Guiding device, guiding method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a guiding apparatus, a guiding method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium. The present invention makes it possible to visually ascertain the amount of recovery of a battery charging rate when a vehicle uses each charging facility. A guide device that guides a charging facility is provided with a position information acquisition unit, a display unit, and a control unit. The position information acquisition unit acquires information on the current position of the moving body. The display portion is configured to be capable of displaying a charging facility. The control unit is configured to extract a charging facility located in an area based on the current position, predict a recovery amount of a state of charge of a battery of the mobile body, and change a display mode of the charging facility displayed on the map image in accordance with a predicted value of the recovery amount of the state of charge, the amount of recovery of the state of charge of the battery is represented as a charging rate with respect to full charge of the battery when the charging facility charges the battery of the mobile body for a predetermined charging time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a guidance device, a guidance method, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium for guiding charging facilities. Background Art

[0002] There has been proposed a navigation device that displays charging information so that a user who uses a vehicle during the day can easily select a charging facility for charging a power storage mechanism of the vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-030993

[0006] However, in the conventional system for guiding the user to the charging facility, it is difficult for the user to visually understand the recovery amount of the battery charging rate when using each charging facility. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and an object of the present disclosure is to enable visual understanding of the amount of recovery of the battery charging rate when each charging facility is used.

[0008] A guidance device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a guidance device for guiding to a charging facility, wherein the guidance device comprises: a position information acquisition unit for acquiring information on a current position of a mobile body; a display unit configured to display the charging facility; and a control unit configured to extract charging facilities located in an area based on the current position, predict an amount of recovery of a charging state of a battery of the mobile body, and display the charging facilities displayed on the display unit differently according to the predicted value of the amount of recovery of the charging state, wherein the amount of recovery of the charging state of the battery is represented as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time at the charging facility.

[0009] A guidance method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a guidance method executed by a control unit of a guidance device for guiding a charging facility, wherein the guidance method includes: acquiring information on a current position of a mobile body; extracting charging facilities located within an area based on the current position; predicting a recovery amount of a charging state of a battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of a charging state of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time in the charging facility; and displaying the charging facility on a display unit in a manner that makes the display of the charging facility different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

[0010] A non-transitory computer-readable medium of one embodiment of the present disclosure stores a program that causes a computer to execute processing, the processing including: acquiring information on a current position of a mobile body; extracting charging facilities located within an area based on the current position; predicting a recovery amount of a charging state of a battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of the charging state of the battery is represented as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time at the charging facility; and displaying the charging facility on a display unit in a manner that makes the display of the charging facility different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to visually grasp the amount of recovery of the battery charging rate when each charging facility is used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guidance system including a guidance device according to one embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 It is a rough representation Figure 1 Block diagram of the composition of the vehicle.

[0015] Figure 3 It is a rough representation Figure 1 A block diagram of the server composition.

[0016] Figure 4 It means stored in Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of information on charging facilities stored in a server.

[0017] Figure 5 It is a rough representation Figure 1 A block diagram of the composition of the boot device.

[0018] Figure 6Is displayed in Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of an image including a charging facility on a display unit of FIG.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of setting priorities of charging facilities based on the position of a vehicle and the positional relationship with a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining another example of a method of setting priorities of charging facilities based on the position of a vehicle and the positional relationship with the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0021] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing executed by the control unit of the guidance device.

[0022] Description of reference numerals:

[0023] 1: Boot system;

[0024] 11: Battery;

[0025] 12: Position detection unit;

[0026] 10: Vehicle (mobile object);

[0027] 10A: vehicle image;

[0028] 20: Guidance device;

[0029] 21: Control Department;

[0030] 22: Ministry of Communications;

[0031] 23: Storage unit;

[0032] 24: location information acquisition unit;

[0033] 25: Input unit;

[0034] 26: output unit;

[0035] 27: Display unit;

[0036] 30: Server;

[0037] 31: server control unit;

[0038] 32: Server communication department;

[0039] 33: Server storage unit;

[0040] 40: Charging facilities;

[0041] 50: Communication network;

[0042] 41A~41E: images of charging facilities;

[0043] Ad: Display object area;

[0044] A 1 : The first area;

[0045] A 2 : The second area;

[0046] A 3 : The third area;

[0047] A 4 : The fourth region;

[0048] Rd: Road. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings used in the following description are schematic. The dimensional ratios on the drawings are not necessarily consistent with the dimensional ratios in reality.

