JP2017196975A - Platooning power supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently transmit power between traveling vehicles.SOLUTION: A platooning power supply system can supply power to a power-receivable power receiving vehicle (20) which travels ahead of or behind a power transmission vehicle from the power transmission vehicle (10) which can transmit power. The platooning power supply system comprises: first control means (241) for performing control so that a distance in a fore-and-aft direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle reaches a prescribed value; detection means (242) for detecting positional displacement in a lateral direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle on the basis of an image which is imaged at least at either of the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle; and second control means (243) for performing control so that the positional displacement in the lateral direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle falls within a prescribed range on the basis of the positional displacement which is detected by the detection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a platooning power supply system for transmitting electric power between vehicles.

  Some vehicles equipped with batteries, such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, can perform power transmission between vehicles without contact. For example, in Patent Document 1, a vehicle traveling from one vehicle among the plurality of vehicles immediately before or immediately after the one vehicle during a platoon traveling in which the plurality of vehicles travel while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance. In addition, a technique for transmitting power in a non-contact manner has been proposed.

JP2013-0705014A

  In order to increase power transmission efficiency, it is preferable that a vehicle that transmits power and a vehicle that receives power travel while maintaining an optimum distance. That is, it is preferable that the distance between the power transmission antenna that performs power transmission and the power reception antenna that performs power reception be maintained at a value that maximizes power transmission efficiency.

  Here, as a technique for maintaining the distance in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, for example, a technique such as cruise control can be employed. However, the distance between the power transmission antenna and the power reception antenna also changes when a lateral displacement of the vehicle occurs. That is, it is difficult to maintain the optimum distance in order to increase the power transmission efficiency only by maintaining the distance in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

  The above-mentioned patent document does not mention anything about improving the power transmission efficiency by setting the distance between the antennas to an appropriate value. For this reason, the prior art including Patent Document 1 has a technical problem that there is a possibility that efficient power transmission between vehicles cannot be realized.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a platooning power supply system capable of efficiently transmitting electric power between vehicles in platooning.

  In order to solve the above problems, the power supply system for platooning travels power from a power transmitting vehicle capable of transmitting power to a power receiving vehicle capable of receiving power traveling in front of or behind the power transmitting vehicle in a non-contact manner. A power supply system for row running that can be supplied, the first control means for controlling the distance in the front-rear direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle to be a predetermined value, and at least one of the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle Detecting means for detecting a lateral misalignment between the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle based on the image captured in step, and based on the misalignment detected by the detecting means, the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle. And a second control means for controlling the positional deviation in the lateral direction to fall within a predetermined range.

  According to the row running power supply system of the present invention, the first control means controls the distance in the front-rear direction between the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle to be a predetermined value, and the second control means controls the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle. Is controlled so as to be within a predetermined range. As a result, the distance between the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle (specifically, the distance between the power transmitting antenna and the power receiving antenna) can be maintained while maintaining an optimum value, and the power transmission efficiency between the vehicles can be improved. it can.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the power transmission vehicle and power receiving vehicle which concern on embodiment. It is a top view which shows electric power transmission optimal distance. It is a top view which shows the position shift of the horizontal direction which generate | occur | produces at the time of electric power transmission. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the power supply system for row | line | column traveling which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows center position shift suppression control. It is a top view which shows calculation control of a center position shift. It is a top view which shows the correction control of center position shift.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to a row running power supply system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Vehicle configuration>
First, the configuration of a power transmission vehicle and a power reception vehicle controlled by the row running power supply system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle according to the embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a power receiving vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment includes a power transmission antenna 110 and a power transmission side control unit 120.

  The power transmission antenna 110 is an antenna that can transmit the power held by the power transmission vehicle 10 (for example, power stored in a battery (not shown) or the like) to the power receiving vehicle 20 in a contactless manner. Note that various existing methods such as a radio wave method can be applied to the non-contact power transmission method.

  The power transmission side control unit 120 is configured as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), for example, and controls various operations related to power transmission performed in the power transmission vehicle 10.

  The power receiving vehicle 20 according to the present embodiment includes a power receiving antenna 210, a front stereo camera 220, a side camera 230, and a power receiving side control unit 240.

  The power receiving antenna 210 receives power transmitted from the power transmitting antenna 110 of the power transmitting vehicle 10 and uses it as power held by the power receiving antenna 210 (for example, stores it in a battery (not shown) or the like).

  The front stereo camera 220 is a stereo camera that can capture an image in front of the power receiving vehicle 20 (particularly, an image including the power transmission vehicle 10).

  The side camera 230 is a camera that can capture an image (particularly an image including a lane) of the power receiving vehicle.

  The power receiving side control unit 240 is configured as, for example, an ECU, and controls various operations related to power receiving executed in the power receiving vehicle 20. The power receiving side control unit 240 includes an inter-vehicle distance adjustment unit 241, a center position deviation detection unit 242, and a center position deviation correction unit 243 as logical or physical processing blocks realized therein.

  The inter-vehicle distance adjustment unit 241 performs control to maintain the inter-vehicle distance between the power transmission vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 at a predetermined value based on an image captured by the front stereo camera 220 and a detection result of a radar (not shown). It is configured to be possible. The inter-vehicle distance adjusting unit 241 is a specific example of “first control unit”.

  The center position deviation detection unit 242 can calculate a deviation of the center position (lateral center position) between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 based on images captured by the front stereo camera 220 and the side camera 230. It is configured. The center position deviation detection unit 242 is a specific example of “detection means”.

  The center position deviation correction unit 243 is configured to be able to execute control for reducing the center position deviation based on the center position deviation detected by the center position deviation detection unit 242. The center position deviation correction unit 243 is a specific example of “second control unit”.

  The power transmission vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 may include a communication device for communicating with each other in addition to the above-described components. Further, a part of the configuration of the power receiving vehicle 20 may be provided in the power transmitting vehicle 10 instead of the power receiving vehicle 20.

<Transmission efficiency between vehicles>
Next, power transmission efficiency between the power transmission vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a top view showing the optimum power transmission distance. FIG. 3 is a top view showing a lateral displacement that occurs during power transmission.

  In FIG. 2, the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 have a distance (hereinafter referred to as “transmission efficiency optimum distance L” as appropriate) where the transmission efficiency is highest due to the characteristics. For this reason, in order to perform efficient power transmission, it is preferable to maintain the distance between the power transmission antenna 110 and the power reception antenna 210 at a value close to the transmission efficiency optimum distance L.

  Here, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, when the power transmission antenna 110 is provided on the rear side of the power transmission vehicle 10 and the power reception antenna 210 is provided on the front side of the power reception vehicle 20, the power transmission antenna 110 and the power reception antenna 210 are provided. Is a value close to the inter-vehicle distance between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20. Therefore, if the inter-vehicle distance between the power transmission vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 is controlled to be maintained at a value close to the transmission efficiency optimum distance L, efficient power transmission can be realized.

  However, as shown in FIG. 3, if a lateral displacement occurs between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20, control is performed to maintain the inter-vehicle distance close to the optimum transmission efficiency distance L. Even so, the distance between the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 is larger than the transmission efficiency optimum distance L. For this reason, if a lateral displacement occurs between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20, there is a technical problem that the power transmission efficiency is lowered even if the control of the inter-vehicle distance is appropriate. Arise.

  In the row running power supply system according to the present embodiment, in order to solve such technical problems, the control described in detail below is executed.

<Overall operation>
The operation of the row running power supply system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the row running power supply system according to the embodiment. The following operations are mainly performed in the power receiving vehicle 20. Further, the following operation is an operation when power is transmitted from the power transmitting vehicle 10 to the power receiving vehicle 20, and may not be executed when power is not transmitted.

  In FIG. 4, when the power supply system for convoy travel according to the present embodiment is operated, the characteristics of the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 are first acquired (step S101). The characteristics of the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 may be stored in advance.

  Next, the mounting positions (that is, the arrangement positions in the vehicle) of the power transmission antenna 110 and the power reception antenna 210 are acquired (step S102). It should be noted that the mounting positions of the power transmission antenna 110 and the power reception antenna 210 may be stored in advance.

  Next, the optimum transmission efficiency distance L is calculated based on the characteristics of the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 and the mounting positions of the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 (step S103). Further, an inter-vehicle distance for realizing the transmission efficiency optimum distance L is set (step S104).

  When the inter-vehicle distance is set, control for maintaining the set inter-vehicle distance is executed (step S105). The inter-vehicle distance set here is a specific example of “predetermined value”. It should be noted that since various existing techniques can be adopted for the control for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, a distance between lanes (that is, a distance between the lane and the vehicle) for realizing the optimum transmission efficiency distance L is set. The distance between lanes is set as a distance such that the center positions of the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 (in other words, the center positions of the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210) match based on the distance between the lanes of the power transmitting vehicle 10, for example. Is done.

  When the lane distance is set, control for maintaining the set lane distance (in other words, center position deviation suppression control) is executed (step S107).

<Center position deviation suppression control>
Next, the above-described center position deviation suppression control will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the center position deviation suppression control.

  In FIG. 5, when the center position deviation suppression control is started, first, the center position of the front vehicle (that is, the power transmission vehicle 10) is confirmed (step S201). Further, the center position of the host vehicle (that is, the power receiving vehicle 20) is also confirmed (step S202). When the center positions of the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 are confirmed, the difference between the center positions is calculated based on those values (step S203).

  Here, the calculation control of the center position deviation executed as steps S201 to S203 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a top view showing calculation control of the center position deviation.

  In FIG. 6, when confirming the center position of the power transmission vehicle 10, an image of the power transmission vehicle 10 is captured by the front stereo camera 220. By analyzing this image, the lane and the vehicle width of the power transmission vehicle 10 are recognized, and the center position of the power transmission vehicle 10 is calculated.

