Start-stop control method and system for electric air compressor and vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric air compressor start-stop control method and system and a vehicle. An outlet of an electric air compressor is connected to an air inlet of a mechanical air dryer, and an air outlet of the mechanical air dryer is connected to an air reservoir; the mechanical air dryer is provided with an ESS feedback function, and an ESS feedback port is connected with the pressure switch and used for obtaining the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer through the pressure switch. The instrument pressure sensor is used for detecting the air pressure value of the air reservoir; the electric air compressor, the pressure switch and the instrument air pressure sensor are in signal connection with the controller. The controller is used for obtaining the air pressure value of the air storage cylinder. When the air pressure value of the air cylinder is smaller than the first set value, the electric air compressor is controlled to start working; and responding to the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer, and controlling the electric air compressor to stop working.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of hydrogen fuel vehicle braking, and particularly relates to a method and system for controlling the start and stop of an electric air compressor, and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] The unloading of the air compressor of traditional pneumatic braking fuel vehicles generally adopts the methods of non-unloading or pneumatic control unloading.

[0003] For pneumatic braking hydrogen fuel heavy trucks, an electric air compressor is used, and the start and stop of the air compressor are completely controlled by electrical signals. The method of controlling the start and stop of the air compressor by electrical signals adopted by pneumatic braking hydrogen fuel heavy trucks has a high dependence on the performance of the electric air dryer. However, at present, the cost of the electric air dryer is high but the technology is not mature enough, its integration level is low, a large installation space is required, and the reliability of the electronic control part is also low, and the failure rate is relatively high. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, and provide a method and system for controlling the start and stop of an electric air compressor, and a vehicle, so as to improve the reliability of the system.

[0005] The present invention provides the following technical solutions: In the first aspect, a method for controlling the start and stop of an electric air compressor is provided, including: Obtaining the air pressure value of the air storage tank; In response to the air pressure value of the air storage tank being less than the first set value, controlling the electric air compressor to start working; In response to the mechanical air dryer being in the unloading state, controlling the electric air compressor to stop working.

[0006] In the second aspect, a controller is provided, which is characterized by including a processor and a storage medium; The storage medium is used for storing instructions; The processor is used for operating according to the instructions to execute the steps according to the method.

[0007] In the third aspect, an electric air compressor start-stop control system is provided, including the controller described above, and further including: an electric air compressor, a mechanical air dryer, an air storage tank, a pressure switch, and an instrument air pressure sensor; The outlet of the electric air compressor is connected to the inlet of the mechanical air dryer, and the outlet of the mechanical air dryer is connected to the air storage tank; The mechanical air dryer is configured with an ESS feedback function, and the ESS feedback port is connected to the pressure switch for obtaining the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer through the pressure switch; the instrument air pressure sensor is used for detecting the air pressure value of the air storage tank; the electric air compressor, the pressure switch, and the instrument air pressure sensor are respectively connected to the controller in a signal connection.

[0008] In some embodiments, the pressure switch is of the normally open type. Further, the conduction pressure of the pressure switch is less than 1 Mpa.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first set value can be adjusted according to the actual working conditions.

[0010] In some embodiments, there are four air storage tanks.

[0011] In some embodiments, the start-stop control system of the electric air compressor works as follows: 1) The compressed air generated by the electric air compressor enters the air storage tank after being dried by the mechanical air dryer. When the pressure entering the mechanical air dryer is higher than the cut-off pressure, the diaphragm at the exhaust port of the mechanical air dryer opens for unloading. 2) When the mechanical air dryer unloads, the gas in the air storage tank will push open the reflux valve to backflush the molecular sieve in the drying cylinder of the mechanical air dryer, and the moisture in the molecular sieve will be taken out from the exhaust port to realize the backflush function of the molecular sieve; at the same time, the gas at the ESS feedback port will push open the diaphragm to conduct the pressure switch, and the pressure switch outputs a voltage signal to feedback to the controller, and the controller controls the electric air compressor to stop working. 3) When the reflux pressure drops to after the reflux valve is cut off, the mechanical air dryer stops exhausting and unloading and the pressure output at the ESS feedback port stops. 4) When the air pressure value of the air storage tank detected by the instrument air pressure sensor drops to the first set value, the controller controls the electric air compressor to start working.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, a vehicle is provided, which uses the method described in the first aspect for start-stop control of the electric air compressor, or includes the start-stop control system of the electric air compressor described in the third aspect.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. The entire control system uses the existing instrument air pressure signal of the whole vehicle without the need for additional pressure sensor signals, and uses a mechanical air dryer and an additional pressure switch, which greatly reduces the cost of start-stop control of the electric air compressor; 2. The mechanical air dryer and the pressure switch are both products with a very high level of technological maturity. Compared with the electric air dryer, the reliability is improved, and the integration level of the mechanical air dryer and the four-circuit is high, and the installation space is small; 3. The control system has a simple structure, and can easily adjust the air pressure value for controlling the start of the electric air compressor according to the actual working conditions, which can reduce the load rate of the air compressor and save the power consumption of the whole vehicle while ensuring the supply of the braking air source and ensuring the braking performance. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Figure 1It is a schematic diagram of the start-stop control system of the electric air compressor in the embodiment of the present invention; In the figure: 1. Electric air compressor; 2. Mechanical air dryer; 3. Air storage tank; 4. Controller; 5. Pressure switch; 6. Instrument air pressure sensor. Specific embodiments

[0015] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0016] The term "and / or" only describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0017] The unloading of the air compressor of traditional air-braked fuel vehicles generally adopts the method of non-unloading or air pressure-controlled unloading. The air intake of the air compressor enters the air inlet of the air dryer, and then the air dryer distributes the high-pressure gas to each air storage tank. When the gas pressure in the air dryer reaches the cut-off pressure of the air dryer, the high-pressure gas will push open the diaphragm at its exhaust port to exhaust gas and close the channel for supplying gas to the air storage tank, preventing excessive air pressure in the system from damaging the air-using components. At the same time, a part of the gas in the air storage tank will backflush the molecular sieve of the air dryer to restore the activity of the molecular sieve. The air compressor of the fuel vehicle is directly driven by the engine. In order to reduce the engine energy consumption and improve the service life of the air compressor, an ESS energy-saving pipeline is generally added to unload the air compressor, and the air dryer is used for pressure control at the same time, that is, the feedback port of the air dryer is increased. When the air dryer exhausts gas, the high-pressure gas inside it will push open the diaphragm of the feedback port to input high-pressure air to the control mechanism of the air compressor. At this time, the air compressor unloads. When the air pressure in the system drops to a certain pressure, the diaphragm of the feedback port closes, and the air compressor will resume operation.

[0018] For hydrogen fuel heavy trucks with pneumatic braking, an electric air compressor is used, and the start and stop of the air compressor are completely controlled by electrical signals. The electric air compressor compresses gas to supply air to the electric air dryer. When the gas pressure in the electric air dryer reaches the cut-off pressure of the air dryer, the high-pressure gas will push open the diaphragm at its exhaust port to exhaust gas and close the channel for supplying air to the air storage tank, preventing excessive air pressure in the system from damaging the air-using components. At the same time, a part of the gas in the air storage tank will backflush the molecular sieve of the air dryer to restore the activity of the molecular sieve. Different from fuel vehicles, a pressure sensor is built into the outlet of the electric air dryer. When the air pressure at the outlet is greater than the cut-off pressure, at this time, the electronic control module of the electric air dryer inputs a 0V electrical signal to the controller, so that the controller cuts off the energy supply of the electric air compressor and makes it stop. When the pressure at the outlet drops to the pressure set by the electric air dryer, the electric air dryer will input a 24V electrical signal to the controller, causing the electric air compressor to resume operation.

[0019] However, the method of controlling the start and stop of the air compressor by electrical signals adopted by hydrogen fuel heavy trucks with pneumatic braking has a relatively high dependence on the performance of the electric air dryer. At present, the cost of the electric air dryer is high but the technology is not mature enough. Its integration level is low, it requires a large installation space, and the reliability of the electronic control part is also low, with a relatively high failure rate.

[0020] Embodiment 1: As Figure 1 shown, this embodiment provides a start-stop control system for an electric air compressor, including a controller 4, an electric air compressor 1, a mechanical air dryer 2, an air storage tank 3, and further including a pressure switch 5 and an instrument air pressure sensor 6; The outlet of the electric air compressor 1 is connected to the inlet of the mechanical air dryer 2, and the outlet of the mechanical air dryer 2 is connected to the air storage tank 3; the mechanical air dryer 2 is configured with an ESS feedback function, and the ESS feedback port is connected to the pressure switch 5 for obtaining the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer through the pressure switch; the instrument air pressure sensor 6 is used to detect the air pressure value of the air storage tank 3; the electric air compressor 1, the pressure switch 5, and the instrument air pressure sensor 6 are respectively connected to the controller 4 in signal; The controller 4 is used for: Obtaining the air pressure value of the air storage tank; In response to the air pressure value of the air storage tank being less than the first set value, controlling the electric air compressor 1 to start working; In response to the mechanical air dryer being in the unloading state, controlling the electric air compressor 1 to stop working.

[0021] In this embodiment, the pressure switch is of the normally open type. Further, the conduction pressure of the pressure switch is less than 1 Mpa. When the pressure switch conducts, it will output an electrical signal and upload it to the controller 4.

[0022] In this embodiment, the pressure switch and the controller are connected by hard wires.

[0023] In this embodiment, the first set value can be adjusted according to the actual working conditions. For example: in the case of continuous downhill driving, its value is increased to ensure sufficient air supply, while in urban driving conditions, the value can be appropriately reduced to save energy consumption and increase the endurance.

[0024] In this embodiment, as Figure 1 shown, there are four air storage tanks 3.

[0025] The present invention applies the unloading control method of the air compressor of a conventional fuel vehicle to the start-stop control of an electric air compressor, changes the electric air dryer to a mechanical air dryer, adds a pressure switch 5 and an instrument air pressure sensor 6 to convert the air pressure signal of the brake circuit into an electric signal, and inputs it to the controller 4 to realize the start-stop control of the electric air compressor 1; More specifically, a start-stop control system for an air-braked electric air compressor of an air-braked hydrogen fuel heavy truck provided in this embodiment works as follows: 1) The compressed air generated by the electric air compressor is dried by the mechanical air dryer and then enters the air storage tank. When the pressure entering the mechanical air dryer is higher than the cut-off pressure, the exhaust port diaphragm of the mechanical air dryer opens for unloading; 2) When the mechanical air dryer unloads, the gas in the air storage tank will push open the reflux valve to backflush the molecular sieve in the drying cylinder of the mechanical air dryer, and the moisture in the molecular sieve will be taken out from the exhaust port, realizing the backflushing function of the molecular sieve; at the same time, the gas at the ESS feedback port will push open the diaphragm to conduct the pressure switch, and the pressure switch outputs a voltage signal and feeds it back to the controller, and the controller controls the electric air compressor to stop working, reducing the power consumption of the hydrogen fuel heavy truck; 3) When the reflux pressure drops below the cut-off of the reflux valve, the mechanical air dryer stops exhausting and unloading and the pressure output at the ESS feedback port; 4) As the high-pressure gas in the air storage tank 3 is consumed during operations such as braking during vehicle driving, when the air pressure value of the air storage tank detected by the instrument air pressure sensor drops to the first set value, the controller controls the electric air compressor to start working.

[0026] In this application, the following beneficial effects are achieved: 1. The entire control system uses the existing instrument air pressure signal of the whole vehicle without the need for additional pressure sensor signals, and uses a mechanical air dryer and an additional pressure switch, greatly reducing the cost of start-stop control of the electric air compressor; 2. The mechanical air dryer and the pressure switch are both products with a very high level of technology maturity. Compared with the electric air dryer, the reliability is improved, and the integration level of the mechanical air dryer with the four-way circuit is high, and the installation space is small; 3. The control system has a simple structure and can easily adjust the air pressure value for controlling the start of the electric air compressor according to the actual working conditions. While reducing the load rate of the air compressor and saving the vehicle's power consumption, it ensures the supply of the braking air source and guarantees the braking performance.

[0027] Embodiment 2: This embodiment provides a method for controlling the start and stop of an electric air compressor, which is executed by the controller 4 and includes: Obtain the air pressure value of the air storage tank 3; In response to the air pressure value of the air storage tank 3 being less than the first set value, control the electric air compressor 1 to start working; In response to the mechanical air dryer 2 being in the unloading state, control the electric air compressor 1 to stop working.

[0028] In this embodiment, the air pressure value of the air storage tank 3 is detected by the instrument air pressure sensor 6 and uploaded to the controller 4.

[0029] In this embodiment, the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer 2 is detected by the pressure switch 5 connected to the ESS feedback port of the mechanical air dryer 2 and uploaded to the controller 4.

[0030] In this embodiment, the start and stop of the electric air compressor 1 are both controlled by the control signals sent by the controller 4.

[0031] Embodiment 3: This embodiment provides a controller 4, including a processor and a storage medium; The storage medium is used to store instructions; The processor is used to operate according to the instructions to execute the method described in Embodiment 2.

[0032] Embodiment 4: This embodiment provides a vehicle that uses the method described in Embodiment 2 for controlling the start and stop of the electric air compressor, or is equipped with the electric air compressor start-stop control system described in Embodiment 1.

[0033] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0034] This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processors of general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, embedded processors, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processors of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks. Figure 1 in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks Figure 1 or more blocks.

[0035] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate a manufactured article including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks. Figure 1 in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks Figure 1 or more blocks.

[0036] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, and thus the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks. Figure 1 in one or more flows and / or one or more blocks Figure 1 or more blocks.

[0037] The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the technical principle of the present invention, several improvements and deformations can be made, and these improvements and deformations should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for starting and stopping an electric air compressor, characterized in that: include: Get the air pressure value of the air tank; In response to the air pressure value of the air reservoir being less than a first set value, controlling the electric air compressor to start working; In response to the mechanical air dryer being in the unloading state, the electric air compressor is controlled to stop working.

2. A controller, characterized in that: including processor and storage medium; The storage medium is used to store instructions; The processor is configured to operate according to the instructions to execute the steps of the method according to claim 1 .

3. An electric air compressor start-stop control system, comprising the controller according to claim 2.

4. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: Electric air compressor, mechanical air dryer, air reservoir, pressure switch and instrument air pressure sensor; The outlet of the electric air compressor is connected to the air inlet of the mechanical air dryer, and the air outlet of the mechanical air dryer is connected to the air storage cylinder; The mechanical air dryer is equipped with an ESS feedback function, and the ESS feedback port is connected to the pressure switch, which is used to obtain the unloading state of the mechanical air dryer through the pressure switch; the instrument air pressure sensor is used to detect the air pressure value of the air tank; the electric air compressor, the pressure switch, and the instrument air pressure sensor are respectively connected to the controller signal.

5. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The pressure switch is of normally open type.

6. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The conduction pressure of the pressure switch is less than 1Mpa.

7. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first set value can be adjusted according to actual working conditions.

8. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: There are four air storage cylinders.

9. The electric air compressor start-stop control system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The work process includes: 1) The compressed air generated by the electric air compressor is dried by the mechanical air dryer and then enters the air storage cylinder. When the pressure entering the mechanical air dryer is higher than the cut-off pressure, the diaphragm of the exhaust port of the mechanical air dryer opens to unload; 2) When the mechanical air dryer is unloaded, the gas in the air storage cylinder will push open the reflux valve, back-blow the molecular sieve in the drying cylinder of the mechanical air dryer, and take the moisture in the molecular sieve out from the exhaust port, thus realizing the back-blow function of the molecular sieve; at the same time, the gas at the feedback port of the ESS will push open the diaphragm, turn on the pressure switch, and the output voltage signal of the pressure switch will be fed back to the controller, and the controller will control the electric air compressor to stop working; 3) When the reflux pressure drops to the point where the reflux valve is cut off, the mechanical air dryer stops exhaust unloading and stops the pressure output of the ESS feedback port; 4) When the air pressure value of the air tank detected by the instrument air pressure sensor drops to a first set value, the controller controls the electric air compressor to start working.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: The method of claim 1 is used to control the start and stop of the electric air compressor, or the electric air compressor start and stop control system includes any one of claims 3 to 9.

Images