Parking reservation management system

Abstract

To allocate a more appropriate vehicle to parking at a chargeable / dischargeable parking space.SOLUTION: A parking reservation management device manages parking reservation of a parking lot which includes: a chargeable parking space to which a charging device for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle is attached; and a chargeable / dischargeable parking space to which a charging / discharging device capable of charging / discharging the battery. The parking reservation management device executes confirmation processing to confirm that a parking scheduled vehicle is the vehicle whose battery can be charged / discharged by the charging / discharging device when the parking is reserved, and also to confirm that the battery can be charged / discharge by the charging / discharging device during parking. Then, the device preferentially allocates the chargeable / dischargeable parking space with respect to the vehicle confirmed by the confirmation processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking reservation management device, and more particularly to a parking reservation management device for a parking lot having a chargeable parking space equipped with a charging and discharging device that charges and discharges a battery mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a system having a storage battery installed in a parking lot, an AC-DC power conversion device for this storage battery, and a charging and discharging stand for an electric vehicle, there has been proposed one that can supply power from the charging and discharging stand or the AC-DC power conversion device to a load (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this system, by supplying power from the charging and discharging stand or the AC-DC power conversion device to the load, power can be supplied to the load even during an abnormality in the commercial power system.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a parking lot having a chargeable parking space equipped with a charging device that can only charge an in-vehicle battery and a chargeable parking space equipped with a charging and discharging device that can charge and discharge an in-vehicle battery, it is an extremely important issue to determine which vehicle is parked in which parking space.

[0005] The main object of the parking reservation management device of the present disclosure is to allocate a more appropriate vehicle to parking in a chargeable parking space.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The parking reservation management device of this disclosure employs the following means to achieve the main objective described above.

[0007] The parking reservation management device of this disclosure is A parking reservation management device for a parking lot that is capable of communicating via a communication network, has a rechargeable parking space equipped with a charging device for charging a vehicle's battery, and a rechargeable parking space equipped with a charge / discharge device capable of charging and discharging the battery, and is capable of exchanging power with a predetermined facility, When a parking space is reserved, a confirmation process is performed to verify that the vehicle to be parked is capable of charging and discharging its battery using the charging / discharging device, and that charging and discharging of the battery using the charging / discharging device is permitted while parked. Vehicles that have been confirmed through the confirmation process are given priority in being allocated the charging / discharging-capable parking space. It is characterized by the following:

[0008] The parking reservation management device of this disclosure accepts parking reservations for a parking lot having charging-enabled parking spaces equipped with charging devices for charging vehicle batteries and charging / discharging-enabled parking spaces equipped with charging / discharging devices capable of charging and discharging batteries. When a parking reservation is made, a confirmation process is performed to verify that the vehicle to be parked is capable of charging and discharging its battery using the charging / discharging device, and to verify that charging and discharging the battery using the charging / discharging device is permitted while parked. Vehicles that have been verified through this process are given priority in being allocated a charging / discharging-enabled parking space. This makes it possible to exchange power with the designated facility more effectively. As a result, more appropriate vehicles can be allocated to parking spaces that can be charged / discharged.

[0009] In the parking reservation management device of this disclosure, when a parking reservation is made, the scheduled entry date and time and the scheduled exit date and time are entered, and vehicles with longer parking periods, based on the scheduled entry date and time and the scheduled exit date and time, may be preferentially assigned to the charging / discharging parking spaces. This makes the exchange of power with the designated facility more effective and allows for the assignment of more appropriate vehicles to the charging / discharging parking spaces. In this case, the parking lot is attached to an airport, and the scheduled entry date and time and the scheduled exit date and time may be calculated from the flight schedule based on the input of the identification number of the airline ticket used. Furthermore, based on power supply and demand information obtained from a power management system that manages the exchange of power with the designated facility, the confirmation process may be performed when the parking period is a period during which an exchange of power with the designated facility is necessary, and the confirmation process may not be performed when the parking period is a period during which an exchange of power with the designated facility is not necessary. In this way, vehicles with parking periods that match the period during which an exchange of power between the parking lot and the designated facility is necessary can be assigned to the charging / discharging parking spaces, allowing for the assignment of more appropriate vehicles to the charging / discharging parking spaces.

[0010] In the parking reservation management device of this disclosure, when a cancellation occurs in the reservation of a vehicle assigned to a charging / discharging parking space, the device may perform the confirmation process described above and send a notification to the user of a vehicle not assigned to a charging / discharging parking space indicating that it is possible to be assigned to a charging / discharging parking space. In this way, even if a cancellation occurs in the reservation of a vehicle assigned to a charging / discharging parking space, the device can encourage the assignment of another parking vehicle to that canceled slot. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This diagram shows a schematic configuration of a parking reservation system 10, including a parking reservation management device 20, as one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This diagram outlines the configuration of vehicles that can utilize the charging and discharging parking spaces 36 in parking lot 30. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of a parking reservation process performed by the parking reservation management unit 24 and the parking usage application 230. [Figure 4] This flowchart shows an example of a modified parking reservation process. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of the processing performed when a reservation is canceled by the parking reservation management unit 24 and the parking usage application 230. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Next, embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a parking reservation system 10 including a parking reservation management device 20 as one embodiment of this disclosure. The parking reservation system 10 comprises a wired or wireless communication network 12, a parking reservation management device 20 connected to this communication network 12, and a user terminal 220 connected to the communication network 12.

[0013] The parking reservation management device 20 is a device that accepts parking reservations for parking spaces in a parking lot 30 attached to a designated facility (e.g., an airport) 60, and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The parking reservation management device 20 includes a communication device 22 for communicating with a communication network 12, and a parking reservation management unit 24 that accepts and manages parking reservations. The parking reservation management unit 24 is a functional block in which hardware and application software function as an integrated unit.

[0014] The parking lot 30 includes multiple rechargeable parking spaces 32 equipped with charging devices 34 capable of charging only the batteries mounted on vehicles, multiple rechargeable parking spaces 36 equipped with charge / discharge devices 38 capable of charging and discharging the batteries mounted on vehicles, and multiple general parking spaces (not shown) that are not equipped with charging devices 34 or charge / discharge devices 38. Each parking space is assigned parking space information including an identification number, type, and location, which is stored in the parking reservation management unit 24 of the parking reservation management device 20.

[0015] Each charging device 34 installed in a plurality of rechargeable parking spaces 32 is connected to another power supply source 50 via a power management system 40 by a power line, and can charge a battery mounted on a vehicle parked in the rechargeable parking space 32 using the power from the other power supply source 50. Each charge-discharge device 38 installed in a plurality of charge-dischargeable parking spaces 36 is connected to another power supply source 50 or a predetermined facility 60 via a power management system 40 by a power line, and can charge a battery mounted on a vehicle parked in the charge-dischargeable parking space 36 using the power from the other power supply source 50, or supply the power from the battery to the predetermined facility 60.

[0016] The power management system 40 performs management such as supplying the power from the other power supply source 50 to the charging device 34 in the rechargeable parking space 32 and the charge-discharge device 38 in the charge-dischargeable parking space 36 to charge the battery mounted on the parked vehicle, supplying the power from the other power supply source 50 to the predetermined facility 60, and supplying the power from the charge-discharge device 38 in the charge-dischargeable parking space 36 to the predetermined facility 60.

[0017] The other power supply source 50 is assumed to include, for example, a commercial power supply and at least a part of a solar power generation power supply, a wind power generation power supply, a tidal power generation power supply, a geothermal power generation power supply, etc.

[0018] The user terminal 220 is configured as, for example, a portable communication terminal, and a parking lot use application 230 available in the parking lot reservation system 10 is installed.

[0019] Examples of vehicles that can use the charge-dischargeable parking space 36 in the parking lot 30 include, for example, the electric vehicle 120 illustrated in FIG. 2. The electric vehicle 120 includes a motor 122, an inverter 123, a battery 124, a charge-discharge circuit 138, a connector 139, and an electronic control unit 130.

[0020] The motor 122 is configured as a synchronous generator motor, for example, and its rotor is connected to a drive shaft 125 connected to drive wheels 128a and 128b via a differential gear 126. The motor 122 is driven by converting DC power from the battery 124 into three-phase AC power by the inverter 123 and applying it. The battery 124 is configured as a well-known lithium-ion secondary battery or nickel-metal hydride secondary battery.

[0021] The charge / discharge circuit 138 is connected to a power line with one end connected to the battery 124, and the other end is connected to a connector 139 for connecting to the charge / discharge device 38. The charge / discharge circuit 138 has a charge / discharge relay (not shown) and can connect to and disconnect from the battery 124 by the charge / discharge relay.

[0022] The electronic control unit 130 is configured as a microcomputer centered around a CPU (not shown). Signals from various sensors are input to the electronic control unit 130 via input ports. Signals input to the electronic control unit 130 via the input ports include an ignition signal from the ignition switch 142, a shift position SP from a shift position sensor 144 that detects the position of the shift lever 143, an accelerator opening Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor 146 that detects the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 145, a brake position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 148 that detects the depression amount of the brake pedal 147, a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 149, etc. Also, a rotation position θ from a rotation position sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation position of the motor 122, a battery voltage Vb from a voltage sensor (not shown) attached to the output terminal of the battery 124, a battery current Ib from a current sensor (not shown) attached to the output terminal of the battery 124, a charge / discharge voltage Vchg from a voltage sensor attached to the charge / discharge circuit 138, a charge / discharge current Ichg from a current sensor attached to the charge / discharge circuit 138, etc. can also be mentioned.

[0023] Various control signals are output from the electronic control unit 130 via its output ports. Examples of control signals output from the electronic control unit 130 via its output ports include display control signals to the display device 150, communication control signals to the communication device 152, and air conditioning control signals to the air conditioning device 154. Other examples include switching control signals for switching a switching element (not shown) to the inverter 123 for driving the motor 122, drive control signals for a system main relay (not shown) mounted near the battery 124, and drive control signals for a charge / discharge relay (not shown) mounted on the charge / discharge circuit 138. The electronic control unit 130 communicates with the navigation system 156, which displays various information and provides route guidance. A signal line 140 for communicating with the charge / discharge device 38 is connected to the electronic control unit 130 via a connector 139 when the charge / discharge device 38 is connected to it.

[0024] Next, the operation of the parking reservation system 10 of the embodiment, particularly the operation when making a parking reservation, will be described. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the parking reservation process executed by the parking reservation management unit 24 of the parking reservation management device 20 and the parking usage application 230 of the user terminal 220 when making a parking reservation.

[0025] The parking reservation process begins by entering the necessary information into a parking reservation form, which is launched using the parking application 230 installed on the user terminal 220, and sending it to the parking reservation management device 20 (step S100). Information to be entered into the parking reservation form includes the user's name, address, planned date and time of entry into the parking lot, planned date and time of exit from the parking lot, vehicle type, whether the vehicle's onboard battery is capable of charging and discharging, whether the onboard battery needs to be charged before exit, and whether the onboard battery can be used as a VPP (Virtual Power Plant) while parked. If the parking lot is located within an airport facility, instead of the planned date and time of entry into the parking lot and the planned date and time of exit from the parking lot, the user may, for example, enter their ticket number to obtain flight schedule information. In this case, the planned date and time of entry into the parking lot and the planned date and time of exit from the parking lot may be estimated by working backward from the flight schedule information and entered into the parking reservation management device.

[0026] The parking reservation management device 20, in response to input from the user terminal 220 into the parking reservation form, sends a control signal to the user terminal 220 that confirms the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its onboard battery and that permission for use with the VPP has been granted, and that permission for use with the VPP has been granted (step S200). For example, the confirmation message may be, "This vehicle is capable of using the Virtual Power Plant (VPP). Please confirm permission for use with the VPP." In response to this confirmation message, the user replies with a confirmation such as "yes" or "no" from the user terminal 220 (step S110).

