Hydrogen refueling management system

Abstract

To provide a technique for warning a vehicle user planning to fill a vehicle with hydrogen about the status of a hydrogen station.SOLUTION: A hydrogen filing management system is provided, comprising a prediction unit for predicting the hydrogen supply status of a hydrogen station at a specific point in time in the future, and a notification unit for transmitting a notification according to the hydrogen supply status to a terminal device of a vehicle user planning to fill a vehicle with hydrogen at the hydrogen station at the specific point in time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , Furthermore, it can send appropriate notifications regarding the amount of hydrogen available to users waiting at hydrogen stations.

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hydrogen filling management system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an operation system that can reduce the hydrogen filling time in a fuel cell vehicle in consideration of the usage status of each of a plurality of hydrogen stations.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the hydrogen supply state at a hydrogen station always changes due to the congestion status of the hydrogen station, etc., users of vehicles scheduled to fill hydrogen want to know the state of the hydrogen station.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a hydrogen filling management system is provided. This hydrogen filling management system includes a prediction unit that predicts the hydrogen supply state of a hydrogen station at a specific future time, and a notification unit that transmits a notification according to the hydrogen supply state to a terminal device of a user of a vehicle scheduled to perform hydrogen filling at the hydrogen station at the specific time. The user is a passenger in a waiting vehicle at the hydrogen station, and the hydrogen supply status is a state relating to the amount of hydrogen that can be supplied from the hydrogen station to the waiting vehicle. According to this hydrogen filling management system, it is possible to transmit an appropriate notification to a user of a vehicle scheduled to perform hydrogen filling at a specific future time when the hydrogen filling cannot be smoothly performed. Furthermore, it can send appropriate notifications regarding the amount of hydrogen available to users waiting at hydrogen stations.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] [Figure 1] A conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the hydrogen refueling management system. [Figure 2] A flowchart illustrating the process by which the control device issues a notification regarding the amount of hydrogen that can be supplied. [Figure 3] A flowchart illustrating the process by which the control device issues a notification regarding the waiting period for hydrogen refueling. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the hydrogen refueling management system 10. The hydrogen refueling management system 10 comprises a hydrogen station 100, a management device 200, a terminal device 300 for administrators, and a terminal device 400 for users. The management device 200 is connected to the terminal devices 300 and 400 via a wireless communication network. Addresses for each terminal device 300 and 400 to receive notifications from the management device 200 are pre-registered in the management device 200.

[0008] The hydrogen station 100 is a stationary station and includes a hydrogen refueling unit 110, a hydrogen level sensor 120, and a camera 130. The hydrogen level sensor 120 measures the amount of hydrogen remaining in the hydrogen tank of the hydrogen station 100. The camera 130 is used to detect vehicles present on the premises of the hydrogen station 100.

[0009] At hydrogen station 100, there are two vehicles: a currently refueled vehicle Vc that occupies the hydrogen refueling equipment 110 for hydrogen refueling, and a waiting vehicle Vw that is waiting on the premises of hydrogen station 100 for hydrogen refueling. Camera 130 is used to recognize the presence and number of these vehicles Vc and Vw by photographing the premises of hydrogen station 100. Multiple cameras 130 may be installed to photograph the entire premises of hydrogen station 100.

[0010] Outside the premises of hydrogen station 100, there may be a vehicle Vf scheduled to arrive at hydrogen station 100 for hydrogen refueling. For example, vehicle Vf is a vehicle that has made a reservation for hydrogen refueling at hydrogen station 100 with the management device 200 and is moving toward hydrogen station 100. In this case, if a hydrogen refueling time has been reserved, the vehicle is scheduled to refuel at hydrogen station 100 at that time (a specific point in time).

[0011] The management device 200 is a computer that performs various management tasks at the hydrogen station 100 and has a processor and memory (not shown). The management device 200 has a reservation acceptance unit 210, a prediction unit 220, and a notification unit 230.

[0012] The reservation reception unit 210 accepts reservations for hydrogen refueling at the hydrogen station 100 from the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf. In this embodiment, it is assumed that this reservation includes the scheduled arrival time of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf.

[0013] The prediction unit 220 uses at least one of the remaining hydrogen amount detected by the hydrogen amount sensor 120 and the image captured by the camera 130 to predict the hydrogen supply status of the hydrogen station 100 at a specific point in the future. The term "hydrogen supply status" includes the status regarding the amount of hydrogen that can be supplied from the hydrogen station 100 to the vehicle, and the status regarding whether the vehicle needs to wait at the hydrogen station 100 for hydrogen refueling. However, the prediction unit 220 may predict only one of these two states as the "hydrogen supply status". Further details on the prediction of the hydrogen supply status by the prediction unit 220 will be described later.

[0014] The notification unit 230 notifies users of vehicles that are scheduled to be refueled with hydrogen at the hydrogen station 100 at a specific point in the future with a warning according to the hydrogen supply status. "Vehicles scheduled to be refueled with hydrogen" include waiting vehicles Vw and arriving vehicles Vf. "Users" are the occupants of these vehicles Vw and Vf. The notification unit 230 transmits a notification to the terminal device 400 for the users of these vehicles Vw and Vf. The terminal device 400 for the users may be, for example, the user's mobile phone or an in-vehicle display installed in the vehicles Vw and Vf. The "specific point in the future" for waiting vehicle Vw is, for example, the current time plus the scheduled waiting time. The "specific point in the future" for arriving vehicle Vf is, for example, the scheduled arrival time.

[0015] The notification unit 230 may also be configured to send notifications regarding the hydrogen supply status of the hydrogen station 100 to the administrator terminal device 300. The content of these notifications will be described later.

[0016] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the process by which the management device 200 issues a notification regarding the amount of hydrogen that can be supplied. This process is repeated at regular intervals. The recipients of the notification include terminal devices 300 for users of the waiting vehicle Vw and the vehicle Vf scheduled to arrive, and a terminal device 400 for the administrator.

[0017] In step S11, the prediction unit 220 obtains the scheduled hydrogen refueling time for the vehicle. The "scheduled hydrogen refueling time" corresponds to a "specific future point in time" in this disclosure. The "scheduled hydrogen refueling time" for the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf is the scheduled arrival time of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf. If there is a possibility that one or more waiting vehicles Vw will be present at the scheduled arrival time, the time when hydrogen refueling of those waiting vehicles Vw will be completed may be used as the "scheduled hydrogen refueling time" for the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf.

[0018] The "hydrogen filling scheduled time" of the waiting vehicle Vw is the time obtained by adding the waiting scheduled time of the waiting vehicle Vw to the current time. In order to calculate the hydrogen filling scheduled time of the waiting vehicle Vw, the prediction unit 220 executes a first process of recognizing the current filling vehicle Vc and the waiting vehicle Vw from the image captured by the camera 130, and a second process of predicting the waiting scheduled time of each waiting vehicle Vw using the recognition result.

[0019] The waiting scheduled time Twp of each waiting vehicle Vw can be calculated, for example, by the following formula. Twp = Nw × Tj + Ti …(q1) Here, Nw is the number of other waiting vehicles Vw waiting in front of each waiting vehicle Vw, Tj is the filling scheduled time per vehicle, and Ti is the remaining filling time of the current filling vehicle Vc. As the filling scheduled time Tj per vehicle, a statistical representative value (for example, an average value) can be used. The remaining filling time Ti of the current filling vehicle Vc can be calculated by subtracting the filling execution time of the current filling vehicle Vc from the current time from the filling scheduled time Tj per vehicle.

[0020] The waiting scheduled time of the waiting vehicle Vw may be predicted using past statistical information in addition to the image of the camera 130. Alternatively, the waiting scheduled time of the waiting vehicle Vw may be predicted using past statistical information without using the image of the camera 130. The past statistical information may be created based on the result of analyzing the image of the camera 130, or may be the result of statistical processing of information obtained from communication devices installed in the vehicle. These matters are also applicable to the processing of FIG. 3 described later.

[0021] In step S12, the prediction unit 220 acquires the hydrogen remaining amount of the hydrogen station 100 from the detection result of the hydrogen remaining amount sensor 120.

