CONTROL APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE

• US 20130069425A1
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kanazawa, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,203,120 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/9.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/527 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/529 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0036 using connection detecting circuits H02J7/0034 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 : in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 : in response to battery voltage
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A control apparatus for a vehicle, wherein a detection signal, indicating the connection state of an external power feeding device 100 to an external charging connection unit 5 of a vehicle 1, is supplied from a connection state detection signal generating unit 11 to a storage device management control unit 10 and a power converter control unit 8. When detection signal indicating that an operation to release a lock mechanism 108, which locks the external power feeding device 100 connected to the external charging connection unit 5, has been performed is received from the connection state detection signal generating unit 11, the power converter control unit 8 controls a power converter 7, which feeds power from the external power feeding device 100 to an electric storage device 3, to a power feeding shutoff operation mode, independently of a charging control command received from the storage apparatus management control unit 10.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for a vehicle having an electric storage device, an external charging connection unit to which an external power feeding device, which supplies electric power for charging the electric storage device from outside a vehicle, can be detachably connected and the external power feeding device is locked thereto through the intermediary of a lock mechanism in a state in which the external power feeding device is in connection thereto, and a power converter which is electrically connected to the external charging connection unit and the electric storage device and which is capable of controlling an operation mode to a power feeding operation mode, which is an operation mode for converting power supplied from the external power feeding device to the external charging connection unit into power to be charged into the electric storage device and then feeding the converted power to the electric storage device, and a power feeding shutoff operation mode, which is an operation mode for cutting off the power feeding, the control apparatus for vehicle comprising:

a connection state detection signal generating unit which generates at least a detection signal indicating a case where the external power feeding device has been connected to the external charging connection unit and a detection signal indicating a case where an operating for releasing the lock mechanism to detach the external power feeding device from the external charging connection unit has been performed;

an electric storage device management control unit which receives the detection signals from the connection state detection signal generating unit and generates and outputs a charge control command instructing whether or not to charge the electric storage device while monitoring a charge/discharge state of the electric storage device; and

a power converter control unit which receives the detection signals from the connection state detection signal generating unit and also receives the charge control command from the electric storage device management control unit to control the operation mode of the power converter according to the detection signals or the charge control command,

wherein the power converter control unit controls the power converter to the power feeding operation mode in the case where the charge control command instructing that the electric storage device should be charged is input from the electric storage device management control unit and also controls the power converter to the power feeding shutoff operation mode independently of the charge control command in the case where the detection signal which indicates that the operation for releasing the lock mechanism has been performed is input from the connection state detection signal generating unit.

2. The control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the power converter control unit is a control unit that controls the operation mode of the power converter at an arithmetic processing cycle that is faster than that of the electric storage device management control unit.

3. The control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1,

wherein the connection state detection signal generating unit comprises:

a first resistor on a vehicle, which is connected between a pair of terminals provided on the external charging connection unit;

a second resistor on the vehicle, which is connected in series with the first resistor on the vehicle; and

an external resistance circuit provided in the external power feeding device such that the external resistance circuit is connected in parallel to the first resistor on the vehicle between the pair of terminals in a state in which the external power feeding device is in connection with the external charging connection unit, wherein the external resistance circuit is configured such that the resistance value thereof differs between a case where an operation for releasing the lock mechanism has been performed and a case where the operation for releasing the lock mechanism has not been performed, and the external resistance circuit outputs a potential signal, which is generated between the first resistor on the vehicle and the second resistor on the vehicle, as the detection signal by applying a DC voltage to a circuit, which is comprised of the first resistor on the vehicle, the second resistor on the vehicle and the external resistance circuit, in a state in which the external power feeding device is in connection with the external charging connection unit.