electric vehicles

Abstract

This invention provides an electric vehicle that more appropriately responds when charging is interrupted by operating a switch on the cable connecting the charging device, which charges the onboard energy storage device, to an external power source. The electric vehicle includes a control device that controls the charging device when charging the energy storage device using power from an external power source, and calculates the remaining charging time required to fully charge the energy storage device based on the power supplied from the external power source. During charging of the energy storage device using power from an external power source while the charging device is connected to the external power source via the cable, if the control device receives a connection signal indicating a disconnection state through the operation of the connection switch, and upon detecting a connection between the vehicle-side connector and the cable-side connector, it continues to supply power before receiving the connection signal to calculate the remaining charging time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to electric vehicles, and more specifically, to electric vehicles equipped with a charging device that uses electricity from an external power source to charge an onboard energy storage device. Background Technology

[0002] Conventionally, electric vehicles have proposed charging schedules (e.g., see Patent Document 1) where, when charging an onboard energy storage device using electricity from an external power source, the charging current and charging time of the energy storage device are determined based on the necessary charge amount of the energy storage device and a predetermined charging end time specified by the user. In this electric vehicle, the charging schedule is determined based on a minimum charging current, which is the minimum charging current within the range of current that can be supplied from an external power source that can provide the necessary charge amount to the energy storage device within the rechargeable time from the current moment to the predetermined charging end time.

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-81324 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] In most of the aforementioned electric vehicles, the remaining charging time (until charging is complete) is calculated using power supplied from an external power source. Some electric vehicles use a cable to connect an external power source to an onboard charging device for charging the battery. In these cable systems, a relay is sometimes installed on the power line connecting the external power source's power line and the vehicle's power line (where the charging device is installed), and a switch is provided to interrupt the connection between the power source and vehicle power lines. In this case, if the power source and vehicle power lines are interrupted during charging using power from an external power source, even if the user does not disconnect the cable, the remaining charging time is cleared because the supplied power is zero. When charging restarts through another switching operation, it is treated as a new charging cycle, which can be inconvenient for the user.

[0008] The main objective of the electric vehicle of the present invention is to provide a more appropriate response when charging is interrupted by switching on the cable connecting the charging device that charges the on-board energy storage device to an external power source.

[0009] Technical solutions for solving the problem

[0010] The electric vehicle of the present invention employs the following technical means to achieve the aforementioned main objectives.

[0011] The electric vehicle of the present invention comprises:

[0012] A storage device; a charging device capable of charging the storage device using power from an external power source; a vehicle-side connector capable of connecting to a cable-side connector of a cable assembly that connects the external power source to the charging device; a connection detection device for detecting whether the vehicle-side connector is connected to the cable-side connector; and a control device for controlling the charging device when charging the storage device using power from an external power source, and calculating the remaining charging time required to fully charge the storage device based on the power supplied from the external power source, characterized in that...

[0013] The cable assembly has a connection switch that connects and disconnects the power line from the external power source to the charging device, and sends a connection signal indicating the connection status (connected or disconnected) to the control device.

[0014] When the control device receives a connection signal indicating a disconnection state during the charging process of the energy storage device using power from the external power source while the charging device is connected to the external power source via the cable device, and the connection detection device detects a connection between the vehicle-side connector and the cable-side connector, it maintains the power supplied before receiving the connection signal indicating a disconnection state to calculate the remaining charging time.

[0015] The electric vehicle of the present invention includes: a storage device; a charging device capable of charging the storage device using power from an external power source; a vehicle-side connector capable of connecting to a cable-side connector of a cable device that connects the external power source to the charging device; a connection detection device for detecting whether the vehicle-side connector and the cable-side connector are connected; and a control device that controls the charging device when charging the storage device using power from an external power source, and calculates the remaining charging time required to fully charge the storage device based on the power supplied from the external power source. The cable device has a connection switch that connects and disconnects the power line from the external power source to the charging device, and sends a connection signal indicating a connection state where the power line from the external power source to the charging device is connected and a disconnection state where the connection is disconnected to the charging device to the control device. If the control device receives a connection signal indicating a disconnection state during charging of the storage device using power from an external power source while the charging device is connected to the external power source via the cable device, and the connection detection device detects a connection between the vehicle-side connector and the cable-side connector, it calculates the remaining charging time based on the power supplied before receiving the connection signal indicating a disconnection state. The remaining charging time in this case is also maintained. Therefore, when the charging process resumes after the device is reconnected via the reconnection switch, the remaining charging time can continue to be calculated. As a result, when charging is interrupted by operating the connection switch of the cable connecting the charging device that charges the vehicle's energy storage device to the external power source, the system can respond more appropriately.

[0016] In the electric vehicle of the present invention, if the control device receives a connection signal indicating a disconnected state during the charging process of the energy storage device, and the connection detection device detects the disconnection of the connection between the vehicle-side connector and the cable-side connector, the supplied power can be cleared. This allows for a more appropriate clearing of the remaining charging time.

[0017] In the electric vehicle of the present invention, the control device may also notify the user of the remaining charging time. This allows the user to be notified of the remaining charging time. The notification can be displayed on a screen or output via voice. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram showing the structure of an electric vehicle 20 as an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram representing an example of a power conversion circuit 52.

[0020] Figure 3This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the remaining charging time calculation process performed by the electronic control unit 70. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Next, embodiments will be used to describe the methods for implementing the present invention.

[0022]

Example

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram showing the structure of an electric vehicle 20 as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment includes a motor 32, a converter 34, a battery 36, a boost converter 40, a high-voltage side power line 42, a low-voltage side power line 44, a system main relay 38, a charger 50, a charging power line 51, a vehicle-side connector 54, and an electronic control unit 70. A connector 254 for a commercial power supply 220 is connected to the vehicle-side connector 54 via a charging cable 120.

[0024] The electric motor 32 is configured as a synchronous generator motor, having a rotor with embedded permanent magnets and a stator wound with three-phase coils. The rotor of the electric motor 32 is connected to a drive shaft 26, which is connected to drive wheels 22a and 22b via a differential gear 24.

[0025] The converter 34 is connected to the motor 32 and to the high-voltage side power line 42. The converter 34 is configured as a known converter circuit with 6 transistors and 6 diodes.

[0026] Battery 36 is configured as, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery, and is connected to the low-voltage side power line 44.

[0027] The boost converter 40 is connected to the high-voltage side power line 42 and the low-voltage side power line 44, forming a known buck-boost converter circuit with two transistors, two diodes and a reactor.

[0028] A high-voltage side capacitor 46 is connected to the positive and negative busbars of the high-voltage side power line 42. A low-voltage side capacitor 48 is installed on the positive and negative busbars of the low-voltage side power line 44. A system main relay 38 is installed on the low-voltage side power line 44. The system main relay 38 includes: a positive side relay SMRB located on the positive busbar of the low-voltage side power line 44; a negative side relay SMRG located on the negative busbar of the low-voltage side power line 44; and a pre-charge circuit in which a pre-charge resistor R and a pre-charge relay SMRP are connected in series, bypassing the negative side relay SMRG. A DC / DC converter 82 is connected to the low-voltage side power line 44, which exchanges power between the converter, the auxiliary battery 86, and the auxiliary power line 84 (not shown) to which an auxiliary device is connected.

[0029] The charger 50 includes: a charging power line 51, one end of which is connected to the low-voltage side power line 44 near the main relay 38 of the system on the boost converter 40 side (motor 32 side), and the other end is connected to the vehicle-side inlet 54; and a power conversion circuit 52, installed on the charging power line 51. The power conversion circuit 52 is a known power conversion circuit that converts AC power from the commercial power supply 20 into DC power at a desired voltage capable of charging the battery 35. For example, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the power conversion circuit 52 can use the following circuit, which includes: a commercial power supply side AC / DC conversion circuit 52a that converts AC power from commercial power supply 220 into DC power of the desired voltage; a smoothing capacitor 52b; a DC / AC conversion circuit 52c that converts DC power into AC power; a transformer 52d; and a battery side AC / DC conversion circuit 52e that converts AC power into DC power.

[0030] In addition to the charging power line 51, the vehicle-side inlet 54 is connected to: a vehicle-side grounding wire 57 with one end grounded; a vehicle-side connection wire 58 with one end connected to the electronic control unit 70; a vehicle-side communication wire 60 with one end connected to the electronic control unit 70; and a cover signal wire 62, which is connected to a cover sensor 56 mounted on the vehicle-side inlet 54 and has its other end connected to the electronic control unit 70. The vehicle-side grounding wire 57 and the vehicle-side connection wire 58 are connected via a resistor. The cover sensor 56 is a sensor that detects whether the cover (cap) covering the vehicle-side inlet 54 is in an open or closed state.

[0031] With the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 connected to the vehicle-side socket 54 and the power connector 154b of the charging cable device 120 connected to the power-side connector 254 on the commercial power supply 220 side, the charger 50 charges the battery 36 with the power from the commercial power supply 220.

[0032] The charging cable assembly 120 includes: a cable electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as the cable ECU) 130, a power supply circuit 132, a control pilot circuit 134, a vehicle connector 154a, a power supply connector 154b, a cable-side power line 151, a charging relay 152 installed on the cable-side power line 151, a cable-side grounding wire 157, a cable-side connecting wire 158, a connection switch 158a, and a cable-side temperature detection wire 162. When the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable assembly 120 is connected to the vehicle-side socket 54 and the power supply connector 154b of the charging cable assembly 120 is connected to the power supply-side connector 254 on the commercial power supply 220 side, the charging power line 51 is connected to the power supply-side power line 251 of the commercial power supply 220 via the cable-side power line 151. Furthermore, the vehicle-side grounding wire 57 is connected to the cable-side grounding wire 157, the vehicle-side connecting wire 58 is connected to the cable-side connecting wire 158, and the vehicle-side communication wire 60 is connected to the cable-side communication wire 160. Additionally, the cable-side temperature detection wire 162 is connected to the power supply-side temperature detection wire 262, and the power supply-side temperature detection wire 262 is connected to the temperature sensor 256 installed on the power supply-side connector 254. When the power circuit 132 is connected to the cable-side power line 151, the power connector 154b of the charging cable device 120 is connected to the power supply-side connector 254 on the commercial power supply 220 side, and the cable-side power line 151 is connected to the power supply-side power line 251 of the commercial power supply 220, the AC power supplied from the commercial power supply 220 is converted to DC power of a specified voltage and supplied to the cable ECU 130, etc. The control pilot circuit 134 has an oscillation circuit (not shown), which changes the duty cycle by a control signal from the cable ECU 130 and outputs a transmission signal from the oscillation circuit to the cable-side communication wire 160. One end of the connection switch 158a is connected to the vehicle-side grounding wire 57, and the other end is connected to the cable-side connection wire 158 via a resistor. The cable-side connection wire 158 is connected to the vehicle-side connection wire 58, and the two ends of the connection switch 158a are connected via a resistor. The connection switch 158a is configured as a push-button switch that is disconnected when pressed near the vehicle connector 154a. The cable ECU 130 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU (not shown), and in addition to the CPU, it also has a ROM for storing processing programs, RAM for temporarily storing data, input / output ports, and communication ports. A cable-side temperature detection line 142 is connected to the cable ECU 130, and the power connector temperature is input from the temperature sensor 240 installed on the power connector 254. A signal from a leakage current detection circuit (not shown) installed on the cable-side power line 151 is also input to the cable ECU 130. A drive signal for the charging relay 152 is output from the cable ECU 130. In addition, the cable ECU 130 communicates with the control pilot circuit 134.The cable ECU 130 sends a control signal, which specifies the duty cycle of the charging current relative to the rated current, to the control pilot circuit 134 based on information received from the commercial power supply 220 (e.g., rated current, power connector temperature, etc.). The control pilot circuit 134 controls the duty cycle of the transmitted signal from the oscillation circuit based on the control signal received from the cable ECU 130 and transmits it to the electronic control unit 70 via the cable-side communication line 160 and the vehicle-side communication line 60. When the connection switch 158a is pressed and disconnected, the cable ECU 130 disconnects the charging relay 152 based on a signal from the electronic control unit 70 that detected the disconnection of the connection switch 158a.

