Electric vehicle rescue system

Abstract

To reduce anxiety that a user of an electric vehicle has when the electric vehicle traveling with electric power from a detachable battery is in an electric power shortage state.SOLUTION: An electric vehicle rescue system for rescuing an electric vehicle in an electric power shortage state comprises: a server that receives a rescue request from an electric vehicle on which a detachable battery is mounted; and a rescue available vehicle that is likely to go to the electric vehicle in response to the rescue request. The server includes: a storage part that stores rescue vehicle information related to rescue available vehicles; a specification part that specifies, as a response candidate vehicle, a rescue available vehicle that satisfies a condition necessary for supplying electric power to the electric vehicle based on the rescue vehicle information and electric power shortage information as a rescue request; a first calculation part that calculates a movement time of the response candidate vehicle to the arrival at the electric vehicle; a second calculation part that calculates a work time to the completion of electric power supply to the electric vehicle after arrival; and a notification part that notifies a transmission source of the electric power shortage information of the rescue vehicle information, the travel time, and the work time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle rescue system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an electric vehicle rescue system that uses a transport device such as a drone to deliver energy to an electric vehicle that has run out of power. In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the time until the transport device arrives is transmitted to a mobile device carried by the user of the electric vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-105946 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The configuration described in Patent Document 1 allows users to know the time until the transport device arrives, but does not allow them to know the time until the rescue is completed, which makes it difficult for users who have requested rescue to alleviate their anxiety, and there is room for improvement.

[0005] In particular, for vehicles that run on power from removable batteries such as cartridge-type batteries, there are two types of power replenishment methods: battery replacement and external charging. The time required for rescue operations when a battery runs out is shorter for battery replacement than for external charging. Therefore, it is expected that battery replacement will be requested more frequently when a battery runs out. In this case, there may not be enough rescue vehicles with cartridge-type batteries available to respond immediately after a rescue request is made, which could result in a long time until a rescue vehicle arrives. However, the configuration described in Patent Document 1 does not take this into consideration.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an electric vehicle rescue system that can alleviate the anxiety felt by electric vehicle users when an electric vehicle running on power from a removable battery runs out of battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides an electric vehicle equipped with a removable battery and capable of battery replacement, in which the battery is replaced with a replacement battery, and external charging, in which power supplied from an external power source is stored in the battery; a server that receives a rescue request from the electric vehicle; and a rescue-ready vehicle that is communicatively connected to the server and has the possibility of heading to the electric vehicle in response to the rescue request, the rescue-ready vehicle being a vehicle that has the replacement battery or a vehicle that has an external power source that can supply power to the electric vehicle, and the server has a memory unit that stores rescue vehicle information, as information related to the rescue-ready vehicle, including location information of the rescue-ready vehicle and information indicating whether or not the replacement battery is available, and a rescue request that receives the location information of the electric vehicle and information indicating whether or not the battery is available. The system is characterized by having an identification unit that, when receiving low-power information including information indicating that a vehicle is in a low-power state, identifies the vehicle that can respond to rescue as a candidate vehicle that meets the conditions necessary to supply power to the electric vehicle based on the rescue vehicle information and the low-power information; a first calculation unit that calculates the travel time until the candidate vehicle arrives at the electric vehicle based on the location information of the electric vehicle and the location information of the candidate vehicle; a second calculation unit that calculates the work time from when the candidate vehicle arrives at the electric vehicle to when power supply to the electric vehicle is completed based on the necessary conditions; and a notification unit that notifies the sender of the low-power information of the candidate vehicle information that includes the rescue vehicle information, the travel time, and the work time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present invention can reduce the anxiety felt by users of electric vehicles when the electric vehicle, which runs on power from a removable battery, runs out of power. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle rescue system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a server. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a rescue process. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow in an electric vehicle. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control flow in the server. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control flow in a rescue vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an electric vehicle rescue system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail, although the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an electric vehicle rescue system according to an embodiment. The electric vehicle rescue system 1 is a system in which a plurality of electric vehicles 10 and a server 20 are communicatively connected. The electric vehicles 10 include electric vehicles 11 that can be rescued and rescue-ready vehicles 12. When an electric vehicle 11 equipped with a removable battery runs out of power, the electric vehicle rescue system 1 targets the electric vehicle 11 that is out of power and dispatches rescue-ready vehicles 12 to the electric vehicle 11 to resolve the power shortage. The electric vehicle 11 is a vehicle equipped with a removable battery such as a cartridge battery. The rescue-ready vehicles 12 include rescue-ready vehicles 12A owned by a rescue company and rescue-ready vehicles 12B owned by an individual. The rescue-ready vehicles 12 are vehicles that may head to rescue the electric vehicle 11 in response to a rescue request from the electric vehicle 11 that is out of power. The rescue-capable vehicle 12 is a vehicle that has a replacement battery or an external power source that can supply power to the electric vehicle 11. The electric vehicle 11 and the rescue-capable vehicles 12A, 12B transmit information about their own vehicles to the server 20. The server 20 manages information about the electric vehicle 11 and the rescue-capable vehicles 12A, 12B, and transmits information about rescue to the electric vehicle 10 based on information received from the electric vehicle 10. In this description, the electric vehicle 11 and the rescue-capable vehicle 12 may be referred to as the electric vehicle 10 when no particular distinction is needed.

