JP2010204042A - Charge point registration device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charge point registration device for reliably registering charge points when charging has been performed even if charging an electric car in an off state of an ignition switch. <P>SOLUTION: If the amount of charge in restarting has increased by at least a prescribed amount as compared with the amount of charge in a stop (ST22) when restarting an own vehicle after the stop, a current position of the own vehicle, namely the stop position, is registered at least on a map DB of the own vehicle as charge points when an electric car is charged (ST23). In this case, even if charging the own vehicle when the ignition switch is off, the amount of charge before and after that, namely the amount of charge when the own vehicle is in a stop and the amount of charge in restarting are detected, thus reliably registering the charge points of the own vehicle regardless of the on/off of the ignition switch. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging point registration device for registering charging points capable of charging an electric vehicle as map information.

  In recent years, various electric vehicles including plug-in hybrid vehicles have been developed. Unlike a fuel cell vehicle, this type of electric vehicle is equipped with a secondary battery that can be charged from an external power source, and the electric motor is driven by the secondary battery to run.

  By the way, the actual situation is that a charging point for charging this type of electric vehicle, that is, a charging point equipped with equipment such as a charger, has not been sufficiently prepared. For this reason, charging point information is extremely important for electric vehicle drivers.

  Here, as a technique for collecting information on charging points of an electric vehicle, for example, in Patent Document 1, when a point is registered in an in-vehicle car navigation system, the vehicle is charged without moving the vehicle position. A technique for registering the point as a permanent place (charging point) of the charger is described.

Japanese Patent No. 3847065

  By the way, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the vehicle driver charges the vehicle with the ignition switch turned off, it is impossible to determine whether or not the vehicle has been charged by cutting off the energization. As a result, the vehicle charging point may not be registered. Further, even when the ignition switch is turned off, it is necessary to turn on a power source for determining whether or not the vehicle is charged, and unnecessary standby power is consumed.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a charging point registration device capable of reliably registering a charging point at which the electric vehicle is charged even when the electric vehicle is charged with the ignition switch turned off. To do.

  The charging point registration device according to the present invention is a device for registering at least a charging point capable of charging an electric vehicle as map information for the own vehicle, and means for detecting a stop state of the own vehicle, and charging the own vehicle Means for detecting a change in the amount, means for acquiring information on the current position of the host vehicle, and means for registering the current position of the host vehicle in map information using the current position of the host vehicle as a charging point. Obtain and compare the amount of charge at the time of stoppage and the amount of charge at the time of restart, and register the current position of the vehicle as a charging point in the map information when the amount of charge has increased by a predetermined amount or more. It is characterized by.

  In the charging point registration device according to the present invention, when the host vehicle restarts after stopping, if the charging amount at the time of restarting is more than a predetermined amount from the charging amount at the time of stopping, the host vehicle at the stop position Is registered in the map information of at least the vehicle as a charging point at which the electric vehicle can be charged. Here, even when the vehicle is charged with the ignition switch off, the charge amount before and after that, that is, the charge amount when the host vehicle is stopped and the charge amount when the vehicle is restarted can be detected. Regardless of whether the switch is on or off, the charging point of the vehicle is surely registered.

  In the charging point registration device according to the present invention, when the host vehicle restarts after stopping, if the charging amount at the time of restarting is more than a predetermined amount from the charging amount at the time of stopping, the host vehicle at the stop position Is registered in the map information of at least the vehicle as a charging point at which the electric vehicle can be charged. Here, even when the vehicle is charged with the ignition switch off, the charge amount before and after that, that is, the charge amount when the host vehicle is stopped and the charge amount when the vehicle is restarted can be detected. Regardless of whether the switch is on or off, the charging point of the host vehicle can be reliably registered.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the charging point registration apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the charging point registration apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment performs when the own vehicle stops. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the charging point registration apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment performs at the time of the restart of the own vehicle.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing a charging point registration apparatus according to the present invention will be described in order with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same or similar components may be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description may be omitted.

  A charging point registration device according to an embodiment of the present invention is intended for various electric vehicles including plug-in hybrid vehicles, that is, electric vehicles equipped with secondary batteries that can be charged from an external power source. It is an apparatus that registers a charging point that can be charged as at least map information for the host vehicle.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the charging point registration device includes a navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 2, a map DB (Data Base) 3, a display 4, a vehicle speed sensor 5, an engine. An ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 6 and an SOC (State of Charge) monitoring unit 7 are provided.

  The navigation ECU 1 and the engine ECU 6 execute an input / output interface I / O, an A / D converter, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and data, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores input data, and programs, respectively. And a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like as hardware.

  The navigation ECU 1 is a control unit that constitutes a navigation system together with the GPS receiver 2, the map DB 3, and the display 4, and information on the current position of the vehicle acquired by the GPS receiver 2 and the map information stored in the map DB 3 Based on the above, the present vehicle has a function of displaying the current position of the host vehicle on the display 4 so as to overlap the map.

  The vehicle speed sensor 5 and the engine ECU 6 constitute means for detecting the stop state of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 5 detects, for example, a rotation speed of a wheel (not shown) of the host vehicle and sends a detection signal to the navigation ECU 1. Send it out. On the other hand, the engine ECU 5 sends an on / off signal of an ignition system (not shown) of the host vehicle to the navigation ECU 1.

