System and method for operating a hybrid vehicle system
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a switch control module configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in a vehicle system, the first and second contactors configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to an energy storage system of the vehicle system, the front-end bus configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device, the converter device configured to supply DC power to the DC bus. the DC bus configured to he coupled to a propulsion system of the vehicle system and configured to have a designated traction voltage for powering the propulsion system that is approximately equal to a charging voltage of the energy storage system;
wherein the switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source, the converter device configured to provide the DC power to the DC bus so that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power;
wherein the switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source. the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, andwherein the switch control module is configured to control the first and second contactors during a regenerative mode in which the second contactor is closed while the vehicle system is braking.
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Accused Products
Abstract
System including a switch control module that is configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in a vehicle system. The first and second contactors are configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to an energy storage system of the vehicle system. The front-end bus is configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device. The converter device is configured to supply DC power to the DC bus. The switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source so that the energy storage system is charged by the DC power. The switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a switch control module configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in a vehicle system, the first and second contactors configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to an energy storage system of the vehicle system, the front-end bus configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device, the converter device configured to supply DC power to the DC bus. the DC bus configured to he coupled to a propulsion system of the vehicle system and configured to have a designated traction voltage for powering the propulsion system that is approximately equal to a charging voltage of the energy storage system; wherein the switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source, the converter device configured to provide the DC power to the DC bus so that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power; wherein the switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source. the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, and wherein the switch control module is configured to control the first and second contactors during a regenerative mode in which the second contactor is closed while the vehicle system is braking. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
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5. A system comprising:
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an energy management module; and a switch control module configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in a vehicle system, the first and second contactors configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to an energy storage system of the vehicle system, the front-end bus configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device, the converter device configured to supply DC power to the DC bus, the DC bus configured to be coupled to a propulsion system of the vehicle system and configured to have a designated traction voltage for powering the propulsion system that is approximately equal to a charging voltage of the energy storage system; wherein the switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source, the converter device configured to provide the DC power to the DC bus so that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power; wherein the switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; and wherein the energy management module is operably coupled to the energy storage system, the energy management module configured to determine whether a ground fault exists in the energy storage system.
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8. A system comprising:
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a switch control module configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in a vehicle system, the first and second contactors configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to an energy storage system of the vehicle system, the front-end bus configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device, the converter device configured to supply DC power to the DC bus, the DC bus configured to be coupled to a propulsion system of the vehicle system and configured to have a designated traction voltage for powering the propulsion system that is approximately equal to a charging voltage of the energy storage system; wherein the switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source, the converter device configured to provide the DC power to the DC bus so that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power; wherein the switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; and wherein the electrical power remains in an untransformed state between an output of the energy storage system and an input of the propulsion system when the electrical power is supplied through the second contactor.
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10. A system comprising:
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an energy storage system disposed in a vehicle system; a switch control module configured to control operation of a first contactor and a second contactor in the vehicle system, the first and second contactors configured to selectively connect front-end and direct-current (DC) buses, respectively, to the energy storage system, the front-end bus configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and provide the electrical power to a converter device, the converter device configured to supply DC power to the DC bus, the DC bus configured to be coupled to a propulsion system of the vehicle system and configured to have a designated fraction voltage for powering the propulsion system that is approximately equal to a charging voltage of the energy storage system; wherein the switch control module is configured to close the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably coupled to the external power source, the converter device configured to provide the DC power to the DC bus so that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power; wherein the switch control module is configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; and wherein the energy storage system includes a set of energy modules that are configured to supply power to a plurality of bus systems, the set of energy modules including dedicated modules and remainder modules, each of the bus systems being exclusively supplied electrical power from a respective plurality of the dedicated modules, the dedicated modules in each respective plurality being electrically parallel to the other dedicated modules in the respective plurality, wherein the remainder modules are configured for load balancing such that the remainder modules are configured to switch from supplying one of the bus systems with electrical power to supplying another of the bus systems with electrical power.
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11. A power train of a vehicle system comprising:
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a converter device configured to receive electrical power from an external power source; front-end and direct-current (DC) buses electrically interconnected by the converter device, the converter device configured to receive the electrical power from the external power source through the front-end bus and provide DC power to the DC bus; a propulsion system configured to provide tractive effort for moving the vehicle system, the propulsion system being operably connected to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC power from the DC bus; an energy storage system configured to be selectively connected to the front-end and DC buses through first and second contactors, respectively; and a switch control module configured to control operation of the first and second contactors, the switch control module configured to close the second contactor when the power train is operably coupled to the external power source such that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power, the switch control module configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the power train is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, wherein the electrical power received from the external power source is alternating current (AC) power, the converter device configured to convert the AC power to the DC power that is supplied to the DC bus. - View Dependent Claims (12, 14, 15, 16, 19)
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13. A power train of a vehicle system comprising:
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a converter device configured to receive electrical power from an external power source; front-end and direct-current (DC) buses electrically interconnected by the converter device, the converter device configured to receive the electrical power from the external power source through the front-end bus and provide DC power to the DC bus; a propulsion system configured to provide tractive effort for moving the vehicle system, the propulsion system being operably connected to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC power from the DC bus; an energy storage system configured to be selectively connected to the front-end and DC buses through first and second contactors, respectively; and a switch control module configured to control operation of the first and second contactors, the switch control module configured to close the second contactor when the power train is operably coupled to the external power source such that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power, the switch control module configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the power train is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; wherein the electrical power remains in an untransformed state between an output of the energy storage system and an input of the propulsion system when the electrical power is supplied through the second contactor.
