Drive system, method for operating a drive system, and use

• US 8,912,738 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2010
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sew-Eurodrive GmbH & Company KG (BV Beteiligung GmbH & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: Sew-Eurodrive GmbH & Company KG (BV Beteiligung GmbH & Company KG)
• Inventors: Mahlein, Jochen, Lewandowski, Marek, Hauck, Matthias, Podbielski, Leobald, Schmidt, Josef, Kollar, Hans Jrgen
• Primary Examiner(s): Santana, Eduardo Colon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dhakal, Bickey
• Application Number:
  US13/260,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20120019174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 318/139, 318/700, 363/132, 363/137, 363/34, 363/135, 363/98, 363/108, 363/109
• US Class Current: 318/139
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/007 Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/54 Windings for different functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/24 Using the vehicle's propulsion converter for charging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 2209/01 Motors with neutral point connected to the power supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A drive system and method for operating a drive system, including an electromotor, inverter, energy store,

• the electromotor being able to be supplied from the inverter, which is supplyable from the energy store,
• a current able to be controlled by a switch being supplyable to at least one stator winding of the electromotor, which is supplied from an electrical energy source that differs from the energy store.

Claims

1. A drive system, comprising:

an electromotor;

an inverter; and

an energy store;

wherein the electromotor is suppliable from the inverter and the inverter is suppliable from the energy store;

wherein the electromotor is arranged as three-phase AC motor in a star connection;

wherein a star point of the electromotor is suppliable with current from a rectifier, which is suppliable from a secondary winding; and

wherein the secondary winding suppliable from a primary winding, which is inductively coupled to the secondary winding;

wherein if a first critical value of a voltage at the star point is exceeded, a charge current is discharged directly from the rectifier to the energy store with the aid of a diode, the first critical value corresponding to a charging voltage for the energy store;

wherein if the first critical value of the voltage at the star point is undershot, the charge current is routed from the rectifier to the energy store via at least one stator winding and the inverter, the inverter and stator windings being operable as a boost chopper; and

wherein if a second critical value which is greater than the first critical value is exceeded, a switch is closed, via which current is shunted from the star point to a lower potential, to protect the energy store from overcharging.

2. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein the primary winding is suppliable from at least one of (a) a voltage-current converter and (b) a gyrator, which is suppliable with an alternating voltage from an inverter, the voltage-current converter including at least one capacitance and one inductance such that an associated resonant frequency substantially corresponds to a frequency of the alternating voltage, the capacitance and the inductance being connected in series.

3. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein at least one energy store is implemented as at least one of (a) a capacitor, (b) an ultracap capacitor, and (c) a battery.

4. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein stator windings of the electromotor are interconnected in a star connection.

5. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein an additional inductance provided between the star point and the rectifier feeding the star point.

6. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of (a) an effective value an (b) a peak value of voltage that supplies the rectifier and arises at the secondary winding is lower than a charging voltage for the energy store, and lower than a voltage required to charge the energy store and an input voltage of the inverter.

7. The drive system according to claim 5, wherein the inverter forms a chop booster with at least one stator winding, together with the additional inductance, to which current from the rectifier is supplied, and which makes charge current available to the energy store.

8. A method for operating a drive system including an electromotor which is suppliable from an energy store, comprising:

operating the electromotor in a star connection;

supplying current from a secondary winding to a rectifier;

supplying current from the rectifier to a star point of the electromotor;

supplying current from a primary winding to the secondary winding in contactless manner; and

producing a charge current for the energy store by an inverter, via which stator windings of the electromotor are suppliable using a three-phase voltage system, which is produced in motive operation when the inverter is supplied from the energy store, as long as the voltage arising at the star point lies below a first critical value;

wherein if a first critical value of a voltage at the star point is exceeded, a charge current is discharged directly from the rectifier to the energy store with the aid of a diode, the first critical value corresponding to a charging voltage for the energy store;

wherein if the first critical value of the voltage at the star point is undershot, the charge current is routed from the rectifier to the energy store via at least one stator winding and the inverter, the inverter and stator windings being operable as a boost chopper; and

wherein if a second critical value which is greater than the first critical value is exceeded, a switch is closed, via which current is shunted from the star point to a lower potential, to protect the energy store from overcharging.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least one of (a) the charge current is supplied to the energy store directly from the rectifier as long as the voltage arising at the star point lies above the first critical value, (b) at least one lower switch of the inverter is transferred into a conducting state, so that current is shunted from the rectifier via an associated stator winding to a lower potential of the energy store, so that the energy store is protected from current from the rectifier, as long as the voltage arising at the star point lies above a second critical value which is greater than the first critical value, and an exceedance of which may pose a certain risk to the energy store, and (c) an additional current path is enabled, via which current from the rectifier is shunted one of (i) directly and (ii) via the associated stator winding, to the lower potential of the energy store, so that the energy store is protected from current from the rectifier, as long as the voltage arising at the star point lies above a third critical value which is greater than the second critical value, whose exceedance has a greater likelihood of posing a risk to the energy store, the additional current path being formed by a passive circuit system, the additional current path including a thyristor, in whose control path at least one of (i) a Zener diode and (ii) a component corresponding to a breaker shaft is provided.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least one of (i) the inverter is actuated in at least one of (a) pulse-width-modulated and (b) block-commutated manner, for at least one of (a) a motive and (b) a regenerative operation of the electromotor, and (ii) the inverter is arranged as multi-phase inverter, and during charging of the energy store actuating signals for switches of the inverter are implemented at least one of (a) in synchrony, (b) in synchrony at a time offset, and (c) in asynchrony.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein recharging of the energy store is repeated cyclically, the recharging being performed in alternation with at least one of (a) a motive and (b) a regenerative operation of the electromotor.

12. A system comprising:

a stator winding of an electromotor arranged as an inductance of at least one of (a) a charging circuit, (b) a Buck converter, and (c) a boost chopper, adapted to charge an energy store;

wherein a star point of the electromotor is suppliable with current from a rectifier, which is suppliable from a secondary winding; and

wherein the secondary winding suppliable from a primary winding, which is inductively coupled to the secondary winding;

wherein if a first critical value of a voltage at a star point is exceeded, a charge current is discharged directly from the rectifier to the energy store with the aid of a diode, the first critical value corresponding to a charging voltage for the energy store; and

wherein if the first critical value of the voltage at the star point is undershot, the charge current is routed from the rectifier to the energy store via the stator winding and an inverter, the inverter and stator windings being operable as the boost chopper; and

wherein if a second critical value which is greater than the first critical value is exceeded, a switch is closed, via which current is shunted from the star point to a lower potential, to protect the energy store from overcharging.