Vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus

• US 7,239,097 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2006
• Issued: 07/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): DUDA, RINA I
• Application Number:
  US11/432,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20070114956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 417 Days
• Field of Search: 318/254, 318/138, 318/439, 318/432, 318/434, 318/139
• US Class Current: 318/400.08
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/032 Preventing damage to the motor, e.g. setting individual current limits for different drive conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 4/00 Arrangements specially adapted for regulating or controlling the speed or torque of electric motors that can be connected to two or more different electric power supplies vector control H02P21/00

Abstract

A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus capable of effecting boosted escape running while preventing burnout when a reversible motor driven by way of a transistor bridge circuit encounters an abnormal load. A motor driven by a transistor bridge circuit reversibly drives a moving body between a reverse limit stopper and a forward limit stopper. A variable resistance produces an output signal related to the position of the moving body, and calibration information is read at the positions of the reverse limit position and forward limit position and saved from a microprocessor to a nonvolatile data memory in advance. When during normal drive running of the motor the motor stops at an intermediate position between the forward limit stopper and the reverse limit stopper, escape drive is carried out by the motor being driven alternately with a boosted current above its rated current and a resting current which is small or 0.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus for drive-controlling a motor that is supplied with reversible electrical power from a vehicle battery by way of switching devices of a driving circuit and reversibly drives a moving body between a forward limit position and a reverse limit position, the drive control apparatus comprising a microprocessor that cooperates with a nonvolatile program memory and a nonvolatile data memory and a RAM memory for processing and also comprising moving body position detecting means, normal drive control means, motor locked state detecting means, escape drive control means, and escape detecting means, wherein:

the moving body position detecting means are means for performing calibration at an origin position in relation to the output voltage of a variable resistance linked to the rotation of the motor or the present value of a reversible counter reversibly counting pulses from a rotation sensor and detecting the relative position of the moving body with respect to the forward limit position and the reverse limit position by monitoring the value of at least one or the other of the output voltage of the variable resistance and the present value of the reversible counter;

the normal drive control means are either voltage control means for controlling a duty ratio of the switching devices so that the voltage impressed on the motor is substantially constant even when the power supply voltage of the vehicle battery fluctuates, or current control means for controlling the duty ratio of the switching devices so that the current supplied to the motor detected by a current detecting circuit is substantially constant even when the power supply voltage of the vehicle battery fluctuates;

the locked state detecting means are means for detecting that the motor is in a non-rotating state even though power is being supplied to it;

the escape drive control means are intermittent drive means for, acting when the moving body position detecting means is detecting a position other than the forward limit position and the reverse limit position and the motor locked state detecting means is detecting a locked state of the motor, setting a boosted drive period in which the duty ratio of the switching devices is controlled to pass a predetermined escape drive current greater than the rated current of the motor and a rest period in which the duty ratio of the switching devices is controlled to pass a holding current less than the rated current of the motor or to make the current value 0, and repeating the boosted drive period and the rest period over a range up to a predetermined number of times; and

the escape detecting means are means for detecting that the motor being driven by the escape drive control means has started rotating, and shifting to the normal drive control means.

2. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing processing means, the origin-storing processing means is made up of first and second provisional storing means, comparative determining means and saving means, the first provisional storing means is means for reading out and storing the value of the variable resistance as of when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is driven in the reverse direction, the second provisional storing means is means for reading out and storing the value of the variable resistance as of when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the forward direction, the comparative determining means is means for comparing whether or not the difference between the first and second provisionally stored values and a set value relating to an overall movement distance held in the program memory or the data memory are substantially the same, and the saving means are means for, when the comparison result of the comparative determining means is that the values compared are substantially the same, transferring the first and second provisional values to the data memory as the reverse limit position and the forward limit position.

3. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing processing means, the origin-storing processing means is made up of resetting means, comparative determining means and saving means, the resetting means is means for initializing the present value of the reversible counter when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the reverse direction, the comparative determining means is means for reading out the present count value of the reversible counter when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the forward direction and comparing whether or not it is substantially the same as a set value relating to an overall movement distance held in the program memory or the data memory, and the saving means are means that become effective when the comparison result of the comparative determining means is that the values compared are substantially the same and transfer to the data memory at least one of flag information showing that origin-setting processing has completed and a present count value of the reversible timer.

4. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the origin-storing processing means is executed when the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is assembled to a vehicle and the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is supplied with power from the vehicle battery by way of a power supply relay that is urged by a power supply switch and makes a delayed return when the power supply switch is turned off, the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing/confirming means, and the origin-storing/confirming means are means for, acting in the period of from when the power supply switch is turned off to when the power supply relay is cut, executing the program constituting the origin-storing processing means and, when there is an error between the saved information newly obtained and the saved information already held in the data memory, updating the content of the data memory to the new saved information.

5. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the origin-storing processing means is executed when the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is assembled to a vehicle and the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is supplied with power from the vehicle battery by way of a power supply relay that is urged by a power supply switch and makes a delayed return when the power supply switch is turned off, the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing/confirming means, and the origin-storing/confirming means are means for, acting in the period of from when the power supply switch is turned off to when the power supply relay is cut, executing the program constituting the origin-storing processing means and, when there is an error between the saved information newly obtained and the saved information already held in the data memory, updating the content of the data memory to the new saved information.

6. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locked state detecting means detects that the motor is in a locked state when the current being supplied to the motor driven by the normal drive control means and having a fixed voltage impressed upon it becomes excessive to above a predetermined value or when the voltage needed to supply a fixed current falls and a duty ratio in pulse width modulation control falls below a predetermined value.

7. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locked state detecting means detects a locked state when notwithstanding that power is being supplied to the motor the output voltage of the variable resistance is not changing or the logic level of the pulse generated by the rotation sensor does not change for a predetermined time.

8. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the escape drive control means is boosted drive means that controls the duty ratio of the switching devices and performs feedback-control so that the motor current through the motor approaches a predetermined escape drive current greater than the rated current of the motor or boosted drive means that performs limit control of the duty ratio of the switching devices so that the duty ratio of the switching devices is made a fixed value irrespective of the speed of the motor and a predetermined escape drive current greater than the rated current of the motor is supplied to the motor in the locked state.

9. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the escape detecting are means that detect when the duty ratio of the switching devices being feedback-controlled to a fixed escape current by the escape drive control means has risen, or means that detect when the motor current of the motor has fallen below a predetermined value while the duty ratio of the switching devices is being controlled so that an escape current in the locked state approaches a predetermined value.

10. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the escape detecting means detects that the output voltage of the variable resistance is changing or the logic level of the rotation pulse is changing.

11. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the escape drive control means comprises opposite drive means that acts when the escape detecting means cannot detect an escaped state even when escape drive has been carried out for a predetermined time, and the opposite drive means are means for reversing the rotation direction of the motor for a predetermined time or up to a predetermined amount of rotation before restarting driving toward the target position.

12. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the escape drive control means comprises failure notification means for, acting when the escape detecting means cannot detect an escaped state even when escape drive has been carried out for a predetermined time, stopping the supply of power to the motor and operating a warning/display, and records that a failure notification has been made as failure history information saved to the data memory.

13. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus for drive-controlling a motor that is supplied with reversible electrical power from a vehicle battery by way of switching devices of a driving circuit and reversibly drives a moving body between a forward limit position and a reverse limit position, the drive control apparatus comprising a microprocessor that cooperates with a nonvolatile program memory and a nonvolatile data memory and a RAM memory for processing and also comprising moving body position detecting means, good source selecting means, normal drive control means, motor locked state detecting means, escape drive control means, and escape detecting means, wherein:

the moving body position detecting means are means for performing calibration at an origin position in relation to the output voltage of a variable resistance linked to the rotation of the motor or the present value of a reversible counter reversibly counting pulses from a rotation sensor and detecting the relative position of the moving body with respect to the forward limit position and the reverse limit position by monitoring the value of at least one or the other of the output voltage of the variable resistance and the present value of the reversible counter;

the good source selecting means have first failure detecting means for detecting any defective contact of the variable resistance or wire-break or short-circuit of its wiring, second failure detecting means for detecting any wire-break or short-circuit of internal or external wiring of the rotation sensor, and relative comparing means for determining whether or not a value proportional to a change in the output voltage of the variable resistance and a change of the present value of the reversible counter are substantially the same, and when the determination of the relative comparing means is that they are not the same and one of the first and second failure detecting means is detecting an abnormal state the other source not being detected as abnormal is selected as a good source, and when the relative comparing means determines that they are not the same but the first and second failure detecting means are both detecting a normal state it determines that there is no good source, and the moving body position detecting means detects the position of the moving body relative to the forward limit position and the reverse limit position on the basis of a variable resistance or rotation sensor determined to be a good source;

the normal drive control means are either voltage control means for controlling a duty ratio of the switching devices so that the voltage impressed on the motor is substantially constant even when the power supply voltage of the vehicle battery fluctuates, or current control means for controlling the duty ratio of the switching devices so that the current supplied to the motor detected by a current detecting circuit is substantially constant even when the power supply voltage of the vehicle battery fluctuates;

the locked state detecting means are means for detecting that the motor is in a non-rotating state even though power is being supplied to it;

the escape drive control means are means for, acting when the moving body position detecting means is detecting a position other than the forward limit position and the reverse limit position and the motor locked state detecting means is detecting a locked state of the motor, controlling a duty ratio of the switching devices to continuously or intermittently pass a predetermined escape drive current above the rated current of the motor for a period of up to a predetermined time; and

the escape detecting means are means for detecting that the motor being driven by the escape drive control means has started rotating, and shifting to the normal drive control means.

14. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing processing means, the origin-storing processing means is made up of first and second provisional storing means, comparative determining means and saving means, the first provisional storing means is means for reading out and storing the value of the variable resistance as of when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is driven in the reverse direction, the second provisional storing means is means for reading out and storing the value of the variable resistance as of when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the forward direction, the comparative determining means is means for comparing whether or not the difference between the first and second provisionally stored values and a set value relating to an overall movement distance held in the program memory or the data memory are substantially the same, and the saving means are means for, when the comparison result of the comparative determining means is that the values compared are substantially the same, transferring the first and second provisional values to the data memory as the reverse limit position and the forward limit position.

15. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing processing means, the origin-storing processing means is made up of resetting means, comparative determining means and saving means, the resetting means is means for initializing the present value of the reversible counter when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the reverse direction, the comparative determining means is means for reading out the present count value of the reversible counter when the locked state detecting means detects a locked state of the motor as the moving body is being driven in the forward direction and comparing whether or not it is substantially the same as a set value relating to an overall movement distance held in the program memory or the data memory, and the saving means are means that become effective when the comparison result of the comparative determining means is that the values compared are substantially the same and transfer to the data memory at least one of flag information showing that origin-setting processing has completed and a present count value of the reversible timer.

16. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the origin-storing processing means is executed when the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is assembled to a vehicle and the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is supplied with power from the vehicle battery by way of a power supply relay that is urged by a power supply switch and makes a delayed return when the power supply switch is turned off, the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing/confirming means, and the origin-storing/confirming means are means for, acting in the period of from when the power supply switch is turned off to when the power supply relay is cut, executing the program constituting the origin-storing processing means and, when there is an error between the saved information newly obtained and the saved information already held in the data memory, updating the content of the data memory to the new saved information.

17. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the origin-storing processing means is executed when the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is assembled to a vehicle and the vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus is supplied with power from the vehicle battery by way of a power supply relay that is urged by a power supply switch and makes a delayed return when the power supply switch is turned off, the program memory contains a program constituting origin-storing/confirming means, and the origin-storing/confirming means are means for, acting in the period of from when the power supply switch is turned off to when the power supply relay is cut, executing the program constituting the origin-storing processing means and, when there is an error between the saved information newly obtained and the saved information already held in the data memory, updating the content of the data memory to the new saved information.

18. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the locked state detecting means detects that the motor is in a locked state when the current being supplied to the motor driven by the normal drive control means and having a fixed voltage impressed upon it becomes excessive to above a predetermined value or when the voltage needed to supply a fixed current falls and a duty ratio in pulse width modulation control falls below a predetermined value.

19. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the locked state detecting means detects a locked state when notwithstanding that power is being supplied to the motor the output voltage of the variable resistance is not changing or the logic level of the pulse generated by the rotation sensor does not change for a predetermined time.

20. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the escape drive control means is boosted drive means that controls the duty ratio of the switching devices and performs feedback-control so that the motor current through the motor approaches a predetermined escape drive current greater than the rated current of the motor or boosted drive means that performs limit control of the duty ratio of the switching devices so that the duty ratio of the switching devices is made a fixed value irrespective of the speed of the motor and a predetermined escape drive current greater than the rated current of the motor is supplied to the motor in the locked state.

21. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the escape detecting are means that detect when the duty ratio of the switching devices being feedback-controlled to a fixed escape current by the escape drive control means has risen, or means that detect when the motor current of the motor has fallen below a predetermined value while the duty ratio of the switching devices is being controlled so that an escape current in the locked state approaches a predetermined value.

22. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the escape detecting means detects that the output voltage of the variable resistance is changing or the logic level of the rotation pulse is changing.

23. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the escape drive control means comprises opposite drive means that acts when the escape detecting means cannot detect an escaped state even when escape drive has been carried out for a predetermined time, and the opposite drive means are means for reversing the rotation direction of the motor for a predetermined time or up to a predetermined amount of rotation before restarting driving toward the target position.

24. A vehicle-mounted drive control apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the escape drive control means comprises failure notification means for, acting when the escape detecting means cannot detect an escaped state even when escape drive has been carried out for a predetermined time, stopping the supply of power to the motor and operating a warning/display, and records that a failure notification has been made as failure history information saved to the data memory.