JP2014155351A - Information provision system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information provision system which can enhance convenience of a user of an electric vehicle.SOLUTION: An information provision system which provides information on a charging facility to charge a battery of an electric vehicle 1 comprises: use information acquisition means 10, 20, 21, 22 and 23 which acquires use information obtained through actual use of the charging facility including information on waiting time; recording means 32 which cumulatively records the use information acquired by the use information acquisition means 10, 20, 21, 22 and 23; processing means 33 which statistically processes the cumulated use information recorded by the recording means 32; and information providing means 24 which provides a user of the electric vehicle 1 with the processed information statistically processed by the processing means 33.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system for providing information related to a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle.

In recent years, charging facilities for charging batteries of electric vehicles are being developed. In this charging facility, the battery of an electric vehicle can be charged like a gasoline station that refuels a conventional gasoline vehicle.
An electric vehicle is equipped with a rechargeable battery and an electric motor connected thereto. The electric vehicle travels by driving the electric motor with power supplied from the battery. Therefore, it is necessary to charge the battery before the electric power supply to the electric motor becomes impossible.

However, at present, electric vehicles have a shorter cruising range than gasoline vehicles, and charging facilities have fewer facilities than gasoline stations. Therefore, it can be said that the electric vehicle is in an environment where it is more likely to run out of electricity than a gasoline vehicle runs out of gas. For this reason, information on charging facilities is important when using an electric vehicle.
Therefore, a navigation system that provides information on charging facilities for electric vehicles has been developed. Such a technique is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that information on a new charging facility that is not stored in the navigation system is collected as an electric vehicle using a telematics service as a probe vehicle. Furthermore, in addition to the information on the charging facility that has already been stored, the charging facility is used by using information related to the usage status of the charging facility, such as the charging start time and charging end time, the charging method, and usage attributes such as lease use and corporate use. The accuracy of information is improved.

JP 2011-86020 A

However, in the information providing system that provides information on the charging facility as in the navigation system of Patent Document 1, the waiting time until the charging is actually started after the arrival at the charging facility is not considered. There is a possibility that the entire process time required for charging from the time when the user thinks about charging to the end of charging or the end of use of the charging facility cannot be shortened. Thereby, there exists a possibility that the convenience of the user of an electric vehicle cannot be ensured.
The present invention has been developed in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information providing system that can improve the convenience of a user of an electric vehicle.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, an information providing system of the present invention is an information providing system that provides information on a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle, and information on waiting time of the charging facility. Usage information acquisition means for acquiring usage information when the charging facility is actually used, recording means for cumulatively recording the usage information acquired by the usage information acquisition means, and recorded in the recording means And processing means for statistically processing the accumulated usage information, and information providing means for providing the processing information statistically processed by the processing means to the user of the electric vehicle.

(2) It is preferable that information on a time zone, a date, or a day of the week is attached to the waiting time information.
(3) It is preferable that the recording unit and the processing unit are provided in a recording processing server outside the electric vehicle.
(4) Moreover, it is preferable that the said recording means and the said processing means are mounted in the said electric vehicle.
(5) A facility management server managed by an administrator of the charging facility is further provided, and the usage information includes the charging facility after the charging of the battery is completed until the electric vehicle leaves the charging facility. It is preferable that the recording means and the facility management server are connected so that the usage information can be communicated.

(6) The usage information acquisition means includes a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the electric vehicle, a charging facility position storage unit that stores position information of the charging facility, and the vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires the usage information acquisition unit. An arrival determination unit that determines that the electric vehicle has arrived at the charging facility when a distance between the position of the electric vehicle and the position of the charging facility stored in the charging facility position storage unit is within a predetermined distance; and The charging based on a charging detection unit that detects charging, a time when the arrival determination unit determines that the electric vehicle has arrived at the charging facility, and a time when charging of the battery is detected by the charge detection unit It is preferable to include a waiting time calculating unit that calculates the waiting time of the facility.
The predetermined distance here is a threshold value for determining whether or not the vehicle has arrived at the charging facility, and is a distance for assuming that the vehicle has arrived at the charging facility at the beginning of the alignment, and is aligned. It means a distance that can be regarded as having arrived at the charging facility even if the goods can be received without any problems.

  (7) The usage information acquisition unit includes, for example, a charging capacity calculator that calculates a charging time per unit charge amount and calculates a charging capacity of the charging facility, and the usage information includes the charging capacity calculator It is preferable that the information on the charging capacity calculated by the above is included.

  According to the information providing system of the present invention, since processing information obtained by statistically processing the waiting time information of the charging facility is provided to the user of the electric vehicle, the processing information such as the average waiting time for each charging facility is It can be provided to automobile users. Therefore, the user of the electric vehicle can select the charging facility in consideration of the average waiting time. Thereby, the time of the whole process concerning the charge until it complete | finishes charge from the time of thinking of charge, for example, or it complete | finishes use of a charge facility can be shortened, and the convenience of the user of an electric vehicle can be improved. .

1 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a chart which shows the flow of acquisition of an utilization information, recording, and statistical processing implemented with the information provision system concerning 1st embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for “recording usage information at the start of charging” in FIG. 2. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for “recording usage information at the end of charging” in FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine which records the usage information at the time of leaving a charging facility of FIG. It is a whole block diagram which shows typically the information provision system concerning the modification of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a whole block diagram which shows typically the information provision system concerning 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a whole block diagram which shows typically the information provision system concerning the modification of 2nd embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments according to the information providing system of the present invention will be described below. The information providing system of the present invention provides information relating to a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle.
An electric vehicle is equipped with an electric motor as a travel drive source and a battery that exchanges electric energy with the electric motor. The electric motor is configured as a motor generator that functions as an electric motor and also as a generator, and the battery is configured as a chargeable / dischargeable secondary battery. When the electric vehicle is running, the electric motor is powered by power supplied from the battery, and when the electric vehicle is braked, the electric motor is regeneratively operated to charge the battery.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system of the first embodiment includes an electric vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle 1”) and a facility management server 40. These vehicles 1 and the facility management server 40 are communicably connected. Although FIG. 1 illustrates one vehicle 1 and one facility management server 40, the information providing system may be configured to include a plurality of vehicles 1, and moreover, a plurality of facility management servers. 40 may be configured. However, here, description will be given focusing on one vehicle 1 and one facility management server 40.

The vehicle 1 includes an ECU 10 and various devices connected thereto. The ECU 10 is an electronic control device configured as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) device or an embedded electronic device in which a microprocessor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like are integrated.
The ECU 10 is connected to a GPS (Global Positioning System) 20, a vehicle speed sensor 21, a charge detection unit 22, and an SOC detection unit 23 on its input side, and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) on its output side. , Information providing means) 24 and a communication unit 25 are connected. These various devices 20-25 and ECU10 are connected by communication lines or wire harnesses, such as CAN and FlexRay.

The input side devices of the ECU 10 are as follows.
The GPS 20 acquires the position of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the position of latitude and longitude detected based on arrival times of radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites is acquired as the current position of the vehicle 1. The position information of the vehicle 1 acquired by the GPS 20 is transmitted to the ECU 10.

  The vehicle speed sensor 21 detects the speed (vehicle speed) V of the vehicle 1. For example, the vehicle speed sensor 21 detects the rotational speed of the output shaft of an electric motor (not shown) that is a travel drive source, or detects the rotational speed of the output shaft of the transmission if a transmission is provided. A wheel speed sensor or the like can be used. Information on the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21 is transmitted to the ECU 10.

  The charge detection unit 22 detects whether a battery (not shown) of the vehicle 1 is charged. The charge detection unit 22 outputs an ON signal if it is charged, and outputs an OFF signal if it is not charged. For example, an ON signal is output if a current is flowing in a circuit connecting the charging port and the battery, and an OFF signal is output otherwise. These ON / OFF signals are transmitted to the ECU 10.

The SOC detector 23 detects the SOC of the battery (hereinafter referred to as “battery SOC”). The SOC means the state of charge, and specifically represents the ratio of the charge capacity at that time to the charge capacity in the fully charged state. As this SOC detection unit 23, for example, the power flowing into the battery and the power flowing out from the battery are integrated to calculate the charging capacity at that time, and this charging capacity is stored in advance in the fully charged battery charging capacity. What detects the battery SOC by dividing by can be used. Information on the battery SOC detected by the SOC detection unit 23 is transmitted to the ECU 10.
These input-side devices 20 to 23 and the ECU 10 constitute usage information acquisition means.

The devices on the output side of the ECU 10 are as follows.
The HMI 24 is an interface between the vehicle 1 and its user, and is for providing information to the user. Examples of the HMI 24 include a speaker that provides information by voice and a monitor display that provides information by display. When a speaker or a monitor display is used for the HMI 24, a speaker used for voice guidance or a monitor display used for display guidance in the car navigation system can also be used.

  The communication unit 25 is for communicating with a facility management server 40 provided outside the vehicle 1. Specifically, it is a communication module for wireless wide area communication such as WiFi (registered trademark) or a mobile phone carrier communication network. The communication unit 25 transmits usage information whose details will be described later to the facility management server 40.

  The ECU 10 operates to provide information to the user of the vehicle 1 using the various devices described above. The ECU 10 performs a wide range of computations and controls related to a so-called car navigation system. Here, the ECU 10 will be described with a focus on handling information related to the charging facility. In addition, ECU10 can implement the calculation and control which are implemented with a well-known car navigation system. For example, it is possible to guide the route to a point such as a charging facility set at a destination or waypoint, and to present information on whether or not the charging facility has a quick charging facility and information on the facility scale In addition, it is possible to calculate reachability based on the distance to the charging facility and the battery SOC.

Details of the ECU 10 will be described below.
The ECU 10 acquires various types of usage information, cumulatively records the acquired usage information in types, statistically processes the cumulatively recorded cumulative usage information in types, and processes the statistically processed type of processing information. Each is output to the HMI 24.
The usage information handled by the ECU 10 refers to information when the user of the vehicle 1 actually uses the charging facility. In other words, the various information acquired when the battery of the vehicle 1 is charged in the charging facility is the usage information. Specific examples of usage information include charging facility waiting time information and charging facility charging capacity information, charging start and end time information used to calculate these information, charging start time and end time Various information such as information on each battery SOC, information on the use date and time of the charging facility, information on the charging time, and information on the amount of charge are included.

