Motor control apparatus

• US 20060033464A1
• Filed: 10/25/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ibaraki Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobiki, Yasushi, Fujiki, Kenichi, Inoue, Yuji, Kamio, Shigeru, Nakai, Yasuhiro, Amamiya, Sumiko, Ohshima, Keijiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,221,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 318/701
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/326 Actuators for range selection, i.e. actuators for controlling the range selector or the manual range valve in the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/32 Electric motors actuators or related electrical control means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/08 Reluctance motors
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/092 Converters specially adapted for controlling reluctance motors
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/0925 wherein the converter comprises only one switch per phase
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 8/42 characterised by non-stepper motors being operated step by step
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2003 Electrical actuator

Abstract

In an automatic transmission position control by a motor, it is determined whether the present instant belongs to a starting period, that is, the present instant is immediately after resetting of a control unit or application of power to it. If it is the starting period, an actual shift position that is detected from an output of an output shaft sensor for detecting a rotation position of a motor is set as an instructed shift position. With this measure, even if the control unit is reset for a certain reason while the vehicle is running, the instructed shift position is not changed in association with the resetting. This prevents trouble that the shift position is switched contrary to the intention of the driver, whereby the reliability of a position switching control can be increased.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A motor control apparatus comprising:

an encoder for producing a pulse output signal in synchronism with rotation of a rotor of a motor that rotates a control object; and

control means for rotating the rotor to a target position by detecting a rotation position of the rotor on the basis of a count of the output signal of the encoder and sequentially switching a current supply phase of the motor,

wherein the control means includes means for learning a play amount of a rotation transmission system for converting a rotation amount of the motor into a manipulated variable for the control object, and

wherein the control means learns a play amount of the rotation transmission system by performing a first-direction butting control for rotating the rotor until butting occurs at one limit position of a movable range of the control object and a second-direction butting control for rotating the rotor until butting occurs at the other limit position of the movable range, determining, as an actual measurement value of the movable range of the control object, an increase or decrease of the count of the output signal of the encoder from the one limit position to the other limit position, and learning, as a play amount of the rotation transmission system, a difference between the actual measurement value of the movable range and a design value of the movable range, and in rotating thereafter the rotor to the target position the control means sets the target position taking the learned play amount of the rotation transmission system into consideration.

30. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the control means determines a first-direction-butting count of the output signal of the encoder by performing the first-direction butting control in a state that the rotor is stopped in the vicinity of the one limit position, determines a second-direction-butting count of the output signal of the encoder by performing the second-direction butting control in a state that the rotor is stopped in the vicinity of the other limit position, determines, as an actual measurement value of the movable range of the control object, a difference between the first-direction-butting count and the second-direction-butting count, and learns, as a play amount of the rotation transmission system, a difference between the actual measurement value of the movable range and a design value of the movable range.

31. The motor control apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the control means sets the target position by using the learned play amount and at least one of the first-direction-butting count, the second-direction-butting count, and the actual measurement value of the movable range of the control object.

32. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the control means lowers torque of the motor in the first-direction butting control and the second-direction butting control.

33. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein in the first-direction butting control and the second-direction butting control the control means corrects A-phase lead of the current supply phase so that a rotation speed of the rotor decreases.

34. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the control means infers, on the basis of a power source voltage for the motor, a slight angle by which the rotor rotates beyond the one limit position or the other limit position in a state that contact is established there after butting in the first-direction butting control or the second-direction butting control, and the control means corrects the actual measurement value of the movable range of the control object by a value corresponding to the inferred angle.

35. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein when the count of the output signal of the encoder comes not to vary in the first-direction butting control or the second-direction butting control, the control means determines that butting has occurred at the one limit position or the other limit position and finishes the butting control.

36. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the control means finishes the first-direction butting control or the second-direction butting control when determining that butting will not occur at the one limit position or the other limit position even if the butting control is performed for a prescribed time or more.

37. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the motor is a switched reluctance motor.

38. The motor control apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the control object is a position switching mechanism for switching between a parking position and another position of a vehicle.

39-50. -50. (canceled)

51. A motor control apparatus comprising:

an encoder for producing a pulse output signal in synchronism with rotation of a rotor of a motor that rotates a control object;

control means for rotating the rotor to a target position that is set by target position setting means by detecting a rotation position of the rotor on the basis of a count of the output signal of the encoder and sequentially switching a current supply phase of the motor; and

a nonvolatile memory for storing the target position that is set by the target position setting means,

wherein at starting the control means sets, as a target position of starting, the target position that is stored in the nonvolatile memory.

52. The motor control apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the nonvolatile memory maintains storage of the target position being supplied with power from a battery while the control means is not supplied with power, and

wherein the control means comprises means for detecting removal of the battery, and sets a predetermined target position as the target position of starting when removal of the battery is detected.

53. The motor control apparatus according to claim 52, wherein data of the target position stored in the nonvolatile memory is different from an initial value that is set when power is applied to the nonvolatile memory, and

wherein the control means determines whether the battery has been removed on the basis of whether the data of the target position stored in the nonvolatile memory coincides with the initial value.

54. The motor control apparatus according to claim 53, wherein when removal of the battery is detected, at starting the control means rotates the rotor toward the predetermined target position to cause butting at a limit position thereof and thereby learns the limit position.

56. The motor control apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the motor is a switched reluctance motor.

57. The motor control apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the control object is a position switching mechanism for switching between a parking position and another position of a vehicle.

55. A motor control apparatus comprising:

an encoder for producing a pulse output signal in synchronism with rotation of a rotor of a motor that rotates a control object;

control means for rotating the rotor to a target position that is set by target position setting means by detecting a rotation position of the rotor on the basis of a count of the output signal of the encoder and sequentially switching a current supply phase of the motor; and

an output shaft sensor for detecting a rotation position of an output shaft of the motor or position information that is correlated with it,

wherein the control means sets, as a target position of starting, a rotation position that is detected by the output shaft sensor at starting.

58-63. -63. (canceled)