JP2003264906A - Battery control system for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately diagnose a secondary battery 14 mounted on a hybrid electric vehicle 1, and to improve its operating method. <P>SOLUTION: A battery controlling system for an automobile consists of the hybrid electric vehicles 1, a connection unit 2 arranged at an energy station, and a centralized control device 4 that centralizes the control of each secondary battery 14 for a plurality of the vehicles 1. These vehicles 1 can communicate with the connection unit 2 at the energy station 21, while the connection unit 2 and the device 4 are connected to each other via the Internet 3. Each vehicle 1 collects drive data concerning its traveling state and the operating state of the battery 14, and the collected drive data are transmitted to the device 4 via the connection unit 2. The device 4 stores and controls the drive data transmitted from a plurality of the vehicles 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle, such as a hybrid electric vehicle, in which at least a part of driving force is generated by electric power of a secondary battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a hybrid electric vehicle, for example, in the case of a parallel system, the electric power of a secondary battery operates a motor to assist the driving force at the time of starting or accelerating when a large load is applied to the engine. When the efficiency is light and the load is low, the motor is changed to a generator to charge the secondary battery to smooth the load fluctuation of the engine. In such a hybrid electric vehicle, it is important to maximize the performance of the secondary battery in order to improve fuel efficiency. Therefore, in a conventional hybrid electric vehicle, the output voltage or current of the secondary battery is monitored, and when the value exceeds a threshold value, the use of the secondary battery is stopped or it is determined to be abnormal and User
The (driver) is informed.

[0003]

However, in the hybrid electric vehicle, the state of use of the secondary battery differs depending on whether the main driving area is a mountain area, an expressway, or an urban area. Despite the change in the life of the secondary battery due to this, a diagnostic method of comparing the output voltage and the current with a constant threshold value is conventionally used only, and a highly reliable diagnostic result can be obtained. There was a problem I could not do. Further, in order to maximize the performance of the secondary battery, it is necessary to change the operation method depending on whether the life period is in the early period, the middle period, or the end period. In the conventional hybrid electric vehicle, the operation method of the secondary battery is uniform regardless of the life period, and there is a problem that the maximum performance cannot always be obtained. Furthermore, since the management of the secondary battery is only performed individually for each vehicle, information on the operating state of the secondary battery should be collected from many vehicles and used to improve the operation method. There was a problem that could not be done.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to manage the characteristics of a large number of secondary batteries in a unified manner, to enable accurate diagnosis of each secondary battery, and to improve the operation method for automobiles. It is to provide a battery management system.

[0005]

The battery management system for an automobile according to the present invention uses at least part of the driving force of the secondary battery (1
Car (1) generated by the electric power of 4) and car (1)
A connection unit (2) installed in an energy station (21) for supplying fuel and / or electric energy to the
Centralized management device (4) for centrally managing the secondary battery (14) mounted on each car (1) for a plurality of cars (1)
Composed of and. The vehicle (1) can communicate with the connection unit (2) at the energy station (21), and the connection unit (2) and the centralized management device (4) are connected to each other via the Internet (3). There is. Car (1)
Is a centralized management device that collects driving information about the running state of the automobile (1) and the operating state of the secondary battery (14) and the collected driving information via the connection unit (2).
(4) The information transmitting means for transmitting to (4). Further, the unified management device (4) accumulates and manages the driving information sent from a plurality of automobiles (1) for each automobile (1).

In the above-described battery management system for an automobile of the present invention, while the automobile (1) is traveling, driving information relating to the traveling state of the automobile (1) (for example, history of traveling distance, traveling time, etc., fuel consumption amount). And operation information regarding the operating state of the secondary battery (14) (for example, history of voltage, current, output, resistance, temperature, etc., lifetime elapsed time) are automatically collected. After that, at the energy station (21), the car
(1) is connected to the connection unit (2), and the collected driving information is transmitted from the automobile (1) to the centralized management device (4) via the connection unit (2) during energy supply. The unified management device (4) accumulates and manages driving information sent from a plurality of automobiles (1) for each automobile (1).

According to the above-mentioned automobile battery management system,
For multiple cars (1), driving information about the running state of each car (1) and the operation state of the secondary battery (14) is automatically collected, and this information is centrally managed.
Higher quality management is realized compared to the conventional method in which the characteristics of the secondary battery are managed individually for each vehicle. Also, automobile
Since it is possible to estimate the life of the secondary battery (14) based on the driving information including the information on the running state of (1),
The secondary battery (14) can be diagnosed with high reliability according to the usage state of the secondary battery (14). Furthermore, secondary battery (14)
It is possible to change the operation method of the secondary battery (14) according to the life of the secondary battery (14), whereby the maximum performance can always be obtained from the secondary battery (14).

