Temperature control device

Abstract

To provide a temperature control device that appropriately controls the temperature of a vehicle's battery at the start of charging. [Solution] The temperature control device according to the present invention is a temperature control device that controls the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle, and comprises: a selection unit that selects a candidate charging device to be used to charge the battery based on at least one of the vehicle's charging history information, installation location information indicating the installation location of a charging device for charging the battery, and current location information indicating the current location of the vehicle; a calculation unit that calculates the probability of charging the battery at the selected charging device; and a determination unit that determines the start of temperature control of the battery based on the calculated charging probability and the current location information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a temperature control device for a battery mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] When the battery mounted on a vehicle is at a low temperature, preconditioning control is performed to preheat it in advance to charge because the charging time becomes long. Patent Document 1 discloses a battery temperature control device for a vehicle that controls an air conditioner unit or the like capable of adjusting the temperature of a battery so that the temperature of the battery at the start of charging becomes a target temperature in a vehicle equipped with a battery for driving.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When, for example, the scheduled departure time and driving route are changed during the operation of the vehicle, there is a risk of waste of energy due to unnecessary preheating by preconditioning control, and insufficient preheating of the battery before the start of charging. Therefore, it is desirable that the temperature of the battery mounted on the vehicle at the start of charging be appropriately controlled.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control device that appropriately controls the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle at the start of charging.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The temperature control device according to the present invention is a temperature control device for controlling the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle, and comprises: a selection unit that selects a candidate charging device to be used to charge the battery based on at least one of the vehicle's charging history information, installation location information indicating the installation location of a charging device for charging the battery, and current location information indicating the current location of the vehicle; a calculation unit that calculates the probability of charging the battery at the selected charging device; and a determination unit that determines the start of temperature control of the battery based on the calculated charging probability and the current location information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention provides a temperature control device that appropriately controls the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle at the start of charging. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a temperature control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure illustrates an example of a method for calculating the probability of charging a battery by a selected charging device, which is performed by a temperature control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart of the processing performed by a temperature control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are simplified, and the technical scope of the embodiments should not be narrowly interpreted based on their depiction. Furthermore, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0010] [Embodiment] <Configuration of temperature control device 10> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a temperature control device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The temperature control device 10 is installed, for example, in a vehicle equipped with a battery and is configured to communicate with an on-board GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 20 and an on-board ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 30.

[0011] The temperature control device 10 and the GPS antenna 20 are connected via a direct control line, also known as a "direct connection," which directly connects the devices one-to-one. Furthermore, the temperature control device 10 and the ECU 30 are connected via an in-vehicle LAN, such as CAN, allowing them to exchange information with each other through the LAN. The temperature control device 10 may be included within the ECU 30. In this embodiment, the vehicle is, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), or a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

[0012] The temperature control device 10 controls the temperature of the battery mounted in the vehicle. More specifically, the temperature control device 10 controls the battery to preheat when charging, for example, by rapid charging. Battery charging is performed by a charging device. Charging devices are installed in various locations, such as shopping malls and highway service areas.

[0013] The temperature control device 10 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites via the GPS antenna 20 and acquires current location information indicating the vehicle's current position. The temperature control device 10 may also acquire current location information indicating the vehicle's current position by receiving positioning signals from satellites of other satellite positioning systems instead of GPS signals. Current location information includes, for example, the current time, latitude and longitude indicating the current position. The history of current location information may be stored as a driving history in the temperature control device 10 and other devices that can communicate with the temperature control device 10.

[0014] The ECU 30, connected to the temperature control device 10, comprehensively manages the vehicle's operation and battery status, and includes charging and thermal management functions. The temperature control device 10 initiates battery charging and other operations by transmitting control signals to the ECU 30. The ECU 30 transmits a charging flag to the temperature control device 10 indicating that battery charging is in progress. The temperature control device 10 also obtains information regarding the battery's SOC (State of Charge) from the ECU 30. The SOC information may include the battery's charge rate, remaining charge, and information indicating the charging status such as "charging."

[0015] When the ECU 30 receives a battery preheating instruction from the temperature control device 10, it starts preheating the battery. Also, when performing rapid charging from a low SOC state to a predetermined charge state, the charging current is relatively high, which increases the amount of heat generated by the battery during charging. Therefore, as a thermal management function, the ECU 30 limits the charging power if the battery temperature rises above the temperature range suitable for charging during charging.

[0016] The temperature control device 10 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and an input / output interface (I / F) as its hardware configuration. These are electrically connected to each other via a bus. The CPU controls the operation of the temperature control device 10. The ROM stores programs and other data executed by the CPU. The RAM is used as the CPU's workspace. The HDD stores various data such as programs. The input / output interface is an interface for inputting and outputting various signals and data to and from external devices.

