JPH01298903A - Controller for electric motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the torques and steering angles of motor-driven wheels without mechanical power transmission mechanism by calculating an optimum steering angle for each wheel on the basis of output signals of steering angle signal output means and torque signal output means. CONSTITUTION:A handle 45, a driving mode switching lever 46, an accelerator pedal 47, and a brake pedal 48 are disposed in an electric motor vehicle, and theta/V converters 50, 52, 53, theta/S converters 51, 54 are respectively connected thereto. A switch 55 and a rotating direction discriminator 71 are controlled by the outputs of the converters 51, 54, and the steering angles of motor-driven wheels are controlled. The outputs of the converters 52, 53 are processed by a PID nonlinear processor 67, supplied to a supply voltage controller 72, and the torques of the wheels are controlled. Thus, the vehicle can be traveled by optimum traveling stability from a normal traveling to a special traveling.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an electric vehicle having wheels arranged in the front, rear, left and right sides, each of which is attached so that its output torque and steering angle can be individually controlled. The present invention relates to an electric vehicle, and particularly to a control device for an electric vehicle that optimally controls the output torque and steering angle of electric wheels constituting the wheels of the vehicle, based on signals from the accelerator, brake, steering wheel, etc.

(Prior Art) In recent years, electric vehicles have been increasingly developed and researched against the backdrop of social demands for easing the concentration on petroleum as an energy source and improving energy use efficiency.

By the way, 1. As a matter of course, electric vehicles do not require an air intake for engine cooling like conventional gasoline vehicles. By placing the motor in an appropriate position, there is a degree of freedom in the external design of the front bonnet. Also, since there is no need for a transmission or muffler, there are no protruding parts under the floor, etc., which makes it possible not only to extremely reduce air resistance, but also to reduce weight and simplify the structure. It has various advantages. Furthermore, since electric vehicles do not have exhaust gas, they do not emit air pollutants, and since there is almost no equivalent to exhaust noise, they are also low noise, so they also have public benefits of low pollution and low noise.

Furthermore, in order to improve driving safety in the future, we will introduce devices such as rear-end collision prevention devices, devices that automatically stop when a red light is detected, and devices that automatically drive on a predetermined course.
Even when various devices that contribute to safe driving are developed,
Electric vehicles, which are all electrically controlled, also have the advantage that these devices can be controlled more easily.

Therefore, today, electric vehicles are being used in place of conventional gasoline-powered internal combustion engines in some areas, either experimentally or in practical use, in places where they can demonstrate any of these benefits. It's starting to happen. The latest electric vehicles currently in use are of the type shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in which motors and speed reducers are independently connected to the left and right drive wheels of the rear axle, respectively.

This type of electric vehicle has, as shown in these figures,
A motor 2 connected to the driving wheels via a reduction gear fi3,
It is arranged inside the electric vehicle E with its rotating shaft and axle parallel to each other, and the battery 1 which is the power source of the motor 2 is placed in the front and rear directions of the electric vehicle E, respectively, as shown in the figure. Further, a control device 4 that controls the rotational speed of the motor 2 and the running state of the electric vehicle E is provided at the front of the central portion of the electric vehicle E.

This control device 4 receives a signal based on the driver's intention.
For example, signals are input from a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, etc., and the driving state of the electric vehicle E is controlled based on these signals.

Among these signals, the signal output from the accelerator pedal is
This serves as a reference signal when the control device 4 calculates the rotation speed of the motor 2, and the control device 4 controls the current flowing from the battery 1 to the motor 2 so as to approach the rotation speed calculated based on this signal. The power generated by this controlled current is transmitted to the tires 5 via the speed reducer 3, causing the electric vehicle E to run at any desired speed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the case of conventional electric vehicles, despite the various advantages mentioned above, electric vehicles simply replace the conventional internal combustion engine with a motor. It is nothing more than a replacement electric vehicle, and it is hard to say that it takes full advantage of its benefits.

In other words, the power source is a motor instead of a conventional engine,
The electric power supplied to the motor is controlled by operating the accelerator pedal, and the steering and braking functions are mechanically constructed in the same way as in the conventional system. Therefore, as a matter of course, there are drawbacks such as low energy utilization efficiency and short distance traveled per battery charge. - The present invention was made in order to eliminate various drawbacks of conventional electric vehicles, and the wheels themselves form part of the motor, and electric wheels that are individually steerable are arranged on the front, rear, left and right sides. The object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an electric vehicle that can individually control the output torque and steering angle of these electric wheels without a mechanical power transmission mechanism.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention for achieving the above object includes attaching a rotor to a wheel on which a tire is mounted, and attaching a rotor to an axle that supports the wheel. An electric vehicle is provided with wheels arranged on the front, rear, left and right sides, comprising electric wheels formed by attaching a stator for rotationally driving the wheels, and steering means attached to the axle for steering the electric wheels. a steering angle signal output means for outputting a signal regarding the steering angle of the wheels; a torque signal output means for outputting a signal regarding the torque of the electric wheels; a signal regarding the steering angle output from the steering angle signal output means and the torque signal; a steering angle calculation means for calculating a steering angle of each of the electric wheels based on a signal related to torque output from the output means and outputting the calculation result to each of the steering means; and a steering angle signal. It is characterized by comprising a torque calculation means for calculating the torque output from each of the electric wheels based on a signal regarding the steering angle output from the output means and a signal regarding the torque output from the torque signal output means. It is something to do.

(Function) With this configuration, the steering angle of each electric wheel arranged in the electric vehicle is calculated by the steering angle calculation means,
The steering means individually drives each electric wheel according to the calculation result to set a predetermined steering angle. That is, the steering angle calculation means calculates the optimal steering for each wheel based on the signal regarding the steering angle of the electric wheel and the signal regarding the torque of the electric wheel output from both the steering angle signal output means and the torque signal output means. The steering angle is calculated and the steering angle is output to the steering means. Then, the steering means sets each electric wheel to a predetermined steering angle as described above.

Further, the output torque of the electric wheels constituting each wheel is calculated by a torque calculating means, and the electric wheels are driven with the individually calculated output torque. That is, the torque calculation means calculates the optimum output for each electric wheel based on the signal regarding the steering angle of the electric wheel and the signal regarding the torque of the electric wheel output from both the steering angle signal output means and the torque signal output means. It calculates the torque and outputs the calculation result to each electric wheel. As a result, each electric wheel is individually driven with a predetermined output torque.

Therefore, for example, when an electric vehicle is traveling in a completely straight line, each electric wheel is steered in the same direction toward the direction of travel of the electric vehicle, and the output torque of the electric wheel is are the same. On the other hand, in a constant speed running state, when the steering angle signal output means outputs a signal to turn to the right, the steering angle calculation means calculates the steering angle of the electric wheel of the front light and the steering angle of the electric wheel of the front left. angle, or if necessary, the steering angle of the rear right and rear left electric wheels individually.
Each electric wheel is set to a steering angle according to the calculation result. At the same time, the torque calculation means calculates the optimum output torque for each electric wheel in order to smoothly turn the electric vehicle with the steering angle, and outputs the optimum output torque for each electric wheel according to the calculation result. drive.

For this purpose, the steering angle and output torque of each electric wheel are
This means that the power can be controlled individually without mechanical power transmission Ia, and for example, the steering characteristics of an electric vehicle can be subtly changed depending on the vehicle speed (by changing the steering angle or output torque of each electric wheel depending on the speed). Although it is ancillary, it is also possible to perform complex control, which has been considered difficult in the past. In addition, each electric wheel is set to the optimal steering angle for the current driving condition and is driven with the optimal output torque, resulting in significantly improved driving stability compared to conventional wheels. Become.

(Example) Below, the main structure of the steering system and running system of an electric vehicle in which the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention is installed, as well as the configuration and operation of the control device will be explained in detail based on the drawings. do.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of an electric vehicle equipped with an electric vehicle control device according to the present invention.

In the same figure, the wheel portion on the right side is schematically shown, and the wheel portion on the left side is shown in a skeleton manner.

In this figure, the electric milling vehicle E has four electric wheels 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20. Each electric wheel 20 is of a direct drive type, with a motor 2 attached to the outside side of a wheel 11 on which a tire 5 is mounted on the outer periphery. is attached to the vehicle body 10 via a suspension 13 that supports a hollow knuckle 12 so as to be vertically movable and steerable.

A steering actuator 40 serving as a steering means for steering the electric wheel 20 by a motor is connected to the hollow knuckle 12 of each of these electric wheels 20 . Therefore, the torque and steering angle output from each electric wheel 20, 20 can be freely set, and the output torque and steering angle of each electric wheel 20 can be appropriately controlled. For example, it is possible to provide various running characteristics.

As shown in FIG. 2, in each electric wheel 20, a hollow hub 15 is coaxially tightened and fixed to the hollow knuckle 12 by bolts 14, and the wheel 11 is rotated on the hollow hub 15 via a bearing 16. Installed as possible. This hollow hub 1
5 serves as both the rotating shaft and axle of motor 2;
This simplifies the structure of the shaft portion.

A rotating ring 25 is attached to the outer periphery of the wheel 11, and the rotating ring 25 includes a rim 19 fixed to the outer periphery of the wheel 11 by hub bolts 17 and hub nuts 18, and a rim 19 fixed to the outer periphery of the wheel 11 by hub bolts 17 and hub nuts 18. The tire 5 is fitted onto the tire 5.

Further, a rotor 30 of the motor 2 and a cover 21 covering the outside of the motor 2 are jointly fastened to the outer peripheral end portion of the wheel 11 by bolts 22 from the outside side.

The rotor 30 is composed of an annular yoke 23 and a thin rare earth permanent magnet 24 that is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the yoke 23 with adhesive or bolts and generates a strong magnetic field.

A stator 35, which is disposed opposite to the rotor 30 through an unknown gap G, is connected to an armature core 3 around which a coil 31 is wound.
2 to the protrusion 15a of the hollow hub 15 with a bolt 33, and a dust seal member 34 and a torque ring 36
It is fixed with.

