JP7237031B2 - Charging management system, charging management method and charging management program - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a charging management system, a charging management method, and a charging management program capable of charging a plurality of moving bodies scheduled for regular operation and having storage batteries.

In recent years, the spread of electric vehicles is progressing. In the future, it is expected that commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks will become full-fledged electric vehicles. Furthermore, it is expected that not only automobiles but also moving bodies in general such as trains, airplanes, and ships will be equipped with storage batteries and use electricity as energy.

When business-use mobiles are equipped with storage batteries, the business operator needs to determine a charging schedule in consideration of electricity charges and the like because the storage batteries of many mobiles are charged. Patent Literature 1 describes a technology for a charging system that charges a route bus, in which the cost borne by the business operator and whether or not the contracted power is exceeded are used as evaluation functions, and a charging schedule is created so that the evaluation function is suitable. disclosed.

JP 2016-226091 A

A charging system installed for charging business-use moving bodies such as fixed-route buses has a plurality of charging ports and is capable of charging a plurality of moving bodies at the same time. On the other hand, a moving body scheduled for regular operation is mainly charged outside the period of regular operation. For example, charging of fixed-route buses is mainly performed at night. For this reason, the charging system installed for charging the fixed-route buses has a period during the day when it is not used for charging at all, or a period during which only a part of the charging power that can be charged is used for charging. It is assumed that there is a surplus in the charging capacity, such as when there is a battery. As described above, the charging capacity of the charging system may not be effectively utilized only by charging the route bus. Although Patent Document 1 mentioned above mentions optimization of the charging schedule of the route bus itself, it does not disclose a method for effectively utilizing the remaining capacity of the charging capacity.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain a charging management system that can effectively utilize the remaining charging capacity of a charging system that charges a moving body that is scheduled to operate regularly. do.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a charging management system according to the present disclosure is a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source. wherein, based on a first charging schedule which is a charging schedule of a first mobile body, a second mobile body which has a lower priority for charging than the first mobile body and moves using electricity as an energy source A plan creating unit that creates a second charging schedule including the charging schedule of the mobile body is provided. This charging management system further includes a plan presenting unit that presents a charging schedule for each second mobile object based on the second charging schedule , and the plan creation unit presents a charging schedule for each second mobile object based on the second charging schedule. a first plan creating unit that creates a first charging schedule; and a second plan creating unit that creates a second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule; second charging so as to allocate a charging period to a second mobile body corresponding to the charging request information when charging request information including information indicating a desired charging period range is received from a user terminal corresponding to the mobile body; Generate a schedule .

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to effectively utilize the remaining charging capacity in a charging system that charges a moving object that is scheduled to operate on a regular basis.

1 is a diagram showing a charging management system according to a first embodiment and a charging system managed by this charging management system; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a charging management system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. A diagram showing an example of a parking place for a vehicle according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing a configuration example of a user terminal according to Embodiment 1 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system that implements the charging management system of Embodiment 1; FIG. Flowchart showing an example of a charging management processing procedure in the charging management system of Embodiment 1 A diagram showing a configuration example of user information according to the first embodiment A diagram showing an example of a first charging schedule according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing an example of charging equipment information according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing an example of a second charging schedule according to the first embodiment A diagram showing an example of a charging schedule notified to each vehicle according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the operation plan of Embodiment 1. A diagram showing an example of movement information according to Embodiment 1 A diagram showing an example of a return timetable included in the movement information of Embodiment 1 Diagram showing an example of plan change for high-priority vehicles in Embodiment 1 FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an entire system including the charging management system of Embodiment 2; The figure which shows the structural example of the charge management system of Embodiment 2. A diagram showing a configuration example of a navigation provider system according to a second embodiment Chart diagram showing an example of a route guidance processing procedure according to the second embodiment Diagram showing a configuration example of a neural network A diagram showing an example of route candidates displayed by the user terminal according to the second embodiment Flowchart showing an example of a route candidate determination processing procedure in the navigation provider system of the second embodiment A diagram showing an example of peripheral equipment information according to the second embodiment A diagram showing an example of delivery information in the second embodiment A diagram showing an example of delivery history information according to the second embodiment

A charging management system, a charging management method, and a charging management program according to embodiments will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, it is not limited to this embodiment.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a charging management system according to a first embodiment and charging systems managed by this charging management system. As shown in FIG. 1, the charging system 1 of the present embodiment is a charging facility capable of charging vehicles 5-1 and 5-2 having mobile storage batteries. Vehicles 5-1 and 5-2 are an example of a first moving body that moves using electricity as an energy source. The charging management system 30 is a charging management device that manages charging in the charging system 1 . Hereinafter, vehicles 5-1 and 5-2 are also referred to as vehicles 5 when they are not individually distinguished. An example in which the vehicle 5 is a bus will be described below, but the vehicle 5 is not limited to a bus, and may be any vehicle scheduled for regular operation. The vehicle 5 may be, for example, a truck for business use, a taxi, an ordinary automobile for business use, or the like. In the following description, a vehicle 5 will be described as an example of a moving object scheduled for regular operation. is also applicable. Moreover, the moving object is not limited to one that moves only by electrical energy, and may be one that moves using both electrical energy and another energy source such as gasoline.

Charging system 1 is operated by, for example, an operator who manages operation of vehicle 5 . The charging system 1 of the present embodiment is installed in a parking lot for the vehicle 5, an office of a business operator managing the vehicle 5, a station for the vehicle 5, or the like. Each vehicle 5 operates according to a determined operation plan. Unlike buses, trucks, taxis, and ordinary commercial vehicles do not have detailed operation plans, but their business hours are set accordingly, and each vehicle 5 runs accordingly. A possible time slot is defined. Therefore, commercial vehicles such as trucks, taxis, and ordinary commercial vehicles whose business hours are set are also included in the moving bodies for which regular operation is planned.

The charging system 1 of the present embodiment is installed to charge the vehicle 5, more specifically, to charge the storage battery of the vehicle 5. In addition to the vehicle 5, the vehicle 6, which is an electric vehicle of a general user, is installed. It is also possible to charge 1,6-2. Vehicles 6-1 and 6-2 are, for example, ordinary automobiles equipped with storage batteries, but may be microbuses or the like. Vehicles 6-1 and 6-2 are an example of a second moving body that moves using electricity as an energy source. The second moving body may move using both electric energy and another energy source such as gasoline. If the vehicle 5 is a bus, the vehicle 5 is mainly operated during the day and charged during the night. Therefore, the charging capacity of the charging system 1 has a surplus during the time period when the vehicle 5 is used for operation. In the present embodiment, the surplus power of the charging capacity in the charging system 1 is effectively used by enabling the vehicles 6-1 and 6-2 of general users to be charged using such a surplus power. User terminals 7-1 and 7-2 are terminals that can be used by users corresponding to vehicles 6-1 and 6-2, respectively. The user terminals 7-1 and 7-2 may be car navigation systems installed in the vehicles 6-1 and 6-2, mobile terminals such as smart phones and tablets, or user's home terminals. It may be a personal computer or the like installed in a place such as a computer.

Hereinafter, when the vehicles 6-1 and 6-2 are not individually distinguished, they are also referred to as the vehicle 6, and when the user terminals 7-1 and 7-2 are not individually distinguished, they are also referred to as the user terminal 7. Although two vehicles 5 and two vehicles 6 are shown in FIG. 1, the number of vehicles 5 and 6 that can be charged by charging system 1 of the present embodiment is not limited to two. The charging system 1 is capable of simultaneously charging a plurality of vehicles 5 within a defined range of restrictions, and is also capable of charging different vehicles 5 for each time slot. Similarly, the charging system 1 can simultaneously charge a plurality of vehicles 6 within a defined range of restrictions, and can charge different vehicles 6 for each time slot. It is also possible to simultaneously charge one or more vehicles 5 and one or more vehicles 6 within defined constraints. Hereinafter, when an object to be charged by the charging system 1 is indicated and the vehicle 5 and the vehicle 6 are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as vehicles.

In the present embodiment, priority is used to determine a usage plan for charging system 1, which is a charging facility, based on vehicle attribute information. Here, the vehicle attribute information includes information indicating whether or not the vehicle is owned by the administrator of the charging system 1 (owned vehicle). Note that the administrator of the charging system 1 may be a business operator or the like that owns the charging system 1 or may be a business operator or the like that owns the charging system 1 through a lease. Further, the owned vehicle may be a vehicle owned by the administrator of the charging system 1 himself or a vehicle owned by a lease. Vehicle attribute information is used to determine whether the priority is high or low. For example, if the attribute information of the vehicle is "owned vehicle", the priority of the vehicle is set high. Conversely, if the vehicle is "not owned vehicle", the priority of the vehicle is set low. The vehicle 5 described above is owned by the administrator of the charging system 1, and the vehicle 6 is not owned by the manager.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging system 1 includes a plurality of chargers, i.e., chargers 10-1 to 10-n, a converter 41, switches 50-1 to 50-n, charging terminals 11-1-1 to 11-1-3, . n is an integer of 2 or more. Hereinafter, when the chargers 10-1 to 10-n and the charging terminals 11-1-1 to 11-1-3, . The charger 10 and the charging terminal 11 are also described. Here, a configuration example in which the DC bus 40 is used in the charging system 1 will be described. A configuration in which AC power is supplied to 1 to 10-n may be employed. Moreover, the charging system 1 does not have to include the storage battery 20, the storage battery PCS21, and the solar power generation equipment 22. The charging system 1 is not limited to the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, and may have any configuration as long as it includes a plurality of chargers capable of charging the vehicle.

A charging system 1 is supplied with three-phase AC power from a power system 2 managed by an electric power company via a transformer 3 . The transformer 3 transforms the three-phase AC power supplied from the electric power system 2 and supplies it to the converter 41 . The converter 41 performs AC (Alternating Current)/DC (Direct Current) conversion for converting three-phase AC power supplied from the electric power system 2 to DC power via the transformer 3, and supplies the DC power to the DC bus 40. supply. The power grid 2 managed by the power company is hereinafter simply referred to as the grid. Chargers 10-1 to 10-n and storage battery PCS21 are connected to DC bus 40. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the chargers 10-1 to 10-n are connected to corresponding switches 50-1 to 50-n, respectively. Switches 50-1 to 50-n are connected to chargers 10-1 to 10-n, respectively, and are connected to a plurality of charging terminals 11, respectively. Specifically, the switch 50-i (i is an integer from 1 to n) is connected to the charging terminals 11-i-1 to 11-i-3, and selects the connection destination of the charger 10-i. It is possible to switch to any one of the charging terminals 11-i-1 to 11-i-3. Switches 50-1 to 50-n are referred to as switch 50 when they are not individually distinguished. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which each of the switches 50-1 to 50-n is connected to three charging terminals 11, the charging terminal 11 to which each of the switches 50-1 to 50-n is connected is not limited to three. Also, the number of charging terminals 11 connected to the switches 50-1 to 50-n may not be the same, and the number of charging terminals 11 connected by the switches 50 may be different.

The charging terminal 11 has a connection cable for connecting with the vehicle when charging the vehicle. Therefore, the charging terminal 11 corresponds to a charging port for charging the vehicle. The joint cable has a function as a power supply line for transmitting power and a function as a communication line for communication. The charging terminal 11 can communicate with the vehicle via the joint cable. The charging terminal 11 acquires information about the storage battery of the connected vehicle from the vehicle through the communication. The information about the storage battery installed in the vehicle includes charging ON/OFF information for determining the start and end of charging, the voltage value specified when charging the storage battery, and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the storage battery. It includes SOC (State Of Charge), which is also called rate. Charger 10 transmits at least part of the information acquired from the vehicle via charging terminal 11 to charging management system 30 . For example, charger 10 notifies charge management system 30 of the SOC of the storage battery obtained from the vehicle.

