JP7308069B2 - vehicle charger - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle charging device, and more particularly to a vehicle charging device installed in a store or the like and capable of simultaneously charging a plurality of electric vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art Some charging apparatuses capable of charging a plurality of vehicles such as electric vehicles at the same time set priorities for the vehicles to be charged, and perform control such that the higher the priority of the vehicle, the larger the charging current. For example, in the vehicle charging system of Patent Document 1, priority is set and controlled based on the current charging amount of the vehicle and the battery capacity of the storage battery in the vehicle, and the total power amount is the peak power amount (preset The charging was performed while controlling so as not to exceed the numerical value of the amount of electric power or the demand value).

Here, the demand value will be explained. Since the maximum value (maximum demand value) of the demand value (maximum average power consumption for one month every 30 minutes) for the past year (this month and the previous 11 months) is applied to the basic electricity charge, If a demand value larger than the demand value of the past 11 months is measured even once in one month, the basic electricity charge for the next year will be determined based on that value. In other words, in order to reduce electricity charges, it is effective to perform demand control to lower the contract demand by suppressing the demand value.

JP 2013-162555 A

In the technology of Patent Document 1, the priority is set according to the battery capacity, so the vehicle that requires more charging power can be charged with a higher priority by setting a higher priority and charging with a larger current, and efficient charging is performed. did it. In addition, since the total current is limited so as not to exceed the peak power consumption, the rise in electricity charges can be suppressed.
However, since a vehicle that has been charged to a certain extent can travel a sufficient distance even if it is not fully charged, even if the charging current is suppressed after that, it is unlikely that the problem that would be inconvenient for the user will occur. By using the reduced electric power to charge a vehicle with a small amount of charge that has just started charging, the time required to reach a predetermined amount of charge can be shortened even during demand control, which is convenient.

Therefore, in view of such problems, the present invention provides a threshold for the amount of charge, and even if demand control is performed to limit the power received from commercial power, priority is given to charging vehicles that have not reached the threshold. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric vehicle charging device capable of shortening the time required to reach a threshold value.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the vehicle charging apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention includes a plurality of chargers for charging a vehicle, a charging control unit for collectively controlling charging currents of the chargers , and a charging target vehicle. and a vehicle information obtaining unit for obtaining storage battery capacity information, travel distance information at full charge, and storage battery remaining amount information. The threshold value of the charge amount is stored, and the threshold value is set as the charge amount for enabling the vehicle to travel a predetermined distance calculated based on the information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit. Charging is controlled by giving priority to vehicles that are charging more than a threshold, and receiving power information from commercial power is obtained from a watt-hour meter, and a reference value with a demand value for receiving power is set. Charging control is performed for each vehicle so as not to exceed the threshold, and when the received power is expected to exceed the reference value, control is performed to reduce the charging current from the vehicle that has reached the threshold.
According to this configuration, even if demand control is performed to limit the received power of commercial power, vehicles whose charge amount has not reached the threshold are preferentially charged. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the charging time to reach the threshold for traveling a certain distance, and reduce the stress felt by the user even when the overall current is limited.
In addition, vehicles that have not reached the threshold are less likely to be affected by the current reduction control, and priority is given to charging up to the threshold. It is possible to preferentially charge up to the required amount of charge, which is convenient for the user.

A vehicle charging apparatus according to a second aspect of the invention includes a plurality of chargers for charging a vehicle, a charging control unit that collectively controls charging currents of the chargers, storage battery capacity information and storage battery remaining amount information of the vehicle to be charged. and a vehicle information acquisition unit for obtaining the vehicle information acquisition unit, the charge control unit stores a threshold value of the amount of charge provided for each vehicle for setting the priority of the vehicle to be charged, and stores the threshold value in the vehicle information acquisition unit Based on the information obtained from , the amount of charge will be a predetermined charging rate for a full charge calculated based on the information obtained from , and charging of vehicles whose charge amount has not reached the threshold will be given priority over vehicles whose charge has progressed above the threshold. control, obtain the received power information from the commercial power from the electricity meter, perform charging control for each vehicle so that the demand value of the received power does not exceed the set reference value, and receive power When the electric power is expected to exceed the reference value, control is performed to reduce the charging current from the vehicle that has reached the threshold.
According to this configuration, even if demand control is performed to limit the received power of commercial power, vehicles whose charge amount has not reached the threshold are preferentially charged. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the charging time to reach the threshold for traveling a certain distance, and reduce the stress felt by the user even when the overall current is limited.
In addition, vehicles that have not reached the threshold are less likely to be affected by the current reduction control, and priority is given to charging up to the threshold, and the threshold is set at a predetermined charging rate. It is convenient for users.

According to the invention of claim 3, in the configuration according to claim 1 or 2 , the charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles that have reached the threshold in descending order of the amount of charge after the start of charging, The feature is that the charging current is reduced in order from the vehicle with the lowest priority among them.
According to this configuration, since the charging current is reduced starting with the vehicle with the smallest amount of charge among the vehicles that have reached the threshold, the amount of charge of the vehicle that started charging later is the amount of charge of the vehicle that started charging first. and users with long charging times will not be dissatisfied.

According to the invention of claim 4, in the configuration according to claim 1 or 2 , the charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles that have reached the threshold in descending order of charging time from the start of charging, The feature is that the charging current is reduced in order from the vehicle with the lowest priority among them.
According to this configuration, since the charging current is reduced from the vehicle with the shortest charging time among the vehicles that have reached the threshold, the charging amount of the vehicle that started charging later becomes the charging amount of the vehicle that started charging first. and users with long charging times will not be dissatisfied.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the received power is below the reference value, the charging control unit increases the charging current from the vehicle whose charging amount is less than the threshold. It is characterized by performing control to let
According to this configuration, when the received power is equal to or lower than the reference value and there is a surplus power, the charging current of the vehicle that has not reached the threshold is first increased, so the charging time to reach the threshold can be shortened, which is convenient.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the configuration according to claim 5, the charge control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles below the threshold in descending order of the amount of charge after the start of charging. It is characterized by increasing the charging current in order from the vehicle with the highest priority.
According to this configuration, since the charging current is increased from the vehicle with the largest amount of charge among the vehicles with the amount of charge below the threshold, the amount of charge of the vehicle that started charging later is the amount of charge of the vehicle that started charging first. It does not exceed the amount, and users who have a long charging time will not be dissatisfied.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the configuration according to claim 5, the charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles below the threshold in descending order of charging time from the start of charging. It is characterized by increasing the charging current in order from the vehicle with the highest priority.
According to this configuration, since the charging current is increased in order from the vehicle with the longest charging time among the vehicles whose charging amount is below the threshold, the charging amount of the vehicle that started charging later is the same as that of the vehicle that started charging first. The amount of charge is not exceeded, and the user who takes a long time to charge will not be dissatisfied.

According to the present invention, even if demand control is performed to limit the received power of commercial power, vehicles whose charge amount has not reached the threshold are preferentially charged. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the charging time to reach the threshold for traveling a certain distance, and reduce the stress felt by the user even when the overall current is limited.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle charging device according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of allocating priorities; 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of repeated processing;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle charging device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle charging device 1 obtains received power information from a plurality of chargers 2 to which a charging cable L1 extending from a vehicle 4 is connected, and a smart meter (watt-hour meter) 10 to supply power. and a charging control unit 3 for outputting a control signal to each charger.

The charger 2 includes a circuit (not shown) that receives a control signal from the charging controller 3 and increases or decreases the charging current.
The charging control unit 3 has a measurement unit 31 connected to the smart meter 10 via a communication line L2, a storage unit 32 that stores a demand value, a reference value and a threshold value described later, and the like, and determines a charging current to each charger 2. It also includes a charging control unit CPU 34 that controls each unit of the charging control unit 3, a plurality of communication units 35 that communicate with the individual chargers 2, and the like.

EV is an electric vehicle that is one of the vehicles 4 connected to a charger, 5 is a step-down transformer that converts high voltage to low voltage, 6 is a load such as an air conditioner that is supplied with three-phase power, Reference numeral 7 denotes a load such as lighting supplied with single-phase 100/200V. Single-phase 200 V power is supplied to the charger 2 .

Charging control of the vehicle charging device configured as described above is performed as follows. First, the order of priority for allocating the charging current is set.
FIG. 2 shows a flow of assigning priority to vehicles 4 to be charged, which will be described with reference to FIG. When the vehicle 4 is connected to the charger 2 (the charging plug of the vehicle 4 is connected) and a charging start operation is performed, the charging control unit CPU 34 starts charging with a predetermined current. At the same time, priority is assigned together with other vehicles 4 that have already performed charging control.
First, the number of vehicles 4 whose charging amount is less than the threshold (unachieved number: n) is grasped (S1), and then the number of vehicles 4 that are charged above the threshold (achieved number: m) is grasped (S1). S2).
The charge control unit CPU 34 grasps the amount of charge after the start of charging for each vehicle 4 based on the charge current and the charge time, and compares this value with a threshold value to make a judgment.

Next, the vehicles 4 included in the unachieved number n are arranged in descending order of charge amount, ranked from the first to the nth and allocated (S3), and the vehicles 4 included in the achieved number m are arranged in descending order of charge amount. They are arranged and assigned in order from the n+1th to the n+mth (S4). In this way, the vehicles are ordered from the first to n+m, and among the 1st to nth vehicles 4, the 1st vehicle 4 has the largest amount of charge, and the nth vehicle 4 has the smallest amount of charge. Among the n+1 to n+m-th vehicles 4, the n+1-th vehicle 4 has the largest amount of charge and the n+m-th vehicle 4 has the smallest amount of charge. After allocating the priority in this way, the process proceeds to current increase/decrease control.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart showing the flow of current increase/decrease control for each of the vehicles 4 that are ordered, and the control will be described with reference to this flow. This control is collectively performed by the charging control unit 3, and the control greatly changes depending on the current received power with respect to the demand value or the reference value.
The reference value is a power value that is, for example, 10% smaller than the maximum demand value, and indicates a numerical value set by the consumer in order to reduce the maximum demand value and reduce the contract fee.

In the following, a case where the control judgment criterion is the reference value will be described. After receiving the priority allocation (S11) information, first, if the deviation information is equal to 0 (go left in S12), that is, if the current received power is approximately equal to the reference value, the charging current of any vehicle 4 is Terminate without any change, return to the first step S11, and assign priorities.
However, the deviation information is a value defined as in Equation 1 below.
Deviation information = current received power - reference value (Formula 1)

Next, if the deviation information is a positive value (proceed to the bottom in S12), that is, if the received power exceeds the reference value, control to reduce the current is performed. To be precise, when the average power for 30 minutes is calculated and predicted from the current received power, and it is determined that there is a possibility of exceeding the reference value, control to reduce the current is performed.
Specifically, the overcurrent value (deviation value) is calculated by the following formula 2 (S13), and the charging current reduction control (S14) is performed in order from the vehicle 4 that reaches the threshold value and has the smallest amount of charge. .
Deviation value=deviation information/voltage (Formula 2)

However, the maximum reduction amount per vehicle is the smaller of the value obtained by subtracting a predetermined minimum current value from the current current value or the calculated deviation value (S15). For example, if the deviation value is 10 amperes and the value obtained by subtracting the predetermined minimum current value from the current current value is 5 amperes, 5 amperes is selected and the charging current of the n+mth vehicle 4 with the highest amount of charge is selected. Control is implemented to reduce 5 amps. In this way, the vehicle 4 with the smallest amount of charge among those reaching the threshold becomes the top priority target for reducing the charging current. In other words, charging has the lowest priority.

Then, the current value obtained by subtracting the reduced current value from the deviation value is set as a new deviation value (S16), and the steps from S14 to S17 are repeated until the deviation value becomes 0 or for all the charging vehicles 4, and the new deviation value is set. Control is performed in the order of the vehicles in the order in which they were placed. In this way, the newly set charging current value is notified from the communication unit 35 to each charger 2 (S23), and the control from S11 to S23 is repeated at predetermined time intervals to control the charging current.
In this way, since the charging current is reduced starting with the vehicle 4 with the smallest amount of charge among the vehicles 4 that have reached the threshold, the amount of charge of the vehicle 4 that started charging later is less than the amount of charge of the vehicle 4 that started charging first. The amount of charge is not exceeded, and the user who takes a long time to charge will not be dissatisfied.

On the other hand, if the deviation information is negative, that is, if the received power has not reached the reference value, control is performed to increase the charging current.
Specifically, the current value (margin value) that can be increased is calculated by the following formula 3 (S18), and among the vehicles 4 that do not meet the threshold, the charging current is increased in order from the vehicle 4 with the largest amount of charge to the vehicle 4 with the smallest amount. (S19).
margin value=-deviation information/voltage (Equation 3)

However, the maximum amount of increase per vehicle is the smaller of the value obtained by subtracting the current current value from the predetermined maximum charging current value or the calculated margin value (S20). For example, if the value obtained by subtracting the current current value from the maximum charging current value is 5 amperes and the margin value is 10 amperes, 5 amperes is selected and the charging current of the first vehicle 4 with the smallest amount of charge is reduced to 5 amperes. Control to increase amperage is implemented.
In this way, the vehicle 4 with the largest amount of charge among the vehicles 4 that have not reached the threshold is given the highest priority for increasing the charging current, and the current is increased.

Then, the current value obtained by subtracting the increased current value from the margin value is set as a new margin value (S21), and the steps from S18 to S22 are repeated until the margin value becomes 0 or for all charging vehicles 4, and set. The control is performed in the order of the vehicles in the order in which they were placed. In this way, the newly set charging current value is notified to each charger 2 (S23), and charging is controlled.
In this way, since the charging current is increased from the vehicle 4 with the largest charge amount among the vehicles 4 whose charge amount is below the threshold, the charge amount of the vehicle 4 that started charging later is the vehicle 4 that started charging first. The amount of charge does not exceed the charge amount of the battery, and the user who takes a long charge time does not feel dissatisfied.

Here, the threshold will be explained. The threshold is set according to the travelable distance and the charging rate of the storage battery mounted on the vehicle 4, and is set for each vehicle 4 under the control of the charging control unit CPU34.
When the charging amount is set so that the vehicle can travel a predetermined distance, necessary information is obtained from the vehicle 4 via a charging plug (not shown) connected to the charger 2 under the control of the charging control unit CPU 34 . For example, information on the capacity of the storage battery, information on the distance traveled when the battery is fully charged, and information on the remaining amount of the storage battery are obtained. is reduced as the threshold value.
In addition, when the charging rate of the storage battery is set, the storage battery capacity information and the storage battery remaining amount information of the vehicle 4 are obtained, and the charging amount newly required to secure the charging amount of, for example, 20% of the uniform full charge is calculated. Calculate and use as a threshold.
The vehicle information necessary for calculating the threshold value is not obtained directly from the vehicle, but is obtained by arranging a server storing the vehicle information on the cloud and providing the vehicle charging device 1 with a communication function with the server. can be

In this way, even if demand control is performed to limit the received power of commercial power, vehicles 4 whose charge amount has not reached the threshold are preferentially charged. Therefore, the charging time required for driving a certain distance can be shortened, and the user's stress can be reduced even when the overall current is limited.
In addition, the vehicle 4 that has not reached the threshold is less likely to be affected by the current reduction control, and priority is given to charging up to the threshold. Since the charging current of is increased, the charging time to reach the threshold can be shortened, which is convenient.
In addition, if the threshold value is, for example, the amount of charge that enables the vehicle to travel a sufficient distance to return home, charging for returning home is preferentially performed, which is convenient for the user.
Also, if the threshold is set at a predetermined charging rate of the storage battery, inequality between vehicle types will not be caused.

In the above embodiment, the priority is assigned based on the amount of charge, but the priority may be assigned based on the charging time. In that case, it can be implemented by changing "arrange in descending order of charging amount" in S4, S4 of FIG. 2 to "arrange in descending order of charging time".
This control can also provide the same effect as the above embodiment. That is, when the charging current is reduced, the charging current is reduced starting with the vehicle 4 having the shortest charging time among the vehicles 4 that have reached the threshold, so that the charging amount of the vehicle 4 that started charging later is charged first. The charging amount of the vehicle 4 that has started is not exceeded, and the user who takes a long charging time is not dissatisfied.
Further, when increasing the charging current, the charging current is increased in order from the vehicle 4 with the longest charging time among the vehicles 4 whose charging amount is below the threshold value. The charging amount does not exceed the charging amount of the vehicle 4 that started charging, and the user who takes a long charging time does not feel dissatisfied.

1... vehicle charging device, 2... charger (vehicle information obtaining unit), 3... charge control unit, 4... vehicle, 10... electricity meter, 31... measurement unit, 32... storage unit ( threshold storage unit), 34 charging control unit CPU, 35 communication unit.

Claims (7)

A plurality of chargers for charging a vehicle, a charging control unit that collectively controls the charging current of the chargers, and information on the storage battery capacity of the vehicle to be charged, travel distance information when fully charged, and information on the remaining amount of the storage battery are obtained. and a vehicle information acquisition unit for
The charging control unit stores a threshold value of the charging amount provided for each vehicle in order to set the priority of vehicles to be charged , and stores the threshold value based on the information obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit. The amount of charge required to allow the vehicle to travel the distance,
Carry out charging control that prioritizes charging of vehicles whose charging amount has not reached the threshold over vehicles whose charging is progressing above the threshold,
and obtains the received power information from the commercial power from the electricity meter, and performs charging control for each vehicle so that the demand value of the received power does not exceed the set reference value ,
A vehicle charging device, characterized in that, when the received power is expected to exceed the reference value, control is performed to reduce the charging current from the vehicle that has reached the threshold value. A plurality of chargers for charging a vehicle, a charging control unit for collectively controlling the charging current of the chargers, and a vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring storage battery capacity information and storage battery remaining amount information of the vehicle to be charged. death,
The charging control unit stores a charging amount threshold set for each vehicle in order to set the priority of the vehicle to be charged, and the threshold is calculated based on the information obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit. The amount of charge that provides a predetermined charge rate for
Carry out charging control that prioritizes charging of vehicles whose charging amount has not reached the threshold over vehicles whose charging is progressing above the threshold,
and obtains the received power information from the commercial power from the electricity meter, and performs charging control for each vehicle so that the demand value of the received power does not exceed the set reference value,
A vehicle charging device, characterized in that, when the received power is expected to exceed the reference value, control is performed to reduce the charging current from the vehicle that has reached the threshold value. The charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles that have reached the threshold in descending order of the amount of charge after the start of charging, and reduces the charging current in order from the vehicle with the lowest priority among them. 3. The vehicle charging device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that: The charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles that have reached the threshold in descending order of charging time from the start of charging, and reduces the charging current in order from the vehicle with the lowest priority among them. 3. The vehicle charging device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that: 5. Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, when the received power is below a reference value, the charging control unit performs control to increase the charging current from a vehicle having a charging amount less than the threshold. Vehicle charging device as described. The charging control unit assigns priority to a group of vehicles below the threshold in descending order of the charging amount after charging is started, and increases the charging current in order from the vehicle with the highest priority among them. 6. The vehicle charging device according to claim 5, characterized by: The charging control unit assigns priority to the group of vehicles below the threshold in descending order of charging time from the start of charging, and increases the charging current in order from the vehicle with the highest priority among them. 6. The vehicle charging device according to claim 5, characterized by:

Images