JP2012210083A - Battery controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take a measure not to give a crew member unwell feeling of heat of wind exhausted from a battery cooling device in a vehicle equipped with the battery cooling device which makes air inhaled from a crew member room pass inside a battery case and exhausts the air into the inside of the vehicle.SOLUTION: The vehicle has the battery cooling device which makes the air inhaled from the crew member room pass inside the battery case and exhausts the air into the inside of the vehicle. In a case that a cooling fan of the battery cooling device is being driven (YES in S10) and the battery cooling device is in an internal air circulation mode (YES in S11), an ECU measures a mean square value of a battery current Ib (S12) and calculates a battery saturation temperature T3 from an intake air temperature T1 and the mean square value of the battery current Ib (S13). Furthermore, in a case that a difference between the battery saturation temperature T3 and a room temperature T2 exceeds a predetermined value ▵T (YES in S14), the ECU controls heat generation of a battery 11 by performing input restriction (S15) or output restriction (S17) of the battery 11.

Description

  The present invention relates to control of a battery mounted on a vehicle.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-193602 (Patent Document 1) discloses that in a vehicle equipped with a battery, when the temperature of the battery is lower than the temperature in the passenger compartment and below the threshold temperature, the cooling fan is operated to A technique is disclosed in which the temperature of a battery is controlled by supplying air to the battery so that input / output of battery power is not limited due to low temperature.

JP 2010-193602 A JP 2010-163095 A JP 2008-132855 A

  By the way, in a vehicle having a configuration in which the warm exhaust air after cooling the battery is discharged into the vehicle, if the exhaust air flows back to the passenger compartment, the discomfort (feeling of haze) due to the warmness of the exhaust air is caused to the passenger. There is a problem of giving.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to provide a vehicle including a battery cooling device that allows air sucked from the passenger compartment to pass through the battery case and be discharged into the vehicle. It is to prevent the passenger from feeling uncomfortable due to the warmth of the exhaust air from the battery cooling device.

  A control device according to the present invention controls a battery mounted on a vehicle. The vehicle includes a battery cooling device that discharges air sucked from the passenger compartment through the battery case and discharged into the vehicle. The control device includes a detection unit that detects a passenger cabin temperature, an estimation unit that estimates a battery saturation temperature based on an intake air temperature of the battery cooling device and a current flowing through the battery, and a temperature difference between the battery saturation temperature and the passenger cabin temperature. Includes a heat generation suppression unit that suppresses the heat generation of the battery by limiting the charge / discharge power of the battery when the temperature difference between which the occupant feels the warmth of the exhaust of the battery cooling device is exceeded.

  According to the present invention, in a vehicle equipped with a battery cooling device that discharges air sucked from the passenger compartment through the battery case and exhausts the air into the vehicle, the passenger does not feel uncomfortable due to the temperature of the exhaust air from the battery cooling device. Can be.

It is a side view showing a vehicle typically. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of ECU.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a vehicle 1 provided with a control device according to the present embodiment. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle (typically, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, etc.) that can run with a driving force of a motor. A passenger compartment 53 and a cargo compartment 54 are provided in the vehicle 1.

  In the passenger compartment 53, a front seat 51 and a rear seat 52 for an occupant (user) to sit are provided side by side in the vehicle traveling direction. The luggage compartment 54 is formed behind the rear seat 52. The passenger compartment 53 and the cargo compartment 54 communicate with each other above the rear seat 52.

  Air conditioning of the passenger compartment 53 is performed by the air conditioning unit 20 provided on the vehicle front side of the passenger compartment 53. The air conditioning unit 20 includes an inside / outside air switching door for switching between an outside air introduction mode for taking air from the outside of the vehicle and an inside air circulation mode for circulating the air inside the vehicle interior. In the outside air introduction mode, air outside the vehicle is drawn into the air conditioning unit 20, cooled by the air conditioning unit 20, and then discharged into the passenger compartment 53. In the inside air circulation mode, air in the passenger compartment 53 is sucked into the air conditioning unit 20, cooled by the air conditioning unit 20, and then returned to the passenger compartment 53 again.

  In the cargo compartment 54, the battery unit 10 is provided. The battery unit 10 includes a battery 11A that stores electric power supplied to a vehicle driving motor and a battery case 11 that houses the battery 11A. This battery 11A generates heat by charging and discharging.

  The battery 11 </ b> A is cooled by a battery cooling device including an intake duct 12, a cooling fan 13, and an exhaust duct 14. The intake duct 12 is disposed so as to communicate between the passenger compartment 53 and the inside of the battery case 11. The cooling fan 13 is provided between the intake duct 12 and the battery case 11. The exhaust duct 14 is disposed so as to communicate the inside of the battery case 11 and the cargo compartment 54. An arrow α in FIG. 1 indicates the flow of cooling air. When the cooling fan 13 is driven, the air in the passenger compartment 53 is taken into the battery case 11 through the intake duct 12 as cooling air. The cooling air taken into the battery case 11 exchanges heat with the battery 11 </ b> A, cools the battery 11 </ b> A, and then is discharged into the cargo compartment 54 through the exhaust duct 14. As described above, the vehicle 1 includes the battery cooling device (the intake duct 12, the cooling fan 13, and the exhaust duct 14) that sucks air from the passenger compartment 53 and discharges it to the cargo compartment 54 (inside the passenger compartment 53).

  Further, the vehicle 1 has a temperature of air flowing through the intake duct 12 (hereinafter referred to as “intake air temperature T1”), a temperature within the passenger compartment 53 (hereinafter referred to as “indoor temperature T2”), and a current flowing through the battery 11A (hereinafter referred to as “battery”). Various sensors (none of which are shown) for detecting the state of the vehicle 1 such as the current Ib ”and the temperature of the battery 11A, and an electronic control device (hereinafter referred to as“ ECU ”) to which detection results of these sensors are input. 100).

  The ECU 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory (not shown), executes predetermined arithmetic processing based on information stored in the memory and detection results of each sensor, and the vehicle 1 according to the result. Control each device installed in the.

  In order to protect the battery 11A, the ECU 100 sets the input possible power value Win and the output possible power value Wout according to the state of the battery 11A, and the actual input power and output power of the battery 11A are respectively inputable power values. Control is performed so as not to exceed Win and the output power value Wout.

  In the vehicle 1 having the above-described configuration, when the cooling fan 13 of the battery cooling device is operated to cool the battery unit 10, the air in the passenger compartment 53 passes through the inside of the battery unit 10 and enters the cargo compartment 54. Exhausted. At this time, in the outside air introduction mode, a pressure difference between the passenger compartment 53 and the cargo compartment 54 hardly occurs. On the other hand, in the inside air circulation mode, the pressure in the cargo compartment 54 is higher than that in the passenger compartment 53, and the warm exhaust air warmed by heat exchange with the battery 11 </ b> A flows backward from the cargo compartment 54 to the passenger compartment 53. (See arrow β). If the difference between the temperature of the exhaust air flowing backward and the room temperature T2 is large, the passenger feels uncomfortable feeling (hereinafter also referred to as “moist feeling”) due to the warmness of the exhaust air flowing backward.

  Therefore, ECU 100 according to the present embodiment predicts battery saturation temperature T3 based on intake air temperature T1 and battery current Ib, and the occupant feels the difference (= T3-T2) between battery saturation temperature T3 and room temperature T2. Calculated as an index indicating the level of bad feelings. Then, if the difference (= T3−T2) exceeds the predetermined value ΔT, the ECU 100 determines that there is a possibility of giving the passenger an ill feeling in the future, and restricts the input / output of the battery 11A. 11A heat generation is suppressed. The predetermined value ΔT is a temperature difference at which the occupant feels hungry, and is a value determined in advance by experiments or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the ECU 100. Each step of the flowchart shown below (hereinafter, step is abbreviated as “S”) may be realized by hardware or software.

  In S10, ECU 100 determines whether or not cooling fan 13 is being driven. If cooling fan 13 is not being driven (NO in S10), this process ends.

  When cooling fan 13 is being driven (YES in S10), ECU 100 determines in S11 whether or not the internal air circulation mode is set. If it is not the inside air circulation mode (NO in S11), this process ends.

  When the internal air circulation mode is set (YES in S11), ECU 100 measures the mean square value of battery current Ib for a predetermined time A [sec] in S12, and in S13, 2 of intake air temperature T1 and battery current Ib. The battery saturation temperature T3 is calculated (predicted) from the multiplier average value. Here, the battery saturation temperature T3 is the predicted temperature of the battery 11A when the temperature of the battery 11A becomes saturated when it is assumed that the current charge / discharge state for a certain period of time A has been continued, The temperature corresponds to the maximum wind temperature. As a method for calculating the battery saturation temperature T3, for example, data obtained by mapping the battery saturation temperature T3 using the mean square value of the intake air temperature T1 and the battery current Ib as parameters is stored in advance, and this map data is used to present the current value. The battery saturation temperature T3 corresponding to the mean square value of the intake air temperature T1 and the battery current Ib may be calculated.

  In S14, ECU 100 determines whether or not the difference between battery saturation temperature T3 and room temperature T2 (= T3−T2) exceeds the above-described predetermined value ΔT (temperature difference at which the occupant feels irritated). To do.

  If T3-T2> ΔT (YES in S14), ECU 100 limits the input of battery 11A in S15. Specifically, the input allowable power value Win is decreased at a predetermined rate (for example, B [kW] / A [sec]). As a result, the actual input power of the battery 11A becomes smaller than that before the restriction, so that the heat generation of the battery 11A is suppressed.

  In S16, ECU 100 determines whether or not the input limit of battery 11A is at the upper limit level (whether or not the input limit is at a level where input cannot be limited any more).

  If the input limit of battery 11A is at the upper limit level (YES in S16), ECU 100 limits the output of battery 11A in S17. Specifically, outputable power value Wout is reduced at a predetermined rate (for example, B [kW] / A [sec]). Thereby, in addition to the actual input power of the battery 11A, the output power is also reduced, so that the heat generation of the battery 11A is further suppressed. Further, by performing the output restriction (the process of S17) after the input restriction (the process of S15) in this way, it is possible to minimize the influence on the vehicle running performance due to the output restriction.

  On the other hand, if T3-T2 <ΔT (NO in S14), ECU 100 determines whether or not output is being restricted (S18), and if output is being restricted (YES in S18), the ECU 100 decreases. The output possible power value Wout is increased at a predetermined rate (for example, B [kW] / A [sec]) to release the output restriction (S19).

  If the output is not being restricted (NO in S18), ECU 100 determines whether or not the input is being restricted (S20). If the input is being restricted (YES in S20), the input power that has been reduced is reduced. The value Win is increased at a predetermined rate (for example, B [kW] / A [sec]) to cancel the input restriction (S21). As described above, when the restriction is released, priority is given to the output restriction release (the process of S19) over the input restriction release (the process of S21), thereby minimizing the influence on the vehicle running performance due to the output restriction. Can do.

  As described above, the ECU 100 according to the present embodiment includes the battery cooling device that passes the air sucked from the passenger compartment 53 through the battery case 11 and discharges the air into the cargo compartment 54 (inside the passenger compartment 53). In the vehicle 1, the battery saturation temperature T3 is predicted based on the intake air temperature T1 and the battery current Ib, and the difference (= T3-T2) between the battery saturation temperature T3 and the room temperature T2 is a temperature difference ΔT that the passenger feels. If it exceeds the limit, the input / output of the battery 11A is restricted because there is a possibility of giving the passenger a feeling of dying in the future. Thereby, the heat generation of the battery 11 </ b> A is suppressed, and it is possible to prevent the passenger from feeling light.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1 vehicle, 10 battery unit, 11 battery case, 11A battery, 12 intake duct, 13 cooling fan, 14 exhaust duct, 20 air conditioning unit, 51 front seat, 52 rear seat, 53 passenger compartment, 54 cargo compartment, 100 ECU.

Claims (1)

A battery control device mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle including a battery cooling device that allows air taken from a passenger compartment to pass through a battery case and be discharged into the vehicle,
The controller is
A detection unit for detecting the passenger cabin temperature;
An estimation unit that estimates a battery saturation temperature based on an intake air temperature of the battery cooling device and a current flowing through the battery;
When the temperature difference between the battery saturation temperature and the passenger cabin temperature exceeds the temperature difference where the passenger feels the warmth of the exhaust of the battery cooling device, the heat generation of the battery is suppressed by limiting the charge / discharge power of the battery A battery control device comprising:

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