Charging system, charging method, and management server

JP7920480B1Active Publication Date: 2026-09-14YAMATO TRANSPORT CO LTD
View PDF 6 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
JP2026004333
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2026-01-14
Publication Date
2026-09-14
Estimated Expiration
2045-05-23

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

【0015】 本発明の充電システム、充電方法及び管理サーバによれば、充電器に接続された各車両を効率良く充電することができる。

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure 0007920480000001_ABST
    Figure 0007920480000001_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

This invention relates to a charging system, charging method, and management server capable of efficiently charging each vehicle connected to a charger. [Solution] A charging system for an electric vehicle, comprising a plurality of chargers configured to be connectable to a vehicle and capable of acquiring information on the remaining power of the connected vehicle, and a management server connected to each charger in a manner that allows communication with each charger, wherein the management server is configured to perform the process of acquiring information on the remaining power of each vehicle from each charger, and the process of determining the output of each charger using the remaining power of each vehicle.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging system, a charging method, and a management server. [Background Art]

[0002] In recent years, with the popularization of electric vehicles, charging stations having a plurality of charging devices for charging electric vehicles (such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1) have been installed at offices of freight carriers, commercial facilities, and the like. At a charging station, electric power supplied from a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving facility is distributed to each vehicle connected to a charging device. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-129994 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] At a charging station, an amount of electric power exceeding the amount of electric power supplied from a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving facility cannot be used. Therefore, when a large number of vehicles are charged simultaneously at a charging station, there is a problem in that the amount of electric power that can be distributed to each vehicle decreases, resulting in longer charging time.

[0005] The present invention relates to a charging system, a charging method, and a management server capable of efficiently charging each vehicle connected to a charger. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] The charging system according to the present invention is a charging system for charging an electric vehicle, comprising a plurality of chargers configured to be connectable to a vehicle and capable of acquiring remaining power information of the connected vehicle, and a management server connected to each charger in a manner that enables communication with each charger, wherein the management server is configured to perform the process of acquiring the remaining power information of each vehicle from each charger, and the process of determining the output of each charger using the remaining power information of each vehicle.

[0007] In the charging system according to the present invention, the plurality of chargers are configured to acquire vehicle identification information of connected vehicles, and the management server may be configured to perform the following processes: acquiring vehicle identification information of each vehicle from each charger, identifying vehicle information of each vehicle using the vehicle identification information, and determining the output of each charger using the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle.

[0008] The charging system according to the present invention includes a power supply means capable of supplying power to each charger, and the management server is configured to perform the process of acquiring power supply information from the power supply means and the process of determining the output of each charger based on the vehicle information, remaining power amount information and power supply information of each vehicle, and the power supply information includes at least capacity information.

[0009] In the charging system according to the present invention, the management server includes a storage unit that stores the vehicle identification information and the vehicle information in association, and the vehicle information may include at least mileage information.

[0010] In the charging system according to the present invention, the management server may be configured to perform the following: a process of determining the charging priority of each vehicle based on the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle; and a process of changing the output of each charger according to the charging priority.

[0011] In the charging system according to the present invention, the charger may be a DC charger.

[0012] The charging system according to the present invention comprises a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving facility and a solar power generation device capable of supplying power to each charger, and may be configured such that power from the solar power generation device is supplied to each charger preferentially over power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving facility.

[0013] The charging method according to the present invention is a charging method for charging an electric vehicle using a charging system, and includes the steps of acquiring remaining power information from each vehicle connected to a plurality of chargers, and determining the output of each charger using the remaining power information of each vehicle.

[0014] The management server according to the present invention is a management server for managing a plurality of chargers capable of charging electric vehicles, and is configured to perform the following processes via each charger: acquiring information on the remaining power of each vehicle connected to each charger, and determining the output of each charger using the remaining power of each vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the charging system, charging method, and management server of the present invention, each vehicle connected to the charger can be charged efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the charging system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing the communication configuration of the charging system according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing the management server according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of output determination by the management server according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows another example of output determination by the management server according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to each claim, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. In addition, in the present embodiment, the scale and dimensions of each constituent element may be exaggerated, and some constituent elements may be omitted.

[0018] [Overall Configuration of Charging System] The charging system 1 according to the present embodiment is a charging system for charging an electric vehicle. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the charging system 1 includes a plurality of chargers 10 capable of charging an electric vehicle, a distribution board 20 capable of supplying power to each of the chargers 10, a power supply means 30 capable of supplying power to the distribution board 20, and a management server 40 communicatively connected to each of the chargers 10 and the power supply means 30 by wire or wirelessly.

[0019] Note that the charging system 1 may further include, in addition to the above configuration, a control device for controlling each of the chargers 10 and the power supply means 30, respectively. In this case, the management server 40 may be configured to be capable of communicating directly with each of the chargers 10 and the power supply means 30, may be configured to be capable of communicating with each of the chargers 10 and the power supply means 30 via the control device, or may have both of these configurations.

[0020] In the present embodiment, as an example, the description is given on the assumption that the number of chargers 10 is five (chargers 10A to 10E), but the number of chargers 10 is not limited to this and may be any number.

[0021] [Configuration of Charger] Each charger 10 can be installed, for example, at a carrier's sales office, a commercial facility, or the like. Each charger 10 is a DC charger that receives DC power from a distribution board 20 and can supply the received DC power to a vehicle 2 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Each charger 10 is configured to be connectable to the vehicle 2 via a charging cable 100 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) and a charging connector (not shown), and is configured to supply DC power to the connected vehicle 2.

[0022] Further, each charger 10 is configured to acquire vehicle identification information and remaining power amount information of the connected vehicle 2. The acquisition of the vehicle identification information and the remaining power amount information may be performed by wired communication (communication via the charging cable 100) or may be performed by wireless communication. The vehicle identification information and remaining power amount information of the vehicle 2 acquired by each charger 10 are transmitted to the management server 40. Note that each charger 10 may be configured to acquire all or part of vehicle information of the connected vehicle 2, which will be described later, from the vehicle 2, and transmit the acquired vehicle information to the management server 40.

[0023] [Configuration of Distribution Board] The distribution board 20 is connected to each charger 10 and the power supply means 30 via a cable 200, and is configured to supply the power supplied from the power supply means 30 to each charger 10. Specifically, the distribution board 20 is configured to supply DC power to the charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected among the respective chargers 10, and is configured to supply the DC power necessary for the charger 10 to output an output determined by an output determination unit 44, which will be described later, of the management server 40.

[0024] [Power Supply Means] The power supply means 30 includes a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31, a photovoltaic power generation device 32, and a power storage device 33. The cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 is configured to supply AC power supplied from the power grid 3 to the distribution board 20 via an AC / DC inverter 34. The AC / DC inverter 34 is configured to convert the AC power supplied from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 into DC power while transforming the voltage. The cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 is also equipped with a thermometer 37 for measuring the temperature. The thermometer 37 may be provided on the photovoltaic power generation device 32, or it may be provided independently of the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 and the photovoltaic power generation device 32.

[0025] The solar power generation device 32 is configured to generate electricity using sunlight. The solar power generation device 32 is configured to supply the generated DC power to the distribution board 20 via a DC / DC converter 35. The DC / DC converter 35 is configured to transform the DC power supplied from the solar power generation device 32. The solar power generation device 32 is also equipped with a pyranometer 38 for measuring solar radiation intensity and / or solar radiation amount, and a thermometer 39 for measuring the temperature of the solar panels. The energy storage device 33 stores surplus power (DC power) from the solar power generation device 32 and is configured to supply the stored DC power to the distribution board 20 via a DC / DC converter 36 as needed. The DC / DC converter 36 is configured to transform the DC power supplied from the energy storage device 33. Note that there may be only one solar power generation device 32 and one or more energy storage devices 33.

[0026] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, power from the solar power generation device 32 and the energy storage device 33 is supplied to each charger 10 with priority over power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31. That is, each charger 10 is first supplied with power from the solar power generation device 32 and the energy storage device 33, and any shortfall is supplied with power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31. In this embodiment, the switching of the power supply means 30 is performed by the management server 40, but if the charging system 1 is equipped with the control device described above, it may be performed by the control device.

[0027] The charging system 1 may be configured such that power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 is supplied to each charger 10 with priority over power from the solar power generation equipment 32 and the energy storage equipment 33. In this case, it is preferable that the charging system 1 decides whether to prioritize power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 or power from the solar power generation equipment 32 and the energy storage equipment 33 based on the price of the power supplied by the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31.

[0028] [Management Server Configuration] As shown in Figure 3, the management server 40 includes a storage unit 41 that stores vehicle identification information and vehicle information of each vehicle 2 in association, an acquisition unit 42 that can perform processing to acquire vehicle identification information and remaining power amount information of each vehicle 2 from each charger 10, an identification unit 43 that can perform processing to identify the vehicle information of each vehicle 2 using the vehicle identification information, and an output determination unit 44 that can perform processing to determine the output of each charger 10 using the vehicle information and remaining power amount information of each vehicle 2.

