Patent ID: 6522960
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: B60K,B60L,B60W,Y02T,Y10S

Abstract:
A vehicle that utilizes electrical energy of a high voltage power source system including a high voltage battery, said vehicle comprising:a control unit that carries out controls related to driving of said vehicle; a low voltage power source circuit that supplies electrical energy of a low voltage power source system including a low voltage battery to said control unit; a battery voltage measurement unit that measures a voltage level of the low voltage battery, and determines if the measured voltage level is lower than a preset voltage that enables said control unit to operate properly and higher than a minimum voltage that enables the low voltage battery to recover; a converter unit that converts the electrical energy of the high voltage power source system into a low voltage and charges the low voltage battery with the converted low voltage electrical energy; and a recovery unit that, when an observed voltage of the low voltage battery is lower than a preset minimum reference voltage at the time of a requirement to start said vehicle, activates said converter unit to recover the voltage of the low voltage battery to the preset minimum reference voltage, prior to a permission to operate said control unit.