Control system, control method of cooling fan of vehicle, and vehicle

Abstract

The application provides a control system and a control method of a cooling fan of a vehicle and the vehicle, and relates to the technical field of vehicles.In the application, a control module inputs a high-level signal to a first pin of a motor controller and / or inputs a low-level signal to a second pin, and the motor controller can control the brushless motor to operate at different speed gears according to the received high-level signal and / or low-level signal.Through the control of the high-level signal and the low-level signal, the control system can realize the control of two or three speed gears of the brushless motor, and compared with the control mode of increasing resistance to change voltage or controlling different gear combinations to adjust the speed of the fan in the prior art, the development cost is lower and the research and development period is shorter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle technology, and in particular to a control system, control method, and vehicle for a vehicle's cooling fan. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, all vehicles in the automotive industry are equipped with cooling fans. Cooling fans are an important part of the vehicle's cooling system, used to dissipate unwanted waste heat from the powertrain, transmission, and air conditioning systems.

[0003] There are two common types of cooling fans: one is a brushed motor cooling fan, which uses two speed settings to control the fan motor speed and thus the airflow; the other is a brushless motor cooling fan, which mainly uses PWM control and can steplessly control the fan motor speed and thus the airflow.

[0004] In existing technologies, brushed fans have a limited lifespan. Once the carbon brushes wear down to a certain extent, the fan stops working and needs to be replaced. Furthermore, brushed fans are limited by motor power and speed, making it impossible to develop high-performance, high-volume fans within a limited space. Additionally, brushed fans cannot be directly adapted to vehicles using brushless fan control methods. Brushless fans primarily use PWM control, which involves long and costly development and calibration cycles for the entire vehicle, and also cannot be directly adapted to vehicles using two-speed brushed fan control methods. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One objective of the first aspect of this invention is to provide a control system for a vehicle cooling fan, which solves the technical problem of high development cost and long development cycle of brushless motors in the prior art.

[0006] A further objective of the first aspect of this invention is to further reduce development costs.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention also provides a control system for a vehicle cooling fan, comprising:

[0008] Brushless motor;

[0009] A motor controller, connected to the brushless motor, has a first pin and a second pin;

[0010] The control module is connected to the first pin and the second pin to input a high-level signal to the first pin and / or input a low-level signal to the second pin;

[0011] The motor controller is configured to control the brushless motor to operate at different speed levels based on the received high-level signal and / or low-level signal.

[0012] Optionally, the control module includes:

[0013] The vehicle controller has a first port and a second port connected to the second pin, both the first port and the second port being used to output a low-level signal;

[0014] A signal converter has a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal. The first connection terminal is connected to the first port, and the second connection terminal is connected to the first pin of the motor controller. It is used to change the low-level signal output by the first port of the vehicle controller into a high-level signal.

[0015] Optionally, the signal converter is a relay or a resistor.

[0016] Optionally, the device also includes a power supply with positive and negative terminals. The motor controller further includes a third pin and a fourth pin, wherein the third pin is connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and the fourth pin is connected to the negative terminal of the power supply.

[0017] Optionally, if the signal converter is a relay, the signal converter further includes a third connection terminal and a fourth connection terminal, the third connection terminal being connected to the positive terminal of the power supply, and the fourth connection terminal being connected to the negative terminal of the power supply.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention also provides a vehicle including the control system described above.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the present invention, the present invention also provides a control method applied to the above-described control system, comprising the following steps:

[0020] Acquire sensor information from the vehicle's cooling system and / or air conditioning system;

[0021] The target speed range of the brushless motor is determined based on the sensor information.

[0022] According to the target speed range of the brushless motor, a high-level signal is input to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal is input to the second pin of the motor controller, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be at the target speed range.

[0023] Optionally, the step of inputting a high-level signal to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal to the second pin of the motor controller according to the target speed range of the brushless motor, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be at the target speed range, specifically includes the following steps:

[0024] When the target speed gear of the brushless motor is determined to be low speed, the first control port outputs a low-level signal, which is converted into a high-level signal by the signal converter and input to the first pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the low speed gear.

[0025] When the target speed gear of the brushless motor is determined to be the high speed gear, the first control port outputs a low-level signal, which is converted into a high-level signal by the signal converter and input to the first pin. The second control port then inputs a low-level signal to the second pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the high speed gear.

[0026] Optionally, the step of controlling the brushless motor to operate at the target speed setting by inputting a high-level signal to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal to the second pin of the motor controller according to the target speed setting of the brushless motor further includes the following steps:

[0027] When the target speed range of the brushless motor is determined to be the medium speed range, the second port is controlled to input a low-level signal to the second pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the medium speed range.

[0028] Optionally, the step of acquiring sensor information from the vehicle's cooling and air conditioning systems may further include the following steps:

[0029] Determine whether the brushless motor needs to go into sleep mode based on the sensor information;

[0030] If so, then both the first port and the second port are controlled to have no signal output, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in a sleep state.

