Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Hongjie Wu

Yuqing Tang

Michael W Degner

Lihua Chen

Shahram Zarei

Chingchi Chen

Yan Zhou

Bernard D Nefcy

Shailesh Shrikant Kozarekar

William Paul Perkins

Shuitao Yang

David Crist Gabriel

Jiyao Wang

Krishna Prasad Bhat

Jin Wang

Silong Li

Xuemei Sun

William Reynolds

Rimma Isayeva

Dong Cao

Jeffery Scott

Lynn McCormick

Varittha Sanphuang

Nitin Parsa

An automotive power system includes a traction battery, an electric machine, and one or more power cards each containing at least one power semiconductor switch and at least one Y-snubber that includes a series connected capacitor and resistor. The power semiconductor switches are arranged to form an inverter electrically connected between the traction battery and electric machine. The resistors are tuned to dissipate common mode noise associated with operation of the power semiconductor switches.

Contained package for automotive inverter and y-snubber components

A vehicle includes a traction battery, an inverter, and a controller. The inverter includes a plurality of pairs of switches. Each of the pairs includes an upper switch that is directly electrically connected with a positive terminal of the traction battery and a lower switch that is directly electrically connected with a negative terminal of the traction battery. The controller, responsive to presence of a fault condition and during each of consecutive switching periods, deactivates all of the switches for a predetermined portion of the switching period, activates only the upper switches for another predetermined portion of the switching period, deactivates all of the switches for yet another predetermined portion of the switching period, and activates only the lower switches for still yet another predetermined portion of the switching period.

Alternating passive rectification and 3-phase-short control for motor fault protection

A hybrid electric vehicle includes a traction battery, traction motor and power inverter therebetween. The power inverter converts the DC power of the traction battery to AC power to drive each phase of the traction motor. The power inverter includes Insulated Gate Bipolar junction Transistors (IGBTs) to modulate the power to the traction motor. The speed at which the IGBTs are modulated impacts the system performance including power loss, voltage overshoot and current overshoot. Using a dual emitter IGBT to provide a current mirror of the drive current, circuitry may be used with the gate drive circuitry such that the gate drive speed may be dynamically adjusted based on characteristics including temperature and traction motor rotational speed.

Dynamic IGBT gate drive for vehicle traction inverters

A vehicle may include an electric drive system including switches having gates configured to control the switches. The vehicle may include a galvanic isolation coupling having a primary side electrically connected with an input power source and a secondary side electrically connected with a gate driver circuit. The gat driver circuit has a controller configured to actuate the gates and a power supply circuit electrically connected to the controller to provide backup power. The galvanic isolation coupling may be a flyback converter.

Backup electrical supply for main capacitor discharge

A DC link capacitor coupled to positive and negative DC busses between a high voltage DC source and an electric vehicle inverter is quickly discharged during a shutdown. An active discharge circuit connected across the link capacitor has a discharge resistor in series with a discharge switch. The discharge switch has a control terminal for selectably turning the discharge switch on and off. A disable circuit is coupled to the control terminal and is responsive to a disable command signal to turn off the discharge switch. The disable circuit turns on the discharge switch upon cessation of the disable command signal. A timing circuit powered by a voltage from the link capacitor initiates a predetermined time interval upon cessation of the disable command signal, and continuously turns off the discharge switch after the predetermined time interval while the voltage from the link capacitor remains above a threshold.

Self-limiting active discharge circuit for electric vehicle inverter

A vehicle includes a transmission, a motor, and at least one controller. The motor is configured to be selectively coupled to the transmission. The at least one controller is programmed to output a fault for a coil temperature sensor of the motor based on an oil temperature of the transmission, a phase current of the motor, and a temperature change in a coil of the motor.

Methods and systems for temperature sensor fault detection

An apparatus for charging and discharging an electrical device in a vehicle is provided with a first power source for providing low voltage energy and a second power source for providing high voltage energy. A switch enables/disables the first power source. A first contactor includes a first winding connected to the first power source and a first switch connected to the second power source. The first contactor enables the second power source to provide the HV energy for charging the electrical device in response to the switch enabling the first power source. A second contactor includes a second winding connected to the first power source for receiving the LV energy and a second switch connected to the second power source for receiving the HV energy. The second contactor is in an open state in response to the switch enabling the first power source.

Method and apparatus for charging or discharging and electrical device by controlling switches

Apparatus and methods for detection of a ground fault on a DC side as well as on an AC side of an inverter are presented. A detection means can receive forward and reverse current and provide an induced current based on the difference between them. A parameter associated with the induced current, or a parameter associated with a voltage generated by conduction of the induced current through a device, can be used to detect a ground fault. In addition, a detection means can be configured to receive transient current, and a resulting voltage at the detection means can be used for fault detection. A detection means can be disposed at the DC side of an inverter or at the AC side of the inverter. Apparatus and methods can be configured to detect AC leakage current caused by a ground fault.

Hybrid/electrical vehicle HV AC system leakage and ground fault detection

A hybrid-electric vehicle and method of controlling a hybrid-vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes a traction battery, at least one electric-machine, and a controller. The controller is configured to alter a voltage between the battery and the electric-machine based on a measured voltage of the battery or the high voltage bus. In response to an indication that the measured voltage is faulty during a drive cycle, the controller instead alters the voltage between the battery and the electric machine based on a substituted battery voltage signal such that the electric-machine remains operable for the drive cycle.

Control strategy for an electric machine in a vehicle

An automotive electric drive system may include an electric power source, an electric machine, and a DC-DC power converter electrically connected between the electric power source and the electric machine. The DC-DC power converter may include an inductor and a first switch each disposed in a different current path connecting the electric power source and the electric machine. The currents paths may be electrically in parallel.

Vehicle electric drive and power systems

A display system for a vehicle is provided. The display system includes an information display that changes color based upon an operating state of a vehicle. The information display includes display lighting that illuminates at least a portion of the display in a color associated with the vehicle's current operating state to indicate the operating state to a driver.

System and method for indicating a vehicle driving mode

Measured or otherwise known operating characteristics of a DC/DC power converter are used to determine, without measuring, an operating characteristic of the DC/DC power converter.

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

Hongjie Wu