Vehicle-to-Grid Power Supply Management via Server Coordination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric power supply systems do not effectively manage the reverse flow of generated AC power from vehicles to a commercial electric power system, particularly during power shortages, and lack efficient communication methods to coordinate power supply from multiple vehicles.
Innovation Solution
An electric power supply system that includes vehicles capable of generating commercial AC power, a management server to communicate with these vehicles, and a communication system that allows vehicles to receive commands for power generation and stop, enabling the system to select vehicles based on power demand and fuel availability, thus managing power distribution efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vehicles are connected to the commercial electric power system to supply power during shortages, then the power supply capability of the commercial electric power system is improved, but the system complexity increases due to the need for management means and communication infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The communication infrastructure is designed to serve dual purposes: it enables both the new function of managing vehicle-to-grid power supply and the existing function of commercial power system operations. The management means uses standard communication protocols and existing communication channels to coordinate with vehicles, allowing the same communication network to handle both traditional power management tasks and new vehicle coordination tasks without requiring entirely separate infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
A management means is introduced as an intermediary layer between the commercial electric power system and the connected vehicles. This management means handles the complexity of coordinating multiple vehicles, managing power flow, and ensuring system reliability, thereby isolating the complexity from both the power system and individual vehicles while enabling reliable vehicle-to-grid power supply
2Productivity
If a management means is provided to coordinate power generation from multiple vehicles, then the productivity of power supply is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional communication means
Solution Approach 1:
The communication means is designed with multi-functionality to reduce overall system complexity. It simultaneously handles vehicle identification, power generation coordination, power flow management, and system control tasks. By consolidating these multiple communication functions into a unified communication framework, the system achieves high productivity in managing multiple vehicles without proportionally increasing communication infrastructure complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The communication means merges multiple functions into a single integrated system. Rather than having separate communication channels for vehicle connection, power management, and system control, the invention combines these functions into a unified communication protocol and infrastructure that handles all interactions between the management means and connected vehicles, thereby improving productivity while controlling complexity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Vehicles (40A, 40B) are connected to respective receptacles (32A, 32B) of houses (30A, 30B) and are capable of generating commercial AC power to supply the generated electric power to a power transmission line (20). The vehicles (40A, 40B) communicate with a management server (50) via the houses (30A, 30B) and the power transmission line (20). The vehicles (40A, 40B) output to the management server (50) such information items concerning the vehicles as vehicle ID, amount of generated electric power and remaining amount of fuel. When electric power shortage occurs, the management server (50) generates a start command and a power generation command for the vehicles (40A, 40B) based on the information concerning the vehicles to output the generated commands to the vehicles (40A, 40B).