Vehicle charger system with safety guardian

• US 9,227,521 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2014
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Acena, Miguel Angel, Ghabbour, Youssef
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOATENG, ALEXIS ASIEDUA
• Application Number:
  US14/534,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20150069971A1
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• Field of Search: 320/104, 320/107, 320/134, 320/135, 320/136, 320/137
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1423 with multiple batteries
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A safety guardian is operable to facilitate notifying an Electronic Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) system whether a vehicle charging system is ready to accept energy. The safety guardian may be configured to facilitate control of a vehicle interface used to provide a reference voltage to the EVSE reflective of whether the charging system is ready to accept energy. The guardian may control the vehicle interface in the absence of a suitable control signal from the vehicle charging system in order to ensure the EVSE is notified when the vehicle charging system is not ready to accept energy.

Claims

1. A charger system comprising:

a charger power plant operable to invert AC energy received from a mains output of an Electronic Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) system to DC energy sufficient for charging a high voltage (HV) vehicle battery;

an input operable to receive a control pilot from the EVSE system;

a vehicle interface operable with the input to generate a first reference signal using the control pilot when the charger power plant is ready to invert the AC energy to the DC energy and to generate a second reference signal using the control pilot when the charger power plant is not ready to invert the AC energy to the DC energy, the vehicle interface including a first switch operable between an open position and a closed position and a second switch operable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the vehicle interface generates the first reference signal when the first and second switches are both in the closed position and the second reference signal when either one of the first and second switches are in the open position;

a safety controller operable to output a first signal for controlling the first switch between the open position and the closed position;

a vehicle charger controller operable to output a second signal to the second switch, the second signal controlling the second switch between the open position and the closed position; and

a safety guardian operable to receive the first signal output from the safety controller, the safety guardian operable to output a third signal to the first switch, the third signal being based on the first signal and operable to control the first switch between the open position and the closed position.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the safety guardian includes a retriggerable monostable operable to generate the third signal based on the first signal.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the retriggerable monostable generates the third signal to control the first switch to the open position when the first signal fails to include an edge within a pre-defined period of time.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the retriggerable monostable generates the third signal to control the first switch to the closed position when the first signal includes an edge within a pre-defined period of time.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the first signal alternates between a first voltage and a second voltage at a first frequency and the third signal alternates between a third voltage and a fourth voltage depending on the first frequency, the third signal having the third voltage when the first frequency is greater than a threshold and the third signal having the fourth voltage when the first frequency is less than the threshold.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the first voltage equals the third voltage.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a first power supply unit (PSU) operable to power the safety controller and a separate, second PSU operable to power the vehicle charger controller, each of the first PSU and second PSU regulate current from a low voltage (LV) vehicle battery to facilitate powering the respective one of the safety controller and the charger controller.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the safety guardian regulates current from the LV vehicle battery to facilitate generating the third signal, the safety guardian regulating current from the LV battery separately and independently from the first PSU and the second PSU.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle interface includes a first resistor and a second resistor arranged relative to the first switch and the second switch such that the first resistor and the second resistor are connected in parallel only when both of the first and second switches are in the closed position.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the first switch and the second switch are connected in series with the second resistor.