Charging control system, charging control method, and program

Abstract

A charging control system (10) for controlling a plurality of chargers (31) comprises: a reservation information reception unit (11) that receives charging reservations from users and assigns the same priority to one or more reserved vehicles (40) included in the charging reservations received at the same timing; a charging plan unit (12) that determines a charging plan indicating the current setting value for each time zone from a reservation start time to a reservation end time of a charger (31) that charges a reserved vehicle (40) such that a reserved charging amount does not exceed a desired charging amount and charging is carried out with a reserved charge amount based on the priority; a charging plan accumulation unit (13) that saves the determined charging plan in association with the charger (31) for use in charging; and a charging control unit (14) that controls the charger (31) on the basis of the charging plan.

Description

Charging control system, charging control method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging control system, a charging control method, and a program.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A charge management device for charging a plurality of electric vehicles (EVs) has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2015-186338 A

[0004] However, the charging management device disclosed in Patent Document 1 charges vehicles in the order in which they are accepted, so if the charging management device is using all of the available current to charge a vehicle and another vehicle is to be charged, there is a problem in that the other vehicle cannot be charged.

[0005] Such a charging management device may not be able to charge the vehicle when the user wants to, which reduces convenience.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a charging control system, a charging control method, and a program that can prevent vehicles from being unable to be charged when charging multiple electric vehicles.

[0007] One aspect of a charging control system according to the present disclosure is a charging control system that controls a plurality of chargers for charging electric vehicles so that the sum of the current setting values ​​of the plurality of chargers does not exceed a predetermined upper current limit value, and includes: a reservation information receiving unit that receives charging reservations from a user to charge one or more reserved vehicles, acquires reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount, and assigns the same priority to the one or more reserved vehicles included in the charging reservations that are received at the same time; a charging planning unit that determines, for each of the reserved vehicles, a charging plan that indicates the current setting values ​​of the chargers that charge the reserved vehicles for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, so that the reserved charging amount, which is the amount of charging planned to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charging amount and the vehicle is charged at the reserved charging amount based on the priority; a charging plan storage unit that stores the determined charging plan for each reserved vehicle in association with the charger to be used for charging; and a charging control unit that controls the chargers based on the charging plan.

[0008] Furthermore, one aspect of the charge control method according to the present disclosure is a charge control method executed by a computer, which controls a plurality of chargers for charging electric vehicles such that a total value of current setting values ​​of the plurality of chargers does not exceed a predetermined upper current limit value, the charge control method including: a reservation information receiving step of receiving charge reservations for charging one or more reserved vehicles from a user, acquiring reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charge amount, and assigning the same priority to the one or more reserved vehicles included in the charge reservations received at the same time; a charging planning step of determining, for each of the reserved vehicles, a charging plan indicating a current setting value for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time of the charger that will charge the reserved vehicle, such that a reserved charge amount, which is a charge amount planned to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charge amount and the vehicle is charged at the reserved charge amount based on the priority; a charging plan accumulation step of storing the determined charging plan for each of the reserved vehicles in association with the charger to be used for charging; and a charge control step of controlling the charger based on the charging plan.

[0009] The present disclosure can be realized not only as the charging control method, but also as a program for causing a computer to execute the charging control method, and further as a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.

[0010] The charge control system, charge control method, and program according to the present disclosure can prevent a vehicle from being unable to be charged when charging a plurality of electric vehicles.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation information created by a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a charging plan determined by a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of a charging plan determined by a charge control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a chargeable amount notified by a charge control system according to an embodiment.

[0012] (Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of a charging control system, a charging control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that each of the embodiments described below represents a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, components, component arrangement and connection configuration, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not recited in independent claims will be described as optional components constituting a preferred embodiment.

[0013] It should be noted that the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strict illustrations. In addition, in the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted or simplified.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of a charge control system 10 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the charge control system 10 according to the present disclosure is a system that creates a charging plan for charging a vehicle (electric vehicle) 40 based on reservation information input by a user in a charge reservation system 20, controls a plurality of chargers 31 connected to a power source 32 based on the created charging plan, and further presents charging information indicating the charging status of the vehicle 40 to the user. The charge control system 10 can charge a plurality of vehicles 40 simultaneously.

[0015] [Configuration] First, a description will be given of the configuration of the charge control system 10. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the charge control system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0016] The charging control system 10 is a system that charges a plurality of vehicles 40 while preventing the occurrence of vehicles 40 that cannot be charged. The charging control system 10 is realized by, for example, a computer. Specifically, the charging control system 10 includes a communication unit 16, an information processing unit 17, and a storage unit 18.

[0017] The communication unit 16 is a communication circuit (communication module) that enables the charge control system 10 to communicate with the charge reservation system 20 and the charge control device 30. The communication performed by the communication unit 16 is, for example, wireless communication, but may also be wired communication. For example, the communication unit 16 performs wireless communication with the charge reservation system 20 and wired communication with the charge control device 30. The communication standard for the communication performed by the communication unit 16 is not particularly limited.

[0018] The information processing unit 17 determines charging plans for the plurality of vehicles 40 and performs information processing and the like for controlling the plurality of chargers 31 based on the determined charging plans. The information processing unit 17 is realized by, for example, a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor or a dedicated circuit. The functions of the information processing unit 17 are realized by hardware such as a microcomputer or processor constituting the information processing unit 17 executing a computer program (software) stored in the storage unit 18. Specifically, the information processing unit 17 includes a reservation information accepting unit 11, a charging planning unit 12, a charging plan accumulation unit 13, a charging control unit 14, and a charging plan notifying unit 15.

[0019] The reservation information receiving unit 11 acquires reservation information received by the charging reservation system 20 and assigns a priority to the acquired reservation information.

[0020] The charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan based on the reservation information received by the reservation information receiving unit 11. The charging plan is a current setting value for each time period assigned to the charger 31 associated with each booked vehicle 40.

