Information processing device

Abstract

To propose a charging spot suitable when a trailer is connected to a vehicle.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises a control unit configured to perform the steps of: acquiring setting information indicative of attributes of a trailer connected to a vehicle which is an electric vehicle; acquiring a departure location and a destination of the vehicle; predicting battery consumption of the battery mounted in the vehicle from the attributes of the trailer indicated by the acquired setting information; searching for one or more charging spots on at least one of a route from the departure location to the destination and an area surrounding the route according to the predicted battery consumption; and outputting information on search results.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A car navigation system has been proposed that presents a route including charging spots based on the remaining battery power, the charging characteristics of the battery, the locations of the charging spots, and the attributes of the charging spots (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-063766 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to propose a charging spot that is suitable for use when a trailer is coupled to a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a control unit configured to perform the following operations: acquire setting information indicating attributes of a trailer coupled to a vehicle that is an electric vehicle; acquire a departure point and destination of the vehicle; predict the consumption of a battery installed in the vehicle from the attributes of the trailer indicated by the acquired setting information; search for one or more charging spots on or around a route from the departure point to the destination according to the predicted consumption of the battery; and output information related to the results of the search.

[0006] Other aspects of the present disclosure are an information processing method in which a computer executes processing in the above-mentioned information processing device, a program for causing a computer to execute processing in the above-mentioned information processing device, and a storage medium that non-temporarily stores this program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to propose charging spots that are suitable for use when a trailer is coupled to a vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table configuration of a vehicle information DB. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on a touch panel when trailer attributes are input on a user terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen when the positions of the searched charging spots are displayed on a touch panel of a user terminal. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart of a process in a server according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] There are users who use vehicles that run on electric motors by changing the trailer configuration, such as connecting a trailer to the vehicle in one situation, disconnecting the trailer in the next situation, and connecting a different type of trailer in the next situation. In a vehicle, trailer attributes, such as whether or not a trailer is present and the type of trailer connected to the vehicle, may change from time to time. If the attributes of the trailer connected to the vehicle change, the consumption characteristics of the vehicle's battery may change. Conventionally, the impact of such changes in trailer attributes has not been taken into consideration, and it may be difficult to appropriately suggest charging spots. The present disclosure solves this problem.

[0010] A control unit of an information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires setting information indicating attributes of a trailer coupled to a vehicle. The setting information is information related to the vehicle's battery consumption characteristics, such as the trailer type, number of axles, hitch type, brake type, trailer length, hitch length, and beam length. The setting information may be input by a user. The setting information may be acquired, for example, when there is a change in the vehicle's attributes or at predetermined time intervals. The control unit also acquires the vehicle's departure point and destination. The vehicle's departure point and destination may be specified by the user. As another example, a route including the vehicle's departure point and destination may be acquired. As yet another example, if there is a predetermined route, such as a delivery route, the departure point and destination may be acquired according to the route. The control unit predicts the consumption of a battery installed in the vehicle based on the trailer attributes indicated by the acquired setting information. The battery is a secondary battery that supplies power to an electric motor that drives the vehicle. Because the setting information is information correlated with battery consumption, the control unit can predict battery consumption based on the setting information.

[0011] The control unit searches for one or more charging spots on at least one of the route from the departure point to the destination and the periphery of the route, depending on the predicted battery consumption. The searched charging spots may be, for example, charging spots located in positions that can be reached before the battery consumption reaches a predetermined level or more. The predetermined level may be the consumption level at which the vehicle becomes unable to travel. The searched charging spots may also be charging spots located in positions that can charge the battery of the vehicle before the remaining battery power of the vehicle reaches 0. Note that charging spots include charging equipment itself and facilities that have charging equipment. If multiple charging trips are required from the departure point to the destination, the control unit may search for charging spots that will take the vehicle via multiple charging spots. Charging spots on the route are charging spots located along roads traveled by the vehicle. The periphery of the route refers to a range outside the set route, for example, a range within a predetermined distance from the route. The predetermined distance may be a distance acceptable to the user or a distance that can be traveled with the remaining battery power. The acceptable distance may be specified by the user. The control unit outputs information regarding the search results. The output may be to, for example, a navigation device of the vehicle or a mobile terminal of the user. The information about the search result may also include, for example, information about a route from the departure point to the destination, passing through the searched charging spots. The information about the search result may also include a command to display the search result on the user's terminal.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. Furthermore, the following embodiments can be combined as much as possible.

