Charging parallel connected hybrid chemical energy storage devices

Abstract

Simultaneous parallel charging of first and second electrical energy storage devices coupled to a charge source is performed by coupling the charge source directly to one of the first ESD and the second ESD and by coupling the charge source to the other of the first ESD and the second ESD through a DC-DC converter. The charge source provides current distributed to the two ESDs by controlling the DC-DC converter. Any ESD can be charged preferentially.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging device for a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS). Background Art

[0002] An electric vehicle may have one or more rechargeable energy storage systems, including multiple energy storage devices, including battery packs and supercapacitors. Energy storage devices may have different characteristics and charging requirements due to different storage technologies, different chemistries, different nominal and dynamic parameters and states. Electric vehicles may have standardized recharging ports for interfacing with charging infrastructure. Such charging infrastructure has limited flexibility in charging curve availability, thus presenting challenges for charging energy storage devices with different charging requirements. It is desirable to recharge multiple energy storage devices with different charging requirements simultaneously. Summary of the invention

[0003] In an exemplary embodiment, a method for controlling simultaneous parallel charging of a first electrical energy storage device (ESD) and a second ESD from a charge source may include coupling the charge source directly to one of the first ESD and the second ESD and coupling to the other of the first ESD and the second ESD through a direct current-to-direct current (DC-DC) converter, determining a first current for charging the first ESD, and determining a second current for charging the second ESD. When the charge source cannot provide the first current and the second current simultaneously without violating a charge source constraint, determining a reduced second current for charging the second ESD, wherein the charge source can provide the first current and the reduced second current simultaneously without violating the charge source constraint. By controlling the DC-DC converter, the first current is distributed to the first ESD and the reduced second current is distributed to the second ESD.

[0004] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may be coupled directly to the first ESD and coupled to the second ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0005] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may be coupled directly to the second ESD and coupled to the first ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0006] In another exemplary embodiment, a charging device for a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) may include a charge source, a DC-DC converter, a first energy storage device (ESD), and a second ESD, wherein the charge source is directly coupled to one of the first ESD and the second ESD, and is coupled to the other of the first ESD and the second ESD through the DC-DC converter. A controller determines a first current for charging the first ESD, and determines a second current for charging the second ESD. When the charge source cannot provide the first current and the second current simultaneously without violating the charge source constraint, the controller determines a reduced second current for charging the second ESD, wherein the charge source can provide the first current and the reduced second current simultaneously without violating the charge source constraint, and distributes the first current to the first ESD and distributes the reduced second current to the second ESD by controlling the DC-DC converter.

[0007] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may include an infrastructure charging station.

[0008] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may include a donor vehicle.

[0009] In addition to one or more features described herein, the first ESD and the second ESD may include batteries.

[0010] In addition to one or more features described herein, at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD may include a supercapacitor.

[0011] In addition to one or more features described herein, the DC-DC converter may include a boost converter.

[0012] In addition to one or more features described herein, the DC-DC converter may include a buck converter.

[0013] In addition to one or more features described herein, the DC-DC converter may include a buck / boost converter.

[0014] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may be coupled directly to the first ESD and coupled to the second ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0015] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may be coupled directly to the second ESD and coupled to the first ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0016] In yet another exemplary embodiment, an electric powertrain for a vehicle may include a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) including a first energy storage device (ESD) and a second ESD, an electric drive unit (EDU), a DC-DC converter, and a controller that determines a first current for charging the first ESD and determines a second current for charging the second ESD. When a charge source directly coupled to one of the first ESD and the second ESD and coupled to the other of the first ESD and the second ESD through the DC-DC converter cannot simultaneously provide the first current and the second current without violating a charge source constraint, the controller determines a reduced second current for charging the second ESD, wherein the charge source can simultaneously provide the first current and the reduced second current without violating the charge source constraint, and distributes the first current to the first ESD and distributes the reduced second current to the second ESD by controlling the DC-DC converter.

[0017] In addition to one or more features described herein, the first ESD and the second ESD may include batteries.

[0018] In addition to one or more features described herein, at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD may include a supercapacitor.

[0019] In addition to one or more features described herein, the DC-DC converter may include one of a boost converter and a buck converter.

[0020] In addition to one or more features described herein, the DC-DC converter may include a buck / boost converter.

[0021] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source may be coupled directly to the first ESD and coupled to the second ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0022] In addition to one or more features described herein, the charge source is coupled directly to the second ESD and is coupled to the first ESD through a DC-DC converter.

