Electrical drive system

• US 10,742,141 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2018
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Apelsmeier, Andreas, Schiedermeier, Maximilian
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Kawing
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Bradley R
• Application Number:
  US16/025,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20190123665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/02 comprising more than one electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/007 Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/52 related to converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/16 including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1608 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7393 Insulated gate bipolar mode transistors, i.e. IGBT; IGT; COMFET
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7801 DMOS transistors, i.e. MISFETs with a channel accommodating body or base region adjoining a drain drift region lateral high-voltage MISFETs with channel well and drain offset region H01L29/7835
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/861 Diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/5395 by pulse-width modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 5/74 controlling two or more ac dynamo-electric motors H02P5/46, H02P5/60 take precedence

Abstract

An electrical drive system having multiple drive units for motor vehicles, especially for pure electric vehicles, and a method for operating the drive system.

Claims

1. An electrical drive system for a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least two electric machines as well as at least one inverter with silicon (Si) semiconductor components and at least one inverter with silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor components, wherein the inverters are sine wave inverters.

wherein the inverters generate a sinusoidal output voltage by pulse width modulation in chopper mode,

wherein the switching frequency of the inverters lies in a range of 10 kHz to 25 kHz,

wherein at least one electric machine of the at least two electric machines is supplied by the at least one Si inverter and is designed to drive a front axle of the motor vehicle, and at least one electric machine of the at least two electric machines is supplied by the at least one SiC inverter and is designed to drive a rear axle of the motor vehicle.

2. The electrical drive system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inverter with silicon semiconductor components comprises at least one Si-IGBT and at least one Si-diode.

3. The electrical drive system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inverter with silicon carbide semiconductor components comprises at least one SiC-MOSFET.

4. The electrical drive system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inverter with silicon carbide semiconductor components comprises at least one Si-IGBT and at least one SiC diode.

6. The electrical drive system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the inverter with silicon carbide semiconductor components comprises at least one SiC-MOSFET.

7. The electrical drive system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the inverter with silicon carbide semiconductor components comprises at least one Si-IGBT and at least one SiC diode.

5. A method for operating the electrical drive system in driving mode of the motor vehicle comprising:

supplying electric machines supplied with alternating current solely via SiC inverters are used to drive the motor vehicle when a torque demand is less than a maximum torque that can be produced by the electric machines supplied via SiC inverters; and

supplying electric machines supplied with alternating current by both SiC inverters as well as electric machines supplied with alternating current by Si inverters are used to drive the motor vehicle when the torque demand is greater than the maximum torque that can be produced by electric machines supplied with alternating current via SiC inverters,

wherein the front axle of the motor vehicle is driven by at least one electric machine supplied by a Si inverter, and the rear axle of the motor vehicle is driven by at least one electric machine supplied by a SiC inverter,

wherein the inverters are sine wave inverters,

wherein the inverters generate a sinusoidal output voltage by pulse width modulation in chopper mode,

wherein the switching frequency of the inverters lies in a range of 10 kHz to 25 kHz.