Further, a flat plate-shaped terminal 37 extends between the two, and this terminal 37 is connected to the coil 31 and the hollow hub 1.
This is provided to reliably connect the power line 38 inserted through the inside of the power line 38. In addition, at the end of this terminal 37,
The coil 31 is connected, and the power line 38 is connected to a power control section of a control device, which will be described later. Also, these electric wheels 20.20. Although not shown, for example, a magnetic pole position detection element using a Hall element and a temperature of the rotor 30 or stator 35 are used to calculate the output torque and rotation speed of the electric wheel. A motor temperature detection sensor is provided to detect the temperature, and this motor temperature detection sensor prevents insulation breakdown due to temperature rise of the coil 31 during high loads, thermal breakdown of the magnetic pole position detection element, and performance deterioration of the permanent magnet 24. It is designed to protect the

Next, FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of a steering system controlled by the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention.

The electric vehicle shown in the figure has four electric wheels 20 attached to the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body (not shown), and these electric wheels 20, 20. A steering actuator 40 that adjusts the steering angle according to a command from the control device 100 is attached to the hollow knuckle 12 of each of the electric wheels 20 described above. Therefore, when the steering actuator 40 is activated, the steering angle of the electric wheels 20 can be changed by the actuated steering actuator 40, and this steering angle can be freely adjusted for each electric wheel 20.

A θ-■ converter 50 is connected to the control device 100, and the θ-■ converter 50 outputs a voltage corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 45 operated by the driver. It has become. - As an example, in order to make it easier to understand, the driving mode is set to the normal mode (described later) (a driving mode in which the driver can move forward or backward according to his will, similar to a conventional car), and Considering the case where the driver rotates the steering wheel 45 while the vehicle is stopped,
As the handle 45 rotates, the voltage value outputted from the θ-■ converter 50 to the control device 100 changes, and the control device 100 controls each motorized wheel 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 30, 40, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 20 . The steering angles of each of the steering actuators 40, 40, .
... to operate each electric wheel 20, 20. ... is set to the calculated steering angle. Note that each electric wheel 20, 20 . It goes without saying that the steering angles of . . . are stored in advance in the control device 100.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the vicinity of the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the signal output sources for outputting signals for causing the control device 100 to control the driving state of the electric vehicle include a steering wheel 45 which is a steering angle signal output means, and a driving mode of the electric vehicle, for example, normal. , Tsumarking.

A drive mode switching lever 46 that selects various modes such as neutral and skew one rotation, and an accelerator pedal 47 that is a torque signal output means that outputs a drive signal for the electric vehicle.
Similarly, there is a brake pedal 48 which is a torque signal output means for outputting a deceleration signal for the electric vehicle, and a forward/reverse switching lever 49 for selecting the traveling direction of the electric vehicle. Therefore, when driving an electric vehicle, the desired driving mode is selected using the driving mode switching lever 46, and the driving mode selected in the direction of travel is the rotation mode using the forward/reverse switching lever 49. is the direction of rotation. ), the vehicle is driven using the steering wheel 45°, the accelerator pedal 47, and the brake pedal 48.

An angle sensor (not shown) is attached to the shaft of the handle 45, and the angle sensor is, for example, a rotary encoder or a potentiometer. A θ-■ converter 50 is connected to this angle sensor, and a voltage V corresponding to the rotation angle θ of the handle 45 detected by the angle sensor is outputted from the θ-■ converter 50. Become. The operation mode switching lever 46 is also provided with a position sensor (not shown) that detects the position set by the operation of the lever, and a limit switch, a proximity switch, etc. may be used as the position sensor. ing. And this position sensor has θ-8
A converter 51 is connected, and this θ-8 converter 51 outputs the set position of the operation mode switching lever 46 as a contact signal. In other words, the control device 100 detects the operating mode set by the operating mode switching lever 46 based on this contact signal.

Although not shown, sensors are attached to the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48 to detect the amount of depression of these pedals 47 and 48, respectively, and these sensors detect the rotation angle of the handle 45. For example, a rotary encoder or potentiometer is used as a sensor for detecting.

A θ-■ converter 52.53 is connected to these sensors, and a voltage corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 or brake pedal 48 detected by these sensors is output from the θ-■ converter 52.53. V will be output respectively. Furthermore, the forward/backward switching lever 49 has
Similar to the operation mode switching lever 46, there is a position sensor (not shown) that detects the position set by the operation of the lever, and this position sensor has a θ-8
A converter 54 is connected. This θ-8 converter 54 outputs the set position of the forward/reverse switching lever 49 as a contact signal. In other words, the control device 100 detects the traveling direction set by the forward/reverse switching lever 49 based on this contact signal.

These θ-■ converters 50. θ-8 converter 51
and 54. Outputs from the θ-■ converters 52 and 53 are input as command signals to control the running state of the electric vehicle to a control device 100 configured as described below.

The control device 100 can be roughly divided into a central processing unit 60 equipped with various calculation units to be described later, and each electric wheel 20, 20, . . . based on instructions from the central processing unit 60.・・・
A drive control unit 70 that controls the output torque of the central processing unit 60, and a steering angle control unit 80 that similarly controls the steering angle of each of the electric wheels 20, 20°, etc. based on commands from the central processing unit 60. It consists of

The central processing unit 60 includes one installed outside or inside the electric vehicle, such as a motor current detection sensor,
By inputting detection signals from a sensor group 90 consisting of a motor temperature detection sensor, battery voltage detection sensor, etc. and various error signals detected by the central processing unit 60 itself, and processing these signals, the electric vehicle A running permissibility determining unit 61 is provided that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the running state, detects the running state, etc., and displays the determination results. The speed, various warnings, electric vehicle management data, etc. will be displayed on the display device 95.

Further, the central processing unit 60 is provided with a travel management data collection unit 62, and since this travel management data collection unit 62 is not directly related to the present invention, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted, but its main functions are as follows. For example, the sensor group 90 described above
It collects various detection signals output from the sensor and stores them as data. This stored data can be retrieved as needed, and the collected data can be used, for example, on electric wheels 20, 20, etc.
It can be used as maintenance information in ... or as information such as the conventional driving needle.

Furthermore, the central processing unit 60 includes a reference torque calculation section 63.
．． A four-wheel torque ratio calculation section 64 and an each-wheel torque calculation section 65 are provided, and this reference torque calculation section 63 calculates the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake output, which are output as voltage values from the θ-■ converters 52 and 53. Based on a signal corresponding to the amount of depression of the pedal 48, each electric wheel 20, 20 . ...
On the other hand, the four-wheel torque ratio calculation unit 64 calculates the selected driving mode of the driving mode switching lever 46 input via the θ-8 converter 51, and the Each electric wheel 20.20 is adjusted based on a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 45 and the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 output as a voltage value from the converters 50 and 52.
．． ... to calculate the respective torque ratios.

Then, each wheel torque calculation unit 65 calculates each electric wheel 20, 20. . . . and the four-wheel torque ratio, the output torque for each electric wheel 20 is calculated individually, and the calculation result is output to the drive control unit 70. Therefore, each motorized wheel 20.20. ... are driven with a predetermined torque based on the output voltage and output current from the drive control unit 70 connected to each electric wheel 20.

Note that the reference torque calculation section 63.4 wheel torque ratio calculation section 64
and each wheel torque calculation section 65 constitute a torque calculation means.

In addition, the central processing unit 60 includes four
A wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 is provided, and this four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 calculates the set position of the driving mode switching lever 46 and the θ-
(2) Each motorized wheel 20.20. It calculates the steering angle of... This four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 6
The calculation result by 6 is output to the steering angle control unit 80, and each electric wheel is 20.20. ... are individually set to predetermined steering angles by the aforementioned steering actuator 40 driven by the steering angle control section 80.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a portion particularly controlling the rotation of electric wheels in the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention.

As mentioned above, the electric vehicle E includes a steering wheel 45, a driving mode switching lever 46. Accelerator pedal 47. A brake pedal 48 and a forward/reverse switching lever 49 are arranged as shown in the figure, and as described above, the handle 45 is equipped with a θ-■ converter 50, and the operation mode switching lever 46 is equipped with a θ-■ converter 50.
-8 converter 51 is connected to the accelerator pedal 47, a θ-■ converter 52 is connected to the brake pedal 48, a θ-8 converter 53 is connected to the brake pedal 48, and a θ-8 converter 54 is connected to the forward/reverse switching lever 49. has been done.

θ-8 converter 51. The θ-■ converter 52 and the θ-■ converter 53 are connected to a PID nonlinear control section 67 that nonlinearly performs known PID control, and this PID nonlinear control section 67 controls each wheel shown in FIG. This is provided within the torque calculation section 65. The θ-■ converter 50 and the θ-8 converter 51 are connected to the switching section 55,
The switching unit 55 also includes the four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66, the four-wheel torque ratio calculation unit 64. When the skew mode is selected by the driving mode switching lever 46 as the driving mode of the electric vehicle, and when the rotation mode is selected by the skew steering angle calculation unit 81 selected by the switching unit 55 and the driving mode switching lever 46. , the rotary steering angle tables 68 provided in the central processing unit 60 that are selected by the switching unit 55 are connected so that they can be selected respectively. This switching section 55 is connected to the operation mode switching lever 4.
When the normal mode, that is, the mode for normal driving such as forward or reverse, is selected by 6, θ−■
The contacts are operated to connect the converter 50 to the four-wheel steering angle calculating section 66 and the four-wheel torque ratio calculating section 64, and when the skew mode is selected, the θ-■ converter 50 is operated in the skew mode. The contacts are actuated to connect to the steering angle calculating section 81, and when the rotation mode is selected, the contacts are actuated to connect the θ-■ converter 50 to the rotary steering angle table 68.

Further, the θ-8 converter 54 converts each electric wheel 20, 20 . Determine the rotation direction of... It is connected to a rotational direction determination section 71 provided in the drive control section 70, and the rotational direction determination section 71 causes each electric wheel to travel in the direction selected by the four forward/reverse switching levers. Set the direction of rotation.

Further, a four-wheel steering angle calculation section 66, a skew steering angle calculation section 81, and a rotational steering angle table 68 are connected to the rotation direction determination section 71, and also connected to a gate control section 74, which will be described later. , whereas each electric wheel is 20.20
．． Outputs a signal related to the rotation direction of... This PI
The D nonlinear control section 67 and the four-wheel torque ratio calculation section 64 are connected to a supply voltage control section 72 provided in the drive control section 70, and the supply voltage control section 72 controls each motorized wheel 20°2.
The supply voltage to 0, . . . is indirectly controlled.

