Information providing system, information center, in-vehicle device and information providing method

• US 8,564,454 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2010
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Oizumi, Ken, Kuroda, Koichi, Kato, Kazuhito, Maruyama, Yasunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tweel, Jr., John A
• Application Number:
  US13/381,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20120098676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 340/901, 320/109, 701/22, 701/118, 701/300, 701/423
• US Class Current: 340/901
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/22 Yaw angle
• 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 2250/12 by confirmation, e.g. of the input
• 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 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 : to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

An information providing system (1) for providing a passenger with information includes an in-vehicle device (30) installed in an electric vehicle (EVn), wherein the passenger is provided with the information via the in-vehicle device (30). The in-vehicle device (30) includes a notifier (38) for notifying the passenger of a congested state of a charge station candidate (CS1). The notifying is implemented by estimating (42) of the congested state of the charge station candidate (CS1) at a time point when an own electric vehicle (EV1) reaches the charge station candidate (CS1) which is a charge station (CS) reachable with a state-of-charge (SOC) of the own electric vehicle (EV1), and the estimating (42) is implemented based on: position information and the state-of-charge (SOC) of the own electric vehicle (EV1), and position information and a state-of-charge (SOC) of another electric vehicle (EV2-EVn) which is present around the charge station candidate (CS1).

Claims

1. An information providing system for providing a passenger with information, the information providing system comprising:

an in-vehicle device installed in an electric vehicle, wherein the passenger is provided with the information via the in-vehicle device, the in-vehicle device including;

a notifier for notifying the passenger of a congested state of a charge station candidate,

wherein

the notifying is implemented by estimating of the congested state of the charge station candidate at a time point when an own electric vehicle reaches the charge station candidate which is a charge station reachable with a state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle, and

the estimating is implemented based on;

a piece of position information and the state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle, and

a piece of position information and a state-of-charge of another electric vehicle which is present around the charge station candidate.

2. The information providing system according to claim 1 wherein

the congested state of the charge station candidate is estimated by the following operations:

based on the position information and state-of-charge of each of the other electric vehicles which are present around the charge station candidate, estimating the following;

a stop possibility that the other electric vehicle stops at the charge station candidate,

a possible charge of the other electric vehicle to implement a charging at the charge station candidate, and

a charge time zone for the charging by the other electric vehicle; and

totalizing an estimation result obtained from each of the other electric vehicles.

3. The information providing system according to claim 2 wherein

an estimation value of the stop possibility of the other electric vehicle is calculated based on the number of charge stations reachable by the other electric vehicle with the state-of-charge of the other electric vehicle,

an estimation value of the possible charge of the other electric vehicle is calculated based on the state-of-charge of the other electric vehicle, and

the charge time zone is calculated based on the following:

as an estimated start time, defining a time for the other electric vehicle to reach the charge station candidate, and

as an estimated end time, defining a time at which the other electric vehicle ends the charging after starting the charging with the state-of-charge thereof obtained when the other electric vehicle reaches the charge station candidate.

4. The information providing system according to claim 2 wherein

the estimation value of the possible charge is corrected according to the state-of-charge obtained when the other electric vehicle implemented the charging in the past.

5. The information providing system according to claim 3 wherein

the estimation value of the possible charge of the other electric vehicle is corrected to be smaller in a case that a charge venue which the other electric vehicle daily uses is present around the charge station candidate.

6. The information providing system according to claim 3 wherein

the estimation value of the possible charge of the other electric vehicle is corrected to be minimum in a case that the charge station other than the charge station candidate is set as the charge station at which the other electric vehicle stops.

7. The information providing system according to claim 3 wherein

the estimation value of the possible charge of the other electric vehicle is corrected to be larger in a case that the state-of-charge of the other electric vehicle is rapidly decreased.

8. An information center so configured to interactively communicate with an electric vehicle as to provide the electric vehicle with information, the information center comprising:

a receiver for receiving a piece of position information and a state-of-charge of the electric vehicle which are transmitted from each of the electric vehicles capable of communicating with the receiver;

an estimator for estimating a congested state of a charge station candidate at a time point when an object electric vehicle reaches the charge station candidate which is a charge station defined as a process object and reachable by the object electric vehicle as an object of providing the information, wherein the estimating is implemented based on a piece of position information and a state-of-charge of another electric vehicle which is present around the charge station candidate; and

a transmitter for transmitting, to the object electric vehicle, congestion information showing the thus estimated congested state of the charge station target.

9. An in-vehicle device of an electric vehicle capable of interactively communicating with an information center for providing information, the in-vehicle device comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting, to the information center, a piece of position information of an own electric vehicle and a state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle;

a receiver for receiving, from the information center, congestion information showing a congested state of a charge station candidate at a time point when the own electric vehicle reaches the charge station candidate which is a charge station reachable with the state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle, wherein the congested state is estimated based on a piece of position information and a state-of-charge of another electric vehicle which is present around the charge station candidate; and

a notifier for notifying a passenger of the congested state of the charge station candidate based on the congestion information received by the receiver.

10. A method of providing information to a passenger of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:

estimating a congested state of a charge station candidate at a time point when an own electric vehicle reaches the charge station candidate which is a charge station reachable with a state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle, wherein the estimating is implemented based on;

a piece of position information and the state-of-charge of the own electric vehicle, and

a piece of position information and a state-of-charge of another electric vehicle which is present around the charge station candidate; and

notifying, thereby, the passenger of a result of the estimating.