TW202008709A - Circuit for controlling alternator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention related to a circuit for controlling an alternator. The circuit includes a detecting circuit and a control circuit. The detecting circuit detects a load status of the alternator to provide a load data. The control circuit generates a control signal and executes a load response control mode according to the load data and a threshold data for controlling the alternator.

Description

Generator control circuit

The invention relates to a control circuit, especially a generator control circuit.

Engine-driven generators are power generating devices used in various applications, such as: small diesel power supply devices, vehicle power supply systems, etc., and are widely popularized, especially for space-saving requirements, and even use engine-driven generators as a starting engine Used motor. However, in general vehicles, the electric load is mostly instantaneously loaded, such as the turning on and off of the heating and cooling machine. The instantaneous loading will increase the load of the generator. Because the generator is driven by the engine, the increase in the load of the generator increases the load torque. Refusal, thus reducing the output power that the engine should originally output to the transmission system. Therefore, when the on-board system detects an instantaneous increase in electrical load, it reduces the output power of the generator.

However, under some circumstances, the electrical load will increase slowly, which will also increase the load of the generator, which will affect the engine output power to the transmission system. For example, the current new vehicles have added a lot of driving assistance equipment in order to facilitate public driving. For auxiliary control such as automatic parking and automatic obstacle avoidance, the loading method of the aforementioned auxiliary control is not the traditional instant on or off, but the load is increased at a slower speed, such as slowly turning the steering wheel, at which time the traditional on-board system cannot detect Slow loading caused by such systems.

Based on the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a generator control circuit that can detect instantaneous loading and slow loading to execute the load response control mode to control the generator, and can slow down the rising slope of the power generated by the generator when the load increases. Give priority to the output power of the engine to the required system.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a generator control circuit that can detect different load states of the generator and execute a load response control mode to slow down the rising slope of the generator's power supply and give priority to the output power of the engine to the needs system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a generator control circuit, which further implements a load response control mode according to the operating state of the engine, for slowing down the rising slope of the power generated by the generator.

The invention discloses a generator control circuit, which includes a detection circuit and a control circuit. The detection circuit detects the load state of the generator and generates load data, and provides the load data to the control circuit, thereby according to the load The data and a threshold data correspondingly generate a control signal, and execute the load response control mode to control the generator, thereby driving the generator to slow down the rising slope of the generated power, thereby giving priority to the output power of the engine to the required system.

In order to make your review committee have a better understanding and understanding of the features and effects of the present invention, we will use the examples and supporting descriptions as follows:

Certain words are used in the specification and request items to refer to specific components. However, those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention should understand that the manufacturer may refer to the same component in different terms. Moreover, this specification and The request item does not use the difference in the name as a way to distinguish the components, but the difference in the overall technology of the components as the criterion for distinguishing. The "include" mentioned in the entire specification and the request is an open-ended term, so it should be interpreted as "include but not limited to". Furthermore, the term "coupling" here includes any direct and indirect means of connection. Therefore, if a first device is coupled to a second device, it means that the first device may be directly connected to the second device, or may be indirectly connected to the second device through other devices or other connection means.

The alternator includes a rotor coil and a stator coil. Under normal operation, when the exciting current is supplied to the rotor coil, the rotor coil generates a magnetic field. When the motor's engine drives the excited rotor coil to rotate, the excited rotor coil will generate a rotating magnetic field, which causes the stator coil to generate AC power. After the AC power generated by the alternator is rectified by the rectifier, DC power is generated to charge the energy storage element or directly supply power to the load.

In view of the fact that the conventional generator control system cannot accurately detect the instantaneous loading and the slow loading, and controls the generator to slow down the generation of power, based on this, the present invention proposes a generator control circuit to solve the control problems caused by the conventional technology.

