JP2009022149A - Controller of electric power steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller of an electric power steering device capable of reducing an operation load on the controller while performing the vector control of an electric motor, and improving steering feeling. <P>SOLUTION: A d-axis controller 12b includes a disturbance observer unit 123 for presuming q-axis disturbance w (speed electromotive voltage) which is generated on a d-axis caused by a q-axis actual current value based on a d-axis actual current value Id and a d-axis control voltage value Vd*. The disturbance observer unit 123 includes a low-pass filter 123c for attenuating the strength of a signal contained in a high frequency band where observation disturbance nd superimposed in the d-axis actual current value Id is distributed up to strength which is smaller than that of a signal contained in a low frequency band lower than the high frequency band. The d-axis controller 12b compensates the q-axis disturbance w by a disturbance estimation value w' estimated by the disturbance observer unit 123. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an electric power steering apparatus that assists steering by applying, for example, auxiliary torque generated by an electric motor to a steering mechanism.

  Conventionally, as a control device of this type of electric power steering device, for example, techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known.

  In the control device described in Patent Document 1, a target current value that is a target value of a current to be passed through an electric motor (three-phase brushless motor) is set based on a vehicle speed, a steering torque, and the like, and a q-axis target current value generation unit Given to. The q-axis target current value generation unit generates a q-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system based on the given target current value. On the other hand, the d-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system is set to zero. The q-axis actual current value obtained by dq conversion of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value of the dq coordinate system and the output signal of the current sensor that detects the actual current flowing through the electric motor. And each deviation from the actual d-axis current value. The q-axis control unit and the d-axis control unit configured by the PI controller include a q-axis control voltage value and a d-axis that are voltage values that allow the current of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value to flow through the electric motor. A control voltage value is calculated based on these deviations, and the calculated q-axis control voltage value and d-axis control voltage value are applied to the electric motor. As a result, the motor current that originally has three phases can be controlled by two phases of the q-axis current and the d-axis current, so that the control system can be easily designed.

  However, when attempting to drive and control the electric motor through such so-called vector control, a speed electromotive force is generated by the magnetic flux formed by the magnetic flux formed by the rotor of the electric motor and the current flowing through the armature winding. Since the q-axis control voltage and the d-axis control voltage influence each other, the q-axis actual current value and the d-axis actual current value preferably coincide with the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value. There is a risk of disappearing.

  Therefore, in the control device described in Patent Document 1, first, the rotor angle of the electric motor is detected, and based on the rotor angular velocity calculated based on the detected rotor angle, the q-axis actual current value, the d-axis actual current value, and the like. The speed electromotive force is calculated. When the speed electromotive force is calculated, the speed electromotive force value is added (compensated) to the q-axis control voltage value and the d-axis control voltage value calculated by the q-axis control unit and the d-axis control unit, respectively. We are trying to reduce the influence of speed electromotive force on the control performance.

On the other hand, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, the target current value, which is the target value of the current to be passed through the electric motor (three-phase brushless motor), is set for each phase based on the steering torque and the rotation angle of the electric motor. Is done. The electric motor is feedback-controlled through a control system composed of a feedforward controller and a disturbance observer based on each deviation between the target current value for each phase and the actual current value detected for each phase. ing. By executing the feedback control independently for each phase in this way, even if the control parameter changes, for example, when the motor parameter of one of the three phases changes, the deterioration of the control performance is suppressed. You are trying to implement a robust feedback control that you can do.
JP 2001-187578 A JP 2005-160221 A

  By the way, the compensation method for the speed electromotive force by the control device described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. In other words, the q-axis current value, the d-axis current value, and the rotor angle usually include an observation disturbance. Also, the self-inductor of the armature winding usually includes a modeling error. Therefore, the product of these parameters including various errors is obtained as the speed electromotive force, and when this is simply compensated, the error included in the speed electromotive force has increased, so the influence of the speed electromotive force on the control performance of the electric motor Is difficult to reduce. Incidentally, if the influence of the speed electromotive force on the control performance of the electric motor cannot be reduced, it becomes difficult to control the current of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value to flow through the electric motor. If the current of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value does not flow through the electric motor, the auxiliary torque (auxiliary force) generated by the electric motor will be different from the desired torque. Even the steering feeling will be reduced.

  In addition, in the control device described in Patent Document 2, a control system including a disturbance observer is designed independently for each phase of the electric motor, instead of controlling the electric motor by so-called vector control. The applied voltage is directly controlled for each phase. For this reason, the speed electromotive force is preferably compensated, and as a result, it is possible to favorably assist the driver with steering. However, since the control system is designed for each phase of the electric motor, the entire control system becomes large and the calculation load on the control device increases.

  The technique described in Patent Document 2 is simply applied to the technique described in Patent Document 1, that is, when the electric motor is vector-controlled, through a control system configured by a feedforward controller and a disturbance observer. It is conceivable to perform feedback control. In such a configuration, since the electric motor is vector-controlled, the current flowing through the electric motor is affected by the speed electromotive voltage. However, in order to compensate the speed electromotive force through the disturbance observer for each of the q axis and the d axis, It is expected to suppress the decrease in the driver's steering feeling without significantly reducing the control performance. However, although the number of control systems is reduced as compared with the control device described in Patent Document 2, the computation load relating to the dq coordinate transformation for performing vector control increases, so that the computation load on the control device is still large. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the calculation load on the control device while performing vector control of the electric motor and to improve the steering feeling. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device for an electric power steering device capable of achieving the above.

  In order to achieve such an object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a three-phase AC electric motor for applying an auxiliary torque to a steering operation by a steering wheel of a vehicle, and rotating in conjunction with the steering wheel. A torque sensor that detects an actual torque applied to the steering shaft, a vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed that is the speed of the vehicle, and a current sensor that detects an actual current value of at least two phases among the three phases of the electric motor. The electric motor of the electric power steering apparatus including the d-axis configured by a d-axis that is an axis in a magnetic flux direction of a rotor that constitutes the electric motor and a q-axis that is an axis orthogonal to the d-axis As a control device for vector control in the q coordinate system, the dq coordinate system necessary for the electric motor to generate the auxiliary torque is used. A q-axis target current value generating unit that generates a q-axis target current value based on an actual torque detected by the torque sensor and a vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor, and the dq coordinates of the electric motor A d-axis target current value generator for setting the d-axis target current value in the system to zero, and a three-phase AC / dq coordinate for converting the actual current value detected by the current sensor into the dq coordinate system A conversion unit, a q-axis actual current value and a d-axis actual current value of the dq coordinate system converted by the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit, and the q-axis target current value generation unit and d A deviation calculation unit for calculating a q-axis current deviation and a d-axis current deviation, which are deviations from the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value respectively generated by the axis target current value generation unit; Currents of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value are the electric motor. A q-axis control unit and a d-axis that calculate a q-axis control voltage value and a d-axis control voltage value, which are voltage values of the applied voltage to the electric motor that flows, based on the q-axis current deviation and the d-axis current deviation, respectively. The control unit, the q-axis control voltage value and the d-axis control voltage value respectively calculated by the q-axis control unit and the d-axis control unit are converted into the three phases, and the q-axis control voltage value and d A dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit that applies a voltage of an axis control voltage value to the electric motor, and the d-axis control unit includes a magnetic flux formed by a rotor of the electric motor and an armature of the electric motor. Disturbance for estimating a speed electromotive force generated in the d-axis by a magnetic flux formed by a current corresponding to the q-axis actual current value among currents flowing through the windings based on the d-axis actual current value and the d-axis control voltage value Consists of observers In addition, the speed electromotive force estimated by the disturbance observer is compensated.

  In such a configuration as the control device of the electric power steering device, the d-axis actual current value and the q-axis actual current including the observation disturbance are included as in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described in the problem column. Rather than calculating (estimating) the product of the self-inductor of the armature winding including the value, rotor angle, and modeling error as the speed electromotive force, through the disturbance observer constituting the d-axis control unit, Based on the d-axis actual current value and the d-axis control voltage value, the speed electromotive force is collectively calculated (estimated). Therefore, the influence of the various errors on the estimated value of the speed electromotive force can be minimized, and the estimated error of the speed electromotive voltage can be reduced. Since the estimation error of the speed electromotive voltage can be reduced, the influence of the speed electromotive voltage on the control performance of the electric motor can be reduced. As a result, the steering feeling of the driver can be reduced. Can be improved.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration as the control device of the electric power steering device, it is possible to reduce the calculation load applied to the control device while performing vector control of the electric motor, and to improve the steering feeling. Will be able to.

  Further, in the above configuration as the control device of the electric power steering device, as in the technique described in Patent Document 2 described in the problem column, a control system including a disturbance observer is provided for each phase of the electric motor, Rather than directly controlling the voltage applied to the motor for each phase, the vector control of the electric motor includes a q-axis control unit and a d-axis control unit, and only the d-axis control unit includes a disturbance observer. It was a system. Thereby, compared with the technique described in Patent Document 2, although the amount of calculation related to dq coordinate transformation for performing vector control increases, the number of control units including a disturbance observer greatly decreases. As compared with the control device described in Patent Literature 2 or the control device in which the technology described in Patent Literature 2 is applied to the technology described in Patent Literature 1, the calculation load on the control device can be reduced. become.

  By the way, in the vector control of the electric motor, it is known that the q-axis current can directly manipulate the torque generated by the electric motor, while the d-axis current does not directly affect the torque generated by the electric motor. ing. For this reason, the q-axis control unit that controls the q-axis current that directly affects the torque generated by the electric motor includes a disturbance observer that estimates and compensates for the magnitude of the speed electromotive force. It seems to be advantageous in reducing the influence of the speed electromotive force on the control performance of the motor, in other words, in improving the steering feeling.

  However, even if a disturbance observer for estimating the speed electromotive force is included in the q-axis control unit and various control parameters of the q-axis control unit are adjusted, the influence of the speed electromotive force on the control performance of the electric motor is greatly adjusted ( If a disturbance observer that estimates the speed electromotive force is included in the d-axis control unit and various control parameters of the d-axis control unit are adjusted, the speed generation with respect to the control performance of the electric motor is reduced. The inventors have confirmed that the influence of voltage can be greatly adjusted (mainly reduced). Therefore, the control system can be easily designed by configuring the d-axis control unit so as to include the disturbance observer as in the configuration described in claim 1 above.

