# US 10,369,887 B2 · Inverter system controller power optimization > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,369,887 B2 - Document ID: US10369887B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/656,741 - Filed: 2017-07-21 - Published: 2019-01-24 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-07-21 - Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Jaswant Singh Garcha - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369887B2 ## CPC - B60L 1/02: to electric heating circuits - B60L 1/003: {to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors} - B60L 3/0046: {relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors} - B60L 15/007: {Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles} - B60L 50/15: with additional electric power supply (with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61) - B60L 53/11: {DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4} - B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer - B60L 58/27: by heating - B60W 20/00: Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles {(hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L)} - B60W 50/0098: {Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for} - H02M 7/537: using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters - B60L 2210/40: DC to AC converters - B60L 2240/34: Cabin temperature - B60L 2240/529: Current - B60L 2240/545: Temperature - B60L 2260/22: Standstill, e.g. zero speed - H02J 7/50: acting upon multiple batteries simultaneously or sequentially - H02J 2105/37: exchanging power with electric vehicles [EV] or with hybrid electric vehicles [HEV] - Y02T 10/64: Electric machine technologies in electromobility - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 10/72: Electric energy management in electromobility - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - Y10S 903/904: Component specially adapted for hev - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P) - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract An inverter for a vehicle includes a power controller and gate drive board (GDB) electrically in series, the controller including logic circuitry configured to, responsive to presence of an ignition signal, permit flow of low voltage power through the controller to the GDB to activate the GDB, and responsive to presence of a wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal, prevent flow of low voltage power through the controller to the GDB. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inverter for a vehicle comprising: a power controller and gale drive board (GDB) electrically in series, the controller including logic circuitry configured to, responsive to presence of an ignition signal, permit flow of low voltage power through the controller to the GDB to activate the GDB, and responsive to presence of a wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal, prevent flow of low voltage power through the controller to the GDB and, during the preventing, permit flow of low voltage power to energize a coil of a contactor to close the contactor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The inverter of claim 1, wherein the logic circuitry includes a logic AND gate electrically in series with the GDB and configured to prevent the flow of power responsive to a confirmation that the ignition signal is not present. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The inverter of claim 2, wherein the logic circuitry includes a logic OR gate electrically connected between input of the controller and input of the logic AND gate, the logic OR gate being configured to permit the flow of power responsive to presence of either the ignition signal or the wake-up signal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The inverter of claim 2, wherein the controller further includes a high-side switch electrically connected between output of the logic AND gate and input of the GDB, the switch being configured to: permit the flow of power to the GDB responsive to detecting that output of the logic AND gate is HIGH, and prevent the flow of power to the GDB responsive to detecting that output of the logic AND gate is LOW. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The inverter of claim 1, wherein the wake-up signal originates from a hybrid control unit of the controller responsive to detecting that temperature of a vehicle battery is greater than a first threshold or less than a second threshold. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The inverter of claim 5, Wherein the hybrid control unit is configured to, responsive to receiving the power flow, enable an electric A/C when the temperature is greater than the first threshold and enable a heater when the temperature is less than the second threshold. ### Claim 7 A method comprising: responsive to presence of an ignition signal, by a power controller of an inverter, permitting flow of low voltage power through the controller to a gate drive board (GDB) and a resolver-to-digital converter to activate the GDB and the converter, each of the GDB and the converter being electrically in series with the controller, and responsive to presence of a wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal, preventing flow of low voltage power through the controller to the GDB and the converter and, during the preventing, permitting flow of low voltage power to energize a coil of a contactor to close the contactor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the preventing is by a logic AND gate of the controller electrically connected to input of the GDB and the converter. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising permitting, by a logic OR gate of the controller electrically connected to input of the logic AND gate, the flow of low voltage power to the logic AND gate responsive to presence of the wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the preventing is by high-side switches electrically connected between output of the logic AND gate and respective inputs of the GDB and the converter responsive to detecting that output of the logic AND gate is LOW. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the high-side switches include a bipolar junction transistor connected to a gate of a field-effect transistor and configured to turn on the field-effect transistor responsive to output of the logic AND gate being HIGH. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the wake-up signal originates from a hybrid control unit of the controller responsive to detecting that temperature of a vehicle battery is greater than a first threshold or less than a second threshold. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising, responsive to receiving the power flow, enabling, by the hybrid control unit, an electric A/C when the temperature is greater than the first threshold and enabling a heater when the temperature is less than the second threshold. ### Claim 14 A system for a vehicle comprising: an inverter including a gate drive board (GDB) and a power controller, the controller including logic circuitry configured to, responsive to detecting an ignition signal, permit flow of low voltage power to the GDB to activate the GDB, and responsive to receiving a wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal, prevent flow of power to the GDB and permit flow of low voltage power to energize a coil of a contactor to close the contactor. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the controller further includes a high-side switch connected between output of the logic circuitry and input of the GDB and configured to turn on to permit the flow of power responsive to output of the logic circuitry being a logical HIGH. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the logic circuitry includes a logic AND gate configured to generate output of a logical LOW responsive to receiving the wake-up signal, but not the ignition signal. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, further comprising a traction battery and a temperature sensor configured to measure temperature of the battery, and wherein the wake-up signal originates from a hybrid control unit of the controller responsive to detecting that the measured temperature is one of greater than a first threshold and less than a second threshold. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the hybrid control unit is further configured to, responsive to receiving the power flow, enable an electric A/C when the measured temperature is greater than the first threshold and enable a heater when the measured temperature is less than the second threshold.