Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M1/00—Details of apparatus for conversion
  • H02M1/10—Arrangements incorporating converting means for enabling loads to be operated at will from different kinds of power supplies, e.g. from AC or DC
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L53/00—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
  • B60L53/20—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles characterised by converters located in the vehicle
  • B60L53/24—Using the vehicle's propulsion converter for charging
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L1/00—Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L53/00—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
  • B60L53/20—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L53/00—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
  • B60L53/20—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles characterised by converters located in the vehicle
  • B60L53/22—Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L53/00—Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
  • B60L53/30—Constructional details of charging stations
  • B60L53/302—Cooling of charging equipment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L55/00—Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
  • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
  • H02J7/00—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
  • H02J7/02—Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries for charging batteries from AC mains by converters
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M1/00—Details of apparatus for conversion
  • H02M1/42—Circuits or arrangements for compensating for or adjusting power factor in converters or inverters
  • H02M1/4208—Arrangements for improving power factor of AC input
  • H02M1/4258—Arrangements for improving power factor of AC input using a single converter stage both for correction of AC input power factor and generation of a regulated and galvanically isolated DC output voltage
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M3/00—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output
  • H02M3/22—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC
  • H02M3/24—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters
  • H02M3/28—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC
  • H02M3/325—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC using devices of a triode or a transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal
  • H02M3/335—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC using devices of a triode or a transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only
  • H02M3/33569—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC using devices of a triode or a transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only having several active switching elements
  • H02M3/33576—Conversion of DC power input into DC power output with intermediate conversion into AC by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode to produce the intermediate AC using devices of a triode or a transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only having several active switching elements having at least one active switching element at the secondary side of an isolation transformer
  • H02M3/33584—Bidirectional converters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L2210/00—Converter types
  • B60L2210/10—DC to DC converters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L2210/00—Converter types
  • B60L2210/10—DC to DC converters
  • B60L2210/14—Boost converters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L2210/00—Converter types
  • B60L2210/30—AC to DC converters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L2210/00—Converter types
  • B60L2210/40—DC to AC converters
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
  • H02J2207/00—Indexing scheme relating to details of circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
  • H02J2207/20—Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M1/00—Details of apparatus for conversion
  • H02M1/32—Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
  • H02M1/327—Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection against abnormal temperatures
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02P—CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS
  • H02P27/00—Arrangements or methods for the control of AC motors characterised by the kind of supply voltage
  • H02P27/04—Arrangements or methods for the control of AC motors characterised by the kind of supply voltage using variable-frequency supply voltage, e.g. inverter or converter supply voltage
  • H02P27/06—Arrangements or methods for the control of AC motors characterised by the kind of supply voltage using variable-frequency supply voltage, e.g. inverter or converter supply voltage using DC to AC converters or inverters
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/20845—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for automotive electronic casings
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
  • H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
  • H05K7/2089—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating for power electronics, e.g. for inverters for controlling motor
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
  • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
  • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
  • Y02T10/70—Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
  • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
  • Y02T10/80—Technologies aiming to reduce greenhouse gasses emissions common to all road transportation technologies
  • Y02T10/92—Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
  • Y02T90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02T90/10—Technologies relating to charging of electric vehicles
  • Y02T90/12—Electric charging stations
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
  • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
  • Y04S10/00—Systems supporting electrical power generation, transmission or distribution
  • Y04S10/12—Monitoring or controlling equipment for energy generation units, e.g. distributed energy generation [DER] or load-side generation
  • Y04S10/126—Monitoring or controlling equipment for energy generation units, e.g. distributed energy generation [DER] or load-side generation the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Definitions

• Hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) are increasing in popularity as they offer reduced fuel costs and lower vehicle emissions as compared to internal combustion engine propelled vehicles.
• HEV/EVs are powered using one or more batteries driving one or more electrical motors.
• HEVs may be driven by motors and batteries used in conjunction with an internal combustion engine. EVs are driven purely by motors and batteries.
• the electric charger may come in on-board and off-board varieties. Off-board charging generally refers to charging systems utilizing a charging station or other equipment, such as a home or wall charger. These systems may offer higher voltages and faster charging than other on-board charging systems, which utilize a charger built into the car itself. Increasingly, to provide flexibility and increased convenience, higher capacity on-board chargers are offering increased charging speeds.
• An example device comprises a direct current (DC)-to-DC voltage converter configurable to convert a first DC voltage from an alternating current (AC)-to-DC converter to generate a first converted DC voltage to charge a battery.
• the device further converts a second DC voltage from the battery to a second converted DC voltage for an inverter, the inverter electrically coupled to a motor, along with control circuitry for directing an operating mode of the DC-to-DC voltage converter.
• the system comprises a direct current (DC)-to-DC voltage converter having two operating modes, wherein the DC-to-DC voltage converter, in a first operating mode, converts a first DC voltage from an alternating current (AC)-to-DC converter to generate a first converted DC voltage to charge a battery.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter in a second operating mode, converts a second DC voltage from the battery to a second converted DC voltage for an inverter, the inverter electrically coupled to a motor.
• the system further comprises control circuitry for directing an operating mode of the DC-to-DC voltage converter.
• Another aspect of this description relates to a method for power regulation of a bus.
• the method comprises converting, by a direct current (DC)-to-DC voltage converter in a first operating mode, a first DC voltage at a regulated voltage from an AC-to-DC converter to generate a first converted DC voltage to charge a battery.
• the method further comprises converting, by the DC-to- DC voltage converter in a second operating mode, a second DC voltage from the battery, the second DC voltage having a variable voltage to generate a second converted DC voltage at the regulated voltage for an inverter that is electrically coupled to a motor.
• FIGS. 1-4 are architectural diagrams illustrating vehicle powertrains.
• FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a power factor correction circuit.
• FIG. 6 is an architecture diagram illustrating at least a portion of a vehicle powertrain.
• FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit.
• FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a technique for power regulation of a bus.
• Powertrains for HEV/EV vehicles generally include one or more battery packs (hereinafter referred to as battery).
• the battery may be charged using an on-board charger (OBC) built into the vehicle.
• OBC on-board charger
• One function of the OBC is to convert power received from a power grid from an alternating current (AC) form to a direct current (DC) form, and to provide the DC power to charge the battery.
• AC alternating current
• DC direct current
• the OBC may be plugged into a wall outlet and draw power from a public utility power grid to charge the vehicle battery.
• the OBC may include an AC-to-DC converter (also known as a rectifier) that accepts an input AC voltage, such as 120VAC, 240VAC, 480VAC, etc.
• the OBC may also include a second stage comprising a DC-to-DC voltage converter which converts the first DC voltage into a second DC voltage, which is more suitable for charging the battery.
• the DC-to-DC converter and AC-to-DC converter used in the OBC support bidirectional operation.
• vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operations may allow a power grid to draw electricity from charged batteries of HEV/EV vehicles to support the power grid.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter may be configured to draw power from the battery and convert the first DC voltage of the battery to a second DC voltage that the AC-to-DC converter can handle. The AC-to-DC converter then converts the second DC voltage to AC, to send back to the grid.
• the powertrain may also include a traction inverter to convert DC voltage from the battery into AC voltage.
• the traction inverter then provides this AC voltage to one or more electric motors to drive the vehicle.
• a voltage provided by the battery varies as the battery discharges.
• the traction inverter may take into account this voltage change and is designed to handle a wide voltage range of DC voltage input that the battery may provide. This ability to handle a wide input voltage range makes the traction inverter less efficient at converting DC-to-AC as compared to an inverter that has a regulated input voltage.
• an inverter designed for a regulated input voltage may utilize a design or components selected to operate most efficiently at the regulated voltage. As described herein, reference to a regulated or fixed voltage refers to a constant voltage within a design tolerance of the converter providing the regulated voltage.
• DC-to-DC voltage converters may also be designed to handle the changing battery voltage, making them potentially less efficient than converters designed to take a particular input voltage.
• FIG. 1 is an architectural diagram illustrating at least a portion of a vehicle powertrain 100, according to aspects of this description.
• an OBC 102 is, in a charging operating mode, coupled to an AC power source 104, such as a local power grid.
• the OBC 102 is a two stage charger and includes an AC-to-DC converter 106 and a charger DC-to-DC voltage converter 108 within an OBC housing 109.
• the AC-to-DC converter 106 converts the AC voltage from AC power source 104 to a first DC voltage and provides this first DC voltage via conductor 111 to the charger DC-to-DC voltage converter 108 to generate a DC voltage at a regulated voltage to drive a variable DC bus 112.
