Electric vehicles

Abstract

To provide an electric vehicle that can efficiently raise the temperature of the energy storage device during driving prior to charging, while maintaining a sufficient driving range. [Solution] An electric vehicle is provided, comprising a power storage device for storing electricity for driving and a heater for heating the power storage device using the power of the power storage device, wherein the controller for controlling the heating of the power storage device by the heater includes a selection unit (step S1) that selects a manual heating mode that performs heating control of the power storage device based on manual operation by the passenger and an automatic heating mode that performs heating control of the power storage device based on a detection signal that detects the driving state, and a heating control unit (steps S8, 12) that prohibits heating of the power storage device by the manual heating mode when a predetermined first condition is met (step S2) (step S4), and prohibits heating of the power storage device by the automatic heating mode when a predetermined second condition different from the first condition is met (steps S6, 9).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle capable of running on the power of a power storage device mounted on a vehicle, and particularly to an electric vehicle equipped with a system for heating the power storage device to raise its temperature.

Background Art

[0002] As this type of electric vehicle, electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) are known. These electric vehicles are equipped with a large-capacity power storage device and drive a motor with its power to run. Therefore, when the remaining charge (SOC: State Of Charge) in the power storage device as an energy source decreases, it is necessary to move to a location where charging facilities such as a charging stand are installed to charge.

[0003] As the power storage device of an electric vehicle, secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries are used. This type of secondary battery discharges as expected and the charging time becomes shorter when the temperature is relatively high. Therefore, for example, the battery device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to heat the secondary battery by a plurality of heaters provided on a heating plate. Further, in the battery device described in Patent Document 1, when the ignition switch is on and the temperature of the secondary battery is low, the secondary battery is heated, and when the battery temperature becomes higher than the set temperature, the power supply to the heater is stopped.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The battery device described in Patent Document 1 above heats the secondary battery when the ignition switch is ON. The power source is, for example, household commercial power, and power is supplied to the heater via an AC / DC converter. Therefore, in the battery device described in Patent Document 1, the secondary battery is heated when the vehicle is stopped. In that case, if heating and charging of the secondary battery are performed in parallel, the charging speed will be slow at the beginning of charging because the temperature of the secondary battery is not sufficiently high, which may result in a longer charging time. Also, if the vehicle is driven after heating the secondary battery, the temperature of the secondary battery will gradually decrease, and by the time of charging, the temperature of the secondary battery may be lower than the temperature suitable for charging.

[0006] The discharge and charge performance of an energy storage device improves when its temperature is relatively high. Therefore, it is preferable to raise the temperature of the energy storage device before charging. This control method of raising the temperature in preparation for charging is called preconditioning (or precon). Since the temperature rise of the energy storage device by preconditioning is performed prior to charging, the vehicle's onboard energy storage device is used as the power source. Because the energy storage device also serves as a power source for driving, consuming power to raise the temperature of the energy storage device reduces the remaining charge (SOC) of the energy storage device, affecting the vehicle's driving range. More specifically, depending on the degree and timing of the temperature rise of the energy storage device, it may become impossible to perform the planned driving. Conventionally, the form of temperature rise of the energy storage device prior to charging and its control have not been sufficiently considered, and there has been much room to develop new technologies to efficiently raise the temperature of the energy storage device while maintaining a sufficient driving range.

[0007] The present invention was made against the above-mentioned background, and aims to provide an electric vehicle equipped with a new technology that can efficiently raise the temperature of the energy storage device during driving prior to charging, while maintaining a sufficient driving range. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an electric vehicle comprising a power storage device for storing power for driving and a heater for heating the power storage device using the power of the power storage device, wherein the vehicle has a controller for controlling the heating of the power storage device by the heater, and the controller comprises a selection unit that selects a manual heating mode for performing heating control of the power storage device based on manual operation by the passenger and an automatic heating mode for performing heating control of the power storage device based on a detection signal that detects the driving state, and a heating control unit that prohibits heating of the power storage device by the manual heating mode when a predetermined first condition is met, and prohibits heating of the power storage device by the automatic heating mode when a predetermined second condition different from the first condition is met.

