ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT AND VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD

• US 20110313618A1
• Filed: 06/21/2011
• Published: 12/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: HL Mando Corporation (Halla Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mando Corporation (Halla Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Jin Hwan
• Application Number:
  US13/165,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20110313618A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/00 Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle with power supply from force of nature, e.g. sun or wind, B60L8/00; for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways B60L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/00 Conversion of dc power input into dc power output
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1582 Buck-boost converters H02M3/1584 takes precedence

Abstract

Disclosed is an electronic control unit capable of being mounted to any vehicle regardless of the change of a voltage level of a vehicle power system, and a method for controlling the vehicle in which the electronic control unit is mounted to the vehicle and the vehicle operates with a system driving voltage of the electronic control unit regardless of the voltage level of the vehicle power system of the vehicle.

Claims

1. An electronic control unit for a vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle control system for operating with an intrinsic system driving voltage to perform a vehicle control function; and

an input voltage controller for boosting or dropping an input voltage to the system driving voltage.

2. The electronic control unit for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input voltage controller determines the vehicle control system as a unit to which the input voltage input from the vehicle power system is to be supplied after being boosted or dropped, identifies the intrinsic system driving voltage of the vehicle control system, and boosts or drops the input voltage to the intrinsic system driving voltage to supply the boosted or dropped input voltage to the vehicle control system.

3. An electronic control unit comprising:

a comparator for comparing an input voltage input from a vehicle power system of a vehicle with a predetermined system driving voltage;

a control unit for determining a step up condition to output a step up control signal when the input voltage is lower than the system driving voltage and determining a step down condition to output a step down control signal when the input voltage is higher than the system driving voltage;

a voltage converting circuit unit for boosting the input voltage to the system driving voltage according the step up control signal and dropping the input voltage to the system driving voltage according the step down control signal; and

a vehicle control system for performing a vehicle control function by receiving the input voltage boosted to the system driving voltage or the input voltage dropped to the system driving voltage to operate with the system driving voltage.

4. The electronic control unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the voltage converting circuit unit comprises:

a chopper circuit comprising a first switching device connected to an input terminal of the input voltage, a second switching device, and an inductor connecting an output end of the first switching device with an input end of the second switching device,

wherein the first switching device is in a full-on state according to the step up control signal and the second switching device is in a chopper control state, so that the input voltage is boosted to the system driving voltage, and

the second switching device is in a full-off state according to the step down control signal and the first switching device is in a chopper control state, so that the input voltage is dropped to the system driving voltage.

5. The electronic control unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the chopper circuit is configured in such a manner that the input end of the first switching device is connected to the input terminal of the input voltage, a driving end of the first switching device is connected to the control unit, the output end of the first switching device is connected to a cathode of a first diode and an end of the inductor, the input end of the second switching device is connected to another end of the inductor and an anode of a second diode, a driving end of the second switching device is connected to the control unit, and a cathode of the second switching device is connected to a condenser and the vehicle control system.

6. The electronic control unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first switching device is a P-type power semiconductor device and the second switching device is an N-type power semiconductor device.

7. A method for controlling a vehicle in which an electronic control unit is mounted to the vehicle and the vehicle operates with a system driving voltage of the electronic control unit regardless of a voltage level of a vehicle power system of the vehicle through a voltage conversion by the electronic control unit, the method comprising:

receiving an input of an input voltage from the vehicle power system of the vehicle;

comparing the input voltage with a predetermined system driving voltage;

determining a step up condition to output a step up control signal when the input voltage is lower than the system driving voltage, and determining a step down condition to output a step down control signal when the input voltage is higher than the system driving voltage;

boosting the input voltage to the system driving voltage according to the step up control signal, and dropping the input voltage to the system driving voltage according to the step down control signal; and

performing a vehicle control function by receiving the input voltage boosted to the system driving voltage or the input voltage dropped to the system driving voltage to operate with the system driving voltage.