Information providing method and information providing apparatus

Abstract

To provide an information providing method configured to provide information on available facilities including service time to a user who selects a charging spot to be used.SOLUTION: A nearby facility management server 50 calculates service time in which a user can receive a service provided by a facility, by subtracting the total time of the time required to arrive at the facility, service waiting time required for the user to receive the service in the facility, and return time required for the user to return from the facility to a charging spot, from charging-related waiting time required for charging a vehicle 10 at the charting spot. The nearby facility management server 50 provides a user with candidate facility information including information specifying candidate facilities and service time of the candidate facilities, as selectable candidate facilities in which the user can receive the service for a predetermined time or longer, out of facilities corresponding to the charging spot.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing method and an information providing device. [Background technology]

[0002] With the spread of electric vehicles, there is a demand for effective use of charging time at charging spots. Patent Document 1 describes a technology that allows people to make effective use of charging time by ordering food and drink delivery to the charging spot from a food delivery service that can deliver to the charging spot, even if there are no restaurants nearby, and eating and drinking while charging. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 194456 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When there are restaurants and other facilities nearby that can be used for charging, the congestion levels at each facility vary. Therefore, when a user selects one of the facilities to use, it is unclear whether the services offered by the facility will be available within the charging time. Specifically, for example, if the facility is a restaurant and the user wants to eat at the restaurant, and the charging time is, say, 30 minutes and the waiting time to be seated at a table is 25 minutes, the user will not be able to finish their meal and return to the charging spot before the electric vehicle finishes charging.

[0005] When a user selects and uses a facility near a charging spot, if the user can know the service enjoyment time during which the service provided by the facility can be enjoyed, the user can select a facility that allows the user to receive the service at the facility and return to the charging spot before charging is completed.The present invention aims to provide an information provision method and information provision device that can provide the user with information about available facilities, including the service enjoyment time, when the user selects a charging spot to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, the surrounding facility management server calculates the service enjoyment time by subtracting the total time required for the user to reach the facility, the service provision wait time, and the return time required for the user to return from the facility to the charging spot from the charging-related waiting time required to charge the vehicle at the charging spot, and provides the user with candidate facility information including information identifying each candidate facility and the service enjoyment time of each candidate facility as selectable candidate facilities from those with service enjoyment times equal to or greater than a predetermined time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the information providing method and information providing device of the present invention, when a user selects a charging spot to use, information about available facilities including service availability times can be provided to the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an information providing system including an information providing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an information providing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the time required when a user drives a vehicle to a charging spot and then walks to a facility near the charging spot. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of facility information stored in the facility information storage unit 51 shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a candidate facility list displayed on a mobile terminal of a user based on candidate facility information including service enjoyment time provided to the mobile terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which one of the candidate facilities shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on a mobile terminal and a reservation has been made. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an information providing method according to an embodiment and a process executed by an information providing device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An information providing method and an information providing device according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 10, which is an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, includes an in-vehicle infotainment device 11 as an example of an in-vehicle device. The in-vehicle infotainment device is sometimes referred to as an IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) device. Hereinafter, the in-vehicle infotainment device 11 will be abbreviated as the IVI device 11. The IVI device 11 can access a charging spot management server 40 and a surrounding facility management server 50 via a network 30. Typically, the network 30 is the Internet. The surrounding facility management server 50 functions as the information providing device according to this embodiment.

[0010] A mobile terminal 20 carried by a passenger (user) such as a driver of the vehicle 10 can also access the charging spot management server 40 and the surrounding facility management server 50 via the network 30. Typically, the mobile terminal 20 is a smartphone. When the IVI device 11 and the mobile terminal 20 access the charging spot management server 40 or the surrounding facility management server 50, the IVI device 11 and the mobile terminal 20 can cooperate with each other by using a common management number, for example.

[0011] The peripheral facility management server 50 communicates with facilities 70 located near each charging spot via the network 30. The facilities 70 may be eating and drinking establishments such as restaurants, massage parlors, amusement facilities such as Ferris wheels, etc., and the type of business is not limited. In this embodiment, the facility 70 is an eating and drinking establishment. The services provided by the facility 70 are the provision of food and drink if the facility 70 is an eating and drinking establishment, the provision of massages if the facility 70 is a massage parlor, and the provision of use of the amusement facilities if the facility 70 is an amusement facility. In this embodiment, the facility 70 is an eating and drinking establishment, and therefore the services provided by the facility 70 may be referred to as products or food and drink.

[0012] When the user wishes to charge the vehicle 10, the user accesses the charging spot management server 40 using the IVI device 11 or the mobile terminal 20 to search for charging spots. The following describes an example in which all operations are performed using the mobile terminal 20. All operations may be performed using the IVI device 11, or, because the IVI device 11 and the mobile terminal 20 work together as described above, some operations may be performed using the mobile terminal 20 and other operations may be performed using the IVI device 11. The user selects a charging spot to charge the vehicle 10 based on the search results for charging spots.

[0013] When a user wants to obtain information about restaurants near a selected charging spot, the user performs a predetermined operation on the mobile terminal 20, and charging spot information that identifies the selected charging spot is transmitted from the mobile terminal 20 to the peripheral facility management server 50 via the network 30. Here, the charging spot information is transmitted from the mobile terminal 20 to the peripheral facility management server 50; however, if the charging spot management server 40 and the peripheral facility management server 50 cooperate with each other, the charging spot management server 40 may transmit the charging spot information to the peripheral facility management server 50. Furthermore, the charging spot management server 40 and the peripheral facility management server 50 may be integrated, and a server that serves as both the charging spot management server and the peripheral facility management server may be provided.

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the configuration of the peripheral facility management server 50. The peripheral facility management server 50 includes a facility information storage unit 51, an estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52, a reservation availability inquiry unit 53, a service enjoyment time calculation unit 54, a candidate facility information provision unit 55, a reservation application unit 56, and a notification unit 57. The charging spot management server 40 and the peripheral facility management server 50 are configured by computer devices. The example configuration of the peripheral facility management server 50 shown in FIG. 2 can be realized as functional processing executed by the computer devices. The example configuration of the peripheral facility management server 50 shown in FIG. 2 can be realized by a central processing unit included in the computer devices executing a computer program (information provision program).

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3 , for example, the user has left an amusement park and is heading to vehicle 10 parked in a parking lot. The charging spot 60 selected as described above is located in a service area on a highway, and the user plans to drive vehicle 10 on the highway to the charging spot 60. To make effective use of the charging time of vehicle 10, the user plans to eat and drink at a restaurant in a facility 70 near charging spot 60 while charging vehicle 10. The charging spot 60 is not limited to being located in a service area on a highway. The charging spot 60 may also be located at a roadside station, convenience store, or the like located on a public road. Vehicle 10 may also be driven along a public road to the charging spot 60.

[0016] The operation of the peripheral facility management server 50 shown in Fig. 2 will be described with reference to the example shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 2, charging spot information indicating charging spots 60 is input to the facility information storage unit 51. The facility information storage unit 51 stores facility information for each charging spot in the vicinity of the charging spot. Fig. 4 shows an example of facility information corresponding to the charging spot 60. The facility information includes the store name for identifying each facility, the required time to arrive at the facility on foot from the charging spot 60, the congestion level, the waiting time to be seated, the required time for service provision, and information indicating whether reservations are possible. The facility information does not have to include the congestion level.

[0017] The seating wait time is the time a user waits from the time they enter the facility 70 until they are seated. The seating wait time may be divided into the time they wait to be seated at a table seat and the time they wait to be seated at a counter seat. The required service provision time is the time required from the time a user requests service until the service is provided. If the service is the provision of food and drink at a restaurant, the required service provision time is the required product provision time required from the time the food and drink is ordered until the food and drink is provided.

[0018] The store name and the required time to arrive at the facility are fixed information. If the required time to provide service is the average required time to provide service, the required time to provide service is fixed information. If the required time to provide service changes depending on the congestion level, etc., the required time to provide service is variable information. The information indicating whether reservations are possible is fixed information indicating whether each store accepts reservations. However, a store may change its status from accepting reservations to not accepting reservations, or from not accepting reservations to accepting reservations. As will be described later, even if a store accepts reservations, depending on the congestion level, it may not be possible to make a reservation at the time the user arrives at the store. The facility information storage unit 51 is supplied with at least information indicating the congestion level and waiting time for seating from each facility 70 in real time.

