Charging circuit, charging system and charging method

• US 20090167253A1
• Filed: 05/24/2007
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Muraoka, Yoshiyuki, Okada, Yukihiro, Nakai, Haruya
• Application Number:
  US12/308,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20090167253A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/152
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/615 Heating or keeping warm
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6235 Power tools
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/633 characterised by algorithms, flow charts, software details or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6563 with forced flow, e.g. by blowers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6566 Means within the gas flow to guide the flow around one or more cells, e.g. manifolds, baffles or other barriers H01M10/6565 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6571 Resistive heaters arrangements for heating the battery by its resistance to the internal current H01M10/637
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6572 Peltier elements or thermoelectric devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/66 Heat-exchange relationships between the cells and other systems, e.g. central heating systems or fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007192 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 : Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A charging circuit includes: a connecting terminal for connection to a nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery; a heating portion heating the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery; a charging portion charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery connected to the connecting terminal; and a control unit which allows the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery after allowing the heating portion to heat the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery, lowers the temperature of the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery, and allows the charging portion to further charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A charging circuit, characterized by including:

a connecting terminal for connection to a nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery;

a heating portion heating the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery;

a charging portion charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery connected to the connecting terminal; and

a control unit which allows the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery after allowing the heating portion to heat the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery, lowers the temperature of the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery, and allows the charging portion to further charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

12. The charging circuit according to claim 11, characterized by further including a charge-depth detecting portion detecting a depth of charge equivalent to the ratio of a charging capacity to a battery rated capacity in the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery,

in that the control unit allows the heating portion to conduct the heating if a depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion is below a predetermined first threshold value.

13. The charging circuit according to claim 12, characterized in that the control unit allows the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery without allowing the heating portion to conduct the heating if a depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion is above the predetermined first threshold value.

14. The charging circuit according to claim 12, characterized by further including a cooling portion cooling the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery,

in that the control unit allows the cooling portion to cool the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery if a depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion is above a second threshold value equal to or greater than the first threshold value.

15. The charging circuit according to claim 11, characterized by further including:

a charge-depth detecting portion detecting a depth of charge equivalent to the ratio of a charging capacity to a battery rated capacity in the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery; and

a temperature detecting portion detecting a temperature of the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery,

in that the control unit controls a heating operation conducted by the heating portion in such a way that the temperature lowers as the depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion increases, while allowing the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

16. The charging circuit according to claim 15, characterized by further including a cooling portion cooling the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery,

in that the control unit controls the heating operation conducted by the heating portion and a cooling operation conducted by the cooling portion in such a way that the temperature lowers as the depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion increases, while allowing the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

17. The charging circuit according to claim 16, characterized in that:

a storage portion is provided which stores in advance temperature setting information correlating the temperature of the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery and the depth of charge in such a way that the temperature lowers appropriately as the depth of charge increases; and

the control unit controls the heating operation conducted by the heating portion and the cooling operation conducted by the cooling portion in such a way that the temperature detected by the temperature detecting portion becomes a temperature correlated with the depth of charge detected by the charge-depth detecting portion by the temperature setting information stored in the storage portion, while allowing the charging portion to charge the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

18. The charging circuit according to claim 11, characterized in that the control unit allows the charging portion to start charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery after allowing the heating portion to heat the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.

19. A charging system, characterized by including:

an electric apparatus supplied electric power by a nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery; and

a charging circuit charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery,

in that the charging circuit is the charging circuit according to claim 11.

20. A charging method, characterized by including:

a process of heating a nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery;

a process of charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery after heating the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery; and

a process of lowering the temperature of the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery after charging the nonaqueous-electrolyte secondary battery.