Electric vehicles

Abstract

To enable, in an electric vehicle, large power transfer that cannot be achieved only with contact power feed.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: An electric vehicle (1) includes: a battery: a power transfer unit that can transfer power between a system power supply (21) and the power transfer unit so that discharge and charge of a battery are performed; a plug for performing the transfer by contact feeding; a coil for performing the transfer by non-contact feeding; and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug is sufficient for a request of discharge or charge from an aggregator and controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil when determining that the transfer is insufficient.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electric vehicles, such as HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles), PHEVs (Plug-in HEVs), and BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles), in which contact power supply and non-contact power supply are performed. [Background technology]

[0002] As this type of electric vehicle, one has been proposed in which wireless charging using power from a power grid is performed while on the road (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-193657 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a technical problem in that when power is exchanged between a system power source and a vehicle, if a sudden power shortage or excess occurs, it becomes difficult or impossible to quickly supply or consume power.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of, for example, the technical problems described above, and has an objective of providing an electric vehicle that enables the exchange of large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power supply alone or non-contact power supply alone, depending on the situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the electric vehicle of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a battery, an electric unit powered by power from the battery, a power transfer unit capable of transferring power to and from a grid power source to discharge and store power from the battery, a plug for performing the transfer using a contact power transfer method, a coil for performing the transfer using a contactless power transfer method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug will be sufficient to meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and if it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the electric vehicle of the present invention, the control unit determines whether or not a request for discharging or storing electricity from the aggregator can be met in time by transferring electricity via the plug, i.e., by contact power feeding. If it is determined that the request will not be met in time, the power transfer unit transfers electricity via both the plug and the coil, i.e., by both contact power feeding and contactless power feeding, under the control of the control unit. Thus, depending on the situation, i.e., whether the situation is such that contact power feeding will be sufficient or whether the situation requires both contact power feeding and contactless power feeding, it becomes possible to transfer large amounts of electricity that cannot be handled by contact power feeding.

[0008] Such advantageous effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle and a system power supply according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the electric vehicle of FIG. 1 together with a system power supply and an aggregator. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the electric vehicle of FIG. 1 together with functions of an aggregator. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a power supply operation according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The configuration of an electric vehicle according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 1 is configured to be able to exchange power with a system power source 21 by using a contact power supply / receiving unit 11b (for example, a socket or connection port at home or at a power supply station). Furthermore, the electric vehicle 1 is configured to be able to exchange power with the system power source 21 by using a non-contact power supply / receiving unit 12b (for example, a power supply coil installed at a power supply station or on a road). That is, the power supply / receiving unit 11b can be electrically connected to a plug (see FIG. 2) of the electric vehicle 1 described next by the contact power supply method, and the power supply / receiving unit 12b can be electrically connected to a coil (see FIG. 2) of the electric vehicle 1 described next by the non-contact power supply method. The electric vehicle 1 is constructed as an electric vehicle or an electric car having various functions such as automatic driving, semi-automatic driving, and driving assistance.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, more specifically, the electric vehicle 1 includes an electric unit 2, a battery 4, a control unit 5, a power transfer unit 10, a plug 11a, and a coil 12a. The aggregator 20 is configured to request the electric vehicle 1 to store or discharge electricity based on the power demand, power storage status, or power supply capacity of the electric vehicle 1 or a plurality of electric vehicles including the electric vehicle 1, and the power demand and power supply capacity of the power grid 21. In this embodiment, the power transfer between the power grid 21 and the electric vehicle 1 can be selectively performed as appropriate by one or both of a contact power supply method (e.g., a plug-in method) via the plug 11a and a non-contact power supply method (e.g., an electromagnetic induction method) using the coil 12a, as described in detail below. The plug 11a can be electrically connected to the power supply / receiving unit 11b (see FIG. 1) in a contact manner, and power transfer between the two is possible. The coil 12a can be electrically connected to a power supply / receiving unit 12b (see FIG. 1) in a non-contact manner, allowing power to be transmitted and received between the two.

[0013] The electric motor unit 2 includes various electric and electronic devices that are battery-powered, such as a motor generator, a control device for the motor generator, various in-vehicle devices, and electric and electronic devices for automatic driving. The electric motor unit 2 performs driving operations or running operations using the electric power of a battery 4 that receives and transmits electric power (i.e., stores or charges) between the battery 4 and a system power source 21 via a plug 11a or a coil 12a. Furthermore, the electric motor unit 2 is configured so that the battery 4 can store or charge electricity generated by the motor generator.

[0014] The battery 4 includes various types of secondary batteries (e.g., lithium ion batteries, lead storage batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries) that are already known or will be developed in the future, and may be configured to include a plurality of different or similar types of batteries, such as a main battery and an auxiliary battery. The battery 4 is capable of supplying or discharging power to the motorized unit 2 mainly for driving, and is further configured to supply or discharge power stored by power generation by the motorized unit 2 or power supply from a conventional power system 21 to or from the power system 21 via the power transfer unit 10, the plug 11a and the coil 12a, the power supply / receiving units 11b and 12b (see FIG. 1), and their wiring or electric wires.

