Charging control device

Abstract

To provide a charge control device capable of preventing a current equal to or greater than assumed value from flowing to a battery.SOLUTION: A charge control device 10 comprises a battery information acquisition unit 11, a charge current request unit 12 and an accessory control unit 13. The battery information acquisition unit 11 acquires battery information of a battery 20. The charge current request unit 12 determines a charge current value required for charging the battery 20 based on the information of the battery 20 and requests a current of the charge current value to a charging facility 2. The accessory control unit 13 controls operation of an accessory 30 using the battery 20. Specifically, the accessory control unit 13 starts operation of the accessory 30 before the charge current request unit 12 increases the charge current value, and stops the operation of the accessory 30 after a total of charge power actually charged in the battery 20 from the charging facility and power consumption consumed by the accessory 30 reaches power requested by the charge current request unit 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charge control device. [Background technology]

[0002] When charging a vehicle, after the vehicle battery is connected to a charging facility (stand), the current flowing to the battery is determined by controlling the charging facility based on the current value requested by the vehicle system. For example, a technology for determining the current value to be supplied to the battery is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for estimating the internal resistance of the battery to prevent battery deterioration and setting the current value to be supplied to the battery so as not to overcharge it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-013210 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there are cases where the control tracking ability and current control accuracy vary depending on the charging equipment. In such cases, there is a problem that a current higher than expected flows through the battery. If a current higher than expected flows through the battery, it may lead to battery degradation.

[0005] In consideration of such problems, the present disclosure has an object to provide a charge control device that can prevent a current greater than expected from flowing to a battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The charging control device of the present invention includes: a battery information acquisition unit that acquires information about a battery; a charging current request unit that determines a charging current value required to charge the battery based on information about the battery and requests a charging facility for the charging current value; an auxiliary control unit that controls an operation of an auxiliary device that uses the battery; The auxiliary control unit includes: before the charging current request unit increases the charging current value, the auxiliary device starts operating; The operation of the auxiliary equipment is stopped after the sum of the charging power actually charged to the battery from the charging equipment and the power consumption by the auxiliary equipment reaches the power requested by the charging current request unit. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a charge control device that can prevent a current greater than expected from flowing through a battery. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a charge control device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the charge control device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (First embodiment) First, the configuration of a charging control system 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The charging control system 100 includes a vehicle 1 and a charging facility 2. The vehicle 1 is a vehicle that is driven by electricity, such as an electric vehicle. The charging facility 2 is a charging facility for charging a battery 20 (described later) that is used to drive the vehicle 1. The charging facility 2 is, for example, a charging stand installed in a charging station, and charges the vehicle 1 with direct current.

[0010] The vehicle 1 includes a charge control device 10, a battery 20, and an auxiliary device 30. Here, the charge control device 10 may include a sensor (not shown) that detects the state of the battery 20. The charging control device 10 is a control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that electronically controls devices mounted on the vehicle 1. The charging control device 10 performs wireless or wired communication with the battery 20 and the auxiliary device 30. The charging control device 10 also performs wireless or wired communication with the charging equipment 2. For example, the charging control device 10 communicates with the charging equipment 2 via a communication line or the like provided on a charging cable used by the charging equipment 2 to charge the battery 20 of the vehicle 1. The charging control device 10 has a function of preventing a current greater than expected from flowing from the charging equipment 2 to the battery 20 by controlling the auxiliary device 30. A specific configuration of the charging control device 10 will be described later.

[0011] The battery 20 is a rechargeable battery such as a lithium ion battery. The electricity stored in the battery 20 is used to drive the vehicle 1. The battery 20 is charged from a charging facility 2 via a charging cable. The auxiliary equipment 30 is a device such as a heater, a 12V DCDC, etc. The auxiliary equipment 30 is connected to an electric path having the same potential as the battery 20, and operates using electricity charged in the battery 20.

[0012] Next, a description will be given of a specific configuration of the charge control device 10. The charge control device 10 includes a battery information acquisition unit 11, a charge current request unit 12, and an auxiliary control unit 13. The battery information acquiring unit 11 acquires battery information of the battery 20, for example, from a sensor (not shown) installed in the battery 20. The battery information is information such as the allowable power (chargeable power) and temperature of the battery 20. The charging current request unit 12 determines a charging current value (hereinafter, a requested charging current value) required to charge the battery 20 based on information about the battery 20, and requests a current of the requested charging current value from the charging facility.

[0013] The auxiliary control unit 13 controls the operation of the auxiliary 30 that uses the battery 20. Specifically, the auxiliary control unit 13 starts the operation of the auxiliary 30 before the charging current request unit 12 increases the charging current value, and stops the operation of the auxiliary 30 after the sum of the charging power actually charged to the battery 20 from the charging equipment 2 and the power consumption consumed by the auxiliary 30 reaches the power requested by the charging current request unit 12.

[0014] Next, the operation of the charge control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The charge control device 10 starts charging the battery 20 of the vehicle 1 (step S101). Specifically, after a user performs a predetermined operation for charging the battery 20 of the vehicle 1 using the charging equipment 2 installed in a charging station, the charge control device 10 starts charging the battery 20 of the vehicle 1.

[0015] Here, after charging of the battery 20 starts, the charging control device 10 (and the charging equipment 2) sequentially executes the following operations. The battery information acquisition unit 11 of the charging control device 10 acquires battery information of the battery 20. The charging current request unit 12 determines a requested charging current value required to charge the battery 20 based on the battery information of the battery 20. For example, the charging current request unit 12 determines the requested charging current value from the acceptable power of the battery 20. Then, the charging current request unit 12 transmits a request signal to the charging equipment 2 requesting a current of the requested charging current value. When the charging equipment 2 receives the request signal, it supplies a current of the requested requested charging current value to the battery 20 of the vehicle 1 using a charging cable. In this way, the battery 20 of the vehicle 1 is charged.

[0016] After charging of the battery 20 is started, the charging current request unit 12 determines whether or not there is a need to increase the charging request current value (step S102). For example, the charging current request unit 12 determines that there is a need to increase the charging request current value immediately after starting charging of the battery 20. In addition, the charging current request unit 12 determines that there is a need to increase the charging request current value when it detects from the battery information of the battery 20 that the battery charging allowable power of the battery 20 has increased due to a temperature rise or the like.

[0017] If the charging current request unit 12 determines in step S102 that there is a need to increase the charging request current value (YES in step S102), the auxiliary control unit 13 causes the auxiliary 30 to start consumption (operation) (step S103). After receiving an instruction to start operation from the auxiliary control unit 13, the auxiliary 30 starts operation using electricity from the battery 20. On the other hand, if the charging current request unit 12 determines in step S102 that there is no need to increase the charging request current value (NO in step S102), the charging control device 10 does not execute the processing of steps S103 to S106 described below.

[0018] After the process of step S103, the charging current request unit 12 increases the requested charging current value requested to the charging equipment 2 (step S104). Specifically, the charging current request unit 12 increases the requested charging current value based on the battery information of the battery 20. The charging current request unit 12 transmits a request signal requesting the charging equipment 2 for a current of the requested charging current value. When the charging equipment 2 receives the request signal, it supplies a current corresponding to the requested requested charging current value to the battery 20 of the vehicle 1.

[0019] Next, the auxiliary control unit 13 determines whether the sum of the charging power W1 charged to the battery 20 and the power consumption W2 consumed by the auxiliary 30 has reached the required power W3 required by the battery 20 (step S105). The charging power W1 is a value calculated by multiplying the current (actual measurement value) actually charged to the battery 20 from the charging equipment 2 by the voltage of the battery 20. The power consumption W2 is a value calculated by multiplying the current (actual measurement value) actually flowing through the auxiliary 30 by the voltage of the auxiliary 30. The required power W3 is the upper limit of the power to be charged, calculated from the acceptable power of the battery 20.

[0020] The charging facility 2 may determine whether or not the sum of the charging power W1 and the power consumption W2 in step S105 reaches the required power W3. In this case, the charging facility 2 receives information on the charging power W1, the power consumption W2, and the required power W3 from the charging control device 10, and transmits the determination result in step S105 to the charging control device 10.

[0021] If it is determined in step S105 that the sum of the charging power W1 and the power consumption W2 reaches the required power W3 (YES in step S105), the auxiliary control unit 13 stops the consumption of the auxiliary 30 (step S106). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 that the sum of the charging power W1 and the power consumption W2 does not reach the required power W3 (NO in step S105), the charging control device 10 returns to the process of step S104.

[0022] As described above, the charge control device 10 according to the first embodiment distributes the resistance on the battery 20 side by operating the auxiliary device 30 before increasing the charging request current value in the battery 20. This makes it possible to prevent a current greater than expected from flowing through the battery 20. In other words, the charge control device 10 can mitigate the voltage rise of the battery 20 and reduce battery deterioration.

[0023] <Hardware configuration> Next, a hardware configuration example of the computer 1000 related to the charging control device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the computer 1000 has a processor 1001 and a memory 1002. The processor 1001 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a micro processing unit (MPU), or a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 1001 may include a plurality of processors. The memory 1002 is configured by a combination of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The memory 1002 may include a storage located away from the processor 1001. In this case, the processor 1001 may access the memory 1002 via an I / O interface not shown.

[0024] Furthermore, each component in the above-described embodiments may be configured by hardware or software, or both, and may be configured by one piece of hardware or software, or may be configured by multiple pieces of hardware or software. The function (processing) of each component in the above-described embodiments may be realized by a computer. For example, a program for performing the method in the embodiment may be stored in memory 1002, and each function may be realized by executing the program stored in memory 1002 by processor 1001.

[0025] These programs include instructions (or software codes) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The programs may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media or tangible storage media include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The programs may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0026] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 vehicle 2 Charging equipment 10. Charging control device 11 Battery information acquisition section 12 Charging current request section 13 Auxiliary control unit 20 batteries 30 Auxiliary Equipment 100 Charging control system 1000 Computers 1001 Processor 1002 Memory

Claims

[Claim 1] a battery information acquisition unit that acquires information about a battery; a charging current request unit that determines a charging current value required to charge the battery based on information about the battery and requests a charging facility for the charging current value; an auxiliary control unit that controls an operation of an auxiliary device that uses the battery; The auxiliary equipment is 12V DCDC, The charging current request unit is when detecting from the battery information that a battery charging allowable power of the battery has become greater than a predetermined threshold due to a temperature rise, determining that there is a need to increase the charging current value requested of the charging equipment; The auxiliary control unit includes: When the charging current request unit determines that there is a need to increase the charging current value, the charging current request unit starts an operation of the auxiliary device. stopping operation of the auxiliary equipment after a sum of charging power actually charged from the charging equipment to the battery and power consumption by the auxiliary equipment reaches a power requested by the charging current request unit; Charging control device.

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