Control device and vehicle

Abstract

To provide a control device capable of promoting diagnosis of a power storage device at an appropriate timing.SOLUTION: An ECU 10 (control device) includes: a processor 11 for estimating a full charge capacity of a charging device 20; a RAM 14 (first memory) for storing the full charge capacity estimated by the processor 11; and a communication part 12 for communicating with an HMI device 40 (information terminal) of an electric vehicle 100. An auxiliary equipment battery 30 is installed on the electric vehicle 100 so as to cancel the electrical connection to the electric vehicle 100. The communication part 12 transmits notification for promoting diagnosis of the charging device 20 to the HMI device 40 when a lapse time T3 from a time T1 (first time) when the electric vehicle 100 is previously driven to a time T2 (second time) when the electric vehicle 100 is driven this time is larger than a prescribed value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-137156 (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle that notifies a vehicle user of a capacity retention rate, which is an indicator of the deterioration state of a battery, and an estimation error of the capacity retention rate. When the estimation error is greater than a reference value, the user is prompted to rediagnose the battery.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In Patent Document 1 above, the auxiliary battery that supplies power to the ECU that calculates the estimation error is not considered. For this reason, for example, when the auxiliary battery is removed from the vehicle, the estimation error cannot be calculated and the user cannot be prompted to diagnose the battery. As described above, in the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, there are cases where the diagnosis of the battery (power storage device) cannot be prompted at an appropriate timing.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a control device and a vehicle capable of prompting the diagnosis of a power storage device at an appropriate timing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure controls a vehicle equipped with a power storage device and an auxiliary battery, and is a control device supplied with power from the auxiliary battery. The control device includes a processor that estimates the full charge capacity of the power storage device, a first memory that stores the full charge capacity estimated by the processor, and a communication unit that communicates with an information terminal owned by a user of the vehicle. The auxiliary battery is mounted on the vehicle such that the electrical connection with the vehicle can be released. The communication unit transmits a notification prompting diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal when the elapsed time from the first time when the vehicle was last started to the second time when the vehicle is started this time is greater than a predetermined value. Note that communicating with the information terminal also includes transmitting and receiving information with the information terminal through a relay of a communication device different from the information terminal and the like.

[0007] As described above, in the control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, when the elapsed time from the first time when the vehicle was last started to the second time when the vehicle is started this time is greater than a predetermined value, a notification prompting diagnosis of the power storage device is transmitted to the information terminal. Here, when the elapsed time is relatively long, it is considered that there is a high possibility that the auxiliary battery will rise during the elapsed time compared to when the elapsed time is relatively short. For this reason, in order to prevent the auxiliary battery from rising, the user of the vehicle may disconnect the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery and the vehicle during the elapsed time. In this case, power is not supplied from the auxiliary battery to the control device. Therefore, the control device cannot acquire data (such as the temperature of the power storage device) for estimating the full charge capacity of the power storage device during the elapsed time. As a result, the control device cannot accurately estimate the full charge capacity of the power storage device. Therefore, by configuring the control device as described above, when there is a relatively high possibility that the full charge capacity of the power storage device cannot be accurately calculated, a notification prompting diagnosis of the power storage device can be transmitted to the information terminal. In this way, diagnosis of the power storage device can be prompted at an appropriate timing.

[0008] The control device according to the first aspect preferably includes a non-volatile second memory that stores the first time. With this configuration, even if the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery and the vehicle body is disconnected, the information on the first time stored in the second memory can be used.

[0009] In the control device according to the first aspect, preferably, when the elapsed time is greater than the predetermined value, the communication unit transmits a notification to the information terminal to prompt the vehicle to enter a facility capable of diagnosing the power storage device. With this configuration, when there is a relatively high possibility that the fully charged capacity of the power storage device cannot be accurately estimated, it is possible to prompt the facility to estimate the fully charged capacity of the power storage device.

[0010] In the control device according to the first aspect, preferably, the first memory is a volatile memory. With this configuration, when the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery and the vehicle is disconnected, the information on the fully charged capacity stored in the first memory is lost. Therefore, the fully charged capacity cannot be estimated using the information on the fully charged capacity stored in the first memory. Thus, transmitting the notification to prompt the diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal as described above is particularly effective for accurately estimating the fully charged capacity of the power storage device mounted on a vehicle equipped with the first memory (for the user to recognize the accurate fully charged capacity).

[0011] A vehicle according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes a power storage device, an auxiliary battery, and the control device according to the first aspect. Thereby, it is possible to provide a vehicle capable of prompting the diagnosis of the power storage device at an appropriate timing.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prompt the diagnosis of the power storage device mounted on the vehicle at an appropriate timing.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will not be repeated.

