Output device and system for information about a quantity of electrical energy

Abstract

Energy quantity information output device for outputting information indicating the remaining electrical energy of a battery intended as a source of drive energy for electrically propelling a vehicle, wherein the energy quantity information output device comprises: a departure point information acquisition section (44) that obtains departure point information indicating a departure point of the vehicle; a target point information acquisition section (44) that acquires target point information specifying a target point of the vehicle; a residual energy quantity information acquisition section (45) that captures residual energy quantity information indicating the amount of electrical energy remaining in the battery; a target total energy quantity calculation section (45) which determines a required total electrical energy quantity based on the departure point information and the destination point information, wherein the required total electrical energy quantity indicates the amount of electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to the destination point; an output section (43) that outputs information; a control section (45) that checks whether the remaining electrical energy, as indicated by the residual energy information, is less than the total required energy at the departure point, and operates the output section to output shortage information indicating that the remaining electrical energy of the battery is insufficient when the remaining electrical energy is less than the total required electrical energy; an availability information acquisition section (41) which obtains availability information indicating the availability of each from a plurality of charging stations (2) intended for charging batteries, wherein the control section (45) further operates the output section to output the availability information from each of the majority of the charging stations when the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the total amount of electrical energy required; a location information acquisition section (44) that acquires location information specifying a location of each of the charging stations, wherein the control section (45) searches for an accessible charging station that the vehicle is able to reach with the remaining amount of energy, based on the departure point information, the location information and the remaining energy information, and restricts the availability information to only the accessible charging stations, wherein: the control section (45) calculates a required minimum amount of electrical energy based on the departure point information and the location information, wherein the required minimum amount of electrical energy indicates a minimum amount of electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to each of the charging stations, and the control section (45) searches for reachable charging stations based on the required minimum amount of electrical energy and the remaining amount of electrical energy; a target supplementary energy quantity calculation section (45) which calculates a required supplementary amount of electrical energy with which the battery must be charged at the reachable charging station so that the vehicle can travel from the reachable charging station to the destination point with respect to each of the reachable charging stations, wherein The total required amount of electrical energy is calculated based on the location information of the accessible charging station in addition to the departure point information and the destination point information, so that the total required amount of electrical energy indicates a total amount of electrical energy needed for the vehicle to travel from the departure point via the accessible charging station to the destination point; a calculation section (45) for an estimated destination arrival time, which calculates an estimated destination arrival time based on the availability information of the charging station, the required supplementary amount of electrical energy, the destination point information and the location information of the reachable charging station, wherein the estimated destination arrival time indicates an estimated time of arrival at the destination point if the battery is charged at the reachable charging station, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the estimated time of arrival as the display information relating to each charging station in order of an earlier time of the estimated time of arrival; a priority selection input receiving section (42) which receives an input of a priority selection of one of at least two display information items that are output by the output section, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the display information in an order of priority selected by the priority selection input / receive section; and a section (41) for the transmission of a request signal for a temporary reservation, which transmits a request signal of a temporary reservation for the charging station, wherein the temporary reservation is effective only for a predetermined time period, wherein the control section (45) operates the section for a transmission of a request signal for a temporary reservation in order to transmit the request signal to the charging station that is issued at the beginning of a list of charging stations rearranged according to the selected priority.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and a device for outputting information about remaining electrical energy (energy quantity information output device and system) of a battery intended for an electric motor that is provided as a drive energy source for a vehicle.

[0002] A motor-driven vehicle, such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), uses an electric motor as its energy source for propulsion. Within the vehicle, it is necessary to recharge the battery that supplies the motor with electrical energy when the amount of electrical energy remaining in the battery (stored electrical charge) decreases. It is therefore proposed to assist the driver of the vehicle so that the battery can be recharged before it is depleted and the vehicle becomes inoperable.

[0003] For example, JP H09-210 702 A discloses a technology that calculates a remaining range (traveling distance) when the remaining electrical energy in a battery falls below a predetermined level. The technology also provides the driver with positional information about an electrical power supply station (charging station) located near the vehicle's current position, as well as information about the probability of reaching the charging station. The vehicle's remaining range is calculated based on the remaining electrical energy in the battery.

[0004] Furthermore, JP 2003-262525A discloses another technology in which a charging station located near the vehicle's current position is selected from a plurality of pre-stored charging stations, and the location of the selected charging station, as well as the availability of an electric battery charger installed at the selected charging station, is made available to the vehicle's driver. JP 2003-262525A also discloses a technology in which, at a predetermined time interval, it is checked whether it is possible to continue the journey to the destination without recharging the battery. This check can be calculated based on the remaining electrical energy of the vehicle's battery and the amount of electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from its current position to the destination.According to this technology, if it is determined that it is not possible to reach the destination using only the remaining electrical energy of the battery, charging of the battery can begin immediately or within a predetermined time after arrival at the charging station, and information about the charging device that can charge the battery to the required capacity can be provided.

[0005] To drive from a starting point to a destination without being unduly constrained by time, it is necessary to create a journey plan that determines the departure time based on the planned arrival time at the destination, so that the driver is not encouraged to drive hastily. It is equally necessary that the driver does not have to worry excessively about whether they will reach the destination with the remaining amount of electrical energy in the battery, which varies from time to time.

[0006] In this respect, the JP H09-210 702 A technology only provides information about charging stations located near the vehicle when the remaining electrical energy falls below a certain level. It is unclear whether the vehicle can reach its destination using only the currently available battery charge. Therefore, the JP H09-210 702 A technology cannot provide the driver with sufficient reassurance. The JP H09-210 702 A technology does not provide the driver with information on whether the destination can be reached with only the currently available remaining capacity. Consequently, the driver cannot consider the need to charge the battery or the charging time, and therefore cannot plan the journey with sufficient time.

[0007] According to the technology of JP 2003-262525A, although it is possible to verify whether the vehicle can reach its destination using only the remaining battery charge, it is not possible to plan the journey at the time of departure with regard to the remaining battery charge. Therefore, according to JP 2003-262525A, the driver cannot create the journey plan with sufficient time.

[0008] Reference is also made to US 5 815 824 A, JP 2006 - 112 932 A and JP 2003 - 262 525 A, which were identified as prior art.

[0009] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and a device for outputting information about an electrical charging capacity, which enables the user to plan a travel itinerary of an electric motor-driven vehicle with sufficient time allowance.

[0010] The problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous further developments can be found in the dependent claims.

[0011] The foregoing and further tasks, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] They show: Fig. 1 a block diagram of an electrical storage information output system according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 a block diagram of a charging management station in the first embodiment; Fig. 3 a block diagram of a charging station in the first embodiment; Fig. 4 a block diagram of an electric vehicle in the first embodiment; Fig. 5 a block diagram of an output device for information about an amount of electrical energy in the first embodiment; Fig. 6 a table of an example of a table that defines the relationship between external devices and electrical energy consumption; Fig. 7. A flowchart of the processing of the output device for information about an amount of electrical energy according to Fig. 5; Fig. 8 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 9 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 10 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 11 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 12 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 13 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 14 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 15 a map of a local relationship between a destination and charging stations, determined as a result of a departure point and a search result of searching for charging stations; Fig. 16 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 17 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 18 a diagram of an example of a display by the output device according to Fig. 5; Fig. 19 a block diagram of an electrical storage information output system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 20 a block diagram of an electrical storage information output system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. (First embodiment)

[0013] According to Fig. Component 1 comprises an output system 100 for information about a quantity of electrical energy (hereinafter also referred to as energy quantity information output system 100), a charging management center 1, a plurality of charging stations 2, a motor-driven vehicle 3, and an output device 4 for information about a quantity of electrical energy (hereinafter also referred to as energy quantity information output device 4). The charging management center 1, the charging stations 2, and the output device 4 for information about a quantity of electrical energy are interconnected via a communication network such as the Internet in order to transmit and receive information.

[0014] Charging Management Center 1 is equipped to manage reservations for using Charging Stations 2. Charging Management Center 1 is configured as shown schematically in Fig. 2 shown to include an internal communication unit 11, an internal control unit 22 and a charging reservation database (DB) 13.

[0015] The center's internal communication unit 11 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the charging stations 2 and the dispensing device 4 via the communication network, such as the internet. For example, if a request signal is received, which initiates the transmission of information (availability information) indicating whether a charging device 23 is available at charging station 2 ( Fig. 3) Upon receiving a request signal from the output device 4, the internal communication unit 11 transmits the availability information to the internal control unit 12. The internal communication unit 11 then transmits, in return, the availability information that the internal control unit 12 transmits to the output device 4 in response to the request signal. If the output device 4 transmits a request signal for a temporary reservation or a formal reservation, the internal communication unit 11 transmits the request signal to the internal control unit 12 upon receiving the request signal.The center's internal communication unit 11 also transmits a command signal in response for a temporary reservation or a formal reservation, which is transmitted by the center's own control unit 12 in response to the request signal towards the charging stations.

[0016] The availability information consists of at least one piece of information indicating the presence or absence of reservations for charging device 23, i.e., the availability of charging device 23, or indicating a reserved time slot for charging device 23, i.e., the available time slot for charging device 23. It is hereby assumed that the availability information includes at least the information indicating the time zone in which charging device 23 is available.

[0017] Communication (transmission and reception of information) between the charging management center 1 and the dispensing device 4 can be carried out via the internet, which is provided within building structures such as houses and facilities. Specifically, information can be communicated between the dispensing device 4 and the building structures via short-range wireless communication, including WLAN, ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or similar technologies. Information can also be communicated between the building structures and the charging management center 1 via the internet network (broadband network) provided within the building structures.

[0018] The information can also be communicated between the charging management center 1 and the dispensing device 4 via a mobile network using an in-vehicle communication module such as a data communications module (DCM), which is used in telematics communications without using the internet in building structures.

[0019] The central control unit 12 is configured with a microcomputer that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, backup RAM, I / O (input and output interface), and the like, although these are not shown in the figures. The CPU performs various processing operations by executing different control programs stored in the ROM.

[0020] For example, if the request signal for the transmission of the availability information is transmitted by the center's own communication unit 11, the center's internal control unit 12 obtains the availability information stored in the charging reservation database 13 and transmits it to the center's own communication unit 11.

[0021] When the request signal for temporary reservation is transmitted by the center's internal communication unit 11, the center's internal control unit 12 operates the center's internal communication unit 11 to transmit the command signal for temporary reservation to charging station 2 in response to the request signal for temporary reservation. This command signal for temporary reservation restricts the use of the charging device 23 of charging station 2 to only temporary use (for example, a predetermined period of a few minutes) by a designated user.When the formal reservation request signal is transmitted by the center's internal communication unit 11, the center's internal control unit 12 operates the center's internal communication unit 11 to transmit the formal reservation command signal to charging station 2 in response to the formal reservation request signal. This formal reservation command signal restricts the use of the charging device 23 of charging station 2 to use only by a designated user for a time period requested by the formal reservation request signal. The designated user can be a user of vehicle 3, which can be identified, for example, by its vehicle ID.When the command signal for the temporary reservation or the command signal for the formal reservation is transmitted by the center's own communication unit 11, the center's internal control unit 12 updates the availability information stored in the loading reservation database 13.

[0022] In the charging reservation database 13, each availability information includes an identification code to indicate which of the charging devices 23 of which of the charging stations 2 the availability information belongs to.

[0023] The charging stations 2 are arranged at several outdoor locations for charging the battery of the vehicle 3. Although two charging stations 2 are in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, more charging stations can be provided in the output system 100 for information about an amount of electrical energy.

[0024] Charging station 2 is configured as shown schematically in Fig. 3 shown to include a station-internal communication unit 21, a station-internal control unit 22 and a plurality of charging devices 23.

[0025] The station's internal communication unit 21 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the charging management center 1 via the communication network, such as the internet. Specifically, when the station's internal communication unit 21 receives the command signal for temporary reservation from the charging management center 1, it transmits the command signal for temporary reservation to the station's internal control unit 22. When the station's internal communication unit 21 receives the command signal for formal reservation from the charging management center 1, it transmits this command signal for formal reservation to the station's internal control unit 22.

[0026] The station's internal control unit 22 is configured with a microcomputer that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, backup RAM, an input / output interface, and the like, although these are not shown in the figures. The CPU performs various operations by executing different control programs stored in the ROM. When the command signal for temporary reservation is transmitted by the station's internal communication unit 21, the station's internal control unit 22 limits the use of the charging device 23 of the charging station 2 to only temporary use (for example, a few minutes) by a designated user in accordance with the command signal for temporary reservation.When the command signal for formal reservation is transmitted by the station's own communication unit 21, the station's internal control unit 22 limits the use of the charging device 23 of charging station 2 to use by only one designated user for a specific time period. This charging device 23 and the time zone are identified by the command signal for formal reservation.

[0027] The reservation can remain valid until it is cancelled, provided that charging device 23 is currently being used by the designated user or the reserved time expires. It can be verified whether the user is authorized to use charging device 23 as the designated user by obtaining the vehicle ID from vehicle 3 via radio or power cable communication and comparing the obtained vehicle ID with a vehicle ID specifically assigned to a designated user authorized to use charging device 23.

[0028] The charging device 23 is configured to charge a battery 32 for the vehicle 3's driving use ( Fig. 4) to charge with electrical energy. The charging device 23, which is intended to charge the battery 32 of the vehicle 3 with electrical energy, can be the same as a conventional charging device for charging a battery of an electric motor-driven vehicle. The electrical energy can be transferred from the charging device 23 to the battery 32 by means of a plug connection or contactless electromagnetic induction.

[0029] Although the in Fig. If the charging station 2 shown in Figure 3 has two charging devices 23, it can also have only one charging device 23 or more than two charging devices 23.

[0030] The vehicle 3 can be either an electric vehicle (EV), which uses only an electric motor 31 as a source of energy for propulsion, or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), which uses both the electric motor 31 and an internal combustion engine as sources of energy for propulsion. As in Fig. As shown in Figure 4, the vehicle 3 is configured to include, in addition to the motor 31 and the battery 32, a charging control unit 33 and an output device 4 for information about an amount of electrical energy.

[0031] The motor 31 is a device that converts electrical energy (electrical power) supplied from an external source into rotational energy (traction energy) and is used as the drive energy source of the vehicle 3. The battery 32 is provided to supply the electrical energy to the motor 31, which is used as the drive energy source of the vehicle.

[0032] The charging control unit 33 is configured with a microcomputer that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, backup RAM, an input / output interface, and the like, although these are not shown in the figures. The CPU performs various processing operations by executing different control programs stored in the ROM. For example, the charging control unit 33 performs various conventional processing operations related to charging the battery 32 by the charging station 2. The charging control unit 33 is configured to monitor the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 32 and acquires information about the remaining electrical charge (remaining electrical energy) of the battery 32.

[0033] The output device 4 is configured to output information about the remaining electrical charge of the battery 32 of the vehicle 3. As shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 5, the output device 4 is configured to include an in-vehicle communication unit 41, an input unit 42 and an output unit 43, a navigation information acquisition unit 44 and an in-vehicle control unit 45.

