Preventing high induced voltage from being applied to discharge control device

• US 10,245,956 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2015
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Keihin Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Minesawa, Ryutaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Isla, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Manuel
• Application Number:
  US14/800,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20160064956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,356 Days
• Field of Search: 320166, 307 91, 307 101
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/427 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/527 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0007 Measures or means for preventing or attenuating collisions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/18 Controlling the braking effect B60L7/12, B60L7/14, B60L7/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility

Abstract

A discharge control device controls a discharge bypass circuit for discharging a charge in a capacitor provided in a drive device for a motor that rotates wheels of a vehicle at time of a collision of the vehicle. The discharge control device includes a control circuit that makes the discharge bypass circuit start discharge if an induced voltage by the motor surpasses a predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A discharge control device that controls a discharge bypass circuit for discharging, at time of a collision of a vehicle, a charge in a capacitor provided in a drive device for a motor that rotates wheels of the vehicle, the drive device supplying a power received from a battery to the motor to drive the motor, the drive device supplying the power to the discharge control device,

the discharge control device comprising

a control circuit that makes the discharge bypass circuit start discharge at the time of the collision of the vehicle by receiving a discharge instruction signal, and after discharge of the charge in the capacitor, makes the discharge bypass circuit start discharge when an induced voltage induced by the motor surpasses a predetermined threshold,

wherein the drive device is electrically connected to the motor and the discharge control device such that the induced voltage induced by the motor is applied to the discharge control device via the drive device,

wherein the control circuit includes:

(i) a flip-flop circuit that;

outputs an output signal that is a discharge instruction to the discharge bypass circuit at the time of the collision of the vehicle by receiving the discharge instruction signal to an input terminal of the flip-flop circuit,

stops, after discharge of the charge in the capacitor, the output of the output signal upon receiving a reset signal, and

resumes output of the output signal when a reset release signal is input to the flip-flop circuit, and

(ii) a reset control circuit that outputs the reset release signal to the flip-flop circuit when the induced voltage induced by the motor surpasses the predetermined threshold,

wherein the drive device is connected to the discharge control device via a power line such that the drive device supplies power to the discharge control device via the power line,

wherein the reset control circuit is connected to the power line, the reset control circuit determines whether the induced voltage induced in the power line surpasses the predetermined threshold,

wherein the flip-flop circuit and the reset control circuit are supplied with power through the power line.

2. The discharge control device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge bypass circuit discharges the induced voltage.

3. A vehicle comprising the discharge control device according to claim 1.