System for optimizing battery pack cut-off voltage
First Claim
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1. An electric vehicle battery charging system, comprising:
- a user interface configured for entering a travel plan for a driving period, said travel plan including at least one location and at least one location departure time;
a charging system controller coupled to said user interface and configured to calculate total travel miles for said driving period based on said travel plan, said charging system controller further configured to calculate battery pack electrical energy requirements for a battery pack of an electric vehicle based on said calculated total travel miles and a miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor, wherein said miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor varies based on said at least one location departure time, and said charging system controller further configured to set battery pack charging conditions based on said calculated battery pack electrical energy requirements and based on a current state of charge of said battery pack; and
a configurable battery pack charging system coupled to said charging system controller, said battery pack and a power source, wherein said configurable battery pack charging system charges said battery pack in accordance with said battery pack charging conditions set by said charging system controller.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for optimizing the level of battery charging required by an electric vehicle is provided. The system includes an interface for the user to input various travel parameters, such as a travel itinerary, which is then used by the battery charging system during charge optimization. In addition to a travel itinerary, the system may be configured to take into account departure times, road conditions, traffic conditions and weather conditions in determining miles to be traveled as well as the electrical energy per mile conversion factors to be used during optimization.
70 Citations
48 Claims
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1. An electric vehicle battery charging system, comprising:
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a user interface configured for entering a travel plan for a driving period, said travel plan including at least one location and at least one location departure time; a charging system controller coupled to said user interface and configured to calculate total travel miles for said driving period based on said travel plan, said charging system controller further configured to calculate battery pack electrical energy requirements for a battery pack of an electric vehicle based on said calculated total travel miles and a miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor, wherein said miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor varies based on said at least one location departure time, and said charging system controller further configured to set battery pack charging conditions based on said calculated battery pack electrical energy requirements and based on a current state of charge of said battery pack; and a configurable battery pack charging system coupled to said charging system controller, said battery pack and a power source, wherein said configurable battery pack charging system charges said battery pack in accordance with said battery pack charging conditions set by said charging system controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of charging a battery pack of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a travel plan into a battery pack charging controller using a user interface, wherein said travel plan is comprised of location information and location departure time information; calculating a total travel miles corresponding to said travel plan; determining a present battery pack state of charge, wherein said present battery pack state of charge corresponds to a first quantity of electrical energy stored within said battery pack; converting said total travel miles to a second quantity of electrical energy using a miles-to-electrical conversion factor, wherein said second quantity of electrical energy corresponds to a level of electrical energy required to be stored in the battery pack for the electric vehicle to travel said total travel miles, and wherein said miles-to-electrical conversion factor varies with said location departure time information; calculating a third quantity of electrical energy, wherein said third quantity of electrical energy corresponds to the difference between said second quantity of electrical energy and said first quantity of electrical energy; determining a set of battery pack charging conditions, wherein said set of battery pack charging conditions is based on said third quantity of electrical energy; inputting said set of battery pack charging conditions into an electric vehicle charging system; and charging the battery pack of the electric vehicle with said electric vehicle charging system in accordance with said set of battery pack charging conditions. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electric vehicle battery charging system, comprising:
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a user interface configured for entering a travel plan for a driving period, said travel plan including at least one location; a charging system controller coupled to said user interface and configured to calculate total travel miles for said driving period based on said travel plan, said charging system controller further configured to calculate battery pack electrical energy requirements for a battery pack of an electric vehicle based on said calculated total travel miles and a miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor, and said charging system controller further configured to set battery pack charging conditions based on said calculated battery pack electrical energy requirements and based on a current state of charge of said battery pack; a communication link coupled to an external source of road and traffic conditions, wherein said miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor varies based on said road and traffic conditions; and a configurable battery pack charging system coupled to said charging system controller, said battery pack and a power source, wherein said configurable battery pack charging system charges said battery pack in accordance with said battery pack charging conditions set by said charging system controller. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An electric vehicle battery charging system, comprising:
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a user interface configured for entering a travel plan for a driving period, said travel plan including at least one location; a charging system controller coupled to said user interface and configured to calculate total travel miles for said driving period based on said travel plan, said charging system controller further configured to calculate battery pack electrical energy requirements for a battery pack of an electric vehicle based on said calculated total travel miles and a miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor, and said charging system controller further configured to set battery pack charging conditions based on said calculated battery pack electrical energy requirements and based on a current state of charge of said battery pack; a communication link coupled to an external source of weather conditions, wherein said miles-to-electrical energy conversion factor varies based on said weather conditions; and a configurable battery pack charging system coupled to said charging system controller, said battery pack and a power source, wherein said configurable battery pack charging system charges said battery pack in accordance with said battery pack charging conditions set by said charging system controller. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of charging a battery pack of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a travel plan into a battery pack charging controller using a user interface, wherein said travel plan is comprised of location information; obtaining road and traffic condition information, wherein said road and traffic condition information obtaining step is performed by said battery pack charging controller; calculating a total travel miles corresponding to said travel plan; determining a present battery pack state of charge, wherein said present battery pack state of charge corresponds to a first quantity of electrical energy stored within said battery pack; converting said total travel miles to a second quantity of electrical energy using a miles-to-electrical conversion factor, wherein said second quantity of electrical energy corresponds to a level of electrical energy required to be stored in the battery pack for the electric vehicle to travel said total travel miles, and wherein said miles-to-electrical conversion factor varies based on said road and traffic condition information; calculating a third quantity of electrical energy, wherein said third quantity of electrical energy corresponds to the difference between said second quantity of electrical energy and said first quantity of electrical energy; determining a set of battery pack charging conditions, wherein said set of battery pack charging conditions is based on said third quantity of electrical energy; inputting said set of battery pack charging conditions into an electric vehicle charging system; and charging the battery pack of the electric vehicle with said electric vehicle charging system in accordance with said set of battery pack charging conditions. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of charging a battery pack of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a travel plan into a battery pack charging controller using a user interface, wherein said travel plan is comprised of location information; obtaining weather condition information, wherein said weather condition information obtaining step is performed by said battery pack charging controller; calculating a total travel miles corresponding to said travel plan; determining a present battery pack state of charge, wherein said present battery pack state of charge corresponds to a first quantity of electrical energy stored within said battery pack; converting said total travel miles to a second quantity of electrical energy using a miles-to-electrical conversion factor, wherein said second quantity of electrical energy corresponds to a level of electrical energy required to be stored in the battery pack for the electric vehicle to travel said total travel miles, and wherein said miles-to-electrical conversion factor varies based on said weather condition information; calculating a third quantity of electrical energy, wherein said third quantity of electrical energy corresponds to the difference between said second quantity of electrical energy and said first quantity of electrical energy; determining a set of battery pack charging conditions, wherein said set of battery pack charging conditions is based on said third quantity of electrical energy; inputting said set of battery pack charging conditions into an electric vehicle charging system; and charging the battery pack of the electric vehicle with said electric vehicle charging system in accordance with said set of battery pack charging conditions. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification