JP7312898B2 - Information processing device, information processing method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program.

The information provision system for EV (Electric Vehicle) is a system that refers to map information when using an EV expressway (toll road), accurately predicts the reachable range of the EV, and recommends and reserves a service/parking area (SA/PA) to be used by the user. It is necessary to create a plan for efficient use of SA/PA with charging facilities so that EVs do not run out of power.

However, road congestion and waiting conditions of other EVs cannot be properly reflected in the plan, and there are problems that reservations tend to be concentrated on specific SA/PAs and that EV users take long waiting times. There is also the problem that the SA/PA that the user wants to go to is not recommended. In such a case, a large deviation occurs in the operation rate of the chargers, and a charger with a high operation rate deteriorates rapidly, or a charger with a low operation rate increases maintenance and management costs. Also, the user may find the planning inconvenient.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-203174 JP 2013-171524 A

Embodiments of the present invention provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer program capable of leveling the operation rate of energy supply devices or enabling an energy supply plan with less user dissatisfaction.

An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reservation management unit that manages a reservation related to the energy supply point at which energy is supplied to a mobile object traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and an energy supply time for the energy supply, and a calculation unit that provides an incentive or penalty to a user of the mobile object according to the fulfillment status of the reservation.

1 is a block diagram of a reservation management device according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. The figure which shows an example of route information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a network structure of route information; The figure which shows the example of traffic counter management information. The figure which shows the example of weather information. The figure which shows an example of road control information. The figure which shows an example of vehicle information. The figure which shows an example of reservation information DB (database). The figure which shows the example of I/P (incentive/penalty) information DB. The figure which shows the example of the data managed by a travel management part. The figure which shows the example of preparation of the mode selection charging plan proposal which concerns on a 1st Example. The figure which shows the example of a mode selection charging plan proposal. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 13; FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 14; The figure which shows the example of the information provision system screen for EV. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 13; FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 17; The figure which shows the other example of a mode selection charging plan draft. 15 shows an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 14. FIG. The figure which shows the example of the application screen of the mode selection charging plan proposal which can re-search a route. The figure which shows the example of the screen displayed after re-searching for a route|route. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transitioned from the screen of FIG. 22; 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the reservation management device according to the second embodiment; The figure which shows the example of the charge reservation screen which concerns on a 2nd Example. The figure which shows the example which reserves charge. The figure which shows the example of the charge reservation screen after the reservation completion. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a charge reservation screen when a charge point and a charge point are specified; The figure which shows the example of charge plan DB. 5 is a flowchart of an example of processing when a user makes a charging reservation; The figure which shows the example of the input screen of the information provision system conditions for EV in an application. The figure which shows the example of the input screen of other conditions in an application. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another example of processing when a user makes a charging reservation; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of processing when a charging plan unit recreates (updates) a charging plan; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example screen of the user's application when notifying the user of a change in at least one of the charging time and the charging point; The figure which shows the example which displays the notification to that effect on an application, when it is judged that a user will not be in time. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an application operation when changing the charging time; The figure which shows the operation example of the application in the case of deleting a reservation. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another example of processing when the charging plan unit recreates (updates) the charging plan; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of processing of an I/P calculator; The figure which shows the example of the application screen which notifies of a penalty simultaneously with the notification of a charge schedule change. The figure which shows the example of an application screen in the case of revoking the right of reservation. 4 is a flowchart of processing for determining the content of a penalty given to a user according to the number of reservation cancellations. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation example when a user charges at a charging point; FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 44 ; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of a charging reservation terminal; 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the reservation management device according to the second embodiment; The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the reservation management apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an electric vehicle (hereinafter referred to as EV) is taken as an example of a mobile object, but mobile objects other than EVs may be used. Examples of such moving objects include trains, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, airplanes, drones, electric motorcycles, vehicles with diesel engines, and ships.

EVs use the charging power (charged energy) of batteries to travel on roads, which are traffic routes, and move to various points. In this embodiment, an EV point is mainly an energy supply point (for example, a service area/parking area (SA/PA)) where the EV is charged. However, the point in this embodiment is not limited to the energy supply point, and may be any point on the map. For example, it may be at home, at a restaurant, at a store, or at a point arbitrarily specified by the user of the EV.

An EV is supplied with power at an energy supply point (hereinafter referred to as a supply point or charging point) and stores the supplied power in a battery. EVs use electricity stored in batteries to move. An EV needs to move to the next supply point and receive power supply there before the battery runs out of power. In this way, the EV moves to the destination while being charged at each supply point. One or a plurality of chargers (energy suppliers) are installed at the supply point, and the EV is connected to any charger by wire or wirelessly to receive power supply.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the mobile object is an EV, so the energy supply is charging, the supply point is the charging station, and the energy supplier is the charger. However, if the mobile object is a gasoline vehicle, the energy supply can be read as fuel supply, and the supply point can be read as a gas station and a fuel supply device. If the moving object is an airplane, drone, or the like, the road should be read as an air route, and if the moving object is a ship, it should be read as an air route. In this way, the same processing as in the present embodiment can be performed for moving bodies other than EVs.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a reservation management device, which is an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The reservation management device 101 of FIG. 1 includes a communication unit 11, an EV management unit 13, a user DB (database) 14, a map information management unit 15, a road control information management unit 16, a charger information management unit 17, a weather information management unit 18, a vehicle information management unit 19, a system DB 20, a control unit 21, a reservation management unit 23, a reservation DB 24, an I/P (incentive/penalty) information management unit 25, and an I/P information DB 26. The reservation management device 101 also includes an I/P fee management unit 31 , a charging management unit 32 , a travel management unit 41 , an I/P calculation unit (calculation unit) 51 , an IP plan DB 52 , a charging plan unit 71 and a charging plan DB 72 .

In addition, the reservation management device 101 may include input means for the operator to input instructions or data to the reservation management device 101 and display means for displaying data to the operator. Examples of input means include a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, microphone for voice input, and the like. Examples of display means include LCD (liquid crystal display), CRT (cathode-ray tube), and PDP (plasma display). If the operator does not operate the reservation management device 101, these input means and output means are unnecessary.

The reservation management device 101 realizes an EV information providing system with a reservation function that provides a reservation function for an energy supply point to a user of an EV traveling on an expressway (toll road).
The reservation management device 101 is installed, for example, in a facility management company or a traffic control station. However, the reservation management device 101 may be incorporated in an EV car navigation system (hereinafter referred to as a car navigation system), or may be installed on the roadside. When arranged on the roadside, the operator may operate the reservation management device 101 remotely.

The communication unit 11 communicates with various information devices, various servers, a charger management system, and a fee settlement system via a communication network.

FIG. 2 shows a communication system comprising a reservation management device 101, various information devices, various servers, a charger management system, and a charge settlement system. As shown in FIG. 2, the reservation management device 101 is connected via a communication network 220 to information devices 201A to 201N, servers 211A to 211N, a charger management system 90, and a charge settlement system 91. FIG. Communication network 220 may be a wired or wireless network or a hybrid of these. The communication network 220 may include a relay device such as a wireless LAN access point.

The information devices 201A to 201N are, for example, communication terminals or mobile terminals (smartphones, tablet devices, mobile phones, notebook PCs, etc.) held by users, in-vehicle devices such as car navigation systems installed in EVs, chargers installed at supply points where EVs charge, ITS spots (ETC 2.0 devices), and charge reservation terminals (see FIGS. 46 to 52 described later). The information devices 201A-201N may be capable of communicating with the reservation management device 101 in real time. An information device (communication terminal, car navigation system, etc.) operated by a user is installed with an application (hereinafter referred to as an application) for using the service (hereinafter referred to as the service) of the EV information providing system according to the present embodiment. However, it is also possible to provide this service to the user via a web page, in which case installation of the above application is not required. The ETC2.0 device is a communication device capable of communicating with at least one of a communication terminal and a car navigation system, and is arranged at a plurality of predetermined spots, for example. The predetermined spot may be an ITS spot, a location along a route, a highway service area, a toll booth, a building, or the like. The ETC device 2.0 may be provided at the entrance and exit of the supply point, and in this case, may detect the entry time, departure time, number of EVs entering, and number of exits. The communication terminal may be operated by another passenger in the EV driven by the user (for example, a person sitting in the front passenger seat). Alternatively, the user may operate the communication terminal and another agent may drive the EV. The input to the communication terminal may be manual input or voice input. A charging reservation terminal is a terminal for making a reservation for charging other than an application, and is used by a user who does not have a communication terminal, for example. The information devices 201A to 201N are collectively referred to as the information device 201 below.

The servers 211A to 211N include a map information management server that manages map information, a weather information management server that manages weather information, a vehicle information management server that manages vehicle information, a charger information server that manages charger information, and a road control information server that manages road control information. Servers other than those mentioned here may be arranged. These servers are collectively referred to as servers 211 below.

A charger management system 90 manages and controls the chargers installed at each service point. A terminal of the charger management system 90 is installed near the charger at each supply point, and the user may operate this terminal to perform an operation for actual charging. Alternatively, the operation for charging the charger management system 90 may be performed by the user's operation of the application. The charger management system 90 communicates with the reservation management device 101 to determine whether to execute charging for the user. For example, charging is performed only when it can be confirmed that charging is reserved for the user, or when there is no reservation but the charger is available.

The charge payment system 91 manages charging charges (billing amounts) for user charging. The charge settlement system 91 performs charge settlement processing for each user. Actual billing to each user may be made by any means, such as billing via a credit card company, sending bills to each user, bank withdrawal, payment by electronic money or virtual currency.

The EV management unit 13 of FIG. 1 communicates with the application of the user who uses this service to receive requests or data from the user and transmit requests or data to the user. In addition, the EV management unit 13 manages information on users who use this service and EVs used by the users. The EV management unit 13 may perform user registration in advance for users who wish to use this service. The user can perform user registration by starting the application and communicating with the EV management unit 13 . The EV management unit 13 issues a user ID (EV_ID) to the user. The EV management unit 13 acquires user information (password) and EV information used by the user (vehicle type, battery capacity, battery deterioration level, cumulative mileage, tire type, etc.) and uses them as user information. A user ID and user information are associated and registered in the user DB 14 . The user ID may be included in the user information and defined.

In addition, the EV management unit 13 receives a usage registration request for this service from the user's information device 201 (smartphone or the like), and performs usage registration for starting this service. For example, the user operates the information device 201 at home or in an EV when going out to transmit a usage registration request including information necessary for receiving this service to the EV management unit 13 . For example, travel date and time (scheduled date and time of departure IC (interchange) inflow, schedule date and time of departure from home, etc.), departure point (departure IC of expressway, etc.), destination (destination IC, etc.), EV battery capacity (may be omitted if notified at the time of user registration), battery deterioration level (may be omitted if notified at the time of user registration), EV battery level, air conditioner usage status (on/off, setting mode, temperature setting, etc.), cumulative mileage (can be omitted if notified at the time of user registration), tire type ( may be omitted if notified at the time of user registration), and information such as the number of passengers is transmitted.
In addition to the departure point and the destination, information on via points (such as via ICs) may be included.
If the information device 201 is a smart phone or the like, the information input by the user may be transmitted, and if the information device 201 is a car navigation system, information set in the car navigation system may be transmitted.
These pieces of acquired information are referred to as usage registration information. The EV management unit 13 issues an ID (running ID) for the current use of the service, associates the running ID with the usage registration information, and stores it in the user DB 14 .

In addition, the EV management unit 13 communicates with the user's information device 201 after use registration to acquire information such as GPS position information, current time, remaining battery power (remaining battery level), air conditioner usage status, etc., and notifies the travel management unit 41. The acquisition of the information may be performed by the travel management unit 41 or another processing unit. The timing of communication with the information device 201 includes real time, timing at regular time intervals, timing via a predetermined IC such as a departure IC, timing when the reservation management device 101 issues a request and obtains a response, timing when the vehicle enters or exits the service area/parking area (SA/PA), and timing when the vehicle passes through the vicinity of the SA/PA.

The user DB 14 holds information on users and EVs described above. The user DB 14 is a hardware storage device such as a memory device, hard disk device, SSD device, or the like.

By controlling each part of the reservation management device 101, the control unit 21 controls the entire reservation management device 101, and realizes the operation of the service (this service) of the information providing system for EVs.

The map information management unit 15 acquires map information from the server 211 and stores and manages the acquired map information in the system DB 20 . The map information is information representing information such as the position (latitude and longitude), size, and range of map elements. For example, altitude information associated with each position on the map, distance information of each route (each route of expressway, each route of general road etc.), slope, curve angle, route, direction, KP (kilometer post), JCT (junction) shape, tunnel, light part (place other than tunnel), road surface condition (pavement condition etc.). The map information also includes the number of lanes on the expressway, the locations of interchanges (ICs), service areas/parking areas (SA/PAs), and the like.

Further, the map information includes information on supply points, SA/PA points, IC and JCT points as the above map elements. Further, the map information may include distance information of the route and information of required travel time of the route as route information between supply points, SA/PA points, ICs and JCT points.

FIG. 3 shows an example of route information between supply points. The required travel time may be an average of past measured values, or may be the time required to travel a distance at a predetermined speed. Also, information on the required energy required for traveling on the route and the electricity cost may be used. The required energy and electricity consumption may be actual statistical values (average value, median value, etc.), or may be values calculated by formulas or simulations. Route information may be represented by a general network structure.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a network structure of routes. The nodes representing the supply points Q1 to Qn are connected by links indicated by dashed lines. A link connects supply points that are adjacent to each other. It can be seen that feed point Q1 is adjacent to feed points Q3 and Q2, respectively. Also, there is one route from the supply point Q1 to the supply point Q3, and one route from the supply point Q1 to the supply point Q2. A link is assigned the properties of the path between the supply points represented by the nodes coupled by the link (notation of the path properties is omitted in FIG. 4). In this example, a network structure of only supply points is shown, but in addition to supply points, SA/PA points, ICs and JCT points may be included as nodes.

The map information may also include TC management information that identifies traffic counters (TCs) present in the section between each supply point. TC is a device that acquires information on traffic in sections between supply points. TC is an example of the above map element.

FIG. 5 shows an example of TC management information. In the data of the first entry, traffic counters TC ₁ , TC ₂ , . Note that the traffic counters need not be arranged in the order of TC ₁ , TC ₂ , .

The map information management unit 15 may acquire all or part of the map information from the server 211 at regular intervals or in real time and update it.

The weather information management unit 18 acquires weather information from the server 211 and stores and manages the acquired weather information in the system DB 20 .

FIG. 6 shows an example of weather information. The weather information includes, for example, temperature, rainfall, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, total solar radiation, snowfall, road surface temperature, light intensity, visibility (fog), radiation, guerrilla rainfall, etc. for each predetermined area and each date and time. The weather information may include past and present weather information, as well as forecasted weather information if future forecasted weather information is available. The weather information management unit 18 may acquire weather information from the server 211 at regular intervals or in real time.

The road control information management unit 16 acquires road control information on each route (section) from the server 211 and stores and manages the acquired information in the system DB 20 . Examples of road control information include traffic counter (TC) information and ETC information (the number of incoming vehicles, the number of outgoing vehicles, the type of EV, the remaining battery level of EV, etc.). In addition, the information related to occurrence events includes road closures, traffic jams, accidents, broken-down vehicles, construction work, falling objects, fires, disasters, speed restrictions, and the like. Examples of prediction information include traffic congestion prediction, accident occurrence prediction, torrential rain prediction, landslide disaster prediction, and the like. The installation position of the traffic counter is known in advance from the above map information (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 7 shows an example of traffic counter information. The traffic counter information includes, for example, speed [km/h], occupancy rate (%), traffic volume [vehicles/h], vehicle density [vehicles/km], and the like. The speed is, for example, an average speed, maximum speed, minimum speed, etc., for each fixed time. The road control information management unit 16 may acquire road control information from the server 211 at regular intervals or in real time. Also, the road control information may be acquired from the server 211 each time the road control information is updated. Note that the road control information management unit 16 may acquire traffic counter information directly from the traffic counter instead of from the server 211 . Time is assigned to the row name, and TC ID is assigned to the column name. Each element in the table stores a speed (average speed) value.

The vehicle information management unit 19 acquires information (vehicle information) such as the vehicle model ID, EV manufacturer, battery capacity, battery type (lithium ion battery, etc.), gross weight (the weight of the EV when the EV is loaded to its capacity and the weight of the EV itself), electricity consumption, battery deterioration rate, release year, etc. from the server 211, and stores and manages the acquired information in the system DB 20.

FIG. 8 shows an example of vehicle information. The vehicle model ID has a different value for each vehicle model. The server 211 that manages vehicle information may be a server of an EV manufacturer, or may be a server that collectively manages vehicle model information of a plurality of EV manufacturers. The vehicle information management unit 19 may acquire vehicle type information from the server 211 at regular intervals. Alternatively, the vehicle type information may be acquired from the information device 201 instead of the server 211 .

The charger information management unit 17 acquires, from the server 211, charger information about one or more chargers (energy suppliers) installed at each supply point. The charger information management unit 17 holds and manages the acquired charger information in the system DB 20 . The charger information management unit 17 keeps track of the number of chargers at each supply point. The charger information includes, for example, the user ID (EV_ID) of the user who charged with the charger (user of the EV information providing system), supply point ID, start charge amount, end charge amount, charge start time, and charge end time. In addition, information such as charging efficiency and the number of charging times may be held. The starting charging amount is the amount of electric power accumulated in the EV battery at the charging start time of the charger. The end charge amount is the amount of electric power accumulated in the EV battery at the end time of charging by the charger. The difference between the end charge amount and the start charge amount is the amount of electric power charged by the EV. Instead of the start charge amount and the end charge amount, the charger information may include information on either one of the start charge amount or the end charge amount and the charged power amount.

The charger information management unit 17 may acquire the charger information not from the server 211 but from the charger through direct communication. Alternatively, the user may input charger information (GPS location information, charged power amount, etc.) to the information device 201 , and the charger information management unit 17 may acquire the charger information from the information device 201 . Alternatively, the information device 201 (in-vehicle device such as a car navigation system) may read information on the amount of electric power charged from the EV and transmit the charger information to the reservation management device 101 .

The reservation management unit 23 manages EV charging reservations for each user using the reservation DB 24 .
The reservation management unit 23 registers, changes, and deletes reservations in the reservation DB 24 under the control of the travel management unit 41 . The reservation DB 24 holds information representing the charging reservation status for each charger at each supply point. In addition, the reservation management unit may also manage reservation-related constraints such as chargers that can be reserved, the number of reservations that can be made, the time slots that can be reserved, and the types of incentives for charging reservations for each user's EV. It is conceivable that these constraint conditions may vary depending on factors such as the points described later.

An example of reservation DB24 is shown in FIG. This example shows reservation information about the charger 01 at the supply point A on a certain date. For example, the user with EV_ID 000782379 is reserved from 8:10 to 8:40. 8:40-9:40 has not yet been reserved by any user (can be reserved from now on). 9:40-10:10 is reserved for the user with EV_ID 000582471. The reservation information is saved in a table format, a file format, or the like. If a charger other than the charger 01 also exists at the supply point A, reservation information is similarly held for that charger. Similar reservation information is held for chargers at other supply points. The granularity of reservation time may be one minute, five minutes, or other time units. It should be noted that a configuration in which the reservation DB 24 does not hold the EV_ID is also possible.

When adding a reservation, the reservation management unit 23 adds the reservation including the EV_ID and the reservation time to the available time in the reservation information. When deleting a reservation, the corresponding reservation is deleted from the reservation information, and the time of the deleted reservation is set to be available. To change the reservation, the reservation to be changed should be deleted from the reservation information, and the changed reservation should be added.

The I/P information management unit 25 manages data defining incentives and penalties (I/P) using the I/P information DB 26 . The I/P information DB 26 holds data defining I/Ps. The data defining the I/P may be updatable by instructions from the outside (operator, etc.). The I/P is given to the user by an I/P calculator 51, which will be described later. Incentives are given to users, for example, if they fulfill a reservation (charge at a reserved point and time). A penalty is set for the user, for example, when the user fails to fulfill the reservation or when it is determined that the reservation cannot be fulfilled. Incentives or penalties may be transferable to other users.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the I/P information DB 26. As shown in FIG. The upper diagram in FIG. 10 shows the incentive table, and the lower diagram shows the penalty table. The incentive table holds incentive IDs and data representing the content of incentives. The penalty table holds penalty IDs and data representing the content of penalties.
An incentive with an incentive ID of Ixxx is referred to as an incentive Ixxx. A penalty with a penalty ID of Pxxx is described as a penalty Pxxx. Any integer is entered in x.

For example, the incentive I001 is the right to reserve an energy supply point (charging point) and an energy supply time (charging time) (if the user has the right to reserve in the default state at the time of user registration, the incentive will continue to hold the right to reserve in the future). Incentive I002 is the right to use the fastest mode (scheduling charging points to get to the destination fastest). The incentive I003 is the right to receive a discount on charging fees or the right to receive a high discount rate. For example, the fee may be discounted by 5%. Incentive I004 is the right to receive points. For example, points can be applied to a fixed amount per point (for example, 10 yen per point) at the time of payment. As an example other than allocating the points to a fixed amount of money, the points may be exchangeable for high incentives according to the number of points. In this case, the number of points required for exchange is set for each incentive. Incentive I005 is the right to receive a coupon (for example, a discount can be received in the fastest mode). Incentive I006 is the right to receive gifts of items (such as novelties). Incentive I007 is the right to specify the length of time for charging. Incentive I008 is the right to allow other users to interrupt if they are waiting for a charger at some location. In other words, it is the right to cancel or change other users' reservations (charging points, charging times, etc.) and make reservations at their own free time. In other words, in this case, the point and time slot at which the vehicle can be interrupted may be determined based on the charging plan planned by the system. Incentive I009 is the right to designate multiple charging points and charging times. Instead of charging time, it may be the length of time or range of time of charging. The incentives shown here are only examples, and other incentives may be defined. For example, there may be a right to designate a time zone (morning, noon, night, midnight, etc.) for charging. In addition, if an EV arrives by a specified time and the charger becomes available, the user may have the right to preferentially use the charger. A plurality of incentives shown in FIG. 10 may be combined. For example, incentives I002 and I007 may be combined.