In the following, the features and matched architecture of a generator control circuit disclosed by the present invention will be further described:

First, please refer to the first and second figures, which are a block diagram of an embodiment of the generator system of the present invention and a block diagram of an embodiment of the generator control circuit of the present invention. As shown, the generator control circuit 10 of the present invention includes a detection circuit 12 and a control circuit 14, the detection circuit 12 is coupled to the control circuit 14, and the detection circuit 12 is further coupled to a generator 20 to control The circuit 14 is also coupled to the generator 20, and in this embodiment, the generator control circuit 10 is built in the generator 20. In one embodiment, the generator control circuit 10 may be a control chip, but the invention does not Limited to this, the control circuit 10 can be disposed outside the generator 20 and coupled to the generator 20. The generator 20 is coupled to an energy storage element B and at least one load L. Further, the detection circuit 12 is also coupled to the energy storage element B and the load L. Therefore, the detection circuit 12 can detect the load state LOAD from the energy storage element B and the load L, that is, the detection of the generator 20 Load status. In this embodiment, the energy storage element B may be a battery or accumulator or a super capacitor or an energy storage cell, and the load L may be an on-board system (for example: a vehicle auxiliary system, a vehicle instrumentation system), or an electrical device (for example: Air conditioner, light source, sound) etc.

The detection circuit 12 detects the voltage level of the energy storage element B and the load L. Since the energy storage element B, the load L and the generator 20 are connected in parallel, the voltage level at the connection between the energy storage element B and the generator 20 is Is the voltage level V _BAT of the energy storage element B, by which the detection circuit 12 further generates a voltage data D _Volt correspondingly by detecting the voltage level V _BAT to obtain the energy storage element B and the load L Load state LOAD. In this way, the detection circuit 12 can also generate the corresponding load data D _LOAD to the control circuit 14 according to the detected load state LOAD, that is, according to the voltage level V _BAT , so that the control circuit 14 can learn the load according to the load data D _LOAD The load state of the motor 20 generates a corresponding control signal S _CTR to the generator 20 to control the operation of the generator 20. The control circuit 14 of the present invention can be learned data D based on the load status of the generator load _LOAD LOAD 20 if the load is a slow process or moment load, the load control circuit 14 is based on the information of the load _LOAD D variable data than a threshold, the investigation It is detected whether the load state LOAD of the generator 20 is instantaneous loading or slow-loading, so that the control circuit 14 can determine whether to execute the load response control (LRC) mode to generate the corresponding control signal S _CTR , and thus based on the load response The control mode generating control signal S _CTR can control the generator 20 to slow down the speed of generating power, that is, the rising slope of the generating power, so as not to affect the output power of the engine 30 to the required system. Therefore, the generator control circuit 10 of the present invention can execute the load response control mode to control the generator 20 based on both instantaneous loading and slow-stroke loading. The operation of this embodiment will be described in further detail below.

In this embodiment, further, the detection circuit 12 includes a voltage detection unit 122 and a rotation speed detection unit 124. The voltage detection unit 122 is coupled to the energy storage element B and the load L to detect the voltage level of the energy storage element B and the load L, that is, to detect the voltage level V _BAT , and further, the voltage detection unit 122 The voltage data D _{Volt is} generated according to the detected voltage level V _BAT , because the voltage level V _BAT will change with the load change, for example, it decreases with the increase of the load, so the voltage level V _BAT can represent the load state, so The voltage data D _Volt can be used as the load data D _LOAD , that is, the load variable can be detected according to the load data D _LOAD to detect instantaneous loading and slow-loading. In one embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit 14 receives the load data D _LOAD , and calculates the load data D _LOAD through a conversion parameter to generate a load curve, and then the load variable can be known according to the load curve. The speed detection unit 124 is coupled to an on-board control unit ECU to directly obtain the engine speed RPM detected by the on-board control unit ECU, or is coupled to the generator 20 to detect the generator speed RPMA of the generator 20 , That is, the rotation speed of the rotor coil 22. Since the generator speed RPMA corresponds to the engine speed RPM, the detection of the generator speed RPMA is equivalent to the detection of the engine speed RPM.

In addition, as shown in the first and second figures, the generator 20 is connected to an engine 30 through a driving mechanism 20A, and the engine 30 drives the generator 20 through the driving mechanism 20A, so the rotation speed detection unit 124 detects the generator 20 The generator speed RPMA is equivalent to detecting the engine speed RPM of the engine 30. The speed detection unit 124 generates corresponding speed data D _RPM for the generator speed RPMA or the engine speed RPM to provide the control circuit 14 to determine the engine speed RPM status. The generator control circuit 10 is coupled to the switch unit 24 of the generator 20 through the control circuit 14 and outputs a control signal S _CTR to the switch unit 24 of the generator 20. The switch unit 24 is coupled between the energy storage element B and the rotor coil 22 by The switching of the switching unit 24 is controlled by the control signal S _CTR , that is, the energy storage element B is controlled to provide the exciting current to the rotor coil 22, and then the generator 20 is controlled to generate the power P, that is, the output power of the generator 20 is controlled, because the power P corresponds to The control signal S _CTR , so by adjusting the control signal S _CTR , such as the duty of the pulse width, the amount of power generated by the generator 20 can be adjusted, that is, the pulse width of the control signal S _CTR is reduced The rising slope SL _{UP of the} duty (as shown in the third diagram) is to slow down the rising slope of the power source P generated by the generator 20.

As shown in the third figure, when the generator control circuit 10 of the present invention detects instantaneous loading, the load curve C1 corresponding to the load data D _LOAD generates an instantaneous variable, that is, the load suddenly increases a lot at the same time point, Taking the amount of current as an example, for example, from 10 amps (A) to 20 amps (A), where the load curve C1 is calculated by the control circuit 14 through conversion parameters (for example: equivalent circuit parameters of the load L, such as impedance value), and the conversion The voltage data D _Volt is the current load, so the load curve C1 corresponds to the load change. Since a decrease in the voltage level V _BAT indicates an increase in the load, the load curve obtained by the control circuit 14 according to the conversion parameter will be opposite to the curve of the voltage level V _BAT . In this embodiment, the control signal S _CTR may be a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, and the control circuit 14 controls the duty of the pulse width modulation (PWM) signal to modulate the power supply of the generator 20 P, which means that increasing the duty cycle of the PWM signal increases the generating power P. In the case of instantaneous loading, at this time point T1, according to the load curve C1, the load current rises sharply from 10 amps (A) to 20 amps (A), due to the variable slope of the load curve C1 at time T1 That is, a slope threshold SL _TH greater than one of the threshold curve C _TH , the threshold data is the slope threshold SL _TH , so the control circuit 14 can immediately determine that the load change is large, and execute the load response (Load Response Control, LRC) mode, and the modulation control The duty cycle of the signal S _CTR is used to control the generator 20 to slow down the generation of power P, so that the output power of the engine 30 can be preferentially provided to the required system, such as the transmission system or the vehicle auxiliary system.

Following the above, in particular, the control circuit 14 can further decide whether to execute the load response control mode according to other conditions. For example, the control circuit 14 further determines whether the engine speed RPM is lower than a speed threshold (for example: the cut-off speed of the engine 30) according to the speed data D _RPM provided by the detection circuit 12, and as shown in the fourth figure, the control circuit 14 It is further determined whether the voltage level V _BAT of the energy storage element B coupled to the generator 20 is greater than a critical threshold V _TH (for example: 10.5V). The control circuit 14 detects that the load change is large, and the engine 30 is in a lower speed state, it can execute the load response control mode, because the engine 30 is in a lower speed state, which means that the generator 20 can no longer increase the engine 30 Therefore, the control circuit 14 executes the load response control mode. If the engine 30 is in a higher speed state, the load response control mode may not be executed, and the speed threshold may be set according to needs. In addition, the control circuit 14 detects that the load change is large, and the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B is greater than the critical threshold V _TH , which indicates that the energy storage element B still has enough power reserves for the overall system operation. The control circuit 14 The load-response control mode can be executed to control the generator 20, so as shown in the third figure, the generator 30 is delayed by increasing the duty cycle of the control signal S _CTR by slowing down the rising slope of the generated power P. If the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B is less than the critical threshold V _TH , it indicates that the energy storage element B may not have enough power to provide the overall system operation, so that the control circuit 14 can temporarily suspend the load response control mode to allow the generator 20 to generate power The energy storage element B is charged.

