CN111602159A

CN111602159A - Server and management system

Info

Publication number: CN111602159A
Application number: CN201980008381.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 中岛芳浩; 萩谷俊市
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-20
Filing date: 2019-03-12
Publication date: 2020-08-28
Also published as: TW201941147A; JP6896937B2; JPWO2019181659A1; TWI714986B; WO2019181659A1

Abstract

A server that communicates with a plurality of management devices that manage a battery that is attachable to and detachable from an electrically-driven vehicle, wherein usage history information indicating how the battery is used in the vehicle during a period from the time of installation to the time of removal from the vehicle is written into the battery used in the vehicle, each of the plurality of management devices being disposed at a station for replacing the battery, the server comprising: a receiving unit that receives, from the management device, usage history information read out from a battery used for the vehicle in the management device; an environment acquisition unit that acquires environment information relating to an environment in which the vehicle is traveling; and a prediction unit that predicts and outputs an excess or deficiency of the battery stored in the station based on the environment information acquired by the environment acquisition unit and the usage history information received by the reception unit.

Description

Server and management system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a server and a management system.

Background

There is a conventional energy flow management system that calculates the predicted number of roaming EVs for a period of time by using a predictive EV model for calculating the predicted number of roaming EVs based on the time to be predicted and weather information (see, for example, patent document 1). The predicted EV model is generated by counting battery information of an EV that arrives at a charging dock during time, for example, for each type and capacity in historical charging data.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-197932

Disclosure of Invention

However, in the above system, the number and capacity of each type of battery required for a certain period of time in the future (for example, 9 to 10 times early on a monday) are calculated using statistical data of battery information for each type and capacity required for the same period of time in the past at a charging station, and therefore, it is impossible to predict the battery demand of the charging station based on information of each user such as how much the user of each roaming EV uses the battery and how often the battery is replaced at the charging station in what cycle.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server that communicates with a plurality of management devices that manage a battery that is detachable with respect to a vehicle that is electrically driven, the server includes a receiving unit, an environment acquisition unit, and a prediction unit, wherein use history information indicating how the battery is used in the vehicle from the time the battery is attached to the vehicle to the time the battery is detached is written in the battery used in the vehicle, each of the plurality of management devices is disposed at a station for replacing the battery, the receiving portion receives from the management device the use history information read out from the battery used for the vehicle in the management device, the environment acquisition unit acquires environment information relating to an environment in which the vehicle travels, and the prediction unit predicts and outputs an excess or a shortage of the battery reserved in the station based on the environment information acquired by the environment acquisition unit and the usage history information received by the reception unit.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management system including a plurality of management devices that manage a battery that is attachable to and detachable from a vehicle that is electrically driven, and a server that communicates with the plurality of management devices and writes, in the battery used for the vehicle, usage history information indicating how the battery is used in the vehicle from being attached to the vehicle to being detached from the vehicle, each of the plurality of management devices being disposed at a site for replacing the battery, reads the usage history information from the battery used for the vehicle and transmits the usage history information to the server, the server including a reception unit that receives the usage history information from each of the management devices, an environment acquisition unit that acquires environment information relating to an environment in which the vehicle is traveling, and a prediction unit that obtains the usage history information based on the environment information acquired by the environment acquisition unit, The use history information received by the reception unit predicts and outputs an excess or a shortage of the battery stored in the station.

Moreover, the summary of the invention does not list all the necessary features of the invention. In addition, a sub-combination of these feature groups can also be an invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric power network 10 according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle 100.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the battery 200.

Fig. 4 is an example of a table of the driving information history information stored in the driving history storage unit 213.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a table of usage history information stored in the usage history storage unit 215.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the communication terminal 70.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the station 300.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of the management apparatus 400.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of the server 500.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of the power network 12 according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer 1200 in which aspects of the invention may be embodied, in whole or in part.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments thereof, but the following embodiments are not intended to limit the invention described in the claims. In addition, the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily all necessary for the solution of the invention. In the drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof may be omitted.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric power network 10 according to a first embodiment. The power network 10 includes: a management system 20 that manages a battery 200 that is attachable to and detachable from a vehicle 100 that is electrically driven; a power company terminal 32 of a power company 30 that manages the substation device 35; and an environment information distribution device 50 that distributes environment information about the environment in which the vehicle 100 travels to the communication network 40. The power company 30, the substation device 35, and the power generation device that supplies power to the substation device 35 are collectively referred to as a power system.

Power network 10 predicts excess or deficiency of battery 200 stored at station 300 based on environmental information and usage history information indicating how battery 200 was used, and uses battery 200 to allow station 300 to function as a VPP to perform power fusion.

The management system 20 includes: a vehicle 100 for use by a user 60; a battery 200 that charges and discharges electric power with the vehicle 100 when mounted to the vehicle 100; and a station 300 that stores and charges and discharges the plurality of batteries 200. The management system 20 further includes a management device 400 that manages the battery 200, and a server 500 that communicates with the management device 400 via the communication network 40. The communication network 40 may be wired or wireless.

The management system 20 further includes a communication terminal 70 held by the user 60. The communication terminal 70 is, for example, a smartphone, and communicates with the server 500 via the communication network 40. The communication terminal 70 further communicates with the battery 200 by a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Management device 400 acquires information of vehicle 100 via battery 200 and station 300.

In the example of fig. 1, the electric power company 30 manages the areas a and B. In each of the areas a and B, the substation device 35, the station 300, and the management device 400 are arranged one by one. In each area, the power transformation device 35 supplies power to a customer including the station 300 via the grid 37, and fuses power from the customer. The substation device 35 further transmits power saving request information indicating that power saving is requested due to insufficient power to the management device 400.

Station 300 houses and charges battery 200 used for vehicle 100. Further, the station 300 lends the battery 200 to the user 60.

The management apparatus 400 is, for example, a PC, and is disposed at the site 300 or remotely manages the site 300. Specifically, management device 400 controls charging and lending of battery 200 housed in station 300, and discharging to grid 37. Further, management device 400 transmits information acquired from battery 200 via station 300 to server 500.

The server 500 receives power-saving advance notice information indicating a period during which a power-saving request is predicted in each area and insufficient power in the period from the power company terminal 32. Further, the server 500 receives the environmental information of each area from the environmental information distribution device 50 and receives the information of the battery 200 from the management device 400. Further, based on the power saving advance notice information, the environmental information, and the information of the battery 200, the server 500 predicts excess or deficiency of the battery 200 reserved in each station 300. Further, based on the output result of predicting the excess or deficiency of the battery 200, the server 500 performs processing for eliminating the excess or deficiency of the battery 200.

The information of battery 200 received by server 500 from management device 400 includes usage history information indicating how battery 200 is used in vehicle 100 during the period from when battery 200 is mounted to vehicle 100 until when it is dismounted, that is, during the period of mounting battery 200. In addition, the information of battery 200 received by server 500 from management device 400 includes a user ID for identifying the individual of user 60 of vehicle 100.

The environmental information distribution device 50 distributes the environmental information. The environmental information distribution device 50 is, for example, a WEB server in the provincial of the environment, a WEB server in the provincial of the national transportation, or the like. The environment information includes weather information on weather in each area, traffic jam information on roads in each area, construction information on roads in each area, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle 100 is a two-wheeled vehicle. Instead of or in addition to this, the vehicle 100 may also be a four-wheel automobile, an electric bicycle, or the like.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 includes a battery storage unit 101 that stores battery 200, and a storage unit 120 that includes a condition storage unit 121 and a vehicle ID storage unit 123. The battery housing 101 houses the battery 200 and is electrically connected to the battery 200.

