Power supply device

Abstract

Provided is a power supply device for supplying power to a device, the power supply device comprising: a battery pack having a battery and a metal cooler; an insulating oil circuit that cools the battery by causing insulating oil to flow into the cooler; and a control unit that turns on either one of a first relay and a second relay that supply the current from the battery to a power control device, and turns off the other, and releases static electricity generated by the flow of the insulating oil to a housing of the device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power supply device. BACKGROUND

[0002] A battery pack is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2023-504801, which is characterized by including: a battery pack case that forms an appearance; a plurality of battery modules that are provided inside the battery pack case and that contain at least one battery cell; at least one thermal insulation member that is provided between the plurality of battery modules; and an energy discharge unit. The energy discharge unit is separate from the at least one thermal insulation member and is connected to any one of the plurality of battery modules, and causes the any one of the battery modules to perform external short-circuiting when thermal runaway occurs in at least one of the plurality of battery modules.

[0003] In addition, it is disclosed that "the energy discharge unit can include a relay unit and a resistance unit". The relay unit is provided so as to be connected to the battery cell of the any one of the battery modules and is capable of performing on-off operation. The resistance unit is connected to the relay unit and is provided outside the battery pack case. In addition, it is disclosed that "the inside of the resistance unit can be filled with insulating oil" and "the insulating oil is capable of cooling a resistance body inside the resistance unit". SUMMARY

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, for example, there is room for improvement in the case where the insulating oil is circulated to adjust the temperature of the battery.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can take into account both "reduction of electrostatic charging" and "safety with respect to high voltage".

[0006] In the first technical solution of the present disclosure, the following power supply device is provided.

[0007] A power supply device supplies electric power to an apparatus,

[0008] The power supply device has:

[0009] a battery pack that has a battery and a cooler made of metal;

[0010] an insulating oil circuit that causes insulating oil to flow into the cooler to cool the battery; and

[0011] a control section that causes either one of a first relay and a second relay that supply electric current from the battery to a power control device to be on and the other to be off, and causes electrostatic generated due to the flow of the insulating oil to be discharged to a housing of the apparatus.

[0012] According to one aspect, both "reduction of electrostatic charging" and "safety with respect to high voltage" can be taken into account. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate like elements, and wherein:

[0014] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device of the embodiment;

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the power supply device of the embodiment;

[0016] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the control section of the embodiment;

[0017] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control section of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The principles of the present disclosure are explained with reference to a few illustrative embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are merely described for the purposes of illustration and help to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described in the present specification can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0019] In the following description and the claims, all the technical and scientific terms used in the present specification have the same meaning as the terms commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, unless otherwise defined.

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] Configuration

[0022] Configuration of the device 50

[0023] Reference Figure 1 The configuration of the device 50 of the embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device 50 of the embodiment. In Figure 1 In the example of the device 50, the device 50 has the power supply device 1, the first relay 51, the second relay 52, the power control device 53, the driving device (actuator) 54, the insulation resistance 55, the housing (body) 56, and the circuit 57.

[0024] The device 50 can be, for example, various devices such as a vehicle, an air conditioning device, a household device, a factory device, an office device, and the like.

[0025] The first relay 51 and the second relay 52 switch the connection and disconnection of the circuit 57 used to supply power from the power supply unit 1 to the power control unit 53. In the case of the device 50 being a hybrid electric vehicle, the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 may each be referred to, for example, as a system main relay (SMR). Figure 1 In the example, the first relay 51 switches the connection and disconnection of the positive side of the power supply device 1, and the second relay 52 switches the connection and disconnection of the negative side of the power supply device 1.

[0026] The drive unit 54 is a device that converts electrical energy supplied from the power control unit 53 into mechanical motion to operate the device 50. The drive unit 54 may, for example, be an electric motor. In this case, the drive unit 54 may be, for example, a motor generator (MG) that serves as the primary power source for starting and driving a hybrid electric vehicle. The motor generator provides engine assistance during acceleration and regenerates energy to charge the battery when braking is applied.

[0027] The insulation resistance 55 reduces the current flowing from the circuit 57 connected to the power supply device 1 to the housing 56, so that a person touching the housing 56 will not be electrocuted. The housing 56 may be made of a material that conducts electricity easily, such as metal. In the case of the device 50 being a vehicle, the housing 56 may also be referred to as the body earth, for example. The high-voltage static electricity generated in the power supply device 1 is transmitted from the circuit 57 to the housing 56 via the insulation resistance 55, and dissipates to the ground via the tires or the like to which the device 50 is grounded.

