Heating device

Abstract

The present invention provides a heating device capable of suppressing a variation in heater output and time until a target power consumption is reached even if a voltage range applied to the heating device is a wide range, and capable of performing a stable operation. A heating device (10) is provided with: a resistive element (11) capable of generating heat in response to a power consumption request from a vehicle; and a control means (13) capable of controlling at least the power consumption of the resistive element (11), the control means (13) being capable of adjusting the amount of increase in the power consumption within a predetermined reference time on the basis of the voltage applied to the resistive element (11).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a heating device for a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a vehicle air conditioning device, there is known a heating device (heating medium heating device) that heats a heating medium that circulates through an air conditioning heat exchanger (heater core) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In addition, the following vehicle air conditioning system is also known: especially in EV vehicles or hybrid vehicles, the heater of the heating device is used for air conditioning purposes as a heater in the air conditioning device and for regeneration purposes as a load that consumes regenerative power generated by regeneration (for example, refer to patent document 2).

[0004] In the case of a heating device used in an EV or hybrid vehicle, the DC power supply for supplying power to the heating device is generally a power storage device (battery) mounted on the vehicle. In this case, if the power storage device is made higher voltage in the next generation of vehicles, the voltage range applied to the heating device will also be wide. Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-54145 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-114943

[0006] However, if the voltage range applied to the heating device covers a wide range, there is a problem that it is difficult to stabilize the heater output and the time until the target power consumption is reached.

[0007] Specifically, when the applied voltage to the heating device is in a relatively low voltage range (for example, about 120V to 450V), in the drive control of the heater (represented by control from off to on, which increases power consumption), universal control can be performed through a certain control parameter.

[0008] However, in the next generation of vehicles, when the applied voltage to the heating device becomes a wide range (for example, about 120V to 800V) to a high voltage exceeding the above-mentioned low voltage range, if the control parameters used in the previous low voltage range (about 120V to 450V) are used in the high voltage range (for example, a high voltage exceeding 500V), there is a problem that the heater output fluctuates up and down with respect to the target power consumption (set value) and does not converge.

[0009] In addition, when other control parameters suitable for use at high voltage are used, the time until the target power consumption is reached (target power consumption arrival time) when low voltage is applied becomes more variable, and depending on the applied voltage (for example, in the case of low voltage), the target power consumption arrival time may become very long. In particular, there are many cases where the target power consumption is desired to be reached in a short time, such as for the purpose of consuming regenerative power or for the purpose of air conditioning (heating) in cold weather, and it is desired to prevent the delay in the target power consumption arrival time and reduce the deviation in the target power consumption arrival time caused by the applied voltage. Summary of the invention

[0010] In view of the above-mentioned actual situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a heating device that can suppress the deviation of the heater output and the time until the target power consumption is reached even if the voltage range applied to the heating device is wide, and can perform stable operation.

[0011] The present invention relates to a heating device comprising: a resistance element capable of generating heat according to a power consumption request from a vehicle; and a control unit capable of at least controlling the power consumption of the resistance element. The heating device is characterized in that the control unit can adjust the increase in the power consumption within a predetermined reference time according to the voltage applied to the resistance element.

[0012] The heating device of the present invention can achieve the following excellent effect: a heating device can be provided that can suppress the variation in heater output and the time until target power consumption is reached, and can perform stable operation even if the voltage applied to the heating device has a wide range. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 The drawings show the structure of the heating device of the present invention, (A) is a schematic block diagram, (B) is a schematic top view showing the structure of the device, and (C) is a schematic side view showing the structure of the device. Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram showing the control unit and the driving unit in the heating device of the present invention in an extracted manner. Figure 3 This is a functional block diagram for explaining the heating device of the present invention. Figure 41 and 2 are diagrams for explaining voltage control in the heating device of the present invention, (A) to (D) are diagrams showing changes in duty ratio when a predetermined program processing in a low-speed start processing unit passes a predetermined period in this order, (E) is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in the output (electricity) of a resistor element of the same low-speed start processing unit, (F) and (G) are diagrams showing changes in duty ratio when a predetermined program processing in a high-speed start processing unit passes a predetermined period in this order, (H) is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in the output (electricity) of a resistor element of the same high-speed start processing unit, and (I) to (J) are diagrams showing an example of temporal changes in the output (electricity) of a resistor element when a low-speed start processing unit and a high-speed start processing unit overlap. Figure 5 This is a flowchart showing the flow of heater control processing in the heating device of the present invention. Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing the flow of heater drive control processing in the heating device of the present invention. Figure 7 This is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for calculating a duty ratio and a duty operation amount in the heating device of the present invention. Figure 8 This is a graph showing the relationship between the target power consumption reaching time and the applied voltage in the heating device of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 8 1 is an example of a method for implementing the present invention. In the figures, the parts marked with the same reference numerals represent the same structure. In addition, in each figure, a part of the structure is appropriately omitted to simplify the drawings. In addition, in each figure, for a part of the structure, the shape and size are appropriately exaggerated.

[0015] <Overall Structure of Heating Device> Figure 1 1 is a diagram for explaining a heating device 10 according to this embodiment. Figure 1 (A) is a block diagram showing an outline of the heating device 10 , (B) is a plan view showing a schematic structure of the heating device 10 , and (C) is a side view showing a schematic structure of the heating device 10 .

[0016] like Figure 1As shown in (A), the heating device 10 of this embodiment constitutes, for example, a part of a vehicle air conditioning system S. The heating device 10 is a heating medium heating device that heats a heating medium Hm that circulates through an air conditioning heat exchanger (heater core) in a vehicle air conditioning device 21. The vehicle provided with the heating device 10 of this embodiment is, for example, an EV vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and has a regeneration device 4, and the regenerative power generated by the regeneration device 4 during braking is stored in the power storage device 6. The power storage device 6 becomes a DC power supply for supplying power to the heating device 10.

[0017] In this vehicle air conditioning system, the heating device 10 is used for consuming electricity for heating the air inside the vehicle in the vehicle air conditioning device 21 (air conditioning purpose) and for consuming surplus electricity when the regenerative electricity exceeds the storage amount in the power storage device 6 (surplus electricity consumption purpose).

[0018] That is, the heating device 10 receives a request for power consumption for air heating in the vehicle air conditioning device 21 (hereinafter also referred to as an "air conditioning power consumption request") sent based on the control of the vehicle air conditioning device 21, and a request for power consumption for surplus power consumption when the regenerative power generated by the regenerative device 4 during braking exceeds the amount of power stored in the power storage device 6 (hereinafter also referred to as a "surplus power consumption request") sent based on the control of the vehicle's regeneration device 4 and / or the power storage device 6, and heats the heating medium Hm based on these requests. Hereinafter, in the description of this embodiment, when there is no need to particularly distinguish between the air conditioning power consumption request and the surplus power consumption request, both are included and collectively referred to as a "power consumption request". The power consumption request is a request signal that includes at least information (request value) corresponding to the amount of power consumed.

[0019] exist Figure 1 In the example shown in (A), the source of the air-conditioning power consumption request is the control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle air-conditioning device 21, and the source of the remaining power consumption request is, for example, the control unit (ECU) of the charging control device 22 that monitors and controls the regeneration device 4 and / or the power storage device 6, which are connected to the heating device 10 via a wired or wireless communication line.

[0020] Although detailed illustrations of the ECU of the vehicle air conditioning device 21 (hereinafter referred to as the air conditioning ECU1) and the ECU of the charging control device 22 (hereinafter referred to as the charging ECU2) are omitted, they respectively include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) and other memories, a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and a SSD (Solid State Drive), and a communication control unit. The CPU, the memory, the storage unit, and the communication control unit are connected to each other via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate with each other. The communication control unit is connected to the heating device 10 via a communication line and can send information (signals) such as a power consumption request to the heating device 10.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown in (A) to (C) of the same figure, the heating device 10 includes, for example, a resistor element 11 (11A, 11B), a driving unit 12 for the resistor element 11, a control unit (control part) 13, a request acquisition unit 14, various sensors not shown, etc. The resistor element 11 generates heat by being energized in accordance with a plurality of power consumption requests sent from a computer mounted on the vehicle, and constitutes a heater of the heating device 10. In the following description and drawings, it is sometimes described as a "heater", but this refers to the resistor element 11.

