Electrically-driven vehicle and charge control system which enable simultaneous performance of driving of an accessory unit and a charging process of a battery

• US 8,686,591 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2009
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mitsutani, Noritake
• Primary Examiner(s): Fantu, Yalkew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, MANUEL J
• Application Number:
  US12/585,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20100072953A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,664 Days
• Field of Search: 320/DIG.10, 320/DIG.11, 320/DIG.12, 320/152, 320/162, 320/134, 307/10.7
• US Class Current: 307/10.7
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/00 Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• 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 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

An electrically-driven vehicle 10 comprises a chargeable and dischargeable battery 20, a charger 16 that charges the battery 20 using a supply of electric power from an external power supply 100, an accessory unit 19 that is driven by a supply of electric power from at least one of the battery 20 and the charger 16; and a PM-ECU 18 that controls drive of the charger 16 so that the charged amount of the battery does not exceed a predetermined charging upper limit. The PM-ECU 18 sets the charging upper limit used when the accessory unit 19 is being driven, lower than the charging upper limit used when the accessory unit 19 is not being driven in order to avoid overcharging when excessive electric power is supplied from the accessory unit 19 to the battery 20.

Claims

1. An electrically-driven vehicle, comprising:

a chargeable and dischargeable battery mounted on the vehicle as one of sources of power;

a charger that charges the battery by a supply of electric power from an electric power source;

an accessory unit that is driven by electric power supplied from at least one of the battery and the charger;

a charged amount obtaining unit that obtains a charged amount of the battery; and

a controller that controls drive of the charger so that the charged amount of the battery obtained by the charged amount obtaining unit does not exceed a first charging upper limit when the accessory unit is not being driven,

wherein for charging the battery using the supply of electric power from the electric power source, the controller stops a supply of the electric power from the charger to the accessory unit while allowing a supply of the electric power from the battery to the accessory unit when the charged amount of the battery exceeds a second charging upper limit that is lower than the first charging upper limit and the accessory unit is being driven.

2. The electrically-driven vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature detector that detects a battery temperature, wherein when the accessory unit is being driven, the controller changes the second charging upper limit in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detector.

3. The electrically-driven vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the controller is capable of controlling charging using a plurality of types of control method, including a constant voltage control method in which charging is performed while estimating the charged amount and maintaining a constant voltage, the controller controls charging using a control method other than the constant voltage control method when the accessory unit is being driven.

4. The electrically-driven vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electric power source is an external power supply provided externally to the vehicle.

5. A charge control system that controls a charging operation of a battery in an electrically-driven vehicle, comprising a chargeable and dischargeable battery charged by a supply of electric power from an electric power source, and an accessory unit driven by electric power supplied from at least one of the battery and the electric power source, the charge control system comprising:

a charger that charges the battery using the supply of electric power from the electric power source;

a charged amount obtaining unit that obtains a charged amount of the battery; and

a controller that controls drive of the charger so that the charged amount of the battery obtained by the charged amount obtaining unit does not exceed a first charging upper limit when the accessory unit is not being driven,

wherein for charging the battery using the supply of electric power from the electric power source, the controller stops a supply of the electric power from the charger to the accessory unit while allowing a supply of the electric power from the battery to the accessory unit when the charged amount of the battery exceeds a second charging upper limit that is lower than the first charging upper limit and the accessory unit is being driven.