Electricity: motive power systems – Battery-fed motor systems
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-23
2001-12-11
Fletcher, Marlon T. (Department: 2837)
Electricity: motive power systems
Battery-fed motor systems
C318S140000, C180S065310, C180S165000, C180S170000, C123S335000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06329772
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for hybrid vehicles, and particularly relates to a control apparatus for hybrid vehicles for restricting the rotation speed of the engine when a failure of component related to the motor control is encountered.
2. Background Art
Electric cars are currently under development in order to reduce the discharge of exhaust gas into the atmosphere. However, the cruising range of electric cars driven only by a motor is limited by the capacity of the battery which stores the electric energy. If sufficient cruising range is desired, very large batteries are required, which seriously degrades the travelling performance of the car.
Hence, hybrid cars have become the subject of intensive development, because it is possible for hybrid cars to provide both a large cruising range, and good driving performance by using both an engine driven by the combustion of fossil fuel and a motor activated by a comparatively small battery.
Parallel-type hybrid vehicles, one type of hybrid vehicles, realize good driving performance, reduced emission of exhaust gas, and reduced fuel consumption by switching the driving modes from an engine drive mode to a motor drive mode according to the driving conditions.
That is, parallel-type hybrid cars travel using the engine only, when travelling using the engine is efficient, and the motor assists the engine or the motor drives the vehicle without the engine when the travelling conditions are not conductive to efficient use of the engine, such as when accelerating or when travelling slowly.
In addition, when braking the vehicle, the motor is operated as a generator for recovering the kinetic energy of the vehicle and energy loss can be prevented and the fuel consumption can be reduced.
In order to control the above described motor, it is necessary to provide a variety of components such as a control apparatus for controlling the motor, a signal line for transmitting signals from the control apparatus, sensors for detecting voltages or electric currents between the motor and the battery and for transmitting these values to the control apparatus. Furthermore, the above described control apparatus comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and the control function is realized by executing a program for the functions of the control apparatus. These components, apparatuses, and software related to the motor are called a motor system, and are indispensable for driving the motor.
When a failure is encountered in the motor system while driving hybrid cars, and when the motor cannot be controlled normally, it is necessary to stop the motor immediately and to switch to a driving mode using only the engine. In this case, the peripheral components around the motor must be protected from the voltage generated by regeneration by the motor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle which, when the motor system of the hybrid vehicle is failed, allows the hybrid vehicle to continue travelling while protecting the peripheral components of the motor from the voltage generated due to the regeneration of the motor.
In order to achieve the above described objective, the present invention provides a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle comprising an engine (
1
); a motor (
2
) for assisting the driving power of the engine; a battery device (the battery
3
in the present embodiment) being charged by electric energy generated by generation by the motor; a contactor (the precharge contactor
10
and the main contactor
11
in the present embodiment) disposed between the motor and the battery device; and an inverter (the power drive unit
7
in the present embodiment) provided between the motor and the contactor; wherein, when a component (such as the motor
2
, current sensors
13
,
15
,
17
, and voltage sensors
14
and
15
in the present embodiment) related to the motor control fails, the control apparatus (the engine control device
4
and the motor control device
5
in the present embodiment) of the hybrid car turns off the contactor and restricts the rotation speed of the engine to below a particular rotation speed of the engine (less than 5,000 rpm in the present embodiment) by which the voltage generated by regeneration by the motor is restricted to below the withstand voltage of the inverter.
Thereby, when a failure is encountered in the motor system, the motor drive is stopped by turning off the contactor and the vehicle travels using only the engine. In addition, by limiting the rotation speed of the engine (to less than 5,000 rpm) in which the voltage generated by regeneration of the motor can be suppressed to below the withstand voltage of the motor related components.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6122588 (2000-09-01), Shehan et al.
patent: 6135914 (2000-10-01), Yamaguchi et al.
patent: 6137250 (2000-10-01), Hirano et al.
Ochiai Shinobu
Suzuki Minoru
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Fletcher Marlon T.
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
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