Energy Prediction Device

Abstract

To provide an energy prediction device capable of performing highly precise energy consumption prediction even if a tendency of energy consumption varies.SOLUTION: An energy prediction device 10 includes: a holding section 103 for holding reference energy information for identifying reference energy required when a vehicle travels on a traveling route; a generation section 101 for generating actual energy information for identifying actual energy that is used actually when an object vehicle travels on a traveling route; and a correction section 102 that corrects reference energy on the basis of a deviation index for identifying a deviation state between actual energy and the reference energy, identifies highly correlated timing at which prediction precision of reference energy after the correction is improved as correction timing, corrects reference energy information at the identified correction timing, and generates prediction energy information for identifying prediction energy that an object vehicle uses by the time when it completes traveling on a traveling route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an energy prediction device. [Background technology]

[0002] A known device for estimating the energy consumption of a vehicle is described in Patent Document 1. The energy consumption calculation device described in Patent Document 1 divides the vehicle's travel route into multiple sections and corrects the energy consumption for each section based on the actual value relative to the predicted value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-255757 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, energy consumption is corrected for each interval based on the actual value relative to the predicted value, but the trend in energy consumption in one interval often differs from the trend in energy consumption in the next interval, and even if such correction is performed, it is not necessarily possible to obtain a highly accurate corrected value.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide an energy prediction device that is capable of predicting energy consumption with high accuracy even when the trend of energy consumption fluctuates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure provides an energy prediction device that includes a storage unit (103) that stores reference energy information that identifies the reference energy required when a vehicle travels on a travel route; a generation unit (101) that generates actual energy information that identifies the actual energy that a target vehicle, whose energy consumption is to be predicted, actually uses when traveling on the travel route; and a correction unit (102) that corrects the reference energy based on a deviation index that identifies the deviation state between the actual energy and the reference energy, and identifies a highly correlated timing at which the prediction accuracy of the corrected reference energy improves as a correction timing, corrects the reference energy information at the identified correction timing, and generates predicted energy information that identifies the predicted energy that the target vehicle will use until it completes traveling the travel route. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an energy prediction device that is capable of predicting energy consumption with high accuracy even when the trend of energy consumption fluctuates. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the energy prediction device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the information processing flow by the energy prediction device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence data between location information acquired from a traveling vehicle and remaining battery capacity. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of vehicle speed estimation data. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining energy estimation in an electric vehicle. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the efficiency of the electrical system in the energy estimation. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining energy estimation in an engine vehicle. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of engine efficiency in energy estimation. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the estimated reference energy. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correlation regarding energy consumption. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an information processing flow using the energy prediction device shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the prediction of energy consumption. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of determining the correction position. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of determining the correction position. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the prediction of energy consumption. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of determining the correction position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding of the description, the same components in the drawings will be denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0010] An energy prediction device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The energy prediction device 10 is configured as a computer including, as hardware components, a calculation unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage unit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and an interface unit for exchanging data.

[0011] Next, a description will be given of functional components of the energy prediction device 10. The energy prediction device 10 includes a generation unit 101, a correction unit 102, a storage unit 103, and a notification unit 104 as functional components.

[0012] The generation unit 101 is a part that generates actual energy information that specifies the actual energy that a target vehicle, whose energy consumption is to be predicted, actually uses when traveling along a travel route.

[0013] The storage unit 103 is a part that stores reference energy information that specifies the reference energy required when the vehicle travels on the travel route. The storage unit 103 can store, as the reference energy information, information that specifies the reference energy required when the vehicle travels up to a first point on the travel route. The storage unit 103 can store correlation information that indicates the actual energy that the vehicle has used as an actual value up to the first point, as information corresponding to the actual energy that the vehicle has used as an actual value up to the second point. The storage unit 103 can store information that is used when calculating the reference energy and that specifies a reference vehicle speed pattern for the vehicle to travel up to the first point on the travel route.