[0033] The electronic control unit 70 is configured as a microprocessor centered on CPU 72. In addition to CPU 72, it also has ROM 74 for storing processing programs, RAM 76 for temporarily storing data, flash memory (not shown), input / output ports (not shown), and communication ports (not shown).

[0034] Signals from various sensors are input to the electronic control unit 70 via input ports. Examples of signals input to the electronic control unit 70 include, for instance, the rotational position θm from a rotational position detection sensor (e.g., a rotary transformer) 32a that detects the rotational position of the rotor of the motor 32, the voltage VB from a voltage sensor 36a mounted between the terminals of the battery 36, and the current IB from a current sensor 36b mounted between the output terminals of the battery 36. Additionally, examples include the voltage VH from the high-voltage side capacitor 46 (high-voltage side power line 42) of the voltage sensor 46a mounted between the terminals of the high-voltage side capacitor 46, and the voltage VL from the low-voltage side capacitor 48 (low-voltage side power line 44) of the voltage sensor 48a mounted between the terminals of the low-voltage side capacitor 48. The system also inputs the supply voltage Vin from the voltage sensor 51a installed on the charging power line 51, the charging voltage Vchg from the voltage sensor 51b, the charging current Ichg from the current sensor 51b, and the voltage from the voltage sensor that detects the inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing capacitor 52b within the power conversion device 52. Additionally, the electronic control unit 70's input port is connected to a vehicle-side connection line 58 connected to the vehicle-side connector 54, and a cover signal line 62 from the cover sensor 56 installed on the vehicle-side connector 54. Furthermore, since the electronic control unit 70 also functions as a vehicle drive control device, it also inputs information required for system startup and driving control. Examples of this information include, for instance, a start signal from the start switch 77, a shift position from a shift position sensor (detecting the operating position of a shift lever, not shown), an accelerator pedal position sensor (detecting the amount of accelerator pedal depressed, not shown), a brake pedal position from a brake pedal position sensor (detecting the amount of brake pedal depressed, not shown), and a vehicle speed from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown).

[0035] Various control signals are output from the electronic control unit 70 via the output port. Examples of signals output from the electronic control unit 70 include switching control signals to the transistors of the converter 34, switching control signals to the transistors of the boost converter 40, drive control signals to the system main relay 38, drive control signals to the charging relay 52, display signals to the display 78 of the instrument panel located in front of the driver's seat, illumination signals to the ready light 79, and switching control signals to the transistors of the DC / DC converter 82.

[0036] The electronic control unit 70 is connected to the cable-side communication line 160 via the communication line 60 connected to the communication port, and communicates with the control pilot circuit 134 of the charging cable assembly 120. The electronic control unit 70 calculates the rechargeable current Iin that can be supplied to charge the battery 36 from the commercial power supply 220 based on the duty cycle-controlled transmission signal from the control pilot circuit 134, and calculates the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin based on the rechargeable current Iin and the supply voltage Vin from the voltage sensor 51a. Furthermore, the electronic control unit 70 calculates the battery 36's state of charge (SOC) based on the cumulative value of the current Ib of the battery 36 from the current sensor 36b. The SOC is the percentage of electrical power that can be discharged from the battery 36 relative to the total capacity of the battery 36.

[0037] Next, the operation of the electric vehicle 20 configured in this embodiment will be described, particularly the operation when calculating the time required until the charging of the battery 36, which is being charged using power from the commercial power source 220, is completed (remaining charging time). Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the remaining charging time calculation process performed by the electronic control unit 70 during the charging of battery 36 using power from commercial power supply 220. This remaining charging time calculation process is performed when charging of battery 36 begins using power from commercial power supply 220, by connecting the vehicle connector 154a of charging cable assembly 120 to vehicle-side socket 54 and the power connector 154b of charging cable assembly 120 to power-side connector 254 on the commercial power supply 220 side.

[0038] If the remaining charging time calculation is performed, the electronic control unit 70 first determines whether a power outage has occurred on the commercial power supply 220 side (infrastructure side) (step S100). This determination can be made by checking whether power is being supplied to the power supply circuit 132.