[0015] <Configuration of Electric Vehicle> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment. Note that the electric vehicle 100 is an example of the "vehicle" of the present disclosure.

[0016] The electric vehicle 100 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10, a power storage device 20, an auxiliary battery 30, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) device 40, and a communication device 50. Note that the ECU 10 and the HMI device 40 are examples of the "control device" and the "information terminal" of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0017] The electric vehicle 100 is a vehicle equipped with the power storage device 20 and the auxiliary battery 30 as described above. The electric vehicle 100 includes, for example, a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), or an FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).

[0018] ECU 10 is a device that controls the electric vehicle 100. The ECU 10 is supplied with power from the accessory battery 30. Details of the configuration of the ECU 10 will be described later.

[0019] The power storage device 20 stores electric power used for driving (e.g., traveling) the electric vehicle 100. The power storage device 20 includes a power storage cell 21 and a temperature sensor 22. The power storage cell 21 is composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, or a sodium-ion battery, for example. The type of the secondary battery may be a liquid secondary battery or an all-solid-state secondary battery. A plurality of secondary batteries may form a battery pack. The temperature sensor 22 detects the temperature of the power storage cell 21. Note that the temperature sensor 22 may be provided outside the power storage device 20.

[0020] The accessory battery 30 is an in-vehicle battery that supplies electric power for driving accessories mounted on the electric vehicle 100. The accessory battery 30 supplies electric power to, for example, an ECU (e.g., ECU 10) connected to a low-voltage power supply line.

[0021] The accessory battery 30 has, for example, a terminal 31 and a terminal 32. Wiring within the electric vehicle 100 is connected to each of the terminal 31 and the terminal 32. The accessory battery 30 can be electrically disconnected from the electric vehicle 100 (vehicle body) by removing the above-mentioned wiring from each of the terminal 31 and the terminal 32. Note that the number of terminals provided on the accessory battery 30 is not limited to the above example.

[0022] The HMI device 40 includes a car navigation device, a speaker, etc. The HMI device 40 (car navigation device) can display the current position of the electric vehicle 100 and search for a route to a destination (waypoint). Further, the HMI device 40 (car navigation device) provides various information to the user by displaying a message or the like.

[0023] The communication device 50 can communicate with communication devices outside the electric vehicle 100. For example, the communication device 50 can communicate with a portable terminal 200 (such as a smartphone and a smartwatch, etc.) owned by a user of the electric vehicle 100 via Bluetooth (registered trademark). Also, the communication device 50 may be able to communicate with a server or the like outside the electric vehicle 100. Note that the portable terminal 200 may be able to communicate with the HMI device 40 or may be able to communicate with the ECU 10.

[0024] The ECU 10 includes a processor 11, a communication unit 12, a flash memory 13, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14. The flash memory 13 and the RAM 14 are examples of the "second memory" and the "first memory" of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0025] The processor 11 executes a process of estimating, for example, the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20. The full charge capacity is the amount of electric power (kWh) stored in the power storage device 20 when the SOC (State Of Charge) is 100%. The full charge capacity is used as an index for detecting the degree of deterioration of the power storage device 20. The full charge capacity decreases as the power storage device 20 deteriorates. For example, the degree of deterioration of the power storage device 20 is detected based on the ratio of the current full charge capacity to the initial value of the full charge capacity.

[0026] The processor 11 estimates the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 based on, for example, the Arrhenius method. The Arrhenius method is a method of estimating the full charge capacity of a power storage device (power storage cell) based on the amount of electrolyte disappearance according to temperature. The processor 11 uses the detection value of the temperature sensor 22 of the power storage device 20 to estimate the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 (power storage cell 21) based on the Arrhenius method.

[0027] The communication unit 12 is controlled by the processor 11. The communication unit 12 communicates with each device (such as the power storage device 20, the HMI device 40, and the communication device 50, etc.) in the electric vehicle 100 through CAN (Controller Area Network) communication or the like. Note that the communication unit 12 may communicate directly with the mobile terminal 200 through CAN communication or the like, or may communicate with the mobile terminal 200 indirectly through the relay of the communication device 50.

[0028] The flash memory 13 is a non-volatile memory. In addition to the program executed by the processor 11, information used in the program (such as maps, mathematical formulas, and various parameters) is stored in the flash memory 13. Note that the above program and the above information may be stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown) different from the flash memory 13.

[0029] The RAM 14 is a volatile memory. The fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 estimated by the processor 11 is stored in the RAM 14.

[0030] Here, for example, in order to prevent the auxiliary battery 30 from rising, the user may disconnect the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 by removing the wiring from the terminals 31 (32) of the auxiliary battery 30. In this case, power is not supplied to the ECU 10 from the auxiliary battery 30. Note that, at this time, the information stored in the RAM 14 is lost.

