Driving range estimation system, vehicle-mounted device, external device, driving range estimation method, driving range estimation program, and correction coefficient calculation program

Abstract

The present invention is provided with a vehicle-mounted device (7) and an external device (4) that is capable of performing data communication with the vehicle-mounted device, and estimates the driving range of a host vehicle. The present invention comprises: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit (21d) that acquires SOC prediction information indicating the battery charge state of another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit (21e) that acquires actual energy consumption information of the another vehicle indicating energy which has been actually consumed in the another vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation unit (21f) that calculates a correction coefficient on the basis of the SOC prediction information of the another vehicle and the actual energy consumption information of the another vehicle; a driving range estimation unit (16l) that estimates the driving range of the host vehicle; and a driving range correction unit (16m) that corrects the driving range of the host vehicle on the basis of the correction coefficient.

Description

Estimation System for Endurance Distance, Vehicle-mounted Device, External Device, Method for Estimating Endurance Distance, Program for Estimating Endurance Distance, and Program for Calculating Correction Coefficient Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2024-207395 filed on November 28, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to an estimation system for endurance distance, a vehicle-mounted device, an external device, a method for estimating endurance distance, a program for estimating endurance distance, and a program for calculating a correction coefficient.

[0003] In order to estimate the endurance distance of a vehicle, it is necessary to accurately estimate the energy consumption of the vehicle. If the energy consumption of the vehicle can be accurately estimated, for example, the endurance distance of the vehicle can be estimated from the relationship with the remaining battery power at a reference point such as the current location or the departure point. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for obtaining environmental information regarding a planned travel route from other vehicles and estimating the endurance distance based on the obtained environmental information (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-176630

[0005] In the technique of Patent Document 1, since it is configured to obtain environmental information specified in the design stage in advance, it is not possible to correct a decrease in the estimation accuracy of the endurance distance due to factors that could not be assumed in the design stage. In order to improve this estimation accuracy, it is necessary to collect and learn market data, and SOC (State Of Charge) prediction information indicating the prediction of the battery charge state of other vehicles is required as market data. However, there is a problem that the estimation accuracy of the endurance distance cannot be improved because the difference between the SOC prediction information of other vehicles and the actual energy consumption information of other vehicles indicating the actually consumed energy in other vehicles is not considered.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to appropriately improve the estimation accuracy of the endurance distance.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure comprises an in-vehicle device and an external device capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, for estimating the driving range of the vehicle. The driving range estimation system comprises: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit that acquires SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit that acquires actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation unit that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a driving range estimation unit that estimates the driving range of the vehicle; and a driving range correction unit that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure enables data communication between the in-vehicle device and an external device that calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle. The in-vehicle device includes a correction coefficient acquisition unit that acquires the correction coefficient from the external device, a driving range estimation unit that estimates the driving range of the own vehicle, and a driving range correction unit that corrects the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0009] One aspect of this disclosure enables data communication with an in-vehicle device that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on a correction coefficient. The external device includes an SOC prediction information acquisition unit that acquires SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle, an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit that acquires actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle from the other vehicle, and a correction coefficient calculation unit that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure is a method for estimating the driving range of a vehicle in a system comprising an in-vehicle device and an external device capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation procedure for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a driving range estimation procedure for estimating the driving range of the vehicle; and a driving range correction procedure for correcting the driving range of the vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a control unit of an in-vehicle device that can communicate data with an external device that calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle. The control unit of the in-vehicle device performs a correction coefficient acquisition procedure to acquire the correction coefficient from the external device, a driving range estimation procedure to estimate the driving range of the own vehicle, and a driving range correction procedure to correct the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0012] One aspect of the present disclosure causes a control unit of an external device capable of data communication with an in-vehicle device that corrects the driving range of the own vehicle based on a correction coefficient to execute a procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information that indicates a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle, a procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information that indicates the actual energy consumed by the other vehicle from the other vehicle, and a procedure for calculating a correction coefficient that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

[0013] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the vehicle's remaining range is estimated, and this estimated range is corrected based on a correction coefficient calculated using SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information of other vehicles. By correcting the vehicle's remaining range based on the correction coefficient, the accuracy of the range estimation can be appropriately improved.

[0014] The above-mentioned objectives and other objectives, features and advantages of this disclosure will become clearer from the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings. The drawings are as follows: Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of one embodiment; Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle system; Figure 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the first domain controller; Figure 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the server; Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the range estimation process performed by the first domain controller; Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the information transmission process performed by the first domain controller; Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the information storage process performed by the server; Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the correction coefficient calculation process performed by the server; and Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the correction coefficient distribution process performed by the server.

[0015] The following describes one embodiment with reference to the drawings. The cruising range estimation system 1 is configured so that a vehicle system 3, which is installed in an unspecified number of vehicles 2, and a server 4 (corresponding to an external device) can communicate data via a communication network 5 including the Internet. The vehicle 2 is, for example, an electric vehicle (EV) that runs using electrical energy stored in a battery as a power source. The vehicle 2 may be performing the functions of a preceding vehicle (corresponding to another vehicle) or performing the functions of its own vehicle. The vehicle 2 performing the functions of a preceding vehicle transmits probe information, vehicle information, SOC prediction information, and actual energy consumption information to the server 4 via the communication network 5, as will be described in detail later. The vehicle 2 performing the functions of its own vehicle receives probe information and correction coefficients from the server 4 via the communication network 5. The preceding vehicle includes both a vehicle that is traveling ahead of the vehicle on the link in which the vehicle is traveling, and a vehicle that has traveled on the link in which the vehicle is traveling in the past. In other words, if a vehicle has previously traveled on the same link that it is currently traveling on, that vehicle may be considered a preceding vehicle. Note that there may be multiple preceding vehicles.

[0016] The configuration of the vehicle system 3 will now be described. As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle system 3 consists of a communication terminal 6, a first domain controller 7 (corresponding to an in-vehicle device), a second domain controller 8 (corresponding to a driving control device), a locator 9, an HMI unit 10, a battery ECU 11, an MG ECU 12, an air conditioning ECU 13, and a sensor group 14, all of which are connected via a communication bus 15 to enable data communication. The communication bus 15 is, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus.

[0017] The communication terminal 6 controls the connection of the communication line to the communication network 5 and controls data communication via the communication network 5 to the server 4 described above. The first domain controller 7 includes a function block for controlling the navigation function and a function block for estimating the remaining range of the vehicle 2. The second domain controller 8 includes a function block for controlling the driving of the vehicle 2. In this embodiment, a configuration in which the function block for controlling the navigation function and the function block for estimating the remaining range of the vehicle 2 are integrated into one domain controller is illustrated, but they may also be located in separate domain controllers. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a configuration in which the function block for estimating the remaining range of the vehicle 2 and the function block for controlling the driving of the vehicle 2 are located in separate domain controllers is illustrated, but they may also be integrated into a single domain controller.

[0018] The locator 9 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and a map database. The GNSS receiver is a receiver that receives positioning signals transmitted from GNSS satellites. The map database is a non-volatile storage device that stores map data, including link data and node data. The link data is data relating to links corresponding to road sections into which roads are divided, and includes a link ID that identifies the link, a node ID of the node corresponding to the endpoint of the link, and the road shape, etc. The node data is data relating to nodes corresponding to points that divide roads into road sections, and includes a node ID that identifies the node, a link ID of the link connected to the node, and the location of the node, etc. The locator 9 determines the current position of the vehicle by combining positioning signals and road shape, etc., and identifies the link on which the vehicle is located and the nodes that the vehicle has passed through based on the determined current position of the vehicle.

[0019] The HMI unit 10 includes a display unit that presents various information to the vehicle's user and an operation input receiving unit that receives various operation inputs from the vehicle's user. The display unit is, for example, a center display located near the center in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel, and displays a navigation screen for, for example, route guidance. The navigation screen displays the remaining driving range based on the battery power level. The operation input receiving unit includes a touch panel superimposed on the center display and various switches located around the center display. The touch panel receives various operation inputs such as setting a destination and selecting a route. Among the various switches, the air conditioning switch receives operation inputs such as setting the temperature for the vehicle's air conditioning system, setting intake modes such as internal circulation and external air intake, and setting exhaust modes such as face vents and defroster.

[0020] The battery ECU 11 is an electronic control unit that controls the charging and discharging of the battery. The battery ECU 11 acquires battery information such as output voltage, input / output current, and temperature. Once the battery ECU 11 acquires the battery information, it calculates the amount of energy output from the battery and the remaining battery power based on the acquired battery information and the battery's pre-set charging and discharging characteristics.

[0021] The MGECU 12 is an electronic control unit that controls the motor generator used for propulsion of the vehicle. The MGECU 12 acquires operation signals indicating the driver's driving operations, such as accelerator and brake operations, from the accelerator position sensor and brake pedal force sensor installed in the vehicle, and also acquires behavior signals indicating the vehicle's speed, acceleration, etc., from the wheel speed sensor and acceleration sensor installed in the vehicle. When the MGECU 12 acquires the operation signals and behavior signals, it calculates the driving force based on the acquired operation signals and behavior signals and outputs the calculated driving force to the motor generator.

[0022] The air conditioning ECU 13 is an electronic control unit that controls the air conditioning system of the vehicle. The air conditioning ECU 13 acquires outside air information, which indicates the temperature and humidity outside the vehicle, and inside air information, which indicates the temperature and humidity inside the vehicle, from various sensors installed in the vehicle. The air conditioning ECU 13 also acquires setting information such as the set temperature, intake mode, and blowing mode set in the HMI unit 10. Once the air conditioning ECU 13 has acquired the outside air information, inside air information, and setting information, it controls the inside / outside air switching door, blower, compressor, heater, air mix door, and air outlet door of the air conditioning system based on the acquired outside air information, inside air information, and setting information.

[0023] Sensor group 14 consists of various sensors that acquire the vehicle status of the vehicle itself and the road surface conditions of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Sensor group 14 includes a wind speed sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a camera, a seat sensor, etc. The wind speed sensor acquires the relative wind speed directed towards the rear of the vehicle, for example, to acquire the wind speed of the wind that enters through the front grille of the vehicle. The barometric pressure sensor is placed in a location where the atmospheric pressure is substantially equal to atmospheric pressure, such as in the engine compartment, and acquires the atmospheric pressure on the road on which the vehicle is traveling. The camera is placed in a location such as the front grille and takes images of the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling. The seat sensor is placed in each seat of the vehicle and detects whether or not a user is sitting in that seat.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3, the first domain controller 7 includes a first control unit 16. The first control unit 16 is mainly composed of a microcontroller having a CPU, ROM, RAM, and I / O, and controls the operation of the first domain controller 7 by performing software processing by executing computer programs stored in a non-transitional physical storage medium using the CPU, and by performing hardware processing control using dedicated electronic circuits.

[0025] The first control unit 16 includes an SOC prediction information generation unit 16a, an actual energy consumption information generation unit 16b, an information transmission unit 16c, a probe information transmission unit 16d, a route setting unit 16e, a request signal transmission unit 16f, a probe information acquisition unit 16g, a correction coefficient acquisition unit 16h, a battery temperature estimation unit 16i, an air conditioning power consumption estimation unit 16j, a driving power consumption estimation unit 16k, a cruising range estimation unit 16l, and a cruising range correction unit 16m. Parts of each of these units 16a to 16m execute procedures in the cruising range estimation method and the cruising range estimation program.

[0026] The SOC prediction information generation unit 16a generates SOC prediction information on a link-by-link basis, indicating a prediction of the vehicle's battery charge state. The actual energy consumption information generation unit 16b generates actual energy consumption information on a link-by-link basis, indicating the energy actually consumed by the vehicle. The information transmission unit 16c transmits vehicle information that can identify the vehicle, the vehicle's SOC prediction information generated by the SOC prediction information generation unit 16a, and the vehicle's actual energy consumption information generated by the actual energy consumption information generation unit 16b from the communication terminal 6 to the server 4. The vehicle information includes the vehicle type, model, grade, etc., and is information that can identify the vehicle 2 on which the vehicle system 3 that transmitted the vehicle's SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information is installed.

[0027] The probe information transmission unit 16d, for example, when the vehicle passes a node, causes the communication terminal 6 to transmit probe information of the link it was traveling on before passing the node. The probe information includes environmental information, time information, location information, and reliability information. The environmental information includes atmospheric information and road surface information. The atmospheric information is information related to air resistance caused by atmospheric conditions, the operating status of the air conditioning system, and temperature changes of the battery, and includes, for example, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and wind speed. For temperature and humidity, the temperature and humidity of the outside air acquired as outside air information by the air conditioning ECU 13 are used. For atmospheric pressure, the atmospheric pressure acquired by the pressure sensor of the sensor group 14 is used. For wind speed, the speed obtained by subtracting the vehicle speed acquired by the MGE ECU 12 from the relative wind speed acquired by the wind speed sensor of the sensor group 14 is used.

[0028] Road surface information is information indicating the magnitude of rolling resistance due to road surface conditions. For example, the rolling resistance coefficient estimated based on images captured by the camera of sensor group 14 is used for road surface information. The rolling resistance coefficient is determined based on the correspondence between pre-set road surface conditions and the rolling resistance coefficient. Road surface conditions include the type of pavement, such as porous pavement or concrete pavement, the presence or absence of irregularities such as cracks, and the presence or absence of puddles.

[0029] Time information indicates the time when environmental information was acquired; for example, the time when the vehicle passed through a node and exited the link is used. Location information indicates the link from which environmental information was acquired and the direction of travel; for example, the link ID of the link the vehicle was traveling on and the node ID of the node from which it exited are used. Reliability information is used to determine the possibility of decreased reliability due to congestion, sensor malfunctions, etc. For example, if the link on which the vehicle is located is congested, reliability information indicating that there is a risk of decreased reliability is used.

[0030] The route setting unit 16e sets the planned route that the vehicle is scheduled to travel. The route setting unit 16e displays the route obtained by route search based on the destination set by the HMI unit 10 on the HMI unit 10. The route setting unit 16e sets the route selected by the HMI unit 10 from the displayed routes as the vehicle's planned route. The planned route consists, for example, of the links that the vehicle is scheduled to travel to the destination and the nodes from which it is scheduled to exit each link. The route setting unit 16e also sets the predicted speed, which indicates the speed fluctuation pattern of the vehicle at each link, and the predicted travel time required to travel at each link.

[0031] The request signal transmission unit 16f causes the communication terminal 6 to send a request signal to the server 4. The request signal transmitted from the vehicle system 3 includes extraction information and format information, etc. The extraction information is information used to allow the server 4 to extract environmental information distributed by the server 4, and includes section specification information, time specification information, exclusion setting information, etc. The section specification information is information for specifying the links to be distributed and the direction in which to travel along those links, and includes, for example, the link ID of each requested link and the node ID of the node from which to exit those links. The specified time information is information for excluding environmental information transmitted from preceding vehicles whose elapsed time since traveling along the planned route exceeds a threshold from the environmental information to be distributed. The exclusion setting information is information for instructing whether or not to exclude environmental information that has been recorded as reliability information indicating a risk of decreased reliability. The format information is information for specifying the format of the environmental information to be distributed. For example, if multiple pieces of environmental information are extracted for a single link, the mean, median, mode, etc., are specified.