[0017] Furthermore, the temperature control device 10 includes a selection unit 11, a calculation unit 12, and a determination unit 13, as shown in the figure.

[0018] The selection unit 11 selects a charging device that is a candidate for charging the battery based on at least any one of the charging history information of the vehicle, the installation position information indicating the installation position of the charging device for charging the battery, and the current position information indicating the current position of the vehicle. The selection unit 11 may select, for example, the charging device closest to the current position of the vehicle, the charging device used within a predetermined period such as the most recent one month, the charging device with an available charger, and the charging device with a large output capacity of the charger, but is not limited thereto.

[0019] The installation position information includes various information such as the latitude and longitude of the position where the charging device is installed and attribute information such as shopping malls and service areas on highways. Further, the charging history information is stored in a storage means (not shown in advance) in association with the identification information for identifying the vehicle. The storage means is constituted by a ROM or the like. The charging history information may include a rapid charging history which is a history of rapid charging. Further, the charging history information includes information such as the actual time and amount of charge required for charging such as rapid charging.

[0020] The calculation unit 12 calculates the charging probability of the battery in the selected charging device based on the charging history information. The charging probability is the probability that the charging device selected by the selection unit 11 is actually selected by the user of the vehicle. The calculation of the charging probability is, for example, by the method of Bayesian estimation, but is not limited thereto, and various calculation methods are used.

[0021] The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability based on, for example, the presence or absence of the rapid charging history included in the charging history information, the driving history of the vehicle, and the day of the week type. The driving history of the vehicle may be a history of the current position information of the vehicle and includes, for example, time information, latitude, and longitude. Further, the day of the week type is a classification of each day of the week into either a weekday or a holiday.

[0022] The determination unit 13 determines the start of temperature control of the battery based on the calculated charging probability and the current position information. When the charging probability calculated by the calculation unit 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value such as 50% and the vehicle approaches a charging device, the determination unit 13 determines the start of temperature control to preheat the battery. More specifically, the determination unit 13 may determine to start preheating the battery when the distance to the selected charging device reaches a predetermined distance such as 10 km based on the current position information.

[0023] The vehicle may be provided with a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the battery. Further, the preheating of the battery may be performed by using the heat absorbed by the refrigerant circulating inside the vehicle, or may be performed by the liquid in a reserve tank (not shown).

[0024] Here, the calculation of the charging probability performed by the calculation unit 12 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for calculating the charging probability of the battery by the selected charging device, which is executed by the temperature control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Hereinafter, the calculation unit 12 extracts the rapid charging history included in the charging history information, and calculates the charging confirmation by the method of Bayesian estimation using each element of the parking location, parking time zone, and day of the week type of the vehicle where the charging device is installed.

[0026] As shown in the figure, according to the charging history information, the number of times of rapid charging is 40, and the number of times without rapid charging is 20. The locations where the charging devices are installed are classified into neighboring stores, large stores, service areas, and others. The time zones when charging starts are classified into 0:00 to 5:00, 5:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 14:00, 14:00 to 20:00, and 20:00 to 24:00. The day of the week type is classified into weekdays and holidays. By classifying the day of the week type, the charging probability on a specific day of the week can be calculated.

[0027] The calculation unit 12 can calculate the charging probability by using Equation (1) which is the following Bayesian estimation formula. Also, Table 1 shows each parameter.

[0028]

number

[0029] [Table 1]

[0030] The following equation (2) is an example of calculating the charging probability when performing rapid charging between 11:00 and 14:00 on weekdays using a charging device installed in a service area, using equation (1).

[0031]

number

[0032] The remaining battery charge may be added as a parameter to the Bayesian estimation formula. The remaining battery charge may be aggregated in 10% increments, for example, 10% to 20%, 20% to 30%, and 30% to 40%.

[0033] The distance from the vehicle's current location to the charging station may be added as a parameter to the Bayesian estimation formula. The distance to the charging station may be classified and aggregated into categories such as 0km-5km, 5km-10km, 10km-15km, and 15km-20km.

[0034] Furthermore, instead of the distance from the vehicle's current location to the charging station, the distance traveled on the day may be added as a parameter to the Bayesian estimation formula. The distance traveled on the day may be classified and aggregated into categories such as 0km-5km, 5km-10km, 10km-15km, and 15km-20km.

[0035] <Variation> In this embodiment, the calculation unit 12 of the temperature control device 10 calculated the charging probability using Bayesian estimation. The modified examples described below are examples in which the calculation unit 12 calculates the charging probability using a method other than Bayesian estimation.

[0036] The temperature control device 10 stores historical information for each category, associating the remaining battery charge, the distance to the charging device, the distance traveled on the day, and whether or not rapid charging was performed. The calculation unit 12 may then calculate the charging probability by counting the number of times in a predetermined category when rapid charging was performed and the number of times in a predetermined category when rapid charging was not performed.

[0037] Alternatively, the calculation unit 12 may extract the characteristics of each vehicle user and calculate the charging probability as follows.

[0038] The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability based on whether or not the day falls within a long holiday period such as Golden Week. Based on the time information contained in the GPS signal received via the GPS antenna 20, the charging history information can be classified as whether or not it falls within a long holiday period. The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability assuming that the charging device is used frequently if the day falls within a long holiday period, and may calculate the charging probability assuming that the charging device is used infrequently if the day does not fall within a long holiday period.

[0039] The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability based on the number of charging devices installed near the vehicle's current location. The calculation unit 12 may, for example, classify charging devices in increments of 3 km based on the distance from the current location to the charging device, and determine that there are many charging devices installed if, for example, five or more charging devices are installed within a predetermined range. In areas where many charging devices are installed, the calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability assuming the vehicle user is a fast charger, and in areas where many charging devices are not installed, the calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability assuming the vehicle user does not use fast charging.

[0040] The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability based on whether the vehicle is, for example, the user's private car or a company car. The calculation unit 12 may also calculate the charging probability based on the vehicle's driving history, specifically by determining if the vehicle is a private car if it has been parked in the same place, such as at home, for 10 or more consecutive times, based on the parking history over the past month, and otherwise determining if it is a company car. The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability assuming that the probability of using fast charging is high for private cars, and calculate the charging probability assuming that the probability of using fast charging is low for company cars.

[0041] The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability based on the remaining charge of the battery at the start of charging. For example, the calculation unit 12 may determine that regular charging is being performed if charging is performed when the remaining charge of the battery falls below 30%. The calculation unit 12 may calculate the charging probability assuming that there is a high probability of using fast charging when regular charging is being performed, and may calculate the charging probability assuming that there is a low probability of using fast charging when regular charging is not being performed.

[0042] <Processing performed by the temperature control device 10> Figure 3 is a flowchart of the processing performed by a temperature control device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The temperature control device 10 stores the vehicle's driving history (S101). The selection unit 11 extracts whether or not rapid charging has occurred from the charging history information (S102).

[0043] The selection unit 11 selects a candidate charging device to be used to charge the battery (S103). The calculation unit 12 calculates the probability of charging the battery using the selected charging device based on the charging history information (S104). If the charging probability is less than a predetermined value (No in S105), the process is completed; if the charging probability is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (Yes in S105), the process proceeds to step S106.

[0044] If the charging probability is above a predetermined value (Yes in S105), the calculation unit 12 calculates the distance to the selected charging device and the time until charging starts based on the current location information (S106). The determination unit 13 determines whether to start battery temperature control based on the calculated charging probability and current location information (S107), and battery preheating is started.

[0045] These steps execute the processing performed by the temperature control device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, this processing may include other steps as appropriate, depending on the measurement conditions, measurement space, etc.

[0046] <Effects of the temperature control device 10 according to this embodiment> The temperature control device 10 according to this embodiment calculates the probability of battery charging at a selected charging device based on the vehicle's charging history information and the installation location information of the charging device, and determines the start of battery temperature control based on the charging probability and the vehicle's current location information. If the probability of charging at the selected charging device is high, the temperature control device 10 starts preheating the battery when the vehicle approaches the charging device. As a result, battery preheating is completed by the time the vehicle arrives at the selected charging device, thus suppressing wasted energy required for battery preheating and enabling more sufficient battery preheating.

[0047] Therefore, according to the temperature control device 10 of this embodiment, the temperature of the battery mounted on the vehicle at the start of charging can be appropriately controlled.

[0048] Although the present invention has been described above in accordance with the embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiments described above, and of course includes various modifications, alterations, and combinations that can be made by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the claims of the present patent application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 10 Temperature control device 11 Selection Section 12 Calculation Section 13 Judgment section

Claims

[Claim 1] A temperature control device that controls the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle, A selection unit that selects a candidate charging device to be used to charge the battery based on at least one of the following: the charging history information of the vehicle, the installation location information indicating the installation location of the charging device for charging the battery, and the current location information indicating the current location of the vehicle. A calculation unit that calculates the probability of charging the battery in the selected charging device, A determination unit that determines the start of temperature control for the battery based on the calculated charging probability and the current location information, A temperature control device equipped with the following features.

Images