[0022] The driving unit 12 (heater driving unit 12) of the resistor element 11, the control unit 13, and the request acquisition unit 14 are arranged on the control substrate 1 as electronic components. The control unit 13 is composed of a computing device (such as a CPU), a storage unit (volatile memory (RAM, ROM), a non-volatile storage unit (HDD, SDD)), etc. The control unit 13 maintains various programs in the storage unit, and executes the programs or various operations to comprehensively control the various parts (various structures) of the heating device 10. The control unit 13 can also be an ECU of the heating device 10.

[0023] In this example, the request acquisition unit 14 includes a communication unit 19 that communicates with the air-conditioning ECU 1 and the charging ECU 2 , and receives a power consumption request and other various requests from the air-conditioning ECU 1 and the charging ECU 2 .

[0024] Details will be given later, but Figure 1 As shown in (B) and (C) of the same figure, the heater driving unit 12 includes switching elements 121, 122 and their drivers (in Figure 1 The control unit 13 controls the on / off state of the resistor element 11 by controlling the opening and closing of the switch elements 121 and 122.

[0025] The resistor element 11 and the control substrate 1 are housed in a housing 2, and a pipe 3 is provided in the housing 2 to connect the inside and the outside. Two pipes 3 are provided to form an inlet 3A and an outlet 3B, and the inside of the pipes 3 serves as a flow channel for the heat medium Hm. The heat medium Hm is, for example, water, but may also be a coolant or oil. Figure 1 As shown in (C), the housing 2 is composed of an upper housing 2A and a lower housing 2B each having a heater accommodating recess 21, and the resistor element 11 is accommodated in a heater accommodating space 22 formed by fitting these housings.

[0026] The power supply unit 5 has a power supply terminal 5A, and the power supply terminal 5A is connected to the control board 1 by wiring (not shown). The power supply unit 5 is supplied with power from the power storage device 6. The voltage applied to the power supply unit 5 is, for example, 100V to 1000V (preferably, 120V to 800V).

[0027] With such a configuration, heating device 10 supplies power from power storage device 6 to resistor element 11 to generate heat based on power consumption requests from air-conditioning ECU 1 and charging ECU 2 , thereby consuming power corresponding to the generated heat.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a circuit block diagram that extracts and shows an example of the heater driving unit 12 and the control unit 13 of the heating device 10 .

[0029] The heater driving unit (heater driving circuit) 12 includes, for example, an upper layer switching element 121 , a lower layer switching element 122 , an upper layer driver 123 , a lower layer driver 124 , an upper layer capacitor 125 , a lower layer capacitor 126 , and the like.

[0030] The upper switching element 121 and the lower switching element 122 are, for example, voltage-driven transistors, more specifically, insulated gate field effect transistors that form n-channels by applying a positive gate voltage to a low-potential terminal, and more specifically, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).

[0031] Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the upper switching element 121 is referred to as the upper IGBT121, and the lower switching element 122 is referred to as the lower IGBT122. The upper IGBT121 and the lower IGBT122 are connected in series via the resistor element 11. The high potential side terminal (collector) of the upper IGBT121 is connected to the positive electrode of the high voltage power supply 131, and the low potential side terminal (emitter) is connected to the high potential side terminal of the resistor element 11. In addition, the low potential side terminal of the resistor element 11 is connected to the high potential side terminal (collector) of the lower IGBT122, and the low potential side terminal (emitter) of the lower IGBT122 is connected to the negative electrode of the high voltage power supply 131. The high voltage power supply 131 in this case is Figure 1 The power supply unit 5 shown in (B) of FIG. That is, the high voltage power supply 131 supplies a voltage in a wide range (wide range) of 100V to 1000V (preferably 120V to 800V) to the resistor 11 according to the power storage state of the power storage device 6. In other words, the voltage applied to the resistor 11 varies depending on the power storage state of the power storage device 6.

[0032] The upper driver 123 is a circuit that applies a gate-emitter voltage to the gate terminal of the upper IGBT 121 based on a driver driving signal input from the control unit 13. The lower driver 124 is a circuit that applies a gate-emitter voltage to the gate terminal of the lower IGBT 122 based on a driver driving signal input from the control unit 13.

[0033] The power input terminal of the upper driver 123 is connected to the driver power supply 130 via the upper capacitor 125. The upper capacitor 125 is a bootstrap capacitor that stores charge for turning on the upper IGBT 121. The power input terminal of the lower driver 124 is connected to the driver power supply 130 via the lower capacitor 126.

[0034] The control unit 13 can perform control of the heater driving unit 12 (heater driving control). Specifically, the control unit 13 can perform control of the opening (conduction) / closing (disconnection) of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 (opening and closing control). By performing the opening and closing control, the resistance element 11 is turned on and off, and as a result, at least the power consumption of the resistance element 11 can be controlled. In this embodiment, for example, the voltage applied to the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 is controlled by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) method to perform the opening and closing control of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122.

[0035] More specifically, the control unit 13 supplies a driver driving signal having a pulse waveform with different timing to each driver driving signal input terminal of the upper driver 123 and the lower driver 124. The upper driver 123 synchronizes with the driver driving signal and outputs a voltage having a pulse waveform equal to the voltage obtained by adding the voltage of the high-voltage power supply 131 to the gate-emitter voltage of the upper IGBT 121 itself to the gate of the upper IGBT 121. The lower driver 124 synchronizes with the driver driving signal supplied from the control unit 13 and outputs a voltage having a pulse waveform equal to the voltage of the driver power supply 130 to the gate of the lower IGBT 122.

[0036] Thus, the channels of upper IGBT 121 and lower IGBT 122 are opened (turned on) and closed (disconnected) at predetermined timing. During the period when upper IGBT 121 and lower IGBT 122 are turned on and overlap, resistance element 11 is energized and consumes power corresponding to the amount of heat generated.

[0037] In this way, the control unit 13 can control the resistor element 11 to consume power and increase the power consumption based on the power consumption request from the vehicle. In addition, although it will be described in detail later, the control unit 13 can adjust the degree of increase (increase amount) of the power consumption of the resistor element 11 within a predetermined reference time according to the applied voltage to the resistor element 11 (a voltage of 100V to 1000V corresponding to the state of the power storage device 6). The "predetermined reference time" in this case is, for example, a predetermined control cycle of the control unit 13, for example, a predetermined control cycle including the switching control of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122. More specifically, in this embodiment, the heater drive control including the switching control (for example, PWM control) of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 can be performed by the heater drive unit 12, and the "predetermined reference time" is the control cycle of the heater drive control (for example, a cycle based on the frequency (for example, 57Hz) that determines the pulse width modulation cycle).

[0038] The heater driving unit 12 may be a circuit that drives (energizes or stops) the resistor element 11 by turning on / off the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122. Figure 2 In addition to the illustrated structure, the heating device 10 of the present embodiment has a structure (for example, a diode, etc.) known as a circuit for normally driving the resistance element 11 , the upper IGBT 121 , and the lower IGBT 122 .

[0039] <Function of the heating device> Figure 3This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the function of the heating device 10 of the present embodiment. As already described, the heating device 10 receives at least a power consumption request (an air conditioning power consumption request and a surplus power consumption request) from the outside (the vehicle), and based on the request, energizes the resistance element 11 to heat the heating medium Hm.

[0040] The heating device 10 has, for example, a forced shutoff function, a request acquisition function, a request determination function, a start-up process determination function, a power control function, and the like. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The illustrated heating device 10 is realized by executing the physical units (hardware such as electronic components (circuits, elements) provided on the control substrate 1 ) and the software (program) possessed by the control unit 13 .

[0041] Figure 3 This is a block diagram for explaining the heating device 10 from the perspective of the units that realize the above functions, and the heating device 10 includes, for example, a forced shutoff unit 20, a request acquisition unit 14, a request determination unit 15, a start-up process determination unit 16, and a power control unit 17. These are realized by, for example, various electronic components arranged on one or more control substrates 1, and are controlled overall by the control unit 13. That is, part or all of these units also include the control unit 13.

[0042] <<Forced cut-off unit>> The forced cut-off unit 20 is a unit that implements a forced cut-off function and, based on a predetermined condition (forced cut-off condition) (judgment thereof), forcibly prohibits the power consumption of the resistor element 11 when the forced cut-off condition is satisfied. The satisfaction of the forced cut-off condition refers to, for example, an abnormality occurring in the heating device 10, specifically, for example, (1) detection by a protection / fault sensor, or (2) failure detection of an overvoltage sensor is not completed. The heating device 10 has a protection / fault sensor (not shown) that detects that a fault has occurred in the control substrate 1 when the control substrate 1 becomes higher than the allowable temperature of the resistor element 11, the upper IGBT 121, and the lower IGBT 122. "Detection by the protection / fault sensor" refers to a state in which the resistor element 11 cannot operate safely. When at least one of the above (1) and (2) is met, the forced cut-off unit 20 regards the forced cut-off condition as satisfied and forcibly prohibits the power consumption of the resistor element 11 (heating of the heater) regardless of whether there is a power consumption request.

[0043] <<Request acquisition unit>> The request acquisition unit 14 is a unit that implements the request acquisition function. In this example, it includes a communication unit 19 that communicates with the air conditioning ECU1 and the charging ECU2. It is a receiving unit that receives various other requests represented by the air conditioning power consumption request from the air conditioning ECU1 and the remaining power consumption request from the charging ECU2.

[0044] The heating device 10 repeatedly executes a heater control process described later at a predetermined cycle (eg, 2 msec) during its operation. The request acquisition unit 14 detects the reception result of the communication unit 19 at each cycle of the heater control process to acquire the power consumption request.

[0045] Alternatively, the control unit 13 may, for example, execute interrupt processing (hardware interrupt and / or software interrupt, or external interrupt and / or timer interrupt) at a predetermined timing (interrupt cycle), obtain the power consumption request through the interrupt processing, and store it in a predetermined storage area. Furthermore, the request obtaining unit 14 may also be configured to obtain the power consumption request in the storage area in each cycle of the heater control process.

[0046] The power consumption request (air conditioning power consumption request and surplus power consumption request) is a control command for the heating device 10. In principle, the power consumption request is always obtained during the operation of the heating device 10 (during the execution of the heater control process). That is, even in the case where there is no request for each actual power consumption, a request (command) of "no request value" is obtained. Here, "no request value" means, for example, that the request value is "less than the minimum request threshold value". As an example, the minimum request threshold value is 200W. In addition, the request value is information indicating (corresponding to) the actual calorific value (power consumption) of the resistance element 11. In this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, it is described with the same numerical value as the calorific value.

[0047] <<Request judgment unit>> The request judgment unit 15 is a unit that implements the request judgment function. Based on the power consumption request obtained by the request acquisition unit 14, it judges whether there is actually a power consumption request. When it is judged that "there is a power consumption request", the request value contained in the request is set as the actual target value of power consumption (target power consumption G).

[0048] As described above, when there is no actual power consumption request, a power consumption request with a request value of "0 (W)" is obtained, and the request determination unit 15 determines that "there is no power consumption request". In addition, when the request value is less than the minimum request threshold, the request determination unit 15 also determines that "there is no power consumption request".

[0049] In addition, the request acquisition unit 14 may acquire a plurality of power consumption requests (e.g., air conditioning power consumption request and surplus power consumption request) at substantially the same time. In this case, the maximum value of the request values ​​included in the plurality of power consumption requests is set as the actual target value of power consumption (target power consumption G) by the request determination unit 15. This can avoid, for example, a large request value being overwritten by a small request value, thereby preventing the request value (target power consumption G) from being insufficient.

[0050] Here, even in the case of "there is a power consumption request", when the above-mentioned forced cut-off condition is satisfied, power consumption is forcibly prohibited by the forced cut-off unit 20. That is, the "heater off" in this embodiment, i.e., the state where the resistor 11 is not energized, includes the case where the heater is off due to "the request value is less than the minimum request threshold value" and the case where the heater is off due to the satisfaction of the forced cut-off condition.

[0051] <<Startup Processing Judgment Unit>> The startup process determination unit 16 implements the startup process determination function as, for example, a part of the heater driving unit 12. Specifically, the startup process determination unit 16 is a unit that determines and determines the speed (degree) of increasing the power supply to the resistor element 11 (starting from the cut-off state (increasing from the non-powered state)) based on the acquired power consumption request.

[0052] The power control unit 17 (control unit 13) described later includes a high-speed startup processing unit 171 and a low-speed startup processing unit 172. The high-speed startup processing unit 171 is a unit that controls the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT to open and close the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT while increasing the current supplied to the resistor 11 so as to reach the target power consumption G (the determined requested value) at a relatively high speed (in a short time).

[0053] The low-speed startup processing unit 172 is a unit that controls the opening and closing of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 while increasing the current supplied to the resistor 11 so as to reach the target power consumption G (the determined requested value) at a lower speed (for a longer time) than the high-speed startup processing unit 171 .

[0054] The startup processing determination unit 16 determines which of the high-speed startup processing unit 171 and the low-speed startup processing unit 172 is to process the acquired power consumption request based on a predetermined determination condition. As an example, the predetermined determination condition is a predetermined startup processing determination flag included in the power consumption request. For example, a "high-speed flag" indicating execution of high-speed startup processing can be set in the power consumption request. When the startup processing determination unit 16 determines that the high-speed flag is valid (on, set, "1", etc.), the high-speed startup processing unit 171 performs the processing, and when the high-speed flag is invalid (off, not set, "0", etc.), the low-speed startup processing unit 172 performs the processing.

[0055] For example, in the case of a surplus power consumption request for early power consumption, the high-speed flag is generally set to be valid, and in the case of an air conditioning power consumption request, the high-speed flag is set to be invalid. In addition, even in the case of an air conditioning power consumption request, the high-speed flag can be set to be valid. According to such a structure, for example, when the outside temperature becomes low and the air in the car is heated in advance, the output power inclination can be steeply increased, and the temperature rise in the car can be accelerated.

[0056] In this way, by enabling selection of control by the high-speed startup processing unit 171 and control by the low-speed startup processing unit 172 (not only the control by the high-speed startup processing unit 171 is performed), it is possible to prevent excessive load from being applied to the heating device 10 .

[0057] <<Power Control Unit>> The power control unit 17 is, for example, a unit that realizes the power control function as a part of the heater driving unit 12, controls the voltage applied to the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122, and controls the conduction of the resistor 11. The power control unit 17 controls the voltage by, for example, PWM. That is, according to the requested power, the voltage applied to the gate of each of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 is controlled by PWM control, and the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 are controlled to open and close.

[0058] Furthermore, the power control unit 17 includes, for example, a high-speed startup processing unit 171 and a low-speed startup processing unit 172. The power control unit 17 distributes the received power consumption request to the high-speed startup processing unit 171 or the low-speed startup processing unit 172 based on the determination result of the startup process determination unit 16.

[0059] The high-speed startup processing unit 171 sets the PWM control parameters so that the target power consumption G is reached in a short time from the start of the increase (start of PWM control) or the increase rate (average value) of the power consumption is high, and performs switching control on the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT, when increasing the energization (power consumption) to the resistor element 11. In addition, the low-speed startup processing unit 172 sets the PWM control parameters so that the target power consumption G is reached in a longer time than the high-speed startup processing unit 171 from the start of the increase or the increase rate (average value) of the power consumption is low compared to the high-speed startup processing unit 171, and performs switching control on the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122, when increasing the energization to the resistor element 11.

