Patent ID: 8498766

Claim:
A control system of a vehicle including an electric motor operable to produce driving force, at least one secondary battery that supplies electric power to the electric motor, and a charging mechanism operable to charge said at least one secondary battery using a power supply located outside the vehicle, comprising: an electronic control unit, including executable program logic, configured to perform: collecting data used in a battery model for estimating the status of said at least one secondary battery; storing a given parameter which is used in the battery model and varies according to the status of said at least one secondary battery; calculating the given parameter based on the data collected during running of the vehicle, and correcting the stored given parameter based on a result of the calculation; calculating the given parameter based on the data collected when the vehicle is at rest and said at least one secondary battery is charged, and correcting the stored given parameter based on a result of the calculation; calculating an estimated value of charging rate of said at least one secondary battery, using the battery model, based on the data collected and the stored given parameter; and controlling discharge of said at least one secondary battery based on the estimated value of charging rate, during running of the vehicle.