1. A power management device that performs supply and demand adjustment of a power grid by requesting charging of a power storage device using power of the power grid or power supply to the power grid for an electric vehicle provided with the power storage device, the power management device comprising:

a selection unit that selects a target number of electric vehicles from a vehicle group including a plurality of electric vehicles; and

a request unit that makes the request for each of the electric vehicles selected by the selection unit,

the selection unit is configured to acquire a temperature and an SOC of a power storage device included in each of the electrically-powered vehicles of the vehicle group, and perform the selection in accordance with a priority order predetermined by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device.

2. The power management device of claim 1,

the power management device further includes a 1 st storage unit that stores 1 st priority information for determining a priority order for selecting the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit,

the 1 st priority information prioritizes the divisions so that the division with a lower SOC of the power storage device is higher in priority order and the division with a lower temperature of the power storage device is higher in priority order for a plurality of divisions set by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device,

the selecting unit selects the electric vehicle from the vehicle group in order of priority from high to low in accordance with the priority of each of the divisions determined by the 1 st priority information when the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit is selected.

3. The power management device of claim 2,

each of the plurality of electric vehicles included in the vehicle group includes a cooling device that cools the power storage device,

the request unit is configured to request the cooling device to make the temperature of the power storage device equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature for each of the electrically-powered vehicles selected by the selection unit,

the 1 st priority information is for:

a 1 st division in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than a 1 st threshold value and the temperature of the power storage device is lower than a 2 nd threshold value,

A 2 nd division in which the SOC of the electrical storage device is lower than the 1 st threshold value and the temperature of the electrical storage device is higher than the 2 nd threshold value,

A 3 rd division in which the SOC of the electrical storage device is higher than the 1 st threshold and the temperature of the electrical storage device is lower than the 2 nd threshold, and

a 4 th division in which the SOC of the electrical storage device is higher than the 1 st threshold and the temperature of the electrical storage device is higher than the 2 nd threshold,

determining a priority order according to the 1 st division, the 2 nd division, the 3 rd division, and the 4 th division.

4. The power management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the power management device further includes a 2 nd storage unit that stores 2 nd priority information for determining a priority order when selecting the electric vehicle to which the power supply is requested by the request unit,

the 2 nd priority information prioritizes each of the divisions so that the division with a higher SOC of the power storage device gives a higher priority and the division with a higher temperature of the power storage device gives a higher priority for a plurality of divisions set by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device,

the selecting unit selects the electric vehicle from the vehicle group in order of priority from high to low in accordance with the priority of each of the divisions determined by the 2 nd priority information when the electric vehicle requested the power supply by the requesting unit is selected.

5. The power management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the power management device further includes an excluding unit that excludes an electric vehicle that satisfies a predetermined exclusion requirement from the vehicle group.

6. The power management device of claim 5,

the excluding unit is configured to exclude the electrically-powered vehicle not connected to the power grid from the vehicle group before the selection by the selecting unit when the request unit requests the charging of the power storage device or the immediate execution of the power supply to the power grid.

7. The power management device of claim 5 or 6,

the excluding unit is configured to exclude, from the vehicle group, an electric vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than a 3 rd threshold value before the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit is selected when the outdoor air temperature is a predetermined value or more.

8. The power management device of claim 5 or 6,

the excluding unit is configured to, in a case where the execution period of the charging requested by the requesting unit includes at least a part of a predetermined period of time, exclude the electric vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than a threshold value of 4 from the vehicle group before selecting the electric vehicle for which the charging is requested by the requesting unit.

9. The power management device according to any one of claims 5 to 8,

each of the plurality of electric vehicles included in the vehicle group includes a cooling device that cools the power storage device using electric power of the power storage device,

the request unit is configured to request, for each of the electrically powered vehicles selected by the selection unit, further to start cooling of the power storage device by the cooling device before starting charging in accordance with the request when the temperature of the power storage device exceeds a predetermined temperature,

the excluding unit is configured to exclude, from the vehicle group, an electrically powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than a 5 th threshold and the temperature of the power storage device is higher than the predetermined temperature.

10. A power management method for adjusting supply and demand of a power grid by making a request for charging of a power storage device using power of the power grid or power supply to the power grid for an electric vehicle provided with the power storage device, the power management method comprising:

acquiring the temperature and the SOC of a power storage device of each electric vehicle included in the vehicle group;

selecting a target number of electric vehicles from the vehicle group in accordance with a priority order predetermined by a temperature of the electric storage device and an SOC of the electric storage device; and

the request is made for each of the selected electric vehicles.

Background

The present disclosure relates to a power management device and a power management method, and more particularly to a technique for adjusting supply and demand of electric power by an electric vehicle.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2016-158309 discloses a charge/discharge control device that suppresses a decrease in the life of a battery mounted on a vehicle. The charge/discharge control device is mounted on a charge/discharge device outside the vehicle, and executes discharge control for outputting electric power of the battery to the outside of the vehicle when an ambient temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value in a state where the vehicle is connected to the charge/discharge device. By such discharge control, the time during which the battery is exposed to a high temperature in a State Of high SOC (State Of Charge) is reduced, and the reduction in the life Of the battery is suppressed.

Disclosure of Invention

In recent years, a power management system has been proposed that adjusts the supply and demand of a power grid using a plurality of electric vehicles. An electrically powered vehicle is a vehicle configured to run using electric power stored in a power storage device mounted on the vehicle.

In the technique described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2016-158309, the supply and demand balance of the power grid is not taken care of on the premise of the control of each vehicle. For example, when the above-described technology is applied to a large number of vehicles, on a day with a high temperature, a large number of vehicles simultaneously supply power to the power grid, and the power grid may be in an excessively supplied state.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a power management device and a power management method that can adjust supply and demand of a power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of a power storage device provided in each of a plurality of electrically-powered vehicles as a whole.

The power management device according to the present disclosure adjusts the supply and demand of a power grid by requesting charging of a power storage device using power of the power grid or power supply to the power grid for an electric vehicle having the power storage device. The power management device includes: a selection unit that selects a target number of electric vehicles from a vehicle group including a plurality of electric vehicles; and a request unit that makes the request for each of the electric vehicles selected by the selection unit. The selection unit is configured to acquire the temperature and SOC Of the power storage device included in each electrically-powered vehicle Of the vehicle group, and select the power storage device according to a priority order determined in advance by the temperature Of the power storage device and the SOC (State Of Charge) Of the power storage device.

When the power storage device is in a high SOC and high temperature state, deterioration of the power storage device tends to be promoted. When the power storage device is charged and the SOC increases, the power storage device is likely to deteriorate. When the SOC becomes low due to the discharge of the power storage device, the power storage device becomes hard to deteriorate.

The power management device is configured to adjust the supply and demand of the power grid in response to a request for charging or discharging (power supply to the power grid) of the power storage device to the electrically powered vehicle. The request unit makes the request for the electric vehicle selected by the selection unit. The selection unit performs the selection in accordance with a priority order predetermined by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device. According to such a priority, in the selection when the request for charging is made, it is determined from the temperature and the SOC of the power storage device, and it is possible to make it difficult to select the electrically powered vehicle in a state in which the possibility of the deterioration of the power storage device being promoted by the charging is high. Further, according to the priority described above, in the selection when the request for power supply is made, the electrically powered vehicle in the state (temperature and SOC) in which the power storage device is likely to deteriorate can be easily selected. By selecting the electrically-powered vehicles in accordance with the priority order as described above, the life reduction of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically-powered vehicles as a whole is suppressed. Further, the supply and demand of the power grid are adjusted by the electric vehicle selected by the selection unit. As described above, according to the power management device, it is possible to perform supply and demand adjustment of the power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically-powered vehicles as a whole.

The power management device may be configured to be able to request only one of charging of the power storage device and power supply to the power grid. The power management device may be configured to be able to request both the charging of the power storage device and the power supply to the power grid, and may be configured to request which of the charging of the power storage device and the power supply to the power grid is requested depending on the situation. The relationship between the deterioration easiness of the power storage device and the temperature and SOC of the power storage device may be confirmed in advance through experiments or simulations. The SOC represents the remaining charge amount, and represents, for example, a ratio of the current charge amount to the charge amount in the fully charged state by 0 to 100%.

The "target number" indicates the number of units for achieving supply and demand adjustment of the power grid. The selection unit may start the selection of the electric vehicle after the determination of the target number. The target number may vary according to the performance and/or state of the selected electric vehicle. For example, in a case where the selection unit selects the electric vehicle whose charging is requested by the request unit, the selection unit may acquire an integrated value of chargeable power of each selected electric vehicle every time 1 electric vehicle is newly selected, and determine that the number of selected electric vehicles reaches the target number when the acquired integrated value of the electric power reaches the target power.

The power management device may further include a 1 st storage unit that stores 1 st priority information for determining a priority order when selecting the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit. The 1 st priority information may determine the priority of each of the divisions so that the lower the SOC of the power storage device, the higher the priority, and the lower the temperature of the power storage device, the higher the priority, for a plurality of divisions set by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device. The selecting unit may select the electric vehicles from the vehicle group in descending order of priority in accordance with the priority of each division determined by the 1 st priority information when the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit is selected.

In the above power management device, in the selection at the time of the request for charging, the electrically-powered vehicle having the low SOC of the power storage device and the electrically-powered vehicle having the low temperature of the power storage device are easily selected, and the electrically-powered vehicle having the high SOC and the high temperature of the power storage device is hardly selected. By selecting in this way, it is easy to suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles as a whole. In addition, in the above power management device, since the priority is given to each division, the processing load can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the priority is given to each of 1 electric vehicle.

In any of the above-described power management devices, each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles included in the vehicle group may include a cooling device that cools the power storage device. The request unit may be configured to request the cooling device to make the temperature of the power storage device equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature for each of the electrically powered vehicles selected by the selection unit. The 1 st priority information may determine the priority order of the 1 st division, the 2 nd division, the 3 rd division, and the 4 th division in the order of the 1 st division, the 2 nd division, the 3 rd division, and the 4 th division. The 1 st division is a division in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than the 1 st threshold value, and the temperature of the power storage device is lower than the 2 nd threshold value. The 2 nd division is a division in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than the 1 st threshold value, and the temperature of the power storage device is higher than the 2 nd threshold value. The 3 rd division is a division in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than the 1 st threshold value, and the temperature of the power storage device is lower than the 2 nd threshold value. The 4 th division is a division in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than the 1 st threshold value, and the temperature of the power storage device is higher than the 2 nd threshold value.

The power management device can adjust the supply and demand of the power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically-powered vehicles as a whole by simple control. The power management device requests the cooling device to reduce the temperature of the power storage device to a predetermined temperature or lower. Therefore, even when a vehicle having a high temperature of the power storage device (for example, a vehicle belonging to the 2 nd division or the 4 th division) is selected, the temperature of the power storage device becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature by the cooling device. Thereby, deterioration of the power storage device due to charging is suppressed.

