JP7172969B2 - charging system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to charging systems.

For example, an electric vehicle is driven by power supply from an on-board secondary battery. The secondary battery is charged by a charging system mounted on the electric vehicle.
For example, the charging system of Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of power supply devices connected in parallel, a charge monitoring circuit that determines the target value of the charging current to be supplied to the storage battery, and the rated output current of each of the power supply devices that are turned on. and a power on/off control circuit for turning on or off each of the power supply devices so that the sum of the above is the target value for charging.

Further, the charging system of Patent Document 1 includes a power supply monitoring circuit that monitors the output voltage, output current, temperature, etc. of the power supply, and the power supply monitoring circuit monitors the state of the power supply. The power on/off control circuit controls on/off of the plurality of power supply devices so as to achieve a target value for charging the storage battery.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-29480

By the way, in the charging system, the measured value of the power supply monitoring circuit may become an abnormal value due to an abnormality of the power supply device or the power supply monitoring circuit. When the measured value of the power supply monitoring circuit becomes an abnormal value, it is not possible to determine whether the abnormal value is due to an abnormality in the power supply unit or the power supply monitoring circuit. Turn off the device. At this time, in order to compensate for the decrease in output due to the turning off of the power supply device, it is conceivable to activate the power supply device that is not in operation and charge the battery. However, the power supply device requires a certain amount of time to reach a preset output after being turned on. For this reason, when the non-operating power supply is started and charged after the power supply is turned off, it takes time to reach the preset output, and the storage battery is charged to the target value. It will take some time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a charging system capable of shortening the time required to charge a secondary battery to a target value when an abnormal value is measured.

A charging system for solving the above problems includes a plurality of charging devices connected in parallel for charging secondary batteries, a monitoring unit for monitoring the charging devices, a control unit for controlling the driving of the charging devices, wherein, when an abnormal value is measured in the measurement value of the monitoring unit while the secondary battery is being charged by the charging device, the charging by the charging device starts from the time when the abnormal value is measured. During the period until the abnormality is determined, the control unit activates the non-operating charging device while reducing the output of the charging device that measured the abnormal value, or / and the abnormal value is The gist is to increase the output of the charging device charging the secondary battery without being measured.

According to this, after the abnormality is confirmed, the non-operating charging device is started, or / and the output of the charging device that is charging the secondary battery is increased without the abnormal value being measured. , the preset set output power can be reached at an early stage. As a result, even if an abnormal value is measured, the time required to charge the secondary battery to the target value can be shortened.

Further, with respect to the charging system, the control unit confirms the abnormality after a predetermined first predetermined period has passed since the time when the abnormal value was measured, and determines the abnormality after the time when the abnormal value is measured. When a second predetermined period shorter than the period elapses, the non-operating charging device is activated while reducing the output of the charging device that measured the abnormal value, or/and the abnormal value is not measured. The output of the charging device charging the secondary battery may be increased.

According to this, if the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit when the second predetermined period has passed since the time when the abnormal value was measured, the measurement of the abnormal value is not caused by the influence of noise or the like, but by the monitoring unit or the charging unit. This is the case where the cause is an abnormality in the device. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the monitoring unit or the charging device, the charging device that is not in operation is activated, or/and the output of the charging device that is charging the secondary battery is reduced without the abnormal value being measured. can be raised.

According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time required to charge the secondary battery to the target value when an abnormal value is measured.

Schematic configuration diagram of a charging system. The graph which shows the output of a charging device, time, and the relationship with a measured value. The schematic block diagram of the charging system of example of another.

An embodiment embodying a charging system will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle has a charging system 10 and a secondary battery 11 . The vehicle may be of any type, such as a passenger vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, or an industrial vehicle such as a forklift. The secondary battery 11 may be any type of secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery, a nickel-hydrogen secondary battery, a lead battery, or the like.

The charging system 10 includes a power supply device 17 composed of three charging devices 13 and a switch circuit 15 and a charging control device 14 .
At least one of the three charging devices 13 converts AC power supplied from the AC power supply 12 into DC power, supplies the DC power to the secondary battery 11 , and charges the secondary battery 11 . The three charging devices 13 are connected in parallel. The rated outputs of the three charging devices 13 are the same.

The charging control device 14 is mainly composed of a microcomputer. The processing executed by the charging control device 14 may be performed by a CPU (not shown) executing the processing stored in the memory, or may be performed by hardware processing by a dedicated electronic circuit. The switch circuit 15 is composed of a plurality of switches for controlling power supply from the AC power supply 12 to each charging device 13 .

The charging control device 14 includes a monitoring section 16 of the charging device 13 , a control section 18 , and a timer section 19 .
The monitoring unit 16 has a voltage sensor 16a that measures the output voltage of each charging device 13, a current sensor 16b that measures the output current of each charging device 13, and a temperature sensor 16c that measures the temperature of each charging device 13. .

The voltage sensor 16 a periodically measures the input voltage value and the output voltage value of each charging device 13 and transmits information about the measured values to the control unit 18 . The current sensor 16 b periodically measures the input current value and the output current value of each charging device 13 and transmits information about the measured values to the control unit 18 . The temperature sensor 16 c periodically measures the temperature of each charging device 13 and transmits information on the measured value to the control unit 18 .

The control unit 18 controls the power supply device 17 . Specifically, it controls on/off of transistors (not shown) in the switch circuit 15 and the charging device 13 . In addition, when receiving information about the measured value of the monitoring unit 16, the control unit 18 controls the transistors in the switch circuit 15 and the charging device 13 based on the received information. In other words, the control unit 18 controls driving of the power supply device 17 based on the monitoring result by the monitoring unit 16 .

If any of the voltage sensor 16a, current sensor 16b, and temperature sensor 16c malfunctions, the measured value obtained by the malfunctioning sensor becomes an abnormal value. Moreover, even when an abnormality occurs in the charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11, the measured values measured by the sensors 16a to 16c become abnormal values. Abnormalities of the sensors 16a to 16c include failure, disconnection, and offset abnormality, and abnormalities of the charging device 13 include failure.

The controller 18 determines whether the measured values measured by the sensors 16a to 16c are abnormal values. When the control unit 18 receives information about the measured values measured by the sensors 16a to 16c, it determines whether the received measured values are within a predetermined normal range, and determines whether the measured values are not within the normal range. If the value is measured, it is judged to be abnormal. The normal range of measured values is set within the rated range of the charging device 13 . In addition, the normal range of measured values is stored in a memory (not shown) of the controller 18 . In the following description, a measured value that is not within the normal range is referred to as an abnormal value.

When each sensor 16a to 16c measures an abnormal value, for example, when the measured value exceeds the upper limit of the normal range due to an abnormality of each sensor 16a to 16c, or when the measured value is not output due to disconnection etc. There are cases where it falls below the lower limit of the range. Further, when an abnormality occurs in the charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11, for example, the output from the charging device 13 becomes zero, and the measured values of the voltage sensor 16a and the current sensor 16b are the lower limits of the normal ranges. or the charging device 13 generates abnormal heat and the measured value of the temperature sensor 16c exceeds the upper limit of the normal range.

Here, although there is no abnormality in the sensors 16a to 16c or the charging device 13, abnormal values may be measured by the sensors 16a to 16c due to the influence of noise or the like. , whether there is an abnormality in the sensors 16a to 16c or the charging device 13, or whether an abnormal value is measured due to the influence of noise or the like. Therefore, it is not preferable to determine that there is an abnormality in each of the sensors 16a to 16c or the charging device 13 when an abnormal value is measured. Therefore, in the charging system 10 of the present embodiment, an abnormality is confirmed when an abnormal value continues to be measured during a period from when the abnormal value is measured until a predetermined time elapses. .

The control unit 18 causes the timer unit 19 to measure the elapsed time from when the abnormal value was measured, and receives information about the measured time.
FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the output power of the charging device 13, the measured value of the current sensor 16b, and time. Note that FIG. 2 shows a case where the secondary battery 11 is charged using one charging device 13 . The dashed line in FIG. 2 indicates the output power of the charging device 13 in which an abnormality has occurred due to a failure, and the solid line in FIG. 2 indicates, for example, the measured value of the current sensor 16b. It is assumed that the charging device 13 charges the secondary battery 11 with a preset "set output power W".

As shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, when the abnormal value is measured when the time measured by the timer unit 19 from the time when the abnormal value is measured has passed the predetermined second predetermined period T2, the control The unit 18 determines that there is a high possibility that one of the sensors 16a to 16c is abnormal or the charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11 is abnormal. It should be noted that the length of the second predetermined period T2 is the shortest length necessary to determine an abnormality when an abnormality occurs in each of the sensors 16a to 16c or in the charging device 13 during charging of the secondary battery 11. length is set.

Furthermore, when the abnormal value is measured when the time measured by the clock unit 19 from the time when the abnormal value is measured has passed the predetermined first predetermined period T1, the control unit 18 controls each sensor 16a 16c or the abnormality of the charging device 13 during charging of the secondary battery 11 is determined. In FIG. 2, it is described as "confirmation of abnormality". The length of the first predetermined period T1 is longer than the second predetermined period T2. In other words, the length of the second predetermined period T2 is shorter than the first predetermined period T1.

When an abnormal value is measured in the charging system 10, it cannot be determined whether there is an abnormality in the sensors 16a to 16c or the charging device 13, or whether the abnormal value is measured due to noise or the like. However, when an abnormality occurs in each of the sensors 16a to 16c or the charging device 13, it is not preferable to continue charging with the charging device 13 having the abnormality. Therefore, the control unit 18 controls the transistor in the charging device 13 to gradually lower the output of the charging device 13 for which the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 . In addition, in this embodiment, the rate of decrease in the output of the charging device 13 is assumed to be constant.

However, when the secondary battery 11 is charged using one charging device 13, the output of the charging device 13 gradually decreases as shown by the dashed line in FIG. becomes zero, and the secondary battery 11 cannot be charged. Further, although not shown, when the secondary battery 11 is charged using a plurality of charging devices 13, the output from the charging device 13 for which an abnormal value is measured becomes zero, and the output of the power supply device 17 decreases.

Therefore, when an abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 and one charging device 13 is used, one charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated to charge the secondary battery 11 . Alternatively, when a plurality of charging devices 13 are used together, the secondary battery 11 is charged by increasing the output of the other charging device 13 that has been charging the secondary battery 11 without measuring an abnormal value. .

However, the non-operating charging device 13 requires a certain amount of time to output the preset output power W after being activated. Also, it takes a certain amount of time to increase the output of the charging device 13 .

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the period from when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 until the abnormality is confirmed, and in the present embodiment, the period from the time when the abnormality occurs until the first predetermined period T1 elapses. If one charging device 13 is used during this time, one charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated to charge the secondary battery 11 . Alternatively, when a plurality of charging devices 13 are used together, the secondary battery 11 is charged by increasing the output of the other charging device 13 that has been charging the secondary battery 11 without measuring an abnormal value. . Therefore, after the abnormality is confirmed, the power supply device 17 increases the set output power W at an earlier stage than in the case of activating the charging device 13 that is not in operation or increasing the output of the other charging device 13 that has been used together. be able to output.

2, after the first predetermined period T1 has elapsed from the time when the abnormal value was measured by the monitoring unit 16, and the abnormality was confirmed, the other charging device 13 that is not in operation is started and the secondary charging device 13 is activated. A case of charging the battery 11 is shown. As shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the set output power W is reached at an earlier stage when the other charging device 13 is output after the second predetermined period T2 has elapsed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rate of increase in the output of the charging device 13 is assumed to be constant.
An example will be described here.
When one charging device 13 is charging with a set output power W of 3 kW, the control unit 18 detects an abnormal The output of the charging device 13 whose value was measured is lowered. At the same time, one charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated, and the output is gradually increased toward 3 kW. Alternatively, the two charging devices 13 that are not in operation are activated, and the output is gradually increased so that each of the two charging devices 13 outputs 1.5 kW.

Further, when the two charging devices 13 are used together to output 1.5 kW each, and charging is performed with a total set output power W of 3 kW, the second predetermined period T2 from the time when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 , the controller 18 reduces the output of the one charging device 13 that has measured the abnormal value. At the same time, the output of the other charging device 13 is gradually increased from 1.5 kW to 3 kW.

Furthermore, when the three charging devices 13 are used together to output 1 kW each and charging is performed with a total set output power W of 3 kW, the second predetermined period T2 elapses from the point when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16. At that time, the control unit 18 reduces the output of the charging device 13 that has measured the abnormal value. At the same time, the output of the remaining two charging devices 13 is gradually increased from 1 kW to 1.5 kW.

Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time during which the output from the power supply device 17 decreases, as compared with the case where the other charging devices 13 are output after the abnormality is confirmed. Then, when the capacity of the secondary battery 11 reaches a preset target value, the control unit 18 stops charging the secondary battery 11 .

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The control unit 18 of the charging control device 14 activates the non-operating charging device 13 or the charging that has been used together during the period from the time when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 until the abnormality is confirmed. The secondary battery 11 is charged by increasing the output of the device 13 . Therefore, the power supply device 17 can start charging by the non-operating charging device 13 or the charging device 13 used together before the abnormality is confirmed. Therefore, compared to the case of turning off the charging device 13 in which the abnormality has been confirmed and then starting the charging device 13 that is not in operation or increasing the output of the charging device 13 that has been used together to charge the secondary battery 11 . , the time required to charge the secondary battery 11 to the target charging value can be shortened.

(2) In addition, in parallel with charging the secondary battery 11 by activating the charging device 13 that is not in operation or increasing the output of the charging device 13 that has been used together, the charging device 13 that measures the abnormal value output is lowered. Therefore, the secondary battery 11 can be charged without the output of the power supply device 17 exceeding the rating of the secondary battery 11 .