[0023] The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Other features, advantages and details appear, by way of example only, in the following detailed description, which refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 An electric propulsion system on a vehicle is shown according to one or more embodiments;

[0026] Figure 2illustrates an exemplary charging configuration according to one or more embodiments;

[0027] Figure 3 According to one or more embodiments, Figure 2 Exemplary charging control of a charging configuration of;

[0028] Figure 4 shows an exemplary charging control routine according to one or more embodiments; and

[0029] Figure 5 An exemplary charging control routine is shown in accordance with one or more embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or uses. Corresponding reference numerals indicate identical or corresponding parts and features throughout the drawings. The description of parts and features in one drawing is understood to apply to parts and features in other drawings sharing the same reference numerals, to the extent that such parts and features cannot be distinguished by inspection of the drawings by one of ordinary skill in the art or by the accompanying written description herein.

[0031] Figure 1 An embodiment of an electric propulsion system 101 on an electric vehicle 100 is schematically shown. Vehicles and vehicles are understood to refer to any means of transportation, including but not limited to motorcycles, automobiles, trucks, buses, excavators, earth-moving equipment, construction and agricultural equipment, rail vehicles such as trains and trams, and water vehicles such as ships and boats. The electric propulsion system 101 may include various control components, electrical systems, and electromechanical systems, including, for example, a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) 104 and an electric drive unit (EDU) 102. The electric propulsion system 101 may be used on a powertrain to generate propulsion torque, as a replacement for or in combination with an internal combustion engine in various electric vehicle (EV) applications and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications, respectively.

[0032] The EDU 102 may have different levels of complexity, components, and integration. An exemplary highly integrated EDU 102 may include, for example, a rotating electrical machine, such as an alternating current (AC) motor (motor) 120 and a traction power inverter module (TPIM) 106, which includes a motor controller 105 and a power inverter 110. The motor 120 may include a stator 120S and a rotor 120R, which is coupled to a rotor shaft 125 and a position sensor 182, such as a variable reluctance resolver or encoder. The position sensor 182 may be directly connected to the motor controller 105 in a signal manner and used to monitor the angular position (θ) of the rotor of the motor 120. eThe motor controller 105 uses the angular position (θ e ) to control the operation of the power inverter 110, which controls the torque generation and other functions of the motor 120, including through the first-order derivative of the angular velocity (ie, the motor speed).

[0033] The rotor shaft 125 can transfer torque between the motor 120 and the drive train components, some of which can be integrated within the EDU 102, such as in a gearbox 121 that includes a reduction gear and a differential gear set and one or more shaft outputs. The gearbox 121 can simply include a reduction gear and a drive shaft output for coupling to the differential gear set. One or more shafts 123 can be coupled to the gearbox 121 directly or through a final drive or differential gear set (if separated from the final drive or differential gear set). The shaft 123 can be coupled to one or more wheels 124 for transmitting traction between the wheels and the road surface. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize alternative arrangements of the drive train components. Propulsion torque request or command 136 (T cmd ) may be provided by the vehicle controller 103 to the motor controller 105 as discrete inputs on a network bus such as a CAN bus.

[0034] Any controller may include one or more control modules. As used herein, control module, module, control, controller, control unit, electronic control unit, processor and similar terms represent any one or various combinations of one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electronic circuits, central processing units (preferably microprocessors) and associated memory and storage devices (read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), hard disk drives, etc.) or microcontrollers, combinational logic circuits, input / output circuits and devices (I / O) that execute one or more software or firmware programs or routines, and appropriate signal conditioning and buffering circuits, high-speed clocks, analog-to-digital (A / D) and digital-to-analog (D / A) circuits, and other components that provide the functions. The control module may include various communication interfaces, including point-to-point or discrete lines and wired or wireless interfaces to a network, including wide area networks and local area networks, controller area networks (CAN) buses, and in-plant and service-related networks including for over-the-air download (OTA) software updates. The functions of the control modules set forth in the present disclosure may be performed in a distributed control architecture between multiple networked control modules. Software, firmware, programs, instructions, routines, code, algorithms and similar terms refer to any controller executable instruction set, including calibrations, data structures and lookup tables. A control module may have a set of control routines that are executed to provide the described functionality. The routines are executed, for example, by a central processing unit and are operable to monitor inputs from sensing devices and other networked control modules and perform control and diagnostic routines to control the operation of actuators. The routines may be executed periodically during ongoing engine and vehicle operation. Alternatively, the routines may be executed in response to the occurrence of an event, a software call, or upon request via a user interface input or request.

