BATTERY CONTROL APPARATUS, VEHICLE, AND BATTERY CONTROL METHOD

• US 20120013304A1
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Published: 01/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itochu Corporation, Japan Research Institute Limited (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Itochu Corporation, Japan Research Institute Limited (Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: MURASE, Hiroaki, MUTO, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,928,281 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/116
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/51 Connection only in series
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/512 Connection only in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/42 Grouping of primary cells into batteries H01M6/40 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• 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 battery control apparatus includes: a battery circuit in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series; a plurality of bypass circuits, each of which removes a corresponding battery from the battery circuit; a plurality of switches, each of which switches whether to connect a corresponding battery in series with the other batteries, or to connect the corresponding battery to a corresponding bypass circuit to remove the corresponding battery from the battery circuit; a deterioration detecting section that detects deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries; and a switch control section that controls the plurality of switches to remove, from the battery circuit, the batteries having greater deterioration and connects, in series, the batteries having smaller deterioration.

Claims

1. A battery control apparatus comprising:

a battery circuit in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series;

a plurality of bypass circuits, each of which removes a corresponding battery from the battery circuit;

a plurality of switches, each of which switches whether to connect a corresponding battery in series with the other batteries, or to connect the corresponding battery to a corresponding bypass circuit to remove the corresponding battery from the battery circuit;

a deterioration detecting section that detects deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries; and

a switch control section that controls the plurality of switches to remove, from the battery circuit, the batteries having greater deterioration and connects, in series, the batteries having smaller deterioration.

2. The battery control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a voltage detecting section that detects the voltage of the battery circuit, wherein

when the voltage of the battery circuit becomes a predetermined value or less, the switch control section controls the plurality of switches to connect, in series, the batteries removed from the battery circuit.

3. The battery control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the switch control section controls the plurality of switches to connect in series, the batteries, from among the plurality of batteries, whose difference in deterioration from the battery having the smallest deterioration is a predetermined value or less, and to remove, from the battery circuit, the batteries whose difference in deterioration from the battery having the smallest deterioration exceeds the predetermined value.

4. The battery control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a current detecting section that detects the current of the battery circuit, wherein

the switch control section controls the plurality of switches to sequentially connect each of the plurality of batteries in series, and to remove the batteries other than the batteries connected in series, from the battery circuit,

the current detecting section detects the current flowing from each of the plurality of batteries by detecting the current of the battery circuit, and

the deterioration detecting section detects deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries, from the current flowing from the battery.

5. A vehicle comprising a battery control apparatus, wherein

the battery control apparatus includes:

a battery circuit in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series;

a plurality of bypass circuits, each of which removes a corresponding battery from the battery circuit;

a plurality of switches, each of which switches whether to connect a corresponding battery in series with the other batteries, or to connect the corresponding battery to a corresponding bypass circuit to remove the corresponding battery from the battery circuit;

a deterioration detecting section that detects deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries; and

a switch control section that controls the plurality of switches to remove, from the battery circuit, the batteries having greater deterioration and connects, in series, the batteries having smaller deterioration.

6. A battery control method comprising:

detecting deterioration of each of a plurality of batteries connected in series in a battery circuit; and

controlling a plurality of switches, each of which switches whether to connect a corresponding battery in series with the other batteries, or to connect the corresponding battery to a corresponding bypass circuit which removes the corresponding battery from the battery circuit, thereby removing, from the battery circuit, the batteries having greater deterioration and connecting, in series, the batteries having smaller deterioration.