Patents by Inventor Chingchi Chen

Chingchi Chen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11850954
    Abstract: An electrified vehicle and associated inverter configured for powering two different types of external loads include first and second phase/line legs combined with a first neutral leg coupled to a vehicle chassis, and a second floating neutral leg that is not coupled to the vehicle chassis. The first/second phase legs and first neutral leg are coupled to a first receptacle configured to receive a corresponding plug to power a first load, such as a power tool or accessory. The first/second phase legs and the second neutral leg are coupled to a second receptacle configured to receive a corresponding plug to power a second load, such as a home or building having an earth grounding electrode. The inverter may include an isolation transformer between the loads and the traction battery, and/or may be configured to provide single phase, split-phase, or three-phase power for either or both of the neutral connections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Xi Lu, Krishna Prasad Bhat, Ke Zou, Chingchi Chen, Michael W. Degner
  • Patent number: 11742770
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a traction battery and a converter. The converter includes a switch and first and second busbars electrically connected in parallel between the traction battery and the switch. The second busbar has an inductance less than the first busbar and includes a resistor having a resistance at least an order of magnitude greater than a resistance of the first busbar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Krishna Prasad Bhat, Chingchi Chen, Michael W. Degner, Man Prakash Gupta
  • Publication number: 20230264577
    Abstract: An electrified vehicle and associated inverter configured for powering two different types of external loads include first and second phase/line legs combined with a first neutral leg coupled to a vehicle chassis, and a second floating neutral leg that is not coupled to the vehicle chassis. The first/second phase legs and first neutral leg are coupled to a first receptacle configured to receive a corresponding plug to power a first load, such as a power tool or accessory. The first/second phase legs and the second neutral leg are coupled to a second receptacle configured to receive a corresponding plug to power a second load, such as a home or building having an earth grounding electrode. The inverter may include an isolation transformer between the loads and the traction battery, and/or may be configured to provide single phase, split-phase, or three-phase power for either or both of the neutral connections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Xi LU, Krishna Prasad BHAT, Ke ZOU, Chingchi CHEN, Michael W. DEGNER
  • Patent number: 11581583
    Abstract: A battery system has a battery cell including a can, and a ceramic substrate, including a patterned metallized surface, mounted to the can via a thermally conductive adhesive. The battery system also has a monolithic integrated circuit that measures and transmits data about the cell mounted to the patterned metallized surface such that the ceramic substrate and monolithic integrated circuit are electrically isolated from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Benjamin A. Tabatowski-Bush, John Paul Gibeau, Chingchi Chen
  • Publication number: 20230030670
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a traction battery and a converter. The converter includes a switch and first and second busbars electrically connected in parallel between the traction battery and the switch. The second busbar has an inductance less than the first busbar and includes a resistor having a resistance at least an order of magnitude greater than a resistance of the first busbar.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Krishna Prasad BHAT, Chingchi CHEN, Michael W. DEGNER, Man Prakash GUPTA
  • Patent number: 11489437
    Abstract: Current imbalances between parallel switching devices in a power converter half leg are reduced. A gate driver generates a nominal PWM gate drive signal for a respective half leg. A first feedback loop couples the nominal PWM gate drive signal to a gate terminal of a respective first switching device. The first feedback loop has a first mutual inductance with a current path of a first parallel switching device and has a second mutual inductance with a current path of a second parallel switching device. The first and second mutual inductances are arranged to generate opposing voltages in the first feedback loop, so that when all the parallel switching devices carry equal current then the voltages cancel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Zhuxian Xu, Chingchi Chen
  • Patent number: 11479191
    Abstract: A vehicle battery system includes a traction battery having positive and negative terminals, and resistive circuitry including a first resistor electrically connected between one of the terminals and a common ground, a switch, and a second resistor that can be selectively electrically connected between the one of the terminals and the first resistor via the switch. The vehicle battery system also includes a controller that opens and closes the switch, and inhibits charge of the traction battery according to changes in voltage across the second resistor due to opening and closing of the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Baojin Wang, Chingchi Chen, Benjamin A. Tabatowski-Bush
  • Patent number: 11469607
    Abstract: A circuit is selectively attachable to one of a positive terminal and negative terminal of a traction battery cell via a transistor. The circuit has a current sensor disposed in series with an inductor. A controller operates the transistor such that electrical current from the one of the positive terminal and negative terminal is inverted within the circuit, and while an inductor charge rate is less than a predetermined charge value, inhibits charge and discharge of the traction battery cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Chingchi Chen, Baojin Wang, Benjamin A. Tabatowski-Bush
  • Publication number: 20220234528
    Abstract: A vehicle battery system includes a traction battery having positive and negative terminals, and resistive circuitry including a first resistor electrically connected between one of the terminals and a common ground, a switch, and a second resistor that can be selectively electrically connected between the one of the terminals and the first resistor via the switch. The vehicle battery system also includes a controller that opens and closes the switch, and inhibits charge of the traction battery according to changes in voltage across the second resistor due to opening and closing of the switch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Baojin Wang, Chingchi Chen, Benjamin A. Tabatowski-Bush
  • Publication number: 20220239137
    Abstract: A circuit is selectively attachable to one of a positive terminal and negative terminal of a traction battery cell via a transistor. The circuit has a current sensor disposed in series with an inductor. A controller operates the transistor such that electrical current from the one of the positive terminal and negative terminal is inverted within the circuit, and while an inductor charge rate is less than a predetermined charge value, inhibits charge and discharge of the traction battery cell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Chingchi Chen, Baojin Wang, Benjamin A. Tabatowski-Bush
  • Publication number: 20220223336
    Abstract: A first transformer includes a first quad core with four first legs and first windings wound around each of the first legs such that a winding direction for diagonal ones of the first legs is same. A second transformer includes a second quad core with four second legs and second windings wound around each of the second legs such that a winding direction for diagonal ones of the second legs is same. The first four legs and second four legs are arranged adjacent to, but spaced away from, each other to define four gaps. The first windings and second windings are in parallel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Inventors: Mohamed Elshaer, Chingchi Chen
  • Publication number: 20220219542
    Abstract: A power system includes a battery and a controller. The controller inhibits charge of the battery according to voltage or current values sensed before and after contactors electrically connected to the battery are commanded to open and indicating that a leakage resistance associated with one of the contactors increases after the one of contactors is commanded to open, and a duration of a continuous voltage drop across another of the contactors after the another of the contactors is commanded to open exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Applicant: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Baojin WANG, Chingchi CHEN, Benjamin A. TABATOWSKI-BUSH, Aaron WALKER, Rui WANG, Xianzhi GONG, Xu WANG, John Paul GIBEAU
  • Publication number: 20220224236
    Abstract: A power system includes a traction battery, an auxiliary battery, and a 3-phrase resonant DC/DC converter that permits charge and discharge of the traction battery, and includes a 3-phase transformer, 3-phase matching capacitors, and 3-phase resonant inductors. The vehicle also includes auxiliary circuitry that permits charge of the auxiliary battery with power from the traction battery, and is magnetically coupled with the 3-phase transformer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Inventors: Mohamed Elshaer, Chingchi Chen
  • Patent number: 11374402
    Abstract: Surge protection circuitry includes a pair of series connected diodes sharing a first common terminal that is directly electrically connected to only one of a pair of transmission lines, a pair of series connected Zener diodes, in parallel with the series connected diodes, sharing a second common terminal that is directly electrically connected to only the other of the transmission lines, and a pair of series connected power supplies each configured to reverse bias one of the series connected diodes such that the diodes prevent electrical coupling of the Zener diodes to the transmission lines responsive to a voltage of the signal source being less than a threshold value, and the diodes permit electrical coupling of at least one of the Zener diodes to the transmission lines responsive to the voltage being greater than the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Krishna Prasad Bhat, Chingchi Chen, Richard William Kautz
  • Patent number: 11273720
    Abstract: A charger system and method is disclosed for providing wireless and wired charging. The charger may include a wire-charging circuit operable to receive and process a first electrical energy from a wired power source directly connected to the vehicle. The charger may also include a receiving coil operable to receive a second electrical energy received from a wireless power source external that is not directly connected to the vehicle. The charger may include a resonant circuit having a receiving coil and a DC-DC converter. The receiving coil may provide impedance matching when the charger is receiving the first electrical energy from the wired power source. The receiving coil may also be energized by a wireless power source to receive a second electrical energy. The charger may further include a rectifier circuit operable to charge the battery using the first electrical energy or the second electrical energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mohamed Elshaer, Chingchi Chen
  • Patent number: 11148545
    Abstract: A vehicle power system includes a traction battery, a non-isolated power converter, a current sensor that measures phase current input to the non-isolated power converter during charging of the traction battery with grid power, and a controller. The controller interrupts an electrical connection between the traction battery and a source of the grid power responsive to a magnitude of a 3rd harmonic component of the phase current exceeding a threshold value to prevent further charging of the traction battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Mohamed Elshaer, Allan Roy Gale, Chingchi Chen
  • Publication number: 20210313906
    Abstract: Current imbalances between parallel switching devices in a power converter half leg are reduced. A gate driver generates a nominal PWM gate drive signal for a respective half leg. A first feedback loop couples the nominal PWM gate drive signal to a gate terminal of a respective first switching device. The first feedback loop has a first mutual inductance with a current path of a first parallel switching device and has a second mutual inductance with a current path of a second parallel switching device. The first and second mutual inductances are arranged to generate opposing voltages in the first feedback loop, so that when all the parallel switching devices carry equal current then the voltages cancel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Inventors: Zhuxian Xu, Chingchi Chen
  • Patent number: 11133796
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an electric machine, an IGBT, and a gate driver. The IGBT has a gate, an emitter, and a collector and is configured to flow an electric charge through a phase of the electric machine. The gate driver is configured to flow current onto the gate at a first level, and in response to a time integral of a voltage across the phase exceeding a predetermined level, transition from the first level to a second level less than the first level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Zhuxian Xu, Chingchi Chen, Ke Zou, Xi Lu, Michael W. Degner, Jun Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 11115019
    Abstract: Circuitry includes a pair of switches arranged in series, and a gate driver. The gate driver, responsive to a magnitude of current through one of the switches exceeding a threshold, discharges a gate of the one through a first resistor. The gate driver also, responsive to a voltage across a parasitic inductance of the switch becoming zero, discharges the gate through a second resistor but not the first resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Xi Lu, Chingchi Chen
  • Patent number: 11108371
    Abstract: A power system includes a traction battery, and a rectifier including a pair of diodes, a pair of switches, and a pair of capacitors each in parallel with a different one of the switches such that alternating current input to the rectifier results in alternating voltage having parabolic approaches to maximum magnitude values being input to the rectifier. The maximum magnitude values correspond to a magnitude of voltage output to the traction battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, The Ohio State Innovation Foundation
    Inventors: Mohamed Elshaer, Richard William Kautz, Chingchi Chen, Jin Wang, John Paul Gibeau