WO2014049503A2 - A control system for identifying an electrical device in a vehicle - Google Patents

A control system for identifying an electrical device in a vehicle Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2014049503A2
WO2014049503A2 PCT/IB2013/058705 IB2013058705W WO2014049503A2 WO 2014049503 A2 WO2014049503 A2 WO 2014049503A2 IB 2013058705 W IB2013058705 W IB 2013058705W WO 2014049503 A2 WO2014049503 A2 WO 2014049503A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
electrical device
communication bus
controller
signal line
identifier
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2013/058705
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2014049503A3 (en
Inventor
Richard Thomas BURKE
Anthony James MORRELL
Kenneth MACLAUCHLAN
Helen MONKHOUSE
Huw Jones
Sunoj GEORGE
Original Assignee
Protean Electric Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Protean Electric Limited filed Critical Protean Electric Limited
Publication of WO2014049503A2 publication Critical patent/WO2014049503A2/en
Publication of WO2014049503A3 publication Critical patent/WO2014049503A3/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L3/00—Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
    • B60L3/12—Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
    • B60K17/00—Arrangement or mounting of transmissions in vehicles
    • B60K17/34—Arrangement or mounting of transmissions in vehicles for driving both front and rear wheels, e.g. four wheel drive vehicles
    • B60K17/356—Arrangement or mounting of transmissions in vehicles for driving both front and rear wheels, e.g. four wheel drive vehicles having fluid or electric motor, for driving one or more wheels
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
    • B60K7/00—Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel
    • B60K7/0007—Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel the motor being electric
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L15/00—Methods, circuits, or devices for controlling the traction-motor speed of electrically-propelled vehicles
    • B60L15/20—Methods, circuits, or devices for controlling the traction-motor speed of electrically-propelled vehicles for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
    • B60L15/2009—Methods, circuits, or devices for controlling the traction-motor speed of electrically-propelled vehicles for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed for braking
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L15/00—Methods, circuits, or devices for controlling the traction-motor speed of electrically-propelled vehicles
    • B60L15/20—Methods, circuits, or devices for controlling the traction-motor speed of electrically-propelled vehicles for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
    • B60L15/2036—Electric differentials, e.g. for supporting steering vehicles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L3/00—Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
    • B60L3/0023—Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train
    • B60L3/0061—Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train relating to electrical machines
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L50/00—Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle
    • B60L50/50—Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle using propulsion power supplied by batteries or fuel cells
    • B60L50/51—Electric propulsion with power supplied within the vehicle using propulsion power supplied by batteries or fuel cells characterised by AC-motors
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R16/00—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for
    • B60R16/02—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements
    • B60R16/023—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
    • B60R16/0231—Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle
    • B60R16/0232—Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R16/00—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for
    • B60R16/02—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements
    • B60R16/023—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
    • B60R16/0231—Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle
    • B60R16/0232—Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions
    • B60R16/0234—Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle for measuring vehicle parameters and indicating critical, abnormal or dangerous conditions related to maintenance or repairing of vehicles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
    • H04L12/4604—LAN interconnection over a backbone network, e.g. Internet, Frame Relay
    • H04L12/462—LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone
    • H04L12/4625—Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
    • H04L61/50—Address allocation
    • H04L61/5038—Address allocation for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
    • B60K7/00—Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel
    • B60K2007/0092—Disposition of motor in, or adjacent to, traction wheel the motor axle being coaxial to the wheel axle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2220/00—Electrical machine types; Structures or applications thereof
    • B60L2220/40—Electrical machine applications
    • B60L2220/44—Wheel Hub motors, i.e. integrated in the wheel hub
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2240/00—Control parameters of input or output; Target parameters
    • B60L2240/40—Drive Train control parameters
    • B60L2240/42—Drive Train control parameters related to electric machines
    • B60L2240/421—Speed
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2240/00—Control parameters of input or output; Target parameters
    • B60L2240/40—Drive Train control parameters
    • B60L2240/42—Drive Train control parameters related to electric machines
    • B60L2240/423—Torque
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2260/00—Operating Modes
    • B60L2260/20—Drive modes; Transition between modes
    • B60L2260/28—Four wheel or all wheel drive
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2260/00—Operating Modes
    • B60L2260/40—Control modes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60W—CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
    • B60W50/00—Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
    • B60W2050/0001—Details of the control system
    • B60W2050/0002—Automatic control, details of type of controller or control system architecture
    • B60W2050/0004—In digital systems, e.g. discrete-time systems involving sampling
    • B60W2050/0006—Digital architecture hierarchy
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L2101/00—Indexing scheme associated with group H04L61/00
    • H04L2101/60—Types of network addresses
    • H04L2101/69—Types of network addresses using geographic information, e.g. room number
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/64—Electric machine technologies in electromobility
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/70—Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/72—Electric energy management in electromobility
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02T90/10—Technologies relating to charging of electric vehicles
    • Y02T90/16—Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a vehicle and in particular a vehicle having a controller for identifying the position that an electrical device is mounted in the vehicle.
  • in-wheel electric motors where individual electric motors are used to drive the respective wheels of a vehicle.
  • the vehicle moves forward by configuring the in-wheel electric motor(s) on the left side of the vehicle to generate torque in an anticlockwise direction with the in-wheel electric motor(s) on the right side of the vehicle arranged to generate torque in a clockwise direction.
  • the direction in which torque is generated is correspondingly reversed.
  • the drive torque generated by an electric motor is typically controlled using a vehicle controller with the electric motor being coupled to the vehicle controller via a