[0060] In addition, the power control unit 17 has a switching unit (parameter switching unit, parameter switching function) for the control parameters (PWM control parameters) when the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 are switched on and off, at least in the high-speed startup processing unit 171, and can perform switching control of the PWM control parameters. The parameter switching unit will be described later.

[0061] Figure 4 The diagram conceptually compares and shows the temporal change of control in the low-speed startup processing unit 172 and the temporal change of control in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 until a certain target power consumption G is reached in the control unit 13 , for example. Figure 4 (A) to (E) of the same figure represent the control in the low speed start processing unit 172. Figure 4 (F) to (H) of the same figure represent the control in the high-speed startup processing unit. In addition, (A) to (D), (F) and (G) of the same figure respectively represent the change of the duty ratio of the control of the primary heater drive in the heater drive unit 12 (hereinafter referred to as "heater drive control") after a predetermined number of times (for example, 50 times, 50 cycles).

[0062] Here, "one heater drive control" refers to a series of controls in which the duty ratio is increased once (one stage) and PWM control (opening and closing control) is performed until a certain power consumption is output in order to achieve the target duty ratio Dm corresponding to the target power consumption G. That is, the cycle of the heater drive control refers to the interval of the increase timing of the duty ratio.

[0063] In (D) and (G) of the same figure, "G'" is the overlap of the conduction time of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122, and the sum of these areas becomes the set target power consumption G (request value). Moreover, the sum of the areas of the overlap G' in (D) of the same figure is the height (target power consumption G) shown in (E) of the same figure, and the sum of the areas of the overlap G' in (G) of the same figure is the height (target power consumption G) shown in (H) of the same figure. In addition, Figure 4 In the figure, IGBT1 represents the upper IGBT121 , and IGBT2 represents the lower IGBT122 .

[0064] like Figure 4 As shown in (A) to (D), (F), and (G) of the same figure, the power control unit 17 of the present embodiment controls the voltage applied to the gates of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122, for example, by PWM control, so that the ratio (duty ratio) of each opening (conduction) / closing (disconnection) changes over time, thereby controlling the energization state (the amount of current flowing) to the resistor 11. If the amount of current flowing through the resistor 11 changes, the heat generated by the resistor 11 changes, and the power consumption changes.

[0065] exist Figure 4 (A)~ Figure 4 (D) shows that in the low-speed start processing unit 172, from the start of the processing ((A) in the same figure), the duty cycle gradually increases ((B) in the same figure to (D) in the same figure) every 50 cycles, and reaches the target duty cycle Dm ((D) in the same figure) in 200 cycles (50 cycles×4).

[0066] exist Figure 4 (F) and (G) of the same figure show a state in which, in the high-speed startup processing unit 171, the target duty ratio Dm ((G) of the same figure) is reached in, for example, 50 cycles from the start of the processing ((F) of the same figure).

[0067] That is, it can be said that the low-speed startup processing unit 172 sets the increase amount (increase amount) of the duty ratio per cycle of the heater drive control, that is, the average increase speed of the duty ratio when considered on the time axis, to be smaller than that of the high-speed startup processing unit 171. As a result, as shown in (A) to (D) of the same figure, the low-speed startup processing unit 172 performs PWM control on the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT in a manner that increases the duty ratio slightly compared with the high-speed startup processing unit 171, and controls the conduction of the resistor element 11. As a result, the average increase speed of the power consumption of the resistor element 11 becomes smaller (becomes slow), and the time from the start of the increase in power consumption (the start of PWM control) to the target duty ratio Dm corresponding to the requested value of the received power consumption request (overlap amount G', target power consumption G) becomes long. Hereinafter, the control in the low-speed startup processing unit 172 is referred to as "low-speed startup processing". The output (power consumption) of the resistor element 11 in this case, as shown in (E) of the figure, increases at a certain angle (the angle refers to the average rate of increase in power consumption) from the start SS of the low-speed start processing (from the time when the PWM control start signal becomes on ("H")), according to the change (increase) of the duty cycle, and reaches the target power consumption G.

[0068] In contrast, it can be said that the high-speed startup processing unit 171 sets the increase amount (increase amount) of the duty ratio per cycle of the heater drive control, that is, the average increase speed of the duty ratio when considered on the time axis, to be greater than that of the low-speed startup processing unit 172. As a result, as shown in (F) and (G) of the same figure, the high-speed startup processing unit 171 performs PWM control on the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT in a manner that greatly increases the duty ratio compared with the low-speed startup processing unit 172, and controls the conduction of the resistor element 11. As a result, the average increase speed of the power consumption of the resistor element 11 becomes larger (becomes faster), and when it is assumed that the target duty ratio Dm corresponding to the request value of the power consumption request received (the target power consumption G with the overlap amount G' set) from the start of the increase in power consumption (the start of PWM control) is the same target duty ratio Dm as that of the above-mentioned low-speed startup processing unit 172, the time until the target duty ratio Dm is reached becomes shorter than that in the case of the low-speed startup processing. Hereinafter, the control in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 is referred to as "high-speed startup processing". In this case, the output of the resistor element 11, as shown in (H) of the figure, starts from the start time FS of the high-speed startup processing (when the PWM control start signal becomes on ("H")), and increases at a steeper angle (this angle refers to the average increase rate of power consumption) than the low-speed startup processing unit 172 according to the change amount (increase amount) of the duty ratio, and reaches the target power consumption G.

[0069] More specifically, in the high-speed startup processing unit 171, when the power supply to the resistor element 11 is increased (when the resistor element 11 is switched from off to on or the requested power consumption value is increased), the time from the start of the increase in power supply to the reaching of the target power consumption G (hereinafter referred to as "target power consumption arrival time") is, as an example, less than 5 seconds, preferably less than 2 seconds, and more preferably about 1 second or less.

[0070] In either the high-speed startup process or the low-speed startup process, after reaching the target power consumption G, the control unit 13 performs PWM control on the voltage applied to the resistor element 11 based on the power consumption requests that continue to be sequentially received, thereby controlling the energization of the resistor element 11. In this way, the resistor element 11 consumes the requested power by generating heat.

[0071] also, Figure 4 (I) and (J) of the same figure are diagrams showing an example of temporal change in the output (power) of the resistor element 11 when the target power consumption G increases (increase 2) during output (increase 1 of output) based on a certain power consumption request.

[0072] Figure 4 (I) is an example in which a power consumption request including a second request value (target power consumption G2) greater than the first request value and a request for high-speed startup processing (a high-speed flag is, for example, on) is received during the period when the low-speed startup processing is performed and output based on a certain power consumption request (first request value (target power consumption G1)) is performed from the start time SS (start of increase in power consumption). In this case, the control unit 13 performs high-speed startup processing from the start time FS of the increase in power consumption and performs output based on the second request value (target power consumption G2). The increase in the request value at the start time FS of the high-speed startup processing is the difference ΔG between the second request value (target power consumption G2) and the first request value (target power consumption G1).

[0073] also, Figure 4(J) is an example in which a power consumption request including a first request value (target power consumption G1) greater than the second request value and a request for a low-speed startup process (for example, the high-speed flag is off) is received during the period in which the high-speed startup process is executed and output based on the power consumption request (second request value (target power consumption G2)) is output from the start time FS (start of increase in power consumption). In this case, the control unit 13 executes the low-speed startup process from the start time SS of the increase in power consumption and outputs based on the first request value (target power consumption G1). The increase in the request value at the start time SS of the low-speed startup process is the difference ΔG between the first request value (target power consumption G1) and the previous second request value (target power consumption G2).

