Method for assisting a person in planning a journey with an electric vehicle, and motor vehicle having a navigation device

• US 8,880,238 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2012
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Reich, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US14/234,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20140156108A1
• Time in Patent Office: 983 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence

Abstract

A person is to be assisted in planning a journey with an electric vehicle. Information relating to an overall region with destinations within reach of the electric vehicle are outputted. For this purpose, a starting region is determined, from which a boundary can be reached with the electric vehicle from a current vehicle location and based on a current state of charge of the energy storage device without recharging. Locations of charging stations are then determined in the starting region. For each charging station, the boundary of a region is determined that can be reached indirectly from the respective charging station without further recharging, based on a state of charge that changed when the electric vehicle was recharged. The overall region is composed of the starting region and regions that can be reached indirectly.

Claims

1. A method for assisting a person with planning a journey with an electric vehicle, comprising:

acquiring a current vehicle location at which the electric vehicle is located;

acquiring a current state of charge of an energy storage device of the electric vehicle, which stores energy for a drive motor of the electric vehicle;

determining a starting region having a first boundary that is within reach of the electric vehicle from the current vehicle location and based on the current state of charge without recharging energy;

determining locations of charging stations for the electric vehicle in the starting region;

for each of the charging stations, determining an indirectly reachable region having a second boundary that is within reach from a respective charging station and based on a state of charge that was changed at the respective charging station in a predetermined manner, without additional recharging;

determining, in a recursive manner, for an additional charging station in the indirectly reachable region an additional indirectly reachable region, whose boundary is within reach from this additional charging station and based on a state of charge that was changed at the additional charging station in a predetermined manner, without additional recharging,

outputting information for an overall region formed by the starting region and the indirectly reachable regions, wherein for outputting the information a road map is displayed, on which the overall region is indicated,

marking zones in the overall region indicated on the road map, with markings of the zones indicating;

a) a minimum number of charging stations required for recharging energy in order to reach the respective zone, or

b) at least one of the charging stations or the additional charging station, via which a respective zone can be reached, wherein when a zone can be reached via a plurality of the charging stations, using the charging station

where energy needs to be recharged last to reach the respective zone, or

via which the shortest path leads from the current vehicle location to the respective zone, or

via which the respective zone can be reached in the least amount of time, or

via which the respective zone can be reached with lowest energy consumption.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the person receives a predefined maximum number of charging stations, via which a boundary of the overall region can be reached.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indirectly reachable region is determined such that at the charging station for which the indirectly reachable region is determined by

fully charging the energy storage device, or replacing the energy storage device located in the electric vehicle with a fully charged energy storage device, or

charging the energy storage device with energy for a predetermined time, or

charging the energy storage device with energy according to a predetermined total price.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for determining the boundary of the starting region or of the indirectly reachable region, determining a location where the state of charge of the energy storage device is expected to meet a predetermined criterion indicating that the state of charge has dropped to a predetermined value or that enough residual energy is still stored in the energy storage device upon reaching the location, so that a charging station closest to the location is within reach of the electric vehicle under its own power.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly measuring the current vehicle location and the current state of charge during travel of the electric vehicle,

newly determining the starting region and the indirectly reachable regions, and

updating the information as a function of the newly determined regions.

6. A motor vehicle, comprising:

a device for acquiring a vehicle location at which the motor vehicle is located,

a device for acquiring a state of charge of an energy storage device supplying energy to an electric drive motor of the motor vehicle, and

a navigation device which is configured to

determine a starting region having a first boundary that is within reach of the electric vehicle from the current vehicle location and based on the current state of charge without recharging energy;

determine locations of charging stations for the electric vehicle in the starting region;

for each of the charging stations, determine an indirectly reachable region having a second boundary that is within reach from a respective charging station and based on a state of charge that was changed at the respective charging station in a predetermined manner, without additional recharging;

determine, in a recursive manner, for an additional charging station in the indirectly reachable region an additional indirectly reachable region, whose boundary is within reach from this additional charging station and based on a state of charge that was changed at the additional charging station in a predetermined manner, without additional recharging,

output via an output device of the navigation device information about an overall region formed by the starting region and the indirectly reachable regions, wherein for outputting the information a road map is displayed, on which the overall region is indicated,

mark zones in the overall region indicated on the road map, with markings of the zones indicating;

a) a minimum number of charging stations required for recharging energy in order to reach the respective zone, or

b) at least one of the charging stations or the additional charging station, via which a respective zone can be reached, wherein when a zone can be reached via a plurality of the charging stations, using the charging station

where energy needs to be recharged last to reach the respective zone, or

via which the shortest path leads from the current vehicle location to the respective zone, or

via which the respective zone can be reached in the least amount of time, or

via which the respective zone can be reached with lowest energy consumption.