The 1 st threshold and the 2 nd threshold may be set arbitrarily. For example, the 1 st threshold may be 30% or more and 70% or less, and the 2 nd threshold may be 30 ℃ or more and 50 ℃ or less.

In any of the above power management devices, the power management device may further include a 2 nd storage unit that stores 2 nd priority information for determining a priority order when selecting the electric vehicle requested to be supplied with power by the requesting unit. The 2 nd priority information may determine the priority of each division so that the higher the SOC of the power storage device, the higher the division, and the higher the temperature of the power storage device, the higher the division, with respect to a plurality of divisions set by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device. The selecting unit may select the electric vehicle from the vehicle group in descending order of priority in accordance with the priority of each division determined by the 2 nd priority information when the electric vehicle requested to be supplied with power by the requesting unit is selected.

In the above power management device, in the selection at the time of the request for power supply, the electrically powered vehicle in which the power storage device is in a high SOC and high temperature state is easily selected, and the electrically powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is low and the electrically powered vehicle in which the temperature of the power storage device is low are difficult to select. By selecting in this way, it becomes easy to suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles as a whole. In addition, in the above power management device, since the priority is given to each division, the processing load can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the priority is given to each of 1 electric vehicle.

In any of the above power management devices, the electric vehicle management device may further include an excluding unit that excludes an electric vehicle satisfying a predetermined exclusion requirement from the vehicle group. According to such a configuration, the electric vehicle unsuitable for the request can be excluded from the vehicle group according to the situation.

The excluding unit may be configured to exclude the electrically-powered vehicle not connected to the power grid from the vehicle group before the selection by the selecting unit when the requesting unit requests the charging of the power storage device or the immediate execution of the power supply to the power grid.

An electric vehicle in a state of not being connected to a power grid is highly likely to be unable to respond to a request for immediate execution of charging or power supply. According to the above configuration, the electric vehicle unsuitable for the request can be excluded from the vehicle group.

The excluding unit may be configured to exclude the electric-powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than the 3 rd threshold value from the vehicle group before the electric-powered vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit is selected when the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined value.

When a power storage device having a high SOC is charged in a situation where the outdoor air temperature is high, the temperature of the power storage device rises during charging, and the power storage device is likely to be in a high SOC and high temperature state. When charging the power storage device having a high SOC and a high temperature, deterioration of the power storage device is promoted. Therefore, in the above configuration, when the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the electrically powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than the 3 rd threshold value is excluded from the vehicle group by the excluding unit. According to the above configuration, the electric vehicle unsuitable for the request can be excluded from the vehicle group.

The excluding unit may be configured to exclude the electric vehicle having the SOC of the power storage device higher than the 4 th threshold from the vehicle group before the electric vehicle requested to be charged by the requesting unit is selected, when the period of execution of the charging requested by the requesting unit includes at least a part of the predetermined time period.

The environment of the power storage device (e.g., ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity) can be estimated from the time zone. When the power storage device is placed in an environment where the temperature is likely to rise and the SOC of the power storage device is high, the temperature of the power storage device rises during charging when the power storage device is charged, and the power storage device is likely to be in a high SOC and high temperature state. Therefore, in the above-described configuration, in the case where the charging is performed for the predetermined period of time, the electrically-powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is higher than the 4 th threshold is excluded from the vehicle group by the exclusion portion. According to the above configuration, the electric vehicle unsuitable for the request can be excluded from the vehicle group.

In any of the above-described power management devices, each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles included in the vehicle group may include a cooling device that cools the power storage device using electric power of the power storage device. The request unit may be configured to request, for each of the electrically powered vehicles selected by the selection unit, that the cooling device start cooling the power storage device before the start of charging in accordance with the request, when the temperature of the power storage device exceeds a predetermined temperature. The excluding unit may be configured to exclude from the vehicle group an electrically powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than a 5 th threshold and the temperature of the power storage device is higher than a predetermined temperature.

The power management device includes a request unit that requests, when the temperature of the power storage device exceeds a predetermined temperature, start of cooling of the power storage device by the cooling device before start of charging in accordance with the request. Therefore, even when a vehicle having a high temperature of the power storage device is selected, the power storage device is cooled by the cooling device before the charging in accordance with the request is started. Thereby, deterioration of the power storage device due to charging is suppressed. However, when the SOC of the power storage device is low and sufficient electric power for driving the cooling device is not retained in the power storage device, the power storage device may be overdischarged when the electric powered vehicle drives the cooling device in accordance with the request, and deterioration of the power storage device may be promoted. Therefore, in the above configuration, the electrically powered vehicle in which the SOC of the power storage device is lower than the 5 th threshold and the temperature of the power storage device is higher than the predetermined temperature is excluded from the vehicle group by the exclusion unit. According to the above configuration, the electric vehicle unsuitable for the request can be excluded from the vehicle group.

The power management method according to the present disclosure adjusts the supply and demand of a power grid by requesting charging of a power storage device using power of the power grid or power supply to the power grid for an electric vehicle having the power storage device, and includes steps 1 to 3 described below.

In step 1, the temperature and SOC of the power storage device of each electrically powered vehicle included in the vehicle group are acquired. In step 2, a target number of electric vehicles are selected from the vehicle group in accordance with a priority order predetermined by the temperature of the power storage device and the SOC of the power storage device. In step 3, the request for charging or power supply is made for each selected electric vehicle.

With the above power management method, as with the above power management device, it is possible to perform supply and demand adjustment of the power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles as a whole.

In addition, the electric vehicles include an FC vehicle (fuel cell vehicle), an extended range electric vehicle (range extender EV), and the like in addition to EVs (electric vehicles), HVs (hybrid vehicles), and PHVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles). The electric vehicle may be configured to be remotely operable or may be configured to be automatically driven.

The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, which is to be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle included in a power management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of a vehicle control device and a server included in the power management system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a power management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of classification information for classifying the vehicles included in the vehicle group.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the priority information included in the charging priority information and the power supply priority information.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating details of processing executed when the power management device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure selects the DR increasing vehicle (DR increasing vehicle).

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a modification of the charging priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing details of a process executed when the power management device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure selects a DR vehicle (DR suspension vehicle) reduction.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a modification of the power supply priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by an electric vehicle that approves a request from the power management device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a modification of the process shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the 2 nd excluding process by the excluding unit according to the modification.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining an electric vehicle excluded by the 3 rd exclusion processing by the exclusion unit according to the modification.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the excluding unit in the case where the type of DR is a charging request in the modification shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a modification of the process shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the electric vehicle receives the DR forenotice signal.

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing a 1 st modification of the priority information shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a 2 nd modification of the priority information shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a modification of the division information shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the priority order of 6 divisions defined by the division information shown in fig. 20.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

The power management system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of electric vehicles. The plurality of electric vehicles in the power management system may have different structures from each other. However, in this embodiment, each electric vehicle in the power management system has the configuration shown in fig. 1. Hereinafter, except for the case of the difference, each of the plurality of electric vehicles included in the power management system is referred to as "vehicle 50", and each of the plurality of EVSEs included in the power management system is referred to as "EVSE 40". EVSE means a Vehicle power Supply Equipment (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment).

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle 50 included in the power management system according to the embodiment. Referring to fig. 1, vehicle 50 includes battery 130 that stores electric power for traveling. Battery 130 is configured to include a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel metal hydride battery, for example. In this embodiment, as the secondary battery, a battery pack including a plurality of lithium ion batteries is used. A battery pack is configured by electrically connecting a plurality of secondary batteries (also referred to as "cells" in general) to each other. In addition, instead of the secondary battery, another power storage device such as an electric double layer capacitor may be used. The vehicle 50 and the battery 130 according to the embodiment correspond to an example of the "electrically powered vehicle" and the "power storage device" according to the present disclosure, respectively.

The vehicle 50 includes an Electronic Control Unit (hereinafter referred to as "ECU (Electronic Control Unit)") 150. ECU150 is configured to perform charge control and discharge control of battery 130. Further, the ECU150 is configured to control communication with the outside of the vehicle 50. The vehicle 50 may be an Electric Vehicle (EV) that can travel using only the electric power stored in the battery 130, or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) that can travel using both the electric power stored in the battery 130 and the output of an engine (not shown). In the present embodiment, the vehicle 50 is driven by the user, but the vehicle 50 may be configured to be capable of automatic driving.

Vehicle 50 further includes a monitoring module 131 that monitors the state of battery 130. Monitoring module 131 includes various sensors that detect the state (e.g., voltage, current, and temperature) of battery 130, and outputs the detection result to ECU 150. In this embodiment, the current sensor is provided in the current path of battery 130. In addition, 1 sensor of each of the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor is provided for each 1 cell. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor may be provided in 1 for each of the plurality of cells, or may be provided in only 1 for 1 battery pack. The monitoring module 131 may be a BMS (Battery Management System) having a SOC (State Of Charge) estimation function, an SOH (State Of Health) estimation function, a cell voltage equalization function, a diagnosis function, and a communication function in addition to the sensor function. ECU150 can acquire the state of battery 130 (for example, temperature, current, voltage, SOC, and internal resistance) based on the output of monitoring module 131.

Vehicle 50 further includes cooling device 132 for cooling battery 130. In this embodiment, a blower such as a fan or a blower is used as the cooling device 132. However, the cooling device 132 is not limited to this, and may be configured to cool battery 130 by circulating a refrigerant around battery 130. The cooling method may be water cooling or air cooling.

The vehicle 50 includes a charging receptacle 110 and a charging/discharging device 120 corresponding to the power supply method of the EVSE 40. Charging receptacle 110 is configured to receive electric power supplied from the outside of vehicle 50. Further, charge receptacle 110 is configured to output electric power supplied from charger/discharger 120 to the outside of vehicle 50. Although only the charging socket 110 and the charger and discharger 120 are shown in fig. 1, the vehicle 50 may be provided with a charging socket and a charger and discharger for each power supply system so as to be able to cope with a plurality of power supply systems (for example, AC system and DC system).

The EVSE40 is provided with a power supply circuit 41. The charging cable 42 is connected to the EVSE 40. The charging cable 42 may be connected to the EVSE40 at all times, or may be detachable from the EVSE 40. The charging cable 42 has a connector 43 at the top end and includes a power line inside. The connector 43 of the charging cable 42 can be connected to the charging socket 110. The EVSE40 and the vehicle 50 are electrically connected by the connector 43 of the charging cable 42 connected with the EVSE40 being connected to the charging receptacle 110 of the vehicle 50. Thereby, electric power can be supplied from the EVSE40 to the vehicle 50 via the charging cable 42.

Charger and discharger 120 is located between charging receptacle 110 and secondary battery 130. Charger/discharger 120 includes a relay for switching connection/disconnection of a power path from charging receptacle 110 to battery 130, and a power conversion circuit (both not shown). The power conversion circuit is, for example, a bidirectional converter. The relay and the power conversion circuit included in the charger/discharger 120 are controlled by the ECU 150. The vehicle 50 further includes a monitoring module 121 that monitors the state of the charger and discharger 120. The monitoring module 121 includes various sensors that detect the states (e.g., voltage, current, and temperature) of the charger and discharger 120, and outputs the detection results to the ECU 150. In this embodiment, the monitoring module 121 is configured to detect a voltage and a current input to the power conversion circuit and a voltage and a current output from the power conversion circuit.

By connecting the EVSE40 outside the vehicle 50 and the charging receptacle 110 via the charging cable 42, electric power can be exchanged between the EVSE40 and the vehicle 50. Therefore, external charging can be performed by vehicle 50 (that is, battery 130 of vehicle 50 can be charged by receiving supply of electric power from outside vehicle 50). For example, power for external charging is supplied to the charging receptacle 110 from the EVSE40 via the charging cable 42. Charger/discharger 120 is configured to convert electric power received by charging inlet 110 into electric power suitable for charging battery 130, and output the converted electric power to battery 130. In addition, by connecting the EVSE40 and the charging receptacle 110 via the charging cable 42, external power supply is possible by the vehicle 50 (i.e., power supply from the vehicle 50 to the EVSE40 via the charging cable 42). Electric power for external power supply is supplied from battery 130 to charger/discharger 120. Charger/discharger 120 is configured to convert electric power supplied from battery 130 into electric power suitable for external power supply, and output the converted electric power to charging inlet 110. The relay of the charger/discharger 120 is in a closed state (connected state) when any one of the external charging and the external power supply is performed, and the relay of the charger/discharger 120 is in an open state (disconnected state) when any one of the external charging and the external power supply is not performed.

The configuration of the charger and discharger 120 is not limited to the above and may be appropriately changed. The charger and discharger 120 may also include, for example, at least 1 of a rectifier circuit, a PFC (Power Factor Correction) circuit, an isolation circuit (e.g., an isolation transformer), an inverter, and a filter circuit. When vehicle 50 supplies power externally to the AC EVSE, charger/discharger 120 may perform DC/AC conversion on the electric power discharged from battery 130, and supply the converted AC power from vehicle 50 to the EVSE. When the vehicle 50 supplies power externally to the DC EVSE, DC power may be supplied from the vehicle 50 to the EVSE, and DC/AC conversion may be performed by an inverter incorporated in the EVSE. The EVSE specification of the DC System may be any of CHAdeMO, CCS (Combined Charging System), and GB/T, Tesla.

The ECU150 includes a processor 151, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 152, a storage device 153, and a timer 154. As the processor 151, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. The RAM152 functions as a job memory for temporarily storing data processed by the processor 151. The storage device 153 is configured to store stored information. The storage 153 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a rewritable nonvolatile Memory. The storage device 153 stores information (for example, maps, formulas, and various parameters) used in the programs, in addition to the programs. In this embodiment, various controls in the ECU150 are executed by the processor 151 executing programs stored in the storage device 153. However, various controls in the ECU150 are not limited to being executed by software, but can be executed by dedicated hardware (electronic circuit). The number of processors provided in the ECU150 is arbitrary, and a processor may be prepared for each predetermined control.

The timer 154 is configured to notify the processor 151 of the arrival of the set time. When the time set in the timer 154 is reached, a signal for notifying that is sent from the timer 154 to the processor 151. In this embodiment, a timer circuit is used as the timer 154. However, the timer 154 may be implemented by software instead of hardware (timer circuit). The ECU150 can acquire the current time using a Real Time Clock (RTC) circuit (not shown) built in the ECU 150.

Vehicle 50 further includes travel driving unit 140, input device 160, notification device 170, communication device 180, and drive wheels W. The driving method of the vehicle 50 is not limited to the front-wheel drive shown in fig. 1, and may be a rear-wheel drive or a 4-wheel drive.

The travel driving Unit 140 includes a Power Control Unit (PCU) and a Motor Generator (MG), not shown, and is configured to travel the vehicle 50 using the electric Power stored in the battery 130. The PCU is configured to include, for example, a control device configured to include a processor, an inverter, a converter, and a relay (all not shown). Hereinafter, the Relay included in the PCU is referred to as "SMR (System Main Relay)". The PCU control device is configured to receive an instruction (control signal) from the ECU150 and control the inverter, converter, and SMR of the PCU in accordance with the instruction. The MG is, for example, a three-phase ac motor generator. The MG is configured to rotate the drive wheel W by being driven by the PCU. The MG is configured to perform regenerative power generation and supply the generated electric power to battery 130. The SMR is configured to switch connection/disconnection of a power path from the battery 130 to the PCU. The SMR is in a closed state (connected state) during running of the vehicle 50.

The input device 160 is a device that receives an input from a user. Input device 160 is operated by a user, and outputs a signal corresponding to the user operation to ECU 150. The communication means may be wired or wireless. Examples of the input device 160 include various switches, various pointing devices, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The input device 160 may be an operation unit of a car navigation system. The input device 160 may be a smart speaker that receives audio input.

When requested from ECU150, reporting device 170 is configured to perform a predetermined reporting process to a user (for example, an occupant of vehicle 50). The reporting device 170 may also include at least 1 of a display device (e.g., a touch panel display), a speaker, and a lamp (e.g., an MIL (fault warning lamp)). The reporting device 170 may also be an instrument panel, a heads-up display, or a vehicle navigation system.

The communication device 180 is configured to include various communication I/fs (interfaces). The Communication device 180 may also include a DCM (Data Communication Module). The communication device 180 may also include a communication I/F corresponding to 5G (5 th generation mobile communication system). ECU150 is configured to wirelessly communicate with a communication device outside vehicle 50 via communication device 180.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the power management system according to the embodiment. Referring to fig. 2, in this embodiment, a VGI (Vehicle Grid Integration) system 1 is constructed by the power system PG, the servers 10 and 30, the smart meter 11, the EVSEs 40A to 40D, the vehicles 50A to 50D, and the portable terminals 80A to 80D.

In fig. 2, the mobile terminals 80A to 80D correspond to mobile terminals that are portable by users of the vehicles 50A to 50D, respectively. Hereinafter, each of the mobile terminals 80A to 80D will be referred to as "the mobile terminal 80" unless otherwise stated. In this embodiment, a smartphone equipped with a touch panel display is used as each portable terminal 80. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any mobile terminal, tablet terminal, wearable device (for example, smart watch), electronic key, or the like can be used as each mobile terminal 80.

In fig. 2, 4 vehicles, mobile terminals, and EVSEs are shown, but the number of vehicles, mobile terminals, and EVSEs included in the VGI system 1 is arbitrary and may be 10 or more, or 100 or more. The VGI system 1 may include at least one of a vehicle owned by a Person (POV) and a MaaS (Mobility as a Service) vehicle. The MaaS vehicle is a vehicle managed by a MaaS operator. The VGI system 1 may include at least one of an unshared EVSE (e.g., a home-use EVSE) that can be used by only a specific user and a public EVSE that can be used by an unspecified number of users.

The vehicle 50A shown in fig. 2 is electrically connected to the EVSE 40A. In this embodiment, the EVSE40A is an AC charging device (e.g., a normal charger) that corresponds to a reverse current flow. However, the VGI system 1 may include a charging device that does not correspond to the backward flow, or may include a DC charging device (e.g., a rapid charger). By connecting to the charging receptacle 110 of the vehicle 50A through the connector 43 of the charging cable 42 connected with the EVSE40A, communication can be performed between the vehicle 50A and the EVSE40A, and exchange of electric power can be performed between the EVSE40A and the vehicle 50A. Thereby, the preparation for external charging and external power supply is completed. The communication device 180 mounted on the vehicle 50A is configured to communicate with the EVSE40A via the charging cable 42. The communication method between the EVSE40A and the vehicle 50A may be any communication method, and may be, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a PLC. The specification relating to communication between EVSE40A and vehicle 50A may be either ISO/IEC15118 or IEC 61851.

In a state where preparation for external charging is completed in vehicle 50 (for example, in a state of vehicle 50A shown in fig. 2), external charging is started when a start condition for external charging is satisfied. In this embodiment, the external charging start condition is satisfied when the start time of timer charging reserved in ECU150 arrives. In addition, when neither timer charging nor DR participation (described in detail later) is reserved in the ECU150, the immediate charging start condition is satisfied when the connector 43 of the charging cable 42 connected to the EVSE40 is connected to the charging inlet 110 of the vehicle 50. The immediate charging is external charging that is started immediately when the preparation for external charging in the vehicle 50 is completed. Further, the external charging start condition is also established when a predetermined charging start operation is performed on the EVSE40 or the vehicle 50 by the user. The charging start operation can be arbitrarily set. The charge start operation may be an operation in which the user presses a predetermined button, for example. During a DR period described later, external charging is performed by remote operation of the vehicle 50 using the server 30 (see fig. 4 and 11).

In a state where preparation for external power feeding is completed in vehicle 50 (for example, in a state of vehicle 50A shown in fig. 2), when a start condition for external power feeding is satisfied, external power feeding is started. The start condition of the external power supply is established, for example, when a predetermined power supply start operation is performed by the user with respect to the EVSE40 or the vehicle 50. The power supply start operation can be arbitrarily set. The power supply start operation may be an operation in which the user presses a predetermined button, for example. In the DR period described later, external power supply is performed by remote operation of the vehicle 50 using the server 30 (see fig. 4 and 11).

The power supply circuit 41 built in the EVSE40A is electrically connected to the power system PG via the smart meter 11. For example, battery 130 is externally charged by supplying electric power from power system PG to vehicle 50A via power supply circuit 41 and charging cable 42. Further, by the vehicle 50A supplying power to the EVSE40A from the outside, the power can be reversely flowed from the vehicle 50A to the power grid PG via the charging cable 42 and the power supply circuit 41. The power supply circuit 41 converts the electric power supplied from the power system PG into electric power suitable for external charging, and converts the electric power supplied from the vehicle 50A into electric power suitable for a backward flow.

The smart meter 11 is configured to measure the amount of electric power supplied from the EVSE40A to the vehicle 50A. The smart meter 11 is also configured to measure the amount of power flowing backward from the vehicle 50A to the EVSE 40A. The smart meter 11 is configured to measure the power usage every time a predetermined time elapses (for example, every time 30 minutes elapses), store the measured power usage, and transmit it to the server 10. As a communication protocol between the smart meter 11 and the server 10, for example, IEC (DLMS/COSEM) can be adopted. In addition, the server 10 transmits the measurement value of the smart meter 11 to the server 30 at any time. The server 10 may transmit the request periodically or may transmit the request in response to a request from the server 30.

The communication device 180 mounted on each vehicle 50 included in the VGI system 1 is configured to wirelessly communicate with the server 30 via a mobile communication network (telematics), for example. Signals exchanged between communication device 180 and server 30 may also be encrypted. Further, in this embodiment, the communication device 180 mounted on the vehicle 50A and the mobile terminal 80A are configured to perform wireless communication with each other. The ECU150 can control the mobile terminal 80A by wireless communication and cause the mobile terminal 80A to make a report for the user. The communication between the communication device 180 and the portable terminal 80A may be short-range communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) (for example, direct communication in the vehicle and in the range around the vehicle).

The mobile terminal 80 is installed with predetermined application software (hereinafter, abbreviated as "APP"). The portable terminal 80 is carried by the user of the vehicle 50 and can exchange information with the server 30 via the APP described above. The user can operate the APP via a touch panel display (not shown) of the mobile terminal 80, for example. The touch panel display of the portable terminal 80 is configured to be able to report to the user of the vehicle 50.

In this embodiment, the VGI system 1 functions as a VPP (virtual power plant). The VPP is a structure that collects a large amount of Distributed Energy Resources (hereinafter, also referred to as "DER (Distributed Energy Resources)") by using a high-performance Energy management technology of IoT (internet of things), and remotely/integrally controls the DER, just like 1 power plant functions. An example of DER is energy Resources (hereinafter also referred to as "DSR (Demand Side Resources)") held by each consumer. In the VGI system 1, an electrically powered vehicle (i.e., a vehicle 50 shown in fig. 1) provided with a power storage device is used as DSR for realizing VPP.

In a VPP, the power operator that concentrates DER to provide energy management services is also referred to as an "integrator". The utility company can adjust the supply-demand balance of electric power using a demand response (hereinafter also referred to as "DR"), for example, by cooperating with an integrator. DR is a method of adjusting the balance between supply and demand of electric power by making a predetermined request to each demand side by a demand response signal (hereinafter also referred to as "DR signal"). The DR signal is roughly classified into 2 types, i.e., a DR signal requesting suppression of a power demand or a backward flow (hereinafter, also referred to as a "reduced DR signal") and a DR signal requesting an increase in a power demand (hereinafter, also referred to as an "increased DR signal").

The server 10 is a server belonging to a power transmission and distribution operator. In this embodiment, the power company serves as both a power generation operator and a distribution operator. The electric power company constructs an electric power grid (i.e., an electric power grid PG) by a power plant and a distribution facility (not shown), and maintains and manages the server 10, the smart meters 11, the EVSEs 40A to 40D, and the electric power grid PG. An electric power company can obtain benefits by, for example, conducting a transaction with a demander (e.g., an individual or a company) who uses electric power. In this embodiment, the power company corresponds to a system operator who operates the power system PG. The power system PG according to this embodiment corresponds to an example of the "power grid" according to the present disclosure.

The server 30 is configured to be able to communicate with each of the server 10, the vehicles 50A to 50D, and the portable terminals 80A to 80D. The server 30 is a server belonging to the integrator. The server 10 and the server 30 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a VPN (Virtual Private Network), for example. The communication protocol of server 10 and server 30 may also be OpenADR. In this embodiment, the terminal of the integrator (for example, the server 30) is configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal of the electric power company (for example, the server 10) and the terminal of the vehicle user (for example, the communication device 180 and the portable terminal 80). However, the VGI system 1 is not limited to this, and may include a server for contacting a power company and a server for contacting a vehicle user. These servers may also be managed by different electricity operators (e.g., upper/lower integrators).

The server 30 includes a control device 31, a storage device 32, and a communication device 33. The control device 31 includes a processor configured to perform predetermined information processing and control the communication device 33. The storage device 32 is configured to be able to store various information. The communication device 33 includes various communication I/fs. The control device 31 is configured to communicate with the outside via the communication device 33.

The server 10 is configured to perform power equalization by DR (demand response). When the server 10 performs power equalization, first, a signal requesting participation in DR (hereinafter also referred to as "DR participation request") is transmitted to each of the plurality of integrator servers (including the server 30). The DR participation request includes an area to be subjected to DR, a type of DR (for example, DR decrease or DR increase), and a DR period. The DR period is information indicating a DR start time and a DR end time. The server 30 is configured to determine DR available energy (i.e., an amount of power that can be adjusted according to DR) and transmit the DR available energy to the server 10 when receiving a DR participation request from the server 10. The server 30 can determine the DR available energy from the total DR capacity of each requesting party in the jurisdiction, for example. The DR capacity is a capacity that the demand side secures for DR.

The server 10 determines the DR amount for each of the integrators (i.e., the power adjustment amount requested to the integrator) based on the DR available amount received from each of the integrator servers, and transmits a signal (hereinafter, also referred to as "DR execution instruction") indicating DR execution to each of the integrator servers (including the server 30). The DR execution instruction includes an area to be subjected to DR, a type of DR (for example, DR reduction or DR increase), a DR amount for an integrator, and a DR duration. Upon receiving the DR execution instruction, the server 30 allocates the DR amount to each of the plurality of vehicles 50 capable of handling DR in the jurisdiction, creates a DR signal for each vehicle, and transmits the DR signal to each vehicle 50. The DR signal may be a price signal that urges the user of the vehicle 50 to adjust the supply and demand, or may be a charging command or a power supply command for the server 30 to directly control the vehicle 50. The price signal may also include the type of DR (e.g., decrease DR or increase DR), the amount of DR for the vehicle 50, the DR duration, and incentive information. The price signal may be transmitted to the portable terminal 80 instead of or in addition to the vehicle 50. When the vehicle 50 permits the remote operation (for example, scheduling using the server 30), the vehicle 50 can be directly controlled by transmitting a charging command or a power supply command to the vehicle 50 through the server 30.

The electric power company can request the user of vehicle 50 to adjust the supply and demand of electric power system PG by transmitting the DR signal. As described above, the DR signal is sometimes transmitted from the server 30 to the vehicle 50 in accordance with the DR execution instruction. In addition, a DR signal may be transmitted from the server 30 to the vehicle 50 based on the electric power market information. The ECU150 is configured to receive a DR signal from outside the vehicle via the communication device 180. In addition, the user of the vehicle 50 may receive the DR signal through the portable terminal 80. When the ECU150 and/or the portable terminal 80 receive the DR signal, the user of the vehicle 50 can use the EVSE40 and the vehicle 50 to perform external charging or external power supply in accordance with the DR signal, thereby contributing to the adjustment of the supply and demand of the power system PG requested by the power operator (e.g., an electric power company or an integrator). In this embodiment, when the user of the vehicle 50 contributes to the supply and demand adjustment of the power system PG requested by the power operator, an incentive corresponding to the amount of contribution is paid from the power operator to the user of the vehicle 50 in accordance with the agreement between the user of the vehicle 50 and the power operator. The contribution amount is equivalent to, for example, an amount of electric power adjusted by external charging or external power supply in accordance with the DR signal. In this embodiment, the contribution amount is measured by the smart meter 11.

The method of measuring the above-described contribution amount by the power operator is not limited to the method of measuring with the smart meter 11. The electric power provider may also obtain the above contribution amount using a measurement value of an electric power meter (not shown) built in the EVSE 40. The electric power company may obtain the contribution amount using a measurement value of a sensor mounted on the vehicle 50. The portable charging cable may have a meter function, and the electric power operator may determine the contribution amount from the electric power amount measured by the charging cable.

In this embodiment, communication is not performed between the server 30 and the EVSE40, but the server 30 and the EVSE40 may be configured to be communicable with each other. The server 30 may be configured to communicate with the vehicle 50 via the EVSE 40. The EVSE40 may be configured to be able to communicate with an EVSE management cloud. The communication Protocol between the EVSE40 and the EVSE management cloud may be OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol).

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of ECU150 of vehicle 50 and server 30. The server 30 according to the present embodiment has the configuration described below, and can adjust the supply and demand of the power grid PG (power grid) and suppress a decrease in the life of the battery 130 (power storage device) provided in each of the plurality of vehicles 50 (electric vehicles) as a whole. The server 30 according to this embodiment corresponds to an example of the "power management device" according to the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 3, ECU150 includes an information management unit 501 and a charge/discharge control unit 502. In the ECU150 according to the present embodiment, the processor 151 shown in fig. 1 and a program executed by the processor 151 (for example, a program stored in the storage device 153) embody the above-described respective components. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the above-described parts may be implemented by dedicated hardware (electronic circuit).

The information management unit 501 is configured to acquire the state of the vehicle 50 using the outputs of various sensors mounted on the vehicle 50, and to record the acquired vehicle state in the storage device 153. The vehicle state acquired by the information management unit 501 includes, for example, the outdoor air temperature, the charging power, the feeding power, the temperature of the battery 130, and the SOC of the battery 130. The outdoor air temperature is detected by an outdoor air temperature sensor (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 50. Information management unit 501 obtains the temperature of battery 130 based on the output of monitoring module 131. Hereinafter, the temperature of battery 130 acquired by information management unit 501 and recorded in storage device 153 is referred to as "battery temperature". The monitoring module 131 monitors the temperature of each cell included in the secondary battery 130 (battery pack). In this embodiment, the average value of the temperatures detected with respect to the respective cells of the battery 130 is used as the battery temperature. However, the average value is not limited to this, and other representative values such as the maximum value or the minimum value may be used instead of the average value. Further, information management unit 501 obtains the SOC of battery 130 based on the output of monitoring module 131. Hereinafter, the SOC of battery 130 acquired by information management unit 501 and recorded in storage device 153 is referred to as "B-SOC". The information management unit 501 can measure the SOC of each cell included in the battery 130 (battery pack) by a known method. As a method for measuring SOC, for example, a method such as a current integration method or an OCV estimation method can be used. In this embodiment, the average value of the SOCs detected with respect to the respective cells of battery 130 is used as the B-SOC. However, the average value is not limited to this, and other representative values such as the maximum value or the minimum value may be used instead of the average value. The battery temperature and the B-SOC in the present embodiment correspond to an example of "temperature of the power storage device" and "SOC of the power storage device" in the present disclosure, respectively.

The information management unit 501 is configured to transmit the vehicle state (including the battery temperature and the B-SOC) acquired as described above to the server 30. The information management unit 501 transmits the vehicle state data stored in the storage device 153 to the server 30 at a predetermined timing (for example, at the end of traveling of the vehicle 50 or at the time of connection of the charging connector). In this embodiment, the server 30 acquires the battery temperature and the B-SOC transmitted from each vehicle 50 as needed. This acquisition process corresponds to an example of "step 1".

