JP2012005227A - Charging management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging management system capable of being constructed more easily.SOLUTION: Both of vehicles 10 and 20 include charging circuits 12 and 22, and controllers 11 and 21. The controllers 11 and 21 prepare charging schedules and control charging start and stop through the charging circuits 12 and 22 based on the charging schedules. Thus, there becomes no necessity of preparation of charging schedules and provision of chargers for controlling charging separately from the vehicles 10 and 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charge management system.

  In recent years, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles that run on the basis of the electric power of the on-board battery are becoming popular. As shown in Patent Document 1, a vehicle-mounted battery at home is charged through a charging device provided in a parking lot or the like. In this case, the vehicle is charged with power from the household power source through the charging device.

JP-A-11-178234

  In recent years, there are a plurality of power supply sources such as a power generation device and a fuel cell using natural energy in addition to a conventional general commercial power source. A power supply system that uses power from these power supply sources and efficiently uses it in the entire home is spreading. It is considered to incorporate a charging device such as an electric vehicle into the power supply system. That is, it is expected to construct a charge management system that can charge an electric vehicle or the like with high efficiency by using a power feeding system.

  The charging device in this charging management system has a communication function for transferring information such as the remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery and the usage of electric power in the home to and from the vehicle and the home, and an efficient charging schedule based on the information. It is necessary to provide a calculation function for calculating, a control function for controlling charging of the on-vehicle battery, and the like. For this reason, a dedicated charging device corresponding to the charging management system must be prepared for each home, which makes it difficult to introduce the charging management system.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The objective is to provide the charge management system comprised more simply.

In the following, means for achieving the above object and its operational effects will be described.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charge management system for charging an in-vehicle battery according to a charging schedule, provided in the own vehicle, and provided in the own vehicle, a charging circuit for charging the in-vehicle battery with electric power from an external power source. And a control device that controls the start and stop of charging through the charging circuit based on the charging schedule.

  According to this configuration, the own vehicle is provided with the charging circuit and the control device. The control device creates a charging schedule and controls the start and stop of charging through the charging circuit based on the charging schedule. Thereby, it is not necessary to prepare a charging device for creating a charging schedule and controlling charging separately from the own vehicle. Therefore, the charge management system can be configured more simply.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the charge management system according to the first aspect of the present invention, a remaining capacity detection unit that is provided in the host vehicle and detects a remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery, and is provided in the host vehicle. A communication device that receives a signal that includes information related to the time required for charging the other vehicle transmitted from another vehicle that can be charged with power from the same power source as the host vehicle, and the control device includes: The own vehicle based on the time required for charging the host vehicle calculated based on the remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery detected through the remaining capacity detecting means and the time required for charging the other vehicle included in the signal The gist of the invention is to create a charging schedule so that the time zones for charging the other vehicles do not overlap.

  According to this configuration, the charging schedule is created so that the time zones in which the host vehicle and other vehicles are charged do not overlap. Here, an external power source that supplies power to the vehicle may supply power not only to the vehicle but also to other electrical devices and the like. In this case, if the host vehicle and the other vehicle are charged at the same time, the amount of power consumed for charging increases, which may affect the operation of other electrical devices and the like. In that respect, according to the said structure, since it is suppressed that the own vehicle and another vehicle are charged simultaneously, the influence on the other electrical equipment etc. accompanying the charge to a vehicle can be suppressed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the charge management system according to the second aspect, the signal includes information related to a scheduled departure time of the other vehicle, and the control device includes a scheduled departure time of the host vehicle and The gist is to create a charging schedule so that the time required for charging the host vehicle and the other vehicle has elapsed at the scheduled departure time of the other vehicle included in the signal.

  According to this configuration, the charging schedule is created so that the time required for charging the host vehicle and the other vehicle has elapsed at the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle and the other vehicle. For this reason, it is possible to complete the charging of the host vehicle and the other vehicle at the scheduled departure time.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the charge management system according to the second or third aspect, the time required for charging the in-vehicle battery is calculated based on the estimated travel distance of the host vehicle in addition to the remaining capacity. The gist of this is.

