Electronic control device

Abstract

To reduce a maintenance frequency of an entire system and prolong a period of use in a configuration to control charge / discharge of batteries of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel.SOLUTION: An electronic control device 3 controls charge / discharge of batteries of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel. The electronic control device comprises: an information acquisition section 4a which acquires present information of each battery; a lifetime calculation section 4c which calculates a lifetime of a battery based on the present information of the battery; and an operation order determination section 4d which determines an operation order of charge / discharge of the batteries based on a calculation result of the lifetime calculation section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic control device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided a parallel charge / discharge system including a plurality of battery units connected in parallel and an electronic control device that controls the charging and discharging of each battery unit (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-100366 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned configuration, the current value during charging and discharging and the actual temperature of the battery are measured, and if a current of a predetermined current value or an actual temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature is detected, it is determined that an overcurrent or overheating temperature has occurred, and the battery unit that has reached the overcurrent or overheating temperature is electrically disconnected from the charging and discharging system. Since this configuration is premised on operation only after an overcurrent or overheating temperature has been determined, it is not possible to suppress the occurrence of an overcurrent or overheating temperature. This issue can be resolved by setting the predetermined current value or temperature to a small value, and electrically disconnecting a battery unit that is likely to reach an overcurrent or overheating temperature from the charging and discharging system before the overcurrent or overheating temperature occurs.

[0005] However, if there is variation in battery characteristics, setting a small specified current value or temperature may result in some batteries barely operating, and operation may be concentrated on a few batteries, shortening their lifespan, which may result in increased maintenance frequency and a shorter service life for the entire system.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control device that can reduce the maintenance frequency of the entire system and extend the service life in a configuration that controls the charging and discharging of each battery of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the invention recited in claim 1, charging and discharging of each battery of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel is controlled. An information acquisition unit (4a) acquires current information of each battery. A life calculation unit (4c) calculates the life of each battery based on the current information of each battery. An operation order determination unit (4d) determines the operation order of charging and discharging of each battery based on the calculation result of the life calculation unit.

[0008] Current information on each battery of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel is acquired, the lifespan of each battery is calculated based on the acquired current information on each battery, and the charge / discharge operation order of each battery is determined based on the calculation result. By determining the charge / discharge operation order of each battery using the lifespan calculated based on the current information of each battery, each battery can be operated at an appropriate operation timing, and the operation frequency of a battery that generates an overcurrent or overheating temperature can be appropriately reduced, unlike the conventional configuration in which there is a risk of a battery hardly operating at all. This makes it possible to appropriately reduce the maintenance frequency of the entire system and appropriately extend the service life. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] A functional block diagram showing the overall configuration of a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] Flowchart showing main processing [Diagram 3] Flowchart showing status determination process A [Figure 4] Flowchart showing information acquisition process A [Diagram 5] Flowchart showing life calculation process [Figure 6] Flowchart showing status determination process B [Figure 7] Flowchart showing information acquisition process B [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing a main process of the second embodiment. [Figure 9] Flowchart showing status determination process C [Figure 10] Flowchart showing information acquisition process C [Figure 11] Flowchart showing battery selection process C [Figure 12] Flowchart showing status determination process D [Figure 13] Flowchart showing information acquisition process D [Figure 14] Flowchart showing battery selection process D DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a number of embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the subsequent embodiments, the description of the same contents as in the preceding embodiments may be omitted. (First embodiment)

[0011] The first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 1, a parallel charging / discharging system 1 mounted on, for example, a vehicle includes a plurality of battery units 21, 22, 2N (N is a natural number equal to or greater than "3") connected in parallel, and an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) 3 that controls charging and discharging of each of the battery units 21, 22, 2N.

[0012] The battery unit 21 includes a battery 21a, a charge / discharge control unit 21b that controls the status of the battery 21a, and an information transmission unit 21c that acquires information on the battery 21a and transmits it to the ECU 3. Similarly, the battery unit 22 includes a battery 22a, a charge / discharge control unit 22b that controls the status of the battery 22a, and an information transmission unit 22c that acquires information on the battery 22a and transmits it to the ECU 3. The battery unit 2N includes a battery 2Na, a charge / discharge control unit 2Nb that controls the status of the battery 2Na, and an information transmission unit 2Nc that acquires information on the battery 2Na and transmits it to the ECU 3. Each of the battery units 21, 22, and 2N has the same configuration. Each of the batteries 21a, 22a, and 2Na transitions between charging, discharging, and standby statuses.

[0013] Each information transmission unit 21c, 22c, 2Nc acquires data indicating the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, and transmits the acquired data to the ECU 3. When the ECU 3 receives the data indicating the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, it estimates the lifespan of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na in the case of standby and in the case of charging and discharging, and defines the sum of the lifespans of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na as the lifespan of the entire system. The ECU 3 determines the status of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na so that the defined lifespan of the entire system is minimized, and transmits data indicating the determined status to each charge / discharge control unit 21b, 22b, 2Nb.

[0014] When each charge / discharge control unit 21b, 22b, 2Nb receives data indicating a status from the ECU 3, it controls each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na to realize the received status. In Fig. 1, the flow of data indicating current information from each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na to each information transmission unit 21c, 22c, 2Nc, the flow of data indicating current battery information from each information transmission unit 21c, 22c, 2Nc to the ECU 3, and the flow of data indicating the status from the ECU 3 to each charge / discharge control unit 21b, 22b, 2Nb are indicated by dashed lines, and the flow of control from each charge / discharge control unit 21b, 22b, 2Nb to each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na is indicated by solid lines.

[0015] The ECU 3 includes a control unit 4. The control unit 4 is mainly configured with a microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O ports, etc. The control unit 4 controls the operation of the ECU 3 by executing software processing by having the CPU execute a computer program stored in a non-transient tangible storage medium, and by controlling hardware processing by a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0016] The control unit 4 includes an information acquisition unit 4a, an information estimation unit 4b, a life calculation unit 4c, an operation order determination unit 4d, and a status determination unit 4e. The information acquisition unit 4a acquires current information of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na. When the current information of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na is acquired by the information acquisition unit 4a, the information estimation unit 4b estimates information after charging, discharging, or waiting for each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na based on the acquired current information of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na.

[0017] The life calculation unit 4c calculates the life of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na based on the information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na after charging, discharging, or waiting, as well as the information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na at the time of shipment from the factory and a threshold value of the information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na that is referenced when determining a failure. When the life of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na is calculated by the life calculation unit 4c, the operation order determination unit 4d determines the charge / discharge operation order of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na based on the calculation result.

[0018] When the operational order of charging and discharging is determined by the operational order determination unit 4d, the status determination unit 4e determines the status of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na in accordance with the determined operational order of charging and discharging.

[0019] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 7. The control unit 4 executes a main process as a main routine, and executes a status determination process A, an information acquisition process A, a life calculation process, a status determination process B, and an information acquisition process B as subroutines.

[0020] When the control unit 4 starts the main process, it calculates the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging and discharging power of the entire system (S1). The control unit 4 compares the absolute value of the calculated expected value (W_Exp) of the charging and discharging power of the entire system with the absolute value of the charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum) (S2). The charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum) is the sum of the charging and discharging power of the batteries currently being charged and discharged.

[0021] When the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is less than the absolute value of the expected value (W_Exp) of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system and that the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is insufficient for the expected value (W_Exp) of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (S2: YES), the control unit 4 proceeds to status determination process A (S3). By performing status determination process A, the control unit 4 selects a battery to be charged or discharged.

[0022] When the control unit 4 starts the status determination process A, it proceeds to the information acquisition process A (S11). When the control unit 4 starts the information acquisition process A, it sets the battery number (M) to "1" (S21) and performs information acquisition of each battery by loop processing (S22 to S29). The control unit 4 acquires the current status (ST) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S23) and judges the acquired current status (ST) (S24). When the control unit 4 judges that the current status is other than "standby", that is, "charging" or "discharging" (S24: NO), it acquires the current charging / discharging power (W_Act) of the battery 2Ma from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S25) and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S28).

