Contactless charging system

Abstract

To provide a contactless charging system that can perform contactless charging of a vehicle even when the ground-side equipment is installed in a location where the vehicle's location information cannot be obtained. [Solution] The contactless charging system according to the present disclosure acquires vehicle location information, determines whether the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from a ground-side device that performs contactless charging of the vehicle based on the acquired location information, and activates a vehicle-side device for contactless charging if the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from the ground-side device. If vehicle location information cannot be acquired, the system includes means for determining whether the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed, and activating the vehicle-side device if the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a contactless charging system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, based on the vehicle position information obtained using GPS, it is determined whether the position of the vehicle is within a predetermined range from the ground-side device. When the position of the vehicle is within the predetermined range from the ground-side device, a contactless charging system that activates a vehicle-side device for contactless charging is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to such a contactless charging system, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the vehicle required for contactless charging of the vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a conventional contactless charging system, when a ground-side device is installed in a place where vehicle position information cannot be obtained, such as an underground parking lot, it is impossible to determine whether the position of the vehicle is within a predetermined range from the ground-side device. Therefore, the vehicle-side device cannot be activated, and contactless charging of the vehicle cannot be performed.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a contactless charging system capable of performing contactless charging of a vehicle even when a ground-side device is installed in a place where vehicle position information cannot be obtained.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The contactless charging system according to this disclosure is a contactless charging system that acquires vehicle location information, determines whether the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from a ground-side device that performs contactless charging of the vehicle based on the acquired location information, and activates a vehicle-side device for contactless charging if the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from the ground-side device, and if the vehicle's location information cannot be acquired, it includes means for determining whether the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, and activating the vehicle-side device if the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, contactless charging of a vehicle can be performed even if the ground-side equipment is installed in a location where the vehicle's location information cannot be obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a contactless charging system, which is one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the startup process flow according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The configuration and operation of a contactless charging system, which is one embodiment of this disclosure, will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a contactless charging system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The contactless charging system 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a ground-side device 2 and a vehicle 3. In this contactless charging system 1, the ground-side device 2 determines whether the relative position of the power transmission coil 11 and the power receiving coil 21 is in a position where the battery 22 of the vehicle 3 can be charged, and starts charging the battery 22 if the relative position is in a position where the battery 22 can be charged.

[0011] Ground-side equipment 2 is ground equipment that supplies power to the vehicle 3. For example, ground-side equipment 2 is installed in a parking lot of a commercial facility or a parking lot at home. Ground-side equipment 2 is equipped with a power supply device 10. The power supply device 10 is a device that transmits power to the vehicle 3 without contact. An AC power supply is connected to the power supply device 10. The AC power supply consists of commercial power or household power, etc., and supplies power to the power supply device 10. The power supply device 10 is equipped with a power transmission coil 11, a power transmission unit 12, a wall box 13, a power transmission ECU 14, and a communication device 15.

[0012] The power transmission coil 11 is a primary coil installed on the ground 4. The power transmission unit 12 is a device having the power transmission coil 11 and is installed on the ground 4 within the parking space together with the power transmission coil 11. The wall box 13 is installed near the parking space, for example, on the wall of the parking lot. The wall box 13 houses the power transmission ECU 14 and the communication device 15. The power transmission unit 12 and the wall box 13 are electrically connected. Power is supplied to the power transmission unit 12 from an AC power source.

[0013] The power transmission ECU 14 is an electronic control unit that controls the power supply device 10. The power transmission ECU 14 is equipped with a processor and memory. The processor consists of a CPU, etc. The memory consists of RAM, ROM, etc. Signals from various sensors are input to the power transmission ECU 14. The power transmission ECU 14 performs various controls based on the signals input from the various sensors. For example, the power transmission ECU 14 adjusts the power for transmission by controlling the switching elements included in the power conversion section of the power supply device 10. In addition, the power transmission ECU 14 can perform power transmission control using information acquired by the communication device 15. This power transmission control is wireless power transmission control to the vehicle 3.

[0014] The communication device 15 communicates wirelessly with the vehicle 3 parked in the parking space. The communication device 15 transmits information from the power transmission ECU 14 to the vehicle 3 and receives information transmitted from the vehicle 3. The communication device 15 can communicate wirelessly using, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or wireless LAN.

[0015] Vehicle 3 is an electric vehicle capable of being charged by contactlessly transmitted power from the ground-side device 2. Vehicle 3 can be composed of, for example, a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Vehicle 3 is a vehicle that can be parked in a parking space where a power transmission coil 11 is installed. Vehicle 3 is equipped with a power receiving device 20, a power receiving coil 21, a battery 22, a vehicle ECU 23, a communication device 24, a location information acquisition unit 25, and a display device 26.

[0016] The power receiving device 20 is equipped with a power receiving coil 21 installed under the vehicle body 3. The power receiving coil 21 receives power transmitted non-contactually from the power transmitting coil 11. The power receiving device 20 supplies the power received from the power supply device 10 to the battery 22. The power supply device 10 and the battery 22 are electrically connected.

[0017] Battery 22 is an on-board battery that can be charged externally. Battery 22 stores the power received by the power receiving device 20. Battery 22 is composed of secondary batteries that store the power supplied from the power receiving device 20.

[0018] The vehicle ECU 23 is an electronic control unit that controls the vehicle 3. The vehicle ECU 23 has the same hardware configuration as the power transmission ECU 14. The vehicle ECU 23 performs various vehicle controls based on signals input from various sensors such as the vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle 3 and information acquired through communication using the communication device 24. Vehicle control includes charge control, which stores power transmitted non-contactually from the power transmission unit 12 in the battery 22. Charge control is a control that transmits power non-contactually from the power transmission coil 11 to the power receiving coil 21, and stores the power received by the power receiving coil 21 in the battery 22.

[0019] The communication device 24 communicates wirelessly with external devices such as the ground-side device 2. When the vehicle 3 is performing contactless charging, the communication device 24 communicates wirelessly with the communication device 15 of the power supply device 10. The communication device 24 transmits information from the vehicle 3 to the power supply device 10 and receives information transmitted from the power supply device 10 to the vehicle 3.

[0020] The position information acquisition unit 25 acquires the position information of the vehicle 3 using GPS or the like, and outputs the acquired position information to the vehicle ECU 23. The display device 26 is constituted by a known display device such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays and outputs various information according to a control signal from the vehicle ECU 23.

[0021] In this non-contact charging system 1, non-contact charging from the power feeding device 10 to the vehicle 3 is performed in a state where wireless communication between the vehicle 3 and the power feeding device 10 is established. In a state where pairing between the vehicle 3 and the power feeding device 10 is performed by wireless communication, power is transmitted non-contact from the power transmission coil 11 on the ground side to the power reception coil 21 on the vehicle side. In the vehicle 3, control is performed to supply the power received by the power reception coil 21 to the battery 22.

[0022] In the non-contact charging system 1 having such a configuration, the vehicle ECU 23 executes the following startup process to reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 3 required for non-contact charging. Hereinafter, referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the vehicle ECU 23 when executing this startup process will be described.

[0023] 〔Startup Process〕 FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the startup process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The flowchart shown in FIG. 2 starts at the timing when the vehicle 3 approaches the ground side device 2 and starts searching for an access point for wireless communication with the communication device 15, and the startup process proceeds to the process of step S1.

[0024] In the process of step S1, the vehicle ECU 23 determines whether the position information acquisition unit 25 can acquire the position information of the vehicle 3. As a result of the determination, if the position information acquisition unit 25 can acquire the position information of the vehicle 3 (step S1: Yes), the vehicle ECU 23 advances the startup process to the process of step S2. On the other hand, if the position information acquisition unit 25 cannot acquire the position information of the vehicle 3 (step S1: No), the vehicle ECU 23 advances the startup process to the process of step S3.

[0025] In step S2, the vehicle ECU 23 determines whether the location of the vehicle 3 is near a pre-registered location of the ground-side device 2 by operating the display device 26, etc., based on the location information of the vehicle 3 acquired by the location information acquisition unit 25. If the determination shows that the location of the vehicle 3 is near a pre-registered location of the ground-side device 2 (step S2: Yes), the vehicle ECU 23 proceeds to step S4 for the startup process. On the other hand, if the location of the vehicle 3 is not near a pre-registered location of the ground-side device 2 (step S2: No), the vehicle ECU 23 executes step S2 again after a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0026] In step S3, the vehicle ECU 23 determines whether the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed. If the determination is made and the vehicle speed is below the predetermined speed (step S3: Yes), the vehicle ECU 23 proceeds to step S4 for the startup process. On the other hand, if the vehicle speed is not below the predetermined speed (step S3: No), the vehicle ECU 23 executes step S3 again after a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0027] In step S4, the vehicle ECU 23 activates the devices used for contactless charging, such as the power receiving device 20, the power receiving coil 21, and the communication device 24. This completes step S4, and the series of activation processes ends.

[0028] As described above, in the contactless charging system 1, which is one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the location information of the vehicle 3 cannot be obtained, the vehicle ECU 23 determines whether the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, and if the vehicle speed is below the predetermined vehicle speed, it activates the power receiving device 20, the power receiving coil 21, and the communication device 24, etc., which are used for contactless charging. This makes it possible to perform contactless charging of the vehicle 3 even if the ground-side device 2 is installed in a location where the location information of the vehicle 3 cannot be obtained.

[0029] Further effects and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art. Broader aspects of this disclosure are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments expressed and described above. Accordingly, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1. Contactless charging system 2. Ground-side equipment 3 vehicles 4 ground 10 Power supply device 11 Power transmission coil 12 Power Transmission Section 13 Wall Boxes 14 Power Transmission ECU 15. Communication equipment 20 Power receiving equipment 21 Power receiving coil 22 Batteries 23 Vehicle ECU 24 Communication equipment 25 Location information acquisition section 26 Display device

Claims

[Claim 1] A contactless charging system that acquires vehicle location information, determines whether the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from a ground-side device that performs contactless charging of the vehicle based on the acquired location information, and activates a vehicle-side device for contactless charging if the vehicle's location is within a predetermined range from the ground-side device, A contactless charging system comprising means for determining whether the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed if the vehicle's location information cannot be obtained, and for activating the vehicle-side device if the vehicle speed is below the predetermined speed.

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