JP2011120346A - Apparatus for reporting state of charge, and navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clearly report a user that the target amount of electric accumulation is achieved, even when the user leaves a vehicle after start of charge, and to reduce power required for its information, when charging a battery that serves as a power source for running of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: When the main power supply of the vehicle is switched off during charge to the battery, a control unit 49 shifts into a sleep mode, and a comparator 48 determines whether the present amount of electric accumulation in the battery is not less than the target amount of electric accumulation or not. Moreover, when the comparator 48 determines that the present amount of electric accumulation in the battery is not less than the target amount of electric accumulation, the comparator 48 shifts the control unit 49 from the sleep mode to an active mode, and the control unit 49 controls a communication part 45, based on the shift into the active mode, and informs a user terminal that the amount of electric accumulation in the battery has reached the target amount of electric accumulation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging state notification device and a navigation device.

  Conventionally, a battery that can be charged from a charger outside the vehicle has been proposed as a power source for driving electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for displaying a map of a range that can be traveled for each charging time of the battery. If such a technique is used, it is possible to grasp the approximate charging time required to reach the destination.

  Patent Document 2 describes a technique in which when a battery is fully charged, the control device notifies a specific telephone call destination registered in advance of the completion of charging.

JP 2009-25128 A JP 2004-48900 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, although it is possible to grasp the approximate charging time required to reach the destination, in practice, it depends on various factors (for example, deterioration of the charging performance of the battery, the capability of the charger). The charge amount may be different even at the same charge time. Therefore, if the user knows the charging time required to reach the destination, and leaves the vehicle after starting charging, it will clearly know whether the required charging has actually completed even if the charging time has elapsed. There are also cases where you feel uneasy or are not sure if you really want to return to the vehicle.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 2, even when the charging completion is notified to the telephone call destination when the charging of the battery is completed, the navigation device operates as described above in order to constantly monitor the completion of the charging of the battery. Therefore, the power consumption for that purpose will increase.

  In view of the above points, in the present invention, when charging a battery, which is a power source for running a vehicle, even if the user leaves the vehicle after the start of charging, the target amount of power storage is realized to the user. The first object is to clearly notify, monitor the amount of stored electricity, and reduce the power required for the notification.

  In addition, when the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, the second purpose is to allow the user to grasp whether the destination can be reached with the current battery charge amount. To do.

  The invention described in claim 1 for achieving the first object is a state-of-charge notification device mounted on a vehicle (1), having a wireless communication function, and a user terminal ( 6) A communication unit (45) capable of transmitting information, an active mode that controls the communication unit (45) and operates at normal power consumption, and more than the normal power consumption A control unit (49) that transitions between a sleep mode with a low power consumption, and a comparison unit (48) that has a lower power consumption than the normal power consumption of the communication unit (45), The control unit (45) shifts to the sleep mode when the battery (2) is charged, and the comparison unit (48) is configured to charge the current of the battery (2) when charging the battery (2). Whether the amount of electricity stored exceeds the target amount of electricity stored If it is determined that the amount of charge is equal to or greater than the target power storage amount, the control unit (49) is shifted from the sleep mode to the active mode, and the control unit (49) is switched from the sleep mode to the active mode. Based on the transition, it is determined whether the current power storage amount of the battery (2) has reached the target power storage amount, and based on the determination that the target power storage amount has been reached, the communication unit (45) is controlled to notify the user terminal (6) that the charged amount of the battery (2) has reached the target charged amount.

  As described above, when the battery (2) is charged, the control unit (45) shifts to the sleep mode, and the comparison unit (48) determines whether the current storage amount of the battery (2) is equal to or higher than the target storage amount. Determine whether. That is, the comparison unit (48) is provided separately from the control unit (45), and the comparison unit (48) monitors the charging state of the battery (2), so that the control unit (45) is put into the sleep mode during charging. As a result, useless power consumption of the charging state notification device during charging can be suppressed.

  When the comparison unit (48) determines that the current storage amount of the battery (2) is equal to or greater than the target storage amount, the comparison unit (48) shifts the control unit (49) from the sleep mode to the active mode and performs control. The unit (49) controls the communication unit (45) based on the transition to the active mode, and notifies the user terminal (6) that the stored amount of the battery (2) has reached the target stored amount. .

  Thus, when charging the battery (2), which is a power source for traveling of the vehicle (1), even if the user leaves the vehicle (1) after starting charging, the target is set. In addition to clearly notifying the user that the storage amount has been achieved, the power required for the notification, more specifically, the power required to monitor the state of charge of the battery (2) for the notification , Can be reduced.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the charging state notification device according to claim 1, wherein power supply to the communication unit (45) is cut off when the battery (2) is charged, and the comparison unit When (48) shifts the control unit (49) from the sleep mode to the active mode, power supply to the communication unit (45) is resumed.

  As described above, the communication unit (45) is charged until the control unit (49) shifts from the sleep mode to the active mode and needs to notify the user terminal (6). Since the power supply to (45) is cut off, the power required to monitor the state of charge of the battery (2) is further reduced.

  Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the charging state notification device according to the first or second aspect, the charging state notification device calculates an optimum guidance route from the current position to the destination set by the user. In the navigation device for guiding the calculated guidance route, the target power storage amount is an amount of electric power consumed by traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the destination.

  Whether or not the battery (2) has a power storage amount that can travel to the destination is important information for the user. For this reason, for example, simply when the target power storage amount is fully charged Compared to the case where the amount of stored power is equal to, it is possible to perform notification in line with the user's purpose.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the charging state notification device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the target power storage amount can be selected by a user from a plurality of types. It is characterized by being. In this way, it is possible to set the target power storage amount according to the user's preference.

  In order to achieve the second object, the invention according to claim 5 is mounted on the vehicle (1) that uses the electric power stored in the rechargeable battery (2) as travel energy, and reaches the destination. A navigation device that guides the guide route of the vehicle, when the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, along the guide route from the current position to the new destination or the changed destination. By comparing the amount of electric power of the battery (2) consumed in traveling with the current amount of electricity stored in the battery (2), the vehicle travels from the current position to the destination along the guidance route with the current amount of electricity stored. When the determination means (120) for determining whether or not it is possible and the determination means (120) determine that it is not possible to travel from the current position to the destination along the guidance route with the current power storage amount, For reaching The battery informing means for informing a user of the vehicle (1) in that charging is required of (2) (130, 140), a navigation device provided with.

  In this way, when the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, the user can grasp whether the destination can be reached with the current battery charge amount.

In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis in the said and the claim shows the correspondence of the term described in the claim, and the concrete thing etc. which illustrate the said term described in embodiment mentioned later. .

It is a lineblock diagram of a charge condition information system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 4. FIG. It is a flowchart of the process which sets notification conditions. It is a figure which shows an example of a notification condition setting screen. It is a flowchart of the process which displays that charge is required for the arrival to the destination. It is a flowchart of the process performed when the main power supply of a vehicle is turned off and when the control unit returns from sleep. It is a flowchart of the charge monitoring process which a microcomputer performs.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the charging state notification system of the present embodiment includes a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is equipped with a battery 2, a charge amount monitor 3, and an in-vehicle navigation device 4 (corresponding to an example of a charging state notification device). The charging state notification system also includes a charger 5 that supplies power for charging to the battery 2 and a user terminal 6 owned by the user of the vehicle 1. Examples of the user terminal 6 include a mobile phone, a personal computer and a PDA that can be connected to a wide area network (for example, the Internet).

  In this embodiment, the user sets notification conditions for the in-vehicle navigation device 4. The notification condition is a condition indicating what target storage amount of the battery 2 reaches the user terminal 6 when the storage amount reaches. When the battery 2 is charged, when the notification condition is satisfied, the vehicle-mounted navigation device 4 notifies the user terminal 6 to that effect.

  The battery 2 is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged. When the battery 2 and the charger 5 are connected by a charging cable, charging from the charger 5 to the battery 2 is performed via the charging cable. The vehicle 1 uses the electric power stored in the battery 2 as travel energy. Specifically, the vehicle 1 drives a motor (not shown) using the electric power of the battery 2 as energy, and causes the vehicle 1 to travel with the driving force of this motor. As described above, electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid vehicles (HV) are known as vehicles that travel using the electric power stored in the battery 2 as an energy source. In the case of an electric vehicle, the host vehicle is driven only by the driving force of a motor driven by electric power stored in the battery 2, and in the case of a hybrid vehicle, the driving force of the motor driven by electric power stored in the battery 2 and the internal combustion engine The host vehicle is driven by the driving force of the engine. Note that a hybrid vehicle that can charge the battery 2 from the charger 5 via a charging cable is particularly referred to as a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV). The vehicle 1 of the present embodiment may be an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

  The charge amount monitor 3 is a device that constantly detects the amount of power stored in the battery 2 (that is, the amount of power stored in the battery 2) and outputs it to the in-vehicle navigation device 4.

  The in-vehicle navigation device 4 is a device that calculates an optimum guide route to a destination set by a user and guides the calculated guide route. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the in-vehicle navigation device 4.