[0022] In step S13, the prediction unit 220 predicts the hydrogen supplyable amount Ha of the hydrogen station 100 at the hydrogen filling scheduled time. The hydrogen supplyable amount Ha is calculated by the following formula. Ha = Hd - He …(q2) Here, Hd is the current hydrogen level, and He is the planned hydrogen consumption at hydrogen station 100 from the current time until the scheduled hydrogen refueling time. The planned consumption He is calculated by multiplying the number of waiting vehicles Vw ahead of the target vehicle by the estimated amount of hydrogen refueled per waiting vehicle Vw. This estimate is determined from a statistically representative value (e.g., the mean).

[0023] In step S14, the prediction unit 220 compares the hydrogen supply amount Ha at the scheduled hydrogen refueling time with a preset threshold Hth. Preferably, this threshold Hth is set to a value obtained by adding a certain margin to the estimated amount of hydrogen refueling per waiting vehicle Vw. If the hydrogen supply amount Ha is equal to or greater than the threshold Hth, the hydrogen supply amount Ha is sufficiently large, and the process shown in Figure 2 is terminated. On the other hand, if the hydrogen supply amount Ha is less than the threshold Hth, a hydrogen shortage is predicted, and the process proceeds to step S15.

[0024] In step S15, the notification unit 230 transmits a notification regarding the hydrogen supply amount Ha. This notification preferably includes one or more of the following notification contents. <Notification content for users of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf> (a11) A warning that hydrogen refueling will not be possible immediately at the scheduled arrival time of the arriving vehicle Vf. (a12) The expected time when the hydrogen shortage will be resolved. (a13) Information on other alternative hydrogen stations. <Notification to users of VW vehicles on standby> (b11) A warning that hydrogen refueling will not be possible immediately at the scheduled time for the waiting VW vehicle. (b12) The expected time when the hydrogen shortage will be resolved. (b13) Information on other alternative hydrogen stations. <Notification to the administrators of 100 hydrogen stations> (c11) A notice stating that due to a shortage of hydrogen stocks, it is necessary to impose restrictions on refueling. (c12) Notification that a hydrogen refueling vehicle needs to be arranged. (c13) A notification that it is necessary to check the status of alternative hydrogen stations and request assistance.

[0025] Furthermore, in step S15, it is not necessary to send notifications to all users of the scheduled vehicle Vf, the users of the waiting vehicle Vw, and the administrator of hydrogen station 100; it is sufficient to send notifications to at least some of them.

[0026] As described above, by sending a notification regarding the available hydrogen supply amount Ha to the passengers of the arriving vehicle Vf, appropriate notification can be given if there is a hydrogen shortage when the arriving vehicle Vf is being refueled. Similarly, by sending a notification regarding the available hydrogen supply amount Ha to the passengers of the waiting vehicle Vw, appropriate notification can be given if there is a hydrogen shortage when the waiting vehicle Vw is being refueled.

[0027] Figure 3 is a flowchart of the process by which the management device 200 issues a notification regarding waiting for hydrogen refueling. This process is repeated at regular intervals. The notification is sent to terminal devices 300 for the user of the vehicle Vf scheduled to arrive, and terminal devices 400 for the administrator.

[0028] In step S21, the prediction unit 220 obtains the estimated arrival time Ta of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf. The estimated arrival time Ta of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf is included in the reservation received by the reservation acceptance unit 210.

[0029] In step S22, the prediction unit 220 obtains the current time Tb and the waiting time Tc. The waiting time Tc is calculated, for example, by adding the estimated time required to refuel the last waiting vehicle Vw to the estimated waiting time of the last waiting vehicle Vw present at the hydrogen station 100 at the current time Tb. The estimated waiting time of the last waiting vehicle Vw can be calculated using the (q1) formula described above. The estimated refueling time required to refuel the last waiting vehicle Vw can be the statistically determined estimated refueling time per vehicle.

[0030] In step S23, the prediction unit 220 calculates the hydrogen supply availability time Td (=Tb+Tc) by adding the current time Tb and the standby time Tc.

