Vehicle guidance device and vehicle guidance method

• US 9,539,911 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohashi, Osamu, Nishio, Tsuyoshi, Asaoka, Noriaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US14/363,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20140371966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,496 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/408, 307/326, 307/104, 307/149, 307/9.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• 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: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/10 Path keeping cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• 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

Disclosed is a vehicle guidance apparatus that can easily guide a vehicle in the vicinity of a power supply section to the power supply unit by guiding the vehicle along a path of travel to the power supply unit without employing image data. In this device, a power supply efficiency calculation unit calculates the power supply efficiency, which is the efficiency with which power is received from the power supply unit by the charging unit. An amount of change calculation unit calculates the amount of change of efficiency of power supply, which is the amount of change of efficiency of power supply calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation unit. A vehicle-side control unit displays on a display guidance to enable the vehicle to reach the power supply unit, based on the amount of change of efficiency of power supply calculated by the amount of change calculation unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle guidance apparatus configured to be mounted on a vehicle that receives power from a power supply section in a non-contact state and to guide the vehicle to the power supply section, the vehicle guidance apparatus comprising:

a power receiving section that receives power from the power supply section;

a power supply efficiency calculation section that calculates a power supply efficiency that indicates how efficiently the power receiving section receives the power from the power supply section;

a change amount calculation section that calculates a power supply efficiency change amount that is a change amount of the power supply efficiency calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section;

a control section that causes an indication section to make indication for guiding the vehicle to the power supply section based on the power supply efficiency change amount calculated by the change amount calculation section; and

a storage section that stores a first reference value of the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance of the vehicle for each of the power supply efficiencies, wherein;

the power supply efficiency change amount calculated by the change amount calculation section is the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance that is a distance the vehicle moves until the next power supply efficiency is calculated after the power supply efficiency is calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section; and

the control section causes the indication section to make indication for guiding the vehicle to the power supply section, based on a magnitude relationship between the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated by the change amount calculation section and the first reference value corresponding to the power supply efficiency calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section.

2. The vehicle guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section causes the indication section to indicate that an approach route is correct, when the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated by the change amount calculation section is constant or increases while the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated by the change amount calculation section is equal to or greater than the first reference value corresponding to the power supply efficiency calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section.

3. The vehicle guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section causes the indication section to indicate guidance for correcting an approach route, when the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated by the change amount calculation section decreases or the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated by the change amount calculation section is less than the first reference value corresponding to the power supply efficiency calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section.

4. The vehicle guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section acquires a remaining distance to the power supply section by dividing a subtraction value by the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance and causes the indication section to indicate guidance for stopping the vehicle, when the remaining distance to the power supply section is less than a predetermined threshold value, the subtraction value being obtained by subtracting the power supply efficiency calculated by the power supply efficiency calculation section from a second reference value that is a lower-limit value of the power supply efficiency necessary for charging a storage battery included in the vehicle.

5. A vehicle guidance method for a vehicle guidance apparatus configured to be mounted on a vehicle that receives power from a power supply section in a non-contact state and to guide the vehicle to the power supply section, the vehicle guidance method comprising:

calculating a power supply efficiency that indicates how efficiently a power receiving section configured to receive power from the power supply section receives the power from the power supply section;

calculating a power supply efficiency change amount that is a change amount of the power supply efficiency calculated in the calculating of the power supply efficiency;

controlling indication for guiding the vehicle to the power supply section based on the power supply efficiency change amount calculated in the calculating of the power supply efficiency change amount; and

storing a first reference value of the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance of the vehicle for each of the power supply efficiencies, wherein;

the power supply efficiency change amount calculated in the calculating of the power supply efficiency change amount is the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance that is a distance the vehicle moves until the next power supply efficiency is calculated after the power supply efficiency is calculated in the calculating of the power supply efficiency; and

in the controlling of indication, an indication section is caused to make indication for guiding the vehicle to the power supply section, based on a magnitude relationship between the power supply efficiency change amount per unit moving distance calculated in the calculating of the change amount and the first reference value corresponding to the power supply efficiency calculated in the calculating of the power supply efficiency.