Control device and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a control device and a vehicle. An ECU (control device) is provided with: a processor that estimates the full charge capacity of a power storage device; a RAM (first memory) that stores the full charge capacity estimated by the processor; and a communication unit that communicates with an HMI device (information terminal) of an electric vehicle. The auxiliary device battery is mounted on the electric vehicle so as to be capable of being electrically disconnected from the electric vehicle. The communication unit transmits, to the HMI device, a notification that prompts diagnosis of the power storage device when the elapsed time from the time at which the electric vehicle is started last time (first time) to the time at which the electric vehicle is started this time (second time) is greater than a predetermined value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-137156, a vehicle is disclosed that notifies a user of the vehicle of a capacity retention rate as an index of the deterioration state of a battery and a prediction error of the capacity retention rate. When the above prediction error is greater than a reference value, the user is urged to perform a re-diagnosis of the battery. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In the above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-137156, an auxiliary device battery that supplies power to an ECU for calculating the above prediction error is not considered. Therefore, for example, when the auxiliary device battery is removed from the vehicle, the above prediction error cannot be calculated, and the user cannot be urged to perform a battery diagnosis. As described above, in the vehicle described in the above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-137156, it is sometimes impossible to urge the diagnosis of the battery (power storage device) at an appropriate time point.

[0004] The present disclosure can solve the above problems. The present disclosure can provide a control device and a vehicle capable of urging the diagnosis of a power storage device at an appropriate time point.

[0005] The control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure controls a vehicle equipped with a power storage device and an auxiliary device battery and is supplied with power from the auxiliary device battery.

[0006] Among them, the control device includes:

[0007] a processor that estimates the full charge capacity of the power storage device;

[0008] a first memory that stores the full charge capacity estimated by the processor; and

[0009] a communication unit that communicates with an information terminal owned by a user of the vehicle.

[0010] The auxiliary device battery is mounted on the vehicle in a manner that can be disconnected from the vehicle electrically.

[0011] When the elapsed time from the first time of starting the vehicle last time to the second time of starting the vehicle this time is greater than a predetermined value, the communication unit sends a notification urging the diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal.

[0012] In addition, communicating with the information terminal also includes relaying through a communication device different from the information terminal and then sending and receiving information between the information terminal.

[0013] As described above, when the elapsed time from the first time the vehicle was started last time to the second time the vehicle is started this time is greater than a predetermined value, the control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure sends a notification urging diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal. Here, it is considered that when the elapsed time is relatively long, the possibility that the auxiliary equipment battery runs out during the elapsed time is higher than when the elapsed time is relatively short. Therefore, in order to prevent the auxiliary equipment battery from running out, the user of the vehicle sometimes disconnects the electrical connection between the auxiliary equipment battery and the vehicle during the elapsed time. In this case, power is not supplied from the auxiliary equipment battery to the control device. Therefore, the control device cannot obtain data (such as the temperature of the power storage device) for estimating the full charge capacity of the power storage device during the elapsed time. As a result, the control device cannot accurately estimate the full charge capacity of the power storage device. Therefore, by configuring the control device as described above, it is possible to send a notification urging diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal when the possibility of accurately calculating the full charge capacity of the power storage device is relatively high. In this way, it is possible to urge diagnosis of the power storage device at an appropriate time point.

[0014] The control device according to the first aspect preferably includes a non-volatile second memory that stores the first time. If configured in this way, even if the electrical connection between the auxiliary equipment battery and the vehicle body is disconnected, the information at the first time stored in the second memory can be used.

[0015] In the control device according to the first aspect, preferably, when the elapsed time is greater than the predetermined value, the communication unit sends a notification urging the vehicle to enter a facility where the power storage device can be diagnosed to the information terminal. If configured in this way, when the possibility of accurately estimating the full charge capacity of the power storage device is relatively high, it is possible to urge the full charge capacity of the power storage device to be estimated at the above-mentioned facility.