[0034] The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 communicates with the charging management center 1 via a communication network such as the internet. Specifically, the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 transmits the request signal, which requests the transmission of availability information, to the charging management center 1 in response to a command from the vehicle's internal control unit 45. The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 also receives and transmits the availability information transmitted by the charging management center 1 in accordance with the request signal. The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 thus operates as an availability information acquisition section. The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 transmits the request signal for the temporary reservation in response to a command from the vehicle's internal control unit 45.This request signal requests a temporary reservation, which restricts the use of the designated charging device 23 of charging station 2 to temporary use (for example, a few minutes) by a designated user. The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 also transmits the request signal for a formal reservation in response to a command from the vehicle's internal control unit 45. This request signal also requests a formal reservation, which restricts the use of the designated charging device 23 of charging station 2 to use by a designated user for a specified period of time.

[0035] The input unit 42 is configured to receive input from a user. For example, the input unit 42 can retain touch switches or mechanical switches integrated with a display device to command various functions to the vehicle's internal control unit 45 through switching operations.

[0036] Output unit 43 is configured to output information to users. Output unit 43 is thus operated as an output section. For example, output unit 43 can be configured as a display device that provides information by visually displaying text or images, or as an audio output device that provides information through audible sounds. Output unit 43 is assumed to be a display device that visually displays text and images. The display device could be a display of a navigation device provided in a vehicle.

[0037] The navigation information acquisition unit 44 obtains information from the navigation device provided in the vehicle 3. The information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44 from the navigation device includes current position, departure point, map data, facilities, route guidance, route candidate route, and the like. The navigation information acquisition unit 44 transmits the obtained information to the vehicle's internal control unit 45. The navigation information acquisition unit 44 is designed as a position information acquisition section and a route information acquisition section.

[0038] The current position information indicates the current position of vehicle 3. This current position information can be acquired by a position detector such as a terrestrial magnetic sensor, a gyroscope, a vehicle speed sensor, or a GPS receiver of a conventional navigation device. The departure point information and the destination point information correspond to the coordinates of positions that are entered into the navigation device as the departure point and the destination point of vehicle 3, respectively.

[0039] The map data includes segment data and node data for a road. A segment connects nodes, as each road on a map is divided into multiple nodes where roads cross, branch off, and merge. A road is formed by connecting these segments. The segment data includes a specific number (segment ID) to identify a segment, a segment length indicating the length of a segment, a segment travel time, a segment direction, a segment orientation, node coordinates (latitude and longitude) of a segment's start and end, a road name, a road type, a road width, a number of lanes, the presence or absence of right and left-turn lanes, the number of special lanes, speed limits, and the like.The node data includes a node ID, which is specifically assigned to each node where roads on the map intersect, merge, or branch off; a node coordinate; a node name; and a connecting section ID of a section connected at the node coordinate. The node data also includes various data about the type of intersecting road. The facility information is information about the type, name, address, and coordinate position of each facility's location. The facility information includes the coordinates of the location of charging station 2.

[0040] The route guidance information is information about a route guidance system determined as a result of searching for a suitable route using a conventional Dijkstra procedure in the navigation device. The suitable route is selected from a plurality of routes that the vehicle 3 can travel, based on the inputted departure point and destination point. The specified route is selected to satisfy a predetermined condition, such as a priority for distance or travel time. The route candidate information is information about routes that the vehicle 3 can travel. The navigation information acquisition unit 44 is designed as a departure point information acquisition section and a destination point information acquisition section.

[0041] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is configured with a microcomputer containing a CPU, ROM, RAM, backup RAM, an input / output interface, and other components (all not shown). The vehicle's internal control unit 45, essentially its CPU, performs various processing operations by executing different control programs stored in the ROM, based on various pieces of information received from the charging control unit 33, the vehicle's internal communication unit 41, the input unit 42, and the navigation information acquisition unit 44.The various processing operations can include, for example: calculating the total amount of electrical energy required to reach the destination; calculating the minimum amount of electrical energy required; searching for a charging station; calculating the estimated time of arrival at the station; calculating the required additional amount of electrical energy; calculating the charging start time; calculating the estimated time of arrival at the destination; calculating the total amount of electrical energy consumed to reach the destination; priority display; temporary reservation; formal reservation; error correction, etc.

[0042] In calculating the total amount of electrical energy required to reach the destination, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 obtains route guidance information based on the departure point information and the destination point information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The route guidance information specifies a route along which the vehicle 3 is guided from the departure point to the destination point. For example, the route guidance information could be the information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the total amount of electrical energy required as the total amount of electrical energy necessary for the vehicle 3 to travel the distance from the departure point to the destination point, based on the route guidance information.The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is designed as a calculation section for determining the total amount of electrical energy required. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can use the target point information input by the input unit 42 in this calculation. The input unit thus operates as a target point information acquisition section. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can also use this target point information, input by the input unit 42, in other calculations. The input unit 42 is therefore also designed as a target point information acquisition section.

[0043] To calculate the total amount of electrical energy required, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can store information in its memory about the average amount of electrical energy consumed per predetermined distance of the battery 32. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the total distance of the route guidance by adding the length of each segment of the route guidance based on the map data obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can then calculate the total amount of electrical energy required based on the total distance of the route guidance and the average amount of electrical energy consumed.Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can obtain a speed limit, determined for each segment of the route guidance, based on map data obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy consumed by the battery 32 for each segment of the route guidance based on the speed limit. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the total required amount of electrical energy by adding the calculated amount of electrical energy consumed for each segment.

[0044] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 further checks whether the remaining electrical energy of the vehicle's battery 32, available at the departure point, is less than the calculated total required electrical energy. If the remaining electrical energy is less than the calculated total required energy, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display information about the remaining electrical energy, indicating that the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 is insufficient for the vehicle 3 to reach the destination using only the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 thus operates as a control section.

[0045] If the output unit 43 displays information about an insufficient remaining electrical energy supply, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the output unit 43 to display the availability information for charging station 2, based on the availability information for charging station 2 received by the vehicle's internal communication unit 41. This allows the user to determine, with regard to the availability of each charging station 2, where the battery 32 should be charged before reaching the destination.

[0046] In the calculation process for determining the required minimum amount of electrical energy, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 acquires information about the location of the nearest charging station to the departure point, based on the departure point information and the map data obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 then calculates the minimum amount of electrical energy required to travel the distance from the departure point to the nearest charging station, based on the acquired information about the departure point and the nearest station. Thus, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates as both a section for acquiring information about the nearest station location and a section for calculating the required minimum amount of electrical energy.

[0047] To calculate the required minimum amount of electrical energy based on information about the nearest charging station location and the departure point information, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate a straight-line route (shortest route) between the departure point and the nearest charging station location and furthermore calculate the required minimum amount of electrical energy based on the calculated straight-line route and the calculated average amount of electrical energy consumption. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can determine a travel route (e.g., the shortest route) from the departure point to the nearest charging station location and calculate the required minimum amount of electrical energy based on a portion of the determined travel route and the average amount of electrical energy consumption.Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy consumed by the battery 32 for each segment of the specified route based on the speed limit predetermined for each segment, and calculate the amount of electrical energy required to reach the destination by adding the calculated amounts of electrical energy consumed for each segment. The distance of the specified route can be calculated in the same way as in the case of a navigation route. The speed limit for each segment of the specified route can be obtained in the same way as in the case of a navigation route. Alternatively, the route can be determined by obtaining the navigation route from unit 44, where the navigation route is determined by the navigation device based on the departure point information and the information about the nearest station location.

[0048] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks whether the remaining electrical energy of the vehicle's battery 32, available at the departure point, is less than the calculated minimum required electrical energy. If the remaining electrical energy is less than the calculated minimum required energy, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display charging request information indicating that the battery 32 must be charged before leaving the departure point, as information regarding the remaining electrical charge, i.e., available electrical energy, of the battery 32.Therefore, if the remaining electrical energy of battery 32 at the departure point is less than the minimum electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to the next charging station 2, the user can be informed that battery 32 should be sufficiently charged at the departure point.