The penalty P001 is that the charging fee cannot be discounted or a low discount rate is applied. Penalty P002 is that at least the former of the next charging point and charging time is designated. Penalty P003 is that reservable charging points are restricted to specific charging points. Penalty P004 is that the reservable charging time is limited to a specific time. Penalty P005 is that the length of reservable charging time is limited to a certain length. A specific charging point, a specific time, and a specific length of time may be determined in advance, or may be specified by the I/P calculator (for example, a charging point that is not crowded may be specified). Penalty P006 is the inability to reserve a charging point and charging time. Penalty P007 is the inability to use the fastest mode.
The penalties shown here are only examples, and other penalties may be defined. Also, a plurality of penalties shown in FIG. 10 may be combined. For example, penalties that combine penalties P003 and P004 may be defined to define penalties that limit both charging points and charging times.

The system DB 20 holds information (sometimes referred to as external information) acquired by each of the management units described above. The external information acquired by each management section may be held in a buffer within each management section instead of being held in the system DB 20 . Buffers are, for example, memory devices, hard disk devices, SSD devices, hardware storage devices. The system DB 20 also stores an operating system, an information processing program, and various data used for information processing. The operating system is a computer program for controlling the overall operation of reservation management device 101 . The information processing program is a computer program for the reservation management apparatus 101 to implement each function of information processing, which will be described later. The system DB 20 is, for example, a memory device, hard disk device, SSD device, or hardware storage device.

The I/P charge management unit 31 executes charge-related I/P based on the I/P plan for each user generated by the I/P calculation unit 51 . The I/P fee management unit 31 is connected by wire or wirelessly to an EV charging fee settlement system 91 . The fee settlement system 91 may be arranged inside the reservation management device 101 as a component of the reservation management device 101 . Based on the I/P plan of each user created by the I/P calculation unit 51, the I/P charge management unit 31 transmits to the charge payment system 91 instruction data for instructing the discount rate or the presence or absence of a discount, and other data necessary for charge calculation (charging amount, etc.) for users to whom charge-related I/Ps (e.g., I003, P001, etc. in FIG. 10) have been assigned. The charge settlement system 91 determines the user's charge (charging charge) according to the data received from the I/P charge management unit 31 . Note that the charge for charging per unit of electric energy may be managed by the charge payment system 91 or by the reservation management device 101 . In this case, the charges may be the same or different at each supply point and each charger, as an example. For example, a fast charger may cost more than a normal charger. Also, the charge may be dynamically changed according to the charging time and the congestion situation.

The charging management unit 32 is connected to the charger management system 90 by wire or wirelessly. Charger management system 90 may be arranged inside reservation management device 101 as a component of reservation management device 101 . The charging management unit 32 exchanges information with the charger management system 90 to determine, for example, whether to permit charging of the user, and notifies the charger management system 90 of the determination result. If there is a reservation for charging by the user, charging is permitted, and if not, it is not permitted. Also, even if there is no reservation, charging is permitted during a vacant time (a time when there is no reservation by another user). When charging, the user performs an operation such as connecting a cable for charging to the connector of the EV (in the case of wired charging), and the charger management system 90 enables charging from the charger when it is confirmed that charging is ready.

The running management unit 41 manages running of each EV that is running. The travel management unit 41 manages the travel history from the departure point for the EV that is traveling. For example, it contains information about origin, destination, via IC or delivery point (SA/PA), charged delivery point and charging time. Furthermore, information on the supply point (SA/PA) where the vehicle took a break and the rest time, power consumption, running speed, and running time of each section (section between the supply point first passed through or stopped by from the departure point, section between adjacent supply points, etc.) may be managed. If charging and resting at the same supply point, the charging time will be part of the resting time. These data are managed, for example, based on the data acquired by each of the management units 15 to 19 and the EV management unit 13. FIG.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the travel history of a certain EV. The time of inflow represents the time of inflow to the departure point (departure IC), and the place of inflow represents the departure point (departure IC). The outflow time represents the time when the EV left the destination (target IC), and the outflow location represents the destination (target IC). The spill time is blank because the EV has not yet reached its destination. The place of charge 1 represents the supply point where the first charge was performed, and the time of charge 1 represents the time (start time and end time) when the first charge was performed. Information is stored in the same manner for the second and subsequent charging. The break place is the SA/PA where the user took a break, and the break time is the time (start time and end time) at which the user took a break. The break time may overlap with the charging time, and in the illustrated example, charging is performed during the break time in Q4.

The traveling management unit 41 causes the charging planning unit 71 to create a charging plan proposal for the EV of the user who requested to use this service. In addition, each time the user's charging plan needs to be changed (for example, each time a charge reservation, which will be described later, is fulfilled or a change in the reservation occurs), the charging plan proposal is recreated. The travel management unit 41 transmits the created charging plan to the EV user's application. The charging plan sent to the application is displayed on the screen of information device 201 by the application.

An example charging plan allows the user to select between the fastest mode charging plan and the cheapest mode charging plan. Hereinafter, such a charging plan may be referred to as a mode-designated charging plan. In the fastest mode, for example, the charging point is planned so as to reach the destination as quickly as possible, and the charging charge is, for example, a normal charge (penalty without charge discount) mode. The cheapest mode is a mode in which charging points recommended by the device are planned, for example, from the viewpoint of leveling the usage rate of chargers. Although the time required to reach the destination is slower than in the fastest mode, the charging fee is the lowest (there is an incentive to discount the fee). The user selects a mode from a plurality of modes presented in the mode-designated charging plan, thereby reserving a charging point and charging time.

Another example of the charging plan includes charging candidate information indicating whether or not the EV can be charged at which supply point and at what time, recommended supply points and charging times among charging points and charging times (recommended information), and allows the user to freely determine charging points and charging times (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an individually designated charging plan). In the case of this example, the user is allowed to freely select the charging point and the charging time from those designated by the charging candidate information. The user selects the charging point (charging point) and the charging time (start time and end time), and makes a reservation (assuming no penalty for not being able to make a reservation). At this time, the user is recommended to select the charging point and charging time recommended by the recommendation information. Therefore, when the user makes a reservation according to the recommended charging plan, a high incentive (for example, expansion of a reservation-available time slot, etc.) may be given.

The charging plans such as the mode-designated charging plan and the individually-designated charging plan may include various information such as predicted power consumption for traveling in sections between supply points, remaining battery capacity at each supply point, and predicted arrival time at each supply point. The predicted power consumption can be calculated, for example, based on information such as the running speed of the TC information for the section and the electricity consumption of the EV. In addition, various methods such as a method using a power consumption prediction model and a method using past statistical values can be used to calculate the predicted power consumption. For example, the travel speed of the TC information for each section may be used to calculate the estimated arrival time.

The charging plan unit 71 may coordinate the charging plan (energy supply plan) of the EV as described above with a general EMS (energy management system), for example, the EMS of each charger, and formulate a charging plan in which each EMS is leveled by a general charging planning method. Alternatively, multi-objective optimization may be used to develop a charging plan that allows for user waiting time reduction and/or energy leveling for each charger. In creating the charging plan, as an example, at least one of the starting point and destination of the EV, the route that the EV passes, the information on the supply point that the EV can reach with the current remaining battery level, the estimated arrival time of the EV at each supply point, the reservation status at each supply point, and the conditions specified by each user (user-specified conditions) are used.

Examples of user-specified conditions include the selection of a charging style (charging mode) such as a mode that charges at the cheapest rate (cheapest mode), or a mode that plans charging to reach the destination as quickly as possible but charges at the normal rate (fastest mode). As a method of changing the charge, there is a method of reducing the charging charge by using a charge incentive, and a method of not discounting the charging charge by using a charge penalty. In addition, if the charge varies depending on the supply point, charging time, and congestion (described later), the charging charge can be changed by adjusting the supply point, charging time, and the like. Another example of the user-designated condition is charging timing, such as when the battery should be charged. For example, there is a "normal mode" for charging when the SoC (State of Charge) is 50% or less, and a "very low mode" for charging when the SoC is 30% or less. The user may directly specify the SoC value. It is also possible to present a plurality of modes (draft charging plans) combining charging styles (charging modes) and charging timings to the user and have the user select a mode (draft charging plan).

Also, the charging planning unit 71 may consider the congestion status of each supply point (whether the waiting time is long or short). As the congestion status, the utilization rate of the charger at each supply point (if there are multiple chargers at the supply point, the average of the utilization rates of the multiple chargers may be used). The utilization rate of the charger is, for example, the ratio of the time when the charger is used and the time when the charger is reserved in the time from the reference time to the current time. It can be said that the higher the utilization rate, the more congested the supply point. The supply point recommended by the cheapest mode of the mode-designated charging plan or the recommended supply point of the individually-designated charging plan may be determined so that the congestion status of each supply point is as even as possible (for example, the utilization rate of each supply point is within a certain range).

I/P calculation unit 51 gives incentives or penalties to each user according to the fulfillment status of reservations by each user based on each user's charging plan (or reservation information). For example, it is determined whether or not the user has fulfilled the reservation or whether it is possible to fulfill the reservation, and if the user has fulfilled the reservation, an incentive is given, and if the user has not fulfilled the reservation, or if it is determined that the reservation cannot be fulfilled, a penalty is given. The I/P calculator 51 generates information representing the I/P given to each user (I/P plan of each user). As an example, the I / P plan includes information such as the I / P to be applied to the user, the period or number of times the I / P is applied, and the timing of application (whether the user can decide when to apply incentives or penalties, whether the reservation management device 101 decides when to apply incentives or penalties, and in the latter case, which timing (e.g., timing of billing)). There are also situations in which multiple incentives or multiple penalties are awarded to a single user by cumulatively awarding incentives or penalties to a single user. There are also situations where one user is being awarded both incentives and penalties by cumulatively awarding incentives and penalties to one user. The I/P calculator 51 stores the I/P plan of each user in the I/P plan DB 52 . The I/P plan DB 52 holds the I/P plans of each user. When the I/P plan is changed, the I/P plan DB 52 is updated with the changed I/P plan.

Examples of I/P are as described above with reference to FIG. The I/P to be applied according to the fulfillment status of the reservation may be determined in advance, or may be selected by the user in advance as part of the above-mentioned user-specified conditions or when applying for this service. In addition, the I/P to be applied may be changed, or the number of times or period to be applied may be changed according to the status of fulfillment or nonfulfillment of the reservation.

For example, the I/P to be applied may be changed according to the reservation time. A high incentive (such as applying a high discount rate) or a high penalty (such as not allowing reservations for the supply point and time for a certain period of time) may be given if the reservation is fulfilled or defaulted during a busy time, and a low incentive (such as continuing to accept the reservation right) or a low penalty (such as charging at the supply point and charging time specified by the reservation management device 101 next time) if the reservation is fulfilled or defaulted during a non-busy time. Specifically, the I/P to be applied may be specified as an incentive ID or a penalty ID in FIG. 10, and the number of times, period, or application timing of I/P may be sequentially determined when I/P is given. Alternatively, in the table of FIG. 10, the definition of I/P may include the number of times, duration or application timing. Alternatively, the definition of incentives or penalties and the code for their execution may be embedded in the program that performs the processing of this embodiment.