[0009] In the present invention, the temperature rise control unit may be configured not to prohibit the heating of the energy storage device in the automatic temperature rise mode if the first condition is met and the second condition is not met.

[0010] In the present invention, the controller further comprises a charge level detection unit for detecting the remaining charge of the energy storage device and a remaining distance calculation unit for determining the remaining distance, which is the distance to travel to the destination. The first condition is that the remaining charge of the energy storage device is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the second condition is that the distance that can be traveled with the remaining charge of the energy storage device is less than or equal to the remaining distance.

[0011] In the present invention, the destination may be either a point selected and set by the passenger, or a point where charging equipment is located ahead in the direction of travel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the electric vehicle of the present invention, the control for raising the temperature of the energy storage device during operation can be selected from a manual heating mode and an automatic heating mode. In manual heating mode, the rider manually operates the heater to heat and raise the temperature of the energy storage device. In automatic heating mode, the heater heats and raises the temperature of the energy storage device based on the driving conditions. Heating in these modes is prohibited when predetermined conditions are met. Since these conditions differ between manual heating mode and automatic heating mode, it is possible to raise the temperature of the energy storage device, i.e., manage the remaining charge of the energy storage device, while satisfying the rider's request for heating as much as possible, and to raise the temperature of the energy storage device while ensuring the possibility of driving to the destination. In other words, it is possible to efficiently raise the temperature of the energy storage device while ensuring that the vehicle can run on the remaining power in the energy storage device during operation, and consequently, the temperature of the energy storage device when charging after stopping can be brought closer to a temperature suitable for charging, thereby shortening the charging time.

[0013] In particular, by setting the first condition to be that the remaining charge of the energy storage device falls below a predetermined threshold, it is possible to avoid or suppress issues such as a reduction in the cruising range due to the temperature rise of the energy storage device, or passengers experiencing discomfort as a result.

[0014] Furthermore, if the second condition is that the distance that can be traveled on the remaining charge is less than or equal to the remaining distance to the destination, then it becomes possible to reliably travel to the destination.

[0015] Furthermore, in the electric vehicle of the present invention, even if heating of the energy storage device is prohibited in manual heating mode, heating of the energy storage device is possible in automatic heating mode. Therefore, by selecting automatic heating mode, heating of the energy storage device can be performed, at least to some extent. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a vehicle. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the temperature change of the energy storage device in manual heating mode and in automatic heating mode. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of control performed by the controller. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples of how the present invention can be implemented and do not limit the invention.

[0018] Figure 1 schematically shows an example of a vehicle 1 in an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle that runs on torque output by a drive source 2 including an electric motor, and examples include electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). A power storage device 3 is mounted on the vehicle 1 to supply power to the drive source 2 and to charge the power generated by the electric motor. The power storage device 3 may be composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. Since the power storage device 3 has the characteristic that the charging speed differs depending on its temperature, a heater 4 is provided to heat the power storage device 3 to a temperature suitable for charging and raise its temperature (heat rise). The heater 4 may be a heater having a heat-generating element that generates heat by electricity, or it may be a heater configured to heat the power storage device 3 by heat transmitted from, for example, an air conditioning system (not shown). In any case, it is configured to generate heat by consuming the power of the power storage device 3.

[0019] A control device (controller) 5 is provided to control the temperature rise of the power storage device 3 by the heater 4. The controller 5 is mainly composed of a microcomputer including an arithmetic unit (CPU), memory elements (ROM, RAM, SRAM), and an interface, etc. It performs calculations according to a pre-prepared program using the input data and the data stored in advance, and outputs the result of the calculation as a control command signal. Examples of the input data include signals such as the on / off of the main switch 6. The main switch 6 is a switch that activates the entire vehicle 1 when it is turned on and deactivates the entire vehicle 1 when it is turned off, and may be referred to as an ignition switch or a ready switch. Note that the controller 5 can operate even when the main switch 6 is off.

