JP7284911B2 - Storage device management device, system, and storage device management method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage device management device, system, and storage device management method.

Conventionally, in a management device including a circuit breaker connected in series with a power storage element and a measurement unit that measures a physical quantity related to the power storage element, an abnormality in the power storage element is detected based on the physical quantity measured by the measurement unit. A circuit breaker is opened to protect the storage element from anomalies when a is detected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-163836 A

The measurement unit described above may fail. If the measuring unit fails, the reliability of the measured physical quantity is lowered, so even if the storage element is normal, the circuit breaker may be accidentally opened. If the circuit breaker is accidentally opened, there is a possibility of a power failure in which power is not supplied to the external device. For this reason, conventionally, when the measuring unit fails, opening of the circuit breaker is also prohibited so as not to open the circuit breaker by mistake.

Some kind of abnormality related to the safety of the storage element may occur in the external device. When the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening, the safety of the storage element may be compromised if an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs in the external device.

This specification discloses a technique for improving the safety of the storage element when an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs in an external device when the measurement unit fails and the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening. .

A management device for a power storage element, comprising: a circuit breaker connected in series with the power storage element; a measurement unit for measuring a physical quantity related to the power storage element; a communication unit for communicating with an external device; The management unit diagnoses a failure of the measurement unit, prohibits opening of the circuit breaker when the measurement unit is out of order, and opens the circuit breaker from the external device via the communication unit. and open processing for opening the circuit breaker when opening is instructed, even if opening of the circuit breaker is prohibited by the prohibition processing.

When the measurement unit fails and the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening, the safety of the storage element can be improved in the event that an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs on the external device side.

Schematic diagram of a power storage device and a vehicle equipped with the power storage device Schematic block diagram of a vehicle system Exploded perspective view of power storage device Plan view of storage element Cross-sectional view of AA line shown in FIG. 4A A perspective view showing a state in which a power storage element is accommodated in the main body. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bus bar is attached to the storage element of FIG. 5 ; Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a power storage device

(Outline of this embodiment)
A management device for a power storage element, comprising: a circuit breaker connected in series with the power storage element; a measurement unit for measuring a physical quantity related to the power storage element; a communication unit for communicating with an external device; The management unit diagnoses a failure of the measurement unit, prohibits opening of the circuit breaker when the measurement unit is out of order, and opens the circuit breaker from the external device via the communication unit. and open processing for opening the circuit breaker when opening is instructed, even if opening of the circuit breaker is prohibited by the prohibition processing.

For example, it is assumed that the power storage element supplies electric power to a starter that starts the engine of a vehicle (external device) and auxiliary equipment of the vehicle (headlight, air conditioner, audio system, etc.). Suppose that the measuring unit is out of order and the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening. In this case, if a high voltage abnormality occurs in the alternator of the vehicle and an abnormally high charging current flows through the storage element, the storage element may be overcharged and the safety of the storage element may be lowered.
According to the management device described above, when an instruction to open the circuit breaker is given from the external device, the circuit breaker is opened even if opening the circuit breaker is prohibited. For this reason, for example, when the alternator fails (when an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs), the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle instructs the management device to open the circuit breaker, thereby opening the circuit breaker. can be made Therefore, when the measuring unit fails and opening of the circuit breaker is prohibited, the safety of the storage element can be improved in the event that an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs in the external device.

A plurality of the measurement units that measure the physical quantities different from each other are provided, and the management unit does not diagnose a failure even when one of the measurement units fails and prohibits opening of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker may be opened when an abnormality of the storage element is detected based on the physical quantity measured by the other measuring unit.

Physical quantities measured by a faulty measuring unit have low reliability, so it is not desirable to use them to detect anomalies in storage elements, but physical quantities measured by other non-faulty measuring units are highly reliable. Therefore, when an abnormality in the storage element is detected based on the physical quantity measured by another measuring unit that has not been diagnosed as a failure, the circuit breaker is opened to more reliably protect the storage element from the abnormality.

The management unit may execute closing processing for closing the circuit breaker when an instruction to close the circuit breaker is received from the external device through the communication unit while the circuit breaker is open. .

