Information processing system, information processing method, information processing device, and program

Abstract

To output a maximum number of non-electric vehicles which can be replaced with an electric vehicle, from among a plurality of non-electric vehicles.SOLUTION: An information processing method in an information processing system comprises: acquiring information about a moving object, which is information related to a non-electric vehicle; determining which of multiple classifications, that are defined based on an element group that includes at least a first element related to a charging frequency and a second element related to a presence or absence of a charging station within an operating range, the moving object belongs to, based upon the charging station information, which is information related to the moving object and charging station; and determining whether the moving object can be switched to an electric vehicle based on the applicable classification mentioned above.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing technology that suggests switching from a non-electric vehicle such as a gasoline-powered vehicle to an electric vehicle based on driving information. [Background technology]

[0002] Electric vehicles have become increasingly popular in recent years. Switching to electric vehicles for operation can help shift to more environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Furthermore, even for companies that use multiple vehicles for business purposes, switching at least some of the vehicles they manage to electric vehicles depending on the operational situation can offer the advantage of achieving cost-effective operations.

[0003] As an example of prior art related to the operation of electric vehicles, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for setting the usage fee for electric vehicle sharing based on information about the user's previous owner in order to provide benefits to switching to EV car sharing and encourage users to use EV car sharing. Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for reserving the replacement and charging of on-board storage batteries based on a driving plan set by the driver that is changed based on traffic information, in consideration of the fact that it takes a long time to charge the storage batteries in electric vehicles and the driving range is limited. Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses a technology in which, in consideration of the fact that electric vehicles can travel a shorter distance on a single charge and take longer to charge than gasoline-powered vehicles, the system calculates, for each regional mesh, a usage forecast pattern that predicts the distribution of the number of vehicles in use relative to the distance traveled by the vehicle for each time period and the hourly change in the number of vehicles in use, from the vehicle driving history collected from managed electric vehicles; the system calculates the number of vehicles to be deployed in each regional mesh for each time period and the distribution of remaining charge; instructs each vehicle to charge or wait, and dispatches vehicles so as to satisfy the number of vehicles to be deployed and the distribution of remaining charge for each mesh; and, upon receiving a request for a boarding location and destination from a user, extracts vehicles with enough remaining charge to reach the charging station nearest to the destination from the vehicle's current location via the boarding location and destination, and notifies the vehicle closest to the boarding location of a dispatch instruction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-87151 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-174474 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-73979 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Just as non-electric vehicles require refueling, electric vehicles need to be charged in order to operate. Charging can be done by installing charging equipment at the owner's home or office, or by using a private charging station. Therefore, when comparing the operational efficiency of electric vehicles and non-electric vehicles, a more realistic solution can be obtained by taking these charging methods into consideration.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to make it possible to propose methods of operating electric vehicles and non-electric vehicles based on background including charging methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing method in an information processing system includes acquiring mobile body information, which is information relating to a mobile body that is a non-electric vehicle; determining, based on the mobile body information, which of a plurality of classifications the mobile body falls into based on a group of factors including at least a first factor relating to charging frequency and a second factor relating to the presence or absence of charging stations within the range of activity; and determining, based on the corresponding classification, whether the mobile body can be switched to an electric vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The information processing method and the like according to the present invention make it possible to propose more efficient operation of electric vehicles and non-electric vehicles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile object information acquisition device 10 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a server 30 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an administrator terminal 40 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of charging operation analysis in the charging operation analysis process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of a flowchart of a charging operation analysis process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a display example of a charging operation analysis result display process that is performed based on the result of the charging operation analysis process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a display example of a charging operation analysis result display process that is performed based on the analysis result performed on one moving object 1 that is a target of attention according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions may be omitted. Furthermore, the components described in these embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0011] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described as an example for realizing the information processing technology of the present invention. The contents described in this embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments, examples, and modified examples.

[0012] <Functional configuration> 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle management system according to one aspect of the present embodiment. In this system, a mobile object information acquisition device 10 mounted on a mobile object 1, such as a vehicle to be managed, a server 30, and an administrator terminal 40 operated by an administrator who manages the mobile object 1 are connected via a network NW, and the mobile object information acquisition device 10 acquires mobile object information about the mobile object 1 as appropriate (for example, at an appropriate timing or in chronological order) and transmits the information to the server 30 via the network NW. The server 30 executes various processes based on the received and stored mobile unit information, input information, etc., and outputs information relating to the results to the administrator terminal 40, for example.

[0013] Here, the mobile body information is information relating to the mobile body 1, and may be, but is not limited to, information relating to the traveling of the mobile body 1, such as position information, speed information, and acceleration information, as well as information on each sensor, actuator, etc. of the mobile body 1 (for example, whether an abnormality has occurred, how much wear and tear there is, etc.) that can be obtained using the OBD (On-board diagnostics) method (hereinafter referred to as OBD information), information relating to the situation in which the mobile body 1 is placed, such as temperature information, inclination angle information relating to the inclination angle of the road it is traveling on, input information input and obtained at the mobile terminal 20 described below, and information relating to the specifications of the mobile body 1 itself (for example, size, vehicle model information, etc.), and is not limited to these.

[0014] Furthermore, the mobile object information may include information obtained by processing various information (including the acquired mobile object information itself). For example, the mobile object information may include distance information calculated based on the position information included in the mobile object information. The distance information may be, for example, the distance since the mobile object information acquisition device 10 was installed or the distance since the last maintenance was performed, and the content of the distance information is not particularly limited and may be arbitrary. Furthermore, for example, the mobile object information may include driving quality information calculated based on acceleration information (or speed information, position information) included in the mobile object information. The driving quality information is information regarding the driving quality of the mobile object 1 and is information regarding the degree to which the driving quality may affect wear, consumption, deterioration, etc. of each component of the mobile object 1. For example, the content (e.g., a numerical value; also referred to as a driving score) may be different depending on whether a large scalar value of acceleration is observed frequently or rarely. Furthermore, for example, the mobile object information may include driving time information, which is the total driving time since the mobile object information was acquired or since maintenance was performed.

[0015] Furthermore, when the mobile body information acquisition device 10 acquires at least location information as mobile body information and transmits and stores it to the server 30, the location information and information such as the temperature, weather, inclination angle, etc. at the location corresponding to that time may be acquired from an external device (for example, a server that provides information about weather or a server that provides information about geographical information) and stored in the server 30 as part of the mobile body information.

[0016] Furthermore, the mobile object information is not limited to being composed of one type of information, but may be composed of multiple types of information. For example, the mobile object information may be composed of position information and acceleration information. Furthermore, certain mobile object information may be collected by the mobile object information acquisition device 10 at a predetermined timing (e.g., chronologically), and similarly, the mobile object information accumulated in the mobile object information acquisition device 10 may be transmitted to the server 30 at a predetermined timing. For example, in one mobile object information acquisition device 10, the information is collected every second and transmitted to the server 30 every minute. As another example, in another mobile object information acquisition device 10, the mobile object information is collected every 10 seconds and transmitted to the server 30 every 10 minutes. As yet another example, in one mobile object information acquisition device 10, the mobile object information is collected every 10 seconds and transmitted via a roadside device connected to the server 30 when the mobile object 1 passes near the roadside device connected to the server 30 (for example, a method based on ETC2.0).

[0017] In other words, the mobile body information may be directly obtainable information about the mobile body obtained by the mobile body information acquisition device 10 or another device or means, or may be indirectly obtainable information obtained by processing information obtained by the mobile body information acquisition means 10 or another device or means, or may include multiple types of information, and as long as it is information about the mobile body 1, the acquisition method, calculation method and form may be arbitrary. In this embodiment, the mobile object information includes at least the position information of the mobile object 1.

[0018] The mobile object 1 may be, for example, a passenger car or a truck, but is not limited to these, and may be any non-electric vehicle, such as a gasoline-powered vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile object information acquisition device 10 of FIG. The mobile object information acquisition device 10 in this embodiment is, for example, a device that collects mobile object information according to the ETC2.0 standard and transmits it to the server 30. Another example is a device that is inserted into a socket (e.g., a cigarette lighter socket, a power supply socket, or a connection socket) of the mobile object 1, fixed inside the mobile object 1, and collects and transmits the mobile object information to the server 30 (referred to as a "cigarette lighter device" in this application). The power supply socket or the connection socket is, for example, a socket that supports USB (Universal Serial Bus). Of course, the mobile object information acquisition device 10 is not limited to these devices and may be any form or device, such as a device provided in the mobile object 1, such as a drive recorder, a car navigation device, or a digital tachograph, or even integrated with a mobile terminal 20 (described later) carried by the driver of the mobile object 1. Any device that can at least collect mobile object information of the mobile object 1 and transmit it to the server 30 may be used. The mobile object information acquisition device 10 is configured to include, for example, a processing unit 110, a storage unit 120, a communication unit 130, a mobile object information acquisition unit 170, and a clock unit 180.

[0020] The mobile object information acquisition device 10 collects mobile object information via the mobile object information acquisition unit 170, associates the collected information with time information acquired by the clock unit 180, and stores the collected information in the storage unit 120. The acquired stored mobile object information is then transmitted at a predetermined timing to the server 30 connected to the network NW via the communication unit 130.

[0021] The processing unit 110 is configured by a processing operation device including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The processing unit 110 performs various processes on each piece of data, and also controls each functional unit such as the communication unit 130, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170, and the clock unit 180 by reading and executing programs stored in the storage unit 120.

[0022] The storage unit 120 includes, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., and stores the control program processed by the processing unit 110 and various data, such as information acquired by each functional unit. Note that the storage unit 120 is not limited to being built into the mobile object information acquisition device 10, but may also be an external storage device connected via a digital input / output port such as a universal serial bus (USB), etc.

[0023] In this embodiment, the storage unit 120 stores, for example, a mobile object information acquisition and transmission processing program 121 and a mobile object information database 122.

[0024] The mobile body information acquisition and transmission processing program 121 is a program for realizing the mobile body information acquisition and transmission processing for transmitting the mobile body information acquired via the mobile body information acquisition unit 170 to the server 30 at an appropriate timing.

[0025] The mobile object information database 122 is a database for accumulating and storing mobile object information and the like acquired about the mobile object 1. The mobile body information is stored in the mobile body information database 122 in association with time information issued by the clock unit 180, which will be described later. That is, the mobile body information is accumulated in the mobile body information database 122 in a manner that makes it possible to know when the mobile body information was acquired. For example, when the mobile body information acquisition device 10 acquires location information as mobile body information, the coordinate information as the acquired location information is stored in association with the time of acquisition.

[0026] The communication unit 130 is a module that can connect to a public network such as the Internet and communicate data with devices such as the server 30 connected to the network using, for example, mobile communications such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3G, 4G, or 5G, or narrowband communications such as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication). Alternatively, information may be exchanged using communications compatible with ETC2.0, which performs two-way communications using DSRC. The mobile object information stored in the mobile object information database 122 is transmitted to an external server 30 via the communication unit 130 .

[0027] For example, if the mobile object information includes position information, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 acquires position information (e.g., latitude and longitude information) of the mobile object information acquisition device 10 at predetermined intervals based on radio waves received from GNSS satellites (e.g., GPS satellites). That is, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 can acquire position information of the mobile object 1 equipped with the mobile object information acquisition device 10. In other words, by using the mobile object 1 equipped with the mobile object information acquisition device 10, it is possible to substantially acquire position information of the mobile object 1. For example, if the mobile object information includes speed information, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 acquires vehicle speed pulse information acquired by a vehicle speed pulse acquisition unit (not shown) mounted on the mobile object 1, and acquires speed information of the mobile object 1 at predetermined intervals based on the vehicle speed pulse information. Alternatively, the speed information may be calculated based on separately acquired position information. For example, if the mobile object information includes acceleration information, the acceleration may be acquired by a piezoelectric acceleration sensor. Alternatively, the acceleration of the vehicle may be calculated based on separately acquired position information or speed information.

[0028] Furthermore, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 may be configured to include a temperature information acquisition unit (not shown). That is, the temperature may be measured in time series and acquired as mobile object information. Similarly, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 may be configured to include any of an atmospheric pressure information acquisition unit, an altitude information acquisition unit, a humidity information acquisition unit, etc. That is, information relating to some environment inside or outside the mobile object 1 may be acquired as mobile object information.