[0013] <Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system 1 according to an embodiment. The system 1 includes a user terminal 20 and a server 30. The user terminal 20 is a terminal used by a user of a vehicle 10. The user is, for example, the driver of the vehicle 10. The user terminal 20 may be a mobile terminal or a terminal mounted on the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle (Battery Electric Vehicle: BEV) and is linked to the user terminal 20. A trailer 12 can be coupled to the vehicle 10. The trailer 12 coupled to the vehicle 10 has The system 1 is a system that provides information about charging spots 40 to a user terminal 20 according to the route of a vehicle 10.

[0014] The charging spot 40 is a device capable of charging the battery 11 of the vehicle 10 by supplying power to the battery 11 of the vehicle 10. There may be a plurality of charging spots 40, vehicles 10, and user terminals 20. The server 30 may also be composed of a plurality of servers. The user terminals 20 and the server 30 are connected to each other by a network N1. The network N1 may be, for example, a global public communication network such as the Internet, and may be a WAN (Wide Area Network) or other communication network. The network N1 may also include a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone, or a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0015] The server 30 can be configured as a computer having a processor (CPU, GPU, etc.), a main memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), and an auxiliary memory (EPROM, hard disk drive, removable media, etc.). The auxiliary memory stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc., and by executing the programs stored therein, various functions (software modules) that meet specific purposes can be realized. However, some or all of the modules may be realized as hardware modules using hardware circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs.

[0016] The server 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication module 33. The control unit 31 is a computing unit that executes predetermined programs to realize various functions of the server 30. The control unit 31 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 31 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM, cache memory, etc.

[0017] The control unit 31 of the server 30 predicts the power consumption of the battery 11 based on setting information indicating the attributes of the trailer 12 coupled to the vehicle 10 and the departure point and destination of the vehicle 10. Then, the control unit 31 searches for one or more charging spots 40 on or around the route from the departure point to the destination based on the power consumption of the battery 11. Furthermore, the control unit 31 transmits information related to the search results to the user terminal 20. Details will be described later.

[0018] The storage unit 32 is a means for storing information and is configured with a storage medium such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. The storage unit 32 stores programs executed by the control unit 31, data used by the programs, etc. The storage unit 32 also stores databases, namely, a vehicle information DB 321, a charging spot information DB 322, and a map information DB 323. The vehicle information DB 321 stores information related to vehicles (hereinafter also referred to as vehicle information).

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the table configuration of the vehicle information DB 321. The vehicle information DB 321 has fields for a vehicle ID, a user terminal ID, a departure point, a destination, and setting information. The vehicle ID field stores information (vehicle ID) that can identify the vehicle 10. The user terminal ID field stores information (user terminal ID) that can identify the user terminal 20 linked to the vehicle 10. The departure point field stores information related to the departure point of the vehicle 10. The destination field stores information related to the destination of the vehicle 10. Note that the departure point and the destination may be stored as one route. The setting information field stores setting information that indicates the attributes of the trailer 12. The setting information is information related to the consumption of the battery 11 in the trailer 12. The setting information may include, for example, the type of trailer 12, the number of axles of the trailer 12, the type of hitch of the trailer 12, etc. , the type of brakes of the trailer 12, the length of the trailer 12, the length of the hitch of the trailer 12, and the length of the beam of the trailer 12. The information stored in the vehicle information DB 321 is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the server 30. When the control unit 31 receives the vehicle information from the user terminal 20, it stores the vehicle information in the vehicle information DB 321.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the touch panel 24 when trailer attributes are input on the user terminal 20. The trailer name is an arbitrary name input by the user to identify the trailer. The trailer type, hitch type, number of axles, and brake type are selected by the user from a pre-set list. The trailer length, hitch length, beam length, and overall length may be input by the user or may be automatically input from the trailer type input by the user. When the trailer attributes are input to the user terminal 20, they are linked to the vehicle ID and the user terminal ID and transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the server 30 as setting information. Note that the setting information may be acquired from the user terminal 20 before searching for a charging spot 40. The trailer attributes may also be stored in the storage unit 22 of the user terminal 20. For example, when inputting trailer attributes, the user may select a trailer name, and the trailer attributes linked to the trailer name may be automatically selected.