The I/P calculation unit 51 may change the I/P to be applied depending on the number of consecutive fulfilled reservations or the number of consecutive unfulfilled reservations. For example, the higher the number of times, the higher the incentive or the higher the penalty. In addition, the I/P calculation unit 51 may give an incentive when reservations are made a certain number of times in succession, and may give a penalty when reservations are made a certain number of times in succession (that is, non-performance of reservations less than a certain number of times in succession is allowed).

The I/P calculation unit 51 may determine which of the user and the reservation management device 101 determines the timing of exercising the right of the incentive according to the content of the incentive to be given. For example, assume that the incentive is a 10% discount on the fee, and the number of times that can be exercised is one. At this time, the user may freely determine the timing of exercising this right. In this case, the user may voluntarily specify the timing for receiving the discount, or the I/P charge management unit 31 may ask the user who has the right to receive the discount whether or not to exercise the right. Alternatively, the timing for applying the charge discount may be determined in advance. For example, a 10% discount may be applied to the charging charge for which the reservation was actually fulfilled. As another example, let's say the incentive is a 5% discount on the fee, and the exercisable period is one week. In this case, the I/P calculation unit 51 may discount the charge for each charging of the user to whom the incentive is given for one week from the day when the incentive is given by 10%.

The I/P calculator 51 may cancel the penalty when the cancellation condition is satisfied. For example, if a certain number of reservations are made consecutively, the penalty may be released. Alternatively, the charging plan unit 71 may designate a charging site and a charging time for a user to whom a penalty is being applied, and if the user actually charges at the designated charging site and the designated charging time, the penalty may be canceled (that is, in this case, charging at the designated charging site and the designated charging time is also a type of penalty). The penalty may be canceled when the designated charging is performed a certain number of times. A penalty cancellation condition may be defined by a method other than the method described here.

If the charging point and charging time specified by the user are reserved by another user (another first user), the charging planning unit 71 may ask the other first user to change the reservation. The I/P calculator 51 may give an incentive to another second user designated by another first user when another first user responds to the reservation change. Further, when the other first user responds to the reservation change, an incentive may be given to another third user specified by the user. Further, when the other first user responds to the reservation change, the incentive given to the user may be transferred to the other first user or the other second user.

When the user arrives at the charging point earlier than the reserved time, the charging planning unit 71 or the charging managing unit 32 may shift the reserved time forward in terms of time and allow charging to start earlier than the scheduled time if the charger to be used is available. In this case, the reservation DB 24 is updated according to the shift of the reservation time.

A specific example in which the charging plan unit 71 creates a mode selection charging plan or an individually designated charging plan as a charging plan and the user makes a charging reservation will be described below. First, a case of creating a mode selection charging plan will be described as a first embodiment, and then a case of creating an individually designated charging plan will be described as a second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 12 shows an example of creating a mode selective charging plan. An example network structure of pathways is shown. Nodes SA/PA001-006 representing SA/PA (supply point), node IN of the departure IC of the EV, and node OUT of the destination IC of the EV are connected by links indicated by dashed lines. Illustrations of other ICs and JCTs are omitted. In this network structure example, there are multiple routes from the starting IC to the target IC, but depending on the network structure, there may be only one route from the starting IC to the target IC. This embodiment is possible even in such a case. The charging plan unit 71 creates a mode selection charging plan proposal for an EV that has entered or will enter the departure IC. Specifically, a charging plan of the fastest mode (fastest route) to arrive at the target IC earliest and a charging plan of the cheapest mode (cheapest route) to reach the target IC with the lowest charging fee are created, and a mode selection charging plan for selecting one of them is created. Each charging plan proposal may be created by the method described above. Each charging plan is shown in the diagram.

In the fastest mode charging plan, the route indicated by the solid arrow (fastest route), that is, SA/'A001, 003, 004, 006 is traced, and charging is performed once for 30 minutes at SA/PA004 on the way. Mark 1A (filled picture of a car) indicates the position of SA/PA where charging is performed in the fastest mode. The charging fee is 900 yen, and the traveling distance is 248 km. The required time to reach the target IC is 3 hours and 25 minutes.

In the cheapest mode charging plan, the route indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow (cheapest route), that is, SA/PA001, 002, 005, 004, 006 is followed, and charging is performed at two locations, SA/PA005 and SA/PA006, for 30 minutes each (1 hour in total). Marks 2A and 2B (white car pictures) indicate the positions of SA/PA where charging is performed in the cheapest mode. The charging fee is 600 yen, and the traveling distance is 276 km. The required time to reach the target IC is 4 hours and 15 minutes. 300 yen cheaper than the fastest mode. This is because an incentive of 300 yen discount is provided in the cheapest mode. That is, if charging is carried out as planned in this cheapest mode, the charge for the user will be 600 yen. It should be noted that charging may be performed at a discounted rate when charging is performed at each location. The charging fee for the cheapest mode is the sum of the charging fees for the two locations.

In each charging plan, information such as expected arrival time of each SA/PA, waiting time for charging, etc. may also be calculated.

For example, a pre-determined penalty is given to the user if charging is not performed as planned in the cheapest mode or the fastest mode. For example, after it is determined that charging has not been carried out as planned, the next charging point is requested to be charged at the charging point specified by the device 101 . The user cannot select charging points or modes.

The charging plan unit 71 transmits to the user's application a mode selection charging plan draft that allows a charging plan to be selected from the cheapest mode and the fastest mode.

(Specific example 1)
FIG. 13 shows an example of the mode selection charging plan displayed on the user's application screen in the case of FIG. The screen shows the network structure of the routes described in FIG. 12 and the proposed charging plans for the fastest and cheapest modes. When the user wants the fastest route, he presses the left reservation button, and when he wants the cheapest route, he presses the right reservation button. A configuration in which the reservation button is not pressed on this screen but pressed on the next screen is also possible. It is also possible to change the position of the charging point used by the cheapest route or the fastest route, and press the "Yes" button to change, or press the "No" button not to change. In addition to the information shown in the drawing, the screen of FIG. 13 may display the predicted arrival time at each charging point (SA/PA), waiting time for charging, and the like (the same applies hereinafter).

FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the cheapest route is selected on the screen of FIG. 13 and the "No" button is pressed. This screen displays a message inquiring whether the charging of SA/PA005 and SA/PA006 may be reserved. The user presses the "Yes" button when confirming the reservation. To return to the previous screen, press the "No" button.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the "yes" button is pressed on the screen of FIG.
A message confirming that charging at SA/PA005 and SA/PA006 has been reserved is displayed. When the "Yes" button is pressed on this screen, the EV information providing system screen is displayed on the user's application screen.

FIG. 16 shows an example of an EV information providing system screen. By looking at this screen, the user can confirm the future charging plan and route. In FIG. 16, the current position of the EV corresponds to the bottom of the application screen. It is possible to run 125.5 km with the current remaining battery power. The IC is represented by ICxxx. Each SA/PA block and each IC block are arranged in the order through which the EV passes. That is, blocks such as supply points SA/PA001, SA/PA002, SA/PA005, and SA/PA004 and blocks such as IC001 to IC002, IC013, IC014, and IC015 are arranged in order of passage. SA/PA006 and the like are not displayed because they do not fit on the screen. A reserved mark is set for the SA/PA005 reserved by the user. The scheduled charging start time (9:55) and charging time length (30 minutes) are described in the reserved mark. The user needs to arrive at the charging point by the scheduled charging start time. The processing (penalties, etc.) for the case of failure to arrive or determination of failure to arrive will be described later.

Note that the route from the departure point to the destination may be determined by an application or the like on the user side, and information on the determined route may be notified to the reservation management apparatus 101 . In that case, charging planning unit 71 uses the notified route as the route to the destination. Alternatively, the user may determine the starting point and the destination, and the charging planning unit 71 (or the travel managing unit 41) may determine the route according to modes such as the fastest mode and the cheapest mode. Also, for example, the shortest route may be determined as the route used for movement from the departure point to the destination. As methods for solving the shortest path problem, general Dijkstra method, Bellman-Ford method, Gabow method, Warshall-Floyd method, etc. can be used.

In FIG. 16, each SA/PA describes the remaining battery level, travelable distance, and predicted arrival time at that position. Each IC has a predicted arrival time for that location.

Note that each SA/PA and IC block in FIG. 16 may be colored according to the remaining battery level. For example, if the remaining battery level is less than 10%, the color is orange, if the remaining battery level is 10% or more and less than 30%, the color is yellow, and if the remaining battery level is 30% or more, the color is green. This allows the user to intuitively grasp the remaining battery level at the position (IC or SA/PA) corresponding to each block.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the user presses the "Yes" button to change the charging point on the cheapest route on the screen of FIG. 13 described above. On this screen, the user can move the mark indicating the charging point used in the desired mode to the SA/PA desired to be charged. In the illustrated example, the mark 2A pointing to SA/PA005 in the cheapest mode is moved to SA/PA002. After completing the move, the user presses the "Yes" button.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the "Yes" button is pressed on the screen of FIG.
Due to the change of the charging point on the cheapest route, the charging fee has increased by 100 yen to 700 yen. In other words, the incentive discount rate is lower than the cheapest route before the update. The charging point of the cheapest route before the update was the charging point recommended by the present device 101 for leveling the usage rate of the charger, but the incentive is lowered due to the change of the charging point. The amount of change in charge due to the change may be determined in advance as a fixed value such as 100 yen, or the degree of contribution of the user may be calculated from the viewpoint of leveling the usage rate of the charger, and the amount of change in charge may be determined according to the degree of contribution. For example, it is possible to compare the value of the variation in the utilization rate between charging points before and after the change, and determine the amount of change according to the difference. For example, the larger the variation value, the larger the fee increase amount. When the user confirms the reservation with this content, the user presses the reservation button corresponding to the cheapest route. After that, the screen transitions to the screen of the information providing system for EV (see FIG. 16). If you want to return to the previous screen without confirming the reservation, press the "Yes" button.

(Specific example 2)
It is also possible to implement the same operation as in the specific example 1 in other application screen configuration examples.

FIG. 19 shows another example of the mode selection charging plan displayed on the user's application screen. The user presses the desired reservation button of the fastest route or the cheapest route. Here, it is assumed that the reservation button for the cheapest route is pressed. In this case, the transition screen is the same as in FIG.
When the "Yes" button is pressed to confirm the reservation on the screen of FIG. 14, the screen transitions to the screen of FIG.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the "No" button is pressed on the screen of FIG. To confirm the reservation, press the top "Yes" button. After that, the screen transitions to the EV information providing system screen (see FIG. 16). To change the charging point, press the "Yes" button in the middle. After that, the screen changes to a screen for changing the charging point (for example, see FIGS. 17 and 18). To return to mode selection, press the bottom "Yes" button. After that, the screen returns to that shown in FIG. In this way, operations similar to those of specific example 1 can be realized with various screen configurations.

