Charging facility guidance device and charging facility guidance method

Abstract

The present invention promotes spread of electric vehicles in consideration of environmental loads on the entire society.　A charging facility guidance device 30 comprises: a guidance request input unit 311 that stores charging facility information relating to charging facilities for charging a vehicle, and identification information and battery capacity information relating to a plurality of vehicles, and receives information for requesting guidance on charging facilities from the vehicle side; a charging facility retrieval unit 312 that retrieves charging facilities on the basis of information on the position of the vehicle; a benefit information creation unit 313 that uses charging facility information relating to the retrieved charging facilities and battery capacity information relating to the vehicle to create information on benefits to be given to the vehicle by the charging facilities; and a benefit information output unit 314 that transmits the charging facility information and the benefit information to the vehicle side.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging facility guidance device and a charging facility guidance method for providing guidance to users of electric vehicles about charging facilities. [Background technology]

[0002] Electric vehicles, especially BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles), are becoming increasingly popular, and there are models with a variety of battery capacities. The larger the battery capacity of an electric vehicle, the longer the driving distance, which improves convenience for users. However, as the battery capacity increases, the weight of the battery also increases, which increases the vehicle weight and the energy required to move the vehicle. Since a large amount of energy is required to manufacture a vehicle with a large battery capacity, it can generally be said that vehicles with a large battery capacity have a greater environmental impact than vehicles with a small battery capacity. Vehicles with such large battery capacities require a large amount of charging, so high-performance charging facilities are necessary. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 4985748) discloses a system for reducing the maximum capacity of the power source connected to all chargers by using multiple types of chargers with different charging performance for each parking space. Specifically, the technology discloses a system for allocating chargers from multiple types depending on the need for charging or the ease of charging for an electric vehicle that has entered the parking lot. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4985748 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, vehicles with large charging capacities are ultimately determined to be in high need of charging, and therefore high-performance chargers are assigned to vehicles with large charging capacities. This raises concerns that users will tend to choose electric vehicles with large battery capacities, which will increase the environmental burden on society as a whole. On the other hand, some reports suggest that the majority of users (for example, 90%) mainly drive within town, with daily distances of 90km or less, and only occasionally go on long trips. In this case, an electric vehicle with a charging capacity of, say, 36kWh can be fully charged in 12 hours by charging at home at night (normal charging), and can also be fully charged after a short drive with normal charging (3kW). With a charging capacity of 36kWh, assuming the cost of electricity (Wh / km) per kilometer is 130Wh / km, a simple calculation shows that a vehicle can travel approximately 270km. For users who mainly drive around town and drive less than 90km a day, for example, short distances can be fully compensated for by simply charging at a regular charging station. On the other hand, high-performance chargers (for example, rapid chargers with an output of 50 kW) require high capital investment, so they are only installed mainly in large-scale facilities and public facilities such as rest areas and parking areas. Standard chargers (for example, with an output of 3 kW) are inexpensive, but they tend to be used less frequently, so there is a tendency for their installation to be stagnant. Furthermore, the useful life of a charging stand is said to be around eight years, and as charging stands installed in the early 2010s reach the end of their useful life, coupled with the lack of progress in the adoption of electric vehicles, some are being discarded. For this reason, it is desirable to popularize electric vehicles with small battery capacities that are aimed at users who mainly drive around town, while taking into consideration the environmental burden on society as a whole, and to popularize charging facilities that match these vehicles.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these issues, and aims to provide a charging facility guidance device that will promote the spread of electric vehicles with small battery capacities, which are targeted at users who mainly drive around town, and which takes into consideration the environmental burden on society as a whole, and will also promote the spread of charging facilities that match them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) A charging facility guidance device (for example, a "charging facility guidance device 30" described later) of the present invention includes a map information storage unit (for example, a "map information storage unit 321" described later) that stores charging facility information related to charging facilities for charging vehicles, a vehicle information storage unit (for example, a "vehicle information storage unit 322" described later) that stores identification information and battery capacity information of a plurality of vehicles, a guidance request input unit (for example, a "guidance request input unit 311" described later) that receives guidance request information including location information of the vehicle (for example, a "vehicle 50" described later) and a guidance request for a charging facility from the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle (for example, an "in-vehicle navigation device 10" or a "mobile terminal 20" described later), and The information processing device includes a charging facility search unit (for example, the "charging facility search unit 312" described later) that searches for the charging facility that is present within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle included in the guidance request information, a benefit information creation unit (for example, the "benefit information creation unit 313" described later) that creates benefit information for the vehicle at the charging facility based on charging facility information about the charging facility searched for by the charging facility search unit and battery capacity information of the vehicle that corresponds to the identification information of the vehicle, and a benefit information output unit (for example, the "benefit information output unit 314" described later) that transmits the charging facility information and the benefit information to the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle.

[0007] According to the above (1), it is possible to provide a charging facility information device that can promote the spread of electric vehicles and charging facilities while taking into consideration the environmental impact on society as a whole.

[0008] (2) The bonus information creation unit (e.g., the "bonus information creation unit 313" described below) described in (1) may further be configured to create bonus information that is advantageous for the vehicle with the smaller battery capacity according to the battery capacity indicated by the battery capacity information of the vehicle when the guidance request is received from multiple vehicles or the terminals of the users of the vehicles (e.g., the "in-vehicle navigation device 10" or the "mobile terminal 20" described below).

[0009] According to (2) above, it will be possible to promote the spread of electric vehicles with small battery capacities, which are more considerate of the environmental burden on society as a whole.

[0010] (3) The benefit information creation unit (e.g., the "benefit information creation unit 313" described later) of the charging facility guidance device (e.g., the "charging facility guidance device 30" described later) described in (1) to (3) may further create the benefit information as a priority reservation for the charging facility or a discount on the charging unit price.

[0011] According to (3) above, it will be possible to promote the spread of electric vehicles with small battery capacities, which are more considerate of the environmental burden on society as a whole.

[0012] (4) In the charging facility guidance device (e.g., the “charging facility guidance device 30” described later) described in (1) or (2), the map information storage unit (e.g., the “map information storage unit 321” described later) may include charging speed information of the charging facility in the charging facility information, and the benefit information creation unit (e.g., the “benefit information creation unit 313” described later) may create the benefit information for the charging facility having the charging speed information whose charging speed is lower than a predetermined value.

[0013] According to (4) above, it will be possible to promote the spread of standard chargers while taking into consideration the environmental impact of society as a whole.

[0014] (5) A charging facility guidance method of the present invention is a charging facility guidance method for providing guidance to charging facilities using a computer, the method including: a map information storage step in which the computer stores charging facility information related to charging facilities for charging a vehicle; a vehicle information storage step in which the computer stores identification information and battery capacity information of a plurality of vehicles; a guidance request input step in which guidance request information including position information of the vehicle and a request for guidance to a charging facility is received from the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle (for example, the “in-vehicle navigation device 10” or the “mobile terminal 20” described below); a charging facility search step in which the computer searches for the charging facility located within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle included in the guidance request information; a reward information creation step in which the computer creates reward information for the vehicle at the charging facility based on charging facility information related to the charging facility searched for in the charging facility search step and battery capacity information of the vehicle corresponding to the identification information of the vehicle; and a reward information output step in which the computer transmits the charging facility information and the reward information to the vehicle or the terminal of the user of the vehicle.

[0015] According to the method (5) above, the same effect as that of the charging facility information device (1) can be achieved. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to promote the spread of electric vehicles and charging facilities while taking into consideration the environmental burden on society as a whole. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an entire charging facility guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]1 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of a charging facility guidance device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of a charging facility information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 3 is a flowchart showing a basic operation of the charging facility information device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] <Overall configuration of charging facility guidance system 1> A preferred embodiment of the charging facility guidance system of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows the overall configuration of the charging facility guidance system 1.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, the charging facility guidance system 1 includes an in-vehicle navigation device 10 mounted on an electric vehicle 50, a mobile terminal 20, a charging facility guidance device 30, the vehicle 50, and a charging facility information processing device 40. In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is also simply referred to as an electric vehicle, an electrically powered vehicle, or a vehicle. These devices and terminals are connected to each other via a communication network 60 so that they can communicate with each other. In addition, although the diagram also illustrates information transmitted and received by each of these devices and terminals, this information is merely an example. In this embodiment, information other than that illustrated may be transmitted and received.

[0020] The in-vehicle navigation device 10 has a function of measuring the position information of the in-vehicle navigation device 10 (i.e., the position information of the vehicle 50). The position information measured by the in-vehicle navigation device 10 is transmitted, for example, together with identification information of the vehicle 50 when a guidance information request, which is a request for guidance on a charging facility, is transmitted to the charging facility guidance device 30. The in-vehicle navigation device 10 also has a function of guiding a user in the vehicle 50 to charging facilities that are located within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle and that offer special benefit information for the vehicle, and that are provided using the charging facility guidance system 1. The in-vehicle navigation device 10 may display the charging facility information and provide route guidance from the current position to a specified charging facility that offers special benefit information.

[0021] The mobile terminal 20 is a mobile terminal of a user who uses the vehicle 50. It is preferable that application software for linking with the vehicle 50 used by the user is installed in the mobile terminal 20. The mobile terminal 20 may be configured to have the same functions as the in-vehicle navigation device 10. The mobile terminal 20 can acquire the identification information and location information of the vehicle 50. Similarly to the in-vehicle navigation device 10, the mobile terminal 20 transmits the location information of the vehicle 50 together with the identification information of the vehicle 50 when transmitting a guidance information request, which is a request for guidance on a charging facility, to the charging facility guidance device 30. The mobile terminal 20 can be realized by a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a notebook computer, or other portable electronic device. A user can communicate with the charging facility guidance device 30 via an in-vehicle navigation device 10 installed in a vehicle 50 or a mobile terminal 20 carried by the user. In this embodiment, the user can transmit and receive data to and from the charging facility guidance device 30 from the vehicle 50 or the mobile terminal 20. Therefore, the vehicle 50 or the mobile terminal 20 of the user of the vehicle 50 can be recognized as "communication with the vehicle side" from the perspective of the charging facility information device 30. In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "the vehicle 50 or the mobile terminal 20 of the user of the vehicle" is also referred to as "the vehicle side."

[0022] As a process unique to this embodiment, the charging facility guidance device 30 is a device that, in response to a charging facility guidance request from a vehicle, creates benefit information for the vehicle at the charging facility based on battery capacity information of the vehicle and charging facility information related to the charging facility. The charging facility information device 30 can be realized by installing software specific to this embodiment in a general-purpose server device, for example. The server device may be one computer or a distributed system configured from multiple computers.

[0023] The charging facility information processing device 40 is installed, for example, at each charging facility and manages the usage status of the charging equipment provided at that charging facility. Here, examples of the usage status of a charger (charging equipment) include whether it is in use (a vehicle is being charged), available, and whether it has been reserved. The charging facility information processing device 40 reports the usage status of the charging equipment provided at each charging facility to the charging facility guide device 30 periodically or upon request. Note that the charging facility information processing device 40 may be configured to manage the usage status of multiple charging facilities. Furthermore, when the vehicle selects, as a charging destination, charging equipment provided at a charging facility that provides special benefit information output from the charging facility guidance device 30, the charging facility information processing device 40 receives information related to the vehicle that will use the charging facility (also referred to as "facility guidance result") from the charging facility guidance device 30. In this way, the charging facility information processing device 40 sets the charging equipment of the charging facility to a reserved state. Furthermore, when a vehicle 50 that has used a charging facility guided by the charging facility guidance device 30 completes charging at the charging facility, the vehicle 50 notifies the charging facility guidance device 30 that charging at the charging facility has been completed. By doing so, for example, the charging facility guidance device 30 can create billing information (a fee for sending a customer) for the charging facility and transmit it to the charging facility information processing device 40. The charging facility information processing device 40 can process the fee for sending a customer.

[0024] As described above, the vehicle 50 is a vehicle that is equipped with the in-vehicle navigation device 10 and is capable of communicating with the charging facility information device 30.

[0025] The communication network 60 is realized by a network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network, or a network that combines these. The overall configuration of the charging facility guidance system 1 has been described above. Next, each configuration will be described.

[0026] <Functional Blocks of the In-Vehicle Navigation Device 10> The functional blocks of the in-vehicle navigation device 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle navigation device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, a sensor unit 14, a display unit 15, and an input unit 16.

[0027] The control unit 11 is composed of an arithmetic processing unit such as a microprocessor, and controls each unit constituting the device 10. The control unit 11 will be described in detail later.

[0028] The storage unit 12 is configured with a semiconductor memory or the like, and stores control programs called firmware and an operating system, a program that transmits a guidance information request, which is a request for guidance on charging facilities to the charging facility guidance device 30, receives and displays benefit information on charging facilities included in a collection of charging facility information present within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle 50, from the charging facility guidance device 30, and, when a displayed charging facility (charging equipment) is selected, executes a function of transmitting, for example, a reservation request to the charging facility guidance device 30, and further various other information such as map information. In the drawing, map information (navigation map) 121, location information 122, and identification information 123 are illustrated as information stored in the storage unit 12.

[0029] The map information (navigation map) 121 is used for navigation, for example, and is a map in which roads are represented by nodes and links. The position information 122 is the position information of the in-vehicle navigation device 10 (i.e., the position information of the vehicle 50) measured by the sensor unit 14. The position information 122 includes not only information indicating the measured position but also the positioning time, which is the time when the positioning was performed. The identification information 123 is information for identifying the vehicle 50, and includes an identification ID that uniquely identifies the vehicle, vehicle name information, and / or vehicle model information. The location information 122 and the identification information 123 are information that is transmitted when a guidance information request, which is a request for guidance on a charging facility, is transmitted to the charging facility guidance device 30. As will be described later, the battery capacity of the vehicle is uniquely associated with the vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information, and the charging facility guidance device 30 can calculate the battery capacity of the vehicle based on the guidance information request.

[0030] The communication unit 13 has a DSP or the like, and conforms to standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), and 5G (5th Generation), or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), to realize wireless communication and wired communication between other devices (for example, the charging facility guidance device 30) and the vehicle side via the communication network 60. The communication unit 13 is used, for example, to transmit a connection request, vehicle position information, guidance request information, and the like from the vehicle side, and conversely, to receive charging facility information that provides benefit information. However, there is no particular restriction on the data exchanged between the communication unit 13 and other devices, and information other than the above may also be exchanged.

[0031] The sensor unit 14 is configured by, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc. The sensor unit 14 has a function as a position detection means for detecting position information, and receives a GPS satellite signal using the GPS sensor to measure the position information (latitude and longitude) of the in-vehicle navigation device 10.

[0032] Display unit 15 is configured with a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence panel. Display unit 15 displays an image in response to an instruction from control unit 11. Examples of information displayed by display unit 15 include charging facility information output from charging facility guidance device 30, which is about charging facilities that are present within a predetermined range from the vehicle's position and that provide special benefit information, and various user interfaces.

[0033] The input unit 16 is composed of input devices (not shown), such as physical switches called a numeric keypad and a touch panel provided over the display surface of the display unit 15. By outputting a signal to the control unit 11 based on an operation input from the input unit 16, for example, pressing a numeric keypad by the user or touching the touch panel, a selection operation by the user can be realized.

[0034] In addition, although not shown, the in-vehicle navigation device 10 may also be equipped with a speaker, a microphone, etc. In this way, it is possible to output information by voice from the speaker, and various selections and instructions by the driver inputted by voice via the microphone can be inputted to the control unit 11 using voice recognition technology.

[0035] Next, the control unit 11 will be described in detail. The control unit 11 is configured by a microprocessor having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random access memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), I / O (Input / Output), etc. The CPU executes each program read from the ROM or storage unit 12, and during execution, reads information from the RAM, ROM, and storage unit 12, writes information to the RAM and storage unit 12, and exchanges signals with the communication unit 13, sensor unit 14, display unit 15, and input unit 16. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized by the cooperation of hardware and software (programs).

[0036] The control unit 11 includes, as functional blocks, a route guidance unit 111, a guidance request transmission unit 112, a benefit information presentation unit 113, and a charging facility reservation transmission unit 114.

[0037] The route guidance unit 111 is a part that performs route guidance processing to a destination such as a general facility input or selected by the user. The route guidance processing to the destination is equivalent to the route guidance processing in a general car navigation system, and is a function known to those skilled in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The route guidance unit 111 can provide route guidance to a charging facility that provides special benefit information provided by the charging facility guidance device 30, with the charging facility being set as the destination.

[0038] The guidance request transmitting unit 112 transmits guidance request information including the position information of the vehicle 50 and a request for guidance on the charging facility to the charging facility guidance device 30 by wireless communication using the communication unit 13.

[0039] The benefit information presentation unit 113 receives facility information and benefit information about charging facilities located within a predetermined range from the current location of the vehicle 50 from the charging facility guidance device 30, and can provide the facility information and benefit information to the user by, for example, outputting the facility information to the display unit 15. Examples of the output format to the display unit 15 include a list format and a display format using icons on a displayed map. This allows the user to select the charging facility by, for example, tapping a position indicating the charging facility on the display unit 15 (which has a touch panel) or by tapping on the list. Note that the output format is not limited to this. The user can set any output format. Specifically, the privilege information presentation unit 113 can display the positions of charging facilities to which privilege information has been added on a map around the current location of the vehicle 50, for example, on the display unit 15, based on the facility information and privilege information received from the charging facility guidance device 30. Note that, if there are multiple charging facilities to which privilege information has been added near the vehicle 50, the display unit 15 may be configured to display information about the multiple charging facilities in a scrollable manner. Note that the privilege information presentation unit 113 may also separately present charging facilities without privilege information, in addition to charging facilities to which privilege information has been added.

[0040] When a charging destination is selected by the user based on the facility information and benefit information received from the charging facility guidance device 30, the charging facility reservation transmission unit 114 can transmit identification information of the charging facility selected by the user (including a charging facility ID if the charging facility has multiple charging facilities) and identification information of the benefit information (if there is multiple pieces of benefit information and the user selects one from among them) to the charging facility guidance device 30. At that time, if the user specifies the charging time and charging duration, this information may also be transmitted. The configuration of the in-vehicle navigation device 10 has been described above.

[0041] <Functional blocks included in the mobile terminal 20> Next, functional blocks included in the mobile terminal 20 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, a sensor unit 24, a display unit 25, and an input unit 26. Here, the control unit 21, the memory unit 22, the communication unit 23, the sensor unit 24, the display unit 25, and the input unit 26 have functions equivalent to those of the functional blocks of the same names included in the above-mentioned in-vehicle navigation device 10. In other words, by replacing the term "in-vehicle navigation device 10" in the above-mentioned description of the in-vehicle navigation device 10 with "portable terminal 20," the description of each functional block of the portable terminal 20 can be achieved, and therefore redundant description will be omitted. It is preferable that the user's mobile terminal 20 is linked to identification information of the vehicle used by the user and registered in advance in the charging facility guidance device 30. Specifically, for example, it is preferable that the login ID used when logging in to the charging facility guidance device 30 is associated with identification information of the vehicle 50. This allows the charging facility guidance device to recognize both the user's mobile terminal 20 and the vehicle 50 as "vehicle sides." The configuration of the mobile terminal 20 has been described above.

[0042] <Functional Blocks of Charging Facility Guidance Device 30> Next, functional blocks included in charging facility information device 30 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, charging facility guidance device 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, a display unit , and an input unit .

[0044] The control unit 31 is configured with an arithmetic processing device such as a microprocessor, and controls each unit that configures the charging facility information device 30. Details of the control unit 31 will be described later.

[0045] The storage unit 32 is configured with a semiconductor memory or the like, and stores various programs such as control programs called firmware and operating systems, programs for performing charging facility guidance processing, and other various information such as map information. For this reason, the storage unit 32 has storage units such as a map information storage unit 321 and a vehicle information storage unit 322, as shown in Fig. 4 . These storage units may be provided individually in the storage unit 32, or may be configured as an integrated unit.

[0046] The map information storage unit 321 stores charging facility information relating to charging facilities for charging vehicles. The charging facility information includes, for example, identification information of the charging facility (facility ID), facility name, facility type (category type), telephone number, address, business hours, location information specified by latitude and longitude, output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) equipped at the charging facility, and special offer information that is set in advance for the charger (charging equipment) and associates the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) with the vehicle's battery capacity. Note that if a charging facility has multiple chargers (charging equipment), the charging facility information includes, for each charger (charging equipment), identification information (charger ID) for identifying the charger (charging equipment) and the performance of the charger. In this embodiment, the special benefit information can be set arbitrarily for each charging facility. In this way, even if the chargers (charging equipment) have the same performance, different charging facilities can set unique special benefit information for reasons specific to the charging facility.

[0047] As a modified example, even if charging facilities are different, the same benefit information may be set as long as the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) is the same. In this case, instead of storing benefit information for each charging facility in the charging facility information, for example, a benefit information table (not shown) that associates benefit information with the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) and the battery capacity of the vehicle may be stored in the storage unit 32, and the benefit information creation unit 313 (described later) may create benefit information for the vehicle by referring to the benefit information table (not shown). In this case, the benefit information table (not shown) may be an internal table of the benefit information creation unit 313 (described later). Before describing the charging facility information, a brief description will be given below of charging facilities and chargers (charging equipment).

[0048] Charging facilities are classified based on the location of the charger (charging equipment), and include off-site charging, excluding home charging (charging at a private location such as the home). Examples of off-site charging include public facilities along major roads during long-distance travel, such as highway service areas, parking areas, and roadside stations, car dealerships that sell electric vehicles, frequently visited facilities such as convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping malls, and restaurants, hotels and other accommodations where cars are parked for long periods of time, and paid parking lots where cars are temporarily parked. The facility ID is unique identification information assigned to each facility, and is preferably assigned for each facility type. Here, an example of the facility type is the store type of the charging facility described above. Here, the identification information (facility ID) of the charging facility may be identification information of a general facility. Each facility ID has location information (map information) that is specified by, for example, latitude and longitude, where the facility is located. The map information may include display map data for displaying the background of roads and road maps, etc., location information and type information of nodes (e.g., road intersections, bends, endpoints, etc.), location information and type information of links which are routes connecting each node, and road network data including link cost data relating to cost information of all links (e.g., distance, required time, etc.).

[0049] Charging facilities are equipped with chargers (also referred to as "charging equipment") that users can use, and some charging facilities are equipped with multiple chargers (charging equipment). Furthermore, some charging facilities are equipped with multiple types of chargers (charging equipment) (for example, normal chargers and rapid chargers, which will be described later). For this reason, it is desirable to assign a charger ID (charging equipment ID), which is unique identification information, to each charger (charging equipment) installed at the charging facility. For each charger ID (charging equipment ID), the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) and information about special offers when the vehicle 50 uses the charger (charging equipment) to charge are set and associated in advance. Next, the charger output performance (charging speed) and special offer information included in the charging facility information will be specifically described.

[0050] First, we will explain the output performance (charging speed) of chargers (charging equipment). Chargers (charging equipment) are broadly classified into normal charging and rapid charging. Normal charging refers to charging with an output performance of 3 kW using, for example, an AC power source (200 V / 15 A or 100 V / 30 A). In addition to 3 kW chargers, there are also high-output normal chargers with a high output of 6 kW. Rapid charging, on the other hand, refers to charging with an output of, for example, 20 kW or more using, for example, a DC power source. Rapid charging has various output performances, and can be classified as, for example, a medium-speed charger with an output performance of 20 kW to 30 kW, a rapid charger with an output performance of 30 kW to 50 kW, an ultra-rapid charger with an output performance of 70 kW, or an ultra-rapid charger with an output performance of 90 kW or more. Note that the above classifications and types are merely examples, and rapid charging is classified into stages by those skilled in the art. As charging facility information, output performance information (charging speed information) of the charging facility is set corresponding to each charger ID (charging facility ID) installed at the charging facility. As an example, as illustrated above, the output performance (charging speed) of a charger (charging facility) can be classified into normal charging of 3 kWh and 6 kWh, a medium-speed charger with an output capacity of 20 kW to 30 kW, a rapid charger with an output capacity of 40 kW to 50 kW, an ultra-rapid charger with an output capacity of 70 kW, and an ultra-rapid charger with an output capacity of 90 kW or more. At charging facilities, based on user behavior at the facility, medium-speed chargers are often installed at convenience stores, roadside stations, home centers, etc., which correspond to so-called route charging, while rapid-speed chargers are installed at public facilities along major roads for long-distance travel, such as service areas and parking areas on expressways.Furthermore, hotels and other facilities, which correspond to so-called destination charging, tend to have many standard chargers installed.

[0051] Next, we will explain the benefit information of the charger (charging facility). Each charger (charging facility) installed in the charging facility has preset benefit information to be given to the electric vehicle (user) in accordance with the battery capacity (also called "battery capacity" or "power amount") of the electric vehicle that can be charged by the charger (charging facility).

[0052] As mentioned above, regarding the battery capacity of electric vehicles, for example, electric vehicles that were commercially available around 2010 had a battery capacity of around 20 kWh, but electric vehicles that are now commercially available around 2020 range from small-capacity vehicles with a battery capacity of 30 kWh to 40 kWh, to medium-capacity vehicles with a battery capacity of 50 kWh to 60 kWh, and large-capacity vehicles with a battery capacity of 70 kWh to 90 kWh or more. For convenience, vehicles with a battery capacity of around 20 kWh are classified as small-capacity vehicles. The above-described classification of electric vehicles into large and small battery capacities is merely an example, and may be set arbitrarily by the administrator of the charging facility information system.

[0053] On the other hand, as mentioned above, the output performance (charging speed) of chargers (charging equipment) includes, for example, normal charging of 3kWh and 6kWh, medium-speed chargers with an output performance of 20kW to 30kW, rapid chargers with an output performance of 40kW to 50kW, ultra-rapid chargers with an output performance of 70kW, and ultra-fast chargers with an output performance of 90kW or more. In this case, for example, a small-capacity electric vehicle (40 kWh electric vehicle) can be fully charged to 90% in 12 hours (for a 3 kWh battery) or 6 hours (for a 6 kWh battery) using a standard charger (charging facility). Therefore, with the objective of promoting the spread of small-capacity electric vehicles targeted at users who mainly drive around town, while taking into consideration the environmental impact on society as a whole, and the spread of charging facilities that match these vehicles, it may be possible to provide users of small-capacity electric vehicles with the greatest benefit information when the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging facility) is a standard charger.

[0054] Conversely, if the output performance (charging speed) of a charger (charging equipment) is higher than that of a rapid charger, for example, if the performance of the rechargeable battery installed in a small-capacity electric vehicle is lower than the output performance of the rapid charger, providing advantageous information compared to medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles may be perceived as encouraging vehicles that are not compatible with high performance to monopolize the rapid charger, which is not desirable. As described above, by setting the benefit information, charging of small-capacity electric vehicles can be guided to low-performance chargers (charging equipment), including standard chargers, that have output performance below a preset level. This will promote the spread of electric vehicles with small battery capacities and low-performance chargers (charging equipment), including standard chargers, while taking into consideration the environmental burden on society as a whole. For small-capacity electric vehicles, for example, the small battery capacity may be further divided into multiple stages, so that the benefit information for vehicles with smaller battery capacity stages is more advantageous or not disadvantageous.

[0055] Next, we will explain the benefit information for charging medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles. If medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles are charged using a standard charger, it is expected that the standard charger will be occupied for a long period of time. For this reason, providing users of medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles with benefit information when using a standard charger may be perceived as encouraging the use of medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles to use the standard charger, which is not desirable. When charging medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles, it is considered common practice to select quick charging or high-power quick charging as the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment). Therefore, it is considered unlikely that there is a need to provide special benefit information to users of medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles when selecting quick charging or high-power quick charging. Furthermore, given that the purpose of the present invention is to promote the spread of electric vehicles with small battery capacities and standard chargers, with consideration given to the environmental impact of society as a whole, it is considered unlikely that there is a need to provide special benefit information to users of medium- and large-capacity electric vehicles. In addition, when a charging facility is equipped with rapid charging equipment and high-power rapid charging equipment, it is thought that there will be an incentive to guide users of medium-capacity electric vehicles to the rapid charging equipment and users of large-capacity electric vehicles to the high-power rapid charging equipment. Therefore, it may be configured so that users of medium-capacity electric vehicles are given special privilege information when they use rapid charging equipment, for example, and users of large-capacity electric vehicles are given special privilege information when they use a rapid-type charger with an output capacity of 40 kW to 50 kW, for example, or an ultra-rapid-type charger with an output capacity of 70 kW.

[0056] Specifically, the special benefit information may include, for example, priority reservation of the charger (charging facility) and / or a discount on the charging unit price. To summarize the above, it is preferable that the benefit information set in advance in the chargers (charging equipment) provided in the charging facility be configured as follows.

[0057] The benefit information included in the charging facility information relating to each charging facility is set in advance for each charger (charging equipment) provided at the charging facility. Specifically, for example, when the output performance (charging speed) of a charger (charging facility) is equal to or lower than a preset output performance (charging speed), special benefit information may be given to electric vehicles with battery capacities equal to or lower than a preset value (for example, small capacity). Here, the special benefit information may include, for example, priority reservation of the charger (charging facility) and / or a discount on the charging price. Furthermore, for electric vehicles with a battery capacity equal to or less than a predetermined value (e.g., small capacity), the battery capacity may be further divided into multiple stages so that the benefit information for vehicles with a smaller battery capacity stage is more advantageous. Note that the predetermined battery capacity is not limited to a battery capacity included in the small capacity category. For example, the predetermined battery capacity may be a battery capacity included in the medium capacity category. If the charger (charging equipment) provided at the charging facility is a rapid charger or a high-power rapid charger, special benefit information may not be set for that charger. However, if the charging facility is equipped with rapid charging equipment and high-power rapid charging equipment, special benefit information may be provided to users of medium-capacity electric vehicles when they use a medium-speed charger, and special benefit information may be provided to users of large-capacity electric vehicles when they use a high-power rapid charging equipment.

[0058] The above describes the benefit information provided to (users of) an electric vehicle that is set for each charging facility based on the battery capacity of the electric vehicle and the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging facility) used to charge the electric vehicle, but this is not limiting. As mentioned above, benefit information may be set to encourage the use of a rapid charger or a high-output rapid charger for medium-capacity and large-capacity electric vehicles. As described above, the bonus information can be created so that a vehicle with a small battery capacity is more advantageous than a vehicle with a large battery capacity. As a modified example, as described above, even if the charging facilities are different, the same benefit information may be set if the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) is the same. The map information storage unit 321 that stores charging facility information related to charging facilities for charging vehicles has been described above.

[0059] Next, the vehicle information storage unit 322 will be described. The vehicle information storage unit 322 of the storage unit 32 stores information that associates the vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID) of the user's electric vehicle registered in the charging facility guidance device 30, the vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information linked to the vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID), and the battery capacity information of the vehicle. In this way, when a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle or the terminal of the user of the vehicle) logs in to the charging facility guidance device 30 using, for example, vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID), and guidance request information including vehicle location information and a request for guidance on a charging facility is sent from the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle or the terminal of the user of the vehicle), the guidance request input unit 311 described later can obtain vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information and battery capacity information of the vehicle linked to the identification information (vehicle identification ID) of the vehicle, and can provide the identification information, location information, and battery capacity information of the vehicle 50 to the charging facility search unit 312 and the benefit information creation unit 313. The vehicle information storage unit 322 may store vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID) of the electric vehicle, and vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information linked to the vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID), and a battery capacity table by vehicle model information (not shown) that associates the vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information with battery capacity information may be stored in the storage unit 32, so that the guidance request input unit 311, described later, may acquire the battery capacity of the vehicle by referring to the battery capacity table by vehicle model information (not shown). In this case, the battery capacity table by vehicle model information (not shown) may be an internal table of the guidance request input unit 311, described later.

[0060] The communication unit 33 has a DSP and the like, and conforms to standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), to realize wireless communication or wired communication with other devices, for example, the vehicle side, and wireless communication or wired communication with the charging facility information processing device 40 via the communication network 60. The communication unit 33 is used, for example, to receive connection requests, vehicle position information, guidance request information, etc. from the vehicle side, and conversely, to transmit charging facility information and benefit information to the vehicle side. Furthermore, the communication unit 33 is used, for example, to transmit information related to the vehicle using the charging facility and benefit information to the charging facility information processing device 40, and conversely, to receive usage status of the charging facility and charging completion information from the charging facility information processing device 40. However, there is no particular restriction on the data exchanged between the communication unit 33 and other devices, and information other than the above may also be exchanged.

[0061] Next, the control unit 31 will be described in detail. The control unit 31 is configured by a microprocessor having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random access memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), I / O (Input / Output), etc. The CPU executes each program read from the ROM or storage unit 32, and during execution, reads information from the RAM, ROM, and storage unit 32, writes information to the RAM and storage unit 32, and exchanges signals with the communication unit 33, display unit 34, and input unit 35. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized by the cooperation of hardware and software (programs). In this way, the control unit 31 executes each program to cause the charging facility guidance device 30, which is a computer, to function as a predetermined means (hereinafter collectively referred to as a "charging facility guidance control unit"). Furthermore, the control unit 31 executes each program to cause the charging facility guidance device 30 to execute predetermined steps (hereinafter collectively referred to as "charging facility guidance steps"). Hereinafter, the functions of the control unit 31 will be described from the perspective of the charging facility guidance control unit. Note that a description from the perspective of the charging facility guidance control steps (method) will be omitted because it can be explained by replacing "unit" with "step."

[0062] Control unit 31 includes, as functional blocks, a charging facility interface unit 310, a guidance request input unit 311, a charging facility search unit 312, a benefit information creation unit 313, a benefit information output unit 314, and a charging facility reservation input unit 315.

[0063] <Charging facility interface unit 310> The charging facility interface unit 310 periodically acquires the usage status of the chargers (charging facilities) provided at each charging facility from, for example, a charging facility information processing device 40 that manages the chargers (charging facilities) at each charging facility, and stores the information in the storage unit 32. Here, the usage status of the charger (charging facility) may include, for example, whether the charger is in use (charging), whether it is available, whether it has been reserved, etc. As a result, the bonus information output unit 314 described later can output bonus information to the vehicle for each vehicle that has sent a guidance information request, along with the usage status of chargers (charging equipment) provided at charging facilities located within a specified range from the vehicle's location. Furthermore, when the vehicle selects, as a charging destination, a charging facility that provides special benefit information output from the special benefit information output unit 314 (described later), the charging facility interface unit 310 may transmit charging facility guide information together with the vehicle information to the charging facility information processing device 40. This allows the charging facility to plan the use of the charger (charging facility) based on the special benefit information. Furthermore, when a vehicle using the benefit information completes charging at the charging facility, the charging facility interface unit 310 can obtain a notification that the vehicle has completed charging at the charging facility from the charging facility information processing device 40. In this case, the charging facility interface unit 310 may notify the charging facility information processing device 40 of reward information as a reward for sending the customer.

[0064] <Guidance request input unit 311> The guidance request input unit 311 receives, from the vehicle side, identification information and location information of the vehicle 50, and a guidance information request, which is a request for guidance on charging facilities, via the communication unit 33. Here, the identification information of the vehicle 50 is linked to the vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information of the vehicle. The guidance request input unit 311 can acquire battery capacity information of the vehicle based on the vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information of the vehicle by referring to the vehicle information storage unit 322. The guidance request input unit 311 may provide the identification information, location information, and battery capacity information of the vehicle 50 received from the vehicle side to the charging facility search unit 312 and the benefit information creation unit 313.

[0065] <Charging facility search unit 312> The charging facility search unit 312 will be described. For each vehicle that has transmitted a guidance information request, the charging facility search unit 312 can search for charging facilities that are located within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle, for each vehicle, based on the position information of the vehicle 50, by referring to the charging facility information stored in the map information storage unit 321. Here, the predetermined range may be a range based on the distance from the position of the vehicle, or may be an administrative division that includes the position of the vehicle. Furthermore, the predetermined range may be specified from the vehicle side. In this way, the charging facility search unit 312 temporarily stores, for each vehicle that has received the guidance information request, a set of charging facility information searched for for that vehicle in the storage unit 32, and notifies the special benefit information creation unit 313. In this way, for each vehicle that has received the guidance information request, the special benefit information creation unit 313, which will be described later, can create special benefit information to be provided to that vehicle for each charging facility included in the set of charging facility information, based on the battery capacity information of that vehicle and the set of charging facility information that exists within a predetermined range from the position of that vehicle.

[0066] <Bonus Information Creation Department 313> The benefit information creation unit 313 creates benefit information based on the charging facility information searched for each vehicle, in accordance with the battery capacity indicated by the vehicle's battery capacity information, so that vehicles with small battery capacities are given an advantage. Specifically, the benefit information creating unit 313 refers to the map information storage unit 321 to acquire the output performance (charging speed) and benefit information of the charger (charging equipment) of each charging facility included in the set of charging facility information. The bonus information creation unit 313 acquires bonus information corresponding to the battery capacity of the vehicle and the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) at each charging facility. In this embodiment, bonus information can be provided so that a vehicle with a small battery capacity is given more advantageous bonus information than a vehicle with a large battery capacity. For example, if the battery capacity of a vehicle is small and the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) is equal to or lower than a preset output performance (charging speed), bonus information can be provided to the vehicle. In this way, the vehicle side (privilege information presentation unit 113 or 213) that receives the privilege information can select a charging facility that includes charging equipment that can provide privilege information from among charging facilities located within a specified range from the vehicle's location, and the vehicle side (charging facility reservation transmission unit 114 or 214) can reserve charging equipment that the charging facility has. In the present embodiment, the processing of the privilege information creating unit 313 has been described based on the privilege information exemplified in the map information storage unit 321, but the present invention is not limited to this. As mentioned above, in a charging facility equipped with, for example, rapid charging equipment and high-output rapid charging equipment, if the vehicle's battery capacity is medium or large, and there is a charging facility that has set bonus information according to the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment), it is possible to select a charging facility that includes charging equipment that can provide bonus information for a medium or large capacity vehicle from among the charging facilities located within a specified range from the vehicle's position. In addition, in this embodiment, the bonus information can be set arbitrarily for each charging facility, but as shown in the modified example described above, even if the charging facilities are different, if the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) is the same, the same bonus information can be set.By storing a bonus information table (not shown) in the memory unit 32 that associates bonus information with the output performance (charging speed) of the charger (charging equipment) and the battery capacity of the vehicle, the bonus information creation unit 313 can create bonus information for the vehicle by referring to the bonus information table (not shown).

[0067] <Benefit information output unit 314> The special benefit information output unit 314 can provide the vehicle with special benefit information together with the usage status of each charging facility included in the collection of charging facility information that exists within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle. Specifically, for example, the special offer information output unit 314 may output the location of a charging facility that provides special offer information as an icon or a display tile, and may also output the content of the special offer information. In this case, it may be possible to not output information about charging facilities that do not provide special offer information. This allows vehicle users to use charging facilities that provide special offer information, for example. The special offer information output unit 314 may be configured to output the information in a list format. If it is not possible to output charging facilities that provide special benefit information, a prompt to select whether to widen the search range for charging facilities may be output.

[0068] <Charging facility reservation input unit 315> When a charging facility for which benefit information is provided is selected by a user from the vehicle side, the charging facility reservation input unit 315 provides the selected charging facility information together with the user's vehicle information to the charging facility interface unit 310. Note that when the user specifies a charging time and charging duration, this information is also provided to the charging facility interface unit 310. In this way, as described above, the charging facility interface unit 310 can transmit charging facility guide information together with the vehicle information to the charging facility information processing device 40. The configuration of the charging facility guidance device 30 has been described above.

[0069] Finally, we will explain the charging facility information processing device 40. As described above, the charging facility information processing device 40 is installed, for example, at each charging facility, and manages the usage status of the charging equipment provided at the charging facility. As shown in FIG. 5, the charging facility information processing device 40 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, a communication unit 43, a display unit 44, and an input unit 45.

[0070] The control unit 41 is configured with an arithmetic processing device such as a microprocessor, and controls each unit constituting the charging facility information processing device 40. The control unit 41 will be described later.

[0071] The storage unit 42 stores the usage status (for example, in use (vehicle charging), charging completed, available, reservation status, etc.) of each charger (charging equipment) provided in the charging facility to be managed, together with user information and date and time information. Furthermore, among the charging equipment provided in the charging facility to be managed, charging equipment having benefit information is stored in association with the benefit information. Furthermore, in the usage status of the charger (charging equipment), if the user is a user from the charging facility information device 30, information indicating that the user is from the charging facility information device 30 is stored. Furthermore, if the user is a user from the charging facility information device 30, billing information (fee for sending the customer) sent from the charging facility information device 30 is stored.

[0072] The communication unit 43 is used, for example, to receive information related to vehicles using the charging facility and special benefit information from the charging facility information device 30, and conversely, to transmit the usage status of the charger (charging equipment) and charging completion information to the charging facility information device 30.

[0073] The control unit 41 includes, as functional blocks, a charging facility interface unit 410 and a guidance device interface unit 411.

[0074] The charging facility interface unit 410 periodically acquires the usage status of each charger (charging facility) from each charger (charging facility) included in the charging facility to be managed, and stores the information in the storage unit 42.

[0075] The guidance device interface unit 411 reports the usage status of the charger (charging facility) to the charging facility guidance device 30 periodically or upon request. Furthermore, when a vehicle selects, as a charging destination, charging equipment provided at a charging facility that provides special benefit information output from charging facility guidance device 30, charging facility interface unit 410 receives information related to the vehicle that will use the charging facility from charging facility guidance device 30. In this way, guidance device interface unit 411 sets the charging equipment at the charging facility to a reserved state. Furthermore, guidance device interface unit 411 may receive reward information as a reward for sending the customer from charging facility guidance device 30. Conversely, when a vehicle 50 that has used the charging facility as guided by the charging facility guidance device 30 completes charging at the charging equipment, the guidance device interface unit 411 notifies the charging facility guidance device 30 that the vehicle 50 has completed charging at the charging equipment. The configuration of the charging facility information processing device 40 has been described above.

[0076] The above describes embodiments of each functional unit of the charging facility guidance system 1 of the present invention based on the configuration of the vehicle-side device, the mobile terminal 20, the charging facility guidance device 30, the charging facility information processing device 40, and the charging facility. Note that the embodiments of each functional unit included in the charging facility guidance device 30 of the present invention can be deployed so as to be executed by a single computer, or in a distributed manner on multiple computers located in one location or distributed across several locations and interconnected by a communication network. Furthermore, the system can also be configured using multiple virtual computers on the cloud.

[0077] <Operation of this embodiment> Next, the operation of charging facility guidance processing of charging facility guidance device 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. Here, Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of charging facility guidance processing in a case where charging facility guidance device 30 receives a guidance information request from the vehicle side and then provides charging facility information including charging equipment that can provide benefit information to the vehicle side. 6, it is assumed that the charging facility guidance device 30 has already registered charging facility information including vehicle identification information (vehicle identification ID) of the vehicle 50, vehicle name information and / or vehicle model information, and benefit information. In addition, although not shown, it is assumed that the charging facility guidance device 30 periodically acquires the usage status of the charging facility from the charging facility information processing device 40 in the background. In the following processing flow, if a charging facility that provides special benefit information cannot be found within a predetermined range from the vehicle's location, the predetermined range is expanded and the search is repeated. However, this is not limited to this processing flow. If a charging facility that provides special benefit information cannot be found within a predetermined range from the vehicle's location, the search process may be stopped and the vehicle may be notified that a charging facility that provides special benefit information could not be found, although this is not shown in the figures.

[0078] Referring to the flowchart in FIG. 6, in step S10, charging facility guidance device 30 (guidance request input unit 311) is logged in from the vehicle side and receives guidance request information including vehicle position information and a request for guidance on a charging facility.

[0079] In step S11, charging facility information device 30 (information request input unit 311) acquires the battery capacity of vehicle 50 that has transmitted the information request by referring to a battery capacity table by vehicle model information (not shown).

[0080] In step S12, the charging facility guidance device 30 (charging facility search unit 312) searches for charging facilities that are present within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle 50, and temporarily stores a set of charging facility information that is present within the predetermined range (hereinafter also referred to as the “first set”) in the memory unit 32.

