US-12623734-B2 - Electric vehicle and balancing of an electric vehicle

Abstract

A method for balancing an electric vehicle is provided, in which a controller of an electric vehicle variably adjusts the disposition of a bracket with battery modules of a traction battery of the electric vehicle situated in the bracket relative to a chassis of the electric vehicle. An electric vehicle is also provided.

Inventors

• Shane Cannon

Assignees

• AUDI AG

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230517

Priority Date

20220525

Claims (10)

1. 1 . A method for balancing an electric vehicle using a controller of the electric vehicle, the method comprising: variably adjusting the disposition of a bracket with battery modules of a traction battery of the electric vehicle situated in the bracket relative to a chassis of the electric vehicle; detecting, by a human-machine interface of the electric vehicle, an input of a passenger of the electric vehicle and sending a demand signal dependent on the detected input to the controller; and receiving, by the controller, the demand signal that was sent and adjusting the disposition of the bracket depending on the received demand signal, wherein variably adjusting the disposition of the bracket includes a first operation in which the entirety of the bracket and all battery modules situated therein are moved relative to the chassis, and wherein variably adjusting the disposition of the bracket includes winding up of the bracket with the battery modules situated in the bracket about a winding axis.
2. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the human-machine interface detects the disposition as the input or wherein the human-machine interface detects a type of operation of the electric vehicle determining the disposition as the input.
3. 3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the variable adjustment involves a shifting of the bracket in an x-direction of the electric vehicle, in a y-direction of the electric vehicle, and/or in a z-direction of the electric vehicle.
4. 4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the variable adjustment involves a swiveling of the bracket about an x-axis extending in an x-direction of the electric vehicle, about a y-axis extending in a y-direction of the electric vehicle, and/or about a z-axis extending in a z-direction of the electric vehicle.
5. 5 . The method according to claim 1 , the winding axis extends in the y-direction of the electric vehicle.
6. 6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the controller activates an actuator and the activated actuator moves the bracket relative to the chassis.
7. 7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the controller adjusts the disposition of the bracket depending on the acceleration of the electric vehicle and/or in order to influence a trajectory of the electric vehicle.
8. 8 . An electric vehicle, comprising: a chassis; a bracket mounted on the chassis and movable relative to the chassis; battery modules of a traction battery situated in the bracket; a controller for variable adjusting of a disposition of the bracket relative to the chassis; and a human-machine interface functionally connected to the controller for detecting an input of a passenger of the electric vehicle and configured to carry out a method comprising: variably adjusting the disposition of the bracket relative to the chassis by detecting, by the human-machine interface of the electric vehicle, the input of the passenger of the electric vehicle and sending a demand signal dependent on the detected input to the controller, and receiving, by the controller, the demand signal that was sent and adjusting the disposition of the bracket depending on the received demand signal, wherein variably adjusting the disposition of the bracket includes a first operation in which the entirety of the bracket and all battery modules situated therein are moved relative to the chassis, and wherein variably adjusting of the disposition of the bracket includes winding up of the bracket with the battery modules situated in the bracket about a winding axis.
9. 9 . The electric vehicle according to claim 8 , being configured as a passenger car or a motorcycle.
10. 10 . The electric vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein the human-machine interface is configured as an infotainment system of the electric vehicle or as a mobile terminal device connected to the electric vehicle.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical Field Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for balancing an electric vehicle, in which a controller of an electric vehicle variably adjusts the disposition of a bracket and battery modules of a traction battery of the electric vehicle situated in the bracket relative to a chassis of the electric vehicle. Additionally, embodiments relate to an electric vehicle. Description of the Related Art Methods of the mentioned kind in various configurations belong to the prior art and serve for varying the balance of an electric vehicle. By the balance is generally meant the distribution of an overall force, exerted by the electric vehicle on the ground, over the individual wheels of the electric vehicle. The balance has a static component, which results as a distribution of a weight force, i.e., a weight distribution, of the electric vehicle from a distribution of the total weight of the electric vehicle, and a dynamic component, which results from each acceleration of the electric vehicle. The weight of a traction battery of the electric vehicle is a significant part of the overall weight of the electric vehicle. Accordingly, the balance of the electric vehicle is heavily dependent on the disposition of the traction battery of the electric vehicle relative to the chassis of the electric vehicle. The disposition may involve the relative position of the traction battery and/or the relative orientation of the traction battery. The traction battery usually comprises a bracket and a plurality of battery modules, which are situated in the bracket. The disposition of the traction battery can be adjusted variably by moving the bracket of the traction battery relative to the chassis, whereupon the moving of the bracket necessarily causes the moving of battery modules situated in the bracket. Each passenger located in the vehicle has a weight, which influences the weight distribution and consequently the static component of the balance of the electric vehicle. Thus, the document DE 10 2015 120 413 A1 discloses a chassis and a bracket for a traction battery of an electric vehicle. A controller variably adjusts the position of the bracket relative to the chassis depending on the weight of a passenger of the vehicle, as detected by sensors. The electric vehicle can have dedicated sensors, which detect the balance of the electric vehicle and especially its dynamic component in real time. The document KR 1998 0034938 A discloses a chassis and a bracket for a traction battery of an electric vehicle. A controller adjusts the position of the bracket with respect to an x-direction of the electric vehicle relative to the chassis depending on a sensor signal provided by a balance sensor. The document KR 1999 0047673 A discloses another chassis and a bracket for a traction battery of an electric vehicle. A controller adjusts the position of the bracket with respect to a y-direction of the electric vehicle relative to the chassis depending in order to reduce the roll of the electric vehicle depending on a driving state of the electric vehicle. As usual, the x-direction is defined as the front-rear direction of the electric vehicle and the y-direction as the left-right direction of the electric vehicle and the z-direction is defined as the top-bottom direction of the electric vehicle, the x-direction, the y-direction, and the z-direction defining a right-handed Cartesian coordinate system. However, the solutions presented above for the balancing of an electric vehicle are limited in terms of their flexibility and variability. BRIEF SUMMARY Embodiments may provide an electric vehicle and a method for balancing an electric vehicle which has great flexibility and great variability. Some embodiments include a method for balancing an electric vehicle, in which a controller of an electric vehicle variably adjusts the disposition of a bracket and battery modules of a traction battery of the electric vehicle situated in the bracket relative to a chassis of the electric vehicle. Thanks to adjusting the disposition, an overall force exerted by the electric vehicle on the ground is varied with respect to a distribution over the wheels of the electric vehicle. The disposition comprises a relative position and/or a relative orientation of the traction battery. The controller defines the variation of the distribution. In some embodiments, a human-machine interface of the electric vehicle detects the input of a passenger of the electric vehicle and sends a demand signal dependent on the detected input to the controller, the controller receives the demand signal that was sent, and the controller adjusts the disposition of the bracket depending on the received demand signal. The human-machine interface can make it possible for the passenger, especially the driver of the electric vehicle, to influence the balance of the electric vehicle at any time according to choice, thereby increasing the flexibility of the balanci