CHARGING APPARATUS AND OPERATION METHOD THEREOF

• US 20140021780A1
• Filed: 07/18/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LSIS Co. Ltd. (LS Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LSIS Co. Ltd. (LS Corporation)
• Inventors: CHOI, Heon Soo, KWON, Gi Hyun
• Granted Patent: US 9,481,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/9.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/12 Buck converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/526 Operating parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/54 related to batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/008 Plural converter units for generating at two or more independent and non-parallel outputs, e.g. systems with plural point of load switching regulators
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0095 Hybrid converter topologies, e.g. NPC mixed with flying capacitor, thyristor converter mixed with MMC or charge pump mixed with buck
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/32 Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/2173 in a biphase or polyphase circuit arrangement H02M7/2176 takes precedence; voltage multipliers H02M7/25
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/219 in a bridge configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/797 using semiconductor devices only
• 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 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Disclosed is a charging apparatus to supply a power to a battery of an electric vehicle. The charging apparatus includes a bidirectional power conversion unit including three pairs of switching device groups and having one end connected to a power system and an opposite end; an energy storage unit connected to the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to store the DC power output through the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit; a multi-DC power output unit to output the DC power to an outside in the first inverse operation mode; and a charging control unit to detect a charging condition of the charging apparatus. The switching device groups serve as buck-converters, respectively, in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power into another DC power having a level different from a level of the DC power.

Claims

1. A charging apparatus to supply a power to a battery of an electric vehicle, the charging apparatus comprising:

a bidirectional power conversion unit including three pairs of switching device groups and having one end connected to a power system and an opposite end connected to an energy storage unit, in which the bidirectional power conversion unit converts an AC power input through the one end into a DC power to output the DC power to the opposite end in a forward operation mode and converts the DC power input through the opposite end into a plurality of DC powers to output the DC powers to the one end in a first inverse operation mode;

the energy storage unit connected to the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to store the DC power output through the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit;

a multi-DC power output unit disposed between the power system and the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to output the DC power, which is output through the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit, to an outside in the first inverse operation mode; and

a charging control unit to detect a charging condition of the charging apparatus, in which the charging control unit operates the bidirectional power conversion unit in the forward operation mode to charge the energy storage unit when the charging condition is a first condition and operates the bidirectional power conversion unit in the first inverse operation mode to output the DC power through the multi-DC power output unit when the charging condition is a second condition,

wherein the three pairs of the switching device groups of the bidirectional power conversion unit serve as buck-converters, respectively, in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power into another DC power having a level different from a level of the DC power.

2. The charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bidirectional power conversion unit serves as an AC-DC converter in the forward operation mode and serves as a plurality of buck-converters in the first inverse operation mode.

3. The charging apparatus of claim 2, wherein the power system supplies a 3-phase AC power, and

the three pairs of the switching device groups comprise:

a first switching device group connected to a first phase of the power system;

a second switching device group connected to a second phase of the power system; and

a third switching device group connected to a third phase of the power system, and

wherein each of the first to third switching groups serves as a buck-converter in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power stored in the energy storage unit into another DC power having a level different from a level of the DC power.

4. The charging apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a first switch having one end connected to the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit and an opposite end selectively connected to one of an input line of the 3-phase AC power and the multi-DC power output unit.

5. The charging apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a DC power output unit connected to the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to output the DC power converted by the bidirectional power conversion unit to the outside,

wherein the DC power output to the outside has a level higher than a level of the DC power converted by the bidirectional power conversion unit in the first inverse operation mode.

6. The charging apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a second switch having one end connected to the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit and an opposite end selectively connected to one of the energy storage unit and the DC power output unit to output the converted DC power to one of the energy storage unit and the DC power output unit.

7. The charging apparatus of claim 6, further comprising an input filter disposed between the power system and the bidirectional power conversion unit to supply the AC power to the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit by removing noise contained in the AC power supplied from the power system.

8. The charging apparatus of claim 6, wherein the bidirectional power conversion unit serves as a DC-AC converter which converts the DC power input through the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit into the AC power to output the AC power to the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit in a second inverse operation mode, and

the first switch connects the DC power output unit to the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit in the first inverse operation mode of the bidirectional power conversion unit, and connects the input line of the 3-phase AC power to the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit in the second inverse operation mode of the bidirectional power conversion unit.

9. The charging apparatus of claim 8, further comprising an AC power output unit connected to the input line of the 3-phase AC power to output the AC power supplied through the one end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to the electric vehicle located outside in the second inverse operation mode.

10. A method of operating a charging apparatus including a bidirectional power conversion unit, the method comprising:

checking a preset charging condition;

converting an AC power supplied from a power system into a single DC power to charge an internal battery with the single DC power when the preset charging condition satisfies a first condition;

supplying the single DC power to an electric vehicle when the preset charging condition satisfies a second condition; and

converting the single DC power charged in the internal battery into a plurality of DC powers to supply the DC powers to at least one electric vehicle when the preset charging condition satisfies a third condition.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the charging condition includes at least one of a unit price of power, a charging state of the internal battery and a connection state of the electric vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the bidirectional power conversion unit operates in a forward operation mode in the first condition and the second condition, and operates in a first inverse operation mode in the third condition.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of switching device groups included in the bidirectional power conversion unit serves as a buck-converter that converts the DC power into another DC power having a level different from a level of the DC power in the third condition.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising converting the DC power stored in the internal battery into the AC power to output the AC power to the electric vehicle when the preset charging condition satisfies a fourth condition,

wherein the bidirectional power conversion unit operates in a second inverse operation mode under the fourth condition to serve as a DC-AC converter.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising converting the DC power stored in the internal battery into the AC power to recover the AC power to the power system when the preset charging condition satisfies a fifth condition,

wherein the bidirectional power conversion unit operates in the second inverse operation mode under the fifth condition to serve as a DC-AC converter.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first condition is that there is no connected electric vehicle and the unit price of power is equal to or less than a preset reference price,

the second condition is that the electric vehicle is connected to an output terminal of the bidirectional power conversion unit operating in the forward operation mode,

the third condition is that the electric vehicle is connected to the output terminal of the bidirectional power conversion unit operating in the first inverse operation mode,

the fourth condition is that the electric vehicle is connected to the output terminal of the bidirectional power conversion unit operating in the second inverse operation mode, and

the fifth condition is that there is no connected electric vehicle and the internal battery is fully charged.