JP5962351B2 - Driving device for driven switching element - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive device for a drive target switching element including an integrated circuit connected to the drive target switching element which is a switching element to be driven.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below proposes an IGBT that constitutes an inverter for an in-vehicle main engine as a driving target switching element, and a driving circuit that drives the IGBT includes an integrated circuit. In this technique, an operation signal is input to an integrated circuit via a photocoupler from a control device that generates an operation signal for each IGBT.

JP2012-16110A

  By the way, there is a possibility that inclusion of these in the integrated circuit contributes to the miniaturization of the entire control system, rather than externally attaching photocouplers or the like to the integrated circuit. Here, when an insulating communication means such as a photocoupler is also taken into the integrated circuit, the high voltage side region connected to the gate of the IGBT in the integrated circuit and the low voltage side region to which the operation signal is input are integrated into the integrated circuit. It is necessary to insulate inside. In this case, in order to satisfy various functions of the drive circuit, the number required as the terminal connected to the high voltage side region is larger than the number required as the terminal connected to the low voltage side region. Tend. Accordingly, it has been found that incorporating insulative communication means into an integrated circuit causes new inconveniences such as redundant design of the integrated circuit.

  The present invention has been made in the process of solving the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an integrated circuit connected to a driving target switching element that is a switching element to be driven, It is an object of the present invention to provide a new drive device for a drive target switching element including an insulating communication means.

  Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the operation and effect thereof will be described.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a high voltage side region that is electronically operated to open and close a current flow path of the driving target switching element that is a switching element to be driven, and is connected to the open / close control terminal; A single integrated circuit including a low-voltage side region that is insulated from a high-voltage side region and that receives an operation signal of the driving target switching element output from an external control device, and the integrated circuit The low voltage side terminal connected to the high voltage side region, the low voltage side terminal connected to the low voltage side region, and the low voltage side region and the high voltage side region are insulated from each other. Insulating communication means for transmitting an electrical signal from the voltage side region to the high voltage side region, and connected to the low voltage side terminal, and operating parameters for determining the operation of the circuit in the high voltage side region Output adjustment means for outputting adjustment information; and adjustment means for adjusting an operation parameter in the high voltage side region based on the adjustment information; and the adjustment information output from the output means to the low voltage side terminal. Is transmitted to the adjusting means in the high voltage side region via the insulating communication means.

  In the above invention, the number of the high voltage side terminals can be reduced by setting the output target of the adjustment information by the output means to the low voltage side terminals, and consequently the number of the high voltage side terminals and the low voltage side terminals can be reduced. Balance can be suppressed.

  In addition, about the expansion of the concept regarding the following typical embodiment concerning this invention, it describes in the column of "other embodiment" after typical embodiment.

1 is a system configuration diagram according to a first embodiment. FIG. The circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of the drive unit concerning the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the soft interruption | blocking process concerning the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the clamp process concerning the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the adjustment process of the clamp voltage concerning the embodiment. The figure which shows the effect of the same embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the output process of the adjustment command signal concerning 2nd Embodiment. The circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of the drive unit concerning 3rd Embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of adjustment information abnormality diagnosis processing according to the embodiment; The circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of the drive unit concerning 4th Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the adjustment process of the threshold voltage for soft interruption | blocking concerning 5th Embodiment. The circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure of the drive unit concerning 6th Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the adjustment process of the resistance value of the gate resistor concerning the embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which a drive circuit for a drive target switching element according to the present invention is applied to a power conversion circuit connected to an in-vehicle main unit will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a control system according to the present embodiment. The motor generator 10 is an in-vehicle main machine and is mechanically coupled to drive wheels (not shown). The motor generator 10 is connected to the high voltage battery 12 via the inverter INV. The inverter INV includes a series connection body of switching elements Sup and Sun, a series connection body of switching elements Svp and Svn, and a series connection body of switching elements Swp and Swn. The motor generator 10 is connected to the U, V, and W phases, respectively. As these switching elements S ¥ # (¥ = u, v, w; # = p, n), an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is used in the present embodiment. In addition, a diode D ¥ # is connected in antiparallel to each of these.

  The control device 14 is a control device that uses the low voltage battery 16 as a power source. The control device 14 operates the inverter INV to control the motor generator 10 as a control target and to control the control amount as desired. Specifically, an operation signal g ¥ # is output to the drive unit DU in order to operate the switching element S ¥ # of the inverter INV. Here, the high-potential side operation signal g ¥ p and the corresponding low-potential side operation signal g ¥ n are complementary to each other. In other words, the high-potential side switching element S ¥ p and the corresponding low-potential side switching element S ¥ n are alternately turned on. In addition, the control apparatus 14 comprises a control means in this embodiment.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the drive unit DU.

  As shown in the figure, the drive unit DU includes a drive IC 20 that is a one-chip semiconductor integrated circuit. The drive IC 20 includes a DC voltage source 22 having a terminal voltage Vom. The terminals of the DC voltage source 22 are switched via a high voltage side terminal TH1, a constant current source 24, a charging switching element 26, and a high voltage side terminal TH2. It is connected to the open / close control terminal (gate) of the element S ¥ #.

