Wireless power supply system, server and method for calculating usage fee for wireless power supply system

Abstract

To calculate a system usage fee without accurately grasping electricity usage amount in using a noncontact power supply system.SOLUTION: A noncontact power supply system 100 includes: a moving body 3; a ground power supply device 2 that is configured to be able to perform noncontact power supply to the moving body 3; and a server 1 that is configured to be able to communicate with each of the moving body 3 and the ground power supply device 2. The server 1 grasps the number of times the moving body 3 uses the ground power supply device 2, based on information received from at least either the moving body 3 or the ground power supply device 2; and calculates the fee for the use of the noncontact power supply system 100 by the moving body 3 based on the number of times of use.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a non-contact power supply system, a server, and a method for calculating a usage fee for the non-contact power supply system. Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless power supply system that transmits power wirelessly from a ground power supply device installed on the ground to a traveling vehicle using transmission methods such as magnetic field coupling (electromagnetic induction), electric field coupling, magnetic field resonant coupling (magnetic resonance), and electric field resonant coupling (electric field resonance). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-157686 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a contactless power transfer system, the amount of power transmitted by the ground power transfer device and the amount of power received by the vehicle do not match, so when trying to calculate the system usage fee when using a contactless power transfer system (the amount of money, points, tickets, etc., paid by the system user for system usage, including electricity charges) according to the amount of power used by the system user, there are problems such as whether the amount of power used should be the amount of transmitted power or the amount of received power, and there is also the problem that it is difficult to accurately grasp the amount of power used in the first place. Therefore, the problem arises as to how to calculate the system usage fee (electricity charges) when using a contactless power transfer system.

[0005] The present invention has been made with attention to such problems, and aims to make it possible to calculate the system usage fee when using a contactless power supply system without accurately knowing the amount of electricity used. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a contactless power supply system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a mobile body, a ground power supply device configured to be able to supply power to the mobile body contactlessly, and a server configured to be able to communicate with each of the mobile body and the ground power supply device. The server is configured to grasp the number of times the mobile body has used the ground power supply device based on information received from at least one of the mobile body and the ground power supply device, and to calculate a system usage fee for the contactless power supply system for the mobile body based on the number of times the mobile body has used the ground power supply device.

[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, a server includes a processor and a communication unit that communicates with each of a mobile object and a ground power supply device that configure the wireless power supply system. The processor is configured to grasp the number of times the mobile object uses the ground power supply device based on information received from at least one of the mobile object and the ground power supply device, and to calculate a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system for the mobile object based on the number of times the mobile object uses the ground power supply device.

[0008] In addition, a method for calculating a usage fee for a contactless power supply system according to one embodiment of the present invention is executed by a server capable of communicating with both a mobile body and a ground power supply device that performs contactless power supply to the mobile body, and includes a step of determining the number of times the mobile body uses the ground power supply device based on information received from at least one of the mobile body or the ground power supply device, and a step of calculating a system usage fee for the mobile body's contactless power supply system based on the number of times of use. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to these aspects of the present invention, the system usage fee can be calculated based on the number of times the ground power supply device is used, so that the system usage fee can be calculated even if it is not possible to accurately determine the amount of electricity used when the system is used. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a contactless power supply system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a ground power feeding device and a vehicle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the power transmission controller and devices connected to the power transmission controller. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vehicle controller and devices connected to the vehicle controller. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an operational sequence diagram illustrating a method for calculating a system usage fee according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an operational sequence diagram illustrating a method for calculating a system usage fee according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an operational sequence diagram illustrating a method for calculating a system usage fee according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the ground power supply device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, like elements are designated by like reference numerals.

[0012] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a contactless power supply system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The contactless power supply system 100 includes a server 1, a ground power supply device 2, and a vehicle 3, which is an example of a moving body, and is configured to be able to perform contactless power transmission from the ground power supply device 2 to a traveling or parked vehicle 3 that has obtained permission to use the system, by magnetic field resonant coupling (magnetic field resonance). Note that FIG. 1 shows an example of an installation example of the ground power supply devices 2, in which the ground power supply devices 2 are continuously set at predetermined intervals along a road. In the following description, the road on which the ground power supply devices 2 are installed will be referred to as an "electrified road" as necessary.

[0014] In this specification, the term "driving" refers to a state in which the vehicle 3 is positioned on a road for driving. Therefore, the term "driving" includes not only a state in which the vehicle 3 is actually driving at any speed greater than zero, but also a state in which the vehicle 3 is stopped on the road, for example, while waiting for a traffic light.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the server 1 includes a server communication unit 11, a server storage unit 12, and a server processing unit 13.

[0016] The server communication unit 11 has a communication interface circuit for connecting the server 1 to the network 6, and is configured to be able to communicate with each of the ground power supply device 2 and the vehicle 3 via the network 6.

[0017] The server storage unit 12 has a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used for processing by the server processing unit 13.

[0018] The server processing unit 13 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits. The server processing unit 13 executes various computer programs stored in the server storage unit 12 and centrally controls the overall operation of the server 1, and is, for example, a processor.

[0019] Next, configurations of the ground power supply device 2 and the vehicle 3 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configurations of the ground power supply device 2 and the vehicle 3 according to the present embodiment.

[0020] 2, the ground power supply device 2 includes a ground-side communication device 71, a power transmitting device 4, a power source 21, and a power transmission controller 22. The ground-side communication device 71, the power source 21, and the power transmission controller 22 may be embedded in the road, or may be located at a location other than the road (including on the ground).

[0021] The ground communication device 71 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 1 and the vehicle 3.

[0022] In this embodiment, the ground communication device 71 is configured to be able to connect to the network 6 via the wireless base station by accessing a wireless base station connected to the network 6 via a gateway or the like. This allows wide-area wireless communication between the ground communication device 71 and the server 1, and for example, various information required for contactless power supply to the vehicle 3 is exchanged. The wide-area wireless communication is a communication with a longer communication distance than the narrow-area wireless communication described later, and specifically, for example, a communication with a communication distance of 10 meters to 10 kilometers. As the wide-area wireless communication, various wireless communication with a long communication distance can be used, and for example, communication conforming to any communication standard such as 4G, LTE, 5G, WiMAX, etc. established by 3GPP and IEEE is used.

[0023] In this embodiment, the ground communication device 71 is configured to be able to directly perform short-range wireless communication with the vehicle communication device 72 mounted on the vehicle 3 by using a predetermined wireless communication line. The short-range wireless communication is communication with a shorter communication distance than the wide-area wireless communication, specifically, for example, communication with a communication distance of less than 10 meters. As the short-range wireless communication, various short-distance wireless communication with a short communication distance can be used, for example, communication conforming to any communication standard (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark)) established by IEEE, ISO, IEC, etc. is used. In addition, as a technology for performing the short-range wireless communication, for example, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), DSRC (dedicated Short Range Communication), etc. are used.

[0024] The power source 21 supplies power to the power transmission device 4. The power source 21 is, for example, a commercial AC power source that supplies single-phase AC power. Note that the power source 21 may be another AC power source that supplies three-phase AC power, or may be a DC power source such as a fuel cell.

[0025] The power transmission device 4 transmits the power supplied from the power source 21 to the vehicle 3. The power transmission device 4 has a power transmission side rectifier circuit 41, an inverter 42, and a power transmission side resonant circuit 43. In the power transmission device 4, the AC power supplied from the power source 21 is rectified in the power transmission side rectifier circuit 41 and converted into a DC current, and the DC current is converted into AC power in the inverter 42. The AC power is supplied to the power transmission side resonant circuit 43.

[0026] The power transmission side rectifier circuit 41 is electrically connected to the power source 21 and the inverter 42. The power transmission side rectifier circuit 41 rectifies AC power supplied from the power source 21 and converts it into DC power, and supplies the DC power to the inverter 42. The power transmission side rectifier circuit 41 is, for example, an AC / DC converter.

[0027] The inverter 42 is electrically connected to the power transmitting side rectifier circuit 41 and the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43. The inverter 42 converts the DC power supplied from the power transmitting side rectifier circuit 41 into AC power (high frequency power) having a higher frequency than the AC power of the power source 21, and supplies the high frequency power to the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43.

[0028] The power transmission side resonant circuit 43 has a resonator composed of a coil 44 and a capacitor 45. Various parameters of the coil 44 and the capacitor 45 (such as the outer diameter and inner diameter of the coil 44, the number of turns of the coil 44, and the capacitance of the capacitor 45) are determined so that the resonant frequency of the power transmission side resonant circuit 43 becomes a predetermined set value. The predetermined set value is, for example, 10 [kHz] to 100 [GHz], and is preferably 85 [kHz], which is determined by the SAE TIR J2954 standard as a frequency band for contactless power transmission.

[0029] The power transmitting side resonant circuit 43 is disposed in the center of a lane on which the vehicle 3 passes so that the center of the coil 44 is located in the center of the lane. When high frequency power supplied from the inverter 42 is applied to the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43, the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43 generates an AC magnetic field for power transmission. Note that when the power source 21 is a DC power source, the power transmitting side rectifier circuit 41 may be omitted.

[0030] The power transmission controller 22 performs various controls of the ground power supply device 2. For example, the power transmission controller 22 is electrically connected to an inverter 42 of the power transmission device 4, and controls the inverter 42 to control power transmission by the power transmission device 4. The power transmission controller 22 also communicates with the server 1 and the vehicle 3 via a ground-side communication device 71. Note that the power transmission controller 22 can directly communicate with the vehicle 3 via the ground-side communication device 71, or can indirectly communicate with the vehicle 3 via the server 1 from the ground-side communication device 71.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the power transmission controller 22 and devices connected to the power transmission controller 22. As shown in FIG.

[0032] The power transmission controller 22 includes a communication interface 221, a storage unit 222, and a power transmission processing unit 223. The communication interface 221, the storage unit 222, and the power transmission processing unit 223 are connected to each other via signal lines.

[0033] The communication interface 221 has an interface circuit for connecting the power transmission controller 22 to various devices (e.g., the inverter 42, the ground communication device 71, and a ground sensor 23 described later) constituting the ground power supply device 2. The power transmission controller 22 communicates with the various devices constituting the ground power supply device 2 via the communication interface 221.

[0034] The storage unit 222 has a storage medium such as an HDD, an SSD, an optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used for processing in the power transmission processing unit 223.

[0035] The power transmission processing unit 223 has one or more central processing units (CPUs) and their peripheral circuits. The power transmission processing unit 223 executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 222 and centrally controls the overall operation of the ground power supply device 2, and is, for example, a processor.