  • the vehicle controller communicates over the communication bus speed or torque values, where the sign of the transmitted speed or torque value defines the direction in which an in-wheel electric motor is to rotate with the electric motor arranged to provide status messages to the vehicle controller over the communication bus.
  • the vehicle controller to allow the vehicle controller to determine the direction torque should be generated by an electric motor, it is desirable that the vehicle controller be able to identify whether the in-wheel electric motor is arranged to drive a wheel on the left or right hand side of the vehicle.
  • the vehicle controller to determine the location of an in-wheel electric motor it is typical for an in-wheel electric motor to be assigned a unique communication bus identifier that is communicated by the in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus with the controller containing a location map that associates an in-wheel identifier with a specific location/wheel on the vehicle.
  • the vehicle controller may cause the in-wheel electric motors to generate torque in a direction opposite to that required.
  • the invention as claimed provides the advantage of allowing a plurality of electrical devices, which are arranged to communicate over the same communication bus, to be dynamically assigned unique communication bus identifiers, where the unique communication bus identifiers also provide information on the location/position of the electrical device.
  • the vehicle controller is able to confirm which wheel of a vehicle the electric motor is configured to drive, thereby ensuring that torque generated by the respective electric motors is applied in the correct direction.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of an electric motor as used in an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of the electric motor shown in Figure 2 from an alternative angle
  • Figure 4 schematically shows an example arrangement of coil sets for an electric motor as used in an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle 100, for example a car or lorry, having four wheels 101, where two wheels are located in the vehicle's forward position in a left side and right side position respectively. Similarly, two additional wheels are located in the vehicle's aft position in left side and right side positions respectively, as is typical for a conventional car configuration. However, as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the vehicle may have any number of wheels.
  • each wheel 101 incorporated within each wheel 101 is an in- wheel electric motor 110 that is arranged to provide mechanical drive and brake torque to the respective wheel, where the in- wheel electric motor 110 is described in detail below.
  • the present embodiment illustrates the electric motors as being in-wheel electric motors the present invention is not limited by this and the respective electric motors may be positioned in-board of the wheels they are arranged to provide torque for. Further, in other embodiments other electrical devices may be used, for example electro-mechanical braking devices or active/semi-active suspension devices.
  • the in-wheel motors 110 are arranged to operate in a drive mode for providing mechanical drive power in the form of drive torque to their respective wheels to enable the vehicle 100 to move in a forward or reverse direction and a brake mode for providing a brake torque to inhibit movement of the vehicle 100.
  • the vehicle 100 includes a vehicle controller 150 for controlling the operation of the in-wheel motors 110.
  • Each of the in-wheel electric motors 110 are arranged to communicate with the vehicle controller 150 over a communication bus 160, for example a CAN bus (RTM) or Flexray bus (RTM). Additionally, each respective in-wheel electric motor 110 is coupled to the vehicle controller 150 via a respective signal line 170 with the vehicle controller 150 being able to enable or disable one or more functions of each in-wheel electric motor via their respective signal line, for example one or more functions of an in-wheel electric motor 110 may be enabled by placing the signal line 170 at earth and disabled by setting the signal line 170 to a predetermined positive voltage, for example 12V.
  • the respective signal lines form hardwired electrical point to point connections between the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 and the vehicle controller 150.
  • the respective signal lines can have their state changed by the vehicle controller 150 where the state of change is recognised by the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110.
  • Any change in the electrical state of the signal lines may be used, for example a 12V logic signal, a current loop or a modulated signal such as a square wave.
  • the signal lines are hardwired electrical point to point connections, there position in the vehicle is fixed, thereby allowing the vehicle controller 150 to be programmed with location information relating to where on the vehicle the respective signal lines are coupled.
  • the one or more functions of an in-wheel electric motor 110 that can be enabled/disabled via the signal line may be selected using messages from the vehicle controller 150 received over the communication bus 150 or may be pre-programmed within the in-wheel electric motor.
  • the vehicle 100 will include at least one redundant communication bus and redundant signal lines between the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 and the vehicle controller 150.
  • the in-wheel electric motor is of the type having a set of coils being part of the stator for attachment to a vehicle, radially surrounded by a rotor carrying a set of magnets for attachment to a wheel.
  • the various aspects of the invention are equally applicable to an electric generator having the same arrangement.
  • the definition of electric motor is intended to include electric generator.
  • some of the aspects of the invention are applicable to an arrangement having the rotor centrally mounted within radially surrounding coils. As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the present invention is applicable for use with other types of electric motors.
  • the in-wheel electric motor 40 includes a stator 252 comprising a rear portion 230 forming a first part of the housing of the assembly, and a heat sink and drive arrangement 231 comprising multiple coils and electronics to drive the coils.
  • the coil drive arrangement 231 is fixed to the rear portion 230 to form the stator 252 which may then be fixed to a vehicle and does not rotate relative to the vehicle during use.
  • the coils themselves are formed on tooth laminations to form coil windings, which together with the drive arrangement 231 and rear portion 230 form the stator 252.
  • a rotor 240 comprises a front portion 220 and a cylindrical portion 221 forming a cover, which substantially surrounds the stator 252.
  • the rotor includes a plurality of permanent magnets 242 arranged around the inside of the cylindrical portion 221.
  • 32 magnet pairs are mounted on the inside of the cylindrical portion 221.
  • any number of magnet pairs may be used.
  • the magnets are in close proximity to the coils on the assembly 231 so that magnetic fields generated by the coils in the assembly 231 interact with the magnets 242 arranged around the inside of the cylindrical portion 221 of the rotor 240 to cause the rotor 240 to rotate.
  • the permanent magnets 242 are utilized to generate a drive torque for driving the electric motor, the permanent magnets are typically called drive magnets.
  • the rotor 240 is attached to the stator 252 by a bearing block 223.
  • the bearing block 223 can be a standard bearing block as would be used in a vehicle to which this motor assembly is to be fitted.
  • the bearing block comprises two parts, a first part fixed to the stator and a second part fixed to the rotor.
  • the bearing block is fixed to a central portion 233 of the wall 230 of the stator 252 and also to a central portion 225 of the housing wall 220 of the rotor 240.
  • the rotor 240 is thus rotationally fixed to the vehicle with which it is to be used via the bearing block 223 at the central portion 225 of the rotor 240.
  • the wheel bolts may be fitted through the central portion 225 of the rotor through into the bearing block itself.
  • Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the same assembly as Figure 2 from the opposite side showing the stator 252 comprising the rear stator wall 230 and coil and electronics assembly 231.
  • the rotor 240 comprises the outer rotor wall 220 and circumferential wall 221 within which magnets 242 are circumferentially arranged.
  • the stator 252 is connected to the rotor 240 via the bearing block at the central portions of the rotor and stator walls.
  • control devices 80 carrying control electronics, otherwise known as motor drive controllers or inverters.
  • a V shaped seal 350 is provided between the circumferential wall 221 of the rotor and the outer edge of the stator housing 230.
  • the rotor also includes a set of magnets 227 for position sensing, otherwise known as commutation magnets, which in conjunction with sensors mounted on the stator allows for a rotor flux angle to be estimated.
  • the rotor flux angle defines the positional relationship of the drive magnets to the coil windings.
  • the rotor may include a ring of magnetic material that has multiple poles that act as a set of separate magnets.
  • each drive magnet has an associated commutation magnet, where the rotor flux angle is derived from the flux angle associated with the set of commutation magnets by calibrating the measured commutation magnet flux angle.
  • the set of commutation magnets has the same number of magnet or magnet pole pairs as the set of drive magnet pairs, where the commutation magnets and associated drive magnets are approximately radially aligned with each other.
  • the set of commutation magnets has 32 magnet pairs, where each magnet pair is approximately radially aligned with a respective drive magnet pair.
  • a sensor which in this embodiment is a Hall sensor, is mounted on the stator. The sensor is positioned so that as the rotor rotates each of the commutation magnets that form the commutation magnet ring respectively rotates past the sensor. As the rotor rotates relative to the stator the commutation magnets correspondingly rotate past the sensor with the Hall sensor outputting an AC voltage signal, where the sensor outputs a complete voltage cycle of 360 electrical degrees for each magnet pair that passes the respective sensors. To aid in the determination of the direction of the rotor, the sensor may also have an associated second sensor placed 90 electrical degrees apart.
  • the motor 40 in this embodiment includes 8 coil sets 60 with each coil set 60 having three coil sub-sets 61, 62, 63 that are coupled to a respective control device 80, where each control device 80 and respective coil sub-sets form a three phase logical or sub electric motor that can be controlled independently of the other sub motors.
  • the control devices 80 drive their respective sub motor with a three phase voltage supply, thereby allowing the respective coil sub-sets to generate a rotating magnetic field.
  • each coil set 60 is not limited by this and it would be appreciated that each coil set 60 could have two or more coil sub-sets.
  • each control device includes a three phase bridge inverter which, as is well known to a person skilled in the art, contains six switches.
  • the three phase bridge inverter is coupled to the three subset coils of a coil set 60 to form a three phase electric motor configuration.
  • the motor includes eight three phase sub-motors, where each three phase sub-motor includes a control device 80 coupled to the three sub-set coils of a coil set 60.
  • Each three phase bridge inverter is arranged to provide PWM voltage control across the respective coil sub-sets 61, 62, 63 to provide a required torque and direction for the respective sub-motors, where the specified torque and direction of rotation is provided to the respective control devices by the vehicle controller over the communication bus.
  • the three phase bridge switches of a control device 64 are arranged to apply a single voltage phase across each of the coil sub-sets 61 , 62, 63.
  • the in-wheel electric motor described in the present embodiment includes a plurality of logical sub-motors, as person skilled in the art would appreciate the electric motor may be of a conventional design without the use of logical sub-motors.
  • each control device 80 is substantially wedge-shaped. This shape allows multiple control devices 80 to be located adjacent each other within the motor, forming a fan-like arrangement.
  • the control device 80 switches can include semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs or IGBTs. In the present example, the switches comprise IGBTs.
  • any suitable known switching circuit can be employed for controlling the current.
  • One well known example of such a switching circuit is the three phase bridge circuit having six switches configured to drive a three phase electric motor. The six switches are configured as three parallel sets of two switches, where each pair of switches is placed in series and from a leg of the three phase bridge circuit.
  • the plurality of switches are arranged to apply an alternating voltage across the respective coil sub-sets.
  • the plurality of switches are configured to form an n-phase bridge circuit. Accordingly, as is well known to a person skilled in the art, the number of switches will depend upon the number of voltage phases to be applied to the respective sub motors. Although the current design shows each sub motor having a three phase construction, the sub motors can be constructed to have two or more phases.
  • the wires (e.g. copper wires) of the coil sub-sets can be connected directly to the switching devices as appropriate.
  • the control device 80 includes a number of electrical components for controlling the operation of the switches mounted on the control device 80. Examples of electrical components mounted on the control device 80 include control logic for controlling the operation of the switches for providing PWM voltage control and interface components, such as a CAN (RTM) interface chip, for allowing the control device 80 to communicate with devices external to the control device 80, such as the vehicle controller 150 over the communication bus 160.
  • RTM CAN
  • control device 80 communicates over the communication bus interface to receive torque demand requests, direction of rotation and other control data, and to transmit status information including a unique communication bus identifier associated with the in- wheel electric motor to allow the vehicle controller 150 to identify the relevant in-wheel electric motor.
  • vehicle controller 150 is arranged to program each of the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 with a unique communication bus identifier, where the unique communication bus identifier is provided to the in-wheel electric motor 110 over the communication bus 160.
  • the unique communication bus identifier allows the vehicle controller 150 to identify messages from the in-wheel electric motor and the wheel position that the in-wheel electric motor is arranged to drive and also allows the respective in-wheel electric motors to recognise which messages are being transmitted to the respective in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus based on the identifier incorporated within the message.
  • the respective communication bus identifiers associated with the respective in-wheel electric motors 150 are also correlated to the respective signal lines 170 connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the respective in-wheel electric motors 110.
  • the vehicle controller 150 uses a two digit system for allocating a unique communication bus identifier to the respective in-wheel electric motors 110.