[0019] If the facility 70 is a massage parlor or amusement facility, the facility information may include a waiting time instead of a seating waiting time, and the time required for service provision may be set as the time to receive a massage or the time to play at the amusement facility. Also, if the facility 70 is a store selling products such as boxed lunches, the required time for service provision is not necessary, and the facility information may include the waiting time for purchasing the product. The facility information corresponding to the charging spots 60 as shown in FIG. 4 may include information appropriate for each facility 70.

[0020] The estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 receives input of charging spot information, user position information which is position information of the mobile terminal 20, and vehicle position information which is position information of the IVI device 11. The user position information and vehicle position information may be constantly supplied to the peripheral facility management server 50 at predetermined time intervals, or the user position information and vehicle position information may be supplied to the peripheral facility management server 50 in response to the mobile terminal 20 transmitting charging spot information to the peripheral facility management server 50. When the user performs a predetermined operation on the mobile terminal 20 to obtain facility information corresponding to the charging spot 60, the user position information and vehicle position information may be supplied to the peripheral facility management server 50.

[0021] Based on the user location information and the vehicle location information, the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates the time from the time the user operates the mobile terminal 20 to obtain facility information corresponding to the charging spot 60 from the surrounding facility management server 50 to the time the user arrives at the vehicle 10 on foot. Strictly speaking, what is obtained from the surrounding facility management server 50 is candidate facility information, which will be described later. In this example, the time the mobile terminal 20 is operated is the time the user leaves the amusement park. As shown in FIG. 3, the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates that the time required from leaving the amusement park to arriving at the vehicle 10 is 5 minutes.

[0022] The estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates the time from the time the user arrives at the vehicle 10 to the time the vehicle 10 arrives at the charging spot 60. Because the charging spot 60 is located in a service area on a highway, the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 executes a route search for getting on the highway from the nearest interchange and heading toward the service area. As a result, the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates that the time required for the vehicle 10 to leave the parking lot and arrive at the charging spot 60 is 20 minutes. The estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates the required time to arrive at the charging spot to be 25 minutes, which is the total time of the time required for the vehicle 10 to leave the amusement park and arrive at the vehicle 10, and the time required for the vehicle 10 to leave the parking lot and arrive at the charging spot 60.

[0023] The user may operate the mobile terminal 20 or the IVI device 11 to acquire candidate facility information from the surrounding facility management server while in the vehicle 10. In this case, the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 may calculate the required charging spot arrival time as the time from the time the mobile terminal 20 or the IVI device 11 is operated to the time the vehicle 10 arrives at the charging spot 60.

[0024] In this way, the peripheral facility management server 50 acquires the location information of the mobile terminal 20 carried by the user and the location information of the vehicle 10. Therefore, whether the user is not located inside the vehicle 10 or is located inside the vehicle 10, the peripheral facility management server 50 can calculate an appropriate required time to arrive at the charging spot depending on each state.

[0025] Charging spot 60 is equipped with parking spaces 61 to 63 for charging. When a user arrives at charging spot 60, he or she parks in an available parking space 63 and begins charging vehicle 10. There are four restaurants 70 near charging spot 60: restaurants R1 to R3 and a fast food restaurant F1. The required facility arrival time to walk from charging spot 60 to restaurant R1 or fast food restaurant F1 is 5 minutes. The required facility arrival times to walk from charging spot 60 to restaurants R2 and R3 are 7 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively.

[0026] 3, the time when the user exits the amusement park and operates mobile terminal 20 to obtain facility information corresponding to charging spot 60 is 17:00. Ignoring the short time it takes for the user to park vehicle 10 in parking space 63 and start charging, the estimated arrival time at which the user will arrive at any of restaurants R1 to R3 or fast food restaurant F1 is determined by the required charging spot arrival time and the required facility arrival time. Estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates the estimated arrival time at restaurant R1 or fast food restaurant F1 to be 17:30, and the estimated arrival times at restaurants R2 and R3 to be 17:32 and 17:35, respectively.

[0027] The service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 acquires at least the store name, seating waiting time, and time required for service provision from the facility information corresponding to the charging spot 60 shown in Fig. 4. The reservation availability inquiry unit 53 acquires at least the store name and information indicating reservation availability from the facility information corresponding to the charging spot 60 shown in Fig. 4.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 4, restaurants R1 to R3 are reservations-enabled, so if a reservation can be made in advance, the user can request that products (food and drink) be provided immediately after the scheduled arrival time at restaurants R1 to R3. Fast food restaurant F1 is a reservation-free restaurant, so if there are customers waiting to be seated and there is a waiting time, the user will have to request that products be provided after they are seated.

[0029] If the user heads to restaurant R1, the user will arrive at restaurant R1 at 17:30. If the user heads to restaurant R2, the user will arrive at restaurant R2 at 17:32. If the user heads to restaurant R3, the user will arrive at restaurant R3 at 17:35. Restaurants R1 to R3 are reservations-accepting establishments, but depending on how busy they are, it may be impossible to make a reservation at restaurant R1 at 17:30, at restaurant R2 at 17:32, or at restaurant R3 at 17:35. Therefore, reservation availability inquiry unit 53 inquires of restaurants R1 to R3 about whether or not a reservation is actually possible. While it is not essential to provide reservation availability inquiry unit 53, it is preferable to provide reservation availability inquiry unit 53.

[0030] Here, the reservation availability inquiry unit 53 receives reservation availability as reservation availability reply information from the restaurants R1 to R3. The reservation availability inquiry unit 53 supplies to the service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 information that reservations are available at restaurant R1 for 17:30, at restaurant R2 for 17:32, and at restaurant R3 for 17:35.

[0031] Restaurants R1 to R3 accept reservations. Therefore, the service provision waiting time required for a user to receive service assuming that the user enters one of restaurants R1 to R3 can be regarded as the required service provision time. The required service provision time is the time required from when the user arrives at one of restaurants R1 to R3 and requests service provision until the service is provided. If the service provision waiting time is regarded as the required service provision time when a reservation for facility 70 is accepted at the scheduled arrival time at facility 70, an appropriate service enjoyment time can be calculated as described below.

[0032] Fast food restaurant F1 does not accept reservations. Therefore, assuming that a user enters fast food restaurant F1, the service provision waiting time required for the user to receive service can be considered to be the sum of the seating waiting time and the time required for service provision. The seating waiting time is the time required for the user to arrive at fast food restaurant F1 and sit down, and the service provision required time is the time required for the user to be seated and request service and receive service. If a reservation for facility 70 cannot be accepted at the scheduled arrival time at facility 70, the service provision waiting time can be considered to be the sum of the seating waiting time and the time required for service provision, and an appropriate service enjoyment time can be calculated as described below.

[0033] Typically, the maximum charging time for high-speed charging at a charging spot is 30 minutes, so it is assumed that the charging time for vehicle 10 at charging spot 60 is 30 minutes. The charging time of 30 minutes is transmitted from mobile terminal 20 to service receiving time calculation unit 54 as a charging-related waiting time. If the charging time at charging spot 60 is a fixed 30 minutes, it is not necessary for mobile terminal 20 to transmit the charging time of 30 minutes to service receiving time calculation unit 54. In this case, a charging time of 30 minutes is preset in service receiving time calculation unit 54.

[0034] The service receiving time calculation unit 54 subtracts the total time of the required time to arrive at the facility, the waiting time for service provision, and the return time required for the user to return to the charging spot 60 from the restaurant selected from restaurants R1 to R3 and fast food restaurant F1 from the charging time of 30 minutes. The return time is the same as the required time to arrive at the facility. In this way, the service receiving time calculation unit 54 calculates the service receiving time during which the user can enjoy the services provided at restaurants R1 to R3 and fast food restaurant F1.

[0035] If the facility 70 is a restaurant, the service enjoyment time can be interpreted as the time spent enjoying the provided food and drink. If the facility 70 is a massage parlor, the service enjoyment time can be interpreted as the time spent receiving a massage and relaxing the body. If the facility 70 is a playground, the service enjoyment time can be interpreted as the time spent using the playground equipment.

[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the service receiving time calculation unit 54 calculates the service receiving time at restaurant R1 to be 8 minutes, which is calculated by 30 minutes - (5 minutes + 12 minutes + 5 minutes). The service receiving time calculation unit 54 calculates the service receiving time at restaurant R2 to be 11 minutes, which is calculated by 30 minutes - (7 minutes + 5 minutes + 7 minutes). The service receiving time calculation unit 54 calculates the service receiving time at restaurant R3 to be 0 minutes, which is calculated by 30 minutes - (10 minutes + 10 minutes + 10 minutes). The service receiving time calculation unit 54 calculates the service receiving time at fast food restaurant F1 to be 5 minutes, which is calculated by 30 minutes - (5 minutes + 12 minutes + 3 minutes + 5 minutes).

[0037] The service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 supplies the candidate facility information provision unit 55 with the service enjoyment times of the restaurants R1 to R3 and the fast food restaurant F1.

[0038] Note that the 12-minute seating wait time at fast food restaurant F1 is the seating wait time as of 17:00. Assuming that the user selects fast food restaurant F1, the seating wait time when the user arrives at fast food restaurant F1 at 17:30 may not necessarily be 12 minutes. Therefore, the actual service enjoyment time at fast food restaurant F1 may deviate from 5 minutes. In this way, the service enjoyment time may be inaccurate at facility 70 that does not accept reservations.

[0039] The service enjoyment time is merely information that assists in selecting one of the facilities 70 among the plurality of facilities 70, and the service enjoyment time does not need to be completely accurate. Furthermore, even if the user is on the way to the charging spot 60, if the user operates the mobile terminal 20 to acquire facility information corresponding to the selected charging spot 60, the seating waiting time is updated and a more accurate service enjoyment time can be obtained. The user here is a passenger other than the driver.

[0040] The candidate facility information providing unit 55 generates candidate facility information based on the facility information corresponding to the charging spots 60 supplied from the facility information storage unit 51 and the service enjoyment time of each facility 70 supplied from the candidate facility information providing unit 55, and transmits the generated candidate facility information to the mobile device 20. In this way, the candidate facility information is provided to the user. At this time, the candidate facility information providing unit 55 excludes facilities 70 corresponding to the charging spots 60 whose service enjoyment time is less than a predetermined time, and generates the candidate facility information by setting facilities 70 whose service enjoyment time is equal to or greater than a predetermined time as selectable candidate facilities. For example, the predetermined time is 3 minutes, and the service enjoyment time at restaurant R3 is 0 minutes, so restaurant R3 is excluded.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows an example of a candidate facility list displayed on the display unit of mobile device 20 based on the candidate facility information. The candidate facility information includes at least information identifying each candidate facility, such as the store name, and the service enjoyment time for each candidate facility. As shown in FIG. 5, in the candidate facility list displayed on the display unit, the required facility arrival time in FIG. 4 is expressed as walking time, and the service enjoyment time as available stay time, for ease of understanding by the user. It is preferable that the candidate facility information include the required facility arrival time so that the user can recognize how many minutes it takes to walk to reach facility 70. While it is not essential that the candidate facility information include the congestion status, it is preferable that the candidate facility information include the congestion status because including the congestion status allows the user to grasp the congestion status of each facility 70.

[0042] As described above, the seating wait time may be divided into a table seat wait time and a counter seat wait time. In this case, the service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 can separately calculate the service enjoyment time based on the seating wait time when a table seat is selected and the service enjoyment time based on the seating wait time when a counter seat is selected. The candidate facility information providing unit 55 can transmit candidate facility information to the mobile terminal 20, including the possible stay time when a table seat is selected and the possible stay time when a counter seat is selected.