[0049] In the charging station search process, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 searches for charging stations 2 that are reachable for the vehicle 3 with the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32, based on the information about the remaining amount of electrical energy obtained from the charging control unit 33, the departure point information obtained from the navigation information acquisition unit 44, and the setup information of the map data. The charging station 2 located within a distance that the vehicle 3 can travel with the remaining electrical energy is referred to as the reachable charging station.The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate a distance that the vehicle 3 can travel from the departure point, based on the remaining electrical energy and the average electrical energy consumption, and select the accessible charging station located within the calculated distance. The distance from the departure point to the location of the accessible charging station 2 can be calculated as a straight line or as the shortest route from the departure point to the accessible charging station 2. Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can search for the charging station 2 by calculating the amount of electrical energy required to travel from the departure point to each location of the charging stations 2 and selecting the accessible charging station for which the calculated amount of electrical energy is less than the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32.The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy required to travel from the departure point to each charging station 2 based on a straight-line route from the departure point to charging station 2 and the average amount of electrical energy consumed. Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy based on a section of a travel route (for example, the shortest route) from the departure point to charging station 2 and the average amount of electrical energy consumed. Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy based on a section of a travel route (for example, the shortest route) from the departure point to charging station 2 and the speed limit in each segment of the travel route.

[0050] During the charging station search process, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can select the charging station 2, which is limited to being located along the vehicle 3's route between the departure point and the destination point, based on route candidate information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. According to this processing, when searching for the charging station, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can eliminate charging stations located along a route that the vehicle 3 is less likely to take. Thus, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can provide only usable information about the charging stations 2 by eliminating irrelevant information.

[0051] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the availability information for the charging station 2 that is being searched for and selected based on the search results and the availability information for charging stations 2 obtained by the vehicle's internal communication unit 41. The availability information for the selected charging station 2 can be displayed visually as a table that correlates a charging station name (e.g., numbers, symbols, or the like) for each charging station with availability information (e.g., YES or NO) indicating whether the charging station is available for charging or not. The display of charging stations can be limited to only those that are available. Such a station is displayed with its station name.Therefore, charging stations 2, which vehicle 3 will not be able to reach with its remaining battery 32 energy, can be eliminated from the availability information display. As a result, by eliminating unnecessary information, the user is provided with only the relevant information.

[0052] In the calculation of the estimated time of arrival at the charging station, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the estimated time of arrival at each charging station 2 based on the departure point information and the map data setup information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44, and the information about the planned departure time of the vehicle 3, which is entered by the input unit 42. The input unit 42 is thus designed as an acquisition stage for the planned departure time. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is thus designed as a calculation stage for the estimated time of arrival at the charging station.

[0053] For example, the in-vehicle control unit 45 determines the route (e.g., shortest route) to each charging station 2 based on the departure point information and the location information of each charging station 2, and calculates a travel time required to travel from the departure point to each charging station 2, based on a segment travel time for each segment. The in-vehicle control unit 45 can calculate the estimated station arrival time for each charging station 2 by adding the calculated travel time to each charging station 2 to the scheduled departure time. The segment travel time for each segment of the route can be determined from the map data obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44 or can be obtained from a VICS (registered trademark) center or the like.

[0054] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the availability information of the searched charging station 2 and the estimated time of arrival at such a charging station, based on the search results of the charging station search and the calculated estimated time of arrival at the station. When displaying the availability information for the searched charging station 2 and the estimated time of arrival, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can display the name of the charging station 2 available for charging the vehicle 3's battery 3, as well as the estimated time of arrival, which indicates the expected time of the vehicle 3's arrival at such charging station 2, as a list in order of earliest to latest estimated time of arrival. The charging station with the earliest estimated time of arrival is preferentially listed at the top.This makes it possible for the user to identify at which charging station vehicle 3 can arrive at the earliest time and charge battery 32 at such a charging station.

[0055] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the output unit 43 to display only the availability information for the charging stations 2 where the vehicle 3 will arrive after the expected station arrival time. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can thus eliminate the display of availability information for charging station 2 where the vehicle 3 will arrive before reaching the charging station. By eliminating the output of unnecessary information, only relevant information can be provided to the user. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the required additional electrical energy (required additional charging quantity) with which the battery 32 must be additionally charged at charging station 2 so that the vehicle 3 can travel from charging station 2 to the destination.The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is thus designed as a calculation section for a required supplementary amount of electrical energy (hereinafter also referred to as the target supplementary energy quantity calculation section).

[0056] For example, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the amount of electrical energy required for vehicle 3 to travel from the departure point to charging station 2 and subtract this calculated amount of electrical energy from the remaining electrical energy in battery 32. Thus, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the remaining electrical energy available in battery 32 at the time of arrival at charging station 2. Similarly, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the amount of electrical energy required for vehicle 3 to travel from charging station 2 to the destination point, based on the location information of charging station 2 and the destination point information.The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the required additional amount of electrical energy by subtracting the remaining amount of electrical energy available at the time of arrival at charging station 2 from the amount of electrical energy required to travel from charging station 2 to the destination point.

[0057] During the calculation of the charging start time, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the charging start time at which charging can begin in order to charge the battery 32 to the required charge level via the charging station 2. This calculation is based on the availability information of the charging station 2, which is received by the vehicle's internal communication unit 41, and the required charge level, which is calculated when determining the necessary additional electrical energy. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is thus designed as a charging start time calculation section.

[0058] For example, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 searches for a time period in which the battery 32 can be continuously charged to add the required supplemental electrical energy, based on the expected station arrival time, information about time periods in which the charging device 23 of charging station 2 is available, and the required supplemental electrical energy. This time period is one of the time periods in which the charging device 23 is available after the vehicle 3's expected station arrival time. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 determines the charging start time in the earliest time period among those searched.

[0059] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the availability information obtained as a result of the charging station search and the calculated charging start time of charging station 2. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can display the names of available charging stations and their respective charging start times in a list, in chronological order. The earliest time is preferentially displayed at the beginning of the list. This allows the user to identify the charging station where the vehicle's battery 32 can be charged with the required amount of additional electrical energy at the earliest possible time. The user can then complete the required additional charging at the earliest time by driving to such a charging station.The user can therefore minimize the waiting time to start charging battery 32 by selecting charging station 2, where charging can start earliest.

[0060] During the calculation of the estimated time of arrival, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates an estimated time of arrival at the destination point, at which the vehicle 3 will arrive after charging the battery 32 in order to add the required additional electrical energy at the charging station 2. This calculation is based on the availability information of charging station 2 received by the vehicle's internal communication unit 41, the required additional electrical energy calculated during the calculation of the required additional electrical energy, and the facility information and destination point information from the map data obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is thus designed as a calculation section for an estimated time of arrival.

[0061] For example, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates a charging completion time, at which the charging of battery 32 will be completed for the purpose of adding the required supplementary amount of electrical energy, based on the charging start time calculated during the charging start time calculation and the required supplementary amount of electrical energy. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 also calculates a travel time that the vehicle 3 needs to travel from charging station 2 to the destination point, based on the location information about charging station 2 and the destination point information. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the estimated arrival time at the destination by adding the travel time from charging station 2 to the charging completion time. The time required for supplementary charging of battery 32 can be calculated in relation to the required supplementary amount of electrical energy.The travel time from charging station 2 to the destination can be calculated in the same way as in the case of calculating the travel time from the departure point to charging station 2.

