JP6461684B2 - Battery control device, battery control method, and determination method of lower limit voltage - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery control device and a battery control method for controlling a battery used in a vehicle or the like, and a determination method of a lower limit voltage used in the control of the battery.

  It is known that secondary batteries such as nickel metal hydride batteries gradually deteriorate when the voltage is discharged at a value lower than a predetermined lower limit voltage, for example. Therefore, Patent Document 1 describes the lower limit voltage of the secondary battery.

  The battery control device described in Patent Document 1 sets the lower limit voltage of the input / output voltage of the battery according to the battery temperature, and sets the lower limit voltage when the battery temperature is low to be equal to or lower than the lower limit voltage when the battery temperature is high.

Japanese Patent No. 4200256

According to the battery control device described in Patent Literature 1, the secondary battery is prevented from being deteriorated by being regulated such that the voltage during discharging does not fall below the lower limit voltage.
However, in recent years, there has been a demand for more effective use of the storage amount of the secondary battery. At this time, if the lower limit voltage is set lower than necessary, there is an increased risk that the battery will rapidly deteriorate when a sudden discharge or the like occurs. Therefore, it is required to more appropriately regulate the discharge.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and its purpose is to provide a battery control device and a battery control method capable of more appropriately regulating battery discharge, and a lower limit voltage used in the control of the battery. It is to provide a determination method.

  A battery control device that solves the above problem is a battery control device that controls the discharge of the secondary battery so that the voltage of the secondary battery does not become less than the lower limit voltage, and acquires the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, respectively. A state acquisition unit, a cumulative time acquisition unit that acquires a cumulative value of time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature, and a cumulative of the acquired temperature, voltage, and time The present invention includes a deterioration amount calculation unit that calculates a deterioration amount of the secondary battery using a value as a parameter, and a control unit that performs control related to the discharge of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount. To do.

  A battery control method for solving the above problems is a battery control method for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery so that the voltage of the secondary battery does not become less than the lower limit voltage, and acquires the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, respectively. A state acquisition step, a cumulative time acquisition step of acquiring a cumulative value of the time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature, and a cumulative value of the acquired temperature, voltage and time. The gist of the invention is to include a deterioration amount calculation step for calculating a deterioration amount of the secondary battery using as a parameter, and a control unit that performs control relating to the discharge of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount.

  “Current” can be considered as a parameter for determining the deterioration amount of the secondary battery. However, according to such a configuration or method, the parameter includes the accumulated value of “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” staying at the voltage value, and the amount of deterioration is calculated by a configuration not including “current”. Thus, the discharge can be more appropriately regulated by controlling the discharge. Thereby, for example, since appropriate control can be performed by performing control related to the discharge of the secondary battery according to the deterioration amount, it is possible to suppress the battery discharge from being excessively controlled and the battery performance is sufficiently exhibited. become.

As a preferred configuration, the secondary battery includes a positive electrode including a main active material and a metal compound as an additive, and the deterioration amount is an amount calculated due to a reduction reaction of the metal compound.
Since the reduced metal compound becomes inactive and cannot contribute to charge / discharge, the performance of the battery deteriorates. Therefore, according to such a configuration, the discharge of the secondary battery can be controlled corresponding to the reduction reaction of the metal compound contained in the positive electrode of the power generation element of the battery.

As a preferred configuration, the secondary battery is a nickel-hydrogen secondary battery, the main active material is nickel oxide, and the metal compound is a cobalt compound.
According to such a configuration, by controlling the discharge of the secondary battery, the reduction reaction of the cobalt compound of the positive electrode is suppressed in the nickel-hydrogen secondary battery.

  As a preferred configuration, the control unit includes a lower limit voltage determining unit that determines a height of the lower limit voltage, and the lower limit voltage determining unit determines the lower limit voltage to a higher value in accordance with an increase in the deterioration amount. To do.

  According to such a configuration, the lower limit voltage can be determined to a high value in accordance with an increase in the deterioration amount of the power generation element of the battery, that is, a decrease in the power generation capacity of the power generation element. As a result, the deteriorated secondary battery can be controlled with the lower limit voltage that is less likely to deteriorate, and the battery life can be extended by delaying the progress of the battery deterioration.

  As a preferred configuration, the lower limit voltage determining unit includes a first regulated voltage and a second regulated voltage that is higher than the first regulated voltage as a voltage to be determined as the lower limit voltage, and the deterioration amount is a predetermined amount. When the threshold voltage is equal to or lower than the threshold, the first regulation voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage, and when the first regulation voltage is not determined as the lower limit voltage, the second regulation voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage.

  According to such a configuration, the first regulated voltage and the second regulated voltage are provided as voltages determined as the lower limit voltage, and these are selected according to the comparison with the predetermined threshold value of the deterioration amount. By doing so, it becomes easy to determine the lower limit voltage suitable for the deterioration amount.

  As a preferred configuration, a period or a travel distance that is predicted to be required until the deterioration amount reaches the predetermined threshold value is predetermined, and the lower limit voltage determining unit further sets the deterioration amount to the predetermined threshold value. When the period or travel distance required until is shorter than the predicted period or travel distance by a certain amount or more, the first regulation voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage.

  According to such a configuration, even if the deterioration amount exceeds a predetermined threshold, the lower limit voltage is determined as the first regulated voltage under the above conditions. Thereby, it is suppressed that the discharge of the battery is excessively restricted by the lower limit voltage, and the use range of the battery can be expanded in a state where the battery performance can be sufficiently exhibited.

As a preferred configuration, the control unit has a notification threshold to be compared with the deterioration amount, and outputs information indicating that when the deterioration amount exceeds the notification threshold.
According to such a configuration, since the deterioration of the secondary battery is notified when the deterioration amount exceeds the notification threshold, it is possible to cope with the deterioration of the secondary battery.

  A method of determining a lower limit voltage that solves the above problem is a method of determining a lower limit voltage that is a lower limit value of a discharge voltage of a secondary battery, and is measured at the temperature, voltage, and each temperature of the secondary battery. A relationship creating step of creating a relationship representing the amount of deterioration of the secondary battery using a cumulative value of the accumulated time of the time spent at the voltage for each voltage as a parameter, and the quality of the battery state of the secondary battery A boundary value setting step for setting a boundary value to be classified based on the deterioration amount calculated based on the created relationship, and a value at which the voltage of the secondary battery is lower than a specified limit voltage during charge / discharge of a specific mode A permissible time estimating step of estimating a permissible time staying in the battery as a permissible time, and a deterioration amount calculated based on the created relationship when the secondary battery is discharged for the permissible time Voltage to reach the boundary value Calculated for each temperature, and summarized in that and a lower limit voltage determination step of determining the voltage thus calculated as the lower limit voltage corresponding to the temperature in each case.

