Electric vehicle and controlling method thereof

Abstract

An electric vehicle and a controlling method thereof are provided. The controlling method of the electric vehicle includes the following steps. A driving force of a hub motor is obtained. Whether the driving force of the hub motor is greater than a predetermined level determined. If the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, a motor speed information of the hub motor is obtained. If the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, a vehicle speed detector obtains a traveling speed information of the electric vehicle. Whether a difference between the motor speed information and the traveling speed information is within a predetermined range is determined. If the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is not within the predetermined range, it is determined that the vehicle speed detector is faulty.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to a means of transportation and a method for controlling it, and more particularly to an electric means of transportation and a method for controlling it. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Electric vehicles incorporate electric assistance systems, providing a more relaxed riding experience. Electric vehicles can be equipped with electric motors that provide power assistance, making riding easier, reducing physical exertion, and suitable for long-distance riding or climbing hills. Furthermore, electric vehicles are suitable for the elderly, those with lower physical strength, or those who need to ride for extended periods, improving accessibility. Moreover, electric vehicles are powered by electricity, producing no exhaust fumes or noise, making them environmentally friendly. Compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles consume less electricity and can be charged using renewable energy sources.

[0003] In addition, the assist mode allows riders to exercise moderately without becoming overly fatigued. Electric vehicles are suitable for leisure riding, outdoor adventures, or long-distance travel, allowing more people to enjoy the pleasure of riding.

[0004] Electric vehicles are an environmentally friendly, economical, flexible, and widely applicable mode of transportation, particularly suitable for urban commuting, short-distance travel, and outdoor cycling. With advancements in battery technology and improvements in infrastructure, the adoption rate of electric vehicles will further increase.

[0005] Electric vehicles typically use speed sensors to provide speed information. This speed information is used not only to calculate and display the actual speed, but also to distribute power assist and implement safety power-off mechanisms. If the speed sensor malfunctions, the actual speed will not be displayed, and the power assist distribution and safety power-off mechanisms will also be unavailable. [Summary of the Invention]

[0006] This disclosure relates to an electric vehicle and its control method, which can accurately detect whether a vehicle speed detector is malfunctioning through a specific judgment procedure. Once a malfunction of the vehicle speed detector is detected, corresponding handling procedures can be immediately initiated to ensure that the driver can grasp an approximate actual speed and to ensure that the power assist distribution mechanism and the safety power-off mechanism can function normally.

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a control method for an electric vehicle is provided. The control method for the electric vehicle includes the following steps: obtaining a driving force of a hub motor; determining whether the driving force of the hub motor is greater than a predetermined level; if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, obtaining motor speed information of the hub motor; if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, obtaining travel speed information of the electric vehicle from a vehicle speed detector; determining whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within a predetermined range; if the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is not within the predetermined range, determining that the vehicle speed detector is faulty.

[0008] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electric vehicle is provided. The electric vehicle includes a hub motor, a drive unit, a judgment unit, a motor detector, a wheel, and a vehicle speed detector. The drive unit is connected to the hub motor. The drive unit is used to drive the hub motor. The judgment unit is used to determine whether a driving force of the hub motor is greater than a predetermined level. The motor detector is connected to the hub motor. If the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, the motor detector obtains motor speed information of the hub motor. The vehicle speed detector is connected to the wheel. If the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, the vehicle speed detector obtains travel speed information of the electric vehicle. The judgment unit is further used to determine whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within a predetermined range. If the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is not within the predetermined range, the judgment unit determines that the vehicle speed detector is faulty.

[0009] In order to better understand the above and other aspects of this disclosure, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

Implementation Method

[0010] The technical terms used in this specification are based on common terminology in the field. Where this specification provides explanations or definitions for certain terms, the interpretation of those terms shall be based on the explanations or definitions provided in this specification. Each embodiment disclosed herein has one or more technical features. Where feasible, those skilled in the art may selectively implement some or all of the technical features in any embodiment, or selectively combine some or all of the technical features in these embodiments.

[0011] Please refer to Figure 1, which illustrates a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The electric vehicle 100 employs, for example, a non-direct-drive hub motor 110. A ratchet exists between the hub motor 110 and the wheel 150, allowing the wheel 150 to be driven by the hub motor 110 in one direction only, not in the opposite direction. Due to the ratchet design, the rotational speed of the hub motor 110 can never exceed the rotational speed of the wheel 150 under any circumstances. On a downhill road, the electric vehicle 100 automatically slides downhill by gravity without needing to operate the hub motor 110, therefore the rotational speed of the hub motor 110 will be less than the rotational speed of the wheel 150. On flat roads or uphill roads, the electric vehicle 100 needs to operate the hub motor 110 to drive the wheel 150 to rotate, therefore the rotational speed of the hub motor 110 and the rotational speed of the wheel 150 will be substantially equal.

