CHARGING APPARATUS

• US 20130076296A1
• Filed: 05/27/2011
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ushiroda, Sadatoshi
• Application Number:
  US13/700,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20130076296A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/101
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• 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 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• 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 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0069 Charging or discharging for charge maintenance, battery initiation or rejuvenation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A charging apparatus charges a secondary battery of a vehicle by moving an electric power supplying portion along a transverse groove and a longitudinal groove to a position that enables electric power to be supplied to a parked vehicle, and then supplying electric power to the vehicle from the electric power supplying portion, each time a vehicle is parked in a parking space of a parking lot, when the parked vehicle is an authorized vehicle and a state of charge of the secondary battery is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

Claims

1. A charging apparatus arranged in a parking lot provided with parking spaces for a plurality of vehicles, comprising:

at least one electric power supplying portion that is capable of supplying a vehicle parked in any one of the parking spaces with electric power for charging a secondary battery provided in the vehicle, while in a state in which a relative position of the electric power supplying portion with respect to the vehicle parked in one of the parking spaces is an electric power supplying position in which electric power can be supplied to the vehicle, and that is capable of moving between a plurality of first positions in which the relative position of the electric power supplying portion with respect to each vehicle, when a plurality of vehicles are parked in the plurality of parking spaces, parked in each of the parking spaces is the electric power supplying position, and a second position that is outside of a range in which that would interfere with a vehicle pulling into or out of the parking lot;

determining device for determining whether each vehicle parked in each parking space of the parking lot is an authorized vehicle that has been preregistered for the parking space in which the vehicle is parked;

detecting device for detecting a state of charge of the secondary battery for each vehicle parked in each parking space of the parking lot; and

controlling device for, when it is determined by the determining device that the vehicle parked in a given parking space of the parking lot is the authorized vehicle of the given parking space and the state of charge of the secondary battery of the vehicle detected by the detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined value, performing control such that the electric power supplying portion moves to the first position corresponding to the given parking space, from among the plurality of first positions, and electric power is supplied by the electric power supplying portion to the vehicle parked in the given parking space.

2. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a car stop that is arranged in each of the parking spaces of the parking lot, wherein the second position is a space, in the parking space, that is opposite a space where the vehicle can park and that is separated from the space where the vehicle can park by the car stop.

3. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electric power supplying portion includes a base portion that can move within the parking lot, electric power supplying device that is mounted to the base portion, horizontal moving portion for moving the base portion in a horizontal direction and changing a direction of movement of the base portion within a horizontal plane, and raising/lowering portion for raising/lowering the electric power supplying device;

and the controlling device first controls the horizontal moving portion to move the base portion to a horizontal position according to the first position that corresponds to the given parking space in which the vehicle is parked, and then controls the raising/lowering portion to raise/lower the electric power supplying device to the first position.

4. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state in which the relative position of the electric power supplying portion with respect to the vehicle parked in one of the parking spaces is the electric power supplying position is a state in which the electric power supplying portion is in a position corresponding to an electric power receiving portion of the vehicle that is provided in a position offset to one end side in a vehicle longitudinal direction with respect to a center portion of the vehicle;

the electric power supplying portion moves in a horizontal direction along a movement guiding portion arranged in the parking lot;

the movement guiding portion is arranged along a section that extends from the second position to at least a position corresponding to the electric power receiving portion of the vehicle in one of the parking spaces when the vehicle is parked in the parking space of the parking lot while facing a first direction in which an end portion on the one end side in the vehicle longitudinal direction on which the electric power receiving portion is provided is closer to the second position than the end portion on the other end side; and

with at least one of the parking spaces for a plurality of vehicles, the movement guiding portion extends to a position corresponding to the electric power receiving portion of the vehicle in one of the parking spaces when the vehicle is parked in the parking space while facing a second direction that is opposite the first direction.

5. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling device positions the electric power supplying portion in the second position before a vehicle to be supplied with electric power by the electric power supplying portion arrives, by moving the electric power supplying portion to the second position when the vehicle has finished being supplied with electric power by the electric power supplying portion.

6. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining device includes a function of performing wireless communication with the vehicle;

and the determining device determines whether the vehicle is the authorized vehicle of the parking space by comparing identification information of the vehicle received via wireless communication from the vehicle parked in the parking space of the parking lot with identification information of the authorized vehicle preregistered for the parking space.

7. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting device includes a function of performing wireless communication with the vehicle;

and the detecting device detects the state of charge of the secondary battery of the vehicle by receiving via wireless communication information indicating the state of charge of the secondary battery of the vehicle from the vehicle parked in the parking space of the parking lot.

8. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of vehicles parked in the parking lot that are determined by the determining device to be authorized vehicles and in which the state of charge of the secondary battery detected by the detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the controlling device controls the electric power supplying portion to supply electric power to a plurality of vehicles to be supplied with electric power in order, according to an electric power supplying priority order for each authorized vehicle that has been preset based on at least one of an average parking lot leaving time of each authorized vehicle corresponding to a different parking spaces, among the parking spaces of the parking lot for a plurality of vehicles, an average running distance per charge of each authorized vehicle, and an average charging time per charge of each authorized vehicle.

9. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling device includes a function of performing wireless communication with the vehicle;

and when there are a plurality of vehicles parked in the parking lot that are determined by the determining device to be authorized vehicles and in which the state of charge of the secondary battery detected by the detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the controlling device i) obtains at least one of the state of charge of the secondary battery, a planned parking lot leaving time or an average parking lot leaving time, a running distance after the last charging or an average running distance per charge, and an average charging time per charge, ii) determines an order by which to supply electric power to a plurality of vehicles to be supplied with electric power based on the obtained information, and iii) controls the electric power supplying portion to supply electric power to the plurality of vehicles to be supplied with electric power in the determined order.

10. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of notifying device, each of which is arranged at a residence of each owner of the authorized vehicle in each parking space of the parking lot and is connected via a communication wire to the controlling device and is capable of giving notice that charging is complete, wherein when electric power has finished being supplied to the vehicle by the electric power supplying portion, the controlling device controls the notifying device that is arranged at the residence of the owner of the vehicle for which electric power has finished being supplied to give notice that charging is complete.

11. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

electric power generating device for converting sunlight into electric power; and

electric power storing device for storing electric power that has been generated by the electric power generating device,

wherein the electric power supplying portion is connected to the electric power storing device, and supplies the electric power generated by the electric power generating device and stored in the electric power storing device to the vehicle.