JP2013170932A - Charging facility information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging facility information providing system configured to provide a user with information on a charging facility so as to effectively utilize the waiting time during charging.SOLUTION: A charging facility information providing system extracts information on a charging facility for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle without requiring user operation to start charging, on the basis of the charging facility information, according to a charging request from a user, and provides the user with the extracted information on the charging facility.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging facility information providing system.

  There is known a technique for acquiring vacant information of a charging facility, usage status, waiting time information until charging start, and presenting the acquired information to a user by an in-vehicle device mounted on an electric vehicle (for example, patent document) 1).

JP 2010-286449 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, only the waiting time until the start of charging at the charging facility is presented to the user, and after the user arrives at the charging facility, the user waits for the time until the charging starts. Since it is necessary to wait, there is a problem that the waiting time cannot be effectively used.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a charging facility information providing system that can present to a user information on a charging facility that can effectively use a waiting time when charging.

  The present invention extracts information on a charging facility capable of charging a battery provided in a vehicle without requiring a user's charging start operation in response to a charging request from the user based on the information on the charging facility. And the said subject is solved by providing the user with the information of the extracted charging facility.

  According to the present invention, in response to a charging request from a user, information on a chargeable charging facility capable of charging a battery provided in a vehicle without requiring a user's charging start operation is provided to the user. Thus, the user can appropriately use such a chargeable charging facility that does not require a charging start operation, and can therefore leave the vehicle without waiting for the start of charging. Can be used effectively.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a charging facility information providing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the information center and a plurality of charging facilities. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a scene where a plurality of vehicles request charging and a plurality of vehicles are waiting for charging in a chargeable charging facility. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information transmitted from the information center to the in-vehicle device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display mode of charging facility information and peripheral facility information on a display. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing charging facility information using the charging facility information providing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another example of a method for providing charging facility information using the charging facility information providing system in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing still another example of a method for providing charging facility information using the charging facility information providing system in the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a charging facility information providing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the charging facility information providing system according to the present embodiment includes an information center 100 installed outside the vehicle, a requestable charging facility 200, a normal charging facility 300, and an in-vehicle mounted on the vehicle. The apparatus 400 is comprised. Here, the normal charging facility 300 is a charging facility in which the user himself / herself needs to perform a charging start operation when charging the battery provided in the vehicle. It is a charging facility that can charge a battery provided in a vehicle without requiring a user's charging start operation in response to a charging request from the user. That is, the requestable charging facility 200 is a charging facility capable of detecting a vehicle to be charged next based on a charging order based on a charging request from the vehicle and charging a battery provided in the vehicle. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information center 100 can communicate with the requestable charging facility 200, the normal charging facility 300, and the in-vehicle device 400, respectively, so that information can be exchanged. It has become. As shown in FIG. 2, the charging facility information providing system of the present embodiment includes one information center 100, a plurality of requestable charging facilities 200 and a normal charging facility 300, and an in-vehicle device 400 provided in a plurality of vehicles. It consists of and. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, an example in which there is one information center 100 is illustrated, but a plurality of information centers 100 may be provided.

  First, the requestable charging facility 200 will be described. The chargeable charging facility 200 is a facility that charges a battery provided in a vehicle without requiring a user's charging start operation in response to a charging request from the user. As shown in FIG. The communication device 220 and the charging device 230 are provided. The requestable charging facility 200 can charge the battery of the vehicle using the charging device 230 provided in the requestable charging facility 200, and automatically transports the vehicle to a parking lot on a flat ground or a parking space. It can be installed anywhere as long as the vehicle can be parked, such as in a three-dimensional parking lot equipped with a drive portion that can be used. In the present embodiment, charging of the battery provided in the vehicle by the requestable charging facility 200 is performed based on a charging request from the user as follows.

  In the present embodiment, first, when a user of a vehicle intends to charge a battery provided in the vehicle by the requestable charging facility 200, a request for charging is made to the requestable charging facility 200. The requestable charging facility 200 receives the above charging request, so that the requestable charging facility 200 uses the charging device 230 provided in the requestable charging facility 200 to charge the battery of the vehicle. At this time, even when a plurality of vehicles are waiting for charging at the requestable charging facility 200, the requestable charging facility 200 uses the charging device 230 to perform the charging start operation of the user in the order in which the charging requests are received. The battery to be charged next is detected and the batteries of a plurality of vehicles are charged.

  As a method of requesting charging by the user, for example, a method in which the user wirelessly communicates using the in-vehicle device 400 mounted on the vehicle and requests the requestable charging facility 200 via the information center 100, or the user Can be requested directly by visiting the charging facility 200 and requesting it.

  Here, the control device 210 provided in the requestable charging facility 200 includes, for example, 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. Consists of

  Any charging device can be used as the charging device 230. For example, a charging device for charging a battery by connecting a power plug to the vehicle or a vehicle having a power receiving coil is used to supply power from the power supply coil. Thus, a known charging device such as a charging device for charging the battery of the vehicle in a non-contact manner can be employed. The chargeable charging facility 200 charges the vehicle battery so that the next vehicle to be charged is charged based on the charging order based on the charging request according to the charging request from the user. Any form may be used.

  For example, the charging device 230 automatically detects the vehicle to be charged next, and automatically connects the power plug to the vehicle for charging. The charging device 230 automatically determines the vehicle to be charged next. A method of charging by detecting and automatically bringing a charging device capable of supplying power without contact close to the vehicle, or a staff member resident in the chargeable charging facility 200 manually operating the charging device 230 and then charging A method of charging the battery of the vehicle can be employed.

  Here, for example, as a charging device 230, a charging device that automatically brings a power supply coil closer to a vehicle having a power receiving coil and supplies power by electromagnetic induction, thereby charging the vehicle battery in a non-contact manner. In a case where the charging device 230 is adopted, when charging of the battery provided in the vehicle is completed according to the charging request, the charging device 230 automatically detects the vehicle that has received the charging request next, and the detected vehicle and the charging device 230 By starting charging, the batteries of a plurality of vehicles are sequentially charged.

  The communication device 220 is a device for performing wireless communication with the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100. Specifically, the communication device 220 receives the above-described charging request from the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100, and also requests the communication device 120 from the requestable charging facility 200, which is information on its own facility. Send charging facility information. Here, the charging facility information transmitted from the communication device 220 includes, for example, the name / position / type of the requestable charging facility 200 (whether it is the requestable charging facility 200 or the normal charging facility 300 described later). Etc.) and information on the number of vehicles waiting to be charged. The charging facility information is periodically transmitted to the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100 at a predetermined timing.

  Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, three vehicles are used as a specific procedure from requesting charging facility 200 to receiving charging request until transmitting charging facility information to information center 100. An example of a scene in which charging is requested to the chargeable charging facility 200 in the order of α, vehicle β, and vehicle γ will be described.

  In the scene shown in FIG. 3, for example, as a charging device 230 provided in the requestable charging facility 200, power is supplied from a power feeding coil to a power receiving coil provided in the vehicle by electromagnetic induction, so that the vehicle is contactless. When a charging device that charges the battery is employed, first, the power feeding coil is brought close to the power receiving coil provided in the vehicle α, and the battery of the vehicle α is charged. When the charging of the vehicle α is completed, the vehicle β to be charged next is moved and moved closer to the feeding coil based on the charging order based on the charging request, or the feeding coil is moved and moved closer to the vehicle β. As a result, the battery of the vehicle β is charged. Similarly, when the charging of the vehicle β is completed, the vehicle γ to be charged next is moved and moved closer to the feeding coil, or the feeding coil is moved and moved closer to the vehicle γ to charge the battery of the vehicle γ. Is done. Here, when the user makes a request for charging to the requestable charging facility 200 in the scene shown in FIG. 3, the requestable charging facility 200 accepts the charging request, and the current number of vehicles waiting to be charged is the vehicle β and It is detected that there are a total of two vehicles γ.

  In this case, the requestable charging facility 200 uses information indicating that there are two vehicles waiting to be charged as information on the vehicles waiting for charging to be transmitted together with information on the name, position, and type of the requestable charging facility 200, as an information center. To 100 communication devices 120.

  The requestable charging facility 200 in the present embodiment is configured as described above.

  Next, the normal charging facility 300 will be described. The normal charging facility 300 is a facility that charges a battery provided in the vehicle. Unlike the requestable charging facility 200 described above, the normal charging facility 300 is a normal charging facility that cannot make a charging request. That is, unlike the chargeable charging facility 200, the normal charging facility 300 receives a charging request from the user and does not have a function of charging without performing a charging start operation by the user based on the charging request. In the normal charging facility 300, the user needs to start and end charging of the battery provided in the vehicle.

  The normal charging facility 300 includes a control device 310, a communication device 320, and a charging device 330 as shown in FIG. Since the normal charging facility 300 cannot make a charging request as described above, the user uses the charging device 330 provided in the normal charging facility 300 to charge the battery provided in the vehicle. Therefore, when another vehicle is charging at the normal charging facility 300 or when the other vehicle is waiting to be charged, the user waits for the other vehicle to complete charging and himself / herself It is necessary to perform an operation for starting the charging of the battery provided in the battery. Therefore, when charging at the normal charging facility 300, the user needs to visit the normal charging facility 300 in order to start charging the own vehicle. The time to complete charging cannot be used effectively.

  The normal charging facility 300 is installed in various places such as a parking lot in the same manner as the requestable charging facility 200. In addition, the charging device 330 included in the normal charging facility 300 is not particularly limited as long as it is a normal charging device used for charging a battery provided in the vehicle.

  The communication device 320 is the same as the communication device 220 provided in the requestable charging facility 200 in that the charging facility information is transmitted to the communication device 120, except that the charging request is not received. is there. That is, the communication device 320 includes information on the name, position, and type of the normal charging facility 300 (whether it is the requestable charging facility 200 or the normal charging facility 300) and the number of vehicles currently waiting for charging. Is periodically transmitted to the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100 at a predetermined timing.

  The control device 310 includes, for example, 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.

  Next, the information center 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the information center 100 includes a control device 110, a communication device 120, and a database 130.

  The communication device 120 is wirelessly communicated with a communication device 220 provided in the requestable charging facility 200, a communication device 320 provided in the normal charging facility 300, and a communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400. An apparatus for transmitting and receiving information. Specifically, the communication device 120 wirelessly communicates charging facility information, specifically, from the communication device 220 provided in the requestable charging facility 200 and the communication device 320 provided in the normal charging facility 300. The information on the name / position / type of the charging facility and the number of vehicles waiting to be charged are received.

  In addition, the communication device 120 receives a charging facility information request command by wireless communication from the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400, and transmits the charging facility information according to the received request command. Here, the communication apparatus 120 receives the information on the current vehicle position together with the request instruction for the charging facility information. If a travel route is set, information about the travel route is also received.

  The database 130 stores charging facility information regarding the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 received by the communication device 120 described above. In addition to the above charging facility information, the database 130 also stores map data information, information on facilities other than the charging facility, and information on public transportation (route and diagram information).

  The control device 110 includes, for example, 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.

  In response to the charging facility information request command received from the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400, the control device 110 transmits the charging facility information about the requestable charging facility 200 and a charging waiting time described later to the communication device. The data is transmitted to the communication device 420 that has been instructed to request the charging facility information via 120. Specifically, first, the control device 110 receives a charging facility information request command from the communication device 420 included in the in-vehicle device 400 via the communication device 120. At this time, the information on the vehicle position and the information on the travel route of the vehicle are received together with the request instruction for the charging facility information. Then, the control device 110 extracts charging facility information about the requestable charging facility 200 existing in the vicinity of the received vehicle position and travel route from the information stored in the database 130. Furthermore, the control device 110 calculates information on charging waiting time, that is, information on charging start waiting time, charging completion waiting time, and charging completion time, based on the extracted charging facility information.

  Here, the charging start waiting time is the information on the number of vehicles waiting to be charged in the extracted charging facility information and information on the charging device 230 provided in the charging facility (information such as the charging type and charging voltage of the charging device 230). ) And the waiting time until the start of charging when the user who has requested charging is going to charge at the charging facility. The charging completion waiting time is based on the information on the number of vehicles waiting to be charged and the information on the type of the charging facility. It is obtained by calculating the time taken to do. The charging completion time is a time at which charging of the host vehicle is predicted to be completed, and is obtained based on the calculated charging completion waiting time and the current time.

  Then, the control device 110 obtains the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the information on the charging waiting time (charging start waiting time, charging completion waiting time, and charging completion time) obtained as described above. The data is transmitted to the communication device 420 that has been instructed to request charging facility information via the communication device 120.

  In addition, when the control device 110 transmits the charging facility information about the chargeable charging facility 200 and the charging waiting time information to the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400 via the communication device 120, Then, the charging facility information and the charging waiting time for the normal charging facility 300 existing in the vicinity of the vehicle position and the travel route of the vehicle are transmitted.

  Further, based on the charging facility information extracted from the database 130, the control device 110 determines whether or not there is a peripheral facility within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200, and if it is determined that there is a peripheral facility , Information on the surrounding facilities is extracted from the database 130. Here, the peripheral facility is a leisure facility or a facility where the user can spend free time, and examples thereof include a shopping center, a service area, a movie theater, a restaurant, a convenience store, and a tourist facility.

  In addition, the control device 110, when moving from the requestable charging facility 200 to the surrounding facilities on foot or by public transportation, based on public transportation information (route or diagram information) stored in the database 130, Calculate the route, distance, and time required. Then, the control device 110 calculates the route / distance / required time information obtained by the calculation, along with the information on the name / position / content (contents of the store or service) of the surrounding facility, via the communication device 120, and the in-vehicle device. The data is transmitted to the communication device 420 included in 400. The predetermined distance may be set in advance as an arbitrary distance, but may be set according to the environment around the charging facility and the surrounding facilities. For example, if public transportation such as buses and trains can be used to move from the charging facility to surrounding facilities, the predetermined distance may be set to 5 km, and public transportation that can be used around the charging facility If not, the predetermined distance may be set to 500 m.

  Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of charging facility information and peripheral facility information that the control device 110 transmits to the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400 via the communication device 120. Among the information shown in FIG. 4, “Charge Facility Name”, “Charge Facility Location”, “Charge Facility Type”, “Charge Type”, and “Number of Charge Waiting Units” are as follows. Information transmitted from the facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 is received by the communication device 120 and stored in the database 130.

  Further, the “charging start waiting time”, “charging completion waiting time”, and “charging completion time” are information obtained by the control device 110 based on the charging facility information, as described above. The “name of the peripheral facility” and the “content of the peripheral facility” are information stored in the database 130, and include “route from the charging facility to the peripheral facility”, “distance from the charging facility to the peripheral facility”, and “ As described above, the “required time from the charging facility to the surrounding facility” is information obtained by the control device 110 based on public transportation information (route and diagram information) stored in the database 130. is there.

  Further, when the control device 110 receives information about the user's target facility (for example, a restaurant) from the in-vehicle device 400, the control device 110 receives only the information on the target facility from the information on the surrounding facilities. The information is extracted in a limited manner, and the extracted information on the target facility is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 400. Here, the target facility can be arbitrarily set by the user, and the information on the target facility set by the user is transmitted together with the charging facility information request command from the in-vehicle device 400. .

  For example, a case where the user sets “restaurant” as the target facility will be described as an example. First, information “restaurant” set by the user is transmitted from the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400 to the communication device 120. Sent. When the control device 110 extracts the information about the peripheral facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200, the control device 110 further includes the peripheral facility including “restaurant” from the extracted information on the peripheral facilities. Only the information of is extracted. Then, the control device 110 sends information on the peripheral facility including the “restaurant” and information on the route / distance / required time to the peripheral facility together with the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 via the communication device 120. Then, the data is transmitted to the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400.

  Next, the in-vehicle device 400 will be described. The in-vehicle device 400 is mounted on a vehicle and includes a controller 410, a communication device 420, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 430, a display 440, and a speaker 450, as shown in FIG. These are connected by a CAN (Controller Area Network) or other vehicle-mounted LAN, and exchange information with each other.

  The communication device 420 is a device for performing wireless communication with the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100. The communication device 420 transmits to the communication device 120 a request instruction for charging facility information, together with vehicle position information, vehicle travel route information, and user destination facility information. In addition, the communication device 420 receives the charging facility information and the peripheral facility information transmitted from the communication device 120.

  The controller 410 includes, for example, 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.

  The controller 410 transmits the charging facility information request command together with the vehicle location information and the vehicle travel route information to the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100 via the communication device 420. Here, the vehicle position information is the current position of the in-vehicle device 400, and is acquired by receiving radio waves transmitted from the positioning satellite by the GPS 430. The travel route of the vehicle can be arbitrarily set for the in-vehicle device 400 by the user. In addition, when the user performs an operation of setting a target facility on the in-vehicle device 400, the controller 410 transmits information on the user's target facility together with a request instruction for charging facility information.

  Further, the controller 410 receives the charging facility information and the peripheral facility information transmitted from the communication device 120 provided in the information center 100 described above via the communication device 420. Here, the charging facility information and the peripheral facility information may be transmitted to the information center 100 by the controller 410 requesting the charging center information from the information center 100. Instead, the information center 100 may transmit periodically at a predetermined timing.

  Furthermore, the controller 410 provides the received charging facility information and peripheral facility information to the user via the display 440 and the speaker 450. Here, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of providing charging facility information and peripheral facility information to the user via the display 440. As shown in FIG. 5A, the display 440 displays a diagram in which the icon of the charging device is arranged at a position where the charging facility exists on the map data.

  In FIG. 5A, the display of the icon of the charging device is changed according to the charging facility information received from the information center 100. Specifically, in FIG. 5A, when the charge request is the chargeable charging facility 200, it is displayed with a large icon, and when it is the normal charging facility 300, it is displayed with a small icon. Yes. When there is a peripheral facility within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200, the icon of the requestable charging facility 200 is displayed surrounded by a white frame.

  That is, in FIG. 5A, charging facility A is displayed with a large icon, and the icon is not surrounded by a white frame, so charging facility A is requestable charging facility 200, and charging facility This indicates that there is no surrounding facility within a predetermined distance from A (in FIG. 5A, the charging facility A is indicated as “charging request ○”, “adjacent facility ×”). Further, since the charging facility B is displayed with a small icon, it indicates that the charging facility B is the normal charging facility 300 (in FIG. X "). Similarly, the charging facility C is displayed with a large icon, and the icon is surrounded by a white frame. Therefore, the charging facility C is a requestable charging facility 200, and there are surrounding facilities within a predetermined distance from the charging facility C. ing. The charging facility D is a normal charging facility 300 because it is displayed with a small icon.

