JP2020129896A - Power supply communication system, on-vehicle communication device, computer program and power supply information notification method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a power supply communication system, on-vehicle communication device, computer program and power supply information notification method capable of expecting to notify information concerning a power supply device with timing as soon as possible.SOLUTION: A power supply communication system includes a power supply device 6 having a plurality of power supply parts (power transmission coils 7) each of which performs power supply for a vehicle 1 and an on-vehicle communication device 4 which is mounted on the vehicle, and performs wireless communication between the power supply devices and the on-vehicle communication device. The power supply device has a beacon signal transmission part which transmits a beacon signal including state information of each power supply part. The on-vehicle communication device includes a beacon signal reception part which receives a beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device and a notification processing part which performs processing for notifying the state of each power supply part of the power supply device based on the state information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal reception part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a power feeding communication system that wirelessly communicates between a power feeding device that feeds power to a vehicle and an in-vehicle communication device mounted in the vehicle, and an in-vehicle communication device, a computer program, and a power feeding communication method that configure the system. Regarding

Plug-in hybrid vehicles that use both an electric motor and an engine, and electric vehicles that are not equipped with an engine and that are driven by an electric motor are becoming popular. Vehicles such as plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are equipped with a battery for storing electric power for driving an electric motor, and power supply to the battery is performed by an external power supply device. Various information exchanges are performed between the power supply device and the vehicle when power is supplied. In recent years, a wireless power feeding system has been developed in which power is fed in a contactless manner without connecting a power feeding device to a vehicle with a power feeding cable. In the wireless power feeding system, since the charging device and the vehicle are not connected via the power feeding cable, various information necessary for power feeding is exchanged between the power feeding device and the vehicle by wireless communication.

Patent Document 1 proposes a wireless power supply device for a vehicle, which aims to correctly guide the vehicle to a target stop position where the power receiving coil of the vehicle is close to the power transmitting coil of the parking lot. The vehicle wireless power supply device includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged corresponding to the wheel stop regions. The wireless power supply device for a vehicle detects a wheel interval in the width direction of a vehicle that is a power supply target, and controls some light emitting units and other light emitting units to emit light in mutually different states according to the detection result.

JP, 2011-106216, A

In order for the power supply device and the in-vehicle communication device to exchange information by wireless communication, it is necessary to perform predetermined procedure processing according to a communication protocol such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and establish a communication session between both devices. .. Even if the power supply device is unavailable due to a device failure or a reservation made by another user, the power supply device can inform the in-vehicle communication device that the communication session is established. It will be after doing. By the time the communication session is established, the user may have reached the stage where the user is stopping the vehicle and starting power supply, and at this point, the user who knows that the power supply device cannot be used starts another power supply again. It is necessary to move the vehicle to the device.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a power supply communication system, an in-vehicle communication device, a computer program, and a computer program that can be expected to notify information about the power supply device at the earliest possible timing. It is to provide a method of notifying power supply information.

The vehicle-mounted communication device according to the present aspect includes a power supply device that includes a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle, and a vehicle-mounted communication device that is mounted on the vehicle and wirelessly communicates with the power supply device. In the communication system, the power feeding device has a beacon signal transmitting unit that transmits a beacon signal including state information of each power feeding unit, and the in-vehicle communication device is a beacon that receives a beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device. A signal receiving unit and a notification processing unit that performs a process of notifying the state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the state information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal receiving unit.

It should be noted that the present application can be realized not only as an in-vehicle communication device including such a characteristic processing unit but also as a power supply information notifying method including such characteristic processing as steps, and such steps as a computer. It can be realized as a computer program to be executed. Further, it can be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes a part or all of the in-vehicle communication device, or can be realized as another device or system including the in-vehicle communication device.

Based on the above, it can be expected that the information about the power supply device is notified at the earliest possible timing.

It is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an outline of a procedure of power supply processing performed in the power supply communication system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a charging communication ECU according to the present embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric power feeder which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating one structural example of the beacon signal which the electric power feeder which concerns on this Embodiment transmits. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other structural example of the beacon signal which the electric power feeder which concerns on this Embodiment transmits. It is a flow chart which shows the procedure of the beacon signal transmission processing which the electric power feeding device concerning this embodiment performs. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of notification processing performed by the charging communication ECU according to the present embodiment.

[Description of Embodiments of the Present Invention]
First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described. Further, at least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

(1) The power supply communication system according to the present aspect includes a power supply device that includes a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle, and an in-vehicle communication device that is mounted on the vehicle and performs wireless communication with the power supply device. In the power feeding communication system, the power feeding device has a beacon signal transmitting unit that transmits a beacon signal including the status information of each power feeding unit, the in-vehicle communication device, the beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device. It has a beacon signal receiving unit to receive, and a notification processing unit that performs a process to notify the state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the state information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal receiving unit.

In this aspect, wireless communication is performed between the power supply device that supplies power to the vehicle and the vehicle-mounted communication device mounted on the vehicle. The power supply device includes a plurality of power supply units, each of which supplies power to a vehicle, and can supply power to a plurality of vehicles simultaneously. The power supply device also generates state information of each power supply unit and transmits a beacon signal including the generated state information. Since the beacon signal is a signal that the power supply device periodically transmits and does not specify the other party to receive the beacon signal, even before the power supply device and the in-vehicle communication device establish a communication session, the beacon signal is transmitted in the in-vehicle communication device. It can be received and used.
The vehicle-mounted communication device that has received the beacon signal from the power feeding device acquires information included in the beacon signal, that is, state information regarding a plurality of power feeding units included in the power feeding device. The vehicle-mounted communication device performs a process of notifying the user of the vehicle of the state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the acquired state information. This allows the user of the vehicle to know the state of the power feeding device based on the beacon signal even before the power feeding device and the in-vehicle communication device establish a communication session.

(2) It is preferable that the status information includes information regarding availability of each power supply unit.

In this aspect, the beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device includes information regarding availability of each power supply unit. This allows the user to know availability of the plurality of power supply units included in the power supply device.

(3) It is preferable that the state information includes information about an estimated time until the power supply unit that cannot be used becomes available.

In this aspect, the beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device includes information on the estimated time until the power supply unit in the unavailable state becomes available. As a result, the user can know how long the power supply unit that cannot be used at present can be used.

(4) It is preferable that the state information includes information on a power feeding method supported by each power feeding unit.

In the present aspect, the beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device includes information regarding the power feeding method corresponding to each power feeding unit. With this, the user can understand the power supply method supported by the own vehicle and the power supply method supported by each power supply unit of the power supply device.

(5) It is preferable that the notification processing unit performs the notification after the beacon signal receiving unit receives the beacon signal and before a communication session is established with the power supply device.

In this aspect, after receiving the beacon signal from the power feeding device and before the communication session with the power feeding device is established, the in-vehicle communication device notifies the user based on the state information included in the beacon signal. This allows the user to more surely receive the notification at an early stage.

(6) The vehicle-mounted communication device according to this aspect is a vehicle-mounted communication device that performs wireless communication with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle, and that each of the power supply devices transmits. A beacon signal receiving unit that receives a beacon signal including status information of the power feeding unit, and a process of notifying the status of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the status information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal receiving unit. And a notification processing unit for performing.

In this aspect, similarly to the aspect (1), the user of the vehicle knows the state of the power feeding device based on the beacon signal even before the power feeding device and the in-vehicle communication device establish a communication session. You can

(7) Each of the computer programs according to the present aspect is included in a beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device to a computer that wirelessly communicates with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle. The state information of the power feeding unit is acquired, and the process of notifying the state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device is executed based on the acquired state information.

In this aspect, similarly to the aspect (1), the user of the vehicle knows the state of the power feeding device based on the beacon signal even before the power feeding device and the in-vehicle communication device establish a communication session. You can

(8) In the power supply information notification method according to the present aspect, the power supply device transmits using an in-vehicle communication device that wirelessly communicates with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle. The beacon signal including the status information of each power feeding unit is received, and the status of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device is notified based on the status information included in the received beacon signal.

In this aspect, similarly to the aspect (1), the user of the vehicle knows the state of the power feeding device based on the beacon signal even before the power feeding device and the in-vehicle communication device establish a communication session. You can

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
A specific example of the power feeding communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these exemplifications, and is shown by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of the claims and all modifications within the scope.

<System overview>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment. The power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment is a system for wirelessly feeding power to a battery 2 mounted on a vehicle 1 such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle from a power feeding device 6 installed at a power feeding station or the like. .. The vehicle 1 is wirelessly transmitted from a charging control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 3 that controls charging of the battery 2, a charging communication ECU 4 that wirelessly communicates with the power feeding device 6, and a power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6. The power receiving coil 5 and the like for receiving electric power are mounted.

The power receiving coil 5 is arranged, for example, in the bottom portion of the vehicle 1. The charging communication ECU 4 transmits/receives information such as frequency, power amount, power feeding start timing, power feeding end timing, power transmission time, power feeding efficiency, and the like regarding power to be wirelessly transmitted to/from the power feeding device 6 by wireless communication. In addition, the charging communication ECU 4 may transmit/receive information for payment of a value for power supply, for example, information on a credit card of a driver of the vehicle 1 to/from the power supply device 6. The charging communication ECU 4 gives the information received from the power supply device 6 to the charging control ECU 3. In addition, the charging communication ECU 4 wirelessly transmits the information for transmission given from the charging control ECU 3 to the power supply device 6. For wireless communication performed between the charging communication ECU 4 and the power supply device 6, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standard can be adopted.

The charging control ECU 3 performs a control process necessary for charging the battery 2 using the electric power received by the power receiving coil 5, based on the information obtained from the power feeding device 6 via the charging communication ECU 4. For example, the charging control ECU 3 controls the voltage value and the current value of the electric power supplied to the battery 2 for charging. Further, the charge control ECU 3 calculates the charging rate of the battery 2 and gives a command to stop power transmission to the power supply device 6 when the battery 2 reaches full charge. The wireless power supply between the vehicle 1 and the power supply device 6 is performed in accordance with the ISO15118 standard, for example.

The power feeding device 6 is a device that is installed in a power feeding station provided as a commercial facility along a road, for example, and performs wireless power feeding to the vehicle 1. The power supply device 6 is a device for wirelessly transmitting power to the vehicle 1 by, for example, an electromagnetic induction method or a magnetic resonance method. The power supply device 6 wirelessly transmits electric power from the power transmission coil 7 arranged in a predetermined space such as a road or a parking lot to the power reception coil 5 of the vehicle 1 parked in the predetermined space. At this time, it is preferable that the power transmitting coil 7 and the power receiving coil 5 are close to each other and face each other. When the power feeding device 6 has, for example, a sensor that detects the position of the vehicle 1 or the position of the power receiving coil 5, the power feeding device 6 may transmit information that notifies an appropriate positional relationship to the vehicle 1. In the present embodiment, the power supply device 6 can simultaneously perform wireless power supply to a plurality of vehicles 1, and includes a plurality of power transmission coils 7.

In the present embodiment, power supply device 6 is a device that has both the function of controlling wireless power supply to battery 2 of vehicle 1 and the function of performing wireless communication with charging communication ECU 4 of vehicle 1. However, the power supply device 6 may be a device realized by cooperation of a plurality of devices such as a device having a wireless power supply control function and a device having a wireless communication function. When the power supply device 6 performs wireless power supply to the plurality of vehicles 1, the power supply device 6 performs wireless communication with the plurality of vehicle-mounted communication devices mounted on the plurality of vehicles 1 and is required for wireless power supply. Exchange various information.

When the battery 2 of the vehicle 1 is supplied with electric power, for example, the user of the vehicle 1 selects any one of a plurality of reachable power supply stations or the like, and drives the vehicle 1 to the selected power supply station or the like. After reaching the power feeding station or the like, the user can park the vehicle 1 at a place where any one of the power transmission coils 7 is installed and start wireless power feeding from the power feeding device 6 to the vehicle 1. At this time, various information exchanges are performed by wireless communication between the power feeding device 6 and the charging communication ECU 4 of the vehicle 1, and after the predetermined procedure processing is completed without any problems, wireless power feeding from the power feeding device 6 to the vehicle 1 is started. It

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of the procedure of the power feeding process performed in the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment. In the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment, a predetermined procedure process is performed between power feeding device 6 and charging communication ECU 4 of vehicle 1 before starting wireless power feeding from power feeding device 6 to vehicle 1. The charging communication ECU 4 performs a process of scanning (detecting) an AP (access point) of the wireless LAN (step S1). For example, a user who desires wireless power feeding drives the vehicle 1 to visit the power feeding station, parks the vehicle 1 at a predetermined position where the power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6 is arranged, and operates the operation unit provided on the vehicle 1. Operate and give the instruction to start wireless power supply. At this time, among the APs scanned by the charging communication ECU 4, the AP corresponding to the power supply device 6 is selected as the partner of the power supply process.

The charging communication ECU 4 given the start instruction from the user establishes a communication session by a communication protocol such as TCP/TLS (Transmission Control Protocol/Transport Layer Security) in order to enable wireless communication with the power supply device 6. Is performed (step S2). After the communication is established, the charging communication ECU 4 performs a communication setup process for exchanging information such as a session ID in order to perform communication according to the wireless power supply standard (step S3). After that, the charging communication ECU 4 performs a process of confirming a service related to wireless power feeding with the power feeding device 6 (step S4). This is a process of confirming whether the wireless power supply service that the power supply device 6 can provide and the service requested by the vehicle 1 match. The service includes, for example, a wireless power feeding method or a fee payment method.

After the confirmation of the service related to wireless power feeding is completed, the charging communication ECU 4 performs a process of aligning the power receiving coil 5 of the vehicle 1 and the power transmitting coil 7 of the power feeding device 6 (step S5). The alignment process is performed using, for example, a sensor mounted on the vehicle 1 and/or a sensor provided in the vicinity of the location of the power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6. For example, a magnetic sensor or an optical sensor is used as the sensor. The charging communication ECU 4 and the power supply device 6 grasp the positional relationship between the power receiving coil 5 and the power transmitting coil 7 by transmitting and receiving the detection results of these sensors by wireless communication, and guide the vehicle 1 to have an appropriate positional relationship. be able to.

After confirming that the power receiving coil 5 and the power transmitting coil 7 are in the proper positional relationship, the charging communication ECU 4 confirms the parameters relating to the wireless power feeding (step S6). In this step, the charging communication ECU 4 confirms parameters such as the power value and frequency to be transmitted and received, and gives these parameter information to the charging control ECU 3. After that, the charging communication ECU 4 performs wireless power feeding with the power feeding device 6 (step S7). When the battery 2 of the vehicle 1 is fully charged by wireless power feeding, the charging communication ECU 4 ends wireless power feeding (step S8). After that, the charging communication ECU 4 disconnects the wireless communication with the power supply device 6 (step S9), and ends the power supply process.

The power supply device 6 periodically wirelessly transmits a beacon signal according to the communication standard of the wireless LAN. The beacon signal is a wireless signal that is transmitted without designating the other party to receive this signal, and is a signal that the charging communication ECU 4 can receive and use even before the communication session is established. The charging communication ECU 4 receives the beacon signal transmitted from the power supply device 6 and thus performs the AP scan in step S1.

In the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment, the power feeding device 6 transmits the beacon signal including the state information of each power transmitting coil 7. For example, the state information includes information indicating whether each power transmission coil 7 is in an empty state, in use, reserved, or in failure. For the power transmission coil 7 in use, information on the estimated time until the completion of power feeding is included. Further, for example, the state information includes information about a power feeding method that can be supported by each power transmission coil 7. In addition, for example, the state information may include information regarding a charge for each power transmission coil 7 required for power feeding, and may include various information other than these.

The charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment can receive this beacon signal when the vehicle 1 reaches within the reach range of the beacon signal of the power feeding device 6. The charging communication ECU 4 that has received the beacon signal acquires the status information included in the beacon signal, and displays information such as availability of use of the plurality of power transmission coils 7 included in the power supply device 6 provided in the vehicle 1. Display on the device. With this, the user of the vehicle 1 can grasp the availability of the power supply stations existing around the vehicle 1 based on the information displayed on the display device. In addition, the charging communication ECU 4 can receive the beacon signal from the power feeding device 6 even before the communication session with the power feeding device 6 is established, and display the information according to the beacon signal with the power feeding device 6. Implement before establishing communication session. That is, the charging communication ECU 4 starts the process for displaying the information corresponding to the beacon signal during the period of steps S1 and S2 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment. The charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment is configured to include a processing unit (processor) 41, a storage unit (storage) 42, a wireless communication unit (transceiver) 43, an in-vehicle communication unit (transceiver) 44, and the like. The processing unit 41 is configured using an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The processing unit 41 reads and executes the program 42 a stored in the storage unit 42 to perform processing for performing wireless communication with the power feeding device 6 to exchange information regarding wireless power feeding, and the power feeding device 6 Notification processing based on the beacon signal is performed.

The storage unit 42 is configured by using a nonvolatile memory element such as a flash memory or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The storage unit 42 stores various programs executed by the processing unit 41 and various data necessary for the processing of the processing unit 41. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 42 stores the program 42a executed by the processing unit 41. The program 42a may be written in the storage unit 42, for example, at a manufacturing stage of the charging communication ECU 4, or the charging communication ECU 4 may obtain a program distributed by a remote server device or the like by communication, or a memory, for example. The charging communication ECU 4 may read the program 42a recorded on the recording medium 99 such as a card or an optical disc and store it in the storage unit 42. For example, the program 42a recorded on the recording medium 99 may be read by the writing device and charging communication may be performed. It may be written in the storage unit 42 of the ECU 4. The program 42a may be provided in the form of distribution via a network, or may be provided in the form recorded on the recording medium 99.

The wireless communication unit 43 performs wireless communication with the power supply device 6 in accordance with a wireless LAN communication protocol, for example. The wireless communication unit 43 can be configured using an IC (Integrated Circuit) of a wireless transceiver. The wireless communication unit 43 performs wireless transmission to the power supply device 6 by outputting a signal obtained by modulating the transmission data provided from the processing unit 41 to the antenna. Further, the wireless communication unit 43 provides the processing unit 41 with the data obtained by demodulating the signal received by the antenna. Further, the wireless communication unit 43 gives the processing unit 41 the data obtained by receiving the beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device 6.

The in-vehicle communication unit 44 performs wired communication according to the CAN communication protocol, for example. The in-vehicle communication unit 44 can be configured using an IC of a so-called CAN transceiver. The in-vehicle communication unit 44 is connected to other vehicle-mounted devices such as the charging control ECU 3 and the HMI (Human Machine Interface) 8 via a communication line such as a CAN bus arranged in the vehicle 1, and communicates with these other vehicle-mounted devices. Communication is performed according to the CAN communication protocol. The in-vehicle communication unit 44 converts the data for transmission given from the processing unit 41 into an electric signal according to the CAN communication protocol and outputs the electric signal to the communication line, thereby transmitting the data to another vehicle-mounted device. Further, the in-vehicle communication unit 44 receives data from another in-vehicle device by sampling and acquiring the potential of the communication line, and gives the received data to the processing unit 41.

The HMI 8 is a device that serves as a contact point between the vehicle-mounted system and the user of the vehicle 1, and includes a display unit that outputs a message to the user and the like, and an operation unit that receives user operations. The display unit of the HMI 8 is configured by using, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is arranged near the driver's seat of the vehicle 1. The operation unit of the HMI 8 is configured by using, for example, a plurality of buttons or switches arranged around the display unit, and a touch panel arranged on the surface of the display unit. The HMI 8 transmits the information regarding the user's operation received by the operation unit to another device via the communication line. Further, the HMI 8 displays various images, messages and the like on the display unit based on a display command or the like given via the communication line. The HMI 8 may be, for example, a car navigation device including a display unit and an operation unit.

Further, in the charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment, the processing unit 41 reads and executes the program 42a stored in the storage unit 42, so that the power feeding communication processing unit 41a, the beacon signal reception processing unit 41b, and the notification processing unit 41c. And the like are implemented as software functional blocks in the processing unit 41. The power feeding communication processing unit 41a performs a process of transmitting and receiving various information necessary for power feeding of the battery 2 of the vehicle 1 to and from the power feeding device 6, and relays communication between the power feeding device 6 and the charging control ECU 3. In addition, the power feeding communication processing unit 41a performs the power feeding processing illustrated in FIG. 2 by exchanging information with the power feeding device 6 by wireless communication.

The beacon signal reception processing unit 41b receives the beacon signal periodically transmitted by the power feeding device 6 at the wireless communication unit 43, and acquires the information included in the received beacon signal. In the present embodiment, the beacon signal includes status information of each of the plurality of power transmission coils 7 included in the power feeding device 6. The beacon signal reception processing unit 41b acquires the status information of each power transmission coil 7 from the received beacon signal, and gives the acquired status information to the notification processing unit 41c.

The notification processing unit 41c notifies the user of the vehicle 1 of information such as availability of each power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6 based on the state information acquired from the beacon signal received by the beacon signal reception processing unit 41b. Perform processing. The notification processing unit 41c generates information for display based on the status information given from the beacon signal reception processing unit 41b, transmits the generated information to the HMI 8 by the in-vehicle communication unit 44, and notifies the HMI 8 of an image for notification. The user is notified by displaying. The user may be notified by a method such as outputting a voice message.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment. The power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment includes a processing unit (processor) 61, a storage unit (storage) 62, a wireless communication unit (transceiver) 63, a power supply control unit 64, and the like. The processing unit 61 is configured by using an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU or MPU. The processing unit 61 reads and executes the program 62a stored in the storage unit 62, thereby performing a process of wirelessly communicating information regarding wireless power feeding with the charging communication ECU 4 of the vehicle 1, and a beacon signal. And the like.

The storage unit 62 is configured by using a nonvolatile memory element such as a flash memory or an EEPROM. The storage unit 62 stores various programs executed by the processing unit 61 and various data necessary for the processing of the processing unit 61. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 62 stores a program 62a executed by the processing unit 61. The program 62a may be written in the storage unit 62, for example, at the manufacturing stage of the power feeding device 6, or the power feeding device 6 may obtain a program distributed by a remote server device or the like through communication, or a memory, for example. The power supply device 6 may read the program 62a recorded in the recording medium 98 such as a card or an optical disk and store it in the storage unit 62. Alternatively, for example, the writing device may read the program 62a recorded in the recording medium 98 and the power supply device. 6 may be written in the storage unit 62. The program 62a may be provided in the form of distribution via a network, or may be provided in the form recorded on the recording medium 98.

The wireless communication unit 63 performs wireless communication with the charging communication ECU 4 in accordance with a wireless LAN communication protocol, for example. The wireless communication unit 63 can be configured using an IC of a wireless transceiver. The wireless communication unit 63 uses any one of the plurality of available communication channels to perform wireless communication with the plurality of charging communication ECUs 4. The wireless communication unit 63 performs wireless transmission to the charging communication ECU 4 by outputting a signal obtained by modulating the data for transmission given from the processing unit 61 to the antenna. Further, the wireless communication unit 63 gives the data obtained by demodulating the signal received by the antenna to the processing unit 61. The wireless communication unit 63 also transmits a beacon signal at a predetermined cycle. The beacon signal is a signal transmitted without designating the other party to receive this signal, and any device can receive the function of wireless communication according to the same communication protocol. The wireless communication unit 63 can include various information in the beacon signal and transmit the beacon signal.

The power feeding control unit 64 controls power transmission to the vehicle 1 by the power transmission coil 7 according to a command or the like given from the processing unit 61. The processing unit 61 determines, for example, the amount of power and the frequency of the power to be transmitted based on the information transmitted and received by wireless communication with the charging communication ECU 4, and notifies the power supply control unit 64 of these values. The power feeding control unit 64 controls the amount and frequency of the power transmitted from the power transmission coil 7 based on the value notified from the processing unit 61.

Further, in the power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment, the processing unit 61 reads and executes the program 62a stored in the storage unit 62, so that the power supply processing unit 61a, the state information generation unit 61b, and the beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c. And the like are realized as software functional blocks in the processing unit 61. The power feeding processing unit 61 a performs a process of transmitting and receiving various information necessary for wireless power feeding to the vehicle 1 to and from the charging communication ECU 4, and also gives a command to the power feeding control unit 64 to send power from the power transmission coil 7 to the vehicle 1. The process of controlling the wireless power supply of is performed. Further, the power feeding processing unit 61a performs the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 by exchanging information with the charging communication ECU 4 by wireless communication.

The state information generation unit 61b determines a state of each of the plurality of power transmission coils 7 included in the power supply device 6 and performs a process of generating information indicating the state of each power transmission coil 7. The state information generation unit 61b determines, for example, whether each power transmission coil 7 is in an empty state, in use, reserved, or in a failure state. Further, the state information generation unit 61b predicts the time until power transmission is completed and the power transmission coil 7 becomes available for the power transmission coil 7 in use. Further, for example, the state information generation unit 61b acquires information such as a power supply method of each power transmission coil 7 and a charge required for use. The state information generation unit 61b generates state information indicating the information of each power transmission coil 7 that has been judged, predicted, acquired, etc., and gives the generated state information to the beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c. The information necessary for the determination of these states may be held by the power feeding device 6, but is held by, for example, a higher-level server device that manages the power feeding device 6, and the state information generation unit 61b is a higher-level server device. May be accessed to obtain information.

The beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c performs a process of periodically transmitting a beacon signal in the wireless communication unit 63. The beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c generates transmission data for a beacon signal including information defined by the communication protocol and the state information given by the state information generation unit 61b, and the generated data is transmitted to the wireless communication unit 63. The beacon signal containing these pieces of information is periodically transmitted by giving the beacon signal.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration example of a beacon signal transmitted by power feeding device 6 according to the present embodiment. The beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device 6 has a VSE (Vendor Specific Element) configuration defined by ISO15118-8, which is a standard for wireless power supply. The VSE includes information on "Element ID", "Length", "Organization ID", "Element Type", "Energy Transfer Type", "Country Code", "Operator ID", "Charging Site ID" and "Additional Information". It is included.

“Element ID” is an ID that specifies the type of data, and a fixed value of 221 is set in VSE. The frame length of VSE is set in “Length”. In "Organization ID", an ID indicating that the VSE is for ISO15118 is set. In the "Element Type", when there are a plurality of VSEs for the same "Organization ID", a value for identifying them is set. In "Energy Transfer Type", information indicating the power feeding method supported by the power feeding device 6 is set. Information for identifying the country in which the power supply device 6 is installed is set in the "Country Code". An ID for identifying the administrator of the power supply device 6 is set in the "Operator ID". An ID for identifying the power supply device 6 is set in the "Charging Site ID".

Various information other than the above can be set in the "Additional Information" of the VSE. In the power supply communication system according to the present embodiment, the state information of each power transmission coil 7 is stored in this “Additional Information” and transmitted from the power supply device 6 to the vehicle 1. In the present example, it is assumed that the power supply device 6 includes four power transmission coils 7 and the power transmission coils 7 are assigned IDs “01” to “04”. Further, the status information of each power transmission coil 7 is represented by a one-digit numerical value with "0" as an empty state, "1" as being in use, "2" as reserved, and "3" as failure. In the “Additional Information” of the illustrated VSE, information in which the IDs of the respective power transmission coils 7 and the status information are associated with each other is stored in order from the head side to the tail side, in order from the smallest ID. In this example, the power transmission coil 7 with ID 01 is in use, the power transmission coil 7 with ID 02 is out of order, the power transmission coil 7 with ID 03 is empty, and the power transmission coil 7 with ID 04 is used. Is set to VSE to be reserved.

The charging communication ECU 4 of the vehicle 1, which has received the beacon signal in which the VSE configuration of this example is adopted, acquires the state information of each power transmission coil 7 from “Additional Information” included at the end of the beacon signal. The charging communication ECU 4 displays, on the HMI 8, information indicating availability of the four power transmission coils 7 having IDs 01 to 04, or, for example, information indicating that the available power transmission coil 7 has an ID of 03. Is displayed on the HMI 8 to notify the user of the vehicle 1.

