JP5838892B2 - Information providing system, terminal device, and server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides information indicating a travel route to a destination or information indicating a position of a charging facility for charging a battery for a vehicle user who travels using an in-vehicle battery that can be charged by an external power source as a power source. The present invention relates to an information providing system to be provided.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system that provides information on a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle to a vehicle user (occupant) is known. For example, it is proposed in Patent Document 1. In such a system, charging facilities existing around the current location of the vehicle are extracted (searched), and information on the position of the charging facility, the travel route to the charging facility, the usage status of the charging facility, etc. is notified to the vehicle user. Such information is provided using a vehicle-mounted terminal such as a navigation device when the remaining battery level falls below the criterion value. For this reason, the vehicle user can grasp the charging timing of the battery and the traveling route to the charging facility by using this information provision.

JP 2011-038845 A

  Generally, the charging facility is supplied with power from an electric power company. Each power company supplies power to consumers within the range of the maximum supply capacity, but the margin for the power supply capacity (maximum supply capacity) varies depending on the season and time zone. For example, in the summer when heat is extremely high, the use of an air conditioner or the like may result in a power usage state that is close to the power supply capability, and there is almost no margin for the power supply capability, that is, the power supply may be tight. The electric power company provides information on the power usage rate (%) representing the ratio of the amount of electric power actually used with respect to the power supply capacity of the area under the jurisdiction of the electric power company in real time. By using this power usage rate to inform that the power supply is in a tight situation, it calls on consumers to save power. This power usage rate indicates that the larger the value, the lower the margin for power supply capability.

  The margin for the power supply capacity is different for each power supply jurisdiction area. However, in the conventional information providing system, regardless of the power usage status for each power supply jurisdiction area, the vehicle travel route guidance is provided or the location information of the charging facility is provided. For this reason, even if there is a nearby power supply jurisdiction area where power supply is not tight, the vehicle may be guided to the power supply jurisdiction area where power supply is tight. In this case, battery charging is restricted at the charging facility, or a power failure occurs and the battery cannot be charged.

  Further, when a large number of vehicles are guided along the same route by the navigation device, a traffic jam occurs on the route, and idling at the time of the traffic jam may lead to a decrease in the remaining battery level. In such a case, in particular, when the guided route is a power supply jurisdiction area where power supply is tight, the power consumption in the power supply jurisdiction area is increased, and the power supply state is changed. It gets worse. As a result, battery charging at the charging facility becomes more severe. On the other hand, in the adjacent power supply jurisdiction area, there may be a situation where there is a sufficient margin in power supply capacity.

  The present invention has been made in order to cope with the above-described problem, and an object thereof is to provide information so that a battery can be charged in an appropriate power supply jurisdiction area.

In order to achieve the above object, a feature of the present invention is an information providing system that provides information representing a travel route to a destination to a user of a vehicle traveling using an in-vehicle battery that can be charged by an external power source as a power source. If there is a power margin acquisition means for acquiring a power margin representing a margin for the power supply capacity for each power supply jurisdiction area and a travel route that can travel in the two power supply jurisdictions, information based on the power margin obtained by the power margin obtaining means, and a power margin corresponding information providing means for providing information representative of the travel path through the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher the power margin In the provision system,
A battery remaining amount acquiring unit configured to acquire a battery remaining amount of the in-vehicle battery, wherein the power margin acquiring unit is configured to obtain the power margin when the battery remaining amount acquired by the battery remaining amount acquiring unit falls below a threshold; The power margin correspondence information providing means is more than the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route under route guidance passes when the power margin is obtained by the power margin obtaining means during route guidance. When there is a travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area having a high power margin, the travel route to be route-guided is switched to a travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin.

  In the present invention, the power margin acquisition means acquires a power margin indicating a margin for the power supply capability for each of a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas. For example, information representing the current power usage rate (%) provided by the power company is acquired. This power usage rate represents the ratio of the amount of power currently used to the power supply capacity (maximum amount of power that can be supplied) of the power company. Therefore, the power usage rate can be used as an index of the power margin. In this case, the power margin decreases as the power usage rate increases.

The power margin correspondence information providing means is provided when there is a travel route capable of traveling in the two power supply jurisdiction areas, that is, the vehicle is located near the boundary between the two power supply jurisdiction areas. When there is a travel route that can substantially travel in the area, information representing a travel route passing through the power supply jurisdiction area having a higher power margin is provided based on the power margin.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the vehicle is guided to the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin (lower power usage rate). Thereby, the battery can be charged in the power supply jurisdiction area having a high power margin. Further, since it is difficult for traffic congestion to occur in the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin, it is possible to suppress the concentration of battery charging in the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin. On the other hand, even in the power supply jurisdiction area where the power margin is high, even if traffic congestion occurs and battery charging is concentrated to compensate for battery consumption due to traffic congestion, power for battery charging should be provided with sufficient margin. Can be supplied. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems such as battery charging being restricted at the charging facility or battery charging being impossible. In addition, the power margin between a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas can be smoothed. As a result, even a power consumer unrelated to the vehicle can receive a sufficient power supply.

  In acquiring the power margin, for example, vehicle position detection means for detecting the position of the own vehicle is provided, and the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection means or traveling from the own vehicle position to the destination is provided. Based on the route, the power supply jurisdiction area around the own vehicle position or the travel route may be specified, and the power margin of the specified power supply control area may be acquired.

  In the present invention, the remaining battery level acquisition means acquires the remaining battery level of the in-vehicle battery. The remaining battery level is not limited to directly expressing the capacity (electric energy holding amount) of the in-vehicle battery, but means a value serving as an index for determining the degree of consumption of electric energy such as the charging rate of the in-vehicle battery. Yes. The power margin acquisition means acquires the power margin when the remaining battery level falls below a threshold value. This threshold value may be a predetermined constant value, but is not limited to a constant value. For example, when a destination is set, the threshold value depends on the battery capacity required for traveling to the destination. What can be set arbitrarily, such as what can be variably set and what the user can set in advance, may be used. Further, the power margin is acquired when the cruising distance of the host vehicle corresponding to the remaining battery level falls below a threshold value (for example, a constant value or a threshold value that is variable according to the travel distance to the destination). It may be.

  In the present invention, the power margin correspondence information providing means provides travel route guidance to the destination as providing information representing the travel route. In this case, during the route guidance, the power margin correspondence information providing means provides power more than the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes when the remaining battery level falls below the threshold value and the power margin is acquired. When there is a travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area with a high margin, the travel route for route guidance is switched to a travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin. Thereby, when the battery remaining amount is reduced, the vehicle can be guided to the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin. Therefore, the battery can be charged in the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin. In addition, since the vehicle is not guided to the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin, the occurrence of traffic congestion in the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin can be suppressed, and the concentration of battery charging accompanying the traffic jam can be suppressed. . Thereby, the electric power margin between several electric power supply jurisdiction areas can be smoothed.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the power margin correspondence information providing means switches the travel route when the power margin of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes exceeds a threshold value. Is not performed (S18).

  In the present invention, during the route guidance, when the power margin is acquired, if the power margin of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route under route guidance passes exceeds the threshold, the travel route is switched. Do not do. That is, the travel route is not switched regardless of the magnitude relationship with the power margin in other power supply jurisdiction areas. Accordingly, since the travel route is not switched more than necessary, more appropriate travel route information can be provided. For example, there is provided a power margin determining means for determining whether or not the power margin of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route under route guidance exceeds a threshold, and the power margin correspondence information providing means Based on the determination by the determination means, when the power margin of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route during route guidance passes exceeds the threshold value, the travel route may not be switched.

  Another feature of the present invention is a jurisdiction area display means for displaying an area area representing an area on a map of the power supply jurisdiction area in a display mode corresponding to the power margin and displaying the screen separately for each power supply jurisdiction area. S15, S27).

  In the present invention, the jurisdiction area display means displays the area area representing the area on the map of the power supply jurisdiction area in a display manner according to the power margin so as to be distinguished for each power supply jurisdiction area. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the power margin status for each power supply jurisdiction area by this screen display, and can make a more appropriate action plan.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to the terminal device (30,500) or the server (100 ') in addition to the information providing system.

  In the above description, in order to help the understanding of the invention, the reference numerals used in the embodiments are attached to the configuration of the invention corresponding to the embodiment in parentheses, but each constituent element of the invention is the reference numeral. It is not limited to the embodiment defined by.

It is a schematic block diagram of the information provision system of this embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle-mounted terminal. It is a flowchart showing a travel route guidance routine. The display screen for demonstrating switching of driving route guidance is represented. It is a flowchart showing a charging facility guidance routine. It is a schematic block diagram of the portable terminal as a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of the center server as a modification.

  Hereinafter, an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an information providing system of this embodiment.

  The vehicle 10 applied to the information providing system is a plug-in vehicle that can charge an in-vehicle battery with an external power source. For example, it is possible to apply an electric vehicle (EV) that drives a driving motor with electric power of a vehicle-mounted battery, a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) that travels using both the vehicle-mounted battery and fuel as an energy source for driving the vehicle. It has become.

  The information providing system includes an in-vehicle information communication terminal device 30 (hereinafter referred to as an in-vehicle terminal) provided in the vehicle 10, a charge control unit 40 (hereinafter referred to as a charge ECU 40), a center server 100 provided in the vehicle information center, The power information server 200 provided for each power company, the charging facility terminal 300 provided for each charging facility such as a charging station, and the in-vehicle terminal 30, the center server 100, the power information server 200, and the charging facility terminal 300 can communicate with each other. And a communication network 400 such as the Internet connected to the Internet. A wireless base station 410 is connected to the communication line network 400, and the in-vehicle terminal 30 is connected to the communication line network 400 via the wireless base station 410.

  The in-vehicle battery 20 (hereinafter referred to as the battery 20) of the vehicle 10 can be charged not only from a household outlet, but can also be charged by using a power supply device 310 provided in a charging facility when away from home. it can. The power feeding device 310 is supplied with power from an electric power company having jurisdiction over power supply, and supplies charging power to the vehicle 10 via the charging cable 110.

  As a configuration for charging the battery 20, the vehicle 10 converts a power receiving port 50 that is a connection port of the connection plug 111 of the charging cable 110 and power supplied to the power receiving port 50 into charging power for the battery 20. The charger 60 that charges the battery 20 and the charging ECU 40 that controls the charging of the battery 20 by the charger 60 are provided. The battery 20 is provided with an SOC detector 70 that detects SOC (State Of Charge), which is a value indicating the state of charge of the battery 20. The SOC detector 70 outputs a signal representing the charging rate X (%) of the battery 20 to the charging ECU 40 as the SOC. Since the charging rate X of the battery 20 corresponds to the remaining capacity of the battery 20, the charging rate X of the battery 20 is hereinafter referred to as the remaining battery charge X. The SOC detector 70 may be configured to detect the remaining capacity of the battery 20.

  The vehicle 10 is driven by a motor driver (for example, an inverter) 80 that converts DC power output from the battery 20 into three-phase AC power, and three-phase AC power output from the motor driver 80 as a configuration of the traveling drive system. And a motor 85 for traveling that rotates the wheel W and a motor control unit 90 (hereinafter referred to as a motor ECU 90) that controls the output of the motor driver 80 in accordance with the driving operation of the driver.

  The charging ECU 40 includes a microcomputer as a main part. When the battery 20 is charged, the battery is operated by operating the charger 60 until the remaining battery level X detected by the SOC detector 70 reaches a target value set by the user. 20 is charged. Further, the charging ECU 40 transmits information representing the remaining battery level X detected by the SOC detector 70 to the various control devices including the in-vehicle terminal 30 at a predetermined cycle even while the vehicle is traveling. The battery remaining amount X may be transmitted from the SOC detector 70 to various control devices including the in-vehicle terminal 30 without using the charging ECU 40.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle terminal 30 includes a main control unit 31 including a microcomputer as a main unit, a display unit 32 and an operation unit 33 configured by a touch panel display, and an amplifier and a speaker for voice guidance. Of the vehicle 10 and the GPS unit for detecting the current position coordinates of the own vehicle based on the radio wave from the GPS satellite, the radio communication unit 35 for communicating with the outside via the radio base station 410 A vehicle position detection unit 36 having a gyro sensor for detecting a traveling direction, and a storage unit 37 for storing map information, facility information, power supply jurisdiction area information, various vehicle characteristics, and the like are provided.

  The vehicle 10 is provided with a plurality of electronic control devices (hereinafter referred to as vehicle ECUs) (not shown) that control the state of the vehicle. Each vehicle ECU including the charging ECU 40 and the motor ECU 90 is connected to a CAN communication line of a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication system, and is connected to the in-vehicle terminal 30 via the CAN communication line. Then, the vehicle ECU transmits various vehicle information (for example, travel distance information, SOC information, vehicle diagnosis information, various request information, etc.) to the center server 100 via the in-vehicle terminal 30 according to a preset procedure. The center server 100 transmits service information useful to the vehicle user to the in-vehicle terminal 30 based on the vehicle information and external information acquired from the outside.

  Hereinafter, regarding the functions of the in-vehicle terminal 30 and the center server 100, only the configuration related to the present invention, that is, the configuration related to the travel route guidance and the charging facility guidance according to the power margin will be described.

  The main control unit 31 provided in the in-vehicle terminal 30 includes a vehicle information transmission unit 311 that transmits information on the own vehicle (vehicle ID, current position information, SOC information, etc.) and various requests to the center server 100, and a destination to the destination. A navigation control unit 312 that calculates a travel route and guides the host vehicle to a destination, a power margin information acquisition unit 313 that acquires power margin information transmitted from the center server 100, and a charge transmitted from the center server 100 A charging facility information acquiring unit 314 that acquires facility information and a charging related information providing unit 315 that provides charging related information related to the charging facility and the power margin to the user are provided. Each of the functional units 311 to 315 is realized by executing a control program of the microcomputer.

  The center server 100 includes a microcomputer and a large-capacity storage device as main parts. As shown in FIG. 1, the center server 100 is connected to a communication network 400 to perform communication control, and vehicle information is used as user information. A vehicle information management unit 102 that manages them together, a power information management unit 103 that manages power margin information of each power company, and a charging facility information management unit 104 that manages charging facility information of each charging facility are provided. .

  The power information server 200 includes a microcomputer as a main part, and is provided for each power company. The power information server 200 transmits information representing the power usage status in an area where the power company supplies power (power supply jurisdiction area) to the center server 100 in real time. The information representing the power usage status represents, for example, a power usage rate that is a ratio (%) of the actually supplied power amount to the power supply capability (maximum supply capability) in the power supply jurisdiction area. Therefore, the power margin in the power supply jurisdiction area can be grasped from this power usage rate. Hereinafter, the power usage status will be described using the term power margin. Information representing the power usage rate is referred to as power margin information. The power margin decreases as the power usage rate increases. For example, when the power usage rate is Y (%), it can be expressed as (100−Y)%.

  The power supply jurisdiction area may represent the entire area supplied by one electric power company, or may be an area where the electric power supply is divided into a plurality of areas. What is necessary is just to set the area where the margin can be managed as one unit.

  The power information server 200 transmits the power margin information to which the jurisdiction area ID (ID for specifying the power supply jurisdiction area) is added at a predetermined cycle or whenever the power margin changes through the communication line network 400. It transmits to the center server 100.

  Each time power margin information is transmitted from each power information server 200, the power information management unit 103 of the center server 100 stores and updates the power margin information in association with the jurisdiction area ID. Therefore, the power information management unit 103 always stores the latest power margin information for each power supply jurisdiction area. In addition, the power information management unit 103 stores area area information representing an area on the map of each power supply jurisdiction area. Therefore, it is possible to know which power supply jurisdiction area an arbitrary position on the map belongs to.

  The charging facility terminal 300 includes a microcomputer as a main part and is provided in each charging facility. The charging facility terminal 300 creates the vacancy information of the power supply device 310 based on the usage status and the reservation status of the power supply device 310, and centers the charging facility information with the facility ID (ID for identifying the charging facility) added to the vacancy information. Send to server 100. This vacant information is, for example, information that represents the number of power supply devices 310 that can be used in the charging facility for each time period for each charging method (rapid charging / normal charging). The charging facility terminal 300 transmits the latest charging facility information to the center server 100 whenever the usage status and reservation status of the power supply apparatus 310 change or at a predetermined cycle.

  Every time charging facility information is transmitted from each charging facility terminal 300, the charging facility information management unit 104 of the center server 100 stores and updates the charging facility information in association with the facility ID. Therefore, the charging facility information management unit 104 always stores the latest charging facility information for each charging facility. In addition, the charging facility information management unit 104 stores in advance individual information corresponding to each charging facility ID (the name, address, location on the map, business hours, etc. of the charging facility) and specifies the facility ID. Individual information can be acquired with.

  In this information providing system, when the destination is set, the in-vehicle terminal 30 sets the travel route from the vehicle position to the destination based on the remaining battery level and the power margin, and the set travel Navigation is performed so that the vehicle 10 travels on the route. Further, in this information providing system, when the destination is not set, the in-vehicle terminal 30 searches for charging facilities around the vehicle based on the remaining battery level and the power margin, and the searched charging facility information is obtained. Tell the user. In addition, when a charging facility search operation is performed using the in-vehicle terminal 30, the charging facility around the vehicle is searched based on the power margin, and the searched charging facility information is notified to the user. In any case, the in-vehicle terminal 30 accesses the center server 100 and acquires necessary information (power margin information, charging facility information).