  The in-vehicle navigation device 4 includes a position detector 41, an image display device 42, an operation unit 43, an audio output unit 44, a communication unit 45, a map data acquisition unit 46, a notification condition storage unit 47, a comparison unit 48, a control unit 49, and the like. I have. The in-vehicle navigation device 4 further includes a power supply control unit (not shown). The power supply control unit receives power from the battery 2 and distributes the received power to the components 41 to 49 of the in-vehicle navigation device 4.

  The position detector 41 has a well-known acceleration sensor, geomagnetic sensor, gyro sensor, vehicle speed sensor, GPS receiver, and other sensors (not shown), and based on the characteristics of each of these sensors, Information for specifying the position, orientation, and speed is output to the control unit 49.

  The image display device 42 displays a video based on the video signal output from the control unit 49 to the user. The operation unit 43 includes input devices such as a mechanical switch and a touch switch, and outputs a signal corresponding to the operation content of the mechanical switch and the touch panel by the user to the control unit 49. The sound output unit 44 is a device that outputs sound to a speaker (not shown) based on the control of the control unit 49.

  The communication unit 45 has a wireless communication function, can wirelessly connect to the base station by this wireless communication function, and can transmit information to the user terminal 6 via the base station.

  The map data acquisition unit 46 includes a nonvolatile storage medium such as a DVD, a CD, and an HDD, and a device that reads data (and writes data if possible) to the storage medium. The storage medium stores a program executed by the control unit 49, known road map data for route guidance, and the like.

  The notification condition storage unit 47 is a storage medium that records notification conditions. The notification condition storage unit 47 is a storage medium that can retain the stored contents even when the power supply from the battery 2 via the power supply control unit is turned off. For example, the notification condition storage unit 47 is a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. It may be a storage medium, or may be a backup RAM that always operates by receiving power from a power supply source other than the battery 2.

  The comparison unit 48 is a device for comparing the storage amount of the battery 2 with a target storage amount described later, and includes a microcomputer 48a and a memory 48b. The memory 48b is a writable storage medium (RAM, flash memory, backup RAM, etc.) for storing a target charged amount and a current charged amount, which will be described later.

  The microcomputer 48a is a known microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O, and the like. The CPU executes the program read from the ROM, reads information from the RAM, the ROM, and the memory 48b when executing the program, obtains information on the current storage amount of the battery 2 from the charge amount monitor 3, and stores the RAM, Information is written to the memory 48b. As a process realized by the microcomputer 48a executing the program, the current storage amount of the battery 2 acquired from the charger 5 is periodically output (for example, once every 10 seconds) to the control unit 49. There is processing. Details of other processing executed by the microcomputer 48a will be described later.

  The control unit 49 is a microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O, and the like. The controller 49 is configured to transition between the active mode and the sleep mode. The active mode is a mode that operates with normal power consumption, and the sleep mode is a mode that operates with lower power consumption than the normal power consumption by greatly reducing its own processing capacity. is there.

  The power consumption of the control unit 49 in the active mode is larger than the power consumption during the normal operation of the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48 (more specifically, during the execution of the process of FIG. 7 described later). More specifically, the difference in power consumption between the active mode and the sleep mode of the control unit 49 is smaller than the power consumption during normal operation of the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48. The CPU executes a program for the operation of the vehicle navigation device 1 read from the ROM or the map data acquisition unit 16, reads information from the RAM, the ROM, and the map data acquisition unit 16 when executing the program. And, if possible, the information is written to the storage medium of the map data acquisition unit 16, the position detector 11, the image display device 12, the operation unit 13, the speaker 14, and the traffic information receiver 15 and the signal Give and receive.

  Basic processing performed by the control unit 49 executing the program includes current position specifying processing, map display processing, guidance route calculation processing, route guidance processing, and the like. The current position specifying process is a process for specifying the current position and direction of the vehicle 1 based on a signal from the position detector 41 using a known technique such as map matching. The map display process is a process for causing the image display device 42 to display a map of a specific area such as the periphery of the current position of the vehicle 1. At this time, information used for map display is acquired from the map data.

  The guidance route calculation process is a process of accepting a new input of a destination by the user or an input for changing the destination from the operation unit 43 and calculating an optimum guidance route from the current position to the destination. In the route guidance process, when the vehicle 1 arrives in front of a guidance point such as a right-left turn intersection on the guidance route, the voice output unit 44 outputs a guidance voice instructing a right turn, a left turn, etc., to expand the guidance point. This is a process for guiding the driving of the vehicle 1 along the guidance route by displaying the figure on the image display device 42.