  On the other hand, the gate of the switching element S ¥ # is connected to the high voltage side terminal TH4 via the gate resistor 28, the high voltage side terminal TH3, and the discharging switching element 30. The high-voltage side terminal TH4 is connected to a reference end (emitter) that is one end of the flow path (between the emitter and collector) of the switching element S ¥ #.

  The charging switching element 26 and the discharging switching element 30 are operated by a drive control unit 32 in the drive IC 20. That is, the drive control unit 32 drives the switching element S ¥ # by alternately turning on and off the charging switching element 26 and the discharging switching element 30 based on the operation signal g ¥ #. Specifically, when the operation signal g ¥ # is an on operation command, the discharging switching element 30 is turned off and the charging switching element 26 is turned on. On the other hand, when the operation signal g ¥ # is an off operation command, the charging switching element 26 is turned off and the discharging switching element 30 is turned on.

  Here, the operation signal g ¥ # output from the control device 14 shown in FIG. 1 is input to the drive control unit 32 via the photocoupler 34. This is a setting for insulating the high voltage system including the high voltage battery 12 and the low voltage system including the control device 14 in the present embodiment. For this reason, the drive IC 20 includes a low voltage side region constituting a low voltage system and a high voltage region constituting a high voltage system. In order to transmit the operation signal g ¥ # from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region while insulating these two regions, a photocoupler 34 as an insulating communication means is used. Here, in the photocoupler 34, the low-voltage side terminals TL1 and TL2 are connected to the anode and the cathode of the photodiode which is the primary side, respectively. Further, the collector of the phototransistor on the secondary side is connected to the DC voltage source 22, and the emitter is set to the same potential as the emitter of the switching element S ¥ # via the resistor 36. According to such a configuration, the voltage drop amount of the resistor 36 can be taken into the drive control unit 32 as a logic signal corresponding to the operation signal g ¥ #.

  The high voltage side terminal TH3 is connected to the high voltage side terminal TH4 via the soft cutoff resistor 48 and the soft cutoff switching element 50.

  The gate of the switching element S ¥ # is connected to the high voltage side terminal TH6, and the high voltage side terminal TH6 is connected to the high voltage side terminal TH4 via an N-channel MOS field effect transistor (clamp switching element 40). It is connected to the. The output voltage of the operational amplifier 42 is applied to the gate of the clamp switching element 40, the clamp voltage Vc of the power supply 46 is applied to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier 42, and the high voltage side terminal TH6 is applied to the non-inverting input terminal. Via, the gate voltage Vge of the switching element S ¥ # is applied. Here, the power supply to the operational amplifier 42 by the DC voltage source 22 is turned on / off by the power supply switching element 44. The clamp switching element 40, the operational amplifier 42, the power supply switching element 44, and the power supply 46 constitute a limiting unit in the present embodiment.

  On the other hand, the switching element S ¥ # includes a sense terminal St that outputs a minute current having a correlation with a current (collector current) flowing through the flow path (between the emitter and the collector). The sense terminal St is electrically connected to the emitter via the sense resistor 38. As a result, a voltage drop occurs in the sense resistor 38 due to the current output from the sense terminal St. Therefore, the voltage drop amount (sense voltage Vse) due to the sense resistor 38 is set to the current flowing through the flow path of the switching element S ¥ #. It can be an electrical state quantity having a correlation.

  The sense voltage Vse is taken into the drive control unit 32 via the high voltage side terminal TH5. The drive control unit 32 operates the power switching element 44 and the soft cutoff switching element 50 based on the sense voltage Vse. This will be described below.

  FIG. 3 shows a procedure of a process of cutting off the current flowing through the switching element S ¥ # among the processes performed based on the sense voltage Vse.

  In this series of processing, first, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the operation signal g ¥ # is an ON operation command. If it is determined that the command is an ON operation command, it is determined in step S12 whether or not the sense voltage Vse is equal to or higher than the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft. This process is for determining whether or not an abnormally large current is flowing through the switching element S ¥ #. Soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft is set to a value corresponding to a current larger than the maximum value of the current that flows during normal driving of switching element S ¥ #. In addition, the process of step S12 comprises a judgment means in this embodiment.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S12, it is determined in step S14 whether or not the counter T1 that counts the time determined in step S12 is equal to or greater than the soft cutoff threshold time Tsft. This process is for determining whether or not a condition for forcibly turning off the switching element S ¥ # is satisfied. Here, the soft cutoff threshold time Tsft is set to a value capable of avoiding erroneous determination that the above condition is satisfied due to noise.

  If a negative determination is made in step S14, the counter T1 is incremented in step S16. If it is determined in step S12 that the sense voltage Vse is less than the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft, the counter T1 is initialized in step S20. When the processes of steps S16 and S20 are completed, the process returns to step S10.

  On the other hand, when an affirmative determination is made in step S14, the soft cutoff switching element 50 is turned on and the charging switching element 26 is turned off in step S18. Further, a fail signal FL is output from the drive control unit 32 to the control device 14. This is performed via the photocoupler 52 shown in FIG.

  In other words, the anode on the primary side (photodiode) of the photocoupler 52 is connected to the DC voltage source 22 via the switching element 54, and the cathode is pulled down to the emitter potential of the switching element S ¥ # by the resistor. The As a result, when the switching element 54 is turned on to output the fail signal FL, the photocoupler 52 is turned on via the low voltage side terminals TL3 and TL4 connected to the secondary side (phototransistor). A fail signal FL is output to the control device 14.

  When the process of step S18 is completed or when a negative determination is made in step S10, this series of processes is temporarily ended.

  In FIG. 4, among the processes performed based on the sense voltage Vse, in particular, while allowing the current to flow through the switching element S ¥ #, the size of the gate voltage Vge is limited to limit the amount of the current. The procedure of restriction processing to be performed is shown.

  In this series of processes, first, in step S30, it is determined whether or not the operation signal g ¥ # is the time when the off operation command is switched to the on operation command. If it is determined that it is the time of switching, it is determined in step S32 whether or not the counter T2 that measures the time from the time of switching is equal to or less than the clamp time Tcmp. This process is a period in which the gate voltage Vge is guard-processed with the clamp voltage Vc in order to avoid a situation in which a large current suddenly flows through the switching element S ¥ # at the initial switching time of the switching element S ¥ #. It is for judging whether or not. The clamp time Tcmp is set to about the time required for the gate voltage Vge to rise to the clamp voltage Vc in a normal state.

  If a negative determination is made in step S32, it is determined in step S36 whether or not the sense voltage Vse is equal to or higher than the clamping threshold voltage Vcmp (> Vsft). This process is for determining whether or not the current flowing through the switching element S ¥ # has become excessively large. Here, the value of the clamping threshold voltage Vcmp is to detect a short-circuit current that flows through both the switching element S ¥ p of the upper arm and the switching element S ¥ n of the lower arm being turned on. It is set aiming.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S32 or an affirmative determination is made in step S36, the power switching element 44 is turned on in step S34. Thus, the gate voltage Vge of the switching element S ¥ # is limited to the clamp voltage Vc or less.

  When the process of step S34 is completed or when a negative determination is made in step S36, the counter T2 is incremented in step S38. In a succeeding step S40, it is determined whether or not the operation signal g ¥ # is switched from the on operation command to the off operation command. If a negative determination is made in step S40, the process returns to step S32. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S40, the counter T2 is initialized in step S42.

  When the process of step S42 is completed or when a negative determination is made in step S30, this series of processes is temporarily ended.

  The fail signal FL is output not only when an excessively large current flows through the switching element S ¥ #, but also when the temperature Tj of the switching element S ¥ # is excessively high. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a temperature-sensitive diode SD that senses the temperature is provided in the vicinity of the switching element S ¥ #. The cathode of the temperature sensitive diode SD is set to the same potential as the emitter of the switching element S ¥ # via the high voltage side terminal TH8. On the other hand, the anode of the temperature sensitive diode SD is connected to the constant current source 56 via the high voltage side terminal TH7. Then, the drive control unit 32 captures the forward voltage drop amount of the temperature sensitive diode SD as a temperature detection signal of the switching element S ¥ #. This is because there is a one-to-one correspondence between the voltage drop amount and the temperature when the current flowing through the temperature sensitive diode SD is constant. The drive control unit 32 outputs a fail signal FL to the control device 14 via the photocoupler 52 when the temperature Tj of the switching element S ¥ # determined from the voltage drop amount is excessively high.

  By the way, the communication line that connects the low voltage side region of the drive IC 20 and the control device 14 is limited to a transmission path for the operation signal g ¥ # and a transmission path for the fail signal FL. On the other hand, the number of electrical paths connecting the high voltage side region of the drive IC 20 and the outside tends to increase. This is one reason that the drive unit DU drives electronic components in the high-voltage side system. However, when the aim is to achieve high precision or versatility, this situation Appears more prominently.

  That is, for example, in order to control with high accuracy the speed at which switching element S ¥ # switches from the on state to the off state, it is necessary to determine the resistance value of gate resistor 28 with high accuracy. Here, setting the resistance value of the resistor in the drive IC 20 with high accuracy tends to be more difficult than setting the resistance value of the resistor outside the drive IC 20 with high accuracy. Regardless of the specification of the switching element S ¥ #, when the same drive IC 20 is used, it is desirable to externally attach the gate resistor 28 to the drive IC 20 in order to adjust the discharge speed. On the other hand, when the gate resistor 28 and the like are provided outside as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to separately provide a high voltage side terminal TH2 for charging and a high voltage side terminal TH3 for discharging.

  In addition, when the switching element S ¥ # is provided with versatility, the clamp voltage Vc itself can be adjusted. This is because the rated current of the switching element S ¥ # differs depending on the specifications, and the relationship between the gate voltage Vge of the switching element S ¥ # and the maximum value of the collector current Ic differs depending on the specifications. Here, information (adjustment information) indicating the value of the clamp voltage Vc needs to be transmitted to the high voltage side region. However, if adjustment information is input from the high voltage side terminal THi (i = 1, 2, 3,...) Of the drive IC 20, the number of high voltage side terminals THi increases, and the design of the drive IC 20 becomes redundant. As a result, the drive IC 20 may be increased in size. This is because the high voltage side terminal THi and the low voltage side terminal TLi (i = 1, 2, 3,...) Need to be insulated from each other, and it is difficult to provide them on the same side. For this reason, in order to suppress the redundancy of the drive IC 20 and reduce the size of the drive IC 20 as much as possible, it is desirable to reduce the difference between the number of the high voltage side terminals THi and the number of the low voltage side terminals TLi.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, adjustment information of the clamp voltage Vc is taken in via the low voltage side terminals TL5 and TL6 and is transmitted to the high voltage side region (drive control unit 32) using the photocoupler 66. That is, the low voltage side power source 60 is connected to the anode of the photodiode of the photocoupler 66 through the adjustment switching element 62, the adjustment resistor 64, and the low voltage side terminal TL5. Further, the cathode of the photodiode is set to a low-voltage side reference potential (vehicle body potential) via a low-voltage side terminal TL6. On the other hand, the DC voltage source 22 is connected to the collector on the secondary side (phototransistor) of the photocoupler 66, and the emitter is set to the same potential as the emitter of the switching element S ¥ # via the resistor 68. Yes. Thereby, the current flowing through the phototransistor changes according to the current flowing through the photodiode. Therefore, by manipulating the current flowing through the photodiode, the current flowing through the phototransistor can be transmitted to the drive control unit 32 as the adjustment signal ai of the clamp voltage Vc. For this reason, as schematically shown in the figure, the adjustment information superimposed on the adjustment signal ai can be processed by adjusting the flow path area of the current in the adjustment resistor 64 with a laser.

  Therefore, every time the control device 14 turns on the adjustment switching element 62 by the adjustment command signal as, the adjustment signal ai for expressing the clamp voltage Vc by the adjustment resistor 64 is set to the high voltage side. Can be communicated to the area. In this embodiment, every time the inverter INV is started, the adjustment command signal as is output from the control device 14 so as to transmit the adjustment signal ai to the high voltage side region. In the present embodiment, the clamp voltage Vc is an operation parameter that determines the operation of a circuit in the high voltage side region (a circuit including the clamp switching element 40 and the like) and is an adjustment target. In the present embodiment, the adjustment resistor 64 constitutes an output unit that outputs adjustment information of the operation parameter.

  FIG. 5 shows a procedure of clamp voltage adjustment processing according to the present embodiment. This process is executed by the drive control unit 32. This process is a process of the adjusting unit in the present embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the drive control unit 32 constitutes an adjustment unit.

  In this series of processing, first, in step S50, it is determined whether or not the drive IC 20 is turned on. That is, it is determined whether or not the drive IC 20 has been switched to a state where the power of the DC voltage source 22 is supplied. For example, if the DC voltage source 22 includes a flyback converter that uses the low voltage battery 16 or the like as a power source, the flyback converter is driven to supply power to the drive IC 20. It is determined whether or not has been started.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S50, it is determined in step S52 whether or not an adjustment signal ai has been input. This process is for confirming whether the adjustment command signal as is output by the control device 14 and the adjustment information is normally input. If it is determined that it has been input, the clamp voltage Vc is adjusted based on the adjustment signal ai in step S54. Specifically, for example, the clamp voltage Vc is adjusted according to the amount of current of the adjustment signal ai. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in step S52, the clamp voltage Vc is set to the default value Vc0 in step S56. The default value Vc0 is stored in the storage means (memory 70) shown in FIG. The memory 70 is a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM.

  In addition, when the process of step S54, S56 is completed, or when negative determination is made in step S50, this series of processes is once complete | finished.

  FIG. 6A shows the effect of this embodiment, and FIG. 6B shows a comparative example.

  As illustrated, in the present embodiment, the adjustment resistor 64 is connected to the low voltage side terminals TL5 and TL6 to suppress the increase in the number of the high voltage side terminals THi as much as possible. For this reason, the length of the side where each of the high voltage side terminal THi and the low voltage side terminal TLi of the drive IC 20 is formed can be shortened as much as possible, and the drive IC 20 can be miniaturized as much as possible.

  On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 6B in which the adjustment resistor 64 is connected to the high voltage side region, the drive IC 20 is increased in size, and the area of the high voltage side region HVCA of the semiconductor substrate SS is increased. For this reason, the area of the low-voltage side region LVCA is reduced, and as a result, layout restrictions are increased. In addition, since it is necessary to provide the insulating region IA between the high voltage side region HVCA and the low voltage side region LVCA, or between the high voltage side regions HVCA, the high voltage side region HVCA is expanded, The area of the insulating region IA increases, and as a result, the area of the low voltage side region LVCA tends to be reduced.

  According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) The adjustment information of the operation parameter of the circuit in the high voltage side region of the drive IC 20 is input from the low voltage side terminal TLi. Thereby, the difference between the number of high-voltage side terminals THi effectively used in the drive IC 20 and the number of low-voltage side terminals TLi effectively used can be reduced, and the drive IC 20 can be downsized. be able to.

  (2) The output means (adjustment resistor 64) that outputs the adjustment information of the operation parameter is a hardware means different from the control device 14. Thereby, the adjustment information of the operation parameter can be held even when the control device 14 does not exist. For this reason, the degree of freedom in which adjustment information generation process is provided is improved.

  (3) The adjustment signal ai is transmitted to the high voltage side region each time the power is turned on to the high voltage side region. Thereby, the reliability of adjustment information can be improved. In addition, it is not necessary to provide an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory or the like that holds data regardless of whether power is supplied or not in the high voltage side region.

  (4) When it is determined that the adjustment signal ai is not input, the default value Vc0 is set as the clamp voltage Vc. Thereby, the guard process by the clamp voltage Vc can be executed regardless of whether the adjustment signal ai is input.

(5) The insulating communication means for transmitting the adjustment signal ai is a dedicated means (photocoupler 66) for transmitting the adjustment signal ai. As a result, the adjustment signal ai can be transmitted without affecting other signal lines.
<Second Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the adjustment signal ai is transmitted at a predetermined cycle during the period when power is supplied to the drive unit DU.

  FIG. 7 shows the procedure of the transmission process of the adjustment signal ai according to the present embodiment. This process is repeatedly executed by the control device 14 at a predetermined cycle, for example.

  In this series of processing, first, in step S60, it is determined whether or not the drive unit DU is powered on. If it is determined that the power is on, in step S62, a counter Ta that counts the elapsed time since the adjustment signal ai is transmitted to the drive control unit 32 is incremented. In a succeeding step S64, it is determined whether or not the counter Ta is equal to or greater than the threshold time Tath. This process determines whether or not it is time to transmit the adjustment signal ai. If a positive determination is made in step S64, the switching element 62 is turned on using the adjustment command signal as in step S66, and the counter Ta is initialized.

  When the process of step S66 is completed or when a negative determination is made in steps S60 and S64, this series of processes is temporarily ended.

Incidentally, the drive control unit 32 may adjust the clamp voltage Vc by executing a process in which the process of step S50 is changed among the processes shown in FIG. For example, this includes a counter that counts the elapsed time from the timing at which the clamp voltage Vc is adjusted, and the process of step S50 is performed by replacing the process of determining whether the value of the counter is equal to or greater than the threshold time Tath. be able to.
<Third Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the control device 14 determines whether or not the drive IC 20 has acquired correct adjustment information.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration of the drive unit DU according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, components corresponding to those shown in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals for convenience.

  As illustrated, the current signal flowing through the adjustment resistor 64 is input to the low voltage side terminal TL5 as the adjustment signal aiL. The adjustment signal aiL is input to the drive control unit 32 via the photocoupler 66. On the other hand, the drive control unit 32 outputs a signal corresponding to the reception result of the adjustment signal aiL to the control device 14 via the photocoupler 72 as the adjustment signal aiH. Here, the photocoupler 72 can input the adjustment signal aiH from the drive control unit 32 to the photodiode which is the primary side, and the secondary side is connected to the low voltage side terminals TL7 and TL8.

  FIG. 9 shows a procedure of processing performed by the control device 14 regarding reception of the adjustment signal aiH. This process is repeatedly executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

  In this series of processes, first, in step S70, after outputting the adjustment command signal as, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. This process is for determining whether or not the time that the reception of the adjustment signal aiH is supposed to be completed is completed if the transmission process of the adjustment signal aiL is normally performed. Here, the predetermined time is set to a time when the adjustment signal aiH is assumed to be received if the transmission process of the adjustment signal aiL is normally performed. When an affirmative determination is made in step S70, it is determined in step S72 whether or not the adjustment signal aiH has been received.

  When an affirmative determination is made in step S72, in step S74, the value f (aiL) of the clamp voltage Vc transmitted by the adjustment signal aiL and the value f (aiH) of the clamp voltage Vc that is information superimposed on the adjustment signal aiH. ) Is determined whether or not the absolute value of the difference with respect to) is equal to or less than the specified value Δai. This process is for determining whether correct adjustment information about the clamp voltage Vc is transmitted to the high voltage region (drive control unit 32) of the drive IC 20. Note that the value f (aiL) can be calculated by the control device 14 by installing the function of receiving the adjustment signal aiL in the control device 14.

