System and method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle
First Claim
1. A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- (a) sensing at least one condition pertaining to an external power source, a battery charger located on the plug-in electric vehicle, or a battery unit located on the plug-in electric vehicle, wherein the sensed condition is at least partially based on an unloaded voltage of the external power source which is measured when the external power source is in an unloaded state and there is little or no current being drawn from the external power source by the battery charger located on the plug-in electric vehicle;
(b) determining a charging control signal based on the sensed condition that is at least partially based on an unloaded voltage of the external power source; and
(c) charging the battery unit with the battery charger, wherein the battery charger is operated according to the charging control signal and the charging control signal is periodically adjusted in response to changes in the sensed condition.
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Abstract
A battery charging system and method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle with power from an external power source, such as a standard 110 volt or 220 volt AC wall outlet. The method senses various internal and external conditions and uses this information to charge the plug-in electric vehicle in an optimum fashion that reduces charging time yet avoids damage to components of the charging system. In one embodiment, the battery charging system includes an external power source, a battery charger with sensors for monitoring the external power source and the charger, a battery unit with sensors for monitoring the battery, a battery charging control module for processing the information, and a user interface that allows user-specified custom charging constraints. All of these components, with the exception of external power source, may be located on the vehicle.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sensing at least one condition pertaining to an external power source, a battery charger located on the plug-in electric vehicle, or a battery unit located on the plug-in electric vehicle, wherein the sensed condition is at least partially based on an unloaded voltage of the external power source which is measured when the external power source is in an unloaded state and there is little or no current being drawn from the external power source by the battery charger located on the plug-in electric vehicle; (b) determining a charging control signal based on the sensed condition that is at least partially based on an unloaded voltage of the external power source; and (c) charging the battery unit with the battery charger, wherein the battery charger is operated according to the charging control signal and the charging control signal is periodically adjusted in response to changes in the sensed condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sensing a plurality of conditions pertaining to an external power source, a battery charger, and/or a battery unit, wherein at least one of the plurality of conditions is a droop voltage that generally represents the difference between an unloaded voltage of the external power source and a loaded voltage of the external power source, wherein the unloaded voltage is measured when the external power source is in an unloaded state and there is little or no current being drawn from the external power source by the battery charger, and the loaded voltage is measured when the external power source is in a loaded state and there is some current being drawn from the external power source by the battery charger; (b) evaluating each of the sensed conditions with a particular battery charging constraint; (c) reviewing each of the evaluations and identifying the most-restrictive constraint, wherein the most-restrictive constraint is the one that requests the least amount of current from the battery charger; and (d) operating the battery charger so that it does not violate the most-restrictive constraint.
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18. A system for charging a plug-in electric vehicle, comprising:
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a battery charger being located on the plug-in electric vehicle and having an input coupled to an external power source, an output coupled to a battery unit, and one or more sensor(s) for monitoring external power source conditions and/or battery charger conditions; a battery unit being located on the plug-in electric vehicle and having an input coupled to the battery charger and one or sensor(s) for monitoring battery conditions; and a battery charging control module being located on the plug-in electric vehicle and being coupled to both the battery charger and the battery unit, wherein the battery charging control module receives readings from the battery charger sensor(s) and the battery sensor(s) and uses those readings to control the output power that the battery charger provides the battery unit, and one of the readings that is used in the control of the output power is an unloaded voltage reading for the external power source which is representative of the external power source when it is in an unloaded state and there is little or no current being drawn from the external power source by the battery charger.
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Specification