Electric vehicle warning system

Abstract

In a battery-electric vehicle that runs on electrical energy stored in a battery, the system notifies users outside the vehicle that the vehicle is in a READY-ON state when the hood is opened. [Solution] The notification device for an electric vehicle that runs on electrical energy stored in a battery comprises a detection unit that detects when the hood of the electric vehicle is open, a notification unit that notifies the outside of the electric vehicle of the information, and a control device that controls the operation of the notification unit based on the detection result of the detection unit. The control device is configured to notify the notification unit that the electric vehicle is in a READY-ON state, which indicates that the electric vehicle is ready to run, when the detection unit detects that the hood is open.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a notification device for an electric vehicle that runs on electric energy stored in a battery.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to an electric vehicle that enables an operator to recognize the activation of a radiator fan before activation even when the radiator fan is activated while the control system is operating.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to the electric vehicle notification device of this disclosure, when the hood is opened while the electric vehicle is in the READY-ON state, it is possible to notify users outside the vehicle that the vehicle is in the READY-ON state. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows an example of a routine executed by the control device of the electric vehicle in this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] Embodiment. 1. Configuration of the electric vehicle according to the embodiment Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. First, the configuration of the power system of the electric vehicle 100 will be described with reference to Figure 1.

[0011] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with an electric motor 10 as a power source for propulsion. The electric motor 10 is, for example, a three-phase AC motor. The output shaft of the electric motor 10 is connected to a drive shaft 16 at the rear of the vehicle via a transmission 12, a propeller shaft 14, and a gear mechanism (not shown). Drive wheels 18 are provided at both ends of the drive shaft 16. The drive wheels 18 may be the front wheels and the driven wheels 20 may be the rear wheels, or the drive wheels 18 may be the rear wheels and the driven wheels 20 may be the front wheels. Alternatively, all of the rear and front wheels may be drive wheels.

[0012] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with a battery 22 and an inverter (INV) 24. The battery 22 and the inverter 24 are connected by a power cable 26. The battery 22 stores electrical energy to drive the electric motor 10. In other words, the electric vehicle 100 is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that runs on the electrical energy stored in the battery 22. The inverter 24 is, for example, a voltage-type inverter that controls the torque of the electric motor 10 by PWM control.

[0013] Next, the configuration of the control system of the electric vehicle 100 will be described with reference to Figure 1. At the front of the electric vehicle 100, there is an openable and closable hood 30 that covers the top surface of the storage space where electrical components such as the electric motor 10 and inverter 24 are housed. The hood 30 can be opened, for example, when a user performs maintenance on the vehicle. The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with a hood open / close detection switch 32 that functions as a detection unit to detect when the hood 30 is open. There are no limitations on the type or arrangement of the hood open / close detection switch 32. The detection result from the hood open / close detection switch 32 is sent to a control device 40, which will be described later.

[0014] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with an operation display 34 as an interface with the user, an external speaker 36, and an external indicator lamp 38. The operation display 34 presents information to the user and accepts input from the user. The operation display 34 is equipped with, for example, a touch panel display. In this case, the operation display 34 displays information on the touch panel display and accepts input from the driver via touch operation on the touch panel display. In addition, the operation display 34 may be composed of a meter display, steering wheel switches, etc. The information accepted by the operation display 34 includes control necessity information indicating whether the external speaker control and external display control, which will be described later, are enabled or disabled.

[0015] The external speaker 36 functions as a notification unit that generates sound outside the vehicle compartment to inform users of information. The external indicator lamp 38 functions as a notification unit that illuminates a lamp located in a position visible from outside the vehicle compartment to inform users of information.

[0016] The electric vehicle 100 is equipped with a control device 40. Switches and controlled devices mounted on the electric vehicle 100 are connected to the control device 40 via an in-vehicle network such as a Controller Area Network (CAN).

[0017] The control device 40 is typically an electronic control unit (ECU). The control device 40 may be a combination of multiple ECUs. The control device 40 comprises at least a processing circuit 42 and a memory 44. The memory 44 includes a RAM for temporarily recording data and a ROM for storing a program 46 executable by the processing circuit 42 and various data 48 related to the program. The program 46 consists of multiple instructions. The processing circuit 42 reads the program 46 and data 48 from the memory 44 and executes them, and generates control signals based on signals acquired from each sensor.

[0018] The processing circuit 42 may be implemented to include at least one of a general-purpose processor, an application-specific processor, an integrated circuit, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a conventional circuit, and a combination thereof. The processing circuit 42 is hardware programmed to implement the functions described below, or hardware that performs the functions described below. The processing circuit 42 may include any hardware known to be programmed to implement the functions described below, or that performs the functions described below.

