Vehicle management device and vehicle

Abstract

To improve the power generation amounts per unit time and the sum of the power generation amounts of the plurality of vehicles as a whole.SOLUTION: A vehicle management device for managing parking positions in a parking lot of a plurality of vehicles equipped with a solar battery and a power storage device for storing electric power generated by the solar battery. Based on the conversion efficiency of the solar cell of each vehicle and sunshine conditions of the parking lot, the vehicle management device sets the parking positions of the vehicles so as to increase power generation amounts per unit time in photovoltaic power generation by the plurality of vehicles and a sum of power generation amounts of the solar cells mounted on the plurality of vehicles. As a result, the power generation amounts per unit time and the sum of power generation amounts can be improved as a whole of the plurality of vehicles.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle management device and a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a vehicle management device of this type has been proposed that is equipped with a solar cell and a power storage device (storage battery) that stores the power generated by the solar cell, and that manages vehicles that can be driven automatically (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this system, when the location where the vehicle is parked by the user is in the shade during the hours when the vehicle is parked, the vehicle is automatically driven to move into the sun. This allows the time when the vehicle is parked to be used for generating power using the solar cell. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2016 / 072165 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the vehicle management device described above does not disclose how to set the parking position for each vehicle when managing multiple vehicles. In a parking lot where multiple vehicles are parked, even if one vehicle is moved into the sun, if other vehicles are parked in the shade, the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by the multiple vehicles as a whole may decrease.

[0005] The vehicle management device of the present invention has a main object to improve the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by a plurality of vehicles as a whole. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle management device and vehicle of the present invention employ the following means to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The vehicle management device of the present invention comprises: A vehicle management device that manages parking positions in a parking lot of a plurality of vehicles equipped with a solar cell and a power storage device that stores the power generated by the solar cell, Based on the conversion efficiency of the solar cell of each vehicle and the sunlight conditions of the parking lot, the parking positions of the vehicles are set so that the amount of power generated per unit time by solar power generation by the plurality of vehicles or the sum of the amounts of power generated by the solar cells mounted on the plurality of vehicles becomes large. The gist of this is as follows.

[0008] The vehicle management device of the present invention determines the parking positions of each vehicle based on the conversion efficiency of the solar cells of each vehicle and the sunlight conditions of the parking lot where the vehicles are parked, so as to maximize the amount of solar power generated per unit time by the multiple vehicles or the total amount of power generated by the solar cells installed in the multiple vehicles. As a result, the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by the multiple vehicles as a whole can be improved.

[0009] In the vehicle management device of the present invention, the sunlight conditions may be the hours during a day when each of the parking positions is in the sun, thereby allowing a parking position to be set for each vehicle according to the hours when the vehicle is in the sun.

[0010] In this case, the parking position may be set so that a vehicle with a high conversion efficiency of the solar cells among the plurality of vehicles is parked in the sun for a longer period of time than a vehicle with a low conversion efficiency, thereby improving conversion efficiency and power generation.

[0011] Furthermore, in the vehicle management device of the present invention, position information of the set parking position may be transmitted to the vehicle, so that the vehicle can be parked based on the position information of the parking position in the vehicle.

[0012] The vehicle of the present invention comprises: A vehicle is managed by the vehicle management device of the present invention in an aspect in which position information of the set parking position is transmitted to the vehicle, and the vehicle is equipped with the solar cell and the power storage device, An information notification device that notifies information to the user of the vehicle Equipped with The information notification device notifies the user of the location information transmitted by the vehicle management device. The gist of this is as follows.

