Calculation device

Abstract

To make early arrival at a destination compatible with proper resting of the driver.SOLUTION: A vehicle 1 includes: an inlet 161 configured to receive power from a charging facility via a charging cable; a power receiving device 166 configured to receive power in a non-contact manner from a power transmitting device installed in a driving lane; a running battery 163 charged with the power received from the inlet 161 or the power receiving device 166; a driver monitor configured to detect a fatigue level of a driver in the vehicle 1. A server obtains the fatigue level from the driver monitor when the battery 163 needs charging. When the fatigue level exceeds a predetermined reference value, the server guides a travel route for the vehicle 1 to perform charging using the inlet 161. On the other hand, when the fatigue level is below the reference value, the server guides a travel route for the vehicle 1 to perform charging using the power receiving device 166.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a computing device, and more particularly to a computing device that provides route guidance for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2016-140193 (Patent Document 1) discloses a charging information notification system that notifies information regarding charging by a plurality of charging methods including a plug-in charging method. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-47670 (Patent Document 2) discloses an in-vehicle device that can search for a route to a destination that passes through a charging lane when searching for a route to charge a vehicle on the way to a destination. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-140193 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-47670 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2020-51786 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes that the arrival time to the destination when passing through a charging lane and arriving at the destination is compared with the arrival time to the destination when charging at a charging station and arriving at the destination, and the facility with the earlier arrival time is searched for as a facility to pass through (see paragraph

[0031] of Patent Document 2). On the other hand, when a driver drives for a long time, he or she needs to take appropriate breaks. However, Patent Document 2 does not consider at all whether the driver should take breaks.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to balance early arrival at a destination with the driver taking appropriate rest. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A computing device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a computing device that provides guidance on a driving route of a vehicle, and includes a processor and a memory that stores a program executable by the processor. The vehicle includes a first power receiving device (e.g., an inlet) configured to be able to receive power from a charging facility via a charging cable, a second power receiving device configured to be able to receive power in a non-contact manner from a power transmitting device installed in a driving lane, a battery for driving that is charged with the power received from the first or second power receiving device, and a fatigue detection device configured to detect a fatigue level of a driver of the vehicle. When charging of the battery is requested, the processor acquires the fatigue level from the fatigue detection device. When the fatigue level is above a predetermined reference value, the processor provides guidance on a driving route for the vehicle to charge using the first power receiving device, and when the fatigue level is below the reference value, the processor provides guidance on a driving route for the vehicle to charge using the second power receiving device.

[0007] In the above configuration, when the fatigue level exceeds a reference value, the vehicle is charged from the charging facility via the first power receiving device while the vehicle is stopped, allowing the driver to take a rest. On the other hand, when the fatigue level is below the reference value, the vehicle can reach the destination quickly by charging from the driving lane via the second power receiving device while the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, the above configuration makes it possible to balance early arrival at the destination with the driver taking an appropriate rest. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to balance early arrival at a destination with the driver taking appropriate rest. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle and a server in more detail. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a vehicle and a power transmission device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a search for a vehicle travel route in the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a driving route guidance process in the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference characters, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0011] [Embodiment Mode] <System configuration> 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle management system 100 includes a plurality of vehicles 1, a server 2, and a plurality of user terminals 3.

[0012] Each of the multiple vehicles 1 is an electric vehicle equipped with a battery for driving, such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV). Each vehicle 1 is configured to be capable of contact charging via a charging cable extending from a charging facility 8 (see FIG. 4) and also capable of non-contact charging from a power transmission device 9 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Hereinafter, contact charging by the charging facility 8 is also referred to as "contact charging," and non-contact charging by the power transmission device 9 is also referred to as "non-contact charging." The detailed configuration of vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0013] The server 2 manages a plurality of vehicles 1. The server 2 also holds the latest road information, as well as the latest information on the charging equipment 8 and the power transmission device 9. A detailed configuration of the server 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In the example described below, the server 2 corresponds to the "computing device" according to the present disclosure.

[0014] Each of the multiple user terminals 3 is a terminal operated by the driver of the vehicle 1, such as a smartphone. The driver can input the destination of the vehicle 1 and search for a travel route of the vehicle 1 by operating the user terminal 3. The vehicle 1, the server 2, and the user terminal 3 are configured to be capable of two-way communication via a network such as the Internet.

