Methods and apparatus for detecting electrical leakage in a vehicle
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsXiaoguang CHANG, Xu WANG, Chuan HE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle includes a battery pack, an electric motor, and a contactor to electrically connect the pack and motor. The contactor is configured with a control circuit to electrically connect the pack and motor. The control circuit includes a leak detection sensor. The vehicle further includes a controller to output a leakage resistance associated with the pack. The leakage resistance is based on a voltage of the pack and a leak voltage detected by the sensor while the contactor is closed.
Claims15
A vehicle comprising:
- a battery pack;
- an electric motor;
- a contactor configured to electrically connect the pack and motor;
- control circuitry for the contactor including a leak voltage detection sensor;
- and
- at least one controller programed to output a leakage resistance associated with a terminal of the pack based on a voltage of the pack and a leak voltage detected by the sensor while the contactor is closed.
A leakage path detection circuit comprising:
- a first circuit configured to detect a battery voltage of a traction battery in response to closing of a contactor circuit configured to electrically connect the battery and a motor, the first circuit including
- an input terminal electrically connected with a first terminal of the battery, and
- a grounded output terminal electrically connected with a second terminal of the battery having a polarity opposite the first terminal;
- a second circuit configured to detect a leak voltage associated with the battery in response to the closing of the contactor circuit, the second circuit including
- an input terminal electrically connected with a contactor of the contactor circuit, and
- a grounded output terminal;
- and
- at least one controller configured to output a leakage resistance based on the battery voltage and the leak voltage.
A method for detecting battery leakage in a vehicle comprising:
- in response to closing of a contactor configured to electrically connect a traction battery to a motor, outputting a resistance of a leakage path between the battery and a chassis of the vehicle based on a leakage current that flows through the contactor and to the chassis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.