  According to such a method, a relation such as a relational expression for calculating the deterioration amount is created using the accumulated value of the temperature, voltage, and time of the secondary battery as parameters, and acquired based on the created relation. The lower limit voltage can be determined from the amount of deterioration to be performed. That is, the lower limit voltage can be determined from the relationship indicating the amount of deterioration obtained without using “current”. According to the control based on the amount of deterioration, since appropriate control can be performed, it is possible to suppress excessive discharge of the battery and to sufficiently exhibit battery performance.

  According to such a battery control device, battery control method, and lower limit voltage determination method, it is possible to more appropriately regulate battery discharge.

The block diagram which shows the schematic structure about one Embodiment which actualized the battery control apparatus. In the same embodiment, the flowchart which shows the procedure which controls discharge of a secondary battery based on a lower limit voltage. The graph which shows an example of the map data of the lower limit voltage to set in the same embodiment. The graph which shows dQ / dV value with respect to positive electrode potential. The block diagram which shows the outline of the structure about the structure required in order to produce the map data used for the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating map data for calculating a lower limit voltage in the embodiment. The graph which shows an example of the relationship between dQ / dV value and the residence time in a certain electric potential about a secondary battery. The graph which shows acquiring the degradation rate a from the relationship between the dQ / dV value linearized and the residence time in a certain electric potential in the secondary battery. In the same secondary battery, the graph which shows the deterioration rate a of each electric potential with the graph of deterioration amount and time. In the same secondary battery, the graph which shows the deterioration rate a of each electric potential with the graph of the time change of deterioration amount, and an electric potential. In the secondary battery, the graph shown in FIG. 10 is shown for each battery temperature. In the secondary battery, with respect to the graph for each battery temperature shown in FIG. 11, (a) is a graph showing the relationship between “intercept value” and “battery temperature” of each graph, and (b) is a graph showing each graph. The graph which shows the relationship between "the value of inclination" and "battery temperature". The graph which shows an example of the relationship between a dQ / dV value (deterioration state) and an output characteristic (remaining capacity) about a secondary battery. The graph which shows an example of distribution of the voltage range in which the voltage which changes with charge / discharge of a specific aspect stays about a secondary battery. The graph which shows an example of the lower limit voltage map data for acquiring the lower limit voltage with respect to temperature about a secondary battery.

  With reference to FIGS. 1-3, one Embodiment which actualized the battery control apparatus, the battery control method, and the determination method of the minimum voltage is described. Here, the secondary battery is a nickel metal hydride secondary battery, and the nickel metal hydride secondary battery is mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and is used as a power source for a traveling motor.

  Generally, in a nickel metal hydride secondary battery, the remaining capacity with respect to the fully charged battery capacity is expressed as a percentage [%]. In general, the charge and discharge of the nickel metal hydride secondary battery is regulated within the remaining capacity (for example, between 40% and 80%) determined as the use range. In the nickel metal hydride secondary battery, a lower limit voltage is set as a voltage for suppressing deterioration of battery performance, and discharge is restricted so as not to fall below the lower limit voltage. That is, when the voltage of the nickel metal hydride secondary battery is lower than the lower limit voltage, the deterioration state is likely to advance quickly. As the lower limit voltage is set lower, the output range of the nickel metal hydride secondary battery is expanded and the amount of electricity that can be output is increased, so that the output performance is improved. On the other hand, if the set value of the lower limit voltage is too low, there is a high possibility that the deterioration (deterioration state) of the output characteristics of the battery will proceed more quickly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a case will be described in which there is a low possibility that the performance of the nickel-hydrogen secondary battery will be deteriorated and the lower limit voltage that can widen the output range is set appropriately.

As shown in FIG. 1, the nickel hydride secondary battery is configured as a battery module 10 in which a plurality of single cells 100 (first to sixth cells 101 to 106) are connected in series. The battery module 10 includes a positive electrode terminal 11 formed by electrically connecting the cells 101 to 106 in series and a negative electrode terminal 12 as input / output terminals used for charging / discharging. A positive-side wiring PL and a negative-side wiring NL, which are external wirings, are connected to the positive electrode terminal 11 and the negative-electrode terminal 12, respectively, and an electric motor, a power source, etc. as a load are connected via these positive-side wiring PL and negative-side wiring NL. It is connected. In the battery module 10, six battery cases are provided by dividing the space inside the integrated battery case by a partition, and each battery case corresponds to each of the cells 101 to 106. The cell 100 includes a predetermined number of negative electrodes 111 containing a hydrogen storage alloy and a predetermined number of positive electrodes 112 containing nickel hydroxide (Ni (OH) ₂ ). ) Through the electrode group 113. In the cell 100, the negative electrode 111 of the electrode group 113 is connected to the current collector plate 114 on the negative electrode side, the positive electrode 112 of the electrode group 113 is connected to the current collector plate 115 on the positive electrode side, and the electrolytic solution (not shown) is used. It is configured to be housed in a resin battery case.

  The positive electrode 112 includes a foamed nickel substrate which is a metal porous body, a positive electrode active material mainly composed of nickel oxide such as nickel hydroxide and nickel oxyhydroxide filled in the foamed nickel substrate, and additives (conductive agent, etc.) Have

The conductive agent is a metal compound, which is a cobalt compound such as cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) and covers the surface of the nickel oxide. In the battery module 10 at the time of shipment, the cobalt compound that covers the surface of the nickel oxide exists in a state containing trivalent cobalt (Co ³⁺ ). Highly conductive cobalt oxyhydroxide forms a conductive network in the positive electrode and increases the utilization factor of the positive electrode (percentage of “discharge capacity / theoretical capacity”). Cobalt oxyhydroxide is stable within the preset operating voltage range for each cell 100. Therefore, as long as the unit cell 100 operates within the operating voltage range, most of the conductive agent is not reduced to cobalt hydroxide or the like. However, if the discharge continues even if it falls below a positive electrode potential (hereinafter referred to as a state-discriminating potential) (for example, “0.1 V”) that may cause a deterioration state in the single battery 100, the battery of the single battery 100. The voltage falls below “0.1 V” which is the equilibrium potential of Co ³⁺ / Co ²⁺ , and reduction of cobalt oxyhydroxide to electrically inactive cobalt hydroxide may occur. Since the trivalent cobalt forming the conductive network is reduced by the reduction of cobalt oxyhydroxide and the conductivity of the positive electrode 112 is lowered, the positive electrode such as a decrease in discharge capacity and an increase in internal resistance such as a direct current internal resistance. Degradation occurs. Therefore, the deterioration state of the positive electrode containing the metal compound proceeds. In the present embodiment, generally, there is a relationship of “voltage = positive electrode potential + 0.9” between the voltage of the unit cell 100 and the positive electrode potential, which can be converted into each other.

  By the way, the positive electrode 112 can show the deterioration state by dQ / dV value, for example. The dQ / dV value is the ratio of the rate of change dQ / dt of the remaining capacity to the rate of change dV / dt of the positive electrode potential, indicates the change of the remaining capacity per unit voltage, and determines the deterioration state of the positive electrode. It is used for determining the deterioration state of the battery.

