ELECTRIC VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE

• US 20140312810A1
• Filed: 07/01/2014
• Published: 10/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: TODA, Shinichi, YASUOKA, Ikuo, YUUKI, Kazuaki, MOCHIZUKI, Yasufumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,327,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 318/139
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/007 Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/025 using field orientation; Vector control; Direct Torque Control [DTC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/20 for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• 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 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/20 Inrush current reduction, i.e. avoiding high currents when connecting the battery
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or 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 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/16 responding to battery ageing, e.g. to the number of charging cycles or the state of health [SoH]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/25 by controlling the electric load
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/28 polyphase motors
• 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 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an electric vehicle control apparatus is provided with a converter having a diode and a switching device which convert an AC voltage or a DC voltage supplied from an input side into a DC voltage, whose output side is connected to a main motor through an inverter, a battery connected to the converter through a reactor, to provide a power source for the main motor, and a boosting chopper circuit composed the diode and the switching device which the converter has, so as to boost a voltage of the battery.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

a converter having a diode and a switching device which convert an AC voltage or a DC voltage supplied from an input side into a DC voltage, whose output side is connected to a main motor through an inverter;

a battery connected to the converter through a reactor, to supply a power source of the main motor; and

a boosting chopper circuit comprising the diode and the switching device which the converter has, so as to boost a voltage of the battery.

2. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the boosting chopper circuit, the diode and the switching device included in a phase of the converter are connected.

3. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a backflow preventing diode to prevent a current from flowing in a direction to charge the battery is provided between the battery and the converter.

4. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the battery supplies a power so as to control a vehicle on which the main motor is loaded.

5. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

in the AC voltage supplied from the input side,

a transformer to transform the AC voltage and to supply the converted AC voltage to the converter;

the converter connected to a secondary winding side of the transformer;

the chopper circuit uses the secondary winding of the transformer as the reactor.

6. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the diode and the switching device for boosting by the boosting chopper circuit, and a part of the diode and the switching device for the converter are shared, and thereby the converter and the boosting chopper circuit are integrated.

7. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the boosting chopper circuit further comprises a filter capacitor; and

the boosting chopper circuit changes an ON/OFF cycle of the switching device, to boost the voltage of the battery.

8. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

when the vehicle moves on a place without an overhead line, a pantograph to contact with the overhead line is made non-contact, and the power is supplied from the battery to the inverter.

9. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

an AC high-speed circuit breaker connected to the pantograph;

a transformer connected to the pantograph, to supply the voltage supplied through the pantograph to the converter side;

a contactor for short-circuiting a charging resistor connected to an input side of the converter, and connected to a secondary side of the transformer; and

an opening contactor connected between the battery and the boosting chopper circuit;

wherein, when the vehicle runs with the power of the battery, the AC high-speed circuit breaker, and the contactor for short-circuiting a charging resistor are opened, and the opening contactor is connected, and thereby the boosting chopper performs boosting in accordance with a conduction ratio of the switching device.

10. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

when the vehicle runs on a place with an overhead line, the AC high-speed circuit breaker, and the contactor for short-circuiting a charging resistor are connected, and the opening contactor is opened, and the converter converts the AC voltage of the supplied power into the DC voltage.

11. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a switch control unit;

in which a filter capacitor voltage command value regarding a voltage of the filter capacitor required for driving the main motor is set;

which calculates a battery discharge current command value to determine a discharge current flowing from the battery, based on the filter capacitor voltage command value and a voltage measured from the filter capacitor; and

which calculates a conduction ratio of the switching device of the boosting chopper circuit, based on the battery discharge current command value and an actual discharge current value of the battery.

12. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a battery state detection mechanism to detect a charging state of the battery;

wherein the battery state detection mechanism detects the charging state of the battery, and outputs a startup command to the inverter based on the detection result.

13. An electric vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

a converter having a diode and a switching device which convert an AC voltage or a DC voltage supplied from an input side into a DC voltage, whose output side is connected to a main motor through an inverter; and

a boosting chopper circuit including a reactor connected to the converter, and the diode and the switching device which the converter has, so as to boost a voltage supplied from a battery.

14. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

the battery connected to the reactor, to supply a power source of the main motor.

15. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein in the boosting chopper circuit, the diode and the switching device included in a phase of the converter are connected.

16. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:

the converter has at least two phases of a U-phase and a V-phase, and further includes a U-phase upper side device composed of the diode and the switching device, and a U-phase lower side device composed of the diode and the switching device, and includes a V-phase upper side device composed of the diode and the switching device, and a V-phase lower side device composed of the diode and the switching device; and

the reactor is connected between the U-phase upper side device and the U-phase lower side device, or between the V-phase upper side device and the V-phase lower side device.

17. The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:

a minus side of the battery is connected between the U-phase upper side device and the U-phase lower side device, or between the V-phase upper side device and the V-phase lower side device.

18. An electric vehicle, comprising:

a converter having a plurality of diodes and a plurality of switching devices for converting an AC voltage supplied from an input side into a DC voltage, whose output side is connected to a main motor through an inverter;

a boosting chopper circuit including at least one of the diodes and at least one of the switching devices which the converter has, and a reactor connected to the converter;

a power collector to collect a power from an overhead line;

a transformer connected to the power collector, to transform a voltage supplied through the power collector, and to supply the transformed voltage to the converter side; and

a wheel to earth a minus side of the transformer.

19. The electric vehicle according to claim 18, further comprising:

a battery connected to the reactor, to supply a power source of the main motor.

20. The electric vehicle according to claim 19, wherein:

the converter has at least two phases of a U-phase and a V-phase, and a minus side of the battery is configured to be connected to the U-phase or the V-phase.