Non-contact power transmission system

• US 10,583,745 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2018
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Iwamoto, Takuya, Nakagawa, Tomoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Fantu, Yalkew
• Application Number:
  US15/983,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20180339599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A voltage detector detects an LPE voltage generated by a weak power that is received by a secondary coil. A tendency determination unit determines whether the voltage value that changes as an electric vehicle travels tends to increase or decrease. A display device and an acoustic device perform a first notification if the voltage value tends to increase, and a second notification if the voltage value tends to decrease.

Claims

1. A non-contact power transmission system for transmitting power without contact from a primary coil that is provided for a charging station to a secondary coil that is provided for an electric vehicle, the system comprising:

a primary side control unit configured to transmit to the primary coil a weak power for alignment of the primary coil and the secondary coil;

a voltage detector configured to detect voltage generated by the weak power that is received by the secondary coil;

a tendency determination unit configured to determine whether a value of the voltage that changes as the electric vehicle travels tends to increase or decrease; and

a notification device configured to perform a first notification in response to determining that the value of the voltage is larger than a predetermined value and tends to increase, and a second notification in response to determining that the value of the voltage is larger than the predetermined value and tends to decrease,

wherein the predetermined value is one of a plurality of local maximum values in characteristics representing a relation between the voltage detected by the voltage detector and a horizontal distance between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and the one of the plurality of local maximum values is not greatest among the plurality of local maximum values.

2. The non-contact power transmission system according to claim 1,

the notification device comprising an acoustic device configured to output a first sound in response to determining that the value of the voltage tends to increase, and a second sound in response to determining that the value of the voltage tends to decrease.

3. The non-contact power transmission system according to claim 1,

the notification device comprising a display device configured to output a first display if the value of the voltage tends to increase, and a second display if the value of the voltage tends to decrease.

4. The non-contact power transmission system according to claim 1, further comprising a distance sensor configured to detect a travel distance of the electric vehicle,

wherein the tendency determination unit is configured to calculate, based on the value of the voltage detected by the voltage detector and the travel distance of the electric vehicle detected by the distance sensor, a positional derivative that represents an amount of change of the value of the voltage with respect to an infinitesimal travel distance, and determine whether the value of the voltage tends to increase or decrease based on the positional derivative.

6. The non-contact power transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of local maximum values is selected from the characteristics which produce greatest local maximum values among a plurality of characteristics.

7. The non-contact power transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of local maximum values is a second greatest among the plurality of local maximum values.

5. A non-contact power transmission system for transmitting a charging power without contact from a primary coil that is provided for a charging station to a secondary coil that is provided for an electric vehicle, the system comprising:

a primary side control unit configured to transmit to the primary coil a weak power for alignment of the primary coil and the secondary coil;

a voltage detector configured to detect voltage generated by the weak power that is received by the secondary coil;

a distance sensor configured to detect a travel distance of the electric vehicle;

a secondary side control unit configured to calculate, based on a value of the voltage detected by the voltage detector and the travel distance of the electric vehicle detected by the distance sensor, a positional derivative that represents an amount of change of the value of the voltage with respect to an infinitesimal travel distance; and

a notification device configured to, in response to determining that the value of the voltage is larger than a predetermined value, perform different notifications before and after the positional derivative becomes zero,

wherein the predetermined value is one of a plurality of local maximum values in characteristics representing a relation between the voltage detected by the voltage detector and a horizontal distance between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and the one of the plurality of local maximum values is not greatest among the plurality of local maximum values.