  The ECU 10 includes functional elements 11 to 16 and a recording processing database 30 (hereinafter, abbreviated as “recording processing DB 30”) for performing acquisition, recording, and statistical processing related to the use information. Specifically, each of the functional elements 11 to 16 includes a time acquisition unit 11, an arrival determination unit 12, a waiting time calculation unit 13, a charging time calculation unit 14, a charge amount calculation unit 15, and a charging capacity calculation unit 16. The recording process DB 30 includes a map information storage unit (charging facility position storage unit) 31, a usage information recording unit (recording unit) 32, and a statistical processing unit (processing unit) 33 as functional elements. That is, in this embodiment, the usage information recording unit 32 and the statistical processing unit 33 are mounted on the vehicle 1.

First, a configuration related to acquisition and recording of usage information will be described.
For obtaining and recording the usage information, the functional elements 11 to 16 and the map information storage unit 31 and the usage information recording unit 32 of the recording processing DB 30 are used. For this reason, among each functional element 31-33 of recording process DB30, the map information storage part 31 and the utilization information recording part 32 are demonstrated previously. Note that the recording process DB 30 is a collection of information systematically organized and managed, and here also performs statistical processing of information.

The map information storage unit 31 stores in advance map information in which charging facility information is added to road information or information on points such as stations. Specifically, road location information, landmark location information, and charging facility location information associated with latitude and longitude information are recorded.
The location information of the charging facility stored in the map information storage unit 31 is accompanied by information on whether or not the charging facility has a quick charging facility, information on the facility scale such as the number of accommodated facilities, and the like.

  The usage information recording unit 32 is configured to cumulatively record various types of acquired usage information in the types. The usage information recording unit 32 may be a recording medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive).

Next, the functional elements 11 to 16 will be described in order.
The time acquisition unit 11 acquires time at various points in time when the charging facility is used. Specifically, each time such as a time when the vehicle 1 arrives at the charging facility, a time when charging of the battery of the vehicle 1 starts and ends, and a time when the vehicle 1 leaves the charging facility is acquired. Date information is accompanied by the date and day of the week. Therefore, the time zone, date, and day of the week can be acquired from this time information. Further, information on weekdays and holidays may be added to the information at each time.
A time zone means a certain time between a certain time, for example, 0:00 to 2:00, 2:00 to 4:00, and so on, and a date means 10 of the month. A calendar day such as a day or the 20th is called, and the day of the week is the type of day of the week expressed by the name of the day of the week.

ECU10 the information I _T at each time point acquired by the time acquisition unit 11, and records the usage information recording unit 32. Specifically, information I _T1 (hereinafter referred to as arrival time information I _T1 ) when the vehicle 1 arrives at the charging facility and information I _T2 (hereinafter referred to as charging start time information) when the battery of the vehicle 1 starts to be charged. I _T2 ), information I _T3 (hereinafter referred to as charging end time information I _T3 ) when charging of the vehicle 1 battery is completed, and information I _T4 (hereinafter referred to as shipping time) when the vehicle 1 leaves the charging facility. Information IT _T4 ) in the usage information recording unit 32. Thereby, the use date and time of the charging facility when the vehicle 1 uses a certain charging facility is recorded.

In particular, information I _T at each time is recorded when:.
The arrival time information _IT1 is recorded together with information for specifying the charging facility when the arrival determining unit 12 described below determines that the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility.
The charge start time information I _T2 is recorded when an ON signal is input from the charge detection unit 22 to the ECU 10, that is, when charging of the battery is detected by the charge detection unit 22. The charging end time information I _T3 is recorded when an OFF signal is input from the charge detection unit 22 to the ECU 10 after the recording of the charging start time information I _T2 .

The shipping time information _IT4 is recorded when the vehicle speed sensor 21 detects the vehicle speed after the charging end time information _IT3 is recorded. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle speed is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21 when the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21 becomes higher than the predetermined stop vehicle speed V ₀ . The predetermined stop vehicle speed V ₀ is a preset vehicle speed corresponding to a stop such as 0 km / h or 2 km / h.

The arrival determination unit 12 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility. This arrival determination is performed using the information of the GPS 20 and the map information storage unit 31 described above. Specifically, when the distance L between the current position of the vehicle 1 acquired by the GPS 20 and the position of the charging facility stored in the map information storage unit 31 is within a predetermined distance L _P , the arrival determination unit 12 It is determined that the battery has arrived at the charging facility.

The predetermined distance L _P here is a threshold value for determining whether or not the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility, and distances such as 50 m and 100 m are set in advance. For example, when the charging facility is congested, it may be necessary to line up at a point separated from the charging facility by a certain distance. In such a case, it is a distance that can be regarded as arriving at the charging facility at the beginning of the lineup, and a distance that can be regarded as arrival even if it is possible to enter the charging facility without being lined up. It is preset as L _P.

  The determination by the arrival determination unit 12 is preferably performed on the assumption that the user of the vehicle 1 has set the charging facility as the destination or waypoint. In this case, the arrival determination unit 12 periodically calculates the distance L between the position of the charging facility set as the destination or the waypoint and the current position of the vehicle 1. However, in other cases, the arrival determination unit 12 may always calculate the distance L between the position of the most recent charging facility and the current position of the vehicle 1 by searching the predetermined area, for example, from the current position of the vehicle 1. .

