GB2599151A

GB2599151A - Automated charge port or fuel tank cover

Info

Publication number: GB2599151A
Application number: GB2015323.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edwards Gary; Duffy Ryan; Sanders Luke
Original assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Current assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-28
Filing date: 2020-09-28
Publication date: 2022-03-30
Also published as: WO2022064064A1; GB202015323D0; EP4217227A1

Abstract

A control system 400 controls the opening of a vehicle charge port cover 200, or a vehicle fuel tank cover, and includes one or more controllers. The controller receives status data indicative of a current operational status of the vehicle. The status signal may relate to one of: ignition, gear selector, parking brake, driver seat sensor, vehicle speed, vehicle door opening or vehicle door lock. The controller determines a parking status of the vehicle in dependence on the status data, and outputs a cover opening signal to instruct the cover to be opened in dependence on the parking status. An actuator 300 opens the cover upon receiving a cover opening signal from the control system. The controller may output the cover opening signal in dependence on a received signal, indicative of a current location of the vehicle. The controller may output the cover opening signal in dependence on route planning information received from a vehicle navigation system. The controller may output a signal to instruct the cover to be closed in dependence on a connection signal, output from the control system, when a connector sensor 210 detects a presence of a charging connector in a charge port, or a fuel nozzle in a fuel tank, of the vehicle. The controller may output the cover closing signal in dependence on a cover status period signal, provided by a timer 450, and indicative of a time period that has lapsed since outputting the cover opening signal.

Description

Automated charge port or fuel tank cover

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a control system for a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle and to a vehicle comprising a charge port cover or fuel tank cover and such a control system. The present disclosure further relates to a method for controlling the charge port cover or fuel tank cover.

BACKGROUND

Cars and other vehicles need energy to drive. Traditionally the required energy was obtained from fossil fuels stored in a fuel tank of the car. Nowadays, more and more vehicles are fully or partially electrically powered by an on-board battery. Future cars may be powered by hydrogen. Regardless of the type of energy storage used, most cars comprise some kind of charge port through which a fuel tank can be filled or a battery can be charged. Even solar powered electric vehicles preferably comprise a charge port for enabling charging the battery at night, when parked inside, or in cloudy weather.

Charge ports and fuel tank openings are usually installed in the bodywork of the vehicle and covered by a door or cover that is substantially flush with the surrounding bodywork when closed and allows access to the charge port when opened. Traditionally, the cover used to be opened by hand from the outside of the car, possibly after having been unlocked using a switch provided inside the car. In some modern cars, the charge port or fuel tank cover is opened by an electrically controlled actuator that is operated using a switch provided inside the car.

It is an aim of the present invention to further improve the charge port covers already available in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a control system for a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle and a vehicle comprising such a control system. Further aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a method for controlling the charge port cover or fuel tank cover and a non-transitory computer readable medium.

According to an aspect of the present invention a control system is provided for a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle. The control system comprises one or more controller configured to receive status data indicative of a current operational status of the vehicle, determine a parking status of the vehicle in dependence on the status data, and output a cover opening signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be opened in dependence on the parking status.

This new control system brings the advantage that the charge port or fuel tank cover can be opened automatically without requiring any user interaction at all, thereby making it even easier to charge the battery or fill the fuel tank. Because the user would not want the cover to be opened every time the vehicle stops moving, it is important that the cover opening signal is provided based on the parking status of the car. In its most basic form, the control system is capable of determining when the vehicle is actually parked and opens the charge port cover every time that it establishes that it is. In more advanced forms, additional criteria may be taken into account before deciding to open the cover or the control system may further be capable of automatically closing the cover when it is determined that the vehicle is not going to be charged, or when the charging has just been completed.

It is noted that the invention is equally useful when charging a vehicle battery as when filling up a fuel tank. If, in the following, reference is made to the charging process, then this does not mean that the same is not relevant to filling a fuel tank.