• the OBC 102 may include a cooling mechanism 110, such as a heatsink, fans, coolant lines, etc.
• the cooling mechanism 110 may be at least partially incorporated into the OBC housing 109 and the exact mechanism used may be a function of a number of factors such as packaging constraints, efficiency of the OBC 102, or other factors.
• the cooling mechanism may be configured to reduce an operating temperature of either, or both, the AC-to-DC converter 106 and the charger DC-to- DC voltage converter 108.
• the DC voltage provided by the OBC 102 energizes the variable DC bus 112 and charges a battery 114 coupled to the variable DC bus 112.
• the OBC 102 operates in multiple modes. For example, a control circuit 116 of the OBC 102 detects when the AC power source 104 is plugged in or otherwise becomes available, and responds by switching the OBC 102 into the charging operating mode.
• An AC power indicator signal 105 is shown in FIG. 1.
• the AC power indicator signal 105 indicates to the control circuit 116 whether the OBC 102 is connected to the AC power source 104.
• the control circuit 116 may also receive an indication, for example from the power grid, to provide power to the grid.
• the control circuit 116 of the OBC 102 can then switch the OBC 102 into a V2G operating mode to possibly provide power back to the grid through AC power source 104.
• control circuit 116 configures the DC-to-DC voltage converter 108 to convert a DC voltage from the AC-to-DC voltage converter 106 to a voltage for the variable DC bus 112, or vice versa.
• the control circuit 116 may be implemented as a programmable processor, a finite state machine, or other suitable type of circuit.
• the control circuit 116 may switch the OBC 102 into a driving operating mode.
• the charging and V2G operating modes are non-overlapping.
• the battery 114 energizes the variable DC bus 112, to thereby provide power to a traction inverter 118 as well as one or more body electronics 120.
• body electronics 120 are coupled to, and receive power from, a body electronics bus 124, which may operate at lower voltages than the variable DC bus 112.
• a body electronics bus 124 which may operate at lower voltages than the variable DC bus 112.
• an entertainment system or power adjustable seats may operate at 12v or 48v rather than the higher voltages provided by a HEV/EV battery.
• One or more body DC-to-DC voltage converters 122 converts the DC voltage of the variable DC bus 112 to another DC voltage appropriate for the body electronics 120 on a corresponding body electronics bus 124.
• variable DC bus 112 may be attached to the variable DC bus 112 as needed to segregate these components on separate electrical buses.
• the traction inverter 118 also draws power from the variable DC bus 112 to drive one or more traction motors 126.
• the traction inverter 118 converts DC to AC in two stages using a DC-to-DC voltage converter 128 first stage coupled to a DC-to- AC inverter 130 second stage.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 128 converts the variable DC voltage of the variable DC bus 112 to a regulated DC voltage and provides this voltage for the DC-to-AC inverter 130 via conductor 131.
• the DC-to-AC inverter 130 converts this regulated DC voltage to AC to drive traction motor 126.
• the two stage conversion of DC-to-DC cascaded with the DC-to-AC traction inverter 118 is more efficient for a motor drive than a single stage inverter, since converting a variable DC voltage to a desired DC voltage can be performed quite efficiently, in some cases greater than 98% efficient.
• the DC-to-AC inverter 130 may then be optimized for efficiency at the desired DC voltage, for example, by having the switching scheme optimized in an inverter control to reduce its switching loss, to drive motor more efficient for high speed running without the need for field-weakening control In motor drive.
• the increased efficiency realized by optimizing the DC-to-AC inverter 130 outweighs the losses from the DC-to-DC conversion stage and using a two stage conversion of DC to AC reduces losses as compared to a single stage DC to AC conversion given a relatively large input DC voltage range.
• the traction inverter 118 in this example also includes an inverter cooling mechanism 132, such as a heatsink, fans, coolant lines, etc.
• the inverter cooling mechanism 132 may also be least partially incorporated into the traction inverter 118 housing and may be configured to reduce an operating temperature of either, or both, the inverter DC-to-DC voltage converter 128 and the DC-to-AC inverter 130.
• the inverter cooling mechanism may be similar to cooling mechanism 110. It may be observed that OBC 109 and traction inverter 118 run in alternative modes. When OBC 109 is running in an active mode, the traction inverter 119 may be in an idle mode and vice versa.
• FIG. 2 is another example of at least a portion of a vehicle powertrain 200.
• Adding a DC- to-DC voltage converter to a traction inverter improves efficiency but potentially increases the size and cooling requirements for the traction inverter.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter from the OBC may be leveraged to provide a regulated DC voltage for the traction inverter.
• the charger DC-to-DC voltage converter does not convert power from the power grid to and from the battery at once as vehicles are generally are not driven while plugged in and charging.
• Using the charger DC-to-DC voltage converter to provide a regulated DC voltage for the traction inverter thus is unlikely to interfere with charging the battery.
• an OBC 202 is, in a charging mode, coupled to an AC power source 204, such as a local power grid.
• OBC 202 is a two stage charger and includes an AC-to-DC converter 206 and a DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 within an OBC housing 209.
• the AC-to-DC converter 206 converts the AC voltage from the AC power source 204 to a first DC voltage and provide this first DC voltage to the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 via a regulated DC bus 222.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 generates a second DC voltage to drive a variable DC bus 214 and charge a battery 210 coupled to the variable DC bus 214.
• the OBC 202 may include a cooling mechanism 212 that may be at least partially incorporated into the OBC housing 209. The cooling mechanism 212 is described in more detail above in conjunction with cooling mechanism 110 of FIG. 1.
• control circuit 216 of the OBC 102 can determine that the AC power source 104 is not plugged in, receive an indication to switch to a driving operating mode, for example from a vehicle control computer (not shown), or otherwise detect that the AC power source is unavailable. For example, an AC power indicator signal 217 indicates to the control circuit 216 that the OBC 202 is not connected to the AC power source 204. The control circuit 216 can then switch the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 to the driving operating mode and accept input power from the battery 210 rather than from the AC-to-DC converter 206.
• the control circuit 216 may receiving an indication to switch to the charging operating mode and switch the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 to convert voltage from a DC-to-AC inverter 218 of a traction inverter 220 to provide power to charge battery 210 over the variable DC bus 214.
• the DC-to-AC inverter may be configured to generate DC voltage at the regulated DC voltage, during regen operation. While the control circuit 216 is shown outside of the OBC housing 209, the control circuit 216 may also be located within or on the OBC housing 209.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 converts the variable DC voltage, provided by battery 210, of the variable DC bus 214 to a regulated DC voltage for the regulated DC bus 222.
• the DC-to-AC inverter 218 of the traction inverter 220 receives power from the regulated DC bus 222 at the regulated DC voltage and converts this regulated DC voltage to AC to drive the traction motor 224.
• the traction inverter 220 may also include an inverter cooling mechanism 226 which may also be least partially incorporated into a traction inverter housing 228.
• One or more body DC-to-DC voltage converters 232 convert the DC voltage of the variable DC bus 214 to another DC voltage appropriate for one or more body electronics 230.
• one or more regulated body DC-to-DC voltage converters 302 draw power from a regulated DC bus 304 and convert the regulated DC voltage to another DC voltage appropriate for one or more body electronics 306.
• the regulated body DC-to-DC voltage converters 302 may be design optimized for efficiency at the regulated DC voltage, helping further increase overall efficiency of the vehicle.
• one or more body DC-to-DC voltage converters 308 also draw from a variable DC bus 310 for one or more body electronics 316.
• Control circuit 312 can switch operating modes for a DC-to-DC voltage converter 314 based on, for example, an AC power indicator or another indicator.
• the OBC 202 includes the AC-to-DC converter 206 within an OBC housing 209 and the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 incorporated into the traction inverter 220 within the traction inverter housing 228.
• the control circuit 216 in such embodiments, are coupled to the DC-to-DC voltage converter 208 incorporated into the traction inverter 220.
• FIG. 4 is another example of at least a portion of a vehicle powertrain 400, according to aspects of this description.
• the OBC and the traction inverter are packaged together in as a combined unit within a common housing to help reduce the physical space taken up by these components and potentially reduce the number of cooling mechanisms.
• a combined unit 402 may be coupled to an AC power source 404 while in a charging operating mode.
• the combined unit includes an AC-to-DC converter 406 to convert AC voltage from the AC power source 404 to a first DC voltage and provides this first DC current via a regulated DC bus 408. In certain cases, this first DC voltage is at a regulated voltage of the regulated DC bus 408.
• a DC-to-DC voltage converter 410 within a combined unit housing 417 converts this first DC voltage to a second DC voltage and provides this second DC voltage to a variable DC bus 412 to charge battery 414.
