JP2020096486A - Energy management device, energy management system, terminal equipment, energy management method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique which is effective to manage energy supply for an electric vehicle equipped with a redox flow battery.SOLUTION: An energy management device 30, which manages energy supply for an electric vehicle 2 equipped with a redox flow battery 3, comprises: a reception part 31 which receives information request command C1 from a terminal unit 50; a derivation part 33 which derives recommendation station information D3 as presentation information on the basis of vehicle information D1 concerning the electric vehicle 2 according to reception of information request command C1 in the reception part 31, and facility information D2 concerning plural energy supply stations 10 including plural electrolytic solution stations 10A at which electrolytic solution exchange of the redox flow battery 3 is possible; and a transmission part 32 which transmits recommendation station information D3 derived by the derivation part 33 to the terminal unit 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle equipped with a redox flow battery.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses an energy management device that manages energy transfer between a plurality of energy-related systems.

According to this energy management device, it is determined whether or not the user has the amount of energy required to charge the electric vehicle, and whether or not new energy needs to be generated to charge the electric vehicle. The determination result is notified to the user. Therefore, the user of the electric vehicle can select the energy supply source for the electric vehicle based on the guided determination result.

Japanese Patent No. 4538203

However, although the above-mentioned energy management device is supposed to charge the electric vehicle, it is not supposed to replace the electrolyte of the redox flow battery with respect to the electric vehicle equipped with the redox flow battery. Therefore, when it is assumed that the redox flow battery is to be replaced with an electrolyte, it is desired to construct a technique for managing the transfer of energy between a plurality of energy supply stations including the electrolyte solution station.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique effective for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle equipped with a redox flow battery.

One aspect of the present invention is
An energy management device (30) for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3), comprising:
A receiver (31) for receiving an information request command (C1) from the terminal device (50),
A plurality of energy supply stations including vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A) capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery in response to the reception of the information request command in the reception unit. A derivation unit (33) that derives the presentation information (D3) based on both the equipment information (D2) related to (10, 10A, 10B);
A transmission unit (32) for transmitting the presentation information derived by the derivation unit to the terminal device;
An energy management device (30),
It is in.

Another aspect of the invention is
A terminal device (50) for obtaining presentation information (D3) about energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3),
The presentation information includes a plurality of energy supply stations (10, 10A, 10B) including vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A, 10C) capable of exchanging electrolyte solutions of the redox flow battery. It is derived based on both the equipment information (D2) regarding 10C),
A transmission unit (52) for transmitting an information request command (C1) requesting the presentation information to the energy management device (30);
A receiving unit (51) for receiving the presentation information transmitted from the energy management device in response to the information request command,
A terminal device (50),
It is in.

Another aspect of the invention is
An energy management method for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3), comprising:
A receiving step (S101) of receiving an information request command (C1) from the terminal device (50),
A plurality of energy supply stations including vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A) capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery in response to reception of the information request command by the reception step. A derivation step (S102) for deriving the presentation information (D3) based on both the equipment information (D2) relating to (10, 10A, 10B);
A transmission step (S103) of transmitting the presentation information derived in the derivation step to the terminal device;
Having an energy management method,
It is in.

In the above energy management device, the receiving unit receives the information request command from the terminal device. The derivation unit derives presentation information that can be referred to when the plurality of energy supply stations are used, in response to the reception of the information request command in the reception unit. Then, the presentation information derived by the derivation unit is transmitted to the terminal device by the transmission unit.

Here, the "presentation information" is derived based on both vehicle information regarding the electric vehicle and facility information regarding a plurality of energy supply stations including a plurality of electrolyte solution stations capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery. Therefore, the presentation information suitable for the vehicle equipped with the redox flow battery is presented to the terminal device in consideration of both the condition on the electric vehicle side and the situation on the energy supply station side. The presentation information presented to the terminal device can be referred to when supplying energy to the electric vehicle.

In the above terminal device, by transmitting the information request command requesting the presentation information to the energy management device, the presentation information according to the information request command is transmitted from the energy management device. Therefore, it is possible to refer to the presentation information suitable for supplying energy to the electric vehicle with the terminal device.

In the above energy management method, when the information request command is received from the terminal device in the receiving step, the presentation information is derived in the deriving step and then transmitted to the terminal device in the transmitting step. Therefore, the presentation information can be transmitted to the terminal device due to the reception of the information request command from the terminal device.

As described above, according to each of the above aspects, it is possible to manage the energy supply to the electric vehicle equipped with the redox flow battery.

In addition, the reference numerals in parentheses described in the claims and the means for solving the problems indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later, and limit the technical scope of the present invention. Not a thing.

The block diagram of the energy management system of Embodiment 1. The figure which shows schematic structure of the electrolyte solution station in FIG. The figure which shows the example of a change of the electrolyte solution station of FIG. The figure which shows the control flow concerning the energy management apparatus of Embodiment 1. The block diagram of the energy management system of Embodiment 2.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an energy management system will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the energy management system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of energy supply stations 10, an energy management device 30, a terminal device 50, and a vehicle information server 70 as its components. Is configured to include.

In addition, in FIG. 1, the energy management device 30, the terminal device 50, and the vehicle information server 70 are illustrated one by one for convenience of description, but the number of the above-described components can be appropriately changed. Further, further constituent elements may be added to the above constituent elements as necessary.

The plurality of energy supply stations 10 include a plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A and a plurality of charging stations 10B.