In a specific configuration, the automobile (1) is provided with a connection terminal (19) for connecting to the connection unit (2) at the energy station (21), and the connection terminal (19) is an energy source. Connection unit during replenishment of (2)
Connected with. Here, the connection terminal (19) is mounted, for example, in the vicinity of the fueling port of the automobile (1), while the connection unit (2) is equipped with a connection jack provided, for example, in the fueling gun, and when the fueling is performed, the connection jack is connected. The vehicle (1) and the connection unit (2) can communicate with each other by plugging the connection terminal (19) into the vehicle. Alternatively, the connection terminal (19) of the automobile (1) and the connection unit (2) can be wirelessly connected by short-range wireless communication.

Further, in a specific configuration, the unified management device
(4) Diagnostic means for diagnosing the characteristics of the secondary battery (14) of the automobile (1) based on the driving information, and information transmitting means for transmitting diagnostic information indicating the diagnostic result to the connection unit (2). The vehicle (1) is provided with information receiving means for receiving diagnostic information sent from the centralized management device (4) through the connection unit (2), and the received diagnostic information is transmitted to the driver. And information transmission means for performing the same. Therefore, the car
Based on the diagnostic information, the user of (1) can recognize whether the secondary battery (14) is maintained in good performance or has some trouble. It enables early inspection and repair of the battery (14).

Alternatively, the centralized management device (4) has an information creating means for creating management information for optimally operating the secondary battery (14) of the automobile (1) based on the driving information, and the management information. And an information receiving means for receiving management information sent from the centralized management device (4) through the connection unit (2) to the automobile (1). And a secondary battery (14) based on the received management information
And an operation switching means for switching the operation method of. As a result, the secondary battery (14) of the automobile (1) will always be optimally operated regardless of its life.

In a more specific configuration, the unified management device
In (4), user information registration means in which personal information is registered for each user of the automobile (1), advertisement information registration means in which advertisement information of various industries is registered, and connection unit (2 )
The personal information of the user of the automobile (1) connected to the vehicle is extracted from the user information registration means, the relevant advertisement information is extracted from the advertisement information registration means based on the personal information, and the connection unit (2) And an information adding means for adding the advertisement information to the information to be transmitted to. As a result, the user of the automobile (1) can obtain useful advertisement information for himself as well as the diagnostic information of the secondary battery (14).

Further, in the specific configuration, it is possible to collect the advertisement cost from the advertisement provider who has registered the advertisement information in the advertisement information registration means of the centralized management device (4), and thereby the present invention is realized. It becomes possible to operate the automobile battery management system.

As described above, the vehicle battery management system of the present invention transmits information from the vehicle (1) to the unified management device (4) via the connection unit (2), and the unified management device
The configuration is not limited to transmitting information from the vehicle (1) to the vehicle (1) via the connection unit (2), but the connection unit (2) may be omitted and the centralized management device (4) may be directly connected to the vehicle (1). It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which information is transmitted to the vehicle (1) directly from the central management device (4). In this case, for a certain period
(Eg 100 hours) or a fixed distance (eg 2
The communication between the automobile (1) and the centralized management device (4) may be executed at a timing of every (00 km).

[0014]

According to the battery management system for an automobile of the present invention, the characteristics of a large number of secondary batteries are centrally managed,
It is possible to accurately diagnose each secondary battery and improve the operation method of the secondary battery.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention applied to a hybrid electric vehicle will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a hybrid electric vehicle (1) according to the present invention comprises an engine (11) and a motor / generator (12) connected to each other to form a power generator, and a secondary battery (14).
DC power supplied from the inverter (13) is converted to AC power and supplied to the motor (12) or generator.
This is a so-called parallel type hybrid electric vehicle in which regenerative power from (12) is converted into direct current power by the inverter (13) to charge the secondary battery (14).

The hybrid electric vehicle (1) includes a control device (15) including a microcomputer, a ROM and an RA.
A storage device (16) including M, a display device (17) including a liquid crystal display, and a connection device (18) are provided.
The connection device (18) is connected to a connection terminal (19) installed near a fuel filler port (not shown).

