JP2018207713A - vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To promote a use of effective external charge even to the user who is not interested so much in an incentive (price compensation).SOLUTION: When an SOC of a battery is lower than a prescribed value, an ECU notifies a user of promotion of a use of external charge. When the user performs the external charge after the notification, the ECU controls at least one of a speaker, an MID, a headlight and a charge lid to perform a motion corresponding to an emotion such as, for example, happiness or thanks. On the other hand, when the user does not perform the external charge after the notification, the ECU controls at least one of the speaker, the MID, the headlight and the charge lid to perform a motion corresponding to an emotion such as, for example, loneliness or dissatisfaction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a vehicle configured to be able to perform external charging for charging a vehicle-mounted battery with electric power outside the vehicle.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-32286 (Patent Document 1) discloses a system that gives an incentive (consideration) to a user of a vehicle that has performed external charging in order to promote the use of external charging of the vehicle. Yes.

JP2015-32286A

  However, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot sufficiently promote the use of external charging for users who are not very interested in incentives.

  The present disclosure has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to effectively promote the use of external charging even for users who are not very interested in incentives. .

  The vehicle according to the present disclosure is configured to be able to perform external charging for charging a vehicle-mounted battery with electric power outside the vehicle. The vehicle includes an operation device configured to execute an operation for expressing a feeling of the vehicle to a user, and a control device configured to control the operation device. The control device notifies the user to perform external charging when the SOC of the battery is less than a predetermined value. When the user performs external charging after the notification, the control device controls the operating device to execute the first operation, and when the user does not perform external charging after the notification, The operation device is controlled to execute a second operation different from the operation.

  According to the above configuration, when the SOC of the battery is less than the predetermined value, a notification that prompts the user to perform external charging is performed. Then, the action of the operation device (emotion of the vehicle) is fed back to the user in response to the action result performed by the user after the notification. Specifically, when the user performs external charging, the operation device performs the first operation, so that a feeling such as happiness or gratitude can be shown to the user. On the other hand, when the user does not execute external charging, the operation device performs the second operation, and thus, for example, feelings of loneliness or dissatisfaction can be shown to the user. As a result, the user becomes attached to the vehicle expressing emotions and is more likely to feel the desire to use external charging. As a result, it is possible to effectively promote the use of external charging even for users who are not very interested in incentives.

It is the figure which showed an example of the whole structure of the charging system containing a vehicle. It is a figure showing an example of composition of vehicles roughly. It is a figure which shows the flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of ECU. It is a figure which shows an example of the expression operation | movement of the emotion by the fluctuation | variation of the opening degree of a charge lid.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a charging system 1 including a vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment. The charging system 1 includes a vehicle 10 and an external facility 20. The vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle (such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle) that can travel using electric power stored in an in-vehicle battery.

  The vehicle 10 is configured to receive power from the external facility 20. Specifically, the vehicle 10 includes a charging inlet 110 configured to be connectable to the connector 210 of the external equipment 20, and a charging lid 112 that can be opened and closed with respect to the charging inlet 110. When the charging lid 112 is opened and the connector 210 of the external equipment 20 is connected to the charging inlet 110 (hereinafter also referred to as “plug-in state”), the vehicle 10 receives power from the external equipment 20, External charging for charging the in-vehicle battery with the received power can be performed. Note that power may be exchanged between the vehicle 10 and the external equipment 20 in a non-contact manner.

  The external facility 20 supplies power to the vehicle 10 in accordance with a request from the vehicle 10 in the plug-in state.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle 10. In addition to the above-described charging inlet 110 and charging lid 112, the vehicle 10 includes a charger 120, a battery 130, a monitoring unit 131, a driving device 140, an ECU (Electric Control Unit) 150, an MID (Multi Information Display). ) 160, speaker 162, headlight 164, DCM (Data Communication Module) 180, and actuator 190.

  The charger 120 is controlled by the ECU 150 and performs external charging for charging the battery 130 with the electric power of the external equipment 20 received by the charging inlet 110.

  The battery 130 can supply the electric power stored by the external charging to the driving device 140. The battery 130 is a secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery or a lithium ion battery. The battery 130 can also store the electric power generated by the driving device 140.

