Charge guidance apparatus and onboard navigation system

• US 8,954,223 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Hoshihara, Yasunori, Tanaka, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sweeney, Brian P
• Application Number:
  US13/882,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20130218402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 701/32.3
• US Class Current: 701/32.3
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/62 Vehicle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/00 Driver interactions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/46 by self learning
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/50 by future state prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/62 in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• 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 10/70 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

Abstract

A charge guidance apparatus includes a history creation retaining unit 23 for creating history information about a charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of a battery 14 of a vehicle 1; a learning processing unit 24 for learning a usual charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle 1 from the charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of the battery 14 of the vehicle 1 with the frequency of charges executed being not less than a prescribed number of times, which are extracted from the history information; a decision processing unit 25 for deciding whether to give charge guidance or not based on whether the vehicle 1 is in the usual charging spot and charging period of time; and a charge guidance processing unit 26 for giving charge guidance in accordance with a decision result of the decision processing unit 25.

Claims

1. A charge guidance apparatus comprising:

one or more processors that perform the function of;

a history creation unit for creating history information about a charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of a driving battery of a vehicle;

a learning processing unit for extracting the charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of the driving battery of the vehicle with frequency of charges executed being not less than a prescribed number of times from the history information created by the history creation unit, and for learning a usual charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle from the charging spot, charge start time and charging duration extracted;

a decision processing unit for deciding whether to give charge guidance or not based on whether the vehicle is in the usual charging spot and charging period of time learned by the learning processing unit; and

a charge guidance processing unit for giving charge guidance in accordance with a decision result of the decision processing unit, the charge guidance being provided in one or both visual or vocal format.

2. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit gives the charge guidance again if the driving battery charge is not executed even though a prescribed time period has elapsed after giving the charge guidance.

3. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with a communication terminal a driver or passenger of the vehicle carries, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit gives, if no person is detected in the vehicle, the charge guidance by communication between the communication terminal and the communication unit.

4. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with an external device, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit, if no person is detected in the vehicle, gives the charge guidance by communication between the external device and the communication unit, and notifies the external device of a charging state of the driving battery acquired from the vehicle.

5. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the decision processing unit decides that the charge guidance can be given if the vehicle is parked at the usual charging spot learned by the learning processing unit.

6. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the decision processing unit decides that the charge guidance can be given if the vehicle is parked within a prescribed time period before beginning of the usual charging period of time learned by the learning processing unit.

7. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input unit for accepting an information input from an external, wherein

the learning processing unit uses a charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle received with the input unit as the usual charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle.

8. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a remaining battery life acquiring unit for acquiring residual power of the driving battery from the vehicle, wherein

the decision processing unit decides, when the residual power of the driving battery acquired by the remaining battery life acquiring unit is not greater than a prescribed threshold, whether to give charge guidance or not from whether the residual power is greater than power consumption by traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot.

9. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a detection unit for detecting a condition of the vehicle, wherein

the decision processing unit retains correspondence information indicating correspondence between the condition of the vehicle and an amount of power expected to be consumed by operation other than traveling of the vehicle in the condition of the vehicle, and corrects, when deciding whether to give the charge guidance or not, the prescribed threshold and the power consumption by the traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot by referring to the correspondence information in accordance with the condition of the vehicle detected by the detection unit.

10. The charge guidance apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with an external device, wherein

the decision processing unit retains correspondence information indicating correspondence between the condition of the vehicle and an amount of power expected to be consumed by operation other than traveling of the vehicle in the condition of the vehicle, and corrects, when deciding whether to give the charge guidance or not, the prescribed threshold and the power consumption by the traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot by referring to the correspondence information in accordance with the condition of the vehicle acquired from the external device by communication with the communication unit.

11. An onboard navigation system comprising:

a charge guidance apparatus comprised of one or more processors that perform the function of;

a history creation unit for creating history information about a charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of a driving battery of a vehicle;

a learning processing unit for extracting the charging spot, charge start time and charging duration of the driving battery of the vehicle with frequency of charges executed being not less than a prescribed number of times from the history information created by the history creation unit, and for learning a usual charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle from the charging spot, charge start time and charging duration extracted;

a decision processing unit for deciding whether to give charge guidance or not based on whether the vehicle is in the usual charging spot and charging period of time learned by the learning processing unit; and

a charge guidance processing unit for giving charge guidance in accordance with a decision result of the decision processing unit, the charge guidance being provided in one or both visual or vocal format.

12. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit gives the charge guidance again if the driving battery charge is not executed even though a prescribed time period has elapsed after giving the charge guidance.

13. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with a communication telminal a driver or passenger of the vehicle carries, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit gives, if no person is detected in the vehicle, the charge guidance by communication between the communication terminal and the communication unit.

14. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with an external device, wherein

the charge guidance processing unit, if no person is detected in the vehicle, gives the charge guidance by communication between the external device and the communication unit, and notifies the external device of a charging state of the driving battery acquired from the vehicle.

15. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, wherein

the decision processing unit decides that the charge guidance can be given if the vehicle is parked at the usual charging spot learned by the learning processing unit.

16. The onboard navigation system according to claim 15, wherein

the decision processing unit decides that the charge guidance can be given if the vehicle is parked within a prescribed time period before beginning of the usual charging period of time learned by the learning processing unit.

17. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, further comprising:

an input unit for accepting an information input from an external, wherein

the learning processing unit uses a charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle received with the input unit as the usual charging spot and charging period of time of the vehicle.

18. The onboard navigation system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a remaining battery life acquiring unit for acquiring residual power of the driving battery from the vehicle, wherein

the decision processing unit decides, when the residual power of the driving battery acquired by the remaining battery life acquiring unit is not greater than a prescribed threshold, whether to give charge guidance or not from whether the residual power is greater than power consumption by traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot.

19. The onboard navigation system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a detection unit for detecting a condition of the vehicle, wherein

the decision processing unit retains correspondence information indicating correspondence between the condition of the vehicle and an amount of power expected to be consumed by operation other than traveling of the vehicle in the condition of the vehicle, and corrects, when deciding whether to give the charge guidance or not, the prescribed threshold and the power consumption by the traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot by referring to the correspondence information in accordance with the condition of the vehicle detected by the detection unit.

20. The onboard navigation system according to claim 18, further comprising:

a communication unit for communicating with an external device, wherein

the decision processing unit retains correspondence information indicating correspondence between the condition of the vehicle and an amount of power expected to be consumed by operation other than traveling of the vehicle in the condition of the vehicle, and corrects, when deciding whether to give the charge guidance or not, the prescribed threshold and the power consumption by the traveling from the present position of the vehicle to the usual charging spot by referring to the correspondence information in accordance with the condition of the vehicle acquired from the external device by communication with the communication unit.