The waiting time calculation unit 13 calculates the waiting time of the charging facility. The waiting time here means the time from when the vehicle 1 arrives at the charging facility until charging of the battery of the vehicle 1 is started. This waiting time is calculated based on the time when the arrival determination unit 12 determines that the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility, and the time when the charging detection unit 22 detects charging of the battery. Specifically, the time between the arrival time of the arrival time information I _T1 recorded in the usage information recording unit 32 and the charging start time of the charging start time information I _T2 is calculated as a waiting time.
ECU10, when latency is calculated by the wait time calculating unit 13, information on the waiting time I _TW (hereinafter referred to as latency information I _TW) to record the usage information recording unit 32.

The charging time calculation unit 14 calculates the time during which the vehicle 1 is charging at the charging facility. The charging time here means a time during which charging is actually performed, and for example, a time during which a charging connector for charging the charging port is connected but charging is not performed is excluded. The charging time is calculated based on each time when the charging detection unit 22 detects the start and end of charging of the battery. Specifically, the time between the charging start time of the charging start time information I _T2 recorded in the usage information recording unit 32 and the charging end time of the charging end time information IT ₃ is calculated as the charging time.
When the charging time is calculated by the charging time calculation unit 14, the ECU 10 records the charging time information I _TC (hereinafter referred to as charging time information I _TC ) in the usage information recording unit 32.

The charge amount calculation unit 15 calculates the amount that the vehicle 1 is charged at the charging facility. This amount of charge is calculated based on the battery SOC detected by the SOC detector 23. Here, a value obtained by subtracting the battery SOC when the charging detection unit 22 detects the start of battery charging from the battery SOC when the charging detection unit 22 detects the end of charging of the battery corresponds to the charge amount. It is calculated as a thing.
When the charge amount is calculated by the charge amount calculation unit 15, the ECU 10 records the charge amount information I _AC (hereinafter referred to as charge amount information I _AC ) in the usage information recording unit 32. In addition, information on the battery SOC at the start of charging and at the end of charging is also recorded in the usage information recording unit 32.

The charging capacity calculation unit 16 calculates the charging capacity of the charging facility. The charging capacity here corresponds to the charging efficiency. That is, if the charging amount is the same, the charging time is shortened as the charging capacity is increased. This charging capacity can be calculated by dividing the charging amount calculated by the charging amount calculation unit 15 by the charging time calculated by the charging time calculation unit 14. That is, the charge amount per unit time can be handled as corresponding to the charge capacity.
When the charging capability is detected by the charging capability detection unit 16, the ECU 10 records the charging capability information _IEC (hereinafter referred to as charging capability information _IEC ) in the usage information recording unit 32.

In addition to the above functional elements 11 to 16, the ECU 10 calculates, for example, a time between the charging end time of the charging end time information I _T3 and the leaving time of the leaving time information I _T4 , and this time information I _TS ( Hereinafter, the undelivered time information _ITS ) may be recorded in the usage information recording unit 32.

Next, a configuration related to statistical processing of usage information will be described.
The statistical processing of usage information is performed by the statistical processing unit 33 of the statistical processing DB 30.
The statistical processing unit 33 includes, in the usage information recording unit 32, the waiting time information I _TW and the charging capability information I _EC as well as arrival time information I _T1 , charging start and charging information used to calculate the information I _TW and I _EC. Information on end times I _T2 and I _T3 , information on each battery SOC at the start and end of charging, information on use date and time of charging facility, charging time information I _TC , information on charging amount I _AC , and shipping time information I the accumulated use information recorded in each of the type such as _T4 or non unloading time information I _TS is to statistically processed.

If attention is paid to the waiting time information _ITW as a kind of usage information, the waiting time information _ITW is cumulatively recorded in the usage information recording unit 32. This cumulatively recorded waiting time information _ITW is a kind of cumulative usage information. Further, Come to focus on the charging capability information I _EC as a kind of usage information, likewise, the usage information recording unit 32 charging capability information I _EC is cumulatively recorded. This cumulatively recorded charging capacity information _IEC is also a kind of cumulative usage information. The statistical processing unit 33 statistically processes the accumulated usage information recorded in the types as described above.
Thus, the recording by the usage information recording unit 32 is performed for the type of usage information, and the statistical processing by the statistical processing unit 33 is performed for each cumulative usage information recorded in the type by the usage information recording unit 32. Implemented.

Hereinafter, an example of statistical processing by the statistical processing unit 33 will be described.
Statistical processing of the waiting time information _ITW includes calculating an average waiting time for each charging facility, and statistical processing of the charging capacity information _IEC includes an average charging capability for each charging facility. Is calculated. Furthermore, the time period each time incidental to the respective latency information I _TW and charging capability information I _EC, every day or every day of the week may be calculated an average waiting time and the charging capability.
Although not taken up here, statistical processing can also be performed by taking the average for each type of information, and taking the average for each additional information.

The processing information statistically processed by the statistical processing unit 33 is provided to the user of the vehicle 1 by the HMI 24. That is, the ECU 10 outputs processing information to the HMI 24.
The ECU 10 outputs, for example, processing information about charging facilities around the vehicle 1 and processing information about charging facilities selected by the user of the vehicle 1 to the HMI 24. At this time, the ECU 10 may output the processing information by sorting (alignment) in the order of shorter average waiting time or higher average charging capacity.
The processing information is output by the ECU 10 when, for example, the user of the vehicle 1 searches for a charging facility using the navigation system or when the battery SOC is low.

