ELECTRIC VEHICLE WITH OPTIMIZED POWER ELECTRONICS AND AN INDUCTION CHARGER

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric motor vehicle (100) comprising, for charging a battery (6), an on-board charger (60) connectable by a cable (61) to an external terminal, and an on-board charging robot (70), comprising a secondary winding (9) arranged to cooperate by induction with a primary winding (10) of an external static charging robot (50). This on-board charging robot (70) comprises, at the output of the secondary winding (9), a rectifier (14) whose output feeds a switching stage (13) comprising relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) to establish or stop communication between the DC outputs of the secondary winding (9) and the inputs of the power cable (61) of the on-board charger (60), to allow inductive charging when the relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) are closed, and to prevent it when the relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) are open. Figure 2.

Description

Title of the invention: ELECTRIC VEHICLE WITH OPTIMIZATION OF THE POWER ELECTRONICS OF AN INDUCTION CHARGER

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle or hybrid vehicle comprising at least one traction battery, said motor vehicle comprising, for charging said at least one traction battery, an on-board charger OBC arranged to charge said at least one traction battery, by connecting a power cable between said vehicle and an external AC charging terminal or an external domestic network, and an on-board charging robot, which comprises a secondary winding arranged to cooperate by induction with a primary winding of an external static charging robot.

[0002] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising at least one such motor vehicle, and at least one said external static charging robot comprising a said primary winding arranged to cooperate by induction with a said secondary winding which comprises a said on-board charging robot, which comprises at least one said motor vehicle.

[0003] The invention relates to on-board charging equipment for electric or hybrid motor vehicles.

[0004] The invention relates to the optimization of the power electronics of an induction charger for an electric or hybrid motor vehicle, also known as a "PHEV" or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Currently, there are several types of alternating current charging, hereinafter "AC".

[0005] Charging can be carried out by an on-board charger also called OBC (from the English "on board charger") fully integrated into the vehicle using an alternating current charging terminal, for example to charge the traction battery. This single-phase or three-phase off-board charger integrates power converters with power factor correction, called PFC type (from the English "active power factor correction"), and a DC / AC or direct / alternating current (hereinafter direct current "DC"). The converters used in the AC type charging terminals (alternating current) are partly identical to the converters constituting the on-board charger.

[0006] Charging can also be carried out by so-called inductive or contactless charging, having part of the power converters and winding integrated into the vehicle, and another part of the power converters and winding located outside the vehicle.

[0007] The power converters of an induction charger (the part of the inductive charge located inside the vehicle) are the same as those integrated into the charger on board the car. Identical converters are thus integrated into the vehicle and this represents a significant footprint without forgetting the connections / connectors (in particular cables, connectors, protection systems) which are duplicated and therefore redundant.

[0008] The objective of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a device which makes it possible to avoid unnecessary redundancy of power converters, and which also makes it possible to reduce weight, volume and cost. This is done while maintaining the two main functions: inductive charging and conductive charging.

[0009] To achieve this objective, the invention proposes a motor vehicle or hybrid vehicle comprising at least one traction battery, said motor vehicle comprising, for charging said at least one traction battery, an on-board charger OBC arranged to charge said at least one traction battery, by connecting a power cable between said vehicle and an external AC charging station or an external domestic network, and an on-board charging robot, which comprises a secondary winding arranged to cooperate by induction with a primary winding of an external static charging robot, characterized in that said on-board charging robot comprises, at the output of said secondary winding, an AC / DC rectifier whose output cooperates with a switching stage, which said motor vehicle comprises, said switching stage comprising relays arranged to establish or stop communication between, on the one hand, the continuous outputs of said AC / DC rectifier,and on the other hand the inputs of said power cable to the input of said on-board charger OBC, so as to connect said AC / DC rectifier to the input of said on-board charger OBC to allow induction charging when said relays are closed, and to separate said AC / DC rectifier from the input of said on-board charger OBC to prohibit induction charging when said relays are open.

[0010] Thanks to the invention, it is possible to eliminate, compared to the prior art, an AC / DC stage or power converter, as well as the filter, from the inductive charger.

[0011] Advantageously, said on-board charger OBC is arranged to operate in DC / DC converter mode, at the output of said AC / DC rectifier when said relays are closed and allow charging by induction.

[0012] This arrangement allows the on-board charger to be supplied with direct current.

[0013] Advantageously, in a first variant, said switching stage comprises a first relay, a second relay, a third relay, a fourth relay, and the power supply of said on-board charger OBC by said power cable comprises a first phase, a second phase, a third phase, and a neutral, said first phase and second phase are placed in parallel using said third relay. in its closed position, and said third phase and said neutral are paralleled via said fourth relay in its closed position, and the "plus" output of said AC / DC rectifier is connected to said third relay and to said first phase and second phase via said first relay, and the "minus" output of said AC / DC rectifier is connected to said fourth relay to said third phase and to said neutral via said second relay.

[0014] Thus, thanks to a communication stage comprising inexpensive components such as relays, it is easy to ensure electrical safety between an induction charging mode and a direct mains charging mode.

[0015] In a second variant, said switching stage comprises a first relay, a second relay, a third relay, a fourth relay, and the power supply of said OBC on-board charger by said power cable comprises a first phase, a second phase, a third phase, and a neutral, said first phase, second phase, and third phase are paralleled using said first relay, third relay, and fourth relay in their closed position and connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier, and said neutral is connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier via said second relay in its closed position.

[0016] With correct sizing of the neutral, this arrangement allows more power to be used for the inductive load.

[0017] In a third variant, said switching stage comprises a first relay and a second relay, and the power supply of said OBC on-board charger by said power cable comprises a first phase, a second phase, a third phase, one of which is connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier via said first relay in its closed position, and a neutral, and said neutral is connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier via said second relay in its closed position.

[0018] It is thus possible to save two relays, and to have a very simple system.

[0019] In a fourth single-phase variant close to the third three-phase variant, said switching stage comprises a first relay and a second relay, and the power supply to said on-board charger OBC by said power cable comprises a first phase, and a neutral, said first phase being connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier via said first relay in its closed position, and said neutral being connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier via said second relay in its closed position.

[0020] Thus the same switching stage allows connection to a three-phase or single-phase power supply.

[0021] Advantageously, said on-board charger OBC comprises a correction stage dynamic power factor, which is connected in series with a first DC / AC converter, a transformer, a second AC / DC converter, and a first output DC filter, to which said at least one battery is connected.

[0022] Thus the components of the prior art are reusable, and the solution remains very economical, by replacing an AC / DC converter with a simple rectifier, by removing a filter, and by adding a switching stage incorporating simple relays.

[0023] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising at least one such motor vehicle according to any one of the claims, and at least one said external static charging robot comprising a said primary winding arranged to cooperate by induction with a said secondary winding that comprises a said on-board charging robot, that comprises at least one said motor vehicle, said at least one external static charging robot is an inductive charger allowing charging by induction and which comprises a static power factor correction stage, a static DC / AC converter and a said primary winding, said static power factor correction stage being connected via a static charging cable to the domestic network or to an AC charging station.

[0024] Thus it is possible to maintain a network of static charging robots without modifying them, by applying the progress linked to the invention to the fleet of vehicles which frequent this network of charging robots.

[0025] The invention will be further detailed by the description of non-limiting embodiments, and on the basis of the appended figures illustrating variants of the invention, in which: - [Fig.l] schematically illustrates an assembly comprising an electric motor vehicle with a battery, and a static charging robot. Below the dot-and-dash separation line, the ground equipment is a static charging robot, which is an inductive charger allowing induction charging, which comprises a static power factor correction stage (PFC), a static DC / AC converter and a primary winding. The static power factor correction stage PFC is connected via a static charging cable to the home network or to an AC charging station. Above the separation line, the on-board equipment, according to the prior art, can be seen, which comprises on the one hand, in the upper part, an on-board charger for charging the battery by connecting a power cable to an AC charging station or a home network.To convert this alternating energy into direct energy, the on-board charger (known as OBC) uses a dynamic power factor correction stage (known as PFC), which is placed in series with a first DC / converter. AC, a transformer, a second AC / DC converter, and a first output DC filter, to which the battery is connected; and on the other hand an on-board charging robot, which comprises a secondary winding, a second AC / DC converter, and a second DC filter connected to the HV traction battery. The primary winding of the static charging robot cooperates by induction with the secondary winding of the on-board charging robot - [Fig.2] illustrates schematically, and in a similar way to [Fig.l], a first variant of the invention, where the on-board charging robot is greatly simplified, in particular by replacing the AC / DC converter with a simple rectifier, and by removing the filter, and supplies a relay switching stage, which authorizes or prohibits an electrical connection between the charging robot and the on-board charger. This variant is represented in a three-phase power supply of this on-board charger; - [Fig.3] schematically illustrates, and in a similar way to [Fig.2], a second variant of the invention, based on the first variant and with a modified relay switching stage allowing more power to be used for the inductive load, also for a three-phase supply; - [Fig.4] illustrates schematically, and in a similar way to [Fig.2], a third variant of the invention, based on the first variant and with a switching stage with only two relays, also for three-phase power supply; - [Fig.5] illustrates schematically, and in a similar manner to [Fig.4], a fourth variant of the invention, based on the first variant and with a switching stage with only two relays, for a single-phase power supply.

