Information processing apparatus and method

Abstract

To propose a charging facility in which waiting time during charging of a mobile object having power from a rechargeable battery as a power source is more fulfilling.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus comprises a control section that executes: detecting charging facilities that can be utilized by a mobile object which has power from a plurality of rechargeable batteries existing within a predetermined range as a power source; selecting a first charging facility on the basis of information associated with a commercial facility belonging to the charging facility, out of the plurality of charging facilities; and outputting information associated with the first charging facility. The control section selects the first charging facility further on the basis of one or more of rated output of the charging facility, use charge of the charging facility and a residual charging amount of the mobile object when the charging facility is reached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to route planning. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle driving assistance system has been disclosed that responds to a route search request from a mobile body by using location information of charging spots to search for a route that passes through charging spots and maintains a remaining battery charge above 0 between a departure point and a destination, and returns the searched route as a response (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2010 / 137307 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide an information processing device and method capable of proposing charging facilities that will make the waiting time for charging of a mobile object powered by a rechargeable battery more enjoyable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is Detecting a plurality of charging facilities available for a mobile object powered by a rechargeable battery within a predetermined range; selecting a first charging facility from the plurality of charging facilities based on information about a commercial facility attached to the charging facility; outputting information about the first charging facility; A control unit that executes It is an information processing device.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure is The computer Acquiring charging facilities available for a plurality of mobile objects powered by rechargeable batteries within a predetermined range; selecting a first charging facility from the plurality of charging facilities based on information about a commercial facility attached to the charging facility; outputting information about the first charging facility; This is a method for doing this. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to propose a charging facility that allows a mobile object powered by electricity from a rechargeable battery to be charged and makes waiting time more enjoyable. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a route search system according to the first embodiment and a hardware configuration of a server. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the server. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of charging facility information held in the charging facility information database. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart of a route search process by the server. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart of a score acquisition process for a charging facility. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] For example, when charging an electric vehicle, even at charging facilities that offer high-speed charging, there is a waiting time of several minutes to an hour until the target charge amount is reached. However, conventional systems that search for routes that pass through charging spots do not take into account passing through charging facilities that would make the waiting time for charging more efficient.

[0010] In view of the above-described problems, one aspect of the present disclosure is to select a charging facility available to a mobile body based on information about a commercial facility attached to the charging facility, so that a user of the mobile body can use the commercial facility attached to the charging facility while charging the mobile body, thereby avoiding boredom while waiting.

[0011] More specifically, one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a control unit that executes the following: detecting multiple charging facilities within a predetermined range that are available to a mobile body powered by a rechargeable battery; selecting a first charging facility from the multiple charging facilities based on information about commercial facilities attached to the charging facilities; and outputting information about the first charging facility. The information processing device is, for example, a dedicated server or a general-purpose computer. The control unit is, for example, a processor such as a CPU, a GPU, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). However, the control unit is not limited to a processor and may be, for example, a circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device).

[0012] The predetermined range is, for example, a range of a predetermined distance from the position of the mobile object, or a range of a predetermined distance from the planned travel route of the mobile object. The mobile object is, for example, a vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery and driven by an electric motor powered by electricity from the rechargeable battery, such as an electric car, an electric scooter, or an electric bicycle. Examples of commercial facilities attached to charging facilities include shopping malls, restaurants, retail stores, museums, art galleries, amusement parks, game centers, and sports gyms. However, commercial facilities attached to charging facilities are not limited to these. Information about commercial facilities attached to charging facilities includes, for example, the type and size of the commercial facility and information about events scheduled to be held. However, information about commercial facilities attached to charging facilities is not limited to these.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a charging facility for a mobile body is selected based on information about a commercial facility associated with the charging facility, allowing the user of the mobile body to use the commercial facility while waiting for charging of the mobile body. This makes it possible to propose charging facilities that can enrich the waiting time for charging of the mobile body.