  Next, the travel route guidance process performed by the in-vehicle terminal 30 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a travel route guidance routine executed by the in-vehicle terminal 30 (main control unit 31). This travel route guidance routine is activated when the user operates the in-vehicle terminal 30 to set a destination, and is repeated at a predetermined cycle. When the travel route guidance routine is activated, the in-vehicle terminal 30 reads the current battery remaining amount X in step S11. The battery remaining amount X can be read from the charging ECU 40 or the SOC detector 70. Subsequently, in step S12, a cruising distance L1 representing a distance that the vehicle 10 can travel with the remaining battery charge X is calculated based on the remaining battery charge X. The in-vehicle terminal 30 stores relation data (for example, a cruising distance map) representing the relation between the battery remaining amount X and the cruising distance L1 in the storage unit 37, and corresponds to the battery remaining amount X with reference to the relation data. The cruising distance L1 is calculated.

  Subsequently, in step S13, the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines whether it is necessary to charge the battery based on the cruising distance L1 and the predicted travel distance L2 on the set travel route from the vehicle position to the destination. To do. For example, a threshold value (L2 + L3) that is a value obtained by adding the marginal distance L3 to the estimated travel distance L2 is calculated, and when the cruising distance L1 is less than the threshold value (L2 + L3), it is determined that the battery needs to be charged. When this travel route guidance routine is first activated, the travel route has not yet been set. Accordingly, the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines “No” at the time of starting the travel route guidance routine, and advances the process to step S14.

  In step S13, the cruising distance L1 is compared with the threshold value (L2 + L3). This determination is made when the remaining battery charge X is less than the remaining battery charge required to travel the travel distance (L2 + L3). It is equivalent to judging whether or not. For example, the remaining battery level required to travel the distance (L2 + L3) obtained by adding the estimated traveling distance L2 and the marginal distance L3 is set to the threshold value Xref, and whether or not the current remaining battery level X is below the threshold value Xref. Even if it is determined whether or not, a similar determination result can be obtained. Therefore, the process of step S13 is a process of determining whether or not the remaining battery charge X is below a threshold value.

  In step S <b> 14, the in-vehicle terminal 30 sets a travel route to the destination according to preset priorities (shortest time priority, shortest distance priority, toll road priority, etc.). That is, the travel route is set according to a normal rule that is not based on the power margin. Subsequently, the in-vehicle terminal 30 displays the set travel route (referred to as a set travel route) on the display unit 32 and performs route guidance using the sound generation unit 34 in step S15. That is, navigation to the destination is performed.

  The in-vehicle terminal 30 repeats such processing at a predetermined cycle. In this case, while the vehicle 10 is traveling on the set travel route, the travel route setting process in step S14 is skipped. However, if the vehicle 10 deviates from the set travel route, the travel route is restarted in step S14. Set.

  When the battery remaining amount X decreases and the cruising distance L1 falls below the threshold value (L2 + L3) (S13: Yes), the in-vehicle terminal 30 advances the process to step S16 and accesses the center server 100 to obtain power margin information. get. In this case, the in-vehicle terminal 30 transmits information indicating the position of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit 36 to the center server 100 to request power margin information. In response to this request, the center server 100 obtains power margin information of the power supply jurisdiction area where the own vehicle position exists and other power supply jurisdiction areas in the vicinity of the own vehicle position (substantially the own vehicle can travel). Select and send. In this case, when there is only one power supply jurisdiction area where the host vehicle can travel, the power margin information of the one power supply jurisdiction area is transmitted.

  Alternatively, the center server 100 transmits the power margin information of all the power supply jurisdiction areas, and the in-vehicle terminal 30 is located in the power supply jurisdiction area where the own vehicle position exists and in the vicinity of the own vehicle position (substantially the own vehicle The power margin information of other power supply jurisdiction areas that can travel may be selected. The in-vehicle terminal 30 stores the power supply jurisdiction area information in the storage unit 37, reads out the power supply jurisdiction area information from the storage unit 37, acquires the area of the power supply jurisdiction area on the map, and this area The power supply jurisdiction area is selected based on the vehicle position.

  Subsequently, in step S <b> 17, the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines whether there are a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas where the host vehicle can travel. If there is only one power supply jurisdiction area in which the host vehicle can travel (S17: No), the process proceeds to step S14. When there are a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas where the host vehicle can travel (S17: Yes), the in-vehicle terminal 30 has a power margin A of the power supply jurisdiction area including the initially set travel route in step S18. Is less than a preset threshold value Aref. This threshold value Aref is set to a value at which it can be determined that the power supply state is tight in this embodiment. If the power margin A exceeds the threshold Aref (S18: No), that is, if the power supply state is not tight, the in-vehicle terminal 30 proceeds to step S14 and continues the above process. .

  On the other hand, when the power margin A is equal to or less than the threshold value Aref (S18: Yes), that is, when the power supply state of the power supply jurisdiction area including the initially set travel route is tight, In step S19, the power margin A in another power supply jurisdiction area adjacent to the power supply jurisdiction area is higher (larger) than the power margin A of the power supply jurisdiction area including the initially set travel route. Determine whether or not. Here, in order to distinguish the power supply jurisdiction area, the power supply jurisdiction area including the initially set travel route is referred to as a main area, and another power supply jurisdiction area adjacent to the main area is referred to as a sub area. In addition, the power margin A in the main area is referred to as main power margin Amain, and the power margin A in the sub area is referred to as sub power margin Asub. Therefore, in this step S19, the main power margin Amain in the main area is compared with the sub power margin Asub in the sub area, and it is determined whether or not the sub power margin Asub is higher than the main power margin Amain. To do.

  In the determination of step S18, if the initially set travel route extends over a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas, the area with the longest travel route may be set as the main area.

  Further, for the presence or absence of the sub-area, for example, it is determined whether or not there is another power supply jurisdiction area where the travel route can be set in a range where the detour degree from the initially set travel route does not exceed the set value. do it. The setting value of the degree of detour may be any value for setting a distance or traveling time for detouring. Further, the setting value of the degree of bypass may be set to a larger value as the main power margin Amain is lower. The setting value of the degree of bypass may be set to a larger value as the sub power margin Asub with respect to the main power margin Amain is higher. In this case, in the determination process in step S17, after performing the detour degree setting process, it may be determined whether or not there is a sub-area based on the set detour degree. Further, when there are two or more sub-areas, a travel route may be set for any one or all of them if the sub-area has a higher power margin than the main area.

  If the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines in step S19 that the sub power margin Asub is higher than the main power margin Amain, the in-vehicle terminal 30 advances the process to step S20, and the sub power margin Asub is less than or equal to the main power margin Amain. If there is a determination, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S20, the in-vehicle terminal 30 sets a travel route for traveling in a sub-area with a high power margin. The in-vehicle terminal 30 reads out the power supply jurisdiction area information stored in the storage unit 37, acquires the area of the power supply jurisdiction area on the map, and sets a travel route for traveling in the sub-area based on this area To do. In this case, the travel route may be set in the subarea according to the normal priority. Further, it is not necessary to set a travel route that travels through the sub-area all the way to the destination, and the travel route may be set so that the travel distance in the sub-area is at least longer than the travel distance in the main area.

  In setting the travel route, the in-vehicle terminal 30 accesses the center server 100 to acquire the latest charging facility information (vacancy information, location information of the charging facility), and a charging facility that can be used in the sub-area is provided. The travel route is set so as to pass through the designated road. Instead of acquiring charging facility information from the center server 100, charging facility information stored in the storage unit 37 may be acquired.

  When the in-vehicle terminal 30 sets the travel route in step S20, the in-vehicle terminal 30 advances the process to step S15 to display a map showing the set travel route on the display unit 32 and performs route guidance using the sound generation unit 34. In this case, a facility icon indicating the position of the charging facility provided in the sub area is displayed on the map displayed on the display unit 32. The charging facility in the main area may be displayed in gray or gray so that the user is not recommended to charge the battery in the main area.

  Moreover, the vehicle-mounted terminal 30 distinguishes and displays the main area and the sub area on the display unit 32 in a display mode according to the power margin. For example, in the map displayed on the display unit 32, the area with the lower power margin is displayed in red, and the area with the higher power margin is displayed in white. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the boundary of an electric power supply jurisdiction area, and its area | region from the map displayed on the display part 32 at a glance. Further, the user can understand the reason why the vehicle is not guided to the power supply jurisdiction area where the power supply is tight. In addition to the display mode based on the display color, for example, the power margin (power usage rate) may be displayed as a numerical value.

  The in-vehicle terminal 30 repeats the travel route guidance routine at a predetermined cycle. In this case, the travel route guidance in step S15 is continuously executed. The travel route guidance routine ends when the vehicle 10 arrives at the destination or when the destination setting is canceled. When the destination is changed, the restart is performed using the changed destination.

  According to this travel route guidance routine, when the remaining battery charge X falls below the threshold value, the vehicle 10 can be guided to the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin from that point. For example, as shown in the display screen G of FIG. 4, when the destination P2 is set at the departure point P1 of the vehicle 10, the travel route indicated by the dashed arrow is set. When it is determined that battery charging is required at position P3 after vehicle 10 departs from departure point P1 (S13: Yes), main power margin Amain in the main area and sub power margin in the sub area. When the sub power margin Asub is higher than the main power margin Amain, the travel route guidance indicated by the solid line arrow in the figure is switched. In the figure, the line indicated by the symbol B represents the boundary between the main area and the sub-area, and the area painted in gray (the lower side of the drawing) is the main area. As a result, the vehicle 10 is guided to the power supply area with the higher power margin.

  In addition, since the charging facility icon C is displayed at the charging facility position on the set travel route in the area (sub-area) where the vehicle 10 is guided on the display screen G, the user can stop by the charging facility without hesitation. Can do. In addition, since the main screen and the sub-area are displayed in a display mode according to the power margin on the display screen G, the user ignores the route guidance and moves to the area with the lower power margin. It will not enter.

  As described above, according to the travel route guidance routine, when the remaining battery level decreases, the vehicle 10 is guided to the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin, so that the user can supply power with the higher power margin. Battery charging can be performed in the jurisdiction area. In addition, since the vehicle 10 is not guided to the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin, the occurrence of traffic congestion in the power supply jurisdiction area with a low power margin can be suppressed, and the concentration of battery charging associated with the traffic jam can be suppressed. it can. Since the location information of the charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin is provided to the user, the user can be guided to charge the battery in the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin. . As a result, the power margin in a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas can be smoothed.

  In step S18, when the power margin A is equal to or greater than the threshold Aref, that is, when it is determined that the power supply state of the power supply jurisdiction area including the initially set travel route is not tight, Does not switch the set travel route. As a result, the travel route is not switched more than necessary, and thus more appropriate travel route guidance can be performed.

  In addition, since the main area and the sub area are displayed on the display screen G in a display mode corresponding to the power margin, the user can select the power for each power supply jurisdiction area from the display screen G. You can easily grasp the spare situation. Therefore, the user can make a more appropriate action plan. For example, the action plan in the area with the lower power margin can be changed to the action plan in the area with the higher power margin. Thereby, the user can further cooperate with the smoothing of the power margin between the power supply jurisdiction areas.

  Next, an embodiment for providing charging facility information when the user has not set a destination will be described. FIG. 5 shows a charging facility guidance routine executed by the in-vehicle terminal 30 (main control unit 31). This charging facility guidance routine is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle during a period in which the ignition switch of the vehicle 10 is on.

