JP2022157333A - Control method, program, storage medium, and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a control method for a charging device having a charging unit configured to allow a power storage device to be detachably attached thereto.SOLUTION: In a battery management system 100, a charging device (battery exchanger 120) disconnects a power storage device (mobile battery 20) attached to a charging unit (slot 124) and provides the power storage device to the user (user 40), and sets an operating time zone during which the power storage device is provided to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the power storage device is not provided to the user. A control method includes the steps of: acquiring time information related to the operating time zone and/or the non-operating time zone; and controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit on the basis of the time information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to control methods, programs, storage media, and control devices.

In Patent Document 1, in a charging device for charging a replaceable power storage device, after the business hours of one day are over, until the business hours of the next day are started, the work of paying out the power storage device is stopped. is disclosed. Patent Literature 2 discloses a charging system that determines the number of power storage devices to be charged according to the usage status of the battery.
[Prior art documents]
[Patent Literature]
[Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020/111245 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2020/027199

A first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a charging device. Each step of the above control method is executed by, for example, a computer. In the control method described above, the charging device includes, for example, a charging unit configured to detachably attach the power storage device. The charging device, for example, detaches the power storage device attached to the charging unit and provides the power storage device to the user. For the charging device, for example, an operating time zone during which the power storage device is provided to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the power storage device is not provided to the user are set. The above control method comprises, for example, obtaining time information relating to working hours and/or non-working hours. The above control method includes, for example, controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on time information.

In the control method described above, the time information may include information indicating the operation end time, which is the end of the operating time period, and/or the non-operating start time, which is the beginning of the non-operating time period. The above control method determines the charging mode of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on the operation end time and/or the non-operation start time when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operating time period. may have the step of In the above control method, the step of determining the charging mode when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operating hours includes: may include a step of obtaining a predicted completion time, which is a predicted value of when the charging of the battery will be completed. When the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operation time period, the step of determining the charging mode includes: when the predicted completion time exceeds the operation end time and/or the non-operation start time, the operation end time is determined. A step of determining the charging mode may be included so that the increase in the amount of power stored in the power storage device is less than when the time and/or the non-operation start time is not exceeded.

In the above control method, the time information may include information indicating non-operating end time, which is the end of the non-operating time period, and/or operation start time, which is the beginning of the operating time period. In the above control method, when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the non-operating time period, the charging mode of the power storage device attached to the charging unit is changed based on the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time. determining. In the above control method, when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the non-operating time zone, the step of determining the charging mode of the power storage device is performed at the same time as the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time, or , determining a charging mode so that charging of the power storage device is completed before the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time.

In the control method described above, the charging device may include a plurality of charging units. The above control method acquires the detachment demand correlated with the detachment demand of the power storage device attached to the charging device at the present, at a first point in time ahead of the present, or at the present or in a first period including the first point in time. may have the step of The above control method may comprise obtaining an off supply that correlates to the supply readiness of the storage device attached to the charging device at a first time point or a first period of time. In the above control method, when the withdrawal supply is larger than the withdrawal demand, the power storage device is withdrawn from the user so that the degree of incentive to the user is greater than when the withdrawal supply is smaller than the withdrawal demand. may have the step of inducing to do

A second aspect of the present invention provides a control device for controlling a charging device. In the control device described above, the charging device includes, for example, a charging section configured to allow the power storage device to be attached/detached. The charging device, for example, detaches the power storage device attached to the charging unit and provides the power storage device to the user. For the charging device, for example, an operating time zone during which the power storage device is provided to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the power storage device is not provided to the user are set. The control device described above includes, for example, a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information related to the operating time slot and/or the non-operating time slot. The control device described above includes, for example, a control unit that controls charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on time information.

In a third aspect of the invention, a program is provided. The above program is, for example, a program for causing a computer to execute a charging device control method. In the above program, the charging device includes, for example, a charging unit configured to detachably attach the power storage device. The charging device, for example, detaches the power storage device attached to the charging unit and provides the power storage device to the user. For the charging device, for example, an operating time zone during which the power storage device is provided to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the power storage device is not provided to the user are set. In the above program, the control method comprises, for example, acquiring time information relating to working hours and/or non-working hours. The control method includes, for example, controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on time information.

A computer-readable storage medium storing the above program may be provided. The storage medium described above may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

It should be noted that the above summary of the invention does not list all the necessary features of the invention. Subcombinations of these feature groups can also be inventions.

1 schematically shows an example of a system configuration of a battery management system 100; An example of the internal configuration of the switch management unit 142 is schematically shown. An example of information processing in the switch management unit 142 is shown schematically. An example of charging control processing in the switch management unit 142 is schematically shown. An example of charging control processing in the switch management unit 142 is schematically shown. An example of notification processing in the switch management unit 142 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the computer 3000 is shown schematically.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Also, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution of the invention. In addition, in the drawings, the same or similar parts may be denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description.

[Overview of Battery Management System 100]
FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a system configuration of a battery management system 100. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages multiple mobile batteries 20 . The battery management system 100 may manage one or more battery exchangers 120 that are configured such that at least some of the plurality of mobile batteries 20 are detachable.

In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 includes one or more (sometimes simply referred to as one or more) battery exchanges 120 and a management server 140 . In this embodiment, the battery exchange machine 120 has one or more storage units 122 and a communication unit 126 . In this embodiment, storage unit 122 includes one or more slots 124 . In this embodiment, communication unit 126 includes communication interface 128 . In this embodiment, the management server 140 has an exchange management section 142 .

In this embodiment, each part of the battery management system 100 consumes power received from the power grid 12 to operate. For example, the battery exchange 120 uses power received from the power grid 12 to charge the mobile battery 20 stored in the slot 124 .

In this embodiment, each part of the battery management system 100 can transmit and receive information to and from each other via the communication network 14 . The one or more storage units 122 and the communication unit 126 can send and receive information to and from each other via wired or wireless communication lines (not shown).

In this embodiment, the battery management system 100 manages one or more (sometimes referred to as one or more) mobile batteries 20 . For the purpose of simplifying the explanation, in the present embodiment, the case where the battery management system 100 provides the mobile battery 20 sharing service to the user 40 of the electric motorcycle 30 is taken as an example. Details are explained.

In this embodiment, each of the one or more slots 124 arranged in the storage unit 122 of the battery exchange machine 120 can store one or more mobile batteries 20 . Also, each of the one or more slots 124 arranged in the storage unit 122 of the battery exchange machine 120 can charge one or more mobile batteries 20 .

A user 40 subscribing to the mobile battery 20 sharing service accesses the battery management system 100 using, for example, a communication terminal 42 and requests to rent the mobile battery 20 . The user 40 may reserve the rental of the mobile battery 20 by designating the desired date and time and the place to rent the mobile battery 20 and the number of the mobile batteries 20 to be rented. The communication terminal 42 may access the battery management system 100 via the communication network 14 or may access the battery management system 100 via the battery exchanger 120 . Note that the user 40 may operate the battery exchange machine 120 to request the mobile battery 20 to be rented.

When the above request is accepted, the user 40 can take out the mobile battery 20 housed in the battery exchange 120 (sometimes referred to as removing the mobile battery 20). This allows the user 40 to replace the mobile battery 20 attached to the electric motorcycle 30 with the mobile battery 20 housed in the battery exchange machine 120 .

More specifically, the user 40 removes the mobile battery 20 attached to the electric motorcycle 30 from the electric motorcycle 30 . The user 40 returns the mobile battery 20 removed from the electric motorcycle 30 to the battery exchange machine 120 . When the user 40 returns the mobile battery 20 , the battery exchange machine 120 dispenses the charged mobile battery 20 housed in the battery exchange machine 120 . The user 40 receives the charged mobile battery 20 from the battery exchange machine 120 and mounts the charged mobile battery 20 on the electric motorcycle 30 . Thereby, the mobile battery 20 is exchanged between the electric motorcycle 30 and the battery exchange machine 120 .

