Current control method and current control device for on-board charger

A current control method for an on-board charger that supplies current to high-power components and a battery from a high-voltage system in which the battery and the high-power components configured to current consumption based on their own operating states are connected in common, the current control method comprising:

• computing a sum of a charging current of the battery and a drive current to be supplied to the high-power components as an output current;
• and
• supplying the output current from the on-board charger to the high-voltage system in order to supply current not consumed by the high-power components to the battery,
• before changing the operating state of one of the high-power components,
• determining whether it is possible to carry out tracking control in which the on-board charger reduces the output current in accordance with a decrease in the current consumption of the high-power component due to the change, and
• upon determining that the tracking control is not possible,
• the sum of the charging current and the current consumption of the high-power components after the change is computed as a target current, and
• the operating state is changed after reducing the output current to the target current.

A current control device for an on-board charger that supplies current to high-power components and a battery from a high-voltage system in which the high-power components and the battery are connected in common, the current control method comprising:

• a characteristic determination circuit configured to identify first high-power components of the high-power components configured to compute current consumption based on their own operating states from among the high-power components, the characteristic determination circuit being further configured to identify second high-power components of the high-power components that are not configured to compute current consumption based on their own operating states;
• a calculation circuit configured to compute a sum of a charging current to the battery and a drive current to be supplied to the first high-power components as an output current, the charging current being a value required to charge the battery, the output current being the sum of the charging current of the battery and the drive current to be supplied to the first high-power components, the output current supplied from the on-board charger to the high-power components not including a power consumption of the second high-power components, the calculation circuit being configured to reduce the output current in accordance with a decrease of power consumption of the first high-powered components prior to the first high-powered components changing operating states;
• and
• a command output circuit that outputs to the on-board charger a command to supply the output current from the on-board charger to the high-power components in order to supply the current not consumed by the high-power components to the battery.

A current control device for an on-board charger that supplies current to high-power components and a battery from a high-voltage system in which the battery and the high-power components configured to compute current consumption based on their own operating states, the current control device comprising:

• a calculation circuit configured to compute a sum of a charging current of the battery and a drive current to be supplied to the high-power components as an output current;
• and
• a trackability determination circuit configured to determine whether it is possible to carry out tracking control in which the on-board charger reduces the output current in accordance with a decrease in the current consumption of a high-power component due to a change in an operating state of one of the high-power components before the operating state of the high-power component is changed;
• and
• a command output circuit that outputs to the on-board charger a command to supply the output current from the on-board charger to the high-power components in order to supply the current not consumed by the high-power components to the battery,
• upon determining by the trackability determination circuit that the tracking control is not possible,
• the calculation circuit computes the sum of the charging current and the current consumption of the high-power components after the change as a target current, and
• the command output circuit changes the operating state after reducing the output current to the target current.