  When an affirmative determination is made in step S74, it is determined in step S76 that the transmission of adjustment information is normal. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in steps S72 and S74, it is determined in step S78 that there is an abnormality in the transmission of the adjustment information, and the adjustment command signal as is output again, so that the adjustment signal aiL is output again.

  In addition, when the process of step S76, S78 is completed, or when negative determination is made in step S70, this series of processes is once complete | finished.

  According to this embodiment described above, in addition to the effects (1) to (5) of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(6) By outputting the content of the adjustment information received in the high voltage side region as the adjustment signal aiH, it is possible to notify the control device 14 of the reception content of the adjustment information. As a result, the control device 14 can monitor whether or not the drive IC 20 has received correct adjustment information.
<Fourth Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings with a focus on differences from the third embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the photocoupler 34 is used as an insulating communication means for transmitting the adjustment signal aiL to the high voltage side region, and the photocoupler is used as an insulating communication means for transmitting the adjustment signal aiH to the low voltage side region. 52 is used.

  FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the drive unit DU according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 10, components corresponding to those shown in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals for convenience.

  As shown in the figure, the anode of the photodiode of the photocoupler 34 is connected to the low voltage side terminal TL1 to which the operation signal g ¥ # is input by the switching circuit 80 and the low voltage side terminal connected to the adjustment resistor 64. It is connected to either one of TL5. The switching circuit 80 is operated based on an operation signal m input via the low voltage side terminal TL7. Thus, when the low voltage side terminal TL1 is selected by the switching circuit 80, the operation signal g ¥ # is transmitted from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region via the photocoupler 34. On the other hand, when the low voltage side terminal TL5 is selected by the switching circuit 80, the adjustment signal aiL is transmitted from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region via the photocoupler 34.

  Further, the anode of the photodiode of the photocoupler 52 is connected by the switching circuit 84 to either the terminal from which the drive control unit 32 outputs the adjustment signal aiH or the DC voltage source 22. Thereby, when the DC voltage source 22 is selected by the switching circuit 84, the fail signal FL is transmitted from the high voltage side region to the low voltage side region by the photocoupler 52. On the other hand, when the switching circuit 82 selects the terminal that outputs the adjustment signal aiH, the photocoupler 52 transmits the adjustment signal aiH from the high voltage side region to the low voltage side region. It should be noted that the photodiode of the photocoupler 52 may not be connected to any other state at a normal time when the fail signal FL is not output and the timing when the adjustment signal aiH is output, or the adjustment signal aiH. May be a high impedance terminal, and a photodiode may be connected to the terminal.

  According to this embodiment described above, in addition to the effects (1) to (4) of the first embodiment and the effect (6) of the second embodiment, the following effects are further obtained. Is obtained.

  (7) The photocoupler 34 for transmitting the operation signal g ¥ # was used as an insulating communication means used for transmitting the adjustment signal aiL from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region. Thereby, the increase in the number of parts can be suppressed. Further, since the transmission timing of the adjustment signal aiL is set before the switching element S ¥ # is driven, there is no restriction on the transmission of the operation signal g ¥ #.

(8) A photocoupler 52 for transmitting the fail signal FL is used as an insulating communication means for transmitting the adjustment signal aiH from the high voltage side region to the low voltage side region. Thereby, the increase in the number of parts can be suppressed. Further, since the transmission timing of the adjustment signal aiH is set before the switching element S ¥ # is driven, there is no restriction on the transmission of the fail signal FL.
<Fifth Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the operation parameter to be adjusted is the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft.

  FIG. 11 shows the procedure for adjusting the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft according to the present embodiment. This process is executed by the drive control unit 32. In FIG. 11, the same step numbers are assigned for convenience to those corresponding to the processing shown in FIG. 5.

In this series of processes, when an affirmative determination is made in step S52, the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft is adjusted based on the adjustment signal ai in step S54a. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in step S52, the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft is set to the default value Vsft0 stored in the memory 70 shown in FIG. 2 in step S56a.
<Sixth Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 12 shows a configuration of the drive unit DU according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals are assigned for convenience to those corresponding to the members shown in FIG.

  As illustrated, in the present embodiment, the gate of the switching element S ¥ # is connected to the high voltage side terminal TH1 via the high voltage side terminal TH2, the gate resistor 27, and the charging switching element 26, and The high-voltage side terminal TH2, the gate resistor 28a, and the discharge switching element 30 are connected to the terminal TH4. As described above, in the present embodiment, by incorporating the gate resistor 27 for charging the charge for turning on the switching element S ¥ # and the gate resistor 28a for discharging into the drive IC 20, A single high-voltage side terminal TH2 is shared by the charging path and the discharging path including each of these.

