JP7624099B2 - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies https://mo-t. com/news/pr/2022/12/12/auayzwmrowbjpuvurmjtp/ (Website publication date: December 12, 2022) https://prtimes. jp/main/html/rd/p/000000164.000030664. html (Website publication date: December 12, 2022) Taxi Industry GX Project Presentation (held on December 12, 2022)

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

Conventionally, vehicles that run on electricity stored in a storage battery are known. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that instructs a vehicle to move to the nearest charging point when the remaining charge in the storage battery falls below a predetermined value.

JP 2022-44235 A

If the remaining charge of the storage battery falls below a certain value and there are circumstances that prevent the vehicle from heading to a charging point, the vehicle's storage battery cannot be charged. For example, if there are passengers on board the vehicle or the destination of the vehicle is fixed, the vehicle cannot immediately head to the charging point. As a result, there is a problem in that the vehicle may not be able to run.

The present invention was made in consideration of these points, and aims to reduce the probability that a vehicle running on electricity stored in a storage battery will be unable to run.

The information processing device of the first aspect of the present invention has a storage unit that stores location data indicating the location of a charging facility that can charge a storage battery of a vehicle, mileage data indicating the relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery and the distance the vehicle can travel, and a past charging history of the storage battery, an acquisition unit that acquires remaining power data indicating the remaining power of the storage battery, and a plan creation unit that creates a driving plan for the vehicle including information for identifying the charging facility to be charged by the vehicle and a scheduled charging date and time of the vehicle by referring to the mileage data and specifying the distance the vehicle can travel before charging at the charging facility with the remaining power indicated by the remaining power data acquired by the acquisition unit, and when the plan creation unit determines that the deterioration level of the storage battery is below a predetermined level based on the charging history stored in the storage unit, it creates the driving plan in which the frequency of quick charging is lower than when the deterioration level of the storage battery is at or above the predetermined level. The plan creation unit may determine the scheduled charging date and time to be a time period when the market trading price of electricity is relatively low in response to the publication of the market trading price of electricity.

The information processing method of the second aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: acquiring remaining power data indicating the remaining power of a storage battery of a vehicle, executed by a computer; determining the distance that the vehicle can travel before charging at a charging facility with the remaining power indicated by the acquired remaining power data by referring to drivable distance data indicating the relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery and the distance that the vehicle can travel, thereby creating a driving plan for the vehicle that includes information for identifying the charging facility at which the vehicle will be charged and the scheduled charging date and time of the vehicle; and creating the driving plan in which, when it is determined that the deterioration level of the storage battery is below a predetermined level based on the past charging history of the storage battery stored in a memory unit, the frequency of quick charging is reduced compared to when the deterioration level of the storage battery is equal to or higher than the predetermined level.

The program of the third aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of: acquiring remaining power data indicating the remaining power of a storage battery of a vehicle; referring to drivable distance data indicating the relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery and the distance the vehicle can travel, determining the distance the vehicle can travel before charging at a charging facility with the remaining power indicated by the acquired remaining power data, thereby creating a driving plan for the vehicle that includes information for identifying the charging facility at which the vehicle will be charged and the scheduled charging date and time of the vehicle; and creating the driving plan in which, when it is determined that the deterioration level of the storage battery is below a predetermined level based on the past charging history of the storage battery stored in a memory unit, the frequency of quick charging is reduced compared to when the deterioration level of the storage battery is at or above the predetermined level.

The present invention has the effect of reducing the probability that a vehicle running on power stored in a storage battery will be unable to run.

1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an information processing system S. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a driving plan displayed on the vehicle terminal 2. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of remaining distance data. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen for a driver to reserve charging equipment. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle dispatch management unit 134. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the vehicle terminal 2 when the scheduled charging date and time approaches. 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the information processing device 1 for creating a driving plan. 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow when the information processing device 1 acquires vehicle dispatch request data.

[Overview of Information Processing System S]
1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an information processing system S. The information processing system S is a system for enabling a driver of a vehicle V that runs using power stored in a storage battery to know when to charge the storage battery of the vehicle V. The vehicle V is an electric vehicle that runs with passengers on board, such as a taxi or a bus, but may also be an electric vehicle that runs for the business of the operator itself. The following description will be centered on the case where the vehicle V is a taxi.

The information processing system S has an information processing device 1, a vehicle terminal 2, a user terminal 3, and a reservation server 4. The vehicle terminal 2 is a terminal provided in the vehicle V. The vehicle terminal 2 is a computer that the driver of the vehicle V can operate and view displayed information, and is, for example, a tablet or smartphone. The vehicle terminal 2 transmits and receives data to and from the information processing device 1 via a network N and a wireless communication line W. The network N is, for example, the Internet.

The user terminal 3 is a terminal used by a user who boards the vehicle V, and is, for example, a tablet or smartphone. The user terminal 3 transmits and receives data to and from the information processing device 1 via the network N and the wireless communication line W. When the user inputs the date and time at which he or she wishes to board the vehicle V, the planned boarding location, and the planned disembarking location into the user terminal 3, the user terminal 3 transmits dispatch request data including the input information to the information processing device 1.

The information processing device 1 is a device for assisting the business operator that manages the vehicle V in creating a driving plan for the vehicle V, and is, for example, a computer managed by the business operator, or a server managed by another business operator that provides services to the business operator. The driving plan is created, for example, on a daily basis, and includes the places and times that the vehicle V will travel during the day.

When the information processing device 1 receives dispatch request data from the user terminal 3, it transmits dispatch request data to the vehicle terminals 2 of at least some of the vehicles V among the multiple vehicles V registered in advance to confirm whether dispatch is possible. The vehicle terminal 2 displays that it has received the dispatch request data, and when the driver performs an operation to accept the dispatch request, the vehicle terminal 2 transmits dispatch acceptance data indicating that dispatch is possible to the information processing device 1. When the information processing device 1 receives the dispatch acceptance data, it determines a dispatch schedule indicating the date and time of dispatch, the planned boarding location, and the planned disembarking location in association with the vehicle V. The information processing device 1 creates a driving plan for the vehicle V based on the dispatch schedule, for example.

When vehicle V is an electric vehicle, it needs to be charged when the remaining power of the storage battery mounted on vehicle V (hereinafter referred to as "remaining power") becomes low. However, even if the driver realizes that he or she needs to charge the battery when the remaining power becomes low, he or she cannot charge the battery immediately if, for example, the vehicle is carrying a passenger or the vehicle V has to head to a certain location. Furthermore, when the vehicle becomes able to charge the battery, it is assumed that there are no charging facilities nearby. As a result, problems may arise in which the vehicle cannot be dispatched on the date and time it should be dispatched, or the vehicle is unable to run due to a lack of power while driving with a user who requested the vehicle dispatch.

To prevent such problems from occurring, the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment creates a driving plan that includes information for the driver to grasp the location of the charging facility where the vehicle V is scheduled to be charged (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "scheduled charging location") and the scheduled charging date and time, and provides this driving plan to the driver or manager of the vehicle V.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 1 transmits and receives data to and from one or more vehicle terminals 2 provided in one or more vehicles V2 via a network N and a wireless communication line W. The information processing device 1 creates a charging schedule based on the remaining power of each of the one or more vehicles V, and notifies the one or more vehicle terminals 2 of a driving plan including a vehicle dispatch plan and a charging schedule.

The vehicle terminal 2 displays the driving plan received via the network N and the wireless communication line W. By having the vehicle terminal 2 display the driving plan including the charging schedule plan, even if the driver of the vehicle V is not aware of the timing of charging, the driver can realize that the time to charge is approaching and move to a location where charging equipment is installed (e.g., a taxi office, commercial facility A, commercial facility B) to charge the vehicle. Since the driving plan is created taking into account the dispatch schedule, the driver can move to the charging equipment based on such a driving plan, thereby avoiding a situation in which charging is required while a passenger is on board the vehicle V.

The triangles (△) shown at the taxi office, commercial facility A, and commercial facility B in FIG. 1 indicate charging facilities. Reservation information for these charging facilities is managed by the reservation server 4. The reservation information associates the identification information of the charging facility, the reservation date and time, and the identification information of the vehicle V to be charged (hereinafter referred to as the "reserved vehicle"). The information processing device 1 may reserve the charging facility by transmitting the reservation information to the reservation server 4 based on the created charging schedule.

The charging equipment is configured to charge the reserved vehicle at the reserved date and time. For example, the charging equipment acquires identification information of the vehicle V in response to being connected to the vehicle V via a charging cable, and starts charging the vehicle V if the acquired identification information matches the identification information included in the reservation information. The charging equipment may perform such authentication by acquiring the identification information of the vehicle V via short-range wireless communication, or may perform authentication using the driver's IC card. If the charging equipment determines, as a result of the authentication, that the vehicle V is a vehicle that has a specific contract in advance, it may charge the vehicle at a rate lower than the normal rate.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a driving plan displayed on the vehicle terminal 2. The screen shown in Figure 2 includes a schedule for the actual vehicle to travel with passengers on board, and a charging schedule. "Rapid" in the charging schedule indicates that rapid charging is planned, and "normal" indicates that normal charging, which requires a longer charging time than rapid charging, is planned. By the information processing device 1 creating such a driving plan and the vehicle terminal 2 displaying the driving plan, it is possible to prevent the vehicle V from running out of remaining power when it is time to travel with passengers on board. In the following description, the section of the reserved actual vehicle may be referred to as the travel reservation section.

Although the actual vehicle schedule is also shown in the driving plan shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle terminal 2 may display a screen showing only the charging schedule.
The configuration and operation of the information processing device 1 and an example of transition of the screen of the driving plan displayed on the vehicle terminal 2 will be described in detail below.

[Configuration of information processing device 1]
3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 has a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 has an acquisition unit 131, a plan creation unit 132, a reservation unit 133, and a vehicle dispatch management unit 134.

The communication unit 11 includes a communication interface for the information processing device 1 to transmit and receive data between the vehicle terminal 2 or the user terminal 3. The communication unit 11 inputs data indicating the remaining power of the vehicle V received from the vehicle V to the acquisition unit 131. The communication unit 11 transmits data indicating the driving plan created by the plan creation unit 132 to the vehicle terminal 2.

The communication unit 11 inputs the dispatch request data received from the user terminal 3 to the dispatch management unit 134, and transmits the dispatch request data input from the dispatch management unit 134 to the vehicle terminal 2. The communication unit 11 inputs the dispatch acceptance data received from the vehicle terminal 2 in response to the dispatch request data to the dispatch management unit 134. Furthermore, the communication unit 11 transmits the reservation data for the charging facility input from the reservation unit 133 to the reservation server 4 that manages the charging facility.

The storage unit 12 has storage media such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 13. The storage unit 12 stores the driving plan created by the plan creation unit 132 in association with the identification information of the vehicle V. The storage unit 12 also stores various data used by the plan creation unit 132 to create the driving plan.

The memory unit 12 stores, for example, the location of charging equipment that can charge the storage battery of the vehicle V. Specifically, the memory unit 12 stores the name of the facility where the charging equipment is installed and the address or latitude and longitude of the facility. The memory unit 12 may further store the type and number of charging equipment installed at each facility.

The memory unit 12 also stores drivable distance data indicating the relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery of the vehicle V and the distance that the vehicle V can travel. The memory unit 12 may store the drivable distance data in association with the identification information of the vehicle V, or may store the drivable distance data in association with the type of the vehicle V. The memory unit 12 may store the drivable distance data for each combination of the type of the vehicle V and the specifications of the storage battery installed in the vehicle V.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of remaining distance data. In the remaining distance data shown in Figure 4, the horizontal axis shows the remaining power, and the vertical axis shows the remaining distance. The remaining power is shown, for example, as a percentage of the power when fully charged. In the example shown in Figure 4, it is assumed that vehicle V can travel 1 km with power equivalent to 1%.

The memory unit 12 may store the driving history of the vehicle V on past days. In the driving history, the date and time are associated with the driving route of the vehicle V. The driving history may include the date and time and the location where a passenger boarded the vehicle V, and the date and time and the location where the passenger disembarked. The memory unit 12 may store the past charging history of the vehicle V. The charging history includes the date and time of charging, and the type of charging (rapid charging or normal charging).

The storage unit 12 may store at least one reserved driving section along which the vehicle V should travel. Specifically, when the communication unit 11 receives dispatch acceptance data from the vehicle terminal 2 of the vehicle V that has transmitted the distribution request data in response to receiving the dispatch request data from the user terminal 3, the storage unit 12 stores dispatch schedule data indicating the reserved driving section from the planned boarding location to the planned disembarking location in association with the dispatch date and time indicated in the distribution request data.

The control unit 13 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 13 executes the programs stored in the memory unit 12 to function as an acquisition unit 131, a plan creation unit 132, a reservation unit 133, and a vehicle dispatch management unit 134.

The acquisition unit 131 acquires remaining power data indicating the remaining power of the storage battery of the vehicle V. For example, the acquisition unit 131 acquires the remaining power data periodically from the vehicle V, but may also acquire the remaining power data from an external device that stores the remaining power data acquired from the vehicle V. For example, the acquisition unit 131 acquires the remaining power data before the driver of the vehicle V starts work for the day. The acquisition unit 131 notifies the plan creation unit 132 of the acquired remaining power data.

The acquisition unit 131 may acquire position data indicating the current position of the vehicle V, data indicating the occupancy status, and driving history data indicating at least the driving distance. The data indicating the occupancy status is data indicating whether the vehicle V is in an empty state, an active state with a passenger on board, or a state of being sent out. The acquisition unit 131 notifies the plan creation unit 132 of these data.

Furthermore, the acquisition unit 131 may acquire instructions for creating a driving plan from an external device. The external device is, for example, a computer used by an administrator of the vehicle V, but may also be the vehicle terminal 2.

The plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan for the vehicle V. The plan creation unit 132 references the driving distance data stored in the memory unit 12 and identifies the distance that the vehicle V can travel before charging with the remaining power indicated by the remaining power data acquired by the acquisition unit 131, thereby creating a driving plan for V that includes information for identifying the charging equipment at which the vehicle V will be charged and the scheduled date and time of charging the vehicle V. The information for identifying the charging equipment includes at least one of the name of the facility where the charging equipment is installed, the address of the location where the charging equipment is installed, and a number or text unique to the charging equipment.

The plan creation unit 132 transmits the created driving plan to the vehicle terminal 2 via the communication unit 11, or displays it on a display or computer connected to the information processing device 1. That is, the plan creation unit 132 enables the driver of the vehicle V or the manager of the vehicle V to check the driving plan by viewing a screen such as that shown in FIG. 2. The plan creation unit 132 may notify the reservation unit 133 and the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 of the driving plan.

The plan creation unit 132 may create a driving plan based on the results of predicting the remaining power at each time point by predicting the driving distance of the vehicle V within a specified period of time. The plan creation unit 132 predicts the distance that the vehicle V will travel within a specified period of time based on, for example, a dispatch schedule or past driving history, and predicts the remaining power at each time point.