[0050] (Boot System)

[0051] Figure 1 A guidance system 1 including a guidance device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The guidance system 1 is configured to include a vehicle 10, a guidance device 20 mounted on the vehicle 10, and a server 30. The guidance device 20 and the server 30 can send and receive information to each other via a communication network 50. The communication network 50 includes the Internet, at least one WAN (wide area network), at least one MAN (metropolitan area network), or any combination thereof.

[0052] In the case where the information processing device 42 included in the charging facility 40 can send information to the guidance device 20 or the server 30, the guidance system 1 may further include the charging facility 40. Figure 1 In the figure, only one of the vehicle 10 , the guidance device 20 , and the charging facility 40 is described, but there may be a plurality of the vehicle 10 , the guidance device 20 , and the charging facility 40 .

[0053] The guidance system 1 is a system that displays to the user of the vehicle 10 a charging facility 40 for charging the battery in a manner that allows the user of the vehicle 10 to visually grasp the amount of recovery of the battery charging rate when each charging facility 40 is used, so that the user of the vehicle 10 can select the charging facility 40 for charging the battery. The guidance device 20 is disposed in the vehicle 10 and has a function of displaying the charging facility 40 to the user. The components of the guidance system 1 are described below.

[0054] (Vehicle composition)

[0055] The vehicle 10 of the present disclosure is an electric vehicle such as a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) or a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) that uses electricity as a power source. The vehicle 10 is, for example, a passenger car, but is not limited thereto, and may also include a truck, a bus, or a special vehicle. Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle 10 includes a battery 11 and a position detection unit 12 in addition to the guide device 20. The vehicle 10 is included in the mobile body. The mobile body is not limited to the vehicle 10. For example, the mobile body may include, in addition to the vehicle 10, a flying body that is driven by electricity and flies with a person.

[0056] The battery 11 stores electric power for driving the vehicle 10. The battery 11 is configured to include a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged, such as a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery. The battery 11 may also use other power storage devices such as a multilayer capacitor instead of a secondary battery. The battery 11 has a battery control system (BMS: Battery Management System) that controls the charging and discharging of electric power. The battery control system can calculate the charging rate (SOC: State of Charge) of the battery 11. The charging rate is calculated, for example, based on the open circuit voltage value of the battery 11, or by accumulating the charging current value to the battery 11. The battery 11 can be arranged in any place such as under the rear seat of the vehicle 10 or in the cargo hold.

[0057] The position detection unit 12 detects the current position of the vehicle 10. The position detection unit 12 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device, and can use the signal from the GPS receiving device to obtain the latitude and longitude information of the current position of the vehicle 10. It should be noted that a receiver corresponding to other global positioning systems (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) can be used instead of the GPS receiving device, or a receiver corresponding to other global positioning systems (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) can be used in addition to the GPS receiving device. In addition, in addition to the signal from the GPS receiving device, signals from various detection devices such as an azimuth sensor, a steering angle sensor, and a distance sensor can also be used to determine the position.

[0058] (Server Configuration)

[0059] The server 30 is a computer belonging to a cloud computing system or other computing system. The server 30 can collect information about the charging facility 40 and provide it to the guidance device 20. Figure 3 As shown, the server 30 includes a server control unit 31 , a server communication unit 32 , and a server storage unit 33 .

[0060] The server control unit 31 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a GPU (graphics processing unit), or a dedicated processor specifically used for specific processing. A programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA (field-programmable gate array). A dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The server control unit 31 controls each part of the server 30 while executing processing related to the operation of the server 30.

[0061] The server control unit 31 acquires information about the charging facility 40 via the communication network 50. The server control unit 31 can store the collected information about the charging facility 40 in the server storage unit 33. The server control unit 31 can receive an information request from the guidance device 20 via the server communication unit 32 and transmit information to the guidance device 20.

[0062] The server communication unit 32 includes at least one communication interface corresponding to the communication connection via the communication network 50. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a wired LAN standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but is not limited thereto and may correspond to any communication standard.