[0015] 2 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the vehicle 1 and the server 2. The vehicle 1 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 11, a driver monitor 12, a navigation system 13, and a communication module 14. The ECU 11, the driver monitor 12, the navigation system 13, and the communication module 14 are capable of communicating with each other via an in-vehicle network 15 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network).

[0016] The ECU 11 includes a processor 111 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory 112 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The processor 111 is configured to execute a predetermined arithmetic process described in a program. The memory 112 stores the program executed by the processor 111. The memory 112 also temporarily stores data generated by the execution of the program in the processor 111 and data input via the communication module 14. The ECU 11 controls each device in the vehicle 1 based on detection values ​​of various sensors (not shown) and the program stored in the memory 112 so that the vehicle 1 is in a desired state. The ECU 11 also generates various information to be exchanged with the server 2.

[0017] The driver monitor 12 is configured to detect the degree of fatigue of the driver by monitoring biological information of the driver. More specifically, the driver monitor 12 includes a camera 121 and an image processing unit 122.

[0018] Camera 121 is disposed near the driver's seat (for example, near the rearview mirror) and captures the face of the driver. Camera 121 may be provided with a light source (not shown) such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that irradiates the driver's face with near-infrared light so that the driver's face can be captured even at night.

[0019] The image processing unit 122 is configured to execute a facial image recognition process. The image processing unit 122 extracts the driver's face from the image captured by the camera 121, and calculates, for example, an "eye opening degree" indicating the open / closed state of the driver's eyes from the extracted facial image. The eye opening degree is the time ratio during which the eyes are open (=time during which the pupils are photographed / total time), and the smaller the eye opening degree, the lower the driver's level of awakening, that is, the higher the driver's level of fatigue. The driver monitor 12 may monitor other biological information (such as the driver's body movement, face direction, and facial expression) instead of or in addition to the driver's eye opening degree.

[0020] The driver monitor 12 corresponds to the "fatigue detection device" according to the present disclosure. However, the "fatigue detection device" according to the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, the ECU 11. More specifically, the ECU 11 may be configured to monitor the driving situation of the vehicle 1 by the "steering entropy method" that quantifies the smoothness of the driver's steering using a steering angle signal. Since the steering entropy method is well known, detailed description will not be repeated. However, the smaller the steering entropy value Hp, the smoother the driver's driving operation is, and the more stable the driving of the vehicle 1 is. Conversely, the larger the steering entropy value Hp, the less smoothly the driver's driving operation is, and the more unstable the driving of the vehicle 1 is. The fatigue level according to the present disclosure may be the steering entropy value Hp.

[0021] The navigation system 13 provides guidance on the driving route of the vehicle 1. The navigation system 13 includes a processor, a memory (neither of which are shown), a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 131, and a display 132 with a touch panel.

[0022] The GPS receiver 131 identifies the position of the vehicle 1 based on radio waves from an artificial satellite (not shown). The navigation system 13 uses the position information (GPS information) of the vehicle 1 identified by the GPS receiver 131 to execute various navigation processes (such as searching for a driving route).

[0023] Display 132 displays various information and accepts various operations by the driver. More specifically, display 132 displays the current location of vehicle 1 and the locations of charging equipment 8 and power transmission device 9 superimposed on a road map around vehicle 1. Display 132 also accepts an operation by the driver to select a driving route for vehicle 1.

[0024] The communication module 14 is an in-vehicle Data Communication Module (DCM), and is configured to enable bidirectional communication between the ECU 11 and the server 2.

[0025] The server 2 includes an application server 21 and a database server 22. The database server 22 includes a vehicle information database 221, a road information database 222, a charging information database 223, and a fatigue information database 224.

[0026] The application server 21 collects location information (GPS information) and SOC (State Of Charge) information of each of the multiple vehicles 1. These pieces of information are periodically transmitted from each vehicle 1 to the server 2. The application server 21 stores the collected information in a vehicle information database 221. The vehicle information database 221 also stores information on the vehicle type, year, model, specifications, and status (e.g., battery deterioration state and full charge capacity) of each vehicle 1. The application server 21 may obtain the driving history of each vehicle 1, more specifically, data on power consumption measured while each vehicle 1 is driving, for each of various driving conditions (driving route, date, day of the week, weather, temperature, etc.), and store the data in the vehicle information database 221.

