Vehicle battery diagnosis system

• US 8,996,241 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2009
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Uchida, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kiswanto, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US13/124,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20110218703A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,989 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/106, 320/122, 320/125, 320/132, 320/134, 320/136, 320/137, 701/33, 701/29.1, 701/29.4, 701/29.6, 701/31.4, 701/31.6, 701/34.4
• US Class Current: 701/34.4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/44 by parameter estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• 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: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/90 Vehicles comprising electric prime movers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/007 using microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/371 with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/488 Cells or batteries combined with indicating means for external visualization of the condition, e.g. by change of colour or of light density
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle battery diagnosis system diagnoses the state of degradation of a battery of a vehicle equipped with the battery as a motive power source. The system includes: an information accumulation portion that accumulates degradation information regarding the battery; an information processing portion that reads information from the information accumulation portion, and that creates a plurality of types of screen information that are different from each other in display format, for a plurality of information recipients; a display portion that displays a screen that corresponds to at least one of the types of screen information created by the information processing portion.

Claims

1. A vehicle battery diagnosis system connectable to a vehicle that diagnoses the state of degradation of a battery of the vehicle equipped with the battery as a motive power source, comprising:

an information accumulation portion adapted to accumulate degradation information regarding the battery, the battery including a plurality of battery units, wherein the degradation information includes a plurality of pieces of unit degradation information for the plurality of battery units and the information accumulation portion is accessible for a plurality of information recipients;

an information processing portion adapted to read the degradation information from the information accumulation portion, and adapted to create a plurality of types of screen information on a basis of the degradation information that are different from each other in display format and that are specific for different types of information recipients out of the plurality of information recipients; and

a display portion adapted to display at least one of a plurality of screens that corresponds to at least one of the plurality of types of screen information created by the information processing portion, wherein

the plurality of screens that correspond to the plurality of types of screen information include a first screen and a second screen, the second screen including a first type of screen information which is included in the first screen and a second type of screen information which is not included in the first screen, the first and second screens being switchable according to the type of information for the information recipient,

the first screen is adapted to display a number of and a position of at least one battery unit having a degree of degradation greater than a predetermined threshold value, in a recognizable manner, and

the second screen is adapted to display a number of and a position of at least one battery unit having a degree of degradation greater than the predetermined threshold value, in a recognizable manner, and is adapted to display numerical data that shows the degree of degradation for each one of the plurality of battery units.

2. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the battery units is separately replaceable.

3. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 2, further comprising a remaining service life estimation portion adapted to estimate a remaining service life of the battery as a whole based on the plurality of pieces of unit degradation information,

wherein the remaining service life estimation portion is adapted to estimate a present remaining service life of the battery, and a remaining service life of the battery in a case where at least one of the plurality of battery units is replaced, and is adapted to cause the display portion to display the present remaining service life, and the remaining service life.

4. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 3, wherein the remaining service life estimation portion is adapted to estimate a plurality of remaining service lives that correspond to a plurality of replacement plans that are different from each other in combination of battery units to be replaced, among the plurality of battery units, and is adapted to cause the display portion to display the plurality of remaining service lives.

5. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 4, further comprising a cost calculation portion adapted to calculate costs that correspond to the plurality of replacement plans, and that causes the display portion to display the costs.

6. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 4, wherein the replacement plans are set based on ranks of the plurality of battery units which are set according to the degrees of degradation of the plurality of battery units.

7. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of information recipients include a user of the vehicle, and a repair person for the vehicle.

8. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 4, further comprising a delivery time inquiry portion that inquires of a database of a battery unit manufacturer about delivery times that correspond to the plurality of replacement plans, and causes the display portion to display the delivery times.

9. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 1, further comprising a battery diagnosis portion that is connected to the vehicle, and acquires degradation information regarding the battery, and is adapted to perform a diagnosis of the battery, and is adapted to accumulate diagnostic results in the information accumulation portion, wherein the information accumulation portion is a database.

10. A vehicle battery diagnosis method that diagnoses state of degradation of a battery of a vehicle equipped with the battery as a motive power source, comprising:

detecting, with a battery diagnosis portion of a vehicle battery diagnosis system, degradation of the battery;

accumulating, with an information accumulation portion of the vehicle battery diagnosis system, the degradation information regarding the battery, the battery including a plurality of battery units, wherein the degradation information includes a plurality of pieces of unit degradation information for the plurality of battery units and which is accessible for a plurality of information recipients;

determining, with a control device of the vehicle battery diagnosis system, an attribute of a specific information recipient out of a plurality of different types of information recipients;

creating screen information based on the degradation information detected and the attribute determined; and

displaying the screen information created on a display, wherein

the screen information displayed based on the created screen information includes a first screen and a second screen, the second screen including a first screen information which is included in the first screen and a second screen information which is not included in the first screen, the first and second screens being switchable according to the type of information for the information recipient,

the first screen is adapted to display a number of and a position of at least one battery unit having a degree of degradation greater than a predetermined threshold value, in a recognizable manner, and

the second screen is adapted to display a number of and a position of at least one battery unit having a degree of degradation greater than the predetermined threshold value, in a recognizable manner, and is adapted to display numerical data that shows the degree of degradation for each one of the plurality of battery units.

11. A vehicle external vehicle battery diagnosis system connectable to a vehicle that diagnoses the state of degradation of a battery of the vehicle equipped with the battery as a motive power source, comprising:

an information accumulation portion adapted to accumulate degradation information regarding the battery, the battery including a plurality of battery units, wherein the degradation information includes a plurality of pieces of unit degradation information for the plurality of battery units and the information accumulation portion is accessible for a plurality of information recipients;

an information processing portion adapted to read the degradation information from the information accumulation portion, and adapted to create a plurality of types of screen information on a basis of the degradation information that are different from each other in display format and that are specific for different types of information recipients out of the plurality of information recipients;

a remaining service life estimation portion adapted to estimate a remaining service life of the battery as a whole based on the plurality of pieces of unit degradation information; and

a display portion adapted to display at least one of a plurality of screens that corresponds to at least one of the plurality of types of screen information created by the information processing portion, wherein;

the plurality of screens that correspond to the plurality of types of screen information include a first screen and a second screen, the second screen including a first type of screen information which is included in the first screen and a second type of screen information which is not included in the first screen, the first and second screens being switchable according to the type of information for the information recipient, and

the remaining service life estimation portion is adapted to estimate a present remaining service life of the battery, and a remaining service life of the battery in a case where at least one of the plurality of battery units is replaced, and is adapted to cause the display portion to display the present remaining service life, and the remaining service life.

12. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 11, wherein the first and second screens being switchable according to the type of information for the information recipient.

13. A vehicle external vehicle battery diagnosis system connectable to a vehicle that diagnoses the state of degradation of a battery of the vehicle equipped with the battery as a motive power source, comprising:

an information accumulation portion adapted to accumulate degradation information regarding the battery, the battery including a plurality of battery units, wherein the information accumulation portion is accessible for a plurality of information recipients;

an information processing portion adapted to read the degradation information from the information accumulation portion, and adapted to create a plurality of types of screen information that are different from each other in display format, for the plurality of information recipients; and

a display portion adapted to display a screen that corresponds to at least one of the plurality of types of screen information created by the information processing portion, wherein the display portion displays at least one of (i) a plurality of replacement plans that are different from each other in combination of battery units to be replaced, among the plurality of battery units or (ii) costs that correspond to the plurality of replacement plans.

14. The vehicle battery diagnosis system according to claim 13, wherein the screen information displayed based on the created screen information includes a first screen and a second screen, the first and second screens being switchable according to the type of information for the information recipient.