[0027] The parking reservation management device 20 determines whether the confirmation reply from the user terminal 220 confirms that the vehicle is a rechargeable vehicle that can be used for VPP (step S210), and whether it confirms that the use of the parked vehicle's battery for VPP is permitted (step S220). If it is determined that confirmation for either of these has not been obtained, it assigns the vehicle related to the parking reservation to a parking space other than the rechargeable parking space 36 (such as the rechargeable parking space 32 or a general parking space) and sends a control signal to the user terminal 220 to display information such as the identification number and location of the assigned parking space in addition to the information entered in the parking reservation form (step S230). On the other hand, if it is determined in steps S210 and S220 that confirmation has been obtained for either of these, it assigns the vehicle related to the parking reservation to the rechargeable parking space 36 and sends a control signal to the user terminal 220 to display information such as the identification number and location of the assigned parking space in addition to the information entered in the parking reservation form (step S240).

[0028] The user sends a confirmation in response to the display on the user terminal 220 (step S120). Upon receiving the confirmation, the parking reservation management device 20 sends a control signal indicating that the parking reservation has been confirmed (step S250) and terminates its parking reservation processing. Meanwhile, the user terminal 220 displays a message indicating that the parking reservation has been confirmed by the parking reservation management device 20 (step S130) and terminates its parking reservation processing.

[0029] In the parking reservation management device 20 of the embodiment described above, when a parking reservation is made, a confirmation process is performed to confirm that the vehicle to be parked is a vehicle capable of charging and discharging its battery using the charging / discharging device 38, and to confirm that it is permissible to charge and discharge the battery using the charging / discharging device 38 while parked. Vehicles that have been confirmed through this confirmation process are given priority in being allocated a charging / discharging parking space 36. This makes it possible to exchange power with the designated facility 60 more effectively. As a result, more appropriate vehicles can be allocated to parking in the charging / discharging parking spaces 36.

[0030] In the parking reservation management device 20 of this embodiment, the parking reservation form is used to input whether the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its onboard battery, and whether the onboard battery can be used as a VPP while parked. The confirmation process then verifies that the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its battery and confirms permission for its use as a VPP. However, the parking reservation form may not include input fields for whether the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its onboard battery, or whether the onboard battery can be used as a VPP while parked. Instead, the confirmation process may verify that the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its battery and confirm permission for its use as a VPP. In this case, as illustrated in the parking reservation process shown in Figure 4, the confirmation process may be determined based on whether the parking period, based on the scheduled entry date and time and scheduled exit date and time, matches the desired power adjustment period of the designated facility 60. Here, the desired power adjustment period for the designated facility 60 is a period determined by the power management system 40 based on the power demand of the designated facility 60, taking into account the times and periods when the power supplied from other power sources 50 is insufficient to meet the power needs of the designated facility 60, or when the power supplied from other power sources 50 excessively exceeds the power needs of the designated facility 60, and when charging and discharging of the battery installed in a vehicle parked in a chargeable / dischargeable parking space 36 is deemed necessary. In the parking reservation process shown in Figure 4, the parking reservation management device 20 determines whether the parking period matches the desired power adjustment period for the designated facility 60 based on the input of the parking reservation form from the user terminal 220 (step S190). If it is determined that the parking period matches the desired power adjustment period, a confirmation process is performed to confirm that the vehicle is a chargeable / dischargeable vehicle that can be used for VPP and to confirm permission for use for VPP (step S200), and the parking reservation process shown in Figure 3 is then processed similarly. On the other hand, if it is determined that the parking period does not match the desired power adjustment period, the vehicle is assigned to a parking space other than the charge / discharge parking space 36 (such as the charging parking space 32 or a general parking space) without performing the confirmation process to verify that it is a charge / discharge vehicle that can be used for VPP or to confirm permission for use for VPP (step S230), and the parking reservation process shown in Figure 3 below is processed similarly.In this parking reservation process, vehicles whose parking period coincides with the period during which power exchange between the parking lot 30 and the designated facility 60 is required can be preferentially assigned to the charging / discharging parking space 36, thereby assigning more appropriate vehicles to the charging / discharging parking space 36.

