Electric-car controller

• US 5,136,219 A
• Filed: 04/03/1991
• Issued: 08/04/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Nobuyoshi, Kaminaga, Minoru, Kaminishi, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ro, Bentsu
• Application Number:
  US07/680,070
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 318/139, 318/256, 318/257, 318/258, 318/259, 318/260, 318/261, 318/262, 318/263, 318/268, 318/269, 318/270, 318/271, 318/273, 318/274, 318/276, 318/599, 388/830, 388/831
• US Class Current: 318/139
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/26 by pedal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/52 characterised by DC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an electric-car controller comprising a chopper for controlling the speed of a DC motor, a by-pass contactor for applying a DC source voltage directly to the DC motor, means for detecting that an acceleration command has reached a certain specified value or above, means for detecting that the acceleration of the car has dropped to a certain specified value or below, and means for turning on the by-pass contactor when the acceleration command has reached the certain specified value or above and the acceleration of the car has dropped to the certain specified value or below.

Claims

1. An electric-car controller including a chopper for controlling a speed of a DC motor, and a by-pass contactor for directly applying a DC source voltage to said DC motor, said electric-car controller comprising:

means for detecting that an acceleration command for the electric-car has reached a certain first specified value or above;

means for detecting that an acceleration of said car has dropped to a certain second specified value or below; and

means for turning on said by-pass contactor when the acceleration command has reached said certain first specified value or above and the acceleration of said car has dropped to said certain second specified value or below.

2. An electric-car controller according to claim 1, wherein said means for turning on said by-pass contactor does not operate during regenerative braking or plugging, but does operate when the acceleration command has reached said certain first specified value or above and the acceleration of said car has dropped to said certain second specified value or below after said regenerative braking or said plugging has ceased.

3. An electric-car controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said means for detecting that the acceleration of said car has dropped to said certain second specified value or below includes means for detecting a chopper duty factor of said chopper at predetermined intervals, and means for detecting that an amount by which said chopper duty factor has changed during one of the predetermined intervals has dropped to a certain specified value or below.

4. An electric-car controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said means for detecting that the acceleration of said car has dropped to said certain second specified value or below includes means for detecting a revolution rate of said Dc motor at predetermined intervals, and means for detecting that an amount by which the revolution rate of said DC motor has changed during one of the predetermined intervals has dropped to a certain specified value or below.

5. An electric-car controller according to claim 2, wherein said means for turning on said by-pass contactor includes means for turning on said by-pass contactor when the acceleration command reaches a certain specified value or above upon starting the car, or when plugging has continued for a predetermined time.

6. An electric-car controller according to claim 3, wherein said means for turning on said by-pass contactor includes means for turning on said by-pass contactor when the acceleration command reaches a certain specified value or above upon starting the car, or when plugging has continued for a predetermined time.

7. An electric-car controller according to claim 4, wherein said means for turning on said by-pass contactor includes means for turning on said by-pass contactor when the acceleration command reaches a certain specified value or above upon starting the car, or when plugging has continued for a predetermined time.