Method and apparatus for recommending charging facilities to users of electric vehicles

• US 10,444,024 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoshino, Satoshi, Maeda, Takehiro, Naruoka, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Brittney N
• Application Number:
  US16/087,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20190025068A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 705 267, 705 269, 705 271
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A method for guiding a user of an electric vehicle to a charging facility includes: searching for charging facilities existing within a predetermined distance from the current position of the electric vehicle; when a high-output charging facility and a low-output charging facility in a predetermined positional relationship with the high-output charging facility are searched, calculating the estimated value of a remaining charged capacity of a battery of the electric vehicle; calculating the estimated value of a charging time if charging the battery of the electric vehicle from the estimated value of the remaining charged capacity of the battery to a predetermined charged capacity at each of the searched charging facilities; and when the difference between the estimated value of the charging times at the high-output charging facility and the low-output charging facility is a predetermined value or less, presenting the low-output charging facility to the user of the electric vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for recommending a charging facility to a user of an electric vehicle, comprising:

searching for charging facilities existing within a range of a predetermined distance from a current position of the electric vehicle;

detecting, by a sensor of the electric vehicle, a current value of a remaining charged capacity of a battery of the electric vehicle;

when a first charging facility and another charging facility having lower output power than that of the first charging facility are searched, calculating, based on the current value of the remaining charged capacity of the battery of the electric vehicle, an estimated value of the remaining charged capacity of the battery of the electric vehicle if traveling to each of the searched charging facilities, the other charging facility being in a predetermined positional relationship with the first charging facility;

calculating an estimated value of a charging time if charging the electric vehicle from the estimated value of the remaining charged capacity to a predetermined charged capacity at each of the searched charging facilities; and

when a difference between the estimated value of the charging time at the first charging facility and the estimated value of the charging time at the other charging facility is a predetermined value or less, presenting the other charging facility as a recommended charging facility to the user of the electric vehicle.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the estimated value of the charging time is calculated on a basis of maximum output power of the charging facility and a present state of charge of the electric vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the estimated value of the charging time is calculated on a basis of a battery temperature of the electric vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of charging facilities is searched, the first charging facility is specified from among the plurality of charging facilities, and the other charging facility in the predetermined positional relationship with the specified first charging facility is searched.

5. The method according to claim 4, comprising:

presenting the searched charging facilities to the user of the electric vehicle;

acquiring selection information that the user of the electric vehicle selects a presented charging facility; and

when the first charging facility is selected in the acquired selection information, specifying the first charging facility.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship in which a difference between estimated values of moving times when the electric vehicle moves from the current position to the searched charging facilities is a predetermined value or less.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship in which a distance between the first charging facility and the other charging facility is a predetermined value or less.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined positional relationship is a positional relationship in which a difference between a distance from the current position of the electric vehicle to the first charging facility and a distance from the current position of the electric vehicle to the other charging facility is a predetermined value or less.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first charging facility comprises a charging facility having larger output power than the other charging facility.

10. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

calculating a distance from the current position of the electric vehicle to each of the searched charging facilities; and

wherein the estimated value of the remaining charged capacity of the electric vehicle if traveling to each of the searched charging facilities is further calculated in accordance with the calculated distance from the current position of the electric vehicle to each of the searched charging facilities.

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising:

detecting a battery temperature of the electric vehicle; and

wherein the estimated value of the remaining charged capacity of the electric vehicle if traveling to each of the searched charging facilities is further calculated in accordance with the detected battery temperature.

12. An information presentation apparatus comprising:

a presentation device; and

a control device configured to control the presentation device to present a recommended charging facility to a user of an electric vehicle, the control device being further configured to;

search for charging facilities existing within a range of a predetermined distance from a current position of the electric vehicle;

obtain a current value of a remaining charged capacity of a battery of the electric vehicle that was detected by a sensor of the electric vehicle;

when a first charging facility and another charging facility having lower output power than that of the first charging facility are searched, calculate, based on the current value of the remaining charged capacity of the battery of the electric vehicle, an estimated value of the remaining charged capacity of the battery of the electric vehicle if traveling to each of the searched charging facilities, the other charging facility being in a predetermined positional relationship with the first charging facility;

calculate an estimated value of a charging time if charging a secondary battery of the electric vehicle from the estimated value of the remaining charged capacity to a predetermined charged capacity at each of the searched charging facilities; and

when a difference between the estimated value of the charging time at the first charging facility and the estimated value of the charging time at the other charging facility is a predetermined value or less, control the presentation device to present the other charging facility as a recommended charging facility to the user of the electric vehicle.