POWER STORAGE APPARATUS

• US 20170005506A1
• Filed: 09/16/2016
• Published: 01/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UD Trucks Corporation (Isuzu Motors Limited)
• Original Assignee: UD Trucks Corporation (Isuzu Motors Limited)
• Inventors: KOBAYASHI, Shigemi, NAKANE, Masayuki, TSUCHIYA, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,128,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• 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 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/033 characterised by the use of electrical cells or batteries for propulsion puposes B60K1/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06; testing of charge state G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2804 Printed windings
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/10 Multiple hybrid or EDL capacitors, e.g. arrays or modules housings, cases, encapsulations or mountings thereof H01G11/78
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/14 Arrangements or processes for adjusting or protecting hybrid or EDL capacitors emergency protective circuit arrangements specially adapted for capacitors, and effecting automatic switching in the event of an undesired change from normal working conditions H02H7/16; emergency protective circuit arrangements for limiting excess current or voltages without disconnection H02H9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 9/26 Structural combinations of electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices with each other
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/13 Energy storage using capacitors
• 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

Abstract

A storage apparatus includes a plurality of storage cells connected in series. Each storage cell comprises a storage element that stores a charge, a container that houses the storage element, a reception antenna capable of receiving power transmitted from a transmission antenna of a feeding facility provided in a wireless power transfer system, and a charging control circuit that charges the storage element using the power received by the reception antenna. The plurality of storage cells are charged concurrently and wirelessly, and therefore charging can be performed on all of the storage cells without overcharging or undercharging.

Claims

1. A storage apparatus configured to store power transferred from a feeding facility via a wireless power transfer system, the storage apparatus comprising:

a plurality of storage cells connected in series or in parallel, wherein each storage cell of the plurality of storage cells comprises;

a storage element configured to store a charge;

a container that houses the storage element;

a reception antenna configured to receive power transmitted by the wireless power transfer system; and

a charging control circuit configured to charge the storage element using the power received by the reception antenna, wherein the reception antenna and the charging control circuit are mounted on and carried by the container,

wherein the feeding facility comprises a transmission antenna including;

a primary coil configured to receive high-frequency power, and

a primary self-resonant coil configured to be coupled to the primary coil by electromagnetic induction, and

wherein the reception antenna comprises;

a secondary self-resonant coil configured to be coupled to the primary self-resonant coil by magnetic field resonance, and

a secondary coil configured to be coupled to the secondary self-resonant coil by electromagnetic induction.

3. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the storage apparatus is installed in a vehicle and the feeding facility is disposed outside the vehicle.

5. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the plurality of storage cells comprises a plurality of strings of storage cells, the strings of storage cells are connected in parallel, and storage cells in each of the strings of storage cells are connected in series.

6. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 5, further comprising a frame that supports the storage cells such that the storage cells are arranged on a plane.

7. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the storage element comprises an electric double layer capacitor.

8. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the charging control circuit comprises:

a rectifier configured to rectify the power received by the reception antenna to a direct current power;

a sensor configured to detect a state of charge of the storage element; and

a controller configured to control a supply of charging power from the rectifier to the storage element in accordance with the state of charge of the storage element.

9. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the respective controllers of the plurality of storage cells are configured to control the supply of the charging power from the respective rectifiers to the storage elements concurrently, in accordance with a charging command signal input from an external circuit as a trigger.

10. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the sensor comprises a state of charge sensor configured to detect the state of charge of the storage element.

11. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the controller is programmed to:

supply the charging power to the storage element when the state of charge of the storage element is lower than a predetermined charging determination threshold; and

stop supplying the charging power to the storage element when the state of charge of the storage element reaches a predetermined state.

12. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the controller is further programmed to control the supply of the charging power to the storage element on the basis of a difference between a fully charged state and the state of the charge of the storage element when the state of charge of the storage element is lower than the predetermined charging determination threshold.

13. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein

the storage cell comprises an electric double layer capacitor, and

the sensor comprises a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage of the storage element.

14. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the controller is programmed to:

supply the charging power to the storage element when the voltage of the storage element is lower than a predetermined charging start voltage; and

stop supplying the charging power to the storage element when the voltage of the storage element reaches a predetermined charging stop voltage.

15. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the container comprises:

a rectangular frame that surrounds the storage element; and

a film body adhered to respective surfaces of the rectangular frame, wherein the reception antenna is wound around the rectangular frame.

16. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the container comprises:

a rectangular frame that surrounds the storage element; and

a film body adhered to respective surfaces of the rectangular frame, wherein the reception antenna is incorporated into the film body.

17. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein

the film body comprises a laminate sheet of resin layers having an electric insulation property and laminated to each other, and

the reception antenna is pattern-printed onto an electrical insulating film inserted between the resin layers of the film body.

18. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the container comprises:

a first rectangular frame that surrounds the storage element; and

a second rectangular frame that surrounds the first rectangular frame, wherein the reception antenna is wound around the second rectangular frame.

19. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the reception antenna is pattern-printed in advance onto an electrical insulating film and fixed to the container.

21. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the container comprises:

a rectangular frame surrounding the storage element; and

a pair of film bodies adhered to respective surfaces of the rectangular frame,

wherein the secondary self-resonant coil is incorporated into one of the film bodies, and the secondary coil is incorporated into the other film body.

22. The storage apparatus as defined claim 1, wherein the container comprises:

a first rectangular frame surrounding the storage element; and

a second rectangular frame surrounding the first rectangular frame,

wherein the secondary coil is wound around the first rectangular frame, and the secondary self-resonant coil is wound around the second rectangular frame.

23. The storage apparatus as defined claim 1, wherein the container comprises

a case member comprising a laminate film of resin layers having an electric insulation property and laminated to each other, and

a recessed portion being formed in the case member,

wherein

one of the secondary coil and the secondary self-resonant coil is pattern-printed onto an electrical insulating film inserted between the resin layers, and

the other of the secondary coil and the secondary self-resonant coil is pattern-printed onto a further electrical insulating film adhered to a bottom of the recessed portion.

24. The storage apparatus as defined claim 1, wherein the container comprises a metallic case,

the secondary coil and the secondary self-resonant coil are pattern-printed onto a first surface of an electrical insulating film so as not to interfere with each other,

the electrical insulating film further has, on an opposite side to the first surface, a second surface that is adhered to an outer surface of the container, and

the container and the electrical insulating film are housed in a heat-shrunk bag made of a heat-shrinking material.

2. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

26. A storage apparatus configured to store power transferred via a wireless power transfer system from a feeding facility having a transmission antenna, the storage apparatus comprising:

a plurality of storage cells connected in series or in parallel, wherein each storage cell among the plurality of storage cells comprises;

a storage element configured to store a charge;

a container that houses the storage element;

a reception antenna configured to receive power transmitted by the wireless power transfer system; and

a charging control circuit configured to charge the storage element using the power received by the reception antenna,

wherein

the storage apparatus is installed in a vehicle and the feeding facility is disposed outside the vehicle,

the storage apparatus has a plurality of physical positions relative to the feeding facility, and

at each of the plurality of physical positions, the reception antenna of a different storage cell among the plurality of storage cells is located opposite to the transmission antenna to receive power from the transmission antenna.

27. The storage apparatus as defined in claim 26, further comprising:

a charging/discharging balance circuit configured to average unevenness in potentials of the plurality of storage cells.