Further, a pulse train generating section 73 is connected to the supply voltage control section 72 via a gate control section 74 connected to a power control section 75 that supplies power to the motor constituting the electric wheel 20 . The output power is controlled by the on-time of the gate controlled by the gate control section 74 based on the pulses output from the pulse train generation section 73.

Further, the supply voltage control section 72 is connected to a tap switching section 77 that switches the taps of the battery group 76 that applies voltage to the power control section 75 . This will be done by the supply voltage signal. The taps are switched by a pulse motor (not shown), which is operated by a signal output from the tap switching section 77.

As described above, the motor 2 constituting the electric wheel 20 is provided with a magnetic pole position detection element 85 that outputs a pulse every time the motor 2 rotates by a certain angle.
The pulses output from the magnetic pole position detection element 85 are output to the gate control section 74 and the F/V converter 86 connected to the magnetic pole position detection element 85, and provide feedback for rotating the motor 2. I am doing it. Also,
The power control unit 75 and the F/V converter 86 include a signal processing unit 8.
7 is connected, and this signal processing section 87 is connected to the PID nonlinear control section 67 and performs feedback in determining the voltage to be applied to the motor 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a blower, which is a part of the control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention, which particularly controls the steering of electric wheels.

As described above, the electric vehicle E is provided with a steering wheel 45 and a driving mode switching lever 46 as shown in the figure. The lever 46 has a θ-8 converter 5.
1 are connected to each other. The θ-■ converter 50 and the θ-S converter 51 are connected to a switching section 55, and the switching section 55 is also connected to the aforementioned four-wheel steering angle calculation section 66 and the skew steering angle calculation section 81. and rotating steering angle table 6
8 can be selected, and these are also connected to a selection section 56 which is switched by the θ-8 converter 51.
is also connected. The switching sections 55 and 56 connect the θ-■ converter 50 to the steering angle command section 82 via the four-wheel steering angle calculation section 66 when the normal mode is selected by the operation mode switching lever 46. When the skew mode is selected, the θ-■ converter 50 is connected to the steering angle command section 82 via the skew steering angle calculation section 81.
When the rotation mode is selected, the contacts are actuated to connect the θ-■ converter 50 to the steering angle command section 82 via the rotary steering angle table 68. Activate. A steering angle servo 83 for driving the aforementioned steering actuator 40 is connected to the steering angle command section 82, and each of the electric wheels 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4,,4,,4,,4, 8, 8, in turn, in FIG. ...
A command regarding the steering angle is output from this steering angle command section 82.

The operation of the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention configured as described above will be explained below based on the operation flowcharts shown in FIG. 7 and subsequent figures. In this explanation, reference will be made to FIGS. 1 to 6 as necessary so that the actual operation of the electric wheel can be easily understood.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is a main flowchart of the electric vehicle control device according to the present invention. That is, it is a flowchart of the main part for controlling the running of an electric vehicle.

Step 1 First, the driver operates a key to start the control device 100 that comprehensively controls the operation of the electric vehicle.

Step 2 Turning on this key causes the operation of each IC element provided in the central processing unit 60, that is, the recording element, input/output element, and various conversion elements, and the drive control unit 70 connected to the central processing unit 60. Steering angle control section 80. All operations of the sensor group 90 and display device 95 are initialized. Note that this initialization process is commonly performed, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Step 3 Next, the control device 100 transmits the θ-8 converter 51. which outputs the set position by the operation mode switching lever 46 as a digital signal. Handle 45. θ-■ converters 50, 52, 53 that output voltages according to the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48, and the forward/reverse switching lever 49.
It determines whether the θ-8 converter 54 that outputs the set position as a digital signal is functioning normally, and also controls the operation of data tables, counters, and flag areas provided in various elements of the central processing unit 60. Inspection is performed, and detection signals from the sensor group 90 are input to determine whether these detection signals are normal or not.

Δヱヱ74 After the central processing unit 60 determines that each part constituting the control system can function normally, it performs startup registration in the system table.

Step 5 When the processes from Step 1 to Step 4 are completed, the preparation for driving the electric vehicle is completed, so the central processing unit 60 next selects the driving mode switching lever 46 and the forward/reverse switching lever 49 set by the driver. The setting position of θ-8
It is input as a contact signal output from the converter 51 and the θ-8 converter 54. For example, when the driving mode is in neutral, the device signal composed of this θ-8 converter 51 is 100,000. oioooo when in parking mode, 11111111 when set to forward, and 11111111 when set to reverse.
It is a digital signal such as 11111100.

Step 6 The central processing unit 60 determines the currently set driving mode based on the contact signal related to the driving mode inputted in Step 5, and also determines whether the driving mode is forward or backward based on the signal regarding forward and backward movement. Determine if there is.

Step 7 The central processing unit 60 inputs the rotation angle of the steering wheel 45, the amount of depression or operation of the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48, and detection signals from the sensor group 90, etc., and collects these input data as travel management data. Part 62
to be memorized.

Step 8 Although this step will be explained in detail later, the following processing is roughly performed in this step. That is, the control device 100 processes the various data input in step 7 according to the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46 and the running direction set by the forward/reverse switching lever 49, and controls each electric wheel 20. ,20.・・・
・Calculate the output torque and steering angle for each time, and make the electric vehicle run as the driver intends.

Step 9 The central processing unit 60 ends the process if the key is operated and the power is turned off, and if the key is turned on, the process repeats steps 5 to 9.

In other words, while the key is on, the processes from step 5 to step 9 are repeated.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the subroutine program of step 3 in the main flowchart shown in FIG.

This subroutine program is a startup inspection program, and there are various types of inspections that are actually performed, but in this flowchart, the sensor group, which is a typical startup inspection, is used. 9
3 shows a flowchart regarding inspection processing of 0. Note that other inspections are also performed by the same process as in the flowchart shown in the same figure, so a detailed explanation of these operations will be omitted.

Step 10 First, the central processing unit 60 inputs the detection signals of all the sensors of the sensor group 90 including, for example, a motor current detection sensor, a motor temperature detection sensor, a battery voltage detection sensor, etc.
2, these detection signals are stored.

Step 11 Then, the driving permission determining unit 61 individually extracts the signals from each sensor stored in the driving management data collecting unit 62 in step 10, and sequentially determines whether the signals are normal or not. Determine whether the sensor is functioning properly. For example, if a sensor is damaged, no detection signal will be output, or a detection value that is far from reality will be output, so this is compared with the reference value assigned to each sensor. By doing so, it is possible to detect abnormalities in the sensor.

In addition to this method, the abnormality of the sensor can be determined by other commonly used methods.

Step 12 As a result of the abnormality judgment process in step 11, if no abnormality is found in any sensor, this subroutine is ended and the process returns to the main routine.If an abnormality is found in even one sensor, Proceed to next step.

Step 13: When a sensor with an abnormality is detected by the travel permission determining section 61, the display device 9-5 displays the occurrence of an abnormality in this sensor. After this display, the subroutine is ended and the process returns to the main routine.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a subroutine program of step 6 in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7. Note that this subroutine program only shows the subroutine program for detecting the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46;
Detection of retreat is also the same as in this subroutine program, so its explanation will be omitted. Furthermore, the electric vehicle exemplified in this embodiment is provided with various driving modes as described above, and the driving direction can also be selected.Specifically, the driving modes include neutral, Parking, normal mode.

A diagonal mode and a rotation mode are provided, and the running direction can be selected from forward, backward, right rotation, and left rotation. Therefore, the electric vehicle can be driven in the following driving states: forward and backward in the normal mode, forward and backward in the diagonal mode, and clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation. Although a specific flowchart is not shown here, when the stop time exceeds a predetermined time, the driving mode can be automatically set to neutral or parking mode.

Step 20 The central processing unit 60 inputs the contact signal output as a digital value from the θ-8 converter 51 by operating the operation mode switching lever 46.

Step 21 The central processing unit 60 detects the set position of the operation mode switching lever 46 based on the input contact signal.

Step 22: Upon detection of the set position, the central processing unit 60 calculates the operating mode from the set position.

Step 23 The central processing unit 60 outputs the operating mode calculated in step 22 to the switching units 55 and 56 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and selects the switching unit according to the operating mode. Switch the contacts 55 and 56. and,
End this subroutine and return to the main routine. Needless to say, the running direction selected by the forward/reverse switching lever 49 is also input to the central processing unit 60, and each electric wheel 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 . ...
The direction of rotation is determined.

Furthermore, from FIG. 10 onwards, the subroutine program of step 8 in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is shown.

This subroutine program is a subroutine program for displaying on the display device 95 in each driving mode or for calculating the output torque and steering angle of each electric wheel 20. The subroutine program shown in FIG. 10 is a subroutine program when the selected driving mode is neutral.

Step 30 When the central processing unit 60 determines the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46 using the subroutine program shown in FIG. 9, the central processing unit 60 displays the determined driving mode on the display device 95. That is, in this case, neutral will be displayed.

Then, the central processing unit 60 determines, for example, that the electric car is fast.
It is. ), and various other data requested by the driver are displayed on the display device 95.

In other words, in this driving mode, the display device 95 shows the vehicle speed, etc.
Only the display indicating the running state of the electric vehicle and the data requested by the driver are displayed, and even if the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48 are operated, the operation of the electric wheels 20 is not affected. It has become.

Next, the subroutine program shown in FIG. 11 is a subroutine program when the selected driving mode is parking.

Step 40 When the central processing unit 60 determines that the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46 is the parking mode by the subroutine program shown in FIG. activate the appropriate brakes to stop the electric vehicle.

Step 41 Next, the central processing unit 60 displays the determined driving mode on the display device 95. That is, in this case, parking is displayed.

Step 42 Then, as described above, the central processing unit 60 displays, for example, the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle and various other data requested by the driver on the display device 95.

In other words, in this driving mode, as in the case of neutral, the display device 95 only displays the vehicle speed and other information indicating the running state of the electric vehicle and data requested by the driver, and even if the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal Even if 48 is operated, the operation of the electric wheel 20 is not affected.

The subroutine programs shown in FIGS. 12(A) and 12(B) are subroutine programs when the selected driving mode is the oblique mode.

This diagonal mode can be activated by operating the handle 46 to control all electric wheels 20, 20. ... is a mode in which the electric vehicle is steered in the same direction with the same steering angle, and is a mode in which the electric vehicle is moved diagonally forward or backward.

Below, the operation of the electric vehicle control device of the present invention when this oblique traveling mode is selected will be explained in detail.

Step 50 When the central processing unit 60 determines that the set position of the operation mode switching lever 46 is the diagonal mode, the mode data stored in the storage device provided in the central processing unit 60 is changed to the diagonal mode. Rewrite to line mode data. When this mode is selected, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a switching signal is output from the θ-8 converter 51 to the switching units 55 and 56, and based on this switching signal, the switching unit 55
and 56 are arranged so that the signal from the θ-■ converter 50 can be input to the skew steering angle calculating section 81, and the signal from the skew steering angle calculating section 81 can be output to the steering angle command section 82. Switch that contact to .

Step 51 The oblique steering angle calculation unit 81 inputs a voltage proportional to the rotation angle of the handle 45 output from the θ-■ converter 50.

Step 52 The oblique steering angle calculation unit 81 calculates the steering angle of each electric wheel 20 based on the voltage proportional to the rotation angle of the handle 45 input in the previous step.

In other words, if the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 50 due to the rotation of the handle 45 is 1, the oblique steering angle calculating section 81 stores the steering angle based on this voltage V0 in a storage device (not shown). Calculate by looking up the data that is being used.

Step 53 The rotation direction determination unit 71 determines the rotation direction of each electric wheel 20, 20, . . . based on the signal output from the forward/reverse switching lever 49, and Each electric wheel 20, 20 . Give instructions for rotating... Each electric wheel 20.20. . . is determined depending on which direction the oblique mode is selected by the forward/reverse switching lever 49. That is, the direction of rotation is determined depending on whether the mode is the forward oblique mode or the backward oblique mode.

Step 54 The PID nonlinear control section 67 inputs the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 when the accelerator pedal 47 is operated.

Step 55 As in the previous step, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 receives the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53 when the brake pedal 48 is operated.

Step 56 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 determines θ−■ according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 48.
The difference between the two voltages output from the converters 52 and 53 is calculated, and based on the voltage value obtained as a result of this calculation, each electric wheel 20, 20 . Calculate the torque command value to be applied to... Note that even during calculation of this command value, strictly speaking, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 48 cannot necessarily be kept constant, so the PID nonlinear control unit 67 In order to prevent the calculation from being affected even if the amount of depression varies within a certain range, a dead zone is provided in the same sense as the conventional play. In practice, this dead zone is determined by determining whether the input, that is, the absolute value of the voltage value mentioned above, has exceeded a predetermined value. It is determined that the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48 have been operated only when the value exceeds a predetermined value.

Step 57 Next, the PID nonlinear control section 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20.・
... calculates the currently occurring load torque. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing unit 87 receives the effective value and supply of the voltage applied to the motor from the power control unit 75 that supplies power to the motor of the electric wheel 20. The effective value of the current being input is input to the F/F/
The effective value of the voltage from the V converter 86 is input, and the signal processing unit 87 performs arithmetic processing on these voltage values or current values at once, and performs PID nonlinear control using a signal related to the load torque of the motor 2 as a voltage value. It is output to section 67. Therefore, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 inputs this voltage value and calculates the current load torque that the motor is carrying in real time.

Step 58 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 performs a nonlinear correction calculation for the load torque in the motor calculated in the previous step. In other words, this nonlinear correction is a well-known correction that is also used in conventional electric vehicles, etc., and in the case of electric vehicles in particular, it is performed to improve operability and feeling when starting and accelerating. .

Step 59 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the torque deviation from the torque command value calculated in step 56 and the motor load torque calculated in step 57.

In other words, the torque that must be further applied to the motor 2 is calculated. In this case as well, if this torque deviation is minute, this torque deviation can be ignored. In other words, a dead zone is provided in the same sense as the play of the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48 described above. ing. In practice, this dead zone is determined by comparing the torque deviation with a reference torque deviation prepared in advance, and it is determined that a torque deviation has occurred when the torque deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

Step 60 Based on the torque deviation calculated in the previous step, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the voltage value to be applied to the motor in order to reduce the torque deviation to O, and sends the calculation result to the supply voltage control unit 72. Output. In this case, the voltage output to the supply voltage control unit 72 is the voltage after the integral processing has been performed, and since the driving mode in this case is the diagonal mode selected when parking or stopping, the PID nonlinear The control unit 67 is also equipped with a speed limiter function to prevent a speed higher than necessary due to a mistake in operating the accelerator pedal 47. In other words, in this oblique traveling mode, it is not possible to achieve a speed of 1, for example, 20 KM/H or more.

Step 61 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 2o, 20,...
・Calculate the torque ratio for each. In this case, since the driving mode is the oblique mode, each of the electric wheels 20, 20.・
... is 1, and each electric wheel 20 rotates with the same torque depending on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47.

Step 62 The supply voltage control section 72, depending on the voltage value for making the torque deviation output from the PID nonlinear control section 67,
The tap switching unit 77 calculates the switching position of a tap (not shown) provided in the battery group 76 to be selected. Note that this battery group 76 is made up of, for example, ten 12V batteries connected in series, and a tap is provided at the connection point of each battery. By switching this tap by the tap switching section 77, voltage can be applied to the power control section 75 from a maximum of 120V to a minimum of 12V in steps of 12V.

Step 63 In addition, the supply voltage control section 72 controls each electric wheel 20°20, .
. . , calculate the optimal pulse width of the voltage supplied through the tap selected in the previous step.

Step 64 The rotational direction determination unit 71 instructs the gate control unit 74 to rotate each motorized wheel by 20°20, . . . in the rotational direction determined in step 53.
Give a command regarding the direction of rotation so that it rotates.

Step 65 The oblique steering angle calculation unit 81 outputs the signal regarding the steering angle of each electric wheel 20 calculated in Step 52 to the steering angle command unit 82 as a steering angle command value.

Step 66 The steering angle command unit 82 operates the steering angle servo 83 based on the steering angle command value output in the previous step,
By operating the steering actuator 40, each electric wheel 20,
20. ... are set to the same steering angle proportional to the rotation angle of the handle 45. This allows electric vehicles to drive diagonally.

Step 67 The supply voltage control unit 72 outputs a signal for switching the tap to the tap switching unit 77 based on the optimal tap position calculated in Step 62.

Step 68: The tap switching unit 77 operates a pulse motor for switching taps, and switches the taps provided in the battery group 76 to optimal tap positions. When this tap is switched, the voltage switched by this tap is always applied from the battery group 76 to the power control unit 75. It should be noted that since the voltage applied to the power control section 75 changes rapidly when the taps are switched, processing is also performed to prevent sparks from occurring when the taps are switched.

Step 69 Based on the pulse width ratio calculated in Step 63, the supply voltage control unit 72 outputs the pulse width ratio to the pulse train generation unit 73.

Step 70 The pulse train generating section 73 determines an on-level section within one pulse of the fundamental frequency determined by the clock signal based on the pulse width ratio output from the supply voltage control section 72 in the previous step, and The pulse width modulated basic clock is output to the gate control section 74. and,
The gate control unit 74 receives the basic clock generated by the pulse motor, a signal related to the rotation direction output from the rotation direction determining unit 71, and the rotation of the motor 2 output from the magnetic pole position detection element 85. The rectification timing direction for each magnetic pole of the motor 2 is determined while taking into account the generated pulses, and the pulse width modulation signal (
Hereinafter, this will be referred to as a PWM signal. ) is output to the power control section 75. Next, the power control unit 75 chops the voltage applied by the battery group 76 using the PWM signal output from the gate control unit 74, and applies the pulse width modulated voltage to the coil of the motor. Note that the power control section 75 uses a large number of power transistors, and by controlling the ON time of the power transistors, the effective value of the voltage applied to the motor is controlled.

Step 71: Each electric wheel 20, 20. ... is driven. Since this operation mode is a diagonal mode, the same voltage is applied to all electric wheels 20, and each electric wheel 20.20.・・・
* rotates with the same torque and in the same direction depending on how much the accelerator pedal 47 is depressed.

Step 72 When the central processing unit 60 determines the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46 using the subroutine program shown in FIG. 9, the central processing unit 60 displays the determined driving mode on the display device 95. In this case, a diagonal mode will be displayed.

Step 73 Then, the central processing unit 60 displays, for example, a display necessary for driving, such as the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle, or various other data requested by the driver on the display device 95, and returns to the main routine.

In this way, when the driving mode is diagonal mode,
Each electric wheel 20.20. The steering angles of... are all steered in the same direction according to the rotation angle of the handle 45, and at the same time,
Based on the driving direction selected by the four forward/reverse switching levers by operating the accelerator pedal 47,
It becomes possible to drive the electric vehicle diagonally forward or diagonally backward. Therefore, it is possible to park easily even in places with narrow parking spaces, and
If you use this mode effectively, you will be able to easily escape from the trouble when a trouble occurs, such as a wheel coming off.

Next, the subroutine program shown in FIGS. 13(8) and 13(B) will be explained. This subroutine program is a subroutine program when the selected operation mode is the rotation mode. This rotation mode is a mode in which the electric vehicle is caused to rotate on the spot regardless of the operation of the steering wheel 46. That is, when this rotation mode is selected, each electric wheel 20, 20 . The steering angles of ... are set at angles that allow the electric vehicle to rotate on the spot around the center of gravity of the four electric wheels 20.

This driving mode is very convenient to use when making a U-turn in an extremely narrow place, and it goes without saying that when making a turn, the minimum area that can be drawn is a circle with a diameter equal to the length of the electric vehicle. If limited, electric cars will be able to rotate on the spot.

The operation of the electric vehicle control device of the present invention in this rotation mode will be described below.

Step 80.81 When the central processing unit 60 determines that the set position of the operation mode switching lever 46 is the rotation mode, the mode data stored in the storage device provided in the central processing unit 60 is transferred to the rotation mode. Rewrite to data. When this mode is selected, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a switching signal is output from the θ-8 converter 51 to the switching units 55 and 56, and based on this switching signal, the switching units 55 and 56
The signal from the θ-■ converter 50 is converted to the rotational steering angle table 6.
Also, the rotary steering angle table 68
The contacts are switched so that a signal from the steering angle command section 82 can be outputted to the steering angle command section 82.

Step 82 The rotational direction determination unit 71 determines the rotational direction of each electric wheel 20, 20. The gate control unit 74 that controls the power supplied to each motorized wheel 20, 20, . . . in the determined rotation direction. Give instructions for rotating... The direction of rotation of each of the electric wheels 20, 20, . . . is determined depending on which direction of rotation mode is selected by the forward/reverse switching lever 49. In other words, the direction of rotation is determined depending on whether the mode is a rightward rotation mode or a leftward rotation mode. For example, when the right rotation mode is set, the electric wheels 20 placed on the front and rear lights rotate in the backward direction, and the electric wheels 20 placed on the front left and rear left rotate in the forward direction. It will rotate to . Of course, the rotation speeds of these electric wheels 20 are all the same speed.

Step 83 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 receives the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 when the accelerator pedal 47 is operated.

Step 84 As in the previous step, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 receives the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53 when the brake pedal 48 is operated.

Step 85 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 determines θ−■ according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 48.
The difference between the two mold pressures output from the converters 52 and 53 is calculated, and each electric wheel 2 is adjusted based on the voltage value obtained as a result of this calculation.
0,20. Calculate the torque command value to be applied to... Note that even during calculation of this command value, strictly speaking, the depression position of the accelerator pedal 47 and the depression position of the brake pedal 48 cannot necessarily be kept constant, so the PID nonlinear control unit 67 In order to not affect the calculation even if the stepping scene changes within a certain range, a dead zone is provided in the same sense as in conventional games.
In other words, slight changes in the amount of depression of both pedals 47 and 48 can be ignored. In reality, this dead zone is determined by determining whether the input, that is, the absolute value of the voltage value mentioned above, has exceeded a predetermined value, and it is only when this voltage value exceeds the predetermined value that the accelerator is activated. Pedal 47. It is determined that the brake pedal 48 has been operated.

Step 86 Next, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each motorized wheel 20, 20.・・・
・Calculate the currently occurring load torque for each.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing section 87 receives the effective value and supply of the voltage applied to the motor 2 of the electric wheel 20 from the power control section 75 that supplies electric power to the motor 2. The effective value of the current being input is input, and the F/
The effective value of the voltage from the V converter 86 is input, and the signal processing unit 87 performs arithmetic processing on these voltage values or current values at once, and outputs the signal related to the load torque of the motor 2 as a voltage value to the PID nonlinear control unit. It is output to 67.

Therefore, by inputting this voltage value and calculating it, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 can calculate the current load torque that the motor 2 is carrying in real time.

Step 87 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 performs a nonlinear correction calculation for the load torque on the motor 2 calculated in the previous step. In other words, this nonlinear correction is a well-known correction that is also used in conventional electric vehicles, etc., and in the case of electric vehicles in particular, it is performed to improve operability and feeling when starting and accelerating. . In this driving mode, it is necessary to rotate the electric vehicle very slowly for safety reasons, so this nonlinear correction calculation is performed to improve operability.

Step 88 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 determines the torque deviation from the torque command value calculated in step 85 and the motor load torque calculated in step 86.

In other words, the torque that must be further applied to the motor 2 is calculated. In this case as well, if this torque deviation is minute, it is made to be able to be ignored, that is, a dead zone is provided in the same sense as the play of the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48 described above. . In practice, this dead zone is determined by comparing the torque deviation with a reference torque deviation prepared in advance, and it is determined that a torque deviation has occurred when the torque deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

The eight-step PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates a positive value to be given to the motor 2 in order to make the torque deviation O based on the torque deviation calculated in the previous step, and controls the supply voltage using the calculation result. It outputs to section 72. In this case, the voltage output to the supply voltage control section 72 is the voltage after the integral processing has been performed, and the driving mode in this case is the rotation mode selected when the electric vehicle makes a U-turn. , the PID nonlinear control unit 67 has an accelerator pedal 4
It is also equipped with a speed limiter function to prevent excessive speeds from occurring due to operation errors in step 7.

That is, in this rotation mode, 1, for example, 4K) l/
It is not possible to achieve speeds higher than H.

Step 90 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20,...
・Calculate the torque ratio for each. In this case, since the operation mode is the rotation mode, the electric 1f
ii+20.20. The torque ratio of each of ... is 1
Therefore, each electric wheel 20 rotates at the same speed depending on how much the accelerator pedal 47 is depressed.

Step 91 The supply voltage control section 72, according to the voltage value for making the torque deviation output from the PID nonlinear control section 67 zero,
The tap switching unit 77 calculates the switching position of a tap (not shown) provided in the battery group 76 to be selected. Note that this battery group 76 includes, for example, one
It consists of ten 2V batteries connected in series, and a tap is provided at the connection point of each battery. By switching this tap by the tap switching unit 77, voltage can be applied to the power control unit 75 from a maximum of 120V to a minimum of 12V in steps of 12V. And in this rotation mode,
Since there is no need to increase the rotational speed of the electric wheel 20,
In reality, each motorized wheel 20.20. ... will be rotated.

Step 92 Also, the supply voltage control unit 72 controls each electric wheel 20°20, .
. . , calculate the optimal pulse width of the voltage supplied through the tap selected in the previous step.

Step 93 The rotation direction determination unit 71 determines the rotation direction determination unit 71 to
A command regarding the rotation direction is given so that each electric wheel 20° 20, . . . rotates in the rotation direction determined in step 2.

Step 94 The steering angle command unit 82 retrieves data regarding the steering angle of each electric wheel 20 stored in the rotary steering angle table 68.

Step 95 The steering angle command unit 82 operates the steering angle servo 83 based on the data regarding the steering angle extracted in the previous step, operates the steering actuator 40, and operates the electric power center of gravity of the four electric wheels 20. Each motorized wheel 20, 20 . Set... Therefore, an electric vehicle can make a U-turn in an extremely narrow place.

Step 96 The supply voltage control unit 72 outputs a signal for switching the tap to the tap switching unit 77 based on the optimal tap position calculated in Step 91.

Step 97 The tap switching section 77 operates the pulse motor for switching the taps, and switches the six taps provided in the battery group 76 to appropriate tap positions. When this tap is switched, the voltage switched by this tap is always applied from the battery group 76 to the power control unit 75.

It should be noted that since the voltage applied to the power control section 75 changes rapidly when the taps are switched, processing is also performed to prevent sparks from occurring when the taps are switched.

Step 98 Based on the pulse width ratio calculated in step 92, the supply voltage control unit 72 outputs the pulse width ratio to the pulse train generation unit 73.

Step 99 The pulse train generation unit 73 determines the on-level section within one pulse of the fundamental frequency determined by the clock signal based on the pulse width ratio output from the supply voltage control unit 72 in the previous step, and The pulse width modulated basic clock is output to the gate control section 74. and,
The gate control unit 74 receives the pulse width modulated basic clock, a signal regarding the rotation direction output from the rotation direction determination unit 71, and a pulse generated as the motor rotates output from the magnetic pole position detection element 85. The rectification timing direction for each magnetic pole of the motor is determined while taking into account the
Output to 5. Next, the power control unit 75 controls the battery group 7 using the PWM signal output from the gate control unit 74.
The voltage being applied by 6 is chopped and the voltage after pulse width modulation is applied to the coil of the motor.

Step 100 Each electric wheel 20, 20. ... are driven by the voltage output from the power control section 75. In this driving mode, since it is a rotation mode, all electric wheels 20
The same voltage will be applied to each electric wheel 20.
．． 20. ... will rotate in the predetermined direction described above at the same speed according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47.

Step 101 When the central processing unit 60 determines the driving mode set by the driving mode switching lever 46 using the subroutine program shown in FIG. 9, the central processing unit 60 displays the determined driving mode on the display device 95. That is, in this case, the rotation mode will be displayed.

Step 102 Then, the central processing unit 60 displays on the display device 95, for example, the vehicle speed range of the electric vehicle, a display necessary for driving, or a display of various other data requested by the driver, and returns to the main routine.

In this way, when the operation mode is rotation mode,
Each electric wheel 20, 20. The steering angle of ... is the steering wheel 45
The electric vehicle is rotated around the center of gravity of the four electric wheels 20, based only on the data regarding the steering angle of each electric wheel, which is stored in advance in the rotational steering angle table 68, regardless of the rotation angle of the electric vehicle. is set at an angle that allows it to rotate on the spot. Therefore, the electric vehicle can make a U-turn in an extremely narrow place, and by selecting this driving mode, it is possible to operate the electric vehicle with high maneuverability.

Next, the subroutine programs shown in FIGS. 14(A) and 14(B) are subroutine programs when the selected mode is the normal mode, which is usually used most often. In this normal mode, the handle 45. Accelerator pedal 47. Based on the signals from the brake pedal 48 and the forward/reverse switching lever 49, 1. This is a mode in which the electric vehicle is driven according to the driver's intention. In this case, the output torque and steering angle of each electric wheel 20, 20, . It will be adjusted in the same way.

Below, the operation of the electric vehicle control device of the present invention when this normal mode is selected will be explained in detail.

Step 110 The central processing unit 60 selects the operation mode switching lever 46.
If it is determined that the setting position is normal mode,
The mode data stored in the storage device provided in the central processing unit 60 is rewritten to the data of the selected normal mode.

When this mode is selected, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a switching signal is output from the θ-8 converter 51 to the switching units 55 and 56, and based on this switching signal, the switching units is such that the signal from the θ-■ converter 50 is input to the four-wheel steering angle calculation section 66 and the four-wheel torque ratio calculation section 64, and the signal from the four-wheel steering angle calculation section 66 is input to the steering angle command section. The contacts are switched so that it can be output to 82. Furthermore, a signal related to the running direction selected by the forward/reverse switching lever 49 is output to the rotational direction determination unit 71 via the θ-8 converter 54, and this rotational direction determination unit 71 determines whether each The rotation direction of the wheels 20, 20, . . . is determined.

Step 111 Based on the direction of travel selected by the forward/reverse switching lever 49, the rotation direction determination unit 71 causes the gate/control unit 74 to:
Each electric wheel 20, 20. Give commands regarding the rotation direction of...

Step 112 The four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 and the four-wheel torque ratio calculation unit 64
A voltage proportional to the operation amount of the handle 45, that is, the rotation angle, output from the θ-■ converter 50 is input.

Step 113 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20,...
A pulse signal output from the above-mentioned magnetic pole position detection element 85 attached to the motor 2 constituting the motor 2 for each unit rotation angle of the motor 2 is inputted via the F/V converter 86 and the signal processing section 87. The vehicle speed of the electric vehicle is then sensed based on this pulse signal.

The four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 calculates the steering angle of each electric wheel 20 based on the voltage proportional to the rotation angle of the handle 45 input in the previous step.

In other words, if the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 50 due to the rotation of the handle 45 is ■1, the four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 looks up the steering angle based on this voltage ■1 from a storage device (not shown). Calculate by

Step 115 Furthermore, the four-wheel torque ratio calculation unit 64 calculates each of the electric wheels 20, 20 . Based on the steering angle of each electric wheel 20.20. ...Each reference torque (
The torque ratio of each wheel to the torque calculated by the depression of the accelerator pedal 47 is calculated. By performing this correction, the electric wheels 20 set to different steering angles are rotated with different torques by operating the steering wheel 45, thereby enabling the electric vehicle to turn smoothly.

The PID nonlinear control unit 67 inputs the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 when the accelerator pedal 47 is operated.

Step 117 As in the previous step, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 receives the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53 when the brake pedal 48 is operated.

Step 118 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the difference between the two pressures output from the θ-■ converters 52 and 53 according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 48,
Based on the voltage value obtained as a result of this calculation, each electric wheel 20
,20. Calculate the torque command value to be applied to... Note that even during the calculation of this command value, strictly speaking, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 48 cannot necessarily be kept constant.
The PI″D nonlinear control unit 67 has a dead zone in the same sense as conventional play, so that even if the amount of depression changes within a certain range, the calculation will not be affected.
In other words, slight changes in the amount of depression of both pedals 47 and 48 can be ignored. The actual judgment of this dead zone is based on the input.

In other words, this is done by determining whether or not the absolute value of the voltage value has exceeded a predetermined value, and only when this voltage value exceeds the predetermined amount does the accelerator pedal 4
．． It is determined that the brake lever 48 has been operated.

Step 119 Next, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20.・・・
・Calculate the currently occurring load torque for each.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing section 87 receives the effective value and supply of the voltage applied to the motor 2 of the electric wheel 20 from the power control section 75 that supplies electric power to the motor 2. The effective value of the current being input is inputted to the F/F/
The effective value of the voltage from the V converter 86 is input, and the signal processing unit 87 performs arithmetic processing on these voltage values or current values at once, and outputs the signal related to the load torque of the motor 2 as a voltage value to the PID nonlinear control unit. It is output to 67.

Therefore, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 inputs this voltage value and calculates the current load torque that the motor 2 is carrying in real time.

Step 120 The pI6 nonlinear control unit 67 performs a nonlinear correction calculation for the load torque on the motor 2 calculated in the previous step. The details of this correction calculation will be described later, but in general, this nonlinear correction is a well-known correction that is also used in conventional electric vehicles. This is done to improve the operability and feel of the machine.

Step 121 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates a torque deviation from the torque command value calculated in step 118 and the motor load torque calculated in step 119, that is, the motor 2
Calculate the additional torque that must be applied to In this case as well, if this torque deviation is minute, it is made to be able to be ignored, that is, a dead zone is provided in the same sense as the play of the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48 described above. . In practice, this dead zone is determined by comparing the torque deviation with a reference torque deviation prepared in advance, and when the torque deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that a torque deviation has occurred.

Step 122 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the voltage value to be applied to the motor 2 in order to make the torque deviation 0 based on the torque deviation calculated in the previous step, and applies the calculation result to the supply voltage control unit 72. Output to. In this case, the voltage output to the supply voltage control section 72 is the voltage after the integral processing has been performed, and the output voltage is also limited so that the electric wheel 20 is not overloaded.

Step 123 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20, .
・Calculate the torque ratio for each. In this case, since the driving mode is the normal mode, each electric wheel 20.20.・
. . . will change depending on how the handle 45 is operated.

Step 124 The supply voltage control unit 72, depending on the voltage value outputted from the PID nonlinear control unit 67 to make the torque deviation zero,
The tap switching unit 77 calculates the switching position of a tap (not shown) provided in the battery group 76 to be selected. For example, if a very large torque is required to reduce the torque deviation to 0, a tap position for applying a voltage of 120 cm will be calculated. In addition, when calculating this tap position, a dead zone is provided to prevent the optimum tap position from changing frequently based on frequent changes in the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 or brake pedal 48. Tap switching is made as easy as possible.

Step 125 In addition, the supply voltage control section 72 controls each electric wheel 20°20, .
In order to drive the motor 2, the optimum pulse width of the voltage supplied to the motor 2 is calculated via the tap selected in the previous step.

Step 126 The four-wheel steering angle calculation unit 66 outputs the signal regarding the steering angle of each electric wheel 20 calculated in Step 114 to the steering angle command unit 82 as a steering angle command value.

Step 127 The steering angle command unit 82 operates the steering angle servo 83 based on the steering angle command value output in the previous step,
By operating the steering actuator 40, each electric wheel 20,
20. ... is set to a steering angle proportional to the rotation angle of the handle 45. This allows the electric vehicle to turn. The steering angle of the electric wheels 20 in this case is, for example,
The steering angle of the electric wheels 20.20 constituting the rear wheels is changed by 115 of the electric wheels 20.20 constituting the front wheels, and in this case, the steering angle for the front wheels is in the same phase direction at a certain vehicle speed or higher. Alternatively, it may be performed in the opposite phase direction below a certain vehicle speed. Furthermore, the steering angle may be continuously changed according to the vehicle speed.

Step 128 The supply voltage control unit 72 outputs a signal for switching the tap to the tap switching unit 77 based on the optimal tap position calculated in step 124.

Step 129 The tap switching unit 77 operates a pulse motor for switching the taps, and switches the taps provided in the battery group 76 to the optimal tap positions. When this tap is switched, the voltage switched by this tap is always applied from the battery group 76 to the power control unit 75. It should be noted that since the voltage applied to the power control section 75 changes rapidly when the taps are switched, processing is also performed to prevent sparks from occurring when the taps are switched.

Step 130 Based on the pulse width ratio calculated in step 125, the supply voltage control unit 72 outputs the pulse width ratio to the pulse train generation unit 73.

Step 131 The pulse train generating section 73 determines an on-level section within one pulse of the fundamental frequency determined by the clock signal based on the pulse width ratio output from the supply voltage control section 72 in the previous step, and The pulse width modulated basic clock is output to the gate control section 74. and,
The gate control unit 74 receives the pulse width modulated basic clock, a signal regarding the rotation direction output from the rotation direction determination unit 71, and a pulse generated as the motor rotates output from the magnetic pole position detection element 85. The rectification timing direction for each magnetic pole of the motor is determined while taking into account the
Output to 5. Next, the power control unit 75 controls the battery group 76 using the PWM signal output from the gate control unit 74.
The voltage applied by the motor is chopped and the voltage after pulse width modulation is applied to the motor coil.

Step 132 Each electric wheel 20, 20. ... is driven. In this driving mode, since it is the normal mode, unless the electric vehicle is traveling in a perfect straight line, each electric wheel 20, 20.
... are applied with different voltages depending on the amount of operation of the handle 45, and each electric wheel 20, 20.
... will rotate with different optimal torques.

Step 133 When the central processing unit 60 determines the operation mode set by the operation mode switching lever 46 using the pull-7 program shown in FIG. 9, the central processing unit 60 displays the determined operation mode on the display device 95. That is, in this case, the normal mode will be displayed.

Then, the central processing unit 60 displays on the display device 95, for example, the vehicle speed range of the electric vehicle, displays necessary for driving, or displays of various other data requested by the driver, and returns to the main routine.

In this way, in the normal mode in the above flowchart, each electric wheel 20, 20. The steering angles of... will basically change according to the rotation angle of the handlebar 45. 20. ...
Each motorized wheel 20.20 on the basis of a signal regarding the rotational speed of
．． If a function to correct the steering angle is added, for example, when the steering wheel 45 is rotated while driving at 40 km/h, the rear electric wheels 20, 20 will not be steered and the front wheels will be turned. If only the electric wheels 20.20 are being steered and the vehicle is running in a normal running state, and the vehicle is traveling at a very low speed, turning the handle 45 will cause the rear electric wheels 20. It is possible to turn the steering wheel by 115 of 20 in the opposite direction to the operating direction of the steering wheel, and when the steering wheel 45 is rotated while driving at high speed, the electric wheel 20 on the rear wheel side is turned.
．． 20 is able to improve driving stability at high speeds by steering only 1/4 of the front electric wheel 20.20 in the same phase direction as the steering wheel operation direction, and furthermore, the front electric wheel 20. By steering the electric wheels 20, 20 non-linearly with respect to the rotation angle of the handle 45, complex and sophisticated control such as changing the steering characteristics depending on the speed can be easily performed.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are flowcharts for accelerating an electric vehicle, that is, detailed flowcharts of acceleration processing. This acceleration process is frequently performed while the electric vehicle is running, and is an important process that has a significant impact on the driving feeling. This process will be explained below.

Step 140 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 inputs the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 when the accelerator pedal 47 is operated. In other words, the acceleration torque (1 value) based on the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 47 is calculated.

Step 141 Next, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls the brake pedal 48
The voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53 by the operation is input. In other words, a deceleration torque (-value) based on the amount of operation of the brake pedal 48 is calculated.

Step 142 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the difference between the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 and the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53. If this difference is a value of 10, it means that the driver is requesting acceleration of the electric vehicle.

Step 143 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the requested acceleration torque, that is, the target torque obtained by adding the deviation acceleration torque to the current load torque, based on the voltage difference calculated in the previous step. This calculation is performed by looking up a data table in which the relationship between voltage and torque is stored in advance. In other words,
If the voltage is ■1, the target torque is TI, if it is V2, it is T2, etc. From the data, select the torque corresponding to the voltage closest to that voltage as the target torque. The target torque will be calculated.

Step 144: The PID nonlinear control unit 67 checks whether the target torque determined in the previous step is within a preset dead band so as not to change sensitively to minute operations of the accelerator or brake pedal. In other words, play is provided between the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48. This check is performed, for example, by comparing whether the voltage difference calculated in step 142 is larger or smaller than a voltage preset as a dead band, and the difference in voltage is compared with the voltage preset as a dead band. If it is smaller than , then it is within the deadband, otherwise it is outside the deadband.

Step 145 As a result of this check, if the target torque deviation is within the dead band, return to the main routine without executing the program; if it is outside the dead band, step 146
process.

Step 146 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the load torque currently generated on each electric wheel 2, 0, 20°, . . . based on the voltage output from the signal processing unit 87. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing unit 87 includes a power control unit 75 that supplies power to the motor 2 of the electric wheel 20.
The effective value of the voltage applied to the motor 2 and the effective value of the current supplied are input from The effective value of the voltage from the F/V converter 86 that outputs the voltage is input, and the signal processing unit 87
performs arithmetic processing on these voltage values or current values at once, and outputs a signal related to the load torque of the motor 2 as a voltage value to the PID nonlinear control section 67. Therefore, the PID nonlinear control section 67 calculates the load torque based on this voltage. Note that this calculation of the load torque is also performed by looking up a data table in which the relationship between the voltage and the load torque is stored in advance, as described in step 143. Further, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 sets a feedback control route for performing nonlinear correction calculations during acceleration, and control during acceleration is performed according to this feedback control route.

Step 147 The PID nonlinear calculation unit 67 calculates the deviation between the target torque calculated in step 143 and the load torque calculated in step 146. This deviation calculation is simply a simple subtraction.

Step 148 The PID non-linear calculation unit 67 performs a preset check in order to prevent the torque deviation calculated in the previous step from changing sensitively to minute operations of the accelerator or brake pedal, similar to the dead zone check in step 144 described above. Check whether it is within the dead band. That is, the torque deviation is prevented from changing due to slight changes in the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48 while the vehicle is running, thereby improving the driving feeling.

Step 149 The PID nonlinear calculation unit 67 calculates a voltage value corresponding to the torque deviation calculated in Step 147, that is, each electric wheel 20,
20. Calculate the voltage value to be applied to... The voltage output at this time is subjected to integral processing, and the voltage corresponding to the torque deviation is directly applied to each type of driving wheel 20, 20. Instead of being applied to ..., a voltage that gradually increases in magnitude is applied.

Step 150 Up to the previous step, each electric wheel 20, 20 . When the voltage value that should be applied to ... is calculated, the supply voltage control unit 72 inputs the calculation result and calculates which tap of the battery group 76 should be switched to based on this voltage value. Let's do it. for example,
Assuming that it is necessary to apply a voltage of 65V to a certain electric wheel 20 in order to generate the torque required for acceleration, as described above, the battery group 76 is composed of a plurality of batteries connected in series that output a voltage of 12V. Therefore, in order to obtain this 65V voltage, it is necessary to select a 72V tap that is larger than this required voltage. Note that the process of adjusting this voltage to 65V is performed by pulse width calculation, which will be described later.

Step 151 The supply voltage control unit 72 outputs the result of the tap position calculation to the pulse train generation unit 73 and the tap switching unit 77, and the pulse train generation unit 73 switches to that tap based on the result of the tap position calculation. Pulse width calculation is performed in order to adjust the voltage output from the battery group 76 in the case of no acceleration to the voltage necessary to generate the torque necessary for acceleration. For example, as described above, if it is necessary to apply a voltage of 65V to a certain electric wheel 20 in order to generate the torque required for acceleration, as described above, the battery group 7
A voltage of 6 to 72V will be supplied, but this 6
In order to obtain a voltage of 5V, this voltage of 72V is chopped, and the voltage is obtained by controlling the time during which electricity is applied to the electric wheel 20. In other words, the pulse width calculation is to calculate the energization time.

Step 152 The tap switching unit 77 switches the tap of the battery group 76 to the position calculated in step 150.

When switching this tap, it is done by a motor that drives the tap, such as a pulse motor, and switching the tap may cause a sudden change in the voltage applied to the power control unit 75, so in such cases In order to prevent sparks or the like from occurring even if the voltage is low, a masking signal is output from the supply voltage control section 72.

The pulse train generator 73 controls the supply voltage controller 72 based on the pulse width calculation result calculated in step 151.
determines an on-level section within one pulse of the fundamental frequency determined by the clock signal, and outputs this pulse width modulated fundamental clock to the gate control section 74.

Then, the gate control section 74 determines the commutation timing direction for each magnetic pole polarity of the motor 2 based on the pulse width modulated basic clock and the signal regarding the rotation direction output from the rotation direction determination section 71. , outputs this timing-controlled PWM signal to the power control section 75. Next, the power control unit 75 chops the voltage applied by the battery group 76 using the PWM signal output from the gate control unit 74 and applies the pulse width modulated voltage to the coil of the motor 2 . Note that this power control section 7
5 uses a large number of power transistors.
The effective value of the voltage applied to the motor 2 is controlled by the signal. The voltage after this control is the U phase of the motor.

Output to the ■phase and W phase, respectively. This allows each motorized wheel 20.20. ... will be rotated at a predetermined rotational speed.

Step 154 The gate control section 74 and the F/V converter 86
A pulse outputted from a magnetic pole position detection element 85 which outputs a pulse every predetermined rotation angle of is input. And F/
The V converter 86 outputs a voltage according to this pulse frequency, and this voltage is input to the signal processing section 87.

Step 155 The signal processing unit 87 processes each motorized wheel 20, 20, .・・・
・Input the current supplied to.

Step 156 Similarly, the signal processing section 87 inputs the battery voltage supplied to the power control section 75.

Step 157 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 uses the voltage related to the rotation speed of the motor 2 output by the signal processing unit 87 via the F/V converter 86 and each electric wheel 20 detected by the current detector.
．． 20. . . . The voltage that has been subjected to calculation processing based on the current supplied to the battery and the voltage of the battery is sampled at regular intervals, and the load torque is estimated in step 146 based on the sampled data. Do the following.

In other words, a type of feedforward control regarding load torque is performed.

Step 158: The PID nonlinear control unit 67 determines whether the target torque and the load torque have become equal.

As a result of this judgment, if the target torque and the load torque are equal, there is no need to perform the above-mentioned acceleration process, and the process proceeds to step 160. If the mouthpart torque and the load torque are still not equal, the process returns to step 140. This acceleration process is continued until the target torque and the load torque become equal.

Step 159 Since it is determined in step 158 that the machine torque and the load torque are equal, processing is performed to maintain the current generation of load torque, and the process returns to the main routine.

In this way, in the acceleration process, the tap selection and pulse frequency of the battery group 76 are performed so that the acceleration requested by the driver is achieved, and the selection of the tap of the battery group 76 and the pulse frequency are performed for each of the electric wheels 20, 20, .
The voltage obtained by this control is applied to...
The required torque is applied to each electric wheel 20, 20 . ... will be output at the desired rotational speed.

16(A) and (13) are flowcharts for decelerating an electric vehicle, that is, detailed flowcharts of deceleration processing. This deceleration process, like the acceleration process described above, is a process that is frequently performed while the electric vehicle is running, and is an important process that has a significant impact on the driving feeling. This process will be explained below.

Step 170 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 receives the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 when the accelerator pedal 47 is operated. In other words, the acceleration torque (-F value) based on the operation amount of the accelerator pedal 47 is calculated.

Step 171 Next, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls the brake pedal 48
The voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53 by the operation is input. In other words, a deceleration torque (-value) based on the amount of operation of the brake pedal 48 is calculated.

Step 172 The PXD nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the difference between the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 52 and the voltage output from the θ-■ converter 53. If this difference is a negative value, it means that the driver is requesting the electric vehicle to decelerate.

Step 173 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the requested deceleration torque, that is, the target torque, based on the voltage difference calculated in the previous step. This calculation is performed by looking up a data table in which the relationship between voltage and torque is stored in advance. In other words, when the voltage is V1O, the target torque is TIO
, V2O, the torque corresponding to the voltage closest to that voltage is selected from the data T2O, . . . as the target torque, and the target torque is calculated based on this.

Step 174 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 checks whether the target torque determined in the previous step is within a preset dead band so as not to change sensitively to minute operations of the accelerator or brake pedal. In other words, play is provided between the accelerator pedal 47 and the brake pedal 48. This check has been described above, so its explanation will be omitted here.

Step 175 As a result of this check, if the scale torque deviation is within the dead band, the process returns to the main routine without executing subsequent processing, and if it is outside the dead band, step 176 is processed.

Step 176 The PID nonlinear control unit 67 calculates the load torque currently generated in each electric wheel 20, 20, . . . based on the voltage output from the signal processing unit 87. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, the signal processing unit 87 includes a power control unit 75 that supplies power to the motor 2 of the electric wheel 20.
The effective value of the voltage applied to the motor 2 and the effective value of the current supplied are input from The effective value of the voltage from the F/■ converter 86 that outputs the voltage is input, and the signal processing unit 87
performs arithmetic processing on these voltage values or current values at once, and outputs a signal related to the load torque of the motor 2 as a voltage value to the PID nonlinear control section 67. Therefore, the PID nonlinear control section 67 calculates the load torque based on this voltage. In this case, since deceleration is being attempted, the load torque will of course be a negative value. Note that this calculation of the load torque is also performed by looking up a data table in which the relationship between the voltage and the load torque is stored in advance, as described in step 173. Furthermore, P.I.
The D nonlinear control unit 67 sets a feedback control route for performing nonlinear correction calculation during deceleration,
Control during deceleration is performed through this feedback control route. A feedback gain is set on this feedback route, and if this gain is large, deceleration will occur rapidly, so setting this gain is an important factor in making the driving feeling comfortable. .

Step 177 The PID nonlinear calculation unit 67 calculates the deviation between the target torque calculated in step 173 and the load torque calculated in step 176. This deviation calculation is simply a simple subtraction.

Step 178 The PID non-linear calculation unit 67 performs a preset check in order to prevent the torque deviation calculated in the previous step from changing sensitively to minute operations of the accelerator or brake pedal, similar to the dead zone check in step 174 described above. Check whether it is within the dead band. That is, the torque deviation is prevented from changing due to slight changes in the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 47 and brake pedal 48 while the vehicle is running, thereby improving the driving feeling.

Step 179 The PID nonlinear calculation unit 67 calculates a voltage value corresponding to the torque deviation calculated in Step 177, that is, each electric wheel 20,
20. Calculate the voltage value to be applied to... The voltage output at this time is subjected to integral processing, and the voltage corresponding to the torque deviation is directly applied to each type of driving wheel 20, 20. ..., but in this case, since it is deceleration processing, a voltage whose magnitude is gradually reduced is applied.

Step 180 Up to the previous step, the PID nonlinear control unit 67 controls each electric wheel 20, 20 . When the voltage value to be applied to... is calculated, the supply voltage control unit 72 inputs the calculation result and calculates which tap of the battery group 76 should be switched to based on this voltage value. Let's do it. For example, if a voltage of 65V is applied to a certain electric wheel 20 in order to generate the torque required for deceleration, as mentioned above,
Since the battery group 76 is made up of a plurality of batteries connected in series that output a voltage of 12V, in order to charge the battery group 76 with a voltage of 65V, the voltage must be smaller than this required voltage. It is necessary to select a tap with a voltage of 60V or less. In other words, electric vehicles perform regenerative braking. Note that the processing for performing the above-mentioned charging is performed by pulse width calculation, which will be described later.

Step 181 The supply voltage control unit 72 outputs the result of the tap position calculation to the pulse train generation unit 73 and the tap switching unit 77, and the pulse train generation unit 73 switches to that tap based on the result of the tap position calculation. If not, each electric wheel 20.20
．． . . . Performs pulse width calculation to charge the battery group 76 with the voltage generated from... For example, as described above, if 65V is generated from the electric wheels 20 to generate the deceleration torque required for deceleration, as described above, only 60V is supplied from the battery group 76. However, by chopping the 65V voltage output from the electric wheels 20 and supplying excess voltage to the battery group 76, an electromagnetic braking effect is obtained. In other words, it performs regenerative braking. Note that in this case, since it is necessary to cause the power control section 75 to perform power regeneration, the instruction to the pulse train generation section 73 is reversed from the processing during acceleration. In other words, an instruction is given to cause current to flow from the electric wheel 20 to the battery group 76.

Step 182 The tap switching unit 77 switches the tap of the battery group 76 to the position calculated in Step 180.

When switching this tap, it is done by a motor that drives the tap, such as a pulse motor, and switching the tap may cause a sudden change in the voltage supplied from the power control unit 75, so in such cases The supply voltage control section 72
A masking signal is output from.

Step 183 The pulse train generator 73 controls the supply voltage controller 72 based on the pulse width calculation result calculated in step 181.
determines an on-level section within one pulse of the fundamental frequency determined by the clock signal, and outputs this pulse width modulated fundamental clock to the gate control section 74.

Then, the gate control section 74 determines the voltage input timing for each magnetic polarity of the motor 2 based on the pulse width modulated basic clock and the signal regarding the rotation direction output from the rotation direction determination section 71. , outputs this timing-controlled PWM signal to the power control section 75.

Step 184 Next, the power control unit 75 chops the voltage supplied to the battery group 76 using the PWM signal output from the gate control unit 74, and applies the pulse width modulated voltage output from the coil of the motor 2. . Note that this power control section 75 uses a large number of power transistors, and by controlling the ON time of these power transistors using the PWM signal, the effective value of the voltage applied from the motor 2 to the battery group 76 is controlled. It looks like this. As a result, the power control unit 75 outputs the voltages output from the U-phase, ■-phase, and W-phase of the motor to the battery group 76, and performs regenerative braking to each electric wheel 20, 20. A predetermined braking torque is applied to...

Step 185 The supply voltage control unit 72 determines whether the tap position selected by the tap switching unit 77 has reached the lowest position as the rotational speed of the electric wheel 20 decreases due to continuous operation of the brake pedal 48. make a decision. In other words, it is determined whether the current control section 75 and the battery group 76 are connected at the lowest voltage obtained by switching the taps. As a result of this determination, if it is not the lowest stage, the process advances to step 170 to continue the above-mentioned process, and if it is the lowest stage, the process advances to the next step.

Step 186: Since the tap position has been set to the lowest stage, regenerative braking cannot be performed efficiently, so the electric vehicle is then stopped only by mechanical braking.

In other words, by operating the brake, braking force is applied by mechanical braking and electromagnetic braking in the range where regenerative braking can be performed, and braking force is provided only by mechanical braking in the range where regenerative braking cannot be performed. is giving.

In this way, when the electric vehicle decelerates, the surplus power accompanying the deceleration is converted into electric power by the power generation action of each electric wheel 20, 20, etc., and the electric power is returned to the battery. Electricity regeneration is performed, contributing to the effective use of energy.

Although a specific flowchart is not shown, when neither the accelerator pedal nor the brake pedal is operated while driving, that is, when the driving state corresponds to conventional engine braking, the torque at the time of the deceleration process described above is Since the deviation is naturally 0, the output voltage from the PID nonlinear control section is also 0, and the electric power output from each electric wheel 20 is returned to the battery.

As described above, in the electric vehicle shown in this embodiment, since the electric wheels 20 have a special structure as described above, the motor can be removed from the outside. In addition, since the motor is in direct contact with the outside air, it has good cooling efficiency and can be made smaller than a motor with the same output. Since the output torque and steering angle of each wheel are controlled independently, this electric vehicle can easily be provided with a variety of driving characteristics, and is different from conventional electric vehicles or vehicles using an engine. can provide unparalleled maneuverability or maneuverability. Furthermore, regarding this operability, since each wheel can be controlled independently, the vehicle has the unique advantage that the operability can be easily set by simply changing the program.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the control device for an electric vehicle of the present invention, a rotor is attached to a wheel on which a tire is mounted, and a rotor is attached to an axle that supports the wheel. An electric vehicle is provided with wheels arranged on the front, rear, left and right sides, comprising electric wheels formed by attaching a stator for rotationally driving the wheels, and steering means attached to the axle for steering the electric wheels. a steering angle signal output means for outputting a signal regarding the steering angle of the wheels; a torque signal output means for outputting a signal regarding the torque of the electric wheels; a signal regarding the steering angle output from the steering angle signal output means and the torque signal; a steering angle calculation means for calculating a steering angle of each of the electric wheels based on a signal regarding torque outputted from the outputting means, and outputting the calculation result to the steering means; and a steering angle signal outputting means for outputting the steering angle signal from the steering angle signal outputting means. and torque calculation means for calculating the torque of each of the electric wheels based on a signal regarding the steering angle and a signal regarding the torque output from the torque signal output means, and the torque and steering angle of each electric wheel are independently calculated. As a result, the torque and steering angle of each electric wheel can be controlled individually without a mechanical power transmission mechanism, resulting in optimal running stability from normal driving to special driving. It can be driven with ease. Furthermore, the running characteristics can be easily changed simply by changing the program, and the changes can be made instantly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an electric vehicle equipped with an electric vehicle control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the electric wheels shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a steering system controlled by a control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention; FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a portion that controls the torque of the electric wheels in the control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the portion that controls the steering angle of the electric wheels in the control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention. A main flowchart of the control device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine related to start-up inspection in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a main flowchart shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine related to sensor abnormality determination in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 12(A) and 12(B) are flowcharts showing subroutines when the driving mode in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is set to parking mode. 13 (^) and (B) are flowcharts showing the subroutine when the operation mode in the main flowchart shown in Fig. 7 is set to rotation mode, and Fig. 14 (^). ), (B) is a flowchart showing a subroutine when the operation mode in the main flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is set to normal mode, and FIG. 16(A) and 16(B) are flowcharts showing a subroutine of deceleration processing common to each process. FIG. 17 is a top view showing the structure of a conventional electric vehicle. The figure is a side view showing the structure of a conventional electric vehicle. 1...Battery, 2...Motor, 4...
-Control device, 5...Tire, 11...Wheel, 12...Hollow knuckle, 20...Electric wheel,
30... Rotor, 35... Stator, 40... Steering actuator (steering means) 45...
- Handle (steering angle signal output means), 46... Driving mode switching lever, 47... Accelerator pedal (torque signal output means) 48
...Brake (torque signal output means), 4...Forward/forward switching lever, 50...θ-■ converter (steering angle signal output means), 52
...θ-■ converter (torque signal output means), 53...
・θ-■ converter (torque signal output means), 54...θ
-8 converter, 60... central processing unit (steering angle computing means, torque computing means), 100... control device (steering angle computing means, torque computing means). Patent applicant Nippon Steel Corporation Tokyo R&D agent Patent attorney 8 1) Mikio (1 person) 2nd
Figure 12 (A) Figure 12 Figure 13 (A) Figure 13 CB) Figure 140 (A) Figure 2314 (B) Figure 15 (B) 160 (B) Figure 17 Mar Figure 18

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An electric wheel and the axle formed by attaching a rotor to a wheel to which a tire is attached, and attaching a stator to an axle that supports the wheel to rotate the wheel in cooperation with the rotor. An electric vehicle having wheels arranged front, rear, left and right, comprising: a steering means attached to a steering means for steering the electric wheels; and a steering angle signal output means for outputting a signal relating to a steering angle of the electric wheels; torque signal output means for outputting a signal regarding the torque of each of the electric wheels, based on the signal regarding the steering angle output from the steering angle signal output means and the signal regarding the torque output from the torque signal output means. a steering angle calculation means for calculating a steering angle and outputting the calculation result to each of the steering means; a signal regarding the steering angle output from the steering angle signal output means and a signal regarding the torque output from the torque signal output means; A control device for an electric vehicle, comprising: torque calculation means for calculating torque output from each of the electric wheels based on a signal.