[0029] Furthermore, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 may be configured to include an image information acquisition unit (not shown), which may acquire images of the inside and outside of the mobile object 1 as appropriate, and acquire such image information as mobile object information. For example, image information of the road surface or weather may be acquired as mobile object information outside the mobile object 1, and image information of the driver may be acquired as mobile object information inside the mobile object 1, and the content thereof is not particularly limited.

[0030] The acquired mobile body information may be associated with information regarding the time (current time) at which the mobile body information was acquired, which is acquired by the clock unit 180 described below, and stored in the mobile body information database 122 of the memory unit 120.

[0031] Here, if the location information is included in the mobile object information, an accuracy value (for example, a DOP value) indicating the accuracy of the location information may be acquired when the location information is acquired. In this case, the acquired location information and accuracy value may be associated with the current time and stored in the storage unit 120.

[0032] The method for acquiring the mobile object information is not limited to the above, and any method may be applied. For example, when a mobile object 1 equipped with the mobile object information acquisition device 10 approaches, the mobile object information acquisition unit 170 may receive radio waves containing the mobile object information emitted by a roadside device installed on the side of a road, thereby acquiring the mobile object information of the mobile object information acquisition device 10.

[0033] The clock unit 180 is a built-in clock of the mobile object information acquisition device 10, and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 180 is configured to include, for example, a clock using a crystal oscillator. The clock unit 180 may be configured to have a clock that conforms to the NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) standard or the like.

[0034] The mobile object information acquisition unit 170 may also be provided in a mobile terminal (not shown) held by a user who drives the mobile object 1. In other words, the functions of the mobile object information acquisition device 10 may be provided in the mobile terminal.

[0035] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 30 in Fig. 1. The server 30 in this embodiment is configured to include a processing unit 310, a storage unit 320, and a communication unit 330. The server 30 is connected to the mobile object information acquisition device 10, the administrator terminal 40, etc., via a network such as the Internet, receives mobile object information from the mobile object information acquisition device 10, and stores the information in the storage unit 320. The server 30 also performs charging operation analysis processing based on the stored information.

[0036] The processing unit 310 is configured by a processing operation device including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The processing unit 310 performs various processes on each piece of data, and also reads and executes programs stored in the storage unit 320.

[0037] The storage unit 320 includes, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., and stores the control program processed by the processing unit 210 and various data, such as an on-board device table in which device identification information is registered. Note that the storage unit 420 is not limited to being built into the server 400, and may be an external storage device connected via a digital input / output port such as a universal serial bus (USB), etc.

[0038] In this embodiment, the storage unit 320 stores, for example, a charging operation analysis processing program 321, a database 322, a mobile object information processing program 323, and a quick charging station table 324.

[0039] The charging operation analysis processing program 321 is a program that is read by the processing unit 310 and executed as charging operation analysis processing, which will be described later.

[0040] Database 322 is a database for storing information about mobile body 1, and stores not only mobile body information about mobile body 1 transmitted from mobile body information acquisition device 10, etc., but also other mobile body information calculated by appropriately processing mobile body information, etc.

[0041] The mobile object information processing program 323 is a program that is read by the processing unit 310 and executed as a mobile object information processing process for calculating other mobile object information by processing based on accumulated mobile object information (e.g., location information), etc.

[0042] The quick charging station table 324 is a table for managing information about quick charging stations, which is used in the charging operation analysis process described later. The quick charging station table 324 stores information such as the location, usage fees, and usage conditions (e.g., available hours, available size of the mobile object, etc.) of quick charging stations that can be used by the mobile object 1.

[0043] The communication unit 330 is a module that can connect to a network such as the Internet using a wired or wireless communication interface, for example, mobile communications such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3G, 4G, or 5G, or narrowband communications such as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), and can communicate data with each device such as the mobile information acquisition device 10 connected to the network.

[0044] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the administrator terminal 40 of Fig. 1. The administrator terminal 40 in this embodiment may be, for example and without limitation, an electronic device such as a tablet or laptop PC, and is configured to include, for example, a processing unit 410, a storage unit 420, a communication unit 430, a display unit 440, an operation unit 450, and a sound output unit 460. Of these functional units, the configurations of the processing unit 410, memory unit 420, and communication unit 430 may be substantially the same as the processing unit 310, memory unit 320, and communication unit 330 of the server 30, and therefore detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0045] The display unit 440 is a display device configured to have, for example, an LCD or the like, and performs various displays based on display signals output from the processing unit 410. The display unit 440 may be configured integrally with a touch panel to form the operation unit 450 as a touch screen.

[0046] The operation unit 450 is configured to have input devices such as operation buttons and operation switches that allow the user to input various operations to the administrator terminal 40. The operation unit 450 may also have a touch panel that is configured integrally with the display unit 440, and this touch panel may function as an input interface between the user and the administrator terminal 40. The operation unit 450 outputs an operation signal to the processing unit 410 in accordance with a user operation.

[0047] The sound output unit 460 is a sound output device including a speaker and the like, and outputs various sounds based on the sound output signal output from the processing unit 410 .

[0048] In this embodiment, the storage unit 420 stores, for example, a charging operation analysis result display processing program 421.

[0049] The charging operation analysis result display processing program 421 is read by the processing unit 410 and is intended to perform processing in cooperation with the charging operation analysis processing program 321 of the server 30, and is a program executed using the output from the charging operation analysis processing described below.

[0050] <Charging operation analysis processing> The charging operation analysis process is described below. The charging operation analysis process calculates information for considering whether to switch the mobile object 1 to an electric vehicle based on the mobile object information of the mobile object 1, and classifies what kind of charging operation will be required if the mobile object 1 is switched to an electric vehicle. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of classification of charging operations. As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the moving object 1 is classified into one of five types based on the moving object information.

[0051] These five classifications are as follows: Note that these classifications are merely examples in this embodiment, and it goes without saying that the content, method, and number of each classification are not limited to these. Type A: A type where there is a quick charging station within the management point range of mobile unit 1, and charging time is short and sufficient, making it highly flexible in operation. Type B: There is a quick charging station within the range of the management point of mobile unit 1, but the charging time is long and it is necessary to secure time for long or frequent charging. Type C: The quick charging station is not within the management area of ​​the mobile unit 1, but is only located in the area where the mobile unit is out and about. However, the charging time is short and sufficient, and the charging location can be identified, making it possible to operate the mobile unit. Type D: The quick charging station is not within the range of the mobile unit's management point, but is only available in the area where the mobile unit is out, and requires a long charging time. This type requires frequent charging and careful planning. Type E: There are no quick charging stations within the range of the mobile unit 1, so it is difficult to convert to an electric vehicle and operate it without installing a new charging station.

[0052] 6 is a flowchart of the charging operation analysis process according to this embodiment. Note that, as a premise of this process, it is assumed that the server 30 has accumulated travel information of each moving body 1 for analysis via the moving body information acquisition device 10. Also, although this process is assumed to be performed for each moving body 1, it is of course also possible to perform the process for multiple moving bodies 1 collectively.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 6, first, the server 30 identifies mobile object information for a certain period (for example, the past month) from the mobile object information of the mobile object 1 to be analyzed (S3001).

[0054] Next, based on the mobile unit information (e.g., location information, etc.) and the quick charging station table 324, it is determined whether a quick charging station exists within the management point range of the mobile unit 1 (e.g., the area surrounding the management point such as home or office where the mobile unit 1 is normally parked, within a radius of 1 kilometer from the management point) (S3002). If it is determined that a quick charging station is present within the management point range (S3002; Y), it is further determined based on the mobile unit information whether charging is required at a predetermined frequency or more (S3004).

[0055] Whether charging is required at a predetermined frequency or more corresponds to whether frequent (e.g., daily) charging is required, for example, because travelling a predetermined distance (e.g., 200 km) or more occurs at a predetermined frequency (e.g., 30%) or more during the period between charging times (e.g., one day if returning to the management point once a day). If it is determined that the predetermined frequency or more is not necessary (S3004; N), the moving object 1 is classified as type A (S3006). If it is determined that the predetermined frequency or more is necessary (S3004; Y), the moving object 1 is classified as type B (S3007).

