Battery control system and server

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the possibility of reducing the time for waiting for charging of a vehicle that reserves a charging facility while ensuring the amount of charge desired by a user in a vehicle that is being charged. The present invention is provided with: an acquisition unit that acquires at least one of reservation information indicating a reservation time of a charging facility for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle and peripheral vehicle information indicating peripheral vehicles present in a predetermined range including the charging facility; and a determination unit that determines, on the basis of at least one of the reservation information and the surrounding vehicle information, whether or not the occurrence of a competition for charging in the charging facility is estimated, the determination unit temporarily mitigating a battery protection function for preventing deterioration of the battery when the occurrence of the competition for charging is estimated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery control system and a server. Background Art

[0002] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose systems for charging batteries mounted on vehicles. Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that advances the end time of charging of the first vehicle and advances the start time of charging of the second vehicle when a second vehicle is scheduled to be charged after a first vehicle being charged. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a system that, when there are vehicles scheduled to be charged in addition to the charging vehicle, the greater the remaining capacity of the battery of the charging vehicle, the shorter the charging time in the charging vehicle is compared to the charging time set based on a request from the user of the charging vehicle.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-85343

[0004] Patent Document 2: Patent Publication No. 6551118

[0005] In the structure of Patent Document 1, by advancing the charging end time of the first vehicle, the waiting time for charging of the second vehicle can be shortened, but for the first vehicle, the user's desired charging may not be performed (i.e., the charging amount cannot be ensured). In addition, in the structure of Patent Document 2, the charging amount can be ensured by charging according to the remaining capacity of the battery, but the waiting time for charging of the vehicle reserved for the charging facility may be prolonged. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a system that increases the possibility of ensuring a user's desired charge amount in a vehicle being charged and shortens the waiting time for charging of vehicles that have reserved a charging facility.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the battery control system disclosed in the present invention comprises: an acquisition unit, which acquires at least one of reservation information indicating the reservation time of a charging facility for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle and surrounding vehicle information indicating surrounding vehicles existing in a specified range including the above-mentioned charging facility; and a determination unit, which determines whether to infer the occurrence of the above-mentioned charging competition in the above-mentioned charging facility based on the above-mentioned reservation information and at least one of the above-mentioned surrounding vehicle information, and the above-mentioned determination unit temporarily relaxes the battery protection function of preventing the deterioration of the above-mentioned battery when the above-mentioned charging competition is inferred.

[0008] That is, in the battery control system, when there is a vehicle that has made a reservation for a charging facility, or when it is inferred that there is competition for charging, the battery protection function that prevents the deterioration of the battery is temporarily relaxed. By temporarily relaxing the battery protection function, the charging speed of the battery can be increased, and as a result, the charging amount of the battery in the vehicle being charged can be ensured, and the charging end time of the battery can be advanced. In addition, the charging end time can be advanced, thereby shortening the waiting time for charging of the reserved vehicle, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of the battery control system.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of reservation information.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of charging facility information.

[0012] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing an example of battery control processing.

[0013] Figure 5 It means execution Figure 4 An example of a timing chart showing changes in SOC, etc. in the case of battery control processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Here, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in the following order.

[0015] (1) Structure of battery control system:

[0016] (2) Battery control processing:

[0017] (3) Other implementation methods:

[0018] (1) Structure of battery control system:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing the structure of a battery control system 10 mounted on a vehicle. In the present embodiment, the battery control system 10 is mounted on a vehicle. The battery control system 10 of the present embodiment cooperates with a server 100 and a charging facility 300. The vehicle of the present embodiment is an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle) equipped with a rechargeable storage battery, namely a battery 40, and driven by the power stored in the battery 40. When the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 40 of the vehicle is reduced, the battery 40 is charged in a charging facility 300 such as a rest facility (such as a service area) on a highway, a commercial facility, a refueling facility, or an electric charging station.

[0020] The server 100 manages the reservation information of the charging facility 300 and the information indicating that it is in use, and is composed of, for example, a fixed general-purpose computer, a cloud-type server, etc. In addition to communicating with the vehicle via the communication unit 110, the server 100 can also communicate with the reservation terminal 200 for making a reservation for the charging facility. The reservation terminal 200 is, for example, a terminal used by a user of the charging facility 300 using a battery, such as a PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc. The reservation terminal 200 has a user I / F unit 210. The user I / F unit 210 is an interface unit for inputting user instructions and providing various information to the user. The user operates the user I / F unit 210 to make a reservation for the charging facility 300. If the user makes a reservation for the charging facility 300, the reservation information (reservation information) is sent to the server 100. The server 100 receives the information via the communication unit 110 and records it in the recording medium 120 as reservation information 120a.

[0021] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information 120a. Reservation information 120a is information indicating the reservation time (i.e., scheduled use) of the charging facility 300. In the reservation information 120a, information indicating the reservation time of each charging facility is associated with identification information for distinguishing the charging facilities. In this embodiment, the reservation time is defined by defining the charging start time and the charging end time of each charging facility. For example, Figure 2 In the example shown, the charging facility indicated by identification information "0001" is reserved from 10:30 to 11:30. In addition, the charging facility indicated by identification information "0002" is reserved from 10:00 to 11:00. During these time periods, users other than the reserved users cannot use the charging facility. In addition, during the time period not included in the reservation, if the charging facility is available, any user can use it.

[0022] When the battery control system 10 receives a request to transmit reservation information corresponding to the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle equipped with the battery control system 10 , the server 100 transmits the reservation information to the battery control system 10 via the communication unit 110 by using the function of the control unit (not shown).

