Reconfigurable control architectures and algorithms for electric vehicle wireless energy transfer systems

• US 10,424,976 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Verghese, Simon, Kesler, Morris P., Hall, Katherine L., Lou, Herbert Toby, Fiorello, Ron
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming, Fritz M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dhillon, Jagdeep S
• Application Number:
  US15/355,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20170066335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• Field of Search: 307104, 307 91, 307 101
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• 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 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

Abstract

A control architecture for electric vehicle wireless power transmission systems that may be segmented so that certain essential and/or standardized control circuits, programs, algorithms, and the like, are permanent to the system and so that other non-essential and/or augmentable control circuits, programs, algorithms, and the like, may be reconfigurable and/or customizable by a user of the system. The control architecture may be distributed to various components of the wireless power system so that a combination of local or low-level controls operating at relatively high-speed can protect critical functionality of the system while higher-level and relatively lower speed control loops can be used to control other local and system-wide functionality.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless energy transfer system executed by a control processor of the wireless energy transfer system, the method comprising:

identifying a priority rank for each of a plurality of system faults, each priority rank representing an execution priority for a corresponding one of the system faults;

monitoring the system for activation of faults, wherein the monitoring comprises;

repeatedly executing a first control loop associated with a first fault having a first priority rank indicative of a high priority fault, the first control loop having an associated first execution time period T₁; and

repeatedly executing a second control loop associated with a second fault having a second priority rank indicative of a moderate priority fault, the second control loop having an associated second execution time period T₂; and

transmitting a signal to a power source controller in response to detecting that one of the first and second faults is active,

wherein T₂ is larger than T₁ so that during a monitoring time period, the first control loop is executed more frequently than the second control loop; and

wherein the signal is transmitted at a speed corresponding to the priority rank of the active fault.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting the signal to the power source controller during or following execution of at least one of the first and second control loops.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises an interrupt signal that causes the power source controller to reduce power supplied to a resonator coil of the wireless energy transfer system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the signal at a third speed if the first fault is active; and

transmitting the signal at a fourth speed if the second fault is active,

wherein the fourth speed is less than the third speed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the priority rank for each of the plurality of system faults comprises determining a risk priority number (RPN) for each of the system faults.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the power source controller is an amplifier controller.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the power source controller is a rectifier controller.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective priority ranks are each based on a combination of a fault severity, a fault likelihood, and a fault detectability.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a periodic signal to the power source controller.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of system faults is a detection signal from a foreign-object-debris (FOD) detector.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of system faults is a source anomaly.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of system faults is a vehicle anomaly.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of system faults is an out-of-range impedance.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first fault comprises a member selected from the group consisting of an over-current fault, an over-voltage fault, an over-temperature fault, a transistor shoot-through current fault in an amplifier, a ground-fault circuit interrupt, and an open system interlock.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the second fault comprises a member selected from the group consisting of a temperature set-point violation, an out-of-range impedance for a source resonator, a foreign-object-debris (FOD) detection signal, and a minimum efficiency set-point violation.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeatedly executing a third control loop associated with a third fault having a third priority rank indicative of a low priority fault, the third control loop having an associated third execution time period T₃, wherein T₃ is larger than T₂.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the third fault comprises a member selected from the group consisting of a system stop message, a radio-frequency communication signal, an authentication signal, a charging request, and a configuration signal.

18. A method of operating a wireless energy transfer system, comprising:

executing first and second groups of control loops on a control processor, wherein the first group of control loops comprises one or more members each associated with a different one of a first group of system faults, and wherein the second group of control loops comprises one or more members each associated with a different one of a second group of system faults;

determining whether any members of the first and second groups of system faults are active based on the execution of the first and second groups of control loops;

transmitting a control signal to a power source controller when any one or more members of the first and second groups of system faults are active; and

adjusting power supplied to a resonator of the system by the power source controller in response to the control signal,

wherein each member of the first group of control loops is executed at a speed that is faster than a speed at which each member of the second group of control loops is executed; and

wherein the control signal is transmitted at a first speed if a member of the first group of system faults is active, and at a second speed slower than the first speed if a member of the second group of system faults is active.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

executing a third group of control loops on the control processor, wherein the third group of control loops comprises one or more members each associated with a different one of a third group of system faults;

determining whether any members of the third group of system faults are active based on the execution of the third group of control loops; and

transmitting the control signal to the power source controller when any members of the third group of system faults are active,

wherein each member of the third group of control loops is executed at a speed that is slower than a speed at which each member of the second group of control loops is executed; and

wherein the control signal is transmitted at a third speed slower than the second speed if a member of the third group of system faults is active.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising associating a priority rank with the control loops of the first and second groups, and executing the control loops of the first and second groups according to the priority ranks.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the first group of system faults comprises an over-current fault, an over-voltage fault, an over-temperature fault, a transistor shoot-through current fault in an amplifier, a ground-fault circuit interrupt, and an open system interlock.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the second group of system faults comprises a temperature set-point violation, an out-of-range impedance for a source resonator, a foreign object debris (FOD) detection signal, and a minimum efficiency set-point violation.