Fault detection system and method for a generator
First Claim
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1. An electric vehicle including:
- a chassis;
a ground engaging mechanism configured to support the chassis;
an engine;
a generator driven by the engine, the generator being configured to generate electrical energy and to provide the electrical energy on a multi-phase output;
a DC bus configured to receive electrical energy provided from the generator;
a sensor configured to detect an energy level on the DC bus; and
a controller configured to control routing of electrical energy from the multi-phase output to the DC bus and to monitor the energy level on the DC bus based on the sensor, the controller including fault management logic operative todetect a fault condition, anddetermine that the fault condition is a phase-to-phase fault affecting relative distribution of the electrical energy on the phases of the multi-phase output based on a comparison of the energy level on the DC bus after detecting the fault condition to a threshold energy level.
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Abstract
An electric vehicle is provided having an electric generator and a motor. Generated electrical energy may be routed to a DC bus of an inverter system. The inverter system may be configured to provide the electrical energy to the motor. A controller may detect a fault based on the voltage level of the DC bus.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An electric vehicle including:
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a chassis; a ground engaging mechanism configured to support the chassis; an engine; a generator driven by the engine, the generator being configured to generate electrical energy and to provide the electrical energy on a multi-phase output; a DC bus configured to receive electrical energy provided from the generator; a sensor configured to detect an energy level on the DC bus; and a controller configured to control routing of electrical energy from the multi-phase output to the DC bus and to monitor the energy level on the DC bus based on the sensor, the controller including fault management logic operative to detect a fault condition, and determine that the fault condition is a phase-to-phase fault affecting relative distribution of the electrical energy on the phases of the multi-phase output based on a comparison of the energy level on the DC bus after detecting the fault condition to a threshold energy level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A fault detection method for a vehicle having a chassis, an engine, a generator driven by the engine, and a DC bus, the generator being configured to provide electrical energy on a multi-phase output, the method comprising:
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routing electrical energy from the multi-phase output to the DC bus; detecting a fault condition; monitoring an energy level of the DC bus after detecting the fault condition; and determining that the fault condition is a phase-to-phase fault affecting relative distribution of the electrical energy on the phases of the multi-phase output based on the energy level of the DC bus after detecting the fault condition. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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13. A method for detecting and evaluating a fault condition in a vehicle, the vehicle including an engine, a generator driven by the engine, a power converter, a DC bus, and an electrical vehicle braking system, the generator being configured to provide electrical energy on a multi-phase output, and the power converter being configured to rectify the multi-phase output and provide a rectified power output to the DC bus, the method comprising:
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detecting a current level on at least one phase of the multi-phase output; comparing the detected current level to a threshold current to detect an overcurrent fault condition; stabilizing the DC bus voltage in response to detecting the overcurrent fault condition by reducing a speed of the generator driven by the engine and controllably dissipating energy from the DC bus to the electrical vehicle braking system; determining a voltage threshold based on the speed of the generator after stabilizing the DC bus voltage; and determining that the overcurrent fault condition is caused a short-circuit between phases of the multi-phase output based on a comparison of the stabilized DC bus voltage to the determined voltage threshold.
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Specification