Electric vehicle having cover for inlet for DC charging and lock mechanism to lock cover

• US 9,533,588 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sadano, Hakaru, Kanazawa, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Levin, Naum B
• Application Number:
  US14/537,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20150137755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 784 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0031 using battery or load disconnect circuits H02J9/002 takes precedence
• 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

An electric vehicle includes a battery, a charging lid, a vehicle-side charging connector, a contactor, a contactor welding detector, a DC inlet cover, a DC lock mechanism, and a lock controller. The battery is to be charged with power supplied from an external power supply. The vehicle-side charging connector is disposed inside a position of the charging lid in the electric vehicle and includes an AC inlet for AC charging and a DC inlet for DC charging. The contactor is provided on a power line connecting the DC inlet to the battery. The contactor welding detector is configured to detect welding of the contactor. The DC inlet cover covers the DC inlet without covering the AC inlet in a state where the DC inlet cover is in a closed state. The DC lock mechanism locks the DC inlet cover in the closed state.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle having a battery charged with power supplied from an external power supply, the electric vehicle comprising:

a charging lid;

a vehicle-side charging connector disposed at a position inner than a position of the charging lid in the electric vehicle, the vehicle-side charging connector being a connector in which both of an AC inlet for AC charging and a DC inlet for DC charging are integrally formed;

a contactor provided on a power line connecting the DC inlet to the battery;

a contactor welding detection unit that detects welding of the contactor;

a DC inlet cover that partially covers the vehicle-side charging connector such that the DC inlet cover covers all DC inlets connected to the contactor including the DC inlet and does not cover the AC inlet when the DC inlet cover is in a closed state;

a DC lock mechanism that locks the DC inlet cover in the closed state; and

a lock controller that causes the DC lock mechanism to lock the DC inlet cover when the welding of the contactor is detected.

2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a lid lock mechanism that locks the charging lid in the closed state; and

a lid-lock release instruction input unit to which a lid lock release instruction to release the lock of the charging lid is input through a user operation, the lock being made by the lid lock mechanism,

wherein, after the welding of the contactor is detected, when the lid lock release instruction is input to the lid-lock release instruction input unit, the lock controller releases the lock of the charging lid, the lock being made by the lid lock mechanism.

3. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a charging controller that controls charging of the battery,

wherein, after the welding of the contactor is detected, when an external charging connector for supplying power from the external power supply is connected to the AC inlet, the charging controller allows charging via the AC inlet.

4. The electric vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein a transformer in which a primary coil of the AC inlet side faces a secondary coil of the battery side is provided between the AC inlet and the battery.

5. An electric vehicle comprising:

a battery to be charged with power supplied from an external power supply;

a charging lid;

a vehicle-side charging connector disposed inside a position of the charging lid in the electric vehicle and including an AC inlet for AC charging and a DC inlet for DC charging;

a contactor provided on a power line connecting the DC inlet to the battery;

a contactor welding detector configured to detect welding of the contactor;

a DC inlet cover that partially covers the vehicle-side charging connector such that the DC inlet cover covers all DC inlets connected to the contactor including the DC inlet without covering the AC inlet in a state where the DC inlet cover is in a closed state;

a DC lock mechanism that locks the DC inlet cover in the closed state; and

a lock controller configured to control the DC lock mechanism to lock the DC inlet cover when the contactor welding detector detects welding of the contactor.

6. The electric vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising:

a lid lock mechanism that locks the charging lid in the closed state; and

a lid-lock release instruction input device to which a lid lock release instruction to release a lock of the charging lid is input via a user operation, the lock being made by the lid lock mechanism,

wherein, after the contactor welding detector detects welding of the contactor, when the lid lock release instruction is input to the lid-lock release instruction input device, the lock controller releases the lock of the charging lid, the lock being made by the lid lock mechanism.

7. The electric vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising:

a charging controller configured to control charging of the battery,

wherein, after the contactor welding detector detects welding of the contactor, when an external charging connector for supplying power from the external power supply is connected to the AC inlet, the charging controller allows charging via the AC inlet.

8. The electric vehicle according to claim 5,

wherein a transformer in which a primary coil of an AC inlet side faces a secondary coil of a battery side is provided between the AC inlet and the battery.

9. The electric vehicle according to claim 5,

wherein the charging lid covers both of the AC inlet and the DC inlet in the closed state.

10. The electric vehicle according to claim 5,

wherein once the contactor welding detector detects welding of the contactor, the lock controller continues to lock the DC inlet cover until the contactor is repaired or checked.