[0028] Configuration of power supply device 1

[0029] Next, refer to Figure 2 The configuration of the power supply device 1 in the embodiment will be described. Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the power supply device 1 according to an embodiment. Figure 2 In this example, the power supply unit 1 includes a battery pack 10, an insulating oil circuit 20, and a control unit 30. The battery pack 10 includes a battery 11, a first cooler 12, a second cooler 13, and resin connectors 15A to 15D. The insulating oil circuit 20 includes a circulator 21, a storage tank 22, an oil pump 23, and piping 24A to 24C.

[0030] The battery pack 10 contains a battery 11, a first cooler 12, a second cooler 13, resin connectors 15A to 15D, a portion of piping 24A, and a portion of piping 24B.

[0031] The battery 11 can be, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. The first cooler 12 is a cooling member made of metal or the like provided on the positive electrode side of the battery 11. The first cooler 12 can be brought into contact with the positive electrode or the like in order to be supplied with electric power from the positive electrode of the battery 11, and thus can be brought into a state of high voltage. The second cooler 13 is a cooling member made of metal or the like provided on the negative electrode side of the battery 11. The second cooler 13 can be brought into contact with the negative electrode or the like in order to be supplied with electric power from the negative electrode of the battery 11, and thus can be brought into a state of high voltage. Further, the first cooler 12 is electrically connected to the first relay 51 side, and the second cooler 13 is electrically connected to the second relay 52 side.

[0032] The resin connectors 15A to 15D are resin-made connectors formed in shapes as illustrated in the example of the enlarged view 151. Each of the resin connectors 15A to 15D can be used for, for example, "allowing an assembly (manufacturing) worker or the like to easily connect the pipe (for example, an internal pipe of a cooler made of metal) of the first cooler 12 or the second cooler 13 to the pipe 24A or the pipe 24B".

[0033] The insulating oil circuit 20 reduces the temperature of the battery 11 by flowing (circulating) insulating oil inside the battery pack 10. The insulating oil can be, for example, a liquid having relatively high insulating properties (for example, a volume resistivity of 10 5 Ωcm or more). Further, since the insulating oil has relatively high insulating properties, it has a characteristic of not discharging static electricity generated when the insulating oil rubs against the pipe while flowing, and accumulating static electricity of high voltage in the insulating oil itself and the pipe.

[0034] The circulator 21 is, for example, a device that cools the insulating oil by air cooling or the like. The storage tank 22 is, for example, a tank for storing the insulating oil that has expanded due to an increase in temperature. The oil pump 23 is a pump that circulates the insulating oil in the insulating oil circuit 20 by pressing out the insulating oil.

[0035] The pipes 24A to 24C are pipes for flowing the insulating oil. The pipe 24A is a pipe for flowing the insulating oil from the outside to the inside of the battery pack 10. The pipe 24B is a pipe for flowing the insulating oil from the inside to the outside of the battery pack 10. With regard to the pipe 24A and the pipe 24B, for example, in order to ensure the insulating properties of the first cooler 12 and the second cooler 13, which are components to which high voltage is applied, the pipe 24A and the pipe 24B can use a member having a volume resistivity of 10

[0036] In this case, the pipe 24A and the pipe 24B can be, for example, made of a material having a volume resistivity of 10 8Ωcm or more. Thus, it is possible to reduce the case where the pipes 24A and 24B are destroyed by treeing due to static electricity. Further, treeing is a phenomenon in which, in a resin insulating material, when a local high electric field portion in a solid exceeds an inherent destruction limit possessed by the solid, a destruction path gradually develops in a tree shape, and finally causes a through destruction. Further, it is known that treeing is generated in a resin material, but not in a rubber material.

[0037] The pipes 24C are portions of the pipes of the insulating oil circuit 20 other than the pipes 24A and 24B. The pipes 24C can be, for example, pipes of 10 Ωcm or less of rubber or resin, or the like, through which static electricity is more easily conducted than the pipes 24A and 24B. 7 Ωcm or less of rubber or resin, or the like.

[0038] The control section 30 can be, for example, a microcomputer such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The control section 30 performs control of each portion of the device 50.

[0039] Process

[0040] Next, an example of the process of the control section 30 of the embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 3 , an example of the process of the control section 30 of the embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the process of the control section 30 of the embodiment. Further, each process of Figure 3 may be executed in a different order as long as there is no contradiction.

