JP5050135B2 - SEARCH DEVICE, NAVIGATION DEVICE, INFORMATION PROVIDING DEVICE, SEARCH METHOD, SEARCH PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a search device, a search method, a search program, and a recording medium that search for a charging facility that matches a predetermined condition. The present invention also relates to a navigation device and an information providing device provided with the above search device. However, use of the present invention is not limited to the search device, navigation device, information providing device, search method, search program, and recording medium.

  Conventionally, development of electric vehicles using electric power as a power source instead of gasoline has been progressing. An electric vehicle is supplied with electric power in a charging facility such as a charging station, but at present, the number of charging facilities existing in the city is not sufficient. On the other hand, the distance that an electric vehicle can travel with electric power supplied by one charge is shorter than the distance that a gasoline vehicle can travel with one refueling, so it is necessary to frequently stop at the charging station. . In addition, the time required for charging an electric vehicle is longer than that for refueling a gasoline vehicle. For this reason, when the charging facility is congested, the waiting time becomes long, and there is a possibility that the power is wasted or the power is used up while waiting for the turn.

  Based on such a situation, a technique for efficiently using a limited charging facility has been developed (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for obtaining congestion information indicating the congestion degree of a charging facility and guiding the charging facility that can be charged before the electric power stored in the vehicle is used up.

JP 2008-249503 A

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, there is an example of a problem that it is unclear whether or not the amount of power required by the vehicle can be obtained in the charging facility at the guidance destination. As a solution to the shortage of charging facilities mentioned above, it is possible to freely buy and sell power generated using solar power generation and household fuel cells, so that commercial charging facilities can be installed at homes and offices, etc. To be considered. In this case, the amount of electric power that can be supplied in each charging facility varies greatly. For this reason, even if it reaches the charging facility, the amount of power required by the vehicle is not always obtained.

  When the amount of power required by the vehicle cannot be obtained, many users take measures such as detouring in order to find a charging facility that can obtain the necessary power. As a result, there are problems such as traffic that is not necessary originally generated, extra power and time being consumed, and traffic congestion being induced.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the search device according to the first aspect of the present invention provides information related to the amount of power required by a predetermined vehicle using power as a power source (hereinafter referred to as “required power amount information”). The required power amount information acquisition means for acquiring the information and the supply power amount information for acquiring information on the amount of power that can be supplied by each of the charging facilities (hereinafter referred to as “supplied power amount information”) from a plurality of charging facilities Based on the acquisition means, the required power amount information and the supplied power amount information, the charging facility (hereinafter referred to as “suppliable charging facility”) out of a plurality of the charging facilities, wherein the supplied power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount And a plurality of the charging facilities in which the supply power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount when the searchable charging facility cannot be searched. Wherein the search for combinations.

  A navigation device according to a fifth aspect of the invention includes the search device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the predetermined vehicle is a vehicle on which the own device is mounted. To do.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus comprising the search device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a search result obtained by the search means is processed by an information processing mounted on the predetermined vehicle. A transmission means for transmitting to the apparatus is provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search method in a search device for searching for a charging facility that matches a predetermined condition, wherein the information relating to the amount of electric power required by a predetermined vehicle using electric power as a power source. (Hereinafter referred to as “necessary power amount information”), a required power amount information acquisition step, and information on the amount of power that can be supplied from each of the plurality of charging facilities (hereinafter referred to as “supplied power amount information”). )), And from the plurality of charging facilities, the supplied power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount based on the required power amount information and the supplied power amount information. A search step of searching for a charging facility (hereinafter referred to as “suppliable charging facility”), and when the searchable charging facility cannot be searched in the searching step, the amount of supplied power is Serial characterized by searching a combination of the charging facilities required power amount or more.

  A search program according to an invention of claim 8 causes a computer to execute the search method according to claim 7.

  A recording medium according to a ninth aspect of the invention is characterized in that the search program according to the eighth aspect is recorded in a computer-readable state.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the search device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a charging facility search process by the search device. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a system configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the charging facility information acquisition process by the navigation device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of information transmission processing by the charging facility. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing information providing processing by the information providing server. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view schematically showing charging facility information provision processing by the information provision system. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view schematically showing another example of charging facility information provision processing by the information provision system.

