Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program

Abstract

A matching server according to the present invention acquires first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquires second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and outputs, on the basis of the first connection information and the second connection information, association information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are associated.

Description

Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for managing vehicles and chargers.

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a management system that associates and stores identification information and charging efficiency of multiple chargers for charging electric vehicles, receives the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the electric vehicle from the electric vehicle connected to the charger via a network, identifies the charging efficiency of the charger connected to the electric vehicle based on the received identification information of the charger, identifies the charging efficiency of the electric vehicle based on the received identification information of the electric vehicle, and creates a charging plan that takes into account the charging efficiency of the charger and the charging efficiency of the electric vehicle.

[0003] However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, if the charger and the vehicle are not connected so that they can communicate with each other, it is difficult to provide users with a charging service that requires linking the charger and the vehicle, and further improvements are needed.

[0004] Patent No. 7407367

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a technology that can provide a user with a charging service that requires linking a charger to a vehicle, even when the charger and the vehicle are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other.

[0006] The information processing method of the present disclosure is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes acquiring first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquiring second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and outputting linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, even if the charger and the vehicle are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other, a charging service that requires linking the charger and the vehicle can be provided to the user.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a charging system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of a matching server according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a first flowchart for explaining an operation of a matching server according to a second embodiment; and FIG. 4 is a second flowchart for explaining an operation of a matching server according to the second embodiment.

[0009] (Knowledge forming the basis of the present disclosure) Conventionally, chargers for charging electric vehicles include standard chargers and rapid chargers. The charging cable of a standard charger does not have a communication line for communicating with the electric vehicle, and the standard charger cannot obtain vehicle information, such as the identification information of the electric vehicle, from the electric vehicle. For example, a charging service in which a charger charges an electric vehicle in a planned manner requires linking the charger to the vehicle. However, if the charger and the vehicle are not connected so as to be able to communicate, the charger cannot obtain information from the vehicle, making it difficult to provide users with a charging service that requires linking the charger to the vehicle.

[0010] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a quick charger is assumed as the charger. The charging cable of a quick charger has a communication line in addition to a power line. Therefore, Patent Document 1 is premised on the vehicle being able to acquire identification information of the charger connected to the vehicle. Therefore, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the case where the charger and the vehicle are not connected so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the following techniques are disclosed.

[0012] (1) An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes: acquiring first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquiring second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and outputting linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0013] According to this configuration, linking information indicating that the charger's identification information and the identification information of the vehicle connected to the charger are linked is output without the charger and the vehicle communicating with each other, so that even if the charger and the vehicle are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other, a charging service that requires linking the charger and the vehicle can be provided to the user.

[0014] (2) In the information processing method described in (1) above, the first connection information may further include first location information indicating the location of the charger, and the second connection information may further include second location information indicating the location of the vehicle.

[0015] According to this configuration, the identification information of the vehicle connected to the charger can be linked to the identification information of the charger using not only the first date and time and the second date and time, but also the first location information and the second location information.

[0016] (3) In the information processing method described in (1) above, the output of the linking information may include, when the first connection information is acquired, linking the identification information of the vehicle connected to the charger to the identification information of the charger based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0017] According to this configuration, the acquisition of the first connection information serves as a trigger to link the identification information of the vehicle connected to the charger with the identification information of the charger.

[0018] (4) In the information processing method described in any one of (1) to (3) above, acquiring the first connection information may include acquiring the first connection information transmitted by one of a plurality of chargers, the first connection information further including identification information of the one charger, and outputting the linking information may include, when the first connection information is acquired, linking the identification information of the vehicle connected to the one charger to the identification information of the one charger based on the first connection information and the second connection information, and outputting the linking information indicating that the identification information of the vehicle has been linked to the identification information of the one charger.

[0019] According to this configuration, the identification information of the vehicle is linked to the identification information of one of the chargers, so that it is possible to identify the vehicle connected to one of the chargers.

[0020] (5) In the information processing method described in (2) above, acquiring the second connection information may include acquiring multiple pieces of second connection information transmitted by multiple vehicles, and outputting the linking information may include extracting one vehicle from the multiple vehicles, for which the second date and time and the second location information included in the second connection information satisfy extraction conditions determined based on the first date and time and the first location information included in the first connection information, and linking the identification information of the extracted one vehicle to the identification information of the charger.

[0021] According to this configuration, one vehicle is extracted from among a plurality of vehicles, where the second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction conditions determined based on the first date and time and first location information included in the first connection information, so that one vehicle connected to the charger can be identified from among the plurality of vehicles.

[0022] (6) In the information processing method described in (5) above, the output of the linking information may include linking the identification information of the first vehicle included in the second connection information to the identification information of the charger if the second date and time included in the second connection information is included within a predetermined period including the first date and time included in the first connection information and the second location information included in the second connection information is within a predetermined range including the first location information included in the first connection information.

[0023] According to this configuration, if the first date and time obtained from the charger and the second date and time obtained from the vehicle are substantially the same, and the first location information obtained from the charger and the second location information obtained from the vehicle are substantially the same, it can be assumed that the vehicle is connected to the charger.Therefore, even if the charger and the vehicle are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other, the vehicle's identification information can be linked to the charger's identification information.

[0024] (7) In the information processing method described above in (6), the predetermined range may be set to be narrower as the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger increases.

[0025] According to this configuration, when the accuracy of the second location information received by the vehicle is low, the predetermined range is set wide, so that the vehicle connected to the charger can be reliably detected. Also, when the accuracy of the second location information received by the vehicle is high, the predetermined range is set narrow, so that even if there is another charger near the charger and a vehicle is connected to both the charger and the other charger, the vehicle connected to the charger can be reliably detected.

[0026] (8) In the information processing method described in (6) above, the predetermined range may be set to become narrower as the distance between the charger and other chargers present in the vicinity of the charger becomes shorter.

[0027] According to this configuration, even if a plurality of chargers are located close to each other, it is possible to reliably identify the vehicle connected to each of the plurality of chargers.

[0028] (9) In the information processing method described in any one of (6) to (8) above, the specified period may be set to be shorter as the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger increases.

[0029] According to this configuration, if the accuracy of the second location information received by the vehicle is low, the predetermined period is set long, so that a vehicle connected to the charger can be reliably detected.

[0030] (10) In the information processing method described in any one of (5) to (9) above, acquiring the second connection information may include periodically acquiring the second connection information, and outputting the linking information may use the most recently acquired second location information if the latest second connection information does not include the second location information.

[0031] With this configuration, even if the charger is installed in a location where the reception accuracy of the second location information is low and a vehicle located near the charger cannot receive the second location information, the vehicle connected to the charger can be identified using the last acquired second location information.

[0032] (11) In the information processing method described in any one of (5) to (10) above, if the one vehicle whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction conditions is not extracted from the plurality of vehicles, notification information indicating that the linking has failed may be output.

[0033] According to this configuration, if the vehicle connected to the charger cannot be identified, the vehicle can be charged at maximum output without providing a charging service tailored to the vehicle.

[0034] (12) In the information processing method described in any one of (5) to (11) above, the second connection information may further include charging power output from the charger to which the vehicle is connected, and acquiring the first connection information may include acquiring the first connection information transmitted by one charger among a plurality of chargers and further including identification information of the one charger, and further including, when two or more vehicles for which the second date and time and the second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition, identifying other chargers other than the one charger based on the first date and time and the first location information included in the first connection information, and further outputting a charging command for the one charger and the other chargers to output different charging powers, and further acquiring the charging power included in the second connection information transmitted by each of the two or more vehicles charged with the different charging powers based on the charging command, and further identifying one vehicle to be charged with the same charging power as the charging power output by the one charger, and linking identification information of the identified one vehicle to identification information of the one charger.

[0035] According to this configuration, when two or more vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from the plurality of vehicles, the one charger and the other chargers each output different charging power, and the two or more vehicles are charged with different charging powers. By comparing the charging power output by the one charger and the other chargers with the charging power obtained from the two or more vehicles, it is possible to identify the one vehicle connected to the one charger.

[0036] (13) The information processing method described in any one of (1) to (12) above may further include acquiring one or more pieces of information about the vehicle necessary to create a charging plan for the vehicle based on the outputted linking information, and creating the charging plan for the vehicle based on the one or more pieces of information.

[0037] According to this configuration, a charging plan for the vehicle is created, and therefore a charging service can be provided to the user in which the vehicle is charged in accordance with the charging plan.

[0038] Furthermore, the present disclosure can be realized not only as an information processing method that executes the characteristic processes described above, but also as an information processing device having a characteristic configuration corresponding to the characteristic processes executed by the information processing method. Furthermore, the present disclosure can also be realized as a computer program that causes a computer to execute the characteristic processes included in such an information processing method. Therefore, the same effects as those of the above information processing method can also be achieved in the following other aspects.

[0039] (14) An information processing device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a communication unit and a control unit, wherein the communication unit acquires first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle, acquires second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger, and outputs linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0040] (15) An information processing program according to another aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to function as follows: acquire first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquire second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and output linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0041] (16) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to another aspect of the present disclosure records the information processing program described in (15) above.

[0042] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that each of the embodiments described below represents a specific example of the present disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, components, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims that represent the highest concept are described as optional components. Furthermore, in all embodiments, the respective contents can be combined.

[0043] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a charging system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] The charging system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle management server 1, a charger management server 2, a matching server 3, an electric vehicle 4, and a charger 5.

[0045] The electric vehicle 4 is an example of a vehicle that moves using an on-board battery. The battery is a rechargeable secondary battery. The electric vehicle 4 is, for example, an electric car, an electric truck, an electric bus, or an electric motorcycle, and moves by supplying power charged in the battery to an electric motor. The electric vehicle 4 is connected to the vehicle management server 1 via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The network is, for example, the Internet.

[0046] The electric vehicle 4 periodically transmits second connection information to the vehicle management server 1. The second connection information includes a vehicle ID (identification information) for identifying the electric vehicle 4, the current date and time, second location information indicating the location of the electric vehicle 4, and connection status information indicating whether the electric vehicle 4 is connected to the charger. For example, the electric vehicle 4 may transmit the second connection information to the vehicle management server 1 every minute.

[0047] The electric vehicle 4 stores a vehicle ID in advance. The second location information is expressed, for example, by latitude and longitude. The electric vehicle 4 is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver that acquires location information indicating the current location of the electric vehicle 4.

[0048] When the electric vehicle 4 is not connected to the charger, the connection status information indicates a non-connected state (for example, "0"), and when the electric vehicle 4 is connected to the charger, the connection status information indicates a connected state (for example, "1"). The second date and time indicating the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 was connected to the charger can be identified from the current date and time and the connection status information. In other words, the current date and time when the connection status information switches from the non-connected state to the connected state is the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 was connected to the charger. The second connection information may further include a second date and time indicating the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 was connected to the charger. The second connection information may also include the current remaining power amount (remaining capacity) of the battery provided in the electric vehicle 4.

[0049] The charger 5 charges the electric vehicle 4. The charger 5 is a standard charger. When a connector provided at the end of a charging cable 6 of the charger 5 is inserted into a charging port of the electric vehicle 4, the charger 5 and the electric vehicle 4 are connected via the charging cable 6, and charging is performed from the charger 5 to the electric vehicle 4. The standard charger outputs a charging power of, for example, 3 kW to 6 kW.

[0050] The charging cable 6 of the standard charger does not have a communication line for communicating with the electric vehicle 4. Therefore, the charger 5 is not connected to be able to communicate with the electric vehicle 4, and is unable to acquire information from the electric vehicle 4.

[0051] The charger 5 is connected to the charger management server 2 via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The network is, for example, the Internet. When the charger 5 is connected to the electric vehicle 4, the charger 5 transmits to the charger management server 2 first connection information including a charger ID (identification information) for identifying the charger 5, first location information indicating the location of the charger 5, and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger 5 was connected to the electric vehicle 4. The charger 5 stores the charger ID and the first location information in advance. The first location information is expressed, for example, by latitude and longitude.

[0052] In addition, the charger 5 may be equipped with a GPS receiver that acquires location information indicating the current location of the charger 5, and the location information received by the GPS receiver may be transmitted to the charger management server 2 as first location information.

[0053] Furthermore, in the present first embodiment, the charger 5 transmits the first location information to the charger management server 2, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited to this. For example, the storage unit 23 of the charger management server 2 may store the first location information in advance. Note that the charger management server 2 may store the first location information by accepting input of the first location information when the charger 5 is installed. Also, the charger management server 2 may update the stored first location information by periodically accepting input of the first location information.

[0054] The vehicle management server 1 includes at least a computer system including, for example, a control program, a processing circuit such as a processor or logic circuit that executes the control program, and a recording device such as an internal memory or an accessible external memory that stores the control program. Note that the vehicle management server 1 may be realized, for example, by hardware implementation using the processing circuit, or by execution of a software program stored in the memory by the processing circuit or distributed from an external server, or by a combination of these hardware and software implementations.

[0055] The vehicle management server 1 is connected to the electric vehicles 4 and the matching server 3 via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The network is, for example, the Internet. The vehicle management server 1 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, and a storage unit 13.

[0056] The communication unit 11 receives the second connection information periodically transmitted by the electric vehicle 4 .

[0057] The control unit 12 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The control unit 12 stores the second connection information received by the communication unit 11 in the storage unit 13.

[0058] The storage unit 13 is a storage device capable of storing various types of information, such as a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory. The storage unit 13 stores the second connection information received by the communication unit 11.

[0059] Furthermore, the control unit 12 transmits the second connection information received by the communication unit 11 to the matching server 3 via the communication unit 11. The communication unit 11 periodically transmits the second connection information received to the matching server 3.

[0060] The charger management server 2 includes at least a computer system including, for example, a control program, a processing circuit such as a processor or logic circuit that executes the control program, and a recording device such as an internal memory or an accessible external memory that stores the control program. Note that the charger management server 2 may be realized, for example, by hardware implementation using the processing circuit, or by execution of a software program stored in the memory by the processing circuit or distributed from an external server, or by a combination of these hardware and software implementations.

[0061] The charger management server 2 is connected to the charger 5 and the matching server 3 via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The network is, for example, the Internet. The charger management server 2 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23.

[0062] The communication unit 21 receives the first connection information transmitted by the charger 5 .

[0063] The control unit 22 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The control unit 22 stores the first connection information received by the communication unit 21 in the storage unit 23.

[0064] The storage unit 23 is a storage device capable of storing various types of information, such as a RAM, an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 23 stores the first connection information received by the communication unit 21.

[0065] Furthermore, the control unit 22 transmits the first connection information received by the communication unit 21 to the matching server 3 via the communication unit 21. The communication unit 21 transmits the received first connection information to the matching server 3.

[0066] The matching server 3 includes at least a computer system including, for example, a control program, a processing circuit such as a processor or logic circuit that executes the control program, and a recording device such as an internal memory or an accessible external memory that stores the control program. Note that the matching server 3 may be realized, for example, by hardware implementation using the processing circuit, or by execution of a software program stored in the memory by the processing circuit or distributed from an external server, or by a combination of these hardware and software implementations.

[0067] The matching server 3 is connected to the vehicle management server 1 and the charger management server 2 via a network so that they can communicate with each other. The network is, for example, the Internet. The matching server 3 is an example of an information processing device. The matching server 3 includes a communication unit 31, a control unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

[0068] The communication unit 31 acquires first connection information transmitted by the charger 5, the first location information indicating the location of the charger 5, and the first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger 5 was connected to the vehicle. The first connection information transmitted by the charger 5 is transmitted to the matching server 3 via the charger management server 2. The communication unit 31 receives the first connection information transmitted by the charger management server 2.

[0069] The communication unit 31 periodically acquires second connection information transmitted by the electric vehicle 4, the second connection information including identification information of the electric vehicle 4, second location information indicating the location of the electric vehicle 4, and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 connected to the charger 5. The second connection information transmitted by the electric vehicle 4 is transmitted to the matching server 3 via the vehicle management server 1. The communication unit 31 periodically receives the second connection information transmitted by the vehicle management server 1.

[0070] The control unit 32 stores the second connection information received by the communication unit 31 in the storage unit 33. The control unit 32 stores the second connection information periodically transmitted by the electric vehicle 4 in the storage unit 33.

[0071] The storage unit 33 stores the second connection information received by the communication unit 31. The storage unit 33 stores the second connection information periodically transmitted by the electric vehicles 4. The storage unit 33 may store the second connection information transmitted by the multiple electric vehicles in chronological order for each electric vehicle.

[0072] Furthermore, the control unit 32 outputs to the communication unit 31 linking information indicating that the charger ID (identification information) of the charger 5 and the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information. When the communication unit 31 acquires the first connection information, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 connected to the charger 5 to the charger 5 based on the first connection information and the second connection information. The control unit 32 outputs to the communication unit 31 linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) is linked to the charger 5. The communication unit 31 transmits to the charger management server 2 the linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 is linked to the charger 5. Note that the control unit 32 may store the linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) is linked to the charger 5 in the storage unit 33.

[0073] The matching server 3 may have the functions of the vehicle management server 1. The matching server 3 may also have the functions of the charger management server 2. Furthermore, the matching server 3 may have the functions of both the vehicle management server 1 and the charger management server 2.

[0074] Furthermore, the charging system 10 may include one charger 5 or multiple chargers. Furthermore, the charging system 10 may include one electric vehicle 4 or multiple electric vehicles.

[0075] The communication unit 31 may acquire first connection information transmitted by one charger 5 out of the multiple chargers, the first connection information further including a charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5. When the communication unit 31 acquires the first connection information, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 connected to the one charger 5 to the charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5 based on the first connection information and the second connection information. Then, the control unit 32 outputs linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 has been linked to the charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5 to the communication unit 31. The communication unit 31 transmits the linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 has been linked to the charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5 to the charger management server 2. Note that the control unit 32 may store the linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) has been linked to the charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5 in the storage unit 33.

[0076] The plurality of electric vehicles each periodically transmit second connection information. The communication unit 31 acquires the plurality of pieces of second connection information transmitted by the plurality of electric vehicles. The control unit 32 extracts one electric vehicle 4 from the plurality of electric vehicles, the second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfying extraction conditions determined based on the first date and time and first location information included in the first connection information. The control unit 32 links the vehicle ID (identification information) of the extracted one electric vehicle 4 to the charger 5.

[0077] The control unit 32 outputs to the communication unit 31 linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of one electric vehicle 4 has been linked to the charger 5. The communication unit 31 transmits to the charger management server 2 the linking information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of one electric vehicle 4 has been linked to the charger 5. Furthermore, if one electric vehicle 4 whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information meets the extraction conditions is not extracted from the multiple electric vehicles, the control unit 32 outputs to the communication unit 31 notification information indicating that the linking has failed.

[0078] For example, if the electric vehicle 4 connected to the charger 5 is not an electric vehicle that is eligible for service, if the clock of the electric vehicle 4 is malfunctioning, if the GPS receiver of the electric vehicle 4 is malfunctioning, or if a communication failure prevents acquisition of the second connection information from the electric vehicle 4, it is possible that an electric vehicle whose second date / time and second location information satisfy the extraction condition will not be extracted. Furthermore, if the predetermined range is set wide, if the predetermined period is set long, or if adjacent chargers are close to each other and the adjacent chargers are connected to the electric vehicle at the same time, it is possible that two or more electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information satisfy the extraction condition will be extracted.

[0079] Therefore, when there are zero electric vehicles among the plurality of electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition, the control unit 32 outputs notification information indicating that the linking has failed to the communication unit 31. Alternatively, when two or more electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles, the control unit 32 outputs notification information indicating that the linking has failed to the communication unit 31. The communication unit 31 transmits notification information indicating that the linking has failed to the charger management server 2.

[0080] More specifically, when the second date and time included in the second connection information is included within a predetermined period that includes the first date and time included in the first connection information, and the second location information included in the second connection information is within a predetermined range that includes the first location information included in the first connection information, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID (identification information) of one electric vehicle 4 included in the second connection information to the charger 5. The predetermined period is the period between a date and time obtained by subtracting a predetermined time from the first date and time included in the first connection information and a date and time obtained by adding a predetermined time to the first date and time.

[0081] The predetermined period and the predetermined range are determined in advance for each charger and are stored in advance for each charger in the storage unit 33. The control unit 32 determines the extraction conditions using the predetermined period and the predetermined range corresponding to the charger 5.

[0082] For example, the predetermined range may be a circular area with a predetermined radius centered on the first location information. Alternatively, the predetermined range may be a square area with the midpoints of each of the four sides being points a predetermined distance north, south, east, and west from the first location information. Alternatively, the predetermined range may be an area arbitrarily set so as not to overlap with areas set for other chargers and to include the first location information.

[0083] Furthermore, the predetermined range changes depending on the installation environment of the charger 5. The predetermined range is set to be narrower as the accuracy of the second position information received in the vicinity of the charger 5 increases. In other words, the accuracy of the position information received by the GPS receiver in the vicinity of the charger 5 when the charger 5 is installed in the suburbs or outdoors is higher than the accuracy of the position information received by the GPS receiver in the vicinity of the charger 5 when the charger 5 is installed in the city center or indoors. Therefore, the predetermined range when the charger 5 is installed in the suburbs or outdoors is set to be narrower than the predetermined range when the charger 5 is installed in the city center or indoors.

[0084] Furthermore, if there is another charger near the charger 5 and two electric vehicles are connected to the charger 5 and the other charger substantially at the same time, there is a risk that the two electric vehicles will be extracted. Therefore, the predetermined range is set to be narrower as the distance between the charger 5 and the other charger present in the vicinity of the charger 5 becomes shorter.

[0085] Furthermore, the predetermined period varies depending on the installation environment of the charger 5. The predetermined period is set to be shorter as the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger 5 increases. The predetermined period when the charger 5 is installed in the suburbs or outdoors is set to be shorter than the predetermined period when the charger 5 is installed in an urban area or indoors.

[0086] Furthermore, if the charger 5 is installed in a location where reception accuracy of the second position information (GPS signal) is low, such as indoors, the electric vehicle 4 may not be able to acquire the second position information in the vicinity of the charger 5. Therefore, if the latest second connection information does not include the second position information, the control unit 32 may use the most recently acquired second position information. For example, if the electric vehicle 4 enters indoors and is no longer able to receive the second position information, the control unit 32 may use the second position information received outdoors before entering indoors to extract one vehicle whose second date, time, and second position information satisfy the extraction condition.

[0087] Furthermore, even if the second connection information includes the second location information, the accuracy of the received second location information (GPS signal) may be low in a location where the reception accuracy of the second location information is low. Therefore, when the second location information included in the second connection information is located within a predetermined area including the first location information, the control unit 32 may use second location information acquired outside the predetermined area. The predetermined area is set according to the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger 5, and may be, for example, an indoor area.

[0088] The communication unit 21 of the charger management server 2 receives the linking information or notification information transmitted by the matching server 3. When the communication unit 21 receives the linking information, the control unit 22 acquires one or more pieces of information related to the electric vehicle 4 that are necessary to create a charging plan for the electric vehicle 4, based on the linking information. The control unit 22 creates a charging plan for the electric vehicle 4 based on the one or more pieces of information. A service that charges the electric vehicle 4 in accordance with a charging plan is an example of a charging service that requires linking between a charger and a vehicle. For example, the control unit 22 creates one of a first charging plan, a second charging plan, a third charging plan, and a fourth charging plan.

[0089] First, the first charging plan will be described. The communication unit 21 acquires history information of the electric vehicle 4 and the storage battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4 based on the vehicle ID that identifies the electric vehicle 4. The storage unit 33 of the matching server 3 stores the history information of the electric vehicle 4 and the storage battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4. The communication unit 21 of the charger management server 2 acquires history information and storage battery capacity of the vehicle ID linked to the charger 5 from the matching server 3. The history information includes the arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the remaining battery power at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4, and the remaining battery power at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4. The arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4 is the current date and time when the connection status information included in the second connection information switches from the unconnected state to the connected state. The departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4 is the current date and time when the connection status information included in the second connection information switches from the connected state to the unconnected state. The remaining battery power at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4 is the remaining power amount when the connection status information included in the second connection information switches from the unconnected state to the connected state. The remaining battery charge at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4 is the remaining power charge when the connection status information included in the second connection information switches from a connected state to a disconnected state. The communication unit 21 acquires the time-zone-specific electricity unit price from the electric power company. The control unit 22 predicts the scheduled departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4 and the target remaining battery charge at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4 from the acquired history information. The control unit 22 creates a first charging plan that minimizes the charging power cost based on the arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the scheduled departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the remaining battery charge at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4, the target remaining battery charge at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4, the battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4, and the time-zone-specific electricity unit price.

[0090] Next, the second charging plan will be described. The control unit 22 creates a second charging plan that minimizes the charging power cost and minimizes the time in which the battery is fully charged, based on the arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the scheduled departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the remaining battery level at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4, the target remaining battery level at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4, the storage battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4, and the time-of-day electricity unit price. If a storage battery is charged in a fully charged state, deterioration progresses. Therefore, in the second charging plan, the time in which the battery is fully charged is minimized.

[0091] Next, the third charging plan will be described. The control unit 22 further acquires an output power threshold of a charging site where multiple chargers are installed. For example, the output power threshold of the charging site is determined in advance by a contract with an electric power company. The control unit 22 creates a third charging plan based on the arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the scheduled departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the remaining battery level at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4, the target remaining battery level at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4, the storage battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4, the time-of-day electricity unit price, and the output power threshold, such that the total charging power of multiple electric vehicles connected to multiple chargers at the charging site is equal to or less than the output power threshold and the charging power cost for each of the multiple electric vehicles is minimized.

[0092] Next, the fourth charging plan will be described. The communication unit 21 further acquires power constraint information indicating regions and time periods where power constraints occur from the electric power company. The control unit 22 creates a fourth charging plan based on the arrival date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the scheduled departure date and time of the electric vehicle 4, the remaining battery level at the time of arrival of the electric vehicle 4, the target remaining battery level at the time of departure of the electric vehicle 4, the battery capacity of the electric vehicle 4, the time-of-day electricity price, and the power constraint information, when the charger 5 is located in the region indicated in the power constraint information, in order to charge the electric vehicle 4 at a predetermined power level or less during the time periods where power constraints occur and to minimize the charging power cost for the electric vehicle 4.