[0012] The electric vehicle 11 includes a motor and a battery that supplies power to the motor, and runs on battery power. This battery is removable. The electric vehicle 11 is capable of battery replacement, where the battery is replaced with a charged replacement battery, and external charging, where power supplied from an external power source is stored in the battery. If the electric vehicle 11 runs out of power, the electric vehicle 11 can send a request for assistance to the server 20 in response to an operation by the user of the electric vehicle 11. The running out of power state is not limited to a state in which the power of the cartridge battery in the electric vehicle 11 has been depleted, but also includes a state in which the electric vehicle 11 cannot drive to the nearest charging facility under its own power even though the cartridge battery still has power. Even if the electric vehicle 11 runs out of power, the car navigation device, communication device, and ECU can still operate using the remaining power in the cartridge battery and power from the auxiliary battery. In this description, an electric vehicle 11 that is running out of power may also be referred to as a vehicle with low power.

[0013] The electric vehicle 11 transmits information about the lack of power to the server 20 as a request for rescue. The information about the lack of power includes location information, battery information, charging status information, emergency status information, and preferred provider information. The location information is information about the current location of the electric vehicle 11. The battery information includes battery voltage, battery capacity, information indicating whether the battery is removable, battery shape, charging standard, and the installed charging cable. The charging status information is the SOC. The emergency status information includes information indicating the occurrence of a lack of power, the occurrence of a collision accident, or the occurrence of a sudden illness. The preferred provider information includes the name of the preferred provider, information indicating whether rescue from an individual is desired, and the gender of the rescuer. The preferred provider information may be registered in advance. After transmitting the information about the lack of power, the electric vehicle 11 transmits selection information to the server 20. The selection information is information about one vehicle selected from among the rescue-available vehicles 12 that are candidate vehicles for rescue.

[0014] The rescue-ready vehicle 12A is a vehicle managed by a rescue service provider and is capable of rescuing a vehicle that has run out of power. The rescue service provider includes multiple providers. The rescue-ready vehicle 12A includes multiple rescue-ready vehicles for each rescue service provider. The rescue-ready vehicle 12A transmits rescue vehicle information to the server 20. The rescue vehicle information transmitted by the rescue-ready vehicle 12A is information about the rescue-ready vehicle 12A, and includes location information, battery information, charge status information, and company information. The location information is information about the current location of the rescue-ready vehicle 12A. The battery information is information about the battery possessed by the rescue-ready vehicle 12A, and includes battery voltage, battery capacity, information indicating whether a removable battery is present, battery shape, charging standard, and the installed charging cable. The charge status information is information indicating the SOC of the fixed battery installed in the rescue-ready vehicle 12A. The information indicating whether a removable battery is present is information indicating whether the rescue-ready vehicle 12A has a replacement battery. The replacement battery only needs to be loaded in the rescue vehicle 12A, and does not have to be installed in the rescue vehicle 12A. The vendor information includes the name of the vendor and the service fee.