[0015] The control unit 5 includes a processor, a memory, etc., and is configured to control the power transfer unit 10 having an electric / electronic switching element or device so as to switch between contact power supply via the plug 11a, contactless power supply via the coil 12a, or power supply via both the plug 11a and the coil 12a, depending on a charge or discharge request from the aggregator 20 and a determination result as will be described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0016] As shown in the functional block diagram of Fig. 3, the electric vehicle 1 and the aggregator 20 are accommodated on the Internet 50, and a plurality of electric vehicles (not shown) may also be accommodated on the Internet 50. The electric vehicle 1 has, in a control unit 5 (see Fig. 2), the following functional blocks: a contact or contactless determination unit 5a that determines whether contact power feeding or contactless power feeding is to be performed, a contactless power feeding control unit 5b that controls contactless power feeding in the power transfer unit 10 (see Fig. 2), the coil 12a, the system power supply 21, etc., and a contact power feeding control unit 5c that controls contact power feeding in the power transfer unit 10, the plug 11a (see Fig. 2), the electric wire 11c, the system power supply 21, etc.

[0017] On the other hand, the aggregator 20 has a supply and demand state specifying unit 20a as a functional block that specifies the supply and demand state of the electric vehicle 1 (or other electric vehicles in addition) and the grid power supply 21 based on information related to the power storage state and required output state of the battery 4 of the electric vehicle 1 received via the Internet 50 and information related to the power surplus state of the grid power supply 21. Furthermore, the aggregator 20 has an instruction content determining unit 20b as a functional block that determines the instruction content to the electric vehicle 1 (or other electric vehicles in addition) according to the supply and demand state of the electric vehicle 1, the grid power supply 21, etc. thus specified. Note that such an aggregator 20 may be constructed as one that controls a VPP (Virtual Power Plant).

[0018] Next, the power supply operation in the electric vehicle 1 and aggregator 20 configured as above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0019] In FIG. 4, on the electric vehicle side, the control unit 5 (see FIG. 2) or the like determines whether or not a power discharge or power storage instruction has been received from the aggregator side (step S11), and this determination is repeatedly executed as long as it is determined that no instruction has been received (step S11: No).

[0020] On the aggregator side, the demand state is identified by the supply and demand state identification unit 20a (see Figure 3) or the like, and it is determined whether or not power adjustment is necessary (step S21). As long as it is determined that power adjustment is not necessary, this determination is repeatedly made (step S21: No).

[0021] Here, when the aggregator determines that power adjustment is necessary (step S21: Yes), it dispatches, i.e., allocates, the required discharge or storage amount for each device (i.e., for each electric vehicle, for each storage battery constituting the battery of the electric vehicle, for each system power source, or for each VPP, etc.) (step S22). Furthermore, based on dispatch information indicating the contents of the dispatch determined in this way, a power discharge or storage instruction is sent to the electric vehicle via the Internet (step S23).

[0022] On the electric vehicle side, when it is determined that an instruction from the aggregator (step S23) has been received (step S11: Yes), it is determined whether or not the contact type alone is sufficient (step S12). This determination is made by the contact or non-contact determination unit 5a shown in FIG. 3. If it is determined that the contact type alone is sufficient (step S12: Yes), power supply is performed using only the contact type (step S13). That is, the user of the electric vehicle will supply power by interconnecting the plug 11a (see FIG. 2) and the power supply / receiving unit 11b at his / her home, a power supply station, or the like, as is, or in the near future.

[0023] On the other hand, on the electric vehicle side, if it is determined in step S12 that the contact type alone is not sufficient (step S12: No), the control unit 5 or the like further determines whether the efficiency of the non-contact type is greater than a predetermined value (step S14). That is, it is determined how appropriate the relative positions of the coil 12a (see Figs. 2 and 3) and the coil constituting the power supply / receiving unit 12b (see Fig. 1) are, typically whether the two coils face each other or directly face each other to an extent that power can be transmitted and received by the electromagnetic induction method, or whether the distance between the two coils is short. Note that the specific value of the predetermined value used here may be determined in advance by the manufacturer of the electric vehicle as a fixed value or a design value, or may be arbitrarily set by the user, or may be variably set by updating it appropriately by machine learning using AI.

[0024] If it is determined that the efficiency of the non-contact type is greater than a predetermined value (step S14: Yes), it is determined that the non-contact type is capable of sufficiently efficient power transfer, and power supply is performed using both the contact type and the non-contact type (step S15).

[0025] On the other hand, on the electric vehicle side, if it is determined in step S14 that the efficiency of non-contact is not greater than the predetermined value (step S14: No), the control unit 5 (see FIG. 2) determines that the current non-contact power supply is inefficient and cannot be ignored, and transmits the insufficient discharge amount or insufficient storage amount caused by the inability to use non-contact to the aggregator (step S16), and power supply is performed using only the contact type (step S17).

