Control apparatus for electric vehicle
First Claim
1. A control apparatus for an electric vehicle having wheels driven by motors, said control apparatus comprising:
- operation force detecting means for detecting a direction and an amount of an operation force applied to said electric vehicle by an operator;
rotational direction detecting means for detecting a rotational direction of each of said wheels of said electric vehicle; and
a control unit which controls each of said motors such that each of said motors generates a driving force in accordance with the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means and that, when said control unit determines that the rotational direction of each of said wheels detected by said rotational direction detecting means is opposite to the rotational direction corresponding to the direction of the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means, each of said motors generates an electrical braking force.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control apparatus for an electric vehicle which improves the operability of an electric wheelchair on slopes is provided. The control apparatus includes a control unit which, when it determines that a rotational direction corresponding to a direction of an operation force is opposite to a rotational direction in which a driving wheel is actually rotated, sets an operation mode of the motor for driving the wheel to an electrical braking mode. Thus, the electric wheelchair is decelerated and the load on the operator is reduced. The control unit may control the motor such that the motor does not generate an electrical braking force until the driving wheel is rotated by a predetermined amount. In such a case, even when the driving wheel temporarily rotates in the reverse direction while it climbs up an upward slope, an unnecessary electrical braking force is not generated.
39 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A control apparatus for an electric vehicle having wheels driven by motors, said control apparatus comprising:
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operation force detecting means for detecting a direction and an amount of an operation force applied to said electric vehicle by an operator;
rotational direction detecting means for detecting a rotational direction of each of said wheels of said electric vehicle; and
a control unit which controls each of said motors such that each of said motors generates a driving force in accordance with the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means and that, when said control unit determines that the rotational direction of each of said wheels detected by said rotational direction detecting means is opposite to the rotational direction corresponding to the direction of the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means, each of said motors generates an electrical braking force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A control apparatus for an electric vehicle having wheels driven by motors, said control apparatus comprising:
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operation force detecting means for detecting a direction and an amount of an operation force applied to said electric vehicle by an operator;
rotational direction detecting means for detecting a rotational direction and the amount of rotation of each of said wheels of said electric vehicle; and
a control unit which controls each of said motors such that each of said motors generates a driving force in accordance with the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means and that, when said control unit determines that each of said wheels is rotated by a predetermined amount in a rotational direction and that the rotational direction is opposite to the rotational direction corresponding to the direction of the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means, each of said motors generates an electrical braking force.
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13. A control apparatus for an electric vehicle having wheels driven by motors, said control apparatus comprising:
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operation force detecting means for detecting a direction and an amount of an operation force applied to said electric vehicle by an operator;
rotational direction detecting means for detecting a rotational direction of each of said wheels of said electric vehicle; and
a control unit which controls each of said motors in accordance with the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means, and which selectively switches an operation mode for each of said motors over a driving mode in which each of said motors generates a driving force in accordance with the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means, a braking mode in which each of said motors generates an electric driving force when the absolute value of the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means is less than a predetermined value, and a downward slope braking mode in which each of said motors generates an electric braking force when the rotational direction of each of said wheels detected by said rotational direction detecting means is opposite to the rotational direction corresponding to the direction of the operation force detected by said operation force detecting means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification