JP2005204418A - Charging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging apparatus which can perform charging efficiently by checking its discharge state. <P>SOLUTION: A charger 11 is provided with a large current power source 13 capable of outputting a large current and a small current power source 14 capable of outputting a smaller current than that of the large current power source 13, and the power from the large current power source 13 and the small current power source 14 is supplied to a charge controller 12 via a large current power line 15 and a small current power line 16. The battery monitoring part 31 of the charge controller 12 supplies the power from the large current power 13 of the charger 11 selectively to any of the first to third large current supply lines 32-34, and also supplies the power from the small current power 14 selectively to any of the first to third small current supply lines 35-37. The battery monitoring part 31 acquires the discharge depth of the battery connected to each supply line 32-37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging device for charging a battery.

  Conventionally, a plurality of batteries are mounted on an electric vehicle, and a charging device for charging these batteries is provided.

  In this charging apparatus, a plurality of batteries are connected in series or in parallel so that they can be simultaneously discharged and charged simultaneously.

  However, such a charging device has a problem in that when the discharge balance of each battery is uneven in a vehicle that uses a plurality of batteries by switching, the charging of each battery varies.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging device capable of preventing variation in charging.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the charging device according to claim 1 of the present invention, in the charging device for charging a plurality of batteries, a discharge depth acquisition means for acquiring the discharge depth of each battery, and in order of increasing discharge depth Priority order assigning means for assigning priorities, and charging means for individually charging the batteries in order from the battery with the highest priority order.

  That is, when charging a plurality of batteries, the discharge balance of each battery may be uneven.

  Therefore, at the time of charging, the depth of discharge in each battery is acquired, and priorities are given in descending order of the depth of discharge. Then, the batteries are individually charged in order from the battery with the highest priority.

  Thereby, each battery is individually charged with a capacity corresponding to the depth of discharge.

  In addition, since charging of a battery having a high depth of discharge is performed in advance, the charging efficiency is improved compared to a case where a battery that is close to full charge is charged in advance.

  The charging device according to claim 2 is a charging device that shifts from normal charging that charges with a large current during charging to equal charging that charges with a smaller current than that during normal charging, and has a high priority. And charging start means for starting the normal charging of the next-order battery when the normal charging is finished and the process shifts to the uniform charging.

  That is, when the normal charging of the high priority battery is terminated and the process shifts to the equal charging, the normal charging of the next priority battery is started.

  As a result, a battery with a higher priority is charged uniformly with a small current, and a battery with a higher priority is charged normally.

  As described above, in the charging device according to claim 1 of the present invention, it is possible to charge the battery according to the depth of discharge by charging each battery individually. For this reason, when all the charging is completed, each battery can be fully charged.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent a variation in charging generated between the batteries as compared with the case where a plurality of batteries are charged in parallel or in series.

  And since the battery with high depth of discharge and good charging efficiency can be charged in advance, the capacity recovery per hour compared to the case where a battery near full charge with poor charging efficiency is charged in advance The rate can be increased.

  Further, in the charging device according to claim 2, when the normal charging of the high priority battery is finished and the shift to the uniform charging is started, the normal charging of the next priority battery is started. It is possible to simultaneously perform equal charging with a small current and normal charging with a large current in the next rank battery.

  Thereby, compared with the case where the charge of the battery of the next order is started after the equal charge is completed, the charge can be performed more efficiently.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a charging device 1 according to the present embodiment. The charging device 1 is a device that is provided in an electric vehicle and charges a battery that is a power source of a drive motor.

  The charging device 1 includes a charger 11 that supplies a charging current and a charge controller 12 that manages charging. The charger 11 includes a large current power source 13 that can output a large current during charging, and a small current power source 14 that outputs a small current smaller than the large current power source 13. The power supply from 13 is configured to be supplied to the charge controller 12 through the large current power line 15. The power from the small current power source 14 is configured to be supplied to the charge controller 12 through a small current power line 16.

  Moreover, the said charger 11 is provided with the control part 21, This control part 21 is comprised centering on the microcomputer. The control unit 21 sets a charging start condition such as that the charging AC power is supplied to the charger 11, or that electric power generated by braking is generated in the drive motor and a regenerative current is supplied to the charger 11. The charging start request signal is output to the charge controller 12 via the signal line 22 when these charging start conditions are detected.

  The charge controller 12 includes a battery monitoring unit 31 configured mainly with a microcomputer, and the battery monitoring unit 31 is configured to receive the charge start request signal. The battery monitoring unit 31 selectively supplies power from the high-current power source 13 of the charger 11 to any one of the first to third large-current supply lines 32 to 34, and The power supply 14 is configured to selectively supply power to any one of the first to third small current supply lines 35 to 37. Further, the battery monitoring unit 31 detects the remaining capacity by detecting the output voltage of the battery connected to each of the supply lines 32 to 37 using the respective supply lines 32 to 37, and discharges each battery. It is configured to obtain the depth.

  The first large current supply line 32 and the first small current supply line 35 are connected to first connectors 42 and 42 to which a first battery pack 41 containing a battery is detachably connected, and the second The large current supply line 33 and the second small current supply line 36 are connected to second connectors 44 and 44 to which a second battery pack 43 incorporating a battery is detachably connected. The third large current supply line 34 and the third small current supply line 37 are connected to third connectors 46 and 46 to which a third battery pack 45 incorporating a battery is detachably connected, Each battery pack 41, 43, 45 is configured to be able to charge a built-in battery.

  The present embodiment according to the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart showing the processing procedure of the charge controller 12 shown in FIG.

