Control devices, charging devices, control methods, temperature control methods, programs, and computer-readable recording media.

Abstract

This control device for controlling a charging device configured to be capable of charging a plurality of electricity storage devices including a first electricity storage device and a second electricity storage device is provided with: a stored electricity amount acquiring unit for acquiring information relating to the stored electricity amounts of each of the first electricity storage device and the second electricity storage device; and a charge control unit for controlling the charging device to charge the first electricity storage device and the second electricity storage device. If a first stored electricity amount, which is the stored electricity amount in the first electricity storage device, acquired by the stored electricity amount acquiring unit, and a second stored electricity amount, which is the stored electricity amount in the second electricity storage device, acquired by the stored electricity amount acquiring unit, differ from one another, the charge control unit controls the charging device such that the charging state of the first electricity storage device and the charging state of the second electricity storage device are different.

Description

Control device, charging device, control method, temperature adjustment method, program, and computer-readable recording medium

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a charging device, a control method, a temperature adjustment method, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium.

[0002] Charging devices that accommodate portable mobile batteries and dispense the mobile batteries upon user request are known. Patent Document 1 discloses a battery charging device equipped with a charger that charges a battery accommodated in one of a pair of battery accommodating sections. Patent Document 2 discloses extracting a storage battery that satisfies specific conditions from among a plurality of storage batteries as a storage battery to be charged. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents] [Patent document 1] JP 2000-333379 A [Patent document 2] JP 2018-160364 A

[0003] A first aspect of the present invention provides a control device. The control device controls, for example, a charging device configured to be able to charge a plurality of power storage devices including a first power storage device and a second power storage device. The control device includes, for example, a stored power amount acquisition unit that acquires information about the stored power amounts of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The control device includes, for example, a charging control unit that controls the charging device to charge the first power storage device and the second power storage device. In the control device, for example, when a first stored power amount, which is the stored power amount of the first power storage device acquired by the stored power amount acquisition unit, differs from a second stored power amount, which is the stored power amount of the second power storage device acquired by the stored power amount acquisition unit, the charging control unit controls the charging device so that the charging mode of the first power storage device and the charging mode of the second power storage device differ.

[0004] In the control device, when the first stored power amount is smaller than the second stored power amount, the charge control unit may control the charging device so that a first timing, which is a charging start time for the first storage device, occurs before a second timing, which is a charging start time for the second storage device. At the second timing, (i) a value obtained by subtracting the first stored power amount from the second stored power amount or (ii) an absolute value of a difference between the first stored power amount and the second stored power amount may be equal to or smaller than a predetermined first threshold value. The second timing may be a timing after a third timing, which is a time when (i) a value obtained by subtracting the first stored power amount from the second stored power amount becomes smaller than the first threshold value. The first threshold value may be 0 or a positive number.

[0005] In the control device, the charge control unit may stop charging of the first power storage device at a third timing. The charge control unit may (i) resume charging of the first power storage device and (ii) start charging of the second power storage device at a second timing.

[0006] In the control device, when the first stored amount is smaller than the second stored amount, the charge control unit may control the charging device so that a first rate, which is a charging rate of the first storage device, is greater than a second rate, which is a charging rate of the second storage device. In the control device, the charge control unit may determine the first rate and the second rate so that the length of a period between a time when the first stored amount reaches a predetermined first target value and a time when the second stored amount reaches the first target value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined second threshold value.

[0007] In the control device, when the first amount of stored power is smaller than the second amount of stored power, the charge control unit may control the charging device so that the time when the first amount of stored power reaches a predetermined second target value occurs after the time when the second amount of stored power reaches the second target value. In the control device, the charge control unit may stop charging of the second storage device at a fourth timing when an absolute value of a difference between the second amount of stored power and the second target value becomes equal to a predetermined third threshold value or becomes smaller than the third threshold value. In the control device, the charge control unit may resume charging of the second storage device at a fifth timing that is later than the fourth timing and when an absolute value of a difference between the first amount of stored power and the second target value becomes equal to a predetermined fourth threshold value or becomes smaller than the fourth threshold value.

[0008] In the control device, when the second stored amount is greater than the first stored amount, the charge control unit may control the charging device so that the second stored amount reaches a predetermined third target value before the first stored amount reaches a predetermined third target value. In the control device, the stored amount may be at least one of (i) a dischargeable amount of power [Wh], (ii) a charge amount or remaining capacity [Ah], (iii) a charge rate or state of charge (SOC) [%], (iv) a terminal voltage [V], and (iv) a potential with respect to a reference potential [V].

[0009] In the control device, the charging mode may be determined by a setting related to at least one of a charging period and a charging rate. In the control device, the setting related to the charging period may include matters related to at least one of a start of the charging period, an end of the charging period, and a length of the charging period. In the control device, each of the first power storage device and the second power storage device may be configured to be detachable from a power device that operates by consuming power supplied from the first power storage device and the second power storage device, respectively.

[0010] In the control device, the charging device may include a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of at least one of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The control device may include a temperature control unit that controls the temperature adjustment unit. In the control device, the temperature control unit may control the temperature adjustment unit so that the temperature adjustment mode of the first power storage device and the temperature adjustment mode of the second power storage device differ when the first stored power amount and the second stored power amount acquired by the stored power amount acquisition unit differ.

[0011] The control device may include a temperature acquisition unit that acquires information on the temperatures of the first and second power storage devices. In the control device, the temperature control unit may control the temperature adjustment unit so that a first temperature, which is the temperature of the first power storage device acquired by the temperature acquisition unit, and a second temperature, which is the temperature of the second power storage device acquired by the temperature acquisition unit, become substantially equal to each other at a sixth timing when the first and second power storage amounts become substantially equal to each other.

[0012] In the above control device, the timing at which the charge control unit starts and / or ends control of the charging device may be different from the timing at which the temperature control unit starts and / or ends control of the temperature adjustment unit.In the above control device, the temperature control unit may control the temperature adjustment unit so that the control start timing of the temperature adjustment unit is earlier than the control start timing of the charging device.In the above control device, the charge control unit may control the charging device so that the control start timing of the charging device is later than the control start timing of the temperature adjustment unit.

[0013] In the control device, the charging device may include a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts a temperature of at least one of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The control device may include a temperature acquisition unit that acquires information about the temperatures of the first power storage device and the second power storage device, and a temperature control unit that controls the temperature adjustment unit. In the control device, the temperature control unit may control the temperature adjustment unit so that a temperature adjustment mode of the first power storage device and a temperature adjustment mode of the second power storage device differ when a first temperature that is the temperature of the first power storage device acquired by the temperature acquisition unit differs from a second temperature that is the temperature of the second power storage device acquired by the temperature acquisition unit.

[0014] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging device, which includes, for example, the control device according to the first aspect, and which includes, for example, one or more charging units that charge a first power storage device and a second power storage device.

[0015] A third aspect of the present invention provides a control method. The control method is used, for example, to control a charging device configured to be able to charge a plurality of power storage devices including a first power storage device and a second power storage device. The control method, for example, includes a storage amount acquisition step of acquiring information about the storage amounts of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The control method, for example, includes a charge control step of controlling the charging device to charge the first power storage device and the second power storage device. In the control method, for example, the charge control step includes a step of controlling the charging device so that a charging mode of the first power storage device and a charging mode of the second power storage device differ when a first storage amount, which is the storage amount of the first power storage device acquired in the storage amount acquisition step, is different from a second storage amount, which is the storage amount of the second power storage device acquired in the storage amount acquisition step. Each step of the control method is executed, for example, by a computer.

[0016] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a temperature adjustment method. The temperature adjustment method is, for example, a temperature adjustment method for a charging device equipped with a temperature adjustment device. In the temperature adjustment method, the charging device is configured to be able to charge a plurality of power storage devices, including, for example, a first power storage device and a second power storage device. In the temperature adjustment method, the temperature adjustment device adjusts the temperature of at least one of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The temperature adjustment method, for example, includes a stored power amount acquisition step of acquiring information on the stored power amounts of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The temperature adjustment method, for example, includes a control step of controlling a temperature adjustment unit so that the temperature adjustment mode of the first power storage device and the temperature adjustment mode of the second power storage device differ when a first stored power amount, which is the stored power amount of the first power storage device acquired in the stored power amount acquisition step, differs from a second stored power amount, which is the stored power amount of the second power storage device acquired in the stored power amount acquisition step. Each step of the temperature adjustment method is executed, for example, by a computer.

[0017] A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a temperature adjustment method. The temperature adjustment method is, for example, a temperature adjustment method for a charging device equipped with a temperature adjustment device. In the temperature adjustment method, the charging device is configured to be able to charge a plurality of power storage devices, including, for example, a first power storage device and a second power storage device. In the temperature adjustment method, the temperature adjustment device adjusts the temperature of at least one of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The temperature adjustment method, for example, includes a temperature acquisition step of acquiring information on the temperatures of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The temperature adjustment method, for example, includes a control step of controlling a temperature adjustment unit so that the temperature adjustment mode of the first power storage device and the temperature adjustment mode of the second power storage device differ when a first temperature, which is the temperature of the first power storage device acquired in the temperature acquisition step, is different from a second temperature, which is the temperature of the second power storage device acquired in the temperature acquisition step. Each step of the temperature adjustment method is executed, for example, by a computer.

[0018] In a sixth aspect of the present invention, a program is provided. A computer-readable medium storing the program may be provided. The computer-readable medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a computer-readable recording medium. The program may be a program for causing a computer to function as the control device according to the first aspect. When executed by a computer, the program may cause the computer to function as the control device according to the first aspect. The program may be a program for causing a computer to execute a method according to the third, fourth, or fifth aspect. When executed by a computer, the program may cause the computer to execute a method according to the third, fourth, or fifth aspect.

[0019] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions.

[0020] 1 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the battery management system 100. Schematically shows an example of the relationship between the charging procedure of the battery 20 and the voltage and temperature. Schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the management server 120. Schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a first example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows an example of voltage fluctuations immediately after the start of charging. Schematically shows a second example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a second example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a third example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a fourth example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a fourth example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a fifth example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows a fifth example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows an example of the fifth example of the operation of the battery station 140. Schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the battery station 140. Schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the input / output unit 1440. 10A and 10B schematically illustrate an example of temperature fluctuation of the battery 20 in another example of a procedure for charging the battery 20. FIG. 10B schematically illustrates an example of control of a slot 420 that accommodates the battery 24. FIG. 10C schematically illustrates an example of control of a slot 420 that accommodates the battery 22. FIG. 10D schematically illustrates an example of operation of the battery station 140 in another example of a procedure for charging the battery 20. FIG. 10E schematically illustrates an example of the system configuration of a computer 3000.

[0021] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar parts, and redundant explanations may be omitted.

[0022] [Overview of Battery Management System 100] An overview of the battery management system 100 will be described using Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 schematically shows an example of the system configuration of the battery management system 100. Figure 2 schematically shows an example of the relationship between a battery charging procedure and the voltage and temperature of the battery.

[0023] 1 , in this embodiment, the battery management system 100 includes a management server 120 and a battery station 140. In this embodiment, the battery station 140 holds one or more (sometimes referred to as one or more) batteries 20. The battery station 140 may hold multiple batteries 20, including the battery 22 and the battery 24. The battery management system 100 may include one or more battery stations 140.

[0024] In this embodiment, the management server 120 and the battery station 140 can transmit and receive information to and from each other via the communication network 10. In this embodiment, the management server 120 can transmit and receive information to and from the communication terminal 32 of the user 30 via the communication network 10.

[0025] In this embodiment, the details of the battery management system 100 will be described using as an example a case where the battery management system 100 provides one or more batteries 20 to the users 30. The battery management system 100 may provide one or more batteries 20 to each of the one or more users 30.

[0026] For example, the user 30 uses the communication terminal 32 to request the battery management system 100 to lend the battery 20 stored in a specific battery station 140. In response to the lending request, the battery management system 100 executes processing to lend the battery 20 to the user 30. In this embodiment, the user 30 uses the battery 20 lent from the battery management system 100 as a power source for the electric motorcycle 34.

[0027] The battery management system 100 may lend out a set of batteries 20. When the batteries 20 lent out from the battery management system 100 are used as a power source for the electric motorcycle 34, at least two of the batteries 20 may be connected in parallel. In this case, by sufficiently matching the voltages of the at least two batteries 20 connected in parallel, damage or excessive deterioration of the batteries 20 can be suppressed.

[0028] In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages the use of each of the one or more batteries 20. For example, the battery management system 100 manages the lending status (e.g., lendable, unborrowable, lending in progress, etc.), operating status (e.g., charging, discharging, standby, etc.), charging status (e.g., current SOC), storage status (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), degradation status, etc., of each of the one or more batteries 20.

[0029] The provision of the battery 20 is not limited to a rental form. As long as the battery 20 is provided to the user 30, the provision of the battery 20 is not particularly limited.

[0030] In this embodiment, the charge rate is defined as 100% for a fully charged state and 0% for a fully discharged state. The charge rate may also be referred to as the state of charge (SOC). The SOC of the battery 20 is calculated, for example, by dividing the remaining capacity [Ah] of the battery 20 by the fully charged capacity [Ah] of the battery 20 and multiplying the result by 100. The SOC of the battery 20 is calculated, for example, using various estimation methods based on physical quantities that can be measured from outside the battery 20. Examples of physical quantities that can be measured from outside the battery 20 include current, voltage, and temperature. The SOC of the battery 20 is estimated, for example, based on the measurement results of the voltage of the battery 20.

[0031] In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages the temperature of each of one or more batteries 20. For example, the battery management system 100 manages the temperature of at least one set of batteries 20 so that the absolute value of the temperature difference between the plurality of batteries 20 rented out as one set of batteries 20 is smaller than a predetermined value.

[0032] It is known that the charge / discharge characteristics of the battery 20 are affected by the battery temperature. When the battery 20 is charged, the temperature of the battery 20 rises according to the amount of charge of the battery 20. Therefore, for example, when a charging device charges multiple batteries 20 with different charge rates, the temperatures of the multiple batteries 20 after charging vary. As a result, the charge / discharge characteristics of the batteries 20 may vary depending on the timing at which the batteries 20 are removed from the charging device.

[0033] Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages the temperatures of the rentable batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140 so that the temperatures of the rentable batteries 20 satisfy predetermined conditions. Examples of the predetermined conditions include (i) a condition that the temperatures of the rentable batteries 20 are within a predetermined temperature range, and (ii) a condition that the absolute value of the difference in temperature between at least two batteries 20 among the multiple batteries 20 rented as a set of batteries 20 is smaller than a predetermined value.

[0034] As described above, when the plurality of batteries 20 rented from the battery management system 100 are used as a power source for the electric motorcycle 34, there are cases where at least two of the plurality of batteries 20 are connected in parallel. In particular, in such a case, if the temperatures of the plurality of batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140 are different, it is difficult to align the charge / discharge characteristics of each battery or to sufficiently match the voltages of the batteries 20 when these batteries 20 are released as a set of batteries 20.

[0035] Therefore, in this embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages the temperatures of the plurality of batteries 20 available for rent held in the battery station 140. The battery management system 100 may manage the temperatures of at least one set of batteries 20 so that the absolute value of the temperature difference between the plurality of batteries 20 rented out as one set of batteries 20 is smaller than a predetermined value.

[0036] [Overview of Each Part of the Battery Management System 100] In this embodiment, the communication network 10 may be a wired communication transmission path, a wireless communication transmission path, or a combination of a wireless communication transmission path and a wired communication transmission path. The communication network 10 may include a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN, a power line communication line, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication line, a road-to-vehicle communication line, etc. The communication network 10 may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone network, or (ii) a wireless communication network such as a wireless MAN (e.g., WiMAX (registered trademark)), a wireless LAN (e.g., WiFi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), or NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0037] In this embodiment, the battery 20 supplies power to the electric motorcycle 34. The battery 20 may be mounted on the electric motorcycle 34. The battery 20 may be detachably mounted on the electric motorcycle 34. The battery 20 may be a replaceable power storage device. The battery 20 may be a portable power storage device.

[0038] As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of batteries 20 are mounted on the electric motorcycle 34. Of the plurality of batteries 20, at least two batteries 20 may be connected in parallel to supply power to the electric motorcycle 34. Of the plurality of batteries 20, at least two batteries 20 may be connected in series to supply power to the electric motorcycle 34. Furthermore, a battery pack formed by a plurality of batteries 20 connected in series may be connected in parallel to another battery pack.

[0039] In this embodiment, the battery 20 is charged by the battery station 140. For example, when the electric motorcycle 34 is equipped with the batteries 22 and 24, the batteries 22 and 24 are exchanged with the other two batteries 20 being charged at the battery station 140 according to the following procedure. For example, in the electric motorcycle 34, the batteries 22 and 24 are connected in series.

[0040] According to one embodiment, when the remaining capacity of the battery 20 mounted on the electric motorcycle 34 becomes low, the user 30 requests the battery management system 100 to lend out the battery 20 stored in a specific battery station 140. When the user 30 arrives at the battery station 140, the user 30 removes the batteries 22 and 24 from the electric motorcycle 34. The user 30 returns the batteries 22 and 24 removed from the electric motorcycle 34 to a battery return space provided in the battery station 140. For example, at this time, the connectors of the returned battery 20 are electrically connected to the connectors of the battery station 140. The battery station 140 charges the battery 20 at an appropriate time in preparation for the next use of the battery 20. The battery return space may be one of the multiple battery storage compartments provided in the battery station 140 that does not store a battery 20 (sometimes referred to as an empty battery storage compartment).

[0041] Next, the battery station 140 executes a process to lend two of the fully charged and available batteries 20 to the user 30. Specifically, the battery storage compartment that houses the two batteries 20 is unlocked. This allows the user 30 to remove the batteries 20 from the battery storage compartment. The user 30 removes the two batteries 20 from the battery station 140 and attaches them to the electric motorcycle 34. This completes the exchange of the batteries 22 and 24.

[0042] According to another embodiment, when the remaining capacity of the battery 20 mounted on the electric motorcycle 34 becomes low, the user 30 moves the electric motorcycle 34 toward a nearby battery station 140. When the user 30 arrives at the battery station 140, the user 30 uses the user interface of the battery station 140 to request the rental of the battery 20 stored in the battery station 140. Next, the user 30 removes the battery 20 from the electric motorcycle 34. The user 30 returns the battery 20 removed from the electric motorcycle 34 to a battery return space provided in the battery station 140. Thereafter, the user 30 removes the two batteries 20 from the battery station 140 and installs them on the electric motorcycle 34. This completes the exchange of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0043] In the present embodiment, an example of the battery station 140 has been described, taking as an example a case where the battery station 140 is configured so that the user 30 can remove two other batteries 20 from the battery station 140 after returning the battery 22 and the battery 24 to the battery station 140. However, the battery station 140 is not limited to the present embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery station 140 may be configured so that the user 30 can remove two other batteries 20 from the battery station 140 before returning the battery 22 and the battery 24 to the battery station 140.

[0044] In the present embodiment, an example of the electric motorcycle 34 has been described, taking as an example a case where the battery 22 and the battery 24 are connected in series in the electric motorcycle 34. However, the electric motorcycle 34 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery 22 and the battery 24 are connected in parallel in the electric motorcycle 34. In still other embodiments, the electric motorcycle 34 may be equipped with three or more batteries 20. The three or more batteries 20 may be connected in series or in parallel. Furthermore, a battery pack formed by a plurality of batteries 20 connected in series may be connected in parallel with another battery pack.

[0045] In this embodiment, the communication terminal 32 is used by the user 30. The communication terminal 32 functions as an interface between the battery management system 100 and the user 30, for example.

[0046] In one embodiment, the communication terminal 32 accepts input from the user 30. The communication terminal 32 transmits various requests to the management server 120 based on the input from the user 30. Examples of the requests include a search request for searching for battery stations 140 that meet specific conditions, a reservation request for reserving any or a specific battery 20 stored in a specific battery station 140, and the like.

[0047] In another embodiment, the communication terminal 32 outputs information to the user 30. For example, the communication terminal 32 outputs information received from the management server 120 to the user 30. The manner in which the information is output is not particularly limited. The communication terminal 32 may output an image or sound.

[0048] The communication terminal 32 may be any device capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from each unit of the battery management system 100 (e.g., the management server 120) via the communication network 10, and details thereof are not particularly limited. Examples of the communication terminal 32 include a personal computer and a mobile terminal. Examples of the mobile terminal include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a notebook computer or laptop computer, and a wearable computer.

[0049] In this embodiment, the electric motorcycle 34 operates by consuming power supplied from the battery 20. More specifically, the electric motorcycle 34 moves using power supplied from the battery 20. If the battery 20 has a storage device, the electric motorcycle 34 may store at least one of the travel history and operation history of the electric motorcycle 34 in the storage device.

[0050] The electric motorcycle 34 is configured so that one or more batteries 20 can be attached or detached. The electric motorcycle 34 may be configured so that multiple batteries 20 can be attached or detached. The electric motorcycle 34 may be configured so that when multiple batteries 20 are attached to the electric motorcycle 34, at least two batteries 20 are connected in parallel to supply power to the electric motorcycle 34.

[0051] In this embodiment, the management server 120 manages the use of each of the one or more batteries 20. For example, the battery management system 100 manages the lending status (e.g., available for lending, unavailable for lending, being lent, etc.), the operating status (e.g., charging, discharging, standby, etc.), the charge status (e.g., current SOC), the storage status (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), the degradation status, etc., of each of the one or more batteries 20.

[0052] In this embodiment, the management server 120 may manage the reservation of each of the one or more batteries 20. The management server 120 may transmit, to each of the one or more battery stations 140, information regarding the reservation of the battery 20 associated with the battery station.

[0053] In this embodiment, when the battery station 140 provides the user 30 with the number of batteries 20 reserved by the user 30, the management server 120 may determine a judgment criterion (sometimes referred to as a policy) for determining which battery 20 will be preferentially provided from among the multiple batteries 20 held in the battery station 140. The management server 120 may transmit information related to the policy to each of the one or more battery stations 140.

[0054] An example of the policy is that when multiple batteries 20 are rented as a set of batteries 20, the temperature difference between at least n batteries 20 among the multiple batteries 20 must be within a predetermined numerical range. n may be an integer equal to or greater than 2. The value of n may be specified by the user 30 at the time of reservation, or may be determined based on the type of electric motorcycle 34 used by the user 30.

[0055] In this embodiment, the battery station 140 holds one or more batteries 20. The battery station 140 charges each of the one or more batteries 20. The battery station 140 may be configured to be able to charge multiple batteries 20, including the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0056] For example, the battery station 140 obtains information regarding the reservation of the battery 20 from the management server 120. The battery station 140 may obtain information regarding the above policy from the management server 120. In accordance with the above policy, the battery station 140 may determine, as batteries 20 to be rented, from among the multiple batteries 20 held by the battery station, the number of batteries 20 that matches the number reserved by the user 30. The battery station 140 may charge the batteries 20 determined to be rented, as necessary.

[0057] In the present embodiment, the battery station 140 may manage the temperature of each of one or more batteries 20. The battery station 140 may manage the temperature of at least two batteries 20 among all the batteries 20 held in the battery station 140. For example, the battery station 140 manages the temperatures of the at least two batteries 20 by controlling the charging mode of each of the at least two batteries 20 that are the subject of temperature management.

[0058] In this embodiment, the battery station 140 executes a process for lending the battery 20 in response to a request from the user 30. For example, the battery station 140 executes a process for authenticating the user 30, a process for confirming the reservation details, a process for issuing the battery 20, etc. Details of the battery station 140 will be described later.

[0059] 2, the charging procedure in the battery station 140 will be described using an example in which the battery station 140 rents out a battery 22 and a battery 24 having approximately the same battery capacity as one battery 20. Also, the temperature changes of the battery 22 and the battery 24 that accompany charging will be described.

[0060] 2 shows the voltage fluctuations 220 of each battery and the temperature fluctuations 240 of each battery. Note that in FIG. 2, due to limitations in the representation of the drawing, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn separated from one another.

[0061] 2, a dotted line 222 indicates the voltage fluctuation of the battery 22 in this embodiment. A solid line 224 indicates the voltage fluctuation of the battery 24 in this embodiment. A dashed-dotted line 226 indicates the voltage fluctuation when the battery 24 is charged in a different charging mode from this embodiment.

[0062] 2, a dotted line 242 indicates the temperature fluctuation of the battery 22 in this embodiment. A solid line 244 indicates the temperature fluctuation of the battery 24 in this embodiment. A dashed-dotted line 246 indicates the temperature fluctuation when the battery 24 is charged in a different charging mode from this embodiment.

[0063] 2, before time t0, charging power is not supplied to the battery 22 and the battery 24 from the battery station 140. According to this embodiment, at time t0, the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery 22 is V ＡＯ [V]. The OCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＯ [V], and the closed circuit voltage (CCV) of the battery 24 is V ＢＣ [V].

[0064] As shown by the dotted line 222, charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0. Thereafter, the battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate. As the charging of the battery 22 progresses, the CCV of the battery 22 increases, and at time t1, the CCV of the battery 22 reaches V ＢＣ As shown by the solid line 224, at time t1, the CCV of the battery 22 reaches V ＢＣ When the voltage reaches [V], charging of the battery 24 begins.

[0065] After charging of the battery 24 starts at time t1, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate. The charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 may be substantially the same. In this embodiment, the battery capacities of the batteries 22 and 24 are substantially the same, and therefore the CCVs of the batteries 22 and 24 are substantially the same while the batteries 22 and 24 are being charged at substantially the same charging rate.

[0066] In this embodiment, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at approximately the same charging rate at least until the CCVs or OCVs of the batteries 22 and 24 reach the target voltage Vt [V] at time t2. The target voltage Vt may be a voltage set by, for example, an administrator or operator of the battery management system 100 as a lower limit value when the battery 20 is rented out from the battery station 140. As a result, at time t2, both the batteries 22 and 24 are available for rental.

[0067] Thereafter, at time t3, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate until the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the full charge voltage Vf [V]. The charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 may be substantially the same. The full charge voltage Vf may be a voltage set by, for example, an administrator or operator of the battery management system 100 as an upper limit of the voltage to which the battery 20 can be charged. When the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the full charge voltage Vf [V] at time t3, the charging of the batteries 22 and 24 is completed. As a result, both the batteries 22 and 24 are fully charged at time t3.

[0068] 2, the temperature of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is Taa [° C.] before time t0. Taa may be the temperature of the surrounding environment of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0069] As shown by the dotted line 242, when charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually increases. The rate at which the temperature of the battery 22 increases corresponds to the charging rate of the battery 22. In this embodiment, the battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate from time t0 to time t3. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 22 increases at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t3. As a result, at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Taf [°C]. After charging of the battery 22 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually decreases. Then, at time t4, which is an arbitrary time after t3, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tae [°C].

[0070] As shown by the solid line 244, the temperature of the battery 24 is Taa [°C] until charging of the battery 24 starts at time t1. When charging of the battery 24 starts at time t1, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually increases. In this embodiment, the battery 24 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate from time t1 to time t3.

[0071] As a result, the temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t1 to time t3. As a result, at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tad [°C]. After charging of the battery 24 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually drops. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tac [°C].

[0072] In this embodiment, the length of the charging period for battery 24 is shorter than the length of the charging period for battery 22. Furthermore, the amount of power supplied from battery station 140 to battery 24 during the charging period is smaller than the amount of power supplied from battery station 140 to battery 22 during the charging period. Therefore, the peak temperature Tad of battery 24 during the charging period is lower than the peak temperature Taf of battery 22. Furthermore, at time t4, the temperature Tac of battery 24 is lower than the temperature Tae of battery 22.

[0073] As described above, in this embodiment, an example of the charging operation of the battery station 140 has been described using as an example a case in which the charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is controlled so that the charging start time of the battery 22 is before the charging start time of the battery 24. On the other hand, as shown by the dashed dotted line 226 in Figure 2, it is also possible to start charging both the battery 22 and the battery 24 at time t0.

[0074] As indicated by the dashed-dotted line 226, charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 begins at time t0, and thereafter the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate. The charging rates of the battery 22 and the battery 24 may be substantially the same. Thereafter, for example, at any point between time t0 and time t2, the CCV or OCV of the battery 24 reaches the full charge voltage Vf [V], and charging of the battery 24 is completed.

[0075] In this case, as shown by the dashed-dotted line 246, when charging of the battery 24 begins at time t0, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually increases. In this embodiment, the battery 24 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate during the charging period. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 24 increases at a substantially constant rate during the charging period. As a result, when charging of the battery 24 is completed between time t0 and time t2, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tad [°C]. Thereafter, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually decreases. At time t4, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tab [°C]. Note that, as a result of reflecting the length of the heat dissipation time, the temperature Tab of the battery 24 shown by the dashed-dotted line 246 at time t4 is lower than the temperature Tac of the battery 24 shown by the solid line 244.

[0076] 2, according to this embodiment, when the amount of power stored in battery 22 differs from the amount of power stored in battery 24, battery station 140 is controlled so that the charging mode of battery 22 differs from the charging mode of battery 24. As a result, according to this embodiment, the temperature difference between battery 22 and battery 24 is smaller than in the example shown by the dashed dotted line 226 described in relation to FIG.

[0077] Therefore, for example, even if the batteries 22 and 24 are rented out at approximately the same time, the temperature difference between the batteries 22 and 24 at the time of rental can be controlled within a predetermined numerical range. The above numerical range may have only an upper limit set, or may have both an upper limit and a lower limit set.

[0078] In this embodiment, the amount of stored power of a battery is one type of state quantity of the battery, and indicates, for example, the state of electrical energy stored in the battery (sometimes referred to as the battery's power storage state). For example, in this embodiment, the amount of stored power of the battery is represented by the charging rate or state of charge (SOC) [%] estimated based on the voltage measurement result of the battery.

[0079] In other embodiments, quantities indicating the state of charge of the battery may include (i) the amount of dischargeable power [Wh], the amount of charge [Ah], and the remaining capacity [Ah]. In still other embodiments, (i) the charge rate or state of charge (SOC), and (ii) physical quantities used to estimate at least one of the amount of dischargeable power [Wh], the amount of charge [Ah], and the remaining capacity [Ah] may be used as information regarding the amount of charge stored in the battery. Examples of the physical quantities include (i) terminal voltage [V] and (ii) potential relative to a reference potential [V]. The potential relative to the reference potential may be the potential of the positive terminal relative to the reference potential. The reference potential is not particularly limited. For example, if the reference potential is a negative electrode potential, the potential of the positive terminal relative to the reference potential is equal to the terminal voltage.

