Low-cost commercial extended-range vehicle electrical system and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a low-cost commercial extended-range vehicle electrical system and a control method thereof. The invention discloses a low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system. The electrical system comprises a first converter, a second converter, a power battery and a range extender, the output end of the power battery is connected with the output end of the second converter through the first converter, the output end of the second converter is connected with the range extender, and the first converter, the second converter and the power battery are all controlled through control signals of the vehicle control unit. The first converter converts an output direct current level output by the power battery into a first direct current level, the second converter converts the first direct current level into a second direct current level, and power is supplied to the range extender through the second direct current level. By arranging the converter, the storage battery and the distribution box, the electrical system can be compatible with the 12V range extender, compatibility and stability among different voltage modules in the electrical system are ensured, and therefore the problem that the electrical system of the commercial range extending vehicle is not matched with the range extender is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of new energy vehicles, and in particular to an electrical system for a low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous advancement of new energy vehicle technology and the increasing maturity of the market, extended-range commercial vehicles are expected to usher in a broader development prospect in the future. On the one hand, with the improvement of power battery technology and the reduction of costs, the endurance of extended-range commercial vehicles will be further enhanced; on the other hand, with the continuous development of intelligent and networked technologies, extended-range commercial vehicles will have richer functions and a higher level of intelligence.

[0003] In traditional technology, by adding a range extender to the electrical system of a new energy vehicle, excess energy in the new energy vehicle's power system can be stored. When the battery of the new energy vehicle is low on power, the range extender can start and work to charge the battery or provide direct power support, thereby ensuring that the new energy vehicle can continue to drive and extend the mileage of the new energy vehicle.

[0004] However, among the above-mentioned traditional technologies, since the mainstream range extenders on the market are all 12V gasoline engine products, they are difficult to match with the 24V electrical system commonly used in commercial range extenders, which hinders the direct application of range extenders in commercial range extenders. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system and a control method thereof to address the problem that the current commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system and the range extender are not matched.

[0006] A low-cost commercial range-extender electrical system, the electrical system comprising: a first converter, a second converter, a power battery and a range extender;

[0007] The output end of the power battery is connected to the output end of the second converter through the first converter, the output end of the second converter is connected to the range extender, and the first converter, the second converter and the power battery are all controlled by the control signal of the vehicle controller;

[0008] The first converter converts the output DC level of the power battery into a first DC level, and the second converter converts the first DC level into a second DC level, and the range extender is powered by the second DC level.

[0009] In one of the embodiments, the output terminal of the first converter is also connected to the input terminal of the first battery.

[0010] In one embodiment, the first battery is a 24V battery.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the output terminal of the first storage battery is connected to a load, thereby providing stable power supply to the load.

[0012] In one embodiment, the output end of the second converter is also connected to the input end of a second battery, and the second battery is a 12V battery.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the second converter is connected to the range extender via a distribution box.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, the power distribution box adopts a power distribution device with multi-channel voltage output.

[0015] A control method adopts the above electrical system, and the control method comprises:

[0016] The vehicle controller sends control signals to the first converter, the second converter, and a battery management system connected to the power battery, respectively, so as to activate the first controller inside the first converter, the second controller inside the second converter, and the controller component inside the battery management system;

[0017] After the second controller is activated, the range extender is powered by the first battery connected to the input terminal of the second converter, thereby activating the third controller inside the range extender;

[0018] The first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component report status information to the vehicle controller respectively, and the vehicle controller determines whether to supply high voltage according to the status information.

[0019] In one embodiment, the vehicle controller uses hard wire, CAN bus or LIN bus to transmit signals with the electrical system.

[0020] In one of the embodiments, if the status information reported by the first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component to the vehicle controller are all normal, the power battery supplies power to the first converter to apply high voltage power;

[0021] Otherwise, if there is a fault in the electrical system, the status information will be reported and judged again after the fault is checked and resolved.

