FULL CHARGE CAPACITY VALUE CORRECTION CIRCUIT, BATTERY PACK, AND CHARGING SYSTEM

• US 20120105014A1
• Filed: 02/28/2011
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakatsuji, Toshiyuki, Nakayama, Masato, Kameyama, Hisashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,405,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/162
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/367 Software therefor, e.g. for battery testing using modelling or look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3842 combining voltage and current measurements

Abstract

A full charge capacity value correction circuit, has: a current detection portion which detects a current value of current flowing in a secondary battery; a voltage detection portion which detects a terminal voltage value of the secondary battery; a capacity storage portion which stores a full charge capacity value indicating a full charge capacity of the secondary battery; a remaining quantity calculation portion which calculates, as a accumulated remaining quantity, a remaining charging quantity in the secondary battery from a total value obtained by cumulatively adding charged electrical quantities and subtracting discharged electrical quantities in the secondary battery, based on charge/discharge currents of the secondary battery detected by the current detection portion; a remaining quantity estimation portion which estimates, as an estimated remaining quantity, a remaining quantity of the secondary battery by using a terminal voltage value detected by the voltage detection portion; and a full charge capacity value correction portion which, when an estimated remaining quantity estimated by the remaining quantity estimation portion becomes equal to a reference value set in advance, in a case where the estimated remaining quantity is greater than the accumulated remaining quantity, adds a difference electrical quantity, which is equivalent to a difference between the thus estimated remaining quantity and accumulated remaining quantity calculated by the remaining quantity calculation portion, to the full charge capacity value stored in the capacity storage portion, but in a case where the estimated remaining quantity is less than the accumulated remaining quantity, subtracts the difference electrical quantity from the full charge capacity value stored in the capacity storage portion.

Claims

1. A full charge capacity value correction circuit, comprising:

a current detection portion which detects a current value of current flowing in a secondary battery;

a voltage detection portion which detects a terminal voltage value of the secondary battery;

a capacity storage portion which stores a full charge capacity value indicating a full charge capacity of the secondary battery;

a remaining quantity calculation portion which calculates, as a accumulated remaining quantity, a remaining charging quantity in the secondary battery from a total value obtained by cumulatively adding charged electrical quantities and subtracting discharged electrical quantities in the secondary battery, based on charge/discharge currents of the secondary battery detected by the current detection portion;

a remaining quantity estimation portion which estimates, as an estimated remaining quantity, a remaining quantity of the secondary battery by using a terminal voltage value detected by the voltage detection portion; and

a full charge capacity value correction portion which performs correction, when the estimated remaining quantity estimated by the remaining quantity estimation portion becomes equal to a reference value set in advance, in a case where the estimated remaining quantity is greater than the accumulated remaining quantity, by adding a difference electrical quantity, which is equivalent to a difference between the thus estimated remaining quantity and accumulated remaining quantity calculated by the remaining quantity calculation portion, to the full charge capacity value stored in the capacity storage portion, but in a case where the estimated remaining quantity is less than the accumulated remaining quantity, by subtracting the difference electrical quantity from the full charge capacity value stored in the capacity storage portion.

2. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, wherein the reference value is a remaining quantity in a range of charge states in which the secondary battery is not fully charged, and moreover is not completely discharged.

3. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, wherein the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates the estimated remaining quantity such that as a terminal voltage value detected by the voltage detection portion increases, the estimated remaining quantity becomes greater.

4. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, wherein the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates the estimated remaining quantity by using a terminal voltage detected by the voltage detection portion and a current value detected by the current detection portion.

5. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 4, wherein the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates the estimated remaining quantity such that as the current value in a discharge direction detected by the current detection portion decreases, the estimated remaining quantity becomes smaller.

6. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature detection portion which detects a temperature of the secondary battery, wherein

the remaining quantity estimation portion uses the terminal voltage detected by the voltage detection portion and the temperature detected by the temperature detection portion to estimate the estimated remaining quantity.

7. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 4, further comprising a temperature detection portion which detects a temperature of the secondary battery, wherein

the remaining quantity estimation portion uses the terminal voltage detected by the voltage detection portion, the current value detected by the current detection portion, and the temperature detected by the temperature detection portion to estimate the estimated remaining quantity.

8. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 6, wherein the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates the estimated remaining quantity such that as the temperature detected by the temperature detection portion increases, the estimated remaining quantity becomes greater.

9. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature detection portion which detects the temperature of the secondary battery; and

a table storage portion which stores a lookup table associating remaining quantity settings that are set in advance as values representing the remaining quantity charging the secondary battery, values of the current flowing in the secondary battery, and temperatures of the secondary battery with values of the terminal voltage of the secondary battery, wherein

the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates, as the estimated remaining quantity, the remaining quantity setting that is associated, by the lookup table stored in the table storage portion, with the terminal voltage detected by the voltage detection portion, the current value detected by the current detection portion, and the temperature detected by the temperature detection portion.

10. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 9, wherein

in the lookup table, the remaining quantity settings are expressed as a ratio of the charged electrical quantity of the secondary battery to the full charge capacity value of the secondary battery, and

the full charge capacity value correction portion calculates the difference electrical quantity based on the estimated remaining quantity estimated by the remaining quantity estimation portion as the ratio of the charged electrical quantity to the full charge capacity value, the full charge capacity value stored in the capacity storage portion, and the accumulated remaining quantity.

11. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1, wherein

the reference value is a value set in advance to indicate that the remaining quantity is close to zero, and

an alarm portion is further provided, which issues an alarm when the accumulated remaining quantity calculated by the remaining quantity calculation portion becomes the reference value.

12. A battery pack, comprising:

the full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1; and

the secondary battery.

13. A charging system, comprising:

the full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 1;

the secondary battery; and

a charging portion which charges the secondary battery.

14. The full charge capacity value correction circuit according to claim 7, wherein the remaining quantity estimation portion estimates the estimated remaining quantity such that as the temperature detected by the temperature detection portion increases, the estimated remaining quantity becomes greater.