[0015] The rescue-ready vehicles 12B are vehicles managed by individuals and are capable of rescuing vehicles that have run out of power. An individual includes multiple individuals. Each rescue-ready vehicle 12B includes multiple rescue-ready vehicles. The rescue-ready vehicles 12B transmit rescue vehicle information to the server 20. The rescue vehicle information transmitted by the rescue-ready vehicles 12B is information about the rescue-ready vehicles 12B, and includes location information, battery information, charge status information, and rescue response intention information. The location information is information about the current location of the rescue-ready vehicles 12B. The battery information is information about the battery possessed by the rescue-ready vehicles 12B, and includes battery voltage, battery capacity, information indicating whether a removable battery is included, battery shape, charging standard, and the installed charging cable. The charge status information is information indicating the SOC of the fixed battery installed in the rescue-ready vehicles 12B. The information indicating whether a removable battery is included is information indicating whether the rescue-ready vehicles 12B have a replacement battery. The replacement battery only needs to be loaded on the rescue capable vehicle 12B, and does not have to be installed in the rescue capable vehicle 12B. The rescue response intention information is information indicating whether or not there is an intention to respond to rescue. When there is no particular distinction between the rescue capable vehicle 12A and the rescue capable vehicle 12B, they will be referred to as rescue capable vehicles 12.

[0016] The server 20 receives information about the lack of power from the electric vehicle 11 and also receives rescue information from the vehicle available for rescue 12. When the server 20 determines that the electric vehicle 11 is out of power, it can transmit information to the vehicle available for rescue 12 and arrange for the vehicle available for rescue 12 to head to the electric vehicle 11.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the server 20 includes a communication device 21 and a control device 22.

[0018] The communication device 21 performs wireless communication with the electric vehicles 10. The communication device 21 transmits and receives information to and from a plurality of electric vehicles 10 via a network.

[0019] The control device 22 is an electronic control device that executes information processing. The electronic control device includes a processor and a memory. The processor is configured by a CPU, etc. The memory is configured by a RAM, a ROM, etc. The control device 22 includes a storage unit 23 and a control unit 24.

[0020] The storage unit 23 stores information acquired from the electric vehicle 10. The storage unit 23 stores power shortage information, which is information related to the electric vehicle 11, and rescue vehicle information, which is information related to the vehicle 12 available for rescue.

[0021] The control unit 24 executes rescue control based on the information acquired by the communication device 21 and the information stored in the storage unit 23. The rescue control is a control for directing a rescue vehicle to the rescue target in response to a rescue request from a vehicle that has run out of power. The control unit 24 includes an identification unit 25, a calculation unit 26, and a notification unit 27.

[0022] The identification unit 25 identifies, as a rescue-ready vehicle, a rescue-ready vehicle 12 that meets the conditions necessary to supply power to the electric vehicle 11 based on the rescue vehicle information and the power shortage information. The necessary conditions include battery voltage, battery capacity, information indicating whether the battery is a cartridge type, battery shape, charging standard, the installed charging cable, and charging state. From among the rescue-ready vehicles 12, the identification unit 25 preferentially identifies, as a rescue-ready vehicle, a rescue-ready vehicle 12 that has a replacement battery and has the same battery shape as the battery of the electric vehicle 11. From among the rescue-ready vehicles 12 that do not have a replacement battery, the identification unit 25 identifies, as a rescue-ready vehicle, a rescue-ready vehicle 12 that meets the charging standard.

[0023] The calculation unit 26 includes a first calculation unit 26A and a second calculation unit 26B.

