Car charger

Abstract

To provide an on-vehicle charger that can reduce the influence of electromagnetic waves on the external environment.SOLUTION: The on-vehicle charger is placed in an engine room and comprises a first charger and a second charger that is located on the hood side of the vehicle over the first charger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle charger.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for reducing electromagnetic waves (noise) given by a converter in an engine room (engine compartment) to vehicle accessories.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, only the influence of electromagnetic waves in the engine room is considered. Therefore, for example, when the hood of the engine room is opened, there is a possibility that electromagnetic waves radiated from the charger may affect the external environment.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle charger capable of reducing the influence of electromagnetic waves on the external environment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The in-vehicle charger according to the present disclosure is disposed in an engine room and includes a first charger and a second charger disposed closer to the hood side than the first charger.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to this disclosure, by arranging the chargers in two stages, electromagnetic waves emitted from the lower charger can be kept away from the hood, thereby reducing the impact of electromagnetic waves on the external environment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle including an on-board charger according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the first charger and the second charger in an in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a time chart for limiting the output power of the second charger when the hood is opened in the in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a time chart for limiting the output power of the first and second chargers when the hood is opened in an in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the charging control method performed by the in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] An in-vehicle charger according to the embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable or substantially identical to those that are replaceable by a person skilled in the art.

[0010] (In-vehicle charger) The configuration of the on-board charger according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. The on-board charger according to this embodiment is installed in, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle 1, which includes the on-board charger according to the embodiment, comprises an engine compartment 11, a hood 12, a first charger 13, a second charger 14, a battery 15, and a control unit 16. Note that in the same figure, only the components of the vehicle 1 that are essential for the on-board charger according to the embodiment are shown, and other components are omitted from the illustration.

[0012] The engine compartment 11 houses the first charger 13 and the second charger 14. A hood 12 is attached to the top of the engine compartment 11. A hood opening / closing sensor 121 is attached to this hood 12 to detect when the hood 12 is opened or closed. Note that the mounting position of the hood opening / closing sensor 121 shown in Figure 1 is just an example, and it may be mounted in a different position.

[0013] The first charger 13 is for supplying power from a charging adapter provided on an external charging station to the battery 15. The first charger 13 is equipped with a charging circuit (power output circuit).

[0014] The second charger 14 is for supplying power from a charging adapter provided on an external charging station to the battery 15. The second charger 14 is equipped with a charging circuit (power output circuit).

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 are arranged vertically (in the height direction of the vehicle 1) in two layers within the engine compartment 11. Specifically, the second charger 14 is positioned closer to the hood 12 (above) the first charger 13.

[0016] Also, in a predetermined direction, that is, the vertical direction, at least a part of the housing surface of the first charger 13 is arranged to overlap with the housing surface of the second charger 14. That is, the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 are arranged such that a part of the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 overlap when viewed from above (top view). In this way, since a part of the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 overlap, the electromagnetic waves radiated from the lower first charger 13 can be shielded by the upper second charger 14 (on the hood 12 side), so that the influence of electromagnetic waves on the external environment can be reduced.

[0017] The battery 15 is, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked. This battery 15 is supplied with power from the first charger 13 and the second charger 14.

[0018] The control unit 16 is realized by, for example, a processor composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and a memory (main storage unit) composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like.

[0019] The control unit 16 restricts, as necessary, the power (hereinafter referred to as "output power" or "charging power") output from the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 to the battery 15. Specifically, the control unit 16 restricts the output power to the second charger 14, or the output power to the first charger 13 and the second charger 14, according to the open / closed state of the hood 12 detected by the hood open / close sensor 121.

[0020] When the control unit 16 detects, for example, that the hood 12 is in an open state by means of the hood opening / closing sensor 121, it controls the output power of the second charger 14 to be lower than the output power of the first charger 13. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3 for example, the control unit 16 does not limit the charging power of the first charger 13 but limits the charging power of the second charger 14. Note that "not limiting the charging power" means, for example, charging the battery 15 with the maximum power that the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 can output. Also, "limiting the charging power" means, for example, charging the battery 15 with a power less than the maximum power that the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 can output.

[0021] In this way, when the hood 12 is open, by reducing the output power of the second charger 14 close to the hood 12, the electromagnetic waves radiated from the second charger 14 are reduced, so the influence of electromagnetic waves on the external environment can be reduced. Also, by automatically detecting the opening and closing of the hood 12 and performing power limitation, the generation of electromagnetic waves when the hood 12 is opened can be effectively suppressed, so the influence of electromagnetic waves on the external environment can be reduced.

[0022] That is, when charging is performed with the hood 12 of the engine room 11 in an open state, there is a risk of electromagnetic waves being radiated to the outside. The upper side (second charger 14) of the charging circuits arranged in upper and lower two stages has a high contribution rate to the radiation of these electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in the in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment, among the first charger 13 and the second charger 14, the charging power of the second charger 14 arranged on the upper side is limited.

[0023] On the other hand, the lower side (first charger 13) of the charging circuits arranged in upper and lower two stages has a low contribution degree to the radiation of electromagnetic waves. Therefore, in the in-vehicle charger according to the embodiment, among the first charger 13 and the second charger 14, the charging power of the first charger 13 arranged on the lower side is not limited. Thereby, since a large amount of power can be output from the first charger 13 to the battery 15, it is possible to suppress the charging time from becoming long due to the limitation of the charging power of the second charger 14.

[0024] Furthermore, the control unit 16 may, for example, when it detects that the hood 12 is in an open state by the hood opening / closing sensor 121, limit the charging power of both the first charger 13 and the second charger 14, as shown in Figure 4. This reduces the impact of electromagnetic waves on the external environment.

[0025] (Charging control method) The flow of the charging control method performed by the in-vehicle charger according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 5.

[0026] First, the control unit 16 charges the battery 15 with a predetermined maximum power using the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 (step S1). Next, the control unit 16 determines whether the hood 12 is in the open state or not through the hood opening / closing sensor 121 (step S2).

[0027] In step S2, if it is determined that the hood 12 is not open (No in step S2), the control unit 16 limits the charging power to the second charger 14, or limits the charging power to the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 (step S3), and completes this process. On the other hand, in step S2, if it is determined that the hood 12 is open (Yes in step S2), the control unit 16 continues charging the battery 15 at maximum power (step S4), and completes this process.

[0028] According to the vehicle charger of the embodiment described above, by arranging the first charger 13 and the second charger 14 in two stages, the electromagnetic waves radiated from the lower first charger 13 can be kept away from the hood 12. This reduces the impact of electromagnetic waves on the external environment.

[0029] In this case, if a charger mounted in the engine compartment is charged with the engine compartment hood open, there is a risk of electromagnetic waves being emitted to the outside. Therefore, in the vehicle charger according to this embodiment, when the hood 12 is open, the output power to the second charger 14, or to the first charger 13 and the second charger 14, is limited. This makes it possible to suppress electromagnetic waves during charging and to secure the necessary charging power.

[0030] Further effects and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments expressed and described above. Accordingly, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 vehicle 11. Engine Room 12 Food 121 Hood opening / closing sensor 13. First charger 14. Second charger 15 batteries 16 Control Unit

Claims

1. It is located in the engine compartment. The first charger, A second charger is positioned closer to the hood than the first charger, Control unit and Equipped with, The control unit, When the vehicle battery is being charged by the first charger and the second charger, the open / closed state of the hood is detected. When it is detected that the hood is open, the output power of the second charger is controlled to be less than the output power of the first charger. Car charger.

2. The in-vehicle charger according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the housing surface of the first charger is arranged to overlap with the housing surface of the second charger in a predetermined direction.

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