  Further, in the configuration according to claim 1, for example, as in the invention according to claim 2, the d-axis control unit distributes an observation disturbance superimposed on the actual current value detected through the current sensor. It is desirable to include a low pass filter that attenuates the intensity of the signal included in the high frequency band from the intensity of the signal included in the low frequency band lower than the high frequency band. As a result, it is possible not only to reduce the influence of the speed electromotive voltage often included in the low frequency band on the control performance of the electric motor, but also to superimpose it on the actual current detected by the current sensor. It also becomes possible to reduce the influence of observation disturbances often included in the high frequency band on the control performance of the electric motor.

  In such a configuration, it is further desirable that the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter is set to approximately 60 hertz, for example, as in the third aspect of the invention. Incidentally, such a cut-off frequency is a value obtained through an experiment using an actual vehicle.

  Incidentally, the steering operation of the steering wheel is usually performed at a low speed. Therefore, in order to generate auxiliary torque for such a low-speed steering operation, it is sufficient that the electric motor also rotates at a low speed. Therefore, the voltage induced in the stator winding that also constitutes the electric motor due to the field by the permanent magnet that constitutes the electric motor is small, and the influence on the rotation of the electric motor, that is, the auxiliary torque generated by the electric motor There is almost no effect on. However, if the steering operation of the steering wheel is suddenly performed, the electric motor must rotate at a high speed in order to generate the auxiliary torque necessary for the steering operation at such a high speed. When the rotation of the electric motor increases, the induced voltage increases, and when it becomes equal to the power supply voltage of the electric motor, it becomes impossible to supply current from the power supply to the electric motor. That is, rather than increasing the rotational speed of the electric motor, the auxiliary torque generated by the electric motor may be reduced to zero. Naturally, if the auxiliary torque decreases to zero, the auxiliary torque cannot be suitably applied to the steering operation of the steering wheel of the vehicle, which may lead to a decrease in steering feeling.

  In that respect, in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3, for example, as in the invention according to claim 4, the electric power steering device detects a rotation angular velocity of the steering shaft. And a d-axis target current value generator configured to generate a d-axis target current in the dq coordinate system of the electric motor based on a rotation angular velocity of the steering shaft detected by the steering shaft rotation angular velocity sensor. It is desirable to generate a value.

  In such a configuration as the electric power steering device, for example, when the steering operation of the steering wheel is suddenly performed, the d-axis target current value is set to a predetermined negative value, or the d-axis target is set according to the rotational angular velocity of the steering shaft. The current value can be variably set. As a result, so-called field weakening can be performed to reduce the induced voltage generated in the stator winding, and the rotation speed of the electric motor can be increased. That is, the auxiliary torque generated by the electric motor does not drop to zero, and the auxiliary torque can be suitably applied to a sudden steering operation of the steering wheel.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control device for an electric power steering apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, an electric power steering device for a vehicle, which is a control target of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration including an electric power steering device (EPS) to be controlled in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the steering shaft 102 connected to the steering wheel 101 is decelerated from rotation of a brushless motor (electric motor) 105 that generates auxiliary torque that assists the driver's steering operation. A steering mechanism 104 for transmitting to the steering shaft 102 is attached.

  The steering shaft 102 is basically applied with a steering torque applied from the driver via the steering wheel 101 and an auxiliary torque generated by the brushless motor 105, and the torque attached to the shaft 102 is applied. The sensor 103 detects an actual torque composed of these steering torque and auxiliary torque. Further, the tip of the steering shaft 102 is connected to the pinion shaft 106. The pinion shaft 106 is connected to the rack shaft 107 via a rack and pinion gear device. A pair of tires 108 serving as left and right steering wheels are connected to both ends of the rack shaft 107 via tie rods and knuckle arms, respectively. Therefore, when the rotational motion of the pinion shaft 106 is converted into the linear motion of the rack shaft 107, the left and right tires 108 are steered by an angle corresponding to the linear motion displacement of the rack shaft 107. With this configuration, the auxiliary steering torque corresponding to the steering direction and steering torque of the steering wheel 101 can be transmitted to the steering shaft 102 by driving the brushless motor 105.

  The brushless motor 105 is driven and controlled by the control device 1. Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the configuration and functions of the control device 1 will be described. Note that FIG. 2 is also a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the entire control device including the EPS that is the control target of the present embodiment, similarly to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 1 responds to the target auxiliary torque Tr * to be generated by the brushless motor 105 based on the actual torque detected by the torque sensor 103 and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 113. A target current value generation unit 10 that generates a target current value is provided. This target current value generation unit 10 generates a q-axis target current and a d-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system necessary for the brushless motor 105 to generate the target auxiliary torque Tr *, respectively. The q-axis target current value generation unit 10b and the d-axis target current value generation unit 10b include a target current value Iq in the q-axis as a target current value. * And d-axis target current values Id * are calculated and output to the q-axis deviation calculator 11a and the d-axis deviation calculator 11b, respectively.

  Here, in the present embodiment, a U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase three-phase AC electric motor is adopted as the brushless motor 105, and a so-called vector control method is used as a control method of the brushless motor 105. Adopted. Incidentally, in the vector control method, the actual rotational coordinates (see FIG. 3A) defined by the U phase, the V phase, and the W phase are changed from, for example, the S pole to the N pole of the rotor (rotor) constituting the brushless motor 105. The coordinate is transformed into a dq coordinate system (see FIG. 3B) which is a virtual rotation coordinate defined by the d axis which is the direction toward the d axis and the q axis which is orthogonal to the d axis. This is a method for controlling the driving of the brushless motor 105 in the coordinate system. Since such a vector control method is known, a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In the control device 1 of the present embodiment, the q-axis target current value generation unit 10a is based on the actual torque Tr detected by the torque sensor 103 and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 113, and the q-axis target current value. Although Iq * was generated, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, for example, the q-axis target current value generation unit 10a can perform q based on only the actual torque Tr detected by the torque sensor 103 or based on other various information (for example, q-axis actual current). The shaft target current value Iq * may be generated. In the control device 1 of the present embodiment, the d-axis target current value generation unit 10b employs zero as the d-axis target current value Id *. As a result, the d-axis actual current value Id is made as close to zero as possible to improve efficiency.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the electric power steering apparatus 100 is provided with, for example, U-phase and V-phase stator windings (not shown) of the three phases constituting the brushless motor 105. A current sensor 111 for detecting an actual current value that actually flows is provided. Then, the V-phase actual current value Iv and the U-phase actual current value Iu detected by the current sensor 111 are output to the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14 constituting the control device 1 as shown in FIG. Is done. Since the structure and detection principle of the current sensor 111 are known, a detailed description thereof is omitted here. Further, the current sensor is not limited to the current sensor that detects the actual current value that actually flows through the U-phase and V-phase stator windings. For example, the actual current that actually flows through the V-phase and W-phase stator windings. It may be a current sensor for detecting a value. In short, any current sensor that can detect the actual current value flowing through the stator winding of at least two phases of the three phases of the brushless motor 105 may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the electric power steering apparatus 100 includes, for example, a resolver 112 that detects the rotational position of the rotor constituting the brushless motor 105. Such a resolver 112 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14 and the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13 described later are connected to the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14. The three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14 uses the rotor angle θ detected by the resolver 112 to detect the actual current value (V-phase actual current value Iv and U-phase actual current) detected by the current sensor 111. The value Iu) is converted into the dq coordinate system and calculated as the q-axis actual current value Iq and the d-axis actual current value Id. The q-axis actual current value Iq and the d-axis actual current value Id thus calculated are given to the q-axis deviation calculating unit 11a and the d-axis deviation calculating unit 11b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, observation disturbance is always superimposed on the V-phase actual current value Iv and the U-phase actual current value Iu detected by the current sensor 111. Therefore, the V-phase actual current value Iv and the U-phase actual current value Iu on which such observation disturbance is superimposed are coordinate-converted through the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14. Observation disturbance is also superimposed on Id. Such observation disturbance will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the q-axis deviation calculation unit 11 a adds the q-axis target current value Iq * generated by the q-axis target current value generation unit 10 a and the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit 14. The q-axis deviation Eq *, which is a deviation from the q-axis actual current value Iq that has been coordinate-converted, is calculated, and the d-axis deviation calculation unit 11b generates the d-axis target current generated by the d-axis target current value generation unit 10b. A d-axis deviation Ed * that is a deviation between the value Id * (= 0) and the d-axis actual current value Id coordinate-converted by the three-phase AC / dq coordinate converter 14 is calculated. The q-axis deviation Eq * and the d-axis deviation Ed * calculated in this way are output to the q-axis control unit 12a and the d-axis control unit 12b, respectively.

  The q-axis control unit 12a and the d-axis control unit 12b, based on the input q-axis deviation Eq * and d-axis deviation Ed *, respectively, provide the current of the q-axis target current value Iq * and the d-axis target current value Id *. Q-axis control voltage value that is the voltage value of the voltage applied to the brushless motor 105 such that the torque generated in the brushless motor 105, and thus the torque generated in the brushless motor 105 substantially matches the target auxiliary torque Tr *. Vq * and d-axis control voltage value Vd * are respectively calculated. Then, the q-axis control unit 12 a and the d-axis control unit 12 b output the calculated q-axis control voltage value Vq * and d-axis control voltage value Vd * to the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13.

  As described above, the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13 is connected to the resolver 112 that detects the rotation angle of the rotor constituting the brushless motor 105, and the resolver 112 is d- The detected rotor angle θ is input to the q / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13. Then, in the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13, the q-axis control voltage value Vq calculated by the q-axis control unit 12a and the d-axis control unit 12b using the rotor angle θ detected by the resolver 112, respectively. * And the d-axis control voltage value Vd * are converted into a U-phase control voltage value Vu * and a V-phase control voltage value Vv * in the three-phase AC coordinate system. The converted U-phase control voltage value Vu * and V-phase control voltage value Vv * are output to the three-phase PWM modulation unit 110, respectively.

  Incidentally, in FIG. 2, the W-phase control voltage value Vw * is calculated outside the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13 for convenience of illustration, but actually, dq / three. It is calculated in the phase / AC coordinate conversion unit 13. That is, the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13 calculates the U-phase control voltage value Vu * and the V-phase control voltage value Vv *, and these U-phase control voltage value Vu * and V-phase control voltage value Vv *. Is subtracted from zero to obtain the W-phase control voltage value Vw *. Then, the dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit 13 outputs the W-phase control voltage value Vw * to the three-phase PWM modulation unit 110 in the same manner as the U-phase control voltage value Vu * and the V-phase control voltage value Vv *. To do.

