Vehicle control device, control method, and control program

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program which can keep a temperature of a secondary battery in a predetermined range at the time when a vehicle arrives at a charging stand, without using a temperature adjustment device for the secondary battery.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device 1 comprises: an electric power amount calculating part 102 that calculates an amount of predictive consumed electric power that is consumed until a vehicle arrives at a charging stand; a battery identifying part 103 that identifies a secondary battery that enables the vehicle to run up to the charging stand; a temperature predicting part 104 that calculates a prediction temperature of the identified secondary battery at the time when the vehicle arrives at the charging stand; a battery determining part 106 that determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated prediction temperature is in a predetermined temperature range; and a battery selecting part 107 that selects, as a secondary battery that is used for the vehicle to run, a secondary battery having largest residual capacity, of secondary batteries whose calculated prediction temperatures are in the predetermined temperature range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program for controlling a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed for controlling the temperature of a battery mounted on a vehicle. As an example of such techniques, a temperature control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a temperature prediction unit that predicts the temperature of the battery when the electric vehicle arrives at a charging station according to the driving conditions of the electric vehicle, a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the battery, and a control unit that controls the temperature adjustment unit when the temperature predicted by the temperature prediction unit is outside a reference temperature range so that the temperature of the battery when the electric vehicle arrives at the charging station is within the reference temperature range. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-220310 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the temperature control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 adjusts the temperature of the secondary battery using a temperature adjustment unit composed of a fan, heater, duct, etc., and therefore has the problem that such a temperature adjustment unit must be mounted on the vehicle.

[0005] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure provides a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program that can keep the temperature of a secondary battery within a predetermined range when the vehicle arrives at a charging station without using a temperature adjustment device for the secondary battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries according to one embodiment includes: an electric power calculation unit that calculates a predicted amount of electric power consumed by the vehicle until it reaches a charging station; a battery identification unit that identifies, from among the plurality of secondary batteries, a secondary battery that enables traveling to a charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; a temperature prediction unit that calculates a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and a temperature rise of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; a battery determination unit that determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; When it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range, a battery selection unit selects the secondary battery with the greatest remaining capacity from among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range as the secondary battery to be used for propelling the vehicle.

[0007] A control method executed by a computer for controlling a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries according to one embodiment includes the steps of: Calculate the predicted amount of power consumed by the vehicle until it reaches the charging station, identifying a secondary battery among the plurality of secondary batteries that enables the vehicle to travel to a charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; calculating a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and an increase in temperature of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; determining whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; When it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range, the secondary battery with the greatest remaining capacity among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range is selected as the secondary battery to be used for driving the vehicle.

[0008] A control program executed by a computer for controlling a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries according to one embodiment causes the computer to: Calculate the predicted amount of power consumed by the vehicle until it reaches the charging station, identifying a secondary battery among the plurality of secondary batteries that enables the vehicle to travel to a charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; calculating a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and a temperature rise of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; determining whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; When it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range, the secondary battery with the greatest remaining capacity among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range is selected as the secondary battery to be used for driving the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a vehicle control device, a control method, and a control program that can keep the temperature of a secondary battery within a predetermined range when the vehicle arrives at a charging station without using a temperature adjustment device for the secondary battery. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a vehicle control device according to an embodiment when selecting a secondary battery. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a vehicle control device according to an embodiment when selecting a secondary battery. [Figure 4]4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a vehicle control device according to an embodiment while the vehicle is traveling. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a change over time in voltage supplied to a vehicle. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a vehicle control device according to an embodiment while the vehicle is traveling. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device 1 according to an embodiment. The vehicle control device 1 is a device that controls a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries. A specific example of the vehicle control device 1 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The vehicle includes vehicles equipped with a motor, such as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle).

[0012] A plurality of secondary batteries mounted on a vehicle are connected in parallel. Each secondary battery is connected to a corresponding relay. These secondary batteries supply power to devices provided in the vehicle, for example, to on-board devices such as a motor. The vehicle control device 1 can switch the secondary battery that supplies power by controlling each relay. The vehicle control device 1 can communicate data with other on-board devices via a network such as an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network).

