The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 21, 2014
Filed:
Mar. 31, 2011
Nelson A. Kelly, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
David B. Ouwerkerk, Torrance, CA (US);
Nelson A. Kelly, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
David B. Ouwerkerk, Torrance, CA (US);
GM Global Technology Operations LLC, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) systems for charging high voltage batteries used to power the electric traction motor of an electrically-powered vehicle are described. Suitable PV systems, fabricated of interconnected solar cells, modules or arrays, may be designed and adapted to efficiently charge a high voltage battery by matching the characteristics of the PV system to the fully-charged voltage of the battery. Preferably, a charging efficiency of about 90% or greater may be achieved through proper matching of the PV system to the battery. A reconfigurable PV system, based on assemblies of solar modules, is described. The reconfigurable PV system is capable of properly matching itself to a variety of different batteries, each of which may have a different voltage when fully charged. By using several reconfigurable PV systems a variety of batteries with different charged voltages may be charged simultaneously while utilizing substantially the full capacity of the PV system to charge batteries.