Mini-QC Rapid-Charger (RC) Project for LEAF QC Port

[valerun]

High current single phase power is rare in Australia but there are plenty of 415v 3 phase outlets about. We're interested in a portable 20kw charger.

Same is true for Europe. A 3 phase chademo compatible charger would really make live easier. Up North were I live there is 1 Chademo charger at a local Nissan dealer, probably the worlds northernmost chademo so far. However, were it is located it really doesn´t help me. I would need one while traveling and it is quite time consuming to only use 3,6 kW when traveling long distance all the while 3 phase 32 Amp power is available...

Ok thanks got it. How important is PFC? Non pfc can be done today (in fact a few people did it already). Non isolated at this point but an isolated version coming soon.

V

 

[Kris1]

How bad is the power factor in the uncorrected version?
What are the possibilities of the car becoming 'live' in the non isolated version?

 

[valerun]

How bad is the power factor in the uncorrected version?
What are the possibilities of the car becoming 'live' in the non isolated version?

We will measure PF soon.

Leaf constantly checks isolation between the chassis and HV system. If it detects breach of isolation, it will immediately disconnect the main contactor, disconnecting the input from the car.

 

[valerun]

Hi All -

Quick update on the Due-based universal power conversion control board.

As some of your might remember, a couple of months back we have started working on the Due-based control board that could be used in our chargers, CHAdeMO controllers, and other power conversion applications. We are now ready to go to production on the 4th gen of this board. We have already used the previous gen for our successful CHAdeMO demos that I have posted earlier in this thresd.

Specs:

• Processing power
  • Based on Arduino Due board featuring a 32-bit Atmel ARM microcontroller running at 84MHz
  • 96KB of RAM and 512KB of program flash
• I/O
  • All the usual inputs and outputs that were present and used on our previous boards. Along with identical mounting hole pattern and LCD-button layout, this makes this board a straight drop-in replacement for our existing control boards in all our DC chargers (required level conversion from 5V sensors into a 3.3V Due is implemented on board).
  • Additional free ~5 analog and ~10 digital inputs / outputs are broken out for user access (the charger enclosure will be appropriately modified to allow access)
  • All 4 UART Serials are broken out and accessible from outside if needed
  • 2 CAN tranceivers. Accessible via a DB9 connector
  • 2 high-current open-collector outputs (up to 5A)
  • 3 high voltage relays tied to 3 digital outputs - 8A 250VAC rating. These are used in CHAdeMO implementation
  • Wireless remote (150 feet range) to emulate up to 4 buttons. 2 buttons are tied to the normal buttons you find on the current control boards.
• Storage
  • MicroSD slot on board (on SPI) - great for logging
  • 32KB EEPROM (Due does not have EEPROM so we had to add our own to store charger configs etc)
• Comms
  • WiFi on board - tied to one of the UART serial ports
    • based on the Roving Networks RN-171 module that has proven itself very well in our JuiceBox EVSEs.
    • This is an intelligent module that can do quite a lot and itself has a 32-bit microcontroller with a number of accessible input / outputs
    • WPS one-button setup is enabled and the button is on board, accessible from outside
  • BlueTooth on board - tied to the same UART serial port as WiFi so one can use either WiFi or BT. I think this is a reasonable compromise
  • Fiber optic transmitter & receiver connected to UART2 / digital pins (16/17). Noise-free comms with the outside world using inexpensive fiber and hardware (~$30 per channel all-in cost) - thanks Greg for suggestion and some samples to test these out!
• Other
  • RTC on I2C bus - with battery backup

Thank you all for your suggestions - as you can see we have incorporated pretty much all of them!

As this has become a rather powerful board in its own right, we expect that a few people will be interested in the board for various purposes outside our charging systems. So we will be setting up a separate product on our site for this.

Expected availability for ordering is end of this month (March 2014). Expected availability in chargers / CHAdeMO controllers / etc is April 2014.

Pictures below show the latest version of the PCB and a prototype version of a standalone CHAdeMO controller. The idea behind the latter is to completely abstract from the charger hardware and manage all voltage / current sensing and comms with the car in a separate box. Then the charger is controlled as needed by any of the following methods: (1) CAN (using the second tranceiver) for chargers like BRUSA etc, (2) serial (as the case with our current DC chargers), or (3) simple analog signal proportional to the current request (for Manzanita or similar).