(3) If an abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 after the second predetermined period T2 has passed since the time when the abnormal value was measured, the measurement of the abnormal value is not influenced by noise or the like, and each sensor 16a 16c, or an abnormality in the charging device 13 during charging of the secondary battery 11. Therefore, when the second predetermined period T2 has passed since the abnormal value was measured by the monitoring unit 16, the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated or the output of the charging device 13 that has been used is controlled to increase. Thus, it is possible to eliminate the control of the charging device 13 when an abnormal value is measured due to the influence of noise or the like.

(4) When the second predetermined period T2 has passed since the abnormal value was measured by the monitoring unit 16, the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated, or the output of the charging device 13 that has been used is increased for two times. The secondary battery 11 is charged. Therefore, depending on the length of the second predetermined period T2, it is possible to adjust the timing of activating the non-operating charging device 13 or increasing the output of the charging device 13 that has been used together, and charging the secondary battery 11 to the target value. Easy to control the time it takes.

This embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
○ When the secondary battery 11 is charged using a plurality of charging devices 13 that are not all of the plurality of charging devices 13 and there is a non-operating charging device 13, an abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16. In this case, the control unit 18 of the charging control device 14 may perform the following control. During the period from when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 to when the abnormality is determined, the non-operating charging device 13 is activated and the secondary battery 11 is charged without measuring the abnormal value. The secondary battery 11 may be charged by increasing the output of the device 13 . In this case, the output of the charging device 13 that has measured the abnormal value is lowered. The abnormal value is measured from the time when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 when the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated and the output of the charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11 is increased. It may be when the number of times reaches a predetermined number of times, or when an abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 . Furthermore, the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated and the output of the charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11 is increased after the time when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16, and the It may be before the second predetermined period T2 elapses, or after the second predetermined period T2 elapses and before the first predetermined period T1 elapses.

○ In the embodiment, the timing of starting the non-operating charging device 13 or increasing the output of the charging device 13 used together is the period from the time when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 until the abnormality is confirmed. If there is, it is always good. For example, the timing of starting the non-operating charging device 13 or increasing the output of the charging device 13 used in combination may be the timing when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16, or the timing when the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16. It may be after the point in time and before the second predetermined period T2 elapses, or after the second predetermined period T2 elapses and before the first predetermined period T1 elapses.

○ In the embodiment, when the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated or the output of the charging device 13 used together is increased, the second predetermined period T2 has passed since the monitoring unit 16 measured an abnormal value. It is not limited to this time point. When the charging device 13 that is not in operation is activated or the output of the charging device 13 used in combination is increased, the number of times the abnormal value is measured by the monitoring unit 16 is set to a predetermined number from the time when the abnormal value is measured. It may be the time when the number of times is reached.

○ When the secondary battery 11 is charged by using a plurality of charging devices 13 that are not all of the plurality of charging devices 13, an abnormality occurs in any of the charging devices 13 that are charging the secondary battery 11. If the abnormality is measured, the other charging device 13 that is not in operation may be activated instead of increasing the output of the other charging device 13 that is being charged without the abnormality being measured. In this case, the output of the other charging device 13 that is charging the secondary battery 11 remains unchanged.

O Although the charging system 10 is installed in the vehicle, it is not limited to this, and may be installed in a charging station or the like.
O The number of charging devices 13 may be two, or four or more.

(circle) although the charge control apparatus 14 was provided with the monitoring part 16, it is not limited to this. Charging device 13 may include monitoring unit 16 .
○ As shown in FIG. 3 , the charging system 10 may distribute and supply the AC power supplied from the AC power supply 12 to each charging device 13 by turning on/off the switch 20 . In this case, the switch 20 is controlled by the switch control section 21 included in the charging control device 14 . As a result, the switch 20 selectively switches the charging device 13 connected to the AC power supply 12 .

T1... First predetermined period, T2... Second predetermined period, 10... Charging system, 11... Secondary battery, 13... Charging device, 16... Monitoring unit, 18... Control unit.

Claims (2)

a plurality of charging devices connected in parallel for charging secondary batteries;
a monitoring unit that monitors the charging device;
A charging system comprising a control unit that controls driving of the charging device,
When an abnormal value is measured in the measurement value of the monitoring unit while the secondary battery is being charged by the charging device, a period from when the abnormal value is measured until an abnormality in charging by the charging device is confirmed. During this period, the control unit activates the non-operating charging device while reducing the output of the charging device that measured the abnormal value, or / and the secondary charging device without measuring the abnormal value A charging system characterized by increasing the output of the charging device that is charging the battery. The control unit confirms the abnormality when a predetermined first predetermined period elapses from the point in time when the abnormal value is measured, and determines the abnormality in a second period shorter than the first predetermined period from the point in time when the abnormal value is measured. After a predetermined period of time has passed, the non-operating charging device is activated while reducing the output of the charging device that measured the abnormal value, or/and the secondary battery is charged without measuring the abnormal value. 2. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the output of the charging device that is running is increased.

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