JP7600929B2 - Electric vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of electric vehicles such as HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles), PHEVs (Plug-in HEVs), and BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) that use contact and non-contact power supply.

One electric vehicle proposed for this type is one that can be charged wirelessly on the road using power from a power grid (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-193657 A

However, according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when power is exchanged between a system power source and a vehicle, if a sudden power shortage or excess occurs, it is difficult or impossible to quickly supply or consume power.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the technical problems described above, and aims to provide an electric vehicle that can transmit and receive large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power supply alone or non-contact power supply alone, depending on the situation.

To solve the above problems, one aspect of the electric vehicle according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a battery, an electric unit that runs on the power of the battery, a power transfer unit capable of transferring power to and from a system power source to discharge and store power from the battery, a plug for performing the transfer using a contact power supply method, a coil for performing the transfer using a non-contact power supply method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug will be sufficient to meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and, if it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil.

According to one aspect of the electric vehicle of the present invention, the control unit determines whether or not a discharge or storage request from the aggregator can be met by transmission and reception via the plug, i.e., contact power supply. If it is determined that the request will not be met, the power transmission and reception unit performs power transmission and reception via both the plug and the coil, i.e., power transmission and reception by both contact power supply and contactless power supply, under the control of the control unit. Therefore, depending on the situation, i.e., whether contact power supply is sufficient or whether both contact power supply and contactless power supply are necessary, it becomes possible to transmit and receive large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power supply.

The effects of the present invention will be more clearly seen in the embodiments of the invention described below.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle and a system power supply according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the electric vehicle of FIG. 1 together with a system power supply and an aggregator. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the electric vehicle of FIG. 1 together with functions of an aggregator. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a power supply operation according to the embodiment.

The configuration of the electric vehicle according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 1 is configured to be able to exchange power with the system power source 21 using the contact power supply/receiving unit 11b (e.g., a socket or connection port at home or at a power supply station). Furthermore, the electric vehicle 1 is configured to be able to exchange power with the system power source 21 using the non-contact power supply/receiving unit 12b (e.g., a power supply coil installed at a power supply station or on a road). That is, the power supply/receiving unit 11b can be electrically connected to the plug of the electric vehicle 1 (see FIG. 2) described next by the contact power supply method, and the power supply/receiving unit 12b can be electrically connected to the coil of the electric vehicle 1 (see FIG. 2) described next by the non-contact power supply method. The electric vehicle 1 is constructed as an electric vehicle or electric car having various functions such as automatic driving, semi-automatic driving, or driving assistance.

As shown in FIG. 2, more specifically, the electric vehicle 1 includes an electric unit 2, a battery 4, a control unit 5, a power transfer unit 10, a plug 11a, and a coil 12a. The aggregator 20 is configured to request the electric vehicle 1 to store or discharge electricity based on the power demand, power storage status, or power supply capacity of the electric vehicle 1 or a plurality of electric vehicles including the electric vehicle 1, and the power demand and power supply capacity of the system power source 21. In this embodiment, the power transfer between the system power source 21 and the electric vehicle 1 can be selectively performed as appropriate by one or both of a contact power supply method (e.g., a plug-in method) via the plug 11a and a non-contact power supply method (e.g., an electromagnetic induction method) using the coil 12a, as described in detail below. The plug 11a can be electrically connected to the power supply/receiving unit 11b (see FIG. 1) in a contact manner, and power transfer between the two is possible. The coil 12a can be electrically connected to the power supply/receiving unit 12b (see Figure 1) in a non-contact manner, allowing power to be transmitted between the two.

The electric unit 2 includes various electric and electronic devices that are battery-powered, such as a motor generator, a control device related to the motor generator, various in-vehicle devices, and electric and electronic devices for automatic driving. The electric unit 2 performs driving operations or running operations using the power of the battery 4, which receives and transmits power (i.e., stores or charges) between the electric power source 21 via a plug 11a or a coil 12a. Furthermore, the electric unit 2 is configured so that the battery 4 can store or charge electricity generated by the motor generator.

The battery 4 includes various types of secondary batteries (e.g., lithium ion batteries, lead acid batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries) that are known or will be developed in the future, and may be configured to include multiple different or similar types of batteries, such as a main battery and an auxiliary battery. The battery 4 is capable of supplying or discharging power to the motorized unit 2 mainly for driving, and is further configured to supply or discharge power stored by power generation by the motorized unit 2 or power supply from the conventional system power source 21 to the system power source 21 via the power transfer unit 10, the plug 11a and the coil 12a, the power supply/receiving units 11b and 12b (see FIG. 1), and their wiring or electric wires.