[0029] The storage unit 41 is configured to store vehicle identification information and vehicle information associated with each vehicle 2. Vehicle identification information is stored in the storage unit 41 when registered by the user of vehicle 2. Vehicle information may be stored in the storage unit 41 when registered by the user of vehicle 2, when received from vehicle 2, when received from the charger 10, or by other known methods. User registration may be performed by an input unit (not shown) of the management server 40, or by a communication device (not shown) capable of wireless communication with the management server 40 (such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet terminal). Furthermore, if the charging system 1 is equipped with the control device described above, registration may be performed by an input unit of the control device.

[0030] Vehicle information includes mileage information. Mileage information refers to, for example, the planned mileage that vehicle 2 is scheduled to travel after charging is complete. In addition to mileage information, or in place of mileage information, vehicle information may also include one or more pieces of information selected from, or instead of, actual mileage information, actual mileage information, mileage time information, actual mileage time information, destination information, destination coordinates (latitude and longitude), parking time information, power consumption rate information, vehicle type information, tire pressure information, regenerative braking history information, electrical equipment usage history information, vehicle 2 production date information, charging error history information, battery information, weather information along the mileage route, mileage date information, mileage time information, and external equipment information along the mileage route.

[0031] Furthermore, among the above vehicle information, mileage information, actual mileage information, driving time information, and actual driving time information contribute most to determining the charging priority. Therefore, it is preferable that the vehicle information includes at least one of the following: mileage information, actual mileage information, driving time information, and actual driving time information.

[0032] If the charger 10 is installed at the business office of a transporter that transports goods, that is, if the vehicle 2 is a transport vehicle, the vehicle information may include one or more pieces of information selected from the location information of the business office along the travel route, the amount of cargo, the type of cargo (refrigerated goods, frozen goods, etc.), the departure time information, and the return time information.

[0033] Furthermore, the memory unit 41 is configured to store power supply information acquired from the power supply means 30. The acquisition unit 42 is configured to be able to acquire power supply information.

[0034] The power supply information includes capacity information for the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31, capacity information (power generation capacity information) for the solar power generation device 32, and capacity information (storage capacity information) for the energy storage device 33. In addition to the capacity information, or in place of the capacity information, the power supply information may also include one or more pieces of information selected from the following: equipment information for the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31, equipment information for the solar power generation device 32, equipment information for the energy storage device 33, information for the AC / DC inverter 34 (conversion efficiency, etc.), information for the DC / DC converter 35 (conversion efficiency, etc.), information for the DC / DC converter 36 (conversion efficiency, etc.), information for the thermometer 37 (past and present temperatures, etc.), information for the pyranometer 38 (past and present solar radiation intensity and amount, etc.), and information for the thermometer 39 (past and present temperatures, etc.). The acquisition unit 42 may also acquire weather information for the location where the solar power generation device 32 is installed, along with the power supply information. The weather information includes past and present weather information and weather forecast information. Weather information can be obtained from information released by the Japan Meteorological Agency, etc.

[0035] The identification unit 43 is configured to identify the vehicle information of each vehicle 2 based on the vehicle identification information of each vehicle 2 acquired by the acquisition unit 42 and the vehicle identification information and vehicle information stored in the storage unit 41 in association with it.

[0036] The output determination unit 44 is configured to perform the process of determining the output of each charger 10 based on the vehicle information, remaining energy information, and power supply information of each vehicle 2. Specifically, the output determination unit 44 is configured to perform the process of determining the charging priority of each vehicle 2 based on the vehicle information, remaining energy information, and power supply information of each vehicle 2, and the process of changing the output of each charger 10 according to the charging priority. Specifically, first, the output determination unit 44 comprehensively evaluates the vehicle information of each vehicle 2 identified by the identification unit 43 and the remaining energy information and power supply information of each vehicle 2 acquired by the acquisition unit 42, and determines the charging priority of each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10. Next, the output determination unit 44 determines the output of each charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected so that the output corresponds to the determined charging priority.

[0037] The output determination unit 44 may (1) determine the charging priority of each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 in order of highest (or lowest) charging priority, or (2) determine the charging priority by classifying each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 into multiple categories (for example, a category with high charging priority, an intermediate category, and a low category).

