JP2012228006A - Battery charger management system, battery charger management method, and service providing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute information to a user of a battery charger concerning services available to the user during a waiting time for a charging.SOLUTION: The subject application is a battery charger management system for a rechargeable battery-equipped apparatus, the system comprises: acquisition means of a user terminal identification number for acquiring a user terminal identification number so as to authenticate a user terminal before using the battery charger; acquisition means of an estimated charging time for acquiring an estimated charging time of the rechargeable battery at the start of the charging; notification means for notifying charging data including the user terminal identification number and the estimated charging time to a remote service providing device; instruction means of rule data registration for registering rule data, for example consisting of a pair of service providing time and service information, in advance from a manager terminal to the service providing terminal; and rule execution means for executing a rule described to acquire only such service information that the service providing time is shorter than the estimated charging time from the service providing device, and distribute the service information to a user terminal specified by the user terminal identification number.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charger management technology for providing a service other than charging to a user who charges an electric vehicle equipped with a secondary battery.

  An apparatus for charging a secondary battery mounted on a mobile phone or an electric vehicle is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

There are two main types of charging for electric vehicles in Japan: normal charging and rapid charging. The former is a system that uses a built-in charging function in a car. Other than the car, it is only necessary to have a household outlet and a cable, and the charger management device targeted by this specification is not widely used at present. . On the other hand, since the latter performs control from the external charging facility side, a charger management device has been devised and used as an actual service. In this specification, the latter charging method is mainly assumed. However, the former charging method is also included.
In addition, the management system of the charger of an electric vehicle is disclosed by the following nonpatent literature 1.

JP-A-6-189466

http://www.c-nexco.co.jp/guide/ev_quick.html

  Secondary batteries have been widely used in mobile phones, PCs, and the like, but recently they have been actively used as drive sources for electric vehicles (including hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles). Unlike a mobile phone, an electric vehicle has a large capacity and a long charging time, and the main unit cannot be carried. Therefore, when charging outside the home, it is constant at the place where the charger is located. Time will be waiting. Therefore, it is beneficial to present service information such as information about the store where the charger is installed or the surrounding area to the user during charging so that the waiting time can be used effectively. Further, if information on whether or not the service based on the service information can be completed within the charging time is also obtained at the same time, it is useful for determining whether or not to receive the service, and thus the usefulness increases. However, there is no disclosure regarding a specific system configuration or the like of information distribution that can be used by a charger user during such a charging waiting time.

  In addition, in relation to the above-mentioned problems, the position information of the charger suitable for the next charging is distributed at the start or end of charging according to the situation of each vehicle having a different remaining battery level at the end of charging. No detailed mechanism is disclosed in any of them.

  Furthermore, there is no specific disclosure regarding a mechanism that can easily add an accompanying service such as information distribution to the charger management system.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a charger management system that distributes useful information available to a user during a charging waiting time to the user. At the same time, it is to provide a specific charger management system that facilitates the addition of services provided at the time of charging.

  The present invention is a charger management system for rechargeable battery-equipped devices, and a user terminal identification number acquisition means for acquiring a user terminal identification number in order to authenticate a user terminal prior to use of the charger. Providing remote charging service including charging data including expected charging time acquisition means for acquiring charging time from the charger to the rechargeable battery at the start of charging, the user terminal identification number, and the estimated charging time Notification means for notifying the apparatus, rule data registration instruction means for registering in advance the rule data consisting of a pair of service provision time and service information from the administrator terminal to the service provision apparatus, and the charging prediction Only service information whose service provision time is shorter than the time is acquired from the service providing apparatus and distributed to the user terminal specified by the user terminal identification number A charger management system characterized by having a rule execution means for executing rules that urchin description a.

  The present invention is also a charger management system for rechargeable battery-equipped devices, and obtains a user terminal identification number for authenticating a user terminal prior to use of the charger. Charging data including means, a battery remaining amount acquiring means for acquiring a remaining battery level at the end of charging, the user terminal identification number, and the remaining battery level are notified to a remote service providing apparatus. And a rule data registration instructing unit for pre-registering in the service providing device from the administrator terminal the rule data comprising a pair of the remaining battery level and a charger position that can be reached by the remaining battery level And a rule execution that executes a rule that describes the location information of the charger that can be reached with a remaining battery level lower than the remaining battery level at the end of charging to be delivered to the user terminal identified by the user terminal identification number means A charger management system characterized by having a.

  The service providing apparatus manages condition management means for managing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data of the charging data notified by the notification means, and services provided to the user terminal An instruction management unit, a rule management unit for managing a rule connecting the condition and the instruction, and a rule data management unit for managing rule data necessary for executing the rule are independently provided. It is preferable to have a system structure. As a result, the condition includes a reference to data obtained at the time of charging, such as the charging start time, estimated charging time, remaining battery level, etc., or the charging continues such as when the instruction continues, stops, or discounts the charging fee It becomes easy to change the service content as a command later. Here, at least one of the means in the service providing device may be arranged in a charger management device that manages the charger.

  Further, the present invention is a service providing apparatus for presenting a service using a charging waiting time using a charger for a rechargeable battery device to a user terminal, and the user terminal via a network, and Communication means for communicating with a remote management device that sends a remote operation command to a charger management device that manages the charger and receives charging data and authentication requests regarding the charger and user terminal from the charger management device And condition management means for managing conditions by a condition table that describes conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data among the charging data by a method, and distribution of service information provided to the user terminal Instruction management means for managing instructions by means of an instruction table that describes the instructions to be Management means for managing a rule by a rule table describing a rule in which a condition and a rule are connected, and a rule table for managing a rule table describing data necessary for executing the rule Data management means, and execution means for referring to the condition and the instruction described in the rule table and executing the instruction based on the data described in the rule table that matches the condition. This is a service providing apparatus.