[0056] If it is determined that no rapid charging station exists within the range of the management point (S3002; N), it is determined whether or not a rapid charging station exists in the area of ​​the destination (S3003). The area of ​​the destination corresponds to, for example, the area surrounding the location where the mobile object 1 departs from the management point and heads to as a destination when in operation. For example, it may be an area set as the area covered by the mobile object 1 (such as an area of ​​R city in Q prefecture), or it may be an area recognized as a destination based on mobile object information (such as location information, etc.) (for example, an area with a 2-kilometer radius centered on a location where the mobile object has been parked a predetermined number of times or more).

[0057] If it is determined that the mobile device is in the area of ​​the destination (S3003; Y), it is further determined based on the mobile device information whether charging time is required at a predetermined frequency or more (S3005). The content of this step S3005 is the same as that of step S3004.

[0058] If it is determined that the predetermined frequency or more is not necessary (S3005; N), the moving object 1 is classified as type C (S3008). If it is determined that the predetermined frequency or more is necessary (S3005; Y), the moving object 1 is classified as type D (S3009).

[0059] If it is determined that the mobile object 1 is not in the area of ​​the destination (S3003; N), the mobile object 1 is classified as type E (S3010). That is, this corresponds to the case where there is no quick charging station within the activity range.

[0060] In this process, classification by type is performed using two branches, but the method for classifying by type is not limited to determining using these two branches, and may be any method, such as classifying into each type in a single process.

[0061] Fig. 7 is a display example of the charging operation analysis result display process that is performed based on the results of the charging operation analysis process. The example shown in Fig. 7 shows that the 200 mobile objects 1 to be classified are classified as follows by the charging operation analysis process. Type A: 70 units Type B: 30 units Type C: 50 units Type D: 20 units Type E: 30 units

[0062] Based on the results, for example, the following suggestions can be made: Of course, the suggestions are not limited to these, and any other suggestions may be made based on the classification content. 35% of the 70 Type A vehicles can be converted to electric vehicles. The remaining 65% are recommended to remain non-electric vehicles. 50% of the 100 vehicles classified as Type A and B can be converted to electric vehicles and operated. It is recommended that the remaining 50% remain non-electric vehicles without being converted to electric vehicles. It is possible to convert 35% of the vehicles classified as Type A, equivalent to 70 vehicles, to electric vehicles and operate them. For the 40% of the vehicles classified as Types B and C, equivalent to 80 vehicles, it is recommended that a decision be made on whether to convert them to electric vehicles based on future operational plans, etc. For the remaining 25% classified as Types D and E, it is recommended that they remain non-electric vehicles and be operated as such.

[0063] In this way, it is possible to switch to electric vehicles that offer cost and environmental benefits depending on the location of available charging spots. Furthermore, rather than only considering switching to electric vehicles on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, it is possible to propose switching some of the multiple mobile objects 1 to be managed to electric vehicles depending on the proportion in each category.

[0064] <Modification> In the above-described embodiment, the proposal to switch to an electric vehicle is based on information about rapid charging stations that support rapid charging, but the information is not limited to this. For example, the proposal to switch to an electric vehicle may also include information about charging stations that do not support rapid charging.

[0065] In this case, for example, in addition to quick charging station table 324, storage unit 320 may prepare a non-quick charging station table (not shown) that stores information about charging stations that do not support quick charging (hereinafter referred to as "non-quick charging stations"), or may prepare a charging station table (not shown) that covers information about all types of charging stations, and refer to this table as needed to suggest switching to electric vehicles. The charging station table may also store information about charging stations, such as charging type (200V compatible, 100V compatible, etc.), charger type (cable included, 6kW type, etc.), authentication type (uncertified, certified by a specific company, etc.), operating hours (whether available 24 hours a day, etc.), the need for advance reservations, and parking fees. Furthermore, when using a non-quick charging station, since it takes time to fully charge, rather than assuming a full charge, it is possible to ascertain for each charging station whether a certain amount of charging is possible by charging for a certain amount of time (for example, 10% charge in one hour), and based on this information, a proposal can be made to switch to an electric vehicle taking into account the available charging time and the corresponding amount of charging.

