Patent Publication Number: US-2023145202-A1

Title: Power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/276,866, filed Nov. 8, 2021, which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a power integration system, and more particularly to a power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function. 
     Description of Related Art 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art. 
     The current light electric vehicle system includes a motor driver and a charger, wherein the charger is divided into the on-board charger and the off-board charger. Since the chargers have different battery specifications, various manufacturers will introduce dedicated off-board chargers for users to use, and the disadvantage is that the chargers are not compatible with different vehicles, which makes it inconvenient to carry. 
     SUMMARY 
     An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function to solve the problems of existing technology. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function includes a motor, a power integration circuit, and a battery. The motor includes multi-phase paths, and each path includes an inductor. The power integration circuit includes an inverter and a charger. The inverter includes multi-phase bridge arms, each bridge arm includes an upper switch and a lower switch, and each bridge is correspondingly coupled to each inductor of the motor. The charger includes a switch, the upper switch and the lower switch of at least one bridge arm of the shared inverter, and the inductor of the shared motor. The switch is coupled between any two bridge arms. The battery is coupled to the power integration circuit. The power integration circuit receives a DC power provided by a DC power apparatus, and the charger converts the DC power to charge the battery, and the battery provides power required to drive the motor through the inverter. 
     Accordingly, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function is provided to realize the structure that the power switches of a three-phase motor driver are shared in the charger, which can reduce the number of external components, thereby reducing the size and achieving high efficiency. 
     Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function to solve the problems of existing technology. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function includes a motor, a power integration circuit, and a battery. The motor includes multi-phase paths, and each path includes an inductor. The power integration circuit includes an inverter and a charger. The inverter includes multi-phase bridge arms, each bridge arm has an upper switch and a lower switch, and each bridge is correspondingly coupled to each inductor of the motor. The charger includes a switch, the upper switch and the lower switch of at least one bridge arm of the shared inverter, and the inductor of the shared motor. The battery is coupled to the power integration circuit. The power integration circuit receives a DC power provided by a DC power apparatus, and the charger converts the DC power to charge the battery, and the battery provides power required to drive the motor through the inverter. The switch is coupled between any one inductor and the DC power apparatus. 
     Accordingly, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function is provided to realize the structure that the power switches of a three-phase motor driver are shared in the charger, which can reduce the number of external components, thereby reducing the size and achieving high efficiency. 
     Further another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function to solve the problems of existing technology. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function includes a motor, a power integration circuit, and a battery. The motor includes multi-phase paths, and each path includes an inductor. The power integration circuit includes an inverter and a charger. The inverter includes multi-phase bridge arms, each bridge arm has an upper switch and a lower switch, and each bridge is correspondingly coupled to each inductor of the motor. The charger includes a switch, a sub path, the upper switch and the lower switch of at least one bridge arm of the shared inverter, and the inductor of the shared motor. The switch is coupled between any one bridge arm and the corresponding inductor. The battery is coupled to the power integration circuit. The power integration circuit receives a DC power provided by a DC power apparatus, and the charger converts the DC power to charge the battery, and the battery provides power required to drive the motor through the inverter. 
     Accordingly, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function is provided to realize the structure that the power switches of a three-phase motor driver are shared in the charger, which can reduce the number of external components, thereby reducing the size and achieving high efficiency. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the present disclosure as claimed. Other advantages and features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description, drawings and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawing as follows: 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function used with the DC power apparatus according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 A  is a block circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a charger of a power integration circuit without a front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2 B  is a block circuit diagram of a second embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 A  is a block circuit diagram of a third embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 B  is a block circuit diagram of a fourth embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4 A  is a block circuit diagram of a fifth embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4 B  is a block circuit diagram of  FIG.  4 A  according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4 C  is a block circuit diagram of  FIG.  4 A  according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    is a block circuit diagram of a first embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit with the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is a block circuit diagram of a second embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit with the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7 A  is a block circuit diagram of a third embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit with the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7 B  is a block circuit diagram of  FIG.  7 A  according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7 C  is a block circuit diagram of  FIG.  7 A  according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present disclosure in detail. It will be understood that the drawing figures and exemplified embodiments of present disclosure are not limited to the details thereof. 
     Due to the versatility of Type-C transmission cables and the convenience of USB-PD chargers, the present disclosure proposes an integrated (shared components) bidirectional charger structure as shown in  FIG.  1   , which combines the traditional three-phase motor driver and charger to form an integration system. The system can be directly connected to an external USB-PD through a Type-C transmission cable for charging. In addition to the charging function, the battery energy can also be provided to external apparatuses (or power-receiving apparatuses) through Type-C transmission cables, such as but not limited to light electric vehicles (such as electric scooters, electric bicycles, electric wheelchairs, electric skateboards, etc.). Accordingly, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function is provided to realize the structure that the power switches of a three-phase motor driver are shared in the charger, which can reduce the number of external components, thereby reducing the size and achieving high efficiency. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1   , which shows a block diagram of the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function used with the DC power apparatus according to the present disclosure. The power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function (hereinafter referred to as the power integration system) includes a motor  10 , a power integration circuit  20 , and a battery  30 . The power integration circuit  20  includes an inverter  21  and a charger  22 . The inverter  21  has multi-phase (for example, three-phase) bridge arms, each phase bridge arm includes an upper switch and a lower switch, and each phase bridge arm is correspondingly coupled to each phase winding of the motor. As shown in  FIG.  1   , three-phase paths of the motor  10  are a U-phase path, a V-phase path, and a W-phase path, respectively. The U-phase path is coupled to a U-phase inductor L 1  of the motor  10 , the V-phase path is coupled to a V-phase inductor L 2  of the motor  10 , and the W-phase path is coupled to a W-phase inductor L 3  of the motor  10 . The charger  22  includes a switch SW, the upper switch and the lower switch of at least one bridge arm of the shared inverter  21 , and the shared phase inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . In other words, the power integration circuit  20  is a shared-component circuit structure having the inverter  21  and the charger  22 . Specifically, the part of the shared component is the switch SW, the upper switch and the lower switch of the at least one bridge arm, and the phase inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . Incidentally, the DC power converter of the present invention can be, for example but not limited to, a boost converter, a buck converter, a buck-boost converter, or other types of DC-DC converters, which can be designed according to the requirements of practical applications. The battery  30  is coupled to the power integration circuit  20 . 
     The power integration system shown in  FIG.  1    is a bidirectional structure. Therefore, the power integration circuit  20  receives DC power provided by a DC power apparatus  40 , and the charger  22  of the power integration circuit  20  converts the DC power to charge the battery  30  so that the DC power can charge the battery  30 . In one embodiment, the DC power apparatus  40  is, for example, but not limited to, USB-PD. Take the light electric vehicle—electric bicycle as an example, the motor  10 , the power integration circuit  20 , and the battery  30  are installed (disposed) inside the electric bicycle, and the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  is an external USB-PD DC power. Therefore, when the electric bicycle is plugged into the USB-PD DC power for charging, the charger  22  of the power integration circuit  20  converts the USB-PD DC power to charge the battery  30  installed inside the vehicle body of the electric bicycle. 
     Moreover, the battery  30  provides power required by a power-receiving apparatus  50  through the charger  22 . As mentioned above, the power-receiving apparatus  50  is, for example, but not limited to, a portable mobile apparatus (such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, etc.). When the user is outdoors, the user can plug a mobile phone, a power bank, or an electric bicycle (i.e., the power-receiving apparatus  50 ) into the charger  22  of the power integration circuit  20  installed inside another electric bicycle for charging, the battery  30  supplies (provides) the power required by the mobile phone through the charger  22  to charge the mobile phone, the power bank, or the electric bicycle. 
     Moreover, the battery  30  provides power required to drive the motor  10  through the inverter  21 . When the user rides the electric bicycle outdoors, the power required to drive the motor  10  is supplied by the battery  30 . 
     Moreover, the power-receiving apparatus  50  charges the battery  30  through the charger  22 . When the electric bicycle is not in the riding state and no DC power (the USB-PD DC power) provided by the DC power apparatus  40  charges the battery  30 , the battery  30  is charged by the power provided from the power-receiving apparatus  50  (i.e., the mobile phone, the power bank, or the electric bicycle). For example, when the user rides the electric bicycle outdoors and the battery  30  cannot provide the power required by the electric bicycle, the battery  30  can be charged by the power provided from the power-receiving apparatus  50  so that the electric bicycle can be ridden in a short time to the nearest place with the DC power apparatus  40  to be fully charged. 
     Therefore, the power integration system shown in  FIG.  1    provides a bidirectional power path, including that the DC power apparatus  40  charges the battery  30  or the power-receiving apparatus  50  charging the battery  30 , and the battery  30  supplies power to the power-receiving apparatus  50  or the battery  30  supplies power to the motor. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  2 B , which show block circuit diagrams of a first embodiment and a second embodiment of a charger of a power integration circuit without a front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure, respectively. As mentioned above, the switch SW is coupled between any two bridge arms. Specifically, as shown in  FIG.  2 A , the switch SW is coupled between a first bridge arm having the upper switch Q 1  and the lower switch Q 2  and a second bridge arm having the upper switch Q 3  and the lower switch Q 4 , and therefore the first bridge arm is the shared bridge arm. By turning on or turning off the switch SW, the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  supplies to the power integration circuit  20  through the first inductor L 1 , and outputs power to the battery  30  to charge the battery  30  through the second inductor L 2  and/or the third inductor L 3 . In other words, in  FIG.  2 A , the DC power provided from the DC power apparatus  40  is inputted to the shared first bridge arm (before the shared inductors L 1 ), and is outputted from the shared second bridge arm and third bridge arm, or one of the shared second bridge arm and third bridge arm (after the shared inductors L 2 -L 3 ). Moreover, the battery  30  can provide power from the shared bridge arm(s) (shared inductor(s)), i.e., the second bridge arm and the third bridge arm, or one of the second bridge arm and the third bridge arm to the shared bridge (shared inductor), i.e., the first bridge arm to supply the power-receiving apparatus  50 . 
