JP2024102460A - Charging support system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a charging support system capable of effectively utilizing electricity generated by a solar panel mounted on a vehicle.SOLUTION: A charging support system according to an embodiment is a charging support system for a vehicle having a solar panel attached to the vehicle body and a first storage battery connected to the solar panel via a charging cable to store the electricity generated by the solar panel, and comprises an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding power supply to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle, a determination unit that determines whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs notification information prompting a user to switch a connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when the determination unit determines that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

This disclosure relates to a charging assistance system.

In recent years, there has been a demand for effective use of electricity generated by solar panels mounted on vehicles. Related technology is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1.

Patent Document 1 discloses a grid system that includes a power transfer control unit that adjusts the amount of power transferred between a residential storage battery and a vehicle storage battery, and a function assurance control unit that performs vehicle function assurance control that adjusts the amount of power transferred by the power transfer control unit so that the SOC (State of Charge) of the vehicle storage battery does not fall below a lower limit SOC value at which the specified function can be executed while a specified function in the vehicle is operating.

JP 2022-156569 A

In a typical vehicle that does not employ the grid system of Patent Document 1, the supply of electricity generated by the solar panel cannot be automatically switched from the vehicle storage battery to the residential storage battery. Therefore, in a typical vehicle that does not employ the grid system of Patent Document 1, there is an issue that the electricity generated by the solar panel cannot be effectively used.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above background, and aims to provide a charging support system that can effectively utilize electricity generated by a solar panel mounted on a vehicle.

The charging support system according to the present disclosure is a charging support system for a vehicle having a solar panel attached to a vehicle body and a first storage battery connected to the solar panel via a charging cable and storing electricity generated by the solar panel, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the supply of power to an external device provided outside the vehicle, a determination unit that determines whether or not the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs notification information prompting the user to switch the connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when the determination unit determines that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device. This charging support system enables the effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in a vehicle that does not employ technology for automatically switching the supply destination of electricity generated by the solar panel.

This disclosure provides a charging support system that can effectively utilize electricity generated by a solar panel mounted on a vehicle.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a charging support system according to a first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the charging support device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modification of the charging support system according to the first embodiment.

The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations have been omitted as necessary.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a charging support system 1 according to a first embodiment. When the charging support system 1 according to the present embodiment determines that electricity generated by a solar panel mounted on a vehicle needs to be supplied to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle, the charging support system 1 outputs notification information to a user such as an owner of the vehicle to prompt the user to switch the connection destination of the charging cable connected to the solar panel from the vehicle-mounted storage battery to the external device. The user who receives the notification can switch the connection destination of the charging cable from the vehicle-mounted storage battery to the external device. As a result, the charging support system 1 according to the present embodiment enables the effective use of electricity generated by the solar panel even in a vehicle that does not employ a technology for automatically switching the supply destination of electricity generated by the solar panel. The following is a specific description.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging assistance system 1 includes a charging assistance device 10, a vehicle 20, a building 30, a user terminal 40, and a network 50. The charging assistance device 10 can be referred to as a charging assistance system by itself. The charging assistance device 10, the vehicle 20, the building 30, and the user terminal 40 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless network 50.

The vehicle 20 is equipped with a solar panel 21, a storage battery 22, and a charging cable 23.

The solar cell panel 21 is a panel that generates electricity from sunlight and is attached to a part of the body of the vehicle 20. For example, the solar cell panel 21 is attached to the roof, bonnet, door, etc. of the vehicle 20. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the solar cell panel 21 is attached to the roof of the vehicle 20.

The storage battery 22 is connected to the solar panel 21 via a charging cable 23, and stores electricity generated by the solar panel 21. The storage battery 22 can be used as a backup power source, or as a power source if the vehicle 20 is an electric vehicle.

The charging cable 23 normally connects the solar panel 21 and the storage battery 22. Here, the charging cable 23 can be removed from the storage battery 22 and connected to a specified external device provided outside the vehicle 20. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the specified external device is a storage battery 31 installed in a building 30 that is the user's home.

The user terminal 40 is a communication-capable terminal that is owned by a user of the system or that is temporarily assigned to the user, and is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) terminal, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, or a dedicated communication terminal prepared for the system.

For example, a user of the system who owns a vehicle 20 inputs information about the solar panel 21 and storage battery 22 installed on the vehicle 20, and information about a specific external device (storage battery 31) that is the target of charging support, into the user terminal 40 by operating the operation screen, keyboard, etc. of the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 accepts this information and transmits it to the charging support device 10 via the network 50. The user terminal 40 also receives notification information output from the charging support device 10 via the network 50, and displays it on a monitor or outputs it as audio from a speaker.

The charging support device 10 is a device that notifies the user when it determines that electricity generated by the solar panel 21 needs to be supplied to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. Specifically, the charging support device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, and an output unit 13.

The acquisition unit 11 acquires information on the solar panel 21 and the storage battery 22, and information on the storage battery 31, which is an external device that is the target of charging support, transmitted from the user terminal 40. The acquisition unit 11 also acquires information on the power supply to the storage battery 31. Specifically, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information on power shortages around the building 30 in which the storage battery 31 is installed (information on a power shortage warning, etc.), and information on the charging rate of the storage battery 31. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information on the charging rate of the storage battery 22, the output voltage of the solar panel 21, information on a weather forecast around the vehicle that is used to predict the future output voltage of the solar panel 21, and location information of the vehicle 20.

Based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12 determines whether or not it is necessary to supply the electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle.

For example, when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information on a power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 determines that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. When the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating that the charge rate of the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle is less than a predetermined rate, or information indicating that the charge rate of the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle is predicted to be less than a predetermined rate, in addition to the information on the power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 may determine that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. Alternatively, when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating that the charge rate of the storage battery 22 inside the vehicle is equal to or higher than a lower limit charge rate, in addition to the information on the power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 may determine that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. Alternatively, when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating that the output voltage of the solar panel 21 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value in addition to information on a power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 may determine that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. Alternatively, when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating that the vehicle 20 is parked in a predetermined parking area (e.g., a parking area adjacent to the building 30) in addition to information on a power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 may determine that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. Alternatively, when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating that the vehicle 20 is located within a predetermined area including the building 30 in addition to information on a power shortage around the building 30, the determination unit 12 may determine that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle.

When the determination unit 12 determines that electricity generated by the solar panel 21 needs to be supplied to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle, the output unit 13 outputs notification information that prompts the user to switch the connection destination of the charging cable 23 connected to the solar panel 21 from the storage battery 22 inside the vehicle to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. The notification information output from the output unit 13 is transferred to the user terminal 40 via the network 50, for example, and is displayed on the monitor of the user terminal 40 or output as audio from the speaker of the user terminal 40.

The user who is informed of the notification can switch the connection destination of the charging cable 23 from the storage battery 22 inside the vehicle to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. As a result, the charging assistance system 1 according to this embodiment makes it possible to effectively use the electricity generated by the solar panel 21 even in a vehicle 20 that does not employ technology for automatically switching the supply destination of the electricity generated by the solar panel 21.

(Operation of charging support device 10)
Next, the operation of the charging support device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the charging support device 10.

First, the charging support device 10 acquires information about the solar panel 21 and the storage battery 22, and information about the storage battery 31, which is an external device that is the target of charging support, transmitted from the user terminal 40 (step S101).

Then, the charging support device 10 acquires information regarding the power supply to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle (step S102). Specifically, the charging support device 10 acquires information regarding the power shortage around the building 30 in which the storage battery 31 is installed, and information regarding the charging rate of the storage battery 31. The charging support device 10 also acquires information regarding the charging rate of the storage battery 22, the output voltage of the solar panel 21, weather forecast information regarding the area around the vehicle used to predict the future output voltage of the solar panel 21, and location information of the vehicle 20.

Then, based on the acquired information, the charging support device 10 determines whether or not it is necessary to supply the electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle (step S103).

When the charging support device 10 determines that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle, it outputs notification information that prompts the user to switch the connection destination of the charging cable 23 connected to the solar panel 21 from the storage battery 22 inside the vehicle to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle (step S104). The notification information output from the output unit 13 is transferred to the user terminal 40 via the network 50, for example, and is displayed on the monitor of the user terminal 40 or output as audio from the speaker of the user terminal 40.

The user who is informed of the notification can switch the connection destination of the charging cable 23 from the storage battery 22 inside the vehicle to the storage battery 31 outside the vehicle. As a result, the charging assistance system 1 according to this embodiment makes it possible to effectively use the electricity generated by the solar panel 21 even in a vehicle 20 that does not employ technology for automatically switching the supply destination of the electricity generated by the solar panel 21.

