초록 ▼

A series charger (80) is provided to charge a high voltage battery (42) in an electric vehicle with a low voltage solar panel (50). The series charger (80) provides switches (841, 842) to connect the terminals of solar panel (50) across individual battery cells (341-n) in series connected battery (4

A series charger (80) is provided to charge a high voltage battery (42) in an electric vehicle with a low voltage solar panel (50). The series charger (80) provides switches (841, 842) to connect the terminals of solar panel (50) across individual battery cells (341-n) in series connected battery (42) one battery cell at a time. Charging by series charger (80) can occur while the cells (341-n) of battery (42) remain connected in series. With the series charger (80), the high voltage battery (42) can be charged by the low voltage solar panel (50) without using a lossy DC-DC converter. The high voltage battery (42) charged by series charger (80) can be connected in parallel with a second high voltage battery to enable charging all cells of the second battery together. The solar panel (50) can be provided in a moon roof or truck bed cover adjustable to track the sun.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A solar battery charging system for a vehicle comprising:an electric vehicle drive motor for braking and propelling the vehicle;a battery connected to the electric vehicle drive motor, the battery comprising a plurality of series connected battery cells;a solar panel having an

What is claimed is: 1. A solar battery charging system for a vehicle comprising:an electric vehicle drive motor for braking and propelling the vehicle;a battery connected to the electric vehicle drive motor, the battery comprising a plurality of series connected battery cells;a solar panel having an output voltage lower than the voltage of the battery; and a series charger comprising:switches that selectively connect terminals of the solar panel in parallel with each of the series connected battery cells; anda switch controller configured to control the switches to separately connect the solar panel in parallel with one of the plurality of battery cells at a time such that the solar panel is directly connected with the one of the plurality of battery cells without coupled through a transformer, while each of the plurality of battery cells remains connected in series, and while the electric vehicle drive motor can act as a generator to supply power to the battery during braking or a load to draw power from the battery during the propelling of the vehicle.