[0023] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process A, and returns to the status determination process A. If the control unit 4 determines that the current status is "standby" (S24: YES), it proceeds to the life calculation process (S26).

[0024] When the control unit 4 starts the life calculation process, it acquires the maximum value of the power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum value of the actual measured temperature of the battery during charging and discharging (T_max), and the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S31). The control unit 4 measures the maximum value of the power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum value of the actual measured temperature of the battery during charging and discharging (T_max), and the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max) for each number of charging and discharging. The control unit 4 stores the maximum value of power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) at the end of an array (W_Act_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) of battery 2Ma for each number of charges and discharges from when it was shipped from the factory to the present, stores the maximum value of actual temperature of the battery during charging and discharging (T_max) at the end of an array (T_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of actual temperature of battery 2Ma during charging and discharging (T_max) for each number of charges and discharges from when it was shipped from the factory to the present, and stores the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power (Wh_max) at the end of an array (Wh_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power (Wh_max) of battery 2Ma for each number of charges and discharges from when it was shipped from the factory to the present (S32).

[0025] Based on an array (W_Act_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of the power during charging and discharging of battery 2Ma (W_Act_max) from when it was shipped from the factory to the present, an array (T_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of the actual temperature (T_max) of battery 2Ma during charging and discharging from when it was shipped from the factory to the present for each number of charges and discharges, and an array (Wh_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max) of battery 2Ma from when it was shipped from the factory to the present, the control unit 4 estimates the maximum value of the power during the next charge and discharge after charging and discharging (W_Act_max'), the maximum value of the actual temperature of the battery during the next charge and discharge after charging and discharging (T_max'), and the next maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max') after charging and discharging (S33).

[0026] The control unit 4 sets the information of each battery at the time of shipment from the factory to 100% and the threshold value of the information of each battery referenced during failure judgment to 0%, and converts the maximum value of the power during the next charge / discharge after charge / discharge (W_Act_max'), the maximum value of the actually measured temperature of the battery during the next charge / discharge after charge / discharge (T_max'), and the maximum amount of power that can be charged / discharged after the next charge / discharge (Wh_max') into percentages (S34). The control unit 4 multiplies the maximum value of the power during the next charge / discharge after charge / discharge (W_Act_max'), the maximum value of the actually measured temperature of the battery during the next charge / discharge after charge / discharge (T_max'), and the maximum amount of power that can be charged / discharged after the next charge / discharge (Wh_max') converted into percentages by a coefficient and adds them together to determine the lifespan, and calculates the lifespan after charge / discharge (LT_Act) (S35).

[0027] Based on an array (W_Act_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of the power during charging and discharging of battery 2Ma (W_Act_max) from shipment from the factory to the present, an array (T_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum value of the actual temperature (T_max) of battery 2Ma during charging and discharging from shipment from the factory to the present for each number of charges and discharges, and an array (Wh_max_list_2Ma) that records the change in the maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max) of battery 2Ma from shipment from the factory to the present, control unit 4 estimates the maximum value of the power during the next charge and discharge after standby (W_Act_max''), the maximum value of the actual temperature of the battery during the next charge and discharge after standby (T_max''), and the next maximum chargeable and dischargeable power amount (Wh_max'') after standby (S36).

[0028] The control unit 4 sets the information of each battery at the time of shipment from the factory to 100%, and sets the threshold value of the information of each battery referenced during failure determination to 0%, and converts the maximum value of the power during the next charge / discharge after standby (W_Act_max''), the maximum value of the actual temperature of the battery during the next charge / discharge after standby (T_max''), and the maximum amount of power that can be charged / discharged after standby (Wh_max'') into percentages (S37). The control unit 4 multiplies the maximum value of the power during the next charge / discharge after standby (W_Act_max''), the maximum value of the actual temperature of the battery during the next charge / discharge after standby (T_max''), and the maximum amount of power that can be charged / discharged after standby (Wh_max'') converted into percentages by a coefficient, and adds them together to determine the lifespan, calculates the lifespan after standby (LT_Stb) (S38), ends the lifespan calculation process, and returns to information acquisition process A.

