Vehicle Control System

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control system capable of effectively preventing deterioration of a battery mounted on a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system comprises: a data collection section which collects data related to user's vehicle operation characteristics; an analysis section which uses the collected data to analyze a burden on a battery to be a factor causing deterioration of the battery mounted on the vehicle; and a control section which cools the battery at cooling intensity corresponding to an analysis result. Thus, the vehicle control system can effectively prevent the deterioration of the battery.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicle control systems. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been progress in the development of technologies for optimizing vehicle equipment according to the driving characteristics of a user. Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle setting inheritance system that optimizes the equipment of a second vehicle based on user characteristic information learned in a first vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-158003 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 only describes optimizing vehicle equipment such as steering feel and seat position according to the user's driving characteristics, but does not describe taking appropriate measures to prevent deterioration of the battery installed in the vehicle. In other words, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the problem of being unable to take appropriate measures to prevent deterioration of the battery installed in the vehicle according to the user's driving characteristics.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above background, and has an object to provide a vehicle control system that can effectively prevent deterioration of a battery installed in a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle control system according to the present disclosure includes a data collection unit that collects data related to a user's driving characteristics of a vehicle, an analysis unit that uses the collected data to analyze the load on the vehicle's battery that may cause deterioration of the battery, and a control unit that cools the battery at a cooling intensity according to the analysis results. This vehicle control system can effectively prevent deterioration of the vehicle's battery by adjusting the cooling intensity of the vehicle's battery according to the user's driving characteristics. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a vehicle control system that can effectively prevent deterioration of a battery installed in a vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a vehicle control system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of a vehicle control device provided in the vehicle control system shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0010] <First Embodiment> 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a vehicle control system 1 according to a first embodiment. The vehicle control system 1 can effectively prevent deterioration of a battery mounted on a vehicle by adjusting the cooling intensity of the battery mounted on the vehicle in accordance with the driving characteristics of a user. This will be specifically described below.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle control system 1 includes a vehicle control device 10, a vehicle 20_1, and a network 50. The vehicle control device 10 can be referred to as a vehicle control system by itself. The vehicle control device 10 and the vehicle 20_1 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless network 50. The vehicle control device 10 may be mounted on the vehicle 20_1 or may be provided separately from the vehicle 20_1.

[0012] The vehicle 20_1 is an electric vehicle owned by a user U1 of the present system. The vehicle 20_1 is provided with a rechargeable secondary battery 21_1 such as a lithium-ion battery, and a cooling device 22_1 that cools the secondary battery 21_1. The cooling device 22_1 may be an air-cooled cooling device such as a fan, or may be a water-cooled cooling device using a pipe through which cooling water flows.

[0013] The vehicle control device 10 is a device that adjusts the cooling intensity of a cooling device 22_1 for a secondary battery 21_1 mounted on a vehicle 20_1 in accordance with the driving characteristics of a user U1. Specifically, the vehicle control device 10 includes a data collection unit 11, an analysis unit 12, and a control unit 13.

[0014] The data collection unit 11 collects data related to the driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1. The data related to the driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1 is, for example, data related to a distance traveled by the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1 per predetermined period, a speed (i.e., average speed) of the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1 per predetermined period, or an accelerator opening degree of the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1 per predetermined period.

[0015] The analysis unit 12 analyzes the burden on the secondary battery 21_1 mounted on the vehicle 20_1, which is a factor in deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1, by using the data collected by the data collection unit 11. The burden on the secondary battery is, in other words, the load applied to the secondary battery.

[0016] For example, the analysis unit 12 determines that the longer the distance traveled by the user U1 of the vehicle 20_1 per predetermined period, the greater the burden on the secondary battery 21_1, and the shorter the distance traveled, the smaller the burden on the secondary battery 21_1. Alternatively, the analysis unit 12 determines that the faster the speed of the user U1 of the vehicle 20_1 per predetermined period, the greater the burden on the secondary battery 21_1, and the slower the speed, the smaller the burden on the secondary battery 21_1. Alternatively, the analysis unit 12 determines that the greater the accelerator opening degree of the user U1 of the vehicle 20_1 per predetermined period, the greater the burden on the secondary battery 21_1, and the smaller the accelerator opening degree, the smaller the burden on the secondary battery 21_1. The analysis unit 12 may analyze the burden on the secondary battery 21_1 from driving characteristics other than those mentioned above. Then, the analysis unit 12, for example, quantifies and outputs the analysis result of the burden on the secondary battery 21_1.

[0017] The control unit 13 causes the cooling device 22_1 to cool the secondary battery 21_1 with a cooling intensity according to the analysis result by the analysis unit 12. For example, when the burden (a numerical value representing the burden) on the secondary battery 21_1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 13 increases the cooling intensity of the cooling device 22_1 for the secondary battery 21_1. This reduces the burden on the secondary battery 21_1, thereby suppressing deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1. On the other hand, when the burden (a numerical value representing the burden) on the secondary battery 21_1 is less than the predetermined value, the control unit 13 reduces or maintains the cooling intensity of the cooling device 22_1 for the secondary battery 21_1. This reduces the burden of the cooling process on the cooling device 22_1.

[0018] Furthermore, when the number of times that the burden (a numerical value representing the burden) on the secondary battery 21_1 has reached a predetermined value or more reaches a predetermined number of times, the control unit 13 may be configured not only to increase the cooling intensity of the secondary battery 21_1 by the cooling device 22_1 but also to lower the upper limit of the current supplied to the secondary battery 21_1 during charging. This increases the charging time of the secondary battery 21_1, but reduces the burden on the secondary battery 21_1 during charging, thereby further suppressing deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1.