[0013] The vehicle control device 1 includes a calculation device 10, a communication interface (I / F) 20, and a storage device 30. The communication I / F 20 is an interface that transmits and receives signals between the vehicle control device 1 and other devices mounted on the vehicle.

[0014] The storage device 30 is a storage device in which the control program 11 executed by the arithmetic device 10, various information processed by the arithmetic device 10, etc. are stored.

[0015] The arithmetic device 10 is an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The arithmetic device 10 corresponds to a computer. The arithmetic device 10 executes a control program 11 stored in a storage device 30, thereby executing a control method defined by the control program 11.

[0016] The control program 11 includes an electric energy determination unit 100, a charging station determination unit 101, an electric energy calculation unit 102, a battery identification unit 103, a temperature prediction unit 104, a request determination unit 105, a battery determination unit 106, a battery selection unit 107, a switching location determination unit 108, a switching location setting unit 109, a vehicle position determination unit 110, a vehicle stop determination unit 111, a SOC (State Of Charge) determination unit 112, a voltage determination unit 113, and a relay control unit 114. Note that an integrated circuit such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may execute the control program 11. These devices also correspond to a computer.

[0017] The power amount determination unit 100 is a program that determines whether the power amount of each secondary battery mounted on the vehicle is equal to or greater than the predicted power consumption consumed from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined destination or charging station. The predetermined destination can be a destination set by the user of the vehicle. The predetermined charging station can be the charging station closest to the current position of the vehicle. The predicted power consumption can be calculated by the power amount calculation unit 102. This makes it possible to determine whether the vehicle can reach the predetermined destination or charging station using a single secondary battery.

[0018] The charging station determination unit 101 is a program that determines whether or not there is an adjacent charging station on the route to a predetermined destination.

[0019] The power amount calculation unit 102 is a program that calculates the predicted amount of power consumption that will be consumed until the vehicle reaches the destination, a charging station, a place where regeneration is possible, and a place where the vehicle can be stopped. The predicted amount of power consumption can be calculated based on the distance to these places and the amount of power consumed per unit distance. Furthermore, a predetermined amount of power that takes error into consideration may be added to the predicted amount of power consumption calculated in this manner.

[0020] The battery identification unit 103 is a program that identifies, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the predicted power consumption calculated by the power amount calculation unit 102, one of the multiple secondary batteries installed in the vehicle that will enable the vehicle to travel to a charging station, a location where regeneration is possible, and a location where the vehicle can be stopped without switching to another secondary battery.

[0021] The temperature prediction unit 104 is a program that calculates a predicted temperature of the secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station. The temperature prediction unit 104 can calculate the predicted temperature of the secondary battery by adding the current temperature of the secondary battery and the temperature rise of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station. The temperature prediction unit 104 can calculate the temperature rise of the secondary battery based on a known correspondence relationship between the temperature rise of the secondary battery and the time and power consumption until the vehicle arrives at the charging station.

[0022] The request determination unit 105 is a program that determines whether or not there is a charge request from the user. The vehicle control device 1 can receive a charge request from the user via various user interfaces.

[0023] The battery determination unit 106 is a program that determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range.

[0024] This is a program for the battery selection unit 107 to select a secondary battery to be used for running the vehicle. The vehicle starts running using the secondary battery selected by the battery selection unit 107.

[0025] The switching location determination unit 108 is a program that determines whether or not there is a location where the secondary battery can be switched. Specifically, the switching location determination unit 108 determines whether or not there is a location where regeneration is possible or a location where the vehicle can be stopped on the route to the destination. The switching location determination unit 108 corresponds to a regeneration location determination unit that determines a location where regeneration is possible.

[0026] The switching location setting unit 109 is a program that sets a location for switching the secondary battery. Specifically, the switching location setting unit 109 sets a location where regeneration is possible or a location where the vehicle can be stopped, which exists on the route to the destination, before the vehicle starts traveling or while the vehicle is traveling.

[0027] The vehicle position determination unit 110 is a program that determines the current position of the vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle position determination unit 110 determines whether the vehicle has arrived at the destination and a charging station. The vehicle position determination unit 110 also determines whether the vehicle is located near a place where regeneration is possible and a place where the vehicle can be stopped.

[0028] The vehicle stop determination unit 111 is a program that determines whether or not the vehicle has stopped based on speed information from a vehicle speed sensor.

[0029] The SOC determining unit 112 is a program that determines the SOC of each of a plurality of secondary batteries provided in the vehicle.

[0030] The voltage determination unit 113 is a program that determines which of the voltages of the multiple secondary batteries is larger than the regenerative voltage supplied by the regenerative device provided in the vehicle.

[0031] The relay control unit 114 is a program that controls the relays corresponding to the multiple secondary batteries.

[0032] 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing an example of a process executed by the vehicle control device 1 according to an embodiment when selecting a secondary battery. The process shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 is executed before the vehicle starts traveling.

[0033] In step S1, the power amount determination unit 100 determines whether the power amount of each secondary battery mounted on the vehicle is equal to or greater than the predicted power consumption amount to be consumed from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined destination or charging station.

[0034] If the power amounts of all the secondary batteries are less than the predicted power consumption amount (NO), the process in Fig. 2 ends. In this case, the vehicle does not travel. On the other hand, if the power amount of at least one secondary battery is equal to or greater than the predicted power consumption amount (YES), the process branches to step S2.

[0035] In step S2, the charging station determination unit 101 determines whether or not there is an adjacent charging station on the route to the specified destination. If it is determined that there is an adjacent charging station on the route (YES), in step S3, the power amount calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption until the vehicle reaches the charging station adjacent to the route. In step S4, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the power amount calculated in step S3, a secondary battery that enables the vehicle to travel to the charging station adjacent to the route without switching to another secondary battery, among the multiple secondary batteries mounted on the vehicle. In step S5, the temperature prediction unit 104 calculates the predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station adjacent to the route.

[0036] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that there is no charging station adjacent to the route to the predetermined destination (NO), in step S6, the request determination unit 105 determines whether or not there is a charging request from the user. If it is determined that there is no charging request from the user (NO), the process branches to step S12. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a charging request from the user (YES), in step S7, the power amount calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest charging station. In step S8, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the power amount calculated in step S7, a secondary battery that enables the vehicle to travel to the nearest charging station without switching to another secondary battery, among the multiple secondary batteries mounted on the vehicle. In step S9, the temperature prediction unit 104 calculates the predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the nearest charging station.

[0037] In step S10, the battery determination unit 106 determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range. In step S11, the battery selection unit 107 selects the secondary battery with the greatest remaining capacity among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range as the secondary battery to be used for running the vehicle, and the processing in Fig. 3 ends. In this case, the vehicle starts running using this selected secondary battery, and the processing shown in Fig. 4 is executed.

[0038] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S10 that there is no secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range (NO), the process branches to step S12.

[0039] In step S12, the switching location determination unit 108 determines whether or not there is a location where regeneration is possible on the route to the destination. If it is determined that there is a location where regeneration is possible on the route to the destination (YES), in step S13, the power amount calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest location where regeneration is possible. In step S14, the battery identification unit 103 identifies a secondary battery that enables the vehicle to travel to the nearest location where regeneration is possible without switching to another secondary battery, among the multiple secondary batteries mounted on the vehicle, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the amount of power calculated in step S13. In step S15, the battery selection unit 107 selects the secondary battery with the smallest remaining capacity among the identified secondary batteries as the secondary battery to be used for traveling the vehicle, and the process of FIG. 3 ends. In this case, the vehicle starts traveling using this selected secondary battery, and the process shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

[0040] If there is no secondary battery that allows the vehicle to travel to the nearest location where regeneration is possible without switching to another secondary battery and a secondary battery cannot be identified in step S14, the process may branch to step S15.

[0041] In step S16, the switching location determination unit 108 determines whether or not there is a location where the vehicle can stop on the route to the destination. If it is determined that there is no location where the vehicle can stop on the route to the destination (NO), the process in FIG. 3 ends. In this case, the vehicle does not travel.

[0042] On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a place where the vehicle can stop on the route to the destination (YES), in step S17, the power amount calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest place where the vehicle can stop. In step S18, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, from among the multiple secondary batteries mounted on the vehicle, a secondary battery that allows the vehicle to travel to the nearest place where the vehicle can stop without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the amount of power calculated in step S17. In step S19, the battery selection unit 107 selects, from among the identified secondary batteries, the secondary battery with the smallest remaining capacity as the secondary battery to be used for traveling the vehicle, and the process of FIG. 3 ends. In this case, the vehicle starts traveling using this selected secondary battery, and the process shown in FIG. 6 is executed.

