Charging system

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a charging system capable of detecting abnormalities of the charging system such as damage to a charging connector. This charging system is provided with: a charging device having a charging connector; an arm mechanism capable of gripping the charging connector; an imaging device provided on the arm mechanism; a mirror provided to the charging device or the arm mechanism; and an abnormality detection device that captures an image of the charging connector reflected on the mirror using an imaging device, and detects an abnormality of the charging connector using the captured image. This makes it possible to detect an abnormality of the charging system, such as damage to the charging connector.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a charging system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In Patent Document 1, a charging system is described in which, when a charging connector is inserted into a charging port of a vehicle, it is determined whether predetermined safety conditions such as whether the charging cable has not entered a charging area are satisfied.

[0003] PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

[0004] PATENT DOCUMENT

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-79759 SUMMARY

[0006] In the charging system described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to detect abnormalities of the charging system such as damage to the charging connector.

[0007] The present disclosure was achieved in view of the above-described problem, and aims to provide a charging system capable of detecting abnormalities of the charging system such as damage to the charging connector.

[0008] The present disclosure provides a charging system including: a charging device having a charging connector; an arm mechanism capable of gripping the charging connector; an imaging device provided to the arm mechanism; a mirror provided to the charging device or the arm mechanism; and an abnormality detection device that captures an image of the charging connector reflected in the mirror using the imaging device, and detects an abnormality of the charging connector using the captured image.

[0009] According to the charging system of the present disclosure, it is possible to detect abnormalities of the charging system such as damage to the charging connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a charging system of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a charging system of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of an abnormality detection process of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] (EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS)

[0014] 1: charger, 2: arm mechanism, 3: control device, 4: infrastructure equipment, 5: vehicle, 6: stand, 7: control panel, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51: control section, 12, 22, 32, 42, 52: communication section, 13: charging connector, 14: charging cable, 15: mirror, 23: camera, 43: sensor, 53: charging port, N: network. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Hereinafter, a charging system of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] [Structure]

[0017] First, the structure of the charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the appearance of the charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] The charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure is, for example, a system for simultaneously charging a plurality of vehicles using chargers provided in a site such as a parking lot, as shown in Figure 1 The charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure is, for example, a system for simultaneously charging a plurality of vehicles using chargers provided in a site such as a parking lot, as shown in

[0019] The charger (charging station, charging column) 1 is a device for supplying electric power to a vehicle 5 as a charging target. As shown in Figure 2 The charger 1 is provided on a stand 6, and is connected to a control panel 7. The control panel 7 is connected to, for example, a transformer device (power supply box) that performs voltage conversion on electric power from a power plant, and the like. The stand 6 is provided, for example, in a parking lot or the like where vehicles 5 can be parked in a concentrated manner. The stand 6 is not dependent on the type of the parking lot, and can be provided in any one of a flat parking lot, a mechanical multi-level parking lot, a self-propelled multi-level parking lot, and the like. In addition, on the stand 6, the charger 1, the arm mechanism 2, and the control panel 7 are arranged. In the present embodiment, two chargers 1 are provided on the stand 6, and are configured to be capable of simultaneously charging two or more vehicles 5.

[0020] ​In the case where the charger 1 is installed in the parking lot, it is installed in the rack unit. That is, the charger 1, the arm mechanism 2, and the control panel 7 are installed in the rack 6 in advance at a factory or the like, and after the adjustment of the operation of the arm mechanism 2 (robot demonstration), the alignment of the charger 1 and the arm mechanism 2, the wiring process, and the like are completed, each rack 6 is carried into the parking lot to be installed (for example, anchored and fixed). By thus installing in the rack unit, the degree of freedom of installation of the charger 1 and the arm mechanism 2 is improved, and the process cost can also be minimized.

[0021] Returning to Figure 1 The charger 1 is provided with a control section 11, a communication section 12, a charging connector 13, a charging cable 14, and a mirror 15 (refer to Figure 2 ).

[0022] The control section 11 includes, for example, a processor constituted by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like and a memory (main storage section) constituted by a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like. The control section 11 supplies electric power to the vehicle 5 as the charging target in accordance with an instruction from the control device 3.

[0023] The communication section 12 is constituted by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication, or the like. The communication section 12 exchanges information between, for example, the arm mechanism 2 and the control device 3 through communication via the network N.

[0024] The charging connector (charging gun, charging plug) 13 is a device for supplying electric power to the vehicle 5 as the charging target. The charging connector 13 is engaged to the side surface of the charger 1 at the time of non-charging. Also, the charging connector 13 is inserted into the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 while being gripped by the arm mechanism 2 of the fixed type at the time of starting charging to the vehicle 5. In this state, electric power is supplied from the charger 1 side to the vehicle 5 side via the charging connector 13. After that, after the completion of charging to the vehicle 5, the charging connector 13 is again gripped by the arm mechanism 2 and is engaged to the side surface of the charger 1 after being pulled out from the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5. In Figure 2 In the above-described embodiment, an example in which one charging connector 13 is provided for one charger 1 is shown, but a plurality of charging connectors 13 can be provided for one charger 1.

[0025] Returning to Figure 1The charging cable 14 is provided between the charging connector 13 and the charger 1 (charger main body). The charging cable 14 is configured in a length that enables the charging connector 13 to be inserted into the charging port 53 regardless of the position of the charging port 53 in the vehicle 5. Depending on the type of vehicle, there are cases where the charging port 53 is disposed at the left rear, the center front, the center rear, and the like of the vehicle 5. Therefore, the charging cable 14 is configured in a length that enables the charging connector 13 to be inserted regardless of where the charging port 53 is disposed at the left front, the left rear, the center front, the center rear, and the like of the vehicle 5.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the mirror 15 is provided on the outer surface of the charger 1 so as to be adjusted in position, size, and angle in a manner that reflects the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 being charged. In addition, in the present embodiment, the mirror 15 is provided on the charger 1, but the mirror 15 can also be provided on the arm mechanism 2. However, even in this case, the mirror 15 is adjusted in position, size, and angle in a manner that reflects the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 being charged. Figure 2

[0027] Returning to FIG. 1, the arm mechanism (automatic charging robot) 2 is a device for gripping the charging connector 13 when charging from the charger 1 to the vehicle 5. The arm mechanism 2 is provided and fixed to the stand 6. The arm mechanism 2 is provided with a control section 21, a communication section 22, and a camera 23. Figure 1 The control section 21 includes, for example, a processor constituted by a CPU or the like and a memory (main storage section) constituted by a RAM, a ROM, or the like. The control section 21 grips the charging connector 13, inserts the charging connector 13 into the charging port 53, and pulls the charging connector 13 out of the charging port 53 in accordance with instructions from the control device 3.

[0028] The control section 21 determines the position of the charging port 53 and the distance to the charging port 53 (the distance of the charging connector 13 and the charging port 53) from the image captured by the camera 23 provided at the front end of the arm mechanism 2, for example, when inserting the gripped charging connector 13 into the charging port 53. The shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 is standardized. Therefore, the position of the charging port 53 can be determined by pattern matching from the image of the charging port 53 captured by the camera 23. In addition, by using a 3D (three-dimensional) camera as the camera 23, information in the depth direction is obtained, so that the distance from the charging connector 13 gripped by the arm mechanism 2 to the charging port 53 can be determined.

[0029] The communication section 22 is constituted by, for example, a LAN interface board, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication, or the like. The communication section 22 exchanges information between, for example, the charger 1 and the control device 3 through communication via the network N.

[0030]

[0031] ​​The camera 23 is a device for imaging the charging port 53 and used at the time of the later-described abnormality detection processing. The camera 23 is provided at the front end of the arm mechanism 2 (arm mechanism main body). In addition, as the camera 23, a 3D camera capable of acquiring information in the depth direction is preferably used.

[0032] The control device 3 is a device for controlling the charger 1, the arm mechanism 2, and the plurality of vehicles 5, such as performing charging control of the charger 1, control of the movement of the arm mechanism 2, control of the infrastructure equipment 4, travel control of the vehicle 5, abnormality detection of the charging system such as the charging connector 13, and the like. The control device 3 is constituted, for example, by a general-purpose computer such as a workstation, a personal computer, or the like, or a server configured on a cloud, or the like. The control device 3 can also be configured with individual hardware according to the control object (charger 1, arm mechanism 2, infrastructure equipment 4, vehicle 5). In addition, the control device 3 can also be constituted by the control panel 7 in a function of performing charging control of the charger 1. The control device 3 functions as an abnormality detection device of the present application.

[0033] The control device 3 has a control section 31 and a communication section 32.

[0034] The control section 31 includes, for example, a processor constituted by a CPU or the like and a memory (main storage section) constituted by a RAM, a ROM, or the like. Hereinafter, the specific processing content of the control section 31 will be described.

[0035] The control section 31 performs travel control of the vehicle 5 on the basis of information (for example, position information of the vehicle 5 or the like) acquired from the infrastructure equipment 4. For example, the control section 31 receives a charging reservation of the vehicle 5 from a user (for example, a driver) of the vehicle 5. The charging reservation can be received on the basis of information input by the user to an information terminal (for example, a smartphone or the like connected to the network N) possessed by the user, or can be received on the basis of information input by the user to a vehicle-mounted terminal (for example, a vehicle navigation or the like connected to the network N).

[0036] When the charging order of the vehicle 5 approaches, the control section 31 causes the vehicle 5 to automatically travel from a parking space in which the vehicle 5 is parked to a waiting space and then automatically park, on the basis of the position information of the vehicle 5 or the like acquired from the infrastructure equipment 4. In this way, by causing the vehicle 5 to be a charging target to move to the waiting space in advance and wait, it is possible to minimize the replacement time of the vehicle 5 that is performing charging and improve the work efficiency of the charger 1.

[0037] Next, when the order to charge the vehicle 5 comes, the control section 31 causes the vehicle 5 to travel from the waiting space to the charging space Sp1 (refer to FIG. 1) and then park, on the basis of the position information of the vehicle 5 or the like acquired from the infrastructure equipment 4. Figure 2) automatically after automatic travel. Also, the control section 31 grips the charging connector 13 with the arm mechanism 2, inserts the charging connector 13 into the charging port 53, and starts charging with the charger 1.

[0038] Next, after charging of the vehicle 5 is completed, the control section 31 grips the charging connector 13 with the arm mechanism 2 again, and pulls out the charging connector 13 from the charging port 53. Next, the control section 31 automatically travels the vehicle 5 from the charging space Sp1 to the waiting space and automatically parks the vehicle 5 after that, using the position information of the vehicle 5 acquired from the infrastructure equipment 4.

[0039] The control section 31 parks the vehicle 5 so that the charging port 53 faces the side of the charger 1 when parking the vehicle 5 in the charging space Sp1. Also, the control section 31 charges two or more vehicles 5 at the same time using one arm mechanism 2. Thereby, the turnover rate of charging can be improved.

[0040] The communication section 32 is constituted by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication, or the like. The communication section 32 exchanges information between, for example, the charger 1, the arm mechanism 2, the infrastructure equipment 4, and the vehicle 5, through communication via the network N.

[0041] The infrastructure equipment 4 is, for example, equipment for realizing automatic travel and automatic parking using advanced parking (efficient parking support function) of the vehicle 5 in a parking lot. The infrastructure equipment 4 is disposed around the charging space Sp1 of the vehicle 5, around the waiting space of the vehicle 5, on a travel route of the vehicle 5 (both sides of the travel route, or the like), or the like.

[0042] The infrastructure equipment 4 is provided with a control section 41, a communication section 42, and a sensor 43.

[0043] The control section 41 is realized by, for example, a processor constituted by a CPU or the like and a memory (main storage section) constituted by a RAM, a ROM, or the like. The control section 41 transmits, for example, information relating to the position of the vehicle 5 detected with the sensor 43 to the control device 3.

[0044] The communication section 42 is constituted by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication, or the like. The communication section 42 exchanges information between, for example, the control device 3 and the vehicle 5, through communication via the network N.

[0045] The sensor 43 is constituted by, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), a video camera, or the like.

[0046] Vehicle 5 is, for example, an electric vehicle capable of generating its own power, such as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV). Vehicle 5 may also be an autonomous vehicle capable of driving without driver intervention. Furthermore, vehicle 5 may also possess automatic parking functions for automatic parking and assisted parking functions for assisted parking.

[0047] Vehicle 5 includes a control unit 51, a communication unit 52, and a charging port 53. Furthermore, in... Figure 1 The diagram only shows the structure necessary for the implementation of the power supply system in the embodiment of vehicle 5; other structures are omitted from the diagram.

[0048] The control unit 51 is, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU) whose main components are microcomputers consisting of CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. The control unit 51 controls the operation of various components of the vehicle 5 in an overall manner by executing various programs.

[0049] The control unit 51 performs automatic driving and automatic parking within a parking lot according to instructions from the control device 3. For example, if the user of vehicle 5 has scheduled to charge using charger 1, they drive vehicle 5 to a parking lot equipped with charger 1 and park in a parking space within the parking lot. After getting out of vehicle 5, the user opens the cover of charging port 54 (hereinafter referred to as "charging mask") and leaves the parking space.

[0050] When the charging sequence for vehicle 5 approaches, the control unit 51, following instructions from the control device 3, automatically moves vehicle 5 from the parking space to the waiting space and then automatically stops. Next, when the charging sequence for vehicle 5 arrives, the control unit 51, following instructions from the control device 3, automatically moves vehicle 5 from the waiting space to the charging space Sp1 and then automatically stops. Furthermore, the charging connector 13, gripped by the arm mechanism 2, is inserted into the charging port 53, and charging begins.