[0024] The first calculation unit 26A calculates the travel time, which is the time it takes for the rescue available vehicle 12 to arrive at the electric vehicle 11. The first calculation unit 26A calculates the travel time it takes for the rescue available vehicle 12 to arrive at the electric vehicle 11 based on the position information of the electric vehicle 11 that is out of battery and the position information of the rescue available vehicle 12.

[0025] The second calculation unit 26B calculates the work time, which is the time from the arrival of the rescue-capable vehicle 12 to the completion of the work of supplying power to the electric vehicle 11. The second calculation unit 26B calculates the work time from the arrival of the response candidate vehicle at the location of the electric vehicle 11 to the completion of power supply to the electric vehicle 11, based on necessary conditions. If the response candidate vehicle has a replacement battery, the second calculation unit 26B calculates the time required to replace the battery of the electric vehicle 11 with the replacement battery as the work time. If the response candidate vehicle does not have a replacement battery, the second calculation unit 26B calculates the charging time required to complete charging of the battery of the electric vehicle 11 from the external power source of the response candidate vehicle.

[0026] The notification unit 27 notifies the electric vehicle 11 of various information regarding the rescue request. The notification unit 27 notifies the electric vehicle 11, which is the source of the power shortage information, or a mobile terminal carried by the user of the electric vehicle 11, of rescue candidate information including rescue vehicle information, travel time, and work time.

[0027] 3 is a sequence diagram showing the rescue process. The rescue available vehicle 12 transmits rescue vehicle information to the server 20 (step S1). In step S1, the rescue vehicle information, which is information about the rescue available vehicle 12, is transmitted to the server 20. Upon receiving the rescue vehicle information from the rescue available vehicle 12, the server 20 stores the received rescue vehicle information in the storage unit 23.

[0028] The electric vehicle 11 transmits information about the lack of power to the server 20 (step S2). In step S2, a request for assistance is transmitted from the electric vehicle 11 that is out of power to the server 20. The information about the lack of power includes emergency state information. When the server 20 receives emergency state information indicating the occurrence of a lack of power from the electric vehicle 11, it becomes aware that there is an electric vehicle 11 that is out of power.

[0029] The server 20 identifies candidate vehicles from among the vehicles 12 that can provide rescue based on the rescue vehicle information and the information on the lack of battery (step S3). In step S3, one or more vehicles 12 that can provide rescue that meet the conditions necessary to supply power to the electric vehicle 11 are identified. When the server 20 identifies candidate vehicles, it generates candidate vehicle information, which is information related to the identified candidate vehicles. The server 20 preferentially identifies vehicles 12 that can provide rescue by replacing their batteries.

[0030] In step S3, the server 20 prioritizes rescue-ready vehicles 12 that are located close to the electric vehicle 11 based on the location information of the electric vehicle 11 and the location information of the rescue-ready vehicles 12. The server 20 identifies rescue-ready vehicles 12 that meet the conditions necessary to supply power to the electric vehicle 11 as rescue-ready candidate vehicles based on the battery information of the electric vehicle 11 and the battery information of the rescue-ready vehicles 12. The server 20 prioritizes rescue-ready vehicles 12 that have the same voltage value as the electric vehicle 11 based on the battery voltage. The server 20 prioritizes rescue-ready vehicles 12 that have a removable battery based on information indicating whether the battery is removable. For rescue-ready vehicles 12 that have a removable battery, if the battery shape is the same as the battery shape of the electric vehicle 11, the server 20 designates the rescue-ready vehicle 12 as a rescue-ready candidate vehicle. For rescue-ready vehicles 12 that do not have a removable battery, the server 20 identifies the rescue-ready vehicle 12 as a rescue-ready candidate vehicle if the charging standard and the installed charging cable are met. Based on the charging standard, the server 20 excludes from the list of compatible candidate vehicles any charging standard that does not allow charging from the rescue-ready vehicle 12 to the electric vehicle 11. Based on the installed charging cables, the server 20 designates the rescue-ready vehicle 12 as a compatible candidate vehicle if charging from the rescue-ready vehicle 12 to the electric vehicle 11 is possible via either the charging cable installed on the rescue-ready vehicle 12 or the charging cable installed on the electric vehicle 11. Furthermore, based on the charging state information of the electric vehicle 11 and the charging state information of the rescue-ready vehicle 12, the server 20 prioritizes the rescue-ready vehicle 12 that can charge the electric vehicle 11 with the largest amount of charge. The server 20 calculates the amount of charge that can be charged to the electric vehicle 11 based on the battery capacity in the battery information and the SOC, which is battery state information.