[0031] In this invention, the control module inputs a high-level signal to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal to the second pin. The motor controller can control the brushless motor to operate at different speed levels according to the received high-level signal and / or low-level signal. This technical solution can achieve the control of two or three speed levels of the brushless motor by controlling only high and low level signals. Compared with the existing technology of adding resistors to change voltage or controlling different speed combinations to adjust the fan speed, the development cost is lower and the research and development cycle is shorter.

[0032] Furthermore, this invention adds a signal converter between the first port of the vehicle controller and the first pin of the motor controller, which realizes the conversion of the low-level signal output from the first port into a high-level signal, avoiding modifications to the vehicle controller, further reducing development costs, and is easy to implement with a simple structure.

[0033] The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0034] The following sections will describe some specific embodiments of the invention in detail by way of example and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts or portions. Those skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of a vehicle cooling fan control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling a vehicle cooling fan according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure label:

[0041] 100-Control system, 10-Brushless motor, 20-Motor controller, 30-Control module, 40-Power supply, 21-Pin 1, 22-Pin 2, 23-Pin 3, 24-Pin 4, 31-Vehicle controller, 32-First port, 33-Second port, 34-Signal converter, 35-First connection terminal, 36-Second connection terminal, 37-Third connection terminal, 38-Fourth connection terminal, 41-Positive terminal, 42-Negative terminal. Detailed Implementation

[0042] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0043] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature, that is, include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified. When a feature "includes or contains" one or more of the features it encompasses, unless otherwise specifically stated, this indicates that other features are not excluded and may be further included.

[0044] Unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise expressly limited. Those skilled in the art should be able to understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0045] Unless otherwise specified, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the description of this embodiment have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains.

[0046] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, in one specific embodiment, the vehicle's cooling fan control system 100 includes a brushless motor 10, a motor controller 20, and a control module 30. The motor controller 20 is connected to the brushless motor 10 and has a first pin 21 and a second pin 22. The control module 30 is connected to the first pin 21 and the second pin 22 to input a high-level signal to the first pin 21 and / or a low-level signal to the second pin 22. The motor controller 20 is configured to control the brushless motor 10 to operate at different speed levels based on the received high-level and / or low-level signals. In this embodiment, the different speed levels include two or three speed levels. It can be understood that this embodiment can only achieve control of a maximum of three speed levels.

[0047] This embodiment can control two or three speed levels of the brushless motor 10 using only high and low level signals. Compared with the existing technology that uses resistors to change voltage or controls different combinations of speed levels to adjust the fan speed, this method has lower development costs and a shorter development cycle.

[0048] In existing technologies, those skilled in the art know that the speed of a brushless motor 10 is adjusted by changing the voltage value through increasing resistance or by controlling different combinations of speeds, thus providing multiple speed options. This method results in high development costs and a long development cycle for the brushless motor 10. This embodiment innovatively breaks away from the industry's conventional method of adjusting fan speed by changing voltage through increasing resistance or controlling different combinations of speeds. It achieves speed control of the brushless motor 10 simply by inputting high-level and low-level signals to the motor controller 20 using the control module 30. This eliminates the need for research into other logic controls, shortens the development cycle, and is easier to implement.

[0049] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the control module 30 includes a vehicle controller 31 and a signal converter 34. The vehicle controller 31 has a first port 32 and a second port 33 connected to a second pin 22. Both the first port 32 and the second port 33 are used to output low-level signals. The signal converter 34 has a first connection terminal 35 and a second connection terminal 36. The first connection terminal 35 is connected to the first port 32, and the second connection terminal 36 is connected to the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20. It is used to change the low-level signal output by the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 into a high-level signal. Here, the vehicle controller 31 has many ports; only the ports relevant to this embodiment are shown in this embodiment. The conduction signal of the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 is active high, and the conduction signal of the second pin 22 is active low. That is, the first pin 21 will only conduct when it receives a high-level signal, and the second pin 22 will only conduct when it receives a low-level signal.

[0050] This embodiment is equivalent to adding a signal converter 34 between the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 and the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20, which realizes the conversion of the low-level signal output from the first port 32 into a high-level signal, avoiding modifications to the vehicle controller 31, further reducing development costs, and is easy to implement with a simple structure.

[0051] In this embodiment, the signal converter 34 is a relay or a resistor. When the signal converter 34 is a resistor, it is only necessary to connect the resistor between the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 and the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 to convert the low-level signal output from the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 into a high-level signal. In other embodiments, the signal converter 34 can also be located inside the motor controller 20.

[0052] In this embodiment, the control system 100 further includes a power supply 40 having a positive terminal 41 and a negative terminal 42, and the motor controller 20 further includes a third pin 23 and a fourth pin 24, wherein the third pin 23 is connected to the positive terminal 41 of the power supply 40, and the fourth pin 24 is connected to the negative terminal 42 of the power supply 40.