[0066] In this way, it is possible to propose switching to an electric vehicle in accordance with the characteristics of various types of charging stations that can be used by the moving object 1, and it is possible to make a proposal that is more in line with the actual situation.

[0067] In the above-described embodiment, the proposal content refers to switching to electric vehicles, but the content to be proposed is not limited to this. For example, the proposal content may also include a change in the operation method of multiple moving bodies 1, such as changing a moving body 1 classified as one type to another type.

[0068] For example, in a situation where the classification results in the number of vehicles classified into each type as shown in Figure 7, it may be proposed that 120 vehicles 1, including both types A and B, can be converted to electric vehicles, assuming that operations are shared between vehicles 1 classified as type A and type B, and the expected charging time for vehicles 1 classified as type B is reduced and that this time is borne by vehicles 1 classified as type A. Here, in view of the fact that the long distance travel is the factor that causes the mobile object 1 classified as Type B to require a long charging time, it is necessary to have a form in which a portion of the travel to a destination that involves long distance travel for the mobile object 1 classified as Type B is shared with a mobile object 1 of Type A. However, this change in the sharing must be made so that the mobile object 1 of Type A does not become Type B.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of moving bodies 1 are collectively identified and a proposal is made as to how many (percentage) of them can be switched to electric vehicles, but this is not limiting. For example, an analysis may be performed on a single moving body 1 of interest, and based on the analysis results, the necessity of switching to electric vehicles, changes to operation, etc. may be presented.

[0070] Fig. 8 is a display example of a charging operation analysis result display process performed based on the analysis results performed on one mobile object 1 of interest. The display example in Fig. 8 shows the analysis results on the operation of the mobile object 1 for a predetermined period (e.g., one month), with the upper left showing the results on factors taking into account the switch to electric vehicles for the month in question as a "monthly summary," and below that showing information on the number of quick charging stations within the expected range of activity based on mobile object information (e.g., location information) collected about the mobile object 1. More specifically, the daily average, maximum, and minimum values ​​for the month are shown for the vicinity of the route of the mobile object 1, daytime parking locations, and nighttime parking locations, and further below that, information on quick charging stations near the nighttime parking locations and daytime parking locations that are candidate quick charging stations is shown.

[0071] Further to the right, information regarding the travel of the mobile unit 1 on each day of the month is shown, specifically, the travel distance, the number of quick charging stations (near the route, near the daytime parking location, near the nighttime parking location), and the range determination result, which shows whether the travel distance could have been traveled if the vehicle had switched to an electric vehicle. For example, February 9th, 14th, and 22nd are displayed in a different manner from the other dates, indicating that the distance traveled exceeded a predetermined threshold (100 kilometers in this example; first predetermined threshold). Furthermore, the 14th is displayed in a darker color than the 9th and 22nd, indicating that the distance traveled exceeded 230 kilometers (second predetermined threshold), which is the range of the electric vehicle.

[0072] Based on the results of such analysis, at least one of the following outputs can be used to make operational proposals, such as switching to electric vehicles. - On February 14th, the driving distance exceeded the second predetermined threshold, so we recommend that you review your driving on that day and adjust your driving schedule to reduce the driving distance. - On February 9th, 14th, and 22nd, the driver's driving distance exceeded the second predetermined threshold. Therefore, we recommend that the driver review the driving behavior on these days and adjust the driving behavior to reduce the driving distance. By operating in accordance with this proposal, it will be possible to switch such moving bodies 1 to electric vehicles.

[0073] Furthermore, in the above example, it is assumed that the mileage exceeded the second predetermined threshold on three days (February 9, 14, and 22) during the specified period of one month, but if the mileage exceeded the second predetermined threshold on more than the first specified number of days (for example, five days), the recommendation comment regarding switching to an electric vehicle may not be made. In other words, it may be determined that it would be substantially impossible to reach a level where switching to an electric vehicle would be appropriate because the cost of adjusting the operation would be too high.

