Control system for charging vehicle battery in response to an unstable state

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9889762-B2
Application number	US-201314438430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2013
Priority date	Oct 29, 2012
Publication date	Feb 13, 2018
Grant date	Feb 13, 2018

Abstract

An object is to avoid the situation in which the power cannot be turned off. A control system is provided in which the first and second control units are connected. At least one of the first and second control units include: a stop control section for, if a condition for ending a predetermined operation mode is satisfied in that operation mode, performing stop control for having the control system in a low-power-consumption state while communicating with the other control unit; and a mode control section for having a mode undefined state in which the operation mode is instable at restoration from a reset state and for allowing, if a predetermined transition condition for allowing transition into the operation mode is satisfied in the mode undefined state, transition into the operation mode whose transition condition has been satisfied.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A control system that controls charging of a battery of a vehicle, comprising:
a first controller; and
a second controller connected to the first controller;
the first controller including:
a first processor configured to:
when a condition for ending a predetermined operation mode is satisfied, perform stop control by which the control system enters a low-power-consumption state while communicating with the second controller;
in response to a mode undefined state that is an unstable state resulting from recovering from a reset state of the second controller during the stop control, measure a time for which the mode undefined state continues;
determine whether the time has passed a predetermined period; and
in response to the time having passed the predetermined period, resume the stop control; and

a second processor configured to:
when a predetermined transition condition is satisfied in the mode undefined state, transition into an operation mode whose transition condition has been satisfied.

2. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein
the operation mode includes a charging mode for charging the battery of the vehicle with power from an external power source provided outside the vehicle,
the second processor is further configured to transition the operation mode into the charging mode when a first power source signal as a signal controlling a connection state of a first power source route for supplying power to the first controller in the charging mode is detected as being in an ON state requesting a connected state, and
the first processor is further configured to produce an OFF state requesting that the first power source signal is set to a disconnected state during the stop control.

3. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein
the first processor is further configured to perform a process of stopping power supply after a process of ending the predetermined operation mode is performed, and
the first processor is further configured to forcibly transition the process to a process of stopping the power supply when the mode undefined state has continued for a predetermined period.

4. The control system according to claim 3 , wherein
the second processor is further configured to turn off a mode signal representing that a current operation mode is the predetermined operation mode when start of the process of ending the predetermined operation mode is ordered by the second controller,
the first processor is further configured to, when the ending process has completed up to a predetermined procedure, transmit a completion notification indicating the completion up to the predetermined procedure to the second controller,
a third processor of the second controller is configured to perform a power source stopping process that permits stop of power supply to the first controller when the ending process has been completed up to the predetermined procedure and the completion notification has been received from the first controller, and
the third processor is configured to perform the power source stopping process when a state in which all mode signals corresponding to a plurality of operation modes including the predetermined operation mode are OFF has continued for a predetermined period.

5. The control system according to claim 4 , wherein
the third processor is further configured to measure a passage time from the transition into an initial state as a state just after power input, and when the state in which all the mode signals are OFF has continued until the passage time exceeds the predetermined time, perform the power source stopping process.

6. The control system according to claim 4 , wherein
the third processor is further configured to perform the power source stopping process when the state in which all the mode signals corresponding to a plurality of operation modes including the predetermined operation mode are OFF has continued for the predetermined period and when the completion notification has been received from the first controller.

7. The control system according to claim 3 , wherein
a third processor of the second controller is configured to perform a power source stopping process that permits stop of power supply to the first controller when the ending process has been completed up to a predetermined procedure and a completion notification indicating completion of the ending process up to the predetermined procedure has been received from the first controller,
the second processor is further configured to turn off a mode signal representing that a current operation mode is the predetermined operation mode when start of the process of ending the predetermined operation mode is ordered by the second controller,
the first processor is further configured to transmit the completion notification to the second controller when the ending process has been completed up to the predetermined procedure, and perform a second power source stopping process that stops the power supply to the first controller when the stop of power supply is permitted by the third processor, and
the first processor is configured to perform the second power source stopping process when a state in which all mode signals corresponding to a plurality of operation modes including the predetermined operation mode are OFF has continued for the predetermined period.

8. The control system according to claim 7 , wherein
the first processor is further configured to measure a passage time from transition into an initial state as a state just after power input, and when a state in which all the mode signals are OFF has continued until the passage time exceeds the predetermined time, performs the second power source stopping process.

9. The control system according to claim 5 , wherein
the third processor is further configured to perform the power source stopping process when the state in which all the mode signals corresponding to a plurality of operation modes including the predetermined operation mode are OFF has continued for the predetermined period and when the completion notification has been received from the first controller.

Assignees

• Fujitsu Ten Ltd
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takemoto Shinji
• Okajima Daisuke
• Suzuki Masayuki
• Tokinaga Jyunya
• Kamaga Ryuichi

Classifications

• G05F1/66

  Regulating electric power · CPC title

• B60L3/0084

  relating to control modules · CPC title

• Y02T90/16

  Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles · CPC title

• Y02T90/14

  Plug-in electric vehicles · CPC title

• G06F1/3203

  Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode · CPC title