  Exemplary embodiments of a search device, a navigation device, an information providing device, a search method, a search program, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the search device according to the embodiment. The search apparatus 100 according to the embodiment includes a required power amount information acquisition unit 101, a supplied power amount information acquisition unit 102, a position information acquisition unit 103, a remaining power amount information acquisition unit 104, a route information acquisition unit 105, and an operation information acquisition unit. 106 and a search unit 107. The search device 100 may be, for example, a component of a navigation device (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 110 described later, or information on the information processing device (for example, navigation device) mounted on the vehicle 110. It may be a component of an information providing device (not shown) that provides the information.

  The required power amount information acquisition unit 101 acquires information (hereinafter referred to as “required power amount information”) related to the amount of power required by a predetermined vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle”) 110 that uses power as a power source. . Vehicle 110 using electric power as a power source is, for example, a battery-powered electric vehicle, and travels using the electric power in a storage battery mounted in vehicle 110 as a power source. The electric power in the storage battery is supplied from a charging facility 120 described later.

  The amount of power required by the vehicle 110 is, for example, the amount of power required to reach the destination point on the route on which the vehicle 110 travels. In addition, the amount of power required by the vehicle 110 is, for example, the difference between the amount of power when the storage battery of the vehicle 110 is fully charged and the current amount of remaining power, or the charging facility 120 that is scheduled to be charged next. It may be the amount of power required until the time.

  The required power amount information acquisition unit 101 may acquire information on the amount of power required by the vehicle 110 from the vehicle 110 or acquire information necessary for calculating the amount of power required by the vehicle 110 from the vehicle 110. May be. Information necessary for calculating the amount of power required by the vehicle 110 may be information acquired by each functional unit of the search device 100 described later, for example.

  The information necessary for calculating the amount of power required by the vehicle 110 is information such as the fuel consumption of the vehicle 110 (travel distance per unit power amount), the position of the destination point, and the distance to the destination point. Further, for example, instead of acquiring fuel consumption information of the vehicle 110, the required power amount information acquisition unit 101 continuously acquires the position information and remaining power amount information of the vehicle 110 for a predetermined period and analyzes these information. By doing so, the fuel consumption of the vehicle 110 may be calculated.

  The supplied power amount information acquisition unit 102 acquires information (hereinafter referred to as “supplied power amount information”) about the amount of power that can be supplied by each charging facility 120 from the plurality of charging facilities 120. The charging facility 120 is a facility having an interface for supplying power to the vehicle 110. The charging facility 120 may be a commercial facility such as a charging stand, or may be a facility for providing electricity generated by a home or business office to another person's vehicle 110.

  When the charging facility 120 is a commercial facility such as a charging stand, for example, there is a high possibility that power used for charging is transmitted from a power plant or the like. In this case, it is generally considered that there is no upper limit to the amount of power supplied. On the other hand, in the case where the charging facility 120 is a facility for providing electricity generated by a home or business office to another person's vehicle 110, the amount of power that can be provided is limited. For this reason, the supply power amount information acquisition unit 102 acquires supply power amount information for each charging facility 120.

  The position information acquisition unit 103 acquires position information of the vehicle 110 and position information of each of the plurality of charging facilities 120. The position information is, for example, latitude / longitude information of a point where the vehicle 110 or the charging facility 120 is located. The position information acquisition unit 103 sequentially acquires current position information from, for example, the traveling vehicle 110. On the other hand, since the position of the charging facility 120 is unlikely to change frequently, for example, after acquiring the position information once, the position information may be acquired only when necessary (for example, the transfer of the charging facility 120). Good.

  The remaining power amount information acquisition unit 104 acquires information on the remaining power amount of the vehicle 110 (hereinafter referred to as “remaining power amount information”). The remaining power amount information is information indicating the remaining power amount of the storage battery of the vehicle 110, for example. The remaining power amount information acquisition unit 104 sequentially acquires the remaining power amount information from the traveling vehicle 110, for example.

  The route information acquisition unit 105 acquires information related to a planned travel route on which the vehicle 110 travels (hereinafter referred to as “travel route information”). The route information acquisition unit 105 acquires, for example, position information and name information of a destination point where the vehicle 110 heads, or acquires route information searched by a route search device mounted on the vehicle 110.

  The operation information acquisition unit 106 acquires information (hereinafter referred to as “operation information”) regarding the operation status of each of the plurality of charging facilities 120. The operation information includes, for example, the number of other vehicles waiting to be charged, the amount of power provided to other vehicles, the time required for power supply per unit power amount, the predicted power generation amount, unit power Information such as price per unit. The operation information acquisition unit 106 acquires the operation information sequentially from the charging facility 120 that is operating, for example.

  Based on the required power amount information and the supplied power amount information, the search unit 107 selects a charging facility whose supply power amount is greater than or equal to the required power amount from the plurality of charging facilities 120 (hereinafter referred to as “suppliable charging facility”). Search for. In addition, the search unit 107 can search for a rechargeable charging facility further narrowed down the conditions based on the information acquired by each functional unit described above. For example, the search unit 107 searches for a chargeable charging facility located within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle 110 based on the position information of the vehicle 110 and each charging facility 120.

  Further, the search unit 107 searches for a chargeable charging facility located in a range where the vehicle 110 can travel with the remaining power amount based on the remaining power amount information, or travels the vehicle 110 based on the travel route information. Alternatively, a chargeable charging facility located on the route may be searched. In addition, the search unit 107 searches for a chargeable charging facility whose operating rate is a predetermined value or less based on the operating information, or groups the charging facilities 120 for each area where the charging facility 120 is located, and the operating rate is a predetermined value. You may search for the chargeable charging equipment located in the area where the ratio of the following charging equipment 120 is a predetermined number or more.

  Although only one vehicle 110 is shown in FIG. 1, the search device 100 acquires various types of information from a plurality of vehicles 110 at the same time, and searches for a charging facility 120 that matches the situation of each vehicle 110. May be.

  Further, in each functional unit of the search device 100 described above, when information is acquired from the vehicle 110 or the charging facility 120, for example, information is received from the vehicle 110 using wireless communication, and the wireless communication or wired communication is performed from the charging facility 120. Receive information using communications.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a charging facility search process by the search device. Note that FIG. 2 shows only the search process for the supplyable charging equipment, which is the most basic search mode of the search device 100. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the search device 100 first acquires the required power amount information of the vehicle 110 by the required power amount information acquisition unit 101 (step S201). Next, the search device 100 acquires the supply power amount information of each charging facility 120 by the supply power amount information acquisition unit 102 (step S202).

  Then, the search device 100 uses the search unit 107 to search for a charging facility (suppliable charging facility) whose supplied power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount (step S203), and ends the processing according to this flowchart. Thereafter, the search unit 107 may perform a search for further narrowing down the supplyable charging equipment using the information acquired by each component of the search device 100.

  When the search device 100 is a component of the navigation device, the navigation device presents the search result by the search unit 107 to the driver of the vehicle 110 or searches for a route to the supplyable charging facility. When the search device 100 is a component of the information providing device, the information providing device transmits the search result to the information processing device mounted on the vehicle 110 via a transmission unit (not shown).

  As described above, the search device 100 according to the embodiment searches for a charging facility 120 (a chargeable charging facility) whose power supply amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount of the vehicle 110. As a result, the vehicle 110 can be charged by the charging facility 120 that can reliably obtain the required amount of electric power, and it is possible to prevent wasting time and electric power in order to obtain the required electric energy.

  In addition, the search device 100 searches for a chargeable supply facility based on position information of the vehicle 110 and the charging facility 120. In addition, the search device 100 searches for a chargeable charging facility using the remaining power amount information of the vehicle 110. Thereby, the search device 100 can search for a supplyable charging facility located in a place where the vehicle 110 can surely reach.

  The search device 100 searches for a chargeable charging facility located on the planned travel route based on the travel route information of the vehicle 110. As a result, the search device 100 can search for a chargeable charging facility that can be charged without the vehicle 110 deviating from the planned travel route, and can prevent time, power consumption, traffic increase, and the like due to detours. it can.

  In addition, the search device 100 searches for the charging facility 120 based on the operation information of the charging facility 120. Thereby, the search device 100 can search for the charging facility 120 that the vehicle 110 can charge efficiently. In addition, the search device 100 searches for the charging facility 120 located in an area where the operating rate of the charging facility 120 is low. Thereby, the difference of the operation rate of the charging equipment 120 between areas can be corrected, and an electric power resource can be utilized more effectively.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the search device 100 according to the embodiment as an information providing server that provides information related to a charging facility to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle will be described.

(System configuration of information provision system)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a system configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment. An information providing system 300 according to the embodiment includes an information providing server 310, a navigation device 320 mounted on a vehicle 321, and a charging facility 330. Each component of the information providing system 300 is connected via a network 340.

  The information providing server 310 sequentially receives information from the navigation device 320 and the charging facility 330 and transmits information regarding the charging facility 330 to the navigation device 320. More specifically, the information providing server 310 searches for a charging facility 330 that can supply the amount of power required by the vehicle 321 on which the navigation device 320 is mounted, and transmits the search result to the navigation device 320.

  The navigation device 320 is mounted on a vehicle 321 that is driven by electric power. The vehicle 321 is equipped with a storage battery (not shown), and is driven using the power stored in the storage battery as a power source. The navigation device 320 searches for a route to a destination point set by a user (such as a driver of the vehicle 321) or performs route guidance along the searched route. In addition, the navigation device 320 sequentially acquires the remaining power amount information of the storage battery of the vehicle 321 and the current position information of the vehicle 321. The remaining power amount information and the current position information are used for the route guidance process and the route search process in the navigation device 320 described above, and are transmitted to the information providing server 310 and used for the search process of the charging facility 330.

  The charging facility 330 is a facility that includes an interface (specifically, a charger or the like) that supplies power to the vehicle 321. The charging facility 330 may be a commercial facility such as a charging stand 331, or may be a simple facility for providing electricity generated at a home or business office to the vehicle 321 of another person. The charging facility 330 manages information such as the amount of power that can be supplied by a control unit (not shown) and the operation status of the own facility. The control unit transmits these pieces of information to the information providing server 310.

(Hardware configuration of each component)
Next, a hardware configuration of each component of the information providing system 300 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus. The navigation device 320 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM 403, a recording / reproducing unit 404 for recording / reproducing various data, a recording unit 405 for recording various data, an audio I / F (interface) 406, a microphone 407, a speaker 408, and an input device 409. A video I / F 410, a display 411, a camera 412, a communication I / F 413, and a GPS unit 414. Each component 401-414 is connected by the bus | bath 420, respectively.

  The CPU 401 governs overall control of the navigation device 320. The ROM 402 records various program software such as a boot program, a route guidance program, and a facility search program. The RAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401. That is, the CPU 401 controls the entire navigation device 320 by executing various programs recorded in the ROM 402 while using the RAM 403 as a work area.

  The recording / reproducing unit 404 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the recording unit 405 according to the control of the CPU 401. The recording unit 405 records data written under the control of the recording / reproducing unit 404. As the recording / reproducing unit 404, for example, a magnetic disk drive or optical disk drive, and as the recording unit 405, for example, HD (hard disk), FD (flexible disk), flash memory, MO, SSD (Solid State Disk), memory card, etc. Can be used.

  An example of information recorded in the recording unit 405 is map data (map database), for example. The map data is used for route guidance processing by a route guidance program, facility retrieval processing by a facility retrieval program, and the like. The map data includes background data that represents features (features) such as buildings, rivers, and the ground surface, and road shape data that represents the shape of the road, and is composed of multiple data files divided by district. ing.

  The road shape data further includes traffic condition data. The traffic condition data includes, for example, whether or not there is a signal or a pedestrian crossing, whether or not there is a highway doorway or junction, the length (distance) of each link, road width, direction of travel, road type (highway, Such as toll roads and general roads).

  The function data is three-dimensional data representing the shape of the facility on the map, character data representing the description of the facility, and other various data other than the map data. Map data and function data are recorded in blocks divided by district or function. Specifically, for example, the map data is recorded in a state where each block can be divided into blocks such that each represents a predetermined district on the map displayed on the display screen. Further, for example, the function data is recorded in a state where each function can be divided into a plurality of blocks so as to realize one function.

  The audio I / F 406 is connected to a microphone 407 for audio input and a speaker 408 for audio output. The audio I / F 406 D / A converts audio data instructed to be reproduced, and outputs the audio data from the speaker 408 as audio. Note that the speaker 408 may be detachable from the navigation device 320 or may be located away from the main body of the navigation device 320. For example, the microphone 407 is installed in the vicinity of the sun visor of the vehicle 321, collects a user's utterance, and outputs the sound to the audio I / F 406. The sound collected by the microphone 407 is A / D converted in the sound I / F 406.

  The input device 409 includes a remote controller having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The input device 409 may be realized by any one of a remote controller, a keyboard, and a touch panel, but may be realized by a plurality of forms.

  The video I / F 410 is connected to the display 411 and the camera 412. Specifically, the video I / F 410 is output from, for example, a graphic controller that controls the display 411, a buffer memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily records image information that can be displayed immediately, and a graphic controller. And a control IC for controlling the display 411 based on the image data.

  The display 411 displays map data, icons, cursors, menus, windows, or various data such as characters and images. In addition, a sensor is provided on the surface of the display 411 and is used as an input device 409 (touch panel) by detecting the approach and contact of an object.

  The camera 412 captures an image inside or outside the vehicle 321 on which the navigation device 320 is mounted. The image captured by the camera 412 may be either a still image or a moving image. The video imaged by the camera 412 is recorded in the recording unit 405 or the like via the video I / F 410.

  The communication I / F 413 is connected to the network 340 using wireless communication, and enables data transmission / reception via the network 340. By using the communication I / F 413, the navigation device 320 transmits and receives data to and from the information providing server 310. Communication networks include LANs, WANs, public line networks and mobile phone networks.

  The GPS unit 414 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information indicating the current location of the vehicle 321 on which the navigation device 320 is mounted. The GPS unit 414 includes various sensors such as a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angular velocity sensor. The output information of the GPS unit 414 is used when the CPU 401 calculates the current location of the navigation device 320. The information indicating the current location is information for specifying one point on the map data, such as latitude / longitude and altitude.

  In addition, the control unit of the information providing server 310 and the charging facility 330 includes at least the CPU 401, the ROM 402, the RAM 403, the recording / reproducing unit 404, the recording unit 405, the input device 409, and the communication I / F 413 in the configuration of the navigation device 320 described above. It only has to have.

  Each component of the search device 100 shown in FIG. 1 uses a program or data recorded in the ROM 402, RAM 403, recording unit 405, etc. in FIG. 4 to execute a predetermined program and control each unit. The function is realized by.

(Charging facility information provision processing by information provision system)
Next, charging facility information provision processing by the information provision system 300 will be described. As described above, in the information providing system 300, the information providing server 310 searches for the charging facility 330 that can supply the amount of power required by the vehicle 321 equipped with the navigation device 320, and the search result is sent to the navigation device 320. Send. As a result, the vehicle 321 can be charged by the charging facility 330 that can reliably obtain the required power, and wasteful consumption of power and time for charging can be prevented.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the charging facility information acquisition process by the navigation device. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the navigation device 320 first determines whether or not a destination point has been set by the user (step S501). When the destination point is not set (step S501: No), the process proceeds to step S504. On the other hand, when the destination point is set (step S501: Yes), the navigation device 320 searches for a route to the destination point (step S502) and transmits route information to the information providing server 310 (step S503). ).

  The route information is information indicating the route searched by the navigation device 320 in step S502. In addition, when a route is changed during traveling (for example, when a reroute is performed due to occurrence of a traffic jam), the navigation device 320 retransmits the changed route information to the information providing server 310. In step S503, not the route information but only the position information and name information of the destination point set by the user may be transmitted to the information providing server 310.

  The navigation device 320 returns to step S501 and repeats the subsequent processes until the vehicle 321 starts traveling (step S504: No). When the vehicle 321 starts traveling (step S504: Yes), the navigation device 320 calculates the current position information of the vehicle 321 using the output information from the GPS unit 414 and the like (step S505), and provides the current position information. It transmits to the server 310 (step S506). In addition, the navigation device 320 acquires the remaining power amount information of the vehicle 321 (step S507) and transmits the remaining power amount information to the information providing server 310 (step S508). Information transmitted from the navigation device 320 is used for searching the charging facility 330 in the information providing server 310.

  The information providing server 310 sends the charging facility information to the navigation device 320 at an appropriate timing based on the remaining power amount of the vehicle 321, the position of the charging facility 330 located around the vehicle 321, the power supply amount of the charging facility 330, and the like. Send. The charging facility information includes position information and name information of the charging facility 330 that the vehicle 321 should stop by. Note that the navigation apparatus 320 may make a transmission request for charging facility information to the information providing server 310.

  When the charging facility information is received from the information providing server 310 (step S509: Yes), the navigation device 320 guides the charging facility 330 based on the charging facility information (step S510). The guidance of the charging facility 330 includes, for example, outputting a message indicating that the designated charging facility 330 should be stopped, searching for a route using the designated charging facility 330 as a stop point, and the like. On the other hand, when charging facility information is not received (step S509: No), it transfers to step S511.

  The navigation device 320 returns to step S505 until the vehicle 321 finishes traveling (step S511: No), and continues the subsequent processing. And if the vehicle 321 complete | finishes driving | running | working (step S511: Yes), the process by this flowchart will be complete | finished.

  Next, information transmission processing by the charging facility 330 (more specifically, a control unit of the charging facility 330) will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of information transmission processing by the charging facility. Prior to the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the location information of each charging facility 330 is transmitted to the information providing server 310. Since the position of the charging facility 330 changes less frequently, the position information of the charging facility 330 may be performed only when necessary (for example, the transfer of the charging facility 330).

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the charging facility 330 waits until it is within the business hours of its own facility (step S601: No loop). When it is within business hours (step S601: Yes), the charging facility 330 transmits the power supply amount information in the own facility to the information providing server 310 (step S602). The supplied power amount information is information indicating the amount of power stored for supplying power to the vehicle 321 in the charging facility 330 or the amount of power that can be acquired per unit time from a power plant or the like.

  In addition, the charging facility 330 transmits the operation information of the own facility to the information providing server 310 (step S603). The operation information includes, for example, whether or not there is a vehicle (charging vehicle) that is currently being charged by the charging facility 330, the amount of power supplied to the charging vehicle, the staying time of the charging vehicle (time required for charging per unit power amount) ), Information such as the number of vehicles waiting to be charged and the charge per unit of electric power.

  Until the business hours of its own equipment end (step S604: No), the charging equipment 330 returns to step S602 and continues to transmit information. Then, when the business hours end (step S604: Yes), the processing according to this flowchart ends. In the charging facility 330 that operates for 24 hours, the processes of steps S601 and S604 need not be performed.

  Next, information providing processing by the information providing server 310 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing information providing processing by the information providing server. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the information providing server 310 receives the information transmitted from the charging facility 330 (transmission information from the charging facility 330) (step S701). The information transmitted from the charging facility 330 is information transmitted in steps S602 and S603 in FIG. The information providing server 310 returns to step S701 and continues receiving information from the charging facility 330 until it receives the information transmitted from the navigation device 320 (transmission information from the navigation device 320) (step S702: No). The information transmitted from the navigation device 320 is the information transmitted in steps S503, 506, and 508 in FIG.

  When the information transmitted from the navigation device 320 is received (step S702: Yes), the required power amount required by the vehicle 321 is calculated (step S703). The required power amount is, for example, the amount of power required to reach the destination point set in the navigation device 320, or reaches the destination and the nearest charging facility 330 (or the user's home) at the destination point. The amount of power required until the time, the difference between the full charge amount of the storage battery of the vehicle 321 and the current remaining power amount, the amount of power required to reach the nearest charging facility 330 at the current position of the vehicle 321, and the like. Which of these power amounts is set as the required power amount may be set in advance by the user of the navigation device 320 or may be determined on the information providing server 310 side.

  Further, the fuel consumption information of the vehicle 321 is required for calculating the required electric energy, but the fuel consumption information may be acquired from the navigation device 320, or the current position information and the remaining electric energy information transmitted from the navigation device 320, It may be calculated by the information providing server 310 using For example, fuel consumption information announced by a manufacturer of the vehicle 321 may be used.

  Next, the information providing server 310 determines whether or not the vehicle 321 needs to be charged based on the required power amount calculated in step S703 (step S704). When charging is not necessary (step S704: No), the process returns to step S701 and the subsequent processing is continued. On the other hand, when charging is necessary (step S704: Yes), the information providing server 310 searches for a charging facility 330 that can be reached with the remaining power amount of the vehicle 321 (step S705). At this time, when the route information of the vehicle 321 is acquired, a charging facility that is reachable with the remaining power amount and is located on the route (or a charging facility located within a predetermined distance from the route) is searched. Also good.

  Subsequently, the information providing server 310 searches the charging facility 330 searched in step S705 for a charging facility 330 (suppliable charging facility) whose supply power amount is greater than or equal to the required power amount (step S706). At this time, based on the operation information of each charging facility 330, even when the vehicle 321 reaches the charging facility 330, the charging facility 330 whose supply power amount is more than the necessary power amount may be searched. For example, in the charging facility 330 with a limited amount of supplied power, when there are a predetermined number or more of vehicles waiting for charging, the amount of supplied power is reduced when the vehicle 321 reaches the charging facility 330. There is a possibility that the vehicle 321 may not be able to obtain the required power because the amount is below the required power. By performing a search in consideration of the operating status of the charging facility 330, it is possible to search for the charging facility 330 in which the vehicle 321 can reliably obtain the required amount of power. Note that steps S705 and S706 may be switched in order.

