POWER CONVERSION SYSTEM AND CONNECTOR

• US 20160072341A1
• Filed: 04/23/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: TAMURA, Hideki, KAGAWA, Takuya, KIDERA, Kazunori
• Granted Patent: US 10,536,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/24 by lever actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/30 Preventing theft during charging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• 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 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/62 in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/19 Switching between serial connection and parallel connection of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/24 for controlling the temperature of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/061 for DC powered loads
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• 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 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

A power conversion system includes a power conversion device, a connector, and a processing module. The power conversion device is connected to a power system. The attached state and the unattached state of the connector relative to a connecting port that is provided in an apparatus having a battery mounted therein can be selected. The processing module is configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred when a voltage is applied to a portion that electrically connects the connector and the connecting port in a period in which transmission of electric power with respect to the battery is stopped.

Claims

1. A power conversion system comprising:

a power conversion device configured to be connected to a power system;

a connector whose attached state and unattached state relative to a connecting port provided in an apparatus having a battery mounted therein can be selected; and

a processing module configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred when a voltage is applied to a portion that electrically connects the connector and the connecting port in a period in which transmission of electric power with respect to the battery is stopped.

2. The power conversion system according to claim 1, comprising:

a switching device which intervenes in an electric path between the power conversion device and the battery in the connector, the switching device is configured so that closed state in which the electric path is made conductive and open state in which the electric path is made non-conductive are selected,

a switching mechanism configured to allow the switching device to enter the closed state when the connector is in the attached state in the connector and places the switching device in the open state when the connector is in the unattached state, and

the processing module comprises;

a first detector configured to detect whether the switching device is in the open state or the closed state;

a second detector configured to detect whether the connector is in the attached state or the unattached state; and

a determining module configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred when the first detector detects the closed state and the second detector detects the unattached state.

3. The power conversion system according to claim 2, wherein

the first detector and the second detector are provided in the connector.

4. The power conversion system according to claim 2, wherein

the switching device includes a main contact that opens and closes the electric path and an auxiliary contact that is opened or closed in synchronization with the main contact, and

the first detector is configured to detect whether the switching device is in the open state or the closed state by monitoring a contact state of the auxiliary contact.

5. The power conversion system according to claim 1, wherein

the processing module comprises:

a measuring module configured to measure a voltage value at a measurement point set in the electric path between the switching device and the battery in the connector; and

a determining module configured to compare the voltage value measured by the measuring module with a predetermined threshold, and

the determining module is configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred when the voltage value measured by the measuring module exceeds the threshold in a state in which a second switching device intervened in a second electric path provided between the battery and the connecting port makes the second electric path non-conductive.

6. The power conversion system according to claim 5, wherein

the determining module is configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred in the second switching device when the voltage value measured by the measuring module exceeds the threshold in a state in which electric power is not output from the power conversion device and the second switching device is instructed to enter the open state in which the second electric path is made non-conductive.

7. The power conversion system according to claim 5, wherein

the connector comprises a discharging module configured to discharge residual charges generated by a capacitive component between the second switching device and the power conversion device in the electric path between the power conversion device and the battery.

8. The power conversion system according to claim 7, wherein

the discharging module also functions as the measuring module.

9. The power conversion system according to claim 3, wherein

the processing module is provided in the connector, and

the connector comprises a notification module configured to notify the power conversion device of a binary signal indicating a result of determination by the processing module.

18. The power conversion system according to claim 1, wherein

the apparatus is an electric vehicle that has a storage battery mounted as the battery and employs the storage battery as a travelling energy source.

10. A power conversion system comprising:

a conversion circuit configured to convert electric power from a first battery mounted in an apparatus into electric power that is supplied to a power system;

a control circuit configured to control an operation of the conversion circuit;

a control power supply configured to receive electric power from at least one of the power system and the conversion circuit and to supply electric power to the control circuit; and

a connector whose attached state and unattached state relative to a connecting port provided in the apparatus can be selected and which forms an electric path between the first battery and the conversion circuit, wherein

the connector forms an auxiliary electric path along which electric power is supplied from a second battery mounted in the apparatus to the control power supply.

11. The power conversion system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a switching device configured to open the auxiliary electric path in a period in which the control power supply receives electric power from one of the power system and the conversion circuit and to make the auxiliary electric path conductive in a period in which the supply of electric power from the power system and the conversion circuit to the control power supply is stopped.

12. The power conversion system according to claim 11, wherein

the connector comprises an actuator configured to be made conductive when the connector is in the attached state relative to the connecting port so that the attached state relative to the connecting port is maintained,

the auxiliary electric path also functions as an electric path along which electric power is supplied from the control power supply to the actuator, and

the switching device is intervened between the second battery and the actuator.

13. The power conversion system according to claim 12, wherein

a voltage value that the control power supply outputs to the auxiliary electric path is set to be higher than a voltage value that the second battery outputs to the auxiliary electric path.

14. The power conversion system according to claim 12, further comprising:

a power reception controller configured to inhibit the control power supply from receiving electric power from the second battery in a period in which the control power supply receives electric power from one of the power system and the conversion circuit.

15. The power conversion system according to claim 11, wherein

the switching device is a momentary switch included in the connector.

16. The power conversion system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a processing module configured to determine presence or absence of weld of a switching device intervened between the first battery and the connecting port and to send an instruction to allow the switching device to be maintained in an ON state when weld of the switching device is detected.

17. The power conversion system according to claim 11, wherein

an electric path along which electric power is supplied from the second battery to a second control power supply provided in the connector also functions as a signal transmission path.

19. A connector comprising:

a body whose attached state and unattached state relative to a connecting port provided in an apparatus having a battery mounted therein can be selected;

a switching mechanism that includes an actuator and is configured, when the body is in the attached state relative to the connecting port, to select between a lock state in which removal of the body from the connecting port is inhibited and an unlock state in which removal of the body from the connecting port is allowed;

a first power feeding module configured to supply electric power from a power conversion device connected to a power system to the actuator; and

a second power feeding module configured to supply electric power from at least the apparatus, of the power conversion device and the apparatus, to the actuator, wherein

the actuator is configured to place the switching mechanism in the lock state in a period in which electric power is supplied and to place the switching mechanism in the unlock state in a period in which electric power is not supplied.

20. The connector according to claim 19, wherein

the first power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from the power conversion device through a path separate from an electric path between the power conversion device and the battery, and

the second power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from the electric path between the power conversion device and the battery.

21. The connector according to claim 19, further comprising:

a switching circuit in which a switching device intervened between the first and second power feeding modules and the actuator is provided, wherein

the first power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from the power conversion device through a path separate from an electric path between the power conversion device and the battery,

the second power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from an auxiliary power supply provided in the apparatus through a path separate from the electric path, and

the switching circuit includes a controller configured to place the switching device in an ON state when at least one of a voltage value received by the first power feeding module and a voltage value of the electric path is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold.

22. The connector according to claim 19, further comprising:

a switching circuit in which a switching device intervened between the first and second power feeding modules and the actuator is provided, wherein

the first power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from the power conversion device through a path separate from an electric path between the power conversion device and the battery,

the second power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from an auxiliary power supply provided in the apparatus through a path separate from the electric path,

the switching device is a self-holding switching device,

the switching circuit is configured to place the switching device in the ON state when a voltage value received by the first power feeding module rises and to place the switching device in an OFF state when the voltage value falls, and

the first power feeding module includes a backflow prevention diode between a portion that receives electric power from the power conversion device and a portion that supplies electric power to the actuator.

23. The connector according to claim 20, wherein

the first power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from the power conversion device through a path separate from an electric path between the power conversion device and the battery and to supply electric power to the actuator, and

the second power feeding module is configured to receive electric power from an auxiliary power supply provided in the apparatus through a path separate from the electric path and to supply electric power to the actuator.

25. The connector according to claim 19, wherein

the apparatus is an electric vehicle that has a storage battery mounted as the battery and employs the storage battery as a travelling energy source.

24. A connector comprising:

a body whose attached state and unattached state relative to a connecting port provided in an apparatus having a battery mounted therein can be selected;

a switching mechanism that includes a latch-type actuator configured to operate, when a pulsed driving voltage is applied, and that is configured, when the body is in the attached state relative to the connecting port, to select between a lock state in which removal of the body from the connecting port is inhibited and an unlock state in which removal of the body from the connecting port is allowed;

a processing module configured to determine that a malfunction has occurred when a voltage is applied to a portion that electrically connects the connector and the connecting port in a period in which transmission of electric power with respect to the battery is stopped; and

a disabling circuit configured to disable the driving voltage so that the driving voltage that places the switching mechanism in the unlock state is not applied to the actuator in a period in which the processing module has determined that a malfunction had occurred.