[0039] If it is determined in step S100 that no power outage has occurred on the infrastructure side, it is then determined whether the user has pressed the connection switch 158a, causing the switch to open (step S110). When the connection switch 158a is pressed and the switch is open, as described above, the cable ECU 130 disconnects the charging relay 152. Furthermore, during normal charging, no user operation of the connection switch 158a is performed.

[0040] When it is determined in step S100 that no user has pressed the connection switch 158a (switch open), the supply voltage Vin from the voltage sensor 51a and the rechargeable current Iin based on the transmission signal from the control pilot circuit 134 are input (step S120). The rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin is calculated as the product of the supply voltage Vin and the rechargeable current Iin (step S130). Next, the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated by dividing the idle capacity of the battery 36 by the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin (step S160). The idle area of ​​the battery 36 can be calculated by multiplying the total capacity of the battery 36 by (100 - SOC) / 100. Then, a notification is given by displaying the remaining charging time Tchg on the display 78 (step S170), and it is determined whether the battery 36 is being charged (step S200). If it is determined that charging is in progress, the process of determining whether a power outage has occurred on the infrastructure side in step S100 is returned. When there is no power outage on the infrastructure side and no user operation on the connection switch 158a, steps S100 to S130, S160, S170, and S200 are repeatedly executed during the charging process. Furthermore, the determination of whether the battery 36 is charging can be made by determining the end of charging when the battery 36's state of charge (SOC) reaches 100%, the remaining charging time (Tchg) reaches 0, or the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 is released.

[0041] In step S110, if it is determined that the connection switch 158a is pressed and disconnected by the user during charging, it is determined whether the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 should continue or be disconnected (unplugged) (step S140). In the electronic control unit 70, such as Figure 1As shown, the voltage of the vehicle-side connection line 58 can determine whether the vehicle-side socket 54 is connected to the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 and the connection switch 158a is on, the vehicle-side socket 54 is connected to the vehicle connector 154a and the connection switch 158a is off, or the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a is disconnected. When it is determined that the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 continues, the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin before the operation of the connection switch 158a is maintained (step S150), and the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated using the maintained rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin (step S160). When the connection switch 158a is pressed and the switch is open, based on the signal from the electronic control unit 70 that detects this situation, the charging relay 152 is disconnected via the cable ECU 130. Therefore, the supply voltage Vin from the voltage sensor 51a is 0. When the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin is calculated using the supply voltage Vin with a value of 0, the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) is also 0, and the remaining charging time Tchg cannot be calculated. In this embodiment, even when the connection switch 158a is pressed and the switch is open, if the connection between the vehicle side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 continues, in order to continuously display the remaining charging time Tchg without discomfort until the switch is turned on again by operating the connection switch 158a or the like to restart charging, the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated based on the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin before the switch was turned off by operating the connection switch 158a. When the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated in this way, a notification is given by displaying the calculated remaining charging time Tchg on the display 78 (step S170). It is then determined whether charging of the battery 36 is in progress (step S200). If charging is determined to be in progress, the process returns to step S100 to determine whether a power outage has occurred on the infrastructure side. If no power outage has occurred on the infrastructure side, and the user operates the connection switch 158a to disconnect the switch, the process of steps S100, S110, S140 to S170, and S200 is repeated until the user operates the connection switch 158a again to reconnect the switch, or until the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a is disconnected (unplugged). Furthermore, since the idle capacity of the battery 36 and the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin before the switch is disconnected by the operation of the connection switch 158a are the same, the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated using the same value.

[0042] When it is determined in step S140 that the connection between the vehicle-side connector 54 and the vehicle connector 154a of the charging cable device 120 has been disconnected (unplugged), the held rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin is cleared to a value of 0 (step S180), the display of the remaining charging time Tchg is deactivated (step S190), and it is determined whether charging of the battery 36 is in progress (step S200). In this case, since the connection between the vehicle-side connector 54 and the vehicle connector 154a has been disconnected (unplugged), it is determined that charging has ended and is not in progress, so this process ends.