Charge/discharge control unit 502 is configured to control charge/discharge of battery 130 by controlling charge/discharge device 120. When the above-described external charging start condition is satisfied in a state where the preparation for external charging is completed, charge/discharge control unit 502 starts external charging. When the above-described external power supply start condition is satisfied in a state where the preparation for external power supply is completed, the charge/discharge control unit 502 starts external power supply. In this embodiment, during the DR period, the charge/discharge control unit 502 is remotely operated by the server 30. The remote operation of charge/discharge control unit 502 is basically prohibited, but when the user of vehicle 50 approves a request (for example, a charging request or a power supply request described later) from server 30, the remote operation of charge/discharge control unit 502 is permitted.

In this embodiment, the user can set on/off of cooling during charging and on/off of cooling during power feeding to the charge/discharge control unit 502 via the input device 160 or the mobile terminal 80. Further, on/off settings of the charging cooling and the power supply cooling in the charge/discharge control unit 502 are changed in accordance with a DR setting signal (see S16 in fig. 4) to be described later. When the cooling on at the time of charging is set, and when the temperature of battery 130 (for example, the average value of the cell temperatures) exceeds a predetermined temperature at the time point when external charging is started, charge/discharge control unit 502 operates cooling device 132 until the temperature of battery 130 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, and cools battery 130. When power supply cooling on is set, charge/discharge control unit 502 also performs cooling control of battery 130 in the same manner as the above-described charge cooling. That is, when the temperature of battery 130 (for example, the average value of the cell temperatures) exceeds a predetermined temperature at the time point when external power supply is started, charge/discharge control unit 502 operates cooling device 132 to cool battery 130 until the temperature of battery 130 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature. When the temperature of battery 130 rises and exceeds a predetermined temperature during charging or power feeding, battery 130 may be cooled again. The threshold value of the temperature may be delayed in order to suppress repetition (hunting) of execution/non-execution of cooling. On the other hand, when the charge-time cooling off is set in charge/discharge control unit 502, the cooling is not performed at the time of starting external charging. When the cooling off at the time of power supply is set in charge/discharge control unit 502, the cooling is not performed at the time of starting external power supply.

The server 30 includes an information management unit 301, a selection unit 302, a request unit 303, and an exclusion unit 304. In the server 30 according to this embodiment, the above-described components are embodied by a processor of the control device 31 shown in fig. 2 and a program executed by the processor (for example, a program stored in the storage device 32). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the above-described parts may be implemented by dedicated hardware (electronic circuit).

The server 30 is configured to manage user information (information of each user registered in the server 30) and vehicle information (information of each vehicle 50 registered in the server 30). A user ID (identification information for identifying a user) is given to each user, and the server 30 manages user information with the user ID in distinction. The user ID also functions as a terminal ID (information for identifying the portable terminal 80 that the user carries). The user information includes the communication address of the portable terminal 80 that the user carries, and the vehicle ID of the vehicle 50 that belongs to the user. The vehicle ID is identification information for identifying the vehicle 50. The server 30 gives a vehicle ID to each vehicle 50, and manages vehicle information with the vehicle ID in distinction. The vehicle information includes a communication address of the communication device 180 mounted on the vehicle 50 and a vehicle state (including a battery temperature and a B-SOC) received from each vehicle 50. The user information and the vehicle information are stored in the storage device 32.

The vehicle information also includes a DR period (e.g., a charging schedule, a power supply schedule, and a charging suppression schedule requested to the vehicle 50 with the DR signal). The charging schedule is information indicating a period during which charging is performed (i.e., a charging start time and a charging end time). The power feeding schedule is information indicating a period during which power feeding is performed (i.e., a power feeding start time and a power feeding end time). The charge inhibition schedule is information indicating a period during which charging is to be limited (i.e., a limitation start time and a limitation end time). Examples of the charge restriction include prohibition of execution of charge and limitation of charge power (i.e., prohibition of charge of a predetermined power or more). When the requesting unit 303 transmits a signal requesting adjustment of the supply and demand of the power system PG to the user of the vehicle 50 (S13 in fig. 4 described later) and the user is authorized to participate in DR, the information management unit 301 updates the DR period associated with the user (more specifically, the vehicle ID of the vehicle 50 belonging to the user). The vehicle 50 in which the DR period is set corresponds to a DR vehicle described later.

The user information may also include incentive acquirements. The incentive earning amount is an amount of incentives the user takes in to earn through DR during a predetermined period.

The selection unit 302 is configured to select a predetermined target number of vehicles 50 from the vehicle group. The vehicle groups are stored to the storage device 32 and updated at any time. The predetermined target number is the number of units that can secure the requested DR amount (i.e., the power adjustment amount). In this embodiment, the vehicle 50 that can participate in DR is selected by the selection unit 302. Hereinafter, the vehicle 50 selected by the selection unit 302 is referred to as a "DR vehicle". The vehicle group corresponds to a candidate of the DR vehicle. Initially, for example, all the vehicles 50 in the area to be subjected to DR are set as a vehicle group. However, each vehicle 50 included in the vehicle group can be excluded from the vehicle group by the exclusion unit 304. The excluding unit 304 is configured to exclude the vehicle 50 satisfying a predetermined exclusion requirement from the vehicle group. The vehicle 50 that is not suitable for the request (e.g., the vehicle 50 for which the user refuses the request) can be excluded from the vehicle group by the exclusion section 304.

The requesting unit 303 is configured to be able to request, for each DR vehicle selected by the selecting unit 302, the execution of electric power charging for the storage battery 130 using the electric power system PG, the execution of electric power feeding for the electric power system PG using the electric power of the storage battery 130, and the above-described charging restriction. Hereinafter, the request for the execution of the charging described above by the request unit 303 is simply referred to as a "charging request". The request for execution of the power supply by the requesting unit 303 is simply referred to as a "power supply request". The request for the charge limitation by the use requesting unit 303 is simply referred to as a "charge limitation request".

The request unit 303 is configured to adjust the supply and demand of the power grid PG by making a charging request, a power supply request, or a charging restriction request. In this embodiment, a charging request and a power supply request are mainly described. The requesting unit 303 may be configured to request either one of the execution of the charging and the execution of the power supply, and the requesting unit 303 does not necessarily have to be configured to request the charging restriction.

The storage device 32 also stores charging priority information and power supply priority information. The charging priority information is information that determines the priority when the vehicle 50 is selected for the charging request. When selecting the vehicle 50 for the charge request, the selection unit 302 selects the target number of vehicles 50 in accordance with the priority indicated by the charge priority information. The power supply priority information is information for determining the priority when the vehicle 50 is selected for the power supply request. When the vehicle 50 is selected for the power supply request, the selection unit 302 selects the target number of vehicles 50 in accordance with the priority indicated by the power supply priority information. The charging priority information and the power feeding priority information are described in detail below (see fig. 5 and 6). The charging priority information and the power feeding priority information according to the present embodiment correspond to examples of "1 st priority information" and "2 nd priority information" according to the present disclosure, respectively. The storage device 32 according to this embodiment corresponds to an example of each of the "1 st storage unit" and the "2 nd storage unit" according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the server 30 makes a charging request or a power supply request. The process shown in the flowchart starts when the integrator is requested to adjust the supply and demand of the power system PG from the power company or the power market. For example, the server 30 receives the DR execution instruction from the server 10, and starts the processing shown in fig. 4. However, the processing shown in fig. 4 may be started by the integrator instructing the server 30 to execute processing related to DR (for example, selection of a DR vehicle and transmission of a DR signal) via a predetermined input device (not shown).

Referring to fig. 4 together with fig. 1 to 3, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as "S") 11, the selection unit 302 acquires the content of power adjustment (for example, the content of DR execution instruction). The contents of the power adjustment include the type of DR (for example, a charging request or a power supply request), the power adjustment amount, the region to be subjected to DR, and the DR period.

In S12, the selection unit 302 selects a DR vehicle for the charge request or the power supply request from the vehicle group (the DR vehicle candidate). S12 in this embodiment corresponds to an example of "step 2". The vehicle group is initially (i.e., at the start of the series of processing shown in fig. 4) all vehicles 50 in the area to be subjected to DR. However, the vehicle 50 satisfying the predetermined exclusion requirement can be excluded from the vehicle group (for example, refer to S15 described later). Even if all the vehicles 50 included in the vehicle group are selected, the server 30 reports that the adjustment amount of the electric power requested from the electric power company or the electric power market cannot be satisfied, and terminates the process. That is, the processing described below is executed on the premise that the vehicle group can satisfy the power adjustment amount requested from the electric power company or the electric power market.

When the type of DR is a charge request, the selection unit 302 selects a DR vehicle for the charge request (hereinafter also referred to as "DR increase vehicle") in S12. When the type of DR is the power supply request, the selection unit 302 selects a DR vehicle for the power supply request (hereinafter also referred to as "DR reduction vehicle") in S12. In this embodiment, the selection unit 302 refers to the charge priority information to select the DR-increasing vehicle, and the selection unit 302 refers to the power supply priority information to select the DR-decreasing vehicle. Next, charging priority information and power feeding priority information according to this embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. The charging priority information and the power supply priority information include the division information shown in fig. 5 and the prioritization information shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of classification information for classifying the vehicles 50 included in the vehicle group. Referring to fig. 5, the division information determines a plurality of divisions (for example, divisions a to D) by the battery temperature and the B-SOC. The division a is a division in which the B-SOC is lower than a predetermined threshold value Th1, and the battery temperature is lower than a predetermined threshold value Th 2. The division B is a division in which the B-SOC is lower than the threshold Th1, and the battery temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold Th 2. The division C is a division in which the B-SOC is above the threshold Th1, and the battery temperature is below the threshold Th 2. The division D is a division in which the B-SOC is the threshold Th1 or more, and the battery temperature is the threshold Th2 or more. The threshold values Th1 and Th2 can be set arbitrarily. In this embodiment, the threshold Th1 is set to 50% and the threshold Th2 is set to 40 ℃. The partition a, the partition B, the partition C, and the partition D according to the present embodiment correspond to examples of "the 1 st partition", "the 2 nd partition", "the 3 rd partition", and "the 4 th partition" according to the present disclosure, respectively. The threshold values Th1 and Th2 according to this embodiment correspond to examples of the "1 st threshold value" and "2 nd threshold value" according to the present disclosure, respectively.