  • any form of system may be used.
  • the first digit indicates whether an in- wheel electric motor 110 is arranged to provide a drive torque to a wheel on the left side or right side of the vehicle 100.
  • the second digit indicates whether an in- wheel electric motor 110 is arranged to provide a drive torque to a wheel 101 at the front or rear of the vehicle 100.
  • the first digit is a 1 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a left side wheel 101, and if the first digit is a 2 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a right side wheel 101. If the second digit is a 1 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a rear wheel 101, and if the first digit is a 2 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a front wheel 101.
  • a communication bus identifier 21 would indicate a front left side in-wheel electric motor
  • a communication bus identifier 22 would indicate a front right side in-wheel electric motor
  • a communication bus identifier 11 would indicate a rear left side in-wheel electric motor
  • a communication bus identifier 12 would indicate a rear right side in-wheel electric motor.
  • the vehicle controller 150 As more than one of the in-wheel electric motors 110 are arranged to communicate on the same communication bus 160, to allow the vehicle controller 150 to program the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 with the correct communication bus identifier the vehicle controller 150 is arranged to select the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110 using the signal line connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110, whereas the signal lines are hardwired point to point connections the vehicle controller 150 knows the wheel positions supported by the relevant signal lines.
  • the vehicle controller 150 uses the signal lines to the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 to enable one of the in-wheel electric motors 110 to be programmed with a communication bus identifier while disabling the other three in-wheel electric motors 110 from being programmed with the communication bus identifier. With three of the in- wheel electric motors 110 being disabled from being programmed with the
  • the vehicle controller 150 programs the enabled in-wheel electric motor 110 with the identifier associated with the signal line arranged to enable/disable the programming function of the respective in-wheel electric motor 110.
  • the vehicle controller 150 places the in- wheel electric motor 110 into a programming mode using a communication bus message and provides the relevant communication bus identifier over the communication bus 160.
  • the vehicle controller 150 disables the programming function of the first in-wheel electric motor via the relevant signal line and the process is repeated for other in-wheel electric motors that need to be programmed with a unique communication bus identifier.
  • an in-wheel electric motor 110 with a communication bus identifier based on the signal line 170 used to enable the programming function of the in-wheel electric motor 110 allows the communication bus identifiers associated with the respective in- wheel electric motors to be correlated to the enable/disable signal lines connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the respective in-wheel electric motors 110.
  • the vehicle controller 150 is able to programme an in-wheel electric motor with a communication bus identifier that is associated with a known location. That is to say, by programming an in-wheel electric motor with a communication bus identifier based upon the signal line used to enable/disable the programming function of the in-wheel electric motor it is possible to identify the position/location of the relevant in-wheel electric motor.
  • the vehicle controller 150 is arranged to confirm that the communication bus identifier associated with an in-wheel electric motor 110 correctly identifies the location/position of the wheel 101 arranged to be driven by the in-wheel electric motor 110.
  • the vehicle controller 150 can be used to confirm that the in-wheel electric motors 110 have been remounted in the correct position. If not, one solution would be to reprogram the in-wheel electric motors 110 with the appropriate communication bus identifiers by placing the vehicle controller 150 in the first mode of operation, as described above.
  • the vehicle controller 150 To confirm that the communication bus identifier associated with an in-wheel electric motor 110 correctly identifies the location/position of the wheel arranged to be driven by the in-wheel electric motor 110, the vehicle controller 150 first checks that it is receiving status messages over the communication bus 160 from all in-wheel electric motors. Using the communication bus identifiers contained within the respective status messages received from each in-wheel electric motor 110 the vehicle controller 150 first checks that no two in-wheel electric motors 110 have been configured with the same identifier.
  • a broadcast message from the vehicle controller 150 transmitted over the communication bus 160 commands all in-wheel electric motors to reply to a vehicle controller addressing message only when their signal line is enabled.
  • the vehicle controller 150 to enable one of the in-wheel electric motors to transmit its communication bus identifier while disabling the other three in-wheel electric motors from transmitting its communication bus identifier.
  • the vehicle controller 150 checks that the status message received from the enabled in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus 160 contains the correct communication bus identifier (i.e. the identifier associated with the signal line used for enabling the in-wheel electric motor). For example, if the left side front in-wheel electric motor has been enabled to transmit its communication bus identifier and the other three in-wheel electric motors have been disabled from doing so, the vehicle controller 150 would expect to receive via the communication bus 160 a status message with a communication bus identifier corresponding to 21.
  • the correct communication bus identifier i.e. the identifier associated with the signal line used for enabling the in-wheel electric motor.
  • the vehicle controller 150 can be placed in the first mode of operation, thereby allowing the in-wheel electric motor 110 to be reprogrammed with the correct communication bus identifier. If the communication bus identifier for further in- wheel electric motors 110 need to be checked the vehicle controller 150 disables the transmitting of the communication bus identifier from the first in- wheel electric motor 110 via the relevant signal line 170 and the process is repeated for the other in- wheel electric motors 110.
  • all in- wheel electric motors 110 may continue to transmit over the communication bus, where each in-wheel electric motor reports the status of its signal line, thereby allowing the vehicle controller 150 to identify which in-wheel electric motor has had its signal line enabled.
  • the function within the in-wheel electric motor 110 that the signal line is arranged to enable/disable is the status bit of the status message corresponding to whether the signal line has been enabled or disabled.
  • the vehicle controller 150 can ensure that the position/location of each in- wheel electric motor 110 is correctly identified, thereby allowing each in-wheel electric motor to be configured for its position on the vehicle 100.
  • the disclosed subject matter may be modified in numerous ways and may assume embodiments other than the preferred forms specifically set out as described above, for example the present invention is not limited to electric motors but is applicable to any plurality of electrical devices connected to a controller via a communication bus, where identification of a specific device may be required, such as brake callipers and/or active or semi-active suspension devices.