  FIG. 5A illustrates an example in which the icon of the charging device is displayed at the position where the charging facility exists on the map data. However, when the user sets the target facility, the purpose is displayed. A facility icon may be displayed on the map data. For example, when a user sets a restaurant as a destination facility, a restaurant icon may be displayed on the map data at a restaurant location that is within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200.

  When the user selects one of the charging facility icons (or the target facility icon) from the charging facilities displayed on the map shown in FIG. Facility information and information on surrounding facilities are displayed. For example, when the user selects charging facility C from the charging facility icons displayed in FIG. 5A, for example, the information shown in FIG. 5B is displayed. In FIG. 5 (B), the name of the charging facility C and the names of surrounding facilities around the charging facility C (XX shopping center) are displayed at the top. Distance, time ”,“ distance from charging facility to surrounding facilities, time ”,“ charge request availability ”,“ charging start waiting time ”,“ charging completion waiting time ”,“ charging completion time ”,“ number of units waiting for charging ” "," Charging type ", and" facility service "are displayed.

  Among these information, "distance from charging facility to facility, time", "charge request availability", "charging start waiting time", "charging completion waiting time", "charging completion time", "number of charging waiting", The “charging type” and “facility service” are based on the charging facility information and the information on the surrounding facilities received from the information center 100 described above, respectively.

  Here, “distance and time from charging facility to facility” represents the distance and required time when moving from charging facility C to OO shopping center on foot or by public transportation. As a result, the user can obtain information on the route, distance, and required time when moving from the charging facility to the surrounding facilities on foot or by public transportation, and more effectively use the waiting time when charging. be able to.

  Further, assuming that the charging facility C is a charging facility that can automatically charge the battery of the vehicle with a non-contact charging device installed in the multi-story parking lot, Information such as “stereo parking, non-contact automatic charging” is displayed.

  The information on the “charging start waiting time”, “charging completion waiting time”, “charging completion time”, and “number of waiting for charging” is received by the in-vehicle device 400 from the information center 100 again. In some cases, it can be updated as appropriate. Thereby, the user can know the waiting time when charging, and can select a charging facility with a shorter waiting time.

  In addition, in the item “facility service”, the contents of stores and services in the shopping center are displayed. Thereby, the user can obtain information on the contents of the peripheral facilities (the contents of the store and service), and can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging.

  On the other hand, the “distance and time from the current location to the charging facility” is based on the current position of the host vehicle acquired by the GPS 430 and the charging facility information received from the information center 100. It represents the distance and time required to travel by vehicle.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the user can compare the average usage time of the surrounding facilities with the required charging time that is the time required from the start of charging of the battery provided in the vehicle to the completion thereof. It is possible to extract the requestable charging facility 200 such that the time when the peripheral facility is used and the time until the charging is completed are close, and information on the requestable charging facility 200 can be provided to the user. . Here, the average usage time of the peripheral facility is an average usage time when the user uses the facility, and the average usage time of the peripheral facility is set for each type of facility, for example, a movie It is set to 2 hours for a building and 1 hour for a restaurant and stored in the database 130. The “required charging time” can be obtained by subtracting the “charging start waiting time” from the “charging completion waiting time” described above.

  In the present embodiment, specifically, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 compares the average usage time of the peripheral facilities stored in the database 130 with the required charging time, and calculates the average usage time. The chargeable facility 200 for which the difference between the required charge time and the required charge time is within a predetermined time can be extracted, and the charge facility information regarding the requestable charge facility 200 can be transmitted to the in-vehicle device 400. The predetermined time can be arbitrarily set, but may be set according to the “charge start waiting time” described above. As a result, in the present embodiment, the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted such that the time when the user uses the peripheral facility is close to the time until the charging is completed. Information can be provided to the user, and the user can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging is performed at the requestable charging facility 200.

  Next, an operation example of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing charging facility information using the charging facility information providing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an operation example of the charging facility information providing system when the user searches for a charging facility near the vehicle position.

  First, in step S101, the in-vehicle device 400 determines whether a search for a charging facility has been executed. Specifically, when the user performs an operation of searching the in-vehicle device 400 for a charging facility, the controller 410 provided in the in-vehicle device 400 determines that the charging facility has been searched. Here, as a method for the user to perform an operation for searching the charging facility for the in-vehicle device 400, for example, the user operates the in-vehicle device 400 according to the guidance displayed on the display 440. The method of performing is mentioned. If it is determined in step S101 that the charging facility has been searched, the process proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S101 that the charging facility has not been searched, the process stands by in step S101.

