# US 11,999,244 B2 · Active discharge system for electric or hybrid motor vehicles

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- Number: US 11,999,244 B2
- Document ID: US11999244B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/265,407
- Filed: 2019-08-01
- Published: 2021-09-02
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2018-08-03
- Assignees: META SYSTEM S.p.A.
- Applicants: META SYSTEM S.p.A.
- Inventors: Giuseppe Simonazzi; Cesare Lasagni; Severino Bigliardi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999244B2

## CPC

- B60L 3/0007: {Measures or means for preventing or attenuating collisions}
- B60L 3/04: Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H)
- B60L 3/0046: {relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors}
- B60L 3/12: Recording operating variables {; Monitoring of operating variables}
- H03H 19/004: {Switched capacitor networks}
- H10D 89/711: {using bipolar transistors as protective elements}
- B60L 2250/10: by alarm
- 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
- H03H: IMPEDANCE NETWORKS, e.g. RESONANT CIRCUITS; RESONATORS (waveguides, resonators, lines or other devices of the waveguide type H01P)
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

## Abstract

An active discharge system for electric or hybrid motor vehicles including an active discharge circuit operatively connected in parallel to a charge circuit, which is supplied by a high voltage power source and defines an electrically-charged equivalent capacitance of an electric charge, wherein the active discharge circuit is configured to discharge the electric charge accumulated by the equivalent capacitance in the event of the high voltage power source being disconnected from the charge circuit; a control circuit/device/unit/component of the active discharge circuit which are configured to receive an activation signal, suitable to activating the active discharge circuit in case of receiving the activation signal, so as to discharge the equivalent capacitance.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An active discharge system for electric or hybrid motor vehicles, the active discharge system comprising:
at least one active discharge circuit operatively connected in parallel to at least one charge circuit, which is supplied by at least one high voltage power source and defines at least one electrically-charged equivalent capacitance of an electric charge, said active discharge circuit being configured to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance in the event of said high voltage power source being disconnected from said at least one charge circuit; and
control means of said active discharge circuit which are configured to receive at least one activation signal, said control means activating said active discharge circuit in case of receiving said activation signal, so as to discharge said equivalent capacitance, wherein
said control means comprise diagnostic means of said active discharge circuit configured to signal the activation of the latter to at least one diagnostic unit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein
said control means are connected to said equivalent capacitance, and
said control means being supplied by the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system according to claim 2, wherein
said control means comprise conversion means of the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance in a power voltage of said control means.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein
said control means are operatively connected to signaling means configured to send said activation signal and supplied by at least one low voltage power source, and
said control means comprise monitoring means of said low voltage power source and being configured to activate said active discharge circuit in case said low voltage power source is not detected.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein
said control means comprise timing means of the discharge time of said equivalent capacitance configured to deactivate said active discharge circuit after a predefined discharge time.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The system according to claim 5, wherein
said control means comprise extension means of said predefined discharge time configured to extend the latter by a predefined extension time in the event of said electric charge value verified by said verification means is greater than a predefined threshold value at the end of said predefined discharge time.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The system according to claim 5, wherein
said timing means comprise verification means for verifying the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance, and
said timing means being configured to deactivate said active discharge circuit in case the value of said electric charge verified by said verification means is not substantially decreasing in value over time.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein
said active discharge circuit comprises dissipation means of the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance, and
said dissipation means being able to discharge said electric charge through a discharge current.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The system according to claim 8, wherein
said dissipation means comprise resistive means which are adapted to conduct said discharge current and to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The system according to claim 9, wherein
said dissipation means comprise switch means operatively connected to said control means, and
said control means activating said switch means to allow the passage of said discharge current and to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system according to claim 10, wherein
said switch means are connected in series to said resistive means.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The system according to claim 10, wherein
said switch means and said resistive means coincide, said switch means and said resistive means being made through at least one transistor operatively connected to said control means.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system according to claim 12, wherein
said at least one transistor is of the type of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

A battery charger, the battery charger comprising:
said at least one active discharge system according to claim 1.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The system according to claim 1, wherein
said diagnostic means comprise:
warning means for warning about the activation of said active discharge circuit which are configured to send at least one warning signal to said diagnostic unit; and
checking means for checking the activation of said active discharge circuit which are configured to check the presence of said discharge current and to activate said warning means the instant when the presence of said discharge current is checked.

### Claim 16

An active discharge system for electric or hybrid motor vehicles, the active discharge system comprising:
at least one active discharge circuit operatively connected in parallel to at least one charge circuit, which is supplied by at least one high voltage power source and defines at least one electrically-charged equivalent capacitance of an electric charge, said active discharge circuit being configured to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance in the event of said high voltage power source being disconnected from said at least one charge circuit; and
control means of said active discharge circuit which are configured to receive at least one activation signal, said control means activating said active discharge circuit in case of receiving said activation signal, so as to discharge said equivalent capacitance, wherein
said active discharge circuit comprises dissipation means of the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance, and
said dissipation means being able to discharge said electric charge through a discharge current,
said dissipation means comprise resistive means which are adapted to conduct said discharge current and to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance,
said dissipation means comprise switch means operatively connected to said control means, and
said control means activating said switch means to allow the passage of said discharge current and to discharge the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance,
said switch means and said resistive means coincide, said switch means and said resistive means being made through at least one transistor operatively connected to said control means, and
said control means comprise biasing means of said at least one transistor configured to vary the value of said discharge current of the electric charge accumulated by the equivalent capacitance passing through said at least one transistor depending on the value of the electric charge accumulated by said equivalent capacitance to be discharged and on the value of the electric charge discharged through said at least one transistor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein
said biasing means comprise at least one of detection means for detecting the value of said discharge current and measurement means for measuring the value of said electric charge to be discharged, and
said biasing means being configured to vary the value of said discharge current depending on at least one of the value of said discharge current detected by said detection means and the value of said electric charge measured by said measurement means.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The system according to claim 16, wherein
said control means comprise diagnostic means of said active discharge circuit configured to signal the activation of the latter to at least one diagnostic unit.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The system according to claim 18, wherein
said diagnostic means comprise:
warning means for warning about the activation of said active discharge circuit which are configured to send at least one warning signal to said diagnostic unit; and
checking means for checking the activation of said active discharge circuit which are configured to check the presence of said discharge current and to activate said warning means the instant when said checking means checks the presence of said discharge current.