Although the details will be described later, the electrolyte solution station 10A is an energy supply station provided with equipment capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery 3 mounted on the electric vehicle 2.

The charging station 10B is an energy supply station provided with known equipment capable of supplying power to a DC power supply converted from an AC power supply via a power supply connector.

At least one of the plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A may be provided with the same equipment as the charging station 10B in addition to the equipment capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery 3.

Each energy supply station 10 has a station management server 10a capable of information communication with the reception unit 31 and the transmission unit 32 as the communication unit of the energy management device 30 via the communication line N2.

The station management server 10a can receive the reception information (acceptance inquiry instruction T1 described later) from the transmission unit 32 of the management device 30 via the communication line N2, and also transmits it to the reception unit 31 of the management device 30 via the communication line N2. Information (acceptance acceptance reply T2 and unacceptable reply T3 described later) can be transmitted.

The energy management device 30 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “management device 30”) is a device that manages energy supply to the electric vehicle 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3. The management device 30 includes a reception unit 31, a transmission unit 32, a derivation unit 33, and a storage unit 34.

Here, the "electric vehicle 2" is an electric vehicle that travels using electricity as an energy source and an electric motor as a power source, and is particularly an electric vehicle equipped with the redox flow battery 3. In the following description, for convenience, it is simply referred to as "vehicle 2".

The redox flow battery 3 mounted on the vehicle 2 includes a reaction tank 4a partitioned by an ion exchange membrane into an anode-side electrolyte solution tank and a cathode-side electrolyte solution tank, and an electrolyte solution supplied to the reaction tank 4a. It has a positive electrode and a negative electrode electrolytic solution tank 4 for storing, and can discharge electric power generated in the redox flow battery 3 or charge external electric power. In the redox flow battery 3, the reaction tank 4a performs the same function as the cell stack 28 described later, and the electrolytic solution tank 4 performs the same function as the charging tank 21 described later.

For further detailed structure of the redox flow battery 3, reference is made to the structure of the redox flow battery disclosed in, for example, JP 2011-233371 A or JP 2012-523103 A.

The receiving unit 31 of the management device 30 is configured to receive the information request command C1 from the terminal device 50 via the communication line N1. The information request command C1 is a command for requesting information effective for the user of the vehicle 2 to select the energy supply station 10 suitable for supplying energy to the vehicle 2. The information request command C1 is received by the receiving unit 31.

The “user” here includes not only an individual owner who owns the vehicle 2 but also a business owner who owns a plurality of vehicles 2 for a rental business or a car sharing business.

The derivation unit 33 of the management device 30 is configured to derive the recommended station information D3 as the presentation information that can be referred to by the user in response to the reception of the information request command C1 by the reception unit 31. The recommended station information D3 is derived based on both the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 and the facility information D2 regarding the plurality of energy supply stations 10.

The derivation unit 33 can compare the vehicle information D1 and the facility information D2 using a known matching process, for example. Then, the deriving unit 33 outputs, as the comparison result, information about one or a plurality of recommended stations 10R corresponding to the facility information D2 having a relatively large number of items matching the respective items of the vehicle information D1, to the recommended stations. It can be derived as the information D3.

The vehicle information D1 is information about each of the plurality of vehicles 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3. The vehicle information D1 includes basic information such as the vehicle name, vehicle body number, and model of the vehicle 2, energy demand information about the vehicle 2, the current stop position and running position of the vehicle 2, the electrolyte tank 4 of the redox flow battery 3. It includes information such as the remaining energy level of the.

As the energy demand information, which is one of the vehicle information D1, typically, the type of electrolyte, the amount of stored electrolyte [L], the current value of stored power [kwh], the predicted value of stored power [kwh], Current value [L] of acceptable electrolytic solution amount, predicted value [L] of acceptable electrolytic solution amount, predicted value [kwh] of power consumption, charging capacity [kw], charging connector type, charging capacity [L/min ], filling connector type, desired selection of liquid exchange and charging, desired electricity selling price [yen], desired primary energy source ratio [%], etc.

The equipment information D2 is information about the equipment of each of the plurality of energy supply stations 10. The facility information D2 includes items such as basic information such as the location of the energy supply station 10, energy supply information of the energy supply station 10, and operation information such as a standby status of the vehicle 2 at the energy supply station 10.

As the energy supply information which is one of the equipment information D2, typically, the stored electrolyte amount [L], the current value of the stored power amount [kwh], the predicted value of the stored power amount [kwh], the acceptable electrolyte solution The items include the current value [L] of the amount, the predicted value [L] of the acceptable electrolyte amount, the predicted value of the power consumption [kwh], the power supply capacity [kw], and the charging capacity [L/min].

The recommended station information D3 as the presentation information is information about one or more recommended stations 10R recommended for the vehicle 2 among the plurality of energy supply stations 10, and typically, the addresses of the one or more recommended stations 10R. , Contact information, equipment list, etc.

In the recommended station information D3, the number of recommended stations 10R may be one or plural.

The presentation information derived by the derivation unit 33 of the management device 30 is not limited to the recommended station information D3. For example, instead of or in addition to the recommended station information D3, the deriving unit 33 presents the information on the number of vehicles waiting at a predetermined energy supply station 10, the expected time and the expected time required until the standby situation is resolved, and the like. May be derived as

The transmission unit 32 of the management device 30 is configured to transmit the recommended station information D3 derived by the derivation unit 33 to the terminal device 50. As a result, the recommended station information D3, which is the reply information to the information request command C1, is transmitted to the terminal device 50.

The receiving unit 31 is configured to regularly receive the facility information D2 from the station management server 10a provided in each of the plurality of energy supply stations 10 via the communication line N2.

The receiving unit 31 may be configured to receive the facility information D2 from each station management server 10a in response to an information request from the management device 30.

Further, the receiving unit 31 is configured to receive the selection command C2 of the recommended station 10R based on the recommended station information D3 from the terminal device 50 via the communication line N1. The selection command C2 is a command indicating that the user has selected the recommended station 10R.

The receiving unit 31 is connectable to the vehicle information server 70 that manages the vehicle information D1 via the communication line N4. The receiving unit 31 is connected to the communication unit 71 of the vehicle information server 70 in accordance with the transmission command C3 that the terminal device 50 outputs to the vehicle information server 70 when the information request command C1 is received from the terminal device 50, and this vehicle It is configured to receive the vehicle information D1 from the information server 70.

The transmission unit 32 is configured to transmit the acceptance inquiry instruction T1 of the vehicle 2 to the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R along with the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 in response to the selection command C2 received by the reception unit 31. ing.

Further, when the receiving unit 31 receives the acceptance acceptance reply T2 of the vehicle 2 from the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R, the transmitting unit 32 transmits the guide route information D4 to the recommended station 10R to the terminal device 50. Is configured.

The storage unit 34 of the management device 30 is configured to be able to store information. The storage unit 34 is configured to store the facility information D2 received by the receiving unit 31 or update the already stored facility information D2 in cooperation with the station management server 10a. At this time, the storage unit 34 stores both the equipment information D2a regarding the plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A and the equipment information D2b regarding the plurality of charging stations 10B as the equipment information D2.

The terminal device 50 is a device for obtaining presentation information about energy supply to the vehicle 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3. The terminal device 50 may be a dedicated device for obtaining only the presentation information, or a dual-purpose device that can obtain the presentation information and also obtain information different from the presentation information. May be

The terminal device 50 is connected to the management device 30 via a communication line N1 so that information can be communicated therewith, and is also connected to the vehicle information server 70 via a communication line N4 so as to be able to communicate information. The terminal device 50 includes a receiving unit 51, a transmitting unit 52, and an operating unit 53.

The transmission unit 52 of the terminal device 50 is configured to transmit each of the information request command C1 and the selection command C2 to the reception unit 31 of the management device 30 via the communication line N1.

The reception unit 51 of the terminal device 50 is configured to receive each of the recommended station information D3 and the guide route information D4 from the transmission unit 32 of the management device 30 via the communication line N1. That is, the receiving unit 51 receives the recommended station information D3 transmitted according to the information request command C1 from the management device 30, and receives the guide route information D4 transmitted according to the selection command C2 from the management device 30. To do.

The operation unit 53 of the terminal device 50 is configured such that a user performs a key input operation, a tap input operation, a voice input operation, and the like.

At the time of the first operation for transmitting the information request command C1 in the operation unit 53, the information request command C1 is transmitted from the transmission unit 52 to the management device 30 via the communication line N1. At this time, the transmission command C3 is transmitted from the transmission unit 52 to the vehicle information server 70 via the communication line N3. Accordingly, the vehicle information D1 stored in the storage unit 72 of the vehicle information server 70 is transmitted to the management device 30 via the communication line N4.

Further, the operation unit 53 is configured to transmit the selection command C2 from the transmission unit 52 to the management device 30 via the communication line N1 during the second operation for transmitting the selection command C2.

The terminal device 50 includes a stationary terminal 50A, a portable terminal 50B, an in-vehicle device 50C, and the like.

Here, the stationary terminal 50A is a device that the user can use in the installed state. Typically, a large-sized personal computer that is not supposed to be carried corresponds to the stationary terminal 50A.

The portable terminal 50B is a small and lightweight mobile device that can be carried and used by a user. Typically, a portable mobile phone (including a smart phone), a tablet information terminal, and a notebook personal computer correspond to this portable terminal 50B.

The in-vehicle device 50C is a device mounted on the vehicle 2. Typically, the vehicle 2 is monitored, including an operation device that is appropriately arranged on an instrument panel, a console, a steering wheel, an ECU (electronic control unit), etc. of the vehicle 2 and has an operation unit 53 such as a dash button and a switch. Monitoring and control equipment for doing so corresponds to the in-vehicle equipment 50C.

When the vehicle 2 is an autonomous vehicle or is equipped with an automatic management system, the in-vehicle device 50C can automatically output the information request command C1 without the operation unit 53 being operated by the user. In this case, the operation unit 53 can be omitted.

The vehicle information server 70 includes a communication unit 71 and a storage unit 72. The communication unit 71 can perform information communication with the terminal device 50 via the communication line N3, and can communicate information with the management device 30 via the communication line N4. The storage unit 72 is configured to store vehicle information D1 regarding the plurality of vehicles 2. Further, the vehicle information server 70 periodically communicates with the terminal device 50, so that the vehicle information D1 already stored in the storage unit 72 is updated.

Note that the management device 30 or the terminal device 50 may also serve as part or all of the functions of the vehicle information server 70.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electrolytic solution station 10A includes a stand 11, two recovery tanks 12, two filling tanks 13, two recovery lines 14a and 14b, and two charging lines 15a and 15b. And a charging processing device 20.

The stand 11 has a connector 11a for electrolyte solution exchange that can be connected to a connection port 5 connected to the electrolyte solution tank 4 of the redox flow battery 3. The connector 11a contains one end of each of the two recovery lines 14a and 14b and one end of each of the two filling lines 15a and 15b.

Further, although not particularly shown, the stand 11 has a recovery pump built into the two recovery lines 14a and 14b for flowing the electrolytic solution toward the recovery tank 12, and the two filling lines 15a and 15b have connectors. A filling pump for flowing the electrolytic solution toward 11a is incorporated.

The two recovery tanks 12 are a recovery tank 12A for recovering the used electrolyte solution La of the anode side electrolyte solution tank (not shown) of the electrolyte solution tank 4 and a cathode side electrolyte solution tank (not shown) of the electrolyte solution tank 4. A recovery tank 12B for recovering the used electrolyte Lb.

A sensor device 12a is attached to each of the two recovery tanks 12. The sensor device 12a includes a first sensor for acquiring data for measuring the liquid amount Qa of the electrolytic solution stored in the recovery tank 12 and an energy amount Ea of the electrolytic solution stored in the recovery tank 12. And a second sensor that acquires data for measurement. The data acquired by each sensor of the sensor device 12a is transmitted to the management device 30.

The two filling tanks 13 are a filling tank 13A for storing a charged electrolytic solution Ma filled in an anode side electrolytic solution tank (not shown) of the electrolytic solution tank 4 and a cathode side electrolytic solution tank of the electrolytic solution tank 4 (illustrated). Filling tank 13B that stores the charged electrolyte Mb filled in (omitted).

A sensor device 13a similar to the sensor device 12a is attached to each of the two filling tanks 13. The sensor device 13a includes a first sensor for acquiring data for measuring the liquid amount Qb of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tank 13, and an energy amount Eb of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tank 13. And a second sensor that acquires data for measurement. The data acquired by each sensor of the sensor device 13a is transmitted to the management device 30.

As the first sensor of the sensor devices 12a and 13a, typically, a capacitance type level meter, a float type level meter, an ultrasonic type level meter, a pressure type level meter or the like can be used.

A pH sensor can be typically used as the second sensor of the sensor devices 12a and 13a. When the pH sensor is used as the second sensor, the energy amount Ea per unit liquid amount of the electrolytic solution can be estimated from the pH value detected by the pH sensor.

The energy amount Eb can be derived by adding the estimated value of the power supplied to the cell stack 28 to the energy amount Ea estimated by the second sensor of the sensor device 12a. In this case, the second sensor of the sensor device 13a can be omitted.

The recovery line 14a is a line that connects the connector 11a of the stand 11 and the recovery tank 12A. Therefore, with the connector 11a of the stand 11 connected to the connection port 5, the used electrolytic solution La extracted from the electrolytic solution tank 4 is recovered from the connector 11a to the recovery tank 12A through the recovery line 14a.

The recovery line 14b is a line that connects the connector 11a of the stand 11 and the recovery tank 12B. Therefore, with the connector 11a of the stand 11 connected to the connection port 5, the used electrolytic solution Lb extracted from the electrolytic solution tank 4 is recovered from the connector 11a to the recovery tank 12B through the recovery line 14b.

The filling line 15a is a line that connects the connector 11a of the stand 11 and the filling tank 13A. Therefore, in a state where the connector 11a of the stand 11 is connected to the connection port 5, the charged electrolytic solution Ma stored in the filling tank 13A is filled in the electrolytic solution tank 4 through the filling line 15a and the connector 11a.

The filling line 15b is a line that connects the connector 11a of the stand 11 and the filling tank 13B. Therefore, with the connector 11a of the stand 11 connected to the connection port 5, the charged electrolytic solution Mb stored in the filling tank 13B is filled in the electrolytic solution tank 4 through the filling line 15b and the connector 11a.

Here, the recovery lines 14a and 14b and the filling lines 15a and 15b are independent paths. Therefore, the user connects the connector 11a of the stand 11 to the connection port 5 of the vehicle 2 and collects the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb using the recovery lines 14a and 14b and the filling lines 15a and 15a. The filling operation of the used charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb can be performed in parallel. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the time required for the electrolyte replacement work.

If necessary, a structure in which at least one of the four lines 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b also serves as all or part of another line may be adopted.

Further, the connector 11a may be divided into a first connector for the two collecting lines 14a and 14b and a second connector for the two filling lines 15a and 15b.

The charging processing device 20 is a device capable of charging the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb stored in the recovery tanks 12A and 12B. The electrolyte solution charged by the charge processing device 20 is configured to be stored in the filling tanks 13A and 13B as charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb.

The charge processing device 20 includes two charge tanks 21, a cell stack 28, a charger/discharger 29, and a controller 20a.

The control unit 20a transfers the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb from the redox flow battery 3 and transfers the redox flow battery 3 based on the electrolyte solution exchange conditions set for filling the redox flow battery 3 with the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb. It has a function of controlling the pumps 22a, 23a, 24a, 25a, the circulation pumps 26a, 27a, and the opening/closing valves 22b, 23b, 24b, 25b.

The two charging tanks 21 are a charging tank 21A connected to the recovery tank 12A and the filling tank 13A via connecting pipes 22 and 23, and a connecting pipe 24 for the recovery tank 12B and the filling tank 13B, respectively. , 25 connected via the charging tank 21B.

The capacities of the charging tanks 21A and 21B are preferably set to a value represented as a multiple or a divisor of the capacity of the electrolytic solution tank 4 of the redox flow battery 3. More preferably, the capacities of the charging tanks 21A and 21B are set to the same value as the capacity of the electrolytic solution tank 4. This makes it possible to prevent the electric power required for charging the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 21A and 21B from increasing significantly.

Further, it is preferable that the capacities of the charging tanks 21A and 21B are set to values lower than the capacities of the recovery tanks 12A and 12B and the filling tanks 13A and 13B. As a result, the charging processing device 20 including the charging tanks 21A and 21B can be downsized.

The connection pipe 22 connects the recovery tank 12A and the charging tank 21A, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the recovery tank 12A and the charging tank 21A through the connection pipe 22.

By controlling the opening/closing valve 22b to be in the open state by the control unit 20a and operating the transfer pump 22a, the electrolytic solution can be transferred from the recovery tank 12A to the charging tank 21A, or from the charging tank 21A to the recovery tank 12A. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 20a controls the on-off valve 22b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the recovery tank 12A and the charging tank 21A is blocked.

The connecting pipe 23 connects the charging tank 21A and the filling tank 13A, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the charging tank 21A and the filling tank 13A through the connecting pipe 23.

The control unit 20a controls the open/close valve 23b to be in the open state and operates the transfer pump 23a to transfer the electrolytic solution from the charging tank 21A to the filling tank 13A, or from the filling tank 13A to the charging tank 21A. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 20a controls the on-off valve 23b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the charging tank 14A and the filling tank 13A is blocked.

The connection pipe 24 connects the recovery tank 12B and the charging tank 21B, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the recovery tank 12B and the charging tank 21B through the connection pipe 24.

The control unit 20a controls the open/close valve 24b to be in the open state and operates the transfer pump 24a to transfer the electrolytic solution from the recovery tank 12B to the charging tank 21B, or from the charging tank 21B to the recovery tank 12B. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 20a controls the on-off valve 24b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the recovery tank 12B and the charging tank 21B is blocked.

The connection pipe 25 connects the charging tank 21B and the filling tank 13B, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the charging tank 21B and the filling tank 13B through the connection pipe 25.

The control unit 20a controls the open/close valve 25b to be in the open state and operates the transfer pump 25a to transfer the electrolytic solution from the charging tank 21B to the filling tank 13B, or from the charging tank 13B to the charging tank 21B. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 20a controls the on-off valve 25b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the charging tank 21B and the filling tank 13B is blocked.

The cell stack 28 is a known reaction tank which is a combination of a plurality of cells capable of generating or absorbing electricity, like the electrolytic solution tank 4 of the redox flow battery 3. The cell stack 28 is configured to be able to circulate the electrolytic solution with the charging tanks 21A and 21B through the circulation paths 26 and 27 provided with the circulation pumps 26a and 27a.

Thereby, when the circulation pump 26a is in operation, the electrolytic solution circulates through the circulation path 26 that connects the charging tank 21A and the cell stack 28. Further, when the circulation pump 27a is in operation, the electrolytic solution circulates through the circulation path 27 that connects the charging tank 21B and the cell stack 28. At this time, in the cell stack 28, the electrolytic solution can be used to output electric power, or the electrolytic solution can be charged by inputting electric power.

The charging/discharging device 29 is configured as a charging/discharging device for system power, which is interposed in an energization path 28 a between the system power 29 a and the cell stack 28. Therefore, the charger/discharger 29 is configured to be able to be charged/discharged with the system power 29a through the energization path 28a.

By circulating the electrolytic solution through the circulation paths 26 and 27 in a power input state in which power is input from the system power 29a to the charger/discharger 29, the charge of the electrolytic solution is increased. Therefore, by continuing the circulation of the electrolytic solution in the power input state, it becomes possible to charge the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 21A and 21B.

On the other hand, it is possible to output the electric power extracted from the electrolytic solution in the cell stack 28 to the system electric power 29a through the energization path 28a and the charger/discharger 29.

At least one of the plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A shown in FIG. 2 has a function for charging the secondary battery mounted on the connected vehicle 2A as shown in FIG. It may be configured as the electrolyte solution station 10C.

The charge processing device 20 of the electrolyte solution station 10C has a charge/discharge device 29b in addition to the charge/discharge device 29. The charger/discharger 29b is configured as a vehicle charger/discharger for charging/discharging with the connected vehicle 2A that is an external connection target. A DC/DC converter is included in the charger/discharger 29b. The two chargers/dischargers 29, 29b are connected in parallel to the cell stack 28.

In addition, in this electrolytic solution station 10C, in addition to the system power 29a and the connected vehicle 2A, another external connection target can be provided for the connection target for the two chargers/dischargers 29, 29b.

Next, an energy management method by the management device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. This energy management method is a method of managing the energy supply to the vehicle 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3. Since this energy management method is specifically a method of providing presentation information to a user or the like, this method can also be referred to as an “information provision method for energy management”.

As shown in FIG. 4, the processing according to this energy management method includes the processing at each step from step S101 to step S109. These processes are executed by the management device 30.

It should be noted that one or more steps may be added to these steps as necessary, or a plurality of steps may be integrated. Moreover, the order of each step can be changed as needed.

The first reception step S101 is a step of receiving the information request command C1 from the terminal device 50 of the user of the vehicle 2. At this time, information in which the registration information of the user or the vehicle 2 is associated with the information request command C1 is transmitted to the management device 30. According to the first receiving step S101, the management device 30 detects that the terminal device 50 has requested the information.

