CHARGING DEVICE

• US 20170187215A1
• Filed: 03/09/2017
• Published: 06/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTN Corporation
• Original Assignee: NTN Corporation
• Inventors: Mizutani, Masatoshi, Mori, Natsuhiko, NODA, Hiroyuki
• Application Number:
  US15/454,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20170187215A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/00 Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle with power supply from force of nature, e.g. sun or wind, B60L8/00; for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways B60L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/50 Charging stations characterised by energy-storage or power-generation means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00711 with introduction of pulses during the charging process
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/4208 Arrangements for improving power factor of AC input
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/12 using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
• 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 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

Abstract

A charging device includes a rectifier circuit that rectifies an alternating current of an AC power supply, and outputs the rectified alternating current as a pulsating current; power factor correction unit that enhances a power factor of the pulsating current outputted from the rectifier circuit; and an output circuit. The output circuit has an output terminal connecting to a charging terminal of a charging target device, and outputs a power-factor-corrected pulsating current outputted from the power factor correction unit, without performing voltage smoothing. The charging device further includes charging level detection unit that monitors a terminal voltage of a battery of the charging target device, and detects a charging level of the battery based on a fluctuating range of a ripple voltage, in the terminal voltage, generated by the pulsating current.

Claims

1. A charging device comprising:

a rectifier circuit configured to rectify an alternating current of an AC power supply, and output the rectified alternating current as a pulsating current;

a power factor correction unit configured to enhance a power factor of the pulsating current outputted from the rectifier circuit; and

an output circuit, having an output terminal that connects to a charging terminal of a charging target device, configured to output a power-factor-corrected pulsating current outputted from the power factor correction unit, without performing voltage smoothing.

2. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power factor correction unit is configured to shape a current waveform of the pulsating current outputted from the rectifier circuit into a rectangular shape, and to narrow a width between wave crests to obtain the power-factor-corrected pulsating current.

3. The charging device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a charging level detection unit configured to monitor a terminal voltage of a battery of the charging target device to detect a charging level of the battery based on a fluctuating range of a ripple voltage in the terminal voltage generated by the pulsating current.