  The monitoring unit 131 includes a sensor for detecting the temperature of the battery 130, a sensor for detecting a voltage (hereinafter also referred to as “battery voltage”) Vb of the battery 130, and a current flowing through the battery 130 (hereinafter also referred to as “battery current”) Ib. A sensor for detecting is included. Each sensor in the monitoring unit 131 outputs a detection result to the ECU 150.

  The driving device 140 generates a driving force for the vehicle 10 to travel. Although not particularly illustrated, drive device 140 includes a converter and an inverter that receive power supplied from battery 130, and a motor that is driven by the inverter to drive the drive wheels. Drive device 140 may include a generator that generates electric power for charging battery 130 and an engine capable of driving the generator.

  The MID 160 is a device that is disposed at a place where the user can visually recognize the vehicle interior, displays various image information to the user in accordance with a control signal from the ECU 150, and can be operated and input by the user (for example, a display capable of touch input). is there.

  The speaker 162 outputs various audio information to the user according to the control signal from the ECU 150.

  The headlight 164 is a lighting device that is disposed in front of the vehicle and is turned on by a user's lighting operation or a control signal from the ECU 150.

  DCM 180 is a communication device that performs wireless communication with devices outside the vehicle such as external equipment 20 in accordance with a control signal from ECU 150.

  ECU 150 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an input / output buffer, and the like (all not shown), and performs various controls in vehicle 10.

  ECU 150 calculates the SOC of battery 130 and stores the history in a memory. The SOC is generally represented by the ratio of the actual amount of stored electricity to the full charge capacity. As a method of calculating the SOC, various known methods such as a method of calculating using the relationship between the battery voltage Vb and the SOC and a method of calculating using the integrated value of the battery current Ib can be used.

  Actuator 190 opens and closes charging lid 112 in accordance with a control signal from ECU 150. The opening degree of the charging lid 112 can be arbitrarily controlled in the range from the minimum value (closed state) to the maximum value.

  In the present embodiment, speaker 162, MID 160, headlight 164, and charging lid 112 also have a function of performing an operation for expressing the emotion of vehicle 10, as will be described later, in addition to the original functions described above. .

<Promotion of use of external charging>
ECU 150 according to the present embodiment performs the following control in order to promote the use of external charging. ECU 150 provides a notice (appeal) that prompts the user to use external charging when the SOC of battery 130 is less than predetermined value S0.

  When the user performs external charging after notification of prompting the use of external charging, the ECU 150 causes the speaker 162, the MID 160, and the headlight 164 to perform an operation corresponding to an emotion such as happiness or gratitude (first operation). , And at least one of the charging lids 112 is controlled.

  On the other hand, when the user does not execute external charging after notification of prompting the use of external charging, ECU 150 causes speaker 162, MID 160, head to perform an operation corresponding to an emotion such as loneliness or dissatisfaction (second operation). At least one of the light 164 and the charging lid 112 is controlled.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed when the ECU 150 promotes the use of external charging. This flowchart is repeatedly executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

  First, ECU 150 determines whether or not the SOC of battery 130 is less than predetermined value S0 (step S10). If the SOC of battery 130 is not less than predetermined value S0 (NO in step S10), ECU 150 skips the subsequent processing and proceeds to return.

  When SOC of battery 130 is less than predetermined value S0 (YES in step S10), ECU 150 facilitates the use of external charging by executing the processes of steps S12 to S20.

  Specifically, ECU 150 first determines whether or not the external charging is available (step S12). For example, the ECU 150 determines that external charging is available when the vehicle 10 is parked in the vicinity of the external facility 20. If the external charging is not available (NO in step S12), ECU 150 skips the subsequent processing and proceeds to return.

  When the external charging can be used (YES in step S12), ECU 150 provides a notification (appeal) that prompts the user to use the external charging (step S14). For example, the ECU 150 displays, on the MID 160, an image in which a puppy character that looks like the vehicle 10 is issuing a message such as “I want you to charge because there is little battery left (one one)”, and the contents of the message as voice Also, by outputting from the speaker 162, the user is prompted to use external charging.

  After the notification prompting the use of external charging, ECU 100 determines whether or not external charging has actually started by the user (step S16).

