JPH10322920A - Error diagnosis method in electric vehicle charging system and electric vehicle charging connector - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To transmit and receive information by optical communication between an electric vehicle side and a charging connector side, and to enable self-diagnosis of an optical communication circuit. SOLUTION: A light receiving element 30 and a light receiving element 25 are provided in a power receiving unit 30 on the electric vehicle side. In the charging connector 10, an element arrangement chamber 19 is provided below the connector housing 14, in which the light emitting element 17 and the light receiving element 18 are arranged, and the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber 19 is subjected to light reflection processing. ing. Since the light emitted from the light emitting element 17 is reflected by the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber 19 and enters the light receiving element 18, a signal for driving the light emitting element 17 is compared with a signal obtained from the light receiving element 18. It is possible to diagnose the optical communication circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an abnormality diagnosis method and a charging connector for a charging system for charging an electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to charge an electric vehicle, a charging connector connected to a power supply for external charging is attached to a power receiving portion of the electric vehicle to transmit power to a power storage device of the electric vehicle. At this time, it is preferable to control the charging while monitoring the state of charge of the power storage device and the like, so that it is necessary to exchange information between the electric vehicle and the external charging power supply. As a communication means for this purpose, a wireless communication system has been conventionally studied. In this technique, a communication antenna is built in a charging connector, and an antenna is also arranged in a power receiving section of an electric vehicle, and wireless communication is performed between the two antennas at a high frequency of, for example, 900 MHz band.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned radio communication system has various drawbacks, such as the Radio Law, so that the transmission output cannot be set large, and is disadvantageous in that it is susceptible to noise. In particular, when the charging method for an electric vehicle employs an electromagnetic induction method in which a high-frequency current flows through a primary coil provided on a connector side to transmit power to a secondary coil on the electric vehicle side, the communication frequency and the Although the transmission frequency is different, the transmitted power is orders of magnitude larger, so that the noise from the charging inverter device cannot be ignored and malfunctions are a concern. Moreover, in designing the wireless communication circuit, it is necessary to experimentally determine not only the shape and arrangement of the antenna on the connector side but also the shape and arrangement of the antenna on the electric vehicle side and proceed with the design, and the man-hour is considerable. It becomes something. On the other hand, in order to avoid the disadvantages described above, optical communication using infrared light can be considered, but in such a case, a failure in an optical communication circuit including a light emitting element and a light receiving element can be sufficiently dealt with. Preferably.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to adopt an optical communication system, which makes it possible to transmit information stably without being affected by noise.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an abnormality diagnosis method and an electric vehicle charging connector in an electric vehicle charging system that can cope with a failure of an optical communication circuit.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for diagnosing an abnormality in an electric vehicle charging system, wherein a charging connector connected to an external charging power source is mounted on a power receiving unit of the electric vehicle, and the power storage device of the electric vehicle is provided. In an electric vehicle charging system, a light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided in a power receiving unit and a charging connector of an electric vehicle to transmit and receive information about charging via an optical signal, and at least one of the power receiving unit and the charging connector. In the optical communication circuit of the present invention, a signal for driving the light emitting element is compared with a signal obtained from the light receiving element by configuring an optical signal output from the light emitting element to also enter the light receiving element. It has a feature in performing abnormality diagnosis.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric vehicle charging connector for charging a power storage device of an electric vehicle by being mounted on a power receiving unit of the electric vehicle. A light emitting element and a light receiving element on the connector side for transmitting and receiving information regarding charging of the power storage device to and from the provided optical communication element on the vehicle side, and an optical signal output from the light emitting element is also incident on the light receiving element. And a self-diagnosis means for performing abnormality diagnosis of the optical communication circuit by comparing a signal for driving the light emitting element with a signal obtained from the light receiving element. Charging connector.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric vehicle charging connector according to the first aspect, wherein the light emitting element and the light receiving element on the connector side are housed together in an element arrangement chamber provided in a connector housing. It is characterized in that an optical signal output from the light emitting element is incident on the light receiving element by performing light reflection processing on the inner wall surface of the arrangement chamber.

[0008]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention,
Information relating to charging of the power storage device is exchanged between the electric vehicle and the charging connector by optical communication. When the optical communication circuit is normal, the optical signal output from the light emitting element directly enters the light receiving element. Therefore, the signal obtained from the light receiving element coincides with the signal for driving the light emitting element, and the self-diagnosis unit can diagnose that there is no abnormality in the optical communication circuit. However, if a failure occurs in the optical communication circuit such as a failure of the light emitting element to stop emitting light, for example,
Even though the signal for driving the light emitting element is given, the light from the light emitting element does not enter the light receiving element, and the signal obtained from the light receiving element matches the signal for driving the light emitting element. Disappears. Therefore, the self-diagnosis circuit can detect that an abnormality has occurred in the optical communication circuit.

