IP Library Granted Patent US 11,193,417
Granted Patent B2
US 11,193,417 · App. 16/922,486 · Granted Dec 7, 2021

Control device and control method for vehicle drive mechanism

Inventors: Naoki Okamoto (Isesaki, JP); Yuya Shinozaki (Isesaki, JP)
Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
F02B75/048F01L13/00F02B75/045F02B75/32F02D13/02F02D15/02F02D41/2474F02D45/00G05B13/0265F01L2800/09F02D2250/16F02D2700/03
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,193,417
App. No.
16/922,486
Granted
Dec 7, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention relates to a control device and to a control method for a vehicle drive mechanism including a moving body having a movability range regulated by two stoppers, and a sensor which senses a position of the moving body. The control device of the present invention learns an output of the sensor corresponding to a contact state of a high-rigidity stopper, and limits, to a lower level, an operation variable of the actuator for moving the moving body toward a low-rigidity stopper along with an increase in an amount of change in the output of the sensor from the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper. Then, the control device learns the output of the sensor corresponding to the contact state of the low-rigidity stopper, and controls the actuator based on the output of the sensor learned at both the stopper positions.

Claims (14)

1. A control device for a vehicle drive mechanism including a control shaft which is rotatably supported, two stoppers, each of which defines an end of a range of rotatability of the control shaft, a motor which drives to rotate the control shaft, and an angle sensor which senses an angular position of the control shaft, the control device comprising:

a learning unit that learns an output of the angle sensor corresponding to a contact state of each of the two stoppers,

wherein the learning unit executes the learning for a high-rigidity stopper of the two stoppers prior to the learning for a low-rigidity stopper of the two stoppers, and

wherein when controlling the motor so as to rotate the control shaft from the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper to the contact state of the low-rigidity stopper,

the learning unit identifies a timing of current limit change within a course of change in the angular position of the control shaft, based on a change amount of the angular position of the control shaft from the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper or based on a rotation velocity of the motor, and

the learning unit changes, at the timing of current limit change, a limit value of current supplied to the motor so as to reduce an absolute value of the rotation velocity of the motor.

2. A control method for a vehicle drive mechanism including a control shaft which is rotatably supported, two stoppers, each of which defines an end of a range of rotatability of the control shaft, a motor which drives to rotate the control shaft, and an angle sensor which senses an angular position of the control shaft, the control method comprising:

controlling the motor so as to rotate the control shaft toward a contact state of a high-rigidity stopper of the two stoppers;

learning an output of the angle sensor corresponding to the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper;

controlling the motor so as to rotate the control shaft toward the contact state of a low-rigidity stopper of the two stoppers from the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper;

identifying a timing of current limit change within a course of change in the angular position of the control shaft from the contact state of the high-rigidity stopper to the contact state of the low-rigidity stopper, based on a change amount of the angular position of the control shaft or based on a rotation velocity of the motor;

changing, at the timing of current limit change, a limit value of current supplied to the motor so as to reduce an absolute value of the rotation velocity of the motor;

learning the output of the angle sensor corresponding to the contact state of the low-rigidity stopper; and

controlling the motor based on a learned value of the output of the angle sensor.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Mar 25, 2021
From: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
To: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
Reel/Frame 056299/0447 →