[0029] When the control unit 4 returns to the information acquisition process A, it acquires from the information transmission unit 2Mc the power (W_Stb) that the battery 2Ma can charge and discharge when the current status (ST) is changed from "standby" to "charging" or "discharging" (S27), and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S28). The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process A, and returns to the status determination process A.

[0030] When returning to the status determination process A, the control unit 4 defines the charging / discharging power (W_Sum) of the entire system and the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection as the sum of the charging / discharging power (W_Act) of the batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" (S12).

[0031] The control unit 4 selects the battery to be charged / discharged by loop processing (S13 to S17). The control unit 4 selects the battery with the highest operating priority. Aiming to extend the life of the entire system, the control unit 4 prioritizes the operating priority in ascending order of the difference between the life after charging / discharging (LT_Act) and the life after standby (LT_Stb), and selects the battery with the smallest difference between the life after charging / discharging (LT_Act) and the life after standby (LT_Stb) (S14).

[0032] The control unit 4 adds the chargeable / dischargeable power (W_Stb) of the selected battery to the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection (S15). The control unit 4 changes the current status (ST) of the selected battery from "standby" to "charging" or "discharging" (S16). The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as the time when the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection reaches the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system. That is, the control unit 4 compares the charging / discharging power (W_Sum) of the entire system with the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system. When the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection has not reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system, it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. When the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum_edit) after battery selection has reached the expected value of the charging / discharging power of the entire system (W_Exp), it terminates the above-mentioned loop processing, terminates the status determination processing A, and returns to the main processing.

[0033] When the control unit 4 returns to the main processing, it realizes the status by transmitting data indicating the determined status to each of the charge / discharge control units 21b, 22b, 2Nb (S5), and ends the main processing. The control unit 4 selects the battery to be charged / discharged through the above processing.

[0034] On the other hand, when the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is equal to or greater than the absolute value of the expected value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Exp) and that the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is equal to or exceeds the expected value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Exp) (S2: NO), it proceeds to status determination process B (S4). The control unit 4 performs status determination process B to select a battery to be placed on standby.

[0035] When the control unit 4 starts the status determination process B, it proceeds to the information acquisition process B (S41). When the control unit 4 starts the information acquisition process B, it sets the battery number (M) to "1" (S51) and performs a loop process to acquire information about each battery (S52 to S59). The control unit 4 acquires the current status (ST) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S53) and judges the acquired current status (ST) (S54). When the control unit 4 judges that the current status is "standby" (S54: YES), it acquires the chargeable and dischargeable power (W_Stb) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S55) and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S58).

[0036] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process B, and returns to the status determination process B. If the control unit 4 determines that the current status is other than "standby", that is, "charging" or "discharging" (S54: NO), it transitions to the above-mentioned life calculation process (S56).

[0037] The control unit 4 starts the life calculation process, and performs the above-mentioned steps S31 to S38 to calculate the life after charging and discharging (LT_Act), and calculates the life after standby (LT_Stb), and then ends the life calculation process and returns to the information acquisition process B.

[0038] When the control unit 4 returns to the information acquisition process B, it acquires the charging / discharging power (W_Act) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S57) and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S58). The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process B, and returns to the status determination process B.

[0039] When returning to status determination process B, control unit 4 defines the charging / discharging power (W_Sum) of the entire system and the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection as the sum of the charging / discharging power (W_Act) of batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" (S42).

[0040] The control unit 4 selects the battery to be put on standby by loop processing (S43 to S47). The control unit 4 selects the battery with the highest operating priority. Aiming to extend the life of the entire system, the control unit 4 sets the operating priority in descending order of the difference between the life after charging and discharging (LT_Act) and the life after standby (LT_Stb), and selects the battery with the largest difference between the life after charging and discharging (LT_Act) and the life after standby (LT_Stb) (S44).

