JP2002291110A - Method of collecting rental of battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of collecting rental of a battery, which makes it possible to rent the battery reasonably. SOLUTION: This method of renting a chargeable/dischargeable battery 100 and collecting its rental is configured to measure data of use with regard to the charging and discharging of the battery by a user 1 and to calculate the rental in accordance with the data of the use. The battery is provided with a measuring device 110 that measures the data of the use, and a terminal 120 that transmits the data through a communication line 5 by radio waves. The rental collecting side 2 of the battery confirms the data of the use via the communication line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of renting a chargeable / dischargeable battery and collecting the rental fee.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, there are known pure electric vehicles which emit no nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, and hybrid electric vehicles which emit less of these than gasoline vehicles. The spread of such electric vehicles is considered to be an important issue as part of environmental measures.

[0003]

By the way, the above-mentioned electric vehicle is effective in environmental measures, but has a problem that the cost of the battery is very high. In other words, the price of electric vehicles reflects the cost of batteries, and gasoline vehicles are currently inferior in price competitiveness.
This is one of the factors that hinder the spread of electric vehicles.

[0004] In particular, electric vehicles also have the advantage that they are more energy efficient and can have lower running costs than ordinary gasoline vehicles, and the desire of the purchaser is, ultimately, a reduction in price at the time of purchase.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to rent a battery rationally.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of renting a chargeable / dischargeable battery and collecting a charge for the chargeable battery. This is a battery rental fee collection method in which usage data is measured and a rental fee is calculated according to the usage data. With such a configuration, the battery can be rented reasonably.

In other words, according to renting a battery, when purchasing a device using the battery,
A price reduction corresponding to the cost of the battery is achieved, and the burden on the purchaser can be reduced.

Further, if the rental fee is calculated according to the usage data, an appropriate price is obtained according to the degree of use of the battery, which is extremely reasonable. The cost of the battery is
Such rental fees are depreciated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the battery is a method for collecting a rental fee of a battery having a measuring device for measuring the usage data. Then, the usage data can be measured efficiently.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the measuring device comprises: a current sensor for detecting a charging current or an output current of the battery; an AMP for amplifying the detected current value; This is a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery having a converter that converts a current value into digital data and a CPU that processes the digital data. According to such a configuration, it is possible to accurately obtain usage data. is there.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the battery includes a terminal for transmitting the use data to a communication line by radio waves,
The battery rental fee collection side is a battery rental fee collection method configured to check the usage data via the communication line. According to such a configuration, the rental fee collection side can easily collect the usage data. It is possible to confirm.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery rental fee collecting method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the battery rental fee is deducted from an account of a borrower of the battery. According to such a configuration, rental fees can be collected efficiently.

[0013] The invention described in claim 6 of the present application is the method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the device using the battery is an electric vehicle. That is, the present invention is a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery in which a battery is efficiently rented, and can be suitably used for a battery of an electric vehicle.

In particular, the electric vehicle is effective in environmental measures, but has a problem that the cost of the battery is very high, which is one of the factors that hinder the spread of the electric vehicle. In this regard, the method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to the present invention achieves a reduction in price at the time of purchase of an electric vehicle and contributes to its spread.

[0015] The sum of the power charge for charging the battery and the rental charge for the battery is common to the gasoline consumption price of a gasoline-powered car in that it increases with traveling. Since electric vehicles have relatively high energy efficiency, it is considered that the electric power rate and the rental rate can sufficiently compete with the gasoline consumption price from the viewpoint of price competition.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, this example is a method of renting a chargeable / dischargeable battery 100 and collecting the rental fee.
Rents a battery 100 to a purchaser 1 who has purchased an electric vehicle 200 from a car dealer 3, and the rental fee for the battery 100 is determined by the purchaser 1 of the vehicle 200 (that is, Battery 10
0 borrower) to measure usage data for charging,
It is configured to be added according to the usage data.
The battery 100 rents a new battery manufactured for the electric vehicle 200.

The electric vehicle 200 is a four-wheeled or two-wheeled vehicle that runs on the power of the battery 100. Alternatively, it may be different from a general vehicle, such as a golf cart or an electric wheelchair.

Since the battery 100 requires a certain amount of time for charging, a plurality of batteries of the same type may be rented. In other words, if a plurality of batteries 100 are rented, one battery 100 can be mounted on the electric vehicle 200 and the other battery 100 can be charged during that time, which is convenient.

The battery 100 is charged by an AC commercial power supply 4 and includes a measuring device 110 for measuring usage data and a terminal 120 for transmitting the measured usage data to the communication line 5 by radio waves. Have. Then, the rental company 2 of the battery 100 (that is, the rental fee collecting side) checks the use data via the communication line 5.

The rental fee of the battery 100 is as follows:
From the account of the borrower 1 of the battery 100 in the financial institution 7, the rental fee of the battery 100 and the usage fee of the communication line 5 are periodically deducted. Then
A rental fee is paid to the rental company 2 of the battery 100, and a usage fee of the communication line 5 is paid to a predetermined telephone company 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the battery 100 of this embodiment
Is used as a power source of the motor control unit 211 and the motor 212 as the load 210 of the electric vehicle 200, and includes a measuring device 110, a terminal 120, a battery unit 140, a charger 130 for charging the battery unit 140, And an output control unit 150 for controlling the output of the battery unit 140.