In a preferred embodiment, the one or more controller is configured to receive a location signal, indicative of a current location of the vehicle, and to output the cover opening signal in dependence on the location signal. So, in addition to finding out that the vehicle has been parked, the control system may be able to check if the vehicle is at a location where charging is actually possible. The control system may have such knowledge available, for example, based on recorded information about locations where this or other vehicles have been charged before or map data used in a vehicle navigation system. For example, the control system may have found out that the user often decides to charge the car when arriving at home, at work or at some particular parking spot. The control system may receive route planning information from a vehicle navigation system. It may, for example, be useful to output the cover opening signal when the vehicle reaches the destination of a planned route to a charging station.

An important aspect of the invention is the ability of the control system to determine if the car has been parked. For determining the parking status of the vehicle, the control system takes into account relevant status data that may already be available for different purposes and control systems. For example, the status data used for determining the parking status comprises at least one of: an ignition signal, indicative of a power supply status of a main drive system of the vehicle, a gear selector signal, a parking brake signal, a driver seat sensor signal, a vehicle speed signal, a vehicle door opening signal, and a vehicle door lock signal.

Optionally, the control system comprises a connector sensor, configured to detect a presence of a fuel nozzle or charging connector in, respectively, a fuel tank or charge port of the vehicle. The control system then is configured to output a connection signal in dependence of the presence of the fuel nozzle or charging connector. The connection signal is a clear indication that the vehicle battery is being charged or the fuel tank being filled. This information may, for example, be used for blocking the closing of the cover while the fuel nozzle or charging connector is inserted, or for teaching the control system at which locations the vehicle is charged or fuelled.

The control system may additionally be configured to output a cover closing signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be closed in dependence on the connection signal.

When the connection signal indicates that the charging connector or fuel nozzle has be disconnected, the tank cover can be automatically closed. This obviates the need for the user to close the cover himself after removing the charging connector or fuel nozzle.

The closing possibly occurs after a short delay to make sure that the charging connector or fuel nozzle have been fully retracted and cannot clash with the closing cover. For that purpose the control system may comprise a timer configured to provide a cover status period signal, indicative of a time period that has lapsed since outputting the cover opening signal. The controller may then be configured to output the cover closing signal in dependence of the cover status period signal. It may be useful to automatically close the cover after it has been open for a predetermined amount of time, for example 1 or 2 minutes, in order to make sure that the cover is not left open indefinitely.

In an embodiment, the status data comprises a vehicle door lock signal, and the one or more controller is configured to output the cover closing signal in dependence of the vehicle door lock signal. The vehicle door lock signal may be used as an input parameter for determining whether the vehicle is parked or not. In addition thereto, when it has already been established that the vehicle is currently parked and the charge port cover is already open, locking the car with no charging connector inserted may be an indication that the user is not planning to charge the battery. In that event, the charge port cover may be closed by the control system.

According to a preferred embodiment, the one or more controller is configured to receive a location signal, indicative of a current location of the vehicle, keep a record of the connection signal, linked to the current location of the vehicle when outputting the connection signal, and output the cover opening signal in dependence on the record. Keeping a record of where the vehicle is charged or fuelled may teach the control system about the likelihood that the user will want to charge or fuel his vehicle again, next time he arrives at the same location. Such knowledge may be taken into account when deciding to open or not open the charge port cover. In an advanced embodiment of the invention, the record of charging locations may be used, together with the received status data, to train a self-learning algorithm that is capable of making even better predictions of when and where the user wants to charge or fuel the vehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle is provided comprising a charge port cover or fuel tank cover and a control system as described above.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for controlling a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle, the method comprising receiving status data, indicative of a current operational status of the vehicle, based on the status data, determining a parking status of the vehicle, and outputting a cover opening signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be opened in dependence on the parking status.

A non-transitory computer readable medium is provided, comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause performance of this method.

Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 schematically shows a vehicle with a control system according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3 shows a simplified example of a control system such as may be adapted in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A control system for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying figures.

Figure 1 schematically shows a vehicle in the form of a car 100 with a control system 400 according to the invention. A charge port cover 200 is integrated in the car's bodywork. One or more charge ports are provided behind the charge port cover 200. The charge ports are configured to receive and connect to a charging connector of a charging station. The charge port cover 200 is operated by an actuator 300 that is controlled by the control system 400. Upon a cover opening signal from the control system 400, the actuator 300 opens the charge port cover 200 to make the one or more charge ports available for connection to a charging connector for charging the car's battery. Preferably, the actuator 300 is further configured to close the charge port cover 200 when open. In addition thereto, it may be possible for the user to open and/or close the charge port cover 200 by hand. The control system 400 may be configured to use the actuator 300 to assist the user with opening or closing the charge port cover 200 by hand, as soon as it is detected that the user is trying to do so.

It is noted that the invention is equally useful for operating the fuel tank cover of a vehicle propelled by an internal combustion engine (ICE). If, in the following, reference is made to the charge port, charging connector, or charging process, then this does not mean that the same is not at least equally relevant to a fuel tank opening, fuel nozzle, or fuelling process.

Figure 2 shows a flow chart of a method that may be implemented by the control system 400 of the car 100. The method starts at S101, with the charge cover 200 closed. Then, in S102, the control system 400 receives status data indicative of a current operational status of the car 100. The status data may originate from all kinds of sensors and control systems that are provided for monitoring and controlling the operation of the car 100. In 5103, the received status data is used to determine the current parking status of the car 100. When the car 100 is not parked, the control system 400 will continue to monitor the incoming status data until the parking status changes to 'parked'.

In general, the parking status of a car can be considered to be 'parked' when the user can get out of the car, lock it and not come back for an extended period of time. Some types of status data can give a good indication of the parking status. However, for an optimal assessment of the parking status, a combination of different types of status data is preferably used. Just as an example, the status data that may be considered for determining the parking status may comprise one or more of the following: - An ignition signal, indicative of a power supply status of a main drive system of the car 100. In an ICE car, this may be a signal indicating whether the engine is running or the main drive system is in a standby mode wherein the engine can be start up immediately, for example by pressing an accelerator pedal. When the engine is running or on standby, this is a clear indication that the car is not parked. In an electric vehicle, a similar standby mode may be available wherein a power supply to the motor or motors is only interrupted because of a temporary absence of a need for propulsive power. When the ignition signal indicates that there is no power supply to the main drive system, there is a possibility that the park is currently parked. However, additional status information may be taken into account to make sure that the ignition was not turned off for other reasons. For example, the user may turn of ignition when in a traffic jam or when waiting at train crossing.

- A gear selector signal. In cars with an automatic transmission, the car is typically only in a parked status when in 'parking gear'. With a manual transmission, parked cars may be in neutral or first gear when parked. However, a car in parking gear or neutral gear is not necessarily parked.

- A parking brake signal. Parking brakes, however, are not only and not always used when the car 100 is parked.

- A driver seat sensor signal indicating whether there is someone sitting in the driver seat. When there is no driver in the driver seat, this is a clear hint that the car 100 is parked. However, the user does not want to charge or fuel his car 100 every time he gets out of the car. So, even though the driver seat sensor signal may be a good indicator of parking status, it is still preferred to take more data into account. Also, the driver seat sensor signal may not always give a true representation of the parking status. For example, when the car 100 is parked, but a heavy bag is placed on the driver seat, it should still be possible for the control system 400 to decide, based on additional information, that the car 100 is actually parked and the charge port cover 200 should be opened.

A vehicle speed signal. The vehicle speed will always be 0 when the car is parked.

- A vehicle door opening signal. An open door, especially at the driver position, is a clear indication that the car 100 may be parked.

- A vehicle door lock signal. Locking the vehicle doors, especially with no people sitting in the car 100, is a clear indication that the driver is planning to spend some time away from the car 100 and that the car is parked. Filling fuel tanks is usually done with the car doors unlocked but charging a vehicle's battery is generally done with the car doors locked. In some electric vehicles, charging is only possible when the doors are locked.

The control system 400 may use any of the above listed vehicle status indicators, or a combination thereof, to determine the parking status.

When, in S103, the control system 400 determines that the car 100 is parked, it may move on to an optional and preferred step S104 of checking the car's location. This location may, for example, be established using a GPS receiver of a mobile phone or navigation system. The car's location may then be compared to an on-board or remotely stored record of possible charging locations. Alternatively or additionally, a list of actual charging locations where the user has charged this car 100, or a different car, in the past may be used to more accurately predict if the user wants to charge the car 100, where it is parked now. The user may be allowed to define one or more 'home' locations where the charge port cover 200 should always be opened.

If, at S104, it is determined that the car 100 is not at a charging location, the control system 400 will continue to monitor the incoming status data until the car 100 is determined to be parked at a different location. If the car 100 is determined to be parked at a charging location, the charge port cover 200 is opened in step 5105. lithe car's location is not taking into account, the charge port 200 may just be opened every time the control system 400 determines, in S103, that the car 100 is in a parked state.

In an advanced embodiment of the invention, a record of charging locations may be kept, together with the received status data, to train a self-learning algorithm that is capable of making even better predictions of when and where the user wants to charge or fuel the car 100.

After the charge port cover 200 has been opened, the user can connect the charging connector of the charging station to the charge port of the car. When the battery is fully charged, the charging connector is disconnected and the charge port cover 200 can be closed. The closing of the charge port cover 200 may be done by hand. If a connector sensor 210 is coupled to the charge port 200, the control system 400 may instruct the actuator 300 to automatically close the charge port cover 200 when the charging connector if removed.

Steps S107 to S112 are part of a preferred extension of a charge port control method according to the invention. In addition to a connector sensor 210, this preferred method also uses a timer 450. In S107, the control system 400 monitors an amount of time tthat has lapsed since opening the charge port cover 200. When this amount of time t exceeds a predetermined amount of time T, for example 2 or 3 minutes, the charge port cover 200 is closed in S110 and the charge port control process ends with a closed charge port cover 200 in S112.

If, before the predetermined amount of time T has lapsed, the control system 400 notices, in step S108, that the car 100 is locked and, in step S109, that a charging connector is inserted into the charge port 200, the charge port control process ends with an opened charge port cover 200 in S111. When the control system 400 detects that the car 100 is locked, but no charging connector is inserted, the charge port cover 200 is closed in S110 and the charge port control process ends with a closed charge port cover 200 in S112 For electric vehicles that allow charging with unlocked doors, as well as for ICE cars using the method according to the invention for automatically opening the fuel tank cover, step 108 should be dispensed with. The charge port or fuel tank cover 200 will then be closed at the end of time period T, unless when a charge connector or fuel nozzle has been inserted before that.

Figure 3 shows a simplified example of a control system 400 such as may be adapted in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The control system 400 may comprises one or more controllers 410. It is to be understood that the or each controller 410 can comprise a control unit or computational device having one or more electronic processors (for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), and may comprise a single control unit or computational device, or alternatively different functions of the or each controller 410 may be embodied in, or hosted in, different control units or computational devices. As used herein, the term "controller," "control unit," or "computational device" will be understood to include a single controller, control unit, or computational device, and a plurality of controllers, control units, or computational devices collectively operating to provide the required control functionality. A set of instructions could be provided which, when executed, cause the controller 410 to implement the control techniques described herein (including some or all of the functionality required for the method described herein). The set of instructions could be embedded in said one or more electronic processors of the controller 410; or alternatively, the set of instructions could be provided as software to be executed in the controller 410. A first controller or control unit may be implemented in software run on one or more processors. One or more other controllers or control units may be implemented in software run on one or more processors, optionally the same one or more processors as the first controller or control unit. Other arrangements are also useful.

In the example illustrated in Figure 2, the or each controller 410 comprises at least one electronic processor 420 having one or more electrical input(s) 422 for receiving one or more input signal(s) 401, such as those described above and one or more electrical output(s) 424 for outputting one or more output signal(s) 402, such as control signals for opening and closing the charge port or fuel tank cover 120. The or each controller 410 further comprises at least one memory device 430 electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor 420 and having instructions 440 stored therein.