  If there is a supplyable charging facility (step S707: Yes), the supplyable charging facility having the shortest time required for completion of charging is selected (step S708). The time required to complete the charging is, for example, the number of other vehicles waiting to be charged, the charging capacity of the charging facility 330 (for example, the required charging time per unit electric energy), traffic congestion information around the charging facility 330, etc. Information. In addition, the search may be performed in consideration of the electricity bill in each charging facility 330. In this case, for example, a chargeable charging facility that can be charged at the lowest charge is searched. When there is one supplyable charging facility, the process of step S708 does not have to be performed. Further, the processing may be shifted to step S710 without performing the narrowing down as in step S708.

  When there is no chargeable charging facility in step S707 (step S707: No), a plurality of charging facilities 330 are combined so as to obtain the required power amount (step S709). For example, when the required power amount of the vehicle 321 is 20 kW, the supplied power amount of the charging facility a is 15 kW, and the supplied power amount of the charging facility b is 10 kW, it is possible to obtain the required power amount even if only the individual charging facility 330 stops. Although it is not possible, the required amount of power can be obtained by stopping at the charging facility a and the charging facility b. In step S709, for example, the number of charging facilities 330 to be combined may be minimized, or the charging facilities 330 may be combined so that the time required to complete charging is minimized.

  Then, the information providing server 310 transmits charging facility information including position information, name information, operation information (congestion status information), and the like of the charging facility 330 selected in step S708 or S709 to the navigation device 320 ( Step S710), the process according to this flowchart is terminated.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory view schematically showing charging facility information provision processing by the information provision system. In FIG. 8, for example, necessary power amount information, position information, route information, and the like are transmitted from the navigation device 320 of the vehicle 321 to the information providing server 310 (S801). In addition, supply amount information, operation information, and the like are transmitted from the control unit of each charging facility 330 (charging facility A to C) to the information providing server 310 (S802 to S804).

  For example, the required power amount of the vehicle 321 is 30 kW, the supplied power amount of the charging facility A is 10 kW, there is no charging vehicle (charging vehicle) (there is an empty space), and the supplied power amount of the charging facility B is 80 kW. None), the amount of power supplied to the charging facility C is 40 kW, and there is no charging vehicle (there is an empty space). In this case, the information providing server 310 sets the charging facility C that is expected to have a short waiting time among the charging facility B and the charging facility C in which the power supply amount exceeds the required power amount as the optimum charging location. Information for guiding the charging facility C is transmitted.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory view schematically showing another example of charging facility information provision processing by the information provision system. When the travel route R is set in the navigation device 320, the charging facilities 330 on the travel route R are grouped for each area, and the power “excess demand area” and “ Divide into “oversupply areas”. Specifically, for example, regarding the charging facility 330 in the area, when there is no space (there is a vehicle that is being charged) at a predetermined rate or more, “over-demand area”, and when it is less than the predetermined rate, “oversupply” "Area". Then, the charging facility information is transmitted to the navigation device 320 so that the charging facility 330 located in the “oversupply area” performs charging.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the remaining power amount of the vehicle 321 is 20 kW, the required power amount is 30 kW, and the area α and the area β exist in a range that can be reached with the remaining power amount. In the area α, a charging facility D with a supplied power amount of 100 kW and a charged vehicle (no vacancy) and a charging facility E with a supplied power amount of 50 kW and a charged vehicle (no vacant space) are located. In the area β, a charging facility F with a supplied power amount of 20 kW and no charging vehicle (with a space available) and a charging facility G with a supplied power amount of 40 kW and no charging vehicle (with a space available) are located.

  In this case, the information providing server 310 determines that the area α is an excessive demand area because all the charging facilities 330 have vehicles waiting to be charged, although the area α has a larger amount of supplied power. On the other hand, in area β, all charging facilities 330 have no vehicles waiting to be charged, and therefore information providing server 310 determines that area β is an excessive supply area. And the information provision server 310 transmits charging equipment information to the navigation apparatus 320 so that it may charge with the charging equipment 330 located in the area (beta) which is an excessive supply area.

  In this way, the operation rate of the charging facility 330 can be dispersed by guiding the vehicle 321 that requires charging to the excessive supply area. Thereby, the charging equipment 330 and electric power resources can be utilized efficiently.