[0014] The correction unit 102 corrects the reference energy based on a deviation index that specifies the deviation state between the actual energy and the reference energy. The correction unit 102 specifies a highly correlated timing at which the prediction accuracy of the corrected reference energy improves as the correction timing. The correction unit 102 corrects the reference energy information at the specified correction timing, and generates predicted energy information that specifies the predicted energy that the target vehicle will use until it completes traveling the travel route.

[0015] The correction unit 102 can use the difference between the reference energy required by the vehicle to reach a second point that is earlier than the first point on the travel route and the actual energy actually used by the target vehicle to reach the second point as a deviation index. When the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the correction unit 102 can correct the reference energy information and generate predicted energy information. The correction unit 102 can determine the correlation based on the correlation information.

[0016] The correction unit 102 can identify the second point as the correction timing when it determines that the amount of fluctuation in the traffic conditions at the second point is larger than at other points. The correction unit 102 can identify the second point as the correction timing when it determines that the amount of fluctuation in the vehicle speed pattern at the second point is larger than at other points. The correction unit 102 can identify the second point as the correction timing when it determines that the deviation of the actual energy from the reference energy up to the second point is larger than a predetermined value.

[0017] The correction unit 102 can use the difference between a reference vehicle speed pattern up to a second point before the first point on the travel route and the vehicle speed pattern that the target vehicle actually traveled up to the second point as a deviation index. When the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the correction unit 102 can correct the reference energy information and generate predicted travel energy information.

[0018] The notification unit 104 is a part that notifies the predicted energy information generated by the correction unit 102. The target to which the notification unit 104 notifies the predicted energy information may be the vehicle 30 or another notification destination.

[0019] The vehicle characteristics storage unit 201 is a unit that stores vehicle characteristics information. The vehicle characteristics information will be described in detail later. The travel route storage unit 202 is a unit that stores travel route information. The travel route information will be described in detail later.

[0020] The vehicle 30 that is the prediction target of the energy prediction device 10 is connected to a network NW, and travel data of the vehicle 30 is transmitted to the energy prediction device 10 via the network NW and stored in the holding unit 103.

[0021] The vehicle 30 includes a state detection unit 301, a vehicle speed detection unit 302, a communication unit 303, and a battery ECU 304. The state detection unit 301 acquires the state of charge SOC of the battery used to drive the vehicle 30 from the battery ECU. The communication unit 303 transmits the state of charge SOC to the driving data storage unit 204. The state detection unit 301 also detects position information of the vehicle 30. The communication unit 303 transmits the position information to the driving data storage unit 204. The vehicle speed detection unit 302 detects the speed of the vehicle 30. The communication unit 303 transmits the vehicle speed to the driving data storage unit 204.

[0022] Next, the information processing flow by the energy prediction device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In step S001, the storage unit 103 receives position information and remaining battery power E from the vehicle 30 in motion. bat (t) is acquired and stored. From the vehicle 30 in motion, the location information and the remaining battery level E are continuously acquired at regular or variable time intervals. bat (t) is transmitted to the energy prediction device 10. The storage unit 103 stores the location information and the remaining battery charge E bat As an example, as shown in Figure 3, the location information and the remaining battery power E bat (t) may be stored as a map in which the values ​​are associated with each other. When the processing in step S001 is completed, the process proceeds to step S002.

[0023] In step S002, the generation unit 101 generates a reference energy E required when the vehicle travels on the travel route. total_prd_base The reference energy information is generated based on the location information and remaining battery power E bat Based on the map associated with (t), the remaining battery power E bat The energy required to travel (t) is the reference energy E total_prd_baseReference energy information specifying the

[0024] The generation unit 101 estimates a representative vehicle speed pattern v(t) and generates a reference energy E total_prd_base An example of the vehicle speed pattern v(t) is shown in FIG.