[0041] In S101, the control section 30 detects a case where the device 50 is started by a user or the like. Here, the control section 30 can detect, for example, a case where a power button or the like of the device 50 is pressed down.

[0042] Next, the control section 30 sets each of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 to be on (S102). Thus, the power control device 53 is supplied with power from the power supply device 1, and a user or the like can cause the drive device 54 to operate. Further, in a case where each of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 is turned on, even if the insulating oil circulates in the insulating oil circuit 20, static electricity of the resin connectors 15A to 15D is released from the housing 56. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a case where the resin connectors 15A to 15D are destroyed by treeing due to static electricity carried by the resin connectors 15A to 15D.

[0043] Next, the control section 30 detects a case where the device 50 is stopped by a user or the like (S103). Here, the control section 30 can detect, for example, a case where the power button or the like of the device 50 is pressed down again.

[0044] Next, the control section 30 sets each of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 to be off (S104). Thereby, the power supply from the power supply device 1 to the power control device 53 is stopped, and the drive device 54 is stopped (non-operation).

[0045] Next, the control section 30 determines whether or not the battery 11 is cooled (S105). Here, the control section 30 can determine that the battery 11 is cooled, for example, in a case where the temperature of the periphery of the battery 11 measured by a temperature sensor or the like is equal to or higher than a threshold value.

[0046] Further, the process of S105 can be executed at a certain timing such as a regular timing, for example, during a certain period from the stop device 50 until the temperature of the periphery of the battery 11 is less than the threshold value.

[0047] In a case where it is determined that the battery 11 is cooled (YES in S105), the control section 30 circulates the insulating oil in the insulating oil circuit 20 (S106). Here, the control section 30 can start the oil pump 23 to circulate the insulating oil, for example.

[0048] Next, the control section 30 turns on either one of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 and turns off the other one (S107), and proceeds to the process of S105. Thereby, in a case where the battery 11 is cooled, for example, when the drive device 54 of the device 50 is non-operational (for example, when the vehicle is parked (stopped)), the static electricity of the resin connectors 15A to 15D is discharged from the case 56 in a state where the power control device 53 is not supplied with the electric power. Therefore, the resin connectors 15A to 15D are prevented from being damaged by the resinification due to the static electricity carried by the resin connectors 15A to 15D. Further, the static electricity is static electricity generated due to the friction of the flowing insulating oil with each of the resin connectors 15A to 15D.

[0049] In a case where it is determined that the battery 11 is not cooled (NO in S105), the control section 30 stops the circulation of the insulating oil in the insulating oil circuit 20 (S108). Here, the control section 30 can stop the oil pump 23, for example.

[0050] Next, the control section 30 sets each of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 to be off (S109), and ends the process.

[0051] Examples of the fixation of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52

[0052] The control section 30 can check whether or not each of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 is stuck, and in the case where either of the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 is stuck, the other is caused to be open. Thus, for example, even in the case where the first relay 51 is stuck on the circuit 57 due to a failure or the like and is always on, the second relay 52 can be caused to be open. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the situation where both the first relay 51 and the second relay 52 are on for the cooling of the battery 11 at the time of non-operation of the drive device 54, and power is supplied to the power control device 53 and power is wasted.

[0053] Further, the control section 30 can determine that the first relay 51 is stuck, for example, in the case where the voltage of the circuit 57 measured in the state where the first relay 51 is controlled to be open and the second relay 52 is controlled to be on is equal to or higher than a threshold value. In addition, the control section 30 can determine that the second relay 52 is stuck, for example, in the case where the voltage of the circuit 57 measured in the state where the first relay 51 is controlled to be on and the second relay 52 is controlled to be open is equal to or higher than a threshold value.

[0054] In addition, the control section 30 can cause the relay on the other side to be on when the voltage of static electricity carried by the cooler connected to the relay on the other side is equal to or higher than a threshold value in the case where the relay on one side is stuck. Thus, for example, in the case where static electricity on the side other than the side of the relay that is not stuck is not released, by causing both relays to be on, even if the drive device 54 is activated, it is possible to release the static electricity. Further, the control section 30 can measure the voltage of the static electricity by a sensor or the like.

[0055] In this case, the control section 30 can cause the second relay 52 to be on when the voltage of static electricity carried by the second cooler 13 connected to the second relay 52 side is equal to or higher than a threshold value in the case where the first relay 51 is stuck. In addition, the control section 30 can cause the first relay 51 to be on when the voltage of static electricity carried by the first cooler 12 connected to the first relay 51 side is equal to or higher than a threshold value in the case where the second relay 52 is stuck.