[0031] In the parking reservation management device 20 of this embodiment, when a parking reservation for a chargeable / dischargeable parking space 36 is canceled, it may be necessary to prompt users of vehicles that have been assigned to parking spaces other than the chargeable / dischargeable parking space 36 and whose vehicles are capable of charging / discharging their onboard batteries to change their parking to the chargeable / dischargeable parking space 36. In this case, the cancellation processing illustrated in Figure 5 may be executed.

[0032] In the cancellation process shown in Figure 5, the parking reservation management device 20 first searches for vehicles that can charge and discharge their batteries among the vehicles assigned to charging spaces 32 that are close to the cancelled parking slot (step S400), and sends a request to the user terminal 220 of the found vehicle to change to a charging / discharging parking space 36 (step S410). This request not only confirms whether a change to a charging / discharging parking space 36 is possible, but also verifies that the vehicle is a charging / discharging vehicle that can be used for VPP and confirms permission to use VPP. For example, this can be done by sending a message such as, "A change to a charging / discharging parking space is possible. The change requires confirmation that the vehicle is a charging / discharging vehicle that can be used for VPP and confirmation of permission to use VPP."

[0033] When the user terminal 220 receives a request and sends a message to the parking reservation management device 20 indicating whether the change is permissible (step S300), the parking reservation management device 20 determines whether the change to a charge / dischargeable parking space 36 is permissible (step S420). If the parking reservation management device 20 determines that the change to a charge / dischargeable parking space 36 is denied, it sends a control signal to the user terminal 220 indicating that the current parking space assigned to the user will be maintained (step S430), and terminates its reservation cancellation processing as the parking reservation management device 20. Upon receiving the control signal indicating that the current parking space will be maintained, the user terminal 220 displays the current parking reservation information (step S310), and terminates its reservation cancellation processing as the user terminal 220.

[0034] On the other hand, when the parking reservation management device 20 determines in step S420 that the change to a chargeable parking space 36 has been confirmed, it changes the assignment of the vehicle to the chargeable parking space 36, sends a control signal to the user terminal 220 to display information such as the identification number and location of the assigned parking space in addition to the information entered in the parking reservation form (step S440), and terminates the reservation cancellation processing as the parking reservation management device 20. The user terminal 220, having received the control signal to display the information that has been changed to an assignment to a chargeable parking space 36, displays the information of the changed parking reservation (step S310), and terminates the reservation cancellation processing as the user terminal 220.

[0035] In the parking reservation management device 20 of the embodiment described above, when a cancellation occurs in a reservation for a vehicle assigned to a charging / discharging parking space 36, the device performs a process to confirm that the vehicle is a charging / discharging vehicle that can be used for VPP and to confirm permission for use for VPP for users of vehicles not assigned to a charging / discharging parking space 36. This allows the device to prompt the assignment of another parking vehicle to the canceled space even if a cancellation occurs in a reservation for a vehicle assigned to a charging / discharging parking space 36.

[0036] In the parking reservation management device 20 of this embodiment, an electric vehicle 120 that drives a motor 122 using power from a battery 124 is assumed to be a vehicle that can utilize the rechargeable parking space 36 of the parking lot 30. However, any vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery is acceptable, so various configurations of vehicles such as hybrid vehicles equipped with an engine, motor and battery, or fuel cell vehicles equipped with a fuel cell and battery, may also be used.

[0037] In the embodiment of the parking reservation system 10, the system consists of a communication network 12, a parking reservation management device 20, and a user terminal 220. However, the user terminal 220 may be an in-vehicle unit consisting of an electronic control unit 30, a display device 150, and a communication device 152 of the electric vehicle 120. In this case, the parking reservation form may have information such as the user's name, address, planned date and time of entry into the parking lot, planned date and time of exit from the parking lot, type of vehicle, and whether or not the vehicle is capable of charging and discharging its onboard battery pre-filled. Alternatively, the user terminal 220 may be a computer connected to the Web.

[0038] In the parking reservation system 10 of this embodiment, the designated facility 60 is assumed to be an airport, but the designated facility 60 may also be a large leisure facility with a hotel, a shopping center, a train station, a port, etc.

[0039] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on the main elements of the embodiment and the means for solving the problem will be explained. In the embodiment, the communication network 12 corresponds to "communication network", the electric vehicle 120 corresponds to "vehicle", the battery 124 corresponds to "battery", the charging device 34 corresponds to "charging device", the rechargeable parking space 32 corresponds to "rechargeable parking space", the charge / discharge device 38 corresponds to "charge / discharge device", the rechargeable parking space 36 corresponds to "rechargeable parking space", the designated facility 60 corresponds to "designated facility", the parking lot 30 corresponds to "parking lot", and the parking reservation management device 20 corresponds to "parking reservation management device".

[0040] Furthermore, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem is merely an example to specifically explain the form in which the embodiment implements the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem, and does not limit the elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiment is merely one specific example of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem.

[0041] Although the present disclosure has been described above using embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial applicability]

[0042] This disclosure can be used in industries such as the manufacturing of parking reservation management systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 Parking reservation system, 12 Communication network, 20 Parking reservation management device, 22 Communication device, 24 Parking reservation management unit, 30 Parking lot, 32 Rechargeable parking space, 34 Charging device, 36 Chargeable / dischargeable parking space, 38 Charge / discharge device, 40 Power management system, 50 Other power supply sources, 60 Designated facilities, 120 Electric vehicle, 122 Motor, 123 Inverter, 124 Battery, 125 Drive shaft, 126 Differential gear, 128a,128b Drive wheels, 130 Electronic control unit, 138 Charge / discharge circuit, 139 Connector, 140 Communication line, 142 Ignition switch, 143 Shift lever, 144 Shift position sensor, 145 Accelerator pedal, 146 Accelerator pedal position sensor, 147 Brake pedal, 148 Brake pedal position sensor, 149 Vehicle speed sensor, 150 Display device, 152 communication device, 154 air conditioning device, 156 navigation system, 220 user terminal, 230 parking lot usage app.

Claims

1. A parking reservation management device for a parking lot that is capable of communicating via a communication network, has a rechargeable parking space equipped with a charging device for charging a vehicle's battery, and a rechargeable parking space equipped with a charge / discharge device capable of charging and discharging the battery, and is capable of exchanging power with a predetermined facility, When a parking space is reserved, a confirmation process is performed to verify that the vehicle to be parked is capable of charging and discharging its battery using the charging / discharging device, and that charging and discharging of the battery using the charging / discharging device is permitted while parked. Vehicles that have been confirmed through the confirmation process are given priority in being allocated the charging / discharging-capable parking space. A parking reservation management device characterized by the following features.

2. A parking reservation management device according to Claim 1, The aforementioned parking lot is located next to the airport. When making the aforementioned parking reservation, the planned entry date and time and planned exit date and time are entered, and these are calculated from the flight schedule based on the input of the identification number of the airline ticket. Parking reservation management system.

3. A parking reservation management device according to Claim 1, When making the aforementioned parking reservation, please enter the planned entry date and time and the planned exit date and time. Based on the power supply and demand information obtained from the power management system that manages the exchange of power with the designated facility, the confirmation process is performed when the parking period, which is determined based on the scheduled entry date and time and the scheduled exit date and time, is a period during which an exchange of power with the designated facility is necessary. The confirmation process is not performed when the parking period is a period during which an exchange of power with the designated facility is unnecessary. Parking reservation management system.

4. A parking reservation management device according to claim 1, When a cancellation occurs in the reservation of a vehicle assigned to the aforementioned charging / discharging parking space, the system will perform the aforementioned confirmation process and send a notification to the user of the vehicle not assigned to the charging / discharging parking space indicating that it is possible to assign them to the charging / discharging parking space. Parking reservation management system.

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