Apparatus for estimating state of charge of secondary battery

• US 7,804,277 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Issued: 09/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic EV Energy Company, Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic EV Energy Company, Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US12/196,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051321A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 320/132, 320/149
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/44 by parameter estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/61 by batteries charged by engine-driven generators, e.g. series hybrid electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• 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 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus for estimating a state of charge (SOC) of a secondary battery. A control section of a battery controller (ECU) computes a total amount of electric discharge of a secondary battery and compares the total amount of electric discharge with a predetermined threshold value. The threshold value is set so as to fall within a range of; for instance, 400 Ah to 1600 Ah. When the total amount of electric discharge is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, an open-circuit-voltage (OCV)-SOC map is replaced with a map achieved in a state where a memory effect is saturated. When the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a correction is made to the map so as to achieve a map that is a mixture consisting of the OCV-SOC map achieved in an initial state and the OCV-SOC map achieved in the saturated state at a predetermined ratio. The SOC is estimated by use of the corrected map.

Claims

1. An apparatus for estimating a state of charge of a secondary battery, comprising:

a storage unit that stores correlation information showing correlation between an open circuit voltage and a state of charge;

a total-amount-of-electric-discharge detection unit that detects a total amount of electric discharge of the secondary battery;

a correction unit that makes a correction to the correlation information in accordance with a relationship between the total amount of electric discharge and a predetermined threshold value; and

an estimation unit that estimates a state of charge of the secondary battery by use of the corrected correlation information,

wherein the storage unit stores, as the correlation information, correlation information achieved in an initial state where no memory effect is produced and correlation information achieved in a saturated state where the memory effect is saturated; and

the correction unit makes a correction, when the total amount of electric discharge is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, so as to replace the correlation information achieved in the initial state with the correlation information achieved in the saturated state, as well as making a correction, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, so as to acquire correlation information formed by mixing at a predetermined ratio the correlation information achieved in the initial state with the correlation information achieved in the saturated state.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold value is set to any value falling within a range from 400 Ah to 1600 Ah.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the correction unit makes a correction so as to acquire correlation information acquired by means of subjecting the correlation information achieved in the initial state and the correlation information achieved in the saturated state to linear interpolation according to the total amount of electric discharge.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the correction unit makes a correction so as to acquire correlation information acquired by means of subjecting the correlation information achieved in the initial state and the correlation information achieved in the saturated state to nonlinear interpolation according to the total amount of electric discharge.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the correction unit makes a correction so as to acquire the correlation information achieved in the initial state until the total amount of electric discharge comes to 400 Ah and to acquire correlation information, which is obtained by means of subjecting the correlation information achieved in the initial state and the correlation information achieved in the saturated state to linear interpolation in accordance with the total amount of electric discharge, until the total amount of electric discharge falls within a range from 400 Ah to the predetermined threshold value.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the correction unit makes a correction so as to acquire the correlation information achieved in the initial state until the total amount of electric discharge comes to 400 Ah and to replace the correlation information with the correlation information achieved in the saturated state until the total amount of electric discharge falls within a range from 400 Ah to the predetermined threshold value.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the correction means acquires the correlation information achieved in the initial state.

8. A computer-readable recording medium that stores a program for computing a state of charge of a secondary battery, wherein by means of the program a computer performs the following steps:

storing in memory data pertaining to a voltage of the secondary battery and a charge/discharge current;

reading from the memory the data pertaining to the voltage and the charge/discharge current by means of a processor and computing an open circuit voltage by means of regression analysis;

computing a total amount of electric discharge by means of the processor;

comparing the total amount of electric discharge with a predetermined threshold value by means of the processor and correcting correlation information about correlation between the open circuit voltage preliminarily stored in the memory and a state of charge in accordance with a relationship between the total amount of electric discharge and the predetermined threshold value; and

computing a state of charge of the secondary battery from the corrected correlation information and the computed open circuit voltage by means of the processor,

wherein the memory stores, as the correlation information, correlation information about an initial state where no memory effect is produced and correlation information about a saturated state where the memory effect is saturated; and

the processor makes a correction so as to replace the correlation information about the initial state with the correlation information about the saturated state when the total amount of electric discharge is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, and makes a correction so as to acquire correlation information achieved by mixing at a predetermined ratio the correlation information about the initial state with the correlation information about the saturated state when the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

9. An apparatus for estimating a state of charge of a secondary battery provided in a vehicle, comprising:

a storage unit that stores correlation information showing correlation between an open circuit voltage and a state of charge;

a travel distance detection unit that detects a travel distance of the vehicle;

a correction unit that makes a correction to the correlation information in accordance with a relationship between the travel distance and the predetermined threshold value; and

an estimation unit that estimates a state of charge of the secondary battery by use of the corrected correlation information,

wherein the storage unit stores, as the correlation information, correlation information about an initial state where no memory effect is produced and correlation information about a saturated state where the memory effect is saturated;

the correction unit makes a correction so as to replace the correlation information about the initial state with the correlation information about the saturated state when the travel distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, and makes a correction so as to acquire correlation information obtained by mixing at a predetermined ratio the correlation information about the initial state with the correlation information about the saturated state when the travel distance is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.