(Specific example 3)
In the specific example 1 (FIGS. 17 and 18) described above, the charging point is changed without changing the route to the destination, but the charging point may be changed and the route may be searched again.

FIG. 21 shows an example of an application screen of a mode selection charging plan that allows route re-search. The user changes the charging point on the cheapest route from SA/PA005 to SA/PA002 and presses the "Yes" button. The charging planning unit 71 re-searches for a route (for example, the shortest route) that uses the changed SA/PA002 as a charging point. The route to be found by re-searching may be restricted to include SA/PA006, or may not be subject to such restriction.

FIG. 22 shows an example of the screen displayed after re-searching the route. In this example, the result is that the same route as the original cheapest route is selected, only the charging point is changed from SA/PA005 to SA/PA002, SA/PA006 is not changed. Due to the change in the charging point, the charge has risen from 600 to 700 yen (the incentive discount rate has decreased). To confirm the reservation with this content, press the "Yes" button, and to return to the previous screen, press the "No" button.

FIG. 23 shows an example of a screen that transitions when the "yes" button is pressed on the screen of FIG.
A message confirming that the charging at SA/PA002 and SA/PA006 has been reserved is displayed. When the "Yes" button is pressed on this screen, the EV information providing system screen (see FIG. 16) is displayed.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of an example of the operation related to the EV information providing system by the reservation management device 101 according to the first embodiment. The charging plan unit 71 receives travel section information from the user's application (S11). The travel section information includes, for example, the departure point, destination, remaining battery level, and the like. Application screens such as those shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, which will be described later in the second embodiment, can be used for inputting the travel section information.

The charging plan unit 71 presents a screen for selecting the fastest mode and the cheapest mode to the user's application (S12). The user selects fastest mode or cheapest mode. The charging plan unit 71 acquires information on the mode selected by the user from the user's application (S12). A user may select both modes if they wish to compare both the fastest and cheapest modes.

The charging plan unit 71 creates a charging plan (primary recommended charging plan) for the mode selected by the user, and notifies the user's application of the created charging plan (S13). The user's application screen displays a charging plan proposal (route, charging point, required time, number of charging times, charging fee, mileage, etc.) for the selected mode. When the user selects both modes for comparison, a screen including charging plans (routes, charging points, required time, number of charging times, charging fees, mileage, etc.) for both modes is displayed as shown in FIG. 13, FIG. 19, or FIG.

If the user accepts the proposed charging plan, the app sends a consent notification. If the user wishes to change the charging point presented in the charging plan proposal, the user inputs information on the desired charging point to the application. The charging plan unit 71 acquires the notification of the user's consent or the input information of the desired change destination charging point from the user's application (S14). When the charging plans for both modes are notified to the user, the information on the charging plan for the mode selected by the user may be acquired from the application, and at this time, information on the charging point desired to be changed may also be acquired.

The user's charging plan is determined, and information on the determined charging plan is transmitted to the user's application for confirmation (S15). The charging plan may include incentive and/or penalty information. For example, in the cheapest mode, discounts on fees correspond to incentives. In the case of the fastest mode, no incentive may be provided, or an incentive may be provided. As a penalty, for at least one of the fastest mode and the cheapest mode, if the reserved time is not met, the next charging point may be notified in advance that the device 101 specifies. If the user agrees with the content of the determined charging plan, the app sends a consent notice.

If a consent notice has been received from the user's application (YES in S16), the charging planning unit 71 generates a reservation, registers the reservation information in the reservation DB 24, and proceeds to step S17. If a request to change the charging point, mode, or the like is received from the user's application (NO in S16), the process returns to step S13. In the returned step S13, the charging plan proposal is created again.

In step S<b>17 , the charging planning unit 71 (or the travel managing unit 41 ) determines whether the user has arrived at the reserved charging point before the start of the reserved time or by a predetermined time before the start of the reserved time, or whether it is possible to arrive there. This determination can be made, for example, in the same manner as in FIG. 34 of the second embodiment, which will be described later. If the user has arrived (YES in S17), the charging planning unit 71 (or the travel managing unit 41) determines whether the user has actually charged at the reserved time (S18). When the user actually charges the battery (YES in S18), the I/P calculator 51 gives the user an incentive corresponding to the selected mode (S19). That is, the I/P calculator 51 generates (or updates) an I/P plan representing incentives to be applied to the user. As an example, if the selected mode is the cheapest mode, a fee discount is given as an incentive, and the fee is discounted at the time of billing. If the selected mode is the fastest mode, nothing is given as an incentive. Then, it is determined whether or not the next charging is planned (S20). If the next charging is planned (YES), the process returns to step S13, and if not planned (NO), the process ends.

An example of the case where the next charge is not planned corresponds to the case where the user's EV runs out of the target IC without subsequent charging. For example, if the remaining battery level of the user's target IC is predicted to be greater than or equal to the threshold, it is determined that the next charging plan is unnecessary. Alternatively, a notification may be received from the user's application as to whether or not the next charging plan is necessary, and determination may be made based on the notification. You may judge by the method other than having described here.

If the user does not arrive by the reserved time (NO in S17), or if it is determined that the user cannot arrive by the reserved time, the current user's reservation is canceled, and the user's application is notified of the designation of the next charging point and charging time (S21). As a specific example of notification, there is an application screen example as shown in FIG. The user is requested to go to a designated charging point next time. This is a kind of penalty given to the user.

If the user arrives at the designated charging point before the start of the designated reservation time or before the specified time (YES in S22), the process returns to step S13 to create the next charging plan. On the other hand, if the user does not arrive at the specified charging point, or if it is determined that the user cannot arrive, a penalty is given to the user (S23). Returning to step S13, the next charging plan draft is created.

If the user arrives by the reserved time in step S18 but does not charge the battery (NO in S18), the process returns to step S13. For example, there may be a case where the user carelessly forgets to carry out the charging operation, or a situation where the user or a fellow passenger is in poor physical condition and cannot perform the charging operation. In such a case, no penalty may be given to the user, or a penalty may be given to the user (for example, a lower discount rate in the next cheapest mode).

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user is allowed to select the fastest mode and the cheapest mode, and in the cheapest mode, a charge incentive is given, and if it is determined that the reservation has not been fulfilled or cannot be fulfilled, a penalty is given to the user. This makes it possible to efficiently guide the user to the charging point recommended by the present device, level the operating conditions of the chargers, or improve the average operating rate of the chargers. As a result, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary increase of chargers and reduce the maintenance cost.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the user makes a reservation by selecting a mode from the fastest mode and the cheapest mode. That is, the apparatus 101 prepares a plurality of charging plan proposals and allows the user to select one. In the second embodiment, an example is shown in which the user is allowed to freely select a charging point and charging time within the range of information presented by the device 101, and makes a reservation based on the selected content. The specific examples and explanations given in the second embodiment are also applicable to the first embodiment unless inconsistent.
For example, the operation of determining whether the user can arrive by the reservation time, checking the reservation status by pressing the SA/PA block on the application screen, changing the reservation details, and the operation of giving a penalty based on the number of times the reservation has failed (the number of cancellations) may be applied to the first embodiment. Also, the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be combined. Descriptions that are the same as those of the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a charging reservation application screen (charging reservation main screen) in the second embodiment. A charging plan proposal is displayed on the app screen.
Figure 25

SA/PA blocks are marked "no reservation", "reservation" and "recommended". "No reservation" means that there are no other reservations and the battery can be fully charged within a certain period of time (for example, two hours) after the time corresponding to the predicted arrival time (it may be the predicted arrival time, or it may be a certain time before or after). Full charge means, for example, charging the battery to the upper limit. "Reserved" means that there are other reservations within a certain period of time after the time corresponding to the estimated arrival time, so charging reservations cannot be made, but reservations can be made after that time. "Recommended" means a charging point recommended by the reservation management device 101 based on the charging plan. The user can check the current reservation status of SA/PA by pressing (tapping or touching) the SA/PA block.

FIG. 26 shows an example of a reservation screen (sub screen) displayed when the user presses the SA/PA001 block. When the charging planning unit 71 receives a request based on pressing of a block from the application, it acquires the reservation status information of SA/PA using the reservation information DB (see FIG. 9) and transmits it to the application. The reservation screen on the left side of the figure displays the time that the user can make a reservation (that is, the time that is available) and the time that has already been reserved (time that cannot be reserved). A default value (30 minutes in this example) is set as the length of time that the user can charge. The default value may be, for example, the maximum possible time obtained by subtracting the estimated arrival time from the next reservation-impossible start time (fractions less than 5 minutes may be rounded down), a predetermined standard time (for example, 20 minutes or 30 minutes), or a predetermined minimum time (for example, 10 minutes). The user may operate the application to change the value to a shorter value or a longer value. A change to a longer value than the default value may be allowed only if the user is given an incentive to lengthen the charging time length. Alternatively, in a situation where the user is penalized, the default charging time may be set to the upper limit specified by the penalty, and the user may be allowed to change the value only within the range below this upper limit. Such control may be performed based on the user's I/P plan. On the reservation screen in the center of the figure, the user has entered 8:55 as the charging start time and left the charging time as the default value of 30 minutes. When the reservation button is pressed in this state, the user's charging time reservation is confirmed as reserved on the reservation screen on the right side of the figure. Before the reservation is confirmed, the charging fee, the estimated waiting time from arrival at the charging point to the start of charging, and the reservation status of other EVs may be displayed on the screen to prompt the user for final confirmation. At this time, the total travel time to reach the destination (the total time required to arrive at the destination after entering the departure point) and the total charge (the total charge for charging as well as the charge for using the expressway may be included) may be displayed. Moreover, you may display the statistical value of the congestion situation of the past. When the user presses the OK button, the charging reservation main screen is updated.

FIG. 27 shows an example of updating the main screen of the charging reservation. A reserved mark is set for SA/PA001 reserved by the user. The scheduled charging start time (8:55) and charging time length (30 minutes) are described in the reserved mark.

Thereby, the EV management unit 13 accepts the reservation of the charging point (SA/PA) and the charging time (start time and end time). The reservation management unit 23 registers the time when the reservation is disabled for the corresponding charging point (SA/PA). Also, the user's reservation information is passed to the charging planning section 71 . Charging plan unit 71 reflects the reservation information in the user's charging plan. That is, the user's charging plan is created or updated based on the reservation information. The charging plan unit 71 stores the charging plan determined by the user in the charging plan DB 72 . The charging plan DB 72 holds user's charging plans.

When the user cannot make a reservation due to a penalty, the reservation management device 101 may determine the charging point and charging time for the user, and determine this as the charging plan to be presented to the user.

FIG. 28 shows an example of the user's application screen in this case. A charging reservation screen in which a charging point and charging time are specified is displayed (since reservation cannot be made in practice, it simply functions as a confirmation screen). In this example, the user is instructed to charge at SA/PA002 for 20 minutes from 9:30. In this case, the user is recommended to charge at the next charging point and charging time according to the presented charging plan. When the user arrives at the designated charging point, the user makes a reservation at the charging point on the spot (reservation cannot be made before arrival due to penalty). Alternatively, it is possible to wait until a free time comes and charge the battery when that time comes.

