Vehicle control apparatus

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control apparatus in which battery charging can be properly conducted while deterioration in durability of a relay device or the like is suppressed during parking.SOLUTION: A control apparatus 5 for a vehicle Ve including a relay device that connects and then disconnects a battery 3 to and from a power source 2 includes: a parking determination unit 11 that determines that the vehicle Ve is being parked, a timer setting unit 12 that sets a standby time from start of the parking to start of charging the battery 3 while the parking is determined, a remaining charge amount determination unit 14 that determines that the remaining charge amount of the battery 3 decreases to a predetermined lower limit within the standby time, and a supplementary charging command unit 15 that supplementarily charges the battery 3 when it is determined that the remaining charge amount decreases to the lower limit. The lower limit is a remaining charge amount value that is less than a predetermined threshold for determining a decrease in the remaining charge amount from a remaining charge amount at a parking start time of the vehicle Ve.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for a vehicle capable of charging a battery by an external charging facility that is a charging facility outside the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a battery charging control device for a vehicle that has a high-voltage battery that supplies power to a motor for driving the vehicle and a low-voltage battery that supplies power to auxiliary devices, and that is capable of performing external charging, in which the high-voltage battery is charged by a power supply device external to the vehicle, and auxiliary charging, in which the low-voltage battery is charged by the high-voltage battery. In the device of Patent Document 1, if an external charging start condition is met while auxiliary charging of the low-voltage battery is being performed, auxiliary charging is temporarily stopped and external charging of the high-voltage battery is performed. Therefore, the device of Patent Document 1 can suppress interference between a control sequence for performing auxiliary charging and a control sequence for starting external charging. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-63725 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In addition, the conditions for starting the auxiliary charging as described in Patent Document 1 may differ depending on the control mounted on the vehicle. For example, there is a vehicle configured to activate or put into standby some sensors mounted on the vehicle so that abnormalities in the vehicle can be detected even when the vehicle is parked. In such a vehicle, the power of the low-voltage battery is consumed even when the vehicle is parked. Therefore, in the case of a device such as that described in Patent Document 1, it becomes necessary to perform or stop the auxiliary charging intermittently in order to maintain the power of the low-voltage battery. When charging the battery, it is necessary to start the charger or to switch the relay device for electrically connecting the charger and the battery to ON. Therefore, as described above, when the remaining charge of the low-voltage battery is maintained at or above a predetermined remaining charge, the frequency of switching ON and OFF of the relay device may increase. As a result, the durability of the relay device and the like may be reduced.

[0005] The present invention has been made with attention to the above-mentioned technical problems, and aims to provide a vehicle control device that is capable of appropriately charging the battery while parking, while suppressing a decrease in durability of relay devices, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a control device for a vehicle equipped with a battery for driving and auxiliary machinery, and a relay device for connecting and disconnecting the battery to a power source, the control device comprising: a parking determination unit for determining whether the vehicle is parked; a timer setting unit for setting a waiting time from the start of parking to the start of charging the battery when the parking determination unit has determined that the vehicle is parked; a remaining charge determination unit for determining whether the remaining charge of the battery has dropped to a predetermined lower limit value during the waiting time when the vehicle is parked; and a supplementary charge instruction unit for supplementarily charging the battery when it is determined by the remaining charge determination unit that the remaining charge has dropped to the lower limit value, the lower limit being a remaining charge value lower than a predetermined threshold value for determining a drop in the remaining charge from the remaining charge at the time the vehicle started parking. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the vehicle control device of the present invention, when the vehicle is parked, no particular power consumption occurs. However, in preparation for unavoidable power consumption due to the operation of the on-board device and restarting, a so-called charging standby time from parking to the start of charging is set, and charging of the battery is started when the standby time has elapsed. Also, when some service is performed while the vehicle is parked, power is consumed and the remaining charge of the battery decreases. In that case, even during the so-called charging standby time, charging of the battery is performed when the remaining charge decreases to a predetermined lower limit value. And, since the lower limit value is set to a remaining charge value lower than a predetermined threshold value for determining a decrease in the remaining charge from the remaining charge at the time when the vehicle started parking, even if charging is performed during the charging standby time, charging is performed after waiting for the remaining charge to decrease below the so-called normal level, so that the frequency of charging is reduced. Accordingly, the number of times that the relay device, the charger, etc. are operated is reduced, and thus it is possible to prevent or suppress a decrease in the durability of those devices. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of control executed by a control device in the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3 is a time chart showing changes over time in the remaining charge of the second battery and the like when the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is executed, and comparing the changes when the control in the embodiment of the present invention is executed with the changes when the control in the comparative example is executed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The present invention will be described below based on the embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely one example of a specific embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0010] An example of a vehicle Ve equipped with a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. The vehicle Ve shown in Fig. 1 is a conventionally known electric vehicle equipped only with a motor 1 as a driving force source. The vehicle Ve is mainly equipped with the motor 1, a first battery 2, a second battery 3, an auxiliary charging mechanism 4, and a controller 5.

