Domain control integrated motor controller, power assembly and electric vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a domain control integrated motor controller, a power assembly and an electric vehicle, the motor controller is used for controlling the operation of the electric vehicle according to signals from a plurality of sensors of the electric vehicle, and the motor controller comprises a shell, and an inverter circuit and a control circuit accommodated in the shell. Wherein the control circuit is used for receiving an accelerator pedal signal from an accelerator pedal sensor from an accelerator pedal sensor interface on the surface of the shell through an internal circuit and controlling the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the driving motor according to the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal signal; a brake pedal signal from a brake pedal sensor is received from a brake pedal sensor interface on the surface of the shell through an internal circuit, and four wheel end brake devices are controlled to brake four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal, so that the driving control time delay can be shortened; and cooperative control of driving and braking can be achieved, and the control performance of the electric vehicle can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of vehicles, and in particular, to a domain control integrated motor controller, a powertrain, and an electric vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the further development of the electrification of electric vehicles, consumers have further increased requirements for the ride comfort, handling stability, and occupant cabin space of the whole vehicle. Currently, the components of electric vehicles are basically independently controlled, and only the vehicle control unit (VCU) performs very few functions of cooperative control. The independent brake controller is responsible for longitudinal and lateral control. The vehicle controller is responsible for longitudinal drive control. When driving, each actuator is basically in an independent working state. Each controller needs to receive sensor signals separately and send control signals to each actuator. The signal delay has a great impact, and the control accuracy and coordination are not high. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present application provides a domain control integrated motor controller, a powertrain, and an electric vehicle. The signals of the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor are connected to the domain control integrated motor controller. The motor controller performs drive and brake control according to the sensor signals, which can not only shorten the control delay of driving, but also realize the cooperative control of driving and braking, and is beneficial to improving the handling performance of electric vehicles.

[0004] In a first aspect, a domain control integrated motor controller is provided. The motor controller is used to control the operation of an electric vehicle according to signals from a plurality of sensors of the electric vehicle. The motor controller includes a housing and an inverter circuit and a control circuit accommodated in the housing. The surface of the housing includes a DC input interface, an AC output interface, an accelerator pedal sensor interface, a brake pedal sensor interface, and a brake control interface. Among them, the DC input interface is used to connect to the power battery of the electric vehicle, the AC output interface is used to connect to the drive motor of the electric vehicle, the accelerator pedal sensor interface is used to connect to the accelerator pedal sensor of the electric vehicle, the brake pedal sensor interface is used to connect to the brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle, and the brake control interface is used to connect to the four-wheel end brake devices. The inverter circuit is used to receive the direct current output by the power battery through the DC input interface and output alternating current to the drive motor through the AC output interface. The control circuit is used to receive the accelerator pedal signal from the accelerator pedal sensor through the internal circuit from the accelerator pedal sensor interface and control the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor according to the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal signal. The control circuit is also used to receive the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor through the internal circuit from the brake pedal sensor interface and control the four-wheel end brake devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0005] It can be understood that the domain - controlled integrated motor controller in this application can be any motor controller in an electric vehicle without limitation.

[0006] The throttle pedal in this application is also referred to as the accelerator pedal or the gas pedal. The opening degree of the throttle pedal indicates the magnitude of the driving force required by the driver. When the opening degree of the throttle pedal is larger, the driver's demand for driving is greater, and the corresponding torque required to be output by the driving motor is also larger. The control circuit controls the driving motor to output the torque indicated by the opening degree of the throttle pedal. When the opening degree of the throttle pedal is larger, the torque output by the driving motor is larger; when the opening degree of the throttle pedal is smaller, the torque output by the driving motor is smaller. Specifically, the control circuit can control the torque output by the driving motor to change with the opening degree of the throttle pedal by adjusting the electrical parameters of the alternating current output by the inverter circuit.

[0007] The brake pedal in this application is also referred to as the brake or the brake pedal. The opening degree of the brake pedal indicates the magnitude of the braking force required by the driver. When the opening degree of the brake pedal is larger, the driver's demand for braking is greater, and the torque required to be output by the braking system is also larger. When the vehicle is driving normally, the domain - controlled integrated motor controller controls the wheel - end braking device to output the torque indicated by the opening degree of the brake pedal according to the opening degree of the brake pedal. When the opening degree of the brake pedal is larger, the braking force output by the wheel - end braking device is larger; when the opening degree of the brake pedal is smaller, the braking force output by the wheel - end braking device is smaller. The braking force output by the wheel - end braking device changes with the opening degree of the brake pedal. The electric vehicle includes multiple wheel - end braking devices, and each wheel corresponds to at least one wheel - end braking device. The wheel - end braking device is used to output a braking force to the corresponding wheel to brake the electric vehicle.

[0008] The domain - controlled integrated motor controller is connected to the throttle pedal sensor through the throttle pedal sensor interface on the surface of the housing, and is connected to the brake pedal sensor through the brake pedal sensor interface. Specifically, the control circuit in the domain - controlled integrated motor controller can receive the throttle pedal signal from the throttle pedal sensor transmitted through the internal circuit through the throttle pedal sensor interface, and can also receive the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor transmitted through the internal circuit through the brake pedal sensor interface. The throttle pedal signal from the throttle pedal sensor is used to indicate the opening degree of the throttle pedal, and the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor is used to indicate the opening degree of the brake pedal.

[0009] The domain - controlled integrated motor controller is connected to the four wheel - end braking devices of the electric vehicle through the brake control interface on the surface of the housing, so that the control circuit in the domain - controlled integrated motor controller can send control signals to some or all of the four wheel - end braking devices through the brake control interface, thereby controlling the wheel - end control device to output a braking force.

[0010] The housing surface of the domain control integrated motor controller may further include a drive control interface for connecting to other motor controllers of the electric vehicle. The control circuit is further configured to output a torque signal to other motor controllers through the drive control interface, so that the other motor controllers control the other drive motors of the electric vehicle to output the torque indicated by the torque signal.

[0011] During the driving process of the electric vehicle, the control circuit in the motor controller can determine the wheel speed through the resolver of the drive motor and then observe the road surface adhesion based on the wheel speed, so that the motor controller does not need to wait for the torque adjustment instruction of the vehicle controller when the electric vehicle passes through a wet, icy or bumpy road surface. Instead, it can adjust the electrical parameters of the alternating current output to the drive motor based on the observation results in a timely manner to adjust the torque output of the drive motor, improving the safety and stability of vehicle driving. Among them, since the resolver can accurately detect the position, direction and speed of the motor rotor and is directly communicatively connected to the motor controller with a short communication link, the vehicle wheel speed measured by the resolver can improve the measurement accuracy, reliability and real-time performance, and can ensure excellent driving performance.

[0012] Furthermore, the domain control integrated motor controller in the present application is connected to the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor, and integrates the control of the drive system and the brake system of the electric vehicle as a computing center. Therefore, in driving scenarios where the electric vehicle requires the cooperation of the drive system and the brake system, such as intelligent driving, drifting, and driving on bumpy roads, the motor controller can jointly control the drive motor and the wheel-end braking device, and coordinately adjust the torque output by the drive motor and the braking force of the wheel-end braking device, making the force on the tires of the electric vehicle during driving closer to the friction circle limit, expanding the boundary of the available friction force range, and improving the handling performance.

[0013] It can be understood that in an architecture where a drive system and a brake system are respectively controlled by multiple controllers, such as a vehicle controller and a controller in the brake system (e.g., a central controller in an electro-mechanical brake (EMB)), after different controllers obtain sensor signals, they need to calculate separately and send control signals to actuators respectively. Due to the differences in the processing time of each independent controller and the signal transmission time, there may be errors in the coordination between multiple actuators, resulting in low control accuracy of the electric vehicle. Moreover, each actuator independently interacts with other domain controls, with too many communication nodes, complex redundant design, and different controllers may repeatedly read and use the same sensor signal and separately perform vehicle state calculation and estimation within their respective controllers, which will increase the computational load and waste existing hardware resources. In contrast, integrating the control of the drive system and the brake system in a motor controller integrated by domain control can, on the one hand, omit the vehicle controller's reading, calculation, and transmission of control signals to the motor controller for sensor signals, enabling the motor controller to independently complete the control of the drive system. On the other hand, the motor controller can replace the central controller to control the brake system, thereby reducing communication nodes. Additionally, the motor controller integrated by domain control can also combine multiple sensor signals for coordinated control of the drive system and the brake system, which is conducive to reducing the coordination error between multiple actuators caused by the difference in control signal transmission time, and thus improving the control accuracy of the electric vehicle.

[0014] According to the solution of the present application, the signals of the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor are connected to the motor controller integrated by domain control, and the motor controller controls driving and braking according to the sensor signals, which can not only shorten the control delay of driving, but also achieve coordinated control of driving and braking, and is conducive to improving the control accuracy of the electric vehicle.

[0015] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the brake control interface is used to connect the four wheel-end braking devices through at least two internal local area network buses. The motor controller 40 integrated by domain control is connected to each wheel-end braking device through at least two groups of internal local area network buses, and can be increased to three or four internal local area network buses according to the actual communication load rate. In other implementation manners, other high-speed communication methods can also be used for connection.

[0016] According to the solution of the present application, when one internal local area network bus fails, another internal local area network bus can be used to maintain the connection between the motor controller 40 and the four wheel-end braking devices, and maintain the control of the motor controller over the brake system.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the throttle pedal sensor interface is used to receive at least two throttle pedal signals from the throttle pedal sensor, and the brake pedal sensor interface is used to receive at least two brake pedal signals from the brake pedal sensor. It can be understood that the throttle pedal sensor usually outputs two sensor signals, and the motor controller can receive the two output throttle pedal signals. The brake pedal sensor also outputs two sensor signals, and the motor controller can receive the two output brake pedal signals.

[0018] It can be understood that the signals output by the sensors in this application, such as throttle pedal signals and brake pedal signals, are single edge nibble transmission (SENT) signals, or analog voltage signals, or analog current signals, etc.

[0019] According to the solution of this application, multiple sensors are provided on the throttle pedal and the brake pedal to output sensor signals, realizing hardware redundancy and effectively improving the reliability and safety of electric vehicle control.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the surface of the housing further includes a height sensor interface and a suspension control interface. The height sensor interface is used to connect the height sensor of the electric vehicle, and the suspension control interface is used to connect the suspension system of the electric vehicle. The control circuit is further used to control the suspension system to adjust the suspension damping according to the vehicle body height indicated by the height sensor.

[0021] The suspension system is used to connect the body of the electric vehicle to the wheels and provides support, buffering and stability during the driving of the electric vehicle. The suspension system includes shock absorbers. Each wheel is individually connected to the body of the electric vehicle through a shock absorber. For a suspension system with damping-adjustable shock absorbers, the controller sends a target damping coefficient or a target damping level to the suspension system to adjust the damping of each shock absorber. The suspension system includes an air suspension or a fully active suspension. The controller sends a target wheel suspension height to the suspension system to adjust the suspension height at the wheels of the electric vehicle.

