JP7030668B2 - Vehicle power supply - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a power supply device for supplying power to a battery mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle.

For example, in an electric vehicle (EV vehicle) that travels with an electric motor as a drive source, the electric motor is rotationally driven by electric energy stored in a battery such as a lithium-ion battery. In this type of electric vehicle, an engine is used. It has drawbacks such as a shorter cruising range and a longer battery charging time than a vehicle traveling as a drive source.

Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a wireless power supply device that wirelessly supplies power to a battery from the outside while the vehicle is running to charge the battery. This wireless power feeding device includes a plurality of magnetic field generating means embedded in the road along the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a feeding coil (induction coil) arranged parallel to the road surface at the bottom of the vehicle. It is configured to wirelessly supply the electric energy generated by the magnetic field generating means and the electromagnetic induction by the feeding coil to the battery mounted on the vehicle. Here, as the magnetic field generating means, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet that generates a magnetic field by energizing the coil is used.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-051744

By the way, in the conventional wireless power supply device, the power supply coil on the vehicle side is installed horizontally on the bottom surface of the vehicle body so as to be parallel to the road surface. Therefore, when the suspension strokes up and down and the vehicle height fluctuates, the road There is a problem that the distance between the magnetic field generating means embedded in the vehicle and the feeding coil on the vehicle side changes, and the feeding to the battery is not stable.

In order to solve the above problem, it is conceivable to attach the feeding coil on the vehicle side to the upright of the wheel (knuckle for attaching the hub of the wheel). According to such a configuration, even if the suspension strokes up and down and the vehicle height fluctuates, the distance between the magnetic field generating means embedded in the road and the feeding coil on the vehicle side is kept constant, so that the battery can be used. Power supply is stable.

However, when the above configuration is adopted, there arises a problem that the feeding coil on the vehicle side may collide with an obstacle on the road and be damaged when the feeding is not performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize stable wireless power feeding at the time of power feeding while avoiding interference between the power feeding coil and obstacles on the road at the time of non-power feeding. The purpose is to provide a vehicle power supply that can prevent damage.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a feeding coil (6) arranged parallel to the road surface at the bottom of the vehicle, and a plurality of magnetic fields embedded in the road (4) along the traveling direction of the vehicle. A vehicle power supply device (1) that supplies electrical energy generated by electromagnetic induction by a generation means (5) and the power supply coil (6) to a battery (7) mounted on the vehicle, and is the power supply coil (6). ) Is provided on the upright of the wheel (Wr), and a retracting mechanism is provided to retract the feeding coil (6) to a position where it avoids interference with obstacles on the road when power is not supplied.

Here, the retracting mechanism includes an L-shaped rail (17) fixed to the upright of the wheel (Wr) and an actuator for moving the feeding coil (6) along the rail (17). The actuator may be such that the feeding coil (6) is vertically erected when the feeding is not supplied.

Further, the L-shaped guide groove (17a) formed along the rail (17) is engaged with and held at one end of the feeding coil (6) in the front-rear direction so as to be movable, and the feeding coil (6) is also engaged with the feeding coil (6). A configuration may be adopted in which the other end in the front-rear direction is connected to the actuator.

Further, the actuator is provided along the electric motor (19) attached to the power feeding coil (6), the first gear (20) rotationally driven by the electric motor (19), and the rail (17). It may be configured to include an engraved rack (17b) and a second gear (21) that meshes with both the rack (17b) and the first gear (20).

Further, the rail (17) may be sandwiched between the second gear (21) and the roller (22) that rolls along the outer peripheral surface of the rail (17).

According to the vehicle power supply device according to the present invention, it is possible to realize stable wireless power supply at the time of power supply and avoid interference between the power supply coil and obstacles on the road at the time of non-power supply to prevent damage to the power supply coil. can.

(A) and (b) are rear views schematically showing a vehicle provided with a power feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of part A of FIG. 1A showing the basic configuration of the power feeding device. It is a partial perspective view of the inside of a wheel which shows the structure of the retracting mechanism of a power feeding device. It is a partial perspective view which looked at the evacuation mechanism of a power feeding device from the outside. It is a side view of the rail which constitutes the evacuation mechanism of a power feeding device. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. It is a side view which shows the evacuation path of the feeding coil by the retracting mechanism of a feeding device. It is a partial perspective view of the inside of a wheel which shows the retracting state of the feeding coil by the retracting mechanism of a feeding device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Power supply device]
First, the basic configuration of the wireless power feeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are rear views schematically showing a vehicle provided with a power feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of the power feeding device, FIG. 1 (a). It is an enlarged detailed view of part A of. The power feeding device 1 shown in these figures is provided inside each of the left and right wheels (rear wheels in the present embodiment) Wr of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle. In FIG. 1, 2 is a vehicle body, and 3 is a suspension that suspends the left and right rear wheels Wr with respect to the vehicle body 2.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the power feeding device 1 is a road surface coil (a road surface coil) as a plurality of magnetic field generating means embedded along the traveling direction of the vehicle (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1) in a predetermined power feeding area of the road 4. Feed coil (secondary coil) mounted horizontally (parallel to the road surface) on the upright (knuckle) (not shown) of the left and right rear wheels Wr of the vehicle so as to face the primary coil) 5 and the left and right road surface coils 5. 6 is included in the configuration. Here, the road surface coil 5 which is a magnetic field generating means is embedded inside each of the left and right rear wheel Wr of the road 4, and the road surface coil 5 is generated when the vehicle travels in a predetermined power feeding area as described later. Electric energy is generated in the feeding coil 6 on the vehicle side by electromagnetic induction by the magnetic field, and this electric energy is stored in the battery (capacitor) 7 shown in FIG. 2 to charge the battery 7.

As described above, when the feeding coil 6 is attached to the upright of the rear wheel Wr of the vehicle, the distance between the vehicle body 2 and the road surface becomes large because the suspension 3 strokes upward as shown in FIG. 1 (a). Even if the distance between the vehicle body 2 and the road surface becomes small due to the downward stroke of the suspension 3 as shown in FIG. 1 (b), that is, it is irrelevant to the change in the vehicle height. The distance between the road surface coil 5 and the feeding coil 6 is kept constant.

Here, the details of the configuration of the power feeding device 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Since the basic configuration of the power feeding device 1 provided inside the rear wheel Wr of the vehicle is the same on the left and right, only one (right side) power feeding device 1 will be illustrated and described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the wheel 8 of the rear wheel Wr, an electric motor (hereinafter referred to as “drive motor”) 9 as a drive source for rotationally driving the rear wheel Wr, and the drive motor 9 A battery 7 electrically connected via the inverter 10 is arranged. Further, a feeding coil 6 is connected to the battery 7 via an inverter 10, and the feeding coil 6 is attached to an upright (not shown) of the rear wheel Wr as described above. A lithium ion capacitor (capacitor) or the like is used for the battery 7.

On the other hand, in the predetermined power feeding area of the road 4, a plurality of road surface coils 5 (only one is shown in FIG. 2) are embedded along the traveling direction of the vehicle (the vertical direction of the paper surface in FIG. 2), and each road surface is embedded. A system power supply 12 is connected to the coil 5 via an inverter 11.

In the above, when electric power is supplied to the drive motor 9 via the inverter 10 by the discharge from the battery 7 and the drive motor 9 is started, the rear wheel Wr is rotationally driven by the drive motor 9, so that the vehicle is driven. Drive on the road surface. Further, when the traveling vehicle decelerates, the drive motor 9 functions as a generator, and the electric power (regenerative energy) generated by the drive motor 9 is supplied to the battery 7 via the inverter 10 to be supplied to the battery. 7 is charged.

Then, when the vehicle travels in a predetermined power supply area, electric energy is generated by electromagnetic induction by a plurality of road surface coils 5 embedded in the road 4 and a power supply coil 6 on the vehicle side, and this electric energy is generated by the battery via the inverter 10. Since it is supplied to 7, the battery 7 is charged wirelessly. By wirelessly charging the battery 7 mounted on the vehicle from the outside while the vehicle is running, the cruising range of the vehicle is extended and the charging time of the battery 7 when the vehicle is stopped is shortened. Will be done. Since electricity is supplied to the road surface coil 5 from the system power supply 12 buried in the road 4 via the inverter 11, the road surface coil 5 functions as an electromagnet, but the road surface coil 5 is used as a magnetic field generating means. Permanent magnets may be used instead of.

[Evacuation mechanism]
Next, the configuration and operation of the retracting mechanism provided in the power feeding device 1 configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the inside of the wheel showing the configuration of the retracting mechanism of the power feeding device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the retracting mechanism viewed from the outside, and FIG. 5 is a rail constituting the retracting mechanism. A side view, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a side view showing a retracting path of the feeding coil by the retracting mechanism, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the retracting state of the feeding coil by the retracting mechanism. It is a partial perspective view.

As shown in FIG. 3, a drive motor 9, an inverter 10, a battery 7, and the like are arranged inside the wheel 8 of the rear wheel Wr, and the rear wheel Wr has a vehicle body 2 (hydraulic shock absorber) 3 (hydraulic shock absorber) 3. (See Fig. 1) is suspended up and down so that it can be stroked. In FIG. 3, 13, 14, and 15 are tension rods, and 16 is an anti-roll bar.

By the way, the thin rectangular flat plate-shaped power feeding coil 6 is attached to the upright (not shown) of the rear wheel Wr as described above, but the vehicle travels in the power feeding area of the road 4 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). At the time of power feeding, the power feeding coil 6 is arranged horizontally so as to be parallel to the road surface as shown in FIG. Therefore, the distance between the power feeding coil 6 attached to the upright and the plurality of road surface coils 5 (see FIG. 2) embedded in the road 4 is independent of the vertical stroke (variation in vehicle height) of the suspension 3. It is kept constant, and the electric energy generated in the feeding coil 6 by the electromagnetic induction between the two is stably supplied to the battery 7.

However, even when the vehicle travels outside the power supply area of the road 4, if the power supply coil 6 remains horizontally arranged parallel to the road surface, the power supply coil 6 collides with an obstacle (not shown) on the road. As mentioned above, there is a possibility of damage.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a retracting mechanism is provided to retract the feeding coil 6 to a position where it avoids interference with obstacles on the road when the vehicle is traveling outside the detection area of the road 4 and the feeding is not supplied. This retracting mechanism includes an L-shaped rail 17 fixed to the upright of the rear wheel Wr and an actuator for moving the feeding coil 6 along the rail 17. The actuator configuration will be described later.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the rail 17 is formed in an L shape, and the rail 17 has a horizontal portion 17A extending along the vehicle front-rear direction and a rear end portion of the horizontal portion 17A (FIG. 5). It is provided with a vertical portion 17B that stands up vertically from the right end portion of 5. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rail 17 has a guide groove 17a formed in an L shape along the shape of the rail 17, and the rail is formed on the outside of the guide groove 17. The internal tooth-shaped rack 17b carved along the 17 is formed in an L shape. In the following description, "front and rear" corresponds to the front and rear direction of the vehicle.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a bracket 18 long in the vehicle width direction is attached to the rear end portion of the feeding coil 6, and an electric motor 19 and a drive control thereof are mounted on the bracket 18. A driver (not shown) is installed. Here, the electric motor 19 is arranged laterally along the vehicle width direction (left-right direction), and is located at the end of an output shaft (not shown) extending horizontally toward the rail 17 of the electric motor 19. , The first gear 20 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first gear 20 meshes with a second gear 21 having a small diameter that meshes with the rack 17b engraved on the rail 17, and the second gear 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the rail 17 are engaged. The rollers 22 that roll along the rails 22 are connected to each other via a link member 23. Therefore, the rail 17 is sandwiched between the second gear 21 and the roller 22. The second gear 21 is rotatably supported by the feeding coil 6 by the bracket 18.

The electric motor 19 described above, the first gear 20 rotationally driven by the electric motor 19, the rack 17b engraved along the rail 17, and the first gear that meshes with both the rack 17b and the first gear 20. The actuator is configured to include two gears 21, and the feeding coil 6 is moved along the rail 17 by the actuator as described later.

On the other hand, at the outer end of the front end of the feeding coil 6 facing the rail 17, a roller (not shown) that rolls along the guide groove 17a (see FIGS. 5 and 6) formed in the rail 17 can rotate. It is attached and therefore the front end of the feed coil 6 can move along the guide groove 17a of the rail 17 via the rollers. The front end of the feeding coil 6 is engaged with the guide groove 17a of the rail 17 via a pin instead of the roller, and the front end of the feeding coil 6 is moved along the guide groove 17a of the rail 17. May be good.

As described above, in the power feeding coil 6, the rear end of the outer end portion in the vehicle width direction is connected to the actuator, and the front end is movably engaged with the guide groove 17a of the rail 17, and the actuator is described later. It can move along the rail 17 by driving the electric motor 19 which constitutes a part of the above.

As described above, when the vehicle is traveling in the feeding area of the road 4, that is, when feeding, the feeding coil 6 is arranged horizontally so as to be parallel to the road surface as shown in FIG. 3, and the feeding coil 6 is arranged horizontally. The electric energy generated by electromagnetic induction by the road surface coil 5 (see FIG. 2) embedded in the road surface 6 and the road surface is wirelessly supplied to the battery 7 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) to charge the battery 7. In this case, since the feeding coil 6 is supported by the rail 17 fixed to the upright of the rear wheel Wr and arranged horizontally, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the suspension 3 Even if the vehicle height fluctuates due to the vertical stroke, the distance between the feeding coil 6 and the road surface coil 5 (see FIG. 2) is kept constant, so that the feeding to the battery 7 is stably performed.

Then, when the vehicle travels on the road outside the power feeding area, that is, when the power is not supplied, the feeding coil 6 is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with obstacles on the road by the evacuation mechanism. Specifically, when the electric motor 19 constituting a part of the actuator is started, the rotation thereof is transmitted to the second gear 21 via the first gear 20 and the second gear 21 rotates. Then, since the second gear 21 meshing with the rack 17b of the rail 17 moves along the rail 17 together with the feeding coil 6, the front end portion of the feeding coil 6 also moves along the rail 17. At the same time, the rear end portion of the feeding coil 6 that engages with the guide groove 17a of the rail 17 via a roller (not shown) also moves along the rail 17. Therefore, the feeding coil 6 (see FIG. 3), which was horizontally arranged at the time of feeding as shown by the broken line in FIG. 7, is a rail as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7 after the process shown by the chain line in FIG. Standing up along the vertical portion 17B of 17, the feeding coil 6 retracts to a position where it avoids interference with obstacles on the road. This state is shown in FIG. As described above, by retracting the feeding coil 6 to a position where the feeding coil 6 avoids interference with obstacles on the road when the feeding coil is not fed, damage due to the collision of the feeding coil 6 with the obstacle is surely prevented. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, since the rail 17 is sandwiched between the second gear 21 and the roller 22, the feeding coil 6 is excessively tilted while the feeding coil 6 is moving. Can be stably and smoothly moved along the rail 17.

Further, when the vehicle travels again in the power supply area of the road 4, that is, when power is supplied, the electric motor 19 is activated to reverse the first gear 20, and the second gear 21 meshing with the first gear 20 also reverses. , The feeding coil 6 which had been standing upright and retracted vertically as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 8 and 7 went through the process shown by the chain line in FIG. 7 to the horizontal portion 17A of the rail 17 shown by the broken line in FIG. And, as shown in FIG. 3, the feeding coil 6 is arranged horizontally so as to be parallel to the road surface.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the power feeding coil 6 is attached to the upright of the rear wheel Wr, it is possible to stably supply power to the battery 7 wirelessly without being affected by the fluctuation of the vehicle height. can. Then, when the power is not supplied, the feeding coil 6 is retracted to a position where it avoids interference with obstacles on the road by the retracting mechanism, so that the feeding coil 6 avoids interference with obstacles on the road and the feeding coil 6 is used. The effect of preventing damage is obtained.

The power feeding device 1 according to the present invention can be similarly applied not only to an electric vehicle but also to a hybrid vehicle (HEV vehicle) traveling by using both an electric motor and an engine as drive sources.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings.

1 Power supply device 4 Road 5 Road surface coil (magnetic field generating means)
6 Feed coil 7 Battery 17 Rail 17a Rail guide groove 17b Rail rack 19 Electric motor 20 1st gear 21 2nd gear 22 Roller Wr Rear wheel (wheel)

Claims (5)

The bottom of the vehicle is equipped with a feeding coil arranged parallel to the road surface.
A vehicle power supply device that supplies electric energy generated by electromagnetic induction by a plurality of magnetic field generating means embedded in the road along the traveling direction of the vehicle and the power feeding coil to a battery mounted on the vehicle.
The feeding coil is provided on the upright of the wheel.
When no power is supplied, a retracting mechanism is provided to retract the power supply coil to a position that avoids interference with obstacles on the road .
The evacuation mechanism is configured to erect the power feeding coil perpendicular to the road surface when no power is supplied.
A vehicle power supply that is characterized by this. The retracting mechanism includes an L-shaped rail fixed to the upright of the wheel and an actuator for moving the feeding coil along the rail.
The vehicle feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the feeding coil is vertically erected by the actuator when no feeding is performed. The L-shaped guide groove formed along the rail is characterized in that one end of the feeding coil in the front-rear direction is movably engaged and held, and the other end of the feeding coil in the front-rear direction is connected to the actuator. The vehicle power supply device according to claim 2. The actuator is provided on both the electric motor attached to the power feeding coil, the first gear rotationally driven by the electric motor, the rack carved along the rail, and the rack and the first gear. The power feeding device for a vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the power feeding device is configured to include a second gear that meshes with the second gear. The vehicle power feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the rail is sandwiched between the second gear and a roller that rolls along the outer peripheral surface of the rail.

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