ONBOARD CHARGING COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND VEHICULAR CHARGING COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20140333262A1
• Filed: 01/26/2012
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ochiai, Yuta, Nakagawa, Nobuyuki
• Application Number:
  US14/374,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20140333262A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/62 in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• 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 2203/547 via DC power distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• 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

In order to prevent a PLC modem belonging to an onboard electronic control unit from being activated in vain, an onboard charging communication device and a vehicular charging communication system according to the invention are equipped with an onboard battery that is charged by being supplied with power from an external charger via a charging cable, and the onboard electronic control unit, which has a power line communication function for establishing power line communication with the aforementioned external charger via the aforementioned charging cable through the use of the PLC modem. The aforementioned onboard electronic control unit further has PLC modem activation control means for activating the PLC modem if the aforementioned power line communication function is validated and stopping the PLC modem from being activated if the aforementioned power line communication function is not validated on the other hand.

Claims

1. An onboard charging communication device comprising:

an onboard battery that is charged by being supplied with power from an external charger via a charging cable; and

an onboard electronic control unit that has a power line communication function for establishing power line communication with the external charger via the charging cable through use of a PLC modem, wherein

the onboard electronic control unit further has PLC modem activation control portion that activates the PLC modem if the power line communication function is validated, and stopping the PLC modem from being activated if the power line communication function is not validated on an other hand.

2. The onboard charging communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the onboard electronic control unit further has communication start timing determination portion that determines whether or not the power line communication through the power line communication function is started, on the basis of whether or not the external charger is connected via the charging cable, whether or not a control pilot signal that is supplied from the external charger via the charging cable has been received, or whether or not power has been supplied from the external charger to the onboard battery via the charging cable, and communication end timing determination portion that determines whether or not the power line communication has ended, and

the PLC modem activation control portion activates the PLC modem if the communication start timing determination portion determines that the power line communication is started, and stops the PLC modem from being activated if the communication end timing determination portion determines that the power line communication has ended on an other hand.

3. The onboard charging communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the onboard electronic control unit is supplied with power from an auxiliary battery that is different from the onboard battery, and

the PLC modem activation control portion activates the PLC modem by starting to supply power from the auxiliary battery to the PLC modem, and stopping the PLC modem from being activated by stopping supply of the power on an other hand.

4. The onboard charging communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an insertion port into which a charging connector is inserted, one end of the charging cable connected to the external charger, and the charging connector provided at the other end of the charging cable, wherein

the onboard battery is charged by being supplied with power from the external charger via the charging cable and the power line, one end of a power line connected to the insertion port, and the onboard battery connected to the other end of the power line, and

the power line communication that is established by the onboard electronic control unit with the external charger is carried out by giving/receiving a signal that is superimposed on power flowing through the power line or is superimposed on a control pilot signal flowing through a signal line that is connected at one end thereof to the insertion port and at the other end thereof to the onboard electronic control unit.

5. A vehicular charging communication system comprising:

a vehicle that is mounted with the onboard charging communication device according to claim 1; and

an external charging device that is equipped with the external charger and the charging cable.