JP2013258823A - Charging system of electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep the electricity price as low as possible when charging an electric vehicle in the parking area or a charging space of collective housing, while dealing with urgent charging demand of a user flexibly.SOLUTION: The charging system of an electric vehicle includes a plurality of chargers 303 for charging an electric vehicle with electric power of a commercial AC power supply, database means (207) for storing information about a charging service of an electric vehicle being provided to a user by using the charger 303, and a control unit 200 for specifying a user provided with the charging service of an electric vehicle by using the database means, and controlling the charging service of an electric vehicle being provided to the user. When providing the charging service by using the charger 303, the control unit 200 charges the electric vehicle in a first charging mode for charging the electric vehicle in a standard time zone corresponding to a specific time zone of one day, or in a second charging mode for charging the electric vehicle in a time zone other than the standard time zone depending on the specific operation of the user.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric vehicle charging system for charging an electric vehicle.

  There has been a remarkable spread of electric vehicles in recent years, and many chargers for plug-in charging of electric vehicles have been installed in detached houses and charging stands that provide charging services.

  In addition to the vehicle form in which a plurality of people can board an electric vehicle, there are those belonging to the category of a light vehicle such as an electric bicycle (hereinafter collectively referred to as “electric vehicle”). The charging problems described below are common regardless of the weight and size of the vehicle.

  In apartments such as condominiums, electric vehicles are used individually when the vehicle is not driven by a charger installed in the parking lot of each household that owns it, or in a common site such as the parking lot, or a charging space. Is charged. This situation is the same in the electric vehicle possession system such as so-called car sharing in which a single electric vehicle is unspecified and shared among a plurality of households in a housing complex such as an apartment.

  In a housing complex such as a condominium, it is necessary to efficiently charge a plurality of electric vehicles in a parking lot allocated to each household or a charging space provided exclusively for charging. In Patent Document 1 below, in order to charge a plurality of electric vehicles, one rectifier is provided as a common DC power source for the plurality of chargers, and the set charger among the chargers is time-divisionally divided. By controlling the charging, the cost of the charging system is reduced and the size is reduced.

  Also, collective housing such as condominiums is equipped with postal receipts, so-called delivery boxes (hereinafter referred to simply as “delivery boxes” for simplicity). May be. In particular, the parcel delivery box is an item storage similar to a locker having a plurality of lockable item collection boxes for receiving parcels delivered to a specific resident or for collecting parcels delivered by a specific resident ( (Acquisition) device. This goods collection box may be used in common by residents, but there may be a usage form in which one article collection box is assigned exclusively to each resident, in which case the goods collection box is a mail It can also be used for receiving goods (Patent Document 2 below).

  In this type of delivery box, unlocking (or locking) necessary for putting in and out delivery packages to and from multiple goods collection boxes is provided on the console using an ID card (IC card, etc.) authentication means such as a touch panel. In order to control through an authentication operation such as presenting to a card reader, the resident possesses an authentication means such as an ID card (IC card or the like) used for resident authentication of this type of goods receiving apparatus (or rental, It can also be used for authentication related to charging service for electric vehicles (in the case of a system such as car sharing), and the control means of the goods receiving device relates to charging services for electric cars as well as goods receiving. A system that performs control is also considered.

JP 05-336673 A JP 2009-273739 A

  In order to charge an electric vehicle as described above, a lot of power consumption is required. Therefore, when charging an electric vehicle owned by a user (often a resident) (or having a right to use) in an apartment house, There are cases where some provision conditions and restrictions are required for the charging service.

  For example, although it depends on the management regulations for the housing complex, the charging service using a management association (in the case of a condominium, etc.) or a charger installed by the housing owner is per hour or power consumption. May be required.

  In addition, the upper limit of the contract current (or power) amount of the electric contract that is subscribed to the entire apartment building is determined, and the basic fee varies depending on the contract current (or power) amount, so that it can be distributed to all vehicles in the apartment house. It is sometimes difficult to install a large number of chargers, and in view of such circumstances, a control technology that limits the number of chargers that can be used simultaneously has been considered. In such a case, the user may have to wait until the charging service for the applied electric vehicle is started.

  In the case of a 200V contract such as single-phase / 3-phase, it is possible to save electricity charges by using nighttime power. However, depending on this situation, depending on the apartment house, electricity can only be used at specific times such as at night. It may be possible to adopt a management contract such as not providing a car charging service. For this reason, the user (usually a resident) may have to wait until the electric car charging service is started. Conceivable.

  As described above, a user who receives an electric vehicle charging service in an apartment house may be subject to restrictions such as charging and the occurrence of a standby time due to the simultaneous charge limit.

  On the other hand, on the user side (usually a resident), there may be a demand for charging an electric vehicle immediately due to a sudden celebration. However, it was not possible to perform control that could respond flexibly.

  In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to charge an electric vehicle in a parking lot of an apartment house or in a charging space provided exclusively for charging, while keeping the electricity fee as low as possible and depending on an emergency situation. The purpose is to be able to respond flexibly to the demand of users who want to start charging an electric vehicle as soon as possible.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a database for storing a plurality of chargers for charging an electric vehicle with electric power from a commercial AC power source and information on a charging service for the electric vehicle provided to a user using the charger. And a control unit for controlling a charging service for the electric vehicle provided to the user by specifying a user who provides the charging service for the electric vehicle using the database unit, and the control unit controls the charger. In providing the used charging service, the first charging mode in which the electric vehicle is charged in a standard time zone corresponding to a specific time zone in one day, or other than the standard time zone according to the user's specific operation A configuration is adopted in which the electric vehicle is charged in the second charging mode in which the electric vehicle is charged in the time zone.

  Alternatively, a configuration in which the standard time zone includes a time zone in which the electric power of the commercial AC power source can be used at low cost for charging the electric vehicle via the charger.

  Alternatively, the charging service of the electric vehicle is provided to the user for a fee by charging control of the control unit, and the charging service unit price in the second charging mode is higher than the charging service unit price in the first charging mode. Adopted a configuration in which is set higher.

  Alternatively, the control unit can perform the second charging mode without requiring the operation for the user in a specific user registration state in accordance with the user registration information stored in the database unit. A configuration is adopted in which the electric vehicle is controlled to be charged in a time zone other than the standard time zone.

  Alternatively, in the housing complex where the charger is disposed, an article receiving device including a plurality of article storage boxes used for collection of parcels or mail is disposed, and the control unit is a resident of the housing complex. Whether to open / close the door of the article receiving device based on the authentication by the authentication means presented by the user and whether to provide the charging service to the resident based on the authentication by the authentication means presented by the resident Further, through the authentication by the authentication means, a configuration is adopted in which data of the database means to be referred to and updated with respect to the charging service is specified.

  According to the above configuration, the standard electric vehicle charging service is provided by the first charging mode in which the electric vehicle is charged in a standard time zone, for example, a fixed time zone such as at night when inexpensive power can be used, and the user is specified. Depending on the operation, it can be controlled to provide a second charging mode for charging an electric vehicle in a time zone other than the standard time zone, and when charging an electric vehicle in a parking lot or charging space of an apartment house, There is an excellent effect that it is possible to flexibly respond to the user's demand to keep the electric charge as low as possible and to start charging the electric vehicle as soon as possible due to an emergency situation.

  Alternatively, the standard time zone includes a time zone in which the electric power of the commercial AC power source can be used at low cost for charging the electric vehicle performed through the charger. By charging control, the charging service for the electric vehicle is provided to the user for a fee, and the charging service unit price in the second charging mode is set higher than the charging service unit price in the first charging mode. With this configuration, it is possible to flexibly respond to charging demands of users with high urgency while keeping the electricity bill low.

  Alternatively, for the first charging mode and the second charging mode, user statuses (positions) such as “normal (N) member” and “premium (P) member” are prepared for user registration, respectively, If a specific user registration state, for example, a user status such as “Premium (P) Member” is registered according to the user registration information stored in the database means, the specific operation is performed on the user. The electric vehicle can be charged in a time zone other than the standard time zone in the second charging mode.

  Alternatively, in the configuration in which an article collection device including a plurality of article storage boxes used for collection and delivery of home delivery packages or mail is arranged, the article collection device is based on authentication by an authentication means presented by a user (resident). The database means to be referred to and updated with respect to the charging service through the authentication by the authenticating means through the control of opening and closing of the door of the vehicle and whether or not to provide the charging service to the resident Data can be specified, and charging service authentication can be performed using authentication means necessary for the article receiving apparatus, and information related to the charging service provided to the user specified through the authentication can be obtained. A charging service that can be stored in the database means and provided to each user using the database means. It can be appropriately controlled.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the charging system of the electric vehicle which employ | adopted this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the charge control database used with the charging system of the electric vehicle which employ | adopted this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the charge control database used with the charging system of the electric vehicle which employ | adopted this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the charge control in the standard time slot | zone in the charging system of the electric vehicle which employ | adopted this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed charge control other than the standard time slot | zone in the charging system of the electric vehicle which employ | adopted this invention.

  Hereinafter, as an example of a mode for carrying out the present invention, an embodiment relating to a charging system for an electric vehicle suitable for implementation in an apartment house such as an apartment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In an apartment house shown in the following embodiment, an article receiving device is disposed together with an electric vehicle charging system, and the control circuit (201) of the article receiving device and the charging control unit (301) cooperate to charge. Although the structure which performs control is shown, the charge control in the following embodiments does not necessarily have to be performed by a plurality of control units whose functions are separated in this way.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an electric vehicle charging system employing the present invention.

  The electric vehicle charging system according to the present embodiment is installed in an apartment house such as a condominium (hereinafter simply referred to as “apartment house”). As shown in FIG. Each of the chargers 303, 303. These chargers 303, 303... Are arranged in a parking space (or a space dedicated to charging) of an apartment house.

  A parking space where the chargers 303, 303,... Are allocated is assigned to each resident (user) and is used exclusively by an electric vehicle (including an electric bicycle) owned by each resident, or other It may be a shared charging space where a resident moves from the parking position of the vehicle and only performs charging. The electric vehicle to be charged may be owned by each resident, or may be shared (car sharing) by the resident of the apartment house. When the electric vehicle to be charged is shared (car sharing), the electric vehicle is reserved and managed through a predetermined reservation procedure.

  Chargers 303, 303... Have a receptacle (or a direct cable and connector) for supplying a charging current to an electric vehicle, and receive an output (single phase 100 V to 200 V) of commercial AC power supply 302 as a receptacle. (Or from a cable and connector) to an electric vehicle (not shown) to charge the electric vehicle. Note that the chargers 303, 303,... Are used for charging the electric vehicle as a charging power instead of an AC output, depending on the specifications of the electric vehicle or for directly charging the battery of the electric vehicle. You may be comprised so that it can supply to.

  A plurality of chargers 303, 303... Are prepared for N units according to the scale of the housing complex, etc. (only the chargers 303 for five units are shown in FIG. 1). In this embodiment, in consideration of various conditions, for example, the total current capacity that can be used for charging the electric vehicle in the apartment house, several of the N vehicles (n vehicles, for example, 3 vehicles) are used. It shall be charged simultaneously. The number of electric vehicles over n that can be simultaneously ordered can be connected to other chargers and placed in a standby state waiting for charging.

  The charger controller 301 controls which charger among the chargers 303, 303... Like the control unit 200 described later, the charge control unit 301 is configured by members such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and turns on / off the charging output of the chargers 303, 303... By communicating with the control unit 200.

  Further, the charging control unit 301 may notify the CPU 201 of the state of each of the chargers 303, 303..., For example, whether it is operating or not, the current charging current value, and the like via communication with the control unit 200. Thus, the CPU 201 can grasp the current state of each of the chargers 303, 303... And perform charge control as described later.

  On the other hand, an article receiving apparatus 100 is shown on the right side of FIG. The article collection device 100 is configured as a delivery box (delivery locker) used for delivery of a so-called delivery item, a mailbox, or the like.

  The article receiving apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 illustrates a side facing a public side (accessible by a courier and a postman) of an apartment house, for example.

  The article receiving apparatus 100 is composed of a plurality of article receiving boxes 101, 101..., And when the article receiving box 101 is configured as a mail box, as shown by a broken line, the entrances 102, 102. A door (not shown) that is opened and closed by an electric lock (or number key) for taking out mail is provided on the surface (not shown) on the opposite side (not shown) of 101.

  When the article collection boxes 101, 101,... Are configured as delivery boxes, the public side shown in the figure is a door for the delivery company to store the delivery (this door is a door for the resident to take out the delivery. The door (not shown) for a resident to take out a parcel is provided in the other side, and opening and closing of these doors is controlled by an electric lock.

  Opening and closing of the doors for picking up the mails of the goods receiving boxes 101, 101... Or the two doors for receiving and delivering the parcels is performed according to the operation of the resident or the courier at the console 103. It is controlled by the control unit 200.

  For convenience, the console 103 is shown on the public side here, but the console 103 can be provided on the private side (opposite to the illustrated side).

  The console 103 is provided with a display 104 composed of an LCD panel, a keyboard 105 composed of function keys and numeric keys, and a card reader 106 that reads information from an ID card 111 serving as authentication means.

  The ID card 111 is held by each resident of the apartment house, and is constituted by, for example, an IC card in which the room number is recorded as ID information. Further, in order to prevent the use of an ID card 111 other than the apartment house, the ID card 111 stores specific key information indicating that the card is a regular card that can be used in the apartment house, or ID information such as a number can be encrypted and recorded using key information that can be used only in the housing complex.

  The ID card 111 is a special courier (or a special card used for unlocking the public doors of the article collection boxes 101, 101,. It can also be distributed to a postman). Furthermore, the ID card 111 may also serve as a card key that functions as an entrance door (not shown, so-called auto-lock controlled entrance door) of an apartment house or a key that opens and closes a resident's individual room.

  Further, in this embodiment, the ID card 111 performs authentication necessary for a resident to receive a charging service for charging an electric vehicle (a vehicle owned by the vehicle or a vehicle lent by car sharing). Also used as a means.

  In other words, in this embodiment, the ID card 111 is also used as a user authentication unit for a charging service provided by the chargers 303, 303.

  For this purpose, not only the console 103 but also a charging control console (not shown) including a card reader (equivalent to 106) for reading the ID card 111 is provided in the vicinity of the chargers 303, 303. 1 to several in the vicinity of each or a predetermined place of the charging space.

  Moreover, you may arrange | position the console which has such a card reader in the housing | casing of charger 303,303 ..., respectively. The operation related to the charging service of the resident (or manager) can be performed by the illustrated console 103, the chargers 303, 303..., Or any of the unillustrated consoles provided in the vicinity thereof. For the sake of convenience, and for ease of explanation, it is assumed that an operation related to the charging service of the resident (or manager) is performed using the illustrated console 103.

  As described above, by using the ID card 111 that is associated with a specific resident 1: 1, the information regarding the usage behavior of the charging service of the specific resident's electric vehicle as described later, or the resident A person can store information related to an electric vehicle that receives a charging service as charging control database information, and can efficiently and quickly charge a plurality of electric vehicles using the database information.

  The control unit 200 of the article receiving apparatus 100 performs opening / closing control of an electric lock that locks / unlocks the article receiving boxes 101, 101... Of the article receiving apparatus 100 according to the presentation and operation of the ID card 111 on the console 103. .

  Further, as described above, the ID card 111 is associated with the charging / unlocking operation of the article receiving apparatus 100 and the charging service for the resident (the electric vehicle possessed or entitled to use). Therefore, the control unit 200 of the article receiving device 100 integrally controls the charging service controlled by the control of the article receiving device 100 and the charging control unit 301.

  At that time, information related to the use behavior of the charging service of a specific resident's electric vehicle or information related to the electric vehicle that the resident receives the charging service is stored as charging control database information, and the database information is used. Charge control of a plurality of electric vehicles can be performed.

  The control unit 200 includes a CPU 201 as a main control unit, a ROM 202 storing a program to be described later, a RAM 203 used as a work area, and an interface 205 (for example, an IEEE 802.3 network interface, a serial interface) for communicating with the charging control unit 301. Interface).

  Further, an external storage device 207 composed of an HDD or a nonvolatile memory card is connected to the control unit 200, and a program and charging control database information described later are stored in the external storage device 207.

  The control unit 200 includes a network interface 204 (for example, an IEEE 802.3 network interface or a predetermined WAN interface), and can communicate with a remote server via the network 206 (intranet or the Internet). A part of the control described later can be performed not only by the control unit 200 but also by a server connected via the network 206. In particular, accumulation and management of database information, which will be described later, may be performed by a server connected via the network 206 in this way.

  In this embodiment, the mode of the charging service provided by the time zone of the day is controlled, but the control unit 200 is provided with a real-time clock 211 in order to perform system control according to such time. ing.

  In this embodiment, when providing a charging service using the charger 303, the first charging mode in which the electric vehicle is charged in a standard time zone corresponding to a specific time zone of the day by the charger is standard. (Normal (N) charging), a second charging mode (premium (P) charging) different from the first charging mode according to the user (resident) permission operation on the console 103 (or other operation means) ) To charge the electric vehicle in a time zone other than the standard time zone.

  The mode of the electric vehicle charging service provided to the user using the charger 303 is controlled using database means prepared in the external storage device 207 or the like.

  The standard time zone in which the electric vehicle is charged in the first charging mode (normal (N) charging) includes a time zone in which the electric power of the commercial AC power supply 302 can be used at low cost for charging the electric vehicle, for example. To do. This standard time zone only needs to include a time zone in which nighttime power can be used (may be a part). For example, the standard time zone is from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next morning in the following example. It ’s like this time zone. In addition, charging control of the control unit 200 can provide a charging service for an electric vehicle to a user (resident) for a fee. In this case, for example, charging in the first charging mode (normal (N) charging) The charging service unit price in the second charging mode (premium (P) charging) is set higher than the service unit price.

  When the user designates charging in the standard time zone, the standard first charging mode (normal (N) charging) is selected. On the other hand, when the user designates charging in a time zone other than the standard time zone. Is not the first charging mode (normal (N) charging), but the second charging mode (premium (P) charging) is performed. In this case, after obtaining the user's permission operation as described above, The electric vehicle is charged in the second charging mode (premium (P) charging).

  Further, regarding the first charging mode (normal (N) charging) and the second charging mode (premium (P) charging), “normal (N) member”, It is also possible to prepare a status such as “Premium (P) Member” and register such user status (position) in the database means. In that case, according to the user registration information stored in the database means, a specific user registration state, for example, the second charging mode in which the user has a higher service unit price than the first charging mode (normal (N) charging) If the user has a status such as “Premium (P) Member” who has been previously permitted to use (Premium (P) Charging), the user does not need to perform the permission operation. The electric vehicle can be controlled to be charged in a time zone other than the standard time zone in the second charging mode.

  In addition, for statuses such as “Normal (N) member” and “Premium (P) member” described above, in the operation of collecting the basic monthly fee for the charging service of the electric vehicle, the monthly amount varies depending on the status. It is also possible to set a basic fee.

  FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show an example of the configuration of a database used for controlling an apparatus including the article receiving apparatus and the charging system of this embodiment as shown in FIG.

  2 and 3 are stored in an external storage device of the control unit 200 or a storage area of a server external storage device (both not shown) connected to the control unit 200 via the network 206 (usually in a specific database system). Database file).

  This type of database usually stores various data records in a so-called relational format in a manner that associates a plurality of storage areas. FIG. 2 shows an outline of the main database in the system of this embodiment. Fields indicated by reference numerals 1301 to 1305, that is, a room ID, an article collection box ID, a pointer to the article collection database, and a pointer to the charge control database. , And status (status) information regarding the charging service of the resident (user).

  Among these, the room ID 1301 field stores the room ID of the resident identified by the ID card 111 (for example, the room number of the room).

  In the field of the goods receipt box ID 1302, even if the goods receipt box 101 is either a mailbox or a delivery box, there is an article receipt box 101 associated with the resident indicated by the data of the room ID 1301. The box ID (number) is stored.

  In the fields of the living room ID 1301 and the article collection box ID 1302, the above information is stored at the time of registration for issuing a box ID of a specific resident or the article collection box 101 to the specific ID card 111. This registration process is executed by using the above-described console 103 or another registration system (not shown) (the description is omitted here because it is almost unrelated to the essence of the present invention).

  A pointer 1303 to the article receipt database is a pointer (file name or memory address) to a storage area of an article receipt database (not shown) related to article receipt using the article receipt box 101 of the resident. In this article receipt database, information on receipt of articles (delivered goods, postal items, etc.) performed by the article collection box 101 for the resident, for example, arrival date and time, and article collection service is charged. The charging information is stored. Here, since the article receipt database for managing this kind of article receipt is well known, detailed explanation is omitted, but the meaning of P11 to P13 exemplified as the value of the pointer 1303 to the article receipt database is the charge control described later. Similar to the values P21 to P23 of the pointer 1304 to the database, it is a pointer (file name or memory address) to another specific database area.

  The charge control database pointer 1304 is a charge control database (FIG. 3) that stores information related to the resident's use of the charging service of the electric vehicle or information related to the electric vehicle that the resident receives the charging service. Is a pointer (file name or memory address) to the storage area. The values P21, P22 and P23 of the pointer 1304 to the charging control database are pointers to other database storage areas shown in FIG.

  The status (status) information 1305 related to the charging service is status (status) information related to the charging service of the resident (user) and includes statuses such as “normal (N) member” and “premium (P) member”. When preparing, a flag Ns indicating a normal (N) member or a flag Ps indicating a premium (P) member is stored. The status (status) information is determined in advance according to the user registration application content or the operation of the administrator or the like when performing user registration related to the charging service on the console 103 (or other operation means).

  If the main database as described above is prepared, the ID card 111 is presented to the card reader 106 of the console 103, and the CPU 201 stores the room ID recorded in the ID card 111 which is the resident ID information. Upon acquisition, the article collection box ID (field 1302) assigned to the resident can be specified by referring to the room ID field 1301 of FIG. 2 using the room ID.

  Further, the storage area of the charging control database as shown in FIG. 3 is specified by referring to the pointer storage fields 1303 and 1304, the data stored in the area is used, and the resident with the specific room ID is identified. When a new charging service is performed, the corresponding data in the charging control database can be updated according to the contents.

  The charge control database shown in FIG. 3 stores information related to a charging service received by a specific resident as shown below. One charge received by the resident in one record in the row direction in the figure. Information about the service is stored in each field constituting the record.

  3 indicate the pointers P21 and P22 stored in the records of the room IDs 101 and 102 of FIG. 2, and the charge control database of the resident identified by these room IDs 101 and 102 is shown in FIG. The first record is shown. Here, for ease of explanation, the charge control database of the resident identified by the room IDs 101 and 102 in one table format is illustrated as if it is stored in one file. The charge control databases of different residents may be stored in different database files.

  The record of the charge control database in FIG. 3 includes fields as indicated by reference numerals 401, 402, 404 to 408, and 409.

  The field 401 stores the start date and time of the charging service with the resident, and the field 402 stores the charging end date and time of the charging service.

  Field 409 stores a flag used for charge control of the charging service. In this embodiment, this flag has a value corresponding to the grade of the charging service, either P (premium) or N (normal).

  In this embodiment, in the N (normal) grade charging service, the time period for providing the charging service is limited. For example, the electric vehicle is charged only in the time zone (standard time zone) from 6 pm to 6 am. It is assumed that charging can be performed, and charging is performed by charging service unit price Np (standard unit price) per hour × charging time. In addition, charging services provided at times other than the N (normal) grade service provision time zone (standard time zone) are treated as P (premium) grades, and charging service unit price Pp per hour (premium unit price: from normal unit price Np) Is charged at a high charge) x charging time.

  In addition, as described above, statuses such as premium (P) members and normal (N) members are prepared for services of P (premium) or N (normal) grade, and the user (resident) has these positions. It can be selected at the time of user registration. The user registration operation is performed using the console 103 (or other registration means such as a server computer (not shown)).

  Further, in this embodiment, even a user (resident) who is an N (normal) member and has not acquired the status of a P (premium) member, is performed outside the standard time zone in consideration of emergency use. The application for charging is not prohibited, and the P (premium) grade service can be selected on the basis of the one-time charging (regardless of the time zone). At this time, in the following embodiment, the service is provided at the same premium unit price Pp as the normal P (premium) grade, but the statuses such as “premium member” and “normal member” regarding the charging service of the electric vehicle are provided. In such a case, for such use of the one-time P (premium) service, an operation in which a charge unit price higher than the premium unit price P is applied may be considered.

  The field 404 stores the vehicle type information of the electric vehicle charged by the resident. The vehicle type information of the electric vehicle may be the vehicle type information declared by the resident at the time of registration related to the charging service, but preferably the vehicle type information is estimated and stored from the charging current transition pattern for each charging service, for example. Can be considered. In order to estimate the vehicle type information from the charging current transition pattern and the like in this way, other database information (not shown) in which the charging current transition pattern and the vehicle type information are associated in advance is prepared. The vehicle type information can be specified by referring to the database information storing the association with the vehicle type information from the actual charging current transition pattern in the charging service.

  The field 405 stores the charging current consumed by the charging service. Here, an example is shown in which rough mnemonics such as large, medium, and small obtained by comparing with a plurality of appropriate amperage threshold values are stored as shown in the figure. Etc. may be stored.

  The field 406 stores charging information related to the charging service. The billing information is obtained by the product of the unit price (appropriate fixed value or a metered value determined according to the charging current) and the required charging time. As described above, the unit price Pp is also used for P (premium) grade charging, and N The unit price Np is applied for (normal) grade charging. This billing method is merely an example, and a different calculation method may be used when using another billing method. The billing information may be stored as another database file in another storage location.

  A field 407 stores an end code of the charging service. In FIG. 3, the end code is 0 for normal end, 1 for abnormal end, 2 forcible charge end operation by the user (for example, forcible charge end operation performed by the console 103, removal of the cable from the charger 303, etc.) It is assumed to be expressed by such numerical values.

  The field 408 stores the type of variation (transition) pattern of the charging current in the charging service. In charging an electric vehicle, for example, a charging current supplied to the electric vehicle changes every moment by automatic control of a regulator on the electric vehicle side. In this embodiment, the charging current fluctuation (transition) pattern is classified in advance and stored as another database (not shown), and compared with the charging current fluctuation (transition) pattern in the charging service. , A, B, C, and other pattern information identified by mnemonics are identified and stored in field 408. The charging current fluctuation (transition) pattern identified by these mnemonics is, for example, that the charging current is substantially constant from the beginning to the end of the charging period, or that the charging current is gradually attenuated at the end of the charging period. Or, it is assumed to correspond to several patterns such as a section where the charging current is attenuated by a special pattern such as pulse charging at the end of the charging period.

  Next, charging control in the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows the charging control for controlling the charging service provided in the standard time zone for the N (normal) grade charging service, and FIG. 5 shows the time other than the standard time zone for performing the N (normal) grade charging service. P (premium) grade charge control in the band is shown. Whether the charging control in FIG. 4 or the charging control in FIG. 5 is performed is whether or not the charging time zone defined by the charging start and end times specified by the resident at the time of reservation is within the standard time zone. Determined by.

  In the present embodiment, the above-described N (normal) grade charging service is provided in a standard time zone. For example, the standard time zone in which the N (normal) grade charging service is performed is a nighttime in which inexpensive nighttime power can be used. From 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next morning.

  In addition, the time period from the charge start to the end time specified at the time of reservation is a time period other than the standard time period for performing the N (normal) grade charge service and the standard time period for performing the P (premium) grade charge service. When both are included, the P (premium) grade service is applied in a time zone other than the standard time zone, and the service may be provided when the user's permission regarding this is obtained. For example, in step S211 of FIG. 5 described later, the user's permission is obtained by displaying on the console 103 a description that the premium grade service unit price Pp is applied in a charging time zone other than the standard time zone. What is necessary is just to accept operation.

  Each of the charging controls in FIGS. 4 and 5 is executed by the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 or by the cooperation of the CPU 201 and the charging control unit 301. Each charge control program is stored in the ROM 202 (or an external storage device not shown) of the control unit 200, or when a part of the processing is executed by the charge control unit 301, the portion of the charge control program is stored in the ROM of the charge control unit 301 (or not). And stored in the illustrated external storage device).

  The manner of providing the charging service on the premise of the charging control of FIGS. 4 and 5 is as follows.

  That is, in the present embodiment, considering the total current capacity that can be used for charging the electric vehicle in the apartment house, n vehicles (for example, three vehicles) out of them are charged simultaneously. Connect more than n electric vehicles that can be charged at the same time to other chargers and put them in a standby state waiting for charging. Charging for one electric vehicle is performed by a specific user (resident) who makes a reservation by presenting the ID card 111 on the console 103 and is registered, and is therefore charged by the control unit 200. In the control, n charging services are simultaneously provided to the user (resident).

  In the present embodiment, the restriction on the number of n simultaneous charging units described above applies to both the standard time zone in which the N (normal) grade charging service is performed and the P (premium) grade charging control in other time zones. To do.

  In order to apply for charging of the electric vehicle, the resident presents his / her ID card 111 to the card reader 106 of the console 103, performs a predetermined operation on the console 103, and registers the charging service. This user interface is controlled by the CPU 201 of the control unit 200, and its detailed configuration is arbitrary, but the important point is that the resident presents his / her ID card 111 as an authentication means to the card reader 106 of the console 103. By doing so, authentication regarding the charging service is performed.

  As a result, the CPU 201 recognizes the occupant's room ID, refers to the database of FIGS. 2 and 3, and the information related to the resident's past charging service usage of the electric vehicle or the resident is charged. Information related to the electric vehicle receiving the service can be accessed to the database information and the like, and the information can be updated according to the actual mode of the charging service to be performed.