On the other hand, the energy station (21) such as a gas station is provided with a connection unit (2), and the connection unit (2) is connected to a refueling gun (not shown) by a connection jack (not shown). The vehicle (1) and the connection unit (2) are communicatively connected to each other by inserting the connection jack into the connection terminal (19) when refueling.

The connection unit (2) is the Internet (3)
It is connected to the integrated management device (4) installed in the manufacturer or dealer of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) via the. The centralized management device (4) is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and the centralized management device (4) includes a driving information database (41), a user information database (42) and an advertisement information database (43) which are composed of a hard disk device. ) Is connected.

The battery characteristic database (41) includes driving information (driving distance, history of traveling time, etc., fuel consumption, etc.) concerning the traveling state of the hybrid electric vehicle (1), and a secondary battery.
Operation information related to the operating state of (14) (voltage, current, output,
The history of resistance, temperature, etc., lifetime elapsed time, etc.) are accumulated for each hybrid electric vehicle (1). From the hybrid electric vehicle (1) to the connection unit (2) and the Internet
The driving information sent from time to time through (3) is additionally recorded. In the user information database (42), for each user of the registered hybrid electric vehicle (1), sex,
Personal information such as age, work, family structure, hobbies, and preferences is registered. Further, the advertisement information database (43) stores advertisement information provided by vendors of various industries.

FIG. 3 shows a control procedure executed by the control device (15) of the hybrid electric vehicle (1). When the power of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) is turned on, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not refueling is in progress. If the vehicle is traveling, it is determined to be no, and in step S2, the above-mentioned driving information regarding the traveling state of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) and the operating state of the secondary battery (14) is collected. The collected operation information is stored in the storage device (16). Refueling at a gas station and a hybrid electric vehicle (1)
In the state in which the connection terminal (19) of (1) is connected to the connection unit (2), it is determined as YES in step S1, the process proceeds to step S3, the connection device (18) is turned on, and then in step S4, The operation information stored in the storage device (16) is transmitted from the connection unit (2) to the centralized management device (4) via the Internet (3). The driving information includes identification data for identifying the hybrid electric vehicle (1).

As shown in FIG. 4, the centralized management apparatus (4) monitors whether or not the driving information is received at step S21. When the driving information is received, at step S22, the received driving information is received. Is recorded in the driving information database (41) for each hybrid electric vehicle (1). Then, in step S23, the hybrid electric vehicle (1)
Determine the running pattern of. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, according to the variation pattern of the output of the secondary battery (14) with the passage of running time, FIG.
Can be discriminated as a driving pattern in an urban area and (c) in the figure as a driving pattern on a rural road or a highway. The figure
The mountainous traveling pattern in (a) can be determined by whether or not the product of battery output and time during acceleration / deceleration exceeds a predetermined value. The urban driving pattern in FIG. 7B can be determined by whether or not the number of acceleration / deceleration per unit time exceeds a predetermined value. Further, the highway traveling pattern of FIG. 7C can be determined by whether or not the time during which the engine speed is constant exceeds a predetermined value.

Next, in step S24 of FIG. 4, the secondary battery is
Determine the state of (14). That is, in the centralized management device (4), the lifetime elapsed time from the start of use of the secondary battery (14), lifetime mileage, mileage for each refueling, elapsed time, fuel consumption, fuel consumption, vehicle temperature history, engine A computer program for simulating the life of the secondary battery (14) is registered based on the history of the number of revolutions and the history of the battery (depth of charge (SOC), voltage, current, output, temperature), and the simulation is executed. According to, the characteristics of the current battery, positioning in the entire life, and prediction of the life time are performed. For example, in FIG.
As shown in, the conversion output P (ratio to the initial conversion output) at the current lifetime elapsed time T is derived based on the life prediction function f having variables of lifetime elapsed time T, temperature t, voltage V, and depth of charge SOC. Then, the judgment criteria of FIG. 7 are applied to the result, and it is judged whether the life period is in the early stage, in the middle stage, or in the end stage.

Further, in the life prediction function f shown in FIG.
Rate of change of battery output P with respect to lifetime T ΔP / ΔT
When the result exceeds a predetermined value, it is diagnosed that some abnormality has occurred in the secondary battery (14), and the user of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) is prompted to perform an inspection. . Then, the result of the life prediction and the result of the diagnosis described above are used as the diagnosis data.

