Battery control apparatus

• US 20030231005A1
• Filed: 03/18/2003
• Published: 12/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yoshida, Hiroaki, Furukawa, Nobuya, Kohama, Hirofumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,015,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/441 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/443 Torque
• 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 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/61 by batteries charged by engine-driven generators, e.g. series hybrid electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/25 by controlling the electric load
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/14 for vehicles propelled by ac motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/13 in order to stay within battery power input or output limits; in order to prevent overcharging or battery depletion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/246 : Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 : the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 : of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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

Abstract

There is provided a battery control apparatus that, when the battery temperature is low, repeats the charge and discharge of a battery on a short cycle such that the state of charge (SOC) of the battery lies in the range of 30 to 40% if the present SOC is less than 50%, and repeats the charge and discharge of the battery on a short cycle such that the SOC lies in the range of 50 to 60% if the present SOC is equal to or greater than 50%, thus increasing the temperature of the battery. Therefore, it is possible to increase the battery temperature in an efficient manner, and to prevent the available input-output power of the battery from being reduced due to a decrease in the battery temperature.

Claims

1. A battery control apparatus comprising:

battery temperature detecting device that detects a temperature of a battery;

a stage-of-charge determining device that determines a state of charge of the battery; and

a battery charge-discharge control device that controls charge-discharge of the battery;

wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the temperature of the battery detected by said battery temperature detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined temperature and the state of charge of the battery determined by said state-of-charge determining device is equal to or greater than a threshold set in advance, for repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in a first predetermined range equal to or greater than the threshold.

2. A battery control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the state of charge of the battery is less than the threshold, for repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in a second predetermined range less than the threshold.

3. A battery control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined temperature is about 0°

C.

4. A battery control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said threshold is about 50% of the full charge of the battery.

5. A battery control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first predetermined range is about 50 to 60% of the full charge of the battery.

6. A battery control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the state of charge of the battery is less than about 50%, for repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in the range of about 30 to 40%.

7. A vehicle, comprising:

a generator driven by an engine;

a motor for driving the vehicle;

a battery temperature detecting device that detects a temperature of a battery;

a stage-of-charge determining device that determines a state of charge of the battery; and

a battery charge-discharge control device that controls charge-discharge of the battery;

wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the temperature of the battery detected by said battery temperature detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined temperature and the state of charge of the battery determined by said state-of-charge determining device is equal to or greater than a threshold set in advance, for repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in a first predetermined range equal to or greater than the threshold.

8. A vehicle according to claim 7, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the state of charge of the battery is less than the threshold, for repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in a second predetermined range less than the threshold.

9. A vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when providing discharge control in the first or second predetermined range while the vehicle is running, for prohibiting the engine from driving the generator.

10. A vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when providing charge control in the first or second predetermined range while the vehicle is running, for permitting the engine to drive the generator.

11. A vehicle according to claim 7, further comprising:

a regeneration control device that charges the battery by regenerative braking;

wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable during the discharge control, for prohibiting said regeneration control device from performing regenerative charging.

12. A vehicle according to claim 11, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable during the charge control, for permitting said regeneration control device to perform regenerative charging.

13. A vehicle according to claim 7, wherein said battery charge-discharge control device is operable when the vehicle is at a standstill, for providing control to drive the generator.

14. A battery charge-discharge control method for a vehicle comprising a battery temperature detecting device that detects a temperature of a battery, a state-of-charge determining device that determines a state of charge of the battery, a battery charge-discharge control device that controls the charge-discharge of the batter, a generator driven by an engine, and a motor that drives the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge of the battery lies in a first predetermined range equal to or greater than a threshold set in advance when the temperature of the battery detected by said battery temperature detecting device is equal to or less than a predetermined temperature and the state of charge of the battery determined by said state-of-charge determining device is equal to or greater than the threshold; and

repeating charge and discharge of the battery such that the state of charge lies in a second predetermined range less than the threshold when the state of charge of the battery is less than the threshold.