[0080] In this embodiment, the charging mode of a battery may be a charging profile of the battery. For example, the charging mode of a battery is determined by settings related to at least one of a charging period and a charging rate of the battery. Examples of settings related to the charging period include at least one of the start, end, and length of the charging period. Examples of settings related to the charging rate include the charging rate for each of one or more periods included in the charging period.

[0081] More specifically, when the amount of charge stored in battery 22 is smaller than the amount of charge stored in battery 24, at least one of the charging period and the charging rate of each of battery 22 and battery 24 is set so that the absolute value of the difference between the time when battery 22 reaches the target voltage Vt and the time when battery 24 reaches the target voltage Vt is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value (i.e., so that the absolute value is any value equal to or smaller than the threshold value). The method of setting the charging period and the charging rate is not particularly limited.

[0082] According to one embodiment, the charging periods of battery 22 and battery 24 are set so that the charging start time of battery 24 is later than the charging start time of battery 22. In this case, (i) the charging rate of battery 22 may be lower than the charging rate of battery 24, (ii) the charging rate of battery 22 may be approximately the same as the charging rate of battery 24, or (iii) the charging rate of battery 22 may be higher than the charging rate of battery 24.

[0083] According to another embodiment, the charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 are set so that the charging rate of the battery 24 is lower than the charging rate of the battery 22 during at least a portion of the charging period. In this case, (i) the charging start time of the battery 24 may be set to be earlier than the charging start time of the battery 22, (ii) the charging start time of the battery 24 may be set to be later than the charging start time of the battery 22, or (iii) the charging start time of the battery 24 may be set to be approximately the same as the charging start time of the battery 22.

[0084] The battery 20 may be an example of a power storage device. The battery 22 may be an example of a first power storage device. The battery 24 may be an example of a second power storage device. The amount of power stored in the battery 22 may be an example of a first amount of power stored. The amount of power stored in the battery 24 may be an example of a second amount of power stored. The electric motorcycle 34 may be an example of a power device. The battery management system 100 may be an example of a control device or a charging device. The battery station 140 may be an example of a control device or a charging device.

[0085] Time t0 may be an example of a first timing, and time t1 may be an example of a second timing.

[0086] In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 has been described in detail using the example in which the battery 20 is used as a power source for the electric motorcycle 34. However, the use of the battery 20 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery 20 may be used as a power source for various types of power devices. The type or structure of the power device is not particularly limited as long as it is a device that operates by consuming power supplied from the battery 20. Other examples of power devices include a mobile object powered by an electric motor and a stationary power storage device.

[0087] In the present embodiment, the battery management system 100 has been described in detail using the electric motorcycle 34 as an example of a moving object. However, the moving object is not limited to the electric motorcycle 34.

[0088] In other embodiments, the mobile object may be a vehicle such as an automobile, a motorcycle, or a stand-up vehicle having a power unit. Examples of automobiles include gasoline-powered vehicles, diesel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, hybrid vehicles, small commuter vehicles, and electric carts. Examples of motorcycles include motorbikes, three-wheeled motorcycles, and electric bicycles.

[0089] In still other embodiments, the mobile body may be a ship, an aircraft, etc. Examples of the ship include a boat, a hovercraft, a jet bike, a submarine, a submersible, an underwater scooter, etc. Examples of the aircraft include an airplane, an airship, a balloon, a helicopter, a drone, etc.

[0090] In the present embodiment, the details of the battery management system 100 have been described using as an example a case in which the management server 120 manages one or more batteries 20 and one or more battery stations 140. However, the battery management system 100 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, at least one of the one or more battery stations 140 may have at least some of the functions of the above-described management server 120. For example, at least one of the one or more battery stations 140 may manage one or more batteries 20. At least one of the one or more battery stations 140 may manage other battery stations 140. In this case, the battery management system 100 may or may not include the management server 120.

[0091] In the present embodiment, the battery management system 100 has been described in detail using as an example a case in which the battery station 140 determines a battery 20 to be lent out from among the plurality of batteries 20 held by the battery station 140. However, the battery management system 100 is not limited to the present embodiment. In other embodiments, the management server 120 may determine a battery 20 to be lent out from among the plurality of batteries 20 held by the battery station 140.

[0092] [Specific Configuration of Each Unit of Battery Management System 100] Each unit of battery management system 100 may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. When at least some of the components of battery management system 100 are realized by software, the components realized by software may be realized by starting a program that defines the operations related to the components in an information processing device with a general configuration.

[0093] The program may be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a memory, or a hard disk, or may be stored in a storage device connected to a network. The program may be installed from the computer-readable medium or the storage device connected to the network into a computer that constitutes at least a part of the battery management system 100. Execution of the program may cause the computer to function as at least a part of each unit of the battery management system 100.

[0094] The program that causes a computer to function as at least a part of each unit of the battery management system 100 may include modules that define the operation of each unit of the battery management system 100. These programs or modules act on a data processing device, an input device, an output device, a storage device, etc. to cause the computer to function as each unit of the battery management system 100 or to execute an information processing method in each unit of the battery management system 100.

[0095] When the program is loaded into a computer, the information processing described in the program functions as a specific means in which software related to the program works in cooperation with various hardware resources of the battery management system 100. The specific means then realizes calculation or processing of information according to the intended use of the computer in this embodiment, thereby constructing the battery management system 100 according to the intended use.

[0096] The information processing method in each unit of the battery management system 100 may be a control method for controlling a charging device configured to be able to charge a plurality of power storage devices including a first power storage device and a second power storage device. The control method may, for example, include a storage amount acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the storage amounts of the first power storage device and the second power storage device. The control method may, for example, include a charge control step of controlling the charging device to charge the first power storage device and the second power storage device. In the control method, the charge control step may include a step of controlling the charging device so that the charging mode of the first power storage device and the charging mode of the second power storage device differ when a first storage amount, which is the storage amount of the first power storage device, is different from a second storage amount, which is the storage amount of the second power storage device.

[0097] Next, the details of each unit of the management server 120 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 shows an example of the system configuration of the management server 120. Figure 4 shows an example of the system configuration of the battery station 140.

[0098] 3, in this embodiment, the management server 120 includes, for example, a status monitoring unit 310, a battery management unit 320, a reservation management unit 330, and a storage unit 340. In this embodiment, the storage unit 340 includes, for example, a battery information storage unit 342, a station information storage unit 344, and a user information storage unit 346. The units of the management server 120 may send and receive information to and from each other.

[0099] In this embodiment, the status monitoring unit 310 monitors each of the battery stations 140 that are the management targets. The status monitoring unit 310 acquires information on at least one of the operating state and the operational state of the battery station 140 from each of the battery stations 140 that are the management targets. For example, the status monitoring unit 310 acquires information indicating the availability rate of the battery station 140 from each of the battery stations 140 that are the management targets. The status monitoring unit 310 may acquire information indicating the presence or absence of an abnormality in the battery station 140 from each of the battery stations 140 that are the management targets. The status monitoring unit 310 may acquire information indicating the shutdown or scheduled shutdown of the battery station 140 from each of the battery stations 140 that are the management targets.

[0100] In this embodiment, the status monitoring unit 310 monitors each of the managed batteries 20. For example, the status monitoring unit 310 acquires, from each of the managed battery stations 140, information regarding at least one of the operating state, charging state, storage state, and degradation state of the batteries 20 stored in the battery stations 140.

[0101] The state monitoring unit 310 acquires, for example, information regarding the amount of stored power of each of one or more batteries 20 held in the battery station 140. The information regarding the amount of stored power of each of one or more batteries 20 may be information indicating the amount of stored power of each of one or more batteries 20. The information indicating the amount of stored power may be information indicating the SOC.

[0102] In this embodiment, the status monitoring unit 310 monitors the status of the user. For example, the status monitoring unit 310 acquires various pieces of information related to the user from the communication terminal 32. The status monitoring unit 310 may acquire, from the communication terminal 32, location information indicating the location of the communication terminal 32. The status monitoring unit 310 may acquire, from the communication terminal 32, information indicating the movement history of the communication terminal 32. In this case, the movement history may be represented by the location indicated by a GPS signal and the time at which the GPS signal was received. The status monitoring unit 310 may acquire, from each of the battery stations 140 to be managed, information related to the user's movement history that was stored in the memory of the battery 20 to be managed.

[0103] In this embodiment, the battery management unit 320 manages one or more batteries 20. The battery management unit 320 manages, for example, at least one of the operation state, charge state, storage state, and degradation state of the battery 20 to be managed.

[0104] The battery management unit 320 may manage a charging schedule for one or more batteries 20. The battery management unit 320 may manage the charging schedule for the battery 20 for each battery station 140. The battery management unit 320 may manage the charging schedule for the battery 20 based on at least one of a reservation request from the communication terminal 32 and a demand forecast for the battery 20. The charging schedule may be information in which information indicating a time is associated with information indicating the number of batteries 20 that have been charged and are available for lending by that time. The charging schedule may be information in which information indicating a time is associated with information indicating the number of batteries 20 whose charging rates at that time are greater than a predetermined value.

[0105] In this embodiment, the reservation management unit 330 manages the reservation status of the battery 20 that is the management target. For example, the reservation management unit 330 accepts a reservation request from the communication terminal 32 and executes a reservation process. The reservation management unit 330 stores the execution results of the reservation process (sometimes referred to as reservation information). The reservation information includes information such as a user ID, desired rental date, desired rental time, station ID, battery ID, desired charge state, usage fee, and payment method. The reservation information may also include information indicating the time when the reservation request was accepted (sometimes referred to as the reservation time) and information indicating the user's location at the reservation time.

[0106] In this embodiment, the storage unit 340 stores various types of information. The storage unit 340 may store information generated or acquired by the state monitoring unit 310, the battery management unit 320, or the reservation management unit 330.

[0107] In this embodiment, the battery information storage unit 342 stores various information related to each of the batteries 20 to be managed. For example, the battery information storage unit 342 stores, for each battery, information indicating the amount of power stored in the battery. The information indicating the amount of power stored in the battery may be the SOC value of the battery.

[0108] In this embodiment, the station information storage unit 344 stores various types of information related to each of the managed battery stations 140. For example, the station information storage unit 344 stores, for each battery station, identification information for each of the one or more batteries 20 held by the battery station.

[0109] In this embodiment, the user information storage unit 346 stores various types of information related to the user 30. For example, the user information storage unit 346 stores information indicating the attributes of each user. More specifically, the user information storage unit 346 may store information indicating the type of electric motorcycle 34 used by each user.

[0110] 4 , in this embodiment, the battery station 140 includes one or more charging units 420 and a control unit 440. In this embodiment, each of the one or more charging units 420 includes a battery storage chamber 422, a measuring device 424, and a charging circuit 426. In this embodiment, the control unit 440 includes a communication control unit 442, a charge / discharge control unit 444, a rental management unit 446, and a storage unit 448.

[0111] In this embodiment, the charging unit 420 charges the battery 20. A single charging unit 420 may charge a single battery 20, or a single charging unit 420 may charge multiple batteries 20.

[0112] In this embodiment, the battery storage chamber 422 stores the battery 20. In this embodiment, the measuring device 424 measures various physical quantities related to the battery 20 stored in the battery storage chamber 422. The measuring device 424 may transmit information indicating the measurement results to the control unit 440. For example, the measuring device 424 measures the voltage of the battery 20. The measuring device 424 may measure at least one of the charging current and discharging current of the battery 20. In this embodiment, the charging circuit 426 supplies power to the battery 20 to charge the battery 20. The charging circuit 426 may charge the battery 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 440.

[0113] In the present embodiment, the control unit 440 controls the operation of the battery station 140. The control unit 440 may control the operation of the battery station 140 using information acquired from the management server 120. The control unit 440 may control the operation of the battery station 140 based on instructions from the management server 120. The control unit 440 may execute various information processing methods in the battery station 140.

[0114] The control unit 440 may control the operation of the battery station 140 to lend out the battery 20. The control unit 440 may determine the battery 20 to be lent out. The control unit 440 may control the operation of the battery station 140 to charge the battery 20. The control unit 440 may determine the battery 20 to be charged.

[0115] In this embodiment, the communication control unit 442 controls communication between the battery station 140 and external devices. Examples of the external devices include at least one of the battery 20, the communication terminal 32, and the management server 120. The communication control unit 442 may be a communication interface. The communication control unit 442 may support one or more types of communication methods.

[0116] The communication control unit 442 may control communication between one or more charging units 420 and the control unit 440. For example, the communication control unit 442 transmits information indicating the measurement results output by the measuring device 424 of the charging unit 420 to at least one of the charge / discharge control unit 444 and the lending management unit 446.

[0117] In this embodiment, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging / discharging of the battery 20 by each of the one or more charging units 420. For example, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging of the battery 20 by controlling the charging circuit 426. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may also control the discharging of the battery 20 by controlling a discharging circuit (not shown). The charge / discharge control unit 444 controls, for example, the timing to start charging or discharging each of the one or more batteries 20, the timing to end the charging or discharging, the charging rate or discharging rate, etc.

[0118] For example, the charge / discharge control unit 444 acquires information (sometimes referred to as schedule information) that associates identification information, information indicating the charging completion time, and information indicating the amount of stored power at the time of charging completion for each of the one or more batteries 20 to be charged, from the lending management unit 446. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may acquire, from the lending management unit 446, identification information of the charging unit 420 that accommodates each of the one or more batteries 20 to be charged.

[0119] Examples of the amount of stored power at the completion of charging include a target voltage Vt and a fully charged voltage Vf. As described above, the amount of stored power at the completion of charging may be an SOC corresponding to the target voltage Vt or an SOC corresponding to the fully charged voltage Vf. Examples of the one or more batteries 20 to be charged include (i) the battery 22 and the battery 24, and (ii) a plurality of batteries 20 including the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0120] The charge / discharge control unit 444 may acquire from the communication control unit 442 information indicating the amount of stored power measured by the measuring device 424 for each of the one or more batteries 20 to be charged. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may acquire the above information from the storage unit 448. Examples of the one or more batteries 20 to be charged include (i) the battery 22 and the battery 24, and (ii) a plurality of batteries 20 including the battery 22 and the battery 24. For example, when the batteries to be charged are the battery 22 and the battery 24, the charge / discharge control unit 444 acquires (i) information indicating the open circuit voltages of the battery 22 and the battery 24, and (ii) information indicating the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24.

[0121] The charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 based on the schedule information acquired from the lending management unit 446. For example, when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are to be charged, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 22, causing the charging unit 420 to charge the battery 22. The charge / discharge control unit 444 also controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 24, causing the charging unit 420 to charge the battery 24.

[0122] For example, when the battery to be charged is battery 22 and battery 24, and the amount of power stored in battery 22 differs from the amount of power stored in battery 24, charge / discharge control unit 444 controls charging circuit 426 of charging unit 420 that houses battery 22 and charging circuit 426 of charging unit 420 that houses battery 24 so that the charging mode of battery 22 differs from the charging mode of battery 24. As described above, charge / discharge control unit 444 determines the charging mode of each battery, for example, by determining a setting related to at least one of the charging period and charging rate of each battery.

[0123] As described above, the setting related to the charging period may be, for example, at least one of the start, end, and length of the charging period, and the setting related to the charging rate may be, for example, the charging rate for each of one or more periods included in the charging period.

