US-12617308-B2 - Power supply system, server, and power adjustment method

US12617308B2US 12617308 B2US12617308 B2US 12617308B2US-12617308-B2

Abstract

A power supply system includes: a power supply facility configured to receive power supply from an external power source and execute power supply to a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane; and a vehicle management apparatus configured to manage a plurality of vehicles configured to use the power supply facility, select adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of the external power source from among the plurality of vehicles, and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, release the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source.

Inventors

Masato Ehara
Hiroki Murata
Daiki Yokoyama
Yuki Takahashi
Tomoya Takahashi
Tomoyuki Kubota
Sachio Toyora
Keisuke Fukuoka
Zidan XU
Wenfeng LIANG

Assignees

TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221026
Priority Date: 20220117

Claims (14)

1 . A power supply system comprising: a power supply facility configured to receive power supply from an external power source and execute power supply to a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane; and a vehicle management apparatus configured to manage a plurality of vehicles configured to use the power supply facility, select adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of the external power source from among the plurality of vehicles, and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, release the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source.
2 . The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, when the power adjustment of the external power source is requested, select, as the adjustment vehicles, a main vehicle used for securing a requested adjustment force and a spare vehicle that executes the power adjustment of the external power source instead of the main vehicle when the main vehicle stops the power adjustment of the external power source during the power adjustment, the number of the selected main vehicles being one or more, and the number of the selected spare vehicles being one or more.
3 . The power supply system according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, when any one of the main vehicles has reached the predetermined position in the traveling lane: release the one of the main vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source; and select a new main vehicle while causing the spare vehicle to execute the power adjustment of the external power source.
4 . The power supply system according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to supplement the main vehicle by selecting the spare vehicle as the new main vehicle and changing the spare vehicle to the main vehicle.
5 . The power supply system according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, when any one of the spare vehicles has reached the predetermined position in the traveling lane: release the one of the spare vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source; and supplement the spare vehicle from among the plurality of vehicles that have not reached the predetermined position in the traveling lane.
6 . The power supply system according to claim 2 , wherein: each of the plurality of vehicles includes a power accumulation device; and the vehicle management apparatus is configured to control a state of charge (SOC) of the power accumulation device included in the spare vehicle such that the SOC is within a predetermined range.
7 . The power supply system according to claim 2 , wherein: each of vehicles selected as the adjustment vehicles when charging for the power adjustment of the external power source is requested includes a power accumulation device configured to be chargeable with power from the power supply facility during traveling in the traveling lane; the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, when the charging for the power adjustment of the external power source is requested: decide charging power for each of the main vehicles; and send a first command for causing the main vehicle traveling in the traveling lane to execute the charging by the decided charging power; and the main vehicle is configured to charge the power accumulation device with power from the power supply facility according to the first command.
8 . The power supply system according to claim 2 , wherein: each of vehicles selected as the adjustment vehicles when discharging for the power adjustment of the external power source is requested includes a power accumulation device configured to be dischargeable to the external power source through the power supply facility during the traveling in the traveling lane; and the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, when the discharging for the power adjustment of the external power source is requested decide discharging power for each of the main vehicles, and send a second command for causing the main vehicle traveling in the traveling lane to execute the discharging by the decided discharging power or stop charging; and the main vehicle is configured to execute the discharging from the power accumulation device to the external power source or stop charging the power accumulation device according to the second command.
9 . The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to: decide the predetermined position for each of the adjustment vehicles; and decide the predetermined positions for the adjustment vehicles using respective vehicle speeds of the adjustment vehicles.
10 . The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein: each of the plurality of vehicles includes a power accumulation device; and a first vehicle that is the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position, is configured to execute, after being released from the power adjustment of the external power source, charging control of the power accumulation device such that a SOC of the power accumulation device of the first vehicle is close to a predetermined target SOC.
11 . The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to, upon receiving a release request from a user of any one of the adjustment vehicles, release the one of the adjustment vehicles belonging to the user from the power adjustment of the external power source even when the adjustment vehicle has not reached the predetermined position in the traveling lane.
12 . The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle management apparatus is configured to: estimate the number of vehicles, among the plurality of vehicles, that have not reached the predetermined position in the traveling lane during a predetermined period; and bid for an adjustment force for the predetermined period in a power market using the estimated number of vehicles.
13 . A server comprising: a processor configured to: manage a plurality of vehicles configured to use a power supply facility that receives power supply from an external power source and executes power supply to a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane; select adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of the external power source from among the plurality of vehicles; and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, release the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source.
14 . A power adjustment method comprising: selecting adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of an external power source from among vehicles traveling in a traveling lane provided with a power supply facility that receives power supply from the external power source; operating the adjustment vehicles used for the power adjustment of the external power source; and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, releasing the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-004972 filed on Jan. 17, 2022, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a power supply system, a server, and a power adjustment method. 2. Description of Related Art For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-95983 discloses execution of energy management through non-contact charging (power reception) or power supply by a vehicle parked inside premises of a residence. SUMMARY However, an xEV (for example, a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) capable of accumulating power supplied from the outside of the vehicle can operate as an adjustment force of an external power source (for example, an adjustment force that causes power supply and demand to be level). Recently, a technique for supplying power to a traveling xEV has attracted attention, and thus it is conceivable that power adjustment of an external power source can be executed using such a technique. Hereinafter, a lane in which a power supply facility is provided is also referred to as a “power supply lane”. The power supply lane is also generally referred to as a “charging lane”. By executing the power adjustment of the external power source by a vehicle traveling in the power supply lane, it is possible for the power supply lane to offer the adjustment force to the external power source. However, a vehicle (an adjustment vehicle) in the power supply lane selected for the power adjustment of the external power source may not always receive power from the power supply lane during the execution of the power adjustment of the external power source. The adjustment vehicle may be requested to stop charging or execute discharging for the power adjustment of the external power source. For this reason, the adjustment vehicle that has been executing the power adjustment of the external power source during traveling in the power supply lane may be in a power shortage state (a state where power for traveling is insufficient) after leaving the power supply lane. In the present disclosure, it is difficult for a vehicle in a power supply lane selected for power adjustment of an external power source to be in a power shortage state after leaving the power supply lane. A power supply system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a power supply facility and a vehicle management apparatus. The power supply facility is configured to receive power supply from an external power source and execute power supply to a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane. The vehicle management apparatus is configured to manage a plurality of vehicles configured to use the power supply facility, select adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of the external power source from among the plurality of vehicles, and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, release the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source. Hereinafter, the traveling lane (the traveling lane in which the power supply facility as above is provided) is also referred to as a “power supply lane”. The predetermined position is also referred to as a “release position”. A server according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes a processor configured to manage a plurality of vehicles configured to use a power supply facility that receives power supply from an external power source and executes power supply to a vehicle traveling in a traveling lane, select adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of the external power source from among the plurality of vehicles, and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, release the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source. A power adjustment method according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes selecting adjustment vehicles used for power adjustment of an external power source from among vehicles traveling in a traveling lane provided with a power supply facility that receives power supply from the external power source, operating the adjustment vehicle used for the power adjustment of the external power source, and when any one of the selected adjustment vehicles has reached a predetermined position in the traveling lane, releasing the one of the adjustment vehicles that has reached the predetermined position from the power adjustment of the external power source. With each aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to make it difficult for a vehicle in a power supply lane selected for power adjustment of an external power source to be in a power shortage state after leaving the po