The, or each, electronic processor 420 may comprise any suitable electronic processor (for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc.) that is configured to execute electronic instructions. The, or each, electronic memory device 430 may comprise any suitable memory device and may store a variety of data, information, threshold value(s), lookup tables or other data structures, and/or instructions therein or thereon. In an embodiment, the memory device 430 has information and instructions for software, firmware, programs, algorithms, scripts, applications, etc. stored therein or thereon that may govern all or part of the methodology described herein. The processor, or each, electronic processor 420 may access the memory device 430 and execute and/or use that or those instructions and information to carry out or perform some or all of the functionality and methodology describe herein.

The at least one memory device 430 may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (for example a non-transitory or non-transient storage medium) that may comprise any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine or electronic processors/computational devices, including, without limitation: a magnetic storage medium (for example floppy diskette); optical storage medium (for example CD-ROM); magneto optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (for example EPROM ad EEPROM); flash memory; or electrical or other types of medium for storing such information/instructions.

Example controllers 410 have been described comprising at least one electronic processor 420 configured to execute electronic instructions stored within at least one memory device 430, which when executed causes the electronic processor(s) 420 to carry out the method as hereinbefore described. However, it is contemplated that the present invention is not limited to being implemented by way of programmable processing devices, and that at least some of, and in some embodiments all of, the functionality and or method steps of the present invention may equally be implemented by way of non-programmable hardware, such as by way of non-programmable ASIC, Boolean logic circuitry, etc. It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A control system for a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more controller configured to: receive status data indicative of a current operational status of the vehicle, determine a parking status of the vehicle in dependence on the status data, and output a cover opening signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be opened in dependence on the parking status.
2. A control system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more controller collectively comprise: at least one electronic processor having an electrical input for receiving the status data, and at least one memory device electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor and having instructions stored therein, and wherein the at least one electronic processor is configured to access the at least one memory device and execute the instructions thereon so as to determine the parking status and to output the cover opening signal.
3. A control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more controller is configured to receive a location signal, indicative of a current location of the vehicle, and to output the cover opening signal in dependence on the location signal.
4. A control system according to claim 3, wherein the one or more controller is configured to receive route planning information from a vehicle navigation system, and to output the cover opening signal in dependence on the route planning information.
5. A control system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the status data comprises at least one of: - an ignition signal, indicative of a power supply status of a main drive system of the vehicle, a gear selector signal, a parking brake signal, a driver seat sensor signal, a vehicle speed signal, a vehicle door opening signal, and a vehicle door lock signal.
6. A control system according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a connector sensor, configured to detect a presence of a fuel nozzle or charging connector in, respectively, a fuel tank or charge port of the vehicle, and the control system is configured to output a connection signal in dependence of the presence of the fuel nozzle or charging connector.
7. A control system according to claim 6, wherein the one or more controller is configured to output a cover closing signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be closed in dependence on the connection signal.
8. A control system according to claim 7, comprising a timer configured to provide a cover status period signal, indicative of a time period that has lapsed since outputting the cover opening signal, and wherein the one or more controller is configured to output the cover closing signal in dependence of the cover status period signal.
9. A control system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the status data comprises a vehicle door lock signal, and wherein the one or more controller is configured to output the cover closing signal in dependence of the vehicle door lock signal.
10. A control system according to any of the claims 6 to 9, wherein the one or more controller is configured to: receive a location signal, indicative of a current location of the vehicle, keep a record of the connection signal, linked to the current location of the vehicle when outputting the connection signal, and output the cover opening signal in dependence on the record.
11. A vehicle comprising a charge port cover or fuel tank cover and a control system according to any of the preceding claims.
12. A method for controlling a charge port cover or fuel tank cover of a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving status data, indicative of a current operational status of the vehicle, based on the status data, determining a parking status of the vehicle, and outputting a cover opening signal to instruct the charge port cover or fuel tank cover to be opened in dependence on the parking status.
13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause performance of the method of claim 12.