  These gate resistors 27 and 28a are used as variable resistors, and their resistance values are adjusted by adjustment signals ai1 and ai2, respectively. Here, the adjustment signal ai1 is generated by a current signal flowing through the adjustment resistor 64 and transmitted by the photocoupler 66. On the other hand, the adjustment signal ai2 is generated by a current signal flowing through the adjustment resistor 94 and transmitted by the photocoupler 90. That is, the low voltage side power source 60 is set to the vehicle body potential via the switching element 92, the adjusting resistor 94, the low voltage side terminal TL7, the photodiode of the photocoupler 90, and the low voltage side terminal TL8. In addition, the collector of the phototransistor of the photocoupler 90 is connected to the DC voltage source 22, and the emitter is connected to the emitter of the switching element S ¥ # via the resistor 96. Then, the current signal flowing through the phototransistor is taken into the drive control unit 32 as the adjustment signal ai2.

  Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the clamp voltage Vc is an applied voltage of the high-voltage side terminal TH9 generated by dividing the terminal voltage of the DC voltage source 22 by the resistors 100 and 102.

  FIG. 13 shows a procedure for adjusting the resistance values Rc and Rd of the gate resistors 27 and 28a according to the present embodiment. This process is executed by the drive control unit 32.

  In this series of processing, first, in step S80, it is determined whether or not the drive IC 20 is turned on. This process has the same purpose as the process of step S50 of FIG.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S80, it is determined in step S82 whether or not the adjustment signal ai1 has been input. This process is for checking whether or not the adjustment command signal as is output by the control device 14 and the adjustment information regarding the resistance value Rc of the gate resistor 27 is normally input. If it is determined that the input has been made, the resistance value Rc is adjusted based on the adjustment signal ai1 in step S84. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S82, the resistance value Rc is set to the default value Rc0 stored in the memory 70 shown in FIG. 2 in step S86.

  When the processes of steps S84 and S86 are completed, the process proceeds to step S88. In step S88, it is determined whether adjustment signal ai2 has been input. This process is for confirming whether or not the adjustment command signal as is output by the control device 14 and the adjustment information regarding the resistance value Rd of the gate resistor 28a is normally input. If it is determined that the input has been made, the resistance value Rd is adjusted based on the adjustment signal ai2 in step S90. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S88, the resistance value Rd is set to the default value Rd0 stored in the memory 70 shown in FIG. 2 in step S92.

  In addition, when the process of step S90, S92 is completed, or when negative determination is made in step S80, this series of processes is once complete | finished.

  According to this embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects according to the first embodiment.

(9) A gate resistor 27 for charging the gate with a charge for turning on the switching element S ¥ # and a gate resistor 28a for discharging are mounted in the drive IC 20 and their resistance values are mounted. Equipped with an adjustable function. Accordingly, the high voltage side terminal TH2 can be shared by the charge charging path and the discharging path, and the number of the high voltage side terminals THi can be reduced.
<Other embodiments>
Each of the above embodiments may be modified as follows.

"Regarding the transmission method of adjustment information"
The adjustment signals ai, ai1, and ai2 are not limited to signals obtained by superimposing adjustment information on current values. For example, a binary signal obtained by PWM processing of a divided value obtained by dividing the terminal voltage of the low-voltage side power supply 60 by two resistors may be used. In this case, the time ratio of the logic H to one period of the logic H and logic L expresses the adjustment information.

  Further, for example, a photocoupler that changes the resistance value according to the light emission amount of the light emitting diode may be used to transmit the adjustment information as a resistance value to the high voltage side region.

"Insulated communication means"
The photocoupler is not limited to a phototransistor on the secondary side, and may include a light receiving diode. Further, it may be described in the column “Regarding the transmission method of adjustment information”.

  Moreover, it is not limited to the optical insulating element, and may be a flying capacitor, for example. In this case, if the adjusting means includes a capacitor, the applied voltage of the flying capacitor can be used as the capacitor charging voltage, and the magnitude of the capacitor charging voltage can be used as adjustment information.

"About output means"
As described in the column “Regarding the transmission method of adjustment information”, a PWM signal may be output to the drive IC 20.

  Instead of a member externally attached to the control device 14, the control device 14 may be used.

"About adjustment means"
For example, when the adjustment information is transmitted by a PWM signal as described in the section “Regarding the transmission method of adjustment information”, the preparation means should be configured with a means for demodulating the adjustment information from the time ratio, such as a frequency voltage conversion circuit. That's fine.

"About operating parameters"
a) Number In the first embodiment, for example, the clamp voltage Vc and the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft may be set as the operation parameters. In each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the operation information for transmitting the adjustment information from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region is one or two has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As the number increases, the number of high-voltage side terminals THi is likely to increase by not applying the present invention, so that the application of the present invention is more effective.

b) Types For example, the collector parameter Ic for performing active gate control and the threshold value of the gate voltage Vge may be used as operation parameters. That is, for example, when two switching connection elements are provided when two switching connection elements S ¥ # are turned off when two series connection bodies of a discharging resistor and a discharging switching element are provided. Is determined based on a comparison between the value of the sense voltage Vse and the threshold value, the threshold value may be used as an operation parameter.