In this first reception step S101, when it is determined that energy supply to the vehicle 2 is necessary, the information request command C1 is transmitted from the terminal device 50 to the management device 30. The transmission subject at this time may be a user who manages the vehicle 2, or may be a monitoring control device (onboard device 50C) mounted on the vehicle 2.

That is, the user transmits the information request command C1 to the management device 30 by operating the operation unit 53 of the terminal device 50 when deciding that energy supply is necessary as a result of recognizing the energy demand information of the vehicle 2. can do.

Alternatively, when it is determined that the detected value is out of the management range and energy supply is necessary as a result of the energy consumption information being detected by the monitoring control device mounted on the vehicle 2, the information request command C1 is issued to the management device 30. Can be sent automatically.

The derivation step S102 is a step of deriving the recommended station information D3, which is the presentation information that can be referred to by the user, in response to the reception of the information request command C1 by the first reception step S101. According to this derivation step S102, the recommended station information D3 is derived based on both the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 and the facility information D2 regarding the plurality of energy supply stations 10.

The derived recommended station information D3 may be information about one recommended station 10R, but is preferably information about a plurality of recommended stations 10R so that the user can select it.

Regarding this derivation step S102, the vehicle information D1 stored in the storage unit 72 of the vehicle information server 70 is transmitted to the management device 30 in response to the transmission command C3 being output from the terminal device 50 to the vehicle information server 70. It

The first transmission step S103 is a step of transmitting the recommended station information D3 derived in the derivation step S102 to the terminal device 50. According to the first transmission step S103, the user can refer to the recommended station information D3 transmitted to the terminal device 50.

When the first transmission step S103 is executed, the user can input the selection command C2 of the recommended station 10R based on the recommended station information D3 on the operation unit 53 of the terminal device 50.

At this time, when the recommended station information D3 includes a plurality of recommended stations 10R, the user selects any one of the plurality of recommended stations 10R or prioritizes the plurality of recommended stations 10R. You can also do it. On the other hand, when the recommended station information D3 includes only one recommended station 10R, the recommended station 10R can be selected by consent.

The second receiving step S104 is a step of receiving the selection command C2 from the terminal device 50 after the first transmitting step S103. According to the second receiving step S104, the management device 30 detects that the recommended station 10R has been selected from the terminal device 50.

The second transmission step S105 is a step of transmitting the acceptance inquiry instruction T1 of the vehicle 2 to the recommended station 10R selected by the user together with the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 in response to the reception of the selection command C2. According to the second transmission step S105, the vehicle information D1 is associated with the acceptance inquiry instruction T1 of the vehicle 2 and transmitted to the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R.

When the second transmission step S105 is executed, the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R selected by the user determines whether or not the vehicle 2 can be accepted. When it is determined that the vehicle 2 can be accepted, the acceptance acceptance reply T2 is transmitted from the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R to the management device 30 via the communication line N2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle 2 cannot be accepted, the station management server 10a of the recommended station 10R transmits an unacceptable reply T3 to the management device 30 via the communication line N2.

The third reception step S106 is a step of receiving acceptance acceptance replies T2 and T3 of the vehicle 2 from the recommended station 10R selected by the user in response to the acceptance inquiry instruction T1. According to the third receiving step S106, the management device 30 detects whether or not the vehicle 2 can be received at the recommended station 10R.

The determination step S107 is a step of determining whether or not the acceptance permission responses T2 and T3 are acceptance acceptance responses T2. If it is determined to be the acceptance consent response T2 (in the case of “Yes” in step S107), proceed to the third transmitting step S108, and if not (in the case of “No” in step S107), perform the fourth transmitting. Step Proceed to step S109.

The third transmitting step S108 is a step of transmitting the guide route information D4 to the recommended station 10R to the terminal device 50 when the acceptance acceptance reply T2 is received. According to the third transmission step S108, the user can confirm the guide route information D4 to the recommended station 10R having the acceptance acceptance reply T2 on the terminal device 50, and the vehicle 2 is recommended station 10R according to the guide route information D4. Can be moved up to.

The fourth transmitting step S109 is a step of transmitting to the terminal device 50 that the recommended station 10R selected by the user is unacceptable when the unacceptable reply T3 is received. After the execution of the fourth transmission step S109, the process returns to the second reception step S104, and waits until the user selects another recommended station 10R.

As a modification particularly related to the above energy management method, instead of transmitting the guide route information D4 to the terminal device 50 in the third transmitting step S108, only the recommended station 10R having the acceptance acceptance reply T2 is transmitted to the terminal device 50. It may be transmitted to.

Further, instead of executing the processing from step S101 to step S109, only the processing from step S101 to step S103 may be executed.

According to the above described first embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.

In the energy management device 30 described above, the reception unit 31 receives the information request command C1 from the terminal device 50. Further, the deriving unit 33 derives the recommended station information D3 that can be referred to when using the plurality of energy supply stations 10 in response to the reception of the information request command C1 by the receiving unit 31. Then, the recommended station information D3 derived by the derivation unit 33 is transmitted to the terminal device 50 by the transmission unit 32.

Here, the recommended station information D3 is derived based on both the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 and the facility information D2 regarding the plurality of energy supply stations 10. Therefore, the recommended station information D3 suitable for the vehicle 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3 is presented to the terminal device 50 in consideration of both the condition on the vehicle 2 side and the condition on the energy supply station 10 side. When supplying energy to the vehicle 2, the user can refer to the recommended station information D3 presented on the terminal device.

