Bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus and operation method thereof

• US 9,481,259 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2013
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LSIS Co. Ltd. (LS Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LSIS Co. Ltd. (LS Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Heon Soo, Kwon, Gi Hyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIAO, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US13/945,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20140021780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/12 Buck converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/526 Operating parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/54 related to batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/008 Plural converter units for generating at two or more independent and non-parallel outputs, e.g. systems with plural point of load switching regulators
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0095 Hybrid converter topologies, e.g. NPC mixed with flying capacitor, thyristor converter mixed with MMC or charge pump mixed with buck
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/32 Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/2173 in a biphase or polyphase circuit arrangement H02M7/2176 takes precedence; voltage multipliers H02M7/25
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/219 in a bridge configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/797 using semiconductor devices only
• 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 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• 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

Disclosed is a charging apparatus to supply a power to a battery of an electric vehicle. The charging apparatus includes a bidirectional power conversion unit including three pairs of switching device groups and having one end connected to a power system and an opposite end; an energy storage unit connected to the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit to store the DC power output through the opposite end of the bidirectional power conversion unit; a multi-DC power output unit to output the DC power to an outside in the first inverse operation mode; and a charging control unit to detect a charging condition of the charging apparatus. The switching device groups serve as buck-converters, respectively, in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power into another DC power having a level different from a level of the DC power.

Claims

1. A bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus to supply a power to a battery of an electric vehicle, the charging apparatus comprising:

a bidirectional power converter including three pairs of switching device groups, at least one capacitor and at least one inductor and having a first port connected to a power system and an a second port connected to an energy storage, in which the bidirectional power converter converts an AC power input through the first port into a DC power to output the DC power to the second port in a forward operation mode and converts the DC power input through the second port into a plurality of DC powers to output the plurality of DC powers to the first port in a first inverse operation mode, wherein the bidirectional power converter is operated as an AC-DC converter according to switching operation of the three pairs of switching device groups in the forward operation mode and is operated as a plurality of buck-converters according to switching operation of the three pairs of switching device groups in the first inverse operation mode;

the energy storage connected to the second port of the bidirectional power converter to store the DC power output through the second port of the bidirectional power converter;

a multi-DC power outputter disposed between the power system and the first port of the bidirectional power converter to output the plurality of DC powers, which is output through the first port of the bidirectional power converter, to outside components in the first inverse operation mode;

a first switch having one end connected to the first port of the bidirectional power converter and an opposite end selectively connected to one of an input line of a 3-phase AC power and the multi-DC power outputter;

a charging controller to detect a charging condition of the charging apparatus, in which the charging controller operates the bidirectional power converter in the forward operation mode to charge the energy storage when the charging condition is a first condition and operates the bidirectional power converter in the first inverse operation mode to output the DC power through the multi-DC power outputter when the charging condition is a second condition; and

a DC power outputter connected to the second port of the bidirectional power converter to output the DC power converted by the bidirectional power converter to an outside component in the forward operation mode,

wherein the multi-DC power outputter outputs the plurality of DC powers, and the DC power outputter outputs a single DC power,

wherein the DC power output to the outside component has a level that is higher than a level of the DC power converted by the bidirectional power converter in the first inverse operation mode, and

wherein the three pairs of the switching device groups of the bidirectional power converter serve as buck-converters, respectively, in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power into the plurality of DC powers having a level that is different from the level of the DC power.

2. The bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power system supplies the 3-phase AC power, and the three pairs of the switching device groups comprise:

a first switching device group connected to a first phase of the power system;

a second switching device group connected to a second phase of the power system; and

a third switching device group connected to a third phase of the power system, and

wherein each of the first to third switching device groups serves as a buck-converter in the first inverse operation mode to convert the DC power stored in the energy storage into another DC power having a level that is different from the level of the DC power.

3. The bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a second switch having one end connected to the second port of the bidirectional power converter and an opposite end selectively connected to one of the energy storage and the DC power outputter to output the converted DC power to one of the energy storage and the DC power outputter.

4. The bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus of claim 3, further comprising an input filter disposed between the power system and the bidirectional power converter to supply the AC power to the first port of the bidirectional power converter by removing noise contained in the AC power supplied from the power system.

5. The bidirectional vehicle charging apparatus of claim 4, further comprising an AC power outputter connected to the input line of the 3-phase AC power to output the AC power supplied through the first port of the bidirectional power converter to the electric vehicle located outside in the second inverse operation mode.