  Of course, the ID card 111 also functions as a user authentication means for determining whether or not to provide the charging service to a resident who is a user of the charging service. Alternatively, if it is not presented to the charger 303 or a card reader disposed in the vicinity thereof, the provision of the charging service can be prohibited, thereby preventing the provision of an unauthorized charging service to anyone other than the person who presented the proper ID card. can do.

  Note that which charger 303 is used in the charging service registered by the resident is specified by the resident manually using one of the chargers 303, 303,... Alternatively, the chargers 303, 303... In which the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 is empty may be designated. The resident is assumed to connect and wait for an electric vehicle to be charged to the charger 303 designated (or designated empty) by the desired charging start time.

  Reservation registration operation for charging service shall be executed by the resident before the desired charging start time (may be immediately before), and the charging start and end time specified by the resident at the time of reservation is N (normal) grade In the standard time zone, the N (normal) grade charge control in FIG. 4 is performed, and the charge start and end times specified by the resident at the time of reservation include a time zone outside the standard time zone. In this case, P (premium) grade charge control in FIG. 5 is performed.

  Hereinafter, the charge control in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described in detail.

  When the charge start and end times specified by the resident at the time of reservation (for example, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next morning) are within the N (normal) grade standard time zone, the charge control of FIG. 4 is performed. In step S101 of FIG. 4, n charging services to be simultaneously performed in one group in the order of application are temporarily selected.

  Here, among valid charging services that have already been registered, a charging service that has been completed in the order of the time at which registration was completed is selected, and n charging services that are charged simultaneously, and one group of n corresponding to the charging services. Chargers 303, 303... Are selected.

  The relationship between the charger 303 and the registered unique charging service is recognized by the CPU 201 through the above registration process. Further, the CPU 201 can refer to the past charge control database of FIGS. 2 and 3 using the room ID of the specific resident who has registered the charging service.

  Accordingly, it is possible to access information (405 in FIG. 3) such as vehicle type information, required charging current, and charging current pattern of the electric vehicle that the resident charges from the information recorded in the charging control database of the resident. it can.

  In step S101, the charging control data in the charging data field 406 is set so that the value of the flag 409 in FIG. 3 relating to the charging service is set to N (normal) and the service unit price Np of N (normal) grade is applied. (The charged value is finally determined by the actual charging time and the service unit price Np determined in step S101).

  Subsequently, in step S102, a combination of n charging services to be simultaneously executed (provided) is determined. In this embodiment, at this time, information such as the vehicle type information of the electric vehicle, the required charging current, and the charging current pattern (405 in FIG. 3) is used until the combination of the n currently selected charging services is optimized. Select a combination of n charging services to be executed (provided). That is, the combination of charging services to be executed simultaneously is optimized. Here, it is determined whether or not the combination of n charging services currently selected is optimal, and one or several charging services in the temporarily selected state are not temporarily selected according to the charging control database. Replace with charging service.

  One of the most important conditions for the optimization (replacement) of the charging service at this time is that the total current capacity required for charging n electric vehicles is an upper limit value required for simultaneous provision of a plurality of charging services. In particular, in this embodiment, the maximum current capacity that can be supplied by the commercial AC power supply 302 of the housing complex is not exceeded. This condition is essential, for example, to prevent the breaker inserted in the power supply line of the commercial AC power supply 302 from being cut off and not being able to execute all charging processes. In order to determine this most important condition, specifically, the charging current in the field 405 in FIG. 3 (for example, the charging current value in the past charging process) is set for each resident corresponding to the combination of charging services that has been tentatively determined. It may be referred to and processing for determining whether the sum does not exceed the above upper limit value may be performed.

  As other optimization conditions, various conditions are conceivable and may be arbitrarily adopted by those skilled in the art. For example, the following optimization conditions are conceivable.

  One of them is that the charge service and other charge services are simultaneously executed for a certain charge service from the past charge control database depending on what kind of charge processing the resident corresponding to the service has taken. It is determined whether or not to do.

  For example, it is possible to specify from the past charge control database whether the charge performed by the resident is a long time charge or a short time charge.

  Therefore, one possible optimization condition is to minimize the waiting time for the residents to wait for charging if all the electric vehicles of all the residents who have registered charging services cannot be charged simultaneously. It is a strategy. In this case, the charging service is executed so that the charging service of the resident who has a long short charging time length among the past charging time lengths recorded in the fields 401 and 402 of the charging control database in FIG. Change the charge (the charge service for residents with long charge times will be delayed). It is considered that this makes it possible to avoid a resident's dissatisfaction, for example, “I went out to the neighborhood and wanted to charge for a short time but waited for a long time”.

  Furthermore, when a charge control database as shown in FIG. 3 is prepared, it is more reliable whether the specific charging service registered at the present time will be extended over a long period of time or whether it will be completed in a short period of time. It can also be specified. For example, referring to the charging start and end date / time recorded in the fields 401 and 402 in FIG. 3, it is possible to specify whether the service use date / time is a weekday or a weekend. And, for example, a resident needs to charge for a short time on weekdays and a long time to drive far away on weekends It can be estimated that the charging service usage behavior is taken.

  Alternatively, not only the observation on weekdays and weekends, but also the charging process of a specific resident can be analyzed separately in the early, middle and late months of the month. For example, when the end of the month is approaching (when the end of the month is approaching), there may be a case where a charging service usage pattern such that records with a long charging time decrease and records with a short charging time increase may be read. Such a case is considered to correspond to a charging service usage pattern in which long-distance leisure use decreases and short-distance business use increases as the month approaches, for example.

  In this case, it is possible to more reliably estimate how long the charging time registered by a specific resident is likely to be based on the current date and time (day of the week or seasonal date) determined by the timekeeping of the real time clock of the control unit 200. Therefore, in this case, in step S102, the current date and time (for example, the day of the week or the season) is added to the strategy of executing the charging service of the resident with a long charging time length in the charging control database first (priority). Day) and the charging time registered by the resident more reliably by combining the analysis results on the relationship between the specific charging service estimated from the relationship between the date and the use date and time of the charging service (for example, the day of the week or the day of the week) Can be determined in advance. For example, even if the charging service is for a resident who has a short charge time, the resident whose database record indicates that the registered charging service is likely to charge for a long time at the current date and time on the weekend. This charging service can be controlled later.

  It should be noted that if there is a charging service that is continuously being implemented before the start of the process of FIG. 4 at the stage of step S102, it can be excluded from the optimization process in step S102 in order to continue as it is. Alternatively, even if there is an ongoing charging service, it may be included in the optimization process in step S102. Which specification is adopted may be determined according to the charging service agreement of the apartment house.

  As described above, when the optimization of n charging services simultaneously performed in one group in step S102 is completed, one group of n charging services simultaneously performed in step S103 is determined. Then, for the other number of subsequent charging services that cannot be implemented immediately (to be implemented later), the provisional order in which they are sequentially executed is determined. That is, other charging services that cannot be immediately implemented are registered in a queue secured on the RAM 203 or the like in the order corresponding to the first-come-first-served order of charging service registration.

  In this embodiment, the charging service registration order on the queue is tentative, and the end of charging is detected in steps S107 to S110, which will be described later, and the order is first determined and registered in the queue. When it is necessary to newly start a charging service, the charging service implementation status at that time, or the past charging service reception status of each user, that is, the contents registered in the charging control database of FIGS. 2 and 3 The execution order of the charging services is rearranged according to the above, and a combination of n charging services to be executed simultaneously is determined.

  In addition, when detecting the end of charging in steps S107 to S110, which will be described later, the charging end condition obtained by referring to the registered contents of the charge control database in FIGS. 2 and 3 is used.

  In step S105, it is determined based on the time measured by the real time clock 211 of the control unit 200 whether or not the start time (for example, 6:00 pm) of the standard time zone in which N (normal) grade charge control is performed has actually arrived. .

  When the start time (for example, 6:00 pm) of the standard time zone in which the N (normal) grade charge control is performed in step S105, the process proceeds to step S106, and the CPU 201 is confirmed via the charge control unit 301. The specific n chargers 303, 303... Registered corresponding to each of the n charging services to be performed simultaneously are turned on, and charging of the electric vehicles connected via the respective chargers is started. To do. Note that a charging end flag (described later) is arranged in the RAM 203 or the like for each charger 303, but these charging end flags are reset with the start of charging. The correspondence with specific chargers 303, 303... corresponding to n charging services is registered and managed in a data table (not shown).

  Thereafter, in step S107 and subsequent steps, when a charging job for which the charging process has been completed is issued, the charging job for starting charging is selected from the charging jobs waiting for the subsequent charging, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. Is determined in accordance with the contents of (steps S107 to S110).

  In step S107, the CPU 201 performs charge end detection control. That is, it communicates with the charging control unit 301 to determine whether there is a charging service that has ended, that is, whether there is a charger 303 that has completed charging.

  If there is a charging service ended in step S107, a charging end flag arranged in the RAM 203 or the like is set for the charger 303 corresponding to the charging service, as will be described later. In step S108, the charger 303 that has finished charging is turned off, and subsequently registered in a queue secured on the RAM 203 or the like in step S109. Therefore, the charging job to start charging is determined according to the contents of the charging control database shown in FIGS.

  Here, for example, one or several charging services are started in response to the end of one charging service. This is because many electric vehicles control the gradual reduction of the charging current in the second half of the charging period, and the current consumption is considered to be reduced. Therefore, the charging current in the field 405 recorded in the charging control database in FIG. One or several charging services that can be started are selected with reference to the charging current pattern or the vehicle type information in the field 404.

  Of course, in this selection control, the condition that the maximum current capacity that can be used by the commercial AC power supply 302 of the apartment house is not applied is first applied in the optimization control, as in the case of step S102. Is done. Further, in substantially the same manner as described in step S102, it is possible to perform control so as to preferentially select a charging job that is expected to have a short charging time so that the charging service waiting time is minimized.

  It should be noted that, in the stage after starting the charge control as in step S109, the charge service registration first-come-first-served order is estimated as a result of referring to the charge control database in FIG. 2 and FIG. If there is a charging service whose execution order is significantly delayed from the start, the correction may be performed so as to advance the execution order of the charging service. For example, if there is a charging service that has already delayed the execution order of the charging service from the first order of the charging service registration 1 to several times, a correction is made to increase the rank in the queue by 1 (or several steps). You may make it perform.

  When the charging service to be started is determined in step S109, the charger 303 corresponding to the charging service to be started is turned on via the charging control unit 301 in step S110, and the process returns to step S107.

  On the other hand, if the charging service ended in step S107 has not been detected, it is determined in step S111 whether or not all charging services have ended. If all charging services have ended, charging control ends. If all charging services have not ended, the process returns to step S107 and the above processing is repeated.

  Next, the control of FIG. 5 will be described. If the charge start and end times specified by the resident at the time of reservation include a portion outside the N (normal) grade standard time zone (for example, 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next morning), the charge shown in FIG. Control is performed.

  5 is largely different from the N (normal) grade control of FIG. 4 in that it includes a process of confirming application of the P (premium) grade service shown in steps S201 and S211 to the resident. In FIG. 5, the charging control included in step S101 in FIG. 4 is shown independently in step S202. Further, in FIG. 5, control equivalent to that described in steps S <b> 101 to S <b> 103 in FIG. 4, that is, control for optimizing and determining a charging group for performing n simultaneous chargings is shown as representative in step S <b> 204. The n simultaneous charging control described in steps S107 to S111 is representatively shown in step S206.

  It should be noted that the P (premium) grade service is considered to be appropriate to be handled as a service that is not tied to the standard time zone, such as the N (normal) grade service. The confirmed charging start time is, for example, the charging start time designated by the resident in each reserved charging service. In other words, in this embodiment, as long as there is no trouble (for example, there is no restriction on the number of n simultaneous charging units), the residence is not restricted by the standard time zone restriction of N (normal) grade service. The person handles it so that charging can be started at a specified desired charging start time.

  In FIG. 5, the charge start and end times specified by the resident in the reservation operation include a portion outside the N (normal) grade standard time zone (for example, 6:00 pm to 6:00 am the next morning). In this case, step S201 and step S211 are executed. Here, it is first determined whether or not the resident involved in the charging service has acquired the user status corresponding to the “premium (P) member”. This determination is performed by checking whether the value of the flag stored with reference to the database field 1305 in FIG. 2 is Ps corresponding to “Premium (P) member” from the room number of the user (resident). Can be done. If step S201 is positive, the process proceeds to step S202 without executing step S211.

  If step S201 is negative, that is, if the resident associated with the charging service has not acquired a status such as “premium member” (“normal member”), the premium unit price is determined in step S211. Pp's P (premium) grade service is applied, but it is confirmed whether there is any problem. This confirmation is performed via a predetermined user interface using the console 103. In step S211, if the P (premium) grade service application is approved (in this case, it means that the resident has selected a temporary P (premium) service), the process proceeds to step S202, and the residence is performed in step S211. If the user's consent is not obtained, the process is terminated without providing the charging service.

  In step S202, since step S201 or S211 is affirmed, the value of the flag 409 of FIG. 3 relating to the charging service is set to P (premium), and the service unit price Pp of P (premium) grade is applied. Charge control data is generated (the charge value is finally determined by the actual charging time and the service unit price Pp).

  Here, in the example of FIG. 2, the user of the room number 103 has a status of “Premium (P) Member”, and the charging service corresponding to the charging database record P23 of FIG. 3 is provided by the control of Step S201. . At this time, a value P corresponding to the premium (P) service is stored in the flag 409 of the charging database record P23, and the service unit price Pp corresponding to the premium (P) service is selected as the service unit price of the charging data (billing) Data field 406). On the other hand, in other charging database records P21 and P22, a value N corresponding to the normal (N) service is stored in the flag 409, and the service unit price corresponding to the normal (N) service is used as the service unit price of the billing data. Np is selected (billing data field 406).

  In addition, when the user has acquired the status of “Premium (P) Member”, in order to distinguish it from the one-time premium (P) service used via Step S211, for example, FIG. A special value indicating that may be stored in the flag 409. As an example, the flag value Ps stored with reference to the database field 1305 in FIG. 2 may be copied as it is.

  Thereafter, in step S204, control equivalent to that described in steps S101 to S103 in FIG. 4 is performed, that is, control for optimizing and determining a charging group for performing n simultaneous chargings is performed, and the arrival of the charging start time is confirmed in step S205. If it does, it will progress to step S206 and will perform n unit simultaneous charge control demonstrated by step S107-S111 of FIG. As described above, the charging start time that is confirmed to arrive in step S205 may be the charging start time designated by the resident in each reserved charging service.

  As described above, the normal (standard) charging process executed by the N (normal) grade charging service is performed at the service unit price Np in a standard time zone, for example, a fixed time zone such as at night when inexpensive power can be used. The charging process in other time zones can be performed at a service unit price Pp higher than that of the N (normal) grade by the charging service of the P (premium) grade. The P (premium) grade charging service is selected according to the urgency level of the user (resident) or the registered status of the user status in the database means, so the electric vehicle is charged in the parking lot or charging space of the housing complex. In this case, it is possible to flexibly respond to the user's demand to keep the electric charge as low as possible and to start charging the electric vehicle as soon as possible due to an emergency situation.

  In addition, according to the control of FIG. 6, in addition to the normal (normal or standard) status that can receive the N (normal) grade charging service, the P (premium) grade charging service can always be received. A status such as “Premium Member” can be prepared, and even a resident who has not obtained a status such as “Premium Member” can obtain a one-time charging service with the consent of the resident. Temporary P (premium) service can be provided every time, and the user's demand can be handled very flexibly.

  Further, as in the above-described embodiment, in the configuration in which the article collection device including a plurality of article storage boxes used for collection and delivery of parcels or mail is arranged, authentication by the authentication means presented by the user (resident) is performed. Based on the control of opening and closing of the door of the goods receiving device and whether to provide the charging service to the resident, the charging service can be referred to and updated through authentication by the authentication means. The data of the database means should be specified, the charging service can be authenticated using the authentication means necessary for the article receiving apparatus, and the charging service provided to the user specified through the authentication Can be stored in the database means, and charging provided to each user using the database means -Bis can be appropriately controlled.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Goods receipt apparatus 101 Goods receipt box 102 Shipping port 103 Console 104 Display 105 Keyboard 106 Card reader 111 ID card 200 Control part 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 NIC
205 Interface 206 Network 207 External Storage Device 301 Charge Control Unit 302 Commercial AC Power Supply 303 Charger

Claims (5)

A plurality of chargers for charging an electric vehicle with power from a commercial AC power source;
Database means for storing information on a charging service of an electric vehicle provided to a user using the charger;
A controller for identifying a user who provides an electric vehicle charging service using the database means, and for controlling the electric vehicle charging service provided to the user;
In providing a charging service using the charger, the control unit charges the electric vehicle in a standard time zone corresponding to a specific time zone in one day, or a user's specific operation And charging the electric vehicle in a second charging mode in which the electric vehicle is charged in a time zone other than the standard time zone.   2. The electric vehicle charging system according to claim 1, wherein the standard time zone includes a time zone in which the electric power of the commercial AC power source can be used at low cost for charging of the electric vehicle performed through the charger. An electric vehicle charging system.   The charging system for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging service of the electric vehicle is provided to the user for a fee by charging control of the control unit, and the charging service unit price in the first charging mode is provided. An electric vehicle charging system, wherein the charging service unit price in the second charging mode is set to be higher than that in the second charging mode.   The electric vehicle charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit responds to the user in a specific user registration state in accordance with user registration information stored in the database means. An electric vehicle charging system that controls charging of an electric vehicle in a time zone other than the standard time zone in the second charging mode without requiring the specific operation.   The electric vehicle charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the article includes a plurality of article storage boxes used for collection of parcels or mails in an apartment house where the charger is arranged. A collection device is arranged, and the control unit controls opening and closing of the door of the article collection device based on authentication by an authentication unit presented by a resident of the apartment house, and by the authentication unit presented by the resident Determining whether to provide the charging service to the resident on the basis of authentication, and further identifying data of the database means to be referred to and updated with respect to the charging service through authentication by the authentication means; A charging system for electric vehicles.

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