[0020] Also, a pilot control (CPLT) signal is input to the controller 5. The power storage device 3 is charged by being connected to an external charging facility 7 such as a charging stand via a charging cable 8. When the charging cable 8 is connected to the vehicle 1, a CPLT signal for controlling charging is transmitted between the charging facility 7 and the vehicle 1. That CPLT signal is input to the controller 5. Since the controller 5 is for controlling the temperature of the power storage device 3, the detection signal of the temperature sensor 9 for detecting the temperature of the power storage device 3 and the detection signal of the outside air temperature sensor 10 for detecting the outside air temperature are input to the controller 5. Furthermore, the remaining charge amount (SOC), which is the amount of power remaining in the power storage device 3, is input to the controller 5.

[0021] The controller 5 has a manual temperature increase mode (hereinafter referred to as the manual mode) and an automatic temperature increase mode (hereinafter referred to as the automatic mode) as modes for controlling the temperature increase of the power storage device 3. The manual mode is a control form in which a passenger such as a driver of the vehicle 1 manually operates to start the temperature increase, and the temperature increase ends when a predetermined end condition such as the temperature of the power storage device 3 reaching the target temperature is satisfied. The automatic mode is a control form in which the temperature increase is started based on a signal detecting the state of the vehicle 1 such as the position of the vehicle 1, and the temperature increase ends when a predetermined end condition such as the temperature of the power storage device 3 reaching the target temperature is satisfied. A signal of a selection switch 11 for selecting these control modes is input to the controller 5. The selection switch 11 may be a contact switch such as a push switch or a touch-type switch appearing as an icon on the touch panel 12. FIG. 1 schematically shows the selection switch 11 appearing on the touch panel 12.

[0022] Here, the manual mode and the automatic mode will be described. The manual mode is a control mode in which, in preparation for charging by the charging facility 7, when the vehicle 1 is running or when the main switch 6 described above is in the on state, the manual mode is selected by the selection switch 11, and the heater 4 is operated to increase the temperature. In that case, an example of the change in the temperature of the power storage device 3 is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram with the temperature of the power storage device 3 on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The line indicated by the symbol "M" shows the change in the manual mode, and the line indicated by the symbol "A" shows the change in the automatic mode. When the manual mode is selected by the selection switch 11 at time t0, the heater 4 is energized and the heating of the power storage device 3 starts, and the temperature of the power storage device 3 gradually rises. The way the temperature rises is determined by factors such as the calorific value of the heater 4, the thermal resistance between the heater 4 and the power storage device 3, and the heat dissipation amount from the power storage device 3 affected by the outside air temperature.

[0023] The optimal temperature for charging the energy storage device 3 varies depending on the charging capacity of the charging equipment 7. For approximately 50kW, it is around T0°C; for 90kW, it is around T1(>T0)°C; and for 150kW, it is around T2(>T1)°C. If charging is not specifically planned, or if charging is planned but the capacity of the charging equipment 7 is unknown, the temperature is raised to a target temperature corresponding to the expected maximum capacity (e.g., T2°C). Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 2, at time t1 when the detected temperature of the energy storage device 3 reaches the target temperature, the power supply to the heater 4 is stopped, and the heating of the energy storage device 3 is halted. After that, the temperature of the energy storage device 3 gradually decreases due to natural heat dissipation. As a result, at time t2 when charging is performed, the temperature of the energy storage device 3 may be below the optimal temperature for charging. Therefore, the manual mode is a control mode that prioritizes the rider's intention to raise their temperature, as indicated by manually operating the selection switch 11.

[0024] The automatic mode is a control mode that, provided that the automatic mode is selected, performs a temperature increase of the energy storage device 3 based on the driving status of vehicle 1. The driving status of vehicle 1 is mainly the distance from the vehicle's current position to the charging equipment 7, or the time it will take to reach the charging equipment 7. The charging equipment 7 may be equipment at a location detected based on map data, or it may be equipment at a location set as a target location. Therefore, in automatic mode, temperature control is performed based on the vehicle's current position and the location of the charging equipment 7, and data obtained from the navigation system 13 is used. The navigation system 13 is a system that determines the positions of vehicle 1 and charging equipment 7 using GPS (Global Positioning System), and overlays the position information obtained from GPS onto pre-prepared map data to determine the map positions of vehicle 1 and charging equipment 7. Therefore, the navigation system 13 can determine the distance from the current position to the charging equipment 7, or the time it will take to reach the charging equipment 7 when driving at a predetermined vehicle speed. Furthermore, the capacity of the charging equipment 7 can be obtained from the navigation system 13 by pre-storing it in the navigation system 13.

[0025] On the other hand, based on the difference between the current temperature of the energy storage device 3 and the target temperature, the time required to raise the temperature to the target temperature can be determined. From this time and the vehicle speed, the timing for starting the heating process, such as the time to start heating or the distance from the charging equipment 7, can be determined. Therefore, if the target charging equipment 7 is a 150kW facility, heating will start at time t3, as indicated by the symbol "A" in Figure 2. If it is a 90kW facility, heating will start at time t4, when the vehicle is closer to the charging equipment 7. In addition, even in automatic mode, heating will stop when the temperature of the energy storage device 3 reaches the target temperature.

[0026] The data pre-stored in the controller 5 includes thresholds for determining the level of State of Charge (SOC) of the energy storage device 3 in manual mode, the driving distance for each remaining charge (SOC), and the temperature of the energy storage device 3 that requires heating. The threshold for the SOC of the energy storage device 3 can be set to a value that guarantees a predetermined driving distance as part of the vehicle 1 specifications.

[0027] The controller 5 uses input data and pre-stored data to control the heating of the energy storage device 3, such as starting or stopping the heating process, or prohibiting or allowing further heating. It is equipped with various functions for this control. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller 5, which includes a charge level detection unit 5a that detects the State of Charge (SOC) of the energy storage device 3. The SOC of the energy storage device 3 is consumed by the drive source 2 when the vehicle 1 is running, consumed by auxiliary equipment such as the air conditioning system and the heater 4, and conversely, charged by regenerative energy when the vehicle 1 is braking, so it changes sequentially during driving. The SOC of the energy storage device 3 is detected by a microcomputer (not shown) for the energy storage device 3 and input to the controller 5, so the charge level detection unit 5a detects the SOC of the energy storage device 3 based on the input SOC. Therefore, the charge level detection unit 5a may also perform some functions of the microcomputer for the energy storage device 3.

[0028] A remaining distance calculation unit 5b is provided in the controller 5. The remaining distance is the distance from the vehicle 1's current position to the destination. The vehicle 1's current position and destination can be detected by the aforementioned navigation system 13, and the distance from the current position to the destination can be obtained from the map data held by the navigation system 13. The destination may be a position set by the passenger of the vehicle 1 in the navigation system 13, or it may be a charging facility 7 located ahead in the direction of travel of the vehicle 1, or a location registered as "home".

[0029] The controller 5 includes a temperature control unit 5c that controls the stopping or prohibition of temperature rise and the permission of temperature rise. The temperature control unit 5c includes a first condition determination unit 5c1 that determines whether a first condition for manual mode is met, and a second condition determination unit 5c2 that determines whether a second condition for automatic mode is met.

[0030] The first condition is a condition for stopping or prohibiting (hereinafter collectively referred to as prohibiting) the heating control in manual mode. One example of this is when the State of Charge (SOC) of the energy storage device 3 of vehicle 1 at the present time falls below a predetermined threshold. As mentioned above, the threshold is the SOC sufficient to travel a predetermined distance as specified in the specifications of vehicle 1. Therefore, even if manual mode is selected by the selection switch 11 and the temperature of the energy storage device 3 is low enough to require heating, if the first condition is met, the first condition determination unit 5c1 will determine prohibition, and heating of the energy storage device 3 by the heater 4 will be prohibited. The temperature of the energy storage device 3 can be obtained by the temperature sensor 9 mentioned above. The SOC is input to the controller 5 from a computer (not shown) that controls the energy storage device 3 and detected by the charge level detection unit 5a mentioned above.

