Method and system for diagnosing charging state

• US 9,566,865 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2014
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Kim, Seung-Bum, Koo, Bon Chang
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US14/561,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20160031324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/109, 701/137, 701/31.4, 701/34.4, 701/32.7, 701/30.5, 320/107, 320/109, 320/112, 903/903, 702/58
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/14 for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A method for diagnosing charging state may include a diagnostic trouble code generation step of generating a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) when the state for charging a battery from an alternator is abnormal in the state in which the alternator is operating to charge the battery while a vehicle is traveling, and then storing diagnostic trouble code in an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and a diagnostic trouble code release step of deleting the diagnostic trouble code in the ECU when the state for charging the battery from the alternator is returned to be normal.

Claims

1. A method for diagnosing charging state comprising:

a diagnostic trouble code generation step of generating a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) when the state for charging a battery from an alternator is abnormal in the state in which the alternator is operating to charge the battery while a vehicle is traveling, and then storing diagnostic trouble code in an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), wherein the vehicle is a vehicle having an internal combustion engine; and

a diagnostic trouble code release step of deleting the diagnostic trouble code in the ECU when the state for charging the battery from the alternator is returned to be normal, wherein

the diagnostic trouble code generation step comprises;

a diagnostic trouble code generation entry determination step of determining whether the conditions for generating diagnostic trouble code are satisfied by determining the states of the vehicle and the battery;

a charging state detection step of detecting the state charged to the battery from the alternator;

a charging state defect determination step of determining whether the charging state from the alternator is defective, by comparing an engine driving time, an operating conditions of the alternator, a difference between a target voltage and an output voltage and a current accumulation with each predetermined conditions; and

a diagnostic trouble code store step of generating the diagnostic trouble code with the state that the battery is not charged due to a charging state defect from the alternator and storing the diagnostic trouble code in the ECU, and

the charging state detection step calculated a cumulative amount of current charged from the alternator to the battery, duties of a C terminal of the alternator and a FR terminal of the alternator and an average voltage of the battery.

2. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic trouble code release step comprises:

a diagnostic trouble code release entry determination step of determining whether the running state of the vehicle and the diagnostic trouble code recorded in the ECU satisfy the conditions to release the diagnostic trouble code concerning the charging defect from the alternator;

a current accumulation initiation step of starting to accumulate the amount of the current outputted from the alternator;

a charging state good determination step of determining whether the charging state from the alternator is good by comparing the accumulation time of the amount of the current and the cumulative amount of the current with predetermined conditions; and

a diagnostic trouble code deletion step of deleting the diagnostic trouble code recorded in the ECU, when it is determined that the charging state from the alternator is good.

3. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic trouble code generation entry determination step comprises:

a diagnostic trouble diagnosis vehicle condition satisfaction determination step of determining whether a running vehicle satisfies the conditions which can generate the diagnostic trouble code based on the charging defect from the alternator; and

a battery state determination step of determining whether the charging rate of the battery is lower than a predetermined diagnostic trouble diagnosis entry charging rate.

4. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 3, wherein in the diagnostic trouble diagnosis vehicle condition satisfaction determination step, the battery state determination step is performed when the engine is driving, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication is normal and a total running distance of the vehicle is less than a predetermined diagnostic trouble code generation total running distance.

5. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 3, wherein in the battery state determination step, the charging state detection step is performed when the charging rate of the battery is lower than a predetermined diagnostic trouble diagnosis entry charging rate.

6. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 2, wherein the charging state good determination step comprises;

a current accumulation time satisfaction determination step of comparing whether the accumulation time of the amount of the current outputted from the alternator is greater than a predetermined diagnostic trouble release accumulation time; and

a cumulative amount of current satisfaction determination step of comparing whether the cumulative amount of the current outputted from the alternator is greater than a predetermined diagnostic trouble release cumulative amount of the current.

7. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 1, wherein the charging state defect determination step comprises:

an engine driving time comparison step of comparing whether the engine driving time is greater than a predetermined defect determination engine driving time;

an alternator duty comparison step of determining whether the duties of the C terminal of the alternator and the FR terminal of the alternator exist within a predetermined defect determination duty range;

a voltage difference comparison step of determining whether the difference between a target output voltage of the alternator and an actual output voltage outputted from the alternator is greater than a predetermined diagnostic trouble determination voltage difference; and

a cumulative amount of current comparison step of comparing whether the cumulative amount of current outputted from the alternator is smaller than a predetermined diagnostic trouble determination current accumulation value.

8. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 7, wherein the defect determination engine driving time is set to 1200 sec in the engine driving time comparison step.

9. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 8, wherein it is returned to the charging state detection step when the engine driving time is not greater than the defect determination engine driving time.

10. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 7, wherein the defect determination duty rage is set to that the duty of the C terminal of the alternator is excess 90% and the duty of the FR terminal of the alternator is less than 50% in the alternator duty comparison step.

11. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 7, wherein the diagnostic trouble determination voltage difference is set to 0.5V in the voltage difference comparison step.

12. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 7, wherein the diagnostic trouble determination current accumulation value is set to −

5 Ah in the cumulative amount of current comparison step.

13. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 2, wherein the diagnostic trouble code release entry determination step comprises:

a diagnostic trouble release vehicle condition satisfaction determination step of determining whether the running state of the vehicle satisfies the conditions that can release the diagnostic trouble code; and

a diagnostic trouble code comparison step of comparing whether the diagnostic trouble code stored in the ECU is the diagnostic trouble code concerning the charging defect from the alternator;

wherein the current accumulation initiation step is performed when the diagnostic trouble code is the diagnostic trouble code regarding the charging defect from the alternator in the diagnostic trouble code comparison step.

14. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 6, wherein in the cumulative amount of the current satisfaction determination step, the diagnostic trouble release cumulative amount of the current is set to 2 Ah.

15. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 13, wherein in the diagnostic trouble release vehicle condition satisfaction determination step, the diagnostic trouble code comparison step is performed when the engine is driving and the LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication is normal.

16. The method for diagnosing charging state of claim 6, wherein in the current accumulation time satisfaction determination step, the diagnostic trouble release accumulation time is set to 600 sec.