After the external device instructs to open the circuit breaker and the circuit breaker is opened, the external device may need power for some reason. According to the management device described above, by instructing the management device to close the circuit breaker, the external device can receive power supply from the storage element if necessary even after the instruction to open the circuit breaker.

A system comprising: a power storage device; the management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 for managing the power storage device; and an external device for instructing.

According to the above system, it is possible to improve the safety of the storage element in the event that an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element occurs in the external device when the measurement unit fails and the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening. can.

The invention disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms such as an apparatus, a method, a computer program for realizing the functions of these apparatuses or methods, a recording medium recording the computer program, and the like.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.
A vehicle 2 shown in FIG. 1 is an engine vehicle, and includes a starter for starting the engine and accessories (headlight, air conditioner, audio, etc.). A power storage device 1 is a starting power storage device mounted on a vehicle 2 to supply electric power to a starter and accessories. Although FIG. 1 shows the case where the power storage device 1 is housed in the engine room 2A, the power storage device 1 may be housed under the floor of the room or in the trunk.

(1) Vehicle System With reference to FIG. 2, a vehicle system 3 (an example of the system) mounted on the vehicle 2 will be schematically described. The vehicle system 3 includes an ECU 60 (an example of an external device), a power storage device 1, an alternator 61, other systems 62, and the like. The ECU 60 is communicably connected to each device (power storage device 1, alternator 61, other system 62, etc.) via a communication line. Each device connected to the ECU 60 transmits abnormality information representing the abnormality to the ECU 60 when an abnormality occurs. Upon receiving the abnormality information from each device, the ECU 60 controls each device according to the received abnormality information.

(2) Configuration of Electricity Storage Device As shown in FIG. The exterior body 10 is composed of a main body 13 and a lid body 14 made of a synthetic resin material. The main body 13 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and is composed of a bottom portion 15 that is rectangular in plan view and four side portions 16 that rise from the four sides and form a cylindrical shape. An upper opening 17 is formed at the upper end portion by the four side portions 16 .

The lid 14 has a rectangular shape in plan view, and a frame 18 extends downward from four sides thereof. Lid 14 closes upper opening 17 of main body 13 . A substantially T-shaped projecting portion 19 in a plan view is formed on the upper surface of the lid body 14 . A positive electrode external terminal 20 is fixed to one of the two corners on the upper surface of the lid 14 where the protrusion 19 is not formed, and a negative electrode external terminal 21 is fixed to the other corner.

The storage element 12 is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged, and is specifically a lithium ion battery, for example. As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the storage element 12 includes an electrode body 23 and a non-aqueous electrolyte housed in a rectangular parallelepiped case 22 . The case 22 is composed of a case main body 24 and a cover 25 that closes an opening thereabove.

The electrode body 23 is not shown in detail, but a porous resin is placed between a negative electrode element in which an active material is applied to a base material made of copper foil and a positive electrode element in which an active material is applied to a base material made of aluminum foil. A separator made of a film is arranged. Both of these are belt-shaped, and are wound flat so as to be accommodated in the case body 24 with the negative electrode element and the positive electrode element shifted to the opposite sides in the width direction with respect to the separator. there is

A positive terminal 27 is connected to the positive element through a positive current collector 26 . A negative terminal 29 is connected to the negative element through a negative current collector 28 . The positive electrode current collector 26 and the negative electrode current collector 28 each have a plate-shaped pedestal portion 30 and leg portions 31 extending from the pedestal portion 30 . A through hole is formed in the base portion 30 . Leg 31 is connected to the positive or negative element. The positive terminal 27 and the negative terminal 29 each have a terminal main body portion 32 and a shaft portion 33 projecting downward from the center portion of the lower surface thereof. Among them, the terminal body portion 32 and the shaft portion 33 of the positive electrode terminal 27 are integrally formed of aluminum (single material). In the negative electrode terminal 29, the terminal body portion 32 is made of aluminum and the shaft portion 33 is made of copper, and these are assembled together. The terminal bodies 32 of the positive terminal 27 and the negative terminal 29 are arranged at both ends of the cover 25 via gaskets 34 made of an insulating material, and are exposed to the outside through the gaskets 34 .

