PEPCO turbo-Z battery charger system. Technical progress report, calendar quarter ending March 31, 1998

During the First Quarter of 1998, the engineers working on this Grant have dramatically increased the rate of work. They are developing a Flexible Battery Charger Control Board, a Battery Charger Test Stand, and writing software that can be used with both. The status is as follows: (a) Flexible Battery Charger Control Board -- a preliminary electrical design is complete. They are now investigating how the control design might incorporate provisions for an additional Electric Vehicle charging feature. This additional design is based on SAE J2293 -- Recommended Practice for EV Communications. Investigation of J2293 is being considered for controlling a power supply using proprietary Capacitive Charging Coupler, and controlling the power supply with this control board. (b) Battery Test Stand -- the preliminary hardware design is complete. The design includes some very desirable additions to the specifications, including an AC line source for the charger being tested and a battery simulator. Purchasing of the equipment and materials for the test stand is underway. The engineers have been working in the SAE standards setting committees for Electric Vehicles for several years. In particular, they have been working to set the Capacitive Coupler as the standard for connecting an EV to the utility grid system. Substantial test data has been distributed to the committee members on the Conductive and Inductive Charging Systems. It is their opinion that they have a superior coupling mechanism, and they are proceeding to develop this technology