Modular stacked DC architecture traction system and method of making same

Abstract

A modular stacked DC architecture for traction system includes a propulsion system includes an electric drive, a direct current (DC) link electrically coupled to the electric drive, and a first DC-DC converter coupled to the DC link. A first energy storage device (ESD) is electrically coupled to the first DC-DC converter, and a second DC-DC converter is coupled to the DC link and to the first DC-DC converter. The system also includes a second energy storage device electrically coupled to the second DC-DC converter and a controller coupled to the first and second DC-DC converters and configured to control a transfer of energy between the first ESD and the DC link via the first and second DC-DC converters.

Claims

1. A propulsion system comprising: an electric drive; a direct current (DC) link comprising a first bus and a second bus coupled to the electric drive; a first DC-DC converter coupled to the first bus of the DC link, the first DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; a second DC-DC converter coupled to the second bus of the DC link and the first DC-DC converter, the second DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; a first energy storage device (ESD) coupled to the first DC-DC converter; a second ESD coupled to the second DC-DC converter; and a controller configured to: selectively transfer energy from at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD to the electric drive by controlling a first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a second plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter; and selectively transfer energy from the electric drive to charge at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD by controlling a third plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter.

2. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

3. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the third plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

4. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the second plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

5. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

6. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to control a duty cycle of the first, second, third, and fourth plurality of switches.

7. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein the first DC-DC converter and the second DC-DC converter are bi-directional.

8. The propulsion system of claim 1 wherein a first leg of the first DC-DC converter, a first leg of the second DC-DC converter, and the electric drive form an H-bridge.

9. The propulsion system of claim 1 further comprising a third DC-DC converter coupled between the electric drive and the first and second DC-DC converters.

10. A vehicle comprising: an electric drive comprising an inverter coupled to a traction motor; a direct current (DC) link comprising a first bus and a second bus coupled to the electric drive; a first DC-DC converter coupled to the first bus of the DC link, the first DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; a second DC-DC converter coupled to the second bus of the DC link and the first DC-DC converter, the second DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; a first energy storage device (ESD) coupled to the first DC-DC converter; a second ESD coupled to the second DC-DC converter; and a controller configured to: selectively transfer energy from at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD to the electric drive by controlling a first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a second plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter; and selectively transfer energy from the electric drive to charge at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD by controlling a third plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter.

11. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

12. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the third plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

13. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the second plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

14. The vehicle of claim 10 wherein the fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

15. The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising a third DC-DC converter coupled between the electric drive and the first and second DC-DC converters.

16. A method of operating a propulsion system comprising: coupling an electric drive to a direct current (DC) link, the DC link comprising a first bus and a second bus; coupling a first DC-DC converter to the first bus, the first DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; coupling a second DC-DC converter to the second bus and the first DC-DC converter, the second DC-DC converter comprising a plurality of switch legs, the switch legs comprising at least two switches; coupling a first energy storage device (ESD) to the first DC-DC converter; coupling a second ESD to the second DC-DC converter; and configuring a controller to: selectively transfer energy from at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD to the electric drive by controlling a first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a second plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter; and selectively transfer energy from the electric drive to charge at least one of the first ESD and the second ESD by controlling a third plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter and a fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the first plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the third plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the second plurality of switches in the first DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the first DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the first DC-DC converter.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the fourth plurality of switches in the second DC-DC converter comprises a first switch from a first leg of the second DC-DC converter and a second switch from a second leg of the second DC-DC converter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The drawings illustrate embodiments presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.

(2) In the drawings:

(3) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a traction system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(4) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 1 in a motoring mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(5) FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 1 in a regenerative braking mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(6) FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the traction system of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

(7) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 in a motoring mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(8) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 in a regenerative braking mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

(9) FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 in an energy transfer mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) FIG. 1 illustrates a modular stacked DC architecture traction/propulsion system 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Traction system 2 includes a first energy storage device (ES1) 4 and a second energy storage device (ES2) 6. In embodiments of the invention, ES1 4 and ES2 6 are low voltage, high specific-energy storage devices, and each may be, for example, an ultracapacitor or an energy battery. In this case, an ultracapacitor represents a capacitor comprising multiple capacitor cells coupled to one another, where the capacitor cells may each have a capacitance that is greater than 500 Farads. The term energy battery used in the embodiments shown herein describes a high specific-energy battery or high energy density battery demonstrated to achieve an energy density on the order of 100 W-hr/kg or greater (e.g., a Li-ion, sodium-metal halide, sodium nickel chloride, sodium-sulfur, zinc-air, nickel metal halide, or lead acid battery, or the like).

