JP2015022481A - Charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging system capable of contributing to prevalence of chargers without entailing cost increase.SOLUTION: A charging system comprises: a vending machine 10 that allows electronic settlement with a portable terminal device 1 held in a predetermined communicable area; and chargers 90 connected to the vending machine 10 so that data can be transmitted/received between the chargers 90 and the vending machine 10, and charging a vehicle 100 by being electrically connected to a storage battery 101 mounted in a vehicle 100. The vending machine 10 includes a control unit 40 that allows one of the chargers 90 to charge the vehicle 100 by transmitting a charging permission command to the charger 90 if one electrically connected charger 90 is selected from among the chargers 90 and the electronic settlement is made between the vending machine 10 and the portable terminal device 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging system, and more particularly, to a charging system including a vending machine and a charger connected to the vending machine so as to be able to transmit and receive data.

  Conventionally, a charger for charging a vehicle such as an electric vehicle is known. The charger includes a charger body that houses a power supply unit, and a charging cable that is drawn from the power supply unit to the outside of the charger body. The charging cable includes a connector for connecting to a charging terminal of the vehicle.

  In this type of charger, by connecting the connector to the charging terminal of the vehicle, the storage battery mounted on the vehicle can be rapidly charged by the power supply unit via the charging cable.

  In order to use such a charger, it is necessary to register user information for receiving a charging service in advance, and it is necessary to receive a dedicated user card or the like. And the user can utilize a charger by putting a user card etc. in the non-contact terminal of a charger (for example, refer patent document 1).

JP 2011-167041 A

  However, since the charger described above requires user information to be registered in advance, for example, when using an electric vehicle for rental cars, car sharing, etc., if the user does not register in advance. There is a possibility that the charger cannot be used, which is a factor preventing the spread of the charger. Moreover, since it is necessary to mount a non-contact terminal for each charger, the cost is increased, and as a result, the spread of the charger is hindered.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging system capable of spreading a charger without incurring an increase in cost.

  To achieve the above object, a charging system according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a vending machine capable of electronic payment with a recording medium held in a predetermined communicable area, and the vending machine, A charging system including a charger for charging the vehicle by being electrically connected to a storage battery mounted in the vehicle and capable of transmitting and receiving data between the vehicle and the vending machine When one of the chargers electrically connected to itself is selected and an electronic payment is made with the recording medium, a charging permission command is given to the corresponding charger. The charger is provided with a control unit that allows the vehicle to be charged.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging system according to the first aspect, wherein the control means is configured to connect the vending machine and the network when a signal indicating that the charging is completed is given from the charger. The management apparatus connected via the electronic mail is transmitted with a mail indicating that charging is completed to a mail address stored in association with the recording medium.

  Further, in the charging system according to claim 3 of the present invention, in the above-described claim 1 or 2, the control means performs an operation for requesting acquisition of an address of a WEB site that provides a usage status of the charger. When it is made, the address of the WEB site is transmitted to a device held in a predetermined communicable area.

  According to the present invention, when any one of the electrically connected chargers is selected and the electronic settlement is performed with the recording medium, the control unit of the vending machine can select an appropriate charger. By giving a charging permission command to the charger, the charger is allowed to charge the vehicle, so that the user performs quick charging with a specified charger after making an electronic payment with a vending machine. be able to. Thus, the user does not need to register user information in advance when using the charger. Moreover, it is not necessary to mount a non-contact terminal on the charger, and an existing vending machine having an electronic payment function can be used, and an increase in cost can be suppressed. Therefore, there is an effect that the charger can be widely used without increasing the cost.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing main components of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the vending machine shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the charging control processing performed by the control unit of the vending machine of the charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing other processing executed by the control unit of the vending machine of the charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the processing content of the WEB address transmission processing.

  Exemplary embodiments of a charging system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing main components of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The charging system exemplified here includes a vending machine 10, a management device 80, and a charger 90.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vending machine 10 is for selling products such as canned drinks and plastic bottled drinks, and includes a main body cabinet 11.

  Inside the main body cabinet 11, a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) independent commodity storage boxes 12 are arranged side by side. These merchandise storage boxes 12 store merchandise such as canned beverages and plastic bottled beverages while maintaining a desired temperature.

