Systems and methods for sensing temperature of inverter for electric vehicle
A system comprises: an inverter configured to convert DC power from a battery to AC power to drive a motor, wherein the inverter includes: a power module including a drain terminal and a source terminal; one or more phase switches configured to control a current flow between the drain terminal and the source terminal; and a point-of-use controller including two or more thermal sensors on the point-of-use controller, the point-of-use controller configured to determine a temperature of the one or more phase switches using the two or more thermal sensors.
1 . A system comprising:
an inverter configured to convert DC power from a battery to AC power to drive a motor, wherein the inverter includes:
a power module including a drain terminal and a source terminal;
one or more phase switches configured to control a current flow between the drain terminal and the source terminal; and
a point-of-use controller including two or more thermal sensors on the point-of-use controller, the point-of-use controller configured to determine a temperature of the one or more phase switches using the two or more thermal sensors,
wherein the point-of-use controller is configured to determine the temperature of the one or more phase switches using a temperature gradient of the point-of-use controller using the two or more thermal sensors.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point-of-use controller is an application-specific integrated circuit.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point-of-use controller is a gate driver for the one or more phase switches.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more phase switches include one or more silicon carbide dies.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the two or more thermal sensors includes a stack of diodes having a voltage drop with a negative temperature coefficient.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the point-of-use controller is configured to determine the temperature of the one or more phase switches using respective absolute temperatures of the two or more thermal sensors and a difference between the respective absolute temperatures of the two or more thermal sensors.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
the battery configured to supply the DC power to the inverter; and
the motor configured to receive the AC power from the inverter to drive the motor.
8 . A system comprising:
a power module for an inverter configured to convert DC power to AC power, the power module including a drain terminal and a source terminal;
one or more phase switches configured to control a current flow between the drain terminal and the source terminal; and
a point-of-use controller including two or more thermal sensors on the point-of-use controller, the point-of-use controller configured to determine a temperature of the one or more phase switches using the two or more thermal sensors,
wherein the point-of-use controller is configured to determine the temperature of the one or more phase switches using respective absolute temperatures of the two or more thermal sensors and a difference between the respective absolute temperatures of the two or more thermal sensors.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the point-of-use controller is an application-specific integrated circuit gate driver for the one or more phase switches.
10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more phase switches include one or more silicon carbide dies.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein each of the two or more thermal sensors includes a stack of diodes having a voltage drop with a negative temperature coefficient.
12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the point-of-use controller is configured to determine the temperature of the one or more phase switches using a temperature gradient of the point-of-use controller using the two or more thermal sensors.
13 . A system including one or more controllers comprising:
a first thermal sensor at a first location on the one or more controllers; and
a second thermal sensor at a second location on the one or more controllers,
wherein the one or more controllers are configured to determine a temperature of a component outside the one or more controllers using the first thermal sensor and the second thermal sensor by:
determining a first temperature difference between the first thermal sensor and the second thermal sensor at a first time,
determining a second temperature difference between the first thermal sensor and the second thermal sensor at a second time, and
determining the temperature of the component based on the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
determine the temperature of the component based on the first temperature difference, the second temperature difference, and a slope of a gradient between the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference.
15 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
determine the temperature of the component based on the first temperature difference, the second temperature difference, a slope of a gradient between the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference, and a layout geometry of the component.
16 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
determine the temperature of the component based on the first temperature difference, the second temperature difference, and a rate of change between the first temperature difference and the second temperature difference.
17 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to:
determine the temperature of the component based on a temperature of the first thermal sensor, the first temperature difference, and the second temperature difference.