Contactor coil current reduction during vehicle battery charging
First Claim
1. A vehicle comprising:
- a traction battery;
contactor circuitry; and
a controller programmed toapply, during vehicle travel, a first signal to the contactor circuitry to maintain an electrical connection between the traction battery and an electric motor while a first traction battery signal flows between the traction battery and the electric motor, andapply, during battery charging while the vehicle is stationary, a second signal to the contactor circuitry to maintain an electrical connection between the traction battery and a charging source while the first traction battery signal does not flow between the traction battery and the electric motor with maintaining the electrical connection for a non-traction signal, wherein the first signal has greater power than the second signal and holds the contactor circuitry in the electrical connection with greater force than the second signal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are described to control the use of electrical power when charging a traction battery. A vehicle module can drive the contactor coils with two set-points for controlling the power into the contactor coils, namely, a travel or vehicle “on” set point and a charging, vehicle “off” set point. In use, full power is initially applied to the coils to guarantee immediate closure of the contactor. During charging and after closing the contactor, the power is set at the charging, vehicle “off” set point. The travel or vehicle “on” set point is higher than the charging, vehicle “off” set point. Using the charging, vehicle “off” set point reduces electricity consumption. The vehicle “on” set point is at a higher electrical level as it must maintain closure under worst-case vibration and shock conditions considering mounting location, contactor orientation, as well as other characteristics of the vehicle and contactor.
8 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A vehicle comprising:
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a traction battery; contactor circuitry; and a controller programmed to apply, during vehicle travel, a first signal to the contactor circuitry to maintain an electrical connection between the traction battery and an electric motor while a first traction battery signal flows between the traction battery and the electric motor, and apply, during battery charging while the vehicle is stationary, a second signal to the contactor circuitry to maintain an electrical connection between the traction battery and a charging source while the first traction battery signal does not flow between the traction battery and the electric motor with maintaining the electrical connection for a non-traction signal, wherein the first signal has greater power than the second signal and holds the contactor circuitry in the electrical connection with greater force than the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A traction battery control method comprising:
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applying a close signal to a contactor to electrically connect a traction battery to vehicle circuitry to drive an electric motor; applying a first retain signal to the contactor to hold the contactor in a closed state with the vehicle in motion, wherein the first retain signal has less power than the close signal; applying the close signal to the contactor to electrically connect the traction battery to vehicle circuitry to charge the battery; and applying a second retain signal to the contactor to hold the contactor in a closed state during charging of the battery while the vehicle is stationary, wherein the second retain signal has less power than the first retain signal, wherein the close signal, first retain signal, and the second retain signal are different. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vehicle comprising:
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a traction-battery; a contactor configured to selectively connect the traction-battery to an electric motor or charging source, the contactor having an open state in an absence of an applied voltage, a first closed-state in a presence of a first applied voltage for travel, a second closed-state in a presence of a second applied voltage less than the first applied voltage only for charging; and a controller for providing the applied voltages. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification