Determining directional guidance for vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020217679-A1
Application number	US-201916238848-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 3, 2019
Priority date	Jan 3, 2019
Publication date	Jul 9, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for determining directional guidance for vehicles includes receiving a destination location and user information data related to a user of the vehicle. The method further includes determining the distance the vehicle can travel and predicting the availability of charging stations at a plurality of charging locations based on real time data and historical data. The method additionally includes determining relevant locations of interest to the user located near the plurality of charging locations based on the user information data. The method also includes determining and recommending route options and charging schedules to reach the destination location considering the distance the vehicle can travel, the predicted availability of charging stations, the relevant locations of interest, the total travel time, availability of locations of interest, user preferences, and charging location data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of providing directional guidance for electric vehicles, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors of a computer system, a destination location for an electric vehicle; receiving, by the one or more processors of the computer system, user information data related to a user of the electric vehicle; determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a distance the electric vehicle can travel; predicting, by the one or more processors of the computer system, availability of charging stations at a plurality of charging locations based upon real time data and historical charging location data; determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, relevant locations of interest to the user located proximate to the plurality of charging locations based upon the user information data; determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, route options to reach the destination location based upon the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the predicted availability of charging stations, the relevant locations of interest, and the total travel time; and recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the route options with charging schedules based upon the total travel time, availability of locations of interest, user preferences, and charging location data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
tracking, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the availability of charging stations, and the availability of locations of interest; and modifying in real time, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the recommended route options based upon changes in the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the availability of charging stations or the availability of locations of interest.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, an amount of time typically spent at a first location of interest; and wherein the recommending includes recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a charging stop at a first charging location located proximate to the first location of interest for a recommended charging time, the recommended charging time corresponding to the amount of time typically spent at the first location of interest.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a current charge level of the electric vehicle; wherein the determining the distance the electric vehicle can travel is based upon the current charge level, historical charging data of the electric vehicle, and driving conditions.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, ideal driving conditions based on the charge level of the electric vehicle, the availability of charging stations, the distance to the destination location, weather conditions, and the distance to the next available charging station.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
suggesting, by the one or more processors of the computer system, available private charging locations located proximate to the route options if no public charging locations are available; alerting, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the user if no private or public charging locations are available; and suggesting, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the use of an alternate vehicle to the user if no private or public charging locations are available.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first route option and a second route option, wherein the total time to reach the destination location for the first route option is greater than the total time to reach the destination location for the second route option; and wherein the recommending includes prioritizing, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the first route option over the second route option based upon relevant locations of interest in the first route option.

8 . A computer system, comprising:
one or more processors; one or more memory devices coupled to the one or more processors; and one or more computer readable storage devices coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more storage devices contain program code executable by the one or more processors via the one or more memory devices to implement a method of providing directional guidance for electric vehicles, the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors of a computer system, a destination location for an electric vehicle;
receiving, by the one or more processors of the computer system, user information data related to a user of the electric vehicle;
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a distance the electric vehicle can travel;
predicting, by the one or more processors of the computer system, availability of charging stations at a plurality of charging locations based upon real time data and historical charging location data;
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, relevant locations of interest to the user located proximate to the plurality of charging locations based upon the user information data;
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, route options to reach the destination location based upon the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the predicted availability of charging stations, the relevant locations of interest, and the total travel time; and
recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the route options with charging schedules based upon the total travel time, availability of locations of interest, user preferences, and charging location data.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
tracking, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the availability of charging stations, and the availability of locations of interest; and modifying in real time, by the one or more processors of the computer system, the recommended route options based upon changes in the distance the electric vehicle can travel, the availability of charging stations or the availability of locations of interest.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, an amount of time typically spent at a first location of interest; and wherein the recommending includes recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a charging stop at a first charging location located proximate to the first location of interest for a recommended charging time, the recommended charging time corresponding to the amount of time typically spent at the first location of interest.

11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining, by the one or more processors of the computer system, a current charge level of the electric vehicle; wherein the determining the distance the electric vehicle can travel is based upon the current charge level, historical charging data of the electric vehicle, and driving conditions.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising recommending, by the one or more processors of the computer system, ideal driving conditions based on the charge level of the electric vehicle, the availability of charging stations, the distance to the destination location, weather conditions, and the distance to the next available charging station.

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Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Deluca Lisa Seacat
• Li Jenny S
• Price Dana L

Classifications

• G01C21/3469 Primary

  Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects · CPC title

• G01C21/3415

  Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents · CPC title

• G01C21/3484

  Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles · CPC title

• G01C21/3476

  using point of interest [POI] information, e.g. a route passing visible POIs · CPC title

• G06N5/04

  Inference or reasoning models · CPC title