  Each product storage 12 is provided with a product storage rack 13, a carry-out mechanism 14, and a carry-out shooter 16. The commodity storage rack 13 is for storing commodities in a manner arranged in the vertical direction. The carry-out mechanism 14 is provided in the lower part of the product storage rack 13 and is used to carry out the products at the bottom of the product group stored in the product storage rack 13 one by one. The carry-out shooter 16 is for guiding the product carried out from the carry-out mechanism 14 to a product outlet 22 described later. In addition, a heat exchanger (not shown) is disposed below the product storage 12 by the carry-out shooter 16, and the beverage cans stored in the product storage rack 13 by driving the heat exchanger. And the PET bottle can be maintained at a desired cooling temperature or heating temperature.

  The vending machine 10 is provided with a door 16 at the left edge of the main body cabinet 11. The door body 16 is for opening and closing the front opening of the main body cabinet 11, and includes an inner door 16a and an outer door 16b. The inner door 16a has a size sufficient to cover the front surface of the commodity storage 12 provided in the main body cabinet 11, and has a heat insulating structure. In the example shown in the figure, the inner door 16a is divided into upper and lower parts so that each can be opened and closed individually.

  The outer door 16 b has a size sufficient to cover the front opening of the main body cabinet 11. The outer door 16b has a selection button 17, a coin insertion slot 18, a bill insertion slot 19, an integrated display 20, a coin return slot 21, a product outlet 22, a reader / writer section 23, an antenna section 24, a display on the front side of the outer door 16b. On the other hand, a coin processor 26, a coin collection box 27, and a banknote processor 28 are provided on the rear surface side.

  The selection button 17 is used by the user to select a purchased product, and is provided corresponding to the product sample S. When the selection button 17 is pressed, an output signal is output to the vending machine control unit 30 described later.

  The coin slot 18 is an opening through which a user inserts coins. The coins inserted through the coin insertion slot 18 are identified by the coin processor 26 and then stored in the coin collection box 27.

  The bill insertion slot 19 is an opening for a user to insert a bill. The banknote inserted through the banknote insertion slot 19 is identified in the banknote processing machine 28 by its denomination. The bill insertion slot 19 has a function for returning bills that could not be identified by the bill processor 28.

  The integrated display 20 is for displaying various information to the user, such as the amount of money inserted, whether or not it is being sold, and whether or not there is change.

  The coin return port 21 is an opening for returning to the user a coin that could not be identified by the coin processor 26 or a coin to be changed. The product outlet 22 is an opening for the user to receive the product paid out from the product storage rack 13.

  The reader / writer unit 23 is a wireless communication device that supports near field communication standards such as NFC (Near Field Communication), and a portable terminal device (recording medium) 1 such as a smartphone is held in a predetermined communicable area. In this case, it is possible to read / write information from / to the mobile terminal device 1 and to transmit / receive information to / from the mobile terminal device 1.

  When the mobile terminal device 1 is held in a predetermined communicable area, the antenna unit 24 can transmit and receive information to and from the mobile terminal device 1 by, for example, infrared communication.

  The display unit 25 is a so-called touch panel type display screen, and adopts a known structure that gives a signal corresponding to the pressed position to the control unit 40 described later when a predetermined position of the liquid crystal display screen is pressed with a fingertip. The display unit 25 has a function as a display unit for displaying various kinds of information, and also has a function as an input unit. When any part on the display screen is pressed, the display unit 25 corresponds to the pressed part. The signal is given to the control unit 40.

  Such a vending machine 10 includes a control unit 40 in addition to the above configuration. The control unit 40 is electrically connected to the vending machine control unit 30 that mainly controls the sales operation of the vending machine 10 in such a manner that data can be transmitted and received, and vending is performed according to programs and data stored in the memory 50 in advance. The operation of the machine 10 is comprehensively controlled. In the present embodiment, the control unit 40 is configured independently of the vending machine control unit 30, but in the present invention, the control unit 40 is configured to be incorporated in the vending machine control unit 30. May be.

  The control unit 40 includes a communication processing unit 41, an input processing unit 42, an output processing unit 43, a settlement processing unit 44, an email address acquisition processing unit 45, a WEB address transmission unit 46, and a charging control processing unit 47.

  The communication control unit 40 is connected to a network 60 such as the Internet through the communication control interface unit 51, and controls data transmission / reception with the management device 80 via the network 60.

  The input processing unit 42 inputs a signal given from the display unit 25. The output processing unit 43 gives various information display commands to the display unit 25. The payment processing unit 44 manages and controls electronic payment processing performed by the reader / writer unit 23.

