JP2011221955A - Information providing device and information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information as to whether a charger can be used more suitably.SOLUTION: The information providing device includes: charger information acquiring means for acquiring charger information being information about a charger including at least the position and use state of the charger; vehicle information acquiring means for acquiring vehicle information from a plurality of vehicles; use completion time predicting means for specifying a charger used by a vehicle on the basis of the charger information, and predicting a use completion time being a time when the time of the specified charger is completed; use start time predicting means for specifying a vehicle having the possibility of using the charger on the basis of the charger information and the vehicle information, and predicting a use start time being a time when the specified vehicle starts to use the charger; and providing means for generating usable information about the use of the charger on the basis of the use completion time and the use start time, and providing the vehicle with the generated usable information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method for providing information related to the use of a vehicle charger.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for determining a time when a charger can be used based on a reservation status of the charger and providing information including the time when the charger can be used to the vehicle is known (Patent Document 1). .

JP 2003-262525 A

  However, in the prior art, the time when the charger can be used is determined based on the reservation status of the charger, and it is determined that the charger cannot be used uniformly during the time when the charger is reserved. Was. Therefore, even when the user of the vehicle using the charger completes the use of the charger in a time shorter than the time for reserving the charge, and in fact, the charger can be used. There is a problem that information indicating that the charger cannot be used is provided.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information providing apparatus that can more appropriately provide information on whether or not a charger can be used.

  The present invention predicts the time when the use of the charger used by the vehicle is completed, and predicts the vehicle that may use the charger and the time when the vehicle starts using the charger. The above-described problem is solved by generating usable information and providing the generated usable information to the vehicle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to predict the time at which use by a vehicle is completed for a charger used by a vehicle, and thus it is possible to more appropriately provide information on whether or not the charger can be used. .

It is a block diagram of the information provision system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of schedule information. It is a figure which shows an example of the table by which the standard stay time for every POI classification was memorize | stored. It is a figure which shows an example of the table in which the standard stay time for every individual POI was memorize | stored. It is a figure which shows an example of the table by which the standard stay time for every parking lot was memorize | stored. It is a flowchart which shows the information provision process which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the charger availability information displayed on the screen of the display of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the use completion time prediction process of step S106, S109. It is a flowchart which shows the use start time prediction process of step S107. It is a figure which shows an example of the charge classification information of a vehicle, and the estimated arrival time information which arrives at the destination. It is a flowchart which shows the availability judgment process of step S305.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information providing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system of the present embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 100 mounted on a vehicle, a terminal device 200 including a mobile phone, a personal computer, and a PDA carried by a vehicle user, The charging station 300 includes a plurality of chargers and an information center 400 installed outside the vehicle. In FIG. 1, only a single in-vehicle device 100, a single terminal device 200, and a single charging stand 300 are illustrated for simplicity of explanation, but in the information providing system of this embodiment, The information center 400 can exchange information with a plurality of in-vehicle devices 100, a plurality of terminal devices 200, and a plurality of charging stations 300.

  The information providing system according to the present embodiment is used by a plurality of vehicles on which the in-vehicle device 100 is mounted. By the information center 400, a plurality of in-vehicle devices 100, a plurality of terminal devices 200, and a plurality of charging stands 300 are used. By generating information related to the use of the charger based on the information transmitted from the vehicle, information related to the use of the charger is provided to the vehicle user.

  First, the configuration of the in-vehicle device 100 will be described. The in-vehicle device 100 is, for example, a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle communication device 110, the in-vehicle input device 120, the in-vehicle control device 130, the vehicle position detection device 140, the map database 150, the history The database 160, the battery controller 170, and the display 180 are comprised. These configurations are connected by a CAN (Controller Area Network) or other in-vehicle LAN, and can exchange information with each other.

  The in-vehicle communication device 110 receives vehicle information (details of the vehicle information will be described later) from the in-vehicle control device 130, and transmits the received vehicle information to the information center 400. The in-vehicle communication device 110 also receives charger availability information, which is information for determining whether a charger is available, from the information center 400, and uses the received charger availability information as the in-vehicle control device 130. Send to.

  The in-vehicle input device 120 is a switch operated by a user, and is used for performing various operations such as setting a destination, requesting charger availability information, and presenting charger availability information. The in-vehicle input device 120 may be, for example, a device that can be manually input by a user such as a touch panel or a joystick arranged on a display screen, or may be input by a user's uttered voice such as a microphone. It may be a possible device. The input instruction from the user input by the in-vehicle input device 120 is transmitted to the in-vehicle control device 130.

  The vehicle position detection device 140 includes a GPS unit, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like, detects radio waves transmitted from a plurality of satellite communications, and periodically acquires position information of the own vehicle. The current position of the host vehicle is detected based on the acquired position information of the host vehicle, the angle change information acquired from the gyro sensor, and the vehicle speed acquired from the vehicle speed sensor. The position information of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection device 140 is transmitted to the in-vehicle control device 130.

  The map database 150 stores map data and stores POI (Point Of Interest) information such as names, positions, and types of various facilities.

  The battery controller 170 periodically calculates the remaining charge of a battery (not shown) of the host vehicle based on detection data from a current sensor and a voltage sensor (not shown), and the calculation result is used as the in-vehicle control device 130. Send to.

  The display 180 receives the charger availability information from the in-vehicle control device 130 and displays the received charger availability information on a screen included in the display 180. The device for presenting the charger availability information to the vehicle user is not limited to the display 180. For example, the charger availability information can be obtained by voice using a speaker. It may be a device as shown in FIG.

  The in-vehicle control device 130 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a program, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes the program stored in the ROM, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that functions as an accessible storage device. It consists of. As an operation circuit, instead of or in addition to a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. Can be used.

  The in-vehicle control device 130 executes a program stored in the ROM by the CPU, so that the destination setting function for setting the destination, the vehicle information acquisition function for acquiring vehicle information, and the history information of the own vehicle in the history database 160. A history information storage function to be stored, a history information acquisition function to acquire history information of the own vehicle from the history database 160, and a request function to request charger availability information are realized. Below, each function with which the vehicle-mounted control apparatus 130 is provided is demonstrated.

  The destination setting function of the in-vehicle control device 130 sets the destination of the host vehicle. For example, when the destination is input by the user via the in-vehicle input device 120, the destination setting by the destination setting function is performed by storing the input destination in the RAM of the in-vehicle control device 130. Done.

  The vehicle information acquisition function of the in-vehicle control device 130 acquires vehicle information. The vehicle information includes location information of the host vehicle, remaining charge information of the battery of the host vehicle, charge type information for the host vehicle to use the charger, and destination information which is information of the destination of the host vehicle. It is done. The vehicle information acquisition function acquires the position information of the host vehicle from the vehicle position detection device 140 and the remaining charge information of the battery from the battery controller 170. Further, the vehicle information acquisition function acquires the charge type information stored in the ROM of the in-vehicle control device 130 from the ROM of the in-vehicle control device 130. This charge type information includes, for example, information such as the type of the charging connector of the host vehicle, the charging voltage that the host vehicle can handle, and the presence or absence of an attached cable for charging attached to the host vehicle. In addition, the vehicle information acquisition function, when the destination is set by the destination setting function, if POI information related to the facility set as the destination can be acquired from the map database 150, POI information related to the set facility is acquired as destination information. On the other hand, when the destination is set by the destination setting function and the POI information regarding the facility set as the destination cannot be acquired from the map database 150, the position information of the position set as the destination Is acquired as destination information. The vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition function is periodically transmitted to the information center 400 via the in-vehicle communication device 110.

