JP6466787B2 - In-vehicle secondary battery cooling system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device for an in-vehicle secondary battery.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electric vehicle (EV) and a hybrid vehicle (HEV) provided with a driving motor that outputs a driving force of a vehicle and a secondary battery that supplies electric power to the driving motor are known. A secondary battery mounted on such a vehicle has a characteristic that it is more likely to deteriorate as the battery temperature increases. Therefore, in order to suppress deterioration of the secondary battery, a technique for cooling the secondary battery has been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for taking air in a vehicle compartment cooled by a cooling mechanism or the like into a space in which a secondary battery is disposed in order to cool the secondary battery.

JP 2007-314139 A

  Here, in the lifetime of the vehicle, the parking time is much longer than the travel time, so the influence of the battery temperature during parking on the deterioration of the secondary battery is compared with the influence of the battery temperature during driving of the vehicle. large. Therefore, it can be expected that the deterioration of the secondary battery can be suppressed by suppressing the temperature rise of the parked secondary battery. However, in the conventional technology relating to cooling of the in-vehicle secondary battery, it may be difficult to suppress deterioration of the secondary battery during parking.

  In general, cooling of air in the passenger compartment by a cooling mechanism or the like is performed during driving of the vehicle in order to improve driver comfort. Therefore, since the cooling mechanism and the like are stopped during parking, the temperature of the passenger compartment under the direct sunlight in summer can be in a high temperature state. Therefore, for example, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, even when the air in the vehicle interior is taken into the space where the secondary battery is arranged during parking, the temperature of the air in the vehicle interior is high. Because it is possible, it may be difficult to cool the secondary battery.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cooling of an in-vehicle secondary battery capable of suppressing deterioration of the secondary battery. To provide an apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, a smoke exhaust duct for discharging smoke generated from a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, and air outside the vehicle The air blower that blows air to the secondary battery through the smoke duct, the temperature determination unit that determines whether the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery, and the temperature determination unit There is provided a cooling device for an in-vehicle secondary battery, comprising: an air blowing control unit that drives the air blowing unit when it is determined that the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery.

  The air blowing control unit may control driving of the air blowing unit in a state in which the secondary battery can be charged by a power supply external to the vehicle.

  The secondary battery is a high-voltage power supply source, and the air blowing unit uses the power of a power supply source having a voltage lower than that of the secondary battery to send air outside the vehicle to the secondary battery. In a state where the air is blown and the air blowing unit is driven, power may be supplied from the secondary battery to a power supply source having a voltage lower than that of the secondary battery.

  When the temperature determination unit determines that the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery, and the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than a predetermined first temperature, You may drive the said ventilation part.

  The air blowing control unit may stop driving the air blowing unit after the air outside the vehicle by the air blowing unit is continuously blown to the secondary battery for a predetermined first time. .

  The cooling device further includes a charging control unit that controls charging of the secondary battery, and the charging control unit is configured to perform a predetermined operation from a point in time when the secondary battery is ready to be charged by an external power source of the vehicle. After the second time has elapsed, charging of the secondary battery may be started.

  The cooling device further includes a charging control unit that controls charging of the secondary battery, and the charging control unit is configured to control the charging of the secondary battery when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than a predetermined second temperature. Charging may be started.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the secondary battery.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of an example of the system which can apply the cooling device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of an example of the cooling device which concerns on the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the external appearance of the structure around the battery pack and battery pack which concerns on the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack and the configuration around the battery pack shown in FIG. 3 in a cross section substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack and the configuration around the battery pack shown in FIG. 3 in a cross section substantially perpendicular to the left-right direction. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack and the configuration around the battery pack shown in FIG. 3 in a cross section substantially perpendicular to the front-rear direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a function structure of the control apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the ventilation process which the control apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment performs. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st example of the flow of the charge start process which the control apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment performs. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd example of the flow of the charge start process which the control apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment performs. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of an example of the cooling device which concerns on a modification.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<1. System applicable to cooling device according to this embodiment>
First, a system to which the cooling device according to the present embodiment can be applied will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a system to which the cooling device according to the present embodiment can be applied. The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle 1, an external charging device 3, and a cable 5.

  The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid vehicle (HEV) having a driving motor that outputs the driving force of the vehicle 1 and a secondary battery that supplies electric power to the driving motor. The vehicle 1 is provided with a cooling device 10 according to the present embodiment. The cooling device 10 blows air outside the vehicle 1 to the secondary battery in order to cool the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle 1. Thereby, even when the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment becomes high when the vehicle 1 is parked, the secondary battery can be cooled by using the external air. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the secondary battery. Details of the cooling device 10 will be described later.

  The external charging device 3 is a charging device outside the vehicle 1 installed in a home or commercial facility, and is connected to an external power source. The external charging device 3 supplies power via the cable 5 to the vehicle 1 parked at a predetermined parking position. One end of the cable 5 is connected to the external charging device 3, and the other end is provided with a plug 5 a that is detachably connected to the vehicle 1. By connecting the plug 5 a of the cable 5 to the vehicle 1, it is possible to supply electric power from the external charging device 3 to the vehicle 1 via the cable 5, so that the secondary battery mounted on the vehicle 1 is connected to the vehicle 1. The battery can be charged by an external power source. As shown in FIG. 1, the state in which the vehicle 1 is connected to the plug 5a of the cable 5 is also referred to as a plug-in state. The electric power supplied from the external charging device 3 to the vehicle 1 is used for charging the secondary battery and also used as a power source for the cooling device 10 of the vehicle 1.

<2. Cooling device according to this embodiment>
[2-1. Outline of cooling system]
Then, with reference to FIG. 2, schematic structure of an example of the cooling device 10 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of the cooling device 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling device 10 includes a battery pack 110, a DC-DC converter 130, a low voltage battery 150, a smoke exhaust duct 170, a cooling fan 190, and a passenger compartment air intake duct 210. , A passenger compartment air intake fan 220, a plug-in sensor 230, an outside air temperature sensor 250, a battery temperature sensor 260, and a control device 270.

  The battery pack 110 includes a high voltage battery 111 mounted on the vehicle 1 and a housing 113 that covers the high voltage battery 111.

  The high voltage battery 111 is an example of a secondary battery according to the present invention. The high voltage battery 111 is a high voltage (for example, 200V) power supply source. Specifically, the high voltage battery 111 supplies power to the drive motor that outputs the driving force of the vehicle 1 and also supplies power to the low voltage battery 150 via the DC-DC converter 130. As the high voltage battery 111, for example, a lithium ion battery is used. The high voltage battery 111 can be charged using electric power supplied from the external charging device 3 when the vehicle 1 is parked. Moreover, the high voltage battery 111 can be charged using the electric power obtained by the regeneration function of the driving motor that converts the deceleration energy into electric power when the vehicle 1 is in operation.

  A smoke exhaust duct 170 for discharging smoke generated from the high voltage battery 111 to the outside of the vehicle 1 is inserted into the housing 113. The casing 113 is connected to a passenger compartment air intake duct 210 for taking air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 into the casing 113. Details of the battery pack 110 will be described later.

  The DC-DC converter 130 steps down the power supplied from the high voltage battery 111. Specifically, the DC-DC converter 130 steps down the power supplied from the high voltage battery 111 from 200V to 12V. The power stepped down by the DC-DC converter 130 is supplied to the low voltage battery 150.

  The low voltage battery 150 is a power supply source having a voltage (for example, 12 V) lower than that of the high voltage battery 111. Specifically, the low voltage battery 150 supplies power to various devices in the vehicle 1 such as the cooling fan 190 and the passenger compartment air intake fan 220. The low voltage battery 150 is charged using electric power supplied from the high voltage battery 111 via the DC-DC converter 130.

  The passenger compartment air intake duct 210 is a pipe provided for taking in the air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 into the housing 113 of the battery pack 110. The passenger compartment air intake duct 210 communicates the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 with the interior of the housing 113.

  The passenger compartment air intake fan 220 is a fan for blowing air provided to cool the high voltage battery 111 during operation of the vehicle 1. The passenger compartment air intake fan 220 takes in the air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 into the interior of the casing 113 of the battery pack 110 through the passenger compartment air intake duct 210, for example, the interior of the passenger compartment air intake duct 210. Provided. The passenger compartment air intake fan 220 is connected to, for example, an electric motor (not shown), and is driven by the electric motor using electric power supplied from the low voltage battery 150 as a power source. In general, when the vehicle 1 is in operation, the air in the passenger compartment is cooled by a cooling mechanism (not shown) in order to improve the comfort of the driver. Therefore, during the operation of the vehicle 1, the cooled air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 can be taken into the housing 113 by driving the passenger compartment air intake fan 220.

  The smoke exhaust duct 170 is a pipe provided for discharging smoke generated from the high voltage battery 111 mounted on the vehicle 1 to the outside of the vehicle 1. The smoke exhaust duct 170 communicates the outside of the vehicle 1 with the high voltage battery 111. Details of the smoke exhaust duct 170 will be described later.

  The cooling fan 190 is an example of an air blowing unit according to the present invention. The cooling fan 190 is a fan for blowing air provided for cooling the high voltage battery 111 when the vehicle 1 is parked. The cooling fan 190 blows air outside the vehicle 1 to the high voltage battery 111 through the smoke exhaust duct 170 and is provided inside the smoke exhaust duct 170, for example.

  In a state where the cooling fan 190 is driven, power is supplied from the high voltage battery 111 to the low voltage battery 150. The cooling fan 190 is connected to, for example, an electric motor (not shown), and is driven by the electric motor using electric power supplied from the low voltage battery 150 as a power source. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is parked, air outside the vehicle 1 can be blown to the high voltage battery 111 by driving the cooling fan 190. Thereby, the low-voltage battery 150 can be charged when the cooling fan 190 that consumes the electric power stored in the low-voltage battery 150 is driven. Therefore, the driving of the cooling fan 190 can be continued without consuming all the electric power stored in the low voltage battery 150.

  The plug-in sensor 230 detects whether or not the vehicle 1 is connected to the plug 5a of the cable 5 (plug-in state shown in FIG. 1), and outputs a detection result.

  The outside air temperature sensor 250 detects the temperature of the air outside the vehicle 1 and outputs the detection result.

  The battery temperature sensor 260 detects the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 and outputs the detection result. A plurality of battery temperature sensors 260 may be provided in the vicinity of the high voltage battery 111. For example, the highest temperature among the detected temperatures may be output as a detection result.

  The control device 270 controls the operation of each device constituting the cooling device 10. Specifically, the control device 270 gives an operation instruction to each actuator to be controlled using an electrical signal. More specifically, the control device 270 controls charging of the high voltage battery 111 and driving of the cooling fan 190. The control device 270 may control the driving of the passenger compartment air intake fan 220 when the vehicle 1 is in operation. Moreover, the control apparatus 270 receives the information output from each sensor from the said sensor. The control device 270 may communicate with each sensor using CAN (Controller Area Network) communication.

  Note that the functions of the control device 270 may be divided by a plurality of control devices. In this case, the plurality of control devices may be connected to each other via a communication bus such as CAN. Details of the control device 270 will be described later.

[2-2. Battery pack and configuration around battery pack]
In the previous section, the schematic configuration of an example of the cooling device 10 according to the present embodiment has been described. Subsequently, the configuration of the battery pack 110 according to the present embodiment and the surroundings of the battery pack 110 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the battery pack 110 according to the present embodiment and the configuration around the battery pack 110. The casing 113 of the battery pack 110 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the connection direction between the housing 113 and the passenger compartment air intake duct 210 is defined as the left-right direction, and the insertion direction of the smoke exhaust duct 170 with respect to the housing 113 is defined as the front-rear direction. .

  4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack 110 and the configuration around the battery pack 110 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack 110 shown in FIG. 3 and the configuration around the battery pack 110 in a BB cross section substantially perpendicular to the left-right direction. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack 110 and the structure around the battery pack 110 shown in FIG. 4 to 6, a solid line arrow indicates the flow of air outside the vehicle 1 supplied to the high voltage battery 111 through the smoke exhaust duct 170, and a broken line arrow indicates the casing 113 through the passenger compartment air intake duct 210. The flow of the air in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1 taken in inside is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the high-voltage battery 111 includes a plurality of battery cells 111 a arranged substantially in the front-rear direction. Here, when a foreign substance is mixed in the battery cell 111a, an internal short circuit may occur. Thereby, when the electrolyte solution accommodated in the battery cell 111a is heated and boiled, smoke may be generated in the battery cell 111a. When smoke generated inside the battery cell 111a accumulates inside the battery cell 111a, the pressure inside the battery cell 111a increases, and thus the battery cell 111a can be damaged.

  Therefore, in order to prevent damage to the battery cell 111a when smoke is generated inside the battery cell 111a, a smoke exhaust valve 111b is provided on the upper surface of each battery cell 111a. The smoke exhaust valve 111b is opened when the pressure inside the battery cell 111a rises to a predetermined pressure lower than the pressure at which the battery cell 111a is damaged. Thereby, smoke is generated inside the battery cell 111a, and when the pressure inside the battery cell 111a rises to the predetermined pressure, the smoke exhaust valve 111b is opened, so that the smoke passes through the smoke exhaust valve 111b. Released outside the cell 111a. Therefore, since the internal pressure of the battery cell 111a can be maintained at a value lower than the pressure when the battery cell 111a is damaged, the battery cell 111a can be prevented from being damaged.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an air passage 111 c is provided between two adjacent battery cells 111 a. Thereby, the air in the vehicle compartment taken into the inside of the housing 113 through the vehicle compartment air intake duct 210 can be supplied to each side portion of the battery cell 111a. Therefore, cooling of the battery cell 111a can be promoted. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, a plurality of air passages are formed by a plurality of resin members 111d extending in a substantially horizontal direction at intervals in the vertical direction between two adjacent battery cells 111a. 111c is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the resin member 111d constituting the upper surface of the high-voltage battery 111 has a vent hole that connects the air passage 111c adjacent to the resin member 111d and the space above the resin member 111d. 111e is provided. The ventilation hole 111e is provided at a position covered by a smoke exhaust cover portion 171 of the smoke exhaust duct 170 described later. Thereby, air blown from the outside of the vehicle 1 to the space surrounded by the upper surface of the high voltage battery 111 and the smoke exhaust cover portion 171 can be supplied into the housing 113 through the smoke exhaust duct 170.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, end plates 111 f are provided at both ends of the high voltage battery 111. The end plate 111f is fixed to a structure (not shown) in the battery pack 110, for example.

  Note that the number of high-voltage batteries 111 provided in the housing 113 is not limited to the examples illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 and may be other numbers. Further, the arrangement of the high voltage battery 111 provided in the housing 113 is not limited to the examples illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, and may be other arrangements. Moreover, the number of the battery cells 111a which comprise one high voltage battery 111 is not limited to the example shown in FIGS. 4-6, Other numbers may be sufficient.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the side surface of the housing 113 is connected to one or a plurality of passenger compartment air intake ducts 210. The number and arrangement of the passenger compartment air intake ducts 210 can be appropriately set according to the number and arrangement of the high voltage batteries 111. As shown by broken line arrows in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the vehicle 1 is in operation, the passenger compartment air intake fan 220 is driven, so that the passenger compartment air of the vehicle 1 is changed to the passenger compartment air intake duct 210. The air is taken into the inside of the casing 113 through the air and is blown to the air passage 111c between the two adjacent battery cells 111a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a part of the smoke exhaust duct 170 is inserted through the rear surface of the housing 113. Specifically, a plurality of smoke exhaust cover portions 171 branching outside the housing 113 in the smoke exhaust duct 170 and extending substantially in the front-rear direction are inserted into the rear surface of the housing 113. An opening 171 a is provided in at least a part of the bottom surface of the smoke exhaust cover portion 171 inside the housing 113. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, all of the inner side portion of the housing 113 in the bottom surface of the smoke exhaust cover portion 171 is opened, and the opened portion corresponds to the opening portion 171 a. The position of the opening 171 a corresponds to the position of the plurality of smoke exhaust valves 111 b provided on the upper surface of the high voltage battery 111, and the smoke exhaust valves 111 b of the high voltage battery 111 are covered by the smoke exhaust cover 171.

  Thereby, smoke is generated inside the battery cell 111a, and when the smoke is discharged to the outside of the battery cell 111a through the smoke exhaust valve 111b, the smoke is discharged to the outside of the vehicle 1 through the smoke exhaust duct 170. be able to. Since the temperature of the smoke is a high temperature of 300 ° C. to 400 ° C., the smoke exhaust cover portion 171 that comes into contact with the smoke is made of, for example, a heat resistant resin. The number and arrangement of the smoke exhaust cover portions 171 can be appropriately set according to the number and arrangement of the high voltage batteries 111. In addition, when the number of the smoke exhaust cover parts 171 is one, the smoke exhaust duct 170 does not need to branch.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the main piping 173 for distributing the air outside the vehicle 1 to the plurality of smoke exhaust cover portions 171 from the branching portion of the smoke exhaust duct 170 to the outside of the vehicle 1. Is provided. A cooling fan 190 is provided inside the main pipe 173. As the cooling fan 190 rotates, the air outside the vehicle 1 is distributed at each branch location through the main pipe 173 and blown to the smoke exhaust cover portion 171.

  As shown by the solid arrows in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the vehicle 1 is parked, the cooling fan 190 is driven so that the air outside the vehicle 1 passes through the smoke exhaust duct 170 and the upper surface of the high voltage battery 111. The air is blown into a space surrounded by the smoke exhaust cover portion 171. As shown in FIG. 6, the air outside the vehicle 1 blown into the space is supplied into the housing 113 through the vent hole 111e and the vent path 111c provided in the resin member 111d.

[2-3. Functional configuration of control device]
In the previous section, the battery pack 110 according to the present embodiment and the configuration around the battery pack 110 have been described. Subsequently, a functional configuration of the control device 270 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control device 270 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the control device 270 includes a storage unit 271, a temperature determination unit 273, and a control unit 275.

(Memory part)
The storage unit 271 stores information referred to for control by the control device 270. For example, the storage unit 271 stores various threshold values used for determination processing by the control unit 275.

(Temperature judgment part)
The temperature determination unit 273 determines whether or not the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111, and outputs the determination result to the control unit 275. Specifically, the temperature determination unit 273 is based on information indicating the temperature outside the vehicle 1 output from the outside air temperature sensor 250 and information indicating the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 output from the battery temperature sensor 260. It is determined whether the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111. The temperature determination unit 273 may determine whether or not the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 when the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state.

(Control part)
The control unit 275 controls the overall operation of the cooling device 10 and includes a blower control unit 275a and a charge control unit 275b.

  The air blowing control unit 275a controls the driving of the cooling fan 190. Specifically, the air blow control unit 275a drives the cooling fan 190 when the temperature determination unit 273 determines that the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111. Thereby, air having a temperature lower than that of the high voltage battery 111 can be supplied to the high voltage battery 111 from the outside of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the high voltage battery 111 can be cooled even when the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment becomes high during parking in direct sunlight in summer. Therefore, deterioration of the high voltage battery 111 can be suppressed.

  The air blow control unit 275a may control the driving of the cooling fan 190 in a state where the high voltage battery 111 can be charged by a power supply external to the vehicle 1. Specifically, the air blowing control unit 275a may control the driving of the cooling fan 190 when the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state. Thereby, in the state where cooling fan 190 is driven, the electric power stored in high voltage battery 111 supplied to low voltage battery 150 can be charged by the power supply external to vehicle 1. Therefore, it is possible to suppress consumption of the electric power stored in the high voltage battery 111 by driving the cooling fan 190 during parking. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the charging rate of the high voltage battery 111 from being low when the vehicle 1 is started after the cooling fan 190 is cooled by the cooling fan 190 during parking.

  When the temperature determination unit 273 determines that the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 and the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 is higher than a predetermined first temperature, The cooling fan 190 may be driven. Here, the first temperature is a temperature at which battery performance such as charging efficiency and output of the high voltage battery 111 is remarkably lowered in a temperature range lower than the first temperature, and is set to 0 ° C., for example. . The air blow control unit 275a acquires the set value of the first temperature stored in the storage unit 271 and determines whether or not the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is higher than a predetermined first temperature. Thereby, when the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is lower than the first temperature, the driving of the cooling fan 190 can be stopped. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 from being cooled to a temperature at which battery performance such as charging efficiency and output of the high voltage battery 111 is remarkably lowered.

  The air blowing control unit 275a may stop the driving of the cooling fan 190 after the cooling fan 190 continuously blows air outside the vehicle 1 to the high voltage battery 111 for a predetermined first time. . Here, the first time is set to such a time that the inside of the smoke exhaust duct 170 can be ventilated by continuously performing the air blowing by the cooling fan 190 for the first time, for example. The blower control unit 275a acquires the set value of the first time stored in the storage unit 271, and the blowing of the air outside the vehicle 1 to the high-voltage battery 111 by the cooling fan 190 continues for a predetermined first time. It is then determined whether or not this has been done. Thereby, after starting the driving of the cooling fan 190, for example, compared with the case of continuing to drive the cooling fan 190 until the plug-in state of the vehicle 1 is released, the total time for driving the cooling fan 190 is Can be reduced. Therefore, the power consumed by driving the cooling fan 190 can be reduced.

  The charging control unit 275 b controls charging of the high voltage battery 111. For example, the charging control unit 275 b controls the charging of the high voltage battery 111 by giving an operation instruction to a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the battery pack 110.

  The charging control unit 275b may start charging the high-voltage battery 111 after a predetermined second time has elapsed since the high-voltage battery 111 is ready to be charged by the power supply external to the vehicle 1. . Specifically, the charging control unit 275b may start charging the high-voltage battery 111 after a predetermined second time has elapsed since the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state. Here, the second time is, for example, that the high-voltage battery 111 is cooled to a temperature at which the deterioration of the high-voltage battery 111 is suppressed by continuously performing the blowing by the cooling fan 190 for the second time. The time is set so that The charging control unit 275b acquires the set value of the second time stored in the storage unit 271, and the predetermined second time from when the high voltage battery 111 is in a state where it can be charged by an external power source of the vehicle 1. Determine whether the time has passed.

