JP2019140879A - External charger and vehicle management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an external charger and a vehicle management system improving convenience and charge efficiency at external charging.SOLUTION: An external charge device, which charges an on-vehicle secondary battery with power supplied from outside the vehicle 20, includes: a gun aggregation body 50 having a plurality of types of charging guns 51A, 51B, conforming to a plurality of charging standards, arranged in different directions; a drive device 45 which controls the position and the direction of the gun aggregation body, and a power supply control device which drives the drive device. The power supply control device acquires vehicle information including a vehicle charging standard and the position of a charging port 26, to drive the drive device in such a manner that a charging gun having the same type as the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an external charging device and a vehicle management system for automating external charging of a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle.

  Conventionally, a technique for efficiently performing external charging of a vehicle-mounted battery by applying automatic driving control to a vehicle equipped with a non-contact external charging device (wireless charging device) has been studied. In other words, the vehicle position is automatically controlled so that the power receiving coil attached to the lower surface of the vehicle and the power feeding coil embedded in the road surface are close to each other, and then power is received from the power feeding coil side using electromagnetic induction or magnetic resonance. This technology transmits power to the coil side. By fully automating the movement of the vehicle at the time of external charging, the positioning accuracy of the receiving coil on the vehicle side with respect to the power feeding coil on the road surface side can be improved, and the charging efficiency can be improved (see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2014-141161

  However, the non-contact type external charging device has a smaller transmission output than the wired connection type (contact type) external charging device, and is not suitable for charging a large number of vehicles in a short time. For example, some service areas and parking areas attached to expressways have parking lots that can accommodate hundreds of vehicles. Ability to implement is required. Thus, when a non-contact type external charging device is applied to a large-scale parking lot, there is a risk that the staying time will be unnecessarily long due to waiting for external charging.

  On the other hand, there are a plurality of charging standards such as CHAdeMO (registered trademark) and CCS (Combined Charging System, so-called Combo standard) in the charging port into which the charging gun of the contact type external charging device is inserted. Therefore, it is desired to develop a charging device and a management system that can efficiently charge a large number of vehicles in a short time even when vehicles having charging ports of different charging standards coexist in one country or region.

  The external charging device and the vehicle management system of the present invention have been developed in view of such problems, and one of the purposes is to improve the convenience and charging efficiency of external charging of the vehicle. The present invention is not limited to this purpose, and is a function and effect derived from each configuration shown in the embodiment for carrying out the invention described later, and has another function and effect that cannot be obtained by conventional techniques. is there.

  (1) The external charging device disclosed here is an external charging device that charges an in-vehicle secondary battery with electric power supplied from the outside of the vehicle, and a plurality of types of charging guns corresponding to a plurality of charging standards are different. A gun assembly arranged in a direction, a drive device that controls the position and orientation of the gun assembly, and a power supply control device that drives the drive device. The power feeding control device acquires vehicle information including a charging standard of the vehicle and a position of a charging port, and the driving device so that the charging gun of the same type as the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port. Drive.

(2) It is preferable that the gun assembly is formed in a bifurcated shape having the charging gun of two kinds of charging standards.
(3) The driving device is formed in an articulated shape having a plurality of arms connected to be relatively rotatable, and the gun assembly has a T-shape having two types of charging guns arranged in opposite directions. It is preferable that the base portion without the charging gun is formed to have a shape and is pivotally connected to the distal end portion of the arm.

(4) It is preferable that the gun assembly has a high voltage line that is branched toward each of the charging guns.
(5) It is preferable that the external charging device includes a camera that is provided in each of the charging guns and captures an image of the periphery of the charging port.

(6) Each of the charging guns is interposed between the base portion supported by the driving device, a connector portion inserted into the charging port, and the base portion and the connector portion so that the connector portion is connected to the base portion. It is preferable to have an elastic support portion that elastically supports the above.
(7) It is preferable that the vehicle is provided with a plurality of light sources around the charging port, and the power supply control device drives the driving device using the light of the light source in combination.

  (8) The vehicle management system disclosed here is a vehicle management system in a parking area that externally charges a secondary battery of a vehicle having an automatic driving function, and a plurality of charging guns corresponding to a plurality of charging standards are in different directions. An external charging device comprising: a gun assembly disposed in a vehicle; a drive device that controls the position and orientation of the gun assembly; and a power supply control device that drives the drive device; and the vehicle and the external charging device. And a management device that manages the automatic operation of the vehicle that has entered the parking area and the operation of the external charging device, as well as wireless communication with each. The power supply control device acquires vehicle information including a charging standard of the vehicle and a position of a charging port based on a command from the management device, and the charging gun of the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port. The driving device is driven as described above.

  According to the disclosed external charging apparatus and vehicle management system, a charging gun can be automatically connected to a charging port of a vehicle having various charging standards. Therefore, the convenience and charging efficiency of external charging of the vehicle can be improved.