  Further, when confirming the center position of the power receiving vehicle 20, an image of the lane located on the side of the power receiving vehicle is captured by the side camera 230. By analyzing this image, the distance from the lane of the power receiving vehicle 20 is recognized, and the center position of the power receiving vehicle 20 is calculated.

  The difference in the center position is calculated as a difference between the center position of the power transmission vehicle 10 and the center position of the power receiving vehicle 20 calculated as described above.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the difference between the center positions is calculated, it is determined whether or not the difference is within a predetermined range (step S204). Here, “within a predetermined range” is a threshold for determining whether or not the difference in the center position is large enough to reduce the power transmission efficiency to a value that cannot be ignored. Appropriate values are obtained by simulation or the like.

  If it is determined that the difference in the center position is within the predetermined range (step S204: YES), it is determined that the power transmission efficiency has not been reduced, and the subsequent processing is omitted. Note that the processing in step S201 may be started again after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the series of processing ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the difference between the center positions is not within the predetermined range (step S204: NO), it is determined that the power transmission efficiency is reduced, and the processing after step S205 is executed.

  If the difference in the center position is not within the predetermined range, a process for grasping the safety of the traveling position of the power receiving vehicle 20 is executed (step S205). Note that the safety here refers to safety to the extent that correction control of the center position described later can be performed, and relates to the lateral movement of the power receiving vehicle 20.

  For example, when the turn signal emitted from the preceding vehicle (that is, the power transmission vehicle 10) is detected, or when the change amount per unit time of the center position of the preceding vehicle is larger than a predetermined amount (for example, 100 cm / s), the preceding vehicle Is likely to change lanes, so it is judged unsafe.

  Further, there is a risk that the distance from another vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the lane in which the power receiving vehicle 20 is traveling is measured by the side camera 230 or a corner sensor or the like (for example, the distance from the other vehicle). Is determined to be unsafe.

  Further, the distance to the wall or guard rail on the side of the lane in which the power receiving vehicle 20 is traveling is measured by the side camera 230 or the corner sensor, etc., and there is a risk of contact (for example, the distance to the wall or guard rail is Is determined to be unsafe.

  When safety is confirmed by the process of step S205 (step S205: YES), center position deviation correction control is executed (step S207). On the other hand, when the safety is not confirmed (step S205: NO), the center position deviation correction control is omitted. The series of processes ends as described above. However, after the predetermined period has elapsed, the process of step S201 may be started again.

  Here, the center position deviation correction control executed as step S207 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a top view showing the correction control of the center position deviation.

  In FIG. 7, in the center position deviation correction control, the lateral position of the power receiving vehicle 20 is changed so that the center position deviation width W (see FIG. 6) between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 is within a predetermined range. Specifically, when the center position shift as shown in FIG. 6 has occurred, the lateral position of the power receiving vehicle 20 is corrected in the left direction in the figure. In this way, since the center position shift between the power transmission vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 can be reduced, the distance between the power transmission antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 can be made closer to the optimum transmission efficiency distance L. As a result, the power transmission efficiency between the power transmitting vehicle 10 and the power receiving vehicle 20 can be improved.

  As described above, according to the power supply system for convoy travel according to the present embodiment, in order to realize the transmission efficiency optimum distance L, center position deviation suppression control is performed in addition to the inter-vehicle distance control. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in power transmission efficiency due to a change in the distance between the power transmitting antenna 110 and the power receiving antenna 210 to an inappropriate value. Therefore, the power transmission efficiency can be maintained at a high value.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which various controls are executed on the power receiving vehicle 20 side has been described, but similar control may be performed on the power transmitting vehicle 10 side. That is, the same effect can be obtained even when control is performed such that the power transmission vehicle 10 side detects the center position deviation from the power receiving vehicle 20 and adjusts the lateral position of the power transmission vehicle 10.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. The power feeding system is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Power transmission vehicle 20 Power receiving vehicle 110 Power transmission antenna 120 Power transmission side control part 210 Power reception antenna 220 Front stereo camera 230 Side camera 240 Power reception side control part 241 Inter-vehicle distance adjustment part 242 Center position deviation correction part 243 Center position deviation correction part L Transmission efficiency Optimum distance W Center position deviation width

Claims (1)

A power supply system for a convoy travel capable of supplying power in a contactless manner to a power receiving vehicle capable of receiving power traveling in front of or behind the power transmitting vehicle from a power transmitting vehicle capable of transmitting power,
First control means for controlling the distance in the front-rear direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle to be a predetermined value;
Detecting means for detecting a lateral displacement between the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle based on an image captured by at least one of the power transmitting vehicle and the power receiving vehicle;
And a second control means for controlling the positional deviation in the lateral direction between the power transmission vehicle and the power receiving vehicle to be within a predetermined range based on the positional deviation detected by the detection means. Power supply system for traveling.

Images