[0021] The charging spot information DB 322 stores information about charging spots 40 (hereinafter also referred to as charging spot information). The charging spot information may include, for example, information about the location of the charging spot 40, information about the size (e.g., length, width, height) of the vehicle 10 that can be used, and information about the type of battery 11 that can be used. The map information DB 323 stores map information including map data and POI (Point of Interest) information such as characters and photos that indicate the characteristics of each point on the map data. The map information DB 323 is used to store information about the network. The information may be provided by another system, such as a GIS (Geographic Information System), connected to the network N1.

[0022] The communication module 33 is a communication interface for connecting the server 30 to the network N1. The communication module 33 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The server 30 can perform data communication with the user terminal 20 via the communication module 33.

[0023] The control unit 31 of the server 30 generates a vehicle route based on the departure point and destination included in the vehicle information. The departure point may be the departure point input to the user terminal 20, or the current location of the vehicle 10 or the user terminal 20. The destination may be the destination input to the user terminal 20, or, if the vehicle 10 is used to make deliveries by traveling a predetermined route, a predetermined delivery destination may be set as the destination.

[0024] The control unit 31 predicts the power consumption of the battery 11 of the vehicle 10 based on the setting information. For example, the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance corresponding to each of the configurations, such as the type of trailer 12, the number of axles of the trailer 12, the type of hitch of the trailer 12, the type of brakes of the trailer 12, the length of the trailer 12, the length of the hitch of the trailer 12, and the length of the beam of the trailer 12, may be stored in advance in the storage unit 32. Then, the control unit 31 may calculate the total value of the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance corresponding to each configuration, and obtain the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance of the entire vehicle 10.

[0025] Note that, as long as it is possible to provide information for determining whether or not the remaining battery charge is sufficient to travel to the destination, the form of predicting the battery charge is not particularly limited and may be selected appropriately depending on the embodiment. Predicting the power consumption of the battery 11 may be a direct prediction of the power consumption per predetermined travel distance (unit travel distance), or may be an indirect prediction of the power consumption, such as a possible travel distance per unit power consumption or a possible travel distance with the remaining charge of the battery 11. The remaining charge of the battery 11 may be acquired by the user terminal 20 and transmitted to the server 30.

[0026] Furthermore, the control unit 31 may take into consideration information other than the setting information when calculating the power consumption of the battery 11. For example, the power consumption of the battery 11 may vary depending on the charge / discharge characteristics of the battery 11, the gradient of the road corresponding to the route, the weather, the type (model) of the vehicle 10, traffic congestion forecast, the use of accessories, the weight of the vehicle 10 excluding the trailer 12, etc., so the power consumption of the battery 11 may be calculated taking these into consideration. For example, the SOC (State of Charge) or the capacity of the battery 11 Since the charging voltage and discharging voltage change depending on the SOC or the capacity of the battery 11 (mAh), The amount of power consumed by the battery 11 may vary depending on the road conditions. Therefore, the control unit 31 may calculate the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 in accordance with these. The charge / discharge characteristics of the battery 11 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, for example, if there is an uphill section on the route, the control unit 31 may calculate the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 so that the greater the gradient, the greater the amount of power consumed by the battery 11. Information regarding the gradient of the road is stored in the map information DB 323. The relationship between the gradient of the road and the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 may be stored in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 31 may calculate the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 so that the longer the distance of the traffic jam obtained by the traffic jam prediction, the greater the amount of power consumed by the battery 11. The control unit 31 may obtain a traffic jam prediction from an external server that provides a traffic jam prediction. The relationship between the length of the traffic jam or the time required to pass through the traffic jam, and the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 may be stored in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, for example, when an accessory that supplies power from the battery 11 is scheduled to be used, the control unit 31 may calculate the power consumption of the battery 11 so that the power consumption of the battery 11 increases according to the power consumption of the accessory. The power consumption of the accessory may be stored in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may calculate the power consumption of the battery 11 so that the power consumption of the battery 11 increases as the load on the vehicle 10 (for example, the weight of luggage) increases. For example, the user may input the weight of the luggage into the user terminal 20, and the weight may be transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the server 30. Information regarding the power consumption of the battery 11 corresponding to the weight of the luggage may be stored in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, when the temperature is low, the power consumption of the battery 11 increases due to heating, and when the temperature is high, the power consumption of the battery 11 increases due to cooling. In other words, the power consumption of the battery 11 may change according to the temperature. Therefore, the control unit 31 may calculate the power consumption of the battery 11 according to the temperature. Information regarding the power consumption of the battery 11 corresponding to the temperature may be stored in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, since the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 per unit distance traveled may vary depending on the vehicle model, the control unit 31 may calculate the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 depending on the vehicle model. Information regarding the amount of power consumed by the battery 11 depending on the vehicle model may be stored in the storage unit 32.

[0027] Furthermore, the control unit 31 may use a machine learning model as a prediction model for predicting the consumption of the battery 11 per unit mileage, in which the setting information and the actual consumption of the battery 11 per unit mileage are used as training data, the setting information is used as input data, and the consumption of the battery 11 per unit mileage is used as output data. When the control unit 31 uses this machine learning model, the control unit 31 may collect driving data for specified trailer attributes (setting information) and use the collected driving data to construct a prediction model for the user. Furthermore, the machine learning model may be personalized by tuning such as transfer learning, re-learning, and additional learning. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may perform tuning for each setting of the battery 11. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may use a prediction model to which information other than the setting information is further added.

[0028] Furthermore, the control unit 31 searches for one or more charging spots 40. As a typical example, a position on the route of the vehicle 10 where the remaining charge of the battery 11 becomes less than a threshold is identified, and The search may be for the nearest charge spot 40. As another example, an area on the route of the vehicle 10 where the remaining charge of the battery 11 is below a threshold may be identified, and a search may be made for a charge spot 40 within that area or a charge spot 40 nearest to that area. Note that, as long as the power consumption of the battery 11 predicted from the setting information is reflected, the range for searching for charge spots 40 does not need to be particularly limited and may be determined appropriately depending on the embodiment.

[0029] Furthermore, in the case of long-distance travel, multiple charging may be required before arriving at the destination. The long distance referred to here is a distance in which the remaining charge of the battery 11 after charging is insufficient even if the charging spot 40 is selected as a waypoint and the charging at the charging spot 40 is reflected in the remaining charge of the battery 11 (for example, even if the battery 11 is fully charged there), and the vehicle cannot travel from the charging spot 40 to the destination with the remaining charge of the battery 11 after charging. In such a case, after one charging spot 40 is selected as a waypoint from among one or more proposed charging spots 40, the control unit 31 may search for more charging spots 40 between the waypoint (charging spot 40) and the destination.

[0030] If the setting information is not reflected, the amount of consumption of the battery 11 may be greater than expected, which may result in charging not being performed at an appropriate time and an increase in the number of times the battery 11 is charged (i.e., the number of charging spots 40 at which the vehicle stops). In contrast, according to the present disclosure, by using the setting information, it is expected that the number of times the battery 11 is charged during long-distance travel can be optimized.

[0031] The control unit 31 may search for and suggest charging spots 40 only when the destination cannot be reached with the current remaining charge of the battery 11. On the other hand, the control unit 31 may search for and suggest charging spots 40 regardless of whether the destination cannot be reached with the current remaining charge of the battery 11. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may search for and suggest charging spots 40 when the destination is not a charging spot 40. On the other hand, the control unit 31 may omit searching for and suggesting charging spots 40 when the destination is a charging spot 40. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may search for and suggest charging spots 40 regardless of whether a charging spot 40 exists at the destination. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may search for and suggest charging spots 40 regardless of whether a trailer 12 is coupled to the vehicle 10.

