Power management device for electric vehicles

Abstract

This power source management device for an electric vehicle is provided with a contactor for electrically connecting, or cutting off connection between, an auxiliary battery and a drive battery. The power source management device comprises: a state management unit comprising a state determination unit for determining either ignition ON or auto ACC, and an information acquisition unit for acquiring opening / closing information about an opening / closing member; and a connection management unit comprising a connection determination unit for determining whether the contactor can be connected on the basis of the determination results of the state determination unit and acquired information of the information acquisition unit, and an elapsed period determination unit for determining whether a period for which the connection determination unit has determined connection to be possible has exceeded a predetermined period. The contactor electrically connects the auxiliary battery and the drive battery if the elapsed period determination unit has determined the predetermined period to have been exceeded.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power management device for an electric vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a power supply control device that includes a relay that electrically connects a high-power battery and a low-power battery, a power switch, and a controller that controls the on / off of the relay. In this power supply control device, when the power position is in a second position (this position is called auto ACC), the relay is on and power is supplied from the high-power battery to the low-power battery via the relay. Also, when the power position is in a third position (this position is called ignition on), the relay is on and power is supplied from the high-power battery to the low-power battery via the relay. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 220340 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because the first state (power off) and the second state (auto ACC) can be switched by a simple operation, there is a risk that the relay (contactor) may repeatedly make and break electrical connection depending on the operation.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, at least one embodiment of the present invention aims to provide a power supply management device for an electric vehicle that can reduce the number of times a contactor repeatedly makes and breaks electrical connection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) In at least one embodiment of the present invention, a power management device for an electric vehicle is provided with a contactor that electrically connects or disconnects an auxiliary battery and a drive battery, and includes a state management unit having a state determination unit that determines whether the ignition is on or auto ACC and an information acquisition unit that acquires open / close information of an opening / closing member, a connection determination unit that determines whether the contactor can be connected based on the determination result of the state determination unit and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, and an elapsed period determination unit that determines whether the period during which the connection determination unit has determined that connection is possible has exceeded a predetermined period, and the contactor electrically connects the auxiliary battery and the drive battery when the elapsed period determination unit determines that the predetermined period has exceeded.

[0007] According to the configuration (1) above, the contactor does not electrically connect the drive battery and the auxiliary battery until the period during which the connection determination unit has determined that connection is possible exceeds a predetermined period, thereby reducing the number of times the contactor repeatedly makes and breaks electrical connection.

[0008] (2) In some embodiments, the configuration of (1) above includes a display management unit to which a display is connected, and the display management unit causes the display to display information indicating that the opening / closing member is open when the connection determination unit determines that connection is not possible.

[0009] According to the configuration of (2) above, the user can see from the indicator that the reason for the electrical disconnection between the auxiliary battery and the drive battery is that the opening and closing member is open.

[0010] (3) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (1) or (2) above, a DC-DC converter is provided that enables power supply from the drive battery to the auxiliary battery when the connection determination unit determines that connection is possible.

[0011] According to the above configuration (3), when the auxiliary battery and the drive battery are electrically connected, it becomes possible to supply power from the drive battery to the auxiliary battery.

[0012] (4) In some embodiments, in any one of the configurations (1) to (3) above, the opening and closing member is an engine hood.

[0013] According to the configuration (4) above, when the engine hood is opened, the auxiliary battery and the drive battery are electrically disconnected, so that even if a rotating device such as a cooling fan that runs on power supplied from the drive battery is installed in the engine compartment, the risk of being caught in the rotating body can be reduced.

[0014] (5) In some embodiments, in any one of the configurations (1) to (4) above, the opening and closing member is a tailgate.

[0015] According to the configuration (5) above, the auxiliary battery and the drive battery are electrically disconnected when the tailgate is opened, so that even if the auxiliary battery is installed under the floor of the luggage compartment and is accessible from the luggage compartment, the risk of electric shock from the high voltage current supplied from the drive battery to the auxiliary battery can be reduced.

[0016] (6) In some embodiments, in any one of the configurations (1) to (5) above, the opening and closing member is a rear door.

[0017] According to the configuration (6) above, the auxiliary battery and the drive battery are electrically disconnected when the rear door is opened, so that even if the drive battery is installed under the rear seat and is accessible from the rear seat, the risk of electric shock from the high voltage current supplied from the drive battery to external devices can be reduced. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the number of times that the contactor repeatedly makes and breaks electrical connection can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply management device for an electrically powered vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the power supply management device for an electrically powered vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a power supply management device for an electrically powered vehicle according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of a power supply management device for an electrically powered vehicle according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, several embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of components described as embodiments or shown in the drawings are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0021] [Embodiment 1] [Power Management Device Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power supply management device 1A for an electrically powered vehicle according to the first embodiment. The power management device 1A for an electric vehicle according to the first embodiment is used in electric vehicles such as electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, etc. The plug-in hybrid vehicle is externally chargeable and externally powered, and is equipped with the power management device 1A for an electric vehicle according to the first embodiment.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle is equipped with a contactor 7 that electrically connects or disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. A DC-DC converter 9 is provided between the contactor 7 and the auxiliary battery 5. The DC-DC converter 9 converts the voltage of the drive battery 3 into a voltage that can be supplied to the auxiliary battery 5, and is activated when the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 are electrically connected by the contactor 7, and is stopped when the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 are electrically disconnected by the contactor 7.

[0023] The power supply management device 1A for an electric vehicle includes a state management unit 11 and a connection management unit 13. The state management unit 11 and the connection management unit 13 each include a processor (not shown) including an arithmetic unit, registers for storing instructions and information, and peripheral circuits, memories (not shown) such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input interface (not shown). An auxiliary battery 5 is connected to the state management unit 11 and the connection management unit 13, and power is constantly supplied from the auxiliary battery 5 to the state management unit 11 and the connection management unit 13.

[0024] The state management unit 11 includes a state determination unit 15 that determines whether the ignition is on or auto ACC, and an information acquisition unit 17 that acquires information about the opening and closing of the opening and closing members. The ignition is on when the ignition power is on. For example, pressing the power switch twice turns it on, and pressing it again turns it off. The auto ACC is a state in which the accessory power is automatically on. For example, the auto ACC is turned on when the door is unlocked using the keyless operation key system, and is turned off when a predetermined time has elapsed since the door was locked using the keyless operation key system. Examples of the opening and closing members include the front doors, the engine hood 51, the tailgate 53, and the rear doors 55. In this embodiment, the engine hood 51, the tailgate 53, and the rear doors 55 are particularly targeted. The tailgate 53 also includes a trunk lid.

[0025] The connection management unit 13 includes a connection determination unit 19 and a period determination unit 21. The connection determination unit 19 determines whether the contactor 7 can be connected based on the determination result of the state determination unit 15 and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17. The connection determination unit 19 determines that the contactor 7 can be connected when the state determination unit 15 determines that the ignition is on or auto ACC and the information acquisition unit 17 acquires information that the opening / closing member is closed. On the other hand, the connection determination unit 19 determines that the contactor 7 cannot be connected when the information acquisition unit 17 acquires information that the opening / closing member is open. The connection determination unit 19 according to the present embodiment determines that the connection cannot be connected when the information acquisition unit 17 acquires information that at least one of the engine hood 51, the tailgate 53, and the rear door 55 is open, but does not determine that the connection cannot be connected even when the front door is open. The reason for determining that the connection cannot be connected when the information acquisition unit 17 acquires information that the engine hood 51 is open is because opening the engine hood 51 is considered to be a sign of access to a rotating body such as a cooling fan installed in the engine compartment. The reason for determining that the connection cannot be connected when the information acquisition unit 17 acquires information that the tailgate 53 is open is because opening the tailgate 53 is considered to be a sign of access to the auxiliary battery 5 installed in the luggage compartment. The reason why connection is determined to be impossible when information indicating that the rear door 55 is open is that the opening of the rear door 55 is considered to be a sign of an attempt to access the drive battery 3 installed in the rear seat.

[0026] If the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible, it outputs a disconnection request to the contactor 7. As a result, the contactor 7 electrically disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 when the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible.

[0027] The period determination unit 21 is a part that determines whether the period during which the connection determination unit 19 has determined that connection is possible has exceeded a predetermined period. The predetermined period is, for example, the time required for loading and unloading luggage, and can be set arbitrarily. The period determination unit 21 outputs a connection request to the contactor 7 when it determines that the period during which the connection determination unit 19 has determined that connection is possible has exceeded the predetermined period. As a result, the contactor 7 electrically connects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 when the period determination unit 21 determines that the predetermined period has exceeded.

[0028] [Power management device 1A operation] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the power supply management device 1A for an electrically powered vehicle according to the first embodiment. In the power supply management device 1A of the electric vehicle according to the first embodiment, power is constantly supplied from the auxiliary battery 5 to the state management unit 11 and the connection management unit 13. As a result, in the state management unit 11, the state determination unit 15 monitors the ignition or auto ACC, and the information acquisition unit 17 acquires open / close information of the open / close member. Meanwhile, in the connection management unit 13, the connection determination unit 19 determines whether the contactor 7 can be connected.

[0029] When the ignition is turned on or the auto ACC is turned on, the connection determination unit 19 determines whether the contactor 7 can be connected based on the determination result of the state determination unit 15 and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , the connection determination unit 19 determines that the contactor 7 can be connected when the determination result of the state determination unit 15 is that the ignition is on or the auto ACC is on (step S11: Yes) and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17 is all closed (step S13: Yes). Then, when the period during which the connection determination unit 19 determined that the contactor 7 can be connected exceeds a predetermined period, the period determination unit 21 determines that the predetermined period has been exceeded (step S15: Yes), and the period determination unit 21 outputs a connection request to the contactor 7 (step S17). When the connection request is input to the contactor 7, the contactor 7 electrically connects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. This activates the DC-DC converter 9, and the power charged in the drive battery 3 is converted into a voltage by the DC-DC converter 9 and supplied to the auxiliary battery 5. As a result, the auxiliary battery 5 is charged.

[0030] On the other hand, even if the determination result of the state determination unit 15 is that the ignition is on or the auto ACC is on (step S11: Yes), if at least one of the pieces of information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17 is open (step S13: No), the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible. As a result, even if the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is possible (step S13: Yes), if the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible before the predetermined period has elapsed (step S13: No), the period determination unit 21 will not output a connection request to the contactor 7. Therefore, for example, even if the opening and closing member is repeatedly opened and closed for loading and unloading luggage, etc., the connection determination unit 19 will not output a connection request to the contactor 7 until the period during which the connection determination unit 19 determined that connection is possible has elapsed the predetermined period.

[0031] On the other hand, even if the state determination unit 15 determines that the ignition is on or the auto ACC is on (step S11: Yes), if at least one of the pieces of information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17 is open (step S13: No), the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible, and outputs a disconnection request to the contactor 7 (step S19). When the disconnection request is input to the contactor 7, the contactor 7 electrically disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. This stops the DC-DC converter 9.

[0032] Furthermore, when the ignition and the auto ACC are turned off, the state determination unit 15 determines that the ignition and the auto ACC are turned off (step S21: No), the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible, and the connection determination unit 19 outputs a cutoff request to the contactor 7 (step S19). When the cutoff request is input to the contactor 7, the contactor 7 electrically cuts off the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. This stops the DC-DC converter 9.

[0033] [effect] According to the power supply management device 1A of an electric vehicle of embodiment 1, the contactor 7 does not electrically connect the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 until the period during which the connection determination unit 19 has determined that connection is possible exceeds a predetermined period, thereby reducing the number of times the contactor 7 repeatedly makes and breaks electrical connection.

[0034] Furthermore, because the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 are electrically disconnected when the opening / closing member is opened, the risk of electric shock or entanglement in a rotating body can be reduced even if dangerous objects such as parts through which high voltage current flows can be mistakenly accessed, making the electric vehicle safer.

[0035] For example, if the opening / closing member is an engine hood 51, opening the engine hood 51 electrically disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5, thereby reducing the risk of getting caught in a rotating body even if a rotating device such as a cooling fan that runs on power supplied from the drive battery 3 is installed in the engine room.

[0036] For example, if the opening / closing member is a tailgate 53, opening the tailgate 53 electrically disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. Therefore, even if the auxiliary battery 5 is installed under the floor of the luggage compartment and is accessible from the luggage compartment, the risk of electric shock from the high-voltage current supplied from the drive battery 3 to the auxiliary battery 5 can be reduced.

[0037] For example, if the opening / closing member is the rear door 55, opening the rear door 55 electrically disconnects the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5. Therefore, even if the drive battery 3 is installed under the rear seat and is accessible from the rear seat, the risk of electric shock from the high voltage current supplied from the drive battery 3 to external devices can be reduced.

[0038] [Embodiment 2] [Power Management Device Configuration] 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic diagram of a power supply management device 1B for an electric vehicle according to embodiment 2. The configurations of the state management unit 11 and the connection determination unit 19 of the connection management unit 13 of the power supply management device 1B for an electric vehicle according to embodiment 2 are the same as those of the state management unit 11 and the connection determination unit 19 of the connection management unit 13 of the power supply management device 1B for an electric vehicle according to embodiment 1.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3 , the connection management unit 13 includes a connection impossibility reason identification unit 23. The connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 identifies the reason when the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible. For example, when the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible, the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 identifies the reason for the connection impossibility of the connection determination unit 19 based on the determination result of the state determination unit 15 and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17. For example, when the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 17 indicates that an opening / closing member is open, the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 identifies the reason for the connection impossibility as "open opening / closing member." When the information acquisition unit 17 acquires opening information of at least one of the engine hood 51, the tailgate 53, and the rear door 55, the connection impossibility reason identification unit according to this embodiment also identifies the open opening / closing member. That is, it identifies the reason as either "open engine hood 51," "open tailgate 53," or "open rear door 55."

[0040] The connection failure reason identification unit 23 according to this embodiment counts the number of times the connection determination unit 19 has failed a connection, and identifies the reason for the failure when the number of times reaches or exceeds a predetermined number.