[0081] In step S13, if the first set is an empty set, the charging facility information device 30 (charging facility search unit 312) proceeds to step S20. If the first set is not an empty set, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0082] In step S14, the charging facility guidance device 30 (benefit information creation unit 313) acquires a set of charging facility information (hereinafter referred to as the "second set") that is equipped with charging equipment that provides benefit information for the battery capacity of the vehicle 50, from among the charging facilities included in the first set, and temporarily stores it in the memory unit 32.

[0083] In step S15, if the second set is an empty set, charging facility guide device 30 (privilege information creation unit 313) proceeds to step S20. If the second set is not an empty set, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0084] In step S16, the charging facility guidance device 30 (privilege information output unit 314) adds the usage status of each charging facility to the charging facility information that has charging facilities that provide privilege information, obtained based on the second set, and outputs the information to the vehicle side (privilege information presentation unit 113 or 213). End processing.

[0085] In step S20, the charging facility guidance device 30 (charging facility search unit 312) widens the search range, and then proceeds to step S12.

[0086] According to the above processing flow, charging facility guidance device 30 can provide charging facility information, including charging facilities that can provide special benefit information, to the vehicle after receiving guidance information from the vehicle side. Furthermore, the vehicle side can display the information on, for example, display unit 15 or display unit 25 using special benefit information presentation unit 113 or 213, and can make a reservation, for example, by selecting charging facilities that the vehicle has.

[0087] <About hardware and software> Each of the devices included in the charging facility guidance system can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Furthermore, the input / output method for charging facility guidance including benefit information, which is performed by the cooperation of each of the devices included in the charging facility guidance system, can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Here, "realized by software" means that it is realized by one or more computers reading and executing one or more programs.

[0088] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be supplied to a computer by various types of transitory computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable media can supply the program to a computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire or optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0089] <Modification> The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment alone, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. <Variation 1> The functional configuration of the above-described embodiment may be modified. In other words, the functional configurations of Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 are merely examples and do not limit the functional configuration of the present embodiment. In other words, it is sufficient that each device has a function that can execute a series of processes related to the charging facility guidance function of the present invention as a whole, and the functional blocks used to realize this function are not particularly limited to the examples of Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5.

[0090] Furthermore, the devices for realizing these functional configurations are also merely examples in the above-described embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiments, charging facility information device 30 is described as being realized by a single server device or the like, but the functions of charging facility information device 30 may be distributed across multiple server devices as appropriate, forming a distributed processing system. Furthermore, the functions of charging facility information device 30 may be realized by using a virtual server function or the like on the cloud.

[0091] Furthermore, the display unit 34 and the input unit 35 described as being included in the charging facility guidance device 30 may be realized by devices separate from devices that realize other parts of the charging facility guidance device 30. For example, a device that realizes the control unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the communication unit 33 may be configured as a separate device from a device that realizes the display unit 34 and the input unit 35, and the two devices may communicate with each other via the communication network 60.

[0092] <Variation 2> As described above, the charging facility information stored in the memory unit 32 of the charging facility guidance device 30 can be configured to be created and updated as appropriate in response to input from the manager of the charging facility, for example, from a charging facility terminal device (not shown) installed at the charging facility. For example, after logging in to the charging facility information device 30 from a terminal device for a charging facility and the charging facility information device 30 determines that the user ID is valid, the charging facility information device 30 sends an editing processing screen for creating and updating charging facility information to the terminal device for the charging facility, thereby enabling editing of the charging facility information on the terminal device for the charging facility and creating and updating the charging facility information as appropriate in accordance with input from the manager of the charging facility, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1. Charging facility information system 10. In-vehicle navigation devices 20 Mobile devices 11,21 Control unit 111,211 Route Guidance Department 112,212 Guidance request sending unit 113,213 Special Offer Information Section 114,214 Charging facility reservation transmission unit 12,22 Storage section 121,221 Map Information 122,222 Location information 123,223 Identification Information 13,23 Communications Department 14,24 Sensor section 15,25 Display section 16,26 Input section 30 Charging facility information device 31 Control Unit 310 Charging facility interface unit 311 Guidance request input section 312 Charging Facility Search Department 313 Special Offer Information Creation Department 314 Bonus information output unit 315 Charging facility reservation input section 32 Storage section 321 Map information storage unit 322 Vehicle information storage unit 40 Charging facility information processing device 50 Vehicles (electric vehicles) 60 Communication Network

Claims

1. a map information storage unit that stores charging facility information related to charging facilities for charging the vehicle; a vehicle information storage unit that stores identification information and battery capacity information of a plurality of vehicles; a guidance request input unit that receives guidance request information including location information of the vehicle and a request for guidance on charging facilities from the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle; a charging facility search unit that searches for the charging facility located within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle based on position information of the vehicle included in the guidance request information; a benefit information creation unit that creates benefit information for the vehicle at the charging facility based on charging facility information related to the charging facility searched for by the charging facility search unit and battery capacity information of the vehicle corresponding to the identification information of the vehicle; a benefit information output unit that transmits the charging facility information and the benefit information to the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle; and The bonus information creation unit further When the guidance request is received from a plurality of the vehicles or the terminals of the vehicle users, the charging facility guidance device creates benefit information for the vehicle with a smaller battery capacity according to the battery capacity indicated by the battery capacity information of the vehicle.

2. The benefit information creation unit The charging facility information device according to claim 1 , wherein the special benefit information is generated as a priority reservation for the charging facility or a discount on a charging unit price.

3. the map information storage unit includes charging speed information of the charging facility in the charging facility information, The benefit information creation unit 3. The charging facility guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the special benefit information is created for the charging facility having charging speed information in which the charging speed is lower than a predetermined value.

4. A charging facility guidance method for providing guidance on charging facilities using a computer, comprising: The computer a map information storage step for storing charging facility information relating to charging facilities for charging the vehicle; a vehicle information storage step of storing identification information and battery capacity information of a plurality of vehicles; a guidance request input step of receiving guidance request information including location information of the vehicle and a request for guidance on charging facilities from the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle; a charging facility searching step of searching for the charging facility located within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle based on position information of the vehicle included in the guidance request information; a benefit information creation step of creating benefit information for the vehicle at the charging facility based on charging facility information related to the charging facility searched for in the charging facility search step and battery capacity information of the vehicle corresponding to the identification information of the vehicle; a benefit information output step of transmitting the charging facility information and the benefit information to the vehicle or a terminal of a user of the vehicle; and In the step of creating the special benefit information, When the guidance request is received from a plurality of the vehicles or the terminals of the vehicle users, the charging facility guidance method is characterized in that, depending on the battery capacity indicated by the battery capacity information of the vehicles, special benefit information is created so as to be advantageous for the vehicle with the smaller battery capacity.

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