[0031] In step S24, the prediction unit 220 compares the expected arrival time Ta of the scheduled vehicle Vf with the hydrogen supply availability time Td. If the expected arrival time Ta is after the hydrogen supply availability time Td, it is expected that the scheduled vehicle Vf will not need to wait at the hydrogen station 100 for hydrogen refueling, so the process shown in Figure 3 is terminated. On the other hand, if the expected arrival time Ta is before the hydrogen supply availability time Td, it is expected that the scheduled vehicle Vf will need to wait at the hydrogen station 100 for hydrogen refueling, so the process proceeds to step S25.

[0032] In step S25, the notification unit 230 sends a notification regarding the standby period. The notification regarding the standby period may include the standby time (Td-Ta) obtained by subtracting the scheduled arrival time Ta from the hydrogen supply availability time Td, or it may include the hydrogen supply availability time Td.

[0033] The notification in step S25 preferably includes one or more of the following notification contents: <Notification content for users of the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf> (a21) A warning that there will be a waiting period at the scheduled arrival time of the arriving vehicle Vf, or a warning that hydrogen refueling cannot be performed immediately at the scheduled arrival time of the arriving vehicle Vf. (a22) Time Td when hydrogen supply will be available for the scheduled arrival vehicle Vf. (a23) Information on other alternative hydrogen stations. <Notification to the administrators of 100 hydrogen stations> (c21) A warning that there will be a waiting period at the scheduled arrival time of the arriving vehicle Vf, or a warning that hydrogen refueling cannot be performed immediately at the scheduled arrival time of the arriving vehicle Vf. (c22) A notification that it is necessary to check the status of alternative hydrogen stations and request assistance.

[0034] Furthermore, in step S25, it is not necessary to send notifications to both the user of the arriving vehicle Vf and the administrator of the hydrogen station 100; it is sufficient to send notifications to at least some of them.

[0035] As described above, by sending a notification regarding waiting to the passengers of the scheduled vehicle Vf, it is possible to send an appropriate notification if the scheduled vehicle Vf needs to wait when it arrives at the hydrogen station 100.

[0036] The processes in Figure 2 and Figure 3 are similar in that they both send a notification to the user according to the hydrogen supply status of the hydrogen station 100. However, it is not necessary to perform both processes in Figure 2 and Figure 3; only one of them may be performed. According to the hydrogen refueling management system 10 of this embodiment, it is possible to notify users of vehicles scheduled to be refueled with hydrogen at a specific time with an appropriate warning if the hydrogen refueling cannot be carried out smoothly.

[0037] Other forms: This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from its spirit. For example, this disclosure can also be implemented in the following forms (aspects). The technical features in the embodiments described above that correspond to the technical features in each of the forms described below can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the problems of this disclosure, or to achieve some or all of the effects of this disclosure. Furthermore, if such technical features are not described as essential in this specification, they can be deleted as appropriate.

[0038] This disclosure can also be implemented in various forms other than a hydrogen refueling management system. For example, it can be implemented in the form of a control method for a hydrogen refueling management system, a computer program that executes the processes of a hydrogen refueling management system, or a non-transitory storage medium on which the computer program is recorded. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10...Hydrogen refueling management system, 100...Hydrogen station, 110...Hydrogen refueling device, 120...Hydrogen level sensor, 130...Camera, 200...Management device, 210...Reservation reception unit, 220...Prediction unit, 230...Notification unit, 300...Terminal device, 400...Terminal device

Claims

[Claim 1] A hydrogen refueling management system, A prediction unit that predicts the hydrogen supply status of a hydrogen station at a specific point in the future, A notification unit that transmits a notification corresponding to the hydrogen supply status to the terminal device of a vehicle user who is scheduled to refuel with hydrogen at the hydrogen station at the specified time, Equipped with, The aforementioned user is a passenger in a waiting vehicle at the hydrogen station. A hydrogen refueling management system in which the hydrogen supply status is the status relating to the amount of hydrogen that can be supplied from the hydrogen station to the waiting vehicle.

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