[0093] The charging plans are not limited to the above-described first, second, third, and fourth charging plans, and the control unit 22 may create other charging plans.

[0094] The communication unit 21 transmits the charging plan created by the control unit 22 to the charger 5. The charger 5 charges the electric vehicle 4 in accordance with the charging plan transmitted by the charger management server 2.

[0095] On the other hand, when notification information indicating that the linking has failed is received by the communication unit 21, the control unit 22 instructs the charger 5 to charge the electric vehicle 4 at maximum output. The communication unit 21 transmits a control instruction to the charger 5 to charge the electric vehicle 4 at maximum output. The charger 5 charges the electric vehicle 4 at maximum output in accordance with the control instruction transmitted by the charger management server 2.

[0096] In the first embodiment, the charger management server 2 creates the charging plan, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited to this, and the matching server 3 may create the charging plan.

[0097] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the first connection information includes first location information indicating the location of the charger 5, and the second connection information includes second location information indicating the location of the electric vehicle 4, but the present disclosure is not particularly limited to this. The first connection information may not include the first location information, but may include identification information of the charger 5 and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger 5 was connected to the vehicle, and the second connection information may not include the second location information, but may include identification information of the electric vehicle 4 and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 was connected to the charger 5. Then, the control unit 32 may output linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger 5 and the identification information of the electric vehicle 4 are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0098] Furthermore, the first connection information may not include identification information of the charger 5, but may include first location information indicating the location of the charger 5 and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger 5 was connected to the vehicle, and the second connection information may include identification information of the electric vehicle 4, second location information indicating the location of the electric vehicle 4, and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the electric vehicle 4 was connected to the charger 5. Then, the control unit 32 may output linking information indicating that the identification information of the electric vehicle 4 has been linked to the charger 5, based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

[0099] Next, the operation of matching server 3 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0100] FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of matching server 3 according to the first embodiment.

[0101] First, in step S1, the communication unit 31 receives the second connection information transmitted by the vehicle management server 1. The electric vehicle 4 periodically transmits the second connection information to the vehicle management server 1, and the vehicle management server 1 periodically transmits the second connection information received from the electric vehicle 4 to the matching server 3.

[0102] Next, in step S2, the control unit 32 stores the second connection information received by the communication unit 31 in the storage unit 33. At this time, the storage unit 33 stores the second connection information in chronological order for each vehicle ID.

[0103] Next, in step S3, the control unit 32 determines whether or not the first connection information has been received by the communication unit 31. When the electric vehicle 4 is connected to the charger 5, the charger 5 transmits the first connection information to the charger management server 2, and the charger management server 2 periodically transmits the first connection information received from the charger 5 to the matching server 3.

[0104] If it is determined that the first connection information has not been received (NO in step S3), the process returns to step S1.

[0105] On the other hand, if it is determined that the first connection information has been received (YES in step S3), in step S4 the control unit 32 extracts, from the plurality of electric vehicles, electric vehicles 4 for which the second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy an extraction condition determined based on the first date and time and first location information included in the first connection information. Here, the control unit 32 extracts, from the plurality of electric vehicles, electric vehicles 4 for which the second date and time included in the second connection information is included within a predetermined period that includes the first date and time included in the first connection information and the second location information included in the second connection information is located within a predetermined range that includes the first location information included in the first connection information.

[0106] Next, in step S5, the control unit 32 determines whether one electric vehicle 4 whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition has been extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles. Here, if it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition has been extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles (YES in step S5), in step S6, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID (identification information) of the extracted one electric vehicle 4 to the charger 5.

[0107] When the charging system 10 includes one charger 5, there is no need to identify the one charger 5, and the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID of one electric vehicle 4 to the charger 5. On the other hand, when the charging system 10 includes multiple chargers, there is a need to identify one charger 5 from among the multiple chargers, and the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID of one electric vehicle 4 to the charger ID of one charger 5.

[0108] Next, in step S7 , the communication unit 31 transmits to the charger management server 2 association information indicating that the vehicle ID (identification information) of one electric vehicle 4 has been associated with the charger 5 .

[0109] On the other hand, if it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition has not been extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles, that is, if it is determined that there are zero electric vehicles whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition, or if it is determined that two or more electric vehicles whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition have been extracted (NO in step S5), then in step S8, the communication unit 31 sends notification information to the charger management server 2 indicating that the linking has failed.

[0110] In this way, in the first embodiment, the vehicle ID (identification information) of the electric vehicle 4 connected to the charger 5 is linked to the charger 5 without the charger 5 and the electric vehicle 4 communicating with each other. Therefore, even if the charger 5 and the electric vehicle 4 are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other, a charging service that requires linking the charger 5 and the electric vehicle 4 can be provided to the user.

[0111] Furthermore, since the electric vehicle 4 connected to the charger 5 is identified, if the charging cost for each of the multiple electric vehicles connected to the charger 5 is different, the charging fee can be calculated for each of the multiple electric vehicles, and charging can be performed for each of the multiple electric vehicles.

[0112] Furthermore, since the charger 5 to which the electric vehicle 4 is connected is identified, if the proportion of renewable energy in the charging power differs for each charger 5, it is possible to calculate the power charged by the electric vehicle 4 using renewable energy.

[0113] Furthermore, by acquiring the proportion of renewable energy in the charging power for each charger 5, the control unit 22 can create a charging plan in which the proportion of renewable energy in the charging power is equal to or greater than a predetermined proportion.

[0114] (Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, when two or more electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from a plurality of electric vehicles, notification information indicating that the linking has failed is output. In contrast, in the second embodiment, when two or more electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from a plurality of electric vehicles, one electric vehicle 4 connected to one charger 5 is identified from the two or more extracted electric vehicles.

[0115] The configuration of the charging system in the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of charging system 10 in the first embodiment, and therefore, the second embodiment will be described using charging system 10 shown in FIG.

[0116] The second connection information further includes the charging power output from the charger 5 to which the electric vehicle 4 is connected. That is, the electric vehicle 4 periodically transmits to the vehicle management server 1 the second connection information including a vehicle ID (identification information) for identifying the electric vehicle 4, the current date and time, second location information indicating the location of the electric vehicle 4, connection status information indicating whether the electric vehicle 4 is connected to the charger, and the charging power output from the charger 5 to which the electric vehicle 4 is connected.

[0117] The communication unit 31 acquires first connection information transmitted by one charger 5 among the plurality of chargers, the first connection information further including a charger ID (identification information) of the one charger 5 .

[0118] When two or more electric vehicles for which the second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles, the control unit 32 identifies another charger other than the one charger 5 based on the first date and time and first location information included in the first connection information. More specifically, the control unit 32 identifies another charger from the plurality of chargers that is included in a predetermined period that includes the first date and time included in the first connection information transmitted by the one charger 5 and that is present within a predetermined range that includes the first location information included in the first connection information transmitted by the one charger 5. Note that the control unit 32 is not limited to identifying one other charger, and may identify multiple other chargers.

[0119] An example of extracting two or more electric vehicles is when there is another charger near one charger 5, and the one electric vehicle and the other charger are connected to the one charger 5 and the other charger at the same time.

[0120] Furthermore, the control unit 32 outputs a charging command for the first charger 5 and the other chargers to output different charging powers. The communication unit 31 transmits a charging command for the first charger 5 and the other chargers to output different charging powers to the charger management server 2. The charger management server 2 transmits a charging command for outputting different charging powers to the first charger 5 and the other chargers. The first charger 5 and the other chargers output different charging powers and charge two or more electric vehicles connected to them.

[0121] The communication unit 31 receives second connection information transmitted from each of two or more electric vehicles that are charged with different charging powers based on the charging command. The control unit 32 acquires the charging powers included in the second connection information transmitted from each of the two or more electric vehicles.

[0122] The control unit 32 identifies one electric vehicle 4 that is to be charged with the same charging power as the charging power output by one charger 5, and links the vehicle ID (identification information) of the identified one electric vehicle 4 to the charger ID (identification information) of one charger 5.

[0123] Next, the operation of the matching server 3 according to the second embodiment will be described.

[0124] FIG. 3 is a first flowchart for explaining the operation of the matching server 3 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a second flowchart for explaining the operation of the matching server 3 according to the second embodiment.

[0125] The processing of steps S21 to S25 shown in FIG. 3 is the same as the processing of steps S1 to S5 shown in FIG. 2, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0126] If it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information meets the extraction conditions has been extracted from among the multiple electric vehicles (YES in step S25), in step S26, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID of the extracted one electric vehicle 4 to the charger ID of one charger 5.

[0127] Next, in step S27 , the communication unit 31 transmits to the charger management server 2 association information indicating that the vehicle ID of one electric vehicle 4 has been associated with the charger ID of one charger 5 .

[0128] On the other hand, if it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information meets the extraction conditions has not been extracted from the multiple electric vehicles (NO in step S25), in step S28, the control unit 32 determines whether two or more electric vehicles whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information meet the extraction conditions have been extracted from the multiple electric vehicles.

[0129] Here, if it is determined that two or more electric vehicles whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction conditions have not been extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles, that is, if it is determined that there are zero electric vehicles whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction conditions (NO in step S28), in step S29, the communication unit 31 sends notification information to the charger management server 2 indicating that the linking has failed.

[0130] On the other hand, if it is determined that two or more electric vehicles have been extracted from the plurality of electric vehicles, and the second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information meet the extraction conditions (YES in step S28), in step S30, the control unit 32 identifies chargers other than the one charger 5 based on the first date and time and first location information included in the first connection information.

[0131] Next, in step S31, the communication unit 31 transmits a charging command for causing the first charger 5 and the other chargers to output different charging powers to the charger management server 2. The communication unit 31 transmits the charging command output from the control unit 32 to the charger management server 2.

[0132] Next, in step S32, the communication unit 31 receives two or more pieces of second connection information transmitted by two or more electric vehicles that have been charged with different charging powers based on the charging command.

[0133] Next, in step S33, the control unit 32 identifies one electric vehicle 4 to be charged with the same charging power as the charging power output by one charger 5, based on the two or more pieces of second connection information received.

[0134] Next, in step S34, the control unit 32 determines whether or not one electric vehicle 4 has been identified from two or more electric vehicles. If it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 has been identified (YES in step S34), in step S35, the control unit 32 links the vehicle ID of the one extracted electric vehicle 4 to the charger ID of one charger 5.

