METHOD FOR DETECTING INTERLOCK FAILURE OF CONNECTOR IN ECO-FRIENDLY VECHICLE

• US 20160124046A1
• Filed: 09/18/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Kang, Gun Soo, Lee, Ki Jong, Jeong, Kang Ho
• Granted Patent: US 10,962,423 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0023 Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/22 the element being a non-linear resistance, e.g. thermistor G01K7/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/006 on road vehicles, e.g. automobiles or trucks testing of ignition installations peculiar to internal combustion engines F02P17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3277 of low voltage devices, e.g. domestic or industrial devices, such as motor protections, relays, rotation switches
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/42 AC power supplies

Abstract

A method includes: detecting, by a motor controller, an interlock failure of a connector for connecting between a gate driver and the motor controller, the connector being connected to an inverter for driving a motor in an eco-friendly vehicle; and determining, by the motor controller, that the interlock failure of the connector has occurred when an output value of a signal processor provided in the motor controller so that a sensing signal is inputted from the gate driver through the connector is detected as a value beyond a predetermined normal sensing range.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a motor controller, an interlock failure of a connector for connecting between a gate driver and the motor controller, the connector being connected to an inverter for driving a motor in an eco-friendly vehicle; and

determining, by the motor controller, that the interlock failure of the connector has occurred when an output value of a signal processor provided in the motor controller so that a sensing signal is inputted from the gate driver through the connector is detected as a value beyond a predetermined normal sensing range.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the signal processor includes a pull-up resistor connected to the power input terminal, and

the signal processor outputs a voltage divided by the pull-up resistor when a voltage signal is inputted as the sensing signal through the connector.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing signal is a temperature sensing signal outputted from a temperature sensor installed in a power module in the inverter or the gate driver in order to monitor a junction temperature of the power module in the inverter.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the motor controller, that the interlock failure of the connector has occurred when an output value corresponding to a power voltage is detected from the signal processor.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the motor controller, that the connector has been normally interlocked when an output value within the predetermined normal sensing range is detected from the signal processor.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions for performing a method, the computer readable medium comprising:

program instructions that detect an interlock failure of a connector for connecting between a gate driver and a motor controller, the connector being connected to an inverter for driving a motor in an eco-friendly vehicle; and

program instructions that determine that the interlock failure of the connector has occurred when an output value of a signal processor provided in the motor controller so that a sensing signal is inputted from the gate driver through the connector is detected as a value beyond a predetermined normal sensing range.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein:

the signal processor includes a pull-up resistor connected to the power input terminal, and

the signal processor outputs a voltage divided by the pull-up resistor when a voltage signal is inputted as the sensing signal through the connector.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the sensing signal is a temperature sensing signal outputted from a temperature sensor installed in a power module in the inverter or the gate driver in order to monitor a junction temperature of the power module in the inverter.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, further comprising:

program instructions that determine that the interlock failure of the connector has occurred when an output value corresponding to a power voltage is detected from the signal processor.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, further comprising:

program instructions that determine that the connector has been normally interlocked when an output value within the predetermined normal sensing range is detected from the signal processor.