  The SOC monitoring unit 7 constitutes a means for detecting a change in the charge amount of the own vehicle, detects the charge amount of a secondary battery serving as a power source for a travel motor (not shown) mounted on the own vehicle, A change in the charge amount is monitored by sending an SOC value, which is a detected value of the charge amount, to the navigation ECU 1.

  Here, the navigation ECU 1 constitutes means capable of registering the current position of the host vehicle acquired by the GPS receiver 2 in the map DB 3 as map information of the charging point of the secondary battery, and when the host vehicle is stopped. When the amount of charge at the time of restart is greater than a predetermined amount from the amount of charge, it has a function of registering the current position of the host vehicle in the map information as a charging point.

  Next, a procedure of processing executed by the charging point registration apparatus according to the embodiment will be sequentially described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. This charging point registration device executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 when the host vehicle stops, and executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 when the host vehicle restarts.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 2, in step S <b> 10, the navigation ECU 1 determines whether or not the host vehicle is stopped according to a detection signal input from the vehicle speed sensor 5 or an on / off signal input from the engine ECU 5.

  Here, the navigation ECU 1 determines that the host vehicle is in a stopped state when a detection signal for stopping the rotation of the wheel is input from the vehicle speed sensor 5 or when an off signal for the ignition system of the engine is input from the engine ECU 5. In other cases, it is determined that the host vehicle is not stopped.

  If the determination result in step S10 is NO, the process proceeds to the end and ends the series of processes. If the determination result is YES, in step S11, the navigation ECU 1 detects the charge amount of a secondary battery (not shown). The SOC value, which is a value, is acquired from the SOC monitoring unit 7.

  In subsequent step S12, the navigation ECU 1 determines whether or not the SOC value acquired from the SOC monitoring unit 7 has increased more than a prescribed value within a unit time of, for example, about 2 minutes in order to see the possibility of charging the secondary battery. To do.

  If the determination result of step S12 is NO, it is regarded that the possibility of charging the secondary battery is low, the process proceeds to the end, and the series of processes is terminated. On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, in the next step S13, the navigation ECU 1 stores the SOC value increased within the unit time.

  Thereafter, the navigation ECU 1 obtains information on the current position of the host vehicle from the GPS receiver 2 (S14), and sets the acquired current position of the host vehicle as a charging point candidate point that can charge the electric vehicle (S15). .

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3, in step S20, the navigation ECU 1 determines whether or not the host vehicle is in a restarting state in accordance with a detection signal input from the vehicle speed sensor 5 or an on / off signal input from the engine ECU 5. .

  Here, the navigation ECU 1 determines that the host vehicle re-starts when an engine ignition system ON signal is input from the engine ECU 5, and automatically receives a wheel rotation restart detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor 5. It is determined that the vehicle has restarted. In other cases, it is determined that the host vehicle is not in a restarting state.

  If the determination result in step S20 is NO, the process proceeds to the end and ends the series of processes. If the determination result is YES, in step S21, the navigation ECU 1 detects the charge amount of a secondary battery (not shown). The SOC value, which is a value, is acquired from the SOC monitoring unit 7.

  In the subsequent step S22, the navigation ECU 1 confirms that the secondary battery has been charged, and the host vehicle in which the SOC value at the time of restart of the host vehicle acquired from the SOC monitoring unit 7 is stored in step S13 of FIG. It is determined whether or not it has increased by a predetermined amount or more as compared with the SOC value at the time of stopping.

  If the decision result in the step S22 is YES, in a next step S23, the navigation ECU 1 has actually charged the secondary battery at the charging point candidate point set when the host vehicle is stopped in the step S15 in FIG. Register as a charging point. That is, the navigation ECU 1 uses the current position when the secondary battery of the host vehicle is actually charged as a charging point that can charge the electric vehicle as a charging point that can be charged to the map DB 3 shown in FIG. Link and register. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S22 is NO, the series of processes is ended.

  As described above, in the charging point registration device according to an embodiment, when the vehicle restarts after the vehicle stops, if the charging amount at the time of restarting increases more than a predetermined amount from the charging amount at the time of stopping, The current position of the host vehicle, which is the stop position, is registered at least in the map DB of the host vehicle as a charging point at which the electric vehicle can be charged.

  Here, even when the vehicle is charged with the ignition switch off, the charge amount before and after that, that is, the charge amount when the host vehicle is stopped and the charge amount when the vehicle is restarted can be detected. According to the charging point registration device according to the embodiment, the charging point of the host vehicle can be surely registered in the map DB regardless of whether the ignition switch is on or off.

  The charging point registration device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the charging points registered in step S23 of FIG. 3 may be registered in a shared database accessible by wireless communication so that many other vehicles can use them together.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Navigation ECU, 2 ... GPS receiver, 3 ... Map DB, 4 ... Display, 5 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 6 ... Engine ECU, 7 ... SOC monitoring part.

Claims (1)

An apparatus for registering at least a charging point capable of charging an electric vehicle as map information for the own vehicle, a means for detecting a stop state of the own vehicle, a means for detecting a change in the amount of charge of the own vehicle, Means for acquiring information on the current position of the vehicle, and means for registering the current position of the host vehicle in the map information as a charging point;
The amount of charge is acquired when the vehicle is stopped, the amount of charge when the vehicle is stopped and the amount of charge when the vehicle is restarted are compared. A charging point registration device characterized in that it is registered in map information as a point.

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