Charge Reminder Notification to Increase Electric Only Efficiency
First Claim
1. A method for reminding an electric vehicle user to charge a battery of the electric vehicle, the electric vehicle having a telematics unit associated therewith and the vehicle user being associated with a mobile communications device remote from the vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining a location of the vehicle at the telematics unit;
comparing the location of the vehicle to a home location associated with the vehicle user, the home location being a physical location where the user may charge the vehicle battery;
retrieving a vehicle battery charge state and expected electric only range and determining at the telematics unit whether the expected electric only range is less than required for an expected driving trip if the location of the vehicle is within a predetermined threshold of the home location associated with the vehicle user; and
determining at the telematics unit, if the expected range is less than the next expected trip, based on a current charge profile and an expected commencement time of the next trip, whether the vehicle battery will reach full charge if the charge is begun within a predetermined time period, and if it is determined that the vehicle will reach full charge if the charge is started within the predetermined time, determining if the vehicle is plugged in for charging and sending the vehicle user a reminder from the telematics unit to the mobile communications device to plug the vehicle in if the vehicle is not plugged in.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The described method and system provide a reminder to an electric vehicle user to charge a battery of the electric vehicle to optimize electric-only driving opportunities. The electric vehicle includes a telematics unit, and the vehicle user is associated with a mobile communications device remote from the vehicle. The described technique includes determining a location of the vehicle, comparing the location to a home location of the vehicle user, and retrieving vehicle battery charge state and expected electric only range. If certain conditions are met, the user is prompted via the remote device to plug in the vehicle for charging and/or to alter the vehicle charge profile to achieve full charge in the time remaining.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for reminding an electric vehicle user to charge a battery of the electric vehicle, the electric vehicle having a telematics unit associated therewith and the vehicle user being associated with a mobile communications device remote from the vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a location of the vehicle at the telematics unit; comparing the location of the vehicle to a home location associated with the vehicle user, the home location being a physical location where the user may charge the vehicle battery; retrieving a vehicle battery charge state and expected electric only range and determining at the telematics unit whether the expected electric only range is less than required for an expected driving trip if the location of the vehicle is within a predetermined threshold of the home location associated with the vehicle user; and determining at the telematics unit, if the expected range is less than the next expected trip, based on a current charge profile and an expected commencement time of the next trip, whether the vehicle battery will reach full charge if the charge is begun within a predetermined time period, and if it is determined that the vehicle will reach full charge if the charge is started within the predetermined time, determining if the vehicle is plugged in for charging and sending the vehicle user a reminder from the telematics unit to the mobile communications device to plug the vehicle in if the vehicle is not plugged in. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A telematics unit associated with an electric vehicle having a battery for propulsion, and wherein a user having a mobile communications device remote from the vehicle is also associated with the vehicle, the telematics unit including a processor and a computer-readable medium, with computer-executable instructions stored on the computer-readable medium, the computer-executable instructions comprising:
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instructions for determining a location of the vehicle; instructions for comparing the location of the vehicle to a home location associated with the vehicle user, the home location being a physical location where the user may charge the vehicle battery; instructions for retrieving a vehicle battery charge state and expected electric only range and determining whether the expected electric only range is less than required for an expected driving trip if the location of the vehicle is within a predetermined threshold of the home location associated with the vehicle user; and instructions for determining, if the expected range is less than the next expected trip, based on a current charge profile and an expected commencement time of the next trip, whether the vehicle battery will reach full charge if the charge is begun within a predetermined time period, and if it is determined that the vehicle will reach full charge if the charge is started within the predetermined time period, determining if the vehicle is plugged in for charging and sending the vehicle user a reminder at the mobile communications device to plug the vehicle in if the vehicle is not plugged in. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for reminding a user of an electric vehicle to charge a battery of the vehicle, the method comprising;
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receiving at a telematics unit associated with the vehicle user input setting notification information, wherein the notification information includes a number of a remote device associated with the user and reminder timing information; tracking vehicle usage and predicting that a charge of the vehicle battery is needed based on the vehicle usage; and generating a user reminder to charge the vehicle, and transmitting the user reminder to the user at the remote device associated with the user in keeping with the reminder timing information.
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Specification