In the terminal device 50 described above, the user operates the operation unit 53 to transmit the information request command C1 requesting the presentation information to the management device 30, so that the recommended station information D3 corresponding to the information request command C1 is acquired by the management device. Sent from 30. Therefore, the terminal device 50 can refer to the recommended station information D3 suitable for supplying energy to the vehicle 2.

When the terminal device 50 is the stationary terminal 50A or the portable terminal 50B, an alarm (alarm indicating that energy supply is required) output from the vehicle 2 is issued by an individual owner or a business operator to the stationary terminal 50A or the portable terminal. The information request command C1 is transmitted to the management device 30 by operating the operation unit 53 after confirming with the model terminal 50B, or by the stationary terminal 50A or the portable terminal 50B automatically determining the above alarm. ..

When the terminal device 50 is the in-vehicle device 50C, the occupant operates the operation unit 53 of the operation device after checking the alarm in the vehicle, or the monitoring control device automatically determines the alarm. The information request command C1 is transmitted to the management device 30. The occupant can obtain the presentation information suitable for the vehicle 2 in which he/she is riding by a simple operation by operating the operation unit 53 of the operating device at an appropriate timing.

In the above energy management method, when the information request command C1 is received from the terminal device 50 in the first receiving step S101, the referable recommended station information D3 is derived in the deriving step S102, and then in the first transmitting step S103. It is transmitted to the terminal device 50. Therefore, the recommended station information D3 can be transmitted to the terminal device 50 due to the reception of the information request command C1 from the terminal device 50.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment described above, it becomes possible to manage the energy supply to the vehicle 2 equipped with the redox flow battery 3.

According to the above-described first embodiment, the recommended station 10R suitable for the vehicle information D1 regarding the vehicle 2 can be presented, and the guide route information D4 to the recommended station 10R can be presented to the terminal device 50.

According to the above-described first embodiment, since it is inquired whether or not the recommended station 10R can accept the vehicle 2 before presenting the guide route information D4 to the recommended station 10R, the vehicle 2 can be accepted. The confirmed guide route information D4 of the recommended station 10R can be presented to the terminal device 50.

According to the above-described first embodiment, the management device 30 can receive the vehicle information D1 from the vehicle information server 70 according to the transmission command C3 output from the terminal device 50.

According to the first embodiment described above, the storage unit 34 of the management device 30 can store the facility information D2 or update the already stored facility information D2 in cooperation with the station management server 70.

Hereinafter, other embodiments related to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In other embodiments, the same elements as those of the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same elements will be omitted.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 5, the energy management system 101 according to the second embodiment is configured to further include a power supply facility management server 90 in addition to the energy management system 1 according to the first embodiment.

The power supply facility management server 90 is provided in a power supply facility such as a power plant, and is configured to transmit the power information D5 to the management device 30 via the communication line N5. The power information D5 is a part of the equipment information D2 regarding each energy supply station 10.

As the power information D5, typically, the current value [kwh] of the power supply amount in the power supply facility, the predicted value [kwh] of the power supply amount, the power selling price [yen], the primary energy source ratio [%], etc. Items are listed.

Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The power supply facility management server 90 may be configured to transmit the power information D5 to the station management server 10a of each energy supply station 10. In this case, the management device 30 can receive the facility information D2 including the power information D5 from the station management server 10a.

According to the second embodiment, when the energy demand information of the vehicle information D1 includes items such as a desired power selling price [yen] and a desired primary energy source ratio [%], the derivation unit 33 of the management device 30. In, the matching process of the equipment information D2 with the vehicle information D1 becomes possible.

In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described typical embodiments, and various applications and modifications are conceivable without departing from the object of the present invention. For example, each of the following forms to which the above-described embodiment is applied can be implemented.

In the above-described embodiment, the energy management system 1, 101 has exemplified the case where both the plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A and 10C and the plurality of charging stations 10B are included, but instead of this, a plurality of electrolyte solution stations 10A. , 10C may be included.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cell stack 28 is connected to each of the recovery tanks 12A and 12B and the filling tanks 13A and 13B via the charging tanks 21A and 21B of the charging processing device 20 has been exemplified, but instead of this, Thus, it is possible to omit the charging tanks 21A and 21B and employ a structure in which the cell stack 28 is connected to the recovery tanks 12A and 12B and the filling tanks 13A and 13B through connecting pipes.

In the above-described embodiment, the electrolytic solution stations 10A and 10C provided with the charge processing device 20 are illustrated, but the charge processing device 20 of the electrolytic solution stations 10A and 10C may be omitted if necessary. In this case, the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb collected in the collection tanks 12A and 12B are transferred to charging facilities outside the electrolyte solution stations 10A and 10C and charged, and then filled with the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb. The tanks 13A and 13B are filled.