[0124] As a method for determining the charging mode of the battery 22 and the battery 24, various embodiments such as those shown below are possible. Note that the method for determining the charging mode of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is not limited to the following embodiments. For example, the various embodiments shown below or parts thereof may be combined as appropriate within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0125] In one embodiment, for example, when the amount of stored power in battery 22 is smaller than the amount of stored power in battery 24, charge / discharge control unit 444 controls charging circuit 426 that charges battery 22 and charging circuit 426 that charges battery 24 so that the charging start time of battery 22 is before the charging start time of battery 24. At the charging start time of battery 24, (i) the value obtained by subtracting the amount of stored power in battery 22 from the amount of stored power in battery 24, or (ii) the absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power in battery 22 and the amount of stored power in battery 24 may be equal to a predetermined first threshold value or may be smaller than the first threshold value.

[0126] For example, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines to start charging the battery 24 when (i) a value obtained by subtracting the amount of stored power of the battery 22 from the amount of stored power of the battery 24, or (ii) an absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power of the battery 22 and the amount of stored power of the battery 24, becomes equal to a first threshold value or becomes smaller than the first threshold value. The amount of stored power may be a closed circuit voltage or an SOC.

[0127] More specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 444 monitors the closed circuit voltages of the battery 22 and the battery 24, and when it detects that the value obtained by subtracting the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 from the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 is equal to or less than a first threshold, it determines to start charging the battery 24. In this case, the first threshold may be 0 or a positive number.

[0128] For example, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines to start charging the battery 24 at a timing after the timing when (i) a value obtained by subtracting the amount of stored power of the battery 22 from the amount of stored power of the battery 24, or (ii) an absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power of the battery 22 and the amount of stored power of the battery 24, becomes equal to a first threshold value or becomes smaller than the first threshold value. The amount of stored power may be a closed circuit voltage or an SOC.

[0129] More specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 444 monitors the closed circuit voltages of the battery 22 and the battery 24, and after detecting that the value obtained by subtracting the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 from the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 is equal to or less than the first threshold, determines to start charging the battery 24 at a specific timing before the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 reaches the target voltage. In this case, the first threshold may be 0 or a positive number.

[0130] In another embodiment, for example, when the amount of stored power in battery 22 is smaller than the amount of stored power in battery 24, the charge / discharge control unit 444 may charge battery 24 in multiple installments until it is detected that the value obtained by subtracting the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 from the closed circuit voltage of battery 24 is equal to or less than the first threshold. In this case, the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeatedly starts and stops charging of battery 24 until the value obtained by subtracting the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 from the closed circuit voltage of battery 24 becomes equal to or less than the first threshold.

[0131] The charge / discharge control unit 444 may charge the battery 22 in multiple installments until it is detected that the value obtained by subtracting the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 from the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 is equal to or lower than the first threshold. In this case, the charge / discharge control unit 444 may control the charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 so that the length of the period during which charging of the battery 24 is stopped is longer than the length of the period during which charging of the battery 22 is stopped.

[0132] In another embodiment, for example, when the amount of stored power in battery 22 is smaller than the amount of stored power in battery 24, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 that charges battery 22 and the charging circuit 426 that charges battery 24 so that the charging rate of battery 22 is greater than the charging rate of battery 24. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may determine the charging rates of battery 22 and battery 24 so that the length of the period between the time when the amount of stored power in battery 22 reaches a predetermined first target value and the time when the amount of stored power in battery 24 reaches the first target value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined second threshold. The first target value may be the amount of stored power at which each battery can be lent, or may be the amount of stored power that serves as a guideline for completing charging of each battery.

[0133] More specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines the charge rate of the battery 22 and the charge rate of the battery 24 so that the length of the period between the time when the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 reaches the target voltage and the time when the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 24 reaches the target voltage is equal to or less than a second threshold. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may determine the charge rate of the battery 22 and the charge rate of the battery 24 so that the length of the period between the time when the SOC of the battery 22 reaches the target SOC and the time when the SOC of the battery 24 reaches the target SOC is equal to or less than a second threshold.

[0134] In still another embodiment, for example, when the amount of stored power in battery 22 is smaller than the amount of stored power in battery 24, charge / discharge control unit 444 controls charging circuit 426 that charges battery 22 and charging circuit 426 that charges battery 24 so that the time when the amount of stored power in battery 22 reaches a predetermined second target value is later than the time when the amount of stored power in battery 24 reaches the second target value. The second target value may be the amount of stored power at which each battery can be lent out, or may be the amount of stored power that serves as a guideline for completing charging of each battery.

[0135] For example, when the amount of stored power in the battery 24 reaches the second target value, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 that charges the battery 24 to stop charging the battery 24. Thereafter, when the amount of stored power in the battery 24 reaches the second target value, the charging of the battery 24 is resumed.

[0136] The charge / discharge control unit 444 determines that the amount of stored power in the battery 24 has reached the second target value, for example, when the absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power in the battery 24 and the second target value becomes equal to a predetermined third threshold value or smaller than the third threshold value. Similarly, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines that the amount of stored power in the battery 22 has reached the second target value, for example, when the absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power in the battery 22 and the first target value becomes equal to a predetermined fourth threshold value or smaller than the fourth threshold value.

[0137] In still another embodiment, for example, when the amount of stored power in battery 24 is greater than the amount of stored power in battery 22 (that is, when the amount of stored power in battery 22 is less than the amount of stored power in battery 24), the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 that charges battery 22 and the charging circuit 426 that charges battery 24 so that the amount of stored power in battery 24 reaches a predetermined third target value before the amount of stored power in battery 22 reaches the third target value. The third target value may be the amount of stored power at which each battery can be lent out, or may be the amount of stored power that serves as a guideline for completing charging of each battery.

[0138] The charging start time of the battery 22 may be an example of the first timing. The charging start time of the battery 24 may be an example of the second timing. The timing when the charge amount becomes smaller than the first threshold may be an example of the third timing. The point in time when the stored power amount of the battery 22 reaches the second target value may be an example of the fifth timing. The point in time when the stored power amount of the battery 24 reaches the second target value may be an example of the fourth timing. The charging rate of the battery 22 may be an example of the first rate. The charging rate of the battery 24 may be an example of the second rate.

[0139] In this embodiment, the lending management unit 446 manages the lending of batteries 20 in the battery station 140. For example, the lending management unit 446 obtains, from the management server 120, information (sometimes referred to as reservation information) relating to the reservation of one or more batteries 20 held in the battery station 140. The reservation information associates, for example, identification information of the user 30 who reserved the battery 20, the time at which the user 30 wishes to lend the battery 20, the number of batteries 20 that the user 30 wishes to lend, and the conditions desired by the user 30 regarding the charge state of the batteries 20. The lending management unit 446 may manage the charging of the battery 20 so that the battery 20 is lent in accordance with the reservation information.

[0140] More specifically, the lending management unit 446 creates a charge / discharge schedule for each of the one or more batteries 20 held by the battery station 140. For example, the lending management unit 446 determines which of the one or more batteries 20 is to be charged. The lending management unit 446 may also determine which battery 20 is to be charged, by when, and to what extent, for the one or more batteries 20. The lending management unit 446 may output schedule information indicating the charge / discharge schedule for each battery to the charge / discharge control unit 444.

[0141] The lending management unit 446 may classify one or more batteries 20 held by the battery station 140 into one or more groups and manage the batteries 20 for each group. For example, when multiple batteries 20 are dispensed as a set of batteries 20, the lending management unit 446 classifies the multiple batteries 20 included in the set of batteries 20 into a single group. The lending management unit 446 may create a charge / discharge schedule for each group.

[0142] The lending management unit 446 may manage the status of one or more batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140. For example, the lending management unit 446 manages at least one of the operation status, charge status, storage status, and degradation status of the above-mentioned batteries 20. The lending management unit 446 may manage the status of one or more batteries 20 based on the measurement results of the measuring device 424. The lending management unit 446 may detect an abnormality or defect in the battery 20.

[0143] In the present embodiment, the storage unit 448 stores various types of information used to control the battery station 140. For example, the storage unit 448 stores information indicating a time and information indicating the measurement results of the measuring device 424 at that time in association with each other. The storage unit 448 may also store identification information for each battery in association with information indicating at least one of the operation state, charge state, storage state, and degradation state of each battery. The storage unit 448 may also store various types of information received by the communication control unit 442 from the management server 120. The storage unit 448 may also store various types of information received by the communication control unit 442 from the communication terminal 32.

[0144] The information indicating the measurement results of the measuring device 424 may be information indicating the measurement results related to the voltage of the battery 20. For example, the storage unit 448 may store information indicating the open circuit voltage of at least one of the one or more batteries 20 held in the battery station 140. The storage unit 448 may store information indicating the closed circuit voltage of at least one of the one or more batteries 20 held in the battery station 140.

[0145] For example, when a plurality of batteries 20 are dispensed as a set of batteries 20, the lending management unit 446 stores the open circuit voltage of each of the plurality of batteries 20 and information indicating the open circuit voltage, in association with the identification information of each of the plurality of batteries 20. In this case, the lending management unit 446 may store information indicating the open circuit voltage of each of one or more batteries 20, excluding the battery 20 with the smallest open circuit voltage, in association with the identification information of each of the one or more batteries 20.

[0146] The charging unit 420 may be an example of a charging unit or a stored power amount acquiring unit. The charging circuit 426 may be an example of a charging unit. The measuring device 424 may be an example of a stored power amount acquiring unit. The control unit 440 may be an example of a control device, a stored power amount acquiring unit, or a charging control unit. The communication control unit 442 may be an example of a stored power amount acquiring unit. The charge / discharge control unit 444 may be an example of a control device, a stored power amount acquiring unit, or a charging control unit. In other embodiments, when the charging unit 420 has some of the functions of the control unit 440, the charging unit 420 may be an example of a charging device.

[0147] In the present embodiment, the details of the charge / discharge control unit 444 have been described using an example in which the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24. However, the charge / discharge control unit 444 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the charge / discharge control unit 444 may control the charging of three or more batteries 20. In this case, the charge / discharge control unit 444 may determine the charging mode of the battery 20 with the smallest open circuit voltage among the three or more batteries 20 to be charged using a procedure similar to that of the charging mode of the battery 22, and may determine the charging modes of the remaining batteries 20 using a procedure similar to that of the charging mode of the battery 24. This allows the charging of the three or more batteries 20 to be charged to be completed at approximately the same time.

[0148] Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a first example of the operation of the battery station 140. The charging operation described in relation to Fig. 2 will be described in detail using Fig. 5. Note that steps may be abbreviated as S. According to this embodiment, first, in S510, the battery management unit 320 generates a charging schedule for the batteries 22 and 24 housed in the battery station 140. The battery management unit 320 transmits schedule information indicating the generated charging schedule to the battery station 140.

[0149] The schedule information includes, for example, information indicating the charging completion times of the batteries 22 and 24 and information indicating the start times of the charging operations. The start times of the charging operations are determined, for example, based on the charging completion times of the batteries 22 and 24. The charge / discharge control unit 444 of the battery station 140 controls the charging of the batteries 22 and 24 based on the schedule information.

[0150] In S520, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the charging start time has arrived. If it is determined that the charging start time has not arrived (No in S520), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S520. On the other hand, if it is determined that the charging start time has arrived (Yes in S520), in S522, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that accommodates the battery 22 to start charging the battery 22.

[0151] Next, in S530, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has not become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 (No in S530), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S530. On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 (Yes in S530), in S540, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 24 is accommodated to start charging the battery 24. At this time, the charge / discharge control unit 444 may determine the charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 so that the charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 are approximately the same.

[0152] Next, in S550, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is equal to or higher than Vt. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is not equal to or higher than Vt (No in S550), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S550. On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is equal to or higher than Vt (Yes in S550), the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines in S560 whether to continue charging.

[0153] If it is determined in S560 that charging should not be continued (No in S560), the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines to end the charging operation. Furthermore, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 22 to end the charging of the battery 22. Similarly, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 24 to end the charging of the battery 24.

[0154] On the other hand, if it is determined in S560 that charging should be continued (Yes in S560), the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines in S570 whether the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 has reached Vf. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 has not reached Vf (No in S570), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S570.

[0155] On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage or the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 and the battery 24 has reached Vf (Yes in S570), the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines to end the charging operation. Furthermore, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 22 is accommodated to end the charging of the battery 22. Similarly, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 24 is accommodated to end the charging of the battery 24.

[0156] 6 shows an example of voltage fluctuations immediately after the start of charging. When a charging current is applied to the battery 24, the voltage of the battery 24 increases due to the internal resistance of the battery 24. That is, the closed circuit voltage V of the battery 24 measured during charging of the battery 24 ＢＣ is the open circuit voltage V of the battery 24 measured before charging of the battery 24 begins. ＢＯ In FIG. 6, the closed circuit voltage V of the battery 22 is larger than ＡＣ and the open circuit voltage V of the battery 22 ＡＯ The relationship is similar.

[0157] 5, it is desirable that the charge / discharge control unit 444 acquires the value of the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, in S522, a CCV detection step is provided in which at least the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 is detected when charging of the battery 22 is started. Note that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 may be detected in the CCV detection step.

[0158] [Second Example of Charging Operation of Battery Station 140] A second example of the operation of the battery station 140 will be described using Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 schematically shows an example of voltage fluctuations 720 of each battery and temperature fluctuations 740 of each battery in the second example. Figure 8 schematically shows an example of the charging operation of the battery station 140 in the second example. Note that in Figure 7, due to limitations in the representation of the illustration, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn spaced apart.

[0159] According to this embodiment, the charging procedure at the battery station 140 will be described using an example in which the battery station 140 rents out a battery 22 and a battery 24 having approximately the same battery capacity as a set of batteries 20. Also, the temperature changes of the batteries 22 and 24 that accompany charging will be described.

[0160] 7, before time t0, charging power is not supplied to the battery 22 and the battery 24 from the battery station 140. According to this embodiment, at time t0, the OCV of the battery 22 is V ＡＯ [V]. The OCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＯ [V], and the CCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＣ [V].

[0161] In this embodiment, charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 starts at time t0. The charging operation of this embodiment differs from the charging operation described with reference to FIG. 2 in that the charging operation of the battery 24 starts at time t0.

[0162] Thereafter, the battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate, and the battery 24 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate. The charging operation of this embodiment differs from the charging operation described with reference to FIG. 2 in that the charging rate of the battery 24 is set to be slower than the charging rate of the battery 22.

[0163] In this embodiment, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at approximately the same charging rate at least until the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the target voltage Vt [V] at time t2.

[0164] After that, at time t3, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate until the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the full charge voltage Vf [V]. The charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 may be substantially the same.

[0165] 7, the temperature of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is Tba [° C.] before time t0. Tba may be the temperature of the surrounding environment of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0166] As shown by the dotted line 242, when charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually increases. The temperature of the battery 22 increases at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t3. At time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tbf [°C]. After charging of the battery 22 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually decreases. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tbe [°C].

[0167] As shown by the solid line 244, when charging of the battery 24 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually rises. The temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t2, and at time t2, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tbc [°C]. During the period from time t0 to time t2, the rate of temperature rise of the battery 24 is slower than the rate of temperature rise of the battery 22.

[0168] Thereafter, the temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t2 to time t3, and at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tbd [°C]. In the period from time t2 to time t3, the rate of temperature rise of the battery 24 may be substantially the same as the rate of temperature rise of the battery 22. Note that the rate of temperature rise of the battery 24 in the period from time t2 to time t3 is greater than the rate of temperature rise of the battery 24 in the period from time t0 to time t2. After charging of the battery 24 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually drops. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tbb [°C].

[0169] As a result, according to this embodiment, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 is smaller than, for example, the example shown by the dashed-dotted line 226 described in relation to Fig. 2. Therefore, even if the battery 22 and the battery 24 are rented out at approximately the same time, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 at the time of rental can be controlled within a predetermined numerical range. The above numerical range may have only an upper limit set, or may have both an upper limit and a lower limit set.

[0170] [Flowchart] As shown in Fig. 8, according to this embodiment, first, steps similar to S510 and S520 described in relation to Fig. 2 are performed. Note that this embodiment differs from the embodiment described in relation to Fig. 2 in that a step of determining the charging rate of the battery 24 is added to S510.

[0171] In the process of determining the charge rate of the battery 24, for example, the time t2 is first estimated based on the charge rate of the battery 22. Next, the charge rate of the battery 24 is determined based on the length of the period from time t0 to time t2 and the difference between the closed circuit voltage or open circuit voltage of the battery 24 at time t0 and the target voltage Vt.

[0172] 2 in that S822 is executed instead of S522, S530, and S540. In S822, charging of both battery 22 and battery 24 begins at time t0. More specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 housing battery 22 to begin charging battery 22. The charge / discharge control unit 444 also controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 housing battery 24 to begin charging battery 24. Thereafter, S550, S560, and S570 are executed, and the charging operation of the battery station 140 ends.

[0173] [Third Example of Charging Operation of Battery Station 140] A third example of the operation of the battery station 140 will be described using Fig. 9. Fig. 9 schematically shows an example of voltage fluctuation 920 of each battery and temperature fluctuation 940 of each battery in the third example. Note that in Fig. 9, due to limitations in the representation of the illustration, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn spaced apart.

[0174] According to this embodiment, the charging procedure at the battery station 140 will be described using an example in which the battery station 140 rents out a battery 22 and a battery 24 having approximately the same battery capacity as a set of batteries 20. Also, the temperature changes of the batteries 22 and 24 that accompany charging will be described.

[0175] In the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2, charging of the battery 24 started at time t1. In the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 7, charging of the battery 24 started at time t0. In contrast, this embodiment differs from the embodiments described with reference to Figs. 2 and 7 in that charging of the battery 24 starts at time t90 between time t0 and time t1.

[0176] Furthermore, in this embodiment, charging of the battery 24 begins at time t90 between time t0 and time t1. Therefore, the charging rate of the battery 24 in the period from time t90 to time t2 in this embodiment is higher than the charging rate of the battery 24 in the period from time t0 to time t2 in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 7, which is different from the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 7. With respect to features other than these differences, this embodiment may have the same configuration as the embodiments described with reference to Figs. 2 and 7.

[0177] [Fourth Example of Charging Operation of Battery Station 140] A fourth example of the operation of the battery station 140 will be described using Figures 10 and 11. Figure 10 schematically shows an example of voltage fluctuation 1020 of each battery and temperature fluctuation 1040 of each battery in the fourth example. Figure 11 schematically shows an example of the charging operation of the battery station 140 in the fourth example. Note that in Figure 10, due to limitations in the representation of the illustration, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn spaced apart.

[0178] According to this embodiment, the charging procedure at the battery station 140 will be described using an example in which the battery station 140 rents out a battery 22 and a battery 24 having approximately the same battery capacity as a set of batteries 20. Also, the temperature changes of the batteries 22 and 24 that accompany charging will be described.

[0179] In the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2, charging of battery 24 was initiated when the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 became approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of battery 24. In contrast, in the present embodiment, charging of battery 24 is initiated at time t91, which is after time t90 when the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 became approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of battery 24, which is different from the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2. In addition, in the present embodiment, charging of battery 22 is divided into pre-charging from time t0 to time t90 and main charging from time t91 to time t2 or time t3, which is different from the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2.

[0180] 10, before time t0, charging power is not supplied to the battery 22 and the battery 24 from the battery station 140. According to this embodiment, at time t0, the OCV of the battery 22 is V ＡＯ [V]. The OCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＯ [V], and the CCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＣ [V].

[0181] In this embodiment, charging of battery 22 begins at time t0. Thereafter, battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charge rate until (i) the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 becomes equal to the closed circuit voltage of battery 24 at time t90, or (ii) the open circuit voltage of battery 22 becomes equal to the open circuit voltage of battery 24 at time t90. The charge rate of battery 22 during the period from time t0 to time t90 in this embodiment is greater than the charge rate of battery 22 during the period from time t0 to time t2 in the embodiment described in connection with FIG. 2 .

[0182] As shown by dotted line 242, the temperature of battery 22 rises at a substantially constant rate during the period from time t0 to time t90, and at time t90, the temperature of battery 22 reaches Tdb [°C]. Thereafter, charging of battery 22 is stopped until time t91, at which time the temperature of battery 22 reaches a predetermined temperature. Note that in this embodiment, time t91 may be (i) the time at which the temperature of battery 22 reaches substantially the same temperature as the temperature of battery 22 at time t0, or (ii) the time at which the temperature of battery 22 reaches substantially the same temperature as the temperature of battery 24.

[0183] Next, when the temperature of the battery 22 reaches a predetermined temperature at time t91, main charging of the batteries 22 and 24 is started. Thereafter, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate.

[0184] In this embodiment, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at approximately the same charging rate at least until the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the target voltage Vt [V] at time t2.

[0185] After that, at time t3, the batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charging rate until the CCV or OCV of the batteries 22 and 24 reaches the full charge voltage Vf [V]. The charging rates of the batteries 22 and 24 may be substantially the same.

[0186] 10, the temperature of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is Tda [° C.] before time t0. Tda may be the temperature of the surrounding environment of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0187] As indicated by the dotted line 242, when pre-charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually increases. The temperature of the battery 22 increases at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t90. At time t90, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tdb [°C].

[0188] After the pre-charging of the battery 22 is completed at time t90, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually drops. Then, at time t91, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes substantially the same as the temperature of the battery 24. In other words, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tda [°C].

[0189] When main charging of the batteries 22 and 24 begins at time t91, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 gradually increase. The temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 increase at a substantially constant rate from time t91 to time t3. At time t3, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 reach Tdd [°C]. After charging of the batteries 22 and 24 is completed at time t3, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 gradually decrease. Then, at time t4, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 reach Tdc [°C].

[0190] As a result, according to this embodiment, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 is extremely small. Therefore, even if the battery 22 and the battery 24 are rented out at approximately the same time, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 at the time of rental can be controlled within a predetermined numerical range. The above numerical range may have only an upper limit set, or may have both an upper limit and a lower limit set.

[0191] [Flowchart] As shown in Fig. 11, according to this embodiment, first, a step similar to S510 described with reference to Fig. 2 is performed. This embodiment differs from the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2 in that S1120, S1122, S1130, S1132, S1140, and S1142 are performed instead of S520, S522, S530, and S540. Thereafter, S550, S560, and S570 are performed, and the charging operation of the battery station 140 is completed.

[0192] According to this embodiment, in S1120, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the pre-charge start time has arrived. If it is determined that the pre-charge start time has not arrived (No in S1120), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S1120. On the other hand, if it is determined that the pre-charge start time has arrived (Yes in S1120), in S1122, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 22 is accommodated to start pre-charge of the battery 22.

[0193] Next, in S1130, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 has become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24, or whether the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 has become approximately equal to the open circuit voltage of the battery 24. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 has not become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24, or if it is determined that the open circuit voltage of the battery 22 has not become approximately equal to the open circuit voltage of the battery 24 (No in S1130), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the processing of S1130.

[0194] On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of battery 22 has become approximately equal to the closed circuit voltage of battery 24, or that the open circuit voltage of battery 22 has become approximately equal to the open circuit voltage of battery 24 (Yes in S1130), in S1132, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which battery 22 is housed to terminate the pre-charging of battery 22.

[0195] Next, in S1140, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the temperature of the battery 22 has become substantially the same as the temperature of the battery 24. If it is determined that the temperature of the battery 22 has not become substantially the same as the temperature of the battery 24 (No in S1140), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S1140.

[0196] On the other hand, if it is determined that the temperature of battery 22 has become substantially the same as the temperature of battery 24 (Yes in S1140), in S1142, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses battery 22 to start main charging of battery 22. In addition, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses battery 24 to start main charging of battery 24.

[0197] As a result, according to this embodiment, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 is smaller than, for example, the example shown by the dashed-dotted line 226 described in relation to Fig. 2. Therefore, even if the battery 22 and the battery 24 are rented out at approximately the same time, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 at the time of rental can be controlled within a predetermined numerical range. The above numerical range may have only an upper limit set, or may have both an upper limit and a lower limit set.

[0198] [Fifth Example of Charging Operation of Battery Station 140] A fifth example of the operation of the battery station 140 will be described using Figures 12 and 13. Figure 12 schematically shows an example of voltage fluctuation 1220 of each battery and temperature fluctuation 1240 of each battery in the fifth example. Figure 13 schematically shows an example of the charging operation of the battery station 140 in the fifth example. Note that in Figure 12, due to limitations in the representation of the illustration, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn spaced apart.

[0199] According to this embodiment, the charging procedure at the battery station 140 will be described using an example in which the battery station 140 rents out a battery 22 and a battery 24 having approximately the same battery capacity as a set of batteries 20. Also, the temperature changes of the batteries 22 and 24 that accompany charging will be described.

[0200] 7 , charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is started at time t0, and then the charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is continued until time t2, and the closed circuit voltages of the battery 22 and the battery 24 become substantially the same at time t2. In contrast, this embodiment differs from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 7 in that (i) after charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is started at time t0, the charging of the battery 24 is temporarily stopped at time t72 between time t0 and time t2 when the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 reaches the target voltage Vt, and (ii) thereafter, the charging of the battery 24 is resumed at time t2 when the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 reaches the target voltage Vt.

[0201] 12, before time t0, charging power is not supplied to the battery 22 and the battery 24 from the battery station 140. According to this embodiment, at time t0, the OCV of the battery 22 is V ＡＯ [V]. The OCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＯ [V], and the CCV of the battery 24 is V ＢＣ [V].

[0202] In this embodiment, charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 begins at time t0. Thereafter, the battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charge rate. The battery 24 is also charged at a substantially constant charge rate. In this embodiment, the charge rate of the battery 24 is set to be substantially the same as the charge rate of the battery 22. Note that the charge rate of the battery 24 may be set to a value smaller than the charge rate of the battery 22. The charge rate of the battery 24 from time t0 to time t72 in this embodiment is greater than the charge rate of the battery 24 from time t0 to time t2 in the embodiment described in connection with FIG. 7 .

[0203] In this embodiment, the battery 24 is charged at approximately the same charging rate until the CCV of the battery 24 reaches the target voltage Vt at time t72. After that, when the CCV of the battery 24 reaches the target voltage Vt at time t72, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 24 is accommodated to temporarily suspend charging of the battery 24.

[0204] On the other hand, even after charging of battery 24 is temporarily stopped at time t72, the charge / discharge control unit 444 continues charging of battery 22. Then, when the CCV of battery 22 reaches the target voltage Vt at time t2, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses battery 24 to resume charging of battery 24. Thereafter, batteries 22 and 24 are charged at a substantially constant charge rate until the CCV or OCV of batteries 22 and 24 reach the full charge voltage Vf. The charge rates of batteries 22 and 24 may be substantially the same.

[0205] 12, the temperature of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is Tea [° C.] at a time before time t0. Tea may be the temperature of the surrounding environment of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0206] As shown by the dotted line 242, when charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually increases. The temperature of the battery 22 increases at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t3. At time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Teg [°C]. After charging of the battery 22 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually decreases. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tef [°C].

[0207] As shown by the solid line 244, when charging of the battery 24 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually rises. The temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t72, and at time t72, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Ted [°C]. In this embodiment, the charging rates of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are set to be substantially the same during the period from time t0 to time t72. Therefore, the temperature rise rates of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are substantially the same during the period from time t0 to time t72.

[0208] After charging of the battery 24 is temporarily stopped at time t72, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually drops. Then, at time t2, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Teb [°C]. When charging of the battery 24 is resumed at time t2, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually rises. The temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t2 to time t3, and at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tee [°C]. During the period from time t2 to time t3, the rate of temperature rise of the battery 24 may be substantially the same as the rate of temperature rise of the battery 22. After charging of the battery 24 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually drops. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tec [°C].

[0209] [Flowchart] As shown in Fig. 13, according to this embodiment, first, steps similar to S510 and S520 described with reference to Fig. 2 are performed. This embodiment differs from the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2 in that S1322, S1330, S1332, S1340, and S1342 are performed instead of S522, S530, and S540. Thereafter, S550, S560, and S570 are performed, and the charging operation of the battery station 140 is completed.

[0210] According to this embodiment, in S1322, charging of both the battery 22 and the battery 24 is started. More specifically, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 22 to start charging the battery 22. The charge / discharge control unit 444 also controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 that houses the battery 24 to start charging the battery 24.

[0211] Next, in S1330, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has reached the target voltage Vt. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has not reached the target voltage Vt (No in S1330), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S1330. On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 24 has reached the target voltage Vt (Yes in S1330), in S1332, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 24 is accommodated to stop charging of the battery 24.

[0212] Next, in S1340, the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines whether the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 has reached the target voltage Vt. If it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 has not reached the target voltage Vt (No in S1340), the charge / discharge control unit 444 repeats the process of S1340. On the other hand, if it is determined that the closed circuit voltage of the battery 22 has reached the target voltage Vt (Yes in S1340), in S1342, the charge / discharge control unit 444 controls the charging circuit 426 of the charging unit 420 in which the battery 24 is accommodated to resume charging of the battery 24.

[0213] As a result, according to this embodiment, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 is smaller than, for example, the example shown by the dashed-dotted line 226 described in relation to Fig. 2. Therefore, even if the battery 22 and the battery 24 are rented out at approximately the same time, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 at the time of rental can be controlled within a predetermined numerical range. The above numerical range may have only an upper limit set, or may have both an upper limit and a lower limit set.

[0214] 14 and 15 , an example of a specific configuration of the battery station 140 will be described. The specific configuration described with reference to Fig. 14 and 15 may realize the charging unit 420 and the control unit 440 described with reference to Fig. 4 .

[0215] In this embodiment, an example of the charging unit 420 will be described, taking as an example a case where each part of the charging unit 420 is housed inside the battery housing chamber 422. Note that in this embodiment, a space for housing the battery 20 is formed inside the battery housing chamber 422. Furthermore, depending on the charging unit 420, the battery 20 is inserted into the battery housing chamber 422, and the charging unit 420 stores the battery 20. For this reason, the charging unit 420 may be referred to as a slot.

[0216] 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the battery station 140. In this embodiment, for the purpose of simplifying the explanation, the details of the battery station 140 will be described using as an example a case in which the charging unit 420 does not have the function of discharging the battery 20. However, a person skilled in the art who has read the description of this specification will understand that the battery station 140 can be modified to have a configuration that allows charging and discharging the battery 20.

