BATTERY MANAGEMENT APPARATUS FOR AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, AND METHOD FOR MANAGING SAME

• US 20130127247A1
• Filed: 08/01/2011
• Published: 05/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Oh, Won Jin, Kim, Sun Yong
• Granted Patent: US 9,371,005 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/00 Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/12 Buck converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/527 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/529 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/16 with provision for separate direct mechanical propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1423 with multiple batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• 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

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric vehicle, and to a method for managing the charging of an auxiliary battery for an electric vehicle. The electric vehicle according to the present invention comprises: a high voltage battery for driving the electric vehicle; an auxiliary battery for supplying a plurality of electronic loads with driving power; a converter converting the voltage of the high voltage battery to a voltage required by the electronic loads via PWM switching; and a current detection unit for detecting the output current of the converter wherein the converter includes a converter control unit for reducing the output voltage of the converter when the energy required by the loads, based on the current detected by the current detection unit, is greater than the rated capacity of the converter. Accordingly, energy supplied to the loads can be handled by the converter and the auxiliary battery so as to enable the safe operation of an electric vehicle system.

Claims

1. A battery control apparatus for use in an electric vehicle comprising:

a high-voltage battery for driving an electric vehicle;

an auxiliary battery for providing drive power to a plurality of loads;

a converter for converting a voltage of the high-voltage battery into a voltage needed for the loads through Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching; and

a current detection unit for detecting an output current of the converter,

wherein the converter includes a converter controller for reducing an output voltage of the converter when energy needed for the loads is higher than the rated capacity of the converter on the basis of the current detected by the current detection unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the converter controller reduces an output voltage of the converter in a manner that the output voltage of the converter is identical to a voltage of the auxiliary battery, such that the sum of the output current of the converter and the output current of the auxiliary battery is supplied to the loads.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the converter controller provides only the output current of the converter to the loads when energy needed for the loads is lower than the rated capacity of the converter.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the converter controller controls the output voltage of the converter to be lower than a voltage of the auxiliary battery, such that an output current of the auxiliary battery is supplied to the loads.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the converter controller stops the converter when energy needed for load is higher than rated capacity of the converter on the basis of the current detected by the current detection unit, such that an output current of the auxiliary battery is supplied to the loads.

6. A battery control method for use in an electric vehicle which includes a high-voltage battery, a plurality of loads, and an auxiliary battery supplying a drive power to the plurality of loads, the method comprising:

detecting an output current of a converter which converts a voltage of the high-voltage battery into a voltage needed for the loads through Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching;

comparing energy needed for the loads with a rated capacity of the converter on the basis of the output current of the converter; and

reducing an output voltage of the converter when the energy needed for the loads is greater than the rated capacity of the converter on the basis of the output current of the converter.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the reducing of the output voltage of the converter includes adjusting an output voltage of the converter to be identical to a voltage of the auxiliary battery, such that the sum of the output current of the converter and the output current of the auxiliary battery is supplied to the loads.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

providing only the output current of the converter to the loads when energy needed for the loads is lower than the rated capacity of the converter.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the reducing of the output voltage of the converter includes controlling the output voltage of the converter to be lower than a voltage of the auxiliary battery, such that an output current of the auxiliary battery is supplied to the loads.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the reducing of the output voltage of the converter includes providing the output current of the auxiliary battery to the loads by stopping the converter.