[0043] Furthermore, if a power outage is determined to have occurred on the infrastructure side in step S100, the calculated rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin is cleared to a value of 0 (step S180), the display of the remaining charging time Tchg is deactivated (step S190), and it is determined whether charging of battery 36 is in progress (step S200). In this case, it can be determined that charging is in progress or that charging has ended.

[0044] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, when the user presses the connection switch 158a to disconnect the switch during charging, the remaining charging time Tchg is calculated by maintaining the rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin before the switch was disconnected by the operation of the connection switch 158a while the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a continues. Therefore, by displaying the calculated remaining charging time Tchg on the display 78, the user can be notified, preventing discomfort caused by the display not showing the remaining charging time Tchg on the display 78. As a result, a more appropriate response can be taken when the user presses the connection switch 158a to disconnect the switch during charging.

[0045] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, when the user presses the connection switch 158a to disconnect the switch during charging, the connection between the vehicle-side socket 54 and the vehicle connector 154a is released (unplugged), the held rechargeable power (infrastructure power) Pin is cleared to a value of 0, and the display of the remaining charging time Tchg is deactivated. This suppresses the discomfort caused to the user by displaying the remaining charging time Tchg even after charging has ended.

[0046] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, a commercial power source 220 is connected to the vehicle-side socket 54 of the electric vehicle 20 using a charging cable device 120 for external charging. However, it is also possible to connect a connector on the external power source side to the vehicle-side socket 54 of the electric vehicle 20 for external charging without using the charging cable device 120.

[0047] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, a commercial power supply 220 that provides AC power is used as the external power source, but a DC power supply that provides DC power can also be used as the external power source. In this case, the charger 50 can be equipped with a circuit that converts the power from the external power source into power at the desired voltage, instead of the power conversion circuit 52.

[0048] In the electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment, a battery 36 is used as an energy storage device, but any device capable of storing electricity can be used, such as a capacitor. The electric vehicle 20 of this embodiment includes a boost converter 40, but it may or may not include one.

[0049] In this embodiment, it is an electric vehicle 20 equipped with an electric motor 32. However, it could also be a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine in addition to the electric motor 32, or a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell.

[0050] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the column for the technical means to solve the problem will be explained. In the embodiments, the battery 36 corresponds to the "energy storage device", the charging relay 52, the vehicle side inlet 54, etc., correspond to the "charger", and the electronic control unit 70 corresponds to the "control device".

[0051] Furthermore, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the "Technical Means for Solving the Problem" section is merely an example of how the embodiments are used to implement the invention described in the "Technical Means for Solving the Problem" section, and therefore does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Technical Means for Solving the Problem" section. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Technical Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiments are simply specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0052] The above examples illustrate the methods for implementing the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It can be implemented in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0053] Industrial availability

[0054] This invention can be applied to industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle, comprising: an electric storage device; a charging device capable of charging the electric storage device using electric power from an external power source; a vehicle-side connector capable of connecting with a cable-side connector of a cable device that connects the external power source to the charging device; a connection detection device that detects the presence or absence of connection of the vehicle-side connector with the cable-side connector; and a control device that controls the charging device when charging the electric storage device using electric power from an external power source, and calculates a remaining charging time required until the electric storage device is fully charged, according to supplied electric power supplied from the external power source, characterized in that: the cable device has a connection switch that performs connection and disconnection of a power line from the external power source to the charging device, and transmits a connection signal indicating a connected state in which the power line from the external power source to the charging device is connected and a connection-disconnected state in which the connection is disconnected, to the control device, the control device, in a case where the connection signal of the connection-disconnected state is received by the operation of the connection switch during a process in which the charging device is charged using electric power from the external power source in a state in which the charging device is connected to the external power source via the cable device, maintains the supplied electric power before the connection signal of the connection-disconnected state is received, to calculate the remaining charging time, when connection of the vehicle-side connector with the cable-side connector is detected by the connection detection device, and the control device, in a case where the connection signal of the connection-disconnected state is received during charging of the electric storage device, clears the supplied electric power when disconnection of the vehicle-side connector with the cable-side connector is detected by the connection detection device.

2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the control device notifies the remaining charging time. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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