[0031] The ECU 10 cannot acquire (hold) information such as the detected value of the temperature sensor 22 while the power supply from the auxiliary battery 30 to the ECU 10 is interrupted. Therefore, even if the auxiliary battery 30 is later electrically connected to the electric vehicle 100, the ECU 10 cannot accurately estimate the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 based on the Arrhenius method.

[0032] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the elapsed time T3 (see FIG. 2) from the time T1 (see FIG. 2) when the electric vehicle 100 was last started (the ignition power supply was turned on) to the time T2 (see FIG. 2) when the electric vehicle 100 was started this time is greater than a predetermined value, the communication unit 12 transmits a notification to the HMI device 40 to prompt the diagnosis of the power storage device 20. The above predetermined value is, for example, 5 days (120 hours). Note that the predetermined value may be other than 5 days. Also, the time T1 is an example of the "first time" in the present disclosure.

[0033] The fact that the elapsed time T3 is greater than the predetermined value means that the electric vehicle 100 has not been started for a relatively long period since it was last started. In this case, in order to prevent the auxiliary battery 30 from charging during the above long period, it is highly likely that the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 has been disconnected. Therefore, when it is highly likely that the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 has been disconnected, it is possible to prompt the user to diagnose the power storage device 20.

[0034] Specifically, when the elapsed time T3 is greater than the predetermined value, the communication unit 12 transmits a notification to the HMI device 40 to prompt the electric vehicle 100 to be stored in a facility where the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 can be performed.

[0035] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the display screen 41 of the HMI device 40 (car navigation device) to which the above notification is transmitted. A message 42 saying "Please go to the dealer to have the power storage device diagnosed" is displayed on the display screen 41. Note that a map showing the location information of the nearest dealer and the location information of dealers where the diagnosis work can be performed immediately may be displayed on the display screen 41. Note that the display in FIG. 3 is displayed at the timing (time T2) when the electric vehicle 100 was started this time. Note that a message prompting to receive a diagnosis at a place other than a dealer (for example, a repair shop and a charging / discharging stand) may be displayed. What is shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the display content is not limited to this example.

[0036] Note that, for example, in the dealer, the full charge capacity of the power storage device 20 is estimated based on the charge and discharge power amounts when the SOC of the power storage device 20 is changed from 0% to 100%.

[0037] Also, in the present embodiment, the flash memory 13 stores the information at time T1. Specifically, when the electric vehicle 100 is started at time T1, the processor 11 causes the flash memory 13 to store the information at time T1. Further, when the electric vehicle 100 is started at time T2, the processor 11 acquires the information at time T2 and calculates the elapsed time T3 based on time T1 and time T2. Note that time T2 is an example of the "second time" of the present disclosure.

[0038] <ECU Control Flow> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the control flow of the electric vehicle 100 (ECU10 (processor 11)) will be described. Note that the control according to the present disclosure is not limited to the flow shown in FIG. 4. For example, the order of steps may be changed within a realizable range, or any step may be omitted. Note that the flow of FIG. 4 may be started at a predetermined cycle (for example, a 10-minute cycle).

[0039] In step S1, the ECU10 determines whether the electric vehicle 100 has been started. If the electric vehicle 100 has been started (Yes in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. If the electric vehicle 100 has not been started (No in S1), the process ends.

[0040] In step S2, the ECU10 acquires the information at time T1 when the electric vehicle 100 was started in step S1.

[0041] In step S3, the ECU10 stores the information at time T1 acquired in step S2 in the flash memory 13.

[0042] In step S4, the ECU 10 determines whether the electric vehicle 100 has been started. If the electric vehicle 100 has been started (Yes in S4), the process proceeds to step S5. If the electric vehicle 100 has not been started (No in S4), the process of step S4 is repeated.

[0043] In step S5, the ECU 10 acquires information on the time T2 when the electric vehicle 100 was started in step S4.

[0044] In step S6, the ECU 10 calculates the elapsed time T3 from time T1 to time T2.

[0045] In step S7, the ECU 10 determines whether the elapsed time T3 calculated in step S6 is greater than 5 days (120 hours). If the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (Yes in S7), it is determined that the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 has been disconnected, and the process proceeds to step S8. If the elapsed time T3 is 5 days or less (No in S7), the process proceeds to step S10.

[0046] In step S8, the ECU 10 transmits, through the communication unit 12, a notification prompting the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 at the dealer to the HMI device 40.

[0047] In step S9, the HMI device 40 displays the notification transmitted from the ECU 10 in step S8 on the display screen 41 (see Figure 3).