[0019] 2. Operation of the electric vehicle according to the embodiment In hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) equipped with engines, the engine can be started when the vehicle's hood is opened, thereby informing users outside the vehicle that it is in a READY-ON state, indicating that the vehicle is ready to drive. However, in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that do not have engines, it is not possible to determine from the outside whether the vehicle is in a READY-ON state. Therefore, a user who opens the hood 30 of an electric vehicle 100 for maintenance or other purposes may not be able to recognize that the vehicle is in a READY-ON state, even if it is, and there is a risk that the vehicle may be left in a READY-ON state for a long period of time.

[0020] Therefore, the electric vehicle 100 of the present embodiment is notified by a notification device including the above-described hood opening / closing detection switch 32, operation display 34, external speaker 36, external display lamp 38, and control device 40 that the hood 30 has been opened in the READY-ON state. Typically, when the hood 30 is opened in the READY-ON state, the control device 40 executes notification control to generate a control signal for notifying a user outside the vehicle that the vehicle is in the READY-ON state. The notification control includes external speaker control for generating a control signal for outputting a notification sound from the external speaker 36 and external display control for generating a control signal for lighting the external display lamp 38. In the external speaker control, the notification sound may be a voice message or a warning sound as long as it is a sound for notifying that the vehicle is in the READY-ON state. Also, in the external display control, the external display lamp 38 is not limited in terms of its type, lighting method, lighting pattern, etc., as long as it is configured to notify that the vehicle is in the READY-ON state by lighting.

[0021] Further, the control device 40 determines whether or not to perform the external speaker control and the external display control based on the control necessity information input to the operation display 34 by the user.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a routine executed by the control device of the electric vehicle of the present embodiment. In step 100, it is determined whether the electric vehicle 100 is in the READY-ON state. As a result, if the determination is not established, the process proceeds to step 102. In step 102, the execution of the external speaker control and the external display control is set to OFF respectively. Thereby, the notification control from the external speaker control and the external display lamp 38 is not performed and this routine ends.

[0023] If the determination in step 100 is successful, the process proceeds to step 104. In step 104, it is determined whether the hood opening / closing detection switch 32 has detected an open state. If the determination is unsuccessful, the process proceeds to step 102 described above; if the determination is successful, the process proceeds to step 106.

[0024] In step 106, it is determined whether external display control is enabled based on the control necessity information. If external display control is enabled, the process proceeds to step 108.

[0025] In step 108, it is determined whether external speaker control is enabled based on the control necessity information. If external display control is enabled as a result, the process proceeds to step 110. In step 110, external speaker control and external display control are turned ON, notification control is performed from the external speaker 36 and external display lamp 38, and this routine ends.

[0026] On the other hand, if external speaker control is disabled in step 108, the process proceeds to step 112. In step 112, external display control is turned ON, and external speaker control is turned OFF. As a result, notification control is performed only from the external display lamp 38, and this routine ends.

[0027] Furthermore, if the result of the determination in step 106 indicates that external display control is disabled, the process proceeds to step 114. In step 114, it is determined whether external speaker control is enabled based on the control necessity information. If the result indicates that external display control is enabled, the process proceeds to step 116. In step 116, the implementation of external speaker control is turned ON, and the implementation of external display control is turned OFF. As a result, notification control is performed only from the external speaker 36, and this routine terminates.

[0028] On the other hand, if external speaker control is disabled in step 114, the process proceeds to step 118. In step 118, both external display control and external speaker control are turned OFF. As a result, external speaker control and notification control from the external display lamp 38 are not performed, and this routine terminates.

[0029] As described above, the notification device for the electric vehicle 100 of this embodiment makes it possible to notify users outside the vehicle that the vehicle is in a READY-ON state when the hood 30 is opened while the electric vehicle 100 is in a READY-ON state. This prevents the vehicle from being left unattended for a long period of time with the hood 30 open while it remains in a READY-ON state. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 10 Electric motors, 22 Batteries, 24 Inverters, 30 Hoods, 32 Hood open / close detection switches, 34 Operation displays, 36 External speakers, 38 External indicator lights, 40 Control devices, 42 Processing circuits, 44 Memory, 100 Electric vehicles

Claims

[Claim 1] An alarm system for an electric vehicle that runs on electrical energy stored in a battery, A detection unit that detects that the hood of the electric vehicle is in the open state, A notification unit that transmits information to the outside of the aforementioned electric vehicle, The system includes a control device that controls the operation of the notification unit based on the detection result of the detection unit, When the control device is in a READY-ON state, indicating that the electric vehicle is ready to drive, and the detection unit detects that the hood is open, the notification unit notifies that the vehicle is in a READY-ON state. An electric vehicle warning system configured as follows.

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