[0031] The server 20 transmits the corresponding candidate vehicle information to the electric vehicle 11 (step S4). In step S4, the corresponding candidate vehicle information is transmitted to the electric vehicle 11 that is the source of the power shortage information.

[0032] When the electric vehicle 11 receives the response candidate vehicle information, it selects one of the response candidate vehicles as a rescue vehicle (step S5). In step S5, the electric vehicle 11 accepts a selection operation by the user of the electric vehicle 11, and thereby selects one of the response candidate vehicles. The response candidate vehicle selected in the selection information is the rescue vehicle requested by the user of the electric vehicle 11 to provide rescue.

[0033] The electric vehicle 11 transmits selection information indicating that the rescue vehicle has been selected to the server 20 (step S6).

[0034] When the server 20 receives the selection information from the electric vehicle 11, it identifies the available rescue vehicle 12 that corresponds to the selection information and transmits rescue response information to the identified available rescue vehicle 12 (step S7). In step S7, the rescue response information is transmitted to one available rescue vehicle 12 requested by the user of the electric vehicle 11. The rescue response information includes the location information, battery information, charge state information, and emergency state information in the power shortage information.

[0035] When the rescue available vehicle 12 receives the rescue response information from the server 20, it transmits response availability information to the server 20 (step S8). In step S8, the response availability information including information indicating whether rescue response is possible is transmitted from the rescue available vehicle 12 to the server 20.

[0036] When the server 20 receives the response possibility information from the rescue available vehicle 12, it determines whether rescue is possible (step S9). In step S9, it is determined whether the received response possibility information indicates rescue acceptance or rescue refusal. When the server 20 receives the response possibility information from the rescue available vehicle 12, it determines whether rescue is possible based on the response possibility information.

[0037] The server 20 transmits a response availability notification to the electric vehicle 11 (step S10). In step S10, if the response availability information indicates rescue approval, a rescue acceptance completion notification is transmitted to the electric vehicle 11, and if the response availability information indicates rescue refusal, a rescue rejection notification is transmitted to the electric vehicle 11. If it is determined in step S9 that rescue response is possible, the notification unit 27 determines that rescue by a response candidate vehicle has been approved, and notifies the electric vehicle 11, which is the sender of the out-of-power information, of the completion of rescue acceptance.

[0038] 4 is a flowchart showing information processing in the electric vehicle 11. The control shown in FIG.

[0039] The electric vehicle 11 determines whether or not a power shortage has occurred (step S101). In step S101, it is determined whether or not the electric vehicle 11 is in a power shortage state. If a power shortage has not occurred (step S101: No), this control routine ends.

[0040] If a power shortage occurs (step S101: Yes), the electric vehicle 11 transmits power shortage information to the server 20 (step S102). In step S102, the electric vehicle 11 receives an operation by the user of the electric vehicle 11, and the power shortage information is transmitted from the electric vehicle 11 to the server 20. The processing in step S102 is the same as the processing in step S2.

[0041] The electric vehicle 11 determines whether or not corresponding candidate vehicle information has been received from the server 20 (step S103). If corresponding candidate vehicle information has not been received (step S103: No), the process returns to step S103.

[0042] If the electric vehicle 11 has received the response candidate information (step S103: Yes), the electric vehicle 11 receives the information and displays it on a display device (step S104). In step 104, the response candidate vehicle information is displayed on a monitor inside the vehicle cabin of the electric vehicle 11. The response candidate vehicle information can be displayed on a car navigation device of the electric vehicle 11. The response candidate information includes rescue vehicle information, information indicating the estimated arrival time of the available rescue vehicle 12, and information indicating the time required for rescue after the available rescue vehicle 12 arrives. In step S104, information is displayed that enables the user to distinguish whether the response candidate vehicle requires external charging or battery replacement, information indicating the travel time until the response candidate vehicle arrives at the electric vehicle 11, and information indicating the work time required to resolve the low-battery state after the response candidate vehicle arrives. The user of the electric vehicle 11 can ascertain the total time until the low-battery state is resolved based on the displayed response candidate vehicle information. Then, the user of the electric vehicle 11 inputs a selection operation into the electric vehicle 11 and selects one vehicle from among the candidate vehicles that he or she wishes to use for rescue.

[0043] The electric vehicle 11 transmits selection information indicating that one vehicle has been selected from among the corresponding candidate vehicles to the server 20 (step S105).

[0044] The electric vehicle 11 determines whether rescue is approved by the rescue-enabled vehicle 12 (step S106). In step S106, it is determined whether rescue is possible from the selected rescue candidate vehicle. The electric vehicle 11 determines whether a rescue acceptance completion notice has been received from the server 20. If a rescue acceptance completion notice has been received, the electric vehicle 11 determines that rescue has been approved by the selected rescue candidate vehicle. If a rescue acceptance completion notice has not been received, the electric vehicle 11 determines that rescue has been rejected by the selected rescue candidate vehicle. If the electric vehicle 11 receives a non-acceptance notice from the server 20, it determines that rescue has been rejected.

[0045] If it is determined that the rescue available vehicle 12 has refused rescue (step S106: No), the process returns to step S103.

[0046] If it is determined that the rescue available vehicle 12 has agreed to the rescue (step S106: Yes), the electric vehicle 11 displays the rescue vehicle information and time information on the display device (step S107). In step S107, the current location information of the rescue available vehicle 12 and the time information until the rescue available vehicle 12 arrives are displayed on the display device of the electric vehicle 11.

[0047] The electric vehicle 11 determines whether or not the available rescue vehicle 12 has arrived (step S108). If the available rescue vehicle 12 has not arrived (step S108: No), the process returns to step S106. If the available rescue vehicle 12 has arrived (step S108: Yes), the control routine ends.

[0048] 5 is a flowchart showing information processing in the server 20. The control shown in FIG.

[0049] The server 20 receives the rescue vehicle information (step S201). In step S201, the rescue vehicle information transmitted from the rescue available vehicle 12 is received.

[0050] The server 20 determines whether or not it has received the power shortage information (step S202). In step S202, it is determined whether or not it has received the power shortage information transmitted from the electric vehicle 11. If the power shortage information has not been received (step S202: No), this control routine ends.

[0051] If the power shortage information is received (step S202: Yes), the server 20 identifies a candidate vehicle based on the power shortage information and the rescue vehicle information (step S203). The process of step S203 is the same as the process of step S3.

[0052] The server 20 transmits the candidate response vehicle information to the electric vehicle 11 (step S204). In step S204, rescue vehicle information, information indicating the estimated time of arrival of the rescue available vehicle 12, and information indicating the time required for rescue are transmitted to the electric vehicle 11. The server 20 calculates the time required for rescue. In the case of battery replacement, a preset standard replacement time is set as the time required for rescue. The standard replacement time is, for example, 10 minutes. In the case of charging the electric vehicle 11, the time calculated by dividing the charge amount that can be re-driven by the value that can be output from the rescue available vehicle 12 is set as the time required for rescue. The processing in step S204 is the same as the processing in step S4.

[0053] The server 20 determines whether or not it has received the selection information (step S205). In step S205, it is determined whether or not it has received the selection information from the electric vehicle 11. If it has not received the selection information (step S205: No), it returns to step S205.

[0054] If the selection information is received (step S205: Yes), the server 20 transmits rescue response information to the rescue available vehicle 12 corresponding to the selection information (step S206). The process of step S206 is the same as the process of step S7.

