Torque control apparatus and contactless charging system

• US 9,623,767 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Imazu, Tomoya, Tanaka, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): INGRAM, THOMAS P
• Application Number:
  US14/112,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20140039728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,896 Days
• Field of Search: 701 22, 701300, 320109, 3409322
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/20 for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/40 Adaptation of control equipment on vehicle for remote actuation from a stationary place devices along the route for controlling devices on rail vehicles B61L3/00; central rail-traffic control systems B61L27/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/32 Driving direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/26 by pedal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• 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 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/35 Means for automatic or assisted adjustment of the relative position of charging devices and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/37 using optical position determination, e.g. using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 : Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 : Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 : for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 : using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/15 : using ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 : using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• 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: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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 90/10 : Technologies relating to charging of electric vehicles
• 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: 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 torque control apparatus is provided which facilitates a positioning between a position of the vehicle and a predetermined parking position when the vehicle is parked. The torque control apparatus according to the present invention includes: accelerator opening angle detecting means for detecting an accelerator opening angle; torque setting means for setting a torque to drive the vehicle (100) on a basis of an accelerator opening angle detected by the accelerator opening angle detecting means; and torque control means for correcting the torque set by the torque setting means in accordance with the relative position between the predetermined parking position and the position of vehicle (100), and driving the vehicle (100) according to the corrected torque.

Claims

1. A torque control apparatus comprising:

a power receiving coil configured to receive an electric power from a power transmitting coil in a contactless manner by at least a magnetic coupling;

an accelerator opening angle sensor configured to detect an accelerator opening angle; and

a controller configured to

set a torque driving a vehicle on a basis of the accelerator opening angle detected by the accelerator opening angle sensor;

determine whether the vehicle is approaching a parking space;

calculate a distance from the vehicle to the parking space when determining that the vehicle is approaching the parking space;

correct the torque set by the controller such that the driving torque of the vehicle with respect to a depression quantity of the accelerator becomes relatively small, but remains greater than zero; and

drive the vehicle according to the corrected torque, when the calculated distance becomes equal to a predetermined distance such that a position of the vehicle is approaching a predetermined parking position, wherein the predetermined parking position corresponds to the position of the power transmitting coil and the position of the vehicle corresponds to the position of the power receiving coil.

3. The torque control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to correct the torque set by the controller in a case where a distance between the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil becomes shorter than the predetermined distance.

4. The torque control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to correct the torque set by the controller to become smaller as a distance between the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil with respect to a forward direction of the vehicle at a time of the parking of the vehicle becomes shorter than the predetermined distance.

5. The torque control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to correct the torque set by the controller to be made smaller as a distance between the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil becomes shorter than the predetermined distance.

6. The torque control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to correct the torque set by the controller to be made smaller along with a passage time from a time point at which the distance between the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil becomes shorter than the predetermined distance.

7. The torque control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, which further comprises a position detector configured to detect a relative position between the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil.

2. A torque control apparatus comprising:

an accelerator opening angle sensor configured to detect an accelerator opening angle; and

a controller configured to

set a torque driving a vehicle on a basis of the accelerator opening angle detected by the accelerator opening angle sensor;

determine whether the vehicle is approaching a parking space;

calculate a distance from the vehicle to the parking space when determining that the vehicle is approaching the parking space;

correct the torque set by the controller such that the driving torque of the vehicle with respect to a depression quantity of the accelerator becomes relatively small, but remains greater than zero; and

drive the vehicle according to the corrected torque, on a basis of an operation to park the vehicle when the vehicle is approaching the parking space.

8. A contactless charging system which performs a power supply in a contactless manner by at least a magnetic coupling between a power receiving coil installed in a vehicle and a power transmitting coil installed in a charging apparatus at an earth side,

the charging apparatus comprising:

a charger configured to supply an electric power to the power transmitting coil;

a position detector configured to detect a relative position between the power transmitting coil and the power receiving coil; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a signal including the position detected by the position detector, and

the vehicle comprising;

a battery charged by the electric power received by the power receiving coil;

an accelerator opening angle sensor configured to detect an accelerator opening angle;

a controller configured to set the torque driving the vehicle;

a receiver configured to receive the signal transmitted from the transmitter; and

a torque control detector configured to detect a relative position between a position of the power transmitting coil and the position of the power receiving coil from the signal received by the receiver, the controller configured to correct the torque set by the controller such that the driving torque of the vehicle with respect to a depression quantity of the accelerator becomes relatively small, but remains greater than zero, when a position of the power receiving coil installed in the vehicle is approaching a position of the power transmitting coil, and to drive the vehicle according to the corrected torque when a calculated distance between the vehicle and a parking space becomes equal to a predetermined distance such that a position of the vehicle is approaching a predetermined parking position.

9. A torque control method comprising:

detecting an accelerator opening angle of an accelerator;

setting a torque driving a vehicle on a basis of the accelerator opening angle detected;

determining whether the vehicle is approaching a parking space;

calculating a distance from the vehicle to the parking space when determining that the vehicle is approaching the parking space;

correcting the torque set such that the driving torque of the vehicle with respect to a depression quantity of the accelerator becomes relatively small, but remains greater than zero, and driving the vehicle according to the corrected torque, when the calculated distance becomes equal to a predetermined distance such that a position of the vehicle is approaching a predetermined parking position; and

receiving, via a power receiving coil, an electric power from a power transmitting coil in a contactless manner by at least a magnetic coupling,

wherein the predetermined parking position corresponds to the position of the power transmitting coil and the position of the vehicle corresponds to the position of the power receiving coil.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9,

wherein the correcting the torque corrects the torque set to become smaller as a distance between the power transmitting coil position and the position of the power receiving coil with respect to a forward direction of the vehicle at a time of the parking of the vehicle becomes shorter than a predetermined distance.