[0041] The power supply management device 1B for an electric vehicle according to this embodiment includes a display management unit 25 in addition to the state management unit 11 and the connection management unit 13. The display management unit 25 is configured by a processor (not shown) that includes an arithmetic unit, registers that store instructions and information, and peripheral circuits, etc., memories (not shown) such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input interface (not shown). An auxiliary battery 5 is connected to the display management unit 25, and power is supplied to the display management unit 25 from the auxiliary battery 5.

[0042] A display 27 is connected to the display management unit 25, and a connection impossibility reason display unit 29 is provided. The display 27 is, for example, a multi-information display 33 provided in the meter 31, and the connection impossibility reason display unit 29 displays the reason for connection impossibility identified by the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 on the display 27. In this embodiment, for example, if the reason for connection impossibility is "the engine hood 51 is open," the display 27 displays a message saying, "The accessory battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the hood." Similarly, if the reason for connection impossibility is "the tailgate 53 is open," the display 27 displays a message saying, "The accessory battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the tailgate.", and if the reason for connection impossibility is "the rear door 55 is open," the display 27 displays a message saying, "The accessory battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the rear door."

[0043] [Power management device 1B operation] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the power supply management device 1B of the electric vehicle according to embodiment 2. The operation of the state management unit 11 and the connection determination unit 19 of the connection management unit 13 of the power supply management device 1B of the electric vehicle according to embodiment 2 is the same as the operation of the state management unit 11 and the connection determination unit 19 of the connection management unit 13 of the power supply management device 1A of the electric vehicle according to embodiment 1.

[0044] 4, when the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible (step S31; Yes), the number of times this has occurred is counted by the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 (step S33). Then, when the number of times reaches or exceeds a predetermined number (step S35: Yes), the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 identifies the reason for the last connection impossibility (steps S37, S39). For example, when the connection impossibility reason identification unit 23 identifies the reason for connection impossibility as the engine hood being open (step S37: Yes), the connection impossibility reason display unit 29 displays message A ("The auxiliary equipment battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the hood.") on the display 27 (step S41). Similarly, if the reason for connection inability is identified as "tailgate 53 is open" (step S39: Yes), connection inability reason display unit 29 displays message B ("The auxiliary battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the tailgate.") on display 27 (step S43), and if the reason for connection inability is identified as "rear door 55 is open" (step S39: No), connection inability reason display unit 29 displays message C ("The auxiliary battery has not been charged for a while. Please close the rear door.") on display 27 (S45).

[0045] [effect] According to the power supply management device 1B for an electric vehicle of embodiment 2, when the connection determination unit 19 determines that connection is not possible, the display 27 displays information that the open / close member is open. Therefore, by looking at the display 27, the user can see that the reason for the electrical disconnection between the drive battery 3 and the auxiliary battery 5 is that the open / close member is open. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1A,1B Power management device 3 Drive battery 5 Auxiliary battery 7 Contactor 9 DC-DC converter 11. State Management Unit 13 Connection Management Unit 15 Status determination unit 17 Information acquisition department 19 Connection determination unit 21 Period determination section 23 Connection failure reason identification part 25 Display Management Unit 27 Display 29 Connection failure reason display section 31 meters 33 Multi-information display 51 Engine hood (opening and closing parts) 53 Tailgate (opening and closing member) 55 Rear door (opening and closing member)

Claims

1. A power supply management device for an electric vehicle equipped with a contactor that electrically connects or disconnects an auxiliary battery and a drive battery, a state management unit including a state determination unit that determines whether the ignition is on or auto ACC, and an information acquisition unit that acquires open / close information of the opening / closing member; a connection management unit including a connection determination unit that determines whether the contactor can be connected based on the determination result of the state determination unit and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, and an elapsed period determination unit that determines whether the period during which the connection determination unit determined that the contactor can be connected has exceeded a predetermined period; a display management unit connected to the display; Equipped with The contactor electrically connects the auxiliary battery and the drive battery when the elapsed time determination unit determines that the predetermined period has elapsed. the connection management unit is provided with a connection impossibility reason identification unit that, when the connection determination unit determines that connection is not possible, identifies a reason why the connection determination unit determined that connection is not possible based on the determination result of the status determination unit and the information acquired by the information acquisition unit; the display management unit is provided with a connection impossibility reason display unit that displays, on the display device, the reason for connection impossibility identified by the impossibility reason identification unit when the connection determination unit determines that connection is impossible; Power management device for electric vehicles.

2. The reason for the inability to connect includes a fact that the auxiliary battery has not been charged for a while, and an operation to resolve the reason for the inability to connect. The power supply management device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 .

3. a DC-DC converter that enables power supply from the drive battery to the auxiliary battery when the connection determination unit determines that connection is possible; The power supply management device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The power supply management device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the opening / closing member is an engine hood.

5. The power supply management device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the opening / closing member is a tailgate.

6. The power supply management device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the opening / closing member is a rear door.

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