Charger 10 of the present embodiment has a function of performing DC/DC conversion to convert DC power supplied from DC bus 40 into DC power for charging a storage battery mounted on a vehicle. Specifically, the charger 10 performs DC/DC conversion in accordance with charging on/off information obtained from the vehicle via the charging terminal 11, a voltage value specified when charging the storage battery, and the like. , can be supplied to the battery of the vehicle via the corresponding switch 50 and charging terminal 11 .

In the present embodiment, the switches 50-1 to 50-n switch charging terminals 11 connected to corresponding chargers 10 based on instructions from the charging management system 30. FIG. As a result, the number of chargers 10 can be reduced, and a plurality of vehicles can be smoothly charged without reconnecting to another vehicle after charging is completed.

The photovoltaic power generation equipment 22 can convert sunlight into electrical energy and output the electrical energy as DC power. The storage battery 20 can store DC power output from the photovoltaic power generation facility 22 . The storage battery PCS21 is a control device that charges and discharges the storage battery 20 . The storage battery PCS 21 charges and discharges the storage battery 20 based on the charge/discharge command received from the charge management system 30 . Storage battery PCS21 has a function of supplying DC power output from storage battery 20 to DC bus 40 when storage battery 20 is discharged. Storage battery PCS21 also has a function of charging storage battery 20 using DC power supplied from DC bus 40 . The storage battery 20 stores power generated by the solar power generation facility 22 and discharges the stored power to supply the power to the chargers 10-1 to 10-n. The vehicle 5 is mainly operated during the daytime and is often charged at nighttime. When many vehicles 5 are charged at the same time, the power supplied from the power system 2 to the charging system 1 becomes very large, and may exceed the contract power or the upper limit requested by the power company. In the present embodiment, the power generated by the photovoltaic power generation equipment 22 is stored in the storage battery 20, and the power stored in the storage battery 20 is used during charging at night. The peak value of power supplied to the system 1 can be suppressed.

In the charging system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the converter 41 converts the three-phase AC power into DC power and supplies it to the charger 10. Instead of each charger 10, a charger having a function of converting three-phase AC power into DC power and supplying power to the vehicle may be used. In this case, storage battery PCS21 also has a function of converting three-phase AC power to DC power and converting DC power to three-phase AC power.

When the vehicle 5 is a large vehicle such as a bus or a truck, the storage battery capacity of the vehicle 5 is large and the number of vehicles 5 to be charged is also large, so the electric power required for charging is large. For this reason, it is important for business operators to reduce power loss from the viewpoint of energy saving and cost reduction. As shown in FIG. 1, when the converter 41 converts the three-phase AC power into DC power and supplies it to the charger 10, each charger converts the three-phase AC power into the DC power without the converter 41. As compared with the case of conversion into electric power, electric power loss is reduced, and energy saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

Moreover, in the charging system 1 shown in FIG. may be connected to one charging terminal 11 respectively.

Although not shown, a DC load may be connected to the DC bus 40 . Also, although not shown, a stationary storage battery that is not connected to the photovoltaic power generation facility may be provided. In this case, a storage battery PCS that controls charging and discharging of a stationary storage battery is connected to the DC bus 40, and the stationary storage battery is connected to this storage battery PCS.

In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the charging system 1 includes the storage battery 20, the storage battery PCS 21, and the solar power generation facility 22. However, the charging system 1 is not limited to this, and the charging system 1 includes the storage battery 20, the storage battery PCS 21, and sunlight. The power generation equipment 22 may not be provided.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, an example in which charger 10 charges a storage battery of a vehicle will be described, but charger 10 may further have a function of discharging the storage battery of the vehicle. That is, charger 10 may be a charger/discharger.

Next, the charge management system 30 of this embodiment will be described. The charging management system 30 can communicate with the user terminals 7-1 and 7-2 and the operation management system 8 via the network 4, respectively. The operation management system 8 is a device that manages the operation plan of the vehicle 5 . Communication between the charging management system 30 and the operation management system 8 may be wired communication or wireless communication. Moreover, the communication path between the charging management system 30 and the operation management system 8 may be composed of a wired communication path and a wireless communication path. Similarly, communication between charging management system 30 and user terminals 7-1 and 7-2 may be wired communication or wireless communication. Also, the communication path between the charging management system 30 and the user terminals 7-1 and 7-2 may be composed of a wired communication path and a wireless communication path. Also, the charging management system 30 can communicate with the charger 10, the switching device 50, and the storage battery PCS21. This communication may be wireless communication or wired communication.

The charge management system 30 functions as a so-called EMS (energy management system). The charging management system 30 creates a first charging schedule for charging the vehicle 5 based on the operation plan acquired from the operation management system 8, and operates the chargers 10-1 to 10-10 according to the created first charging schedule. -n and the storage battery PCS21 can be controlled. Vehicle 5 is charged using one of the power supplied from power system 2 to charging system 1, that is, the power purchased from the power company, the power discharged from storage battery 20, and the power generated by photovoltaic power generation equipment 22. performed using one or more Therefore, the first charging schedule also includes the charging and discharging schedule of the storage battery 20 .

When the user of the vehicle 6 wants to charge with the charging system 1 , the user terminal 7 is operated to cause the user terminal 7 to transmit a charging request to the charging management system 30 . The charging management system 30 refers to the first charging schedule, and creates a second charging schedule, which is the charging schedule for the vehicle 6, if the charging system 1 has a surplus charging capacity during the time period when the charging request is made. The charging management system 30 transmits the charging schedule of the vehicle 6 to the corresponding user terminals 7 . The user moves the vehicle 6 to the charging system 1 according to the charging schedule received by the user terminal 7 . Thereby, the user can charge the vehicle 6 with the charging system 1 . The user pays the charge for charging to the business operator who manages the charging system 1 . Any method may be used by the business operator to collect the charge from the user. The user may directly pay an operator or the like arranged by the business operator according to the charge amount, or the user may use a credit card or the like. Payment may be made electronically.

Also, when the user charges the vehicle 6, the charging management system 30 of the charging system 1 determines whether the connected vehicle 6 is the correct vehicle 6, that is, whether the vehicle 6 corresponds to the second charging schedule. You can check whether As will be described later, the corresponding charging terminal 11 is determined for the vehicle 6 according to the charging request. The charging management system 30 acquires information for confirming the vehicle 6, uses this information to determine whether the vehicle 6 conforms to the second charging schedule, and determines if the vehicle 6 conforms to the second charging schedule. , charging using the charging terminal 11 may be permitted. As a method of confirming the vehicle 6, for example, the user, i.e., the driver, holds up a portable terminal such as an IC card or a smartphone over a reader, recognizes the vehicle number of the vehicle 6 with a camera, or checks the vehicle 6 itself via a charging cable. However, the method for confirming the vehicle 6 is not limited to these, and any method may be used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the charging management system 30 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2 , charging management system 30 includes communication section 31 , plan creation section 39 , plan presentation section 34 , movement information presentation section 35 , command generation section 36 and storage section 37 . The plan creation unit 39 includes a first plan creation unit 32 and a second plan creation unit 33 . The communication unit 31 communicates with the operation management system 8, the user terminal 7, the charger 10, the switching device 50, the storage battery PCS, and the like. The communication unit 31 receives the operation plan of the vehicle 5 from the operation management system 8 and stores the received operation plan in the storage unit 37 . Further, when receiving the charging request information from the user terminal 7 , the communication unit 31 stores the charging request information together with the identification information of the user terminal 7 as user information in the storage unit 37 .

The first plan creating unit 32 creates a first charging schedule, which is a charging schedule for charging the vehicle 5, based on the operation plan of the vehicle 5, and stores the created first charging schedule in the storage unit 37. . Any specific method for creating the first charging schedule may be used. The first plan creating unit 32 creates the first charging schedule in consideration of, for example, the electricity rate, the operation plan, the contract power, the upper limit requested by the power company, and the like. Specifically, the first plan creation unit 32, for example, determines that the power supplied from the power grid 2 to the entire charging system 1 does not exceed the contracted power or the upper limit requested by the power company, and that costs are suppressed. Under the conditions, the charging terminal 11 for charging each vehicle 5 and the charging period are determined so that each vehicle 5 can be charged in a time slot not planned in the operation plan. When the vehicle 5 is a bus, the vehicle 5 is often used for operation during the time period from the first bus to the last bus. Vehicles 5 that are not in service may be charged during this time period, but charging of vehicles 5 is mainly performed during the night from the end of the last service of the day to the first train of the next day. .

The second plan creating unit 33 creates the second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule. Specifically, the second plan creating unit 33 determines the charging schedule for the vehicle 6 corresponding to the user terminal 7 that has transmitted the charging request information, based on the first charging schedule stored in the storage unit 37 and the user information. A second charging schedule including the schedule is created and stored in the storage unit 37 . As will be described later, when charging request information including information indicating a desired charging period range is received from the user terminal 7 corresponding to the vehicle 6, the second plan creation unit 33 selects the vehicle corresponding to the charging request information. A second charging schedule is generated to allocate 6 charging periods. The second charging schedule includes the first charging schedule and the charging schedule of the vehicle 6 corresponding to the user terminal 7 that has transmitted the charging request. The charging schedule for vehicle 6 includes charging terminals 11 and charging periods for charging vehicle 6 . The charging terminal 11 is associated with a parking place where each vehicle is parked for charging in the charging system 1 . Since the user of the vehicle 6 is a customer of the operator of the charging system 1, from the viewpoint of convenience for the user of the vehicle 6, the second plan creating unit 33, for example, when creating the second charging schedule, , the charging terminal 11 corresponding to the vehicle 6 is determined so that the vehicle 6 can be easily parked. In addition, the vehicle 5 is larger than the vehicle 6, and it is preferable for the user of the vehicle 6 to avoid moving around the parking area of the vehicle 5 as much as possible from the viewpoint of user safety. For this reason, the first plan creating unit 32 and the second plan creating unit 33 determine the charging terminal 11 corresponding to the vehicle 5 and the vehicle 6 so that the parking place of the vehicle 5 and the parking place of the vehicle 6 are separated as much as possible. should be determined.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of parking locations for vehicles 5 and 6 according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 6-1 is parked at the parking lot P1 closer to the vehicle entrance and charged using the charging terminal 11-1-1, and the vehicle is parked at the parking lot P5 farther from the vehicle entrance than the parking lot P1. A parking place for each vehicle is determined so that 5-1 is parked and charged using the charging terminal 11-2-1. For example, during a time period during which vehicle 6-1 is planned to be charged by charging system 1, parking locations P1 to P4 shown in FIG. A parking space for the vehicle 6 and a parking space for the vehicle 5 are separated, such that they are separated.

Since the main purpose of the charging system 1 is to charge the vehicle 5 , charging of the vehicle 5 is basically prioritized over charging of the vehicle 6 . That is, the vehicle 6 has a lower charging priority than the vehicle 5 . Therefore, the vehicle 5 is a high-priority vehicle that is preferentially charged, and the vehicle 6 is a low-priority vehicle that has a lower priority for charging than the vehicle 5 . On the other hand, even if the parking place of the vehicle 5 is changed when the vehicle 5 is charged, there is no problem if the vehicle 5 can be charged without affecting the operation plan of the vehicle 5 . Therefore, by giving priority to the vehicle 5 in terms of the charging time and giving priority to the vehicle 6 in terms of the parking space, the user's convenience of the vehicle 6 can be improved without affecting the operation of the vehicle 5 .

Here, an example in which the second charging schedule includes the first charging schedule will be described. It may include only the charging schedule of the vehicle 6 to be used.

The plan presentation unit 34 presents a charging schedule for each vehicle 6 based on the second charging schedule. Specifically, based on the second charging schedule stored in the storage unit 37, the plan presenting unit 34 notifies the user of the vehicle 6 of the charging schedule of the vehicle 6 corresponding to the user terminal 7 that has transmitted the charging request. Present. In addition, the plan presentation unit 34 presents to the user the parking place of the vehicle 6 when charging is performed together with the charging schedule. Specifically, the plan presenting unit 34 transmits, via the communication unit 31 , the charging schedule and the parking location of the vehicle 6 corresponding to the user terminal 7 that has transmitted the charging request. Thereby, the user can grasp the charging schedule and the parking place of the vehicle 6 via the user terminal 7 .

The movement information presenting unit 35 presents to the user, as movement information, information on means of transportation that can be used by the user while the vehicle 6 is being charged. Specifically, the movement information presentation unit 35 generates movement information based on the operation plan and the second charging schedule, stores the movement information in the storage unit 37, and transmits the movement information to the user terminal 7 via the communication unit 31. Send. This allows the user to grasp the movement information. The movement information includes the departure time of vehicle 5 departing from the installation location of charging system 1 . Details of the movement information will be described later.

Command generating unit 36 generates a command for charging or discharging to each charger 10 and storage battery PCS21 based on the second charging schedule, and sends the generated charge/discharge command to the corresponding charger 10 and storage battery PCS21. It is transmitted to the PCS 21 via the communication section 31 . When the second schedule does not include the first charging schedule, the command generating unit 36 controls charging or discharging of each charger 10 and the storage battery PCS21 based on the first charging schedule and the second charging schedule. and transmits the generated charge/discharge command to the corresponding charger 10 and storage battery PCS 21 via the communication unit 31 .

Among the components shown in FIG. 2, the second plan creation unit 33, the plan presentation unit 34, the movement information presentation unit 35, and the storage unit 37 provide charging information for providing information on charging services to the user of the vehicle 6. A provider 38 is configured. Here, the charging management system 30 has both a function as an EMS that manages and controls the charger 10 and the storage battery PCS 21 of the charging system 1 for charging the vehicle 5, and a function as the charging information providing device 38. A provided example will be described. Not limited to this, the EMS that manages and controls the charger 10 and the storage battery PCS 21 of the charging system 1 for charging the vehicle 5 and the charging information providing device 38 may be configured as separate systems. In this case, the EMS includes a communication section 31, a first plan creation section 32, a command generation section 36 and a storage section. The storage unit of the EMS stores the first charging schedule created by the first plan creation unit 32 . Also, the charging information providing device 38 acquires the first charging schedule from the EMS and stores it in the storage unit 37 .

Next, the user terminal 7 will be explained. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the user terminal 7 of this embodiment. The user terminal 7 includes a communication section 71 , a reception section 72 , an information presentation section 73 and a storage section 74 . The reception unit 72 receives input from the user. For example, accepting portion 72 accepts an input of charge request information, which is information relating to charging of vehicle 6 , from the user, and stores the accepted information in storage portion 74 . The charge request information includes information such as a time slot in which the user wants to charge.

The communication unit 71 communicates with other devices. For example, communication unit 71 transmits the charge request information stored in storage unit 74 to charge management system 30 . Further, upon receiving the charging schedule of vehicle 6 from charging management system 30 , communication unit 71 stores the charging schedule in storage unit 74 .

Information presentation unit 73 presents the charging schedule stored in storage unit 74 to the user. Information presentation unit 73 may, for example, present the charging schedule to the user by displaying it, may present the charging schedule to the user by voice, or may present the charging schedule to the user by display and voice. good too.

Next, the hardware configuration of charging management system 30 will be described. The charging management system 30 is specifically realized by a computer system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system that implements charging management system 30 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, this computer system comprises a control section 101, an input section 102, a storage section 103, a display section 104, a communication section 105, and an output section 106, which are connected via a system bus 107. there is Note that the charging management system 30 may be implemented by one computer system, or may be implemented by a plurality of computer systems.

In FIG. 5, the control unit 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. Control unit 101 executes a charge management program in which the charge management method of the present embodiment is described. The input unit 102 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by the user of the computer system to input various information. The storage unit 103 includes various memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) and storage devices such as a hard disk, and stores programs to be executed by the control unit 101 and necessary data obtained in the course of processing. store data, etc. The storage unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. A display unit 104 is configured by an LCD (liquid crystal display panel) or the like, and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. Alternatively, a touch panel or the like in which the input unit 102 and the display unit 104 are integrated may be used. The communication unit 105 is a communication circuit or the like that performs communication processing. The communication unit 105 may be composed of a plurality of communication circuits respectively corresponding to a plurality of communication schemes. The output unit 106 is an output interface that outputs data to an external device such as a printer or an external storage device. Note that FIG. 5 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example in FIG.

Here, an operation example of the computer system until the charging management program of the present embodiment becomes executable will be described. The computer system configured as described above stores a charge management program, for example, from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM set in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). installed in the unit 103 . Then, when the charging management program is executed, the charging management program read from storage unit 103 is stored in storage unit 103 . In this state, control unit 101 executes processing as charging management system 30 of the present embodiment according to the program stored in storage unit 103 . For example, the charging management program presents the charging management system 30 with a first step of creating a second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule and a charging schedule for each vehicle 6 based on the second charging schedule. and a second step.

In the above description, a program describing processing in the charging management system 30 is provided using a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium. For example, a program provided by a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105 may be used depending on the capacity of the computer.

The first plan creation unit 32, the second plan creation unit 33, the plan presentation unit 34, the movement information presentation unit 35, and the command generation unit 36 shown in FIG. 2 are implemented by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. Storage unit 37 shown in FIG. 2 is a part of storage unit 103 shown in FIG. The communication unit 31 shown in FIG. 2 is implemented by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG.

The user terminal 7 is also realized by a computer system as illustrated in FIG. The reception unit 72 shown in FIG. 4 is implemented by the input unit 102 and the control unit 101 shown in FIG. The storage unit 74 shown in FIG. 4 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. Communication unit 71 shown in FIG. 4 is realized by communication unit 105 shown in FIG. Information presentation unit 73 shown in FIG. 4 is implemented by control unit 101 and display unit 104 . When the information presenting unit 73 presents the charging schedule to the user by voice, the computer system realizing the user terminal 7 further includes a device for emitting voice such as a speaker. As described above, the user terminal 7 may be a personal computer, a car navigation system, a smart phone, a tablet, or the like.

Next, the details of the operation of charging management system 30 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a charging management procedure in charging management system 30 of the present embodiment. Note that, apart from the processing of FIG. 6 , the first plan creation unit 32 appropriately generates the first charging schedule and stores it in the storage unit 37 . For example, the first plan creation unit 32 creates a first charging schedule for the next day at a predetermined time every day, and stores it in the storage unit 37 . The created first charging schedule may be changed according to the situation on the day. For example, the first plan creating unit 32 may change the first charging schedule on the day according to the SOC of the storage battery acquired from the vehicle 5 via the charging terminal 11 and the charger 10 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the charging management system 30 determines whether charging request information has been received from the user terminal 7 (step S1). When charging request information has not been received from the user terminal 7 (step S1 No), the charging management system 30 repeats step S1. When charging request information is received from the user terminal 7 (step S1 Yes), the charging management system 30 updates the user information with the received charging request information (step S2). Specifically, in step S1, the communication unit 31 determines whether or not the charging request information is received from the user terminal 7, and when the charging request information is received, the reception time of the charging request information and the transmission source user's name are displayed. The charge request information is output to the second plan creating unit 33 together with the identification information. Then, in step S2, the second plan creation unit 33 updates the user information in the storage unit 37 based on the received charge request information and reception time. The charging request information includes information for identifying the user of the user terminal 7 (user ID (IDentifier)) and information indicating the desired charging period range. The user ID may be identification information of the vehicle 6 , an ID assigned to the user, or identification information of the user terminal 7 . If the user ID is an ID assigned to the user, the ID is determined, for example, at the time of registration for use with the charging system 1 .

The charging period for which the vehicle 6 is desired to be charged is indicated by, for example, the desired scheduled entry time and the desired scheduled exit time. As will be described later, the charging management system 30 allocates a charging period to each vehicle 6 within a charging period during which the vehicle 6 is desired to be charged. sexuality increases. Therefore, the desired charging period may be set longer than the actual charging period.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of user information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the user information includes a user ID, reception time, scheduled warehousing time, and warehousing scheduled time. The user ID is included in the charging request information described above. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the user ID is the identification information of the vehicle 6, and the low-priority vehicles #1 to #3 respectively indicate the identification information of the vehicles 6-1 to 6-3. As described above, the scheduled warehousing time and the scheduled leaving time indicate the charging period desired by the user, and are included in the charging request information. The reception time is the time when the charging request information is received. In the present embodiment, processing after step S4, which will be described later, is performed based on the charging request information received within a certain period of time. The fixed period is, for example, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or the like, but is not limited to these. Therefore, the user information includes information corresponding to the charging request information received during this fixed period. The user information may be cleared at regular intervals, or may include past information without being cleared at regular intervals. In the latter case, information corresponding to the most recent fixed period is referred to in the process of step S4.

Returning to the description of FIG. After step S2, the second plan creating unit 33 determines whether or not the charging request acceptance period has ended (step S3). In the present embodiment, as described above, charging management system 30 performs the processes from step S4 onward based on the charging request information received for a certain period of time. Therefore, the charging request acceptance period corresponds to one fixed period. For example, if the fixed period is 30 minutes, the second plan creation unit 23 determines that the reception period has ended when 30 minutes have passed since the start of reception of the charging request. In addition, although the charging request is accepted at regular intervals here, the acceptance period is not limited to this, and may be set irregularly.

If the charging request acceptance period has not ended (step S3 No), the process from step S1 is repeated. When the period for accepting charging requests has ended (step S3 Yes), the second plan creation unit 33 selects high-priority vehicles and low-priority vehicles based on the first charging schedule, which is the charging schedule for high-priority vehicles, and user information. A second charging schedule, which is a charging schedule, is created (step S4). At this time, the second plan creating unit 33 refers to the first charging schedule and creates a second charging schedule so that the low-priority vehicle is charged during a time period when the charging capacity is sufficient.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a first charging schedule according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the first charging schedule includes information indicating vehicles to be charged for each charger 10 and each charging terminal 11 in each time slot. For example, the example shown in FIG. 8 indicates that from 0:00 to 1:00 high priority vehicle #1 is scheduled to be charged using charging terminal #1 connected to charger #1. . Charger #1 is identification information indicating charger 10-1. Similarly, charger #i (i=1, 2, . . . , n) is identification information indicating charger 10-i. High priority vehicle #j (j is a natural number) is identification information of vehicle 5-j. Note that FIG. 8 is an example, and the format of the first charging schedule is not limited to the example shown in FIG. Also, although not shown, the first charging schedule may include charging power for charging each vehicle.

In step S4, the second plan creation unit 33 refers to the first charging schedule, and for each information corresponding to each user included in the user information, in order of earliest reception time, the charging time from the scheduled parking time to the scheduled parking time. It is determined whether or not there is a time zone during which the charger 10 is not used. Then, if there is a time slot in which the charger 10 is not used in the time slot between the scheduled time of entering and the scheduled time of leaving, the corresponding time slot is determined as the charging period of the user's vehicle 6 . The second plan generation unit 33 similarly charges the vehicle 6 of the user corresponding to the information whose reception time is the second and later, except for the period already determined as the charging period of the vehicle 6 of another user. determine the duration; Here, the charging period is assigned in the order in which the charging request information is received, that is, in the order of arrival. A user's vehicle 6 may be assigned a charging period according to a predetermined rule. For example, equal charging time may be assigned to all user's vehicles 6 corresponding to charging request information received within a certain period of time, or weighting may be performed according to a predetermined weighting factor for each user's vehicle 6. to allocate charging time. Further, when determining the charging terminal 11 to be used for charging each vehicle 6 , the second plan creation unit 33 may also consider parking locations based on the charging facility information stored in the storage unit 37 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of charging equipment information according to the present embodiment. The charging facility information is pre-stored in the storage unit 37 . The charging equipment information is information indicating the correspondence between the charger 10, the charging terminal 11, and the parking place. Since the charging facility information indicates the correspondence between the charging terminal 11 and the parking space, the second plan creation unit 33 preferentially allocates the charging terminal 11 corresponding to the parking space near the entrance to the vehicle 6, for example. It is assumed that the second plan creating unit 33 holds information indicating which parking place is closest to the entrance. For example, the second plan creating unit 33 may hold information in which the identification information of the parking places is arranged in order of proximity to the entrance/exit. Alternatively, as described above, when the parking locations for the vehicles 5 and 6 are separated, the parking location to be assigned to the vehicle 6 may be determined in advance.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a second charging schedule according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the second charging schedule includes information indicating vehicles to be charged for each charger 10 and each charging terminal 11 in each time slot. As described above, since the charging terminal 11 and the parking position are associated with the charging facility information, the second plan creation unit 33 assigns the charging terminal 11 to each vehicle 6 based on the second charging schedule and the charging facility information. You can find out where you parked. The charging schedule of each vehicle 6 notified to the user terminal 7 in step S11 or the like to be described later includes this parking location.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a charging schedule notified to each vehicle 6 according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the charging schedule notified to each vehicle 6 includes information indicating the user ID, charging start time, charging end time, parking location, and charging terminal (charging port ID).

Returning to the description of FIG. After step S4, the second plan creation unit 33 determines whether or not there is a low-priority vehicle that cannot provide a charging opportunity (step S5). That is, the second plan creating unit 33 determines whether or not there is a vehicle 6 to which the charging period was not assigned in step S4 among the vehicles 6 corresponding to the user who transmitted the charging request information received during the current reception period. to judge.

If there is no low-priority vehicle that cannot provide a charging opportunity (step S5 No), the movement information presenting unit 35 creates movement information for each user based on the second charging schedule and the operation plan (step S9). The movement information is information about means of transportation provided to the user of the vehicle 6 while the vehicle 6 is being charged by the charging system 1 . Specifically, in step S9, for each low-priority vehicle for which the second plan creation unit 33 provides the movement information presentation unit 35 with a charging opportunity, that is, for each low-priority vehicle to which a charging period is allocated, the movement information presentation unit 35 provides the charging period to notify you. Based on the notification from the second plan creation unit 33 and the operation plan, the movement information presentation unit 35 determines that the allowable time has elapsed after the start time of the charging period and from the start time of the charging period for each low-priority vehicle. A timetable indicating the departure time of the vehicle 5 departing from a location such as a business vehicle where the charging system 1 is installed or a location near the location where the charging system 1 is installed is generated as movement information. , the movement information is stored in the storage unit 37 . The allowable time may be determined in any way, but is set to, for example, about 30 minutes. The movement information presenting unit 35 may generate a timetable for each destination of the vehicle 5, or may obtain a desired destination from the user in advance and generate a timetable for the destination. For example, the charging request information may include the user's desired destination.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an operation plan according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12 , the operation plan stores the route, the main waypoint, the departure time and the arrival time for each identification information indicating the vehicle 5 , that is, for each vehicle 5 . In FIG. 12, the route, departure time, and arrival time are indicated for each vehicle 5 for the sake of clarity, but the format may indicate which vehicle 5 is used for each route. .

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of movement information according to this embodiment. FIG. 13 shows an example of movement information presented to the user of vehicle 6-1 when vehicle 6-1 (low-priority vehicle #1) is assigned the charging schedule shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle 6-1 is assigned a charging period from 10:00 to 13:00. In this case, the travel information presenting unit 35 presents, as travel information, a timetable of the vehicle 5 departing from the office where the charging system 1 is installed after 10:00. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the movement information indicates departure time, arrival time for each destination, and vehicle 5 to be used. Note that in FIG. 13, the destination includes not only the destination that is the end point of the route of the bus itself, but also the main waypoints along the route. In the example shown in FIG. 13, since the user's desired destination is not known in advance, the travel information includes timetables for multiple destinations. It is sufficient if the timetable corresponding to the destination is shown.

The movement information may also include a timetable for returning from each destination to a business office where charging system 1 is installed. In other words, the travel information may include a timetable indicating the departure time of the vehicle 5 leaving each destination and returning to the installation location of the charging system 1 . FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a return timetable included in travel information according to the present embodiment. FIG. 14 shows a return timetable when the destination is A station. When there are a plurality of destination candidates, the movement information presenting unit 35 creates a timetable shown in FIG. 14 for each destination and includes it in the movement information. For example, based on the operation plan, the movement information presentation unit 35 creates a timetable of the vehicle 5 scheduled to return from each destination before the end time of the charging period of the vehicle 6, and includes it in the movement information. back. Here, an example is shown in which both the timetable to the destination and the timetable for the return trip are included in the travel information so that the user can make a selection in consideration of round-trip travel. may be transmitted to the user terminal 7 first. In this case, the user terminal 7 receives destination selection from the user and transmits the received result to the charging management system 30 . Then, the movement information presentation unit 35 may transmit the timetable for returning to the selected destination to the user terminal 7 .

By confirming the information shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the user can make a plan to move from the installation location of the charging system 1 to go shopping, eat, and so on while the vehicle 6 is being charged. In addition, since the vehicle 5 is used for this movement, the user pays the fare for the vehicle 5 to the operator that operates the vehicle 5, that is, the operator that manages the charging system 1. As a result, the operator can obtain not only profits from the charging service of the vehicle 6 but also profits from increasing the number of passengers of the vehicle 5 .

Returning to the description of FIG. After step S9, the movement information presentation unit 35 determines whether or not there is a user for whom transportation means cannot be provided (step S10). Specifically, the movement information presenting unit 35 causes the vehicle 6 to which the charging period has been assigned in step S4 to start charging the charging system after the charging period start time and between the charging period start time and the allowable time. If there is no vehicle 5 departing from a location near the location where 1 is installed, it is determined that transportation means cannot be provided to the user corresponding to the vehicle 6.例文帳に追加Further, when the destination desired by the user is known in advance, the movement information presenting unit 35 departs to the destination after the start time of the charging period and within the allowable time from the start time of the charging period. If there is no vehicle 5, it is determined that transportation means cannot be provided.

If there is no user for whom transportation means cannot be provided (step S10 No), the charge management system 30 notifies the user terminal 7 of the charging schedule and movement information (step S11), and terminates the process. Specifically, in step S11, the movement information presenting unit 35 notifies the end of generation of the movement information, and when the plan presenting unit 34 receives the notification, the charging schedule corresponding to each vehicle 6 to which the charging period is assigned is displayed. is obtained using the second charging schedule and charging facility information. Then, the plan presenting unit 34 transmits the calculated charging schedule and movement information for each vehicle 6 to the corresponding user terminal 7 via the communication unit 31 .

In step S5, if there is a low-priority vehicle that cannot provide a charging opportunity (step S5 Yes), the charging management system 30 determines whether or not it is possible to change the charging schedule of the high-priority vehicle (step S6). Specifically, second plan creation unit 33 notifies first plan creation unit 32 that there is a low-priority vehicle that cannot provide a charging opportunity. Then, the first plan creation unit 32 considers the electricity rate, the operation plan, the contracted power, the upper limit value requested by the electric power company, etc., in order to charge the vehicle 6. The vehicle 5 that can change the charging schedule determine whether there is

If the charging schedule of the high-priority vehicle can be changed (step S6 Yes), the charging management system 30 changes the first charging schedule (step S7), and repeats the process from step S4. For example, if there is a vehicle 5 that does not affect the operation plan even if the charging period is changed, among the vehicles 5 that are scheduled to be charged within the charging period desired by the user of the vehicle 6, the charging management system 30 The first charging schedule is changed so as to change the charging period of the vehicle 5 . Thereby, a charging period can be assigned to the vehicle 6 . In this way, when the charging management system 30 cannot allocate a charging period to the vehicle 6 corresponding to the user terminal 7 that has transmitted the charging request information, the charging management system 30 changes the first charging schedule if it can be changed.

If the charging schedule of the high-priority vehicle cannot be changed (step S6 No), the charging management system 30 cannot charge the corresponding user terminal 7, that is, the user terminal 7 corresponding to the vehicle 6 to which the charging period has not been assigned. It is notified that there is (step S8), and the process proceeds to step S9. Specifically, in step S<b>8 , the second plan creation unit 33 transmits a notification indicating that charging is not possible to the corresponding user terminal 7 via the communication unit 31 .

In step S10, if there is a user for whom means of transportation cannot be provided (step S10 Yes), the charge management system 30 determines whether or not the operation plan of the high-priority vehicle can be changed (step S12). Specifically, the travel information presenting unit 35 notifies the first plan creation unit 32 that there are users for whom travel means cannot be provided. Then, the first plan creation unit 32 can change the operation plan in order to provide transportation means to the user of the vehicle 6 in consideration of the operation plan, the electricity rate, the contracted power, the upper limit requested by the electric power company, and the like. It is determined whether or not there is a vehicle 5 that is For example, assume that there is a vehicle 5 scheduled to be on standby in the charging system 1 between the start time of the charging period of the vehicle 6 and the allowable time. At this time, even if the operation plan of the vehicle 5 is changed so as to operate the vehicle 5 in order to provide a means of transportation for the user of the vehicle 6, the first plan creation unit 32 changes to another operation plan. If there is no impact, it is determined that the operation plan for high-priority vehicles can be changed. Further, for example, it is assumed that there is a vehicle 5 scheduled to be charged by the charging system 1 between the start time of the charging period of the vehicle 6 and the allowable time. At this time, the first plan creation unit 32 changes the operation plan and the charging period so that the vehicle 5 is operated in order to provide a means of transportation for the user of the vehicle 6. If conditions such as contract demand or upper limits are met without affecting the plan, etc., it is determined that the operation plan for high-priority vehicles can be changed. In this way, when it is necessary to change the charging period along with the change of the operation plan, the first plan creating unit 32 determines whether or not the charging period can be changed.

If the operation plan of the high-priority vehicle can be changed (step S12 Yes), the first plan creation unit 32 changes the operation plan (step S13), and the processing from step S4 is repeated. In step S13, if the charging period of the vehicle 5 also needs to be changed, the first plan creating unit 32 changes not only the operation plan but also the first charging schedule. Here, an example of changing the operation plan when transportation means cannot be provided to the user has been described. Not limited to this, when the destination desired by the user has already been obtained from the user terminal 7, the vehicle 6 that departs from the installation location of the charging system 1 to the destination desired by the user of the vehicle 6 while the vehicle 6 is being charged is If not, the first plan creation unit 32 may change the operation plan so that the vehicle 6 is operated from the installation location of the charging system 1 to the destination while the vehicle 6 is being charged.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of plan change regarding high-priority vehicles according to the present embodiment. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the operation plan and first charging schedule for high-priority vehicle #3 are changed in step S13. In the example shown in FIG. 15, before the change, the high-priority vehicle #3 does not operate from 9:30 to 11:50 in the operation plan. Assume that the charging management system 30 has already obtained information from the user terminal 7 indicating that the destination desired by the user is the C station. On the other hand, it is assumed that there was no vehicle 5 heading for C station until 12:00 in the operation plan before the change. In such a case, the first plan creation unit 32 creates an operation plan for the high-priority vehicle #3, for example, as shown in FIG. Route #7 is operated from the business office, etc. to C station, and route #8 is operated from C station to the business office, etc. where charging system 1 is installed during the period from 10:45 to 11:00. do. Further, along with this, the charging period of the high-priority vehicle #3 is also changed as shown in FIG. This makes it possible to provide the user of the vehicle 6 with means of transportation. As a result, the user of the vehicle 6 assigned to the charging period of 10:00 to 13:00 can shop, eat and drink in the vicinity of Station C during the charging period. Note that, in the example shown in FIG. 15, a high-priority vehicle other than the high-priority vehicle #3 is used for returning from C station.

In step S12, if the operation plan of the high-priority vehicle cannot be changed (step S12 No), the charging management system 30 notifies the charging schedule to the user terminal 7 that cannot provide the means of transportation, and the user terminal that can provide the means of transportation. 7 of the charging schedule and movement information (step S14), and the process ends.

The user terminal 7 presents the charging schedule and movement information received from the charging management system 30 to the user, as described above. The user can confirm the charging schedule and movement information, move the vehicle 6 to the charging system 1 according to the presented charging schedule, and charge the vehicle at the designated parking location. Also, based on the movement information, the user can plan shopping, eating and drinking during the charging period. Thus, the charging management system 30 can present the charging schedule and movement information to the user via the user terminal 7 .

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the charging period for the vehicle 5 is allocated based on the charging request information received during a certain period of time. , the processing after step S4 may be performed.

When the vehicle 5 is a bus, part of the vehicle 5 may be an ordinary car, a small bus, or the like, in order to facilitate the provision of means of transportation to the user while the vehicle 6 is being charged. That is, vehicles 5 that are mainly used as means of transportation during the charging period of the vehicle 6 are prepared, and these vehicles 5 are operated so as to travel to destinations frequently selected by users as destinations during the charging period. In addition to preparing a plan, many time zones are provided in which regular operation is not planned for these vehicles 5. - 特許庁Then, when changing the operation plan in step S13 described above, the operation plan and charging schedule of the vehicle 5, such as a standard-sized car or a small bus, are changed preferentially. For example, when the vehicle 5, which is mainly used as a means of transportation during the charging period of the vehicle 6, is scheduled to travel to Station A and Station C as regular operations in the operation plan, the destination desired by the user is Station B. Assume that charging management system 30 receives information indicating that In such a case, in regular operation, if there is no vehicle 5 heading for B station at an appropriate time corresponding to the charging period of the vehicle 6, the charging management system 30 is mainly used for transportation during the charging period of the vehicle 6 as described above. If there is a vehicle 5 whose operation is not planned among the vehicles 5 to be used, the operation plan is changed so that the vehicle 5 is operated toward B station. As described above, the vehicle 5, which is mainly used as a means of transportation during the charging period of the vehicle 6, has many time slots in which regular operation is not planned. can.

In the example described above, the charging management system 30 receives the charging request information from the user terminal 7 and creates the second charging schedule. Without being limited to this, the charging management system 30 does not acquire the charging request information from the user terminal 7, and based on the first charging schedule, the time period available for charging the vehicle 6, the charging terminal 11, and the parking place. may be transmitted to the user terminal 7 by, for example, publishing it on a web page. In this case, the same information is disclosed to many user terminals 7 . The user terminal 7 presents the received information to the user. In this case, the user may simply charge the vehicle 6 based on the information presented by the user terminal 7, or the charge management system 30 may reserve charging from the user terminal 7 for each time period on a first-come, first-served basis. It may be possible to charge the vehicle 6 when the reservation is accepted and reserved. In addition, the travel information may be transmitted to the user terminal 7 together with information indicating the available time slot for charging the vehicle 6, the charging terminal 11 and the parking place. The movement information may be provided to the corresponding user terminal 7 after the determination.

As described above, the charging management system 30 of the present embodiment creates a charging schedule for the vehicle 5, which is a high-priority vehicle having a high charging priority, and uses the charging schedule to determine whether the vehicle has sufficient charging capacity. A charging period is assigned to a vehicle 6 that requests charging in a time slot. As a result, the remaining charging capacity of the charging system 1 that charges the vehicle 5 can be effectively utilized.

In addition, the charge management system 30 of the present embodiment presents information on means of transportation to the user so that the user of the vehicle 6 can move to another place during the charging period of the vehicle 6 . As a result, it is possible to make effective use of the user's waiting time for charging.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an entire system including the charging management system of the second embodiment. The charging management system 30a of the present embodiment manages charging of the charging system 1 as in the first embodiment. The configuration and operation of charging system 1 are the same as in the first embodiment. The charging management system 30a connects, via the network 4, the operation management system 8, the navigation provider system 60, the weather forecast system 80, the road traffic system 70, and the user terminals 7a-1, 7a-2, ..., 7a-11. , 7a-12, . . . , respectively. In charging management system 30a of the present embodiment, constituent elements having functions similar to those of Embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals as those of Embodiment 1, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described below.

The user terminals 7a-1, 7a-2, . . . , 7a-11, 7a-12, . have . . , 7a-11, 7a-12, . The user terminal 7a may be a terminal dedicated to car navigation installed in the vehicle 5 or 6, or may be a terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet in which an application for car navigation is installed. .

The navigation provider system 60 is managed by the navigation provider and provides various information for car navigation to the user terminal 7a. Charging management system 30a has the same functions as charging management system 30 of Embodiment 1, and provides information for supporting car navigation.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a charging management system 30a according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17 , charging management system 30 a has driving characteristic learning section 91 , travelable distance calculating section 92 and traveling information storage section 93 added to charging management system 30 of the first embodiment. The communication unit 31, the driving characteristic learning unit 91, the travelable distance calculation unit 92, and the travel information storage unit 93 constitute a travelable distance calculation device 90 for supporting car navigation. In the present embodiment, an example in which charging management system 30a includes a function as charging management system 30 of Embodiment 1 and a function as travelable distance calculation device 90 will be described. A travelable distance calculation device 90 may be provided separately from the management system 30 .

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the navigation provider system 60 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18, the navigation provider system 60 includes a communication section 61, a route candidate creation section 62, a route guidance section 63 and a storage section 64.

The configuration of the user terminal 7a is the same as that of the user terminal 7 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, in the user terminal 7a of the present embodiment, the operation of each unit is added to the user terminal 7 of the first embodiment. Here, an example in which the user terminal 7a also has a function as the user terminal 7 of Embodiment 1 will be described, but the user terminal 7a may be a device different from the user terminal 7 of Embodiment 1. . In this case, the storage unit 74 of the user terminal 7a does not need to store the charge request information, the charge schedule, and the movement information shown in FIG.

The charge management system 30a is realized by, for example, the computer system shown in FIG. 5, like the charge management system 30 of the first embodiment. The driving characteristic learning unit 91 and the travelable distance calculating unit 92 shown in FIG. 17 are implemented by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. The travel information storage unit 93 shown in FIG. 17 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. A program for realizing the function of travelable distance calculation device 90 of the present embodiment is provided by a storage medium or a communication medium, like the charging management program of the first embodiment. This program is executed by the control unit 101 to realize the function as the travelable distance calculation device 90 .

The navigation provider system 60 is realized by, for example, the computer system shown in FIG. 5, like the charging management system 30 of the first embodiment. Communication unit 61 shown in FIG. 18 is realized by communication unit 105 shown in FIG. The route candidate creating unit 62 and the route guiding unit 63 shown in FIG. 18 are implemented by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. Storage unit 64 shown in FIG. 18 is a part of storage unit 103 shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of each device in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the user terminal 7a is mounted on a vehicle 6, or that the vehicle 5 on which the user terminal 7a is mounted is not a route bus but a business vehicle such as a taxi or truck whose route can be changed. FIG. 19 is a chart showing an example of a route guidance processing procedure according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, the user terminal 7a transmits the current position, driving information, and vehicle state information to the charging management system 30a (step S21).

Specifically, the communication unit 71 of the user terminal 7a is a current position calculation device inside the user terminal 7a (not shown), or a user terminal 7a outside the user terminal 7a installed in a vehicle (vehicle 5 or vehicle 6) in which the user terminal 7a is mounted. The current position of the vehicle in which the user terminal 7a is mounted is acquired from the current position calculation device of , and transmitted to the charging management system 30a. The current position calculation device is, for example, a device that includes a GPS receiver that receives positioning signals from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites and a computing unit that calculates the current position based on the received positioning signals. Not limited. Further, the communication unit 71 of the user terminal 7a acquires driving information and vehicle status information from a vehicle control device (not shown) installed in the vehicle in which the user terminal 7a is mounted, and charges the acquired driving information and vehicle status information. Send to the management system 30a. The driving information is information representing the driving characteristics of the driver of the vehicle.

The driving information includes, for example, the number of brakes per unit time or unit traveled distance, the number of revolutions of the engine, the number of engine brakes per unit time or unit traveled distance, the degree to which the accelerator is depressed, and the air conditioner (abbreviated)). The engine speed may be, for example, an average value of the engine speed over a certain period of time. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a vehicle control device (not shown) installed in a vehicle can acquire driving information. In addition, the vehicle control device notifies the user terminal 7a of the timing at which the brake is used, and the user terminal 7a records the history of this timing, and the number of times of braking for each unit time or unit traveling distance. You may make it calculate. When the user terminal 7a calculates the number of times of braking for each unit traveled distance, the user terminal 7a also acquires the traveled distance from the vehicle control device. Similarly, with respect to the engine brake and the engine speed, the vehicle control device notifies the user terminal 7a of the timing at which the engine brake is used or the instantaneous value of the engine speed, and the user terminal 7a executes processing. may calculate the number of times of engine braking per unit time or unit traveling distance, or the average value of engine revolutions within a certain period of time.

The vehicle state information is information indicating the travel distance of the vehicle in which the user terminal 7a is mounted and the state of the storage battery of the vehicle in which the user terminal 7a is mounted. The information indicating the state of the storage battery of the vehicle is, for example, the full charge capacity and SOC of the storage battery of the vehicle.

