Charging Wait Time Calculation System and Method

• US 20190009683A1
• Filed: 11/28/2016
• Published: 01/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Saito, Haruyuki, Tsuda, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,647,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• 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 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Each time the charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, charging information is acquired which is information on a charged capacity by one charging or a time required for one charging, and identification information of the electric vehicle is acquired. Each charging time, the acquired charging information and the acquired identification information are stored in an information storage unit so that they are associated with each other. The identification information of an electric vehicle is acquired which is waiting for charging at a charging station as a calculation object for which a charging wait time is calculated. The charging information corresponding to the acquired identification information of the electric vehicle waiting for charging is extracted from the stored charging information. The charging wait time at the charging station as the calculation object is calculated on the basis of the extracted charging information.

Claims

1. A charging wait time calculation system comprising:

a charging information acquisition device configured to acquire charging information each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the charging information being information on a charged capacity or a time required for charging;

a first identification information acquisition device configured to, each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, acquire identification information of the electric vehicle;

an information storage in which the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device are stored so as to be associated with each other;

a second identification information acquisition device configured to acquire the identification information of an electric vehicle waiting for charging at a charging station as a calculation object for which a charging wait time is calculated;

an information extraction device configured to extract the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, the charging information corresponding to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device; and

a charging wait time calculator configured to calculate the charging wait time at the charging station as the calculation object on a basis of the charging information extracted by the information extraction device.

2. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein the charging wait time calculator calculates a sum of a remaining charging time for the electric vehicle being charged at the charging station as the calculation object and a charging time for the electric vehicle waiting for charging at the charging station as the calculation object.

3. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein the charging wait time calculator calculates the charging wait time on a basis of an average value, a median value, a mode value, or a latest value of the capacity or the time included in the charging information extracted by the information extraction device.

4. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein,

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the information storage stores the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device, information on a classification of a date on which the charging is executed, and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device so that these information items are associated with one another, and

the information extraction device extracts the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, wherein the charging information corresponds to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device and corresponds to the classification of a date on which the charging wait time is calculated.

5. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein,

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the information storage stores the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device, information on a temperature zone of external air when executing the charging, and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device so that these information items are associated with one another, and

the information extraction device extracts the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, wherein the charging information corresponds to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device and corresponds to the temperature zone of external air when calculating the charging wait time.

6. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein,

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the information storage stores the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device, information on an area in which the charging is executed, and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device so that these information items are associated with one another, and

the information extraction device extracts the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, wherein the charging information corresponds to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device and corresponds to the area of the charging station as the calculation object.

7. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein,

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the information storage stores the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device, information on an output of a charger, and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device so that these information items are associated with one another, and

the information extraction device extracts the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, wherein the charging information corresponds to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device and corresponds to the output of the charger waiting for charging.

8. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein,

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the information storage stores the charging information acquired by the charging information acquisition device, information on a rated capacity of a battery of the electric vehicle, and the identification information acquired by the first identification information acquisition device so that these information items are associated with one another, and

when the charging information corresponding to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device is not stored in the information storage, the information extraction device extracts the charging information of another electric vehicle from the stored charging information in the information storage, wherein the charging information of another electric vehicle corresponds to the rated capacity of the battery of the electric vehicle corresponding to the identification information acquired by the second identification information acquisition device.

9. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second identification information acquisition devices comprises:

a camera configured to image a license plate of an electric vehicle;

an identification information storage configured to store the identification information of the electric vehicle in association with a number of the license plate;

a number detector configured to detect the number of the license plate from imaging information of the camera; and

an identification information extraction device configured to extract the identification information from the stored charging information in the identification information storage, wherein the identification information corresponds to the number detected by the number detector.

10. The charging wait time calculation system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second identification information acquisition devices acquire the identification information of an electric vehicle from an ETC onboard device equipped in the electric vehicle.

11. A charging wait time calculation method comprising:

acquiring charging information each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, the charging information being information on a charged capacity or a time required for charging;

each time charging of an electric vehicle is executed at a charging station, acquiring identification information of the electric vehicle;

storing the acquired charging information and the acquired identification information in an information storage so that they are associated with each other;

acquiring the identification information of an electric vehicle waiting for charging at a charging station as a calculation object for which a charging wait time is calculated;

extracting the charging information from the stored charging information in the information storage, the charging information corresponding to the acquired identification information of the electric vehicle waiting for charging at the charging station as the calculation object; and

calculating the charging wait time at the charging station as the calculation object on a basis of the extracted charging information.