# US 9,520,736 B2 · Charging control apparatus and charging control method for secondary battery > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,520,736 B2 - Document ID: US9520736B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/123,900 - Filed: 2012-07-23 - Published: 2014-04-24 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2011-07-27 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Applicants: Kenro Mitsuda; Daigo Takemura; Masaki Yamada - Inventors: Kenro Mitsuda; Daigo Takemura; Masaki Yamada - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9520736B2 ## CPC - H02J 7/345: {using capacitors as storage or buffering devices} - B60L 50/16: with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion - B60L 53/20: characterised by converters located in the vehicle - B60W 10/26: for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors - B60W 20/13: in order to stay within battery power input or output limits; in order to prevent overcharging or battery depletion - B60W 20/14: in conjunction with braking regeneration - B60W 30/18127: {Regenerative braking} - H01M 10/44: Methods for charging or discharging (circuits for charging H02J7/00) - H02J 7/06: using discharge tubes or semiconductor devices - H02J 7/14: for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle - B60W 20/00: Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)} - H01M 10/052: Li-accumulators - H01M 2220/20: Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane - Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A charging control apparatus for a secondary battery, including a current control apparatus for, upon charging for a secondary battery from an electric generator regenerating kinetic energy as regenerative energy, performing control so as to suppress charging current for the secondary battery at a start of charging to a predetermined suppression rate with respect to charging current at the start of charging in the case that the charging current is not suppressed, and decrease the suppression rate as time elapses. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A charging control apparatus, comprising: at least one of a load impedance device connected in parallel to a secondary battery and a load impedance device connected in series to the secondary battery; the load impedance device being connected to an electric generator regenerating kinetic energy as regenerative energy to provide a charging current to charge the secondary battery; a current control apparatus configured to perform control of load impedance of the load impedance device so as to suppress the charging current for the secondary battery at the start of the charging of the secondary battery with respect to the charging current at the start of charging when the charging current is not suppressed, and to increase the charging current as time elapses. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a DC/DC converter connected between the secondary battery and the electric generator, so that the secondary battery is charged from the electric generator via the DC/DC converter. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The charging control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the load impedance device includes at least one of a capacitor and a resistor, and an open-close device, and the current control apparatus performs open-close control for the open-close device, thereby controlling the impedance of the load impedance device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The charging control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the current control apparatus includes a timing device, measures an elapsed time from the start of charging by the timing device, and performs open-close control for the open-close device in accordance with the elapsed time, thereby controlling the impedance of the load impedance device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A charging control apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a DC/DC converter including an input-side capacitor connected to the secondary battery and charged by a charging current from the electric generator via the DC/DC converter; wherein the current control apparatus controls output voltage of the DC/DC converter to suppress the charging current at the start of charging and to increase the charging current as time elapses, and stores a part of the regenerative power into the input-side capacitor during a period in which the charging current is being suppressed. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The charging control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the current control apparatus controls the DC/DC converter, thereby charging, via the DC/DC converter, the secondary battery with the regenerative power stored in the input-side capacitor. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The charging control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the current control apparatus includes a resistor and an open-close device connected in series to the resistor, the resistor being connected in parallel to the secondary battery via the open-close device, and the current control apparatus performs control so as to close the open-close device at the start of charging for the secondary battery, thereby connecting the resistor in parallel to the secondary battery, and as time elapses, decrease a time of current application to the resistor through open-close control for the open-close device, thereby increasing the charging current. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current control apparatus includes a deterioration detector configured to detect deterioration of the secondary battery, and to adjust a speed of increasing the charging current in accordance with the detected degree of the deterioration. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The charging control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current control apparatus includes a temperature detector configured to detect a temperature of the secondary battery, and to adjust a speed of increasing the charging current in accordance with the detected temperature.