Vehicle

• US 9,469,210 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2012
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ono, Tomoya
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAIGE, TYLER D
• Application Number:
  US14/419,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20150224889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 320/109
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/15 with additional electric power supply with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/903 having energy storing means, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

An ECU is mounted on a vehicle that is able to carry out external charging for charging an in-vehicle battery with electric power from an outside of the vehicle and external discharging for discharging electric power inside the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle. The ECU sets a control mode of the vehicle to any one of a charging mode for carrying out the external charging, a discharging mode for carrying out the external discharging, and a traveling mode for propelling the vehicle. The ECU determines which one of the charging mode and the discharging mode is given a higher priority in accordance with a state of the vehicle when a user has carried out operation to require the external discharging during the charging mode or when the user has carried out operation to require the external charging during the discharging mode.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to

(a) select one of an external power receiving mode and an external power supply mode, the external power receiving mode being a mode in which external power receiving is carried out for receiving electric power from an outside of the vehicle, the external power supply mode being a mode in which external power supply is carried out for supplying electric power to the outside of the vehicle,

(b) determine at least one of whether operation to require the external power supply has been carried out by a user or whether operation to require the external power receiving has been carried out by the user, and

(c) determine based on a state of the vehicle which one of the external power receiving mode and the external power supply mode is given a higher priority, when the ECU determines that the operation to require the external power supply has been carried out while the external power receiving mode is selected or when the ECU determines that the operation to require the external power receiving has been carried out while the external power supply mode is selected.

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

an informing device configured to inform the user of a result determined by the ECU.

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

an electrical storage device; and

a motor configured to generate driving force of the vehicle by using electric power of the electrical storage device, wherein

the ECU is configured to

give a higher priority to the external power supply mode when a state of charge of the electrical storage device is higher than a predetermined level, and

give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode when the state of charge of the electrical storage device is lower than the predetermined level.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

an engine configured to generate power by using combustion energy of fuel; and

a generator configured to generate electric power by using the power of the engine, wherein

the ECU is configured to

give a higher priority to the external power supply mode when a fuel remaining level of the engine is higher than a predetermined level, and

give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode when the fuel remaining level of the engine is lower than the predetermined level.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

an electrical storage device;

a converter configured to convert electric power of the electrical storage device to electric power with which the external power supply can be carried out;

a first temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the converter; and

a second temperature sensor configured to detect an outside air temperature, the outside air temperature being a temperature of air outside a cabin of the vehicle, wherein

the ECU is configured to

give a higher priority to the external power supply mode when the outside air temperature is lower than a first temperature or when the temperature of the converter is lower than a second temperature, and

give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode when the outside air temperature is higher than the first temperature and the temperature of the converter is higher than the second temperature.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a navigation system configured to set a first distance, the first distance being a distance from a current position of the vehicle to a destination, wherein

the ECU is configured to

calculate a second distance, the second distance being a distance that the vehicle can travel,

the ECU is configured to

give a higher priority to the external power supply mode when the first distance is shorter than or equal to the second distance, and

give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode when the first distance is longer than the second distance.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the ECU is configured to, when the ECU determines that the operation to require the external power supply has been carried out after the ECU has determined to give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode, redetermine which one of the external power receiving mode and the external power supply mode is given a higher priority.

8. The vehicle according to claim 7, wherein

the ECU is configured to redetermine which one of the external power receiving mode and the external power supply mode is given a higher priority based on a vehicle parameter different than a vehicle parameter based on which the ECU initially determined to give a higher priority to the external power receiving mode.