# US 9,434,259 B2 · Electric vehicle control apparatus

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- Number: US 9,434,259 B2
- Document ID: US9434259B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/399,423
- Filed: 2012-06-07
- Published: 2015-09-24
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2012-06-07
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Applicants: Hidetoshi Kitanaka
- Inventors: Hidetoshi Kitanaka
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9434259B2

## CPC

- B60L 3/00: Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption (methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00)
- B60L 9/22: polyphase motors
- B60L 9/24: fed from AC supply lines
- B60L 13/00: Electric propulsion for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways; Magnetic suspension or levitation for vehicles ({tracks for Maglev-type trains E01B25/30;} electromagnets per se H01F7/06; linear motors per se H02K41/00)
- B60L 15/20: for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
- B60L 50/40: using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
- B60L 50/51: characterised by AC-motors
- B60L 58/10: for monitoring or controlling batteries
- B60L 2200/26: Rail vehicles
- B60L 2210/10: DC to DC converters
- B60L 2240/12: Speed
- B60L 2240/36: Temperature of vehicle components or parts
- B60L 2240/421: Speed
- Y02T 10/64: Electric machine technologies in electromobility
- 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 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- 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

## Abstract

An electric vehicle control apparatus includes a plurality of current collectors that take in electric power from an outside, a convertor unit that converts a voltage input through the current collectors into a direct current having a predetermined value, and a power storage unit connected to and charged and discharged by the convertor unit. The convertor unit includes a convertor circuit and a control unit. The control unit includes a current adjusting unit that generates a current command which is a command for an electric current of the convertor circuit, and adjusts the magnitude of the current command on the basis of a current collector state signal. The control unit further includes a current control unit that controls the electric current of the convertor circuit on the basis of the current command.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An electric vehicle control apparatus comprising:
a plurality of current collectors that take in electric power from an outside;
a power converting unit that converts a voltage input through the current collectors into a direct current having a predetermined value and outputs the direct current; and
a power storage unit connected to and charged and discharged by the power converting unit,
wherein the power converting unit includes a main circuit unit and a control unit,
wherein the control unit includes:
a current adjusting unit that generates a current command which is a command for an electric current of the main circuit unit, and adjusts the magnitude of the current command on the basis of a current collector state signal and a vehicle speed signal, the current collector state signal indicating whether the current collectors are in a state in which the current collectors can normally take in the electric power from the outside, the vehicle speed signal indicating a vehicle speed; and
a current control unit that controls the electric current of the main circuit unit on the basis of the current command,
wherein where the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric power, the control unit adjusts the magnitude of the current command to reduce an input current to the power converting unit and adjusts the magnitude of the current command to further reduce the magnitude of the electric current when it is determined on the basis of the vehicle speed signal that the electric vehicle is stopping than when it is determined that the electric vehicle is traveling.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric current, the current adjusting unit adjusts the magnitude of the current command to reduce the electric current than in a state in which all the current collectors can normally take in the electric power.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot take in the electric current, the current adjusting unit adjusts the magnitude of the current command to increase the magnitude of the electric current when the vehicle speed signal is larger than a predetermined value than when the vehicle speed signal is smaller than the predetermined value.

### Claim 4

An electric vehicle control apparatus comprising:
a plurality of current collectors that take in electric power from an outside;
a plurality of power converting units that convert a voltage input through the current collectors into a direct current having a predetermined value and outputs the direct current; and
a power storage unit connected to and charged and discharged by the power converting unit,
wherein the power converting unit includes a main circuit unit and a control unit,
wherein the control unit generates a current command which is a command for an electric current of the main circuit unit, controls the electric current of the main circuit unit on the basis of the current command, and controls presence or absence of the electric current of the main circuit unit on the basis of a current collector state signal and a vehicle speed signal, the current collector state signal indicating whether the current collectors are in a state in which the current collectors can normally take in the electric power from the outside, the vehicle speed signal indicating a vehicle speed, and
wherein when the vehicle signal is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value and when the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric current, the control unit suppresses the electric power of the main circuit unit and stops a charging operation for the power storage unit.

### Claim 5

An electric vehicle control apparatus comprising:
a plurality of current collectors that take in electric power from an outside;
a power converting unit that converts a voltage input through the current collectors into a direct current having a predetermined value and outputs the direct current; and
a power storage unit connected to and charged and discharged by the power converting unit,
wherein the power converting unit includes a main circuit unit and a control unit,
wherein the control unit includes:
a current adjusting unit that generates a current command which is a command for an electric current of the main circuit unit, and adjusts the magnitude of the current command on the basis of a current collector state signal and a vehicle speed signal, the current collector state signal indicating whether the current collectors are in a state in which the current collectors can normally take in the electric power from the outside, the vehicle speed signal indicating a vehicle speed; and
a current control unit that controls the electric current of the main circuit unit on the basis of the current command,
wherein where the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric power, the current adjusting unit adjusts the magnitude of the current command to further increase the magnitude of the current when the vehicle speed signal is greater than a predetermined value than when the vehicle speed signal is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The electric vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current adjusting unit adjusts the magnitude of the current command to set as a first current value the magnitude of the electric current when the current collector state signal indicates that all the current collectors are in a state in which the current collectors can normally take in the electric power, set as a second current value, smaller than the first current value, the magnitude of the electric current when the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric power and when the vehicle speed signal is larger than a predetermined value, and set as a third electric current, smaller than the second electric current, the magnitude of the electric current when the current collector state signal indicates that any one of the current collectors is in a state in which the current collector cannot normally take in the electric power and when the vehicle speed signal is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.