Any questions / suggestions - let me know. Also let me know if you’d like to get one of these pre-production versions - PM me.

Thanks!
Valery

 

[hill]

VERY impresive !!
.

 

[aminorjourney]

Well, if you need any British testers...

 

[nsayer]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before (I haven't read all 61 pages of the thread), but I saw either this exact concept or a similar effort showcased at last month's Bay LEAF meeting.

I believe it would not be at all difficult to slightly extend this concept to include a J1772 inlet, making this effectively a J1772 -> CHAdeMO adapter.

Now, I can hear the laughter, but I'll point out that *some* J1772 EVSEs are > 10 kW, and the standard itself tops out at 19.2 kW.

We are contemplating adding one or more EVSEs to our current stock at the office, and I am lobbying for a high capacity J1772 rather than a bunch of smaller ones. The Hydra can be deployed very cost effectively to convert one high powered plug into two 30A plugs, and with the prospect of a HP J1772->CHAdeMO adapter, that would mean even LEAFs would be able to be charged something like 5 times faster than they would at 3 kW.

The big question I have (again, not having read about this too much), is would it be possible/easy to communicate with the controller to notify it (dynamically, of course) of the available ampacity of the host EVSE? This would also potentially include notifying it of proximity transitions (someone about to yank the plug out).

Alternatively, just adding a single LM393 comparator and watching two TTL outputs (one for proximity transitions and one will give you the pilot as a TTL square wave) would be all you'd need to do for the J1772 signal handling in software.

 

[valerun]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before (I haven't read all 61 pages of the thread), but I saw either this exact concept or a similar effort showcased at last month's Bay LEAF meeting.

I believe it would not be at all difficult to slightly extend this concept to include a J1772 inlet, making this effectively a J1772 -> CHAdeMO adapter.

Now, I can hear the laughter, but I'll point out that *some* J1772 EVSEs are > 10 kW, and the standard itself tops out at 19.2 kW.

We are contemplating adding one or more EVSEs to our current stock at the office, and I am lobbying for a high capacity J1772 rather than a bunch of smaller ones. The Hydra can be deployed very cost effectively to convert one high powered plug into two 30A plugs, and with the prospect of a HP J1772->CHAdeMO adapter, that would mean even LEAFs would be able to be charged something like 5 times faster than they would at 3 kW.

The big question I have (again, not having read about this too much), is would it be possible/easy to communicate with the controller to notify it (dynamically, of course) of the available ampacity of the host EVSE? This would also potentially include notifying it of proximity transitions (someone about to yank the plug out).

Alternatively, just adding a single LM393 comparator and watching two TTL outputs (one for proximity transitions and one will give you the pilot as a TTL square wave) would be all you'd need to do for the J1772 signal handling in software.

Thanks nsayer -

I did the presentation at BayLeafs ;-)

Our DC Quick Chargers support this out of the box - as the core charging hardware started as a J1772 charger for EV conversions.

So yes, it is a good idea and it will be one of the features of the productized version of this CHAdeMO system.

Thanks,
Valery.

 

[valerun]

BTW first 4 PCBs are ordered for the new Due-based control board. Here on Friday. Will be tested over weekend.

We were invited to demo at http://altcarexponorcal.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; next week. Hope to be able to do it.

PS. Anyone wants those first boards - let me know (PM)

 

[pchilds]

Will this charger handle 277 VAC?

 

[valerun]

Will this charger handle 277 VAC?

12kW version does. 25kW not yet.

 

[valerun]

4 newest version boards with all the features described a few posts above are here. One of them will likely be used live this Sat in a public demo.

PM me if you want one.

V

 

[xado1]

do you have plans do build a 400volt charger for european leaf drivers?
i am very interested.

 

[valerun]

do you have plans do build a 400volt charger for european leaf drivers?
i am very interested.

Thanks!

We can build a 400V single-phase version now. 3-phase is the one that's difficult. Which one are you looking for?

 

[valerun]

Some good stuff to share.

Pic below shows the latest setup charging Car to Car (BMW conversion to CHAdeMO LEAF) at almost 40kW!

The system is almost fully packaged as you can see. 2 boxes:
1. 11x7x3" QC controller with redundant measurements, main relay, charge start switch, etc
2. 10x10x8" main power converter controlled by the UART serial from the Due

Cheers,
V

 

[xado1]

do you have plans do build a 400volt charger for european leaf drivers?
i am very interested.

Thanks!

We can build a 400V single-phase version now. 3-phase is the one that's difficult. Which one are you looking for?

woukld be ok,what is the prive including shipping to europe???

 

[valerun]

We can build a 400V single-phase version now. 3-phase is the one that's difficult. Which one are you looking for?

woukld be ok,what is the prive including shipping to europe???

will PM you now

 

[martinwinlow]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me where development of a high power 3P AC charger to ChaDeMo compatible output is at?

I have an i-Miev (well, a Peugeot Ion actually, but it's the same car) in the UK and we have a distinct lack of ChaDeMo chargers (tho much better than most of the world except Japan, apparently) and what there are are rather unreliable. There are 3 or more times as many 3-phase AC 22kW charge points out there but my i-Miev can only use 2.4kW via its J1772 port using it's domestic 230/240V AC mains to J1772 cable (with brick) or the same power using a Mennekes to J1772 cable or, using the ChaDeMo quick-charge port, 50kW DC.

So what I'm after is a box I can take out with me on a long trip which I can plug the into a 22kW or 43Kw 3P Mennekes charge point and then plug the output into my ChaDeMo socket. Whilst not as fast as a DC charge it is still an acceptably fast charge for a long journey should I run out of DC options.

Lastly, the other thing I still haven't seen is a ChaDeMo charge kit to add to an existing EV i.e. something that would allow a DIY built/converted EV to use a CHaDeMo charger… Anyone heard of such a thing? Valerun & Co must have indirectly worked out most of the protocols by now with their other work… surely beyond that there isn't much hardware needed…?

Regards, Martin Winlow

 

[valerun]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me where development of a high power 3P AC charger to ChaDeMo compatible output is at?

I have an i-Miev (well, a Peugeot Ion actually, but it's the same car) in the UK and we have a distinct lack of ChaDeMo chargers (tho much better than most of the world except Japan, apparently) and what there are are rather unreliable. There are 3 or more times as many 3-phase AC 22kW charge points out there but my i-Miev can only use 2.4kW via its J1772 port using it's domestic 230/240V AC mains to J1772 cable (with brick) or the same power using a Mennekes to J1772 cable or, using the ChaDeMo quick-charge port, 50kW DC.

So what I'm after is a box I can take out with me on a long trip which I can plug the into a 22kW or 43Kw 3P Mennekes charge point and then plug the output into my ChaDeMo socket. Whilst not as fast as a DC charge it is still an acceptably fast charge for a long journey should I run out of DC options.

Lastly, the other thing I still haven't seen is a ChaDeMo charge kit to add to an existing EV i.e. something that would allow a DIY built/converted EV to use a CHaDeMo charger… Anyone heard of such a thing? Valerun & Co must have indirectly worked out most of the protocols by now with their other work… surely beyond that there isn't much hardware needed…?

Regards, Martin Winlow

Hi Martin -

Great to see you here!

We are working on a 3-phase PFC charger. ETA is TBD. But since this is work for a customer, it will happen ;-)

In the meantime, you have 2 options:
1. Feed off just 2 phases of whatever 3-phase supply you have available. Power = total 3-phase power limit / sqrt(3) (or ~60%). Slightly modified SmartCharge unit would be able to do this.
2. Operate in non-PFC mode. Power will likely be limited to the same 60-70% of max due to the low power factor of a simple 3-phase rectifier. Again, a slightly modified SmartCharge unit would be able to do this.

Do you think any of these options are viable?

Thanks,
V

 

[garygid]

The latest mods to the mini-QC unit include:

1. user-settable maximum output current to better match
the input power source being used.
2. added an external J1772 socket to receptacle box to allow
powering the mini-QC from a J1772 source.
3. modified the inrush startup control to allow for the longer
time needed to get the PFC stage powered up on 208v input.
4. replaced the output stage discharge transistor with a relay.
5. reprogrammed the user display for better information utility.

Yes, it still lacks an isolated output, but Valery's latest work
might have solved that problem.