Vehicle information management system, vehicle-mounted information terminal and vehicle information provision device

Abstract

Vehicle information management system comprising a vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) and a management center (200), wherein the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to collect vehicle information including charging information indicating a charging state of a secondary battery (B), the secondary battery (B) being mounted on a vehicle (C) configured by an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle; the management center (200) is configured to control the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100); the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to monitor a vehicle state, which is a state of the vehicle (C); and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is further configured to upload the vehicle information to the management center (200) in response to a change of the vehicle state to an upload state representing a predefined state based on a monitoring result which is a result of the monitoring, wherein the vehicle information management system is characterized in that the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to set conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded in accordance with a type of the vehicle information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle information management system that handles vehicle information including a charge state of a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle information terminal and a vehicle information providing device used in the vehicle information management system. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] In recent years, a system known as a vehicle status detection system includes an on-vehicle information terminal mounted on the vehicle to collect vehicle information indicating the vehicle status, and a dedicated center (data center) that controls the vehicle information. The on-vehicle information terminal transmits the collected vehicle information to the dedicated center via wireless communication.

[0003] For example, a system according to JP 2000-052932 A detects the presence and absence of an abnormality in a vehicle compartment using an abnormality detection sensor. Accordingly, when an abnormality such as improper door locking is detected, the detection result is delivered to a specific center as vehicle information of the vehicle. In this system, in a case where the center is notified of the occurrence of the abnormality as explained above, the center transmits information informing the occurrence of the abnormality in the vehicle to a mobile phone and the like of the user of the vehicle, which is a source of vehicle information, that is, the user (driver). Accordingly, the user of the vehicle can learn that the abnormality has occurred in the vehicle based on the information delivered from the center.

[0004] On the other hand, as a result of the proliferation of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, a system is being developed recently that enables the status of a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle as described above. For example, a system according to JP 2006-074868 A sends information indicating the charge status of the secondary battery mounted on the electric vehicle located at a charging station to a specific center. The center that receives the information sets a charging schedule for the secondary battery based on the information.Furthermore, the center generates information informing the charged amount and remaining amount of the secondary battery based on the information received from the vehicle, and transmits the generated information to an information terminal, such as a mobile phone, owned by a vehicle owner or owner of the relevant vehicle. As described above, in the system according to JP 2006-074868 A, charging automation is achieved by the charging schedule determined based on the state of the secondary battery acquired from the vehicle. The user can remotely know the state of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle.

[0005] Vehicle information indicating the vehicle status includes various types of information, such as the operating states of corresponding control devices mounted on the vehicle, the state of the secondary battery, fuel efficiency, and the like. Although the system according to JP 2000-052932 A can detect the presence and absence of abnormalities in the vehicle, it cannot detect other states. Furthermore, since such vehicle information occasionally changes, if all vehicle information that changes must be delivered to the center, there is a risk that communication traffic between the vehicle and the center will become excessive. Furthermore, the system according to JP 2006-074868 A can detect information indicating the vehicle's charge state.However, increasing communication traffic cannot be ignored if information is delivered to the center every time the vehicle's charging status changes. Furthermore, the communication condition depends on the vehicle's external environment, since the system according to JP 2006-074868 A delivers vehicle information to the center under the condition that the vehicle is at the charging station.

[0006] WO 2010 / 120 551 A1 discloses systems and methods for energy flow management of electric vehicles, in which data exchange between a vehicle and a management center is possible. DE 10 2010 003 872 A1 relates to a charging monitoring device, an electric vehicle, and a server. DE 10 2005 013 799 A1 relates to a measuring terminal in a vehicle and a data measurement and data acquisition system. US 2008 / 0091 339 A1 discloses a navigation system in which a navigation device installed in a vehicle sends information to an information management center. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a vehicle information management system that can upload and control vehicle information including the state of a secondary battery to a center at a required timing and with a required information volume. Furthermore, the present disclosure provides a vehicle-mounted information terminal and a vehicle information providing device.

[0008] The problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous further developments are specified in the dependent claims.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, even if the vehicle information including the charging information indicating the charging state of the secondary battery is collected, the in-vehicle information terminal does not upload the vehicle information until the vehicle state changes to the predefined state. On the other hand, the in-vehicle information terminal uploads the collected vehicle information to the management center under the condition that the vehicle state has changed to the predefined state. Therefore, for example, even if the charging rate of the secondary battery increases by 1% accompanying the charging of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle information including the charging information indicating the 1% change is not uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal to the management center every time the charging rate increases.Accordingly, the in-vehicle information terminal can upload the vehicle information collected to indicate the vehicle state at the time to the management center at the timing when the vehicle state has transitioned to the predefined state. That is, the in-vehicle information terminal can upload the most recent vehicle information to the management center via the updated and collected information, and upload the vehicle information accumulated for the accumulated and collected information to the management center. Thus, the in-vehicle information terminal is able to upload the vehicle information to the management center at the right time when the vehicle information is needed, with only a required volume of information, and the management center can control such vehicle information.

[0010] Furthermore, according to the above aspect of the present disclosure, the necessity of uploading the vehicle information is determined based on whether the vehicle state has entered the upload state, which is the predefined state. Therefore, the vehicle information upload condition does not depend on the external environment of the vehicle. Thus, the in-vehicle information terminal is capable of uploading only the vehicle information with a higher degree of freedom. That is, the in-vehicle information terminal can upload the vehicle information with even more precise timing.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, transitioning the vehicle state to the upload state refers to the occurrence of a significant change in the vehicle state. The in-vehicle information terminal is configured to upload the vehicle information indicating the significant change to the management center.

[0012] For example, even if the secondary battery charging rate changes from 1% to 2%, the impact of the charging rate change on the vehicle's possible travel distance, which correlates with the changed charging rate, is small. That is, even if the in-vehicle information terminal uploads such a trivial change every time, the usefulness of the change is low. On the other hand, for example, if the secondary battery charging rate changes from 10% to 50%, the impact on the vehicle's possible travel distance, which correlates with the charging rate, is high, and the usefulness of the vehicle information indicating such a change is high. Thus, according to the configuration, when the vehicle state change with high usefulness—in other words, when a significant change occurs in the vehicle—the in-vehicle information terminal uploads the vehicle information indicating the change to the management center.Therefore, the management center is able to learn the vehicle status based on the vehicle information by collecting only the vehicle information with high usefulness.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the significant change in vehicle condition is at least one of: a change in the vehicle from an ignition-ON state to an ignition-OFF state; a change in an accessory position of the vehicle from an ON state to an OFF state; a change in a vehicle bus connecting the on-vehicle information terminal and a control system of the vehicle to each other within the vehicle through a bus from an activated state to an inactivated state; a change from an ignition OFF state to an ignition ON state; a change in the accessory position from an OFF state to an ON state; and a change in the vehicle bus from the inactivated state to the activated state.

[0014] When the ignition state changes from ON to OFF, or when the accessory position changes from ON to OFF, it can be assumed that the vehicle state has changed from a driving state to a parked state. Thus, as in the above configuration, when the in-vehicle information terminal performs vehicle information uploading based on the changes in the ignition on / off states and the accessory position, the vehicle information indicating the vehicle state when the vehicle state changes from the driving state to the parked state and the vehicle information accumulated and renewed while the vehicle is traveling can be collectively uploaded.On the other hand, when the ignition switch has changed from OFF to ON, or when the accessory position has changed from OFF to ON, it can be assumed that the vehicle state has changed from the parked state to the driving state. Thus, in this case, the in-vehicle information terminal can collectively upload the vehicle information indicating the vehicle state when the vehicle state has changed from the parked state to the driving state, as well as the vehicle information accumulated and updated during the vehicle parking.

[0015] Furthermore, when the state of the vehicle bus, which is the transmission path of the vehicle information, changes from the activated state to the deactivated state, it is possible to assume that the vehicle state, which changes due to various reasons, has stabilized. According to the configuration, the in-vehicle information terminal can upload the vehicle information with criteria regarding the vehicle state having changed from a dynamic state to a static state, such as when the secondary battery charging is completed, the vehicle's travel is stopped, and the like, by executing the vehicle information upload based on the activation state of the vehicle bus.Thus, the vehicle information indicating the vehicle state when transitioning to the stabilized state and the vehicle information accumulated when the vehicle is in the dynamic state can be uploaded collectively. On the other hand, when the state of the vehicle bus, which is the transmission path of the vehicle information, changes from the inactivated state to the activated state, it is possible to assume that the stabilized state of the vehicle has ended. Thus, in this case, the vehicle information can be uploaded with the criteria regarding the vehicle state changing from the static state to the dynamic state, such as the start of charging the secondary battery, the start of vehicle travel, and the like.Thus, the vehicle information indicating the vehicle state from the transition to the dynamic state and the vehicle information accumulated when the vehicle is in the static state can be uploaded collectively.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the vehicle information includes information that includes at least one of: a remaining charging time required for charging to be completed when the secondary battery is in a state of charge; a connection state between a power supply connector that supplies power to the secondary battery and the secondary battery; an aging condition of the secondary battery; a possible vehicle travel distance that correlates with the state of charge of the secondary battery; and a charging rate of the secondary battery.

[0017] According to the above configuration, when charging the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle, the in-vehicle information terminal can acquire the inappropriate state of the secondary battery, such as the loose connection of the power supply connector, the aging state of the secondary battery, and the like, and can acquire information regarding the travel distance and the like reflecting the state of charge. Thus, the management center to which the vehicle information including such information is uploaded can acquire the state of charge, such as the remaining charging time of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle, the connection state of the power supply connector, the aging state, the possible travel distance, the charging rate (remaining charge), and the like.

[0018] According to one aspect of the disclosure, the in-vehicle information terminal has a function of adding information indicating a delivery time to the vehicle information. The in-vehicle information terminal is configured to upload the vehicle information to which the delivery time is added to the management center. The in-vehicle information terminal is configured, when an error occurs in the vehicle information during upload to the management center, to re-upload the vehicle information that the error occurred during upload to the management center, and sets the delivery time added to the vehicle information from an initial delivery or first delivery as the information to be added to the vehicle information to be re-uploaded.

[0019] According to the above configuration, the delivery time is added to the vehicle information when the vehicle information is uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal to the management center. If an upload error occurs when uploading such vehicle information, the in-vehicle information terminal adds the delivery time of the initial delivery to the vehicle information instead of the delivery time. Thus, even if a delay occurs between the time when the management center receives the vehicle information and the time of the vehicle state indicated by the vehicle information due to the vehicle information upload error in the in-vehicle information terminal, the management center can recognize that the initial delivery time added to the vehicle information is the time of the vehicle state indicated by the vehicle information.Therefore, even if an upload error occurs in the vehicle information, the management center can accurately know the time of the vehicle state indicated by the content of the vehicle information.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the vehicle information includes a plurality of items indicating the vehicle state. Several types of conditions are defined as conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded. One or more items indicating the vehicle state are associated with each of the defined conditions. The in-vehicle information terminal is configured to upload information related to the one or more items associated with the condition to the management center in response to the vehicle state changing to a corresponding condition.

[0021] According to the above configuration, when the vehicle state has transitioned to the corresponding states defined as the condition types, only the vehicle information necessary and sufficient to indicate the vehicle state meeting the defined conditions is uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal to the management center. As a result, the management center can accurately know the transitioned vehicle state. The in-vehicle information terminal can upload the vehicle information with the minimum necessary information volume when transmitting the vehicle state to the management center.

[0022] According to one aspect of the disclosure, the management center is configured to generate guidance information for guiding a user of the vehicle regarding the vehicle state based on the vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal. The management center is further configured to provide the generated guidance information to a user information terminal, which is an information terminal owned by a vehicle owner of the vehicle.

[0023] According to the above configuration, the guidance information generated based on the vehicle information is provided to the user information terminal owned by the vehicle owner. Thus, the vehicle owner can remotely learn his or her vehicle state based on the guidance information provided by such a user information terminal. Further, such guidance information is uploaded to the management center under the condition that the vehicle state has changed to the defined condition. Thus, as a combined effect thereof, the user information terminal can provide the user with useful guidance information reflecting the vehicle state change.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the management center is configured to provide relevant guidance information to a plurality of user information terminals, each of which has been previously registered for each owner of the vehicles.

[0025] The user information terminal owned by the vehicle owner often includes multiple types of information terminals, such as a mobile phone and a personal computer. There are a variety of ways to provide information through such user information terminals. That is, according to the above configuration, for example, it is possible to provide the guidance information to the vehicle owner not only through an email to a mobile phone or an application used in the mobile phone, but also through a member-only website or the World Wide Web, etc., which can be accessed through a terminal such as a personal computer. Thus, an expansion of the transmission means of the guidance information is achieved, and the transmission of the guidance information for notifying the owner of the vehicle status is more assured.

[0026] According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the management center is configured to detect, based on the delivery of the guidance information to the user information terminals, whether or not the guidance information has been viewed by the owners of the user information terminals for each of the user information terminals. The management center is further configured, when it is detected that the guidance information has been viewed by a specific user information terminal based on a viewing detection result, which is a result of the detection, to perform one of the following processing on other user information terminals registered together with the specific user information terminal: Processing a: Failure to provide the relevant management information, and Processing b: Provide that the relevant management information has been considered.

[0027] According to the above configuration, the management center does not deliver the guidance information to other information terminals after viewing it at a specific user information terminal, or delivers a message that "the guidance information has already been viewed" to other user information terminals. Thus, in the management center that delivers the guidance information via the user information terminals, the guidance information indicating the same content is not redundantly delivered to the vehicle owner, thus causing no complications. Consequently, the satisfaction of viewing the guidance information provided by the management center at the user information terminals is improved.

[0028] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the management center is configured to periodically execute simultaneous delivery of the guidance information regarding the vehicle information indicating a relevant abnormal condition to each of the user information terminals until the abnormal condition of the vehicle or the secondary battery is resolved.

[0029] According to the above configuration, for example, when a loose connection of the power supply connector for supplying electric power to the secondary battery occurs, or when an abnormality such as a failure of the secondary battery or the vehicle occurs, the guidance information informing the abnormal condition is periodically and simultaneously delivered to corresponding user information terminals owned by the vehicle owner until the abnormal condition in the vehicle is resolved. Accordingly, it is possible to alert the vehicle owner, provided with such guidance information, of the occurrence of an abnormality in their vehicle, enabling them to prompt for resolution of the abnormality that has occurred in the vehicle or the secondary battery.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when information indicating at least one of the following is included in the vehicle information: a remaining charging time required to charge the secondary battery to a state of charge to be completed; a connection state between a power supply connector that supplies power to the secondary battery and the secondary battery; an aging condition of the secondary battery; a possible vehicle travel distance that correlates with the state of charge of the secondary battery; and a remaining charge of the secondary battery is the management center is configured to provide at least one of the following as the guidance information to the user information terminal: Information showing the remaining charging time of the secondary battery; Information indicating a secondary battery non-charge condition associated with a loose power connector connection; Information that leads to the aging state of the secondary battery; and Information that indicates insufficient charge for a planned route of the vehicle.

[0031] According to the above configuration, by providing the guidance information, the management center can provide the vehicle user with information notifying the remaining charging time of the secondary battery, or information such as the secondary battery's non-charging state associated with the loose connection of the power supply connector, the secondary battery's aging state, the insufficient charging amount for the planned travel distance, and the like, that is, information notifying that the vehicle is in an inadequate condition. Accordingly, the user can know whether charging is performed normally or not when charging the vehicle equipped with the secondary battery while being far away from the vehicle.Accordingly, the user can accurately perform charging of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle as an item that provides the vehicle information, that is, the provision item.

[0032] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the vehicle information management system includes a vehicle database in which the vehicle information is registered; a failure history database in which a failure history of the vehicle is registered; and a statistics database in which vehicle statistical data is registered for each vehicle type. The management center is configured to generate the guidance information to include information registered in at least one of the vehicle database, the failure history database, and the statistics database.

[0033] There are vehicles with a secondary battery whose charging efficiency decreases in low-temperature regions, vehicles in which a failure may occur under a specific condition, and the like. Thus, according to the above configuration, the guidance information is generated to include information registered in the corresponding databases. Thus, the management center is able to provide the user with guidance information notifying of an influence and the like of the external environment on the vehicle and the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle. Accordingly, the management center can provide more detailed guidance information regarding characteristics of the automobile owned by the user.

[0034] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the management center includes a behavior analysis section that analyzes a behavior of a user of the vehicle based on the vehicle information. The management center is configured to generate the guidance information using an analysis result of the behavior analysis section as an index.

[0035] A behavior of a particular driver, that is, a driving pattern of the vehicle driven by a particular driver, tends to have a certain pattern. For example, in a weekday driving pattern, a commuting distance, commuting time, and the like are strongly mapped. Further, for example, a particular driver strongly tends to perform timer charging to charge the secondary battery within a certain period of time after parking the vehicle. Accordingly, the driver's behavior pattern is often mapped to the timing for charging the secondary battery, the charging setting for the secondary battery, and the driving pattern after completing charging. Thus, according to the above configuration, the behavior analysis section predicts, for example, the subsequent driving route through behavior analysis of the user.The management center can notify the user of the charging rate, charging time, and the like necessary to travel the predicted driving distance when the possible driving distance correlated with the secondary battery charging rate is shorter than one of the predicted results. Furthermore, if secondary battery charging is not started even though the specified time period has elapsed after the vehicle is parked, it is predicted that secondary battery charging has been forgotten or the power supply connector is loose. Thus, in such cases, the management center can prompt the vehicle user to recognize that secondary battery charging has been forgotten or the power supply connector is loose by providing the user with guidance to prompt secondary battery charging based on the analyzed results.Accordingly, the management center can provide the guidance information regarding the behavior of the driver of the vehicle, and the provision of the guidance information according to the behavior of the driver is realized.

[0036] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, even if the vehicle information including the charging information indicating the charging state of the secondary battery is collected by the in-vehicle information terminal, the vehicle information is not uploaded to the management center until the vehicle state has transitioned to the predefined state. The in-vehicle information terminal starts uploading the collected vehicle information to the management center under the condition that the vehicle state has transitioned to the defined state, that is, the uploaded charging state.Therefore, for example, even if the charging rate increases by 1%, which accompanies the charging of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle information including the charging information indicating such a 1% change is not uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal to the management center every time the charging rate is increased. Therefore, the vehicle information controller may upload the vehicle information collected to indicate the vehicle state at that time to the management center at the time the vehicle state has changed to the predefined state. That is, the most recent vehicle information is uploaded as the information being renewed and collected. The vehicle information in which this information is accumulated is uploaded as the information being accumulated and collected.As a result, the vehicle-mounted information terminal can upload vehicle information to the management center at the right time, when the vehicle information is needed, and with the exact volume of information required. Furthermore, the management center can control such vehicle information.

[0037] Furthermore, according to the above further aspect of the present disclosure, the necessity of uploading the vehicle information is determined based on whether the vehicle state has transitioned to the predefined state. Therefore, the vehicle information upload condition does not depend on the external environment of the vehicle. Consequently, the in-vehicle information terminal can upload the vehicle information with a higher degree of freedom solely by itself and can upload the vehicle information with more accurate timing.

[0038] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the vehicle information providing device generates the guidance information to notify the user of the vehicle state based on the vehicle information collected by the in-vehicle information terminal. The guidance information generated as explained above is provided to the user information terminals owned by the vehicle owner. Accordingly, the vehicle owner, while far away from the vehicle, can learn his or her vehicle state, the charging rate of the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle, the travelable distance based on the charging rate, and the like based on the guidance information provided by the user information terminals. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig.1 is a block diagram of a vehicle information management system including a vehicle-mounted information terminal and a vehicle information providing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a vehicle information collection procedure and a guidance information delivery procedure by the vehicle information management system of Fig. 1 represents; Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing an example of switching a charging rate of the secondary battery installed on the vehicle of Fig. 1, and represents an upload timing of the vehicle information indicating the charging rate; and Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the delivery procedure for the management information by the management center of Fig. 1 represents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TABLES

[0039] Table 1 shows an example of a correspondence relationship between an upload condition for the vehicle-mounted information terminal of Fig. 1 for uploading vehicle information to a management center and elements of the vehicle information with which the vehicle-mounted information terminal is to update the management center;

[0040] Table 2 shows an example of a correspondence relationship between a briefing content and an informing condition of management information stored in a briefing content database of the management center of Fig. 1 are registered, and an information timing of the management information;

[0041] Table 3 follows Table 2, which shows the example of the correspondence relationship between the information content and the informing condition of the guidance information and the information timing of the guidance information;

[0042] Table 4 follows Table 3, which shows the example of the correspondence relationship between the information content and the informing condition of the guidance information and the informing timing of the guidance information;

[0043] Table 5 follows Table 4, which shows the example of the correspondence relationship between the information content and the informing condition of the guidance information and the informing timing of the guidance information;

[0044] Table 6 shows an example of a relationship between corresponding user information terminals owned by corresponding users of vehicles listed in a user information table of a management center of Fig. 1, and constitute means of instruction for management information of corresponding user information terminals; and

[0045] Table 7 shows an example of a delivery history of the guidance information for each user information terminal of Fig. 1 and any means of providing management information. EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0046] The Fig. 1 to 4 and Tables 1 to 7 listed at the end of this specification show a vehicle information management system including a vehicle-mounted information terminal and a vehicle information providing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] As in Fig.As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle information management system of the embodiment is configured to include an in-vehicle information terminal 100 that collects vehicle information and is mounted on a vehicle C, and a management center 200 that controls vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal 100. Further, the vehicle C of the embodiment is configured by an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle to which a secondary battery B, which is a power source of an electric motor, is mounted.

[0048] For example, the vehicle C is in a stopped state and is electrically connected to a power supply device ST that supplies power to the secondary battery B mounted on the vehicle C by means of a power supply cable PC extending from the power supply device ST.

[0049] The vehicle C includes a charging management device 110 that supplies the power supplied from the power supply cable PC to the secondary battery B. In the power supply device ST that supplies power to the secondary battery B, setting of a charging condition for the secondary battery B is performed by a user of the vehicle C. In this setting or setting, various types of charging conditions are set, such as a normal charging setting without the charging time and charging rate setting, a timer charging setting with the desired charging rate and charging time, a normal speed charging setting, a rapid charging setting, and the charging voltage of 100 V or 200 V, or the like.

[0050] On the other hand, when a power supply plug PG provided at a distal end of the power supply cable PC is attached to a power supply inlet CC of the vehicle C, the charging management device 110 is supplied with power from the power supply device ST. Then, the charging management device 110 makes a setting regarding whether the charging voltage is 100 V or 200 V, depending on the supplied power. Further, the charging management device 110 makes a setting regarding whether the charging is normal-speed charging, rapid charging, or the like.Such a charge management device 110 manages the charging rate (remaining charge) of the secondary battery B, a charging start time, the set charging rate, and a time at which the secondary battery B is expected to reach full charge (expected charging end time), an insertion state of the power supply connector PG into the power supply inlet CC, that is, an electrical connection state of the secondary battery B and the power supply connector PG, causes for termination of charging of the secondary battery B, and the like. The insertion state of the power supply connector PG can be learned, for example, based on a detection result of a physical detection sensor or the like provided in the power supply inlet CC, the electrical connection state between the power supply device ST and the secondary battery B, and the like.Further, the charge management device 110 calculates a possible travel distance based on the charging rate of the secondary battery B, calculates a travelable distance according to a state of the secondary battery B, and calculates, as needed, a consumption of energy stored in the secondary battery B during a trip that is an interval between turning an ignition key of the vehicle C and a next turning of the ignition key. Furthermore, the charge management device 110 also manages temperature changes of the secondary battery B, the number of times the remaining energy of the secondary battery B has reached a lower limit, a voltage value when the secondary battery B is fully charged, an aging state of the secondary battery B, a failure state, and the like.The charge management device 110 outputs, as necessary charge information, information indicating the state of the secondary battery B managed by the charge management device 110 to the in-vehicle information terminal 100 via a vehicle bus BS, which is a communication channel such as CAN (Controller Area Network), each time a content of the charge information changes. Accordingly, the charge information of the secondary battery B is fetched into the in-vehicle information terminal 100 as needed.

[0051] Further, the vehicle C includes a travel information recording device 120 that stores the travel information. The travel information recording device 120 records, as needed, for example, a total travel distance of the vehicle C, the travel distance in the aforementioned trip, the travel distance when only the electric motor powered by the secondary battery B was used as the driving power source of the vehicle C, and the like. The travel information recording device 120 outputs the travel information recorded as described above to the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 as needed.

[0052] On the other hand, the vehicle C includes a group of electronic control devices 130, each electronic control device electrically controlling corresponding vehicle-mounted devices mounted in the vehicle C. The group of electronic control devices 130 includes a brake control device 131 that electrically controls a brake of the vehicle C, a steering control device 132 that controls steering of the vehicle C, a transmission control device 133 that controls a transmission of the vehicle C, and a tracking control device 134 that manages a tracking control system that adjusts a distance between the vehicle C itself and a preceding vehicle.Further, the group of electronic control devices 130 includes an audio control device 135 that controls an audio device mounted on the vehicle C, and a navigation control device 136 that controls a vehicle navigation system mounted on the vehicle C. Further, the group of electronic control devices 130 includes a door lock control device 137 that controls a door lock state of the vehicle C, an air conditioning control device 138 that controls an air conditioning system mounted on the vehicle C, and a security device control device 139 that controls various security devices such as an alarm that activates upon detection of an intruder into the vehicle compartment.Unlike the above, although not shown, the electronic control device group 130 further includes a control device for a temperature sensor that detects, for example, an outside temperature of the vehicle C. The electronic control device group 130, including the respective control devices 131 to 139 and the like, outputs control contents of the respective control devices 131 to 139 and the state of the vehicle C that can be detected by the respective control devices 131 to 139 to the in-vehicle information terminal 100. Furthermore, the electronic control devices 130 output, as needed, a DTC, which is a fault diagnosis code indicating a diagnosis result and an analysis result of the failure state of devices that are the control targets of the respective control devices 131 to 139 and the like, to the in-vehicle information terminal 100.Furthermore, when a destination of the next trip is set in the vehicle navigation system by the user of the vehicle C, the navigation control device 136 outputs information regarding the set receiver to the in-vehicle information terminal 100. Accordingly, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 receives information indicating the vehicle state of the brake, steering, and the like controlled by the electronic control devices 130, and the error diagnosis code of the various in-vehicle devices.

[0053] The vehicle-mounted information terminal 100, in which the various pieces of information are incorporated as explained above, includes a vehicle information collecting section 101, an uploading section 102, and an uploading condition table 103. The vehicle information collecting section 101 collects information input from the charging management device 110, the driving information recording device 120, and the electronic control devices 130 as the vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle C. When the corresponding information is acquired from the charging management device 110, the driving information recording device 120, and the electronic control devices 130, the vehicle information collecting section 101 renews the corresponding acquired information as needed each time the corresponding information is acquired.

[0054] The uploading section 102 acquires the vehicle information collected and updated by the vehicle information collecting section 101 as needed, and uploads the acquired vehicle information to the management center 200 via the in-vehicle communicator 140. The uploading section 102 monitors the state of the vehicle C based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information collecting section 101. Further, the uploading section 102 uploads the vehicle information to the management center 200 under the condition that the state of the vehicle C has changed to an upload state, which is a predefined state, based on a monitoring result.

[0055] In the embodiment, the upload section 102 determines whether the state of the vehicle C has changed to the predefined state by referring to the upload condition table 103. The upload condition table 103 registers the upload condition specifying the predefined state, that is, the upload state. That is, the upload condition table 103 registers a plurality of conditions necessary for the in-vehicle information terminal 100 to upload the vehicle information to the management center 200.

[0056] As shown in Table 1, the upload condition table 103 includes, as the conditions under which the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200, a case where charging of the secondary battery B starts, a case where charging of the secondary battery B is completed, a case where the charging rate of the secondary battery B increases by 20% or more, a case where the power supply connector PG is forgotten to be inserted, and a case where a loose connection of the power supply connector PG occurs. Similarly, as the condition for uploading the vehicle information, a case where an accessory position (ACC, air conditioner) has changed from an ON state to an OFF state, in other words, a case where the vehicle C has changed from a driving state to the parked or stopped state, and a case where a failure occurs in the vehicle C are defined.Other than this, as the upload condition of the vehicle information, a case where a request for the vehicle information is made from the management center 200, that is, a case where the state of the vehicle C has changed from a state without request for vehicle information from the management center 200 to a state with request for vehicle information, is also defined. In the embodiment, when the state of the vehicle C has changed to the state defined in the upload condition table 103 as above, the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 if a significant state change has occurred in the vehicle C.Thus, according to the embodiment, the uploading of the vehicle information is not performed until such conditions are met, and the uploading of the vehicle information is performed when the significant state change occurs in the vehicle C, in other words, only when the need to upload the vehicle information to the management center 200 has arisen. Further, in the embodiment, it is possible to upload the vehicle information by designating only the in-vehicle information terminal 100 regardless of an external environment of the vehicle C, as long as the state of the vehicle C satisfies the conditions registered in the upload condition table 103.

[0057] Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, as explained above, the vehicle information upload condition includes multiple items of vehicle information to be uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100, which are defined for each of the upload conditions. For example, the items of vehicle information to be uploaded to the management center 200 when charging the secondary battery B is started include the remaining battery amount, which is the remaining amount of the secondary battery B that correlates with the charging rate of the current secondary battery B, the start time (current time) of charging the secondary battery B, and the charging end time of the secondary battery B.Other than these, as items of vehicle information to be uploaded to the management center 200 when charging of the secondary battery B is started, items such as the state of power supplied from the power supply device ST (AC power supply state) and a cause of charging start of the secondary battery B are defined based on, for example, which setting of the normal charging and the timer charging was used to start charging. In this embodiment, by defining such items of vehicle information for each of the upload conditions, when the state of the vehicle C changes, the vehicle information necessary and sufficient for knowing the changed state is uploaded to the management center 200 from the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100.

[0058] Furthermore, as in Fig.1, the upload section 102 includes a timer 102a having a clock function. When vehicle information is delivered, a delivery time of the vehicle information is added to the vehicle information by referring to the timer 102a. For example, by adding the delivery time to the vehicle information indicating that charging of the secondary battery B has started, the management center 200, which is the upload recipient of the vehicle information, can know the charging start time of the secondary battery B. That is, the management center 200 is able to know the time at which the state of the vehicle C was the state indicated by the vehicle information based on the delivery time added to the vehicle information.