[0055] The server 20 determines whether or not rescue approval has been obtained from the rescue available vehicle 12 (step S207). In step S207, the server 20 receives response availability information, which is a response from the rescue available vehicle 12 that transmitted the rescue response information, and determines whether or not the response availability information includes information indicating rescue approval. If the received response availability information includes information indicating rescue refusal, the server 20 determines that rescue approval has not been obtained from the rescue available vehicle 12. The processing of step S207 is the same as the processing of step S9.

[0056] If rescue consent is not obtained from the rescue-available vehicle 12 (step S207: No), the server 20 determines that rescue has been rejected and transmits a non-acceptance notice to the electric vehicle 11 (step S208). After the processing of step S208 is performed, this control routine returns to step S203.

[0057] If the rescue-available vehicle 12 agrees to rescue (step S207: Yes), the server 20 transmits a rescue acceptance completion notice to the electric vehicle 11 (step S209).

[0058] The server 20 receives the location information of the rescue available vehicle 12 (step S210) and transmits the rescue vehicle information to the electric vehicle 11 (step S211). In step S211, the current location information of the rescue available vehicle 12, the estimated arrival time, and the time required for rescue are transmitted to the electric vehicle 11.

[0059] The server 20 determines whether the available rescue vehicle 12 has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S212). In step S212, it is determined whether the available rescue vehicle 12 has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 based on the location information of the electric vehicle 11 acquired in step S201 and the location information of the available rescue vehicle 12 acquired in step S210.

[0060] If the rescue available vehicle 12 has not arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S212: No), the process returns to step S210. If the rescue available vehicle 12 has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S212: Yes), this control routine ends.

[0061] 6 is a flow chart showing a control flow in the rescue vehicle 12. The control shown in FIG.

[0062] The available rescue vehicle 12 transmits rescue vehicle information to the server 20 (step S301). The process of step S301 is the same as the process of step S1.

[0063] The rescue-available vehicle 12 determines whether or not it has received rescue response information (step S302). In step S302, it is determined whether or not it has received rescue response information from the server 20. If it has not received rescue response information (step S302: No), this control routine ends.

[0064] If the rescue response information has been received (step S302: Yes), the rescue available vehicle 12 transmits response availability information to the server 20 (step S303). The process of step S303 is the same as the process of step S8.

[0065] The rescue-available vehicle 12 determines whether rescue has been approved (step S304). In step S304, it is determined whether the transmitted response availability information indicates rescue approval. If rescue has not been approved (step S304: No), this control routine ends.

[0066] If the rescue request is accepted (step S304: Yes), the rescue available vehicle 12 transmits the current location information to the server 20 (step S305).

[0067] The rescue available vehicle 12 determines whether it has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S306). In step S306, it is determined whether it has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 based on the location information of the electric vehicle 11 included in the rescue response information and the current location information of the rescue available vehicle 12. If it has not arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S306: No), the process returns to step S305. If it has arrived at the location of the electric vehicle 11 (step S306: Yes), this control routine ends.

[0068] As described above, according to the embodiment, the user of the electric vehicle 11 that is out of power can recognize whether a removable battery is available, the time until the rescue vehicle 12 arrives, and the time until rescue is completed after arrival, at the timing of selecting the rescue vehicle. This can reduce the anxiety of the user.

[0069] The source of the power shortage information is not limited to the electric vehicle 11, but may be a mobile terminal carried by the user of the electric vehicle 11. In other words, the source of the power shortage information is the electric vehicle 11 or the mobile terminal. The server 20 transmits information about compatible candidate vehicles, a notification of failure, or a notification of completion of rescue reception to the electric vehicle 11 or the mobile terminal that is the source of the power shortage information.

[0070] Furthermore, when the server 20 determines that the rescue request has been rejected, it does not necessarily have to send a notification of rejection to the electric vehicle 11. The electric vehicle 11 or the mobile terminal can determine that the rescue request has been rejected if it does not receive a notification of completion of rescue acceptance until a predetermined time has elapsed after sending the selection information.

[0071] Furthermore, the electric vehicle 11 may transmit information about the lack of power to the server 20 before it runs out of power and becomes unable to move under its own power and before it cannot reach the nearest charging facility by itself. The electric vehicle 11 can transmit information about the lack of power when it is expected to run out of power. At that time, the car navigation system may provide guidance on a location where the electric vehicle 11 that is expected to run out of power can stop in a safe place that is close to a rescue vehicle and within a range where it can move under its own power. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1 Electric vehicle rescue system 11 Electric vehicles 12A, 12B Rescue vehicles available 20 servers

Claims

1. an electric vehicle equipped with a detachable battery, capable of battery replacement by replacing the battery with a replacement battery, and external charging by storing power supplied from an external power source in the battery; a server that receives a rescue request from the electric vehicle; a rescue-capable vehicle that is communicably connected to the server and that may head to the electric vehicle in response to the rescue request; Equipped with the rescue-capable vehicle is a vehicle having the replacement battery or a vehicle having an external power source capable of supplying power to the electric vehicle, The server a storage unit that stores rescue vehicle information including location information of the rescue available vehicle and information indicating whether or not the replacement battery is available, as information regarding the rescue available vehicle; an identification unit that, when receiving, as the rescue request, location information of the electric vehicle and power shortage information including information indicating that the electric vehicle is in a power shortage state, identifies, as a rescue candidate vehicle, the rescue-available vehicle that satisfies a condition necessary for supplying power to the electric vehicle based on the rescue vehicle information and the power shortage information; a first calculation unit that calculates a travel time required for the corresponding candidate vehicle to arrive at the electric vehicle based on position information of the electric vehicle and position information of the corresponding candidate vehicle; a second calculation unit that calculates an operation time from when the corresponding candidate vehicle arrives at the electric vehicle to when power supply to the electric vehicle is completed based on the necessary conditions; a notification unit that notifies a source of the power shortage information of information about a candidate vehicle that includes the rescue vehicle information, the travel time, and the work time. An electric vehicle rescue system characterized by:

2. The necessary conditions include the presence or absence of the replacement battery, the battery shape, and the charging standard; The identification unit From among the vehicles capable of providing rescue, a vehicle capable of providing rescue that has the replacement battery and has the same battery shape as the battery is preferentially identified as the candidate vehicle; identifying a rescue-ready vehicle that satisfies the charging standard as the rescue-ready candidate vehicle from among the rescue-ready vehicles that do not have the replacement battery; When the corresponding candidate vehicle has the replacement battery, the second calculation unit calculates the replacement time between the battery and the replacement battery as the work time, If the corresponding candidate vehicle does not have the replacement battery, the second calculation unit calculates, as the operation time, a charging time until charging of the battery from the external power source is completed.

2. The electric vehicle rescue system according to claim 1.

3. The source of the power shortage information is the electric vehicle or a mobile terminal carried by a user of the electric vehicle, The electric vehicle or the mobile terminal that is the source of the power shortage information, displaying the corresponding candidate vehicle information received from the server; Selection information indicating that one vehicle is selected from the corresponding candidate vehicles included in the corresponding candidate vehicle information is transmitted to the server.

3. The electric vehicle rescue system according to claim 2.

4. When the server receives the selection information from the electric vehicle or the mobile terminal, the server transmits rescue response information to the rescue-enabled vehicle that corresponds to the response candidate vehicle selected in the selection information, When the rescue-available vehicle receives the rescue response information from the server, the rescue-available vehicle transmits response availability information including whether rescue response is possible or not to the server.

4. The electric vehicle rescue system according to claim 3.

5. When the server receives the response possibility information from the rescue-available vehicle, the server determines whether rescue is possible based on the response possibility information; If it is determined that the rescue is possible, the notification unit determines that rescue by the candidate vehicle has been approved, and notifies the electric vehicle or the mobile terminal that is the source of the power shortage information of completion of rescue acceptance.

5. The electric vehicle rescue system according to claim 4.

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