Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Shuitao Yang

Lihua Chen

Fan Xu

Yan Zhou

Mohammed Khorshed Alam

Baoming Ge

Shahram Zarei

Hadi Malek

Petros G Taskas

Mark J Ferrel

Fan Wang

James A Lathrop

Hongjie Wu

Yuqing Tang

Kevin Lloyd Newman

Jogendra S Thongam

Sadashi Seto

Khorshed Khorshed Alam

A vehicle includes an inverter having a supply bus including a contactor operable to conduct current through a resistive element connected to a capacitive element having a voltage supplied by a battery. The vehicle includes a controller configured to energize a first gate of the inverter. The energization is responsive to the voltage exceeding a threshold. The controller is configured to detect current flow between a first phase associated with the gate and the bus based on a voltage drop associated with the voltage.

Fault detection

A powertrain for a vehicle includes an electric machine coupled with a first inverter, a traction battery and a second inverter. The traction battery is coupled between a neutral terminal of the electric machine and a negative terminal of the first inverter. The second inverter is coupled in parallel with the first inverter with respect to a direct current (DC) bus, and configured to drive a second electric machine.

Hybrid drive system

A vehicle includes an integrated power distribution module. The integrated power distribution module includes a hybrid transformer coupled to a charger stage, a traction battery, and an auxiliary battery. The hybrid transformer includes first and second primary windings coupled in series and connected to the charger stage. The primary windings have a corresponding first secondary winding coupling the traction battery via associated inverters. The primary windings further have corresponding second secondary windings that are coupled in series with opposing voltage polarities and coupled to the auxiliary battery via an associated inverter.

Bidirectional integrated charger for a vehicle battery

A DC-DC voltage converter for an electric vehicle connects between a battery pack and a DC link having upper and lower link capacitors. When a target voltage on the link is less than twice the battery voltage, the capacitors are charged in series from two interleaved switching legs of the converter simultaneously for part of the time, and charged in series from only one of the switching legs for part of the time. When the target voltage is between 2 and 4 times the battery voltage, the upper capacitor is charged alone from both legs for part of the time, the upper capacitor is charged alone from only one of the legs for part of the time, the lower capacitor is charged alone from both legs for part of the time, and the lower capacitor is charged alone from only one of the legs for part of the time.

Interleaved DC-DC converter for electrified vehicles

A powertrain for a vehicle may include a variable voltage converter (VVC), and a controller. The VVC may include an inductor, a bus capacitor and a flying capacitor. The controller may be configured to, in response to a power demand signal exceeding a threshold, modulate switches of the VVC such that an inductor current created by a collapsing field of the inductor is directed into the flying capacitor or the bus capacitor such that a bus capacitor voltage exceeds a flying capacitor voltage, and in response to the power demand signal dropping below the threshold, modulate switches such that the flying capacitor and the bus capacitor are coupled in parallel.

Flying capacitor based variable voltage converter

A vehicular system includes a pump, configured to circulate coolant for a traction inverter, and a controller. The controller may be configured to, responsive to each of a temperature of the traction inverter falling outside a first range or a requested flow rate of the pump falling outside a second range, operate the pump at a predefined speed, otherwise, operate the pump at a speed based on a difference between the temperature and a temperature associated with the coolant.

Vehicular traction inverter temperature control system

A computer includes a processor; and a memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor to determine, based on a measurement performed in a vehicle, that a parameter of a power device is outside of a predetermined range; and actuate components in the vehicle to heat the power device.

Power device parameter adjustment

A powertrain for a vehicle includes a Y-wound generator, a Y-wound motor, a generator inverter, a motor inverter, and a traction battery. The Y-wound generator and Y-wound motor are coupled via each respective neutral terminal. The generator inverter is coupled between the Y-wound generator and a generator bus and the motor inverter is coupled between the Y-wound motor and a motor bus. The traction battery has a first terminal coupled to each neutral terminal and a second terminal coupled to bus terminals of the generator and motor bus.

Isolated dual bus hybrid vehicle drivetrain

A vehicle includes an inverter connected to an energy store having a variable output voltage and including a first pair of battery partitions. The vehicle includes a controller configured to operate a first set of switches to arrange electrical connections between the first pair such that the variable output voltage is greater than battery voltage of a one of the battery partitions. The operation of switches is responsive to a parameter indicative of speed of an electric machine electrically coupled to the inverter exceeding a first predetermined threshold.

Variable voltage controller

A vehicle powertrain includes a monolithically integrated load switch, mirror switch, and temperature array, and a gate driver. The gate driver includes a first comparator configured to filter a current level of the mirror switch, and a second comparator configured to provide a reference to the first comparator based on temperature array output such that a gate discharge rate of the switch, enabled by the first comparator, varies proportionally with a temperature adjusted filtered current level.

Gate driver with temperature compensated turn-off

A vehicle may include an electric machine including windings having a nonzero phase offset. The vehicle may further include first and second inverters configured to drive the electric machine as a result of toggling of switches. The switches may be toggled according to respective pulse width modulation (PWM) signals. One or more gate drivers may be configured to generate the PWM signals. The PWM signals may be based on fundamental waveforms having a phase shift that is based on the nonzero phase offset of the electric machine.

Multiple inverter system for an electric machine

A variable voltage converter for an electric drive system has upper and lower switching devices in series between positive and negative buses. An inductance couples a junction between the switching devices to a DC battery. A controller is configured to drive the switches according to PWM gate signals based on an expected boost ratio of the converter. The PWM gate signals have a nominal dead-time insertion for both the upper and lower switching devices when the expected boost ratio is greater than a predetermined boost ratio. In order to extend a range of achievable boost ratios during regeneration operation, the PWM gate signals are without dead-time insertion for the upper switching device and the lower switching device remains continuously off when the expected boost ratio is less than the predetermined boost ratio.

Variable voltage converter modulation obtaining lower minimum boost ratio

A vehicle includes an electric machine configured to provide propulsive force to the vehicle, and a power inverter configured to supply power from a traction battery to the electric machine using a first and second switch configured as a half-bridge, wherein the first switch is controlled by a gate driver. The gate driver is configured to operate in a soft turn-off mode when a load current exceeds a threshold for a time period defined by a mask timer, operate in a fast turn-off mode when the load current is below the threshold, and in response to a turn-off request received prior to expiration of the mask timer after the load current exceeds the threshold, enable the soft turn-off mode.

Gate driver with short circuit protection

A powertrain includes a DC-DC converter, an electric machine, and a controller. The DC-DC converter may be configured to output a bus voltage. The controller may be configured to, in response to a torque request exceeding an available torque of the electric machine, command the converter to boost the bus voltage to a discrete step value selected from a predetermined number of available discrete step values, that changes in response to a selected operating mode of the powertrain changing, to increase the available torque.

Adaptive boost voltage for hybrid vehicle operation

A gate driver of a power device includes an inductor and a supply. The inductor is configured to, during a transitional period of the power device, convert a potential on a gate to a field, and the field to an opposite potential to toggle the gate and charge a floating capacitor to the opposite potential as an excess field collapses. The supply is configured to maintain the gate at the potential and generate the excess field during a non-transitional period.

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Dearborn Heights, MI, United States of America

Shuitao Yang