The control unit 5 includes a processor, memory, etc., and is configured to control the power transfer unit 10 having an electric/electronic switching element or device to switch between contact power supply via the plug 11a, contactless power supply via the coil 12a, or power supply via both the plug 11a and the coil 12a, depending on the power storage or discharge request from the aggregator 20 and the determination result as described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

As shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 3, the electric vehicle 1 and the aggregator 20 are accommodated on the Internet 50, and multiple electric vehicles (not shown) may also be accommodated on the Internet 50. The electric vehicle 1 has, as functional blocks within the control unit 5 (see FIG. 2), a contact or contactless determination unit 5a that determines whether to perform contact or contactless power supply, a contactless power supply control unit 5b that controls the contactless power supply in the power supply/reception unit 10 (see FIG. 2), the coil 12a, the system power supply 21, etc., and a contact power supply control unit 5c that controls the contact power supply in the power supply/reception unit 10, the plug 11a (see FIG. 2), the electric wire 11c, the system power supply 21, etc.

On the other hand, the aggregator 20 has a supply and demand state identification unit 20a as a functional block that identifies the supply and demand state of the electric vehicle 1 (or other electric vehicles in addition) and the grid power supply 21 based on information related to the power storage state and required output state of the battery 4 of the electric vehicle 1 received via the Internet 50 and information related to the power reserve state of the grid power supply 21. Furthermore, the aggregator 20 has an instruction content determination unit 20b as a functional block that determines the instruction content to the electric vehicle 1 (or other electric vehicles in addition) according to the supply and demand state of the electric vehicle 1 and the grid power supply 21 thus identified. Note that such an aggregator 20 may be constructed as a system that controls a VPP (Virtual Power Plant).

Next, the power supply operation of the electric vehicle 1 and aggregator 20 configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4, on the electric vehicle side, the control unit 5 (see FIG. 2) or the like determines whether or not a power discharge or power storage instruction has been received from the aggregator side (step S11), and this determination is repeated as long as it is determined that no instruction has been received (step S11: No).

On the aggregator side, the demand state is identified by the supply and demand state identification unit 20a (see FIG. 3) or the like, and it is determined whether or not power adjustment is necessary (step S21). As long as it is determined that power adjustment is not necessary, this determination is repeated (step S21: No).

Here, when the aggregator determines that power adjustment is necessary (step S21: Yes), it dispatches, i.e., distributes, the required discharge or storage amount for each device (i.e., for each electric vehicle, for each storage battery that constitutes the battery of the electric vehicle, for each system power source, or for each VPP, etc.) (step S22). Furthermore, based on dispatch information indicating the contents of the dispatch determined in this way, a power discharge or storage instruction is sent to the electric vehicle via the Internet (step S23).

When it is determined that an instruction (step S23) has been received from the aggregator (step S11: Yes), the electric vehicle determines whether or not the contact method alone is sufficient (step S12). This determination is made by the contact or non-contact determination unit 5a shown in FIG. 3. If it is determined that the contact method alone is sufficient (step S12: Yes), power supply is performed using only the contact method (step S13). That is, the user of the electric vehicle connects the plug 11a (see FIG. 2) and the power supply/receiving unit 11b to each other at their home, a power supply station, or the like, and power supply is performed now or in the near future.

On the other hand, on the electric vehicle side, if it is determined in step S12 that the contact type alone is not sufficient (step S12: No), the control unit 5 or the like further determines whether the efficiency of the non-contact type is greater than a predetermined value (step S14). That is, it is determined how appropriate the relative position of the coil 12a (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) and the coil constituting the power supply/receiving unit 12b (see FIG. 1) is, typically, whether the two coils face each other or directly face each other to the extent that power can be transmitted and received by the electromagnetic induction method, or whether the distance between the two coils is short. The specific value of the predetermined value used here may be a fixed value or a design value that is previously determined by the manufacturer of the electric vehicle, or may be arbitrarily set by the user, or may be variably set by updating it appropriately using machine learning by AI.

If it is determined that the efficiency of the non-contact type is greater than the predetermined value (step S14: Yes), it is determined that the non-contact type is capable of sufficiently efficient power transfer, and power supply is performed using both the contact type and the non-contact type (step S15).

On the other hand, on the electric vehicle side, if it is determined in step S14 that the efficiency of non-contact is not greater than the predetermined value (step S14: No), the control unit 5 (see FIG. 2) determines that the current non-contact power supply is inefficient and cannot be ignored, and transmits the insufficient discharge amount or insufficient storage amount caused by the inability to use non-contact to the aggregator (step S16), and power supply is performed using only the contact type (step S17).

The aggregator determines whether or not a notification that the required discharge amount or the required storage amount cannot be satisfied due to the inability to perform non-contact (step S16) has been received from the electric vehicle (step S31), and this determination is repeated unless a notification is received (step S31: No). On the other hand, if it is determined that the notification has been received (step S31: Yes), re-dispatch is performed (step S32). That is, the required discharge amount or storage amount is dispatched for each device (i.e., for each electric vehicle, for each storage battery constituting the battery of the electric vehicle, for each system power source, or for each VPP, etc.). Furthermore, based on the dispatch information indicating the result of such re-dispatch, a power discharge or storage instruction for the electric vehicle is sent to the electric vehicle via the Internet (step S33), and the series of processes is terminated.

As described above in detail, this embodiment makes it possible to transmit and receive large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power supply alone or non-contact power supply alone. In addition, it is possible to appropriately avoid non-contact power transmission using inefficient coils.

Supplementary Note: The following supplementary note is further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment.
[Appendix 1]

The electric vehicle described in Appendix 1 of the present invention includes a battery, an electric unit that runs on the power of the battery, a power transfer unit capable of transferring power between the battery and a grid power source to discharge and store the battery, a plug for transferring the power using a contact power supply method, a coil for transferring the power using a non-contact power supply method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug will be sufficient to meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and controls the power transfer unit to transfer the power via both the plug and the coil if it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient.

According to the electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 1, the control unit determines whether or not the power transfer via the plug, i.e., contact power transfer, will be enough to meet the discharge or storage request from the aggregator. If it is determined that the power transfer will not be enough (i.e., there is a shortage or insufficient) in an emergency or when a large amount of power is urgently required, the power transfer unit transfers power via both the plug and the coil under the control of the control unit, i.e., by both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer. On the other hand, if it is determined that the power transfer will be enough, the power transfer unit transfers power via the plug under the control of the control unit, i.e., by the contact power transfer method. Thus, power transfer via contact power transfer, which has a greater or lesser power transfer efficiency than non-contact power transfer, is preferentially performed, and the power transfer efficiency or power transmission efficiency is improved overall. Therefore, depending on the situation, i.e., whether the contact power transfer will be enough or whether both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer are necessary, it is possible to transfer large amounts of power that cannot be handled by contact power transfer alone in an emergency, for example.
[Appendix 2]

The electric vehicle described in Appendix 2 is an electric vehicle that includes a battery, an electric unit that runs on the power of the battery, a power transfer unit that can transfer power to and from a system power source to discharge and store power from the battery, a plug for performing the transfer using a contact power supply method, a coil for performing the transfer using a non-contact power supply method, and a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the coil will be sufficient to meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and if it is determined that the transfer will not be sufficient, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil.

According to the electric vehicle described in Supplementary Note 2, the control unit determines whether or not the request for discharging or storing electricity from the aggregator will be met in time with the power transfer via the coil, i.e., non-contact power transfer. If it is determined that the request will not be met in time, for example, in an emergency or when a large amount of power is urgently required, the power transfer unit performs power transfer via both the plug and the coil, i.e., both contact power transfer and non-contact power transfer, under the control of the control unit. On the other hand, if it is determined that the request will be met in time, the power transfer unit performs power transfer via the coil, i.e., non-contact power transfer, under the control of the control unit. Thus, power transfer via non-contact power transfer, which is easier to operate than contact power transfer, is preferentially performed, and it is possible to create an environment that is convenient for the user, for example, by simply going to a non-contact power transfer position in automatic driving (i.e., the user does not need to insert the plug into the outlet). Therefore, depending on the situation, i.e., whether non-contact power supply is sufficient or whether both contact and non-contact power supply are necessary, it becomes possible to transmit and receive large amounts of power that cannot be handled by non-contact power supply alone, for example in emergencies.
[Appendix 3]

The electric vehicle described in Appendix 3 is an electric vehicle described in Appendix 1, characterized in that, when it is determined that the transfer is not in time, the control unit further determines whether the efficiency of the transfer by the coil is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and when the efficiency is equal to or less than the predetermined value, instead of controlling the transfer to be performed via both, the control unit requests the aggregator to re-dispatch the discharge or storage request.

The electric vehicle described in Appendix 3 makes it possible to avoid inefficient coil power transfer, i.e., inefficient non-contact power transfer. This increases the possibility of reducing power loss caused by non-contact methods, which are generally less efficient than contact methods, even in an emergency or when a large amount of power is required.

The present invention may be modified as appropriate without going against the gist or concept of the invention as can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and electric vehicles with such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1: Electric vehicle 2: Electric unit 4: Battery 5: Control unit 10: Power transfer unit 11a: Plug 12a: Coil 20: Aggregator 21: System power supply

Claims (1)

A battery;
an electric unit that is powered by the battery;
a power transfer unit capable of transferring power between the battery and a power grid to discharge and store the battery;
A plug for performing the power transfer by a contact power supply method;
A coil for performing the power transfer in a non-contact manner;
a control unit that determines whether the transfer via the plug will be able to meet a discharge or storage request from an aggregator, and when it is determined that the transfer will not be able to meet the request, controls the power transfer unit to perform the transfer via both the plug and the coil.