[0043] If there is no secondary battery that allows the vehicle to travel to the nearest location where regeneration is possible without switching to another secondary battery, and if a secondary battery cannot be identified in step S18, the process in Fig. 3 may be ended. In this case, the vehicle does not travel.

[0044] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed by the vehicle control device 1 according to an embodiment. The process shown in Fig. 4 may be executed while the vehicle is traveling.

[0045] In step S20, the vehicle position determination unit 110 determines whether the vehicle has arrived at the charging station or the destination based on the current position of the vehicle and the position of the charging station or the position of the destination. The vehicle position determination unit 110 can determine whether the vehicle has arrived at the charging station or the destination by determining whether the distance between the current position of the vehicle and the position of the charging station or the destination is within a predetermined threshold.

[0046] If it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the charging station or the destination (YES), the processing in Fig. 4 ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle has not arrived at the charging station or the destination (NO), in step S21, the SOC determination unit 112 determines whether the SOC of the secondary battery in use is equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit. The predetermined lower limit may be a value that takes into consideration safe driving of the vehicle, etc. If it is determined that the SOC of the secondary battery in use is equal to or greater than the predetermined lower limit (YES), the processing branches to step S22.

[0047] In step S22, the vehicle position determination unit 110 determines whether or not the vehicle is located near a place where regeneration is possible, based on the current position of the vehicle and the position of the place where regeneration is possible. The vehicle position determination unit 110 can determine whether or not the vehicle is located near a place where regeneration is possible by determining whether or not the distance between the current position of the vehicle and the position of the place where regeneration is possible is within a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located near a place where regeneration is possible (NO), the process returns to step S20. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is located near a place where regeneration is possible (YES), the process branches to step S23.

[0048] In step S23, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether or not regeneration is occurring based on the regenerative voltage supplied from the regenerative device. If the regenerative voltage is equal to or greater than 0, the voltage determination unit 113 can determine that regeneration is occurring. If it is determined that regeneration is not occurring (NO), the process branches to step S30. On the other hand, if it is determined that regeneration is occurring (YES), in step S24, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether or not the voltage of the secondary battery in use is equal to or less than the regenerative voltage. If it is determined that the voltage of the secondary battery in use exceeds the regenerative voltage (NO), the process branches to step S30. On the other hand, if it is determined that the voltage of the secondary battery in use is equal to or less than the regenerative voltage (YES), the process branches to step S25.

[0049] In step S25, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the predicted amount of power consumption to be consumed until the vehicle reaches the next location where regeneration is possible or the next charging station, one of the multiple secondary batteries installed in the vehicle that will enable the vehicle to travel to the next location where regeneration is possible or the next charging station without switching to another secondary battery.

[0050] In step S26, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether the voltage of the secondary battery identified in step S25 is equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage. If the voltage of the identified secondary battery is not equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage (NO), the process of step S26 is executed again. On the other hand, if the voltage of the identified secondary battery is equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage (YES), in step S27, the relay control unit 114 turns on the relay corresponding to the secondary battery identified in step S25.

[0051] In step S28, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether the voltage of the secondary battery identified in step S25 is equal to or higher than the regenerative voltage. If the voltage of the identified secondary battery is less than the regenerative voltage (NO), the process of step S28 is executed again. On the other hand, if the voltage of the identified secondary battery is equal to or higher than the regenerative voltage (YES), in step S29, the relay control unit 114 turns off the relays corresponding to the secondary batteries other than the secondary battery identified in step S25. In other words, the relays corresponding to the secondary batteries that were in use are turned off. In step S30, the switching location setting unit 109 sets the next location where regeneration is possible, and the process returns to step S20.

[0052] If it is determined in step S21 that the SOC of the secondary battery in use is less than the predetermined lower limit (NO), a vehicle stop process is executed in step S31. In the vehicle stop process, the driver is instructed to decelerate and stop the vehicle. If the vehicle is autonomous, the vehicle control device 1 instructs the motor to decelerate and stop the vehicle. Next, when the vehicle speed becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined speed, the relay corresponding to the secondary battery not in use is turned on. As a result, both the relay corresponding to the secondary battery in use and the relay corresponding to the secondary battery not in use are turned on. The predetermined speed can be, for example, 2 km / h.

[0053] By implementing such a stopping process, even if it is not possible to switch the secondary battery at a location where regeneration is possible due to a malfunction, traffic congestion, etc., it is possible to switch the secondary battery while traveling at a low speed.

[0054] When the execution of the vehicle stopping process is completed, the processes from step S29 onwards are executed. In this case, in step S29, the relay corresponding to the secondary battery in use is turned off. Here, before turning off the relay corresponding to the secondary battery in use, it may be confirmed that the relay corresponding to the secondary battery not in use has been turned on. Specifically, the voltage determination unit 113 can confirm that the relay corresponding to the secondary battery not in use has been turned on by determining whether the voltage supplied by the secondary battery has increased.

[0055] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the change over time in voltage supplied to a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "supply voltage"). The upper graph in Fig. 5 shows the change in supply voltage when switching secondary batteries at a location where regeneration is possible. Hereinafter, the secondary battery in use is referred to as the first secondary battery, and the secondary battery identified by battery identification unit 103 is referred to as the second secondary battery.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 5, the first secondary battery supplies power to the vehicle. When the vehicle starts traveling in a place where regeneration is possible, the regeneration device starts supplying power to the vehicle. When the regenerative voltage gradually increases and becomes greater than the voltage of the first secondary battery, the battery identification unit 103 identifies the second secondary battery. Then, when the regenerative voltage becomes equal to or greater than the voltage of the second secondary battery, the relay corresponding to the second secondary battery is turned on, and the second secondary battery starts supplying power to the vehicle. As a result, when the regenerative voltage is equal to or greater than the voltage of the first secondary battery and the voltage of the second secondary battery, the second relay corresponding to the second secondary battery is turned on, so that the supply of power from the second secondary battery does not cause voltage fluctuations in the power supplied to the vehicle. Therefore, malfunctions due to voltage fluctuations can be prevented.

[0057] Then, when the regenerative voltage gradually decreases and the second secondary battery is equal to or greater than the regenerative voltage, the first relay corresponding to the first secondary battery is turned off. In other words, when it is confirmed that the second relay is turned on, the first relay is turned off.

[0058] The lower graph in Fig. 5 shows the change in supply voltage when switching the secondary battery while the vehicle is traveling at low speed. As shown in Fig. 5, the first secondary battery supplies power to the vehicle. When the relay corresponding to the second secondary battery is turned on while the vehicle is traveling at low speed due to the execution of the stopping process, the supply voltage to the vehicle increases, but because the vehicle is traveling at low speed, the change in vehicle behavior due to the voltage fluctuation is not noticeable.

[0059] 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the process executed by the vehicle control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process shown in FIG. 6 may be executed while the vehicle is traveling.

[0060] In step S40, the vehicle position determination unit 110 determines whether the vehicle has arrived at the charging station or the destination based on the current position of the vehicle and the position of the charging station or the position of the destination. If it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the charging station or the destination (YES), the processing in FIG. 6 ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle has not arrived at the charging station or the destination (NO), in step S41 the SOC determination unit 112 determines whether the SOC of the secondary battery in use is equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit. If it is determined that the SOC of the secondary battery in use is equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit (YES), the processing branches to step S42.

[0061] In step S42, the vehicle position determination unit 110 determines whether or not the vehicle is located near a place where the vehicle can be stopped, based on the current position of the vehicle and the position of the place where the vehicle can be stopped. The vehicle position determination unit 110 can determine whether or not the vehicle is located near a place where the vehicle can be stopped by determining whether or not the distance between the current position of the vehicle and the position of the place where the vehicle can be stopped is within a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the vehicle is not located near a place where the vehicle can be stopped (NO), the process returns to step S40. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is located near a place where the vehicle can be stopped (YES), the process branches to step S43.

[0062] In step S43, the vehicle stop determination unit 111 determines whether the vehicle has stopped based on the speed information from the vehicle speed sensor. If it is determined that the vehicle has not stopped (NO), the process branches to step S48. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle has stopped (YES), the process branches to step S44.

[0063] In step S44, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, from among the multiple secondary batteries installed in the vehicle, a secondary battery that will enable the vehicle to travel to the next possible stopping location or charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each secondary battery and the predicted amount of power consumption to be consumed until the vehicle reaches the next possible stopping location or charging station.

[0064] In step S45, relay control unit 114 turns on the relay corresponding to the secondary battery identified in step S44. In step S46, voltage determination unit 113 determines whether the voltage supplied to the vehicle has increased, thereby making it possible to determine whether the relay corresponding to the identified secondary battery has been turned on.

[0065] If the voltage supplied to the vehicle has not increased (NO), the process of step S46 is executed again. On the other hand, if the voltage supplied to the vehicle has increased (YES), in step S47, relay control unit 114 turns off the relays corresponding to the secondary batteries other than the secondary battery identified in step S44. In other words, the relays corresponding to the secondary batteries that were in use are turned off. In step S48, switching location setting unit 109 sets the next location where the vehicle can stop, and the process returns to step S40.

[0066] If it is determined in step S41 that the SOC of the secondary battery in use is less than the predetermined lower limit (NO), a vehicle stopping process is executed in step S49. This vehicle stopping process is the same as the vehicle stopping process in step S31 in Fig. 4. Then, the processes in and after step S46 are executed. In this case, in step S47, the relay of the secondary battery in use is turned off.

[0067] As described above, the power calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the charging station. Next, the battery identification unit 103 identifies a secondary battery that allows the vehicle to travel to the charging station without switching to another secondary battery, among the multiple secondary batteries, based on the remaining capacity of each of the multiple secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption. Next, the temperature prediction unit 104 calculates the predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station. Next, the battery determination unit 106 determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range. Then, when it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range, the battery selection unit 107 selects the secondary battery with the largest remaining capacity among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature falls within the predetermined temperature range as the secondary battery to be used for traveling the vehicle.

[0068] With this configuration, a secondary battery whose predicted temperature when the vehicle arrives at the charging station will be within a predetermined temperature range can be selected as the secondary battery to be used for driving the vehicle. This makes it possible to keep the temperature of the secondary battery within the predetermined range when the vehicle arrives at the charging station without providing a temperature adjustment device for the secondary battery. By setting this predetermined range as a temperature range suitable for charging the secondary battery, the charging efficiency of the secondary battery can be improved.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, when the switching location determination unit 108 determines that there is no secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature falls within a predetermined temperature range, it determines whether there is a location where regeneration is possible on the route to the destination. When it is determined that there is a location where regeneration is possible on the route to the destination, the power amount calculation unit 102 calculates the predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest location where regeneration is possible. Next, the battery identification unit 103 identifies, from among the multiple secondary batteries, a secondary battery that enables travel to the nearest location where regeneration is possible without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the multiple secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest location where regeneration is possible. Then, the battery selection unit 107 selects, from among the identified secondary batteries, the secondary battery with the smallest remaining capacity as the secondary battery to be used for traveling the vehicle.

[0070] With this configuration, if it is determined that there is no secondary battery whose predicted temperature when the vehicle arrives at the charging station will be within the predetermined temperature range, the secondary battery with the least remaining capacity among the secondary batteries that enable the vehicle to travel to the nearest location where regeneration is possible can be selected as the secondary battery to be used for traveling the vehicle. As a result, the unselected secondary battery with a large remaining capacity is not used, so the temperature of that secondary battery can be reduced while the vehicle is traveling. As a result, the temperature of the secondary battery can be kept within the predetermined range when the vehicle arrives at the charging station.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether the voltage of the first secondary battery, which is a secondary battery in use, and the voltage of the second secondary battery, which is a secondary battery not in use, are equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage in a location where regeneration is possible. If it is determined that the voltages of the first secondary battery and the second secondary battery are equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage, the relay control unit 114 turns on the relay corresponding to the second secondary battery.

[0072] With this configuration, when the regenerative voltage applied to the vehicle is equal to or greater than the voltage of the secondary battery in use and the voltage of the secondary battery not in use, the relay corresponding to the secondary battery not in use is turned on. Therefore, the voltage supplied to the vehicle does not fluctuate due to the power supply from the secondary battery not in use. This makes it possible to prevent problems caused by fluctuations in the voltage supplied to the vehicle due to switching of the secondary battery.