[0051] Next, after charging is complete, the arm mechanism 2 is used to pull the charging connector 13 out of the charging port 53. Then, following instructions from the control device 3, the control unit 51 causes the vehicle 5 to automatically move from the charging space Sp1 to the waiting space and then automatically stop.

[0052] The communication section 52 is constituted by, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module) or the like. The communication section 52 exchanges information between, for example, the charger 1, the arm mechanism 2, the control device 3, and the infrastructure equipment 4, through communication via the network N.

[0053] The charging port (charging socket) 53 is a device for accepting electric power supply from the charger 1. By inserting the charging connector 13 of the charger 1 into this charging port 53, electric power from the charger 1 is accumulated to the battery of the vehicle 5, which is not shown.

[0054] In the charging system having such a structure, by the control device 3, the abnormality detection processing shown below is executed, and an abnormality of the charging system such as damage of the charging connector 13 is detected. Hereinafter, the action of the control device 3 at the time of executing the abnormality detection processing will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 3

[0055] 〔Abnormality Detection Processing〕

[0056] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the abnormality detection processing of the embodiment of the present disclosure. The abnormality detection processing is started at the timing when the vehicle 5 as the charging target is parked in the charging space Sp1, and enters the processing of Step S1.

[0057] In the processing of Step S1, the control device 3 captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 5 as the charging target, using the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, and determines whether there is an obstacle in the surroundings of the vehicle 5, based on the captured image. When the result of the determination is that there is no obstacle in the surroundings of the vehicle 5 (Step S1: "Yes"), the control device 3 causes the abnormality detection processing to enter the processing of Step S2. On the other hand, when there is an obstacle in the surroundings of the vehicle 5 (Step S1: "No"), the control device 3 causes the abnormality detection processing to enter the processing of Step S8.

[0058] ​In the process of step S2, the control device 3 captures the image of the charging connector 13 reflected in the mirror 15 using the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, and determines whether the arm mechanism 2 is holding the charging connector 13 correctly based on the captured image. Specifically, the control device 3 stores the image of the charging connector 13 reflected in the mirror 15 at the normal time, and determines whether the arm mechanism 2 is holding the charging connector 13 correctly by performing pattern matching to compare the stored image and the captured image. The control device 3 can also detect the torque of each axis of the arm mechanism 2, and determine whether the arm mechanism 2 is holding the charging connector 13 correctly based on the detected torque. When the result of the determination is that the arm mechanism 2 is holding the charging connector 13 correctly (step S2: YES), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step S3. On the other hand, when the arm mechanism 2 is not holding the charging connector 13 correctly (step S2: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step S9.

[0059] In the process of step S3, the control device 3 determines whether the shape of the charging connector 13 is abnormal (clogging by a foreign object, bending of the identification number, etc.) based on the image captured in the process of step S2. Specifically, the control device 3 stores the image of the charging connector 13 reflected in the mirror 15 at the normal time, and determines whether the shape of the charging connector 13 is abnormal by performing pattern matching to compare the stored image and the captured image. When the result of the determination is that the shape of the charging connector 13 is not abnormal (step S3: YES), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step S4. On the other hand, when the shape of the charging connector 13 is abnormal (step S3: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step S10.

[0060] In the process of step S4, the control device 3 captures the image of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 to be charged using the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, and determines whether the cover of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 is open based on the captured image. When the result of the determination is that the cover of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 is open (step S4: YES), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step S5. On the other hand, when the cover of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 is not open (step S4: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection process to the process of step Sll.

[0061] In the processing of step S5, the control device 3 captures an image of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 as the charging target, using the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, and determines whether the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 can be recognized from the captured image without being affected by the conditions of the surrounding environment such as the condition of sunlight. In the case where the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 can be recognized (step S5: YES), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection processing to the processing of step S6. On the other hand, in the case where the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 cannot be recognized (step S5: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection processing to the processing of step S12.

[0062] In the processing of step S6, the control device 3 captures an image of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 as the charging target, using the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, and determines whether there is an abnormality in the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 from the captured image. In the case where there is no abnormality in the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 (step S6: YES), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection processing to the processing of step S7. On the other hand, in the case where there is an abnormality in the shape of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 (step S6: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection processing to the processing of step S13.

[0063] In the processing of step S7, the control device 3 determines whether the torque when the charging connector 13 is inserted into the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 and the torque when the charging connector 13 is pulled out of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 are within a normal range, using the torque sensor built into the arm mechanism 2. In the case where the torque is within the normal range (step S7: YES), the control device 3 ends the series of abnormality detection processing. On the other hand, in the case where the torque is not within the normal range (step S7: NO), the control device 3 advances the abnormality detection processing to the processing of step S14.