[0056] Other

[0057] In the case where a component to which a high voltage is applied is composed of a material having a low volume resistivity, it is difficult to ensure insulation. On the other hand, in the case where a component to which a high voltage is applied is composed of a material having a high volume resistivity and the component is cooled with oil, the component is likely to carry static electricity.

[0058] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to ensure a path for releasing static electricity of a resin connector that connects a cooler within a battery pack 10 and a rubber pipe. Therefore, it is possible to balance "reduction of static electricity charging" and "safety with respect to a high voltage".

[0059] Hardware configuration

[0060] Figure 4 Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the control section 30 that implements the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 13, the control section 30 (computer 100) includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a communication interface 103. The above-described sections can be connected by a bus or the like. The memory 102 holds at least a part of a program 104. The communication interface 103 includes an interface necessary for communication with other network elements. Figure 4

[0061] When the program 104 is executed by cooperation of the processor 101 and the memory 102 or the like, at least a part of the processing of the embodiment of the present disclosure is performed by the computer 100. The memory 102 can be any type of memory. As a non-limiting example, the memory 102 can be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In addition, the memory 102 can be realized using any appropriate data storage technology, such as a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, fixed memory, and removable memory, and the like. Although only one memory 102 is shown in the computer 100, several physically different storage modules can be present in the computer 100. The processor 101 can be any type of processor. The processor 101 can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The computer 100 can also have a plurality of processors of a specific-purpose integrated circuit chip or the like that is subordinate in time to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0062] The embodiment of the present disclosure can be realized by hardware or a special-purpose circuit, software, a logic circuit, or any combination thereof. Also, some of the technical solutions can be realized by hardware, and other technical solutions can be realized by firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing device.

[0063] ​In addition, the present disclosure provides at least one computer program product that is tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, commands, or the like, which are contained in program modules and executed in an apparatus on an actual processor or a virtual processor to perform the processes or methods of the present disclosure. The program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like, which perform specific tasks, install specific abstract data types, or the like. The functions of the program modules can also be combined or divided as desired among various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules can be executed locally or in a distributed manner. In a distributed manner, the program modules can be configured in both local and remote storage media.

[0064] The program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure can also be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes are provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus. When the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the functions / actions within the flowcharts and / or installed block diagrams are performed. The program codes are executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine as a separate software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0065] The program can be stored using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media and provided to the computer. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes various types of tangible recording media having physical data patterns. Examples of the non-transitory computer-readable medium include a magnetic recording medium, an optical magnetic recording medium, an optical disc medium, a semiconductor memory, and the like. The magnetic recording medium includes, for example, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk drive, and the like. The optical magnetic recording medium includes, for example, a magneto-optical disk, and the like. The optical disc medium includes, for example, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), a CD-R (Recordable), a CD-RW (ReWritable), and the like. The semiconductor memory includes, for example, a solid state drive, a mask ROM, a PROM (Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), a flash ROM, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. In addition, the program can be provided to the computer through various types of transitory computer-readable media. Examples of the transitory computer-readable medium include an electrical signal, an optical signal, and an electromagnetic wave. The transitory computer-readable medium can provide the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electrical wire and an optical fiber or a wireless communication path.

[0066] Modified examples

[0067] The control section 30 can be a device included in one housing, but the control section 30 of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Each section of the control section 30 can also be implemented by cloud computing constituted by one or more computers, for example.

[0068] Furthermore, the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the gist thereof.

Claims

1. A power supply device that supplies electric power to an apparatus, characterized by comprising: a battery pack that has a battery and a cooler made of metal; an insulating oil circuit that causes insulating oil to flow into the cooler to cool the battery; a first relay and a second relay that supply electric current from the battery to a power control device; and a control section that controls the on / off of the first relay and the second relay, respectively, wherein the power supply device is configured such that, when either of the first relay and the second relay is on and the other is off, static electricity generated by the flow of the insulating oil is discharged to a housing of the apparatus.

2. The power supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that: a pipe of the cooler and a rubber-made pipe that causes the insulating oil to flow to the outside of the battery pack are connected by a resin-made connector, and the static electricity is static electricity generated by the flow of the insulating oil rubbing against the connector.

3. The power supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that: the cooler has a first cooler connected to the first relay side and a second cooler connected to the second relay side. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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