[0074] Furthermore, even if the number of days exceeding the second predetermined threshold is less than the first predetermined number of days, if the number of days exceeding the first predetermined threshold is equal to or greater than the second predetermined number of days (e.g., 3 days), or if the total distance traveled in a predetermined period exceeds a predetermined distance (e.g., 2,000 kilometers), a recommendation comment may not be made for similar reasons. That is, whether or not a recommendation comment is to be made may be determined based on the result of comparing the mileage at some point in a predetermined period with a threshold value.

[0075] Although the classification method into each type has been described above, the classification method is not limited to this. For example, classification may be performed based on whether a predetermined number of charging stations are present within the management point range or the area of ​​the destination, rather than whether charging stations are present within the management point range or the area of ​​the destination. For example, the following classification may be performed: Since the number of quick charging stations corresponding to the daytime parking location is below the first predetermined threshold (e.g., 3) (2.9), it is determined that charging during the day is difficult. Also, since the monthly mileage is below the second predetermined threshold (e.g., 2,000 km) and the number of times the daily mileage exceeds the third predetermined threshold (e.g., 100 km) is less than the fourth predetermined threshold (e.g., 5), it is classified as Type B.

[0076] In the above embodiments, various programs and data relating to various processes are stored in a storage unit, and the processing unit reads and executes these programs to realize the processes in the above embodiments. In this case, the storage unit of each device may have an internal storage device such as a ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, hard disk, or RAM, as well as a recording medium (recording medium, external storage device, storage medium) such as a memory card (SD card), CompactFlash (registered trademark) card, memory stick, USB memory, CD-RW (optical disc), or MO (magneto-optical disc), and the above various programs and data may be stored in these recording media.

[0077] Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and modifications can be improved or modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and modifications can be combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 1. Mobile 10 Mobile object information acquisition device 30 servers 40 Administrator terminal

Claims

1. An information processing method in an information processing system, comprising: Acquiring mobile object information, which is information about a mobile object that is a non-electric vehicle; determining, based on the mobile object information and charging station information that is information about charging stations, which of a plurality of classifications the mobile object belongs to, the classification being determined based on a group of factors including at least a first factor related to charging frequency and a second factor related to the presence or absence of charging stations within the range of activity; determining whether the moving body can be converted to an electric vehicle based on the corresponding classification; An information processing method, including:

2. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, The second factor includes a factor related to the presence or absence of a rapid charging station and a factor related to the presence or absence of a non-rapid charging station in the activity area. Information processing methods.

3. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, When a first mobile object is found to be in a first category, which is determined to require infrequent charging with respect to the first element, and a second mobile object is found to be in a category other than the first category, and a first mobile object is found to be in a category other than the first category, the device outputs a recommendation to determine whether to change the second mobile object to an electric vehicle based on future operation plans. Information processing methods.

4. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, calculating a daily travel distance of the mobile object for a predetermined period based on the mobile object information; making a recommendation comment regarding switching the moving object to an electric vehicle based on whether the number of times that the calculated daily travel distance exceeds a predetermined threshold is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times; An information processing method, including:

5. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, Calculating a total travel distance of the mobile object for a predetermined period based on the mobile object information; making a recommendation comment regarding switching the moving object to an electric vehicle based on whether the calculated total travel distance exceeds a predetermined threshold; An information processing method, including:

6. An information processing system, an acquisition unit that acquires mobile object information that is information about a mobile object that is a non-electric vehicle; a first determination unit that determines to which of a plurality of classifications the mobile object belongs based on a group of factors including at least a first factor related to charging frequency and a second factor related to the presence or absence of charging stations in an activity range, based on the mobile object information and charging station information that is information related to charging stations; a second determination unit that determines whether the moving object can be switched to an electric vehicle based on the corresponding classification; An information processing device comprising:

7. Information processing systems, Acquiring mobile object information, which is information about a mobile object that is a non-electric vehicle; determining, based on the mobile object information and charging station information that is information about charging stations, which of a plurality of classifications the mobile object belongs to, the classification being determined based on a group of factors including at least a first factor related to charging frequency and a second factor related to the presence or absence of charging stations within the range of activity; determining whether the moving body can be converted to an electric vehicle based on the corresponding classification; A program that executes.

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