Claims:
1. A vehicle charge indication device comprising:
one operation portion (21) provided to a portable device (2)and capable of switching between two modes that are a normal mode and a charge state confirmation mode; and
a transmission unit (20)configured to transmit a signal from the portable device (2)to a vehicle (1)by an operation on the operation portion in the charge state confirmation mode, wherein
the vehicle (1)performs a notification of a charge state in accordance with the signal transmitted by the transmission unit (20).

2. The vehicle charge indication device according to claim 1, wherein
the normal mode is switched to the charge state confirmation mode through a predetermined operation on the operation portion (21).

3. The vehicle charge indication device according to claim 2, wherein
the portable device (2) is provided with an indication portion (23)that allows visual recognition that the normal mode has been switched to the charge state confirmation mode.

4. The vehicle charge indication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
the portable device (2)is provided with another operation portion (22)other than the operation portion (21), and is configured such that operation of the other operation portion (22)is disabled in the charge state confirmation mode.

5. The vehicle charge indication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The notification of the charge state is made by one or both of an indication lamp (11)and a buzzer (12)provided to the vehicle.

6. The vehicle charge indication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
The notification of the charge state indicates either a charge state in which charging is being performed or a charge state in which charging has been finished.

7. The vehicle charge indication device according to claim 6, wherein
The notification of the charge state is performed such that a number of times of notification by an indication lamp (11)and a buzzer (12)differs in accordance with a time until completion of the charging.

8. The vehicle charge indication device according to claim 6, wherein
The notification of the charge state is performed such that a number of times of notification by an indication lamp (11)and a buzzer (12)differs in accordance with a battery remaining amount.

9. The vehicle charge indication device according to claim 6, wherein
an interval of notification by an indication lamp (11)and a buzzer (12)differs in accordance with whether the charging is being performed or the charging has been finished.

Dated this 08th day of July, 2020
FOR MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
By their Agent

(ANSHUL SUNILKUMAR SAURASTRI) (IN/PA 3086)
KRISHNA & SAURASTRI ASSOCIATES LLP
, Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

VEHICLE CHARGE INDICATION DEVICE;

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION, A CORPORATION ORGANISED AND EXISTING UNDER THE LAWS OF JAPAN, WHOSE ADDRESS IS 7-3, MARUNOUCHI 2-CHOME, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO 1008310, JAPAN

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001]
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle charge indication device.

2. Description of the Background Art
[0002]
In recent years, for electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and the like, an idea of charging a battery mounted on a vehicle from an external power supply by a charging device has been considered. In this case, normally, a power feed port for charging is provided on an outer surface of a vehicle body. Whether the battery is under charging or the charging is completed is confirmed on the charging device side or confirmed by indication of an indicator or the like provided to a meter panel of the charged vehicle. However, this confirmation can be performed by approaching the vehicle or after riding in the vehicle, and it is impossible to recognize the charge state at a location remote from the vehicle.
[0003]
One conventional example for addressing the above problem is a battery charge state indication device for vehicle which indicates the charge state of a battery using a portable device such as a keyless entry device in order to confirm the charge state at a location remote from the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-177938
[0005]
The charge state indication device of Patent Document 1 can give a notification of the charge state of the battery mounted on the vehicle by an indication lamp or the like provided to the vehicle through an operation on the portable device such as a keyless entry system. In addition, since the lighting is temporary, current consumption is reduced.
[0006]
However, in order to realize such technology, the portable device needs to have a dedicated operation portion for the portable device to transmit a signal to a keyless controller mounted on the vehicle side. Thus, the circuit magnitude and the number of components are increased, leading to cost increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007]
The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problem and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle charge indication device that enables confirmation of the charge state without adding operation portions of the portable device.
[0008]
A vehicle charge indication device according to the present disclosure includes: one operation portion provided to a portable device and capable of switching between two modes that are a normal mode and a charge state confirmation mode; and a transmission unit configured to transmit a signal from the portable device to a vehicle by an operation on the operation portion in the charge state confirmation mode, wherein the vehicle performs a notification of a charge state in accordance with the signal transmitted by the transmission unit.
[0009]
The vehicle charge indication device according to the present disclosure enables confirmation of the charge state through operation on the existing operation portions without adding operation portions of the portable device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a vehicle charge indication device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2shows an example of the hardware configuration of a key less controller or an EV controller according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operation of the vehicle charge indication device according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a notification pattern of an indication lamp and a buzzer of the vehicle charge indication device according to the first embodiment; and
FIG. 5illustrates another example of a notification pattern of an indication lamp and a buzzer of the vehicle charge indication device according to the first embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0011]
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a vehicle charge indication device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference characters and the detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0012]
FIRST EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a vehicle charge indication device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. A keyless controller 10 mounted on a vehicle 1 includes a communication unit 101and is capable of wirelessly communicating with a portable device 2 having a communication unit 20. That is, the portable device 2 can receive a signal transmitted from the keyless controller 10, and the keyless controller 10 can receive a signal transmitted from the portable device 2. In a normal mode, an operation portion 21 and an operation portion 22 of the portable device 2 are used for an operation for causing the vehicle to answer back, e.g., locking or unlocking of a door, opening of a trunk, or opening/closing of a door. When a button of the operation portion 21 or the operation portion 22 is pressed, the keyless controller 10 of the vehicle 1 receives a signal for performing such an operation, via the communication unit 20 and the communication unit 101, thereby performing a required operation such as locking or unlocking of a door of the vehicle 1.
[0013]
In addition to the above, in the present embodiment, an operation of switching the portable device 2 to a state (charge state confirmation mode) for confirming the charge state is also performed using the operation portion 21 and/or the operation portion 22. An indication portion 23 is, for example, an LED. When the communication unit 20 operates or at the time of switching to the charge state confirmation mode, the indication portion 23 lights up, blinks, or changes its color, thereby allowing visual recognition of a mode switching operation from portable device outside.
[0014]
An indication lamp 11 and a buzzer 12 for giving a notification of a charge amount are connected to the keyless controller 10. The keyless controller 10 is connected to a meter 13 and an EV controller 14 and is capable of controller area network (CAN: registered trademark) communication or serial communication. Using such a communication unit 15, information about the charge state is transmitted from the EV controller 14 to the keyless controller 10. The EV controller 14 is also connected to a battery 16 provided to the vehicle 1, and the battery 16 is connected to a charger 17. The charger 17 has a charging port and the battery 16 can be charged from outside via a charging cable by using the charger 17. The battery 16 is connected to an inverter 18. The inverter 18 is connected to a motor 19 and is capable of supplying power to the motor 19. The motor 19 drives a drive wheel of the vehicle 1 to cause the vehicle 1 to travel.
[0015]
FIG. 2 shows an example of hardware of a microcomputer of the keyless controller 10 and the EV controller 14. The microcomputer is composed of a processor 100 and a storage device 200, and the storage device includes a volatile storage device such as a random access memory and an on volatile auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory (not shown). Instead of a flash memory, an auxiliary storage device of a hard disk may be used. The processor 100 executes a program inputted from the storage device 200, to perform, for example, reception and transmission of signals as described above. In this case, the program is inputted to the processor 100 from the auxiliary storage device via the volatile storage device. The processor 100 may output data such as a calculation result to the volatile storage device of the storage device 200, or may store the data into the auxiliary storage device via the volatile storage device.
[0016]
Next, operation will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 3.
A driver who carries the portable device 2 operates the operation portion 21 and/or the operation portion 22 to switch the state (mode) of the portable device 2 to a charge state confirmation mode which allows only transmission of a signal for confirming the charge state of the battery 16 of the vehicle 1(step S101). At this time, the fact that the mode is switched is indicated by the indication portion 23.
[0017]
It is noted that, in the case where the operation portion 21 for performing, for example, locking/unlocking of a door in a normal mode is allocated also as an operation portion for confirming the charge state, if the normal mode has been switched to the charge state confirmation mode, it is impossible to perform locking/unlocking of a door even by operating the operation portion 21. In this case, the operation portion 22 may be operable in the normal mode (e.g., for opening a trunk).
[0018]
Alternatively, in the case where one of the operation portion 21 and the operation portion 22 is allocated as an operation portion for confirming the charge state, both operation portions may be unable to accept operations other than an operation in the charge state confirmation mode after switching to the charge state confirmation mode, in order to prevent an erroneous operation on the operation portions.
[0019]
A method for switching the mode is as follows. For example, in the case where the operation portion 21 or the operation portion 22 is a button-operated type, a button is pressed and held for a certain period or longer, a button is consecutively pressed a predetermined number of times within a certain period, or buttons of the operation portion 21 and the operation portion 22 are pressed at the same time for a certain period. By performing such an operation that is not used normally on the operation portion 21 and/or the operation portion 22, the operation mode that is set normally is switched to the charge state confirmation mode.
[0020]
In the charge state confirmation mode, the driver operates the operation portion 21 of the portable device 2to transmit a signal from the communication unit 20 to the communication unit 101 of the keyless controller 10(step S102).
[0021]
If the keyless controller 10 determines that the signal received by the communication unit 101 is a signal in the charge state confirmation mode (step S103),the keyless controller 10 transmits a signal for inquiring charging information to the EV controller 14 by the communication unit 15. The EV controller 14 has means for detecting the charge state of the battery 16, and transmits charge state information to the keyless controller 10 by the communication unit 15 in accordance with the signal for inquiring the charge state from the keyless controller 10. Further, the EV controller 14 has means for detecting whether or not the battery 16 is being charged from the charger 17, and transmits information indicating whether or not charging is being performed, together with the charge state information, to the communication unit 101 of the keyless controller 10 by the communication unit 15.
[0022]
The keyless controller 10 that has received the charging information determines whether or not charging is being performed (step S104), and operates the indication lamp 11 and/or the buzzer 12 to give a notification of the charge state to the driver. The indication lamp 11 is, for example, a head lamp, a fog lamp, a hazard lamp, a tail lamp, a cornering lamp, a back lamp, or a stop lamp provided to the vehicle, an indication lamp provided to a meter, or the like.
[0023]
Specifically, in the case where the battery 16 is being charged, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, control of lighting up the indication lamp 11 and/or causing the buzzer 12 to sound is performed in control A(step S105). In accordance with the time until completion of the charging, the number of times the indication lamp 11 is lit up or the number of times the buzzer 12 is caused to sound is changed. In the case where charging for the battery 16 is finished, control of lighting up the indication lamp 11 and/or causing the buzzer 12 to sound is performed in control B(step S106). In accordance with the remaining power amount of the battery 16, the number of times the indication lamp 11 is lit up or the number of times the buzzer 12 is caused to sound is changed.
[0024]
If the time during which the indication lamp 11 is lit up and the time during which the buzzer 12 is caused to sound are the same between the control A and the control B, it is difficult for the driver to distinguish whether the notification is a notification during charging of the battery 16 or a notification when the charging is finished. Therefore, the intervals of the lighting-up time and the sounding time may be different between the control A and the control B. For example, as shown in FIG. 5,in the control A, lighting up and sounding may be performed three times per one second, whereas, in the control B, lighting up and sounding may be performed two times per one second.
[0025]
When the operation of the indication lamp 11 and/or the buzzer 12 in the control A or the control B is finished, the operation is stopped so as to suppress power consumption (step S107).
[0026]
After confirmation of the charge state, the driver may operate the buttons of the operation portion 21 and/or the operation portion 22 of the portable device 2 in the same manner as in the above switching, to switch the charge state confirmation mode to the normal mode. Alternatively, when the communication unit 20 has received a charge state notification completion signal transmitted from the communication unit 101, the charge state confirmation mode may be automatically switched to the normal mode.
[0027]
As described above, the operation portions of the portable device are operated to switch to the charge state confirmation mode for confirming the charge state of the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle charge indication device provides the following effects.
(1) It is possible to confirm the charge state without adding operation portions of the portable device, and increase in the number of circuits and components can be suppressed, whereby cost increase can be suppressed.
(2)Since operations of the portable device after the mode is switched are limited to operations for charge state confirmation, the driver is prevented from performing an operation such as unlocking of a door at the same time by performing an erroneous charge confirmation operation on the portable device, and current consumption due to such an erroneous operation of the vehicle can be suppressed.
(3)There is no risk that the vehicle is left unlocked without recognition of an erroneous operation and is stolen.
Regarding the above effects, the influence on the remaining battery amount is great in vehicles with small battery capacities such as two-wheeled vehicles as compared to vehicles with large battery capacities such as four-wheeled vehicles, and therefore greater effects are exhibited on the vehicles with small battery capacities. Further, decrease in the number of operation portions of the portable device exhibits a greater cost reducing effect on two-wheeled vehicles which are inexpensive.
[0028]
Although the disclosure is described above in terms of an exemplary embodiment, it should be understood that the various features, aspects, and functionality described in the embodiment are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can be applied alone or in various combinations to the embodiment of the disclosure.
It is therefore understood that numerous modifications which have not been exemplified can be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, at least one of the constituent components may be modified, added, or eliminated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0029]
1vehicle
2portable device
10keyless controller
11indicationlamp
12buzzer
13meter
14EV controller
15communication unit
16battery
17charger
18 inverter
19motor
20communication unit
21, 22operation portion
23indication portion
100processor
101communication unit
200storage device