     The major difference between  FIG.  2 B  and  FIG.  2 A  is that the switch SW is coupled between the second bridge arm having the upper switch Q 3  and the lower switch Q 4  and a third bridge arm having the upper switch Q 5  and the lower switch Q 6 , and therefore the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm are the shared bridge arms. By turning on or turning off the switch SW, the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  supplies to the power integration circuit  20  through the first inductor L 1  and/or the third inductor L 2 , and outputs power to the battery  30  to charge the battery  30  through the third inductor L 3 . In other words, in  FIG.  2 B , the DC power provided from the DC power apparatus  40  is inputted to the shared first bridge arm and second bridge arm, or one of the shared first bridge arm and second bridge arm (before the shared inductors L 1 -L 2 ), and is outputted from the shared third bridge arm (after the shared inductors L 3 ). Moreover, the battery  30  can provide power from the shared bridge arm (shared inductor), i.e., the third bridge arm to the shared bridge(s) (shared inductor(s)), i.e., the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm, or one of the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm to supply the power-receiving apparatus  50 . Please refer to  FIG.  3 A  and  FIG.  3 B , which show block circuit diagrams of a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure, respectively. Different from  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  2 B , the switch SW of  FIG.  3 A  is coupled between any one inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3  and the DC power apparatus  40 . As shown in  FIG.  3 A , the switch SW is coupled between the first inductor L 1  and the DC power apparatus  40 . However, in the present disclosure, it is not limited by this position, that is, the switch SW may be coupled between the second inductor L 2  and the DC power apparatus  40 . As shown in  FIG.  3 A , the switch SW is coupled between the first inductor L 1  and the DC power apparatus  40 , or the switch SW is coupled between the third inductor L 3  and the DC power apparatus  40 . For example, the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  can charge the battery  30  through the shared second bridge arm and the third bridge arm, or one of the second bridge arm and the third bridge arm. Moreover, the battery  30  can provide power to supply the power-receiving apparatus  50  through the shared second bridge arm and the third bridge arm, or one of the second bridge arm and the third bridge arm. 
     In another embodiment, the switch SW is coupled between two inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3  and the DC power apparatus  40 . As shown in  FIG.  3 B , the switch SW is respectively coupled between the first inductor L 1  and the DC power apparatus  40  and between the second inductor L 2  and the DC power apparatus  40 . However, in the present disclosure, it is not limited by this, that is, the switch SW may be respectively coupled between the second inductor L 2  and the DC power apparatus  40  and between the third inductor L 3  and the DC power apparatus  40 , or the switch SW may be respectively coupled between the first inductor L 1  and the DC power apparatus  40  and between the third inductor L 3  and the DC power apparatus  40 . Therefore, by turning on or turning off the switch SW, the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  supplies to the power integration circuit  20  through the corresponding two inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , and outputs power to the power-receiving apparatus  50  through another inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . For example, the DC power provided by the DC power apparatus  40  can charge the battery  30  through the shared third bridge arm. Moreover, the battery  30  can provide power to supply the power-receiving apparatus  50  through the shared third bridge arm. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  4 A , which shows a block circuit diagram of a fifth embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit without the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. The difference between  FIG.  2 B ,  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  4 A , or between  FIG.  3 B ,  FIG.  3 A , and  FIG.  4 A  is that the switch SW is coupled between any one bridge arm and the corresponding inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , and the charger  22  further includes a sub path  221 . Please refer to  FIG.  4 B  and  FIG.  4 C , which show block circuit diagrams of  FIG.  4 A  according to a first embodiment and a second embodiment of the present disclosure, respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4 B , the sub path  221  includes a third switch Q 9  and a first diode Di. A common-connected node of the third switch Q 9  and the first diode Di is coupled to the switch SW and the corresponding inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . In this embodiment, the corresponding inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3  is the first inductor L 1 . However, in the present disclosure, it is not limited by this position, that is, the common-connected node of the third switch Q 9  and the first diode Di is coupled to the switch SW and the second inductor L 2 , or is coupled to the switch SW and the third inductor L 3 . 