Condition storage unit 121 stores a driving tendency determination condition for determining a driving tendency of user 60 of vehicle 100, an soc (states of charge) condition in an appropriate range of battery 200, and a temperature condition in an appropriate range of battery 200. The SOC condition in the appropriate range includes an SOC not lower than a preset appropriate lower limit. The temperature condition within the appropriate range includes not exceeding a preset appropriate upper limit temperature and not lower than a preset appropriate lower limit temperature. The vehicle ID storage portion 123 stores a vehicle ID for identifying an individual of the vehicle 100. The vehicle ID includes, for example, VIN (vehicle identification Number).

Vehicle 100 further includes charge/discharge amount measuring unit 103 and battery temperature measuring unit 107. The charge/discharge amount measuring unit 103 measures the current flowing into and out of the battery 200 and the voltage of the battery 200, integrates the current and the voltage to calculate the amount of electric power, and outputs the amount of electric power to the writing unit 125. The battery temperature measuring unit 107 measures the temperature of the battery 200 and outputs the measured temperature to the writing unit 125.

Vehicle 100 further includes a regenerative power charging unit 109 that charges regenerative power generated by vehicle 100 due to a braking operation of battery 200 to battery 200.

Vehicle 100 further includes an SOC calculation unit 105 that calculates SOC. When the voltage of battery 200 is input from charge/discharge amount measuring unit 103 and the temperature of battery 200 is input from battery temperature measuring unit 107, SOC calculating unit 105 calculates the SOC of battery 200.

More specifically, SOC calculating unit 105 reads measurement data written in battery 200 on the premise that measurement data such as an Open circuit discharge characteristic (OCV) of battery 200, a temperature characteristic, and an SOC-OCV curve of battery 200 measured in advance under a specific condition are written in battery 200 as reference. SOC calculation unit 105 uses the voltage and temperature of battery 200 input from charge/discharge amount measurement unit 103 and battery temperature measurement unit 107 and the measurement data read from battery 200 to supplement the impedance of battery 200 in a normal state by an impedance tracking method, and updates the SOC-OCV curve read from battery 200, that is, the SOC-OCV curve written in battery 200. Based on the updated SOC-OCV curve and the current voltage of battery 200 input from charge/discharge amount measurement unit 103, SOC calculation unit 105 calculates the current SOC of battery 200 and outputs the current SOC to write unit 125. SOC calculation unit 105 also determines whether or not SOC of battery 200 during a period from when battery 200 is mounted on vehicle 100 until when it is dismounted, that is, during the mounting period, is within an appropriate range by referring to condition storage unit 121, and outputs the SOC to writing unit 125.

The vehicle 100 further includes: a time and day measuring unit 112 for measuring the current time and day and outputting the measured current time and day to the writing unit 125; a position information acquisition unit 111 that acquires current position information of vehicle 100 and outputs the acquired current position information to writing unit 125; and an acceleration measuring unit 113 that measures acceleration of the vehicle 100 and outputs the measured acceleration to the writing unit 125.

The position information acquiring unit 111 acquires GPS data indicating the latitude and longitude of the position of the vehicle 100 from, for example, a GPS (global positioning system), and outputs the above-described areas including the position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the GPS data, for example, the area a, the area B, and the like, as the current position information of the vehicle 100. The position information acquiring unit 111 outputs the acquired GPS data itself as the current position information of the vehicle 100.

The time and day measuring unit 112 measures and outputs a period and a week of one driving cycle from when, for example, an ignition switch of the vehicle 100 is turned ON to when it is turned OFF.

The vehicle 100 further includes: a travel time measuring unit 115 that measures a continuous travel time per 1 driving cycle of the vehicle 100 and outputs the measured continuous travel time to the writing unit 125; and a travel distance measuring unit 117 that measures a continuous travel distance per 1 driving cycle of the vehicle 100 and outputs the measured travel distance to the writing unit 125.

The vehicle 100 further includes a driving tendency determination unit 119, and the driving tendency determination unit 119 determines the driving tendency of the user 60 of the vehicle 100 based on the information input from the writing unit 125 and the driving tendency determination condition stored in the condition storage unit 121, and outputs the driving tendency to the writing unit 125. The driving tendency determination unit 119 determines which of the acceleration-oriented type, the energy-saving-oriented type, the long-distance driving orientation, the long-time driving orientation, the short-distance driving orientation, and the short-time driving orientation is satisfied based on the driving tendency determination condition.

The writing unit 125 writes a plurality of pieces of information input from the respective components of the vehicle 100 to the battery 200 together with the vehicle ID stored in the vehicle ID storage unit 123.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the battery 200. The battery 200 is a so-called portable battery that can be carried by the user 60 in a state of being detached from the vehicle 100.

The battery 200 includes: a storage unit 210 that stores a plurality of types of information and the like input from the vehicle 100; a communication unit 230 that communicates with the communication terminal 70 held by the user 60; and a deterioration display part 240 displaying the current deterioration state of the battery 200.

The storage unit 210 includes: a use history information storage unit 211 for storing use history information of the battery 200; and a battery information storage unit 217 for storing battery information on the battery 200.

The use history information indicates how the battery 200 is used in the vehicle 100 during the installation of the battery 200 in the vehicle 100. The usage history information includes drive history information indicating a drive history of the vehicle 100 and usage history information indicating a history of usage of the battery 200. Correspondingly, the use history information storage unit 211 includes: a drive history storage unit 213 that stores drive history information; and a usage history storage unit 215 for storing usage history information.

The drive history information includes, for example, route history information indicating a history of a route traveled by the vehicle 100 during installation of the battery 200. The drive history information includes, for example, the continuous travel distance, the continuous travel time, the number of rapid accelerations and decelerations, the travel period, the travel day, the travel area, and other history information per 1 drive cycle of the vehicle 100 during the installation period of the battery 200, and also includes the accumulated travel distance, the accumulated travel time, and other history information for all the drive cycles during the installation period of the battery 200. The driving history information also includes the driving tendency.

The usage history information includes, for example, history information such as the date of installation of the battery 200, the SOC, the amount of charge, and the amount of discharge of the battery 200 during the installation period of the battery 200, the number of times the temperature of the battery 200 becomes equal to or higher than a preset appropriate upper limit temperature, and the number of times the temperature of the battery 200 becomes equal to or lower than a preset appropriate lower limit temperature. The use situation history information includes information as to whether or not the SOC of the battery 200 during the installation period of the battery 200 is within the appropriate range, which is determined and written by the vehicle 100 as described above.

The usage history information may also include the temperature history itself of the battery 200 during the installation of the battery 200. The usage history information may include not only information on the traveling time of vehicle 100 during the period in which battery 200 is mounted, but also information other than the traveling time of vehicle 100 during the period, for example, information on natural discharge of battery 200, aged deterioration, and the like. The usage history information may include information such as a degree of deterioration (SOH [ States of Health ]) indicating the degree of deterioration of the battery 200 during the installation of the battery 200, a deterioration level indicating the degree of deterioration in a stepwise manner, and a change in the deterioration level, and the information may be determined and written by the management device 400. Alternatively, the information of the degree of deterioration may be calculated by the vehicle 100 while the vehicle 100 is traveling.

Here, the degree of deterioration (SOH) of the battery 200 is represented by a capacity maintenance ratio, which is a percentage of the ratio of the capacity of the battery 200 in the current state of the battery 200 to the capacity of the battery 200 in the unused state of the battery 200. The degree of degradation (SOH) can also be defined as a value representing the ratio of the current capacity of the battery 200 to the nominal capacity in percentage.