  When the charging facility guidance routine is activated, the in-vehicle terminal 30 reads the current battery remaining amount X in step S21. The battery remaining amount X can be read from the charging ECU 40 or the SOC detector 70. Subsequently, in step S22, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery charge X is below the threshold value Xref. This threshold value Xref is a value for determining whether or not it is necessary to charge the battery, and may be a fixed value or a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user. If the remaining battery level X is equal to or greater than the threshold value Xref, the charging facility guidance routine is once terminated.

  The in-vehicle terminal 30 repeats the charging facility guidance routine at a predetermined cycle. When the remaining battery level X falls below the threshold value Xref due to the traveling of the vehicle 10 (S22: Yes), the in-vehicle terminal 30 accesses the center server 100 and acquires power margin information in step S23. In this case, the in-vehicle terminal 30 transmits information indicating the position of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit 36 to the center server 100 to request power margin information. In response to this request, the center server 100 has power margins in the power supply jurisdiction area where the own vehicle position exists and in other power supply jurisdiction areas in the vicinity of the own vehicle position (where the own vehicle can travel with the remaining battery charge X) Select and send information. In this case, when there is only one power supply jurisdiction area where the host vehicle can travel, the power margin information of the one power supply jurisdiction area is transmitted.

  Alternatively, the center server 100 transmits the power margin information of all the power supply jurisdiction areas, and the in-vehicle terminal 30 is located in the power supply jurisdiction area where the own vehicle position exists and in the vicinity of the own vehicle position (substantially the own vehicle The power margin information of other power supply jurisdiction areas that can travel may be selected. The in-vehicle terminal 30 stores the power supply jurisdiction area information in the storage unit 37, reads out the power supply jurisdiction area information from the storage unit 37, acquires the area of the power supply jurisdiction area on the map, and this area The above-mentioned power supply jurisdiction area is set based on the vehicle position.

  Subsequently, in step S24, the in-vehicle terminal 30 requests the charging facility information regarding the charging facility existing within a predetermined distance range from the position of the host vehicle to the center server 100. Thereby, the center server 100 transmits to the in-vehicle terminal 30 charging facility information relating to the charging facility existing within a predetermined distance range from the own vehicle position. Thereby, the in-vehicle terminal 30 acquires the latest charging facility information including the empty information.

  Subsequently, in step S25, the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines whether there are a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas in which the host vehicle can travel. If there is only one power supply jurisdiction area in which the host vehicle can travel (S25: No), in step S26, charging facilities around the vehicle are extracted based on the charging facility information in the power supply jurisdiction area. When extracting charging facilities, preset priorities (priority for the shortest time to reach the charging facility, priority for the shortest distance to reach the charging facility, priority for the shortest time to completion of battery charging, priority for the lowest charge, priority for quick charging) Etc.), charging facilities are extracted in order of priority. That is, the charging facility is selected according to a normal rule that is not based on the power margin.

  Subsequently, in step S27, the in-vehicle terminal 30 displays the extracted information on the charging facility (at least the location information of the charging facility) and a message recommending battery charging on the display unit 32. In this case, there are a map display mode for displaying a map on the display unit 32 and displaying a charging facility icon indicating the position of the charging facility on the map, and a list display mode for displaying the charging facility list on the display unit 32 in priority order. The vehicle-mounted terminal 30 switches the display mode according to the user's selection. For example, in the map display mode, when one of the charging facility icons is selected, detailed information such as availability information and arrival time regarding the charging facility may be displayed on another screen. Further, in the list display mode, the detailed information is displayed together with the facility name, and when a specific charging facility is selected from the charging facility list, the screen display of the display unit 32 is switched to the map display and selected. A charging facility icon indicating the position of the charging facility that has been used may be displayed on a map. In each display mode, when a specific charging facility is selected and set, the charging facility may be set as a destination and navigation may be started.

  On the other hand, when there are a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas in which the host vehicle can travel (S25: Yes), the in-vehicle terminal 30 sets a power margin A in advance in these power supply jurisdiction areas in step S28. It is determined whether there is an area that is equal to or less than the threshold value Aref. If the power margin A in all power supply jurisdiction areas exceeds the threshold value Aref, the in-vehicle terminal 30 advances the process to step S26. If there is an area where the power margin A is equal to or less than the preset threshold Aref (S28: Yes) in the power supply jurisdiction area, the in-vehicle terminal 30 determines the power margin A in step S29. The charging facilities around the vehicle are extracted based on the charging facility information in the higher power supply jurisdiction area. In the extraction of the charging facility, the charging facility is in the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin A and has a preset priority order (priority of arrival time to the charging facility, priority to the charging facility). Charging facilities are extracted in order of priority according to the shortest reach distance priority, the shortest time priority until battery charging is completed, the cheapest charge priority, the quick charge priority, etc.).

  When there are three or more power supply jurisdiction areas, a charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area with the highest power margin may be extracted, and the power margin A is equal to or greater than a preset threshold Aref. If there are a plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas, charging facilities may be extracted for those power supply jurisdiction areas. That is, at least the charging facility may be extracted from the power supply jurisdiction area excluding the power supply jurisdiction area where the power margin A is the smallest.

  When the in-vehicle terminal 30 extracts the charging facility in step S29, the in-vehicle terminal 30 advances the processing to step S27, and displays the information regarding the charging facility and the message recommending battery charging on the display unit 32 as described above. Further, when the charging facility is extracted from the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin A in step S29, that is, there is a power supply jurisdiction area in the vicinity of the own vehicle where the power supply is tight. If it is, the area of the power supply jurisdiction area is displayed in a display mode corresponding to the power margin. For example, on the map displayed on the display unit 32 in the map display mode, the area with the lower power margin is displayed in red, and the area with the higher power margin is displayed in white. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the boundary of an electric power supply jurisdiction area, and its area | region from the map displayed on the display part 32 at a glance. In addition, the user can understand the reason why the charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area where the power supply is tight has not been extracted.