[0043] In this way, when a user selects a charging spot to use, the surrounding facility management server 50 can provide the user with a candidate facility list, which is information about available facilities including the service duration. The user can select a facility 70 by referring to the available stay time displayed in the candidate facility list. For example, the user can select restaurant R2 because restaurant R2 is farther away than restaurant R1 and fast food restaurant F1, but has the longest available stay time, i.e., the longest time to enjoy a meal.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, the candidate facility list has a reservation request field so that a reservation can be made for facility 70 on the candidate facility list. In FIG. 5, the row for restaurant R2 is surrounded by a thick solid line, indicating that restaurant R2 has been selected. When a user operates the reservation request field for restaurant R2 to make a reservation, for example, reservation request unit 56 makes a reservation for restaurant R2. In this case, the user's estimated arrival time at restaurant R2 is 17:32, so reservation request unit 56 makes a reservation for a seating time of 17:32. The user does not need to input a reservation time.

[0045] Although not specifically shown, when the user operates the operation button labeled "Make a reservation" in the reservation application field, a field for inputting the number of people will be displayed, and the user inputs the number of people in the field displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal 20. The number of people will be input as reservation application information into the reservation application unit 56. When an operation to finalize the reservation is performed, the reservation application unit 56 sets the estimated arrival time supplied from the estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 as the reservation time, and transmits the reservation time and the number of people to restaurant R2.

[0046] The reservation application unit 56 may be configured to transmit, when making a reservation at one of the facilities 70, information on the items to be ordered in addition to the reservation time and number of occupants to the facility 70. If the facility information storage unit 51 stores a menu of items offered by each facility 70 and the candidate facility information provision unit 55 supplies the menu to the mobile terminal 20, the user can select items in advance and make a reservation for the facility 70. When making a reservation for restaurant R2 as described above, information on the number of occupants and the food and drink to be ordered is input to the reservation application unit 56 as reservation application information. When the reservation is finally confirmed, the reservation application unit 56 transmits information on the reservation time, number of occupants, and the food and drink to be ordered to restaurant R2.

[0047] When restaurant R2 accepts the reservation, restaurant R2 transmits reservation acceptance information to the reservation application unit 56. The candidate facility information providing unit 55 is notified by the reservation application unit 56 that the reservation for restaurant R2 has been accepted. As a result, the reservation application column for restaurant R2 in the candidate facility list is changed to read "Reserved," as shown in FIG. 6.

[0048] The facility 70 that has confirmed the reservation may begin preparing or cooking the ordered food and drink prior to the user's scheduled arrival time.

[0049] As described above, the required service provision time is fixed information or variable information depending on the congestion situation, etc. The required service provision time may be longer depending on the number of users or the type of food and drink ordered. When the reservation application unit 56 transmits the information on the number of users and food and drink to the facility 70, the facility 70 may transmit the required service provision time corresponding to the information on the number of users and food and drink to the facility information storage unit 51. The service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 calculates the service enjoyment time based on the required service provision time corresponding to the information on the number of users and food and drink, and supplies the calculated time to the candidate facility information provision unit 55. Then, the possible stay time shown in FIG. 5 is updated to the latest possible stay time corresponding to the information on the number of users and food and drink.

[0050] The user may check the latest updated available stay time before making an operation to confirm the reservation, and then perform an operation to finally confirm the reservation.

[0051] When making a reservation for restaurant R2, the user can arrive at restaurant R2 at 17:32, leave restaurant R2 at 17:43, and head to charging spot 60. The notification unit 57 may notify the mobile terminal 20 of the end of the allowed stay time (service enjoyment time) at the end of the allowed stay time or a predetermined time before the end of the allowed stay time. The notification unit 57 obtains the time from a clock (not shown), and may notify the mobile terminal 20 of the end of the allowed stay time based on the estimated arrival time and service enjoyment time at the selected restaurant R2, which is surrounded by a thick solid line. The predetermined time before the end of the allowed stay time is, for example, one minute before.

[0052] If the notification unit 57 notifies the mobile terminal 20 of the end of the allowable stay time, the user can return to the charging spot 60 in time for the charging of the vehicle 10 to finish.

[0053] The information providing method according to this embodiment and the processing executed by the peripheral facility management server 50, which is the information providing device according to this embodiment, will be described again using the flowchart shown in Fig. 7. In Fig. 7, after the processing starts, the mobile terminal 20 or the IVI device 11 accesses the charging spot management server 40 to search for charging spots in step S1. Charging spot information identifying the charging spot selected by the user is transmitted to the peripheral facility management server 50. The estimated facility arrival time calculation unit 52 calculates the estimated time of arrival at each facility 70 in step S2. The service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 acquires facility information near the selected charging spot in step S3. The order of steps S2 and S3 may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously.

[0054] In step S4, the service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 calculates the service enjoyment time at each facility 70. The service enjoyment time at each facility 70 is supplied to the candidate facility information provision unit 55. In step S5, the candidate facility information provision unit 55 determines whether there is a facility 70 whose service enjoyment time is less than a predetermined time. If the user sets the predetermined time, the set predetermined time can be transmitted from the mobile terminal 20 to the candidate facility information provision unit 55.

[0055] If there is a facility 70 whose service enjoyment time is less than the predetermined time in step S5 (YES), the candidate facility information providing unit 55 excludes the facility 70 whose service enjoyment time is less than the predetermined time from the facilities for which information is to be provided to the user in step S6, and proceeds to step S7. If there is no facility 70 whose service enjoyment time is less than the predetermined time in step S5 (NO), the candidate facility information providing unit 55 proceeds to step S7.

[0056] In step S7, the candidate facility information providing unit 55 lists candidate facility information including the service enjoyment time. In step S8, the candidate facility information providing unit 55 provides the candidate facility list to the user. In step S9, the reservation application unit 56 determines whether a reservation has been made. If a reservation has been made (YES), the reservation application unit 56 makes a reservation for the selected facility 70 in step S10 and terminates the process. If a reservation has not been made (NO), the reservation application unit 56 terminates the process.

[0057] Incidentally, in the present embodiment described above, it is assumed that the vehicle 10 arrives at the charging spot 60 and starts charging immediately. However, there may be cases where there is no available parking space at the charging spot 60 and it is necessary to wait for charging to start. Assume that the charging spot management server 40 allows a user to reserve a parking space at the charging spot 60. For example, assume that a user has reserved a parking space for 30 minutes later. The charging spot management server 40 may calculate the waiting time for starting charging based on the number of vehicles waiting to charge and notify each vehicle of the calculated time.

[0058] In such a case, the peripheral facility management server 50 can provide the user with a list of candidate facilities whose service enjoyment time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time during the charging time, just as it provides the user with a list of candidate facilities whose service enjoyment time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time during the 30-minute waiting time to start charging. By transmitting the 30-minute waiting time to start charging as the charging-related waiting time to the service enjoyment time calculation unit 54, the service enjoyment time calculation unit 54 can calculate the service enjoyment time.

[0059] The present embodiment described above not only allows the vehicle 10 to effectively utilize the charging time at the charging spot 60 by eating and drinking at the facility 70, for example, while the vehicle 10 is charging, but also allows the vehicle 10 to effectively utilize the waiting time to start charging at the charging spot 60 by eating and drinking at the facility 70, for example, while waiting for charging to start. The charging time of the vehicle 10 is a first example of a charging-related waiting time required to charge the vehicle 10 at the charging spot 60. The waiting time to start charging the vehicle 10 is a second example of a charging-related waiting time required to charge the vehicle 10 at the charging spot 60.

[0060] Furthermore, if the waiting time to start charging is 30 minutes and the charging time is 30 minutes, the user will have to wait a total of one hour until charging of the vehicle 10 is completed. The surrounding facility management server 50 can also provide a list of candidate facilities that offer a service enjoyment time of at least a predetermined time during the total waiting time of one hour. Passengers other than the driver can make effective use of the waiting time by eating and drinking at a facility 70 selected from the list of candidate facilities that offer a service enjoyment time of at least a predetermined time during the total waiting time of one hour. The total waiting time including the waiting time to start charging the vehicle 10 and the charging time is a third example of the charging-related waiting time required to charge the vehicle 10 at the charging spot 60.

[0061] If the charging-related waiting time is transmitted to the service receiving time calculation unit 54 as a total of one hour, consisting of 30 minutes of waiting time to start charging and 30 minutes of charging time, the service receiving time calculation unit 54 can calculate the service receiving time corresponding to the one-hour waiting time.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10 vehicles 11 In-vehicle infotainment devices 20 Mobile devices 30 Network 40 Charging spot management server 50 Peripheral facility management server 51 Facility Information Storage Unit 52 Facility arrival time calculation unit 53 Reservation Inquiry Department 54 Service enjoyment time calculation unit 55 Candidate Facility Information Department 56 Reservation Application Section 57 Notification Department 60 charging spots Parking spaces 61-63 70 facilities F1 Fast Food Restaurant R1~R3 ​​Restaurants

Claims

1. The surrounding facility management server Assuming that the user will arrive at the facility at an estimated arrival time determined by a required charge spot arrival time required for the user to arrive at the facility selected by the user using a vehicle the user is riding in and a required facility arrival time required for the user to arrive at the facility on foot from the charge spot, calculate a service enjoyment time during which the user can enjoy the service provided at the facility by subtracting the total time of the required facility arrival time, the service provision wait time required for the user to receive the provision of the service at the facility, and the return time required for the user to return from the facility to the charge spot from the charge-related waiting time required for charging the vehicle at the charge spot; Among the facilities corresponding to the charging spots, facilities whose service enjoyment time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time are set as selectable candidate facilities, and candidate facility information including information specifying each candidate facility and the service enjoyment time of each candidate facility is provided to the user. Information provision method.

2. The peripheral facility management server When a reservation for use of the facility at the scheduled arrival time of the user at the facility is accepted, The service receiving time is calculated by regarding the service provision waiting time as the required service provision time required from the time the user arrives at the facility and requests the provision of the service until the time the service is provided. The information providing method according to claim 1 .

3. The peripheral facility management server When the reservation for use of the facility by the user at the scheduled arrival time at the facility is not accepted, The service receiving time is calculated by regarding the service provision waiting time as the total time of the seating waiting time required for the user to arrive at the facility and sit down, and the service provision required time required for the user to sit down at the facility and request the provision of the service until the service is provided. The information providing method according to claim 1 .

4. The peripheral facility management server acquiring location information of a mobile terminal carried by the user and location information of the vehicle; When the user operates the mobile device to acquire the candidate facility information from the surrounding facility management server while not inside the vehicle, the total time calculated is the sum of the time from the time the mobile device is operated to acquire the candidate facility information to the time the user arrives at the vehicle on foot and the time from the time the user arrives at the vehicle to the time the vehicle arrives at the charging spot. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The peripheral facility management server acquiring location information of a mobile terminal carried by the user and location information of the vehicle; When the user operates the mobile terminal or the in-vehicle device provided in the vehicle to acquire the candidate facility information from the surrounding facility management server while the user is located in the vehicle, the required time to arrive at the charging spot is calculated as the time from the time when the user operates the mobile terminal or the in-vehicle device to acquire the candidate facility information to the time when the vehicle arrives at the charging spot. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The peripheral facility management server The end of the service receiving time is notified to the mobile terminal carried by the user at the end of the service receiving time or a predetermined time before the end of the service receiving time. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. a service enjoyment time calculation unit that calculates a service enjoyment time during which the user can enjoy the service provided at the facility, by subtracting the total of the required facility arrival time, the service provision waiting time required for the user to receive the provision of a service at the facility, and the return time required for the user to return from the facility to the charging spot, from a charging-related waiting time required for charging the vehicle at the charging spot, assuming that the user will arrive at the facility at an estimated arrival time determined by a required charge spot arrival time required for the user to arrive at the facility at an estimated arrival time determined by a required facility arrival time required for the user to arrive at the facility on foot from the charging spot; a candidate facility information providing unit that provides the user with candidate facility information including information identifying each candidate facility and the service enjoyment time of each candidate facility, as selectable candidate facilities among selectable facilities corresponding to the charging spot, the candidate facilities having the service enjoyment time equal to or longer than a predetermined time; An information providing device comprising:

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