Electric motor control apparatus and electric motor control method

1. An electric motor control apparatus that controls an electric motor system including a direct-current power supply, a power converter and a three-phase alternating-current motor, the power converter including switching elements that convert a direct-current power to alternating-current powers, the direct-current power being supplied from the direct-current power supply, the three-phase alternating current motor being driven by using the alternating-current powers that are output from the power converter, the electric motor control apparatus comprising:

an ECU configured to determine a current drive mode; and

a generating device configured to generate, in each phase of the three-phase alternating-current motor, a modulation signal by adding a triple harmonic signal to a phase voltage command signal that defines an operation of the three-phase alternating-current motor, an amplitude of the phase voltage command signal being smaller than an amplitude of a carrier signal, and an amplitude of the modulation signal being larger than the amplitude of the carrier signal,

wherein the ECU is configured to control an operation of the power converter by controlling the switching elements on the basis of a magnitude relation between each of the modulation signals and the carrier signal having a predetermined frequency,

wherein a phase of the triple harmonic signal is shifted based on the drive mode, and

wherein the triple harmonic signal includes a signal component of which (i) the absolute value of the signal level is larger than zero and (ii) the polarity of the signal level is the same as the polarity of at least one phase voltage command signal, at timing at which the absolute value of the signal level of the at least one phase voltage command signal is maximum.

2. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the triple harmonic signal includes a signal component of which (i) the absolute value of a signal level is maximum and (ii) the polarity of the signal level is the same as the polarity of at least one phase voltage command signal, at timing at which the absolute value of the signal level of the at least one phase voltage command signal is maximum.

3. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the triple harmonic signal includes at least one of (i) a first signal component of which (i−1) the absolute value of a signal level is maximum and (i−2) the polarity of the signal level is the same as the polarity of at least one phase voltage command signal, at timing at which the absolute value of the signal level of the at least one phase voltage command signal is maximum, and (ii) a second signal component that is obtained by shifting the phase of the first signal component by X° (where −90<X<90).

4. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the electric motor system is mounted on a vehicle, and

the generating device generates each modulation signal by adding the corresponding triple harmonic signal to the corresponding phase voltage command signal when an output of the three-phase alternating-current motor, which is required to propel the vehicle, is lower than or equal to a predetermined value.

5. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the electric motor system is mounted on a vehicle, and

the generating device generates each modulation signal by adding the corresponding triple harmonic signal to the corresponding phase voltage command signal when the vehicle is traveling in a fuel economy drive mode in which fuel economy performance is given a higher priority than driving performance.

6. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an adjusting device configured to adjust a characteristic of the triple harmonic signal such that the absolute value of the peak value of the signal level of the corresponding modulation signal is larger than the absolute value of the peak value of the signal level of the carrier signal in a corresponding one of phases of the three-phase alternating-current motor.

7. The electric motor control apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the characteristic of each of the triple harmonic signals includes at least one of the phase and amplitude of the triple harmonic signal.

8. An electric motor control method that controls an electric motor system including a direct-current power supply, a power converter and a three-phase alternating-current motor, the power converter including switching elements that convert a direct-current power to alternating-current powers, the direct-current power being supplied from the direct-current power supply, the three-phase alternating current motor being driven by using the alternating-current powers that are output from the power converter, the electric motor control method comprising:

determining a current drive mode;

generating modulation signals by respectively adding a triple harmonic signal to phase voltage command signals that define an operation of the three-phase alternating-current motor, an amplitude of the phase voltage command signal being smaller than an amplitude of a carrier signal, and an amplitude of the modulation signal being larger than the amplitude of the carrier signal; and

controlling an operation of the power converter by controlling the switching elements on the basis of a magnitude relation between each of the modulation signals and a carrier signal having a predetermined frequency,

wherein a phase of the triple harmonic signal is shifted based on the drive mode, and

wherein the triple harmonic signal includes a signal component of which (i) the absolute value of the signal level is larger than zero and (ii) the polarity of the signal level is the same as the polarity of at least one phase voltage command signal, at timing at which the absolute value of the signal level of the at least one phase voltage command signal is maximum.