CONTROL METHOD, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING A PROGRAM, INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, AND RESERVATION SYSTEM

• US 20150286965A1
• Filed: 06/17/2015
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: AMANO, HIROSHI, OHMORI, MOTOJI, NAKANO, TOSHIHISA
• Application Number:
  US14/742,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286965A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• 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

Abstract

A reservation system reserves a charger to charge a power source of an electric automobile. A control method of an information processing device enables a charger to be reserved while taking into consideration arriving at a destination earlier. The information processing device searches for a charger within a predetermined range from a current location if the battery level has fallen below a first threshold value, and if a destination has been set and a plurality of searched chargers exist, calculates a predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on a predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger and the availability state and charging capability of each charger. With the calculated predicted charging end point-in-time for each charger as the departure point-in-time from each charger, a charger of which the predicted destination arrival point-in-time is the earliest of the calculated predicted destination arrival point-in-times for each charger, is reserved.

Claims

1. A control method to control an information processing device, connected to an electric automobile, and connected to a reservation system that reserves a charger to charge a power source of the electric automobile, and storing an application to guide a travel route to the electric automobile based on map information, the method causing a computer of the information processing device to:

notify a driver of the electric automobile, in a case where determination has been made based on information indicating a battery level of the power source acquired from a controller managing the power source of the electric automobile that the battery level has fallen below a first threshold value, to that effect;

detect whether or not an instruction has been given in response to the notification, to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source;

detect, in a case where the instruction has been given, the current location of the information processing device using a location information detecting system;

cause the reservation system to search for a charger existing within a predetermined range from the detected current location based on the map information;

cause the reservation system to receive information indicating an availability state and charging capability of the searched charger;

cause the reservation system to calculate a predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on a predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger, the availability state, and charging capability of each charger, in a case where a destination has been set in the application and in a case where a plurality of the searched chargers exist;

cause the reservation system to calculate a predicted destination arrival point-in-time of arrival at the destination from each charger, with the calculated predicted charging end point-in-time for each charger as the departure point-in-time from each charger;

cause the reservation system to effect control to select a charger of which the predicted destination arrival point-in-time is the earliest of the calculated predicted destination arrival point-in-times for each charger;

cause the reservation system to perform a processing to reserve the selected charger, based on the selection of the charger; and

determine, in a case where the instruction has not been given to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source, whether or not the battery level has fallen below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value.

2. The control method according to claim 1 further causing the computer to

perform a processing to automatically set the selected charger in the application as a route point.

3. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger is calculated,

wherein a wait time at each charger is calculated, based on the predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger and the availability state of each charger,

and wherein a point-in-time at which the battery level of the power source reaches a predetermined amount or more is calculated as the predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on the wait time at each charger and the charging capability of each charger.

4. The control method according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined amount is an amount equivalent to 100% of the capacity of the power source.

5. The control method according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined amount is an amount equivalent to 80% of the capacity of the power source.

6. The control method according to claim 1 further causing the computer to

notify, in a case where determination has been made that the battery level has fallen below the second threshold value, to the driver of the electric automobile to that effect via the display of the information processing device.

7. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the predetermined range is a range of distance which the electric automobile can travel on the battery level of the power source.

8. The control method according to claim 1 further causing the computer to

display, in a case where the processing to reserve the charger has been caused to be performed, a display to the effect that the reservation has been completed, and a usage start point-in-time of the charger that has been reserved, on the display of the information processing device.

9. The control method according to claim 8 further causing the computer to

display, in a case where the processing to reserve the charger has been caused to be performed, a usage end point-in-time of the charger that has been reserved on the display of the information processing device.

10. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the charging capability of each charger is a charging amount per unit time of each of the chargers.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program, in an information processing device, connected to an electric automobile, and connected to a reservation system that reserves a charger to charge a power source of the electric automobile, to guide a travel route to the electric automobile based on map information, the program causing a computer of the information processing device to:

notify a driver of the electric automobile, in a case where determination has been made based on information indicating a battery level of the power source acquired from a controller managing the power source of the electric automobile that the battery level has fallen below a first threshold value, to that effect;

detect whether or not an instruction has been given in response to the notification, to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source;

detect, in a case where the instruction has been given, the current location of the information processing device using a location information detecting system;

cause the reservation system to search for a charger existing within a predetermined range from the detected current location based on the map information;

cause the reservation system to receive information indicating an availability state and charging capability of the searched charger;

cause the reservation system to calculate a predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on a predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger, the availability state, and charging capability of each charger, in a case where a destination has been set in the program and in a case where a plurality of the searched chargers exist;

cause the reservation system to calculate a predicted destination arrival point-in-time of arrival at the destination from each charger, with the calculated predicted charging end point-in-time for each charger as the departure point-in-time from each charger;

cause the reservation system to effect control to select a charger of which the predicted destination arrival point-in-time is the earliest of the calculated predicted destination arrival point-in-times for each charger;

cause the reservation system to perform a processing to reserve the selected charger, based on the selection of the charger; and

determine, in a case where the instruction has not been given to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source, whether or not the battery level has fallen below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value.

12. An information processing device comprising:

a connector that is connected to an electric automobile;

a communication unit that is connected to a reservation system that reserves a charger to charge a power source of the electric automobile;

a memory that stores map information;

a processing unit that guides a travel route of the electric automobile based on the map information; and

a display that guides a travel route of the electric automobile,

wherein the processing unit;

notifies a user, in a case where determination has been made based on information indicating a battery level of the power source acquired from a controller managing the power source of the electric automobile that the battery level has fallen below a first threshold value, to that effect;

detects whether or not an instruction has been given in response to the notification, to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source;

detects, in a case where the instruction has been given, the current location of the information processing device using a location information detecting system;

causes the reservation system to search for a charger existing within a predetermined range from the detected current location based on the map information;

causes the reservation system to receive information indicating an availability state and charging capability of the searched charger;

causes the reservation system to calculate a predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on a predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger, the availability state, and charging capability of each charger, in a case where a destination has been set in the application and in a case where a plurality of the searched chargers exist;

causes the reservation system to calculate a predicted destination arrival point-in-time of arrival at the destination from each charger, with the calculated predicted charging end point-in-time for each charger as the departure point-in-time from each charger;

causes the reservation system to effect control to select a charger of which the predicted destination arrival point-in-time is the earliest of the calculated predicted destination arrival point-in-times for each charger;

causes the reservation system to perform a processing to reserve the selected charger, based on the selection of the charger; and

determines, in a case where the instruction has not been given to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source, whether or not the battery level has fallen below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value.

13. A reservation system that reserves a charger to charge a power source of an electric automobile,

wherein an information processing device in which is installed an application that guides a travel route of the electric automobile based on map information:

notifies a user, in a case where determination has been made based on information indicating a battery level of the power source acquired from a controller managing the power source of the electric automobile that the battery level has fallen below a first threshold value, to that effect;

detects whether or not an instruction has been given in response to the notification, to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source;

detects, in a case where the instruction has been given, the current location of the information processing device using a location information detecting system;

searches for a charger existing within a predetermined range from the detected current location based on the map information; and

causes the reservation system to reference for information indicating an availability state and charging capability of the searched chargers,

wherein the reservation system;

manages information indicating the availability state and charging capability of the chargers;

transmits, to the information processing device, the information indicating the availability state and charging capability of the searched chargers, in accordance with the referencing;

calculates a predicted charging end point-in-time at each charger, based on a predicted arrival point-in-time to each charger, the availability state, and charging capability of each charger, in a case where a destination has been set in the application and in a case where a plurality of the searched chargers exist;

calculates a predicted destination arrival point-in-time of arrival at the destination from each charger, with the calculated predicted charging end point-in-time for each charger as the departure point-in-time from each charger; and

effects control to select a charger of which the predicted destination arrival point-in-time is the earliest of the calculated predicted destination arrival point-in-times for each charger,

and wherein the information processing device;

causes the reservation system to perform a processing to reserve the selected charger, based on the selection of the charger; and

determines, in a case where the instruction has not been given to the effect that charging reservation is to be made for the power source, whether or not the battery level has fallen below a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value.