[0021] The charging plan accumulation unit 13 stores the charging plan determined by the charging plan unit 12 and the charger used for charging in association with each other in the storage unit 18 .

[0022] The charging control unit 14 controls the charger 31 based on the charging plan stored in the storage unit 18 .

[0023] The charging plan notification unit 15 calculates a reserved charging amount, which is the amount of charging planned to be performed on the vehicle 40, based on the charging plan determined by the charging plan unit 12, and notifies the user of the calculated reserved charging amount. Furthermore, when the user inputs reservation information, the charging plan notification unit 15 can also notify the user of reservation reference information that indicates the amount of charging that may be allocated to the vehicle 40.

[0024] The storage unit 18 is a storage device that stores the charging plan, the computer program executed by the information processing unit 17, etc. The storage unit 18 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

[0025] The charging reservation system 20 is a system that accepts reservation information from a user. The charging reservation system 20 is realized, for example, as an information terminal used by a user in which a software program for accepting reservation information is installed. Alternatively, the charging reservation system 20 may be realized, for example, as a server that can be accessed by a user via the information terminal.

[0026] The charging control device 30 is a device for controlling the chargers 31 that charge the vehicles 40 based on the charging plan or control signal acquired from the charging control unit 14. The charging control device 30 is a device provided in a charging spot (also called a charging stand or charging station) for electric vehicles that is installed in a city or at an accommodation facility, for example. The charging control device 30 controls the chargers 31 connected to one or more power sources 32, thereby making it possible to simultaneously charge the same number of vehicles 40 as the number of chargers 31 connected to the power sources 32.

[0027] The charger 31 is a device for charging the vehicle 40 based on a charging plan determined by the charging control system 10 .

[0028] The power supply 32 is a device that supplies power to each of one or more chargers 31 .

[0029] The vehicle 40 is an electric vehicle that a user of the charge control system 10 intends to charge. The vehicle 40 is also called an electric vehicle. The vehicle 40 is a vehicle that moves by rotating a motor using electricity stored in a battery mounted on the vehicle body as an energy source. The vehicle 40 is charged by a charger 31. The vehicle 40 may be a vehicle that runs using both an engine and a motor, such as a PHV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle) or a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid EV).

[0030] [Operation] Next, the operation of the charge control system 10 will be described. In conventional charge control systems, charging of multiple vehicles 40 is performed in the order in which charging reservations are received. Such charge control systems have a problem in that when all available current is being used to charge a vehicle 40, charging of another vehicle 40 is not possible. This means that a user may not be able to charge a vehicle 40 when they want to. Therefore, the charge control system 10 according to the present disclosure assigns the same priority to multiple vehicles 40 that have received charging reservations at the same time, thereby preventing a vehicle 40 from being unable to be charged when multiple vehicles 40 are being charged. The operation of such a charge control system 10 will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the charge control system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0031] First, the reservation information accepting unit 11 of the charging control system 10 acquires reservation information accepted by the charging reservation system 20 from a user (S11). The charging reservation system 20 accepts input of reservation information, for example, by having the user tap on an information terminal operated by the user. The processing in step S11 will be described in detail later. The reservation information includes information indicating reservation identification information, reservation start time, reservation end time, desired charging amount, and priority for each reserved vehicle 40.

[0032] Next, the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan based on the reservation information acquired by the reservation information receiving unit 11 (S12). The charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan that indicates how and how much charging is planned for each of the booked vehicles 40, based on a predetermined algorithm. The processing in step S12 will be described in detail later.

[0033] When the charging plan unit 12 determines the charging plan, the charging plan accumulation unit 13 stores the determined charging plan (S13). At this time, the charging plan accumulation unit 13 associates the charging plan for each booked vehicle 40 with the charger 31 that will charge each booked vehicle 40 and stores the associated charging plan. In other words, the charging plan accumulation unit 13 manages which charger 31 will be used to charge the booked vehicle 40.

[0034] The charging plan notification unit 15 notifies the user of the reserved charging amount calculated based on the charging plan (S14). For example, the charging plan notification unit 15 transmits information indicating the reserved charging amount to the charging reservation system 20, and the charging reservation system 20 notifies the user of the reserved charging amount by displaying the reserved charging amount on a display screen of an information terminal that executes the charging reservation system 20. The reserved charging amount is the amount of charging that is scheduled to be applied to the vehicle 40 when the vehicle 40 is charged in accordance with the charging plan.

[0035] Next, the charge control system 10 determines whether the booked vehicle 40 for which the charging plan has been determined is in a parking period (S15). The determination of whether the booked vehicle 40 is in a parking period is made based on the reservation start time and reservation end time included in the reservation information. This determination may be made by determining whether the booked vehicle 40 is electrically connected to the charger 31.

[0036] If it is determined that the booked vehicle 40 is not in a parking period (No in S15), the charging control system 10 repeats the processing of step S15 until it is determined that the booked vehicle 40 is in a parking period (Yes in S15).

[0037] If it is determined that the booked vehicle 40 is in a parking period (Yes in S15), the charging control unit 14 controls the chargers 31 based on the charging plan stored in the charging plan storage unit 13 (S16).

[0038] The processes in steps S11 and S12 will be described in detail below.

[0039] [Step S11: Acceptance of reservation information] The reservation information acceptance unit 11 acquires the charging reservation information accepted by the charging reservation system 20 from the user, and creates reservation information by associating a priority with the acquired charging reservation information. The charging reservation information includes a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount. That is, the user inputs the reservation start time, the reservation end time, and the desired charging amount. The reservation identification information is set by the charging reservation system 20 based on the input by the user. The priority is set by the reservation information acceptance unit 11 based on the charging reservation information acquired by the charging control system 10.

[0040] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation information created by the charge control system 10 according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the reservation information includes information indicating reservation identification information, a reservation start time, a reservation end time, a desired charge amount, and a priority.

[0041] The reservation identification information is information for identifying the reserved vehicle 40. The reservation identification information is, for example, a reservation ID or the like, but may also include information indicating the vehicle type or vehicle registration number. The reservation identification information is information for the charging control system 10 to identify the vehicle 40 connected to the charger 31. The reservation start time is the time when the reserved vehicle 40 starts parking at the charging spot. In other words, it is the time when charging of the reserved vehicle 40 can begin. The reservation end time is the time when the reserved vehicle 40 ends parking at the charging spot. In other words, it is the time when charging of the reserved vehicle must end. The desired charge amount is the charge amount that the user wishes to charge the vehicle 40 with. When creating a charging plan for one or more vehicles 40, the charging control system 10 creates the charging plan so that as many vehicles 40 as possible are charged at the desired charge amount. The priority is an index used by the charging plan unit 12 when determining the charging plan. In the present disclosure, the priorities are, for example, "1," "2," and "3" in descending order, but are not limited to this example.

[0042] 4, for example, the reservation information indicates that a reserved vehicle 40 (hereinafter referred to as vehicle A) having reservation identification information "A" has a reservation start time of "date and time S(A)", a reservation end time of "date and time E(A)", a desired charge amount of 40 kWh, and an assigned priority of "1". The reservation information indicates that a reserved vehicle 40 (hereinafter referred to as vehicle C) having reservation identification information "C" has a reservation start time of "date and time S(C)", a reservation end time of "date and time E(C)", a desired charge amount of 20 kWh, and an assigned priority of "2". In other words, vehicle A is a reserved vehicle 40 that has been assigned a higher priority than vehicle C. In step S12, a charging plan for the reserved vehicle 40 is determined based on the priority.

[0043] The reservation start time may be received by the user directly inputting the time, or may be calculated based on the input reservation end time and parking period, with the reservation end time and parking period being received. Here, the parking period is the length of time the reserved vehicle will stay at the charging spot. The reservation end time may be received by the user directly inputting the time, or may be calculated based on the input reservation start time and parking period, with the reservation end time being received. The manner of input by the user is not particularly limited as long as it is possible to identify the time when the reserved vehicle 40 will be in a state where it can be charged by the charger 31.

[0044] The desired charge amount may be received by the user directly inputting the desired charge amount, or may be calculated based on travel plan information input by the user. The travel plan information is, for example, information indicating a destination to which the user is heading in the vehicle 40, but may also be information indicating the distance that the vehicle 40 is scheduled to travel. The form of the travel plan information is not particularly limited here, as long as it is information that can be used to calculate the distance that the vehicle 40 is scheduled to travel after being charged by the charger 31.

[0045] The desired charging amount does not have to be input by the user, and the reservation information accepting unit 11 may set a predetermined value as the desired charging amount.

[0046] The reservation information receiving unit 11 sets the priority based on the reservation information acquired from the charging reservation system 20. The priority is assigned in the order in which the reservation information receiving unit 11 acquires the reservation information from the charging reservation system 20.

[0047] Here, the reservation information receiving unit 11 can assign the same priority to a plurality of vehicles 40 for which charging reservations are received at the same time.

[0048] For example, the reservation information accepting unit 11 acquires reservation information from the charging reservation system 20 at predetermined intervals. At this time, charging reservations for one or more vehicles accepted by the charging reservation system 20 during the predetermined period are acquired at the same timing by the reservation information accepting unit 11. Therefore, the reservation information accepting unit 11 assigns the same priority to multiple reserved vehicles 40 for which charging reservations have been accepted by the charging reservation system 20 during the predetermined period.

[0049] Also, for example, an administrator inputs reservation information for multiple vehicles 40 in a batch. For example, the administrator is a hotel employee, and the multiple vehicles 40 are vehicles of hotel guests. In this case, charging reservations for the multiple vehicles 40 are accepted at the same time. The reservation information accepting unit 11 assigns the same priority to the multiple vehicles 40 for which reservation information has been input in a batch.

[0050] The reservation information receiving unit 11 as described above can assign the same priority to multiple booked vehicles 40 that have received charging reservations at the same time. In step S12, a charging plan is determined for the booked vehicles 40 that have been assigned the same priority so that the reserved charging amounts are evenly distributed.

[0051] [Step S12: Determination of Charging Plan] Next, a detailed description will be given of the process in step S12 of Fig. 3 in which the charging plan unit 12 determines a charging plan for each booked vehicle in accordance with an allocation method described in detail below. Here, it is assumed that the number of the multiple chargers 31 connected to the power source 32 is five.

[0052] <Distribution of Charge Amount to Vehicles 40 Assigned Different Priorities> First, the distribution of charge amount to vehicles 40 assigned different priorities will be described. Here, the distribution of charge amount when the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan based on the reservation information shown in FIG. 4 will be described. That is, only two priorities, "1" and "2," are assigned to booked vehicles. The charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan such that booked vehicles assigned a priority of "1" are charged with priority over booked vehicles assigned a priority of "2." Being charged with priority means at least one of charging such that the ratio of the reserved charging amount to the desired charging amount is increased and charging such that the value of the reserved charging amount is increased.

[0053] Note that even when three or more priorities are assigned, for example, when there is a reserved vehicle assigned a priority of "3," the charging plan unit 12 can determine a charging plan by determining a charging plan for a reserved vehicle assigned a priority of "1" or "2" and then determining a charging plan for a reserved vehicle assigned a priority of "3" in accordance with the same process. Two methods of allocating charge amounts to vehicles with different priorities will be described below.

[0054] [Distribution Method 1] When determining a charging plan for a vehicle with a high priority, the charging planning unit 12 calculates in advance a guaranteed current value to be allocated to a vehicle with a low priority, and determines the charging plan using an available current value obtained by subtracting the guaranteed current value from the upper current limit. The guaranteed current value is calculated by multiplying the number of available chargers, which are chargers that are not used in the determined charging plan among the multiple chargers, by a predetermined minimum guaranteed current value.

[0055] That is, the charging planning unit 12 calculates the available current value and determines the charging plan so that the total value of the set current values ​​does not exceed the available current value.