  Thereby, even when the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 when the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state is high enough to promote the deterioration of the high voltage battery 111, the charging of the high voltage battery 111 is started. The temperature of the high voltage battery 111 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 from becoming a high temperature state that promotes the deterioration of the high voltage battery 111 due to the temperature rise of the high voltage battery 111 accompanying the charging of the high voltage battery 111.

  The charging control unit 275b may start charging the high voltage battery 111 when the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is lower than a predetermined second temperature. Here, the second temperature can be set to a temperature at which deterioration of the high-voltage battery 111 is suppressed, for example. The charging control unit 275b acquires the set value of the second temperature stored in the storage unit 271 and determines whether or not the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is lower than a predetermined second temperature.

  Thereby, the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 at the time when the charging of the high voltage battery 111 is started can be reduced more accurately. Therefore, the temperature rise of the high voltage battery 111 accompanying the charging of the high voltage battery 111 can more accurately suppress the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 from becoming a high temperature state that promotes the deterioration of the high voltage battery 111. it can.

[2-4. Flow of processing performed by control unit]
In the previous section, the functional configuration of the control device 270 according to the present embodiment has been described. Subsequently, a flow of processing performed by the control device 270 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(2-4-1. Blower treatment)
First, the flow of the air blowing process performed by the control device 270 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of the blowing process performed by the control device 270 according to the present embodiment. First, the control device 270 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state based on the detection result output from the plug-in sensor 230 (step S502). When the control device 270 determines that the vehicle 1 is not in the plug-in state (step S502 / NO), the process illustrated in FIG. 8 ends. On the other hand, when controller 1270 determines that vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state (step S502 / YES), temperature determination unit 273 determines whether or not the temperature outside vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of high-voltage battery 111. Is determined (step S504).

  In step S504, when the temperature determination unit 273 determines that the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is not lower than the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 (step S504 / NO), the process returns to step S502 to determine the plug-in state. . Here, when the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is not lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111, when the air outside the vehicle 1 is blown to the high voltage battery 111, the high voltage battery 111 can be raised on the contrary, The air outside the vehicle 1 is not blown to the high voltage battery 111. On the other hand, when the temperature determination unit 273 determines that the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 (step S504 / YES), the air blow control unit 275a determines that the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is a predetermined value. It is determined whether the temperature is higher than 1 (step S506).

  If it is determined by the blower control unit 275a that the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is not higher than the predetermined first temperature (NO in step S506), the process returns to step S502, and the plug-in state is determined. Here, when the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 is not higher than the predetermined first temperature, when the air outside the vehicle 1 is blown to the high-voltage battery 111, the battery such as the charging efficiency and output of the high-voltage battery 111 is output. Since the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 can be cooled to a temperature at which the performance is remarkably deteriorated, the air outside the vehicle 1 is not blown to the high-voltage battery 111. On the other hand, when it is determined by the air blow control unit 275a that the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is higher than the predetermined first temperature (step S506 / YES), the air blow control unit 275a drives the cooling fan 190 and the cooling fan 190 Then, air outside the vehicle 1 is blown to the high voltage battery 111 (step S508). Then, the process returns to step S502 to determine the plug-in state.

  Note that the air blowing control unit 275a may stop driving the cooling fan 190 after the cooling fan 190 is continuously driven for a predetermined first time in step S508. Further, a series of determination processes from step S502 to step S506 may be performed all the time, or may be performed every time a predetermined time elapses.

(2-4-2. First Example of Flow of Charging Start Process)
Next, with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the flow of the charging start process performed by the control device 270 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a first example of the flow of the charging start process performed by the control device 270 according to the present embodiment. First, the control device 270 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state based on the detection result output from the plug-in sensor 230 (step S602). When the control device 270 determines that the vehicle 1 is not in the plug-in state (step S602 / NO), the processing illustrated in FIG. 9 ends. On the other hand, when the control device 270 determines that the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state (step S602 / YES), the charging control unit 275b determines that the predetermined second time from when the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state. It is determined whether or not it has elapsed (step S604).

  When it is determined by the charging control unit 275b that the predetermined second time has not elapsed since the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state (step S604 / NO), the process returns to step S602, and the plug-in state is determined. Done. Here, when the predetermined second time has not elapsed since the time when the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state, the high voltage battery 111 is not cooled to a temperature at which the deterioration of the high voltage battery 111 is suppressed. Since there is a possibility, charging of the high voltage battery 111 is not started. On the other hand, when it is determined by the charge control unit 275b that the predetermined second time has elapsed from the time when the vehicle 1 enters the plug-in state (step S604 / YES), the charge control unit 275b Charging is started (step S606). Then, the process shown in FIG. 9 ends.

(2-4-3. Second example of flow of charging start processing)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a second example of the flow of the charging start process performed by the control device 270 according to the present embodiment. In the second example of the flow of the charging start process shown in FIG. 10, the determination process before the process of starting charging of the high voltage battery 111 (step S606) is different from the process shown in FIG. Specifically, in the second example of the flow of the charging start process shown in FIG. 10, when the control device 270 determines that the vehicle 1 is in the plug-in state (step S602 / YES), the charging control unit 275b Determines whether the temperature of the high-voltage battery 111 is lower than a predetermined second temperature (step S704).

  When the charge control unit 275b determines that the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is not lower than the predetermined second temperature (step S704 / NO), the process returns to step S602 to determine the plug-in state. Here, when the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is not lower than the predetermined second temperature, the high voltage battery 111 may not be cooled to a temperature at which deterioration of the high voltage battery 111 is suppressed. Charging of the high voltage battery 111 is not started. On the other hand, when the charge control unit 275b determines that the temperature of the high voltage battery 111 is lower than the predetermined second temperature (step S704 / YES), the charge control unit 275b starts charging the high voltage battery 111 ( Step S606). Then, the process shown in FIG. 10 ends.

<3. Effect>
According to the embodiment described above, the cooling fan 190 blows air outside the vehicle 1 to the high voltage battery 111 using the smoke exhaust duct 170. The temperature determination unit 273 determines whether the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111. The air blow control unit 275 a drives the cooling fan 190 when the temperature determination unit 273 determines that the temperature outside the vehicle 1 is lower than the temperature of the high voltage battery 111. Thereby, air having a temperature lower than that of the high voltage battery 111 can be supplied to the high voltage battery 111 from the outside of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the high voltage battery 111 can be cooled even when the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment becomes high during parking in direct sunlight in summer. Therefore, deterioration of the high voltage battery 111 can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the air blow control unit 275a controls the driving of the cooling fan 190 in a state where the high voltage battery 111 can be charged by the power supply external to the vehicle 1. Thereby, in the state where cooling fan 190 is driven, the electric power stored in high voltage battery 111 supplied to low voltage battery 150 can be charged by the power supply external to vehicle 1. Therefore, it is possible to suppress consumption of the electric power stored in the high voltage battery 111 by driving the cooling fan 190 during parking. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the charging rate of the high voltage battery 111 from being low when the vehicle 1 is started after the cooling fan 190 is cooled by the cooling fan 190 during parking.

  Moreover, according to embodiment mentioned above, the high voltage battery 111 is a high voltage electric power supply source. The cooling fan 190 blows air outside the vehicle 1 to the high voltage battery 111 using the power of the low voltage battery 150 that is a power supply source of a voltage lower than that of the high voltage battery 111. In addition, power is supplied from the high voltage battery 111 to the low voltage battery 150 in a state where the cooling fan 190 is driven. Thereby, the low-voltage battery 150 can be charged when the cooling fan 190 that consumes the electric power stored in the low-voltage battery 150 is driven. Therefore, the driving of the cooling fan 190 can be continued without consuming all the electric power stored in the low voltage battery 150.

  <4. Conclusion>

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, air outside the vehicle is blown to the secondary battery through the smoke exhaust duct. It is determined whether the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery. When it is determined that the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery, the air outside the vehicle is blown to the secondary battery through the smoke exhaust duct. Thereby, it is possible to supply low-temperature air to the secondary battery from the outside of the vehicle as compared with the temperature of the secondary battery. Therefore, the secondary battery can be cooled even when the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment becomes high during parking in direct sunlight in summer. Therefore, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the secondary battery.

  In the above description, the cooling fan 190 has been described as being driven in a state where the high voltage battery 111 can be charged by the power supply external to the vehicle 1. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, when the vehicle 1 is provided with a power generation device such as a solar cell, the cooling fan 190 may be driven in a state where the high voltage battery 111 can be charged by the power generation device.

