JP7831328B2 - Automatic charging stand - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an automatic charging station, and more specifically, to an automatic charging station equipped with an automatic charging device capable of automatically charging the onboard battery of an electric vehicle parked within a predetermined range using communication.

Conventionally, this type of automatic charging station has proposed a charging arm control device for electric vehicles, which extends the charging arm of the automatic charging device when a vehicle is parked, searches for the charging socket provided on the electric vehicle, and charges the electric vehicle by engaging with the charging socket (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This device includes a computer that measures the current position of an electric vehicle parked near the automatic charging device by detecting a magnetic nail using a detection device and integrating it using a distance sensor and a compass sensor, and measures the error between this current position and the ideal position, as well as a wireless device that notifies the automatic charging device of the measured error. The charging arm of the automatic charging device is then moved to an initial position corresponding to the current position of the electric vehicle based on the error.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-270411

In charging devices for vehicle batteries, user authentication (such as biometric authentication) may be required when connecting the charging cable or during battery charging. In automatic charging devices that automatically charge vehicle batteries, there may be times when a user wants to remotely instruct the automatic charging device to begin charging. However, if user authentication (such as biometric authentication) is required during charging, remote charging instructions cannot be given to the automatic charging device.

The primary purpose of the automatic charging station described herein is to enable automatic charging based on remote charging instructions from the user.

The automatic charging station described herein employs the following means to achieve the primary objective described above.

The automatic charging stand described herein is
An automatic charging station having a vehicle-side connector for charging the mounted battery, an on-board control device and a communication device for managing the charging of the battery, and capable of automatically charging the battery of an electric vehicle parked within a predetermined range using communication, a charging control device for controlling the automatic charging station, and a communication device,
The charging control device, upon authentication of the user of the electric vehicle through a predetermined electronic authentication process via communication, transmits predetermined usage instructions regarding the charging of the battery to the information terminal registered by the user.
It is characterized by the following:

In the automatic charging station of this disclosure, the charging control device has a vehicle-side connector for charging the mounted battery, an on-board control device for managing battery charging, and a communication device. It controls the automatic charging device to automatically charge the battery of an electric vehicle parked within a predetermined range using communication. Upon authentication of the electric vehicle user through a predetermined electronic authentication process via communication, the charging control device transmits predetermined usage instructions regarding battery charging to the user's registered information terminal. This enables automatic charging based on the user's remote charging instructions.

In the automatic charging station of this disclosure, the charging control device may, upon predetermined authentication, obtain the current energy level and the full charge energy level of the battery via communication from the on-board control device, calculate the time required to fully charge the battery based on the current energy level and the full charge energy level, and calculate the full charge fee as the charge for fully charging the battery. It may then transmit the predetermined usage instructions, including the full charge time and the full charge fee, to the information terminal. This allows the user to confirm the full charge time and full charge fee before issuing a charging instruction. In this case, the predetermined usage instructions may include a full charge display unit that displays the full charge time and the full charge fee, a first input unit for the user to input their desire for a full battery charge, a second input unit for the user to input their desired charging time, and/or a third input unit for the user to input their desired charging fee. This allows the user to issue a charging instruction for a full charge, a desired charging time, and a desired charging fee.

This diagram shows a schematic configuration of an automatic charging system 10, including an automatic charging stand 20, as one embodiment of the present disclosure. This flowchart shows an example of an automatic charging process performed by the charging control device 30, the user terminal 40, and the in-vehicle control device 130.

Next, embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an automatic charging system 10, including an automatic charging stand 20, as one embodiment of this disclosure.

The automatic charging system 10 of this embodiment consists of a wired or wireless communication network 12, an automatic charging station 20, a user terminal 40, and an electric vehicle 120.

The automatic charging station 20 is configured as a charging station that charges the battery 124 mounted on the electric vehicle 120 using power from the commercial power supply 5. The automatic charging station 20 includes a charging device 22, a station-side connector 24, a drive device 26, a charging control device 30, and a communication device 32.

The charging device 22 has one end connected to the commercial power supply 5 via a power line, and the other end connected to the stand connector 24. The charging device 22 converts the power from the commercial power supply 5 into power suitable for charging the battery 124 mounted on the electric vehicle 120, thereby charging the battery 124.

