AUTOMOBILE WITH ELECTRIC DRIVE AND BATTERY, AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A DEVICE FOR CHARGING A BATTERY

• US 20120229087A1
• Filed: 09/09/2011
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Audi Hungaria Motor KFT (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi Hungaria Motor KFT (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Demmelbauer-Ebner, Wolfgang
• Application Number:
  US13/228,616
• Publication Number:
  US 20120229087A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/52 drive range estimation, e.g. of estimation of available travel distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/58 Departure time prediction
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/62 charged by low-power generators primarily intended to support the batteries, e.g. range extenders
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/40 for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

In an automobile with an electric drive, the battery for powering the electric drive must be charged, wherein a device for charging is associated with the automobile. According to the invention, this device is activated and/or deactivated upon demand both during travel of the automobile and when the automobile is at rest. The demand is hereby determined based on a specified route to be traveled in the future.

Claims

1. An automobile comprising:

an electric drive driving the automobile,

a battery supplying electric current to the electric drive,

a charging device for charging the battery, said charging device being a part of the automobile and different from the electric drive, and

a controller controlling the charging device, wherein the controller activates and/or deactivates the charging device on demand both while the automobile travels and while the automobile is at rest, wherein the demand is determined based on a route traveled in the future, said route being determined by at least one predetermined criterion.

2. The automobile of claim 1, wherein the controller is coupled with a navigation device of the automobile for receiving data from the navigation device.

3. The automobile of claim 2, wherein the data received from the navigation device are at least one of destination data and route data.

4. The automobile of claim 1, wherein the controller is coupled with a device receiving data from a data processing device external to the vehicle.

5. A method for operating a charging device for charging a battery in an automobile, with the battery supplying electric current to an electric drive which drives the automobile and is different from the charging device, comprising the step of activating and/or deactivating the charging device upon demand, wherein the demand is determined based on a route traveled in the future, with the route being determined by at least one predetermined criterion.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the route is determined based on a current destination or a destination that was valid in the past, with the destination stored in a navigation device of the automobile.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein planning data stored in a data processing device relating to time planning by an operator of the automobile are taken into consideration when determining the demand.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the data processing device is provided separate from the automobile and the planning data are transferred to the automobile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the planning data are transferred wirelessly.