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality (for example, 12) of storage elements 12 are accommodated in main body 13 in a state of being arranged side by side in the width direction. Here, three storage elements 12 are grouped from one end side of the main body 13 to the other end side (in the direction of the arrow Y1 to Y2). The terminal polarities of adjacent storage elements 12 are opposite to each other. In the three power storage elements 12 (first set) positioned closest to the arrow Y1 side, the arrow X1 side is the negative electrode and the arrow X2 side is the positive electrode. The three storage elements 12 (second group) adjacent to the first group have positive electrodes on the arrow X1 side and negative electrodes on the arrow X2 side. Furthermore, the third group adjacent to the second group has the same arrangement as the first group, and the fourth group adjacent to the third group has the same arrangement as the second group.

As shown in FIG. 6, terminal bus bars (connecting members) 36 to 40 as conductive members are connected to the positive terminal 27 and the negative terminal 29 by welding. A group of positive terminals 27 are connected by a first bus bar 36 to the first set of arrows X2. A group of negative terminals 29 of the first group and a group of positive terminals 27 of the second group are connected by a second bus bar 37 along an arrow X1 between the first group and the second group. A group of negative terminals 29 of the second group and a group of positive terminals 27 of the third group are connected by a third bus bar 38 along an arrow X2 between the second group and the third group. Between the third set and the fourth set, the fourth bus bar 39 connects the third set of negative terminals 29 and the fourth set of positive terminals 27 along the arrow X1. A group of negative terminals 29 are connected by a fifth bus bar 40 to the fourth set of arrows X2.

Also referring to FIG. 3, the first bus bar 36 located at one end of the flow of electricity includes a first electronic device 42A (for example, a fuse), a second electronic device 42B (for example, a relay), a bus bar 43 and a bus bar terminal (see FIG. 3). (not shown) to the positive external terminal 20 . A fifth bus bar 40 located at the other end of the electrical flow is connected to the negative external terminal 21 via bus bars 44A and 44B and a negative bus bar terminal (not shown). As a result, each storage element 12 can be charged and discharged via the positive external terminal 20 and the negative external terminal 21 . The electronic devices 42A and 42B and the electric component connection bus bars 43, 44A and 44B are attached to the circuit board unit 41 arranged above the plurality of storage elements 12 arranged in a stack. The busbar terminals are arranged on the lid body 14 .

(3) Electrical Configuration of Power Storage Device As shown in FIG. 7, the power storage device 1 includes the plurality of power storage elements 12 described above and a BMS (Battery Management System) 50 that manages the power storage elements 12 . BMS50 is an example of a management apparatus.

The BMS 50 includes a management unit 55, a current sensor 51 (an example of a measuring unit), a voltage sensor 52 (an example of a measuring unit), two temperature sensors 53 (an example of a measuring unit), a relay 54 (an example of a circuit breaker), and communication A portion 56 is provided.
The management unit 55 includes a microcomputer 55A (microcomputer) in which a CPU, a RAM, etc. are integrated into one chip, a ROM 55B, and the like. These are mounted on the circuit board unit 41 shown in FIG. A management program and various data are stored in the ROM 55B. Microcomputer 55A manages each part of power storage device 1 by executing a management program stored in ROM 55B.

Current sensor 51 is connected in series with storage element 12 . Current sensor 51 measures the charge/discharge current of storage element 12 and outputs the result to management unit 55 .

Voltage sensor 52 measures the voltage of storage element 12 and outputs the voltage to management unit 55 . The voltage sensor 52 includes a first voltage sensor 52A that individually measures the voltage of each storage element 12 and a second voltage sensor 52B that measures the voltage across the plurality of storage elements 12 . Inside the voltage sensor 52, there are provided a plurality of measurement lines (not shown) connecting each storage element 12 and the first voltage sensor 52A in parallel, and a plurality of switches provided for each measurement line. By switching these switches by the management unit 55, the voltage of each storage element 12 can be individually measured by the first voltage sensor 52A.

The two temperature sensors 53 are attached to different storage elements 12 . Each temperature sensor 53 measures the temperature of the storage element 12 and outputs the temperature to the management unit 55 .
Relay 54 is connected in series with storage element 12 . The relay 54 is for protecting the electric storage element 12 from abnormality, and is opened/closed by the management section 55 . Relay 54 may be opened to prevent the state of charge (SOC) of power storage element 12 from lowering due to dark current when vehicle 2 is parked.

The communication unit 56 is for the microcomputer 55A to communicate with the ECU 60 (see FIG. 2) of the vehicle 2, and is connected to the ECU 60 via the communication connector 57 so as to be communicable.

(4) Management Processing Executed by the Management Section Of the management processing executed by the management section 55, SOC estimation processing, first open processing, prohibition processing, second open processing (an example of open processing), and close Processing will be explained.

(4-1) SOC Estimation Processing The SOC estimation processing is processing for estimating the state of charge of the storage element 12 by the current integration method. In the current integration method, the current sensor 51 measures the charge/discharge current of the storage element 12 at predetermined time intervals to measure the amount of power flowing in and out of the storage element 12, and the SOC is estimated by adjusting this from the initial capacity. It is a way to

The current integration method has the advantage of being able to estimate the SOC even while the storage device 12 is in use. have a nature. Therefore, management unit 55 may reset the SOC estimated by the current integration method based on the open circuit voltage (OCV) of storage element 12 . Specifically, since there is a relatively accurate correlation between the OCV and the SOC, even if the SOC is estimated from the OCV and the SOC estimated by the current integration method is reset with the SOC estimated from the OCV, good.

OCV is not limited to the open circuit voltage. For example, OCV may be the voltage when the current value of the current flowing through the storage element 12 is less than a very small reference value.

(4-2) First open processing The first open processing is based on physical quantities (current value, voltage, temperature) measured by each sensor (first voltage sensor 52A, current sensor 51, temperature sensor 53). This is a process of detecting an abnormality in the storage element 12 through the control, and opening the relay 54 when the abnormality is detected to protect the storage element 12 from the abnormality. Here, voltage anomaly, SOC anomaly, current anomaly, and temperature anomaly will be described as the anomaly of the storage element 12 .

A voltage abnormality will be explained. The management unit 55 measures the voltage of each storage element 12 at predetermined time intervals using the first voltage sensor 52A, and if the measured voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined upper limit (or lower than a predetermined lower limit), the storage element relay 54 to protect 12 from overcharging (or overdischarging).

The SOC abnormality will be explained. As described above, the management unit 55 estimates the SOC from the current value measured by the current sensor 51 by the current integration method. Management unit 55 opens relay 54 to protect storage element 12 from overcharging (or overdischarging) when the estimated SOC is equal to or higher than a predetermined upper limit (or lower than a predetermined lower limit).

A current anomaly will be explained. For example, a short circuit between the positive electrode external terminal 20 and the negative electrode external terminal 21 may cause a large current to flow through the storage element 12 . Management unit 55 measures charge/discharge current at predetermined time intervals by current sensor 51, and opens relay 54 to protect storage element 12 from a large current when the measured current value is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. The current value used for determining the current abnormality may be the value measured in the SOC estimation process described above.

Abnormal temperature will be explained. The storage element 12 may become hot for some reason. The management unit 55 measures the temperature of the power storage element 12 at predetermined time intervals using the two temperature sensors 53, and if the temperature measured by at least one of the temperature sensors 53 is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value, the temperature of the power storage element 12 is increased. opens relay 54 to protect against

(4-3) Prohibition process In the prohibition process, failures of the first voltage sensor 52A, current sensor 51, and temperature sensor 53 are diagnosed at predetermined time intervals, and if any sensor fails, This is processing for prohibiting opening of the relay 54 based on the measured physical quantity. Prohibiting opening of the relay 54 means that the management unit 55 does not open the relay 54 . A specific description will be given below.

(4-3-1) First Voltage Sensor When both the first voltage sensor 52A and the second voltage sensor 52B are normal, the voltage of each storage element 12 measured by the first voltage sensor 52A. becomes substantially the same as the voltage across the plurality of power storage elements 12 measured by the second voltage sensor 52B.