  Condition management means for managing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data, instruction management means for managing services provided to users, and rules connecting conditions and instructions so that they can be easily changed after the service By having a system structure in which the rule management means for managing the rules and the rule data management means for managing the data necessary for executing the rules are independent, the table of each management means can be Rules can be expanded with simple processing such as rewriting content.

  Further, the condition table describes a condition that a service providing time is shorter than an expected charging time, and the command table describes a command for distributing only service information satisfying the condition to the user terminal by e-mail. It is a table.

  In addition, the condition table includes a reference to data obtained at the time of charging, or the command is a command related to charging.

  For example, the rule is a rule describing that other charger position information that can be reached with a remaining battery level lower than the remaining battery level at the end of charging is distributed to the terminal of the user specified by the user identification number. It is.

  The command includes, for example, a reference to data obtained at the time of charging includes at least one of a charging start time, an estimated charging time, and a remaining battery level, and the command continues / stops charging / discounts a charging fee. It is an instruction regarding charging.

  Further, the present invention is a service providing method by a service providing apparatus that presents a service using a charging waiting time using a charger for a device equipped with a rechargeable battery to a user terminal, the user providing the service via a network. A remote operation command is transmitted to a terminal and a charger management device that manages the charger, and communication is performed with a remote management device that receives charging data and an authentication request regarding the charger and the user terminal from the charger management device. A condition management step for managing conditions by a condition table describing a condition for narrowing down only to specific charging data among the charging data by a method, and service information provided to the user terminal An instruction management step for managing instructions by an instruction table that describes instructions to be distributed by a method. A rule management step for managing a rule by a rule table that describes which instruction is executed in the case of a condition and describes a rule in which the condition and the rule are linked, and data necessary for executing the rule are described. Referring to the rule data management step for managing the rule table, the condition and the instruction described in the rule table, and executing the instruction based on the data described in the rule table that matches the condition A service providing method characterized by comprising:

  The present invention may be a program for causing a computer to execute the service providing method described above, or a computer-readable recording medium for recording the program.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the information of the service received during the charge waiting time of the motor vehicle carrying a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) can be provided efficiently. In addition, it is possible to provide a mechanism for easily providing a new service in the charger management system.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration example of the charger management system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1B (a) is a functional block diagram of a charger management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B (b) is a functional block diagram of a charger management system according to a modification. It is a figure which shows the example of the charge data at the time of charge start at the time of charge end, charge end. It is a figure which shows an example of the example of data for rules, and is a figure which shows the data file for rules containing the pair of service content and the time (service provision time) required for service provision as an example. It is a figure which shows the conditions for narrowing down service provision time as shown in FIG. 3 based on the charging expected time obtained dynamically. It is a figure which shows an example of the command table which shows the content of the command for providing a service to a user. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rule table describing a rule of referring to the instruction table of FIG. 5 when the condition of FIG. 4 is satisfied. It is a figure which shows an example of the variable table which defined the variable for customizing the variable of FIGS. It is a figure which shows an example of the method table which defined the method for customizing the method of FIGS. 4-6. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in an administrator terminal device. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in a remote management apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in a service provision apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process in a charger management apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process in a charger. It is a sequence diagram of the charge data list display by this Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of a remote operation command according to the present embodiment. It is a sequence diagram at the time of the charger use by this Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of an administrator terminal device according to a modification of the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the system structural example of the charger management system by the 2nd modification of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a charge management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the charge management system according to the present embodiment includes a user terminal device 1, an administrator terminal device 2, a service providing device 3, a remote management device 4, a charger management device 5, And a charger 6 for an electric vehicle that uses at least a part of a drive source of electric power from a secondary battery (rechargeable battery).

  The user terminal device 1 is connected to the administrator terminal device 2, the service providing device 3, the remote management device 4, the charger management device 5, and the charger 6 via the Internet 7.

  The user terminal device 1 is a terminal device possessed by a user who has visited a charging spot in order to use the charger 6, and includes a terminal device 11 including a CPU 11A and a memory 11B, a communication port 12, and an external storage device. 13. The external storage device 13 is a storage device such as a hard disk or a ROM, and a program for causing the CPU to execute each function is stored in the storage device (the same applies hereinafter). The user terminal device 1 includes a communication unit 13A for receiving information from the service providing device 3 through the Internet 7 and a display unit 13B for displaying received content (executes each function). Note that the user terminal device 1 is, for example, a mobile phone possessed by a user of the charger, the communication means 13A indicates, for example, a mail function, and the display means 13B indicates, for example, a display of a mobile phone. The user terminal device 1 may be a portable personal computer (PC), a PDA, a smartphone, or the like.

  The manager terminal device 2 is, for example, a terminal device used by a manager of the charge management system to manage the charge management system. The manager terminal device 2 includes a terminal device (main body) 21 including a CPU 21A and a memory 21B, and a communication port 22. And an external storage device 23. The external storage device 23 executes a program for realizing the communication means 23A, the manager operation means 23B, and the display means 23C for communicating with the service providing device 3 and the remote management device 4 through the Internet 7 by CPU processing. Store. The administrator terminal device 2 can use a general PC.

  For example, the service providing apparatus 3 includes a mechanism for notifying the user of service contents that can be provided along with charging. For example, the terminal apparatus 31 including a CPU 31A and a memory 31B, a communication port 32, and an external storage device 33. The service providing device 3 may be located at a position away from the charging spot and provide services related to a plurality of charging spots. The external storage device 33 describes communication means 33A for communicating with the user terminal device 1, the administrator terminal device 2, and the remote management device 4 through the Internet 7, and conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data. Condition management means 33B for managing conditions by a condition table, instruction management means 33C for managing instructions by an instruction table describing instructions for performing services such as information distribution services provided to users, and which instructions are executed under any conditions Rule management means 33D for managing a rule by a rule table describing a rule indicating whether to perform rule, rule data for managing rule data by a rule data table describing data necessary for executing the rule Management means 33E expands new conditions, instructions and rules Method management unit 33G for managing variable managing unit 33F and a method table for managing a variable table to be referred to, and a service execution unit 33H for executing instructions, and stores a program for implementing by CPU processing.

  If the condition management means 33B, the instruction management means 33C, the rule management means 33D, and the rule data management means 33E are realized as one element, if it is desired to add a new rule, that one element Although it is necessary to recreate the whole, the system configuration in which each management means is realized by independent elements as in this embodiment, the contents of the table of each management means are rewritten as necessary. Rules can be extended with simple processing.

  The remote management device 4 is, for example, a device installed in a store or the like near a charging spot, and a user can remotely operate a charger management device 5 described later from the store or the like. The remote management device 4 includes a terminal device 41 including a CPU 41A and a memory 41B, a communication port 42, and an external storage device 43. The external storage device 43 includes a communication unit 43A for communicating with the administrator terminal device 2, the service providing device 3, and the charger management device 5, and a charger or charger that is notified from the charger management device 5 during charging. Notification data management means 43B for storing charging data relating to the user in the storage device and transferring it to the service providing device 3, and authentication means for authenticating the charger user in response to a request from the charger management device 5 43C and a manager operation accepting unit 43D for accepting an operation from the manager terminal device 2 are stored with a program for realizing by CPU processing.

  The charger management device 5 is installed at, for example, a charging spot, and can perform processing related to charging (charging start, charging stop, etc.) directly with the charger by remote control from the remote management device 4. The terminal device 51 includes a CPU 51A and a memory 51B, a communication port 52, and an external storage device 53, for example. The external storage device 53 includes a communication unit 53A for communicating with devices such as the remote management device 4 and the charger 6, a charger management unit 53B for managing the charger 6, and a user identification number required for authentication. A user terminal information acquisition unit 53C for acquiring from the user, a charge information acquisition unit 53D for acquiring various information from the charger 6, a display unit 53E for notifying the operation procedure and state of the charger to the user, Is stored by a CPU process.

  The charger 6 is installed at a charging spot or the like, and charges an electric vehicle or the like by exchanging with the charger management device 5, and includes a terminal device 61 including a CPU 61A and a memory 61B, a communication port 62, , An external storage device 63 for storing a program for realizing a communication means for communicating with the charger management device 5 through the network 8 by CPU processing, a charging means 64 for charging, and a power for acquiring power for charging from a power company or the like The acquisition means 65 is comprised. The charging means 64 includes a cable and a connector for connecting the charger 6 and the electric vehicle. The electric vehicle can be charged by the cable and the connector.

  FIG. 1B (a) is a functional block diagram in which some devices and means are extracted from the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1B (a), the management system A includes a user terminal information acquisition unit 53C that acquires an identification number of a user terminal, a charge information acquisition unit 53D that acquires an expected charging time from the charger 6, The rule data management means 33E for storing the rule data requested to be registered from the administrator terminal device 2, the rule execution means 33H for instructing the user terminal device 1, the user terminal identification number, and the expected charging time. And communication means 53A for notifying the remote service providing apparatus 3 of charging data including.

  With the functional configuration described above, for example, a service that can be provided within the expected charging time can be notified to the user terminal device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of charging data. FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are diagrams showing examples of configuration of charging data notified to the remote management device 4 when charging starts, when charging ends, or when a charger or the like fails, respectively. It is. As shown in FIG. 2A, the charging data notified to the remote management device 4 at the start of charging has an item number 201, an item name 202, and a value 203. As the charge start time of item number 1, for example, a value of 9:00 on February 1, 2011 is notified. In addition, as the expected charging time (minute) of item number 2, a value of 30 minutes dynamically obtained from the charger is notified. The user ID of item number 3 is “1234” here, and this user ID is added by the charger management device 5, but other values are generated by the charger 6. As shown in FIG. 2B, at the end of charging, 9:30 on February 1, 2011 is notified as the charging end time 202 of item number 201. The user ID 202 is the same as that shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2C, at the time of failure, a value 203 (February 1, 2011, 17:30, etc.) is notified as the failure time 202 to the item whose item number 201 is “1”. The user ID 202 of the item number “2” is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the rule data file 301 for managing data necessary for executing the rule. In this table, the contents of the table described in the XML format are shown as an example. Yes. In FIG. 3, the content element 303 in the data describes the contents of the service information distributed to the user terminal device 1. Here, an example of “Guide to the restaurant” is shown. You will be guided to places where you can eat during the waiting time for charging. The minutes attribute 305 describes the approximate time required when the user receives the service described in the content element 303. This reference time may be indicated in a certain time range (for example, from 15 minutes to 25 minutes). In the example shown in FIG. 3, it is shown that a service that can provide a meal can be used in about 20 minutes at a restaurant around the remote management device 4. In addition, the file name is “data1.xml”.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a condition table 401 describing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data. The identification number 403 is “1”, the rule data file name 405 to be referenced is data1.xml, and corresponds to the rule data file name data1.xml in FIG. As the condition table contents 407, a case is specified in which the return value is true when the MyPackage.lessThan method is called by passing CHARGING_TIME as the first argument and the minutes attribute of the rule data file as the second argument. For example, when charging data as shown in FIG. 2 (a) is notified, a condition for determining whether or not the service provision time described in the rule data file 301 is shorter than the estimated charging time of 30 minutes is executed. If true, the content tag of the rule data file 301 having the notified user ID and addressed to the mail address of the user terminal device 1 registered in the external storage device 33 of the service providing device 3 at the time of pre-registration Send the contents of the mail. On the other hand, if it is false, it is indicated that it is not executed.

  FIG. 5 is an example of an instruction table 501 for managing a service such as an information distribution service provided to a user. The identification number 503 is 1, the rule data file name 505 to be referenced is data1.xml, the content 507 of the command is the MyPackage.sendEmail2Customer method (sends an e-mail), the first argument is USER_ID 507a, the second argument When the content attribute 507b of the rule data file 301 is passed to and called, the return value is true.

  Note that the e-mail address of the e-mail to be transmitted is, for example, when receiving a charging service by placing the user terminal device 1 as a reader of the charger management device 5 or placing a dedicated magnetic card for charging service as a card reader. The mail address automatically acquired by the user terminal information acquisition means 53C of the charger management device 5 (the user may type in using a keyboard or the like). In the command table of FIG. 5, as the first argument, the mail address of the user terminal device 1 associated with the user ID 507a at the time of dynamically obtained user authentication, etc. (stored in the service execution means 33H of the service providing device 3) 3), a command for transmitting the content 507b (content may be sent) of FIG. 3 by electronic mail is described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rule table 601 indicating rules (in which conditions and instructions are concatenated) which instructions are executed in the case of the conditions. When the condition number 1 is satisfied in the condition table, it indicates that the instruction having the identification number 1 is executed in the instruction table. That is, FIG. 6 satisfies the condition (the service provision time is shorter than the estimated charging time) when the identification number described in the condition 603 is 1, that is, the identification number 403 of the condition table 401 in FIG. If the identification number 503 of the instruction table 501 of FIG. 5 described in the command 605 is 1, the use associated with the user ID at the time of user authentication obtained dynamically as the first argument A command to send the contents (content may be sent) of FIG. 3 by e-mail to the e-mail address of the user terminal device 1 (stored in the service execution means 33H of the service providing device 3). Execution is described in FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a variable table 701 for selecting a desired variable from a plurality of variables and defining a new variable so that the tables of FIGS. 4 to 6 can be customized. FIG. By using this variable table 701, it is possible to select or define variable information that can be used when a new condition or instruction is described without looking at the source code. In FIG. 7, two variables 703 and 705 are described as an example. The first variable 703 is an expected charging time that is dynamically set at the start of charging, has a name of CHARGING_TIME, and has a type of It is a String. A second variable 705 is a user ID for specifying a user whose value is dynamically set at the time of user authentication. The name is USER_ID and the type is String. The table shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 can be customized by selecting a desired variable from the plurality of variables defined in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a method table 801 that can define and select the methods of FIGS. 4 and 5. By using this method table 801, it is possible to describe available method information without newly looking at the source code when newly describing a condition or an instruction. In the example of FIG. 8, two methods 803 and 805 are described, and the first method 803 is set to true if the value of the first argument is less than or equal to the value of the second argument, and false otherwise. This method is returned as a return value. The name is MyPackage.lessThan, the return type is boolean, and the first and second arguments are both ints. The second method 805 is a method for sending the second argument data to the user of the first argument by e-mail, the name is MyPackage.sendEmail2Custmer, the return type is void, the first argument, the second argument Both are Strings. Tables shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be selected by selecting from these methods.

  Thus, by separately holding the tables shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the operations shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 can be edited and a new table can be created.

  As described above, the service providing apparatus 3 holds the tables shown in FIGS. 3 to 8 so that the table can be easily edited.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the administrator terminal device 2. First, it is determined whether the CPU 21A has received a charge data history display request based on the operation of the manager operation means 23B (step 901). In the case of YES, a charging data acquisition command is sent to the remote management device 4 by the communication means 23A, the result is acquired and displayed on the display means 23C (step 902), and the process is terminated. If NO, the process proceeds to step 903.

  Next, it is determined whether a remote operation command has been received based on the operation of the administrator operation means 23B (step 903). In the case of YES, a remote operation command is sent to the remote management device 4 by the communication means 23A, the result is acquired, displayed on the display means 23C (step 904), and the process is terminated. If NO, go to Step 905. Then, it is determined whether or not a table reference request regarding any of the tables in FIGS. 4 to 8 has been received based on the operation of the administrator operation means 23B (step 905). If YES, the communication means 23A sends a table reference request to the service providing means 3, acquires the result, displays it on the display means 23C (step 906), and ends the process. If NO, the process proceeds to step 907. Then, it is determined whether or not the table registration request is received based on the operation of the administrator operation means 23B (step 907). In the case of YES, a table registration request is sent to the service providing means 3 by the communication means 23A, the result is acquired and displayed on the display means 23C (step 908), and the process is terminated. If NO, the process ends.

  As described above, the charging data and the table can be displayed on the display unit 23C based on the charging data acquisition command, the remote operation command, the table reference request, and the table registration request by the administrator operating unit 23B. . The administrator can check and edit the charging data and the table using the administrator terminal device 2.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the remote management device 4. First, it is determined whether or not a charge data acquisition command has been received from the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1001). In the case of YES here, the charge data list (history) stored by the notification data management means 43B is returned to the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1002), and the process is terminated. If “NO” here, the process proceeds to the step 1003.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the charging data is received from the charger management device 5 (step 1003). In the case of YES here, the charging data is stored in the remote management device 4 by the notification data management means 43B, and the charging data is transferred to the service providing device (step 1004), and the process ends. If NO, go to Step 1005. Each time charging data is received in the remote management device 4, the charging data is saved, so that the charging data list can be returned to the manager terminal device 2 in step 1002.

  Further, it is determined whether an authentication request has been received from the charger management device 5 (step 1005). If YES, authentication is performed by the authentication means 43C, and the authentication result is returned to the charger management device 5 (step 1006). The process ends. If NO, go to Step 1007.

  Further, it is determined whether or not a remote operation command has been received from the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1007). If YES, the remote operation command is transferred to the charger management device 5 and the result is returned to the administrator terminal device 2 ( Step 1008), the process ends. If NO, the process ends. Here, the remote operation command is, for example, activation or deactivation of a charger.

  As described above, in the remote management device 4, the charging data acquisition command and the remote operation command are received from the administrator terminal device 2, and the charging data and the authentication request are received from the charger management device 5. Accordingly, processing such as acquisition of charging data, remote operation command, storage of charging data, and return of the authentication result can be performed.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the service providing apparatus 3. It is determined whether or not charging data has been received from the remote management device 4 (step 1101). In the case of YES, the rule table 601 in FIG. 6 is referred in order from the top, and if the condition is met, the corresponding table is referred to, the service described therein is executed (step 1102), and the process is terminated. If NO, go to step 1103.

  It is determined whether a table reference request has been received from the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1103). In the case of YES, the contents of the corresponding table requested for reference are sent to the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1104), and the process is terminated. If NO, go to Step 1105.

  Further, it is determined whether a table registration request has been received from the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1105). If YES, the corresponding table is received, the received corresponding table is registered (step 1106), and the process is terminated. If NO, the process ends.

  For example, when charging an electric vehicle with a user ID of “1234” and the expected charging time at the start of charging notified from the charger 6 to the remote management device 4 and the service providing device 3 is 30 minutes. 3 is distributed to the user terminal device (user's mobile terminal) 1 having the user ID “1234” by e-mail.

  On the other hand, when the estimated charging time is 5 minutes, the information in data.xml is not distributed. Although not shown in FIG. 3, if rule data within 5 minutes exists, the information is delivered by mail.

  Here, the user's e-mail address with respect to the user ID is not particularly limited in form, but it is premised that it is stored in the service providing apparatus 3 as rule data, for example.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the charger management device 5.
In response to the display “Please enter authentication information”, it is determined whether or not an input of authentication information has been received from the user terminal information acquisition means 53C (step 1201). In the case of YES, the remote management device 4 is requested for authentication, the authentication result is acquired (step 1202), and the process proceeds to step 1203. On the other hand, if NO, the process proceeds to step 1208.

  It is determined whether or not the authentication result is OK (step 1203). If NO, a failure is displayed on the display means 53E (step 1204), and the process ends. If yes, go to step 1205.

  The display means 53D displays "Do you want to start charging", and determines whether or not OK has been received (step 1205). If NO, the process ends. In the case of YES, it is confirmed that the charging means 64 is connected to the device to be charged (electric vehicle), a charging start command is issued to the charger 6 (step 1206), and the process proceeds to step 1207.

  When the charger 6 is notified of the end of charging, the user is inquired about whether to move to the next operation, and it is determined whether or not the result is OK (step 1207). Step 1207 is repeated until YES, and if YES, the process ends.

  It is determined whether charging data has been received from the charger 6 (step 1208). In the case of YES, the user ID included in the authentication information is added, transmitted to the remote management device 4 (step 1209), and the process ends. If no, go to Step 1210.

  It is determined whether a remote operation command is received from the remote management device 4 (step 1210). In the case of YES, the designated operation is commanded to the charger 6 (step 1211), and the process is terminated. If NO, the process ends.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the charger. First, it is determined whether or not the charger has failed (step 1301). In the case of YES, the failure charging data is sent to the charger management device 5 (step 1302), and the process is terminated. If NO, the process proceeds to step 1303.

  It is determined whether or not a charge start command is received from the charger management device 5 (step 1303). If YES, the charging start charging data is sent to the charger management device 5 and charging starts (step 1304). When charging is completed, the charging end charging data is sent to the charger management device 5 (step 1305). The process is terminated. If NO, go to Step 1306.

  It is determined whether a table registration request has been received from the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1306). If YES, the corresponding table is received and registered (step 1307), and the process ends. If NO, the process ends.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of charging data list display which is a premise of the charger management system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The administrator terminal device 2 sends a charge data list display command to the remote management device 4 when the charger 6 confirms that the charger management device 5 is operating normally (step 1401, Step 902 in FIG. Receiving this, the remote management device 4 returns the charge data list (step 1402, step 1002 in FIG. 10). For example, it is possible to display a list such as when the charger 6 having a certain ID is out of order, when another charger is being charged, and when the charging start time is.

  FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram of a remote operation command according to this embodiment. The administrator terminal device 2 designates the operation content and sends a remote operation command to the remote management device 4 (step 1501, step 902 in FIG. 9). A request for calling a designated command is sent to the charger management device 5 (step 1502, step 904 in FIG. 9). The charger management device 5 executes a designated command (step 1503, steps 1210 and 1211 in FIG. 12). For example, if the charger 6 is stopped, communication with the charger 6 is also performed. If it is an immediate notification request for charging data, the remote management device 4 is notified of charging data such as the status of the charger 6 and the user ID. The result of the command call consisting of success or failure is returned to the remote management device (step 1504). The remote management device 4 displays the calling result on, for example, a web browser of the administrator terminal device 2 (step 1505, step 904 in FIG. 9).

  FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram when the charger is used, which is the main part of the first embodiment. It is assumed that the charging means 64 of the charger 6 is connected to a charging target device such as an electric vehicle. The charger 6 is managed by the charger management means 53B, so that when the charger state changes or further every predetermined time, the charger management device 5 sends the charging data relating to the charger 6 to the charger management device. 5 is controlled to be sent to 5. It is assumed that the charger state is stored in an external storage device 63 of the charger and an area in the external storage device 53 managed by the charger management unit 53B.

  First, input authentication information is displayed on the display screen of the charger management device 5 (step 1601, step 1201 in FIG. 12). The user terminal device 1 passes the user ID to the user input receiving unit. For example, the contactless ID card distributed to the pre-registered user is passed over the user terminal information acquisition means 53C of the charger management device 5 to be sent (step 1602, step 1201 in FIG. 12). The charger management device 5 sends an authentication request to the remote management device 4 (step 1603, step 1202 in FIG. 12). The remote management device 4 returns the authentication result to the charger management device 5 (step 1604, steps 1202 and 1203 in FIG. 12). Next, an inquiry as to whether or not to charge such as “Do you want to start charging?” Is displayed on the display screen of the charger management device 5 (step 1605, step 1205 in FIG. 12). When a YES signal is received as an operation result of the user of the user terminal device 1 (step 1606, YES in step 1205 in FIG. 12), a charge start command is sent to the charger 6 (step 1607, step in FIG. 12). 1206).

  In step 1605, when a NO signal is received as an operation result of the user of the user terminal device 1, the process of the charger management device 5 returns to the first step 1601. When the signal of YES is received, the charger 6 sets the state to charging (step 1608, step 1304 in FIG. 13), and when the state is changed as described above or charging data is periodically charged. Since it is controlled by the charger management means 53B to be sent to the management device 5, the charging data is notified (step 1609, step 1305 in FIG. 13), and the charger management device 5 adds the user ID (step 1). 1610, step 1209 in FIG. 12) and sent to the remote management device 4 (step 1610, step 1209 in FIG. 12). The remote management device 4 stores the charging data in the remote management device 4 and transfers it to the service providing device 3 (step 1611, step 1004 in FIG. 10). The service providing apparatus 3 first refers to the rule table 601 in FIG. 6, and if the rule table 601 includes a description specifying another condition table 401 or an instruction table 501, also refers to the specified table. In addition, if the condition table 401 and the instruction table 501 have a description specifying the rule data file 301 in FIG. 3, it is also applicable if there is a condition that matches the notified charge data by referring to this description. The instruction is executed (step 1612).

  Here, for example, when charging data as shown in FIG. 2 (a) is notified, a condition for determining whether or not the service provision time of 20 minutes described in the rule data file 301 is shorter than the estimated charging time of 30 minutes. Is true and the content tag of the rule data file 301 is addressed to the user's mail address registered in the external storage device 33 of the service providing device 3 at the time of pre-registration with the notified user ID. Send the contents of the mail. On the other hand, if false, do not execute.

  When the charging is completed, the charger 6 sets the state to a waiting state (step 1613), performs the same processing as from step 1609 to step 1612, and then displays "Do you want to move to the next processing?" 1619). After this, if OK is input, the process returns to step 1601 and continues to wait until it is input.

  Through the above processing, it is possible to efficiently provide service information that can be received during the charging waiting time of an automobile equipped with a rechargeable battery (secondary battery).

  In the present embodiment, the estimated charging time used for comparison may be the estimated charging time at the time when several seconds have elapsed from the start of charging and a certain level of accuracy is ensured, instead of the charging start time. . In addition, the service provision time is not unique, and a combination of a minimum value and a maximum value may be set, and each value may be compared with an expected charging time to deliver both results. In the present embodiment, information having a service provision time that falls within the expected charging time may be arranged at the upper level, and information that does not fit within the expected charging time may be arranged and sent, for example, in ascending order of the service provision time. . Thereby, it becomes easy to select a service to be provided. Further, in the invention according to the first embodiment, the information may be classified and distributed into information that can be stored within the expected charging time and information that cannot be stored.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the service management device holds store opening time information in advance, determines whether or not the charging start time is within the opening hours, and distributes information only when it is within the opening hours. You may make it do.

  Further, even if the service delivered to the store providing the service is congested, the service may be used preferentially before others as long as charging is in progress. This includes a mechanism for authenticating the same user ID as this system in the corresponding store, and in the remote management device that has received an inquiry from this mechanism, includes a process of determining whether charging is in progress from the charging history, or , As the delivery information to the mobile phone, by explicitly delivering the time and expected charging time or by delivering it in a form that is easy to read from a mobile phone external terminal such as a QR code, and confirming it visually or with a code reader realizable.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, position information of the charger may be taken into consideration. For example, an element for identifying the charger ID is further added to FIG. 3 so that the charger ID for identifying the charger is notified in addition to the items of FIG. 2, and matches the dynamically obtained charger ID. This can be realized by adding a condition limited to the rule data having the charger ID.