[0032] The search for charging spots 40 may be performed by searching for charging spots 40 that are compatible with the type of trailer 12. For example, the search may be performed for charging spots 40 that can be parked when the trailer 12 is connected to the vehicle 10. The control unit 31 may output a command to display the location of the searched charging spots 40 on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20. The control unit 31 may also output the search result when the vehicle 10 reaches a location where the remaining charge of the battery 11 is below a threshold, or a location within a predetermined distance from that location. The control unit 31 may also output the search result when the user inputs a departure point and a destination into the user terminal 20.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen when the locations of the searched charging spots 40 are displayed on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20. In FIG. 4, A1 indicates the departure point, and A2 indicates the destination. The line connecting A1 and A2 is the route. The locations of charging spots 40 on or around the route are indicated by icons numbered 1 to 4. In FIG. 4, the icons numbered 2 and 3 indicate the locations of charging spots 40 on the route, and the icons numbered 1 and 4 indicate the locations of charging spots 40 around the route. An explanation corresponding to each charging spot 40 is displayed in the location indicated by reference numeral 241. Then, the control unit 31 may output a command to display the locations of the searched charging spots 40 on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20 so that the user can select the charging spot 40 as a stopover point. The user can tap any of the icons numbered 1 to 4 on the screen shown in FIG. 4 to select the charging spot 40. The charging spot 40 can be selected by the above.

[0034] When the charging spot 40 is selected as a destination or a stopover, the temperature of the battery 11 may be adjusted before arriving at the charging spot 40. The method for adjusting the temperature of the battery 11 is not particularly limited and may be selected appropriately depending on the embodiment. A known method may be adopted. By adjusting the temperature of the battery 11 to a temperature appropriate for charging, for example, the amount of charge of the battery 11 can be increased.

[0035] The user terminal 20 is a terminal used by a user of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, or a PC (Personal Computer). As another example, the user terminal 20 may be a terminal including a computer installed in the vehicle 10. In this case, the user terminal 20 may be, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module), a head unit, or a navigation system of the vehicle 10. The user terminal 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication module 23, a touch panel 24, and a position information sensor 25. These components are, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module), a head unit, a navigation system, an air conditioning system, etc. of the vehicle 10. The user terminal 20 may be a component of a system, a driving system, etc. Application software is installed in the user terminal 20 for displaying the route and charging spots 40 when vehicle information is registered, for example.

[0036] The control unit 21 is a computing unit that executes predetermined programs to realize various functions of the user terminal 20. The control unit 21 can be realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 21 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM, cache memory, etc. The storage unit 22 is a means for storing information, and is configured by storage media such as RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. The storage unit 22 stores programs executed by the control unit 21, data used by the programs, etc. The communication module 23 is a communication means for connecting the user terminal 20 to the network N1. The communication module 23 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, a mobile communication service (e.g., 6G (6th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), 4G (4th Generation), 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), etc.), The network N1 is a circuit for communicating with other devices (such as the server 30) via the network N1 using a wireless communication network such as the telephone communication network (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0037] The touch panel 24 is a device that receives input from the user and presents information to the user. The position information sensor 25 acquires position information (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the user terminal 20. The position information sensor 25 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System ) receiving unit, wireless communication unit, etc.

[0038] The control unit 21 of the user terminal 20 acquires vehicle information according to information input by the user on the touch panel 24. The touch panel 24 displays a user interface for inputting, for example, a vehicle ID, a departure point, a destination, and trailer attributes. The user inputs the trailer attributes according to the screen shown in FIG. 3. The vehicle ID is stored in advance in the user terminal 20. The departure point may be the current location acquired by the position information sensor 25. The destination may be a location tapped by the user on a map displayed on the touch panel 24, or an address input by the user. After acquiring the vehicle information, the control unit 21 transmits the vehicle information to the server 30. Furthermore, when the control unit 21 receives information regarding the route of the vehicle 10 from the server 30, it causes the touch panel 24 to display the map and the route. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of charging spots 40 are displayed on the touch panel 24 and the user can select a charging spot 40 from among them. Furthermore, the control unit 21 may provide route guidance. The map may display the charging spots 40 to be passed through. The location is displayed. When the user selects a charging spot 40, the control unit 21 transmits information about the selected charging spot 40 to the server 30.

[0039] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of processing in the server 30 according to the embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 5 is executed by the server 30 for each user terminal 20. The processing shown in Fig. 5 is executed when a predetermined input related to a route search is made in the user terminal 20.