In the case of the vehicle 6, the user of the user terminal 7a and the driver are often the same, but there may be multiple drivers who drive one vehicle 6. Further, in the case of the vehicle 5, there are generally a plurality of drivers who drive one vehicle 5. FIG. In such a case, the reception unit 72 of the user terminal 7a receives the input of the identification information identifying the driver, and the communication unit 71 charges the identification information of the driver, the current position, the driving information, and the vehicle status information. Send to the management system 30a. In the charging management system 30a, the communication unit 31 stores the driving information and the vehicle state information in the travel information storage unit 93 in association with the current position and the user ID, respectively. As in the first embodiment, the user ID may be identification information of the user terminal 7a, an ID assigned to the user, or identification information of the vehicle. When the driving information and the vehicle state information are associated with the user ID, it corresponds to regarding the user corresponding to the user ID as the driver. As described above, when the identification information of the driver is transmitted in step S21, the communication unit 31 associates the driving information and the vehicle state information with the current position and the identification information of the driver, respectively, and transmits the driving information. Stored in the storage unit 93 .

The charge management system 30a uses the information stored in the travel information storage unit 93 to learn the driving characteristics of each driver (step S22). Also, although not shown in FIG. 19, the communication unit 31 of the charging management system 30a receives, for example, from the weather forecast system 80 periodically the results of information indicating the temperature and the weather such as sunny, cloudy, and rainy. A value and a forecast value are acquired and stored in the travel information storage unit 93 as weather information. Further, the communication unit 31 periodically acquires congestion information indicating actual values and forecast values of road congestion conditions from the road traffic system 70 and stores the information in the travel information storage unit 93 . Map information including road width and slope information of each road is stored in advance in the travel information storage unit 93 . The map information is updated as appropriate. The charging management system 30a may acquire the map information from the navigation provider system 60 or from another device (not shown).

Known algorithms such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning can be used as learning algorithms in machine learning used by the driving characteristic learning unit 91 . As an example, a case where a neural network is applied will be described below. Here, supervised learning refers to a method in which input and result (label) data pairs are given to a learning device to learn features in the learning data and to infer results from the input.

A neural network consists of an input layer made up of multiple neurons, an intermediate layer (hidden layer) made up of multiple neurons, and an output layer made up of multiple neurons. The intermediate layer may be one layer, or two or more layers.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a neural network. For example, in a three-layer neural network as shown in FIG. 20, when multiple inputs are input to the input layer (X1-X3), the values are multiplied by the weight W1 (w11-w16) to obtain the intermediate layer ( Y1-Y2), and the result is further multiplied by weight W2 (w21-w26) and output from the output layer (Z1-Z3). This output result changes depending on the values of weight W1 and weight W2.

For example, in step S22, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 of the charging management system 30a obtains the road width and road gradient based on the driving information, the vehicle state information, and the map information stored in the driving information storage unit 93. . Specifically, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 refers to the map information and obtains the road width and gradient of the road corresponding to the current position. The driving characteristic learning unit 91 refers to the traffic information and obtains the state of traffic congestion corresponding to the current position. The state of traffic congestion is indicated, for example, by information indicating in stages from the most congested state to the state of no traffic congestion. The state of traffic congestion may be indicated by, for example, the time it takes to travel 1 km. Further, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 calculates a unit travelable distance that indicates the distance that can be traveled with the unit energy amount of the storage battery, using the information indicating the travel distance and the state of the storage battery in the vehicle state information. Then, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 creates a learned model using teacher data whose dataset is each piece of information corresponding to the same time or a close time, for example, and stores it in the driving information storage unit 93 . The input data in the training data dataset is, for example, one or more of weather information such as temperature and weather, traffic congestion, road width, road gradient, etc. Correct data is calculated unit travel possible distance. In this case, information that does not depend on the driver (hereinafter referred to as environment information) is input data, and the unit travelable distance that depends on the driver is used as correct data. The driving characteristic learning unit 91 learns the unit travelable distance according to the value of each input data by performing learning using a plurality of data sets for each driver, and creates a learned model for each driver. be done. Taking the neural network shown in FIG. 20 as an example, learning is performed by adjusting weights W1 and W2 so that input data is input to the input layer and output from the output layer approaches the correct data. will be

In addition, rather than seeking teacher data under various conditions for one driver, drivers with similar driving characteristics are grouped together as one group of driving characteristics, and teacher data of drivers belonging to the same group are collected in the group. When used as teacher data, the number of teacher data can be increased, and it is conceivable that the accuracy of the trained model can be improved. Therefore, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 may divide the drivers into groups based on the driving information. For example, when the data values of the input data in the above data sets are the same, the grouping is performed so that the drivers with similar unit travelable distances are in the same group. In this way, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 divides the drivers into groups based on the driving information, and for each group, the environmental information and the driving conditions, which are at least one of information indicating the width of the road, the slope of the road, and the weather. Using the possible distance as training data, a learned model for estimating the possible traveling distance from the environmental information is generated, and the possible traveling distance calculation unit 92 uses the newly acquired environmental information and the learned model to perform traveling. A possible distance may be calculated.

Alternatively, when performing learning using the above-described neural network, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 uses the above-described weather information such as temperature and weather, traffic congestion, road width, road gradient, etc. as input data. Driving information may also be used in addition to one or more (environmental information). Then, a trained model is created using a data set of these input data and correct data (calculated unit travelable distance) as teacher data. In this case, the unit travelable distance corresponding to the input data is learned without distinguishing between drivers. That is, in this case, the number of learned models is one regardless of the driver.

Alternatively, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 may perform learning as follows. When performing learning using the above-described neural network, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 performs first learning using a data set of the above-described environment information as input data and driving information as correct data as teacher data for each driver. Create a model. Furthermore, when performing learning using the above-described neural network, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 uses the above-described environmental information and driving information as input data for each driver, and uses the unit travelable distance calculated as correct data. A second trained model is created using the dataset as teacher data. In this case, at the time of inference, which will be described later, driving information is obtained by using the first learned model as an input of the environmental information, and furthermore, the second trained model is used to input the environmental information and the obtained driving information to obtain the unit travel. A possible distance can be calculated. That is, in this case, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 uses the environmental information and the driving information as teacher data to generate the first trained model for estimating the driving information from the environmental information, and A second trained model for estimating the travelable distance from the environment information and the driving information is generated using the travelable distance and the travelable distance as teaching data. Then, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the travelable distance using the newly acquired environment information, the first learned model , and the second learned model.

Returning to the description of FIG. After the learning of step S22 is performed, when the reception unit 72 of the user terminal 7a receives the input of the destination of the vehicle (step S23), the communication unit 71 of the user terminal 7a transmits the destination and the current position to the navigation system. It is transmitted to the provider system 60 and the charging management system 30a (steps S24, S25). Also, the user terminal 7a transmits the driving information and the vehicle state information to the charging management system 30a (step S26).

When the charging management system 30a receives the destination, the current position, the driving information, and the vehicle state information from the user terminal 7a, the charging management system 30a calculates the travelable distance (step S27). Specifically, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the travelable distance, which is the distance that the vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the storage battery of the vehicle runs out. As will be described later, the travelable distance is used when creating route candidates to the destination provided to the user terminal 7a mounted on the vehicle. In step S27, in detail, for example, the following processing is performed. The drivable distance calculation unit 92 refers to the map information to obtain the road width and slope of the road corresponding to the current position, and refers to the congestion information to obtain the state of traffic congestion corresponding to the current position. Further, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 refers to the map information to obtain route candidates, which are route candidates from the current position to the destination. One or more route candidates may be included, but it is desirable that the route candidates include the same ones as the route candidates obtained by the navigation provider system 60, which will be described later. For this reason, it is desirable that the travelable distance calculation unit 92 can obtain route candidates using the same algorithm as the route calculation in the navigation provider system 60 . Alternatively, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 transmits the current position and the destination to the navigation provider system 60 via the communication unit 31 and instructs the navigation provider system 60 to create a route candidate. Information indicating candidates may be received.

Then, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the unit travelable distance by performing inference using the above-described learned model corresponding to the driver for one or more sections on the route. It is desirable that one section on the route has the same or similar data value as the input data of the trained model. Therefore, for example, when the change in any of the road width and gradient on the route exceeds a threshold compared to the road width and gradient at the current position, which is the starting point, it is set as another section. Also, if the temperature on the route changes by a threshold value or more from the starting point based on the weather forecast, another section is set. In this way, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 divides the route candidates into sections in which the input data are expected to be the same or similar, and calculates the unit travelable distance for each section. Alternatively, the groupings may simply be based on the average engine speed alone, or the groupings may be based on the average engine speed and the number of brakes per unit time or unit traveled. Grouping may be performed based on a plurality of items of the driving information, such as performing the grouping.

Specifically, for each section, the drivable distance calculation unit 92 inputs input data, which is one or more of weather information such as temperature and weather, traffic congestion, road width, road gradient, etc., to a learned model. is used as input data to obtain an estimate of the unit drivable distance, which is the output data. The travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the travelable distance until the remaining amount of the storage battery runs out based on the estimated value of the unit travelable distance of each section, the length of each section, the full charge capacity of the storage battery, and the SOC. Calculate the travelable distance. Specifically, the remaining capacity of the storage battery is calculated based on the full charge capacity and the SOC. Then, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 divides the length of the section by the unit travelable distance for each section in order from the current position, thereby calculating the capacity of the storage battery used for traveling in the section. Furthermore, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 sequentially reduces the capacity of the storage battery used for traveling in each section from the remaining amount of the storage battery at the current position. By repeating this, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 can obtain the position on the route where the remaining amount of the storage battery is zero. The travelable distance calculation unit 92 can obtain the distance along the route from the current position to the position on the route as the travelable distance. The travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the travelable distance for each route candidate and stores it in the travel information storage unit 93 .

Further, when a learned model is generated for each group, the drivable distance calculation unit 92 calculates input data corresponding to that point in time, that is, weather information such as temperature and weather, traffic congestion, road width, road width, Using one or more inputs such as the gradient of the road, and using the learned model corresponding to the group to which the corresponding driver belongs, the travelable distance is similarly obtained.

When a trained model is created that includes driving information as input data for training data, the weather information corresponding to that point in time such as temperature and weather, traffic congestion, road width, road gradient, etc. and one or more of and the driving information as input, and using the learned model, the travelable distance is obtained in the same manner.

In the above description, the driving characteristic learning unit 91 generates a learned model and the travelable distance calculation unit 92 uses the learned model to calculate the travelable distance. However, the present invention is not limited to this. , the information for each driver may be set from the outside for calculating the travelable distance. For example, for each driver, a unit travelable distance corresponding to input data, which is one or more of weather information such as temperature and weather, traffic conditions, road width, road gradient, etc., is set in a table format. may Alternatively, a formula for calculating the unit travelable distance based on input data may be set for each driver. Also in this case, the travelable distance calculation unit 92 calculates the unit travelable distance for each section based on the input data, and uses the unit travelable distance for each section to calculate the distance for each route candidate as in the above example. , the drivable distance can be calculated.

After step S27, the communication unit 31 of the charging management system 30a transmits the travelable distance for each route candidate to the navigation provider system 60 (step S28). Upon receiving the travelable distance for each route candidate, the communication unit 61 of the navigation provider system 60 transfers it to the route candidate creation unit 62 .

The route candidate creation unit 62 of the navigation provider system 60 determines a route candidate to the destination of the vehicle based on the current position and destination received from the user terminal 7a and the travelable distance for each route candidate (step S29). The navigation provider system 60 acquires traffic congestion information and stores it in the storage unit 64, similarly to the charging management system 30a. Map information is also stored in the storage unit 64 of the navigation provider system 60 . Furthermore, the storage unit 64 of the navigation provider system 60 stores information on the location of charging facilities such as charging stations, information on the locations and menus of restaurants, information on the locations of facilities such as parking areas, service areas, and rest areas. Peripheral equipment information including the information is also stored. Furthermore, the storage unit 64 of the navigation provider system 60 stores congestion information indicating congestion information of charging facilities, restaurants, parking areas, service areas, rest areas, and the like. Congestion information is acquired, for example, via the network 4 from a system managed by the operator of each facility or the provider of the service that provides congestion information.