(Modification)
In the first embodiment, the rule data file 301 including the service provision time / service information pair shown in FIG. 3 and only the service information whose service provision time is shorter than the expected charge time are used as user identification numbers. A rule table 601 (FIG. 6) described so as to be distributed to a specified user terminal is used. In this modification, instead, the data for the rule consisting of a pair of battery positions that can be reached by the remaining battery level and the remaining battery level, and the next charge that can be reached with a lower battery level than the battery level at the end. A rule table that describes the location information of the charger to be delivered to the terminal of the user specified by the user identification number is retained, and the next charge is possible from the remaining battery level at the end of charging. The charger location information may be distributed.

  Here, the remaining battery amount at the time of termination is a value estimated or determined at the start of charging (a value obtained dynamically), and the timing for distributing the next chargeable charger position information is at the start of charging. There may be.

  FIG. 1B (b) is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a charger management system according to a modification of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1B (b), the management system A has a user terminal information acquisition unit 53C that acquires the identification number of the user terminal, and a charge information acquisition unit that acquires the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery from the charger 6. 53D, a rule data management means 33E for storing rule data requested to be registered by the administrator terminal device 2, and a service for executing a rule based on the rule data registered in the rule data management means 33E A communication device 53A for notifying the remote service providing device 3 of charging data including the providing device 3, the rule execution means 33H for instructing the user terminal device 1, the user terminal identification number, and the remaining battery level; have.

  With the above functional configuration, for example, information (service) of the next charging spot that can be reached before the remaining battery level is used up can be notified to the user terminal device 1.

  In the charge management system according to this modification, the position information of the charger suitable for the next charge is distributed at the start or end of charging according to the situation of each vehicle having a different remaining battery level at the end of charging. Can do. By this distribution, the user of the electric vehicle can know the next charging point, and can drive with confidence.

Next, a charge management system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram of table operation processing by the administrator terminal device 2 in the charge management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the charge management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention manages condition management means 33B for managing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charge data, and manages services provided to users. A system structure in which an instruction management unit 33C, a rule management unit 33D for managing a rule linking a condition and an instruction, and a rule data management unit 33E for managing data necessary for executing the rule are made independent. It is characterized by having. By making these means independent, if a change is necessary, it is only necessary to re-mount only the component corresponding to the change target part instead of the whole, and the amount of work can be reduced. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a feature that the source code does not need to be corrected by operating the table using the administrator terminal device 2. Details of FIG. 17 will be described below.

  When the administrator terminal device 2 designates a table name and sends a reference command to the service providing device 3 (step 1701), it returns the contents of the corresponding table (step 1702). When the administrator terminal device 2 designates the table name and contents and sends a registration request to the service providing means 3 (step 1703), the result is returned (step 1704). In the first embodiment, service provision time information may also be distributed. Thus, the administrator can perform table operations using the administrator terminal device 2.

  In the first and second embodiments, the service providing device 3 is not provided, but instead, the condition management means 33B, the instruction management means 33C, the rule management means 33D, the rule data management means 33E, the variable The management unit 33F, the method management unit 33G, and the service execution unit 33H may be provided in the external storage device 53 of the charger management device 5. FIG. 18 shows an example of this configuration (second modification). In this case shown in FIG. 18, the notification data management means has means for only storing data locally, the use terminal device 1 receives mail from the charger management device 5, and the table from the administrator terminal device 2. The charger management device 5 receives the reference and registration.

According to the second modification, the external storage device 53 of the charger management device 5 further includes the OSGi framework of the following non-patent document, and the above-described condition management means 33B, instruction management means 33C, rule management means. 33D, rule data management means 33E, variable management means 33F, method management means 33G, and service execution means 33H may operate as bundles on this framework.
(Non-patent literature) http://www.osgi.org

  Further, with this configuration, the mail may be displayed on the information display means of the charger management device 5 instead of being delivered to the user terminal device. In addition, the user terminal device may be a car navigation device provided in a car and having a function of receiving mail.

  In the above description, an example of transmitting the contents of a service having a service provision time that falls within the expected charge time has been described. However, information having a service provision time that falls within the expected charge time is placed at the upper level (for example, the upper row). Then, after that (lower row), information that does not fit in the expected charging time may be sent, for example, in the order of shorter time. Further, the information may be distributed by being classified into information that falls within the expected charging time and information that does not fit.

  Furthermore, the position information of the charger may be taken into consideration. For example, an element for identifying the charger ID is further added to FIG. 3, and the charger ID for identifying the charger is notified in addition to the items of FIG. Then, it is possible to add a condition that limits the service sent by the service providing apparatus to only the contents described in the rule data having the charger ID that matches the dynamically obtained charger ID. Thereby, even if it is the same content, service information can be provided only to the user's terminal using the specific charging device.

  Further, instead of the service providing device, the condition management unit 33B, the instruction management unit 33C, the rule management unit 33D, the rule data management unit 33E, the variable management unit 33F, the method management unit 33G, and the service execution unit 33H are connected to the charger management. A configuration provided in the external storage device 53 of the device 5 may be employed. In this case, the notification data management means 43B has means for only storing the data locally, and the use terminal device 1 receives the e-mail from the charger management device 5 and registers the service from the administrator terminal device 2. Is received by the charger management device 5.

  Further, in this configuration, instead of distributing the electronic mail to the user terminal device 1, the electronic mail may be displayed on the display unit 53 </ b> D of the charger management device 5. In addition, the user terminal device 1 may be a car navigation device provided in an electric vehicle or a part thereof. Here, the charging target is referred to as a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) -equipped device.

  Further, although not shown, the remote management device 4 and the charger management device 5 may be configured as an integrated device by changing this configuration.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration and the like illustrated in the accompanying drawings are not limited to these, and can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the effects of the present invention. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

  In addition, a program for realizing the functions described in the present embodiment is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed to execute processing of each unit. May be performed.

  The present invention is applicable to a charging system.

1 ... User terminal device 11A, 21A, 31A, 41A, 51A, 61A ... CPU
11B, 21B, 31B, 41B, 51B, 61B ... Memory 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, 63 ... External storage device 2 ... Administrator terminal device 3 ... Service providing device 4 ... Remote management device 5 ... Charger management device 6 ... Charger 7 ... Internet 8 ... Network 13A, 23A, 33A, 43A, 53A, 63A ... Communication means 13B, 23C, 53E ..Display means 23B ... Manager operation means 33B ... Condition management means 33C ... Command management means 33D ... Rule management means 33E ... Rule data management means 33F ... Variable management means 33G ... Method management means 33H ... Service execution means 43B ... Notification data management means 43C ... Authentication means 43D ... Administrator operation acceptance means 53B ... Charger management Stage 53C ··· user terminal information acquisition means 64 ... charging means 65 ... power acquisition means

Claims (11)

A charger management system having a charger management device for managing a charger for a rechargeable battery device and a service providing device for providing a service to a user of the charger,
The charger management device
User information acquisition means for acquiring a user terminal identification number of the user terminal prior to use of the charger;
Charging information acquisition means for acquiring an estimated charging time for the rechargeable battery from the charger at the start of charging;
Communication means for notifying the service providing device of charging data including the estimated charging time,
The service providing apparatus includes:
Rule data management means for managing rule data comprising a pair of service provision time and service information;
And a rule execution means for executing a rule described so that only service information having a shorter service provision time than the expected charging time is distributed to the user terminal identified by the user terminal identification number. Charger management system. A charger management system having a charger management device for managing a charger for a rechargeable battery device and a service providing device for providing a service to a user of the charger,
The charger management device
User information acquisition means for acquiring a user terminal identification number of the user terminal prior to use of the charger;
Charging information acquisition means for acquiring the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery from the charger at the end of charging;
Communication means for notifying the service providing apparatus of charging data including the remaining battery capacity,
The service providing apparatus includes:
Rule data registration instruction means for managing rule data consisting of a pair of charger positions that can be reached by the remaining battery level and the remaining battery level;
Rule execution that executes a rule that describes location information of another charger that can be reached with a remaining battery level lower than the remaining battery level at the end of charging to be delivered to the user terminal identified by the user terminal identification number And a charger management system.   The charger management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rule data is registered or viewed by an administrator terminal owned by an administrator of the system. A remote management device for managing the rechargeable battery management device;
The remote management device is:
Having authentication means for authenticating a user terminal identified by the user terminal identification number sent from the rechargeable battery management device;
The charger management device
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a charger management unit that sends a charging start command to the charger only when the user terminal is authenticated by the authentication unit. 5. Charger management system. The service providing apparatus includes:
Condition management means for managing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data among the charging data notified by the notification means, instruction management means for managing services provided to the user terminal, It has a system structure in which a rule management means for managing a rule in which a condition and the instruction are linked and a rule data management means for managing rule data necessary for executing the rule are independent. The charger management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the charger management system is provided.   The charger according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one of the means in the service providing device is arranged in a charger management device that manages the charger. Management system. A charger management method by one or more devices for managing a charger for a rechargeable battery device,
A user information acquisition step of acquiring a user terminal identification number of the user terminal prior to use of the charger;
An expected charging time acquisition step of acquiring an expected charging time of the charger at the start of charging; and
A rule data management step for managing rule data comprising a pair of service provision time and service information;
And a rule execution step of executing a rule describing that only service information whose service provision time is shorter than the expected charging time is distributed to the user terminal specified by the user terminal identification number. Charger management method. A charger management method by one or more devices for managing a charger for a rechargeable battery device,
A charging information acquisition step of acquiring the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery from the charger at the end of charging;
An expected charging time acquisition step of acquiring an expected charging time of the charger at the start of charging; and
A rule data management step for managing rule data comprising a pair of service provision time and service information;
Rule execution that executes a rule that describes location information of another charger that can be reached with a remaining battery level lower than the remaining battery level at the end of charging to be delivered to the user terminal identified by the user terminal identification number And a charger management method. A service providing apparatus that presents a service using a charging waiting time using a charger for a device equipped with a rechargeable battery to a user terminal,
A remote operation command is transmitted to the user terminal and the charger management device that manages the charger via a network, and charging data and an authentication request regarding the charger and the user terminal are sent to the charger management device. Communication means for communicating with a remote management device received from
Condition management means for managing conditions by a condition table describing conditions for narrowing down only to specific charging data among the charging data by a method;
A command management means for managing commands by a command table that describes commands for distributing service information to be provided to user terminals by a method;
A rule management means for managing a rule by a rule table that describes which instruction is executed in any condition and describes a rule in which the condition and the rule are linked;
Rule data management means for managing a rule table describing data necessary for executing the rule;
Service provision comprising: execution means for referring to the condition and the instruction described in the rule table and executing the instruction based on the data described in the rule table that matches the condition apparatus.   The condition table describes a condition that a service providing time is shorter than an expected charging time, and the command table is a table describing a command for distributing only service information satisfying the condition to the user terminal by e-mail. The service providing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the service providing apparatus is provided.   11. The service providing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the condition table includes a reference to data obtained at the time of charging, or the command is a command related to charging.

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