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17. A power train of a vehicle system comprising:
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a converter device configured to receive electrical power from an external power source; front-end and direct-current (DC) buses electrically interconnected by the converter device, the converter device configured to receive the electrical power from the external power source through the front-end bus and provide DC power to the DC bus; a propulsion system configured to provide tractive effort for moving the vehicle system, the propulsion system being operably connected to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC power from the DC bus; an energy storage system configured to be selectively connected to the front-end and DC buses through first and second contactors, respectively; and a switch control module configured to control operation of the first and second contactors, the switch control module configured to close the second contactor when the power train is operably coupled to the external power source such that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power, the switch control module configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the power train is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; wherein the switch control module is configured to control the first and second contactors during a regenerative mode in which the second contactor is closed while the vehicle system is braking.
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18. A power train of a vehicle system comprising:
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a converter device configured to receive electrical power from an external power source; front-end and direct-current (DC) buses electrically interconnected by the converter device, the converter device configured to receive the electrical power from the external power source through the front-end bus and provide DC power to the DC bus; a propulsion system configured to provide tractive effort for moving the vehicle system, the propulsion system being operably connected to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC power from the DC bus; an energy storage system configured to be selectively connected to the front-end and DC buses through first and second contactors, respectively; and a switch control module configured to control operation of the first and second contactors, the switch control module configured to close the second contactor when the power train is operably coupled to the external power source such that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power, the switch control module configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the power train is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; wherein the energy storage system includes a set of energy modules that are configured to supply power to a plurality of bus systems, the set of energy modules including dedicated modules and remainder modules, each of the bus systems being exclusively supplied electrical power from a respective plurality of the dedicated modules, the dedicated modules in each respective plurality being electrically parallel to the other dedicated modules in the respective plurality, wherein the remainder modules are configured for load balancing such that the remainder modules are configured to switch from supplying one of the bus systems with electrical power to supplying another of the bus systems with electrical power.
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20. A power train of a vehicle system comprising:
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a converter device configured to receive electrical power from an external power source; front-end and direct-current (DC) buses electrically interconnected by the converter device, the converter device configured to receive the electrical power from the external power source through the front-end bus and provide DC power to the DC bus; a propulsion system configured to provide tractive effort for moving the vehicle system, the propulsion system being operably connected to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC power from the DC bus; an energy storage system configured to be selectively connected to the front-end and DC buses through first and second contactors, respectively; and a switch control module configured to control operation of the first and second contactors, the switch control module configured to close the second contactor when the power train is operably coupled to the external power source such that the energy storage system is charged and the propulsion system receives the DC power, the switch control module configured to close one of the first contactor or the second contactor when the power train is operably decoupled to the external power source, the energy storage system configured to supply the electrical power to the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; wherein the energy storage system includes a plurality of storage units coupled to one another in a parallel-series arrangement, the storage units being allocated into first and second sets of storage units in which each of the first and second sets is held within a grounded module housing.
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21. A method of powering a vehicle system that is configured to receive electrical power from an external power source and that includes an energy storage system, the method comprising:
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supplying the electrical power to a converter device through a front-end bus when the vehicle system is operably connected to the external power source, the converter device configured to convert the electrical power to DC power and supply the DC power to a DC bus; charging an energy storage system that is selectively connected to the DC bus when the vehicle system is operably connected to the external power source while simultaneously powering a propulsion system connected to the DC bus; determining that the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source; and supplying electrical power from the energy storage system to one of the front-end bus or the DC bus to power the propulsion system when the vehicle system is operably decoupled to the external power source, wherein the energy storage system includes an output and the propulsion system includes an input, the electrical power remaining in an untransformed state between the output of the energy storage system and the input of the propulsion system when the electrical power is supplied through a second contactor. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A system comprising:
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a power receiver configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle system and to connect with an external source of electric current that is disposed off-board the vehicle system; a converter device configured to convert the electric current from the power receiver and to supply the electric current that is converted to one or more loads of the vehicle system; an energy storage system configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle system and to store at least some of the electric current received from the power receiver, wherein the energy storage system and the converter device are configured to be in parallel to each other between the power receiver and the one or more loads of the vehicle system; a first switch configured to be disposed between the power receiver and the energy storage system; and a second switch configured to be disposed between the energy storage system and the one or more loads of the vehicle system, wherein the first switch is configured to open to stop conduction of the electric current received from the external source via the power receiver to the energy storage system while the electric current from the external source continues to be conducted to the converter device via the power receiver, the first switch also configured to close to conduct the electric current received from the external source via the power receiver to the energy storage system. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification