JP2008278705A - Device for cooling secondary battery - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fully regenerate electric power even if a low fuel consumption travel mode is selected, relating to a secondary battery cooling device mounted on an electric vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: When a low fuel consumption travel mode is selected (S102), a control curve of a cooling fan air volume relative to a secondary battery temperature is switched from a normal control curve in a normal travel mode to such control curve as the air volume of a cooling fan is larger than the normal control curve, to increase the air volume of the cooling fan. If no passenger is seated on a rear seat close to an air intake opening which takes the air in a cabin into the cooling fan (S106, NO), the control curve of the cooling fan air volume is switched to such control curve as the air volume of cooling fan further increases than when a passenger is seated on the rear seat, for larger air volume of the cooling fan. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device for a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle.

  Electric vehicles such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles that use the driving force obtained from the motor generator or motor as the driving force of the vehicle are equipped with chargeable / dischargeable secondary batteries for running. The stored power is converted into drive power by an inverter circuit and taken out to drive the motor generator or motor, or the power generated by the engine or regenerative power is charged to the secondary battery. Yes. Since such a secondary battery has internal resistance, it generates heat during charging and discharging. Therefore, the temperature of the secondary battery rises as the charging / discharging of the secondary battery is repeated. Therefore, the hybrid vehicle or the electric vehicle is provided with a cooling fan for cooling the secondary battery. The rise in the temperature of the secondary battery increases greatly as the charge / discharge current of the secondary battery increases. Therefore, the larger the charge / discharge amount of the secondary battery, the greater the amount of air required for cooling. The smaller the amount, the less the air volume required for cooling.

  On the other hand, hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles capable of low-noise all-electric travel are required to have a very low cabin noise level compared to ordinary engine vehicles. At this time, the noise of the cooling fan becomes a problem. Therefore, if the background noise is low when the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed and the charge / discharge amount is small, the air flow of the cooling fan is reduced, the background noise is high during high speed driving, and the charge / discharge amount of the secondary battery is low. A method of effectively cooling the secondary battery without increasing the sensory noise of the cooling fan by controlling to increase the air volume of the cooling fan when it is large has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, in such secondary battery cooling control, when it is desired to accelerate rapidly from a low-speed driving state, the air flow of the cooling fan is kept low due to the noise in the vehicle, so the secondary battery temperature is excessive. In order to avoid the increase, the charge / discharge amount is limited, and the output required for acceleration may not be obtained from the motor generator or the motor. In particular, when it is desired to run a sport on a mountain road or the like, the acceleration characteristics may not be sufficiently obtained due to the control for reducing the noise of the cooling fan. In such a case, when the user desires to improve the power characteristics rather than the low in-vehicle noise, there has been proposed a method for obtaining a larger power characteristic by increasing the air volume of the cooling fan ( For example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-184979 A JP 2006-121786 A

  By the way, although the hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that realizes low fuel consumption by power regeneration during braking, some users may require further low fuel consumption. In such a case, the amount of discharge of the secondary battery may be limited as compared with normal driving so that the user can select a low fuel consumption traveling mode in which acceleration is kept low and fuel efficient traveling is performed.

  In such a fuel-efficient driving mode, the output from the secondary battery is limited compared to the normal driving mode, so the cooling fan needs less air flow. It is operated at a low flow rate corresponding to the battery output limit.

  However, even when the output from the secondary battery is limited, the braking force similar to that in the normal traveling mode is required for braking, and power regeneration similar to that in the normal traveling mode is performed. However, since the secondary battery generates heat not only during discharging but also during charging, if the cooling fan has a small air flow in accordance with the output limit, the secondary battery is charged during power regeneration. The charging current may be limited in order to avoid an excessive increase in temperature. If the charging current is limited, power regeneration is not sufficiently performed, and as a result, even when the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected, it may not be possible to travel with sufficiently low fuel consumption.

  An object of the present invention is to sufficiently perform power regeneration even when the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected.

  The secondary battery cooling device of the present invention is a secondary battery cooling device that is mounted on an electric vehicle including a low fuel consumption travel mode and includes a cooling fan that ventilates air to the secondary battery. The cooling fan that increases the air flow of the cooling fan by switching the control curve of the cooling fan air flow with respect to the secondary battery temperature from the normal control curve in the normal driving mode to another control curve in which the air flow of the cooling fan is larger than the normal control curve It has an air volume change means.

  The secondary battery cooling device of the present invention further comprises seating state acquisition means for acquiring the seating state of the seat, and the cooling fan air volume changing means is the seating acquired by the seating state acquisition means in the low fuel consumption travel mode. It is also preferable to switch the control curve of the cooling fan air volume with respect to the secondary battery temperature based on the state, and the cooling fan air volume changing means is configured such that the seating state acquired by the seating state acquiring means is changed to the cooling fan. If the occupant is not seated in the air intake side seat near the air intake port that takes in the air, the control curve of the cooling fan airflow will be more sensitive to the secondary battery temperature than if the occupant is seated in the air intake side seat. It is also suitable to increase the cooling fan airflow by switching to a control curve that increases the cooling fan airflow, and the intake side seat is the rear seat of the vehicle. It is also suitable as a.

  The present invention has an effect that power regeneration can be sufficiently performed even when the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a vehicle on which the secondary battery cooling device of this embodiment is mounted. As shown in FIG. 1, the secondary battery 16 for driving the vehicle is mounted under the trunk floor plate 14 behind the rear seat 12 of the vehicle 10. As for the secondary battery 16, a plurality of (for example, six) battery cells (for example, six battery cells having an output voltage of 1.2V) are connected and integrally coupled so that a necessary power capacity (voltage value) can be obtained. A predetermined number of the configured battery modules 20 are connected in series to have a high voltage output of 200V to 300V. Between each of these battery modules 20, a cooling air flow path for flowing cooling air is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling air of the secondary battery 16 is sucked into the cooling fan 26 from the intake port 13 provided on the side of the rear seat 12 through the suction pipe 22 and pressurized by the cooling fan 26. After that, the battery is supplied to the upper part of the secondary battery 16 from the secondary battery cooling air intake 38 provided in the upper part of the secondary battery through the connection pipe line 23 connecting the cooling fan 26 and the secondary battery 16. . The cooling air ventilated inside the secondary battery flows through the gap between the battery modules 20 from the upper ventilation path 28 at the upper part of the secondary battery, cools the battery module 20, and passes through the lower ventilation path 29 at the lower part of the secondary battery 16. Then, the air is exhausted from the secondary battery cooling air exhaust port 39 to the exhaust pipe 24, and is discharged from the exhaust pipe 24 to the outside through the exhaust port 25 attached to the side surface of the vehicle 10. The cooling fan 26 is a centrifugal fan or blower driven by a cooling fan motor 27, but may be an axial flow fan or blower. The temperature of the secondary battery 16 is configured to be measured by a secondary battery temperature sensor 47 attached to the secondary battery temperature.

  Also, seating sensors 45a to 45c for detecting whether or not an occupant is seated are attached to the left and right and center seats of the rear seat 12, respectively. In this embodiment, a seating sensor 45a is attached to the seat on the left side in the traveling direction of the vehicle, a seating sensor 45b is attached to the center seat, and a seating sensor 45c is provided to the right seat. Seat sensors 43a and 43c for detecting whether or not an occupant is seated are also attached to the left and right seats 11a and 11c of the front seat. Each of the seating sensors 43a, 43c, 45a to 45c may be provided with a dedicated sensor on the seating surface of each seat, or may be configured to detect seating by a signal from a seatbelt wearing sensor or the like. .

  Since the air inlet 13 is provided adjacent to the rear seat 12, the left and right and center seats of the rear seat 12 become the air inlet side seats, and the front seats 11 a and 11 c that are separated from the air inlet 13. Is the seat on the anti-intake side. A dashboard 19 to which various instruments are attached is provided in front of the front seats 11a and 11c, and a low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 is provided on the dashboard 19. The low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 may be provided not on the dashboard 19 but on a shift lever or the like as long as it can be selected by the occupant.

  FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of the secondary battery cooling device 60 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the sensors 43 a, 43 c, 45 a to 45 c, 47, the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41, and the cooling fan motor 27 described with reference to FIG. 2 are represented as blocks having names. The secondary battery cooling device 60 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 61 including a CPU therein, a storage unit 65 storing control data, programs, and the like, seating sensors 43a, 43c, 45a to 45c, and low fuel consumption. Each seating sensor interface 53a, 53c, 55a-55c for changing the signal from the travel mode selection switch 41 and the secondary battery temperature sensor 47 into a signal format that can be handled by the control unit 61, the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch interface 51, the secondary battery A temperature sensor interface 57; a cooling fan motor interface 37 that converts a command from the control unit 61 into a drive command signal for the cooling fan motor 27; and the control unit 61 and the interfaces 51, 53a, 53c, 55a to 55c, 57, 37 Data for transmitting commands and data by connecting the storage unit 65 to each other And a scan 63. Each interface 51, 53a, 53c, 55a-55c, 57, 37 is incorporated in the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41, each sensor 43a, 43c, 45a-45c, 47, and the cooling fan motor 27, respectively. It may be configured as follows. Further, although the control unit 61 includes a CPU, the control unit 61 may include a CPU so that a predetermined control operation can be performed by an electric circuit or the like.