According to the connector of the third aspect, the optical signal output from the light emitting element is reflected by the light reflection processing surface on the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber and is incident on the light receiving element. Therefore, diagnosis can be performed with the charging connector alone.

[0010]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention,
Since the optical communication system is used, it is possible to perform stable communication that is less affected by noise than the wireless communication system. In addition, since there is no legal restriction by the Radio Law or the like, the degree of freedom of design is high, and the circuit design cost can be significantly reduced as compared with a wireless communication circuit. In addition, when a failure occurs in the optical communication circuit, the failure can be detected by the self-diagnosis unit, so that it is possible to prevent the power storage device of the electric vehicle from being inappropriately charged. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the abnormality can be diagnosed by the electric vehicle charging connector alone, so that a failure can be detected before starting the charging operation of the electric vehicle, which is reasonable.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

A power receiving unit 30 that opens outward is formed on the outer surface of the vehicle body of the electric vehicle, and the open surface can be opened and closed by a lid 35, and a secondary unit 20 is disposed inside the power receiving unit 30 and will be described later. The charging connector 10 can be inserted and attached along the direction of arrow A.

The secondary unit 20 is configured by winding a secondary coil 22 around a secondary core 21 made of, for example, ferrite. The output terminal of the secondary coil 22 is a power storage device for powering an electric vehicle. Connected to a charging circuit 42 for charging a certain power battery 41 (shown only in FIG. 5),
The power battery 41 can be charged by rectifying the high frequency electromotive force induced in the secondary coil 22. As shown in FIG. 5, a charging state detection circuit 43 is connected to the charging circuit 42 so that the charging state of the power battery 41 can be detected.

The secondary core 21 has an L-shape when viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 1, but has an L-shape along the mounting direction A (left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the charging connector 10. The horizontal side is a cylindrical portion 21A having a circular cross section, and the vertical side of an L-shape perpendicular to the horizontal portion is a rectangular column portion 21B having a rectangular cross section. Further, the tip end surface (joining surface) of the cylindrical portion 21A intersects perpendicularly with the mounting direction A of the charging connector 10, and the side surface (joining surface) of the prismatic portion 21B is also in the mounting direction A. So that they intersect vertically.
The secondary coil 22 is configured by, for example, winding a litz wire a plurality of times in a single-layer winding, and is provided on a cylindrical portion 21A of the secondary core 21 along the mounting direction A,
Accordingly, the winding axis of the coil is in the mounting direction A of the charging connector 10. The secondary core 21 and the secondary coil 22 are housed in a protective case 23 made of synthetic resin, and are fixed by attaching the protective case 23 to the power receiving unit 30. The protective case 23 has openings 23A and 23B for exposing the distal end surface of the cylindrical portion 21A of the secondary core 21 and the side surface of the distal end portion of the prismatic portion 21B, and the distal end of the cylindrical portion 21A is opened. It slightly protrudes from 23A.

On the other hand, the charging connector 10 has a primary core 11 and a primary coil 12, and these are connected to the handle 1.
3 are housed in a connector housing 14. This charging connector 10 is connected to an inverter device 2 using a commercial power supply 1 as a power source, as shown in FIG. 5, and a high-frequency current flows through the primary coil 12 by the inverter device 2. The inverter device 2 can control a voltage supplied to the primary coil 12 in response to a signal from a charge control circuit 3 including a CPU as described later. The primary core 11 is the same as the secondary core 21, and its cylindrical section 11 </ b> A having a circular cross section is inserted into the connector housing 14 in the front-rear direction (the charging connector 1.
Connector housing 1 along the shape of the connector housing 1).
4 and the prism 11B extends downward. In addition, the tip surface (joining surface) of the cylindrical portion 11A of the primary core 11
Is also perpendicular to the mounting direction A of the charging connector 10, and the side surface (joining surface) of the prism 11B is also perpendicular to the mounting direction A. . The primary coil 12 is configured by winding a litz wire around the cylindrical portion 11A a plurality of times in a single layer, similarly to the above-described secondary coil 22, and the coil winding axis is similar to the secondary unit 20. The charging connector 10 has a configuration along the mounting direction A. Further, this charging connector 10 is similar to the secondary unit 20 in that the protective case 1
5, and is fixed to the connector housing 14,
A part of the primary core 11 is exposed from openings 15A and 15B provided in the protective case 15.

Guide protrusions 16 are provided on both right and left sides of the connector housing 14 from the front end, while guide grooves 36 are formed on the inner surface of the power receiving portion 30 so as to correspond to the two guide protrusions 16. The tip of the guide groove 36 is inclined obliquely downward. Although not specifically shown,
A lock mechanism for mechanically locking the charging connector 10 in the power receiving unit 30 is provided to prevent accidental detachment when the charging connector 10 is mounted.

In the lower part of the front surface of the connector housing 14 of the charging connector 10, there is formed a thin and horizontally long element arrangement chamber 19 whose front surface is open as shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. An infrared light emitting element 17 and a light receiving element 18 corresponding to the optical communication element on the connector side are attached to 19A so as to face forward. In front of these optical communication elements 17 and 18, an element arrangement chamber 19 is opened to form an opening 19B for communication with the electric vehicle, and a plate-shaped shutter member 19C has an upper edge portion. It is provided to be able to open and close. The shutter member 19C is normally urged in the closing direction by a torsion coil spring (not shown), and when it is turned up, it fits into a recess 19D formed in the ceiling wall of the element arrangement chamber 19. The inner wall of the element disposition chamber 19 and the inner surface of the shutter member 19C have mirror finishes corresponding to light reflection processing. When the shutter member 19C is closed, an optical signal output from the light emitting element 17 is transmitted to the shutter member 1C.
9C and the light receiving element 18 reflected by the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber 19.
To be incident on.

On the other hand, the power receiving unit 30 has a flat rectangular tube-shaped element housing tube 3 extending toward the front open surface side at the inner bottom thereof.
7, a light emitting element 24 and a light receiving element 25 (illustrated only in FIG. 5) corresponding to the electric communication device on the electric vehicle side are arranged therein. The element housing cylinder 37 also functions as an opening interlocking mechanism for opening the shutter member 19C. When the charging connector 10 is mounted on the power receiving unit 30, the element housing chamber 1 of the charging connector 10 is opened.
The shutter member 19C is opened and rotated so as to enter the inside of the shutter 9 and kick up the shutter member 19C. The light emitting element 17 on the electric vehicle and the light receiving element 25 on the connector side face each other, and the light receiving element 18 on the electric vehicle and the light emitting element 24 on the connector side face each other.

Electrically, as shown in FIG. 5, the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25 on the electric vehicle side are connected to the charging state detecting circuit 43 via the transmitting circuit 47 and the receiving circuit 48, respectively. As described later, the light receiving element 25
Receives a light signal from the charging connector 10, the charging state detection circuit 43 detects the charging state of the power battery 41,
An analog signal corresponding to the charging capacity is output to the transmission circuit 47. Then, the transmission circuit 47 converts the signal into a digital signal, and then performs a parallel / serial conversion, outputs a drive signal corresponding to the serial signal, and causes the light emitting element 24 to pulse-light.

On the other hand, the optical communication circuit on the connector side is as follows. That is, the light emitting element 17 and the light receiving element 18 are connected to the charge control circuit 3 via the transmission circuit 4 and the reception circuit 5. When an optical signal is incident on the light receiving element 18, it is photoelectrically converted, and the electric signal is amplified by the receiving circuit 5, and is also subjected to serial / parallel conversion to the charge control circuit 3 as a digital signal representing the charge capacity of the power battery 41. Given. The digital signal given from the charge control circuit 3 is converted from parallel / serial by the transmission circuit 4, and a driving signal corresponding to the serial signal is output to pulse-light the light emitting element 17. ing.

The signal A supplied from the charge control circuit 3 to the transmission circuit 4 to drive the light emitting element 17
And the signal B obtained from the light receiving element 18 via the receiving circuit 5 are input to the comparing circuit 6. The comparison circuit 6 is supplied with a comparison signal C from the charge control circuit 3 when a self-diagnosis mode described below is entered, and judges whether the signal A and the signal B match based on the comparison signal C. Here, both signals A,
When it is determined that B matches, a normality determination signal is output to the charge control circuit 3 and the diagnosis result display circuit 7, and when it is determined that they do not match, an abnormality determination signal is output. When receiving the normality determination signal, the charging control circuit 3 shifts to a charging mode enabling charging of the electric vehicle, and upon receiving the abnormality occurrence signal, stops the operation of the inverter device 2 and disables charging of the electric vehicle. I do. In addition, the diagnosis result display circuit 7 continuously lights the green chargeable lamp 8A when receiving the normality determination signal, and blinks the red abnormality notification lamp 8B when receiving the abnormality determination signal.

