JP7317731B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle configured to charge an in-vehicle power storage device with electric power supplied from outside the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vehicles such as plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, which are configured to charge an in-vehicle power storage device with electric power supplied from the outside of the vehicle, have become popular. Hereinafter, such charging is also referred to as "external charging". A vehicle capable of external charging is equipped with a charger that charges a power storage device with electric power supplied from the outside of the vehicle. A configuration is also known in which a cooling device for cooling the charger is further provided.

For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2017-135929 (Patent Document 1) discloses a cooling device for a vehicle-mounted charger. This cooling device includes a cooling fan that cools the charger, a charger temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the charger, and an ECU that controls the operation of the cooling fan. The ECU precools the charger by driving the cooling fan based on the temperature of the charger detected by the charger temperature sensor when the vehicle is stopped and before the battery is charged by the charger.

JP 2017-135929 A

Patent Literature 1 describes that a cooling device (cooling fan in Patent Literature 1) is not operated when a predetermined time has not passed since the charger was pre-cooled last time (Patent Literature 1). (see step S6 described in FIG. 2). Therefore, when external charging is performed before a predetermined time has passed since the previous cooling of the charger, the cooling device is operated. Excessive turn-on/off of the cooling system can shorten the life of the cooling system.

The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to extend the life of a cooling device that cools a vehicle-mounted charger.

(1) A vehicle according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a switch that switches between starting and stopping the vehicle, a power storage device, and a charger that charges the power storage device with electric power supplied from a charging facility installed outside the vehicle. , a cooling device configured to cool an electrical device including the charger; and a control device for controlling the cooling device. When the vehicle is running and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility to be equal to or less than the reference distance and the SOC of the power storage device to be equal to or less than the reference value. , to continue the operation of the cooling device even if the switch receives a user's operation for stopping the vehicle.

(2) The cooling device includes a driving pump for supplying cooling water for cooling the charger. When the vehicle is running and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility to be equal to or less than the reference distance and the SOC of the power storage device to be equal to or less than the reference value. , to continue the operation of the cooling device even if the switch receives a user operation.

When the speed of the vehicle falls below a predetermined speed, that is, when the vehicle stops or is about to stop, the charging facility is present within a reference distance from the vehicle and the SOC of the power storage device is equal to or less than the reference value. If so, there is a high possibility that the vehicle will be externally charged. Thus, under such circumstances, the controller causes the already operating cooling device (such as the drive pump) to maintain its operating state. By doing so, it becomes unnecessary to stop the operation of the cooling device due to the subsequent stop of the electric system of the vehicle (ReadyOFF) and to restart the operation of the cooling device due to the start of external charging. ), it is possible to reduce the number of times the cooling device is switched between operating and stopping, and to extend the life of the cooling device.

(3) The vehicle further includes an auxiliary battery that supplies power to the drive pump. When the vehicle is running and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls the operation when the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility is equal to or less than the reference distance and the SOC of the power storage device is equal to or less than the reference value. , when the switch receives a user operation, the auxiliary battery is charged prior to stopping the vehicle.

During an electrical system outage, the power stored in the auxiliary battery may be depleted as it is consumed by the operation of the drive pump. Therefore, in the configuration (3) above, the auxiliary battery is charged before the electrical system is stopped. As a result, power depletion of the auxiliary battery can be prevented.

(4) The cooling device is configured to cool the power storage device as an electric device in addition to the charger.

According to the present disclosure, the life of the cooling device can be extended.

It is a figure showing the whole charge system composition in this embodiment. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment; FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining water-pump control in a comparative example; 4 is a time chart for explaining water-pump control in the present embodiment; 4 is a flow chart showing control related to rapid charging in the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[Embodiment]
<Overall configuration of charging system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a charging system according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, charging system 9 includes vehicle 1, charging facility 2, charging cable 3 extending from charging facility 2, and server 4 provided at a remote location.

The vehicle 1 is in a state in which the vehicle 1 and the charging facility 2 are electrically connected by the charging cable 3, and the onboard battery 10 (see FIG. 2) is charged with the power supplied from the charging facility 2 for "external charging". is configured to allow In this embodiment, vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle. However, the vehicle 1 may be configured to be externally chargeable, and may be a plug-in hybrid vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle.

The charging facility 2 is installed, for example, at a public charging station (also called charging spot or charging station). Charging facility 2 converts AC power (for example, a three-phase 200 V power supply) supplied from a commercial power source into DC power, and supplies the DC power to vehicle 1 .

In the present embodiment, the charging equipment 2 is a charger conforming to "rapid charging". However, the charging standard that the charging equipment 2 supports is not limited to the charging standard for quick charging. The charging facility 2 may be a charging facility conforming to so-called "normal charging", which requires less charging power and supplies AC power.

The server 4 manages various information used for external charging of many vehicles including the vehicle 1 . The vehicle 1 and the server 4 are configured to be capable of two-way communication. Thereby, the server 4 can exchange necessary information with the vehicle 1 . Specifically, the server 4 is configured to be able to provide the vehicle 1 with the location information of the charging facility 2 .

<Vehicle configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment. 1 and 2, vehicle 1 includes battery 10, monitoring unit 11, auxiliary battery 12, system main relay (SMR) 20, power control unit (PCU). Unit) 31, a motor generator (MG: Motor Generator) 32, a power transmission gear 33, a driving wheel 34, a charging relay 40, a DC/DC converter 50, a cooling device 60, a voltage sensor 71, and a current It includes a sensor 72 , power lines PL and GL, an inlet 73 , an in-vehicle network 80 , a navigation system 81 , a communication module 82 , a start switch 90 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 100 .

Battery 10 includes a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery. Battery 10 supplies power to PCU 31 for generating driving force for running vehicle 1 . Also, the battery 10 is charged with electric power generated by regenerative braking of the motor generator 32 or with electric power supplied from the charging facility 2 . Note that a capacitor such as an electric double layer capacitor may be employed instead of the battery 10 . The battery 10 corresponds to the "storage device" according to the present disclosure.

A monitoring unit 11 monitors the state of the battery 10 . The monitoring unit 11 includes a voltage sensor, a current sensor, and a temperature sensor, none of which are shown. The voltage sensor detects voltage VB of battery 10 . The current sensor detects current IB that is input to and output from battery 10 . The temperature sensor detects the temperature of battery 10 (hereinafter also referred to as "battery temperature") TB. Each sensor outputs its detection result to the ECU 100 . The ECU 100 can calculate the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 10 based on the detection result of each sensor.

Auxiliary battery 12 supplies power to various auxiliary equipment mounted on vehicle 1 . Auxiliaries to which power is supplied from auxiliary battery 12 include a water pump 61 (described later) of cooling device 60 . Auxiliary battery 12 can be charged using power from battery 10 .

SMR 20 is electrically connected between battery 10 and PCU 31 . SMR 20 is closed/opened according to a control command from ECU 100 .

PCU 31 performs power conversion between battery 10 and motor generator 32 in accordance with a control command from ECU 100 . PCU 31 includes an inverter that receives power from battery 10 to drive motor generator 32, a converter (none of which is shown) that adjusts the level of the DC voltage supplied to the inverter, and the like.

Motor generator 32 is an AC motor, such as a permanent magnet type synchronous motor having a rotor (not shown) in which permanent magnets are embedded. Motor generator 32 is driven by an inverter included in PCU 31 to rotate a drive shaft (not shown). The torque output by the motor generator 32 is transmitted to the drive wheels 34 via the power transmission gear 33, thereby causing the vehicle 1 to run. Further, the motor generator 32 receives the torque of the drive wheels and generates power when the vehicle 1 is braked. Electric power generated by the motor generator 32 is charged to the battery 10 through the PCU 31 .

Charging relay 40 is electrically connected between battery 10 and DC/DC converter 50 . Charging relay 40 is closed/opened according to a control command from ECU 100, similar to SMR 20. FIG. When charging relay 40 is closed and SMR 20 is closed, electric power can be transferred between battery 10 and DC/DC converter 50 .

DC/DC converter 50 is electrically connected between charging relay 40 and inlet 73 . DC/DC converter 50 converts the power supplied from charging facility 2 into power for charging battery 10 according to a control command from ECU 100 . Note that DC/DC converter 50 may be configured to be capable of converting electric power from battery 10 into electric power for outputting to the outside of the vehicle.

Cooling device 60 cools DC/DC converter 50 based on a control command from ECU 100 . In the present embodiment, cooling device 60 is configured to be able to cool battery 10 in addition to DC/DC converter 50 . Cooling device 60 is a liquid-cooling cooling device, and includes a water pump 61 that circulates cooling water through a cooling pipe (not shown) installed in DC/DC converter 50 . However, the system of the cooling device 60 is not limited to a liquid cooling system, and may be an air cooling system. In this case, cooling device 60 cools DC/DC converter 50 by operating a cooling fan.

Voltage sensor 71 is electrically connected between power line PL and power line GL. Voltage sensor 71 detects the voltage of power supplied from charging facility 2 to DC/DC converter 50 and outputs the detection result to ECU 100 .

Current sensor 72 is electrically connected to power line PL. Current sensor 72 detects a current flowing from charging facility 2 to DC/DC converter 50 and outputs the detection result to ECU 100 .

Inlet 73 is configured to be mechanically connectable to connector 301 of charging cable 3 . During rapid charging of vehicle 1, power from charging facility 2 is supplied to vehicle 1 through power line 302 in charging cable 3, and is transmitted to DC/DC converter 50 through power lines PL and GL.

In-vehicle network 80 is a wired network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), and connects ECU 100, navigation system 81, and communication module 82 to each other. In a state in which the vehicle 1 and the charging facility 2 are connected by the charging cable 3 , the ECU 100 is also in two-way communication with the control device 200 of the charging facility 2 via the vehicle-mounted network 80 and the communication line 303 in the charging cable 3 . It is possible.

Navigation system 81 includes a GPS (global pointing system) receiver (not shown) that specifies the current location of vehicle 1 based on radio waves from artificial satellites. The navigation system 81 acquires the position information of the current location of the vehicle 1 using the GPS receiver, and executes various navigation processes for the vehicle 1 using the acquired position information.

The communication module 82 is configured to allow two-way data communication with the server 4 .

The start switch 90 receives a user operation for starting (ReadyON)/stopping (ReadyOFF) the electric system of the vehicle 1 . Note that the start switch 90 corresponds to the "switch" according to the present disclosure. A "switch" according to the present disclosure is also called an ignition switch in a vehicle (hybrid vehicle or plug-in hybrid vehicle) equipped with an engine.

The ECU 100 includes a processor 101 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory 102 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and input/output ports (not shown) for inputting and outputting various signals. including. ECU 100 controls each device (SMR 20, PCU 31, charging relay 40, DC/DC converter 50, cooling device 60, etc.) in vehicle 1 so that vehicle 1 is in a desired state. Note that the ECU 100 corresponds to a "control device" according to the present disclosure.

<Cooling the charger>
In the vehicle 1 configured as described above, the operation/stop of the water pump 61 is switched as the cooling of the DC/DC converter 50 is started/finished. If the water pump 61 is operated/stopped too many times, the life of the water pump 61 may be shortened. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when a specific condition described below is satisfied, a configuration is adopted in which the number of times the water pump 61 is operated/stopped is reduced as much as possible by continuing the operation of the water pump 61. . In order to facilitate understanding of the external charging control in the present embodiment, first, the external charging control in the comparative example will be described below.

<Control time chart in comparative example>
FIG. 3 is a time chart for explaining water-pump control in a comparative example. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 described later, the horizontal axis represents elapsed time. The vertical axis represents, from top to bottom, the speed of the vehicle 1 (vehicle speed V), the temperature of the battery 10 (battery temperature TB), and the discharge amount of the water pump 61 (relative value).

Referring to FIG. 3, assume that at the initial time (0 minute), the shift position of vehicle 1 is in the D range (running range) and vehicle 1 is running. Also, the cooling device 60 is in operation and the water pump 61 is in operation. In this example, vehicle speed V gradually decreases over time. Further, as the vehicle speed V decreases, the battery temperature TB also decreases.

The vehicle 1 stops when about 13 minutes have passed. The stop position of vehicle 1 is within a reference distance from charging facility 2 (for example, within a range of several meters from charging facility 2). Then, the shift position of the vehicle 1 is switched from the D range to the P range (parking range). At this point, the SOC of battery 10 is below a predetermined reference value (for example, 30%), and charging of battery 10 is desirable.

After about 15 minutes have passed, the electrical system of the vehicle 1 is stopped as the start switch 90 is pressed. In other words, the vehicle 1 is in the ReadyOFF state. Then, the water pump 61 is stopped.

