Granted Patent B2

US 12,580,476 · App. 18/060,733 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventors: Puneeth Kumar Srikanta Murthy (Irvine, CA); Ming Li (Torrance, CA); Lixiang Wei (Irvine, CA); Steven Schulz (Torrance, CA); Walter Axel Franck (San Jose, CA)

Assignee: Rivian IP Holdings, LLC

H02M1/10B60L53/22B60L53/62B60L53/66H02M1/0006H02M1/32H02M1/36

Abstract

Claims (94)

1 . A system, comprising:

an energy conversion device, the energy conversion device comprising:

one or more power delivery interfaces;

a pre-charge circuit configured to charge a capacitor to an operating voltage;

a user accessible interface configured to provide energy to the pre-charge circuit to charge the capacitor associated with the one or more power delivery interfaces, the user accessible interface comprising:

a direct current (DC) input; and

an alternating current (AC) input; and

a controller to:

charge the capacitor to a test voltage prior to charging the capacitor to the operating voltage;

detect an insulation resistance of at least a portion of a first power delivery interface;

compare the insulation resistance to a minimum insulation resistance; and

determine that the operating voltage is permitted, responsive to the insulation resistance meeting or exceeding the minimum insulation resistance.

2 . The system of claim 1 , comprising the user accessible interface to:

convert a voltage received by the user accessible interface to an interface voltage for the pre-charge circuit, wherein:

the interface voltage is higher than the voltage received by the user accessible interface;

the interface voltage is determined by a controller based on a communication channel established between an electric vehicle and the controller; and

at least one of the one or more power delivery interfaces is configured to provide first energy in a first mode of operation, and to receive second energy in a second mode of operation.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the DC input comprises a DC to DC converter to convert a first voltage received by the user accessible interface to a voltage of a DC bus;

the AC input comprises:

a rectification circuit to rectify a signal received from the AC input; and

an AC to DC conversion circuit to convert the rectified signal to the voltage of the DC bus; and

the DC input and the AC input are each separated from the DC bus by a respective diode.

4 . The system of claim 1 , comprising the energy conversion device to:

establish a communication channel with an electric vehicle;

determine a voltage of a battery of the electric vehicle; and

pre-charge the capacitor to a voltage based on the voltage of the battery.

5 . The system of claim 1 , comprising the energy conversion device to:

connect an energy storage device via a first power delivery interface;

receive energy from a second power delivery interface while connected to the energy storage device;

detect a power event at the second power delivery interface; and

receive, incident to the detection of the power event, energy from the energy storage device via the first power delivery interface.

6 . The system of claim 1 , comprising:

the user accessible interface to provide energy to a controller,

the controller to activate, responsive to the provision of energy, and thereupon provide a control signal to charge the capacitor to a test voltage in excess of 500 volts;

the controller to determine a condition of insulation associated with a bidirectional power delivery interface; and

the controller to cause the capacitor to be charged to the operating voltage in excess of 270 volts to configure the energy conversion device to receive energy from a battery of an electric vehicle.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the energy conversion device comprises:

a first power delivery interface to interface with an electric vehicle; and

a second power delivery interface to interface with a power grid;

wherein the first power delivery interface provides energy to the electric vehicle in a first mode of operation and receives energy from the electric vehicle in a second mode of operation.

8 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a controller to:

activate, responsive to the provision of energy, and thereupon establish a communication channel with an electric vehicle;

receive, from the electric vehicle, a voltage for a battery of the electric vehicle;

provide a first control signal to charge the capacitor to a battery voltage of the electric vehicle;

detect a completion of the charging of the capacitor; and

provide a second control signal to close a switchable connection of the one or more power delivery interfaces.

9 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a controller to:

cause a notification to be presented, the notification indicative of a status of the energy conversion device.

10 . A method, comprising:

activating a controller based on connecting a first power delivery interface between an energy conversion device and a first energy source and connecting a user accessible interface to a second energy source;

charging a capacitor to a test voltage in excess of 500 volts and exceeding a voltage supplied by the second energy source, wherein the user accessible interface includes a DC input and an AC input, and the second energy source is coupled to the DC input or the AC input;

closing a switchable connection between the energy conversion device and the first energy source;

receiving energy from the first energy source at the first power delivery interface;

determining a condition of insulation associated with a bidirectional power delivery interface; and

causing the capacitor to be charged to an operating voltage in excess of 270 volts to configure the energy conversion device to receive energy from a battery of an electric vehicle.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the first energy source is a battery of an electric vehicle; and

the interface is isolated from the first energy source.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the DC input comprises a DC to DC converter to convert a first voltage received by the user accessible interface to a voltage of a DC bus;

the AC input comprises:

a rectification circuit to rectify a signal received from the AC input; and

an AC to DC conversion circuit to convert the rectified signal to the voltage of the DC bus; and

the DC input and the AC input are each separated from the DC bus by a respective diode.

13 . The method of claim 10 , comprising the controller to cause a notification to be presented, the notification indicative of a power event.

14 . An energy conversion device, comprising:

a first power delivery interface configured to interface with an energy source, the first power delivery interface including a normally open switchable connection;

a user accessible interface to provide power to a controller, the user accessible interface comprising:

a DC input; and

an AC input;

the controller configured to activate in response to the provision of energy;

the controller to generate a first control signal to charge a capacitor associated with the first power delivery interface to a test voltage in excess of 500 volts;

the controller to determine a condition of insulation associated with a bidirectional power delivery interface; and

the controller to cause the capacitor to be charged to an operating voltage in excess of 270 volts to configure the energy conversion device to receive energy from a battery of an electric vehicle.

15 . The energy conversion device of claim 14 , comprising the controller to:

receive power from a second power delivery interface;

establish a communication channel with an electric vehicle comprising the energy source attached to the energy conversion device via the first power delivery interface;

charge the capacitor to a charging voltage equal to or exceeding a battery voltage of a battery of the electric vehicle;

detect a completion of the charging of the capacitor;

close a switchable connection between the energy conversion device and the electric vehicle to charge the battery of the electric vehicle;

detect a power event at the second power delivery interface; and

responsive to the detection of the power event, receive power from the electric vehicle and maintain an electrical connection with the electric vehicle whereby a first portion of the energy from the electric vehicle powers the controller, and a second portion of the energy from the electric vehicle is provided to an output circuit.

16 . The energy conversion device of claim 14 , comprising:

the DC input including a DC to DC converter to convert a first voltage received by the user accessible interface to a voltage of a DC bus;

the AC input including:

a rectification circuit to rectify a signal received from the AC input; and

an AC to DC conversion circuit to convert the rectified signal to the voltage of the DC bus; and

the DC input and the AC input are each separated from the DC bus by a respective diode.

17 . The energy conversion device of claim 14 , comprising the user accessible interface to receive an AC voltage, and wherein the controller is configured to charge the capacitor to a voltage in excess of the AC voltage.

18 . The energy conversion device of claim 14 , comprising the user accessible interface to receive a DC voltage, and wherein:

the DC voltage is less than a charging voltage of the capacitor; and

the DC voltage is isolated from the charging voltage of the capacitor.

19 . The energy conversion device of claim 14 , comprising the controller to cause a notification to be presented, the notification indicative of a power event.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (14)