Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Provided is an electric vehicle capable of recording appropriate abnormality history information for abnormalities associated with contactless charging. The electric vehicle comprises: a main battery that stores power for traveling; a power receiving unit that receives power contactlessly from a power transmitting device outside the vehicle; a communication unit that can communicate with the power transmitting device; a control unit that communicates with the power transmitting device to control power reception via the power receiving unit; and a recording processing unit that records abnormality history information that is useful for fault diagnosis based on the occurrence of the abnormality. Moreover, compared with the abnormality history information recorded by the recording processing unit when an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit receives a notification of the detection of a foreign object, the abnormality history information recorded by the recording processing unit when an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit receives a notification of the detection of a foreign object from the power transmitting device has a smaller amount of data when read by a predetermined reading function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle having a power receiving unit for receiving electric power in a contactless manner. Background Art

[0002] In the past, there was a technology that non-contactly transmitted power from ground equipment to an electric vehicle and charged the main battery of the electric vehicle. Such a technology is called non-contact charging. During non-contact charging, if there is a foreign object near the power transmission unit, there is a possibility that the foreign object will generate heat. Therefore, when a foreign object is detected, control is performed to stop non-contact charging.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for notifying a power transmission device to stop power transmission when a foreign object is detected by the vehicle during contactless charging. Patent Document 1 also discloses that when a foreign object is detected by the power transmission device, the detection result is notified to the electric vehicle.

[0004] In the past, there was a technology that recorded abnormality history information when certain abnormalities occurred in a car equipped with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and read the abnormality history information during maintenance for use in fault diagnosis. The recorded abnormality history information includes a code indicating the abnormality content (DTC: Diagnostic Trouble Code) and log data indicating the status of various parts of the vehicle when the abnormality occurred (FFD: Freeze Flame Data).

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-127064 Summary of the invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] In the case where contactless charging is stopped due to certain faults, it is desirable to record abnormal history information related to the abnormality of contactless charging in order to facilitate subsequent fault diagnosis. On the other hand, in the case where contactless charging is stopped due to the detection of foreign matter, if the abnormal history information is recorded in the same way as when the fault occurs, when maintaining the electric vehicle, although there is no fault location, the maintenance personnel will still search for the fault location based on the abnormal history information, which reduces the efficiency of fault diagnosis. Furthermore, in the case where the capacity of the storage unit for abnormal history information is limited, the abnormal history information will become a huge amount of data depending on the length of the recording period. Therefore, if the abnormal history information is recorded indiscriminately, the problem of insufficient capacity of the storage unit will arise.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle capable of recording appropriate abnormality history information regarding abnormalities related to non-contact charging.

[0011] Technical Solution

[0012] The first embodiment of the invention is an electric vehicle comprising: a main battery that stores electric power for traveling; a power receiving unit that receives electric power contactlessly from a power transmitting device outside the vehicle; a communication unit that is capable of communicating with the power transmitting device; a control unit that communicates with the power transmitting device to control power reception via the power receiving unit; and a recording and processing unit that records abnormality history information useful for fault diagnosis based on the occurrence of an abnormality, wherein the abnormality history information recorded by the recording and processing unit when an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit receives the notification of the detection of a foreign object from the power transmitting device has a smaller amount of data when read by a predetermined reading function, compared to the abnormality history information recorded by the recording and processing unit when an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit does not receive the notification of the detection of a foreign object from the power transmitting device.

[0013] The second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the electric vehicle described in the first aspect, even when an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the above-mentioned power receiving unit, the above-mentioned recording processing unit does not perform recording of part or all of the abnormality history information based on the occurrence of the above-mentioned abnormality based on the notification of the above-mentioned detection of the foreign object.

[0014] The third aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the electric vehicle described in the first aspect, after the recording processing unit records abnormal history information based on the occurrence of an abnormality in the power transmission to the power receiving unit, it deletes part or all of the recorded abnormal history information based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object.

[0015] The fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in an electric vehicle recorded in any one of the first to third aspects, the recording processing unit is configured to: after recording abnormal history information based on the occurrence of an abnormality in power transmission to the power receiving unit, based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object, part or all of the abnormal history information recorded cannot be read using the predetermined reading function.

[0016] The invention of the fifth embodiment is characterized in that, in the electric vehicle recorded in the third embodiment or the fourth embodiment, the above-mentioned abnormal history information includes a code indicating the abnormal content and log data indicating the vehicle status at the time of the abnormality, and the above-mentioned record processing unit is set to: at least delete or make it impossible to read the above-mentioned log data in the above-mentioned abnormal history information.