[0026] The aggregator determines whether or not a notification that the required discharge amount or the required power storage amount cannot be satisfied due to the inability to perform non-contact (step S16) has been received from the electric vehicle (step S31), and this determination is repeated unless a notification has been received (step S31: No). On the other hand, if it is determined that the notification has been received (step S31: Yes), re-dispatch is executed (step S32). That is, the required discharge amount or power storage amount is dispatched for each device (i.e., for each electric vehicle, for each storage battery constituting the battery of the electric vehicle, for each system power source, or for each VPP, etc.). Furthermore, based on dispatch information indicating the result of such re-dispatch, a power discharge or power storage instruction for the electric vehicle is sent to the electric vehicle via the Internet (step S33), and a series of processes is terminated.

[0027] As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit and receive a large amount of power that cannot be handled by contact power supply alone or non-contact power supply alone. In addition, it is possible to appropriately avoid non-contact power transmission using an inefficient coil.

[0028] Additional Notes The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment. [Appendix 1]

[0029] The electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 1 of the present invention includes a battery, an electric unit powered by power from the battery, a power transfer unit capable of transferring power to and from a grid power source to discharge and store power from the battery, a plug for performing the transfer by a contact power transfer method, a coil for performing the transfer by a contactless power transfer method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug will be sufficient in response to a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and when it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil.

[0030] According to the electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 1, the control unit determines whether or not the power transfer via the plug, i.e., contact power transfer, will be enough to meet the discharge or storage request from the aggregator. If it is determined that the power transfer will not be enough (i.e., there is a shortage or insufficient) in an emergency or when a large amount of power is urgently required, the power transfer unit transfers power via both the plug and the coil under the control of the control unit, i.e., by both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer. On the other hand, if it is determined that the power transfer will be enough, the power transfer unit transfers power via the plug under the control of the control unit, i.e., by the contact power transfer method. Thus, power transfer via contact power transfer, which has a higher power transfer efficiency than non-contact power transfer to a greater or lesser extent, is preferentially performed, and the power transfer efficiency or power transmission efficiency is improved overall. Therefore, depending on the situation, i.e., whether the contact power transfer will be enough or whether both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer are necessary, it is possible to transfer large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power transfer alone in an emergency, for example. [Appendix 2]

[0031] The electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 2 is an electric vehicle including a battery, an electric unit powered by power from the battery, a power transfer unit capable of transferring power to and from a grid power source to discharge and store power from the battery, a plug for performing the transfer by a contact power transfer method, a coil for performing the transfer by a contactless power transfer method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the coil will be sufficient in response to a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and when it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil.

[0032] According to the electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 2, the control unit determines whether or not the request for discharging or storing electricity from the aggregator will be met in time with the power transfer via the coil, i.e., non-contact power transfer. If it is determined that the request will not be met in time, for example, in an emergency or when a large amount of power is urgently required, the power transfer unit performs power transfer via both the plug and the coil, i.e., both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer, under the control of the control unit. On the other hand, if it is determined that the request will be met in time, the power transfer unit performs power transfer via the coil, i.e., non-contact power transfer, under the control of the control unit. Thus, power transfer via non-contact power transfer, which can be easier to operate than contact power transfer, is preferentially performed, and it is possible to create an environment that is convenient for the user, for example, by simply going to a non-contact power transfer position in automatic driving (i.e., the user does not need to insert the plug into the outlet). Therefore, depending on the situation, i.e., whether non-contact power supply is sufficient or whether both contact and non-contact power supply are necessary, it becomes possible to transmit and receive large amounts of power that cannot be handled by non-contact power supply alone, for example in emergencies. [Appendix 3]

[0033] The electric vehicle described in Appendix 3 is the electric vehicle described in Appendix 1, characterized in that, when it is determined that the transfer is not enough, the control unit further determines whether or not an efficiency of the transfer by the coil is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and when the efficiency is equal to or lower than the predetermined value, instead of controlling the transfer to be performed via both, the control unit requests the aggregator to re-dispatch the discharge or storage request.

[0034] According to the electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 3, it is possible to avoid inefficient coil-based power transfer, i.e., inefficient non-contact power transfer. This increases the possibility of reducing power loss caused by non-contact methods, which are generally less efficient than contact methods, even in an emergency or when a large amount of power is required.

[0035] The present invention can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention as can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and electric vehicles involving such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Electric vehicles 2...Electric part 4. Battery 5. Control section 10…Power transfer section 11a…Plug 12a…Coil 20…Aggregator 21…grid power supply

Claims

[Claim 1] A battery; an electric unit that is powered by the battery; a power transfer unit capable of transferring power between the battery and a power grid to discharge and store the battery; A plug for performing the power transfer by a contact power supply method; A coil for performing the power transfer in a non-contact manner; a control unit that determines whether the power transfer via the plug can meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and when it is determined that the power transfer will not be able to meet the request, controls the power transfer unit to perform the power transfer via both the plug and the coil; An electric vehicle comprising:

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