  Further, as will be described later, the control unit 49 executes various programs, so that in addition to the above basic processing, it is necessary to charge for processing for setting notification conditions and arrival at the destination. A process for displaying, a process for notifying the target power storage amount to the comparison unit 48, and a process for notifying the user terminal 6 that the power storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target power storage amount are realized.

  The operation of the charging state notification system having such a configuration will be described below. First, when the user of the vehicle 1 is in the vehicle 1, the user operates the operation unit 43 of the in-vehicle navigation device 4 to perform an operation to start setting notification conditions. Then, based on this operation, the control unit 49 executes a predetermined program and performs notification condition setting processing as shown in FIG.

  In this process, the control unit 49 first displays a notification condition setting screen on the image display device 42 (step 51). Subsequently, the user's setting operation using the notification condition setting screen is received (step 52), the notification condition corresponding to the received setting operation is overwritten and recorded in the notification condition storage unit 47 (step 53), and then the notification condition setting process Exit.

  FIG. 4 shows an example 20 of the notification condition setting screen. In this example, any one, any two, or all of the three types of conditions can be set as the notification condition. The three types of notification conditions are: (1) a notification condition in which the minimum amount of electricity that can be traveled to the destination is the target target storage amount, and (2) a fully charged storage amount is the target target storage amount. Notification conditions, (3) Notification conditions in which the power storage amount (specified power storage amount) specifically designated by the user as a numerical value is set as the target target power storage amount.

  The user adopts the conditions (1) to (3) by performing an operation for switching on / off the check boxes 21 to 23 on the notification condition setting screen 20 on the operation unit 43. Determine whether or not. In addition, when employ | adopting the conditions of (3), a user operates the operation part 43 and inputs the designated electrical storage amount.

  Further, when the user performs an operation of selecting the calculation button 24 on the operation unit 43 while the notification condition setting screen 20 is displayed, the control unit 49 sets each of the adopted notification conditions (or all notification conditions). When the vehicle 1 starts to travel with the target storage amount corresponding to the condition, the maximum distance that can be continuously traveled and the charging time required until the storage amount of the battery 2 reaches the target storage amount calculate.

  At this time, the distance that the vehicle 1 can travel per unit amount of electricity stored may be determined in advance, or if the destination is set, the road according to the elevation change of the guidance route to the destination, etc. It may be calculated for each section. The chargeable amount per unit time may be determined in advance. Further, the current power storage amount of the battery 2 is acquired from the charge amount monitor 3 via the comparison unit 48.

  In addition, when the user performs an operation of selecting the set button 25 on the operation unit 43 while the notification condition setting screen 20 is displayed, the control unit 49 indicates the type of the notification condition that has been adopted. Overwrite the recording. However, when the notification condition in which the specified power storage amount is the target target power storage amount is adopted, the specified power storage amount is also recorded in the notification condition storage unit 47 in association with the type of notification condition. Note that the notification conditions in the notification condition storage unit 47 are retained even if the power supply from the battery 2 of the vehicle 1 is interrupted once recorded as described above. Also, this notification condition setting process can be executed at any time in response to the user's notification condition setting start operation when the user wants to change the notification condition setting.

  After that, when the control unit 49 calculates a new destination or a guidance route to the changed destination by the guidance route calculation process, the control unit 49 executes a predetermined program to perform the process shown in FIG. Execute. This process is a process for displaying that charging is required for arrival at the destination.

  In this process, the control unit 49 first starts the route guidance process in step 110, thereby starting the guidance of the calculated guidance route. After that, the route guidance process continues to be executed in parallel with the process of FIG. 5 (unless there is no change of destination or arrival at the destination).

  Subsequently, at step 120, based on the latest storage amount of the battery 2 received from the comparison unit 48, it is determined whether or not it is possible to reach the destination from the current position with this storage amount. Specifically, the current position of the vehicle 1 specified by the current position specifying process is specified, the amount of electric power consumed in traveling from the specified current position to the destination is calculated, and the amount of electric power and the latest power storage of the battery 2 are calculated. By comparing with the amount, it is determined whether or not it is possible to arrive at the destination from the current position with this stored amount of electricity.

  Hereinafter, a calculation example of the amount of electric power consumed in traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the destination will be described. First, the control unit 49 obtains the road shape on the guidance route based on the map data, and assumes the road is flat and consumes power when traveling from the current position to the destination along the guidance route. Is calculated. When calculating the power consumption, basically, a predetermined power consumption per unit mileage is used. In addition to this, the vehicle operation history of the driver of the vehicle 1, traffic jam information on the guidance route, You may consider regulatory information. Furthermore, information on the gradient of the guidance route recorded in the map data may be taken into account.

  While it is determined that the current power storage amount can be reached from the current position to the destination, the determination process in step 120 is repeated, and if it is determined that the arrival is impossible, the process proceeds to step 130.

  In step 130, the voice output unit 44 is controlled to notify the user by voice that charging is required to reach the destination. Subsequently, in step 140, the image display device 42 is displayed that charging is necessary to reach the destination. After step 140, the process of FIG.

  As described above, when the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, the in-vehicle navigation device 4 follows the guidance route from the current position to the new destination or the changed destination. By comparing the amount of power of the battery 2 consumed during traveling with the current amount of electricity stored in the battery 2, it is determined whether or not the current amount of electricity can be traveled from the current position to the destination along the guidance route. If it is determined that the current power storage amount cannot travel from the current position to the destination along the guidance route, the user in the vehicle 1 is informed that the battery 2 needs to be charged to reach the destination. To do.

  In this way, when the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, the user can grasp whether the destination can be reached with the current battery charge amount.

  The user of the vehicle 1 that has received the notification that the battery 2 needs to be charged in order to reach the destination is usually a facility where the charger 5 is installed (home, The vehicle 1 is directed to a charging stand or the like, and the battery 2 is charged at the facility. At the time of charging, it is assumed that the user turns off the main power supply of the vehicle 1 and then leaves the vehicle 1 with the user terminal 6. Here, ON / OFF of the main power supply of the vehicle 1 refers to ON / OFF of power supply from the battery 2 to the above-described motor (a motor that generates a driving force for running the vehicle 1). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the power supply from the battery 2 to the power control unit of the in-vehicle navigation device 4 is on regardless of whether the main power source of the vehicle 1 is on or off.

  When the user turns off the main power supply of the vehicle 1, the control unit 49 executes a predetermined program based on the fact that the main power supply of the vehicle 1 is turned off and the battery 2 is charged. Thus, the processing is started from step 210 in FIG. The process described below corresponds to a process for notifying the comparison unit 48 of the target power storage amount. Whether the battery 2 is charged can be determined based on the output of the charge amount monitor 3.

  First, at step 210, among the notification conditions recorded in the notification condition storage unit 47, whether or not there is a notification condition of a type that has not yet been extracted from the main power-off of the last vehicle 1 (or from the start of the last charge). If so, step 215 is executed subsequently, and if not, step 230 is executed subsequently. Whether or not a certain type of notification condition has been extracted is determined based on whether or not the notification condition extraction flag is turned on in the notification condition storage unit 47.

  In step 215, a numerical value of the target storage amount is calculated for each of the notification conditions that have not yet been extracted. Specifically, in the case of a notification condition for setting the fully charged power storage amount to the target power storage amount, the target power storage amount is a predetermined fully charged power storage amount. In the case of the notification condition for setting the specified power storage amount to the target power storage amount, the target power storage amount is the specified power storage amount recorded in the notification condition storage unit 47. Further, in the case of a notification condition in which the minimum charged amount that can travel to the destination is set as the target target charged amount, the current position of the vehicle 1 is specified by the current position specifying process, and the current position is determined by the guidance route calculating process. Electric power consumed by traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the destination based on the guidance route and the latest storage amount of the battery 2 received from the comparison unit 48 based on the guidance route to the destination. The amount of power is calculated, and the calculated amount of power is set as the target power storage amount. The calculation method may or may not be the same as the calculation method in step 120 of FIG.

  Subsequently, in step 220, the notification condition corresponding to the lowest value (that is, the one that is achieved earliest) among the calculated numerical values of the target power storage amount is extracted. Specifically, the notification condition storage unit 47 switches the extraction flag of the notification condition from off to on.

  Subsequently, at step 225, the target storage amount corresponding to the notification condition extracted at step 220 (that is, the lowest target storage amount) is output to the comparison unit 48.

  In step 230, the power saving mode is entered. Specifically, power supply from the power supply control unit to the position detector 41, the image display device 42, the operation unit 43, the audio output unit 44, the communication unit 45, the map data acquisition unit 46, and the notification condition storage unit 47 is cut off. . As a method for realizing this, for example, a method of controlling an on / off switch provided on a power supply line from the power supply control unit to each of the units 41 to 47 to be turned off (disconnected) may be employed. As a result, power is not supplied from the battery 2 to the respective units 41 to 47, so that useless power consumption during charging of the battery 2 can be suppressed.