[0056] According to a charging plan determined using such an allocation method, by using the reserved current value as the reserve current value, it is possible to simultaneously charge multiple vehicles 40 using multiple chargers 31 connected to the power source 32.

[0057] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a charging plan determined by the charging control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an example of a charging plan determined by the charging planning unit 12 based on the reservation information shown in FIG. 4 when five chargers 31 are connected to the power source 32. The upper part of FIG. 5 shows the charging plan determined by the charging planning unit 12. The vertical axis represents the current value when the charger 31 charges the vehicle 40, and the horizontal axis represents the date and time. Therefore, the area represents the amount of charge for each vehicle 40. The lower part shows the parking time for each booked vehicle 40, that is, the period during which the booked vehicle 40 can be charged. Here, each booked vehicle 40 is connected one-to-one to one charger 31 during the parking time.

[0058] Based on the charging plan, the charging control device 30 switches the charger 31 that will actually perform charging among the five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32, thereby charging a plurality of vehicles 40. For example, in the charging plan shown in Fig. 5, the charging control device 30 controls three of the five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32 to charge the corresponding vehicles 40, and the remaining two chargers 31 to stop charging. In other words, the charging plan is determined so that the number of chargers 31 that can be used for charging simultaneously is three.

[0059] For example, from date and time S(A) to date and time S(C), the only booked vehicle 40 that will be charged by the charging control system 10 is booked vehicle A. At this time, there are two unused chargers 31, so the minimum guaranteed current value for the two unused chargers becomes the guaranteed current value. The charging planning unit 12 determines the charging plan for vehicle A for the period from date and time S(A) to date and time S(C) as a current value obtained by subtracting the guaranteed current value from the current upper limit value.

[0060] For example, from date and time S(E) to date and time E(B), five vehicles, namely, vehicle A, vehicle B, vehicle C, vehicle D, and vehicle E, are present at the charging spot. There are five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32, of which two are used to preferentially charge vehicles A and B, which are assigned a high priority of "1," and the remaining three are used to charge vehicles C, D, and E, which are assigned the same priority of "2," so that their reserved charging amounts are equal (details will be described later). Here, one of the remaining three chargers 31 is used to charge one of vehicles C, D, and E. From date and time S(E) to date and time E(B), the three reserved vehicles 40 to be charged by the charging control system 10 are vehicles A, B, and E. At this time, all chargers 31 that can be used simultaneously for charging are in use when the charging control system 10 determines a charging plan. Therefore, the charging plan unit 12 determines a charging plan using the upper current limit value as the available current value. The charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan so that vehicles A and B, which are assigned a high priority "1", are charged preferentially, and vehicle E, which is assigned a low priority "2", is charged at the minimum ensured current value.

[0061] Here, the charging plan is determined so that, of the five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32, three chargers 31 charge the corresponding vehicles 40 and the remaining two chargers 31 are controlled to stop without charging, but the number of chargers 31 that can be used for charging simultaneously may be five or four. There is no particular limit to the number of chargers 31 that can be used for charging simultaneously, as long as the total value of the current setting values ​​of the chargers 31 does not exceed the total of the preset upper current limit values.

[0062] Furthermore, an available charger is a charger 31 that is not being used in the determined charging plan among the chargers 31 that can be used for charging at the same time, but it may also be a charger 31 that is not being used in the determined charging plan among multiple chargers 31 connected to the power source 32.

[0063] According to the above-described allocation method, the charging planning unit 12 can reserve a reserve current value equivalent to a predetermined reserved current value before accepting a reservation for a vehicle 40 assigned a low priority. Therefore, the charging planning unit 12 can determine a charging plan such that a plurality of vehicles 40 are simultaneously charged using all chargers 31 that can be used simultaneously for charging when determining a charging plan connected to the power source 32. The charging control system 10 can also charge a vehicle 40 with a low priority that has received an additional reservation and is to be charged during a time period for which a charging plan for the booked vehicle 40 has already been determined.

[0064] [Distribution Method 2] After determining a charging plan for a vehicle with a high priority, if a reservation is made for a vehicle with a low priority, the charging planning unit 12 allocates a predetermined current value (e.g., a minimum ensured current value) to the vehicle with a low priority, and if the allocation results in a current value exceeding the upper current limit, the charging planning unit 12 modifies the already determined charging plan for the vehicle with a high priority by the amount of the excess current value.

[0065] In other words, the charging planning unit 12 modifies the charging plan so that, in a time period in which the current value calculated by subtracting the sum of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value is less than the above-mentioned secured current value, a booked vehicle having a lower priority than the booked vehicle for which the charging plan has been determined is charged at the minimum secured current value in that time period, and modifies the charging plan so that the current value that exceeds the current upper limit value as a result of the modification is subtracted from the current setting value for the booked vehicle for which the charging plan has been determined.

[0066] If a current value that exceeds the upper current limit is not generated even when a predetermined current value is assigned to the vehicle 40 with a low priority, a charging plan for the vehicle 40 with a low priority is determined within a range in which the total set current value does not exceed the upper current limit. For example, a charging plan may be determined by assigning a predetermined current value to the vehicle 40 with a low priority.

[0067] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing another example of a charging plan determined by the charging control system 10 according to the embodiment. Fig. 6 shows another example of a charging plan determined by the charging planning unit 12 based on the reservation information shown in Fig. 4 when the number of chargers 31 connected to the power source 32 is five. Fig. 6 corresponds to Fig. 5.

[0068] For example, the booked vehicle 40 to be charged by the charge control system 10 from date and time S(A) to date and time S(C) is one booked vehicle A. At this time, the charge planning unit 12 determines the charging plan for the period from date and time S(A) to date and time S(C) for vehicle A so that the vehicle A is charged at the upper current limit value.

