Utah State University

University of Colorado

Vu1 Corporation

General Electric Company

Raytheon Company

Auckland Uniservices Limited

Other

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

General Electric Corporation Gmbh

Uath State University

Regan Andrew Zane

Dragan Maksimovic

Hongjie Wang

Boris Solomon Jacobson

Abhilash Kamineni

Tarak Saha

Gregory L Plett

Michael Scott Trimboli

Michael Evzelman

Dorai Babu Yelaverthi

Richard Dyche Anderson

Charles E Hunt

Daniel Jes Costinett

Richard N Herring

Kandler Alan Smith

Donald H Desrosiers

Daniel Seltzer

Chakridhar Reddy Teeneti

Anindya Chitta Bagchi

John Stanley Glaser

Duleepa Jayanath Thrimawithana

Baljit Singh Riar

Baljit S Riar

Benny J Varghese

Mohamed Ahmed Kamel Ahmed

Karl D Iagnemma

Jeffrey Anthony Morroni

Ljubisa Dragoljub Stevanovic

Khurram K Afridi

Udaya Kumara Madawala

David H Altman

Zorana B Popovic

Diego Restrepo

Anette E Hosoi

Gaurav Rajesh Kalra

James T Mullen

Martin Neuburger

Montu Virendra Doshi

Steven Ian Ruddell

Anthony Carosa

Andrew Sharp

Nicholas A Roberts

Ryan J Bohm

Youzhi Liang

Daniel F Seltzer

Prasanth Thummala

Weilun Chen

Muhammad Muneeb Ur Rehman

Yang Zhang

Marvin Hailing

Trevor G Gardner

Wenwei (Victor) Wang

Marvin Halling

Charles P Scheffler

Rohail Hassan

Shuntaro Inoue

Matthew J Hansen

Matthew F Demers

Jose R Alvarado

Zoya Popovic

A heterogeneous energy storage device and a method for controlling a heterogeneous energy storage device are provided. In one implementation, a heterogeneous energy storage device is provided. The heterogeneous energy storage device includes a first energy storage device, a second energy storage device and a capacitive device. The first energy storage device has a first energy capacity and a first power to energy ratio (P/E). The second energy storage device has a second total energy capacity and a second P/E ratio different from the first P/E ratio. The capacitive device is coupled in series with the first energy storage device, wherein the second energy storage device is coupled in parallel with the series combination of the capacitive device and the first energy storage device. In another implementation, a method of controlling a heterogeneous energy storage device including a first energy storage device and a second energy storage device is provided. In this implementation, the method includes: providing a capacitive device in series with the first energy storage; coupling the second energy storage device in parallel with the series combination of capacitive device and the first energy storage device, wherein the capacitive device provides DC decoupling between the first energy storage device and the second energy storage device.

Heterogeneous energy storage system and method of controlling a heterogeneous energy storage system

An apparatus includes a battery pack with N battery bricks, each with a DC output voltage. The output of each brick is connected in series providing a bus voltage. Each brick includes battery power modules ('BPMs') connected in parallel and each connected to a battery cell. Each BPM charges/discharges the connected battery cell. Each brick has a battery brick controller that provides a control signal to each brick's BPMs. A control signal of a BPM is derived from a BPM error signal that includes a battery cell current of the battery cell of BPM subtracted from a summation of an average current signal, a local droop current and a balancing current. The balancing current is based on a current SOC of the battery cell connected to the BPM and a desired SOC for the battery cell connected to the BPM. A BMS derives the balancing current for the BPMs.

State-of-charge balancing with parallel and series output connected battery power modules

A power converter includes a primary H-bridge with switches and an LCL-Transformer section with a first inductor with a first end connected to a first terminal of the primary H-bridge, a capacitor connected between a second end of the first inductor and a second terminal of the primary H-bridge, and a second inductor with a first end connected to the second end of the first inductor. The converter includes a transformer with a primary connected between a second end of the second inductor and the second terminal of the primary H-bridge, a secondary H-bridge with switches with an input connected to a secondary side of the transformer, and an output capacitor connected across output terminals of the secondary H-bridge. The primary H-bridge is fed by a DC constant current source and the output terminals of the secondary H-bridge have a regulated DC output voltage are connected to a load.

Constant current to constant voltage dual active bridge LCL-transformer resonant DC-DC converter

An apparatus for a high-power reflexive field containment circuit topology for dynamic wireless power transfer systems is disclosed. A wireless power transfer ('WPT') charging apparatus includes an inverter configured to connect with a direct current (“DC”) source on an input side and one or more WPT charging branches. Each WPT charging branch includes a WPT charging pad circuit with a WPT charging pad connected in series with a first series charging capacitor, a parallel charging capacitor connected in parallel with the WPT charging pad circuit, and a series charging impedance connected in series between an output of the inverter and a connection between the WPT charging pad circuit and the parallel charging capacitor. The series charging impedance includes a second series charging capacitor and/or a series charging inductor.

High-power reflexive field containment circuit topology for dynamic wireless power transfer systems

A method for a dynamic inductive wireless power transmission includes providing an AC/DC power converter that receives three-phase power and provides regulated DC output current, connecting a trunk cable to the AC/DC power converter output and to multiple power transmitter modules. The trunk cable connects inputs of the power transmitter modules in series. The power transmitter modules transmit inductive wireless power over an air gap. The method includes providing a system controller that detects a vehicle containing a receiver coil and confirms if the vehicle should receive the inductive wireless power from the multiple power transmitter modules, and includes configuring the system controller to communicate with the AC/DC power converter to maintain the regulated DC output current at a constant value and transmit the inductive wireless power to the vehicle through the multiple power transmitter modules when the vehicle should receive the inductive wireless power.

Dynamic inductive wireless power transmitter system with a power transmitter module

A power converter includes an unfolder connected to a three-phase source and has an output connection with three output terminals. A three-input converter connected to the unfolder produces a quasi-sinusoidal output voltage across converter output terminals. Switches of the converter selectively connect each of the three output terminals across the converter output terminals. A pulse-width modulation controller controls a first duty ratio and a second duty ratio for the converter based on a phase angle of the source and a modulation index generated from an error signal related to a control variable. The duty ratios are time varying at a rate related to a fundamental frequency of the source. The modulation index relates to output voltage of the converter, peak voltage or current of the source and/or peak current at the output terminals.

Unfolder-based single-stage AC-AC conversion system

An apparatus for voltage sharing of series connected battery modules in a DC microgrid includes a battery management system and a battery module controller that generates, for an mof N converters connected together to a DC microbus, a droop current &#x129;that includes a converter voltage error signal {tilde over (v)}multiplied by a droop multiplier g(i). Each converter is a DC/DC converter connected between a battery module, with one or more battery cells, and the DC microbus. The mconverter uses the droop current &#x129;, a common current reference &#x129;of a battery pack that includes the battery modules and an input current &#x129;to the mconverter to control switching of the mconverter. The common current reference &#x129;is from the battery management system. The voltage error signal {tilde over (v)}is based on an output voltage {tilde over (v)}of the mconverter and an average converter output voltage {tilde over (v)}eodcmastereodcmastereodcmaster.

Voltage sharing of series connected battery modules in a plug-and-play DC microgrid

An apparatus monitoring system stability of a DC power system includes a switching power converter with a control loop. The converter is connected to a DC bus of the system. A monitoring loop injected into the control loop includes a sensor circuit monitoring voltage and current of the DC bus and a small signal injector producing a periodic signal with variable amplitude and frequency and injects the periodic signal on a reference signal of the control loop. The monitoring loop includes a stability measurement circuit that varies a frequency input to the small signal injector until the periodic signal has a frequency equal to a system minor loop gain crossover frequency of an impedance ratio of a converter closed loop output impedance and an impedance of the DC power system. The monitoring loop includes a measurement output circuit that outputs a DC power system stability margin at the crossover frequency.

Power electronic instrument for continuously monitoring stability and stabilizing a DC microgrid

An power converter includes an unfolder connected to a three-phase source and has an output connection with a positive terminal, a negative terminal and a neutral terminal. The unfolder creates two unipolar piece-wise sinusoidal DC voltage waveforms offset by a half of a period. A three-input converter connected to the unfolder produces a quasi-sinusoidal output voltage across output terminals. Switches of the converter selectively connect the positive, negative and neutral inputs across the output terminals. A PWM controller controls a first duty ratio and a second duty ratio for the converter based on a phase angle of the source and a modulation index generated from an error signal related to a control variable. The duty ratios are time varying with a fundamental frequency of the source. The modulation index relates to output voltage of the converter, peak voltage or current of the source and/or peak current at the output terminals.

The present disclosure relates to an integrated boost modular multilevel converter, which has particular, but not sole, relevance to a converter for an inductive or capacitive (wireless) power transfer system. More particularly, the present invention according to an embodiment discloses a modular multilevel power converter (MMPC) comprising: at least one submodule stack having an output for connection to a load and an input for connection to an input power source, at least one inductive element provided between the input and the output, the at least one submodule stack including at least two submodules, each submodule comprising at least one capacitor and a plurality of controllable switches, and the submodules being operable to selectively transfer energy from the at least one inductive element to boost a voltage at the output relative to a voltage at the input.

Multi-level modular converter

An apparatus for a wireless power transfer ('WPT') pad heat management system includes a ferrite structure positioned adjacent to a coil configured to wirelessly transfer power. The apparatus includes a plurality of heat spreaders positioned along a length of a component of the ferrite structure. Each of the plurality of heat spreaders is non-metallic. The apparatus includes a trough shaped to surround at least a portion of each of the plurality of heat spreaders, wherein the trough is non-metallic. The apparatus includes a phase change material ('PCM') in the trough where at least a portion of the heat spreaders extend into the PCM. The ferrite structure, coil, plurality of heat spreaders, trough and PCM are encased in a solid material, and each of the plurality of heat spreaders comprises a material that transfers heat from the component of the ferrite structure to the PCM.

Static heat exchanger for wireless power transfer pad

A wireless power transfer pad for wireless power transfer with active field cancellation using multiple magnetic flux sinks includes a ferrite structure, a center coil positioned adjacent to the ferrite structure, and a plurality of side coils positioned around a perimeter of the center coil and positioned adjacent to the ferrite structure. A direction of current flow of the center coil is opposite a current flow in each of the plurality of side coils such that current flowing in a portion of the center coil adjacent to a portion of a side coil of the plurality of side coils is in a same direction as current in the portion of the side coil.

Wireless power transfer with active field cancellation using multiple magnetic flux sinks

A converter including a bridge circuit having a first leg and a second leg, each leg including a high switch and a low switch, the high switches being connected to a first energy source and the low switches being connected to ground, a coupling network(s) having a first connection between the switches of the first leg and a second connection between the switches of the second leg, and a second (or multiple secondary) energy source(s) connected between the coupling network(s) and ground, wherein the coupling network comprises a first inductive element connected between the second energy source and the switches of the first leg, and a second inductive element connected between the second energy source and the switches of the second leg.

Converter

An inverter for wireless power transfer includes a primary inverter connected in series with a first primary inductor. A first primary capacitor is connected in parallel with the first primary inductor and primary inverter. A series-connected second primary capacitor and primary pad inductor are in parallel with the second primary capacitor. The synchronous inverter includes a controller configured to detect a first primary current in the first primary inductor to control switches in the primary inverter to provide a positive primary inverter voltage across the output of the primary inverter in response to detecting a positive first primary current, and control the switches in the primary inverter to provide a negative primary inverter voltage across the output of the primary inverter in response to detecting a negative first primary current.

Zero-crossing current detection for modular and robust dynamic wireless power transfer

A dynamic inductive wireless power transmitter ('DIPT') system is disclosed. In embodiments, a DIPT system includes an AC-to-DC power converter configured to receive three-phase power from an AC utility source. The DIPT system further includes a trunk cable electrically connected to the AC-to-DC power converter and multiple power transmitter modules electrically connected to the trunk cable and connected to each other in series. Each of the multiple power transmitter modules are configured to transmit inductive wireless power over an air gap from the DIPT system to a vehicle containing a receiver coil. The DIPT system further includes a system controller configured to detect a vehicle containing a receiver coil, identify the vehicle containing a receiver coil, and confirm if the vehicle containing a receiver coil should receive inductive wireless power from the DIPT system.

Growing community of inventors

Hyde Park, UT, United States of America

Regan Andrew Zane