VEHICLE OPERATION SUPPORT SYSTEM AND VEHICLE OPERATION SUPPORT METHOD

• US 20120136574A1
• Filed: 05/26/2010
• Published: 05/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Yuichi, Fukuda, Yuzuru, Kashiyama, Masamori
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• 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: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/11 using model predictive control [MPC] strategies, i.e. control methods based on models predicting performance utilising navigation and traffic information in the control strategy B60W20/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09685 : where the complete route is computed only once and not updated
• 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 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• 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 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A vehicle drive support system, and its method, includes a storage apparatus for storing charging station information to manage attribute information containing position information of charging stations, a communication apparatus for receiving a route search request containing an origin, a destination, and a residual quantity in a battery from a mobile and transmitting a response to the route search request, and a route search processing unit for searching a route passing through the charging stations while maintaining a state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 between the origin and the destination by using position information of the charging stations contained in the charging station information in response to the route search request received by the communication apparatus, and giving the searched route as the response to the route search request.

Claims

1. A vehicle drive support system comprising:

a storage apparatus for storing charging station information to manage attribute information containing position information of charging stations;

a communication apparatus for receiving a route search request containing an origin, a destination, and a residual quantity in a battery from a mobile and transmitting a response to the route search request; and

a route search processing unit for searching a route passing through the charging stations while maintaining a state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 between the origin and the destination by using position information of the charging stations contained in the charging station information in response to the route search request received by the communication apparatus, and giving the searched route as the response to the route search request.

2. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 1, further comprising a charging station information processing unit for calculating a cost between charging stations on the basis of the position information of the charging stations and storing the cost in the storage apparatus as inter-charging-station cost information,

wherein the route search processing unit searches a minimum cost route as the route passing through the charging stations, by using the inter-charging-station cost information stored in the storage apparatus.

3. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 2, wherein

the charging station information contains real time information such as business hours and full/vacancy situations of the charging stations as the attribute information, and

the charging station information processing unit calculates the cost between the charging stations depending upon the attribute information.

4. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 2, wherein the cost is at least one of a traveling distance, a trip time, and a power consumption quantity of the mobile.

5. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 1, further comprising a power consumption information processing unit for estimating a power consumption quantity of a road section corresponding to position information of the mobile on the basis of probe information containing the position information of the mobile and the residual quantity in the battery transmitted by the mobile and storing the estimated power consumption quantity in the storage apparatus as a power consumption map,

wherein the route search processing unit calculates a power consumption quantity of the mobile by using the power consumption map stored in the storage apparatus, and evaluates whether the state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 can be maintained on the basis of the calculated power consumption quantity.

6. A vehicle drive support method in a vehicle drive support system including a storage apparatus for storing charging station information to manage attribute information containing position information of charging stations, and a communication apparatus for receiving a route search request containing an origin, a destination, and a residual quantity in a battery from a mobile and transmitting a response to the route search request,

the vehicle drive support system searching a route passing through the charging stations while maintaining a state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 between the origin and the destination by using position information of the charging stations contained in the charging station information in response to the route search request received by the communication apparatus, and giving the searched route as the response to the route search request.

7. The vehicle drive support method according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle drive support system further calculates a cost between charging stations on the basis of the position information of the charging stations and stores the cost in the storage apparatus as inter-charging-station cost information, and

the vehicle drive support system searches a minimum cost route as the route passing through the charging stations by using the inter-charging-station cost information stored in the storage apparatus.

8. The vehicle drive support method according to claim 7, wherein

the charging station information contains real time information such as business hours and full/vacancy situations of the charging stations as the attribute information, and the vehicle drive support system calculates the cost between the charging stations depending upon the attribute information.

9. The vehicle drive support method according to claim 7, wherein the cost is at least one of a traveling distance, a trip time, and a power consumption quantity of the mobile.

10. The vehicle drive support method according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle drive support system further estimates a power consumption quantity of a road section corresponding to position information of the mobile on the basis of probe information containing the position information of the mobile and the residual quantity in the battery transmitted by the mobile, stores the estimated power consumption quantity in the storage apparatus as a power consumption map, calculates a power consumption quantity of the mobile by using the power consumption map stored in the storage apparatus, and evaluates whether the state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 can be maintained on the basis of the calculated power consumption quantity.

11. A vehicle drive support system which conducts route search from an origin to a destination by taking positions of charging stations for a battery mounted on a vehicle into consideration, the vehicle drive support system comprising:

a charging station information processing unit; and

a route search processing unit,

the charging station information processing unit managing charging station information for managing attribute information containing position information of charging stations, and

when forming a route from the origin to the destination of at least one section having the origin or a waypoint as a start point and a waypoint or the destination as an end point,

in route search from a start point of a section to an end point of the section,

in order to cause a residual quantity in the battery at time when the vehicle has reached the end point to be at least a quantity with which the vehicle can travel to a charging station, the route search processing unit executing selection of the charging station and searching of a route from the start point of the section to the selected charging station via the end point by referring to the charging station information.

12. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 11, further comprising a charging station information processing unit for calculating a cost between charging stations on the basis of the position information of the charging stations and managing the cost as inter-charging-station cost information,

wherein the route search processing unit searches a minimum cost route as a route passing through the charging stations, by using the inter-charging-station cost information stored in a storage apparatus.

13. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 12, wherein

the charging station information contains business hour information and/or full/vacancy situation information as the attribute information, and

at time of the route search, the route search processing unit does not take the charging stations having attribute information which satisfies a predetermined condition as an object of the selection of the charging station.

14. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 12, wherein

the cost is at least one of a traveling distance, a trip time, and a power consumption quantity of the vehicle, and

if the trip time is included as the cost, then the route search processing unit adds a time required to reach the charging station and a charging time at the charging station as the cost.

15. The vehicle drive support system according to claim 11, further comprising a power consumption information processing unit for estimating a power consumption quantity of a road section corresponding to position information of the vehicle on the basis of probe information containing the position information of the vehicle and the residual quantity in the battery transmitted by the vehicle and storing the estimated power consumption quantity in a storage apparatus as a power consumption map,

wherein the route search processing unit calculates a power consumption quantity of the vehicle by using the power consumption map stored in the storage apparatus, and evaluates whether a state in which the residual quantity in the battery is greater than 0 can be maintained on the basis of the calculated power consumption quantity.