Power supply device

Abstract

To suppress an arc generated when a relay is erroneously turned on.SOLUTION: A power supply device includes a first voltage power supply configured to supply a first voltage, a second voltage power supply configured to supply a second voltage higher than the first voltage power supply, and a voltage switching circuit configured to switch supply of a voltage from the first voltage power supply and supply of a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of a plurality of relays. The voltage switching circuit is controlled to supply the voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays until the relays are in the off state and turned on from the off state, and to supply the voltage from the first voltage power supply to each of the relays until the relays are in the on state and turned off from the on state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power supply device, and more particularly to a power supply device that switches between a series connection and a parallel connection of two power storage devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of power supply device, one that is provided with a voltage converter that can switch the connection of two power sources to a rotating electric machine between series and parallel has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this device, when the contacts of the system main relay are opened in a state where the arc current is equal to or greater than a minimum arc current value determined according to the relay voltage value, the two power sources are connected in parallel to reduce the relay voltage value, thereby suppressing the occurrence of arc discharge. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-021826 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned power supply device, when multiple relays are connected to a single excitation voltage, a natural voltage is applied to relays that are in the OFF state. If an OFF relay is accidentally turned ON, and the voltage applied to the relay is low, the ON / OFF state does not converge, which can cause an arc and lead to a malfunction.

[0005] The power supply device of the present disclosure has a primary purpose of suppressing arcs that occur when a relay is erroneously turned on. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The power supply device of the present disclosure employs the following measures to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The power supply device of the present disclosure comprises: A power supply device including: two power storage devices; a relay circuit having a plurality of relays that switch between a series connection and a parallel connection of the two power storage devices; and a control device that switches between the series connection and the parallel connection of the two power storage devices by turning on and off the plurality of relays, a first voltage power supply that supplies a first voltage; a second voltage power supply that supplies a second voltage higher than the first voltage power supply; a voltage switching circuit that switches between supplying a voltage from the first voltage power supply and supplying a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays; Equipped with the control device controls the voltage switching circuit to supply a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays in an off state and until the relay is turned on from the off state, and to supply a voltage from the first voltage power supply to each of the relays in an on state and until the relay is turned off from the on state. It is characterized by:

[0008] The power supply device disclosed herein includes a first voltage power supply that supplies a first voltage, a second voltage power supply that supplies a second voltage higher than the first voltage power supply, and a voltage switching circuit that switches between supplying a voltage from the first voltage power supply and supplying a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of a plurality of relays included in a relay circuit that switches between series and parallel connection of two power storage devices. The voltage switching circuit controls the relays to supply a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays until they are turned on from an off state or from an off state, and to supply a voltage from the first voltage power supply to each of the relays until they are turned on from an on state or from an on state to an off state. Because the second voltage power supply, which is higher than the first voltage power supply, supplies the relays with a second voltage until they are turned on from an off state or from an off state to an on state, the relays can be turned on more reliably and the on / off state can be prevented from becoming unconverged. As a result, arcing that occurs during false on can be prevented. The second voltage power supply may be a boost circuit that boosts power from the first voltage power supply to supply the second voltage. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a power supply device 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a switching circuit 50 that switches the excitation voltage to relays 32, 34, and 36 of a relay circuit 30. FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a changeover switch operation executed by a control circuit 60. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Next, a mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present disclosure will be described. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a power supply device 20 as one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a switching circuit 50 that switches the excitation voltage to relays 32, 34, 36 of a relay circuit 30 of the power supply device 20 of the embodiment. The power supply device 20 of the embodiment is a power supply device mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and includes a first battery 22, a second battery, a relay circuit 30, a switching circuit 50, and a control circuit 60, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0011] The first battery 22 and the second battery 24 are secondary batteries of the same voltage, for example, lithium ion secondary batteries. The positive terminal of the first battery 22 is connected to the positive terminal 28a of the power supply device 20, and the negative terminal of the second battery 24 is connected to the negative terminal 28b of the power supply device 20.

[0012] The relay circuit 30 includes a first parallel connection relay 32 attached to the line connecting the positive terminal of the first battery 22 and the positive terminal of the second battery 24, a series connection relay 34 attached to the line connecting the negative terminal of the first battery 22 and the positive terminal of the second battery 24, and a second parallel connection relay 36 attached to the line connecting the negative terminal of the first battery 22 and the negative terminal of the second battery 24. As shown in FIG. 1 , the first battery 22 and the second battery 24 can be connected in series by turning on the series connection relay 34 while the first parallel connection relay 32 and the second parallel connection relay 36 are turned off. Furthermore, the first battery 22 and the second battery 24 can be connected in parallel by turning on the first parallel connection relay 32 and the second parallel connection relay 36 while the series connection relay 34 is turned off. As shown in FIG. 2, the first parallel connection relay 32, the series connection relay 34, and the second parallel connection relay 36 are turned on and off when a drive signal from a control circuit 60 is input to drive switches 33, 35, and 37.

[0013] The switching circuit 50 has low voltage switches 52, 54, and 56 that supply a voltage of, for example, 14 V (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a “low voltage”) from a voltage power supply 40 to the drive switches 33, 35, and 37, and high voltage switches 53, 55, and 57 that supply a voltage of, for example, 17 V (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a “high voltage”) from a boost circuit 42 that boosts the voltage from the voltage power supply 40 to the drive switches 33, 35, and 37. The low voltage switches 52, 54, and 56 and the high voltage switches 53, 55, and 57 are turned on and off by inputting a drive signal from a control circuit 60.

