ELECTRIC VEHICLE POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM

• US 20150097426A1
• Filed: 09/04/2014
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Inventors: YAMANE, Futoshi, ISHIKAWA, Masami, MURAOKA, Mitsutoshi, YOSHIDA, Taro, MURAYAMA, Yoshinari, FURUSAWA, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 10,202,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/02 characterised by the form of the current used in the control circuit
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0007 Measures or means for preventing or attenuating collisions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0023 Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0092 with use of redundant elements for safety purposes
• 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 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• 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: H02H 7/16 for capacitors for synchronous capacitors H02H7/06
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/322 Means for rapidly discharging a capacitor of the converter for protecting electrical components or for preventing electrical shock
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1584 with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel
• 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

A power conversion system includes a controller to control discharge of a smoothing condenser based on at least one signal received through an input. The at least one signal indicates a failure of a discharge circuit configured to discharge the smoothing condenser The controller controls discharge of stored charge in the smoothing condenser through parasitic resistance components of a power system which includes the smoothing condenser. The power conversion system may be used with an electric vehicle.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle power conversion system, comprising:

a motor driving power system to output a DC voltage from a DC main power supply to a motor generator through an inverter circuit; and

a control circuit to control the motor driving power system, wherein;

the motor driving power system is to connect a smoothing condenser for smoothing the DC voltage, a resistor, and a semiconductor switch element in series,

the motor driving power system includes an exclusive discharge circuit to discharge stored charge from the smoothing condenser,

the control circuit includes a discharge controller to simultaneously turn on a first set of upper and lower arms when a failure of the exclusive discharge circuit is detected, the upper and lower arms including power semiconductors of the inverter circuit, and

the discharge controller to discharge the stored charge from the smoothing condenser through parasitic resistance components of the upper and lower arms.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the discharge controller is to detect the failure of the exclusive discharge circuit depending on whether or not an inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing condenser is able to be discharged to a target voltage within a predetermined time.

3. The system as claimed from claim 1, wherein:

the motor driving power system outputs the DC voltage from the DC main power supply to the motor generator through a voltage booster circuit and the inverter circuit;

the discharge controller simultaneously turns on a second set of upper and lower arms when a failure of the exclusive discharge circuit is detected, the second set of upper and lower arms including serial-connected power semiconductors of the voltage booster circuit, or to simultaneously turn on the first set of upper and lower arms including power semiconductors of the inverter circuit, and

the discharge controller is to discharge the stored charge from the smoothing condenser through parasitic resistance components of the second set of upper and lower arms of the voltage booster circuit or the first set of upper and lower arms of the inverter circuit.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the smoothing condenser includes a first smoothing condenser between the DC main power supply and the voltage booster circuit, and a second smoothing condenser between the voltage booster circuit and the inverter circuit.

5. An apparatus, comprising:

an input coupled to a circuit; and

a controller to control discharge of a smoothing condenser based on at least one signal received through the input, the at least one signal indicating failure of a discharge circuit configured to discharge the smoothing condenser, the controller to control discharge of stored charge in the smoothing condenser through parasitic resistance components of a power system which includes the smoothing condenser.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the failure of the discharge circuit prevents the discharge circuit from discharging the smoothing condenser.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the input is an input of the controller.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller is to detect the failure from the signal when an inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing condenser is unable to be discharged to a target voltage within a predetermined time.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the parasitic resistance components are included in a voltage booster circuit or in a inverter circuit.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller is to control discharge of the stored charge in the smoothing condenser independently from the discharge circuit having the failure.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller is to control discharge of the stored charge in the smoothing condenser along a signal path that bypasses the discharge circuit.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the power system is a motor driving power system of a vehicle.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circuit is a detector or an inverter.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a first discharge circuit;

a second discharge circuit; and

a controller to control discharge of a charge storage device through one of the first discharge circuit or the second discharge circuit, wherein the controller is to control discharge of the charge storage device through the first discharge circuit when the first discharge circuit does not have a failure and is to control discharge of the charge storage device through the second discharge circuit when the first discharge circuit has a failure, and wherein the charge storage device is discharged through the second discharge circuit along a path that bypasses the first discharge circuit.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the charge storage device is a smoothing condenser.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the controller is to determine that the first discharge circuit has a failure when an inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing condenser is unable to be discharged through the first discharge circuit to a target voltage within a predetermined time.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the controller is to detect the failure of the first discharge circuit when an inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing condenser is unable to be discharged to a target voltage within a predetermined time.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second discharge circuit includes parasitic resistance components of a power system, and wherein the charge storage device is discharged through the parasitic resistance components of the second discharge circuit when the first discharge circuit has a failure.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the parasitic resistance components are included in a voltage booster circuit.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the charge storage device is coupled to a motor of an electric vehicle.