  That is, when a charge start request signal is received from the charger 11 (S1), the discharge depth of the battery built in the first to third battery packs 41, 43, 45 using the supply lines 32-37. Are obtained in order (S2 to S4), and priority is set in order from the deepest discharge depth based on the obtained depth of discharge (S5).

  Specifically, when the battery level of the first battery pack 41 is the smallest and the depth of discharge is the deepest, the priority “1” is assigned to the first connectors 42 and 42 corresponding to the first battery pack 41. When the remaining battery level of the second battery pack 43 is the second smallest and the depth of discharge is the second deepest, the priority “2” is assigned to the second connectors 44 and 44 corresponding to the second battery pack 43. In addition, when the third battery pack 45 has the largest remaining battery capacity and the shallowest discharge depth, the priority “3” is assigned to the third connectors 46 and 46 corresponding to the third battery pack 45.

  Then, an area “a” that repeats increasing and decreasing within the range of “1 to 3” is secured in the memory built in the microcomputer, and after setting “1” as an initial value to this “a”, the priority is “a”, that is, priority. Usually, the high-current power line 15 from the charger 11 is connected to the first connectors 42 and 42 set in the rank “1” by a relay circuit or the like to charge the battery built in the first battery pack 41 with a large current. Charging is started (S6). When the normal charging is started, the priority “a”, that is, whether or not the battery voltage of the first battery pack 41 reaches a predetermined value, and whether or not to shift to equal charging in which charging is performed with a smaller current than that in the normal charging. (S7), when the predetermined value is reached and the shift to the equal charge is made, the priority "a", that is, the first connectors 42, 42 to which the first battery pack 41 is connected and the large current The normal charging is stopped by opening a circuit with the power line 15 (S8), and the high current power line 15 is connected to the second connector 44 to the second battery pack 43 set with the priority “a + 1”, that is, “2”. , 44, normal charging of the battery built in the second battery pack 43 is started (S9).

  Thus, when the normal charging of the battery built in the first battery pack 41 having the highest priority is terminated and the process proceeds to the uniform charging, the normal charging of the battery built in the second battery pack 43 having the second priority is performed. To start.

  At this time, the power supply 14 for the small current is supplied to the third connectors 46 and 46 to the third battery pack 45 set with the priority “a−1”, that is, “3” (3 which is the previous value of 1). It is determined whether or not a small current is being output (S10). If a small current is not being output to the third battery pack 45, priority "a", that is, the first battery pack 41 is connected. The first connectors 42 and 42 and the small current power line 16 are connected to start the equal charge of the battery built in the first battery pack 41 connected to the first connectors 42 and 42 (S11). As a result, the normal charging in which the battery built in the first battery pack 41 is charged with a large current is shifted to the uniform charging in which the battery is charged with a smaller current than that during the normal charging.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the priority “a + 1”, that is, the battery voltage of the second battery pack 43 reaches a predetermined value, and shifts to the equal charge from the normal charging time (S12). When shifting to the equal charge, the normal charge is stopped by opening the circuit of the priority “a + 1”, that is, the second connectors 44 and 44 to which the second battery pack 43 is connected and the large current power line 15. Later (S13), the process proceeds to step S14. Further, when the predetermined value is not reached in the determination in step S12 and the shift to the equal charge is not made, it is determined whether or not the charge is completed (S14), and when the charge is not completed, On the other hand, when the charging is completed, the circuit of the priority “a”, that is, the first connectors 42 and 42 to which the first battery pack 41 is connected and the small current power line 16 is opened. The equal charging of the battery in the first battery pack 41 connected to the first connectors 42, 42 is stopped (S15). Then, the set priorities are incremented (a = a + 1) (S16), the process proceeds to step S7, and all the batteries built in the battery packs 41, 43, 45 are sequentially charged.

  In this way, by obtaining the discharge depths of the batteries contained in the battery packs 41, 43, and 45, prioritizing them in the order of deep discharge depth, and charging each battery individually in order from the battery with the highest priority. The battery can be charged for a capacity corresponding to the depth of discharge. For this reason, when all the charging is completed, each battery can be fully charged.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent variation in charging between the batteries as compared with the case where a plurality of batteries having non-uniform discharge balance are charged in parallel or in series.

  And since the battery with high depth of discharge and good charging efficiency can be charged in advance, the capacity recovery per hour compared to the case where a battery near full charge with poor charging efficiency is charged in advance The rate can be increased.

  In addition, when the normal charging of the high priority battery is terminated and the process shifts to the uniform charging, the normal charging of the next priority battery is started. It is possible to proceed simultaneously with normal charging with a large current in the rank battery.

  Thereby, compared with the case where the charge of the battery of the next order is started after the equal charge is completed, the charge can be performed more efficiently.

It is a block diagram which shows one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the embodiment. It is a flowchart following FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging apparatus 12 Charge controller 41 1st battery pack 43 2nd battery pack 44 3rd battery pack

Claims (2)

In a charging device for charging a plurality of batteries,
A depth-of-discharge acquisition means for acquiring the depth of discharge of each battery;
Priority giving means for assigning priorities in descending order of discharge depth;
Charging means for charging each battery individually in order from the battery with the highest priority,
A charging device comprising: A charging device that shifts from normal charging that charges with a large current during charging to equal charging that charges with a smaller current than during normal charging,
2. The charging according to claim 1, further comprising charging start means for starting the normal charging of the next-order battery when the normal charging of the battery having a high priority is terminated and the process proceeds to the equal charging. apparatus.

Images