Selection unit 302 refers to the vehicle information stored in storage device 32, and acquires the battery temperature and B-SOC of each vehicle 50 included in the vehicle group. Then, the selection unit 302 refers to the division information and classifies each vehicle 50 included in the vehicle group into a division (any one of the divisions a to D) corresponding to the battery temperature and the B-SOC.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the priority information included in the charging priority information and the power supply priority information. Referring to fig. 6, the priority information of the charging priority information determines the priority in the order of division a, division B, division C, and division D. That is, the charging priority information is divided into a to D priorities, for example, 1 bit to 4 bits. In this way, with respect to the charge priority information, the priorities of the divisions a to D are determined so that the division (division A, B) with the lower B-SOC gives higher priority and the division (division A, C) with the lower battery temperature gives higher priority. On the other hand, the priority information of the power supply priority information determines the priority in the order of division D, division C, division B, and division a. That is, in the power supply priority information, the priorities of the divisions a to D are determined for 4 bits to 1 bit, respectively. In this way, with regard to the power supply priority information, the priority of each division is determined so that the higher the B-SOC, the higher the division (division C, D), and the higher the battery temperature, the higher the division (division B, D), with respect to the divisions a to D.

In this embodiment, the charging priority information and the power supply priority information use common classification information, but classification information included in the charging priority information and classification information included in the power supply priority information may be different. For example, boundary values (for example, threshold values Th1 and Th2) of the division information included in the charging priority information and the division information included in the power feeding priority information may be different from each other.

When selecting the DR-added vehicle, the selection unit 302 selects the electric-powered vehicle (vehicle 50) from the vehicle group in descending order of priority in accordance with the priority of each division determined by the division information (see fig. 5) of the charge priority information. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the processing performed by the server 30 in S12 of fig. 4 when the addition of the DR vehicle is selected.

Referring to fig. 7 together with fig. 1 to 6, in S21, the selection unit 302 selects a DR-added vehicle from the vehicles 50 belonging to the highest-priority class a (see fig. 5 and 6) in the vehicle group. Thereafter, the selection unit 302 determines in S22 whether or not the number of DR vehicles increased by only the selection from the division a reaches the target number. Hereinafter, each vehicle 50 belonging to the division a in the vehicle group is also referred to as "candidate a".

If the number of candidates a is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects an increasing DR vehicle of the target number from the candidates a in S21. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 DR-added vehicles from the candidates a, and ends the selection when the number of DR-added vehicles reaches the target number. The selection unit 302 may acquire an integrated value of chargeable power of each DR-added vehicle every time 1 DR-added vehicle is newly selected, and determine that the number of DR-added vehicles has reached the target number when the acquired integrated value of power reaches the target power (power adjustment amount). If the DR vehicle whose target number is to be increased is selected through the process of S21 (yes in S22), the process returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 of fig. 4.

If the number of DR vehicles increased by only the selection of the division a does not reach the target number (no in S22), all of the candidates a are selected in S21, and the process proceeds to S23. In S23, the selection unit 302 selects the DR increasing vehicle from the vehicles 50 belonging to the 2 nd highest-priority class B (see fig. 5 and 6) in the vehicle group. Thereafter, the selection unit 302 determines in S24 whether or not the number of DR vehicles increased by the selection from the partitions a and B reaches the target number. Hereinafter, each vehicle 50 belonging to the division B in the vehicle group is also referred to as "candidate B".

If the total number of candidates a and B is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects the DR increasing vehicle from the candidate B until the number of DR increasing vehicles reaches the target number in S23. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 vehicle with increased DR from the candidates B and selects 1 vehicle. The DR-increasing vehicles (candidate B) selected in S23 are added to the DR-increasing vehicles (all of candidate a) selected in S21. Then, when the total number of the DR vehicles is increased to the target number, the selection unit 302 terminates the selection. If the DR vehicle whose target number is to be increased is selected through the processing of S21 and S23 (yes in S24), the processing returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 of fig. 4.

If the number of DR vehicles increased by the selection of the partitions a and B does not reach the target number (no in S24), all of the candidates a and B are selected in S21 and S23, and the process proceeds to S25. In S25, the selection unit 302 selects the DR increasing vehicle from the vehicles 50 belonging to the 3 rd highest-priority classification C (see fig. 5 and 6) in the vehicle group. Then, in S26, selection unit 302 determines whether or not the number of DR vehicles increased by the selection from division A, B and C reaches the target number. Hereinafter, each vehicle 50 belonging to the division C in the vehicle group is also referred to as "candidate C".

If the total number of candidates A, B and C is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects an increased DR vehicle from the candidate C until the number of increased DR vehicles reaches the target number in S25. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 vehicle with an increased DR from the candidates C. The DR-increasing vehicle selected in S25 (candidate C) is added to the DR-increasing vehicles selected in S21 and S23 (all of candidates a and B). Then, when the total number of the DR vehicles is increased to the target number, the selection unit 302 terminates the selection. If the DR vehicle whose target number is to be increased is selected through the processing of S21, S23, and S25 (yes in S26), the processing returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 in fig. 4.

If the number of DR vehicles increased by the selection of the division A, B and C does not reach the target number (no in S26), all of candidates A, B and C are selected in S21, S23, and S25, and the process proceeds to S27. In S27, the selection unit 302 selects the remaining DR added vehicles from the vehicles 50 belonging to the division D (see fig. 5 and 6) having the lowest priority in the vehicle group. Hereinafter, each vehicle 50 belonging to the division D in the vehicle group is also referred to as a "candidate D".

In S27, an increasing DR vehicle whose number of targets is insufficient is selected from the candidates D. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 vehicle with an increased DR from the candidates D. The DR-increasing vehicle selected in S27 (candidate D) is added to the DR-increasing vehicles selected in S21, S23, and S25 (all of candidates A, B and C). Then, when the total number of the DR vehicles is increased to the target number, the selection unit 302 terminates the selection. After that, the process returns to the main routine (fig. 4), and proceeds to S13 of fig. 4.

In the processing shown in fig. 7, the vehicle with increased DR is randomly selected in each of the divisions a to D. However, the priority order may be set in each division without being limited thereto. For example, the vehicles 50 having a low B-SOC may be selected in each division in sequence. In addition, the priority order may be set as shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a modification of the charging priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6. The numbers in fig. 8 indicate the priority order of the respective areas. In the example shown in fig. 8, each of the partitions a to D is further divided into 4 regions, and the priority order is set for each region. In other words, the priority order is set for each division obtained by 16 divisions of the battery temperature and the B-SOC. In the example shown in fig. 8, the priority order for each zone is determined so that the lower the B-SOC, the higher the priority order, and the lower the battery temperature, the higher the priority order, in each of the divisions a to D.

When selecting the DR-reduction vehicle, the selection unit 302 selects the electric vehicle (vehicle 50) from the vehicle group in descending order of priority in accordance with the priority of each division determined by the division information (see fig. 5) of the electric power supply priority information. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing details of the processing performed by the server 30 in S12 of fig. 4 when the DR-reduced vehicle is selected.

Referring to fig. 9 together with fig. 1 to 6, in S31, the selection unit 302 selects a DR-reduced vehicle from the candidate D (see fig. 5 and 6) having the highest priority in the vehicle group. Thereafter, the selection unit 302 determines in S32 whether or not the number of DR vehicles reduced by only the selection from the division D reaches the target number.

If the number of candidates D is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects a DR vehicle whose target number is decreased from the candidate D in S31. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle from the candidates D, and ends the selection when the number of DR-reduced vehicles reaches the target number. The selection unit 302 may acquire an integrated value of the power suppliable by each of the DR-reduction vehicles every time a new 1 of the DR-reduction vehicles is selected, and determine that the number of the DR-reduction vehicles has reached the target number when the acquired integrated value of the power reaches the target power (power adjustment amount). If the DR-reduced vehicle of the target number is selected in S31 (yes in S32), the process returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 in fig. 4.

If the number of DR vehicles reduced by the selection of only the division D does not reach the target number (no in S32), all of the candidates D are selected in S31, and the process proceeds to S33. In S33, the selection unit 302 selects a DR-reduced vehicle from the 2 nd highest candidate C (see fig. 5 and 6) in the vehicle group. Thereafter, the selection unit 302 determines in S34 whether or not the number of DR vehicles reduced by the selection from the partitions D and C reaches the target number.

If the total number of candidates D and C is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects the DR-reduced vehicle from the candidate C until the number of DR-reduced vehicles reaches the target number in S33. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle from the candidates C and selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle. The DR-reduced vehicles selected in S33 (candidate C) are added to the DR-reduced vehicles selected in S31 (all of candidates D). Then, when the total number of DR vehicles decreased reaches the target number, the selection unit 302 ends the selection. If the DR-reduced vehicle of the target number is selected through the processing of S31 and S33 (yes in S34), the processing returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 of fig. 4.

If the number of DR vehicles is reduced by the selection of the segments D and C and the target number is not reached (no in S34), all of the candidates D and C are selected in S31 and S33, and the process proceeds to S35. In S35, the selection unit 302 selects a DR-reduced vehicle from the 3 rd highest candidate B (see fig. 5 and 6) in the vehicle group. Then, in S36, selection unit 302 determines whether or not the number of DR vehicles reduced by the selection from partition D, C and B reaches the target number.

If the total number of candidates D, C and B is equal to or greater than the target number, the selection unit 302 selects a DR-reduced vehicle from the candidate B until the number of DR-reduced vehicles reaches the target number in S35. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle from the candidates B and selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle. The DR-reduced vehicle (candidate B) selected in S35 is added to the DR-reduced vehicles (all of candidates D and C) selected in S31 and S33. Then, when the total number of DR vehicles decreased reaches the target number, the selection unit 302 ends the selection. If the target number of DR-reduced vehicles is selected through the processing of S31, S33, and S35 (yes in S36), the processing returns to the main routine (fig. 4) and proceeds to S13 in fig. 4.

If the number of reduced DR vehicles does not reach the target number by selection of the division D, C and B (no in S36), all of the candidates D, C and B are selected in S31, S33, and S35, and the process proceeds to S37. In S37, the selection unit 302 selects the remaining DR-reduced vehicles from the candidate a (see fig. 5 and 6) with the lowest priority in the vehicle group.

In S37, a DR-reduced vehicle with a shortage of the number of targets is selected from candidate a. For example, the selection unit 302 randomly selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle from the candidates a and selects 1 DR-reduced vehicle. The DR-reduced vehicle selected in S37 (candidate a) is added to the DR-reduced vehicles selected in S31, S33, and S35 (all of candidates D, C and B). Then, when the total number of DR vehicles decreased reaches the target number, the selection unit 302 ends the selection. After that, the process returns to the main routine (fig. 4), and proceeds to S13 of fig. 4.

In the processing shown in fig. 9, the selection of the DR-reduced vehicle is performed randomly in each of the divisions a to D. However, the priority order may be set in each division without being limited thereto. For example, the vehicles 50 having high B-SOCs may be selected in order in each division. In addition, the priority order may be set as shown in fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a modification of the power supply priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6. The numbers in fig. 10 indicate the priority order of the respective areas. In the example shown in fig. 10, each of the partitions a to D is further divided into 4 regions, and the priority order is set for each region. In other words, the priority order is set for each division obtained by 16 divisions of the battery temperature and the B-SOC. In the example shown in fig. 10, the priority order for each zone is determined so that the higher the B-SOC, the higher the priority order for the zone, and the higher the battery temperature, the higher the priority order for the zone in each of the divisions a to D.