The management unit 55 individually measures the voltage of each storage element 12 at predetermined time intervals using the first voltage sensor 52A, and measures the voltage of the entire plurality of storage elements 12 at predetermined time intervals using the second voltage sensor 52B. to measure Then, the management unit 55 sums the voltage of each storage element 12 measured by the first voltage sensor 52A, and compares the total value with the voltage across the plurality of storage elements 12 measured by the second voltage sensor 52B. If the absolute value of the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is determined that the first voltage sensor 52A or the second voltage sensor 52B is out of order.

When the first voltage sensor 52A or the second voltage sensor 52B fails, the management unit 55 prohibits opening of the relay 54 based on the voltage measured by the first voltage sensor 52A. In other words, the management unit 55 prohibits the opening of the relay 54 due to the aforementioned voltage abnormality.

(4-3-2) Current Sensor Here, three methods for diagnosing failure of the current sensor 51 will be described. Any one of the three methods described below may be used, or two or more of them may be used in combination.

(Method 1) Normally, when the current value fluctuates, the voltage also fluctuates. Therefore, if the voltage fluctuates even though the current value is constant, the current sensor 51 or the voltage sensor 52 may be out of order. For example, when the current value measured by the current sensor 51 is substantially constant and the voltage measured by the first voltage sensor 52A fluctuates to some extent during that time, the current sensor 51 or the voltage sensor 52 determine that it is defective.

Then, the management unit 55 determines that the current sensor 51 is out of order when both the first voltage sensor 52A and the second voltage sensor 52B are normal. Whether or not both the first voltage sensor 52A and the second voltage sensor 52B are normal can be determined by the method described above.

(Method 2) Since the assumed maximum current is determined according to the use of the power storage device 1, normally, a current that greatly exceeds the maximum current corresponding to the use does not flow for a long time. The management unit 55 determines that the current sensor 51 is out of order when the current sensor 51 continues to measure a current that greatly exceeds the maximum current corresponding to the application for a certain period of time.

(Method 3) Assume, for example, that the vehicle 2 is an idling stop vehicle, and a current of several tens of amperes flows from the storage element 12 to the vehicle 2 during the idling stop. During the idling stop, the ECU 60 notifies the management unit 55 via the communication unit 56 that the idling stop is being performed. In this case, if the current value measured by the current sensor 51 is 0 A or several A even though the ECU 60 has notified that idling is stopped, the management unit 55 determines that the current sensor 51 is out of order. judge that there is

Management unit 55 prohibits opening of relay 54 based on the current value measured by current sensor 51 when current sensor 51 fails. In other words, the management unit 55 prohibits the opening of the relay 54 due to the above-described SOC abnormality or current abnormality.

(4-3-3) Temperature Sensor Since the two temperature sensors 53 measure the temperatures of different storage elements 12, the measured temperatures do not always match. However, normally, if neither of the two temperature sensors is faulty, there will be no significant difference in the measured temperature. For this reason, the management unit 55 measures the temperature of the storage element 12 at predetermined time intervals using the two temperature sensors 53, and if the absolute value of the difference between the measured temperatures is equal to or greater than a certain value, one of the temperature sensors 53 is faulty.

The management unit 55 prohibits the opening of the relay 54 based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 53 when the temperature sensor 53 fails. In other words, the management unit 55 prohibits the opening of the relay 54 due to the temperature abnormality described above.

(4-3-4) Exceptions to Prohibition of Relay Opening If, for example, the voltage sensor 52 fails, the management unit 55 prohibits the opening of the relay 54 for the reason of abnormal voltage, but abnormal SOC, abnormal current, and abnormal temperature The opening of the relay 54 for the reason is not prohibited. Therefore, the management unit 55 opens the relay 54 when an SOC abnormality, current abnormality or temperature abnormality occurs.

Although the voltage abnormality has been described here as an example, the same applies to SOC abnormality, current abnormality, and temperature abnormality. That is, when a certain sensor fails, the management unit prohibits opening of the relay 54 based on the physical quantity measured by that sensor, but does not prohibit opening of the relay 54 based on the physical quantity measured by other normal sensors. .

(4-3-5) Transmission of sensor abnormality information As shown in FIG. 2, the management unit 55 transmits sensor abnormality information to the ECU 60 via the communication unit 56 when each of the sensors described above fails.

(4-4) Second Open Processing In the second open processing, when the ECU 60 instructs to open the relay 54 via the communication unit 56, the relay 54 is opened even if the opening of the relay 54 is prohibited by the prohibition processing. 54 is opened.

For example, when the ECU 60 of the vehicle 2 receives sensor abnormality information from the power storage device 1 and detects a high voltage abnormality of the alternator 61 , the ECU 60 instructs the power storage device 1 to open the relay 54 . When ECU 60 instructs management unit 55 of power storage device 1 to open relay 54 , management unit 55 opens relay 54 even if opening of relay 54 is prohibited by the above-described prohibition process.

The high voltage abnormality of the alternator 61 described above is an example of an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element 12 . Abnormalities related to the safety of the storage element 12 are not limited to high voltage abnormalities of the alternator 61 , but are determined by the ECU 60 . For example, when an abnormality occurs in other system 62 shown in FIG.

When an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element 12 occurs, depending on the situation of the vehicle 2 (running state, load condition of the storage element 12, abnormal state of the system installed in the vehicle 2, etc.), the relay 54 may be opened immediately. The safety of the vehicle 2 may be compromised. Therefore, it is desirable that the ECU 60 determines the situation of the vehicle 2 and instructs the opening of the relay 54 when it is safe to open the relay 54 .

(4-5) Close Processing As described above, the ECU 60 instructs the power storage device 1 to open the relay 54 when an abnormality related to the safety of the power storage element 12 occurs. However, if the power supply from the alternator 61 alone becomes insufficient after that, the ECU 60 can also instruct the power storage device 1 to close the relay 54 .

Management unit 55 of power storage device 1 closes relay 54 when ECU 60 instructs to close relay 54 . Since the relay 54 is opened to protect the storage element 12 from an abnormality, the storage element 12 is no longer protected when the relay 54 is closed. However, since the power shortage of the vehicle 2 affects the safety of the occupants, the management unit 55 prioritizes the safety of the occupants over the protection of the power storage element 12 and closes the relay 54 .

(5) Effect of Embodiment According to the BMS 50 according to the first embodiment, when the ECU 60 instructs to open the relay 54, the relay 54 is opened even if the opening of the relay 54 is prohibited. Therefore, for example, when the alternator 61 fails (when an abnormality related to the safety of the storage element 12 occurs), the ECU 60 instructs the storage device 1 to open the relay 54, thereby prohibiting the opening of the relay 54. can also open the relay 54. Therefore, according to the BMS 50, when the sensor fails and the opening of the relay 54 is prohibited, the safety of the electric storage element 12 can be improved when an abnormality related to the safety of the electric storage element 12 occurs in the ECU 60. - 特許庁

According to the BMS 50, even if one of the sensors fails and the opening of the relay 54 is prohibited, the abnormality of the electric storage element 12 is detected based on the physical quantity measured by the other sensors not diagnosed as failure. If so, the relay 54 is opened. Since the physical quantity measured by the failed sensor is not reliable, it is not desirable to use it for detecting an abnormality in the power storage element 12. However, the physical quantity measured by the other sensors that are not in failure is highly reliable, so it is not considered to be a failure. By opening the relay 54 when an abnormality of the storage element 12 is detected based on a physical quantity measured by another undiagnosed sensor, the storage element 12 can be more reliably protected from the abnormality.

According to the BMS 50, the management unit 55 closes the relay 54 when the ECU 60 instructs to close the relay 54 while the relay 54 is open. Therefore, vehicle 2 can receive power supply from power storage element 12 if necessary even after the instruction to open relay 54 is given.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described in the above description and drawings, and the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope disclosed in this specification.

(1) In the above embodiment, the management unit 55 and the ECU 60 communicate with each other via the communication unit 56. However, it is possible that the communication unit 56 fails and the instruction to open the relay 54 is not transmitted from the vehicle 2 to the management unit 55. obtain. Therefore, another means for receiving an instruction to open the relay 54 from the ECU 60 may be further provided for redundancy. The means for receiving the instruction to open the relay 54 may receive the instruction via a signal line separate from the communication unit 56, or may receive the instruction from the ECU 60 by wireless communication.

