NON-CONTACT ELECTRIC POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, CHARGING STATION, AND VEHICLE

• US 20170210232A1
• Filed: 04/10/2017
• Published: 07/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2014
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 10,023,058 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 charging station includes a plurality of electric power transmission portions and a power supply ECU. When a second vehicle is parked at a position where it can receive electric power from a first electric power transmission portion and when the second vehicle receives weak electric power from the first electric power transmission portion, the second vehicle transmits to the power supply ECU, an occupation signal which allows determination that the parking position corresponds to the first electric power transmission portion. When the power supply ECU receives the occupation signal of the first electric power transmission portion from the second vehicle, the power supply ECU stops transmission of weak electric power from the first electric power transmission portion and guides a first vehicle to a second electric power transmission portion.

Claims

1. A non-contact electric power transmission system, comprising:

a vehicle; and

a charging station,

the charging station comprising;

a plurality of electric power transmission portions each configured to transmit electric power to the vehicle in a non-contact manner; and

an electric power transmission control unit configured to control electric power transmission from the plurality of electric power transmission portions,

the electric power transmission control unit being configured to control each of the plurality of electric power transmission portions to transmit first weak electric power, when the electric power transmission control unit receives an electric power transmission requesting signal from the vehicle,

the vehicle being configured to;

perform positioning to align with a first electric, power transmission portion among the plurality of electric power transmission portions based on a voltage of the received first weak electric power; and

send a parking notification to the charging station when the vehicle completes positioning to align with the first electric power transmission portion,

the charging station being configured to;

stop transmitting the first weak electric power from each of the plurality of electric power transmission portions; and

after stopping transmitting the first weak electric power, transmit second weak electric power from each of the plurality of electric power transmission portions for a predetermined time period, the second electric power being transmitted at different cycles of switching between a transmitting state and a non-transmitting state among the plurality of electric power transmission portions,

the vehicle being configured to send received electric power information to the charging station, the received electric power information being related with the number of times of switching of the received second electric power,

the charging station being configured to specify, based on the received electric power information, a corresponding electric power transmission portion above which the vehicle is positioned.