Hybrid vehicle with a low voltage solar panel charging a high voltage battery using a series charger to separately charge individual cells of the series connected battery
First Claim
1. A solar battery charging system for a vehicle comprising:
- an electric vehicle drive motor for braking and propelling the vehicle;
a battery connected to the electric vehicle drive motor, the battery comprising a plurality of series connected battery cells;
a solar panel having an output voltage lower than the voltage of the battery; and
a series charger comprising;
switches that selectively connect terminals of the solar panel in parallel with each of the series connected battery cells; and
a switch controller configured to control the switches to separately connect the solar panel in parallel with one of the plurality of battery cells at a time such that the solar panel is directly connected with the one of the plurality of battery cells without coupled through a transformer, while each of the plurality of battery cells remains connected in series, and while the electric vehicle drive motor can act as a generator to supply power to the battery during braking or a load to draw power from the battery during the propelling of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A series charger (80) is provided to charge a high voltage battery (42) in an electric vehicle with a low voltage solar panel (50). The series charger (80) provides switches (841, 842) to connect the terminals of solar panel (50) across individual battery cells (341-n) in series connected battery (42) one battery cell at a time. Charging by series charger (80) can occur while the cells (341-n) of battery (42) remain connected in series. With the series charger (80), the high voltage battery (42) can be charged by the low voltage solar panel (50) without using a lossy DC-DC converter. The high voltage battery (42) charged by series charger (80) can be connected in parallel with a second high voltage battery to enable charging all cells of the second battery together. The solar panel (50) can be provided in a moon roof or truck bed cover adjustable to track the sun.
75 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A solar battery charging system for a vehicle comprising:
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an electric vehicle drive motor for braking and propelling the vehicle; a battery connected to the electric vehicle drive motor, the battery comprising a plurality of series connected battery cells; a solar panel having an output voltage lower than the voltage of the battery; and
a series charger comprising;switches that selectively connect terminals of the solar panel in parallel with each of the series connected battery cells; and a switch controller configured to control the switches to separately connect the solar panel in parallel with one of the plurality of battery cells at a time such that the solar panel is directly connected with the one of the plurality of battery cells without coupled through a transformer, while each of the plurality of battery cells remains connected in series, and while the electric vehicle drive motor can act as a generator to supply power to the battery during braking or a load to draw power from the battery during the propelling of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A solar battery charging system for a vehicle comprising:
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an electric vehicle motor for braking and propelling the vehicle; a battery connected to the electric vehicle motor, the battery comprising a plurality of series connected battery cells; a solar panel having an output voltage lower than the voltage of the battery; and a series charger comprising a controller configured to connect the terminals of the solar panel in parallel with one of the plurality of battery cells such that the solar panel is directly connected with the one of the plurality of battery cells without being coupled through a transformer, while the plurality of battery cells remain connected in series, and while the electric vehicle drive motor can act as a generator to supply power to the battery during the braking or a load to draw power from the battery during the propelling of the vehicle.
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7. A method of charging a vehicle with an electric motor comprising:
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controlling the electric motor to brake and propel the vehicle; providing a battery connected to the electric motor, the battery having a plurality of series connected battery cells; providing a solar panel having an output voltage lower than the voltage of the battery; and connecting the terminals of the solar panel in parallel with one of the plurality of battery cells such that the solar panel is directly connected with the one of the plurality of battery cells without being coupled through a transformer, while the plurality of battery cells remain connected in series, and while the electric vehicle drive motor acts as a generator to supply power to the battery during the braking or a load to draw power from the battery during the propelling of the vehicle.
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Specification