For example, if the battery exchange 120 is installed inside a building, the user 40 cannot use the battery exchange 120 during the hours when entry into the building is prohibited. As described above, according to the present embodiment, for at least a part of one or more battery exchanges 120, the time zone in which the battery exchanges 120 can provide the mobile battery 20 to the user 40 (sometimes referred to as business hours) ), and a period of time during which the battery exchange machine 120 cannot provide the mobile battery 20 to the user 40 (sometimes referred to as business suspension hours) are set.

During business hours, the battery exchange machine 120 removes the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery exchange machine 120 and provides the mobile battery 20 to the user 40 . During business hours, the battery exchange machine 120 charges the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery exchange machine 120, for example, in preparation for the next business hours.

By the way, if the period from the completion of charging of the mobile battery 20 to the withdrawal of the mobile battery 20 becomes longer, the amount of power loss due to natural discharge also increases. Further, depending on the type of secondary battery, deterioration of the secondary battery is accelerated when the SOC during storage is out of a specific numerical range. For example, when a lithium battery is used as the storage cell of the mobile battery 20, deterioration of the lithium battery is accelerated if the SOC of the lithium battery continues to be higher than the threshold for a long period of time. Examples of lithium batteries include lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, at least one of charging and discharging of the mobile battery 20 attached to the battery exchange 120 is controlled based on at least one of the operating hours and closed hours of the battery exchange 120 . For example, at least one of charging and discharging of mobile battery 20 is controlled during business hours and/or non-business hours so that the SOC of mobile battery 20 during non-business hours is maintained within a predetermined numerical range. be. The SOC of mobile battery 20 may be an example of an indicator that indicates the state of charge of mobile battery 20 .

In one embodiment, a period included in business hours, including the end time of business hours, and having a predetermined length (sometimes referred to as the end of business hours) Mobile battery At least one of charging and discharging of 20 is controlled. The length of the above period may be about the same as the length of time required to charge the SOC of mobile battery 20 from the lower limit state to the fully charged state, or may be longer than the length of time.

In another embodiment, a period of time that is included in the blackout hours and that includes the end time of the blackout hours and has a predetermined length (sometimes referred to as the end of the blackout hours). , at least one of charging and discharging of the mobile battery 20 is controlled. The length of the above period may be about the same as the length of time required to charge the SOC of mobile battery 20 from the lower limit state to the fully charged state, or may be longer than the length of time.

According to this embodiment, for example, the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery exchange 120 is controlled. Examples of the charging mode include whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during business hours, whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during closed hours, the timing at which charging is started, the charging speed, the charging profile, and the like. A charging profile includes information indicating each of a plurality of times in a period from the start of charging to the completion of charging (sometimes referred to as a charging period), and the degree of charging at each of the plurality of times. may be information associated with information indicating . The degree of charging is exemplified by the voltage, SOC, and remaining capacity of the mobile battery 20 .

The management server 140 and the battery exchange 120 may work together to control charging of the mobile battery 20 . Either the management server 140 or the battery exchange 120 may control charging of the mobile battery 20 .

According to one embodiment, the management server 140 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery exchanger 120 . The management server 140 generates an instruction for causing the battery exchange 120 to control charging of the mobile battery 20 based on the determined charging mode. Management server 140 transmits the above command to battery exchange 120 . When the battery exchange 120 receives the above command, the battery exchange 120 controls charging of the mobile battery 20 according to the command from the management server 140 .

According to another embodiment, management server 140 generates a charging plan for battery switch 120 . The charging plan may be information in which the time is associated with the number of mobile batteries 20 that have been fully charged by that time. Management server 140 transmits the charging plan to battery exchange 120 . When the battery exchanger 120 receives the charging plan, the battery exchanger 120 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 according to the charging plan. The battery exchanger 120 controls charging of the mobile battery 20 based on the determined charging mode.

For example, if it is difficult for a specific battery exchange 120 to charge a specified number of mobile batteries 20 by the end of business hours, the management server 140 or the specific battery exchange 120 may charge the specified number control the specific battery exchange machine 120 so that at least a part of the mobile battery 20 of is not charged during the business hours. In addition, the management server 140 or the specific battery exchange 120 controls charging of the mobile batteries 20 so that charging of the specified number of mobile batteries 20 is completed in time with the start of the next business hours. do.

As a result, deterioration of the mobile battery 20 is suppressed. Also, power loss due to natural discharge is suppressed.

[Overview of Each Unit Related to Battery Management System 100]
In this embodiment, communication network 14 conveys information. The communication network 14 may be a wired communication transmission line, a wireless communication transmission line, or a combination of a wireless communication transmission line and a wired communication transmission line. Communication network 14 may include wireless packet communication networks, the Internet, P2P networks, leased lines, VPNs, power line communication lines, and the like.

The communication network 14 may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone network, and (ii) a wireless MAN (eg, WiMAX®), a wireless LAN (eg, WiFi®). ), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), and other wireless communication networks. Wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), and NFC may be examples of short-range wireless communication.

In this embodiment, the mobile battery 20 stores electrical energy. The mobile battery 20 may be configured to be detachable (also referred to as detachable) with respect to the electric motorcycle 30 . Mobile battery 20 may be configured to be detachable from battery exchange 120 . This allows the user 40 to replace the mobile battery 20 attached to the electric motorcycle 30 with the mobile battery 20 housed in the battery exchange machine 120 .

In one embodiment, the mobile battery 20 is attached to the electric motorcycle 30 and supplies electric power to the electric motorcycle 30 . As described above, mobile battery 20 can be detachably attached to electric motorcycle 30 . In another embodiment, the mobile battery 20 is charged by the battery exchange 120 while being housed in the battery exchange 120 .

Note that the mobile battery 20 may supply power to the battery exchange 120 while it is housed in the battery exchange 120 . Thereby, the battery exchange 120 can use a part of the mobile battery 20 housed in the battery exchange 120 as, for example, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

In this embodiment, the electric motorcycle 30 is equipped with the mobile battery 20 . The electric motorcycle 30 may be equipped with multiple mobile batteries 20 . The electric motorcycle 30 uses power stored in the mobile battery 20 . For example, the electric motorcycle 30 runs by consuming power supplied from the mobile battery 20 .

In this embodiment, the communication terminal 42 transmits and receives information to and from each unit of the battery management system 100 via the communication network 14 . The communication terminal 42 may function as a user interface when the user 40 accesses the battery management system 100 . The communication terminal 42 may be used for user authentication processing by the battery management system 100 .

Examples of the communication terminal 42 include a personal computer and a mobile terminal. Examples of mobile terminals include mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, notebook or laptop computers, wearable computers, and the like.

In this embodiment, the battery exchange machine 120 accommodates the mobile battery 20 . The battery exchanger 120 may accommodate multiple mobile batteries 20 . Thereby, the battery exchange machine 120 can store one or more mobile batteries 20 . In this embodiment, the battery exchange 120 charges at least one of the one or more mobile batteries 20 . The battery exchanger 120 may charge the mobile battery 20 until the charging rate or voltage of the mobile battery 20 reaches a predetermined set value.

In this embodiment, the battery exchange machine 120 puts the fully charged mobile battery 20 in a removable state (sometimes referred to as dispensing). In response to a request from the user 40, the battery exchange 120 may dispense the mobile battery 20 that meets the request. The battery exchange machine 120 acquires from the management server 140 information indicating the payout condition, which is the condition for the mobile battery 20 to be paid out, and determines the mobile battery 20 to be actually paid out of the mobile batteries 20 that meet the payout condition. You may

Note that in another embodiment, the battery exchange 120 may discharge at least some of the plurality of mobile batteries 20 . The battery exchanger 120 may use the power output by discharging the mobile battery 20 . For example, the battery exchange 120 operates by consuming power output by discharging the mobile battery 20 . The battery exchange 120 may stop or interrupt the charging operation of the other mobile batteries 20 when operating by consuming the power output by discharging one mobile battery 20 . Even in this case, the battery exchange machine 120 may continue the dispensing operation of the mobile battery 20 .

Thereby, the battery exchange 120 can use a part of the mobile battery 20 accommodated in the battery exchange 120 as an uninterruptible power supply. According to the battery exchanger 120 according to the present embodiment, for example, even if an abnormality occurs in power supply from the power system 12 to the battery exchanger 120, power supply to the control device can be continued. As a result, for example, the dispensing of the mobile battery 20 by the battery exchange machine 120 can be continued. Therefore, even if the battery exchange machine 120 is installed in an area where power outages occur relatively frequently, an environment can be provided in which the battery can be exchanged stably.

In this embodiment, a first computer located in the communication unit 126, a second computer located in each of the one or more storage units 122, and a third computer located in each of the one or more slots 124. cooperate to control the operation of the battery changer 120 . The first computer, for example, controls the overall operation of the battery exchange 120 in which the first computer is arranged. The second computer, for example, controls the operation of the storage unit 122 in which the second computer is arranged. The third computer, for example, controls the operation of slot 124 in which the third computer is arranged.

For example, the first computer receives, from the management server 140, various information regarding the battery exchange 120 in which the first computer is arranged. For example, the first computer receives information indicating a charging plan for the battery exchanger 120 described above. The information indicating the charging plan may be information in which information indicating one or more times and the number of mobile batteries 20 that have been fully charged by each time are associated with each other. Information indicating the reservation status of the battery exchange 120 is received. The information indicating the reservation status includes (a) information indicating one or more times, (b) (i) identification information of the user 40 who uses the battery exchange 120 at each time, and (ii) battery exchange at each time. The information may be associated with information indicating at least one of the number of mobile batteries 20 received by 120 or issued by battery exchange 120 . The first computer may receive the information indicating the payment condition, or may receive the information indicating the condition regarding the mobile battery 20 to be paid out preferentially.

The first computer may accept a lending request for mobile battery 20 from user 40 who has visited battery exchange 120 . For example, based on information received from the management server 140 and/or a lending request from the user 40, the first computer selects one or more of the battery exchangers 120 constituting the battery exchanger 120 to charge the mobile battery 20. The storage unit 122 that executes the processing and/or the storage unit 122 that executes the lending processing of the mobile battery 20 is determined. The first computer generates instructions for the storage unit 122 to execute each process based on the above determination results. The first computer sends the above instructions to the storage unit 122 that executes each process at appropriate timing.

The second computer determines the slot 124 for executing the charging process or the return process from one or more slots 124 arranged in the storage unit 122 based on the instruction from the first computer. The second computer generates instructions for the slots 124 that perform each process based on the above determination results. The second computer transmits the above instructions to the slot 124 executing each process at appropriate timing. The third computer controls each part of the slot 124 to cause the slot 124 to perform the operations indicated by the instructions from the second computer.

In this embodiment, storage unit 122 holds multiple slots 124 . In this embodiment, storage unit 122 is formed independently of communication unit 126 . The storage unit 122 may be installed separately from the communication unit 126 or may be installed in contact with the communication unit 126 .

In this embodiment, each of the multiple slots 124 stores one or more mobile batteries 20 . Also, each of the plurality of slots 124 includes an electrical terminal (not shown) electrically connected to one or more electrical terminals (not shown) of the mobile battery 20 . Thereby, each of the plurality of slots 124 can charge or discharge the mobile battery 20 stored in each slot.

Note that "electrically connected" is not limited to the case where two elements are physically directly connected. A third element may intervene between the above two elements. Moreover, it is not limited to the case where the above two elements are physically connected. For example, the input and output windings of a transformer are not physically connected, but are electrically connected. This allows the slot 124 to support not only wired charging and discharging of the mobile battery 20 but also wireless charging and discharging of the mobile battery 20 .

Each of the plurality of slots 124 may include a communication terminal communicably connected to communication terminals of one or more mobile batteries 20 . The communication method between the communication terminal of the slot 124 and the communication terminal of the mobile battery 20 may be a wired communication method or a wireless communication method. As a result, each of the plurality of slots 124 can read information from or write information to the storage device (not shown) of the mobile battery 20 stored in each slot.

In this embodiment, the communication unit 126 is in charge of information processing involving at least one of the user 40 and the management server 140 among the information processing in the battery exchange device 120 . For example, communication unit 126 receives and responds to requests from user 40 and/or management server 140 . The communication unit 126 issues instructions (sometimes referred to as commands) to the storage unit 122 when it determines that the storage unit 122 needs to process a request from at least one of the user 40 and the management server 140 . ).

If communication unit 126 is capable of processing requests from user 40 and/or management server 140 without cooperating with storage unit 122, communication unit 126 sends commands to storage unit 122. It doesn't have to be. This simplifies information processing in the storage unit 122 . The communication unit 126 can execute, for example, communication control processing with the outside of the battery exchange 120 , authentication processing of the user 40 , selection processing of the slot 124 , etc., without cooperating with the storage unit 122 .

As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the communication unit 126 is formed separately from the storage unit 122 . The storage unit 122 may be installed separately from the communication unit 126 or may be installed in contact with the communication unit 126 .

Communication interface 128 is configured to be capable of communicating with an information processing device external to battery exchange 120 . The communication interface 128 may support multiple communication schemes. The communication interface 128 may be compatible with a wired communication system or may be compatible with a wireless communication system. In one embodiment, communication interface 128 sends and receives information to and from communication terminal 42 utilized by user 40 . In other embodiments, communication interface 128 sends and receives information to and from management server 140 .

In this embodiment, the management server 140 is arranged outside the battery exchange 120 . The management server 140 can also transmit and receive information to and from the communication unit 126 of the battery exchange 120 via the communication network 14 .

Management server 140 manages each of one or more battery exchanges 120 constituting battery management system 100 . The management server 140 may control each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 configuring the battery management system 100 .

In this embodiment, the management server 140 manages one or more mobile batteries 20 . For example, the management server 140 manages each state of one or more mobile batteries 20 . The management server 140 may manage returning and dispensing of one or more mobile batteries 20 . The management server 140 may send various requests for managing the mobile battery 20 to at least one of the one or more battery exchanges 120 .

In this embodiment, the management server 140 manages one or more battery exchanges 120 . For example, an exchange management unit 142 arranged in the management server 140 manages each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 .

In this embodiment, the exchange manager 142 may manage the status of each of one or more battery exchanges 120 . The state of the battery exchange 120 includes the external power supply state, the number of mobile batteries 20 that can be accepted, the number of mobile batteries 20 that can be dispensed, the presence or absence of the mobile batteries 20 that can be used as an uninterruptible power supply, the number, or the number of mobile batteries 20 that can be dispensed. Examples include identification information and the state of charge of the mobile battery 20 described above. The exchange manager 142 may send various requests for managing the battery exchanges 120 to at least one of the one or more battery exchanges 120 .

The exchange management unit 142 may determine, for at least some of the one or more battery exchanges 120 , payment conditions, which are conditions regarding the mobile battery 20 to be paid. The payout conditions include the order of payout priority for each of the plurality of mobile batteries 20 housed in the battery exchange 120, the identification information of the mobile battery 20 to be paid out preferentially, and the characteristics of the mobile battery 20 to be paid out preferentially. exemplified. The details of the switch management unit 142 will be described later.

[Specific configuration of each part of battery management system 100]
Each unit of the battery management system 100 may be implemented by hardware, software, or both hardware and software. At least part of each part of the battery management system 100 may be realized by a single server or may be realized by a plurality of servers. At least part of each part of the battery management system 100 may be realized on a virtual server or a cloud system. At least part of each part of the battery management system 100 may be realized by a personal computer or a mobile terminal. Examples of mobile terminals include mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, notebook computers or laptop computers, wearable computers, and the like. Each part of the battery management system 100 may store information using distributed ledger technology or distributed networks such as blockchain.

When at least part of the constituent elements of battery management system 100 are realized by software, the constituent elements realized by the software define operations related to the constituent elements in an information processing apparatus having a general configuration. It may be realized by activating the program that The information processing apparatus having the above general configuration includes (i) a data processing apparatus having a processor such as a CPU and GPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, and the like; and (ii) a keyboard, pointing device, touch panel, camera, voice input Input devices such as devices, gesture input devices, various sensors, and GPS receivers, (iii) output devices such as display devices, audio output devices, and vibration devices, and (iv) storage devices such as memories, HDDs, and SSDs (external including a storage device).

In the information processing apparatus having the general configuration described above, the data processing apparatus or the storage device may store the program. The program is executed by the processor to cause the information processing apparatus to perform operations specified by the program. The above program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium. The above program may be stored in a computer-readable medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, memory, hard disk, etc., or may be stored in a storage device connected to a network.

The above program may be a program for causing a computer to function as battery management system 100 or a part thereof. The above program may include modules that define the operation of each part of the battery management system 100 . These programs or modules act on a data processing device, an input device, an output device, a storage device, etc. to cause the computer to function as each part of the battery management system 100, or instruct the computer to perform information processing in each part of the battery management system 100. or let it run.

The above program may be installed in a computer forming at least part of the battery management system 100 from a computer-readable medium or a storage device connected to a network. A computer may function as at least a part of each part of the battery management system 100 by executing the above program. The information processing described in the above program is a concrete example of cooperation between software related to the program and various hardware resources of battery management system 100 or a part thereof when the program is read into a computer. function as a means of Then, the specific means described above realizes the calculation or processing of information according to the purpose of use of the computer in this embodiment, thereby constructing the battery management system 100 according to the purpose of use.

The above program may be a program for causing a computer to function as the management server 140 or the switch management section 142. FIG. The above program may be a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method in the management server 140 or the switch management section 142 . The above program may be stored in a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium described above may be a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.

The information processing method described above may be a control method for a charging device having a charging unit configured to detachably attach a power storage device. In the control method described above, the charging device, for example, detaches the power storage device attached to the charging unit and provides the power storage device to the user. In the above control method, the charging device is set with, for example, an operating time zone during which the charging device provides the power storage device to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the charging device does not provide the power storage device to the user. It is The above control method includes, for example, the steps of acquiring time information related to the operating time zone and/or the non-operating time zone, and controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on the time information. have

The mobile battery 20 may be an example of a power storage device. User 40 may be an example of a user of the charging device. Battery management system 100 may be an example of a control device. Battery changer 120 may be an example of a charging device or a control device. Storage unit 122 may be an example of a charging device. Communication unit 126 may be an example of a controller. Slot 124 may be an example of a charging portion. The management server 140 may be an example of a control device. The switch management unit 142 may be an example of a control device. Business hours may be an example of an operating time zone. A business stop time may be an example of a non-operating time zone.

[An example of another embodiment]
In the present embodiment, the details of the battery management system 100 have been described by taking as an example the case where the battery management system 100 provides the mobile battery 20 sharing service. However, the services provided by the battery management system 100 are not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the battery management system 100 may provide the mobile battery 20 charging service to the user 40 of the mobile battery 20 .

In the present embodiment, the details of the battery exchanger 120 have been described by taking as an example the case where the battery exchanger 120 operates using power received from the power system 12 . However, the battery exchange machine 120 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery changer 120 is stored in the battery changer 120, for example, if at least one of the one or more slots 124 disposed in the battery changer 120 includes a bi-directional DC/DC converter. At least one of the one or more mobile batteries 20 may operate using the discharged power.

In the present embodiment, details of the battery management system 100 have been described by taking as an example the case where the battery exchange machine 120 includes one or more storage units 122 and a single communication unit 126 . However, the battery exchange machine 120 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the battery exchanger 120 may comprise multiple storage units 122 and multiple communication units 126 . In this case, the number of storage units 122 may be greater than the number of communication units 126 .

In this embodiment, a first computer located in the communication unit 126, a second computer located in each of the one or more storage units 122, and a third computer located in each of the one or more slots 124. cooperate to control the operation of the battery exchanger 120, and an example of the battery management system 100 has been described. However, the battery management system 100 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, at least part of the processing in the first computer may be performed by the second computer, and at least part of the processing in the second computer may be performed by the first computer.

In the present embodiment, an example of the user of the battery management system 100 has been described, taking as an example the case where the user 40 who is a natural person uses the battery management system 100 . However, users of battery management system 100 are not limited to natural persons. The user may be a creature other than a human, or an autonomous mobile machine (sometimes referred to as a robot). An autonomous mobile machine may be an autonomously traveling vehicle, an autonomously flying aircraft, an autonomously navigating vessel, or a walking humanoid or animal machine. .

In the present embodiment, an example of the battery management system 100 has been described, taking as an example the case where the exchange management unit 142 executes information processing for managing each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 . However, the battery management system 100 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the exchange manager 142 and the battery exchange 120 cooperate to perform the information processing described above. For example, a part of the information processing in the switch management unit 142 described above is executed by the battery switch 120 .

FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the exchange management unit 142. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the switch management unit 142 includes a storage unit 220 , a business hours management unit 230 , a demand management unit 242 , a supply management unit 244 , a notification unit 250 and a charging management unit 260 . In this embodiment, the charging management unit 260 has a charging time prediction unit 262 , a availability determination unit 264 , a start time determination unit 266 , a charging mode determination unit 268 , and a charging control unit 272 .

In this embodiment, the storage unit 220 stores various information. In one embodiment, the storage unit 220 stores various information used for information processing in the exchange management unit 142 . In another embodiment, the storage unit 220 stores various information generated in the information processing in the exchange management unit 142. FIG.

For example, the storage unit 220 stores, for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120, identification information and information indicating at least one of business hours and business suspension hours in association with each other. The business hours of each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 are set by the business hours management unit 230, for example. The operating hours for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 are set by the operating hours management unit 230, for example.

In the present embodiment, the business hours management unit 230 acquires information (sometimes referred to as business information) related to at least one of business hours and business suspension hours for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120. . The business hours management unit 230 stores business information in the storage unit 220, for example. The business hours management unit 230 may associate the identification information with the business information for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 and store them in the storage unit 220 .

The business hours management unit 230, for example, receives one or more battery Business information about each of the exchanges 120 is obtained. The business hours management unit 230 cooperates with an information processing terminal (not shown) used by each manager of one or more battery exchanges 120 to can be obtained.

Examples of business information include information indicating at least one of the start time and end time of business hours, information indicating at least one of the start time and end time of closed hours, and the like. The end time of a particular business hour may be the start time of a closed business hour following that business hour. The end time of the above business hours may be the start time of the next business hours. For example, if business hours are set once a day and the business hours are from 8:00 to 20:00, the end time of the business hours on a specific business day will be the business stop time on that business day. It will be the same time as the start time. In addition, the end time of the business suspension time is the same as the start time of the business hours of the next day.

Other examples of business information include information indicating at least one of the start and end times of business hours on weekdays, information indicating at least one of the start and end times of business hours on weekdays, and the start of business hours on holidays. Information indicating at least one of the time and end time, information indicating at least one of the start time and end time of business suspension hours on holidays, information indicating at least one of the start time and end time of business hours on a specific date, Examples include information indicating at least one of the start time and end time of business suspension hours on a specific date.

The start time of business hours is a period included in business hours, an example of a period having a predetermined length including the start time of business hours (sometimes referred to as the start of business hours) can be The end time of business hours may be an example of the end of business hours. The start time of the business suspension time is the period included in the business suspension time, which includes the start time of the business suspension time and has a predetermined length (sometimes referred to as the start time of the business suspension time). ) may be an example. The closing time of the business hours may be an example of the end of the business hours.

In this embodiment, the demand manager 242 manages the demand for the mobile battery 20 . The demand management unit 242 manages, for example, information about demand for the mobile battery 20 in areas where one or more battery exchanges 120 managed by the battery management system 100 are installed. Information about the demand for the mobile battery 20 is exemplified by information indicating a quantity correlated with the demand for the mobile battery 20 . Quantities correlated with the demand of the mobile battery 20 include (i) the number of fully charged mobile batteries 20 requested by one or more users 40, (ii) the request of one or more users 40, or the above demand. and (iii) the demand of one or more users 40 or the amount of power [kWh] necessary to satisfy the above demand. The number, power, and/or amount of power may simply be referred to as demand.

The demand management unit 242, for example, the amount of demand at the current time or at the first time, or information on the amount of demand in a period (sometimes referred to as the first period) including the current time or the first time (referred to as demand information). may be used.). The demand management unit 242 may store demand information in the storage unit 220 . The demand management unit 242 may associate identification information for each of one or more regions with information indicating the amount of demand in each region, and store the information in the storage unit 220 .

For example, the demand management unit 242 acquires the above-described demand information by analyzing the contents of lending requests from one or more users 40 . The demand management unit 242 acquires the above demand information, for example, by totaling the number of reservations for the mobile battery 20 indicated by the above lending request. The demand management unit 242 may acquire the above demand information by predicting the demand amount at the first time or the first period. Any known method can be adopted as the method of predicting the demand amount. For example, the demand management unit 242 predicts the demand amount based on past demand results. The demand management unit 242 may predict the demand amount by inputting one or more explanatory variables and using a model that outputs the demand amount as the objective variable.

In this embodiment, the supply management unit 244 manages the supply of the mobile battery 20 . The demand management unit 242 manages, for example, information regarding the supply of the mobile battery 20 for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 managed by the battery management system 100 . Information about the supply of the mobile battery 20 is exemplified by information indicating an amount correlated with the supply preparation status of the mobile battery 20 . At least one of (i) the number of dispensable mobile batteries 20, (ii) the SOC, remaining capacity, deterioration state, and temperature of each dispensable mobile battery 20 is used as the quantity correlated with the supply preparation status of the mobile batteries 20. are exemplified. The above number, SOC, and/or remaining capacity may simply be referred to as the supply amount. The supply management unit 244 may manage similar information regarding all mobile batteries 20 stored in each of one or more battery exchanges 120 .

The supply management unit 244 acquires, for example, information (sometimes referred to as supply information) regarding the amount of supply at the present time or at the first time, or the amount of supply in the first period. The supply management unit 244 may store supply information in the storage unit 220 . The supply management unit 244 may associate the identification information of each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 with the information on the supply amount of each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 and store them in the storage unit 220 .

For example, the supply management unit 244 regularly or at a predetermined timing, from each of the one or more battery exchanges 120, the one or more mobile batteries 20 stored in each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 Acquire various information (sometimes referred to as operation information) related to The supply management unit 244 may acquire supply information by analyzing the operation information. The supply management unit 244 acquires the supply information by, for example, totaling the number of dispensable mobile batteries 20 indicated by the operation information.

In this embodiment, the supply management unit 244 determines whether the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged. The supply management unit 244 outputs information indicating the determination result to the notification unit 250 .

In one embodiment, the supply management unit 244, for example, for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120, determines whether the mobile battery 20 will run out at a specific time or period in the future, or whether the mobile battery 20 will run out. Estimate probabilities. For example, the supply management unit 244 acquires information indicating the charging control state of each mobile battery stored in each battery exchange, and based on the charging control state, determines whether the mobile battery 20 is depleted in the battery exchange. Alternatively, the probability that the mobile battery 20 will run out in the battery exchange is estimated. The supply management unit 244 outputs information indicating the estimation result to the notification unit 250 .

In another embodiment, the supply management unit 244, for example, (i) the current or first time, or the demand amount in the first period, and (ii) the current or the first time, or the supply amount in the first period and determines whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged. The supply management unit 244 may acquire information indicating the demand amount at the present time, the first time, or the first period from the storage unit 220 or the demand management unit 242 . Supply management unit 244 outputs information indicating the determination result to charging management unit 260 . In the present embodiment, the supply management unit 244 determines (i) the demand amount at the present time or at the first time or in the first period, and (ii) the amount of supply at the present or the first time or in the first period. compare. The supply management unit 244 outputs information indicating the comparison result to the notification unit 250 .

In this embodiment, the notification unit 250 notifies advertisement information to at least some of the one or more users 40 . For example, the notification unit 250 receives information indicating the above comparison results from the supply management unit 244 . Based on the above comparison result, the notification unit 250 determines (i) the necessity of notification of the advertisement information, (ii) the timing of notification of the advertisement information, the attribute of the user 40 to whom the advertisement information is to be notified, and the advertisement. At least one of the content of the information may be determined.

The notification unit 250 makes the degree of incentive to the user 40 greater when the supply amount is larger than the demand amount compared to when the supply amount is smaller than the demand amount. The user 40 may be encouraged to use the battery changer 120 . For example, the notification unit 250 may increase the degree of incentive for the user 40 when the supply amount is larger than the demand amount, compared to when the supply amount is smaller than the demand amount. First, at least one of the timing of notifying the advertisement information, the attribute of the user 40 to whom the advertisement information is to be notified, and the content of the advertisement information is determined.

In one embodiment, when the amount of supply of the mobile battery 20 is greater than the amount of demand for the mobile battery 20 in the specific battery exchange 120, the notification unit 250 determines that the amount of supply of the mobile battery 20 is greater than the amount of demand for the mobile battery 20. At least one of the timing of notification of the advertisement information, the attribute of the user 40 to whom the advertisement information is to be notified, and the content of the advertisement information is determined so that the degree of incentive for the user 40 increases as the amount increases. For example, the notification unit 250 displays the advertisement so that the greater the amount of supply of the mobile battery 20 than the amount of demand for the mobile battery 20, the greater the incentive given to the user 40 by using the specific battery exchange 120. Determine the content of information.

In another embodiment, when the amount of supply of the mobile battery 20 in a specific battery exchange 120 is smaller than the amount of demand for the mobile battery 20, the notification unit 250 determines that the degree of incentive to use the other battery exchange 120 is determined by the specific battery exchange 120. (i) necessity of notification of advertisement information, (ii) timing of notification of advertisement information, attribute of user 40 to be notified of advertisement information, and , and at least one of the content of the advertising information. For example, the notification unit 250 notifies advertisement information about battery exchanges 120 other than the specific battery exchange 120 described above. The notification unit 250 may notify advertisement information indicating that there is a high possibility that the mobile battery 20 will run out in the specific battery exchange 120 described above. The notification unit 250 may determine the content of the advertisement information so that the incentive provided to the user 40 is increased by using a battery exchange 120 other than the specific battery exchange 120 described above.

The advertisement information may be any information that can encourage the user 40 who receives the advertisement information to use the battery exchange 120 that is the target of the incentive process, and the details of the content are not limited. The content of the advertisement information includes information on the battery exchanger 120 to be subjected to the incentive process, a request to use the battery exchanger 120 to be subjected to the incentive process, and a request to the user 40 by using the battery exchanger 120 to be subjected to the incentive process. Examples include information on incentives to be provided. As described above, the advertisement information may be information that can prevent the user 40 who receives the advertisement information from using the battery exchange 120 that is not subject to the incentive process. Examples of using the battery exchange machine 120 include returning the mobile battery 20 and lending or paying out the mobile battery 20 .

The content of the advertisement information may not include the information regarding the above incentives. For example, information simply requesting use of the battery exchange 120 that is the target of the incentive process may be determined as the content of the advertisement information. Even in this case, there is a possibility that some of the users 40 who viewed the advertisement information will consider using the battery exchange 120 described above. This may facilitate the battery exchange 120 described above.

Thereby, the battery management system 100 can induce the user 40 who has received the advertisement information to use the specific battery exchange 120 . Also, the battery management system 100 can induce the user 40 who receives the advertisement information not to use the specific battery exchange 120 . The process of notifying the advertisement information may be an example of a process for inducing the use of a specific battery exchange 120 (sometimes referred to as an incentive process).

In this embodiment, the charging management unit 260 manages charging of the mobile battery 20 in each of one or more battery exchanges 120 . In one embodiment, the charging management unit 260 manages charging of the mobile battery 20 during business hours. In another embodiment, the charging management unit 260 manages charging of the mobile battery 20 during business hours. Details of the information processing in charge management unit 260 will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the charging time prediction unit 262 predicts the time until charging is completed (sometimes referred to as charging time) for each of the one or more slots 124 of the battery exchange 120. do. The charging time prediction unit 262 may employ a known prediction method or estimation method as a method of predicting the time until charging is completed. Also, the charging time prediction unit 262 may output a predetermined value as a predicted value of the time until charging is completed. The charging time prediction unit 262 may output a predetermined value for each type of mobile battery 20 as the predicted value.

In this embodiment, the propriety determination unit 264 determines whether or not each of the one or more mobile batteries 20 attached to the slots 124 of the battery exchange 120 can be charged during business hours. For example, the propriety determination unit 264 predicts when each of the one or more mobile batteries 20 attached to the slots 124 of the battery exchange 120 will complete charging (sometimes referred to as charging completion timing). The propriety determination unit 264 determines whether or not each of the one or more mobile batteries 20 can be charged based on the predicted value of the charging completion time of each of the one or more mobile batteries 20 .

For example, the propriety determination unit 264 acquires information indicating when charging of the mobile battery 20 is started (sometimes referred to as charging start time). The charging time prediction unit 262 may acquire information indicating the current time as the information indicating the time to start charging. In addition, the propriety determination unit 264 acquires information indicating a predicted value of time until charging of the mobile battery 20 is completed from the charging time prediction unit 262 . The charging time prediction unit 262 outputs the predicted value of the charging completion time by adding the predicted value of the time until charging of the mobile battery 20 is completed to the charging start time.

For example, when charging of a specific mobile battery 20 is completed during business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that charging of the specific mobile battery 20 is possible. Specifically, when the predicted value of the charging completion time of the specific mobile battery 20 is earlier than the end of business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the specific mobile battery 20 can be charged. . Note that if the charging of a specific mobile battery 20 is completed by a predetermined time during business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 may determine that the specific mobile battery 20 can be charged. .

For example, if the charging of a specific mobile battery 20 is not completed during business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the specific mobile battery 20 cannot be charged. Specifically, when the predicted value of the charging completion time of the specific mobile battery 20 is later than the end of business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the specific mobile battery 20 cannot be charged. do. In addition, if charging of the specific mobile battery 20 is not completed by a predetermined time during business hours, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the specific mobile battery 20 cannot be charged. good.

In this embodiment, when charging at least one of the one or more mobile batteries 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery exchange 120 during business hours, the start time determination unit 266 determines that the at least one mobile battery 20 , the timing at which charging is started (sometimes referred to as charging start timing) is determined. For example, the start time determination unit 266 acquires information indicating a predicted value of time until charging of the mobile battery 20 is completed from the charging time prediction unit 262 . For each of the at least one mobile battery 20, the start time determination unit 266 determines (i) a predicted value of the charging completion time of the mobile battery 20, (ii) the end of the business suspension time, and/or The charging start time is determined based on the start time of the business hours following the business stop time.

For example, the start time determination unit 266 determines that charging of the mobile battery 20 is completed at the same time as the end time of the business suspension time and/or the start time of the business hours following the business suspension time. First, the time at which charging of each of the at least one mobile battery 20 is started (sometimes referred to as charging start time) is determined. The charge start time may be an example of the charge start time. The start time determination unit 266 completes charging of the mobile battery 20 before the end time of the business suspension time and/or the start time of the business hours following the business suspension time. A charging start time for each of the at least one mobile battery 20 may be determined.

In this embodiment, the charging mode determination unit 268 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 . As described above, examples of the charging mode include whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during business hours, whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during closed hours, the timing at which charging is started, the charging speed, and the charging profile. be done. Details of the information processing in charging mode determination unit 268 will be described later.

In this embodiment, the charging control unit 272 controls charging of at least one of the one or more mobile batteries 20 attached to the slots 124 of the one or more battery exchanges 120 . The charging control unit 272 may control charging of the mobile battery 20 based on business information. The charging control section 272 may control charging of the mobile battery 20 according to the charging mode determined by the charging mode determining section 268 .

In one embodiment, the charge control unit 272 controls charging of the mobile battery 20 based on the determination result of the availability determination unit 264 . In another embodiment, the charging control unit 272 controls charging of the mobile battery 20 so that charging is started at the charging start time determined by the start time determination unit 266 .

The business hours management unit 230 may be an example of a time information acquisition unit. Charging management unit 260 may be an example of a control unit or a control device. The charging time prediction unit 262 may be an example of a time information acquisition unit. The charge controller 272 may be an example of a controller.

The start time of business hours may be an example of the operation start time. The end time of business hours may be an example of the operation end time. The start time of the business suspension time may be an example of the non-operation start time. The end time of the business suspension time may be an example of the non-operation end time. The start time of the business hours may be an example of the start time of the operating hours. The end time of the business hours may be an example of the end of the operating hours. The start time of the business suspension time may be an example of the start time of the non-operating time zone. The end time of the closed hours may be an example of the end of the non-operating hours.

Business information may be an example of time information. A demand quantity may be an example of a breakaway demand. A feed rate may be an example of a breakaway feed. Returning the mobile battery 20 may be an example of the use of attaching the power storage device. Lending or paying out the mobile battery 20 may be an example of the use of leaving the power storage device. The predicted value of the charging completion time may be an example of the predicted completion time. The first time may be an example of a first time.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of information processing in the exchange management section 142. As shown in FIG. According to this embodiment, first, in step 312 (the step may be abbreviated as S), the business hours management unit 230 acquires business information for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 . The business hours management unit 230 may acquire information indicating the business hours of the battery exchange 120 . The business hours management unit 230 may determine the business suspension time of the battery exchange 120 based on the business hours of the battery exchange 120 . The business hours management unit 230 may acquire business suspension hours of the battery exchange machine 120 . The business hours management unit 230 may determine the business hours of the battery exchange 120 based on the business suspension time of the battery exchange 120 .

Next, at S<b>314 , the charging manager 260 determines whether the mobile device installed in the slot 124 of each of the one or more battery exchangers 120 is based on the operating hours and/or closed hours of each of the one or more battery exchangers 120 . Controls charging of the battery 20 . For example, the charging management unit 260 acquires information indicating the determination result regarding the necessity of charging the mobile battery 20 from the supply management unit 244 . If the information indicating the above determination result indicates that charging of the mobile battery 20 is required, the charging management unit 260 determines to control charging of the above mobile battery 20 . The details of the procedure for controlling charging of mobile battery 20 will be described later.

Next, in S316, the notification unit 250 notifies one or more users 40 of the advertisement information. In the present embodiment, the notification unit 250 considers the charging control state of one or more battery exchanges 120, and determines whether (i) notification of advertising information is necessary, (ii) timing of notification of advertising information, and At least one of the attribute of the user 40 to be notified and the content of the advertisement information is determined. For example, the notification unit 250 acquires from the supply management unit 244 information indicating the comparison result of the demand amount and the supply amount of the mobile battery 20 in each of the one or more battery exchanges 120 . Based on the above comparison result, the notification unit 250 determines (i) the necessity of notification of the advertisement information, (ii) the timing of notification of the advertisement information, the attribute of the user 40 to whom the advertisement information is to be notified, and the advertisement. determining at least one of the content of the information; The notification unit 250 notifies the advertisement information to the user 40 to whom the advertisement information is to be notified based on the determination result.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of charging control processing in the switch management unit 142. As shown in FIG. An example of the charging control process during business hours will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of charge control processing for a specific mobile battery 20 attached to a slot 124 of a specific battery exchange 120. FIG. The switch management unit 142 performs the information processing shown in FIG. 4 or a part thereof (for example, S416, S420, S422 and S424.) may be executed.

According to this embodiment, first, in S410, the supply management unit 244 determines whether or not charging of the mobile battery 20 regarding the specific battery exchange 120 is necessary. As described above, the supply management unit 244, for example, (i) the current or first time, or the demand amount in the first period, and (ii) the current or the first time, or the supply amount in the first period Based on this, it is determined whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged.

