Denso Corporation

Mitsuhiro Kanayama

Toru Itabashi

Yoshiyuki Kawase

Atsushi Yamada

Michio Nakamura

Takeshi Miki

Zhuomin Zhou

Takanori Ishikawa

A charger of a vehicle serving as a power supply controller includes, a power amount controller performing, (a) when a determiner determines that a high level device is available, a first control that determines a supply power amount to a storage battery according to an instruction value from the high level device, and, (b) when the determiner determines that the high level device is not available, a second control that determines the supply power amount according to information about a past power supply from an in-house power system (i.e., a power restriction value of the in-house power system), for an uninterrupted power supply between an outside-of-vehicle power system and the charger in the vehicle.

Power supply controller

A charge-discharge controller includes a resetter for executing a SOC reset charging and a timing calculator for executing a timing calculation process that calculates an execution timing of the SOC reset charging by the resetter. The timing calculator calculates a profit reduction amount by an execution of the SOC reset charging for each of a plurality of time ranges, and sets the execution timing of the SOC reset charging in one or more time ranges to minimize the profit reduction amount, in consideration of an economy of charging of battery besides SOC.

Charge-discharge controller

A charging fee payment system is used for a payment process for a payment of a charging fee to charge a target apparatus with a charging apparatus. The target apparatus includes a memory, a controller, and a communication section. When the charging apparatus does not have a function to communicate with an external server that performs the payment process, the memory stores an unique ID code of the charging apparatus and electricity usage data indicative of the amount of electricity used by the charging apparatus to charge the target apparatus. The controller allows the target apparatus to be charged with the charging apparatus on a condition that the ID code remains stored in the memory. When the communication section becomes able to communicate with the external server, the communication section sends the ID code and the electricity usage data stored in the memory to the external server.

Charging fee payment system and target apparatus used in the same

An AC power supply source switching apparatus includes a switch and a switch connecting a load to an AC power supply system and a DC secondary battery, respectively. When one switch, which is driven to turn off, did not actually turn off, the switch is driven to turn off again after being turned on. When an impedance of the load decreases and a load current flows in a load line, no AC voltage is developed on the load line. As a result, it is determined that the switch has actually turned off. Then the other switch is turned on thereby to switch over connection of the load.

AC power supply source switching apparatus

A mechanical switch and a semiconductor switch are connected between a load and a power supply system. A mechanical switch and a semiconductor switch are connected between the load and a secondary battery side. A control part turns on the mechanical switch, turns off the semiconductor switch, turns on the semiconductor switch and turns off the mechanical switch sequentially. In addition or alternatively, the control part turns on the mechanical switch, turns off the semiconductor switch, turns on the semiconductor switch and turns off the mechanical switch.

A vehicle charge device performs a pilot communication and an in-band communication via communication lines that are integrated with electric power lines in a charge cable. The charge device includes a master controller that resets a slave controller of an in-band communicator if determined that the charge cable is pulled out from a connector of a vehicle. As a result, the system suffers less frequent in-band communication errors during which an in-band communication is disabled due to a malfunction of a computer for the in-band communication.

Charge device and in-vehicle apparatus

A restart section in an electric powered vehicle restarts a controller from a sleep mode, when a voltage higher than a restart voltage is supplied for over a response time. In a charge mode, a stand controller provides a connection check function by using a normal CPLT (Control Pilot signal) method. In a normal CPLT method, an output terminal is supplied with DC voltage that exceeds the restart voltage. In a non-charge mode, the stand controller uses a monitor signal which will not cause a restart of the controller to provide a connection check function. The monitor signal for the non-charge mode has a voltage that is lower than the restart voltage and/or a pulse width that is shorter than the response time. As a result, it is possible to reduce power consumption.

Electric power supply controller for vehicle

An electric power control system includes an electric power supply system, a load, a power source switching unit, a charge-discharge switching unit, a converting unit, an electric power storage device, a discharge detection unit, a power supply detection unit, and a control unit. The control unit controls the discharge detection unit to detect a state of a first AC power converted by the converting unit from a DC power charged in the electric power storage device, and controls the power supply detection unit to detect a state of a second AC power supplied from the electric power supply system. The control unit regulates the first AC power based on a phase difference between the first AC power and the second AC power, and supplies the first AC power to the load.

