Hybrid vehicle with a low voltage solar panel charging a high voltage battery using a series charger to separately charge individual cells of the series connected battery
US7884569B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 19, 2008 |
| Grant date | Feb 8, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S903/907
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A series charger (80) is provided to charge a high voltage battery (42) in an electric vehicle with a low voltage solar panel (50). The series charger (80) provides switches (841, 842) to connect the terminals of solar panel (50) across individual battery cells (341-n) in series connected battery (42) one battery cell at a time. Charging by series charger (80) can occur while the cells (341-n) of battery (42) remain connected in series. With the series charger (80), the high voltage battery (42) can be charged by the low voltage solar panel (50) without using a lossy DC-DC converter. The high voltage battery (42) charged by series charger (80) can be connected in parallel with a second high voltage battery to enable charging all cells of the second battery together. The solar panel (50) can be provided in a moon roof or truck bed cover adjustable to track the sun.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.