Vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system, control method therefor, and program therefor

• US 10,050,577 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2013
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakano, Koji, Suzuki, Atsushi, Kamitani, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Duda, Rina
• Application Number:
  US14/764,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20150365039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,811 Days
• Field of Search: 318139, 318599, 318811, 318461, 318800, 318801
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00428 electric
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00828 Ventilators, e.g. speed control B60H1/00864 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/04 by varying pump speed, e.g. by changing pump-drive gear ratio
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/048 using electrical drives
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/06 the pump being electrically driven F04D25/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/08 the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/004 by varying driving speed
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/08 with pulse width modulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/88 Optimized components or subsystems, e.g. lighting, actively controlled glasses

Abstract

Included are: a motor control device that has a switching element, that converts DC power supplied from a high-voltage power supply into three-phase AC power, and that supplies the three-phase AC power to a three-phase motor; a first control portion that controls the motor control device; an isolated-type CAN driver that is activated by using power supplied from a low-voltage power supply and that exchanges information with a vehicle ECU that is mounted in the vehicle and that is superordinate to a vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system; and an isolation portion that electrically isolates a low-voltage system to which power is supplied from the low-voltage power supply from a high-voltage system to which power is supplied from the high-voltage power supply. If a fault in the switching element is detected, the first control portion outputs fault information notifying that there is a fault in control of the three-phase motor to the vehicle ECU via the isolated-type CAN driver.

Claims

1. A vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system that controls a three-phase motor that drives a cooling fan for supplying air to an in-vehicle heat exchanger, comprising:

a motor control device that has a switching element, that converts DC power supplied from a high-voltage power supply into three-phase AC power, and that supplies the three-phase AC power to the three-phase motor;

a communication driver that is activated by using power supplied from a low-voltage power supply and that exchanges information, via a vehicle network, with a second control unit that is mounted in a vehicle and that is on a superordinate side to the vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system;

an isolation unit that electrically isolates a low-voltage system to which power is supplied from the low-voltage power supply from a high-voltage system to which power is supplied from the high-voltage power supply;

a PWM driver that is activated by using power supplied from the low-voltage power supply, and that receives a PWM signal from a channel different from the vehicle network and outputs a rotation-speed instruction for the three-phase motor; and

a first control unit that obtains a rotation-speed instruction for the three-phase motor via the PWM driver and the communication driver and that controls the motor control device based on the obtained rotation-speed instruction for the three-phase motor,

wherein, if a fault in the switching element is detected, the first control unit outputs fault information notifying that there is a fault in control of the three-phase motor to the second control unit via the communication driver.

2. A vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a measurement unit that measures and outputs at least one of a temperature value, a current value, and a voltage value of the switching element of the motor control device,

wherein the first control unit includes a determination unit that determines whether there is a fault in the switching element based on at least one of the temperature value, the current value, and the voltage value obtained from the measurement unit.

3. A control method for a vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system that controls a three-phase motor that drives a cooling fan for supplying air to an in-vehicle heat exchanger,

the vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system including:

a motor control device that has a switching element, that converts DC power supplied from a high-voltage power supply into three-phase AC power, and that supplies the three-phase AC power to the three-phase motor;

a communication driver that is activated by using power supplied from a low-voltage power supply and that exchanges information, via a vehicle network, with a second control unit that is mounted in a vehicle and that is on a superordinate side to the vehicle cooling-fan motor/inverter system;

an isolation unit that electrically isolates a low-voltage system to which power is supplied from the low-voltage power supply from a high-voltage system to which power is supplied from the high-voltage power supply, a PWM driver that is activated by using power supplied from the low-voltage power supply; and

that receives a PWM signal from a channel different from the vehicle network and outputs a rotation-speed instruction for a three-phase motor; and

a first control unit that control the motor control device, the control method comprising;

configuring the first control unit to obtain a rotation-speed instruction for the three-phase motor via the PWM driver and the communication driver,

controlling, by the first control unit, the motor control device based on the obtained rotation-speed instruction for the three-phase motor; and

outputting, by the first control unit, fault information notifying that there is a fault in control of the three-phase motor to the second control unit via the communication driver if a fault in the switching element is detected.