In step S29, the route candidate creation unit 62 can obtain a plurality of route candidates according to priority items. The priority items indicate conditions to be prioritized in route candidate creation, such as cost priority, time priority, meal menu priority, and wide road priority. When the condition of cost priority is set as the priority item, the route candidate creation unit 62 determines the route candidate that minimizes the cost based on the map information, current position and destination. At this time, the route candidate creation unit 62 uses the travelable distance to determine the charging facilities that the route candidate passes through. That is, based on the travelable distance for each route candidate, the map information, and the peripheral equipment information, the route candidate creation unit 62 determines whether or not charging is necessary before reaching the destination. Create a route candidate to go through.

Further, the route candidate creating unit 62 creates a route candidate so as to pass through restaurants when the meal time period is included. When creating a route candidate giving priority to the meal menu, the route candidate creating unit 62 refers to the peripheral equipment information and gives priority to a route that passes through a restaurant that provides the user's desired meal menu set in advance. Create route candidates as follows. The meal time period and the user's desired meal menu can be set for each user, and are set by, for example, transmitting information indicating these items from the user terminal 7a. In other words, the route candidate creation unit 62 determines the restaurants that the route candidate passes through based on the information indicating the desired meal menu received from the user terminal 7a. The map information also includes information for calculating the cost of traveling on a toll road, and this information is referred to when creating cost-prioritized route candidates.

Further, the route candidate creation unit 62 may create a route candidate so as to stop at a parking area, a service area, a rest area, or the like for a break after traveling continuously for a certain period of time or longer. Conditions for taking breaks can also be set for each user. It is assumed that the route candidate creation unit 62 creates one or more route candidates in step S29, and that priority items for determining route candidates can be set from the user terminal 7a. This priority item may be transmitted from the user terminal 7a together with the destination and the like in step S24, or may be transmitted from the user terminal 7a at another timing.

The communication unit 61 transmits the route candidate determined by the route candidate creation unit 62 to the user terminal 7a (step S30). In the user terminal 7a, when the communication section 71 receives the route candidate, the information presentation section 73 displays the route candidate (step S31). Note that the user terminal 7a also holds map information, and the map may be displayed together with the route candidates. Alternatively, corresponding map information may be sent from the navigation provider system 60 to the user terminal a along with the route candidates.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of route candidates displayed by the user terminal 7a of this embodiment. FIG. 21 shows an example in which, in step S29 described above, setting is made so as to determine route candidates for three priority items: cost priority, time priority, and meal menu priority. Therefore, FIG. 21 shows three route candidates from the current location to the destination: cost-priority route 201, time-priority route 202, and meal menu-priority route 203. FIG. In FIG. 21, these are distinguished by changing line types, but in the actual user terminal 7a, these may be distinguished by, for example, color coding. Also, in FIG. 21, each route candidate has an overlapping portion, and the line type of the cost-prioritized route 201 is described in this portion. In FIG. 21, the restaurants and charging spots that are charging facilities that pass through are indicated by different hatching for each route candidate. Further, in FIG. 21, the restaurants are shown as rectangles and the charging spots are shown as triangles so that the user can easily identify them. However, the method of displaying the restaurants and charging spots is not limited to this example. FIG. 21 also shows the total required time for each route candidate, and the time spent stopping at restaurants and charging spots. Furthermore, in FIG. 21, restaurants other than restaurants that the user plans to stop by along the candidate routes are also shown without hatching. In this way, the user terminal 7a also displays facilities that the user does not plan to visit, so that the user terminal 7a presents information that can be used as a reference when changing the restaurants, charging facilities, etc. that the user wants to visit other than those indicated by the route candidates. can do.

Returning to the description of FIG. After displaying the route candidates, the user terminal 7a accepts a route selection (step S32). Specifically, the reception unit 72 of the user terminal 7a receives input of information indicating which route to select from the route candidates, that is, the selection result, from the user. The user terminal 7a transmits the selection result to the navigation provider system 60 (step S33). The navigation provider system 60 stores the received selection result as selection information (step S34). Specifically, upon receiving the selection result, the communication unit 61 of the navigation provider system 60 stores it in the storage unit 64 together with the user ID. The route guidance section 63 of the navigation provider system 60 provides guidance on the selected route based on the selection result (step S35). In the figure, route guidance is described as an operation of the navigation provider system 60, but in reality, route guidance is performed while exchanging information with the user terminal 7a. Since route guidance is the same as route guidance performed after a route is selected in a normal navigation system, detailed description is omitted.

When the user who is the driver of the vehicle travels on a route different from the selected route for restroom breaks, schedule changes, etc., the user terminal 7a changes the route based on the difference between the current position and the selected route. is detected (step S36). User terminal 7a then transmits change information indicating that the route has been changed and the current position to navigation provider system 60 and charge management system 30a (steps S37 and S38). Note that when the user changes the destination, the changed destination is also included in the change information. After that, steps S26 to S35 are performed again based on the changed information. Thereafter, each time the route is changed, steps S26 to S35 are similarly performed again based on the information after the change.

Note that when determining route candidates, the route candidate creation unit 62 of the navigation provider system 60 uses the past selection results stored in the storage unit 64, for example, in the case of the same combination of current position and destination. can preferentially present the route selected by the user in the past. In addition, by accumulating information on restaurants on the route selected by the user, the route candidate creation unit 62 can present a route that stops at the same type of restaurant as the previously visited restaurant as a route candidate.

It is possible that the route candidate created by the navigation provider system 60 is different from the route candidate assumed when the charge management system 30a calculates the travelable distance. For example, it is conceivable that a route giving priority to a meal menu is not assumed when charging management system 30a calculates the travelable distance. In such a case, the navigation provider system 60 may transmit information indicating route candidates to the charging management system 30a and instruct it to recalculate the travelable distance on the corresponding route candidates. The navigation provider system 60 may then use the calculated drivable distance to determine charging facilities to drop by.

Next, details of the route candidate determination processing in the navigation provider system 60 in step S29 described above will be described. FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing an example of a route candidate determination processing procedure in the navigation provider system 60 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22, the route candidate creation unit 62 determines whether or not the destination has been received from the user terminal 7a via the communication unit 61 (step S41). As described above, the user terminal 7a also transmits the current position together with the destination. If the destination has not been received from the user terminal 7a (step S41 No), step S41 is repeated.

When the destination is received (step S41 Yes), the route candidate creation unit 62 sets priority items to be considered in route candidate creation (step S42). As described above, it is possible to specify priority items when creating a route candidate from the user terminal 7a. In step S42, among one or more priority items set from the user terminal 7a or preset, one of the priority items for which corresponding route candidates have not yet been created is selected as a route candidate target. set. When the priority of the meal menu is set as the priority item, information indicating which meal menu is given priority is also set from the user terminal 7a, for example.

Next, the route candidate creation unit 62 creates route candidates corresponding to the set priority items based on the travelable distance, peripheral facility information, congestion information, and traffic congestion information (step S43).

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of peripheral equipment information according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 23 , the peripheral facility information includes facility types such as restaurants and charging facilities (described as facilities in FIG. 23 ), facility locations, facility types, and menus. Information on the type of facility and the menu is stored when the facility is a restaurant. The type of facility indicates what kind of restaurant the restaurant is, such as Japanese cuisine or Western cuisine. The menu is at least part of a meal menu offered at the restaurant. For example, if the user terminal 7a is set to give priority to pasta as a meal menu, the route candidate creation unit 62 refers to the peripheral equipment information when generating a route candidate with priority given to the meal menu. , search for restaurants that serve pasta. Then, the route candidate creation unit 62 selects a restaurant with the shortest distance of a route to stop by from the searched restaurants, and selects a route passing through the selected restaurant as a route candidate with priority given to the meal menu. and

Returning to the description of FIG. After step S43, the route candidate creation unit 62 determines whether route candidates corresponding to all priority items have been created (step S44), and route candidates corresponding to all priority items have been created. If there is (step S44 Yes), the route candidate for each priority item is transmitted to the user terminal 7a via the communication unit 61 (step S45). Thereafter, the communication unit 61 determines whether or not the selection result has been received from the user terminal 7a (step S46), and if the selection result has not been received (step S46 No), step S46 is repeated. Upon receiving the selection result (step S46 Yes), the navigation provider system 60 stores the selection result as selection information (step S47). Specifically, the communication unit 61 stores the selection result in the storage unit 64 as selection information. After that, the above-described route guidance is performed, but the explanation of the route guidance processing is omitted. The communication unit 61 determines whether or not change information has been received (step S48). If no change information has been received (step S48 No), step S48 is repeated.

When the communication unit 61 receives the change information (step S48 Yes), it notifies the route candidate creation unit 62 of the change information, so that the processing from step S42 is performed again with the changed information. Moreover, in the case of No in step S44, the processing from step S42 is performed again.

If the vehicle 5 is a delivery truck or the like, the following information related to the delivery service may be taken into account in creating route candidates corresponding to the vehicle 5 (step S43). FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of delivery information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 24, the delivery information includes each information of delivery destination name, location, and specified delivery time for each delivery destination. The delivery information is received by the navigation provider system 60 from, for example, a device (not shown) that manages delivery and is stored in the storage unit 64 . Delivery information may also be stored in the user terminal 7a. Since the driver who drives the vehicle 5 needs to perform delivery according to the delivery information, the route candidate creating unit 62 creates route candidates based on the delivery information.

In the present embodiment, delivery history information, which is information relating to receipt of past deliveries, is stored for each delivery destination, and this information is taken into account when route candidates are created. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of delivery history information according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 25, the delivery history information includes information indicating the location, delivery time, day of the week, and absence (at home/absence) for each delivery destination. The driver of the vehicle 5, for example, transmits information regarding past delivery receipts for each delivery destination from the user terminal 7a to the navigation provider system 60, and based on the information received by the navigation provider system 60, the delivery information stored in the storage unit 64 is displayed. Update history information. Then, the route candidate creation unit 62 creates route candidates based on not only the travelable distance, peripheral facility information, congestion information and congestion information, but also delivery information. For example, route candidates are created so that the delivery destination is reached within the designated delivery time. Further, the route candidate creating unit 62 may create route candidates further based on the delivery history information. For example, the route candidate creation unit 62 creates route candidates so as to arrive at the delivery destination while avoiding as much as possible combinations of times and days of the week during which the delivery was absent in the past. In addition, the route candidate creation unit 62 uses, for example, at-home history information (including information indicating at-home/absence) to calculate the probability of being at home for each time period (for example, morning: 20%, afternoon 50%), The calculated probability of being at home may be compared, and route candidates may be created so as to deliver during a time period when the probability of being at home is higher. In addition, the route candidate creation unit 62 similarly calculates the probability of being at home for each day of the week or for each combination of the day of the week and the time period, compares the calculated probability of being at home, and Route candidates may be created for delivery.

Also, if there is a change in the delivery information, the process from step S42 is performed again based on the information after the change, as in the case where the change information is received in step S48.