[0011] The vehicle Ve has a first battery 2 that can be charged by a charging facility 6 provided outside the vehicle, and can run by driving the motor 1 using the power stored in the first battery 2. The vehicle Ve can also perform timer charging control (hereinafter simply referred to as timer charging) for charging the first battery 2 and the second battery 3 during a predetermined time period. The vehicle Ve is also configured to be able to perform parking control (parking service) for notifying the user of an abnormality such as the door being unlocked while parked or the vehicle Ve starting unintentionally. The vehicle Ve is not limited to an electric vehicle, and may be any vehicle that can charge the first battery 2 from a charging facility 6 provided outside the vehicle and can charge the second battery 3 from the first battery 2. Therefore, the vehicle Ve may be a plug-in hybrid vehicle configured in this manner. The charging by the charging facility 6 in the embodiment of the present invention is AC charging.

[0012] The motor 1 is a so-called motor generator, and is configured in the same manner as a motor generator provided as a driving force source in a conventional electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle. That is, the motor 1 has a function as a generator that generates electric power by being rotated by inputting torque, in addition to a function as the motor 1 that outputs a driving torque of the vehicle Ve when electric power is supplied. Specifically, the motor 1 is configured by a permanent magnet synchronous motor or an induction motor. As shown in FIG. 1, a first battery 2 is electrically connected to the motor 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle Ve has only one motor 1 that functions as a driving force source, but the number of motors may be multiple.

[0013] The first battery 2 is a power storage device with a higher voltage than the second battery 3, and is a rechargeable DC power source. The first battery 2 corresponds to a power source in the embodiment of the present invention, and is capable of transmitting and receiving power mainly between the motor 1 and the first battery 2 via an inverter or the like. For example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery is used as the first battery 2. For example, the first battery 2 is a structure in which a plurality of battery cells arranged electrically in parallel are electrically stacked in series. The first battery 2 is configured to be able to supply power to the second battery 3 via the auxiliary charging mechanism 4. Note that the first battery 2 is not limited to a secondary battery, and may be a device capable of generating a DC voltage, such as a capacitor or a fuel cell. In addition, when the first battery 2 is charged by an external charging facility 6, the charging is performed by inserting a charging cable 7 provided on the external charging facility 6 into a charging inlet 8 of the vehicle Ve.

[0014] The second battery 3 is a power storage device with a lower voltage than the first battery 2, and is, for example, a rechargeable power source such as a lead-acid battery. The second battery 3 corresponds to the battery in the embodiment of the present invention, and mainly supplies power to the auxiliary devices and various sensors of the vehicle Ve. The auxiliary devices and sensors include devices that are in operation even when the vehicle is parked and can detect abnormalities in the vehicle. The second battery 3 also stores the power supplied from the first battery 2 via the auxiliary charging mechanism 4.

[0015] The auxiliary charging mechanism 4 is a mechanism for mainly transmitting the electric power stored in the first battery 2 to the second battery 3. The auxiliary charging mechanism 4 mainly includes an AC charger 9 and a relay device 10.

[0016] The AC charger 9 converts AC power into DC power and charges the second battery 3. For example, the AC charger 9 is configured to convert AC power supplied from the charging equipment 6 via the charging inlet 8 or AC power obtained by regeneration of the motor 1 into DC power and supply it to the second battery 3.