[0026] The invention relates to the sharing of the power converters of an on-board conduction charger, also called an OBC, with the power converters of an induction charger, also called a robot charger.

[0027] According to the invention, instead of using the AC / DC stage to convert the energy coming from the secondary winding of the inductive charger, the conversion is done by a rectifier, for example a diode rectifier, and by using the OBC charger as a DC / DC converter.

[0028] In order to recharge a vehicle 100 having at least one high voltage HV traction battery 6 in AC (alternating) mode, there are recharging devices including the on-board charger OBC 60, and the inductive charger called on-board charger robot 70, for induction charging.

[0029] These chargers consist of several conversion stages, as seen in [Fig.l] which illustrates the prior art.

[0030] In [Fig.l], below the dot-and-dash separation line, we can see the ground equipment, which here consists of a static charging robot 50, which is an inductive charger allowing charging by induction. This inductive charger comprises a static power factor correction stage (called PFC) 12, a static DC / AC converter 11 and a primary winding 10. The static power factor correction stage 12 is connected via a static charging cable 51 to the domestic network or to an AC charging station.

[0031] In the upper part of [Fig.l], above the dividing line, we can see the on-board equipment: - an on-board charger OBC 60. This OBC charger can be single-phase or three-phase, it allows the battery 6 to be charged by connecting a power cable 61 between the vehicle 100 and an AC charging station or a domestic network. To convert this alternating energy into direct energy, the on-board charger OBC 60 mainly uses a dynamic power factor correction stage (called PFC) 1, which is connected in series with a first DC / AC converter 2, a transformer 3, a second AC / DC converter 4, and a first output DC filter 5, to which the battery 6 is connected; - an on-board charging robot 70, which comprises a secondary winding 9, a second AC / DC converter 8, and a second DC filter 7 connected to the HV traction battery 6.

[0032] The primary winding 10 of the static charging robot 50 cooperates by induction with the secondary winding 9 of the on-board charging robot 70.

[0033] The invention consists of using the on-board charger OBC 60 in DC / DC converter mode at the output of an AC / DC rectifier 14 of the inductive charger constituting, with the secondary winding 9, the on-board charger robot 70.

[0034] The output of this AC / DC rectifier 14, on the side opposite the secondary winding 9, is constituted by a switching stage 13 comprising relays, at least two of which are used for the connection with the on-board charger OBC 60, according to the variants which will be described below, and which are called: first relay Sa, second relay Sb, third relay Sc, fourth relay Sd.

[0035] The power cable 61 supplying the on-board charger OBC 60 carries the phases: first phase L1, second phase L2, third phase L3, and the neutral N in the case of a three-phase power supply, or the first phase L1 constituting a single phase and the neutral N in the case of a single-phase power supply.

[0036] In the first variant, and as visible in [Fig.2], the invention aims to create an isolated DC / DC, by putting the first phase L1 and the second phase L2 in parallel using the third relay Sc, and the third phase L3 and the neutral N in parallel via the fourth relay Sd.

[0037] The “plus” output of the AC / DC rectifier 14 is connected to L1 / L2 via the first relay Sa, and the “minus” output of the AC / DC rectifier 14 is connected to L3 / N via the second relay Sb.

[0038] The AC / DC rectifier 14 can be based on diodes, IGBT, MOSFET or any other semiconductors.