  The history information storage function of the in-vehicle control device 130 stores the history information of the host vehicle including the traveling history information and the charging history information in a database and stores it in the history database 160. Specifically, the history information storage function generates travel history information based on the position information of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle position detection device 140 and the time when the position information is acquired, and the generated travel history The information is converted into a database and stored in the history database 160. The history information storage function generates charge history information based on the position information of the charging station 300 used by the user of the host vehicle and the remaining charge of the battery when charging is performed at the charging station 300. The generated charging history information is converted into a database and stored in the history database 160.

  The history information acquisition function of the in-vehicle control device 130 acquires the history information of the host vehicle stored in the history database 160 from the history database 160. The history information acquired by the history information acquisition function is periodically transmitted to the information center 400 via the in-vehicle communication device 110.

  The request function of the in-vehicle control device 130 requests the information center 400 for charger availability information for determining whether the charger is available. The request function may request the charger availability information from the information center 400 at predetermined intervals, or the charger availability information according to a vehicle user instruction via the in-vehicle input device 120. May be requested. A request by the request function is transmitted to the information center 400 via the in-vehicle communication device 110.

  The history database 160 stores the history information of the host vehicle. That is, the history database 160 includes the position information on which the host vehicle was traveling, the travel history information generated based on the time when the position information was acquired, and the position information of the charging station 300 used by the user of the vehicle. The charging history information generated based on the remaining charge of the battery when the battery is charged at the charging stand 300 is stored.

  Next, the terminal device 200 will be described. The terminal device 200 is a terminal device such as a mobile phone, a personal computer, and a PDA, for example, and has a function of managing a user's action schedule as schedule information. The terminal device 200 can be connected to the in-vehicle device 100 in a wired or wireless manner, so that the terminal device 200 can recognize the in-vehicle device 100 from each other. The terminal device 200 and the in-vehicle device 100 can recognize each other so that the schedule information of the user managed by the terminal device 200 is the schedule information of the user of the vehicle. It has become. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device 200 includes a terminal communication device 210, a terminal input device 220, and a terminal control device 230.

  The terminal communication device 210 receives user schedule information from the terminal control device 230 and transmits the received user schedule information to the information center 400.

  The terminal input device 220 is a switch operated by the user, similar to the in-vehicle input device 120 of the in-vehicle device 100, and is used to perform various operations such as input and editing of the user's schedule information, for example. A user instruction input by the terminal input device 220 is transmitted to the terminal control device 230.

  The terminal control device 230 includes a ROM that stores a program for managing schedule information, a CPU that executes the program stored in the ROM, and a RAM that functions as an accessible storage device. By executing a program stored in the ROM by the CPU, a schedule management function for managing user schedule information is realized.

  The schedule management function of the terminal control device 230 manages the user's action schedule input by the user via the terminal input device 220 as schedule information. Here, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of schedule information managed by the schedule management function. As shown in FIG. 2, the schedule information of the present embodiment includes information on a schedule such as “meeting with company X”, information on a place where a schedule such as “XX Hotel” is performed (position of the place where the schedule is performed) Information), information on the start time at which the schedule starts, such as “10:00”, and information on the end time at which the schedule ends, such as “12:00”. The schedule information managed by the schedule management function is periodically transmitted to the information center 400 via the terminal communication device 210.

Next, the charging stand 300 will be described. The charging station 300 is a facility for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the charging station communication device 310, the charging station control device 320, and the plurality of chargers 330 ₁ to 330 ₁ . 330 _n .

  The charging station communication device 310 receives charging information (details of charging information will be described later) from the charging station control device 320, and transmits the received charging information to the information center 400.

  The charging station control device 320 includes a ROM that stores a program, a CPU that executes the program stored in the ROM, and a RAM that functions as an accessible storage device, and is stored in the ROM. By executing the program by the CPU, a charging completion scheduled time calculating function for calculating a scheduled time for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle and a charging information acquiring function for acquiring charging information are realized.

The charging completion scheduled time calculation function of the charging station control device 320 calculates a scheduled charging completion time, which is a scheduled time for the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n to complete charging of the battery. Calculation of the charge completion scheduled time due to the charging completion scheduled time calculation function, for example, and the remaining charge of the battery of the vehicle utilizing the battery charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, such as the charging voltage of the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n This is done by calculating the scheduled charging completion time based on the charging status.

The charging information acquisition function of the charging station control device 320 acquires charging information from each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n . The charging information, usage information indicating whether the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n are used by the vehicle, identification information of the vehicle received from the vehicle utilizing the battery charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, each charger 330 ₁ to 330 _n time information available is the start of the vehicle, and a charging completion scheduled time information calculated by the charge completion expected time calculating function. The charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition function is periodically transmitted to the information center 400 via the charging station communication device 310.

The chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n are devices for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. These chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n include, for example, a charger that can be quickly charged and a charger that can be used only for normal charging. There is a type of charger that charges with a power source of AC 200V. Furthermore, charging these charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, and type of charger for charging using a cable for charging with the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, using a supplied cable for charging the vehicle comprises There is also a type of charger. Then, depending on the charge type of the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, each vehicle is the charger can differ available. For example, when the charger includes a charging cable, only a vehicle including a charging connector that can be connected to the charging cable included in the charger can use the charger. Further, for example, when the charger does not include a charging cable, only the vehicle including a charging accessory cable that can be used for these chargers can use these chargers. Thus, only the vehicle capable of supporting charging type charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n has become possible to use these chargers ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n. It should be noted that such charge type information of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n is stored in advance in the database 430 provided in the information center 400.

Next, the information center 400 will be described. The information center 400 is, for example, a server installed outside the vehicle. The information center 400 includes charging information transmitted from the plurality of charging stations 300, vehicle information transmitted from the plurality of in-vehicle devices 100, and a plurality of terminal devices 200. Based on the transmitted user schedule information, charger availability information for determining whether the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n are available is generated, and the generated charger availability information is stored in the in-vehicle device 100. provide. As shown in FIG. 1, the information center 400 includes a center communication device 410, a center control device 420, and a database 430.

  The center communication device 410 is charged information transmitted from a plurality of charging stations 300 existing within the management range of the information center 400, vehicle information transmitted from a plurality of in-vehicle devices 100, and transmitted from a plurality of terminal devices 200. The schedule information is received, and the received information is transmitted to the center controller 420. Further, the center communication device 410 receives the charger availability information from the center control device 420 and transmits the received charger availability information to the in-vehicle device 100.

  The center control device 420 includes a ROM, a CPU, and a RAM, and a charge information acquisition function for acquiring charge information by executing a program stored in the ROM of the center control device 420 by the CPU. A vehicle information acquisition function for acquiring vehicle information, a use completion time prediction function for predicting a time at which use of a charger used by a vehicle is completed, a vehicle that may use a charger is identified and specified. Each function of the utilization start time prediction function which estimates the time when a vehicle starts utilization of a charger and the production | generation function which produces | generates charger availability information is implement | achieved. Hereinafter, each function with which the center control apparatus 420 is provided is demonstrated.

  The charging information acquisition function of the center control device 420 acquires charging information received from the plurality of charging stations 300 via the center communication device 410. In addition, acquisition of the charging information by the charging information acquisition function is periodically performed at a predetermined cycle.

  The vehicle information acquisition function of the center control device 420 acquires vehicle information received from the plurality of in-vehicle devices 100 and user schedule information received from the plurality of terminal devices 200 via the center communication device 410. The vehicle information acquisition by the vehicle information acquisition function is also performed periodically at a predetermined cycle.