[0031] The second condition is a condition that prohibits heating control in automatic mode. One example of this is when the distance that vehicle 1 can travel at its current State of Charge (SOC) is less than or equal to the remaining distance from its current location to its destination. Therefore, even if automatic mode is selected by the selection switch 11, and the temperature of the energy storage device 3 is low enough to require heating, and vehicle 1 is approaching its destination, if the second condition is met, the second condition determination unit 5c2 will determine that heating is prohibited, and the heater 4 will not heat the energy storage device 3.

[0032] The temperature of the energy storage device 3 can be obtained by the temperature sensor 9 described above. The State of Charge (SOC) is input to the controller 5 from a computer (not shown) that controls the energy storage device 3. The relationship between the SOC and the driving range can be determined in advance through experiments or simulations and input to the controller 5, so that the distance that can be driven at the current SOC can be determined based on this data. Furthermore, the current position and destination of the vehicle 1 can be detected by the navigation system 13 described above, and the remaining distance from the current position to the destination is detected by the remaining distance calculation unit 5b described above.

[0033] A selection unit 5d is provided in the controller 5 to select between the manual mode and the automatic mode described above. Based on the signal input from the selection switch 11 described above, the selection unit 5d selects either the manual mode or the automatic mode, or selects neither mode. The controller 5 performs temperature rise control of the energy storage device 3 according to the selected control mode, and also prohibits or releases the temperature rise control depending on whether the first and second conditions described above are met.

[0034] Next, an example of temperature rise control performed by the controller 5 described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 4. The routine shown in Figure 4 is executed repeatedly at predetermined short intervals. First, in step S1, it is determined whether the manual mode described above has been selected as the control mode for so-called preconditioning, which raises the temperature of the energy storage device 3 while driving. If the result of the determination in step S1 is "yes" because the manual mode has been selected by the selection switch 11, then in step S2, it is determined whether the SOC of the energy storage device 3 is below the threshold described above. In other words, it is determined whether the first condition described above is met. As described above, the threshold is defined as the SOC that guarantees that the vehicle 1 will travel a predetermined distance. Therefore, if the result of the determination in step S2 is "no," that is, if the current SOC is sufficiently large, the process proceeds to step S3, which allows heating in manual mode, and then the routine in Figure 4 is terminated. Thus, even if the selection of manual mode is not particularly restricted, the temperature of the energy storage device 3 can be raised while ensuring that the vehicle 1 can travel.

[0035] If the result of the judgment in step S2 is "yes," the process proceeds to step S4, and manual temperature control is prohibited. In other words, even if manual mode is selected and the temperature of the energy storage device 3 is lower than the aforementioned target temperature, the heater 4 will not heat or raise the temperature of the energy storage device 3.

[0036] Next, the process proceeds to step S5, where it is determined whether or not the automatic mode was selected. That is, while the vehicle 1 is in motion, it is possible to switch the temperature control mode from manual mode to automatic mode by operating the selection switch 11, and step S5 determines whether or not such a control mode switch has been performed.

[0037] If the result of the judgment in step S5 is "no", the routine shown in Figure 4 is terminated. Conversely, if the result of the judgment in step S5 is "yes", the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined whether the drivable distance at the current SOC is greater than or equal to the remaining distance from the current location of vehicle 1 to the destination. In other words, it is determined whether or not the second condition mentioned above is met.

[0038] If the result of the judgment in step S6 is "yes" because the current driving range in SOC is greater than or equal to the remaining distance, the process proceeds to step S7, where automatic temperature control is permitted, and the routine shown in Figure 4 is temporarily terminated. Therefore, as the distance to the destination decreases and other requirements are met, such as the temperature of the energy storage device 3 being lower than the target temperature, the energy storage device 3 is heated and its temperature is raised by the heater 4. Conversely, if the result of the judgment in step S6 is "no", the process proceeds to step S8, where automatic temperature control is prohibited, and the routine shown in Figure 4 is temporarily terminated. Therefore, even if the distance to the destination decreases and other requirements are met, such as the temperature of the energy storage device 3 being lower than the target temperature, the heating of the energy storage device 3 by the heater 4 will not be performed.

[0039] As described above, even when heating in manual mode is prohibited, heating control is still possible in automatic mode. This is because automatic mode prioritizes securing the amount of power needed to travel to the destination.

[0040] On the other hand, if the result of the judgment in step S1 is "no" because manual mode is not selected by the selection switch 11, the process proceeds to step S9 to determine whether automatic mode is selected or not. This determination step is the same as step S5 described above. Therefore, if the result of the judgment in step S9 is "yes", it is determined whether the remaining distance can be covered with the current SOC (step S10), similar to steps S6 and S7 described above. If the result of that determination is "yes", temperature control in automatic mode is permitted (step S11), and then the routine in Figure 4 is terminated. Also, if the result of the judgment in step S9 and the result of the judgment in step S10 is "no", the process proceeds to step S12, temperature control in automatic mode is prohibited, and then the routine shown in Figure 4 is terminated. This is the same as the control in step S8 described above.

[0041] Therefore, according to the above control, if there is a possibility that the amount of power to travel to the destination will be insufficient, the automatic mode that consumes power from the energy storage device 3 will be prohibited from raising its temperature, thus ensuring that the vehicle can travel to the destination. Furthermore, since the energy storage device 3 will be heated within that range, the temperature of the energy storage device 3 during charging will be brought closer to the target temperature, making it possible to shorten the charging time.

[0042] In step S2 described above, the SOC is compared with a threshold, and in steps S6 and S9, the remaining driving distance is calculated based on the SOC. In this case, the SOC may be the detected SOC, or it may be the remaining charge obtained by subtracting the amount of power expected to be consumed by the heating from the detected SOC. The amount of power consumed by the heating can be determined from the amount of heat based on the difference between the current temperature of the energy storage device 3 and the target temperature, and the heat capacity of the components being heated, including the energy storage device 3.

[0043] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be implemented with appropriate modifications. For example, if manual temperature control in manual mode is prohibited as described above, and after the selection of manual mode by the selection switch 11 is canceled, that is, after manual mode has been turned off, if manual mode is selected again by the selection switch 11, even if the SOC at that time is below a threshold, manual temperature control in manual mode may be permitted. This is because if manual temperature control in manual mode is prohibited and the selection of manual mode is canceled, and the passenger deliberately chooses to heat up in manual mode, it is conceivable that some special circumstances have arisen, and it is preferable to prioritize the passenger's intentions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 vehicle 2. Power source 3. Energy storage device 4 Heaters 5 Controllers 5a Charge level detection unit 5b Remaining distance calculation section 5c Temperature Control Unit 5c1 Condition judgment section 5c2 Condition judgment section 5d Selection section 6 Main switch 7 Charging equipment 8 charging cables 9. Temperature sensor 10. Outdoor temperature sensor 11 Selection Switch 12 Touch panel 13 Navigation System SOC battery level

Claims

1. An electric vehicle comprising a power storage device for storing electricity for driving, and a heater for heating the power storage device using the power from the power storage device, It has a controller that controls the heating of the energy storage device by the heater, The aforementioned controller, A selection unit that selects between a manual heating mode, which controls the heating of the energy storage device based on the passenger's manual operation, and an automatic heating mode, which controls the heating of the energy storage device based on a detection signal that detects the driving state. A temperature control unit that prohibits heating of the energy storage device by the manual heating mode when a predetermined first condition is met, and prohibits heating of the energy storage device by the automatic heating mode when a predetermined second condition different from the first condition is met. It is equipped with An electric vehicle characterized by the following features.

2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, The temperature rise control unit is configured not to prohibit the heating of the energy storage device in the automatic temperature rise mode if the first condition is met and the second condition is not met. An electric vehicle characterized by the following features.

3. An electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, The aforementioned controller, A charge level detection unit for detecting the remaining charge of the energy storage device, A remaining distance calculation unit that determines the remaining distance, which is the distance to travel to the destination. Furthermore, The first condition is that the remaining charge of the energy storage device falls below a predetermined threshold. The second condition is that the distance that can be traveled with the remaining charge of the energy storage device is less than or equal to the remaining distance. An electric vehicle characterized by the following features.

4. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, The aforementioned destination is either a point selected and set by the passenger, or a point located ahead in the direction of travel where charging equipment is provided. An electric vehicle characterized by the following features.

Images