• a DC-to-AC inverter 416 can be at least partially enclosed within the combined unit housing 417.
• a cooling mechanism 418 is at least partially incorporated into the combined unit housing 417 and is configured to reduce the operating temperature of one or more of the AC-to-DC converter 406, the DC-to-DC voltage converter 410, and the DC-to-AC inverter 416.
• a control circuit 420 switches the DC-to-DC voltage converter 410 from the charging operating mode to a driving operating mode.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 410 draws power from the battery 414, rather than from the AC-to-DC converter 406, over the variable DC bus 412.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 410 converts the variable DC voltage to the regulated DC voltage and provides the regulated DC voltage to a regulated DC bus 408.
• the DC-to-AC inverter 416 converts the regulated DC voltage, from the regulated DC bus 408, to AC to drive the traction motor 422. While the control circuit 420 is shown outside of the combined unit housing 417, the control circuit 420 may also be located within the combined unit housing 417.
• One or more body DC-to-DC voltage converters 424 draws from the variable DC bus 412 to convert the DC voltage of the variable DC bus 412 to another DC voltage appropriate for certain body electronics (not shown).
• One or more regulated body DC-to-DC voltage converters 426 draw power from a regulated DC bus 408 and convert the regulated DC voltage to another DC voltage appropriate for one or more body electronics (not shown).
• FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of an example power factor correction circuit 500, according to aspects of this description.
• an AC-to-DC converter 502 includes some passive components 504, such as inductors (as shown in this example), inductor capacitor, or inductor capacitor inductor, as well as an AC-to-DC bridge structure 508.
• the passive components connect to the AC-to-DC bridge structure 508 to form the full AC-to-DC converter.
• AC-to- DC converters 106, 206, and 406 of FIGs 1, 2, and 4, respectively, include passive components 504 and the AC-to-DC bridge structures 508.
• three different voltages from an AC power source 506 may be connected to the passive components 504 to form a three phase power factor correction (PFC) (as shown).
• PFC power factor correction
• two phases may include passive components and one phase might not have a passive component for a single phase PFC (not shown).
• a mux version may be offered to support both single phase and three phase PFC (not shown).
• the AC-to-DC bridge structure 508 and passive components 504 work together to generate a regulated bus at the output of the AC-to-DC converter 510.
• the AC-to- DC bridge structure 508 for a three phase inverter comprises three half bridges 512. The half bridges 512 are controlled by control circuitry (not shown) to regulate the current through each phase.
• the control is achieved by turning on and tuning off the power devices of the half bridges 512.
• Duty cycle regulation may be used, in which the converter in the AC-to-DC mode for PFC, the AC-to-DC bridge structure 508 behaves as a boost circuit.
• the AC-to-DC bridge structure 508 behaves as a buck circuit. While, in the example, a two level three phase inverter structure is shown in the AC-to-DC bridge structure 508, the two level three phase inverter structure can be replaced with a three level or a different inverter structure.
• FIG. 6 is an architecture diagram illustrating at least a portion of a vehicle powertrain 600, according to aspects of this description.
• functionality of the OBC and traction inverter are integrated into a combined unit 602, which is at least partially contained within a combined housing 604.
• the combined unit 602 may be coupled to an AC power source 606 while in a charging operating mode.
• the combined unit 602 may include passive components 608 needed for the AC-to-DC stage, an AC-to-DC converter components (including associated bridge structure, sense electronics, and control circuitry) 610, and a DC-to-DC voltage converter 614.
• the AC voltage from the AC power source 606 is connected to the passive components 608 and provided to the AC-to-DC converter components 610, to convert AC voltage from the AC power source 606 to the first DC voltage.
• the AC voltage from the AC power source 606 is connected to the passive components 608 and provided to the AC-to-DC converter components 610, to convert AC voltage from the AC power source 606 to the first DC voltage.
• the first DC voltage is provided via a DC regulated bus 612 to the DC-to-DC voltage converter 614 to charge battery 616 via a variable DC bus 618.
• Switch 620 may be coupled between a traction motor 622 and a connection point of the passive components 608 and the AC-to-DC converter components 610.
• the AC-to-DC converter components 610 may comprise a three phase half bridge inverter capable of operating as an active PFC as well as a traction drive, depending on the operating mode.