[0022] The above-mentioned low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system and control method thereof, by providing a converter, a battery, and a distribution box, enables the electrical system to be compatible with a 12V range extender, ensuring the compatibility and stability between different voltage modules in the electrical system, thereby solving the problem of mismatch between the electrical system of the commercial range-extended vehicle and the range extender; a commercial range-extended vehicle equipped with the electrical system can meet the design requirements, the whole vehicle can operate normally, and the working reliability is high, thereby greatly shortening the design cycle of the vehicle model, reducing the manufacturing cost, and is suitable for a variety of commercial range-extended vehicle models; it has the advantages of high system safety, high efficiency in fault diagnosis and troubleshooting, strong system stability and reliability, and a high level of intelligence. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electrical system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a working principle diagram of an electrical system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 3 A flow chart of a control method provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present invention, so the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0028] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0029] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0030] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0031] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0032] In the field of modern automotive engineering, the complexity of electrical systems is increasing day by day, especially in commercial extended-range vehicles, whose electrical systems integrate multiple electrical modules to achieve efficient, safe and reliable energy conversion and distribution; however, compatibility issues between different electrical modules hinder the further development of commercial extended-range vehicles.

[0033] Based on this, refer to Figure 1, which shows a structural schematic diagram of an electrical system of a low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle in an embodiment of the present application, the electrical system comprising: a first converter 1, a second converter 2, a power battery 4 and a range extender 8; wherein the output end of the power battery 4 is connected to the output end of the second converter 2 through the first converter 1, the output end of the second converter 2 is connected to the range extender 8, and the first converter 1, the second converter 2 and the power battery 4 are all controlled by the control signal of the vehicle controller 3; the first converter 1 converts the output DC level of the power battery 4 into a first DC level, the second converter 2 converts the first DC level into a second DC level, and the range extender 8 is powered by the second DC level.

[0034] In the above electrical system, a set of 12V electrical modules is added to the traditional 24V electrical system of commercial range-extended vehicles, so that it can be compatible with the 12V range-extender 8, providing strong support for the development of commercial range-extended vehicles. There is no need to develop a new electrical system, avoiding the cost of completely replacing the electrical system, reducing development and manufacturing costs, shortening the design cycle of new models, and increasing the diversity of vehicle configurations; at the same time, the vehicle controller 3 ensures that all components work together through intelligent control, thereby improving system efficiency.

[0035] The first converter 1 is a high-voltage to 24V DC converter, which can convert the output DC level of the power battery 4 into a first DC level. In this embodiment, the voltage amplitude of the output DC level is generally between 200V and 750V, and the voltage amplitude of the first DC level is 24V, that is, the first converter 1 can convert the high-voltage DC output of the power battery 4 into 24V DC; in addition, the first converter 1 can communicate with the vehicle controller 3, and can ensure that the electrical system works under safe conditions, so as to improve the working stability, reliability and safety of the electrical system;

[0036] The output end of the first converter 1 is also connected to the input end of the first battery 5. The first battery 5 is a 24V battery. The output end of the first battery 5 is connected to the load 9, thereby providing stable power supply to the load 9; the first battery 5 is used to store the electric energy converted and output by the first converter 1, and its output end is connected to the load 9 through the distribution box 7, and can provide stable direct current to the load 9; in this embodiment, the load 9 is a 24V electrical appliance for the whole vehicle.