[0036] The ground side sensor 23 is connected to the power transmission controller 22. The ground side sensor 23 includes, for example, a power transmission device current sensor that detects a current flowing in various devices of the power transmission device 4 (particularly, the power transmission side resonant circuit 43, the inverter 42, and the power transmission side rectifier circuit 41), a power transmission device voltage sensor that detects a voltage applied to various devices of the power transmission device 4, a power transmission device temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the various devices of the power transmission device 4, a foreign object sensor that detects a foreign object on the road in which the power transmission device 4 is embedded, and a biological body sensor that detects a biological body on the road in which the power transmission device 4 is embedded. An output of the ground side sensor 23 is input to the power transmission controller 22.

[0037] 2, the vehicle 3 has a vehicle-side communication device 72, a power receiving device 5, a motor 31, a battery 32, a power control unit (PCU) 33, and a vehicle controller 34. The vehicle 3 according to this embodiment is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) powered only by the battery 32, but may be a so-called hybrid electric vehicle (HEV, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)) equipped with a power source such as an internal combustion engine in addition to the battery 32, and is not particularly limited in type.

[0038] The vehicle-side communication device 72 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 1 and the ground power supply device 2. In this embodiment, the vehicle-side communication device 72 is configured to be able to connect to the network 6 via the wireless base station by accessing a wireless base station connected to the network 6 via a gateway or the like. This allows wide-area wireless communication to be performed between the vehicle-side communication device 72 and the server 1.

[0039] Furthermore, the vehicle-side communication device 72 is configured to be able to directly perform short-range wireless communication with the ground-side communication device 71 of each ground power supply device 2 by using a predetermined wireless communication line.

[0040] The motor 31 is, for example, an AC synchronous motor, and functions as an electric motor and a generator. When functioning as an electric motor, the motor 31 is driven by electricity stored in a battery 32 as a power source. The output of the motor 31 is transmitted to the wheels 30 via a reduction gear and an axle. On the other hand, when the vehicle 3 decelerates, the motor 31 is driven by the rotation of the wheels 30, and functions as a generator to generate regenerative power.

[0041] The battery 32 is a rechargeable secondary battery, and is, for example, a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, or the like. The battery 32 stores the electric power required for the vehicle 3 to travel (for example, the driving power of the motor 31). When the electric power received by the power receiving device 5 is supplied to the battery 32, the battery 32 is charged. When the regenerative electric power generated by the motor 31 is supplied to the battery 32, the battery 32 is charged. When the battery 32 is charged, the charging rate (SOC: State Of Charge) of the battery 32 is restored. The battery 32 may also be chargeable by an external power source other than the ground power supply device 2 via a charging port provided in the vehicle 3.

[0042] The PCU 33 is electrically connected to the battery 32 and the motor 31. The PCU 33 has an inverter, a boost converter, and a DC / DC converter. The inverter converts DC power supplied from the battery 32 into AC power and supplies the AC power to the motor 31. Meanwhile, the inverter converts AC power (regenerative power) generated by the motor 31 into DC power and supplies the DC power to the battery 32. The boost converter boosts the voltage of the battery 32 as necessary when the power stored in the battery 32 is supplied to the motor 31. The DC / DC converter lowers the voltage of the battery 32 when the power stored in the battery 32 is supplied to electronic devices such as headlights.

[0043] The power receiving device 5 supplies the power received from the power transmitting device 4 to the battery 32. The power receiving device 5 includes a power receiving side resonant circuit 51, a power receiving side rectifier circuit 54, and a charging circuit 55.

[0044] The power receiving side resonant circuit 51 is disposed at the bottom of the vehicle 3 so as to reduce the distance from the road surface. The power receiving side resonant circuit 51 has a configuration similar to that of the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43, and has a resonator including a coil 52 and a capacitor 53. Various parameters of the coil 52 and the capacitor 53 (such as the outer diameter and inner diameter of the coil 52, the number of turns of the coil 52, and the capacitance of the capacitor 53) are determined so that the resonant frequency of the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 matches the resonant frequency of the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43. Note that if the deviation between the resonant frequency of the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 and the resonant frequency of the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43 is small, for example, if the resonant frequency of the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 is within a range of ±20% of the resonant frequency of the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43, the resonant frequency of the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 does not necessarily need to match the resonant frequency of the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43.

[0045] When the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 faces the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43 and an AC magnetic field is generated by the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43, the vibration of the AC magnetic field is transmitted to the power receiving side resonant circuit 51, which resonates at the same resonant frequency as the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43. As a result, an induced current flows in the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 due to electromagnetic induction, and an induced electromotive force is generated in the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 due to the induced current. In other words, the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43 transmits power to the power receiving side resonant circuit 51, and the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 receives power from the power transmitting side resonant circuit 43.

[0046] The power receiving side rectifier circuit 54 is electrically connected to the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 and the charging circuit 55. The power receiving side rectifier circuit 54 rectifies the AC power supplied from the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 and converts it into DC power, and supplies the DC power to the charging circuit 55. The power receiving side rectifier circuit 54 is, for example, an AC / DC converter.

[0047] The charging circuit 55 is electrically connected to the power receiving side rectifier circuit 54 and the battery 32. In particular, the charging circuit 55 is connected to the battery 32 via a relay 38. The charging circuit 55 converts the DC power supplied from the power receiving side rectifier circuit 54 to a voltage level of the battery 32 and supplies the converted power to the battery 32. When the power transmitted from the power transmitting device 4 is supplied to the battery 32 by the power receiving device 5, the battery 32 is charged. The charging circuit 55 is, for example, a DC / DC converter.

[0048] The vehicle controller 34 performs various controls of the vehicle 3. For example, the vehicle controller 34 is electrically connected to a charging circuit 55 of the power receiving device 5, and controls the charging circuit 55 to control charging of the battery 32 with power transmitted from the power transmitting device 4. The vehicle controller 34 is also electrically connected to the PCU 33, and controls the PCU 33 to control the exchange of power between the battery 32 and the motor 31. Furthermore, the vehicle controller 34 controls the vehicle-side communication device 72.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle controller 34 and devices connected to the vehicle controller 34. As shown in FIG.

[0050] The vehicle controller 34 includes a communication interface 341, a storage unit 342, and a vehicle processing unit 343. The communication interface 341, the storage unit 342, and the vehicle processing unit 343 are connected to each other via signal lines.

[0051] The communication interface 341 has an interface circuit for connecting the vehicle controller 34 to an in-vehicle network that complies with a standard such as CAN. The vehicle controller 34 communicates with other devices via the communication interface 341.

[0052] The storage unit 342 has a storage medium such as an HDD, SSD, optical recording medium, or semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used for processing in the vehicle processing unit 343.

[0053] The vehicle processing unit 343 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits. The vehicle processing unit 343 executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 342 and centrally controls the overall operation of the vehicle 3, and is, for example, a processor.

[0054] The vehicle 3 further includes a GNSS receiver 35, a storage device 36, a plurality of vehicle-side sensors 37, a relay 38, and an HMI device 39. The GNSS receiver 35, the storage device 36, the vehicle-side sensors 37, the relay 38, and the HMI device 39 are electrically connected to the vehicle controller 34 via an in-vehicle network.

[0055] The GNSS receiver 35 detects the current position (e.g., the latitude and longitude of the vehicle 3) of the vehicle 3 based on positioning information obtained from a plurality of (e.g., three or more) positioning satellites. The output of the GNSS receiver 35, i.e., the current position of the vehicle 3 detected by the GNSS receiver 35, is transmitted to the vehicle controller 34.

[0056] The storage device 36 stores data. The storage device 36 includes, for example, an HDD, an SSD (Solid State Drive), or an optical recording medium. In this embodiment, the storage device 36 stores map information. The map information includes information about the installation position of the ground power supply device 2, in addition to information about roads. The vehicle controller 34 acquires the map information from the storage device 36. Note that the storage device 36 does not necessarily need to include the map information. In this case, the vehicle controller 34 may acquire the map information from outside the vehicle 3 (for example, the server 1) via the vehicle-side communication device 72.

[0057] The vehicle-side sensor 37 detects the state of the vehicle 3. In this embodiment, the vehicle-side sensor 37 includes, as sensors for detecting the state of the vehicle 3, a speed sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle 3, a battery temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the battery 32, a power receiving device temperature sensor for detecting the temperatures of various devices of the power receiving device 5 (particularly, the power receiving side resonant circuit 51 and the power receiving side rectifier circuit 54), a battery current sensor for detecting the charging current value and the discharging current value of the battery 32, a power receiving device current sensor for detecting the current flowing through the various devices of the power receiving device 5, and a power receiving device voltage sensor for detecting the voltage applied to the various devices of the power receiving device 5. The output of the vehicle-side sensor 37 is input to the vehicle controller 34.

[0058] The relay 38 is disposed between the battery 32 and the power receiving device 5, and connects / disconnects the battery 32 and the power receiving device 5. When the relay 38 is connected, the power received by the power receiving device 5 is supplied to the battery 32. However, when the relay 38 is disconnected, no current flows from the power receiving device 5 to the battery 32, and therefore the power receiving device 5 is substantially unable to receive power.

[0059] The HMI device 39 is an interface for exchanging information with a vehicle occupant. The HMI device 39 according to this embodiment includes a display and a speaker for providing various information to the vehicle occupant, and a touch panel (or operation buttons) for the vehicle occupant to input information. The HMI device 39 transmits input information input by the vehicle occupant via an in-vehicle network to various devices (e.g., the vehicle controller 34) that require the input information, and also provides the information received via the in-vehicle network to the vehicle occupant by displaying it on a display, for example.

[0060] However, in the contactless power supply system 100, the amount of power transmitted on the ground power supply device side and the amount of power received on the vehicle side do not match, so if a system usage fee (including electricity charges, the amount of money, points, number of tickets, etc., paid by the system user for system usage) is to be calculated according to the amount of power used by the system user, there is a problem as to whether the amount of power used should be the amount of transmitted power or the amount of received power, and there is also a problem that it is difficult to accurately grasp the amount of transmitted power or the amount of received power in the first place. Therefore, the problem is how to calculate the system usage fee when the contactless power supply system 100 is used.

[0061] If the system usage fee were calculated according to the amount of power transmitted to the vehicle 3, the following problem would occur. That is, the amount of power received by the vehicle 3 would be less than the amount of power transmitted depending on the transmission efficiency when power is transmitted contactlessly from the ground power supply device 2 to a traveling vehicle. Therefore, if the system usage fee were calculated according to the amount of power transmitted to the vehicle 3, the system user would always be charged a fee equivalent to an amount of power that is greater than the amount of power received.

[0062] Furthermore, if the system usage fee were calculated according to the amount of power received by the vehicle 3, the following problem would arise. That is, the transmission efficiency when transmitting power contactlessly from the ground power supply device 2 to a traveling vehicle is not necessarily constant, and varies depending on, for example, the state of the power receiving device 5 mounted on the vehicle 3 and the traveling line of the vehicle 3. Specifically, if the performance of the power receiving device 5 has deteriorated due to aging, or if the vehicle is traveling on an inappropriate traveling line, such as traveling not in the center of the lane but off to the left or right of the center of the lane, the transmission efficiency will be lower than usual.

[0063] Therefore, if the system usage fee is calculated according to the amount of power received by the vehicle 3, even if the transmission efficiency is lower than normal due to reasons on the vehicle side, and as a result the ratio of the amount of power received to the amount of power transmitted is lower than normal, only the system usage fee calculated according to the amount of power received can be charged. In this way, it is not appropriate to only charge the system usage fee according to the amount of power received, even if the transmission efficiency is lower than normal due to reasons on the vehicle side.

[0064] Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of times the ground power supply device 2 and, in turn, the wireless power supply system 100 are used by the vehicle 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "system usage count") is calculated based on the number of times the ground power supply device 2 is operated and power is transmitted to the vehicle 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "power transmission count number"), and the system usage fee is calculated based on the number of system usages.

[0065] FIG. 5 is an operational sequence diagram illustrating a method for calculating a system usage fee according to this embodiment.

[0066] In step S1, the vehicle controller 34 determines whether or not the vehicle 3 (host vehicle) on which the vehicle controller 34 is mounted has requested contactless power feeding. If the host vehicle 3 has requested contactless power feeding, the vehicle controller 34 proceeds to processing in step S2. On the other hand, if the host vehicle 3 has not requested contactless power feeding, the vehicle controller 34 ends the processing. In this embodiment, the vehicle occupant can manually switch between the presence and absence of a request for contactless power feeding via the HMI device 39, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the presence and absence of a request for contactless power feeding may be automatically switched depending on the charging rate of the battery 32, for example.

[0067] In step S2, the vehicle controller 34 establishes a communication connection with the server 1 by, for example, performing a three-way handshake, and then transmits a usage request signal for the contactless power supply system 100 to the server 1. This usage request signal includes, for example, various information (such as authentication information) required to use the contactless power supply system 100.

[0068] In step S3, the server 1 confirms, based on authentication information, etc., whether the vehicle 3 that sent the usage request signal has the authority to use the contactless power supply system 100, and transmits an encryption key for decrypting the encrypted system usage ticket, which will be described later, to the vehicle 3 for which such confirmation has been obtained.

[0069] In step S4, the vehicle controller 34 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed a checkpoint that is set at a point before the electrified road section. If the vehicle has passed the checkpoint, the vehicle controller 34 proceeds to processing in step S5. On the other hand, if the vehicle has not passed the checkpoint, the vehicle controller 34 determines again after a predetermined time has elapsed whether or not the vehicle has passed the checkpoint.

[0070] For example, if a gate is installed at a checkpoint, the vehicle controller 34 can determine whether or not the checkpoint has been passed by receiving a signal generated from the gate. At that time, the vehicle controller 34 can receive information about the checkpoint, including the position information of the checkpoint, from the gate. Also, for example, if the information about the checkpoint is included in the map information in the storage device 36 or if the information about the checkpoint can be received from the server 1, it can also determine whether or not the checkpoint has been passed based on the position information of the vehicle 3 and the position information of the checkpoint. In this way, the method of determining whether or not the checkpoint has been passed is not particularly limited.

[0071] In this embodiment, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the checkpoint has been passed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be determined, for example, whether or not the checkpoint has been approached.

[0072] For example, if a device that transmits a signal to vehicles 3 located within a certain range based on the checkpoint is provided at the checkpoint, the vehicle controller 34 can determine whether or not the checkpoint is approached by receiving a signal generated from the device, or, without being limited to this, can also determine based on the position information of the vehicle 3 and the position information of the checkpoint. For example, if a road section in a predetermined range where waiting at a traffic light occurs is an electrified road section so that wireless power can be supplied to vehicles waiting at the traffic light, the certain range based on the checkpoint can be a part of the road section before entering the electrified road section.

[0073] In step S5, the vehicle controller 34 transmits to the server 1 a request for issuing a system usage ticket, which is a virtual ticket for using the contactless power supply system 100, together with the identification information of the vehicle itself and information regarding the checkpoint that has been passed.

[0074] In step S6, when the server 1 receives a request to issue a system usage ticket, it identifies the vehicle 3 that made the issuance request based on the identification information, and issues a first ticket, which is a system usage ticket to be sent to the identified vehicle 3 that made the issuance request and is a unique system usage ticket prepared for each vehicle 3 that has the authority to use the contactless power supply system 100, and a second ticket, which is a system usage ticket corresponding to the first ticket and is to be sent to the ground power supply device 2.

[0075] In step S7, the server 1 transmits the encrypted first ticket to the vehicle 3 that has requested the issuance of the system usage ticket, and transmits the second ticket to each ground power supply device 2 associated with the checkpoint. The ground power supply device 2 associated with the checkpoint refers to the ground power supply device 2 installed in the electrified road section on which the vehicle 3 that has passed the checkpoint will travel, and the server storage unit 12 of the server 1 according to this embodiment prestores for each checkpoint the ground power supply device 2 associated with that checkpoint.

[0076] In step S8, the vehicle controller 34 decrypts the received first ticket using the encryption key, and starts periodic and direct transmission of the decrypted first ticket to the ground power supply device 2 by short-range wireless communication via the vehicle-side communication device 72, and controls the power receiving device 5 so that the vehicle 3 can receive power when it travels over the ground power supply device 2.

[0077] In step S9, when the power transmission controller 22 of the ground power supply device 2 receives the first ticket with a communication strength (received signal strength) equal to or greater than a predetermined level, the power transmission controller 22 determines whether or not a second ticket corresponding to the received first ticket has already been received from the server 1, that is, whether or not the power transmission controller 22 possesses a second ticket corresponding to the received first ticket. If the power transmission controller 22 possesses a second ticket corresponding to the first ticket, the power transmission controller 22 proceeds to processing in step S10. On the other hand, if the ground power supply device 2 does not possess a second ticket corresponding to the first ticket, the power transmission controller 22 proceeds to processing in step S11.

[0078] In step S10, the power transmission controller 22 of the ground power supply device 2 determines that the vehicle 3 that will soon be traveling or parked on the device is a power transmission-permitted vehicle that has obtained permission to use the system, and controls the power transmission device 4 so that power can be transmitted when the vehicle 3 travels or is parked on the device.

[0079] In step S11, the power transmission controller 22 of the ground power supply device 2 determines that the vehicle 3 that is about to run or park on the device is a vehicle that is not permitted to transmit power and has not been granted permission to use the system, and controls the power transmission device 4 so that it does not transmit power even if the vehicle 3 runs or parks on the device.

[0080] In step S12, when the power transmission controller 22 of the ground power supply device 2 transmits power to the vehicle 3 that has traveled on the device, the power transmission controller 22 transmits a usage history notification to the server to notify that the device has been used by the vehicle 3. The usage history notification includes identification information of the vehicle 3 that used the device, the number of times the ground power supply device 2 has been used by the vehicle 3, and the power transmission count number for calculating the system usage fee for the vehicle 3.

[0081] The power transmission count number may be, for example, simply set to 1, or may be increased from 1 according to the power transmission time during which power transmission to the vehicle 3 continues (in other words, the stay time during which the vehicle 3 stays on the device). This is because the longer the power transmission time (stay time), the greater the amount of power received by the vehicle 3.

[0082] In addition, since the first ticket received from vehicle 3 is a unique system usage ticket prepared for each vehicle 3, in this embodiment, information regarding the first ticket received from the vehicle 3 that used the own device is transmitted as identification information of the vehicle 3 that used the own device.

[0083] In step S13, the vehicle controller 34 disconnects the communication connection with the server 1 when the start switch of the vehicle is turned off to stop the vehicle, for example.

[0084] In step S14, when the communication connection with the vehicle 3 is disconnected, the server 1 calculates the system usage count of the vehicle 3 by accumulating the power transmission count number included in the usage history notification of the vehicle 3 received from the ground power supply device 2 used by the vehicle 3 (connection-disconnected vehicle) from the time the communication connection was established to the time it was disconnected. Then, the server 1 calculates a system usage fee for the vehicle 3 based on the system usage count. The server 1 also bills the user (system user) of the wireless power supply system 100 associated with the vehicle 3 that transmitted the system usage count separately for the calculated system usage fee.

[0085] In this embodiment, a unit fee for each use is preset, and the server 1 calculates the system usage fee by multiplying the unit fee by the number of system uses. The unit fee is, for example, an electricity fee equivalent to a standard amount of received power per unit time when the vehicle 3 receives power from the ground power supply device 2, but is not limited to this.

[0086] The wireless power supply system 100 according to the present embodiment described above includes a vehicle 3 (mobile body), a ground power supply device 2 configured to be able to supply power to the vehicle 3 in a wireless manner, and a server 1 configured to be able to communicate with each of the vehicle 3 and the ground power supply device 2. The server 1 includes: The system usage fee for the contactless power supply system 100 of the vehicle 3 is calculated based on the number of times the vehicle 3 uses the ground power supply device 2.

[0087] As described above, in the contactless power supply system 100, it is difficult to accurately grasp the amount of power used when the system is used, but according to this embodiment, it is possible to calculate the system usage fee according to the number of times the ground power supply device 2 is used. Therefore, even if it is not possible to accurately grasp the amount of power used when the system is used, it is possible to calculate the system usage fee in a simple manner.

[0088] In addition, in this embodiment, the server 1 is configured to calculate the system usage fee by multiplying a preset unit fee by the number of uses, and the unit fee is set to a fee equivalent to a standard amount of received power per unit time when the vehicle 3 receives power from the ground power supply device 2.

[0089] As a result, even if the transmission efficiency is lower than usual due to a cause on the vehicle side, and as a result the ratio of the amount of received power to the amount of transmitted power is lower than usual, the fee equivalent to the standard amount of received power can be charged, so that an appropriate fee can be charged as the system usage fee. In addition, it is no longer necessary to always charge the system user a fee equivalent to an amount of power that is greater than the amount of received power.

[0090] In addition, in this embodiment, the ground power supply device 2 is configured to transmit a usage history notification of the vehicle 3, including the power transmission count number, to the server 1 when transmitting power to the vehicle 3, and is configured to calculate the power transmission count number based on the power transmission time during which power transmission to the vehicle 3 was continued, and the server is configured to calculate the number of usages by accumulating the power transmission count numbers received from the ground power supply device.

