Patent ID: 9444285
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: B60L,H02J,Y02T

Claim Text:
1. A charge controller for a vehicle equipped with a rotating machine, a main battery having a first maximum storage capacity for storing electrical power supplied to the rotating machine, a power storage device having a second maximum storage capacity smaller than the first maximum storage capacity, and a solar power generator, the charge controller comprising: a power converter interposed between the solar power generator and the power storage device; a first charging section configured to control the power converter to store electrical power generated by the solar power generator in the power storage device; a step-up section configured to step up and output the power stored in the power storage device to the main battery; a second charging section configured to control the step-up section to charge the main battery with the power stored in the power storage device; while the first charging section stores the power generated by the solar power generator in the power storage device, the second charging section controls the step-up section to step up the sum of: the power stored in the power storage device and the output power of the power converter being inputted to the step-up section; the power storage device is charged without powering ON an electronic device to monitor a state of charge of the power storage device; and a control section, which acts as the second charging section, is periodically powered ON and performs a charging process to charge the main battery based on a terminal voltage of the power storage device.