Battery charging device

• US 6,188,202 B1
• Filed: 06/28/1999
• Issued: 02/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yagi, Kazuhiko, Ishikura, Takashi, Sato, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Toatley, Gregory J
• Application Number:
  US09/340,146
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 320/150, 320/152, 320/153, 320/125
• US Class Current: 320/150
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• 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: H02J 7/007184 in response to battery voltage gradient
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

In a battery charging device, an ECU (30) has: an ordinary charge control section (34) adapted to charge a battery (12) in an ordinary charge mode; an under charge control section (36) adapted to charge a battery (12) in an under charge mode; and mode switching controller (38) which switch the output paths of the ordinary charge control section (34) and the under charge control section (36), thereby to select one of the charge modes.

Claims

1. A battery charging device comprising:

first charge control means for charging a battery until the amount of charge of said battery reaches a first charge value which is set with respect to a full charge amount of the said battery and is close to the full charge amount;

second charge control means for charging said battery until the amount of charge of said battery reaches a second charge value which is set with respect to the full charge amount of said battery and is less than the first charge value; and

selecting means for selecting a first charge operation using said first charge control means or a second charge operation using said second charge control means.

2. The battery charging device according to claim 1, further comprising:

temperature detecting means for detecting a battery temperature;

wherein said selecting means selects one of the first and second charge operations according to a battery temperature detected by said temperature detecting means.

3. The battery charging device according to claim 1, further comprising:

external operation means wherein said selecting means selecting one of the first and second charge operations according to an operation instruction given by said external operation means.

4. The battery charging device according to claim 3, wherein if the battery temperature is higher than a first predetermined value, said selecting means selects said first charge operation regardless of an operation instruction given by said external operation means.

5. The battery charging device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a charge operation selected by said selecting means.

6. The battery charging device according to claim 1, wherein the first charge value is a state of charge in the range of 100% to 103%, and the second charge value is a state of charge in the range of 90% to 95%.

7. The battery charging device according to claim 2, further comprising cooling means for cooling said battery when the temperature detected by said temperature detecting means is higher than a first predetermined temperature.

8. The battery charging device according to claim 2, further comprising heating means for heating said battery when the temperature detected by said temperature detecting means is lower than a second predetermined temperature.

9. The battery charging device according to claim 1, further comprising voltage detecting means for detecting a voltage of the battery.

10. The battery charging device according to claim 9, wherein a judgement of completion of the charge by the second charge control means is executed based on a voltage detected by said voltage detecting means.

11. The battery charging device according to claim 2, wherein a judgement of completion of the charge by the first charge control means is executed based on a voltage detected by said temperature detecting means.