(2) In the above embodiment, three methods for diagnosing the failure of the current sensor 51 have been described as examples, but the method for diagnosing the failure of the current sensor 51 is not limited to these. For example, two current sensors 51 may be provided in series, and if the absolute value of the difference between the current values measured by those current sensors 51 is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference value, it may be determined that the current sensor 51 is out of order. .

(3) In the above embodiment, when the sensor fails, the management unit 55 transmits the sensor abnormality information of the ECU 60, but the management unit 55 may not transmit the sensor abnormality information to the ECU 60. Then, for example, when a high voltage abnormality occurs in the alternator 61 , the ECU 60 may instruct the power storage device 1 to open the relay 54 even if the sensor abnormality information is not received from the power storage device 1 .

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the storage element 12 for starting has been described as an example, but the storage element 12 is not limited to that for starting. For example, the power storage element 12 may be used for auxiliary equipment that is mounted on an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like to supply electric power to the auxiliary equipment.

(5) Although the relay 54 was described as an example of the circuit breaker in the above embodiment, the circuit breaker is not limited to this. For example, the circuit breaker may be a FET (Field Effect Transistor).

(6) In the above embodiment, the current sensor 51, the voltage sensor 52, and the temperature sensor 53 are used as measurement units, but part of the management unit 55 may also serve as part of the measurement unit. Specifically, the microcomputer 55A also performs a process of instructing these sensors to perform measurements, a process of converting the measured values measured by these sensors into physical values, and the like. Therefore, it can be said that the microcomputer 55A is a part of a measurement unit that measures the physical quantity related to the storage element. Therefore, the failure of the measurement unit may be the failure of the microcomputer 55A.

(7) In the above embodiment, a lithium-ion battery was described as an example of the storage element 12, but the storage element 12 is not limited to this. For example, storage element 12 may be a capacitor that involves an electrochemical reaction.

3 Vehicle system (an example of a system)
12 power storage element 50 BMS (an example of a management device)
51 current sensor (an example of the measurement unit)
52 voltage sensor (an example of the measurement unit)
53 temperature sensor (an example of the measurement unit)
54 relay (an example of circuit breaker)
55 management unit 55E communication unit 60 ECU (an example of an external device)

Claims (5)

A storage device management device,
an exterior body in which the power storage element is housed;
a circuit breaker connected in series with the storage element;
a measuring unit that measures a physical quantity related to the storage element;
a communication unit that communicates with an external device;
a management unit accommodated in the exterior body ;
with
The management department
a first opening process of detecting whether or not there is an abnormality in the storage element based on the physical quantity measured by the measuring unit, and opening the circuit breaker to protect the storage element from the abnormality if there is an abnormality;
a prohibition process of diagnosing a failure of the measurement unit and prohibiting opening of the circuit breaker when the measurement unit is in failure;
a second open process for opening the circuit breaker when an instruction to open the circuit breaker is issued from the external device via the communication unit, even if opening of the circuit breaker is prohibited by the prohibition process;
A management device that executes The management device according to claim 1,
A plurality of the measuring units that measure the physical quantities different from each other,
Even if one of the measurement units fails and the circuit breaker is prohibited from opening, the management unit performs A management device that opens the circuit breaker when an abnormality in a power storage element is detected. The management device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The managing unit executes closing processing for closing the circuit breaker when an instruction to close the circuit breaker is received from the external device through the communication unit while the circuit breaker is open. . a storage element;
The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which manages the power storage element;
an external device that instructs the management device to open the circuit breaker via the communication unit;
A system with A method for managing an electric storage element,
The presence or absence of an abnormality in the storage element is detected based on the physical quantity measured by the measuring unit that measures the physical quantity of the storage element, and if there is an abnormality, the circuit breaker connected in series with the storage element is opened. a first opening step for protecting the storage element from abnormality;
a prohibition step of diagnosing a failure of the measuring unit and prohibiting opening of the circuit breaker when the measuring unit is faulty;
Even if opening of the circuit breaker is prohibited by the prohibiting step when an instruction to open the circuit breaker is issued via the communication unit from an external device outside the exterior body housing the power storage element. a second opening step of opening the circuit breaker;
management methods, including;

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