  The mail address acquisition processing unit 45 acquires a mail address from the mobile terminal device 1 through infrared communication when the mobile terminal device 1 is held in a predetermined communicable area of the antenna unit 24.

  When the mobile terminal device 1 is held in a predetermined communicable area of the antenna unit 24, the WEB address transmission unit 46 is a web site that provides the usage status of the charger to the mobile terminal device 1 through infrared communication. An address (hereinafter also referred to as a WEB address) is transmitted.

  The charging control processing unit 47 is connected to a network 70 such as a LAN through the communication control interface unit 52, and transmits / receives data to / from a plurality of chargers 90 via the network 70.

  The management device 80 is disposed at a center or the like that has jurisdiction over the vending machine 10 and includes a management control unit 81. The management control unit 81 controls the operation of each unit of the management device 80 according to a predetermined program.

  The chargers 90 are respectively disposed in areas close to the vending machine 10. These chargers 90 are for charging the storage battery 101 mounted on the vehicle 100 such as an electric vehicle through the charging cable C, and include a charging control unit 91. The charge control unit 91 controls the operation of each unit of the charger 90 according to a predetermined program.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the charging control processing performed by the control unit 40 of the vending machine 10 of the charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the charging system will be described while explaining the charging control process. As a premise, it is assumed that the control unit 40 causes the display unit 25 to perform a display through which the charger 90 can be selected through the output processing unit 43.

  In this charging control processing, the control unit 40 inputs that the charger 90 has been selected through the input processing unit 42 by pressing a display portion of any charger 90 on the display unit 25 ( (Step S101: Yes), the charging fee is displayed through the output display unit 25 (Step S102), and the electronic payment is awaited (Step S103).

  If it is determined that the electronic payment processing is completed by the reader / writer unit 23 through the payment processing unit 44 within a preset predetermined time (step S103: Yes, step S104: No), that is, the reader within the predetermined time. When the mobile terminal device 1 is held in the communicable area of the writer unit 23 and the mutual authentication is performed and the electronic money corresponding to the charge fee is subtracted, the control unit 40 passes through the charge control processing unit 47. A charge permission command is sent to the charge controller 91 of the corresponding charger 90 (step S105).

  The charging controller 91 of the charger 90 to which this charging permission instruction is given is connected to the charging terminal of the vehicle 100 by connecting the connector of the charging cable C to the power supply unit (not shown) via the charging cable C. Thus, the storage battery 101 mounted on the vehicle 100 is rapidly charged, and the charging state is monitored.

  When the reader / writer unit 23 determines that the electronic payment process is not completed through the payment processing unit 44 within the predetermined time (step S103: No, step S104: Yes), the control unit 40 passes through the output processing unit 43. A settlement impossible display is displayed on the display unit 25 (step S106), and thereafter, the procedure is returned without performing the processing described later, and the current processing is terminated. Thereby, the user can recognize that the electronic payment processing has not been performed.

  The control unit 40 that has performed the process of step S105 displays a mail address registration guidance display on the display unit 25 through the output processing unit 43 (step S107), and waits for a mail address registration selection (step S108).

  When it is input that the mail address registration is selected through the input processing unit 42 (step S108: Yes), the control unit 40 causes the antenna unit 24 to output a polling signal by infrared communication through the mail address acquisition processing unit 45. Then, communication is started (step S109).

  When the mail address acquisition processing unit 45 starts acquiring the mail address within a predetermined time set in advance (step S110: Yes, step S111: No), that is, the antenna unit 24 can communicate within the predetermined time. When the mobile terminal device 1 is held in the area and a response signal indicating that the mobile terminal device 1 has received the polling signal is transmitted, the control unit 40 stores the mail stored in the mobile terminal device 1 by the mail address acquisition processing unit 45 Address acquisition completion is awaited (step S112).

  When the acquisition of the e-mail address is completed through the e-mail address acquisition processing unit 45 (step S112: Yes), the control unit 40 stores the e-mail address in the memory 50 together with the unique information of the mobile terminal device 1 in the electronic payment process of step S103. After that, the communication started in step S109 is terminated (step S113), and a message indicating that the mail address has been acquired is displayed on the display unit 25 through the output processing unit 43 (step S114). Thereby, the user can recognize that the mail address has been acquired.