  In step S <b> 102, the in-vehicle device 400 transmits vehicle position information to the information center 100 together with a charging facility information request command. Specifically, the controller 410 provided in the in-vehicle device 400 includes the information on the vehicle position together with the charging facility information request command in the information center 100 via the communication device 420 provided in the in-vehicle device 400. Is transmitted to the communication device 120.

  In step S103, the information center 100 extracts charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 that exist in the vicinity of the vehicle position. Specifically, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 obtains the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 existing near the vehicle position based on the information stored in the database 130. Extract. Here, the vicinity range may be a range that can be reached by a vehicle in a comparatively short time, for example, a range having a radius of about 3 km.

  In step S104, the information center 100 calculates the charging waiting time in the charging facility based on the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 extracted in step S103. Specifically, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 includes information on the number of vehicles waiting for charging included in the charging facility information, and the type of charging facility (charging type of the charging device 230 and the charging device 330, charging). The charging waiting time (charging start waiting time, charging completion waiting time, and charging completion time) is calculated based on the information of the voltage and the like. Here, the charging start waiting time is a waiting time until the start of charging when the user who has requested charging is going to charge at the charging facility, and the charging completion waiting time is the charging performed by the user who has requested charging. This is the time it takes for the host vehicle to complete charging when attempting to charge at the facility, and the charging completion time is the time at which charging of the host vehicle is expected to be completed.

  In step S105, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 extracts the requestable charging facility 200 based on the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 extracted in step S103. That is, in step S105, the charging facility information of requestable charging facility 200 and the charging facility information of normal charging facility 300 are extracted separately from the charging facility information extracted in step S103.

  In step S106, the information center 100 extracts peripheral facilities within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 based on the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 extracted in step S105. Specifically, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 extracts peripheral facilities within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 based on the peripheral facility information stored in the database 130. Here, as the predetermined distance, an arbitrary distance may be set in advance. For example, when a public transportation such as a bus or a train can be used for moving from the charging facility to the surrounding facility, the predetermined distance is set. It may be set to 5 km, and when there is no public transportation available around the charging facility, the predetermined distance may be set to 500 m.

  In step S <b> 107, the information center 100 transmits to the in-vehicle device 400 information on charging waiting time and information on neighboring facilities, along with charging facility information on the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 in the vicinity of the vehicle position. Specifically, the information on the requestable charging facility 200 transmitted here is information as shown in FIG. That is, in addition to the charging facility information and the waiting time information calculated in step S104, information on the peripheral facility is transmitted when the peripheral facility is extracted in step S106. In addition, when transmitting information on the normal charging facility 300, information on the surrounding facility is not transmitted, but charging facility information and information on the waiting time calculated in step S104 are transmitted.

  In step S108, the in-vehicle device 400 provides the user with the information transmitted from the information center 100 in step S107. Specifically, the in-vehicle device 400 can request the user via the display 440 and the speaker 450 to request the charging facility 200 that is a charging facility near the vehicle position and has a peripheral facility, and can request that the peripheral facility does not exist. The charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 provide information to the user in such a manner that they can be distinguished from each other. For example, in FIG. 5A, the charging facility icon is displayed on the map displayed on the display 440, and the large icon surrounded by a white frame is the requestable charging facility 200 where the surrounding facility exists, A large icon not surrounded by a white frame is a requestable charging facility 200 in which no peripheral facility exists, and a small icon is a normal charging facility 300, and the charging facility is displayed to the user in a display method that allows the charging facilities to be distinguished from each other. The position is displayed. Then, when the user selects any icon displayed on the map, detailed information about the charging facility is provided to the user by a display method as shown in FIG. 5B, for example. As a result, in this embodiment, the user can appropriately use the requestable charging facility 200 that does not require a charging start operation, and therefore can leave the vehicle without waiting for the start of charging. It is possible to effectively use the waiting time when performing.

  In the present embodiment, the user can obtain information on the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 in a state where they can be distinguished from each other.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, information on peripheral facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted, and in addition to information on the requestable charging facility 200, information on the peripheral facility is provided to the user. Thus, the user can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging is performed at the requestable charging facility 200.

  Next, another operation example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 shows an operation example of the charging facility information providing system when the user searches for a restaurant (target facility) with the requestable charging facility 200 along the travel route of the vehicle.

  First, in step S201, as in step S101 described above, the in-vehicle device 400 determines whether a search for a charging facility has been executed. If it is determined in step S201 that the charging facility has been searched, the process proceeds to step S202. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the charging facility has not been searched, the process stands by in step S201.

  In step S <b> 202, the in-vehicle device 400 transmits information on the vehicle position, information on the travel route of the vehicle, and information on the target facility to the information center 100 together with a charge facility information request command. Here, the travel route of the vehicle is a travel route of the vehicle that is set in advance for the in-vehicle device 400 by the user. The destination facility can be arbitrarily set by the user. In the scene of FIG. 7, since the user is searching for a restaurant, the destination facility is set as “restaurant”. In step S202, the destination facility is set. As the information, information “restaurant” is transmitted.