  Subsequently, at step 235, the control unit 49 itself enters the sleep mode from the active mode. By entering the sleep mode, the process of FIG. 6 by the control unit 49 ends. In the sleep mode, the control unit 49 shifts to the active mode when receiving an input of an activation signal from the outside.

  As described above, the control unit 49 performs a process of notifying the comparison unit 48 of the target power storage amount based on the fact that the main power supply of the vehicle 1 is turned off and the battery 2 is charged. , The target storage amount corresponding to the notification condition that is achieved the earliest among the notification conditions that have not been extracted is output to the comparison unit 48.

  Each time the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48 receives the target power storage amount from the control unit 49, the microcomputer 48a executes a predetermined program to perform the charge monitoring process shown in FIG. In this processing, the microcomputer 48a first overwrites and records the numerical value of the target charged amount received from the control unit 49 in the memory 48b in step 405.

  Subsequently, at step 410, the current charge amount information of the battery 2 is obtained from the charge amount monitor 3 and is overwritten and recorded in the memory 48b. Subsequently, in step 415, it is determined whether or not the current charged amount in the memory 48b is equal to or greater than the target charged amount, and if not, the process returns to step 410.

  Until the current power storage amount reaches the target power storage amount, the processes of steps 410 and 415 are repeated. During this time, power from the battery 2 is not supplied to each of the units 41 to 47, and the control unit 49 consumes low power. Therefore, useless power consumption can be suppressed in the in-vehicle navigation device 4.

  If it is determined in step 415 that the current charged amount is equal to or greater than the target charged amount, then in step 420, an activation signal is output to the control unit 49, and the process of FIG.

  Upon receiving this activation signal, the control unit 49 returns to the active mode from the sleep mode as described above, and starts the processing of FIG. This process is a process for notifying the user terminal 6 that the storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target storage amount.

  First, in step 305, the process shifts to the normal mode. Specifically, the power supply from the power supply control unit to each unit 41 to 47 is resumed. Thereby, normal use of each part 41-47 is attained.

  Subsequently, in step 310, it is determined whether or not the charged amount of the battery 2 has reached the target charged amount. Whether the storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target storage amount depends on whether the control unit 49 has returned to the active mode due to an activation signal from the comparison unit 48 or an activation signal from another component. It may be determined depending on whether or not. In this case, for example, if the control unit 49 has a plurality of ports that receive the activation signal, and one of the ports is a port dedicated to the activation signal from the comparison unit 48, has the activation signal been received from the port? It may be determined whether or not the charged amount of the battery 2 has reached the target charged amount.

  Alternatively, whether or not the storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target storage amount is based on a comparison between the target storage amount that was last output to the comparison unit 48 and the latest storage amount of the battery 2 received from the comparison unit 48. May be determined.

  If it is determined that the charged amount of the battery 2 has not reached the target charged amount, the control unit 49 has returned to the active mode for other purposes, so the processing of FIG. Perform other necessary processing.

  If it is determined that the storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target storage amount, the process proceeds to step 315 and the communication unit 45 is controlled so that the storage amount of the battery 2 is set to the target storage amount for the user terminal 6. Notify that it has arrived. At this time, information on which type of notification condition is satisfied may be notified together. This notification may be performed by sending a mail to a mail address that can be received by the user terminal 6 or by opening a peer-to-peer communication line with the user terminal 6.

  Subsequent to step 315, the process proceeds to step 210 to determine whether or not there is a type of notification condition that has not yet been extracted, and if there is, in step 215, for each notification condition that has not yet been extracted, A numerical value of the amount of stored electricity is calculated, and in step 220, a notification condition corresponding to the lowest value of the calculated target storage amount is extracted, and in step 225, a target corresponding to the extracted notification condition is extracted. The power storage amount is output to the comparison unit 48, and further, in step 230, the mode shifts to the power saving mode, and in step 235, the mode shifts to the sleep mode.

  By repeating such processing by the control unit 49 and the microcomputer 48a, all of the set notification conditions after the main power-off of the last vehicle 1 (or after the start of the last charging) are started in order from the notification conditions that are achieved quickly. The extracted target storage amount corresponding to the extracted notification condition is sequentially output to the comparison unit 48. When the in-vehicle navigation device 4 is in the power saving mode and the control unit 49 is in the sleep power consumption state, the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48 compares the current charged amount of the battery 2 with the latest target charged amount. When the current power storage amount reaches the target power storage amount, an activation signal is output to the control unit 49, and the control unit 49 activated thereby indicates that the power storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target power storage amount. Notify

  For example, as notification conditions, (1) a notification condition in which the minimum stored amount of electricity that can travel to the destination is the target target storage amount, and (2) a notification in which the fully charged storage amount is the target target storage amount When the two conditions are set, first, the control unit 49 outputs the target power storage amount corresponding to the notification condition (1) to the comparison unit 48 and shifts to the power saving mode and the sleep mode. The comparison unit 48 compares the target power storage amount with the current power storage amount while maintaining the power saving mode and the sleep mode until the power storage amount is realized, and when the current power storage amount reaches the target power storage amount, the comparison unit In response to the activation signal from 48, the control unit 49 returns to the active mode, shifts to the normal mode, and notifies the user terminal 6 that the target storage amount has been reached.

  Then, the control unit 49 further outputs the target power storage amount (that is, the fully charged power storage amount) corresponding to the notification condition (2) to the comparison unit 48 and shifts to the power saving mode and the sleep mode. The comparison unit 48 compares the target power storage amount with the current power storage amount while maintaining the power saving mode and the sleep mode until the amount is realized, and when the current power storage amount reaches the target power storage amount, the comparison unit 48 The control unit 49 returns to the active mode in response to the activation signal from, shifts to the normal mode, and notifies the user terminal 6 that the target storage amount has been reached.

  Thereafter, the control unit 49 determines in step 210 of FIG. 6 that there is no notification condition that has not yet been extracted, and directly shifts to the power saving mode in step 230 and shifts to the sleep mode in step 235. In this case, since the target storage amount is not newly output to the comparison unit 48, the microcomputer 48 a does not execute the processing of FIG. 7, and thus the control unit 49 does not receive the activation signal from the comparison unit 48.

  It should be noted that all the extraction flags in the notification condition storage unit 47 may be turned off when it is determined in step 210 that there are no more notification conditions yet to be extracted. Alternatively, all may be turned off when the main power of the vehicle returns to ON, or all may be turned off when the battery 2 is disconnected from the charger 5 and charging is completed, or the battery 2 is fully charged. It may be turned off at all times.

  As described above, when the main power supply of the vehicle 1 is turned off when charging the battery 2, the control unit 45 shifts to the sleep mode, and the comparison unit 48 indicates that the current charged amount of the battery 2 is equal to or greater than the target charged amount. It is determined whether or not. That is, by providing the comparison unit 48 separately from the control unit 45 and monitoring the charging state of the battery 2 by the comparison unit 48, the control unit 45 can be put into the sleep mode during charging, and as a result Wasteful power consumption of the vehicle navigation device can be suppressed.

  When the comparison unit 48 determines that the current storage amount of the battery 2 is equal to or greater than the target storage amount, the comparison unit 48 shifts the control unit 49 from the sleep mode to the active mode, and the control unit 49 shifts to the active mode. Based on this, the communication unit 45 is controlled to notify the user terminal 6 that the storage amount of the battery 2 has reached the target storage amount.

  As described above, when charging the battery 2 as a power source for running the vehicle 1, even when the user leaves the vehicle 1 after starting charging, the target storage amount is realized. Can be clearly notified to the user, and the power required for the notification, more specifically, the power necessary to monitor the state of charge of the battery 2 for the notification can be reduced.

  In addition, the power supply to each of the units 41 to 47 is cut off when the battery 2 is charged, and the power supply is resumed when the comparison unit 48 shifts the control unit 49 from the sleep mode to the active mode. Yes.

  As described above, during the charging of each unit 41 to 47, the power supply is cut off until the control unit 49 shifts from the sleep mode to the active mode and needs to notify the user terminal 6. Therefore, the electric power necessary for monitoring the state of charge of the battery 2 is further reduced.

  In addition, the amount of power consumed by traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the destination can be adopted as one of the target power storage amounts. Whether or not the battery 2 has a power storage amount that can travel to the destination is important information for the user. For this reason, for example, the target power storage amount is simply stored at full charge. Compared to the case where it is a quantity, notification according to the purpose of the user can be performed.

  In addition, since the user can select one or more target power storage amounts from a plurality of types, the target power storage amount can be set according to the user's preference.

  In addition, the navigation device having the function of transmitting information to the user terminal can easily notify information necessary for the user to travel, such as whether the vehicle can travel to the destination, by notifying the charging information. .

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 49 functions as an example of a determination unit by executing step 120 in FIG. 5, and an example of the notification unit by executing one or both of steps 130 and 140. Function as.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, The various form which can implement | achieve the function of each invention specific matter of this invention is included. It is.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, each time the user terminal 6 is notified, a plurality of set target power storage amounts are output to the comparison unit 48 one by one. 48 may be output. In that case, the microcomputer 48a may output a start signal to the control unit 49 every time the current storage amount of the battery 2 reaches any one of the plurality of target storage amounts. .

  In addition, the notification condition is not limited to the above (1) to (3), and (4) a notification condition in which the minimum charged amount capable of reciprocating to the destination is the target target charged amount, (5) The notification condition may be set such that the minimum power storage amount capable of traveling to the destination and traveling for the distance specified by the user is the target target power storage amount.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 49 operates in the sleep mode although the power consumption is lower than the normal power consumption. Specifically, at least when the activation signal is received, the sleep mode is shifted to the active mode. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, the control unit 49 may not operate at all in the sleep mode, and power consumption may be zero. In order to do this, for example, the control unit 49 may enter the sleep mode by turning off the power supply from the power supply control unit to the control unit 49 in Step 235 of FIG. In this case, the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48 turns on the power supply from the power supply control unit to the control unit 49 instead of outputting the activation signal to the microcomputer 48 in step 420 of FIG. Also good. In this case, when the power supply from the power supply control unit to the control unit 49 is turned on, the control unit 49 returns from the sleep mode to the active mode. Thus, the sleep mode may be any mode as long as it consumes less power than the active mode.

  In the above embodiment, when the control unit 49 returns to the active mode, the power supply to each of the units 41 to 47 is resumed. However, the microcomputer 48a of the comparison unit 48 controls the control unit 49. When returning to the active mode, the power supply to each of the units 41 to 47 may be resumed.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 4 is illustrated as an example of a charge condition alerting | reporting apparatus, a charge condition alerting device does not necessarily need to have the function of a vehicle navigation device, for example, control The apparatus which has only the part 49, the communication part 45, and the comparison part 45 may be sufficient.

  In the above embodiment, each function realized by the control unit 49 and the microcomputer 48a executing the program is hardware having those functions (for example, FPGA capable of programming the circuit configuration). It may be realized by using.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Battery 3 Charge amount monitor 4 Car-mounted navigation apparatus 5 Battery charger 6 User terminal 20 Notification condition setting screen 45 Communication part 47 Notification condition memory | storage part 48 Comparison part 49 Control part

Claims (5)

A charging state notification device mounted on a vehicle (1),
A communication unit (45) having a wireless communication function and capable of transmitting information to the user terminal (6) by the wireless communication function;
A control unit (49) for controlling the communication unit (45) and transitioning between an active mode operating at a normal power consumption and a sleep mode having a power consumption lower than the normal power consumption; ,
A comparison unit (48) having a power consumption lower than the normal power consumption of the communication unit (45),
The controller (45) shifts to the sleep mode when charging the battery (2),
The comparison unit (48) determines whether or not the current charged amount of the battery (2) is equal to or greater than the target charged amount when charging the battery (2), and determines that the charged amount is equal to or greater than the target charged amount. If so, the control unit (49) is shifted from the sleep mode to the active mode,
The control unit (49) determines whether the current charged amount of the battery (2) has reached the target charged amount based on the transition from the sleep mode to the active mode, and the target Based on the determination that the storage amount has been reached, the communication unit (45) is controlled to notify the user terminal (6) that the storage amount of the battery (2) has reached the target storage amount. A state-of-charge notification device characterized by:   When the battery (2) is charged, the power supply to the communication unit (45) is cut off, and the comparison unit (48) shifts the control unit (49) from the sleep mode to the active mode. The charging state notification device according to claim 1, wherein power supply to the communication unit (45) is resumed. The charging state notification device is a navigation device that calculates an optimum guide route from a current position to a destination set by a user and guides the calculated guide route.
The charge state notification device according to claim 1, wherein the target power storage amount is an amount of power consumed by traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the destination.   The charge state notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a user can select one or more target power storage amounts from a plurality of types. A navigation device that is mounted on a vehicle (1) that uses electric power stored in a rechargeable battery (2) as travel energy and guides a guidance route to a destination,
When the destination is newly set or the destination is changed, the electric power of the battery (2) consumed in traveling along the guidance route from the current position to the new destination or the changed destination. A determination means (120) for determining whether or not the vehicle can travel from the current position to the destination along the guidance route by comparing the amount and the current charged amount of the battery (2). When,
When the determination means (120) determines that the current power storage amount cannot travel from the current position to the destination along the guidance route, the battery (2) needs to be charged to reach the destination. The navigation apparatus provided with the alerting | reporting means (130,140) which alert | reports to the user in the said vehicle (1) that it became.

Images