[0022] According to the solution of this application, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller is also connected to the signal of the height sensor, and the integration degree of the motor controller is higher. Moreover, the motor controller can also realize the joint control of driving, braking and suspension based on the signal of the height sensor, further improving the handling performance of the electric vehicle.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the surface of the housing further includes a steering control interface, and the steering control interface is used to connect the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle. The control circuit is further used to control the rear-wheel steering system to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle through the steering control interface.

[0024] The rear-wheel steering system of an electric vehicle can control the rear-wheel steering. The rear-wheel steering system can change the rotation angles and orientations of the two rear wheels, so that the electric vehicle can effectively adjust its steering and handling characteristics through different steering methods. When the vehicle speed is low, when the steering direction of the rear wheels is opposite to that of the front wheels, the turning radius can be reduced, improving the overall handling and flexibility of the vehicle. When the vehicle speed is high, when the steering direction of the rear wheels is the same as that of the front wheels, the yaw moment generated by the steering operation can be effectively reduced, enhancing the driving stability of the vehicle.

[0025] In this application, the control circuit of the domain-control integrated motor controller can control the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle through the steering control interface. Integrating the control of rear-wheel steering and coordinating with the control of driving, braking and suspension can more effectively improve the handling performance and comfort of the electric vehicle.

[0026] According to the solution of this application, the signals of multiple sensors are connected to the domain-control integrated motor controller, and the motor controller controls driving, braking, suspension and steering according to the signals, with high integration and fast real-time response, improving the handling performance and comfort of the electric vehicle.

[0027] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the surface of the housing further includes a parking switch interface and a parking control interface. The parking switch interface is used to connect to the electronic parking brake system switch of the electric vehicle, and the parking control interface is used to connect to the electronic parking brake system switch of the electric vehicle. The control circuit controls the electronic parking brake system of the electric vehicle to output parking braking force through the parking control interface.

[0028] In this application, the surface of the housing of the domain-control integrated controller includes a parking switch interface, and the control circuit is connected to the electronic parking brake system switch of the electric vehicle through the parking switch interface. The electronic parking brake system switch is used to control the electronic parking system of the electric vehicle, and the driver can perform parking braking through the electronic parking brake system switch. The surface of the housing of the domain-control integrated controller further includes a parking control interface, and the control circuit is used to control the electronic parking brake system through the parking control interface. When the electronic parking brake system switch indicates that the electric vehicle needs to park, the control circuit controls the electronic parking brake system to output parking braking force.

[0029] According to the solution of this application, the electronic parking brake system switch is connected to the domain-control integrated motor controller, and the motor controller can control parking, improving the integration degree of the motor controller.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the motor controller further includes a backup control circuit accommodated in the housing. The backup control circuit is configured to take over from the control circuit to execute at least one of controlling the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor, controlling the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle, controlling the suspension system of the electric vehicle to adjust the suspension damping, or controlling the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle when the control circuit fails.

[0031] That is to say, a control circuit as the main control and a backup control circuit as the backup control can be provided in the domain control integrated motor controller. When the control circuit is effective, the control circuit can control the drive system, braking system, rear-wheel steering system, and suspension system of the electric vehicle according to the accessed sensor signals. When the control circuit fails, the backup control circuit can take over the control circuit to send control instructions to the lower-level actuators. Among them, the specific manner of calculation and control by the backup control circuit can refer to the relevant content of the control circuit, which will not be elaborated here.

[0032] In these embodiments, the backup control circuit is at least connected to the brake pedal sensor, so as to be able to control the normal operation of the braking system in the case of a control circuit failure and ensure the safety of the electric vehicle. Further, according to the actual chip resources and cost, the backup control circuit can also be connected to one or more of the accelerator pedal sensor, body acceleration sensor, height sensor, and wheel speed sensor, so as to control the drive motor, suspension system, and rear-wheel steering system in the electric vehicle, etc. It is easy to understand that when sufficient chip resources are allocated to the backup control circuit, the backup control circuit can achieve full redundancy of the control circuit, and the safety of the electric vehicle is higher.

[0033] According to the solution of the present application, the backup control circuit can be used as the hardware redundancy of the control circuit, take over the control in the case of a control circuit failure, and send control instructions to the actuator, which is beneficial to further improving the safety of the vehicle.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the backup control circuit is further configured to connect to the brake pedal sensor interface through an internal circuit, so as to receive at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle through the brake pedal sensor interface.

[0035] It can be understood that the backup control circuit can receive at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor through the brake pedal sensor interface, or a separate interface can be provided on the surface of the housing and at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor can be received through the separate interface.

[0036] According to the solution of the present application, the electric vehicle includes two brake pedal sensors that are backups for each other. On the one hand, the two brake pedal sensors can more accurately detect the movement state of the brake pedal. On the other hand, if one of the brake pedal sensors fails, the other brake pedal sensor can still independently detect the movement state of the brake pedal and transmit it to the control circuit in the motor controller, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the braking system and the safety of the electric vehicle.

[0037] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the control circuit is further configured to connect to the standby control circuit through at least two internal lines, so as to interact with the control circuit through the at least two internal lines for signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle.

[0038] Among them, the signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle that are interacted between the control circuit and the standby control circuit include some or all of the signals from the throttle pedal sensor, the brake pedal sensor, the body acceleration sensor, the height sensor, and the wheel speed sensor.

[0039] It can be understood that the standby control circuit may not be connected to the sensors either, but receive the signals from each sensor of the electric vehicle through the control circuit. Specifically, after receiving the sensor signals, the control circuit can transmit them to the standby control circuit, so that the standby control circuit can obtain one or more sensor signals. In this way, the standby control circuit does not need to be connected to the multiple sensor interfaces on the surface of the housing through additional lines, which is beneficial to reducing the structural complexity.

[0040] It can be understood that the present application embodiment does not limit the specific manner of signal interaction between the control circuit and the standby control circuit. The control circuit and the standby control circuit can be integrated on the same printed circuit board (PCB). At this time, the control circuit can interact with the standby control circuit through metal wires, vias, optical transmission, etc. on the PCB. For another example, the control circuit and the standby control circuit can be arranged on different PCBs. At this time, the control circuit and the standby control circuit can interact through a cable connecting the two PCBs, or through a wireless communication module on the PCB board.

[0041] According to the solution of the present application, the control circuit and the standby control circuit can interact the received sensor signals of the vehicle through the internal lines, so that the sensor signals received by the control circuit and the standby control circuit are backups for each other, thereby improving the reliability and accuracy of the control by the motor controller.

[0042] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, in response to the control circuit being effective and the brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit is configured to control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal sensor. In response to the control circuit being effective, the brake pedal sensor failing, and another brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit is configured to receive the brake pedal signal from the backup control circuit and control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0043] According to the solution of the present application, when the brake pedal sensor fails, since the control circuit can receive the brake pedal signal from another brake pedal sensor through the backup control circuit, the control circuit can still control the four wheel-end braking devices to output the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening based on the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0044] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, in response to both the brake pedal sensor and the another brake pedal sensor failing and the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal sensor decreasing, the control circuit controls the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels, where the braking force increases as the accelerator pedal opening decreases.

[0045] It can be understood that after both the brake pedal sensor and the another brake pedal sensor fail, if the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal sensor decreases, it can be regarded that the driver starts to release the accelerator pedal. At this time, the motor controller can control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force, so as to assist the electric vehicle to gradually decelerate until it stops. That is to say, even if the brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle fails, the driver can control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle by operating the accelerator pedal.

[0046] According to the solution of the present application, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller can still control the four wheel-end devices to output braking force based on the degree of decrease in the accelerator pedal opening in the scenario where all the brake pedal sensors configured in the electric vehicle fail, avoiding the risk of braking failure caused by the failure of the brake pedal sensor and improving the safety and reliability of the electric vehicle.

[0047] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations, in response to the brake pedal opening being greater than zero and less than the preset opening, the control circuit controls the drive motor to stop outputting torque and controls the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels according to the brake pedal. In response to the brake pedal opening being greater than the preset opening, the control circuit controls the drive motor to output reverse torque according to the brake pedal opening and controls the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels, where the torque direction of the reverse torque is opposite to the rotation direction of the wheel.

[0048] Among them, the preset opening can be understood as a relatively small brake pedal opening. When the brake pedal opening is less than the preset opening, it can be understood that the driver's braking demand for the electric vehicle is relatively small. Therefore, when the opening of the brake pedal depressed by the driver is less than the preset opening, the control circuit of the motor controller can control the drive motor to stop outputting torque and output corresponding braking force according to the brake pedal opening, so as to achieve rapid braking of the electric vehicle.

[0049] Among them, when the brake pedal opening is greater than the preset opening, it can be understood that the driver's braking demand for the electric vehicle is relatively large. Therefore, when the opening of the brake pedal depressed by the driver is greater than the preset opening, the control circuit of the motor controller can, while controlling the four-wheel-end braking devices to output braking force, control the drive motor to output reverse torque to assist the braking system to brake the wheels of the electric vehicle. Under the combined action of the reverse torque output by the drive motor and the braking torque output by the corresponding wheel-end braking device, the wheels can quickly reach the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening. It is easy to understand that the control circuit can flexibly configure the magnitude of the reverse torque output by the drive motor and the proportion of the braking torque output by the wheel-end braking device in the total torque corresponding to the brake pedal opening, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] According to the solution of the present application, the domain control integrated motor controller can enable the electric vehicle to quickly output the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening through the coordinated control of the drive system and the braking system, which is beneficial to improving the safety and handling performance of the electric vehicle.

[0051] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the motor controller further includes a motor control circuit accommodated in the housing. Among them, the control circuit is specifically configured to send a drive control signal to the motor control circuit according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor, and the drive control signal is used to indicate the magnitude and frequency of the alternating current. The motor control circuit is configured to control the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor according to the drive control signal.

[0052] That is to say, the domain control integrated motor controller provided in the embodiments of the present application may include an independent control circuit and a motor control circuit. The control circuit is used to receive sensor signals in the electric vehicle and serve as a calculation center for driving, braking, suspension, etc. control. The motor control circuit is used to receive the drive control signal output by the control circuit as an execution unit and realize torque control of the drive motor by controlling the inverter circuit.

[0053] It can be understood that a separate motor control circuit may not be provided in the motor controller, that is, the motor control circuit may be integrated in the control circuit, so that the control circuit can also serve as an execution unit to directly realize torque control of the drive motor by controlling the inverter circuit while serving as a calculation center.

[0054] According to the embodiments of the present application, separating the control circuit as the computing center and the motor control circuit as the drive control execution unit in the domain control integrated motor controller is beneficial to reducing the structural complexity of the control circuit.