The usage history information may include information as to whether or not the degree of degradation of the battery 200 during the period of installation of the battery 200 is within an appropriate range, and the information may be determined and written by the management device 400.

The battery information stored in the battery information storage unit 217 includes a battery ID for identifying an individual of the battery 200. The battery information also includes measurement data such as a non-load discharge characteristic (OCV) of battery 200, a temperature characteristic, and an SOC-OCV curve of battery 200 measured in advance under specific conditions. The battery information may further include a nominal capacity of the battery 200 measured under a specific condition. The battery information may also include information on the type of the battery 200, the current maximum allowable current, the maximum allowable voltage, and the maximum allowable temperature of the battery 200, and the like. Information on the current maximum allowable current, the maximum allowable voltage, the maximum allowable temperature, and the like of battery 200 are preferably measured by vehicle 100 while vehicle 100 is traveling. In addition, the information of the SOC of the battery 200 stored in the use condition history storage unit 215 and the information of the current degree of deterioration of the battery 200 are also used as the battery information.

When short-range wireless communication is established with communication terminal 70 held by user 60, communication unit 230 transmits the SOC information of battery 200 stored in battery information storage unit 217 to communication terminal 70 together with the battery ID. Further, battery 200 may communicate with either or both of management device 400 and server 500 via communication unit 230 via communication network 40.

The deterioration display unit 240 displays the current degree or level of deterioration of the battery 200 in an externally visible manner, regardless of the remaining power amount, which is the current charge amount of the battery 200. The deterioration display part 240 may have, for example, one or more LEDs, and displays the current degree or level of deterioration of the battery 200 by changing the display color, the number of lighting, and the like of the LEDs. The deterioration display unit 240 may display the current deterioration degree or deterioration level of the battery 200 by attaching a label having a different color according to the deterioration degree or deterioration level, for example.

Fig. 4 is an example of a table of the driving information history information stored in the driving history storage unit 213. In this table, "reference number", "continuous travel distance [ km ]", "continuous travel time [ h ]", "number of rapid acceleration and deceleration [ times ]", "cumulative travel distance [ km ]", "cumulative travel time [ h ]", "time zone [ hour ]", "day of the week", and "travel area" are stored in correspondence with each other. The table stores for each user ID (or for each vehicle ID), and stores for each table "driving tendency".

For example, in the row of reference numeral 1, it is stored that the continuous running distance is 3km, the continuous running time is 0.4h, the number of rapid acceleration and deceleration is 2, the cumulative running distance is 3km, the cumulative running time is 0.4h, the time zone is 8 to 9 hours, the day of the week is friday, and the running region is a. Further, based on the driving history data for 3 driving cycles of reference numerals 1 to 3, the driving tendency of the user 60 who uses the battery 200 for the vehicle 100 is determined as the short-distance driving direction and as the acceleration-oriented type, and the result is stored.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a table of usage history information stored in the usage history storage unit 215. In this table, "reference number", "SOC", "charge amount [ kWh ]", "discharge amount [ kWh ]", "battery temperature ≧ appropriate upper limit temperature [ times ]", and "battery temperature ≦ appropriate lower limit temperature [ times ]" are stored in correspondence.

For example, in the row of reference numeral 1, the SOC is stored as 98, the charge amount is 0.03kWh, the discharge amount is 0.3kWh, the number of times of reaching the battery temperature ≧ the appropriate upper limit temperature is 1, and the number of times of reaching the battery temperature ≦ the appropriate lower limit temperature is 0. Reference numerals shown at the left end of each table in fig. 4 and 5 correspond to each other. That is, the data shown by the same reference numerals are the same data in one driving cycle.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the communication terminal 70. The communication terminal 70 includes: a communication unit 71 that communicates with the server 500 and the battery 200; and a display unit 73 for displaying reward information for providing a reward to the user 60.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the station 300. The station 300 includes: a battery housing 301 that houses a plurality of batteries 200; a read/write unit 303 for reading and writing the plurality of batteries 200 housed in the battery housing unit 301; and a charging/discharging unit 305 for controlling charging/discharging of the battery 200 in accordance with an instruction from the management device 400.

The battery housing 301 sets the housed specific battery 200 in a state in which it can be lent, that is, in a state in which it can be taken out from the outside, based on an instruction from the management device 400. The battery housing 301 may be configured such that, in addition to a mode in which a specific battery 200 to be housed is removable from the outside, for example, an LED provided in a housing place of the battery 200 is turned on and off to allow the housing place to be easily recognized from the outside.

When it is detected that the battery 200 is stored in the battery storage section 301, the read/write section 303 reads information of the battery 200 and outputs the information to the management apparatus 400. Further, the reader/writer unit 303 writes information input from the management apparatus 400 to the battery 200 based on an instruction from the management apparatus 400.

The station 300 further includes: a display unit 307 for displaying information input from the management apparatus 400; and an input unit 309 that receives an input by the user 60. The display portion 307 and the input portion 309 may be an integrated touch panel. The input unit 309 may be a push button disposed independently from the display unit 307.

Display unit 307 may display, for example, a list of the degradation levels and prices of a plurality of batteries 200 to user 60 who has returned batteries 200. The display unit 307 may display an image of the battery housing unit 301, for example, and turn on or off a specific housing location in the image to visually notify the user 60 of the housing location of the battery 200 suggested or selected by the management apparatus 400.

The display unit 307 may display the bonus information itself inputted from the management apparatus 400. In this case, for example, a barcode may be displayed and read by the communication terminal 70 of the user 60 to display the bonus information on the communication terminal 70.

The input unit 309 outputs information input from the user 60 who has returned the battery 200 to the management apparatus 400. The input unit 309 may receive the loan of the specific battery 200 stored in the battery storage unit 301.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of the management apparatus 400. The management device 400 includes: a reading unit 401 that reads information on the battery 200 from the battery 200 stored in the station 300; and a storage unit 420 for storing a plurality of types of information. The reading unit 401 outputs an instruction to the station 300 to read the information of the battery 200 returned from the user 60.

The storage part 420 includes: a charge/discharge mode storage unit 423 for storing a charge/discharge mode corresponding to the battery information; and a condition storage unit 425 that stores a plurality of determination conditions.

The condition storage section 425 stores a deterioration level condition for indicating a deterioration level of the deterioration degree of the battery 200 in stages from the deterioration degree determination of the battery 200. As for the deterioration level condition, the relationship between the degree of deterioration (SOH) and the deterioration level includes, for example, the following cases: the degradation level 1 is set when the SOH is 91-100, the degradation level 2 is set when the SOH is 81-90, the degradation level 3 is set when the SOH is 71-80, the degradation level 4 is set when the SOH is 61-70, the degradation level 5 is set when the SOH is 51-60, and the degradation level is unusable when the SOH is less than or equal to 50. The management device 400 may determine that the unusable battery 200 is a collection target. The condition storage section 425 also stores the deterioration degree condition in an appropriate range of the battery 200. The deterioration degree condition in the appropriate range includes a deterioration degree of not less than an appropriate lower limit set in advance.

The storage unit 420 further includes a history storage unit 427 that stores accumulated usage history information, which is information obtained by accumulating the usage history information read by the reading unit 401 from the battery 200 returned to the station 300, in association with the battery ID of the battery 200. The history storage unit 427 may store the vehicle ID of the vehicle 100 on which the battery 200 is mounted, and the use history information during the period used for the vehicle 100 in association with the battery ID.