[0062] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the availability information obtained as a result of the charging station search and the estimated time of arrival at the destination, which is calculated during the estimated time of arrival calculation. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can display the names of available charging stations and their corresponding estimated times of arrival at the destination in a list, in order of estimated time of arrival starting from the beginning of the list. The user can thus identify which of the charging stations 2 allows the earliest arrival at the destination and, by charging the battery 32 at such a charging station 2 as the one shown at the beginning of the list, can arrive at the destination in the shortest possible time.

[0063] In processing the calculation of the total electrical energy consumption required to reach the destination, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the total electrical energy consumption required for the vehicle 3 to arrive at the destination via the charging station 2, based on the departure point information, the destination point information, and the map data setup information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 is thus designed as a calculation section for determining the total electrical energy consumption.

[0064] For example, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can determine a route from the departure point to the destination point via the charging station (with the charging station as an intermediate stop) based on the departure point information, the destination point information, and the location information of charging station 2, and can calculate the total amount of electrical energy required to reach the destination point based on the distance of the determined route and the average amount of electrical energy consumed. Alternatively, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can calculate the total amount of electrical energy consumed by calculating the amount of electrical energy consumed in each segment of the determined route based on the speed limit applicable to each segment of the route.

[0065] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the availability information for charging station 2, which is obtained as a result of the charging station search and the total electrical energy consumption. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can display the names of the available charging stations and their corresponding total electrical energy consumption in a list, in order of total electrical energy consumption. The charging station 2 with the lowest total electrical energy consumption is preferentially listed first.The user can thus identify which of the charging stations 2 can enable arrival at the destination with the lowest total electrical energy consumption, and the user can arrive at the destination with the lowest total electrical energy consumption by charging the battery 32 at such a charging station 2 as listed at the beginning of the list. It is therefore possible to reach the destination while reducing charging costs to the lowest possible level.

[0066] The information displayed by output unit 43, along with the charging station availability information, can include the journey time to charging station 2, determined as a result of the charging station search, in addition to the estimated station arrival time, the charging start time, the estimated destination arrival time, and the total amount of electrical energy consumed.

[0067] During priority display processing, if there are two or more types of information to be displayed by the output unit 43 along with the availability information, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 reorders the display order of such information received by the input unit 42 in accordance with the user's input, who determines which of a plurality of information should be displayed with priority. For example, it is assumed that the user selects the estimated time of arrival at the destination to be displayed with priority via the input unit 42, in the case that the output unit 43 displays four types of information: travel time, estimated time of arrival at the station, charging start time, and estimated time of arrival at the destination.In this case, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the output unit 43 to display a set of information including the name of the charging station 2 available from the charging station 2 (obtained as a result of the charging station search), the journey duration, the estimated time of arrival at the station, the charging start time, and the estimated time of arrival at the destination, with each set of information listed in order of the earliest estimated time of arrival at the destination. The input unit 42 is thus designed as a receiving section for priority input.

[0068] When processing temporary reservations, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 to automatically transmit the request signal for the temporary reservation of charging station 2, which is listed first because it has the highest priority in the priority indicator processing. The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 is thus designed as a transmission section for a temporary reservation request signal. For example, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the communication section 41 to automatically transmit the request signal for a temporary reservation for charging station 2, which will provide the earliest estimated time of arrival, if charging stations 2 are listed from the top in order of their earlier estimated times of arrival in the priority indicator processing.Charging station 2, in particular charging device 23 of such a charging station, which is subject to the temporary reservation, can be identified based on the individual charging station ID or the like. The user requesting the temporary reservation can be identified based on the individual vehicle ID or the like. Thus, charging station 2, which the user is most likely to select as the charging station 2 for charging battery 32, can be automatically reserved temporarily as the charging point for battery 32. It is therefore possible to prevent such charging station 2 from being reserved by other users before it is actually reserved by the user.

[0069] During the processing of the formal reservation, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 to transmit the signal of a formal reservation for charging station 2, which is currently selected by the user via the input unit 42. The user can thus select charging station 2 for the formal reservation based on the list of charging stations obtained as a result of the charging station search processing and displayed on the output unit 43 with availability information, the estimated time of arrival at the station, the charging start time, the estimated time of arrival at the destination, the total amount of electrical energy consumed, the travel time to charging station 2, and the like. The input unit 42 is therefore designed as a receiving section for a charging station selection input (hereinafter also referred to as the charging station selection input receiving section).The vehicle's internal communication unit 41 is designed as a transmission section for a formal reservation request signal. In the same manner as for processing the temporary reservation, the charging station 2, in particular the charging device 23 of such a charging station, which is affected by the formal reservation, can be determined based on the individual charging station ID or the like. The user requesting the formal reservation can be determined based on the individual vehicle ID or the like.

[0070] During fault correction processing, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 corrects the electrical energy quantities required for driving based on faults that affect the electrical energy consumption of the vehicle's battery 32. This is done to perform the aforementioned processing for calculating the required total electrical energy quantity, the required minimum electrical energy quantity, locating a charging station, calculating the required supplementary electrical energy quantity, calculating the total electrical energy consumption quantity, and the like. Specifically, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 obtains fault information by receiving inputs of the types of faults to be considered, determines the correction quantity according to the obtained fault information, and corrects the electrical energy quantities required for the vehicle 3 to drive.The correction set can be defined with reference to table data that defines the relationship between the fault type and the correction set, as exemplified in . Fig. The input unit 42, as shown in Figure 6, is thus designed as a section for obtaining fault information (hereinafter also referred to as the fault information acquisition section).

[0071] According to this embodiment, the amount of electrical energy required for driving is corrected based on the disturbance information that affects the electrical energy consumption of the vehicle's battery 32. The electrical energy required for driving can be corrected to a more appropriate value with regard to the influence of disturbances. As a result, the processing for calculating the total electrical energy consumption required to reach the destination, calculating the minimum electrical energy consumption required, locating the charging station, calculating the required supplementary electrical energy, and calculating the total electrical energy consumption can be performed more accurately.

[0072] Fig. Figure 6 is an example of a table that defines the relationship between the types of disturbances and the amount of electrical energy consumed. This table stores the operating mode and electrical energy consumption (W) for each external device that constitutes a disturbance. For example, "Air Conditioning (A / C)" is defined as consuming 800 W in maximum cooling mode and 1.2 kW in maximum heating mode. "Windscreen Wipers" are defined as consuming 62 W in low-speed wiping mode (Lo) and 69 W in high-speed wiping mode (Hi). "Headlights" are defined as consuming 70 W in ON mode. "Radio" is defined as consuming 57 W in ON mode. "Navigation" is defined as consuming 7 W in ON mode.

[0073] Instead of defining the relationship between the disturbances and the electrical energy consumption quantities in tabular form, the relationship between the disturbances and the coefficients used as multipliers for the electrical energy required for driving can be defined in tabular form.

[0074] Fault information can be entered manually to be received by the input device 4, so that the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can obtain the fault information. Alternatively, fault information from various sensors and switches provided in the vehicle 3 can be automatically made available to the vehicle's internal control unit 45.

[0075] The operation of the energy quantity information output device 4 is further described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 7 described.

[0076] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks in step S1 whether the energy quantity information output device 4 is switched on. If the energy quantity information output device 4 is switched on (Yes), step S2 is executed. If the energy quantity information output device 4 is not switched on (No), step 1 is repeated.