In the above description of the present embodiment, an example was shown excluding the case where the vehicle 5 is a bus. Then, the navigation provider system 60 may extract information on charging facilities around the location where the remaining amount of the storage battery of the vehicle 5 is equal to or less than the threshold based on the travelable distance, and transmit the information to the user terminal 7a. In this case, the driver of the vehicle 5, which is a bus, runs out of remaining charge during operation, and if the charging facility presented by the navigation provider system 60 includes the charging system 1 described in the first embodiment, the driver cannot drive. If the user selects, the charging system 1 may be used for charging. For example, when there is an empty vehicle 5 that is not in operation at a business office where the charging system 1 is installed and the vehicle 5 can be charged by the charging system 1, the vehicle 5 in operation is charged. While charging with the system 1, the remaining route is operated with an empty vehicle. In this way, by presenting the information of the charging facilities around the place where the remaining amount of the storage battery of the vehicle 5 is equal to or less than the threshold to the driver of the vehicle 5, the charging system 1 of the first embodiment can be used to charge the vehicle. It is also possible to operate by connecting 5. In this case, the charging management system 30a that manages the charging system 1 changes the first charging schedule and the operation plan.

Although navigation provider system 60 and charging management system 30 a have been described separately, charging management system 30 a may have the functions of navigation provider system 60 . That is, the charging management system 30a further includes a route candidate creation unit 62 and a route guidance unit 63, the communication unit 31 also has the function of the communication unit 61, and the travel information storage unit 93 also has the function of the storage unit 64. You may have

With the above processing, in the present embodiment, charging management system 30a calculates the possible travel distance based on the state of the storage battery, weather information, traffic information, road width, road gradient, etc., and calculates the calculated travel distance. Based on this, the navigation provider system 60 creates route candidates and transmits the route candidates to the user terminal 7a. As a result, it is possible to improve the calculation accuracy of the travelable distance, so that more suitable route candidates can be provided to the user. In addition, since the navigation provider system 60 creates route candidates based on the peripheral equipment information, it is possible to realize route selection that reflects the user's preferences, such as prioritizing food menus.

The configurations shown in the above embodiments are only examples, and can be combined with other known techniques, or can be combined with other embodiments, without departing from the scope of the invention. It is also possible to omit or change part of the configuration.

1 charging system, 5-1, 5-2, 6-1, 6-2 vehicle, 7-1, 7-2, 7a-1, 7a-2, 7a-11, 7a-12 user terminal, 8 operation management system, 10-1 to 10-n charger, 11-1-1 to 11-1-3, ..., 11-n-1 to 11-n-3 charging terminal, 20 storage battery, 21 storage battery PCS, 22 Photovoltaic power generation equipment 30, 30a charging management system 31, 71, 61 communication unit 32 first plan creation unit 33 second plan creation unit 34 plan presentation unit 35 movement information presentation unit 36 command generation unit, 37, 64, 74 storage unit, 38 charging information providing device, 39 plan creation unit, 41 converter, 50-1 to 50-n switch, 62 route candidate creation unit, 63 route guidance unit, 72 reception unit, 73 information A presentation unit, 90 a travelable distance calculation device, 91 a driving characteristic learning unit, 92 a travelable distance calculation unit, and 93 a travel information storage unit.

Claims (21)

A charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a plan creation unit that creates a charging schedule;
a plan presentation unit that presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
with
The planning unit
a first plan creating unit that creates the first charging schedule based on the operation plan of the first moving body;
a second plan creating unit that creates the second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule;
with
When charging request information including information indicating a desired charging period range is received from the user terminal corresponding to the second mobile object, the second plan creating unit is configured to: and generating the second charging schedule so as to allocate charging periods to two moving bodies . The first plan creation unit changes the first charging schedule when a charging period cannot be assigned to the second mobile unit corresponding to the user terminal that has transmitted the charging request information. Item 1. The charging management system according to Item 1 . based on the operation plan and the second charging schedule, generating movement information including a departure time of the first moving body departing from the installation location of the charging system during charging of the second moving body; a movement information presentation unit that presents movement information;
The charging management system according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising: The movement information includes a departure time for each destination of the first moving body that departs from the installation location of the charging system, and a time that the first moving body departs from the destination and returns to the installation location of the charging system. 4. The charge management system according to claim 3 , further comprising: a departure time for departing from . When there is no first moving body that departs from the installation location of the charging system to a destination desired by the user of the second moving body during charging of the second moving body, the first plan creation unit 5. The operation plan according to claim 3 , wherein the operation plan is changed so that the first mobile unit is operated from the installation location of the charging system to the destination while the second mobile unit is being charged. charging management system. A charging priority for each mobile object is determined based on attribute information for each mobile object indicating whether or not the mobile object is owned by an administrator of the charging system. Item 6. The charging management system according to any one of Items 1 to 5 . the first moving body and the second moving body are electric vehicles;
The charging management system includes:
A travelable distance that is a distance that the electric vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the storage battery of the electric vehicle is used when creating a route candidate to the destination provided to the user terminal mounted on the electric vehicle a travelable distance calculation unit that calculates the distance;
with
The drivable distance calculation unit calculates the drivable distance based on at least one of driving information, which is information related to driving of the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted, road width, road gradient, and weather information. 7. The charge management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the distance is calculated. 8. The vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein the driving information includes at least one of the number of times of braking per unit time or unit traveled distance, the number of revolutions of the engine, and the number of times of engine braking per unit time or per unit traveled distance. A charging management system as described. Drivers are divided into groups based on the driving information, and environmental information, which is at least one of information indicating road width, road gradient, and weather, and the driving distance is used as teaching data for each group. , a driving characteristic learning unit that generates a trained model for estimating the possible driving distance from environmental information;
with
9. The charging management system according to claim 7 , wherein the travelable distance calculation unit calculates the travelable distance using newly acquired environment information and the learned model. Using environment information and driving information, which are at least one of information indicating road width, road gradient, and weather, as training data to generate a first trained model for estimating driving information from the environment information. a driving characteristic learning unit that uses environmental information, driving information, and the possible driving distance as teacher data to generate a second trained model for estimating the possible driving distance from the environmental information and the driving information;
with
9. The vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein the travelable distance calculation unit calculates the travelable distance using newly acquired environmental information, the first learned model, and the second learned model. charging management system. a route candidate creation unit that creates a route candidate to the destination of the electric vehicle;
a communication unit that transmits the route candidate to the user terminal;
with
11. The charging management system according to any one of claims 7 to 10 , wherein the route candidate creation unit uses the travelable distance to determine a charging facility through which the route candidate passes. 12. The charging management system according to claim 11 , wherein the route candidate creation unit determines a restaurant through which the route candidate passes based on information indicating a desired meal menu received from the user terminal. . When the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted is the first mobile body that performs delivery, the route candidate creation unit performs the 12. The charge management system according to claim 11 , wherein route candidates are created. 13. The route candidate creation unit further determines the route candidates based on delivery history information including past delivery times for each of the delivery destinations and information indicating whether or not the delivery destination was absent. The charging management system described in . A charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a plan creation unit that creates a charging schedule;
a plan presentation unit that presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
The first moving body and the second moving body are electric vehicles, and are used to create route candidates to destinations provided to user terminals mounted on the electric vehicles. A travelable distance calculation unit that calculates a travelable distance that is a distance that the electric vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the electric vehicle runs out;
Drivers are grouped based on driving information, which is information relating to driving of the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted, and at least one of information indicating road width, road gradient, and weather for each group. a driving characteristic learning unit that generates a learned model for estimating the possible driving distance from the environmental information, using the environmental information and the possible driving distance as training data;
with
The charging management system, wherein the travelable distance calculation unit calculates the travelable distance using newly acquired environmental information and the learned model. A charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a plan creation unit that creates a charging schedule;
a plan presentation unit that presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
The first moving body and the second moving body are electric vehicles, and are used to create route candidates to destinations provided to user terminals mounted on the electric vehicles. A travelable distance calculation unit that calculates a travelable distance that is a distance that the electric vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the electric vehicle runs out;
environment information, which is at least one of information indicating road width, road gradient, and weather; generating a first trained model for estimating driving information from the environment information and driving information and using the driving distance as teaching data; a driving characteristic learning unit that generates a learned model;
with
The charging management system, wherein the travelable distance calculation unit calculates the travelable distance using newly acquired environment information, the first learned model, and the second learned model. A charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a plan creation unit that creates a charging schedule;
a plan presentation unit that presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
The first moving body and the second moving body are electric vehicles, and are used to create route candidates to destinations provided to user terminals mounted on the electric vehicles. A travelable distance calculation unit that calculates a travelable distance that is a distance that the electric vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the electric vehicle runs out;
a route candidate creation unit that creates a route candidate to the destination of the electric vehicle;
a communication unit that transmits the route candidate to the user terminal;
with
The drivable distance calculation unit calculates the drivable distance based on at least one of driving information, which is information related to driving of the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted, road width, road gradient, and weather information. calculate the distance,
The route candidate creation unit uses the travelable distance to determine a charging facility to be routed along the route candidate, and routed through the route candidate based on information indicating a desired meal menu received from the user terminal. A charge management system characterized by determining a restaurant. A charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a plan creation unit that creates a charging schedule;
a plan presentation unit that presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
The first moving body and the second moving body are electric vehicles, and are used to create route candidates to destinations provided to user terminals mounted on the electric vehicles. A travelable distance calculation unit that calculates a travelable distance that is a distance that the electric vehicle can travel until the remaining amount of the electric vehicle runs out;
a route candidate creation unit that creates a route candidate to the destination of the electric vehicle;
a communication unit that transmits the route candidate to the user terminal;
with
The drivable distance calculation unit calculates the drivable distance based on at least one of driving information, which is information related to driving of the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted, road width, road gradient, and weather information. calculate the distance,
The route candidate creation unit uses the drivable distance to determine a charging facility through which the route candidate is routed, and the electric vehicle on which the user terminal is mounted is the first mobile body that performs delivery. a charging management system, wherein the route candidate is created based on delivery information indicating a location and a specified delivery time for each delivery destination. 19. The route candidate creation unit further determines the route candidates based on delivery history information including past delivery times for each delivery destination and information indicating whether or not the delivery destination was absent. A charging management system as described. A charging management method in a charging management system for managing charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A second mobile body in which the charging management system has a lower priority for charging than the first mobile body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first mobile body. a first step of creating a second charging schedule including a charging schedule of
a second step in which the charging management system presents a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
including
The first step is
a first plan creation step in which the charging management system creates the first charging schedule based on an operation plan of the first mobile body;
a second plan creation step in which the charging management system creates the second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule;
including
In the second plan creation step, the charging management system receives charging request information including information indicating a desired charging period range from the user terminal corresponding to the second mobile body. A charging management method , wherein the second charging schedule is generated so as to allocate a charging period to the second mobile body corresponding to the information . A charging management system that manages charging of a charging system capable of charging a plurality of first moving bodies that are scheduled to operate regularly and move using electricity as an energy source,
A charging schedule for a second moving body that has a lower priority for charging than the first moving body and moves using electricity as an energy source based on a first charging schedule that is a charging schedule for the first moving body. 2 a first step of creating a charging schedule;
a second step of presenting a charging schedule for each of the second moving bodies based on the second charging schedule;
A charging management program for executing
The first step is
a first plan creation step in which the charging management system creates the first charging schedule based on an operation plan of the first mobile body;
a second plan creation step in which the charging management system creates the second charging schedule based on the first charging schedule;
including
In the second plan creation step, the charging management system receives charging request information including information indicating a desired charging period range from the user terminal corresponding to the second mobile body. A charging management program for generating the second charging schedule so as to allocate a charging period to the second mobile body corresponding to the information .

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