Device for restricting vehicle movement during connection with charging cable

• US 9,511,671 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2013
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Naoki, Nakayama, Ken, Kazama, Isamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US14/381,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20150057859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/1, 701/32.3, 701/34.4, 701/36, 701/101, 701/110, 701/116
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/486 Operating parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/24 by lever actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/26 by pedal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0076 relating to braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/18 Safety devices; Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• 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 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in 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 device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable, the vehicle being equipped with a battery chargeable from an external power source via the charging cable, the device including a charging cable connection detecting section that detects that the charging cable is in a connection state, a vehicle body movement detecting section that detects movement of a vehicle body of the vehicle based on moving speed and moving distance of the vehicle, and a braking section that brakes the vehicle when the movement of the vehicle body is detected while the charging cable is in the connection state based on signals from the charging cable connection detecting section and the vehicle body movement detecting section.

Claims

1. A device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable, the vehicle being equipped with a battery chargeable from an external power source via the charging cable, the device comprising:

a vehicle controller comprising;

a charging cable connection detector that detects whether the charging cable is in a connection state;

a vehicle body movement detector that detects movement of a vehicle body of the vehicle based on moving speed or moving distance of the vehicle; and

a braking controller that executes braking force control so as to brake the vehicle when the movement of the vehicle body is detected while the charging cable is in the connection state based on signals from the charging cable connection detector and the vehicle body movement detector,

wherein the braking controller executes the braking force control such that vehicle body moving speed is changed to increase and decrease repeatedly in a predetermined pattern.

2. The device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the braking controller executes the braking force control such that a predetermined pattern in which the vehicle body moving speed is changed between a set speed and 0 is repeated.

3. The device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the vehicle controller further comprises:

a vehicle body movement measuring section that measures vehicle body moving distance or vehicle body moving time during braking by the braking controller, and

wherein the braking controller controls braking force such that movement of the vehicle body is not caused when the vehicle body moving distance measured reaches a predetermined distance or the vehicle body moving time measured reaches a predetermined time, or when the predetermined pattern of the vehicle body moving speed is repeated with a predetermined frequency.

4. The device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, once the braking force control is started by detecting the movement of the vehicle body while the charging cable is in the connection state, the braking controller continuously executes the braking force control without interruption even when the charging cable is disconnected from the vehicle.

5. The device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the vehicle controller further comprises a vehicle stop operation detector that detects a manual operation to restrain movement of the vehicle body,

wherein, when the manual operation is detected by the vehicle stop operation detector, the braking controller ends the braking force control started by detecting the movement of the vehicle body while the charging cable is in the connection state.

6. The device for estricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable as claimed in claim 5, wherein the vehicle stop operation detector detects at least one of a shift operation to establish a parking state of the vehicle, an operation of a parking brake of the vehicle, and an operation of a brake pedal of the vehicle as the manual operation.

7. A device for restricting movement of a vehicle during connection of a charging cable, the vehicle being equipped with a battery chargeable from an external power source via the charging cable, the device comprising:

a charging cable connection detecting means for detecting that the charging cable is in a connection state;

a vehicle body movement detecting means for detecting movement of a vehicle body of the vehicle based on moving speed or moving distance of the vehicle; and

a braking means for executing braking force control so as to brake the vehicle when the movement of the vehicle body is detected while the charging cable is in the connection state based on signals from the charging cable connection detecting means and the vehicle body movement detecting means, and

wherein the braking means executes the braking force control such that vehicle body moving speed is changed to increase and decrease repeatedly in a predetermined pattern.