• switch 620 is open and a traction motor 622 is not powered. While a single switch 620 is shown, switch 620 may comprise three switches, one for each phase line coupled to the motor.
• the passive components 608, AC-to-DC converter components 610, and DC-to-DC voltage converter 614 can be at least partially enclosed within the combined housing 604.
• a cooling mechanism 624 is at least partially incorporated into the combined housing 604 and is configured to reduce the operating temperature of one or more of the AC-to-DC converter components 610, the DC-to-DC voltage converter 614, and the passive components 608.
• a control circuit 626 switches the DC-to-DC voltage converter 614 and the AC-to-DC converter components 610 from the charging operating mode to a driving operating mode. While the control circuit 626 is shown outside of the combined housing 604, the control circuit 626 may also be located within the combined housing 604.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 614 draws power from the battery 616, rather than from the AC-to-DC converter components 610, over the variable DC bus 618.
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 614 converts the variable DC voltage to the regulated DC voltage and provides the regulated DC voltage to a regulated DC bus 612.
• the battery voltage may directly be used by the AC-to-DC converter components 610 over the variable DC bus 618.
• the AC-to-DC converter components 610 in the driving operating mode, converts the regulated DC voltage, from the regulated DC bus 612, to AC to drive the traction motor 622.
• the passive components 608 are open circuits and are unaffected by power from the AC-to-DC converter components 610 or traction motor 622.
• One or more body DC-to-DC voltage converters 628 draw from the variable DC bus 618 to convert the DC voltage of the variable DC bus 618 to another DC voltage appropriate for certain body electronics (not shown).
• One or more regulated body DC-to-DC voltage converters 630 draw power from a regulated DC bus 612 and convert the regulated DC voltage to another DC voltage appropriate for one or more body electronics (not shown).
• FIG. 7 is a circuit example of the DC-to-DC voltage converter 700 circuit usable in the examples described above (e.g., for DC-to-DC voltage converters 108, 208, 314, and 410).
• the DC-to-DC voltage converter 700 is a bi-directional voltage converter and is controlled by a control circuit (control circuit 116, 216, 312, 420, and 614).
• control circuit 116, 216, 312, 420, and 614 In a first mode, the corresponding control circuit configures the bidirectional DC-to-DC voltage converter 700 to accept input power from a first voltage node 710 and output converted power to a second voltage node 720. In a second mode, the control circuit configures the DC-to-DC voltage converter 700 to accept input power from the second voltage node 720 and output converted power to the first voltage node 710.
• the bi-directional DC-to-DC voltage converter 700 includes transistors Ml, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 and M8, inductor LI, and transformer TR1.
• the transistors are implemented as n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (NMOS), but can be implemented as p-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (PMOS) in other implementations, or as bipolar junction transistors in yet other implementations.
• Each transistor M1-M6 includes a control input (e.g., a gate) that is controlled by the corresponding control circuit to turn that respective transistor on or off depending on the operating mode.
• Ml, M2, M3 and M4 form a first full bridge and M5, M6, M7 and M8 for a second full bridge. Both duty cycle control and phase control of M1-M8 are used to control and regulate the power flow.
• FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a technique 800 for power regulation of a bus, according to aspects of this description.
• a DC-to-DC voltage converter in a first operating mode converts a first DC voltage at a regulated voltage from an AC-to-DC converter to generate a first converted DC voltage to charge one or more batteries.
• the Dc-to-DC voltage converter is in a second operating mode and converts a second DC voltage from the batteries to generate a second converted DC voltage at the regulated voltage for an inverter that is electrically coupled to a motor.
• the second DC voltage has a variable voltage that may vary based on the charge level of the batteries.
• the Dc-to-DC voltage converter is in a second operating mode and generates the second converted DC voltage for a second DC-to-DC voltage converter to convert the second converted DC voltage to a third DC voltage different from the regulated voltage.
• the term“couple” or“couples” means either an indirect or direct wired or wireless connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other devices and connections.
• the recitation“based on” means“based at least in part on.” Therefore, if X is based on Y, X may be a function of Y and any number of other factors.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Electric Propulsion And Braking For Vehicles (AREA)
• Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)
• Dc-Dc Converters (AREA)
• Inverter Devices (AREA)

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• 2018
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  • 2019-12-19 EP EP19907501.1A patent/EP3902700A4/en active Pending
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