When the memory unit 12 stores the reserved driving section of the vehicle V, the plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan that includes the reserved driving section stored in the memory unit 12. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a driving plan is created that includes a reserved driving section from company J to company K starting at 10:30 and a reserved driving section from company L to company M starting at 13:30.

The plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan including a scheduled charging date and time for a period excluding the time while the vehicle V is traveling in the reserved driving section so that the vehicle V can continue traveling in the reserved driving section. In addition, if it is expected that there will be insufficient remaining power before traveling in the reserved driving section, the plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan including a scheduled charging date and time determined so that the power required for the vehicle to travel in the reserved driving section remains in the storage battery at the time when traveling in the reserved driving section begins. For example, the plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan in which a scheduled charging date and time is set before traveling in the reserved driving section begins.

In order to create a driving plan including the scheduled charging date and time, the plan creation unit 132 first refers to the driving distance data stored in the memory unit 12 to identify the distance that the vehicle V, with the remaining power state indicated by the remaining power data acquired by the acquisition unit 131, can travel before charging at a charging facility. The plan creation unit 132 compares the identified driving distance with the distance of the reserved driving section to determine whether the vehicle V can travel the reserved driving section without charging before starting driving on the reserved driving section.

If the identified travelable distance is shorter than the distance of the travel reserved section, the plan creation unit 132 determines that the vehicle V cannot travel in the travel reserved section unless charging is performed before travel in the travel reserved section begins, and sets the scheduled charging date and time to a time period before travel in the travel reserved section begins. If the identified travelable distance is greater than or equal to the distance of the travel reserved section, and determines that the vehicle V can travel in the travel reserved section without charging before travel in the travel reserved section begins, the plan creation unit 132 may not set the scheduled charging date and time to a time period before travel in the travel reserved section begins.

However, even if driving in the reserved driving section is completed, if the vehicle V cannot move from the point where the reserved driving section ends to the point where the charging facility is located, the vehicle V will be unable to drive. Therefore, if the identified travelable distance is shorter than the distance of the reserved driving section plus the distance from the point where the reserved driving section ends to the point where the charging facility is located, the plan creation unit 132 may set the scheduled charging date and time to a time period before driving in the reserved driving section begins.

It is also possible that the vehicle V may move to the start position of the reserved travel section before travel on the reserved travel section begins, or may travel on other sections before the time to start travel on the reserved travel section. Even if the travelable distance is greater than or equal to the distance of the reserved travel section, if a large amount of power is consumed traveling on such other sections, there is a risk of a power shortage while traveling on the reserved travel section.

The plan creation unit 132 may use the result of predicting the cumulative driving distance in the time period up to the start of driving in the reserved driving section based on the driving history of the vehicle V for which the driving plan is to be created to determine whether to set the scheduled charging date and time to the time period before the start of driving in the reserved driving section. That is, the plan creation unit 132 may predict the cumulative driving distance at each of multiple times on the target day for which the driving plan is to be created based on the driving history, and create a driving plan that includes the scheduled charging date and time determined based on the predicted cumulative driving distance and the remaining driving distance indicated by the remaining driving distance data. The plan creation unit 132 may predict the cumulative driving distance using statistics of the driving history of multiple vehicles V different from the vehicle V for which the driving plan is to be created.

Specifically, when the distance that can be traveled before reaching the charging facility is shorter than the sum of the predicted cumulative travel distance and the distance of the travel reserved section, the plan creation unit 132 sets the scheduled charging date and time to a time period before travel in the travel reserved section begins. When the distance that can be traveled before reaching the charging facility is shorter than the sum of the predicted cumulative travel distance, the distance of the travel reserved section, and the distance from the point where the travel reserved section ends to the point where the charging facility is located, the plan creation unit 132 may set the scheduled charging date and time to a time period before travel in the travel reserved section begins. In this way, by the plan creation unit 132 creating a travel plan in which the scheduled charging date and time is set taking into account the travel distance before and after the planned travel section, it is possible to prevent a situation from occurring in which the vehicle V cannot travel.

When a predetermined time has elapsed until the scheduled charging date and time, the plan creation unit 132 may transmit a notification regarding charging to the vehicle terminal 2 of the vehicle V. The predetermined time is, for example, 30 minutes. The notification regarding charging indicates the location of the charging facility and the time when charging should start. When the vehicle terminal 2 receives the notification, it displays the content of the notification on the display or outputs it as audio. By allowing the driver to understand such a notification, the driver can start traveling so as to arrive at the facility where the charging facility is located, where charging is scheduled to occur, by the scheduled charging date and time. However, if the notification audio is output while the driver is actually driving the vehicle, it is a nuisance for passengers. Therefore, when the driver is actually driving the vehicle, the vehicle terminal 2 may only display the content of the notification without outputting the notification as audio.

If the plan creation unit 132 sends the notification too late, a situation may occur in which the driver cannot arrive at the charging facility by the scheduled charging date and time, even if the driver starts moving toward the charging facility after understanding the contents of the notification. Therefore, for example, when the plan creation unit 132 determines that there is a possibility that the vehicle V will not be able to arrive at the location where the charging facility is located by a date and time that is a predetermined margin of time (e.g., 15 minutes) before the scheduled charging date and time, the plan creation unit 132 may send a notification regarding charging at that time, even if it is a predetermined time before the scheduled charging date and time.

Specifically, the plan creation unit 132 first calculates the time required for the vehicle V to travel from the current location to a facility with charging equipment. If the plan creation unit 132 determines that the calculated time is longer than the time from the current time to 15 minutes before the scheduled charging date and time, it transmits a notification regarding charging to the vehicle terminal 2 of the vehicle V. By the plan creation unit 132 operating in this manner, it is possible to reduce the probability that the vehicle V will not be able to reach a facility with charging equipment by the scheduled charging date and time.

Incidentally, when the plan creation unit 132 creates a driving plan, it is assumed that the driving distance and driving position predicted based on the past driving history of the vehicle V may differ from the actual driving distance and driving position of the vehicle V. Therefore, the plan creation unit 132 may update the driving plan based on the actual driving record of the vehicle V acquired via the acquisition unit 131. For example, the plan creation unit 132 updates the driving plan every time the vehicle V switches between an active vehicle and an unoccupied vehicle. As an example, when the plan creation unit 132 determines that the vehicle V cannot arrive at the charging facility by the scheduled charging date and time, the plan creation unit 132 updates the driving plan and notifies the vehicle terminal 2 of the updated driving plan. The plan creation unit 132 may notify the reservation unit 133 and the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 of the updated driving plan.

When the plan creation unit 132 determines that the driving distance indicated by the driving record of the vehicle V is greater than the predicted driving distance assumed when creating the driving plan, and there is a possibility that the vehicle V will not be able to travel the planned driving section, the plan creation unit 132 may update the driving plan to bring forward the planned charging date and time. By operating the plan creation unit 132 in this manner, the risk of being unable to travel the planned driving section can be reduced.

Conversely, if the plan creation unit 132 determines that the driving distance indicated by the driving record of the vehicle V is less than the predicted driving distance assumed when creating the driving plan and that the vehicle V can travel the planned driving section without charging before starting to travel the planned driving section, the plan creation unit 132 may delay the planned charging date and time or cancel the charging plan. The plan creation unit 132 may notify the reservation unit 133, described below, that the plan has been canceled, and cancel the reservation of the charging facility. By operating the plan creation unit 132 in this manner, it is possible to prevent time loss caused by the vehicle V stopping at a charging facility to charge.

Based on the data indicating the riding state input from the acquisition unit 131, the plan creation unit 132 may update the driving plan in response to a change in the riding state from an actual vehicle state in which the vehicle V has a passenger on board to an empty vehicle state in which the vehicle V has no passengers on board. By operating the plan creation unit 132 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the driver's concentration from decreasing due to the driving plan being updated while the vehicle is in operation.

However, if rapid charging is performed frequently, the storage battery is more likely to deteriorate. Therefore, in order to reduce the number of rapid charging operations as much as possible, the plan creation unit 132 may create a driving plan that includes a plan for normal charging when it determines that sufficient charging time can be secured based on the past driving history. When the plan creation unit 132 determines that the deterioration level of the storage battery of the vehicle V is below a predetermined level based on the past charging history stored in the memory unit 12, it may create a driving plan in which rapid charging is performed less frequently than when the deterioration level of the storage battery is at or above the predetermined level. By having the plan creation unit 132 create such a plan, deterioration of the storage battery can be suppressed.

The plan creation unit 132 may determine the scheduled charging date and time based on the price of electricity. The price of electricity fluctuates depending on the balance between supply and demand. Furthermore, the amount of electricity generated by solar power generation and wind power generation fluctuates depending on the weather. The plan creation unit 132 may preferentially determine, as the scheduled charging date and time, a time period in which the price of electricity is estimated to be equal to or lower than a threshold based on these fluctuating factors. If the market trading price of electricity is published every morning, the plan creation unit 132 may determine, in response to the publication of the market trading price of electricity, a time period in which the market trading price is relatively low as the scheduled charging date and time. Specifically, the plan creation unit 132 may determine the scheduled charging date and time in response to the acquisition unit 131 acquiring the market trading price. By operating the plan creation unit 132 in this manner, the cost required for charging can be reduced.

The reservation unit 133 makes a reservation for the vehicle V to charge at a charging facility where the vehicle V is expected to charge on the scheduled charging date and time based on the driving plan created by the plan creation unit 132. The reservation unit 133 reserves the charging facility by transmitting reservation information including the identification information of the vehicle V and the scheduled charging date and time to the reservation server 4 via the communication unit 11. The reservation unit 133 may make a reservation for the vehicle to charge at the charging facility when a specific instruction is received from the driver of the vehicle V who has viewed the driving plan.

Figure 5 shows a screen that enables the driver to reserve charging equipment. Figure 5(a) shows the screen displayed on the vehicle terminal 2 at 11:50. In Figure 5(a), the quick charging that was scheduled to start at 10:00 has ended, as indicated by a dashed line. In the charging plan shown in Figure 5(a), charging is scheduled to start at 12:30, but if it looks like the vehicle V will be able to arrive at the charging equipment location earlier than planned, it is expected that the driver will want to start charging earlier.

When the driver presses the "Book Now" button, the screen changes to that shown in FIG. 5(b), and when the "Book Now" button is pressed again, the vehicle terminal 2 sends reservation request data to the information processing device 1.

When the reservation unit 133 receives reservation request data via the communication unit 11, it reserves a charging facility that is available for reservation among the charging facilities closest to the current location of the vehicle V at the time the reservation request data is received. When the reservation is completed, the reservation unit 133 transmits reservation completion data including the name of the facility where the charging facility is installed and the reservation time to the vehicle terminal 2. The reservation unit 133 may calculate the scheduled time when the vehicle V will arrive at the charging facility based on the distance from the current location of the vehicle V to the charging facility, and set the calculated time as the reservation time.

When the vehicle terminal 2 receives the reservation completion data, it displays a screen indicating that the reservation has been established, as shown in FIG. 5(c). When the "Head to charging location" button is pressed on the screen in FIG. 5(c), the vehicle terminal 2 may display the route from the current position of the vehicle V to the charging location.

The reservation unit 133 may change the reservation content when an update to the driving plan makes it impossible for the vehicle to arrive at the reserved charging facility at the reserved time. For example, if the charging facility has been reserved for the scheduled charging date and time indicated in the driving plan before the update, the reservation unit 133 changes the date and time of the reservation to the scheduled charging date and time indicated in the updated driving plan.

The vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines a vehicle V to be dispatched when it receives dispatch request data from the user terminal 3. Specifically, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 transmits a dispatch request to the vehicle V based on a dispatch request from a user (i.e., a user using the user terminal 3) who wishes to board the vehicle V. More specifically, when the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 receives dispatch request data from the user terminal 3 via the communication unit 11, it transmits the dispatch request data to the vehicle terminal 2 of a vehicle V that can board the user in the desired boarding section from the desired boarding date and time indicated in the dispatch request data.

If vehicle V is dispatched when the desired ride date and time is close to or overlaps with the scheduled charging date and time of vehicle V, vehicle V may not be able to charge as planned, which may cause problems with driving. Therefore, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 transmits dispatch request data to vehicle V on the condition that the driving period of vehicle V in the desired ride section does not overlap with the scheduled charging date and time.

As an example, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 transmits the dispatch request data to the vehicle V on the condition that the desired ride section indicated by the dispatch request data is between the current position of the vehicle V and the charging facility where the vehicle V is scheduled to charge, as indicated by the driving plan. The vehicle dispatch management unit 134 may transmit the dispatch request data to the vehicle V on the condition that the direction from the boarding position to the disembarking position is the same as the direction from the current position to the planned charging position.

Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle dispatch management unit 134. Figure 6 (a) shows a case where the desired boarding section is between the current position of the vehicle V and the planned charging position, and the direction from the boarding position to the disembarking position is the same as the direction from the current position to the planned charging position. In such a case, even if the vehicle V picks up the user in the desired boarding section, it is considered that there will be no significant impact on the time required to arrive from the current position to the planned charging position, so the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 transmits dispatch request data to the vehicle V.

Figure 6 (b) shows a case where the desired boarding section is between the current location of vehicle V and the planned charging location, but the direction from the boarding location to the disembarking location does not match the direction from the current location to the planned charging location. In such a case, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 does not transmit distribution request data to vehicle V because the time required for vehicle V to arrive at the planned charging location is significantly affected by picking up the user in the desired boarding section. However, if the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines that vehicle V will arrive at the planned charging location by the scheduled charging date and time even if the user picks up the user in such a desired boarding section, it may transmit the dispatch request data to vehicle V.

Figure 6 (c) shows a case where the desired ride section is not between the current location of vehicle V and the planned charging location. In such a case, if vehicle V picks up the user in the desired ride section, it is considered that this will have a significant impact on the time required to arrive at the planned charging location from the current location, so the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 does not transmit dispatch request data to vehicle V.

In this way, even if the desired ride section indicated in the ride request is between the current location of vehicle V and the charging facility where vehicle V plans to charge as indicated in the driving plan, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 may not transmit the dispatch request data to vehicle V if the time required from the current location to the charging facility will be longer than a predetermined time due to vehicle V traveling through the desired ride section. The predetermined time is, for example, 10% of the time required from the current location to the charging facility.

The specified time may be the difference between the scheduled time when vehicle V arrives at the scheduled charging location and the scheduled charging date and time. In other words, if it is expected that vehicle V will be delayed beyond a certain margin of time from the time when vehicle V should arrive at the scheduled charging location by picking up the user in the desired riding section, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 does not transmit dispatch request data to vehicle V. By operating in this manner, the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 can prevent vehicle V from arriving in time for the scheduled charging date and time.