Next, in step S25 of FIG. 4, the secondary battery is
Create operation switching data for switching the operation method in (14) to the optimum operation method according to the life. For example, in FIG.
As shown in (a), (b) and (c), the lower limit and the upper limit of the voltage per cell of the secondary battery (14) are determined according to whether the life period is the initial period, the middle period, or the final period, Derive the upper bound for current and the upper bound for output and input. Further, in order to further limit the upper limits of the output and the input of FIG. 8C, depending on whether the traveling pattern of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) is a mountain traveling pattern, a highway traveling pattern, or an urban traveling pattern, Derive the upper limit of output and input considering life.
The limit value thus derived is used as operation switching data.

Furthermore, in the unified management device (4), a hybrid electric vehicle connected to the connection unit (2)
The personal information (1) is extracted from the user information database (42), and the advertisement information database (4) is further extracted based on the personal information.
Extract relevant advertising information from 3).

Then, in step S26 of FIG. 4, the management information including the above-mentioned diagnostic data, operation switching data and advertisement information is created, and in step S27 the management information is transmitted via the internet (3) to the hybrid electric power. Automobile
It transmits to the connection unit (2) of the energy station (21) which (1) is refueling. After that, in step S28, it is determined whether or not the power of the centralized management device (4) is turned off. If the result is NO, the process returns to step S21, and another hybrid electric vehicle (1) of another energy station (21) is returned. ) To receive driving information from.

In the hybrid electric vehicle (1),
In step S5 of FIG. 3, the management information sent from the central management device (4) via the Internet (3) is received from the connection unit (2), and the received management information is displayed in step S6. Display on device (17). For example, by displaying the diagnostic information of the secondary battery (14) included in the management information, the user of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) can recognize the state of the secondary battery (14), The secondary battery (14) can be sent for inspection and repair early. In addition, the display device (1
By displaying the advertisement information in 7), the user of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) can obtain useful information.

Next, in step S7, the operation switching data up to that point is updated by the operation switching data included in the received management information, and in step S8, the updated operation switching data is displayed. After that, the connection device (18) is turned off in step S9, the transmitted information is erased in step S10, and then it is determined in step S11 whether the operation of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) is stopped,
If no, the procedure returns to step S1 and the same procedure is repeated.

In the hybrid electric vehicle (1),
By updating the operation switching data as described above, a new operation based on the operation switching data is started, and the operation is continued during traveling. For example, the secondary battery (1
When the cell voltage in 4) reaches the upper limit, the generator (12) is forced
Stop the function of, or cut off the charging circuit, rechargeable battery
Stop charging for (14). When the cell voltage of the secondary battery (14) reaches the lower limit value, the discharge is stopped and the engine (11)
The generator (12) is driven by to charge the secondary battery (14). If the current flowing through the secondary battery (14) reaches the upper limit value at the time of output generation at the time of starting or at the time of input generation at the time of deceleration, the current is restricted so that no more current flows. Also, when the output is generated at the time of starting (or the input is generated at the time of deceleration), the secondary battery
When the output (or input) of (14) reaches the upper limit (or lower limit), the output (or input) is restricted so that no more output (or input) is generated. Further, the output (or input) of the secondary battery (14) is restricted according to the traveling pattern of the hybrid electric vehicle (1).

According to the vehicle battery management system of the present invention, the characteristics of a large number of secondary batteries are centrally managed, so that each secondary battery can be accurately diagnosed and the secondary batteries can be It will always be optimally operated regardless of the life time, and the overall efficiency of the hybrid electric vehicle will be improved. Further, even when the driving pattern of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) is changed, such as when the user moves, the operation method is switched according to the change of the driving pattern, so that optimum operation is always performed.

Further, according to the vehicle battery management system of the present invention, it is possible to accumulate a huge amount of driving information, which can improve the performance of the secondary battery (14) and the fuel consumption. When a new battery operation method is developed,
It is possible to download a new program from the centralized management device (4) to each hybrid electric vehicle (1). Therefore, the operation method can be evolved one after another without imposing a burden on the user of the hybrid electric vehicle (1). Furthermore, by collecting the advertising cost from the advertising provider who has registered the advertising information in the advertising information database (43) of the centralized management device (4), it becomes possible to operate the automobile battery management system of the present invention. .

The vehicle battery management system of the present invention is not limited to the form in which communication is performed via the connection unit (2) installed in a gas station or the like as shown in FIG. 1, but as shown in FIG. A configuration is also adopted in which the unit is omitted and information is directly transmitted from the hybrid electric vehicle (1) to the unified management device (4) and information is transmitted from the unified management device (4) directly to the hybrid electric vehicle (1). It is possible. In this case, in the hybrid electric vehicle (1), the mobile phone (51) is connected to the control device (15) through the connection device (5), and the mobile phone (51) and the Internet (3) are connected. With the relay device (6), every fixed period (for example, 100 hours),
Alternatively, the communication is executed at a timing of every constant traveling distance (for example, 200 km). It is also possible to collect membership fee from the user of the hybrid electric vehicle (1) who is a member and use it for operating cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an automobile battery management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the vehicle battery management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in a hybrid electric vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the centralized management device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a traveling pattern.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a life prediction function.

FIG. 7 is a chart showing criteria for determining a life period.

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating operation switching data.

[Explanation of symbols]

(1) Hybrid electric vehicle (11) Engine (12) Motor / generator (13) Inverter (14) Secondary battery (15) Control device (16) Storage device (17) Display device (18) Connection device (19) Connection terminal (2) Connection unit (21) Energy Station (3) Internet (4) Centralized management device (41) Operation information database (42) User information database (43) Advertising information database

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Akira Kinoshita             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Noma             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ikuro Ikuro             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5H030 AA06 AS08 FF41 FF51                 5H115 PA08 PA11 PG04 PI16 PO07                       PU01 PU21 PV09 SE06 TI02                       TI05 TI06 TI07 TI08 TR19

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A secondary battery (14) for at least a part of driving force
A vehicle (1) generated by the electric power of the vehicle, a connection unit (2) installed in an energy station (21) for supplying fuel and / or electric energy to the vehicle (1), and a plurality of vehicles (1) The vehicle (1) is composed of an energy management station (4) that centrally manages the secondary battery (14) mounted on each vehicle (1).
It is possible to communicate with the connection unit (2) at (21), and the connection unit (2) and the centralized management device (4) are on the Internet.
The vehicle (1) is connected to each other via (3), and the vehicle (1) collects driving information on the running state of the vehicle (1) and the operating state of the secondary battery (14), and the collected driving information. The centralized management device (4) comprises information transmission means for transmitting information to the centralized management device (4) via the connection unit (2), and the centralized management device (4) receives driving information sent from a plurality of automobiles (1). Automobile
(1) An automobile battery management system characterized by accumulating and managing each. 2. A vehicle (1) is provided with a connection terminal (19) for connecting to a connection unit (2) at an energy station (21), which connection terminal (19) is supplying energy. The vehicle battery management system according to claim 1 or 2, which is connected to the connection unit (2). 3. The unitary control device (4) includes a diagnostic unit for diagnosing the characteristics of the secondary battery (14) of the automobile (1) based on the driving information, and diagnostic information indicating the diagnostic result.
An information transmission means for transmitting to (2) is provided, and the vehicle (1)
An information receiving means for receiving diagnostic information sent from the centralized management device (4) via the connection unit (2) and an information transmitting means for transmitting the received diagnostic information to the driver are provided. The battery management system for an automobile according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The unitary management device (4) has an information creating means for creating management information for optimally operating the secondary battery (14) of the automobile (1) based on the driving information, and the management information. Is provided to the connection unit (2),
The connection unit from the central management device (4) to the automobile (1)
The information receiving means for receiving the management information sent via (2), and the operation switching means for switching the operation method of the secondary battery (14) based on the received management information are provided. Alternatively, the vehicle battery management system according to claim 2. 5. The unified management device (4) has user information registration means for registering personal information for each user of the automobile (1) and advertisement information for registering advertisement information of various industries. Vehicles connected to the registration means and the connection unit (2)
The personal information of the user of (1) is extracted from the user information registration means, the relevant advertisement information is extracted from the advertisement information registration means based on the personal information, and is used as the information to be transmitted to the connection unit (2). The vehicle battery management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an information adding unit that adds the advertisement information. 6. The battery management system for an automobile according to claim 5, wherein an advertisement fee is collected from an advertisement provider whose advertisement information is registered in the advertisement information registration means of the centralized management device (4). 7. A secondary battery (14) for at least a part of driving force
(1) generated by the electric power of the vehicle, and a centralized management device (4) for centrally managing the secondary battery (14) mounted on each vehicle (1) for a plurality of vehicles (1) The vehicle (1) is equipped with a running state of the vehicle (1) and a secondary battery.
An integrated management device comprising: an information collection means for collecting operation information related to the operation state of (14); and an information transmission means for transmitting the collected operation information to the integrated management device (4) via the Internet (3). (4) is a battery management system for automobiles, characterized by accumulating and managing driving information sent from a plurality of automobiles (1) for each automobile (1).