Patent Publication Number: US-9884562-B2

Title: Vehicle power supply device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-079604 filed on Apr. 5, 2013, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a vehicle power supply device and particularly relates to a technique which allows a user to easily recognize charging and discharging states of a battery. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A vehicle power supply device as follows has been conventionally proposed. A high-voltage battery is mounted in a vehicle and DC electrical power outputted from the battery is converted to AC electrical power by an inverter to supply electrical power to an accessory socket (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-276672). Mounting the power supply device in the vehicle enables an operation of an electric device in the vehicle. Accordingly, for example, a mobile phone can be charged in the vehicle by connecting a charger of the mobile phone to the power supply device. 
     However, when the fact that the battery mounted in the vehicle is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device via the accessory socket is displayed, a user may confuse the display indicating that the battery is being discharged to supply electricity the electric device, with a display indicating that the battery is being charged by using an external power supply or an external charger, and make erroneous recognition. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle power supply device which prevents confusion and erroneous recognition by allowing a user to clearly determine whether a battery is being charged or is being discharged to supply electricity to an electric device. 
     A vehicle power supply device according to one aspect of the present invention is a vehicle power supply device including a chargeable and dischargeable battery and mounted in a vehicle capable of traveling by using a motor as a drive source, the vehicle power supply device comprising: an external output terminal used to supply electricity from the battery to an electric device by discharging the battery; and a mark display unit configured to display a charging mark indicating that the battery is being charged and a discharging mark indicating that the battery is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device, wherein the charging mark and the discharging mark each have a shape resembling a plug and respectively include terminals pointing in opposite directions. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle system including a vehicle power supply device in an embodiment of the present invention and peripheral devices of the vehicle system; 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic view showing a state where a battery is charged in the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2B  is a schematic view showing a state where the battery is discharged to supply electricity to an electric device in the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display in an instrument panel in the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing an example of a display of a charging mark and a discharging mark in the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing an image recalled by the charging mark and the discharging mark in the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6A  is a schematic view showing an example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in a first modified example of the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6B  is a schematic view showing another example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in the first modified example of the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7A  is a schematic view showing an example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in a second modified example of the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 7B  is a schematic view showing another example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in the second modified example of the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing an example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in a third modified example of the embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view showing an example of a display of the charging mark and the discharging mark in a fourth modified example of the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Next, an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings. In the illustrations of the following drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. Moreover, the embodiment described below exemplifies a device and a method which embody the technical spirit of the invention, and materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, and the like of constitutional parts in the technical spirit of the invention are not specified to those described below. In the technical spirit of the present invention, various changes can be made within the scope of claims. 
     Moreover, a vehicle system including a vehicle power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention can be mounted in a vehicle such as an electric car, a hybrid car, and a plug-in hybrid car which can travel by using a motor as a drive source. In the embodiment of the present invention, description is given of an example in which the vehicle system is mounted in an electric car. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the vehicle system  100  in the embodiment of the present invention includes a first charging port  43  to which electrical power supplied from a charging cable  70  is inputted, a battery pack  10  which is charged to store the electrical power supplied via the first charging port  43  and which is discharged to supply the stored electrical power as necessary, and an electrical power supplying unit  41  which converts and steps up the electrical power supplied from the first charging port  43  and supplies the electrical power to the battery pack  10 . 
     The battery pack  10  includes a chargeable and dischargeable battery  11  capable of storing and supplying high-voltage DC electrical power, a battery electronic control unit (battery ECU)  12  configured to control the charging and discharging of the battery  11 , and a relay  13  configured to be switched such that a connection line of the battery  11  is connected and disconnected. The battery ECU  12  monitors the charging state of the battery  11  and controls the charging and discharging of the battery  11  by switching the relay  13  for the connection and disconnection. Moreover, the battery ECU  12  sends a signal indicating the charging state of the battery  11  to a vehicle ECU  31  to be described later. 
     The vehicle system  100  also includes a DC/AC inverter  21  which converts the DC electrical power outputted from the battery pack  10  to AC electrical power of a desired voltage (for example, 50 Hz, AC 100V) and a plug socket (external output terminal)  22  which is a connection portion for supplying the AC electrical power outputted from the DC/AC inverter  21  to an external electric device (external device)  60 . 
     Moreover, the vehicle system  100  further includes a drive motor  51  used for the traveling of the vehicle, an inverter  52  configured to convert the DC electrical power outputted from the battery pack  10  to AC electrical power and supply the AC electrical power to the drive motor  51 , a DC/DC converter  53  configured to convert the voltage of the DC electrical power outputted from the battery pack  10 , and low-power electrical instruments  54  configured to operate by electrical power outputted from the DC/DC converter  53 . The low-power electrical instruments  54  are, for example, a 12 V battery, headlamps, wipers, various meters, a navigation system, a vehicle interior lighting device, various controllers, and the like. 
     The vehicle system  100  further includes the vehicle electronic control unit (vehicle ECU)  31  configured to control the entire vehicle system  100  as a whole. A lamp unit  36 , a speaker unit  35 , a vehicle power supply switch  32 , an external output switch  33 , an interface (I/F) device  34 , and a communication device  37  configured to perform various communications with external devices such as a mobile phone are connected to the vehicle ECU  31 . Furthermore, the electrical power supplying unit  41 , the DC/AC inverter  21 , the battery ECU  12 , the inverter  52 , and the DC/DC converter  53  are connected to the vehicle ECU  31 . 
     The communication device  37  notifies the state of charging and discharging of the battery  11  by, for example, communicating with external devices at the start of charging of the battery  11 , during the charging, or at end of the charging, and at the start of discharging of the battery  11  to the electric device  60 , during the discharging, or at the end of the discharging. 
     The lamp unit  36  notifies the state of charging and discharging of the battery  11  to an occupant by, for example, lighting a lamp installed at an appropriate portion outside or inside the vehicle at the start of the charging of the battery  11 , during the charging, or at the end of the charging, and at the start of the discharging of the battery  11  to the electric device  60 , during the discharging, or at the end of the discharging. 
     The speaker unit  35  notifies the state of charging and discharging of the battery  11  to an occupant by, for example, emitting a warning sound from a speaker installed at an appropriate portion inside or outside the vehicle at the start of the charging of the battery  11 , during the charging, or at the end of the charging, and at the start of the discharging of the battery  11  to the electric device  60 , during the discharging, or at the end of the discharging. 
     The vehicle power supply switch  32  is a push-type switch for switching activation/shut-down of the vehicle system  100 . 
     The external output switch  33  is a push-type switch, and whether electrical power is outputted from the plug socket  22  or not can be changed by operating the external output switch  33 . When the external output switch  33  is set to an ON state, the AC electrical power is outputted from the DC/AC inverter  21 . When the external output switch  33  is set to an OFF state, no AC electrical power is outputted from the DC/AC inverter  21 . 
     The I/F device  34  is an interface for setting display modes of various display units and, for example, can change display modes of charging and discharging marks (symbols) to suit the needs of the user. 
     Furthermore, the vehicle system  100  includes a second charging port  44  configured to be connected to an electrical power supplying device  90  for rapid charging and a relay  42  configured to switch connection/disconnection of the second charging port  44  and the battery pack  10 . In the case where there is not much time for charging, the battery  11  can be charged by storing the electrical power supplied from the second charging port  44  with the relay  42  set to the ON state. 
     The charging cable  70  includes a power supply plug  73  configured to be connected to an external power supply  80 , a control box  72 , and a charging plug  71  configured to be connected to the first charging port  43 . The external power supply  80  includes a commercial power supply  82  (for example, AC 100 V, 50 Hz) and a power supply socket  81 . By connecting the power supply plug  73  to the power supply socket  81  and connecting the charging plug  71  to the first charging port  43 , AC electrical power outputted from the commercial power supply  82  can be supplied to the first charging port  43 . 