This embodiment has the above configuration, and its operation will now be described. In order to charge the electric vehicle, first, before attaching the charging connector 10 to the power receiving unit 30, the start switch 9 provided here is turned on. Then, the CPU of the charge control circuit 3 first enters a self-diagnosis mode,
A test signal A is output to the transmission circuit 4. Then, the transmission circuit 4 drives the light emitting element 17 according to the test signal, and the light emitting element 17 outputs a predetermined optical signal. This optical signal is reflected by the inner wall and the shutter member 19C and reflected by the inner wall and the shutter member 19C because the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber 19 accommodating the light emitting element 17 and the light receiving element 18 and the inner surface of the shutter member 19C are mirror-finished. Incident on.

Then, the optical signal is photoelectrically converted by the light receiving element 18, amplified by the receiving circuit 5, and output as a parallel signal. The signal B obtained from the light receiving element 18 in this way is supplied to the comparison circuit 6, where it is compared with the signal A for driving the light emitting element 17 supplied from the charging control circuit 3 to the transmission circuit 4. Transmission circuit 4, light emitting element 1
7. If the optical communication circuit including the light receiving element 18 and the receiving circuit 5 is functioning normally, the signal A and the signal B match and the comparison circuit 6 outputs a normality determination signal. Then, the charge control circuit 3 shifts to the charge mode next, and the chargeable lamp 8A is turned on. If there is an abnormality in the optical communication circuit, for example, the light emitting element 17 does not emit light, the signal B obtained from the light receiving element 18 and the signal A given to the transmitting circuit 4 become inconsistent. Therefore, an abnormality determination signal is output from the comparison circuit 6, the operation of the inverter device 2 is stopped, and charging of the electric vehicle is disabled, and at the same time, the red abnormality notification lamp 8B blinks. Since the abnormality of the optical communication circuit can be found by this, the above-described related configuration corresponds to the self-diagnosis unit according to the present invention. If the abnormality notification lamp 8B blinks, there is an abnormality in the optical communication circuit, so that charging may be stopped and appropriate maintenance and repair work may be performed.

When the chargeable lamp 8A is turned on without any abnormality, the operator may open the cover 35 of the power receiving unit 30 and insert the tip of the charging connector 10 there. Then, the cylindrical portion 11A of the primary core 11 of the charging connector 10
Of the cylindrical core 21B of the secondary core 21 and the distal end of the cylindrical portion 21A of the secondary core 21 abut the distal end of the prism 11B of the primary core 11. A closed loop magnetic circuit having a square frame shape is configured by 11 and 21. Also, the element housing cylinder 37 on the power receiving unit 30 side
Enters the element arrangement chamber 19, the shutter member 19C is opened and rotated by the element housing cylinder 37, the communication opening 19B is opened, and the light emitting element 17 on the connector 10 side is connected to the light receiving element 25 of the power receiving unit 30. The light receiving element 18 of the connector 10 is opposed to the light emitting element 24 of the power receiving unit 30. Then, a charge start signal is output from the charge control circuit 3, and this is output as an optical signal from the light emitting element 17 on the connector 10 side and enters the light receiving element 25 of the power receiving unit 30. As a result, the charge state detection circuit 4
An electric signal is output to the power supply 3, and the charge state detection circuit 43 detects the charge capacity of the power battery 41 based on the electric signal. Then, a digital signal corresponding to the charge capacity is transmitted to the transmission circuit 47.
To drive the light emitting element 24 to output an optical signal,
This is incident on the light receiving element 18 on the charging connector 10 side, and information on the charging capacity of the power battery 41 is given from the receiving circuit 5 to the charging control circuit 3.

Then, the charge control circuit 3 is controlled by the power battery 4
The battery 41 is appropriately charged by controlling, for example, the output voltage of the inverter device 2 according to the charge capacity of the battery 1. When the charging of the power battery 41 is completed,
This is detected by the charging state detection circuit 43, and an optical signal is transmitted from the light emitting element 24 on the power receiving unit 30 side to the charging connector 10.
The charge control circuit 3 outputs a stop signal to the inverter device 2 to terminate the charging operation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the charging connector 10 and the electric vehicle are configured to exchange information regarding charging by communication via infrared rays. And stable communication can be performed. In addition, since there is no legal regulation by the Radio Law etc., the degree of freedom of design is high,
Circuit design costs can be significantly reduced as compared to wireless communication circuits. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the abnormality of the optical communication circuit of the charging connector 10 can be self-diagnosed, the charging is started and the inappropriate charging is performed despite the abnormality. Can be prevented beforehand. Moreover, in the present embodiment, in particular, the light emitting element 17 and the light receiving element 1 are provided in the element arrangement chamber 19 of the charging connector 10.
8 are accommodated together, and the inner wall surface of the element disposition chamber 19 and the inner surface of the shutter member 19C are mirror-finished. Therefore, before the charging connector 10 is attached to the power receiving unit 30, the connector alone is used. The self-diagnosis can be performed, and an effect that an abnormality can be detected early can be obtained.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a charging connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The first
The difference from the first embodiment is the structure of the element arrangement chamber 19, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, the back wall 19A of the element disposition chamber 19 is bent in a "<" shape, and the light-emitting element 17 and the light-receiving element 18 are disposed on the front surface thereof so that the two elements 17, 18 face obliquely inward from each other. It is. As a result, the optical signal output from the light emitting element 17 is not only reflected by the shutter member 19C and the inner wall of the element arrangement chamber 19 and incident on the light receiving element 18, but also directly incident on the light emitting element 17. ing.

Even with such a configuration, similar to the first embodiment, the self-diagnosis of the connector itself can be performed before the charging connector 10 is mounted on the power receiving unit 30, and abnormality can be detected early. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the following, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In each of the above embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to an inductive charging type charging connector that transmits power in a non-contact manner using electromagnetic induction has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The optical communication system of the present invention can also be applied to a charging system of a type in which power is transmitted by contacting a terminal fitting. (2) In the above embodiments, the light output from the light emitting element of the charging connector is configured to be reflected in the connector or directly incident on the light receiving element of the charging connector.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which, by attaching a charging connector to the power receiving unit, light from the light emitting element is reflected by the light reflecting unit provided in the power receiving unit and enters the light receiving element. In this case, an effect is obtained that the fitting of the charging connector can be detected at the same time. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the shutter member 19C is not necessarily provided, and the shutter member 19C is arranged and configured such that the optical signal output from the light emitting element is reflected by the inner surface of the element arrangement chamber or the like and enters the light receiving element. If so, the intended object of the present invention can be achieved. Further, the element arrangement chamber and the inner surface of the shutter are not necessarily mirror-finished. For example, even when the inner surface of the shutter is a normal finished surface of a synthetic resin product, when an optical signal is reflected and incident on the light receiving element, it is not necessary. Is enough. (3) In the above embodiment, the signal for driving the light emitting element and the signal obtained from the light receiving element are compared in a so-called hardware manner by the comparison circuit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be used to make a comparison using software. Further, the present invention is not limited to comparing parallel signals, but may also compare serial signals.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a power receiving unit and a charging connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the charging connector.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing an arrangement portion of the optical communication element.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an arrangement portion of the optical communication element.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the same.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an arrangement portion of an optical communication element according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector for charge 14 ... Connector housing 19 ... Element arrangement room 30 ... Power receiving part 17, 18 ... Light emitting element, light receiving element (connector side optical communication element) 24, 25 ... Light emitting element, light receiving element (automobile side optical communication element)

Claims (3)

[Claims] An electric vehicle charging system for charging a power storage device of an electric vehicle by attaching a charging connector connected to an external charging power supply to a power receiving unit of the electric vehicle. A light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided in each connector to exchange information about charging via an optical signal, and an optical signal output from the light emitting element is also incident on the light receiving element in at least one of the power receiving unit and the charging connector. Abnormality diagnosis in an electric vehicle charging system, wherein an abnormality diagnosis of an optical communication circuit is performed by comparing a signal for driving the light emitting element and a signal obtained from the light receiving element. Method. 2. An electric vehicle mounted on a power receiving unit of an electric vehicle for charging a power storage device of the electric vehicle. A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element on the connector side for transmitting and receiving information related to charging of the power storage device, and an optical signal output from the light-emitting element is also configured to be incident on the light-receiving element. A connector for charging an electric vehicle, comprising: a self-diagnosis unit that diagnoses an abnormality of an optical communication circuit by comparing a driving signal with a signal obtained from the light receiving element. 3. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element on the connector side are housed together in an element arrangement chamber provided in a connector housing, and are output from the light-emitting element by subjecting an inner wall surface of the element arrangement chamber to light reflection processing. 2. An electric vehicle charging connector according to claim 1, wherein said light signal is incident on said light receiving element.