[0074] The “average rate of increase of the duty cycle” described here is “the average value of the rate of increase of the duty cycle from the start of the increase in power consumption (the start of PWM control) to the end of the increase in the duty cycle when the target duty cycle Dm corresponding to the set target power consumption G is reached”.

[0075] That is, in the heater drive control, the duty ratio is gradually increased in each predetermined cycle (one cycle or multiple cycles) to reach the target duty ratio Dm. As the increase in the duty ratio in the predetermined cycle of the heater drive control (the operation amount for increasing the duty ratio), various methods can be applied, such as a method of increasing a predetermined amount (fixed value) in stages according to one or more cycles of the heater drive control, a method of calculating the operation amount according to one or more cycles of the heater drive control, and the like. In the present embodiment, as an example, according to a predetermined reference time (for example, one cycle of the heater drive control), the increase in the duty ratio (operation amount) increased in the cycle is calculated. Hereinafter, the increase in the duty ratio (the operation amount of the on-off control of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122) is referred to as the "duty operation amount". In a certain cycle of the heater drive control, the duty ratio of the cycle is determined by adding the duty ratio in the cycle to the current (so far) duty ratio, and the power corresponding to the duty ratio is output. The details of the duty operation amount will be described later.

[0076] <Heater Control Process> Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 , an example of a control process of the resistance element 11 (heater) executed by the control unit 13 of the heating device 10 is described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of heater control processing. Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the heater drive control process.

[0077] During the operation of the heating device 10, the heating device 10 repeatedly performs Figure 5 The heater control process shown (step S01 to step S13) is executed in a predetermined cycle (specifically, for example, a cycle of about 2 msec) (for example, called from a main program that manages the processing of the heating device 10).

[0078] First, in step S01, for example, the forced cutoff unit 20 determines whether or not an abnormality is detected (whether or not the forced cutoff condition is satisfied). Specifically, for example, it is determined whether (1) there is a protection / fault sensor detection, and (2) whether the fault detection of the overvoltage sensor is not completed. In the case of detection of the protection / fault sensor (yes), the forced cutoff unit 20 proceeds to step S13. In addition, in the case of incomplete fault detection of the overvoltage sensor (yes), the forced cutoff unit 20 also proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, in the case of no detection of the protection / fault sensor and the fault detection of the overvoltage sensor is completed (no), the forced cutoff unit 20 proceeds to step S03.

[0079] In step S03, the request acquisition unit 14 acquires the power consumption request. That is, the power consumption request is acquired in a cycle (e.g., a cycle of about 2 msec) of the heater control process. The power consumption request includes a request value. The request value is a value (information) corresponding to the target power consumption G, and even when there is no actual power consumption request, it includes information indicating that there is no consumption request (e.g., "0" or a value less than the minimum request threshold, etc.).

[0080] In addition, a predetermined initialization process is performed, such as clearing a determination timer (a part of various sensors) or other sensor values ​​for determining whether heater drive control described later can be performed.

[0081] In addition, step S01 and step S03 may be executed substantially simultaneously, or the order of step S01 and step S03 may be swapped.

[0082] In step S05, the request determination unit 15 determines whether the power consumption request can be obtained normally and whether there is a substantial power consumption request based on them. The request determination unit 15 compares the request value with a preset minimum request threshold (e.g., 200W). If the request value is less than the minimum request threshold, it is determined that "there is no power consumption request", for example, it is regarded as a request value of "0". If the request value is greater than the minimum request threshold, it is determined that there is a substantial "power consumption request" from the air conditioning ECU1 or the charging ECU2.

[0083] If it is determined in step S05 that “there is a request for power consumption”, the process proceeds to step S07 , and if it is determined that “there is no request for power consumption”, the process proceeds to step S13 .

[0084] In step S07 , for example, the request determination unit 15 sets the request value (the largest request value when a plurality of power consumption requests are simultaneously acquired) as the target power consumption G. Specifically, the request value is set as the target power consumption parameter of the PWM control.

[0085] In step S09, it is determined whether the heater drive control of step S11 is to be executed. Specifically, for example, it is determined whether the period of the carrier frequency (frequency that determines the pulse width modulation period) based on the PWM control has passed. That is, the value of the judgment timer (sensor) for judging whether the heater drive control can be executed is obtained, and the judgment period (e.g., a predetermined period such as about 18ms) pre-set based on the carrier frequency (e.g., 57Hz) and the value of the judgment timer are compared. When the value of the judgment timer is shorter than the judgment period (no), the process proceeds to step S13 and the value of the judgment timer (sensor) is updated. Specifically, the time of one cycle of the heater control process (about 2msec) is incremented.

[0086] In step S09, when the acquired determination timer value exceeds the determination period (Yes), the heater drive control process is executed in step S11 (see Figure 6 ). In addition, the process proceeds to step S13 in parallel with the heater drive control process. In step S13 in this case, the value of the judgment timer (sensor) is cleared, and the sensor value is updated when there are other sensor values ​​(for example, the output (power consumption value, etc.) in the heater drive control process). In the present embodiment, one control cycle of the heater drive control process is, for example, a period based on the carrier frequency (for example, about 18 msec), which is longer than one cycle of the heater control process (about 2 msec). The heater control process does not wait for its output even during the execution of the heater drive control process, and steps S01 to S13 (acquisition of power consumption request, increment of judgment timer, etc.) are repeatedly executed at a predetermined period (about 2 msec).

[0087] <Heater Drive Control Process> Reference Figure 6 The heater drive control process is described below. Figure 5 ), in step S09 of the method, when the value of the obtained judgment timer exceeds the judgment period (Yes), the heater drive control process is executed. One cycle of the heater drive control process is Figure 6 The period from step S111 to step S125 shown is, specifically, a period based on the carrier frequency (eg, approximately 18 msec), for example.

[0088] In step S111 , the startup process determination unit 16 determines, based on a predetermined determination condition, whether the acquired power consumption request is to be processed by the high-speed startup process unit 171 or the low-speed startup process unit 172 .

[0089] When the high-speed flag of the power consumption request received by the request determination unit 15 is "ON" (Yes), it is determined that the high-speed startup processing unit 171 is processing, and the process proceeds to step S113. In addition, when the high-speed flag of the power consumption request received by the request determination unit 15 is "OFF" (No), it is determined that the low-speed startup processing unit 172 is processing, and the process proceeds to step S121.

[0090] In step S113, the high-speed startup processing unit 171 executes parameter switching control to determine the calculation parameter of the duty operation amount. The calculation parameter of the duty operation amount is a part of the PWM control parameter.

[0091] Here, as calculation parameters of the duty operation amount in this embodiment, there are at least three parameters, for example, high-speed high-voltage parameters in high-speed startup processing, high-speed low-voltage parameters in high-speed startup processing, and low-speed parameters in low-speed startup processing.

[0092] The high-speed high-voltage parameter is a calculation parameter of the duty operation amount set in the high-speed startup process when the applied voltage of the resistor element 11 at this time is a high voltage exceeding the threshold voltage. The threshold voltage in this case is set to any voltage in the range of 200V to 600V, preferably any voltage in the range of 250V to 500V.

[0093] The high-speed low-voltage parameter is a calculation parameter of the duty operation amount set in the high-speed startup process when the applied voltage of the resistor element 11 at this time is a low voltage below the threshold voltage. Hereinafter, the high-speed high-voltage parameter and the high-speed low-voltage parameter are parameters in the high-speed startup process, and are therefore referred to as the high-voltage parameter and the low-voltage parameter for short.

[0094] The low speed parameter is a calculation parameter of the duty operation amount which is set when the low speed start processing is executed.

[0095] That is, in step S113, the applied voltage ( Figure 2 When the applied voltage exceeds the threshold voltage (Yes), the high voltage parameter is set as the calculation parameter of the duty operation amount (step S115), and when the applied voltage of the resistor element 11 is below the threshold voltage (No), the low voltage parameter is set as the calculation parameter of the duty operation amount (step S117). This control is parameter switching control.

[0096] In step S119 following step S115 or step S117, the duty ratio set in the current control cycle of the heater drive control is determined (calculated). In the following description, one cycle of the heater drive control is referred to as a "heater drive control cycle". The duty ratio in the current heater drive control cycle is determined by adding the increase amount (duty operation amount) of the duty ratio increased (increased) from the previous heater drive control cycle in order to increase power consumption to the duty ratio set (executed) in the previous heater drive control cycle.

[0097] As the duty operation amount, a value calculated in the previous heater drive control cycle (as the next amount) is used.

[0098] That is, in step S119 , the duty ratio set in the current (this time) heater drive control cycle and the duty operation amount used in the next heater drive control cycle are calculated and determined.

[0099] The duty operation amount used in the next heater drive control cycle is specifically calculated based on the difference between the target power consumption set in the current (this) heater drive control cycle and the power consumption in the current (this) heater drive control cycle (hereinafter referred to as the "power difference"). The calculated duty operation amount is used as various sensor values ​​in the heater control process ( Figure 5 ) is updated in the sensor value update process (step S13) and is acquired and referenced in the next heater drive control cycle.

[0100] The target power consumption set in the current heater drive control cycle is the value of the target power consumption G set in the execution phase of step S119. In addition, the power consumption in the current heater drive control cycle is the amount of power (heat generation) of the resistor element 11 output (actual output or scheduled output) in the current heater drive control cycle. The resistor element 11 consumes power according to a certain duty ratio set in one PWM control. That is, the power actually consumed according to the duty ratio set in the current heater drive control cycle, or the power scheduled to be consumed in the current heater drive control cycle according to the set duty ratio is the power consumption in the current heater drive control cycle.

[0101] Thus, in the present embodiment, feedback control is performed to calculate the duty operation amount in the next heater drive control cycle according to the power difference (difference between target power consumption G and power consumption) in the current heater drive control cycle according to the heater drive control cycle (according to a cycle of about 18 ms). In detail, the feedback control is, for example, PI control, and a proportional gain and an integral gain are applied to the power difference (correcting the power difference by PI control) to calculate the duty operation amount in the next cycle. That is, the calculation parameters of the duty operation amount in the present embodiment (the high voltage parameter set in step S115 and the low voltage parameter set in step S117) are set by the value based on the proportional gain (hereinafter referred to as "P value") and the value based on the integral gain (hereinafter referred to as "I value") (including them) in the PI control. As a specific method for setting the high voltage parameter and the low voltage parameter, for example, the P value is appropriately set in a manner to obtain (approximate) the desired value. At this time, in the present embodiment, as an example, the P value of the high voltage parameter adopts a value larger than the P value of the low voltage parameter. The I value of the high voltage parameter is set to an appropriate value corresponding to the P value of the high voltage parameter, and the I value of the low voltage parameter is set to an appropriate value corresponding to the P value of the low voltage parameter.

[0102] In addition, an upper limit value (operation amount upper limit value) is set for the duty operation amount. That is, in step S119, when the duty operation amount calculated based on the high voltage parameter or the low voltage parameter exceeds the operation amount upper limit value in the high-speed startup process, the operation amount upper limit value is set to the duty operation amount calculated in the cycle. As an example, the upper limit value of the duty operation amount in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 is, for example, 20%.

[0103] Then, in step S125, PWM control is performed according to the duty ratio set in step S119. In step 125, the power control unit 17 (high-speed startup processing unit 171) starts PWM control of the voltage applied to the resistor element 11 based on the set PWM control parameters (high voltage parameters) when the PWM control start signal is turned on ("H"), and controls the energization of the resistor element 11. In this way, the duty operation amount (next time) is calculated according to the power difference according to the heater drive control cycle, and the increase in power consumption is adjusted according to the heater drive control cycle.

[0104] Furthermore, the duty ratio increases according to the heater drive control cycle, and the resistance element 11 consumes the power required by the heat generation, and finally reaches the target power consumption G at a high speed.

[0105] If it is determined in step S111 that the low-speed start processing unit 172 is to perform processing, in step S121, a low-speed parameter is set as a calculation parameter of the duty operation amount in the low-speed start processing unit 172. The low-speed parameter is, for example, a parameter, but is a value set based on the P value and I value (including them) in the PI control, similarly to the high-speed high-voltage parameter and the high-speed low-voltage parameter (different values).

[0106] Step S123 performs the same processing as step S119. That is, the duty cycle operation amount in the next control cycle of the heater drive control is calculated based on the difference (power difference) between the target power consumption set in the current heater drive control cycle and the power consumption in the current heater drive control cycle, and the duty ratio in the current heater drive control cycle is calculated (determined).

[0107] In addition, in the low-speed start processing, an upper limit value (operation amount upper limit value) is set for the duty operation amount. That is, in step S123, when the duty operation amount calculated based on the low-speed parameter exceeds the operation amount upper limit value in the low-speed start processing, the operation amount upper limit value is set to the duty operation amount calculated in the cycle. As an example, the upper limit value of the duty operation amount in the low-speed start processing unit 172 is, for example, 0.2%, preferably 0.15% (preferably 0.12%, etc.).

[0108] Then, in step S125, PWM control is performed according to the duty ratio set in step S123. In step 125, the power control unit 17 (low-speed startup processing unit 172) starts PWM control of the voltage applied to the resistor element 11 based on the set PWM control parameter (low-speed parameter) when the PWM control start signal is turned on ("H"), and controls the energization of the resistor element 11. In this way, according to the heater drive control cycle, the duty ratio increases according to the power difference, and the resistor element 11 consumes the power requested by the heat generation, and finally reaches the target power consumption G at a lower speed than the high-speed startup processing unit 171.

[0109] The output power (power consumption), calculated duty cycle, etc. are used as various sensor values ​​in the heater control process ( Figure 5 ) is updated in the sensor value update process (step S13) and is referred to in the next heater drive control cycle.

[0110] In the heater drive control process, the duty operation amount in the next control cycle is calculated in one cycle of PWM control (pulse width modulation cycle, for example, about 18 msec). That is, PWM control is performed once every 8 cycles of the upper heater control process, and the duty operation amount and duty ratio are calculated for each heater drive control cycle.

[0111] <Calculation method of duty ratio and duty operation amount> Reference Figure 7 , the calculation method of the duty ratio and the duty operation amount of each heater drive control cycle is described in detail. The same figure is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the calculation method of the duty ratio and the duty operation amount.

[0112] exist Figure 7 In the figure, each cycle of the heater drive control cycle is indicated in the column direction, and the processing in each cycle is indicated in the row direction. The first column ((1) to (4)) is the processing of the first cycle after the start of the heater drive control processing (increasing the output of the heater (including from off to on)), the second column ((5) to (10)) is the processing of the n-1th cycle after the start of the heater drive control processing, the third column ((11) to (14)) is the processing of the nth cycle after the start of the heater drive control processing, and the fourth column ((15) to (18)) is the processing of the n+1th cycle after the start of the heater drive control processing. In the following, Figure 7 In the description of the present invention, the heater drive control cycle is sometimes simply referred to as a "cycle".

[0113] In addition, the first line ((1), (5), (11), (15)) is a step of calculating the duty cycle [%] of the (current) heater drive control cycle, the second line ((2), (6), (12), (16)) is a step of obtaining the heater output (power consumption Q [W]) when operating with the duty cycle of the cycle, the third line ((3), (7), (13), (17)) is a step of calculating the difference (power difference Y [W]) between the target power consumption G in the cycle and the power consumption Q of the cycle, and the fourth line ((4), (8), (14), (18)) is a step of calculating the duty operation amount [%] in the next cycle.

[0114] Here, the "duty ratio of each heater drive control cycle" is the ratio of the duty ratio of each heater drive control cycle when the target duty ratio of the maximum value (e.g., 10 kW) of the output target power consumption G is set to 100%. In addition, the "target duty ratio of the output target power consumption G" is the case where the overlap amount of the conduction state of the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 is, for example, 94% to 96%.

