Hybrid vehicle
First Claim
1. A hybrid vehicle comprising:
- an engine;
a motor which operates with electrical energy;
a power drive unit having switching elements to control the flow of current to operate said motor; and
a control apparatus for generating control signals to operate said switching elements;
wherein said power drive unit is further provided with a self-protection circuit to interrupt the supply of said current to said switching elements temporarily for a specified interval when a temperature of at least one of said switching elements is higher than a specific temperature value or the value of current flowing through said power drive unit is greater than a specific current value, and to output a signal indicating that said power drive unit is in a self-protection state caused by a current flow interruption; and
said control apparatus receives said signal from said self-protection circuit indicating that said power drive unit is in the self-protection state, and if a number of times said self-protection state is greater than a predetermined number or if the cumulative time in said self-protection state is greater than a predetermined time, said control apparatus prohibits said control signal from operating said switching elements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hybrid vehicle includes a power drive unit which is quickly stopped without increasing the load on a motor control apparatus should a short develop inside the power drive unit. The power drive unit contains a self-protection circuit, which shuts off the control signals to the switching elements for a given interval, when the temperature of the switching elements reaches a certain temperature value or when the current flowing in the power drive unit reaches a certain current value. The self-protection circuit outputs a shorting signal to indicate the state of the self-protection caused by the shut off. The motor control apparatus detects shorting signals from the self-protection circuit, and responds by stopping the output of control signals, when the self-protection state is reported, is greater than a predetermined number of times or the cumulative time in the self-protection state reaches a predetermined time.
40 Citations
5 Claims
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1. A hybrid vehicle comprising:
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an engine;
a motor which operates with electrical energy;
a power drive unit having switching elements to control the flow of current to operate said motor; and
a control apparatus for generating control signals to operate said switching elements;
whereinsaid power drive unit is further provided with a self-protection circuit to interrupt the supply of said current to said switching elements temporarily for a specified interval when a temperature of at least one of said switching elements is higher than a specific temperature value or the value of current flowing through said power drive unit is greater than a specific current value, and to output a signal indicating that said power drive unit is in a self-protection state caused by a current flow interruption; and
said control apparatus receives said signal from said self-protection circuit indicating that said power drive unit is in the self-protection state, and if a number of times said self-protection state is greater than a predetermined number or if the cumulative time in said self-protection state is greater than a predetermined time, said control apparatus prohibits said control signal from operating said switching elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification