WO2014010025A1

WO2014010025A1 - Charging system and charging method

Info

Publication number: WO2014010025A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/067550
Authority: WO
Inventors: 薄田　隆行; 信頼吉岡
Original assignee: 富士電機機器制御株式会社
Priority date: 2012-07-10
Filing date: 2012-07-10
Publication date: 2014-01-16
Also published as: JPWO2014010025A1

Abstract

The present invention is provided with: a power source (100); a load (111) that is connected to the power source (100) and consumes electrical power; a power consumption measurement unit (122) that measures the power consumption of the load (111); a recording unit (125) at which the permitted power value that the load (111) can consume within the range of power supply from the power source (100) is recorded; a surplus power calculation unit (126) that calculates the difference between the permitted power value recorded at the recording unit (125) and the power consumption value measured by the power consumption measurement unit (122) as a surplus power value; and a conversion unit (135) that charges an electricity storage unit (140) by supplying from the power source (100) a power corresponding to the surplus power value. By means of the abovementioned configuration, the surplus power of the power source (100) is utilized to the greatest extent, and short-time charging and rapid charging of the electricity storage unit (140) are possible at a low cost.

Description

Charging system and charging method

The present invention relates to a charging system that maximizes charging power to a power storage unit within the range of contracted power, and a charging method using this charging system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional charging system, and is a charging system applied to a charging stand for an electric vehicle installed in, for example, various commercial facilities, traffic facilities, public facilities, etc. .
In FIG. 4, a load 30 owned by the person installing the charging station is connected to the commercial power supply 10 and is a load 30 such as an existing air conditioner, lighting fixture, motor or the like to which commercial power is supplied. It is connected.

Further, an EV charger 40 for charging a battery 51 mounted on an electric vehicle (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an EV) 50 is connected to the feed line 20. The charger 50 converts the AC power of the commercial power supply 10 into a predetermined DC power and supplies the power to the battery 51. A setting for setting a charging power value (rated power value of the charger 40) And a memory 43 for storing the charging power value. The battery 51 of the EV 50 can be connected to a connector (not shown) on the output side of the power converter 41 by a cable 70 of a predetermined standard provided with a feeder line, a signal line, and a communication line.

The operation of the charging system is as follows.
The power converter 41 in the charger 40 performs power conversion while exchanging information such as voltage and current with the battery 51 according to the charging power value set by the setting device 42 and stored in the memory 43. The DC power is output to charge the battery 51.
Here, the sum of the power consumption value by the existing load 30 and the charging power value by the charger 40 can not exceed the contract power value between the power company and the installer of the charging station. In addition, the power consumption of the load 30 is not always constant, and fluctuates depending on the season, time zone, weather, and the like. Therefore, as long as priority is given to the power supply to the load 30, generally, the charger 40 will be used within a certain power value range set relatively low by the setting device.
However, when the power available for charging is small, the charging time is increased accordingly, and so-called rapid charging becomes impossible.

In order to secure sufficient charging power, it is possible to review the contract power with the power company including the power consumption of the load 30, or to separately make a dedicated contract for the charger 40. Even cost will increase.
Therefore, it has been desired to provide a charging system that can be charged in a short time without increasing costs.

Here, according to Patent Document 1, the battery is preferentially charged by the first power supply in which the power supply time zone is determined, and the second power supply time zone has no restriction other than the power supply time zone. A charge control device for an electric vehicle battery is disclosed that charges a battery with a power supply.
According to this prior art, using the AC 200 V power source to which the midnight power charge is applied as the first power source, if the charging is not completed in the time zone of the midnight power charge, the charging can be continued by the normal AC 100 V power source. It is possible to avoid the situation where the battery charge is insufficient.

JP-A-8-228406 (paragraphs [0007] to [0011], FIG. 1, etc.)

According to the prior art described in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to reduce the cost to some extent by using late-night power, it is necessary to contract with two power supply systems, and the power supply provided in the charging circuit There is another cost increase factor such as the need for a tap switching circuit to switch the input voltage of the transformer, and there is also a problem that the circuit configuration becomes complicated.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to focus on the fluctuation of the power consumption by the existing load excluding the storage unit such as the battery, and to calculate the surplus power which fluctuates according to the power consumption within the allowable power range that the load can consume. An object of the present invention is to provide a charging system and a charging method, which enable short-time charging and rapid charging of a power storage unit by charging the power storage unit with the maximum utilization.

In order to solve the above problems, the charging system according to the present invention can consume a power supply, a load connected to the power supply and consuming power, a power consumption measuring unit measuring a power consumption value of the load, and the load A storage unit storing the allowable power value, a surplus power calculating unit calculating a difference between the allowable power value stored in the storage unit and the power consumption value as the surplus power value, and the power supply equivalent to the surplus power value And a charging unit that charges the storage unit with electric power or electric power whose upper limit is the surplus power value. Here, the charging unit can supply power corresponding to the surplus power value to the storage unit with the rated power value set therein as an upper limit value, and the power supplied from the power supply is adapted to charge the storage unit It is desirable to have a power converter which converts into power and outputs.
On the other hand, the storage unit is a battery mounted on, for example, an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and the storage unit and the charging unit can be connected via a conductive member such as a cable.
Further, the charging method according to the present invention is realized by the above charging system, and calculates a surplus power value which is a difference between an allowable power value that can be consumed by a load less than a so-called contracted power and a power consumption value of the load. The power supply unit supplies power corresponding to the surplus power value or power whose upper limit is the surplus power value to the power storage unit.
In the charging system according to the present invention, the power monitoring unit having the power consumption measuring unit, the storage unit, and the surplus power calculating unit is formed separately from the charging unit, and the surplus power value is obtained by wired or wireless communication means. The power monitoring unit may be configured to transmit to the charging unit. Then, when an abnormality occurs in the wired or wireless communication means, the charging unit replaces the rated power value with the surplus power value to charge the power storage unit.
The power monitoring unit may be provided with a power line communication unit connected to a power supply line for supplying power to the load and performing communication via the power supply line, and the allowable power value may be set via the power line communication unit. When changed, it is desirable to update the already stored allowable power value to the changed value.
Note that the charging unit further includes detection means for detecting that the storage unit is connected, and the surplus power calculation unit is operated to calculate the surplus power value when the connection detection signal output from the detection means is generated. You may comprise so that it may charge based on this surplus electric power value.

According to the present invention, short-time charging and rapid charging of the storage unit are performed by charging the storage unit using the surplus power which fluctuates according to the fluctuation of the power consumption due to the load other than the storage unit to the maximum. Can. Therefore, it is possible to realize a low cost charging system and charging method without having to make a new contract with the power company.

It is a block diagram showing composition of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the allowable power value in embodiment of this invention, power consumption value, and surplus power value. It is a block diagram showing composition of an example of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the conventional charging system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the charging system according to this embodiment.
In FIG. 1, an existing load equipment 110 is connected to a power source 100 such as a commercial power source via a feeder line 101. The existing load facility 110 is configured by a load 111 such as an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, or an electric motor provided in advance in a facility where the charging system of the present embodiment is installed.

The power consumption measurement unit 122 is connected to the feed line 101 via the power detection unit 121. The power detection unit 121 and the power consumption measurement unit 122 detect the voltage and current supplied from the power supply 100 to the load 111 to calculate the power consumption of the load 111, and send the power consumption value to the surplus power calculation unit 126. .
Further, the power line communication unit 123 is connected to the feed line 101. The power line communication unit 123 sets an allowable power value that can be consumed by the load 111 based on the supplied power (contract power) from the power source 100. Through the storage unit 125. The allowable power value stored in the storage unit 125 can be changed or updated by the setting unit 124 within the range of the contracted power.
The surplus power calculation unit 126 calculates the difference between the allowable power value read from the storage unit 125 and the power consumption value, and outputs this difference as a surplus power value.
The communication unit 127 communicates with the communication unit 131 in the charging unit 130 described later, and is used to transmit information such as the surplus power value to the charging unit 130.
The power monitoring unit 120 includes the power detection unit 121, the power consumption measurement unit 122, the power line communication unit 123, the setting unit 124, the storage unit 125, the surplus power calculation unit 126, and the communication unit 127.