[0040] In step S101, the control unit 31 acquires the departure point and destination of the vehicle 10. The departure point and destination are input by the user to the user terminal 20 and transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the server 30. In the user terminal 20, the user inputs the departure point and destination into an input screen of application software or a web page that performs route search. The departure point may be the current location acquired by the position information sensor 25 of the user terminal 20. Furthermore, when the departure point and destination are predetermined, for example, when delivery is performed along a predetermined route, the departure point and destination may be stored in the memory unit 32. The control unit 31 may then acquire the departure point and destination from the memory unit 32. In this case, for example, the departure point and destination may be linked to a user terminal ID, and the user terminal ID may be acquired from the user terminal 20, and the departure point and destination corresponding to the user terminal ID may be acquired from the memory unit 32. Furthermore, the control unit 31 may send to the user terminal 20 a command to display on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20 a user interface for the user to input the departure point and destination, and a command to send the acquired departure point and destination to the server 30. Upon acquiring the departure point and destination, the control unit 31 stores them in the vehicle information DB 321.

[0041] In step S102, the control unit 31 acquires setting information. The setting information is input by the user on the screen shown in FIG. 3. The setting information may be acquired simultaneously with the departure point and destination, or may be acquired before the departure point and destination are acquired. The control unit 31 may send to the user terminal 20 a command to display on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20 a user interface for the user to input the setting information, and a command to send the acquired setting information to the server 30. Upon acquiring the setting information, the control unit 31 stores it in the vehicle information DB 321.

[0042] In step S103, the control unit 31 generates a route based on the departure point and destination acquired in step S101. The route to be generated is generated according to a predetermined rule, such as the shortest distance or the shortest travel time. Known techniques can be used to generate this route.

[0043] In step S104, the control unit 31 calculates the power consumption of the battery 11. The power consumption of the battery 11 is calculated based on the setting information. The control unit 31 may, for example, calculate the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance based on the setting information, and further multiply this by the distance of the route to calculate the power consumption of the battery 11. The relationship between the setting information and the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance is stored in advance in the storage unit 32. Furthermore, the control unit 31 calculates the power consumption of the battery 11 at each point on the route by multiplying the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit traveling distance by the distance from the starting point at each point on the route.

[0044] When calculating the power consumption of the battery 11, the control unit 31 may calculate the power consumption of the battery 11 by further considering, in addition to the setting information, the charge / discharge characteristics of the battery 11, the gradient of the road on the route, the weather, the type (vehicle type) of the vehicle 10, traffic congestion prediction, the use status of accessories in the vehicle 10, the load capacity of the vehicle 10, etc. Furthermore, when the control unit 31 uses a trained machine learning model as a prediction model for predicting the power consumption of the battery 11, the control unit 31 may input the setting information to the machine learning model. By inputting the above, the power consumption of the battery 11 per unit travel distance may be obtained as output data.

[0045] In step S105, the control unit 31 determines whether charging of the battery 11 is necessary on the way to the destination. The control unit 31 determines that charging of the battery 11 is necessary when the remaining charge of the battery 11 at the destination is less than a threshold. The remaining charge of the battery 11 at the destination is a value obtained by subtracting the amount of consumption of the battery 11 up to the destination from the remaining charge of the battery 11 at the departure point. The remaining charge of the battery 11 at the departure point may be obtained from the user terminal 20 or the vehicle 10. As another example, the control unit 31 may assume that the battery 11 is fully charged or in a predetermined state of charge at the departure point. The threshold is a remaining charge of the battery 11 sufficient to travel from the destination to the charging spot 40. The threshold may be set according to the distance from the destination to the charging spot 40, or may be specified by the user. If the control unit 31 makes a positive determination in step S105, the process proceeds to step S106; if a negative determination is made, the routine ends.

[0046] In step S106, the control unit 31 searches for a charging spot 40. The control unit 31 calculates a location where charging is required based on the power consumption of the battery 11 calculated in step S104. The control unit 31 calculates a location on the route where the remaining charge of the battery 11 is less than a threshold. The threshold is, for example, the remaining charge of the battery 11 that is sufficient to travel to the charging spot 40. The threshold may be smaller in an area where there are relatively many charging spots 40. The threshold may also be changed depending on the vehicle model or may be specified by the user. Then, the control unit 31 extracts charging spots 40 within a predetermined distance from the location where charging is required. The predetermined distance here may be the distance that can be traveled with the remaining charge of the battery 11, or may be a distance specified by the user.