Electric power control system

A vehicular communication apparatus includes a communication device and an adjuster. The communication device exchanges a signal with an external communication device that is disposed external to the vehicle. The adjuster adjusts a transmission output of the communication device based on at least one of an operation mode of a vehicular device, which influences the communication device by generating a noise, or a classification of a signal exchanged between the communication device and the external communication device. The vehicular communication apparatus either prevents a deteriorated operation quality of the vehicular device or prevents a deteriorated communication quality of the communication device.

Vehicular communication apparatus

A charging system supplies charging power from a charging station to an in-vehicle system through a power line. The charging station and the in-vehicle system further include communication devices, which communicate through the power line. The in-vehicle system includes a detecting circuit for detecting impedance of the power line. The in-vehicle system includes a control circuit, which controls switching-over of the communication device between a waiting state and an operating state based on the impedance detected by the detecting circuit. For example, the control circuit detects connection of the cable based on the impedance change of the power line. The control circuit switches the communication device from the waiting state to the operating state in response to the connection of the cable.

Communication apparatus

A control system has an instruction path of which an object section connects a microcomputer, a switch and a switch supervisory device with one another. The switch sets the path in conductive or non-conductive state on the low side of the microcomputer. An instruction signal is sent to the microcomputer through the conductive path to set the microcomputer in an operation state. When the device judges based on the operation state of the microcomputer that the switch has set the path in a conductive state, the device sends a first signal of first voltage, causing the signal to have current strength equal to or higher than predetermined value in the path, to the object section. When the device judges that the switch has set the path in a non-conductive state, the device sends a second signal of second voltage lower than first voltage to the object section.

Switch supervision device, control system and control method

The electrical load driving apparatus includes means for alternately lowering the gate voltages of two current supply transistors connected in parallel to each other at regular time intervals, a current being supplied to an electrical load through drain-source paths of both the current supply transistors, and means for detecting wire breakage in two current supply wires in which the current supply transistors are interposed respectively at portions opposite the electrical load with respect to the current supply transistors based on the drain-source voltages of the current supply transistors.

Electrical load driving apparatus

The electrical load driving apparatus includes means for alternately lowering the gate voltages of two current supply transistors connected in parallel to each other at regular time intervals, a current being supplied to an electrical load through drain-source paths of both the current supply transistors, and means for detecting wire breakage in two current supply wires in which the current supply transistors are interposed respectively at portions near the electrical load with respect to the current supply transistors based on the drain-source voltages of the current supply transistors.

A power supply unit for supplying electric current of a supply voltage to a control unit in an electronic control system has switching regulator dropping an input voltage to an intermediate voltage, a first series regulator producing electric current of the supply voltage from the intermediate voltage, and a second series regulator producing electric current of the supply voltage lower than electric current produced in the first series regulator. During the standby mode of the control unit, an FET of the switching regulator is locked to the on state to accumulate electric charge in a capacitor of a smoothing circuit, while an output transistor of the first series regulator is locked to the off state. When a wake-up condition is satisfied in the control unit, the FET starts the switching operation, and the output transistor immediately starts the driving operation while using the charge supplied from the capacitor.

Control system provided with power supply unit operating based on operation modes including standby mode

A switching power supply has first and second switching units and a control unit. Each switching unit has a switching element performing a switching operation to intermittently receive electric current from a battery while accumulating electric power in a coil and discharging this power to an output terminal. A resistor earthed is serially connected with each switching element. The resistance of the first resistor receiving the first current from the first switching element is lower than that of the second resistor receiving the second current from the second switching element. A maximum value of the first current is higher than that of the second current due to the difference between the resistors. The control unit controls the switching operations of the elements to boost the voltage of the battery and stops the switching operations in response to the first current exceeding an upper value.

Growing community of inventors

Takahama, Japan

Mitsuhiro Kanayama