[0048] In step S10, the ECU 10 determines whether the elapsed time T3 calculated in step S6 is greater than 3 days (72 hours). If the elapsed time T3 is greater than 3 days (Yes in S10), the process proceeds to step S11. If the elapsed time T3 is 3 days or less (No in S10), the process ends. Note that the reference value in step S10 may be other than 3 days.

[0049] In step S11, the ECU 10 sends a notification to the HMI device 40 to prompt the user to perform a self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20.

[0050] The self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is a method different from the estimation of the full charge capacity by the Arrhenius method. Specifically, based on the difference (S1 - S2) between the SOCs (for example, let them be S1 and S2) calculated twice at different timings and the charge-discharge power amount ΔAh during the timings when each SOC was calculated, the full charge capacity C of the power storage device 20 is estimated. The full charge capacity C is calculated based on the following formula (1).

[0051] C = Ah / |S1 - S2| × 100 ···(1) In step S12, the HMI device 40 displays the notification sent from the ECU 10 in step S11 on the display screen 41 (see FIG. 5).

[0052] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display screen 41 of the HMI device 40 (car navigation device) to which the notification in step S11 is sent. On the display screen 41, a message 43 saying "Please execute the self-diagnosis of the power storage device" is displayed. Further, on the display screen 41, a button 44 marked "Execute" and a button 45 marked "Do not execute" are displayed. When the button 44 is selected, the above-described self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is executed. When the button 45 is selected, the self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is not executed. Note that FIG. 5 shows only an example, and the display content is not limited to this example.

[0053] As described above, in the present embodiment, when the elapsed time T3 from the time T1 when the electric vehicle 100 was last started to the time T2 when the electric vehicle 100 is started this time is greater than 5 days, the ECU 10 (communication unit 12) transmits a notification prompting the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 to the HMI device 40. Thereby, when the elapsed time T3 is relatively large, the user can be prompted to diagnose the power storage device 20. Thereby, when it is assumed that the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 cannot be accurately estimated due to the electrical connection between the auxiliary battery 30 and the electric vehicle 100 being disconnected, the user can be prompted to diagnose the power storage device 20.

[0054] In the above embodiment, an example in which a notification prompting the diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is transmitted to the HMI device 40 has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The above notification may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 200. In this case, the mobile terminal 200 is an example of the "information terminal" of the present disclosure.

[0055] In the above embodiment, an example in which the information of the time T1 is stored in the non-volatile flash memory 13 has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the ECU may transmit the information of the time T1 to an external server and receive the information of the time T1 from the external server when calculating the elapsed time T3.

[0056] In the above embodiment, an example in which a notification prompting the dealer to stock is transmitted to the HMI device 40 when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (predetermined value) has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 5 days (predetermined value), a notification prompting the above self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 may be transmitted to the HMI device 40 or the like.

[0057] In the above embodiment, an example in which the fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 estimated by the processor 11 is stored in the RAM 14 has been shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The fully charged capacity of the power storage device 20 may be stored in a non-volatile memory such as the flash memory 13.

[0058] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is promoted when the elapsed time T3 is greater than 3 days has been shown. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. Self-diagnosis of the power storage device 20 may not be promoted. In other words, the processes of steps S10 to S12 in FIG. 4 may not be executed.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a message prompting diagnosis of the power storage device 20 is displayed on the HMI device 40 or the like has been shown. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The above message may be notified to the user by voice, for example.

[0060] Note that the configurations (processes) of the above-described embodiment and the above-described respective modification examples may be combined with each other.

[0061] The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is shown not by the description of the above-described embodiment but by the claims, and it is intended that all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0062] 10 ECU (control device), 11 processor, 12 communication unit, 13 flash memory (second memory), 14 RAM (first memory), 20 power storage device, 30 auxiliary battery, 40 HMI device (information terminal), 100 electric vehicle (vehicle), 200 mobile terminal (information terminal), T1 time (first time), T2 time (second time), T3 elapsed time.

Claims

1. A control device that controls a vehicle equipped with a power storage device and an auxiliary battery and is supplied with power from the auxiliary battery, comprising: a processor that estimates a full charge capacity of the power storage device; a first memory that stores the full charge capacity estimated by the processor; a communication unit that communicates with an information terminal owned by a user of the vehicle, wherein the auxiliary battery is mounted on the vehicle so that the electrical connection with the vehicle can be disconnected, and the communication unit transmits a notification prompting diagnosis of the power storage device to the information terminal when an elapsed time from a first time when the vehicle was last started to a second time when the vehicle is started this time is greater than a predetermined value.

2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising a non-volatile second memory that stores the first time.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication unit transmits a notification prompting the vehicle to enter a facility capable of diagnosing the power storage device to the information terminal when the elapsed time is greater than the predetermined value.

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

5. A vehicle, comprising: a power storage device; an auxiliary battery; and the control device according to claim 1 or 2.

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