Method and system for determining a vehicle's charging strategy, vehicle and computer program product

Abstract

This application relates to a method for determining a charging strategy for a vehicle. The method comprises the following steps: While a vehicle (1) is driving, a charging coefficient for the vehicle (1) is calculated based on user trip information, information about the charging station, and the vehicle operating conditions. The charging coefficient serves to characterize the necessity of the vehicle (1) to visit a charging station (3) for charging under the given operating conditions. Subsequently, a charging strategy for the vehicle (1) is determined based on the calculated charging coefficient. This application also relates to a system for determining a charging strategy for a vehicle, a vehicle including the system according to this application, and a computer program product.According to this application, the vehicle battery can be automatically kept at a sufficient charge level during the user's journey, effectively eliminating the user's range anxiety and thus improving the acceptance of electric vehicles and the user experience.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA This application relates to the field of vehicle batteries and in particular to a method for determining a vehicle charging strategy, a system for determining a vehicle charging strategy, a vehicle including the system according to this application and a computer program product that at least assists in carrying out the steps of the method according to this application. STATE OF THE ART Due to limited battery capacity, the range of electric vehicles is always a concern for users. In particular, if the vehicle's battery level is low, there is no suitable charging station near the current location or destination, or the user does not have enough time to find a charging station along their route, this can easily lead to anxiety for the user, which significantly impacts the acceptance of electric vehicles among users. Therefore, eliminating users' fears regarding the range of electric vehicles has become a technical problem that needs to be solved. CONTENT OF THE INVENTION The aim of this application is to provide a method for determining a charging strategy for vehicles, a system for determining a charging strategy for vehicles, a vehicle including the system according to this application, and a computer program product in order to at least partially solve the problems of the prior art. According to a first aspect of the present application, a method for determining a vehicle's charging strategy is provided, comprising the following steps: During the journey, the vehicle's charging coefficient is calculated based on at least the user's journey data, the charging station information, and the vehicle's operating conditions. This charging coefficient characterizes the necessity for the vehicle to visit a charging station under the current operating conditions. The vehicle's charging strategy is then determined, at least on the basis of the calculated charging coefficient. The core concept of this application includes at least the following: assessing the need for charging at a charging station based on the user's driving data, information about the charging station, and the vehicle's operating status, as well as flexibly developing a charging strategy based on the assessment results. This automatically maintains the vehicle's battery level at a sufficient level during driving, effectively reduces range anxiety, and thus improves the acceptance of electric vehicles and the user experience. According to an optional embodiment of this application, the user's travel information can include information about the planned destination and the planned time, wherein the information about the planned destination includes, for example, the starting point of the trip, the destination of the trip, and intermediate destinations between the starting point and the destination of the trip, and the information about the planned time includes, for example, the destination of the trip and the planned arrival time of each intermediate destination. Optionally, the user's travel information can be retrieved from their mobile device. According to a further optional embodiment of this application, the vehicle's operating conditions may, for example, include information about the vehicle's current location, the current state of charge of the vehicle battery and / or the maximum distance the vehicle can travel with the current state of charge of the battery. According to a further optional embodiment of this application, the information about the charging station may, for example, include location information of the charging station and / or the change process of the occupancy level of the charging station over time. According to a further optional embodiment of this application, the charging coefficient of the vehicle during operation in a preset Here, Cj,iden denotes the charging coefficient during the journey period to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, Qjden the battery charge level in the j-th calculation cycle, dj,idie the distance of the vehicle to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, dmax,jden the maximum driving distance that the vehicle can cover in the j-th calculation cycle with the current battery charge level, Aj,iden the availability coefficient of the charging station at the planned arrival time at the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, Miden the existence coefficient of further charging stations within a given distance range from the i-th intermediate destination, and w the weighting factor. According to a further optional embodiment of this application, if the calculated charging coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold, a charging strategy for approaching a charging station is determined, wherein the charging station is the one that is closest to the current location of the vehicle and can provide a free charging space at the planned arrival time of the vehicle. According to a further optional embodiment of this application, the method may also include: - sending notifications to users regarding the established billing strategy; and / or According to a further optional embodiment of this application, the method may also include the following: - Sending the reservation information for the charging process of the vehicle to the designated charging station. According to a second aspect of this application, a system for determining a charging strategy for vehicles is provided, the system comprising the following components: - a trip information acquisition unit configured to acquire the user's trip information; - a charging station interaction unit configured to retrieve charging station information; - an operating state acquisition unit configured to acquire the vehicle's operating conditions; and - a control unit configured to execute the method according to this application. According to another optional embodiment of this application, the system may also include a notification unit configured to send notification information to the user about the specified billing strategy. According to another optional embodiment of this application, the charging station interaction unit can also be configured to send vehicle charging reservation information to the specific charging station. According to a third aspect of this application, a vehicle will be provided that can incorporate the system according to this application. According to a fourth aspect of this application, a computer program product, such as a computer-readable program carrier, is provided which includes or stores computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, are at least helpful in carrying out the steps of the procedure described in this application. DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The present application is described in more detail below with reference to the figures, so that the principles, features, and advantages of the present application become even clearer. The figures show the following: Fig. 1 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a charging strategy for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a charging scenario for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a charging strategy for a vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a charging strategy for a vehicle according to another exemplary embodiment of the present application.Figure 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a system for determining a vehicle charging strategy according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXECUTION FORMS To better illustrate the technical problems to be solved, the technical solutions, and the advantageous technical effects of the present application, the present application is described in more detail with reference to the figures and exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here serve only to explain the present application and not to limit its scope of protection. Fig. 1 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a vehicle's charging strategy according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The following embodiments describe the method according to this application in more detail. As shown in Fig. 1, the method can comprise steps S1 and S2. In step S1, the charging coefficient of vehicle 1 can be calculated during the journey, at least based on the user's journey information, the charging station information, and the vehicle operating conditions. Within the scope of this application, the charging coefficient serves to characterize the charging demand of vehicle 1 under the given operating conditions. The higher the value of the charging coefficient, the greater the charging demand of vehicle 1 under the given operating conditions. As shown in Fig. 2, in an exemplary charging scenario, vehicle 1 can establish a communication connection with the user's mobile device 2 via the trip information acquisition unit 11 and retrieve the user's trip information from the mobile device 2. The user's trip information includes not only planned destination information—such as the starting point, end point, and intermediate destinations between the starting point and end point of vehicle 1—but also planned time information—such as the planned arrival time at the end point and at each intermediate destination. Intermediate destinations can be locations where users intend to make short stops between the start and end of their trip, or locations that users plan to pass through between the start and end of their trip. The operating conditions of vehicle 1 may also include its current location information, which can be determined using its tracking device. The operating conditions of vehicle 1 may also include its current battery charge level, which can be determined via its battery management system, and optionally, the maximum distance that vehicle 1 can travel with its current battery charge level, which can be estimated based on that level. The charging station information can also include location information of the charging station, which can be obtained from the map information of the vehicle 1's navigation system. As shown in Fig. 2, vehicle 1 can also establish a communication link with the control unit 31 of charging station 3 via the charging station interaction unit 12 and retrieve the time-dependent idle level of charging station 3 from the control unit 31. The "idle time" can be represented by the ratio of the number of unoccupied charging points in charging station 3 to the total number of all charging points in charging station 3. These unoccupied charging points can charge vehicle 1's battery after vehicle 1 has arrived at charging station 3. During operation of charging station 3, the control unit 31 records the occupancy status of the individual charging points and can optionally retrieve charging reservation information from the charging station.Based on this information, she can estimate the future utilization of the charging station. When the battery of vehicle 1 is fully charged, the charging coefficient of vehicle 1 can be set to zero. As the mileage of vehicle 1 increases, the state of charge of the battery of vehicle 1 generally decreases gradually—except, for example, during energy recuperation through braking—while the charging coefficient gradually increases. During operation of vehicle 1, the charging coefficient of vehicle 1 can be calculated in a preset calculation cycle. The formula is as follows: Here, Cj,iden denotes the charging coefficient during the journey period to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, whereby the charging coefficient C can be recalculated in each calculation cycle and the length of the calculation cycle can be adjusted according to the actual demand; Qj denotes the battery charge level in the j-th calculation cycle, which can be monitored by the battery management system of vehicle 1, for example, the battery charge level in the first calculation cycle is 70%, i.e., Q1 = 0.7; dj,i denotes the distance of vehicle 1 to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, for example, in the first calculation cycle, the distance of vehicle 1 to the first intermediate destination is d1,1 = 200 km;dmax,j denotes the maximum distance that vehicle 1 can travel in the j-th calculation cycle with the current battery charge level, which can be estimated based on the battery charge level of the j-th calculation cycle. For example, in the first calculation cycle with a battery charge level of 70%, the maximum distance of vehicle 1 is dmax,1 = 400 km. Aj,i denotes the availability coefficient of the charging station at the i-th intermediate destination at the planned arrival time in the j-th calculation cycle. For example, in the first calculation cycle, at the planned arrival time of vehicle 1 at charging