The drive unit 25 is configured as a three-dimensional driveable device that moves the stand connector 24 in the forward, backward, left, right, up, and down directions in order to connect the stand-side connector 24 to the vehicle-side connector 139.

The charging control device 30 is configured as a microcomputer centered on a CPU, and controls the charging device 22, the drive device 26, and the communication device 32. The charging control device 30 receives position information of the stand-side connector 24 from the positioning sensor 28 attached to the stand-side connector 24. The charging control device 30 also outputs a drive control signal to the drive device 26. Based on the position information of the stand-side connector 24 from the positioning sensor 28, the charging control device 30 controls the drive device 26 to connect the stand-side connector 24 to the vehicle-side connector 139. The charging control device 30 is connected to a stand-side communication line 25, which connects to the vehicle-side communication line 141 connected to the on-board control device 130 when the stand-side connector 24 is connected to the vehicle-side connector 139.

The user terminal 40 is configured as a standard smartphone and has the charging application 42 used in the automatic charging system 10 installed. When the charging application 42 is installed, the user terminal 40 is registered with the automatic charging stand 20 along with authentication data and authentication confirmation data for user authentication.

The electric vehicle 120 comprises a motor 122, an inverter 123, a battery 124, a charging circuit 138, a vehicle-side connector 139, and an on-board control device 130.

The motor 122 is configured, for example, as a synchronous generator-motor, and its rotor is connected to a drive shaft 125, which is linked to drive wheels 128a and 128b, via a differential gear 126. The motor 122 is driven by converting DC power from the battery 124 into three-phase AC power using an inverter 123 and applying it to the motor. The battery 124 is configured as a well-known lithium-ion secondary battery or nickel-metal hydride secondary battery.

The charging circuit 138 has one end connected to a power line connected to the battery 124, and the other end connected to a vehicle-side connector 139 for connection to the stand-side connector 24 of the automatic charging station 20. The charging circuit 138 includes a charging relay (not shown), which can connect to and disconnect from the battery 124. The vehicle-side connector 139 is covered by a lid 140, and can be connected to the stand-side connector 24 by opening the lid 140.

The in-vehicle control device 130, although not shown, is configured as a microcomputer centered around a CPU. Signals from various sensors are input to the in-vehicle control device 130 via input ports. Examples of signals input to the in-vehicle control device 130 via input ports include the ignition signal from the ignition switch 142, the shift position SP from the shift position sensor 144 which detects the position of the shift lever 143, the accelerator opening Acc from the accelerator pedal position sensor 146 which detects the amount the accelerator pedal 145 is pressed, the brake position BP from the brake pedal position sensor 148 which detects the amount the brake pedal 147 is pressed, and the vehicle speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 149. Furthermore, other parameters such as the rotational position θ from a rotational position sensor (not shown) that detects the rotational position of the motor 122, the battery voltage Vb from a voltage sensor (not shown) attached to the output terminal of the battery 124, the battery current Ib from a current sensor (not shown) attached to the output terminal of the battery 124, the charge/discharge voltage Vchg from a voltage sensor attached to the charging circuit 138, and the charge/discharge current Ichg from a current sensor attached to the charging circuit 138 can also be cited.

The in-vehicle control device 130 outputs various control signals via its output ports. Examples of control signals output from the in-vehicle control device 130 via its output ports include display control signals to the display device 150, communication control signals to the communication device 152, and air conditioning control signals to the air conditioning device 154. Other examples include switching control signals for switching a switching element (not shown) to the inverter 123 for driving the motor 122, drive control signals for a system main relay (not shown) mounted near the battery 124, drive control signals for a charging relay (not shown) mounted on the charging circuit 138, and drive control signals for the lid opener 140a that opens and closes the lid 140. The in-vehicle control device 130 communicates with the navigation system 156, which displays various information and provides route guidance. The in-vehicle control device 130 is connected to a vehicle-side signal line 140 for communication with the automatic charging station 20 via a vehicle-side connector 139 and a station-side connector 24.

The in-vehicle control device 130 calculates the battery 124's state of charge (SOC) and input/output limits (Win and Wout) based on the battery voltage Vb and battery current Ib. The SOC is the ratio (percentage) of the current dischargeable energy of the battery 124 to the energy of the battery 124 when fully charged (full charge energy). The input limit Win is the maximum allowable power when charging the battery 124, and the output limit is the maximum allowable power when discharging from the battery 124.

Next, we will describe the operation of the automatic charging system of this embodiment, particularly the operation when the electric vehicle 120 is parked in a predetermined parking position where it can be charged by the automatic charging station 20 and is charged based on a remote charging instruction from the user. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the automatic charging process executed by the charging control device 30, the user terminal 40, and the in-vehicle control device 130 when the vehicle is automatically charged by the automatic charging station 20.

The automatic charging process begins when the user requests automatic charging using the charging application 42 on the user terminal 40 (step S100). Upon receiving the charging request, the charging control device 30 requests user authentication from the user terminal 40 (step S200). User authentication can be performed, for example, by sending authentication data or authentication confirmation data to the charging control device 30 using the fingerprint authentication function or facial recognition function of the user terminal 40, and the charging control device 30 determining whether the authentication data or authentication confirmation data is pre-registered. The charging control device 30 determines the user's authentication (step S210), and if authentication cannot be performed, it terminates this process.

If authentication is successful in step S210, the charging control device 30 requests the on-board control device 130 of the electric vehicle 20 to acquire the information necessary to charge the battery 124 (step S210). The information necessary to charge the battery 124 includes the current energy level and the full charge energy level. In response to this request, the on-board control device 130 transmits the information necessary to charge the battery 124, including the current energy level and the full charge energy level, to the charging control device 30 (step S400).

When the in-vehicle control device 130 receives the information necessary to charge the battery 124, it calculates the time required for full charging (full charge time) and the cost required for full charging (full charge cost) based on the current energy amount and the full charge energy amount (step S230), and sends a user guide, including the full charge time and full charge cost, to the user terminal 40 (step S240). The user terminal 40 displays, as part of the user guide, the full charge time and full charge cost, as well as a full charge instruction button to instruct charging to full charge, a charging time input field for the user to enter their desired charging time, and a charging cost input field for the user to enter their desired charging cost, prompting the user to enter a charging instruction. When the user enters a charging instruction from the user terminal 40, including pressing the full charge instruction button, entering the charging time in the charging time input field, and entering the charging cost in the charging cost input field, the charging instruction is transmitted to the charging control device 30 (step S120).

Upon receiving the charging instruction, the charging control device 30 sends a notification of the start of charging to the user terminal 40 (step S250) and requests the in-vehicle control device 130 to open the lid 140 (step S260). In response to this request, the in-vehicle control device 130 outputs a drive control signal to the lid opener 140a to open the lid 140 and transmits this information to the charging control device 30 (step S410).

Next, the charging control device 30 adjusts the position of the stand-side connector 24 using the drive unit 26 based on the signal from the positioning sensor 28, and connects the stand-side connector 24 to the vehicle-side connector 139 (step S270). It then sends a request to the on-board control device 130 to confirm the connection between the stand-side connector 24 and the vehicle-side connector 139 (step S280). The on-board control device 130 confirms the connection between the stand-side connector 24 and the vehicle-side connector 139 in response to this request and sends a confirmation to the charging control device 30 (step S420).

Once the connection between the stand-side connector 24 and the vehicle-side connector 139 is confirmed, the charging control device 30 and the on-board control device 130 exchange information necessary for charging, and the charging device 22 charges the battery 124 according to the charging instructions (steps S290, S300, S430).

Once the battery 124 is fully charged by the charging device 22, the charging control device 30 disconnects the connection between the stand-side connector 24 and the vehicle-side connector 139 (step S310). Then, the charging control device 30 sends a request to the in-vehicle control device 130 to close the lid 140 (step S320), and sends a notification of charging completion to the user terminal 40 (step S330), thus ending its automatic charging process as the charging control device 30.

Upon receiving a request to close the lid 140, the in-vehicle control device 130 outputs a drive control signal to the lid opener 140a to close the lid 140, and terminates its automatic charging process as the in-vehicle control device 130. Meanwhile, the user terminal 40, upon receiving notification of charging completion, notifies the user of charging completion (step S13), and terminates its automatic charging process as the user terminal 40.

In the automatic charging system 10 of the embodiment described above, the charging control device 30 of the automatic charging station 20, upon receiving an automatic charging request from the user terminal 40, electronically authenticates the user using the user terminal 40, and then sends user guidance, including the time required for full charging and the full charging fee, to the user terminal 40, prompting the user to initiate charging. This allows automatic charging to be performed based on the user's remote charging instructions. In addition to the time required for full charging and the full charging fee, the user guidance includes a full charge instruction button to instruct charging until full, a charging time input field for the user to input their desired charging time, and a charging fee input field for the user to input their desired charging fee. This allows users to instruct charging not only by full charging, but also by charging time or charging fee, thereby improving user convenience.

In the embodiment of the automatic charging system 10, an electric vehicle 120 is assumed to be driven by a motor 122 using power from a battery 124. However, any vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery is acceptable, so various configurations of vehicles are also possible, such as hybrid vehicles equipped with an engine, motor, and battery, or fuel cell vehicles equipped with a fuel cell and battery.

In the embodiment of the automatic charging system 10, the system consists of a communication network 12, an automatic charging station 20, a user terminal 40, and an electric vehicle 120. However, the user terminal 40 may be an in-vehicle unit consisting of an in-vehicle control device 130, a display device 150, and a communication device 152 for the electric vehicle 120, or a general computer system connected to the Web may be used.

The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained. In the embodiment, the automatic charging device 22 corresponds to the "automatic charging device," the charging control device 30 corresponds to the "charging control device," the communication device 32 corresponds to the "communication device," and the automatic charging stand 20 corresponds to the "automatic charging stand."

Furthermore, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section is merely an example to specifically illustrate a form for carrying out the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, and does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiment is merely a specific example of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

Although this disclosure has been described using embodiments, it is by no means limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

This disclosure can be used in industries such as the manufacturing of automatic charging stations.

5 Commercial power supply, 10 Automatic charging system, 12 Communication network, 20 Automatic charging station, 22 Charging device, 24 Station-side connector, 25 Station-side communication line, 26 Drive unit, 28 Positioning sensor, 30 Charging control device, 32 Communication device, 40 User terminal, 42 Charging app, 120 Electric vehicle, 122 Motor, 123 Inverter, 124 Battery, 125 Drive shaft, 126 Differential gear, 128a, 128b Drive wheels, 130 Electronic control unit, 138 Charging circuit, 139 Vehicle-side connector, 140 Lid, 140a Lid opener, 141 Vehicle-side communication line, 142 Ignition switch, 143 Shift lever, 144 Shift position sensor, 145 Accelerator pedal, 146 Accelerator pedal position sensor, 147 Brake pedal, 148 Brake pedal position sensor, 149. Vehicle speed sensor, 150. Display device, 152. Communication device, 154. Air conditioning system, 156. Navigation system.

Claims (3)

An automatic charging station having a vehicle-side connector for charging an installed battery, an on-board control device and a communication device for managing the charging of the battery, and an automatic charging device that can automatically connect the stand-side connector to the vehicle-side connector using communication to charge the battery of an electric vehicle parked within a predetermined range, a charging control device for controlling the automatic charging device, and a communication device,
The charging control device, before connecting the stand-side connector and the vehicle-side connector, authenticates the user of the electric vehicle through a predetermined electronic authentication process via communication. Upon this predetermined authentication, it transmits predetermined usage instructions regarding the battery charging to the information terminal registered by the user.
An automatic charging stand characterized by the following features. An automatic charging stand according to claim 1,
The charging control device, upon predetermined authentication, obtains the current energy amount and the fully charged energy amount of the battery from the in-vehicle control device via communication, calculates the time required to fully charge the battery based on the current energy amount and the fully charged energy amount, calculates the charge for fully charging the battery, and transmits the predetermined usage information, including the time required to fully charge and the charge for fully charging, to the information terminal.
Automatic charging stand. An automatic charging stand according to claim 2,
The aforementioned prescribed user guide includes a full charge display unit that displays the time required for full charge and the full charge fee, a first input unit for the user to input their desire for the battery to be fully charged, a second input unit for the user to input their desired charging time, and/or a third input unit for the user to input their desired charging fee.
Automatic charging stand.