  The storage unit 65 stores a plurality of step-like control curves of the cooling fan air volume with respect to the temperature of the secondary battery as shown in FIG. A curve indicated by a solid line in FIG. 4 is a normal control curve a used for air flow control of the cooling fan in the normal driving mode, and a curve indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 4 is a first control curve b used for controlling the cooling fan air volume when an occupant is seated in any one of the rear seats 12, and the curve indicated by the dotted line in FIG. This is the second control curve c used for controlling the cooling fan air volume when the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected by the selection switch 41 and no occupant is seated in any seat of the rear seat 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the air flow rate of the cooling fan at the same temperature is sequentially increased in the order of the normal control curve a, the first control curve b, and the second control curve c.

  The operation of the secondary battery cooling device 60 of the present embodiment described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in step S101 of FIG. 5, for example, when the ignition key is turned on and the vehicle is started, the control unit 61 receives a signal from the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 as shown in step S102 of FIG. It is acquired from the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch interface 51 via the data bus 63, and it is determined whether or not the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected. For example, when the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 is a push-type switch, the determination may be made based on the energization current signal to determine whether the switch is on or off.

  When the control unit 61 determines in step S102 in FIG. 5 that the fuel-efficient driving mode selection switch 41 has not been selected, the control unit 61 determines the secondary battery temperature as shown in step S103 in FIG. After obtaining the temperature detection signal from the sensor 47, as shown in step S104 of FIG. 5, the air flow rate of the cooling fan 26 with respect to each temperature of the secondary battery 16 by the normal control curve a described with reference to FIG. A command for controlling the number of rotations of the cooling fan motor 27 is output. A command from the control unit 61 is converted into a control command value for the cooling fan motor 27 by the cooling fan motor interface 37 to change and control the rotation speed of the cooling fan motor 27.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 61 determines in step S102 in FIG. 5 that the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 has been selected, the control unit 61 performs each seating as shown in step S105 in FIG. Signals from the sensors 43a, 43c, 45a to 45c are acquired via the interfaces 53a, 53c, and 55a to 55c. And as shown to step S106 of FIG. 5, the control part 61 judges the seating state of the rear seat 12 by the signal of each acquired seating sensor 43a, 43c, 45a-45c. When the control unit 61 acquires a seating signal from any one of the seating sensors 45a to 45c for the rear seats, the control unit 61 determines that there is a seating of the occupant on the rear seat 12 that is the intake side seat.

  If the control unit 61 determines that the occupant is seated on the rear seat 12, as shown in step S107 of FIG. 5, the control unit 61 obtains a temperature detection signal from the secondary battery temperature sensor 47 and then step S108 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control command for the rotational speed of the cooling fan motor 27 that controls the air volume of the cooling fan 26 for each temperature of the secondary battery 16 by the first control curve b described with reference to FIG. Is output. A command from the control unit 61 is converted into a control command value for the cooling fan motor 27 by the cooling fan motor interface 37 to change and control the rotation speed of the cooling fan motor 27.

  On the other hand, in step S105 in FIG. 5, when no seating signal is input from any of the seating sensors 45a to 45c of the rear seat 12, the control unit 61 causes the rear seat 12 that is the air inlet side seat to seat the occupant. Judge that there is no.

  If the control unit 61 determines that no occupant is seated on the rear seat 12, as shown in step S109 of FIG. 5, the control unit 61 obtains a temperature detection signal from the secondary battery temperature sensor 47 and then step S110 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control command for the rotational speed of the cooling fan motor 27 that controls the air volume of the cooling fan 26 for each temperature of the secondary battery 16 by the second control curve c described with reference to FIG. Is output. A command from the control unit 61 is converted into a control command value for the cooling fan motor 27 by the cooling fan motor interface 37 to change and control the rotation speed of the cooling fan motor 27.