[0073] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the voltage determination unit 113 determines whether the voltage of the second secondary battery is equal to or higher than the regenerative voltage in a location where regeneration is possible. The relay control unit 114 turns off the relay corresponding to the first secondary battery when it is determined that the voltage of the second secondary battery is equal to or higher than the regenerative voltage. With this configuration, it is possible to switch the secondary battery that supplies power to the vehicle in a location where regeneration is possible.

[0074] In the above examples, the program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, causes the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other form of propagated signal.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1: vehicle control device, 10: arithmetic unit, 11: control program, 20: communication I / F, 30: storage device, 100: power amount determination unit, 101: charging station determination unit, 102: power amount calculation unit, 103: battery identification unit, 104: temperature prediction unit, 105: request determination unit, 106: battery determination unit, 107: battery selection unit, 108: switching location determination unit, 109: switching location setting unit, 110: vehicle position determination unit, 111: stoppage determination unit, 112: SOC determination unit, 113: voltage determination unit, 114: relay control unit

Claims

1. A vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries, an electric power calculation unit that calculates a predicted amount of electric power consumed until the vehicle reaches a charging station; a battery identification unit that identifies, from among the plurality of secondary batteries, a secondary battery that enables travel to the charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; a temperature prediction unit that calculates a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and a temperature rise of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; a battery determination unit that determines whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; a battery selection unit that, when it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, selects, from among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature is within the predetermined temperature range, the secondary battery with the largest remaining capacity as the secondary battery to be used for driving the vehicle; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. a regeneration location determination unit that, when it is determined that there is no secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, determines whether there is a location on the route to the destination where regeneration is possible; the power amount calculation unit, when it is determined that the regeneration possible place is on the route to the destination, calculates a predicted amount of power consumption to be consumed until the vehicle reaches the nearest regeneration possible place; the battery identification unit identifies, among the plurality of secondary batteries, a secondary battery that enables traveling to the nearest location where regeneration is possible without switching to another secondary battery, based on remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted amount of power consumption to be consumed until reaching the nearest location where regeneration is possible; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the battery selection unit selects, from among the identified secondary batteries, the secondary battery with the least remaining capacity as the secondary battery to be used for running the vehicle.

3. a voltage determination unit that determines which of the voltages of the plurality of secondary batteries is larger than a regenerative voltage supplied by a regenerative device provided in the vehicle; a relay control unit that controls a relay corresponding to each of the plurality of secondary batteries, the voltage determination unit determines whether a voltage of a first secondary battery, which is the secondary battery in use, and a voltage of a second secondary battery, which is the secondary battery not in use, are equal to or lower than the regeneration voltage, in a location where regeneration is possible; 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the relay control unit turns on the relay corresponding to the second secondary battery when it is determined that the voltage of the first secondary battery and the voltage of the second secondary battery are each equal to or lower than the regenerative voltage.

4. A control method executed by a computer that controls a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries, comprising: Calculating a predicted amount of power consumption that the vehicle will consume until it reaches a charging station; identifying a secondary battery among the plurality of secondary batteries that enables travel to the charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; calculating a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and an increase in temperature of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; determining whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; when it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, a secondary battery having the greatest remaining capacity is selected as the secondary battery to be used for running the vehicle from among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature is within the predetermined temperature range; Control methods.

5. A control program executed by a computer that controls a vehicle equipped with a plurality of secondary batteries, the control program comprising: Calculating a predicted amount of power consumption that the vehicle will consume until it reaches a charging station; identifying a secondary battery among the plurality of secondary batteries that enables traveling to the charging station without switching to another secondary battery, based on the remaining capacity of each of the plurality of secondary batteries and the calculated predicted power consumption; calculating a predicted temperature of the identified secondary battery when the vehicle arrives at the charging station by adding a current temperature of the secondary battery and a temperature rise of the secondary battery until the vehicle arrives at the charging station; determining whether there is at least one secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range; when it is determined that there is a secondary battery whose calculated predicted temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, the secondary battery having the greatest remaining capacity among the secondary batteries whose calculated predicted temperature is within the predetermined temperature range is selected as the secondary battery to be used for running the vehicle. Control program.

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