As shown in the fifth figure, when the generator control circuit 10 of the present invention detects the slow load, the load curve C2 corresponding to the load data D _LOAD generates a slow variable, that is, the load slowly increases, for example: In the case of loading, from this time point T1 to time point T2, according to the load curve C2, the load current slowly rises from 10 amps (A) to 20 amps (A), so the slope of the variable of the load curve C2 is still greater than the threshold The threshold threshold SL _{TH of the} threshold curve C _TH , so the control circuit 14 still judges that the load change is large and executes the load response mode, and modulates the duty cycle of the control signal S _CTR to control the generator 20 to slow down the generation of power P, so As shown in the fifth figure, the generator 30 is driven to delay the rising slope of the power source P by slowing down the increase of the duty ratio of the control signal _SCTR . As described in the foregoing embodiment, the control circuit 14 may further decide whether to execute the load response control mode according to other conditions, which will not be described in detail here.

Please refer to the sixth diagram, which is a curve diagram of tracking and dumping according to an embodiment of the present invention. When a load dump condition occurs, the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B will briefly rise, then fall, and then rise to the proper level, for example: turn off the heating and cooling machine, so that the load curve C3 will show a situation where it briefly falls and then rises. decline. When the load curve C3 rises, the slope of its variable will be greater than the slope threshold, so the control circuit 14 will determine that the load changes greatly and execute the load response mode, so that a misjudgment situation will occur. For this reason, the control circuit 14 of the present invention can detect whether the direction of the variable slope of the load curve C3 is the same before and after the variable slope is greater than the slope threshold. It can be seen from the sixth graph that if the load is dumped, the direction of the variable slope of the load curve C3 will be opposite, that is, the value of the variable slope will be positive and negative. Therefore, when the control circuit 14 detects that the variable slope is greater than the slope threshold, it further tracks a detection time T _D to detect the state before the variable slope is greater than the slope threshold. If the direction of the variable slope of the load curve C3 is detected in When the slope of the variable is greater than the front and back of the slope threshold, it means that this load change is a short-term change of the load dump state, and it is not necessary to execute the load response mode. If the direction of the variable slope of the detected load curve C3 is the same as before and after the variable slope is greater than the slope threshold, it means that the load change is not a transient change in the load dump state, but the load change is indeed large, and the control circuit 14 performs load response control mode.

As can be seen from the above, the control circuit 14 is in the state of instantaneous loading or slow-loading, that is, executing the load response control mode to control the generator 20, or when it is detected that the load state is instantaneous loading or slow-loading, and then Further, it is determined by the speed data D _{RPM that the} engine speed RPM does not exceed the speed threshold, the energy storage potential V _{BAT is} greater than the critical threshold V _TH or the forward detection time T _D does not have a load dump state, the control circuit 14 performs the load response Mode, thus controlling the generator 30 to delay the rising slope of the generated power P. In addition, after the control circuit 14 executes the load response control mode, if the engine speed RPM is greater than the speed threshold, the engine 30 can output high power without limiting the output power of the generator 20, or the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B is equal to or lower At the critical threshold _VTH , that is, the energy storage element B may be insufficient to provide power for the overall system operation, so the control circuit 14 stops performing the load response control mode, so that the generator 20 is committed to supply power to the overall system and charge the energy storage element B. In addition, since the control circuit 14 executes the load response control mode, the power source P generated by the generator 20 can still be used to charge the energy storage element B. When the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B is equal to or higher than a level threshold, The control circuit 14 may stop executing the load response control mode.

