Patent Application
20240204552
The present disclosure relates to electric vehicle charging systems. The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A typical direct current fast charging (DCFC) power conversion unit (PCU) includes an alternating current (AC)-DC converter, an isolated DC-DC converter, a current sensor, and a controller. The controller uses sensed current values Io and Ibatt that are sensed by current sensors at the output of the DC-DC converter, an input voltage Vin to the isolated DC-DC converter, and an output voltage Vo of the DC-DC converter to improve the dynamic performance of the DC-DC converter under varying load/battery conditions.
Various disclosed embodiments include illustrative controller modules, direct current (DC) fast charging devices, and methods.
In an illustrative embodiment, a controller module for a DC-DC converter includes a controller and computer-readable media configured to store computer-executable instructions configured to cause the controller to receive an input voltage Vin to the DC-DC converter, receive an output DC voltage Vo from the DC-DC converter, generate control signals configured to control a charging output of the DC-DC converter responsive to the received input voltage Vin and the output voltage Vo, and output the generated control signals (CS) to the DC-DC converter.
In another illustrative embodiment, a DC fast charging device includes an alternating current (AC)-DC converter configured to generate an input DC voltage Vin in response to a received grid AC voltage, a DC-DC converter configured to generate an output DC voltage Vo in response to the input voltage Vin, and a controller module configured to generate control signals configured to control a charging output of the DC-DC converter responsive to the input voltage Vin and the output voltage Vo.
In another illustrative embodiment, a method includes receiving an input voltage Vin to a DC-DC converter, receiving an output voltage Vo from the DC-DC converter, generating control signals configured to control a charging output of the DC-DC converter responsive to the received input voltage Vin and the output voltage Vo, and outputting the generated control signals to the DC-DC converter.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
Illustrative embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings generally indicate like elements.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
Various disclosed embodiments include illustrative controller modules, direct current fast charging (DCFC) devices, and methods.
Referring to
Referring additionally to
To that end and continuing by way of overview, in various embodiments the controller module 30 for the DC-DC converter 28 includes the PCC 34 and the computer-readable media 36 configured to store computer-executable instructions configured to cause the PCC 34 to receive an input voltage Vin to the DC-DC converter 28, receive an output DC voltage Vo from the DC-DC converter 28, generate control signals in response to the received input voltage Vin and the output voltage Vo, and output the generated control signals to the DC-DC converter 28—without use of a current sensor(s).
It will be appreciated that the PCC 34 may be any type of controller as desired for a particular application, such as, without limitation, a microcontroller or the like. In various embodiments the PCC 34 may include one or more generic or specialized processors such as: microprocessors; central processing units (CPUs); digital signal processors (DSPs); customized processors such as network processors (NPs) or network processing units (NPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), or the like; field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); and the like along with unique stored program instructions (including both software and firmware) for control thereof to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of the methods and/or systems described herein. In some embodiments, some or all functions may be implemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certain of the functions are implemented as custom logic or circuitry. It will be appreciated that a combination of the aforementioned approaches may be used. For some of the embodiments described herein, a corresponding device in hardware and optionally with software, firmware, and a combination thereof can be referred to as a “controller configured to” perform a set of operations, steps, methods, processes, algorithms, functions, techniques, etc. on digital and/or analog signals as described herein for the various embodiments.
As discussed above, various embodiments include the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 36 having computer-readable code (instructions) stored thereon for causing the PCC 34 to perform functions as described and claimed herein. Examples of such computer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and the like. When stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, software can include the instructions executable by the PCC 34 that, in response to such execution, causes performance of a set of operations, steps, methods, processes, algorithms, functions, techniques, etc. as described herein for the various embodiments.
Operation of the PCC 34 is described in more detail below with reference to
As shown in
In various embodiments, the power converter controller (PCC) 34 receives the input DC voltage Vin value (from the AC-DC converter 26), the output DC voltage Vo value (from the DC-DC converter 28), and the requested power value. As will be explained below, in response to the reception of the output DC voltage Vo value (from the DC-DC converter 28) and a current value associated with the requested power value, the PCC 34 determines an estimated output current (Iref)—without use of a current sensor(s). The PCC 34 generates control signals CS for the DC-DC converter 28 in response to the Vin value (from the AC-DC converter 26), the requested power value (P*=I**V*), and the estimated output current (Iest).
