Multiple input single-stage inductive charger

• US 6,548,985 B1
• Filed: 03/22/2002
• Issued: 04/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Henze, Christopher P., Hayes, John G., Radys, Ray G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Application Number:
  US10/104,138
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 320/108, 320/109, 363/17, 363/21.02, 363/37, 363/170
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/10 Arrangements incorporating converting means for enabling loads to be operated at will from different kinds of power supplies, e.g. from ac or dc
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/4258 using a single converter stage both for correction of AC input power factor and generation of a regulated and galvanically isolated DC output voltage H02M1/4241 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/01 Resonant DC/DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33571 Half-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33573 Full-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer
• 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 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

An inductive charger includes a rectifier that can be connected to both single- and three-phase power sources. The rectifier includes first, second and third legs that include first and second diodes. Alternately, the third leg includes first and second silicon-controlled rectifiers. A capacitor is connected across an output of the rectifier. An inverter is connected to the rectifier and the capacitor and includes a plurality of switching circuits. A series resonant tank circuit is connected to an output of the inverter. A charge coupler and an inductive inlet include a transformer and a parallel resonant tank circuit for coupling energy to a load. A controller is connected to the rectifier and the inverter. The controller generates drive signals for controlling the switching circuits. The inductive charger is capable of providing approximately 0.99 power factor from single-phase and 0.91 power factor at twice the output power from three-phase power sources.

Claims

1. An inductive charger that is capable of using both single-phase and three-phase power sources, comprising:

a rectifier that can be connected to both single- and three-phase power sources;

a capacitor connected across an output of said rectifier;

an inverter that is connected to said rectifier and said capacitor and that includes a plurality of switching circuits;

a series resonant tank circuit connected to an output of said inverter;

a charge coupler and an inductive inlet including a transformer and a parallel resonant tank circuit for coupling energy to a load; and

a controller that is connected to said rectifier and said inverter, that generates drive signals for controlling said switching circuits, that operates said inductive charger in a super-resonant mode and that regulates output power to said battery by modulating an operating frequency and output current of said inductive charger around an input frequency and an input current.

2. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said parallel tank circuit includes a first inductor connected in parallel to a first capacitor and said series tank circuit includes a second inductor connected in series to a second capacitor.

3. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said load is a battery of an electric vehicle.

4. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said inverter is a full-bridge inverter.

5. The inductive charger of claim 4 wherein said inverter includes four switching circuits each with a controlled switch, an anti-parallel diode, and a snubber capacitor.

6. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein when said power supply is a single-phase power supply, said inductive charger provides a power factor of approximately 0.99.

7. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein when said power supply is a three-phase power supply, said inductive charger provides a power factor of approximately 0.91.

8. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said rectifier includes first, second and third legs, and wherein each of said first, second and third legs include first and second diodes.

9. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said rectifier includes first, second and third legs, and wherein both said first and second legs include first and second diodes and said third leg includes first and second controlled switches.

10. The inductive charger of claim 9 wherein said controlled switches are silicon-controlled rectifiers.

11. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said controller includes:

an amplifier that generates a current reference signal from said input current;

an attenuator that produces a voltage reference signal from said input voltage;

a multiplier that generates a product signal based on said voltage reference signal and a power command signal;

a differential circuit that generates an error signal and that has an inverting input connected to said current reference signal and a non-inverting input connected to said product signal;

a compensator that generates a compensated signal from said error signal; and

a gate driver that produces drive signals for said switching circuits of said inverter.

12. The inductive charger of claim 11 wherein said attenuator rectifies and attenuates said AC line voltage.

13. The inductive charger of claim 1 wherein said inductive charger has a first output power when connected to said single-phase power source and approximately twice said first output power when connected to said three-phase power source.

14. An inductive charger system comprising:

a rectifier that can be connected to both single-phase and three-phase power sources and wherein said rectifier includes first, second and third legs;

a filter capacitor coupled across said rectifier;

an inverter coupled to said rectifier and said filter capacitor;

a series resonant tank circuit coupled to said inverter;

a charge coupler and inductive inlet including a transformer and a parallel resonant tank circuit for coupling energy to a load; and

a controller for regulating power supplied to said load by increasing said operating frequency of said system to reduce output current for a given voltage.

15. The inductive charger of claim 14 wherein said inductive charger system has a first output power when connected to said single-phase power source and approximately twice said first output power when connected to said three-phase power source.

16. The system recited in claim 14 wherein said filter capacitor comprises a high frequency non-electrolytic filter capacitor.

17. The system recited in claim 14 wherein said inverter includes a MOSFET-based full-bridge inverter.

18. The system recited in claim 14 wherein said inverter comprises a MOSFET-based half-bridge inverter.

19. The system recited in claim 14 wherein said load includes batteries of an electric vehicle.

20. The system recited in claim 14 wherein said full bridge inverter includes a plurality of controlled switches, intrinsic anti-parallel diodes, and snubber capacitors to facilitate zero-voltage-switching.

21. The system recited in claim 20 wherein first and third switches of said inverter are gated to second and fourth switches of said inverter in a complementary fashion.