Control apparatus for electric motor of inverter system and control apparatus for electro mechanical brake

• US 7,285,927 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2006
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuramochi, Yuichi, Manaka, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan; Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): Horn; Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US11/546,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20070029953A1
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 318/139
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 3/04 Means for stopping or slowing by a separate brake, e.g. friction brake, eddy-current brake brakes F16D, H02K49/00

Abstract

A relay switch for selectively connecting a power supply line of an inverter to a ground line is inserted between the inverter and a power source, and a power consumption unit such as a resistor element is inserted between the relay switch and ground line.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for an electro mechanical brake for generating a thrust force by causing an electric motor, controlled by an inverter, to push brake pads against a brake disk, said control apparatus comprising:

switching means for selectively switching a power supply line of said inverter to a ground line, said switching means being inserted between said inverter and a power source;

power consumption means inserted between said switching means and said ground line; and

thrust force detecting means for detecting a thrust force applied to said brake pads;

wherein,

a feedback control is performed for the thrust force detected with said thrust force detecting means;

said switching means is closed upon occurrence of an abnormal state in which a control deviation of the feedback control equals or exceeds a predetermined value;

said inverter is of a microcomputer control type; and

two microcomputers execute the same calculation process, and if calculation results by two microcomputers are not coincident, said switching means is closed.

2. An electro mechanical brake, comprising:

a caliper which includes brake pads which squeeze a disk rotor rotating together with a wheel of a vehicle therebetween to apply a braking force to the wheel, a motor which generates a rotation torque when supplied with electric energy, a mechanism for converting a rotation motion of the motor into a linear motion, and a fail open mechanism which releases the braking force when supply of the electric energy to the motor is stopped;

an inverter which supplied the electric energy to the motor based on electric energy supplied from a power supply mounted on the vehicle;

a capacitor coupled in parallel to the inverter;

a power consumption circuit which consumes electric power accumulated in the capacitor;

a switch device;

a sensor which detects an operation state of the caliper; and

a microcomputer, wherein

the microcomputer detects the operation state of the caliper from a detection value of the sensor, and when the caliper is determined to be in an abnormal state from a result of the detection, stops supply of the electric energy to the inverter and controls the switch device so as to couple the inverter and the capacitor to the power consumption circuit.

3. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein the microcomputer subjects the inverter to a PWN control, and conducts a feedback control of a duty ratio of the PWM control so that the operation state of the caliper becomes a command value of the operation state of the caliper based on the command value and the detection value of the sensor.

4. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein the fail open mechanism is a spring, and the brake pads are separated from the disk rotor in a state where a coil of the motor is not magnetized by the spring.

5. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the inverter includes negative and positive power supply lines for supplying a DC power and three switch circuits coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines in a parallel manner, each of the switch circuits being configured by two switching elements coupled in series, and power being supplied to the motor from a coupling portion between the two switching elements of each of the witch circuits, wherein

the capacitor is configured by a plurality of capacitor elements coupled in parallel, and the plurality of capacitor elements coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines so as to be parallel to the three switch circuits.

6. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the switch device includes a first contact point coupled to the power supply, a second contact point coupled to the inverter and a third contact point coupled to the power consumption circuit, wherein

the microcomputer, when the caliper is determined to be in the abnormal state, switches from a state where the first and second points are coupled to each other to a state where the second and third points are coupled to each other.

7. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the sensor is a thrust force sensor for detecting a pressing force applied from the brake pad to the disk rotor, and wherein

the microcomputer determines that the caliper is in the abnormal state when a thrust force value detected by the thrust force sensor is out of a set value.

8. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 7, wherein the microcomputer changes the set value in accordance with a thrust force command value inputted therein.

9. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the inverter includes negative and positive power supply lines for supplying a DC power and three switch circuits coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines in a parallel manner, each of the switch circuits being configured by two switching elements coupled in series, and power being supplied to the motor from a coupling portion between the two switching elements of each of the witch circuits, wherein

the capacitor is configured by a plurality of capacitor elements coupled in parallel, and the plurality of capacitor elements coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines so as to be parallel to the three switch circuits.

10. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein the fail open-mechanism is a spring, and the brake pads are separated from the disk rotor in a state where a coil of the motor is not magnetized by the spring.

11. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the inverter includes negative and positive power supply lines for supplying a DC power and three switch circuits coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines in a parallel manner, each of the switch circuits being configured by two switching elements coupled in series, and power being supplied to the motor from a coupling portion between the two switching elements of each of the witch circuits, wherein

the capacitor is configured by a plurality of capacitor elements coupled in parallel, and the plurality of capacitor elements coupled between the negative and positive power supply lines so as to be parallel to the three switch circuits.

12. An electro mechanical brake according to claim 2, wherein

the switch device includes a first contact point coupled to the power supply, a second contact point coupled to the inverter and a third contact point coupled to the power consumption circuit, wherein

the microcomputer, when the caliper is determined to be in the abnormal state, switches from a state where the first and second points are coupled to each other to a state where the second and third points ate coupled to each other.

13. An electro mechanical brake, comprising:

a caliper which includes brake pads which squeeze a disk rotor rotating together with a wheel of a vehicle therebetween to apply a braking force to the wheel, a motor which generates a rotation torque when supplied with electric energy, a mechanism for converting a rotation motion of the motor into a linear motion, and a fail open mechanism which releases the braking force when supply of the electric energy to the motor is stopped;

an inverter which supplied the electric energy to the motor based on electric energy supplied from a power supply mounted on the vehicle;

a capacitor coupled in parallel to the inverter;

a power consumption circuit which consumes electric power accumulated in the capacitor;

a switch device;

a sensor which detects an operation state of the caliper;

a first microcomputer which receives detection values on the operation state of the caliper and executes a calculation and uses the calculation to generate a command value for the operation of the caliper, wherein the microcomputer conducts a feedback control of the inverter based on the said command values and the said calculation;

the second microcomputer receives the operation values of the caliper and the calculation results from the first microprocessor, executes the same calculation process, and compares the results of calculation by the first computer with result by the second microcomputer, determines whether the calculation function of the first microcomputer is normal and if the calculation results by the computers are not coincident, the second microcomputer determines the caliper to be in an abnormal state and issues a signal; and

a switch control circuit which obtains the result of the operation of the first microcomputer and a result of the operation of the second microcomputer, and in accordance with the operation results of the first and second microcomputers, stops supply of the electric energy to the inverter and controls the switch device and outputs to the switch device a control signal for coupling the inverter and the capacitor to the power consumption circuit.