[0041] The control unit 4 subtracts the charge / discharge power (W_Act) of the selected battery from the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection (S45). The control unit 4 changes the current status (ST) of the selected battery from "charging" or "discharging" to "standby" (S46). The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop processing as a time when the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection reaches the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system. That is, the control unit 4 compares the charge / discharge power (W_Sum) of the entire system with the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system. When the control unit 4 determines that the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection has not reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system, it repeats the above-mentioned loop processing. When the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum_edit) after battery selection has reached the expected value of the charging / discharging power of the entire system (W_Exp), it terminates the above-mentioned loop processing, terminates the status determination processing B, and returns to the main processing.

[0042] When the control unit 4 returns to the main processing, it realizes the status by transmitting data indicating the determined status to each of the charge / discharge control units 21b, 22b, 2Nb (S5), and ends the main processing. The control unit 4 selects the battery to be put on standby through the above processing.

[0043] As described above, the first embodiment can provide the following advantageous effects. The ECU 3 acquires current information on each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na, calculates the lifespan of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na based on the acquired current information on each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na, and determines the charge / discharge operation order of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na based on the calculation result. By determining the charge / discharge operation order of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na using the lifespan calculated based on the current information on each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na, unlike the conventional configuration in which there is a risk of a battery hardly operating, each of the batteries 21a, 22a, 2Na can be operated at an appropriate operation timing, and the operation frequency of a battery that generates an overcurrent or overheating temperature can be appropriately reduced. This appropriately reduces the maintenance frequency of the entire system and appropriately extends the service life.

[0044] Based on the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, information after charging, discharging, or standby of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na is estimated, and the life of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na is calculated based on the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na as well as the information after charging, discharging, or standby of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na. By determining the charge / discharge operation order of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na using the life calculated based on the information after charging, discharging, or standby of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na as well as the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na can be operated at a more appropriate operation timing. This makes it possible to more appropriately reduce the maintenance frequency of the entire system and more appropriately extend the usage period.

[0045] The lifespan of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na after charging, discharging, or standby is calculated based on the information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na at the time of shipment from the factory and the threshold value of the information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na referred to when determining a failure. The lifespan of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na after charging, discharging, or standby is calculated, and the calculated lifespan of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na after charging, discharging, or standby is used to determine the order of operation of charging and discharging each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, so that each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na can be operated at a more appropriate operation timing. This makes it possible to more appropriately reduce the maintenance frequency of the entire system and more appropriately extend the usage period.

[0046] The charge / discharge operation order is determined for the batteries to be charged / discharged. By determining the charge / discharge operation order, the batteries to be charged / discharged can be changed, and each of the batteries 21a, 22a, and 2Na can be operated at a more appropriate operation timing.

[0047] The status of each of the batteries 21a, 22a, and 2Na is determined according to the charge / discharge operation priority, and the charge / discharge operation priority can be managed based on the status of each battery.

[0048] Second embodiment The second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 14. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the procedure for selecting a battery to be charged / discharged and the procedure for selecting a battery to be on standby.

[0049] The control unit 4 executes main processing as a main routine, and executes status determination processing C, information acquisition processing C, battery selection processing C, status determination processing D, information acquisition processing D, and battery selection processing D as subroutines.

[0050] When the control unit 4 starts the main process, it calculates the expected value of the charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Exp) (S61). The control unit 4 compares the absolute value of the calculated expected value of the charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Exp) with the absolute value of the charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum) (S62). The charging and discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum) is the sum of the charging and discharging power of the batteries currently being charged and discharged.

[0051] When the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is less than the absolute value of the expected value (W_Exp) of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system and that the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is insufficient for the expected value (W_Exp) of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (S62: YES), it proceeds to status determination process C (S63). The control unit 4 performs status determination process C to select a battery to be charged or discharged.

[0052] When the control unit 4 starts the status determination process C, it proceeds to the information acquisition process C (S71). When the control unit 4 starts the information acquisition process C, it sets the battery number (M) to "1" (S81) and performs information acquisition of each battery by loop processing (S82 to S88). The control unit 4 acquires the current status (ST) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S83) and judges the acquired current status (ST) (S84). When the control unit 4 judges that the current status is other than "standby", that is, "charging" or "discharging" (S84: NO), it acquires the current charging / discharging power (W_Act) of the battery 2Ma from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S85) and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S87).

[0053] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process C, and returns to the status determination process C.

[0054] When the control unit 4 determines that the current status is "standby" (S84: YES), it obtains from the information transmission unit 2Mc the maximum power during charging / discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum measured temperature of the battery during charging / discharging (T_max), the power that can be charged / discharged to battery 2Ma when selected as the battery to be charged / discharged (W_Stb), and the continuous non-operating time (TS) (S86), and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S87). The control unit 4 measures the maximum power during charging / discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum measured temperature of the battery during charging / discharging (T_max), the power that can be charged / discharged to battery 2Ma when selected as the battery to be charged / discharged (W_Stb), and the continuous non-operating time (TS) for each number of charging / discharging.

[0055] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process C, and returns to the status determination process C.

[0056] When returning to the status determination process C, the control unit 4 defines the charging / discharging power (W_Sum) of the entire system and the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection as the sum of the charging / discharging power (W_Act) of the batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" (S72). The control unit 4 selects the battery to be charged / discharged by loop processing (S73 to S77). The control unit 4 proceeds to the battery selection process C (S74).

[0057] When the control unit 4 starts the battery selection process C, it judges whether the continuous non-operating time (TS) of all batteries whose current status is "standby" is shorter than a predetermined value (S91). If the control unit 4 judges that the continuous non-operating time (TS) of all batteries whose current status is "standby" is shorter than a predetermined value (S91: YES), it judges whether the maximum value (T_max) of the actual measured temperature of all batteries whose current status is "standby" during charging and discharging is higher than a predetermined value (S92). If the control unit 4 judges that the maximum value (T_max) of the actual measured temperature of all batteries whose current status is "standby" during charging and discharging is higher than a predetermined value (S92: YES), it judges whether the absolute value of the maximum value (W_Act_max) of the power during charging and discharging of all batteries whose current status is "standby" is smaller than a predetermined value (S93). When the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the maximum charge / discharge power (W_Act_max) of all batteries whose current status is "standby" is smaller than a predetermined value (S93: YES), it selects the battery with the longest continuous non-operating time (TS) (S94), terminates the battery selection process C, and returns to the status determination process C.

[0058] On the other hand, when the control unit 4 determines that the continuous non-operating time (TS) of a certain battery is not shorter than a predetermined value (S91: NO), that the maximum value of the actual measured temperature of a certain battery during charging and discharging (T_max) is not higher than a predetermined value (S92: NO), or that the absolute value of the maximum value of the power during charging and discharging of a certain battery (W_Act_max) is not smaller than a predetermined value (S93: NO), it selects from among the corresponding batteries the battery whose information used for the determination indicates the worst value (S95), terminates the battery selection process C, and returns to the status determination process C. The worst value of the continuous non-operating time (TS) refers to the longest value, the worst value of the maximum value of the actual measured temperature of a certain battery during charging and discharging (T_max) refers to the lowest value, and the worst value of the maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) refers to the largest value.

[0059] That is, the control unit 4 arranges, as the operating priority, batteries whose continuous non-operating time (TS) is longer than a predetermined value in order of longest, batteries whose maximum actual measured temperature during charging and discharging (T_max) is lower than a predetermined value in order of lowest, batteries whose maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) is greater than a predetermined value in absolute value in order of largest, batteries whose continuous non-operating time (TS) is longest, and so on.

[0060] When the control unit 4 returns to the status determination process C, it adds the chargeable / dischargeable power (W_Stb) of the selected battery to the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection (S75). The control unit 4 changes the current status (ST) of the selected battery from "standby" to "charging" or "discharging" (S76).

[0061] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop processing as a time when the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection reaches the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system. That is, the control unit 4 compares the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection with the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system. If the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection has not reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system, it repeats the above-mentioned loop processing. If the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection has reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system, it ends the above-mentioned loop processing, ends the status determination processing C, and returns to the main processing.

[0062] When the control unit 4 returns to the main processing, it realizes the status by transmitting data indicating the determined status to each of the charge / discharge control units 21b, 22b, 2Nb (S65), and ends the main processing. The control unit 4 selects the battery to be charged / discharged by the above processing.