For example, if the current time is 17:00 and the demand management unit 242 expects demand for 8 units in a specific battery exchange 120 from the current time to 20:00, which is the end time of business hours, As an example of prediction, the details of the determination process in the supply management unit 244 will be described. The supply management unit 244 acquires from the battery exchange 120 information indicating the number of mobile batteries 20 that can be dispensed at present. For example, when the battery exchange 120 can dispense four mobile batteries 20, the supply management unit 244 determines that the amount of supply of the mobile batteries 20 is smaller than the amount of demand for the mobile batteries 20. charge is required. On the other hand, for example, when the battery exchange 120 can dispense ten mobile batteries 20, the supply management unit 244 determines that the supply amount of the mobile batteries 20 is greater than the demand amount of the mobile batteries 20, and It is determined that charging of the battery 20 is unnecessary.

In S410, when the supply management unit 244 determines that charging of the mobile battery 20 is unnecessary (No in S410), the supply management unit 244 repeats the processing of S410 at appropriate time intervals. On the other hand, when the supply management unit 244 determines in S410 that the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged (Yes in S410), in S412 to S420 the availability determination unit 264 determines whether charging is possible during business hours. do.

First, in S412, the availability determination unit 264 acquires information indicating the current time (A). Next, in S<b>414 , the availability determination unit 264 acquires information indicating the end time (B) of the operating hours of the battery exchange 120 . Next, in S<b>416 , the charging time prediction unit 262 predicts the charging time of the mobile battery 20 . Also, the propriety determination unit 264 acquires the predicted value (C) of the charging time of the mobile battery 20 .

Next, in S<b>420 , the propriety determination unit 264 determines whether or not charging of the mobile battery 20 will be completed by the end of business hours of the battery exchange 120 . For example, if the length of time (BA) remaining from the current time to the end of business hours of the battery exchange 120 is greater than the predicted value (C) of the charging time of the mobile battery 20, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the mobile battery 20 can be charged. On the other hand, if the remaining time length (B−A) from the current time to the end time of the business hours of the battery exchange 120 is smaller than the predicted value (C) of the charging time of the mobile battery 20, the propriety determination unit 264 determines that the mobile battery 20 cannot be charged.

In S420, if the availability determination unit 264 determines that the mobile battery 20 can be charged (Yes in S420), the availability determination unit 264 determines to start charging the mobile battery 20 during business hours. In addition, the propriety determination unit 264 predicts when the charging of the mobile battery 20 will be completed. Furthermore, the charging mode determination unit 268 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 . For example, the charging mode determining unit 268 determines that the charging of the mobile battery 20 is completed when the predicted value of the charging completion time of the mobile battery 20 exceeds the end time of business hours and/or the start time of the business suspension time of the battery exchange 120. The mobile battery 20 is configured so that the increase in the storage amount of the mobile battery 20 is less than when the predicted value of the timing does not exceed the end time of the business hours and/or the start time of the business hours of the battery exchange 120. determines the charging mode of the

Next, in S<b>424 , the charging control unit 272 controls the battery exchange 120 to control charging of the mobile battery 20 . This ends the processing.

On the other hand, if the availability determination unit 264 determines that the mobile battery 20 cannot be charged in S420 (No in S420), the availability determination unit 264 determines not to start charging the mobile battery 20 during business hours. . This ends the processing. As a result, when the predicted value of the charging completion time of the mobile battery 20 exceeds the end time of business hours and/or the start time of the business suspension time of the battery exchange 120, the predicted value of the charging completion time of the mobile battery 20 is The charging mode of the mobile battery 20 is determined so that the increase in the storage amount of the mobile battery 20 is less than when the end time of the business hours and/or the start time of the business suspension time of the battery exchange 120 is not exceeded. obtain.

An embodiment in which the amount of power stored in the mobile battery 20 does not increase and an embodiment in which the amount of power stored in the mobile battery 20 decreases may be examples of modes in which an increase in the amount of power stored in the mobile battery 20 decreases. If the SOC or remaining capacity of a specific mobile battery 20 exceeds a specific threshold, the exchange management unit 142 discharges the specific mobile battery 20 before the business hours of the battery exchange 120 end, of the mobile battery 20 may be decreased.

As a result, the switch management unit 142 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 attached to the slot 124 of the battery switch 120 based on the end time of business hours and/or the start time of the business suspension time of the battery switch 120. be able to. As described above, examples of the charging mode include whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during business hours, whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged during closed hours, the timing at which charging is started, the charging speed, and the charging profile. be done.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of charging control processing in the switch management unit 142. As shown in FIG. An example of the charge control process during business hours will be described with reference to FIG. 5 . FIG. 5 shows an example of charge control processing for a specific mobile battery 20 attached to a slot 124 of a specific battery exchange 120. FIG. The switch management unit 142 performs the information processing shown in FIG. process.) may be executed.

According to this embodiment, first, in S510, the supply management unit 244 determines whether or not the mobile battery 20 of the specific battery exchange 120 needs to be charged. As described above, the supply management unit 244, for example, (i) the current or first time, or the demand amount in the first period, and (ii) the current or the first time, or the supply amount in the first period Based on this, it is determined whether or not the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged.

In S510, when the supply management unit 244 determines that charging of the mobile battery 20 is unnecessary (No in S510), the supply management unit 244 repeats the processing of S510 at appropriate time intervals. On the other hand, when the supply management unit 244 determines in S510 that the mobile battery 20 needs to be charged (Yes in S510), the charging management unit 260 starts charging the mobile battery 20 during business hours. to decide.

Next, in S512, the start time determination unit 266 acquires the start time (D) of the business hours following the business stop time of the battery exchange machine 120. FIG. Next, in S<b>514 , the charging time prediction unit 262 predicts the charging time of the mobile battery 20 . Also, the start time determining unit 266 acquires the predicted value (E) of the charging time of the mobile battery 20 . Next, in S<b>516 , the start time determining unit 266 determines the charging start time (F) of the mobile battery 20 . For example, the start time determination unit 266 determines the time (DE) obtained by going back the predicted value (E) of the charging time from the business start time (D) as the charging start time (F). Also, the charging mode determination unit 268 determines the charging mode of the mobile battery 20 .

Next, in S520, the charging control unit 272 acquires information indicating the current time (G). Also, in S522, the charging control unit 272 determines whether or not the charging start time has arrived. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the current time (G) is later than the charging start time (F) of the mobile battery 20 .

If it is determined in S522 that the charging start time has arrived (Yes in S522), the charging control unit 272 controls the battery exchange 120 to control charging of the mobile battery 20 in S524. This ends the processing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the charging start time has not arrived (No in S522), the charging control unit 272 repeats the processes of S520 and S522 at appropriate time intervals.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of notification processing in the exchange management unit 142. As shown in FIG. According to the present embodiment, first, in S612, the exchange management unit 142 acquires information indicating the charging control state of each of the one or more mobile batteries 20 for each of the one or more battery exchanges 120. FIG. Examples of the charge control state include SOC, remaining capacity, and whether or not the battery is being charged. Next, in S<b>614 , the switch management unit 142 estimates the probability that the mobile battery 20 will be depleted at a specific time or period in the future for each of the one or more battery switchers 120 . Next, in S<b>616 , the notification unit 250 notifies the user 40 of advertising information regarding the battery exchange 120 with a low probability of the mobile battery 20 running out. This promotes the use of the battery exchange 120 with a low probability that the mobile battery 20 will run out. As a result, the use of the battery exchange 120, which has a high probability of depletion of the mobile battery 20, is suppressed.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computer 3000 in which aspects of the invention may be implemented in whole or in part. At least part of battery management system 100 may be implemented by computer 3000 . For example, the battery changer 120 or part thereof is implemented by the computer 3000 . Management server 140 or a portion thereof may be implemented by computer 3000 . Communication terminal 42 or part thereof may be implemented by computer 3000 .