[0059] Further, when a response indicating that the vehicle information has been received does not arrive from the management center 200 within a predetermined time after the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200 with the delivery time added, the uploading section 102 of the embodiment uploads the vehicle information to the management center 200 again, indicating that "an upload error has occurred in the vehicle information."

[0060] When such vehicle information is re-uploaded, that is, when an upload error occurs in the vehicle information received by the management center 200, a time delay occurs between the time the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200 by re-uploading once or multiple times and the time of initial delivery of the vehicle information. In this case, the management center 200 cannot treat the delivery time added to the vehicle information as longer than the time of the state of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information, and there is a risk that the state of the vehicle C cannot be learned along with the time.Thus, in this embodiment, when re-uploading the vehicle information, the uploading section 102 sets the delivery time to be added to the vehicle information that is the subject of re-uploading as the delivery time added to the initial delivery. Therefore, even when re-uploading is performed with a vehicle information upload error, the management center 200 is able to accurately know the state of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information based on the delivery time added to the vehicle information.

[0061] As in Fig.1, the management center 200 includes a center communicator 200R, a vehicle information collection server 210, and a consumer information server 220. The center communicator 200R receives the vehicle information uploaded by the in-vehicle information terminal 100. The vehicle information collection server 210 collects the vehicle information received by the center communicator 200R. The consumer information server 220 manages information of the user of the vehicle C and generates guidance information to notify the user of the vehicle C of the state of the vehicle C based on the vehicle information collected in the vehicle information collection server 210.

[0062] In the present embodiment, the vehicle information providing device is configured by such a management center 200.

[0063] When the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle C is received, the center communicator 200R transmits the received vehicle information to the vehicle information collection server 210. Further, the center communicator 200R returns a response signal indicating that the vehicle information has been received to the in-vehicle information terminal 100 of the vehicle C, which is a supply source of the vehicle information. Further, the center communicator 200R receives a supply request for the guidance information for notifying the conditions of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B from the user information terminal, which is an information terminal such as a mobile phone 300 or a personal computer 310, owned by the user of the vehicle C.Then, the center communicator 200R executes an upload request for the vehicle information to the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 to obtain information necessary for generating the guidance information for which the delivery request was made.

[0064] The vehicle information collection server 210 includes a vehicle database 211 in which the vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is registered, a failure history database 212 in which a failure history of the corresponding vehicles is registered, and a statistical database 213 in which statistical data of the corresponding vehicles is registered. Specifically, in the vehicle database 211, each time the vehicle information is uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 to the management center 200, the uploaded vehicle information is accumulated for each of the vehicles that are the source of the vehicle information.

[0065] In the failure history database 212, information regarding failure contents, failure cause, driving environment, temperature, and driving range based on the failure, and the like are registered in advance as the failure history of the respective vehicles. That is, in the failure history database 212, information indicating the failure of the vehicle C on which the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100 is mounted and the secondary battery B, uploaded from the vehicle information from the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100, is registered as needed.

[0066] Furthermore, statistical data indicating characteristics of the respective vehicles and the secondary batteries mounted on the vehicles are registered in the statistical database 213. As such statistical data, for example, data indicating that the secondary battery of a certain standard mounted on a certain vehicle type has reduced charging efficiency in an environment with a temperature of 0°C or lower or in a certain driving range is registered.Further, as such statistical data, data indicating that a secondary battery of a certain standard mounted on a vehicle with a travel distance exceeding a predetermined distance and a secondary battery with a used period exceeding a predetermined number of days have a greater tendency to cause aging and capacity reduction and the like are registered in the statistical database.

[0067] On the other hand, the consumer information server 220 includes a user behavior database 221, a vehicle state determination section 222, a guidance information generation section 223, a notification content database 224, and a user information table 225. In the user behavior database 221, information regarding the destination set in the car navigation system or information indicating a driving history of the vehicle C, that is, information regarding a behavior of the user of the vehicle C, is registered from the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal 100.

[0068] The vehicle state determination section 222 determines the state of the vehicle C, which is the source of the vehicle information, based on the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle C. The vehicle state determination section 222 includes a behavior analysis section 222a that analyzes the behavior of the user of the vehicle C based on the information registered in the vehicle database 211 and the user behavior database 221. For example, based on the information registered in the user behavior database 221, the behavior analysis section 222a analyzes a behavior pattern of a user of a specific vehicle driven by a user, in other words, a driving pattern of the vehicle as if there is a tendency to drive in a specific driving segment for commuting during a specific period on weekdays.Further, the behavior analysis section 222a analyzes, for example, that a driving ratio within 50 minutes from the end of the timer charging of the secondary battery is 70% as the driving pattern of a certain vehicle.

[0069] When the vehicle information is uploaded from the vehicle C, the vehicle state determining section 222 determines the state of the vehicle C by referring to the corresponding information registered in the vehicle database 211, the failure history database 212, the statistical database 213, and the user behavior database 221. That is, for example, based on the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle C and registered in the vehicle database 211, the vehicle state determining section 222 determines that the state of the vehicle C includes the loose connection state between the power supply connector PG and the secondary battery B, which is caused by forgetting to insert the power supply connector PG into a charging area where the power supply device ST is located.Further, the vehicle state determining section 222 determines, for example, based on the information indicating the travel distance of the vehicle C registered in the vehicle database 211 and the information registered in the failure history database 212, that the vehicle C or the secondary battery B has a state in which a failure is likely to occur due to the travel distance of the vehicle exceeding the predetermined travel distance and the outside temperature being equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature.Similarly, the vehicle state determining section 222 determines, for example, based on the information indicating the travel distance of the vehicle C registered in the vehicle database 211 and the information registered in the statistics database, that the secondary battery B is in the deteriorated state because the travel distance of the vehicle C exceeds the predetermined travel distance. Further, based on the information indicating the charging rate of the secondary battery B registered in the vehicle database 211 and the information regarding the destination of the vehicle C registered in the user behavior database 221, the vehicle state determining section 222 determines that the charging rate of the secondary battery B is in a state where the charging rate is lower than a charging rate necessary to reach the destination from a current location of the vehicle C.Further, the vehicle state determining section 222 similarly determines, based on the information indicating the charging rate of the secondary battery B registered in the vehicle database 211 and the analysis result of the behavior analyzing section 222a, that the charging state of the secondary battery B has a state that a charging time set by the charging management device 110 is insufficient with respect to a travel distance predicted by the next trip.

[0070] Based on the determination of the state of the vehicle C, which is the supply source of the upload, the vehicle state determination section 222 outputs the determination result to the guidance information generation section 223, which generates the guidance information to notify the user of the state of the vehicle C.

[0071] When the determination result is input from the vehicle state determination section 222, the guidance information generation section 223 refers to the notification content database 224 in which several types of patterns of notification contents of the guidance information are registered, and the user information table 225 in which the information regarding the user to whom the guidance information is to be provided is registered, and determines the content and a delivery destination of the guidance information to be delivered to the user.

[0072] As shown in Tables 2 to 5, a message example notifying that the state of the vehicle C has changed to a state that satisfies the vehicle information upload condition, and a message example calling for maintenance of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B, etc., are registered in the notification content database 224 in association with the notification condition (notification timing). Furthermore, an ID is assigned to each sample of the notification content as an identifier in the notification content database 224 of the embodiment, and the corresponding guidance information is managed using the ID.For example, as shown in Table 2, "ID1-1" defines "start charging" when the secondary battery B has the state of charge, and as elements of the notification content thereof, the current remaining energy of the secondary battery B (remaining battery amount), the charging start time, and the expected charging end time are linked. Furthermore, in such "ID1-1," a message example of the guidance information notified to the user of the vehicle C is linked. Such guidance information is registered for each of the states of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B.Similarly, as shown in Table 3, in "ID3-1," the remaining battery amount, the current time, the insertion state of the power supply plug PG, and a programmed schedule of the timer setting are linked as notification items for when the timer charging is not set within 30 minutes after the vehicle C is parked, even though it is analyzed that the probability that the user of the vehicle C will drive within 50 minutes after the end of the timer charging of the secondary battery B is 70% as an analysis result of the behavior analysis section 222a. Information prompting the setting of the timer charging is linked as a message example of the guidance information to be notified to the user on such an occasion.

[0073] As exemplified in Table 6, names of users A to user n of the respective vehicles to be the supply sources of the upload, and terminal information, which is information regarding the user information terminal that is the information terminal that each of users A to user n owns, are associatedly recorded in the user information table 225. Among them, as the terminal information, for example, a mobile phone and a personal computer that user A of vehicle C owns, and information regarding a guide information providing website that provides a guide information listing service to which user A has subscribed are recorded in the user information table 225.Similarly, for example, for the name of user B, information regarding an application that can be executed on the mobile phone that user B possesses is registered as guidance information notifying means for user B. Further, telephone numbers, email addresses, and the like necessary when providing guidance information via the corresponding user information terminals are registered for each user information terminal. Further, IDa1 to IDa3, IDb1 to IDb4, and the like are respectively assigned to the user information terminal and the guidance information notifying means.

[0074] As in Fig.As shown in Fig. 1, when the determination result of the vehicle state is input from the vehicle state determination section 222, the guidance information generation section 223 generates the guidance information by referring to the informing condition and the message examples of the guidance information registered in the notification content database 224. That is, the guidance information generation section 223 generates a view screen provided from the guidance information providing website, letter information delivered to the email addresses, audio information for dialing the telephone numbers, and the like as the guidance information. The guidance information generation section 223 outputs the generated guidance information to a guidance information supplying section 200S, which supplies the guidance information to a mobile phone 300 or a personal computer 310 owned by the user of the vehicle C.

[0075] When the guidance information generated by the guidance information generation section 223 is acquired, the guidance information providing section 200S delivers the acquired guidance information to the mobile phone 300 or the personal computer 310. Accordingly, email delivery notifying the state of the vehicle C owned by the user, audio guidance by an operator, and the like are performed in the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310. Further, the guidance information providing section 200S operates a guidance information providing website that can be viewed, for example, by the personal computer 310 via a network such as the Internet, and updates the view screen provided by the guidance information providing website as needed based on the guidance information.

[0076] In the present embodiment, the guidance information delivery section 200S detects, with respect to a plurality of user information terminals, the presence and absence of viewing of the guidance information for each of the user information terminals with respect to delivery of the guidance information using a plurality of communication means such as email and audio guidance. That is, the guidance information delivery section 200S detects the presence and absence of viewing of the guidance information based on, for example, a read receipt request function for emails, viewing history of the guidance information providing website, call history of the audio guidance for the mobile phone 300, and the like.Based on the detection result when the presence of viewing the guide information by a specific user information terminal is detected, the guide information providing section 200S applies one of the following processing to the other user information terminals registered together with the above-mentioned specific user information terminal:. Processing a: Failure to provide the relevant management information, and Processing b: Delivering the content regarding that the relevant management information has been viewed.

[0077] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, simultaneous delivery of the relevant information is periodically performed to each of the user information terminals owned by a specific user until an abnormal condition of the vehicle C or the secondary battery B is resolved. In the embodiment, as shown in Tables 2 to 5 and Table 6, the guidance information delivery section 200S manages the presence and absence of viewing of each guidance information in each user information terminal based on the ID1-1 to ID6 defined by the guidance information and IDa1 to IDn respectively associated with the user information terminal and the guidance information notifying means.

[0078] That is, as shown in Table 7, the management center 200 detects that the email notifying the guidance information for guidance to start charging the secondary battery B, defined as ID1-1, is delivered to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310, which are defined as the terminals IDa1 and IDa2. Further, the management center 200 detects that the guidance information for guidance to start charging the secondary battery B, defined as ID1-1, is displayed on the guidance information provision website that can be viewed by the personal computer 310, which is defined as the terminal IDa3.When a viewed response of the email delivered to the mobile phone 300 is confirmed, the management center 200 again delivers an email with a content indicating that the content of the email delivered to the personal computer 310 is treated as read or that the guidance information has been read to the personal computer 310. Specifically, on this occasion, if the email is not delivered to the personal computer 310, delivery of the guidance information that has already been viewed by the mobile phone 300 to the personal computer 310 is prohibited. Further, the management center 200 causes the guidance information provision website to notify guidance in this regard that the guidance information has already been read.Due to this, in the embodiment, when the guide information having the same content is delivered to a plurality of user information terminals, the guide information indicating the same content is not notified to the user multiple times, and satisfaction with viewing the guide information is improved.

[0079] Fig. 2 illustrates an operation example of the vehicle information management system, the vehicle-mounted information terminal, and the vehicle information providing device of the embodiment.

[0080] As in Fig.2, first, the vehicle information including the charging information of the secondary battery B is collected as needed by the in-vehicle information terminal 100 mounted on the vehicle C. When the upload condition of the collected vehicle information is met, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 adds the delivery time to the vehicle information and delivers the vehicle information to which the delivery time has been added to the management center 200.

[0081] Fig.2 also shows a case where an upload error of the vehicle information occurred because communication was not established between the in-vehicle information terminal 100 and the management center 200. The in-vehicle information terminal 100 re-uploads the vehicle information to the management center 200 with the initial delivery time added to the vehicle information until the upload of the vehicle information to the management center 200 is completed.

[0082] By uploading the vehicle information through upload processing that is executed as needed, for example as in Fig.3, when charging the secondary battery B, in order to notify the user of the vehicle C of the progress of the charging, the vehicle information including the charging information indicating the charging rate is uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 at time t1 when the charging of the secondary battery B has started. Similarly, at times t2 to t4, when the charging rate of the secondary battery B increases by 20% as a concomitant of the charging, and at time t5 when the charging rate of the secondary battery B reaches 90%, which is the target charging rate, the vehicle information including the charging information indicating the charging rate is uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100.Thus, for example, the vehicle information indicating that the state of the vehicle C has changed is no longer incrementally uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 every time the charging rate of the secondary battery B incrementally changes. Uploading of the vehicle information is performed only when a change having an increasing influence on a driving performance and the like of the vehicle C occurs in the vehicle C and the secondary battery B, such as the start and stop of charging the secondary battery B, an increase in the charging rate of the secondary battery in the predetermined units, and the like. Accordingly, it is possible to upload the vehicle information with the necessary information volume to the management center from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 at the necessary time.

[0083] As in Fig.2, when the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200 from the in-vehicle information terminal 100, the management center 200 responds to the in-vehicle information terminal 100 regarding the receipt of the vehicle information and determines the state of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information. The management center 200 generates the guidance information for delivery to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 possessed by the user of the vehicle C based on the determined state of the vehicle C and the informing condition and the notification contents of the various types of guidance information registered in the notification content database 224.Next, the management center 200 determines the recipient and notification means for the generated guidance information based on the information registered in the user information table 225 previously shown in Table 6. The management center 200 delivers the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 owned by the user of the vehicle C based on the recipient and notification means determined for the guidance information. Accordingly, an email explaining the message example previously shown in Tables 2 to 5 is delivered, or an audio guide according to such a message example is notified, for example, to the mobile phone 300.Further, for example, the generated guidance information is displayed on the view screen of the guidance information providing website, and the view screen on which the guidance information has been displayed is visible on the personal computer 310. Thus, according to the state of the vehicle C, the user of such a mobile phone 300 and personal computer 310 is notified of the charging rate of the secondary battery B mounted on the vehicle C, the charging progress, the expected charging end time, confirmation of a need to charge the secondary battery B when timer charging is not set for the secondary battery B, the travelable distance of the vehicle C, and the like.

[0084] On the other hand, when a request for guidance information is made to the management center 200 by the user of the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 to know the status of the vehicle C owned by the user, the management center 200 generates guidance information to inform the requested contents. The management center 200 delivers the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 that made the request. Thus, information informing whether the charge rate of the secondary battery B is sufficient for the next destination and information informing a total travel distance of the vehicle C are provided to the user of such a mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310.

[0085] Fig.4 illustrates a delivery procedure for the guidance information by the management center 200 of the embodiment.

[0086] As in Fig. 4, when the guidance information is generated, the management center 200 first determines the recipient and the notification means of the generated guidance information by referring to the user information table 225. The management center 200 delivers the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 by email delivery, for example, and displays the same on the guidance information provision website visible on the personal computer 310.

[0087] When the guidance information delivered to the mobile phone 300 is viewed by the user of the mobile phone 300, the mobile phone 300 delivers the viewed response for the guidance information to the management center 200. The management center 200 confirms that the guidance information delivered by the management center 200 has been confirmed by the user and delivers it to the other user information terminals owned by the user, indicating that the guidance information has been viewed. Accordingly, the guidance information delivery website visible on the personal computer 310 notifies that the guidance information viewed on the mobile phone 300 has already been viewed.

[0088] On the other hand, considering the importance of guidance information informing that an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle C or the secondary battery B, which are the supply source of the vehicle information, the management center 200 periodically performs simultaneous delivery of the guidance information alerting the abnormal state of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B until the abnormal state of the vehicle C or the secondary battery B is resolved, regardless of the presence or absence of viewing the guidance information. Thus, it is possible to alert the user of the vehicle C that the abnormality has occurred in the vehicle C or the secondary battery B and prompt them to resolve the abnormal state.