station 3, several charging points of charging station 3 are unoccupied and available, so the availability coefficient can be set low, for example, Aj,i = 0.05.Mi denotes the existence coefficient of further charging stations within a given distance range from the i-th intermediate destination, for example, if there are several further charging stations within the given distance range from the first intermediate destination, then Mi = 0; and w denotes the weighting factor, which can be determined as an empirical value after several experiments, for example, w = 0.5. Based on the formula above and the parameter settings, the charging coefficient C1,1 of vehicle 1 is determined to be 0.575 during the driving period from the first calculation cycle to the first intermediate destination. Subsequently, the charging coefficient of vehicle 1 is recalculated in the second calculation cycle, and so on. In step S2, the charging strategy for vehicle 1 can be determined, at least based on the calculated charging coefficient. Since the calculated charging coefficient represents the degree of necessity for vehicle 1 to travel to the charging station under the current operating conditions, a charging strategy can be defined that stipulates vehicle 1 travel to charging station 3 when the calculated charging coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold. This prevents vehicle 1 from failing to reach its destination due to a low battery level. Charging station 3 is the one closest to vehicle 1's current location that can provide an available charging point at the planned arrival time of vehicle 1.The location information for each charging station can be retrieved from the map information of vehicle 1's navigation system, and the occupancy status of each charging station's spaces for the future period can be retrieved from each charging station's control unit. According to the formula above, vehicle 1's charging coefficient is relatively high when its battery level drops below a certain value. As the distance between vehicle 1 and the nearest charging station 3 increases, the charging coefficient continues to rise until it exceeds a predefined threshold, for example, 0.7. According to embodiments of this application, the need for charging at a charging station can be determined based on the user's driving data, information about the charging station, and the vehicle's operating status. Based on these findings, a flexible charging strategy can be developed that ensures the vehicle's battery level is automatically maintained at a sufficient level throughout the journey. This effectively eliminates range anxiety for the user and thus improves the acceptance of electric vehicles and the user experience. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a vehicle's charging strategy according to a further exemplary embodiment of the present application. Only the differences from the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 are described below; the same steps are not repeated for the sake of brevity. As shown in Fig. 3, the method can further include step S3. In step S3, the user can be notified of the defined charging strategy. For example, audible notifications can be sent to users via smart voice devices, or visual notifications can be sent to users via head-up displays, central control displays, and / or instrument panels. Optionally, the user can also be shown the location information of the detected charging station 3 and / or navigation information for the detected charging station 3 on a head-up display, a central control display, and / or an instrument panel. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for determining a vehicle's charging strategy according to a further exemplary embodiment of the present application. Only the differences from the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 are described below; the same steps are not repeated for the sake of brevity. As shown in Fig. 4, the method can further include step S4. In step S4, the charging reservation information for vehicle 1 can be sent to the designated charging station 3. Particularly during peak charging times, the potential waiting time for vehicle 1 after its arrival at charging station 3 can be minimized by sending charging reservation information to charging station 3, which offers charging reservation services, in advance. Furthermore, it should be noted that the step numbers described here do not necessarily indicate the order of the steps, but merely serve as a reference. The order may be changed depending on the specific circumstances, as long as the technical objective of this application can be achieved. Fig. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a system 10 for determining a vehicle charging strategy according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in Fig. 5, the system 10 may include the following components: - Trip information acquisition unit 11, configured to acquire the user's trip information; - Charging station interaction unit 12, configured to acquire information about the charging station; - Operating condition acquisition unit 13, configured to acquire the operating conditions of vehicle 1; and - Control unit 14, configured to carry out the method according to this application. Optionally, System 10 can also include a notification unit 15, which is configured to send the user notification information about the defined billing strategy. The notification unit 15 can, for example, include a smart voice device, a head-up display, a central control display, and / or a dashboard. Optionally, the charging station interaction unit 12 can also be configured to send the charging reservation information from vehicle 1 to the specific charging station 3. It should be understood that the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used herein for descriptive purposes only and are neither to be understood as an indication or suggestion of a relative meaning nor implicitly to indicate the number of the technical features designated. If an embodiment contains an “and / or” connection between a first feature and a second feature, it is to be interpreted as follows: According to one embodiment, the embodiment has not only the first feature but also the second feature; according to another embodiment, the embodiment has either only the first feature or only the second feature. Although specific implementations have been described above, these implementations are not intended to limit the scope of this application, even if only a single implementation is described with respect to a particular feature. The examples of functions listed in this application serve only for illustration and are not to be understood as limitations unless otherwise stated. In practice, several functions can be combined as needed and to the extent technically possible. Without departing from the spirit and scope of this application, various substitutions, modifications, and variations can be devised.