[0063] The server storage unit 33 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM (random access memory) or a ROM (read only memory). The RAM is, for example, an SRAM (static random access memory) or a DRAM (dynamic random access memory). The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). The server storage unit 33 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The server storage unit 33 stores data used in the operation of the server 30 and data obtained through the operation of the server 30. The server storage unit 33 can store system programs, application programs, information on the charging facility 40, and the like.

[0064] The server storage unit 33 stores information related to a plurality of charging facilities 40. The information of the charging facilities 40 includes location information of each charging facility 40. The location information may include, for example, information on the latitude and longitude of the location of the charging facility 40. In addition, the location information may include information on the road adjacent to the charging facility 40 and the location of the entrance that the vehicle 10 can enter.

[0065] Furthermore, the server storage unit 33 can store and manage various information related to each charging facility 40. For example, Figure 4 As shown, the server storage unit 33 can store and manage the identification information of each charging facility 40, the maximum charging time, charging output and charging standard information of the charging equipment 41 equipped by the charging facility 40. The maximum charging time is the upper limit of the charging time that can be used in one charge of the charging equipment 41 set by the charging facility 40. The charging output is the maximum output that the charging equipment 41 can charge, which indicates the capacity of the charging equipment 41. The unit of charging output can also be specified in A (ampere) instead of W (watt). The charging standard is the charging standard corresponding to the charging equipment 41, including, for example, J1772, CHAdeMO, NACS (North American Charging Standard), GB / T and CCS (Combined Charging System).

[0066] In addition, the server storage unit 33 can store and manage information such as usage restrictions, payment methods, and whether reservations are required for each charging facility 40. The usage restriction information includes information on restrictions based on the attributes of the user of the charging facility 40. For example, in the case where the charging facility 40 can only be used by members of a specific service, such information is included in the usage restriction information. The payment method indicates a payment method that can be used in the charging facility 40. The payment method includes, for example, cash, credit card, debit card, specific prepaid card, and other online settlement methods operated by a specific operator.

[0067] (Composition of the Guidance Device)

[0068] The guidance device 20 is an information device mounted on the vehicle 10. The guidance device 20 may use hardware commonly used in a navigation system, for example. Figure 5 As shown, the guidance device 20 includes a control unit 21 , a communication unit 22 , a storage unit 23 , a position information acquisition unit 24 , an input unit 25 , and an output unit 26 .

[0069] The control unit 21 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof, similarly to the server control unit 31. The control unit 21 controls each unit of the guidance device 20 and executes processing related to the operation of the guidance device 20.

[0070] The communication unit 22 , like the server communication unit 32 , includes at least one communication interface.

[0071] The storage unit 23 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof, similarly to the server storage unit 33. The storage unit 23 stores data used in the operation of the guidance device 20 and data obtained by the operation of the guidance device 20. The storage unit 23 can store system programs, application programs, information on the charging facility 40 acquired from the server storage unit 33, and the like.

[0072] The storage unit 23 may further store map information for displaying and guiding a route to the charging facility 40. The guidance device 20 may be configured to acquire the map information stored in the storage unit 23 from the server 30 or a server of a generally available map information service when necessary.

[0073] In addition, the storage unit 23 may also store the electric energy of the battery 11 when fully charged. It is well known that the electric energy of the battery 11 when fully charged decreases as the battery 11 is repeatedly charged and discharged. The control unit 21 may obtain the electric energy of the full charge at the current time point from the battery control system (BMS) of the battery 11 and store it in the storage unit 23. Moreover, the storage unit 23 may store the technical specifications of the battery 11 and the battery control system (BMS) mounted on the vehicle 10. The storage unit 23 may keep the amount of charge per unit time of the battery 11 obtained based on the charging output of the charging device 41, the charging rate of the battery 11, and other information in a table form or an arithmetic expression. Other conditions may include, for example, information on the temperature, the technical specifications of the battery 11, and the state of degradation of the battery 11 over the years. In the case where the other conditions include information on the temperature, the guidance device 20 is configured to have a temperature sensor, or to obtain the output of a temperature sensor configured in the vehicle 10 from the vehicle 10.

[0074] Furthermore, the storage unit 23 may store the charging standard of the vehicle 10 equipped with the guidance device 20 and user information related to the user who uses the guidance device 20. The user information may include information such as the membership-based charging service the user has joined and the payment method the user can use. The user information may be registered in advance by the user.

[0075] The position information acquisition unit 24 acquires information on the current position of the vehicle 10 from the position detection unit 12 via the communication network in the vehicle 10. In other embodiments, a sensor for detecting the position may be provided inside the guidance device 20. In this case, the sensor for detecting the position becomes the position information acquisition unit 24.

[0076] The input unit 25 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key such as a keyboard, an electrostatic capacitance key, a pointing device, or a touch screen provided integrally with the display. In addition, the input interface may be, for example, a microphone for accepting voice input, a camera for accepting image input, etc. The input unit 25 accepts operations for inputting data used in the operation of the guidance device 20. The input unit 25 may be connected to the guidance device 20 as an external input device instead of being configured in the guidance device 20. The user may be able to change various settings such as the display scheme of the charging facility 40 in the display unit 27 and the number of charging facilities to be displayed via the input unit 25.

[0077] The output unit 26 includes at least one output interface. The output interface includes a display unit 27. The display unit 27 is, for example, a display that outputs information using images. The display is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence: Electroluminescence) display, an inorganic EL display, a plasma display (PDP: Plasma Display Panel), but is not limited to these. The display unit 27 can display the charging facility 40 on a map image based on the map information acquired from the storage unit 23 under the control of the control unit 21.

[0078] The output unit 26 also includes a speaker for outputting information by sound. The output unit 26 outputs data received via the communication network 50, data obtained by the operation of the guidance device 20, and the like.

[0079] (Charging facilities)

[0080] The charging facility 40 is a facility that provides charging services to the vehicle 10, which is an electric vehicle. Figure 1 As shown, the charging facility 40 includes one or more charging equipment 41 (chargers) for charging the vehicle 10. The charging facilities 40 include facilities that do not restrict users and facilities that restrict users through membership systems, etc. The charging facilities 40 may define a maximum charging time that can be used for charging using the charging equipment 41.

[0081] The charging facility 40 may include the information processing device 42 to provide the specification of the charging service provided by the charging facility 40 to the outside. Alternatively, the specification of the charging service provided by the charging facility 40 may be provided by another external information processing device.

[0082] In addition, the charging facility 40 may also be equipped with an information processing device 42, which provides the status of the charging service provided by the charging facility 40 to external devices including the server 30 in real time. The information processing device 42 can support both or either the push-type and pull-type information provision methods. For example, the information processing device 42 can provide the waiting time of the charging facility 40 to the outside. In addition, for example, when the maximum charging time is changed according to the congestion condition, such as shortening the maximum charging time when the charging facility 40 is crowded, the information processing device 42 can be configured to send such information to the outside. In addition, when the charging device 41 cannot be used for some reason, or when the charging output is reduced, the information processing device 42 can send such information to the outside. It should be noted that the information processing device 42 is not a necessary component of the charging facility 40.

[0083] (Charging facility display example)

[0084] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a charging facility 40 displayed on the display unit 27. The display unit 27 can display the charging facility 40 on an image shared with the navigation system. The vehicle image 10A shows the vehicle 10 equipped with the guidance device 20 displayed on the map image. As the vehicle 10 moves forward on the road Rd, the map image can be displayed to the vehicle 10 on the road Rd. Figure 6 Scrolls down. Charging facility images 40A to 40E representing a plurality of charging facilities 40 located around the vehicle 10 are arranged on the map image. Parts of the charging facility images 40A to 40E (for example, charging facility images 40D, 40E) may not be displayed as described later. The charging facility images 40A to 40E may be displayed as icons that can be understood as the charging facilities 40. By displaying the charging facilities 40 as icons, the user can easily find the charging facilities 40 from the map image.

[0085] In order to display the charging facility 40 on the map image, the control unit 21 of the guidance device 20 determines the object area Ad based on the current position obtained from the position information acquisition unit 24. The object area Ad can be set to, for example, an area inside a specified circle centered on the current position. The control unit 21 inquires the server 30 and extracts the charging facilities 40 located in the object area Ad based on the position information of each charging facility 40 stored in the server storage unit 33. By doing so, it is possible to extract the charging facilities 40 that are located close to the specified range of the current position of the vehicle 10. For example, in Figure 6 In the example, the charging facility image 40E corresponding to the charging facility 40 that is relatively far from the vehicle 10 is excluded from the extraction target and is not displayed or is displayed in an inconspicuous manner. The control unit 21 may obtain the extracted charging facility 40 from the server 30 Figure 4 The information exemplified in the above is stored in the storage unit 23. The target area Ad is not limited to a circle. For example, the target area Ad may also be an ellipse whose major axis is the direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle 10.