  According to this configuration, the time required for charging is calculated based on the remaining capacity and the planned travel distance. Here, at the departure time, it is sufficient if the battery stores the necessary amount of power that can travel at least the planned travel distance. That is, by setting the time required for the remaining capacity of the battery to be the required power amount as the time required for charging, the time required for charging can be matched to the travel schedule. Therefore, the time required for charging can be set shorter than the time required for the battery to be fully charged. Thereby, it is suppressed that the time zone which charges the own vehicle and another vehicle overlaps.

  According to the present invention, the charge management system can be configured more simply.

The lineblock diagram showing the electric composition of a charge management system. The graph which shows a charge schedule. The graph which shows a charge schedule. The flowchart which showed the process sequence of the charge control program. The flowchart which showed the process sequence of the charge control program.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a charge management system according to the present invention is embodied will be described with reference to FIGS. The charge management system in this example charges two electric vehicles according to a charging schedule.

  As shown in FIG. 1, AC power is supplied to a home from a household power source 2 such as a commercial power source. AC power from the household power supply 2 is supplied to the two vehicles 10 and 20 via the charging cable 5, respectively. Specifically, the connector 6 is provided on one end side of the charging cable 5, and the power supply plug 19 is provided on the other end side. The connector 6 is inserted into a household outlet to which power from the household power source 2 is supplied, and the power supply plug 19 is inserted into a charging port formed on the side of the vehicle 10.

  The vehicle 10 includes a charging circuit 12, a control device 11, a battery 13, a drive system 14, and a detection sensor 18. The charging circuit 12 converts AC power supplied to the vehicle 10 through the charging cable 5 into DC power and supplies the DC power to the battery 13. Thereby, the battery 13 can be charged. Note that the charging speed in this example is constant. The control device 11 performs control related to charging of the battery 13 through the charging circuit 12. The drive system 14 drives the drive wheel based on the electric power of the battery 13. The charging circuit 12 includes a voltage sensor 12 a that detects the voltage of the battery 13. The detection result of the voltage sensor 12a is output to the control device 11. Here, the remaining capacity of the battery 13 is proportional to the battery voltage. Therefore, the control device 11 can recognize the remaining capacity of the battery 13 based on the detection result of the voltage sensor 12a.

  The detection sensor 18 detects that the power supply plug 19 is inserted into the charging port, and outputs the detection result to the control device 11. The control device 11 can recognize that the power supply plug 19 has been inserted based on the detection result of the detection sensor 18.

The vehicle 10 includes a timer 16. The control device 11 recognizes the current time through the timer 16 and also measures the charging time.
The vehicle 10 also includes a car navigation system 15 (hereinafter referred to as a car navigation system 15). The next scheduled departure time and estimated travel distance are input by the user through the car navigation system 15. These input operations are performed, for example, when the vehicle 10 is parked. The control device 11 includes a non-volatile memory 11a, and stores the scheduled departure time and the estimated traveling distance input through the car navigation 15 in the memory 11a. The memory 11a stores a charge control program to be described later.

  The vehicle 10 includes a communication device 17 including a transmission / reception circuit and a transmission / reception antenna. The communication device 17 communicates with other vehicles through radio signals. When the control device 11 recognizes that the power supply plug 19 is inserted into the charging port based on the detection result of the detection sensor 18, the control device 11 transmits the polling signal S <b> 1 through the communication device 17.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the other vehicle 20 is configured similarly to the vehicle 10. That is, the other vehicle 20 includes a charging circuit 22, a control device 21, a battery 23, a drive system 24, a detection sensor 28, a car navigation system 25, a communication device 27, and a timer 26. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the vehicle 10 is referred to as the host vehicle 10. When the control device 21 of the other vehicle 20 recognizes that the power supply plug 29 is inserted into the charging port based on the detection result of the detection sensor 28, similarly to the host vehicle 10, it transmits the polling signal S <b> 1 through the communication device 27. .

