Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Battery or cell discharging – With charging
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-24
2003-11-25
Vu, Bao Q. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Battery or cell discharging
With charging
C320S132000, C320S130000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06653819
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosures of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2001-141507 filed on May 11, 2001 and 2002-59062 filed on Mar. 5, 2002, including the specifications, drawings and abstracts are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to a refresh charge control device and method. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a refresh charge control device and method for performing a refresh charge of a battery.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, when a battery is continually used under a half-charged condition which does not reach a fully charged condition, an internal material of the battery is solidified. When the internal material of the battery is solidified, the absolute capacity of the battery is reduced, and thus the duration of battery life is declined. There has been disclosed a method for regularly refreshing the battery to be the fully charged condition for preventing the decline of the duration of battery life. By regularly refreshing the battery to be the fully charged condition, the solidification of the internal material is restrained. In this manner, the battery life is ensured over the long term.
According to a system including a battery on vehicle, a period of the decline of the battery life is different depending on the individual users because the frequency for using the vehicle is different depending on the users. Despite the foregoing condition, in case the refresh charge of the battery is performed by a constant cycle (e.g., once a month) or every time the vehicle is used without considering the frequency of use by the user, the battery may be always maintained to be the fully charged condition depending on the usage by the user. In this case, the regeneration energy of the vehicle cannot be recovered to the battery, thus the mileage cannot be improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a refresh charge control device and method for performing a refresh charge of a battery at the appropriate period.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the refresh charge control device includes a time count device that counts the time after achieving last fully charged condition of the battery, an accumulative electric use amount count device that counts the accumulative electric use amount of the battery after achieving the last fully charged condition of the battery, and a controller that starts the refresh charge of the battery when the time counted by the time count device and the accumulative electric use amount counted by the accumulative electric usage count satisfy a predetermined relationship.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the refresh charge of the battery is performed when the predetermined relationship is satisfied between the time after achieving the last fully charged condition and the accumulative electric use amount after achieving the last fully charged condition of the battery. In case the time after achieving the last fully charged condition of the battery is long, it is appropriate to perform the refresh charge in order to prevent the decline of the battery life even if the accumulative electric usage of the battery is small. In case the accumulative electric usage of the battery is large even if the time after achieving the last fully charged condition of the battery is relatively short, it is appropriate to perform the refresh charge because the battery is frequently used under the half-charged condition. Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the predetermined relationship is appropriately determined, the refresh charge in accordance with the usage of the battery is performed. Accordingly, the refresh charge of the battery is performed at the appropriate period.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the controller may start the refresh charge of the battery when the time counted by the time count device is equal to or greater than a first time and the accumulative electric use amount counted by the accumulative electric use amount is equal to or greater than a first use amount.
Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the controller may start the refresh charge of the battery when the time counted by the time count device is equal to or longer than a second time which is longer than the first time and the accumulative electric use amount counted by the accumulative electric use amount device is equal to or greater than a second use amount which is less than the first use amount.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a refresh charge control device for performing the refresh charge of the battery installed on the vehicle by using a power source is provided. The refresh charge control device includes a high-speed travel judging device that judges whether the vehicle travels equal to or faster than a predetermined speed and a controller that performs the refresh charge of the battery when it is judged that the vehicle is traveling equal to or faster than the predetermined speed by the high-speed travel judging device.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the refresh charge of the battery is performed when the vehicle is traveling equal to or faster than the predetermined speed. Because the power source of the vehicle is efficiently operated when the vehicle travels equal to or faster than the predetermined speed, the fuel efficiency of the vehicle is not significantly declined even if the battery is charged using the power source. Thus, according to the present invention, the refresh charge of the battery is performed at the appropriate period during which the mileage of the vehicle is not significantly declined.
When the condition that the vehicle travels equal to or faster than the predetermined speed continues over the long term, it is judged that the vehicle is traveling on a road such as expressway on which the high-speed traveling is achievable. Thus, in this case, the regenerative braking is hard to be performed, the generation of the regeneration energy amount is relatively small, and the opportunity for charging the battery is few.
Accordingly, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the refresh charge control device includes a time judging device that judges whether the condition that the vehicle travels equal to or faster than the predetermined speed continues by the high-speed travel judging device and the controller starts the refresh charge of the battery when it is judged that the condition that the vehicle travels equal to or faster than the predetermined speed continues for the predetermined time by the time judging device, the refresh charge is performed under the condition that a normal charge of the battery is hard to be performed. Thus, the generation of the unnecessary energy which cannot be recovered at the refresh charge can be prevented.
When the refresh charge is frequently repeated regardless of the situation that the battery is not frequently used, the battery is deteriorated to decline the duration of battery life.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the refresh charge control device includes an accumulative electric use amount judging device that judges whether the accumulative electric use amount of the battery after achieving the last fully charged condition of the battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount and when the controller starts the refresh charge of the battery when it is judged that the accumulative electric use amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount by the accumulative electric use amount judging device, the deterioration of the battery is restrained.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the refresh charge control device includes a time count device that counts a time after achieving the last fully charged condition and an accumulative electric use amount count device that counts the accum
Nagata Shuuichi
Okazaki Yoshinori
Suzui Kousuke
Yokoyama Hidenori
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
Vu Bao Q.
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