Non-contact electric power transmission system, charging station, and vehicle

• US 10,189,364 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Shinji, Taniguchi, Satoshi, Takita, Shinpei
• Primary Examiner(s): Shudy, Angelina
• Application Number:
  US15/108,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20160318414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• Field of Search: 701 22
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A power source ECU transmits a first message for inquiring whether or not a vehicle is parked at a location provided with a power transmission device, after full-scale power transmission is completed. A vehicle ECU transmits a second message for informing that the vehicle is parked, when it receives the first message. When the power source ECU does not receive the second message for informing that the vehicle is parked after transmitting the first message, the power source ECU determines that the vehicle is not parked at the location provided with the power transmission device.

Claims

1. A non-contact electric power transmission system transmitting electric power between a vehicle and a charging station in a non-contact manner,

the charging station comprising:

a plurality of power transmission devices configured to transmit the electric power in the non-contact manner;

a station control unit configured to transmit a first message for inquiring whether or not the vehicle is parked at a location provided with one of the power transmission devices, after charging is completed;

the vehicle comprising;

a power reception device configured to receive the electric power in the non-contact manner; and

a vehicle control unit configured to transmit a second message for informing that the vehicle is parked, when receiving the first message,

when alignment between one of the plurality of power transmission devices and the power reception device is completed, the vehicle control unit being configured to perform pairing processing between the vehicle and the charging station, the pairing processing being performed for causing the charging station to specify with which of the plurality of power transmission devices the power reception device is aligned,

after the pairing processing is completed, the vehicle control unit being configured to receive from the charging station information for specifying the power transmission device with which the alignment is performed,

the first message including the information for specifying the power transmission device,

when a transmission device specified by the information received after the pairing processing corresponds to a transmission device specified by the first message received, the vehicle control unit being configured to transmit the second message including the received information for specifying the power transmission device,

when the station control unit does not receive the second message after transmitting the first message, the station control unit being configured to determine that the vehicle is not parked at the location provided with the one of the plurality of power transmission devices.

2. The non-contact electric power transmission system according to claim 1, wherein, when the station control unit does not receive the second message, the station control unit is configured to transmit a third message informing that charging at the charging station is possible.

3. The non-contact electric power transmission system according to claim 2, wherein the second message includes the received information for specifying the power transmission device, and information indicating that the vehicle is parked.

4. The non-contact electric power transmission system according to claim 3, wherein, in the pairing processing, the plurality of power transmission devices transmit electric power for different intervals within a predetermined period, and the vehicle control unit sends a signal indicating a reception interval during which the power reception device receives the electric power.

5. The non-contact electric power transmission system according to claim 3, wherein

the station control unit determines that each of the plurality of power transmission devices is occupied by a vehicle when the station control unit does not receive the second message after completion of the pairing processing, and

the station control unit issues a fourth message indicating that the charging station is full and unavailable for charging.