  When the control device 11 of the host vehicle 10 receives the polling signal S <b> 1 from the other vehicle 20 via the communication device 17, the control device 11 recognizes that the power supply plug 29 is connected to the charging port of the other vehicle 20. Then, the control device 11 transmits an information signal S <b> 2 including the scheduled departure time and the estimated traveling distance stored in the memory 11 a and the remaining capacity of the battery 13 via the communication device 17. Similarly, when the control device 21 of the other vehicle 20 receives the polling signal S <b> 1 from the host vehicle 10, the scheduled departure time and the estimated travel distance stored in the memory 21 a via the communication device 27, and the battery 23. An information signal S2 including the remaining capacity is transmitted.

  When the exchange of the information signal S2 is completed between the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20, the control device 11 stores the scheduled departure time and the estimated travel distance of the other vehicle 20 included in the received information signal S2 and the memory 11a. A charging schedule is created based on the scheduled departure time and the estimated travel distance of the vehicle 10. At the same time, the control device 21 performs charging based on the scheduled departure time and estimated travel distance of the host vehicle 10 included in the received information signal S2 and the estimated departure time and estimated travel distance of the other vehicle 20 stored in the memory 21a. Create a schedule.

  Here, both the control devices 11 and 21 create a charging schedule according to a certain rule to be described later, based on the scheduled departure time and the estimated traveling distance of the vehicles 10 and 20. For this reason, both the control apparatuses 11 and 21 can create the same charging schedule. The control devices 11 and 21 store the charging schedule created by themselves in their own memories 11a and 21a. The batteries 13 and 23 are charged according to this charging schedule.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of the charging schedule. The figure shows the state of charge of the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 at each time (from 21:00 to 10:00 in the figure). This charging schedule is created from the viewpoint of suppressing charging of both the vehicles 10 and 20 at the same time in order to suppress the influence on household electric appliances and the like accompanying charging of both the vehicles 10 and 20. In this example, a charging schedule is created at 22:00 (current time), and both vehicles 10 and 20 are charged according to this schedule after 22:00. Both control devices 11 and 21 charge the batteries 13 and 23 via the charging circuits 12 and 22 in accordance with the charging schedule stored in their own memories 11a and 21a. Specifically, the other vehicle 20 is charged from 22:00 to 4 o'clock, and the host vehicle 10 is charged from 4 o'clock to 7 o'clock.

Next, a charging control program for creating a charging schedule and performing charging according to the schedule will be described.
When both control devices 11 and 21 recognize that the power plugs 19 and 29 are inserted into the charging ports through the detection sensors 18 and 28, the control devices 11 and 21 execute the charge control program stored in the memories 11a and 21a. Thereby, while a charging schedule is created, the batteries 13 and 23 are charged according to it. The charge control program is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. Here, the charging control program executed by the control device 11 when the power supply plug 19 is inserted into the charging port of the host vehicle 10 will be described as a representative.

  When the charge control program is executed, first, the remaining capacity W0 of the battery 13 and the estimated travel distance stored in the memory 11a are recognized through the voltage sensor 12a (S101). Based on the recognized estimated travel distance, a required power amount W1 required to travel the distance is calculated (S102). This required power amount W1 is the minimum required to travel the planned travel distance in consideration of traveling more than the planned travel distance and consuming more power than planned due to the use of on-vehicle equipment. It is set to a value obtained by adding the excess power amount to the power amount.

  Then, the charging power amount ΔW0 is calculated by subtracting the remaining capacity W0 from the required power amount W1 (S103). The charging power amount ΔW0 is the amount of power that needs to be charged in the battery 13 in order to set the charged amount of the battery 13 to the charging power amount ΔW0. Further, a charging time T1 required for charging the charging power amount ΔW0 is calculated (S104).

  Next, a polling signal S1 is transmitted through the communication device 17 (S105). And the presence or absence of reception of information signal S2 from other vehicles 20 is judged (S106). When it is determined that the information signal S2 is not received (NO in S106), it is determined that there is no other vehicle 20 connected to the household power source 2 via the charging cable 5. Therefore, the charging time T1 is set without considering the charging status of the other vehicle 20 (S107). Specifically, the charging time T1 is set so as to start from the current time (more precisely, when the processing of step S107 is completed). This completes the creation of the charging schedule. The charging schedule is stored in the memory 11a, and then the battery 13 is charged through the charging circuit 12 according to the charging schedule (S108).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the information signal S2 is received from the other vehicle 20 (YES in S106), it is assumed that the other vehicle 20 is connected to the household power source 2 via the charging cable 5, and The information signal S2 is transmitted to the other vehicle 20 (S109). As will be described in detail later, the other vehicle 20 executes the charge control program with the information signal S2 from the host vehicle 10 as a trigger.

  Next, the remaining capacity W0 and the estimated travel distance of the other vehicle 20 included in the received information signal S2 are recognized (S110). Thereafter, the charging time T2 of the other vehicle 20 is calculated in the same manner as steps S102 to S104 (S111 to S113).

  Then, the scheduled departure time t10 of the host vehicle 10 stored in the memory 11a and the scheduled departure time t20 of the other vehicle 20 included in the information signal S2 are recognized, and the current time is recognized through the timer 16 (S114).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the charging time T1 is temporarily set to start from the current time, and the charging time T2 is temporarily set to start when the charging time T1 has passed (S115). Here, the charging times T1 and T2 are the charging time T1 of the vehicle (here, the own vehicle 10) that has transmitted the polling signal S1, and the charging time of the vehicle (here, the other vehicle 20) that has received the polling signal S1. Temporarily set in the order of T2. Thereby, as will be described later, the other vehicle 20 is also provisionally set in the order of the charging times T1 and T2, and as a result, the same charging schedule as that of the host vehicle 10 can be created.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have elapsed at scheduled departure times t10 and t20 of both the vehicles 10 and 20 (S116). That is, it is determined whether the time between the charging start time and the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 is longer than the charging times T1 and T2. When it is determined at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 that the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have elapsed (YES in S116), the charging times T1 and T2 are set as the true charging times T1 and T2 ( S117). Thereby, creation of a charging schedule is completed. According to this charging schedule, the power storage amount of the batteries 13 and 23 can be set to the required power amount W1 at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20. Thereafter, the charging schedule is stored in the memory 11a, and charging and starting of the battery 13 are started and stopped through the charging circuit 12 according to the charging schedule (S108).

  If it is determined at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 that the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have not elapsed (NO in S116), that is, the time between the charging start time and the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 is the charging time T1. , T2 is temporarily set again (S118). This is because, in the case of NO in step S116, the power storage amount of the batteries 13 and 23 cannot be set to the required power amount W1 at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the charging time T2 cannot be secured. The temporary setting of the charging times T1 and T2 in this case is performed as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging time T2 is temporarily set so as to start from the current time, and is temporarily set so that the charging time T1 is started when the charging time T2 has elapsed. Then, similarly to step S116, it is determined whether or not the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have elapsed at scheduled departure times t10 and t20 of both vehicles 10 and 20 (S119). When it is determined that the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have elapsed at scheduled departure times t10 and t20 (YES in S119), the charging times T1 and T2 are set as the true charging times T1 and T2 (S117). ). As a result, the creation of the charging schedule is completed, and the charging schedule is stored in the memory 11a. Then, the charging of the battery 13 is started and stopped through the charging circuit 12 according to the charging schedule (S108).

  If it is determined at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 that the temporarily set charging times T1 and T2 have not elapsed (NO in S119), the batteries 13 and 23 are charged before the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 unless they are charged simultaneously. It is impossible to charge only the electric energy ΔW0. Therefore, in this case, the charging times T1 and T2 are set after allowing the batteries 13 and 23 to be charged simultaneously (S120). Specifically, the charging schedule is created so that both charging times T1 and T2 are started simultaneously from the current time. The charging schedule is stored in the memory 11a, and then the charging of the battery 13 is started and stopped through the charging circuit 12 according to the charging schedule (S108).