[0023] The battery control system 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., a recording medium 30, a battery 40, a GNSS receiving unit 41, a vehicle speed sensor 42, a gyro sensor 43, a user I / F unit 44, and a communication unit 50. The control unit 20 can execute a battery control program 21 stored in the ROM, etc.

[0024] Map information 30a and reservation information 30b are recorded in the recording medium 30. The map information 30a, for example, indicates information such as roads that are referenced for route guidance to the charging facility 300. In the present embodiment, the map information 30a includes node data, link data, shape interpolation point data, and facility data. Node data is data indicating the position of an intersection. Link data indicates a road section and corresponds to nodes corresponding to the end points of the road section. That is, link data indicates links that connect nodes to each other. In the present embodiment, the link data includes information indicating the road attributes of the road section indicated by the link data. The attributes of the road include information indicating the type of road, such as a highway, a general road, a narrow street, etc. In addition, shape interpolation point data indicating the position of shape interpolation points used to determine the shape of the road between nodes corresponds to the link data.

[0025] The facility data indicates the name, location, and attributes of facilities that exist around roads, etc. The facilities in this embodiment include various facilities. For example, the names, locations, and attributes of rest areas such as service areas, shops, trademark facilities, public facilities, etc. are defined as facility data. In addition, the facility data in this embodiment includes information related to charging facilities. Charging facilities are facilities for charging the battery 40 of the vehicle. The facility data includes charging facility information 30a1 related to the charging facility.

[0026] Figure 3 An example of charging facility information 30a1 is shown. Charging facility information 30a1 includes identification information, location, number, and charging capacity (kW) of the charging facility. Identification information is information used to distinguish charging facilities, and the location, number, and charging capacity are defined for each identification information. The location is the coordinates of the charging facility, and is defined using a coordinate system (e.g., a coordinate system based on latitude and longitude) used to represent the location of the facility in map information 30a. The number indicates the number of chargers installed in the same charging facility. Figure 3 In the example shown, it is "1" in any charging facility.

[0027] Charging capacity refers to the amount of electricity that can be delivered by a charging facility. Figure 3 In the example shown, the charging facility can output multiple modes of power with different power values. In the charging facility corresponding to the identification information "0001", the charging capacity is represented as "P1, P2, P3". Power is the product of current and voltage. As long as the value of current or voltage can be controlled, the charging capacity (i.e., power) can be controlled. In this embodiment, the power value is controlled by controlling the voltage value. In addition, Figure 3In the example shown, the charging capacity is represented by symbols such as P1, P2, etc., but the actual value represented by the symbol is, for example, 150kW, 80kW. In addition, the selection of the charging capacity P1, P2, P3, etc. can also be selected by the user according to the state of the vehicle (battery temperature, battery SOC), or by the control unit 20 of the vehicle. In addition, the above-mentioned charging capacity only needs to represent the amount of energy that can be charged by the charging facility, and can also be defined by various other methods, such as the current that can flow during charging, the size of the voltage, etc.

[0028] The reservation information 30b is information indicating the reservation time (i.e., scheduled use) of the charging facility used by the vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires the reservation information corresponding to the identification information of the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle from the reservation information 120a recorded in the recording medium 120 of the server 100 through the function of the acquisition unit 21a described later. The acquired reservation information is recorded in the recording medium 30 as the reservation information 30b.

[0029] The battery 40 is a high-voltage power storage device composed of, for example, a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery or other secondary battery, or a capacitor. The battery 40 is electrically connected to a motor (not shown) as a driving force source, and the vehicle is driven by supplying power from the battery 40 to the motor. Moreover, when the SOC of the battery 40 is reduced, the user charges it at the above-mentioned charging facility. In addition, a sensor (not shown) is installed on the battery 40, which outputs information indicating the temperature and SOC of the battery. Based on the output of the sensor, the control unit 20 periodically obtains the temperature and SOC of the battery 40, and records the obtained information in the recording medium 30.

[0030] The GNSS receiving unit 41 is a device for receiving signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System. The GNSS receiving unit 41 receives radio waves from navigation satellites and outputs a signal for calculating the position of the vehicle via an interface not shown. The control unit 20 obtains the signal to obtain the position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 42 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation speed of the wheels of the vehicle. The control unit 20 obtains the signal via an interface not shown to obtain the vehicle speed.

[0031] The gyro sensor 43 detects the angular acceleration of the rotation in the horizontal plane of the vehicle and outputs a signal corresponding to the orientation of the vehicle. The control unit 20 obtains the signal and obtains the direction of travel of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 42 and the gyro sensor 43 are used to determine the driving track of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 determines the position of the vehicle based on the departure point and the driving track of the vehicle, and corrects the current position of the vehicle determined based on the departure point and the driving track based on the output signal of the GNSS receiving unit 41. In addition, the control unit 20 performs map matching processing based on the trajectory of the vehicle's position and the map information 30a to determine the position of the vehicle on the road.

[0032] The user I / F unit 44 is an interface unit for inputting user instructions and providing various information to the user, and includes a display unit composed of a touch panel display (not shown), an input unit such as a switch, and an output unit such as a speaker. In addition, regarding the structure of the user I / F unit, the user I / F unit 210 in the reservation terminal 200 also has the same structure. The communication unit 50 includes a circuit for wireless communication with other devices. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 can exchange information with the server 100 through wireless communication via the communication unit 50.

[0033] The control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the recording medium 30 or ROM. In the present embodiment, as the program, the battery control program 21 can be executed. In the charging facility 300, when charging the battery 40, depending on the reservation status of the charging facility 300, the reservation time of other vehicles may come before the charge amount of the battery 40 reaches the target value, and the battery 40 cannot be fully charged. In such a case, it is assumed that charging is performed until the charge amount of the battery 40 reaches the target value, but the waiting time of other vehicles that have made reservations at the charging facility 300 becomes longer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 20 controls the battery 40 so as to increase the possibility that the charge amount of the battery 40 reaches the target value and shorten the waiting time for charging of other vehicles that have made reservations at the charging facility 300. The battery control program 21 is a program for controlling the battery. When the battery control program 21 is executed, the control unit 20 functions as the acquisition unit 21a and the determination unit 21b. In addition, the following description of the processing performed by the acquisition unit 21a and the determination unit 21b is the processing implemented by the control unit 20.

[0034] The acquisition unit 21a is a function of acquiring reservation information in the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle. That is, the control unit 20 acquires the reservation information corresponding to the charging facility 300 from the server 100 via the communication unit 50 through the function of the acquisition unit 21a. The reservation information includes a reservation time that defines the charging start time and the charging end time of the charging facility 300, which is a parameter for determining whether the time until the charging of the vehicle is completed overlaps with the reservation time of the charging facility 300 of other vehicles (inference of whether competition occurs). In addition, the reservation information acquired by the function of the acquisition unit 21a is recorded in the recording medium 30 as reservation information 30b.

[0035] The determination unit 21b is a function for determining whether to infer the occurrence of charging competition in the charging facility 300 based on the reservation information. Specifically, the control unit 20 uses the battery protection function for preventing deterioration of the battery 40 based on the reservation information acquired by the function of the acquisition unit 21a, and infers that charging competition occurs when it is determined that the scheduled time for charging of the battery 40 includes the scheduled time for charging of the battery of another vehicle before the expected time until charging is completed. When the control unit 20 infers the occurrence of charging competition in the charging facility 300 through the function of the determination unit 21b, the battery protection function for preventing deterioration of the battery 40 is temporarily relaxed.

[0036] Here, the battery protection function refers to a function of preventing the deterioration of the battery by setting a limit value (upper limit) for the temperature of the battery 40. The battery 40 generates heat by charging and discharging, and the temperature of the battery rises. If the temperature of the battery 40 becomes high and deviates from the prescribed temperature range, the output of the battery 40 decreases, or the life of the battery 40 becomes shorter. Therefore, the control unit 20 sets the upper limit of the battery temperature to a predetermined temperature (for example, 40°C) as a temperature limit of the battery 40 when it does not compete with the charging of other vehicles (normally). In addition, the control unit 20 limits the value of the voltage during charging to a predetermined value so that the temperature of the battery 40 does not exceed the predetermined temperature. In this way, the control unit 20 controls the charging and discharging of the battery 40 without competing with the charging of other vehicles. In addition, the temperature of the battery 40 affects its output and life even if it is low, in addition to being high. Therefore, if the output and life are considered, it is preferably controlled to a predetermined temperature range (for example, 20°C to 30°C).

[0037] On the other hand, as described above, when the function of the determination unit 21b determines that the occurrence of charging competition is estimated, the control unit 20 temporarily relaxes the battery protection function. The temporary relaxation of the battery protection function is at least one of the control of raising the temperature limit of the battery 40 from a predetermined temperature to a predetermined temperature and the control of cooling the battery 40. Specifically, when the function of the determination unit 21b estimates that the occurrence of charging competition occurs, the control unit 20, for example, increases the temperature limit of the battery 40 from a predetermined temperature (for example, 40°C) to a predetermined temperature (for example, 10°C), thereby relaxing the temperature limit to 50°C. As a result, the voltage output from the charging facility 300 is increased from a predetermined value, etc., thereby increasing the charging speed of the battery 40. By increasing the charging speed, the possibility of achieving the user's target value for the charging amount and avoiding the overlap of the end time of charging with the scheduled time of other vehicles can be increased.

[0038] In addition, the control unit 20 may cool the battery 40 when it is inferred through the function of the determination unit 21b that a competition for charging occurs. When there is no competition for charging, the temperature of the battery 40 is limited to a predetermined temperature, so there is no need to cool the battery 40. However, when it is inferred that there is a competition for charging, the voltage is increased, etc., and the charging speed is increased as described above, so the heat generated by the battery 40 increases, and the temperature of the battery 40 rises. Therefore, the control unit 20 cools the battery 40 when it is inferred that there is a competition for charging. For example, the battery 40 is cooled by supplying a refrigerant to the battery 40 by driving an electric oil pump (not shown) or the like. In addition, power is consumed by cooling the battery 40. Therefore, the control unit 20 controls the power consumption required for the cooling to be at least less than the charge amount of the battery 40. A more specific method of the control unit 20 will be described later in the flowchart.

[0039] According to this configuration, the possibility of ensuring the charging amount desired by the user (achieving the target value) in the vehicle being charged and shortening the waiting time for charging of the vehicle reserved at the charging facility can be increased.

[0040] (2) Battery control processing:

[0041] Next, the battery control process executed by the control unit 20 will be described. Figure 4 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the battery control process. The control unit 20 executes the battery control process when the charging cable is connected to the vehicle at the charging facility 300 and the charging of the battery 40 is started. In addition, the battery control process is repeatedly executed at predetermined short intervals. Figure 4 Flowchart shown.

[0042] When the battery control process is started, first, the control unit 20 acquires the reservation information through the function of the acquisition unit 21a (step S1). Specifically, the control unit 20 acquires the identification information of the charging facility 300 connected to the vehicle through the function of the acquisition unit 21a. In addition, the control unit 20 acquires the reservation information corresponding to the identification information of the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle from the server 100 through the function of the acquisition unit 21a. In addition, the reservation information is recorded in the recording medium 120 of the server 100 by inputting it from the above-mentioned reservation terminal 200 as a premise. In addition, regarding the reservation information, in addition to the case where the reservation for charging of other vehicles has already been entered, it is also possible to enter a reservation during the charging of the vehicle. If the control unit 20 acquires the reservation information from the server 100, it is recorded in the recording medium 30 as the reservation information 30b. If the control unit 20 acquires the reservation information, the process enters step S2.