[0038] Furthermore, when the charging priority is determined by the method described in (1) above, the output determination unit 44 determines the output for each charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected, for example, between 0kW and 30kW. On the other hand, when the charging priority is determined by the method described in (2) above, the output determination unit 44 determines the output of the charger 10 to a predetermined output for each category. For example, the output can be determined as follows: 30kW if the vehicle belongs to a high-priority category, 9kW if the vehicle belongs to an intermediate-priority category, and 3kW if the vehicle belongs to a low-priority category.

[0039] When the output determination unit 44 determines the output for each charger 10 to which a vehicle 2 is connected (when the charging priority is determined by the method in (1) above), it uses at least one of the number of vehicles 2 connected to the charger 10 and the maximum power that the power supply means 30 can supply to determine the output for each charger 10 to which a vehicle 2 is connected. When the number of vehicles 2 is small, the output of each charger 10 can be increased compared to when the number of vehicles 2 is large. Similarly, when the maximum power that the power supply means 30 can supply is large, the output of each charger 10 can be increased compared to when the maximum power that the power supply means 30 can supply is small. The maximum power that the power supply means 30 can supply is the sum of the maximum power that the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31, the solar power generation device 32, and the energy storage device 33 can supply. The number of vehicles 2 connected to the charger 10 can be detected by the charger 10 and transmitted to the management server 40. The maximum power that the power supply means 30 can supply is detected by the management server 40. Furthermore, if the charging system 1 is equipped with the control device described above, the control device may detect the maximum power and transmit it to the management server 40.

[0040] Furthermore, the output determination unit 44 determines the output of each charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected, within a range where the total output of each charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected does not exceed the allowable output. The allowable output may be the power set by the administrator who manages the management server 40, or it may be the contracted power of the cubicle-type high-voltage receiving equipment 31.

[0041] [Charging method] Next, Figures 4 and 5 will be used to explain a charging method for charging an electric vehicle using the charging system 1. The following explanation will use the example where the vehicle information includes mileage information and the power supply information includes capacity information. Furthermore, the following explanation will use the example where vehicles 2A to 2E are connected to chargers 10A to 10E. Finally, the following explanation will use the example where the charging priority is determined in descending order of the charging priority of each vehicle 2 connected to charger 10, and the output is determined for each charger 10 to which vehicle 2 is connected.

[0042] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, vehicles 2A and 2E are connected to chargers 10A and 10E, so chargers 10A and 10E acquire vehicle identification information and remaining power information from vehicles 2A and 2E. In addition, the acquisition unit 42 of the management server 40 acquires vehicle identification information and remaining power information from vehicles 2A and 2E from chargers 10A and 10E. The management server 40 further acquires power supply information from the power supply means 30.

[0043] When the acquisition unit 42 of the management server 40 acquires vehicle identification information for vehicles 2A to 2E, the identification unit 43 of the management server 40 identifies the vehicle information for vehicles 2A to 2E. Once the identification unit 43 of the management server 40 identifies the vehicle information for vehicles 2A to 2E, the output determination unit 44 of the management server 40 determines the output of chargers 10A to 10E based on the vehicle information, remaining power information, and power supply information for vehicles 2A to 2E.

[0044] Specifically, first, the output determination unit 44 comprehensively evaluates the vehicle information of vehicles 2A to 2E, the remaining power information, and the power supply information of the power supply means 30 to determine the charging priority of vehicles 2A to 2E. Next, the output determination unit 44 determines the output of chargers 10A to 10E so that the output corresponds to the determined charging priority. For example, if we evaluate that vehicle 2E has a higher charging priority than vehicle 2B because it has a longer driving range and less remaining power, vehicle 2B has a higher charging priority than vehicle 2A because it has a shorter driving range but less remaining power, vehicle 2A has a higher charging priority than vehicles 2C and 2D because it has a longer driving range but more remaining power, and vehicles 2C and 2D have the lowest charging priority because they have a shorter driving range and more remaining power, then as shown in Figure 4, the output of charger 10E will be set to the highest (30kW in Figure 4), the output of charger 10B to the next highest (20kW in Figure 4), the output of charger 10A to the next highest (10kW in Figure 4), and the outputs of chargers 10C and 10D to the lowest (6kW in Figure 4). Furthermore, for example, if it is determined that vehicles 2B and 2C have a higher charging priority than vehicle 2A because they have a longer driving range and less remaining energy, vehicle 2A has a higher charging priority than vehicles 2D and 2E because it has a shorter driving range but less remaining energy, and vehicles 2D and 2E have the lowest charging priority because they have a shorter driving range and more remaining energy, then, as shown in Figure 5, the output of chargers 10B and 10C will be set to the highest (30kW in Figure 5), the output of charger 10A will be set to the next highest (20kW in Figure 5), and the output of chargers 10D and 10E will be set to the lowest (6kW in Figure 5).

[0045] The output determined by the output determination unit 44 is transmitted to chargers 10A to 10E, and DC power corresponding to the output is supplied from the distribution board 20 to chargers 10A to 10E. DC power is also supplied from chargers 10A to 10E to vehicles 2A to 2E, and vehicles 2A to 2E are charged.

[0046] In this embodiment, a configuration was described in which the output determination unit 44 determines the output of each charger 10 based on vehicle information, remaining energy information, and power supply information. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, and the output of each charger 10 may be determined based on vehicle information and remaining energy information, or the output of each charger 10 may be determined based only on remaining energy information.

[0047] [Advantages of the charging system according to this embodiment] The charging system 1 according to this embodiment is a charging system for charging an electric vehicle, and is configured to be connectable to a vehicle 2. It comprises a plurality of chargers 10 that acquire remaining power information of the connected vehicle 2, and a management server 40 that is connected to each charger 10 in a manner that enables communication with each charger 10. The management server 40 is configured to perform the process of acquiring remaining power information of each vehicle from each charger 10, and the process of determining the output of each charger 10 using the remaining power information of each vehicle 2.

[0048] With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, the output of each charger 10 can be set to an output corresponding to the remaining power of each vehicle 2, so that each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 can be charged efficiently.

[0049] Furthermore, in conventional charging stations, in order to provide different output (charging speed) for each charger, multiple chargers with different output levels must be installed, and the user must select the charger with the desired output and connect their vehicle. Therefore, conventional charging stations have the problem of imposing the burden of selecting a charger, and users can only park in locations where the desired charger is installed, and they cannot charge if the desired charger is already in use. In contrast, the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, which has the above configuration, has the advantage that users can charge at any location (free address) without having to select the charger 10 to connect to. In addition, the charging system 1 according to this embodiment has the advantage of reducing equipment costs because it does not require the installation of multiple chargers with different output levels.

[0050] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, the multiple chargers 10 are configured to acquire vehicle identification information of the connected vehicles 2, and the management server 40 is configured to perform the following processes: acquiring vehicle identification information of each vehicle 2 from each charger 10, identifying vehicle information of each vehicle 2 using the vehicle identification information, and determining the output of each charger 10 using the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle 2. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, the output of the charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected is determined based on the vehicle information and remaining power information of the vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10, so that each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 can be charged more efficiently.

[0051] The charging system 1 according to this embodiment includes a power supply means 30 capable of supplying power to each charger 10, and the management server 40 is configured to perform the process of acquiring power supply information from the power supply means 30 and the process of determining the output of each charger 10 based on the vehicle information, remaining power amount information and power supply information of each vehicle 2, and the power supply information includes at least capacity information. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, the output of the charger 10 can be determined taking into account the capacity information of the power supply means 30, so that each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 can be charged efficiently.

[0052] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, the management server 40 includes a storage unit 41 that stores vehicle identification information and vehicle information in association, and the vehicle information includes at least mileage information. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, the output of the charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected is determined using the mileage information and remaining power information of the vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10, so that each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 can be charged efficiently.

[0053] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, the management server 40 is configured to perform the following processes: determining the charging priority of each vehicle 2 based on the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle 2, and changing the output of each charger 10 according to the charging priority. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, the output of the charger 10 to which the vehicle 2 is connected can be set to an output according to the charging priority, so that each vehicle 2 connected to the charger 10 can be charged efficiently. In addition, since the output of each charger 10 can be changed, the degradation of the vehicle 2's battery can be controlled.

[0054] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, the power supply means 30 includes a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31 and a solar power generation device 32 capable of supplying power to each charger 10, and is configured such that power from the solar power generation device 32 is supplied to each charger 10 preferentially over power from the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of power used and the peak of power supplied from the power grid 3, and thus reduce electricity costs.

[0055] In the charging system 1 according to this embodiment, the charger 10 is a DC charger. With a charging system 1 having such a configuration, unlike so-called ordinary charging, power loss during DC conversion can be suppressed.

[0056] [Differentiation] The charging system, charging method, and management server according to the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical concept of the present invention.

[0057] In the embodiment described above, vehicle information, remaining energy information, and power supply information were used to determine the output of the charger 10. However, in addition to these, power consumption information, which is information about the power used at the location where the charger 10 is installed (such as the aforementioned business office or commercial facility), may also be used. The charging system 1 may be configured to switch between a process that prioritizes supplying power to the charger 10 over the location where the charger 10 is installed, and a process that prioritizes supplying power to the location where the charger 10 is installed, based on the vehicle information, remaining energy information, power supply information, and power consumption information.

[0058] In the embodiment described above, a configuration was described in which the output determination unit 44 determines the output of each charger 10 according to the charging priority of each vehicle 2. However, the invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the output determination unit 44 may be configured to perform a process of uniformly determining the output of each charger 10, and the administrator managing the management server 40 may arbitrarily select between the process of determining the output of each charger 10 according to the charging priority of each vehicle 2 and the process of uniformly determining the output of each charger 10.

[0059] In the embodiments described above, the charger 10 was described as a DC charger, but the invention is not limited to this, and may also be an AC charger.

[0060] In the embodiments described above, the power supply means 30 was configured to include a cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31, a photovoltaic power generation device 32, and a power storage device 33. However, the invention is not limited to this configuration, and may also include only the cubicle-type high-voltage power receiving equipment 31.

[0061] In the embodiment described above, a configuration was described in which the management server 40 acquires power supply information from the power supply means 30, but the system is not limited to this, and a configuration in which power supply information is not acquired is also possible. In this case, the management server 40 determines the output of each charger 10 based on the remaining power amount information, or based on the vehicle information and the remaining power amount information.

[0062] It is clear from the claims that the above-mentioned modifications are included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1: Charging system 2: Vehicles 3: Power system 10: Charger 20: Distribution board 30:Power supply means 31: Cubicle-type high-voltage receiving equipment 32: Solar power generation equipment 33: Energy storage device 34: AC / DC Inverter 35: DC / DC converter 36: DC / DC Converter 37: Thermometer 38:Pyranometer 39: Thermometer 40: Management Server 41: Storage section 42: Acquisition part 43: Specific part 44: Output determination unit 100: Charging cable 200: Cable

Claims

1. A charging system for charging electric vehicles, It comprises multiple chargers configured to connect to vehicles and acquire vehicle identification information and remaining power information of connected vehicles, and a management server that is connected to each charger in a manner that enables communication with each charger. The management server has a storage unit that stores the vehicle identification information and vehicle information of each vehicle in association with each vehicle. The management server is configured to perform the following processes: acquiring vehicle identification information and remaining power information for each vehicle from each charger; identifying vehicle information for each vehicle based on a combination of the vehicle identification information and vehicle information for each vehicle stored in the storage unit and the vehicle identification information for each vehicle acquired from each charger; and determining the output of each charger using the vehicle information and remaining power information for each vehicle. The vehicle information includes one or more pieces of information selected from the following: driving route information, weather information along the driving route, and external equipment information along the driving route. Charging system.

2. The vehicle information includes at least mileage information. The charging system according to claim 1.

3. The management server is configured to perform the following: a process to determine the charging priority of each vehicle based on the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle; and a process to change the output of each charger according to the charging priority. The charging system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A charging method for charging an electric vehicle using a charging system, A process of acquiring vehicle identification information and remaining power information from each vehicle connected to multiple chargers, A step of identifying the vehicle information of each vehicle based on a combination of the vehicle identification information and vehicle information of each vehicle stored in the memory unit and the vehicle identification information of each vehicle obtained from each vehicle, A step of determining the output of each charger using the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle. Includes, The vehicle information includes one or more pieces of information selected from the following: driving route information, weather information along the driving route, and external equipment information along the driving route. Charging method.

5. A management server for managing multiple chargers capable of charging electric vehicles, It has a storage unit that stores the vehicle identification information and vehicle information of each vehicle in a linked manner. The process involves obtaining the vehicle identification information and remaining power information of each vehicle connected to each charger via each charger, A process to identify the vehicle information of each vehicle based on a combination of the vehicle identification information and vehicle information of each vehicle stored in the storage unit and the vehicle identification information of each vehicle obtained from each charger, A process to determine the output of each charger using the vehicle information and remaining power information of each vehicle. It is configured to be executable, The vehicle information includes one or more pieces of information selected from the following: driving route information, weather information along the driving route, and external equipment information along the driving route. Management server.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Charging device

    JP2011160615A

  • Device and method for supporting charging of in-vehicle battery and computer program

    JP2011188667A

  • Charge cable and charge system

    JP2013198279A

  • Charging facility information service system and electric vehicle

    JP2015230719A

  • Electric vehicle charger and electric vehicle charging method

    JP2018129994A