  When the power supply plug 19 is inserted into the host vehicle 10 as described above, the charge control program is executed in the host vehicle 10 according to the flowchart of FIG. At this time, if the power supply plug 29 is already inserted in the other vehicle 20, the other vehicle 20 receives the information signal S2 from the host vehicle 10 in step S109. The control device 21 of the other vehicle 20 starts executing the charge control program with the reception of the information signal S2 from the host vehicle 10 as a trigger. In this other vehicle 20 as well, when the power supply plug 29 is inserted, the charge control program is already executed according to the flowchart of FIG. At this time, the information signal S2 from the host vehicle 10 is not received (NO in step S106), the charging schedule is created without considering the host vehicle 10, and charging is performed according to the schedule. Even when the other vehicle 20 is being charged according to the charging schedule, the charging schedule is recreated to take into account the own vehicle 10 with the reception of the information signal S2 from the own vehicle 10 as a trigger. At this time, the same charging schedule as that of the host vehicle 10 can be created in the other vehicle 20 by the charging control program executed. This program is stored in the memory 21a and executed according to the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in steps S201 to S204, the charging time T2 is calculated in the same manner as S110 to S113 in FIG. In steps S205 to S208, the charging time T1 is calculated in the same manner as in S101 to S104 of FIG. Thereafter, in steps S209 to S216, processing is executed in the same manner as steps S114 to S120 and step S108 in FIG. That is, after both charging times T1 and T2 are temporarily set (S210, S214), if the validity of the temporary setting is confirmed (YES in S211 and YES in S215), the charging times T1 and T2 are set. In this way (S212), a charging schedule is created. If the validity of the temporary setting is not confirmed (NO in S211, NO in S215), simultaneous charging is permitted (S216), and charging times T1 and T2 are set (S212). This charging schedule is the same as the charging schedule created by the host vehicle 10. After this charging schedule is stored in the memory 21a, the charging and starting of the battery 23 are started and stopped through the charging circuit 22 according to the charging schedule (S213).

  Even if the relationship between the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 is reversed, the charging schedule is created in the same manner as described above. In this case, the charge control program is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 in the other vehicle 20, and the charge control program is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. That is, a charge control program corresponding to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5 is stored in each of the memories 11a and 21a.

  By creating the charging schedule as described above, it is basically suppressed that the batteries 13 and 23 are charged at the same time. Thereby, the influence on household electric appliances etc. accompanying charge of both vehicles 10 and 20 is controlled. When it is determined that charging is not completed at scheduled departure times t10 and t20, simultaneous charging is allowed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a state where the required power amount W1 is not stored in the batteries 13 and 23 at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20.

  Here, when the remaining capacity W0 is equal to or greater than the required power amount W1, the charging times T1 and T2 are calculated as negative values. In this case, assuming that it is not necessary to charge the batteries 13 and 23 to travel the planned travel distance, the charging times T1 and T2 in the charging schedule are zero. Accordingly, the charging times T1 and T2 are not set.

Next, the above charging schedule will be described with specific examples.
In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, the charging time T1 is 3 hours and the charging time T2 is 6 hours. The scheduled departure time of the host vehicle 10 is 10:00, and the scheduled departure time of the other vehicle 20 is 5:00. Then, when the current time is 22:00, as shown in FIG. 3, the charging time T1 of the host vehicle 10 and the charging time T2 of the other vehicle 20 are temporarily set from 22:00 in the order (S115, S210). Accordingly, charging of the host vehicle 10 starts at 22:00 and stops at 1 o'clock. The charging time T2 starts at 1 o'clock and stops at 7 o'clock. If charging is performed according to this charging schedule, it will reach 5 o'clock, which is the scheduled departure time t20, during the elapse of the charging time T2 of the other vehicle 20, and the amount of power stored in the battery 23 of the other vehicle 20 will become the required power amount W1. It will start in a state that is not satisfied. Accordingly, re-temporary setting of the charging times T1 and T2 is performed (S118, S214). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging time T2 of the other vehicle 20 and the charging time T1 of the host vehicle 10 are provisionally set from 22:00. Accordingly, charging of the other vehicle 20 starts at 22:00 and stops at 4 o'clock. The charging of the host vehicle 10 starts at 4 o'clock and stops at 7 o'clock. As a result, at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 of both the vehicles 10 and 20, the charging times T1 and T2 have passed, and the batteries 13 and 23 are charged with the required power amount W1. In addition, since only the own vehicle 10 can be charged at 7:00 to 10:00, a charging schedule for continuing charging may be created. Thereby, at the scheduled departure time t10 of the host vehicle 10, the battery 13 can be brought close to a fully charged state.

As described above, according to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Charging circuits 12 and 22 and control devices 11 and 21 are provided in both the vehicles 10 and 20. The control devices 11 and 21 create a charging schedule and control the start and stop of charging through the charging circuits 12 and 22 based on the charging schedule. Thereby, it is not necessary to prepare a charging device for creating a charging schedule and controlling charging separately from the vehicles 10 and 20. Therefore, the charge management system can be configured more simply.

  (2) The charging schedule is created so that the charging times T1 and T2 of the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 do not overlap. Here, not only the charging of the vehicles 10 and 20 but the same household power supply 2 may be supplied to other household electric appliances. In this case, if the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 are charged at the same time, the amount of power consumed for charging increases, which may affect the operation of other electrical devices and the like. In this respect, according to the present example, since the own vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 are prevented from being charged at the same time, the influence of the charging of the vehicles 10 and 20 on other electrical devices and the like can be suppressed.

  (3) At the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 of the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20, the charging schedule is created so that the charging times T1 and T2 of the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 elapse. For this reason, charging of the electric power required for the own vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 can be completed at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20.

  (4) The charging times T1 and T2 are calculated based on the remaining capacity W0 and the estimated travel distance. Here, it is sufficient if the battery stores the required amount of power W1 that can travel at least the planned travel distance. That is, by setting the charging time T1 and T2 as the time required to set the amount of power stored in the battery to the required power amount W1, the charging times T1 and T2 can be matched to the travel schedule. Therefore, the charging times T1 and T2 can be set shorter than the time required for the battery to be fully charged. Thereby, it is suppressed that charging time T1, T2 of own vehicle 10 and other vehicle 20 overlaps, and charging time T1, T2 of own vehicle 10 and other vehicle 20 has not passed in scheduled departure time t10, t20. .

In addition, the said embodiment can be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
-The communication apparatus 17 in the said embodiment may utilize the communication apparatus of an electronic key system. In recent years, electronic key systems that control door locks and the like through mutual wireless communication between an electronic key possessed by a user and a vehicle are becoming widespread. By sharing the communication device of the system and the communication device 17 for inter-vehicle communication, the charge management system can be configured more simply.

  -In the said embodiment, the charge schedule was created in both the vehicles 10 and 20, respectively. However, the charging schedule for both the vehicles 10 and 20 may be created only in one vehicle, for example, the host vehicle 10. In this case, the host vehicle 10 transmits the created charging schedule to the other vehicle 20. Thereby, the same charging schedule can be shared between the both vehicles 10 and 20. The other vehicle 20 performs charging control according to the charging schedule received from the host vehicle 10.

  In the above embodiment, the charging times T1 and T2 are calculated based on the remaining capacity W0 and the planned travel distance. However, the charging times T1 and T2 may be times required for the batteries 13 and 23 to be fully charged. In this case, it is not necessary to input the estimated travel distance.

  In the above embodiment, the charging schedule is created so that the charging times T1 and T2 elapse at the scheduled departure times t10 and t20 input through the car navigation systems 15 and 25. However, the charging schedule may be created by omitting the input of scheduled departure times t10 and t20. Even in this case, the charging schedule is created so that the charging times T1 and T2 do not overlap with each other, so that it is possible to suppress the influence on the household electric appliances and the like due to the charging of the vehicles 10 and 20. As described above, since it is possible to omit the input of the planned travel distance, the car navigation systems 15 and 25 can be omitted.

  In the above embodiment, if NO in step S119 of FIG. 4, simultaneous charging of the batteries 13 and 23 is allowed, and both charging times T1 and T2 are set to start from the current time. However, both charging times T1 and T2 may be set from the viewpoint of shortening the time for charging both batteries 13 and 23 simultaneously. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, it is assumed that the charging time T1 is 7 hours and the charging time T2 is 6 hours. In this case, a charging schedule is created so as to preferentially charge a vehicle whose departure time is earlier (here, the other vehicle 20). Specifically, the charging time T2 is set to a time from 22:00 to 4 o'clock so as to start from the current time. Then, the charging time T1 of the host vehicle 10 is set so as to have elapsed at the scheduled departure time t10, that is, the time from 3:00 to 10:00. By setting in this way, it is possible to minimize the time during which charging is performed simultaneously. In this example, it can be 1 hour from 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock.

  In the above embodiment, the charging schedule is created based on the charging times T1 and T2 and the scheduled departure time. However, the charging schedule may be created in consideration of various other situations. For example, late-night electricity charges may be set cheaper than daytime charges. In such a case, for example, when the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle 10 is three days later, the charging may be performed using only a time zone where the electricity rate is low at midnight. In this case, the electricity bill for each time zone may be stored in the memories 11a and 21a in advance. Based on this electricity rate table, a charging schedule is created so that the vehicles 10 and 20 are actively charged in a time zone when the electricity rate is low. Moreover, it is comprised so that communication between the vehicle 10 and a household is possible, and the vehicle 10 may receive the information regarding an electricity bill from the household side using this communication. Specifically, for example, the vehicle 10 may be able to communicate with a home by PLC communication (power line carrier communication) through the charging cable 5.

  Furthermore, in recent years, it is becoming common for households to install power generation devices that generate power using natural energy such as sunlight. Thereby, the electric power feeding system which consumes electric power efficiently can be implement | achieved by combined use of both electric power from a generator and the household power supply 2. FIG. A vehicle charge management system can be incorporated into the power supply system. In this power supply system, the amount of power consumed is small relative to the amount of power generated by the power generation apparatus, and surplus power may be generated. The control devices 11 and 21 may obtain information indicating that surplus power is generated through PLC communication and create a charging schedule. For example, when surplus power is generated, a charging schedule for charging both vehicles 10 and 20 at the same time is created. Here, although the control devices 11 and 21 can acquire the current surplus power status, they cannot know the future surplus power status. For this reason, the state of surplus power is accumulated in the memories 11a and 21a, and the time and day of the week when surplus power is likely to occur are predicted. Based on this prediction, a charging schedule for charging at the time when surplus power is likely to be generated may be created. In addition, the control devices 11 and 21 acquire a weather forecast through communication with the home side, and when a large amount of photovoltaic power generation is expected, the control devices 11 and 21 actively charge the vehicles 10 and 20. You may create it. With this configuration, an appropriate charging schedule can be created even when only one vehicle is connected to the household power source 2 via the charging cable 5.

  In the above embodiment, the charging speed is constant. However, the control devices 11 and 21 may be configured to be able to control the charging speed by changing the charging current to the batteries 13 and 23 through the charging circuits 12 and 22. In this case, a charging schedule for charging at a more appropriate charging speed can be created according to the scheduled departure time and the charging times T1 and T2. For example, when the time from the current time to the scheduled departure time is relatively short, the required electric energy W1 can be ensured for the batteries 13 and 23 at the scheduled departure time by performing rapid charging. Further, when the time from the current time to the scheduled departure time is relatively long, low-speed charging is performed. Thereby, the influence on household electric appliances etc. can be suppressed to the minimum.

