APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CHARGING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE

• US 20120112693A1
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Kusch, Ruediger Soeren, King, Robert Dean, Steigerwald, Robert Louis
• Granted Patent: US 8,378,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/12 Buck converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/14 Boost converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/441 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/445 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/20 Inrush current reduction, i.e. avoiding high currents when connecting the battery
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

An energy management system (ESMS) includes energy storage devices coupled to a vehicle drivetrain and configured to store DC energy, a power electronic conversion system having energy ports, the power electronic conversion system comprising a DC electrical converters, each DC electrical converter configured to step up and to step down a DC voltage, wherein each of the energy ports is coupleable to each of the energy storage devices and each of the energy ports is coupleable to an electrical charging system. The EV includes a controller configured to determine a voltage of each energy port having either an energy storage device or a DC electrical charging system coupled thereto, and electrically connect a first energy port to a second energy port such that at least one of the DC electrical converters either steps up or steps down an input DC voltage based on the determined voltage of each energy port.

Claims

1. An energy storage and management system (ESMS) comprising:

one or more energy storage devices coupled to a vehicle drivetrain and configured to store DC energy;

a power electronic conversion system having a plurality of energy ports, the power electronic conversion system comprising a plurality of DC electrical converters, each DC electrical converter configured to step up and to step down a DC voltage, wherein;

each of the plurality of energy ports is coupleable to each of the one or more energy storage devices; and

each of the plurality of energy ports is coupleable to an electrical charging system; and

a controller configured to;

determine a voltage of each energy port having either an energy storage device or a DC electrical charging system coupled thereto; and

electrically connect a first energy port to a second energy port of at least two of the plurality of energy ports such that at least one of the DC electrical converters either steps up or steps down an input DC voltage based on the determined voltage of each energy port.

2. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to determine which of the plurality of energy ports has a DC or AC electrical charging system coupled thereto based on an electrical measurement of each energy port.

3. The ESMS of claim 2 wherein the electrical measurement includes at least one of a voltage measurement and a frequency measurement.

4. The ESMS of claim 1 comprising a first energy source coupled to a first port of the plurality of energy ports, and a second energy source coupled to a second port of the plurality of energy ports such that electrical energy is provided to each of the one or more energy storage devices simultaneously from the first energy source and the second energy source.

5. The ESMS of claim 4 wherein the first energy source is a rectified AC source.

6. The ESMS of claim 5 wherein the second energy source is one of a rectified AC source, a rectified DC source, and a DC source.

7. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to pass electrical energy from the first energy port to the second energy port through a first DC electrical converter of the at least one of the DC electrical converters, the first DC electrical converter configured to step down the input DC voltage.

8. The ESMS of claim 7 wherein the controller is configured to pass the electrical energy simultaneously from the first energy port, through the first DC electrical converter, and to a second DC electrical converter that is configured to step up an input voltage, and to a third energy port.

9. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of DC electrical converters is a buck-boost converter.

10. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein one of the energy storage devices comprises one of an energy battery, a power battery, and an ultracapacitor.

11. The ESMS of claim 1 comprising an electrical output from an internal combustion engine coupled to an energy port of the ESMS.

12. The ESMS of claim 1 comprising an internal combustion engine (ICE) coupled to a transmission, wherein the transmission is coupled to one or more drive wheels of the vehicle drivetrain.

13. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to:

determine which of the plurality of energy ports has one of the one or more energy storage devices coupled thereto; and

determine which of the plurality of energy ports has an electrical charging system coupled thereto.

14. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to simultaneously charge two of the one or more energy storage devices by directing energy to go simultaneously to a first energy port and a second energy port of the plurality of energy ports.

15. The ESMS of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to pass energy through two of the plurality of DC electrical converters such that one of the two DC electrical converters operates to step up a voltage applied thereto, and the other of the two DC electrical converters operates to step down a voltage applied thereto.

16. A method of fabricating an energy storage and management system (ESMS) comprising:

coupling one or more energy storage devices to a vehicle powertrain;

fabricating a charging device having a plurality of buck-boost converters;

attaching the charging device to the vehicle, the charging device comprising a plurality of energy ports, each of the plurality of energy ports coupleable to each of the one or more energy storage devices;

sensing a voltage across each of the plurality of energy ports;

determining if an energy storage device and an electrical charging system is coupled to any of the plurality of energy ports based on the sensed voltage; and

electrically connecting the electrical charging system to any of the plurality of energy ports having an energy storage device by selectively directing electrical current to flow through one or more of the plurality of buck-boost converters.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the charging device comprises a 3-phase charge connector having more than one input terminal, wherein each terminal of the more than one terminal is configured to have a corresponding power input thereto.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein coupling the one or more energy storage devices comprises coupling at least one of an energy battery, a power battery, and an ultracapacitor.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein coupling the one or more energy storage devices to the vehicle powertrain comprises coupling the one or more energy storage devices to an internal combustion engine.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein electrically connecting the electrical charging system to the any of the plurality of energy ports having the energy storage device comprises connecting the electrical charging system to pass energy through a first buck-boost converter that is operating in a buck mode and to pass the energy through a second buck-boost converter that is operating in a boost mode.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein electrically connecting the electrical charging system to the any of the plurality of energy ports having an energy storage device comprising electrically connecting at least one electrical charging system to at least two energy storage devices.

22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium positioned on an energy storage and management system (ESMS) and having stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to:

determine a voltage of each energy port of a multi-port power conversion system that is positioned on the ESMS; and

electrically connect at least two of the energy ports such that electrical energy passes from a first of the at least two energy ports to a second of the at least two energy ports and through at least two buck-boost converters, a first buck-boost converter of the at least two buck-boost converters configured to operate in a boost mode, and a second buck-boost converter of the at least two buck-boost converters configured to operate in a buck mode.

23. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the computer causes the electrical energy to pass through a third buck-boost converter that is configured to operate in the buck mode.

24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the computer is caused to determine whether an energy storage device, an electrical charging system, or no device, is attached to each energy port based on the determined voltage.

25. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the computer is caused to determine whether the electrical charging system is an AC or a DC source.

26. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the energy storage device is at least one of an energy battery, a power battery, and an ultracapacitor.

27. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the computer is caused to electrically connect the at least two of the energy ports such that the electrical energy passes from the electrical charging system to the energy storage device.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the computer is caused to simultaneously cause the electrical energy that passes through the second buck-boost converter to also pass to a third energy port of the at least two energy ports, the third energy port having an energy storage device attached thereto.