Charging-Control Apparatus and Charging-Control Method

• US 20130314052A1
• Filed: 08/02/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Furukawa Automotive Systems Incorporated (Furukawa Electric Company Limited), Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Furukawa Automotive Systems Incorporated (Furukawa Electric Company Limited), Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: NOMOTO, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,425,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/155
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1446 in response to parameters of a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1492 by means of controlling devices between the generator output and the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles

Abstract

A charging control apparatus controls a state of charge of a secondary battery installed in a vehicle by a regulator possessed by an alternator. The charging control apparatus includes a calculating unit that calculates an SOC indicating a state of charge of the secondary battery, a determining unit that performs determination of whether the SOC calculated in the calculating unit is greater than a predetermined threshold, and a controlling unit that controls the regulator in such a manner that, in a case where it is determined by the determining unit that the SOC is greater than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a low state, and in a case where it is determined that the SOC is less than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a high state.

Claims

1. A charging control apparatus that controls a state of charge of a secondary battery installed in a vehicle by a regulator possessed by an alternator, the charging control apparatus comprising:

a calculating unit that calculates an SOC indicating a state of charge of the secondary battery;

a determining unit that performs determination of whether the SOC calculated in the calculating unit is greater than a predetermined threshold; and

a controlling unit that controls the regulator in such a manner that, in a case where it is determined by the determining unit that the SOC is greater than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a low state, and in a case where it is determined that the SOC is less than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a high state.

2. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold has hysteresis, and the determining unit performs the determination based on a first threshold in a case where the SOC is decreasing and performs the determination based on a second threshold which has a value greater than that of the first threshold in a case where the SOC is increasing.

3. The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, until a certain time has elapsed since a start-up of the engine, the determining unit performs the determination based on a comparison using the second threshold only, and after a certain time has elapsed, performs the determination based on a comparison using the first threshold and the second threshold.

4. The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a control device that is provided in advance and controls the regulator in response to a power generation voltage of the alternator,

wherein the charging control apparatus is later installed in the vehicle, and

wherein the controlling unit controls the regulator in such a manner that, even in a case where the controlling device is controlling a power generation voltage of the alternator to become a high state, a power generation voltage of the alternator to come to a low state when the SOC is greater than a predetermined threshold.

5. The charging control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controlling device sets a control signal that controls the regulator to a high state in a case where the power generation voltage is controlled to come to a high state, and sets a control signal that controls the regulator to a low state in a case where the power generation voltage is controlled to come to a low state, and

wherein the control unit

sets a control signal that controls the regulator to a low state in such a manner that a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a low state in a case where the SOC is greater than a predetermined threshold, and

sets a control signal that controls the regulator to a high state in such a manner that a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a high state in a case where the SOC is less than a predetermined threshold.

6. A charging control method that controls a state of charge of a secondary battery installed in a vehicle by a regulator possessed by an alternator, the charging control method comprising:

calculating an SOC indicating a state of charge of the secondary battery;

performing determination of whether the SOC calculated in the calculating unit is greater than a predetermined threshold; and

controlling the regulator in such a manner that, in a case where it is determined by the determining unit that the SOC is greater than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a low state and, in a case where it is determined that the SOC is less than the predetermined threshold, a power generation voltage of the alternator comes to a high state.