IP Library Granted Patent US 9,407,181
Granted Patent B2
US 9,407,181 · App. 14/131,474 · Granted Aug 2, 2016

Vehicle and method for controlling vehicle

Inventor: Tomonori Furukawa (Toyota, JP)
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
H02P6/142B60L15/025H02M7/53875H02P27/085Y02T10/643
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,407,181
App. No.
14/131,474
Granted
Aug 2, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

A control device stores, as a dead time Td, a period from a point of time of a switching-off operation of an inverter to a point of time when an inverter output voltage becomes lower than a control target value “0”. In overmodulation PWM control over the inverter, the control device performs the switching-off operation at a time t1, and thereafter starts a switching-on operation at a time t2 with passage of dead time Td read from a memory. With the setting of dead time Td, the inverter output voltage becomes lower than the control target value “0” at time t2 at which the switching-off operation is started. Hence, the inverter output voltage just after the switching-on operation is less likely to be affected by surge voltage during the switching-off operation, whereby the peak value of the inverter output voltage is made small.

Claims (16)

1. A vehicle comprising:

a power controller that includes a switching element and that outputs a voltage in accordance with an operation of said switching element; and

a control device that causes the output voltage of said power controller to come close to a control target value by controlling the operation of said switching element in accordance with pulse width modulation control,

wherein, in an overmodulation mode in which a modulation factor is higher than a predetermined value, said control device is configured to determine a point of time after a switching-off operation of said switching element at which said output voltage of said power controller is lower than said control target value, and to start a switching-on operation of said switching element at said point of time, so as to prevent the switching-on operation from starting when the output voltage of said power controller is greater than said control target value.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein

after the switching-off operation of said switching element, said output voltage has an attenuating waveform that gradually converges toward said control target value, and

in said overmodulation mode, said control device starts the switching-on operation of said switching element at a point of time when said output voltage corresponds to a minimum point of said attenuating waveform after the switching-off operation of said switching element.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein

said control device starts the switching-on operation of said switching element at a point of time with passage of a predetermined period after the switching-off operation of said switching element, and

in said overmodulation mode, said predetermined period is set in advance to be a period from the point of time of the switching-off operation of said switching element to the point of time when said output voltage becomes lower than said control target value.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising a motor, wherein said power controller is an inverter that outputs a voltage to be applied to said motor.

5. A method for controlling a vehicle including a power controller that includes a switching element and that outputs a voltage in accordance with an operation of said switching element, and a control device that causes the output voltage of said power controller to come close to a control target value by controlling the operation of said switching element in accordance with pulse width modulation control,

the method comprising the steps of:

performing a switching-off operation of said switching element in an overmodulation mode in which a modulation factor is higher than a predetermined value;

determining that said output voltage of said power controller is lower than said control target value; and

in response to the determining that said output voltage of said power controller is lower than said control target value, starting a switching-on operation of said switching element, so as to prevent the switching-on operation from starting when the output voltage of said power controller is greater than said control target value.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 1, 2020
From: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
To: DENSO CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 052279/0854 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 8, 2014
From: FURUKAWA, TOMONORI
To: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 031917/0390 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20140152214A1 · Jun 5, 2014