However, there are cases where the driver wants to prioritize picking up passengers over arriving at the planned charging location by the scheduled charging date and time. Therefore, when the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 receives a notification from the vehicle terminal 2 based on the driver's operation that the driver wishes to accept a dispatch, the vehicle dispatch request unit 134 may transmit dispatch request data to the vehicle terminal 2 even if the desired boarding section indicated by the dispatch request data is not between the current location of the vehicle V and the charging facility where the vehicle V is scheduled to charge, as indicated by the driving plan.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the vehicle terminal 2 when the scheduled charging date and time approaches. As shown in Figure 7(a), the vehicle terminal 2 displays a screen indicating that the scheduled charging date and time is approaching. When the driver presses a button "Head to charging location" on this screen, the vehicle terminal 2 displays a map showing the route from the current location to the scheduled charging location, as shown in Figure 7(b). On this screen, the vehicle terminal 2 displays a "Resume vehicle dispatch reception" button for setting the resumption of vehicle dispatch reception. When the driver presses the "Resume vehicle dispatch reception" button, the vehicle terminal 2 transmits vehicle dispatch request notification data to the information processing device 1. When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 receives vehicle dispatch request notification data, it transmits vehicle dispatch request data to the vehicle terminal 2 even if the scheduled charging date and time is approaching.

[Processing flow in information processing device 1]
Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a process flow in which the information processing device 1 creates a driving plan. The flowchart shown in Fig. 8 starts from the point in time when the information processing device 1 receives an instruction to create a driving plan from an external device. The information processing device 1 may start the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 8 from a predetermined time before the vehicle V starts traveling, regardless of an instruction from the external device. Furthermore, the information processing device 1 may repeat the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 8 after the vehicle V starts traveling.

The acquisition unit 131 selects a vehicle V for which a driving plan is to be created, and acquires remaining power data of the selected vehicle V (S11). Next, the plan creation unit 132 refers to the remaining driving distance data stored in the memory unit 12, and identifies the distance that the vehicle V can travel based on the remaining power data (S12). The plan creation unit 132 also refers to the dispatch schedule data associated with the vehicle V and stored in the memory unit 12, to identify the planned driving section and the time at which the vehicle should travel along the planned driving section (S13).

Then, the plan creation unit 132 determines whether or not the vehicle V needs to be charged before traveling the planned traveling section based on the possible travel distance identified in S12 and the contents of the planned traveling section identified in S13 (S14). Specifically, the plan creation unit 132 calculates the distance that the vehicle V is predicted to travel from when it starts traveling until it starts traveling the planned traveling section, for example, based on the past traveling history of the vehicle V. The plan creation unit 132 determines whether or not the possible travel distance after subtracting the calculated distance from the possible travel distance identified in S12 is longer than the distance of the planned traveling section, based on whether or not the possible travel distance is longer than the distance of the planned traveling section.

If the plan creation unit 132 determines that the possible driving distance is shorter than the distance of the planned driving section or the distance of the planned driving section plus a predetermined margin and the vehicle V cannot complete the planned driving section, it sets the planned charging date and time before the planned driving section (S15). If the plan creation unit 132 determines that the possible driving distance is equal to or greater than the distance of the planned driving section or the distance of the planned driving section plus a predetermined margin and the vehicle V can complete the planned driving section, it sets the planned charging date and time after the planned driving section (S16).

Then, the reservation unit 133 determines whether the probability that the driver will charge on the scheduled charging date and time is equal to or higher than a threshold value (S17). For example, the reservation unit 133 calculates a higher probability the shorter the possible driving distance at the time when driving on the planned driving section starts. As an example, the reservation unit 133 sets the probability to 100% if the possible driving distance at the time when driving on the planned driving section starts is zero, and sets the probability to 70% if the possible driving distance at the time when driving on the planned driving section starts is the same as the distance of the planned driving section.

If the reservation unit 133 determines that the accuracy is equal to or greater than a threshold (e.g., equal to or greater than 70%) (YES in S17), it reserves a charging facility within a predetermined range from the location where the vehicle V is predicted to be before starting to travel the planned travel section (S18). If the reservation unit 133 determines that the accuracy is less than the threshold (NO in S17), it does not reserve a charging facility.

The control unit 13 determines whether or not it is necessary to create a driving plan for the other vehicle V (S19). If it is necessary to create a driving plan for the other vehicle V (YES in S19), the control unit 13 repeats the processes from S11 to S19. If it is not necessary to create a driving plan for the other vehicle V (NO in S19), the control unit 13 ends the process of creating the driving plan.

Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the information processing device 1 acquires vehicle dispatch request data. When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 acquires the vehicle dispatch request data (S21), it selects one vehicle V from a plurality of pre-registered vehicles V (S22). The vehicle dispatch management unit 134 refers to the driving plan associated with the vehicle V and stored in the memory unit 12, and determines whether the vehicle V is scheduled to be charged within a first predetermined time before the desired boarding time indicated by the vehicle dispatch request data, and within a second predetermined time after the desired boarding time (S23).

The first specified time is the sum of the time required for charging and the time required to travel from the charging location to the desired boarding location, e.g., 60 minutes. The second specified time is the sum of the boarding time from the desired boarding location to the desired disembarking location, and the time required to travel from the desired disembarking location to the location of the charging facility.

When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines that the vehicle V is scheduled to charge (YES in S23), it determines whether the desired boarding section indicated by the dispatch request data is on the way of the vehicle V moving to the charging facility (S24). When the boarding section is on the way of the vehicle V moving to the charging facility (YES in S24), the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines whether the reserved time for the charging facility can be met even if the vehicle V picks up a passenger on the boarding section (S25). When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines that the reserved time can be met, it transmits dispatch request data to the vehicle V (S26). When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 receives dispatch acceptance data from the vehicle V (YES in S27), it ends the dispatch process.

When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines in S23 that there is no charging schedule (NO in S23), it transmits dispatch request data to the vehicle V. When the vehicle dispatch management unit 134 determines NO in S24, S25, or S27, it returns to S22, selects another vehicle V, and repeats the processes from S23 to S27.

[Effects of information processing device 1]
As described above, the information processing device 1 according to the present embodiment refers to travel distance data indicating the relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery mounted on the vehicle V and the distance the vehicle V can travel, and identifies the distance the vehicle V can travel before charging at a charging facility, thereby creating a travel plan including the location of the charging facility where the vehicle V will be charged and the scheduled date and time of charging the vehicle V. The information processing device 1 creates such a travel plan, and the driver is able to understand the travel plan, thereby enabling the driver to charge the vehicle V at an appropriate timing. As a result, the probability that the vehicle V will be unable to travel can be reduced.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. Specifically, the information processing device 1 does not have the reservation unit 133 and the dispatch management unit 134, and another device has the reservation unit 133 and the dispatch management unit 134, and the information processing device 1 may operate in cooperation with the other device. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination also has the effect of the original embodiment.

Reference Signs List 1 Information processing device 2 Vehicle terminal 3 User terminal 4 Reservation server 11 Communication unit 12 Storage unit 13 Control unit 131 Acquisition unit 132 Plan creation unit 133 Reservation unit 134 Vehicle allocation management unit

Claims (3)

a storage unit that stores location data indicating the location of a charging facility capable of charging a storage battery of a vehicle, travelable distance data indicating a relationship between a remaining amount of power in the storage battery and a travelable distance of the vehicle, and a past charging history of the storage battery;
an acquisition unit that acquires remaining power data indicating a remaining power amount of the storage battery;
a plan creation unit that creates a driving plan for the vehicle, the plan including information for identifying the charging facility at which the vehicle will be charged and a scheduled date and time for charging the vehicle, by referring to the travelable distance data and specifying a distance that the vehicle can travel with the remaining power indicated by the remaining power data acquired by the acquisition unit before being charged at the charging facility;
having
When the plan creation unit determines that the deterioration level of the storage battery is below a predetermined level based on the charging history stored in the memory unit, when creating the driving plan in which the frequency of quick charging is lower than when the deterioration level of the storage battery is at or above the predetermined level, the plan creation unit determines, in response to the publication of the market trading price of electricity, a time period when the market trading price is relatively low as the scheduled charging date and time with priority .
Information processing device. The computer executes
acquiring remaining power data indicating a remaining power amount of a storage battery of the vehicle;
creating a driving plan for the vehicle, the driving plan including information for identifying the charging facility at which the vehicle will be charged and a scheduled date and time for charging the vehicle, by referring to travel distance data indicating a relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery and a distance that the vehicle can travel, and specifying a distance that the vehicle can travel with the remaining power indicated by the acquired remaining power data before charging at a charging facility;
creating the driving plan in which, when it is determined that the deterioration level of the storage battery is less than a predetermined level based on a past charging history of the storage battery stored in a storage unit, the frequency of quick charging is lower than when the deterioration level of the storage battery is equal to or higher than the predetermined level;
having
An information processing method in which, in the step of creating the driving plan, in response to the publication of the market trading price of electricity, the planned charging date and time for the vehicle is determined with priority given to a time period when the market trading price is relatively low . On the computer,
acquiring remaining power data indicating a remaining power amount of a storage battery of the vehicle;
creating a driving plan for the vehicle, the driving plan including information for identifying the charging facility at which the vehicle will be charged and a scheduled date and time for charging the vehicle, by referring to travel distance data indicating a relationship between the remaining power of the storage battery and a distance that the vehicle can travel, and specifying a distance that the vehicle can travel with the remaining power indicated by the acquired remaining power data before charging at a charging facility;
creating the driving plan in which, when it is determined that the deterioration level of the storage battery is less than a predetermined level based on a past charging history of the storage battery stored in a storage unit, the frequency of quick charging is lower than when the deterioration level of the storage battery is equal to or higher than the predetermined level;
Run the command,
A program for determining, in the step of creating the driving plan, a time period when the market trading price of electricity is relatively low as a scheduled date and time for charging the vehicle, with priority given to such a time period in response to the publication of the market trading price of electricity .

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