[0086] The control unit 21 predicts the amount of recovery of the state of charge of the battery 11 when the battery 11 of the mobile body is charged for a predetermined charging time at each charging facility 40. The control unit 21 can estimate the actual power charged when the vehicle 10 is connected to the charging facility 41 with a specific charging output, for example, an output of 50 kW, using a table or a calculation expression stored in the storage unit 23. The control unit 21 can estimate the electric energy charged to the battery 11 by accumulating the power charged to the battery 11 over a predetermined time.

[0087] The predetermined time may be a time set by the user. Thus, it is possible to predict the recovery amount of the battery state of charge (SOC) when the battery 11 is charged according to the user's plan.

[0088] The predetermined time may be set as a maximum charging time that is an upper limit of the charging time at each charging facility 40. Thus, the user can predict the amount of recovery of the battery state of charge (SOC) when each charging facility 40 performs maximum charging.

[0089] The control unit 21 can predict the amount of recovery of the state of charge of the battery 11 by taking into account the power consumption spent on moving from the current position of the vehicle 10 to each charging facility 40. That is, in predicting the amount of recovery of the state of charge, the control unit 21 can subtract the power predicted to be consumed for moving to the charging facility 40 from the power predicted to be charged at the charging facility 40. By doing so, the amount of recovery of the state of charge after actually moving to the charging facility 40 and completing charging can be predicted more accurately.

[0090] In one embodiment, the recovery amount of the battery state of charge (SOC) is expressed as a charging rate relative to the full charge of the battery 11. The control unit 21 makes the display mode of the charging facility 40 displayed on the map image different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the state of charge (SOC). In one embodiment, the control unit 21 divides the predicted value of the recovery amount of the state of charge by setting one or more thresholds for the predicted value of the recovery amount, and makes the display mode different. For example, the control unit 21 can divide the recovery amount of the state of charge into three types: greater than or equal to 80%, greater than or equal to 20% and less than 80%, and less than 20%, and display the color of the charging facility image 40A-40C representing each charging facility 40 in blue, yellow, and red according to each division. Thus, the user can visually grasp the predicted value of the recovery amount of the battery charging rate when each charging facility 40 is used. In addition to changing the color of the charging facility image 40A-40C, the control unit 21 can also change the brightness or change the flashing speed. Furthermore, by classifying the predicted values ​​of the recovery amount of the state of charge by the threshold value, the user can easily understand the difference in the predicted values ​​of the recovery amount of the state of charge.

[0091] In addition, the control unit 21 may display only the charging facilities 40 whose predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state is greater than a predetermined value on the display unit 27. For example, the control unit 21 may not display the charging facilities 40 whose predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state is less than 20%. By doing so, it is easier for the user to observe the displayed map image, and it is easier for the user to select the charging facility 40.

[0092] In one embodiment, the control unit 21 may set priorities for the charging facilities 40 based on the current position of the vehicle 10 and the positional relationship with the road Rd on which the vehicle 10 is traveling, and display the charging facilities 40 with high priority on the display unit 27. For example, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 27 to display the charging facility images 40A-40C of a specified number of charging facilities 40 located in the target area Ad in descending order of priority. For example, when the specified number is set to 3, the charging facility image 40D corresponding to the charging facility 40 from the 4th and later in terms of priority is not displayed. By doing so, the charging facilities 40 displayed to the user can be limited, thereby making it easier for the user to select.

[0093] For example, it can be, Figure 7 In the road Rd extending straightly as described above, the traffic partition side (on the Figure 7 Area A (left side) 1 The priority of the charging facility 40 is set high. This is because, in this case, the vehicle 10 can easily enter the charging facility 40. In addition, the area A located on the opposite side (right side in the figure) of the traffic partition side where the vehicle 10 passes in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 2 Since the charging facility 40 in area A has to cross the oncoming lane in order to enter the charging facility 40, the priority is set higher than that of the charging facility 40 in area A. 1 The priority of the charging facility 40 is low. 3 and Region A 4 The priority is set lower for the charging facility 40. This is because, in such a case, the vehicle 10 needs to return to the road Rd in order to enter the charging facility 40.

