Vehicle power management system

Abstract

This invention provides a vehicle power management system that can prevent unintended power control behavior when a software update is ordered while auxiliary power supply control is in operation. [Solution] A vehicle power management system comprising: a first processing unit that determines whether or not a software update for the vehicle has been instructed; a second processing unit that determines whether or not power control for charging an auxiliary battery installed in the vehicle is being performed; and a third processing unit that, if a software update is instructed while power control is being performed, restricts charging of the auxiliary battery until the software update is completed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power management system mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle system capable of performing software updates via OTA (Over The Air). In this in-vehicle system, when the battery voltage drops to a predetermined value after starting a software update, if the progress rate of the update is low, the update is interrupted, and if the progress rate is high, the system switches to a power-saving mode and continues the update as it is.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, vehicles tend to have an increasing auxiliary load that operates while parked, and as this auxiliary load increases, the power consumed by the auxiliary battery while parked also increases. In addition, the power of the auxiliary battery is also consumed due to long-term parking, transportation, and frequent boarding and alighting of the vehicle. Therefore, for the purpose of preventing the rise of the auxiliary battery during parking, etc., control for charging the auxiliary battery with the power of the high-voltage battery (hereinafter referred to as "auxiliary power supply control") may be performed.

[0005] However, if a software update via OTA or other means is performed while this auxiliary power supply control is in progress, the auxiliary power supply control may be forcibly terminated due to a reset process after the update is complete, potentially leading to unintended power control behavior. Such unintended power control behavior could lead to the auxiliary battery being drained.

[0006] This disclosure was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle power management system that can prevent unintended power control behavior when a software update is instructed while auxiliary power supply control is being executed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a vehicle power management system comprising: a first processing unit that determines whether or not a software update for the vehicle has been instructed; a second processing unit that determines whether or not power control for charging an auxiliary battery mounted on the vehicle is being performed; and a third processing unit that, if a software update is instructed while power control is being performed, restricts the charging of the auxiliary battery until the software update is completed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the vehicle power management system of this disclosure, if a software update is instructed via OTA or other means while auxiliary power supply control is being performed, an intentional restriction on charging the auxiliary battery is implemented until the software update is completed, thereby preventing unintended behavior of the power control. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Functional block diagram of a power management system and its peripheral components according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Flowchart of power control processes performed by the power management system [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The vehicle power management system described in this disclosure, when an OTA (Over-the-Air) software update instruction is received while the auxiliary power supply control, which charges the auxiliary battery with power from the high-voltage battery, is in operation, first terminates (interrupts) the auxiliary power supply control, and then executes the software update. This process prevents unintended termination of control and prevents malfunctions in the vehicle. Hereinafter, one embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] <Embodiment> [composition] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a power management system 110 and its peripheral components according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The functional block shown in Figure 1 includes the power management system 110, a high-voltage battery 120, a DC-DC converter 130, an auxiliary battery 140, an auxiliary load 150, and a software distribution server 160.

[0012] In Figure 1, power lines through which power is exchanged are shown as solid lines, and control instructions are shown as dashed lines. The power management system 110, high-voltage battery 120, DC-DC converter 130, and auxiliary battery 140 of this embodiment are installed in vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

[0013] The high-voltage battery 120 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion battery. This high-voltage battery 120 is a battery for supplying power to a high-voltage system (not shown) that includes a so-called main engine involved in vehicle operation, such as an electric motor for driving. The high-voltage battery 120 is connected to the auxiliary battery 140 and the auxiliary load 150 via a DC-DC converter 130 so that the auxiliary battery 140 can be charged and power can be supplied to the auxiliary load 150.

[0014] The DC-DC converter 130 is a power converter that can convert input power into power of a predetermined voltage and output it. One end of the DC-DC converter 130 is connected to the high-voltage battery 120, and the other end is connected to the auxiliary battery 140 and the auxiliary load 150. The operation of the DC-DC converter 130 is controlled by instructions from the power generation control ECU 112 of the power management system 110.

[0015] The auxiliary battery 140 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion battery. This auxiliary battery 140 is a battery that supplies power to the auxiliary load 150. Generally, the auxiliary battery 140 has a lower rated voltage (for example, 12V) than the high-voltage battery 120.

[0016] The auxiliary load 150 includes so-called auxiliary equipment (not shown), such as equipment and devices that are not related to vehicle operation. In this embodiment, the auxiliary load 150 includes, for example, a drive recorder that consumes power from the auxiliary battery 140 when recording starts due to event detection while the vehicle is parked.

[0017] The power management system 110 is configured for controlling and managing power in a power supply system including a high-voltage battery 120, a DC-DC converter 130, and an auxiliary battery 140. This power management system 110 includes a power supply control ECU 111 and a power generation control ECU 112 as configurations (processing units) that perform power control and management processing.

[0018] The power supply control ECU 111 monitors the state of the auxiliary battery 140 and instructs the power generation control ECU 112 to start (start instruction) when it is necessary to perform auxiliary power supply control to charge the auxiliary battery 140 with the power of the high-voltage battery 120. Further, the power supply control ECU 111 instructs the power generation control ECU 112 to execute power supply from the high-voltage battery 120 to the auxiliary battery 140 following the start instruction (power supply instruction). Also, when there is an instruction for software update from the software distribution server 160, the power supply control ECU 111 instructs the power generation control ECU 112 to interrupt (temporarily stop) the auxiliary power supply control as necessary (power supply stop instruction).