  When the control unit 61 starts controlling the air volume of the cooling fan 26 by using either the normal control curve a, the first control curve b, or the second control curve c, as shown in step S111 in FIG. To determine whether is in a stopped state. This determination may be made, for example, by acquiring a signal as to whether or not the ignition key is in the off position. When the control unit 61 determines that the vehicle is not in a stopped state and the vehicle is being activated, the control unit 61 returns to step S102 in FIG. 5 to determine whether or not the low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch 41 has been selected. To repeat the operation described above.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the low fuel consumption travel mode is selected, the cooling fan motor is used by using the first control curve b that has a larger cooling fan air volume than the normal control curve a at each temperature. 27 is controlled, a larger airflow flows to the secondary battery 16 than when the cooling fan motor 27 is controlled by the normal control curve a, and the temperature rise of the secondary battery can be suppressed. Thereby, even when the low fuel consumption driving mode is selected, it is possible to suppress an excessive increase in the temperature of the secondary battery 16 due to charging during power regeneration such as braking, and it is not necessary to limit the charging current. . For this reason, sufficient power regeneration can be performed even in the low fuel consumption operation mode, and the fuel consumption can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the occupant is not seated on the rear seat on the inlet side close to the inlet 13, the occupant is less likely to feel discomfort due to the noise of the cooling fan 26. Since the cooling fan motor 27 is controlled using the second control curve c, which has a larger cooling fan air volume than when seated, the secondary battery 16 is further cooled while suppressing discomfort given to the occupant. The temperature rise of the secondary battery 16 can be further suppressed to increase the amount of power regeneration, and the fuel efficiency can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, the seating sensors 43a, 43c, 45a to 45c determine whether or not an occupant is seated on the rear seat 12, and the control curve of the air volume of the cooling fan 26 is set to the first control curve b and the second control curve b. Although it is configured to change between the control curve c, the air flow rate of the cooling fan may be changed more finely based on the seating signals detected by the seating sensors 43a, 43c, 45a to 45. For example, even when an occupant is seated on the same rear seat 12, if the occupant is not seated on the right side closer to the intake port 13, the air volume is larger than the first control curve b and the second control curve c. However, the rotational speed of the cooling fan motor 27 may be controlled based on a control curve with a small air volume, or air flow control curves are provided in more stages in consideration of the seating state of the front seats 11a and 11c. Then, it may be switched according to the sitting state.

It is a sectional side view of the vehicle carrying the secondary battery cooling device in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle interior of the vehicle carrying the secondary battery cooling device in embodiment of this invention. It is a systematic diagram of the secondary battery cooling device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the control curve of the cooling fan air volume of the secondary battery cooling device in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the secondary battery cooling device in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle, 11a, 11c Seat, 12 Rear seat, 13 Air inlet, 14 Trunk floor board, 16 Secondary battery, 19 Dashboard, 20 Battery module, 22 Suction pipe, 23 Connection pipe, 24 Exhaust pipe, 25 Exhaust , 26 Cooling fan, 27 Cooling fan motor, 28 Upper ventilation path, 29 Lower ventilation path, 37 Cooling fan motor interface, 38 Secondary battery cooling air intake, 39 Secondary battery cooling air exhaust, 41 Low fuel consumption driving mode selection Switch, 43a, 43c, 45a to 45c Seating sensor, 47 Secondary battery temperature sensor, 51 Low fuel consumption travel mode selection switch interface, 53a, 53c, 55a to 55c Seating sensor interface, 57 Secondary battery temperature sensor interface, 60 Secondary Battery cooling device, 6 1 control unit, 63 data bus, 65 storage unit, a normal control curve, b first control curve, c second control curve.

Claims (4)

A secondary battery cooling device that is mounted on an electric vehicle including a low fuel consumption driving mode and includes a cooling fan that ventilates air to the secondary battery,
Change the cooling fan air volume control curve for the secondary battery temperature in the fuel-efficient driving mode from the normal control curve in the normal driving mode to another control curve in which the cooling fan air volume is larger than the normal control curve. Having cooling fan air volume changing means for increasing the air volume of
A secondary battery cooling device. The secondary battery cooling device according to claim 1,
Comprising a seating state acquisition means for acquiring the seating state of the seat;
The cooling fan air volume changing means switches the control curve of the cooling fan air volume with respect to the secondary battery temperature based on the seating state acquired by the seating state acquiring means in the low fuel consumption driving mode.
A secondary battery cooling device. The secondary battery cooling device according to claim 2,
The cooling fan air volume changing unit is configured to provide a cooling fan when the seating state acquired by the seating state acquiring unit is not seated in the air intake side seat adjacent to the air intake port that takes air in the passenger compartment into the cooling fan. Switching the air flow control curve to a control curve that increases the cooling fan air flow relative to the secondary battery temperature compared to when the occupant is seated in the inlet side seat, and increasing the cooling fan air flow,
A secondary battery cooling device. The secondary battery cooling device according to claim 3,
The air intake side seat must be the rear seat of the vehicle,
A secondary battery cooling device.

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