Vehicle state monitoring server and vehicle state monitoring system

• US 8,694,199 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sengoku, Koji, Ishido, Yuichiro, Nogawa, Tadafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAZZARA, ANNE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US13/579,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20120310471A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 701/31.5
• US Class Current: 701/31.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/642 Slope of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/645 Type of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/662 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• 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 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/14 Preventing excessive discharging
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Disclosed is a vehicle state monitoring system in which, when a vehicle (2) has been in a driving stopped state for a reference duration or more, a message is sent to a contact address associated with a vehicular identifier of the vehicle (2). The timing for sending the message may be determined on the basis of an SOC level of a battery (23) identified from vehicle information or estimated on the basis of a length of a last driving duration identified from the vehicle information.

Claims

1. A vehicle state monitoring server configured to monitor a state of a battery mounted in a vehicle provided with an electric motor as a prime mover, comprising:

a database configured to store a vehicular identifier for identifying the vehicle associated with a contact address of a user of the vehicle in a communication network;

a first monitoring-processing element configured to recognize a vehicle information capable of identifying the vehicular identifier of the vehicle and a last driving stopped duration of the vehicle according to network communications; and

a second monitoring-processing element configured to send a message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database on condition that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is equal to or longer than a reference duration on the basis of the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element,

wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a remaining amount of the battery mounted in the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine the reference duration according to a level of the remaining amount of the battery of the vehicle identified or estimated from the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element.

2. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a remaining amount of the battery configured to be charged by the driving of the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine a driving duration of the vehicle required to increase the remaining amount of the battery to a predefined value as a recommended driving duration according to the level of the remaining amount of the battery identified or estimated from the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element, and to send the message containing the recommended driving duration to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database.

3. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein the message prompts the user of the vehicle to drive the vehicle.

4. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein the second monitoring-processing element is configured to compare the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle and the reference duration, and to send the message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database once the second monitoring-processing element determines that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is longer than or equal to the reference duration based on the comparison of the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle and the reference duration.

5. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein the second monitoring-processing element is configured to send the message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database once the second monitoring-processing element determines that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is longer than or equal to the reference duration.

6. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is a duration of time beginning with a vehicle ignition switch being switched off and ending at a current time without the vehicle ignition switch being switched on.

7. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is a duration of time ending at a current time and during which movement of the vehicle is less than a threshold value.

8. The vehicle state monitoring server according to claim 1, wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a last driving duration of the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine the reference duration based on the last driving duration of the vehicle, wherein the reference duration is determined to increase as the last driving duration of the vehicle increases.

9. A vehicle state monitoring system comprising a vehicle state monitoring server configured to monitor a state of a battery mounted in a vehicle provided with an electric motor as a prime mover and a vehicle control unit mounted in the vehicle,

the vehicle state monitoring server including

a database configured to store a vehicular identifier for identifying the vehicle associated with a contact address of a user of the vehicle in a communication network;

a first monitoring-processing element configured to recognize a vehicle information capable of identifying the vehicular identifier of the vehicle and a last driving stopped duration of the vehicle according to network communications; and

a second monitoring-processing element configured to send a message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database on condition that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is equal to or longer than a reference duration on the basis of the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element,

wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a remaining amount of the battery mounted in the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine the reference duration according to the level of the remaining amount of the battery of the vehicle identified or estimated from the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element.

10. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a remaining amount of the battery configured to be charged according to the driving of the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine a driving duration of the vehicle required to increase the remaining amount of the battery to a predefined value as a recommended driving duration according to the level of the remaining amount of the battery identified or estimated from the vehicle information recognized by the first monitoring-processing element, and to send the message containing the recommended driving duration to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database.

11. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the message prompts the user of the vehicle to drive the vehicle.

12. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the second monitoring-processing element is configured to compare the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle and the reference duration, and to send the message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database once the second monitoring-processing element determines that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is longer than or equal to the reference duration based on the comparison of the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle and the reference duration.

13. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the second monitoring-processing element is configured to send the message to the contact address stored in association with the vehicular identifier of the vehicle by the database once the second monitoring-processing element determines that the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is longer than or equal to the reference duration.

14. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is a duration of time beginning with a vehicle ignition switch being switched off and ending at a current time without the vehicle ignition switch being switched on.

15. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein the last driving stopped duration of the vehicle is a duration of time ending at a current time and during which movement of the vehicle is less than a threshold value.

16. The vehicle state monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein

the first monitoring-processing element is configured to recognize the vehicle information capable of identifying or estimating a last driving duration of the vehicle, and

the second monitoring-processing element is configured to determine the reference duration based on the last driving duration of the vehicle, wherein the reference duration is determined to increase as the last driving duration of the vehicle increases.