  Further, the ECU 10 transmits the usage information recorded in the usage information recording unit 32 to the facility management server 40 via the communication unit 25. The ECU 10 may also send processing information statistically processed by the statistical processing unit 33 to the facility management server 40.

The usage information transmitted to the facility management server 40 includes at least charging end time information I _T3 and shipping time information I _T4, and of course may include all types of usage information. If the non unloading time information I _TS is calculated and recorded, instead of or in addition to the charging end time information I _T3 and unloading time information I _T4, non unloading time to use the information to be transmitted to the facilities management server 40 Information _ITS is included. That is, the usage information transmitted to the facility management server 40 includes information on the time from when the charging of the battery at the charging facility is completed until the vehicle 1 leaves the charging facility.

The facility management server 40 is a server managed by the manager of the charging facility. The charging facility management server 40 calculates data for improving the charging facility based on the transmitted usage information. For example, when a charging end time information I _T3 and unloading time information I _T4 is transmitted as the usage information, the time from the charging end time of the charging finishing time information I _T3 until unloading time of unloading time information I _T4, in other words, to calculate the non-unloading time of the non-unloading time information I _TS. However, when the unshipped time information _ITS is transmitted, the above calculation process is not necessary.

〔flowchart〕
Hereinafter, the procedure of acquisition, recording, and statistical processing of usage information performed in the information providing system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart is triggered by, for example, the setting of a charging facility at a destination or waypoint by the user of the vehicle 1, and thereafter, the flowchart is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. Further, each step in the flowchart is implemented by each function assigned to the hardware of the ECU 10 being operated by software (computer program).

In step S10, it determines the distance L between the current position and the position of the charging facility which is stored in the map information storage unit 31 of the vehicle 1 as to whether or not within the predetermined distance L _P. If the distance L is within the predetermined distance L _P , the process proceeds to step S20, and if not, this control cycle ends (end).
In step S20, recording information of the current time T _1. That is, the arrival time information I _T1 is recorded. Then, the process proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, it is determined whether charging has started. That is, it is determined whether or not charging is detected by the charging detection unit 22. If charging has been started, the process proceeds to step S40, and if not, the process proceeds to step S32.
Step S32 is the same as step S10 described above. If an affirmative determination is made here, the process proceeds to step S30, and if a negative determination is made, this control cycle ends (end).
In step S40, a subroutine for recording usage information at the start of charging is executed. The details are shown in FIG.

In step S42, information on the battery SOC at the start of charging is recorded. Then, the process proceeds to step S44.
At step S44, recording information of the current time T _2. That is, the charging start time information I _T2 is recorded. Then, the process proceeds to step S46.
In step S46, to calculate the time (latency) from the time T ₁ to time T _2, to record this information. That is, the waiting time information _ITW is recorded. Then, the process returns to step S50 in FIG.

In step S50, it is determined whether or not charging is completed. That is, it is determined whether or not charging is detected by the charging detection unit 22. If the charging is finished, the process proceeds to step S60, and if not, the determination in step S50 is repeated again.
In step S60, a subroutine for recording usage information at the end of charging is executed. The details are shown in FIG.
In step S62, information on the battery SOC at the end of charging is recorded. Then, the process proceeds to step S64.

In step S64, the charge amount is calculated and recorded from the battery SOC at the end of charging recorded in step S62 immediately before and the battery SOC at the start of charging recorded in step S42 described above. Then, control goes to a step S66.
At step S66, the recording information of the current time T _3. That is, the charging end time information I _T3 is recorded. Then, the process proceeds to step S68.
At step S68, and calculates the time (charge time) from time T _2, until time T _3, to record this information. That is, the charging time information _ITC is recorded. Then, the process returns to step S70 in FIG.

At step S70, the determining whether the vehicle speed V is greater than a predetermined stop vehicle speed V _0. That is, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed V of the vehicle 1 is detected. If the vehicle speed V is greater than the predetermined stop vehicle speed V ₀ , the process proceeds to step S80, and if not, the determination in step S70 is repeated again.
In step S80, a subroutine for recording usage information when the charging facility is delivered is executed. The details are shown in FIG.
At step S82, the recording information of the current time T _4. That is, the shipping time information _IT4 is recorded. Then, control goes to a step S84.

At step S84, the calculated time (not goods issue time) from time T ₃ to time T _4, to record this information. That is, the undelivered time information _ITS is recorded. Then, the process returns to step S90 in FIG.
In step S90, a statistical processing subroutine is executed. Although details are not shown, the usage information is statistically processed for each type. Then, the process proceeds to step S100.
In step S <b> 100, usage information is transmitted to the charging facility server 40. Then, this control cycle ends (end).

[Action and effect]
Since the information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, the following operations and effects can be obtained.
ECU10, when the distance L between the current position and the position of the charging facility which is stored in the map information storage unit 31 of the vehicle 1 obtained by GPS20 is within a predetermined distance L _P, the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility determination The arrival determination unit 12, the charging detection unit 22 that detects the charging of the battery of the vehicle 1, the time when the arrival determination unit 12 determines that the vehicle 1 has arrived at the charging facility, and the charging detection unit 22 charges the battery. Since the waiting time calculating unit 13 that calculates the waiting time of the charging facility based on the detected time is provided, the waiting time according to the waiting time information _ITW can be calculated.