[0035] In one embodiment, the RESS 104 may include one or more electrical energy storage devices, such as electrochemical battery packs 112, such as high-capacity, high-voltage (HV) rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs for providing power to the vehicle via an HV direct current (DC) bus 108. The RESS 104 may include one or more battery packs 112 consisting of multiple battery pack modules, allowing flexibility in configuration and adapting to application requirements. The battery pack may include multiple battery pack modules consisting of multiple battery cells, allowing flexibility in configuration and adapting to application requirements. The battery pack module may include multiple battery cells, allowing flexibility in configuration and adapting to application requirements. For example, in vehicle use, the RESS 104 can be modular to the extent that the number of battery pack modules can be varied to adapt to the desired energy density or range target for a specific vehicle platform, intended use, or cost target. The battery packs and battery pack modules can be configured differently and selectively according to the desired propulsion architecture and charging and discharging functions, such as by controllable switching devices such as HV solid-state relays and electromechanical contactors, for establishing various connections and disconnections, including disconnection and reconfiguration of battery packs and modules. It should be understood that the RESS 104 can be reconfigured at any level of integration including battery packs, battery modules, and battery cells. In one embodiment, the RESS can be selectively configured to provide two or more voltage levels, such as 800 volts and 400 volts, to the HV direct current (DC) bus 108 for propulsion, charging, or other purposes. In addition, the RESS 104 can include a combination of battery packs 112 of different chemistry, capacity, performance, and other characteristics. In other embodiments, the RESS can include a combination of different electrical energy storage device technologies, such as battery packs 112 and supercapacitors. The RESS 104 may include a DC-DC converter (converter) 113 and a battery manager module 114, which may include an on-board charging module (OBCM) and a DC-DC converter control module (CCM), as further described herein.

[0036] The motor 120 may be a multi-phase AC motor that receives multi-phase AC power via a multi-phase power bus (AC bus) 111 coupled to the power inverter 110. In one embodiment, the motor 120 is a three-phase motor and the power inverter 110 is a three-phase inverter. The power inverter 110 may include a plurality of solid-state switches in a solid-state switch portion. The power inverter 110 receives a DC input voltage (V dc)) is coupled to DC power from the RESS 104, for example selectively at 400 or 800 volts via electromechanical contactors, for establishing various connections and disconnections, including battery pack and module disconnection and reconfiguration. The voltage level of the HV DC bus 108 can be selected, established, or otherwise set by the battery manager module 114 based on the request of the motor controller 105. The HV DC bus 108 can be referred to as a DC link, and the voltage level of the HV DC bus can be referred to as a DC link voltage. The motor controller 105 is coupled to the power inverter 110 to control it. The power inverter 110 is electrically connected to the stator phase windings of the three-phase stator windings of the motor 120 via the AC bus 111, and the current (I abc ). The AC bus 111 provides conductive coupling of the multi-phase output of the power inverter 110 to the phase terminals of the stator windings. The AC bus 111 may include the AC bus characteristics of the TPIM 106, the AC bus characteristics of the motor 120, and conductors connecting the AC bus characteristics of the TPIM 106 and the AC bus characteristics of the motor 120. As used herein, the AC bus 111 includes all high voltage / high current phase conductors between the switching portion of the power inverter 110 and the motor 120, including, for example, busbars, cables, poles, etc. The power inverter 110 may be configured with suitable control circuitry, including pairs of power transistors (e.g., IGBTs) for converting the high voltage DC voltage on the HV DC bus 108 into a high voltage three-phase AC voltage (V abc ), and the high voltage three-phase AC voltage (V abc ) is converted into a high voltage DC voltage on the HV DC bus 108. The power inverter 110 may selectively employ any suitable pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme, such as sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) or other continuous pulse width modulation (CPWM), space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) or other discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM), including generalized discontinuous pulse width modulation (GDPWM) and adaptive (APWM), variable frequency (VFPWM), fractional duty cycle (FDPWM) pulse width modulation variants, etc., to generate the switching vector signal (S abc ) 109, thereby converting the stored DC electric power generated in the battery pack 112 of the RESS 104 into AC electric power to drive the motor 120 to produce torque. The PWM scheme can be selected, established or set by the motor controller. Similarly, the power inverter 110 can convert the mechanical power delivered to the motor 120 into DC electric power to generate electrical energy that can be stored in the battery pack 112 of the RESS 104, including as part of the regenerative braking control strategy. The power inverter 110 can be configured to receive a switching vector signal (S) from the motor controller 105. abc) 109 and controls the inverter state to provide motor drive and regeneration functions. Switching vector signal (S abc ) 109 may also be referred to herein as a conduction command, and is understood to inherently include a power inverter switching frequency (FSW), which may be selected, established, or otherwise set by the motor controller 105. Other control signals may be provided to and from the motor controller 105, including, for example, an inverter gate drive parameter control signal 126 to select, establish, or otherwise set a slew rate, gate drive resistance, or other inverter gate drive parameters in a gate drive module 128 of the power inverter 110 for controlling the switching portion of the power inverter 110.

