Vehicle including electric power transmission and reception unit

• US 9,944,193 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Uejima, Taiyo, Ichikawa, Shinji, Nakamura, Toru, Taniguchi, Satoshi, Takita, Shinpei
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US15/026,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20160250940A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,288 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/26 characterised by the motors or the generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/365 with the gears having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/40 characterised by the assembly or relative disposition of components
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• 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 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/92 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/483 Circuits for controlling engagement of parking locks or brakes
• 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: Y10S 903/906 Motor or generator
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/911 with two or more gear sets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/93 Conjoint control of different elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/951 Assembly or relative location of components

Abstract

A vehicle includes an electric power reception unit, a motive power generation apparatus generating on an output shaft a drive force for moving the vehicle, and a vehicle ECU controlling the motive power generation apparatus. The motive power generation apparatus includes a parking gear provided on the output shaft, a parking pole having a protrusion to be fit in a groove of the parking gear, and a drive unit outputting the drive force. The vehicle ECU controls the drive unit so that in a case where the electric power reception unit is located within an area in which electric power can be received from the electric power transmission apparatus and where the motive power generation apparatus has been set to a parking range, the vehicle is moved in a direction that causes the electric power reception unit to approach the electric power transmission apparatus.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an electric power transmission and reception unit including at least one of an electric power reception unit wirelessly receiving electric power from an electric power transmission apparatus and an electric power transmission unit wirelessly transmitting electric power to an electric power reception apparatus;

a motive power generation apparatus generating on an output shaft a drive force for moving the vehicle; and

a control apparatus controlling said motive power generation apparatus,

said motive power generation apparatus including;

a parking gear provided on said output shaft;

a parking pole having a protrusion to be fit in a groove of said parking gear; and

a drive unit outputting said drive force,

said control apparatus controlling said drive unit so that in a case;

where said electric power transmission and reception unit is located within an area in which electric power can be transmitted and received from and to an electric power transmission and reception apparatus including at least one of said electric power transmission apparatus and said electric power reception apparatus; and

where a predetermined condition is met including a condition that said motive power generation apparatus has been set to a parking range, said vehicle is moved in a direction that improves an efficiency of electric power reception and transmission between said electric power transmission and reception unit and said electric power transmission and reception apparatus.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein in a case where said output shaft is not rotated in spite of the fact that said predetermined condition is met and said drive unit is caused to output a predetermined drive force, said control apparatus stops said drive unit from outputting the drive force.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an informing apparatus informing a driver of the fact that said drive unit is to output a drive force when said predetermined condition is met and said drive unit is to be caused to output the drive force.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a rotational amount by which said output shaft is rotated by a drive force output from said drive unit by said control apparatus in response to satisfaction of said predetermined condition is equal to or less than a rotational amount corresponding to a width of one tooth of said parking gear.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a detector detecting a rotational angle of said parking pole, wherein

said control apparatus detects, based on said rotational angle, that a top land of a tooth of said parking gear and said protrusion of said parking pole abut against each other.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

said control apparatus holds history information indicating whether or not there has been performed a process of causing said drive unit to output a drive force and thereby move said vehicle in a direction of causing said electric power transmission and reception unit to approach said electric power transmission and reception apparatus, in response to satisfaction of said predetermined condition, and

said predetermined condition includes a condition that said history information indicates that said process has not been performed.