Consumed power amount estimation apparatus

• US 9,682,627 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2015
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hiroyuki, Hosaka, Norikazu, Sekine, Satoshi, Kano, Makoto, Kawano, Shinichiro, Une, Yasuomi, Yamamoto, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Application Number:
  US14/622,351
• Publication Number:
  US 20150151637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0236 for economical driving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

According to an embodiment, there is provided a consumed power amount estimation apparatus including an estimation unit configured to estimate a power amount necessary for an electric vehicle having a similar power consumption tendency to run, based on a parameter used to compensate for information affecting power consumption by running of the electric vehicle based on consumed power amount information of each of a plurality of electric vehicles having similar power consumption tendencies.

Claims

1. A consumed power amount estimation apparatus comprising:

a storage device configured to store information affecting power consumption by running of an electric vehicle;

an extraction unit configured to extract consumed power amount information of each of a plurality of electric vehicles having similar power consumption tendencies from the information stored in the storage device; and

an estimation unit configured to estimate a power amount necessary for the electric vehicle to run based on a parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle to run, using the information affecting power consumption by running of the electric vehicle as information based on the information extracted by the extraction unit,

wherein the extraction unit extracts, from the information stored in the storage device, at least one of

(a) vehicle model parameter information of each of the plurality of electric vehicles belonging to a predetermined vehicle group having a similar characteristic concerning power consumption,

(b) road model parameter information of each of the plurality of electric vehicles that pass through a road piece belonging to a predetermined road piece group having a similar characteristic concerning power consumption by a passing vehicle, and

(c) driver model parameter information concerning a driver belonging to a predetermined driver group having a similar characteristic concerning power consumption by the driver, and

the estimation unit estimates the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle to run based on at least one of

(d) a parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle concerning the vehicle belonging to the predetermined vehicle group to run, based on the vehicle model parameter information of each of the plurality of electric vehicles belonging to the predetermined vehicle group having the similar characteristic concerning power consumption as the information extracted by the extraction unit,

(e) a parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle concerning the road piece belonging to the predetermined road piece group to run, based on the road model parameter information of each of the plurality of electric vehicles that pass through the road piece belonging to the predetermined road piece group as the information extracted by the extraction unit, and

(f) a parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle concerning the driver belonging to the predetermined driver group to run, based on the driver model parameter information of the electric vehicle concerning the driver belonging to the predetermined driver group as the information extracted by the extraction unit.

2. The consumed power amount estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information stored in the storage device comprises at least one of

(a) driver information as information that is unique to each of drivers of the plurality of electric vehicles and affects power consumption by running of the electric vehicle,

(b) consumed power amount information representing a consumed power amount of the electric vehicle that passes through a road piece in a predetermined section at a predetermined date/time,

(c) vehicle information as information that is unique to a car model of the electric vehicle and affects power consumption by running of the electric vehicle belonging to the car model, and

(d) road information as information that is unique to the road piece in the predetermined section and affects power consumption by running of the electric vehicle.

3. The consumed power amount estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage device further stores weather information that affects power consumption by running of the electric vehicle at a passage portion of the electric vehicle, and

the estimation unit estimates the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle having a similar power consumption tendency to run, based on

(a) information including the weather information as the information stored in the storage device, and

(b) a parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary for electric vehicles having similar power consumption tendencies, based on the parameter used to estimate the power amount necessary.

4. The consumed power amount estimation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electric vehicle is a rental vehicle based on an application for rental reservation,

the storage device further stores information representing a destination of the electric vehicle for which the application for rental reservation has been made, and

the estimation unit

(a) estimates, based on the information representing the destination, a road piece associated with a scheduled running route of the electric vehicle for which the application for rental reservation has been made,

(b) acquires, as the estimated consumed power amount information, the consumed power amount information of the electric vehicle for which the application for rental reservation has been made as the electric vehicle that passes through the road piece associated with the scheduled running route of the electric vehicle for which the application for rental reservation has been made, based on the consumed power amount information of each of the plurality of electric vehicles that pass through a road piece belonging to a predetermined road piece group having a similar characteristic concerning power consumption by a passing vehicle as the consumed power amount information extracted by the extraction unit, and

(c) estimates the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle to run, based on a parameter used to compensate for road information concerning the road piece belonging to the predetermined road piece group based on the acquired consumed power amount information.

5. The consumed power amount estimation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the storage device further stores traffic information affecting power consumption by running of the electric vehicle that passes through the road piece in a predetermined section at a predetermined date/time, and a rental start date/time and a rental end date/time of the electric vehicle for which the application for rental reservation has been made, and

the estimation unit

(a) estimates traffic jam information in the scheduled running route based on the rental start date/time, the rental end date/time, the traffic information, and an estimation result of the road piece, and

(b) estimates the power amount necessary for the electric vehicle to run based on the parameter used to compensate for the road information concerning the road piece belonging to the predetermined road piece group based on the estimated traffic jam information.