  When external charging is started (YES in step S16), ECU 150 performs an operation corresponding to an emotion such as happiness or gratitude (first operation), speaker 162, MID 160, headlight 164, and charging lid. At least one of 112 is controlled (step S18).

  For example, the ECU 150 causes the MID 160 to display an image of a thank-you message such as “Thank you (Wan Wan)” while expressing the joy of a puppy character looking like the vehicle 10 while shaking the tail. The content of the message is output from the speaker 162 as voice. Further, the ECU 150 makes the vehicle 10 feel happy or grateful by, for example, quickly changing the opening degree of the charging lid 112 at an early cycle within a range where the charging lid 112 does not interfere with the connector 210 of the external equipment 20. Produce as if hugging. Furthermore, the ECU 150 performs an effect as if the vehicle 10 feels joyful or grateful by, for example, lighting the headlight 164 brightly. These actions are examples of actions (first actions) corresponding to emotions such as happiness or gratitude.

  On the other hand, when external charging is not started (NO in step S16), ECU 150 performs speaker 162, MID 160, headlight 164, and charging so as to perform an operation corresponding to an emotion such as loneliness or dissatisfaction (second operation). At least one of the lids 112 is controlled (step S20).

  For example, the ECU 150 causes the MID 160 to display an image showing a dissatisfaction message such as “I'm hungry (Wan Wan)” while the face of the puppy character that looks like the vehicle 10 looks lonely. The content is output from the speaker 162 even as sound. Further, the ECU 150, for example, feels lonely or dissatisfied with the vehicle 10 by slowly changing the opening degree of the charging lid 112 with a slow period within a range in which the charging lid 112 does not interfere with the connector 210 of the external equipment 20. Perform as if you are. Furthermore, the ECU 150 performs an effect as if the vehicle 10 feels loneliness or dissatisfaction, for example, by turning on the headlight 164 lightly. These actions correspond to actions (second actions) corresponding to feelings such as loneliness or dissatisfaction.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an emotion expression operation based on a change in the opening degree of the charging lid 112. As shown in FIG. 4, the ECU 150 sets the fluctuation speed of the opening degree of the charging lid 112 to a faster value and sets the fluctuation period to a shorter value as happiness or gratitude increases. ECU 150 sets the fluctuation speed of the opening degree of charging lid 112 to a slower value and sets the fluctuation period to a longer value as loneliness or dissatisfaction increases. By such an operation, the emotion of the vehicle 10 can be expressed to the user.

  As described above, ECU 150 according to the present embodiment issues a notification prompting the user to use external charging when the SOC of battery 130 is less than predetermined value S0. The ECU 150 feeds back at least one operation of the speaker 162, the MID 160, the headlight 164, and the charging lid 112 to the user as an emotion of the vehicle 10 with respect to the action result performed by the user after the notification. As a result, the user is attached to the vehicle 10 expressing emotions, and can easily feel the desire to use external charging. As a result, it is possible to effectively promote the use of external charging even for users who are not very interested in incentives.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which at least one of speaker 162, MID 160, headlight 164, and charging lid 112 is used as an operation device that performs an operation for expressing the emotion of vehicle 10 to the user. Indicated. However, the operating device is not limited to the above devices. For example, instead of or in addition to the above device, a wiper may be used as an operation device, or a dedicated device for expressing emotions may be newly provided.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging system, 10 Vehicle, 20 External equipment, 110 Charging inlet, 112 Charging lid, 120 Battery charger, 130 Battery, 131 Monitoring unit, 140 Driving device, 162 Speaker, 164 Headlight, 190 Actuator, 210 Connector

Claims (1)

A vehicle configured to be able to perform external charging for charging an on-board battery with electric power outside the vehicle,
An operation device configured to execute an operation for expressing an emotion of the vehicle to a user;
A control device configured to control the operating device;
The control device includes:
When the SOC of the battery is less than a predetermined value, the user is notified to execute the external charging,
If the user performs the external charging after the notification, the operation device is controlled to execute a first operation,
A vehicle that controls the operation device to execute a second operation different from the first operation when the user does not execute the external charging after the notification.

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