Please refer to the seventh figure, which is a flowchart of one embodiment of the generator control circuit of the present invention controlling the generator. As shown in the seventh figure, and referring to the first figure and the second figure together, the control flow of the generator control circuit 10 of the present invention is as follows: Step S10: Turn on the system; Step S20: determine whether the load status exceeds the threshold; Step S30: determine whether the starting conditions are met; Step S35: Perform the load response control mode; Step S40: determine whether the stop condition is met; and Step S45: Stop executing the load response control mode.

In step S10, the entire system including the generator control circuit 10 is started. In step S20, the control circuit 14 of the generator control circuit 10 determines whether the load change exceeds the threshold according to the load state LOAD. As in the above embodiment, it can be determined by determining whether the slope of the variable of the load curve is greater than the slope threshold, and at the same time in step S20, The control circuit 14 may further execute step S30 according to the rotation speed data D _RPM and the voltage data D _Volt detected by the detection circuit 12, and the control circuit 14 determines whether to execute the load response control mode.

In step S30, if the control circuit 14 detects that the engine 30 is at a lower speed and the energy storage element B still has sufficient power reserve for the overall system operation, and the control circuit 14 detects forward when the load variable occurs in the load state LOAD The measurement time T _D confirms that there is no load dumping state, so step S35 is continued to execute the load response control mode with the control circuit 14, the purpose of which is to slow down the rising slope of the output power P of the generator 20, otherwise, return to step S20 according to the load state LOAD re-detection. When the control circuit 14 executes the load response mode and determines that the load variable of the load state LOAD is less than the threshold in step S20, it proceeds to step S40 to determine whether the execution of the load response mode is stopped. The control circuit 14 detects that the engine 30 is at a higher speed In the state, either the control circuit 14 determines that the energy storage element B does not have sufficient power reserve for the overall system operation, or the voltage level V _{BAT of the} energy storage element B is equal to or higher than the level threshold, that is, the energy storage element B has very sufficient The power reserve is available for the overall system to operate. Therefore, if any condition is satisfied, step S45 is continued, and the control circuit 14 stops executing the load response control mode and returns to the normal execution state; otherwise, it returns to step S20. In addition, the generator control circuit of the present invention can be used not only to control the generator of the vehicle, but also to any type of generator.

In summary, the generator control circuit of the present invention can detect the load state of the generator during instantaneous loading or slow loading, and execute the load response control mode to control the generator and slow down the generation of power by the generator The rising slope, thus reducing the load on the engine from the generator, so that the output power of the engine can be preferentially provided to the required system. For example, when the generator is applied to a vehicle, the output power of the engine can be preferentially provided to the transmission system or the driving assistance system . On the contrary, when it is judged that there is no instantaneous loading or slow loading, the control circuit can be stopped to execute the load response control mode, so that the generator is dedicated to powering the overall system and charging the energy storage element.

Therefore, the present invention is truly novel, progressive and available for industrial use. It should meet the patent application requirements of my country's Patent Law. It is undoubtedly necessary to file an invention patent application in accordance with the law and pray for the early grant of patents.

However, the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. Any changes and modifications based on the shape, structure, features and spirit described in the patent application scope of the present invention , Should be included in the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

10‧‧‧ generator control circuit 12‧‧‧ detection circuit 122‧‧‧ voltage detection unit 124‧‧‧ speed detection unit 14‧‧‧ control circuit 20‧‧‧ generator 20A‧‧‧ drive mechanism 22 ‧‧‧Rotor coil 24‧‧‧Switch unit 30‧‧‧Engine B‧‧‧Energy storage element C1‧‧‧Load curve C2‧‧‧Load curve C3‧‧‧Load curve C _TH ‧‧‧ Threshold curve D _LOAD ‧‧‧Load data D _RPM ‧‧‧Speed data D _Volt ‧‧‧Voltage data ECU‧‧‧Vehicle control unit L‧‧‧Load LOAD‧‧‧Load status P‧‧‧Power RPM‧‧‧Engine speed RPMA‧ ‧‧ Generator speed S _CTR ‧‧‧ control signal SL _TH ‧‧‧ slope threshold SL _UP ‧‧‧ rising slope T _D ‧‧‧ detection time T1‧‧‧time point T2‧‧‧‧time point T3‧‧‧ T4‧‧‧ time point the time point the voltage level V _BAT ‧‧‧ critical threshold V _TH ‧‧‧ steps S10-S45‧‧‧