     Note that vehicle ECU  31  and the battery ECU  12  which are described above may be formed as, for example, an integrated computer including a central processing unit (CPU), a RAM, a ROM, and storage means such as a hard disk drive. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, when the vehicle is made to travel by driving the drive motor  51 , the vehicle ECU  31  performs control such that the electrical power in the battery  11  is supplied to the inverter  52  and the inverter  52  operates to generate three-phase AC electrical power. This AC electrical power is supplied to the drive motor  51  (three-phase AC motor) to drive the drive motor  51 . Moreover, the low-power electrical instruments  54  such as headlamps and wipers can be driven by causing the DC/DC converter  53  to operate. 
     Next, description is given of operations performed in the charging of the battery  11  mounted in the battery pack  10  of the vehicle power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention. 
     The user plugs the charging plug  71  of the charging cable  70  into the first charging port  43  of the vehicle system  100 , and also plugs the power supply plug  73  into the power supply socket  81  of the external power supply  80 . Then, the electrical power outputted from the commercial power supply  82  is supplied to the first charging port  43  via the charging cable  70  and is further supplied to the electrical power supplying unit  41 . 
     A state where the battery  11  is charged as described above is schematically illustrated in  FIG. 2A . The charging plug  71  of the charging cable  70  is plugged into a vehicle  101  and the electricity flows from the external power supply  80  side to the vehicle  101  side. In other words, a plug-in direction of the charging plug  71  and a direction of the flow of electricity are the same. 
     Moreover, the battery ECU  12  provided in the battery pack  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  monitors the charging state of the battery  11  and, when the battery  11  is in a chargeable state, outputs this information to the vehicle ECU  31 . Furthermore, the battery ECU  12  sets the relay  13  to the ON state. The vehicle ECU  31  outputs an instruction signal for executing the charging of the battery  11  to the electrical power supplying unit  41 . When receiving this instruction signal, the electrical power supplying unit  41  steps up the AC electrical power supplied from the first charging port  43  to a desired voltage, converts the AC electrical power to DC electrical power, and outputs the DC electrical power to the battery  11 . The electrical power can be thereby stored in the battery  11 . After the charging of the battery  11  is completed, the charging plug  71  is removed. 
     In the case of rapid charging, charging can be performed in a short time by connecting the electrical power supplying device  90  for rapid charging to the second charging port  44 . 
     Next, description is given of operations related to control of performing and stopping the supplying of the electrical power to the plug socket  22  in the vehicle system  100  in the embodiment of the present invention. 
     When the user turns on the external output switch  33 , an operation signal of the external output switch  33  is outputted to the vehicle ECU  31 , and the vehicle ECU  31  performs control of outputting a drive instruction and an ON instruction of the DC/AC inverter  21 . As a result, the electrical power in the battery  11  is supplied to the DC/AC inverter  21 , and the DC/AC inverter  21  operates to convert the DC electrical power to AC electrical power (for example, 50 Hz, AC 100V). The AC electrical power is then supplied to the plug socket  22 . The electric device  60  can be thus charged or made to operate by plugging a power plug  61  of the electric device  60  into the plug socket  22 . 
     A state where the battery  11  is discharged to supply electrical power to the electric device  60  as described above is schematically illustrated in  FIG. 2B . The power plug  61  of the electric device  60  is plugged into the vehicle  101  and the electricity flows from the vehicle  101  (battery  11 ) side to the electric device  60  side. In other words, a plug-in direction of the power plug  61  of the electric device  60  and a direction of the flow of electricity are opposite to each other. Note that the plug socket  22  may be provided inside or outside the vehicle. 
     Meanwhile, the supply of electrical power to the plug socket  22  can be stopped by turning off the external output switch  33  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Specifically, when the external output switch  33  is turned off, an instruction signal of the external output switch  33  is outputted to the vehicle ECU  31 , and the vehicle ECU  31  performs control such that the supply of electrical power to the DC/AC inverter  21  is stopped and the operation of the DC/AC inverter  21  is stopped. The supply of electrical power to the plug socket  22  is thus stopped. 
     Note that, when the discharging to the electric device  60  is performed simultaneously with the charging of the battery  11  using the external power supply  80  or the like, control may be performed such that the electrical power is supplied to the electric device  60  from the battery  11  or such that the electrical power is supplied to the electric device  60  from the external power supply  80  or the like while bypassing the battery  11 . 
     The vehicle ECU  31  in the embodiment of the present invention has a function of a mark display unit configured to display a charging mark (charging symbol) indicating that the battery  11  is being charged and a discharging mark (discharging symbol) indicating that the battery  11  is being discharged to supply the electrical power to the electric device  60 . The charging mark and the discharging mark are displayed at positions where the marks are recognizable by the user, for example, in an instrument panel or the like. 
       FIG. 3  shows the case where the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are displayed in the instrument panel  1 . The display of the charging mark  2  is turned on during the charging of the battery  11  and is turned off in other cases. The display of the discharging mark  3  is turned on during the discharging of the battery  11  to the electric device  60  and is turned off in other cases. When the charging of the battery  11  and the discharging of the battery  11  to the electric device  60  is performed simultaneously, the display of both of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  is turned on. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , each of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  has a shape resembling a plug and, in the embodiment of the present invention, has a shape resembling a power plug. The charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  respectively have a set of terminals  2   a  and a set of terminals  3   a  pointing in the opposite directions. Specifically, the terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  are directed rightward and point right. Meanwhile, the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  is directed leftward and point left. Furthermore, the charging mark  2  is arranged on the left side while the discharging mark  3  is arranged on the right side. The charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are arranged such that the terminal  2   a  side of the charging mark  2  and the terminal  3   a  side of the discharging mark  3  face each other. 
     Displaying the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  as described above allows the user to easily recall the states (images) of the charging and discharging of the battery  11  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Specifically, since the direction in which the terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  point is opposite to the direction in which the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  point, the user can easily recall the state where the direction in which the charging plug  71  is plugged into the vehicle  101  and the direction in which the power plug  61  of the electric device  60  is plugged into the vehicle  101  are opposite to each other with respect to the vehicle  101 . 
     Moreover, a principle (hard-and-fast rule) in a general circuit diagram is that the power supply is arranged on the left side and electricity flows from left to right. In view of this, the direction in which the terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  point being right allows the user to easily recall the state where the external power supply  80  is arranged on the left side of the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  and the electricity flows from the external power supply  80  on the left side to the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  on the right side. Meanwhile, the direction in which the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  point being left allows the user to easily recall the state where the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  are arranged as a power supply on the left side of the electric device  60  and the electricity flows from the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  on the left side to the electric device  60  on the right side. Furthermore, arranging the charging mark  2  on the left side and arranging the discharging mark  3  on the right side allows the user to easily recall the state where the electricity continuously flows from left to right as a whole including the states of the charging and discharging of the battery  11 , from the external power supply  80  on the left side to the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  and from the battery  11  and the vehicle  101  to the electric device  60 . 
     Furthermore, causing the terminal  2   a  side of the charging mark  2  and the terminal  3   a  side of the discharging mark  3  to face each other allows the user to easily recall the state where one vehicle  101  and one battery  11  exist between the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     As described above, in the vehicle power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention, the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  each have the shape resembling a plug having the terminals  2   a  or  3   a , and the terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  and the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  point in the opposite directions. This allows the user to easily recall the state where the direction in which the charging plug  71  is plugged into the vehicle  101  is opposite to the direction in which the power plug  61  of the electric device  60  is plugged into the vehicle. Accordingly, the user can clearly determine that the battery  11  is being charged when seeing the charging mark  2 , and determine that the battery  11  is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device  60  when seeing the discharging mark  3 . Hence, it is possible to prevent the case where the user confuses or erroneously recognizes that the battery  11  is being charged or is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device  60 . 
     Moreover, the charging mark  2  having the terminals  2   a  directed rightward is displayed on the left side and the discharging mark  3  having the terminals  3   a  directed leftward is displayed on the right side. The charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are thereby displayed according to the hard-and-fast rule of a circuit diagram that a power supply is arranged on the left side and electricity flows from left to right. Accordingly, the user can clearly determine that the battery  11  is being charged when seeing the charging mark  2 , and determine that the battery  11  is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device  60  when seeing the discharging mark  3 . 
     Furthermore, displaying the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  such that the terminal  2   a  side of the charging mark  2  and the terminal  3   a  side of the discharging mark  3  face each other allows the user to recall the state where the vehicle  101  and the battery  11  exist between the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . As a result, the user can clearly determine that the battery  11  is being charged when seeing the charging mark  2 , and determine that the battery  11  is being discharged to supply electricity to the electric device  60  when seeing the discharging mark  3 . 
     FIRST MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
     The positions where the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are displayed are not limited to those illustrated in  FIG. 4 . For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 6A , the display may be such that the charging mark  2  having the terminals  2   a  directed rightward is arranged on the right side and the discharging mark  3  having the terminals  3   a  directed leftward is arranged on the left side. Moreover, as illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  may be displayed one on top of the other. 
     Even when the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are arranged as illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , since the directions in which the terminals  2   a  and  3   a  point are opposite to each other, the user can easily recall the state where the direction in which the charging plug  71  is plugged in the charging is opposite to the direction in which the power plug  61  of the electric device  60  is plugged in the discharging. 
     Moreover, the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  may be configured as follows. The terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  of  FIG. 4  are made to point leftward and the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  of  FIG. 4  are made to point rightward so that the direction in which the terminals  2   a  of the charging mark  2  point can be opposite to the direction in which the terminals  3   a  of the discharging mark  3  point. In this case, since at least the directions in which the terminals  2   a  and  3   a  point are opposite to each other, the user can clearly determine whether the charging and the discharging is performed or not when seeing the display of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3 , as long as the user recognizes in advance which one of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  indicates the charging and which one of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  indicates the discharging. 
     SECOND MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
     Moreover, the shapes of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are not limited to the shapes resembling a power plug for commercial power supply, and may be other shapes capable of pointing in one direction. Furthermore, the shapes of the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  are not limited to the shapes of the same type and may be shapes of different types. 
     For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 7A , a charging mark  4  may have a shape resembling a charging plug of a gun of a normal charger, and the discharging mark  3  may have the shape resembling a power plug. A terminal  4   a  of the charging mark  4  is directed rightward and points right. 
     Moreover, as illustrated in  FIG. 7B , a charging mark  5  may have a shape resembling a charging plug of a gun of a rapid charger, and the discharging mark  3  may have the shape resembling a power plug. The terminal  5   a  of the charging mark  5  is directed rightward and points right. 
     Moreover, although the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  each have two terminals in the illustration of  FIG. 4 , a charging mark and a discharging mark which each have three or more terminals can be displayed. 
     THIRD MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
     Moreover, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , it is possible to enable a display of multiple marks such as the charging mark  4  having the shape of a gun of a normal charger and the charging mark  5  having the shape of a gun of a rapid charger and change the display of the marks in the normal charging and the rapid charging. 
     Moreover, when multiple sockets (plug sockets) are provided in the vehicle  101 , multiple discharging marks  3 x and  3 y corresponding to the respective sockets may be displayed as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . In this case, the discharging marks  3 x and  3 y may be denoted by numbers or have different shapes or colors to be individually recognizable. 
     (Fourth Modified Example) 
     Moreover, in addition to the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3 , character strings, symbols, or the like may be further displayed near the charging mark  2  and the discharging mark  3  so that the user can more easily recognize whether the charging and the discharging is performed or not. For example, in the example illustrated in  FIG. 9 , a character string of “AC-ON” is displayed below the discharging mark  3 . 
     Although the contents of the present invention are described above by using the embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited by the description of the embodiment. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made.