  The use completion time prediction function of the center control device 420 identifies a charger used by the vehicle, and predicts a use completion time, which is a time when use of the specified charger is completed by the vehicle. A method for predicting the use completion time by the use completion time prediction function will be described later.

  The use start time prediction function of the center control device 420 identifies a vehicle that may use the charger, and predicts a use start time that is the time when the specified vehicle starts using the charger. A method for predicting the use start time by the use start time prediction function will also be described later.

  The generation function of the center control device 420 determines whether the charger can be used based on the use completion time predicted by the use completion time prediction function and the use start time predicted by the use start time prediction function. To generate charger availability information for Note that a method for generating charger availability information by the generation function will also be described later.

  The database 430 stores a table storing standard stay times. The standard stay time is a standard time for a person using a predetermined facility to stay in the facility. For example, an average time of a user staying in the facility may be used. it can. Here, FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 are examples of the standard stay time tables stored in the database 430. For example, the table shown in FIG. 3 shows the standard stay time in the facility stored as POI information for each POI type indicating the category of the facility, and for each POI type such as “Pachinko parlor” or “Department store”. The standard stay time is remembered. Also, the standard stay time table for each POI type shown in FIG. 3 stores the standard stay time for each day of the week (including a specific day such as a Christmas period) and for each time zone.

  In addition to the standard stay time table for each POI type shown in FIG. 3, the database 430 stores a standard stay time for each individual facility stored as POI information as shown in FIG. Is stored. In the standard stay time table for each individual POI shown in FIG. 4, the standard stay time for each individual POI such as “C amusement park” and “D amusement park” is subdivided for each day of the week (including special days). Has been remembered. Further, in the database 430, in addition to the table of standard stay times for each POI type shown in FIG. 3 and for each POI shown in FIG. 4, a table of standard stay times for each individual parking lot as shown in FIG. Stored. In the standard stay time table for each individual parking lot shown in FIG. 5, the standard stay time for each individual parking lot such as “E parking lot” and “F parking lot” is shown for each day of the week (including a special day). Subdivided and remembered.

Furthermore, charger unique information, which is information unique to the charger, is stored in the database 430 in advance. The charger-specific information, the charger ₃₃₀ 1-330 position information of _n, charging classification information of the charger ₃₃₀ 1-330 _n installed in the charging station 300, the charger ₃₃₀ 1-330 _n charger for charging Information unique to each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n such as charging type information that is information on whether or not is.

  Next, the information providing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing information providing processing according to the present embodiment. This information providing process is executed by the center control device 420 of the information center 400.

The information providing process is started when a request for charger availability information is made by the in-vehicle device 100, and the request for the charger availability information is acquired by the information center 400. In the following description, the information center 400 that has acquired the request for the charger availability information is provided with respect to a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a request vehicle) on which the in-vehicle device 100 that has requested the charger availability information is mounted. A process for providing available information will be described as an example. In the information providing process of the present embodiment, in response to a request for charger availability information from the requesting vehicle, the information center 400 searches for the charging station 300 around the destination of the requesting vehicle, and the destination of the requesting vehicle Charger availability information is generated to determine whether the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the charging station 300 existing in the vicinity can be used, and the generated charger availability information is provided to the requesting vehicle. Is done. Here, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the charger availability information displayed on the screen of the display 180 of the in-vehicle device 100 as a result of the provision of the charger availability information by the information center 400. In the following, as shown in FIG. 7, charger availability information about the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed at the A charging station and the B charging station existing around the destination of the requesting vehicle is sent to the requesting vehicle. An example of the scene to be provided will be described as an example.

  First, in step S <b> 101, the center communication device 410 receives charging information, and the received charging information is acquired by the charging information acquisition function of the center control device 420. In step S101, the charger specific information stored in the database 430 of the information center 400 is also acquired by the charge information acquisition function. In addition, reception and acquisition of the charging information in step S101 are periodically performed at a predetermined cycle.

  In step S102, the center communication device 410 uses the in-vehicle device 100 mounted on a plurality of vehicles including a requested vehicle and vehicles other than the requested vehicle (hereinafter referred to as other vehicles) that exist within the management range of the information center 400. The vehicle information is received, and the received vehicle information is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition function of the center control device 420. In step S102, the center communication device 410 receives the user's schedule information, and the received user's schedule information is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition function of the center control device 420. In addition, reception and acquisition of vehicle information and schedule information in step S102 are also performed periodically at a predetermined cycle.

In step S103, the charging station 300 around the destination of the requested vehicle is searched by the use completion time prediction function of the center control device 420. Specifically, the destination information of the requesting vehicle that requested the charger availability information in the vehicle information acquired in step S102 and the management range of the information center 400 in the charger specific information acquired in step S101. Based on the position information of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the plurality of existing charging stations 300, the charging station 300 around the destination of the requested vehicle is searched. Then, the found charging station 300 is specified as a specific stand. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, “A charging station” and “B charging station” are searched as the charging station 300 around the destination of the requested vehicle, and the searched “A charging station” and “B charging station” are searched. It is specified as a specific stand.

In step S104, based on the charging information acquired in step S101 by the use completion time prediction function of the center control device 420, the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _{n included in} the specific stand are vehicles other than the requesting vehicle. The charger used by the vehicle is specified, and the specified charger is set as the specific charger. Specifically, the use completion time prediction function, the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n usage information of the particular stand out of the charging information, i.e., the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n particular stand is used by another vehicle Based on the information of whether or not there is, a charger used by another vehicle is specified, and this is set as a specified charger. Note that the use completion time prediction function determines that only a charger that is charging a battery mounted on the vehicle is a charger that is used by the vehicle, for example, charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. Since the vehicle is parked in the charger usage space even if it is not, a charger that cannot be used by another vehicle is also specified as a specific charger.

In step S105, the charger specified as the specific charger in step S104 among the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand around the destination of the requested vehicle by the use completion time prediction function of the center control device 420. It is determined whether or not there is. When it is determined that there is a charger specified as the specific charger, the process proceeds to step S106, and the use completion time, which is the time when the use by the other vehicle is completed, is predicted for the specific charger. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no charger specified as the specific charger, it is not necessary to predict the use completion time, and the process proceeds to step S107.

  In step S106, the use completion time prediction process for predicting the use completion time is performed by the use completion time prediction function of the center controller 420. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of the use completion time prediction process in step S106. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 8, the use completion time prediction processing in step S106 will be described. The use completion time prediction process described below is executed for each specific charger specified in step S104.

  First, in step S201, another vehicle using the specific charger (hereinafter referred to as a charging vehicle) is specified. In step S201, as a method of specifying the charging vehicle, for example, among the charging information acquired in step S101, the specific charger identifies the charging vehicle acquired from the charging vehicle using the specific charger. Based on the information, a method of specifying a charging vehicle using a specific charger can be mentioned.

  In step S202, it is determined whether or not the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle is acquired from the terminal device 200 of the user of the charging vehicle in step S102. If it is determined that the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S203, and the use completion time is predicted based on the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle.

  Specifically, in step S203, the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle is first identified based on the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle acquired in step S102. For example, when the schedule information shown in FIG. 2 is acquired as the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle, “Meeting with Company X” shown in FIG. 2 is specified as the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle.