The first figure: it is a block diagram of an embodiment of the generator system of the present invention; Figure 2: It is a block diagram of an embodiment of the generator control circuit of the present invention; Third figure: it is a graph of instant loading according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4: It is a graph of the voltage level of the energy storage device according to an embodiment of the invention; Fifth figure: It is a curve diagram of slow-stroke loading according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 6: It is a graph of tracking and dumping according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 7: It is a flow chart of one embodiment of the generator control circuit of the present invention controlling the generator.

10‧‧‧ Generator control circuit

12‧‧‧ detection circuit

122‧‧‧Voltage detection unit

124‧‧‧Speed detection unit

14‧‧‧Control circuit

D _LOAD ‧‧‧ load data

D _RPM ‧‧‧ Speed data

D _Volt ‧‧‧ voltage data

ECU‧‧‧ vehicle control unit

RPM‧‧‧Engine speed

RPMA‧‧‧ generator speed

S _CTR ‧‧‧Control signal

V _BAT ‧‧‧ voltage level

Claims (14)

A generator control circuit, including: A detection circuit to detect a load state of a generator to generate a load data; and A control circuit generates a control signal according to the load data and a threshold data, and executes a load response control mode to control the generator. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit further detects an engine speed of an engine to generate a speed data, and the control circuit further generates the control signal according to the speed data. The generator control circuit as described in item 2 of the patent application scope, wherein the engine speed is lower than a speed threshold, the control circuit executes the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 2 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit detects the engine speed according to a generator speed of the generator or receives the engine speed detected by an on-board control unit. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the detection circuit detects a voltage level of an energy storage element coupled to the generator, and generates a voltage data as the load data. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application, wherein the threshold data is a slope threshold, and the control circuit calculates the load data according to a conversion parameter to generate a load curve, one of the load curves When the slope of the variable is greater than the slope threshold, the control circuit executes the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 6 of the patent application scope, wherein when the slope of the variable of the load curve is greater than the slope threshold, the control circuit further detects the state of the variable slope before the slope threshold, when the variable The direction of the slope is the same as before and after the slope of the variable is greater than the slope threshold, the control circuit executes the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the control signal is a pulse width modulation signal, and to control the operation of the generator, the control circuit modulates one of the pulse width modulation signals In order to slow down the rising slope of a power source generated by the generator. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the control circuit is further coupled to a switch unit, the switch unit is coupled between an energy storage element and a rotor coil of the generator, the control circuit transmits The control signal is sent to the switch unit to control the switch unit to switch. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit detects a voltage level of an energy storage element coupled to the generator and generates the load data, the control circuit is based on the The load data controls the generator. When the voltage level of the energy storage element is higher than a critical threshold, the control circuit executes the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit detects a voltage level of an energy storage element coupled to the generator and generates the load data, and the control circuit is based on the The load data controls the generator. When the voltage level of the energy storage element is equal to or higher than a level threshold, the control circuit stops executing the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit detects a voltage level of an energy storage element coupled to the generator and generates the load data, and the control circuit is based on the The load data controls the generator, and when the voltage level of the energy storage element is equal to or lower than a critical threshold, the control circuit stops executing the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the detection circuit further detects an engine speed of an engine to generate a speed data, and the control circuit further controls the generator according to the speed data, the When the engine speed is higher than a speed threshold, the control circuit stops executing the load response control mode. The generator control circuit as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the control circuit The load response control mode is executed to control the generator to slow the rising slope of the generator to generate a power source.

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