[0019] The power generation control ECU 112 starts up in response to the start instruction from the power supply control ECU 111. Further, the power generation control ECU 112 instructs the DCDC converter 130 to transfer a predetermined amount of power from the high-voltage battery 120 to the auxiliary battery 140 in response to the power supply instruction from the power supply control ECU 111 (power generation instruction). Also, the power generation control ECU 112 instructs the DCDC converter 130 to stop the power transfer from the high-voltage battery 120 to the auxiliary battery 140 in response to the power supply stop instruction from the power supply control ECU 111 (power generation stop instruction).

[0020] The software distribution server 160 is a server that stores update data for updating software such as electronic control units (ECUs) mounted on the vehicle. This software distribution server 160 instructs the power supply control ECU 111 of the power management system 110 to execute the update by OTA or the like when software update of the vehicle is necessary (software update instruction). Also, the software distribution server 160 distributes the necessary update data to the vehicle (for example, the power supply control ECU 111) when executing the update.

[0021] [Control] Next, referring further to FIG. 2, the control performed by the power management system 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of power control executed by the power management system 110. The power control illustrated in this FIG. 2 is started, for example, when the vehicle is in a parked state.

[0022] (Step S201) The power management system 110 determines whether there is an instruction for software update from the software distribution server 160 (first processing unit). If there is an instruction for software update (Yes in Step S201), the process proceeds to Step S202.

[0023] (Step S202) The power management system 110 determines whether the accessory power supply control for charging the accessory battery 140 with the power of the high-voltage battery 120 is being executed (second processing unit). If the accessory power supply control is being executed (Yes in Step S202), the process proceeds to Step S203. On the other hand, if the accessory power supply control is not being executed (No in Step S202), the process proceeds to Step S206.

[0024] (Step S203) The power management system 110 interrupts (temporarily stops) the accessory power supply control that is being executed (third processing unit). Thereby, the power control for charging the accessory battery 140 with the power of the high-voltage battery 120 can be intentionally restricted. When the accessory power supply control is interrupted, the process proceeds to Step S204.

[0025] (Step S204) The power management system 110 determines whether there is a new instruction to cancel the software update instruction from the software distribution server 160 (third processing unit). If there is an instruction to cancel the software update (Yes in Step S204), the process proceeds to Step S207. On the other hand, if there is no instruction to cancel the software update (No in Step S204), the process proceeds to Step S205.

[0026] (Step S205) The power management system 110 performs a process to execute a software update on the electronic control unit (ECU) and other components to be updated. Once the software update is executed (from start to finish), the process proceeds to step S207.

[0027] (Step S206) The power management system 110 performs a process to execute a software update on the electronic control unit (ECU) and other components to be updated. Once the software update is executed (from start to finish), this power control system terminates.

[0028] (Step S207) The power management system 110 restarts (operates) the suspended (paused) auxiliary power supply control (third processing unit). This allows the power control that charges the auxiliary battery 140 using the power of the high-voltage battery 120 to be intentionally unrestricted. Once the auxiliary power supply control is restarted, this power control terminates.

[0029] <Effects and Actions> As described above, according to the power management system 110 of one embodiment of the present disclosure, if a software update is instructed while auxiliary power supply control is being performed to charge the auxiliary battery 140 with the power of the high-voltage battery 120, the auxiliary power supply control is temporarily suspended until the software update is completed.

[0030] This control prevents the auxiliary power supply control from behaving unintended (such as being forcibly terminated) if a software update via OTA or other means is instructed while the auxiliary power supply control is running.

[0031] Although one embodiment of the disclosed technology has been described above, the disclosure can be understood not only as a power management system, but also as a method by which a power management system operates, a program for such a method, a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium storing such a program, and a vehicle equipped with a power management system. [Industrial applicability]

[0032] The power management system described herein can be used in vehicles equipped with a power supply system including a high-voltage battery, a DC-DC converter, and an auxiliary battery. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0033] 110 Power Management System 111 Power Supply Control ECU 112 Power Generation Control ECU 120 High-Voltage Battery 130 DC-DC converter 140 Auxiliary Battery 150 Auxiliary load 160 Software Distribution Servers

Claims

1. A vehicle power management system, A first processing unit that determines whether or not a software update for the vehicle has been ordered, A second processing unit that determines whether or not power control is being performed to charge the auxiliary battery installed in the vehicle, The system includes a third processing unit that, if a software update is instructed while the power control is being performed, restricts charging to the auxiliary battery until the software update is completed. Vehicle power management system.

2. The second processing unit determines whether or not it is performing auxiliary power supply control, which charges the auxiliary battery with the power of the high-voltage battery mounted on the vehicle, as the power control. If the third processing unit is instructed to perform the auxiliary power supply control while the auxiliary power supply control is in progress, it will suspend the auxiliary power supply control until the software update is completed. The vehicle power management system according to claim 1.

3. The third processing unit resumes the suspended auxiliary power supply control when the instruction for the software update is withdrawn. The vehicle power management system according to claim 2.

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