Referring again to fig. 4 together with fig. 1 to 3, in S13, request unit 303 makes a charging request or a power supply request for the DR vehicle selected in S12. More specifically, the request unit 303 transmits information indicating the type of DR (for example, a charging request or a power supply request), the power adjustment amount, and the DR period to the user of each DR vehicle, and also provides a reply (response) to the user request whether or not to approve the request. The request from the request unit 303 to the user may be transmitted to the communication device 180 mounted on the DR vehicle, or may be transmitted to the portable terminal 80 carried by the user of the DR vehicle. In this embodiment, the DR periods of the DR vehicles are the same. However, the DR time period is not limited to this, and may be set for each DR vehicle with a shift.

At S14, the excluding unit 304 determines whether or not the user of all DR vehicles has an answer to the effect that the request is approved. This determination is performed, for example, at the timing when answers are received from all users or at the timing when a predetermined time has elapsed since the request. In this embodiment, a user who has not transmitted a reply after a predetermined time has elapsed since a request is treated in the same manner as a user who has made a reply to the effect that the request is not approved.

If it is determined as no in S14 (any user does not approve the request), the exclusion unit 304 excludes the vehicle 50 belonging to the user who does not approve the request from the vehicle group (candidate of DR vehicle) in S15. After that, the process returns to S12. The vehicle 50 excluded in S15 becomes unselected in S12.

If it is determined as yes in S14 (all users approve the request), the requesting unit 303 stores the DR vehicle and the DR period associated with the approved request in the storage device 32 and transmits a DR setting signal to each DR vehicle in S16. The DR setting signal is a signal for requesting each DR vehicle to perform control in accordance with the request during the DR period. In this embodiment, the DR setting signal requests the cooling device 132 to lower the temperature of battery 130 to a predetermined temperature or lower for each DR vehicle in addition to the charging control or the power supply control according to the request. When each DR vehicle receives the DR setting signal, the DR vehicle's setting in the DR period is set to the setting indicated by the DR setting signal. In this embodiment, the DR setting signal permits remote operation of the charge/discharge control unit 502 instructed by the server 30, and the cooling of the battery 130 by the charge/discharge control unit 502 (cooling during charging or cooling during power supply) is set to on.

After the process of S16, the requesting part 303 waits for the start of the DR period relating to the approved request in S17. After the start timing of the DR period is reached (yes in S17), the request unit 303 transmits a DR signal to each DR vehicle in S18. The DR signal is a charging command or a power supply command for remotely operating the charge/discharge control unit 502 of the DR vehicle. By remotely controlling the charge/discharge control unit 502 of each DR vehicle by the DR signal, the charge control or the power supply control in accordance with the request (the charge request or the power supply request) is executed in each DR vehicle. S18 in this embodiment corresponds to an example of "step 3". Then, the requesting unit 303 determines in S19 whether or not the DR period has ended. In the DR period, the determination of S17 is yes and the determination of S19 is no, and the request unit 303 continues to transmit the DR signal to each DR vehicle. Then, after the end timing of the DR period is reached (yes in S19), the series of processing shown in fig. 4 is ended.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing a process performed by each DR vehicle that approves the above request from the server 30. In the DR period associated with the request, the process shown in the flowchart is repeatedly executed by the ECU150 of each DR vehicle. After the DR period has elapsed, the series of processing shown in fig. 11 is ended, and the DR vehicle becomes a non-DR vehicle (i.e., the vehicle 50 that is not the DR vehicle).

Referring to fig. 11 together with fig. 1 to 3, the charge/discharge control unit 502 of the DR vehicle waits for a command for charge/discharge control (i.e., the charge command or the power supply command) from the server 30 in S41. When receiving the command from the server 30 (yes in S41), the charge/discharge control unit 502 controls the charge/discharge of the battery 130 in accordance with the command in S42. While ECU150 continues to receive the command from server 30, the processing at S41 and S42 is repeated. The server 30 transmits a DR signal (i.e., the command for the charge and discharge control) to the DR vehicle during the DR period (see S18 in fig. 4).

After the process at S42, charge/discharge control unit 502 determines at S43 whether or not the temperature of battery 130 (for example, the average value of the cell temperatures) is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature. When the temperature of battery 130 exceeds the predetermined temperature (no in S43), charge/discharge controller 502 controls cooling device 132 to cool battery 130 in S44. After that, the process returns to the initial step (S41). On the other hand, when the temperature of battery 130 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature (yes in S43), charge/discharge control unit 502 does not cool battery 130, and the process returns to the initial step (S41).

The DR vehicle executes external charging (more specifically, charging of the storage battery 130 using the electric power of the power system PG) or external power supply (more specifically, power supply to the power system PG using the electric power of the storage battery 130) in accordance with a request (a charging request or a power supply request) through the above-described processing shown in fig. 11 during the DR period, and brings the temperature of the storage battery 130 to a predetermined temperature or lower by the cooling device 132. The DR vehicle can adjust the supply and demand of the power grid PG requested from the electric power company or the electric power market by the external charging or the external power feeding. In addition, battery 130 is brought into a low temperature state, whereby deterioration of battery 130 is suppressed.

As described above, the server 30 according to the present embodiment includes: a selection unit 302 for selecting a target number of DR vehicles from a vehicle group including a plurality of vehicles 50; and a requesting unit 303 configured to request charging or power feeding for each DR vehicle selected by the selecting unit 302. The selection unit 302 is configured to acquire the battery temperature and the B-SOC of each vehicle 50 included in the vehicle group, and select the DR vehicle in accordance with the priority order predetermined by the battery temperature and the B-SOC. For example, in the selection at the time of the request for charging, by selecting the DR vehicle in accordance with the priority order of the charge priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6, it becomes difficult to select the vehicle 50 in a state in which the possibility of promoting the deterioration of battery 130 due to charging is high. In the selection at the time of the request for power supply, by selecting the DR vehicle in accordance with the priority order of the power supply priority information shown in fig. 5 and 6, vehicle 50 in a state in which battery 130 is likely to deteriorate (battery temperature and B-SOC) is likely to be selected. By selecting the DR vehicle in accordance with the priority order, the life of the battery 130 of each vehicle 50 under the jurisdiction of the server 30 is suppressed from being reduced as a whole. Then, the supply and demand of power grid PG (power grid) can be adjusted by the DR vehicle selected by selection unit 302.

The excluding unit 304 according to the above embodiment excludes the DR vehicle from the vehicle group when the user of the selected DR vehicle does not approve the request after the DR vehicle is selected by the selecting unit 302 (S12). However, the configuration of the excluding section 304 is not limited to the above configuration. For example, the excluding unit 304 may be configured to exclude the vehicle 50 satisfying a predetermined exclusion requirement from the vehicle group before the selection is performed by the selecting unit 302.

In the above embodiment, the cooling at the time of charging and the cooling at the time of power feeding by the charge and discharge control unit 502 are started at the timings of starting the external charging and the external power feeding, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cooling at the time of charging and the cooling at the time of power feeding by the charge/discharge control unit 502 may be started before the external charging and the external power feeding are started, respectively.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a modification of the process shown in fig. 4. In the processing shown in fig. 12, S12A and S17A to S17C are added to the processing shown in fig. 4. Hereinafter, S12A and S17A to S17C will be described.

Referring to fig. 12 together with fig. 1 to 3, the process of S12A is performed after S11. In S12A, the excluding unit 304 excludes the vehicle 50 satisfying the predetermined exclusion requirement from the vehicle group before S12 (selection of DR vehicle). More specifically, the excluding unit 304 executes 1 st to 3 rd excluding processes described below.

When the DR period indicates immediate execution, the eliminating unit 304 executes the 1 st eliminating process. By the 1 st exclusion process, the vehicle 50 in a state of not being connected to the power system PG is excluded from the vehicle group. In the case where the DR period indicates immediate implementation, immediate execution of external charging (more specifically, charging of storage battery 130 using electric power of power system PG) or external power supply (more specifically, power supply to power system PG using electric power of storage battery 130) is requested for the DR vehicle by request unit 303. The vehicle 50 in a state of not being connected to the power system PG (for example, the vehicle 50 not being connected to the EVSE40 via the charging cable 42) has a high possibility of being unable to cope with a request for immediate execution of external charging or external power supply. Therefore, in the case where the DR period indicates immediate implementation, such a vehicle 50 is excluded from the vehicle group before S12 (selection of DR vehicle).

On the other hand, when the DR period does not indicate immediate execution, the elimination unit 304 executes the 2 nd elimination process. By the 2 nd exclusion process, the vehicle 50 whose B-SOC is lower than the predetermined SOC value and whose battery temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature is excluded from the vehicle group. Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the 2 nd excluding process by the excluding unit 304 according to the modification. The partitions a to D shown in fig. 13 are the same as the partitions a to D shown in fig. 5.

Referring to fig. 13, a part of candidate B is excluded from the vehicle group by the 2 nd exclusion processing. More specifically, the excluding section 304 excludes the vehicle 50 belonging to the region B1 where the B-SOC is lower than the threshold Th3 in the division B from the vehicle group before S12 (selection of DR vehicle). In the example shown in fig. 13, the threshold Th3 corresponds to an example of the "5 Th threshold" according to the present disclosure, and the threshold Th2 corresponds to an example of the "predetermined temperature" according to the present disclosure.

When the type of DR is a charging request and the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the excluding unit 304 executes the 3 rd excluding process. By the 3 rd exclusion process, the vehicle 50 whose B-SOC is higher than the predetermined SOC value is excluded from the vehicle group. Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the vehicle 50 excluded by the 3 rd exclusion processing. The partitions a to D shown in fig. 14 are the same as the partitions a to D shown in fig. 5.

Referring to fig. 14, a part of the candidate C and a part of the candidate D are excluded from the vehicle group by the 3 rd exclusion processing. More specifically, the excluding section 304 excludes the vehicles 50 belonging to each of the zone C1 in which the B-SOC is higher than the threshold value Th4 in the division C and the zone D1 in which the B-SOC is higher than the threshold value Th4 in the division D from the vehicle group before S12 (selection of DR vehicle). In the example shown in fig. 14, the threshold Th4 corresponds to an example of the "threshold 3" according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the excluding unit 304 when the type of DR is a charging request in the modification shown in fig. 12. The process shown in this flowchart is executed in S12A of fig. 12. Referring to fig. 15 together with fig. 1 to 3, in S61, the excluding unit 304 determines whether or not the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. The excluding unit 304 can acquire the outdoor temperature of the area where the vehicle group exists, using weather information provided by a weather bureau or a data center, for example. The excluding unit 304 may acquire the outdoor air temperature of the area where the vehicle group exists, using the vehicle state data received from each vehicle 50 included in the vehicle group.