[0025] Running resistance F drv (t) is calculated using the following formula (f01): F drv (t)=Wa(t)+0.5*ρ*Cd*Av 2 (t)+μWg+Wgsinθ(t) ···(f01) t: time W: Total vehicle weight a(t): Acceleration at time t ρ: air density Cd: Air resistance coefficient A: Front projected area v(t): velocity at time t μ: Rolling resistance coefficient g:Gravity acceleration θ(t): Gradient between the point at time t and the point at time t-1

[0026] The air density ρ is a fixed value of 1.293 kg / m 3 The air density ρ may be calculated from the temperature. The gravitational acceleration g is a fixed value of 9.8 m / s 2 The gradient θ(t) can be calculated from the latitude and longitude information and altitude information of the travel route. Such information about the travel route is stored in the travel route storage unit 202 as travel route information. The vehicle parameters are read from the information stored in the vehicle characteristics storage unit 201. For example, the following values ​​are used: W: 2,000kg Cd:0.3 A: 5m 2 μ:0.1

[0027] Running horsepower P drv(t) is calculated using the following formula (f02): P drv (t)=F drv (t)*v(t) (f02)

[0028] Figure 5 shows an example of a system for an electric vehicle. In the system shown in Figure 5, the system efficiency of the electrical system (MG-INV) is calculated as R elec Let the efficiency of the mechanical system be R mech The efficiency of the mechanical system R mech can be a fixed value such as 70%. mech is the energy input to the mechanical system with efficiency R mech is transmitted to the drive wheels, and the running horsepower P drv Therefore, the energy P' input to the mechanical system is drv (t) can be calculated using the following equation (f03). P´ drv (t)=P drv (t) / R mech ···(f03)

[0029] Electrical system efficiency R elec is a function of the energy input from the electrical system to the mechanical system, and is determined as shown in Figure 6. elec is the energy P' input to the mechanical system drv It is a function of (t) and can be calculated using the following equation (f04). R elec =f(P´ drv (t)) ···(f04)

[0030] Power output for driving P´´ drv (t) can be calculated using the following equation (f05). P´´ drv (t)=P´ drv (t) / R elec (P´ drv (t)) ···(f05)

[0031] If equation (f05) is integrated up to time t, the driving energy E drv_prd_basecan be calculated using the following formula (f06): drv When (t)<0, the energy is stored in the battery as regenerative energy. E drv_prd_base =Σ(P´´ drv (t)*(t―(t-1))) (f06)

[0032] The power required to drive the air conditioner and auxiliary equipment is P other Let (t). P other (t) may be a fixed value such as 5 kW. other (t) up to time t, the non-driving energy E other_prd_base can be calculated using the following equation (f07): E other_prd_base =Σ(P other (t)*(t―(t-1))) (f07)

[0033] From equations (f06) and (f07), the total amount of energy up to time t can be calculated using the following equation (f08). E total_prd_base (t)=E drv_prd_base (t)+E other_prd_base (t)···(f08)

[0034] This embodiment can be applied not only to electric vehicles but also to engine vehicles. Fig. 7 shows an example of a system for an engine vehicle. In the system shown in Fig. 7, the engine efficiency is calculated as R eng Let the efficiency of the mechanical system be R mech The efficiency of the mechanical system R mech can be a fixed value such as 70%. mech is the energy input to the mechanical system with efficiency R mech is transmitted to the drive wheels, and the running horsepower P drv Therefore, the energy P' input to the mechanical system is drv (t) can be calculated using the following equation (f09). P´ drv (t)=P drv (t) / R mech ···(f09)

[0035] In addition to the energy required for driving, the engine also supplies energy to drive the air conditioner and auxiliary equipment. other Let (t). P other (t) may be a fixed value such as 5 kW.

