JPH09204938A - Feeder system for electric car - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and optionally perform the refreshing treatment of a battery by a user by discharging the battery to a prescribed voltage or less by a refreshing means. SOLUTION: When a controller 54 is started, the position of a switch 56 is detected. When the switch 56 is on REF side, the discharge treatment of a Ni-Cd battery 64 is performed. This discharge treatment is performed by supplying a no-load current to a motor 44 to the extent to which the motor 44 is not rotated. This no-load current means a current smaller than the current in which the output torque value of the motor 44 becomes the total torque of the torque consumed until the motor 44 itself starts rotating and the loss torque consumed in a transmission part. Such a no-load current is supplied, thereby the battery 64 can be refreshed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided with an electric power drive system which uses a rechargeable battery such as a lead battery or a nickel-cadmium battery as a power source and outputs auxiliary power in accordance with human power, or from an accelerator lever or the like. The present invention relates to a power supply device in a vehicle or the like that outputs a driving force according to an instruction value.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric vehicle is generally provided with an electric power drive system including an electric motor that uses a battery (rechargeable battery) as a power source and generates a driving force by discharging the battery.

In the above rechargeable battery, when charging is repeated in a state where the amount of discharge is relatively small, a so-called memory effect is produced in which the substantial capacity is reduced. In order to prevent the capacity decrease due to the memory effect, it is effective to perform a so-called refresh process in which the entire capacity of the battery is periodically discharged.

[0004]

However, as a method for the user to perform the refreshing process, the user must actually drive the vehicle to discharge the full capacity of the battery, which is difficult in practice.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to provide the charger with a refresh function as a method of performing the above-mentioned discharge without driving the vehicle. However, in this method, the cost of the charger becomes high, and the charger is first discharged and then discharged. Since the battery is charged, the operation becomes complicated, and moreover, if the battery is discharged in a short time, the heat generation becomes large, and there is a concern that the ambient temperature rises abnormally.

In order to simplify the operation, the charger is
In the case where the refresh process is automatically performed by the charging operation, since the refreshing process is performed once and then the charging process is performed, the charging time becomes long, and the refreshing process is not necessary every time, resulting in waste.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and a user can arbitrarily perform a battery refresh process while avoiding problems such as high cost, complicated charging operation, and heat generation. An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply device for an electric vehicle that can prevent a decrease in capacity due to a memory effect.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is a power supply device having an electric power drive system using a battery as a power source, and is provided with refreshing means for discharging the battery to a predetermined voltage or less. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in claim 1, the refresh means discharges the battery by supplying a no-load current to the motor of the electric power drive system in a range where the motor does not rotate when the vehicle is stopped. It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in claim 1, the refreshing means discharges the battery by supplying the resistor with a current of about a no-load current in a range in which the motor of the power drive system does not rotate. Is characterized by.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are views for explaining a power feeding device for a bicycle with auxiliary power according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of the bicycle, and FIG. 2 is a configuration of the power feeding device for the bicycle. FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of another battery used in the bicycle, FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the operation of the power feeding device, and FIG. 5 is a relation between the current supplied to the motor and the motor torque. It is a characteristic view to show.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a bicycle with auxiliary power, and a body frame 10 of the bicycle 1 is a head pipe 1.
2, a down tube 14 extending obliquely downward and rearward of the vehicle body from the head pipe 12, a seat tube 16 standing upward from a rear portion of the down tube 14, and left and right extending rearward from a rear end portion of the down tube 14. A pair of rear arms 20, 20 and a left connecting the rear ends of the rear arms 20, 20 with the upper end of the seat tube 16;
A pair of right seat stays 22 and 22 are provided.

The head pipe 12 has a front wheel 2 at the lower end.
A front fork 24, which supports 8 and has a steering handle 26 fixed to the upper end, is pivotally supported to the left and right. A seat post 30a is inserted into the seat tube 16 so that its height can be adjusted, and a saddle 30 is attached to the upper end of the seat post 30a. Further, a rear wheel 32 is rotatably mounted between the rear ends of the rear arms 20 and 20, and a hub 34 of the rear wheel 32 has an internal transmission built therein.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a power unit (electric power drive system) which is a power source of the bicycle with auxiliary power.
The power unit 40 includes a power case 42 and a vehicle body cover 41 that projects forward from the power case 42.
And a permanent magnet type DC electric motor 44 disposed therein. The power case 42 is the down tube 14
The electric motor 44 is mounted below the rear portion 14a, and the electric motor 44 is parallel to the rear portion 14a of the down tube 14.

A crankshaft 46 is inserted through the power case 42 in the vehicle width direction, and crank arms 48 are provided at both ends thereof.
A crank pedal 50 is attached to the crank arm 48 (only one is shown). As a result, a human power drive system 75 that transmits the pedaling force applied to the crank pedal 50 to the rear wheels via the chain 52 is configured.

The pedal force applied to the crank pedal 50 is a pedal force sensor 73 (see FIG. 2) provided in the power case 42.
The output (auxiliary power) of the electric motor 44 is detected by the controller 54 based on the pedal effort and the crankshaft rotation speed. Then, the pedaling force of the pedal 50 and the auxiliary power of the electric motor 44 are combined in the power case 42, and the resultant force is the chain 5
It is transmitted to the rear wheel 32 via 2. The motor 4
The controller 54 for controlling the output of No. 4 is mounted inside the vehicle body cover 41 so as to be located below the front portion 14b of the down tube 14.

The head pipe 12 of the vehicle body frame 10
A main switch 56 and an insertion opening 63 for inserting a memory card 76 in which the degree of supply of auxiliary power according to the rider's physical strength, taste, etc. are stored are provided in the vicinity of the connection portion to the. The memory card 76 stores preset speed assist ratio, treading force responsiveness, treading force assto ratio, treading force sensor 73 and motor 44 characteristics, and the like. The main switch 56 and the insertion opening 63 are exposed to the outside from an opening 41a formed in the vehicle body cover 41.

Reference numeral 64 indicates a nickel-cadmium battery which serves as a power source for the power unit 40. This nicad battery 64
As shown in FIG. 2, a large number of battery cells 66 are connected in series and built in a case, and are arranged in the space between the seat tube 16 and the front edge of the rear wheel 32. The battery case 60 is detachably housed. In addition,
The upper end of the battery case 60 is located between the left and right seat stays 22 and protrudes upward, and the nickel-cadmium battery 64 is mounted vertically between the left and right seat stays 22 and 22. ， Removed.

On the outer surface of the case bottom of the nickel-cadmium battery 64, anode / cathode terminals 64a and 64b and a discrimination terminal 64c for discriminating the battery type are formed. Here, the discrimination terminal 64c is internally connected to the cathode terminal (ground terminal) 64b. It is also possible to connect the discrimination terminal 64c to the cathode side of the battery cell 66.

Further, an anode, a cathode, and discrimination terminals 60a, 60b, 60c are provided on the inner surface of the bottom of the battery case 60 so as to correspond to the terminals 64a-64c on the side of the nickel-cadmium battery 64. When the battery 64 is housed in the battery case 60, it is automatically connected.

Each terminal 60a at the bottom of the battery case 60
˜60c is the controller 5 via the cable 67.
It is connected to No.4, which determines the type of battery,
The battery type is displayed on the indicator 69, and the electric motor 44 of the power unit 40 is displayed according to the battery type.
A power supply device 68 that controls the amount of power supplied to the power supply is configured.

The controller 54 has a CPU 70 which functions as a battery type detecting means, an auxiliary power control means, and a refresh control means. The terminal T1 of the CPU 70 is the anode terminal 60a and the electric motor 44.
Is connected to the base of a transistor 71 as a switching element interposed between the terminals, and the terminal T2 is connected to the determination terminal 60c via an I / F 72 having a load such as a resistor. A 5V power source is connected to the I / F 72, and the cathode terminal 60b is grounded in the controller 54.

Here, the battery type detection function of the controller 54 determines whether the nickel-cadmium battery 64 or another type of battery 65 shown in FIG. In order to enable this discrimination, the discrimination terminal 65c is internally connected to the ground side in FIG. 2, but is open as shown in FIG.

The battery type discrimination operation is performed as follows. The Nicad battery 64 is the battery case 6
When mounted in 0, the voltage of the terminal T2 of the CPU 70 becomes 0 v (low) because the discrimination terminal 60c is grounded via the discrimination terminal 64c on the battery side. On the other hand, when the battery 65 is attached, the determination terminal 60c is opened through the battery-side terminal 65c, so that about 5v (high)
Becomes Therefore, when the terminal T2 is low, it is determined that the nickel-cadmium battery 64 is installed, and when the voltage of the terminal T2 is high, it is determined that the other type of battery battery 65 is installed.

Then, the determined battery type is displayed on the indicator (type display means) 69, and the battery characteristic corresponding to the type is set, and the power supply amount to the electric motor 44 is set according to the characteristic. Is controlled to perform auxiliary power control according to the pedaling force applied to the pedal 50.

In addition, the controller 54 has the switch positions "ON, OFF, RE" of the main switch 56.
"F" is input, and when the REF position is input, the controller 54 performs a battery refresh process.