[0063] On the other hand, when the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is equal to or greater than the absolute value of the expected value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Exp) and that the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Sum) is equal to or exceeds the expected value of the power during charging and discharging of the entire system (W_Exp) (S62: NO), it proceeds to status determination process D (S64). The control unit 4 performs status determination process D to select a battery to be placed on standby.

[0064] When the control unit 4 starts the status determination process D, it proceeds to the information acquisition process D (S101). When the control unit 4 starts the information acquisition process D, it sets the battery number (M) to "1" (S111) and performs information acquisition of each battery by loop processing (S112 to S118). The control unit 4 acquires the current status (ST) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S113) and judges the acquired current status (ST) (S114). When the control unit 4 judges that the current status is "standby" (S112: YES), it acquires the chargeable and dischargeable power (W_Stb) (S115) and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S117).

[0065] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process D, and returns to the status determination process D.

[0066] When the control unit 4 determines that the current status is other than "standby", that is, "charging" or "discharging" (S114: NO), it obtains the maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum measured temperature of the battery during charging and discharging (T_max), the power during charging and discharging (W_Act), and the continuous non-operating time (TS) from the information transmission unit 2Mc (S116), and adds "1" to the battery number (M) (S117). The control unit 4 measures the maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max), the maximum measured temperature of the battery during charging and discharging (T_max), the power during charging and discharging (W_Act), and the continuous non-operating time (TS) for each number of charging and discharging.

[0067] The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as when the battery number (M) becomes greater than the number of battery units (N). If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is not greater than the number of battery units (N), it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. If the control unit 4 determines that the battery number (M) is greater than the number of battery units (N), it ends the above-mentioned loop process, ends the information acquisition process D, and returns to the status determination process D. For the continuous non-operating time (TS), the value measured immediately before the current status became "charging" or "discharging" is referenced.

[0068] When returning to the status determination process D, the control unit 4 defines the charging / discharging power (W_Sum) of the entire system and the charging / discharging power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection as the sum of the charging / discharging power (W_Act) of the batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" (S102). The control unit 4 selects a battery to be put on standby by loop processing (S103 to S107). The control unit 4 proceeds to the battery selection process D (S104).

[0069] When the control unit 4 starts the battery selection process D, it judges whether the continuous non-operating time (TS) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" is longer than a predetermined value (S121). When the control unit 4 judges that the continuous non-operating time (TS) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" is longer than a predetermined value (S121: YES), it judges whether the maximum value of the charging / discharging power (W_Act_max) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" is smaller in absolute value than a predetermined value (S122). When the control unit 4 judges that the maximum value of the charging / discharging power (W_Act_max) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" is smaller in absolute value than a predetermined value (S122: YES), it judges whether the maximum value of the actual temperature (T_max) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is "charging" or "discharging" is higher than a predetermined value (S123). When the control unit 4 determines that the maximum actual temperature (T_max) of all batteries whose current status (ST) is “charging” or “discharging” during charging or discharging is higher than a predetermined value (S123: YES), it selects the battery with the shortest continuous non-operating time (TS) (S124), terminates the battery selection process D, and returns to the status determination process D.

[0070] On the other hand, if the control unit 4 determines that the continuous non-operating time (TS) of a certain battery is not longer than a predetermined value (S121: NO), if the control unit 4 determines that the absolute value of the maximum power during charging and discharging of a certain battery (W_Act_max) is not smaller than a predetermined value (S122: NO), or if the control unit 4 determines that the maximum actual temperature of a certain battery during charging and discharging (T_max) is not higher than a predetermined value (S123: NO), it selects a battery whose information used for the determination shows the best value (S125), ends the battery selection process D, and returns to the status determination process D. The best value for the continuous non-operating time (TS) refers to the shortest value, the best value for the maximum actual temperature of a battery during charging and discharging (T_max) refers to the highest value, and the best value for the maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) refers to the smallest value.