  In the processes shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the information providing server 310 performs the search process for the charging facility 330, but the navigation apparatus 320 may perform the search process. In this case, for example, the information providing server 310 (or each charging facility 330) transmits the power supply amount and operation information of the charging facility 330 to the navigation device 320. The navigation device 320 performs the processing of steps S703 to S709 in FIG. 7 using the received information and the information held by the device itself, and searches for the charging facility 330 most suitable for charging.

  As described above, the information providing system 300 according to the embodiment searches for a charging facility 330 (suppliable charging facility) whose power supply amount is greater than or equal to the required power amount of the vehicle 321. As a result, the vehicle 321 can be charged by the charging facility 330 that can reliably obtain the required amount of electric power, and waste of time and electric power can be prevented in order to obtain the required electric energy.

  Further, the information providing system 300 searches for a chargeable charging facility based on the position information of the vehicle 321 and the charging facility 330. In addition, the information providing system 300 searches for a chargeable supply facility using the remaining power amount information of the vehicle 321. As a result, the information providing system 300 can search for a chargeable charging facility located in a place where the vehicle 321 can reliably reach.

  Further, the information providing system 300 searches for a chargeable charging facility located on the planned travel route based on the travel route information of the vehicle 321. As a result, the information providing system 300 can search for a chargeable charging facility that the vehicle 321 can charge without deviating from the planned travel route, and prevent time, power consumption, traffic increase, etc. due to detours. Can do.

  Further, the information providing system 300 searches for the charging facility 330 based on the operation information of the charging facility 330. Thereby, the information provision system 300 can search for the charging facility 330 that the vehicle 321 can efficiently charge. Further, the information providing system 300 searches for the charging facility 330 located in an area where the operating rate of the charging facility 330 is low. Thereby, the difference of the operation rate of the charging equipment 330 between areas can be corrected, and an electric power resource can be utilized more effectively.

  The search method described in this embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Search apparatus 101 Required electric energy information acquisition part 102 Supply electric energy information acquisition part 103 Position information acquisition part 104 Remaining electric energy information acquisition part 105 Path | route information acquisition part 106 Operation | movement information acquisition part 107 Search part

Claims (9)

Required power amount information acquisition means for acquiring information on the amount of power required by a predetermined vehicle using power as a power source (hereinafter referred to as “required power amount information”);
Supply power amount information acquisition means for acquiring information on the amount of power that can be supplied in each of the charging facilities (hereinafter referred to as “supply power amount information”) from a plurality of charging facilities;
On the basis of the required power amount information and the supply power amount information, from the plurality of the charging facility, wherein the supply power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount charging facility (hereinafter, referred to as "suppliable charging facility") A search means for searching for,
Equipped with a,
When the searchable charging facility cannot be searched, the search means searches for a combination of a plurality of the charging facilities in which the amount of supplied power is equal to or greater than the required power amount . Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the predetermined vehicle and position information of each of the plurality of charging facilities;
The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search means searches for the supplyable charging equipment located within a predetermined range from the current position of the vehicle based on the position information. A remaining power amount information acquiring means for acquiring information on the remaining power amount of the predetermined vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “remaining power amount information”);
The said search means searches the said chargeable charging equipment located in the range in which the said predetermined | prescribed vehicle can drive | work with the said remaining power amount based on the said remaining power amount information. Search device. Route information acquisition means for acquiring information on a scheduled travel route on which the predetermined vehicle travels (hereinafter referred to as “travel route information”);
The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search means searches for the supplyable charging equipment located on the planned travel route based on the travel route information. The search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined vehicle is a vehicle on which the device is mounted. A search device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An information providing apparatus, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a search result obtained by the search unit to an information processing apparatus mounted on the predetermined vehicle. A search method in a search device for searching for a charging facility that matches a predetermined condition,
A required power amount information acquisition step for acquiring information on the amount of power required by a predetermined vehicle using power as a power source (hereinafter referred to as “required power amount information”);
Supply power amount information acquisition step of acquiring information on the amount of power that can be supplied in each of the charging facilities (hereinafter referred to as “supply power amount information”) from a plurality of the charging facilities;
On the basis of the required power amount information and the supply power amount information, from the plurality of the charging facility, wherein the supply power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount charging facility (hereinafter, referred to as "suppliable charging facility") A search process for searching for
Only including,
In the search step, when the chargeable charging equipment cannot be searched, a search method is provided for searching for a combination of the plurality of charging equipments in which the supplied power amount is equal to or greater than the required power amount . A search program for causing a computer to execute the search method according to claim 7.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the search program according to claim 8 is recorded.

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