[0091] As a result, even if the vehicle 3 stays on the ground power supply device for a long time due to traffic congestion or waiting at traffic lights, the power transmission count number is appropriately adjusted according to the stay time (power transmission time), so that an appropriate system usage fee can be calculated regardless of the vehicle 3's traveling speed (speed at which the vehicle passes the ground power supply device).

[0092] From another perspective, this embodiment can also be regarded as a usage fee calculation method for a contactless power supply system executed by a server 1 capable of communicating with both a vehicle 3 (mobile body) and a ground power supply device 2 that performs contactless power supply to the vehicle 3, and including a process of determining the number of times the ground power supply device 2 is used by the vehicle 3 based on information received from at least one of the vehicle 3 or the ground power supply device 2, and a process of calculating the system usage fee for the contactless power supply system 100 of the vehicle 3 based on the number of times of use.

[0093] Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the system usage count is calculated based on the number of times the vehicle 3 receives power from the ground power supply device 2 by the power receiving device 5 (hereinafter referred to as the "power reception count"), rather than the power transmission count. The following mainly describes the difference.

[0094] Fig. 6 is an operational sequence diagram for explaining the method for calculating the system usage fee according to this embodiment. In Fig. 6, the contents of the processes from step S1 to step S11 are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted here.

[0095] In step S21, when the vehicle controller 34 receives power from the ground power supply device 2, the vehicle controller 34 calculates a power reception count number for calculating the number of times the system has been used by the vehicle 3. The power reception count number may simply be set to 1, for example, or may be increased from 1 according to the time during which the vehicle 3 has continuously received power from the ground power supply device 2 (the time during which the vehicle 3 has stayed on the ground power supply device).

[0096] In step S22, for example, when the start switch of the vehicle 3 is turned off and the vehicle 3 is stopped, the vehicle controller 34 accumulates the power reception count number since the communication connection with the server 1 was established to calculate the number of system usages of the vehicle 3. Then, the vehicle controller 34 transmits the number of system usages of the vehicle 3 to the server 1 and disconnects the communication connection with the server 1.

[0097] In step S23, when the server 1 receives the system usage count, it calculates a system usage fee for the vehicle 3 that transmitted the system usage count based on the received system usage count. Then, the server 1 separately bills the user (system user) of the contactless power supply system 100 associated with the vehicle 3 that transmitted the system usage count for the calculated system usage fee.

[0098] According to the present embodiment described above, the vehicle 3 is configured to calculate a power reception count number when receiving power from the ground power supply device 2, calculate the number of system usages by accumulating the power reception count number, and transmit the number of system usages to the server 1. The vehicle 3 is also configured to calculate the power reception count number based on the power reception time during which the vehicle 3 received power from the ground power supply device 2.

[0099] In this way, even if the number of system usages is calculated based on the power reception count number instead of the power transmission count number, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the count number is calculated based on the vehicle side, it is possible to prevent the count number from being counted even when power is not actually being received.

[0100] Third embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the above-mentioned embodiments in that the number of system uses is calculated based on the power transmission count number and the power reception count number. The following mainly describes the difference.

[0101] Fig. 7 is an operation sequence diagram for explaining the method for calculating the system usage fee according to this embodiment. In Fig. 7, the contents of the processes from step S1 to step S12 and the contents of the process of step S21 are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, so the explanations are omitted here.

[0102] In step S31, for example, when the start switch of the host vehicle 3 is turned off to stop the host vehicle 3, the vehicle controller 34 calculates an integrated value of the power reception count number since the communication connection with the server 1 was established. Then, the vehicle controller 34 transmits the integrated value of the power reception count number of the host vehicle 3 to the server 1 and disconnects the communication connection with the server 1.

[0103] In step S32, when the communication connection with the vehicle 3 is disconnected, the server 1 calculates the accumulated value of the power transmission count number included in the usage history notification of the vehicle 3 received from the ground power supply device 2 used by the vehicle 3 (connection-disconnected vehicle) from the time the communication connection was established to the time the communication connection was disconnected.

[0104] In step S33, the server 1 calculates the number of times the vehicle 3 has used the system based on the integrated value of the power transmission count number and the integrated value of the power reception count number, thereby calculating the system usage fee.

[0105] In this embodiment, if the accumulated values ​​of the power transmission count number and the power receiving count number are the same, the server 1 calculates the number of times the system is used based on one of the accumulated values, and if the accumulated values ​​of the power transmission count number and the power receiving count number are different, the server 1 calculates the number of times the system is used based on the accumulated value of the power receiving count number in order to calculate the system usage fee based on the power receiving count number on the vehicle side.

[0106] The method of calculating the number of system uses is not limited to this method. For example, when the accumulated values ​​of the power transmission count number and the power receiving count number differ, the number of system uses may be calculated based on the accumulated value of the power transmission count number, or, for example, the number of system uses may be calculated based on the average value of the accumulated values ​​of the power transmission count number and the power receiving count number.

[0107] In this way, even if the system usage count is calculated based on the integrated value of the power transmission count number and the integrated value of the power reception count number, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, when the system usage count is calculated by giving priority to the integrated value of the power reception count number as in this embodiment, the following effect can also be obtained. That is, when the system usage count is calculated by giving priority to the integrated value of the power transmission count number, it is possible that the power transmission count number will be counted even if the vehicle 3 is not actually able to receive power for some reason. Therefore, by calculating the system usage count by giving priority to the integrated value of the power reception count number in this way, it is possible to prevent the count number from being counted even if power is not actually received.

[0108] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-mentioned embodiments merely show some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0109] For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, as shown in Fig. 8, the ground power supply device 2 may include a plurality of power transmission devices 4 controlled by, for example, one power transmission controller 22. Fig. 8 illustrates a case in which the ground power supply device 2 includes three power transmission devices 4. In such a case, the power transmission count number may be counted individually for each power transmission device 4, and the counted numbers may be added together to obtain the power transmission count number of the ground power supply device 2.

[0110] In addition, in the first embodiment, when the communication connection with the vehicle 3 is disconnected, the server 1 calculates the number of times the vehicle 3 has used the system by accumulating the power transmission count number included in the usage history notification of the vehicle 3 received from the ground power supply device 2 used by the vehicle 3 from the time the communication connection was established to the time the communication connection was disconnected.

[0111] However, for example, if a checkpoint is also set at the exit of an electrified road section, when a notification is received from vehicle 3 informing it that it has passed that checkpoint, the number of times that vehicle 3 has used the system may be calculated by accumulating the power transmission count number contained in the usage history notification of vehicle 3 received from the ground power supply device 2 used by vehicle 3 between passing the checkpoint on the entrance side and passing the checkpoint on the exit side.

[0112] 1 Server 2 Ground power supply equipment 3. Vehicles (moving objects) 11 Server communication section (communication section) 13 Server processing unit (processing unit) 100 Non-contact power supply system

Claims

1. A moving body, A ground power supply device configured to be able to supply power to the moving object in a non-contact manner; A server configured to be able to communicate with each of the moving object and the ground power supply device; A wireless power supply system comprising: The server, Based on information received from at least one of the moving body and the ground power supply device, a number of times the moving body uses the ground power supply device is grasped; Calculating a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system of the mobile object based on the number of times of use; The ground power supply device is When transmitting power to the mobile unit, a usage history notification of the mobile unit including a power transmission count is transmitted to the server; The server, Calculating the number of uses by accumulating the power transmission count number received from the ground power supply device; The ground power supply device is calculating the power transmission count number based on a power transmission time during which power transmission to the moving object is continued; Contactless power supply system.

2. A moving body, A ground power supply device configured to be able to supply power to the moving object in a non-contact manner; A server configured to be able to communicate with each of the moving object and the ground power supply device; A wireless power supply system comprising: The server, Based on information received from at least one of the moving body and the ground power supply device, a number of times the moving body uses the ground power supply device is grasped; Calculating a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system of the mobile object based on the number of times of use; The moving body is When receiving power from the ground power supply device, a power reception count is calculated; The number of times of use calculated by integrating the number of reception counts is transmitted to the server; calculating the power reception count number based on a power reception time during which power is continuously received from the ground power supply device; Contactless power supply system.

3. A moving body, A ground power supply device configured to be able to supply power to the moving object in a non-contact manner; A server configured to be able to communicate with each of the moving object and the ground power supply device; A wireless power supply system comprising: The server, Based on information received from at least one of the moving body and the ground power supply device, a number of times the moving body uses the ground power supply device is grasped; Calculating a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system of the mobile object based on the number of times of use; The ground power supply device is When power is transmitted to the moving object, a power transmission count is calculated, The moving body is When receiving power from the ground power supply device, a power reception count is calculated, The server, Calculating the number of uses based on the integrated value of the power transmission count number and the integrated value of the power reception count number. Contactless power supply system.

4. The server, When the integrated value of the power transmission count number and the integrated value of the power reception count number are different, the system usage fee is calculated based on the number of uses calculated according to the power reception count number. The contactless power supply system according to claim 3 .

5. The server, Calculating the system usage fee based on the number of uses calculated according to an average value of the integrated value of the electricity transmission count number and the integrated value of the electricity reception count number. The contactless power supply system according to claim 3 .

6. The server, Calculating the system usage fee by multiplying a preset unit fee by the number of times of use; The contactless power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The unit charge is: The charge corresponds to a standard amount of power received per unit time when the moving body receives power from the ground power supply device. The contactless power supply system according to claim 6.

8. The server, charging a system usage fee to a user of the wireless power supply system associated with the mobile object; The contactless power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A processing section; a communication unit that communicates with each of the moving object and the ground power supply device that constitute the contactless power supply system; A server comprising: The processing unit includes: Based on information received from at least one of the moving body and the ground power supply device, a number of times the moving body uses the ground power supply device is grasped; Calculating a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system of the mobile object based on the number of times of use; The communication unit is receiving, from the ground power supply device, a usage history notification of the moving object, the usage history notification including a power transmission count calculated by the ground power supply device based on a power transmission time during which the ground power supply device continued to transmit power to the moving object; The processing unit includes: Calculating the number of uses by accumulating the power transmission count number received from the ground power supply device. server.

10. A method for calculating a usage fee for a wireless power supply system, the method being executed by a server capable of communicating with each of a moving object and a ground power supply device that performs wireless power supply to the moving object, the method comprising: determining a number of times the ground power supply device is used by the moving object based on information received from at least one of the moving object and the ground power supply device; calculating a system usage fee for the wireless power supply system of the mobile object based on the number of times of use; receiving, from the ground power supplying device, a usage history notification of the moving object, the usage history notification including a power transmission count calculated by the ground power supplying device based on a power transmission time during which the ground power supplying device has continued to transmit power to the moving object; calculating the number of uses by integrating the power transmission count number received from the ground power supply device; A method for calculating usage fees for a contactless power supply system comprising:

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