[0039] The relays Sa, Sb, Sc and Sd can be (mechanical) relays, or switches based on IGBT, MOSFET, or similar. They remain referred to as “relays” in the remainder of the description.

[0040] This allows a reduction in the cost, volume and weight of the internal part of the induction charger located in the vehicle.

[0041] These stages must be sized to operate under both types of loads.

[0042] Thus, as visible in [Fig.2], the part of the induction charger, internal in the vehicle 100, is composed of the secondary winding 9, the AC / DC rectifier 14, and the elements allowing the control of the on-board charger robot 70 (detection for example).

[0043] The relays Sa, Sb, Sc, Sd, of the switching stage 13 can be added in the on-board charger robot 70, or in the on-board charger OBC 60, or even in a box located in the vehicle 100.

[0044] When charging via the on-board charger OBC 60, the relays Sa, Sb, Sc, Sd, of the switching stage 13 are open.

[0045] During induction charging, the relays Sa, Sb, Sc, Sd, of the switching stage 13 are closed. Thus the AC / DC rectifier 14 is connected to the input of the on-board charger OBC 60.

[0046] In induction charging mode, the stages used are: - the static power factor correction stage PFC 12 of the static charger robot 50; - the static power factor correction stage PFC 12 of the static charger robot 50; - the stage of the static DC / AC converter 11 of the static charger robot 50; - the primary winding 10 of the static charger robot 50; - the secondary winding 9 of the on-board charging robot 70; - the AC / DC rectifier stage 14 of the on-board charger robot 70; - relays of switching stage 13; - the PFC power factor correction stage 1 of the OBC 60 on-board charger; - the first DC / AC converter stage 2 of the OBC 60 on-board charger; - transformer 3 of the OBC 60 on-board charger; - the second stage AC / DC converter 4 of the on-board charger OBC 60; - the first output DC filter 5 of the on-board charger OBC 60; - and any additional element, such as an AC EMC filter (electromagnetic compatibility EMC) and connection matrix, or / and protection element not shown in the figures for reasons of clarity.

[0047] A second variant makes it possible to connect the first phase L1, second phase L2, and third phase L3 of the input power cable 61 of the on-board charger OBC 60, via the first relay Sa, the third relay Sc and the third relay Sd ​​to the “plus” of the AC / DC rectifier 14 and to connect the “minus” of the AC / DC rectifier 14 to the neutral N of the OBC via the second relay Sb. The cable of this neutral must be resized to hold the necessary current. This second variant makes it possible to use more power for the inductive load.

[0048] A third variant, as seen in [Fig.3], makes it possible to eliminate the third relay Sc and the fourth relay Sd. The switching stage 13 then only comprises the first relay Sa and the second relay Sb. This third variant makes it possible to have a direct connection between the output of the AC / DC converter 14 and one of the phases (first phase L1 or second phase L2 or third phase L3) via the first relay Sa and the neutral N via the second relay Sb.

[0049] A fourth variant, as seen in [Fig.4], is similar to the third variant, and concerns the case of a single-phase power supply.

[0050] In short, according to the basis of the invention, it is a question of adding the AC / DC rectifier 14, relays of the communication box 13, according to the chosen variant Sa or / and Sb or / and Sc or / and Sd, in order to connect the AC / DC rectifier 14 to the input of the on-board charger OBC 60, and of removing the DC filter of the inductive charger of the prior art, the AC / DC stage of the inductive charger of the prior art, the control elements necessary for the operation of these converters of the prior art, and the connections (type "busbar" or interconnection bar in French, cables and the like) which were necessary in the prior art to connect the converters, which have now been removed in the context of the invention, inside the induction charger.

[0051] The invention provides a long-term solution, because induction is a new complementary, comfortable, automatic charging system for “B2B” business-to-business and “B2C” business-to-consumer applications.

[0052] The invention provides numerous advantages: - economic gain on the components of the charging systems, in particular the induction charger, because of the sharing in the vehicle of the stages of the OBC and the charging robot, in particular saving on a converter, remove from the vehicle; gain in volume (more favorable integration volume), size, weight; more favorable integration volume.