[0055] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners, the motor controller further includes another inverter circuit. The another inverter circuit is configured to receive power supply from the power battery through a DC input interface and output alternating current to another drive motor of the electric vehicle through an AC output interface. The drive motor and the another drive motor are used to drive two coaxial wheels of the electric vehicle. Wherein, the control circuit is further configured to control the another inverter circuit to output alternating current to the another drive motor according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor.

[0056] It can be understood that for a drive system architecture with a distributed powertrain, the domain control integrated motor controller can be a dual-motor controller. The control circuit can drive two drive motors of the electric vehicle through two internal inverter circuits respectively to drive two front wheels or two rear wheels of the electric vehicle to rotate. Specifically, the control circuit can respectively calculate the torques required to be output by the two drive motors based on the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensing, so as to respectively control the two inverter circuits to output alternating current to the two drive motors respectively. Wherein, the electrical parameters of the alternating current output by the inverter circuit to the drive motor and the electrical parameters of the alternating current output by the another inverter circuit to the another drive motor can be the same or different, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0057] According to the solution of the present application, the domain control integrated motor controller can respectively control two drive motors of the electric vehicle through different inverter circuits, that is, the domain control integrated motor controller can be applied to a distributed powertrain, and has stronger practicability.

[0058] In a second aspect, a powertrain is provided. The powertrain includes a drive motor and the motor controller in any implementation manner of the first aspect. The motor controller is configured to receive power supply from the power battery and supply power to the drive motor to drive the drive motor.

[0059] In a third aspect, an electric vehicle is provided. The electric vehicle includes wheels, four wheel-end braking devices, and the powertrain in the second aspect. The powertrain is configured to drive the wheels to rotate and control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the wheels.

[0060] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners, one of the four wheel-end braking devices is further configured to connect to another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle. In response to the failure of the motor controller in the powertrain, one wheel-end braking device is further configured to control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the other brake pedal sensor.

[0061] That is to say, the motor controller in the powertrain can serve as the main controller of the braking system, and the above-mentioned one wheel-end braking device serves as the redundancy of the main controller. When the motor controller serving as the main controller is normal, the motor controller serving as the main controller is responsible for controlling the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force based on the brake pedal signal output by one brake pedal sensor or the other brake pedal sensor. When the motor controller serving as the main controller fails, the one wheel-end braking device serving as the backup can continue to control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force based on the brake pedal signal output by the other brake pedal sensor, thus avoiding the failure of the entire braking system caused by the failure, which is beneficial to improving the safety and reliability of the braking system.

[0062] For the beneficial effects in other aspects, reference can be made to the beneficial effects described in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here. Description of the Drawings

[0063] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the electric vehicle provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the electric vehicle provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 4 is a connection schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 5 is another schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 6 is yet another schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 7 is still another schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0070] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described in conjunction with the drawings.

[0071] References to "some embodiments" described in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, statements such as "in some embodiments" that appear in different places in this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising", "including", "having" and their variants all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0072] With the further development of electric vehicle electrification, consumers have higher requirements for the overall vehicle ride comfort, handling and stability performance, and occupant compartment space. Currently, the components of electric vehicles are basically independently controlled, and only the vehicle control unit (VCU) performs very few functions of cooperative control. The independent brake controller is responsible for longitudinal and lateral control. The vehicle controller is responsible for longitudinal drive control. When driving, each actuator is basically in an independent working state, and each controller needs to receive sensor signals separately and send control signals to each actuator, resulting in a large impact on signal delay and low control accuracy and coordination.

[0073] Based on the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a domain control integrated motor controller, powertrain and electric vehicle. By connecting the signals of multiple sensors to the motor controller, the motor controller controls driving and braking according to the signals, with high integration and fast response speed, which can effectively improve the control accuracy and vehicle handling performance.

[0074] Figure 1 and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the electric vehicle 10 provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0075] As Figure 1 shown, the electric vehicle 10 includes a drive system 20, a brake system 60, a suspension system 70, a power battery (not shown in the figure), and multiple wheels. Among them, the drive system 20 includes a drive motor 30 and a motor controller 40. The motor controller 40 is used to output current to the drive motor 30 to control the drive motor 30 to output torque to drive the electric vehicle 10. In addition, the motor controller 40 is also used to control the brake system 60 to output braking force, control the suspension system 70 to adjust the suspension damping, and control the steering system to adjust the wheel steering angle of the electric vehicle 10. The specific implementation manner will be described in detail below and will not be elaborated here.

[0076] The electric vehicle 10 provided by the embodiments of the present application includes, but is not limited to, pure electric vehicles (pure electric vehicle / battery electric vehicle, pure EV / battery EV), hybrid electric vehicles (hybrid electric vehicle, HEV), range extended electric vehicles (range extended electric vehicle, REEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, PHEV), new energy vehicles (new energy vehicle, NEV), etc.

[0077] Moreover, the electric vehicle 10 has a drive architecture with a single drive motor, or a drive architecture with two drive motors, or a drive architecture with three drive motors, or a drive architecture with four drive motors. The electric vehicle 10 can be a distributed four-drive motor drive architecture, where the drive motors are arranged beside the driven wheels and are controlled by separate motor controllers 40. The electric vehicle 10 can also be a centralized drive motor drive architecture, where the drive motors for driving two front wheels or two rear wheels are arranged together. The motor controller 40 can be one or more. The motor controller 40 and the drive motors can be in a one-to-one correspondence, or one motor controller 40 can also correspond to multiple drive motors. The motor controller 40 is used to control one or more drive motors to output torque to drive the electric vehicle 10.

[0078] In one embodiment, as Figure 2 shown in (a) of, the electric vehicle 10 can be a distributed four-drive motor drive architecture, where the drive motors are arranged beside the driven wheels and are controlled by separate motor controllers. The electric vehicle 10 can also be a centralized four-motor drive architecture as shown in Figure 2 (b) of, where the two drive motors for driving two front wheels or two rear wheels are arranged together.

[0079] Exemplarily, the electric vehicle 10 includes four motor controllers, which are the motor controller 401, the motor controller 402, the motor controller 403, and the motor controller 404. The four drive motors include the drive motor 31, the drive motor 32, the drive motor 33, and the drive motor 34. The motor controller 401 controls the drive motor 31 to drive the wheel 51, the motor controller 402 controls the drive motor 32 to drive the wheel 52, the motor controller 403 controls the drive motor 33 to drive the wheel 53, and the motor controller 404 controls the drive motor 34 to drive the wheel 54.

[0080] In one embodiment, the electric vehicle 10 can also be as Figure 2For the architecture of the centralized drive motor shown in (c), one drive motor is used to drive the two front wheels of the electric vehicle 10, and two drive motors are used to drive the two rear wheels of the electric vehicle 10 respectively.

[0081] In one embodiment, it is also possible to combine multiple architectures mentioned above. For example, the front drive adopts a distributed drive motor architecture, and the rear drive adopts a centralized drive motor architecture.

[0082] The electric vehicle 10 further includes an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. The accelerator pedal is used to indicate the output of torque to the wheels of the electric vehicle 10. The brake pedal is used to indicate the output of braking force to the wheels of the electric vehicle 10.

[0083] In one embodiment, during the driver's driving process, when the electric vehicle 10 needs to be driven, the driver steps on the accelerator pedal, and the drive system 20 outputs torque according to the opening of the accelerator pedal, thereby driving the wheels of the electric vehicle 10.

[0084] In one embodiment, the braking system 60 includes four wheel-end braking devices, including wheel-end braking device 61, wheel-end braking device 62, wheel-end braking device 63, and wheel-end braking device 64. During the driver's driving process, when the electric vehicle 10 needs to be braked, the driver steps on the brake pedal, and the braking system 60 outputs a clamping force to the brake disc according to the opening of the brake pedal, thereby generating frictional braking force to brake the electric vehicle 10.

[0085] In one embodiment, the electric vehicle 10 further includes a rear-wheel steering system, which is used to control the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle 10. The rear-wheel steering system can change the rotation angles and orientations of the two rear wheels, thereby effectively adjusting the steering and handling characteristics of the vehicle through different steering methods. When the vehicle speed is low, when the steering direction of the rear wheels is opposite to that of the front wheels, the turning radius can be reduced, and the overall handling and flexibility of the vehicle can be improved. When the vehicle speed is high, when the steering direction of the rear wheels is the same as that of the front wheels, the yaw moment generated by the steering operation can be effectively reduced, and the driving stability of the vehicle can be enhanced. The rear-wheel steering system gives the vehicle a higher control margin, can improve the handling and flexibility of the vehicle at low speeds, and at the same time enhance the stability during high-speed driving and reduce the risk of vehicle out of control.

[0086] In one embodiment, the suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle 10 includes variable damping shock absorbers. The variable damping shock absorber is a shock absorber that can adjust the damping force by an electronic control method according to the driving conditions of the vehicle. For example, the damping force can be adjusted by changing the flow resistance of the fluid inside the shock absorber, thereby realizing the change of the response characteristics of the suspension system.

[0087] In one embodiment, the suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle 10 includes an air spring. The suspension system 70 can adjust the body height by inflating and deflating, providing a comfortable riding experience and good handling performance.

[0088] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0089] As Figure 3 shown, the motor controller 40 includes a housing 41, and a control circuit 42 and an inverter circuit 43 accommodated in the housing. Among them, the surface of the housing 41 includes a DC input interface 411 (not shown in the figure), an AC output interface 412 (not shown in the figure), a plurality of sensor interfaces 413 and a plurality of control interfaces 414. The DC input interface 411 is used to connect to the power battery, the AC output interface 412 is used to connect to the drive motor 30, the plurality of sensor interfaces 413 are respectively used to connect to the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor, and the plurality of control interfaces 414 are used to connect to the four-wheel end braking devices respectively. The inverter circuit 43 is used to receive the direct current output by the power battery through the DC input interface 411 and output the alternating current to the drive motor 30 through the AC output interface 412.

[0090] In the embodiment of the present application, the control circuit 42 is used to control the drive system 20 and the braking system 60 of the electric vehicle 10 according to the sensor signals from the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor.

[0091] In some embodiments, the plurality of sensor interfaces 413 are further used to connect to the height sensor, and the control circuit 42 is further used to control the suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle 10 according to the sensor signal from the height sensor.

[0092] It can be understood that the connecting lines in the above figures are only for illustration. Each connecting line may correspond to multiple actual cables, and multiple connecting lines may also correspond to a combined actual cable.

[0093] Continue to refer to Figure 3, in some embodiments, the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes an on-vehicle charger control circuit and an on-vehicle charger power circuit accommodated in the housing. The surface of the housing 41 further includes an AC input interface 415 and a DC output interface 416. The AC input interface 415 is used to connect to an external power source, and the DC output interface 416 is used to connect to low-voltage loads in the electric vehicle 10, including at least one of a low-voltage battery, a lighting lamp, a windshield wiper, an air conditioner, a stereo, a USB interface, an instrument panel, and a control display screen, etc., and the low-voltage battery can also supply power to the above-mentioned other low-voltage loads. Among them, the on-vehicle charger power circuit is used to receive power supply from an external power source through the AC input interface 415 and charge the power battery through the DC input interface 411, or supply power to the low-voltage loads in the electric vehicle 10 through the DC output interface 416. In one embodiment, the external power source can be an AC power grid, an AC charging pile, or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). At this time, the external power source is an AC power source. The on-vehicle charger power circuit is used to be electrically connected to the external power source and receive alternating current. The on-vehicle charger power circuit converts the received alternating current into direct current and transports it to the power battery through the DC input interface 411 to supply power to the power battery, or transports the direct current to the low-voltage load through the DC output interface 416 to supply power to the low-voltage load. In another embodiment, the on-vehicle charger power circuit provided in the present application performs voltage amplitude or frequency conversion on the received alternating current and outputs another form of alternating current to supply power to other electrical components that need to work under alternating current. The on-vehicle charger controller circuit is used to control the on and off of the switching tubes in the on-vehicle charger power circuit.

[0094] It can be understood that the housing 41 of the motor controller 40 can be formed with a receiving groove, which is used to enclose with a cover plate to accommodate the control circuit 42, the inverter circuit 43, and the electrical components of the on-vehicle charger control circuit and the on-vehicle charger power circuit.

[0095] In some embodiments, the DC input interface 411 and the AC output interface 412 can be respectively arranged on two opposite side walls of the receiving groove, which can shorten the power transmission distance for the inverter circuit to receive power supply from the power battery and supply power to the drive motor, and is beneficial to reducing transmission loss.

[0096] In some embodiments, the DC input interface 411 and the AC input interface 415 can be arranged on the same side wall of the receiving groove. Since the DC input interface 411 and the AC input interface 415 are respectively used to transmit high-voltage direct current and high-voltage alternating current, a larger distance between the DC input interface 411 and the AC input interface 415 can reduce the interference between high-voltages.

[0097] In some embodiments, the AC output interface 412 and the AC input interface 415 can be respectively disposed on two opposite sidewalls of the receiving slot, which can better plan and optimize the layout inside the receiving slot. Moreover, by separately arranging different AC interfaces, the risk of power cord crossing or interfering with other connections can be reduced, which is beneficial to improving the electrical safety of the device and reducing the possibility of electromagnetic interference.

[0098] In some embodiments, the AC output interface 412 and the DC output interface 416 can be disposed on the same sidewall of the receiving slot. Since the AC output interface 412 is close to the drive motor 30, reducing the distance between the AC output interface 412 and the DC output interface 416 is beneficial for the DC output interface 416 to supply low-voltage direct current to components such as the resolver of the drive motor 30.

[0099] In some embodiments, compared with the DC input interface 411 and the AC output interface 412, the AC input interface 415 and the DC output interface 416 can be set on two opposite slot walls with a larger distance therebetween. Thus, the receiving slot can have more internal space to accommodate various arm circuits and power supply circuits. In addition, the reliability, safety, and usability of the motor controller 40 can be improved, and the possibility of misoperation can be reduced, thereby simplifying the maintenance and repair work.

[0100] In some embodiments, multiple sensor interfaces 413 can be disposed on a sidewall of the receiving slot different from the sidewall where the DC input interface 411 and the AC output interface 412 are located. Exemplarily, multiple sensor interfaces 413 can be disposed at the bottom of the receiving slot, so that the control circuit 42 can be connected to the throttle pedal sensor, the brake pedal sensor, etc. of the electric vehicle 10 through the multiple sensor interfaces. Exemplarily, multiple sensor interfaces 413 can be disposed on the sidewall far from the AC input interface 415. In this way, the distance between the sensor interfaces 413 and the in-vehicle charger power circuit can be relatively far, which is beneficial to reducing the influence of electromagnetic interference generated when the in-vehicle charger power circuit works on the sensor signals transmitted by the multiple sensor interfaces.

[0101] In some embodiments, multiple sensor interfaces 413 and multiple control interfaces 414 can be disposed on the same sidewall of the receiving slot, so that the internal local area network bus for transmitting signals can be connected to the same side of the motor controller 40, and the installation and maintenance difficulty are low. Further, reducing the distance between the multiple sensor interfaces 413 and the multiple control interfaces 414 is beneficial to reducing the signal interference between the sensor signals and the control signals.

[0102] In some embodiments, a plurality of sensor interfaces 413 and a plurality of control interfaces 414 may be disposed on two adjacent sidewalls of the receiving groove, which can better plan and optimize the layout of different communication ports of the control circuit (or the pins of the main control chip in the control circuit), and separately arrange the sensor interfaces and the control interfaces, which is beneficial to reducing the interference between the sensor signals and the control signals.

[0103] Figure 4 The connection schematic diagram of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0104] As Figure 4 shown, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 is configured to receive the throttle pedal signal from the throttle pedal sensor through the internal line, and receive the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor through the internal line. The control circuit 42 is configured to control the inverter circuit 43 to output alternating current to the drive motor 30 according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal signal, and control the four wheel end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0105] The domain control integrated motor controller 40 is connected to the throttle pedal sensor through the throttle pedal sensor interface on the surface of the housing 41, and is connected to the brake pedal sensor through the brake pedal sensor interface. Specifically, the control circuit 42 in the domain control integrated motor controller 40 can receive the throttle pedal signal from the throttle pedal sensor transmitted through the internal line through the throttle pedal sensor interface, and can also receive the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor transmitted through the internal line through the brake pedal sensor interface. The throttle pedal signal from the throttle pedal sensor is used to indicate the opening of the throttle pedal, and the brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor is used to indicate the opening of the brake pedal.