The charger 130 rectifies the AC commercial power 4 to obtain a DC voltage suitable for charging the battery unit 140.

The battery unit 140 is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged. In this embodiment, any one of a nickel hydride battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium ion battery, and a lead battery is employed. In addition, such a battery unit 140 is provided with a charger 130 to obtain a required output.
And a plurality of output control units 150 are arranged in series or in parallel.

The output control unit 150 includes the battery unit 1
The controller 40 grasps the state of charge of the battery 40 and controls its output, and is composed of a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

The charger 130 and the battery unit 1
40 and a first switch 160 is provided between
A second switch 170 is provided between the battery unit 140 and the output control unit 150. The charger 130 and the output control unit 150 operate these switches 160 and 170 according to the voltage of the battery unit 140. .

In particular, charging of the battery unit 140
When the battery is fully charged, the first switch 160 is turned off to automatically end the process. That is, the charger 13
0 and the output control unit 150 include full charge detection means for detecting the full charge of the battery unit 140, and detect overcharge and stop charging to prevent overcharge of the battery unit 140, The configuration is such that troubles such as failure or damage are avoided beforehand.

The charger 130, the output control unit 150, the first switch 160, and the second switch 170 may be provided on the electric vehicle 200 side. That is, control such as detecting the full charge of the battery unit 140 and stopping charging may be performed by the control unit of the electric vehicle 200.

On the other hand, the measuring device 110 of this embodiment measures the consumption of the commercial power supply 4 spent for charging the battery unit 140 as the usage data of the battery 1. Specifically, a non-contact or contact sensor 111 for detecting an alternating current flowing from the commercial power supply 4 to the charger 130, an AMP 112 for amplifying the detected current value, and converting the amplified current value to digital data AD converter 113 for conversion
And a CPU 114 for processing digital data, and storage means 115 using a semiconductor memory.

The terminal 120 is operated by the CPU 114 of the measuring device 110 and transmits the use data measured by the measuring device 110 to the communication line by radio waves. In the case of this example, a mobile phone or a PHS that can be connected to the Internet is employed as the terminal 120, and the usage data is transmitted to the rental company 2 of the battery 100 through Internet communication via a provider.

Since such a terminal 120 can confirm the current location, it is also effective in preventing the battery 100 and the electric vehicle 200 equipped with the battery 100 from being stolen.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control relating to usage data.

First, in the measuring device 110, the charging of the battery unit 140 is started (S1) and the sensor 110 detects the current.

Then, the CPU 114 integrates the current value obtained through the AMP 112 and the AD converter 113, that is, digital data, and stores it in the storage means 115 as needed (S2).

Next, when the detection of the current by the sensor 111 stops and the end of charging is confirmed (S3), the CPU 1
14 calls the result of the integrated value up to that time from the storage means 115 and converts it into use data corresponding to the amount of power or the charge (S4).

The usage data thus obtained is stored in the storage means (S5), and further transmitted from the terminal 120 (S6, S7).

The rental company 2 checks the usage data via the communication line 5 and calculates a rental fee for the battery 100 based on the data. The rental fee of the battery 100 increases in proportion to the consumption of the commercial power supply 4 spent for charging.

In the case of this example, the use data is transmitted each time charging is performed. Alternatively, the use data may be transmitted on a weekly or monthly basis and periodically transmitted. is there.

The rental fee based on the usage data is notified from the rental company 2 to the borrower 1 by e-mail, letter, telephone, or the like. Here, the terminal 120 of the battery 100 may be used.

Furthermore, if the battery 100 has not been charged for a long period of time, this may cause the performance of the battery unit 140 to deteriorate and some trouble may occur. The borrower 1 is notified of the fact.

For the measuring device 110 and the terminal 120, in addition to transmitting the usage data for calculating the rental fee, for example, the battery unit 140 is monitored for abnormal situations such as overcharging and abnormal temperature, and charging is performed. It is also possible to count the number of times, the number of times of discharge, and the like, and to transmit such data to the rental company 2 as needed.
According to such a configuration, the management of the battery 100 can be performed more efficiently.

The measuring device 110 is connected to the electric vehicle 20.
It is also possible to configure using a CPU, a storage device, or the like in the control circuit of 0. In particular, the electric vehicle 20 of this example
At 0, a sensor for detecting a direct current is provided in order to grasp the remaining amount of the battery 100. Therefore, if such a sensor is used, the measuring device 110 can be configured without using the sensor 111, the AMP 112, and the AD converter 130 described above. According to such a configuration, the number of components of the battery 1 can be reduced.

Further, the measuring device 110 of this embodiment measures the amount of consumption of the commercial power supply 4 spent for charging as the use data of the battery 1 or alternatively, measures the amount of discharge of the battery unit 140 as the use data. It is also possible to configure so that In that case, the sensor 111 of the measuring device 110 is provided to detect the output current of the battery unit 140.