[0032] The probe information acquisition unit 16g acquires probe information for the planned route when probe information transmitted from a preceding vehicle that has traveled along the planned route is stored in the server 4 and distributed from the server 4 to the communication terminal 6. If a planned route has been set by the route setting unit 16e, the probe information acquisition unit 16g acquires probe information for each link that constitutes the set planned route from the server 4.

[0033] The correction coefficient acquisition unit 16h acquires the correction coefficient when the correction coefficient distributed from the server 4 is received by the communication terminal 6. If a planned route has been set by the route setting unit 16e, the correction coefficient acquisition unit 16h acquires the correction coefficient for each link constituting the set planned route from the server 4.

[0034] The battery temperature estimation unit 16i estimates the battery temperature at each node as the battery temperature along the planned route based on probe information obtained from the server 4. The battery temperature estimation unit 16i estimates the battery temperature at each node based on the battery temperature at the previous node, the temperature of the link from the previous node, and the travel time of the link. The battery temperature estimation unit 16i estimates the battery temperature at each node using the progression of battery temperature according to the temperature and elapsed time, which is stored in advance as a table or function.

[0035] The air conditioning power consumption estimation unit 16j estimates the air conditioning power consumption based on the temperature and humidity included in the environmental information among the probe information acquired from the server 4. The air conditioning power consumption estimation unit 16j estimates the amount of air conditioning power consumption for each link from entry to exit as the air conditioning power consumption along the planned route. The air conditioning power consumption estimation unit 16j estimates the operating rate of blowers, compressors, heaters, etc. in each link based on the temperature and humidity included in the environmental information and the indoor air information and setting information acquired by the air conditioning ECU 13. The air conditioning power consumption estimation unit 16j calculates the amount of air conditioning power consumption for each link based, for example, the predicted travel time for each link and the operating rate of blowers, compressors, heaters, etc. in each link.

[0036] The driving power consumption estimation unit 16k estimates the driving resistance along the planned route based on environmental information from the probe information acquired from the server 4, and estimates the driving power consumption of the vehicle. Driving resistance is the rearward force acting on the vehicle, including acceleration resistance, tilt resistance, air resistance, and rolling resistance. Acceleration resistance is the resistance due to the inertial force accompanying the acceleration of the vehicle. Tilt resistance is the resistance caused by the slope of the road surface.

[0037] Air resistance is calculated using the following formula, where Fa is the air resistance, V is the relative wind speed, ρ is the air density, Cd is the drag coefficient, and S is the projected area: Fa = ρ × V × V × Cd × S / 2 Relative wind speed V is the relative wind speed towards the rear of the vehicle on the link, calculated based on the wind speed and predicted speed of the link. Air density ρ is the density of air on the link, calculated based on the temperature and atmospheric pressure of the link. Drag coefficient Cd is a coefficient used to calculate the air resistance, which is predetermined based on the shape of the vehicle and the area projected to the rear. Projected area S is the area of ​​the vehicle projected to the rear.

[0038] Rolling resistance is calculated using the following formula, where Fr is the rolling resistance, m is the weight of the vehicle, and Cr is the rolling resistance coefficient of the link: Fr = m × Cr. The weight m is calculated, for example, based on the vehicle's body weight and the occupant weight according to the number of users detected by the seating sensors, which are set in advance.

[0039] The running power consumption estimation unit 16k estimates the running resistance and then estimates the driving force output from the motor generator based on the estimated running resistance. The running power consumption estimation unit 16k then estimates the running power consumption by integrating the power consumption corresponding to the estimated driving force based on the running time of the link.

[0040] The cruising range estimation unit 16l corrects the rated capacity of the battery, which is set in advance based on the battery temperature at each node, and estimates the battery capacity at each node. After estimating the battery capacity, the cruising range estimation unit 16l estimates the remaining battery power by subtracting the sum of the air conditioning power consumption and driving power consumption to each node from the estimated battery capacity, and estimates the cruising range as the sum of the distances of each link to the node to which the vehicle can continue driving based on the estimated remaining battery power. The node to which the vehicle can continue driving is the last node to which the remaining battery power is predicted to be above a predetermined threshold. After estimating the cruising range, the cruising range estimation unit 16l displays the estimated cruising range on the navigation screen. The cruising range estimation unit 16l may also use power data acquired from the second domain controller 8 when estimating the cruising range.

[0041] When the cruising range correction unit 16m obtains a correction coefficient from the correction coefficient acquisition unit 16h, it corrects the cruising range estimated by the cruising range estimation unit 16l based on the correction coefficient obtained by the correction coefficient acquisition unit 16h.

[0042] The second domain controller 8 includes a second control unit 17. The second control unit 17 is mainly composed of a microcontroller having a CPU, ROM, RAM, and I / O, and controls the operation of the second domain controller 8 by performing software processing by executing computer programs stored in a non-transitional physical storage medium using the CPU, and by performing hardware processing control using dedicated electronic circuits.