[0014] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit may select the first charging facility further based on one or more of the rated output of the charging facility, the usage fee of the charging facility, and the remaining charge of the mobile object when the mobile object arrives at the charging facility, thereby making it possible to select a charging facility taking into consideration the charging speed and / or the charging fee.

[0015] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit may acquire scores for each of a plurality of charging facilities present within a predetermined range for a first item of a commercial facility attached to the charging facility and one or more second items selected from the rated output of the charging facility, the usage fee for the charging facility, and the remaining charge of the mobile object when the mobile object arrives at the charging facility. The control unit may designate the charging facility with the highest total score for the first item and the one or more second items as the first charging facility. For example, the score of the first item of commercial facilities attached to the charging facility may be acquired so that it is higher the larger the scale of the commercial facility, the higher the commercial facility matches the preference of the user of the mobile body, or the higher the commercial facility is suitable for the time period. For example, the score of the item of rated output of the charging facility may be acquired so that it is higher the larger the rated output. For example, the score of the item of usage fee of the charging facility may be acquired so that it is higher the cheaper the usage fee. For example, the score of the item of remaining charge of the mobile body when arriving at the charging facility may be acquired so that it is higher the larger the remaining charge or the lower the remaining charge. Note that the scores of the first item of commercial facilities attached to the charging facility and one or more second items of the rated output of the charging facility, the usage fee of the charging facility, and the remaining charge of the mobile body when arriving at the charging facility may each be acquired using a machine learning model.

[0016] The charging facility with the highest total score for each item is selected as the first charging facility, thereby increasing the likelihood that a charging facility that allows faster or cheaper charging and makes the waiting time for charging more enjoyable will be selected. Note that the second items are not limited to the rated output of the charging facility, the usage fee for the charging facility, and the remaining charge of the mobile vehicle when it arrives at the charging facility.

[0017] In this case, the control unit may also accept designation of a third item having the highest priority among the first item and one or more second items. The control unit may exclude, from among the multiple charging facilities, a charging facility whose score for the third item is less than a predetermined value from options for the first charging facility. This makes it possible to select, as the first charging facility, a charging facility having high scores for items that are important to the user of the mobile body, among the first item of commercial facilities attached to the charging facility, the rated output of the charging facility, the usage fee for the charging facility, and the remaining charge of the mobile body when the mobile body arrives at the charging facility.

[0018] As another aspect, the present disclosure can be identified as a method for a computer to execute the processing performed by the information processing device, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments.

[0020] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a route search system 100 and the hardware configuration of a server 1 according to the first embodiment. The route search system 100 is a system that proposes a route from a departure point to a destination that passes through a charging facility. The server 1 includes a server 1 and a vehicle 2. The server 1 and the vehicle 2 are connected to a network N1 and are capable of communicating with each other via the network N1. The network N1 is, for example, a public wireless network such as the Internet.

[0021] The vehicle 2 is, for example, an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), which is equipped with a rechargeable battery, uses the power from the rechargeable battery as a power source, and has a function for charging from an external source. The vehicle 2 is equipped with an on-board device 20 with a communication function. The on-board device 20 connects to the network N1, thereby connecting the vehicle 2 to the network N1.

[0022] When the server 1 receives a request from the vehicle 2, it searches for a route from the departure point to the destination that passes through one or more charging facilities, and transmits the route to the vehicle 2. In the first embodiment, the server 1 searches for charging facilities to be passed through based on the rated output, the remaining charge of the mobile body at the time of arrival, the usage fee, and A score is obtained for each item of the attached commercial facilities, and the charging facility with the highest total score is set as the charging facility. In the first embodiment, the evaluation items of the charging facilities to be passed through include the items of the attached commercial facilities, so that it is possible to suggest charging facilities that will not bore the user while waiting for charging of the vehicle 2. The charging facility suggested as a charging facility to be passed through is an example of a "first charging facility."

[0023] 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a server 1. The server 1 may be, for example, a dedicated computer or a general-purpose computer. The hardware configuration of the server 1 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, an auxiliary storage device 103, and a communication unit 104. These hardware components are electrically connected to one another via a bus.

[0024] The memory 102 and the auxiliary storage device 103 are computer-readable recording media. The auxiliary storage device 103 may be, for example, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), The auxiliary storage device 103 may be a hard disk drive (Hard Disk Drive) or a solid state drive (SSD). Programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 103 include, for example, an operating system (OS) and a route search program that passes through charging facilities. The memory 102 includes, for example, semiconductor memory such as a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0025] The processor 101 is, for example, a CPU, a GPU, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The number of processors 101 is not limited to one, and multiple processors 101 may be provided. The processor 101 is an example of a "control unit."

[0026] Next, the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle 2 includes, as its hardware configuration, a processor, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, a wireless communication unit, a location information acquisition unit, and a touch panel display. The processor, memory, and auxiliary storage device are similar to the processor 101, memory 102, and auxiliary storage device 103. The wireless communication unit is, for example, a wireless communication circuit compatible with a cellular communication method such as 5G, 4G, or 6G. The location information acquisition unit is, for example, a GPS receiver. The location information acquisition unit acquires the current location of the vehicle at a predetermined period.

[0027] The location information acquisition unit and the touch panel display may each be a separate device separate from the in-vehicle device 20, or may be provided in a device separate from the in-vehicle device 20. The hardware configurations of the server 1 and the in-vehicle device 20 are not limited to this.

[0028] Hereinafter, although communication of vehicle 2 is performed via in-vehicle device 20, for convenience, communication of vehicle 2 through in-vehicle device 20 will be described mainly from vehicle 2. For example, when a request is received from in-vehicle device 20, it will be expressed as "receiving a request from vehicle 2." For example, when data is transmitted to in-vehicle device 20, it will be expressed as "receiving a data request to vehicle 2."

[0029] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 1. The server 1 includes, as its functional configuration, a control unit 11, a map information DB 12, a vehicle model information DB 13, and a charging facility information DB 14. The control unit 11 is a functional component that is achieved, for example, by the processor 101 of the server 1 executing a predetermined program.

[0030] The control unit 11 receives a route acquisition request from the vehicle 2. Along with the request from the vehicle 2, for example, the departure point, destination, vehicle type identification information, and remaining charge amount of the vehicle 2 are also received. In addition, if a route point is specified by the user of the vehicle 2, information indicating the route point is also received. Furthermore, if a target value for the charge amount at the charging facility is specified, the target charge amount is also received. In some cases, the current position of the vehicle 2 is set as the departure point. The information indicating the destination and the route points may be, for example, latitude and longitude, an address, or the name of a facility or building.

[0031] When the control unit 11 receives a route acquisition request from the vehicle 2, it searches for a route from the departure point to the destination by referring to the map information DB 12. Any known method for route search may be used. After searching for the route, the control unit 11 searches for charging facilities to be passed through.

[0032] The control unit 11 first detects charging facilities in the vicinity of the target route by referring to the map information DB 12. For example, charging facilities located within a predetermined distance from the target route from the departure point to the destination are detected. Next, the control unit 11 acquires a score for each of the detected charging facilities, and selects the charging facility with the highest score as the charging facility to be passed through. Details of the process of acquiring the scores of charging facilities will be described later. After selecting the charging facility to be passed through, the control unit 11 re-searches for a route from the departure point to the destination via the selected charging facility. Note that if there is insufficient charge amount from the selected charging facility to the destination, the control unit 11 searches for charging facilities in the vicinity of the route from the selected charging facility to the destination, and selects a second charging facility to be passed through based on the score of the detected charging facility. The control unit 11 transmits to the vehicle 2 the route from the departure point to the destination via the selected one or more charging facilities, and information about the charging facilities to be passed through.

[0033] The process of acquiring the scores of charging facilities is as follows: For each extracted charging facility, the control unit 11 acquires a score for each of the four evaluation items: (1) rated output, (2) remaining charge upon arrival, (3) usage fee, and (4) associated commercial facilities, and then acquires a total score.

[0034] The score for the item (1) rated output will be explained. The rated output of the charger provided at the charging facility is acquired from the charging facility information DB 14, which will be described later. Since the larger the rated output, the shorter the time required for charging, the control unit 11 acquires a higher score for the item (1) rated output as the rated output increases. The score for the rated output of the charging facility may be set in advance according to the value of the rated output.

[0035] The score for the item (2) remaining charge upon arrival will be explained. The remaining charge of vehicle 2 upon arrival at a charging facility is acquired based on the electricity cost of vehicle 2 and the distance to the charging facility. The electricity cost of vehicle 2 is the relationship between the travel distance and the amount of power consumed, and is expressed as the amount of power consumed (Wh) per kilometer or the travel distance (m) per kWh. The electricity cost of vehicle 2 is acquired from vehicle model information DB 13, which will be described later. For example, the greater the remaining charge of vehicle 2 upon arrival at a charging facility, the shorter the time required for charging. Therefore, for the item (2) remaining charge upon arrival, the higher the score the vehicle 2 has upon arrival at the charging facility. However, this is not limited to this, and in order to reduce the number of times vehicle 2 stops at a charging facility, the control unit 11 may acquire a higher score for the item (2) remaining charge upon arrival, the lower the remaining charge of vehicle 2 upon arrival at the charging facility. For example, if the vehicle 2 is not charged enough by the time it arrives at the charging facility, the control unit 11 may set the score for the item (2) remaining charge at the time of arrival to 0, or may acquire a negative value so that the score decreases as the shortage increases.

[0036] (3) The score for the usage fee item will be explained. (3) The score for the usage fee item is acquired, for example, based on the fee required to charge up to the target charging amount. The fee required to charge up to the target charging amount is acquired based on the usage fee per unit time of the charging facility, the rated output of the charging facility, and the target charging amount of the vehicle 2. The usage fee per unit time and the rated output of the charging facility are acquired from the charging facility information DB 14, which will be described later. The target charging amount of the vehicle 2 is received together with the request for route acquisition. When neither the target charge amount of vehicle 2 nor the target charge amount of vehicle 2 is received, for example, the fully charged amount of vehicle 2 may be used as the target charge amount of vehicle 2. The fully charged amount of vehicle 2 is acquired from the vehicle model information DB 13. Since the cheaper the usage fee of the charging facility, the more beneficial it is for the user, the control unit 11 acquires a higher score for the item (3) usage fee as the usage fee of the charging facility is cheaper. However, the score for the item (3) usage fee may also be acquired based on the usage fee per unit time of the charging facility.

[0037] (4) The score for the attached commercial facilities item will be explained. The score for the attached commercial facilities item (4) is obtained based on the commercial facilities attached to the charging facility and / or events held at the commercial facilities. The commercial facilities attached to the charging facility and events held at the commercial facilities are obtained from the charging facility information DB 14, which will be described later.

[0038] For example, a score may be determined in advance for each type of commercial facility, and the control unit 11 may acquire the score for the item (4) Affiliated commercial facilities based on this score. Furthermore, if an event is being held at the commercial facility, the control unit 11 may acquire the score for the item (4) Affiliated commercial facilities by adding a predetermined value to the score. Furthermore, the control unit 11 may adjust the value to be added depending on the content of the event.

[0039] Commercial facilities include, for example, restaurants, shopping malls, restaurants, retail stores, museums, art galleries, amusement parks, game centers, sports gyms, etc. For example, the higher the satisfaction level when spending time charging vehicle 2 at the commercial facility, the higher the score for the item (4) Associated commercial facilities may be set. For example, since the charging time for vehicle 2 is at most about one hour, restaurants may be set to a higher score than shopping malls or museums, which cannot be toured in about one hour.

[0040] However, the score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities is not limited to being obtained in the above manner. For example, a user associated with the vehicle 2 may be asked to specify the priority of types of commercial facilities according to their preferences in advance, and a higher priority type of commercial facility may be assigned a higher score. For example, the score for each type of commercial facility may vary depending on the time of day, such as adding a predetermined value to a set value during mealtimes for the score of a restaurant. Alternatively, the score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities may be obtained using a machine learning model. The machine learning model has learned the relationship between information such as the type of commercial facility, the size of the commercial facility, the planned time of use, the planned length of charging, whether or not an event is scheduled, the type of event, and attribute information of the user associated with the vehicle 2, and the evaluation value of the user's satisfaction. By associating the user's satisfaction with the score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities, the score can be obtained as an output by inputting the above information into the machine learning model. Note that the method for obtaining the score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities is not limited to the above.

[0041] The scores for each of the four items, (1) rated output, (2) remaining charge upon arrival, (3) usage fee, and (4) associated commercial facilities, may all take values ​​within the same range. For example, each item takes a value within a range from 0 to 10. When there are multiple charging facilities with the same total score, for example, the control unit 11 selects the charging facility with the highest score in the following order: (1) rated output, (2) remaining charge upon arrival, (3) usage fee, and (4) associated commercial facilities. When there are multiple charging facilities with the same total score and the same scores for all four items, for example, the control unit 11 selects the charging facility that is closest to the position of the vehicle 2 along the target route.

[0042] However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 11 may receive from the vehicle 2 a setting of an item that the user considers important among the above four evaluation items of the charging facility. In this case, the control unit 11 may select a charging facility in which the score of the evaluation item that is set as an important item is less than the threshold value. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may exclude the charging facility from the options. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may receive, from the vehicle 2, a user's setting of priorities for the above four evaluation items of the charging facility. In this case, the control unit 11 may weight the items so that the weight increases as the priority increases, and acquire a total score for the charging facility. When the user sets the items that they place importance on or the priorities for the evaluation items, and when the user's preferences are reflected in the score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities, the server 1 may be provided with a database that stores this information as part of the user information. Alternatively, the score of the charging facility may be acquired using a machine learning model that inputs information on the evaluation items (1) to (4) above and outputs a score. For example, the machine learning model has trained learning data for a specific charging facility, with information on the evaluation items (1) to (4) as input data and an evaluation value of the satisfaction level of the charging time from users as output data. Note that the evaluation items for the charging facility are not limited to the above four items. For example, items such as the number of chargers at the charging facility and availability may be used.

[0043] The map information DB 12, the vehicle model information DB 13, and the charging facility information DB 14 are each created in a storage area of ​​the auxiliary storage device 103 of the server 1. The map information DB 12 holds map information. Note that the map information DB 12 may not be held by the server 1, but may be held by another server and used via a network. The vehicle model information DB 13 holds vehicle model information related to the performance of the vehicle 2 for each vehicle model. The vehicle model information stores, for example, vehicle model identification information, battery capacity (full charge amount), and electricity consumption (km / wh or kwh / m). The charging facility information DB 14 holds charging facility information related to charging facilities. Details of the information held in the charging facility information DB 14 will be described later. Note that the functional configuration of the server 1 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2.

[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of charging facility information stored in the charging facility information DB 14. The charging facility information stored in the charging facility information DB 14 includes fields for facility ID, location information, rated output, usage fee, ancillary facilities, and events. The facility ID field stores identification information of the charging facility. The location information field stores location information of the charging facility. The location information of the charging facility may be, for example, latitude and longitude, or an address. The rated output field stores the rated output (kw) of the charger of the charging facility. The usage fee field stores the fee per unit time of the charging facility. For example, the unit time may be 1 minute, 10 minutes, etc.

[0045] The field for attached facilities stores information about commercial facilities attached to the charging facility. The information about the commercial facilities includes, for example, identification information of the commercial facility, the type and size of the commercial facility, etc. The size of the commercial facility may be indicated, for example, by the number of seats for a restaurant, the number of stores for a shopping mall, the number of game machines and the total floor area for a game center, etc. If the charging facility does not have attached commercial facilities, the field for attached facilities is left blank or stores information indicating that there are no attached commercial facilities.

[0046] The event field stores information about events that are being held or are scheduled to be held in a commercial facility attached to the charging facility. Note that the information stored in the charging facility information DB 14 shown in Fig. 3 is an example, and is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 3.

[0047] <Processing flow> Fig. 4 is an example of a flowchart of a route search process of the server 1. The process shown in Fig. 4 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle while the server 1 is in operation. The process shown in Fig. 4 is executed by, for example, the CPU 101 of the server 1, but for convenience, the process will be described mainly with respect to functional components.

[0048] In OP101, the control unit 11 determines whether a route search request has been received from the vehicle 2. 4 is determined. Along with the route search request, for example, the departure point, destination, vehicle type identification information, and remaining charge amount of the vehicle 2 are also received. If a route search request has been received (OP101: YES), the process proceeds to OP102. If a route search request has not been received (OP101: NO), the process shown in FIG. 4 ends.

[0049] In OP102, the control unit 11 searches for a route from the departure point to the destination. If multiple routes are detected, the control unit 11 sorts them, for example, in order of earliest arrival time at the destination or shortest travel distance, and selects a predetermined number of routes from the top. The processing from OP103 onwards is performed for each selected route. Hereinafter, the route to be processed among the selected routes will be referred to as the target route.

[0050] In OP103, the control unit 11 searches for charging facilities in the vicinity of the target route by referring to the map information DB 12. In OP104, the control unit 11 determines whether or not multiple charging facilities have been detected. If multiple charging facilities have been detected in the vicinity of the target route (OP104: YES), the process proceeds to OP105. If one charging facility has been detected in the vicinity of the target route (OP104: NO), the process proceeds to OP108. Note that if no charging facility has been detected in the vicinity of the target route, the control unit 11 may widen the search range and search for charging facilities again.

[0051] In OP105, the control unit 11 executes a charging facility score acquisition process for acquiring a score for each of the detected charging facilities. The charging facility score acquisition process will be described in detail later. The charging facility score acquisition process acquires a score for each of the detected charging facilities.

[0052] In OP106, the control unit 11 selects a charging facility to pass through based on the score. The criteria for selecting a charging facility to pass through are as described above. In OP107, the control unit 11 determines whether the destination can be reached from the charging facility selected in OP106 with the remaining battery power of the vehicle 2 after charging. If the destination can be reached with the remaining battery power of the vehicle 2 after charging (OP107: YES), the process proceeds to OP108. If the destination cannot be reached with the remaining battery power of the vehicle 2 after charging (OP107: NO), the process proceeds to OP102, where the control unit 11 searches for a route from the charging facility selected in OP106 to the destination, searches for charging facilities around the route, and selects a charging facility to pass through.

[0053] In OP108, the control unit 11 re-searches for a route from the destination to the departure point that passes through the selected one or more charging facilities. In OP109, the control unit 11 transmits information about the selected one or more charging facilities and the route that passes through the one or more charging facilities to the vehicle 2. The information about the charging facility may be, for example, charging facility information stored in the charging facility information 14. Thereafter, the processing shown in FIG. 4 ends. Note that, when the processing from OP103 to OP108 is executed for multiple routes from the departure point to the destination, information about the multiple routes is transmitted to the vehicle 2 in OP109.

[0054] Fig. 5 is an example of a flowchart of a score acquisition process for a charging facility. The process shown in Fig. 5 corresponds to the process executed in OP105 of Fig. 4. The score acquisition process for a charging facility shown in Fig. 5 is executed, for example, for each of a plurality of charging facilities detected in OP103. Hereinafter, a charging facility to be processed among a plurality of charging facilities detected in OP103 will be referred to as a target charging facility.