An example of charge plan DB72 is shown in FIG. For each user (EV_ID), the schedule of the first charging point and charging time is entered. Also, the schedule of the charging point and charging time for the second and subsequent times may be included. The first time means the next time, and the second time means the next time. For example, for a user with an EV_ID of 201653, the first scheduled charging point is the supply point Q4, and the scheduled charging time is from 10:00 on 06/20/2018 to 10:30 on 06/20/2018. The second scheduled charging point is the supply point Q11, and the scheduled charging time is from 10:00 on 2018/06/20 to 10:30 on 2018/06/20. For the user with the EV_ID of 123456, the information of the scheduled charging point and the scheduled charging time is similarly stored, but only for the first charging, and no information is stored for the second charging. Also in the first embodiment described above, the charging plan is stored in the charging plan DB 72 when the reservation is confirmed.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart of an example of processing when a user reserves charging. In this process, the reservation management device 101 presents the reservable charging points (SA/PA) and charging time to the user, and the user freely selects the charging point and charging time from the presented range. When the user is given an incentive, the range of presentation may be expanded more than usual depending on the content of the incentive.

In step S101, the user inputs the departure point (supply point or SA/PA, etc.), destination (supply point, SA/PA, etc.), remaining battery level, and other conditions (EV information provision system conditions) via the screen of the application. In addition, information such as departure time, type of EV, battery capacity, etc. may be input. Also, as a waypoint, an IC to be routed through or a supply point (SA/PA) to be routed through may be input. The reservation management device 101 may detect the time when the EV has flown into the departure point, and complement the detected time as the departure time. Inputs to the app may be made by the user or another passenger in the EV, or by the user at home. Alternatively, the user may input the desired charging point. The waypoints (SA/PA) may be regarded as charging points where the user wishes to charge.

FIG. 31 shows an example of an input screen for EV information providing system conditions of the application. The left side of FIG. 31 shows a format example of the input screen. Enter the EV model, battery capacity, remaining battery level, departure point, and destination. Also, by pressing the "+" button, it is possible to input a waypoint (intervening IC, SA/PA, etc.). If no transit point is input, the reservation management device 101 may search for the above-described route to specify the transit point.

An example of input to the input screen is shown on the right side of FIG. Two waypoints have been added. Other conditions can be set by pressing the "Set other conditions" button.

FIG. 32 shows an example of an input screen for other conditions. The left side of FIG. 32 shows a format example of an input screen for other conditions. Information such as cumulative mileage (cumulative mileage since the EV started to be used), number of passengers, charging style (charging mode), air conditioner usage status, charging timing, tire type, etc. are input. Cumulative travel distance, air conditioner usage, and tire type are used, for example, when it is desired to calculate the electricity consumption (km/kWh) of an EV with high accuracy. A formula for calculating electric power consumption from these information is given in advance. It should be noted that a value given in advance as spec information may be used as the electricity cost. The charging style and charging timing are used, for example, to determine charging locations to be presented (including recommended) to the user. The details of charging style and charging timing are as described above. An example of input to the input screen is shown on the right side of FIG.

In step S102, the charging plan unit 71 creates a charging plan, and presents the charging plan including reservable charging points and charging times to the user via the application (see FIGS. 25 and 26). The user determines and inputs a charging point and charging time based on the presented charging plan proposal.

In step S103, the charging planning unit 71 acquires information indicating the charging point and charging time determined by the user, and in subsequent step S104, determines whether or not the content of the acquired information is reservable.

If the user has made a decision within the range presented to the user, it is determined that the reservation is possible (YES in S104). If the range presented to the user is exceeded, it is determined that the reservation is impossible and prompts the user to make a decision again (NO in S104). If it is determined in step S104 that the reservation is possible, the reservation is confirmed (S105). The user can confirm that the reservation has been confirmed by displaying the screens shown on the right side of FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 on the screen of the application. Charging plan unit 71 updates reservation information DB 23 via reservation management unit 23 and determines (or updates) the user's charging plan. The fixed (or updated) charging plan is held in the charging plan DB 72 .

When the charging plan proposal is presented to the user in step S102 described above, the presented charging plan proposal may reflect the user's I/P plan. For example, if the user is given a penalty of not being able to make a reservation, the reservation management device 101 presents a charging plan including the designated charging point and charging time. In this case, the user may confirm the proposed charging plan and respond whether or not to accept the proposed charging plan, or may not respond at all.
Further, when obtaining information from the user and determining whether or not the reservation is possible, it may be determined whether the user's I/P plan is satisfied. If the I/P plan is not satisfied, it is determined that the reservation is not possible, and the process returns to step S103.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of another example of processing when the user reserves charging. This process differs from the process of FIG. 30 in that the user inputs conditions such as the charging point and time desired by the user (user-specified conditions), and creates a charging plan using the input user-specified conditions as constraints.

In step S111, in addition to the information input in step S101 of FIG. 30, user-specified conditions are input. Examples of user-specified conditions include a desired charging location and charging time (or range of time). In addition, there are conditions related to charging waiting time (for example, charging waiting time is less than a threshold) and conditions related to charging fee (for example, charging fee is less than threshold).
In addition, there are travel time conditions (for example, the time required to travel from the departure point to the destination is less than a threshold) and total charge conditions (for example, the total charging charge from the departure point to the destination is less than the threshold). Other conditions may be used.

In step S112, the charging plan unit 71 creates a charging plan using the user-specified condition as a constraint, and presents it to the user via the application. When a response that the charging plan is accepted is received from the user's application (YES in S113), the reservation is confirmed with the contents of the presented charging plan (S114). If a response not to accept the charging plan proposal is received (NO in S113), another charging plan proposal is created (S112). Thereafter, similar processing is repeated until the user accepts the charging plan proposal (S113, S112). When a charging plan that satisfies the user-designated conditions cannot be created, a notification to that effect is sent to the user's application. In this case, the user may change the user-designated condition and perform the same processing as described above.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of an example of processing when the charging plan unit 71 recreates (updates) the charging plan. When it is determined that the user's reservation has defaulted or has not been defaulted (including cases where the default is highly likely), this process determines that the user's reservation has failed and recreates (updates) the charging plan proposal. It should be noted that if the performance is not fulfilled, the I/P calculation unit 51 determines whether or not to give a penalty to the user. As a result of the determination, the penalty may or may not be given. For example, booking failures less than the allowed number of times will not be penalized, and booking failures above the allowed number of times will be penalized. Alternatively, the penalty may be increased according to the number of times of non-compliance with the reservation. The processing of this flowchart is executed, for example, for each user at regular time intervals.

In step S<b>201 , the charging planning unit 71 receives location information (GPS information, etc.) and information (time information) representing the time when the location information was acquired from the user's application. Note that reception of the time information may be omitted. In this case, the time when the reservation management device 101 received the position information may be the time when the position information was acquired.

In step S201, the charging planning unit 71 calculates the predicted time (predicted arrival time) at which the user's EV reaches the reserved charging point (including the charging point specified by the reservation management device 101). Map information, TC information, or the like, for example, may be used to calculate the predicted arrival time. In addition, when the reservation management device 101 designates the charging point to the user, it can be considered that the reservation management device 101 has made the reservation forcibly.

In step S203, based on the difference between the estimated arrival time and the start time of the reserved charging time (including the charging time specified by the reservation management device 101), it is determined whether the reserved charging time can be met. For example, if the estimated arrival time is before the start time or a predetermined time before the start time, it is determined that the arrival time is in time (YES in S203), and the process returns to step S201. Otherwise, it is determined that it will not be in time (NO in S203), and the process proceeds to step S204. Examples of delays may include delays due to traffic jams, users accidentally or intentionally passing charging points, users stopping in another SA/PA to rest, etc. If the vehicle has passed by, it is determined that it will not be in time even if the time when the reserved charging point is exceeded is before the start time of the reserved time. Whether or not the user was on time and the reason why the user was not on time can be determined based on location information (GPS information), road control information, and the like. It should be noted that the I/P calculation unit 51 may change whether or not to give a penalty to the user depending on the reason for not being on time, and the content of the penalty if given.

In step S204, the charging planning unit 71 changes at least one of the user's charging time and the charging point. For example, if you cannot make it in time due to traffic jam, the earliest charging time after the estimated arrival time is specified, and a reservation is made at the specified time (shifting of the reservation time). In this case, the original reservation will be cancelled. The time of the canceled reservation becomes available for charging by another user. If the user has passed the reserved charging point, a reservation is made for another charging point. The reservation management unit 23 updates the reservation information DB 24, and the charging planning unit 71 updates the user's charging plan.

In step S205, the charging planning unit 71 transmits a change notification of at least one of the charging time and the charging point to the user's application. At this time, an inquiry may be made as to whether the user accepts the change. If the user does not accept it, another candidate may be searched for by shortening the charging time (for example, reducing the charging time from 30 minutes to 20 minutes) or searching for other charging points, and the user may be asked again whether the searched candidate is acceptable to the user.

FIG. 35 shows an example screen of the user's application when the user is notified of the change of at least one of the charging time and the charging point. On the screen of the app, the charging point and charging time after the change, and the estimated arrival time of the charging point after the change are displayed.

In the example of the flowchart of FIG. 34, the reservation management device 101 side automatically rescheduled, but if it is determined in step S203 that the user will not be on time, the processing may be changed so that the user's application is notified to that effect and the charging point and charging time are changed by the user's operation.

As shown in FIG. 36, for example, when it is determined in step S203 that the user will not be on time, the application is notified to that effect and displayed. The user operates the app to change at least one of the charging point and charging time.

FIG. 37 shows an application operation example when only the charging time is changed at the same charging point. The SA/PA001 block reserved on the charging reservation screen (see FIG. 27) is pressed (tapped, etc.) to display the SA/PA001 panel shown on the left in FIG. Move (drag, etc.) the "reserved" area. An example of the result of the movement is shown on the right of FIG. The charging start time is changed from 8:55 to 9:15. Accordingly, the charging time length is also changed from 30 minutes to 25 minutes. When the user presses the OK button, the charge planning unit 71 is notified of information on the "reserved" area after movement. The charging plan unit 71 updates the user's charging plan with this content. Although the user changed the reservation in the example of FIG. 37, the reservation may be deleted.

FIG. 38 shows an operation example of the application when deleting a reservation. The SA/PA001 block reserved on the charging reservation screen (see FIG. 27) is pressed (tapped, etc.) to display the SA/PA001 panel shown on the left in FIG. Press (tap, etc.) the "reserved" area.
As shown in the center of FIG. 38, the application displays a confirmation screen for deleting the charging reservation, and when the user presses the OK button, the reservation is deleted as shown on the right side of FIG.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of another example of processing when the charging plan unit 71 recreates (updates) the charging plan. This process recreates (updates) the charging plan when receiving a notice of nonfulfillment of the reservation in advance from the user. In this case, the I/P calculation unit determines whether to give a penalty to the user, and as a result of the determination, the penalty may be given. No penalty may be given for booking failures below the allowable number of times. Alternatively, the penalty may be increased according to the number of times of non-compliance with the reservation. The processing of this flowchart is executed, for example, for each user at regular time intervals.