  The in-vehicle terminal 30 repeats the charging facility guidance routine at a predetermined cycle. Therefore, when the battery remaining amount X becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value Xref due to battery charging, the charging facility display in step S27 is not performed.

  Thus, according to the charging facility guidance routine, when the remaining battery level X falls below the threshold value Xref, the charging facility around the vehicle existing in the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin is extracted and extracted. Provide information about charging facilities to users and encourage battery charging. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce problems such as battery charging being restricted or battery charging being impossible. Moreover, in order to suppress the power usage in the power supply jurisdiction area with the lower power margin, the power margins in the plurality of power supply jurisdiction areas can be smoothed.

  If the power margin A is equal to or greater than the threshold Aref (S28: No), the charging facility is extracted according to the normal priority order regardless of the power margin. Thereby, it is possible to guide the charging facility more appropriately without extracting charging facilities farther than necessary.

  The information providing system of the present embodiment has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the in-vehicle terminal 30 is used to provide information indicating the travel route or the information indicating the position of the charging facility to the user. As shown by a broken line, the mobile communication terminal device 500 possessed by the user of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as the mobile terminal 500) is used to represent information indicating the travel route for the user, or the position of the charging facility. Information may be provided. For example, a smartphone can be used as the mobile terminal 500.

  In this case, the mobile terminal 500 is configured to have the same function as the in-vehicle terminal 30. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a main control unit 501, a display unit 502, an operation unit 503, a sound generation unit 504, a wireless communication unit 505, a terminal position detection unit 506, and a storage unit 507. The display unit 502, operation unit 503, sound generation unit 504, and storage unit 507 are the same as the display unit 32, operation unit 33, sound generation unit 34, and storage unit 37 of the in-vehicle terminal 30. The wireless communication unit 505 has a function of performing short-range wireless communication (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, etc.) with the in-vehicle terminal 30 in addition to the function of communicating with the outside via the communication network 400. ing. In addition, the terminal position detection unit 506 detects the current position coordinates of the mobile terminal 500 based on radio waves from GPS satellites. Further, the main control unit 501 includes a microcomputer as a main part, and is classified into its functions. When classified into its functions, the vehicle information transmission / reception unit 511, the navigation control unit 512, the power margin information acquisition unit 513, the charging facility information acquisition unit 514, and the charging related An information providing unit 515 is provided. The navigation control unit 512, the power margin information acquisition unit 513, the charging facility information acquisition unit 514, and the charging related information provision unit 515 are the navigation control unit 312, the power margin information acquisition unit 313, and the charging facility information acquisition unit of the in-vehicle terminal 30. 314, which is the same as the charging related information providing unit 315. The vehicle information transmission / reception unit 511 has a function of receiving vehicle information (remaining battery charge X and setting information) from the in-vehicle terminal 30 and a function of transmitting the vehicle information to the center server 100.

  In the portable terminal 500, the storage unit 507 stores an application program for executing the travel route guidance routine and the charging facility guidance routine described above, and the main control unit 501 executes the application program. When the portable terminal 500 executes the travel route guidance routine and the charging facility guidance routine, the remaining battery level X is read from the in-vehicle terminal 30, and the portable terminal position is used instead of the own vehicle position (or the in-vehicle terminal 30). The other vehicle processing can be performed in the same manner as the in-vehicle terminal 30.

  Also in the information providing system using the portable terminal 500, the above-described operational effects can be obtained. Moreover, since the vehicle-mounted terminal 30 does not require the structure for carrying out radio | wireless communication with the center server 100, it can implement at low cost.

  Further, instead of the in-vehicle terminal 30 or the portable terminal 500, the center server 100 may execute a travel route guidance routine and a charging facility guidance routine. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the center server 100 ′ includes a travel route setting unit 105 in addition to the communication control unit 101, the vehicle information management unit 102, the power information management unit 103, and the charging facility information management unit 104 described above. The charging facility extraction unit 106 and the map information storage unit 107 are provided. The travel route setting unit 105 is a functional unit that executes a travel route guidance routine using a microcomputer, and the charging facility extraction unit 106 is a functional unit that executes a charging facility guidance routine using a microcomputer. The map information storage unit stores map information used when the travel route guidance routine and the charging facility guidance routine are performed.

  The center server 100 ′ acquires information indicating the remaining battery level X, the destination, the own vehicle position, and the travel route priority from the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the mobile terminal 500), and uses the information to execute a travel route guidance routine. Run. In this case, in step S15, information representing the set travel route is transmitted to the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500), and the route guidance display is performed by the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500).

  Further, the center server 100 ′ acquires information representing the remaining battery level X, the own vehicle position, and the charging facility priority order from the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500), and executes the charging facility guidance routine using the information. To do. In this case, in step S27, the information representing the extracted charging facility is transmitted to the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500), and the charging facility guidance display is performed by the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500).

  In the charging facility guidance routine according to the present embodiment, when the battery remaining amount is low and battery charging is required, information on the charging facility is provided. Instead of or in addition to this, the user When the charging facility is searched using the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500), the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500, the center server 100 ′) executes the processing of step S23 to step S29 to perform charging. Information regarding the facility may be provided to the user.

  In the travel route guidance routine according to the present embodiment, when the remaining battery level is low and the battery needs to be charged, the travel route guide routine is switched to the travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin. However, if the destination is set regardless of the need for battery charging (that is, regardless of the remaining battery level), the vehicle will travel through the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin from that point. A route may be set.

  In the present embodiment, both the travel route guidance routine and the charging facility guidance routine are executed, but only one of them may be executed. That is, a configuration that executes only the travel route guidance based on the power margin or a configuration that executes only the charging facility guidance based on the power margin may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the in-vehicle terminal 30 (or the portable terminal 500) acquires the power margin information via the center server 100, but acquires the power margin information directly from the power information server 200. May be.

  Further, in the present embodiment, information is provided that indicates the location of a charging facility that exists in a power supply jurisdiction area that has a higher power margin or a travel route that passes through a power supply jurisdiction area that has a higher power margin. However, you may provide the information showing the driving | running route in both electric power supply jurisdiction areas, or the position of a charging facility. However, in that case, it is preferable to provide information indicating the travel route or the location of the charging facility, and to recommend the use of the travel route or the charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area having a high power margin. For example, the travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin and the travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area with the lower power margin are displayed on the screen in an identifiable manner. You may make it recommend that a user selects the driving | running route which passes the electric power supply jurisdiction area with a higher margin. Similarly, the position of the charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area with the higher power margin and the position of the charging facility in the power supply jurisdiction area with the lower power margin are displayed on the screen in an identifiable manner. On the display screen, the user may be recommended to select a charging facility that exists in the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle, 20 ... In-vehicle battery, 30 ... In-vehicle terminal, 31, 501 ... Main control unit, 32, 502 ... Display unit, 33, 503 ... Operation unit, 34, 504 ... Sound generation unit, 35, 505 ... Wireless communication unit , 36 ... Vehicle position detection unit, 37, 507 ... Storage unit, 40 ... Charge ECU, 60 ... Charger, 70 ... SOC detector, 100, 100 '... Center server, 101 ... Communication control unit, 102 ... Vehicle information management , 103 ... Power information management unit, 104 ... Charging facility information management unit, 105 ... Travel route setting unit, 106 ... Charging facility extraction unit, 107 ... Map information storage unit, 200 ... Power information server, 300 ... Charging facility terminal, 310 ... Power feeding device, 311 ... Vehicle information transmission unit, 312,512 ... Navigation control unit, 313,513 ... Power margin information acquisition unit, 314,514 ... Charging facility information acquisition unit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15,515 ... Charging related information provision part, 400 ... Communication network, 410 ... Wireless base station, 500 ... Portable terminal, 506 ... Terminal position detection part, 511 ... Vehicle information transmission / reception part, A ... Power margin, Amain ... Main Power margin, Aref ... Threshold, Asub ... Sub power margin, B ... Boundary line, C ... Charging facility icon, G ... Display screen, P1 ... Departure point, P2 ... Destination, X ... Battery remaining amount.

Claims (5)

An information providing system for providing information representing a travel route to a destination for a user of a vehicle traveling with an in-vehicle battery that can be charged by an external power source ,
A power margin acquisition means for acquiring a power margin representing a margin for the power supply capacity for each power supply jurisdiction area;
When there is a travel route that can travel in the two power supply jurisdiction areas, the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin is passed based on the power margin obtained by the power margin obtaining means. Power margin correspondence information providing means for providing information representing a travel route ;
In the information providing system with
A battery remaining amount obtaining means for obtaining a battery remaining amount of the in-vehicle battery;
The power margin obtaining unit obtains the power margin when the battery remaining amount obtained by the battery remaining amount obtaining unit falls below a threshold value,
When the power margin is acquired by the power margin acquisition unit during route guidance, the power margin correspondence information providing unit has a power margin higher than that of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes. When there is a travel route passing through a high power supply jurisdiction area, the information providing system is characterized in that the travel route for route guidance is switched to a travel route passing through the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin . The power margin correspondence information providing means does not switch the travel route when the power margin of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes exceeds a threshold value. The information providing system according to claim 1 . Claims, characterized in that the area region representing the region on the map of the power supply jurisdiction area, with a jurisdictional area display means for to screen distinguished for each power supply jurisdiction area in the power margin display mode in accordance with the Item 3. The information providing system according to Item 1 or 2 . A terminal device that provides information representing a travel route to a destination for a user of a vehicle traveling using an in-vehicle battery that can be charged by an external power source ,
A power margin acquisition means for acquiring a power margin representing a margin for the power supply capacity for each power supply jurisdiction area;
When there is a travel route that can travel in the two power supply jurisdiction areas, the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin is passed based on the power margin obtained by the power margin obtaining means. Power margin correspondence information providing means for providing information representing a travel route ;
In a terminal device comprising:
A battery remaining amount obtaining means for obtaining a battery remaining amount of the in-vehicle battery;
The power margin obtaining unit obtains the power margin when the battery remaining amount obtained by the battery remaining amount obtaining unit falls below a threshold value,
When the power margin is acquired by the power margin acquisition unit during route guidance, the power margin correspondence information providing unit has a power margin higher than that of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes. When there is a travel route that passes through a high power supply jurisdiction area, the terminal device is characterized in that the travel route for route guidance is switched to a travel route that passes through the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin . A server that provides information representing a travel route to a destination for a vehicle user who travels using an in-vehicle battery that can be charged by an external power source ,
A power margin acquisition means for acquiring a power margin representing a margin for the power supply capacity for each power supply jurisdiction area;
When there is a travel route that can travel in the two power supply jurisdiction areas, the power supply jurisdiction area having the higher power margin is passed based on the power margin obtained by the power margin obtaining means. Power margin correspondence information providing means for providing information representing a travel route ;
For servers with
A battery remaining amount obtaining means for obtaining a battery remaining amount of the in-vehicle battery;
The power margin obtaining unit obtains the power margin when the battery remaining amount obtained by the battery remaining amount obtaining unit falls below a threshold value,
When the power margin is acquired by the power margin acquisition unit during route guidance, the power margin correspondence information providing unit has a power margin higher than that of the power supply jurisdiction area through which the travel route in the route guidance passes. A server characterized in that, when there is a travel route passing through a high power supply jurisdiction area, the travel route to be route-guided is switched to a travel route passing through the power supply jurisdiction area having a higher power margin .

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