[0055] In OP201, the control unit 11 acquires charging facility information of a target charging facility from the charging facility information DB 14. In OP202, the control unit 11 acquires a score of the target charging facility in the item (1) rated output. In OP203, the control unit 11 acquires a score of the target charging facility in the item (2) remaining charge at the time of arrival. In OP204, the control unit 11 acquires a score of the target charging facility in the item (3) remaining charge at the time of arrival. In OP205, the control unit 11 acquires a score for the item (3) usage fee of the target charging facility. In OP206, the control unit 11 acquires a score for the item (4) attached commercial facilities of the target charging facility. In OP206, the control unit 11 acquires the sum of the scores for the four evaluation items of (1) rated output, (2) remaining charge upon arrival, (3) usage fee, and (4) attached commercial facilities as the score of the target charging facility. Thereafter, the processing of FIG. 5 for the target charging facility ends. When the processing of FIG. 5 for all of the multiple charging facilities detected in OP103 ends, the processing proceeds to OP106 of FIG. 4.

[0056] <Effects of the First Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the evaluation items used when selecting charging facilities to be passed through on the way from the departure point to the destination based on a score include an item for commercial facilities attached to the charging facility. The score for the item for commercial facilities attached to the charging facility is increased so that the commercial facility or event that can enhance the waiting time for charging the vehicle 2 can be enhanced. Since a charging facility with a higher score is selected, according to the first embodiment, there is a high possibility that a charging facility that has an attached commercial facility or event that can enhance the waiting time for charging the vehicle 2 can be selected. This makes it possible to further enhance the waiting time for charging the vehicle 2.

[0057] <Other embodiments> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure can be modified and implemented as appropriate within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the disclosure.

[0058] In the first embodiment, the server 1 receives a request from the vehicle 2 to search for a route from a departure point to a destination, searches for charging facilities to be passed through and a route that passes through the charging facilities, and transmits the results as a response to the vehicle 2. Without being limited to this, for example, the server 1 may receive a request from the vehicle 2 to search for charging facilities around a specified point, score a plurality of charging facilities that exist within a predetermined range from the specified point in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and transmit information about charging facilities that are suggested based on the scores to the vehicle 2. In this case, information about a predetermined number of charging facilities with the highest scores may be provided to the vehicle 2.

[0059] The processes and means described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0060] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0061] The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer via a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the computer's system bus or via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disk, such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a Blu-ray disk), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1. Server 2. Vehicle 11 Control unit 12. Map Information Database 13. Vehicle information database 14. Charging facility information database 20...In-vehicle equipment 21 Task execution control unit 22 Vehicle information transmission unit 100··Route Search System 101 Processor 102 Memory 103...Auxiliary storage device 104··Communications Department

Claims

1. Detecting a plurality of charging facilities available for a mobile object powered by a rechargeable battery within a predetermined range; selecting a first charging facility from the plurality of charging facilities based on information about a commercial facility attached to the charging facility; outputting information about the first charging facility; A control unit that executes Information processing device.

2. The control unit selecting the first charging facility further based on one or more of a rated output of the charging facility, a usage fee of the charging facility, and a remaining charge of the mobile object when the mobile object arrives at the charging facility; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit For each of the plurality of charging facilities, a score is obtained for a first item of a commercial facility attached to the charging facility and one or more second items selected from a rated output of the charging facility, a usage fee for the charging facility, and a remaining charge of the mobile object when the mobile object arrives at the charging facility; selecting a charging facility having the highest total score of the first item and the one or more second items as the first charging facility; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. The control unit accepting a designation of a third item having the highest priority among the first item and the one or more second items; Among the plurality of charging facilities, a charging facility having a score for the third item less than a predetermined value is excluded from options for the first charging facility. The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The computer Detecting a plurality of charging facilities available for a mobile object powered by a rechargeable battery within a predetermined range; selecting a first charging facility from the plurality of charging facilities based on information about a commercial facility attached to the charging facility; outputting information about the first charging facility; How to do it.

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