[0017] The invention of the sixth embodiment is characterized in that, in the electric vehicle described in the third embodiment, the electric vehicle further comprises an information output unit capable of outputting information to a portable terminal, and after the information output unit notifies the portable terminal that an abnormality has occurred in the contactless power transmission, the record processing unit deletes the abnormal history information of the record.

[0018] The seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the electric vehicle described in any one of the first to sixth aspects, after an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the above-mentioned power receiving unit, the above-mentioned control unit waits for receiving the notification of the above-mentioned detection of the foreign object within a predetermined time, and when the above-mentioned notification of the detection of the foreign object is not received, the above-mentioned recording processing unit performs the recording of the above-mentioned abnormality history information. On the other hand, during the waiting process for the above-mentioned predetermined time, when the above-mentioned control unit receives a notification indicating an abnormality other than the detection of the foreign object, the above-mentioned recording processing unit performs the recording of the above-mentioned abnormality history information before the above-mentioned predetermined time has passed.

[0019] Technical Effects

[0020] According to the present invention, compared with the abnormal history information recorded when the power transmission to the power receiving unit is abnormal and there is a notification of the detection of a foreign object, the abnormal history information recorded when the power transmission to the power receiving unit is abnormal and there is a notification of the detection of a foreign object has less data when read by a predetermined reading function. Therefore, in the case of abnormal power transmission due to a fault, a large amount of abnormal history information useful for fault diagnosis is read, and on the other hand, in the case of abnormal power transmission due to the detection of a foreign object, a large amount of abnormal history information that is useless for fault diagnosis is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to achieve the recording of appropriate abnormal history information for abnormalities related to contactless charging. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when non-contact charging is stopped due to a failure.

[0023] Figure 3 1 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of a first example when non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object.

[0024] Figure 4 1 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of a second example in which non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object.

[0025] Figure 5 This is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of Modification 1 when non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object.

[0026] Figure 6 1 is a timing chart showing the processing flow of Modification 2 when non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object.

[0027] Explanation of symbols

[0028] 1 Electric Vehicles

[0029] 3 Travel motor

[0030] 11 Main battery

[0031] 31 Receiving unit

[0032] 33 Ministry of Communications

[0033] 39 Telematics Service Communications Department

[0034] 41 Control Department

[0035] 41a Record processing unit

[0036] 41b Abnormal history storage unit

[0037] 100 Ground Equipment

[0038] 103 Power Transmission Department

[0039] 105 Power transmission control unit

[0040] 105a Foreign matter detection processing unit

[0041] 106 Ministry of Communications DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 1: is a block diagram showing an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is an EV (Electric Vehicle) or HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) having a contactless charging function. The electric vehicle 1 includes a driving wheel 2, a travel motor 3 that generates power for the driving wheel 2, a main battery 11 that stores power for traveling, an inverter 12 that converts the power of the main battery 11 to drive the travel motor 3, a power receiving unit 31 that receives power contactlessly by electromagnetic action, and a rectifier 32 that rectifies the power received by the power receiving unit 31. The electric vehicle 1 also includes a control unit 41 that performs travel control, control of the user interface, and control of contactless charging, a communication unit 33 that communicates with a ground device 100 during contactless charging, and a telematics service communication unit 39 that can communicate with a user's portable terminal via a telematics service. The telematics service communication unit 39 is equivalent to an example of an information output unit of the present invention.

[0044] The main battery 11 is, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery, and stores electric power for driving the travel motor 3. The main battery 11 outputs a high voltage for driving the travel motor 3, and may be called a high voltage battery.

[0045] The power receiving unit 31 is a power receiving coil that receives power transmitted non-contactly by, for example, electromagnetic induction or magnetic resonance. When the power receiving unit 31 and the power transmitting unit 103 of the ground equipment 100 are aligned, an alternating current flows through the power transmitting unit 103, thereby generating an alternating electromotive force in the power receiving unit 31.

[0046] The control unit 41 is input with an operation signal of a driving operation performed by a passenger, and drives the inverter 12 etc. according to the operation signal to control the driving of the electric vehicle 1. Furthermore, the control unit 41 includes a battery management unit that manages the status information of the main battery 11. The battery management unit receives the status signal (discharge current, charge current, voltage, temperature, etc.) of the main battery 11, and manages the charging rate of the main battery 11, etc. Furthermore, the control unit 41 is input with an operation command performed by the passenger via the operation panel, and controls the operation of each part of the electric vehicle 1. The operation panel includes a start button for contactless charging. Furthermore, the control unit 41 controls the output of information to the user's portable terminal via the telematics service communication unit 39.

[0047] Furthermore, the control unit 41 controls the contactless charging while communicating with the ground equipment 100 via the communication unit 33. During the contactless charging, the control unit 41 calculates the charging current to be delivered to the main battery 11 based on the management information of the main battery 11 (charging rate (SOC: State Of Charge), temperature, input limit power, etc.), and requests the ground equipment 100 to transmit power in a manner to obtain the charging current.

[0048] Furthermore, the control unit 41 includes a recording processing unit 41a and an abnormality record storage unit 41b. The recording processing unit 41a is used to record abnormality record information that is helpful for fault diagnosis when an abnormality occurs in a certain part of the electric vehicle 1, and the abnormality record storage unit 41b is used to store abnormality record information. The abnormality record storage unit 41b is composed of, for example, a non-volatile storage medium. The recording processing unit 41a can be a software function module implemented by executing a program by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the control unit 41, or it can be a function module composed of dedicated hardware.

[0049] The control unit 41 may be composed of one ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or may be composed of a plurality of ECUs that communicate with each other and operate in coordination.

[0050] Usually, when an abnormality occurs in a certain part of the electric vehicle 1, the recording processing unit 41a records the code (DTC) indicating the abnormal content, the timestamp, and the log data (FFD) indicating the status of each part of the vehicle when the abnormality occurs in the abnormality history storage unit 41b. The abnormal content classified by code includes, for example, abnormalities of each ECU, engine stalling, contactless charging abnormalities, etc. The timestamp is recorded by, for example, the number of times the ignition device is turned on (number of operations) and the time data starting from the ignition device being turned on. The log data includes the detection values ​​read from various sensors to each ECU, various parameters calculated by each ECU, and various control data, which may include data that is not directly related to the abnormal part.

[0051] The abnormal history information recorded in the abnormal history storage unit 41b is read using, for example, a diagnostic tool prepared separately for the electric vehicle 1. The diagnostic tool is a computer having a function of reading abnormal history information. The reading function is software implemented by causing the CPU of the computer to execute a functional program. If the diagnostic tool is connected to the control unit 41 by a cable and the reading function is executed, the diagnostic tool communicates with the control unit 41 to read the abnormal history information, and displays the abnormal history information at a glance on the display unit of the diagnostic tool. The diagnostic tool is used, for example, by maintenance personnel or R&D personnel of the manufacturer. The reading function may include: a reading function of the normal mode used by maintenance personnel, and a reading function of the R&D personnel mode that can be used by R&D personnel, and other multiple reading functions. In this case, the predetermined reading function of the present invention may be any one of the multiple reading functions. For example, the reading function of the normal mode used by maintenance personnel is equivalent to an example of the predetermined reading function of the present invention.

[0052] The ground equipment 100 is a power transmission device that transmits electric power to the electric vehicle 1 in a contactless manner. The ground equipment 100 includes: a power transmission unit 103 that transmits electric power to the power receiving unit 31 of the electric vehicle 1 in a contactless manner by electromagnetic action, an inverter 102 that receives electric power from a commercial power source or the like and flows an alternating current to the power transmission unit 103, a communication unit 106 that communicates with the electric vehicle 1 during contactless charging, and a power transmission control unit 105 that drives the inverter 102 and controls the power transmission from the power transmission unit 103.

[0053] The power transmission control unit 105 is a computer, and has a foreign object detection processing unit 105a that detects foreign objects when there are foreign objects near the power transmission unit 103. The foreign object detection processing unit 105a is a software function module implemented by, for example, making a CPU execute a program. The foreign object detection processing unit 105a receives information on the amount of power received from the electric vehicle 1 through communication via the communication unit 106 during power transmission, and determines whether there are foreign objects near the power transmission unit 103 based on the difference between the amount of power transmitted by the power transmission unit 103 and the amount of power received by the electric vehicle 1. If there is a foreign object, the foreign object will absorb part of the power transmitted by the contactless transmission, and accordingly, the amount of power received by the power receiving unit 31 will be reduced, so the foreign object can be detected by the above method. It should be noted that the ground equipment 100 can also use other foreign object detection units to detect foreign objects. As a foreign object detection unit, a composition for detecting foreign objects by the following various methods can be applied, such as detecting magnetic field changes caused by foreign objects, using captured images to perform image recognition of foreign objects, using ultrasonic radar or optical radar, etc. for detection, etc.

[0054] <Handling of abnormal history records during non-contact charging: Failure cases>

[0055] Figure 2It is a timing diagram showing the processing flow when non-contact charging is stopped due to a fault. If the control unit 41 receives the start instruction of non-contact charging based on the operation of the start button by the user, the control of non-contact charging is started through the cooperation between the control unit 41 and the power transmission control unit 105 of the ground equipment 100. During the start period T1, first, the control unit 41 performs the position alignment processing J11 of the electric vehicle 1. In the position alignment processing J11, the power transmission unit 103 is weakly excited, and the control unit 41 performs movement assistance for the electric vehicle 1 while measuring the electromotive force of the power receiving unit 31. The user can align the position of the power receiving unit 31 with the power transmission unit 103 by moving the electric vehicle 1 according to the movement assistance. Through the position alignment, the electromagnetic action of the weakly excited power transmission unit 103 is used to generate an electromotive force of a predetermined amount or more in the power receiving unit 31, and the control unit 41 can determine that the position alignment is completed based on the electromotive force.

[0056] In the start period T1, if the positioning process J11 is completed, the control unit 41 sends a power transmission request to the power transmission control unit 105 via the wireless communication of the communication units 33 and 106. If power transmission is possible, the power transmission control unit 105 returns a positive response. Then, the process is transferred to the regular process J12 for actually performing power transmission.

[0057] In the periodic processing J12, the control unit 41 calculates the appropriate charging power based on the state information of the main battery 11, and notifies the power request to the power transmission control unit 105. The power transmission control unit 105 drives the inverter 102 to transmit the requested power, and non-contactly transmits power from the power transmission unit 103 to the power reception unit 31. The transmitted power is rectified by the rectifier 32 and transmitted to the main battery 11 to charge the main battery 11. In the periodic processing J12, the power transmission control unit 105 activates the foreign object detection processing unit 105a and executes the foreign object detection processing J13.

[0058] If there is no malfunction or foreign matter is not detected, the above-mentioned periodic process J12 is repeated to perform non-contact charging of the main battery 11.

[0059] On the other hand, Figure 2 As shown in period T2, it is assumed that there is some fault, and the power transmission control unit 105 detects an abnormality in the device (processing J16). In this case, the power transmission control unit 105 stops the power transmission from the power transmission unit 103, and the power transmission from the power transmission unit 103 is reduced (or stopped), and the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 detects it as an abnormality in the received power (processing J31).

[0060] If the control unit 41 detects an abnormality in the received power (processing J31), the recording processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 waits for a predetermined time (processing J32). If there is no notification from the power transmission control unit 105 during this period, the abnormality history information related to the above abnormality is recorded in the abnormality history storage unit 41b (processing J33). The abnormality history information recorded here includes: a code indicating an abnormality in the received power during non-contact charging (such as DTC), and log data indicating the status of each part of the electric vehicle 1 for a predetermined time from the time when the abnormality is detected (such as FFD). Then, the non-contact charging process ends due to the abnormality.

[0061] When maintaining the electric vehicle 1, the maintenance personnel can read and analyze the abnormal history information to identify the abnormal stop of the non-contact charging, and further, can perform fault diagnosis of the electric vehicle 1 or the ground equipment 100 based on the abnormal history information. Then, the fault location can be determined based on the result of the fault diagnosis, and the bad condition can be eliminated by replacing parts, etc.

[0062] <Abnormal history processing during non-contact charging: When a foreign object is detected>

[0063] Figure 3 1 is a timing diagram showing the processing flow of the first example in which non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of foreign matter. After starting the processing of period T1, while non-contact charging of the main battery 11 is being performed by repeating the periodic processing J12, there is a case where a foreign matter enters the vicinity of the power transmission unit 103. In this case, as shown in period T2A, the power transmission control unit 105 detects the foreign matter (processing J21), and based on the detection of the foreign matter, the control of stopping power transmission is performed, and the power transmitted from the power transmission unit 103 to the power receiving unit 31 is reduced (or stopped).

[0064] If the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 detects an abnormality in the received power due to a decrease in the power received by the power receiving unit 31 (processing J31), the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 Figure 2 Similarly, the recording processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 performs a waiting process J32 for a predetermined time. Moreover, if a notification of a foreign object is issued from the power transmission control unit 105 during this period, Figure 2 Unlike the case of the abnormality, the recording processing unit 41a does not perform the recording processing of the abnormality history information (processing J33b). Therefore, in the case where the non-contact charging is stopped due to the detection of foreign matter, the abnormality history information is not recorded. Figure 2 Compared with the case of a fault, the amount of abnormal history information related to non-contact charging recorded in the abnormal history storage unit 41b is reduced. Since the amount of data is reduced, when the abnormal history information is read out using the reading function, the amount of abnormal history information related to non-contact charging read out is less than that of the fault. Figure 3The unrecorded case becomes more than Figure 2 The processing case is smaller (for example, the amount of data is zero).

[0065] <Abnormal history recording and processing during non-contact charging: When a foreign object is detected>

[0066] Figure 4 FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing a processing flow of a second example in which non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object. Figure 3 Similarly, when non-contact charging of the main battery 11 is being performed by repeating the periodic process J12, if a foreign object enters the vicinity of the power transmission unit 103, as shown in the period T2B, the power transmission control unit 105 detects the foreign object (processing J21) and performs control to stop power transmission. If the power transmitted to the power receiving unit 31 is reduced (or stopped) due to the power transmission stop control, the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 detects it as an abnormality in the received power (processing J31).

[0067] and Figure 2 and Figure 3 Similarly, based on the detection of an abnormality, the recording processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 executes a standby process J32 for a predetermined time. Moreover, if there is no notification of foreign matter from the power transmission control unit 105 during this period, the recording processing unit 41a executes a recording process J33 of abnormal history information. The abnormal history information recorded here includes a code indicating an abnormality in the received power during contactless charging, and log data indicating the status of each part of the electric vehicle 1 at a predetermined time from the detection of the abnormality. Furthermore, the recording processing unit 41a continues to perform a reception process of whether there is a notification of foreign matter from the power transmission control unit 105 within a predetermined time thereafter, and when a notification of foreign matter is received, a process J34 of deleting the abnormal history information recorded in the process J33 is executed. "Notification of foreign matter" is equivalent to an example of "notification of detection of foreign matter" of the present invention.

[0068] In the deletion process J34, the record processing unit 41a may keep the code indicating the abnormal content and delete only the log data indicating the status of each part of the electric vehicle 1, or delete both the code and the log data. In addition, in the configuration of deleting the log data, all the log data may be deleted, or part of the log data may be deleted. Figure 2 Compared with the case of a fault, the amount of abnormal history information related to non-contact charging recorded in the abnormal history storage unit 41b is reduced. Since the amount of data is reduced, when the abnormal history information is read out using the reading function, the amount of abnormal history information related to non-contact charging read out is reduced after a period of time. Figure 4 The treatment becomes better than Figure 2The handling case is smaller.

[0069] As described above, according to the electric vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, in the case where a foreign object notification is made after an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit 31, and in the case where a foreign object notification is not made, in the former case, the amount of abnormality history information related to the abnormality recorded in the abnormality history storage unit 41b is small. Specifically, in response to the foreign object notification, the abnormality history information ( Figure 3 ), or delete part or all of the abnormality history information temporarily recorded in the abnormality history storage unit 41b ( Figure 4 ). Therefore, in the case where power transmission is abnormal due to certain faults, a large amount of abnormal history information useful for fault diagnosis can be retained. On the other hand, in the case of abnormalities based on the detection of foreign objects, the abnormal history information is reduced to prevent a large amount of abnormal history information that is useless for fault diagnosis from being retained. Therefore, it is possible to suppress futile fault diagnosis based on abnormal history information of non-faults. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the recording of appropriate abnormal history information for abnormalities related to contactless charging.

[0070] Furthermore, according to the electric vehicle 1 of this embodiment, when the recording processing unit 41a deletes the abnormal history information, at least the log data is deleted. Therefore, a large amount of useless data is deleted, which can prevent the capacity of the abnormal history storage unit 41b from being consumed in large quantities due to useless information, and cause the recording of abnormal history information to be delayed when other faults occur.

[0071] (Variant 1)

[0072] In the electric vehicle 1 of the first modification, only the method of recording abnormality history information based on abnormalities during non-contact charging is different, and the other processes and other components are the same as those of the electric vehicle 1 of the first embodiment.

