US 11,870,249 B2
Electrical power system including energy storage modules and shared system controller
Matthew L Wilhide, Cherry Valley, IL (US); and William S. Heglund, Rockford, IL (US)
Assigned to Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, Charlotte, NC (US)
Filed by Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, Charlotte, NC (US)
Filed on May 24, 2018, as Appl. No. 15/988,238.
Prior Publication US 2019/0359064 A1, Nov. 28, 2019
Int. Cl. B60L 53/20 (2019.01); H02J 1/10 (2006.01); B60L 50/15 (2019.01); H02M 3/06 (2006.01); H03K 3/45 (2006.01)
CPC H02J 1/102 (2013.01) [B60L 50/15 (2019.02); B60L 53/20 (2019.02); H02M 3/06 (2013.01); H03K 3/45 (2013.01); H02J 2310/46 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrical power system for a vehicle, comprising:
a generator configured to generate alternating current (AC);
a rectifier configured to rectify the AC from the generator to direct current (DC) on a DC bus to power a plurality of DC loads of the vehicle;
a bus current controller configured to adjust the DC provided on the DC bus by the generator, the bus current controller comprising either the rectifier or a generator control unit that is separate from the rectifier and controls an output of the generator;
a plurality of energy storage modules (ESMs), each comprising at least one energy storage device, and a DC/DC converter configured to control charging of the at least one energy storage device from the DC bus and discharging of the at least one energy storage device onto the DC bus, wherein each DC/DC converter has an independent connection to the DC bus; and
a shared system controller configured to control the bus current controller and the plurality of DC/DC converters;
wherein the at least one energy storage device of a first ESM of the plurality of ESMs comprises a first type of energy storage device, and the at least one energy storage device of second ESM of the plurality of ESMs comprises a second type of energy storage device that is different from the first type of energy storage device;
wherein the DC bus comprises a positive rail configured to provide a positive DC voltage, a negative rail configured to provide a negative DC voltage, and a ground rail; and
wherein the plurality of ESMs includes a pair of ESMs that includes the first ESM and a third ESM of the plurality of ESMs connected in a series stacked configuration such that the DC/DC converter of the first ESM and the DC/DC converter of the third ESM are connected to each other through a path separate from the DC bus, the first ESM charges from and discharges onto the positive rail, and the third ESM charges from and discharges onto the negative rail.