Planning apparatus

• US 8,290,700 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2009
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Yamada, Kazunao, Mizuno, Yusuke, Sakai, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q
• Application Number:
  US12/653,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20100152939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 701/410, 701/411, 701/418, 701/421, 701/425, 701/428, 701/22, 701/33.4, 180/65.29
• US Class Current: 701/410
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/46 Series type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• 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 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/06 Direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• 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: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A planning apparatus for use in a hybrid vehicle specifies a plan section for the purpose of creating a travel plan, and stores the plan section in a durable storage medium. The medium-stored plan section is then presented for an occupant of the vehicle, for the purpose of confirmation. The stored plan section may be modified according to an intention of the occupant, thereby enabling the occupant'"'"'s intention to be reflected to the plan section. Then, the plan section reflecting the occupant'"'"'s intention is used to create a travel plan of the hybrid vehicle.

Claims

1. A planning apparatus for creating a travel plan of a hybrid vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine and a motor as a driving power source and performs control on how to use the internal combustion engine and the motor according to the travel plan, the apparatus comprising:

a plan section storage for specifying and storing each of a plurality of plan sections in the travel plan in a storage medium;

a confirmation unit for presenting the plurality of plan sections in the travel plan stored in the storage medium on a display unit and for confirming whether a part of the plan sections less than all of the plan sections presented matches an expected travel route specified by an occupant;

a travel route identification unit for identifying the plurality of plan sections in the travel plan as the expected travel route specified by the occupant, when the occupant confirms via the confirmation unit that the part of the plan sections less than all of the plan sections presented matches with the expected travel route; and

a travel plan creator for creating the travel plan by employing the expected travel route specified by the occupant as the plurality of plan sections of the travel plan.

2. The planning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a modification unit for generating a modified plan section by modifying at least one of the plan sections presented according to the operation of the occupant when any portion of the plan sections presented does not match with the expected travel route confirmed by the confirmation unit, and

the modified plan section according to the operation of the occupant is set as the expected travel route chosen by the occupant.

3. The planning apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the plan section storage includes:

a plan section indicator for having the occupant specify the plan section from a map; and

a first inquiry unit for inquiring whether or not to set the plan section specified by the plan section indicator as the plan section of the travel plan, wherein

the plan section storage stores the specified plan section specified as the plan section of the travel plan, when the occupant confirms, via the first inquiry unit the plan section specified as the plan section of the travel plan.

4. The planning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a route search unit for searching a guidance route from a departure place to a destination according to the operation of the occupant; and

a second inquiry unit for inquiring of the occupant about whether or not to specify a searched guidance route searched by the route search unit as the plan section of the travel plan, wherein

the plan section storage stores the searched guidance route as the plan section of the travel plan when the searched guidance route is confirmed as the plan section of the travel plan by the second inquiry unit.

5. The planning apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:

a modification inquiry unit for inquiring of the occupant about a modification confirmation of the searched guidance route searched by the route search unit; and

a route modification unit for modifying the searched guidance route when the modification is confirmed by the modification inquiry unit, wherein

the plan section storage stores the modified guidance route modified by the route modification unit as the plan section of the travel plan.

6. The planning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a third inquiry unit for collecting a travel locus during travels of the vehicle and for inquiring of the occupant about whether or not to specify a collected travel locus as the plan section of the travel plan, wherein

when the third inquiry unit confirms use of the collected travel locus as the plan section of the travel plan, the plan section storage stores the collected travel locus as the plan section of the travel plan.

7. The planning apparatus of claim 6 further comprising:

a locus confirmation unit for confirming modification of the travel locus stored in the storage medium; and

a locus modification unit for modifying the collected travel locus according to the operation of the occupant when modification of the travel locus is confirmed by the locus confirmation unit, wherein

the plan section storage stores the travel locus modified by the locus modification unit as the plan section of the travel plan.

8. The planning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an exit determination unit for determining whether the vehicle has exited from the plan section to an outside of the plan section; and

an exit notification unit for notifying the occupant of the exit of the vehicle from the plan section when the exit is determined by the exit determination unit.

9. The planning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an entrance determination unit for determining whether the vehicle has entered into the plan section from an outside of the plan section; and

an entrance notification unit for notifying the occupant of the entrance of the vehicle into the plan section from the outside of the plan section when the entrance is determined by the entrance determination unit.

10. A planning apparatus for creating a travel plan of a hybrid vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine and a motor as a driving power source and performs control on hold to use the internal combustion and the motor according to the travel plan when the hybrid vehicle travels over a selected travel route, the apparatus comprising:

a plan section storage for specifying and storing a plurality of plan sections of a recommended travel route in a storage medium;

a confirmation unit for presenting the plurality of plan sections of the recommended travel route stored in the storage medium on a display unit and confirming whether the recommended travel route matches an expected travel route of an occupant;

a travel route identification unit for identifying the recommended travel route as the selected travel route when the occupant confirms via the confirmation unit that the recommended travel route matches the expected travel route; and

a travel plan creator for creating the travel plan using the selected travel route after the occupant confirms that the recommended travel route matches the expected travel route.

11. The planning apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a modification unit for generating a modified travel route different than the recommended travel route by modifying at least one of the plurality of plan sections of the recommended travel route when the at least one of the plurality of plan sections of the recommended travel route does not match the expected travel route;

wherein

the travel route identification unit identifies the modified travel route as the selected route when the occupant modifies the at least one of the plurality of plan sections of the recommended travel route; and

the travel plan creator creates the travel plan using the selected travel route after the occupant modifies the at least one of the plurality of plan sections of the recommended travel route.

12. A planning apparatus for creating a travel plan of a hybrid vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine and a motor as a driving power source and performs control on how to use the internal combustion engine and the motor according to the travel plan, the apparatus comprising:

a plan section storage for specifying and storing each of a plurality of plan sections in the travel plan in a storage medium;

a confirmation unit for presenting the plurality of plan sections in the travel plan stored in the storage medium on a display unit and for confirming individually section by section whether at least a part of the plan sections presented matches an expected travel route specified by an occupant;

a travel route identification unit for identifying the plurality of plan sections in the travel plan as the expected travel route specified by the occupant, when the occupant confirms via the confirmation unit that at least the part of the plan sections presented matches with the expected travel route; and

a travel plan creator for creating the travel plan by employing the expected travel route specified by the occupant as the plurality of plan sections of the travel plan.