Electrical management device for vehicle power supply

• US 8,089,242 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2007
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Original Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Inventors: Loudot, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): Assouad, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chung, Steve T
• Application Number:
  US12/161,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20090218983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,826 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/138, 320/139, 136/291, 180/165.29, 180/2.2, 323/906
• US Class Current: 320/101
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/40 adapted for charging from various sources, e.g. AC, DC or multivoltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/26 involving maximum power point tracking control for photovoltaic sources
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/46 for ICE-powered road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 136/291 Applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 323/906 Solar cell systems

Abstract

An electrical management device for a vehicle power supply that includes a single converter to minimize the number of components required to simultaneously control two energy sources, such as a photovoltaic source and a thermoelectric source, on board a motor vehicle that includes at least one electrical energy storage battery.

Claims

1. An electrical management device for a vehicle electrical power supply, comprising:

a single converter simultaneously controlling a photovoltaic source and a thermoelectric source, on board an automobile vehicle that includes at least one electrical energy storage battery.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the converter comprises means for executing a control law depending on maximum electrical power of each source for maintaining a determined level of charge in the electrical storage battery.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means for executing a control law uses circuits that are insensitive to variations in voltage of the electrical storage battery.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means of the converter for executing a control law comprises means for managing control of the power produced by the thermoelectric source to maintain the thermoelectric source at maximum power and a reference voltage management means.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrical storage battery is one of a main battery of the vehicle, and/or a specialized battery, such that the management device operates even if an internal combustion engine of the vehicle is stopped, and even if all of consumer electrical circuits are turned off.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the converter includes a first resource preventing the battery, whose high potential would be higher than that of an electrical power source, from discharging itself into the source.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first resource of the converter includes two diodes whose cathodes are connected together and whose anodes are respectively connected to a high potential of each photovoltaic or thermoelectric sources, the common connection of the cathodes being connected to the battery.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the converter includes a second resource for producing a voltage and/or a dissipated current electrical configuration signal for the photovoltaic and/or the thermoelectric source.

9. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the converter includes two inputs respectively connected to a first filter connected to a highest potential of the photovoltaic source and to a second filter connected to a highest potential of the thermoelectric source.

10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein each filter is a T-configured filter respectively including a series inductance and a parallel capacitor.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the two filters are calculated such that the inductances are formed by connection cables themselves.

12. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the converter includes a controller and means for combining currents produced by the photovoltaic and thermoelectric sources.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the means for combining the currents includes a transformer with two cores and three windings of:

a first winding connected to the input of the converter connected to the output of the filter of the thermoelectric source,

a second winding connected to the input of the converter connected to the output of the filter of the photovoltaic source, and

a third winding connected to the output of the current combining means.

14. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first winding includes a second terminal connected to a switching terminal of a switching means controlled by an output signal coming from an output of the controller, and the second winding includes a second terminal connected to a switching terminal of a switch controlled by the output signal coming from an output of the controller.

15. The device as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of the switches includes a power transistor of MOS type whose gate is connected to a corresponding control signal terminal of the controller, whose drain is connected to a second terminal of one of the first or second windings of the transformer, and whose source is connected to a low potential line.

16. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein a first high potential terminal of the third winding of the transformer is connected to the anode of a conduction diode whose cathode is respectively connected to the battery and to a first terminal of a storage capacitor whose second terminal is itself connected to a low potential line.

17. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the controller includes two independent regulation loops to optimally determine a control regime for each transistor or each switch.

18. The device as claimed in claim 17, wherein each regulation loop cooperates with:

a reference voltage generator configured to place the regulation loop into a mode at least close to a supply of maximum electrical power,

one or another of an input terminal of the controller to take instantaneous voltage at the output of the filter associated with the thermoelectric source;

or of the input terminal of the controller to take instantaneous voltage at the output of the filter associated with the photovoltaic source using photovoltaic cells.

19. The device as claimed in claim 18, wherein each of the inputs of the controller is connected to a circuit generating a mean value of instantaneous measurement voltage of one or the other of the two sources, the output of the mean voltage generating circuit being connected to the input terminal of the regulation loop in question.

20. The device as claimed in claim 19, wherein each regulation loop includes a subtractor circuit for signals representative of an adjustment threshold for regulation of the input terminal, from which value the subtractor circuit subtracts the instantaneous or mean value of the voltage from the source transmitted to the input terminal, and a corrector circuit that includes a control pulse-train generator for a switch.

21. The device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the pulse-train generator includes means for determining frequency, duty cycle, amplitude, and waveform of the pulse train.

22. The device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the corrector circuit includes means for varying its duty cycle.

23. The device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the controller includes a circuit that calibrates a reference voltage that produces an interruption at regular intervals of a switch to update the reference voltage applied to the terminal.

24. The device as claimed in claim 23, wherein the calibration circuit further includes means for producing an interruption of the switching of a MOS transistor after a phase of gradual reduction in conduction time until it reaches zero.

25. The device as claimed in claim 23, further comprising a temperature sensor, the controller cooperating with a circuit for calculating the reference voltage V0/2 deduced directly from the temperature by a function for converting the temperature into a reference voltage of form V0/2.

26. The device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the photovoltaic source of electrical power uses solar cells, and a temperature sensor and/or a sunshine sensor are implemented to correct a reference voltage by a circuit for calibrating a regulation reference voltage for the photovoltaic source.

27. The device as claimed in claim 26,

wherein the circuit for calibrating the regulation reference voltage for the photovoltaic source using photovoltaic cells includes a memory with a single input indexed onto a value representative of a measurement of the temperature,

wherein the circuit for calibrating the regulation reference voltage for the photovoltaic source using photovoltaic cells includes a memory with a single input indexed onto a value representative of a measurement of the level of sunshine,

wherein the circuit for calibrating the regulation reference voltage for the photovoltaic source using photovoltaic cells includes a memory with two inputs respectively indexed onto the value representative of a measurement of the temperature and onto the value representative of a measurement of the level of sunshine.

28. The device as claimed in claim 27, wherein the memory produces an offset value for the reference voltage, and the offset value is produced at the negative input of a subtractor whose positive input is connected to a circuit generating the voltage characteristic of the maximum power of the photovoltaic cell generator, the circuit generating the voltage characteristic of the maximum power of the photovoltaic cell generator cooperating with a switching means or means for connecting photovoltaic cells, such that the current and the voltage delivered by the photovoltaic generator operates within desired characteristics.