[0069] Also, for example, from date and time S(E) to date and time E(B), there are five vehicles at the charging spot: vehicle A, vehicle B, vehicle C, vehicle D, and vehicle E. There are five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32, two of which are used to preferentially charge vehicles A and B, which are assigned a high priority of "1," and the remaining three are used to charge vehicles C, D, and E, which are assigned the same priority of "2," so that their reserved charging amounts are equal (as will be described in detail later). Here, one of the remaining three chargers 31 is used to charge one of vehicles C, D, and E. From date and time S(E) to date and time E(B), the three reserved vehicles 40 to be charged by the charging control system 10 are vehicles A, B, and E.

[0070] It is assumed that, during the period from date and time S(E) to date and time E(B), the current value calculated by subtracting the total value of the current setting values ​​in the charging plans for vehicle A and vehicle B determined by the charging planning unit 12 from the current upper limit value is less than the above-mentioned ensured current value. The charging planning unit 12 corrects the charging plan so that vehicle E, which has been assigned a low priority of "2," is charged at a predetermined current value, and corrects the charging plan so that the current value that exceeds the current upper limit value as a result of this correction is subtracted from the current setting values ​​for vehicle A and vehicle B.

[0071] Here, the charging plan is determined so that, of the five chargers 31 connected to the power source 32, three chargers 31 charge the corresponding vehicles 40 and the remaining two chargers 31 are controlled to stop without charging, but the number of chargers 31 that can be used for charging simultaneously may be five or four. There is no particular limit to the number of chargers 31 that can be used for charging simultaneously, as long as the total value of the current setting values ​​of the chargers 31 does not exceed the total of the preset upper current limit values.

[0072] In addition, an available charger is a charger 31 that is not being used in the determined charging plan among the chargers 31 that can be used for charging at the same time, but it may also be a charger 31 that is not being used in the determined charging plan among all the chargers 31 connected to the power source 32.

[0073] According to the above-described allocation method, when the charging planning unit 12 receives a reservation for a vehicle 40 assigned a low priority, the charging planning unit 12 can modify the already determined charging plan for the vehicle 40 assigned a high priority so that the vehicle 40 assigned a low priority is charged at a predetermined current value. Therefore, the charging planning unit 12 can determine a charging plan such that the multiple vehicles 40 are simultaneously charged using all of the multiple chargers 31 that can be used simultaneously for charging when determining the charging plan connected to the power source 32. The charging control system 10 can also charge a vehicle 40 with a low priority that has been additionally reserved and is to be charged during a time period for which a charging plan for the already-booked vehicle 40 has been determined.

[0074] <Distribution of Charge Amount to Vehicles 40 Assigned the Same Priority> Next, a description will be given of distribution of charge amount to vehicles 40 assigned the same priority. For example, when the reservation information accepting unit 11 accepts charging reservations for multiple electric vehicles 40 simultaneously from users, the multiple electric vehicles 40 are assigned the same priority.

[0075] The charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan so that the reserved charging amounts for booked vehicles 40 that are assigned the same priority are uniform. Here, uniformity means at least one of the following for multiple reserved charging amounts for each booked vehicle 40: a minimum difference between the maximum value and the minimum value; a minimum maximum value; a maximum minimum value; and a minimum variation (in other words, a standard deviation). For example, if the reserved charging amounts for booked vehicles 40 that are assigned the same priority are all the same charging amount, it can be said that the charging plan has been determined so that the reserved charging amounts are uniform.

[0076] That is, for example, in the reservation information shown in FIG. 4 , vehicle A and vehicle B are assigned the same priority of "1," and the desired charge amount of vehicle A is 40 kWh, and the desired charge amount of vehicle B is 30 kWh. Since the charging plan is determined so that the total current setting values ​​of the multiple chargers 31 does not exceed the total of the preset upper current limits, there are cases where charging cannot be performed to satisfy the desired charge amounts of vehicle A and vehicle B. In such cases, the charging plan unit 12 determines a charging plan so that the reserved charge amount of vehicle A and the reserved charge amount of vehicle B are equal. Therefore, for example, if the total charge amount that can be charged by the chargers 31 is 40 kWh, the reserved charge amount of vehicle A and the reserved charge amount of vehicle B will both be 20 kWh.

[0077] Although the charging planning unit 12 determines the charging plan so that the reserved charging amounts are equal for the booked vehicles 40 that are assigned the same priority, the charging planning unit 12 may determine the charging plan so that the reserved charging amounts are proportional to the parking time for the booked vehicles 40 that are assigned the same priority. The parking time is the period from the reservation start time to the reservation end time.

[0078] 4, for example, the parking time of vehicle A is from date and time S(A) to date and time E(A), and the parking time of vehicle B is from date and time S(B) to date and time E(B). When vehicle A and vehicle B cannot be charged so as to simultaneously satisfy their desired charging amounts, the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan such that the ratio between the reserved charging amount of vehicle A and the reserved charging amount of vehicle B is equal to the ratio between the time from date and time S(A) to date and time E(A) and the time from date and time S(B) to date and time E(B).

[0079] Furthermore, the charging planning unit 12 may determine a charging plan for booked vehicles 40 that are assigned the same priority such that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the desired charging amount.

[0080] 4, for example, the desired charge amount of vehicle A is 40 kWh, and the desired charge amount of vehicle B is 30 kWh. If it is not possible to charge vehicle A and vehicle B so that their desired charge amounts are satisfied simultaneously, the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan so that the ratio between the reserved charge amount of vehicle A and the reserved charge amount of vehicle B is equal to the ratio between the desired charge amount of vehicle A and the desired charge amount of vehicle B, that is, 4:3.

[0081] 3, the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan taking into consideration the above-mentioned factors. The charging planning unit 12 can determine charging plans for a plurality of vehicles 40 to which the same priority is assigned.

[0082] [Variation of Determination of Charging Plan] In the above embodiment, when the charging planning unit 12 determines the charging plan in step S12, the characteristics of the time period in which charging is to be performed are not taken into consideration, but the charging planning unit 12 may determine the charging plan by taking into consideration the characteristics of the time period in which charging is to be performed. In other words, the charging planning unit 12 may determine the charging plan by weighting the time period.

[0083] For example, the charging planning unit 12 may determine a charging plan so as to prioritize time periods with low electricity unit prices. The electricity unit price is the electricity price per kWh. The electricity fee is calculated by multiplying the electricity unit price by the amount of power consumed by the charger 31. The electricity unit price may differ depending on the time period. When determining a charging plan, the charging planning unit 12 may determine a charging plan so as to charge a larger amount of electricity during time periods with a lower electricity unit price than during time periods with a higher electricity unit price. By the charging planning unit 12 determining a charging plan so as to charge a larger amount of electricity during time periods with a lower electricity unit price, the electricity fee can be reduced.

[0084] Furthermore, for example, the charging planning unit 12 may determine a charging plan so as to prioritize time periods with low congestion. The congestion level is the degree of congestion at a charging spot. Furthermore, the congestion level may be an index of the usage status of the chargers 31. The congestion level is calculated, for example, by dividing the number of reserved vehicles by the available capacity obtained by subtracting the determined charging plan from the upper current limit value. The congestion level may also be the number of chargers 31 associated with the charging plan for each time period. By the charging planning unit 12 prioritizing time periods with low congestion, it is possible to determine a charging plan so that each booked vehicle 40 is charged at a larger set current value.

[0085] [Notification] When the charging plan unit 12 determines a charging plan and the charging plan is stored in the charging plan storage unit 13, the charging plan notification unit 15 notifies the user of charging information based on the stored charging plan. The charging information includes information indicating the reserved charging amount of the booked vehicle 40. Furthermore, the charging information may include information indicating the scheduled time when charging of the vehicle 40 is to be completed. The charging plan notification unit 15 can present how much the vehicle 40 is scheduled to be charged after the user makes a charging reservation.

[0086] In the above embodiment, the charging plan notifying unit 15 notifies the determined charging plan in step S14, but the charging plan notifying unit 15 may notify the reservation reference information included in the charging plan before being determined in step S11. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the chargeable amount notified by the charging control system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0087] 7 shows the available charge amount notified by the charging control system 10 to a user who is trying to make a new charging reservation for the reserved vehicle 40 when charging plans for vehicles A and B have already been determined. The charging plan notifying unit 15 calculates the available charge amount based on the charging plans stored in the charging plan accumulation unit 13, and notifies the user of the calculated available charge amount. The available charge amount is calculated by multiplying the current value calculated by subtracting the current value used in the already determined charging plan from the current upper limit value by the charging time.

[0088] By referring to the available charge amount, the user can know, before making a charging reservation, the reserved charging amount if the charging reservation is made. For example, by referring to the available charge amount shown in FIG. 7 , the user can know that there is a higher possibility that charging will be completed in a shorter time with the desired charging amount if the charging reservation is made for a parking period from date and time E(A) onwards, rather than for a parking period from date and time S(A) to G(A). The user can also know that the vehicle 40 can be charged if the charging reservation is made for a parking period from date and time S(A) to G(A).

[0089] Therefore, the charging control system 10 can assist the user in determining whether or not to make a charging reservation for the vehicle 40. Furthermore, the charging control system 10 can assist the user in determining what kind of reservation information to input to the charging reservation system 20.

[0090] [Effects, etc.] Below, examples of techniques obtained from the disclosure of this specification will be given, and the effects, etc. of the examples of the techniques will be described.

[0091] Technique 1 is a charging control system 10 that controls a plurality of chargers 31 for charging electric vehicles 40 so that the sum of the current setting values ​​of the plurality of chargers 31 does not exceed a preset upper current limit value. The charging control system 10 includes: a reservation information accepting unit 11 that accepts charging reservations from users to charge one or more reserved vehicles 40, acquires reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount, and assigns the same priority to one or more reserved vehicles 40 included in the charging reservations accepted at the same time; a charging planning unit 12 that determines, for each reserved vehicle 40, a charging plan indicating a current setting value for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time of the charger 31 that charges the reserved vehicle 40, so that the reserved charging amount, which is the amount of charging planned to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charging amount and is charged at a reserved charging amount based on the priority; a charging plan storage unit 13 that stores the determined charging plan for each reserved vehicle 40 in association with the charger 31 used for charging; and a charging control unit 14 that controls the charger 31 based on the charging plan.

[0092] The charging control system 10 assigns priorities to the multiple reserved vehicles 40 that have accepted charging reservations, and controls charging of the multiple reserved vehicles 40 based on a charging plan determined based on the priorities. Therefore, when charging multiple vehicles 40, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a vehicle 40 that cannot be charged.

[0093] Technique 2 is the charging control system 10 of Technique 1, further including a charging plan notification unit 15 that notifies the user of a reserved charging amount based on the determined charging plan.

[0094] The charging control system 10 as described above can notify the user of the reserved charge amount to be charged to the vehicle 40 when the user reserves charging of the vehicle 40 .

[0095] Technique 3 is the charge control system 10 of Technique 1 or 2, in which the reservation information receiving unit 11 acquires a predetermined value as the desired charge amount.

[0096] Such a charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan for charging the vehicle 40 and control the charging even if the desired charging amount is not input when accepting a charging reservation for the vehicle 40 from a user.

[0097] Technique 4 is the charging control system 10 of Technique 1 or 2, in which the reservation information receiving unit 11 acquires planned driving information, and acquires as the desired charging amount a value calculated by multiplying the planned driving distance indicated in the acquired planned driving information by a predetermined amount of power consumption per driving distance.

[0098] When accepting a charging reservation for the vehicle 40 from a user, the charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan for charging the vehicle 40 and control the charging even when accepting input of planned driving information such as a destination and a planned driving distance instead of a desired charging amount. Therefore, the user does not need to calculate the desired charging amount when making a charging reservation.

[0099] Technique 5 is a charging control system 10 according to any one of techniques 1 to 4, in which the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan so that the total value of the current setting values ​​does not exceed a usable current value calculated by subtracting a guaranteed current value, which is calculated by multiplying the number of available chargers, which are chargers 31 among a plurality of chargers 31 that are not being used in the determined charging plan, by a predetermined minimum guaranteed current value, from a current upper limit value.

[0100] Such a charging control system 10 can secure a reserve current value equivalent to a predetermined secured current value before accepting a reservation for a vehicle 40 assigned a low priority. Therefore, the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan such that multiple vehicles 40 are simultaneously charged using all of the multiple chargers 31 that can be used simultaneously for charging when determining a charging plan connected to the power source 32. Therefore, the charging control system 10 can also charge a vehicle 40 with a low priority that has been additionally reserved and is to be charged during a time period for which a charging plan for the booked vehicle 40 has already been determined.

[0101] Technique 6 is the charging control system 10 according to any of Techniques 1 to 4, wherein the charging planning unit 12 modifies the charging plan so that, during a time period in which the current value calculated by subtracting the sum of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value is less than the guaranteed current value calculated by multiplying the number of available chargers, which are chargers 31 among the multiple chargers 31 that are not being used in the determined charging plan, by a predetermined minimum guaranteed current value, the charging plan is modified so that booked vehicles 40 with a lower priority than the booked vehicle 40 for which the charging plan is determined are charged at the minimum guaranteed current value during that time period, and the current value that exceeds the current upper limit value as a result of the modification is subtracted from the current setting value for the booked vehicle 40 for which the charging plan is determined.

[0102] In the charging control system 10, when a reservation for a vehicle 40 assigned a low priority is accepted, the charging planning unit 12 modifies the charging plan already determined for the vehicle 40 assigned a high priority so that the vehicle 40 assigned a low priority is charged at a predetermined current value. Therefore, the charging control system 10 can also charge the vehicle 40 with a low priority that has been additionally reserved and is to be charged during a time period for which a charging plan for the already reserved vehicle 40 has been decided.

[0103] Technique 7 is the charge control system 10 of any one of techniques 1 to 6, in which the charge planning unit 12 determines a charge plan such that the reserved charge amounts are uniform for booked vehicles 40 assigned the same priority.

[0104] The charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan such that the reserved charging amounts for the multiple booked vehicles 40 assigned the same priority are equalized.

[0105] Technique 8 is the charging control system 10 of Technique 7, in which equality means at least one of the following: the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the reserved charging amount is minimized; the maximum value is minimized; the minimum value is maximized; and the variation is minimized.

[0106] Such a charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan for the reserved charging amounts for each of multiple reserved vehicles 40 assigned the same priority so that at least one of the following is achieved: the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​among the multiple reserved charging amounts is minimized, the maximum value is minimized, the minimum value is maximized, or the variation is minimized.

[0107] Technique 9 is the charging control system 10 of any of Techniques 1 to 8, in which the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan for reserved vehicles 40 assigned the same priority so that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the parking time from the reservation start time to the reservation end time.

[0108] The charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan for multiple reserved vehicles 40 that have the same priority so that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the parking time. In other words, the charging plan can be determined so that the reserved charging amount for a vehicle 40 that has been parked for a long time is greater than the reserved charging amount for a vehicle 40 that has been parked for a short time.

[0109] Technique 10 is a charging control system 10 according to any one of techniques 1 to 9, in which the charging planning unit 12 determines a charging plan for booked vehicles 40 assigned the same priority such that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the desired charging amount.

[0110] The charging control system 10 can determine a charging plan for multiple booked vehicles 40 that have the same priority so that the reserved charging amounts are proportional to the desired charging amounts. In other words, the charging plan can be determined so that the reserved charging amount for a vehicle 40 with a large desired charging amount is larger than the reserved charging amount for a vehicle 40 with a small desired charging amount.

[0111] Technique 11 is the charge control system 10 of any one of techniques 1 to 10, in which the charge planning unit 12 determines the charge plan based on a congestion degree indicating the usage status of the charger 31.

[0112] When determining a charging plan, the charging control system 10 can take into consideration the predicted usage status of the charger 31 for each time period.

[0113] Technique 12 is a charging control system according to Technique 11, in which the congestion level is calculated based on the number of reserved vehicles 40 and a current value calculated by subtracting the total value of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value.

[0114] When determining a charging plan, such a charging control system 10 can calculate and take into consideration the predicted usage status of the charger 31 for each time period based on the number of reserved vehicles 40 and the current value not used in the determined charging plan.

[0115] Technique 13 is the charging control system according to any one of techniques 1 to 12, in which the charging plan unit 12 determines the charging plan based on the electricity unit price.

[0116] The charging control system 10 can take into consideration the electricity rate for each time period when determining a charging plan.

[0117] Technique 14 is the charging control system 10 according to any one of techniques 2 to 13, in which the charging plan notification unit 15, when accepting a charging reservation from a user, further notifies reservation reference information, and the reservation reference information includes a current value obtained by subtracting the total value of current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value.

[0118] Such a charging control system 10 can assist the user in determining whether or not to make a charging reservation for the vehicle 40. Furthermore, such a charging control system 10 can assist the user in determining what kind of reservation information to input into the charging reservation system 20.

[0119] Technique 15 is a charging control method executed by a computer that controls multiple chargers 31 for charging electric vehicles 40 so that the sum of the current setting values ​​of the multiple chargers 31 does not exceed a predetermined upper current limit value. The charging control method includes: a reservation information receiving step that receives a charging reservation for charging one or more reserved vehicles 40 from a user, acquires reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount, and assigns the same priority to one or more reserved vehicles 40 included in the same charging reservation; a charging planning step that determines, for each reserved vehicle 40, a charging plan that indicates the current setting value for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time of the charger 31 that charges the reserved vehicle 40 so that the reserved charging amount, which is the charging amount planned to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charging amount and is charged at a reserved charging amount based on the priority; a charging plan accumulation step that associates the determined charging plan for each reserved vehicle 40 with the charger 31 and stores it; and a charging control step that controls the charger 31 based on the charging plan.