[0094] Furthermore, the control unit 21 may acquire the road structure information from the map information stored in the storage unit 23 and determine the priority based on the acquired road structure information.

[0095] For example, Figure 8 As shown, when the road Rd is a single-sided two-lane road and a right turn is required to enter the charging facility 40, the priority is lower than the priority when the road Rd is a single-sided single-lane road. In addition, when the road Rd has a central median, it is impossible to turn right to enter the charging facility 40, so the priority of the charging facility 40 becomes even lower.

[0096] The control unit 21 may also obtain traffic information of the road Rd on which the vehicle 10 is traveling, and determine the priority based on the traffic information. Traffic information may be obtained from traffic information providers via the communication network 50. Traffic information providers include government agencies responsible for traffic management, road managers, and providers of traffic information.

[0097] The control unit 21 may set the priority of the charging facility 40 having congestion on the path to be low based on the congestion information of the road Rd included in the traffic information. Figure 8 In the illustrated single-lane two-lane road, when the opposite lane is crowded, it may be difficult for the vehicle 10 to turn right and enter the charging facility 40. Therefore, in such a case, the priority of the charging facility 40 may be set lower. As described above, by setting the priority, the charging facility 40 that is easy for the user to use is displayed on the map image of the display unit 27, so the convenience of the user is improved.

[0098] In one embodiment, the control unit 21 extracts only the charging facilities 40 that can be used by the vehicle 10 and displays them on the display unit 27. This can prevent the vehicle 10 from traveling to the charging facilities 40 that cannot be used.

[0099] For example, the control unit 21 checks whether the charging standard of the charging facility 40 stored in the storage unit 23 is suitable for the charging standard of the vehicle 10 , and displays the charging facility 40 on the display unit 27 only when it is suitable.

[0100] Furthermore, the control unit 21 checks whether the payment method that is available and registered in advance by the user of the vehicle 10 can be used for payment at the charging facility 40, and displays the charging facility 40 on the display unit 27 only when it can be used for payment at the charging facility 40. The control unit 21 compares the payment method of the charging facility 40 stored in the storage unit 23 with the payment method available to the user to determine whether the charging facility 40 can be used.

[0101] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the amount of recovery of the battery charging rate when using each charging facility 40 can be visually grasped on the map image displayed on the display unit 27. Furthermore, the charging facilities 40 to be displayed are filtered based on the convenience and availability of the user, so that it becomes easy for the user to select the charging facility 40.

[0102] (Charging facility guidance process)

[0103] Next, based on Fig. 9 The flowchart of FIG. 1 illustrates the processing executed by the control unit 21 of the guidance device 20. Fig. 9The flowchart corresponds to the guidance method of the charging facility 40 of the present disclosure executed by the control unit 21. The guidance method disclosed in this specification can be executed by a processor included in the control unit 21 according to a program. Such a program can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include hard disks, RAM, ROM, flash memory, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, etc., but are not limited to these.

[0104] The control unit 21 acquires information on the current position of the vehicle 10 through the position information acquisition unit 24 ( S01 ).

[0105] The control unit 21 extracts the charging facilities 40 located in the area based on the current position of the vehicle 10 ( S02 ).

[0106] The control unit 21 predicts the amount of recovery of the state of charge of the battery 11 when the battery 11 of the vehicle 10 is charged for a predetermined charging time at the charging facility 40 ( S03 ).

[0107] The control unit 21 determines the charging facility 40 to be displayed based on various conditions (S04). The various conditions may include conditions related to any one or more of the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state, the positional relationship between the vehicle 10, the road Rd and the charging facility 40, the road structure, and the availability of the charging facility 40 to the user. Step S04 may also be performed before step S03.

[0108] The control unit 21 changes the display form of the charging facility 40 displayed on the map image of the display unit 27 to a different form according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the state of charge ( S05 ).