  In step S203, the end time at which the current schedule of the user of the specified charging vehicle ends is predicted as the use completion time. That is, when the schedule information shown in FIG. 2 is acquired, “12:00” that is the end time of the current schedule “meeting with company X” is predicted as the use completion time. Note that the method of predicting the use completion time in step S203 is not limited to the method of predicting the end time at which the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle ends as the use completion time. A time after the elapse of a predetermined time from the current scheduled end time may be predicted as the use completion time. Further, in step S203, the current schedule is performed based on the position information of the place where the current schedule is performed in the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle and the position information of the place where the next schedule is performed. The time required to move from one location to the next is calculated, and the current schedule is based on the calculated time and the start time of the next schedule A time when it is necessary to leave the place may be calculated, and the calculated time may be predicted as the use completion time.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S202 that the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S204. In step S204, it is determined whether the travel history information of the charged vehicle included in the history information of the charged vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102 is acquired. If it is determined that the travel history information of the charged vehicle is acquired, the process proceeds to step S205. On the other hand, if it is determined that the travel history information of the charged vehicle is not acquired, the process proceeds to step S206.

  In step S205, the use completion time is predicted based on the travel history information of the charged vehicle. Specifically, first, the action schedule of the user of the charging vehicle is estimated based on the traveling history information of the charging vehicle. For example, the current action schedule of the user of the charging vehicle can be estimated by referring to the traveling history of the charging vehicle at the same time as the current time in the traveling history information of the charging vehicle. Then, similarly to step S203, the use completion time is predicted based on the estimated action schedule of the user of the charging vehicle. For example, the end time of the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle is obtained from the estimated action schedule of the user of the charging vehicle, and the end time of the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle is predicted as the use completion time. Alternatively, a time after a predetermined time has elapsed from the current scheduled end time of the user of the charging vehicle may be predicted as the use completion time. Alternatively, the time required to depart from the place where the current schedule is performed may be calculated, and this time may be predicted as the use completion time.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S204 that travel history information of the charged vehicle has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, it is determined whether the destination information of the charging vehicle is acquired from the vehicle information acquired in step S102. If it is determined that the destination information of the charged vehicle has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S207. On the other hand, if it is determined that the destination information of the charged vehicle has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S209.

  In step S207, based on the destination information of the charging vehicle, the standard stay time table stored in the database 430 is referred to, and the standard stay time at the facility set as the destination is extracted. For example, when the POI information of the facility set as the destination is acquired as the destination information of the charging vehicle, it is set as the destination by referring to the table of the standard staying time for each POI shown in FIG. The standard stay time of the facility is extracted. Further, when the standard stay time of POI related to the facility set as the destination is not stored in the standard stay time table for each POI shown in FIG. 4, the table of standard stay time for each POI type shown in FIG. The standard stay time corresponding to the type of facility set as the destination is extracted. In addition, even when the POI information of the facility set as the destination is not acquired as the destination information of the charging vehicle, for example, the parking lot is equipped with a specific stand used by the charging vehicle. When the standard stay time in the parking lot is stored in the standard stay time table for each parking lot shown in FIG. 5, the standard stay time in the parking lot is extracted.

  In step S208, the use completion time is predicted based on the standard stay time extracted in step S207. For example, the time when the charging vehicle departs from the destination based on the standard stay time extracted in step S207 and the time when the charging vehicle starts using the specific charger in the charging information acquired in step S101. Is estimated, and the estimated time is predicted as the use completion time.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S206 that the destination information of the charging vehicle has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S209, and the use completion time is predicted using the charging information of the specific charger. Specifically, among the charging information acquired in step S101, the estimated charging completion time predicted from the remaining charge of the battery of the charging vehicle using the specific charger, the charging voltage of the specific charger, etc., That is, the use completion time is predicted based on the time when charging of the battery of the charging vehicle by the specific charger is completed.

  In step S210, it is determined whether or not the use completion time has been predicted for all the specific chargers. When the use completion time is predicted for all the specific chargers, the use completion time prediction process shown in FIG. 8 is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S107 shown in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a specific charger whose use completion time is not predicted, the process returns to step S201, and the use completion time is predicted for the specific charger whose use completion time is not predicted.

  As described above, the use completion time is predicted. The predicted use completion time is stored in, for example, a RAM included in the center control device 420, and is used when generating charger availability information in step S110 described later.

After the use completion time prediction process described above ends, the process proceeds to step S107 shown in FIG. 6, and the use start time prediction process is performed. In step S107, the use start time prediction function of the center controller 420 identifies a vehicle that may use the charger at the specific stand before the requested vehicle arrives at the specific stand, and the specified vehicle is charged. The use start time, which is the time when the use of the container is started, is predicted. Here, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the use start time prediction process of step S107. Hereinafter, the use start time prediction process in step S107 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the use start time prediction process described below is executed for each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed at a specific stand around the destination of the requesting vehicle. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the “A charging stand” and the “B charging stand” that are specific stands around the destination of the requested vehicle will be described below. The use start time prediction process is executed.

First, in step S301, among the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n, which is installed in a particular stand, charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n for utilization start time prediction process is not yet performed is processed, it is processed The chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n are identified as the prediction target chargers.

  In step S302, another vehicle whose destination is a position within a predetermined distance from the position of the prediction target charger is extracted, and the extracted other vehicle is set as the target vehicle. Specifically, vehicle information of other vehicles other than the requested vehicle is extracted from the vehicle information acquired in step S102, and destination information of the other vehicles is acquired from the extracted vehicle information of the other vehicles. Then, based on the acquired destination information of the other vehicle and the position information of the prediction target charger among the charger specific information acquired in step S101, a position within a predetermined distance from the position of the prediction target charger is determined. The other vehicle as the destination is extracted, and the extracted other vehicle is set as the target vehicle.

  In step S302, it is determined whether or not another vehicle having a destination within a predetermined distance from the position of the prediction target charger has been extracted. If it is determined that no other vehicle whose destination is within a predetermined distance from the position of the prediction target charger has been extracted, the process proceeds to step S308, and there is no vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. To be judged. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S302 that another vehicle having a destination within a predetermined distance from the position of the prediction target charger has been extracted, the process proceeds to step S303. In step S302, the target vehicle is extracted based on the destination information in the vehicle information. However, the method of extracting the target vehicle is not limited to this, and for example, schedule information of users of other vehicles Alternatively, based on the travel history information of the other vehicle, the destination of the other vehicle (for example, a place where the next schedule is performed) is specified, and the prediction target charger is based on the specified destination of the other vehicle. Another vehicle whose destination is a position within a predetermined distance from the position may be extracted as the target vehicle.

  In step S303, a first-arrival vehicle that is a vehicle that arrives at the destination earlier than the requested vehicle is extracted from the target vehicles extracted in step S302. Specifically, first, based on the current position of the target vehicle and the destination information of the target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102, the arrival prediction that the target vehicle extracted in step S302 arrives at the destination is provided. Time is predicted. Here, FIG. 10 shows an example of the estimated arrival time of the destination of each target vehicle whose destination is a position within a predetermined distance from the “A charging station” in the example shown in FIG. 7. In step S303, as shown in FIG. 10, when the estimated arrival time of the target vehicle destination is predicted, the estimated arrival time of the requested vehicle at the destination and the estimated arrival time of the target vehicle at the destination are obtained. By comparison, a first-arrival vehicle that is a vehicle that arrives at the destination earlier than the requested vehicle is extracted.

  In step S303, it is further determined whether or not a first-arrival vehicle that has arrived at the destination earlier than the requested vehicle has been extracted. If it is determined that the first-arrival vehicle has not been extracted, the process proceeds to step S308, and it is determined that there is no vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that the first-arrival vehicle has been extracted, the process proceeds to step S304.

  In step S304, a vehicle whose charge type matches the charge type of the requesting vehicle among the first arrival vehicles extracted in step S303 based on the charge type information of the requesting vehicle and the first arrival vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102. Is extracted.