  Thereafter, the control unit 40 acquires the charging state of the corresponding charger 90 from the charging control unit 91 through the charging control processing unit 47 (step S115), and waits for the input of the signal indicating that charging from the charging control unit 91 is completed. (Step S116).

  And when the signal which the charge completion was given from the charge control part 91 (step S116: Yes), the control part 40 is an email address and charge with respect to the management control part 81 of the management apparatus 80 through the communication process part 41. FIG. Is transmitted (step S117), and then the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  Thereby, the management control unit 81 to which the signal indicating that the charging is completed is sent to the mail address indicating that the charging is completed. As a result, the user can recognize that charging has been completed by the mail received by the mobile terminal device 1.

  On the other hand, in step S110 and step S111, when the e-mail address acquisition processing unit 45 does not start acquiring an e-mail address within a predetermined time (step S110: No, step S111: Yes), that is, within the predetermined time. If the mobile terminal device 1 is not held in the communicable area of the antenna unit 24, the control unit 40 ends the communication started in step S109 (step S118).

  Thereafter, the control unit 40 acquires the charging state of the corresponding charger 90 from the charging control unit 91 through the charging control processing unit 47 (step S119), and waits for the input of the signal indicating that the charging from the charging control unit 91 is completed. (Step S120).

  Then, when the signal indicating that the charging is completed is given from the charging control unit 91 (step S120: Yes), the control unit 40 causes the display unit 25 to display that the charging is completed through the output processing unit 43 (step S121). ) And then return the procedure to end the current process. According to this, the user can recognize that the charging is completed on the display of the display unit 25.

  As described above, according to the charging system according to the present embodiment, the control unit 40 of the vending machine 10 selects one of the chargers 90 and makes an electronic payment with the mobile terminal device 1. In this case, since the charger 90 is allowed to charge the vehicle 100 by giving a charging permission command to the corresponding charger 90, the user makes an electronic payment with the vending machine 10. After that, quick charging can be performed with the specified charger 90. In this way, the user does not need to register user information in advance when using the charger 90. Moreover, it is not necessary to mount a non-contact terminal on the charger 90, and an existing vending machine 10 having an electronic payment function can be used, and an increase in cost can be suppressed. Therefore, the charger 90 can be popularized without causing an increase in cost.

  According to the charging system, the control unit 40 of the vending machine 10 associates the management device 80 with the unique information of the mobile terminal device 1 when the charger 90 gives a signal that the charging is completed. The user is able to recognize the completion of the reception even if he / she leaves the place until the charging is completed, and the convenience is improved. Can do. Moreover, since the e-mail address is registered simply by holding the portable terminal device 1 on the antenna unit 24 after the charging is started, it is not necessary to perform pre-registration, and the e-mail address registration operation is very simple for the user. Can be.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing other processing executed by the control unit 40 of the vending machine 10 of the charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the processing contents of the WEB address transmission processing. The operation of the charging system will be described while explaining the WEB address transmission process. In this WEB address transmission process, a charge permission command has already been sent from the control unit 40 to the charge control unit 91 of the corresponding charger 90 through the charge control processing unit 47, and the charger 90 performs quick charging. It is assumed that it is

  In this WEB address transmission process, the control unit 40 inputs that the WEB address registration is selected through the input processing unit 42 by pressing the display part of the WEB address registration on the display unit 25 (step S201). : Yes), the currently used charger 90 is displayed through the output display unit 25, and the selection of the used charger 90 is awaited (step S202).

  And when the use charger 90 is selected within the preset predetermined time (step S202: Yes, step S203: No), that is, any of the use chargers 90 in the display unit 25 within the predetermined time. When it is inputted that the charger 90 to be used is selected through the input processing unit 42 by pressing the display part, the control unit 40 outputs a polling signal by infrared communication from the antenna unit 24 through the WEB address transmission unit 46. Communication is started (step S204).

  By the way, when the use charger 90 is not selected within the predetermined time (Step S202: No, Step S203: Yes), the control unit 40 causes the display unit 25 to display an unusable display through the output processing unit 43 (Step S202). S205) After that, the procedure is returned without executing the processing described later, and the current processing is terminated.

  The control unit 40 that has performed the process of step S204, when the WEB address transmission unit 46 starts transmitting the WEB address within a predetermined time set in advance (step S206: Yes, step S207: No), that is, the above-described predetermined When the mobile terminal device 1 is held in the communicable area of the antenna unit 24 within the time, and the mobile terminal device 1 starts transmitting a WEB address by receiving a response signal indicating that a polling signal has been received, the control unit 40 waits for the end of transmission of the WEB address by the WEB address transmission unit 46 (step S208).

  When the transmission of the WEB address is completed through the WEB address transmission unit 46 (step S208: Yes), the control unit 40 terminates the communication started in step S204 (step S209).

  On the other hand, in step S206 and step S207, when the WEB address transmission unit 46 does not transmit the WEB address within a preset predetermined time (step S206: No, step S207: Yes), that is, the antenna unit within the predetermined time. If the portable terminal device 1 is not held in the 24 communicable area, the control unit 40 ends the communication started in step S204 (step S210), and then returns the procedure to end the current process.

  The control unit 40 that has performed the process of step S209 causes the display unit 25 to display that the transmission of the WEB address has been completed through the output processing unit 43 (step S211). Thereby, the user can recognize that the WEB address has been transmitted.

  Thereafter, the control unit 40 acquires the charge state of the corresponding charger 90 from the charge control unit 91 through the charge control processing unit 47, and applies the corresponding charge to the management control unit 81 of the management device 80 through the communication processing unit 41. The charging status of the device 90 is transmitted (step S212). Thereby, the management control part 81 displays the charging condition of the corresponding charger 90 on a predetermined WEB site. As a result, the user can recognize the charging status of the corresponding charger 90 by accessing the WEB site from the mobile terminal device 1 or the like at such time.

  Thereafter, when a signal indicating that the charging is completed is given from the charging control unit 91 (step S213: Yes), the control unit 40 has completed charging to the management control unit 81 of the management device 80 through the communication processing unit 41. Is transmitted (step S214), and then the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  As a result, the management control unit 81 displays that the charging of the corresponding charger 90 has been completed on a predetermined WEB site. As a result, the user can access the WEB site from the mobile terminal device 1 or the like at this time. It is possible to recognize that charging of the charger 90 has been completed by accessing.

  As described above, according to the charging system according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 40 of the vending machine 10 performs an operation of requesting acquisition of the address of the WEB site that provides the usage status of the charger 90. Since the WEB address is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 1, the user can check the current charging state even at a position away from the charger 90, and returns to the vicinity of the charger 90 when charging is completed. The convenience can be improved.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, the charging system including the vending machine 10, the management device 80, and the charger 90 is illustrated. However, in the present invention, the management device is not an essential component, and the vending machine and the charger are included. And a charging system may be comprised. In this case, the charge control process transitions to step S119 after step S115, and the processes of step S119 to step S121 are performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the mail address acquisition process (steps S107 to S113) is performed in the charging control process. However, in the present invention, once the mail address has been registered, this process is omitted. May be.

  In the embodiment described above, in the WEB address transmission process, the charging status by the charger is acquired and provided. However, in the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this and the charging status of the charger is acquired and provided. You may do.

1 Mobile terminal equipment (recording medium)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vending machine 23 Reader / writer part 24 Antenna part 25 Display part 30 Vending machine control part 40 Control part (control means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 41 Communication processing part 42 Input processing part 43 Output processing part 44 Settlement processing part 45 E-mail address acquisition processing part 46 WEB address transmission part 47 Charge control processing part 50 Memory 80 Management apparatus 81 Management control part 90 Charger 91 Charge control part 100 Vehicle 101 Storage battery C Charging cable

Claims (3)

A vending machine capable of electronic payment with a recording medium held in a predetermined communicable area;
A charging system including a charger that is connected to the vending machine so that data can be transmitted and received, and that is electrically connected to a storage battery mounted on the vehicle to charge the vehicle. And
The vending machine, when any one of the chargers electrically connected to the vending machine is selected and electronic settlement is performed with the recording medium, gives a charging permission instruction to the corresponding charger. A charging system comprising control means for allowing the charger to charge the vehicle by giving the vehicle.   The control means stores, in association with the recording medium, a management device connected to the vending machine via a network when a signal indicating that charging is completed is given from the charger. 2. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein an e-mail indicating that charging is completed is transmitted to an e-mail address.   The control means transmits the address of the WEB site to a device held in a predetermined communicable area when an operation for requesting acquisition of the address of the WEB site that provides the usage status of the charger is performed. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein:

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