  In step S203, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 extracts information on the charging facility existing in the vicinity of the vehicle position and the travel route of the vehicle by the method shown in step S103 described above.

  In steps S204 to S206, similarly to the above-described steps S104 to S106, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 calculates the charging waiting time, extracts the requestable charging facility 200, and extracts the surrounding facilities. .

  In step S207, the information center 100 extracts a facility including the target facility from the peripheral facilities extracted in step S206. Specifically, if the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 extracts information on the peripheral facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 in step S206, the information on the extracted peripheral facilities is extracted. In addition, only information on peripheral facilities including the target facility is extracted. For example, in the scene of FIG. 7, a restaurant, a shopping center where the restaurant is installed, a service area, and the like are extracted from the extracted peripheral facilities.

  In step S208, the information center 100 informs the in-vehicle device 400 of the charging waiting time information and the target facility together with the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 in the vicinity of the vehicle position and the traveling route of the vehicle. Send information. The contents of the information to be transmitted here are different from the information on the peripheral facilities in that only the information on the target facility is transmitted. This is the same as step S107 in that the information is transmitted.

  In step S209, the in-vehicle device 400 provides the user with the information transmitted from the information center 100 in step S208. Here, as an aspect of providing information to the user, the charging facility icon may be displayed on the map displayed on the display 440 as in step S108, but the icon displayed on the display 440 may be displayed. An icon of the target facility may be displayed. For example, in the scene of FIG. 7, since the user is searching for a restaurant, the in-vehicle device 400 may display an icon of the restaurant that is the target facility on the map. Then, when the user selects any restaurant icon displayed on the map, the restaurant information is displayed on the display 440 together with information on the requestable charging facilities 200 existing in the surrounding area.

  Thereby, in this embodiment, the information of the surrounding facility which exists within the predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted, and further, the information of the user's target facility is extracted from the information of the surrounding facility, and the requestable charging is performed. By providing the information on the target facility to the user in addition to the information on the facility 200, the user can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging is performed at the requestable charging facility 200.

  Next, still another operation example in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows an operation example of the charging facility information providing system in the case of searching for the requestable charging facility 200 in which the average use time of the restaurant and the time required for charging are close in the scene of FIG. 7 described above. Yes.

  Steps S301 to S307 in FIG. 8 have the same contents as Steps S201 to S207 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S308, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 obtains the information on the average usage time of the target facility for the target facility extracted in step S307 from the information on the peripheral facilities stored in the database 130. Read. Here, the average usage time is stored in the database 130 for each type of facility. For example, in the case of a restaurant, it can be set to one hour.

  In step S309, the information center 100 extracts the chargeable charging facility 200 in which the difference between the average usage time extracted in step S308 and the time required for charging is within a predetermined time. Specifically, first, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 subtracts the “charging start waiting time” from the “charging completion waiting time” based on the charging waiting time calculated in step S304. Then, a “necessary charging time” that is a time required from the start to completion of charging of the battery provided in the vehicle is calculated. Then, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 calculates a difference between the calculated “required charging time” and the average usage time extracted in step S308, and whether or not the calculated difference is within a predetermined time. Determine whether. When it is determined that the calculated difference is within the predetermined time, the control device 110 provided in the information center 100 extracts the requestable charging facility 200. As a result, it is possible to extract the requestable charging facility 200 such that the time for which the user uses the peripheral facility is close to the time until the charging is completed.

  In step S310, the information center 100, with respect to the in-vehicle device 400, information on the charging waiting time and information on the target facility along with the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300 in the vicinity of the vehicle position and the travel route. Send. As the content of the information to be transmitted here, the information on the requestable charging facility 200 extracted in step S309 so that the time for the user to use the surrounding facility and the time until the charging is completed is close. In this respect, except for the difference, it is the same as step S208 in that the charging waiting time information is transmitted together with the charging facility information of the requestable charging facility 200 and the normal charging facility 300.

  In step S311, the in-vehicle device 400 provides the user with the information transmitted from the information center 100 in step S310. Here, as an aspect of providing information to the user, the charging facility icon and the target facility icon can be displayed on the map displayed on the display 440 as in step S209. In this case, other information can be requested for information on the chargeable charging facility 200 that is extracted in step S309 so that the time when the user uses the peripheral facility and the time until the charging is completed are close to each other. For example, an identification mark is added to the icon of the charging facility or the icon of the target facility so that it can be distinguished from the information of the charging facility 200, and is provided to the user.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, on the basis of the information on the charging facility for charging the battery provided in the vehicle, the user does not need to start the charging operation in response to the charging request from the user. By extracting the requestable charging facility 200 capable of charging the provided battery and providing the user with information on the extracted requestable charging facility 200, the user does not need such a charge start operation. The requestable charging facility 200 can be used appropriately, so that it is possible to leave the vehicle without waiting for the start of charging, so that the waiting time when charging can be used effectively.

  Further, in the present embodiment, information on peripheral facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted, and in addition to information on the requestable charging facility 200, information on the peripheral facility is provided to the user. Thus, the user can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging is performed at the requestable charging facility 200.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted such that the time when the user uses the peripheral facility and the time until the charging is completed are close, and information on the requestable charging facility 200 is extracted. Can be provided to the user, and the user can more effectively utilize the waiting time when charging is performed at the requestable charging facility 200.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment was described in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, and was not described in order to limit this 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.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control device 110 is the extraction means, the determination means, the charging time detection means, the charging facility information acquisition means, and the transmission means of the present invention, and the database 130 is the first storage means, the second storage means of the present invention. The controller 410 corresponds to the storage unit and the storage unit, and the provision unit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Information center 110 ... Control apparatus 120 ... Communication apparatus 130 ... Database 200 ... Requestable charging facility 210 ... Control apparatus 220 ... Communication apparatus 230 ... Charging apparatus 300 ... Normal charging facility 310 ... Control apparatus 320 ... Communication apparatus 330 ... Charging apparatus 400 ... In-vehicle device 410 ... Controller 420 ... Communication device 430 ... GPS
440 ... Display 450 ... Speaker

Claims (10)

First storage means for storing information of a charging facility for charging a battery provided in the vehicle;
Based on the information on the charging facility stored in the first storage unit, charging of a battery provided in the vehicle without requiring a user charging start operation in response to a charging request from the user among the charging facilities. Extracting means for extracting a chargeable charging facility capable of performing
A charging facility information providing system comprising: a providing unit that provides the user with information on the requestable charging facility extracted by the extracting unit. The charging facility information providing system according to claim 1,
Second storage means for storing information on a predetermined facility other than the charging facility;
A requesting charging facility extracted by the extracting means, comprising: a determining unit that determines whether the predetermined facility exists within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility;
For the requestable charging facility for which the predetermined facility is determined to exist within a predetermined distance by the determining unit, the providing unit includes information on the predetermined facility in addition to the information on the requestable charging facility. A charging facility information providing system characterized by providing a user with a charging facility. In the charging facility information provision system according to claim 1 or 2,
Charge time detection means for detecting a charge completion time required to complete charging of the battery when charging a battery provided in a vehicle using the requestable charging facility extracted by the extraction means Prepared,
The providing means further adds information on the length of the charging completion time detected by the charging time detecting means, and provides information on the chargeable charging facility to the user. system. The charging facility information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The providing means provides the user with information on charging facilities other than the requestable charging facility, in addition to the information on the requestable charging facility, in a state where they can be distinguished from each other. The charging facility information provision system according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The charging facility information providing system, wherein the providing means provides information on the contents of the predetermined facility. The charging facility information provision system according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The providing means, for the requestable charging facility determined by the determining means that the predetermined facility exists within a predetermined distance, a route when moving from the requestable charging facility to the predetermined facility; A charging facility information providing system that provides at least one information of a distance and a required time. The charging facility information provision system according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
The second storage means further stores, for each of the predetermined facilities, information on an average usage time when the user uses the predetermined facility for each type of facility,
When the determination unit determines that the predetermined facility exists within a predetermined distance from the requestable charging facility, the determination unit starts charging an average usage time of the predetermined facility and a battery provided in the vehicle. Comparing the required charging time, which is the time required until completion, and determining whether the difference between the required charging time and the average usage time is within a predetermined time,
The providing facility provides the charging facility information providing system to the user with information on requestable charging facilities in which the difference is determined to be within the predetermined time. The charging facility information provision system according to claim 7,
The charging facility information providing system, wherein the predetermined time is set according to a time until charging of the battery is started. Charging facility information acquisition means for acquiring information of a charging facility for charging a battery provided in the vehicle;
Storage means for storing charging facility information acquired by the charging facility information acquisition means;
Based on the information on the charging facility stored by the storage means, the battery provided in the vehicle is charged without requiring the user to start charging in response to a charging request from the user among the charging facilities. Extraction means for extracting chargeable charging facilities capable of being
An information center comprising: transmission means for transmitting information on the requestable charging facility extracted by the extraction means to a vehicle. Based on the information of the charging facility for charging the battery provided in the vehicle, according to the charging request from the user, the battery provided in the vehicle without requiring the user's charging start operation. Extract requestable charging facilities that can be charged,
A charging facility information providing method, comprising: providing the user with information on the extracted requestable charging facility.

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