[0043] In step S2, the control unit 20 determines whether the competition for charging in the charging facility 300 is inferred through the function of the determination unit 21b. Specifically, the control unit 20 refers to the reservation information 30b to determine the reservation time of other vehicles in the same charging facility 300 as the charging facility used by the vehicle. In addition, the control unit 20 determines whether the reservation time of the other vehicle determined is included before the expected time until the charging is completed when the vehicle is charged using the battery protection function. That is, the control unit 20 determines whether the charging of other vehicles competes (overlaps) with the charging of the vehicle.

[0044] The expected time until the vehicle is charged when the battery protection function is used to charge the vehicle can be calculated by various methods. For example, the control unit 20 can calculate the expected time based on the battery capacity (for example, 30 kWh), the charging speed (for example, 50% / h), the current SOC of the battery 40 (for example, 30%), and the SOC set to complete charging (target value: for example, 80%). The charging speed means the SOC that can be increased per unit time. The charging speed is predefined according to the charging capacity, for example, based on the change range of the SOC based on charging and the time required for charging. The control unit 20 uses the protection function of the battery 40 to charge when there is no competition for charging. The time required for charging when the battery protection function is used can be calculated by dividing the change range of the SOC based on charging by the charging speed. For example, in order to restore the current SOC (30%) of the battery 40 to the SOC (80%) as the target value, it is necessary to charge the SOC by 50%. In this case, the control unit 20 divides the change range of 50% by the speed (50% / h) to infer that the expected time of charging completion is the time after 1 hour from the charging start time (or the current time). In addition, the control unit 20 determines whether the expected time of charging completion competes with the scheduled time of other vehicles. In this way, the control unit 20 obtains the expected time of charging completion and determines whether the scheduled time of other vehicles is included before the expected time until charging is completed when charging is performed using the battery protection function.

[0045] In step S2, if a negative determination is made, that is, if the scheduled time of another vehicle is not included before the expected time until charging is completed when charging is performed using the battery protection function, and therefore no competition for charging is inferred, the control unit 20 temporarily terminates the charging process. Figure 4 On the other hand, in step S2, if a positive determination is made, that is, if the estimated time until charging is completed when charging is performed using the battery protection function includes the scheduled time of other vehicles, and thus it is inferred that competition for charging occurs, the control unit 20 advances the processing to step S3.

[0046] In step S3, the control unit 20 temporarily relaxes the battery protection function by raising the temperature limit of the battery 40 through the function of the determination unit 21b. When charging is performed using the battery protection function through the determination of step S2, there is a possibility of competition with the charging of other vehicles. Therefore, the control unit 20 temporarily relaxes the battery protection function by raising the temperature limit of the battery 40 from a predetermined temperature (e.g., 40°C) to a predetermined temperature (e.g., 10°C). That is, in this embodiment, the control unit 20 raises the temperature limit of the battery from 40°C to 50°C.

[0047] Next, the control unit 20 increases the voltage when charging the battery 40 through the function of the determination unit 21b (step S4). That is, when charging is performed using the battery protection function by inferring the occurrence of charging competition, the SOC of the battery 40 may not reach the target value. Therefore, in this step S4, the control unit 20 increases the power supplied to the battery 40 by increasing the output voltage in the charging facility 300, thereby increasing the charging speed. This is because by increasing the charging speed, the charging amount can reach the user's target value and the possibility of the end time of charging overlapping with the scheduled time of other vehicles is reduced.

[0048] Here, the increase in voltage is specifically described. As described in the above-mentioned charging facility information 30a1, each charging facility can output power in multiple modes with different charging capabilities, so the voltage value is different in each mode. In addition, the current value is sometimes different in each mode, but in this embodiment, the voltage value is different. In this step S4, the control unit 20 selects which charging capacity to charge the battery 40 based on multiple charging capacities, and can control the voltage of the charging facility 300 to become a voltage corresponding to the selected charging capacity.

[0049] The determination of which charging capacity to select can be determined based on the sum of the temperature of the battery 40 that rises during charging and the current temperature of the battery 40 for each charging capacity. In addition, it is preferable to select the case where the sum of the temperatures is below the moderate temperature limit in consideration of the protection of the battery 40. Specifically, the control unit 20 determines the calorific value of the battery 40 per unit time. The calorific value per unit time can be determined for each charging capacity using, for example, the internal resistance, number of cells, number of parallel connections, etc. of the battery 40. In addition, the temperature rise range per unit time can be determined for each charging capacity based on the calorific value and the specific heat and mass of the battery 40. After determining the temperature rise range for each charging capacity, the control unit 20 calculates the temperature rise of the battery 40 until the charging is completed (i.e., charging until the target value) according to the product of the temperature rise range and the time required to complete the charging of the battery 40. In addition, the time required to complete the charging of the battery 40 is calculated by dividing the charge amount required to restore to the target value (SOC of the target value - current SOC) by the charging speed. Furthermore, in order to avoid overlapping with the scheduled charging time of other vehicles, the time required to complete charging of the battery 40 is less than the time from the current time to the scheduled time. Therefore, the control unit 20 selects the charging capacity whose sum of the current time and the time required to complete charging does not exceed the scheduled time among the various charging capacities.

[0050] In addition, after obtaining the temperature rise until the above-mentioned charging is completed, the control unit 20 adds the temperature rise to the current temperature of the battery 40, and obtains the maximum temperature of the battery 40 during charging for each charging capacity. Furthermore, the control unit 20 selects a charging capacity in which the maximum temperature is below the temporarily relaxed temperature limit (e.g., 50° C.) among the charging capacities. That is, the control unit 20 does not select such a charging capacity because, when charging the battery 40 at a charging capacity exceeding the relaxed temperature limit, the temperature of the battery 40 excessively rises and the deterioration of the battery 40 is promoted.

[0051] In addition, when there are multiple charging capacities below the moderate temperature limit, the control unit 20 selects the charging capacity with the lowest charging capacity (i.e., the lowest voltage, in other words, the smallest temperature rise and heat generation per unit time) among the multiple charging capacities. In addition, when the time required to complete the charging of the battery 40 is not less than the time from the current time to the scheduled time, and when it is not possible to select a charging capacity among the charging capacities in which the sum of the time required for the current time and the time required for the charging completion does not exceed the scheduled time, the battery 40 is charged while being cooled in step S8 described later.

[0052] In this way, the control unit 20 selects which charging capacity to use to charge the battery 40 based on the temperature rise of the battery 40 during the time until the reservation time of the other vehicle estimated to be in competition. After determining the selected charging capacity, the control unit 20 increases the voltage to a voltage value corresponding to the selected charging capacity in order to charge at the selected charging capacity. That is, the control unit 20 instructs the charging facility 300 to increase the voltage.

[0053] Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the charging of the battery 40 is completed through the function of the determination unit 21b (step S5). That is, it is determined whether the SOC of the battery 40 has reached the target value (for example, 80%). Specifically, the control unit 20 obtains the current SOC of the battery 40 from the sensor that outputs the information of the SOC through the function of the determination unit 21b, and determines whether the value of the acquired SOC has reached the target value. In addition, as to whether the SOC of the battery 40 has reached the target value, it can be determined based on the value of the voltage increased in step S4. That is, when the charging capacity selected in step S4 is a charging capacity that does not overlap with the scheduled time of other vehicles, it can be charged to the target SOC. Therefore, in this case, it can be determined that the SOC has reached the target value by the current time reaching the scheduled time of other vehicles. In step S5, when it is determined that the charging of the battery 40 is completed, the control unit 20 causes the processing to enter step S6.

[0054] In step S6, the control unit 20 terminates the relaxation of the temperature limit of the battery 40 through the function of the determination unit 21b. That is, the control unit 20 terminates the relaxation of the battery temperature limit performed in step S3 and terminates the temporary relaxation of the battery protection function because the charging of the battery 40 is completed. In addition, in step S6, the control unit 20 reduces the voltage increased in step S4.

[0055] On the other hand, in the above-mentioned step S5, when a negative determination is made because the charging of the battery 40 is not completed, the control unit 20 determines whether the temperature of the battery 40 has reached the limit value through the function of the determination unit 21b (step S7). That is, the control unit 20 determines whether the temperature of the battery 40 has reached the temperature limit relaxed in step S3. In addition, as a case where a negative determination is made in step S5, for example, it is determined that the SOC of the battery 40 obtained from the above-mentioned sensor has not reached the target value. Or, in the case of charging with the charging capacity selected when the voltage is increased in step S4, it is assumed that the charging cannot be completed until the scheduled time of charging of other vehicles.

[0056] As described above, a sensor (not shown) is mounted on the battery 40. Therefore, the control unit 20 acquires the temperature of the battery 40 from the sensor through the function of the determination unit 21b in step S7. When the control unit 20 determines through the function of the determination unit 21b that the acquired temperature of the battery 40 does not reach the limit value, the process returns to step S5.

[0057] On the contrary, when the control unit 20 determines that the acquired temperature of the battery 40 reaches the limit value through the function of the determination unit 21b, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the control unit 20 cools the battery 40 through the function of the determination unit 21b. That is, since it is determined that the temperature of the battery 40 reaches the limit value, the control unit 20 cools the battery 40 in order to reduce the temperature of the battery 40. The cooling of the battery 40 can be carried out by various methods as long as the temperature of the battery 40 can be controlled to be at least below the limit value. For example, it is assumed that the cooling is carried out by supplying a refrigerant to the battery 40 by driving an electric oil pump not shown. The refrigerant may also be shared with other cooling systems, for example, a part of it may be shared with a refrigeration system for air conditioning, a cooling system for driving a motor of a vehicle, etc. In addition, the control unit 20 consumes power by cooling the battery 40. Therefore, the control unit 20 controls in such a way that the amount of power required for the cooling is at least smaller than the charge amount of the battery 40. For example, a correction such as subtracting the cooling rate based on the cooling from the temperature rise rate based on the charge of the battery 40 may be performed. Then, after performing the cooling process, the control unit 20 returns the process to step S5.

[0058] In addition, when the temperature of the battery 40 does not reach the limit value in the above-mentioned step S7, and when the battery 40 is cooled in step S8, the control unit 20 returns the processing to step S5 and continues charging the battery 40. Except when the charging of the battery 40 is completed (Y in step S5), if it becomes a specified time before the scheduled time of other vehicles (for example, a few minutes before the scheduled time), the processing is terminated.

[0059] Next, execute Figure 4 A timing chart of changes in the SOC and the like of the battery 40 in the case of the battery control process will be described. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the timing diagram, which shows the changes in SOC, voltage, and battery temperature. Figure 5 In the figure, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents SOC, voltage, and battery temperature. Figure 5 The timing chart shown is an example of a case where a vehicle is charging without reservation at the charging facility 300, and competition for charging occurs because another vehicle has made a reservation for charging at the same charging facility 300. In particular, the example shows a case where charging to the target value is completed before the reservation time of the other vehicle, and the temperature of the battery 40 does not exceed the moderate temperature limit. Figure 5 In the example, the solid line shows the change of SOC etc. in the present embodiment, and the dotted line shows the change of SOC etc. in the comparative example where charging is performed using the battery protection function without relaxing the battery temperature restriction.

[0060] Specifically, first, at time t0, charging of the battery 40 is started. At this time t0, the occurrence of competition for charging in the charging facility 300 has not yet been inferred, and the battery 40 is charged using the battery protection function. By starting this charging, the SOC of the battery 40 begins to increase. In addition, at this time t0, the battery 40 is charged using the battery protection function as described above, so the voltage is set to a predetermined value, and the voltage is constant until the occurrence of competition for the charging facility 300 is inferred. In addition, with respect to the temperature of the battery 40, the heat generated by the battery 40 is suppressed by setting the voltage to a predetermined value. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 40 becomes a temperature lower than the battery temperature limit (40°C) from time t0 to time t1. In addition, the changes in various parameters such as SOC from time t0 to time t1 are the same in the present embodiment and the comparative example.

[0061] Next, at time t1, it is estimated that competition for charging is occurring in the charging facility 300 that charges the battery 40 of the vehicle. Figure 4As described in the flowchart, by acquiring the reservation information corresponding to the charging facility 300 being charged, it is possible to infer the occurrence of competition for charging. At the time point t1, the control unit 20 infers that competition for charging occurs in the charging facility 300 by inferring that the vehicle is competing with the reservation time of other vehicles in the charging facility 300. Therefore, the control unit 20 relaxes the temperature limit of the battery 40 and increases the temperature limit from 40°C to 50°C, for example. That is, the battery protection function is relaxed. In addition, the control unit 20 increases the voltage when supplying power to the battery 40. By increasing the voltage, the charging speed of the battery 40 is increased, so at Figure 5 In the above example, the rate of change of SOC is greater than the rate of change from time t0 to time t1 (i.e., the rate of change during charging using the battery protection function). Furthermore, the voltage is increased, thereby increasing the heat generated by the battery 40. Therefore, the temperature of the battery 40, which has been constant until time t1, begins to increase, and during the period from time t1 to time t2, exceeds the battery temperature limit (40°C) before relaxation.

[0062] Then, at time point t2, the SOC of the battery 40 reaches the target value. That is, the charging of the battery 40 is completed. Therefore, the control unit 20 ends the relaxation of the battery protection function. In addition, the control unit 20 reduces the voltage increased in the charging facility 300 to a predetermined value by ending the relaxation of the battery protection function. By reducing the voltage, the temperature of the battery 40 begins to decrease, and decreases to below the battery temperature limit after time point t3 (not shown). Moreover, at time point t3, it becomes the scheduled time for charging in other vehicles, and the charging of the other vehicles is started. In this way, in this embodiment, the battery 40 can be charged to the target value before the scheduled time for charging of other vehicles.

[0063] On the other hand, in the comparative example, since charging is continued using the battery protection function, the voltage is constant after time t1, and the rate of change of SOC is also constant. Therefore, at time t3, which is the reservation time of other vehicles, the SOC does not reach the target value. Assuming that the start time of charging of other vehicles is delayed when the battery is charged to the target value, other vehicles that have reserved the charging facility wait until the charging is completed.

[0064] As described above, in the present embodiment, when it is inferred that competition for charging in the charging facility occurs based on the reservation information, the temperature limit of the battery 40 is increased, and the voltage when charging the battery 40 is increased. As a result, the charging speed of the battery 40 can be increased, and as a result, the charging amount of the battery 40 in the vehicle being charged can be ensured, and the charging end time of the battery can be advanced. In particular, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the time until the charging of the battery 40 reaches the target value is calculated, and the battery 40 is charged at a charging speed that does not compete with the reservation time of other vehicles. In addition, by increasing the charging speed (in other words, by increasing the voltage), the temperature of the battery 40 increases, but in the present embodiment, the temperature of the battery is controlled to be less than the moderate temperature limit. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the target value of the charging amount can be achieved, and the charging of the battery 40 can be completed by the reservation time of the charging facility of other vehicles, and the waiting time for charging of other vehicles can be shortened.

[0065] (3) Other implementation methods:

[0066] The above embodiment is an example for implementing the present disclosure, and various embodiments can be adopted in addition. In the above embodiment, the control unit 20 infers the occurrence of competition for the charging facility 300 based on the reservation information, but the parameters for inferring the occurrence of the competition are not limited to the reservation information. For example, the control unit 20 can also infer the occurrence of competition for the charging facility 300 based on the surrounding vehicle information indicating the surrounding vehicles (hereinafter referred to as surrounding vehicles) existing in a specified range including the charging facility 300.

[0067] Specifically, the surrounding vehicle information is acquired by a probe vehicle (not shown). The surrounding vehicle information includes at least the position information of the surrounding vehicles existing in the prescribed range including the charging facility 300 and the information of the current SOC of the surrounding vehicles. The surrounding vehicle information is sent to the server 100, for example, and recorded in the recording medium 120. The control unit 20 acquires the surrounding vehicle information from the server 100 through the function of the acquisition unit 21a, and determines the surrounding vehicles including the current position within a predetermined distance from the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle through the function of the determination unit 21b. In addition, the control unit 20 determines the surrounding vehicles whose SOC is below the reference value (for example, below 40%) among the determined surrounding vehicles through the function of the determination unit 21b. This is because it is assumed that there is a high possibility that the surrounding vehicles whose SOC exceeds the reference value will not use the charging facility 300 immediately. In addition, the control unit 20 infers that competition occurs in the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle when the number of the determined surrounding vehicles per unit area is above the threshold through the function of the determination unit 21b. This is because, when the number of vehicles per unit area is less than the threshold, the possibility of immediate competition is low. In addition, when the control unit 20 determines that there are surrounding vehicles located at the charging facility 300 used by the vehicle based on the surrounding vehicle information acquired by the function of the acquisition unit 21a, it can be inferred that there are surrounding vehicles waiting for charging, and thus infer that competition has occurred. In addition, when the surrounding vehicle information is used to infer the occurrence of competition, the inference of the occurrence of competition based on the reservation information may or may not be performed.