As described above, this embodiment is a method of renting the battery 100 of the electric vehicle 200 rationally by calculating the rental fee according to the usage data. It achieves the decline and contributes to its spread.

Note that the term “rental” in the present application includes a case where the rental company 2 takes over all or part of the cost of the battery 100 and the purchaser 1 of the automobile 200 repayes the loan. In other words, the monthly repayment amount,
It is calculated according to the usage data of the battery 100.

After the rental company 2 has depreciated the cost of the battery 100 by the rental fee,
The rental fee may be appropriately reduced. Furthermore,
When a certain amount of profit is obtained, the battery 100 may be transferred to the borrower 1. The depreciation period is such that the more the battery 100 is used, that is, the electric vehicle 200
The longer the annual mileage, the shorter.

Further, such a rental operation of the battery 100 may be performed by any of the manufacturer of the electric vehicle 200, the dealer 3, the telephone company 6, the power company, the Internet provider, the credit company, and the like.

In particular, if the telephone company 6 performs such a rental operation, the rental fee can be deducted together with the communication line usage fee, and the procedure of the borrower 1 regarding payment of the fee is simplified. . Similarly, if such a rental operation is performed by a power company, the rental fee can be deducted together with the power fee. Further, there is a method of using a credit company in unifying the payment of the rental fee with other payments.

The rental fee collecting method can be applied to a battery of an electric bicycle or an electric ship. As described above, if the battery of the electric bicycle or the electric boat is rented, the price reduction at the time of purchasing the electric bicycle or the electric boat can be achieved.

In particular, in recent years, small electric boats such as electric boats and personal watercraft have been used for leisure, and the rental fee collection method of this example is very effective for those boats.

Further, in this example, the rental (lease) for a long period has been described, but such a rental fee collecting method can be applied to a relatively short period.

In other words, it takes a certain amount of time to charge the battery. As a solution to such a problem, for example, a store for charging the battery is provided in each area, and when the power of the battery becomes low, this problem is solved. A method is considered in which an electric vehicle is mounted in such a store and replaced with another battery that has been charged in advance. The battery borrower only consumes the power of the charged battery, and basically does not charge the battery. Therefore, battery rental is for a relatively short period.

In such a system, if the rental fee is uniform every time the battery is replaced, if the battery borrower replaces the battery before running out of power, there is a disadvantage corresponding to the surplus power.

In this regard, if the rental fee is calculated according to the usage data relating to the discharge, such a problem can be solved.

[0055]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of renting a chargeable / dischargeable battery and collecting the charge, and measuring usage data regarding charging or discharging by the borrower of the battery. In addition, this is a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery having a configuration in which the rental fee is calculated according to the usage data. According to such a configuration, the battery can be rented reasonably.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the battery is a method for collecting a rental fee of a battery having a configuration including a measuring device for measuring the usage data. Thus, the usage data can be measured efficiently.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the measuring device comprises: a current sensor for detecting a charging current or an output current of the battery; an AMP for amplifying the detected current value; This is a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery having a configuration including a converter for converting a current value into digital data and a CPU for processing the digital data. According to such a configuration, usage data can be obtained accurately.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the battery includes a terminal for transmitting the use data to a communication line by radio waves,
The battery rental fee collection side is a battery rental fee collection method configured to check the usage data via the communication line. According to such a configuration, the rental fee collection side can easily collect the usage data. You can check.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery rental fee collecting method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the battery rental fee is deducted from an account of a borrower of the battery. According to such a configuration, rental fees can be collected efficiently.

The invention described in claim 6 of the present application is the method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the device using the battery is an electric vehicle. That is, the present invention is a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery in which the battery is efficiently rented, and can be suitably used for a battery of an electric vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a battery according to a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control relating to usage data according to a specific example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 electric vehicle purchaser (battery borrower) 2 battery rental company 3 dealer 4 commercial power supply 5 communication line 6 telephone company 7 financial institution 100 battery 110 measuring device 120 terminal 130 charger 140 battery unit 150 output control unit 160 First switch 170 Second switch 200 Electric vehicle 210 Load 211 Motor control unit 212 Motor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of renting a chargeable / dischargeable battery and collecting a charge thereof, wherein usage data is measured on charging or discharging of the battery by a borrower,
A rental fee collection method for a battery, wherein a rental fee is calculated according to the usage data. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the battery includes a measuring device for measuring the usage data. 3. A measuring device comprising: a current sensor for detecting a charging current or an output current of the battery; an AMP for amplifying the detected current value; a converter for converting the current value to digital data; 3. A method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to claim 2, further comprising: a CPU for processing. 4. The battery includes a terminal for transmitting the usage data to a communication line by radio waves, and a rental fee collection side of the battery checks the usage data via the communication line. The method for collecting a rental fee for a battery according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The battery rental fee collection method according to claim 1, wherein the battery rental fee is deducted from an account of a borrower of the battery. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device using the battery is an electric vehicle.