An electrical system for an automotive vehicle has a plurality of electrical generating machines having field windings energized by pulse width modulated drive signals generated by an external electronic voltage regulator. The pulse width modulated drive signals have a duty cycle determined by the electronic voltage regulator. A controller selects one of electrical generating machines to evaluate for failure and evaluates that electrical generating machine for failure by causing the PWM drive signal for the field windings of that electrical generating machine to be disabled. The controller then determines that this electrical generating machine has failed if the duty cycle for the PWM drive signals has then not been increased by the electronic voltage regulator by a pre-determined amount. The electrical generating machines are either generators or alternators. In an aspect, the PWM drive signals for the plurality of electrical generating machines are out of phase with each other.

A method manages energy of a hybrid vehicle. The vehicle includes a heat engine, one or more electric traction motors, a high-voltage traction battery, a low-voltage on-board battery for accessories of the vehicle, a current inverter to transform direct currents into alternating currents for the electric motor, and a reversible current transformer to convert high-voltage current into low-voltage current of the on-board battery and to use a stock of energy available in the low-voltage battery to not draw energy from the high-voltage battery when it has a relatively low level of charge. The method includes determining an operating point of the vehicle involving a minimum fuel consumption in the heat engine by imposing on the electric motor a torque that minimizes a criterion of total fuel consumption by the consumption of the heat engine, power consumed in the traction battery, and power consumed in the on-board battery.

A vehicle propulsion system includes a plurality of power sources coupled to a final drive of the vehicle propulsion system. A controller is programmed to determine a desired power demand from the power sources and operate a number of the power sources to produce the desired power demand. The controller identifies a least efficient power source of the power sources and controls the least efficient power source to produce power at an optimum operating point of the least efficient power source. The controller also identifies a power output of the least efficient power source corresponding to the optimum operating point, compares the power output of the least efficient power source to the desired power demand, identifies a remaining power demand from the comparison, and controls another power source to produce the remaining power demand.

The present invention aims to efficiently use all of a plurality of capacitors connected in series, and control a voltage held by a capacitor unit according to environmental temperature. A switch element inserted into a charging path leading to the capacitor unit, and a switch control part controlling the opening and closing of the switch element, are provided. The switch control part includes: a first voltage divider circuit that includes a pair of resistor elements, and that produces and outputs a voltage that is a fraction of the voltage held by the capacitor unit; and a comparison result output circuit that controls the opening and closing of the switch element based on the result of comparing a potential output from the first voltage divider circuit and a predetermined potential. The pair of resistor elements are different from each other in terms of temperature dependency of resistance values thereof.

A power supply apparatus has a first electric storage section, a second electric storage section having an excellent energy density and a poor output density compared with the first storage section, and a control section that acquires first data and second data before and after each time of transferring charge between the first and storage sections, the first data being a combination of an SOC and an OCV of the first storage section, the second data being a combination of an SOC and an OCV of the second storage section, estimates a first correlation between the SOC and the OCV of the first storage section from an aggregation of the first data including reference data, and estimates a second correlation between the SOC and the OCV of the second storage section based on a comparison between a plurality of stored data and an aggregation of the second data.

An energy process handling system may include energy process handling modules. Each module may be modularly and operationally engaged with at least one other module of the system, such that each module is inter-operationally engaged with the other modules of the system. The system may include at least one system energy process delivery outlet to a localized environment and at least one system energy inlet.

Provided is an electric power supply control device for an electric power supply apparatus including a plurality of storage batteries and an electric power generator performing charging of the plurality of storage batteries, the electric power supply control device controlling a parallel connection between the plurality of storage batteries. Voltage adjustment by one of a) charging processing by electric power feeding from the electric power generator to the storage battery having the lowest output voltage among the plurality of storage batteries and b) discharging processing by electric power feeding from the storage battery having the highest output voltage among the plurality of storage batteries to a load circuit connected to the storage battery having the highest output voltage is performed. Parallel connection is performed in a case where output voltage difference between the plurality of storage batteries becomes equal to or less than a previously-determined threshold.

Systems and methods for controlling power flow to and from an energy storage system are provided. One energy storage system includes an energy storage device and a bidirectional inverter configured to control a flow of power into or out of the energy storage device via a plurality of phases. The energy storage system further includes a controller configured to control the bidirectional inverter based on a load condition on one or more phases. The controller is configured to control the bidirectional inverter to store power generated by a generator set in the energy storage device and transmit power from the energy storage device to a load driven by the generator set in response to detecting a load imbalance between the phases.

A vehicular power supply apparatus includes: a first port to which an electric load is connected; a second port to which a first storage apparatus is connected; a third port to which a second storage apparatus is connected; a fourth port to which a power generation apparatus is connected; a first switch disposed between the first and second ports; a second switch disposed between the second and fourth ports; a third switch disposed between the first and third ports; a fourth switch disposed between the third and fourth ports; and a condition switching unit configured to switch between a first condition in which the first and fourth switches are conductive, the second and third switches are cut off, and a second condition in which the first sand fourth switches are cut off, the second and the switches are conductive.

An apparatus for transferring energy from cell to cell of a battery, wherein each cell is connected to its individual electrical motor/alternator through an electronic module, and wherein each motor/alternator is mechanically connected to a common flywheel. The electrical motor/alternator preferably is an electrical motor that provides rotational work and generates power when being driven by an external source of rotational kinetic energy or by an external source of rotational power. The common flywheel stores rotational kinetic energy. Cells of the battery provide various torque on the flywheel or on the shaft driving the flywheel. Cells with higher than average output current will provide higher than average torque, thus providing higher than average kinetic energy input to the flywheel, while cells with lower than average output current will provide lower than average torque, or will provide negative torque, the motor/alternator acting then as an alternator recharging the cell.