Vehicle-mounted power source device

• US 9,768,639 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakazawa, Takashi, Kitahara, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robbins, Jerry D
• Application Number:
  US14/437,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20150280487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• Field of Search: 320101
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 16/00 Arrangements in connection with power supply of propulsion units in vehicles from forces of nature, e.g. sun or wind electric propulsion with power supply from forces of nature, e.g. sun or wind B60L8/00; marine propulsion by wind motors driving water-engaging propulsive elements B63H13/00; wind motors specially adapted for installation on vehicles F03D9/32
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2016/003 solar power driven
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/12 Buck converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/14 Boost converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/15 Preventing overcharging
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/18 of two or more battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 8/003 Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/06 Lead-acid accumulators semi-lead accumulators H01M10/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using 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 10/90 : Energy harvesting concepts as power supply for auxiliaries' energy consumption, e.g. photovoltaic sun-roof

Abstract

The vehicle-mounted power source device comprising: a low-voltage battery; a high-voltage battery; a boost unit that boosts electrical power for charging the high-voltage battery; a solar panel that converts solar light to electrical power; a bi-directional buck-boost unit that boosts/bucks the electrical power converted by the solar panel; and a control unit that performs control in a manner so as to charge the low-voltage battery by means of electrical power of which the voltage has been altered by the buck-boost unit. When the amount of stored electrical power at the low-voltage battery is at least a predetermined value, the control unit performs control in a manner so that the electrical power stored at the low-voltage battery is boosted by the boost unit and the bi-directional buck-boost unit, and the high-voltage battery is charged by means of the boosted electrical power.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted power source apparatus that charges a battery with electrical power obtained by solar power generation, the apparatus comprising:

a solar panel that converts sunlight into electrical power;

a bidirectional buck-boost section that boosts or steps down the voltage of the electrical power obtained through the conversion by the solar panel;

a low voltage battery;

a control section that makes a control so as to charge the low voltage battery with the electrical power transformed by the bidirectional buck-boost section;

a high voltage battery that stores electrical power having a voltage higher than the low voltage battery; and

a boost section that boosts the voltage of the electrical power stored in the low voltage battery for charging the high voltage battery, wherein,

when the amount of the electrical power stored in the low voltage battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control section makes a control so as to boost the electrical power stored in the low voltage battery, first by the bidirectional buck-boost section that boosts or steps down the voltage of the electrical power obtained through the conversion by the solar panel and then by the boost section, and to charge the high voltage battery with the boosted electrical power in multiple stages.

2. The vehicle-mounted power source apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second low voltage battery that supplies stored electrical power to a load in a vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted power source apparatus, wherein, when the amount of electrical power stored in the second low voltage battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control section makes a control so as to charge the low voltage battery with the electrical power transformed by the bidirectional buck-boost section.

3. The vehicle-mounted power source apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second low voltage battery that supplies stored electrical power to a load in a vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted power source apparatus, wherein, when the amount of electrical power stored in the high voltage battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control section makes a control so as to charge the second low voltage battery with the electrical power transformed by the bidirectional buck-boost section.

4. The vehicle-mounted power source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bidirectional buck-boost section is a maximum power point tracking apparatus.