[0073] Figure 5It is a timing diagram showing the processing flow of variant example 1 in the case where non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of foreign matter. As in embodiment 1, when non-contact charging of the main battery 11 is being performed by repeating periodic processing J12, if a foreign object enters the vicinity of the power transmission unit 103, as shown in period T2C, the power transmission control unit 105 detects the foreign object (processing J21) and performs control to stop power transmission. If the power charged to the power receiving unit 31 is reduced (or stopped) based on the power transmission stop control, the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 detects it as an abnormality in the received power (processing J31). If an abnormality is detected, the recording processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 performs recording processing J36 of abnormality history information. The abnormality history information includes a code indicating an abnormality in the received power and log data indicating the status of each part of the electric vehicle 1 for a predetermined time from the time when the abnormality is detected. Then, the recording processing unit 41a waits for a predetermined standby time to determine whether a notification of the presence of a foreign object is received from the power transmission control unit 105 of the ground equipment 100. If no notification of the presence of a foreign object is received, the recording processing unit 41a ends the recording processing.

[0074] On the other hand, Figure 5 As shown in period T2C, if a notification C1 of the presence of a foreign object is received from the power transmission control unit 105 based on the detection of a foreign object, the control unit 41 first notifies the user's portable terminal via the telematics service communication unit 39 that an abnormal stop (unexpected stop) of contactless charging has occurred (processing J37). Then, if the notification of processing J37 is completed, the record processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 deletes the abnormal history information (processing J38). The deletion of information can be the deletion of only the log data, or the deletion of both the code and the log data. In variant example 1, since the record of the abnormal stop of contactless charging is retained in the user's portable terminal, all the codes and log data can be deleted in processing J38.

[0075] On the other hand, in the process J37, if the notification to the portable terminal is not completed due to a timeout caused by a communication failure, the recording processing unit 41a does not delete the abnormality history information in the process J38, or deletes less data than the case where the notification is completed. Then, the recording processing unit 41a ends the processing related to the recording of the abnormality history information.

[0076] As described above, according to the electric vehicle 1 of variant example 1, after detecting an abnormality in the received power based on the detection of a foreign object and recording the abnormal history information, a notification is made to the user's portable terminal, and when the notification to the portable terminal is completed, the recording processing unit 41a deletes the above-mentioned abnormal history information. Therefore, by notifying the portable terminal, it is possible to retain the history of the abnormality (notification of abnormal stop of non-contact charging) without using the capacity of the abnormal history storage unit 41b. Furthermore, when the history is retained in the portable terminal, the abnormal history information related to the above-mentioned abnormality is deleted from the abnormal history storage unit 41b, thereby suppressing the limited capacity of the abnormal history storage unit 41b from being consumed in large quantities due to abnormal history information that is useless for fault diagnosis.

[0077] (Variant 2)

[0078] In the electric vehicle 1 of the second modification, only a part of the method of recording abnormality history information based on abnormalities during non-contact charging is different, and the other processes and other components are the same as those of the electric vehicle 1 of the first embodiment or the first modification.

[0079] Figure 6 1 is a timing diagram showing the processing flow of Modification 2 when non-contact charging is stopped due to detection of a foreign object. As in Embodiment 1, when non-contact charging of the main battery 11 is being performed by repeating the periodic process J12, if the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1 detects an abnormality in the received power (process J31), since there is a possibility that a foreign object notification is received, the recording processing unit 41a executes a standby process J32 for a predetermined time.

[0080] Then, in the case where the notification of the presence of a foreign object is not received due to an abnormality caused by a malfunction or the like, in the second modification, after a predetermined time has passed, the abnormality history information recording process J33 (see Figure 2 ).

[0081] On the other hand, in Modification 2, Figure 6 As shown, when the power transmission stop control is performed due to reasons other than the detection of foreign matter, the power transmission control unit 105 of the ground equipment 100 sends this notification (for example, equipment abnormality notification) C2 to the control unit 41 of the electric vehicle 1. If the notification is received, the recording processing unit 41a of the control unit 41 ends the standby processing halfway even in the middle of the standby processing J32 of the predetermined time. Then, the recording processing unit 41a performs the recording processing J33 of the abnormality history information including the code and log data earlier than the completion of the standby processing J32.

