Hybrid vehicle control system and method

• US 7,830,126 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2007
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Jyou, Manabu, Emori, Akihiko, Kawahara, Youhei, Aoshima, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): TORRES RUIZ, JOHALI ALEJANDRA
• Application Number:
  US11/783,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20070247106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/117, 320/160, 324/426, 324/427, 324/434
• US Class Current: 320/160
• 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 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• 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 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/14 Preventing excessive discharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/16 responding to battery ageing, e.g. to the number of charging cycles or the state of health [SoH]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/18 of two or more battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0031 using battery or load disconnect circuits H02J9/002 takes precedence
• 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: Y10S 903/907 Electricity storage, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

When detecting an abnormality in some storage batteries, the hybrid vehicle control system separates the faulty storage batteries and leads the sound storage batteries to a high SOC.

Claims

1. A hybrid vehicle control system characterized in that in a storage battery control system for a hybrid vehicle comprises a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said hybrid vehicle, allowable charge state range setting means for setting an allowable charge state range for said storage batteries, charge and discharge control means for controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within said allowable charge state range, storage battery abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries, a plurality of switching means for connecting or separating said plurality of storage batteries respectively from said electric loads in said vehicle, and faulty storage battery separating means for, when said storage battery abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, for separating said switching means corresponding to said faulty storage battery, wherein allowable charge state range changing means changes high said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries preset in said allowable charge state range setting means so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within an allowable charge state range which is higher than said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries preset in said allowable charge state range setting means when separating said faulty storage battery is installed.

2. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein said allowable charge state range setting means has means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of said state of charge and said charge and discharge control means has charge prohibition means for prohibiting charging above said upper limit of said state of charge and discharge prohibition means for prohibiting discharging below said lower limit of said state of charge, and said allowable charge state range changing means has means for changing high said preset upper limit and/or said preset lower limit of said state of charge when separating a faulty storage battery.

3. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein said charge and discharge control means has discharging current restricting means for restricting said discharging current when separating said faulty storage battery.

4. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 3, wherein said allowable charge state range setting means has means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of said state of charge and said charge and discharge control means has charge prohibition means for prohibiting charging above said upper limit of said state of charge and discharge prohibition means for prohibiting discharging below said lower limit of said state of charge, and said allowable charge state range changing means has means for changing high said preset upper limit and/or said lower limit of said state of charge when separating a faulty storage battery.

5. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 3, wherein said charge and discharge control means has discharging current restriction canceling means for canceling said restriction for said discharging current when predicting or judging necessity of assisting an engine by a motor.

6. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 3, wherein said charge and discharge control means has discharging current restriction canceling means for canceling said restriction for said discharging current when predicting or detecting a high load state including start of said hybrid vehicle.

7. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 6, wherein said charge and discharge control means has means for predicting said high load state according to stop of said vehicle.

8. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 1 further comprising engine stop means for stopping an engine when said vehicle stops for a predetermined period of time and an ISS prohibiting means for prohibiting an operation of said engine stop means when separating said faulty storage battery.

9. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 1 further comprising means for prohibiting power supply to a predetermined electrical unit in said vehicle from said sound storage batteries when separating said faulty storage battery.

10. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 8 further comprising means for prohibiting power supply to a predetermined electrical unit in said vehicle from said sound storage batteries when separating said faulty storage battery.

11. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein said allowable charge state range setting means has means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of said state of charge, and said allowable charge state range changing means has means for changing high said preset upper limit and/or said preset lower limit of said state of charge when separating a faulty storage battery, and said charge and discharge control means has charge prohibition means for prohibiting charging above said upper limit of said state of charge, discharge prohibition means for prohibiting discharging below said lower limit of said state of charge, discharging current restricting means for restricting said discharging current when separating said faulty storage battery, and discharging current restriction canceling means for canceling said restriction for said discharging current when predicting or judging necessity of assisting an engine by a motor.

12. A hybrid vehicle control system comprising a storage battery control system for a hybrid vehicle having a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said hybrid vehicle, allowable charge state range setting means for setting an allowable charge state range for said storage batteries, charge and discharge control means for controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within said allowable charge state range, engine stop means for stopping an engine when said vehicle stops for a predetermined period of time, storage battery abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries, a plurality of switching means for connecting or separating said plurality of storage batteries respectively from said electric loads in said vehicle, faulty storage battery separating means for, when said storage battery abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, separating said switching means corresponding to said faulty storage battery, an ISS prohibiting means for prohibiting an operation of said engine stop means when separating said faulty storage battery is provided, and allowable charge state range changing means for changing high said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries set by said allowable charge state range setting means so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within an allowable charge state range which is higher than said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries preset in said allowable charge state range setting means when separating said faulty storage battery.

13. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 12, wherein said charge and discharge control means has discharging current restricting means for restricting said discharging current when separating said faulty storage battery.

14. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 13, wherein said charge and discharge control means has discharging current restriction canceling means for canceling said restriction for said discharging current when predicting or judging necessity of assisting an engine by a motor.

15. The hybrid vehicle control system according to claim 12 further comprising means for prohibiting power supply to a predetermined electrical unit in said vehicle from said sound storage batteries when separating said faulty storage battery.

16. A hybrid vehicle control method comprising a step of setting an allowable charge state range for a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said hybrid vehicle, a step of controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within said allowable charge state range, a step of detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries, a step, when detecting an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, of separating said faulty storage battery from said electric loads, and a step, when separating said faulty storage battery, of changing high said preset allowable charge state range of said storage batteries so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within an allowable charge state range, which is higher than said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries that has been set.

17. The hybrid vehicle control method according to claim 16 further comprising a step of setting an upper limit and a lower limit of said state of charge, a step of prohibiting charging above said upper limit of said state of charge, a step of prohibiting discharging below said lower limit of said state of charge, and a step, when separating said faulty storage battery, of changing high said preset upper limit and/or said preset lower limit of said state of charge.

18. The hybrid vehicle control method according to claim 16 further comprising a step, when separating said faulty storage battery, of restricting said discharging current and a step, when predicting or detecting a high load state including start of a drive motor in said hybrid vehicle, of canceling said restriction for said discharging current.

19. The hybrid vehicle control method according to claim 16 further comprising an ISS step of stopping an engine when said vehicle stops for a predetermined period of time and an ISS prohibition step of prohibiting an operation of said ISS step when separating said faulty storage battery.

20. A vehicle storage battery control system comprising:

a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said vehicle,

allowable charge state range setting means for setting an allowable charge state range for said storage batteries and transmitting said allowable charge state range to charge and discharge control means for controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within said allowable charge state range,

storage battery abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries,

a plurality of switching means for connecting or separating said plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel respectively from said electric loads in said vehicle,

faulty storage battery separating means, when said storage battery abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, for separating said switching means corresponding to said faulty storage battery, and

allowable charge state range changing means, when separating said faulty storage battery, for changing high said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries preset in said allowable charge state range setting means so that charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries are controlled within an allowable charge state range which is higher than said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries set by said allowable charge state range setting means.

21. The vehicle storage battery control system according to claim 20, wherein said allowable charge state range setting means includes means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of said state of charge and means, when separating said faulty storage battery, for changing high said preset limit and/or said preset lower limit of said state of charge.

22. The vehicle storage battery control system according to claim 20, wherein said allowable charge state range changing means has discharging current restriction means for canceling restriction for a discharging current by said charge and discharge control means when predicting or detecting a high load state including start of said vehicle.

23. A vehicle storage battery control system comprising:

a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said vehicle,

allowable charge state range setting means for setting an allowable charge state range for said storage batteries and transmitting said allowable charge state range to charge and discharge control means for controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within said allowable charge state range,

storage battery abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries,

a plurality of switching means for connecting or separating said plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel respectively from said electric loads in said vehicle,

faulty storage battery separating means, when said storage battery abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, for separating said switching means corresponding to said faulty storage battery,

ISS prohibiting means, when separating said faulty storage battery, to engine stop means for stopping an engine when said vehicle stops for a predetermined period of time, for transmitting a prohibition signal for prohibiting stop of said engine, and

allowable charge state range changing means for, when separating said faulty storage battery, changing high said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries preset in said allowable charge state range setting means so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within an allowable charge state range that is higher than said allowable charge state range of said storage batteries set by said allowable charge state range setting means.

24. A hybrid vehicle control system with a storage battery control system for a hybrid vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of storage batteries connected in parallel for supplying power to electrical loads, including a drive motor, in said hybrid vehicle,

allowable charge state range setting means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of an allowable charge state range for said storage batteries,

charge and discharge control means for controlling charge and discharge between said storage batteries and said electric loads in said vehicle within the upper limit and the lower limit of the allowable charge state range,

storage battery abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality in said storage batteries,

a plurality of switching means for respectively connecting said plurality of storage batteries to or separating said plurality of storage batteries from said electric loads in said vehicle,

faulty storage battery separating means for separating said switching means corresponding to a faulty storage battery when said storage battery abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality in any of said storage batteries connected in parallel, and

allowable charge state range changing means for increasing at least one of the upper limit and the lower limit of the allowable charge state range of said storage batteries, which is preset in said allowable charge state range setting means, so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within the allowable charge state range, which is higher than said allowable charge state range set by said allowable charge state range setting means, when said faulty storage battery is installed and said switching means corresponding to said faulty storage battery is separated.

25. A hybrid vehicle control system having a storage battery control system for a hybrid vehicle comprising:

a plurality of storage batteries including at least first and second storage batteries that are connected in parallel for supplying power to electric loads including a drive motor in said hybrid vehicle,

at least one current measuring device to measure respective currents of the first and second storage batteries and outputting current information,

a voltage measuring device to measure voltage across the first and second storage batteries and outputting voltage information,

a plurality of switches for connecting or separating said first and second storage batteries respectively from said electric loads in said vehicle,

a battery state detector and abnormality processor for receiving the current and voltage information and detecting when one of said first and second storage batteries is in an abnormal state based on the current and voltage information and, when the abnormal state is present, disconnecting one of said switches to separate said one of the first and second storage batteries in the abnormal state, and raising upper and lower battery state of charge limits to increase an allowable battery state of charge range so that the charge and discharge of remaining storage batteries is controlled within the allowable charge state range, which is higher than said allowable charge state range set by said allowable charge state range setting means, and

a control means for receiving detector and processor information from the battery state detector and abnormality processor, and controlling a gate driver that, in turn, controls an inverter connected to a motor generator based on the detector and processor information received.