When the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value (yes in S61), the excluding unit 304 executes the 3 rd excluding process in S62. By the 3 rd exclusion process, the vehicles 50 belonging to the areas c1 and d1 (fig. 14) are excluded from the vehicle group. On the other hand, when the outdoor air temperature is less than the predetermined threshold value (no in S61), the excluding unit 304 does not perform the 3 rd excluding process. When battery 130 in the high SOC state is charged in a situation where the outdoor air temperature is high, the temperature of battery 130 rises during charging, and there is a high possibility that battery 130 is in a high SOC and high temperature state. When battery 130 is charged for a high SOC and a high temperature, deterioration of battery 130 is promoted. Therefore, when the outdoor air temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, the 3 rd exclusion process (S62) is executed to exclude the vehicle 50 having the high SOC of the battery 130 from the vehicle group before S12 (selection of DR vehicle).

The 3 rd exclusion process may also be performed in a case where the kind of DR is a charging request, and at least a part of a predetermined period of time is included during DR. The predetermined time period may be, for example, a time period corresponding to daytime, or a time period from 10 hours to 14 hours. The excluding unit 304 may execute the processing shown in fig. 16 instead of the processing shown in fig. 15. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing a modification of the process shown in fig. 15. Referring to fig. 16 together with fig. 1 to 3, in S61A, it is determined by the excluding section 304 whether or not the DR period includes at least a part of a predetermined time period. For example, in the case where the predetermined period is a period from 10 hours to 14 hours, if the DR period is a period from 9 hours to 11 hours, "yes" is determined in S61A, "yes" is determined in S61A if the DR period is a period from 11 hours to 12 hours, and "no" is determined in S61A if the DR period is a period from 16 hours to 17 hours.

If the determination in S61A is yes, in S62, the excluding unit 304 executes the 3 rd excluding process. By the 3 rd exclusion process, the vehicles 50 belonging to the areas c1 and d1 (fig. 14) are excluded from the vehicle group. On the other hand, when the determination in S61A is no, the excluding unit 304 does not execute the 3 rd excluding process. When battery 130 is charged in a case where SOC of battery 130 is high during daytime when the temperature is likely to rise, the temperature of battery 130 rises during charging, and battery 130 is likely to be in a high SOC and high temperature state. Therefore, in the example shown in fig. 16, in the case where the external charging according to the charging request is performed during the daytime, the 3 rd exclusion process (S62) is executed before S12 (selection of DR vehicle), and the vehicle 50 with the high SOC of the battery 130 is excluded from the vehicle group. On the other hand, in the case where external charging in accordance with the charging request is performed at night, the 3 rd exclusion process is not performed. In this example, the threshold Th4 shown in fig. 14 corresponds to an example of the "4 Th threshold" according to the present disclosure.

Referring again to fig. 12 together with fig. 1 to 3, the process of S17A is performed after S16. In S17A, the request unit 303 determines whether or not the DR period indicates immediate execution. If the DR operation indicates immediate implementation (yes in S17A), the process proceeds to S18, where a request (a charging request or a power supply request) for each DR vehicle is immediately implemented. On the other hand, if the DR period does not indicate immediate implementation (no in S17A), the request unit 303 waits for the predetermined DR advance notice timing to arrive in S17B. The DR advance notice timing may be, for example, timing close to the start of the DR period and timing that is traced back by a predetermined time (for example, about 3 minutes to 15 minutes) from the start timing of the DR period. When the DR advance notice timing comes (yes in S17B), the request unit 303 transmits a DR advance notice signal to each DR vehicle in S17C. The DR forenotice signal is a signal that forenotices the start of the DR period. After that, the process proceeds to S17.

In this modification, the DR vehicle executes the series of processing shown in fig. 11 when the DR vehicle starts the DR period before receiving the DR forenotice signal, and executes the series of processing shown in fig. 17 when the DR vehicle receives the DR forenotice signal before starting the DR period. Further, in the case where the DR period differs for each DR vehicle, the processing of S17A to S19 of fig. 12 may also be performed for each DR vehicle.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the DR vehicle receives the DR forenotice signal. Referring to fig. 17 together with fig. 1 to 3, charge/discharge control unit 502 of the DR vehicle determines in S51 whether or not the temperature of battery 130 (for example, the average value of the cell temperatures) is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature. When the temperature of battery 130 exceeds a predetermined temperature (for example, threshold Th2) (no in S51), charge/discharge control unit 502 controls cooling device 132 to cool battery 130 in S52. After that, the process proceeds to S53. On the other hand, when the temperature of battery 130 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature (yes in S51), charge/discharge control unit 502 proceeds to S53 without cooling battery 130.

In S53, charge/discharge control unit 502 determines whether or not a command for charge/discharge control (i.e., the charge command or the power supply command) is received from server 30. When receiving the command from the server 30 (yes in S53), the charge/discharge control unit 502 controls the charge/discharge of the battery 130 in accordance with the command in S54.

In S55, the charge/discharge control unit 502 determines whether or not the DR period has elapsed. If the DR period has not elapsed (no in S55), the processing returns to the initial step (S51).

In this modification, the DR setting signal (S16 in fig. 12) in the case where the DR operation is not performed instantaneously is such that the temperature of the battery 130 exceeds a predetermined temperature (for example, a threshold Th2) and the DR vehicle requests the cooling of the battery 130 by the cooling device 132 to be started before the charging or the power supply in accordance with the request is started. The cooling of battery 130 (cooling during charging or cooling during power supply) by charge/discharge control unit 502 of each DR vehicle is set to on by the DR setting signal. In accordance with this setting, when the temperature of battery 130 exceeds the predetermined temperature at the time point when DR vehicle receives the DR advance notice signal (no in S51), charge/discharge control unit 502 starts cooling battery 130 by cooling device 132 before starting external charging or external power supply (S52). In the case where the DR period does not indicate immediate implementation, the 2 nd exclusion process (S12A) is executed before S12 of fig. 12 (selection of DR vehicle), and the vehicle 50 with the low SOC of the battery 130 is excluded from the vehicle group. By the 2 nd elimination process, battery 130 is prevented from being overdischarged when cooling device 132 is driven in the DR vehicle.

The server 30 transmits a DR signal (i.e., the command for the charge/discharge control) to each DR vehicle during the DR period (see S18 in fig. 12). During the period from when the DR vehicle receives the DR forenotice signal to when the DR is started, the determination of both S53 and S55 is no. The battery cooling period before the DR period can be adjusted by the DR advance notice timing (S17B in fig. 12). The battery cooling period before the DR period becomes longer as the DR prediction timing is made earlier. The DR advance notice timing may be set so that the temperature of battery 130 becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, threshold Th2) before the DR period is started. After the DR period starts, yes is determined in S53, and charging or power supply according to the request (charging request or power supply request) is performed in S54. After the DR period has elapsed (yes in S55), the series of processing shown in fig. 17 ends.

With the above-described modification shown in fig. 12 to 17, it is possible to perform supply and demand adjustment of the power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electrically powered vehicles as a whole.

In the priority information shown in fig. 6, the charging priority information determines the priority in the order of division a, division B, division C, and division D, and the power supply priority information determines the priority in the order of division D, division C, division B, and division a. However, without being limited thereto, the priority order of each division may be changed as appropriate.

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing a 1 st modification of the priority information shown in fig. 6. As shown in fig. 18, the priority information of the charging priority information may be determined in the order of division a, division B, division D, and division C. Each vehicle 50 belonging to division D can lower the temperature of battery 130 while cooling battery 130 by cooling device 132. Moreover, deterioration of battery 130 is suppressed by a decrease in the temperature of battery 130. Further, by consuming power in cooling battery 130 by cooling device 132, the amount of power consumption can be increased in accordance with the request for increasing DR. Therefore, by prioritizing the division D higher than the division C, supply and demand adjustment of the power system PG (power grid) can be performed efficiently.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a 2 nd modification of the priority information shown in fig. 6. As shown in fig. 19, the priority information of the charging priority information may be determined in the order of division B, division a, division D, and division C. Each vehicle 50 belonging to the division B can also consume electric power in cooling of battery 130 by cooling device 132, as with each vehicle 50 belonging to the division D, thereby increasing the amount of electric power consumption in accordance with the request for increasing DR. Therefore, according to the priority, the supply and demand of the power grid PG (power grid) can be efficiently adjusted.

The number of divisions may also be changed as appropriate. Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a modification of the division information shown in fig. 5. Referring to fig. 20, the division information determines 6 divisions (for example, divisions a to F) by the battery temperature and B-SOC. The division a is a division in which the B-SOC is lower than the threshold Th11, and the battery temperature is lower than the threshold Th 2. The division B is a division in which the B-SOC is lower than the threshold Th11, and the battery temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold Th 2. The division C is a division in which the B-SOC is greater than or equal to the threshold Th11 and less than or equal to the threshold Th12, and the battery temperature is lower than the threshold Th 2. The division D is a division in which the B-SOC is greater than or equal to the threshold Th11 and less than or equal to the threshold Th12, and the battery temperature is greater than or equal to the threshold Th 2. The division E is a division in which the B-SOC is higher than the threshold Th12, and the battery temperature is lower than the threshold Th 2. The division F is a division in which the B-SOC is higher than the threshold Th12, and the battery temperature is the threshold Th2 or higher. The thresholds Th11, Th12, and Th2 may be arbitrarily set, respectively. The boundary values of the divisions (for example, the thresholds Th11, Th12, and Th2) may be variable according to the vehicle type or the battery capacity.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the priority order of 6 divisions defined by the division information shown in fig. 20. Referring to fig. 21, in this example, the priority information of the charging priority information determines the priority in the order of division a, division B, division C, division D, division E, and division F. The priority information of the power supply priority information determines the priority in the order of division F, division E, division D, division C, division B, and division a. By selecting the electric vehicles in accordance with the priority order, the server 30 can also adjust the supply and demand of the power grid and suppress a decrease in the life of the power storage device provided in each of the plurality of electric vehicles as a whole.

The server 30 may be configured to preferentially select an electric vehicle belonging to a user who has prompted the server 30 to be energized with priority over the life of the power storage device, as a DR vehicle, regardless of the priority information (charging priority information and power supply priority information).

The structure of the vehicle is not limited to the structure shown in fig. 1. For example, in the configuration shown in fig. 1, a charging device that can be charged only externally or a power feeding device that can be supplied only externally may be used instead of the charger and discharger 120. The vehicle may be configured to be chargeable in a non-contact manner. The vehicle is not limited to a passenger car, but may be a bus or a truck.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.