[0019] Next, the operation of the vehicle control device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle control device 10.

[0020] First, the vehicle control device 10 collects data on the driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_1 by the user U1 (step S101).

[0021] Thereafter, the vehicle control device 10 uses the collected data to analyze the load on the secondary battery 21_1 mounted on the vehicle 20_1 that becomes a factor in deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1 (step S102).

[0022] For example, when the load (a numerical value representing the load) on the secondary battery 21_1 is less than a predetermined value (NO in step S103), the vehicle control device 10 weakens or maintains the cooling strength of the cooling device 22_1 for the secondary battery 21_1 (step S104). Thereby, the load of the cooling process of the cooling device 22_1 is reduced.

[0023] On the other hand, if the load (a numerical value representing the load) on the secondary battery 21_1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (YES in step S103), the vehicle control device 10 increases the cooling intensity of the cooling device 22_1 for the secondary battery 21_1 (step S106). This reduces the load on the secondary battery 21_1, thereby suppressing deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1.

[0024] Furthermore, when the number of times that the burden on the secondary battery 21_1 has reached or exceeded a predetermined value (a numerical value representing the burden) reaches a predetermined number of times (YES in step S107), the vehicle control device 10 not only increases the cooling intensity of the secondary battery 21_1 by the cooling device 22_1 but also reduces the upper limit of the current supplied to the secondary battery 21_1 during charging (step S108). This lengthens the charging time of the secondary battery 21_1, but also reduces the burden on the secondary battery 21_1 during charging, thereby further suppressing deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1.

[0025] After the processing of step S104, the processing of NO in step S107, or the processing of step S108, if the vehicle control device 10 continues the cooling control of the secondary battery 21_1 (YES in step S105), it returns to the data collection processing (step S101), and if it does not continue the cooling control of the secondary battery 21_1 (NO in step S105), it ends the processing.

[0026] In this way, the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment can effectively prevent deterioration of the secondary battery 21_1 by adjusting the cooling strength of the cooling device 22_1 for the secondary battery 21_1 mounted on the vehicle 20_1 in accordance with the driving characteristics of the user U1.

[0027] <Embodiment 2> 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control system 2 according to a second embodiment. The vehicle control system 2 further includes a vehicle 20_2 compared to the vehicle control system 1. The vehicle control device 10 and the vehicles 20_1 and 20_2 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless network 50.

[0028] The vehicle 20_2 is an electric vehicle owned by a user U1 of the present system. The vehicle 20_2 is provided with a rechargeable secondary battery 21_2 such as a lithium ion battery, and a cooling device 22_2 that cools the secondary battery 21_2. The cooling device 22_2 may be an air-cooled cooling device such as a fan, or may be a water-cooled cooling device using a pipe through which cooling water flows.

[0029] The driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_2 driven by the user U1 tend to be similar to the driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_1 driven by the user U1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the vehicle control device 10 adjusts the cooling intensity of the secondary battery 21_2 of the vehicle 20_2 based on a result of analyzing data related to the driving characteristics of the vehicle 20_1 driven by the user U1. Thereby, even when data is not collected from the vehicle 20_2, for example, when the vehicle 20_2 is a new car, deterioration of the secondary battery 21_2 is effectively suppressed.

[0030] As described above, the vehicle control system according to the above embodiment can effectively prevent deterioration of the secondary battery installed in the vehicle by adjusting the cooling intensity of the secondary battery according to the user's driving characteristics.

[0031] In addition, the present disclosure can be realized by causing a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a computer program for all or part of the processing of the vehicle control device 10.

[0032] The above-described program includes a set of 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 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 drives (SSD) or other memory technologies, CD-ROMs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. The program may also be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable media or communication media include electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0033] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0034] (Appendix 1) The vehicle control system collecting data regarding the driving characteristics of the vehicle by the user; Using the collected data, an analysis is performed of the load on the battery mounted on the vehicle that is a factor in deterioration of the battery; Cooling the battery at a cooling intensity according to the analysis results. Vehicle control method.

[0035] (Appendix 2) collecting data regarding a user's driving characteristics of the vehicle; A process of analyzing the load on the battery mounted on the vehicle that is a factor in deterioration of the battery using the collected data; a process of cooling the battery at a cooling intensity according to the analysis result; A control program that causes a computer to execute the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Vehicle control system 10 Vehicle control device 11 Data Collection Department 12 Analysis Department 13 Control Unit 20_1~20_2 Vehicles 21_1~21_2 Secondary battery 22_1~22_2 Cooling device 50 Network

Claims

1. a data collection unit that collects data regarding the driving characteristics of a vehicle by a user; an analysis unit that uses the collected data to analyze a load on the battery mounted on the vehicle that may be a cause of deterioration of the battery; a control unit that cools the battery at a cooling intensity according to the analysis result; A vehicle control system comprising: the control unit increases the cooling intensity of the battery as the load on the battery increases, When the analysis unit determines that the burden on the battery is large a predetermined number of times, the control unit increases the cooling intensity and also reduces an upper limit of a current supplied to the battery when the battery is being charged. Vehicle control system.

2. a data collection unit that collects data regarding the driving characteristics of a vehicle by a user; an analysis unit that uses the collected data to analyze a load on the battery mounted on the vehicle that may be a cause of deterioration of the battery; a control unit that cools the battery at a cooling intensity according to the analysis result; A vehicle control system comprising: cooling a battery installed in a vehicle of the user other than the vehicle in question with a cooling intensity according to the analysis results; Vehicle control system.

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