[0017] The relay device 10 includes an electromagnet, contacts, etc., and switches between electrical connection and disconnection between two contacts or switches the flow of current by an electromagnetic force generated by a current flowing through the electromagnet. The relay device 10 is electrically connected to an AC charger 9 via a power line or the like. When the relay device 10 is closed (i.e., in a conductive state), the second battery 3 is electrically connected to the AC charger 9. Conversely, when the relay device 10 is opened (i.e., in a disconnected state), the second battery 3 is electrically disconnected from the AC charger 9. That is, when the relay device 10 is closed, the charging facility 6 supplies power to the second battery 3 via the AC charger 9, or the first battery 2 supplies power to the second battery 3 via a DC / DC converter (not shown), thereby enabling supplementary charging. The relay device 10 also complies with the charging standard NACS (North American Charging Standard).

[0018] The controller 5 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and memories including a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., neither of which are shown. The ECU 10 controls various devices such as the AC charger 9 and the relay device 10 based on signals received from various sensors provided in the vehicle Ve and information such as maps and programs stored in the memory of the ECU 10, so that the vehicle Ve is in a desired state. The controller 5 and the actuators and sensors for driving the vehicle Ve are electrically connected to each other via a CAN, a wire harness, etc.

[0019] The controller 5 also controls charging of the first battery 2 and the second battery 3 while the vehicle is parked. For example, when the controller 5 detects that a charging cable 7 of an external charging facility 6 is connected to a charging inlet 8 of the vehicle Ve, the controller 5 permits the supply of power from the charging facility 6 to the first battery 2. At that time, if the above-mentioned timer charging or parking control is set by the user of the vehicle Ve, the controller 5 executes the charging according to the timer charging or parking control. The controller 5 includes a parking determination unit 11, a timer setting unit 12, a parking control management unit 13, a remaining charge determination unit 14, and a relay device control unit 15 as functional configurations for controlling the charging.

[0020] The parking determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle is parked. The parking determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle is parked based on the fact that the ignition switch of the vehicle is OFF, the fact that the user is not present in the vehicle, and the like.

[0021] The timer setting unit 12 manages timer charging when the charging cable 7 is inserted into the charging inlet 8. When the vehicle is parked, the timer setting unit sets a waiting time from when the parking starts until when charging of the second battery 3 starts. Such setting may be performed based on a user operation or automatically.

[0022] The parking control management unit 13 manages parking control to notify the user when the doors of the vehicle Ve are unlocked or when the vehicle Ve starts unintentionally while parked. When the parking control is being executed, the parking control management unit 13 activates or keeps in a standby state sensors and notification devices required for the parking control using the power of the second battery 3. When the state of charge (SOC) of the second battery 3 is less than a predetermined lower limit, the parking control management unit 13 stops the parking control.

[0023] The remaining charge determination unit 14 determines whether the remaining charge of the second battery 3 has decreased to a predetermined lower limit during the above-mentioned standby time while the vehicle Ve is parked. The predetermined lower limit is set to a remaining charge lower than a predetermined threshold for determining whether the remaining charge has decreased from the remaining charge at the time when the vehicle Ve started parking.

[0024] The relay device control unit 15 controls the electrical connection and disconnection of the relay device 10. When it becomes necessary to charge the second battery 3, the relay device control unit 15 turns on the relay device 10 by passing a predetermined current from the second battery 3 to the relay device 10. Conversely, when it becomes necessary to stop charging the second battery 3, the relay device control unit 15 turns off the relay device 10 by passing another predetermined current from the second battery 3 to the relay device 10. For example, when the remaining charge of the second battery 3 falls to a predetermined lower limit value or when a predetermined start timing is reached, the relay device control unit 15 turns on the relay device 10 to charge the second battery 3. Conversely, when a predetermined end timing is reached, the relay device control unit 15 turns off the relay device 10 to stop charging the second battery 3. The relay device control unit 15 corresponds to the auxiliary charging instruction unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] In the vehicle Ve configured in this manner, by connecting the charging cable 7 of the charging facility 6 to the charging inlet 8 of the vehicle Ve while the vehicle is parked and setting the above-mentioned timer charging, it is possible to complete charging of the first battery 2 and the second battery 3 of the vehicle Ve at the preset end time. Furthermore, by executing the above-mentioned parking control while the vehicle is parked, if an abnormality occurs in the vehicle Ve, the occurrence of such an abnormality can be promptly communicated to a user such as the driver.

[0026] On the other hand, by executing such parking control, sensors and the like are activated or put into a standby state. This causes the amount of power consumed by the second battery 3 to be greater than when the parking control is not executed. Therefore, when the parking control is executed, power is supplied to the second battery 3 so that the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is maintained at a level that allows the parking control to be executed. The control executed at that time will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0027] Fig. 3 shows an example of control executed by the controller 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart shown in Fig. 3 is executed when the vehicle Ve is parked with the charging cable 7 of the external charging equipment 6 connected to the charging inlet 8 of the vehicle Ve. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a parking service is being executed in the vehicle Ve. The vehicle Ve is configured so that parking control can be executed by operating a switch mounted on the instrument panel or steering wheel, or a touch panel. In step S1, it is determined whether or not such a mode has been set by the user or automatically.

[0028] If the determination in step S1 is NO because the parking control is not being executed, the process proceeds to step S6, and power supply from the first battery 2 to the second battery 3, i.e., auxiliary charging, is not executed. If the determination in step S1 is NO, it is determined that there is no need to execute auxiliary charging because the rate at which the remaining charge of the second battery 3 decreases is low because the parking control is not being executed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S6, and this flowchart is temporarily ended without executing auxiliary charging.

[0029] On the other hand, if the parking control is not being executed and therefore the result of the determination in step S1 is YES, the process proceeds to step S2, where it is determined whether or not the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is smaller than a predetermined threshold. The execution of the parking control causes the remaining charge of the second battery 3 to decrease. However, if the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is sufficient, there is no need to charge the second battery 3 in the first place. Therefore, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is sufficient by determining whether or not the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is set, for example, to a power consumption (ΔSOC) that allows for determining a decrease in the remaining charge from the remaining charge at the time when the vehicle Ve starts parking.

[0030] If the result of the determination in step S2 is NO because the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is sufficient and does not need to be charged immediately. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S6, and auxiliary charging of the second battery 3 is not performed. Then, this flow chart is temporarily ended without executing any subsequent control.

[0031] Conversely, if the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is less than the predetermined threshold value, and therefore the remaining charge of the second battery 3 falls below the remaining charge that should be maintained, and the determination in step S2 is YES, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, it is determined whether or not the above-mentioned timer charging has been set. The vehicle Ve is configured so that timer charging can be set by operating a switch mounted on the instrument panel or steering wheel, or a touch panel. In step S3, it is determined whether or not such a mode has been set by the user or automatically.

[0032] If timer charging has not been set and therefore the vehicle is not waiting for timer charging, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, auxiliary charging is performed on the second battery 3. That is, auxiliary charging is immediately performed so that the remaining charge of the second battery 3 is maintained at or above a predetermined threshold, for example, at the remaining charge at the start of parking.

[0033] If timer charging has been set and the vehicle is on standby for timer charging, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether the remaining charge of the second battery 3 has fallen to a predetermined lower limit. That is, in step S4, it is determined whether the remaining charge of the second battery 3 has fallen to a level at which parking control should be stopped.

[0034] If the determination in step S4 is YES because the remaining charge of the second battery 3 has fallen to a level at which the parking control should be stopped, the process proceeds to step S5, where auxiliary charging of the second battery 3 is performed. That is, in order to prevent the parking control from being stopped, charging of the second battery 3 is immediately started. Note that the amount of charge of the second battery 3 at this time only needs to be equal to or greater than the above-mentioned predetermined threshold value, and may be set based on the above-mentioned timing of the end of charging of the second battery 3, etc.

[0035] Next, the changes over time in the remaining charge of the second battery 3 and the electrical connection state of the relay device 10 when the above-mentioned control is executed will be described with reference to the time chart shown in Fig. 3. In the time chart shown in Fig. 3, the changes when the control shown in Fig. 2 is executed are shown by solid lines, and the changes when the control in the comparative example is executed are shown by dashed lines. In the comparative example, the second battery 3 is charged so that it can be maintained at or above a predetermined threshold. In the time chart shown in Fig. 3, the vehicle Ve is subjected to parking control and timer charging is also set. Note that the parts that are the same between the embodiment of the present invention and the comparative example are shown by solid lines.

