CHARGING APPARATUS

• US 20140055080A1
• Filed: 04/22/2011
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Hatanaka, Keita, Kitanaka, Hidetoshi, Matsumura, Yasushi, Ishikura, Syuji
• Application Number:
  US14/113,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055080A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/103
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/10 Air crafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/32 Waterborne vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/527 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/529 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/20 using propulsion power generated by humans or animals
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/53 in combination with an external power supply, e.g. from overhead contact lines
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/28 polyphase motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60M 3/00 Feeding power to supply lines in contact with collector on vehicles; Arrangements for consuming regenerative power controlling rail vehicles by varying voltage of power fed to vehicle B60L; power distribution in general H02J
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 5/00 Circuit arrangements for transfer of electric power between ac networks and dc networks H02J3/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• 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
• 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

Abstract

A charging apparatus includes a power receiving unit that includes a rectifier, receives AC power, and converts the AC power into DC power, a power storage device that has DC power stored therein, a DC/DC converter that can execute a bidirectional power-flow control including a control of charging to the power storage device and a control of discharging from the power storage device using an output of the rectifier, and a control unit that controls operations of the power receiving unit and the DC/DC converter. In the charging apparatus, an output voltage of the rectifier is set different from an output voltage of the DC/DC converter that is applied to an output terminal of the rectifier when the power storage device is discharged.

Claims

1. A charging apparatus comprising:

a power receiving unit that includes a rectifier at an output stage, receives AC power, and converts the AC power into DC power;

a power storage device that has DC power stored therein;

a DC/DC converter that can execute a bidirectional power-flow control including a control of charging to the power storage device and a control of discharging from the power storage device using an output of the rectifier; and

a control unit that controls operations of the power receiving unit and the DC/DC converter, wherein

an output voltage of the rectifier is set different from an output voltage of the DC/DC converter that is applied to an output terminal of the rectifier when the power storage device is discharged.

2. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output voltage of the rectifier is lower than the output voltage of the DC/DC converter that is applied to the output terminal of the rectifier when the power storage device is discharged.

3. The charging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit includes a charging control system that performs constant current charging to the power storage device using an output of the rectifier, and a discharging control system that discharges stored power in the power storage device to perform constant voltage charging to another power storage device that is externally provided.

4. The charging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the control unit at least includes

a control-target computation unit that generates a first current command that is a command value of a charging current to the power storage device or a target voltage that is a target value of a voltage applied when the another power storage device is to be charged,

a voltage control unit that generates a second current command that is a command value of a current for maintaining an application voltage applied to the output terminal of the rectifier at a constant value based on a difference between the target voltage and the application voltage,

a conduction-ratio computation unit that computes a conduction ratio of a switching element included in the DC/DC converter, and

a control-system switching unit that switches a control system of the control unit to either the charging control system or the discharging control system, and

when the control system is switched to the charging control system, an output of the control-target computation unit is input to the conduction-ratio computation unit, and

when the control system is switched to the discharging control system, the output of the control-target computation unit is input to the voltage control unit and an output of the voltage control unit is input to the conduction-ratio computation unit.

5. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an output voltage of the rectifier that is output at a time of a charging control of the power storage device is higher than an output voltage of the DC/DC converter that is applied to the output terminal of the rectifier at a time of a discharging control of the power storage device.

6. The charging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the power receiving unit includes an AC circuit breaker, and

the control unit opens the AC circuit breaker to interrupt received power at a time of discharging waiting of the power storage device and at the time of a discharging control of the power storage device.

7. The charging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the power receiving unit includes an AC circuit breaker, and

the control unit opens the AC circuit breaker to interrupt received power at the time of discharging waiting of the power storage device, and closes the AC circuit breaker to supply the received power at the time of a discharging control of the power storage device.

8. The charging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit includes a charging control system that performs constant current charging to the power storage device using an output of the rectifier, and a discharging control system that discharges stored power in the power storage device to perform constant voltage charging to another power storage device that is externally provided.

9. The charging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the control unit at least includes

a control-target computation unit that generates a first current command that is a command value of a charging current to the power storage device or a target voltage that is a target value of a voltage applied when the another power storage device is to be charged,

a voltage control unit that generates a second current command that is a command value of a current for maintaining an application voltage applied to an output terminal of the rectifier at a constant value based on a difference between the target voltage and the application voltage,

a conduction-ratio computation unit that computes a conduction ratio of a switching element included in the DC/DC converter, and

a control-system switching unit that switches a control system of the control unit to either the charging control system or the discharging control system, and

when the control system is switched to the charging control system, an output of the control-target computation unit is input to the conduction-ratio computation unit, and

when the control system is switched to the discharging control system, the output of the control-target computation unit is input to the voltage control unit, and an output of the voltage control unit is input to the conduction-ratio computation unit.

10. The charging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit includes a charging control system that performs constant current charging to the power storage device using an output of the rectifier, and a discharging control system that discharges stored power in the power storage device to perform constant voltage charging to another power storage device that is externally provided.