  Specifically, in step S304, among the first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S303, for example, the type of the charging connector matches the type of the charging connector of the requesting vehicle, and the charging voltage is the charging voltage of the requesting vehicle. Vehicles that match are extracted. Here, FIG. 10 shows an example of the charge type of each target vehicle whose destination is a position within a predetermined distance from “A charging station” in the example shown in FIG. 7. For example, the charge type of the requested vehicle is “200V B” of the charge voltage “200V”, the charge connector type “B type”, and the charge type information of the first-arriving vehicle is, for example, the charge type information shown in FIG. In step S304, “vehicle 2” that matches the charge type “200V B” of the requested vehicle is extracted.

  In step S304, it is determined whether a vehicle whose charge type matches the charge type of the requested vehicle is extracted from the first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S303. If it is determined that no vehicle whose charge type matches the charge type of the requested vehicle is extracted from the first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S303, the first-arrived vehicle is not a vehicle that uses the charger used by the requested vehicle. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S308, and it is determined that there is no vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. On the other hand, when it is determined that a vehicle whose charge type matches the charge type of the requested vehicle is extracted from the first arrival vehicles extracted in step S303, the process proceeds to step S305.

  In step S <b> 305, an availability determination process for identifying a vehicle that may use the prediction target charger is performed by the use start time prediction function of the center control device 420. Here, FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the availability determination process in step S305. Hereinafter, the availability determination process in step S305 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S401, among the vehicles extracted in step S304, a vehicle for which availability determination processing has not yet been performed is set as a processing target, and a vehicle set as a processing target is specified as a prediction target vehicle.

In step S402, based on the remaining charge information on the battery of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired at step S102, whether the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is less than a predetermined values S ₁ not Is judged. Here, the predetermined values S _1, for example, a user of the prediction target vehicle, due to the low remaining charge, a charge amount is expected to feel uneasy to travel, predetermined values S _1, for example, charge It can be set as the charge amount from which the driving | running | working distance calculated | required from remaining amount is 10 km. If the remaining charge is above the predetermined values _{S 1} proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, if the remaining charge of the prediction target vehicle is less than a predetermined values S ₁ proceeds to step S411, in step S411, the prediction target vehicle is determined that there is a possibility to utilize the prediction target charger, the prediction target It is specified as a vehicle that may use a charger (hereinafter referred to as a specific vehicle).

In step S403, based on the remaining charge information on the battery of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired at step S102, whether the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is less than a predetermined value S ₂ not Is judged. The predetermined value S ₂ is greater than a predetermined value S _1, for example, a user of the prediction target vehicle, a charge amount remaining charge is expected to feel not a sufficient quantity can be, for example, a predetermined value S _2, the travel distance obtained from the remaining battery charge can be a charge amount to be 50 km. Remaining charge of a battery mounted to the prediction target vehicle if there is less than a predetermined value S _2, the process proceeds to step S404. On the other hand, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is equal to or larger than a predetermined value S _2, the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S404, it is determined whether or not the user's schedule of the prediction target vehicle is going home. In step S404, as a method for determining whether or not the user's schedule of the prediction target vehicle is going home, for example, the user's action schedule is specified based on the user's schedule information of the prediction target vehicle acquired in step S101. In addition, there are a method for determining whether or not the identified action schedule of the user is going home, and a method for determining whether or not the destination is home based on the destination information of the prediction target vehicle. If it is determined in step S404 that the user is going home, the process proceeds to step S405. If it is determined that the user is not going home, the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S405, based on the remaining charge information of the battery of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102, the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is sufficient to return home. It is determined whether or not. For example, when the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is equal to or greater than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the user's home, the vehicle is mounted on the prediction target vehicle. It is determined that the remaining battery charge is sufficient to return to the home, and the process proceeds to step S410, where it is determined that the prediction target vehicle is not likely to use the prediction target charger. On the other hand, if the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is less than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the user's home of the prediction target vehicle, it is mounted on the prediction target vehicle. It is determined that the remaining charge of the battery is not sufficient to return home, and the process proceeds to step S411, where it is determined that the prediction target vehicle may use the charger, and the prediction target vehicle is charged as the prediction target charge. It is identified as a specific vehicle that may use the vessel. In step S405, it is determined whether the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is equal to or greater than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the user's home of the prediction target vehicle. In addition, in addition to the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the user's home position of the prediction target vehicle, a predetermined distance is further added to the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the user's home position of the prediction target vehicle. By using this distance, it may be determined whether or not the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is sufficient for returning home.

On the other hand, in step S403, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on prediction target vehicle, if it is determined that the predetermined value S ₂ or more, or, in step S404, the user of the prediction target vehicle are not intended to go home If it is determined, the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S406, it is determined whether or not the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle is acquired from the terminal device 200 of the user of the prediction target vehicle in step S102. If it is determined that the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S407. On the other hand, if it is determined that the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S408. move on.

  In step S407, the prediction target vehicle mounted on the prediction target vehicle based on the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle acquired in step S102 and the remaining charge information of the battery of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S101. It is determined whether or not the remaining battery charge is sufficient to move to a place where the user of the prediction target vehicle is scheduled for the next time.

  For example, based on the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle, position information of a place where the next schedule of the user of the prediction target vehicle is performed is obtained, and the prediction target vehicle is calculated from the current position of the prediction target vehicle acquired in step S102. The distance to the location of the place where the next schedule of the user is performed is calculated. And if the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is equal to or greater than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the location where the user's next schedule of the prediction target vehicle is performed, It is determined that the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is sufficient to move to a location where the next schedule of the user of the prediction target vehicle is performed, and the process proceeds to step S408.

  On the other hand, if the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is less than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the place where the user's next schedule of the prediction target vehicle is performed, It is determined that the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is not sufficient to move to the next scheduled location of the user of the prediction target vehicle, and the process proceeds to step S411, where the prediction target vehicle is the prediction target charger. Is predicted to be used, and the prediction target vehicle is specified as a specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. In step S407, the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is equal to or greater than the distance from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the place where the user's next schedule of the prediction target vehicle is performed. Is changed from the current position of the prediction target vehicle to the next scheduled location of the user of the prediction target vehicle, the next of the user of the prediction target vehicle from the current position of the prediction target vehicle. By using a distance obtained by adding a predetermined distance to the planned location of the vehicle, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle moves to the next planned location of the user of the prediction target vehicle It may be determined whether it is sufficient.

In step S408, first, based on the charging history information included in the history information of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102, the remaining charge that is expected to be charged by the user of the prediction target vehicle is: It is obtained as a user threshold. For example, based on the charging history information of the prediction target vehicle, the remaining charge of the battery when the user of the prediction target vehicle has used the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n in the past is extracted, and the user of the prediction target vehicle has The average value of the remaining charge of the battery when using the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n is obtained as the user threshold value. In step S408, along with the acquisition of the user threshold, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when it arrives at the specific stand where the prediction target charger to be compared with the user threshold is installed is calculated. . Specifically, among the vehicle information acquired at step S102, the remaining charge information of the battery of the prediction target vehicle, the position information of the prediction target vehicle, and the prediction target charger among the charger specific information acquired at step S101 Based on the position information, the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when it arrives at the specific stand where the prediction target charger is installed is calculated.

And based on the threshold value of the user acquired in this way and the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when it arrives at the specific stand where the prediction target charger is installed, the prediction target charger is It is determined whether or not the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when arriving at the specific stand installed is equal to or less than the user threshold value. When the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when arriving at the specific stand where the prediction target charger is installed is equal to or less than the user threshold, the process proceeds to step S411, where the prediction target vehicle is the prediction target charger. The vehicle to be predicted is identified as a specific vehicle that may use the battery charger to be predicted. On the other hand, when the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle when arriving at the specific stand where the prediction target charger is installed is larger than the user threshold, the process proceeds to step S409. In step S408, the average value of the remaining charge of the battery when the user of the prediction target vehicle has used the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n in the past is used as the user threshold, but the user threshold is limited to this. For example, it is obtained by multiplying the average value of the remaining charge when the user of the prediction target vehicle has used the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n in the past by a predetermined value (for example, 1.3). The value may be obtained as a user threshold value, or the largest remaining charge amount of the battery when the user of the prediction target vehicle has used the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n in the past is obtained as the user threshold value. May be.

  In step S409, based on the charging history information included in the history information of the prediction target vehicle among the vehicle information acquired in step S102, does the user of the prediction target vehicle tend to prefer to use the specific charging station 300? It is judged whether or not. Specifically, the user of the prediction target vehicle prefers to use the specific charging station 300 based on the position information of the charging station 300 used in the past by the user of the prediction target vehicle among the charging history information of the prediction target vehicle. It is determined whether there is a tendency.

  In step S409, when it is determined that the user of the prediction target vehicle has a tendency to use the specific charging station 300, the specific stand on which the prediction target vehicle is headed is more preferable by the user of the prediction target vehicle. It is determined whether the charging station 300 is used. If it is determined that the specific stand to which the prediction target vehicle is heading is the charging station 300 that the user of the prediction target vehicle prefers to use, the process proceeds to step S411, and the prediction target vehicle can use the prediction target charger. The prediction target vehicle is specified as a specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. On the other hand, when it is determined that the user of the prediction target vehicle does not tend to use the specific charging station 300, or the specific stand to which the prediction target vehicle is heading is preferably used by the user of the prediction target vehicle. If the charging station 300 is not, the process proceeds to step S410, and it is determined that the prediction target vehicle is not likely to use the charger.

  In addition, in order to improve the determination accuracy in step S409, the charging history information of the prediction target vehicle accumulated over a predetermined period or the charging history of the prediction target vehicle accumulated by using the charging station 300 more than a predetermined number of times. Based on the information, it is preferable to determine whether or not the user of the prediction target vehicle has a tendency to prefer and use the specific charging station 300. Further, in step S409, based on the charging history information of the prediction target vehicle, whether or not the user of the prediction target vehicle has a tendency to prefer to use the specific charging station 300, and the determination that the prediction target vehicle is heading. Although it is set as the structure which judges whether the stand is the charge stand 300 which the user of a prediction object vehicle likes and uses, it is not limited to this structure. For example, when the information on the charging station 300 that is preferably used by the user of the prediction target vehicle is stored in advance in the map database 150 of the in-vehicle device 100 by the user of the prediction target vehicle, for example, the center control device 430 The information of the charging station 300 that is preferably used by the user stored in advance is received from the in-vehicle device 100, and the user of the prediction target vehicle is specified based on the received information on the charging station 300 that is preferably used by the user. A configuration for determining whether or not there is a tendency to use the charging station 300 and whether or not the specific station to which the prediction target vehicle is heading is the charging station 300 that is preferably used by the user of the prediction target vehicle It is good.

  Note that the availability determination process illustrated in FIG. 11 is an example of a process for determining whether or not the prediction target vehicle may use the prediction target charger, and is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Absent. For example, in order to identify a vehicle that may use a charger with higher accuracy, a determination process described below may be further performed.

  For example, even if it is determined in step S410 in the availability determination process that there is no possibility that the prediction target vehicle uses the prediction target charger, the prediction among the charger specific information acquired in step S101 Based on the charging type information of the target charger, it is determined whether or not the predicted target charger is a charger capable of rapid charging, and when the predicted target charger is determined to be a charger capable of rapid charging. Since the time required for charging is short, it may be determined that the prediction target vehicle may use the prediction target charger.

  In addition, for example, in step S406 of the availability determination process, when it is determined that the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle is acquired, the preparation time required for the user of the prediction target vehicle to start charging is set. In consideration, the prediction target vehicle may determine whether or not there is a possibility of using the prediction target charger. Specifically, based on the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle, the next scheduled start time of the user of the prediction target vehicle and the time when the user of the prediction target vehicle arrives at the specific stand are acquired, and these times Based on the above, it is determined whether or not there is a preparation time necessary for starting charging. And in order for the user of the prediction target vehicle to be in time for the next schedule, the user of the prediction target vehicle needs to go to the place where the next schedule is performed upon arrival at the specific stand, in order to start charging If it is determined that there is no time to make the necessary preparations, it is determined that there is no preparation time necessary to start charging, and the prediction target vehicle is determined not to use the prediction target charger. Also good.

Further, for example, prior to step S402 of the availability determination process, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle in the vehicle information acquired in step S102 is determined from the action schedule of the user of the prediction target vehicle. It is sufficient to determine whether or not the user is expected to feel uneasy about the remaining charge, and the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is also determined from the user's action plan of the prediction target vehicle. If it is determined that it is sufficient and the user is not expected to feel uneasy about the remaining charge, the prediction target vehicle may be determined as a vehicle that is unlikely to use the prediction target charger. For example, the remaining charge amount of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle is a predetermined value S ₃ (for example, 90% of the charge amount at which the travelable distance obtained from the remaining charge amount is 120 km, or the total charge amount of the battery If the destination of the prediction target vehicle is not set, for example, it is predicted that the prediction target vehicle is used for shopping in the vicinity, and so on. From the expected action schedule, it is predicted that the user does not feel uneasy about the remaining charge, and therefore the prediction target vehicle may determine that there is a possibility of using the prediction target charger.

  In addition, for example, even if it is determined in step S410 in the availability determination process that there is no possibility that the prediction target vehicle uses the prediction target charger, the charger specific information acquired in step S101 If it is determined whether or not the charger to be predicted is a charger that performs charging based on the charging type information of the charger to be predicted, and it is determined that the charger to be predicted is a charger that does not charge Alternatively, it may be determined that the prediction target vehicle may use the prediction target charger.

  After it is determined in step S410 that the prediction target vehicle is not likely to use the prediction target charger, or in step S411, it is determined that the prediction target vehicle is likely to use the prediction target charger. After the prediction target vehicle is identified as a specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger, the process proceeds to step S412. In step S412, it is determined whether or not the processing in steps S401 to S411 has been performed for all first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S304. When it is determined that the processes in steps S401 to S411 have been performed for all first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S304, the availability determination process illustrated in FIG. 11 is terminated. On the other hand, if there is a vehicle that has not been subjected to the processes of steps S401 to S411 among all the first-arrival vehicles extracted in step S304, the process returns to step S401, and the processes of steps S401 to S411 are not performed. The process of step S401-step S411 is performed about a vehicle.

  As described above, the availability determination process shown in FIG. 11 is performed.

  After the above availability determination process ends, the process proceeds to step S306 shown in FIG. In step S306, it is determined whether or not a specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger is specified in the availability determination process in step S305. When it is determined that at least one specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger has been specified, the process proceeds to step S307, and the specific vehicle is the prediction target charge for the prediction target charger currently being processed. In order to predict the use start time, which is the time to start using the device, the process proceeds to step S309. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S306 that there is no specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger, the process proceeds to step S308, and there is no specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger. Determination is made, and the process proceeds to step S311.

  In step S309, the use start time of the prediction target charger is predicted by the use start time prediction function of the center controller 420. In step S309, as a method of predicting the use start time, for example, position information of a vehicle that may use a charger among the vehicle information acquired in step S102, and the charger-specific information acquired in step S101 Based on the position information of the prediction target charger among the information, a specific vehicle that may use the prediction target charger predicts an arrival time at which the specific vehicle where the prediction target charger is installed, There is a method for predicting the predicted arrival time as the use start time.

  In subsequent step S310, it is determined whether or not the use start time in step S309 has been predicted for all the specific vehicles that are determined to be likely to use the charger. If it is determined that the use start time has been predicted for all the specific vehicles that are determined to be likely to use the charger, the process proceeds to step S311. On the other hand, the use start time is predicted. If it is determined that there is no specific vehicle, the process returns to step S309, and the use start time is predicted for the specific vehicle for which the use start time is not predicted.

In step S311, it is determined whether or not the processing in steps S301 to S310 has been performed for all the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the specific stand near the destination of the requested vehicle. When it is determined that the processing in steps S301 to S310 has been performed for all the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the specific stand near the destination of the requested vehicle, the use start time prediction process shown in FIG. And the process proceeds to step S108 shown in FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that among all the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed at a specific stand near the destination of the requested vehicle, there is a charger that has not been subjected to the processing of step S301 to step S310, Returning to step S301, the processing of step S301 to step S310 is performed for the charger that has not been subjected to the processing of step S301 to step S310. As a result, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the processing of steps S301 to S310 is performed for all the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the “A charging stand” and the “B charging stand” which are specific stands. Will be.

  As described above, the use start time prediction process shown in FIG. 9 is performed. The information on the predicted use start time is stored in, for example, a RAM provided in the center control device 420, and is used when generating charger availability information in step S110 shown in FIG.

After the use start time prediction process shown in FIG. 9 ends, the process returns to FIG. 6 and proceeds to step S108. In step S108, based on the utilization start time predicting processing results in step S107, it is determined whether there are any particular vehicle that may utilize the charger 330 ₁ to 330 _n particular stand. When it is determined that there is at least one specific vehicle that may use any of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n in the specific stand, the process proceeds to step S109, and the center controller 420 With the use completion time prediction function, when a specific vehicle uses the charger, the specific vehicle using the charger is using the specific vehicle that may use the charger. A use completion time that is a time to complete use of the charger is predicted. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no specific vehicle that may use the charger for all the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand, the process proceeds to step S110.

  In step S110, the charger availability information for determining whether or not the charger can be used is generated by the generation function of the center control device 420. In the present embodiment, the charger availability information, as in the example shown in FIG. 7, is based on information on the prospect of vacancy, information on the prospect of usage, information on the current usage status, and information on the charge type of the charger. It is configured.

  The information related to the availability is information such as when the charger used by the vehicle is expected to be available. The information regarding the prospect of vacancy is generated based on the use completion time predicted in step S106 and step S109. In the present embodiment, for example, based on the use completion time predicted for the specific charger used by the charging vehicle, the specific charger that is used by the charging vehicle by the time when the requested vehicle arrives at the specific stand. Further, by specifying the use completion time, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the charger availability information indicating that “two are expected to be available in 30 minutes” is generated.

  Further, the information on the expected use is information such as whether or not a vehicle that may use the charger is likely to use the charger. Information on the expected use is generated based on the use start time predicted in step S107. In the present embodiment, for example, based on the use start time of a specific vehicle that may use a charger, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, “3 out of 6 vehicles are expected to be used”. Battery charger availability information is generated.

Furthermore, the information regarding the charging type of the charger is information such as the charging voltage of the charger and the type of charging connector that the charger can handle. The information regarding the charging type of the charger includes, for example, the position information of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n installed in the specific stand among the charger specific information acquired in step S101, and the charger 330 installed in the specific stand. It is generated based on _{1 to} 330 _n charge type information and the like. In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the “A charging stand” corresponds to “normal charging”, the charging voltage is “200 V”, and the charging connector type is “A type”. Charger “normal 200V A” corresponds to “normal charging” with “5 units”, charging voltage “100V”, charging connector type “B type” charging type “normal 100V B” charging Charger availability information indicating that “10 units” are installed is generated.

In addition, the information on the current usage status is information such as whether the charger is currently used. Information on the current usage status is generated based on the usage status information of each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand among the charging information acquired in step S101, for example. In the present embodiment, for example, based on the usage status information of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n , as shown in FIG. 7, the “ordinary 200V A” chargers are “in use of all five”, and the charging type The charger availability information is generated that the charger of “ordinary 100V B” is “using 4 units”.

  In subsequent step S111, the charger availability information is transmitted from the information center 400 to the in-vehicle device 100 via the center communication device 410 of the information center 400. In the in-vehicle device 100, the charger availability information is received by the in-vehicle communication device 110, and the received charger availability information is transmitted to the display 180 via the in-vehicle control device 130. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, charger availability information is displayed on the screen of the display 180. Thereby, the charger availability information for determining whether the charger can be used can be presented to the user.

In this way, the user of the requesting vehicle can obtain charger availability information for determining whether the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand are available. Further, in this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the user of the requesting vehicle presses a “facility switching” button displayed on the touch panel of the display 180 to display “A” currently displayed on the display 180. instead of the charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n charger available information of charging stations', it can be obtained charger ₃₃₀ 1 to 330 _n charger available information "B charging station".

As described above, in the present embodiment, among the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand around the destination of the requested vehicle, the use by the charging vehicle is completed for the specific charger used by the charging vehicle. Use completion time is predicted. Then, based on the predicted use completion time, charger availability information for determining whether or not the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n are available is generated, and the generated charger availability information is provided to the requesting vehicle. To do. Thereby, in this embodiment, since the time when the use of the specific charger by the charging vehicle is completed can be predicted, the specific charger that is currently used by the charging vehicle and the requesting vehicle cannot be used at present, For example, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the charger availability information such as “There is a possibility that two will be available in 30 minutes” can be presented to the requesting vehicle user. Thus, in the present embodiment, information for determining whether or not the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n are available can be provided more appropriately.

Further, in the present embodiment, for the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand around the destination of the request vehicle, the vehicle that may use the charger is specified as the specific vehicle, and the specified specific vehicle is charged. The use start time which is the time when the use of the container is started is predicted. Then, based on the predicted use start time, charger availability information is generated, and the generated charger availability information is provided to the requesting vehicle. Thereby, in this embodiment, since it is possible to identify a specific vehicle that may use the charger before the requesting vehicle, it is possible to predict the time when the specific vehicle starts to use the charger. For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 7, charger availability information such as “3 out of 6 vehicles are likely to be used” can be provided to the user of the requesting vehicle. As a result, when the user of the requesting vehicle arrives at the specific stand, the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand are used by the specific vehicle first, and the requesting vehicle is charged to the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 of the specific stand. _The possibility that _n cannot be used can be reduced.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle is used when predicting the use completion time. In the present embodiment, when the use completion time is predicted, the travel history information of the charged vehicle is used even when the schedule information of the user of the charged vehicle cannot be acquired. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when predicting the use completion time, when it is not possible to grasp the specific action schedule of the user, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the standard stay stored in the database 430 is used. The time and the scheduled charging completion time acquired from the charging station 300 are used. Thereby, in this embodiment, use completion time can be estimated appropriately.

Further, in the present embodiment, when identifying the specific vehicle that may utilize the charger, to extract the vehicle to the destination position within a predetermined distance from the charger 330 ₁ to 330 _n of the particular stand. Moreover, in this embodiment, when specifying the specific vehicle which may utilize a charger, the vehicle whose charge classification corresponds with the charge classification of a request | requirement vehicle is further extracted. Thus, in this embodiment, a specific vehicle can be specified appropriately by extracting other vehicles with high possibility of using the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of a specific stand.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the prediction target vehicle, the schedule information of the user of the prediction target vehicle, the travel history information of the prediction target vehicle, and the charging history information of the prediction target vehicle are used. Then, it is determined whether or not the prediction target vehicle may use the charger. Thereby, in this embodiment, it can be judged appropriately whether prediction object vehicles may use a charger.

  The embodiment described above is described for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the charger availability information about the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _{n included in} the specific stand around the destination of the request vehicle has been described by way of example. For example, when the destination is not set in the requested vehicle, the charger availability information on the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n provided in the charging station 300 around the current position of the requested vehicle is sent to the requested vehicle. May be provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, user terminal information is managed by the terminal device 200, and the user schedule information is transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the information center 400. Instead of or together with this configuration, for example, the schedule function of the in-vehicle control device 130 of the in-vehicle device 100 is used to manage the user's schedule information, and the in-vehicle device 100 transmits the user's schedule information to the information center 400. It is good also as a structure to be. When such a configuration is used, for example, when the use completion time is predicted in step S203 of the use completion time prediction process, the current schedule of the user of the charging vehicle calculated by the in-vehicle control device 130 of the in-vehicle device 100 is used. It is good also as a structure which estimates the time which needs to depart from the place where is performed as use completion time. The in-vehicle control device 130 calculates the time required to depart from the place where the current schedule is performed based on the schedule information of the user of the charging vehicle managed by the schedule function of the in-vehicle control device 130, and calculates The center control device 420 of the information center 400 obtains the time required to leave the place where the current schedule is performed, which is calculated by the in-vehicle control device 130, by transmitting the time to the information center 400. can do.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the history information of the vehicle is stored in the history database 160 of the in-vehicle device 100 as a database, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the vehicle is stored in the database 430 of the information center 400. The history information may be stored in a database. Thereby, the center control apparatus 420 of the information center 400 can acquire the vehicle history information from the database 430, and can perform the information providing process using the acquired vehicle history information. In the present embodiment, the standard stay time tables shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are stored in the database 430 of the information center 400. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The standard stay time table shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 may be stored in 150.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, when the information providing process described above is performed, the charging type information of the vehicle is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 100 as vehicle information and received by the information center 400. For example, the charge type information of each vehicle is stored in advance in the database 430 of the information center 400 for each vehicle type, for example, and stored in the database 430 when the information providing process described above is performed. It is good also as a structure which acquires the charge classification information of a vehicle.

Further, in the present embodiment, the charger availability information shown in FIG. 7 is illustrated and described as the charger availability information provided in the request information. However, the charger availability information provided in the request vehicle is There is no particular limitation. For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, based on the use completion time, the charger availability information that “expects two units in 30 minutes” is presented. after arriving on the stand, the waiting time for using the charger 330 ₁ to 330 _n provided in a particular stand, may be used as the structure to be presented to the user of the required vehicle, a map displayed on the screen of the display 180 By adding color and character information according to the usage status of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _{n to} the upper charging stand 300, the usage status of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n is presented to the user of the requesting vehicle. It is good also as a structure. The waiting time for using the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n provided in the specific stand includes the position information of the requested vehicle and the positions of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n of the specific stand around the destination of the requested vehicle. The arrival time at which the requested vehicle arrives at a specific station around the destination is predicted based on the information, and can be obtained based on the predicted arrival time and the use completion time of each of the chargers 330 _{1 to} 330 _n. it can.

  Note that the charging information acquisition function of the center control device 420 of the above-described embodiment is the charger information acquisition means of the present invention, the vehicle information acquisition function of the center control device 420 is the vehicle information acquisition means of the present invention, and the center control device 420. The use completion time prediction function of the present invention is used as the use completion time prediction means of the present invention, and the use start time prediction function of the center control device 420 is used as the use start time prediction means of the present invention. Corresponds to provision means of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... In-vehicle device 110 ... In-vehicle communication device 120 ... In-vehicle input device 130 ... In-vehicle control device 140 ... Vehicle position detection device 150 ... Map database 160 ... History database 170 ... Battery controller 180 ... Display 200 ... Terminal device 210 ... Terminal communication device 220 ... Terminal input device 230 ... Terminal control device 300 ... Charging stand 310 ... Charging stand communication device 320 ... Charging stand control device 330 _{1 to} 330 _n ... Charger 400 ... Information center 410 ... Center communication device 420 ... Center control device 430 ... database

Claims (13)

Charger information acquisition means for acquiring charger information, which is information relating to a charger including at least the position of the charger and the usage status;
Vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information from a plurality of vehicles;
Based on the charger information, a charger used by a vehicle is specified, and a use completion time predicting unit that predicts a use completion time that is a time at which use of the specified charger is completed;
Based on the charger information and the vehicle information, a vehicle that may use a charger is specified, and a use start time that is a time when the specified vehicle starts using the charger is predicted. Use start time prediction means,
And providing means for generating usable information related to the use of a charger based on the use completion time and the use start time, and providing the generated usable information to a vehicle. apparatus. The information providing device according to claim 1,
The use completion time predicting means predicts the use completion time based on charger information of the specified charger and vehicle information of a vehicle using the specified charger. Information providing device. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein:
The vehicle information includes schedule information that is information related to an action schedule of a user of the vehicle,
The use completion time predicting means predicts the use completion time based on the schedule information. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vehicle information includes vehicle action history information,
The use completion time predicting means estimates an action schedule of a user of a vehicle based on the action history information, and predicts the use completion time based on the estimated action schedule. apparatus. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The vehicle information includes destination information related to vehicle destination information,
The use completion time predicting unit predicts the use completion time based on a standard stay time at the destination. An information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The charger information includes charging completion scheduled time information that is information relating to a time at which charging by the charger is scheduled to be completed when the charger is used by a vehicle,
The use completion time predicting unit predicts the use completion time based on the charge completion scheduled time information. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The vehicle information includes destination information that is information about the destination,
The utilization start time predicting means determines a vehicle having a destination within a predetermined distance from the charger based on the information on the location of the charger and the destination information in the charger information. An information providing apparatus that is characterized as a vehicle that may be used. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The vehicle information includes an available condition that is a condition of a type of charger that the vehicle can use,
The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the use start time predicting unit determines whether or not a vehicle may use the charger according to the availability condition. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The vehicle information includes remaining charge information of a battery mounted on the vehicle,
The use start time predicting means specifies a vehicle that may use the charger based on the remaining charge information. The information providing device according to claim 1,
The vehicle information includes schedule information that is information related to an action schedule of a user of the vehicle,
The information providing apparatus characterized in that the use start time predicting means identifies a vehicle that may use the charger based on the schedule information. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The vehicle information includes vehicle action history information,
The use start time predicting unit estimates an action schedule of a user of the vehicle based on the action history information, and identifies a vehicle that may use the charger based on the estimated action schedule. An information providing apparatus characterized by: The information providing device according to claim 1,
The vehicle information includes vehicle charging history information,
The information providing apparatus characterized in that the use start time predicting means identifies a vehicle that may use the charger based on the charging history information.   Based on the charger information related to the charger and the vehicle information related to the vehicle, for the charger used by the vehicle, the time when the use by the vehicle is completed is predicted, and the vehicle that may use the charger and the vehicle A method for providing information, comprising: predicting a time at which a vehicle starts to use a charger, generating usable information related to the use of the charger, and providing the usable information to the vehicle.

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