Battery charging apparatus

1. A battery charger non-concurrently performing a first operation to charge a main battery and a sub-battery by using an external power supply, and a second operation to charge the sub-battery by using the main battery, comprising:

a power supply circuit connected to the external power supply and configured to generate an AC voltage;

a transformer including a primary winding, a first secondary winding, and a second secondary winding, the primary winding being connected to the power supply circuit;

a secondary-side circuit along a power supply route connecting the first secondary winding to the main battery, the secondary-side circuit being configured to perform, in a first time period for which the first operation is performed, an operation to rectify an AC voltage induced in the first secondary winding and supply the rectified voltage to the main battery, and, in a second time period for which the second operation is performed, an operation to convert a DC voltage from the main battery into an AC voltage and supply the AC voltage resulting from the conversion to the first secondary winding;

a conduction angle adjustment circuit along a power supply route connecting the second secondary winding to the sub-battery, the conduction angle adjustment circuit being configured to adjust a conduction angle of an AC voltage induced in the second secondary winding; and

a control circuit configured to control the power supply circuit, the secondary-side circuit, and the conduction angle adjustment circuit, wherein

the secondary-side circuit is a full-bridge circuit including a plurality of arms connected in parallel, the arms each including a plurality of parallel-connected bodies connected in series, the parallel-connected bodies each including a switching unit and a rectifying unit connected in parallel, and

in the first time period, the control circuit controls the conduction angle adjustment circuit so that the conduction angle adjustment circuit is in a conductive state at a timing at which a voltage having a positive or negative finite value not equal to 0 V is induced in the primary winding.

2. The battery charger according to claim 1 , wherein

in the first time period,

the power supply circuit boosts an AC voltage supplied from the external power supply so that the main battery is charged,

the secondary-side circuit rectifies the AC voltage induced in the first secondary winding, and

the conduction angle adjustment circuit adjusts the conduction angle of the AC voltage induced in the second secondary winding so that the sub-battery is charged, and

in the second time period,

the power supply circuit is in a suspended state,

the secondary-side circuit converts the DC voltage from the main battery into the AC voltage so that the sub-battery is charged, and

the conduction angle adjustment circuit adjusts the conduction angle of the AC voltage induced in the second secondary winding so that an AC voltage to be supplied to the sub-battery is obtained.

3. The battery charger according to claim 2 , wherein

the secondary-side circuit includes a first arm and a second arm connected in parallel, the first arm being connected to one end of the first secondary winding, and including a first high-side parallel-connected body and a first low-side parallel-connected body, the second arm being connected to the other end of the first secondary winding, and including a second high-side parallel-connected body and a second low-side parallel-connected body, and

each of the parallel-connected bodies is a field-effect transistor having a channel region as the switching unit and a body diode as the rectifying unit.

4. The battery charger according to claim 3 , wherein

in the first time period,

switching operation is performed on the parallel-connected bodies included in the secondary-side circuit in synchronization with current flowing from the first secondary winding to the parallel-connected bodies, so that current flows through the switching units included in the parallel-connected bodies.

5. The battery charger according to claim 4 , wherein

in the first time period,

for a time period for which the voltage induced in the first secondary winding has a positive finite value not equal to 0 V, the switching unit included in the first high-side parallel-connected body and the switching unit included in the second low-side parallel-connected body are on, and the switching unit included in the first low-side parallel-connected body and the switching unit included in the second high-side parallel-connected body are off, and

for a time period for which the voltage induced in the first secondary winding has a negative finite value not equal to 0 V, the switching unit included in the first low-side parallel-connected body and the switching unit included in the second high-side parallel-connected body are on, and the switching unit included in the first high-side parallel-connected body and the switching unit included in the second low-side parallel-connected body are off.

6. The battery charger according to claim 1 , further comprising

a rectifier circuit along a power supply route connecting the conduction angle adjustment circuit to the sub-battery, wherein

the rectifier circuit includes, as rectifier elements, a first field-effect transistor connected to one end of the second secondary winding and a second field-effect transistor connected to the other end of the second secondary winding, and

switching operation is performed on the field-effect transistors included in the rectifier circuit in synchronization with current flowing through the field-effect transistors, so that current flows through channel regions included in the field-effect transistors.

7. The battery charger according to claim 6 , wherein

for a time period for which an output voltage of the conduction angle adjustment circuit has a positive finite value not equal to 0 V, the first field-effect transistor is off, and the second field-effect transistor is on,

for a time period for which the output voltage of the conduction angle adjustment circuit has a negative finite value not equal to 0 V, the first field-effect transistor is on, and the second field-effect transistor is off, and

for a time period for which the output voltage of the conduction angle adjustment circuit has a value equal to 0 V, the first field-effect transistor and the second field-effect transistor are both on.