[0036] Engine efficiency R eng is a function of the energy input from the engine to the mechanical system and the energy for driving the accessories, and is determined as shown in FIG. 8. eng is P´ drv (t)+P other It is a function of (t) and can be calculated using the following equation (f10). R eng =g(P´ drv (t)+P other (t)) ···(f10)

[0037] Equation (f09) and equation (f10) are added together to predict the total amount of energy using the following equations (f11) and (f12). P sum (t)=P´ drv (t)+P other (t) (f11) P´ sum (t)=P sum (t) / R eng (P sum (t)) ···(f12)

[0038] Since engine vehicles do not store regenerative energy, only positive values ​​are considered. P´´ sum (t)=P´ sum (t)(P´ sum (t)>0) (f13)

[0039] P´´ sum (t) is integrated over time and the required energy amount E total_prd_base is calculated using the following equation (f14). E total_prd_base (t)=Σ(P´´sum (t)*(t―(t-1))) (f14)

[0040] The breakdown of the energy consumption can be predicted as follows: The driving energy is shown in the following formula (f15), and the other energies are shown in the following formula (f16). E drv_prd_base (t)=E total_prd_base (t)*(P´ drv (t) / P´ sum (t)) ···(f15) E other_prd_base (t)=E total_prd_base (t)-E drv_prd_base (t)···(f16)

[0041] FIG. 9 shows the reference energy E total_prd_base and the position x. When the processing of step S002 in FIG. 2 ends, the process proceeds to step S003.

[0042] In step S003, the correction unit 102 calculates a correlation coefficient kn. The correlation coefficient kn is a coefficient that indicates the correlation between the energy consumed up to a first point, which is a target point, and the energy consumed up to a second point (also referred to as point n) that is before the first point.

[0043] Fig. 10(A) shows an example of the correlation between the energy consumed up to point a and the energy consumed up to the target point. In the correlation shown in Fig. 10(A), even if the energy consumed up to point a is almost the same, the energy consumed up to the target point may differ, while even if the energy consumed up to point a is significantly different, the energy consumed up to the target point may be almost the same, so the correlation coefficient ka is low.

[0044] Figure 10(B) illustrates an example of the correlation between the energy consumed up to point b and the energy consumed up to the target point. In the correlation illustrated in Figure 10(B), there is a one-to-one correspondence between the energy consumed up to point b and the energy consumed up to the target point, and as the energy consumed up to point b increases, the energy consumed up to the target point also increases, resulting in a high correlation coefficient kb.

[0045] 2 is completed, the process proceeds to step S004. In step S004, the correction unit 102 determines the corrected position. The correction unit 102 can determine the point where the correlation coefficient kn is maximum as the corrected position. The correction unit 102 can also determine multiple points where the correlation coefficient kn is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (e.g., 0.6) as the corrected positions.

[0046] Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a correction process will be described when a target vehicle for which energy consumption is to be predicted is traveling on a travel route.

[0047] In step S015, the generation unit 101 generates a reference energy E required when the vehicle travels on the travel route. total_prd_base The process of step S015 is the same as the process of step S002, so a description thereof will be omitted. When the process of step S015 ends, the process proceeds to step S016.

[0048] In step S016, correction unit 102 determines whether the target vehicle has reached the corrected position. If the target vehicle has not reached the corrected position (step S016: NO), the determination in step S016 is repeated.

[0049] If the target vehicle has reached the correction position (step S016: YES), the correction unit 102 calculates the correction parameter R ir The corrected position reached is calculated as x i The correction parameter R ir is calculated using the following equation (f17): R ir =Etotal_use (x i ) / E total_prd_base (x i ) ···(f17) Correction parameter R ir is E total_use (x i ) and E total_prd_base (x i ) is a parameter based on the ratio of

[0050] The correction unit 102 calculates E total_use (x i ) and E total_prd_base (x i ) and the correction parameter R id may be calculated. R id =E total_use (x i )-E total_prd_base (x i ) ···(f18) As shown in Figure 12, E total_prd_base (x i ) is the point x i is the reference energy up to E total_use (x i ) is the point x i The actual energy is the energy consumption that has actually been used up to that point. i When the process of step S016 for calculating is completed, the process proceeds to step S017.

[0051] In step S017, the correction unit 102 corrects the reference energy information. The correction unit 102 corrects the reference energy information using a correction parameter R ir The predicted energy E is calculated by correcting the reference energy using the following equation (f19). total_prd_base_cor (x end ) is calculated. E total_prd_base_cor (x end )=R ir ×E total_prd_base (x end ) ···(f19) As shown in Figure 12, E total_prd_base (x end ) is the point x endThis is the reference energy up to

[0052] The correction unit 102 calculates the correction parameter R id The predicted energy E is calculated by correcting the reference energy using the following formula (f20). total_prd_base_cor (x end ) may be calculated. E total_prd_base_cor (x end )=R id +E total_prd_base (x end ) ···(f20) When the processing in step S017 is completed, the process proceeds to step S018.

[0053] In step S018, the notification unit 104 notifies the predicted energy E total_prd_base_cor (x end The notification destination of the notification unit 104 may be a designated user or a designated system.

[0054] The method for determining the correction position is not limited to the one described with reference to Fig. 2. Another example of the method for determining the correction position will be described.

[0055] A first example of a method for determining a corrected position will be described. In the process corresponding to step S002 in FIG. 2, traffic information is stored in the storage unit 103. The traffic information is information including traffic flow rate. The traffic flow rate is, for example, a value obtained by integrating the number of vehicles passing through a certain point for a predetermined period of time. If the position x and the amount of fluctuation in traffic flow rate are plotted as a graph, an example graph such as that shown in FIG. 13 will be obtained. In the example shown in FIG. 13, for example, at point x i In this example, there are times when the traffic flow rate is 10 vehicles / hour, and times when it is 300 vehicles / hour, and the traffic flow rate fluctuates greatly. For example, at point x i and point x j At points other than the point x, the traffic flow rate is within the range of 20 vehicles / hour to 25 vehicles / hour, and the fluctuation of the traffic flow rate is small. i and point x jSince the fluctuation of traffic flow is large at point x i and point x j is determined as the corrected position (step S004 in FIG. 2).

[0056] A second example of the method for determining the correction position will be described. In the process corresponding to step S002 in FIG. 2, vehicle speed pattern data is stored in the storage unit 103. The vehicle speed pattern data is data that compiles vehicle speed patterns transmitted from a plurality of vehicles. When the amount of variation in the vehicle speed pattern is graphed, an example graph such as that shown in FIG. 14 is obtained.

[0057] For ease of explanation, the vehicle speed pattern data illustrated in FIG. 14 shows two vehicle speed patterns. In the upper vehicle speed pattern, acceleration / deceleration occurs twice in section i, and acceleration / deceleration occurs three times in section j. In the lower vehicle speed pattern, acceleration / deceleration occurs once in section i, and acceleration / deceleration occurs twice in section j. When the number of acceleration / deceleration and stops in the vehicle speed pattern for each section is added up, it becomes three times in section i and five times in section j. Since the number of acceleration / deceleration and stops in sections i and j is greater than in other sections, the number of stops at point x in section i is three times. i and point x in section j j is determined as the correction position.

[0058] A third example of the method for determining the correction position will be described. In the process corresponding to step S015 in FIG. 11, the generation unit 101 determines E total_prd_base The correction unit 102 generates reference energy information that identifies the point x i Actual energy E, which is the energy actually consumed up to total_use (x i The correction unit 102 obtains the point x i Reference energy E total_prd_base (x i ) and the actual energy E total_use (x i ) and calculate the deviation amount as a deviation index. The deviation amount is calculated based on the reference energy E total_prd_base (x i ) and real energy E total_use(x i 15, when the deviation amount exceeds a predetermined amount, the correction unit 102 corrects the point x end Reference energy E total_prd_base (x end ) and predict the energy E total_prd_base_cor (x end ) is calculated.

[0059] A fourth example of the method for determining the correction position will be described. The deviation between the reference vehicle speed pattern, which is an assumed vehicle speed pattern stored in the storage unit 103, and the actual vehicle speed pattern, which is an actual vehicle speed pattern, is accumulated, and the point where the deviation exceeds a predetermined value is determined as the correction position. In the example shown in Fig. 16, Fig. 16(A) is an example of a vehicle speed pattern, and Fig. 16(B) is an example of the deviation. In Fig. 16(A), the dashed line is the reference vehicle speed pattern, and the solid line is the actual vehicle speed pattern. By accumulating the deviation between the reference vehicle speed pattern of the dashed line and the actual vehicle speed pattern of the solid line, the deviation amount data of Fig. 16(B) can be obtained.

[0060] [Note] Notes 1 to 7 below can be combined in any way as long as there is no technical contradiction.

[0061] [Supplementary Note 1] A storage unit 103 for storing reference energy information that specifies the reference energy required when a vehicle travels on a travel route; a generation unit 101 that generates actual energy information that identifies actual energy used by a target vehicle, the target vehicle being predicted for energy consumption, while traveling along a travel route; an energy prediction device (10) that corrects the reference energy based on a deviation index that specifies the deviation state between the actual energy and the reference energy, and that specifies a highly correlated timing at which the prediction accuracy of the corrected reference energy improves as a correction timing, corrects the reference energy information at the specified correction timing, and generates predicted energy information that specifies the predicted energy that the target vehicle will use until it completes traveling the travel route.

[0062] According to Appendix 1, the timing of correction is identified as a highly correlated timing at which the prediction accuracy of the corrected reference energy improves. Therefore, even if the trend in energy consumption fluctuates, highly accurate energy consumption prediction is possible by correcting the reference energy information at this correction timing and generating predicted energy information.

[0063] [Supplementary Note 2] The storage unit 103 stores, as the reference energy information, information specifying a reference energy required for the vehicle to travel to a first point on the travel route, The energy prediction device 10 described in Appendix 1, wherein the correction unit 102 uses the difference between the reference energy required by the vehicle to reach a second point on the travel route that is earlier than the first point and the actual energy actually used by the target vehicle to reach the second point as the deviation index, and corrects the reference energy information and generates predicted energy information when the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0064] According to Appendix 2, the difference between the reference energy and the actual energy is used as a deviation index, and if the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the reference energy is corrected to generate predicted energy information.Therefore, even if it is time for correction, if the deviation index does not reach the predetermined value or greater, it is possible not to perform correction, making it possible to make more accurate energy consumption predictions.

[0065] [Supplementary Note 3] The storage unit 103 stores correlation information indicating actual energy as an actual value used by the vehicle up to the first location as information corresponding to actual energy as an actual value used by the vehicle up to the second location, The energy prediction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the correction unit determines the correlation based on the correlation information.

[0066] According to Supplementary Note 3, the correlation as to whether the second location should be set as a correction location is determined based on the actual energy as a performance value, thereby enabling more accurate energy consumption prediction.

[0067] [Appendix 4] The energy prediction device 10 described in Appendix 2 or 3, wherein the correction unit 102 identifies the second location as a correction position when it determines that the fluctuation in traffic conditions at the second location is greater than at other locations.

[0068] According to Appendix 4, the second location where the fluctuation in traffic conditions is greater than that of other locations is identified as the correction location, making it possible to make corrections that reflect the fluctuation in traffic conditions, thereby enabling more accurate energy consumption predictions.

[0069] [Appendix 5] The energy prediction device 10 described in any one of Appendices 2 to 4, wherein the correction unit 102 identifies the second location as a correction position when it determines that the amount of variation in the vehicle speed pattern at the second location is larger than at other locations.

[0070] According to Appendix 5, the second location where the amount of variation in the vehicle speed pattern is greater than at other locations is identified as the correction location, making it possible to make corrections that reflect the amount of variation in the vehicle speed pattern, thereby enabling more accurate energy consumption predictions.

[0071] [Appendix 6] The energy prediction device 10 described in any one of Appendices 2 to 5, wherein the correction unit 102 identifies the second point as a correction position when it determines that the deviation of the actual energy from the reference energy up to the second point is greater than a predetermined value.

