# US 2014/0197790 A1 · Vehicle battery charger

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- Number: US 2014/0197790 A1
- Document ID: US20140197790A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/149,588
- Filed: 2014-01-07
- Published: 2014-07-17
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-17
- Assignees: Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
- Applicants: Hitachi Metals, Ltd
- Inventors: Masayoshi KANEYASU; Takafumi KAI; Hiroyuki YANAGISAWA; Hiroyuki ITO
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140197790A1

## CPC

- B60L 3/0069: {relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current}
- B60L 3/04: Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H)
- B60L 50/51: characterised by AC-motors
- B60L 53/16: Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
- B60L 53/18: Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
- B60L 53/30: Constructional details of charging stations
- B60L 53/31: Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
- B60L 53/65: involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
- B60L 2210/30: AC to DC converters
- B60L 2240/547: Voltage
- B60L 2240/549: Current
- B60L 2240/80: Time limits
- B60L 2250/10: by alarm
- B60L 2270/32: of electricity
- B60L 2270/34: of parts
- 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 90/12: Electric charging stations
- Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/167: Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
- Y04S 30/14: Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
- 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
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

A vehicle battery charger for providing a charging current to a rechargeable vehicle battery which stores electric traction power includes a relay for interrupting the charging current, and fault diagnosing means for switching an operating condition of the relay to thereby diagnose a fault in the relay. At a time of starting and/or stopping a supply of the charging current, if a given condition is satisfied, the fault diagnosing means executes a diagnosis of the fault, or if the given condition is not satisfied, the fault diagnosing means does not execute a diagnosis of the fault.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle battery charger for providing a charging current to a rechargeable vehicle battery which stores electric traction power, comprising:
a relay for interrupting the charging current; and
fault diagnosing means for switching an operating condition of the relay to thereby diagnose a fault in the relay,
wherein at a time of starting and/or stopping a supply of the charging current, if a given condition is satisfied, the fault diagnosing means executes a diagnosis of the fault, or if the given condition is not satisfied, the fault diagnosing means does not execute a diagnosis of the fault.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 1, wherein the given condition is that history information on an operating condition of the vehicle battery charger satisfies a predetermined condition.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 2, wherein the given condition is that an integrated value for the charging current from a time of a preceding diagnosis execution based on the history information is not less than a given threshold.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 2, wherein the given condition is that an integrated value for output power of the battery charger from a time of a preceding diagnosis execution based on the history information is not less than a given threshold.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 2, wherein the given condition is that an elapsed time from a time of a preceding diagnosis execution based on the history information is not less than a given threshold.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 2, wherein the given condition is that an integrated value for a number of operations of the relay from a time of a preceding diagnosis execution based on the history information is not less than a given threshold.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The vehicle battery charger according to claim 2, wherein the given condition is that an integrated value for a charging time from a time of a preceding diagnosis execution based on the history information is not less than a given threshold.