Furthermore, when about 18 minutes have passed, the rapid charging of the vehicle 1 is started. Then, the water pump 61 is driven again. After the start of rapid charging, the battery temperature TB gradually rises.

Thus, in the comparative example, the ReadyOFF operation of the vehicle 1 and the operating state of the water pump 61 are interlocked. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is in the ReadyOFF state, the operation of the water pump 61 is stopped accordingly. Then, the operation of the water pump 61 is restarted with the subsequent start of rapid charging.

<Control time chart in the present embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a time chart for explaining water-pump control in this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, in this embodiment as well as in the comparative example (see FIG. 3), at the initial time, the shift position of vehicle 1 is in the D range and vehicle 1 is running. Also, the cooling device 60 is in operation, and the water pump 61 is in operation. Further, as the vehicle speed V decreases, the battery temperature TB decreases. After about 13 minutes have passed, the vehicle 1 stops near the charging facility 2 with the SOC of the battery 10 falling below the reference value. The shift position of the vehicle 1 is switched from the D range to the P range.

After about 15 minutes have passed, the vehicle 1 enters the ReadyOFF state. As a result , while the water pump 61 is stopped in the comparative example, the water pump 61 is not stopped in the present embodiment and is maintained in an operating state.

After that, rapid charging of the vehicle 1 is started (about 18 minutes). At this time, the water pump 61 remains in operation. After the start of rapid charging, the battery temperature TB rises over time as in the comparative example.

When the vehicle 1 is stopped at a position within a reference distance from the charging facility 2 and the SOC of the battery 10 is equal to or less than the reference value, there is a possibility that rapid charging will be performed after the vehicle 1 becomes ReadyOFF. expensive. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the above conditions are satisfied, water pump 61 continues to operate in preparation for subsequent rapid charging even if vehicle 1 is turned off. As a result, the water pump 61 does not have to be switched from the stopped state to the operating state when the rapid charging is started, so the number of times the water pump 61 is operated/stopped is reduced. As a result, the life of the water pump 61 can be extended.

<Fast charging flow>
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing control related to quick charging in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, this flowchart is called and executed at predetermined intervals from a main routine (not shown) when vehicle 1 is in the ReadyON state. Each step included in this flowchart is executed by software processing by the ECU 100 , but may be executed by hardware (electric circuit) processing created in the ECU 100 . In addition, below, a step is abbreviated as "S".

In S1, the ECU 100 determines whether the vehicle 1 has stopped or is about to stop. Specifically, when the shift range of the vehicle 1 is in the P range, or when the vehicle speed V is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed (for example, 5 km/h), it is determined that the vehicle 1 has stopped or is about to stop. can. If vehicle 1 is still running (NO in S1), ECU 100 returns the process to the main routine.

When vehicle 1 is stopped or is likely to be stopped (YES in S1), ECU 100 determines whether water pump 61 is in operation (S2). As described above, cooling device 60 is configured to cool battery 10 in addition to DC/DC converter 50 . Therefore, it can be determined that water pump 61 is operating to cool battery 10 when there is a request to cool battery 10 . If water pump 61 is not in operation (NO in S2), ECU 100 returns the process to the main routine.

When water pump 61 is in operation (YES in S2), ECU 100 determines whether or not charging facility 2 is provided within a reference distance from the current location of vehicle 1 (S3). As this reference distance, the maximum length of the charging cable 3 (7.5 m as an example) defined by the rapid charging standard can be set. Note that the position information of the vehicle 1 can be acquired using the navigation system 81 . Further, the position information of the charging facility 2 may be acquired using map data stored in the navigation system 81 in advance, or may be acquired through communication with the server 4 via the communication module 82 . It should be noted that the geodetic accuracy of GPS is expected to improve to several centimeters in the future.

If charging facility 2 is provided within the reference distance from vehicle 1 (YES in S3), ECU 100 determines whether the SOC of battery 10 is equal to or lower than a reference value (eg, 30%) (S4). This reference value is a value at which the remaining capacity is decreasing and it is desirable to charge the battery 10, and can be determined in advance according to the EV driving distance required for the vehicle 1 and the like.

When the SOC of battery 10 is equal to or lower than the reference value (YES in S4), ECU 100 determines that rapid charging of vehicle 1 is to be performed (S5). Then, the ECU 100 charges the auxiliary battery 12 mounted on the vehicle 1 (S6). As described above, the water pump 61 operates with power supplied from the auxiliary battery 12 . Therefore, by charging auxiliary battery 12 in advance, it is possible to prevent the power stored in auxiliary battery 12 from running out while water pump 61 is operating.

The ECU 100 continues the operation of the water pump 61 even if the ReadyOFF operation of the vehicle 1 (pressing operation of the start switch 90) by the user is accepted in S7 (S8). After that, the vehicle 1 is rapidly charged (S9). It should be noted that SMR 20 and charging relay 40 are closed during rapid charging of vehicle 1 .

On the other hand, when charging facility 2 is not provided within the reference distance from vehicle 1 (NO in S3) or when the SOC of battery 10 is higher than the reference value (NO in S4), ECU 100 performs rapid charging. (S10). In this case, when the ECU 100 receives the user's ReadyOFF operation of the vehicle 1 (S11), the ECU 100 stops the water pump 61 (S12).

As described above, when the vehicle 1 stops (or is about to stop), if the charging facility 2 is sufficiently close to the vehicle 1 and the SOC of the battery 10 is low, the vehicle 1 There is a high possibility that quick charging will be implemented. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the water pump 61, which is already in operation, is caused to maintain its state under the above conditions. By doing so, it becomes unnecessary to stop the operation of the water pump 61 due to the subsequent ReadyOFF of the vehicle 1 and to restart the operation of the water pump 61 due to the start of quick charging. As a result, the number of times the water pump is switched between operating and stopping can be reduced. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the life of the water pump 61 can be extended.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as examples and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the scope of claims rather than the description of the above-described embodiments, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 vehicle, 2 charging facility, 3 charging cable, 4 server, 9 charging system, 10 battery, 11 monitoring unit, 12 auxiliary battery, 20 SMR, 31 PCU, 32 motor generator, 33 power transmission gear, 34 driving wheel, 40 Charging relay, 50 converter, 60 cooling device, 61 water pump, 71 voltage sensor, 72 current sensor, 73 inlet, 80 in-vehicle network, 81 navigation system, 82 communication module, 90 start switch, 100 ECU, 101 processor, 102 memory, 200 control circuit, 301 connector, 302 power line, GL, PL power line.

Claims (5)

a vehicle,
a switch for switching between start and stop of the vehicle;
a power storage device;
a charger that charges the power storage device with electric power supplied from a charging facility installed outside the vehicle;
a cooling device configured to cool an electrical device including the charger;
A control device that controls the cooling device,
The control device determines that the vehicle is running and the charger is not operating to charge the power storage device, but the cooling device is operating to cool the electrical equipment other than the charger. In this case, when the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility is equal to or less than the reference distance and the SOC of the power storage device is equal to or less than the reference value, the power storage device is powered by the electric power supplied from the charging facility. A vehicle in which , prior to the start of charging, the operation of the cooling device is continued even if the switch receives a user operation for stopping the vehicle. The cooling device includes a drive pump for flowing cooling water for cooling the charger,
When the vehicle is activated and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls that the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility is equal to or less than the reference distance, and the SOC of the power storage device 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when is equal to or less than the reference value, the switch continues the operation of the cooling device even if the user's operation is received. further comprising an auxiliary battery that supplies power to the drive pump;
When the vehicle is activated and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls that the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility is equal to or less than the reference distance, and the SOC of the power storage device 3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein when the switch receives the user's operation when is equal to or less than the reference value, the auxiliary battery is charged prior to stopping the vehicle. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling device is configured to cool the power storage device as the electric device in addition to the charger. a vehicle,
a switch for switching between start and stop of the vehicle;
a power storage device;
a charger that charges the power storage device with electric power supplied from a charging facility installed outside the vehicle;
a cooling device configured to cool an electric device including the charger, the cooling device including a driving pump for flowing cooling water for cooling the charger;
a control device that controls the cooling device ;
an auxiliary battery that supplies power to the drive pump ;
When the vehicle is running and the cooling device is operating, the control device controls that the distance between the vehicle and the charging facility is equal to or less than a reference distance, and the SOC of the power storage device is When the value is equal to or less than the reference value, even if the switch receives a user operation for stopping the vehicle , the operation of the cooling device is continued. vehicle to charge the machine battery .

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