  The three-phase PWM modulation unit 110 generates PWM signals Su, Sv, and Sw corresponding to the U-phase control voltage value Vu *, the V-phase control voltage value Vv *, and the W-phase control voltage value Vw *, respectively, and the generated PWM The signals Su, Sv and Sw are output to the power circuit 109. As a result, voltages Vu, Vv, and Vw corresponding to the PWM signals Su, Sv, and Sw are applied from the power circuit 109 to the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase of the brushless motor 105, respectively, and are necessary for assisting steering from the brushless motor 105. Target assist torque Tr * is generated.

  However, since it is affected by various errors and disturbances, it is difficult to accurately match the torque generated by the brushless motor 105 with the target auxiliary torque Tr *. Hereinafter, a compensation method for compensating for such errors and disturbances will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the control device 1 including the electric power steering device 100 in the dq coordinate system.

  As shown as “mutual disturbance” in FIG. 4 and as described in the background art section, when the brushless motor 105 is simply driven and controlled through the vector control method, the rotor of the brushless motor 105 is The speed electromotive force is generated by the magnetic flux formed and the magnetic flux formed by the current flowing through the armature winding, and the speed electromotive force thus generated affects the q-axis control voltage value Vq and the d-axis control voltage value Vd. It will fit.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the brushless motor 105 can be modeled in the dq coordinate system as follows. That is, the self-inductance is “Ld [H]”, the d-axis actual current value is “Id [A]”, the q-axis actual current value is “Iq [A]”, the rotor angular velocity is “ω [rad / sec]”, Assuming that the electrical resistance value is “Rd [Ω]”, the d-axis control voltage value is “Vd * [V]”, and the observed disturbance is “n”, the model of the portion related to the d-axis of the brushless motor 105 is expressed by the following formula ( 1).

また、図４に示すｄ軸制御部１２ｂを便宜的に比例制御器として構成したものとし、その比例ゲインを「ｋ」、観測外乱を「ｎｄ」とすると、ｄ軸制御電圧「Ｖｄ＊」は、下式（２）にて表される。

Also, assuming that the d-axis control unit 12b shown in FIG. 4 is configured as a proportional controller for convenience, the proportional gain is “k” and the observation disturbance is “nd”, the d-axis control voltage “Vd *” is Is represented by the following formula (2).

こうした上式（２）を上式（１）に代入すると、下式（３）が得られる。

By substituting the above equation (2) into the above equation (1), the following equation (3) is obtained.

ここで、上式（３）の右辺第２項がｑ軸実電流値Ｉｑに起因する外乱、すなわち、上記速度起電圧を表す項である。ちなみに、上式（３）の右辺第４項はｄ軸実電流値Ｉｄに重畳する観測外乱を表す項である。また、通常、上記ｄ軸目標電流値Ｉｄ＊は零に設定されるため、上式（３）の右辺第３項は、比例ゲイン「ｋ」の大きさにかかわらず零となる。このように、ｑ軸実電流値Ｉｑに起因するｑ軸外乱（速度起電圧）や観測外乱により影響を受け、ｄ軸実電流値Ｉｄは、ｄ軸目標電流値Ｉｄ＊に好適に一致しなくなるおそれがある。

Here, the second term on the right side of the above equation (3) is a disturbance due to the q-axis actual current value Iq, that is, a term representing the speed electromotive voltage. Incidentally, the fourth term on the right side of the above equation (3) is a term representing the observation disturbance superimposed on the d-axis actual current value Id. Further, since the d-axis target current value Id * is normally set to zero, the third term on the right side of the above equation (3) is zero regardless of the magnitude of the proportional gain “k”. As described above, the d-axis actual current value Id is not preferably matched with the d-axis target current value Id * due to the influence of the q-axis disturbance (speed electromotive voltage) and the observation disturbance caused by the q-axis actual current value Iq. There is a fear.

  The q-axis actual current value Iq is originally generated by the steering operation of the steering wheel 101 by the vehicle driver. Therefore, the frequency band in which the q-axis disturbance is distributed is distributed in a frequency band lower than the frequency band in which the observation disturbance is distributed. That is, the q-axis disturbance is distributed in the low frequency band, and the observation disturbance is distributed in the high frequency band.

  In order to reduce the influence of these q-axis disturbances and observation disturbances on the control performance of the electric power steering apparatus, in this embodiment, the d-axis actual current value Id is applied to the d-axis control unit 12b constituting the control apparatus 1. And a disturbance observer for estimating the q-axis disturbance based on the d-axis control voltage value Vd *. Next, the d-axis control unit 12b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the d-axis control unit 12b.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the d-axis control unit 12 b includes a nominal control unit 121. This nominal control unit 121 has removed the model of the d-axis part of the brushless motor 105 (that is, the second term and the fourth term on the right side of the above equation (3)), excluding the influence of the q-axis disturbance and the observation disturbance. For example, a PI control unit designed for a nominal model. For this reason, the nominal control unit 121 captures the d-axis deviation Ed from the d-axis deviation calculation unit 11b (see FIG. 4), and proportional gains and integral gains determined through experiments and simulations with respect to the captured d-axis deviation Ed. And outputs the calculation result to the first difference calculation unit 122. In the present embodiment, such a nominal control unit 121 is configured as a control unit that performs PI control. However, for example, the nominal control unit 121 may be configured as a control unit that performs D control in addition to PI control. Or it is good also as comprising as a control part which omits I control and performs P control. In short, any PID control unit designed for the nominal model may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the d-axis control unit 12 b includes a first difference calculation unit 122. The first difference calculation unit 122 calculates a d-axis control voltage value Vd * by subtracting a disturbance estimated value w ′ output from a disturbance observer unit 123 described later from the output signal of the nominal control unit 121 (q-axis). Compensate for disturbance w).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the d-axis control unit 12b includes a disturbance observer unit 123 that includes an inverse model unit 123a, a second difference calculation unit 123b, and a low-pass filter unit 123c.

  The inverse model unit 123a of the disturbance observer unit 123 is configured as an inverse model of the above nominal model. The inverse model unit 123a captures the d-axis actual current value Id on which the observed disturbance nd is superimposed, and the captured d-axis actual current value Id and Based on the inverse model, a virtual input value IMG_Vd * to the d-axis part 105d of the brushless motor 105 is calculated. Specifically, since the inverse model unit 123a is an inverse model of the d-axis part 105d and the output signal of the d-axis part 105d is (basically) input to the inverse model part 123a, the d The input signal to the shaft part 105d and the output signal of the inverse model part 123a basically match. That is, the virtual input value IMG_Vd * that is the output signal of the inverse model unit 123a substantially matches the d-axis control voltage value Vd * that is the input signal to the d-axis unit 105d and on which the q-axis disturbance w is superimposed. It will be.

  Further, the virtual input value IMG_Vd * is output as a difference value EVd * by subtracting a d-axis control voltage value Vd *, which is an actual input value to the d-axis unit 105d, in the second difference calculation unit 123b. . The difference value EVd * is substantially equal to the q-axis disturbance w because the d-axis control voltage value Vd * is subtracted from the virtual input value IMG_Vd * that substantially matches the d-axis control voltage value Vd * on which the q-axis disturbance w is superimposed. Will match.

  However, the d-axis actual current value Id that is the output signal of the d-axis part 105d is not directly input to the inverse model part 123a, but actually the d-axis actual current value Id on which the observation disturbance nd is superimposed is reversed. Input to the model part 123a (in other words, the output signal of the d-axis part 105d and the input signal to the inverse model part 123a do not completely match), and the inverse model of the d-axis part 105d includes Since the modeling error always exists and the influence of the observation disturbance nd and the modeling error on the estimation of the q-axis disturbance w becomes large in the high frequency band, the difference value EVd * is particularly large in the high frequency band. The component does not coincide with the q-axis disturbance w. Therefore, the magnitude of the difference value EVd * is attenuated in the low-pass filter unit 123c as the component of the high frequency band included in the difference value EVd * is output to the second difference calculation unit 122b as a disturbance estimated value w ′. The Incidentally, the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter unit 123c is set to “60 Hertz”, for example. As a result, the estimated disturbance value w ′ estimated by the disturbance observer unit 123 substantially matches the q-axis disturbance w. Such a cut-off frequency is a value obtained through an experiment using an actual vehicle.

  FIG. 6 shows the simulation result. The curve C1 in FIG. 6 shows the transition of the d-axis actual current value Id when the d-axis control unit 12b is configured to include the disturbance observer unit 123, and the curve C2 is d The transition of the d-axis actual current value Id when the axis control unit 12b is configured without including the disturbance observer unit 123 is shown.

  Here, for example, it is assumed that the q-axis disturbance occurs stepwise at time t0. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the curve C2 once oscillates in the positive direction and then greatly oscillates in the negative direction. Even at time t3, the curve C2 deviates from the d-axis target current value (= zero). On the other hand, the curve C1, like the curve C2, once swings greatly in the positive direction, then swings in the negative direction, and approaches the d-axis target current value (= zero) at time t3. Note that although the curve C1 once greatly swings in the positive direction immediately after the time t1, the swing width is significantly smaller than the curve C2. That is, the d-axis control unit 12b includes the disturbance observer unit 123, which means that the d-axis actual current value Id can be suitably controlled.

  By the way, although only the disturbance (velocity electromotive voltage) and the observation disturbance caused by the q-axis actual current value Iq have been described, the disturbance (velocity electromotive voltage) and the observation disturbance caused by the d-axis actual current value Id naturally occur. Further, in the vector control of the brushless motor 105, the q-axis current can directly operate the auxiliary torque generated by the brushless motor 105, while the d-axis current directly affects the auxiliary torque generated by the brushless motor 105. Not known.

  For this reason, the q-axis control unit 12a that controls the q-axis current that directly affects the auxiliary torque generated by the brushless motor 105 includes a disturbance observer that estimates the magnitude of the speed electromotive force (d-axis disturbance) and compensates for it. It seems that the configuration is more advantageous in reducing the influence of the d-axis disturbance on the control performance of the brushless motor 105, in other words, in improving the steering feeling.