"Restriction means"
It is not restricted to what was shown in previous FIG. For example, a plurality of series connection bodies of one or a plurality of diodes and a clamp switching element may be provided. In this case, the clamp voltage is determined according to the forward voltage drop of the diode. For this reason, the clamp voltage can be adjusted by determining how many diodes the clamp switching elements connected in series are turned on based on the adjustment information.

"About switching elements to be driven"
It is not limited to IGBT. For example, a MOS field effect transistor may be used. Here, an N-channel one may be used, but a P-channel one may also be used. Even in this case, the current flow path (between the source and drain) is opened and closed by operating the potential difference of the open / close control terminal (gate) with respect to the reference end (source) which is one end of the flow path. .

"others"
The clamping threshold voltage Vcmp and the soft cutoff threshold voltage Vsft may be the same.

  20... Drive IC (one embodiment of integrated circuit), 64... Adjusting resistor, 66... Photocoupler (one embodiment of insulating communication means).

Claims (14)

A high voltage side region that is electronically operated to open and close the current flow path and is connected to the open / close control terminal for the drive target switching element (S ¥ #) that is the switching element to be driven, and the high voltage side A single integrated circuit including a low-voltage side region that is insulated from the region and that receives an operation signal of the drive target switching element output from the external control device (14),
The integrated circuit (20)
High voltage side terminals (TH1 to TH8) connected to the high voltage side region;
Low voltage side terminals (TL1 to TL8) connected to the low voltage side region;
Insulation communication means (34, 66) for transmitting an electrical signal from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region while insulating between the low voltage side region and the high voltage side region;
With
An output means (64) connected to the low voltage side terminal and for outputting adjustment information of an operation parameter that defines an operation of a circuit in the high voltage side region;
Adjusting means (32) for adjusting an operating parameter in the high voltage side region based on the adjustment information;
With
The drive target switching element characterized in that the adjustment information output from the output means to the low voltage side terminal is transmitted to the adjustment means in the high voltage side region via the insulation communication means. Drive device.   The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the output means includes hardware means different from the control device.   3. The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment information is output from the output unit at least once during a period in which power is supplied to the high voltage side region.   4. The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment information is output from the output means when the high voltage side region is activated.   4. The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment information is periodically output from the output means during a period in which power is supplied to the high voltage side region.   The adjustment means includes storage means for storing information on a default value for the adjustment information, and adjusts the operation parameter based on the stored default value when the adjustment information from the output means cannot be received. The drive device of the drive object switching element of any one of Claims 3-5 characterized by these.   The insulating communication means for transmitting the adjustment information from the low-voltage side region to the high-voltage side region is a dedicated unit for transmitting the adjustment information. The drive apparatus of the drive object switching element of description.   Insulating communication means (34) for transmitting the operation signal from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region, and the insulating communication means, the adjustment information is transferred from the low voltage side region to the high voltage side region. The drive device for the drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the drive device is used as the insulating communication means for transmitting to the drive device. Insulating communication means (72, 54) for transmitting the adjustment information received by the adjustment means from the high voltage side area to the low voltage side area while insulating between the high voltage side area and the low voltage side area. Prepared,
The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the control device can be notified of the contents of the adjustment information received by the adjustment means.   The insulation communication means (72) for transmitting the adjustment information received by the adjustment means from the high voltage side region to the low voltage side region is a dedicated means for transmitting the received adjustment information. The drive device of the drive object switching element of Claim 9. The high-voltage side region includes a determination unit that determines whether there is an abnormality related to driving of the drive target switching element, and a unit that generates a fail signal according to a determination result of the determination unit,
Insulating communication means (54) for transmitting the fail signal from the high voltage side area to the low voltage side area while insulating between the high voltage side area and the low voltage side area, and comprising the insulating communication means 10. The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 9, wherein the received adjustment information is used as the insulation communication means for transmitting the received adjustment information from the high voltage side region to the low voltage side region. The high voltage side region includes a determination unit that determines whether or not a current flowing through the drive target switching element is equal to or greater than a threshold current.
The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment means is means for adjusting the threshold current. The driving target switching element opens and closes the circulation path according to a potential difference between a reference end that is one end of the circulation path and an open / close control terminal,
Limiting means (40 to 46) for limiting the absolute value of the potential difference to a specified value;
The drive device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit is a unit that adjusts the specified value. The driving target switching element opens and closes the circulation path according to a potential difference between a reference end that is one end of the circulation path and an open / close control terminal,
A charging path for charging the switching control terminal with a charge for turning on the drive target switching element; and a discharging path for discharging the charge from the switching control terminal;
The charging path includes a charging resistor (27) whose resistance value can be adjusted,
The discharge path includes a discharge resistor (28a) whose resistance value can be adjusted,
The integrated circuit includes the charging resistor and the discharging resistor,
The driving device for a drive target switching element according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting unit is a unit that adjusts resistance values of the charging resistor and the discharging resistor. .

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