Operation controller and method of controlling operations

• US 8,370,011 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2009
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHALEN, MICHAEL F
• Application Number:
  US12/452,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20100152915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/21, 701/36, 307/9.1, 307/10.1, 307/10.6, 307/11, 307/31, 307/32, 700/296, 700/286, 700/295, 180/65.1, 180/65.265
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/46 for ICE-powered road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/52 The controlling of the operation of the load not being the total disconnection of the load, i.e. entering a degraded mode or in current limitation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading

Abstract

An operation controller controls operations of a plurality of electrical loads mounted on a vehicle and includes a start-up request accepting unit and a start-up coordinating unit. The start-up request accepting unit accepts a start-up request from the electrical loads. The start-up coordinating unit: controls start-up of the electrical load, from which the start-up request is output, on the basis of a priority assigned to the electrical load; outputs a signal for restricting start-up to a first electrical load having a relatively high priority, when the start-up request accepting unit accepts the start-up request from a second electrical load having a relatively low priority; and allows the second electrical load to start up, when the first electrical load is stopped after a predetermined waiting time elapses since the signal has been output.

Claims

1. An operation controller that controls operations of a plurality of electrical loads mounted on a vehicle and having assigned priorities, comprising:

a start-up request accepting portion configured to accept a plurality of start-up requests from the electrical loads; and

a start-up coordinating portion configured to control start-up of the electrical loads on the basis of the priorities so as to (1) start up both a first electrical load having a relatively high priority among the plurality of electrical loads and a second electrical load having a relatively low priority among the plurality of electrical loads when a power supply capacity is higher than a threshold, and (2) start up the first electrical load and output a second start-up restriction state signal for restricting start-up of the second electrical load when the power supply capacity is lower than or equal to the threshold, wherein

when the start-up request accepting portion accepts a start-up request from the second electrical load in a state where the second electrical load has received the start-up restriction state signal, the start-up coordinating portion outputs a first start-up restriction state signal for restricting start-up of the first electrical load, and

when the first electrical load is stopped after a predetermined waiting time elapses since the first start-up restriction state signal has been output, the start-up coordinating portion controls the second electrical load to start up.

2. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein, when the start-up request accepting portion accepts the start-up request from the second electrical load and when the first electrical load is stopped at that time, the start-up coordinating portion outputs a signal for restricting start-up of the first electrical load.

3. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein the waiting time at least includes a transmission time required to transmit a signal from the operation controller to the first electrical load.

4. The operation controller according to claim 3, wherein the waiting time further includes a reception time required to transmit a signal from the first electrical load to the operation controller.

5. The operation controller according to claim 3, wherein the waiting time further includes a processing time during which the first electrical load accepts a signal from the operation controller and then processes the signal.

6. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein

when the start-up request accepting portion accepts the start-up request from the second electrical load, the start-up coordinating portion outputs a signal for restricting start-up of the first electrical load, and

when the first electrical load is being started up or in operation after the waiting time elapses since the signal has been output, the start-up coordinating portion allows the first electrical load to start up again and continuously outputs a signal for restricting start-up of the second electrical load.

7. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein, when the start-up request accepting portion accepts the start-up request from one electrical load at the time when another electrical load is in operation, the start-up coordinating portion controls the one electrical load, from which the start-up request is issued, to start up after the another electrical load stops.

8. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein start-up of the second electrical load, for which the start-up request accepting portion accepts the start-up request, is restricted by the start-up coordinating portion in advance.

9. The operation controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a power source determination portion configured to determine whether the power supply capacity of a battery mounted on the vehicle is sufficient.

10. The operation controller according to claim 9, wherein

when the start-up coordinating portion outputs a signal for restricting start-up of the second electrical load, the start-up request accepting portion accepts the start-up request from the second electrical load.

11. The operation controller according to claim 9, wherein the power source determination portion determines, on the basis of any one of a voltage value of the battery or both a voltage value of the battery and an output electric current value of the battery, whether the power supply capacity of the battery is sufficient.

12. The operation controller according to claim 9, wherein

the power source determination portion determines, on the basis of a temperature of the battery, whether the power supply capacity of the battery is sufficient, and

when the temperature is lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature, the power source determination portion determines that the power supply capacity of the battery is insufficient.

13. The operation controller according to claim 1, wherein, when one electrical load is in operation and when the start-up coordinating portion outputs a signal for restricting start-up of the one electrical load, the one electrical load in operation continues to be in operation.

14. A method of controlling operations of a plurality of electrical loads mounted on a vehicle and having assigned priorities, comprising:

using a startup coordinating system for accepting a start-up request from the electrical loads;

using the startup coordinating system for controlling start-up of the electrical loads on the basis of the priorities so as to (1) start up both a first electrical load having a relatively high priority among the plurality of electrical loads and a second electrical load having a relatively low priority among the plurality of electrical loads when a power supply capacity is higher than a threshold, and (2) start up the first electrical load and output a second start-up restriction state signal for restricting start-up of the second electrical load when the power supply capacity is lower than or equal to the threshold;

when the start-up request is output from a second electrical load which has received the start-up restriction state signal, outputting a first start-up restriction state signal for restricting start-up of a first electrical load; and

when the first electrical load is stopped after a predetermined waiting time elapses since the first start-up restriction state signal has been output, controlling the second electrical load to start up.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether the power supply capacity of a battery mounted on the vehicle is sufficient;

when it is determined that the power supply capacity of the battery is sufficient, allowing the first electrical load and the second electrical load to start up; and

when it is determined that the power supply capacity of the battery is insufficient, allowing the first electrical load to start up and restricting start-up of the second electrical load.