Programs installed on the computer 3000 cause the computer 3000 to function as one or more "parts" of operations or one or more "parts" of an apparatus according to embodiments of the invention, or to and/or cause the computer 3000 to perform processes or steps of processes according to embodiments of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by CPU 3012 to cause computer 3000 to perform certain operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

Computer 3000 according to this embodiment includes CPU 3012 , RAM 3014 , GPU 3016 , and display device 3018 , which are interconnected by host controller 3010 . Computer 3000 also includes input/output units such as communication interface 3022 , hard disk drive 3024 , DVD-ROM drive 3026 and IC card drive, which are connected to host controller 3010 via input/output controller 3020 . The computer also includes legacy input/output units such as ROM 3030 and keyboard 3042 , which are connected to input/output controller 3020 via input/output chip 3040 .

The CPU 3012 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 3030 and RAM 3014, thereby controlling each unit. The GPU 3016 retrieves image data generated by the CPU 3012 into itself, such as a frame buffer provided in RAM 3014 , and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 3018 .

Communication interface 3022 communicates with other electronic devices over a network. Hard disk drive 3024 stores programs and data used by CPU 3012 within computer 3000 . DVD-ROM drive 3026 reads programs or data from DVD-ROM 3001 and provides programs or data to hard disk drive 3024 via RAM 3014 . The IC card drive reads programs and data from IC cards and/or writes programs and data to IC cards.

ROM 3030 stores therein programs that are dependent on the hardware of computer 3000, such as a boot program that is executed by computer 3000 upon activation. Input/output chip 3040 may also connect various input/output units to input/output controller 3020 via parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, and the like.

A program is provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM 3001 or an IC card. The program is read from a computer-readable storage medium, installed in hard disk drive 3024 , RAM 3014 , or ROM 3030 , which are also examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by CPU 3012 . The information processing described within these programs is read by computer 3000 to provide coordination between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by implementing information operations or processing according to the use of computer 3000 .

For example, when communication is performed between the computer 3000 and an external device, the CPU 3012 executes a communication program loaded into the RAM 3014 and sends communication processing to the communication interface 3022 based on the processing described in the communication program. you can command. Under the control of the CPU 3012, the communication interface 3022 reads the transmission data stored in the transmission buffer area provided in the recording medium such as the RAM 3014, the hard disk drive 3024, the DVD-ROM 3001, or the IC card. Data is transmitted to the network, or received data received from the network is written in a receive buffer area or the like provided on the recording medium.

In addition, the CPU 3012 causes the RAM 3014 to read all or necessary portions of files or databases stored in external recording media such as a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM drive 3026 (DVD-ROM 3001), an IC card, etc. Various types of processing may be performed on the data in RAM 3014 . CPU 3012 may then write back the processed data to an external recording medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on recording media and subjected to information processing. CPU 3012 performs various types of operations on data read from RAM 3014, information processing, conditional decisions, conditional branching, unconditional branching, and information retrieval as specified throughout this disclosure and by instruction sequences of programs. Various types of processing may be performed, including /replace, etc., and the results written back to RAM 3014 . Also, the CPU 3012 may search for information in a file in a recording medium, a database, or the like. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 3012 selects the first attribute from among the plurality of entries. search for an entry that matches the specified condition of the attribute value of the attribute, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby determine the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition An attribute value of the associated second attribute may be obtained.

The programs or software modules described above may be stored in a computer readable storage medium on or near computer 3000 . In addition, a recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, whereby the above program can be transferred via a network. provided to the computer 3000;

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. In addition, matters described with respect to a specific embodiment can be applied to other embodiments as long as they are not technically inconsistent. Also, each component may have features similar to other components with the same name but different reference numerals. It is clear from the description of the scope of claims that forms with such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

The execution order of each process such as actions, procedures, steps, and stages in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, the specification, and the drawings is particularly "before", "before etc., and it should be noted that they can be implemented in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Regarding the operation flow in the claims, the specification, and the drawings, even if the description is made using "first," "next," etc. for the sake of convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. not a thing

12 power system, 14 communication network, 20 mobile battery, 30 electric motorcycle, 40 user, 42 communication terminal, 100 battery management system, 120 battery exchange, 122 storage unit, 124 slot, 126 communication unit, 128 communication interface, 140 management server , 142 switch management unit, 220 storage unit, 230 business hours management unit, 242 demand management unit, 244 supply management unit, 250 notification unit, 260 charging management unit, 262 charging time prediction unit, 264 availability determination unit, 266 start time determination Unit, 268 charging mode determining unit, 272 charging control unit, 3000 computer, 3001 DVD-ROM, 3010 host controller, 3012 CPU, 3014 RAM, 3016 GPU, 3018 display device, 3020 input/output controller, 3022 communication interface, 3024 hard disk drive , 3026 DVD-ROM drive, 3030 ROM, 3040 input/output chip, 3042 keyboard

Claims (10)

A control method for a charging device including a charging unit configured to detachably attach a power storage device, comprising:
The charging device
disengaging the power storage device attached to the charging unit and providing the power storage device to a user;
An operating time zone in which the power storage device is provided to the user and a non-operating time zone in which the power storage device is not provided to the user are set,
The control method is
obtaining time information related to the working hours and/or the non-working hours;
controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on the time information;
having
control method. The time information includes information indicating the operation end time, which is the end of the operation time period, and / or the non-operation start time, which is the start time of the non-operation time period,
The control method is
When the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operating time period, the charging mode of the power storage device attached to the charging unit is changed based on the operation end time and/or the non-operation start time. the step of determining,
further having
The control method according to claim 1. The step of determining the charging mode when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operating time zone,
obtaining a predicted completion time, which is a predicted value of when charging of the power storage device will be completed when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the operating time period;
When the predicted completion time exceeds the operation end time and/or the non-operation start time, the power storage device is compared to when the predicted completion time does not exceed the operation end time and/or the non-operation start time. Determining the charging mode so that the increase in the amount of stored electricity is small;
including,
The control method according to claim 2. The time information includes information indicating non-operating end time, which is the end of the non-operating time period, and/or operation start time, which is the beginning of the operating time period,
The control method is
When the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the non-operating time zone, the charging mode of the power storage device attached to the charging unit is based on the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time. further comprising the step of determining
Control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The step of determining a charging mode of the power storage device when the charging device starts charging the power storage device during the non-operating time zone,
The charging mode is changed such that charging of the power storage device is completed at the same time as the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time, or before the non-operation end time and/or the operation start time. the step of determining,
including,
The control method according to claim 4. The charging device includes a plurality of charging units,
The control method is
obtaining a detachment demand correlated with the detachment demand of the power storage device attached to the charging device at the present or at a first point in time before the present, or in a first period including the present or at the first point in time; ,
obtaining a release supply that correlates to the supply readiness of the power storage device attached to the charging device at the first point in time or the first time period;
further having
Control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The power storage device is provided to the user so that when the withdrawal supply is larger than the withdrawal demand, the degree of incentive for the user is greater than when the withdrawal supply is smaller than the withdrawal demand. a step of inducing withdrawal;
further having
The control method according to claim 6. A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for a charging device having a charging unit configured to detachably attach a power storage device, comprising:
The charging device
disengaging the power storage device attached to the charging unit and providing the power storage device to a user;
An operating time zone during which the charging device provides the power storage device to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the charging device does not provide the power storage device to the user are set,
The control method is
obtaining time information related to the working hours and/or the non-working hours;
controlling charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on the time information;
having
program. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 8. A control device for controlling a charging device including a charging unit configured to detachably attach a power storage device,
The charging device
disengaging the power storage device attached to the charging unit and providing the power storage device to a user;
An operating time zone during which the charging device provides the power storage device to the user and a non-operating time zone during which the charging device does not provide the power storage device to the user are set,
The control device is
a time information acquisition unit that acquires time information related to the operating time zone and/or the non-operating time zone;
a control unit that controls charging of the power storage device attached to the charging unit based on the time information;
comprising
Control device.

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