Vehicle reach area presentation device and vehicle reach area presentation method

• US 10,317,228 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2015
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Suzuki, Masayasu, Inoue, Hirofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Paige, Tyler D
• Application Number:
  US15/580,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20180340783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• Field of Search: 701 314
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/60 Navigation input
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

A vehicle reach area presentation device sets a unit area in which a start point exists as a start area among unit areas into which a region on map data is divided and extracts pieces of probe data including records of past travels within a certain range from the start area. The device sets the unit areas, including goal points recorded in the extracted pieces of probe data, as reach areas, calculates energy consumptions from the start area to the reach areas by using the pieces of probe data, and presents the reach areas to a user while changing display of the reach areas depending on the calculated energy consumptions.

Claims

1. A vehicle reach area presentation device that is a server, comprising:

a controller configured to;

divide a region on map data into predetermined unit areas;

obtain a start point of the vehicle inputted by a user, set the unit area in which the start point exists as a start area, and extract pieces of probe data including records of past travels by vehicles other than the vehicle of the user within a certain range from the start area;

set the unit areas including goal points recorded in the extracted pieces of probe data as reach areas and calculate energy consumptions from the start area to the reach areas by using the pieces of probe data; and

present data including a displayable map with areas reachable by the vehicle of the user by the map indicated to the user while changing display of the reach areas depending on the calculated energy consumptions.

2. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller calculates the energy consumption from the start area to each of the reach areas by using only a piece of the probe data of a past travel from the start area to the reach area.

3. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller calculates the energy consumption from the start area to each of the reach areas by connecting the pieces of probe data relating to a same user from the start area to the reach area.

4. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 3, wherein the controller does not connect the pieces of probe data upon a distance from the start area to the reach area calculated by using the pieces of probe data being longer than a linear distance from the start area to the reach area by a predetermined distance or more.

5. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein controller calculates the energy consumption from the start area to each of the reach areas by connecting the pieces of probe data relating to plurality of users from the start area to the reach area.

6. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1,

wherein the controller is further configured to:

obtain characteristic information indicating characteristics of the user and an user vehicle registered by the user from the pieces of probe data and select a user and a vehicle having characteristics similar to the characteristics of the characteristic information as a search target, and

extract only the pieces of probe data relating to the user and the vehicle selected as the search target.

7. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein controller extracts the pieces of probe data matching a condition relating to a travel environment and set by the user.

8. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller changes the display of the reach areas depending on a state of a vehicle of the user registered by the user.

9. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller calculates an energy consumption in a round travel between the start area and each of the reach areas by calculating an energy consumption from the reach area to the start area and adding up the energy consumption from the start area to the reach area and the energy consumption from the reach area to the start area.

10. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 9, wherein the controller calculates the energy consumptions in the round travels only for the reach areas, the energy consumptions to which from the start area are equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

11. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1,

wherein the controller is further configured to:

calculate a travel route from a start point to the goal point recorded in each of the extracted pieces of probe data;

set, as a passing area, the unit area through which the calculated travel route passes and for which no travel record is recorded and estimate an energy consumption to the passing area, and

presents the passing area to the user while changing display of the passing area depending on the estimated energy consumption.

12. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 11, wherein the controller estimates the energy consumption to the passing area by obtaining a positional percentage of the passing area between the start area and the reach area and multiplying the energy consumption from the start area to the reach area by the positional percentage.

13. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 11, wherein, upon the reach area being adjacent to the passing area, the controller estimates the energy consumption to the passing area depending on the energy consumption to the adjacent reach area.

14. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 11, wherein the controller displays the calculated travel route calculated.

15. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 11, wherein the controller selects the travel route having been most frequently traveled among the calculated travel routes, as a representative travel route.

16. The vehicle reach area presentation devise according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined unit areas are in a mesh pattern.

17. The vehicle reach area presentation device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the reach areas has no side in contact with the sides of the start area.

18. A vehicle reach area presentation method, comprising:

dividing, by a controller of a server, a region on a map data into predetermined unit areas;

obtaining, by the controller, a start point of the vehicle inputted by a user, setting the unit area in which the start point exists as a start area, and extracting the pieces of probe data including records of past travels by vehicles other than the vehicle of the user within a certain range from the start area;

setting, by the controller, the unit areas, including goal points recorded in the extracted pieces of a probe data, as reach areas and calculating energy consumptions from the start area to the reach areas by using the pieces if probe data; and

presenting, by the controller, data including a displayable map with areas reachable by the vehicle of the user by the map indicated to the user while changing display of the reach areas depending on the calculated energy consumptions.

19. The vehicle reach area presentation method according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined unit areas are in a mesh pattern.

20. The vehicle reach area presentation method according to claim 18, wherein at least one of the reach areas has no side in contact with the sides of the start area.