Abstract

A vehicle having a controller; a plurality of electrical devices; a communication bus coupled between the controller and the plurality of electrical devices for allowing the controller to communicate with the plurality of electrical devices; and a plurality of signal lines, wherein each signal line is coupled between the controller and a respective electrical device for allowing the controller to enable and disable one or more functions of the respective electrical device, wherein the controller is arranged to enable a first function of a first electrical device of the plurality of electrical devices using a first signal line and communicate over the communication bus to the first electrical device a first identifier for allowing the first electrical device to be identified over the communication bus and/or to enable a second function of the first electrical device of the plurality of electrical devices using the first signal line and receive an identifier from the first electrical device over the communication bus for determining whether the first signal line and identifier are associated with the same electrical device.

Description

A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING AN ELECTRICAL DEVICE IN A
VEHICLE
The present invention relates to a vehicle and in particular a vehicle having a controller for identifying the position that an electrical device is mounted in the vehicle.
With increased interested being placed in environmentally friendly vehicles there has been a corresponding increase in interest in the use of electric vehicles. Although most commercially available electric vehicles utilise a central electric motor that is used to drive two or more of the vehicle's wheels, an alternative solution that is gaining increased popularity utilises in-wheel electric motors, where individual electric motors are used to drive the respective wheels of a vehicle. For a vehicle having in-wheel electric motors, the vehicle moves forward by configuring the in-wheel electric motor(s) on the left side of the vehicle to generate torque in an anticlockwise direction with the in-wheel electric motor(s) on the right side of the vehicle arranged to generate torque in a clockwise direction. To move in a reverse direction the direction in which torque is generated is correspondingly reversed.
The drive torque generated by an electric motor is typically controlled using a vehicle controller with the electric motor being coupled to the vehicle controller via a
communication bus, for example a CAN bus (RTM) or Flexray bus (RTM). Typically the vehicle controller communicates over the communication bus speed or torque values, where the sign of the transmitted speed or torque value defines the direction in which an in-wheel electric motor is to rotate with the electric motor arranged to provide status messages to the vehicle controller over the communication bus.
Accordingly, to allow the vehicle controller to determine the direction torque should be generated by an electric motor, it is desirable that the vehicle controller be able to identify whether the in-wheel electric motor is arranged to drive a wheel on the left or right hand side of the vehicle. To allow the vehicle controller to determine the location of an in-wheel electric motor it is typical for an in-wheel electric motor to be assigned a unique communication bus identifier that is communicated by the in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus with the controller containing a location map that associates an in-wheel identifier with a specific location/wheel on the vehicle.
If, however, the in-wheel electric motor identifier is incorrectly configured, for example if during a maintenance operation the in-wheel electric motors are mounted in different locations to that intended, the vehicle controller may cause the in-wheel electric motors to generate torque in a direction opposite to that required.
It is desirable to improve this situation.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle according to the accompanying claims.
The invention as claimed provides the advantage of allowing a plurality of electrical devices, which are arranged to communicate over the same communication bus, to be dynamically assigned unique communication bus identifiers, where the unique communication bus identifiers also provide information on the location/position of the electrical device. With regard to in-wheel electric motors, the vehicle controller is able to confirm which wheel of a vehicle the electric motor is configured to drive, thereby ensuring that torque generated by the respective electric motors is applied in the correct direction.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of an electric motor as used in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of the electric motor shown in Figure 2 from an alternative angle;
Figure 4 schematically shows an example arrangement of coil sets for an electric motor as used in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle 100, for example a car or lorry, having four wheels 101, where two wheels are located in the vehicle's forward position in a left side and right side position respectively. Similarly, two additional wheels are located in the vehicle's aft position in left side and right side positions respectively, as is typical for a conventional car configuration. However, as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the vehicle may have any number of wheels.
For the purposes of the present embodiment, incorporated within each wheel 101 is an in- wheel electric motor 110 that is arranged to provide mechanical drive and brake torque to the respective wheel, where the in- wheel electric motor 110 is described in detail below. Although the present embodiment illustrates the electric motors as being in-wheel electric motors the present invention is not limited by this and the respective electric motors may be positioned in-board of the wheels they are arranged to provide torque for. Further, in other embodiments other electrical devices may be used, for example electro-mechanical braking devices or active/semi-active suspension devices.
The in-wheel motors 110 are arranged to operate in a drive mode for providing mechanical drive power in the form of drive torque to their respective wheels to enable the vehicle 100 to move in a forward or reverse direction and a brake mode for providing a brake torque to inhibit movement of the vehicle 100.
Additionally, the vehicle 100 includes a vehicle controller 150 for controlling the operation of the in-wheel motors 110.
Each of the in-wheel electric motors 110 are arranged to communicate with the vehicle controller 150 over a communication bus 160, for example a CAN bus (RTM) or Flexray bus (RTM). Additionally, each respective in-wheel electric motor 110 is coupled to the vehicle controller 150 via a respective signal line 170 with the vehicle controller 150 being able to enable or disable one or more functions of each in-wheel electric motor via their respective signal line, for example one or more functions of an in-wheel electric motor 110 may be enabled by placing the signal line 170 at earth and disabled by setting the signal line 170 to a predetermined positive voltage, for example 12V. The respective signal lines form hardwired electrical point to point connections between the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 and the vehicle controller 150. The respective signal lines can have their state changed by the vehicle controller 150 where the state of change is recognised by the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110. Any change in the electrical state of the signal lines may be used, for example a 12V logic signal, a current loop or a modulated signal such as a square wave. As the signal lines are hardwired electrical point to point connections, there position in the vehicle is fixed, thereby allowing the vehicle controller 150 to be programmed with location information relating to where on the vehicle the respective signal lines are coupled. The one or more functions of an in-wheel electric motor 110 that can be enabled/disabled via the signal line may be selected using messages from the vehicle controller 150 received over the communication bus 150 or may be pre-programmed within the in-wheel electric motor. Although the present embodiment describes the vehicle 100 having a single
communication bus 160 and a single signal line 170 between each respective in-wheel electric motor 110 and the vehicle controller 150, typically the vehicle 100 will include at least one redundant communication bus and redundant signal lines between the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 and the vehicle controller 150.
For the purpose of illustration, the in-wheel electric motor is of the type having a set of coils being part of the stator for attachment to a vehicle, radially surrounded by a rotor carrying a set of magnets for attachment to a wheel. For the avoidance of doubt, the various aspects of the invention are equally applicable to an electric generator having the same arrangement. As such, the definition of electric motor is intended to include electric generator. In addition, some of the aspects of the invention are applicable to an arrangement having the rotor centrally mounted within radially surrounding coils. As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the present invention is applicable for use with other types of electric motors. For the purposes of the present embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 2, the in-wheel electric motor 40 includes a stator 252 comprising a rear portion 230 forming a first part of the housing of the assembly, and a heat sink and drive arrangement 231 comprising multiple coils and electronics to drive the coils. The coil drive arrangement 231 is fixed to the rear portion 230 to form the stator 252 which may then be fixed to a vehicle and does not rotate relative to the vehicle during use. The coils themselves are formed on tooth laminations to form coil windings, which together with the drive arrangement 231 and rear portion 230 form the stator 252.
A rotor 240 comprises a front portion 220 and a cylindrical portion 221 forming a cover, which substantially surrounds the stator 252. The rotor includes a plurality of permanent magnets 242 arranged around the inside of the cylindrical portion 221. For the purposes of the present embodiment 32 magnet pairs are mounted on the inside of the cylindrical portion 221. However, any number of magnet pairs may be used.
The magnets are in close proximity to the coils on the assembly 231 so that magnetic fields generated by the coils in the assembly 231 interact with the magnets 242 arranged around the inside of the cylindrical portion 221 of the rotor 240 to cause the rotor 240 to rotate. As the permanent magnets 242 are utilized to generate a drive torque for driving the electric motor, the permanent magnets are typically called drive magnets.
The rotor 240 is attached to the stator 252 by a bearing block 223. The bearing block 223 can be a standard bearing block as would be used in a vehicle to which this motor assembly is to be fitted. The bearing block comprises two parts, a first part fixed to the stator and a second part fixed to the rotor. The bearing block is fixed to a central portion 233 of the wall 230 of the stator 252 and also to a central portion 225 of the housing wall 220 of the rotor 240. The rotor 240 is thus rotationally fixed to the vehicle with which it is to be used via the bearing block 223 at the central portion 225 of the rotor 240. This has an advantage in that a wheel rim and tyre can then be fixed to the rotor 240 at the central portion 225 using the normal wheel bolts to fix the wheel rim to the central portion of the rotor and consequently firmly onto the rotatable side of the bearing block 223. The wheel bolts may be fitted through the central portion 225 of the rotor through into the bearing block itself. With both the rotor 240 and the wheel being mounted to the bearing block 223 there is a one to one correspondence between the angle of rotation of the rotor and the wheel.
Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the same assembly as Figure 2 from the opposite side showing the stator 252 comprising the rear stator wall 230 and coil and electronics assembly 231. The rotor 240 comprises the outer rotor wall 220 and circumferential wall 221 within which magnets 242 are circumferentially arranged. As previously described, the stator 252 is connected to the rotor 240 via the bearing block at the central portions of the rotor and stator walls.
Additionally shown in Figure 3 are control devices 80 carrying control electronics, otherwise known as motor drive controllers or inverters.
A V shaped seal 350 is provided between the circumferential wall 221 of the rotor and the outer edge of the stator housing 230.
The rotor also includes a set of magnets 227 for position sensing, otherwise known as commutation magnets, which in conjunction with sensors mounted on the stator allows for a rotor flux angle to be estimated. The rotor flux angle defines the positional relationship of the drive magnets to the coil windings. Alternatively, in place of a set of separate magnets the rotor may include a ring of magnetic material that has multiple poles that act as a set of separate magnets.
To allow the commutation magnets to be used to calculate a rotor flux angle, preferably each drive magnet has an associated commutation magnet, where the rotor flux angle is derived from the flux angle associated with the set of commutation magnets by calibrating the measured commutation magnet flux angle. To simplify the correlation between the commutation magnet flux angle and the rotor flux angle, preferably the set of commutation magnets has the same number of magnet or magnet pole pairs as the set of drive magnet pairs, where the commutation magnets and associated drive magnets are approximately radially aligned with each other. Accordingly, for the purposes of the present embodiment the set of commutation magnets has 32 magnet pairs, where each magnet pair is approximately radially aligned with a respective drive magnet pair. A sensor, which in this embodiment is a Hall sensor, is mounted on the stator. The sensor is positioned so that as the rotor rotates each of the commutation magnets that form the commutation magnet ring respectively rotates past the sensor. As the rotor rotates relative to the stator the commutation magnets correspondingly rotate past the sensor with the Hall sensor outputting an AC voltage signal, where the sensor outputs a complete voltage cycle of 360 electrical degrees for each magnet pair that passes the respective sensors. To aid in the determination of the direction of the rotor, the sensor may also have an associated second sensor placed 90 electrical degrees apart.
As illustrated in Figure 4, the motor 40 in this embodiment includes 8 coil sets 60 with each coil set 60 having three coil sub-sets 61, 62, 63 that are coupled to a respective control device 80, where each control device 80 and respective coil sub-sets form a three phase logical or sub electric motor that can be controlled independently of the other sub motors. The control devices 80 drive their respective sub motor with a three phase voltage supply, thereby allowing the respective coil sub-sets to generate a rotating magnetic field. Although the present embodiment describes each coil set 60 as having three coil sub-sets 61, 62, 63, the present invention is not limited by this and it would be appreciated that each coil set 60 could have two or more coil sub-sets. Equally, although the present embodiment describes an electric motor having eight coil sets 60 (i.e. eight sub motors) the motor could have one or more coil sets with an associated control device. Each control device includes a three phase bridge inverter which, as is well known to a person skilled in the art, contains six switches. The three phase bridge inverter is coupled to the three subset coils of a coil set 60 to form a three phase electric motor configuration. Accordingly, as stated above, the motor includes eight three phase sub-motors, where each three phase sub-motor includes a control device 80 coupled to the three sub-set coils of a coil set 60.
Each three phase bridge inverter is arranged to provide PWM voltage control across the respective coil sub-sets 61, 62, 63 to provide a required torque and direction for the respective sub-motors, where the specified torque and direction of rotation is provided to the respective control devices by the vehicle controller over the communication bus.
For a given coil set the three phase bridge switches of a control device 64 are arranged to apply a single voltage phase across each of the coil sub-sets 61 , 62, 63.
Although the in-wheel electric motor described in the present embodiment includes a plurality of logical sub-motors, as person skilled in the art would appreciate the electric motor may be of a conventional design without the use of logical sub-motors.
In this embodiment, each control device 80 is substantially wedge-shaped. This shape allows multiple control devices 80 to be located adjacent each other within the motor, forming a fan-like arrangement. The control device 80 switches can include semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs or IGBTs. In the present example, the switches comprise IGBTs. However, any suitable known switching circuit can be employed for controlling the current. One well known example of such a switching circuit is the three phase bridge circuit having six switches configured to drive a three phase electric motor. The six switches are configured as three parallel sets of two switches, where each pair of switches is placed in series and from a leg of the three phase bridge circuit.
The plurality of switches are arranged to apply an alternating voltage across the respective coil sub-sets.
As described above, the plurality of switches are configured to form an n-phase bridge circuit. Accordingly, as is well known to a person skilled in the art, the number of switches will depend upon the number of voltage phases to be applied to the respective sub motors. Although the current design shows each sub motor having a three phase construction, the sub motors can be constructed to have two or more phases.
The wires (e.g. copper wires) of the coil sub-sets can be connected directly to the switching devices as appropriate. The control device 80 includes a number of electrical components for controlling the operation of the switches mounted on the control device 80. Examples of electrical components mounted on the control device 80 include control logic for controlling the operation of the switches for providing PWM voltage control and interface components, such as a CAN (RTM) interface chip, for allowing the control device 80 to communicate with devices external to the control device 80, such as the vehicle controller 150 over the communication bus 160.
As stated above, the control device 80 communicates over the communication bus interface to receive torque demand requests, direction of rotation and other control data, and to transmit status information including a unique communication bus identifier associated with the in- wheel electric motor to allow the vehicle controller 150 to identify the relevant in-wheel electric motor. In a first mode of operation the vehicle controller 150 is arranged to program each of the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 with a unique communication bus identifier, where the unique communication bus identifier is provided to the in-wheel electric motor 110 over the communication bus 160. The unique communication bus identifier allows the vehicle controller 150 to identify messages from the in-wheel electric motor and the wheel position that the in-wheel electric motor is arranged to drive and also allows the respective in-wheel electric motors to recognise which messages are being transmitted to the respective in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus based on the identifier incorporated within the message. To allow the vehicle controller 150 to identify an in-wheel electric motor position and hence the wheel position, for example front left side, front right side, rear left side and rear right side, that the respective in-wheel electric motor is arranged to drive, the respective communication bus identifiers associated with the respective in-wheel electric motors 150 are also correlated to the respective signal lines 170 connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the respective in-wheel electric motors 110.
For the purposes of the present embodiment the vehicle controller 150 uses a two digit system for allocating a unique communication bus identifier to the respective in-wheel electric motors 110. However, any form of system may be used. In the two digit system used by the vehicle controller 150 the first digit indicates whether an in- wheel electric motor 110 is arranged to provide a drive torque to a wheel on the left side or right side of the vehicle 100. The second digit indicates whether an in- wheel electric motor 110 is arranged to provide a drive torque to a wheel 101 at the front or rear of the vehicle 100.
For example, if the first digit is a 1 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a left side wheel 101, and if the first digit is a 2 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a right side wheel 101. If the second digit is a 1 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a rear wheel 101, and if the first digit is a 2 this indicates an in- wheel electric motor 110 arranged to drive a front wheel 101. As such, based on this example, a communication bus identifier 21 would indicate a front left side in-wheel electric motor, a communication bus identifier 22 would indicate a front right side in-wheel electric motor, a communication bus identifier 11 would indicate a rear left side in-wheel electric motor, and a communication bus identifier 12 would indicate a rear right side in-wheel electric motor.
As more than one of the in-wheel electric motors 110 are arranged to communicate on the same communication bus 160, to allow the vehicle controller 150 to program the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 with the correct communication bus identifier the vehicle controller 150 is arranged to select the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110 using the signal line connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the relevant in-wheel electric motor 110, whereas the signal lines are hardwired point to point connections the vehicle controller 150 knows the wheel positions supported by the relevant signal lines.
The vehicle controller 150 uses the signal lines to the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 to enable one of the in-wheel electric motors 110 to be programmed with a communication bus identifier while disabling the other three in-wheel electric motors 110 from being programmed with the communication bus identifier. With three of the in- wheel electric motors 110 being disabled from being programmed with the
communication bus identifier the vehicle controller 150 programs the enabled in-wheel electric motor 110 with the identifier associated with the signal line arranged to enable/disable the programming function of the respective in-wheel electric motor 110. Typically, once the signal line has been enabled the vehicle controller 150 places the in- wheel electric motor 110 into a programming mode using a communication bus message and provides the relevant communication bus identifier over the communication bus 160.
Once the in- wheel electric motor 110 has been programmed with the relevant identifier, if further in- wheel electric motors 110 need to be programmed the vehicle controller 150 disables the programming function of the first in-wheel electric motor via the relevant signal line and the process is repeated for other in-wheel electric motors that need to be programmed with a unique communication bus identifier.
Programming an in-wheel electric motor 110 with a communication bus identifier based on the signal line 170 used to enable the programming function of the in-wheel electric motor 110 allows the communication bus identifiers associated with the respective in- wheel electric motors to be correlated to the enable/disable signal lines connected between the vehicle controller 150 and the respective in-wheel electric motors 110.
As the signal lines to the respective in-wheel electric motor locations/positions are fixed (i.e. are hardwired within the vehicle) the vehicle controller 150 is able to programme an in-wheel electric motor with a communication bus identifier that is associated with a known location. That is to say, by programming an in-wheel electric motor with a communication bus identifier based upon the signal line used to enable/disable the programming function of the in-wheel electric motor it is possible to identify the position/location of the relevant in-wheel electric motor.
In a second mode of operation, the vehicle controller 150 is arranged to confirm that the communication bus identifier associated with an in-wheel electric motor 110 correctly identifies the location/position of the wheel 101 arranged to be driven by the in-wheel electric motor 110.
For example, after a maintenance procedure where all in-wheel electric motors 110 may have been removed from the vehicle 100 the vehicle controller 150 can be used to confirm that the in-wheel electric motors 110 have been remounted in the correct position. If not, one solution would be to reprogram the in-wheel electric motors 110 with the appropriate communication bus identifiers by placing the vehicle controller 150 in the first mode of operation, as described above.
To confirm that the communication bus identifier associated with an in-wheel electric motor 110 correctly identifies the location/position of the wheel arranged to be driven by the in-wheel electric motor 110, the vehicle controller 150 first checks that it is receiving status messages over the communication bus 160 from all in-wheel electric motors. Using the communication bus identifiers contained within the respective status messages received from each in-wheel electric motor 110 the vehicle controller 150 first checks that no two in-wheel electric motors 110 have been configured with the same identifier.
A broadcast message from the vehicle controller 150 transmitted over the communication bus 160 commands all in-wheel electric motors to reply to a vehicle controller addressing message only when their signal line is enabled.
Accordingly, by using the respective signal lines 170 to the respective in-wheel electric motors 110 it is possible for the vehicle controller 150 to enable one of the in-wheel electric motors to transmit its communication bus identifier while disabling the other three in-wheel electric motors from transmitting its communication bus identifier.
With three of the in-wheel electric motors disabled from transmitting their
communication bus identifiers the vehicle controller 150 checks that the status message received from the enabled in-wheel electric motor over the communication bus 160 contains the correct communication bus identifier (i.e. the identifier associated with the signal line used for enabling the in-wheel electric motor). For example, if the left side front in-wheel electric motor has been enabled to transmit its communication bus identifier and the other three in-wheel electric motors have been disabled from doing so, the vehicle controller 150 would expect to receive via the communication bus 160 a status message with a communication bus identifier corresponding to 21.
If the in-wheel electric motor 110 is using an incorrect communication bus identifier for the identified location the vehicle controller 150 can be placed in the first mode of operation, thereby allowing the in-wheel electric motor 110 to be reprogrammed with the correct communication bus identifier. If the communication bus identifier for further in- wheel electric motors 110 need to be checked the vehicle controller 150 disables the transmitting of the communication bus identifier from the first in- wheel electric motor 110 via the relevant signal line 170 and the process is repeated for the other in- wheel electric motors 110.
Alternatively, all in- wheel electric motors 110 may continue to transmit over the communication bus, where each in-wheel electric motor reports the status of its signal line, thereby allowing the vehicle controller 150 to identify which in-wheel electric motor has had its signal line enabled. In this configuration, the function within the in-wheel electric motor 110 that the signal line is arranged to enable/disable is the status bit of the status message corresponding to whether the signal line has been enabled or disabled.
In this way the vehicle controller 150 can ensure that the position/location of each in- wheel electric motor 110 is correctly identified, thereby allowing each in-wheel electric motor to be configured for its position on the vehicle 100.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed subject matter may be modified in numerous ways and may assume embodiments other than the preferred forms specifically set out as described above, for example the present invention is not limited to electric motors but is applicable to any plurality of electrical devices connected to a controller via a communication bus, where identification of a specific device may be required, such as brake callipers and/or active or semi-active suspension devices.