[0089] As explained above, according to the vehicle information management system, the vehicle-mounted information terminal and the vehicle information providing device of the embodiment, the following advantages are obtained. (1) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 uploads the vehicle information collected in the in-vehicle information terminal 100 to the management center 200 under the condition that the state of the vehicle C has transitioned to the predefined state for uploading the vehicle information to the management center 200. Therefore, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is capable of uploading the vehicle information of the vehicle C, to which the state transition has been mapped, to the management center 200 at the time the vehicle state has transitioned to the predefined state. Thus, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 can upload the vehicle information to the management center 200 at the exact time required with the necessary information volume. The management center 200 can manage such vehicle information.The in-vehicle information terminal 100 determines the necessity of uploading the vehicle information based on whether the vehicle state has transitioned to the predefined state. Thus, the upload condition for the vehicle information does not depend on an external environment of the vehicle C. Accordingly, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 can upload the vehicle information with a higher degree of freedom only through the in-vehicle information terminal 100 itself and can upload the vehicle information with more accurate timing. (2) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 selects a time at which a significant change in the state of the vehicle C occurred as "the time when the state of the vehicle C changed to the predefined state." The in-vehicle information terminal 100 uploads the vehicle information indicating such a significant change to the management center 200. Accordingly, the management center 200 can collect only the most useful vehicle information in learning the vehicle state based on the vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal 100. (3) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 defines the change of an accessory position from an ON state to an OFF state, the change in the charging rate of the secondary battery B by 20%, the start and end of charging of the secondary battery B, the occurrence of the abnormal state, and the like as the "significant change in the vehicle C." Thus, the management center 200 is able to accurately obtain the travel route that is renewed as needed when the vehicle C is driven, the information indicating the decreasing charging rate of the secondary battery B that accompanies the vehicle C during driving, the information indicating the start and end of charging of the secondary battery B, information indicating the occurrence of the abnormal state, and the like.Accordingly, the management center 200 is able to know the state of the vehicle C, which is the source of the vehicle information, based on the vehicle information with the minimum necessary information volume. (4) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 includes, in the vehicle information to be collected, the remaining charging time required to complete charging when the secondary battery B is in the charging state, the connection state between the power supply connector PG and the secondary battery B, the aging state of the secondary battery B, the possible travel distance correlated with the charging state of the secondary battery B, and the charging rate of the secondary battery B. Thus, the management center 200 is able to know the states of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B in detail based on the vehicle information including such information. (5) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 adds the delivery time when uploading the vehicle information. Furthermore, when an upload error of the vehicle information occurs with respect to the management center 200, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 re-uploads the vehicle information for which the upload error occurred, and the delivery time to be added to the newly uploaded vehicle information is set to the delivery time added when the vehicle information was initially delivered. Thus, the management center 200 can know the time of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information based on the delivery time added to the vehicle information.Even if the communication environment between the in-vehicle information terminal 100 and the management center 200 deteriorates, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is able to securely upload the vehicle information and its delivery time to the management center 200. (6) The in-vehicle information terminal 100 configures the vehicle information as information including multiple items indicating the state of the vehicle C, defines the conditions as the conditions under which the vehicle information should be uploaded, and links one or more items indicating the state of the vehicle C for each of the defined conditions. Regarding the upload of the vehicle information, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 uploads the items associated with each condition to the management center 200. Thus, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is able to accurately know the state change in the vehicle C and is able to upload the vehicle information with the minimum information volume necessary to communicate the state of the vehicle C. (7) The management center 200 generates the guidance information for notifying the user of the state of the vehicle C based on the vehicle information, and provides the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310, which are the user information terminals owned by the vehicle owner of the vehicle C. Thus, the vehicle owner of the vehicle C is able to remotely know the state of the vehicle C owned by the vehicle owner based on the guidance information provided by the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310.Furthermore, since such guidance information has been uploaded to the management center 200 under the condition that the state of the vehicle C has changed to the defined condition, as a combined effect thereof, the management center 200 is able to provide the user with the useful guidance information reflecting the state change of the vehicle C. (8) The management center 200 provides the relevant guidance information to the user information terminals registered in advance for each of the owners (users) of the vehicle C. Thus, an expansion of communication means for the guidance information is achieved, and the guidance information can be communicated to the user of the vehicle C more securely. (9) The management center 200 detects the presence and absence of viewing of the guidance information by the owner of the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 for each of the user information terminals and the notification means. When the presence of viewing of the guidance information by a specific user information terminal is detected, the above processing a or b is executed for the other user information terminals registered together with the above specific user information terminal. Thus, the management center 200 is prevented from redundantly providing the guidance information indicating the same content to the user of the vehicle C when delivering the guidance information through the user information terminals. Consequently, the satisfaction with viewing the guidance information provided by the management center 200 is improved. (10) The management center 200 periodically performs simultaneous delivery of the relevant guidance information to the user information terminals until the abnormal state of the vehicle C or the secondary battery B is resolved. Thus, the management center 200 is able to surely inform the user of the occurrence of the abnormality in the vehicle C and the secondary battery B, and is additionally able to prompt the user to resolve the abnormal state of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B. (11) The management center 200 supplies information notifying the remaining charging time of the secondary battery B, information notifying the non-charging state of the secondary battery B caused by the forgotten insertion of the power supply connector PG or the loose connection thereof, or the aging state of the secondary battery B, and information notifying the insufficient charge for the planned travel route of the vehicle C as the guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310.Thus, when charging the vehicle C to which the secondary battery B is attached, the management center 200 is able to notify in advance of a circumstance that would be disadvantageous to the user of the vehicle C, specifically, the circumstance where charging of the secondary battery B has not started, which is accompanied by forgetting to insert the power supply connector PG, and the like, the circumstance where the target set in the vehicle C cannot be achieved by the charging rate of the secondary battery B, and the like. Thus, the satisfaction of the secondary battery B and the vehicle C is improved by managing the state of the secondary battery B. (12) The management center 200 includes the vehicle database 211 in which the vehicle information is recorded, the failure history database 212 in which the vehicle failure histories are recorded, and the statistics database 213 in which the vehicle statistical data for each vehicle type is recorded. The management center 200 generates the management information to include the information recorded in the corresponding databases 211 to 213. Due to this, the management center 200 is able to collectively manage the uploaded vehicle information through the vehicle database 211 and is able to generate the management information regarding the failure history unique to each vehicle type of the vehicle C as the provision target of the management information. Thus, the management center 200 is able to perform the management of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B in more detail. (13) The management center 200 includes the behavior analysis section 222a, which analyzes the behavior of the user of the vehicle C based on the vehicle information. The management center 200 generates the guidance information to include the analysis result by the behavior analysis section 222a. Accordingly, the management center 200 is capable of generating the guidance information reflecting the behavior pattern of the driver of the vehicle, making it possible to provide the guidance information corresponding to the driver's behavior pattern. (14) The management center 200 manages the delivery recipient of the guidance information through separate IDs for each of the user information terminals and each of the notification means. Accordingly, the management center 200 is able to easily determine the delivery recipient of the guidance information and is able to set the notification means of guidance information using the function separately for each user information terminal. Further, the management center 200 is able to accurately deliver the guidance information using the corresponding user information terminals and the notification means by confirming the delivery of the guidance information and the observed status based on the IDs defined for each of the user information terminals and each of the notification means. (15) The management center 200 includes the guidance information generation section 223 that generates the guidance information, and the guidance information delivery section 200S that delivers the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 possessed by the user of the vehicle C. Due to this, the management center 200 is capable of generating and delivering the guidance information that can inform the state of the vehicle C and the state of the secondary battery B mounted on the vehicle C based on the vehicle information collected from the vehicle C.

[0090] The embodiment can be modified as follows.

[0091] The guidance information provision website may be operated and organized by the guidance information provision section 200S of the management center 200. However, without limitation, the guidance information provision website may be organized by a dedicated provider that provides guidance based on the guidance information generated by the guidance information generation section 223 and is independent of the management center 200.

[0092] The management center 200 may be configured as a whole of two servers, namely the vehicle information collection server 210 and the consumer information server 220. However, without limitation, the management center 200 may be configured by a single server having the function corresponding to the vehicle information collection server 210 and the consumer information server 220.

[0093] The management center 200 includes the vehicle database 211, the statistical database 213, the user behavior database 221, the notification content database 224, and the user information table 225 as the respective databases and the like to be used for generating the guidance information. However, without being limited thereto, instead of the databases and the like described above, a single database including the respective information such as the vehicle information, the failure history, the statistical data, and the like may be used. Furthermore, the guidance information only needs to be the information generated based on the vehicle information uploaded to the management center 200. That is, a configuration that omits the respective databases 211 to 213, 221, 224, and the user information table 225 is possible.In this case, the guidance information is generated by a predetermined program that is created in advance.

[0094] The management center 200 may generate guidance information having the notification content exemplified above in Tables 2 to 5 as the guidance information. However, without being limited thereto, the guidance information to be provided to the user of the vehicle C only needs to include content that can notify the user of the state of the vehicle C or the secondary battery B. For example, the vehicle information uploaded from the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may be used as the guidance information as it is. In this case, delivery of the guidance information from the management center 200 to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 is performed by transmitting the guidance information uploaded to the management center 200 from the management center 200 to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer.Apart from that, arbitrary briefing contents and messages can be defined as the guidance information.

[0095] The management center 200 periodically and simultaneously delivers the relevant guidance information to the user information terminals until the abnormal condition in the guidance information indicating the abnormal condition of the vehicle C or the secondary battery B is resolved. However, without limitation, the management center 200 may stop the simultaneous delivery of the guidance information alerting the abnormal condition of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B under the condition that a predetermined time required to resolve the abnormality has elapsed after the abnormality occurs in the vehicle C and the secondary battery B. Furthermore, apart from this, the management center 200 may treat the guidance information alerting the abnormal condition of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B in the same manner as other guidance information.

[0096] When the viewing of the guidance information is detected in a specific user information terminal, the management center 200 performs one of the following processing on the other user information terminals registered together with the specific user information terminal: Processing a: Failure to provide the relevant management information, and Processing b: Delivering the content regarding that the relevant management information has been viewed.

[0097] However, without being limited thereto, the management center 200 may provide the generated guidance information to all user information terminals possessed by the user of the vehicle C, regardless of the presence and absence of viewing the guidance information.

[0098] The identifiers IDa1 to IDa3 and IDb1 to IDb4 are predefined for each of the user information terminals and the guidance information notification means. Furthermore, an ID is predefined for each of the notification contents of the guidance information registered in the notification content database 224. The management center 200 manages the delivery recipient of the guidance information, the viewed states, the notification contents, and the like using such an ID. However, without being limited to this, the ID may be omitted as long as the management of the delivery recipient of the guidance information, the viewed states, the notification contents, and the like can be performed.In this case, for example, the management center 200 is capable of carrying out the management of the delivery recipient of the guidance information using names and the like of the corresponding user information terminals.

[0099] The management center 200 manages the delivery of the guidance information and the viewed states in units of the user information terminals and the guidance information notification means in the user information terminals. However, without limitation, the management center 200 may manage the delivery of the guidance information and the viewed states in units of only the corresponding user information terminals. In this case, for example, even if there are three types of guidance information notification means in one user information terminal, namely email, audio guidance, and application, the management center 200 manages the delivery of the guidance information and the viewed states for only one of the means.

[0100] The management center 200 delivers the relevant guidance information to a plurality of user information terminals previously registered for each of the owners of the vehicles C, that is, each of the users. However, without limitation, the delivery recipient of the guidance information may be one of the user information terminals owned by the user of the vehicle C.

[0101] The management center 200 generates guidance information for informing the user of the status of the vehicle C based on the vehicle information, and delivers the generated guidance information to the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 owned by the owner of the vehicle C. However, the manner in which the vehicle information uploaded to the management center 200 is used is arbitrary, but not limited to this. For example, the management center 200 does not need to perform the generation and delivery of guidance information, and may use the vehicle information collected in the management center 200 to generate traffic information or to generate statistical data for each vehicle type.

[0102] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 configures the vehicle information as information including the items indicating the state of the vehicle C. Further, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 defines the types of conditions as the conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded. One or more items indicating the state of the vehicle C are linked for each of the defined conditions. However, without being limited to this, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may, for example, configure the vehicle information as information indicating only the charging rate of the secondary battery B, and may upload only the information indicating the charging rate of the secondary battery B to the management center 200 under the condition that the vehicle information upload condition is met.

[0103] If an error occurs during uploading the vehicle information to the management center 200, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 re-uploads the vehicle information for which the upload error occurred, and the delivery time to be added to the vehicle information during the re-upload is set to the delivery time added during the initial delivery of the vehicle information. However, if an error occurs during uploading the vehicle information to the management center 200, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may re-collect the vehicle information for which the upload error occurred. Then, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may upload the collected vehicle information with the current delivery time added.In this case, it is also possible to suppress a delay in the delivery time added to the vehicle information based on the time of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information. Furthermore, it is also possible for the in-vehicle information terminal 100 not to re-upload the vehicle information for which an upload error has occurred. Similarly, the timer 102a of the upload section 102 may be omitted from the configuration, and the in-vehicle information terminal 100 does not need to add the delivery time to the vehicle information. In this case, for example, the management center 200 may treat the time at which the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200 as the time of the state of the vehicle C indicated by the vehicle information.

[0104] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 collects the charging information indicating an increase in the charging rate of the secondary battery B as the vehicle information, and the management center 200 provides the vehicle information to the user of the vehicle C based on the collected charging information. However, without being limited thereto, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may set a decrease in the charging rate of the secondary battery B, for example, by 5% as the upload condition for the vehicle information in a case where the charging rate of the secondary battery B decreases due to self-discharge of the secondary battery B. In this case, the user can remotely know that the charging rate of the secondary battery B mounted on the vehicle C decreases due to self-discharge and the like.

[0105] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 includes the total remaining charging time required for charging to be completed when the secondary battery B is in the charging state, the connection state between the power supply connector PG and the secondary battery B, the aging state of the secondary battery B, the possible travel distance correlated with the charging state of the secondary battery B, and the charging rate of the secondary battery B as the vehicle information to be collected. However, the vehicle information may be information indicating only one of the respective items, but is not limited to this.In summary, the vehicle information that the in-vehicle information terminal 100 uploads to the management center 200 may be any information as long as it is information that can indicate the states of the vehicle C and the secondary battery B, and for example, it may be information that indicates the standard of the secondary battery B.

[0106] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 of the respective embodiments performs the upload of the vehicle information under the condition that the state of the vehicle C has satisfied the upload condition exemplified in Table 1. However, without being limited thereto, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may perform the upload of the vehicle information, for example, under the condition that the control device such as the electronic control devices 130 and the like has transitioned from a stopped state to an activated state, or the respective control devices have transitioned from the activated state to the stopped state. In this case, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is capable of uploading the vehicle information based on an operating state of the respective control devices that control the state of the vehicle C.In this case, similar advantages to the advantages (2) and (3) explained above can also be obtained. Furthermore, the vehicle information upload condition can be any condition as long as it specifies a condition that the state of the vehicle C has changed. For example, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is capable of executing the vehicle information upload assuming that the state of the vehicle C has changed, for example, under the condition that a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0107] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 defines the change of the accessory mode (ACC) of the vehicle C from the on-state to the off-state as one of the vehicle information upload conditions. However, without being limited to this, it is possible to assume that the state of the vehicle C has changed from the driving state to the parked state when the ignition of the vehicle C has changed from an on-state to an off-state, and thereby assume that the vehicle information upload condition has been met. In this case, as shown in Table 1, under the condition that the ignition has changed from the on-state to the off-state as above, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 can upload the vehicle information indicating the relevant items such as the current battery amount of the secondary battery B, the current time, and the like, to the management center 200.Furthermore, a change in the vehicle bus BS from an activated state to a deactivated state can be defined as one of the upload conditions for the vehicle information, and the in-vehicle information terminal 100 can upload the vehicle information indicating the relevant items such as the current battery amount of the secondary battery B, the current time, and the like to the management center 200, as exemplified in Table 1, under the condition that the above condition has been satisfied. In this case, the vehicle information can be uploaded under the criterion that the state of the vehicle C has changed from a dynamic state to a static state, such as upon completion of charging of the secondary battery B, end of driving of the vehicle C, and the like.Thus, the vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle C when transitioning to a stable state and the vehicle information updated as needed when the vehicle C is in the dynamic state can be collectively uploaded. Furthermore, the vehicle information upload condition can be defined as the change of the ignition of the vehicle C from the off state to the on state and the change of the accessory position from the off state to the on state. In this case, the vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle C when the vehicle C has changed from the parked state to the driving state and the vehicle information accumulated and renewed while the vehicle C is stopped can be collectively uploaded to the management center 200.Similarly, the vehicle information upload condition can be defined as the change of the vehicle bus from the deactivated state to the activated state. In this case, the vehicle information can be uploaded to the management center 200 under the criterion that the state of the vehicle C has changed from the static state to the dynamic state, such as when charging the secondary battery B starts, the vehicle starts driving, and the like. Thus, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is capable of collectively uploading the vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle C when changing to the dynamic state and the vehicle information accumulated when the vehicle C is in the static state.Furthermore, apart from this, the adaptation of the present disclosure is possible as long as the vehicle information is uploaded under the condition that the state of the vehicle C has changed to the predefined state, regardless of whether the change that has occurred in the vehicle C is significant, and it is possible to reduce the number of uploads of the vehicle C.

[0108] The in-vehicle information terminal 100 updates the vehicle information collected in the vehicle information collection section 101 as needed, and uploads the most recently updated vehicle information to the management center 200. However, without being limited thereto, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 may accumulate the vehicle information collected in the vehicle information collection section 101 as needed, and may upload all the vehicle information accumulated in the vehicle information collection section 101 to the management center 200 under the condition that the upload condition has been met.In this case, the in-vehicle information terminal 100 is also able to reduce the number of times the vehicle information is uploaded to the management center 200, and it is possible to reduce communication traffic between the in-vehicle information terminal 100 and the management center 200. Furthermore, in this case, the management center 200 can acquire all the vehicle information collected in the vehicle information collection section 101, and can also acquire the changing of the vehicle information up to the time when the state of the vehicle C has changed.

[0109] As the user information terminals, the mobile phone 300 and the personal computer 310 are used. However, the user information terminal may be any terminal as long as it is owned by the user and can notify the user of the guidance information through audio, images, and the like. REFERENCE SYMBOL 100 vehicle-mounted information terminals 101 Vehicle Information Collection Section 102 Upload section 102a timer 103 Upload condition table 110 Charging management device 120 Driving information recording device 130 Group of electronic devices 131 Brake control device 132 Steering control device 133 Transmission control device 134 Tracking control device 135 Audio control device 136 Navigation control device 137 Door locking control device 138 Air conditioning control unit 139 Safety device control device 140 vehicle-mounted communicator 200 Administrative Center 200R Center Communicator 200S Command Information Delivery Section 210 vehicle information collection servers 211 vehicle database 212 Failure history database 213 Statistics database 220 consumer information servers 221 User behavior database 222 Vehicle Condition Determination Section 222a Behavioral Analysis Section 223 Guidance information generation section 224 Instructional Content Database 225 User information table 300 mobile phones 310 personal computers B secondary battery C vehicle BS vehicle bus CC power supply inlet PC power cable PG power supply connector ST energy supply facility TABLES Table 1 Upload condition vehicle information to be uploaded at the start of normal charging - current remaining battery - current time - expected time for charging to end - AC power supply state - reason for charging to start (timer charging or not) at the start of timer charging - current remaining battery - current time - expected time for charging to end - AC power supply state - reason for charging to start (timer charging or not) at end of loading (normal) - current remaining battery - current time when the charge level changes at n% increase in charging rate - current remaining battery - current time - expected time for charging to end after n minutes since charging started Charging cannot be started (power supply plug was forgotten, loose connection) - current remaining battery - current time - power supply plug insertion state - AC power supply state at end of loading (abnormality) - current remaining battery - current time - reason for termination of charging (power supply plug not connected, insufficient voltage, battery failure, ...) with ACC off (- vehicle bus: inactive - with ignition off) - current remaining battery - current time - power supply plug insertion status - timer-programmed charging status - current location (location information) - battery travel distance - total travel distance - travel distance (distance with ignition on) - travel distance using electrical energy - electrical energy consumption when traveling - fuel consumption when traveling - total travel distance - distance that can be traveled using electrical energy - operating status before air conditioning - passenger compartment temperature - wind direction with ACC off and n days since last upload from vehicle - Battery temperature history - Number of times remaining battery has reached lower limit - Distance traveled - Voltage at full charge when detecting failure - Warning activated state - DTC (error code) upon request from the center - requested element Table 2 registered contents of instructional content database Upload timing from the vehicle information obtained from vehicle Situation about which ID user is informed Instruction content Message example Management information briefing time 1 - 1 Loading progress status Start of loading - current remaining battery - current time (charging start time) - expected charging completion time Charging started Charging condition: (fast / normal) (100 V / 200 V) Charging start time: n hours and n minutes Expected charging completion time: n hours and n minutes when event is recorded at administration center and management information request is made when event occurs - current remaining battery - current time - expected charging completion time - AC supply status - reason for starting charging (timer charging or not) 1-2 Start of charging (timer) - current remaining battery - current time (charging start time) - expected charging completion time Timer charging started Charging condition: (fast / normal) (100 V / 200 V) Charging start time: n hours and n minutes Expected charging end time: n hours and n minutes 1 - 3 End of loading (normal termination) - current time (charge completion time) - current remaining battery Charging completed Charging completion time: n hours and n minutes Battery charging rate: n% - current remaining battery - current time 1-4 Loading progress status - current time - expected charging completion time - current remaining battery Charging Battery charging rate: n% Expected charging completion time: n hours and n minutes when event is recorded at administration center and management information request is made when event occurs and upload condition is met (n% increase in charging rate, n minutes since charging started) - current remaining battery - current time - expected charging completion time - AC supply state Table 3 Instructional content database Timing for upload from vehicle information obtained from the vehicle Situation about which the user is informed Instruction content Message example Management information briefing time State of non-executable loading Loading cannot be started - current remaining battery - current time (charging start time) Timer charging cannot be started. Please check the power source. : n hours and n minutes : Battery charging rate: n% when event is detected at the center and timer setting is on when event occurs - current remaining battery - current time - power supply plug insertion state - AC supply End of charge (abnormal) - current time (charge completion time) - current remaining battery - cause of termination Charging has stopped. : Abnormality details : n hours and n minutes : Battery charging rate: n% when event is recorded at the center when event occurs tand - current remaining battery - current time - cause of end of charging (power supply plug not connected, insufficient voltage, defective battery, ...) user-recommended condition Charging recommended based on driving pattern - recommended operation (set timer charging) Recommended setting for timer: usual charging time: n hours and n minutes when a request for guidance information is made and an event is recorded at the center (in the case where driving occurs within n minutes after timer charge is n%, and timer charge has not been set within n minutes after parking) when ACC is off - current remaining battery - current time - power supply plug insertion status - timer programmed charge status Loading recommended for route guidance - recommended surgery Charging is recommended due to insufficient battery level for currently set destination. when a request for guidance information is made and an event is detected at the center (navigation destination is set, and battery level is insufficient for the route to the destination and the travelable distance is n km) when ACC is off - current remaining battery - current location - possible distance traveled with battery Table 4 Instructional content database Leadership information briefing timing Timing for uploading vehicle information obtained from the vehicle ID situation informed to the user Instruction content Message example 4-1 Vehicle operating status Driving route - total distance traveled - current distance traveled - distance covered by electrical energy - distance to be covered n km were driven today. n km were covered by the engine. n more km can be driven from here. Total distance driven so far is n km. if a recording error occurs at the center and a request for management information has been made when ACC is off - Total distance traveled - Distance traveled (distance with ignition switched on) - Distance traveled by electrical energy - Distance travelled 4-2 Time switch setting - Plug insertion status - Timer charging setting Timer charging is set as: Charging start: n hours and n minutes Charging end: n hours and n minutes Charging plug is plugged in / unplugged when detection occurs at the center (web update, mobile phone application only when ACC is off - Timer-programmed charge level - Power supply plug insertion status 4-3 Amount of electrical energy - Electrical energy consumption - Fuel consumption - Distance travelled with electrical energy On today's trip, n liters of gasoline were saved. Fluorescent light: corresponds to n minutes. n more km can be driven with battery. when detection occurs at the center (web update, mobile phone application only when ACC is off - Trip distance (trip distance with ignition on) - Trip distance record with electrical energy - Electrical energy consumption during trip (electrical energy consumption with ignition on) - Reduced fuel consumption during trip (reduced fuel consumption with ignition on) - 4-4 before air conditioning - Operating condition before air conditioning - Passenger compartment temperature before air conditioning n o'clock and n minutes Mode: n mode Temperature: n degrees Celsius when detection occurs at the center and request for management information is made when event occurs and every n minutes from event occurrence Total distance traveled - Operating status before air conditioning - Passenger compartment temperature - Wind direction - Current time Table 5 Teaching content database Leadership information briefing timing Timing for upload from vehicle information obtained from the vehicle ID situation informed to the user Instruction content Message example 5 - 1 Predicting disadvantage for users when failure is detected - Content of failure Warning is recorded <detaillierter Inhalt von Ausfall Bsp.: Batterie hat hohe Temperatur erreicht. Bitte an sicherer Stelle parken und Fachwerkstatt kontaktieren. > if an event is detected at the control center and the failure is very serious when event occurs - Warning light condition - DTC (error code) 5-2 if failure is predicted - Instruction Example: Battery cannot deliver original performance due to aging. Replacement by a specialist workshop is recommended. if an event is detected at the control center and the failure is very serious if ACC is off and n days have passed since the previous transmission to the center - Battery temperature history - Number of times the lower limit of remaining battery was reached - Distance traveled - Voltage at full charge 6 - 1 Driving condition - current time - total distance traveled The route has exceeded the high-probability failure limit. Please perform maintenance. if the distance traveled has exceeded n km if upload condition is met - route - current time - Charge level Charging start 2 - current remaining battery - current time Charging rate is reduced when outside temperature is n degrees Celsius or when driving in a low temperature region if upload condition is met - Temperature - current remaining temperature Table 6 user name Terminal information Terminal ID Terminal type Teaching materials for leadership information User A IDa1 mobile phone E-mail address IDa2 personal computer E-mail address IDa3 personal computer Leadership information provision website (web) User B IDb1 mobile phone Telephone number IDb2 mobile phone E-mail address IDb3 mobile phone Application IDb4 personal computer Leadership information provision website (web) User C IDc1 vehicle-mounted information terminal Application User n IDs Table 7 Delivery history of management information Delivery recipient Delivery condition Viewing status by user Treatment State ID1-1 (charge start guidance) Terminal IDa1 (mobile phone: email) delivered Email viewed Terminal IDa2 (PC: Email) delivered Email not opened → treat as read Terminal IDa3 (PC: Command Information Provision Site) updated not confirmed → treat as read Terminal IDa1 (mobile phone: email) delivered Email viewed State ID1-3 (loading progress control) Terminal IDa2 (PC: Email) not delivered not confirmed no email delivery Terminal IDa3 (PC: Command information provision website) updated not confirmed → treat as read

Claims

[1] A vehicle information management system comprising a vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) and a management center (200), wherein the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to collect vehicle information including charging information indicating a charging state of a secondary battery (B), the secondary battery (B) being mounted on a vehicle (C) configured by an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle; the management center (200) is configured to control the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100); the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to monitor a vehicle state, which is a state of the vehicle (C); and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is further configured to upload the vehicle information to the management center (200) in response to a change of the vehicle state to an upload state representing a predefined state based on a monitoring result which is a result of the monitoring, wherein the vehicle information management system characterized by is that the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to set conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded in accordance with a type of the vehicle information. [2] Vehicle information management system according to claim 1, characterized by , that the change of the vehicle state to the upload state refers to the occurrence of a significant change in the vehicle state, and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to upload the vehicle information indicating the significant change to the management center (200). [3] Vehicle information management system according to claim 2, characterized by that the significant change in the vehicle condition is: a change in the vehicle from an ignition-ON state to an ignition-OFF state and / or a change of an accessory position of the vehicle (C) from an ON state to an OFF state and / or a change in a vehicle bus (BS) connecting the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) and a control system (130) of the vehicle (C) to each other within the vehicle by a bus, from an activated state to an inactivated state and / or a change from an ignition OFF state to an ignition ON state and / or a change of the accessory position from an OFF state to an ON state and / or a change in the vehicle bus (BS) from the inactivated state to the activated state. [4] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the vehicle information includes information indicating: a remaining charging time required for charging to be completed when the secondary battery (B) is in a state of charge and / or a connection state between a power supply connector (PG) that supplies power to the secondary battery (B) and the secondary battery (B) and / or an ageing condition of the secondary battery (B) and / or a possible vehicle travel distance that correlates with the state of charge of the secondary battery (B) and / or a charging rate of the secondary battery (B). [5] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by , that the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) has a function for adding information indicating a delivery time to the vehicle information, the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to upload the vehicle information, to which the delivery time is added, to the management center (200), and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured, when an error occurs in the vehicle information when uploading it to the management center (200), to re-upload to the management center the vehicle information, the error of which occurred when uploading it to the management center (200), and to set the delivery time added to the vehicle information from an initial delivery as the information to be added to the vehicle information to be re-uploaded. [6] A vehicle information management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vehicle information contains several elements that indicate the vehicle condition, several types of conditions are defined as conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded, one or more elements indicating the vehicle condition are linked to each of the defined conditions, and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured, in response to the vehicle state changing to a corresponding condition, to upload information regarding the one or more items associated with the condition to the management center (200). [7] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by , that the management center (200) is configured to generate guidance information for guiding a user of the vehicle (C) regarding the vehicle state based on the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100), and the management center (200) is further configured to provide the generated guidance information to a user information terminal (300, 310) which is an information terminal owned by a vehicle owner of the vehicle (C). [8] Vehicle information management system according to claim 7, characterized by that the management center (200) is configured to provide relevant guidance information to a plurality of user information terminals (300, 310), each of which has been previously registered for each owner of the vehicles (C). [9] Vehicle information management system according to claim 8, characterized by , that the management center (200) is configured to detect, based on the delivery of the guidance information to the user information terminals (300, 310), whether or not the guidance information has been viewed by the owners of the user information terminals (300, 310), for each of the user information terminals (300, 310), and the management center (200) is further configured, when it is detected that the guidance information has been viewed by a specific user information terminal (300, 310) based on a viewing detection result that is a result of the detection, to perform one of the following processing on other user information terminals (300, 310) registered together with the specific user information terminal (300, 310): Processing a: Failure to provide the relevant management information, and Processing b: Provide that the relevant management information has been considered. [10] Vehicle information management system according to claim 8 or 9, characterized by in that the management center (200) is configured to periodically carry out a simultaneous delivery of the guidance information regarding the vehicle information indicating a relevant abnormal condition to each of the user information terminals (300, 310) until the abnormal condition of the vehicle or the secondary battery (B) is resolved. [11] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 7 to 10, characterized by that if information specifying at least one of the following is included in the vehicle information: a remaining charging time required to charge the secondary battery (B) to a state of charge to be completed; a connection state between a power supply connector (PG) that supplies power to the secondary battery (B) and the secondary battery (B); an ageing condition of the secondary battery (B); a possible vehicle travel distance that correlates with the state of charge of the secondary battery (B); and a remaining charge of the secondary battery (B), the management center (200) is configured to provide at least one of the following as the guidance information to the user information terminal (300, 310): Information indicating the remaining charging time of the secondary battery (B); Information indicating a non-charge condition of the secondary battery (B) associated with a loose connection of the power supply connector (PG); Information regarding the aging status of the secondary battery (B); and Information indicating insufficient charge for a planned route of the vehicle (C). [12] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 7 to 11, characterized bythat the vehicle information management system (200) includes: a vehicle database (211) in which the vehicle information is registered; a failure history database (212) in which a failure history of the vehicle (C) is registered; and a statistical database (213) in which statistical data of the vehicle (C) are registered for each vehicle type, and the management center (200) is configured to generate the guidance information to include information registered in the vehicle database (211) and / or the failure history database (212) and / or the statistics database (213). [13] Vehicle information management system according to one of claims 7 to 12, characterized by , that the management center (200) includes a behavior analysis section (222a) that analyzes a behavior of a user of the vehicle (C) based on the vehicle information, and the management center (200) is configured to generate the guidance information with an analysis result of the behavior analysis section (222a) as an index. [14] Vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) collecting vehicle information, wherein the vehicle information includes charging information indicating a state of charge of a secondary battery (B) mounted on a vehicle (C) configured by an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to upload the collected vehicle information to a management center (200) that controls the vehicle information by means of wireless communication, and the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to monitor a vehicle state, which is a state of the vehicle (C), and to upload the vehicle information to the management center (200) in response to a change of the vehicle state to an upload state, which is a predefined state, based on a monitored result, wherein the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) characterized by is that the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) is configured to set conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded in accordance with a type of the vehicle information. [15] Vehicle information providing device in a management center (200), wherein the management center (200) is configured to collect vehicle information by means of wireless communication from a vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) mounted on a vehicle and to manage the vehicle information, wherein the vehicle information includes charging information indicating a charging state of a secondary battery (B) mounted on the vehicle (C) configured by an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and the vehicle information provision device has: a guidance information generation section (223) that generates guidance information to inform a user of the vehicle (C) of a vehicle state, which is a state of the vehicle (C), based on the vehicle information collected by the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100); and a guidance information supplying section (200S) that supplies the guidance information generated by the guidance information generating section (230) to a user information terminal (300, 310) that is an information terminal possessed by the relevant user of the vehicle, wherein the guidance information generation section (223) is designed to collect the vehicle information uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) in response to a change of the vehicle state to a predefined upload state, and the predefined upload state is determined by vehicle conditions under which the vehicle information is to be uploaded from the vehicle-mounted information terminal (100) in accordance with a type of the vehicle information.

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