[0064] In the processing of step S8, the control device 3 turns ON an obstacle detection determination flag indicating that there is an obstacle in the surroundings of the vehicle 5, and reports that there is an obstacle in the surroundings of the vehicle 5. Thus, the processing of step S8 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processing ends.

[0065] In the processing of step S9, the control device 3 turns ON a charging connector holding abnormality determination flag indicating that the arm mechanism 2 does not properly hold the charging connector 13, and reports that the arm mechanism 2 does not properly hold the charging connector 13. Thus, the processing of step S9 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processing ends.

[0066] In the process of Step S10, the control device 3 makes the charging connector shape abnormality determination flag, which indicates that the shape of the charging connector 13 is abnormal, ON, and reports that the shape of the charging connector 13 is abnormal. Thus, the process of Step S10 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processes ends.

[0067] In the process of Step Sll, the control device 3 makes the charging port opening and closing abnormality determination flag, which indicates that the cover of the charging port 53 is not opened, ON, and reports that the cover of the charging port 53 is not opened. Thus, the process of Step Sll is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processes ends.

[0068] In the process of Step S12, the control device 3 makes the environment abnormality determination flag, which indicates that the shape of the charging port cannot be recognized due to an environmental factor, ON, and reports that the shape of the charging port cannot be recognized due to an environmental factor. Thus, the process of Step S12 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processes ends.

[0069] In the process of Step S13, the control device 3 makes the charging port shape abnormality determination flag, which indicates that the shape of the charging port 53 is abnormal, ON, and reports that the shape of the charging port 53 is abnormal. Thus, the process of Step S13 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processes ends.

[0070] In the process of Step S14, the control device 3 makes the torque abnormality determination flag, which indicates that the torque is abnormal, ON, and reports that the torque is abnormal. Thus, the process of Step S14 is completed, and the series of abnormality detection processes ends.

[0071] As is apparent from the above description, the charging system of the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided with the charger 1 having the charging connector 13, the arm mechanism 2 capable of gripping the charging connector 13, the camera 23 provided to the arm mechanism 2, the mirror 15 provided to the charger 1 or the arm mechanism 2, and the control device 3 that captures an image of the charging connector 13 reflected in the mirror 15 using the camera 23, and detects an abnormality of the charging connector 13 using the captured image. Thus, it is possible to detect an abnormality of the charging system such as damage of the charging connector 13.

[0072] In addition, in the embodiment, the control device 3 captures an image of the charging port 53 of the vehicle 5 reflected in the mirror 15 using the camera 23, and detects an abnormality of the charging port 53 using the captured image. Thus, it is also possible to detect an abnormality on the vehicle 5 side of the charging object.

[0073] In addition, in the embodiment, the control device 3 detects an abnormality of the charging connector 13 by comparing the image of the charging connector 13 captured using the camera 23 and an image of the charging connector 13 at normal times. Thus, it is possible to detect an abnormality of the charging connector 13 with high accuracy.

[0074] The above describes an embodiment of the application accomplished by the present inventor, but the present application is not limited to the description constituting a part of the disclosure of the present application of this embodiment and the drawings. For example, the control device 3 can also cause the camera 23 provided with the arm mechanism 2 to capture an image of the inside of the vehicle 5 that is parked in the charging space Sp1 without being charged, and control based on the captured image to perform an in-vehicle inspection, in-vehicle cleaning, or the like required in a shared car or the like. According to such processing, the camera 23 can be effectively utilized even during a period in which the vehicle 5 is not charged. In addition, in this way, other embodiments, examples, and application technologies and the like that a person skilled in the art or the like conceives based on this embodiment are all included in the scope of the present application with respect to the control device 3.

Claims

1. A charging system, comprising: a charging device having a charging connector; an arm mechanism capable of gripping the charging connector; a camera provided to the arm mechanism; a mirror provided to the charging device or the arm mechanism; and an abnormality detection device that captures an image of the charging connector reflected in the mirror using the camera, and detects an abnormality of the charging connector using the captured image.

2. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detection device captures an image of a charging port of a vehicle reflected in the mirror using the camera, and detects an abnormality of the charging port using the captured image.

3. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detection device captures an image of an interior of a vehicle that is not being charged by the charging device using the camera, and inspects the interior of the vehicle based on the captured image.

4. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detection device detects an abnormality of the charging connector by comparing an image of the charging connector captured using the camera and an image of the charging connector at a normal time. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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