  However, even if a disturbance observer for estimating the d-axis disturbance is included in the q-axis control unit 12a and various control parameters of the q-axis control unit 12a are adjusted, the influence of the d-axis disturbance on the control performance of the brushless motor 105 is reduced. It is not possible to make a large adjustment (mainly to reduce), and it is better to include a disturbance observer for estimating the q-axis disturbance w in the d-axis control unit 12b and adjust various control parameters of the d-axis control unit 12b. It has been confirmed by the inventors that the influence of q-axis disturbance and d-axis disturbance on the control performance of 105 can be greatly adjusted (mainly reduced). Therefore, in this embodiment, the disturbance observer unit 123 is included only in the d-axis control unit 12b. Thereby, the calculation load concerning the control apparatus 1 can be reduced. Further, the influence of the q-axis disturbance and the d-axis disturbance on the control performance of the brushless motor 105 can be reduced only by adjusting the control parameter of the disturbance observer unit 123 constituting the d-axis control unit 12b. The control system can be easily designed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the disturbance observer estimates the speed electromotive voltage (q-axis disturbance w) generated in the d-axis due to the q-axis actual current value Iq based on the d-axis actual current value Id and the d-axis control voltage value Vd *. The d-axis control unit 12b is configured including the unit 123, and the q-axis disturbance w is compensated by the disturbance estimated value w ′ estimated by the disturbance observer unit 123. As a result, as in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described in the problem section, the d-axis actual current value Id and the q-axis actual current value Iq including the observed disturbances nd and nq, the rotor angle θ, and Instead of calculating (estimating) the product of the self-inductor L of the armature winding including the modeling error as q-axis disturbance, the q-axis disturbance can be calculated (estimated) in a lump. For this reason, the influence of the various errors on the estimated disturbance value w 'can be minimized, and the estimated error of the q-axis disturbance w can be reduced. Since the estimation error of the q-axis disturbance w can be reduced, the influence of the q-axis disturbance w on the control performance of the brushless motor 105 can be reduced. The steering feeling can be improved.

  In the embodiment described above, a brushless motor is provided with a control system including a disturbance observer for each phase of the U-V-W phase of the brushless motor 105 as in the technique described in Patent Document 2 described in the section of the problem. Instead of directly controlling the voltage applied to 105 for each phase, the vector control of the brushless motor 105 includes a q-axis control unit 12a and a d-axis control unit 12b, and only the d-axis control unit 12b has a disturbance. A control system including the observer unit 123 was used. As a result, although the amount of calculation related to the dq coordinate transformation for performing vector control increases compared to the technique described in Patent Document 2, the number of control units including a disturbance observer is increased from 3 to 1. Therefore, the calculation load applied to the control device is made smaller than the control device described in Patent Literature 2 or the control device in which the technology described in Patent Literature 2 is applied to the technology described in Patent Literature 1. Will be able to.

  In the above embodiment, the d-axis control unit 12b determines the intensity of the signal included in the high frequency band where the observed disturbance nd superimposed on the d-axis actual current value Id detected through the current sensor 111 is distributed. The low-pass filter that attenuates the intensity of the signal included in the lower low frequency band is included. As a result, the influence of the q-axis disturbance w, which is often included in the low frequency band, on the control performance of the brushless motor 105 can be reduced, and the d-axis actual detected by the current sensor 111 can be reduced. It also becomes possible to reduce the influence of the observation disturbance nd, which is often included in the high frequency band superimposed on the current value Id, on the control performance of the brushless motor 105.

  Note that the control device for the electric power steering apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration exemplified in the above embodiment, and may be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Is possible. In other words, for example, the following embodiment can be implemented by appropriately changing the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the disturbance observer unit 123 includes the intensity of the signal included in the high frequency band where the observed disturbance nd superimposed on the d-axis actual current value Id is included in the low frequency band lower than the high frequency band. The low-pass filter unit 123c for attenuating the intensity of the received signal is included. For example, “60 hertz” is adopted as the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter unit 123c, but is not limited thereto. In short, it is only necessary to set a cutoff frequency that can reduce the influence of the observed disturbance nd superimposed on the d-axis actual current value Id and the influence of the q-axis disturbance w, and the value is arbitrary. . In the first place, the electric power steering device 100 that is the control target of the control device is used in an environment where the observed disturbance nd is hardly superimposed on the d-axis actual current value Id, or the d-axis portion of the brushless motor 105 If the model 105d contains almost no modeling error, the low-pass filter unit 123c can be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the d-axis target current value generation unit 10b can set the d-axis actual current value Id by setting the d-axis target current value Id * in the dq coordinate system of the brushless motor 105 to zero. Although it was trying to improve efficiency as close to zero as possible, it is not limited to this. In addition, for example, the electric power steering apparatus 100 includes a steering shaft rotation angular velocity sensor that detects the rotation angular velocity of the steering shaft 102, and the d-axis target current value generation unit 10 b detects the steering shaft 102 detected by the steering shaft rotation angular velocity sensor. The d-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system of the brushless motor 105 may be generated based on the rotation angular velocity of the brushless motor 105. Thereby, for example, when the steering operation of the steering wheel 101 is suddenly performed, the d-axis target current value Id * is set to a negative predetermined value, or the d-axis target current value Id * is set according to the rotational angular velocity of the steering shaft 101. In other words, the field can be set variably, and so-called field weakening can be performed to reduce the induced voltage generated in the stator winding. As described above, when the field weakening can be performed, the auxiliary torque generated by the brushless motor 105 is not reduced to zero, which is suitable for a sudden steering operation of the steering wheel 101. An auxiliary torque can be applied to the. As a result, the steering feeling can be further improved.

The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the whole control apparatus containing an electric power steering apparatus about one Embodiment of the control apparatus of the electric power steering apparatus which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the whole control apparatus containing an electric power steering apparatus about the embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows the actual rotation coordinate defined by the U phase, V phase, and W phase about the brushless motor which comprises an electric power steering device. (B) is a figure which shows the virtual rotation coordinate defined by the d-axis which is a direction which goes to the N pole from the S pole of a rotor, and the q axis orthogonal to this d axis. The block diagram which shows the structure of the whole control apparatus containing an electric power steering apparatus in the dq coordinate system about the embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the d-axis control part comprised including the disturbance observer part about the embodiment. In the embodiment, the figure which shows the simulation result in the case where the d-axis control part is comprised not including the case where it is comprised including the disturbance observer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control apparatus, 10 ... Target current value generation part, 10a ... q-axis target current value generation part, 10b ... d-axis target current value generation part, 11a ... q-axis deviation calculation part, 11b ... d-axis deviation calculation part, 12a ... q-axis control unit, 12b ... d-axis control unit, 13 ... dq / three-phase AC coordinate conversion unit, 14 ... three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit, 100 ... electric power steering device, 101 ... steering wheel , 102 ... steering shaft, 103 ... torque sensor, 104 ... steering mechanism (reduction gear), 105 ... brushless motor (electric motor), 106 ... pinion shaft, 107 ... rack shaft, 108 ... tire, 109 ... power circuit, 110 ... Three-phase PWM modulation unit, 111 ... current sensor, 112 ... resolver (rotor angle sensor), 113 ... vehicle speed sensor, 121 ... nominal controller, 122 ... difference calculation , 123 ... disturbance observer unit, 123a ... inverse model unit, 123b ... low pass filter section.

Claims (4)

A three-phase AC electric motor for providing an auxiliary torque to the steering operation of the vehicle steering wheel;
A torque sensor that detects an actual torque applied to a steering shaft that rotates in conjunction with the steering wheel;
A vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed that is the speed of the vehicle;
The electric motor of the electric power steering apparatus including a current sensor that detects an actual current value of at least two phases among the three phases of the electric motor is d-axis that is an axis in a magnetic flux direction of a rotor constituting the electric motor. And a control device that performs vector control in a dq coordinate system configured by a q axis that is an axis orthogonal to the d axis,
The q-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system required for the electric motor to generate the auxiliary torque is determined based on the actual torque detected by the torque sensor and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor. A q-axis target current value generator for generating;
A d-axis target current value generation unit that sets a d-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system of the electric motor to zero;
A three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit for converting an actual current value detected by the current sensor into the dq coordinate system;
The q-axis actual current value and d-axis actual current value of the dq coordinate system converted by the three-phase AC / dq coordinate conversion unit, the q-axis target current value generation unit, and the d-axis target current value A deviation calculating unit for calculating a q-axis current deviation and a d-axis current deviation, which are deviations from the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value respectively generated by the generating unit;
The q-axis control voltage value and the d-axis control voltage value, which are voltage values of the voltage applied to the electric motor such that the currents of the q-axis target current value and the d-axis target current value flow to the electric motor, are A q-axis control unit and a d-axis control unit that calculate based on the current deviation and the d-axis current deviation, respectively;
The q-axis control voltage value and the d-axis control voltage value respectively calculated by the q-axis control unit and the d-axis control unit are converted into the three phases, and the q-axis control voltage value and the d-axis control voltage value are converted. A dq / three-phase alternating current coordinate conversion unit for applying a voltage of 1 to the electric motor,
The d-axis control unit is generated on the d-axis by a magnetic flux formed by a current corresponding to the q-axis actual current value among a magnetic flux formed by a rotor of the electric motor and a current flowing through an armature winding of the electric motor. It comprises a disturbance observer that estimates the speed electromotive force based on the d-axis actual current value and the d-axis control voltage value, and compensates the speed electromotive force estimated by the disturbance observer. A control device for an electric power steering device.   The d-axis control unit includes the intensity of a signal included in a high frequency band in which an observation disturbance superimposed on the actual current value detected through the current sensor is distributed in a low frequency band lower than the high frequency band. 2. The control device for an electric power steering apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a low-pass filter that attenuates the signal intensity.   The control device for an electric power steering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter is set to approximately 60 hertz. The electric power steering device further includes a steering shaft rotational angular velocity sensor that detects a rotational angular velocity of the steering shaft,
The d-axis target current value generation unit generates a d-axis target current value in the dq coordinate system of the electric motor based on the rotation angular velocity of the steering shaft detected by the steering shaft rotation angular velocity sensor. The control device for an electric power steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control apparatus is an electric power steering apparatus.

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