  In the plug-in state, when the time for charging the high voltage battery 111 is managed by the external charging device 3, the cooling device 10 determines whether the current time is within the time for charging the high voltage battery 111. The driving of the cooling fan 190 may be controlled based on whether or not. For example, the cooling device 10 drives the cooling fan 190 when it is determined that the current time is within the time for charging the high voltage battery 111. Thereby, when the vehicle 1 is parked, it is possible to prevent the power stored in the high voltage battery 111 from being consumed by driving the cooling fan 190.

  Further, electric power may be directly supplied from the external charging device 3 to the DC-DC converter 130, and the electric power may be supplied to the cooling fan 190 after being stepped down by the DC-DC converter 130. In that case, the cooling fan 190 may blow air outside the vehicle 1 to the high voltage battery 111 using the power supplied from the external charging device 3 via the DC-DC converter 130.

  Further, the processing described using the flowchart in the present specification may not necessarily be executed in the order shown in the flowchart. Some processing steps may be performed in parallel. Further, additional processing steps may be employed, and some processing steps may be omitted.

  In the above description, the example in which the high voltage battery 111 is charged by directly supplying power from the external charging device 3 to the high voltage battery 111 has been described. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to such an example. . For example, the high voltage battery 111 may be charged using a household power supply (for example, DC 100V). FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of the cooling device 20 according to the modification. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the cooling device 20 according to the modification includes an in-vehicle charging device 300, unlike the cooling device 10 according to the above-described embodiment. By connecting the vehicle 1 and the household power source 7 via a cable, it is possible to supply electric power from the household power source 7 to the vehicle 1. In the modification, the in-vehicle charging apparatus 300 converts the power supplied from the household power supply 7 from a direct current 100V to an alternating current 200V. The electric power converted by the in-vehicle charging device 300 is supplied to the high voltage battery 111. The electric power supplied from the household power supply 7 may be DC 200V, DC 200V, DC 120V, or DC 240V, and the in-vehicle charging device 300 may use the electric power supplied from the household power supply 7 as a high voltage. Conversion into electric power corresponding to the battery 111 is possible. In a modified example, the household power source 7 may correspond to a power source external to the vehicle according to the present invention. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 and the household power supply 7 are connected via a cable, the high voltage battery 111 can be charged by a power supply external to the vehicle 1.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 3 External charging device 5 Cable 5a Plug 7 Household power supply 10, 20 Cooling device 110 Battery pack 111 High voltage battery 111a Battery cell 111b Smoke valve 111c Ventilation path 111d Resin member 111e Ventilation hole 111f End plate 113 Case 130 DC DC converter 150 Low voltage battery 170 Smoke exhaust duct 171 Smoke exhaust cover 171a Opening 173 Main pipe 190 Cooling fan 210 Car compartment air intake duct 220 Car compartment air intake fan 230 Plug-in sensor 250 Outside air temperature sensor 260 Battery temperature Sensor 270 Control device 271 Storage unit 273 Temperature determination unit 275 Control unit 275a Blower control unit 275b Charge control unit 300 In-vehicle charging device

Claims (7)

A smoke exhaust duct for discharging smoke generated from a secondary battery mounted on the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle;
A blower for blowing air outside the vehicle through the smoke exhaust duct to the secondary battery;
A temperature determination unit that determines whether or not the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery;
When the temperature determination unit determines that the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery, a blowing control unit that drives the blowing unit;
An in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device.   The in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing control unit controls driving of the air blowing unit in a state where the secondary battery can be charged by a power supply external to the vehicle. The secondary battery is a high voltage power supply source,
The blower unit blows air outside the vehicle to the secondary battery using the power of a power supply source having a lower voltage than the secondary battery.
In a state where the air blowing unit is driven, power is supplied from the secondary battery to a power supply source having a lower voltage than the secondary battery.
The in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device according to claim 2.   When the temperature determination unit determines that the temperature outside the vehicle is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery, and the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than a predetermined first temperature, The in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which drives the blower unit.   The air blowing control unit stops driving of the air blowing unit after the air outside the vehicle by the air blowing unit is continuously blown to the secondary battery for a predetermined first time. The cooling apparatus of the vehicle-mounted secondary battery as described in any one of 1-4. The cooling device further includes a charge control unit that controls charging of the secondary battery,
The charging control unit starts charging the secondary battery after a predetermined second time has elapsed since the secondary battery is in a state that can be charged by an external power source of the vehicle.
The in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device according to claim 2 or 3. The cooling device further includes a charge control unit that controls charging of the secondary battery,
The charge control unit starts charging the secondary battery when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than a predetermined second temperature;
The in-vehicle secondary battery cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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