[0135] Next, in step S36 , the communication unit 31 transmits to the charger management server 2 association information indicating that the vehicle ID of one electric vehicle 4 has been associated with the charger ID of one charger 5 .

[0136] On the other hand, if it is determined that one electric vehicle 4 has not been identified (NO in step S34), in step S37, the communication unit 31 transmits notification information indicating that the linking has failed to the charger management server 2.

[0137] In this way, in the second embodiment, when two or more electric vehicles whose second date / time and second location information included in the second connection information satisfy the extraction condition are extracted from a plurality of electric vehicles, the one charger 5 and the other chargers each output different charging power, and the two or more electric vehicles are charged with different charging powers. By comparing the charging power output by the one charger 5 and the other chargers with the charging power obtained from the two or more electric vehicles, it is possible to identify the one electric vehicle 4 connected to the one charger 5.

[0138] In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. Furthermore, the program may be executed by another independent computer system by recording the program on a recording medium and transferring it, or by transferring the program via a network.

[0139] Some or all of the functions of the device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure are typically realized as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), which is an integrated circuit. These may be individually integrated into a single chip, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single chip. Furthermore, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. It is also possible to use an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which can be programmed after LSI manufacturing, or a reconfigurable processor, which can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI.

[0140] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may be realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program.

[0141] Furthermore, all the numbers used above are merely examples to specifically explain the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the numbers used as examples.

[0142] The order in which the steps are executed in the above flowchart is merely an example for specifically explaining the present disclosure, and other orders may be used as long as similar effects are obtained. Also, some of the steps may be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps.

[0143] The technology disclosed herein is useful as a technology for managing vehicles and chargers, because it can provide users with charging services that require linking a charger to a vehicle even when the charger and vehicle are not connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other.

Claims

1. An information processing method executed by a computer, comprising: acquiring first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquiring second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and outputting linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first connection information further includes first location information indicating the location of the charger, and the second connection information further includes second location information indicating the location of the vehicle.

3. The information processing method of claim 1, wherein outputting the linking information includes, when the first connection information is acquired, linking the identification information of the vehicle connected to the charger to the identification information of the charger based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

4. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein acquiring the first connection information includes acquiring the first connection information transmitted by one charger out of a plurality of chargers and further including identification information of the one charger, and outputting the linking information includes, when the first connection information is acquired, linking the identification information of the vehicle connected to the one charger to the identification information of the one charger based on the first connection information and the second connection information, and outputting the linking information indicating that the identification information of the vehicle has been linked to the identification information of the one charger.

5. The information processing method of claim 2, wherein acquiring the second connection information includes acquiring a plurality of pieces of second connection information transmitted by a plurality of vehicles, and outputting the linking information includes extracting one vehicle from the plurality of vehicles, the second date and time and the second location information included in the second connection information satisfying extraction conditions determined based on the first date and time and the first location information included in the first connection information, and linking the identification information of the extracted one vehicle to the identification information of the charger.

6. The information processing method of claim 5, wherein outputting the linking information includes linking the identification information of the first vehicle included in the second connection information to the identification information of the charger when the second date and time included in the second connection information is included within a predetermined period including the first date and time included in the first connection information and the second location information included in the second connection information is within a predetermined range including the first location information included in the first connection information.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined range is set to be narrower as the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger increases.

8. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined range is set to become narrower as the distance between the charger and other chargers present in the vicinity of the charger becomes shorter.

9. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined period is set to be shorter as the accuracy of the second location information received in the vicinity of the charger increases.

10. An information processing method as described in claim 5, wherein acquiring the second connection information includes periodically acquiring the second connection information, and outputting the linking information uses the most recently acquired second location information if the latest second connection information does not include the second location information.

11. The information processing method of claim 5, further comprising outputting notification information indicating that linking has failed if the one vehicle whose second date and time and second location information included in the second connection information meets the extraction conditions is not extracted from the plurality of vehicles.

12. The information processing method of claim 5, further comprising: the second connection information further including charging power output from the charger to which the vehicle is connected; acquiring the first connection information includes acquiring the first connection information transmitted by one of the plurality of chargers, the first connection information further including identification information of the one charger; and when two or more vehicles are extracted from the plurality of vehicles, the second date and time and the second location information included in the second connection information satisfying the extraction condition, identifying chargers other than the one charger based on the first date and time and the first location information included in the first connection information; outputting a charging command for the one charger and the other chargers to output different charging powers; acquiring the charging power included in the second connection information transmitted by each of the two or more vehicles charged with the different charging powers based on the charging command; and identifying one vehicle to be charged with the same charging power as the charging power output by the one charger, and linking the identification information of the identified one vehicle to the identification information of the one charger.

13. An information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: acquiring one or more pieces of information about the vehicle necessary to create a charging plan for the vehicle based on the output linking information; and creating the charging plan for the vehicle based on the one or more pieces of information.

14. An information processing device comprising: a communication unit; and a control unit, wherein the communication unit acquires first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; and acquires second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and the control unit outputs linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle are linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

15. An information processing program that causes a computer to function as follows: acquire first connection information transmitted by a charger, the first connection information including identification information of the charger and a first date and time indicating the date and time when the charger was connected to a vehicle; acquire second connection information transmitted by the vehicle, the second connection information including identification information of the vehicle and a second date and time indicating the date and time when the vehicle was connected to the charger; and output linking information indicating that the identification information of the charger and the identification information of the vehicle have been linked based on the first connection information and the second connection information.

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