ELECTRIC VEHICLE HIGH-VOLTAGE SYSTEM ALERT

• US 20160352120A1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Lovett, Karin, Tistle, Cathleen, Treharne, William David
• Application Number:
  US14/721,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20160352120A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/13 in order to stay within battery power input or output limits; in order to prevent overcharging or battery depletion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/244 Charge state
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/06 Ignition switch
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/06 Combustion engines, Gas turbines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18054 at stand still, e.g. engine in idling state hill holding B60W30/18118
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/00 Starting of engines by means of electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0807 Remote means
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0829 related to special engine control, e.g. giving priority to engine warming-up or learning
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/10 Safety devices F02N11/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2011/0888 DC/DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/063 Battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2300/306 with external senders or receivers, e.g. receiving signals from traffic lights, other vehicles or base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 : with safety or protection devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 : Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/14 : for charging batteries from dynamo-electric generators driven at varying speed, e.g. on vehicle
• 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 10/40 : Engine management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• 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 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/907 : Electricity storage, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

A vehicle includes a traction battery, an auxiliary battery, a voltage converter selectively coupled with the traction battery and coupled with the auxiliary battery, an indicator, and a controller. The controller may be programmed to activate the indicator to indicate presence of a voltage on a high-voltage bus indicative of a current from the traction battery to the auxiliary battery during an ignition-off period in response to detecting an auxiliary voltage on a low-voltage bus less than a minimum voltage and a voltage on the high-voltage bus greater than a predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a fraction battery;

a voltage converter selectively coupled with the traction battery;

an auxiliary battery coupled with the voltage converter;

an indicator; and

a controller programmed to, in response to selectively coupling the traction battery to the voltage converter via a high-voltage bus to provide current from the traction battery to the auxiliary battery during an ignition-off period, activate the indicator to indicate a presence of a voltage on the high-voltage bus.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the indicator is a light emitting device mounted on a dashboard of the vehicle and wherein activating the indicator includes causing the light emitting device to blink such that light waves propagate to an interior of the vehicle and to an exterior of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 further including an instrument cluster, including a cluster face, coupled to the controller, wherein the indicator is a light emitting device on the cluster face of the instrument cluster and activating the indicator is illuminating the light emitting device.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the indicator is a chime and activating the indicator causes sound waves to emit from the chime.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a high-voltage interlock mechanism coupled with the voltage converter, traction battery and the controller, and configured to selectively couple the traction battery to the voltage converter in response to activation of the high-voltage interlock mechanism.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a wireless communications module coupled to the controller, and wherein activating the indicator includes outputting an alert via the wireless communications module to a device remote from the vehicle.

7. The vehicle of claim 6 further comprising an engine and an electric machine mechanically coupled to the engine and electrically coupled to the traction battery, and wherein the controller is further programmed to receive an ignition-on request from the device via the wireless communications module, and in response to the ignition-on request, start the engine and operate the electric machine to generate electricity to recharge the traction battery and the auxiliary battery.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising an engine and an electric machine mechanically coupled to the engine and electrically coupled to the traction battery, and wherein the controller is further programmed to, in response to activation of the indicator and a state of charge of the traction battery being less than a predetermined threshold, output an engine-start signal and operate the electric machine to generate electricity to recharge the traction battery and the auxiliary battery.

9. A battery management system comprising:

an indicator; and

at least one controller programmed to, in response to detecting an auxiliary voltage on a low-voltage bus less than a minimum voltage and a voltage on a high-voltage bus greater than a predetermined threshold indicative of a current from a traction battery to an auxiliary battery during an ignition-off period, activate the indicator to indicate presence of the voltage on the high-voltage bus.

10. The battery management system of claim 9 further including an instrument cluster having a cluster face and coupled to the controller, wherein the indicator is a light emitting device on the cluster face and wherein activating the indicator includes illuminating the light emitting device.

11. The battery management system of claim 9 further including a wireless communications module coupled to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to transmit the indicator via the wireless communications module to a remote device in response to detecting a voltage on the high-voltage bus.

12. The battery management system of claim 11, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to receive an ignition-on request from the remote device via the wireless communications module, and in response to the ignition-on request, output an engine-start signal and command an electric machine to generate electricity to recharge the traction battery and the auxiliary battery.

13. The battery management system of claim 9, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed to, in response to the indicator and a state of charge of the traction battery being less than a predetermined threshold, output an engine-start signal and operate an electric machine to generate electricity to recharge the traction battery and the auxiliary battery.

14. A method for generating a high-voltage indicator in a vehicle, the method comprising:

outputting, by a controller, a signal to activate an indicator, in response to detecting a voltage on a high-voltage bus greater than a predetermined threshold indicative of a flow of electric charge from a traction battery to an auxiliary battery during an ignition-off period.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising, in response to the outputting, starting an engine of the vehicle and operating an electric machine coupled to the engine to recharge the traction battery and the auxiliary battery.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising, in response to the outputting, illuminating by a light emitting device mounted on a dashboard of the vehicle an interior of the vehicle and an exterior of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising, in response to the outputting, illuminating a lamp on a cluster face of an instrument cluster.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising, in response to the outputting, emitting sound waves from a chime.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting, by the controller, the signal to a device remote from the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising

receiving an ignition-on request from the device;

and

outputting, by the controller, an engine-start signal.