The storage unit 420 further includes an ID list storage unit 429 that stores a list of a plurality of IDs. The ID list storage portion 429 stores a vehicle ID list in which the vehicle IDs of the reserved batteries 200 can be lent and a user ID list of user IDs. The ID list storage unit 429 may further store a battery ID list in which the battery IDs of the reserved batteries 200 can be lent out.

The management device 400 further includes a communication unit 403 that communicates with the server 500 and the substation device 35. The management device 400 further includes: a charge/discharge instruction unit 409 that instructs the station 300 to charge/discharge the specific battery 200 stored in the station 300; and a writing unit 417 that instructs the station 300 to write information input from each component of the management apparatus 400.

When the use history information and the user ID read by the reading unit 401 from the battery 200 returned to the station 300 are input from the reading unit 401, the communication unit 403 transmits the use history information and the user ID to the server 500. When receiving the power saving request information from the substation apparatus 35, the communication unit 403 outputs the power saving request information to the charge/discharge instruction unit 409. Further, when the user 60 replaces the battery 200 at the specific site 300 in accordance with the later-described recommendation information distributed from the server 500, the communication unit 403 transmits the use history information input from the reading unit 401 and the user ID of the user 60 to the server 500, as described above.

When battery information read by the reading unit 401 from the battery 200 returned to the station 300 by the user 60 is input from the reading unit 401, the charge/discharge instructing unit 409 refers to the charge/discharge pattern storage unit 423, determines the charge/discharge pattern corresponding to the battery information, and outputs an instruction to the charge/discharge unit 305 of the station 300.

When power saving request information is not input from communication unit 403, charge/discharge instruction unit 409 instructs charge/discharge unit 305 to charge battery 200. In this case, the charge/discharge instructing unit 409 reads the battery information from each battery 200 stored in the station 300 via the reading unit 401, and specifies the charge/discharge pattern corresponding to the battery information with reference to the charge/discharge pattern storage unit 423. Charge/discharge instruction unit 409 instructs charge/discharge unit 305 to charge battery 200 from the power system in a specific charge/discharge mode.

On the other hand, when power saving request information is input from communication unit 403, charge/discharge instruction unit 409 instructs charge/discharge unit 305 to discharge from battery 200. In this case, the charge/discharge instructing unit 409 reads the battery information from each battery 200 stored in the station 300 via the reading unit 401, and specifies the charge/discharge pattern corresponding to the battery information with reference to the charge/discharge pattern storage unit 423. Charge/discharge instructing unit 409 instructs charge/discharge unit 305 to discharge battery 200 to grid 37 in a specific charge/discharge mode.

The write unit 417 outputs the following instructions: the use history information read by the reading unit 401 from the battery 200 returned to the station 300 by the user 60 and stored in the history storage unit 427 is written in the battery 200 lent to the user 60. In this case, the writing unit 417 may output an instruction to write the accumulated usage history information stored in the history storage unit 427 to the battery 200 lent by the user 60 as well.

The management device 400 further includes: a deterioration degree calculation unit 411 that calculates the degree of deterioration of the battery 200 returned to the station 300; a display determination unit 413 that determines a display pattern of the degradation level in the battery 200 based on the degradation level input from the degradation level calculation unit 411; and a price determination unit 415 for determining the price of the battery 200. The display determination unit 413 and the price determination unit 415 output the determined display style of the battery 200 and the battery price to the writing unit 417.

When the battery ID read by the reading unit 401 is input, the degradation degree calculation unit 411 extracts the accumulated usage history information stored in the history storage unit 427 using the battery ID, and calculates and outputs a degradation degree indicating the degree of degradation of the battery 200 based on the extracted accumulated usage history information. Further, calculating the degree of deterioration of the battery 200 based on the accumulated usage history information also includes calculating the degree of deterioration based on the accumulated driving history information and calculating the degree of deterioration based on the accumulated usage history information.

The deterioration degree calculation unit 411 determines the deterioration degree of the battery 200 from the calculated deterioration degree of the battery 200 by referring to the deterioration degree condition stored in the condition storage unit 425, and outputs the deterioration degree to the display determination unit 413, the price determination unit 415, and the writing unit 417. The deterioration degree calculation unit 411 also determines a change in the deterioration level of the battery 200, and outputs the result to the writing unit 417. Further, the deterioration degree calculation unit 411 determines whether or not the deterioration degree of the battery 200 during the period of mounting the battery 200 is within an appropriate range by referring to the condition storage unit 425, and outputs the result to the writing unit 417.

The management device 400 further includes a lending processing unit 407 that performs lending processing on the specific battery 200 stored in the station 300. When determining that the battery 200 can be lent, the lending processing unit 407 outputs an instruction to lend the battery 200 to the station 300.

In this case, when the vehicle ID read by the reading unit 401 matches the vehicle ID included in the vehicle ID list stored in the ID list storage unit 429, the lending processing unit 407 determines that the battery 200 stored in the station 300 can be lent. In addition to or instead of this, the lending processing unit 407 may determine that the battery 200 can be lended when the user ID read by the reading unit 401 matches the user ID included in the user ID list stored in the ID list storage unit 429. Alternatively or additionally, the lending processing unit 407 may determine that the battery 200 can be lended when the battery ID read by the reading unit 401 matches the battery ID included in the battery ID list stored in the ID list storage unit 429.

The lending processing unit 407 generally lends the charged battery 200. However, when the prediction unit 503 of the server 500 predicts the excess or shortage of the battery 200 at the station 300, the battery 200 of the corresponding charged amount may be lent.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of the server 500. The server 500 includes: a communication unit 501 that communicates with the power company terminal 32, the communication terminal 70, the management apparatus 400, and the environmental information distribution apparatus 50; and a prediction unit 503 that predicts excess or deficiency of the battery 200 stored in the station 300 based on the information input from the communication unit 501. The communication unit 501 is an example of a reception unit and an environment acquisition unit.

The server 500 further includes: a recommendation unit 505 that transmits recommendation information recommending replacement of the battery 200 at the specific site 300 from the communication unit 501 to the communication terminal 70 in order to eliminate the excess or deficiency predicted by the prediction unit 503; and a reward unit 507 for transmitting reward information for providing a reward to the user 60 from the communication unit 501 to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60, for the user who has replaced the battery 200 at the specific site 300 according to the recommendation transmitted by the recommendation unit 505.

The server 500 further includes a storage unit 510, and the storage unit 510 includes a reward information storage unit 511, a management device information storage unit 513, and a cumulative use history information storage unit 515. The bonus information storage unit 511 stores bonus information, and the management device information storage unit 513 stores information about the plurality of management devices 400, for example, IP addresses, address information, and the like of the respective management devices 400. In addition, the cumulative use history information storage unit 515 stores cumulative use history information. The accumulated usage history information includes information in which usage history information is accumulated in association with a user ID.

Upon receiving the power saving advance notice information for each area from the power company terminal 32, the communication unit 501 outputs the information to the prediction unit 503. Further, when receiving the use history information and the user ID read out from battery 200 used in vehicle 100 by management device 400 from management device 400, communication unit 501 outputs the use history information and the user ID to bonus unit 507 and prediction unit 503. When the communication unit 501 further receives the environmental information of each area from the environmental information distribution device 50, it outputs the environmental information to the prediction unit 503.

When the power saving advance notice information is input from the communication unit 501, the prediction unit 503 predicts the electric power that can be fused from each station 300 to the substation device 35 in the period predicted as the power saving request in each area indicated by the power saving advance notice information, based on the environment information and the usage history information of each area input from the communication unit 501. The prediction unit 503 further compares the predicted amount of power that can be fused with the amount of fused power at a ratio set in advance with respect to the insufficient power in the above-described period indicated by the power saving advance notice information, and determines whether the amount is large or small. The prediction unit 503 thus predicts the excess or deficiency of the battery 200 in each station 300.

When the prediction result of the excess or deficiency of the battery 200 is input from the prediction unit 503, the recommendation unit 505 transmits recommendation information to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60 corresponding to the user ID stored in the cumulative use history information storage unit 515 in order to eliminate the excess or deficiency of the battery 200 of each station 300, and prompts the user 60 to perform a specific action.

For example, the recommendation information is "the battery 200 is replaced at the station 300 predicted to be insufficient of the battery 200 by a predetermined amount of time from the period, for example, by 2 hours in advance" in order to ensure the predetermined amount of power to be supplied in the period predicted to be the power saving request. Instead of or in addition to this, the recommendation information may be "the battery 200 is not replaced in the period of 2 hours before and after the period including the above period in the station 300 predicted to be insufficient for the battery 200", "the charged battery 200 is returned before the above period in the station 300 predicted to be insufficient for the battery 200", or "the battery 200 is replaced in the station 300 predicted to be excessive for the station 300 not predicted to be insufficient for the battery 200".

When the usage history information and the user ID are input from the communication unit 501, the rewarding unit 507 refers to the cumulative usage history information storage unit 515 to determine whether or not the user ID of the user 60 to which the recommendation information has been transmitted by the recommendation unit 505 matches the user ID input from the communication unit 501. If they match, the bonus information storage unit 511 is referred to, and the bonus information is transmitted from the communication unit 501 to the communication terminal 70 corresponding to the matched user ID.

The prediction method performed by the prediction unit 503 of the server 500 will be described with reference to a specific example. This prediction method is set based on past actual results, simulation, or learning by AI. The prediction method is stored in the prediction unit 503 as an equation, a part of software, or the like.

In this prediction method, for example, the environmental information and the usage history information are divided into a case where the number of batteries 200 to be replaced in the corresponding station 300 is increased and a case where the number is decreased. In this case, the ratio of the number of replaced batteries 200 is used for prediction.

For example, in the case where weather information as an example of environmental information shows rain, snow, sleet, hail, or the like in a specific area, the number of batteries 200 to be replaced at a station 300 in the area is predicted to be smaller by a certain ratio in the prediction method than in the case of sunny or cloudy days. It is also possible to predict the number of replaced batteries 200 much more in the case where the vehicle 100 is a four-wheeled automobile, in the case where it is shown as raining or the like, than in the case of sunny or the like.

In addition, when the congestion information indicates that congestion occurs on a road included in a specific area, the prediction method predicts that the number of the batteries 200 to be replaced at the station 300 in the area is small. In addition, when the construction information indicates that the road in a specific area is no longer allowed to pass through due to the construction, the prediction method predicts that the number of the batteries 200 to be replaced at the station 300 in the area is small. On the other hand, the number of batteries 200 to be replaced at the station 300 including the region of the detour of the no-entry road is much predicted.

Further, using this prediction method, the remaining charge amount of the battery 200 returned to the station 300 at a specific time period is predicted based on, for example, the charge amount and the discharge amount as an example of the usage history information. Further, based on the charge remaining amount and the deterioration level of another example as the use history information, the amount of electric power that can be fused from the battery 200 housed in the station 300 to the electric power system in a specific period is predicted.

In this case, the higher the degradation level, that is, the more severe the degradation, the longer the life of the battery can be achieved by setting the energization power to be low. For example, the deterioration level 1 is set to 6kW for a new product, 5kW for a deterioration level 2, 4kW for a deterioration level 3, 3kW for a deterioration level 4, and 2kW for a deterioration level 5.

For the explanation of a more specific example, the following situation is assumed in fig. 1. In the area a and the area B, stations a and B having the same number of battery storages are provided. In addition, the following is shown by the power saving request advance notice information of each area: a power shortage of 3000kW is estimated in the period from 14 hours to 16 hours in the region a, and a power shortage of 1000kW is estimated in the periods from 8 hours to 9 hours and from 17 hours to 18 hours in the region B.

In addition, in both of the station a and the station B, it is preset that power fusion is performed on 1% of the insufficient power amount in each time period, that is, it is determined that the station a performs power fusion of 30kW during the period from 14 hours to 16 hours, and the station B performs power fusion of 10kW during the periods from 8 hours to 9 hours and from 17 hours to 18 hours.

In the above situation, it is assumed that the daytime changes from cloudy throughout the day in the area a and snows in the morning in the area B, based on the weather information. Further, based on the usage history information, there is a history that the tomorrow is a weekday, all the batteries are lent during the period from 14 hours to 16 hours at the site a, and 4 batteries remain during the periods from 8 hours to 9 hours and from 17 hours to 18 hours at the site B.

The prediction unit 503 predicts, for example, that the battery borrowing amount is the same as the normal battery borrowing amount at the station a in the area a, but the battery borrowing amount is smaller than the normal battery borrowing amount, for example, 8 degrees or so, at the station B in the area B, based on the weather information. Further, the prediction unit 503 also refers to the usage history information, and predicts that all the batteries are lent during the period from 14 hours to 16 hours at site a on the next day, and 5 batteries remain during the periods from 8 hours to 9 hours and from 17 hours to 18 hours at site B.

Further, the prediction unit 503 predicts that the number of batteries at the station a is 0, and therefore, the power that can be fused in the period from 14 hours to 16 hours is 0 kW. On the other hand, the prediction unit 503 predicts that the power that can be passed through is 15kW based on the remaining amount of charge and the degradation level included in the use history information of the 5 batteries remaining during the periods from 8 hours to 9 hours and from 17 hours to 18 hours at station B. The prediction unit 503 further predicts that the period from 14 hours to 16 hours at site a is less than 30kW and the period from 8 hours to 9 hours and 17 hours to 18 hours at site B is more than 5kW by comparing the power requested to be fused with the power that can be fused.

As described above, the excess or deficiency of the batteries 200 predicted by the prediction unit 503 includes the number of the batteries 200 stored in the station 300, the amount of electric power that can be fused from the plurality of batteries 200 stored in the station 300 to the electric power system, the amount of electric power that can be stored in the electric power system, and the like.

Based on the prediction result, the recommendation unit 505 refers to the usage history information, and extracts a plurality of, for example, 5 users 60 having the following history: battery 200 of degradation level 1 is borrowed at station a without using vehicle 100 during the daytime of weekday. Furthermore, the recommendation unit 505 transmits recommendation information that recommends returning the battery 200 to the site a before 12 hours to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60.

Instead of this, the recommendation unit 505 may extract 6 users 60 who have a history of borrowing the battery 200 with the degradation level 2 and having been charged up to the station a on the morning of the weekday, for example, and transmit recommendation information that "borrowing the battery 200 with the high degradation level according to the borrowing of the battery 200 to the station a in the normal day if the day is scheduled," borrowing to the station B "is recommended. In this case, the recommendation unit 505 may refer to the usage history information, and transmit the latter recommendation information to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60 who utilizes the history of the site B, for example.

The recommendation unit 505 may include a recommendation level corresponding to a degree to which the excess or deficiency of the battery 200 can be eliminated in the recommendation information. An example of such recommendation information is "a person who has a sufficient current charge amount of a battery mounted on a vehicle and has a time on the next day requests to return the battery to the station a before 14 th of the next day. The bonus level is S. "a person who intends to borrow a charged battery in site a during the period from 12 hours to 18 hours of the next day please proceed at site B instead of site a. The bonus level is a. "a person who intends to borrow a charged battery in the site a before 14 th of the next day requests to borrow a battery with a degradation level of 5 or more. The bonus level is B. ". The bonus level is reflected in the degree of, for example, discount of the battery loan fee, assignment of points that can be utilized in payment of the battery loan fee, assignment of the item redemption ticket in the cooperative shop, and the like. Further, the user 60 may be able to confirm the deterioration level of the currently borrowed battery 200, for example, by the deterioration display unit 240 of the battery 200.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment. When the battery 200 is mounted on the vehicle 100, the vehicle 100 writes the use history information and the user ID in advance to the battery 200 (step S101). When the battery 200 is returned to the station 300, the management device 400 reads out the use history information and the user ID written in the battery 200 via the station 300 (step S103).

The management device 400 transmits the read-out usage history information and user ID to the server 500 (step S105), and the server 500 stores the received usage history information and user ID in association with each other (step S107). By repeating steps S101 to S107, the server 500 cumulatively stores the use history information together with the user ID.

When power-saving request advance notice information in the area including the station 300 is received from the power company terminal 32 (step S109), the server 500 acquires environment information distributed to the communication network 40 by the environment information distribution device 50 (step S111), and predicts excess or deficiency of the battery 200 stored in the station 300 in the period indicated by the power-saving request advance notice information based on the use history information and the environment information stored in the accumulated manner (step S113).

The server 500 transmits recommendation information to the communication terminal 70 of the specific user 60 based on the result of the prediction of excess or deficiency (step S115). The user 60 who has learned the recommendation information via the communication terminal 70 returns the battery 200 to the above-described site 300 or other sites 300 in the above-described period or before and after the period according to the recommendation shown in the recommendation information. In this case, as in steps S101 to 105, when vehicle 100 is mounted on user 60, vehicle 100 writes the use history information and the user ID into battery 200 (step S117). When the battery 200 is returned to the station 300, the management device 400 reads the use history information and the user ID written in the battery 200 via the station 300 (step S119), and transmits the read use history information and the user ID to the server 500 (step S121).

The server 500 stores the received usage history information and the user ID, and determines whether or not the user ID matches the user ID of the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information, in other words, whether or not the battery return is performed by the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information (step S123). If the battery is returned by the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information (yes in step S123), the award information is transmitted to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60 (step S125), and if the battery is returned by the user 60 who has not transmitted the recommendation information (no in step S123), the award information is not transmitted to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60.

If it is determined that the power substation apparatus 35 is in the insufficient power state in its own area, the power substation apparatus transmits power saving request information to the management apparatus 400 (step S127). Upon receiving the power saving request information from the substation device 35, the management device 400 discharges the charged battery 200 stored in the station 300 to thereby blend the power into the substation device 35 (step S129).

When determining that the power integration is received from the site 300 in response to the distribution power saving request information, the power converter 35 provides a reward corresponding to the amount of power integrated to the server 500 (step S131). As described above, the flow of fig. 10 is repeatedly executed while each device such as server 500 operates.

In addition, in steps S101 to S107, the receiving user ID is also transmitted together with the use history information, but the receiving user ID may not be transmitted instead. In this case, in step S113, the server 500 statistically predicts the excess or shortage of the battery 200.

In the above embodiment, when the prediction unit 503 predicts an excess or deficiency in the number of batteries 200 in the station 300, an instruction to eliminate the excess or deficiency may be transmitted to a terminal of a management company of the management system 20 instead of transmitting the recommendation information. For example, the following instructions may be transmitted from the communication unit 501 to the terminal of the management company: at present time 9, at least one empty battery 200 was previously transported from station 300 in area a to station 300 in area B. Similarly, the prediction unit 503 may transmit the following instruction from the communication unit 501 to the terminal of the management company: at least two charged batteries 200 may be transported from station 300 in area B to station 300 in area a before 14 days so that at least two extra charged batteries 200 can be prepared in station 300 in area a before 14 days, or the following instructions may be transmitted from communication unit 501 to the terminal of the management company: at least two empty or insufficiently charged batteries 200 are transported from station 300 in area B to station 300 in area a by 12 today, with an estimated 2-hour charging time.

In the above embodiment, the server 500 receives the power-saving request advance notice information from the power company terminal 32, but instead of this, the server 500 itself may calculate the supply-demand balance of the power system and generate the power-saving request advance notice information. In this case, the server 500 may also calculate the supply and demand balance of the power system using the environmental information and the usage history information in the plurality of sites 300.

In this case, instead of or in addition to the power saving request advance notice information, the server 500 may predict a period in which the power system becomes an over-supply, and predict an excess or deficiency of the battery 200 in order to charge the battery 200 with the excess supply amount. This prediction is more effective when a power generation device capable of generating power from renewable energy such as solar energy is incorporated into the power system.

In the above embodiment, the prediction section 503 predicts the excess or shortage of the battery 200 in the period indicated by the power saving request advance notice information, but may predict the excess or shortage of the battery 200 in an arbitrary period instead thereof.

In the above embodiment, when the prediction unit 503 determines that the estimated amount of the power that can be fused with respect to the specific station 300 is less than the fusing power amount at the preset ratio, the recommendation unit 505 prompts the user 60 to act. Instead of or in addition to this, the prediction unit 503 may output an instruction to the management apparatus 400. For example, in order to secure the amount of the fusing power at a predetermined rate as much as possible, an instruction to suspend or limit or increase the loan fee of the battery 200 in the station 300 from before the period to at least the end of the period may be transmitted from the communication unit 501 to the management device 400 controlling the station 300 with reference to the management device information storage unit 513. When the prediction unit 503 determines that the amount of the power that can be fused predicted with respect to the specific station 300 is larger than the amount of the fusing power at the preset ratio, for example, the following instruction may be transmitted from the communication unit 501 to the specific management apparatus 400 with reference to the management apparatus information storage unit 513: during the above-described period, the remaining power is fused from the station 300 to the power transformation device 35.

In the above-described embodiment, SOC calculation unit 105 updates the SOC-OCV curve read from battery 200, and calculates the current SOC of battery 200 based on the updated SOC-OCV curve and the current voltage of battery 200 input from charge/discharge amount measurement unit 103, but instead, SOC calculation unit 105 may read the nominal capacity of battery 200 measured under a specific condition from battery 200, measure the current discharge capacity of battery 200 under the same specific condition, and calculate the SOC as the ratio of the current discharge capacity to the nominal capacity. Alternatively, SOC calculation unit 105 may read an SOC-OCV curve of battery 200 measured in advance under a specific condition from battery 200, measure the current voltage of battery 200 under the same specific condition, and compare the measured voltage with the SOC-OCV curve to roughly measure the SOC.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since server 500 predicts the excess or deficiency of battery 200 in each station 300 based on the environment information of each station 300 and the use history information of battery 200, it is possible to efficiently use a plurality of batteries 200. In particular, since electric power is fused between each station 300 and the electric power system based on the excess or deficiency, each station 300 can be made to function as a VPP in the electric power network 10.

In particular, since battery 200 is a mobile battery that is replaceable at station 300, vehicle 100 does not need to stand by at station 300 when power is supplied, and can be moved from station 300 after battery 200 is replaced. Therefore, further utilization of the battery 200 can be promoted. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is a motorcycle, the motorcycle is smaller than other vehicle specifications and the size of the battery 200 required for driving is also small, so the user 60 can easily replace the battery 200. Therefore, the user 60 can be prompted to replace the battery 200 in the utility 300, and the management system 20 of the present embodiment is suitable.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of the power network 12 according to the second embodiment, and fig. 12 is a flowchart according to the second embodiment. The power network 12 predicts an excess or deficiency due to replacement of the battery 200 at each station 300, and mutually integrates the battery 200 among the plurality of stations 300.