[0037] The control of the power inverter 110 may include high frequency switching of solid state switches according to PWM control. Many design and application considerations and limitations determine the inverter switching frequency and PWM control. Inverter control for AC motor applications may include a fixed switching frequency, such as a switching frequency of about 10-30kHz, and PWM control that minimizes switching losses of the IGBT or other power switches of the power inverter 110. Emerging solid state switch technologies can achieve higher switching frequencies, such as silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs, gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, diamond MOSFETs, carbon nanotube transistors, and graphene-based transistors.

[0038] The disclosed improvements relate to methods and apparatus for charge management of electrical energy storage devices of the RESS 104. More specifically, the improvements relate to simultaneous charging of parallel configurations of electrical energy storage devices of the RESS 104 having different chemistries, capacities, performances, and other characteristics, and may be implemented without limitation in HEV and EV embodiments of the electric vehicle 100, as well as in non-vehicle applications such as power plants, centralized or distributed stationary energy storage applications, and the like.

[0039] Further references Figure 2, shows an exemplary embodiment using a battery pack 112. The battery pack 112 of the RESS 104 may include a battery pack-A 112A and a battery pack-B 112B. The battery pack-A 112A and the battery pack-B 112B may be of the same family, such as lithium-ion, but of different chemistry. The battery pack-A 112A and the battery pack-B 112B may be of different families, such as lithium-ion, lithium sulfur, nickel metal hydride, lead acid, solid state, etc. The battery pack-A 112A and the battery pack-B 112B may be designed for different purposes. For example, the battery pack-A 112A may have specific energy characteristics that make it advantageous as an energy pack, while the battery pack-B 112B may have specific power characteristics that make it advantageous as a power pack. Such mixed chemistry battery packs may have different open circuit voltages (OCVs) (i.e., terminal voltages), different charging C-rate limits, different SOCs when and during charging, and other different characteristics that make unmanaged simultaneous parallel charging infeasible.

[0040] In this regard, according to one embodiment, an apparatus for charging Battery Pack-A 112A and Battery Pack-B 112B simultaneously in parallel as described herein is described. It should be understood that Battery Pack-A and Battery Pack-B are merely exemplary, both of which are batteries; however, as mentioned herein, different electrical energy storage device technologies, such as batteries and supercapacitors, may constitute Battery Pack-A and Battery Pack-B. Figure 2 As shown, battery pack-A 112A and battery pack-B 112B are coupled via a converter 113. Converter 113 may be of any suitable topology and may be designed based on the characteristics and application of battery pack-A and battery pack-B. For example, converter 113 may operate as a boost converter, a buck converter, or a buck / boost converter, and may be isolated or non-isolated, and unidirectional or bidirectional. Furthermore, converter 113 may be single-phase or multi-phase, which may be advantageous in high power applications, and adapted to add and drop phases, which may be advantageous in variable power conversion scenarios. Figure 2 As shown, the charging station 201 provides the charging station current IC with the charging station voltage VC, the battery pack-B receives the battery pack-B current IB with the battery pack-B voltage VB, and the converter 113 receives the converter input current IOUT with the converter input voltage VOUT. It can be understood that Figure 2 In the configuration shown, IC = IOUT + IB, VOUT = VC = VB. Converter 113 converts converter input current IOUT at converter input voltage VOUT to battery pack-A current IA at converter output voltage VIN. Battery pack-A receives battery pack-A current IA at battery pack-A voltage VA. Figure 2In the configuration shown, it can be appreciated that VIN = VA. Ignoring the operating power losses through the converter 113, it can be appreciated that the converter input power is substantially equal to the converter output power (ie, IOUT x VOUT = IA x VIN).

[0041] As shown, the charging station 201 can be coupled to the battery pack-B 112B. The charging station 201 can be an off-board power source, such as an infrastructure charging station, or another vehicle suitable for charge sharing (e.g., a donor vehicle), or can include on-board AC to DC power conversion hardware. The charging station 201 can rely on on-board AC to DC conversion to deliver low-power AC (e.g., level 1, level 2), or can deliver high-power DC (level 3+), such as a DC fast charging (DCFC) station. In one embodiment, the charging station 201 can be a DCFC station that substantially matches the nominal voltage requirements of the battery pack-B 112B (e.g., a 400 or 800 volt charging station to a 400 or 800 volt battery pack-B). The charging station can be connected to the electric vehicle 100 via one or more charging ports capable of DC-DC power transmission, such as via CCS, CHAdeMO, or other DC-DC connector protocols or standards, which may include wired communication between the electric vehicle 100 and the charging station 201.

[0042] The battery manager module 114 may include the OBCM 203 and the CCM 205 and other related control modules and circuits for RESS 104 management, control and diagnosis. The OBCM 203 may provide control signals 209 to the charging station 201, such as voltage and current settings, as well as charging limits and other parameters. The CCM 205 may provide control signals 211 to the converter 113, such as voltage and current settings. The battery manager module 114, including the OBCM 203 and the CCM 205, may receive inputs 207 directly from sensors, vehicle buses such as CAN buses, and communications from the charging station 201, including requests and data such as voltage and current. The data available to the battery manager module 114 include, but are not limited to, the battery pack-A voltage VA, the battery pack-B voltage VB, the charging station voltage VC, the charging station current IC, the battery pack-A current IA, the battery pack-B current IB, the current entering the converter IOUT, the converter input voltage VOUT, and the converter output voltage VIN.

[0043] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, a parallel charging control module (PCCM) 301 provides a control signal 315 to the OBCM / charging station 203 / 201 and provides a control signal 313 to the CCM / converter 205 / 113 to simultaneously charge the parallel combination of the battery pack-A 112A and the battery pack-B 112B coupled by the converter 113, as shown. Figure 2As shown. PCCM301 may include a model predictive controller (MPC) 303 or other suitable controller for providing control signals 315 and 313. Advantageously, MPC303 can be designed around different constraints for each battery pack-A and battery pack-B to limit the charging current provided to each battery pack and distribute the charging station current IC between the battery packs according to priority goals. Control signal 315 may include settings for the desired voltage VCdes and / or desired current ICdes of the charging station 201 during the charging cycle, which may include, for example, a constant current (CC) mode and a constant voltage (CV) mode. Control signal 313 may include settings for the desired input current IOUTdes of the converter 113 during the charging cycle, which may include, for example, operating the converter in CC mode or CV mode. PCCM301 may include an observer 305 for estimating the state of charge (SoC) and state of power (SoP) of battery pack-B and an observer 307 for estimating the SoC and SoP of battery pack-A. The observers 305, 307 receive corresponding inputs, such as current, voltage, and temperature (i.e., IA, VA, TA, IB, VB, TB) corresponding to the battery pack-A and the battery pack-B. The SoC and SoP of the battery pack-A and the battery pack-B are provided as inputs to the MPC 303 for determining the setting of the desired input current IOUTdes and the setting of the desired voltage VCdes and / or the desired current ICdes of the charging station 201 during the charging cycle including CC and CV modes. The MPC 303 can operate within the constraints based on the SoP of the battery pack-A and the battery pack-B. An exemplary set of constraints for operating the converter 113 with a priority of charging the battery pack-B first can be expressed by the following relationship:

[0044]

[0045]

[0046] Among them, IB max is the maximum charging current limit of battery pack-B,

[0047] IB min is the minimum charging current limit of battery pack-B,

[0048] I A max is the maximum charging current limit of battery pack-A,

[0049] I A min is the minimum charging current limit of battery pack-A,

[0050] IOUT is the converter input current, and

[0051] p is the number of converters operating in parallel.

[0052] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary implementation of a parallel charging routine 400 according to an embodiment, wherein the battery pack-A 112A is charged by Figure 2 and Figure 3 Converter 113 is shown receiving the charging current and prioritizing the charging between battery pack-A and battery pack-B. Routine 400 may be repeatedly executed as part of overall electric vehicle 100 control during ongoing vehicle operation. Routine 400 may represent at least in part a control performed by a controller provided at a Figure 1 Routines and functions performed or implemented by one or more processors in the electric vehicle 100, included within one or more various controllers (e.g., 103, 114), and acting on or in conjunction with various tangible hardware and devices comprising the electric propulsion system 101 described herein. Routine 400 may represent a set of instructions stored in a non-transitory memory and executed by a processor of one or more controllers. Routine 400 is illustrated in a substantially linear manner with individual tasks and groups of tasks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described routine 400 may be represented in alternative manners including, for example, state flow diagrams and activity diagrams. Those skilled in the art also appreciate that the various tasks in routine 400 may be implemented in different orders and / or simultaneously, and may be merged or split. For purposes of illustration, routine 400 may be combined with Figure 1 An exemplary electric propulsion system 101 of an electric vehicle 100 and other figures herein are discussed.