[0013] The vehicle of the present invention is equipped with an information notification device that notifies the vehicle user of information. This information notification device notifies the user of the location information transmitted by the vehicle management device. This allows the vehicle user to recognize the set parking position and encourages the user to park the vehicle in the set parking position. It is expected that a user who is encouraged to park their vehicle in the set parking position will park their vehicle in the set parking position. As a result, the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by multiple vehicles as a whole can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a vehicle management device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of how sunny and shaded areas are formed due to changes in the solar elevation angle (sunlight angle) in a parking lot P. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of how sunny and shaded areas are formed due to changes in the angle of elevation of the sun (insolation angle) in a parking lot P. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a setting routine for setting a parking position executed by the vehicle management device 10. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Example]

[0016] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a vehicle management device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle management device 10 is configured as a device that manages the parking positions of multiple vehicles 20 in a parking lot P. Examples of the parking lot P include a factory, a car sharing or rental car office, or other locations where a predetermined number of vehicles are parked.

[0017] Each vehicle 20 is configured as an electric vehicle that runs on power from a motor, and is equipped with a battery 22 as an electricity storage device, solar cells 24a, 24b, a navigation device (information notification device) 26, and an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "ECU") 28.

[0018] Battery 22 is configured as, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery, and exchanges power with the motor. Solar cells 24a and 24b are configured with a plurality of solar cells, and supply the generated power to battery 22 via a power supply device (not shown), thereby charging battery 22.

[0019] The solar cells 24a, 24b are mounted on the roof of the vehicle body, on the front hood, on the surface of the rear trunk door, or on the surface of the side door. The type, size, and mounting position of the solar cells 24a, 24b may be different for each vehicle 20, or may be the same.

[0020] When a user operates a display (not shown) to set a destination, the navigation device (navigation device) 26 sets a planned driving route from the current location to the destination based on stored map information and the current location and destination of the vehicle 20 received from the GPS antenna, and displays the set planned driving route on a display (not shown) to provide route guidance.

[0021] The ECU 28 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU (not shown), and in addition to the CPU, it is equipped with a ROM for storing processing programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data, an input / output port, and a communication port. The ECU 28 is configured to execute various controls and to be able to communicate wirelessly with the vehicle management device 10 via a data communication device (DCM) (not shown).

[0022] The vehicle management device 10 is installed in a management center that manages the parking lot P, and is configured as a general-purpose microcomputer centered around a CPU. The vehicle management device 10 is configured to be able to communicate wirelessly with multiple vehicles 20. The vehicle management device 10 stores the conversion efficiency Epv of the solar cells 24a, 24b installed in each vehicle 20.

[0023] At predetermined intervals (e.g., every 1st, 2nd, 3rd day, etc.), the vehicle management device 10 calculates the amount of sunshine (sunshine conditions) during a day for parking positions P11-Pnm based on information on the position and height of structures 50 that cast shade on at least one of parking positions P11-Pnm (n and m are integers equal to or greater than 1) in parking lot P, such as buildings and plants around parking lot P, as well as the position information (latitude and longitude) of parking positions P11-Pnm in parking lot P, and information on the solar radiation angle at parking lot P. The vehicle management device 10 then ranks each parking position P11-Pnm in descending order of the amount of sunshine time R1-RL (where L is the value obtained by multiplying n by m). Figures 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of how sunshine and shade are formed due to changes in the solar elevation angle (solar radiation angle) in parking lot P. If there is a structure 50 near the parking lot P, depending on the solar elevation angle (solar radiation angle), at least one of the parking positions P11-Pnm in the parking lot P may be shaded, as shown in FIG. 2, or all of the parking positions P11-Pnm may be in the sun, as shown in FIG. 3. The vehicle management device 10 calculates the sunshine duration for each parking position P11-Pnm, taking into account such differences in sunlight at each parking position P11-Pnm. Note that for parking positions P11-Pnm that are partially in the sun and partially in the shade during a certain time period of the day, the sunshine duration is calculated assuming that a predetermined percentage of that time period that is less than the value 1 is in the sun. Furthermore, for parking positions with the same amount of sunlight, the one closer to the entrance of the parking lot P is ranked higher, but the one farther from the entrance of the parking lot P may also be ranked higher.

[0024] Next, the operation of the vehicle management device 10 configured as above, particularly the operation when setting the parking position of each vehicle 20 in the parking lot P, will be described. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a setting routine for setting the parking position executed by the vehicle management device 10. This process is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, etc.).