[0077] In step S2, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the remaining electrical charge (remaining electrical energy) of the vehicle's battery 32 at the departure point and to prompt the user to set the destination point. Until the display of the remaining electrical energy at the departure point is executed, the output unit 43 may display a message indicating how in Fig. Figure 8 shows that the information is retrieved (obtained). The display of the remaining electrical energy at the departure point can be seen, as in Fig. Figure 9 shows the charge level (%), the range (km), or a measuring instrument indicating the state of charge, as well as the current state of charge (the amount of electrical energy currently remaining) of the battery 32. Furthermore, a touch switch can be displayed to prompt the user to set the destination point. The range that the vehicle 3 will be able to travel with the remaining electrical energy can be calculated based on the remaining amount of electrical energy and the average amount of electrical energy consumed.

[0078] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks in step S3 whether the input unit 42 has accepted the input from the touch switch to define the destination point. If such a request is accepted (Yes), step S4 is carried out. If the query is not accepted (No), no further steps are performed. The destination point can be defined by entering the name and address, or similar information, of the destination point via the input unit 42.

[0079] In step S4, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a message requesting how to... Fig. Figure 10 indicates whether the user will request fault correction processing. If the fault correction processing request is received by input unit 42 (Yes), step S5 is executed. If such a request is not received by input unit 42 (No), step S6 is executed.

[0080] In step S5, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a message recommending to the user the type of fault to be considered. The correction quantity is determined according to the fault the user has selected and entered to be considered. The fault selection indicator can be a touch switch display, as shown in Fig. 11 is shown, which the user can select. In the example according to Fig. 11 include the following fault settings: "Time Period," "Air Conditioning (A / C)," "Weather," and "Audio." For "Time Period," you can select either "Day (Headlights: OFF)" or "Evening / Night (Headlights: ON)." For "A / C," you can select "OFF," "Cooling," or "Heating." For "Weather," you can select "Fair (No Wipers)," "Light Rain (Wipers: Low)," or "Heavy Rain (Wipers: High)." For "Audio," you can select "ON" or "OFF."

[0081] In the example according to Fig. In 11 instances, “Evening / Night”, “Cooling”, “Beautiful”, and “ON” are selected with respect to “Time Period”, “A / C”, “Weather”, and “Audio”, respectively. Based on this example of selected faults, the correction value during fault correction processing is applied to the table data contained in Fig. The values ​​are calculated as follows, as shown in section 6. Since "Evening / Night (Headlights: ON)" is selected as the "Time Period", the electrical energy of 70 W from "Headlights: ON (Hi)" is referenced. Since "Cooling" is selected as "A / C", the electrical energy of 800 W from "Maximum Cooling" is referenced. Since "Fair" is selected as "Weather", the electrical energy of 0 W (no windshield wipers) is set as the default value. Since "ON" is selected as "Audio", the electrical energy of 57 W from a radio receiver is referenced. The correction value is ultimately determined as 927 W (= 70 W + 800 W + 0 W + 57 W) in the noise correction processing. The correction value is determined as 0 W if no input is received from input unit 42 for noise correction.

[0082] In step S6, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs an initial information acquisition process. During this initial information acquisition process, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 obtains the departure point information from the navigation information acquisition unit 44, the information about the remaining electrical energy from the charging control unit 33, the destination point information received from the input unit 42, and the fault information. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 further obtains the route guidance information from the navigation information acquisition unit 44 based on the departure point information and the destination point information.The route guidance information need not be obtained from the navigation device installed in the vehicle, but can also be obtained from a data center or the like, which determines the route guidance outside the vehicle, by means of the vehicle's internal communication unit 41.

[0083] In step S7, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 calculates the total amount of electrical energy required to reach the destination. In step S8, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks whether the remaining electrical energy in the vehicle's battery 32, available at the departure point, is less than the total amount of electrical energy required, calculated in step S7. If the remaining electrical energy in battery 32 is less than the total amount of electrical energy required (Yes), step S9 is performed to calculate the minimum electrical energy required to reach a charging station 2. If the remaining electrical energy in the battery is not less than the total amount of electrical energy required (No), no further steps are performed.

[0084] During the execution of steps S6 to S8, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the output unit 43 to indicate, for example, that the check to see if the vehicle 3 can reach the destination using only the remaining electrical energy from battery 32 is in progress. An example of this is shown in Fig. 12. If the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 is not less than the total required electrical energy (S8: No), the vehicle's internal control unit 45 can operate the output unit 43 to indicate that the vehicle 3 will be able to reach the destination using only the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32.

[0085] In step S9, the control unit 45 performs the processing to calculate the minimum required amount of electrical energy to reach a charging station. Then, in step S10, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks whether the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the required minimum amount. If the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the required minimum amount (Yes), meaning the vehicle 3 will not be able to reach one of the charging stations 2, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs step S12. If the remaining amount of electrical energy is not less than the required minimum amount (No), the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs step S11.

[0086] In step S11, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display information about insufficient electrical charge, indicating that the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 is inadequate and should be replenished. As the display of the insufficient electrical charge information can be, as in Fig. Figure 13 shows the charge level (%), the range (km), or a measuring instrument indicating the state of charge, as the current remaining amount of electrical energy (the current state of charge) of the battery 32 is provided. Furthermore, touch switches can be displayed as prompts asking whether the destination point should be displayed and whether the charging station 2, which the vehicle 3 will be able to reach with the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32, should be searched for.

[0087] In step S12, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display the charging request information, indicating that the battery 32 should be charged before departing from the departure point. This display thus recommends that the user charge the battery 32 at the departure point or immediately. The charging request information can be displayed after or together with information about insufficient electrical charge. In step S12, it is preferred not to display the touch switch for prompting the user to search for charging stations.

[0088] After step S11, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks whether the charging station search is requested via the touch switch displayed on the input unit 42 during step S11. If a search is requested (Yes), step S14 is executed. If no such search query is entered into the input unit 42 (No), no further steps are executed.

[0089] In step S14, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a message (priority selection display), as in Fig. Figure 14 is shown as an example. This display recommends that the user select information to be displayed with priority from a plurality of available information shown on the output unit 43. The available information corresponds to the display information. The vehicle's internal control unit 45 determines the type of display that should be prioritized according to the user's input when selecting the information to be prioritized. The priority selection display can be, as shown in Figure 14, Fig. Figure 14 shows that a touch switch display is provided so that the user can select the type of display to be prioritized. In the example according to Fig. 14 The touch switch display includes the following three types of items: “Priority for arrival time at charging station”, which prioritizes the expected arrival time at the station; “Priority for charging start time”, which prioritizes the start time of charging battery 32; and "Priority for estimated time of arrival" which prioritizes the estimated time of arrival.

[0090] The information displayed by output unit 43, in addition to the available information, is assumed to be of four types: travel time, estimated time of arrival at the station, charging start time, and estimated time of arrival at the destination. It is further assumed that the display, which can be prioritized, is limited to three pieces of information: arrival time at the station, charging start time, and estimated time of arrival at the destination. That is, travel time is not prioritized.

[0091] In step S15, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs a second information acquisition process. During this process, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 obtains information that is used in an additional information calculation process as described below. For example, during the second information acquisition process, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 also obtains the map data and route candidate information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44, as well as the charging station availability information received by the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 and similar devices.

[0092] In step S16, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the charging station search processing. In step S17, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the calculation processing of the required additional information regarding charging station 2, which is determined as a result of the charging station search processing. During the calculation processing of the required additional information regarding charging station 2, obtained as a result of the charging station search processing, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the calculation processing of the expected arrival time at the station, the required additional amount of electrical energy, the total amount of electrical energy consumed, and the like.In this embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle-internal control unit 45 calculates the journey duration, the expected arrival time at the station, the charging start time and the expected destination arrival time by performing the calculation processing of the expected arrival time at the station, the calculation processing of the required additional electrical energy quantity, the calculation processing of the charging start time and the calculation processing of the expected destination arrival time.

[0093] In this example, it is assumed that there are four charging stations 2, designated by the station names A, B, C and D, as shown in Fig. 15 is shown as a result of the charging station search processing. Fig. Figure 15 schematically represents the relationship between the locations of the four charging stations A, B, C, and D and the destination. The travel time is assumed to be 5 minutes from the departure point to charging station A, 10 minutes from charging station A to charging station B, 10 minutes from charging station B to charging station C, 5 minutes from charging station B to charging station D, 25 minutes from charging station C to the destination, and 5 minutes from charging station D to the destination. Vehicle 3 is assumed to spend 10 minutes at each of the stations A through D to recharge battery 32 with the necessary supplemental electrical energy.

[0094] In this example, it is also assumed that during the calculation of the estimated time of arrival at the station, the estimated times of arrival at the station are calculated to be 14:05 for A, 14:15 for B, 14:25 for C, and 14:30 for D. It is further assumed that during the calculation of the charging start time, the charging start times are calculated to be 14:35 for A, 14:45 for B, 14:35 for C, and 14:34 for D. It is further assumed that during the calculation of the estimated time of arrival at the destination, the estimated times of arrival at the destination are calculated to be 14:15 for A, 15:25 for B, 15:00 for C, and 14:50 for D.

[0095] In step S18, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the priority display processing. For example, if "Priority for arrival time at the charging station" is selected in step S14, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a message as shown in Fig. Figure 16 is shown. The charging stations are listed from top to bottom in the order A, B, C, D based on the earliest order of the expected arrival time at the station. If “Priority for charging start time” is selected in step S14, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a message as shown in Figure 16. Fig. Figure 17 shows the charging stations. The charging stations are listed from top to bottom in the order C, D, A, B based on the earliest charging start time. If "Priority for estimated destination arrival time" is selected in step S14, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 operates the output unit 43 to display a screen as shown in Figure 17. Fig. The charging stations are shown in Figure 18. They are listed from top to bottom in the order D, C, A, B, based on the earliest order of the expected arrival time at the destination.

[0096] In step S19, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the processing for the temporary reservation. In step S20, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 checks whether the input device 42 has already received the formal reservation request from the user. If the formal request has already been received (Yes), the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs step 21. If no formal request has been received (No), the vehicle's internal control unit 45 does not perform any further steps. In step S21, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 performs the processing for the formal reservation.

[0097] According to the embodiment, the user can determine whether the vehicle 3 can reach the destination from the departure point using only the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32. As a result, the user can recharge the battery 32 at the departure point or confirm the location of the charging station 2 where the user can recharge the vehicle 3's battery 32 before arriving at the destination. The user is thus relieved of the need to worry about whether the vehicle 3 can reach the destination with only the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32. Since the user can verify whether the vehicle 3 can reach the destination with only the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32, the user can confirm the charging stations 2 located along the route to the destination and the charging times at each charging station 2.This allows the user to easily plan a travel itinerary with sufficient time buffer.

[0098] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can be configured to automatically check whether the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 at the departure point is less than the total electrical energy required to reach the destination point when the ignition switch signal of the vehicle is detected or the engine start of the vehicle 3 is detected. The vehicle's internal control unit is thus designed as a detection section for a vehicle driving condition.

[0099] The vehicle's internal control unit 45 can be configured to automatically check whether the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 at the departure point is less than the required minimum electrical energy when the ignition switch of the vehicle 3 is activated or the engine of the vehicle 3 is started. This is particularly advantageous in a case where the battery 32 has been excessively discharged due to the vehicle 3 not being used for an extended period of time.

[0100] The charging stations 2 are not limited to stations managed by the charging management center 1. Other charging stations not managed by the charging management center 1 may be included in the electrical energy quantity information output system 100. With regard to the availability information for such other stations, the vehicle's internal control unit 45 may be configured to obtain information indicating that it is unclear whether such other stations are available, based on the fact that availability information for such other stations is not being collected. In this case, the output unit 43 may be configured to indicate that the availability of the other charging stations not managed by the charging management center 1 is unclear. (Second embodiment)

[0101] The energy output device 4 is not attached to the vehicle 3, but is provided outside of the vehicle 3. For example, it is attached to a building structure such as a building or facility where the vehicle 3 is parked, as in Fig. 19 shown, provided.

[0102] An energy quantity information output system 200 includes a charging device 5 in addition to the charging management center 1, the charging stations 2, the vehicle 3 and the energy quantity information output device 4. The charging management center 1, the charging stations 2 and the energy quantity information output device 4 are interconnected via a communication network such as the Internet, enabling them to transmit and receive information.

[0103] In the energy quantity information output system 2090, the output device 4 is located in a specific location, such as a wall of the building, to allow for easy user operation. Although the output device 4 can be located either outside or inside the building structure, it is preferably located inside the building structure for safety reasons. The vehicle 3 includes a communication device that transmits the remaining electrical energy quantity information, obtained by the charging control unit 33, to the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 of the output device 4.The communication device provided in the vehicle 3 can be an in-vehicle communication module used in telematics communications such as DCM, or another communication device that connects to a communication network via mobile phones connected via Bluetooth. Additionally, such a communication device can be one that communicates with the output device 4 via short-range radio communications such as WLAN, Bluetooth, or ZigBee, or via PLC communications.

[0104] In the energy quantity information output system 200, the navigation information acquisition unit 44 can be configured to obtain information from the navigation device provided in the vehicle 3 by the communication device and the vehicle's internal communication unit 41. The information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44 from the navigation device includes the current position, the departure point, the destination point, map data, the facilities, the route guidance route, the route candidate route, and the like.

[0105] The charging device 5 is located within a parking area where the vehicle 3 is parked. The charging device 5 is configured to charge the battery 32 of the vehicle 3 when the remaining electrical energy of the battery 32 is less than the required minimum electrical energy, which is calculated as described above. (Third embodiment)

[0106] In the third embodiment, as in Fig. Figure 20 shows the energy quantity information output device 4 provided within a mobile phone 6 or the like, carried by the user. An energy quantity information output system 300, as shown in Fig.Figure 20 shows that the mobile phone 6 includes the charging management center 1, the charging stations 2, the vehicle 3, and the energy quantity information output device 4. The charging management center 1, the charging stations 2, and the energy quantity information output device 4 are interconnected via the communication network, such as the mobile network or the internet, enabling them to transmit and receive information.

[0107] In the energy quantity information output system 300, the vehicle 3 includes a communication device that transmits information about the remaining amount of electrical energy obtained by the charging control unit 33 to the vehicle's internal communication unit 41 of the output device 4. The communication device provided in the vehicle 3 can be an internal communication module used in telematics communications such as DCM.

[0108] In the energy quantity information output system 300, the navigation information acquisition unit 44 can be configured to obtain information from the navigation device provided in the vehicle 3 via the communication device and the vehicle's internal communication unit 41. The information obtained by the navigation information acquisition unit 44 from the navigation device includes the current position, the departure point, the destination point, map data, the facilities, the route guidance route, the route candidate route, and the like.

[0109] The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but can be implemented in various embodiments.

[0110] In summary, the invention relates to an energy quantity information output device for a vehicle, in which a control section checks whether the remaining electrical energy in the battery of an electric motor-driven vehicle at a departure point is less than the total electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel to a destination. The control section operates an output section to output deficiency information indicating that the remaining electrical energy in the battery is insufficient if it is less than the total electrical energy required.

