Two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle and control method therefor

• US 9,037,331 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2013
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Taira, Tetsuya, Bitoh, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOOMER, JEFFREY C
• Application Number:
  US13/974,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20140067178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/24 Personal mobility vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0061 relating to electrical machines
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0076 relating to braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0084 relating to control modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/102 of individual wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/60 using power supplied by batteries in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17 Using electrical or electronic regulation means to control braking detecting or indicating faulty operation B60T8/885
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1755 Brake regulation specially adapted to control the stability of the vehicle, e.g. taking into account yaw rate or transverse acceleration in a curve road vehicle drive control systems for control of driving stability otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/02
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/88 with failure responsive means, i.e. means for detecting and indicating faulty operation of the speed responsive control means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/34 Compact city vehicles, e.g., microcars or kei cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18109 Braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/188 Controlling power parameters of the driveline, e.g. determining the required power
• CPC Class Codes: B62K 11/007 Automatic balancing machines with single main ground engaging wheel or coaxial wheels supporting a rider
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/10 Complex mathematical operations function generation by table look-up G06F1/03; evaluation of elementary functions by calculation G06F7/544
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

A two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle includes: single-winding first and second motors respectively rotating one of two wheels; first and second control systems respectively supplying drive currents to the first and second motors; a sensor detecting a physical quantity that varies with a turn of the vehicle; a dynamic brake unit being able to switch between active and inactive states of dynamic brake being applied to the first motor; and a control unit, when the control unit has determined that the vehicle is turning about the second motor side on the basis of the physical quantity while supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor is inhibited, activating dynamic brake in the dynamic brake unit. The first control system, when an abnormality has been detected in the first control system, inhibits supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor.

Claims

1. A two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle comprising:

a single-winding first motor and a single-winding second motor configured to respectively rotate one of two wheels;

a first control system and a second control system configured to respectively supply drive currents to the first motor and the second motor;

a sensor configured to detect a physical quantity that varies with a turn of the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle;

a dynamic brake unit configured to be able to switch between an active state where a dynamic brake is applied to the first motor and an inactive state where the dynamic brake is not applied to the first motor; and

a control unit configured to, when the control unit has determined that the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle is turning about a side of the second motor on the basis of the physical quantity detected by the sensor while supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor is inhibited, activate the dynamic brake in the dynamic brake unit, wherein

the first control system is configured to, when an abnormality has been detected in the first control system, inhibit supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor, and

the dynamic brake includes a relay and a dynamic brake resistor, and the relay switches between a connected state where the motor is connected to the dynamic brake resistor and a disconnected state where the motor is disconnected from the dynamic brake resistor.

2. The two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the second control system includes the control unit, and

the control unit is configured to, when the control unit has determined that the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle is turning about a side of the first motor on the basis of the physical quantity detected by the sensor while supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor is inhibited, supply drive current to the second motor such that a rotation speed of the second motor is decreased.

3. The two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the sensor is a yaw rate sensor configured to detect a yaw rate of the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle as the physical quantity, and

the control unit is configured to, when the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor is larger than a predetermined threshold, activate the dynamic brake or decrease the rotation speed of the second motor.

4. The two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle according to claim 3, wherein

the control unit is configured to, when the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor is smaller than or equal to the predetermined threshold, deactivate the dynamic brake in the dynamic brake unit.

5. A control method for a two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle including:

a single-winding first motor and a single-winding second motor configured to respectively rotate one of two wheels; and

a first control system and a second control system configured to respectively supply drive currents to the first motor and the second motor, the control method comprising;

when an abnormality has been detected in the first control system, inhibiting supply of drive current from the first control system to the first motor;

detecting a physical quantity that varies with a turn of the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle;

determining whether the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle is turning about a side of the second motor on the basis of the detected physical quantity; and

when it is determined that the two-wheeled inverted pendulum vehicle is turning about the side of the second motor, applying a dynamic brake to the first motor,

wherein the dynamic brake includes a relay and a dynamic brake resistor, and the relay switches between a connected state where the motor is connected to the dynamic brake resistor and a disconnected state where the motor is disconnected from the dynamic brake resistor.