The surplus power value calculated by the surplus power calculation unit 126 is sent to the storage unit 133 and stored. The storage unit 133 also stores the rated power value of the charging unit 130 set by the setting unit 132.
Either the surplus power value or the rated power value stored in the storage unit 133 is selected by the selection unit 134, and is sent to the conversion unit 135. The conversion unit 135 converts the power supplied by the power supply 100 into power of a predetermined voltage and current value based on the output of the selection unit 134 and outputs the power.
The communication unit 127 and the communication unit 131 are configured by wired or wireless communication means. A communication enable / disable signal (OK or NG) is output from the communication unit 131 according to the communication status with the communication unit 127, and the surplus power value or the rated power in the storage unit 133 is output according to the communication enable / disable signal. Select and output a value. Here, when the rated power value is output from the storage unit 133, the converting unit 135 outputs the charging power with the rated power value as the upper limit value.
The communication unit 131, the setting unit 132, the storage unit 133, the selection unit 134, and the conversion unit 135 described above constitute a charging unit 130.
Here, the storage unit 140 charged by the charging unit 130 is various storage devices including a battery for automobile.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, an allowable power value equal to or less than the contracted power of the power supply 100 is stored in the storage unit 125 through the power line communication unit 123 and the setting unit 124. The allowable power value corresponds to the total value of the power consumption value of the load 111 and the charging power value by the charging unit 130, and the contracted power value may be used as it is, but the total value is always the contracted power value. The value is set to a value less than the contracted power value (for example, 95% of the contracted power value, etc.) with some allowance.

When the load 111 is operated in this state, the power consumption measuring unit 122 calculates the power consumption value of the load 111 every moment. Surplus power calculation unit 126 calculates the difference between the allowable power value read from storage unit 125 and the power consumption value as a surplus power value, and sends this surplus power value to storage unit 133 by the operation of

communication units

127 and 131. .
When the operations of the

communication units

127 and 131 are normal, the communication unit 131 outputs a signal (OK) to the selection unit 134, and the selection unit 134 selects the surplus power value in the storage unit 133 and outputs the signal to the conversion unit 135. Output. Therefore, conversion unit 135 generates and outputs charging power corresponding to the surplus power value, and charges power storage unit 140. Alternatively, charge power of a predetermined magnitude may be generated and output with the surplus power value as the upper limit value.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the allowable power value, the power consumption value, and the surplus power value, and the surplus power value fluctuates as shown in FIG. 2 according to the fluctuation of the power consumption value. That is, in this embodiment, when the power consumption value by load 111 fluctuates, it is possible to charge power storage unit 140 by maximally utilizing the surplus power value which is the difference between the allowable power value and the power consumption value. For example, when the power consumption value of load 111 is small, it is possible to charge power storage unit 140 in a short time using a large surplus power value.
When the

communication units

127 and 131 have an abnormality, the communication unit 131 outputs a signal (NG) to the selection unit 134. In this case, since the surplus power value can not be obtained as communication information data, the selection unit 134 selects the rated power value in the storage unit 133 and outputs the selected power value to the conversion unit 135. Thereby, conversion unit 135 generates charging power of a predetermined magnitude with the rated power value as the upper limit value, and charges power storage unit 140. Here, the conversion unit 135 may treat the rated power value as a surplus power value, and generate charging power corresponding to the surplus power value (rated power value).
As described above, in the present embodiment, even when there is an abnormality in the

communication units

127 and 131, the storage unit 140 can be charged without any problem.

Next, the configuration and operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment, and the same components as in FIG. 4 are assigned the same reference numerals. This embodiment relates to a charging system which is installed in, for example, a charging station, various commercial facilities, traffic facilities, etc., and charges the battery 51 for the EV 50. The battery 51 may be mounted in advance on the EV 50 or may be mounted on the EV 50 after charging.

In FIG. 3, a load 30 is connected to the feeder 20 connected to the commercial power supply 10 via a power demand meter 61 in the power monitoring device 60. Here, the power monitoring device 60 corresponds to the power monitoring unit 120 of FIG.
A load 30 in FIG. 3 is an air conditioner, a lighting apparatus, a motor, or the like of a facility in which the EV charger 40A is installed, and corresponds to the load 111 in FIG. Further, the power demand meter 61 is for measuring the power consumption value (demand) of the load 30, and corresponds to the power consumption measurement unit 122 of FIG.

The power monitoring device 60 includes a setting device 62 such as a touch panel or a keyboard for setting an allowable power value that can be consumed by the load 30 below the contracted power by an input operation by the operator. The allowable power set by the setting device 62 The value and the power consumption value measured by the power demand meter 61 are input to the calculation control unit 63. As described above, the allowable power value is set to, for example, 95% of the contracted power value.
The setting unit 62 may be externally connected to the power monitoring apparatus, or an allowable power value may be input from outside the power monitoring apparatus using an appropriate communication means.
The setting unit 62 corresponds to the setting unit 124 and the storage unit 125 in FIG. 1.

The arithmetic control unit 63 calculates the difference between the allowable power value and the power consumption value by an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU, and sends this to the communication unit 64 as a surplus power value. The calculation control unit 63 can also execute control operations for the power demand meter 61 and the communication unit 64.
The calculation control unit 63 corresponds to the surplus power calculation unit 126 in FIG.

On the other hand, the EV charger 40A connected to the feed line 20 converts the AC power of the commercial power source 10 into predetermined DC power suitable for charging and supplies it to the battery 51 in the EV 50 as described above. 41, a setter 42 for setting the rated power value of the charger 40A, and a memory 43 for storing the rated power value and the surplus power value.
The EV charger 40A, the power converter 41, the setting device 42, and the memory 43 correspond to the charging unit 130, the conversion unit 135, the setting unit 132, and the storage unit 133 in FIG. 1, respectively.

Furthermore, charger 40A includes communication unit 44 capable of performing wired or wireless communication with communication unit 64 in power monitoring apparatus 60, and surplus power transmitted from communication unit 64 in power monitoring apparatus 60. The value is configured to be received and stored in the memory 43. The charger set in the setting unit 42 and stored in the memory 43 when various abnormalities occur in the communication means, such as failure of the

communication units

64 and 44, disconnection when both are connected by wire, etc. Controlling the power converter 41 to output the charging power corresponding to the surplus power value by regarding the rated power value of 40 A as the surplus power value, or to output the charging power having the rated power value as the upper limit value desirable.
In addition, when the communication means is abnormal, an alarm may be output as needed, or measures such as stopping charging may be taken.

The power monitoring device 60 and the EV charger 40A are integrally formed, and the calculation result by the calculation control unit 63 is directly stored in the memory 43, or the power consumption value measured by the power demand meter 61 and the setting unit 62. The set allowable power value may be transmitted to the charger 40A via the

communication units

64 and 44, and the surplus power value may be obtained by performing arithmetic processing on the charger 40A side.
The point is that as long as the charger 40A can obtain the surplus power value corresponding to the power consumption value of the load 30, the presence or absence of the communication means and the configuration of the device do not matter.

The power converter 41 refers to the memory 43 and outputs the power corresponding to the surplus power value received from the power monitoring apparatus 60 with the rated power value of the charger 40A as the upper limit or the power with the surplus power value as the upper limit. Power conversion operation to supply charging power to the battery 51 in the EV 50.
The power converter 41 includes a switch portion 41a and a control circuit 41b which are semiconductor switching elements that are turned on and off to perform power conversion, and the charge start switch in the charger 40A operated by the user of the EV 50, The control circuit 41b operates in accordance with a command from a charge end switch (not shown) or the like. Further, the control circuit 41 b is connected to the memory 43 and the communication unit 44, and the operation of these can also be controlled.
As described above, the battery 51 in the EV 50 can be connected to the connector (not shown) on the output side of the power converter 41 by the cable 70 of the predetermined standard provided with the feed line, the signal line and the communication line. ing.

In this embodiment, if the

communication units

64 and 44 are normal, the surplus power value of FIG. 2 calculated by the calculation control unit 63 is sent to the charger 40A, and the power converter 41 responds to the surplus power value. The power is output to charge the battery 51. Therefore, even if the power consumption value of load 30 fluctuates, battery 51 can be charged using the surplus power value to the maximum within the allowable power value range, and charging is performed according to the charging power fixed at a low value. The time required for charging can be shortened compared to the case of
In addition, as described above, when an abnormality occurs in the

communication units

64 and 44, the charging power is output based on the rated power value of the charger 40A, so there is no possibility that the battery 51 can not be charged.

In this embodiment, the user of the EV 50 operates the charge start switch in a state where the battery 51 is connected to the power converter 41 via the cable 70, whereby the power converter 41 generates the voltage etc. of the battery 51. It detects and starts power conversion operation, ie, charging operation.
However, the fact that the battery 51 is connected to the output side of the power converter 41 via the cable 70 means that the control circuit 41 b and the battery 51 transmit and receive signals via the cable 70 or mechanically when the cable is attached. Can be easily detected by interlocking the switches. Therefore, the control circuit 41b can detect that the battery 51 is connected, and can start the charging operation automatically using the connection detection signal.
Specifically, by sending a connection detection signal of the battery 51 to the arithmetic control unit 63 via the

communication units

44 and 64, the arithmetic control unit 63 activates the power demand meter 61 and the power consumption value of the load 30 is obtained. While collecting and further calculating the surplus power value and sending it to the charger 40A, the control circuit 41b may activate the power converter 41 to generate charging power.
As a result, there is no need to operate the power demand meter 61 constantly to measure the power consumption of the load 30, thereby saving power.

The charging system of the present invention can be used to charge the battery of general vehicles including not only for EV but also for hybrid vehicles. Further, the charging system of the present invention can be used not only for vehicles but also for charging of power storage devices used as DC power sources for various electric devices.

10: commercial power supply 20: power line 30: load equipment 40A: charger 41: power converter 41a: switch unit 41b: control circuit 42: setting device 43: memory 44: communication unit 50: EV (electric car)
51: Battery 60: Power monitoring device 61: Power demand meter 62: Setting device 63: Calculation control unit 64: Communication unit 70: Cable 100: Power supply 101: Power supply line 110: Existing load equipment 111: Load 120: Power monitoring unit 121 Power detection unit 122: power consumption measurement unit 123: power line communication unit 124: setting unit 125: storage unit 126: surplus power calculation unit 127: communication unit 130: charging unit 131: communication unit 132: setting unit 133: storage unit 134 : Selection unit 135: Conversion unit 140: Power storage unit

Claims

Power supply,
A load connected to the power supply to consume power;
A power consumption measuring unit that measures the power consumption of the load;
A storage unit storing an allowable power value that can be consumed by the load within a range of power supplied by the power supply;
A surplus power calculation unit that calculates a difference between the allowable power value stored in the storage unit and the power consumption value measured by the power consumption measurement unit as a surplus power value;
A charging unit that supplies power corresponding to the surplus power value to the storage unit from the power supply and charges the storage unit;
A charging system characterized by comprising.
Power supply,
A load connected to the power supply to consume power;
A power consumption measuring unit that measures the power consumption of the load;
A storage unit storing an allowable power value that can be consumed by the load within a range of power supplied by the power supply;
A surplus power calculation unit that calculates a difference between the allowable power value stored in the storage unit and the power consumption value measured by the power consumption measurement unit as a surplus power value;
A charging unit that supplies from the power supply an electric power whose upper limit is the surplus electric power value to an electric storage unit, and charges the electric storage unit;
A charging system characterized by comprising.
In the charging system according to claim 1,
The charging system is characterized in that the charging unit supplies power corresponding to the surplus power value to the power storage unit, with a rated power value set therein as an upper limit value.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A power monitoring unit having the power consumption measuring unit, the storage unit, and the surplus power calculating unit is formed separately from the charging unit, and the surplus power value is monitored by the wired or wireless communication unit. The charging system characterized by transmitting from the part to the said charging part.
In the charging system according to claim 4,
The charging system, wherein the charging unit treats the rated power value as the surplus power value when an abnormality occurs in the wired or wireless communication unit.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The power supply is a commercial power supply,
The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the charging unit includes a converting unit configured to convert electric power supplied from the commercial power supply into electric power adapted to charging of the storage unit and output the electric power.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A charging system characterized in that the charging unit and the storage unit are connectable via a conductive member, and the storage unit is mounted on a vehicle.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The power monitoring unit
The power supply system further includes a power line communication unit connected to a power supply line for supplying power to the load and performing communication via the power supply line.
A charging system characterized in that, when the allowable power value is changed via the power line communication unit, the allowable power value of the storage unit is updated to the changed allowable power value.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A power monitoring unit having the power consumption measuring unit, the storage unit, and the surplus power calculating unit is formed separately from the charging unit, and the surplus power value is monitored by the wired or wireless communication unit. As well as transmitting to the charging unit from
The charging unit includes a converting unit that converts power supplied from the power supply into power adapted to charging the storage unit and outputs the converted power, and the converting unit generates the power when the abnormality of the wired or wireless communication unit occurs. A charging system characterized in that power corresponding to the surplus power value is supplied to the storage unit with a rated power value as the surplus power value.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The charging unit includes detection means for detecting that the power storage unit is connected,
A charging system, characterized in that the surplus power calculating unit is operated to calculate the surplus power value when the connection detection signal output from the detection means is generated.
In the charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said electrical storage part is a vehicle-mounted battery, The charging system characterized by the above-mentioned.
Calculating a surplus power value which is a difference between an allowable power value that can be consumed by the load within the range of power supplied by the power supply and a power consumption value of the load;
And charging the power storage device by supplying power corresponding to the surplus power value or power having the surplus power value as an upper limit value from the power supply to the power storage device.