Claims

A method for determining a vehicle's charging strategy, comprising the following steps: calculating a vehicle charging coefficient (1) during a vehicle (1) journey, at least on the basis of user journey information, charging station information, and vehicle operating conditions, wherein the charging coefficient serves to characterize the degree of necessity with which the vehicle (1) should travel to a charging station (3) for charging under the current operating conditions; and determining the vehicle's (1) charging strategy, at least on the basis of the calculated charging coefficient. The method of claim 1, wherein the user's trip information includes planned destination information and planned time information, wherein the planned destination information includes the vehicle's starting point (1), the trip end point, and intermediate destinations between the starting point and the trip end point, and the planned time information includes the planned arrival times at the trip end point and at the respective intermediate destinations; and / or the user's trip information is captured by a mobile device (2) of the user. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the operating conditions of the vehicle (1) include the current position information of the vehicle (1), the current battery charge level of the vehicle (1) and / or the maximum driving distance that the vehicle (1) can travel at the current battery charge level; and / or the charging station information includes position information of the charging station and / or the time course of the occupancy level of the charging station. A method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein during a driving process of the vehicle (1) the charging coefficient of the vehicle (1) is calculated in predetermined calculation cycles by the following formula: C j , i = 1 − Q j − w ⋅ ( dj , id max , j + M i + A j , i ) where C j,i denotes the charging coefficient during the journey period to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, Q j denotes the battery charge level in the j-th calculation cycle, d j,i denotes the distance of the vehicle (1) to the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, d max,j denotes the maximum distance that the vehicle (1) can travel in the j-th calculation cycle at the current battery charge level, A j,i denotes the availability coefficient of the charging station at the planned arrival time at the i-th intermediate destination in the j-th calculation cycle, M i denotes the existence coefficient of further charging stations within a given distance range from the i-th intermediate destination, and w denotes a weighting factor. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, in the event that the calculated charging coefficient exceeds a predetermined threshold, the charging strategy is determined to drive to the charging station (3) for charging, wherein the charging station (3) is the charging station that is closest to the current position of the vehicle (1) and can provide a free charging point at the planned arrival time of the vehicle (1). Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises: sending notification information to the user regarding the specified charging strategy; and / or sending charging reservation information of the vehicle (1) to the specified charging station (3). System (10) for determining a charging strategy of a vehicle, wherein the system (10) comprises the following components: a trip information acquisition unit (11) configured to acquire trip information of the user; a charging station interaction unit (12) configured to acquire information about charging stations; an operating conditions acquisition unit (13) configured to acquire the operating conditions of the vehicle (1); and a control unit (14) configured to execute a method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. System (10) according to claim 7, wherein the system (10) further comprises a notification unit (15) configured to send notification information regarding the specified charging strategy to the user; and / or the charging station interaction unit (12) further configured to send charging reservation information of the vehicle (1) to the specified charging station (3). Vehicle (1), wherein the vehicle (1) comprises a system (10) according to claim 7 or 8. Computer program product, for example a computer-readable program storage medium comprising or storing computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, at least support steps of a method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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