It is a top view which shows the parking area in the vehicle management system of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the connection range of a charging gun. It is a block block diagram of a vehicle management system. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the external charging device (charging robot) which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of the arm front-end | tip of a charging robot, and a gun assembly. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the motion of a gun assembly. It is a schematic diagram which shows the high voltage line inside a gun assembly. It is a figure for demonstrating the periphery structure of a charging port. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of a charging gun. It is a sequence diagram for operation | movement description of a vehicle management system. It is a flowchart regarding the connection of a charging gun.

  Hereinafter, an external charging apparatus as an embodiment and a vehicle management system to which the external charging apparatus is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention of excluding various modifications and technical applications that are not explicitly described in the following embodiment. Each configuration of the present embodiment can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. Further, they can be selected as necessary, or can be appropriately combined.

[1. Facility configuration]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a parking area 10 in the vehicle management system of the present embodiment. The parking area 10 is provided in a parking lot such as a parking area (PA), a service area (SA), a road station, a shopping mall, a commercial facility, or a city hall on an expressway. The parking area 10 is divided into a waiting area 11, a charging area 12, and a completion area 13 by a white line drawn on the road surface. In each of the areas 11 to 13, a sufficient space is provided for parking a plurality of vehicles 20, and a plurality of parking frames (lots) are provided.

  The standby area 11 is a section where the vehicle 20 before charging is standby. In the standby area 11, an entrance of the parking area 10 is provided. Therefore, the area where the vehicle 20 that has entered from the outside to the inside of the parking area 10 first traverses is the standby area 11. The charging area 12 is a section where a plurality of charging robots 40 (external charging devices) are installed. The charging robot 40 is an industrial robot type that automatically connects a charging gun 51 to the charging port 26 of the vehicle 20 in order to perform external charging of a driving battery 25 (secondary battery) mounted on the vehicle 20. This is a power supply device. The completion area 13 is a section where the vehicle 20 after charging stays. In the completion area 13, an exit of the parking area 10 is provided.

  The operation of the charging robot 40 and the automatic driving operation of the vehicle 20 are managed by the management device 1. The management device 1 performs automatic driving control using wireless communication with a smartphone 30 (communication terminal device) possessed by an occupant (user) of the vehicle 20 and uses wireless communication with the charging robot 40. The external charging control including the connection operation of the charging gun 51 is performed. The smartphone 30 is assumed to be linked in advance to the vehicle 20 of the occupant carrying the smartphone 30 through a predetermined authentication procedure (account authentication) and a connection procedure (pairing).

  Here, the movement of the vehicle 20 in the parking area 10 and the flow of control will be described. First, an occupant of the vehicle 20 stops the vehicle 20 at an arbitrary parking stop frame in the standby area 11 and uses the smartphone 30 to apply to the management device 1 to perform external charging. The management device 1 confirms the current charge amount of the vehicle 20 to be charged, and sets a charge schedule (charge start time and target charge amount) in consideration of the charge amount (target charge amount) desired by the occupant. At this time, the management device 1 acquires vehicle information including the position of the charging port 26 of the vehicle 20 and the charging standard of the charging port 26. Thereafter, the passenger may get off and move to a commercial facility, toilet, entertainment facility, etc., or may take a break in the vehicle. Thereafter, the position and control state of the vehicle 20 are automatically managed by the management device 1.

  When the charging start time comes, the management device 1 moves the vehicle 20 from the standby area 11 to the charging area 12 by automatic driving. Further, the charging robot 40 is driven to automatically connect the charging gun 51 to the charging port 26 to perform external charging. After that, when the amount of charged electric power reaches a preset target charging amount, the management device 1 moves the vehicle 20 from the charging area 12 to the completion area 13 and transmits that the charging is completed to the occupant's smartphone 30. To do. In response, the passenger gets on the vehicle 20 parked in the completion area 13 and leaves the parking area 10.

  Regarding the automatic connection control between the charging gun 51 and the charging port 26, the position of the charging port 26 differs depending on the type of the vehicle 20. There are two or more charging standards for the charging port 26 (for example, CHAdeMO standard, CCS standard, etc.), and the shape of the connecting portion is also different. Therefore, the charging robot 40 of the present embodiment is provided with a gun assembly 50 in which, for example, two charging guns 51 corresponding to these two kinds of charging standards are arranged in different directions. Based on the charging standard information acquired from the vehicle 20, the management device 1 selects a charging gun 51 having the same charging standard as that of the vehicle 20.