[0053] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle cooling fan control system 100 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, if the signal converter 34 is a relay, the signal converter 34 also includes a third connection terminal 37 and a fourth connection terminal 38. The third connection terminal 37 is connected to the positive terminal 41 of the power supply 40, and the fourth connection terminal 38 is connected to the negative terminal 42 of the power supply 40.

[0054] This embodiment also provides a vehicle, which includes the control system 100 described above. Details regarding the control system 100 will not be provided here.

[0055] The innovation of this embodiment lies in combining the brushless motor 10 with two- or three-speed control logic. By changing the control principle inside the motor controller 20 and combining it with the innovation of the vehicle's cooling fan control circuit, a technological breakthrough is achieved, which can solve the problems encountered in the control of brushed fans and brushless fans.

[0056] In this embodiment, the cooling fan uses a brushless motor 10. The motor controller 20 of the cooling fan has four pins, including two control pins and two power pins. The motor controller 20 has an internal reserved speed programming port, allowing the speed of the brushless motor 10 to be defined and programmed via an external device. The brushless motor 10 completely solves the problems of limited lifespan of brushed motors, requiring replacement of the cooling fan after carbon brush wear, leading to high after-sales and maintenance costs and numerous customer complaints. The brushless motor 10 allows for the development of higher-performance cooling fans within limited space, thus more broadly meeting the needs of regional applications and performance enhancements.

[0057] In the case of a model upgrade, this embodiment can adapt to more types of cooling fans without modifying the program of the vehicle controller 31, and enable the two-speed or three-speed motor controller 20 to adapt to the brushless motor 10, thereby achieving the effect of low development cost, short cycle and high air volume requirements for the model upgrade.

[0058] In other embodiments, the vehicle controller 31 can be modified so that its first port 32 directly outputs a high-level signal while its second port 33 remains at a low level, thus achieving the same speed control of the brushless motor 10. However, this method requires modifications to the vehicle controller 31, thereby increasing development costs.

[0059] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of a control method for a vehicle cooling fan according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, a control method applied to the control system 100 described above includes the following steps:

[0060] Step S100: Obtain sensor information of the vehicle's cooling system and / or air conditioning system;

[0061] Step S200: Determine the target speed gear of the brushless motor 10 based on sensor information. Here, sensor information includes information from temperature sensors and pressure sensors, etc.

[0062] In step S300, a high-level signal is input to the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 and / or a low-level signal is input to the second pin 22 of the motor controller 20 according to the target speed gear of the brushless motor 10, so that the motor controller 20 controls the brushless motor 10 to be at the target speed gear.

[0063] Here, the sensor information includes sensor information in the cooling system and / or sensor information in the air conditioning system. After receiving the signals from each sensor in the cooling system and / or air conditioning system, the vehicle controller 31 determines the target speed range of the brushless motor 10 of the cooling fan based on the signals from each sensor. This can be understood as determining the target speed range of the brushless motor 10 based on the cooling requirements of the cooling system and / or air conditioning system.

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a control method for a vehicle cooling fan according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, step S300 specifically includes the following steps:

[0065] In step S310, when it is determined that the target speed gear of the brushless motor 10 is low speed gear, the first port 32 is controlled to output a low level signal, which is converted into a high level signal by the signal converter 34 and input to the first pin 21 so that the motor controller 20 controls the brushless motor 10 to be in low speed gear.

[0066] In step S330, when the target speed range of the brushless motor 10 is determined to be high speed, the first port 32 is controlled to output a low-level signal, which is then converted into a high-level signal by the signal converter 34 and input to the first pin 21. Simultaneously, the second port 33 is controlled to input a low-level signal to the second pin 22, so that the motor controller 20 controls the brushless motor 10 to operate at high speed. It should be noted that there is no sequential relationship between steps S330 and S310.

[0067] In this embodiment, step S300 further includes the following steps:

[0068] In step S320, when the target speed gear of the brushless motor 10 is determined to be the medium speed gear, the control second port 33 inputs a low-level signal to the second pin 22, so that the motor controller 20 controls the brushless motor 10 to be in the medium speed gear. It should be noted here that there is no sequential relationship between step S320 and steps S310 and S330.

[0069] In this embodiment, the following steps are included after step S100:

[0070] Step S110: Determine whether the brushless motor 10 needs to go into sleep mode based on the sensor information. If so, proceed to step S120.

[0071] In step S120, both the first port 32 and the second port 33 are controlled to have no signal output, so that the motor controller 20 controls the brushless motor 10 to be in a sleep state.