[0047] The control unit 31 may extract one charge spot 40 that is closest to the location where charging is required, or may extract two or more charge spots 40 in order of proximity to the location where charging is required. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 31 may extract only charge spots 40 where the vehicle 10 can park. For example, depending on the overall length, overall width, or height of the vehicle 10, there may be charge spots 40 where the vehicle 10 cannot be parked. Therefore, the control unit 31 may extract charge spots 40 where the vehicle 10 can park by taking into consideration the overall length, overall width, or height of the vehicle 10. Setting information corresponding to the vehicle 10 that can be parked is stored in the charge spot information DB 322 for each charge spot 40.

[0048] In step S107, the control unit 31 outputs information about the searched charging spot 40. The control unit 31 may output information about the location of the charging spot 40. At this time, the control unit 31 may send a command to the user terminal 20 to display the route of the vehicle 10 and the location of the charging spot 40 on a map displayed on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20.

[0049] In step S108, the control unit 31 determines whether or not information about the selected charging spot 40 has been received from the user terminal 20. Note that the processes from step S108 to step S110 may be omitted. When multiple charging spots 40 are displayed on the map displayed on the touch panel 24 of the user terminal 20 and the user taps on any of the charging spots 40, information about the selected charging spot 40 is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the server 30. If the control unit 31 makes a positive determination in step S108, the process proceeds to step S109; if the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, the routine ends.

[0050] In step S109, the control unit 31 regenerates a route by using the selected charging spot 40 as a stopover point. That is, the control unit 31 generates a route so that the vehicle 10 travels from the departure point to the destination, passing through the selected charging spot 40.

[0051] In step S110, the control unit 31 calculates the power consumption of the battery 11 from the selected charging spot 40 to the destination, assuming that the battery 11 is fully charged at the selected charging spot 40. Here, similar to the processing in step S104, the control unit 31 calculates the power consumption of the battery 11 from the selected charging spot 40 to the destination, with the selected charging spot 40 as the starting point. When the processing in step S110 is completed, the process returns to step S105. Then, in step S105, the control unit 31 determines whether the battery 11 needs to be charged on the way from the selected charging spot 40 to the destination. In this way, the control unit 31 can suggest multiple charging spots 40 to the user even in the case of long-distance travel.

[0052] As described above, according to this embodiment, by reflecting the attributes of the trailer 12 in predicting the consumption of the battery 11 and searching for charging spots 40, charging spots 40 that match the attributes of the trailer 12 can be suggested to the user.

[0053] <Other embodiments> The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified and implemented as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradictions arise. 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. For example, some or all of the functions of the server 30 may be provided in the user terminal 20. In this case, the user terminal 20 may be a mobile terminal or an in-vehicle terminal.

[0054] 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]

[0055] 1 System 10 vehicles 11 Battery 12 Trailer 20 User terminal 30 servers 31 processors 32 Main memory 33 Auxiliary storage section 40 charging spots

Claims

1. Obtaining configuration information indicating attributes of a trailer coupled to a vehicle that is an electric vehicle; obtaining a starting point and a destination point of the vehicle; predicting the consumption of a battery mounted on the vehicle from the attributes of the trailer indicated by the acquired setting information; searching for one or more charging spots along the route from the departure point to the destination and / or around the route according to the predicted battery consumption; outputting information regarding the results of the search; An information processing device comprising a control unit configured to execute the above.

2. When searching for the one or more charging spots, the control unit searches for a charging spot where the vehicle can be parked according to the setting information. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit regenerating the route so that the route passes through a charging spot selected by the user; searching for one or more charging spots on at least one of a route from the charging spot selected by the user to the destination and a periphery of the route; and further configured to perform The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. the control unit predicts the battery consumption amount according to the attributes of the trailer as well as the charging and discharging characteristics of the battery, the gradient of a road corresponding to the route, weather, the type of the vehicle, traffic congestion prediction, use of accessories in the vehicle, and the weight of the vehicle excluding the trailer; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. a storage unit that stores a relationship between the setting information and the amount of power consumed by the battery per unit traveling distance of the vehicle; The control unit predicting the battery consumption on the route from the battery consumption per unit travel distance calculated according to the relationship stored in the storage unit and the setting information; searching for charging spots within a predetermined distance from a position on the route where the battery consumption is less than a threshold; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

Images