Permanent magnet synchronous motor controller and electric vehicle controller

• US 5,914,582 A
• Filed: 01/23/1998
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Masaki, Ryoso, Obara, Sanshiro, Katada, Hiroshi, Takamoto, Yuusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Masih, Karen
• Application Number:
  US09/012,560
• Time in Patent Office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 318/700, 318/724, 318/801, 318/299
• US Class Current: 318/801
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/14 Synchronous machines
• 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: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller includes an inverter for supplying an alternating current power converted from a direct current power to a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor, having a pair of switching elements for each of said three phases of the motor; a smoothing capacitor for smoothing the direct current power connected to the inverter in parallel; and a control unit for controlling the motor by ON-OFF controlling each of the switching elements of the inverter, which further including a short circuit transition processing portion for changing control to 3-phase short circuit after performing precursory ON-OFF control of each of the switching elements so as to avoid occurrence of over current at an initial period of performing the 3-phase short circuit while the motor is being rotated.

Claims

1. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller comprising an inverter for supplying an alternating current power converted from a direct current power to a 3-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor through switching elements provided for each of phases;

a smoothing capacitor for smoothing said direct current power supplied to said inverter; and

a control unit for controlling said inverter by performing ON-OFF control of each of said switching elements, wherein

said control unit comprises a short circuit transition means for performing precursory ON-OFF control of each of said switching elements prior to performing ON-OFF control of a 3-phase short circuit by said control unit during rotation of said permanent magnet synchronous motor and then performing said 3-phase short circuit.

2. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 1, wherein said inverter is constructed in a 3-phase bridge by at least six of said switching elements, and said short circuit transition means turns on at least two phases of the switching elements connected to a positive pole side of a direct current power source for supplying said direct current power to said inverter and the other phases of the elements connected to a negative pole side of said direct current power source at a certain timing determined at a state of the motor when all of said switching elements are in an OFF state, and then performs the 3-phase short circuit by switching the ON-OFF states of said switching elements after a required time period for suppressing a transient current.

3. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 1, which comprises:

a make-and-break means for making and braking an electric connection between said inverter and a direct current power source for supplying said direct current power to said inverter; and

a make-and-break control means for making said make-and-break means after completion of said transition of the 3-phase short circuit by said short circuit transition means.

4. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 1, wherein said control unit performs said precursory ON-OFF control executed by said short circuit transition means by a PWM method.

5. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 2, wherein said certain timing is a time point in an inflection point and the vicinity where a derivative di/dt of a steady-state current component with respect to time during rotation of said permanent magnet synchronous motor changes from a negative value to a positive value and vice versa.

6. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 2, wherein said required time period is a time period T1 obtained from the following equation (5):

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">T1=-τ

·

ln{i2/(i2+i1)}, (5)

wherein τ

is a decay time constant of a transient current component during performing the 3-phase short circuit, i1 is an amplitude of a steady-state current component during performing the 3-phase short circuit, i2 is a final value of current flowing by a voltage of the smoothing capacitor and ln is a natural logarithm.

7. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 2, wherein said required time period is varied depending on a magnitude of a voltage of said smoothing capacitor.

8. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller according to claim 2, wherein said inflection point is determined by a magnetic pole position of said permanent magnet synchronous motor.

9. A permanent magnet synchronous motor controller for switching a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor in rotating from a free run state to a driven state by an inverter, wherein switching control for canceling out transient current is accompanied by 3-phase short circuit by said inverter from a certain time point determined by a magnetic pole position of said permanent magnet synchronous motor.

10. An electric vehicle controller for controlling a permanent magnet synchronous motor for driving an electric vehicle using a permanent magnet synchronous motor controller comprising an inverter for supplying an alternating current power converted from a direct current power to a 3-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor through switching elements provided for each of phases;

a smoothing capacitor for smoothing said direct current power supplied to said inverter; and

a control unit for controlling said inverter by performing ON-OFF control of each of said switching elements, wherein

said control unit comprises a short circuit transition means for performing precursory ON-OFF control of each of said switching elements prior to performing ON-OFF control of a 3phase short circuit by said control unit during rotation of said permanent magnet synchronous motor and then performing said 3-phase short circuit.

11. An electric vehicle controller according to claim 10, wherein said inverter is constructed in a 3-phase bridge by at least six of said switching elements, and said short circuit transition means turns on at least two phases of the switching elements connected to a positive pole side of a direct current power source for supplying said direct current power to said inverter and the other phases of the elements connected to a negative pole side of said direct current power source at a certain timing determined at a state of the motor when all of said switching elements are in an OFF state, and then performs the 3-phase short circuit by switching the ON-OFF states of said switching elements after a required time period for suppressing a transient current.

12. An electric vehicle controller according to claim 10, which comprises:

a make-and-break means for making and braking an electric connection between said inverter and a direct current power source for supplying said direct current power to said inverter; and

a make-and-break control means for making said make-and-break means after completion of said transition of the 3-phase short circuit by said short circuit transition means.

13. An electric vehicle controller according to claim 10, wherein said control unit performs said precursory ON-OFF control executed by said short circuit transition means by a PWM method.

14. An electric vehicle controller for controlling a permanent magnet synchronous motor for driving an electric vehicle using a permanent magnet synchronous motor controller for switching a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor in rotating from a free run state to a driven state by an inverter, wherein switching control for canceling out transient current is accompanied by 3-phase short circuit by said inverter from a certain time point determined by a magnetic pole position of said permanent magnet synchronous motor.