A recently published patent application suggests Apple is hard at work on developing high-voltage battery power converters for electronic cars. The U.S. patent for “Converter Architecture” explains how power from a high voltage source could be transferred downward to a lower voltage.
As AppleInsider explains, electric and hybrid cars are usually powered by a high voltage battery, which is mostly used to get the vehicle moving. The same energy sources are then used to fuel other parts of the automobile, such as the infotainment display, dashboard, and air conditioning system.
Unfortunately, Apple believes current systems that convert high voltage power to a lower voltage are “inefficient and suffer from load transients that are absorbed by and may cause damage to a low voltage battery.”
The company’s solution:
In one implementation, an unregulated DC-to-DC converter is electrically connected to a first energy source to down convert a first voltage supplied by the first energy source. A load is electrically connected to the unregulated DC-to-DC converter to receive the down converted first voltage. A regulated DC-to-DC converter is electrically connected to the unregulated DC-to-DC converter to regulate the down converted first voltage to a second voltage. A second power source is electrically connected to the regulated DC-to-DC converter to charge the second power source using the second voltage, and the second power source is switchably connectable to the load.
Improving battery efficiency for electric and hybrid cars is a worthwhile goal, especially as these type of vehicles become more popular. What’s not yet known, however, is whether this patent has to do with the company’s secretive Project Titan and how.
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