[0014] Next, a description will be given of the operation of power supply device 20 of this embodiment configured as described above, particularly the operation when turning on and off low voltage switches 52, 54, 56 and high voltage switches 53, 55, 57. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the changeover switch operation executed by control circuit 60 when turning on and off low voltage switches 52, 54, 56 and high voltage switches 53, 55, 57.

[0015] The selector switch operation waits until the system is started (step S100), and then turns on each of the high-voltage switches 53, 55, and 57 (step S110). Until the system is started, all of the low-voltage switches 52, 54, and 56 and the high-voltage switches 53, 55, and 57 are in the off state. Therefore, turning on the high-voltage switches 53, 55, and 57 turns on the low-voltage switches 52, 54, and 56 and the high-voltage switches 53, 55, and 57. When the system is started, the first parallel connection relay 32, the series connection relay 34, and the second parallel connection relay 36 are all in the off state. Therefore, by starting the system and turning on each of the high-voltage switches 53, 55, and 57, the voltage (high voltage) from the boost circuit 42 is supplied to the drive switches 33, 35, and 37 of the first parallel connection relay 32, the series connection relay 34, and the second parallel connection relay 36, which are in the off state. After this initial process is performed, the individual processes of steps S120 to S210 are performed for each of the relays 32, 34, and 36 individually.

[0016] The individual processing of steps S120 to S190 below will be described for the first parallel connection relay 32, but the series connection relay 34 and the second parallel connection relay 36 also operate in the same way. In the individual processing for the first parallel connection relay 32, first, the drive switch 33 is turned on, and the process waits for the first parallel connection relay 32 to be turned on (step S120). If a termination process such as a system shutdown is performed during this wait (step S130), the high-voltage switch 53 is turned off (step S140), and the process ends. At the end of the process, the low-voltage switch 52 and the high-voltage switch 53 are also turned off.

[0017] If it is determined in step S120 that the drive switch 33 has been turned on and the first parallel connection relay 32 has been turned on, the low voltage switch 52 is turned on (step S150), and the high voltage switch 53 is turned off (step S160), and the process waits for the drive switch 33 to be turned off and the first parallel connection relay 32 to be turned off (step S170). With the first parallel connection relay 32 in the on state, the drive switch 33 is supplied with voltage (low voltage) from the voltage power supply 40. If a termination process such as a system shutdown is performed while waiting for the first parallel connection relay 32 to be turned off (step S180), the low voltage switch 52 is turned off (step S190), and the process ends. At the end of the process, both the low voltage switch 52 and the high voltage switch 53 are turned off.

[0018] If it is determined in step S170 that the drive switch 33 has been turned off and the first parallel connection relay 32 has been turned off, the high voltage switch 53 is turned on (step S200), and the low voltage switch 52 is turned off (step S210), and the process returns to the process of step S170 where the drive switch 33 is turned on and the first parallel connection relay 32 is turned on. With the first parallel connection relay 32 in this off state, the drive switch 33 is supplied with the voltage (high voltage) from the boost circuit 42.

[0019] In this way, while the first parallel connection relay 32 is in the off state and until the first parallel connection relay 32 is turned on from off, the voltage (high voltage) from the boost circuit 42 is supplied to the drive switch 33, so even when the first parallel connection relay 32 is turned on by mistake, it is possible to suppress arcing that occurs when the on / off states do not converge. Note that, as described above, the series connection relay 34 and the second parallel connection relay 36 also operate in the same way as the first parallel connection relay 32, so it is possible to suppress arcing that occurs when the series connection relay 34 or the second parallel connection relay 36 is turned on by mistake.

[0020] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problems" section will be described below. In the embodiment, the first battery 22 and the second battery 24 correspond to the "two power storage devices," the first parallel connection relay 32, the series connection relay 34, and the second parallel connection relay 36 correspond to the "plurality of relays," the relay circuit 30 corresponds to the "relay circuit," the control circuit 60 corresponds to the "control device," the voltage power source 40 corresponds to the "first voltage power source," the boost circuit 42 corresponds to the "second voltage power source," and the switching circuit 50 corresponds to the "voltage switching circuit."

[0021] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, since the embodiments are examples for specifically explaining the mode for implementing the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiments are merely specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0022] The present disclosure has been described above using embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments in any way, and it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be embodied in various forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0023] The present disclosure is applicable to the power supply device manufacturing industry and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 20 power supply device, 22 first battery, 24 second battery, 28a positive terminal, 28b negative terminal, 30 relay circuit, 32 first parallel connection relay, 34 series connection relay, 36 second parallel connection relay, 33, 35, 36 drive switch, 40 voltage power supply, 42 boost circuit, 50 switching circuit, 52, 54, 56 low voltage switch, 53, 55, 57 high voltage switch, 60 control circuit.

Claims

[Claim 1] A power supply device including: two power storage devices; a relay circuit having a plurality of relays that switch between a series connection and a parallel connection of the two power storage devices; and a control device that switches between the series connection and the parallel connection of the two power storage devices by turning on and off the plurality of relays, a first voltage power supply that supplies a first voltage; a second voltage power supply that supplies a second voltage higher than the first voltage power supply; a voltage switching circuit that switches between supplying a voltage from the first voltage power supply and supplying a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays; Equipped with the control device controls the voltage switching circuit to supply a voltage from the second voltage power supply to each of the plurality of relays in an off state and until the relay is turned on from the off state, and to supply a voltage from the first voltage power supply to each of the relays in an on state and until the relay is turned off from the on state. A power supply device characterized by:

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