Inverter with network interface
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
- a housing comprising;
a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage;
a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals;
a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals;
a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals;
a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and
wherein the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller are configured to shutdown in response to an ignition message received over the network bus indicating a position of a vehicle ignition to have changed from an ‘
on’
position to an ‘
off’
position or indicating the vehicle ignition being in the ‘
on’
position and an engine being stopped in accordance with a stop/start strategy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inverter configured for use within a vehicle to power consumer electronic devices and other types of devices requiring single-phase, AC energy. The inverter may include a network interface or other type of the connection to a vehicle data bus or other message exchange system in order to communicate with an electronic control unit (ECU) or other feature included within the vehicle to monitor and control energy consumption by one or more vehicle subsystems.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
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a housing comprising; a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage; a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals; a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals; a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals; a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and wherein the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller are configured to shutdown in response to an ignition message received over the network bus indicating a position of a vehicle ignition to have changed from an ‘
on’
position to an ‘
off’
position or indicating the vehicle ignition being in the ‘
on’
position and an engine being stopped in accordance with a stop/start strategy.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 13)
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4. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
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a housing comprising; a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage; a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals; a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals; a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals; a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and wherein the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller are each configured to output the control signals in response to an ignition message received over the network bus indicating a position of a vehicle ignition to have changed from an ‘
off’
position to an ‘
on’
position.
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5. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
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a housing comprising; a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage; a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals; a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals; a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals; a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and wherein the DC/DC controller is configured to regulate a voltage level of the second DC voltage according to a level specified within a message received over the network bus. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
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a housing comprising; a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage; a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals; a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals; a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals; a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and wherein the DC/AC controller is configured to regulate a frequency and voltage level of the single-phase AC voltage according to parameters specified within a message received over the network bus.
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8. A vehicle inverter configured to invert a first DC voltage provided from a vehicle battery into a single-phase AC voltage suitable for powering a consumer electronic device comprising:
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a housing comprising; a DC/DC converter operable to convert the first DC voltage to a second DC voltage in response to DC/DC control signals, the second DC voltage being greater than the first DC voltage; a DC/AC inverter operable to invert the second DC voltage to the single-phase AC voltage in response to DC/AC control signals; a DC/DC controller configured to output the DC/DC control signals; a DC/AC controller configured to output the DC/AC control signals; a network interface configured to interface messages between a network bus included within the vehicle and at least one of the DC/DC controller and the DC/AC controller; and wherein the DC/DC controller outputs the DC/DC control signals only after receipt of an authorization message through the network interface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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14. A system for using energy supplied by a DC battery included within a vehicle to power a removably connected device requiring a single-phase AC voltage, the system comprising:
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an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to implement a load shedding strategy to regulate energy consumption of a plurality of subsystems included within the vehicle, the load shedding strategy requiring the ECU to selectively authorize each of the subsystems to consume energy from the DC battery depending on an amount of energy available from the DC battery, the ECU transmitting an authorization message to each of the plurality of subsystems authorized to consume energy from the DC battery; a vehicle bus configured to enable the transmission of the authorization messages between the ECU and the subsystems; and an inverter configured to invert energy consumed from the DC battery into the single-phase AC voltage needed to power the removably connected device, the inverter including a network interface to the vehicle bus, the inverter becoming operational to generate the single-phase AC voltage upon receipt of one of the authorization messages transmitted from the ECU over the vehicle bus. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of controlling operation of an inverter included within a vehicle to invert DC energy to AC energy of the type suitable for powering a consumer electronic device, the method comprising:
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receiving an engine running message over a vehicle bus connected to the inverter, the engine running message indicating an engine of the vehicle to running in a manner specified within a load shedding strategy to support providing the DC energy required by the inverter to power the consumer electronic device; and preventing the inverter from output of the AC energy in the absence of the engine running message.
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Specification