[0043] The second domain controller 8 connects the battery 19 and the electric motor 20 via the power conversion device 18. The battery 19 supplies power for driving the electric motor 20. The vehicle 2 travels by driving the electric motor 20 using the power supplied from the battery 19. Also, when the vehicle 2 decelerates, the electric motor 20 acts as a generator to generate power by regenerative power generation. The power generated by regenerative power generation is stored in the battery 19. The power conversion device 18 converts the power exchanged between the battery 19 and the electric motor 20 into a mutually usable form. For example, it converts the DC power supplied from the battery 19 into AC power and outputs it to the electric motor 20, and converts the AC power generated by regenerative power generation in the electric motor 20 into DC power and outputs it to the battery 19.

[0044] The second control unit 17 monitors the running state of the vehicle 2, the state of the battery 19, the state of the electric motor 20, etc., controls the operation of the power conversion device 18 based on the monitoring results, and causes power to be exchanged between the battery 19 and the electric motor 20 according to the running state of the vehicle 2. That is, the second control unit 17 consumes the electrical energy stored in the battery 19 to generate kinetic energy for the vehicle 2 to travel by the electric motor 20, or recovers at least a part of the kinetic energy of the vehicle 2 by the electric motor 20, and stores the electrical energy as reusable regenerative energy in the battery 19.

[0045] Next, the configuration of the server 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the server 4 includes a control unit 21 and a communication unit 22. The communication unit 22 controls data communication via the communication network 5 with the above-described server 4. The control unit 21 is mainly configured by a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, etc., and executes control by software processing in which a computer program stored in a non-transitory physical storage medium is executed by the CPU and hardware processing by a dedicated electronic circuit, and controls the operation of the server 4.

[0046] The control unit 21 includes a probe information acquisition unit 21a, a probe information storage unit 21b, a vehicle information acquisition unit 21c, a SOC prediction information acquisition unit 21d, an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit 21e, a correction coefficient calculation unit 21f, a correction coefficient storage unit 21g, a probe information distribution unit 21h, and a correction coefficient distribution unit 21i. Some of these units 21a to 21h execute procedures in the method for estimating the cruising range and the correction coefficient calculation program.

[0047] The probe information acquisition unit 21a acquires probe information from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle when the probe information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle is received by the communication unit 22. When the probe information is acquired by the probe information acquisition unit 21a, the probe information storage unit 21b stores the acquired probe information in a predetermined storage area.

[0048] The vehicle information acquisition unit 21c acquires vehicle information from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle when the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle is received by the communication unit 22. The SOC prediction information acquisition unit 21d acquires SOC prediction information from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle when the SOC prediction information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle is received by the communication unit 22. The actual energy consumption information acquisition unit 21e acquires actual energy consumption information from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle when the actual energy consumption information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 of the preceding vehicle is received by the communication unit 22.

[0049] When the vehicle information is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 21c, the SOC prediction information is acquired by the SOC prediction information acquisition unit 21d, and the actual energy consumption information is acquired by the actual energy consumption information acquisition unit 21e, the correction coefficient calculation unit 21f calculates a correction coefficient based on the acquired SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information. In this case, the correction coefficient calculation unit 21f calculates the correction coefficient in association with the vehicle information. When the correction coefficient is calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit 21f, the correction coefficient storage unit 21g stores the calculated correction coefficient in a predetermined storage area after classifying it according to the vehicle information. That is, the correction coefficient storage unit 21g stores the correction coefficient in a predetermined storage area in association with the vehicle type, model, grade, etc. of vehicle 2.

[0050] The probe information distribution unit 21i reads the environmental information stored in the probe information storage unit 21b and distributes the read environmental information from the communication unit 22 to the vehicle system 3. The correction coefficient distribution unit 21i reads the correction coefficient stored in the correction coefficient storage unit 21g and distributes the read correction coefficient from the communication unit 22 to the vehicle system 3.

[0051] Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to Figures 5 to 9. Here, we will explain the processing performed by the first control unit 16 of the first domain controller 7 and the processing performed by the control unit 21 of the server 4. (1) As processing performed by the first control unit 16 of the first domain controller 7, we will explain the cruising range estimation processing and the information transmission processing. The first control unit 16 performs the cruising range estimation processing and the information transmission processing periodically at predetermined intervals. The first control unit 16 may perform the cruising range estimation processing and the information transmission processing at the same predetermined interval or at different predetermined intervals.

[0052] (1-1) Range estimation process (see Figure 5) When the conditions for starting the range estimation process are met, the first control unit 16 starts the range estimation process. When the range estimation process starts, the first control unit 16 sets a planned route (A1) and acquires the target link for prediction based on the set planned route (A2).

[0053] The first control unit 16 causes the communication terminal 6 to send a request signal to the server 4 (A3), and waits to receive probe information and correction coefficients distributed from the server 4. When the probe information distributed from the server 4 is received by the communication terminal 6, the first control unit 16 acquires the probe information from the server 4 (A4), and when the correction coefficient distributed from the server 4 is received by the communication terminal 6, it acquires the correction coefficients from the server 4 (A5, corresponding to the correction coefficient acquisition procedure). Based on the acquired probe information, it estimates the battery temperature along the planned route (A6), estimates the air conditioning power consumption along the planned route (A7), and estimates the driving power consumption along the planned route (A8).

[0054] The first control unit 16 estimates the battery capacity at each node based on the battery temperature, and estimates the remaining battery power by subtracting the sum of the air conditioning power consumption and driving power consumption to each node from the estimated battery capacity, and estimates the remaining driving range based on the estimated remaining battery power (corresponding to A9, Driving Range Estimation Procedure). The first control unit 16 corrects the estimated driving range based on a correction coefficient (corresponding to A10, Driving Range Correction Procedure). That is, the first control unit 16 corrects the driving range of its own vehicle, which was estimated based on probe information obtained from the server 4, based on a correction coefficient that is based on the SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information of the preceding vehicle obtained from the server 4.

[0055] The first control unit 16 determines whether or not a node has been passed (A11). If the first control unit 16 determines that a node has not been passed (A11: NO), it terminates the range estimation process and waits for the conditions for starting the next range estimation process to be met. If the first control unit 16 determines that a node has been passed (A11: YES), it has probe information sent from the communication terminal 6 to the server 4 (A12), terminates the range estimation process, and waits for the conditions for starting the next range estimation process to be met.

[0056] (1-2) Information transmission process (see Figure 6) When the conditions for starting the information transmission process are met, the first control unit 16 starts the information transmission process. When the first control unit 16 starts the information transmission process, it determines whether or not route setting is in progress (A21). If the first control unit 16 determines that route setting is in progress (A21: YES), it acquires the predicted link based on the route being set (A22). If the first control unit 16 determines that route setting is not in progress (A21: NO), it acquires the currently running link as the predicted link (A23).

[0057] The first control unit 16 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed through a node (A24). If the first control unit 16 determines that the vehicle has not passed through a node (A24: NO), it terminates the information transmission process and waits for the conditions for starting the next information transmission process to be met. If the first control unit 16 determines that the vehicle has passed through a node (A24: YES), it generates SOC prediction information (S25, corresponding to the SOC prediction information generation procedure) and generates actual energy consumption information (S26, corresponding to the actual energy consumption information generation procedure). The first control unit 16 has the vehicle information, SOC prediction information, and actual energy consumption information transmitted from the communication terminal 6 to the server 4 (A27), terminates the information transmission process, and waits for the conditions for starting the next information transmission process to be met.

[0058] (2) The processes performed by the control unit 21 of the server 4 will be described as information storage processing, correction coefficient calculation processing, and correction coefficient distribution processing. The control unit 21 will perform the information storage processing, correction coefficient calculation processing, and correction coefficient distribution processing periodically at predetermined intervals. The control unit 21 may perform the information storage processing, correction coefficient calculation processing, and correction coefficient distribution processing at the same predetermined interval or at different predetermined intervals.

[0059] (2-1) Information storage processing (see Figure 7) When the conditions for starting information storage processing are met, the control unit 21 starts the information storage processing. The control unit 21 acquires vehicle information when the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 is received by the communication unit 22 (B1), acquires SOC prediction information when the SOC prediction information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 is received by the communication unit 22 (B2, corresponding to the SOC prediction information acquisition procedure), and acquires actual energy consumption information when the actual energy consumption information transmitted from the vehicle system 3 is received by the communication unit 22 (B3, corresponding to the actual energy consumption information acquisition procedure). The control unit 21 stores the acquired vehicle information, SOC prediction information, and actual energy consumption information in a predetermined storage area (B4), ends the information storage processing, and waits for the conditions for starting the next information storage processing to be met.

[0060] (2-2) Correction coefficient calculation process (see Figure 8) When the conditions for starting the correction coefficient calculation process are met, the control unit 21 starts the correction coefficient calculation process. When the control unit 21 starts the correction coefficient calculation process, it reads the stored vehicle information, SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information (B11), and calculates a correction coefficient based on the read vehicle information, SOC prediction information and actual energy consumption information (B12, corresponding to the correction coefficient calculation procedure). The control unit 21 stores the calculated correction coefficient in a predetermined storage area in association with the vehicle type, model, grade, etc. of the vehicle 2 (B13), ends the correction coefficient calculation process, and waits for the conditions for starting the next correction coefficient calculation process to be met.

[0061] (2-3) Correction coefficient distribution determination process (see Figure 13) When the start conditions for the correction coefficient distribution determination process are met, the control unit 21 starts the correction coefficient distribution determination process. When the control unit 21 starts the correction coefficient distribution determination process, it determines whether or not it has received a request signal from the vehicle system 3 (B21). When the control unit 21 determines that it has received a request signal from the vehicle system 3 because the request signal transmitted from the vehicle system 3 has been received by the communication unit 22 (B21: YES), it identifies the vehicle information specified by the received request signal (B22).

[0062] The control unit 21 checks the correction coefficient storage area (B23) and determines whether a correction coefficient corresponding to the vehicle information specified by the acquired request signal is stored (B24). That is, if the control unit 21 determines that no correction coefficient associated with the vehicle type, model, grade, etc. of vehicle 2 is stored and that no corresponding correction coefficient is stored (B24: NO), it terminates the correction coefficient distribution determination process and waits for the conditions for starting the next correction coefficient distribution determination process to be met.

[0063] Meanwhile, the control unit 21 stores correction coefficients associated with the vehicle type, model, grade, etc., of the vehicle 2. When it identifies that a corresponding correction coefficient is stored (B24: YES), it determines whether data communication is possible with the in-vehicle system 3 and whether it is online (B25). When the control unit 21 identifies that data communication is possible with the in-vehicle system 3 and is online (B25: YES), it has the communication unit 22 send the corresponding correction coefficient to the in-vehicle system 3 (B27), terminates the correction coefficient distribution determination process, and waits for the conditions for starting the next correction coefficient distribution determination process to be met.

[0064] When the control unit 21 determines that data communication with the in-vehicle system 3 is not possible, i.e., that it is in an offline state (B25: NO), it connects a data communication line with the in-vehicle system 3 (B26), transitions from the offline state to the online state, has the communication unit 22 send the corresponding correction coefficient to the in-vehicle system 3 (B27), terminates the correction coefficient distribution determination process, and waits for the conditions for starting the next correction coefficient distribution determination process to be met.

[0065] The above illustrates a case where the vehicle system 3 performs the estimation of the cruising range and the correction based on the correction coefficient. However, the server 4 may also perform the estimation of the cruising range, distribute the estimation result to the vehicle system 3, and the vehicle system 3 may perform the correction based on the cruising range correction coefficient. Alternatively, the server 4 may perform the estimation of the cruising range, further perform the correction based on the cruising range correction coefficient, and distribute the correction result to the vehicle system 3.

[0066] As described above, the embodiment provides the following advantages and benefits. In the vehicle system 3, the vehicle's remaining range is estimated, and the estimated remaining range is corrected based on a correction coefficient calculated based on the preceding vehicle's SOC prediction information and the preceding vehicle's actual energy consumption information. By correcting the vehicle's remaining range based on the correction coefficient, the accuracy of the range estimation can be appropriately improved.

[0067] The system generates SOC prediction information for the vehicle on a per-link basis, generates actual energy consumption information for the vehicle on a per-link basis, and transmits vehicle information, SOC prediction information, and actual energy consumption information to server 4. By transmitting link-based SOC prediction information and link-based actual energy consumption information to server 4, server 4 can calculate a correction coefficient on a per-link basis. In addition, the vehicle system 3 can estimate the remaining range on a per-link basis, and correct the estimated range on a per-link basis based on the correction coefficient.

[0068] This disclosure includes, in addition to the claims, the following disclosures: [1] A driving range estimation system (1) for estimating the driving range of a vehicle, comprising an in-vehicle device (7) and an external device (4) capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit (21d) for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit (21e) for acquiring actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation unit (21f) for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a driving range estimation unit (16l) for estimating the driving range of the vehicle, and a driving range correction unit (16m) for correcting the driving range of the vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0069] [2] The onboard device is capable of data communication with a driving control device (8) that controls the vehicle's operation using its own power, and the driving range estimation unit obtains at least a portion of the power data used to estimate the driving range of the vehicle from the driving control device, as described in [1].

[0070] [3] The cruising range estimation system described in [1] or [2], wherein the external device comprises the SOC prediction information acquisition unit, the actual energy consumption information acquisition unit, and the correction coefficient calculation unit, and the in-vehicle device comprises the cruising range estimation unit and the cruising range correction unit.

[0071] [4] An in-vehicle device (7) capable of data communication with an external device (4) which calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle, the in-vehicle device comprising: a correction coefficient acquisition unit (16h) that acquires a correction coefficient from the external device; a driving range estimation unit (16l) that estimates the driving range of the own vehicle; and a driving range correction unit (16m) that corrects the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0072] [5] The in-vehicle device described in [4], further comprising: an SOC prediction information generation unit (16a) that generates SOC prediction information for the vehicle on a link-by-link basis; and an actual energy consumption generation unit (16b) that generates actual energy consumption information for the vehicle on a link-by-link basis.

[0073] [6] An in-vehicle device as described in [4] or [5], comprising an information transmission unit (16c) that transmits vehicle information that can identify the vehicle, SOC prediction information for the vehicle, and actual energy consumption information for the vehicle to the external device.

[0074] [7] An in-vehicle device as described in any one of [4] to [6], which is capable of data communication with a driving control device (8) that controls the driving of the vehicle using electric power, and the driving range estimation unit acquires at least a portion of the power data used to estimate the driving range of the vehicle from the driving control device.

[0075] [8] An external device (4) that can communicate data with an on-board device (7) that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on a correction coefficient, comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit (21d) that acquires SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit (21e) that acquires actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; and a correction coefficient calculation unit (21f) that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

[0076] [9] The external device described in [8], wherein the SOC prediction information acquisition unit acquires link-level SOC prediction information from the other vehicle, and the actual energy consumption information acquisition unit acquires link-level actual energy consumption information from the other vehicle.

[0077]

[10] An external device as described in [8] or [9], comprising a correction coefficient distribution unit (21i) for distributing the correction coefficient to the in-vehicle device.

