Apparatus for charging on-vehicle battery and apparatus for controlling generating operation of on-vehicle generator

• US 20090072794A1
• Filed: 09/16/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Okuno, Tomoya
• Granted Patent: US 7,872,451 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/145
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/2434 with pulse modulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles

Abstract

An on-vehicle charging apparatus charges a battery mounted on the vehicle. In the apparatus, a generator generates electric power to output voltage for charging the battery and a controller, which is located outside the generator, outputs a pulse signal for controlling a generated state of the generator. A reception device receives the pulse signal outputted from the controller. The received signal is subjected to filtering at a filter, where pulse signals whose cycles are different from a predetermined cycle are removed. Further, using the outputted pulse signal from the filter, a duty ratio of the pulse signal is calculated. A voltage outputted from the generator is regulated based on the calculated duty ratio.

Claims

1. A charging apparatus which is mounted on a vehicle to charge a battery mounted on the vehicle, comprising:

a generator that generates electric power to output voltage for charging the battery;

a controller, which is located outside the generator, that outputs a pulse signal for controlling a generated state of the generator;

a reception device that receives the pulse signal outputted from the controller;

a filter that removes, of the received pulse signal, a pulse signal having cycles different from a predetermined cycle which is set in relation to the pulse signal itself;

a calculator that calculates a duty ratio of the pulse signal having a cycle which agrees with the predetermined cycle, depending on a filtered result of the filter; and

a voltage regulator that regulates a voltage outputted from the generator according to the duty ratio calculated by the calculator.

2. The charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the voltage regulator is configured to regulate the voltage outputted from the generator to an output voltage which changes substantially linearly with changes in the duty ratio calculated by the calculator.

3. The charging apparatus of claim 2, wherein the duty ratio calculated by the calculator is a low-level duty ratio of the pulse generator.

4. The charging apparatus of claim 1, comprising

an acquisition unit that initially acquires, as the predetermined cycle, a cycle of the pulse signal received when the charging apparatus is activated;

and

a storage that stores information indicative of the cycle of the pulse signal acquired by the acquisition unit,

wherein the filter is configured to remove the signal whose cycle is different from the information indicative of the cycle stored in the storage,

5. The charging apparatus of claim 4, comprising a changing unit that changes a controlled parameter of the generator based on the information indicative of the cycle stored in the storage, the controlled parameter being entitled to control an operating state of the generator.

6. The charging apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controlled parameter is a parameter for suppressing an increase in a field current of the generator.

7. A control apparatus for controlling generation of an on-vehicle generator, comprising:

a reception device that receives a pulse signal supplied from outside the control apparatus;

a filter that removes, of the received pulse signal, a pulse signal lo having cycles different from a predetermined cycle which is set in relation to the pulse signal itself;

a calculator that calculates a duty ratio of the pulse signal having a cycle which agrees with the predetermined cycle, depending on a filtered result of the filter; and

a voltage regulator that regulates a voltage outputted from the generator according to the duty ratio calculated by the calculator.

8. The control apparatus of claim 7, wherein the voltage regulator is configured to regulate the voltage outputted from the generator to an output voltage which changes substantially linearly with changes in the duty ratio calculated by the calculator.

9. The control apparatus of claim 8, wherein the duty ratio calculated by the calculator is a low-level duty ratio of the pulse generator.

10. The control apparatus of claim 7, comprising an acquisition unit that initially acquires, as the predetermined cycle, a cycle of the pulse signal received when the control apparatus is activated;

and

a storage that stores information indicative of the cycle of the pulse signal acquired by the acquisition unit,

wherein the filter is configured to remove the signal whose cycle is different from the information indicative of the cycle stored in the storage,

11. The control apparatus of claim 10, comprising a changing unit that changes a controlled parameter of the generator based on the information indicative of the cycle stored in the storage, the controlled parameter being entitled to control an operating state of the generator.

12. The control apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controlled parameter is a parameter for suppressing an increase in a field current of the generator.