[0072] In this embodiment, the vehicle controller 31 receives information from various sensors of the cooling system and / or air conditioning system. When it is determined that the brushless motor 10 of the cooling fan needs to enter a low-speed mode, the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 is energized, connecting the first connection terminal 35 and the fourth connection terminal 38 of the relay, and then connecting the second connection terminal 36 and the third connection terminal 37 of the relay, so that the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 is energized. At this time, the second port 33 of the vehicle controller 31 is not energized, and the second pin 22 of the motor controller 20 is not connected, so the brushless motor 10 can enter the low-speed mode. When it is determined that the brushless motor 10 of the cooling fan needs to enter a high-speed mode, the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 is energized, connecting the first connection terminal 35 and the fourth connection terminal 38 of the relay, and then connecting the second connection terminal 36 and the third connection terminal 37 of the relay, so that the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 is energized. At this time, the second port 33 of the vehicle controller 31 is energized, which in turn connects the second pin 22 of the motor controller 20, causing the brushless motor 10 to enter high-speed operation. When it is determined that the brushless motor 10 of the cooling fan needs to enter medium-speed operation, the first port 32 of the vehicle controller 31 is de-energized, and the first pin 21 of the motor controller 20 is also not connected. At this time, the second port 33 of the vehicle controller 31 is energized, causing the second pin 22 of the motor controller 20 to connect, causing the brushless motor 10 to enter medium-speed operation. When it is determined that the brushless motor 10 of the cooling fan does not meet the operating conditions, both the first port 32 and the second port 33 of the vehicle controller 31 are in the de-energized state, and the relay is in the open state. Therefore, the brushless motor 10 can enter the sleep state, that is, the cooling fan enters the sleep state.

[0073] In this embodiment, the brushless motor 10 can achieve a maximum of three speed settings: low speed, medium speed, and high speed. The motor controller 20 controls these speed settings and also controls the start and stop of the brushless motor 10. The speeds at each of the three settings can be modified within the motor controller 20, i.e., programmed by an external computer. The speed definitions within the motor controller 20 can be customized according to the airflow requirements of different vehicle models.

[0074] Therefore, those skilled in the art should recognize that although numerous exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications conforming to the principles of the present invention can be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the present invention should be understood and construed as covering all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A control system for a vehicle's cooling fan, characterized in that, include: Brushless motor; A motor controller, connected to the brushless motor, has a first pin and a second pin; The control module is connected to the first pin and the second pin to input a high-level signal to the first pin and / or input a low-level signal to the second pin; The motor controller is configured to control the brushless motor to operate at different speed levels based on the received high-level signal and / or low-level signal; The control module includes: The vehicle controller has a first port and a second port connected to the second pin, both the first port and the second port being used to output a low-level signal; A signal converter has a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal. The first connection terminal is connected to the first port, and the second connection terminal is connected to the first pin of the motor controller. It is used to change the low-level signal output by the first port of the vehicle controller into a high-level signal.

2. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal converter is a relay or a resistor.

3. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a power supply with positive and negative terminals. The motor controller further includes a third pin and a fourth pin, the third pin being connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and the fourth pin being connected to the negative terminal of the power supply.

4. The control system according to claim 3, characterized in that, If the signal converter is a relay, the signal converter further includes a third connection terminal and a fourth connection terminal, the third connection terminal being connected to the positive terminal of the power supply, and the fourth connection terminal being connected to the negative terminal of the power supply.

5. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the control system as described in any one of claims 1-4.

6. A control method applied to the control system according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Acquire sensor information from the vehicle's cooling system and / or air conditioning system; The target speed range of the brushless motor is determined based on the sensor information. According to the target speed range of the brushless motor, a high-level signal is input to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal is input to the second pin of the motor controller, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be at the target speed range; The step of inputting a high-level signal to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal to the second pin of the motor controller according to the target speed range of the brushless motor, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be at the target speed range, specifically includes the following steps: When the target speed gear of the brushless motor is determined to be low speed, the first control port outputs a low-level signal, which is converted into a high-level signal by the signal converter and input to the first pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the low speed gear. When the target speed gear of the brushless motor is determined to be the high speed gear, the first control port outputs a low-level signal, which is converted into a high-level signal by the signal converter and input to the first pin. The second control port then inputs a low-level signal to the second pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the high speed gear.

7. The control method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The step of controlling the brushless motor to operate at the target speed setting by inputting a high-level signal to the first pin of the motor controller and / or a low-level signal to the second pin of the motor controller, based on the target speed setting of the brushless motor, further includes the following steps: When the target speed range of the brushless motor is determined to be the medium speed range, the second port is controlled to input a low-level signal to the second pin, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in the medium speed range.

8. The control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The steps of acquiring sensor information from the vehicle's cooling and air conditioning systems also include the following steps: Determine whether the brushless motor needs to go into sleep mode based on the sensor information; If so, then both the first port and the second port are controlled to have no signal output, so that the motor controller controls the brushless motor to be in a sleep state.

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