For example, in a power supply station, a signboard or a sign indicating an ID attached to each power transmission coil 7 is installed in the vicinity of the location where each power transmission coil 7 is installed. Can be distinguished. On the HMI 8 of the vehicle 1, based on the beacon signal from the power feeding device 6, status information such as an empty status or a busy status is displayed in association with the ID of each power transmission coil 7. The user of the vehicle 1 determines which of the plurality of power transmission coils 7 existing in the power feeding station can be used from the correspondence between the ID and the status information displayed on the HMI 8, and the power transmission coil 7 that can use the vehicle 1 is determined. It can be moved to and wirelessly powered. Therefore, it is preferable that the ID included in the beacon signal is information that can be identified by the user of vehicle 1.

In the illustrated example, as the status information, the VSE is configured to store information indicating any one of an empty status, a busy status, a reserved status, and a failure status. However, the status information is not limited to this, and various other information is also available. The information may be stored in the VSE. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining another configuration example of the beacon signal transmitted by power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment. For example, in the "Additional Information" of the VSE, in addition to the information such as the ID and the vacant state of each power transmission coil 7, information such as the remaining time and the power feeding method can be stored.

The information on the remaining time included in the “Additional Information” is the power supply apparatus 6 predicting the time until the wireless power supply to the vehicle 1 is completed for the power transmission coil 7 in use. The power supply device 6 acquires information such as SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 2 of the vehicle 1 by wireless communication with the vehicle 1 that is wirelessly supplying power, and acquires information about the acquired SOC and the like and wireless power supply to the vehicle 1. The estimated time until the completion of power feeding can be calculated based on the information such as the transmission efficiency. It should be noted that the remaining time information may not be included for the power transmission coil 7 that is not in use.

The information on the power feeding method included in the “Additional Information” is information on the power feeding method corresponding to each power transmission coil 7. The power supply device 6 stores in advance the power supply method of each power transmission coil 7, and transmits the stored information by including it in VSE.

In addition, in the illustrated example, the state information of the four power transmission coils 7 is stored in the “Additional Information” of the VSE, but three or less or five or more state information may be stored. Furthermore, in the "Additional Information" of the VSE, for example, information about a charge that needs to be paid for wireless power supply, service information such as a charge discount or point return, or contact information of the administrator of the power supply station, etc. Various information may be included.

<Flowchart>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of beacon signal transmission processing performed by power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment. The processing unit 61 of the power supply device 6 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not the transmission timing of the beacon signal transmitted in a predetermined cycle has been reached (step S11). When the transmission timing has not come (S11: NO), the processing unit 61 waits until the transmission timing comes. When the transmission timing of the beacon signal is reached (S11: YES), the state information generation unit 61b of the processing unit 61 acquires information such as the usage state of each power transmission coil 7 and outputs the state information to be transmitted to the vehicle 1. It is generated (step S12). Next, the beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c of the processing unit 61 generates transmission data having a VSE configuration that includes the state information generated in step S2 in "Additional Information" (step S13). The beacon signal transmission processing unit 61c gives the generated transmission data to the wireless communication unit 63 to wirelessly transmit the beacon signal in which the transmission data is modulated (step S14), and returns the process to step S11.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of notification processing performed by charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment. The beacon signal reception processing unit 41b of the processing unit 41 of the charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not the wireless communication unit 43 has received the beacon signal from the power supply device 6 (step S21). When the beacon signal has not been received (S21: NO), the beacon signal reception processing unit 41b waits until the beacon signal is received. When the beacon signal from the power feeding device 6 is received (S21: YES), the beacon signal reception processing unit 41b acquires the state information included in the "Additional Information" of the received beacon signal (step S22). The notification processing unit 41c of the processing unit 41 transmits an image display instruction including the state information acquired in step S22 to the HMI 8 by the in-vehicle communication unit 44, and indicates the state of the power transmission coil 7 of the power supply device 6 to the HMI 8. By displaying the notification screen, the user is notified (step S23), and the process ends.

<Summary>
In the power supply communication system according to the present embodiment having the above configuration, wireless communication is performed between the power supply device 6 that wirelessly supplies power to the vehicle 1 and the charging communication ECU 4 mounted on the vehicle 1. The power supply device 6 includes a plurality of power transmission coils 7 that each perform wireless power supply to the vehicle 1, and can simultaneously perform wireless power supply to the plurality of vehicles 1. The power supply device 6 also generates the state information of each power transmission coil 7 and transmits a beacon signal including the generated state information. The beacon signal is a signal that the power feeding device 6 periodically wirelessly transmits, and is a signal that does not specify the other party to receive the beacon signal. However, the charging communication ECU 4 can receive and use it.

The charging communication ECU 4 that has received the beacon signal from the power supply device 6 acquires information included in this beacon signal, that is, state information regarding the plurality of power transmission coils 7 included in the power supply device 6. The charging communication ECU 4 performs a process of notifying the user of the vehicle 1 of the state of each power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6 based on the acquired state information. This allows the user of the vehicle 1 to know the state of the power feeding device 6 based on the beacon signal even before the power feeding device 6 and the charging communication ECU 4 establish a communication session.

Further, in the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment, the beacon signal transmitted by power feeding device 6 includes information relating to availability of each power transmitting coil 7. As a result, the user of the vehicle 1 can know whether or not the plurality of power transmission coils 7 included in the power supply device 6 can be used.

Further, in the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment, the beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device 6 includes information on the estimated time until the power transmitting coil 7 in use becomes available. As a result, the user of the vehicle 1 can know how long the power transmission coil 7 that cannot be used at present can be used.

Further, in the power feeding communication system according to the present embodiment, the beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device 6 includes information on the power feeding method corresponding to each power transmission coil 7. This allows the user of the vehicle 1 to understand the correspondence between the power feeding method supported by the vehicle 1 of his/her own and the power feeding method supported by each power transmission coil 7 of the power feeding device 6.

Further, charging communication ECU 4 according to the present embodiment notifies the user based on the state information included in the beacon signal after receiving the beacon signal from power feeding device 6 and before establishing the communication session with power feeding device 6. I do. This allows the user to more surely receive the notification at an early stage.

Note that, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, one beacon signal includes state information regarding a plurality of power transmission coils 7, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the power feeding device 6 may transmit the beacon signal including the status information regarding the power transmission coil 7 having the ID 01 and then the beacon signal including the status information regarding the power transmission coil 7 having the ID 02. That is, the power feeding device 6 transmits only one beacon signal including the status information regarding one power transmission coil 7, and transmits the beacon signals including the status information regarding the plurality of power transmission coils 7 in sequence. Good.

Further, although the power supply device 6 is configured to include the plurality of power transmission coils 7, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of power supply devices 6 each including one power transmission coil 7 may be provided in a power supply station, and a management device that manages the plurality of power supply devices 6 may wirelessly communicate with the vehicle 1.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above meaning but by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of the claims and all modifications within the scope.

1 vehicle 2 battery 3 charge control ECU
4 Charge communication ECU (in-vehicle communication device)
5 Power receiving coil 6 Power feeding device 7 Power transmitting coil 8 HMI
41 processing unit 41a power feeding communication processing unit 41b beacon signal reception processing unit (beacon signal receiving unit)
41c Notification processing unit 42 Storage unit 42a Program 43 Wireless communication unit 44 In-vehicle communication unit 61 Processing unit 61a Power supply processing unit 61b State information generation unit 61c Beacon signal transmission processing unit (beacon signal transmission unit)
62 storage unit 62a program 63 wireless communication unit 64 power supply control unit 98,99 recording medium

Claims (8)

A power feeding communication system comprising a power feeding device each having a plurality of power feeding units for feeding power to a vehicle, and an in-vehicle communication device mounted on the vehicle and performing wireless communication with the power feeding device,
The power feeding device has a beacon signal transmitting unit that transmits a beacon signal including state information of each power feeding unit,
The in-vehicle communication device,
A beacon signal receiving unit that receives a beacon signal transmitted by the power feeding device,
A notification processing unit that performs a process of notifying the status of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the status information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal receiving unit. The power feeding communication system according to claim 1, wherein the state information includes information regarding availability of each power feeding unit. The power feeding communication system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the state information includes information on a predicted time until the power feeding unit becomes unusable until it becomes available. The power feeding communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the state information includes information relating to a power feeding method supported by each power feeding unit. The notification processing unit performs notification after the beacon signal reception unit receives a beacon signal and before a communication session is established with the power supply device. The power supply communication system according to. An in-vehicle communication device that performs wireless communication with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to a vehicle,
A beacon signal receiving unit that receives a beacon signal including state information of each power feeding unit transmitted by the power feeding device,
An in-vehicle communication device, comprising: a notification processing unit that performs a process of notifying a state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on state information included in the beacon signal received by the beacon signal receiving unit. A computer that performs wireless communication with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle,
Obtaining the status information of each power supply unit included in the beacon signal transmitted by the power supply device,
A computer program that executes a process of notifying the state of each power feeding unit of the power feeding device based on the acquired state information. Using an in-vehicle communication device that wirelessly communicates with a power supply device that has a plurality of power supply units that respectively supply power to the vehicle,
Receiving a beacon signal containing the status information of each power supply unit transmitted by the power supply device,
A power supply information notification method for notifying the status of each power supply unit of the power supply device based on the status information included in the received beacon signal.

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