Claims

[1] Energy quantity information output device for outputting information indicating the remaining electrical energy of a battery intended as a source of propulsion energy for electrically propelling a vehicle, wherein the energy quantity information output device comprises: a departure point information acquisition section (44) that obtains departure point information indicating a departure point of the vehicle; a target point information acquisition section (44) that acquires target point information specifying a target point of the vehicle; a residual energy quantity information acquisition section (45) that captures residual energy quantity information indicating the amount of electrical energy remaining in the battery; a target total energy quantity calculation section (45) which determines a required total electrical energy quantity based on the departure point information and the destination point information, wherein the required total electrical energy quantity indicates the amount of electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to the destination point; an output section (43) that outputs information; a control section (45) that checks whether the remaining electrical energy, as indicated by the residual energy information, is less than the total required energy at the departure point, and operates the output section to output shortage information indicating that the remaining electrical energy of the battery is insufficient when the remaining electrical energy is less than the total required electrical energy; an availability information acquisition section (41) which obtains availability information indicating the availability of each from a plurality of charging stations (2) intended for charging batteries, wherein the control section (45) further operates the output section to output the availability information from each of the majority of the charging stations when the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the total amount of electrical energy required; a location information acquisition section (44) that acquires location information specifying a location of each of the charging stations, wherein the control section (45) searches for an accessible charging station that the vehicle is able to reach with the remaining amount of energy, based on the departure point information, the location information and the remaining energy information, and restricts the availability information to only the accessible charging stations, wherein: the control section (45) calculates a required minimum amount of electrical energy based on the departure point information and the location information, wherein the required minimum amount of electrical energy indicates a minimum amount of electrical energy required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to each of the charging stations, and the control section (45) searches for reachable charging stations based on the required minimum amount of electrical energy and the remaining amount of electrical energy; a target supplementary energy quantity calculation section (45) which calculates a required supplementary amount of electrical energy with which the battery must be charged at the reachable charging station so that the vehicle can travel from the reachable charging station to the destination point with respect to each of the reachable charging stations, wherein The total required amount of electrical energy is calculated based on the location information of the accessible charging station in addition to the departure point information and the destination point information, so that the total required amount of electrical energy indicates a total amount of electrical energy needed for the vehicle to travel from the departure point via the accessible charging station to the destination point; a calculation section (45) for an estimated destination arrival time, which calculates an estimated destination arrival time based on the availability information of the charging station, the required supplementary amount of electrical energy, the destination point information and the location information of the reachable charging station, wherein the estimated destination arrival time indicates an estimated time of arrival at the destination point if the battery is charged at the reachable charging station, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the estimated time of arrival as the display information relating to each charging station in order of an earlier time of the estimated time of arrival; a priority selection input receiving section (42) which receives an input of a priority selection of one of at least two display information items that are output by the output section, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the display information in an order of priority selected by the priority selection input / receive section; and a section (41) for the transmission of a request signal for a temporary reservation, which transmits a request signal of a temporary reservation for the charging station, wherein the temporary reservation is effective only for a predetermined time period, wherein the control section (45) operates the section for a transmission of a request signal for a temporary reservation in order to transmit the request signal to the charging station that is issued at the beginning of a list of charging stations rearranged according to the selected priority. [2] Energy quantity information output device according to claim 1, wherein: The availability information includes information about at least whether or when the charging station is available for charging the battery. [3] Energy quantity information output device according to claim 1, further comprising: a route information acquisition section (44) that obtains route information indicating routes that the vehicle is able to take from the departure point to the destination point, wherein The control section (45) limits the available charging stations to only those charging stations located on the routes specified by route information. [4] Energy quantity information output device according to one of claims 1 or 3, further comprising: a departure time information acquisition section (42) that acquires departure time information indicating a planned departure time of the vehicle from the departure point; and a calculation section (45) for an estimated time of arrival at the station, wherein the calculation section calculates an estimated time of arrival at the station, wherein this estimated time of arrival indicates an estimated time of arrival at the reachable charging station based on the departure point information, the location information of the reachable charging stations and the departure time information, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the reachable charging station as display information in order of earlier time and estimated time of arrival at the station. [5] Energy quantity information output device according to claim 4, wherein: the control section (45) operates the output section to output the availability information about each charging station that the vehicle is able to reach. [6] Energy quantity information output device according to claim 1, further comprising: a charging start time calculation section (45) which calculates a charging start time based on the availability information of the charging station and the required supplementary amount of electrical energy with respect to each reachable charging station, wherein the charging start time is a start time of charging in which it is permitted to charge the required supplementary amount of electrical energy at the reachable charging station, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output the charging start time at the reachable charging station as the display information relating to each charging station in order of earlier times of the charging start time. [7] Energy quantity information output device according to one of 1, 3, 4, 5 or 6, further comprising: an energy consumption quantity calculation section (45) which calculates a total electrical energy consumption quantity based on the departure point information, the location information of the charging stations and the destination point information, wherein the total electrical energy consumption quantity represents a total amount of electrical energy consumed by the vehicle while driving from the departure point via the charging station to the destination point, wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to display the total amount of electrical energy consumed as the display information for each charging station in order of lowest total amount of electrical energy consumed. [8] Energy quantity information output device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a fault information acquisition section (42) that acquires fault information indicating faults that affect an electrical energy consumption quantity of the battery, wherein The control section (45) corrects the required total amount of electrical energy according to the fault information. [9] Energy quantity information output device according to claim 1, further comprising: a charging station selection input receiving section (42) that receives an input of a selection of the available charging stations from the charging stations; and a section for transmitting a request signal for a formal reservation, which specifies a request signal for a formal reservation, which is a formal request to the reachable charging station selected and received by the charging station selection input receive section. [10] Energy quantity information output device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a nearest location acquisition section (45) which obtains information about a nearest location which specifies a nearest charging station from a plurality of charging stations intended for charging batteries, wherein the nearest charging station is the nearest to the departure point; a calculation section (45) for a required minimum amount of energy, which calculates a required minimum amount of energy based on the departure point information and the information of the nearest location, wherein the required minimum amount of electrical energy specifies a minimum amount of electrical energy from the battery required for the vehicle to travel from the departure point to the nearest charging station, wherein the control section (45) checks whether the remaining electrical energy is less than the total energy required, and wherein the control section (45) operates the output section to output charging request information indicating that it is requested that the battery be charged before starting to depart from the departure point if the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the required minimum amount of electrical energy. [11] Equipping an energy quantity information output system: The energy quantity information output device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; and a communication device provided in the vehicle to communicate with the energy quantity information output device, wherein the communication device transmits the remaining energy quantity information of the battery at the departure point to the energy quantity information output device, and wherein The energy quantity information output device is located in a building structure outside the vehicle. [12] Having an energy quantity information output system: the energy quantity information output device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; and a communication device provided in the vehicle to communicate with the energy quantity information output device, wherein the communication device transmits information about the remaining amount of electrical energy in the battery at the departure point to the energy quantity information output device, and wherein the energy quantity information output device is provided in a mobile phone (6) carried by a user. [13] Energy quantity information output system, comprising: the energy quantity information output device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the energy quantity information output device is provided in the vehicle. [14] Energy quantity information output system according to claim 13, wherein: the energy quantity information output device further comprises a vehicle driving condition detection section that detects whether the vehicle's electric drive is started; and When the vehicle's electric drive is detected, the control section (45) checks whether the remaining amount of electrical energy at the departure point is less than the total amount of electrical energy required, and operates the output section to output shortage information indicating that the remaining amount of electrical energy in the battery is insufficient if the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the total amount of electrical energy required. [15] Energy quantity information output system according to claim 13, wherein: the energy quantity information output device includes the acquisition section for information about a nearest location, the calculation section for a required minimum amount of energy, and a vehicle driving condition acquisition section that detects whether the vehicle's electric drive is started; and When the vehicle's electric drive is detected, the control section (45) checks whether the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the required minimum amount of energy and operates the output section to provide charging request information indicating that the battery needs to be charged before starting to drive from the departure point if the remaining amount of electrical energy is less than the required minimum amount of electrical energy.

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