[0120] According to this charging control method, when the charging of a plurality of electric vehicles 40 is controlled by a computer, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a vehicle 40 that cannot be charged.

[0121] Technique 16 is a program for causing a computer to execute the charge control method of technique 15.

[0122] Such a program can help prevent a situation in which a vehicle 40 cannot be charged when charging a plurality of electric vehicles 40 .

[0123] Other Embodiments Although the charge control system, charge control method, and program according to the present disclosure have been described above based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0124] For example, in the above embodiment, the charging control system is realized by a single device, but may be realized by multiple devices. When the charging control system is realized by multiple devices, the components (particularly functional components) of the control system may be allocated in any manner among the multiple devices.

[0125] Furthermore, the method of communication between the devices in the above-described embodiment is not particularly limited. In addition, a relay device (such as a gateway device) (not shown) may be involved in the communication between the devices.

[0126] In the above-described embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processing operations may be changed, or multiple processing operations may be performed in parallel.

[0127] In the above-described embodiments, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component, or by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0128] Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

[0129] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0130] For example, the present invention may be realized as the charge control device of the above-described embodiment, or as a charge control method executed by a computer such as the charge control system (charge control device) of the above-described embodiment, or as a program for causing a computer to execute the charge control method (in other words, a computer program product).The present invention may also be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

[0131] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art would think of, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope of the present invention.

[0132] The present disclosure can be used for a charging control system that charges an electric vehicle.

[0133] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Charging control system 11 Reservation information receiving unit 12 Charging planning unit 13 Charging plan storage unit 14 Charging control unit 15 Charging plan notification unit 16 Communication unit 17 Information processing unit 18 Storage unit 20 Charging reservation system 30 Charging control device 31 Charger 32 Power source 40 Vehicle, reserved vehicle, electric vehicle

Claims

1. A charging control system that controls multiple chargers for charging electric vehicles so that the sum of the current setting values ​​of the multiple chargers does not exceed a preset upper current limit value, comprising: a reservation information accepting unit that accepts charging reservations from users to charge one or more reserved vehicles, acquires reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount, and assigns the same priority to the one or more reserved vehicles included in the charging reservations accepted at the same time; a charging planning unit that determines, for each of the reserved vehicles, a charging plan that indicates the current setting value for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time of the charger that will charge the reserved vehicle, so that the reserved charging amount, which is the charging amount planned to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charging amount and the vehicle is charged at the reserved charging amount based on the priority; a charging plan storage unit that stores the determined charging plan for each reserved vehicle in association with the charger used for charging; and a charging control unit that controls the chargers based on the charging plan.

2. The charging control system according to claim 1, further comprising a charging plan notification unit that notifies the user of the reserved charging amount based on the determined charging plan.

3. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reservation information receiving unit acquires a predetermined value as the desired charging amount.

4. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reservation information receiving unit acquires planned driving information, and acquires as the desired charging amount a value calculated by multiplying the planned driving distance indicated in the acquired planned driving information by a predetermined amount of power consumption per driving distance.

5. The charging control system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan so that the total value of the current setting values ​​does not exceed a usable current value calculated by subtracting a secured current value calculated by multiplying the number of available chargers, which are chargers not being used in the determined charging plan among the plurality of chargers, by a predetermined minimum secured current value from the current upper limit value.

6. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit modifies the charging plan so that booked vehicles having a lower priority than the booked vehicle for which the charging plan is determined are charged at the minimum ensured current value during a time period in which the current value calculated by subtracting the sum of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value is less than the ensured current value calculated by multiplying the number of available chargers, which are chargers among the plurality of chargers that are not used in the determined charging plan, by a predetermined minimum ensured current value, and modifies the charging plan so that a current value that exceeds the current upper limit value as a result of the modification is subtracted from the current setting value for the booked vehicle for which the charging plan is determined.

7. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan such that the reserved charging amounts are uniform for reserved vehicles that are assigned the same priority.

8. The charging control system according to claim 7, wherein the equalization is at least one of the following: a minimum difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the reserved charging amount; a minimum maximum value; a maximum minimum value; and a minimum variation.

9. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan for reserved vehicles assigned the same priority so that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the parking time from the reservation start time to the reservation end time.

10. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan for reserved vehicles assigned the same priority such that the reserved charging amount is proportional to the desired charging amount.

11. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan based on a congestion level indicating a usage status of the charger.

12. The charging control system according to claim 11, wherein the congestion level is calculated based on the number of reserved vehicles and a current value calculated by subtracting the total value of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value.

13. The charging control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging planning unit determines the charging plan based on an electricity unit price.

14. The charging control system of claim 2, wherein the charging plan notification unit further notifies reservation reference information when accepting the charging reservation from the user, and the reservation reference information includes a current value obtained by subtracting the total value of the current setting values ​​in the determined charging plan from the current upper limit value.

15. A charging control method executed by a computer for controlling multiple chargers for charging electric vehicles so that the total value of the current setting values ​​of the multiple chargers does not exceed a predetermined upper current limit value, the charging control method comprising: a reservation information receiving step of receiving charging reservations from a user to charge one or more reserved vehicles, acquiring reservation information including a reservation start time, a reservation end time, and a desired charging amount, and assigning the same priority to the one or more reserved vehicles included in the charging reservations received at the same time; a charging planning step of determining, for each of the reserved vehicles, a charging plan indicating the current setting value for each time slot from the reservation start time to the reservation end time of the charger that will charge the reserved vehicle, so that the reserved charging amount, which is the charging amount scheduled to be supplied from the reservation start time to the reservation end time, does not exceed the desired charging amount and the vehicle is charged at the reserved charging amount based on the priority; a charging plan accumulation step of storing the determined charging plan for each reserved vehicle in association with the charger to be used for charging; and a charging control step of controlling the charger based on the charging plan.

16. A program for causing a computer to execute the charge control method according to claim 15.

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