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
In various embodiments, the estimated load-current feedforward value Ibatt,ff (estimated battery current value) is used to improve the dynamic responses to load disturbances/battery current changes by the DC-DC converter 28, as set forth below, beginning with:
The disturbances of the output voltage Vo (from the DC-DC converter 28) can reflect the changes of the estimated load-current feedforward value Ibatt,ff (estimated battery current value):
In this way, the sensed output voltage Vo can be used for tuning the control loop with the CDO 50, thus regulating the output charging current. Based on the principle of current disturbance observer as well as discrete control law, ibatt,ff(j) can be described with a relationship of iref(j−1), Vo(j−1), inner state variable z(j−1), and convergence rate parameter/as follows:
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
In some embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may include receiving from a load device, such as an EV, a requested charging value such as a received requested current value or a requested voltage value. In some such embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may include determining a requested current value from the received requested voltage value.
In some embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may include generating an estimated battery current value in response to the output voltage of the DC-DC converter and the requested current value, such as the received requested current value or the determined requested current value. In some such embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may include generating a current reference value by combining the requested current value with the estimated battery current value.
In some embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may further include generating a change in phase angle (θ) from the current reference value. In some such embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may further include generating a control signals phase shift in response to the received input voltage Vin, the output voltage Vo, and a received requested power. In some such embodiments, generating the control signals at the block 82 may further include combining the change in phase angle (θ) with the control signals phase shift.
In some embodiments, the input voltage may be generated at an alternating current (AC)-DC converter in response to a received grid AC voltage and the output voltage is sensed at the DC-DC converter.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that at least a portion of the controllers, devices, units, and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, memory such as volatile or non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices (e.g., a touch pad, a touch screen, an antenna, etc.), and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A data processing system may be implemented utilizing suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.
The term controller, as used in the foregoing/following disclosure, may refer to a collection of one or more components that are arranged in a particular manner, or a collection of one or more general-purpose components that may be configured to operate in a particular manner at one or more particular points in time, and/or also configured to operate in one or more further manners at one or more further times. For example, the same hardware, or same portions of hardware, may be configured/reconfigured in sequential/parallel time(s) as a first type of controller (e.g., at a first time), as a second type of controller (e.g., at a second time, which may in some instances coincide with, overlap, or follow a first time), and/or as a third type of controller (e.g., at a third time which may, in some instances, coincide with, overlap, or follow a first time and/or a second time), etc. Reconfigurable and/or controllable components (e.g., general purpose processors, digital signal processors, field programmable gate arrays, etc.) are capable of being configured as a first controller that has a first purpose, then a second controller that has a second purpose and then, a third controller that has a third purpose, and so on. The transition of a reconfigurable and/or controllable component may occur in as little as a few nanoseconds, or may occur over a period of minutes, hours, or days.
In some such examples, at the time the controller is configured to carry out the second purpose, the controller may no longer be capable of carrying out that first purpose until it is reconfigured. A controller may switch between configurations as different components/modules in as little as a few nanoseconds. A controller may reconfigure on-the-fly, e.g., the reconfiguration of a controller from a first controller into a second controller may occur just as the second controller is needed. A controller may reconfigure in stages, e.g., portions of a first controller that are no longer needed may reconfigure into the second controller even before the first controller has finished its operation. Such reconfigurations may occur automatically, or may occur through prompting by an external source, whether that source is another component, an instruction, a signal, a condition, an external stimulus, or similar.
For example, a central processing unit or the like of a controller may, at various times, operate as a component/module for displaying graphics on a screen, a component/module for writing data to a storage medium, a component/module for receiving user input, and a component/module for multiplying two large prime numbers, by configuring its logical gates in accordance with its instructions. Such reconfiguration may be invisible to the naked eye, and in some embodiments may include activation, deactivation, and/or re-routing of various portions of the component, e.g., switches, logic gates, inputs, and/or outputs. Thus, in the examples found in the foregoing/following disclosure, if an example includes or recites multiple components/modules, the example includes the possibility that the same hardware may implement more than one of the recited components/modules, either contemporaneously or at discrete times or timings. The implementation of multiple components/modules, whether using more components/modules, fewer components/modules, or the same number of components/modules as the number of components/modules, is merely an implementation choice and does not generally affect the operation of the components/modules themselves. Accordingly, it should be understood that any recitation of multiple discrete components/modules in this disclosure includes implementations of those components/modules as any number of underlying components/modules, including, but not limited to, a single component/module that reconfigures itself over time to carry out the functions of multiple components/modules, and/or multiple components/modules that similarly reconfigure, and/or special purpose reconfigurable components/modules.
In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,” “configured by,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms (for example “configured to”) generally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (for example, bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (for example, the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (for example, “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (for example, the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (for example, “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software (e.g., a high-level computer program serving as a hardware specification), firmware, or virtually any combination thereof, limited to patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. In an embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, limited to patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software (e.g., a high-level computer program serving as a hardware specification) and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter, receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).
With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.
While the disclosed subject matter has been described in terms of illustrative embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter as set forth in the claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/330,979 filed on May 26, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17330979 | May 2021 | US |
| Child | 18423597 | US |