As shown by a curve L1 in FIG. 4, the cell 100 has a peak in which the dQ / dV value increases in the negative direction due to consumption of electrons when trivalent cobalt is reduced to divalent cobalt. Is seen. This peak indicates that the amount of change in the dQ / dV value increases rapidly, and the positive electrode potential range where the peak appears is a potential range smaller than the equilibrium potential “0.1 V” of Co ³⁺ / Co ^2+. is there. In the curve L1 of FIG. 4, the minimum value of the dQ / dV value, that is, the maximum value of the change amount of the dQ / dV value is found near the positive electrode potential of “0.03V”. The positive electrode potential at which the minimum value of the dQ / dV value appears is a potential at which the reaction amount of the reduction reaction is maximized. In the present embodiment, the dQ / dV value of the cell 100 is acquired as a peak value whose change amount is the maximum value. Note that the dQ / dV value may be determined and acquired as a position other than the peak value whose change amount is the maximum value.

The negative electrode 111 has an electrode support made of punching metal or the like, and a hydrogen storage alloy (MH) applied to the electrode support.
In the initial state, which is the state at the time of shipment, such a unit cell 100 is set to have positive electrode regulation in which the negative electrode capacity is larger than the positive electrode capacity. For this reason, the negative electrode capacity includes charge reserve and discharge reserve as capacity provided in excess of the positive electrode capacity.

  In the single battery 100, the deterioration of the positive electrode 112 is accelerated as soon as the discharge is continued even if the potential is lower than the state distinguishing potential of the positive electrode 112. Since the deterioration of the cell 100 due to the discharge below the state-discrimination potential is due to the deterioration of the positive electrode, a voltage at which the positive electrode is less likely to fall below the state-discrimination potential is set as the lower limit voltage. Be regulated. Here, the deterioration of the unit cell 100 due to the discharge below the state discrimination potential (progress of the deteriorated state) is, as described above, the irreversible metal elution reaction of the metal compound (cobalt compound) contained as an additive in the positive electrode. It progresses according to the deterioration of the positive electrode (progress of the deteriorated state) in which (reduction of cobalt oxyhydroxide) proceeds.

  By the way, as for the single battery 100, there exists a possibility that the output voltage of a cell may fall rapidly by discharge of a large current. If the positive electrode potential of the positive electrode 112 is lower than the potential “0.1 V”, for example, and the discharge is lower than the state-discrimination potential, there is a high possibility that a metal elution reaction occurs in the positive electrode 112. In particular, a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery mounted on a vehicle is likely to generate a discharge below the state-discrimination potential due to a large current discharge required in response to a rapid increase in traveling load. It is desired to set a lower limit voltage that appropriately regulates discharge. Note that the state-discriminating potential, the lower limit voltage for the unit cell 100, the lower limit voltage for the battery module 10, and the lower limit voltage for the assembled battery can be converted to each other. For example, the lower limit voltage for the battery module 10 can be calculated from the lower limit voltage of the unit cell 100 according to the number of cells constituting the battery module 10. Therefore, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the state-discriminating potential, the lower limit voltage for the single battery 100, the lower limit voltage for the battery module 10, and the like may be described without conversion.

The discharge control of the battery module 10 in the battery control device will be described.
The battery module 10 is connected to a control device 50 as a battery control device that controls battery discharge. The control device 50 sets the lower limit voltage according to the battery state of the battery module 10. And the control apparatus 50 is that the voltage between the terminals of the battery module 10 falls below the set lower limit voltage for the battery module 10 also by discharge of a large current by a discharge circuit (not shown) such as an electric motor. The discharge from the battery module 10 is regulated so as to be suppressed.

  In the battery module 10, a voltmeter 40 that measures the voltage between terminals is electrically connected between the positive terminal 11 and the negative terminal 12, and an ammeter 41 that measures input / output current is electrically connected to the negative wiring NL. They are connected in series. The voltmeter 40 outputs a signal corresponding to the measured voltage, and the ammeter 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the measured current to the control device 50, respectively.

  The control device 50 is configured to include a computer having a calculation unit and a storage unit, and performs various processes such as a lower limit voltage determination process through a calculation process in a calculation unit of a program stored in the storage unit or the like. The control device 50 obtains the inter-terminal voltage, input / output current, and battery temperature of the battery module 10 from each input signal. Further, the control device 50 outputs a signal for regulating discharge to a load control device for controlling the driving of the electric motor.

  The control device 50 includes a state acquisition unit 51 that acquires the state of the battery, an accumulated time acquisition unit 52 that acquires an accumulated value of time in a predetermined state, and a deterioration amount calculation unit 53 that calculates the deterioration amount of the secondary battery. And a lower limit voltage determination unit 54 as a control unit for determining the lower limit voltage. Further, the control device 50 includes lower limit voltage data 55 stored in a storage unit or the like.

  In the lower limit voltage data 55, map data L11 as the first regulation voltage and map data L12 as the second regulation voltage are held as data indicated by the map data L11 and L12 shown in FIG. The map data L11 and L12 are graphs showing map data from which the lower limit voltage can be obtained from the battery temperature. More specifically, the map data L11 is map data for determining a lower limit voltage to be set when the deterioration state of the battery is not advanced (the deterioration degree is low), and the map data L12 is the deterioration state of the battery. This is map data for determining the lower limit voltage to be set when the vehicle is advanced (the degree of deterioration is high). The lower limit voltage obtained from the map data L11 is lower than the lower limit voltage obtained from the map data L12. The height of the lower limit voltage is determined by switching the two map data L11 and L12 according to the calculated deterioration amount. Therefore, the lower limit voltage is determined to be a high value as the deterioration amount increases. Note that these map data can be replaced with a function that can acquire the corresponding lower limit voltage based on an arbitrary temperature of the battery, a graph that can acquire the same, or the like.

  The state acquisition unit 51 inputs a signal from the voltmeter 40 to acquire the voltage of the battery, and inputs a signal from the thermometer 20 to acquire the temperature of the battery (state acquisition unit step). The state acquisition unit 51 may acquire a battery current by inputting a signal from the ammeter 41.

  The cumulative time acquisition unit 52 acquires a cumulative value of the time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each temperature (cumulative time acquisition step). That is, in an environment where charging and discharging are repeated by use, the cumulative value of the time during which the sequentially changing voltage stays at each voltage value is acquired for each voltage value and for each battery temperature.

  The deterioration amount calculation unit 53 calculates the deterioration amount of the secondary battery based on the voltage and temperature acquired from the battery and the accumulated value of the time corresponding to the acquired temperature and voltage (deterioration amount calculation step). In other words, the deterioration amount is calculated based on a relational expression including “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” as parameters. In the present embodiment, the deterioration amount is based on the dQ / dV value. Specifically, it is a value obtained by subtracting the dQ / dV value (dQ / dV initial value) of the battery in the initial state from the dQ / dV value of the battery. Thus, in the present embodiment, the dQ / dV value can be obtained based on a configuration that includes “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” in the parameters but does not include “current”. For example, the relationship expressed by the following formulas (1) and (2) is obtained as the relationship representing such deterioration amount. An example in which the deterioration amount is calculated by applying Expression (1) is shown in Expression (3). Equation (3) shows the amount of deterioration when the positive electrode potential stays at 0.2 [V] for 1 second at a temperature of 35 [° C.] (time 1 [s]). If the potential or temperature changes while charging and discharging are repeated, the amount of degradation is calculated based on the combination of the potential and temperature and the time spent in that state, and the total amount of degradation is calculated by adding them together. calculate. The dQ / dV value calculated based on the calculated deterioration amount of the battery module 10 is used for determining the lower limit voltage. The coefficients “−bb”, “−cb”, “bc”, and “cc” included in the expressions (2) and (3) will be described in detail later.

  The lower limit voltage determination unit 54 acquires the lower limit voltage corresponding to the battery temperature based on the comparison with the lower limit voltage data 55, and sets the acquired lower limit voltage as the lower limit voltage corresponding to the battery state of the battery module 10. Further, the lower limit voltage determining unit 54 selects either map data L11 or map data L12 set in the lower limit voltage data 55 based on the calculated dQ / dV value, and the battery is selected from the selected map data. Get the lower limit voltage corresponding to the temperature. That is, the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 determines the degree of progress of the battery deterioration state (the degree of deterioration) by comparing the calculated dQ / dV value with a predetermined threshold value. For example, when the dQ / dV value is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the deterioration state has not progressed (deterioration level is low), and when it exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the deterioration state has progressed (high deterioration level). Is determined. The lower limit voltage determining unit 54 determines the lower limit voltage from the map data L11 when the degree of deterioration is low, and determines the lower limit voltage from the map data L12 when the degree of deterioration is high. And the lower limit voltage determination part 54 is based on the aspect which uses the acquired lower limit voltage for cells (cell 100) for control, for example, the number of cells provided in the battery module 10, for example, the value made 6 times. The lower limit voltage for the battery module 10 is set. Moreover, when there is variation in the voltages of the cells 101 to 106 of the battery module 10, the voltage of the battery module 10 may be obtained using the voltages of the cells 101 to 106 corrected in consideration of the variation.

  In the present embodiment, the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 is set with a first threshold value TH1 as a predetermined threshold value and a second threshold value TH2 as a notification threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value TH1. . The first threshold TH1 is a threshold for determining the degree of deterioration. If the dQ / dV value is equal to or less than the first threshold TH1, it is determined that the degree of deterioration is low, and the dQ / dV value exceeds the first threshold TH1. If so, it is determined that the degree of deterioration is high. The second threshold value TH2 is a threshold value for determining the output of a signal indicating that the deterioration state of the secondary battery is progressing. If the dQ / dV value is equal to or less than the second threshold value TH2, notification is not performed. If the / dV value exceeds the second threshold value TH2, a signal indicating that the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery is in progress is output.

  And the lower limit voltage determination part 54 determines, and the control apparatus 50 controls discharge so that the voltage of a secondary battery may not fall below a lower limit voltage with the set lower limit voltage. The control device 50 uses the map data L11 to determine the lower limit voltage when the dQ / dV value is less than or equal to the first threshold TH1, and maps to the determination of the lower limit voltage when the dQ / dV value is greater than the first threshold TH1. Data L12 is used. As a result, the secondary battery has a lower lower limit voltage and maintains a wide output range when the deterioration state is not progressing, and a lower limit voltage becomes higher when the deterioration state proceeds and the progress thereof is suppressed. Further, when the deterioration state progresses, the control device 50 outputs a signal indicating that the deterioration degree has progressed to the display device, so that the deterioration state of the secondary battery has progressed (the deterioration degree is high). A warning can be displayed. According to such a warning display, replacement of the secondary battery and the like can be performed appropriately.

With reference to FIG. 2, an operation in which control device 50 determines the lower limit voltage will be described.
When the control for charging / discharging the battery module 10 is started, the control device 50 starts processing for determining the lower limit voltage periodically or at predetermined intervals. Initially, the map data L11 is selected as data used for determining the lower limit voltage.

  When the process of determining the lower limit voltage is started, the control device 50 sets the initial value of the dQ / dV value in the deterioration amount calculation unit 53, and sets the first threshold TH1 for the dQ / dV value in the lower limit voltage determination unit 54. A second threshold value TH2 is set (steps S10, S11, S12 in FIG. 2). For example, “−3.0” is set as the initial value of the dQ / dV value, “−2.0” is set as the first threshold TH1, and “−1.0” is set as the second threshold TH2. And the state acquisition part 51 acquires a battery voltage, and calculates a positive electrode potential from the acquired battery voltage (step S13, S14 of FIG. 2). Moreover, the state acquisition part 51 acquires battery temperature (step S15 of FIG. 2). The deterioration amount calculation unit 53 calculates the deterioration amount using the equation (1), and calculates the current dQ / dV value from the calculated deterioration amount and the initial value (steps S16 and S17 in FIG. 2). Then, the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 compares the calculated dQ / dV value with the first threshold value TH1, and determines whether or not the dQ / dV value exceeds (is greater than) the first threshold value TH1 ( Step S18 in FIG. The dQ / dV value indicates that the higher the value is, the more the deterioration state of the secondary battery progresses. If it is determined that the dQ / dV value does not exceed the first threshold value TH1 (NO in step S18 in FIG. 2), the secondary battery deterioration state has not progressed so much. The lower limit voltage is determined based on the map data L11 used for determining the lower limit voltage when the deterioration state of the battery is not advanced (the degree of deterioration is low). Then, the process returns to step S13, and the process described above is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the dQ / dV value exceeds (large) the first threshold value TH1 (YES in step S18 in FIG. 2), the secondary battery is in a deteriorated state, and therefore the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 Selects the map data L12 used to determine the lower limit voltage when the battery is in a deteriorated state (the degree of deterioration is high). That is, the map data used for determining the lower limit voltage is changed from the map data L11 to the map data L12 (step S19 in FIG. 2). When the map data is changed, the control device 50 calculates the positive electrode potential from the battery voltage acquired by the state acquisition unit 51 and acquires the battery temperature (steps S20, S21, and S22 in FIG. 2). Further, the control device 50 calculates the current dQ / dV value from the deterioration amount calculated by the deterioration amount calculation unit 53 and the initial value of the dQ / dV value (steps S23 and S24 in FIG. 2). Here, since the processes according to steps S20 to S24 are the same as the processes according to steps S13 to S17 described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Then, the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 compares the calculated dQ / dV value with the second threshold value TH2, and determines whether or not the dQ / dV value exceeds (is greater than) the second threshold value TH2 ( Step S25 in FIG. If it is determined that the dQ / dV value does not exceed the second threshold value TH2 (NO in step S25 in FIG. 2), the secondary battery is in a deteriorated state but is still usable. The voltage determination unit 54 determines the lower limit voltage based on the map data L12. And a process is returned to step S20 and the process demonstrated above is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the dQ / dV value exceeds the second threshold value TH2 (YES in step S25 in FIG. 2), since the secondary battery has deteriorated considerably, the lower limit voltage determination unit 54 A signal indicating that the secondary battery has deteriorated is output. Thereby, the control device 50 notifies that the secondary battery is deteriorated, such as turning on a diagnosis indicating that the secondary battery is deteriorated (step S26 in FIG. 2). And while use of a secondary battery is continued, the lower limit voltage determination part 54 determines a lower limit voltage based on the map data L12. And a process is returned to step S20 and the process demonstrated above is performed.

In addition, the control apparatus 50 complete | finishes the process which determines a minimum voltage, when use of a secondary battery is complete | finished.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the deterioration amount is calculated by a configuration including “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” in the parameters and not including “current”, and based on the calculated deterioration amount. Regarding the control relating to the discharge of the secondary battery, it is possible to determine the lower limit voltage and notify that it is deteriorated.

(Creation of deterioration amount relational expression)
The creation of a relational expression for calculating the deterioration amount will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 shows a measuring apparatus 30 that generates a relational expression between “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” acquired from the battery module 10 and the deterioration amount. The measuring device 30 includes a thermometer 20 that measures the temperature of the battery module 10, a voltmeter 23 that measures the voltage across the terminals of the battery module 10, a discharge circuit 26 that discharges the battery, and a current that flows through the discharge circuit 26. A circuit in which ammeters 25 to be measured are connected in series is connected.

  The measuring device 30 includes a computer having a calculation unit and a storage unit, and performs various processes such as a process of creating lower limit voltage map data through a calculation process in a calculation unit of a program stored in the storage unit or the like. The measuring device 30 obtains the voltage between the terminals of the battery module 10, the input / output current, and the battery temperature from each input signal. Moreover, the measuring apparatus 30 can control the discharge circuit 26, and can perform CV discharge etc., for example.

  The measuring device 30 includes a state acquisition unit 31 that acquires the state of the battery, and an accumulated time acquisition unit 32 that acquires an accumulated value of the time during which the state of the battery is maintained in a predetermined state. In addition, the measuring device 30 includes a deterioration amount relational expression creating unit 33 that creates a relational expression for calculating the battery deterioration amount, and a lower limit voltage map creating part 34 that creates map data used for obtaining the lower limit voltage. Yes. Further, the measuring device 30 includes various data used when creating map data as the map creation parameter 35. The functions of the state acquisition unit 31 and the accumulated time acquisition unit 32 are the same functions as the state acquisition unit 51 and the accumulated time acquisition unit 52 of the control device 50 described above, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the measurement apparatus 30 performs a process of creating a relational expression for calculating the deterioration amount based on the battery state of the secondary battery by the deterioration amount relational expression creating unit 33, and the lower limit voltage map creating unit 34 Then, a process for creating a temperature map (map data) used for setting the lower limit voltage according to the temperature is performed based on the relational expression for calculating the created deterioration amount. Such processing is performed as necessary to create map data. Also, the dQ / dV value is obtained as the sum of the deterioration amount and the dQ / dV initial value.

  First, the measurement device 30 measures, for each potential, the time [hour] during which the positive electrode potential of the secondary battery stays at each potential when CV discharge is performed at the dQ / dV value. Then, the measuring device 30 acquires, for each potential, the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” and “time” during which the CV discharge can stay at a specific potential (step S30 in FIG. 6). Such a relationship is obtained for each temperature. In addition, the secondary battery is replaced for each measurement, but for the convenience of description, description of replacing the secondary battery is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” and the “time” for staying at a specific potential is obtained as an inversely proportional relationship as shown in the graph L20. Here, the case where the relationship shown in the graph L20 is obtained for a specific temperature is shown, and such a relationship can be obtained for each temperature.

  Further, the measuring apparatus 30 approximates the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” and the “time” for staying at a specific potential to a linear function (step S31 in FIG. 6). In the present embodiment, the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” and the “time” at which a specific potential is stayed is first-ordered by setting the “stay time” that is the time to stay at a specific potential as a square root value. Approximate the equation. Such a relationship is also obtained for each temperature.

As shown in FIG. 8, the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” and the “time” for staying at a specific potential is obtained as a relationship approximated to a linear expression as shown in the graph L21. Then, from the graph L21, the slope a of the graph is obtained as “deterioration rate a”, and an equation for calculating “dQ / dV value” is obtained as the following equation (4). However, the unit of “deterioration rate a” is [Ah / V / h ^1/2 ]. Also here, the relationship as shown in the graph L21 is obtained for a specific temperature, but such a relationship can be obtained for each temperature.

  When the measurement device 30 sets a plurality of measurement potentials and discharges them to each measurement potential, the measurement device 30 acquires the relationship between each measurement potential and the deterioration rate (step S32 in FIG. 6). Such a relationship is also obtained for each temperature.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the relationship between the “dQ / dV value” of the secondary battery discharged with the measurement potential set to “0 V” and the time “stay time” for staying at a specific voltage, that is, “deterioration rate” “a” is large as shown in the graph L22. Further, the “deterioration rate a” of the secondary battery discharged with the measurement potential set to “0.1 V” is smaller than the graph L22 as shown in the graph L23. Further, the “deterioration rate a” of the secondary battery discharged with the measurement potential set to “0.15 V” is smaller than that of the graph L23 as shown in the graph L24. Further, the “deterioration rate a” of the secondary battery discharged with the measurement potential set to “0.2 V” is smaller than that of the graph L24 as shown in the graph L25. Further, the “deterioration rate a” of the secondary battery discharged with the measurement potential set to “0.25 V” is smaller than that of the graph L25 as shown in the graph L26. Note that the measurement potential set here is the value of the potential of the positive electrode of the unit cell 100. In these graphs L22 to L26, the lower the measured potential, the larger the amount of deterioration per time (deterioration progresses), and the lower the measured potential, the greater the amount of discharge (shorter discharge). ) Is shown. Again, it has been shown that relationships such as graphs L22-L26 are obtained for specific temperatures, but such relationships can be obtained for each temperature.

Furthermore, the measuring apparatus 30 formulates the relationship between the measurement potential and the deterioration rate as a general expression (step S33 in FIG. 6). Such a relationship is also obtained for each temperature.
As shown in FIG. 10, the relationship between the measured potential and the deterioration rate is shown in a graph L30. This graph L30 is expressed as the following equation (5). As shown in the graph L30, the lower the measurement potential, the deeper the discharge, and the lower the measurement potential, the shorter the time required for deterioration and the faster the deterioration. Here, it has been shown that a relationship such as the graph L30 is obtained for a specific temperature, but such a relationship can be obtained for each temperature.

Further, the measuring device 30 collectively acquires “formula of measured potential and deterioration rate” obtained for each temperature (step S34 in FIG. 6).
In FIG. 11, a formula of the measured potential and the deterioration rate when the temperature is “0 ° C.” is shown as a graph L31, and a formula of the measured potential and the deterioration rate when the temperature is “25 ° C.” is shown as a graph L32. A formula of the measured potential and the deterioration rate when the temperature is “45 ° C.” is shown as a graph L33. For example, in the above equation (4), the slope of the graph L31 is “b1”, the intercept is “c1”, the slope of the graph L32 is “b2”, the intercept is “c2”, and the slope of the graph L33 is “b3”, The section is “c3”. At this time, the slopes in the graphs L31 to L33 having different temperatures are negative values, and the relation between the magnitudes of the slopes is “b1>b2> b3”, and the magnitude of the absolute value is “| b1 | < | B2 | <| b3 | ". Similarly, the intercepts in the graphs L31 to L33 are positive values, and the relationship between the sizes of the intercepts is a relationship of “c1 <c2 <c3”.

Then, the measuring apparatus 30 formulates a formula that generalizes the relationship between each temperature and the “formulation of the measurement potential and the deterioration rate” (step S35 in FIG. 6).
12A shows the relationship between the temperature and the intercepts of the graphs L31 to L33 as a graph L34, and FIG. 12B shows the relationship between the temperature and the slope of the graphs L31 to L33 as a graph L35. Therefore, according to the graph L34, the relationship with the temperature of the intercept c is obtained as the following equation (6), and according to the graph L35, the relationship with the temperature of the slope b is obtained as the following equation (7).

  By applying the intercept and inclination obtained in this way to the equation (5), the following equation (8) representing the deterioration rate a is obtained.

  Subsequently, the measuring apparatus 30 formulates (generalizes) the deterioration amount as a function of “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” (step S36 in FIG. 6). The formula is obtained as the following formula (9) for calculating the degradation amount by applying the degradation rate a obtained from the formula (8) to the formula (4). According to Equation (9), the dQ / dV value can be calculated based on the relationship between “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time”.

(Create map data for lower limit voltage)
Subsequently, creation of map data used for determination of the lower limit voltage will be described with reference to FIGS. The measuring device 30 creates map data that can determine the lower limit voltage corresponding to each temperature based on the equation (9) in the lower limit voltage map creating unit 34. The map creation parameter 35 includes various data calculated as described above.

  The measuring device 30 acquires the relationship between the dQ / dV value and the battery characteristics (step S37 in FIG. 6). Then, the boundary value of the dQ / dV value in which the characteristics as the battery are well maintained is determined from the acquired relationship (step S38 in FIG. 6).

  FIG. 13 shows the dQ / dV value of the secondary battery and the remaining capacity when the secondary battery is discharged at the maximum current value for vehicle control until the cell voltage (cell voltage) becomes “0V”. It is a graph of the measurement result. When the voltage of the unit cell becomes “0 V”, the smaller the remaining capacity, the better the battery characteristics. According to the graph of FIG. 13, the battery characteristics are better as the dQ / dV value decreases away from “0” regardless of the difference in battery temperature, and conversely, the dQ / dV value approaches “0” and increases. The battery characteristics get worse. Therefore, based on the graph shown in FIG. 13, the first boundary value BR1 and the second boundary value BR2 larger than the first boundary value BR1 are determined. The second boundary value BR2 is a value that is determined that the deterioration of the battery characteristics rapidly proceeds when the dQ / dV value increases beyond the threshold value. Further, the first boundary value BR1 is a value that is highly likely to maintain good battery performance. In the present embodiment, for example, the first boundary value BR1 is determined to be “−2.0”, and the second boundary value BR2 is determined to be “−1.0”.

In addition, the measuring device 30 determines, as an allowable time, a time during which it is allowed to stay at a value lower than a predetermined limit voltage during charge / discharge of a specific mode (step S39 in FIG. 6).
FIG. 14 is a graph showing, as a percentage, the time spent in each voltage range for the voltage that changes with respect to the secondary battery when the secondary battery is charged and discharged in a specific manner. In this embodiment, charging / discharging of a specific aspect is charging / discharging which arises in the secondary battery mounted in the vehicle which drive | works for a specific time with the driving pattern for a specific test. According to this charge / discharge, a cumulative distribution of the time during which the voltage of the secondary battery stays in each voltage range is obtained. First, it is assumed that charging / discharging in this specific mode is actually allowable charging / discharging. Then, the time during which the charging / discharging is below the predetermined limit voltage is acquired as an allowable time that is a time during which staying at a voltage lower than the predetermined limit voltage is allowed. For example, the predetermined limit voltage may be a voltage corresponding to “−3δ” of the voltage distribution, or may be a voltage between terminals of the unit cell “1” [V]. In the present embodiment, the allowable time is acquired as “10” [hour], for example.

  Furthermore, the measuring device 30 determines an initial value of the dQ / dV value (step S40 in FIG. 6). The initial value of the dQ / dV value is obtained based on the measurement result for a new secondary battery. In the present embodiment, the initial value of the dQ / dV value is set to “−3.0”, but this value varies depending on the type of the secondary battery, and even in the same type of secondary battery, the structure, electrode, etc. Therefore, an appropriate value is determined for each secondary battery for which the dQ / dV value is to be calculated.

  Moreover, the measuring apparatus 30 determines the voltage threshold value which becomes a lower limit voltage (lower limit electric potential of a positive electrode) at each temperature (step S41 in FIG. 6). The measuring device 30 applies the boundary value of the dQ / dV value (here, the first boundary value BR1), the allowable time, and the initial value of the dQ / dV value to the above equation (9), thereby reducing the lower limit voltage with respect to the temperature. Ask. That is, in the above formula (9), the voltage when the dQ / dV value becomes the boundary value is calculated as the lower limit voltage. For example, in the equation (9) for calculating the dQ / dV value, the dQ / dV value is set to “−2.0” of the first boundary value BR1, the staying time is set to “10 hours”, and the dQ / dV initial value is set to When the initial value “−3.0” of the dQ / dV value is applied, the relational expression between “temperature” and “voltage” is obtained as shown in the following formula (10).

  FIG. 15 shows the value of the lower limit potential of the positive electrode with respect to the temperature as map data L41 (corresponding to the graph L11 in FIG. 3). The value of the lower limit potential of the positive electrode with respect to the temperature is obtained by transforming the above equation (10) into an equation for obtaining the positive electrode potential and substituting each temperature into this deformed equation (step S42 in FIG. 6). Although not shown, the lower limit potential of the positive electrode higher than that of the map data L41 is adopted by adopting the second boundary value BR2 “−1.0” larger than the first boundary value BR1 as the boundary value of the dQ / dV value. Can be obtained (corresponding to the graph L12 in FIG. 3). Thereby, the map data when it is not desired to deteriorate the battery module 10 too much due to an increase in the deterioration amount can be acquired. Note that the lower limit potential of the positive electrode can be converted into the lower limit voltage of the unit cell 100 or the like by considering the negative electrode potential.