[0072] According to Appendix 6, the second point where the deviation of the actual energy from the reference energy is larger than a predetermined value is identified as the correction position, so there is no need to identify the correction position in advance, and it is possible to identify the second point where the deviation of the actual energy obtained from time to time from the reference energy becomes larger as the correction position.

[0073] [Supplementary Note 7] The storage unit 103 stores information used when calculating the reference energy, the information specifying a reference vehicle speed pattern in which the vehicle will travel up to a first point on the travel route; The energy prediction device 10 according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the correction unit 102 uses the difference between a reference vehicle speed pattern up to a second point on the travel route that is earlier than the first point and an actual vehicle speed pattern that the target vehicle has actually traveled up to the second point as the deviation index, and corrects the reference energy information and generates predicted travel energy information when the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0074] According to Appendix 7, the second point where the deviation of the actual vehicle speed pattern from the reference vehicle speed pattern is larger than a predetermined value is identified as the correction position, so there is no need to identify the correction position in advance, and it is possible to identify the second point where the deviation of the actual vehicle speed pattern obtained from time to time from the reference vehicle speed pattern becomes larger as the correction position.

[0075] The controller and methods described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the controller and methods described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured with a processor configured with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the controller and methods described herein may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions in combination with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium.

[0076] The present embodiment has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Design modifications to these specific examples made by a person skilled in the art as appropriate are also included within the scope of the present disclosure as long as they comprise the features of the present disclosure. The elements of each of the above-described specific examples, as well as their arrangement, conditions, shape, etc., are not limited to those exemplified and can be modified as appropriate. The elements of each of the above-described specific examples can be combined in various ways as appropriate, as long as no technical contradictions arise. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 10: Energy forecasting device 101: Generation part 102: Correction unit 103: Holding part

Claims

1. a storage unit (103) for storing reference energy information that specifies a reference energy required when a vehicle travels on a travel route; a generation unit (101) that generates actual energy information that identifies actual energy actually used by a target vehicle, the target of which energy consumption is to be predicted, when the target vehicle travels along a travel route; and a correction unit (102) that corrects the reference energy based on a deviation index that specifies the deviation state between the actual energy and the reference energy, and that specifies a highly correlated timing at which the prediction accuracy of the corrected reference energy improves as a correction timing, corrects the reference energy information at the specified correction timing, and generates predicted energy information that specifies the predicted energy that the target vehicle will use until it completes traveling the travel route.

2. the storage unit stores, as the reference energy information, information specifying a reference energy required for the vehicle to travel to a first point on a travel route; 2. The energy prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit uses a difference between a reference energy required by the vehicle to reach a second point on the travel route that is earlier than the first point and an actual energy actually used by the target vehicle to reach the second point as the deviation index, and corrects the reference energy information and generates predicted energy information when the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

3. the storage unit stores correlation information indicating actual energy as an actual value used by the vehicle up to the first location as information corresponding to actual energy as an actual value used by the vehicle up to the second location, The energy prediction device according to claim 2 , wherein the correction unit determines the correlation based on the correlation information.

4. The energy prediction device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the correction unit specifies the second location as a correction position when it determines that a fluctuation amount of traffic conditions at the second location is larger than that at other locations.

5. The energy prediction device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the correction unit specifies the second location as a correction position when it determines that a variation amount of the vehicle speed pattern at the second location is larger than that at other locations.

6. The energy prediction device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the correction unit specifies the second point as a correction position when it determines that a deviation of the actual energy from the reference energy up to the second point is greater than a predetermined value.

7. the storage unit stores information used when calculating the reference energy, the information specifying a reference vehicle speed pattern in which the vehicle will travel up to a first point on a travel route; 2. The energy prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit uses a difference between a reference vehicle speed pattern up to a second point on the travel route that is earlier than the first point and an actual vehicle speed pattern that the target vehicle has actually traveled up to the second point as the deviation index, and corrects the reference energy information and generates predicted travel energy information when the deviation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Images