Method and assembly for selectively charging a high voltage vehicular battery
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorsGreg Edward Gauthier, Patrick Daniel Maguire, Renuka Vikram Gokhale, Venkateswa Anand Sankaran
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Abstract
A hybrid vehicle 10 which includes an assembly 13, a low voltage battery 14, and a high voltage battery 12. Particularly, the assembly 13 allows the on board low voltage battery 14 or another low voltage donor battery to recharge the high voltage battery 12 in an efficient manner while concomitantly reducing the likelihood that the high voltage battery 12 will be unnecessarily or inadvertently recharged while concomitantly ascertaining the existence of a fault within the high voltage battery 12 and preventing charge from being communicated to the high voltage battery 12 when such a fault has been detected.
Claims20
An assembly for selectively charging a first battery which operatively provides a first voltage signal having a first amplitude by the use of a second battery which operatively provides a second voltage signal having a second amplitude, wherein said assembly comprises a charger which is coupled to said first battery, which selectively receives said second voltage signal, which converts said second voltage signal to a third voltage signal having said first amplitude, and which communicates said third voltage signal to said first battery;
- and a controller which is coupled to said charger, which detects the presence of a fault within said first battery, and which allows said third voltage signal to be communicated to said first battery in the absence of a fault within said first battery and for a time necessary to partially charge said first battery.
A vehicle comprising a first battery providing a first voltage signal having a first amplitude;
- a second battery providing a second voltage signal having a second amplitude;
- a charger which is coupled to said first and second batteries, which receives said second voltage signal and which converts said second voltage signal to a third signal having said first amplitude;
- and a controller assembly which is coupled to said charger and which selectively causes said third voltage signal to be communicated from said charger to said first battery for a predetermined period of time sufficient to partially charge said first battery.
A method of charging a battery which is operatively disposed within a vehicle of the type having a selectively positionable ignition switch, said method comprising the steps of determining whether said battery requires a predetermined amount of electrical charge;
- and causing only a portion of said predetermined amount of required charge to be communicated to said battery when said ignition switch resides in an off position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.