(11) ES1 4 and ES2 6 are coupled to respective bi-directional DC-to-DC converters 8, 10 that, in one embodiment, are configured in an H-bridge configuration. Converter 8 includes a plurality of power switches S1-S4 coupled in an anti-parallel arrangement with a plurality of diodes D1-D4. Likewise, converter 10 includes a plurality of power switches S5-S8 coupled in an anti-parallel arrangement with a plurality of diodes D5-D8. Power switches S1-S8 may be, for example, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) as shown, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs), contactors, or other power switches known in the art. Converters 8, 10 are coupled to respective first and second buses 12, 14 of a DC current link 16, and an inductor 18 is additionally coupled to first bus 12.

(12) As shown in FIG. 1, DC current link 16 is coupled to a load 20, which, according to an embodiment of the invention, is an electric drive including an inverter 22 and a motor or electromechanical device 24. In this embodiment, inverter 22 is a current source inverter configured to convert a current on DC current link 16 to an energy suitable for driving motor 24. Motor 24 is preferably an AC motor but is not limited as such. While not shown, it is to be understood that each of a plurality of motors 24 may be coupled to a respective wheel or other load or that each motor 24 may be coupled to a differential for distributing rotational power to the wheels or other load.

(13) A controller 26 is coupled to switches S1-S8 of converters 8, 10 and to load 20 to control the transfer of energy from either or both of ES1 4 and ES2 6 to load 20 during a motoring mode and to control the transfer of energy generated during regenerative braking event to either or both of ES1 4 and ES2 6 during a deceleration event. Additionally, controller 26 may be configured to control the transfer of energy from ES1 4 to ES2 6 or from ES2 6 to ES1 4.

(14) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 1 in a motoring mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, controller 26 controls the transfer of energy from one or both of ES1 4 and ES2 6 to load 20 for operating motor 24 in the motoring mode. As illustrated in bold, controller 26 allows the transfer of energy from both ES1 4 and ES2 6 to DC current link 16 by maintaining switches 51, S4, S5, and S8 in an off state and by controlling the duty cycle of switches S2, S3, S6, and S7. In this manner, current flowing from second bus 14 of DC current link 16 flows along a path through switch S7, ES2 6, switch S6, switch S3, ES1 4, and switch S2 and to first bus 12 of DC current link 16. The path of current from first bus 12 of DC current link 16 to second bus 14 of DC current link 16 flows through switch S10 of converter 28, through load 20, and through diode D11.

(15) While the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 shows control of switches S2, S3, S6, and S7 of converters 8 and 10 to control the transfer of energy from both ES1 4 and ES2 6, by controlling the duty ratio of switches S2 and S6, controller 26 can also regulate the power to be drawn only from one of the energy storage elements, i.e. either from ES1 4 or from ES2 6. For example, by controlling duty ratio of switch S2 and turning off switch S6 completely, controller 26 can cause ES1 4 to provide power to DC current link 16 while bypassing ES2 6. By controlling switch S6 to its off state, current flowing through converter 10 flows through switch S7 and through diode D8 on its way to switch S3 of converter 8. Alternatively, by controlling switch S7 to its off state, current flowing through converter 10 flows through diode D5 and switch S6 on its way to switch S3 of converter 8. Likewise, by controlling switch S6 to its on state and switch S2 to its off state, controller 26 can cause ES2 6 to provide current to DC current link 16 while bypassing ES1 4.

(16) In addition, by controlling switches S2 and S6 (with S3 and S7 ON) or switches S3 and S7 to their off states (with S2 and S6 ON), controller 26 can cause both ES1 4 and ES2 6 to stop supplying current to DC current link 16 when it is desired to halt operation in the motoring mode.

