US 12,424,100 B2
Charge support system, charge support method, and control program
Taizo Masuda, Yokohama (JP); Yasunobu Seki, Nisshin (JP); Hiroki Awano, Susono (JP); Tomoko Nakamura, Naka-gun (JP); Tsuyoshi Kaneko, Nisshin (JP); and Kosuke Yonekawa, Nisshin (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Aug. 2, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/229,308.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-142441 (JP), filed on Sep. 7, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0078910 A1, Mar. 7, 2024
Int. Cl. G08G 1/00 (2006.01); B60L 8/00 (2006.01); B60L 58/13 (2019.01)
CPC G08G 1/202 (2013.01) [B60L 8/003 (2013.01); B60L 58/13 (2019.02)] 3 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A charge support system for a plurality of vehicles capable of traveling autonomously, each of the vehicles comprising a solar cell panel attached to a vehicle body and a storage battery configured to store electricity generated by the solar cell panel, the charge support system comprising:
a processor and memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to function as:
an acquisition unit configured to acquire, regarding the plurality of vehicles parked in a predetermined parking area, at least an information from each of respective vehicles regarding: (i) information indicating a charging efficiency of the storage battery of the respective vehicle based on electricity generated by the solar cell panel of the respective vehicle, (ii) information about a charging rate of the storage battery of the respective vehicle, and (iii) information about a scheduled driving time of a driver of the respective vehicle; and
a traveling control unit configured to move the plurality of vehicles within a range of the predetermined parking area based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, wherein the traveling control unit is programmed to: (i) move the plurality of vehicles so that the charging rate of the storage battery provided in the vehicle of which the scheduled driving time of an earliest driver becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined rate, and (ii) if the traveling control unit determines that a subset of the plurality of vehicles have no scheduled driving time identified, periodically moves the plurality of vehicles so that charging rates of the storage battery among the subset of the plurality of vehicles for which no scheduled driving time is identified are equal to each other within a predetermined error range.