[0217] In this embodiment, the battery station 140 includes one or more charging units 420, a breaker 1410, a power line 1412, an AC / DC power supply 1414, a distributor 1416, a power line 1418, a main control board 1430, a communication hub 1432, a communication line 1434, a temperature adjustment unit 1442, a buzzer 1444, a sensing unit 1446, and a maintenance door 1448. In this embodiment, the charging unit 420 includes a battery chamber 422, an AC / DC charger 1460, a power connector 1462, a slot control board 1470, a communication connector 1472, a drive unit 1474, a shutter 1476, a locking unit 1478, a temperature adjustment unit 1482, a status display unit 1484, and a sensing unit 1486.

[0218] In this embodiment, breaker 1410 receives power from a power grid (not shown). Breaker 1410 supplies the power received from the power grid to each AC / DC charger 1460 of one or more charging units 420 via power line 1412. Breaker 1410 supplies the power received from the power grid to AC / DC power source 1414. Examples of breaker 1410 include a circuit breaker and a residual current circuit breaker with overcurrent protection.

[0219] In this embodiment, the AC / DC power supply 1414 functions as a power supply that supplies power for control. For example, the AC / DC power supply 1414 converts AC power received from the breaker 1410 into DC power having an appropriate voltage. The AC / DC power supply 1414 supplies the converted DC power to each slot control board 1470 of one or more charging units 420 via a distributor 1416 and power lines 1418. The AC / DC power supply 1414 also supplies the converted DC power to the main control board 1430.

[0220] In this embodiment, the main control board 1430 controls the operation of each part of the battery station 140. The main control board 1430 may cooperate with the slot control boards 1470 to control the operation of each part of the battery station 140.

[0221] The main control board 1430 transmits and receives information to and from each slot control board 1470 of one or more charging units 420 via the communication hub 1432 and the communication line 1434. The main control board 1430 may control the operation of the input / output unit 1440, the temperature adjustment unit 1442, the buzzer 1444, the sense unit 1446, and the maintenance door 1448. The main control board 1430 may transmit and receive information to and from the user 30 and / or an information processing device external to the battery station 140 via the input / output unit 1440. The main control board 1430 may obtain information indicating the status of the temperature adjustment unit 1442, the buzzer 1444, the sense unit 1446, and the maintenance door 1448.

[0222] The main control board 1430 may function as the control unit 440. The main control board 1430 may function as the charge / discharge control unit 444.

[0223] For example, the main control board 1430 acquires information indicating the measurement results of the sensing unit 1446 from the sensing unit 1446. In one embodiment, the main control board 1430 acquires information regarding the amount of charge stored in at least one of the one or more batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140 from output values ​​of a voltage sensor, a current sensor, etc. included in the sensing unit 1446. The main control board 1430 may acquire information regarding the amount of charge stored in each of the batteries 22 and 24 stored in the battery station 140. In another embodiment, the main control board 1430 acquires information regarding the temperature of at least one of the one or more batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140 from a temperature sensor included in the sensing unit 1446. The main control board 1430 may acquire information regarding the temperature of each of the batteries 22 and 24 stored in the battery station 140. In yet another embodiment, the main control board 1430 acquires information indicating the open / closed state of the maintenance door 1448 from the maintenance door 1448.

[0224] The main control board 1430 may control the operation of at least one of the AC / DC charger 1460 and the temperature regulator 1482. The main control board 1430 may control the operation of at least one of the AC / DC charger 1460 and the temperature regulator 1482 via or in cooperation with the slot control board 1470.

[0225] [Example of Temperature Regulation of Battery 20 by Controlling AC / DC Chargers 1460] In this embodiment, the main control board 1430 controls the AC / DC chargers 1460 arranged in at least two of the one or more charging units 420. The main control board 1430 may control the AC / DC chargers 1460 arranged in each of the one or more charging units 420. For example, the main control board 1430 acquires information about the amount of charge stored in each of the batteries 20 electrically connected to each of the AC / DC chargers 1460 to be controlled from the sense units 1486 of the charging units 420 to which each of the AC / DC chargers 1460 to be controlled is arranged. The main control board 1430 controls each of the AC / DC chargers 1460 to charge each of the batteries 20.

[0226] 4 , the main control board 1430 may control at least two AC / DC chargers 1460 so that the charging modes of the at least two batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140 are different. For example, when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are stored in the battery station 140 and the stored amounts of power of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are substantially different, the main control board 1430 controls at least one of the AC / DC charger 1460 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 22 (which may also be referred to as the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22) and the AC / DC charger 1460 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 24 (which may also be referred to as the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 24) so ​​that the charging modes of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are different. The main control board 1430 may control the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22 and the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 24.

[0227] For example, when the absolute value of the difference between the amount of power stored in battery 22 and the amount of power stored in battery 24 is greater than a predetermined value, main control board 1430 determines that the amount of power stored in battery 22 and the amount of power stored in battery 24 are substantially different. Main control board 1430 may control the operation of AC / DC charger 1460 that charges each of battery 22 and battery 24 using a procedure similar to that described in relation to control unit 440 or charge / discharge control unit 444. This allows the temperatures of battery 22 and battery 24 to be adjusted when charging of battery 22 and battery 24 is complete.

[0228] [Example of Temperature Regulation of Battery 20 by Controlling Temperature Regulation Unit 1482] In this embodiment, the main control board 1430 controls the temperature regulation units 1482 arranged in at least two of the one or more charging units 420. The main control board 1430 may control each of the temperature regulation units 1482 arranged in each of the one or more charging units 420.

[0229] According to one embodiment, when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are stored in the battery station 140, if the amount of stored power of the battery 22 obtained from the sense unit 1446 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 22 is substantially different from the amount of stored power of the battery 24 obtained from the sense unit 1446 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 24, the main control board 1430 controls at least one of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 22 (which may be referred to as the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22) and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 24 (which may be referred to as the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24) so ​​that the temperature adjustment modes of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are different. The main control board 1430 may control the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24.

[0230] For example, when the absolute value of the difference between the amount of stored power of battery 22 and the amount of stored power of battery 24 is greater than a predetermined value, main control board 1430 determines that the amount of stored power of battery 22 and the amount of stored power of battery 24 are substantially different. This allows the temperatures of battery 22 and battery 24 to be adjusted when charging of battery 22 and battery 24 is complete.

[0231] According to another embodiment, when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are stored in the battery station 140, if the temperature of the battery 22 acquired from the sensing unit 1446 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 22 is substantially different from the temperature of the battery 24 acquired from the sensing unit 1446 of the charging unit 420 storing the battery 24, the main control board 1430 controls at least one of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24 so that the temperature adjustment modes of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment mode of the battery 24 are different. The main control board 1430 may control the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24.

[0232] For example, when the absolute value of the difference between the temperature of battery 22 and the temperature of battery 24 is greater than a predetermined value, main control board 1430 determines that the temperatures of battery 22 and battery 24 are substantially different. This allows the temperatures of battery 22 and battery 24 to be adjusted when charging of battery 22 and battery 24 is complete.

[0233] In these embodiments, examples of the temperature adjustment mode include the timing to start the temperature adjustment, the timing to end the temperature adjustment, the type of temperature adjustment, and the intensity of the temperature adjustment. Examples of the type of temperature adjustment include cooling and heating. Other examples of the type of temperature adjustment include temperature adjustment by a temperature adjustment unit 1442 that adjusts the temperature outside the multiple charging slots 420, and a temperature adjustment unit by a temperature adjustment unit 1482 disposed in each of the multiple charging slots 420. Examples of the intensity of the temperature adjustment include the rotation speed of a cooling fan when the temperature adjustment unit 1482 includes a cooling fan, and the temperature and circulation amount of a refrigerant when the temperature adjustment unit 1482 uses a refrigerant.

[0234] The main control board 1430 controls at least one of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the charging unit 420 that stores the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the charging unit 420 that stores the battery 24 so that the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 become substantially the same at the time (sometimes referred to as the sixth timing) when the stored power amounts of the battery 22 and the battery 24 become substantially the same. The main control board 1430 may determine that the stored power amounts of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are substantially the same when the absolute value of the difference between the stored power amounts of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is smaller than a predetermined value. The main control board 1430 may determine that the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are substantially the same when the absolute value of the difference between the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is smaller than a predetermined value.

[0235] This allows, for example, the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 to be approximately the same when charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is completed. As a result, the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 can be approximately the same when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are dispensed.

[0236] The main control board 1430 may control at least one of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24 in accordance with the control of the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 22 and / or the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 24. The main control board 1430 may control at least one of the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 22 and the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 24 in accordance with the control of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 and / or the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24.

[0237] For example, the main control board 1430 controls at least one of the AC / DC charger 1460 and the temperature adjustment unit 1482 so that the control start timing and / or control end timing of the AC / DC charger 1460 differs from the control start timing and / or control end timing of the temperature adjustment unit 1482. By differentiating the control start timing and / or control end timing of the AC / DC charger 1460 from the control start timing and / or control end timing of the temperature adjustment unit 1482, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 at the time charging of the batteries 22 and 24 is completed can be adjusted.

[0238] In one embodiment, main control board 1430 may control the timing at which temperature adjustment unit 1482 starts control so that the timing at which temperature adjustment unit 1482 starts control is earlier than the timing at which AC / DC charger 1460 starts control. In another embodiment, main control board 1430 may control the timing at which AC / DC charger 1460 starts control so that the timing at which AC / DC charger 1460 starts control is later than the timing at which temperature adjustment unit 1482 starts control.

[0239] In this embodiment, the input / output unit 1440 functions as an interface between the battery station 140 and the outside of the battery station 140. In one embodiment, the input / output unit 1440 transmits and receives information to and from the management server 120. In another embodiment, the input / output unit 1440 transmits and receives information to and from the user 30 and / or the communication terminal 32. Details of the input / output unit 1440 will be described later.

[0240] In this embodiment, the temperature adjustment unit 1442 adjusts the temperature inside the housing of the battery station 140. Examples of the temperature adjustment unit 1442 include a fan, a water-cooled cooler, a heat exchanger, and a heating device. The heat exchanger may be a water-cooled heat exchanger. The heating device may be a heater. When the temperature adjustment unit 1442 includes a fan, the temperature adjustment unit 1442 takes in outside air through an outside air inlet provided in the housing of the battery station 140 and exhausts the air inside the housing through an outlet provided in the housing.

[0241] In this embodiment, the buzzer 1444 notifies the user 30 of the status of the battery station 140. The buzzer 1444 may output a warning sound. The buzzer 1444 may output a warning designated by the main control board 1430 from among a plurality of warning sounds with different warning patterns.

[0242] In this embodiment, the sensing unit 1446 acquires information indicating the state of the battery station 140. The sensing unit 1446 may include multiple types of sensors. Examples of sensors included in the sensing unit 1446 include a temperature sensor, a vibration sensor, and a leakage sensor. The sensing unit 1446 may constitute a part of the measuring device 424.

[0243] In this embodiment, the maintenance door 1448 is disposed, for example, at an opening in the housing of the battery station 140, and is used by maintenance personnel for the battery station 140 to perform maintenance management of the battery station 140. The maintenance door 1448 may output information indicating an open / closed state to the main control board 1430. For example, when the maintenance door 1448 is opened, the maintenance door 1448 outputs a signal indicating that the maintenance door 1448 is opened.

[0244] In this embodiment, the AC / DC charger 1460 charges the battery 20 electrically connected to the power connector 1462. The AC / DC charger 1460 adjusts at least one of the voltage and current applied to the battery 20 electrically connected to the power connector 1462 in accordance with instructions from the slot control board 1470.

[0245] In this embodiment, the power connector 1462 includes an electrical terminal that is electrically connected to the power connector of the battery 20 when the battery 20 is housed in the charging unit 420. In this embodiment, the power connector 1462 is configured to be movable by the driving unit 1474. Note that in other embodiments, the power connector 1462 may be fixed inside the charging unit 420.

[0246] In this embodiment, the slot control board 1470 controls the operation of each part of the charging unit 420. The slot control board 1470 may control the operation of the corresponding charging unit 420 in accordance with instructions from the main control board 1430. The slot control board 1470 may function as the control unit 440. The slot control board 1470 may function as the control unit 440 in cooperation with the main control board 1430.

[0247] The slot control board 1470 may send and receive information to and from the control unit of the battery 20 stored in the charging unit 420 via the communication connector 1472. For example, the slot control board 1470 can read information stored in the storage unit of the battery 20. The slot control board 1470 can also write information to the storage unit of the battery 20.

[0248] In the present embodiment, the communication connector 1472 includes a communication terminal that is communicatively connected to the communication connector of the battery 20 when the battery 20 is housed in the charging unit 420. The communication connector 1472 may be configured to be movable by the driving unit 1474, or may be fixed inside the charging unit 420.

[0249] In the present embodiment, the drive unit 1474 drives various movable members arranged in the charging unit 420. The drive unit 1474 may drive the movable members in accordance with instructions from the slot control board 1470. Examples of the movable members include the power connector 1462, the communication connector 1472, the shutter 1476, the locking unit 1478, a removal prevention member arranged in the charging unit 420, and a mechanism for restraining the battery 20 arranged in the charging unit 420.

[0250] In this embodiment, the shutter 1476 is disposed in an opening (not shown) of the charging unit 420 and controls whether the user 30 can insert or remove the battery 20. The shutter 1476 may be controlled to open or close in accordance with instructions from the slot control board 1470.

[0251] For example, when the shutter 1476 is in the open state, the user 30 can insert the battery 20 into the charging unit 420 or remove the battery 20 from the charging unit 420. On the other hand, when the shutter 1476 is in the closed state, the user 30 cannot insert the battery 20 into the charging unit 420 or remove the battery 20 from the charging unit 420.

[0252] In this embodiment, the lock unit 1478 switches between the locked and unlocked states of the shutter 1476. The lock unit 1478 may switch between the locked and unlocked states of the shutter 1476 in accordance with an instruction from the slot control board 1470.

[0253] In the present embodiment, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 adjusts the temperature inside the charging unit 420. The temperature adjustment unit 1482 may adjust the temperature inside the charging unit 420 by cooling the inside of the charging unit 420. The temperature adjustment unit 1482 may adjust the temperature inside the charging unit 420 by cooling the outside of the charging unit 420. In the present embodiment, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 may adjust the temperature inside the charging unit 420 in accordance with an instruction from the slot control board 1470. Examples of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 include a fan, a water-cooled cooler, a heat exchanger, and a heating device. The heat exchanger may be a water-cooled heat exchanger. The heating device may be a heater.

[0254] In the present embodiment, the internal temperatures of the multiple charging units 420 arranged in the battery station 140 may be adjusted independently. The internal temperatures of at least two of the multiple charging units 420 may be adjusted independently.

[0255] According to one embodiment, the battery station 140 includes a plurality of temperature adjustment units 1482. The battery station 140 may include the same number of temperature adjustment units 1482 as the number of charging units 420, and a temperature adjustment unit 1482 may be provided for each of the plurality of charging units 420. For example, if the temperature adjustment unit 1482 includes a fan, each of the plurality of charging units 420 draws in outside air through an air intake provided in the battery housing 422 and exhausts the air inside the battery housing 422 into the housing of the battery station 140 through an air exhaust provided in the battery housing 422. Each of the plurality of charging units 420 may draw in air inside the housing of the battery station 140 through an air intake provided in the battery housing 422.

[0256] According to another embodiment, one or more temperature adjustment units 1482 each independently control the temperature inside the multiple charging units 420 corresponding to the single temperature adjustment unit 1482. In this way, for example, the temperatures inside the multiple charging units 420 can be independently adjusted by a single fan.

[0257] For example, battery station 140 includes fans disposed outside battery housing chambers 422 of multiple charging units 420 and a flow path for circulating air by the fans. Multiple charging units 420 that are subject to temperature control by the fans are disposed inside the flow path. Each of the multiple charging units 420 includes an on-off valve (not shown) that adjusts the opening of an opening (not shown) formed in battery housing chamber 422.

[0258] The on-off valves may be opened and closed in accordance with commands from the main control board 1430, which is an example of the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444. The on-off valves may be opened and closed in accordance with commands from the slot control board 1470, which has received commands from the main control board 1430. In this way, the main control board 1430 can control the opening / closing or opening degree of the on-off valves of each of the multiple charging units 420, thereby independently adjusting the internal temperatures of each of the multiple charging units 420 using a single fan.

[0259] The on-off valve may function as a check valve. This allows air inside the flow path to be discharged to the outside of the flow path through the opening, but prevents air outside the flow path from flowing into the flow path through the opening. The fan may be an example of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 or an example of the temperature adjustment unit 1442.

[0260] In the present embodiment, the status display unit 1484 notifies the user 30 of the status of the charging unit 420. Examples of the status of the charging unit 420 include the presence or absence of a battery 20 and the presence or absence of an abnormality. The status display unit 1484 may notify the user 30 of the status of the charging unit 420 by, for example, a lighting pattern, blinking pattern, or display pattern designated by the slot control board 1470 from among a plurality of lighting patterns, blinking patterns, or display patterns. Examples of the status display unit 1484 include an LED, a display, and the like.

[0261] In the present embodiment, the sensing unit 1486 acquires information indicating the state of the charging unit 420. The sensing unit 1486 may include multiple types of sensors. Examples of sensors included in the sensing unit 1486 include a temperature sensor, a voltage sensor, and a current sensor. For example, the sensing unit 1486 includes at least one of (i) a temperature sensor that measures the temperature inside the charging unit 420, the battery 20, or the vicinity of the battery 20, (ii) a voltage sensor that measures the voltage of the power connector 1462, and (iii) a current sensor that measures the current flowing through the power connector 1462. The sensing unit 1486 may constitute at least a part of the measuring device 424.

[0262] The main control board 1430 may be an example of a control device. The slot control board 1470 may be an example of a control device. The slot control board 1470 may be an example of a charging unit 420. The sense unit 1486 may be an example of a measuring instrument 424. The AC / DC charger 1460 may be an example of a charging circuit 426. The main control board 1430 may be an example of a control unit 440. The main control board 1430 may be an example of a charge / discharge control unit 444. The slot control board 1470 may be an example of the control unit 440. The slot control board 1470 may be an example of a charge / discharge control unit 444.

[0263] The main control board 1430 may be an example of a temperature acquisition unit. The temperature of the battery 22 acquired by the main control board 1430 may be an example of one of the first temperature and the second temperature. The temperature of the battery 24 acquired by the main control board 1430 may be an example of the other of the first temperature and the second temperature. The main control board 1430 may be an example of a temperature control unit.

[0264] [Another Example of Embodiment] In the present embodiment, the temperature adjustment method in the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444 has been described in detail, taking as an example a case where the main control board 1430 functions as an example of the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444. However, the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444 is not limited to the main control board 1430. In another embodiment, the main control board 1430 and at least one of the slot control board 1470 and the input / output unit 1440 cooperate to function as the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444.

[0265] 15 schematically illustrates an example of the internal configuration of the input / output unit 1440. In this embodiment, the input / output unit 1440 includes an AC / DC power supply 1514, a service outlet 1516, a CPU board 1520, an Ethernet interface 1530 that is an Ethernet (registered trademark) communication interface, an NFC reader 1542, a camera 1544, a touch panel 1552, a display 1554, and a speaker 1556.

[0266] In this embodiment, the AC / DC power supply 1514 functions as a power supply that supplies control power. The AC / DC power supply 1514 receives power from a power grid via, for example, an uninterruptible power supply. The AC / DC power supply 1514 converts the AC power received from the power grid into DC power having an appropriate voltage. The AC / DC power supply 1514 supplies the converted DC power to the CPU board 1520.

[0267] In this embodiment, the service outlet 1516 supplies power to devices external to the battery station 140. The service outlet 1516 receives power from a power grid, for example, via an uninterruptible power supply. The service outlet 1516 may control the supply of power to the external devices in accordance with instructions from the CPU board 1520. The service outlet 1516 may transmit information regarding the power supplied to the external devices to the CPU board 1520.

[0268] The CPU board 1520 controls the operation of each part of the input / output unit 1440. The CPU board 1520 may function as the control unit 440. The CPU board 1520 may function as the control unit 440 in cooperation with the main control board 1430.

[0269] In this embodiment, the Ethernet interface 1530 is connected to the communication network 10 via, for example, a router. The Ethernet interface 1530 may function as a communication interface.

[0270] In this embodiment, the NFC reader 1542 transmits and receives information via short-range wireless communication to and from the communication terminal 32. The NFC reader 1542 may function as a communication interface.

[0271] In this embodiment, the camera 1544 captures an image of the user 30. The camera 1544 may function as a user interface.

[0272] In this embodiment, the touch panel 1552 accepts touch input from the user 30. The touch panel 1552 may function as a user interface. In this embodiment, the display 1554 presents information to the user 30 by outputting an image. The display 1554 may function as a user interface. In this embodiment, the speaker 1556 presents information to the user 30 by outputting sound. The speaker 1556 may function as a user interface.

[0273] 5 to 13 , the battery station 140 is described in detail by taking as an example a case where, for example, when the amount of stored power in the battery 22 differs from the amount of stored power in the battery 24, the battery station 140 is controlled so that the charging mode of the battery 22 differs from the charging mode of the battery 24, thereby adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24. As described above, the battery 22 and the battery 24 may be examples of the multiple batteries 20 stored in the battery station 140.

[0274] However, the procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is not limited to the above embodiment. In other embodiments, when the temperature of the battery 22 and the temperature of the battery 24 are different, the battery station 140 may be controlled so that the temperature adjustment manner of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment manner of the battery 24 are different, thereby adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24.

[0275] An example of a technique for adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 by adjusting the temperature adjustment mode of the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment mode of the battery 24 will be described using Figures 16, 17, 18, and 19. Figure 16 schematically shows an example of temperature fluctuations in the battery 20 in another example of a charging procedure for the battery 20. Figure 17 schematically shows an example of control of the slot 420 that accommodates the battery 24. Figure 18 schematically shows an example of control of the slot 420 that accommodates the battery 22. Figure 19 schematically shows an example of operation of the battery station 140 in another example of a charging procedure for the battery 20.

[0276] Fig. 16 shows another example of a temperature adjustment technique for the battery 22 and the battery 24 when the battery 22 and the battery 24 are charged in the same manner as in the embodiment described in relation to Fig. 2. Fig. 16 shows voltage fluctuations 220 of the battery 22 and the battery 24 and temperature fluctuations 1640 of the battery 22 and the battery 24. In Fig. 16, a dotted line 1642 indicates the temperature fluctuation of the battery 22. Furthermore, a solid line 244 indicates the temperature fluctuation of the battery 24. Note that in Fig. 16, due to limitations in the representation of the illustration, overlapping line segments may actually be drawn spaced apart.

[0277] [Voltage Fluctuation During Charging] In the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 16, the battery 22 and the battery 24 are charged in the same manner as in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2. That is, the voltage fluctuation during charging may be the same as in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2.

[0278] [Temperature Fluctuation During Charging] As shown in FIG. 16 , the temperature of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is Tfa [°C] at a time before time tpc. As described in relation to FIG. 2 , charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0. Therefore, in this embodiment, cooling of the battery 22 starts at time tpc, which is before time t0. This causes the temperature of the battery 22 to drop during the period from time tpc to time t0. As a result, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tpc [°C] at time t0. Note that Tpc<Tfa.

[0279] Thereafter, when charging of the battery 22 starts at time t0, the temperature of the battery 22 rises. The rate at which the temperature of the battery 22 rises depends on the charging rate and cooling rate of the battery 22. In this embodiment, the battery 22 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate from time t0 to time t3. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 22 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t0 to time t3. As a result, at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tfc [°C]. After charging of the battery 22 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 22 gradually drops. Then, at time t4, which is an arbitrary time after t3, the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tfb [°C].

[0280] On the other hand, as shown by the solid line 244, the temperature of the battery 24 is Tfa [°C] until charging of the battery 24 starts at time t1. When charging of the battery 24 starts at time t1, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually increases. In this embodiment, the battery 24 is charged at a substantially constant charging rate from time t1 to time t3.

[0281] As a result, the temperature of the battery 24 rises at a substantially constant rate from time t1 to time t3. As a result, at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tfc [°C]. After charging of the battery 24 is completed at time t3, the temperature of the battery 24 gradually drops. Then, at time t4, the temperature of the battery 24 reaches Tfb [°C]. As a result, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 are adjusted so that the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 are substantially the same when charging of the batteries 22 and 24 is completed.

[0282] According to this embodiment, the temperature difference between the battery 22 and the battery 24 at the time of completion of charging is smaller than in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 2. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to wait until the temperature of the battery 22 drops after the voltages of the battery 22 and the battery 24 become substantially the same, as in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 10.

[0283] [Procedure for Determining tpc] The time tpc is determined so that the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are approximately the same when charging of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is completed. For example, the time tpc is determined so that the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are approximately the same at time t1 when charging of the battery 24 with a large stored amount of electricity begins. The main control board 1430 may determine the cooling mode of the battery 22 so that the temperature of the battery 22 at time t0 becomes Tpc. Examples of the cooling mode include the cooling method, the cooling intensity, the length of the cooling period, the cooling start time, and the cooling end time.

[0284] For example, the main control board 1430 as the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444 first predicts the temperature rise of the battery 22 during the period from time t0 to time t1. As described above, during the above period, the voltage of the battery 22 is calculated based on the OCV V ＡＯ From the state of [V], the CCV becomes V ＢＣ 16, it is expected that the temperature of the battery 22 will rise during the above period as the battery 22 is cooled by the temperature adjustment unit 1482.

[0285] Next, the main control board 1430 determines a target time tpc so that the amount of temperature drop of the battery 22 during the period from time tpc to time t0 is equal to or greater than the predicted value of the temperature rise of the battery 22 during the period from time t0 to time t1. Once the target time tpc is determined, the main control board 1430 determines a cooling mode for the battery 22 so that the temperature of the battery 22 becomes Tpc during the period from time tpc to time t0. Note that the cooling mode may be an example of a temperature adjustment mode.

[0286] In another embodiment, the main control board 1430 serving as the control unit 440 or the charge / discharge control unit 444 determines the length of the period Δt between time t0, at which charging of the battery 22 with a low stored amount of power starts, and time tpc, based on the degree of temperature rise of the battery 22 as the battery 22 is charged. The degree of the temperature rise is determined based on, for example, the internal resistance of the battery 22, the charge rate, a planned value of the time variation of the charge rate (sometimes referred to as a charge profile), and the like. Δt may be determined based on the degree of temperature rise of the battery 22 as the battery 22 is charged and the temperature decrease due to heat dissipation. In this case, Δt is determined based on the internal resistance of the battery 22, the charge rate, the charge profile, the outside air temperature, the internal temperature of the housing of the battery station 140, and the like.

[0287] If the temperature of the battery 22 drops to Tpc before time t0, cooling of the battery 22 may be stopped at that point, or cooling of the battery 24 may be started while continuing cooling of the battery 22. If the temperature of the battery 22 does not drop to Tpc even at time t0, the charging start time of the battery 24 may be delayed or the battery 24 may be heated until the temperature of the battery 22 reaches Tpc.

[0288] Time t0 is determined, for example, at time t2 or time t3, so that charging of battery 22 is completed. Time t1 is determined, for example, at time t2 or time t3, so that charging of battery 24 is completed.

[0289] [Another Example of an Embodiment] In the present embodiment, an example of a procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 has been described using an example in which the battery 22 and the battery 24 have different amounts of stored power and substantially the same temperature at time tpc. However, the procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, when the battery 22 and the battery 24 have substantially the same amounts of stored power and have different temperatures at time tpc, the cooling of the batteries 22 and 24 is controlled so that the cooling intensity of the battery with a higher temperature is greater than the cooling intensity of the battery with a lower temperature. For example, at time tpc, cooling of the battery with a lower temperature is stopped, and cooling of the battery with a higher temperature is started.

[0290] In the present embodiment, an example of a procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 has been described using an example in which the battery 22 and the battery 24 have different amounts of stored power and substantially the same temperature at time tpc. However, the procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery 22 and the battery 24 may have different amounts of stored power and different temperatures at time tpc.

[0291] In the present embodiment, an example of a procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 has been described using an example in which at least one of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is cooled. However, the procedure for adjusting the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are adjusted by heating at least one of the battery 22 and the battery 24. Even in this case, at least one of the cooling and the heating of the battery 22 and the battery 24 can be controlled so that the temperatures of the battery 22 and the battery 24 are approximately the same at time t1, t2, or t3.

[0292] Fig. 17 schematically illustrates an example of control of the slot 420 that accommodates the battery 24. Fig. 17 illustrates a control profile 1742 for the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 24 and a control profile 1744 for the temperature regulator 1482 for the battery 24. The operation of the AC / DC charger 1460 and the temperature regulator 1482 is controlled by, for example, the main control board 1430.

[0293] According to this embodiment, in a period before time t1, the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 24 is controlled to be OFF. At time t1, the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 24 is turned ON, and at time t3, the AC / DC charger 1460 of the battery 24 is turned OFF.

[0294] According to this embodiment, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24 is controlled to be OFF during a period before time t1. At time t1, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24 is turned ON.

[0295] Fig. 18 schematically shows an example of control of the slot 420 that accommodates the battery 22. Fig. 18 shows a control profile 1842 for the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22 and a control profile 1844 for the temperature regulator 1482 for the battery 22. The operation of the AC / DC charger 1460 and the temperature regulator 1482 is controlled by, for example, the main control board 1430.

[0296] According to this embodiment, in a period before time t0, the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22 is controlled to be OFF. At time t0, the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22 is turned ON, and at time t3, the AC / DC charger 1460 for the battery 22 is turned OFF.

[0297] According to this embodiment, in the period before time tpc, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22 is controlled to be OFF. At time tpc, the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 24 is turned ON.

[0298] Figure 19 schematically illustrates an example of the operation of the battery station 140 in another example of the procedure for charging the battery 20. The embodiment described with reference to Figure 19 differs from the embodiment described with reference to Figure 5 in that S1912, S1914, and S1916 are performed between S510 and S520 in the embodiment described with reference to Figure 5. With respect to features other than the above differences, the embodiment described with reference to Figure 19 may have a similar configuration to the embodiment described with reference to Figure 5.

[0299] According to this embodiment, in S1912, a cooling plan for the plurality of batteries 20 is determined. The cooling plan for the plurality of batteries 20 may be determined based on the charging plan for the plurality of batteries 20 determined in S510. For example, the cooling start time for the battery 22 is determined based on the charging start time for the battery 22 and the temperature adjustment capability of the temperature adjustment unit 1482 of the battery 22. The cooling start time for the battery 22 may be earlier than the charging start time for the battery 22. Furthermore, for the battery 24 paired with the battery 22, it may be determined that cooling starts simultaneously with the start of charging.

[0300] Next, in S1914, it is determined whether the cooling start time has arrived for each of the plurality of batteries 20. For example, if it is determined that the cooling start time for battery 22 has arrived (Yes in S1914), cooling of battery 22 is started in S1916. Thereafter, if it is determined in S520 that the cooling start time for battery 22 has arrived, charging of battery 22 is started in S522. In this way, the temperatures of batteries 22 and 24 are adjusted.

[0301] [Another Example of an Embodiment] In the present embodiment, an example of a method for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 has been described, taking as an example a case in which the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 at the completion of charging of the batteries 22 and 24 are adjusted by adjusting the cooling start time of the battery 22 and the charging start time of the battery 22. However, the method for adjusting the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 is not limited to the present embodiment.

[0302] In another embodiment, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 at the time of completion of charging of the batteries 22 and 24 may be adjusted by adjusting the cooling intensity of the battery 22 and the cooling intensity of the battery 24. In yet another embodiment, the temperatures of the batteries 22 and 24 at the time of completion of charging of the batteries 22 and 24 may be adjusted by a combination of the cooling start time and the cooling intensity.

[0303] 20 shows an example of a computer 3000 in which multiple aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. A part of the battery management system 100 may be realized by the computer 3000. For example, at least a part of the battery station 140 may be realized by the computer 3000. At least a part of the control unit 440 may be realized by the computer 3000, and at least a part of the charge / discharge control unit 444 may be realized by the computer 3000.

[0304] At least a part of the main control board 1430 described in relation to Fig. 14 may be realized by the computer 3000. The main control board 1430 may be realized by at least a part of the computer 3000. At least a part of the input / output unit 1440 described in relation to Fig. 14 may be realized by the computer 3000. The input / output unit 1440 may be realized by at least a part of the computer 3000.

[0305] A program installed on the computer 3000 can cause the computer 3000 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention or one or more "parts" of the apparatus, and / or can cause the computer 3000 to perform a process or steps of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such a program can be executed by the CPU 3012 to cause the computer 3000 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0306] A computer 3000 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 3012, a RAM 3014, a GPU 3016, and a display device 3018, which are interconnected by a host controller 3010. The computer 3000 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 3022, a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM drive 3026, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 3010 via an input / output controller 3020. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 3030 and a keyboard 3042, which are connected to the input / output controller 3020 via an input / output chip 3040.

[0307] The CPU 3012 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 3030 and RAM 3014, thereby controlling each unit. The GPU 3016 acquires image data generated by the CPU 3012 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 3014 or into the GPU 3016 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 3018.

[0308] The communication interface 3022 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 3024 stores programs and data used by the CPU 3012 in the computer 3000. The DVD-ROM drive 3026 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 3001 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 3024 via the RAM 3014. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0309] The ROM 3030 stores therein a boot program or the like that is executed by the computer 3000 upon activation, and / or programs that depend on the hardware of the computer 3000. The input / output chip 3040 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 3020 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, etc.

[0310] The programs are provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM 3001 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable storage medium, installed in the hard disk drive 3024, RAM 3014, or ROM 3030, which are also examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by the CPU 3012. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 3000, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by realizing the operation or processing of information in accordance with the use of the computer 3000.

[0311] For example, when communication is performed between computer 3000 and an external device, CPU 3012 may execute a communication program loaded into RAM 3014 and instruct communication interface 3022 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of CPU 3012, communication interface 3022 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in RAM 3014, hard disk drive 3024, DVD-ROM 3001, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes received data received from the network to a reception buffer area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0312] Furthermore, the CPU 3012 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored on an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 3024, the DVD-ROM drive 3026 (DVD-ROM 3001), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 3014, and may perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 3014. The CPU 3012 may then write back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0313] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 3012 may perform various types of processing on data read from the RAM 3014, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 3014. The CPU 3012 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. on the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, are stored on the recording medium, the CPU 3012 may search for an entry whose attribute value of the first attribute matches a specified condition from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0314] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on or near the computer 3000. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can also be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the above-described programs to the computer 3000 via the network.

[0315] The blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams in the above embodiments may represent stages of a process in which an operation is performed or "parts" of an apparatus responsible for performing the operation. Particular stages and "parts" may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and / or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. The programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuits, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic arrays (PLAs), including AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, and memory elements.

[0316] A computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device, such that a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture, including instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, and semiconductor storage media. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

[0317] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0318] Computer-readable instructions may be provided locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, or programmable circuitry, such that the processor or programmable circuitry executes the computer-readable instructions to generate means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0319] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Furthermore, to the extent that they are not technically inconsistent, the details described for a particular embodiment can be applied to other embodiments. It is apparent from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0320] It should be noted that the order of execution of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order.

[0321] 10 Communication network, 20 Battery, 22 Battery, 24 Battery, 30 User, 32 Communication terminal, 34 Electric motorcycle, 100 Battery management system, 120 Management server, 140 Battery station, 220 Voltage fluctuation, 222 Dotted line, 224 Solid line, 226 One-dot chain line, 240 Temperature fluctuation, 242 Dotted line, 244 Solid line, 246 One-dot chain line, 310 Status monitoring unit, 320 Battery management unit, 330 Reservation management unit, 340 Storage unit, 342 Battery information storage unit, 344 Station information storage unit, 346 User information storage unit, 420 Charging unit (slot), 422 Battery storage room, 424 Measuring instrument, 426 Charging circuit, 440 Control unit, 442 Communication control unit, 444 Charging / discharging control unit, 446 Rental management unit, 448 Storage section, 720: voltage fluctuation, 740: temperature fluctuation, 920: voltage fluctuation, 940: temperature fluctuation, 1020: voltage fluctuation, 1040: temperature fluctuation, 1220: voltage fluctuation, 1240: temperature fluctuation, 1410: breaker, 1412: power line, 1414: AC / DC power supply, 1416: distributor, 1418: power line, 1430: main control board, 1432: communication hub, 1434: communication line, 1440: input / output unit, 1442: temperature adjustment section, 1444: buzzer, 1446: sensing section, 1448: maintenance door, 1460: AC / DC charger, 1462: power connector, 1470: slot control board, 1472: communication connector, 1474: drive section, 1476: shutter, 1478: lock section, 1482: temperature adjustment section, 1484 Status display unit, 1486 sense unit, 1514 AC / DC power supply, 1516 service outlet, 1520 CPU board, 1530 Ethernet interface, 1542 NFC reader, 1544 camera, 1552 touch panel, 1554 display, 1556 speaker, 1640 temperature fluctuation, 1642 dotted line, 1742 control profile, 1744 control profile, 1842 control profile, 1844 control profile, 3000 computer, 3001 DVD-ROM, 3010 host controller, 3012 CPU, 3014 RAM, 3016 GPU, 3018 display device, 3020 input / output controller, 3022 communication interface, 3024 hard disk drive,3026 DVD-ROM drive, 3030 ROM, 3040 input / output chip, 3042 keyboard,

Claims

DEPCT661. A control device designed to control a charging device capable of charging a number of power storage devices, including the first and second power storage devices. The control device comprises: a power storage capacity acquisition unit designed to obtain information related to the power storage capacity of each first and second power storage device; and a charging control unit designed to control the charging device to charge the first and second power storage devices. When the power storage capacity of the first power storage device, corresponding to its capacity acquired by the power storage capacity acquisition unit, and the power storage capacity of the second power storage device, corresponding to its capacity acquired by the power storage capacity acquisition unit, are different from each other, the charging control unit is designed to control the charging device in such a way that the charging mode of the first power storage device and the charging mode of the second power storage device are set differently from each other.2.

3. A control device under claim 1, where, when the first storage capacity is lower than the second storage capacity, the charge control unit is designed to control the charging device in such a way that the first time interval corresponding to the charging start time point of the first storage capacity is set to be before the second time interval corresponding to the charging start time point of the second storage capacity.

4. A control device under claim 2, where at the second time interval, (i) the value obtained by subtracting the first storage capacity from the second storage capacity, or (ii) the absolute value of the difference between the first and second storage capacity is equal to or lower than the first threshold.

5. A control device under claim 2, where the second time interval is the time interval after the third time interval corresponding to the time point in which (i) the value obtained by subtracting the first storage capacity from the second storage capacity becomes lower than the first threshold, and the first threshold is 0 or a positive number.

6. The control device under claim 4, whereby the charge control unit is designed to stop the charging of the first electrical storage device at the third time.

7. The control device under claim 5, whereby at the second time, the charge control unit is designed to (i) continue charging of the first electrical storage device, and (ii) initiate charging of the second electrical storage device.

8. Any one of the control devices under claims 1 through 6, whereby when the quantity of the first electrical storage device is lower than the quantity of the second electrical storage device, the charge control unit is designed to control the charging device in such a way that the first speed corresponding to the charging speed of the first electrical storage device is set higher than the second speed corresponding to the charging speed of the second electrical storage device.

9. Any of the control devices under claims 1 through 8, where, when the first electrical storage is lower than the second electrical storage, the charge control unit is designed to control the charging device in such a way that the time point between the time point at which the first electrical storage reaches the predetermined first target value and the time point at which the second electrical storage reaches the first target value is set to equal or be lower than the predetermined second threshold.

11. The control device under claim 10, where the charge control unit is designated to stop charging of the second electrical storage device at the fourth time interval corresponding to the time point at which the absolute value of the difference between the second electrical storage device and the second target value becomes equal to or below the third predetermined threshold.

12. The control device under claim 10, where the charge control unit is designated to resume charging of the second electrical storage device at the fifth time interval corresponding to the time point after the fourth time interval and to the time point at which the absolute value of the difference between the first electrical storage device and the second target value becomes equal to or below the fourth predetermined threshold.

13. A control device under any of the claims 1 through 12, where the charging device also includes a temperature control unit designed to control the charging device in such a way that before the first power storage reaches a predetermined third target value, the second power storage reaches a predetermined third target value.

14. A control device under any of the claims 1 through 12, where the charging device also includes a temperature control unit designed to control the temperature of at least one of the first or second power storage devices, and the control device also includes: a temperature control unit designed to control the temperature control unit, and when the first and second power storage devices received by the power storage receiving unit are different from each other, the temperature control unit is designed to control the temperature control unit in such a way that the temperature control mode of the first power storage device and the temperature control mode of the second power storage device are set to different from each other.The control device under claim 13, which also comprises: a temperature acquisition unit designed to obtain information relating to the temperature of each of the first and second power storage devices, whereby a temperature control unit designed to control the temperature control unit in such a way that at the sixth time interval corresponding to the time point at which the first and second power storage devices become significantly identical, the first temperature corresponding to the temperature of the first power storage device which is obtained by the temperature acquisition unit and the second temperature corresponding to the temperature of the second power storage device which is obtained by the temperature acquisition unit are set to be significantly identical.

15. The control device under claim 14, where the start time of control and / or the end time of control of the charging device by the charging control unit and the start time of control and / or the end time of control of the temperature control unit by the temperature control unit differ from one another.16.A control device under claim 15, where the temperature control unit is designed to control the temperature regulator unit in such a way that the start time of control of the temperature regulator unit is set earlier than the start time of control of the charging device.

17. A control device under claim 15, where the charging control unit is designed to control the charging device in such a way that the start time of control of the charging device is set later than the start time of control of the temperature regulator unit.18.The control device under any of the claims 1 through 12, where the charging device also includes a temperature control unit designed to regulate the temperature of at least one of the first or second power storage devices, and the control device also comprises: a temperature acquisition unit designed to obtain information relating to the temperature of each of the first and second power storage devices; and a temperature control unit designed to control the temperature control unit, and when the first temperature corresponding to the temperature of the first power storage device, which is obtained by the temperature acquisition unit, and the second temperature corresponding to the temperature of the second power storage device, which is obtained by the temperature acquisition unit, differ from each other, the temperature control unit is designed to control the temperature control unit in such a way that the temperature control mode of the first power storage device and the temperature control mode of the second power storage device are set different from each other.19.

20. A control device under any of Claims 1 through 18, where the stored amount of electrical energy is at least one of (i) the amount of electrical energy that can be discharged [Wh], (ii) the amount of charge or residual capacity [Ah], (iii) the charging rate or state of charge (SOC) [%], (iv) the terminal voltage [V], or (iv) the potential [V] relative to the reference potential.

21. A control device under any of Claims 1 through 19, where the charging mode is specified by a setting relating to at least one of the charging duration or charging speed, and the setting relating to the charging duration includes an item relating to at least one of the initial charging duration, the final charging duration, or the length of the charging duration.

21. A control device under any of Claims 1 through 20, where each first and second electrical energy storage device is designed to be detachably connected to a power device designed to be actuated using power supplied from each first and second electrical energy storage device. 22.The charging equipment shall include: a control device pursuant to any one of the claims 1 to 21; and one or more charging units designed to charge the first and second power storage devices.23.The control method of the charge device is designed to charge a number of electrical storage devices, including the first and second electrical storage devices. The control method comprises: obtaining the electrical storage capacity by obtaining information related to the electrical storage capacity of each first and second electrical storage device; and controlling the charging by controlling the charge device to charge the first and second electrical storage devices. Where, when the electrical storage capacity of the first electrical storage device, corresponding to the electrical storage capacity of the first electrical storage device which is obtained in the acquisition process, and the electrical storage capacity of the second electrical storage device, corresponding to the electrical storage capacity of the second electrical storage device which is obtained in the acquisition process, are different from each other, the charging control includes controlling the charge device in such a way that the charging mode of the first electrical storage device and the charging mode of the second electrical storage device are set to be different from each other.24A program for enabling a computer to function as a control device under any of the claims 1 through 20.

25. A computer-readable media containing a program under claim 24 recorded on it. 26.The temperature control method in a charging device designed to charge a number of power storage devices, including the first and second power storage devices, and provided with a temperature control device designed to control the temperature of at least one of the first or second power storage devices, the temperature control method comprises: obtaining the power storage capacity by obtaining information related to the power storage capacity of each of the first and second power storage devices; and controlling, when the power storage capacity of the first power storage device, corresponding to the power storage capacity of the first power storage device which is obtained in the power storage capacity acquisition, and the power storage capacity of the second power storage device, corresponding to the power storage capacity of the second power storage device which is obtained in the power storage capacity acquisition, are different from each other, the temperature control device is designed in such a way that the temperature control mode of the first power storage device and the temperature control mode of the second power storage device are set differently from each other.27.The temperature control method in a charging device is designed to charge a number of power storage devices, including the first and second power storage devices, and is provided with a temperature control device designed to control the temperature of at least one of the first or second power storage devices. The temperature control method comprises: temperature acquisition by obtaining information relating to the temperature of each of the first and second power storage devices; and control, when the first temperature corresponding to the temperature of the first power storage device, which is obtained in the temperature acquisition process, and the second temperature corresponding to the temperature of the second power storage device, which is obtained in the temperature acquisition process, are different from each other. The temperature control device is designed in such a way that the temperature control mode of the first power storage device and the temperature control mode of the second power storage device are set differently from each other.

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