Information processing apparatus, motor-driven movable body, and discharge control method

• US 8,774,995 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2010
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Yoshihito
• Primary Examiner(s): TISSOT, ADAM D
• Application Number:
  US12/980,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20110202219A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 320/103, 320/304, 320/109, 439/34, 180/65.1, 180/65.21, 180/65.29, 307/10.1, 191/2, 191/11
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/12 by confirmation, e.g. of the input
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/14 by input of vehicle departure time
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/122 Provisions for temporary connection of DC sources of essentially the same voltage, e.g. jumpstart cables
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• 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 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a travelable information display unit that displays before a discharge, regarding motor-driven movable bodies of a discharge source and a discharge destination driven by using electric power of batteries, information about places to which the motor-driven movable body of the discharge source can move using electric power of the battery left after the discharge by assuming, when information about a discharge amount discharged from the battery of the motor-driven movable body of the discharge source toward the motor-driven movable body of the discharge destination that receives power supply is input, a case in which the discharge amount is discharged from the battery.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a display; and

circuitry configured to;

calculate a discharge amount, of at least one first battery in a motor-driven movable body of a discharge source driven by using electric power of the at least one first battery, that is discharged to at least one second battery in a motor-driven movable body of a discharge destination driven by using electric power of the at least one second battery, based on a distance from a current location to a first charging place and on a distance that the body of the discharge source can move per unit of electric power, so that electric power remaining in the at least one first battery will allow the body of the discharge source to reach at least the first charging place after discharge of the calculated discharge amount, and

provide to the display, before a discharge amount of the at least one first battery, information about at least one place to which the body of the discharge source can move after the discharge amount is discharged from the at least one first battery, using the calculated discharge amount.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information provided to the display includes at least one of a plurality of a travelable distance, a travelable time when the travelable distance is traveled at a predetermined speed, travelable areas, and reachable charging places.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reachable charging places are places where feeding facilities are installed or a destination.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information about the at least one place to which the body of the discharge source can move after the discharge amount is discharged from the at least first one battery is the first charging place reachable by the body of the discharge source after the discharge, a second charging place reachable by the body of the discharge destination, or a set of the first charging place and the second charging place.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the discharge amount so that the electric power remaining in the at least one first battery allows the body of the discharge source to reach at least the first charging place and also allows the body of the discharge source to reach at least a nearest charging place.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

provide to the display areas, in a distinguishable form on a map, to which the body of the discharge source can move, based on the calculated discharge amount, and

provide to the display areas, in a distinguishable form on a map, to which the body of the discharge destination can move, based on the calculated discharge amount.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

provide to the display charging places, in a distinguishable form on a map, contained in the areas to which the body of the discharge source can move, based on the calculated discharge amount, and

provide to the display charging places, in a distinguishable form on a map, contained in the areas to which the body of the discharge destination can move, based on the calculated discharge amount.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

receive input information about the discharge amount, and

restrict the input information so that a third charging place not reachable by the body of the discharge source before the discharge, or a fourth charging place not reachable by the body of the discharge destination before the discharge, is not selected.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

calculate the discharge amount when the second charging place is input as the information about the discharge amount, based on the distance from the current location to the second charging place and on the distance that the body of the discharge destination can move per unit electric power, so that the body of the discharge destination can reach at least the second charging place.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

provide to the display, in a distinguishable form on a map, a range of the discharge amount so that at least one charging place is contained in areas to which the body of the discharge source can move after the discharge, and

provide to the display, in a distinguishable form on a map, a range of the discharge amount so that the at least one charging place is contained in areas to which the body of the discharge destination can move after the discharge.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

provide to the display the range of the discharge amount so that the body of the discharge source can reach a nearest charging place after the discharge and the body of the discharge destination can reach at least the nearest charging place after the discharge, or the range of the discharge amount so that the body of the discharge source can reach at least the nearest charging place after the discharge and the body of the discharge destination can reach the nearest charging place after the discharge.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

verify an identify of a user who has permission of an operation related to discharging,

wherein the identity verification is by one of, or a combination of, a plurality of password authentication, fingerprint authentication, vein authentication, and iris authentication.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

specify which motor-driven movable body of two connected motor-driven movable bodies is the charge source or the charge destination.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

compare electric energy left in the batteries of the two motor-driven movable bodies and specify the motor-driven movable body with more electric energy as the motor-driven movable body of the charge source and the motor-driven movable body with less electric energy as the motor-driven movable body of the charge destination.

15. A motor-driven movable body of a discharge source, comprising:

a display;

at least one first battery to store electric power for driving; and

circuitry configured to;

calculate a discharge amount, of the at least one first battery that is discharged to at least one second battery in a motor-driven movable body of a discharge destination driven by using electric power of the at least one second battery, based on a distance from a current location to a first charging place and on a distance that the motor-driven movable body of the discharge source can move per unit of electric power, so that electric power remaining in the at least one first battery will allow the motor-driven movable body of the discharge source to reach at least the first charging place after discharge of the calculated discharge amount toward the motor-driven movable body of the discharge destination, and

provide to the display, before a discharge amount of the at least one first battery, information about at least one place to which the motor-driven movable body of the discharge source can move after discharge of the discharge amount from the at least one first battery, using the calculated discharge amount.

16. A motor-driven movable body of a discharge destination, comprising:

a display;

at least one first battery to store electric power for driving; and

circuitry configured to;

calculate a discharge amount, of the at least one first battery after electric energy is supplied from at least one second battery in a motor-driven movable body of a discharge source driven by using electric power of the at least one second battery to the at least one first battery, based on a distance from a current location to a first charging place and on a distance that the motor-driven movable body of the discharge destination can move per unit of electric power, so that electric power remaining in the at least one first battery will allow the motor-driven movable body of the discharge destination to reach at least the first charging place after discharge of the calculated discharge amount, and

provide to the display, before a discharge amount of the at least one first battery after electric energy is supplied from the at least one second battery, information about at least one place to which the motor-driven movable body of the discharge destination can move after discharge of the discharge amount from the at least one first battery, using the calculated discharge amount.

17. A discharge control method, comprising:

inputting information, using circuitry, about electric energy discharged from a battery toward a second motor-driven movable body connected to a first motor-driven movable body via a power line by an input of an information processing apparatus connected to the first motor-driven movable body having the battery; and

displaying information, using circuitry, about places to which the first motor-driven movable body can move by using electric power of the battery left after a discharge, on a display of the information processing apparatus based on the input information.

18. A discharge control method, comprising the steps of:

inputting information, using circuitry, about electric energy supplied to a second battery from a first motor-driven movable body connected to a second motor-driven movable body via a power line by an input of an information processing apparatus connected to the second motor-driven movable body having the second battery; and

displaying information, using circuitry, about places to which the first motor-driven movable body can move by using electric power left in a first battery held by the first motor-driven movable body after the electric power is supplied to the second motor-driven movable body, on a display of the information processing apparatus connected to the first motor-driven movable body based on the input information.

19. The discharge control method according to claim 18,

wherein information about places to which the first motor-driven movable body can move is further displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus connected to the second motor-driven movable body in the display step.