JP7052405B2 - Electric vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an electric vehicle, and more specifically, to a technique of charging an in-vehicle power storage device with electric power supplied from an external power source provided outside the vehicle via a charging cable.

The electric vehicle is configured to be capable of charging an in-vehicle power storage device with electric power supplied from an external power source provided outside the vehicle via a charging cable. Such charging will also be referred to as "external charging" below. From the viewpoint of improving user convenience, it is desirable that a series of external charging operations such as connection / disconnection of the charging cable are comfortable for the user (smooth without being complicated).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-127066

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-127066 (Patent Document 1) detects that a vehicle approaches a refueling station in a vehicle (typically a gasoline vehicle or a diesel vehicle) configured to be refuelable. In such a case, a control for automatically opening the lid (fuel lid) covering the refueling port is disclosed (see, for example, paragraphs [0020] and [0049] of Patent Document 1). This makes it possible to smoothly refuel.

Refueling is done at a refueling station, a dedicated facility for refueling, such as a gas station. Therefore, when the vehicle is parked in the refueling station, it can be inferred that the user is willing to refuel.

On the other hand, the charger for external charging can be installed in various places including the user's home. Therefore, if the user's electric vehicle is parked within a predetermined range from the charger (for example, if the user returns home and the user's vehicle is parked near the charger installed at home), the user is informed. There is not always the intention of external charging. Therefore, simply controlling the lid (charging lid) that covers the charging port (charging inlet) when parked near the charger opens the charging lid even though the user has no intention of external charging, and the user is informed of the problem. It may give a feeling of strangeness.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for smoothly performing external charging while suppressing a user's discomfort in an electric vehicle configured to enable external charging. To provide.

An electric vehicle according to a certain aspect of the present disclosure can be charged by electric power supplied from an external power source provided outside the vehicle via a charging cable. The electric vehicle includes a power storage device, a charging inlet configured to connect a charging cable, and a charging lid provided in the charging inlet and configured to be able to switch between opening and closing of the charging inlet. The control device opens the charging lid when the SOC of the power storage device is below the reference value when the electric vehicle is parked within a predetermined range from the external power source.

When the SOC of the power storage device is below the reference value, the power storage device is in a low SOC state, and it is highly necessary to perform external charging in order to recover the SOC. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the charging lid is opened when such an SOC condition is satisfied. In other words, when the SOC condition is not satisfied and the power storage device is in a high SOC state, the charging lid is not automatically opened. As a result, it is possible to save the user the trouble of opening the charging lid manually while suppressing the user's discomfort.

According to the present disclosure, external charging can be smoothly performed while suppressing a user's discomfort.

It is an overall block diagram of the charging system which concerns on embodiment of this disclosure. It is a block diagram of the vehicle which concerns on this embodiment. It is a front view which shows the inlet. It is a front view which shows the charging connector. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the start of an external charge in this embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process at the end of an external charge in this embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[Embodiment]
<Overall configuration of charging system>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 1, the charging system 10 includes a vehicle 1, a charger 2, a charging cable 3, a smartphone 4, and a server 5.

The vehicle 1 is a vehicle of a certain user (not shown), for example, a plug-in hybrid vehicle. However, the vehicle 1 may be an electric vehicle as long as it is configured to be capable of external charging (plug-in charging).

The charger 2 may be, for example, a public charging device (charging stand, charging station) or a charging device provided at the user's home. The vehicle 1 and the charger 2 are configured to be electrically connectable by a charging cable 3.

The vehicle 1 and the server 5 are configured to enable wireless communication with each other. Similarly, the smartphone 4 and the server 5 are configured to enable wireless communication with each other. Further, both the charger 2 and the server 5 are configured to enable wireless communication.

The smartphone 4 is used to notify the user of the vehicle 1 of information regarding external charging. It should be noted that the smartphone 4 is not indispensable for the notification to the user, and it is also possible to realize the notification to the user by, for example, a dedicated terminal.

Although not shown, the server 5 includes a CPU, a memory, and an input / output port, and manages information about a large number of chargers (not shown) including the charger 2. A part or all of the server 5 may be configured to execute arithmetic processing by hardware such as an electronic circuit.

<Vehicle configuration>
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle 1 includes an inlet 110, a charging relay 120, an AC / DC converter 130, an SMR (System Main Relay) 140, a battery 150, and a PCU (Power Control Unit). It includes 160, a first MG (Motor Generator) 171, a motor generator 172, a power split mechanism 173, a drive wheel 174, an engine 180, a navigation device 190, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 100.

The inlet 110 is configured to be connectable to the charging connector 310 of the charging cable 3 during external charging. The electric power from the charger 2 is supplied to the charging path of the vehicle 1 via the charging cable 3 and the inlet 110.

The inlet 110 is covered with a charging lid 117 provided on the outside of the vehicle with respect to the inlet 110. The charging lid 117 is controlled to open and close by a charging lid actuator 118 operated by a control signal from the ECU 100. The detailed configuration of the inlet 110 and the charging lid 117 will be described later.

The charging relay 120 is electrically connected between the inlet 110 and the AC / DC converter 130. The charging relay 120 switches between supplying and shutting off power between the inlet 110 and the AC / DC converter 130 in response to a control signal from the ECU 100.

The AC / DC converter 130 converts the AC power supplied from the charger 2 via the inlet 110 into DC power based on the control signal from the ECU 100, and outputs the AC power to the battery 150.

The SMR 140 is electrically connected between the battery 150 and the PCU 160. The SMR 140 switches between supplying and disconnecting power between the battery 150 and the PCU 160 in response to a control signal from the ECU 100.

The battery (storage device) 150 is a DC power source configured to be chargeable and dischargeable. As the battery 150, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery or a nickel hydrogen battery, or a capacitor such as an electric double layer capacitor can be adopted.

The battery 150 is provided with a battery sensor 151. The battery sensor 151 comprehensively represents a voltage sensor, a current sensor, and a temperature sensor (none of which are shown) provided in the battery 150. The voltage sensor detects the voltage VB of the battery 150. The current sensor detects the current IB input / output to / from the battery 150. The temperature sensor detects the temperature TB of the battery 150. Each sensor outputs a signal indicating the detection result to the ECU 100. The ECU 100 calculates the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 150 based on the signal from the battery sensor 151. As the SOC calculation method, various known methods such as a current integration method and a method using an SOC-OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) curve can be used.

The PCU 160 drives the motor generators 171 and 172. More specifically, the PCU 160 includes a converter 161 and inverters 162, 163. The converter 161 boosts the DC voltage supplied from the battery 150 based on the control signal from the ECU 100. The boosted DC voltage is supplied to the inverters 162 and 163. The inverter 162 converts the DC power from the converter 161 into AC power based on the control signal from the ECU 100, and supplies the AC power to the motor generator 171. Similarly, the inverter 163 converts the DC power from the converter 161 into AC power based on the control signal from the ECU 100, and supplies the AC power to the motor generator 172.

The motor generator 171 uses AC power from the PCU 160 to rotate the crankshaft (not shown). As a result, the engine 180 is driven. Further, the driving force of the motor generator 171 is transmitted to the drive wheels 174 via the power split mechanism 173. Further, the motor generator 171 generates electricity by using the power of the engine 180 divided by the power dividing mechanism 173. The generated AC power is converted into DC power by the PCU 160 and stored in the battery 150.

The motor generator 172 applies a driving force to the drive wheels 174 by using at least one of the AC power from the PCU 160 and the AC power from the motor generator 171. Further, the motor generator 172 generates electricity by regenerative braking. The generated power is converted into DC power by the PCU 160 and stored in the battery 150.

The engine 180 is an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. A fuel tank 181 for storing fuel of the engine 180 such as gasoline is connected to the engine 180. The fuel tank 181 is connected to a fuel filler port 182 for refueling the engine 180 via a fuel pipe. A refueling nozzle 420 is inserted into the refueling port 182 when refueling.

The refueling port 182 is covered with a refueling lid 183 provided on the outside of the vehicle with respect to the refueling port 182. The refueling lid 183 is open / closed controlled by a refueling lid actuator 184 operated by a control signal from the ECU 100.

The navigation device 190 includes a GPS receiver (not shown) that identifies the current location of the vehicle 1 based on radio waves from an artificial satellite. The navigation device 190 executes various navigation processes of the vehicle 1 using the position information (GPS information) of the current location of the vehicle 1 specified by the GPS receiver. Specifically, the navigation device 190 is based on the GPS information of the vehicle 1 and the road map data stored in the memory (not shown), and the travel route (planned travel route or travel route) from the current location of the vehicle 1 to the destination. The target route) is calculated, and the information of the traveling route is output to the ECU 100.

The ECU 100 (control device) controls the devices so that the vehicle 1 is in a desired state based on the signals sent from the sensors and the maps and programs stored in the memory. The main control executed by the ECU 100 is the external charge control of the battery 150. This external charge control will be described in detail later.

<Configuration of inlet and charging connector>
FIG. 3 is a front view showing the inlet 110. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the inlet 110 includes a guide wall 111, a P terminal 112 and an N terminal 113, communication terminals 114 and 115, a stopper 116, a charging lid 117, and a charging lid actuator 118 ( (See FIG. 2) and lighting 119.

The guide wall 111 is formed in a tubular shape. The P terminal 112, the N terminal 113, and the communication terminals 114, 115 are all provided in the guide wall 111. The charging line PL is electrically connected to the P terminal 112, and the charging line NL is electrically connected to the N terminal 113. The stopper 116 is provided at the upper end of the guide wall 111.

The charging lid 117 is configured to be able to open / close inside the guide wall 111 by rotating to the side surface of the guide wall 111. The charging lid actuator 118 controls opening and closing of the charging lid 117 in response to a control signal from the ECU 100.

The illumination 119 is provided above, for example, the guide wall 111. In response to the control signal from the ECU 100, the illumination 119 illuminates the inlet 110 to facilitate the connection operation of the charging connector 310 by the user, and notifies the user of the necessity of external charging (details will be described later). .. The number and installation positions of the lighting 119 are not particularly limited to the configuration shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the charging connector 310. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, the charging connector 310 is formed in a guide wall 311 formed in a cylindrical shape so as to open forward at the tip of a connector case (not shown) and in the guide wall 311. The P terminal 312 and the N terminal 313 provided, the communication terminals 314 and 315 provided in the guide wall 311 and the claw portion 316 are included.

When the operation portion (not shown) provided on the connector case is pushed by the user, the claw portion 316 jumps up, and the claw portion 316 can be hooked on the stopper 116 shown in FIG. When the charging connector 310 is inserted into the inlet 110, the P terminal 112 and the P terminal 312 are electrically connected, and the N terminal 113 and the N terminal 313 are electrically connected. As a result, the charging line PL of the vehicle 1 and the feeding line (not shown) of the charger 2 are electrically connected, and the charging line NL of the vehicle 1 and another feeding line of the charger 2 (not shown) are connected. Is electrically connected. Further, the communication terminal 114 and the communication terminal 314 are connected, and the communication terminal 115 and the communication terminal 315 are connected. This enables bidirectional communication between the ECU 100 and the control circuit (not shown) of the charger 2.

In the charging system 10 configured as described above, the charger 2 can be installed in various places including a public charging station, a user's home, and the like. Therefore, just because the user's vehicle 1 approaches the charger 2 does not necessarily mean that the user has an intention of external charging. For example, when the charger 2 is installed at the user's home, the user may not have the intention of external charging depending on the schedule of the next day even if the user returns home.

Therefore, if the charging lid 117 is simply controlled assuming that the vehicle 1 is parked in the vicinity of the charger 2, the charging lid 117 is opened (opened) even though the user has no intention of external charging, and the user May give a sense of discomfort. Further, it is necessary to close (return to the closed state) the charging lid 117 by the next running time, and rather, the smoothness of the external charging may be hindered.

In view of such circumstances, in the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the SOC information of the battery 150 is used in addition to the position information of the vehicle 1 for the opening / closing control of the charging lid 117. When the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF1 (see FIG. 5) (when the SOC is included in the low SOC region), the need for external charging is high. Therefore, the charging lid 117 is automatically released when such a condition is satisfied, and the user does not have to manually open the charging lid 117. When the charging lid 117 is automatically opened, the SOC is lowered and it is the timing for external charging, so that the user can perform the external charging operation (connection of the charging connector 310) without feeling any discomfort.

<Processing flow at the start of external charging>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the process at the start of external charging in the present embodiment. The flowcharts shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 to be described later are called and executed from a main routine (not shown) every time a predetermined calculation cycle elapses. Each step (hereinafter abbreviated as "S") included in these flowcharts is basically realized by software processing by the ECU 100, but is realized by dedicated hardware (electric circuit) manufactured in the ECU 100. May be good.

Before executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the position information of the charger 2 (for example, the position information of the user's home) to be executed in a series of processes is registered. However, pre-registration of the position information of the charger 2 is not essential, and for example, the position information of the charger 2 (for example, the position information of a public charging station) may be appropriately received from the server 5.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, in S101, the ECU 100 has the parking position of the vehicle 1 near the registration point (here, the user's home) based on the GPS information acquired by the navigation device 190. Judge whether or not. When the parking position of the vehicle 1 is far from the registration point (NO in S101), the process is returned to the main routine.

When the parking position of the vehicle 1 is near the registration point (YES in S101), specifically, when the parking position of the vehicle 1 is within a few meters from the registration point, the ECU 100 causes the user to turn off the ignition of the vehicle 1 (IG-OFF). ) Wait until the operation is performed (NO in S102). When the IG-OFF operation is performed (YES in S102), the ECU 100 determines whether or not the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value REF1 (S103). The reference value REF1 is a value indicating that the SOC has decreased to some extent (for example, SOC = 30%), and is a value at which it is desirable to perform external charging (so to speak, a caution level). The reference value REF1 corresponds to the "reference value" according to the present disclosure.

If the SOC of the battery 150 is higher than the reference value REF1 (NO in S105), there is a possibility that a certain amount of SOC remains in the battery 150 and the need for external charging is relatively low, and the user has no intention of external charging. There is. Therefore, the ECU 100 skips the subsequent processing and returns the processing to the main routine.

On the other hand, when the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF1 (YES in S105), it is highly likely that the user has an intention of external charging or the need for external charging is relatively high. The ECU 100 controls the charging lid actuator 118 so that the charging lid 117 is released (S104).

Subsequently, the ECU 100 further determines whether or not the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value REF2 (S105). The reference value REF2 is a value even lower than the reference value REF1 (for example, SOC = 10%), and is a value (so to speak, a warning level) that should warn the user that external charging is required.

When the SOC of the battery 150 is higher than the reference value REF2 (NO in S105), the ECU 100 turns on the illumination 119 (see FIG. 3) in a normal pattern (S107). The normal pattern is, for example, a light emission pattern that is lit with a constant luminous flux (or luminance, illuminance).

When the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF2 (YES in S105), the ECU 100 turns on the illumination 119 in a warning pattern (S106). The warning pattern is, for example, a light emission pattern in which the blinking of the illumination 119 is repeated, and is defined to attract the user's attention more strongly than the normal pattern.

In the warning pattern, the ECU 100 may change the emission color or the luminous flux from the normal pattern in place of or in addition to the emission pattern. Further, the ECU 100 may control a speaker or a buzzer (not shown) so as to emit a warning sound in addition to the warning pattern of the illumination 119.

In S108, the ECU 100 determines whether or not the charging connector 310 is connected to the inlet 110. The connection / disconnection (disconnection) between the charging connector 310 and the inlet 110 can be determined, for example, by communication between the ECU 100 and the control circuit (not shown) of the charger 2.

When the charging connector 310 is not connected to the inlet 110 (NO in S108), the ECU 100 determines whether or not a predetermined time (for example, several minutes) has elapsed from the IG-OFF operation in S102 (S110). Even if the charging connector 310 is not connected to the inlet 110, the process is returned to S105 until a predetermined time elapses (NO in S110). As a result, the lighting of the illumination 119 (S106 or S107) is continued.

On the other hand, when the predetermined time elapses without the charging connector 310 being connected to the inlet 110 (YES in S110), there is a possibility that the user has left the vehicle 1 without connecting the charging connector 310. Therefore, the ECU 100 sends a notification to the user's smartphone 4 to make the user aware that the charging connector 310 has been forgotten to be inserted. This notification may be transmitted from the ECU 100 to the smartphone 4 via the server 5, or may be transmitted directly from the ECU 100 to the smartphone 4.

When the charging connector 310 is connected to the inlet 110 (YES in S108), the ECU 100 stops the lighting 119 according to the pattern selected in S106 or S107, and turns off the lighting 119 (S109).

As described above, when the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF1, the need for external charging is high. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the SOC is equal to or less than the reference value REF1, the charging lid 117 is automatically released (S104). This saves the user the trouble of opening the charging lid 117 by manual operation (for example, lever operation (not shown)), so that external charging can be smoothly performed. Further, when the charging lid 117 is automatically opened, the SOC condition that requires high external charging is satisfied, so that the user is less likely to feel uncomfortable.

Further, when the SOC is equal to or less than the reference value REF2, the need for external charging is even higher. Therefore, when the SOC is equal to or less than the reference value REF2, the illumination 119 is turned on in a warning pattern (S106). As a result, even if the user has forgotten that the external charging should be performed, the user's attention can be drawn and the external charging operation (connection operation of the charging connector 310) can be promoted.

<Processing flow at the end of external charging>
Next, the control when the external charging is completed and the connection of the charging connector 310 is disconnected (disconnected) will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the process at the end of external charging in the present embodiment. With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, in S201, the ECU 100 determines whether or not the connection of the charging connector 310 from the inlet 110 has been disconnected. When the connection of the charging connector 310 is disconnected (YES in S201), the ECU 100 again determines whether or not the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF2 (S202).

When the SOC of the battery 150 is higher than the reference value REF2 (NO in S202), the ECU 100 controls the charging lid actuator 118 so that the charging lid 117 is closed (S205).

On the other hand, when the SOC of the battery 150 is equal to or less than the reference value REF2 (YES in S202), it is desirable that the SOC of the battery 150 is not sufficiently recovered even though the external charging is performed, and the external charging is restarted. .. Therefore, the ECU 100 turns on the illumination 119 with a warning pattern (S203).

In S204, the ECU 100 determines the elapsed time since the charging connector 310 was disconnected. Until the predetermined time elapses (NO in S204), the process is returned to S203, and the lighting in the warning pattern of the illumination 119 is continued. If a predetermined time elapses without reconnecting the charging connector 310 (YES in S204), the ECU 100 assumes that the charging connector 310 is not reconnected (for example, the user is unaware of the reconnection request). The process proceeds to S205, and the charging lid actuator 118 is controlled so that the charging lid 117 is closed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lighting 119 is controlled based on the SOC even at the end of the external charging. When the amount of electric power stored in the battery 150 is still insufficient even though the external charge is performed and further external charge is desired, the lighting 119 is turned on in a warning pattern to prompt the user to restart the external charge. When the user performs the connection operation of the charging connector 310 again and restarts the external charging, an appropriate amount of electric power can be secured in the battery 150 in preparation for the next running.

In addition, in FIG. 6, it was explained that the SOC of the battery 150 and the reference value REF2 are compared, and whether or not to turn on the illumination 119 is determined according to the comparison result, but more reference values (a plurality of reference values) are explained. ) And SOC may be compared. The degree of shortage of the amount of power stored in the battery 150 (degree of decrease in SOC) is classified by a plurality of reference values, and the lighting mode of the lighting 119 (for example, light emission pattern, light emission color and luminous flux) is classified according to the degree of shortage of the power amount. ) May be different.

Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, examples of performing various determination processes based on the SOC of the battery 150 have been described. However, the parameter used for the determination is not limited to the SOC, and may be the EV mileage of the vehicle 1 (the distance that can be traveled by the electric power stored in the battery 150). The EV mileage is the SOC of the battery 150 (or the amount of electric power stored in the battery 150) and the electric energy cost of the vehicle 1 (the amount of electric power consumed per unit mileage, and even if it is a catalog value, it is an actual value. It may be calculated from).

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be exemplary and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is set forth by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

1 vehicle, 2 charger, 3 charging cable, 4 smartphone, 5 server, 10 charging system, 100 ECU, 110 inlet, 111 guide wall, 112 P terminal, 113 N terminal, 114, 115 communication terminal, 116 stopper, 117 Charging lid, 118 charging lid actuator, 119 lighting, 120 charging relay, 130 converter, 140 SMR, 150 battery, 151 battery sensor, 160 PCU, 161 converter, 162, 163 inverter, 171, 172 motor generator, 173 power split mechanism 174 drive wheels, 180 engine, 181 fuel tank, 182 refueling port, 183 refueling lid, 184 refueling lid actuator, 190 navigation device, 310 charging connector, 311 guide wall, 312 P terminal, 313 N terminal, 314, 315 communication terminal 316 claws, 420 refueling nozzles, NL, PL charging lines.

Claims (2)

It is an electric vehicle that can be charged by electric power supplied from an external power source installed outside the vehicle via a charging cable.
Power storage device and
A charging inlet configured to connect the charging cable,
A charging lid provided in the charging inlet and configured to be able to switch between opening and closing of the charging inlet,
A lighting device provided around the charging inlet and
The charging lid and the control device for controlling the lighting device are provided.
The control device is used when the electric vehicle is parked within a predetermined range from the external power source.
When the SOC of the power storage device is below the first reference value, the charging lid is opened and the charging lid is opened.
After opening the charging lid and before the charging cable is connected to the charging inlet, the lighting device is turned on.
When the charging cable is connected to the charging inlet, the lighting device is turned off.
When the connection between the charging cable and the charging inlet is disconnected and the SOC of the power storage device is below the second reference value lower than the first reference value, the lighting device is turned on again.
An electric vehicle that closes the charging lid when a first predetermined time elapses without the charging cable being reconnected to the charging inlet after the connection between the charging cable and the charging inlet is disconnected . When the second predetermined time elapses without the charging cable being connected to the charging inlet after the charging lid is opened, the control device causes the user's mobile terminal of the electric vehicle to forget to connect the charging cable. The electric vehicle according to claim 1 to be notified.

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