  By the way, as shown in the graph L40 of FIG. 15, when the lower limit potential of the positive electrode is not set finely for each temperature, the lower limit potential of the positive electrode is set to a high value that is less likely to reach the lower limit potential of the positive electrode at any temperature. Is done. For this reason, the output range is regulated by the lower limit potential of the positive electrode that is high even if the temperature can set the lower limit potential of the positive electrode low. On the other hand, since the lower limit potential of the positive electrode is set corresponding to each temperature in this embodiment, the lower limit potential of the positive electrode is set lower than the temperature at which the lower limit potential of the positive electrode can be set low, and the output range is regulated. It can be reduced. In addition, for a temperature at which the lower limit potential of the positive electrode must be set high, a high positive electrode lower limit potential is appropriately set and the battery is discharged by a discharge below the positive electrode potential (state-discriminating potential) that may cause a deterioration state to progress. Deterioration is suppressed.

  Conventionally, a technique that can set a lower limit voltage applied to the unit cell 100 or the like for each temperature is also known, but “integrated electricity”, that is, “current” is used to set the lower limit voltage. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the lower limit voltage is determined using “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” as parameters, “current” is used to calculate the lower limit voltage applied to the unit cell 100 or the like. Not included as a parameter. That is, the deterioration amount is calculated using “temperature”, “voltage”, and “time” as parameters, and the dQ / dV value and the lower limit voltage are calculated therefrom. For example, since “current” is affected by a voltage drop due to the resistance of the entire path constituting the circuit, the influence is also included in the lower limit voltage calculated by including “current” as a parameter. Therefore, by not including “current” in the parameter, the influence of the resistance of the entire path is reduced, and an appropriate deterioration amount is calculated based on “voltage” that directly represents the influence of the electromotive voltage that directly indicates the deterioration of the power generation element. be able to.

As described above, according to the battery control device, the battery control method, and the lower limit voltage determination method of the present embodiment, the effects listed below can be obtained.
(1) “Current” can be considered as a parameter for determining the deterioration state of the secondary battery. However, according to the present embodiment, the parameter includes “temperature”, “voltage”, a cumulative value of “time” during which a user can stay at a certain voltage, and the deterioration amount is calculated by a configuration that does not include “current”. As a result of the control relating to the discharge being performed, the discharge can be more appropriately regulated. In addition, since appropriate control can be performed by performing control related to the discharge of the secondary battery according to the deterioration amount, excessive regulation of battery discharge is suppressed, and battery performance is sufficiently exhibited. .

  (2) Since the reduced metal compound is inactive, it cannot contribute to charging / discharging, so that the battery performance deteriorates. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the lower limit voltage used for the control related to the discharge of the secondary battery is determined corresponding to the reduction reaction of the metal compound contained in the positive electrode of the power generation element of the battery, and the determined lower limit voltage The discharge of the battery can be controlled based on the above.

  (3) The secondary battery is a nickel metal hydride secondary battery, the main active material is nickel oxide, and the metal compound is a cobalt compound, so that the lower limit voltage determined for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery In the nickel metal hydride secondary battery, the reduction reaction of the cobalt compound of the positive electrode is suppressed.

  (4) The lower limit voltage is determined to be a high value in accordance with an increase in the deterioration amount of the power generation element of the battery, that is, a decrease in the power generation capacity of the power generation element. As a result, the deteriorated secondary battery can be controlled with the lower limit voltage that is less likely to deteriorate, and the battery life can be extended by delaying the progress of the battery deterioration.

  (5) As the voltage determined as the lower limit voltage, two of the first regulation voltage (map data L11) and the second regulation voltage (map data L12) are provided, and this is compared with a predetermined threshold value of the deterioration amount. This makes it easy to determine the lower limit voltage suitable for the amount of deterioration.

(6) Since the deterioration amount of the secondary battery is notified when the deterioration amount exceeds the notification threshold, it is possible to cope with the deterioration of the secondary battery.
(7) A relation such as a relational expression for calculating the deterioration amount is created using the accumulated values of the temperature, voltage, and time of the secondary battery as parameters, and from the deterioration amount acquired based on the created relation The lower limit voltage can be determined. That is, the lower limit voltage can be determined from the relationship indicating the deterioration state obtained without using “current”.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented with the following aspects.
In the above embodiment, the case where the two map data L11 and L12 are switched by the first threshold value TH1 has been illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and switching between the two map data may be determined in consideration of factors other than the dQ / dV value.

  For example, in consideration of the travel pattern of FIG. 14, a period or travel distance that is predicted to be required until the deterioration amount reaches the first threshold value TH1 is determined in advance as the predicted value. If the period or travel distance required for the actual deterioration amount calculated while using to reach the first threshold is smaller than a predetermined predicted value (or smaller than a certain value), map data Is not switched. When the predicted value is set in consideration of the guaranteed mileage of the battery, the warranty period, etc., if the period until the actual deterioration amount reaches the first threshold or the mileage is smaller than the predicted value, the guaranteed mileage or warranty period This means that the vehicle is traveling so as to fully satisfy the above. Thus, by not switching the lower limit voltage, the battery discharge is prevented from being excessively restricted by the lower limit voltage.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the two map data L11 and L12 are switched by the first threshold value TH1 has been illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be three or more map data, and two or more threshold values for switching the map data in accordance with this. Thereby, the height of the lower limit voltage is determined according to the calculated deterioration amount.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the diagnosis display is performed when the dQ / dV value exceeds the second threshold value TH2 is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more thresholds for alarm output may be provided so that a plurality of levels of alarms can be output.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the deterioration amount of the positive electrode including the metal compound is calculated based on the dQ / dV value is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the deterioration amount may be measured and calculated based on XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), XAFS (X-ray absorption fine structure), or the like. Even if the amount of deterioration of the positive electrode is calculated in this way, the amount of deterioration can be obtained using the voltage, temperature, and time as parameters, and the same effect as when the amount of deterioration is calculated from the dQ / dV value is obtained. be able to.

  -In above-mentioned embodiment, the battery module 10 illustrated about the case where the six cell 100 was connected in series, and was illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the battery module may be configured such that five or less single cells or seven or more single cells are connected in series. The battery module may be a single cell. In any case, the lower limit voltage may be set according to the number of cells connected in series constituting the battery module. Further, the lower limit voltage may be set for each battery block in which a plurality of battery modules are connected in series or in parallel.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the lower limit voltage is a potential at which a metal elution reaction occurs is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower limit voltage may be set higher by adding a predetermined margin or the like than the voltage causing the metal elution reaction as long as the voltage does not cause the metal elution reaction.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the temperature at which the deterioration rate is acquired is “0 ° C.”, “25 ° C.”, and “45 ° C.” is illustrated. However, not limited to this, the temperature at which the deterioration rate is acquired may be less than “0 ° C.”, greater than “45 ° C.”, or “0 ° C.” except “25 ° C.” and less than “45 ° C.” Also good. Further, the temperature at which the deterioration rate is acquired is not limited to three, but may be two or four or more. If the number is two, it becomes easy to create a relational expression for the deterioration amount, and if it is four or more, the accuracy of the relational expression for the deterioration amount can be improved.

  -In above-mentioned embodiment, control device 50 illustrated about the case where the height of a minimum voltage was determined according to the amount of degradation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control device may only notify a warning according to the deterioration amount, or adjust parameters other than the lower limit voltage that affects charging and discharging such as current according to the deterioration amount. Also good. Also by this, the control regarding the discharge of the secondary battery is performed, and the discharge of the secondary battery is appropriately controlled.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the nickel metal hydride secondary battery is used as a power source of an automobile is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the nickel hydride secondary battery may be used as a power source other than an automobile such as various moving bodies and fixed bodies as long as it is used as a power source.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Battery module, 11 ... Positive electrode terminal, 12 ... Negative electrode terminal, 20 ... Thermometer, 23 ... Voltmeter, 25 ... Ammeter, 26 ... Discharge circuit, 30 ... Measuring apparatus, 31 ... State acquisition part, 32 ... Cumulative time Acquisition unit 33 ... Degradation amount relational expression creation unit 34 ... Lower limit voltage map creation unit 35 ... Map creation parameter 40 ... Voltmeter 41 ... Ammeter 50 ... Control device 51 ... State acquisition unit 52 ... Cumulative time acquisition unit, 53 ... Degradation amount calculation unit, 54 ... Lower limit voltage determination unit, 55 ... Lower limit voltage data, 100 ... Single cell, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 ... Cell, 111 ... Negative electrode, 112 ... Positive electrode 113... Electrode group, 114... Current collector plate, 115 ... current collector plate, NL... Negative side wiring, PL .. positive side wiring, L 11, L 12, L 41.

Claims (8)

A battery control device for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery so that the voltage of the secondary battery does not become less than the lower limit voltage,
A state acquisition unit for acquiring the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, and
A cumulative time acquisition unit for acquiring a cumulative value of the time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature;
A deterioration amount calculation unit that calculates a deterioration amount of the secondary battery using the acquired temperature, voltage, and accumulated value of time as parameters;
A control unit that controls the discharge of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount ;
A lower limit voltage determining unit that determines the height of the lower limit voltage in the control unit,
The lower limit voltage determining unit determines the lower limit voltage to a high value in response to an increase in the deterioration amount, and includes a first regulated voltage as a voltage to be determined as the lower limit voltage and the first regulated voltage. The first regulation voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage when the deterioration amount is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, and the deterioration amount is set to the predetermined threshold. If the period or travel distance required to become is predicted to be required for the deterioration amount to reach the predetermined threshold value, the first period is less than or equal to a predetermined period or a predetermined travel distance. A battery control device that determines a regulation voltage as the lower limit voltage and determines the second regulation voltage as the lower limit voltage when the first regulation voltage is not decided as the lower limit voltage . The secondary battery has a positive electrode including a main active material and a metal compound as an additive,
The battery control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration amount is an amount calculated due to a reduction reaction of the metal compound. The battery control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the secondary battery is a nickel metal hydride secondary battery, the main active material is nickel oxide, and the metal compound is a cobalt compound. Wherein the control unit includes a notification threshold value to be compared with the deterioration amount, when the amount of degradation exceeds the notification threshold, according to any one of claims 1 to 3 for outputting information indicating that Battery control device. A battery control method for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery so that the voltage of the secondary battery does not become less than the lower limit voltage,
A state acquisition step of acquiring the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, respectively;
A cumulative time acquisition step of acquiring a cumulative value of time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature;
A deterioration amount calculating step of calculating a deterioration amount of the secondary battery using the acquired accumulated values of temperature, voltage and time as parameters;
A control step for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount ;
Determining a lower limit voltage for determining the height of the lower limit voltage in the control step,
In the step of determining the lower limit voltage, when determining the lower limit voltage to a high value as the deterioration amount increases, when the deterioration amount is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, the first regulation voltage is set to the lower limit voltage. In addition, a period or a travel distance required for the deterioration amount to reach the predetermined threshold is predicted to be required for the deterioration amount to reach the predetermined threshold, or a predetermined period or a predetermined time. When the driving distance is smaller than a certain distance, the first regulation voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage, and when the first regulation voltage is not determined as the lower limit voltage, the voltage is higher than the first regulation voltage. A battery control method , wherein a second regulated voltage is determined as the lower limit voltage . A method for determining a lower limit voltage to be a lower limit value of a discharge voltage of a secondary battery,
The relationship representing the amount of deterioration of the secondary battery using as parameters the temperature, voltage, and cumulative value of the time spent at the voltage for each voltage measured at each temperature. A relationship creation process to create
A boundary value setting step for setting a boundary value for classifying the quality of the secondary battery based on the deterioration amount calculated based on the created relationship;
An allowable time estimation step of estimating, as an allowable time, a time during which the voltage of the secondary battery is allowed to stay at a value lower than a specified limit voltage during charging and discharging in a specific mode;
A voltage at which the amount of deterioration calculated based on the created relationship when the secondary battery is discharged for the allowable time reaches the boundary value is calculated for each temperature, and the calculated voltage is set to the temperature at each time. A lower limit voltage determining step for determining a corresponding lower limit voltage. A method for determining a lower limit voltage. A battery control device for controlling the discharge of the secondary battery so that the voltage of the secondary battery having a positive electrode containing a main active material and a metal compound as an additive does not become lower than the lower limit voltage,
A state acquisition unit for acquiring the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, and
A cumulative time acquisition unit for acquiring a cumulative value of the time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature;
A deterioration amount calculation unit that calculates the deterioration amount of the secondary battery as a ratio of the change rate of the remaining capacity with respect to the change rate of the positive electrode potential of the secondary battery using the acquired temperature, voltage and time accumulated values as parameters. When,
A battery control device comprising: a control unit that performs control related to discharge of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount. A battery control method for controlling discharge of a secondary battery so that the voltage of a secondary battery having a positive electrode containing a main active material and a metal compound as an additive is not less than a lower limit voltage,
A state acquisition step of acquiring the temperature and voltage of the secondary battery, respectively;
A cumulative time acquisition step of acquiring a cumulative value of time spent at the voltage value for each voltage measured at each acquired temperature;
A deterioration amount calculating step of calculating the deterioration amount of the secondary battery as a ratio of the rate of change of the remaining capacity with respect to the rate of change of the positive electrode potential of the secondary battery, using the obtained accumulated values of temperature, voltage and time as parameters; ,
A battery control method comprising: a control step of performing control related to discharging of the secondary battery according to the calculated deterioration amount.