ECU10 is the usage information including the acquired waiting information I _TW recorded cumulatively use information recording unit 32, and outputs the processed information performs a statistical process this cumulative usage information in the statistical processing section 33 to HMI24. The output processing information is provided to the user of the vehicle 1 through the HMI 24. Therefore, processing information such as an average waiting time for each charging facility can be provided to the user of the vehicle 1. Thereby, the convenience of the user of the vehicle 1 can be improved.

Since the waiting time information _ITW included in the usage information is accompanied by information on the time zone, date or day of the week, information on the average waiting time for each time zone, date or day of the week is used. Can be provided to the user. Therefore, the convenience of the user of the vehicle 1 can be further improved.

In the case of providing charging facility availability information in real time as in the prior art, it is possible to provide charging facility availability information at the present time, but for example at a specific time zone, a specific date or a specific day of the week. Charging facilities that tend to be crowded or empty cannot be identified. On the other hand, according to the information providing system of this embodiment, the user of the vehicle 1 is crowded or vacated with a specific tendency, for example, by providing information on average waiting time for each time zone, each date, or each day of the week. A charging facility with a tendency can be identified. Further, it is possible to select a charging facility that tends to have an empty vehicle upon arrival even if it is full at the present time, or a charging facility that tends to be crowded on arrival even if there is an empty space at the present time.
Furthermore, if the waiting time information _ITW is accompanied by information on weekdays and holidays, processing information such as average waiting time on weekdays and average waiting time on holidays can be provided to the user of the vehicle 1. Can be enhanced.

The usage information ECU10 transmits to the facility management server 40, since at least the charging end time information I _T3 includes the unloading time information I _T4, or are have at least un unloading time information I _TS, charging facility Information on the time from when the battery is charged until the electric vehicle leaves the charging facility is transmitted to the facility management server 40. Therefore, the manager of the charging facility can grasp the vehicle 1 that does not leave the charging facility even when the charging of the battery is finished and the time when the charging facility does not leave. Thereby, the manager of the charging facility can be urged to improve the utilization efficiency of the charging facility. As a result, it contributes to the convenience of the user of the vehicle 1.

Since the charging capacity information IEC calculated by the charging capacity calculation unit 16, that is, the charging capacity information _IEC is included in the usage information, the user of the vehicle 1 performs the statistical processing on the charging capacity information I for each charging facility. _EC is provided. Therefore, the user of the vehicle 1 can select the charging facility in consideration of the charging capacity, in other words, the length of the charging time.

In charging facilities with multiple charging connectors and other charging facilities, charging capacity when charging facilities are used in large numbers in parallel, and when charging facilities are used in a small number or not in parallel In some cases, the latter charging capacity is higher. That is, there are cases where charging can be performed earlier when the charging facility is used as in the latter case. This is because there is an upper limit to the power that can be supplied by the entire charging facility, and if the power used at the charging facility reaches this upper limit power, the power used is limited. For this reason, even if it is a charging facility provided with a quick charging facility, charging time is not necessarily shortened uniformly.
However, in the case of providing charging facility information with the presence / absence of a rapid charging facility as in the prior art, it is possible to distinguish between a charging facility that can be charged quickly and a charging facility that is not so in quick charging. Can not.
On the other hand, in the information providing system of the present invention, for example, charging capability information is also provided for a charging facility having a quick charging facility, so that a charging facility that can be charged earlier can be selected.

Thus, the usage information, because it contains the latency information I _TW and the charging capability information I _EC, the user of the vehicle 1, taking into account both the charge time there and charging facility latency The charging facility can be selected. Furthermore, if information on the time until arrival at the charging facility is provided as in the prior art, the user of the vehicle 1 takes charge until the use of the charging facility ends after thinking about charging at the charging facility. The charging facility can be selected in consideration of the entire process time. Therefore, the convenience of the user of the vehicle 1 can be greatly improved.

<Modification>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the modification concerning 1st embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. In the following description, differences from the configuration of the first embodiment described above will be described. Except for the differences described here, the configuration is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment described above, and the same reference numerals are given to these components, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the information providing system according to this modification, the configuration of the vehicle 1A is different from the configuration of the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment described above. This vehicle 1A is equipped with a mobile terminal 10A in place of the ECU 10 of the first embodiment described above. Note that the mobile terminal 10A being mounted on the vehicle 1A is not limited to the mobile terminal 10A being fixedly installed on the vehicle 1A but also includes the mobile terminal 10A being brought into the vehicle 1A.

The mobile terminal 10A is a multi-function mobile terminal such as a so-called smartphone. Further, a communication means (not shown) is interposed between the mobile terminal 10A and each part of the vehicle 1A so that information can be transmitted. For example, the communication means is configured by installing a wireless communication system using, for example, WiFi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) between the two, or installing the mobile terminal 10A in the cradle with the vehicle 1A equipped with a cradle. By doing so, a communication means can be comprised. When the vehicle 1A is equipped with a cradle, the cradle may be connected to each part of the vehicle 1A by wire such as a wire harness to transmit information, and the mobile terminal 10A on which the cradle is installed and the vehicle A unit in which information is transmitted to and from each unit of 1A by a wireless communication system may be used.
Information from the vehicle speed sensor 21, the charge detection unit 22, and the SOC detection unit 23 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10A.

In the first embodiment described above, the vehicle 1 is provided with the GPS 20. However, in this modification, the GPS 20 </ b> A having the same function as the GPS 20 is provided in the mobile terminal 10 </ b> A. Similarly, in the first embodiment described above, the communication unit 25 is provided in the vehicle 1, but in the present modification, the communication unit 25A having the same function as the communication unit 25 is provided in the mobile terminal 10A.
In this modification, the mobile terminal 10A is provided with an MMI (Man Machine Interface, information providing means) 24A instead of the vehicle 1 being provided with the HMI 25.

The MMI 24A is an interface between the user of the vehicle 1A and the mobile terminal 10A and provides information to the user. Examples of the MMI 24A include a speaker that provides information by voice and a monitor display that provides information by display.
10 A of this portable terminal can perform the calculation and control which are implemented by a well-known car navigation system, performing the wide calculation and control concerning what is called a car navigation system like ECU10 mentioned above in 1st embodiment. it can.

Since the information providing system of the present modification is configured as described above, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above.
Furthermore, since it is not necessary to install an ECU related to the information providing system on the vehicle side and the portable terminal 10A is a part of the information providing system, the information providing system can be easily introduced. If a multifunctional portable terminal that is already in widespread use, such as a so-called smartphone, is used as the portable terminal 10A, the cost required for system introduction can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, differences from the configuration of the first embodiment described above will be described. Except for the points described here, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given thereto, and the description of each part is omitted.

The information providing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an ECU 10B of the vehicle 1B in which the recording process DB 30 is omitted from the ECU 10 of the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment, and a recording process server 30B having the same function as the recording process DB 30. It is provided.
The record processing server 30B is provided outside the vehicle 1B, and has a map information storage unit (charging) having the same functions as the map information storage unit 31, the usage information recording unit 32, and the statistical processing unit 33 described above in the first embodiment. A facility location storage unit) 31B, a usage information recording unit (recording unit, arrival time recording unit, charging start time recording unit) 32B, and a statistical processing unit (processing unit) 33B. In other words, in the first embodiment, the usage information recording unit 32 and the statistical processing unit 33 are mounted on the vehicle 1, whereas in the second embodiment, the usage information recording unit 32B and the statistical processing unit 33B are the vehicle. The storage processing server 30B outside 1B is provided.

Further, the recording processing server 30B and the facility management server 40 are connected to be communicable. In the information providing system according to the second embodiment, the vehicle 1B and the facility management server 40 do not communicate.
For this reason, the communication unit 25 has a function of communicating with an external server of the vehicle 1B as described above in the first embodiment. Here, the communication unit 25 is configured to be able to transmit and receive usage information and processing information with the recording processing server 30B. ing.

In the present embodiment, the usage information transmitted and received between the ECU 10B of the vehicle 1B and the recording processing server 30B is accompanied by information identifying the vehicle 1B such as an ID unique to the vehicle. Thereby, the various usage information concerning the identified vehicle 1B is linked.
For example, other usage information may be used for acquisition and calculation of usage information such that arrival time information I _T1 and charging start time information I _T2 are used for calculation of waiting time information I _TW. The information may be recorded in the usage information recording unit 32B of the recording processing server 30B, and may be temporarily stored in the ECU 10B.

When other usage information is recorded in the ECU 10B, it is not necessary to use wide-area communication via the communication unit 25 to read the other usage information, so the usage information can be acquired or calculated promptly. .
When other usage information is recorded in the recording processing server 30B but not in the ECU 10B, it is necessary to read out other usage information from the recording processing server 30B, but the vehicle 1B is specified for each usage information. Therefore, necessary usage information that is not recorded in the vehicle 1B can be used. In other words, even if other usage information is not recorded in the vehicle 1B, the usage information acquisition process can be performed in real time.

Since the information providing system according to the second embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the effects of the first embodiment described above.
Furthermore, since the usage information recording unit 32B and the statistical processing unit 33B are provided in the storage processing server 30B outside the vehicle 1B, the recording processing server 30B is transmitted from a plurality of vehicles including the vehicle 1B. Therefore, the accuracy of the processing information obtained by statistically processing the accumulated usage information can be improved. Since the processing information with improved accuracy is transmitted to each vehicle and provided to the user, the convenience of each user can be further improved.

<Modification>
Next, a modification according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, differences from the configuration of the second embodiment described above and differences from the configuration of the modification of the first embodiment described above will be described. Except for the differences described here, the configuration is the same as the configuration of the second embodiment or the modification of the first embodiment described above. Is omitted.

In the information providing system according to this modification, the configuration of the vehicle 1C is different from the vehicle 1B of the second embodiment described above. This vehicle 1C is equipped with a mobile terminal 10C instead of the ECU 10B of the second embodiment described above. This portable terminal 10C is obtained by omitting the recording process DB 30 of the portable terminal 10A in the information providing system according to the modified example of the first embodiment described above.
For this reason, the communication unit 25A has a function of communicating with a server outside the vehicle 1C as described above, but here, is configured to be able to transmit and receive usage information and processing information to and from the recording processing server 30B.