[0012] In the electric vehicle 100, a motor detector 140 and a vehicle speed detector 160 are employed. The motor detector 140 is connected to the hub motor 110 to detect the motor speed information SM of the hub motor 110. The motor detector 140 is, for example, a Hall sensor. The vehicle speed detector 160 is connected to the wheel 150 to detect the travel speed information SW of the wheel 150. The vehicle speed detector 160 is, for example, a Hall sensor. The travel speed information SW obtained by the vehicle speed detector 160 is the actual moving speed of the electric vehicle 100. Therefore, the vehicle speedometer 170 typically displays the travel speed information SW provided by the vehicle speed detector 160.

[0013] In addition to calculating and displaying the actual speed, the vehicle speed information SW can also be used to distribute assist and implement a safety power-off mechanism. If the vehicle speed detector 160 malfunctions, the actual speed will not be displayed, and the assist distribution mechanism and safety power-off mechanism will also be unable to be implemented.

[0014] Please refer to Figure 2, which illustrates a block diagram of an electric vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The electric vehicle 100 is, for example, an electric bicycle, an electric-assisted bicycle, an electric scooter, an electric motorcycle, an electric car, or an electric unicycle. The electric vehicle 100 includes, for example, the aforementioned hub motor 110, a drive unit 120, a judgment unit 130, the aforementioned motor detector 140, the aforementioned wheels 150, the aforementioned speed detector 160, and the aforementioned speedometer 170. The drive unit 120 is connected to the hub motor 110 and is used to drive and control the hub motor 110. The judgment unit 130 is connected to the hub motor 110, the motor detector 140, the speed detector 160, and the speedometer 170, and is used to perform various judgment procedures. The motor detector 140 is connected to the hub motor 110 and is used to detect the hub motor 110. The speed detector 160 is connected to the wheel 150 to detect speeds on the wheel 150. The instrument panel 170 is used to display various information.

[0015] The driving unit 120 and / or the decision unit 130 are, for example, a circuit, a circuit board, a storage device for stored code, or a chip. The chip is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microcontroller (MCU), microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), programmable controller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), image processing unit (IPU), arithmetic logic unit (ALU), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other similar elements or combinations thereof.

[0016] In this embodiment, the judgment unit 130 executes a specific judgment procedure to correctly detect whether the vehicle speed detector 160 is malfunctioning. Once a malfunction of the vehicle speed detector 160 is detected, the corresponding processing procedure is immediately performed to ensure that the driver can grasp an approximate actual speed and to ensure that the power assist distribution mechanism and the safety power-off mechanism can function normally. The operation of the above components is explained in detail below with a flowchart.

[0017] Please refer to Figure 3, which illustrates a flowchart of a control method for an electric vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The control method for the electric vehicle 100 includes steps S110, S130, S140, and S160 to S190.

[0018] In step S110, the determination unit 130 obtains the driving force PW of the hub motor 110. The driving force PW is, for example, a driving voltage or a driving current.

[0019] Next, in step S130, the determination unit 130 determines whether the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is greater than a predetermined level LV. For example, the determination unit 130 determines whether the driving voltage is greater than a predetermined voltage level; or, the determination unit 130 determines whether the driving current is greater than a predetermined current level. If the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is greater than the predetermined level LV, then proceed to step S140; if the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is not greater than the predetermined level LV, then return to step S110.

[0020] In step S140, the motor speed information SM of the hub motor 110 is obtained by the motor detector 140. The motor speed information SM is, for example, the rotational speed of the hub motor 110, or the moving speed converted from the rotational speed.

[0021] Next, in step S160, the vehicle speed detector 160 obtains the travel speed information SW of the electric vehicle 100. The travel speed information SW is, for example, the rotational speed of the wheel 150, or the travel speed converted from the rotational speed. Steps S140 and S160 can be executed simultaneously or in reverse order.

[0022] Then, in step S170, the determination unit 130 determines whether the difference DF between the motor speed information SM and the travel speed information SW is within a predetermined range. In this step, the difference DF is, for example, the difference between the rotational speed of the motor speed information SM and the rotational speed of the travel speed information SW. The predetermined range for determination is, for example, 3, 5, 10, or 15 RPM (Revolutions Per Minute). Alternatively, the predetermined range for determination is, for example, 5%, 10%, or 15% of the motor speed information SM.

[0023] In this embodiment, the determination step S170 is only performed when the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is greater than the predetermined positioning level LV.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 4, which illustrates one example of the execution method of step S170. As shown in Figure 4, between time points T41 and T43, the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is greater than the predetermined positioning standard LV. The judgment step of step S170 is, for example, repeatedly executed every execution cycle CY between time points T41 and T43.

[0025] In one embodiment, the execution cycle CY can be determined according to the motor speed information SM. For example, please refer to Figure 5, which illustrates another example of the execution method of step S170. As shown in Figure 5, between time points T51 and T53, the driving force PW of the hub motor 110 is greater than the predetermined positioning level LV. The determination step of step S170 is, for example, repeated every execution cycle CY between time points T51 and T53. When the motor speed information SM is smaller between time points T51 and T52, the execution cycle CY will be correspondingly lengthened; when the motor speed information SM is larger between time points T52 and T53, the execution cycle CY will be correspondingly shortened.

[0026] If the difference DF between the motor speed information SM and the travel speed information SW is within a predetermined range, proceed to step S180; if the difference DF between the motor speed information SM and the travel speed information SW is not within a predetermined range, proceed to step S190.

[0027] In step S180, the judgment unit 130 determines that the vehicle speed detector 160 is in good condition. The judgment unit 130 transmits the judgment result RS to the vehicle meter 170.

[0028] In step S190, the judgment unit 130 determines that the vehicle speed detector 160 is faulty. The judgment unit 130 transmits the judgment result RS to the vehicle display 170. At this time, the judgment unit 130 can display a fault message through the vehicle display 170 to inform the driver that the vehicle speed detector 160 needs to be replaced or repaired.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 6, which illustrates the operation of a vehicle speedometer 170 according to one embodiment. As shown on the left side of Figure 6, when the vehicle speed detector 160 is working properly, the vehicle speedometer 170 will normally display the vehicle speed indicator P1 and the travel speed information SW. As shown on the right side of Figure 6, when the vehicle speed detector 160 malfunctions, the vehicle speedometer 170 will display the vehicle speed detection fault indicator P1' and the motor speed indicator P2, and display the travel motor speed information SM.

[0030] According to the above embodiment, the electric vehicle 100 can correctly detect whether the vehicle speed detector 160 is malfunctioning through a specific judgment procedure. Once a malfunction of the vehicle speed detector 160 is detected, the corresponding processing procedure can be performed immediately to ensure that the driver can grasp an approximate actual moving speed and to ensure that the power assist distribution mechanism and the safety power cut-off mechanism can be executed normally.

[0031] The foregoing disclosure provides different features for implementing some embodiments or examples of this disclosure. Specific examples of components and configurations described above (e.g., mentioned values ​​or names) are used to simplify / illustrate some embodiments of this disclosure. Of course, these components and configurations are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, reference numerals and / or letters may be repeated in various instances of some embodiments of this disclosure. This repetition is for simplicity and clarity and does not in itself indicate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed.

[0032] In summary, although this disclosure has been presented above with reference to embodiments, it is not intended to limit this disclosure. Those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains can make various modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure shall be determined by the appended claims. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a block diagram of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 is a flowchart of a control method for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 illustrates one example of the execution of step S170. Figure 5 illustrates another example of the execution of step S170. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the operation of a vehicle meter according to an embodiment.

Claims

1. A control method for an electric vehicle, comprising: Obtain the driving force of one of the hub motors; The system determines whether the driving force of the hub motor is greater than a predetermined level; if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, it obtains motor speed information of the hub motor; if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, it obtains travel speed information of the electric vehicle from a vehicle speed detector; it determines whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within a predetermined range; and if the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is not within the predetermined range, it determines that the vehicle speed detector is faulty, wherein the predetermined level is a predetermined voltage level or a predetermined current level, and the difference is the difference between the rotational speed of the motor speed information and the rotational speed of the travel speed information.

2. The control method for an electric vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the predetermined range is 5 RPM (Revolutions Per Minute).

3. The control method for an electric vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the predetermined range is 10% of the motor speed information.

4. The control method for an electric vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within the predetermined range is performed only when the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level.

5. The control method for an electric vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within the predetermined range is repeated every execution cycle.

6. The control method for an electric vehicle as described in claim 5, wherein the execution cycle is determined based on the motor speed information.

7. An electric vehicle, comprising: One-wheel hub motor; A drive unit is connected to the hub motor, and the drive unit is used to drive the hub motor; A determination unit is used to determine whether the driving force of the hub motor is greater than a predetermined level; a motor detector is connected to the hub motor, and if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, the motor detector obtains motor speed information of the hub motor; a wheel; and a vehicle speed detector is connected to the wheel, and if the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level, the vehicle speed detector obtains travel speed information of the electric vehicle; and wherein the determination unit is further used to determine whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within a predetermined range, and if the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is not within the predetermined range, the determination unit determines that the vehicle speed detector is faulty, wherein the predetermined level is a predetermined voltage level or a predetermined current level, and wherein the difference is the difference between the rotational speed of the motor speed information and the rotational speed of the travel speed information.

8. The electric vehicle as described in claim 7, wherein the predetermined range is 5 RPM (Revolutions Per Minute).

9. The electric vehicle as described in claim 7, wherein the predetermined range is 10% of the motor speed information.

10. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the step of determining whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within the predetermined range is performed only when the driving force of the hub motor is greater than the predetermined level.

11. The electric vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the step of determining whether the difference between the motor speed information and the travel speed information is within the predetermined range is repeated every execution cycle.

12. The electric vehicle as described in claim 11, wherein the execution cycle is determined based on the motor speed information.

Images