[0053] Routine 400 is initialized at 401, where the charging mode is initially set to a constant current mode. At 403, sensor and data inputs including VIN, VOUT, IA, IB, IOUT, IC, VC, and system temperature may be continuously and periodically acquired, filtered, synchronized, and otherwise processed for use in this routine 400, etc. At 405, control quantities for control algorithms, such as states, targets, limits, etc., may be initially determined and continuously updated or modified as needed, such as through models, observers, and calibrations. For example, initial values ​​and target final values ​​of SoC for each of Pack-A and Pack-B may be determined by observers 305, 307, and SoC and SoP may be continuously determined, as described herein with reference to Figure 3 When the routine 400 is in the constant current (CC) mode, decision block 407 proceeds to the CC mode task starting at 409 , and when the routine 400 is in the constant voltage (CV) mode, proceeds to the CV mode task starting at 419 .

[0054] In CC mode, a target for battery pack-A current IA is determined and set based on the charge calibration curve, battery pack-A temperature, SoC, SoP, and other factors. During CC mode, an initial target may be set and subsequently updated. Since the target for battery pack-A current IA is provided by converter 113, at 411, an equivalent power target for converter input current IOUT may be determined as IOUT=IA x(VIN / VOUT). Converter 113 limitations, such as input current IOUT limits, if exceeded by the equivalent target for converter input current IOUT, may result in converter 113 limiting the equivalent target for converter input current IOUT and an effective reduction in the target for battery pack-A current IA. At 413, power available from charging station 201 is preferentially allocated—first to battery pack-A via converter input current IOUT, and then to battery pack-B via battery pack-B current IB. The target for battery pack-B current IB may be determined in a manner similar to the target for battery pack-A current IA. At 415, in the case where the power of the charging station 201 is sufficient to deliver the charging station current IC, which is the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery-B current IB, the charging station 201 current desired current ICdes may be set to the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery-B current IB, and provided to the OBCM 203 to be provided to the charging station 201 for implementation. However, in the case where the power of the charging station 201 is insufficient to deliver the charging station current IC, the charging station current IC is the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery-B current IB, and the target of the battery-B current IB is limited by the power limitation of the charging station 201. The charging station 201 desired current ICdes may therefore be set to the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the power-limited target of the battery-B current IB of the charging station 201, and provided to the OBCM 203 to be provided to the charging station 201 for implementation. Also at 415, the converter 113 desired input current IOUTdes may be set as a target for the converter input current IOUT, as determined in the task at 411, and provided to the CCM 205 for controlling the converter 113 in CC mode. As described above with respect to the task at 409, during CC mode, the target for the battery pack-A current IA may be continuously adjusted. Thus, during CC mode, a reduction in the target for the battery pack-A current IA may free up charging station power for reallocation to the battery pack-B by continuously updating the target for the battery pack-B current IB during CC mode. Decision block 417 determines whether the CC mode has been completed, e.g., the battery pack-A 112A SoC has reached a certain threshold (e.g., 0.8).In the case where the CC mode has not been completed, the decision block 417 returns to the tasks of 403 and 405 for updating the sensors and control quantities, and returns to the decision block 407 again for routing to the active task in the CC mode task or the CV mode task. In the case where the CC mode has been completed, the decision block 417 causes the routine 400 to proceed to the CV mode task starting at 419.

[0055] In CV mode, at 419, the converter 113 may be controlled in CV mode. Decision block 421 next determines whether the CV mode has been completed relative to the priority battery pack-A, such as the battery pack-A 112A SoC has reached a certain final threshold (e.g., 0.98). In the case that the CV mode has not been completed, the decision block 421 returns to the tasks of 403 and 405 for updating the sensors and control quantities, and returns again to the decision block 407 for routing to the active task in the CC mode task or the CV mode task. In the case that the CV mode has been completed, the decision block 421 advances the routine 400 to the task at 423 for shutting down the converter 113 so that no charging current is delivered to the battery pack-A. The converter 113 can be shut down by the CCM205 control, which may require deactivating the converter power switch and opening the bus contactor, thereby disconnecting the converter 113 at one or both of the converter input and output and isolating the battery pack-A, which is now considered to be fully charged. Decision block 425 next determines whether the CV mode has been completed with respect to Pack-B, which is still actively charging, such as immediately regardless of SoC, or based on a determination of a metric such as Pack-B SoC reaching a final threshold, which may vary significantly based on factors such as initial SoC, current SoC, CC mode charging participation (i.e., is the target charging current significantly limited due to charging station power limitations?), or other factors. In the event that the CV mode has not been completed, the decision block 425 waits for completion while Pack-B continues to charge in CV mode. However, in the event that the CV mode has been completed, routine 400 ends at 427.

[0056] In an alternative embodiment of battery pack-A priority charging, in the event that decision block 417 determines that CC mode has been completed, the converter can operate in CV mode while OBCM203 continues to request CC mode charging from charging station 201 based on a relatively slowly time-varying charging station 201 desired current ICdes, which is the sum of a substantially constant target for battery pack-B current IB and a slowly decreasing converter input current IOUT corresponding to a slowly decreasing battery pack-A current IA through CV mode operation of converter 113.

[0057] Figure 5is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary implementation of a parallel charging routine 500 according to an embodiment, wherein the battery pack-A 112A is charged by Figure 2 and Figure 3 Converter 113 is shown receiving charging current, and battery pack-B is the charging priority between battery pack-A and battery pack-B. Routine 500 may be repeatedly executed as part of overall electric vehicle 100 control during ongoing vehicle operation. Routine 500 may represent at least in part a control performed by a controller provided at a Figure 1 Routines and functions performed or implemented by one or more processors in the electric vehicle 100, included within one or more various controllers (e.g., 103, 114), and acting on or in conjunction with various tangible hardware and devices comprising the electric propulsion system 101 described herein. Routine 500 may represent a set of instructions stored in a non-volatile memory and executed by a processor of one or more controllers. Routine 500 is illustrated in a substantially linear manner with individual tasks and groups of tasks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described routine 500 may be represented in alternative manners including, for example, state flow diagrams and activity diagrams. Those skilled in the art also appreciate that the various tasks in routine 500 may be implemented in different orders and / or simultaneously, and may be merged or split. For purposes of illustration, routine 500 may be combined with Figure 1 An exemplary electric propulsion system 101 of an electric vehicle 100 and other figures herein are discussed.

[0058] Routine 500 is initialized at 501, where the charging mode is initially set to a constant current mode. At 503, sensor and data inputs including VIN, VOUT, IA, IB, IOUT, IC, VC, and system temperature may be continuously and periodically acquired, filtered, synchronized, and otherwise processed for use in this routine 500, etc. At 505, control quantities for control algorithms, such as states, targets, limits, etc., may be initially determined and continuously updated or modified as needed, such as by models, observers, and calibration. For example, initial values ​​and target final values ​​of SoC for each of Pack-A and Pack-B may be determined by observers 305, 307, and SoC and SoP may be continuously determined, as described herein with reference to Figure 3 When the routine 500 is in constant current (CC) mode, decision block 507 begins executing CC mode tasks at 509 , and when the routine 500 is in constant voltage (CV) mode, begins executing CV mode tasks at 519 .

[0059] In CC mode, a target for the battery pack-B current IB is determined and set based on the charge calibration curve, battery pack-B temperature, SoC, SoP, and other factors. During CC mode, an initial target can be set and subsequently updated. At 511, the power available from the charging station 201 is allocated preferentially—first to the battery pack-B through the battery pack-B current IB, and then to the battery pack-A through the converter input current IOUT. The target for the battery pack-A current IA can be determined in a manner similar to the target for the battery pack-B current IB. Since the target for the battery pack-A current IA is provided by the converter 113, at 513, the equivalent power target for the converter input current IOUT can be determined as IOUT=IA x(VIN / VOUT). Converter 113 limitations, such as input current IOUT limits, if exceeded by the equivalent target for the converter input current IOUT, can result in the converter 113 limiting the equivalent target for the converter input current IOUT and an effective reduction in the target for the battery pack-A current IA. At 515, in the case where the power of the charging station 201 is sufficient to deliver the charging station current IC, which is the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery group B current IB, the charging station 201 current desired current ICdes may be set to the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery group B current IB, and provided to the OBCM 203 to be provided to the charging station 201 for implementation. However, in the case where the power of the charging station 201 is insufficient to deliver the charging station current IC, the charging station current IC is the sum of the target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery group-B current IB, then the target of the battery group-A current IA is limited by the power limitation of the charging station 201, and the corresponding target of the converter input current IOUT is adjusted accordingly. The charging station 201 desired current ICdes may therefore be set to the sum of the adjusted target of the converter input current IOUT and the target of the battery group-B current IB, and provided to the OBCM 203 to be provided to the charging station 201 for implementation. Also at 515, the converter 113 desired input current IOUTdes may be set as a target for the converter input current IOUT, as determined in the task at 513, and provided to the CCM 205 to control the converter 113 in CC mode. As described above with respect to the task at 509, during CC mode, the target for the battery pack-B current IB may be continuously adjusted. Thus, during CC mode, a reduction in the target for the battery pack-B current IB may free up charging station power for reallocation to the battery pack-A by continuously updating the target for the battery pack-A current IA (and the corresponding target for the converter input current IOUT) during CC mode. Decision block 517 determines whether the CC mode has been completed, such as when the battery pack-B 112BSoC has reached a certain threshold (e.g., 0.8).In the case where the CC mode has not been completed, the decision block 517 returns to tasks 503 and 505 for updating sensors and control quantities, and returns to the decision block 507 again for routing to the active task in the CC mode task or the CV mode task. In the case where the CC mode has been completed, the decision block 517 causes the routine 500 to proceed to the CV mode task starting at 519.

[0060] In CV mode, at 519, the converter 113 may be controlled in CV mode. Decision block 521 next determines whether the CV mode has been completed relative to the priority battery pack-B, such as the battery pack-B 112B SoC has reached a certain final threshold (e.g., 0.98). In the case that the CV mode has not been completed, the decision block 521 returns to tasks 503 and 505 for updating sensors and control quantities, and returns again to the decision block 507 for routing to the active task in the CC mode task or the CV mode task. In the case that the CV mode has been completed, the decision block 521 advances the routine 500 to the task at 523 for shutting down the converter 113 so that no charging current is delivered to the battery pack-A. The converter 113 can be shut down by the CCM205 control, which may require deactivating the converter power switch and opening the bus contactor, disconnecting the converter 113 and isolating the battery pack-A at one or both of the converter input and output. Based on the completion of the battery pack-B, the CV mode is considered to be completed, and the routine 500 ends at 525.

[0061] The terms used here are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. The term "one" or "an" does not indicate a limit on quantity, but rather indicates that there is at least one referenced item. The term "or" means "and / or", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. References to "on one hand" throughout the specification mean that a specific element (such as a feature, structure, step, or characteristic) described in conjunction with that aspect is included in at least one aspect described herein and may or may not exist in other aspects. In addition, it should be understood that the elements described may be combined in any suitable manner in various aspects.

[0062] Whether or not explicitly stated, all numerical values ​​herein are assumed to be modified by the term "approximately". For the purposes of this disclosure, ranges may be expressed as from "approximately" one particular value to "approximately" another particular value. The term "approximately" generally refers to a numerical range that a person skilled in the art would consider to be equivalent to the numerical value, to have the same function or result, or to be generally reasonably within the manufacturing tolerance range of the numerical value. Similarly, the numerical values ​​set forth herein are provided as non-limiting examples and may be nominal values, it being understood that actual values ​​may differ from the nominal values ​​depending on the environment, design and manufacturing tolerances, age, and other factors.

[0063] When an element such as a layer, film, region, or substrate is referred to as being "on" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or intervening elements may also be present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, there are no intervening elements. Therefore, unless explicitly described as "directly," when describing a relationship between a first and a second element in the above disclosure, the relationship may be a direct relationship between the first and second elements with no other intervening elements, but may also be an indirect relationship between the first and second elements with one or more intervening elements (either spatially or functionally) present.

[0064] Without changing the principles of the present disclosure, one or more steps in the method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously). In addition, although each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in and / or combined with the features of any other embodiment, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and the permutation of one or more embodiments with each other is still within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0065] Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0066] Unless otherwise indicated herein, all test standards are the most recent standards in effect as of the filing date of the present application or, if priority is claimed, the filing date of the earliest priority application in which the test standards appear.

[0067] Although the above disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for its elements without departing from the scope thereof. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt specific situations or materials to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope of the disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling within its scope.

Claims

1. A charging device for a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS), comprising: Charge source; DC-DC converter; a first energy storage device (ESD); Second ESD; The charge source is directly coupled to one of the first ESD and the second ESD and is coupled to the other of the first ESD and the second ESD through a DC-DC converter; A controller configured to: determining a first current for charging a first ESD; determining a second current for charging a second ESD; determining a reduced second current for charging the second ESD when the charge source cannot provide the first current and the second current simultaneously without violating the charge source constraint, wherein the charge source can provide the first current and the reduced second current simultaneously without violating the charge source constraint; as well as By controlling the DC-DC converter, the first current is distributed to the first ESD, and the reduced second current is distributed to the second ESD.

2. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The charging source includes an infrastructure charging station.

3. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The charge source includes a donor vehicle.

4. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The first ESD and the second ESD include batteries.

5. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the first ESD and the second ESD includes a supercapacitor.

6. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The DC-DC converter includes a boost converter.

7. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The DC-DC converter comprises a buck converter.

8. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The DC-DC converter includes a buck / boost converter.

9. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The charge source is directly coupled to the first ESD and is coupled to the second ESD through the DC-DC converter.

10. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein: The charge source is directly coupled to the second ESD and is coupled to the first ESD through the DC-DC converter.

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