[0016] In the control device according to the first aspect, preferably, the first memory is a volatile memory. If configured in this way, when the electrical connection between the auxiliary equipment battery and the vehicle is disconnected, the information on the full charge capacity stored in the first memory is lost. Therefore, the information on the full charge capacity stored in the first memory cannot be used to estimate the full charge capacity. Therefore, sending the notification urging diagnosis of the power storage device as described above is particularly effective for accurately estimating the full charge capacity of the power storage device mounted on a vehicle equipped with the first memory (the user can grasp the accurate full charge capacity in advance).

[0017] A vehicle according to the second aspect of the present disclosure includes a power storage device, an auxiliary equipment battery, and the control device according to the first aspect. Thereby, it is possible to provide a vehicle that can urge diagnosis of the power storage device at an appropriate time point.

[0018] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prompt the diagnosis of the power storage device mounted on the vehicle at an appropriate time point. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Hereinafter, features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0021] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the start times (T1, T2) and elapsed time T3 of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0022] Figure 3 is a first diagram showing a notification displayed on the HMI device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the control of an electric vehicle (ECU) according to an embodiment.

[0024] Figure 5 is a second diagram showing a notification displayed on the HMI device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will not be repeated.

[0026] Structure of Electric Vehicle

[0027] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the electric vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment. In addition, the electric vehicle 100 is an example of the "vehicle" of the present disclosure.

[0028] The electric vehicle 100 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10, a power storage device 20, and an auxiliary equipment battery 30. The electric vehicle 100 further includes an HMI (Human Machine Interface) device 40 and a communication device 50. In addition, the ECU 10 and the HMI device 40 are examples of the "control device" and the "information terminal" of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0029] The electric vehicle 100 is a vehicle equipped with the power storage device 20 and the auxiliary equipment battery 30 as described above. The electric vehicle 100 includes, for example, a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), or an FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).

[0030] The ECU 10 is a device that controls the electric vehicle 100. The ECU 10 is supplied with power from the auxiliary equipment battery 30. In addition, the detailed structure of the ECU 10 will be described later.

[0031] The power storage device 20 stores the power used for driving (e.g., traveling) the electric vehicle 100. The power storage device 20 includes a power storage unit 21 and a temperature sensor 22. The power storage unit 21 is composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, or a sodium-ion battery. The type of the secondary battery may be a liquid secondary battery or an all-solid-state secondary battery. A battery pack may be formed by a plurality of secondary batteries. The temperature sensor 22 detects the temperature of the power storage unit 21. In addition, the temperature sensor 22 may be provided outside the power storage device 20.

[0032] The auxiliary equipment battery 30 is an in-vehicle battery that supplies the power for driving the auxiliary equipment mounted on the electric vehicle 100. The auxiliary equipment battery 30 supplies power to, for example, an ECU (e.g., the ECU 10) connected to a low-voltage power line.

[0033] The auxiliary equipment battery 30 has, for example, a terminal 31 and a terminal 32. The wirings inside the electric vehicle 100 are respectively connected to the terminal 31 and the terminal 32. The auxiliary equipment battery 30 can disconnect the electrical connection with the electric vehicle 100 (vehicle body) by removing the above-mentioned wirings from the terminal 31 and the terminal 32, respectively. In addition, the number of terminals provided on the auxiliary equipment battery 30 is not limited to the above example.

[0034] The HMI device 40 includes a car navigation device, a speaker, etc. The HMI device 40 (car navigation device) can display the current position of the electric vehicle 100 and retrieve the route to the destination (waypoint). In addition, the HMI device 40 (car navigation device) provides various information to the user by displaying messages, etc.

[0035] The communication device 50 is capable of communicating with communication devices external to the electric vehicle 100. For example, the communication device 50 can communicate with a portable terminal 200 (such as a smartphone and a smartwatch, etc.) owned by a user of the electric vehicle 100 via Bluetooth (registered trademark). Additionally, the communication device 50 may also be capable of communicating with a server, etc., external to the electric vehicle 100. Furthermore, the portable terminal 200 can either communicate with the HMI device 40 or communicate with the ECU 10.

[0036] The ECU 10 includes a processor 11, a communication unit 12, a flash memory 13, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14. The flash memory 13 and the RAM 14 are examples of the "second memory" and the "first memory" of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0037] The processor 11, for example, executes a process of estimating the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20. The full charge capacity refers to the electric energy (kWh) stored in the power storage device 20 in a state where the SOC (State Of Charge) is 100%. The full charge capacity is used as an index for detecting the degree of deterioration of the power storage device 20. The full charge capacity decreases as the power storage device 20 deteriorates. For example, the degree of deterioration of the power storage device 20 is detected based on the ratio of the current full charge capacity to the initial value of the full charge capacity.

[0038] The processor 11 estimates the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 based on, for example, the Arrhenius law. The Arrhenius law is a method of estimating the full charge capacity of a power storage device (power storage unit) based on the amount of electrolyte disappearance corresponding to temperature. The processor 11 uses the detection value of the temperature sensor 22 of the power storage device 20 to estimate the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 (power storage unit 21) based on the Arrhenius law.

[0039] The communication unit 12 is controlled by the processor 11. The communication unit 12 communicates with each device (such as the power storage device 20, the HMI device 40, and the communication device 50, etc.) within the electric vehicle 100 via CAN (Controller Area Network) communication, etc. Additionally, the communication unit 12 can either communicate directly with the portable terminal 200 via CAN communication, etc., or communicate indirectly with the portable terminal 200 through the communication device 50 as a relay.

[0040] The flash memory 13 is a non-volatile memory. In the flash memory 13, in addition to the programs executed by the processor 11, information used by the programs (such as maps, formulas, and various parameters) is also stored. In addition, the above programs and the above information can also be stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) different from the flash memory 13 (not shown), etc.

[0041] The RAM 14 is a volatile memory. In the RAM 14, the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 estimated by the processor 11 is stored.

[0042] Here, for example, in order to prevent the auxiliary device battery 30 from running out of power (over-discharging), the user sometimes disconnects the wiring from the terminals 31 (32) of the auxiliary device battery 30, thereby disconnecting the electrical connection between the auxiliary device battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100. In this case, power is not supplied from the auxiliary device battery 30 to the ECU 10. In addition, at this time, the information stored in the RAM 14 disappears.

[0043] During the period when the power supply from the auxiliary device battery 30 to the ECU 10 is interrupted, the ECU 10 cannot obtain (hold) information such as the detection value of the temperature sensor 22. Therefore, even if the auxiliary device battery 30 is later electrically connected to the electric vehicle 100, the ECU 10 cannot accurately estimate the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 based on the Arrhenius law.

[0044] Therefore, in the present embodiment, the elapsed time T3 (refer to Figure 2 ) from the moment T1 when the electric vehicle 100 was last started (the ignition power supply was turned on) (refer to Figure 2 ) to the moment T2 when the electric vehicle 100 is started this time (refer to Figure 2 ) is sometimes greater than a predetermined value. In this case, the communication unit 12 sends a notification urging the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 to the HMI device 40. The above predetermined value is, for example, 5 days (120 hours). In addition, the above predetermined value can also be other than 5 days. In addition, the moment T1 is an example of the "first moment" of the present disclosure.

[0045] The elapsed time T3 being greater than the predetermined value means that the electric vehicle 100 has not been started for a long period since the last start of the electric vehicle 100. In this case, it is highly likely that the electrical connection between the auxiliary device battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 was disconnected in order to prevent the auxiliary device battery 30 from running out of power during the above long period. Therefore, in the case where it is highly likely that the electrical connection between the auxiliary device battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 has been disconnected, the user can be urged to perform the diagnosis of the power storage device 20.

[0046] Specifically, when the elapsed time T3 is greater than a predetermined value, the communication unit 12 sends a notice urging the electric vehicle 100 to enter a facility where the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 can be performed to the HMI device 40.

[0047] Figure 3 FIG. 4 shows a display screen 41 of the HMI device 40 (automobile navigation device) to which the above notice is sent. In the display screen 41, a message 42 such as "Please go to the dealer to receive the diagnosis of the power storage device" is displayed. In addition, a map showing the location information of the nearest dealer and the location information of the dealer that can immediately perform the diagnosis operation can also be displayed in the display screen 41. In addition, Figure 3 is displayed at the time point (time T2) when the electric vehicle 100 is started this time. In addition, a message urging to receive the diagnosis at a place other than the dealer (for example, a repair shop and a charging / discharging station, etc.) can also be displayed. Figure 3 What is shown in FIG. 4 is only an example, and the display content is not limited to this example.

[0048] In addition, at the dealer, for example, the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 is estimated based on the charge / discharge electric energy when the SOC of the power storage device 20 is changed from 0% to 100%.

[0049] In addition, in the present embodiment, the flash memory 13 stores the information of time T1. Specifically, when the electric vehicle 100 is started at time T1, the processor 11 causes the flash memory 13 to store the information of time T1. In addition, when the electric vehicle 100 is started at time T2, the processor 11 acquires the information of time T2, and calculates the elapsed time T3 based on time T1 and time T2. In addition, time T2 is an example of the "second time" in the present disclosure.

[0050] Control flow of the ECU

[0051] Next, with reference to Figure 4 , the control flow of the electric vehicle 100 (ECU10 (processor 11)) will be described. In addition, the control of the present disclosure is not limited to Figure 4 the flow shown. For example, the order of the steps can be changed within the achievable range, or a certain step can be omitted. In addition, Figure 4 the flow can also be started and executed at a predetermined cycle (for example, at a cycle of 10 minutes).

[0052] In S1, the ECU10 determines whether the electric vehicle 100 has been started. When the electric vehicle 100 has been started (Yes in S1), the process proceeds to S2. When the electric vehicle 100 has not been started (No in S1), the process ends.

[0053] In S2, the ECU 10 acquires information on the time T1 when the electric vehicle 100 was started in S1.

[0054] In S3, the ECU 10 causes the flash memory 13 to store the information on the time T1 acquired in S2.

[0055] In S4, the ECU 10 determines whether the electric vehicle 100 has been started. If the electric vehicle 100 has been started (Yes in S4), the process proceeds to S5. If the electric vehicle 100 has not been started (No in S4), the process of S4 is repeated.

[0056] In S5, the ECU 10 acquires information on the time T2 when the electric vehicle 100 was started in S4.

[0057] In S6, the ECU 10 calculates the elapsed time T3 from the time T1 to the time T2.

[0058] In S7, the ECU 10 determines whether the elapsed time T3 calculated in S6 is greater than 5 days (120 hours). If the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (Yes in S7), it is determined that the electrical connection between the auxiliary equipment battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 has been disconnected, and the process proceeds to S8. If the elapsed time T3 is 5 days or less (No in S7), the process proceeds to S10.

[0059] In S8, the ECU 10 sends, via the communication unit 12, a notification urging the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 at the dealership to the HMI device 40.

[0060] In S9, the HMI device 40 displays the notification sent from the ECU 10 in S8 on the display screen 41 (see Figure 3 ).

[0061] In S10, the ECU 10 determines whether the elapsed time T3 calculated in S6 is greater than 3 days (72 hours). If the elapsed time T3 is greater than 3 days (Yes in S10), the process proceeds to S11. If the elapsed time T3 is 3 days or less (No in S10), the process ends. In addition, the reference value in S10 may also be other than 3 days.

[0062] In S11, the ECU 10 sends a notification urging the user to perform a self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 to the HMI device 40.

[0063] The self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is a method different from the estimation of the full charge capacity based on the Arrhenius law. Specifically, based on the difference (S1 - S2) between the SOCs (e.g., assumed to be S1 and S2) calculated twice at different time points and the charge-discharge electric energy ΔAh between the time points at which each SOC is calculated, the full charge capacity C of the power storage device 20 is estimated. The full charge capacity C is calculated based on the following formula (1).

[0064] C = Ah / |S1 - S2| × 100…(1)

[0065] In S12, the HMI device 40 displays the notification sent from the ECU 10 in S11 on the display screen 41 (refer to Figure 5 ).

[0066] Figure 5 FIG. is a diagram of the display screen 41 of the HMI device 40 (automobile navigation device) to which the notification of S11 is sent. On the display screen 41, a message 43 such as "Please perform self-diagnosis of the power storage device" is displayed. Further, on the display screen 41, a button 44 marked "Execute" and a button 45 marked "Do not execute" are displayed. When the button 44 is selected, the above-described self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is executed. When the button 45 is selected, the self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is not executed. In addition, Figure 5 What is shown is merely an example, and the display content is not limited to this example.

[0067] As described above, in the present embodiment, the elapsed time T3 from the time T1 when the electric vehicle 100 was last started to the time T2 when the electric vehicle 100 is started this time may be greater than 5 days. In this case, the ECU 10 (communication unit 12) sends a notification urging the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 to the HMI device 40. Thereby, when the elapsed time T3 is large, the user can be urged to perform the diagnosis of the power storage device 20. Thereby, in the case where it is assumed that the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 cannot be accurately estimated because the electrical connection between the auxiliary equipment battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 is disconnected, the user can be urged to perform the diagnosis of the power storage device 20.

[0068] In the above-described embodiment, an example of sending a notification urging the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 to the HMI device 40 is shown, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The above notification may also be sent to the portable terminal 200. In this case, the portable terminal 200 is an example of the "information terminal" of the present disclosure.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the non-volatile flash memory 13 stores the information at time T1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the ECU may also send the information at time T1 to an external server and receive the information at time T1 from the above external server when calculating the elapsed time T3.

[0070] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which a notice urging storage in the dealer is sent to the HMI device 40 when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (predetermined value), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (predetermined value), a notice urging the above self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 may also be sent to the HMI device 40 or the like.

[0071] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 inferred by the processor 11 is stored in the RAM 14, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 may also be stored in a non-volatile memory such as the flash memory 13.

[0072] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is urged when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 3 days, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 may not be urged. In other words, the processes of S10 to S12 Figure 4 may not be executed.

[0073] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which a message urging diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is displayed on the HMI device 40 or the like, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The above message may also be notified to the user by sound, for example.

[0074] In addition, the structures (processes) of the above-described embodiment and the above-described various modified examples may be combined with each other.

[0075] It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is represented not by the description of the above embodiments but by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

Claims

1. A control device that controls a vehicle equipped with a power storage device and an auxiliary equipment battery and is supplied with electric power from the auxiliary equipment battery, The control device comprises: a processor, configured to estimate a full charge capacity of the power storage device; a first memory storing the full charge capacity estimated by the processor; and a communication unit for communicating with an information terminal owned by a user of the vehicle, The auxiliary equipment battery is mounted on the vehicle in a manner that allows disconnection from the vehicle. The communication unit transmits a notification urging execution of diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal when an elapsed time from a first time when the vehicle was started last time to a second time when the vehicle is started this time is greater than a predetermined value.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein: The control device includes a nonvolatile second memory, and the second memory stores the first time.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication unit transmits, to the information terminal, a notification urging the vehicle to enter a facility where a diagnosis of the power storage device can be performed, when the elapsed time is greater than the predetermined value.

4. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first memory is a volatile memory.

5. A vehicle comprising: Electricity storage device; Auxiliary equipment batteries; and The control device according to claim 1 or 2.

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