[0071] That is, the control unit 4 arranges, as the operating priority, batteries whose continuous non-operating time (TS) is shorter than a predetermined value in ascending order, batteries whose maximum power during charging and discharging (W_Act_max) has an absolute value greater than a predetermined value in descending order, batteries whose maximum actual measured temperature during charging and discharging (T_max) is lower than a predetermined value in ascending order, batteries whose maximum actual measured temperature during charging and discharging is lower than a predetermined value in ascending order, batteries whose continuous non-operating time (TS) is shortest, and so on.

[0072] When returning to the status determination process D, the control unit 4 subtracts the charge / discharge power (W_Act) of the selected battery from the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection (S105). The control unit 4 changes the current status (ST) of the selected battery from "charge" or "discharge" to "standby" (S106). The control unit 4 sets the end condition of the above-mentioned loop process as the time when the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the battery selection reaches the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system. That is, the control unit 4 compares the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the and batteries are selected with the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system. When the control unit 4 determines that the charge / discharge power (W_Sum_edit) of the entire system after the and batteries are selected has not reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charge / discharge power of the entire system, it repeats the above-mentioned loop process. When the control unit 4 determines that the charging / discharging power of the entire system (W_Sum_edit) after battery selection has reached the expected value (W_Exp) of the charging / discharging power of the entire system, it terminates the above-mentioned loop processing, terminates the status determination processing C, and returns to the main processing.

[0073] When the control unit 4 returns to the main processing, it realizes the status by transmitting data indicating the determined status to each of the charge / discharge control units 21b, 22b, 2Nb (S65), and ends the main processing. The control unit 4 selects the battery to be put on standby through the above processing.

[0074] As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the first embodiment. That is, by determining the charge / discharge operation order of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na using the life calculated based on the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, unlike the conventional configuration in which there is a risk of a battery hardly operating, each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na can be operated at an appropriate operation timing, and the operation frequency of a battery that generates an overcurrent or overheating temperature can be appropriately reduced. This makes it possible to appropriately reduce the maintenance frequency of the entire system and appropriately extend the service life.

[0075] In the second embodiment, the continuous non-operating time (TS) is acquired as the current information of each battery 21a, 22a, 2Na, and the charge / discharge operation order is determined based on the continuous non-operating time (TS), thereby making it possible to appropriately increase the operation frequency of batteries with long continuous non-operating times (TS). This not only appropriately reduces the operation frequency of batteries that generate overcurrent or overheat, but also suppresses battery deterioration caused by the concentration of operation on some batteries.

[0076] (Other embodiments) Although the present disclosure has been described based on the embodiment, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment or structure. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and concept of the present disclosure.

[0077] The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more special-purpose computers configured by a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Also, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] In the drawing, 21, 22, and 2N are battery units, 21a, 22a, and 2Na are batteries, 3 is an ECU (electronic control unit), 4 is a control unit, 4a is an information acquisition unit, 4b is an information estimation unit, 4c is a life calculation unit, 4d is an operation priority determination unit, and 4e is a status determination unit.

Claims

1. An electronic control device that controls charging and discharging of each battery of a plurality of battery units connected in parallel, an information acquisition unit (4a) for acquiring current information of each of the batteries; a life calculation unit (4c) for calculating the life of each battery based on the current information of the battery; An electronic control device comprising an operation priority determination unit (4d) that determines an operation priority for charging and discharging each battery based on the calculation result of the life calculation unit.

2. an information estimation unit (4b) for estimating information of each battery after charging, discharging, or waiting based on current information of each battery; 2. The electronic control device according to claim 1, wherein the life calculation unit calculates the life of each battery based on current information about each battery as well as information about each battery after it has been charged, discharged, or in standby.

3. 3. The electronic control device according to claim 2, wherein the life calculation unit calculates the life of each battery after charging, discharging or standby based on the information of each battery and a threshold value of the information of each battery that is referenced when determining a failure.

4. 2. The electronic control device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation priority determination unit (4d) for determining an operation priority of the charging and discharging in accordance with the lifespan of each battery after charging, discharging or standby determined by the lifespan calculation unit.

5. 5. The electronic control device according to claim 4, further comprising a status determination section (4e) for determining a status of each of said batteries in accordance with the operational priority of charging and discharging determined by said operational priority determination section.

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