     Moreover, the first diode Di of the sub path  221  may be replaced by another switch (i.e., a fourth switch), and therefore the common-connected node of the third switch Q 9  and the fourth switch is coupled to the switch SW and the corresponding inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  4 C , the number of switches SW may be plural, and therefore the plurality of switches SW are correspondingly coupled to the inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . Specifically, in the second embodiment shown in  FIG.  4 C , the number of switches SW is two, and therefore two sub paths  221  are corresponding to the two switches SW. The first sub path  221  is coupled between the DC power apparatus  40  and the first switch SW, and the second sub path  221  is coupled between the DC power apparatus  40  and the second switch SW. The first switch SW is coupled between the first bridge arm, which includes the upper switch Q 1  and the lower switch Q 2 , and the first inductor L 1 , and the second switch SW is coupled between the second bridge arm, which includes the upper switch Q 3  and the lower switch Q 4 , and the second inductor L 2 . However, the above-mentioned two sub paths  221  are not limited to be coupled to the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm, that is, the two sub paths  221  may be coupled to any two bridge arms, and the two switches SW are coupled correspondingly between the bridge arms and the inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . Similar operations can be seen in  FIG.  4 B , and the detail description is omitted here for conciseness. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  5   , which shows a block circuit diagram of a first embodiment of the charger of the power integration circuit with the front-end DC conversion path according to the present disclosure. In comparison with  FIG.  2   , the charger  22  further includes a front-end DC conversion path. The front-end DC conversion path is coupled to the shared upper switch Q 5  and lower switch Q 6 . 
     Similarly, in comparison with  FIG.  3   , the charger  22  shown in  FIG.  6    further includes a front-end DC conversion path. The front-end DC conversion path is coupled to the shared upper switch Q 5  and lower switch Q 6 . Similarly, in comparison with  FIG.  4 A , the charger  22  shown in  FIG.  7 A  further includes a front-end DC conversion path. The front-end DC conversion path is coupled to the shared upper switch Q 5  and lower switch Q 6 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   ,  FIG.  6   , and  FIG.  7 A  to  FIG.  7 C , the front-end DC conversion path includes an energy-storing inductor L 4 , a first switch Q 7 , and a second switch Q 8 . A first end of the energy-storing inductor L 4  is coupled to a common-connected node of the first switch Q 7  and the second switch Q 8 , and a second end of the energy-storing inductor L 4  is coupled to the battery  30 . 
     Specifically, in the first embodiment shown in  FIG.  7 B , the number of switch SW is one, and therefore one sub path  221  is corresponding to the switch SW. The sub path  221  is coupled between the DC power apparatus  40  and the switch SW. However, the above-mentioned sub path  221  is not limited to be coupled to the first bridge arm, that is, the sub path  221  may be coupled to any one bridge arm, and the switch SW is coupled correspondingly between the bridge arm and the inductor L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . 
     Specifically, in the second embodiment shown in  FIG.  7 C , the number of switches SW is two, and therefore two sub paths  221  are corresponding to the two switches SW. The first sub path  221  is coupled between the DC power apparatus  40  and the first switch SW, and the second sub path  221  is coupled between the DC power apparatus  40  and the second switch SW. The first switch SW is coupled between the first bridge arm, which includes the upper switch Q 1  and the lower switch Q 2 , and the first inductor L 1 , and the second switch SW is coupled between the second bridge arm, which includes the upper switch Q 3  and the lower switch Q 4 , and the second inductor L 2 . However, the above-mentioned two sub paths  221  are not limited to be coupled to the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm, that is, the two sub paths  221  may be coupled to any two bridge arms, and the two switches SW are coupled correspondingly between the bridge arms and the inductors L 1 , L 2 , L 3 . 
     For the circuits shown in the previous disclosure, when a voltage of the battery  30  is greater than a reference voltage value, the charger  22  operates in a boost (step-up) mode to charge the battery  30 , and when the voltage of the battery  30  is less than the reference voltage value, the charger  22  operates in a buck (step-down) mode to charge the battery  30 . Moreover, the battery  30  provides power required by the power-receiving apparatus  50  through the charger  22 , or the power-receiving apparatus  50  charges the battery  30  through the charger  22 . Moreover, according to the power required by the power-receiving apparatus  50 , the charger  22  makes the battery  30  operate in a boost (step-up) mode or a buck (step-down) mode to discharge to the power-receiving apparatus  50 . However, the circuits shown in  FIG.  3 A , FIG.  3 B, and  FIG.  6   , the DC power apparatus  40  or the power-receiving apparatus  50  operate in a boost mode to charge the battery  30 , and the charger  22  makes the battery  30  operate in a buck (step-down) mode to discharge to the power-receiving apparatus  50 . 
     Accordingly, the power integration system with motor drive and battery charging and discharging function is provided to realize the structure that the power switches of a three-phase motor driver are shared in the charger, which can reduce the number of external components, thereby reducing the size and achieving high efficiency. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.