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Electric-vehicle controller and power storage unit shutoff switch

  • US 8,427,004 B2
  • Filed: 07/20/2006
  • Issued: 04/23/2013
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2006
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An electric-vehicle controller comprising:

  • an inverter that is connected to a DC power source and drives a motor;

    a DC-to-DC converter having first and second terminal pairs, the first terminal pair connected across the DC power source and connected across the inverter;

    a power storage unit connected to the second terminal pair of the DC-to-DC converter to receive and store DC electric power;

    a switch disposed between the power storage unit and the second terminal pair of DC-to-DC converter;

    a vehicle speed detector for detecting a speed of an electric vehicle; and

    a control unit that is configured to;

    (1) receive the speed detected by the vehicle speed detector,(2) determine whether the detected speed is the same as or higher than a predetermined value, and(3) determine whether an emergency brake status signal is present indicating an emergency braking operation for the electric vehicle,wherein the control unit opens the switch so as to separate the power storage unit from the DC-to-DC converter, in response to the emergency brake status signal being present and the detected speed being the same as or higher than the predetermined value.

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