In this embodiment, the specific external device is a storage battery 31 installed in the building 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 3, the external device may be a specific power consumption device 32 instead of the storage battery 31. In this case, the determination unit 12 determines that it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel 21 to the power consumption device 32 when, for example, the power supplied to the power consumption device 32 is less than a specific value, or when it is predicted that the power supplied to the power consumption device 32 will be less than a specific value. In addition, the building 30 is not limited to a user's home, and may be, for example, a community center.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. In addition, the present invention is an invention related to the use of solar panels, and contributes to carbon neutrality, decarbonization, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In addition, this disclosure can be realized by having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) execute a computer program to perform some or all of the processing of the charging assistance device 10.

The above-mentioned program includes a set of instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, causes the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media or tangible storage media include RAM (Random-Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), flash memory, SSD (Solid-State Drive) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a temporary computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable media or communication media include electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

A part or all of the above embodiments may be described as follows, but is not limited to the following:

(Appendix 1)
A charging assistance system for a vehicle including a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body, and a first storage battery connected to the solar cell panel via a charging cable and configured to store electricity generated by the solar cell panel,
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding power supply to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle;
a determination unit that determines whether or not electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit;
an output unit that outputs notification information prompting a user to switch a connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when the determination unit determines that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device; and
A charging assistance system equipped with

(Appendix 2)
The acquisition unit further acquires information regarding a charging rate of the first storage battery,
Only when the charging rate of the first storage battery is equal to or higher than a lower limit charging rate, the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device.
2. A charging assistance system as described in claim 1.

(Appendix 3)
The acquisition unit further acquires information on whether the vehicle is parked in a predetermined parking area,
Only when the vehicle is located within a predetermined area, the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply the electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device.
2. A charging assistance system as described in claim 1.

(Appendix 4)
The output unit outputs the notification information to a user terminal.
The charging assistance system according to claim 1 .

(Appendix 5)
A charging assistance method for a vehicle having a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body, and a first storage battery connected to the solar cell panel via a charging cable and storing electricity generated by the solar cell panel, comprising:
acquiring information regarding power supply to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle;
determining whether or not it is necessary to supply the electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device based on the acquired information;
outputting notification information prompting the user to switch a connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when it is determined that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device;
Charging assistance method.

(Appendix 6)
A control program for causing a computer to execute a charging assistance process for a vehicle having a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body and a first storage battery connected to the solar cell panel via a charging cable and configured to store electricity generated by the solar cell panel, the control program comprising:
A process of acquiring information regarding power supply to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle;
A process of determining whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device based on the acquired information;
outputting notification information prompting the user to switch a connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when it is determined that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device;
A control program that causes a computer to execute the above.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Charging assistance system 10 Charging assistance device 11 Acquisition unit 12 Determination unit 13 Output unit 20 Vehicle 21 Solar panel 22 Storage battery 23 Charging cable 30 Building 31 Storage battery 32 Power consumption device 40 User terminal 50 Network

Claims (5)

A charging assistance system for a vehicle including a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body, and a first storage battery connected to the solar cell panel via a charging cable and configured to store electricity generated by the solar cell panel,
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding power supply to a predetermined external device provided outside the vehicle;
a determination unit that determines whether or not electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit;
an output unit that outputs notification information prompting a user to switch a connection destination of the charging cable from the first storage battery to the external device when the determination unit determines that the electricity generated by the solar panel needs to be supplied to the external device; and
A charging assistance system equipped with The external device is a second storage battery installed in a predetermined building,
Only when the charging rate of the second storage battery is less than a predetermined rate or when the charging rate of the second storage battery is predicted to be less than a predetermined rate, the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device.
The charging assistance system according to claim 1 . The external device is a power consuming device installed in a predetermined building,
only when the power supplied to the power consumption device is less than a predetermined value or when it is predicted that the power supplied to the power consumption device will be less than a predetermined value, the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply the electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device.
The charging assistance system according to claim 1 . The acquisition unit further acquires information on an output voltage of the solar cell panel,
Only when an output voltage of the solar cell panel is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar cell panel to the external device.
The charging assistance system according to claim 1 . The acquisition unit further acquires information on whether the vehicle is parked in a predetermined parking area,
the determination unit determines whether or not it is necessary to supply electricity generated by the solar panel to the external device only when the vehicle is parked in the predetermined parking area.
The charging assistance system according to claim 1 .

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