In step S<b>211 , the charging planning unit 71 receives a notification that the user will not be on time for the reserved time (reservation failure notification) from the user's application before the start time of the reserved time. For example, when the user determines that he/she will not be in time for the reserved time due to traffic jam, or when he or she determines that it is necessary to take a break at another supply point (SA/PA) or the like, such a notification may be made. Examples of the need for a break include a child being fussy, a user or a passenger wanting to go to the bathroom, and a driver (user etc.) wanting to sleep.

In step S<b>212 , the charging plan unit 71 performs the charging plan again, and presents the user with a proposed charging plan including reservable charging points and times via the application.

In step S213, when a reservation change request specifying the charging point and charging time selected from the range of the presented charging plan is received from the user's application (YES in S213), the user's reservation is changed (S214). On the other hand, if the reservation change request is not received, the user's reservation is canceled (S215).

If a notice of nonfulfillment of the reservation is received in step S211, it may be determined whether or not the user will actually be on time for the reservation in the same manner as in step S203. If it determines that it will be in time, it may decide not to change the charging plan by sending a notification to that effect to the user's app.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart of an example of processing of the I/P calculator 51 . In this processing, the number of times of penalty is increased for the user when a predetermined penalty standard regarding reservation cancellation (reservation failure) is satisfied, and when the number of times the penalty standard is satisfied exceeds a threshold value, a penalty is given to the user. In this example, it is assumed that the threshold is 3 or more, but the threshold may be any integer of 1 or more.

At step S301 it is detected that the penalty criterion has been met. Any penalties are fine. For example, in step S203 of FIG. 34, it may be determined that the user will not be on time for the reservation time, or it may be that the user is actually not on time for the reservation time. In these cases, the user cancels the reservation without permission. Alternatively, the penalty criterion may be reception of a reservation failure notification in step S211 of FIG. In this case, the user cancels the reservation after contacting them in advance.

At step S302, the user's app is notified that the penalty criteria have been met.
For example, if the penalty criterion is that the user's EV exceeds the reserved time or reserved charging point, the user's application is notified to that effect. The user's app displays a message that the penalty criteria have been met. This allows the user to know that a penalty criterion has been met (eg he has canceled the reservation without notice).

In step S303, it is determined whether there is a response from the user's application to the notification to the user that the penalty criteria have been met. The user can respond to the message by operating the application to confirm that the message has been confirmed within a certain period of time.
If a response has been received (YES in S303), 1 is added to the number of reservation cancellations (S304). If no response has been received (NO in S303), 2 is added to the number of reservation cancellations (the number of times the penalty criteria have been met) (S305). Note that there may be a plurality of penalty criteria, in which case the number of cancellations may be counted independently for each penalty criteria, or the number of cancellations may be counted without distinguishing between penalty criteria.

In step S306, it is determined whether the number of reservation cancellations (the number of times the penalty criteria are satisfied) exceeds a threshold. If the number of cancellations is less than the threshold (NO in S306), this process ends. On the other hand, if it exceeds the threshold (YES in S306), a penalty is given to the user (S307). That is, create (or update) an I/P plan that includes penalties for users. The method of giving the penalty is as described above. The imposed penalty is notified to the user's application (S308). The content of the penalty is displayed on the screen of the application. This allows the user to recognize that a penalty has been given to him and the content of the penalty.

The penalty notification may be sent at the same time as the charging reservation change notification (see S205 in FIG. 34).

FIG. 41 shows an example of an application screen for notifying a penalty at the same time as notifying a change of a charging reservation when the penalty criterion is that the user's EV exceeds the reservation time or the reserved charging point. The penalty for the user in this example is that there is no discount on the charging fee, and the normal fee is charged.

FIG. 42 shows an application screen example in the case of depriving the right of reservation as another example of penalty. In this example, the next reservation cannot be made until charging is performed at the charging point and charging time specified by the reservation management device 101 (as described above, it is possible to make a reservation for the charging point after arriving at the specified charging point, or it is possible to wait for a turn (standby) from arrival until a free time arrives, and then charge when the free time arrives).

In the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 40, a penalty is given when the number of cancellations is equal to or greater than the threshold, but as a modification, the details of the penalty given to the user may be determined according to whether or not there is a user response.

FIG. 43 shows an example of a flowchart of processing in this case. Steps S301 to S303 in FIG. 43 are the same as in FIG. If there is a response from the user (YES in S303), a light penalty is given in step S314. Light penalties include, for example, light penalties (moderate discount rate, etc.), fewer penalties, and shorter penalties. If there is no response from the user (NO in S303), a heavy penalty is given in step S315. Heavy penalties include, for example, heavy penalties (no discount, etc.), many times penalties are applied, and long penalties are applied. The imposed penalty is notified to the user's application (S308).

Here, a specific example of the operation when the user actually charges at the charging point will be described.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of an application screen when a user charges at a charging point; 45 is a diagram following FIG. 44. FIG.

When the user arrives at the charging point reserved by the user, the reservation management device 101 transmits a confirmation message as to whether or not charging will be carried out as scheduled. The message is displayed in the user's app. The left side of FIG. 44 shows an example of message display. When charging as planned, the user moves to the charger and prepares for charging (for example, connecting a cable for wired charging, or installing the EV at a specified location for wireless charging). Then, press the OK button of the application. When the reservation management device 101 receives the notification from the application that charging is to be performed, it notifies the charger management system 90 or the charger of permission to charge the user, and charging of the user's EV is started. At this time, as shown on the right side of FIG. 44, the user's application displays a message that an alert will be issued when charging is completed for a certain period of time. As shown on the left side of FIG. 45, a message to that effect is displayed on the application of the user when a predetermined time has passed before completion. Then, as shown on the right side of FIG. 45, when the charging is completed, the user's application displays a message that the next charging point (SA/PA) can be reserved. The charging procedure described with reference to FIGS. 44 and 45 is an example, and is not limited to this procedure. For example, actual charging instructions may be input by the user by directly operating a terminal of the charger management system instead of the application.

In the above description, the user has a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, and the reservation management device 101 is premised on being able to exchange information for making a reservation via an application on the user's mobile terminal and to grasp the location of the user's EV. It is conceivable that some users forget their mobile terminals at home or do not have mobile terminals in the first place. There are also users (non-members) who have not registered as users of this application. A charging reservation terminal may be installed at each supply point to enable such users to make reservations. The supply points where the charging reservation terminals are installed may be all the supply points or some of the supply points. A charging reservation terminal corresponds to the information device 201 in FIG. 2 as an example. Charging can be reserved using the charging reservation terminal. The charging reservation may be made not only at the supply point where the charging reservation terminal is installed, but also at other supply points. It should be noted that the charging reservation terminal may be used by the user holding the portable terminal. As the type of penalty described above, there may be a type that does not allow reservations from the application and requires reservations to be made at a charging reservation terminal installed at the supply point (on-site reservations).

An example of making a charge reservation or the like using a charge reservation terminal will be described with reference to FIGS. 46 to 52. FIG.

FIG. 46 shows an example of the menu screen of the charging reservation terminal. There are a menu 601 for making a charging reservation for a supply point (currently located SA/PA) where a charging reservation terminal is installed, a menu 602 for changing/cancelling the charging reservation for the current located SA/PA, and a menu 603 for confirming the charging reservation status of another supply point (SA/PA). The current time is displayed on the upper right of the screen. When a member of the information providing system for EVs uses the system, personal authentication may be performed by inputting a member ID or the like.

FIG. 47 shows an example of a screen displayed when menu 601 is selected. The current reservation status of SA/PA001 is displayed. As an example, this information may be obtained from the reservation DB 24 of the reservation management device 101, or the same information may be synchronously held in the charging reservation terminal. On this screen, the user can set the charging time (charging start time and length of time) and reserve charging. The reservation is completed by pressing the button of "execute charging reservation".

The screen transitions to FIG. 48, and a numbered ticket is issued from the charging reservation terminal. At least one of a password and a bar code (QR code) is written on the numbered ticket. When charging, the user may be allowed to enter this password or barcode into the charger management system 90 (where the terminal of the charger management system 90 is installed) that manages the charger.

FIG. 49 shows an example of a screen displayed when menu 602 in FIG. 46 is selected. The user selects menu 602 to change or cancel the reservation. User authentication is performed by entering the password written on the numbered ticket on the screen or having the reading unit read the bar code written on the numbered ticket. Press the "Change/cancel charging reservation" button.

The screen transitions to FIG. 50, and the user can change or cancel the reservation on this screen.

FIG. 51 shows an example of the screen displayed when the menu 603 in FIG. 46 is selected. The user selects the menu 603 when he/she wants to check the charging reservation status of another SA/PA.
On this screen, select the SA/PA for which you want to check the charging reservation status. Wrong selection of SA/PA, press the "Refer to charge reservation" button.

The screen transitions to FIG. 52, and the user can check the reservation status of the selected SA/PA on this screen. As a modification, like the screen of FIG. 47, it may be possible to reserve charging of the selected SA/PA on this screen. The "scheduled arrival time" indicates the scheduled time of arrival at the selected SA/PA when currently departing from the current SA/PA. When there are multiple routes to the selected SA/PA, the time may be displayed for each route. This allows the user to determine which SA/PA should be used for charging next.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart of an example of the operation related to the information providing system for EV by the reservation management device 101 in the second embodiment. The charging planning unit 71 receives travel section information (including a departure point and a destination, and may include via ICs, supply points (SA/PA), etc.) from the user's application (S401), and also receives information such as user-designated conditions. Examples of user-specified conditions include the aforementioned charging style, charging timing, and the like (see FIG. 32).

The charging plan unit 71 creates a charging plan proposal including charging points and charging times recommended to the user, and notifies the user application of the created charging plan proposal (S403). Information representing the charging location and charging time selected by the user is received (S404), and a charging plan for the user is determined based on the received information. The determined charging plan is notified to the user's application (S405). At this time, an incentive to be given when the battery is charged according to the charging plan may be notified.
In addition, a penalty given when the charging plan is not followed (when canceled) or the like may be notified. A notification is received as to whether or not the user has consented to the notified charging plan, and if the user has consented (YES in S406), the content of this charging plan is determined (the charging point and charging time are reserved according to the content of the charging plan). If the user does not agree (NO in S406), the process returns to step S403 to create another charging plan and notify the user's application. It should be noted that, when the user's charging plan is determined in step S405, the user's charging plan may be determined based on this content, and the determined charging plan may be notified to the user for reference.

The charging planning unit 71 (or the travel managing unit 41) determines whether the user has arrived at the reserved charging point before the start of the reserved time or within a predetermined time (S407). If it does not arrive, or if it is determined that the user cannot arrive from the estimated arrival time (see FIG. 34), the current reservation is canceled, the next charging point and charging time are determined, and the user's application is notified (S411). This allows the user to specify the next charging point and charging time.
The reservation of the determined charging point and charging time is registered as the user's reservation information.

On the other hand, if the user arrives at the designated charging point before the start of the designated reservation time or before the specified time (YES in S412), the process returns to step S403 to create the next charging plan. On the other hand, if the user does not arrive at the designated charging point, or if it is determined that the user cannot arrive at the estimated arrival time, the penalty is given to the user as the penalty criterion is satisfied (S413). Returning to step S403, the next charging plan draft is created. As an example, if the content of the user's penalty is that the next reservation cannot be made, the reservation management device 101 side designates the user's charging point and charging time in the next charging plan proposal.

If it is determined in step S407 that the user has arrived at the reserved charging point before the start of the reserved time or by a certain time before the start of the reserved time, the charging planning unit 71 (or the travel management unit 41) determines whether the user has actually charged at the reserved time (S408). If the user has actually charged the battery (YES), the I/P calculator 51 gives an incentive to the user (S409). That is, the I/P calculator 51 generates (or updates) an I/P plan representing incentives to be applied to the user. It is determined whether the next charging is planned for the user, and if planned (YES in S410), the process returns to step S403, and if not planned (NO in S410), this process ends. A specific example when the next charging is not planned is the same as the first embodiment. If the user did not charge the battery at the reserved time in step S408, the process returns to step S403. In this case, the user may or may not be penalized.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the charging point and charging time are selected and reserved by the user, incentives are given to users who have fulfilled the charging reservation, and penalties are given to users who have failed to fulfill the charging reservation, thereby leveling the operating state of the charger or improving the average operating rate of the charger. As a result, it is possible to suppress the unnecessary increase of chargers and reduce the maintenance cost. In addition, it is possible to create a less dissatisfied charging plan that reduces the user's waiting time.

FIG. 54 shows the hardware configuration of the reservation management device 101 according to this embodiment. A reservation management device 101 according to this embodiment is configured by a computer device 100 . The computer device 100 includes a CPU 151 , an input interface 152 , a display device 153 , a communication device 154 , a main storage device 155 and an external storage device 156 , which are interconnected by a bus 157 .

A CPU (central processing unit) 151 executes a computer program that implements the above-described functional configurations of the reservation management device 101 on the main storage device 155 . Each functional configuration is realized by the CPU 151 executing a computer program.

The input interface 152 is a circuit for inputting operation signals from input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel to the reservation management apparatus 101 .

Display device 153 displays data or information output from reservation management device 101 .
The display device 153 is, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display), a CRT (cathode-ray tube), and a PDP (plasma display), but is not limited thereto. Data or information output from the computer device 100 can be displayed by this display device 153 .

The communication device 154 is a circuit for the reservation management device 101 to communicate with an external device wirelessly or by wire. Information can be input from an external device via the communication device 154 . Information input from an external device can be stored in the DB. The communication unit 11 can be built on the communication device 154 .

The main storage device 155 stores a program that implements the processing of this embodiment, data necessary for executing the program, data generated by executing the program, and the like. The program is expanded on the main storage device 155 and executed. The main storage device 155 is, for example, RAM, DRAM, or SRAM, but is not limited thereto. The storage unit in each embodiment may be constructed on the main storage device 155 .

The external storage device 156 stores the above programs, data necessary for executing the programs, data generated by executing the programs, and the like. These programs and data are read into the main memory device 155 during the processing of this embodiment. The external storage device 156 is, for example, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flash memory, and a magnetic tape, but is not limited to these. The storage unit in each embodiment may be constructed on the external storage device 156 .

The program described above may be pre-installed in the computer device 100, or may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Also, the program may be uploaded on the Internet.

The computer device 100 may include one or more of the processor 151, the input interface 152, the display device 153, the communication device 154, and the main storage device 155, and may be connected to peripheral devices such as printers and scanners.

Further, the reservation management device 101 may be configured by a single computer device 100, or may be configured as a system composed of a plurality of mutually connected computer devices 100. FIG.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the gist of the present invention at the implementation stage. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. Further, for example, a configuration in which some components are deleted from all the components shown in each embodiment is also conceivable. Furthermore, components described in different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

This embodiment can also be configured as follows.
[Item 1]
a reservation management unit that manages a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile object traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and the energy supply time for supplying the energy;
a calculation unit that gives an incentive or penalty to the user of the mobile object according to the fulfillment status of the reservation;
Reservation management device with
[Item 2]
a communication unit that communicates with the communication terminal of the user;
an energy supply planning unit that acquires information on the mode selected by the user from the communication terminal from among a plurality of modes, and generates the reservation based on the energy supply plan generated in the mode indicated by the information;
The reservation management apparatus according to item 1, wherein the calculation unit determines the incentive to be given to the user or the penalty according to the mode selected by the user.
[Item 3]
3. The reservation management device according to item 2, wherein the plurality of modes includes a mode in which the energy supply charge of the mobile body is the lowest and a mode in which the mobile body arrives at the destination earliest.
[Item 4]
The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the calculation unit determines whether the user has fulfilled the reservation or whether the reservation can be fulfilled, provides the incentive when the user fulfills the reservation, and provides the penalty when the user fails to fulfill the reservation or determines that the reservation cannot be fulfilled.
[Item 5]
A running management unit that manages the running state of the moving object,
Item 4. The reservation management device according to item 4, wherein the calculation unit determines whether or not the user will be at the energy supply point by the start of the energy supply time, and determines that the user cannot fulfill the reservation when the user determines that the user will not be in time for the start of the energy supply time.
[Item 6]
A running management unit that manages the running state of the moving object,
The reservation management device according to item 4 or 5, wherein the calculation unit determines whether the mobile body has passed the energy supply point of the reservation before the start of the energy supply time, and determines that the user has not fulfilled the reservation or cannot fulfill the reservation when it is determined that the mobile body has passed the energy supply point.
[Item 7]
7. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 6, wherein the incentive includes discounting the charge for the energy supply or increasing the discount rate.
[Item 8]
The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 7, wherein the incentive includes a right to designate at least one of the energy supply point, the energy supply time, and the length of the energy supply time.
[Item 9]
9. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein the incentive includes the right for the user to forcibly cancel or change another user's reservation regarding the energy supply point and the energy supply time, and to make a reservation for the user in the time vacated by the cancellation or the change.
[Item 10]
10. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 9, wherein the incentive includes giving points to the user or giving items to the user.
[Item 11]
The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 10, wherein the incentive includes the right to reserve a plurality of the energy supply points.
[Item 12]
an energy supply planning unit that presents to the user a change in at least one of the energy supply point and the energy supply time of the reservation;
12. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 11, wherein the calculation unit provides the incentive when the user agrees to the change.
[Item 13]
if the energy supply point and the energy supply time requested by the user are reserved by another first user, the calculation unit inquires of the other first user about a change in the reservation;
The calculation unit, when the other first user responds to the change of the reservation,
The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 12, wherein an incentive is given to another second user specified by the other first user, or an incentive is given to another third user specified by the user, or the incentive given to the user is transferred to the other first user or the other second user.
[Item 14]
14. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 13, wherein the calculation unit does not apply the penalty or reduces the penalty when receiving a notification from the user that the reservation cannot be fulfilled before the start of the energy supply time.
[Item 15]
The reservation management device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the penalty includes that the user cannot make a reservation for the energy supply point and the energy supply time at least before arrival at the energy supply point.
[Item 16]
After arriving at at least one of the plurality of energy supply points, the user reserves an energy supply time at the arrived energy supply point, or performs the energy supply during a vacant time at the arrived energy supply point,
Item 16. The reservation management device according to item 15, wherein the calculation unit cancels the penalty when the reservation made after arriving at the energy supply point is fulfilled or when the energy supply is performed during the vacant time.
[Item 17]
an energy supply planning unit that designates an energy supply point and an energy supply time to be used by the user to whom the penalty is given;
The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 16, wherein the calculation unit cancels the penalty when the user supplies the energy at the specified energy supply point at the specified energy supply time.
[Item 18]
18. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 17, wherein the penalty includes not discounting the charge for the energy supply or reducing the discount rate of the charge.
[Item 19]
19. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 18, wherein the penalty includes limiting the energy supply point that can be reserved by the user to a specific energy supply point, or limiting the time or the length of time that the user can reserve the energy supply.
[Item 20]
20. The reservation management device according to any one of items 1 to 19, wherein the calculation unit gives the penalty when the number of times the user fails to fulfill the reservation reaches or exceeds a threshold.
[Item 21]
a step of managing a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile body traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and an energy supply time for supplying the energy;
giving incentives or penalties to the user of the mobile device according to the fulfillment status of the reservation;
Reservation management method with
[Item 22]
a step of managing a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile body traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and an energy supply time for supplying the energy;
giving incentives or penalties to the user of the mobile device according to the fulfillment status of the reservation;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute

101: Reservation management device 11: Communication unit 13: EV management unit 14: User DB (database)
15: Map information management unit 16: Road control information management unit 17: Charger information management unit 18: Weather information management unit 19: Vehicle information management unit 20: System DB
21: Control unit 23: Reservation management unit 24: Reservation DB
25: I/P (incentive/penalty) information management unit 26: I/P information DB 26
31: I/P fee management unit 32: Charging management unit 41: Travel management unit 51: I/P calculation unit 52: I/P plan DB
71: Charging plan unit 71
201A to 201N: information devices 211A to 211N: server 220: communication network 100: computer device 151: processor (CPU)
152: Input interface 153: Display device 154: Communication device 155: Main storage device 156: External storage device 157: Buses 601, 602, 603: Menu

Claims (5)

a reservation management unit that manages a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile object traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and the energy supply time for supplying the energy;
an energy supply planning unit that acquires information on the mode selected by the user from the user's communication terminal from among a plurality of modes, creates an energy supply plan for the mobile body according to the mode indicated by the information, and generates the reservation based on the energy supply plan,
When the mode indicated by the information is a first mode among the plurality of modes, the energy supply planning unit creates an energy supply plan proposal for the moving body based on the utilization rate of the energy supply point. the first mode is a mode in which an energy supply charge for the mobile object is cheaper than other modes among the plurality of modes;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the mode indicated by the information is the first mode, the energy supply planning unit creates an energy supply plan in which an energy supply charge for the moving object is lower than that of the other modes among the plurality of modes. a second mode among the plurality of modes is a mode in which the mobile body arrives at the destination faster than a mode other than the second mode among the plurality of modes;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the mode indicated by the information is the second mode, the energy supply planning unit creates an energy supply plan in which the mobile body arrives at the destination earlier than in modes other than the second mode. a step of managing a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile body traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and an energy supply time for supplying the energy;
a step of acquiring information on a mode selected by the user from a communication terminal of the user from among a plurality of modes, and creating an energy supply plan for the mobile body according to the mode indicated by the information;
generating the reservation based on the proposed energy supply plan;
when the mode indicated by the information is the first mode among the plurality of modes, creating an energy supply plan proposal for the moving body based on the utilization rate of the energy supply point;
A computer-implemented method of processing information. a step of managing a reservation relating to the energy supply point for supplying energy to a mobile body traveling on a traffic route including a plurality of energy supply points and an energy supply time for supplying the energy;
a step of acquiring information on a mode selected by the user from a communication terminal of the user from among a plurality of modes, and creating an energy supply plan for the mobile body according to the mode indicated by the information;
generating the reservation based on the proposed energy supply plan;
when the mode indicated by the information is the first mode among the plurality of modes, creating an energy supply plan proposal for the moving body based on the utilization rate of the energy supply point;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute

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