[0068] In this way, the control unit 20 infers the occurrence of competition for charging facilities based on the surrounding vehicle information, thereby determining the possibility of competition with surrounding vehicles in addition to competition with other vehicles that have reserved charging facilities. Furthermore, when the control unit 20 infers the occurrence of competition, it temporarily relaxes the above-mentioned battery protection function and increases the voltage during charging. As a result, it is possible to increase the possibility that the charge amount of the battery 40 can reach the target value and the charging time of the batteries of other vehicles can be shortened at the charging facility.

[0069] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, as shown in the reservation information 30b, there is one reservation at the same charging facility 300, but there may be multiple reservations. The control unit 20 may also infer that charging competition occurs when it is determined by the function of the determination unit 21b that there are multiple reservations with reference to the reservation information 30b. That is, when there are multiple reservations, the possibility of competition is higher than that of one reservation. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 20 temporarily relaxes the charging of the battery protection function regardless of whether it includes the reservation before the expected time until the charging is completed when the battery protection function is used. That is, when there are multiple reservations, the control unit 20 regards that competition occurs in the charging facility 300. In this way, when there are multiple reservations at the same charging facility, the possibility of competition occurring in the same charging facility becomes higher, but by relaxing the battery protection function, the possibility of not being able to achieve the user's target charging amount and the possibility of other vehicles waiting for charging becoming longer can be reduced.

[0070] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when it is estimated that there is competition in the charging facility 300, the temperature limit of the battery 40 is increased to relax the battery protection function, and the battery 40 is further cooled when the temperature of the battery reaches the relaxed limit value. On the other hand, at least one of the control of increasing the temperature limit of the battery 40 and the control of cooling the battery 40 is sufficient. That is, by increasing the temperature limit of the battery 40, the voltage can be increased to increase the charging speed, and as a result, the charging amount can be made closer to the target value faster than when the battery protection function is used to continue charging, and the generation of competition in charging can be suppressed. On the other hand, by cooling the battery 40, the temperature of the battery 40 is reduced, so the voltage can be increased to increase the charging speed. Therefore, similarly, compared with the case where the battery protection function is used to continue charging, the charging amount can be made closer to the target value faster, and the generation of competition in charging can be suppressed.

[0071] In addition, the vehicle to be charged in the above-mentioned embodiment only needs to be equipped with a battery that can be charged at a charging facility. Therefore, the vehicle is not limited to the above-mentioned battery electric vehicle (BEV), but may also be a plug-in hybrid vehicle, a so-called extended-range EV with an engine dedicated to power generation, etc.

[0072] In addition, the charging facility only needs to be able to charge the battery. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned rest facilities on the highway and other external facilities, the charging facility can also be a charging facility installed at home. In addition, it can also be a charging facility installed at a workplace, an acquaintance's home, a hotel facility, etc. In addition, regarding the charging facility, there can also be multiple charging facilities in the same venue.

[0073] In the above-described embodiment, the voltage during charging is increased in order to increase the charging speed of the battery 40 , but the current may be increased instead of the voltage. Alternatively, the voltage and the current may be coordinated and their respective values ​​may be controlled.

[0074] In addition, each system and device constituting the above-mentioned embodiment may also be constituted by fewer devices having common functions. Figure 1 An example in which at least one system is composed of the same device as one or more other systems. For example, the battery control system 10 and the server 100 may be composed of an integrated device, the server 100 and the reservation terminal 200 may be composed of an integrated device, and the battery control system 10 and the reservation terminal 200 may be composed of an integrated device. In addition, the functions of a part of the battery control system 10 (at least a part of the acquisition unit 21a and the determination unit 21b) may also be implemented by the battery control system 10. And, Figure 1 The system shown may be composed of more systems. For example, at least a part of the battery control system 10, the server 100, and the subscriber terminal 200 may be composed of a cloud server.

[0075] In addition, at least a part of the various parts (acquisition part 21a, determination part 21b) constituting the battery control system 10 and the various parts constituting the server 100 may also be divided into multiple devices. For example, the server 100 may also be a structure having an acquisition part 21a and a determination part 21b. In this case, the server 100 acquires at least one of the reservation information and the surrounding vehicle information, and determines whether to infer the occurrence of competition in the charging facility based on the acquired information. When the occurrence of the competition is inferred, the device outside the vehicle and the charging facility is instructed to temporarily alleviate the battery protection function. In addition, a structure in which a part of the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment is omitted, a structure in which the processing is omitted, or a change is made may also be assumed.

[0076] Furthermore, the method disclosed in the present invention can also be applied as a program or a method. In addition, the above system, program, and method can be implemented as a separate device, and can be implemented using components shared with various parts of the vehicle, including various methods. In addition, part of it is software, part of it is hardware, etc., which can be changed appropriately. Furthermore, the invention also exists as a recording medium for the program of the control system. Of course, the recording medium of the program can also be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and can be considered exactly the same in any recording medium developed in the future.

[0077] (Summary of this embodiment)

[0078] This embodiment has at least the following configurations: In addition, components corresponding to those in the above-mentioned embodiment are shown in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0079] A battery control system (10) includes: an acquisition unit (21a) for acquiring at least one of reservation information (30b) indicating a reservation time of a charging facility (300) for charging a battery (40) mounted on a vehicle and surrounding vehicle information indicating surrounding vehicles existing in a specified range including the charging facility (300); and a determination unit (21b) for determining whether to infer the occurrence of the charging competition in the charging facility (300) based on the reservation information (30b) and at least one of the surrounding vehicle information, and the determination unit (21b) temporarily relieves the battery protection function for preventing the deterioration of the battery (40) when the occurrence of the charging competition is inferred. According to this structure, the possibility of ensuring the user's desired charging amount (achieving a target value) in the vehicle being charged and shortening the waiting time for charging of the vehicle that has reserved the charging facility can be increased.

[0080] In addition, according to the battery control system (10), the determination unit (21b) infers that competition for charging occurs when it is determined that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: based on the surrounding vehicle information, there are vehicles waiting for the battery (40) to be charged at the charging facility (300); based on the surrounding vehicle information, there are more vehicles with a remaining amount of the battery (40) below a threshold than a reference within the predetermined range; or based on the reservation information (30b), when the vehicle uses the battery protection function to perform the charging at the charging facility (300), the scheduled time for charging is included before the expected time until charging is completed. According to this structure, the possibility of competition for charging of other vehicles can be determined based on information on vehicles waiting for charging at the charging facility, information on surrounding vehicles, information on other vehicles that have reserved the charging facility, and the like.

[0081] Furthermore, according to the battery control system (10), the determination unit (21b) infers that competition for charging occurs when it is determined based on the reservation information (30b) that there are multiple reservations at the same charging facility (300). According to this structure, when there are multiple reservations at the same charging facility, the possibility of competition occurring at the same charging facility increases, but by relaxing the battery protection function, the possibility of failing to achieve the user's target charging amount and the possibility of prolonging the waiting time for charging of other vehicles can be reduced.

[0082] Furthermore, according to the battery control system (10), the temporary relaxation of the battery protection function is at least one of a control of raising the temperature limit of the battery (40) from a predetermined temperature for preventing deterioration of the battery (40) to a predetermined temperature and a control of cooling the battery (40). According to this configuration, by raising the temperature limit of the battery and cooling the battery, the charge amount can be brought closer to the target value more quickly than when charging is continued using the battery protection function, and the occurrence of charging competition can be suppressed.

[0083] In addition, in the present embodiment, a server (100) is provided, the server (100) comprising: an acquisition unit (21a) for acquiring at least one of reservation information (30b) indicating a reservation time of a charging facility (300) for charging a battery (40) mounted on a vehicle and surrounding vehicle information indicating surrounding vehicles existing in a specified range including the charging facility (300); and a determination unit (21b) for determining whether to infer the occurrence of the charging competition in the charging facility (300) based on the reservation information (30b) and at least one of the surrounding vehicle information, and when the occurrence of the charging competition is inferred, the determination unit (21b) instructs an external device to temporarily relieve a battery protection function for preventing the deterioration of the battery (40). According to this structure, the possibility of ensuring the user's desired charging amount (achieving a target value) in the vehicle being charged and shortening the waiting time for charging of the vehicle that has reserved the charging facility can be increased.

[0084] Description of Reference Numerals

[0085] 10…battery control system; 20…control unit; 21…battery control program; 30…recording medium; 30a…map information; 30a1…charging facility information; 30b…reservation information; 40…battery; 41…GNSS receiving unit; 42…vehicle speed sensor; 43…gyro sensor; 44…user I / F unit; 50…communication unit; 100…server; 110…communication unit; 120…recording medium; 120a…reservation information; 200…reservationist terminal; 210…user I / F unit; 300…charging facility.

Claims

1. A battery control system, in, have: an acquisition unit that acquires at least one of reservation information indicating a reservation time of a charging facility for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle and surrounding vehicle information indicating surrounding vehicles existing in a predetermined range including the charging facility; as well as a determination unit that determines whether or not to infer the occurrence of competition for charging at the charging facility based on at least one of the reservation information and the surrounding vehicle information; The determination unit temporarily relaxes a battery protection function for preventing deterioration of the battery when estimating that the charging competition occurs.

2. The battery control system according to claim 1, in, The determination unit infers that competition for charging occurs when it is determined that at least any one of the following conditions is satisfied: a situation in which the charging facility includes vehicles waiting for the charging of the battery based on the surrounding vehicle information; a situation in which the specified range includes more vehicles with battery remaining amounts below a threshold than a benchmark based on the surrounding vehicle information; or a situation in which the vehicle uses the battery protection function to perform the charging at the charging facility based on the reservation information and the scheduled time for charging is included before the expected time until charging is completed, the determination unit infers that competition for charging occurs.

3. The battery control system according to claim 1, in, The determination unit infers that competition for the charging occurs when it is determined based on the reservation information that a plurality of reservations exist at the same charging facility.

4. The battery control system according to claim 1, in, The temporary relaxation of the battery protection function is at least one of control of raising the temperature limit of the battery by a predetermined temperature from a predetermined temperature for preventing deterioration of the battery and control of cooling the battery.

5. A server, in, have: an acquisition unit that acquires at least one of reservation information indicating a reservation time of a charging facility for charging a battery mounted on a vehicle and surrounding vehicle information indicating surrounding vehicles existing in a predetermined range including the charging facility; as well as a determination unit that determines whether or not to infer the occurrence of competition for charging at the charging facility based on at least one of the reservation information and the surrounding vehicle information; The determination unit instructs an external device to temporarily relax a battery protection function for preventing deterioration of the battery when estimating that the charging competition occurs.

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