Slip control device for electric vehicle

• US 9,555,721 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTN Corporation
• Original Assignee: NTN Corporation
• Inventors: Zhang, Yingjie, Hirata, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, JELANI A
• Application Number:
  US14/951,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20160075256A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/42 with use of more than one motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/44 Wheel Hub motors, i.e. integrated in the wheel hub
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/44 by parameter estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/145 Structure borne vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/102 of individual wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/106 for maintaining or recovering the adhesion of the drive wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

A slip control device for an electric automobile includes a maximum rotation frequency calculator to calculate a drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax on the basis of a rotation frequency N1 of a driven wheel and an ideal slip ratio λmin according to the formula (Nmax−N1)/N1=λmin. It is determined whether a drive wheel rotation frequency N2 exceeds the frequency Nmax. If it is determined that the frequency N2 exceeds the frequency Nmax, a torque command value to a motor unit is made to be zero.

Claims

1. An inverter device, which includes a slip control device, provided in an electric automobile including at least one electric motor unit configured to rotationally drive a drive wheel, for slip controlling the electric automobile, the slip control device comprising:

a driven wheel rotation frequency observation module configured to observe a rotation frequency of a driven wheel;

a drive wheel rotation frequency observation module configured to observe a drive wheel rotation frequency N2 which is a rotation frequency of the drive wheel;

a torque cancellation module configured to make a torque command value to the motor unit that drives the drive wheel to be zero when a slip condition determination module determines that the drive wheel rotation frequency N2 exceeds a drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax, the torque command value being based only on the observed rotation frequencies of the driven wheel and drive wheel,

wherein the drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax is calculated by a maximum rotation frequency calculation module configured to calculate the current drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax on the basis of the observed rotation frequency N1 of the driven wheel and a set ideal slip ratio λ

according to the formula (Nmax−

N1)/N1=λ

, and the slip condition determination module is configured to determine whether the observed drive wheel rotation frequency N2 exceeds the drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax.

2. The inverter device for the electric automobile as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a slip watch condition determination module configured to determine whether the drive wheel rotation frequency N2 exceeds a watch condition rotation frequency Nc which is set to a value lower than the drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax, if the slip condition determination module determines that the drive wheel rotation frequency N2 does not exceed the drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax; and

a torque reduction module configured to decrease the torque command value to the motor unit that drives the drive wheel, if the slip watch condition determination module determines that the drive wheel rotation frequency N2 exceeds the watch condition rotation frequency Nc.

3. The inverter device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the torque reduction module calculates a difference between the drive wheel rotation frequency N2 and the drive wheel maximum rotation frequency Nmax, and decreases the torque command value as the difference decreases.

4. The inverter device for the electric automobile as claimed in claim 3, wherein, according to a nonlinear curve which defines a relationship between the difference and a ratio of the torque command value to the motor unit relative to a torque command value from an accelerator, the torque reduction module decreases the torque command value as the difference decreases.

5. An electric automobile comprising:

the inverter device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the at least one electric motor unit includes a plurality of motor units,

the slip condition determination module and the torque cancellation module are provided for each of the motor units.

6. The electric automobile as claimed in claim 5, wherein the drive wheel includes a pair of left and right drive wheels,

the driven wheel includes a pair of left and right driven wheels, and

the driven wheel rotation frequency observation module uses an average of detection values of rotation frequencies of the pair of driven wheels, as the observed rotation frequency.

7. The electric automobile as claimed in claim 5, wherein the drive wheel includes a pair of left and right drive wheels,

the driven wheel includes a pair of left and right driven wheels, and

the driven wheel rotation frequency observation module uses a detection value of a rotation frequency of the driven wheel, of the pair of driven wheels, located at the same side as one drive wheel, of the pair of drive wheels, at which the slip condition determination module determines whether a slip condition has occurred, as the observed rotation frequency.

8. The electric automobile as claimed in claim 5, wherein each motor unit forms an in-wheel motor device.