Power MOS voltage regulator for batteries

• US 7,528,584 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2005
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DUCATI Energia SpA
• Original Assignee: DUCATI Energia SpA
• Inventors: Regazzi, Gianni, Baldoni, Beniamino
• Primary Examiner(s): Ullah; Akm E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang; Jue
• Application Number:
  US11/110,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20050258892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,475 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/108, 320/109, 322/28
• US Class Current: 322/28
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1492 by means of controlling devices between the generator output and the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0006 Arrangements for supplying an adequate voltage to the control circuit of converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/009 having two or more independently controlled outputs for DC-DC converter with intermediate AC H02M3/33561
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1552 Boost converters exploiting the leakage inductance of a transformer or of an alternator as boost inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/2173 in a biphase or polyphase circuit arrangement H02M7/2176 takes precedence; voltage multipliers H02M7/25
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles

Abstract

A power MOS voltage regulator for recharging batteries of motor vehicles; a voltage generator is selectively connected to a battery, respectively to an earth by a controlled rectifier bridge. The rectifier bridge includes a Schottky diode connected between each phase winding of the generator and the positive terminal of the battery, and a power MOS transistor branched between the phase winding and the earth; a control electrode of the power MOS transistor is driven by a control circuit for controlling the charging state of the battery, to enable the changeover of the power MOS transistor between a conductive state and a non conductive state, and vice versa, when the voltage of the phase winding is zero.

Claims

1. A voltage regulator in an automatic voltage charging system for a battery including an AC magneto generator having a three phase winding in which each phase winding is connectable to the battery and to earth, said voltage regulator comprising:

a rectifier Schottky diode connected between each phase winding of the magneto generator and the battery and a power MOS transistor branched-off between each phase winding and an earth terminal; and

voltage control means comprising an electronic control unit for each phase winding connected to a control electrode of a respective power MOS transistor to drive the latter between ON and OFF states,

each control unit being conformed and preset to detect a phase voltage of the magneto generator, respectively to detect the voltage of the battery, and to switch the power MOS transistor between the ON and OFF states when the detected phase voltage of the magneto generator is passing through zero,

wherein all the power MOS transistors are maintained in an ON state when the battery voltage detected by the control units is higher than a rated charging value of the same battery.

2. The voltage regulator according to claim 1, in which the power MOS transistor comprises a Drain electrode connected to the phase winding of the magneto generator, and a Source electrode connected to earth, wherein, during a charging step of the battery, the power MOS transistor is maintained in an ON state when the voltage between the Drain and Source electrodes of the power MOS transistor is negative, while it is maintained in an OFF state when the voltage between the Drain and Source electrodes is positive.

3. A system for automatically charging a battery of a motor vehicle comprising:

a magneto generator having a three phase winding for generating a charge voltage for the battery;

voltage control means comprising an electronic control unit for each phase winding including a rectifier Schottky diode connected between the phase winding and a positive terminal of the battery, and a power MOS transistor having a control electrode, and a Drain-Source circuit connected between the phase winding of the magneto generator and an earth terminal;

the electronic control unit being conformed to drive the power MOS transistor between an ON and an OFF State;

a battery voltage detecting circuit connected between the positive terminal of the battery and a battery voltage memory circuit in each control unit for detecting and comparing the voltage of a charge state of the battery, with respect to a rated charging voltage;

a memory circuit in each control unit for memorizing the detected voltage of the battery, said memory circuit having an inlet side connected to said battery voltage detecting circuit; and

a phase voltage detecting circuit in each control unit for detecting the voltage of the phase windings of the magneto generator, said phase voltage detecting circuit being connected between an outlet side of the memory circuit and the control electrode of the power MOS transistor;

wherein said memory circuit and said phase voltage detecting circuit of the control units being conformed and preset to trigger the power MOS transistor between ON and OFF states, when the phase winding voltage, detected by said phase voltage detecting circuits, passes through zero value, and

wherein all the power MOS transistors of the control units are maintained in an ON state when the battery voltage detected by the control units, is higher than the rated charging value of the same battery.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterised in that said second voltage detecting circuit, comprises first and second voltage comparators having their inverting inlets connected to a same voltage divider branched from a phase winding of the magneto generator, and their non-inverting inlets connected to earth;

the non-inverting inlet of the first voltage comparator being also connected to the outlet side of the memory circuit;

the outlet of the first voltage comparator being connected to the control electrode of the power MOS transistor, while the outlet of the second voltage comparator is connected to a resetting circuit for the memory circuit.

5. The system according to claim 3, characterised in that the second voltage detecting circuit is conformed and preset such that during a charging step of the battery, the power MOS transistor is maintained in an ON state when the detected voltage between the Drain and the Source electrodes of the power MOS transistor is negative, while is maintained in an OFF state when said voltage detected by said second voltage detecting circuit is positive.

6. The system according to claim 5, characterised in that the power MOS transistor is maintained in its conductive state when the charge voltage of the battery, detected by said first voltage detecting circuit, has a value higher than the rated charge voltage of the same battery.