  The charging robot 40 is provided so that the gun assembly 50 (charging gun 51) can move at least within a hatched area (hatched portion) in FIG. That is, the movable range of the gun assembly 50 (charging gun 51) is set to a range that occupies more than half the area of the parking / stopping frame provided in the charging area 12. The hatched portion shown in FIG. 2 occupies a range having the same width as the parking / stopping frame and a depth dimension of (L / 2), where L is the depth size (parking space length) of the parking / stopping frame.

  By setting the movable range as described above, the charging gun 51 can be connected to the charging port 26 regardless of the position of the charging port 26. For example, when the charging port 26 is provided in front of the vehicle 20 (front fender surface, hood upper surface, side of the hood, etc.), forward parking (forward parking) may be performed. On the other hand, when the charging port 26 is provided behind the vehicle 20 (in the vicinity of the rear fender surface, the rear quarter surface, the rear bumper, etc.), the rearward parking (reverse parking) may be performed.

[2. Hardware configuration]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the vehicle management system. This system includes a management device 1, an on-site camera 8, a vehicle 20, a smartphone 30, and a charging robot 40. The management device 1 is an electronic computer (computer) having a function of managing the vehicle 20 and the charging robot 40 existing in the parking area 10. The on-site camera 8 is a video camera for monitoring the position and parking state of the vehicle 20 existing in the parking area 10.

  The management device 1 includes a processor (central processing unit), a memory (main memory), a storage device (storage), an interface device, and the like, and is connected to each other via an internal bus. The management device 1 also has a function of communicating with the in-field camera 8, the vehicle 20, the smartphone 30, the charging robot 40, and the like via the network 7. The network 7 is a general term for a wired or wireless communication network formed using, for example, a wireless communication network (carrier network) of a communication carrier or the Internet.

  The vehicle 20 is an electric vehicle (an electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle, etc.) equipped with a driving motor that uses a battery 25 as a power source, and has an automatic driving function. The battery 25 is a secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery or a nickel metal hydride battery, and charging (external charging) by the charging robot 40 is possible. In addition, an openable / closable lid 27 is provided at an arbitrary position on the surface of the vehicle 20 that is easily accessible from the outside, and a charging port 26 for external charging is provided inside thereof. The state of external charging is controlled by an external charging control device 21 (electronic control device, computer).

  Devices to be controlled during automatic driving of the vehicle 20 are a drive source 71, a brake device 72, a steering device 73, and the like. The state of automatic driving is controlled by the automatic driving control device 22 (electronic control device, computer). The The vehicle 20 is provided with a positioning device 23 and a communication device 24. The positioning device 23 is an electronic control device for measuring the position of the vehicle 20 based on detection information such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), a vehicle speed sensor, a steering angle sensor, and a yaw rate sensor.

  The communication device 24 is an electronic control device for communicating with the management device 1 and the smartphone 30 via the network 7. Each of the external charging control device 21, the automatic operation control device 22, the positioning device 23, and the communication device 24 may be provided as an independent electronic control device, or may be provided as an integrated electronic control device. The electronic control device referred to here includes, for example, a processor (central processing unit), a memory (main memory), a storage device (storage), an interface device, and the like, and is connected to each other via an internal bus.

  The smartphone 30 is a portable communication device possessed by an occupant of the vehicle 20, and also has a function as an electronic computer (computer). As is well known, the smartphone 30 includes a processor (central processing unit), a memory (main memory), a storage device (storage), an interface device, and the like, and is connected to each other via an internal bus. The smartphone 30 includes an input / output control device 31, a communication device 32, a display 33, and a touch panel 34. Information displayed on the display 33 and operation input information to the touch panel 34 are controlled by the input / output control device 31. The communication device 32 is an electronic control device for communicating with the management device 1 and the vehicle 20 via the network 7.

  In the present embodiment, the smartphone 30 is used for an occupant of the vehicle 20 to apply for external charging or to check the state of charge of the vehicle 20. The communication target of the smartphone 30 only needs to include at least the vehicle 20. That is, the information exchange between the smartphone 30 and the management device 1 may be realized via the vehicle 20 or may be directly connected via the network 7. Instead of the smartphone 30, electronic devices (gadgets) such as a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a notebook computer, a music player, and a portable game machine can be used.

  The charging robot 40 (external charging device) is an industrial robot type power feeding device. The charging robot 40 is provided with a power feeding control device 41, a communication device 42, a power source 43, a driving device 45, a camera 46, and a gun assembly 50 (charging gun 51). The power feeding control device 41 is an electronic computer (computer) having both a function of driving the driving device 45 and a function of performing charging (power feeding) while the charging gun 51 is connected to the charging port 26 of the vehicle 20. The power supply control device 41 includes, for example, a processor (central processing unit), a memory (main memory), a storage device (storage), an interface device, and the like, and is connected to each other via an internal bus. The operation states of the power source 43, the gun assembly 50, the drive device 45, and the camera 46 are controlled by the power supply control device 41.

  The communication device 42 is an electronic control device for communicating with the management device 1 via the network 7. The charging robot 40 only needs to exchange information with at least the management apparatus 1. Therefore, it is good also as an apparatus structure connected to the management apparatus 1 by wire (cable) instead of wireless communication. The power source 43 is a secondary battery that stores electric power supplied to the battery 25 of the vehicle 20 or a power supply device that outputs a voltage and current having a magnitude suitable for charging the battery 25.

  The charging gun 51 is a connector that is connected to the charging port 26 when the vehicle 20 is externally charged, and is provided in the gun assembly 50. The drive device 45 is an assembly device (assembly) including an actuator (motor, cylinder, etc.) for driving the gun assembly 50, an arm 44, and the like. The driving device 45 has a function of controlling the position and orientation of the gun assembly 50. The camera 46 is a video camera for confirming the position and orientation of the charging port 26 when the charging gun 51 is connected to the charging port 26. A camera 46 is provided in each charging gun 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a gun assembly 50 is attached to the arm 44 on the distal end side of the driving device 45. On the other hand, the base end of the drive unit 45 is supported so as to be slidable along a rail installed above the parking / stopping frame. Further, the driving device 45 of the present embodiment is formed in a multi-joint shape formed by connecting a plurality of arms 44 and joint portions. Adjacent ones of the plurality of arms 44 are connected so as to be relatively rotatable. In addition, as directions of the rotation axis of the joint part (central axis of relative rotation), there are a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the adjacent arm 44 and a direction parallel to the extending direction of the arm 44. Thereby, the position and orientation of the gun assembly 50, that is, the position and orientation of the charging gun 51 can be appropriately controlled regardless of the orientation of the charging port 26 and the distance from the charging robot 40 to the charging port 26. It becomes possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the gun assembly 50 is formed in a bifurcated shape having a charging gun 51 of two types of charging standards. In the present embodiment, a charging gun 51A corresponding to the CHAdeMO standard and a charging gun 51B corresponding to the CCS standard are exemplified. Hereinafter, when distinguishing these, it describes with the charging gun 51A and the charging gun 51B. In the gun assembly 50 of the present embodiment, two types of charging guns 51A and 51B are arranged in opposite directions, and are formed in a T shape in a top view. In addition, the distal end portion of the arm 44 is rotatably connected to the base portion 53 without the charging guns 51A and 51B in the gun assembly 50.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the distal end portion of the arm 44 of the present embodiment has a shape in which a pair of oblong flat plates arranged in opposition is connected by a pair of rectangular flat plates. A base 53 is disposed on the base. The gun assembly 50 is pivotally supported on the distal end portion of the arm 44 by a rotating shaft 54 indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The base 53 of the gun assembly 50 incorporates a worm wheel that is arranged coaxially with the rotation shaft 54 and a worm gear that meshes with the worm wheel, and a motor that rotates the worm (not shown). The worm gear and the motor are included in the driving device 45 described above.

  When a vehicle 20 having a CCS standard charging port is guided to the charging area 12, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the gun assembly is set such that the charging gun 51B corresponding to the CCS standard is inserted into the charging port 26. The body 50 rotates. On the other hand, when the vehicle 20 having the CHAdeMO standard charging port is guided to the charging area 12, the charging gun 51A corresponding to the CHAdeMO standard is inserted into the charging port 26 as shown in FIG. Then, the gun assembly 50 rotates.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, a high voltage line 52 branched from the charging guns 51 </ b> A and 51 </ b> B is disposed inside the gun assembly 50. Although the high voltage line 52 is covered with a coating, a portion (exposed portion) having no coating is provided inside the gun assembly portion 50. The exposed portion of the high voltage line 52 is held by, for example, a sheet metal caulking 52a, and then the outside is covered with a coating. A signal line (not shown) is also provided inside the gun assembly 50.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a camera 46 for photographing the periphery of the charging port 26 is embedded and fixed on the front end surface of each charging gun 51 of the present embodiment, in addition to the unevenness corresponding to the connector shape of the charging port 26. The Each charging gun 51 is provided with a connector portion 57 and an elastic support portion 59. The connector part 57 is a part that is inserted into the charging port 26 (a part that fits into the charging port 26). The camera 46 is disposed at the center position of the connector portion 57.

  The elastic support portion 59 is a portion that is interposed between the base portion 53 supported by the arm 44 of the driving device 45 and the connector portion 57 and elastically supports the connector portion 57 with respect to the base portion 53. . Specific examples of the elastic support portion 59 include a spring and rubber. By forming the elastic support portion 59 in each charging gun 51, rattling and positional errors at the time of connection between the connector portion 57 and the charging port 26 are absorbed, and it is easy to be firmly connected.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the charging port 26 provided with the light sources 61 to 63 for position adjustment. These light sources 61 to 63 are, for example, laser light sources or LED light sources. Light emitted from the light sources 61 to 63 is used as a pilot signal when the connector portion 57 and the charging port 26 are connected. Although the layout of the light sources 61 to 63 is arbitrary, as shown in FIG. 9, it is preferable that the light sources 61 to 63 are arranged so as to form vertices of equilateral triangles surrounding the charging port 26. In addition, among the three light sources 61 to 63, the uppermost one (the light source 61 in FIG. 9) may emit light in a color different from the others to make it easier to grasp the layout direction.

  If the orientation (insertion angle) of the charging gun 51 is perpendicular to the charging port 26, the triangle drawn by connecting the light sources 61 to 63 in the image captured by the camera 46 is an equilateral triangle. On the other hand, if the direction of the charging gun 51 is inclined with respect to the charging port 26, the triangle in the photographed image has a distorted shape (for example, an unequal triangle) according to the inclination. In the present embodiment, since the camera 46 is disposed in the center of the connector portion 57, when the charging gun 51 is located in front of the charging port 26, a triangle drawn by connecting the light sources 61 to 63 is a captured image. Located in the middle. On the other hand, when the charging gun 51 is displaced from the front of the charging port 26, a triangle appears at a position off the center in the captured image. As described above, by using the three light sources 61 to 63, the relative position and orientation of the charging gun 51 with respect to the charging port 26 can be accurately grasped, and the alignment becomes easy.

[3. Software configuration]
Software (program) for performing automatic driving control and external charging control of the vehicle 20 is installed in the storage device of the management device 1. In the present embodiment, connection control for external charging will be described in detail, and description of external charging control and automatic operation control will be omitted as appropriate. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the management device 1 performs connection control and drives the drive device 45 by issuing a control signal (command) to the power supply control device 41 of each charging robot 40. The device 41 may perform connection control.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the management device 1 is provided with an acquisition unit 2, a control unit 3, and a facility management unit 4. These are mainly functions related to connection control that are classified for convenience, and each element may be described as an independent program, or may be described as a composite program that combines these functions. . These programs are stored in a memory or storage and executed by a processor. Alternatively, these programs are recorded on a recording medium (removable medium) such as an optical disk or a semiconductor memory, and are read into the memory via a recording medium drive and executed.

  The acquisition unit 2 acquires various information (vehicle information) related to the vehicle 20 in the parking area 10. Here, information on the number and position of each vehicle 20 located in each of the areas 11 to 13 in the parking area 10 is detected based on an image taken by the in-place camera 8. Radar devices may be installed at various locations in the parking area 10, and the position information of the vehicles 20 may be detected using the radar devices. Alternatively, the position information detected by each vehicle 20 by itself (for example, GNSS positioning information detected by the positioning device 23 of the vehicle 20) may be presented to each vehicle 20.

  In addition, the acquisition unit 2 communicates with the smartphone 30 possessed by the passenger of the vehicle 20 that has entered the standby area 11, along with the application for external charging, information on the charging standard of the vehicle 20 and the position of the charging port 26, and the current charge amount. Information such as the target charge amount and the desired charge amount is acquired as vehicle information. Note that the position of the charging port 26 is, for example, the coordinates (x, y, z) of the center C shown in FIG. ). Similarly, the direction of the charging port 26 can be expressed by a three-dimensional vector (Nx, Ny, Nz) corresponding to the direction N shown in FIG. Information such as the current charge amount, target charge amount, and desired charge amount is used for scheduling of external charging.

  The control unit 3 generates a control signal for driving the driving device 45 using the position information of the charging port 26 and the light of the light sources 61 to 63. First, based on the position information of the charging port 26, the control unit 3 moves the gun assembly 50 to the vicinity of the charging port 26, and points the corresponding charging standard charging gun 51 toward the charging port 26. The term “near” here refers to, for example, a range of about ± 50 [mm] with respect to each axis in three directions from the center C of the charging port 26 in consideration of accumulation of a parking position error and manufacturing error of the vehicle 20. To do.

  After the charging gun 51 moves to the vicinity of the charging port 26, the control unit 3 finely adjusts the position of the charging gun 51 using the light of the light sources 61 to 63 so as to face the charging port 26. The charging gun 51 is fitted to the H.26. In the present embodiment, the position of the charging gun 51 is finely adjusted based on the light of the light sources 61 to 63 in the captured image of the camera 46. However, the same control can be performed using the in-field camera 8 instead of the camera 46. The fine adjustment range of the charging gun 51 is desirably a slightly wider range than the vicinity (range of about ± 50 [mm]). For example, the range of ± 3 axes from the center position of the connector portion 57 is ± The range is about 100 [mm].

  The facility management unit 4 manages the external charging state and the automatic driving state of each vehicle 20 that has entered the parking area 10. When the facility management unit 4 receives an application for external charging from an occupant of the vehicle 20 that has entered the standby area 11, the facility management unit 4 sets a charging schedule (charging start time and target charging amount), and the vehicle 20 is automatically charged to the charging area 12 To move. At this time, the automatic driving control device 22 of the vehicle 20 is controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the facility management unit 4 via the network 7.

  When the vehicle 20 arrives at the charging area 12, the facility management unit 4 causes the vehicle 20 to open the lid 27 and turn on the light sources 61 to 63. On the other hand, the charging robot 40 is controlled by the power supply control device 41 based on a control signal from the control unit 3. As a result, the charging gun 51 is automatically connected to the charging port 26 and external charging is started. When the charging amount of the battery 25 reaches the target charging amount and the external charging is completed, the control unit 3 outputs a control signal to the power supply control device 41 of the charging robot 40, and the charging gun 51 is automatically removed from the charging port 26. . In addition, the facility management unit 4 causes the vehicle 20 to close the lid 27 and turn off the light sources 61 to 63. Thereafter, the facility management unit 4 moves the vehicle 20 to the completion area 13 by automatic driving.

  When the power supply control device 41 performs connection control, the power supply control device 41 only needs to have a part of the functional elements of the acquisition unit 2 and a part of the functional elements of the control unit 3. That is, the power supply control device 41 acquires vehicle information including the charging standard of the vehicle 20 and the position of the charging port 26, and a charging gun 51 of the same type as the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port 26 of the vehicle 20. As long as it has a function of driving the driving device 45 as described above, other functions (for example, acquisition of information on the number and position of each vehicle 20 located in each of the areas 11 to 13 and setting of a charging schedule) are described above. The management apparatus 1 should just be provided as follows.

[4. Sequence Diagram]
FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of control from when the vehicle 20 enters the parking area 10 until it leaves. When the vehicle 20 enters the parking area 10, the movement of the vehicle 20 is captured by the on-site camera 8 installed in the parking area 10 and recognized by the management device 1. The occupant of the vehicle 20 parks the vehicle 20 in a favorite parking / stopping frame in the standby area 11 and applies to the management device 1 using the smartphone 30 for external charging. At the time of this application, for example, information on the place where the vehicle 20 is parked (parking / parking frame number) and information such as a license plate are transmitted to the management device 1.

  The management device 1 that has received the application confirms the presence of the vehicle 20 associated with the smartphone 30 from the parking / parking frame number transmitted from the occupant, the video of the on-site camera 8, and the like. When the vehicle 20 to be charged is recognized, the management device 1 requests the vehicle 20 to present various information, and the charging standard of the vehicle 20, the position of the charging port 26, the battery capacity of the battery 25, the power consumption, Get vehicle information such as charge amount and target charge amount. At this time, the application for external charging is formally accepted by the management apparatus 1, and information on the charging schedule (charging start time, charging completion time) and the target charging amount is transmitted to the smartphone 30. Thereafter, the occupant may leave the vehicle 20 and spend at a commercial facility, an amusement facility or the like adjacent to the parking area 10.

  When the charging start time is reached, the management device 1 requests the vehicle 20 for information regarding the locked state of the door lock switch, the operation position of the select lever, and the like on the condition that there is an empty parking frame in the charging area 12. When the vehicle 20 transmits these pieces of information to the management device 1, the management device 1 confirms that an automatic driving execution condition is satisfied, and then starts automatic driving control of the vehicle 20. As a result, the vehicle 20 moves from the standby area 11 to a parking / parking frame in which the charging area 12 is vacant. Moreover, the management apparatus 1 notifies the smart phone 30 that automatic driving | operation control was started.

  When the vehicle 20 arrives at the parking frame of the charging area 12, the management device 1 is notified that the vehicle 20 has completed the movement. In response to this, the management device 1 starts automatic connection control, opens the lid 27 of the vehicle 20, automatically connects the charging gun 51 to the charging port 26, and causes the charging robot 40 to perform external charging. When the charged power amount reaches a preset target charge amount, the management device 1 moves the vehicle 20 from the charging area 12 to the completion area 13 and transmits the completion of charging to the occupant's smartphone 30. In response, the passenger gets on the vehicle 20 parked in the completion area 13 and leaves the parking area 10. The fact that the vehicle 20 has left the parking area 10 is recognized by the management device 1 based on the image of the in-place camera 8. Thereby, the management work of the management apparatus 1 for the vehicle 20 is completed.

[5. flowchart]
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of automatic connection control. The contents of this flow correspond to the control contents from when the occupant applies for external charging to when external charging is performed. First, an occupant of the vehicle 20 stops the vehicle 20 in the standby area 11 and applies for external charging with the smartphone 30. When the management apparatus 1 receives the application (step A1), the management apparatus 1 sends vehicle information (vehicle 20 charging standard, charging port 26 position, battery capacity of battery 25, power consumption, current charging amount, target charging) to the vehicle 20. Request the presentation of the amount, etc., and acquire the information (step A2).

  The management device 1 sets the posture (parking direction) of the vehicle 20 during charging according to the position of the charging port 26. For example, if the position of the charging port 26 is the front side of the vehicle body, the forward parking posture is set, and if the charging port 26 is the rear side of the vehicle body, the backward parking posture is set. Further, a charging schedule is set based on the current charging amount and the target charging amount, and is presented to the occupant (step A3). In addition, when there is no space in the parking / stopping frame of the charging area 12, the charging start time according to the charging condition of each vehicle 20 currently charged is set.

  In starting the automatic driving, the management device 1 confirms that the door lock of the vehicle 20 is locked (step A4), and confirms that there is an empty parking frame in the charging area 12 (step A5). . Thereafter, the vehicle 20 is transferred to the charging area 12 by automatic driving (step A6). When the vehicle arrives at the charging area 12, the lid 27 of the vehicle 20 is opened (step A7), and the charging gun 51 of the corresponding charging standard is automatically connected to the charging port 26 while bringing the gun assembly 50 close to the charging port 26. (Step A8). At this time, if the charging gun 51 moves to the vicinity of the charging port 26, the position of the charging gun 51 is finely adjusted using the light of the light sources 61 to 63, and the charging gun 51 is directly opposed to the charging port 26 and then fitted. Thereafter, after confirming that the interlock switch for detecting that the charging gun 51 is correctly fitted into the charging port 26 is turned on, external charging is performed (step A9).

[6. Action, effect]
(1) In the above-described charging robot 40 and the vehicle management system using the same, the charging information 51 of the same type as the charging standard of the vehicle 20 is obtained using the vehicle information including the charging standard of the vehicle 20 and the position of the charging port 26. The driving device 45 is driven so as to be connected to the charging port 26. With such a configuration, the charging gun 51 can be automatically connected to the charging port 26 of the vehicle 20 having various charging standards, and external charging can be performed efficiently and convenience is improved. be able to.

  (2) According to the charging robot 40 described above, it is possible to cope with two different types of standards, so it is possible to efficiently perform external charging for many vehicles 20 and improve convenience. be able to.

  (3) Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the charging robot 40 described above has a driving device 45 that moves the gun assembly 50 (charging gun 51) formed in an articulated shape, and the gun assembly 50 is driven. It is rotatably connected to an arm 44 located at the tip of the device 45. With such a shape, it is easy to cope with various orientations and positions of the charging port 26, and the efficiency of external charging can be further improved. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, even when the charging port 26 is provided on the hood surface or when it is disposed on the side surface of the vehicle body, the charging gun 51 is securely connected to the charging port 26. Can be fitted.

  (4) In the charging robot 40 described above, since the high voltage line 52 is branched in the gun assembly 50, the high voltage line 52 can be protected and safety can be improved.

  (5) Further, in the above-described charging robot 40, as shown in FIG. 8, each charging gun 51 is provided with a camera 46 that captures the periphery of the charging port 26. Thereby, the relative position of the charging gun 51 with respect to the charging port 26 can be accurately grasped, and the automatic connection of the charging gun 51 can be facilitated. In particular, in the above-described embodiment, since the camera 46 is disposed at the center of the connector portion 57, the position facing the charging port 26 can be accurately grasped, and the accuracy of automatic connection can be improved. The time required for automatic connection can be reduced.

  (6) Each charging gun 51 described above is provided with a connector portion 57 and an elastic support portion 59 as shown in FIG. The elastic support portion 59 functions to elastically support the connector portion 57 with respect to the base portion 53. Thereby, even if the relative position and direction of the charging gun 51 with respect to the charging port 26 are slightly shifted, the connection can be made after absorbing the shift. Therefore, the accuracy of automatic connection can be improved and the time required for automatic connection can be shortened.

  (7) In the above-described charging robot 40, as shown in FIG. 9, the driving device 45 is driven using the light of the plurality of light sources 61 to 63 arranged around the charging port 26. In this way, by using the light emitted from the plurality of light sources 61 to 63 as pilot signals, the relative position of the charging gun 51 with respect to the charging port 26 can be accurately grasped, and the automatic connection of the charging gun 51 can be further improved. Can be easily. In particular, in the above-described embodiment, the light sources 61 to 63 are arranged so as to form the vertices of a regular triangle surrounding the charging port 26, so that it is possible to easily grasp the positional deviation between the charging port 26 and the charging gun 51. it can. That is, the accuracy of grasping the relative position and orientation of the charging gun 51 with respect to the charging port 26 can be improved, and the alignment accuracy can be improved with a simple configuration.

  (8) In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable range of the gun assembly 50 (charging gun 51) is set to a range that occupies at least half of the parking / stopping frame of the charging area 12. The By setting the movable range as described above, the charging gun 51 can be connected to the charging port 26 by properly using the two parking directions regardless of the position of the charging port 26. Compared with the case where the movable range of the charging gun 51 is set to the same range as the parking / stopping frame of the charging area 12, the configuration of the apparatus for moving the charging robot 40 can be simplified. The manufacturing cost of the management system can be greatly reduced.

[7. Others]
The configuration of the charging robot 40 described above is an example, and is not limited to the above. For example, the gun assembly 50 may be formed in a Y shape when viewed from above, or may have a charging gun of three or more charging standards. Further, the elastic support portion 59 of each charging gun 51 may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle management system and the external charging device (charging robot 40) of the parking area 10 provided in the parking area and service area of the expressway have been described in detail, but the installation location of the parking area 10 is limited to these. It can be installed in parking lots such as roadside stations, shopping malls, commercial facilities, and city halls. Vehicle information including at least the charging standard of the vehicle 20 to be externally charged and the position of the charging port 26 is acquired, and the charging gun 51 corresponding to the charging standard of the vehicle 20 is connected to the charging port 26 based on this information. By driving the driving device 45 as described above, the same operations and effects as in the above-described embodiment can be realized.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the drive device 45 slidably supported along the rails installed above the parking / stopping frame is illustrated, but the drive device 45 is fixed to the floor surface. It may be provided, or may be provided so as to be movable on the floor surface. The ground installation type (floor type) charging robot 40 can reduce the installation cost as compared with the suspension type (suspending type). On the other hand, in consideration of the accessibility to the charging port 26, it is preferable to use a suspended type rather than a ground-mounted type. In addition, when the parking area 10 is indoors, you may fix a rail to a ceiling lower surface. Further, when the parking area 10 is outdoors, a cage-like structure may be attached above the charging robot 40 in consideration of the influence of wind and rain.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management apparatus 2 Acquisition part 3 Control part 4 Facility management part 10 Parking area 20 Vehicle 21 External charge control apparatus 25 Battery (secondary battery)
26 Charging port 27 Lid 30 Smartphone (communication terminal device)
31 Input / output control device 32 Communication device 33 Display 34 Touch panel 40 Charging robot (external charging device)
Reference Signs List 41 Power Supply Control Device 44 Arm 45 Drive Device 46 Camera 50 Gun Assembly 51, 51A, 51B Charging Gun 52 High Voltage Line 53 Base 54 Rotating Shaft 57 Connector 59 59 Elastic Support

Claims (8)

An external charging device for charging an in-vehicle secondary battery with electric power supplied from outside the vehicle,
A gun assembly in which multiple types of charging guns corresponding to multiple charging standards are arranged in different directions,
A drive for controlling the position and orientation of the gun assembly;
A power supply control device for driving the drive device,
The power feeding control device acquires vehicle information including a charging standard of the vehicle and a position of a charging port, and the driving device so that the charging gun of the same type as the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port. An external charging device, wherein 2. The external charging device according to claim 1, wherein the gun assembly is formed in a bifurcated shape having the charging gun of two kinds of charging standards. The drive device is formed in an articulated shape having a plurality of arms connected to be relatively rotatable,
The gun assembly is formed in a T shape having two types of charging guns arranged in opposite directions, and a base portion without the charging gun is rotatably connected to a tip portion of the arm. The external charging device according to claim 2, wherein: The external charging device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the gun assembly includes a high-voltage line that is branched toward each of the charging guns. 5. The external charging device according to claim 1, further comprising a camera that is provided in each of the charging guns and that captures an image of the periphery of the charging port. 6. Each of the charging guns is interposed between the base part supported by the driving device, the connector part inserted into the charging port, and the base part and the connector part, and the connector part is connected to the base part. The external charging device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic support portion that elastically supports the external charging device. The vehicle is provided with a plurality of light sources around the charging port,
The external charging device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control device drives the driving device using light from the light source in combination. A parking area vehicle management system for externally charging a secondary battery of a vehicle having an automatic driving function,
A gun assembly in which a plurality of charging guns corresponding to a plurality of charging standards are arranged in different directions, a drive device that controls the position and orientation of the gun assembly, and a power supply control device that drives the drive device, Having an external charging device;
A wireless communication device with each of the vehicle and the external charging device, and a management device that manages the automatic operation of the vehicle that has entered the parking area and the operation of the external charging device,
The power supply control device acquires vehicle information including a charging standard of the vehicle and a position of a charging port based on a command from the management device, and the charging gun of the acquired charging standard is connected to the charging port. A vehicle management system comprising: driving the drive device as described above.

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