  In the above embodiment, two vehicles, the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20, are charged according to the charging schedule. However, three or more vehicles may be charged according to the charging schedule. In this case, the host vehicle 10 receives the information signal S2 from a plurality of other vehicles, and transmits the polling signal S1 and the information signal S2 to the plurality of other vehicles. The control device 11 of the host vehicle 10 creates a charging schedule based on a plurality of information signals, own scheduled departure time, scheduled traveling distance, and the like. This charging schedule is also created so that the required power amount W1 is stored in the battery of each vehicle at the scheduled departure time of each vehicle.

  In the above embodiment, the charging schedule is created through wireless communication between the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20. However, the communication between the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20, that is, the communication devices 17 and 27 may be omitted. In this case, for example, as described above, the host vehicle 10 acquires information on surplus power and electricity charges through PLC communication with the home. And the own vehicle 10 creates a charging schedule based on the acquired information. And the own vehicle 10 charges based on the created charging schedule. Even in this case, it is not necessary to prepare a charging device separately from the own vehicle 10, and the charge management system can be configured more simply.

  In the embodiment described above, the scheduled departure time and the planned traveling distance are input through the car navigation system 15. However, the control device 11 may acquire a travel history of the vehicle through the car navigation 15 and estimate a scheduled departure time and a planned travel distance based on the travel history. In this case, the user does not need to input the scheduled departure time and the estimated travel distance, and convenience is improved.

Next, the technical idea that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described together with the effects.
(A) The charge management system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the control device acquires a scheduled departure time through a scheduled departure time acquisition unit provided in the host vehicle.

  (B) The charge management system according to (a), wherein the scheduled departure time acquisition unit is a car navigation system, and the scheduled departure time is input through the car navigation system.

  According to this configuration, the scheduled departure time is input through the car navigation system. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide the structure which inputs a departure scheduled time separately, and a charge management system can be comprised more simply.

  (C) The charge management system according to claim 4, wherein the control device acquires a next planned travel distance through a travel planned distance acquisition means provided in the host vehicle.

  (D) The charge management system according to item (c), wherein the planned travel distance acquisition means is a car navigation system, and the planned travel distance is input through the car navigation system.

  According to this configuration, the planned travel distance is input through the car navigation system. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide the structure which inputs driving distance separately, and a charge management system can be comprised more simply.

  2 ... Home power supply (external power supply), 10 ... Self vehicle, 11 ... Control device, 12 ... Charging circuit, 13 ... Battery, 12a ... Voltage sensor (remaining capacity detection means), 15 ... Car navigation, 16 ... Timer, 17 ... Communication device, 20 ... other vehicle.

Claims (4)

In the charge management system that charges the in-vehicle battery according to the charge schedule,
A charging circuit which is provided in the host vehicle and charges the vehicle battery with electric power from an external power source;
A charge management system comprising: a control device that is provided in the host vehicle and that creates the charging schedule and controls start and stop of charging through the charging circuit based on the charging schedule. In the charge management system according to claim 1,
A remaining capacity detecting means provided in the host vehicle for detecting the remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery;
A communication device that is provided in the host vehicle and that receives a signal including information related to the time required to charge the other vehicle transmitted from the other vehicle that can be charged with power from the same power source as the host vehicle; With
The control device includes a time required for charging the host vehicle calculated based on a remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery detected through the remaining capacity detecting unit, and a time required for charging the other vehicle included in the signal. A charge management system that creates a charging schedule so that time zones for charging the host vehicle and the other vehicle do not overlap. In the charge management system according to claim 2,
The signal includes information on the scheduled departure time of the other vehicle,
The control device creates a charging schedule so that the time required for charging the host vehicle and the other vehicle has elapsed at the scheduled departure time of the host vehicle and the scheduled departure time of the other vehicle included in the signal. To charge management system. In the charge management system according to claim 2 or 3,
The charge management system in which the time required for charging the in-vehicle battery is calculated based on the planned travel distance of the host vehicle in addition to the remaining capacity.

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