[0036] First, at time t1, the ignition switch of the vehicle Ve is turned off, and the vehicle Ve is parked due to the user leaving the vehicle Ve. As a result, the auxiliary devices and sensors are started, the parking control is executed, and the timer charging is put into standby. Then, at time t2, the parking control is executed, and the remaining charge of the second battery 3 decreases and reaches the above-mentioned predetermined threshold.

[0037] In the comparative example, at time t2, the remaining charge of the second battery 3 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold, and therefore auxiliary charging of the second battery 3 is immediately started. Therefore, at time t2, the relay device 10 is switched to an electrically connected state. After that, at time t3, the remaining charge of the second battery 3 becomes approximately the same as when parking began, and therefore auxiliary charging of the second battery 3 is terminated. Therefore, at time t3, the relay device 10 is switched to an open state. Then, in the comparative example, at time t4, t5, t6, t7, and t8, when the remaining charge of the second battery 3 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold, charging is performed until the remaining charge becomes equal to the remaining charge at the start of parking, and charging is stopped when the remaining charge becomes equal to the remaining charge at the start of parking. Then, at time t9, the start time of timer charging is reached, and charging of the second battery 3 is continued, and charging of the second battery 3 is performed so that charging is completed at the end time of timer charging at time t10.

[0038] In contrast, when the control according to the embodiment of the present invention is executed, even if the remaining charge of the second battery 3 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold at time t3, the charging of the second battery 3 is not executed. Therefore, the electrical connection state of the relay device 10 is not switched. After that, at time t6, charging of the second battery 3 is started based on the setting of the timer charging. In the time chart shown in FIG. 3, in order to avoid stopping the parking control (parking service), a remaining charge slightly higher than the remaining charge at which the parking control is stopped is set as the lower limit. Alternatively, this lower limit may be set based on the remaining charge of the second battery 3, the charging speed of the second battery 3, the power consumption ΔSOC due to the execution of the parking control, the set end time of the charging, and the like. After that, the charging of the second battery 3 is completed at the end time of the timer charging at time t10 without stopping the charging of the second battery 3. In other words, at time t10, the relay device 10 is switched to the electrically disconnected state.

[0039] As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the external charging facility 6 and the charging inlet 8 of the vehicle Ve are electrically connected and the timer charging is set, the charging of the second battery 3 is not performed until the remaining charge of the second battery 3 decreases to a predetermined lower limit. In other words, since the timer charging is set, the vehicle is unlikely to operate until then, and the second battery 3 is always charged while the vehicle is parked. Therefore, the start of charging of the second battery 3 can be delayed as long as possible as described above. Therefore, compared with the case where the second battery 3 is charged so as to maintain the remaining charge of the second battery 3 at or above a predetermined threshold, the number of times auxiliary charging of the second battery 3 is performed and stopped can be reduced. Therefore, the frequency of switching the electrical connection state in the relay device 10 can be reduced, and the durability of the relay device 10 can be improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 2. First battery (power source) 3 Second Battery 5. Controller 6 Charging equipment 10 Relay device 11 Parking Judgment Section 12 Timer setting section 13 Parking Control Management Department 14. Remaining charge determination section 15 Relay device control section Vehicle

Claims

[Claim 1] A control device for a vehicle including a battery for driving and auxiliary machinery, and a relay device for connecting and disconnecting the battery to a power source, comprising: a parking determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is parked; a timer setting unit that sets a standby time from when the parking is started until when charging of the battery is started, in a state in which the parking determination unit has determined that the vehicle is parked; a remaining charge determination unit that determines whether a remaining charge of the battery has decreased to a predetermined lower limit during the waiting time while the vehicle is parked; a supplementary charging instruction unit that performs supplementary charging of the battery when it is determined by the remaining charge determination unit that the remaining charge has decreased to the lower limit; Equipped with The lower limit value is a remaining charge value that is lower than a predetermined threshold value for determining whether the remaining charge decreases from the remaining charge at the time when the vehicle starts parking. A vehicle control device comprising:

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