[0025] When this routine is executed, a process is executed in which the conversion efficiency Epv of each vehicle 20 and the rankings R1 to R1 of the sunshine hours of each parking position P11 to Pnm are input (step S100). Then, a target parking position P* of each vehicle 20 is set so that the ranking of the sunshine hours of the parking positions of vehicles 20 with high conversion efficiencies Epv is higher than the ranking of the sunshine hours of the parking positions of vehicles 20 with low conversion efficiencies Epv (step S110). The set target parking position P* is transmitted to each vehicle 20 (step S120), and this routine ends. The ECU 28 of each vehicle that receives the target parking position P* displays the received target parking position P* on a display (not shown) of the navigation device 26 to notify the user of the parking position. This can encourage the user of the vehicle 20 to park at the target parking position P*. In this way, vehicles 20 with high conversion efficiency Epv are parked in the sun for a longer period of time than vehicles 20 with low conversion efficiency Epv, and therefore, when considering the plurality of vehicles 20 as a whole, the amount of solar power generation per unit time or the total amount of power generation by the plurality of vehicles 20 becomes larger than when vehicles 20 with low conversion efficiency Epv are parked in the sun for a longer period of time. Therefore, the amount of power generation per unit time and the total amount of power generation by the plurality of vehicles 20 as a whole can be improved.

[0026] According to the vehicle management device 10 of the embodiment described above, the target parking position P* of each vehicle 20 is set based on the conversion efficiency Epv of the solar cells 24a, 24b of the vehicle 20 and the sunshine hours of the parking lot P so that the amount of power generated per unit time by solar power generation by the multiple vehicles 20 or the total amount of power generated by the solar cells 24a, 24b installed on the multiple vehicles 20 is increased, thereby making it possible to improve the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by the multiple vehicles 20 as a whole.

[0027] Furthermore, the target parking position P* is set so that vehicles 20 equipped with solar cells 24a, 24b having a high conversion efficiency Epv are parked in the sun for a longer period of time than vehicles 20 equipped with solar cells 24a, 24b having a low conversion efficiency Epv, thereby improving the amount of power generated per unit time and the total amount of power generated by multiple vehicles 20 as a whole.

[0028] Furthermore, according to the vehicle 20 of the embodiment, the navigation device 26 notifies the user of the target parking position P* (position information) transmitted by the vehicle management device 10, thereby improving the amount of power generation per unit time and the total amount of power generation for the entire number of vehicles 20.

[0029] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained. In the embodiment, the vehicle management device 10 corresponds to the "vehicle management device."

[0030] The correspondence between the main elements of the Examples and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, since the Examples are examples for specifically explaining the mode for implementing the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the Examples are merely specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0031] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples in any way, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out in various forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] The present invention can be used in vehicle management systems, the vehicle manufacturing industry, and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 vehicle management device, 20 vehicle, 22 battery, 24a, 24b solar cell, 26 navigation device (navigation device), 28 electronic control unit (ECU).

Claims

1. A vehicle management device that manages parking positions in a parking lot of a plurality of vehicles equipped with a solar cell and a power storage device that stores the power generated by the solar cell, Based on the sunshine time as the time during a day when each of the parking positions is in the sun, the parking positions are set so that the vehicles equipped with the solar cells having high conversion efficiency are parked in the sun for a longer period of time than the vehicles equipped with the solar cells having low conversion efficiency, thereby setting the parking positions of the vehicles so that the amount of power generated per unit time by solar power generation by the plurality of vehicles or the total amount of power generated by the solar cells equipped on the plurality of vehicles is increased. Vehicle management device.

2. 2. The vehicle management device according to claim 1, The position information of the set parking position is transmitted to the vehicle. Vehicle management device.

3. A vehicle managed by the vehicle management device according to claim 2, which is equipped with the solar cell and the power storage device, An information notification device that notifies information to the user of the vehicle Equipped with The information notification device notifies the user of the location information transmitted by the vehicle management device. vehicle.

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