[0082] As described above, according to the electric vehicle 1 of variant example 2, during the standby process J32 waiting for notification of foreign matter, when receiving the notification C2 of equipment abnormality, the standby process J32 is terminated midway, and the abnormal history information related to the above abnormality is recorded (processing J33). After the abnormality is detected, if the code representing the abnormal content is uncertain, it is uncertain which period of log data from the moment the abnormality is detected is included in the abnormal history information. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously obtain the log data representing the status of each part of the electric vehicle 1 until the code is determined. Then, when the code representing the abnormal content is determined, the log data corresponding to the period of the code is extracted and included in the abnormal history information. Therefore, if the period of uncertainty of the code from the detection of the abnormality is long, the temporary storage of the log data during this period becomes huge. Therefore, according to the electric vehicle 1 of variant example 2, when receiving the notification C2 of equipment abnormality, the standby process J32 is terminated midway and the recording process J33 of the abnormal history information related to the equipment abnormality is performed. Thus, the temporary storage amount of log data can be suppressed from becoming huge. Since temporary storage of log data also uses the limited capacity of the storage unit, by reducing the amount of data to be temporarily stored, it is possible to suppress a situation in which failure to record abnormality history information due to insufficient capacity occurs.

[0083] The above is an explanation of the embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the following example is shown in the above embodiments: when the non-contact charging is abnormal, the data amount of the abnormal history information recorded by the recording processing unit 41a when a foreign object notification is received becomes less than the data amount of the abnormal history information recorded by the recording processing unit 41a when no foreign object notification is received. However, the amount of data recorded can also be equal or opposite in size. Instead, as long as the abnormal history information (abnormal history information related to the abnormality of non-contact charging) is read out using a predetermined reading function, the amount of data read out is smaller when a foreign object notification is received than when no foreign object notification is received. For example, a structure for recording abnormal history information in the following manner can be adopted, that is, both the code and the log data are recorded in any case, but when reading, the log data is omitted in the case of receiving a foreign object notification, and the log data is included in the case of not receiving a foreign object notification. In more detail, if the abnormal history information is read out using the reading function of the diagnostic tool, all the abnormal history information recorded before is read out and displayed at a glance. Moreover, in the overview display, the data of a non-contact charging abnormality is focused on. When comparing the case where a foreign object notification is received with the case where a foreign object notification is not received, the data amount of the former case is smaller. According to such a structure, the maintenance personnel read the abnormal history information. When there is abnormal history information related to non-contact charging among multiple abnormal history information, if the abnormal history information is caused by the non-contact charging being stopped due to a fault, the amount of data read out contains a large amount of information, which is useful in finding the fault location. On the other hand, if the abnormal history information is based on the detection of a foreign object that causes the non-contact charging to be stopped, the amount of data read out does not contain a large amount of information. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of inefficient operations such as finding the fault location by considering various possibilities based on the abnormal history information when there is no fault location.

[0084] Furthermore, in the case where there are multiple reading functions for reading abnormal history information, when using all reading functions to read abnormal history information related to contactless charging, it is not necessary to meet the conditions related to the above data volume. That is, when using a predetermined one of the multiple reading functions to read abnormal history information related to contactless charging, the data volume satisfies the above conditions. As an example, it is assumed that the diagnostic tool includes: a reading function of the normal mode used by maintenance personnel, and a reading function of the R&D personnel mode used by the R&D personnel of the manufacturer. In this assumption, when abnormal history information is read using a reading function such as the R&D personnel mode, and there is abnormal history information related to contactless charging, all recorded information can be read in the case of receiving a foreign object notification and the case of not receiving a foreign object notification, and the data volume is the same or the latter case is more. On the other hand, when abnormal history information is read using the reading function of the normal mode, and there is abnormal history information related to contactless charging, in the case of receiving a foreign object notification and the case of not receiving a foreign object notification, the data volume read in the former case is smaller.

[0085] When abnormal history information (abnormal history information related to abnormalities in contactless charging) is read out using a predetermined reading function (e.g., normal mode), the recording processing unit 41a may be set to make part or all of the recorded abnormal history information unreadable using the predetermined reading function as a method of making the amount of data read out when a foreign object notification is received smaller than the amount of data read out when a foreign object notification is not received. Such a setting can be achieved in various ways, such as the recording processing unit 41a changing the attribute information of the corresponding abnormal history information to "cannot be read in normal mode (can only be read in R&D mode)", or moving the corresponding abnormal history information to an area that cannot be accessed by normal mode (an area that can only be accessed by R&D mode).

[0086] In addition, sometimes the following structure is adopted: when an abnormality occurs, for example, header information in a data format for recording abnormal history information is generated, and then the main data of the abnormal history information is recorded following the header information. Or, sometimes the following structure is adopted: when an abnormality occurs, for example, management data for managing each abnormal history information is generated, and the main data of the abnormal history information is recorded in association with the management data. In such a case, if the recording of the abnormal history information is omitted based on the notification of the presence of a foreign object, or the abnormal history information is deleted, sometimes the main data of the abnormal history information is not retained, and only the header information or the management data is retained. Moreover, if the reading function of the diagnostic tool does not correspond to such a data mode, a reading error will occur when the abnormal history information is read out. However, even in such a case, by adding attribute information of "normal mode cannot be read" to the area (or its header information or management data) of the abnormal history information that is omitted from recording or deleted, or moving it to an area that cannot be accessed in the normal mode, etc., the recording processing unit 41a performs processing that is set to be unreadable, thereby avoiding the generation of the above reading error.

[0087] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration in which the control unit 41 includes the recording processing unit 41a is described as an example, but the control unit 41 and the recording processing unit 41a may be configured as separate entities, and cooperate with each other through communication. In addition, the steps of the periodic processing J12 of non-contact charging, the method of notifying the user's portable terminal, and other details shown in the embodiment may be appropriately changed within the scope of the main purpose of the invention.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle, characterized in that: have: a main battery that stores electric power for traveling; a power receiving unit that receives power contactlessly from a power transmission device outside the vehicle; a communication unit capable of communicating with the power transmission device; a control unit that communicates with the power transmitting device to control power reception via the power receiving unit; and A recording processing unit records abnormality history information useful for fault diagnosis based on the occurrence of abnormality. Among them, the abnormal history information recorded by the recording processing unit when an abnormality occurs in power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit receives a notification of detection of a foreign object from the power transmitting device has a smaller amount of data when read by a predetermined reading function, compared with the abnormal history information recorded by the recording processing unit when an abnormality occurs in power transmission to the power receiving unit and the control unit does not receive a notification of detection of a foreign object from the power transmitting device.

2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: Even when an abnormality occurs in power transmission to the power receiving unit, the recording processing unit does not record part or all of the abnormality history information based on the occurrence of the abnormality based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object.

3. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The recording processing unit records abnormality history information based on occurrence of abnormality in power transmission to the power receiving unit, and then deletes part or all of the recorded abnormality history information based on the notification of detection of the foreign object.

4. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The recording processing unit is configured to, after recording abnormality history information based on the occurrence of an abnormality in power transmission to the power receiving unit, make it impossible to read part or all of the recorded abnormality history information using the predetermined reading function based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object.

5. The electric vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: The recording processing unit is configured to, after recording abnormality history information based on the occurrence of an abnormality in power transmission to the power receiving unit, make it impossible to read part or all of the recorded abnormality history information using the predetermined reading function based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object.

6. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: The recording processing unit is configured to, after recording abnormality history information based on the occurrence of an abnormality in power transmission to the power receiving unit, make it impossible to read part or all of the recorded abnormality history information using the predetermined reading function based on the notification of the detection of the foreign object.

7. The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The abnormality history information includes a code indicating the abnormality content and log data indicating the vehicle status at the time of the abnormality. The record processing unit is configured to at least delete or make unreadable the log data in the recorded abnormality history information.

8. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that: The electric vehicle further includes an information output unit capable of outputting information to a portable terminal. After the information output unit notifies the portable terminal that an abnormality has occurred in the contactless power transmission, the record processing unit deletes the recorded abnormality history information.

9. The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: After an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit, the control unit waits for a predetermined time to receive a notification of the detection of a foreign object, and when no notification of the detection of a foreign object is received, the recording processing unit performs recording of the abnormality history information. On the other hand, when the control unit receives a notification indicating an abnormality other than detection of a foreign object during the waiting period for the predetermined time, the recording processing unit executes recording of the abnormality history information before the predetermined time elapses.

10. The electric vehicle according to claim 7, characterized in that: After an abnormality occurs in the power transmission to the power receiving unit, the control unit waits for a predetermined time to receive a notification of the detection of a foreign object, and when no notification of the detection of a foreign object is received, the recording processing unit performs recording of the abnormality history information. On the other hand, when the control unit receives a notification indicating an abnormality other than detection of a foreign object during the waiting period for the predetermined time, the recording processing unit executes recording of the abnormality history information before the predetermined time elapses.

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