BATTERY CONTROLLER, BATTERY CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAM

• US 20110260691A1
• Filed: 04/15/2011
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Daisuke, Tajima, Shigeru, Suzuki, Masahiro, Ishibashi, Yoshihito
• Granted Patent: US 9,041,355 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00302 Overcharge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• 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 90/12 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

There is provided a battery controller including a storing unit which stores an upper limit voltage and a lower limit voltage, each defining a first voltage range in which a battery is charged/discharged, and a second upper limit voltage and a second lower limit voltage, each defining a second voltage range which is wider than the first voltage range, and a charge/discharge regulation unit which temporarily changes, when charge/discharge is performed in the first voltage range and permission for charge/discharge in the second voltage is received, setting of the battery such that charge/discharge is performed in the second voltage range.

Claims

1. A battery controller comprising:

a storing unit which stores an upper limit voltage and a lower limit voltage, each defining a first voltage range in which a battery is charged/discharged, and a second upper limit voltage and a second lower limit voltage, each defining a second voltage range which is wider than the first voltage range; and

a charge/discharge regulation unit which temporarily changes, when charge/discharge is performed in the first voltage range and permission for charge/discharge in the second voltage is received, setting of the battery such that charge/discharge is performed in the second voltage range.

13. The battery controller according to claim 1,

wherein, after setting of the battery was changed, when a value of the voltage of the battery has fallen within the first voltage range, the charge/discharge regulation unit restores setting of the battery such that the battery is charged/discharged in the first voltage range.

16. The battery controller according to claim 1,

wherein the storing unit stores time at which setting of the battery was temporarily changed or the number of times setting of the battery was temporarily changed.

2. A battery controller comprising:

a storing unit which stores a lower limit voltage, which defines a discharge range of a battery, and a second lower limit voltage which is lower than the lower limit voltage;

a voltage measurement unit which measures a current voltage of the battery;

a necessary power calculation unit which calculates necessary electric power of the battery, which is necessary for a moving object to move from a current point of the moving object to a point where the battery can be charged; and

a charge/discharge regulation unit which temporarily changes setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage and the necessary electric power, such that the battery is discharged at battery voltage between the lower limit voltage and the second lower limit voltage.

3. The battery controller according to claim 2, further comprising:

a time measurement unit which measures time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage, when setting of the battery was temporarily changed,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit gives a warning to a user, when time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage reached or exceeded a predetermined time.

4. The battery controller according to claim 2, further comprising:

a time measurement unit which measures time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage, when setting of the battery was temporarily changed,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit reduces, when time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage reached or exceeded a predetermined time, an amount of current to be discharged from the battery after the predetermined time.

5. The battery controller according to claim 4,

wherein an amount of current to be discharged from the battery is gradually reduced according to time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage.

6. A battery controller according to claim 2, further comprising:

a time measurement unit which measures time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage, when setting of the battery was temporarily changed,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit stops discharge from the battery, when time during which the battery is being discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage reached or exceeded a predetermined time, even if the current voltage is equal to or higher than the second lower voltage.

7. The battery controller according to claim 2,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit reduces an amount of current to be discharged from the battery, when the battery is discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage.

8. The battery controller according to 2,

wherein control is performed such that kinetic energy is recovered by preferential use of regenerative brake, when the battery is discharged at battery voltage equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage.

14. The battery controller according to claim 2,

wherein, after setting of the battery was changed, when the current voltage has increased to the lower limit voltage or more, the charge/discharge regulation unit restores setting of the battery such that the battery is discharged exclusively at battery voltage equal to or higher than the lower limit voltage.

9. A battery controller comprising:

a storing unit which stores an upper limit voltage which defines a charge range of a battery, and a second upper limit voltage which is higher than the upper limit voltage;

a voltage measurement unit which measures a current voltage of the battery; and

a charge/discharge regulation unit which temporarily changes setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage, such that the battery is charged at battery voltage between the upper limit voltage and the second upper limit voltage.

10. The battery controller according to claim 9,

a time measurement unit which measures time during which the battery is being charged at battery voltage equal to or higher than the upper limit voltage, when setting of the battery was temporarily changed,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit stops charge of the battery, when time during which the battery is being charged at battery voltage equal to or higher than the upper limit voltage reached or exceeded a predetermined time, even if the current voltage is equal to or lower than the second upper limit voltage.

11. The battery controller according to claim 9,

wherein the charge/discharge regulation unit causes the battery to be discharged when the current voltage reached the second upper limit voltage.

12. The battery controller according to claim 9,

wherein, in a case where the battery is connected to a Smart Grid, when time during which the battery is being charged at battery voltage equal to or higher than the upper limit voltage reached or exceeded a predetermined time, or when the current voltage reached the second upper limit voltage, the discharge/charge management unit issues a discharge request to a server which regulates power supply of the Smart Grid.

15. The battery controller according to claim 9,

wherein, after setting of the battery was changed, when the current voltage has decreased to the upper limit voltage or less, the charge/discharge regulation unit restores setting of the battery such that the battery is charged exclusively at battery voltage equal to or lower than the upper limit voltage.

17. A battery control method, comprising:

storing by a storing unit an upper limit voltage and a lower limit voltage, each defining a first voltage range in which a battery is charged/discharged, and a second upper limit voltage and a second lower limit voltage, each defining a second voltage range which is wider than the first voltage range; and

temporarily changing, when charge/discharge is performed in the first voltage range and permission for charge/discharge in the second voltage is received, setting of the battery such that charge/discharge is performed in the second voltage range.

18. A battery control method, comprising:

storing by a storing unit a lower limit voltage, which defines a discharge range of a battery, and a second lower limit voltage which is lower than the lower limit voltage;

measuring a current voltage of the battery;

calculating necessary electric power of the battery, which is necessary for a moving object to move from a current point of the moving object to a point where the battery can be charged; and

temporarily changing setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage and the necessary electric power, such that the battery is discharged at battery voltage between the lower limit voltage and the second lower limit voltage.

19. A battery control method, comprising:

storing by a storing unit an upper limit voltage, which defines a charge range of a battery, and a second upper limit voltage which is higher than the upper limit voltage;

measuring a current voltage of the battery; and

temporarily changing setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage, such that the battery is charged at battery voltage between the upper limit voltage and the second upper limit voltage.

20. A program for causing a computer to perform:

storing an upper limit voltage and a lower limit voltage, each defining a first voltage range in which a battery is charged/discharged, and a second upper limit voltage and a second lower limit voltage, each defining a second voltage range which is wider than the first voltage range; and

temporarily changing, when charge/discharge is performed in the first voltage range and permission for charge/discharge in the second voltage is received, setting of the battery such that charge/discharge is performed in the second voltage range.

21. A program for causing a computer to perform:

storing a lower limit voltage, which defines a discharge range of a battery, and a second lower limit voltage which is lower than the lower limit voltage;

measuring a current voltage of the battery;

calculating necessary electric power of the battery, which is necessary for a moving object to move from a current point of the moving object to a point where the battery can be charged; and

temporarily changing setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage and the necessary electric power, such that the battery is discharged at battery voltage between the lower limit voltage and the second lower limit voltage.

22. A program for causing a computer to perform:

storing an upper limit voltage, which defines a charge range of a battery, and a second upper limit voltage which is higher than the upper limit voltage;

measuring a current voltage of the battery; and

temporarily changing setting of the battery, according to determination results based on the current voltage, such that the battery is charged at battery voltage between the upper limit voltage and the second upper limit voltage.