[0027] The road information database 222 stores road information. The charging information database 223 stores information related to the specifications (e.g., charging method, charging capacity) and installation locations of the charging equipment 8 and the power transmission device 9. New roads may be constructed or the shape of a road may be changed. Also, new charging equipment 8 and power transmission device 9 may be installed or existing charging equipment 8 may be abolished. Therefore, the information stored in the road information database 222 and the charging information database 223 is regularly updated to the latest state by the administrator of the server 2.

[0028] The application server 21 collects information on the fatigue level of the driver of each vehicle 1, and stores the collected information in the fatigue information database 224. As described above, the fatigue level may be the eye opening level, the steering entropy value Hp, or other biological information.

[0029] <Contactless charging> Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of vehicle 1 and power transmitting device 9. Vehicle 1 further includes an inlet 161, a power conversion device 162, a battery 163, an inverter 164, a motor generator 165, and a power receiving device 166 in addition to the configuration illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0030] Inlet 161 is disposed inside a charging lid (not shown) provided on the exterior of vehicle 1. Inlet 161 is configured so that a charging connector provided at the end of a charging cable extending from charging equipment 8 (see FIG. 4) can be inserted into it. When the charging connector is inserted into inlet 161, inlet 161 and charging equipment 8 are electrically connected, enabling power transmission (contact charging) from charging equipment 8 to vehicle 1. Inlet 161 corresponds to a "first power receiving device" according to the present disclosure.

[0031] When AC power is supplied from the inlet 161 , the power conversion device 162 converts the AC power into DC power and supplies it to the battery 163 .

[0032] The battery 163 is an assembled battery including a plurality of cells. Each cell is a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel metal hydride battery. The battery 163 supplies electric power to the motor generator 165 for generating a driving force for the vehicle 1. The battery 163 also stores the electric power generated by the motor generator 165. The battery 163 is provided with a voltage sensor and a current sensor (neither shown) for the ECU 11 to calculate the SOC of the battery 163.

[0033] The inverter 164 converts the DC power stored in the battery 163 into AC power and supplies the AC power to the motor generator 165. The inverter 164 also converts the AC power (regenerative power) from the motor generator 165 into DC power and charges the battery 163 with the DC power.

[0034] The motor generator 165 receives electric power from the inverter 164 and applies a rotational force to the drive wheels to make the vehicle 1 run.

[0035] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the power receiving device 166 is disposed on the lower surface of a floor panel that forms the bottom surface of the vehicle 1. A power receiving coil is housed within the power receiving device 166. The power receiving coil receives power transmitted from the power transmitting device 9 in a contactless manner. The AC power received by the power receiving device 166 is converted to DC power by an inverter (not shown) and charged into the battery 163. The AC power received by the power receiving device 166 can also be used to drive the motor generator 165. The power receiving device 166 corresponds to a "second power receiving device" according to the present disclosure.

[0036] The power transmitting device 9 includes a plurality of power transmitting units 91-96 and a controller 90. Although an example in which the number of power transmitting units is six is ​​shown in Fig. 3, the number of power transmitting units is not particularly limited and may be more than that.

[0037] The multiple power transmitting units 91-96 are arranged in a row on the travel lane (which may be the road surface or a side wall) of the vehicle 1. The multiple power transmitting units 91-96 each include a power transmitting coil 911-961. Each of the power transmitting coils 911-961 is electrically connected to an AC power source (not shown). Although not shown, each of the multiple power transmitting units 91-96 is provided with a sensor (optical sensor, weight sensor, etc.) for detecting the passage of the vehicle 1.

[0038] The controller 90 identifies the traveling position of the vehicle 1 based on the detection signals from each sensor. Then, the controller 90 supplies AC power from an AC power source to a power transmitting coil in the power transmitting unit above which the vehicle 1 is located, among the power transmitting units 91-96.

[0039] More specifically, for example, when a vehicle 1 is detected above the power transmitting unit 91, the controller 90 supplies AC power to the power transmitting coil 911. Then, an AC current flows through the power transmitting coil 911, forming an electromagnetic field around the power transmitting coil 911. The power receiving coil in the power receiving device 166 receives power contactlessly through the electromagnetic field. Thereafter, when the vehicle 1 is no longer detected above the power transmitting unit 91, the controller 90 stops the supply of AC power to the power transmitting coil 911. This series of controls is performed for each of the power transmitting units 91 to 96, making it possible to transmit power contactlessly to the traveling vehicle 1 (contactless charging).

[0040] <Route Guidance> 4 is a diagram showing an example of driving route guidance for the vehicle 1 in this embodiment. In this example, two driving routes out of a plurality of driving routes from the current location of the vehicle 1 to a destination are shown. On the first driving route R1, a contact-type charging facility 8 is installed at a rest point (e.g., a service area on a highway) along the way. On the other hand, a non-contact type power transmission device 9 is installed in the driving lane of the second driving route R2.

[0041] In this embodiment, a situation is assumed in which the remaining SOC (remaining power) of the battery 163 of the vehicle 1 is reduced and charging of the battery 163 is required. The server 2 acquires a fatigue level from the driver monitor 12. Then, the server 2 guides the vehicle 1 to an appropriate travel route from the first travel route R1 and the second travel route R2 as a recommended route according to the acquired fatigue level. Specifically, when the fatigue level is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, the server 2 guides the vehicle 1 to the first travel route R1 for contact charging. On the other hand, when the fatigue level is less than the reference value, the server 2 guides the vehicle 1 to the second travel route R2 for non-contact charging.

[0042] When the fatigue level is equal to or higher than the reference value, the vehicle 1 is stopped at a rest point and contact charging is performed, allowing the driver to take a rest while the vehicle is being charged. On the other hand, when the fatigue level is less than the reference value, the vehicle 1 can reach the destination quickly by performing contactless charging from the power transmission device 9 while the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, with the above configuration, it is possible to achieve a balance between quickly reaching the destination and the driver taking an appropriate rest.

[0043] <Processing flow> 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the driving route guidance processing in this embodiment. This flowchart is called and executed from a main routine (not shown) when a predetermined condition is satisfied, for example. In the figure, the processing executed by the server 2 (application server 21) is shown on the left side, and the processing executed by the vehicle 1 (ECU 11) is shown on the right side. Each step is realized by software processing by the server 2 or the ECU 11, but may also be realized by hardware such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) arranged in the server 2 or the ECU 11. Hereinafter, step is abbreviated as S.

[0044] In S11, the vehicle 1 determines whether or not a destination of the vehicle 1 has been set by the driver. The destination setting operation is performed, for example, on the touch panel display 132 of the navigation system 13. When the destination has been set (YES in S11), the vehicle 1 transmits the set destination to the server 2 (S12). Note that these processes may be realized by the user terminal 3 (see FIG. 1).

[0045] In S21, the server 2 determines whether a condition for executing the following calculation process is satisfied. For example, the server 2 can determine that the execution condition is satisfied when it receives a destination from the vehicle 1. The server 2 may also determine that the execution condition is satisfied when it has already received the destination and a specified time (for example, several minutes) has elapsed since the previous calculation process was executed.

[0046] When the execution condition for the calculation process is satisfied (YES in S21), the server 2 calculates the amount of power consumption from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination (S22). For example, the server 2 can calculate the amount of power consumption based on the driving history of the vehicle 1 (which may be the same type of vehicle as the vehicle 1) by referring to the vehicle information database 221 and the road information database 222. Alternatively, the server 2 may calculate the amount of power consumption based on the distance from the current location to the destination (for example, the shortest distance) and the electricity consumption of the vehicle 1 (which may be an actual value based on the driving history of the vehicle 1 or a value based on big data collected from the same type of vehicle). As described above, information related to the current location of the vehicle 1 is periodically collected by the server 2.

[0047] In S23, the server 2 calculates the remaining energy of the battery 163 from the SOC information of the vehicle 1. Since information regarding the full charge capacity of the battery 163 of the vehicle 1 is stored in the vehicle information database 221, the server 2 can calculate the remaining energy from the SOC. The SOC information of the vehicle 1 is also periodically collected by the server 2.