1,101 Energy management system 2 Electric vehicle (vehicle)
3 Redox flow battery 10 Energy supply station 10a Station management server 10A, 10C Electrolyte station (energy supply station)
10B charging station (energy supply station)
10R Recommended station (energy supply station)
30 energy management device 31 receiving unit 32 transmitting unit 33 deriving unit 34 storage unit 50 terminal device 51 receiving unit 52 transmitting unit 53 operating unit 70 vehicle information server D1 vehicle information D2, D2a, D2b facility information D3 recommended station information (presentation information)
D4 Guide route information C1 Information request command C2 selection command C3 transmission command S101 First reception step (reception step)
S102 Derivation step S103 First transmission step (transmission step)
S104 Second reception step S105 Second transmission step S106 Third reception step S108 Third transmission step T1 Acceptance inquiry instruction T2 Acceptance acceptance response (acceptance acceptance response)
T3 Unacceptable answer (acceptance acceptance answer)

Claims (14)

An energy management device (30) for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3), comprising:
A receiver (31) for receiving an information request command (C1) from the terminal device (50),
A plurality of energy including vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A, 10C) capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery in response to reception of the information request command in the reception unit. A deriving unit (33) for deriving the presentation information (D3) based on both the equipment information (D2) regarding the supply stations (10, 10A, 10B, 10C);
A transmission unit (32) for transmitting the presentation information derived by the derivation unit to the terminal device;
An energy management device (30), comprising: The energy management device according to claim 1, wherein the derivation unit derives, as the presentation information, recommended station information (D3) regarding a recommended station (10R) recommended for the electric vehicle among the plurality of energy supply stations. The receiving unit receives the recommended station selection command (C2) based on the recommended station information from the terminal device,
The transmitting unit transmits an acceptance inquiry instruction (T1) of the electric vehicle to the recommended station in response to the selection command received by the receiving unit together with the vehicle information on the electric vehicle, and then the receiving unit receives the reception instruction. The energy according to claim 2, wherein when the acceptance acceptance reply (T2) of the electric vehicle is received from the recommended station in response to the inquiry instruction, guide route information (D4) to the recommended station is transmitted to the terminal device. Management device. The receiving unit is connectable to a vehicle information server (70) that manages the vehicle information, and when the terminal device receives the information request command, the terminal device outputs a transmission command (to the vehicle information server). The energy management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is connected to the vehicle information server according to C3) and receives the vehicle information from the vehicle information server. A storage unit (34) capable of storing information,
The receiving unit receives the equipment information from station management servers (10a) provided in the plurality of energy supply stations,
5. The storage unit stores the equipment information received by the reception unit or updates the already stored equipment information in cooperation with the station management server, according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Energy management device described. The plurality of energy supply stations include the plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A, 10C) and the plurality of charging stations (10B),
The energy management according to claim 5, wherein the storage unit stores both equipment information (D2a) regarding the plurality of electrolyte solution stations and equipment information (D2b) regarding the plurality of charging stations as the equipment information. apparatus. An energy management device (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A vehicle information server (70) capable of transmitting the vehicle information to the receiving unit of the energy management device;
A station management server (10a) provided in each of the plurality of energy supply stations (10, 10A, 10B, 10C) and capable of transmitting the facility information to the receiving unit of the energy management device;
An energy management system (1, 101) comprising. A terminal device (50) for obtaining presentation information (D3) about energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3),
The presentation information includes a plurality of energy supply stations (10, 10A, 10B) including vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A, 10C) capable of exchanging electrolyte solutions of the redox flow battery. It is derived based on both the equipment information (D2) regarding 10C),
A transmission unit (52) for transmitting an information request command (C1) requesting the presentation information to the energy management device (30);
A receiving unit (51) for receiving the presentation information transmitted from the energy management device in response to the information request command,
A terminal device (50) comprising: The receiver receives recommended station information (D3) regarding a recommended station (10R) recommended for the electric vehicle among the plurality of energy supply stations (10, 10A, 10B, 10C) as the presentation information from the energy management device. The terminal device according to claim 8, which receives. The transmission unit transmits a recommended station selection command (C2) based on the recommended station information to the energy management device,
The receiving unit receives, from the energy management apparatus, guidance route information (D4) to the recommended station when the energy management apparatus receives the acceptance acceptance reply (T2) of the electric vehicle from the recommended station. Item 9. The terminal device according to item 9. The transmission unit is configured to transmit a transmission command (C3) to the vehicle information server so that the vehicle information server (70) transmits vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle to the energy management device. The terminal device according to claim 9 or 10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, which is an in-vehicle device mounted on the electric vehicle. An energy management method for managing energy supply to an electric vehicle (2) equipped with a redox flow battery (3), comprising:
A receiving step (S101) of receiving an information request command (C1) from the terminal device (50),
In response to the reception of the information request command by the reception step, vehicle information (D1) regarding the electric vehicle and a plurality of energy including a plurality of electrolyte solution stations (10A, 10C) capable of exchanging the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery. A derivation step (S102) for deriving the presentation information (D3) based on both the equipment information (D2) regarding the supply stations (10, 10A, 10B, 10C);
A transmission step (S103) of transmitting the presentation information derived in the derivation step to the terminal device;
An energy management method having. The deriving step is a step of deriving, as the presentation information, recommended station information (D3) regarding a recommended station (10R) recommended for the electric vehicle among the plurality of energy supply stations.
When the receiving step is the first receiving step and the transmitting step is the first transmitting step,
A second receiving step (S104) of receiving a command (C2) for selecting the recommended station based on the recommended station information after the first transmitting step,
A second transmission step (S105) of transmitting an acceptance inquiry instruction (T1) of the electric vehicle together with the vehicle information regarding the electric vehicle to the recommended station in response to the reception of the selection instruction;
A third receiving step (S106) of receiving an acceptance acceptance/denial answer (T2, T3) of the electric vehicle from the recommended station in response to the acceptance inquiry instruction,
A third transmission step (S108) of transmitting guide route information (D4) to the recommended station to the terminal device when an acceptance acceptance response (T2) is received as the acceptance acceptance response.
The energy management method according to claim 13, further comprising:

Images