[0037] The second converter 2 is a 24V to 12V DC converter, which can convert the first DC level output by the first converter 1 into a second DC level. In this embodiment, the voltage amplitude of the second DC level is 12V, that is, the second converter 2 can convert the 24V DC output by the first converter 1 into 12V DC; in addition, the second converter 2 can communicate with the vehicle controller 3 to ensure that the second converter 2 can supply power to the range extender 9 when needed;

[0038] The second converter 2 is connected to the range extender 8 through the distribution box 7. The distribution box 7 adopts a distribution device with multi-channel voltage output. The distribution box 7 adopts a 24V / 12V integrated distribution device, which integrates 24V and 12V power distribution functions. It can stably output multiple channels of direct current with a voltage amplitude of 24V, and can also stably output at least one channel of direct current with a voltage amplitude of 12V; by arranging the distribution box 7 in the circuit system, the safe and stable operation of the power system and the automobile circuit can be guaranteed. The distribution box 7 is provided with fuses and relays inside, and has over-current, over-voltage and over-temperature protection functions to ensure the safe operation of the circuit. When a circuit failure occurs in the power system, the input power can be cut off in time to prevent damage to electrical equipment and avoid safety accidents such as fire, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the electrical system;

[0039] The output end of the second converter 2 is also connected to the input end of the second battery 6. The second battery 6 is a 12V battery. The second battery 5 is used to store the 12V direct current output by the second converter 2, so that it can be used as a backup power supply for the range extender 9. When the power of the power battery 4 and the first battery 5 is exhausted, it can provide reliable power support for the range extender 8, thereby further extending the mileage of the commercial range extender, enhancing the stability of the electrical system, and reducing the vehicle failure rate caused by insufficient power or failure; and according to the actual needs of the vehicle, power resources can be intelligently allocated to ensure that the range extender 9 obtains sufficient power support when needed, thereby improving energy utilization efficiency.

[0040] The power battery 4 is an energy storage and supply device for commercial extended-range vehicles. In this application, it serves as the input driving power source for the electrical system. The power battery 4 is monitored, managed and protected in real time through a battery management system (BMS). By collecting key parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature of the power battery 4, data processing and analysis are performed, and charging and discharging control, thermal management, fault diagnosis and safety protection of the power battery 4 are performed based on the analysis results. In this application, the vehicle controller 3 controls the power battery 4 by communicating with the controller component in the battery management system (BMS).

[0041] The specific connection method of the electrical system of this embodiment is:

[0042] The first converter 1 is provided with at least three interface groups, including a first interface group, a second interface group, and a third interface group, wherein the first interface group corresponds to the input end of the first converter 1, and is used to connect to the positive and negative electrodes of the power battery 4, the second interface group corresponds to the output end of the first converter 1, and is used to connect to the positive and negative electrodes of the first storage battery 1, and the third interface group corresponds to the control end of the first converter 1, and is used to connect to the vehicle controller 3 to receive a control signal sent by the vehicle controller 3;

[0043] The second converter 2 is provided with at least three interface groups, including a fourth interface group, a fifth interface group, and a sixth interface group, wherein the fourth interface group corresponds to the input end of the second converter 2, and is used to be connected to the second interface group of the first converter 1, and at the same time, is connected in parallel with the first storage battery 1; the fifth interface group corresponds to the output end of the second converter 2, and is used to be connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the second storage battery 6; the sixth interface group corresponds to the control end of the second converter 2, and is used to be connected to the vehicle controller 3 to receive the control signal sent by the vehicle controller 3;

[0044] The distribution box 7 is configured with at least four interface groups, including a seventh interface group, an eighth interface group, a ninth interface group and a tenth interface group, wherein the seventh interface group corresponds to the 24V input terminal of the distribution box 7, which is used to connect to the second interface group and realize parallel connection with the first battery 1 at the same time, and the eighth interface group corresponds to the 24V output terminal of the distribution box 7, which is used to connect to the load 9; the ninth interface group corresponds to the 12V input terminal of the distribution box 7, which is used to connect to the fifth interface group and realize parallel connection with the second battery 6 at the same time, and the tenth interface group corresponds to the 12V output terminal of the distribution box 7, which is used to connect to the input terminal of the range extender 8.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 shows a working principle diagram of an electrical system in an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 2 , the red line represents the positive pole (+) of the DC circuit, the black line represents the negative pole (-) of the DC circuit, the pink line represents the high-voltage DC input, and the green line represents the control signal transmission. The working mode of the electrical system of this embodiment is as follows:

[0046] By turning the vehicle key of the commercial range-extended vehicle to the ON position, the vehicle controller 3 is activated. The vehicle controller 3 is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and controlling the operation of the electrical system, and ensures the stable operation of the entire electrical system by analyzing sensor data, receiving external commands and communicating with other controllers;

[0047] Once the vehicle controller 3 is activated, it starts to activate other controllers one by one through relays (or CAN bus signals, LIN bus signals). The controllers activated by the vehicle controller 3 include the first controller configured inside the first converter 1, the second controller configured inside the second converter 2, and the controller components configured inside the battery management system (BMS). In addition, the vehicle controller 3 is also used to activate the motor controller MCU, so as to accurately control the operating state of the motor of the commercial range-extended vehicle in the future;

[0048] When the first controller is activated, since the electrical system is not connected to the high voltage power supply (i.e., the power battery 4) at this time, the first converter 1 is in a standby state, and the first controller feeds back the state information of the first converter 2 to the vehicle controller 3;

[0049] When the second controller is activated, the second converter 2 immediately converts the 24V DC power output by the first battery 5 into 12V AC power, thereby immediately providing power to the range extender 9 to activate the third controller configured in the range extender 9; the third controller communicates with the vehicle controller 3 via hard wire, CAN bus, and LIN bus, thereby feeding back the status information of the range extender 9 to the vehicle controller 3;

[0050] When the control component is activated, it will detect the health status of the power battery 4 and feedback the status information of the power battery 4 to the vehicle controller 3;

[0051] If the CAN bus signal or LIN bus signal is used to activate the controller, using one CAN bus or LIN bus for unified control can simplify the system structure, reduce wiring complexity, and improve system reliability and maintainability;

[0052] The vehicle controller 3 determines the overall state of the electrical system according to the state information reported by the first controller, the second controller, and the control component, and determines whether the electrical system is powered on with high voltage according to the determination result of the vehicle controller 3;

[0053] If all controllers report normal status, the electrical system meets the conditions for connecting to the high-voltage power supply, and the vehicle controller 3 sends a command to the battery management system (BMS) to connect the power battery 4 to the first converter 2, respectively supplying power to the load 9 and the second converter 2, thereby completing the high-voltage power supply of the electrical system; at the same time, the first converter 2 charges the first storage battery 5 to ensure that it can provide sufficient power support when needed;

[0054] The second converter 2 continuously supplies power to the range extender 8;

[0055] If one or more controllers report a fault state to the vehicle controller 1 during the startup phase, the vehicle controller 3 immediately stops the high voltage connection process and switches to a fault handling mode;

[0056] The technician uses the diagnostic tool to troubleshoot the electrical system. After the troubleshooting is resolved, each controller re-reports the status information. The vehicle controller 3 makes another judgment based on the re-reported status information. When all controllers report normal status, the vehicle controller 3 controls the electrical system to supply high voltage.

[0057] After the high voltage is supplied, the first converter 1 charges the first battery 5 and supplies power to the 24V electrical appliances of the vehicle through the power distribution box 7. At the same time, it also supplies power to the second converter 2 to meet the needs of the 12V electrical equipment later.

[0058] During the high-voltage operation stage, the vehicle controller 3 continuously monitors the status of each controller and the power level of the power battery 4, thereby adjusting the power distribution of each power-consuming device according to actual needs to ensure efficient use of energy and long-term health of the battery pack;

[0059] When the power battery 4 is low on power, the range extender 8 starts running to provide a power source for the commercial range-extended vehicle, thereby greatly increasing the vehicle's cruising range and flexibility of use.

[0060] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 A control method in an embodiment of the present application is shown, using the above-mentioned electrical system, and the control method includes:

[0061] The vehicle controller 3 sends control signals to the first converter 1, the second converter 2, and the battery management system connected to the power battery 4, respectively, so as to activate the first controller inside the first converter 1, the second controller inside the second converter 2, and the controller component inside the battery management system;

[0062] After the second controller is activated, the range extender 8 is powered by the first battery 5 connected to the input terminal of the second converter 2, thereby activating the third controller inside the range extender 8;

[0063] The first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component report status information to the vehicle controller 3 respectively, and the vehicle controller 3 determines whether to supply high voltage electricity according to the status information.

[0064] The vehicle control unit (VCU) is the core control component of new energy vehicles. In this application, the vehicle control unit 3 is used to monitor and control the operation of the entire electrical system. The vehicle control unit 3 uses hard wires, CAN bus or LIN bus to transmit signals with the electrical system; when hard wires are used for signal transmission, relays are usually configured for signal transmission and power management.

[0065] If the status information reported by the first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component to the vehicle controller 3 are all normal, the power battery 4 supplies power to the first converter 1, thereby supplying high voltage; otherwise, if there is a fault in the electrical system, the status information will be reported and judged again after troubleshooting and resolution.

[0066] If all controllers report normal status, the power battery 4 supplies power to the first converter 1, and the electrical system is then powered by high voltage. If any controller reports a fault status, it indicates that there is a fault in the electrical system. At this time, it is necessary to troubleshoot and repair the fault, and re-report and evaluate the status.

[0067] Each controller feeds back status information of the vehicle controller 3 including key parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature. If all parameters are within the specified value range, each controller reports the normal status to the vehicle controller 3. If one or more parameters exceed the specified value range, the corresponding controller reports the fault status to the vehicle controller 3.

[0068] The control method of this embodiment can detect and handle potential faults in a timely manner through real-time monitoring and fault diagnosis, thereby avoiding system shutdown and damage caused by faults and reducing maintenance costs; through the coordinated work between various controllers and the precise control of them by the vehicle controller 3, it can ensure that the electrical system operates in the best state, thereby improving energy utilization efficiency; through intelligent management and control, it can ensure that the electrical system can operate stably under various working conditions, thereby extending the service life of the electrical system.

[0069] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0070] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system, characterized in that: The electrical system comprises: a first converter, a second converter, a power battery and a range extender; The output end of the power battery is connected to the output end of the second converter through the first converter, the output end of the second converter is connected to the range extender, and the first converter, the second converter and the power battery are all controlled by the control signal of the vehicle controller; The first converter converts the output DC level of the power battery into a first DC level, and the second converter converts the first DC level into a second DC level, and the range extender is powered by the second DC level.

2. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output terminal of the first converter is also connected to the input terminal of the first battery.

3. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first battery is a 24V battery.

4. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The output end of the first storage battery is connected to a load, thereby providing stable power supply to the load.

5. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output end of the second converter is also connected to the input end of a second storage battery, and the second storage battery is a 12V storage battery.

6. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second converter is connected to the range extender through a distribution box.

7. The low-cost commercial range-extended vehicle electrical system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The power distribution box adopts a power distribution device with multi-channel voltage output.

8. A control method, characterized in that: Using the electrical system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the control method comprises: The vehicle controller sends control signals to the first converter, the second converter, and a battery management system connected to the power battery, respectively, so as to activate the first controller inside the first converter, the second controller inside the second converter, and the controller component inside the battery management system; After the second controller is activated, the range extender is powered by the first battery connected to the input terminal of the second converter, thereby activating the third controller inside the range extender; The first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component report status information to the vehicle controller respectively, and the vehicle controller determines whether to apply high voltage electricity according to the status information.

9. The control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The vehicle controller uses hard wire, CAN bus or LIN bus to transmit signals with the electrical system.

10. The control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: If the status information reported by the first controller, the second controller, the third controller and the control component to the vehicle controller are all normal, the power battery supplies power to the first converter, thereby applying high voltage; Otherwise, if there is a fault in the electrical system, the status information will be reported and judged again after the fault is checked and resolved.

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