[0109] In this way, the plurality of charging facilities 40 are displayed in different schemes according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the state of charge, so that the user can easily select the charging facility 40 from the display unit 27. When the user selects the charging facility 40, the guidance device 20 can guide the vehicle 10 to the selected charging facility 40 using, for example, the function of the navigation system.

[0110] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications or changes can be made. For example, the functions included in each unit, each step, etc. can be reconfigured in a logically non-contradictory manner, and multiple units or steps can be combined into one or divided.

[0111] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the server 30 collects information about the charging facilities 40 and determines the charging facilities 40 to be displayed by the guidance device 20 and the display method thereof. However, the server 30 and the guidance device 20 may share functions in any manner. For example, the server control unit 31 of the server 30 may also execute a part of the processing performed by the control unit 21 of the guidance device 20. In addition, the server 30 is not necessarily required, and the guidance device 20 may collect information about the charging facilities 40 and store the information in the storage unit 23.

[0112] Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example, but it should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to these.

[0113] [Note 1]

[0114] A guidance device for guiding to a charging facility, wherein the guidance device comprises: a position information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the current position of a mobile body; a display unit configured to display the charging facility; and a control unit configured to extract charging facilities located in an area based on the current position, predict the amount of recovery of the charging state of a battery of the mobile body, and display the charging facilities displayed on the display unit differently according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state, wherein the recovery amount of the charging state of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time at the charging facility.

[0115] [Note 2]

[0116] In the guidance device according to Supplementary Note 1, the display unit is configured to display the charging facilities on a map image and to display the charging facilities on the map image in different ways.

[0117] [Note 3]

[0118] In the guidance device described in Supplementary Note 1, the guidance device includes an input unit that allows a user of the mobile body to set the predetermined charging time.

[0119] [Note 4]

[0120] In the guidance device according to Supplementary Note 1, the control unit acquires information on an upper limit value of a charging time set at the charging facility, and sets the upper limit value of the charging time as the predetermined charging time.

[0121] [Note 5]

[0122] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, the control unit causes the display unit to display the charging facility as an icon on the display unit.

[0123] [Note 6]

[0124] In the guidance device according to Supplementary Note 5, the control unit changes the color of the icon based on the predicted value of the recovery amount.

[0125] [Note 7]

[0126] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6, the control unit guides the moving body to the charging facility located within a predetermined range from the current position of the moving body.

[0127] [Note 8]

[0128] In the guidance device according to any one of Notes 1 to 7, the control unit sets priorities for the charging facilities based on the current position of the mobile body and the positional relationship with the road on which the mobile body is traveling, and preferentially displays the charging facilities with high priorities on the display unit.

[0129] [Note 9]

[0130] In the guidance device according to Supplementary Note 8, the control unit sets a high priority to a charging facility located on a side of a traffic zone through which the moving body passes in a traveling direction of the moving body.

[0131] [Note 10]

[0132] In the guidance device according to Supplementary Note 8 or 9, the control unit acquires information on a road structure of a road on which the moving body travels, and determines the priority based on the information on the road structure.

[0133] [Note 11]

[0134] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 8 to 10, the control unit acquires traffic information of a road on which the moving body travels, and determines the priority based on the traffic information.

[0135] [Note 12]

[0136] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 11, the control unit causes the display unit to display only the charging facilities where the predicted value of the recovery amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0137] [Note 13]

[0138] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 12, the control unit predicts the recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery in consideration of power consumption required for movement from the current position of the mobile body to the charging facility.

[0139] [Note 14]

[0140] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 13, the control unit extracts only the charging facilities that the mobile body can utilize.

[0141] [Note 15]

[0142] In the guidance device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 14, the control unit confirms whether the charging standard of the charging facility is suitable for the charging standard of the mobile body, and displays the charging facility on the display unit only when it is suitable.

[0143] [Note 16]

[0144] In the guidance device described in any one of Notes 1 to 15, the control unit confirms whether the payment method available to the user of the mobile body can be used for payment at the charging facility, and displays the charging facility on the display unit only if it can be used for payment at the charging facility.

[0145] [Note 17]

[0146] A guidance method is a guidance method executed by a control unit of a guidance device for guiding to a charging facility, wherein the guidance method includes: acquiring information on a current position of a mobile body; extracting charging facilities located in an area based on the current position; predicting a recovery amount of a charging state of a battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of a charging state of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time at the charging facility; and displaying the charging facility on a display unit in a manner that makes the display of the charging facility different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

[0147] [Note 18]

[0148] In the guidance method according to Supplementary Note 17, the predetermined charging time is set by a user of the mobile object via an input unit.

[0149] [Note 19]

[0150] In the guidance method according to Supplementary Note 17 or 18, the control unit acquires information on an upper limit value of a charging time set at the charging facility, and sets the upper limit value of the charging time as the predetermined charging time.

[0151] [Note 20]

[0152] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute processing, the processing comprising: acquiring information on a current position of a mobile body; extracting charging facilities located in an area based on the current position; predicting a recovery amount of a charging state of a battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of the charging state of the battery is represented as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a prescribed charging time at the charging facility; and displaying the charging facility on a display unit in a manner that causes the display of the charging facility to be different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

Claims

1. A guiding device for guiding a vehicle to a charging facility, comprising: A position information acquisition unit, which acquires information on the current position of the mobile object; A display unit configured to display the charging facility; and A control unit is configured to extract charging facilities located in an area based on the current position, predict the recovery amount of the charging state of the battery of the mobile body, and display the charging facilities displayed on the display unit differently according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state, wherein The recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile object is charged for a predetermined charging time at the charging facility.

2. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The display unit is configured to display the charging facilities on a map image and to vary the display format of the charging facilities displayed on the map image.

3. The guiding device according to claim 1, comprising: The input unit allows a user of the mobile object to set the predetermined charging time.

4. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit acquires information on an upper limit value of a charging time set at the charging facility, and sets the upper limit value of the charging time as the predetermined charging time.

5. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit causes the display unit to display the charging facility as an icon on the display unit.

6. The guiding device according to claim 5, wherein: The control unit changes the color of the icon based on the predicted value of the recovery amount.

7. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit guides the moving object to the charging facility located within a predetermined range from the current position of the moving object.

8. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit sets priorities for the charging facilities based on the current position of the mobile body and the positional relationship with the road on which the mobile body is traveling, and preferentially displays the charging facilities with higher priorities on the display unit.

9. The guiding device according to claim 8, wherein: The control unit sets a high priority to a charging facility located on a traffic zone side through which the moving body passes in a traveling direction of the moving body.

10. The guiding device according to claim 8, wherein: The control unit acquires information on a road structure of a road on which the moving body travels, and determines the priority level based on the information on the road structure.

11. The guiding device according to claim 8, wherein: The control unit acquires traffic information of a road on which the moving body travels, and determines the priority based on the traffic information.

12. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit causes the display unit to display only the charging facilities for which the predicted value of the recovery amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

13. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit predicts the recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery in consideration of power consumption taken for movement from the current position of the mobile body to the charging facility.

14. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit extracts only the charging facilities that the mobile body can use.

15. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit checks whether the charging standard of the charging facility is suitable for the charging standard of the moving object, and displays the charging facility on the display unit only when the charging standard is suitable.

16. The guiding device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit checks whether the payment method available to the user of the mobile body can be used for payment at the charging facility, and displays the charging facility on the display unit only when the payment method can be used for payment at the charging facility.

17. A guidance method, the guidance method being executed by a control unit of a guidance device for guiding a charging facility, comprising: Obtain information about the current position of the moving object; extracting charging facilities located in an area based on the current location; predicting a recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a predetermined charging time at the charging facility; as well as The charging facility is displayed on a display unit in a manner that a display mode of the charging facility is different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

18. The guiding method according to claim 17, wherein: The predetermined charging time is set by a user of the mobile object via an input unit.

19. The guiding method according to claim 17, wherein: The control unit acquires information on an upper limit value of a charging time set at the charging facility, and sets the upper limit value of the charging time as the predetermined charging time.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program, the program causing a computer to perform a process, the process comprising: Obtain information about the current position of the moving object; extracting charging facilities located in an area based on the current location; predicting a recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery of the mobile body, wherein the recovery amount of the state of charge of the battery is expressed as a charging rate relative to a full charge of the battery when the battery of the mobile body is charged for a predetermined charging time at the charging facility; as well as The charging facility is displayed on a display unit in a manner that a display mode of the charging facility is different according to the predicted value of the recovery amount of the charging state.

Images