[0078]

[11] A method for estimating the cruising range of a vehicle in a system (1) comprising an in-vehicle device (7) and an external device (4) capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, the method comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation procedure for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a cruising range estimation procedure for estimating the cruising range of the vehicle itself; and a cruising range correction procedure for correcting the cruising range of the vehicle itself based on the correction coefficient.

[0079]

[12] A driving range estimation program that causes a control unit (16) of an in-vehicle device (7) that can communicate data with an external device (4) that calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle, to execute a correction coefficient acquisition procedure for acquiring a correction coefficient from the external device, a driving range estimation procedure for estimating the driving range of the own vehicle, and a driving range correction procedure for correcting the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

[0080]

[13] A program for calculating a correction coefficient that causes the control unit (21) of an external device (4) capable of data communication with an on-board device (7) that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on a correction coefficient to execute a procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information that indicates the predicted battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle, a procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information of another vehicle that indicates the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle, and a procedure for calculating a correction coefficient that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

[0081] This disclosure is described in accordance with the embodiments, but it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to such embodiments or structures. This disclosure also includes various modifications and variations within the equivalence. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms that include only one, more, or fewer of those elements, fall within the scope and concept of this disclosure.

[0082] The control unit and its method described herein may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and its method described herein may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor by one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and its method described herein may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by the computer on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible recording medium.

Claims

1. A driving range estimation system (1) for estimating the driving range of the vehicle, comprising an in-vehicle device (7) and an external device (4) capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, the system comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit (21d) for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit (21e) for acquiring actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation unit (21f) for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a driving range estimation unit (16l) for estimating the driving range of the vehicle; and a driving range correction unit (16m) for correcting the driving range of the vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

2. The on-board device is capable of data communication with a driving control device (8) that controls the vehicle's operation using its own power, and the driving range estimation unit obtains at least a portion of the power data used to estimate the vehicle's driving range from the driving control device, as described in claim 1.

3. The cruising range estimation system according to claim 1, wherein the external device comprises the SOC prediction information acquisition unit, the actual energy consumption information acquisition unit, and the correction coefficient calculation unit, and the in-vehicle device comprises the cruising range estimation unit and the cruising range correction unit.

4. An in-vehicle device (7) capable of data communication with an external device (4) that calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle, the in-vehicle device comprising: a correction coefficient acquisition unit (16h) that acquires a correction coefficient from the external device; a driving range estimation unit (16l) that estimates the driving range of the own vehicle; and a driving range correction unit (16m) that corrects the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

5. The in-vehicle device according to claim 4, further comprising: an SOC prediction information generation unit (16a) that generates SOC prediction information for the vehicle on a link-by-link basis; and an actual energy consumption generation unit (16b) that generates actual energy consumption information for the vehicle on a link-by-link basis.

6. The in-vehicle device according to claim 4, further comprising an information transmission unit (16c) that transmits vehicle information that can identify the vehicle, SOC prediction information for the vehicle, and actual energy consumption information for the vehicle to the external device.

7. The in-vehicle device according to claim 4, which is capable of data communication with a driving control device (8) that controls the vehicle's operation using electric power, and wherein the driving range estimation unit obtains at least a portion of the power data used to estimate the vehicle's driving range from the driving control device.

8. An external device (4) capable of data communication with an in-vehicle device (7) that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on a correction coefficient, comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition unit (21d) that acquires SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition unit (21e) that acquires actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; and a correction coefficient calculation unit (21f) that calculates a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

9. The external device according to claim 8, wherein the SOC prediction information acquisition unit acquires link-level SOC prediction information from the other vehicle, and the actual energy consumption information acquisition unit acquires link-level actual energy consumption information from the other vehicle.

10. The external device according to claim 8, further comprising a correction coefficient distribution unit (21i) for distributing the correction coefficient to the in-vehicle device.

11. A method for estimating the cruising range of a vehicle in a system (1) comprising an in-vehicle device (7) and an external device (4) capable of data communication with the in-vehicle device, comprising: an SOC prediction information acquisition procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; a correction coefficient calculation procedure for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle; a cruising range estimation procedure for estimating the cruising range of the vehicle itself; and a cruising range correction procedure for correcting the cruising range of the vehicle itself based on the correction coefficient.

12. A driving range estimation program that causes the control unit (16) of an in-vehicle device (7), which is capable of data communication with an external device (4) that calculates a correction coefficient based on SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle and actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by the other vehicle, to execute a correction coefficient acquisition procedure for acquiring the correction coefficient from the external device, a driving range estimation procedure for estimating the driving range of the own vehicle, and a driving range correction procedure for correcting the driving range of the own vehicle based on the correction coefficient.

13. A program for calculating a correction coefficient that causes the control unit (21) of an external device (4) capable of data communication with an on-board device (7) that corrects the driving range of the vehicle based on a correction coefficient to execute: an SOC prediction information acquisition procedure for acquiring SOC prediction information indicating a prediction of the battery charge state of another vehicle from another vehicle; an actual energy consumption information acquisition procedure for acquiring actual energy consumption information of another vehicle indicating the energy actually consumed by that other vehicle from the other vehicle; and a correction coefficient calculation procedure for calculating a correction coefficient based on the SOC prediction information and the actual energy consumption information of the other vehicle.

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