Determination device

Abstract

To reduce the opportunity loss of a power supply vehicle due to unavailability of the power supply vehicle to charge a vehicle to be charged.SOLUTION: A determination device is a device configured to, in a charging service for charging a vehicle of a user by dispatching a power supply vehicle in response to a request from the user, make a determination on availability for charging the vehicle of the user based on the request, the determination device including a storage unit, a communication unit, and a control unit. The storage unit can store a plurality of pieces of charging result information including a set of charging place information indicating a charging place included in a request received in the past and charging availability information indicating whether the vehicle could be charged at the charging place. The communication unit can communicate with a user terminal carried by the user, and can receive a request from the user. The control unit searches the charging result information based on the charging place information of the vehicle included in the request, acquires the charging availability information related to the charging place, and determines availability for charging at the charging place based on the acquired charging availability information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a determination device that determines whether charging by a power supply vehicle is possible. [Background technology]

[0002] A system has been proposed for reserving a charging service provided by a business operator when the battery charge level of a vehicle powered by electricity falls below a predetermined value (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The service provided by the conventional technology involves a power supply vehicle from the business operator dispatching to the location of the vehicle requiring charging, and an operator of the power supply vehicle inserting a charging plug into the charging port of the vehicle to be charged to charge the battery. According to such conventional technology, a third party can charge the vehicle's battery even while the user is away from the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-121885 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even if a charging service provider attempts to charge a vehicle to be charged, charging may not be possible depending on the surrounding environment where the vehicle is parked. For example, if there is an obstacle such as a wall or fence in front of the charging port of the vehicle to be charged, the distance between the charging port and the obstacle may make it difficult for the provider to connect the connector of the charging cable of the power supply vehicle to the charging port. Also, if a user parks their vehicle in a parking lot of a facility used by many people, the power supply vehicle may not be able to enter the parking lot due to size or other restrictions. Furthermore, depending on the day of the week and time of day, the parking lot may be congested, preventing the power supply vehicle from parking close to the vehicle to be charged and charging.

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure, made in consideration of such circumstances, is to reduce opportunity losses for power supply vehicles that occur when the power supply vehicle arrives at the location of the vehicle to be charged and then finds out that charging is not possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A determination device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure that solves the above problem is a determination device that, in a charging service in which a power supply vehicle is dispatched in response to a request from a user to charge the user's vehicle, determines the possibility of charging the user's vehicle based on the request, and is characterized by comprising: a memory unit that can store multiple pieces of charging result information including a pair of charging location information indicating a charging location included in a previously received request and charging feasibility information indicating whether the vehicle was able to be charged at the charging location; a communication unit that can communicate with a user terminal carried by the user and is able to receive requests from the user; and a control unit that searches for the charging result information using the vehicle's charging location information included in the request, obtains the charging feasibility information at the charging location, and determines the possibility of charging at the charging location based on the obtained charging feasibility information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce opportunity losses for the power supply vehicle caused by finding out that charging is not possible after the power supply vehicle has arrived at the location of the vehicle to be charged. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system including a determination device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the determination device of FIG. 1 together with an example of charging result information stored in a storage unit. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a user terminal, an operator terminal, and an in-vehicle device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating charging of a target vehicle by a power supply vehicle. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of parking lot layouts when charging by a power supply vehicle is possible and when charging is not possible. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by the determination device to determine whether a requested vehicle can be charged. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings used in the following description are schematic. The dimensions and ratios in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual dimensions and ratios.

[0010] (Overall system configuration) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system 1 that dispatches a power supply vehicle 70 (see FIG. 4) to provide a charging service to a user's vehicle 60 (see FIG. 4) upon receiving a request from the user. The system 1 includes a determination device 10, a user terminal 20, an operator terminal 30, and a network 50 that connects these components so that they can communicate with each other. The system 1 may further include an on-board device 40 provided in the power supply vehicle 70. There may be multiple user terminals 20, multiple operator terminals 30, and multiple on-board devices 40.

[0011] The determination device 10 is a computer operated by a business that provides charging services. The determination device 10 can accept a request for charging of the vehicle 60 from a user terminal 20 carried by a user. The charging request includes a request for immediate charging and a request for reserving charging at a specified time. The charging request includes charging location information that indicates the location where the vehicle to be charged will be charged. When the determination device 10 receives a charging request from a user, it obtains charging feasibility information that indicates whether charging was possible at the same charging location in the past, and determines the possibility of charging at that charging location based on this information. The processing performed by the determination device 10 may be distributed and executed by multiple computers.

[0012] The user terminal 20 is an information processing device such as a personal computer (PC), smartphone, or portable information terminal owned by the user. When the charging service is provided as a membership-based service, the user uses the user terminal 20 to register information about the vehicle 60 in advance with the determination device 10. The registered information about the vehicle 60 includes identification information about the vehicle 60 and information for communicating with the vehicle 60. The identification information about the vehicle 60 includes information such as the vehicle registration number, model, and color. The information for communicating with the vehicle 60 includes, for example, the communication address of the vehicle 60. The user can use the user terminal 20 to request the determination device 10 to charge the vehicle 60. The request for charging to the determination device 10 may include the user's identification information, the desired location and date / time of charging, and the identification information of the vehicle 60.

[0013] The worker terminal 30 is a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone carried by a worker of a business providing a charging service. The worker terminal 30 can receive schedule information for charging using the power supply vehicle 70 from the determination device 10. The schedule information received by the worker terminal 30 includes the time, location, and identification information of the vehicle 60 for charging one or more vehicles 60. The worker goes to the charging location of the vehicle 60 to be charged and inputs the results of the charging work into the worker terminal 30. The worker inputs information on whether charging was successful or not. If charging was successful, the worker may input the time taken from the arrival of the power supply vehicle 70 at the location of the vehicle 60 to the start of charging the vehicle 60 and / or the time taken from the completion of charging the vehicle 60 to the departure from the location of the vehicle 60. The worker terminal 30 is equipped with a dedicated application that can assist or automate the worker's input of these information. The information input by the worker is transmitted to the determination device 10.

[0014] The on-vehicle device 40 is an information processing device mounted on the power supply vehicle 70. The on-vehicle device 40 is mounted on the power supply vehicle 70 and can perform various information processing. An operator may use the on-vehicle device 40 instead of the operator terminal 30 to receive information from the determination device 10 and transmit information to the determination device 10. When the operator terminal 30 is present, the on-vehicle device 40 is not an essential component.

[0015] The network 50 includes a wide area network such as the Internet. The determination device 10, the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 are connected to the wide area network via access lines. Examples of access lines include, but are not limited to, a third generation mobile communication system (3G), a fourth generation mobile communication system (4G) such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access).

[0016] (Configuration of the determination device) As shown in FIG. 2, the determination device 10 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13.

[0017] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The control unit 11 executes processes related to the operation of the determination device 10 while controlling each part of the determination device 10. In the following, the processes executed by the control unit 11 may be described as being executed by the determination device 10. The control unit 11 executes the processes of the determination device 10 described in the flow diagram of FIG. 6, which will be described later, in accordance with a program.

[0018] The communication unit 12 includes at least one external communication interface connected to the network 50. The external communication interface may be either a wired or wireless communication interface. The communication unit 12 receives information for processing in the determination device 10 from the outside (such as the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40), and transmits information obtained as a result of processing in the determination device 10 to the outside.

[0019] The storage unit 13 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or a combination of at least two of these. The storage unit 13 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 13 stores programs and data used in the operation of the determination device 10, and data obtained by the operation of the determination device 10. Each piece of information stored in the storage unit 13 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 50 via the communication unit 12, for example.

[0020] The storage unit 13 may store information about registered users who receive the charging service and the vehicles 60 owned by the users. The information may include information such as the user's identification information, the storage location (parking lot) of the vehicle 60, and the identification information of the vehicle 60. The storage location of the vehicle 60 may be registered in advance as a charging location where the charging service is received.

[0021] The storage unit 13 may further store a plurality of pieces of charging result information including a set of charging location information indicating a charging location included in a previously received charging request and charging feasibility information indicating whether or not the vehicle 60 was able to be charged at the charging location. Furthermore, the charging result information may include information such as the date and / or day of the week when charging was performed, and information on the degree of difficulty. An example of the charging result information is shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] The charging location may be expressed, for example, by latitude and longitude, but is not limited to this. The charging location may also be described by an address or the like. The difficulty level indicates the degree of difficulty of charging the vehicle 60. The difficulty level may be, for example, the time taken from when the power supply vehicle 70 arrives at the location of the vehicle 60 until charging of the vehicle 60 begins, and / or the time taken from when the power supply vehicle 70 completes charging of the vehicle 60 until it leaves the location of the vehicle 60. For example, a long time taken from when the power supply vehicle 70 arrives at the location of the vehicle 60 until charging of the vehicle 60 begins may be due to the difficulty of connecting the charging cable 71 of the power supply vehicle 70 to the charging port 61 of the vehicle 60. The difficulty level may be an index of these times. The control unit 11 can search for charging result information by specifying a charging location.

[0023] The determination device 10 of this embodiment may further include an input unit and an output unit. That is, in addition to receiving (inputting) and transmitting (outputting) information via the communication unit 12, the determination device 10 may input and output information using the input unit and the output unit.

[0024] (User terminal / Worker terminal / In-vehicle device) 3, the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 each include control units 21, 31, and 41, communication units 22, 32, and 42, storage units 23, 33, and 43, positioning units 24, 34, and 44, input units 25, 35, and 45, and output units 26, 36, and 46. The components of the in-vehicle device 40 may be distributed within the vehicle 60. The user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 have similar configurations, and will be collectively described below using the same FIG. 3.

[0025] The control units 21, 31, 41 include at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination thereof. The control units 21, 31, 41 execute processes related to the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 while controlling the respective units of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40. In the following, the processes executed by the control units 21, 31, 41 may be described as being executed by the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively. The processes executed by the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 can also be described as being executed by the control units 21, 31, 41, respectively.

[0026] The communication units 22, 32, 42 each include at least one external communication interface connected to the network 50. The communication units 22, 32, 42 receive data used in the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively, and transmit data obtained by the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 to the outside.

[0027] The storage units 23, 33, 43 include at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or a combination of at least two of these. The storage units 23, 33, 43 store programs and data used in the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively, and data obtained by the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40. The information stored in the storage units 23, 33, 43 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 50 via the communication units 22, 32, 42, respectively, for example.

[0028] The positioning units 24, 34, 44 each include one or more devices that acquire position information of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40. The position of the in-vehicle device 40 is the position of the vehicle 60. The position information preferably has an accuracy that allows for discrimination of differences on the order of vehicle dimensions or less. The positioning units 24, 34, 44 include, for example, a receiver compatible with the Global Positioning System (GPS), but are not limited to this and may include a receiver compatible with any satellite positioning system. The positioning units 24, 34, 44 may acquire the position information of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 continuously, or may acquire the information periodically or irregularly.

[0029] The input units 25, 35, and 45 each include at least one input interface. The input interface may be, for example, physical keys such as a keyboard, capacitive keys, a pointing device, or a touch screen integrated with a display. The input interface may also be, for example, a microphone that accepts voice input and / or a camera that accepts image input. The input units 25, 35, and 45 accept operations to input data used in the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively. The input units 25, 35, and 45 may be connected to the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 as external input devices, instead of being provided in the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively.

[0030] The output units 26, 36, 46 each include at least one output interface. The output interface is, for example, a display that outputs information visually or a speaker that outputs information audibly. The display is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. The output units 26, 36, 46 each output data received via the network 50, or data obtained by the operation of the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40. The output units 26, 36, 46 may be connected to the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40 as external output devices, instead of being provided in the user terminal 20, the worker terminal 30, and the in-vehicle device 40, respectively.

[0031] In addition to the above components, the user terminal 20 may have a built-in camera 27. The camera 27 includes an optical system and an imaging element. The imaging element may include either a CCD image sensor (Charge-Coupled Device Image Sensor) or a CMOS image sensor (Complementary MOS Image Sensor).

[0032] (An example of power supply to a vehicle by a power supply vehicle) Next, charging of vehicle 60 by power supply vehicle 70 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. First, vehicle 60 is an electric vehicle that can be charged externally, including a battery electric vehicle (BEV) and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Vehicle 60 has a charging port 61. Charging port 61 is a connection part for charging the battery externally. Charging port 61 includes a charging inlet to which a connector of a charging cable 71 from an external charging device is connected. Charging port 61 may be located at any position of vehicle 60, such as the top of the front grille, the front fender, the rear fender, or the rear bumper. In FIG. 4, charging port 61 is located at the top of the front grille.

[0033] The power supply vehicle 70 is a vehicle that supplies power to the vehicle 60. The power supply vehicle 70 is equipped with a battery that stores the power to be supplied to the vehicle 60 or a generator that generates the power. The power supply vehicle 70 supplies power to the charging port 61 of the vehicle 60 via a charging cable 71. In order for the power supply vehicle 70 to supply power to the vehicle 60, it is necessary that there is sufficient space around the charging port 61 of the vehicle 60 and that there is space around the vehicle 60 for the power supply vehicle 70 to park. If there is not enough space around the charging port 61 of the vehicle 60, it becomes difficult to connect the connector at the end of the charging cable 71 to the vehicle 60. If the space in which the power supply vehicle 70 can be parked is too far from the vehicle 60, the length of the charging cable 71 from the power supply vehicle 70 to the vehicle 60 may be insufficient, and charging may not be possible. As such, depending on the surrounding environment of the vehicle 60, the power supply vehicle 70 may not be able to charge the vehicle 60.

[0034] (Example of the vehicle's surrounding environment) FIG. 5 shows the layout of parking lots 82a-82f for residences assumed for illustrative purposes. In the example of FIG. 5, six residential lots 81a-81f are arranged clockwise on a lot facing road 80. Lots 81a and 81f face road 80. Lots 81b-81e do not face road 80 directly, but are arranged so as to surround private road 83 that connects to road 80. Private road 83 is assumed to be shared by the owners of the six residences. Each of lots 81a-81f has parking lots 82a-82f on the private road 83 side. Parking lots 82a and 82f also face road 80.

[0035] In such a case, the power supply vehicle 70 can easily supply power to the vehicle 60a parked in a parking lot 82a facing the road 80 by parking on the road 80. On the other hand, the power supply vehicle 70 may not be able to easily charge the vehicle 60c parked in a parking lot 82 located at the back of a private road 83. For example, the power supply vehicle 70 may not be allowed to park on the private road 83 because vehicles parked in the parking lots 82a to 82f pass through the private road 83. If the power supply vehicle 70 is parked on the road 80, avoiding the private road 83, the distance between the power supply vehicle 70 and the vehicle 60c parked in the parking lot 82c may be too great, and the length of the charging cable 71 may not be sufficient. Furthermore, this is not limited to the case shown in FIG. 5 . If parking on the road 80 is prohibited, the power supply vehicle 70 may not be able to charge the vehicle 60 parked in the parking lot 82 facing the road 80.

[0036] Furthermore, in a parking lot where many parking spaces are arranged in an apartment building, there may be no space around the user's parking space where the power supply vehicle 70 can be parked.

[0037] Therefore, it is preferable for a company that provides charging services to be able to estimate in advance whether a vehicle that has requested charging is in a state where it can be charged.

[0038] (How to determine whether charging is possible) A method for determining in advance whether the power supply vehicle 70 can charge the vehicle 60 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 6. The method disclosed in this specification can be executed by a processor included in the control unit 11 of the determination device 10 according to a program. Such a program can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, etc.

[0039] First, the user operates the user terminal 20 to start an application for the system 1 and transmits a request to receive a charging service for the vehicle owned by the user to the determination device 10. As a result, the determination device 10 receives charging request information from the user terminal 20 (step S101).

[0040] The determination device 10 acquires a charging location from the charging request information acquired from the user terminal 20 (step S102). The user can set the charging location to a location registered in advance, a parking lot of a specific facility, or the like.

[0041] The determination device 10 searches for charging result information stored in the storage unit 13 using the charging location acquired in step S102 (step S103). This provides information on whether charging was successful or not when charging was attempted at the same location in the past.

[0042] If the search result in step S103 shows that the power supply vehicle 70 has previously charged at the same charging location (step S104: Yes), the process proceeds to step S105. If the power supply vehicle 70 has not previously charged the vehicle 60 at the same charging location (step S104: No), the process proceeds to step S109. Although not shown in Fig. 6, if the search result in step S103 shows that there has been no request for charging or no charging at the same charging location in the past, the process may proceed to step S108 instead of step S109.

[0043] In step S105, the determination device 10 determines an overall evaluation value of the difficulty of charging at the charging station specified by the user (step S105). From the result of searching for the charging result information in step S103, the determination device 10 extracts the number of times charging was successful and the number of times charging was unsuccessful at the charging station specified by the user. The determination device 10 also obtains the difficulty level when charging was successful. In FIG. 2, the difficulty level is represented, for example, by the time it takes for the power supply vehicle 70 to start charging the vehicle 60 after arriving at the location of the vehicle 60.

[0044] In one embodiment, the difficulty level can be replaced with an individual evaluation value. For example, the difficulty levels can be set to 0, 1, 2, and 3 when the time from when the power supply vehicle 70 arrives at the location of the vehicle 60 until charging of the vehicle 60 starts is 0 to 10 minutes, 10 to 20 minutes, 20 to 30 minutes, and 30 minutes or more, respectively. Also, the difficulty level can be set to 5 when charging is not possible.

[0045] For each charging request received in the past, the determination device 10 determines an individual evaluation value of the difficulty level based on the time taken from when the power supply vehicle 70 arrives at the vehicle 60 to when it starts charging the vehicle 60, or the time taken from when the power supply vehicle completes charging the vehicle to when it leaves the location of the vehicle. The determination device 10 can average the individual evaluation values ​​of the difficulty level of charging the vehicle 60 at past charging locations to obtain a comprehensive evaluation value of the difficulty level.

[0046] Next, the determination device 10 determines the possibility that charging of the vehicle 60 is possible at the charging location for which charging has been requested (step S106). For example, the determination device 10 can evaluate the possibility that charging is possible based on the percentage of past requests for charging at the same location for which charging was successful. For example, the determination device 10 can determine that there is a high possibility that charging is possible when the percentage of successful charging is 50% or more. Furthermore, for example, the determination device 10 may determine the possibility that charging is possible based on a comprehensive evaluation value of the difficulty levels. For example, if the comprehensive evaluation value of the difficulty levels quantified as described above is less than 3, it may determine that there is a high possibility that charging is possible.

[0047] Furthermore, the determination device 10 may evaluate the possibility of charging being possible at a charging location, taking into consideration information such as the time and the day of the week. For example, the determination device 10 determines the correlation between the information on the time and / or the day of the week included in the charging result information and the information on whether charging was possible. For example, if there is a high correlation between the time information and the information on whether charging was possible, the determination device 10 may determine the possibility of charging being possible based on the time when charging is scheduled. In this case, the determination device 10 may calculate a comprehensive evaluation value of the difficulty level for each time and / or day of the week.

[0048] If it is determined in step S106 that there is a high possibility of charging (step S107: Yes), the determination device 10 arranges for a power supply vehicle 70 to charge the vehicle 60 (step S108). More specifically, in order to charge the vehicle 60, the determination device 10 includes a schedule for charging the vehicle 60 in the schedule for one power supply vehicle 70. Furthermore, the determination device 10 determines a worker who will ride in the power supply vehicle 70, and transmits a charging service provision schedule, including the charging schedule for the vehicle 60, to the worker terminal 30 of the worker.

[0049] On the other hand, if in step S104 there is no history of charging at the requested charging location (step S104: No), and if in step S107 it is determined that there is not a high possibility that charging of the vehicle 60 is possible (step S107: No), the determination device 10 sends a message to the user terminal 20 requesting that it send an image of the area around the charging location (step S109).

[0050] When the user terminal 20 receives the message requesting transmission of a surrounding image, the user terminal 20 displays this message on the display of the output unit 26. Upon seeing the displayed message, the user uses the camera 27 built into the user terminal 20 to capture an image of the surroundings of the charging location, including the vehicle 60. The determination device 10 may display a message requesting the user terminal 20 to acquire an image from a specific direction. For example, the determination device 10 may display a message requesting the user terminal 20 to acquire an image of the surroundings of the charging port 61 captured from the side. The number of images requested by the determination device 10 may be two or more. The captured image is transmitted to the determination device 10 via the communication unit 22. This allows the determination device 10 to acquire the surrounding image captured by the user (step S110).

[0051] The determination device 10 determines whether or not the vehicle 60 can be charged based on the acquired image of the surrounding area of ​​the parking space (step S111). For example, when the determination device 10 determines through image processing that there is a space to connect the charging cable 71 to the vehicle 60 and a space near the vehicle 60 where the power supply vehicle 70 can park, the determination device 10 determines that charging is possible (step S111: Yes). In this case, the determination device 10 proceeds to step S108 and arranges for the power supply vehicle 70 to charge the vehicle 60. Note that the determination in step S111 may be made by a person looking at an image displayed on a display, which is an output unit of the determination device 10. The determination result may be input to an input unit of the determination device 10 and used as the determination result of the determination device 10.

[0052] On the other hand, when the determination device 10 determines that the vehicle 60 is not chargeable based on the image acquired in step S111 (step S111: No), it notifies the user terminal 20 that charging is not possible. The user terminal 20 displays the notification received from the determination device 10 on a display, which is the output unit 26.

[0053] It is not necessary to execute steps S109 to S111 in the flow diagram of Fig. 6. If there is no past record of charging in step S104 (step S104: No), and if it is determined in step S107 that charging is unlikely to be possible (step S107: No), the determination device 10 may directly notify the user terminal 20 that charging is not possible (step S112).

[0054] As described above, according to this embodiment, the determination device 10 searches for charging result information using the charging location information of the vehicle 60 included in the charging request information, and can determine in advance the possibility of charging at the charging location. This reduces the possibility of an opportunity loss occurring when the power supply vehicle 70 dispatched to the charging location in response to a user request is unable to charge the vehicle 60.

[0055] Furthermore, the charging result information includes individual evaluation values ​​that indicate the degree of difficulty if charging is possible, and the determination device 10 determines an overall evaluation value for the charging location based on the multiple individual evaluation values. This allows the determination device 10 to reflect the results of dispatching the power supply vehicle 70 to the same charging location multiple times in the past in determining whether charging is possible. Furthermore, the determination device 10 determines the individual evaluation value based on the time it takes for the power supply vehicle 70 to start charging the vehicle 60 after arriving at the vehicle 60 and / or the time it takes for the power supply vehicle 70 to leave the location of the vehicle 60 after completing charging the vehicle 60. This allows the degree of difficulty to be determined objectively using time information that is relatively easy to obtain.

[0056] Furthermore, the determination device 10 can send a message to the user terminal 20 requesting the transmission of an image of the area around the charging location, and can determine the possibility of further charging based on this image. This increases the possibility of providing charging services even for vehicles 60 parked in locations where charging services cannot be provided based on past information alone. This increases the opportunities for charging service providers to provide charging services. Furthermore, it increases the possibility for users to use charging services.

[0057] Furthermore, based on past information, the determination device 10 can determine the possibility of charging at the charging location, taking into account information on the time and day of the week, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the power supply vehicle 70 can charge the vehicle 60.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and many variations and modifications are possible. For example, the functions included in each means, step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to cause logical contradictions, and multiple means or steps can be combined into one or divided.

[0059] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the vehicle 60 uses parking lots 82a to 82f within private lots 81a to 81f as charging locations. However, the charging locations may also be parking lots attached to public facilities, commercial facilities, or the like that serve multiple vehicles. Even in this case, the determination device 10 can collect information indicating whether charging is possible. In the case of parking lots attached to such facilities, the charging possibility information may be based on whether the power supply vehicle 70 can enter the parking lot facility. If the power supply vehicle 70 cannot enter the parking lot due to size restrictions, for example, it cannot supply power to the vehicle 60. Even if the power supply vehicle 70 can enter the parking lot, whether charging is possible depends on whether the power supply vehicle 70 can park near the vehicle 60 to be charged. During times when the entire parking lot is crowded, the power supply vehicle 70 is less likely to be able to charge the vehicle 60. On the other hand, during times when the entire parking lot is empty, the power supply vehicle 70 is more likely to be able to charge using parking lots attached to such facilities. The determination device 10 can determine the possibility of charging at a charging location by taking into account information about the time and day of the week, and is therefore effective in providing charging services using parking lots at such facilities. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 System 10 Judgment device 11 Control section 12 Communications Department 13 Storage section 20 User terminal 21, 31, 41 Control unit 22, 32, 42 Communications Department 23, 33, 43 storage section 24, 34, 44 Positioning unit 25, 35, 45 Input section 26, 36, 46 Output section 30 Worker terminal 40 Onboard equipment 50 Network 60 vehicles 61 Charging port 70 Power Supply Vehicle 71 Power Cable 80 road 81a~81f site Parking lot 82a-82f 83 Private Road

Claims

1. 1. A charging service that receives a request from a user and dispatches a power supply vehicle to charge the user's vehicle, comprising: a determination device that determines a possibility of charging the user's vehicle based on the request, the determination device comprising: a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of pieces of charging result information including a combination of charging location information indicating a charging location included in a previously received request and charging feasibility information indicating whether or not the vehicle was able to be charged at the charging location; a communication unit capable of communicating with a user terminal carried by a user and capable of receiving a request from the user; a control unit that searches for the charging result information using charging location information for the vehicle included in the request, acquires the charging availability information at the charging location, and determines whether charging is possible at the charging location based on the acquired charging availability information; A determination device comprising:

2. 2. The determination device of claim 1, wherein the charging result information further includes individual evaluation values ​​of the difficulty of charging if charging is possible, and when the control unit evaluates that charging is possible, it determines a comprehensive evaluation value of the difficulty for the charging location based on the individual evaluation values ​​of the difficulty.

3. 3. The determination device according to claim 2, wherein the individual evaluation value of the difficulty level is determined based on, for each of the previously received charging requests, a time taken from when the power supply vehicle arrives at the vehicle to when it starts charging the vehicle, or a time taken from when the power supply vehicle completes charging of the vehicle to when it leaves the location of the vehicle.

4. 2. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein, when the control unit determines that there is a low possibility that charging is possible at the charging location, the control unit transmits a message to the user terminal via the communication unit, requesting the user terminal to transmit an image of a periphery of the charging location.

5. 2. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the charging result information includes information on the time and day of the week when the previously requested charging was attempted, and the control unit determines the possibility of the charging being possible at the charging location by taking into account the information on the time and day of the week.

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