Reference numerals 77, 78 and 79 denote interfaces for connecting the pedaling force sensor 73, the speed sensor 74 and the memory card 76 to the controller 54, respectively.

Here, when the main switch 56 is rotated to the refresh position RFE, the controller 54 discharges the battery 64 or 65 mounted in the battery case 60 to a predetermined voltage or less. Refresh processing (discharge processing) is performed, and when the connection terminal 80a of the charger 80 is connected to the charging terminal 64d or 65d of the battery 64 or 65, the charger 80 is charged after the refresh processing. It is like this. Reference numeral 81 is a 100v power outlet.

Next, the refresh processing control of the controller 54 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the controller 54 is activated, the position of the switch 56 is detected (steps S1 and S).
2). And the switch position is not on the REF side, and O
If it is not the N side, the controller 54 is stopped (steps S3 and S4). If it is on, auxiliary power control (assist control) is started (step S
5).

If the switch 56 is on the REF side, the discharge process (refresh process) of the nickel-cadmium battery 64 is performed as described later (step S6), and the battery 64 is discharged.
The discharge is stopped when the voltage of 2 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined discharge end voltage (steps S7 and S8).

Next, when the charger 80 is not connected, the controller 54 is stopped (step S
9) If the charger 80 is connected, the charging is started by the output of the charging start signal (step S1).
0), the controller 54 is stopped (step S
4).

Here, the discharge processing in step S6 is performed by supplying the motor 44 with a no-load current to the extent that the motor 44 does not rotate. As shown in FIG. 5, the no-load current means that the output torque value of the motor 44 is the torque T2 consumed until the motor 44 itself starts rotating and the torque corresponding to the loss consumed in the transmission portion. Is a current smaller than the current A1 that results in the total torque T1. By supplying such a no-load current, the bicycle 1 is discharged and the battery 64 and the like are refreshed within a range in which the temperature does not rise due to heat generation in the surroundings.

The current value supplied to the motor during the refresh process may be the current A2 corresponding to the torque T2 corresponding to the loss consumed inside the motor 44.

As described above, the no-load current to the extent that the motor 44 does not rotate is supplied to the motor 44 to discharge the battery and perform the refresh process. Therefore, when the user arbitrarily performs the refresh process. The labor of can be reduced. Further, since the discharge is performed by the no-load current, the amount of heat generation itself is small, and since this heat is generated in the motor 44, there is no problem of abnormal temperature rise in the surroundings.

Further, since it is not necessary to provide the charger 80 with a refresh function, the cost can be reduced and the charging operation can be facilitated.

Although the motor 44 is used as the discharge body in the above embodiment, a resistor having a predetermined size is separately provided as the discharge body, and a current of the above-mentioned no-load current is supplied to the resistor. Therefore, the above-mentioned refresh process may be performed, which is the invention of claim 3 of the present application.

[0037]

As described above, according to the power supply device for an electric vehicle of the first aspect of the present invention, the battery is discharged to a predetermined voltage or less by the refreshing means, so that the user can arbitrarily perform the battery refreshing process. This is easy to carry out, and has the effect of preventing a decrease in capacity due to the memory effect of the battery.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the battery is discharged by supplying the motor with a no-load current in a range in which the motor does not rotate when the vehicle is stopped. The battery can be refreshed by using the electric motor provided by, that is, without changing the conventional configuration, which has the effect of avoiding an increase in cost and also causes a problem of abnormal temperature rise in the surroundings. Absent.

According to the power supply device for an electric vehicle of the third aspect of the invention, the battery is discharged by supplying a current of about no-load current to the resistor. Therefore, a refresh function is provided on the charger side. There is an effect that the refresh process can be performed by a simple operation while avoiding the high cost as in the case of.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a bicycle with auxiliary power including a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of the power feeding device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of another type of battery used in the bicycle.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram for explaining a no-load current supplied to the electric motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 40 power drive system 44 motor 64,65 nickel-cadmium battery (battery) 68 power supply device 70 CPU (refreshing means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A power supply apparatus for an electric vehicle, comprising a power drive system using a battery as a power source, comprising a refreshing means for discharging the battery to a predetermined voltage or less. 2. The battery according to claim 1, wherein the refreshing means discharges the battery by supplying a no-load current to the motor of the electric power drive system in a range in which the motor does not rotate when the vehicle is stopped. Power supply device for electric vehicles. 3. The electric motor according to claim 1, wherein the refreshing means discharges the battery by supplying the resistor with a current of about a no-load current in a range in which the motor of the power drive system does not rotate. Vehicle power supply device.