the information on the margin on a display unit; It is a program for executing the display control process causes the display unit to display battery exchange stations other than the designated battery exchange station as alternative candidates for the designated battery exchange station when the estimated margin is equal to or less than a predetermined value. program.

Images