[0115] First, in the first cycle after the heater drive control process starts, the duty cycle (duty cycle 1) of the cycle (this time) is equal to the duty operation amount (duty operation amount 1) of the cycle, and it is set to the upper limit value (for example, 20%) in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 (1).

[0116] Then, the power consumption Q1 of the cycle (this time) is obtained as a result of operating the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 at a duty ratio of 1 (20%), and the power difference Y1 of the cycle (this time) is calculated (3). The power difference Y1 is the difference between the target power consumption G and the current power consumption Q1.

[0117] Then, the duty operation amount (duty operation amount 2) in the next cycle (cycle 2) is calculated (4). At this time, the duty operation amount in the next cycle is the change in the duty ratio from the current cycle, and is corrected by PI control, thereby calculating the current power difference Y (Y1). The proportional gain (P value) and integral gain (I value) in the PI control are values ​​set as any one of the high voltage parameter, low voltage parameter, and low speed parameter.

[0118] That is, for example, the duty operation amount 2 is calculated by the following (Formula 1) as a function of the power difference value Y1 with the P value and the I value as parameters. Duty operation amount 2 = Y1 (P, I) (Formula 1)

[0119] The duty ratio of the second cycle is the total value of the duty ratio of the first cycle (duty ratio 1) and the duty operation amount 2.

[0120] This process is repeated, and in the n-1th cycle after the heater drive control process starts, the duty ratio (duty ratio) of the cycle (this time) is set to n-1 ) by using the duty cycle of its previous cycle (duty cycle n-2 ) and the duty cycle calculated using (Formula 1) in the previous cycle n-1 (Based on the last power difference Y n-2 Duty operation amount), and use the following (Formula 2) to calculate (5). Duty Cycle n-1 =Duty cycle n-2 +Duty cycle n-1 (Mathematical formula 2)

[0121] Then, the duty cycle is obtained as n-1 The power consumption Q of this cycle (this time) is the result of operating the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 in the manner of n-1 (6) Calculate the power difference Y for this cycle (this time) n-1 (6). Power difference Y n-1 The target power consumption G and the current power consumption Q n-1 The difference.

[0122] Then, the power difference Y is corrected by PI control n-1, the duty operation amount (duty operation amount) in the next cycle (nth cycle) is calculated in the same way as (Formula 1) n )(8). Duty cycle n As the power difference Y with P value and I value as parameters n-1 The function is calculated by the following (Mathematical Formula 3). Duty cycle n =Y n-1 (P, I) (Formula 3)

[0123] In addition, when calculating the duty cycle n In addition to the power difference Y of this cycle (this time) n-1 In addition, the power difference Y in the previous cycle can also be used n-2 Specifically, the power difference Y in the previous cycle is calculated by the following (Formula 4): n-2 (9). Last power difference Y n-2 = Last target power G - Last consumed power Q n-2 (Mathematical formula 4)

[0124] Then, instead of (Equation 3), the duty cycle n As the power difference Y with P value and I value as parameters n-1 and the last power difference Y with P as parameter n-2 The function is calculated by the following (Formula 5) (10). Duty cycle n =Y n-1 (P, I)+Y n-2 (P)(Mathematical formula 5)

[0125] In this case, Figure 7 In the calculation steps of the duty cycle operation amount shown in (14) and (18), Figure 7 (10) is similarly calculated by (Formula 5) for the duty cycle operation amount, but is omitted in the following description.

[0126] For example, when the influence of noise is large or the deviation between the target power consumption G and the power consumption Q is large, it is preferable to also refer to the power difference value (Y n-2 ) is used to calculate the duty cycle in the next cycle. In addition, the power difference Y in the cycle before the previous cycle can also be referred to. n-3 etc.) multiple power differences in the past.

[0127] In the nth cycle after the heater drive control process starts, the duty ratio (duty ratio) of the cycle (this time) is set to n) by using the duty cycle of its previous cycle (duty cycle n-1 ) and the duty cycle calculated using (Formula 3) in the previous cycle n (Based on the last power difference Y n-1 Duty operation amount), and use the following (Formula 6) to calculate (11). Duty Cycle n =Duty cycle n-1 +Duty cycle n (Mathematical formula 6)

[0128] Then, the duty cycle is obtained as n The power consumption Q of this cycle (this time) is the result of operating the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 in the manner of n (12), calculate the power difference Y of this cycle (this time) n (13). Power difference Y n The target power consumption G and the current power consumption Q n The difference.

[0129] Then, the power difference Yn is corrected by PI control, and the duty operation amount (duty operation amount) in the next cycle (n+1 cycle) is calculated in the same manner as (Formula 1). n+1 )(14). Duty cycle n As the power difference Y with P value and I value as parameters n The function is calculated by the following (Formula 7). Duty cycle n+1 =Y n (P, I) (Formula 7)

[0130] Similarly, in the n+1th cycle after the heater drive control process starts, the duty ratio (duty ratio n+1 ) by using the duty cycle of its previous cycle (duty cycle n ) and the duty cycle calculated using (Formula 7) in the previous cycle n+1 (Based on the last power difference Y n Duty operation amount), and use the following (Formula 8) to calculate (15). Duty Cycle n+1 =Duty cycle n +Duty cycle n+1 (Mathematical formula 8)

[0131] Then, the duty cycle is obtained as n+1 The power consumption Q of this cycle (this time) is the result of operating the upper IGBT 121 and the lower IGBT 122 in the manner of n+1(16), calculate the power difference Y of this cycle (this time) n+1 (17). Power difference Y n+1 The target power consumption G and the current power consumption Q n+1 The difference.

[0132] Then, the power difference Y is corrected by PI control n+1 , the duty operation amount (duty operation amount) in the next cycle (n+2 cycle) is calculated in the same way as (Formula 1) n+2 )(18). Duty cycle n+2 As the power difference Y with P value and I value as parameters n+1 The function is calculated by the following (Formula 9). Duty cycle n+2 =Y n+1 (P, I) (Formula 9)

[0133] These processes are repeated until the following target power consumption G is reached. Figure 7 In the description of , the target power consumption G is assumed to be in each cycle. However, the value of the target power consumption G is not limited to a fixed value in each cycle and may vary.

[0134] Figure 8 This is a graph showing the relationship between the voltage applied to the resistor element 11 and the time until the target power consumption G is reached in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 . Figure 8 (A) is a graph showing the relationship between the applied voltage and the target power consumption reaching time when the entire range is controlled by high voltage parameters and low voltage parameters for a certain range of applied voltage (from 120V to 820V). Figure 8 (B) is a graph showing the relationship between the applied voltage and the target power consumption reaching time when the parameter switching control of this embodiment is performed for a certain range of applied voltage (from 120 V to 820 V). In addition, the horizontal axis is the applied voltage of the resistor element 11, and the vertical axis is the target power consumption reaching time.

[0135] exist Figure 8 In (A), the solid line is the result of controlling the entire range of applied voltage (from 120 V to 820 V) by the high voltage parameters, and the dotted line is the result of controlling the entire range of applied voltage (from 120 V to 420 V) by the low voltage parameters. In addition, in the case of the low voltage parameters, the voltage does not converge in the range exceeding 420 V and cannot be measured.

[0136] In this way, if the entire range of applied voltage is controlled by the high voltage parameter, when the applied voltage is, for example, 400 V or less, the target power consumption reaching time is 1000 msec to 8000 msec, which is a long time and the variation thereof is also large.

[0137] Furthermore, if the entire range of the applied voltage is controlled by the low voltage parameter, the applied voltage will not converge if it exceeds 400 V, for example.

[0138] In the parameter switching control of this embodiment, the threshold voltage is set to any voltage in the range of 200V to 500V, for example. If the applied voltage is lower than the threshold voltage, the low voltage parameters are used. If the applied voltage exceeds the threshold voltage, the high voltage parameters are set as the PWM control parameters (the calculation parameters of the duty cycle). Figure 8 As shown in (B), in the substantially entire range of the applied voltage (e.g., 200V to 800V), the target power consumption arrival time in the case of high-speed startup processing can be approximately converged to 1 second. In addition, for example, even when the applied voltage is 120V, the target power consumption arrival time can be made approximately 2200msec, and the deviation of the target power consumption arrival time can be suppressed over the entire range of the applied voltage.

[0139] The high voltage parameter and the low voltage parameter are appropriately selected to obtain a P value (and an I value corresponding to the P value) such that the target power consumption reaching time in the high-speed startup process converges to approximately 1 sec over the entire range of the varying applied voltage.

[0140] Thus, in the present embodiment, the difference (power difference) between the target power consumption and the power consumption in the cycle is calculated for each heater drive control cycle, and the power difference is corrected by PI control, thereby calculating the duty operation amount in the next heater drive control cycle. Thus, the target power consumption G can be effectively achieved. In addition, since the number of duty cycle operations until the target power consumption G is achieved is reduced, the target power consumption G can be achieved earlier, especially in the high-speed startup processing unit 171.

[0141] In addition, the parameters for calculating the duty cycle (PWM control parameters) are set to values ​​based on the proportional gain (and integral gain) in the PI control, and parameter switching control is performed at least in the high-speed startup processing unit 171 to switch the low voltage parameters and the high voltage parameters according to the applied voltage to the resistor element 11, and the duty cycle for each predetermined control cycle (heater drive control cycle) is calculated.

[0142] Therefore, even when the applied voltage of the resistor element 11 covers a wide range, the target power consumption arrival time in the high-speed startup process can be converged to less than, for example, 5 seconds (preferably within 2 seconds, and more preferably about 1 second) in the entire range, and the deviation of the target power consumption arrival time can be suppressed.

[0143] Although not shown in the figure and detailed description are omitted, the low speed startup processing unit 172 may perform parameter switching control for switching between parameters for low speed and high voltage and parameters for low speed and low voltage.

[0144] In the above, an example of the heating device 10 of the present embodiment has been described, but in Figure 3 The request acquisition unit 14, request judgment unit 15, start-up process judgment unit 16, and power control unit 17 described in the above are examples, and any structure can be used as long as it can at least realize the request acquisition function, request judgment function, start-up process judgment function, and power control function of the above-mentioned heating device 10. For example, multiple units among them (such as the request acquisition unit 14 and the request judgment unit 15, the start-up process judgment unit 16, and the power control unit 17, etc.) can be composed of one unit, or one unit (such as the start-up process judgment unit 16, the power control unit 17, etc.) can be divided into a plurality of units.

[0145] In addition, part or all of the hardware in these units may be constituted by software, or vice versa. In addition, these units are not limited to structures implemented by electronic components on one control substrate 1, but may also be constituted by electronic components provided on multiple control substrates.

[0146] In addition, the voltage control in the power control unit 17 is illustrated as a PWM control, but it is not limited to this. For example, it can also be a PFM (Pulse Frequency Modulation) method in which the on-time (or off-time) of the pulse is fixed and the off-time (or on-time) is changed to perform control.

[0147] In the above embodiment, the case where the source of the power consumption request is the air conditioning ECU 1 and the charging ECU 2 which are external devices of the heating device 10 is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the source of the surplus power consumption request and / or the source of the air conditioning power consumption request may also be a unit included in the heating device 10.

[0148] For example, the heating device 10 may be configured to obtain information from a vehicle air conditioning device as an external device, generate an air conditioning power consumption request in a request sending unit inside the heating device 10, and send the request to the request obtaining unit 14 of the heating device 10. Similarly, the heating device 10 may be configured to obtain information from a vehicle control unit as an external device, generate an excess power consumption request in a request sending unit inside the heating device 10, and send the request to the request obtaining unit 14 of the heating device 10.

[0149] In addition, the source of the first power consumption request is not limited to the control unit of the vehicle air conditioning device (air conditioning ECU1), but can also be the control unit (ECU) of other devices. The source of the second power consumption request is not limited to the vehicle control unit (charging ECU2), but can also be the control unit (ECU) of other devices.

[0150] In addition, the upper switching element 121 and the lower switching element 122 are not limited to IGBTs, but may be other voltage-driven transistors, for example, field effect transistors, specifically, enhanced n-channel insulated gate field effect transistors (such as MOSFET: metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor).

[0151] The voltage control in the power control unit 17 may be performed by appropriately selecting and setting the two PWM control and PFM control, for example, when the heating device 10 is started, or by switching between the two (selecting each time) during the operation of the heating device 10. Other voltage control methods may also be used.

[0152] In addition, the heating device of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Industrial Applicability

[0153] The heating device 10 of the present invention can be used in the field of vehicle auxiliary equipment. Description of Reference Numerals

[0154] 1 Control board 2 Housing 2A Upper housing 2B Lower shell 3 Tubes 3A Inlet 3B Outlet 4 Regeneration device 5 Power supply unit 5A power supply terminal 6 Power storage device 10 Heating device 11. Resistor 12 Heater drive unit (heater drive circuit) 13 control unit (control unit) 14 Request to obtain unit 15 Request judgment unit 16 Start processing judgment unit 17 Power Control Unit 19 Communication Unit 20 Forced cut-off unit 21 Vehicle air conditioning device 121 Upper switch element 122 Lower switch element 123 Upper driver 124 Lower Driver 125 Upper capacitor 126 Lower capacitor 130 Driver power supply 131 High Voltage Power Supply 171 High-speed startup processing unit 172 Low speed start processing unit Dm target duty cycle

Claims

1. A heating device comprising: a resistance element capable of generating heat in response to a power consumption request from the vehicle; and a control unit capable of controlling at least the power consumption of the resistance element, The heating device is characterized in that The control unit can adjust the amount of increase in the power consumption within a predetermined reference time according to the voltage applied to the resistance element.

2. The heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that The predetermined reference time is a predetermined control cycle of the control unit.

3. The heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating device includes an upper switching element and a lower switching element connected in series via the resistance element. The control unit is capable of performing on-off control of the upper layer switching element and the lower layer switching element, The predetermined reference time is a predetermined control cycle including at least the opening and closing control.

4. The heating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The control unit calculates the operation amount of the switching control in the next control cycle based on the difference between the target power consumption in the current control cycle and the power consumption of the resistance element for each of the predetermined control cycles, and adjusts the increase amount.

5. The heating device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The control unit has at least a low voltage parameter when the applied voltage is lower than a threshold voltage and a high voltage parameter when the applied voltage is higher than the threshold voltage. The control unit can execute parameter switching control for switching the low voltage parameter and the high voltage parameter according to the applied voltage and calculating the operation amount of the opening and closing control for each of the predetermined control cycles.

6. The heating device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control unit has: a high-speed startup processing unit for controlling the upper layer switching element and the lower layer switching element in such a manner that a target power consumption is achieved at a relatively high speed during the switching control; as well as a low-speed startup processing unit that controls the upper switching element and the lower switching element in the switching control so as to achieve the target power consumption at a lower speed than that of the high-speed startup processing unit, The control unit is capable of executing the parameter switching control at least in the high-speed startup processing unit.

7. The heating device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control unit performs PWM control on the conduction of the resistance element. The control unit has: a high-speed startup processing unit that performs control to achieve a target duty ratio corresponding to the power consumption request in a short time; as well as a low-speed startup processing unit that performs control to achieve a target duty ratio corresponding to the power consumption request in a longer time than the high-speed startup processing unit, The control unit is capable of executing the parameter switching control at least in the high-speed startup processing unit. The high voltage parameter and the low voltage parameter are values ​​based on a proportional gain and an integral gain in PI control.

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