Accumulating system and method for processing abnormality of accumulating system

• US 7,495,417 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2006
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishishita, Teruo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ullah; Akm E
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US11/354,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20060208708A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 320/134, 320/136, 324/426, 324/430, 324/433, 324/434
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/396 Acquisition or processing of data for testing or for monitoring individual cells or groups of cells within a battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

When minor short-circuiting abnormality of a battery is determined at timing t4, a battery ECU turns on a fail-safe flag to perform a fail-safe process. In the fail-safe process, the battery ECU changes a discharging power limiting value from a first discharging power limiting value to a second discharging power limiting value that is smaller than the first discharging power limiting value as time elapses, and changes a charging power limiting value from a first charging power limiting value to a second charging power limiting value that is greater than the first charging power limiting value as time elapses.

Claims

1. An accumulating system, comprising:

an accumulator battery;

a charging/discharging control portion controlling charging/discharging of said accumulator battery to fall within a control range defined by a prescribed limiting value;

an abnormality detecting portion detecting an abnormality of said accumulator battery based on a voltage of said accumulator battery; and

an abnormality processing portion changing said prescribed limiting value so as to narrow said control range when the abnormality of said accumulator battery is detected by said abnormality detecting portion, wherein

in changing said prescribed limiting value, said abnormality processing portion determines a target value of said prescribed limiting value in accordance with a temperature of said accumulator battery and calculates an absolute value of difference between a current value of said prescribed limiting value and said target value, and

when said absolute value is greater than a prescribed value limiting a change amount per one control cycle in changing said prescribed limiting value from said current value to said target value, said abnormality processing portion limits said change amount per one control cycle to said prescribed value, thereby changing said prescribed limiting value stepwise from said current value to said target value.

2. The accumulating system according to claim 1, wherein said accumulator battery is divided into a plurality of blocks,

said abnormality detecting portion detects, based on a voltage of each of said plurality of blocks, minor short-circuiting abnormality where part of a plurality of cells constituting said accumulator battery are involved with short-circuiting while said accumulator battery as a whole is still capable of charging/discharging, and

said abnormality processing portion changes said prescribed limiting value so as to narrow said control range when said minor short-circuiting abnormality is detected by said abnormality detecting portion.

3. An accumulating system, comprising:

an accumulator battery;

charging/discharging control means for controlling charging/discharging of said accumulator battery to fall within a control range defined by a prescribed limiting value;

abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality of said accumulator battery based on a voltage of said accumulator battery; and

abnormality processing means for changing said prescribed limiting value so as to narrow said control range when the abnormality of said accumulator battery is detected by said abnormality detecting means, wherein

in changing said prescribed limiting value, said abnormality processing means determines a target value of said prescribed limiting value in accordance with a temperature of said accumulator battery and calculates an absolute value of difference between a current value of said prescribed limiting value and said target value, and

when said absolute value is greater than a prescribed value limiting a change amount per one control cycle in changing said prescribed limiting value from said current value to said target value, said abnormality processing means limits said change amount per one control cycle to said prescribed value, thereby changing said prescribed limiting value stepwise from said current value to said target value.

4. The accumulating system according to claim 3, wherein

said accumulator battery is divided into a plurality of blocks,

said abnormality detecting means detects, based on a voltage of each of said plurality of blocks, minor short-circuiting abnormality where part of a plurality of cells constituting said accumulator battery are involved with short-circuiting while said accumulator battery as a whole is still capable of charging/discharging, and

said abnormality processing means changes said prescribed limiting value so as to narrow said control range when said minor short-circuiting abnormality is detected by said abnormality detecting means.

5. A method for processing abnormality in an accumulating system, comprising:

a first step of detecting an abnormality of an accumulator battery based on a voltage of said accumulator battery;

a second step of changing a prescribed limiting value defining a control range of charging/discharging of said accumulator battery so as to narrow said control range when the abnormality of said accumulator battery is detected; and

a third step of controlling charging/discharging of said accumulator battery to fall within the control range changed in said second step when the abnormality of said accumulator battery is detected, wherein

said second step includes;

a sub-step of determining a target value of said prescribed limiting value in accordance with a temperature of said accumulator battery and calculating an absolute value of difference between a current value of said prescribed limiting value and said target value;

a sub-step of determining whether or not said absolute value is greater than a prescribed value limiting a change amount per one control cycle in changing said prescribed limiting value form said current value to said target value; and

a sub-step of limiting, when it is determined that said absolute value is greater than said prescribed value, said change amount per one control cycle to said prescribed value, thereby changing said prescribed limiting value stepwise from said current value to said target value.

6. The method for processing abnormality in an accumulating system according to claim 5, wherein

said accumulator battery is divided into a plurality of blocks,

said first step detects, based on a voltage of each of said plurality of blocks, minor short-circuiting abnormality where part of a plurality of cells constituting said accumulator battery are involved with short-circuiting while said accumulator battery as a whole is still capable of charging/discharging,

said second step changes said prescribed limiting value so as to narrow said control range when said minor short-circuiting abnormality is detected, and

said third step controls charging/discharging of said accumulator battery to fall within the control range changed in said second step when said minor short-circuiting abnormality of said accumulator battery is detected.