Vehicle battery diagnostic device

Abstract

To diagnose the battery pack of an on-board battery in a vehicle, regardless of location. [Solution] An on-board battery diagnostic device comprising a power supply unit, a central connector, a branching connector, a diagnostic unit, and a control unit, configured to diagnose and be portable for use with a battery pack mounted in a vehicle, wherein the system main relay is driven to turn on the vehicle's ignition, and the control unit and the diagnostic unit read fault code information of the vehicle to perform a diagnosis of the battery pack.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a battery inspection device including a connection part that can be carried and connected to a communication terminal of a battery pack removed from a predetermined device, a storage part that stores a state table showing the correspondence between information regarding the operation of the battery pack and the state of the battery pack, a determination part that determines the state of the battery pack by acquiring history information held in the holding part through the connection part and collating the acquired history information with the information regarding the operation of the battery pack in the state table, and a presentation part that presents the result of the determination by the determination part.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to perform Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) diagnosis on an in-vehicle battery, it is necessary to move a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle battery to be diagnosed to a place equipped with dedicated equipment. There has been a demand for an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device that can diagnose the battery pack of an in-vehicle battery without selecting a place.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device that can diagnose a battery pack of an in-vehicle battery without selecting a place by using a dedicated connector.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The in-vehicle battery diagnostic device according to the present invention comprises a power supply unit, a central connector, a branching connector, a diagnostic unit, and a control unit, and is configured to be portable and capable of diagnosing a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. The device is configured to turn on the vehicle's ignition by driving a system main relay, and to perform a diagnosis of the battery pack by reading fault code information of the vehicle using the control unit and the diagnostic unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, by using a dedicated connector, it becomes possible to diagnose the battery pack of an in-vehicle battery regardless of location. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the compatible vehicle models for an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the types of branch connectors corresponding to different vehicle models for an in-vehicle battery diagnostic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings of the following embodiments, the same or corresponding parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0010] Traditionally, when a report of a malfunction in a vehicle's onboard battery pack is received, a diagnosis is performed using the vehicle's diagnostic trouble code (DTC), and the battery pack is inspected individually. However, because it is not possible to diagnose the battery pack individually at the site where the malfunction occurred, the battery pack is taken back without knowing whether it is good or bad.

[0011] After the battery pack is collected, CAN communication, relay operation checks, or on-vehicle inspections are performed using the battery pack's individual communication equipment. However, since there are often no abnormalities in the battery pack itself, this presents problems as it requires relocation, transportation, and unnecessary inspection work. This problem also delays the feedback (FB) of the diagnostic results.

[0012] Furthermore, because the investigation and diagnosis take place after the battery pack has been transported, it is difficult to preserve the condition of the vehicle battery malfunction at the site, which, combined with other factors, makes it difficult to reproduce and confirm the malfunction phenomenon, potentially resulting in cases with an unknown cause (NTF case). For example, if the labor time increases due to the transportation and round trip of the battery pack, for example, 4.5 hours per trip may be wasted. In addition, the increased labor time for the replacement investigation increases the lead time (for example, 28.5 hours per trip). Repeated transportation of the battery pack from the vehicle yard also increases the risk of contact with the vehicle. Moreover, as mentioned above, there is a possibility of cases with an unknown cause.

[0013] Therefore, the inventors have devised a portable in-vehicle battery diagnostic device 1, as shown in Figure 1. The in-vehicle battery diagnostic device 1 is composed of a DC stabilized power supply 10 as a power supply unit, a consolidating connector 20, a branching connector 30, a handheld scan tool 40 as a diagnostic unit, and a control device 50 as a control unit.

[0014] The aggregation connector 20 comprises a switching box 21, an SMR connector 22, and a data link connector 23, as well as a male aggregation connector 24 connected to the switching box 21, SMR connector 22, and data link connector 23. The vehicle battery diagnostic device 1 turns on the vehicle's ignition by driving the system main relay through the SMR connector 22. In this state, the handheld scan tool 40 and the control device 50 read the vehicle's fault code (DTC) information. This allows the vehicle battery to be diagnosed.

[0015] The handheld scan tool 40 consists of, for example, a DST-i (manufactured by Denso Corporation). The control unit 50 consists of the handheld scan tool 40 and a personal computer that can be connected via USB, and has the software necessary for DTC diagnosis installed and stored on it. The data link connector 23 and the handheld scan tool 40 are configured to communicate via CAN.

[0016] The branch connector 30 is configured by connecting a female branch connector 31 to male low-voltage connectors 32, 33, and 34. The wire harness is formed by the aggregation connector 20 and the branch connector 30. Furthermore, the branch connector 30 is configured to be interchangeable depending on the vehicle model. Figure 2 shows examples of branch connectors 30 for compatible vehicle models equipped with lithium batteries, and Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the types of branch connectors that correspond to each vehicle model.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, for the Y1Wa of the specified vehicle X1, the branch connector 30 shown in Figure 1 is used; for Y1W and others, the branch connector 30C shown in Figure 3 is used; for Y1Wb, the branch connector 30D is used; and for Y1A, the branch connector 30E equipped with a male low-voltage connector 35 is used.

[0018] Also, for example, for use in Y2a of the X2 vehicle, the branch connector 30A shown in FIG. 3 is used, and for use in Y2A, etc., the branch connector 30B shown in FIG. 3 is used. Also, for example, the branch connector 30B is used for Y3A of the X3 vehicle. Furthermore, for other vehicles that use CAN communication, the in-vehicle battery diagnostic device 1 can be made general-purpose. Thus, it is possible to select the corresponding branch connectors 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E according to the vehicle type.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention described above, conventionally, temporary analysis was performed after taking in the defective product for defects in the low-voltage system of the battery pack and defects from the market, etc. However, with the portable in-vehicle battery diagnostic device according to this embodiment, that is, the diagnostic kit for going out with the battery pack, it has become possible to perform temporary analysis on-site, and it has become possible to quickly diagnose the quality of the battery pack.

[0020] Also, since it can be reduced to about 1 hour per time, the waste of transporting and moving the battery pack back and forth can be reduced, a reduction of 3.5 hours per time can be achieved, the lead time can be reduced to 3.5 hours per time, and the man-hours can be reduced by 25 hours per time. Furthermore, since the repetitive transportation work of the battery pack becomes unnecessary, there is no risk of contact with the vehicle. Also, since the occurrence state of the defect of the in-vehicle battery can be saved at the site, etc., the phenomenon of the defect can be reproduced, and the possibility of becoming a case with unknown cause (non-reproducible defect (NTF)) can be reduced.

[0021] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention and embodiments combining each other's embodiments can be adopted. Further effects and modification examples can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. The broader aspect of the present invention is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described as above. Therefore, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0022] 1 Vehicle-mounted battery diagnostic device 10 DC stabilizer power supply 20 Aggregation connector 21 Switching box 22 SMR connector 23 Data link connector 24 Male-side aggregation connector 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E Branch connector 31 Female-side branch connector 32, 33, 34, 35 Male-side low-voltage connector 40 Handheld scan tool 50 Control device

Claims

[Claim 1] An on-board battery diagnostic device comprising a power supply unit, a consolidation connector, a branching connector, a diagnostic unit, and a control unit, configured to diagnose and be portable for battery packs mounted in a vehicle, The ignition of the vehicle is turned ON by driving the system main relay. The control unit and the diagnostic unit are configured to read fault code information from the vehicle, thereby enabling the diagnosis of the battery pack. Vehicle battery diagnostic device.

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