Claims

Claims

1. An electric or hybrid motor vehicle (100) comprising at least one traction battery (6), said motor vehicle (100) comprising, for charging said at least one traction battery (6), an on-board charger OBC (60) arranged to charge said at least one traction battery (6), by connecting a power cable (61) between said vehicle (100) and an external AC charging station or an external domestic network, and an on-board charging robot (70), which comprises a secondary winding (9) arranged to cooperate by induction with a primary winding (10) of an external static charging robot (50), characterized in that said on-board charging robot (70) comprises, at the output of said secondary winding (9), an AC / DC rectifier (14) whose output cooperates with a switching stage (13), which said motor vehicle (100) comprises, said switching stage (13) comprising relays (Sa; Sb; Sc;Sd) arranged to establish or stop communication between, on the one hand, the continuous outputs of said AC / DC rectifier (14), and on the other hand, the inputs of said power cable (61) to the input of said on-board charger OBC (60), so as to connect said AC / DC rectifier (14) to the input of said on-board charger OBC (60) to allow induction charging when said relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) are closed, and to separate said AC / DC rectifier (14) from the input of said on-board charger OBC (60) to prohibit induction charging when said relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) are open.;

2. Motor vehicle (100) according to claim 1 characterized in that said on-board charger OBC (60) is arranged to operate in DC / DC converter mode, at the output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) when said relays (Sa; Sb; Sc; Sd) are closed and allow charging by induction.

3. Motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said switching stage (13) comprises a first relay (Sa), a second relay (Sb), a third relay (Sc), a fourth relay (Sd), and in that the power supply of said on-board charger OBC (60) by said power cable (61) comprises a first phase (Ll), a second phase (L2), a third phase (L3) and a neutral (N), said first phase (Ll) and said second phase (L2) are connected in parallel using said third relay (Sc) in its closed position, and said third phase (L3) and said neutral (N) are paralleled via said fourth relay (Sd) in its closed position, and in that the "plus" output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) is connected to said third relay Sc and to said first phase (L1) and to said second phase (L2) via said first relay (Sa), and in that the "minus" output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) is connected to said fourth relay (Sd) to said third phase (L3) and to said neutral (N) via said second relay (Sb).

4. Motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said switching stage (13) comprises a first relay (Sa), a second relay (Sb), a third relay (Sc), a fourth relay (Sd), and in that the power supply of said on-board charger OBC (60) by said power cable (61) comprises a first phase (L1), a second phase (L2), a third phase (L3), and a neutral (N), said first phase (L1), second phase (L2), and third phase (L3) are paralleled using said first relay (Sa), third relay (Sc), and fourth relay (Sd) in their closed position and connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14), and said neutral (N) is connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) via said second relay (Sb) in its closed position.

5. Motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said switching stage (13) comprises a first relay (Sa) and a second relay (Sb), and in that the power supply of said on-board charger OBC (60) by said power cable (61) comprises a first phase (L1), a second phase (L2), a third phase (L3)„ one of which is connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) via said first relay (Sa) in its closed position, and a neutral (N), said neutral (N) is connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) via said second relay (Sb) in its closed position.

6. Motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said switching stage (13) comprises a first relay (Sa) and a second relay (Sb), and in that the power supply of said on-board charger OBC (60) by said power cable (61) comprises a first phase (Ll), and a neutral (N), said first phase (Ll) being connected to the “plus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) via said first relay (Sa) in its position of closing, and said neutral (N) being connected to the “minus” output of said AC / DC rectifier (14) via said second relay (Sb) in its closing position.

7. Motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that said on-board charger OBC (60) comprises a dynamic power factor correction stage (1), which is placed in series with a first DC / AC converter (2), a transformer 3, a second AC / DC converter (4), and a first output DC filter (5), to which said at least one battery (6) is connected.

8. Assembly comprising at least one motor vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and at least one said external static charging robot (50) comprising a said primary winding (10) arranged to cooperate by induction with a said secondary winding (9) that comprises a said on-board charging robot (70), that comprises at least one said motor vehicle (100), characterized in that said at least one external static charging robot (50) is an inductive charger allowing charging by induction and which comprises a static power factor correction stage PFC (12), a static DC / AC converter (11) and a said primary winding (10), said static power factor correction stage (12) being connected via a static charging cable (51) to the domestic network or to an AC charging station.

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