Claims

1. A vehicle having a controller; a plurality of electrical devices; a communication bus coupled between the controller and the plurality of electrical devices for allowing the controller to communicate with the plurality of electrical devices; and a plurality of signal lines, wherein each signal line is coupled between the controller and a respective electrical device for allowing the controller to enable and disable one or more functions of the respective electrical device, wherein the controller is arranged to enable a first function of a first electrical device of the plurality of electrical devices using a first signal line and communicate over the communication bus to the first electrical device a first identifier for allowing the first electrical device to be identified over the communication bus and/or to enable a second function of the first electrical device of the plurality of electrical devices using the first signal line and receive an identifier from the first electrical device over the communication bus for determining whether the first signal line and identifier are associated with the same electrical device.
2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to disable one or more functions of the other plurality of electrical devices when the first function or second function of the first electrical device is enabled using the signal lines between the controller and the respective electrical devices.
3. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to disable the first function of the first electrical device using the first signal line and enable the first function of a second electrical device of the plurality of electrical device using a second signal line and communicate over the communication bus a second identifier for allowing the second electrical device to be identified over the communication bus.
4. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to disable the second function of the first electrical device using the first signal line and enable the second function of a second electrical device of the plurality of electrical devices using a second signal line and receiving an identifier from the second electrical device over the communication bus for determining whether the second signal line and the identifier are associated with the same electrical device.
5. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first function of an electrical device is the storing of an identifier received over the communication bus from the controller for future communication over the communication bus with the controller.
6. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second function is the communicating of an identifier associated with the electrical device over the communication bus and the status bit of the status message corresponding to whether the signal line has been enabled or disabled.
7. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second function is the communicating of an identifier associated with the electrical device over the communication bus or the status bit of the status message corresponding to whether the signal line has been enabled or disabled.
8. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a redundant communication bus and redundant signal lines.
9. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the identifier received from the first electrical device over the communication bus is received in a status message.
10. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of signal lines coupled between the controller and the respective electrical devices are point to point electrical connections.
11. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical devices are electric motors, and/or brake callipers and/or suspension devices.
12. A vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of electric motors are arranged to drive a respective wheel for moving the vehicle
13. A vehicle according to claims 11 or 12, wherein the controller is arranged to provide torque and direction information to the plurality of electric motors based upon the identifiers associated with the respective plurality of electric motors.
14. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the direction information to an electric motor located on the right hand side of the vehicle is arranged to be opposite to the direction information to an electric motor located on the left hand side of the vehicle.
15. A vehicle according to any one of the claims 11 to 14, wherein the plurality of electric motors are in- wheel electric motors.
PCT/IB2013/058705 2012-09-25 2013-09-20 A control system for identifying an electrical device in a vehicle WO2014049503A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1217103.9 2012-09-25
GB1217103.9A GB2494785B (en) 2012-09-25 2012-09-25 A control system for identiying an electrical device in a vehicle

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2014049503A2 true WO2014049503A2 (en) 2014-04-03
WO2014049503A3 WO2014049503A3 (en) 2014-11-27

Family

ID=47190575

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IB2013/058705 WO2014049503A2 (en) 2012-09-25 2013-09-20 A control system for identifying an electrical device in a vehicle

Country Status (3)

Country Link
CN (1) CN103661002B (en)
GB (1) GB2494785B (en)
WO (1) WO2014049503A2 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2722027A3 (en) * 2012-10-18 2014-12-31 AAT Alber Antriebstechnik GmbH Small vehicle, in particular wheelchair
CN111791746A (en) * 2020-06-30 2020-10-20 中国第一汽车股份有限公司 Flexible battery replacement system and method for vehicle, electronic device and storage medium

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20150214864A1 (en) * 2014-01-30 2015-07-30 Deere & Company Control synchronization between multiple control units for resource load sharing
WO2024036584A1 (en) * 2022-08-19 2024-02-22 舍弗勒技术股份两合公司 Matching method for power wheel modules and peus, apparatus, and storage medium

Family Cites Families (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE29907265U1 (en) * 1999-04-23 1999-09-16 Siemens Ag Data transmission system with automatic configuration
US6453737B2 (en) * 1999-06-16 2002-09-24 Jorge A. Young Tire pressure sensory and monitoring method
US6417766B1 (en) * 2000-01-14 2002-07-09 Schrader-Bridgeport International, Inc. Method and apparatus for identifying remote sending units in a tire pressure monitor system of a vehicle using secondary modulation of wheel rotation
US6700480B2 (en) * 2002-04-29 2004-03-02 Robert Bosch Corporation Addressable vehicle monitoring system and method
DE102004008910A1 (en) * 2004-02-24 2005-09-08 Robert Bosch Gmbh Method and communication system for transmitting information in a motor vehicle
JP4710472B2 (en) * 2005-07-29 2011-06-29 トヨタ自動車株式会社 Vehicle information processing apparatus, vehicle information processing apparatus inspection method, and vehicle information processing apparatus ID registration method
DE102006025174A1 (en) * 2006-05-30 2007-12-06 Siemens Ag Device and method for determining the sensor position of sensor units of a driver assistance system
JP5266702B2 (en) * 2007-09-28 2013-08-21 三菱自動車工業株式会社 Electric vehicle power management device
DE102008005317B4 (en) * 2008-01-21 2018-07-12 Robert Bosch Gmbh Method for configuring an ultrasound-based driver assistance system and corresponding ultrasound sensor
GB2463130B (en) * 2009-07-29 2011-06-22 Protean Holdings Corp Torque control system
GB2472297B (en) * 2010-07-19 2014-04-23 Protean Electric Ltd Electric motor
DE102010033405A1 (en) * 2010-08-04 2012-02-09 Bst International Gmbh Controller area network (CAN) bus system has distributor with communication lines of star topology which are connected with respective sensors, where unique address is assigned to each communication line
EP2654171B1 (en) * 2010-12-17 2017-11-29 Panasonic Corporation Power supply device and power supply method
CN201917932U (en) * 2011-01-21 2011-08-03 北京中矿华沃电子科技有限公司 Number recognizing system
JP2012182607A (en) * 2011-03-01 2012-09-20 Toyota Motor Corp Communication disruption determination system and communication node, and communication disruption determination method

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
None

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2722027A3 (en) * 2012-10-18 2014-12-31 AAT Alber Antriebstechnik GmbH Small vehicle, in particular wheelchair
CN111791746A (en) * 2020-06-30 2020-10-20 中国第一汽车股份有限公司 Flexible battery replacement system and method for vehicle, electronic device and storage medium

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2494785B (en) 2013-11-27
CN103661002B (en) 2017-06-16
CN103661002A (en) 2014-03-26
GB201217103D0 (en) 2012-11-07
WO2014049503A3 (en) 2014-11-27
GB2494785A (en) 2013-03-20

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP2923440B1 (en) A control system for an electric motor
US9059659B2 (en) Method and system for measuring a characteristic of an electric motor
EP2984749B1 (en) A control system for an electric motor
CN106985705B (en) Control system for vehicle
EP3393878B1 (en) A control system for a vehicle
WO2014049503A2 (en) A control system for identifying an electrical device in a vehicle
EP3863880A1 (en) A traction control system
US20230278429A1 (en) Control system for a vehicle
US11283390B2 (en) Controller for an electric machine

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 13792096

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A2

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 13792096

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A2