In this modification, the usage information transmitted and received between the mobile terminal 10C and the recording processing server 30B is accompanied by information identifying the mobile terminal 10C such as an ID unique to the mobile terminal. As a result, the vehicle 1C on which the identified mobile terminal 10C is mounted is also identified, and various types of usage information relating to the vehicle 1C are associated.
Since the information provision system of this modification is comprised as mentioned above, it can acquire the effect similar to the effect of 2nd embodiment mentioned above. Furthermore, the same effect as that of the modification of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

[Others]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In the first embodiment described above, the recording process DB 30 is provided in the ECU 10. However, the recording process DB 30 may be provided outside the ECU 10 as long as the vehicle 1 is provided. In this case, the recording process DB 30 and the ECU 10 are connected so that usage information and process information can be input and output.
In the first embodiment, the statistical processing unit 33 of the statistical processing DB 30 performs statistical processing on the cumulative usage information of the type. However, the statistical processing unit 33 is omitted from the statistical processing DB 30, and the ECU 10 performs statistical processing. May be implemented.

  In the first embodiment and the modification thereof, the map information recording unit 31 is provided in the vehicles 1 and 1A. However, the map information recording unit 31 is provided outside the vehicles 1 and 1A. May be. In this case, a map database on the Internet is accessed via the communication units 25 and 25A, and road information, charging facility information, and the like are acquired.

  In the information providing system according to the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 1B and the facility management server 40 are not communicated. However, the vehicle 1B and the facility management server 40 may be configured to be communicable. In this case, the information transmitted from the vehicle 1B to the facility management server 40 includes at least information on the time from when the charging of the battery at the charging facility is completed until the vehicle 1 leaves the charging facility. In addition, other usage information and processing information may be included. According to such a configuration, the facility manager who manages the facility management server 40 can be provided with information related to the charging facility in addition to the undelivered time, and the maintenance of the charging facility can be promoted. As a result, it contributes to the convenience of the user of the vehicle 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing system including the facility management server 40 has been described. However, the facility management server 40 may be omitted. In such a case, the system configuration can be simplified.
Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment mentioned and demonstrated four vehicles, vehicle 1A of 1st embodiment, the vehicle 1A of the modification, vehicle 1B of the second embodiment, and vehicle 1C of the modification, In the information providing system, the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1A may be mixed, or the vehicle 1B and the vehicle 1C may be mixed. Furthermore, the vehicle 1, the vehicle 1A, the vehicle 1B, and the vehicle 1C may be mixed. When the vehicles 1 and 1A having the recording processing DB 30 and the vehicles 1B and 1C connectable to the external recording processing server 30B are mixed as in the latter case, the recording processing DB 30 of the vehicles 1 and 1A The usage information recorded in the usage information recording unit 32 is transmitted to the external recording processing server 30B, and statistically processed for each charging facility by the recording processing server 30B. In this case, the statistical processing by the statistical processing unit 33 in the recording processing DB 30 of the vehicles 1 and 1A is not essential. However, the processing information statistically processed by the statistical processing unit 33 may be transmitted to the external recording processing server 30B.

1 Vehicle (electric car)
10 ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Time acquisition part 12 Arrival determination part 13 Wait time calculation part 14 Charging time calculation part 15 Charge amount calculation part 16 Charging capacity calculation part 20 GPS (vehicle position acquisition part)
21 Vehicle speed sensor 22 Charge detection unit 23 SOC detection unit 24 HMI (information providing means)
25 Communication unit 30 Recording processing DB
31 Map information storage unit (charging facility location storage unit)
32 Usage information recording unit (recording means, arrival time recording unit, charging start time recording unit)
33 Statistical processing section (processing means)
40 facility management server

Claims (7)

An information providing system for providing information on a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle,
Usage information acquisition means for acquiring usage information when the charging facility is actually used, including information on the waiting time of the charging facility;
Recording means for cumulatively recording the usage information acquired by the usage information acquisition means;
Processing means for statistically processing the accumulated usage information recorded in the recording means;
Information providing means for providing processing information statistically processed by the processing means to a user of the electric vehicle,
An information providing system characterized by that. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the waiting time information is accompanied by information of a time zone, a date, or a day of the week. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit and the processing unit are provided in a recording processing server outside the electric vehicle. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit and the processing unit are mounted on the electric vehicle. A facility management server managed by an administrator of the charging facility;
The usage information includes information on the time from the end of charging of the battery at the charging facility until the electric vehicle leaves the charging facility,
5. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit and the facility management server are connected to be able to communicate the usage information. The usage information acquisition means includes
A vehicle position acquisition unit for acquiring the position of the electric vehicle;
A charging facility location storage unit for storing location information of the charging facility;
When the distance between the position of the electric vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit and the position of the charging facility stored in the charging facility position storage unit is within a predetermined distance, the electric vehicle arrives at the charging facility. An arrival determination unit that determines that
A charge detector for detecting charging of the battery;
Waiting to calculate the waiting time of the charging facility based on the time when the arrival determination unit determines that the electric vehicle has arrived at the charging facility and the time when charging of the battery is detected by the charging detection unit The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a time calculating unit. The usage information acquisition means includes
A charging capacity calculation unit for calculating the charging capacity of the charging facility;
The usage information includes
The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein information on the charging capacity calculated by the charging capacity calculation unit is included.

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