(17) FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 1 operating in a regenerative braking mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, controller 26 is shown controlling the transfer of energy from load 20 during a regenerative braking event to ES2 6. By maintaining all switches S1-S8 in their off states, current flows from second bus 14 through diode D5, ES2 6, diode D8, diode D1, ES1 4, and diode D4 to first bus 12. In this manner, ES1 4 and ES2 6 may both be recharged during the regenerative braking event.

(18) However, by controlling either switch S2 or switch S6 to their on states, it is possible to respectively bypass ES1 4 or ES2 6 when it is desired to avoid recharging either ES1 4 or ES2 6.

(19) While converters 8 and 10 are each shown in an H-bridge configuration having four switches and four diodes, embodiments of the invention contemplate removing one or more of the switches or diodes for cost and weight reduction savings benefits should it be determined that the switches or diodes to be removed will not have current flowing therethrough in any of the control modes programmed into controller 26 or in any other currents-flowing mode.

(20) FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of modular stacked DC architecture traction/propulsion system 2. As shown, in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 1, traction system 2 of FIG. 4 includes an additional bi-directional DC-to-DC converter 28 coupled between DC current link 16 and load 20. Similar to converters 8 and 10, converter 28 includes a plurality of power switches S9-S12 coupled in an anti-parallel arrangement with a plurality of diodes D9-D12. Controller 26 is additionally coupled to switches S9-S12 of converter 28 to control conversion of the current on DC current link 16 to a voltage that is supplied to load 20 and to control conversion of a voltage from load 20 to a current suitable for supplying to DC current link 16 for charging one or both of ES1 4 and ES2 6. In this embodiment, inverter 22 is a voltage source inverter configured to convert the voltage supplied thereto to an energy suitable for driving motor 24.

(21) FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 operating in a motoring mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, controller 26 controls the transfer of energy from one or both of ES1 4 and ES2 6 to load 20 for operating motor 24 in the motoring mode. As illustrated in bold, controller 26 allows the transfer of energy from both ES1 4 and ES2 6 to DC current link 16 by maintaining switches 51, S4, S5, and S8 in an off state and by controlling the duty ratio of switches S2, S3, S6, and S7. In this manner, current flowing from second bus 14 of DC current link 16 flows along a path through switch S7, ES2 6, switch S6, switch S3, ES1 4, and switch S2 and to first bus 12 of DC current link 16. The voltage supplied to load 20 is regulated by controlling the duty ratio of switch S12. When S12 is on, the current from first bus 12 flows through switch S12 and diode D11 to second bus 14. When switch S12 is off, the current from first bus 12 flows through diode D10, load 20, and diode D11 to second bus 14.

(22) While the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 shows control of switches S2, S3, S6, and S7 of converters 8 and 10 to control the transfer of energy from both ES1 4 and ES2 6, by controlling the duty ratio of switches S2 and S6, controller 26 can also regulate the power to be drawn only from one of the energy storage elements, i.e., either from ES1 4 or from ES2 6. For example, by controlling duty ratio of switch S2 and turning off switch S6 completely, controller 26 can cause ES1 4 to provide power to DC current link 16 while bypassing ES2 6. By controlling switch S6 to its off state, current flowing through converter 10 flows through switch S7 and through diode D8 on its way to switch S3 of converter 8. Alternatively, by controlling switch S7 to its off state, current flowing through converter 10 flows through diode D5 and switch S6 on its way to switch S3 of converter 8. Likewise, by controlling switch S6 to its on state and switch S2 to its off state, controller 26 can cause ES2 6 to provide current to DC current link 16 while bypassing ES1 4.

(23) In addition, by controlling switches S2 and S6 (with S3 and S7 ON) or switches S3 and S7 to their off states (with S2 and S6 ON), controller 26 can cause both ES1 4 and ES2 6 to stop supplying current to DC current link 16 when it is desired to halt operation in the motoring mode.

(24) FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 operating in a regenerative braking mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, controller 26 is shown controlling the transfer of energy from load 20 during a regenerative braking event to ES2 6. During the regenerative braking event, controller 26 controls motor 24 to operate in a generator mode to slow down or decelerate the vehicle, for example. In the generator mode, motor 24 generates energy that can be supplied to converter 28 through inverter 22. Energy from load 20 can be caused to flow into ES2 6 by controlling the duty ratio of switch S9 (or S12) with S12 (or S9) turned on completely. Accordingly, the current flowing from switch S9 flows through second bus 14 of DC current link 16 and through diode D5 to reach ES2 6. From there, the current flows through diode D8 and on to converter 8. By controlling switch S3 into its on state, the regenerative current bypasses diode D1 and ES1 4 on its path to first bus 12 of DC current link 16 through diode D4.

(25) In another embodiment, by controlling switch S3 into its off state, controller 26 can cause the regenerative breaking current to flow through diode D1 to charge ES1 4 in addition to charging ES2 6. Further, by controlling switch S7 into its on state, the regenerative current may be forced to bypass ES2 6 on its way through diode D8 and on to converter 8.

(26) FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of the traction system shown in FIG. 4 operating in an energy transfer mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, controller 26 is shown controlling the transfer of energy from ES2 6 to ES1 4 while bypassing the transfer of energy to load 20. As illustrated in bold, controller 26 allows the transfer of energy from ES2 6 to ES1 4 by maintaining switches S1-S5, S8, and S10-S12 in their off state; switches S9, S6 in their on state; and by controlling duty ratio of switch S7. In this manner, current flowing from ES2 6 flows along a path through switch S6 and diode D1 to reach ES1 4. From ES1 4, the current returns to ES2 6 via the path flowing through diode D4, first bus 12 of DC current link 16, diode, D10, and switches S9 and S7.

(27) In addition, by controlling switch S9 to its off state and by controlling inverter 22, controller 26 may cause both an energy transfer from ES2 6 to ES1 4 in an energy transfer mode while simultaneously causing an energy transfer from ES2 6 to load 20 in a motoring mode. In this manner, if the state of charge of ES1 4 is reduced below a desired threshold level, ES2 6 may be used to begin or maintain motoring of the vehicle while simultaneously raising the state of charge of ES1 4 to a desired level.

(28) In an embodiment where ES1 4 is configured to transfer its energy to ES2 6, the flow of current through ES1 4 and ES2 6 as depicted in FIG. 5 may be reversed for such a transfer by controlling switches S6 and S7 to their off states and switches S2 and S3 to their on states.

(29) As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, DC current link 16 is uni-directional. That is, the current in DC current link 16 flows from converter 8 to converter 28 and from converter 28 to converter 10 in all of the embodiments described above. Because of this, active control of some of the switches S1-S12 to their on states does not occur. For example, switches S1, S4, S5, S8, S10, and S11 are not switched to their on states to avoid the opposite flow of current in DC current link 16 in the embodiments described herein. As such, switches S1, S4, S5, S8, S10, and S11 may be removed to reduce circuitry for cost and weight reduction savings benefits if desired.

(30) Therefore, according to one embodiment of the invention, a propulsion system includes an electric drive, a direct current (DC) link electrically coupled to the electric drive, and a first DC-DC converter coupled to the DC link. A first energy storage device (ESD) is electrically coupled to the first DC-DC converter, and a second DC-DC converter is coupled to the DC link and to the first DC-DC converter. The system also includes a second energy storage device electrically coupled to the second DC-DC converter and a controller coupled to the first and second DC-DC converters and configured to control a transfer of energy between the first ESD and the DC link via the first and second DC-DC converters.

(31) According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of assembling a control system includes coupling a first energy storage device (ESD) to a first DC-DC converter, coupling the first DC-DC converter to a DC link, and coupling a second ESD to a second DC-DC converter. The method also includes coupling the second DC-DC converter to the first DC-DC converter and to the DC link, coupling the DC link to an electric drive, coupling a controller to the first and second DC-DC converters, and configuring the controller to cause the first and second DC-DC converters to transfer energy between the first ESD and the DC link.

(32) According to another embodiment of the invention, an energy storage arrangement for an electrically powered system includes a first energy storage device coupled to a first DC-DC converter, a second energy storage device coupled to a second DC-DC converter, and a DC link. The DC link includes a first bus coupled to the first DC-DC converter and a second bus coupled to the second DC-DC converter. The arrangement further includes a controller coupled to the first and second DC-DC converters and configured to cause a current to flow from the second bus to the first bus through the first energy storage device and through the first and second DC-DC converters.

(33) This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.