Navigation system for electric vehicle

• US 9,170,118 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2013
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kiyama, Noboru, Shirai, Keisuke, Osafune, Tatsuaki, Horita, Yuki, Shirasawa, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nga X
• Application Number:
  US14/065,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20140163877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 701/533, 701/537
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2260/44 by parameter estimation
• 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 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• 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: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• 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 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A navigation system for an electric vehicle includes a telematics center, a display terminal, and a charging station. In response to a request from the display terminal, the telematics center sends a route search result, which is created based on information on an electric vehicle and the charging station and which includes base point information whose remaining battery capacity is to be confirmed, to the display terminal. The display terminal displays route guidance information, the current position, and a result of comparison between the current remaining battery capacity and the base point information to the user who is driving the electric vehicle.

Claims

1. A navigation system for an electric vehicle, said navigation system comprising a display terminal that sends and receives information to and from an electric vehicle over a network;

and a server that sends and receives information to and from said display terminal over the network, wherein

said display terminal performs

processing for sending a search request for a route, via which said electric vehicle moves from a starting point to a destination, to the server, the search request including position coordinates of the starting point, position coordinates of the destination, a remaining battery capacity, a battery capacity, and a start time;

processing for displaying route guidance information on an output device, the route guidance information sent from said server, the route guidance information created based on a route search result that includes one or more pieces of base point information;

processing for displaying, on said output device, a result of comparison between an estimated remaining battery capacity which indicates a band including a maximum value and a minimum value of a remaining battery capacity, which is assumed when the electric vehicle passes a battery state confirmation point, which is included in one of the pieces of the base point information, with a confirmation-point remaining battery capacity of said electric vehicle at the confirmation point; and

processing for requesting said server to perform a route re-search according to whether the confirmation-point remaining battery capacity when the electric vehicle passes the confirmation point becomes smaller than the minimum value of the band or larger than the maximum value of the band, and

said server performs

processing for searching for a route, via which said electric vehicle moves from the starting point to the destination without battery exhaustion, in response to the route search request or the route re-search request from said display terminal;

processing for calculating the range of the estimated remaining battery capacity including the maximum value and the minimum value to be included in the base point information;

processing for deriving one or more pieces of the base point information on the searched-for route and for adding the derived base point information to the route search result, said base point information including position information on the confirmation point and the estimated remaining battery capacity at the confirmation point; and

processing for sending the route search result, which includes the derived base point information, to the display terminal.

2. The navigation system for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said server performs processing for setting a position on the searched-for route as the confirmation point, the position being dependent on a time, a distance, a power consumption, or intersection point information.

3. The navigation system for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said server further performs

processing for calculating the band of a remaining battery capacity, which is assumed when the electric vehicle passes the point, as the base point information using travel history of the electric vehicle and other electric vehicles that have passed the base point position.

4. The navigation system for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said server performs

processing for searching for a plurality of routes, on each of which a charging station is available and the electric vehicle can travel from the starting point to the destination without battery exhaustion, in the route search processing in which a plurality of remaining battery capacities are set;

and

processing for deriving a junction point for two route search results whose remaining battery capacity levels are closest to each other and, with the point as a base point, calculating base point information, which includes position information, estimated remaining battery capacity at the point, and information on a new transit charging station when the route is changed, and for adding the calculation result to the route search result, the junction point being a point used to classify the route into a part where the route is common and a part where the route is not common and

said display terminal performs processing for displaying, during route guidance, a current-position remaining battery capacity of said electric vehicle that is moving, the base point information included in the route search result, and the information on a new transit charging station when the route is changed.

5. The navigation system for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said server further performs processing for deriving the confirmation point based on a time, a distance, a power consumption, or position information on an intersection.

6. A display terminal that sends and receives information to and from an electric vehicle over a network, said display terminal performing:

processing for managing by associating a position, a type, and an output power of a charging station with an identifier that can uniquely identify the charging station;

processing for managing road information for use in a route search;

processing for searching for a route via which the electric vehicle moves from a starting point to a destination without battery exhaustion based on acquired position coordinates of the starting point, position coordinates of the destination, a remaining battery capacity, a battery capacity, and a start time;

processing for setting a position on a searched-for route as a battery state confirmation point, the position being dependent on a time, a distance, a power consumption, or position information on an intersection, and for calculating a band including a maximum value and a minimum value of a remaining battery capacity, which is assumed when the electric vehicle passes the confirmation point, as the estimated remaining battery capacity;

processing for deriving one or more pieces of base point information that includes position information on the confirmation point and a confirmation-point remaining battery capacity at the point; and

processing for confirming a remaining battery capacity of the electric vehicle and for displaying, on a output device, a result of comparison between an estimated remaining battery capacity at the confirmation point included in one of the pieces of the base point information and a confirmation-point remaining battery capacity of the electric vehicle at the confirmation point; and

processing for performing the route re-search processing according to whether the confirmation-point remaining battery capacity when the electric vehicle passes the confirmation point becomes smaller than the minimum value of the band or becomes larger than the maximum value of the band.

7. The display terminal according to claim 6 wherein

said display terminal further performs processing for deriving the confirmation point based on a time, a distance, a power consumption, or position information on an intersection.