Volvo Truck Corporation

David De Brito

Maxime Valero

Frederic Leroy

Grégoire Artur Du Plessis

Frédéric Leroy

Hans Westerlind

Bart Potts

Frédéric Balain

Robert Niemczyk

Jean-Daniel Bonnet

Joshua Smith

Jean Daniel Bonnet

Romain Rimboud

Gregoire Artur Du Plessis

A method to control operation of electrical converter units in an electrical system of a vehicle comprising a first and a second electrical network, the first and the second electrical network being coupled respectively to a positive terminals of a first battery and a second battery, each converter of a plurality of converters having an active state in which the converter output supplies current to the second electrical network, and a rest state in which the converter output does not supply current to the second electrical network, each converter of the plurality of converters exhibiting a respective cumulative operation time in each of a plurality of different current ranges, wherein a single converter is active in a vehicle rest mode, and a balance of converters is carried out upon cumulative respective usage of each converter.

System and method for balancing use of several DC/DC converters in a vehicle

A vehicle power supply system (), comprising: —a vehicle battery () with a charging voltage, —a DC-to-DC converter () comprising two first connection terminals () connected to the vehicle battery () and two second connection terminals () for connecting an external charger to recharge the vehicle battery () or for connecting an external battery to be recharged, wherein, in a first mode in which an external charger is connected to the two second connection terminals (), the voltage Vbetween the two second connection terminals () is an input voltage of the converter and the voltage Vbetween the two first connection terminals () is an output voltage of the converter, wherein, in a second mode in which an external battery to be recharged is connected to the two second connection terminals (), the voltage Vbetween the two first connection terminals () is an input voltage of the converter and the voltage Vbetween the two second connection terminals () is an output voltage of the converter, wherein the system also includes means for determining at least the voltage Vbetween the two second connection terminals () and preferably also the voltage Vbetween the two first connection terminals (), and wherein the DC-to-DC converter () is controlled so that the output voltage of the converter is equal to the charging voltage of the vehicle battery () in the first mode and to a charging voltage of the external battery in the second mode.

Vehicle power supply system, vehicle comprising such system and method for recharging a vehicle battery

A vehicle comprises a battery management system () including an electronical control unit (), a battery system () and an electronic battery controller (). The battery controller () includes an acquisition device () for acquiring values of at least one electrical parameter of the battery system () and a memory () storing a battery profile () representative of properties of the battery system (). The electronical control unit () includes: —a storage space () including a plurality of additional battery profiles (), —a selection interface () for selecting a replacement battery profile among the plurality of additional battery profiles (). and is programmed to replace the battery profile () stored in the memory () with the replacement battery profile selected by the selection interface ().

Method for operating a battery system of a vehicle and a vehicle comprising a battery management system

An electrical fuse maintenance system includes sensor adapted to measure the current flowing through a fuse element, the voltage on the fuse element, the temperature of the fuse element, and/or the temperature of an environment surrounding the fuse element, a controller configured to monitor the current, the voltage, the temperatures over a period of time while the fuse element is connected to an energized electrical power unit. Based on the monitored current, voltage and temperatures, the controller is adapted to estimate a service life remaining of the fuse element.

Method for estimating the ageing state of fuse elements and an electrical fuse maintenance system

A method of operating an electrical system including an electrical power source configured to supply a first DC voltage at a first voltage level and a DC/DC converter coupled to the electrical power source and configured to supply a second DC voltage is provided. The method includes monitoring a level of current supplied by the DC/DC converter, determining, based on monitoring of the level of the current, that the DC/DC converter is saturated, and in response to determining that the DC/DC converter is saturated, regulating a level of voltage outputby the DC/DC converter. Related DC/DC converters and vehicle electrical systems are disclosed.

DC/DC converter overload management in vehicle electrical systems

The invention relates to a method for reducing the overall power consumption of a parked vehicle, whereby said vehicle comprises a DC power network including two batteries connected in series and an equalizer circuit, whereby the equalizer circuit includes a DC/DC converter for converting an input voltage corresponding to the sum of the voltages of the two batteries into an output voltage to be applied to a first battery of the two batteries. The method consists in i) activating the DC/DC converter only when the State of Charge (SoC) of the first battery reaches a first level below the State of Charge (SoC) of the second battery; and u) keeping the DC/DC converter active until the State of Charge (SoC) of the first battery reaches a second level above the State of Charge (SoC) of the second battery.

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Charvieu, France

David De Brito