AUTOMATED PARKING FACILITY

• US 20150167340A1
• Filed: 02/20/2015
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Original Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Inventors: NIIZUMA, Motonao
• Granted Patent: US 9,752,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: E04H 6/22 characterised by use of movable platforms for horizontal transport , i.e. cars being permanently parked on palettes
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/225 without transverse movement of the parking palette after leaving the transfer means
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/34 characterised by use of movable platforms
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/42 Devices or arrangements peculiar to garages, not covered elsewhere, e.g. securing devices, safety devices , monitoring and operating schemes; centering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• 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 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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

An automated parking facility conveying a vehicle to a storage space and storing it therein, includes: a power-transmitting coil provided in the storage space to perform wireless power transmission to a power-receiving coil of the vehicle; a vehicle support portion allowing the vehicle to be mounted thereon; a movable portion configured to move together with the vehicle support portion to a position facing the power-transmitting coil; an adjustment device configured to adjust the position of the vehicle support portion in the horizontal direction with respect to the movable portion; and a controller configured to control the adjustment device, and perform support portion positional adjustment in which the position of the vehicle support portion is adjusted with respect to the movable portion so that the power-receiving coil and the power-transmitting coil have a positional relationship suitable for the wireless power transmission.

Claims

1. A automated parking facility conveying a vehicle to a storage space and storing the vehicle in the storage space, the automated parking facility comprising:

a power-transmitting coil provided on a floor of the storage space, and performing wireless power transmission to a power-receiving coil provided on a bottom of the vehicle;

a vehicle support portion allowing the vehicle to be mounted on the vehicle support portion;

a movable portion supporting the vehicle support portion, configured to move together with the vehicle support portion to a position facing the power-transmitting coil in the storage space, and configured to stop at a position above the power-transmitting coil in the storage space;

an adjustment device configured to adjust a position of the vehicle support portion in a horizontal direction with respect to the movable portion; and

a controller configured to control the adjustment device, and configured to perform support portion positional adjustment in which the position of the vehicle support portion is adjusted with respect to the movable portion so that the power-receiving coil and the power-transmitting coil have a positional relationship suitable for the wireless power transmission.

2. The automated parking facility according to claim 1, further comprising:

a positional adjustment area allowing the movable portion together with the vehicle support portion to move to the positional adjustment area,

wherein the adjustment device is provided in the positional adjustment area, and

the controller is configured to perform the support portion positional adjustment when the movable portion and the vehicle support portion with the vehicle being mounted are located at the positional adjustment area, before the movable portion and the vehicle support portion move to the storage space.

3. The automated parking facility according to claim 2, wherein the positional adjustment area is provided with a power-receiving coil detector detecting a position of the power-receiving coil, and

the controller is configured to perform the support portion positional adjustment based on a detection result of the power-receiving coil detector.

4. The automated parking facility according to claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to return the position of the vehicle support portion in the horizontal direction with respect to the movable portion to an original state by controlling the adjustment device, when the movable portion and the vehicle support portion are located at the positional adjustment area, before the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle support portion.

5. The automated parking facility according to claim 2, wherein a second power-transmitting coil is provided on a floor of the positional adjustment area in order to perform wireless power transmission to the power-receiving coil, and

the controller is configured to perform the support portion positional adjustment based on a power-transmitting efficiency of the wireless power transmission between the power-receiving coil and the second power-transmitting coil when the movable portion and the vehicle support portion with the vehicle being mounted are located at the positional adjustment area.

6. The automated parking facility according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to return the position of the vehicle support portion in the horizontal direction with respect to the movable portion to an original state by controlling the adjustment device, before the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle support portion and the movable portion.

7. The automated parking facility according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to perform the support portion positional adjustment based on a power-transmitting efficiency of the wireless power transmission between the power-receiving coil and the power-transmitting coil when the movable portion and the vehicle support portion with the vehicle being mounted are located at the storage space.

8. The automated parking facility according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment device includes a screw unit including a female screw portion and a male screw portion screwed to the female screw portion;

and a drive device driving the screw unit,

the female screw portion is provided in one of the vehicle support portion and the movable portion, and

the male screw portion is rotatably provided in the other of the vehicle support portion and the movable portion.

9. The automated parking facility according to claim 1, wherein each of the vehicle support portion and the movable portion includes a magnetic flux transparent portion allowing magnetic flux to penetrate through the magnetic flux transparent portion, the magnetic flux being between the power-receiving coil and the power-transmitting coil during the wireless power transmission.

10. The automated parking facility according to claim 9, wherein size in the horizontal direction of the magnetic flux transparent portion of the vehicle support portion is set to be greater than size in the horizontal direction of the power-receiving coil.