[0048] In S24, the server 2 determines whether the vehicle 1 can reach the destination from the current location without charging along the way. Specifically, when the remaining power calculated in S23 is greater than the power consumption calculated in S22, the server 2 can determine that the vehicle 1 can reach the destination without charging. If the vehicle 1 can reach the destination without charging (in S24), the server 2 returns the process to the main routine.

[0049] If the vehicle 1 cannot reach the destination from the current location without charging (NO in S24), the server 2 determines whether a condition for considering the driver's fatigue level is met (S25). For example, the server 2 can determine that the driver's fatigue level should be considered if a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) has passed since the previous rest period. If the condition for considering the fatigue level is not met (NO in S25), the server 2 returns the process to the main routine.

[0050] If the fatigue level consideration condition is met (YES in S25), the server 2 acquires the driver's fatigue level detected by the driver monitor 12 (which may be the ECU 11) of the vehicle 1 (S26). Then, the server 2 compares the fatigue level with a predetermined reference value (S27). Considering that the vehicle 1 will continue traveling until it reaches a rest point, it is desirable to set the reference value to a value lower than the value at which the driver should immediately take a rest.

[0051] If the fatigue level is equal to or greater than the reference value (YES in S27), the server 2 searches for a driving route for the vehicle 1 to perform contact charging (the first driving route R1 in the example of FIG. 4) (S28). The server 2 transmits the recommended route calculated as a result of the search to the vehicle 1.

[0052] On the other hand, if the fatigue level is less than the reference value (NO in S27), the server 2 searches for a driving route for the vehicle 1 to perform wireless charging (the second driving route R2 in the example of FIG. 4) (S29). The server 2 transmits the calculated recommended route to the vehicle 1.

[0053] When the vehicle 1 receives the recommended route searched for by the processing of S28 or S29 from the server 2, the vehicle 1 displays the recommended route on the display 132 of the navigation system 13 (S13). This allows the driver to select the route and the vehicle 1 to travel according to the recommended route.

[0054] As described above, in this embodiment, when it is predicted that the battery 163 will be depleted before arriving at the destination, it is determined based on the driver's fatigue level whether to search for a travel route in which contact charging is performed or a travel route in which non-contact charging is performed. When the fatigue level is equal to or greater than the reference value and the driver needs to rest, a travel route in which contact charging is performed is searched, so that the driver can be encouraged to take a rest. On the other hand, when the fatigue level is less than the reference value and the driver does not need to take a rest immediately, a travel route in which non-contact charging is performed is searched, so that the battery 163 can be prevented from being depleted by non-contact charging while continuing to travel to the destination. Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve a balance between early arrival at the destination and the driver taking an appropriate rest.

[0055] 5 illustrates an example in which the route search is executed by the server 2, but the route search may be executed by the vehicle 1. In this case, the vehicle 1 (ECU 11 and / or navigation system 13) corresponds to the "computing device" according to the present disclosure.

[0056] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 100 vehicle management system, 1 vehicle, 2 server, 3 user terminal, 11 ECU, 111 processor, 112 memory, 12 driver monitor, 121 camera, 122 image processing unit, 13 navigation system, 131 GPS receiver, 132 display, 14 communication module, 15 in-vehicle network, 161 inlet, 162 power conversion device, 163 battery, 164 inverter, 165 motor generator, 166 power receiving device, 21 application server, 22 database server, 221 vehicle information database, 222 road information database, 223 charging information database, 224 fatigue information database, 8 charging equipment, 9 power transmission device, 90 controller, 91 to 96 power transmission unit, 911 to 961 power transmission coil.

Claims

[Claim 1] A computing device that provides guidance on a vehicle's driving route, A processor; a memory for storing a program executable by the processor; The vehicle is A first power receiving device configured to be able to receive power from a charging facility via a charging cable; a second power receiving device configured to be able to receive power in a non-contact manner from a power transmitting device installed in the travel lane; a battery for driving the vehicle that is charged by the electric power received from the first or second power receiving device; a fatigue detection device configured to detect a fatigue level of a driver of the vehicle; When charging of the battery is requested, the processor acquiring the fatigue level from the fatigue detection device; When the fatigue level exceeds a predetermined reference value, the vehicle is guided along a travel route for charging the vehicle using the first power receiving device, When the fatigue level is below the reference value, a computing device provides guidance on a travel route for the vehicle to be charged using the second power receiving device.

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