In fig. 11 and 12, the same components as those in fig. 1 to 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. Since the regions a and B perform the same operation unless otherwise specified, only the operation in the region a will be described, and the description in the region B will be omitted. Further, steps S201 to S207 of fig. 12 are the same as steps S101 to S107 of fig. 10, and therefore, the description is omitted. In the present embodiment, the server 500 cumulatively stores the use history information together with the user ID for each of the management apparatus a and the site a, and for each of the management apparatus B and the site B in the area a and the area B.

When a predetermined time such as late night 0 of each day has elapsed, the server 500 acquires the environmental information distributed to the communication network 40 by the environmental information distribution device 50 (step S211), and predicts the excess or shortage of the battery 200 reserved at the site a and the excess or shortage of the battery 200 reserved at the site B in an arbitrary time period of the day based on the use history information and the environmental information stored in an accumulated manner (step S213).

The server 500 transmits recommendation information to the communication terminal 70 of the specific user 60 based on the result of the prediction of excess or deficiency (step S215). The content of the recommendation information is, for example, to prompt the station 300 that is short compared to the battery 200 to be replaced in the station 300 that is redundant in the battery 200. Specifically, a person who intends to borrow a charged battery at site B during the period from 12 hours to 18 hours on the day should go to site a instead of site B. The bonus level is a. "such a message.

When the user 60 returns the battery 200 according to the recommendation indicated in the recommendation information, the use history information and the user ID are written from the vehicle 100 to the battery 200 of the vehicle 100 attached to the user 60 in the same manner as in steps S201 to 205 (step S217). When the battery 200 is returned to the station 300, the management device 400 reads the use history information and the user ID written in the battery 200 via the station 300 (step S219), and transmits the read use history information and the user ID to the server 500 (step S221).

The server 500 stores the received usage history information and the user ID, and determines whether or not the user ID matches the user ID of the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information, in other words, whether or not the battery return is performed for the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information (step S223). If the user 60 who has transmitted the recommendation information returns the battery (yes in step S223), the reward information is transmitted to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60 (step S225), the reward information is displayed on the display unit 73 of the communication terminal 70, and the flow ends. If the battery return by the user 60 who has not transmitted the recommendation information is not performed (no in step S223), the bonus information is not transmitted to the communication terminal 70 of the user 60, and the flow ends.

Further, although the user ID may be used together with the movement of the use history information in steps S201 to 207 and the server 500 may predict the excess or shortage of the battery using the action history of the 60 users in step S213, the server 500 may statistically predict the excess or shortage of the battery in step S213 without coordinating the user ID in steps S201 to 207.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since server 500 predicts the excess or deficiency of battery 200 in each station 300 based on the environment information of each station 300 and the use history information of battery 200, it is possible to efficiently use a plurality of batteries 200. In particular, since the batteries 200 are fused between the plurality of stations 300 based on the excess or shortage, the plurality of batteries 200 can be efficiently used as the whole of the power network 10.

In any of the above embodiments, the station 300 may be provided with a power generation device that generates power from renewable energy such as solar energy. In this case, the server 500 may predict the excess or deficiency of the battery 200 to be supplied with power from the power generation devices provided at the station 300. Thus, in the case where it is predicted that the amount of power chargeable in the battery 200 is exceeded due to the supply surplus in a certain period, recommendation may be made in the following manner: the battery 200 that was not charged before the time period, or the remaining amount of charge was low, is returned to the station 300.

In any of the above embodiments, the battery 200 may be any type of chargeable and dischargeable battery such as an all-solid-state battery or a lithium ion battery. Further, in any of the above embodiments, emergency batteries may be provided as a backup in the station 300. The emergency battery may be, for example, an old battery that has a high degree of deterioration and cannot be used as a lending battery.

In any of the above embodiments, the communication unit 501 of the server 500 may additionally receive the remaining amount information indicating the current remaining amount of power of the battery 200 used in the vehicle 100 from the communication terminal 70 via the communication network 40 together with the user ID. In this case, the recommendation unit 505 may transmit recommendation information to the communication terminal 70 of the specific user 60 based on the current remaining power amount indicated by the remaining amount information input from the communication unit 501. For example, the recommendation unit 505 may transmit recommendation information to a specific communication terminal 70 when it is determined that the current remaining power amount of the battery 200 received from the communication terminal 70 is smaller than a preset power amount.

In any of the above embodiments, vehicle 100 may communicate with either one or both of management device 400 and server 500 via communication network 40.

In any of the embodiments described above, the battery housing 301 of the station 300 may have the following configuration: the battery 200 is held in a movable state inside, and the battery 200 is discharged from the outlet based on an external input.

Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flow diagrams and block diagrams, where a block may represent (1) a stage in a process of performing an operation or (2) a portion of an apparatus having a role of performing an operation. Certain stages and portions may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided in conjunction with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and/or a processor provided in conjunction with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. The dedicated circuitry may comprise digital and/or analog hardware circuitry, and may comprise Integrated Circuits (ICs) and/or discrete circuitry. The programmable circuit may also comprise a reconfigurable hardware circuit comprising memory elements such as logic AND, logic OR, logic XOR, logic NAND, logic NOR, AND other logic operations, flip-flops, registers, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Arrays (PLAs), AND the like.

A computer-readable medium may comprise any tangible apparatus capable of storing instructions for execution by a suitable apparatus and, as a result, a computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions including an article of manufacture including instructions executable to implement a scheme for performing an operation specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks. As examples of the computer readable medium, an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, a semiconductor storage medium, and the like may be included. As more specific examples of the computer-readable medium, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a blu-Ray (RTM) disc, a memory stick, an integrated circuit card, and the like may be included.

Computer readable instructions may comprise assembly instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or any of source code or object code in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, JAVA (registered trademark), C + +, or the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.

The computer readable instructions may be provided locally or via a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the internet, etc., for the processor or programmable circuitry of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to execute a scheme for performing the operations specified in the flowchart or block diagram. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, and the like.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a computer 1200 in which aspects of the invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. The program installed in the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to function as, execute, or execute an operation associated with or one or more "sections" of an apparatus described in an embodiment of the present invention, and/or can cause the computer 1200 to execute a process or stages of a process described in an embodiment of the present invention. Such a program may be executed by the CPU1212 in order to cause the computer 1200 to perform certain operations associated with several or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described in this specification.

The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU1212, a RAM1214, a graphics controller 1216, and a display device 1218, which are connected to each other through a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 further includes input/output units such as a communication interface 1222, a hard disk drive 1224, a DVD-ROM drive 1226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via the input/output controller 1220. The computer also includes conventional input and output units such as a ROM1230 and a keyboard 1242, which are connected to the input and output controller 1220 via an input and output chip 1240.

The CPU1212 operates in accordance with programs stored in the ROM1230 and the RAM1214, thereby controlling the respective components. The graphics controller 1216 obtains image data generated by the CPU1212 in a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM1214 or the graphics controller 1216 itself, and displays the image data on the display device 1218.

The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 1224 stores programs and data used by the CPU1212 in the computer 1200. The DVD-ROM drive 1226 reads the program or data from the DVD-ROM1201, and supplies the program or data to the hard disk drive 1224 via the RAM 1214. The IC card driver reads and/or writes a program and data from/to the IC card.

The ROM1230 internally stores a boot program or the like executed by the computer 1200 at the time of activation and/or a program depending on the hardware of the computer 1200. The input/output chip 1240 may also connect various input/output units to the input/output controller 1220 via parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, and the like.

The program is provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM1201 or an IC card. The program is read from the computer-readable storage medium and installed to the hard disk drive 1224, the RAM1214, or the ROM1230, which are also examples of the computer-readable storage medium, for execution by the CPU 1212. The information processing described in these programs is read into the computer 1200, and the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above are coordinated. The operation or processing of information is realized by the use of the computer 1200, and thus an apparatus or a method can be constituted.

For example, when communication is performed between the computer 1200 and an external device, the CPU1212 may execute a communication program loaded into the RAM1214 and instruct communication processing to the communication interface 1222 based on processing described in the communication program. The communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in a storage medium such as the RAM1214, the hard disk drive 1224, the DVD-ROM1201, or the IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to a network, or writes reception data received from the network into a reception buffer area provided in the storage medium, or the like, under the control of the CPU 1212.

The CPU1212 may read all or a necessary portion of a file or a database stored in an external storage medium such as the hard disk drive 1224, the DVD-ROM drive 1226(DVD-ROM1201), or an IC card to the RAM1214, and execute various types of processing on data on the RAM 1214. The CPU1212 may then write the processed data back to the external storage medium.

Various types of information such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases can be stored to the storage medium for information processing. The CPU1212 can execute various types of processing including various types of operations, information processing, condition judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, retrieval/replacement of information, and the like, which are described throughout the present disclosure and specified by an instruction sequence of a program, with respect to data read out from the RAM1214, and write the result back to the RAM 1214. In addition, the CPU1212 may retrieve information in files, databases, etc., within the storage medium. For example, when a plurality of entries having attribute values of a first attribute associated with attribute values of a second attribute are stored in the storage medium, the CPU1212 may retrieve entries matching the condition for specifying the attribute value of the first attribute from the plurality of entries, and may read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, thereby acquiring the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute satisfying the predetermined condition.

The above described programs or software modules may be stored on the computer 1200 or on a computer readable storage medium near the computer 1200. In addition, a storage medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the internet can be used as the computer-readable storage medium, whereby the program is supplied to the computer 1200 via the network.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above-described embodiments. In addition, the matters described with respect to the specific embodiment can be applied to other embodiments within a range not technically contradictory. Each component may have the same features as other components having the same names but different reference numerals. The embodiments in which such changes or improvements are made are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, as is apparent from the description of the claims.

It should be noted that the execution order of the respective processes such as the operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, the description, and the drawings can be realized in any order unless it is specifically explicitly indicated as "before", or the like, and the output of the previous process is not used in the subsequent process. In the operation flows in the claims, the specification, and the drawings, even if "first", "next", and the like are used for convenience of description, the description does not mean that the operations are necessarily performed in this order.

Description of the reference numerals

10. 12: an electrical power network; 20: a management system; 30: an electric power company; 32: a power company terminal; 35: a power transformation device; 37: a power grid; 40: a communication network; 50: an environmental information distribution device; 60: a user; 70: a communication terminal; 71: a communication unit; 73: a display unit; 100: a vehicle; 101: a battery housing portion; 103: a charge/discharge amount measuring unit; 105: an SOC calculation unit; 107: a battery temperature measuring unit; 109: a regenerative power charging unit; 111: a position information acquisition unit; 112: a time and day measuring part; 113: an acceleration measuring unit; 115: a travel time measuring unit; 117: a travel distance measuring unit; 119: a driving tendency determination unit; 120: a storage section; 121: a condition storage unit; 123: a vehicle ID storage unit; 200: a battery; 210: a storage section; 211: a usage history information storage unit; 213: a drive history storage unit; 215: a usage history storage unit; 217: a battery information storage unit; 230: a communication unit; 240: a deterioration display unit; 300: a station; 301: a battery housing portion; 303: a read/write section; 305: a charge and discharge portion; 307: a display unit; 309: an input section; 400: a management device; 401: a reading unit; 403: a communication unit; 407: a lending processing unit; 409: a charge/discharge indicator; 411: a deterioration degree calculation unit; 413: a display determination unit; 415: a price judging section; 417: a writing section; 420: a storage section; 423: a charge/discharge mode storage unit; 425: a condition storage unit; 427: a history storage unit; 429: an ID list storage unit; 500: a server; 501: a communication unit; 503: a prediction unit; 505: a recommendation unit; 507: a reward section; 510: a storage section; 511: a reward information storage section; 513: a management device information storage unit; 515: a cumulative use history information storage unit; 1200: a computer; 1201: a DVD-ROM; 1210: a host controller; 1212: a CPU; 1214: a RAM; 1216: a graphics controller; 1218: a display device; 1220: an input-output controller; 1222: a communication interface; 1224: a hard disk drive; 1226: a DVD-ROM drive; 1230: a ROM; 1240: an input-output chip; 1242: a keyboard.

Claims

1. A server that communicates with a plurality of management devices that manage a battery that is detachable with respect to a vehicle that is electrically driven, wherein,

in the battery used for the vehicle, usage history information indicating how the battery is used in the vehicle from being mounted to the vehicle until being dismounted, each of the plurality of management devices being disposed at a station for replacing the battery,

the server is provided with:

a receiving portion that receives, from the management device, the usage history information read out in the management device from a battery used for the vehicle;

an environment acquisition unit that acquires environment information relating to an environment in which the vehicle travels; and

and a prediction unit that predicts and outputs an excess or a deficiency of the battery reserved in the station based on the environment information acquired by the environment acquisition unit and the usage history information received by the reception unit.

2. The server according to claim 1,

the environmental information includes weather information related to weather.

3. The server according to claim 1 or 2,

the usage history information contains path history information indicating a history of a path that the vehicle traveled until the battery used for the vehicle was attached to the vehicle and detached.

4. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

a user ID for identifying an individual of a user of the vehicle is written in a battery used for the vehicle,

the receiving portion receives the user ID read out from a battery used for the vehicle in the management device from the management device,

the server further includes a recommendation unit configured to transmit recommendation information, which is recommended to the user corresponding to the user ID received by the reception unit to replace the battery at a specific site, to a communication terminal owned by the user, in order to eliminate the surplus or the shortage predicted by the prediction unit.

5. The server according to claim 4,

the vehicle management system further includes a reward section that transmits reward information for providing a reward to a user who has replaced a battery used for the vehicle at the specific site in accordance with the recommendation made by the recommendation section, to the communication terminal of the user corresponding to the recommendation.

6. The server according to claim 4 or 5,

the prediction portion predicts a remaining amount of electric power of the battery used for the vehicle based on the use history information received by the reception portion,

the recommendation unit outputs the recommendation information based on the power remaining amount of the battery predicted by the prediction unit.

7. The server according to any one of claims 4 to 6,

the receiving portion receives, from the communication terminal, remaining amount information indicating a current remaining amount of power of the battery used for the vehicle read by the communication terminal,

the recommendation portion outputs the recommendation information based on a current remaining amount of power of a battery used for the vehicle, which is shown by the remaining amount information received by the receiving portion.

8. A management system is provided with:

a plurality of management devices that manage a battery that is attachable to and detachable from a vehicle that is electrically driven; and

a server in communication with the plurality of management devices,

use history information indicating how the battery is used in the vehicle until being detached after being mounted to the vehicle is written in the battery used in the vehicle,

each of the plurality of management devices is disposed at a station for replacing the battery, reads out the usage history information from the battery used for the vehicle and transmits it to the server,

the server has:

a receiving unit that receives the usage history information from each of the plurality of management apparatuses;