[0106] Among them, the opening of the throttle pedal indicates the magnitude of the driving force required by the driver. When the opening of the throttle pedal is larger, the driver's demand for driving is greater, and the corresponding torque required to be output by the drive motor 30 is also greater. The motor controller 40 can directly control the drive motor 30 to output the torque indicated by the throttle pedal opening without torque distribution through the vehicle controller. Generally, when the opening of the throttle pedal is larger, the torque required to be output by the drive motor 30 is greater, and when the opening of the throttle pedal is smaller, the torque required to be output by the drive motor 30 is smaller. The torque output by the motor controller 40 to control the drive motor 30 changes with the change of the throttle pedal opening.

[0107] Among them, the opening degree of the brake pedal indicates the magnitude of the braking force demanded by the driver. The greater the opening degree of the brake pedal, the greater the driver's demand for braking, and the greater the braking force that the braking system 60 needs to output. When the vehicle is driving normally, the motor controller 40 controls the wheel-end braking device to output the braking force indicated by the opening degree of the brake pedal according to the opening degree of the brake pedal. The greater the opening degree of the brake pedal, the greater the braking force that the wheel-end braking device needs to output, and the smaller the opening degree of the brake pedal, the smaller the braking force that the wheel-end braking device needs to output. The braking force output by the wheel-end braking device changes with the change of the opening degree of the brake pedal. The electric vehicle 10 includes four wheel-end braking devices, and each wheel corresponds to at least one wheel-end braking device. The wheel-end braking device is used to output a braking force to the corresponding wheel to brake the electric vehicle 10.

[0108] In the embodiment of the present application, the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller is connected to the four wheel-end braking devices of the electric vehicle 10 through the braking control interface on the surface of the housing 41, so that the control circuit 42 in the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller can send braking control signals to some or all of the four wheel-end braking devices through the braking control interface, thereby controlling the wheel-end control device to output a braking force. Among them, the braking control signal can be a clamping force command or a braking force command.

[0109] In some embodiments, the surface of the housing of the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller further includes a drive control interface, and this drive control interface is used to connect to other motor controllers of the electric vehicle 10. The control circuit 42 is further used to output a torque command or a speed command to other motor controllers through the drive control interface, so that other motor controllers control other drive motors of the electric vehicle 10 to output corresponding torques according to the torque command or the speed signal.

[0110] It can be understood that for Figure 2 any one of the drive system architectures shown in (a) to (c) in Figure 2 , the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller can perform torque distribution. Specifically, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller can output a torque signal to the motor controller in other power assemblies of the electric vehicle 10 through the drive control interface, and this torque signal is used to indicate the torque that the drive motor in other power assemblies needs to output. Among them, the motor controller 40 integrated in the domain controller can be

[0111] It can be understood that the domain control integrated motor controller 40 can be connected to the sensors and actuators of the electric vehicle 10 through a controller area network (CAN) bus, Ethernet, local interconnect network (LIN) bus, FlexRay (a high-speed fault-tolerant network protocol), or other types of connection methods to interact signals.

[0112] The domain control integrated motor controller 40 is connected to the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor, and integrates the control of the drive system and the braking system of the electric vehicle 10 as a computing center. During the driving process of the electric vehicle 10, the motor controller 40 can determine the wheel speed through the resolver of the drive motor 30 and then observe the road surface adhesion situation based on the wheel speed, so that the motor controller 40 does not need to wait for the torque adjustment instruction of the vehicle controller when the electric vehicle 10 passes through a wet, icy or bumpy road surface, but can adjust the electrical parameters of the alternating current output to the drive motor based on the observation results and timely adjust the torque output of the drive motor to improve the safety and stability of vehicle driving. Among them, since the resolver can accurately detect the position, direction and speed of the motor rotor and is directly connected to the motor controller with a short communication link, the vehicle wheel speed measured by the resolver can improve the measurement accuracy, reliability and real-time performance, and can ensure excellent driving performance.

[0113] Furthermore, in driving scenarios where the electric vehicle 10 requires the cooperation of the drive system and the braking system, such as intelligent driving, drifting, and driving on bumpy roads, the domain control integrated motor controller 40 can jointly control the drive motor and the wheel-end braking device, and coordinately adjust the torque output by the drive motor and the braking force of the wheel-end braking device, so that the force on the tires of the electric vehicle 10 during driving is closer to the friction circle limit, expanding the boundary of the available friction force range and improving the handling performance.

[0114] It is easy to understand that in an architecture where multiple controllers, such as a vehicle controller and a central controller in a braking system, respectively control a drive system and a braking system, different controllers calculate separately after obtaining sensor signals and send control signals to actuators. Due to differences in the processing time of each independent controller and the signal transmission time, there may be errors in the coordination between multiple actuators, resulting in low control accuracy of the electric vehicle. Moreover, each actuator independently interacts with other domain controls, there are too many communication nodes, the redundant design is complex, and different controllers may repeatedly read and use the same sensor signal and separately perform vehicle state calculation and estimation within their respective controllers, which will increase the computational load and waste existing hardware resources. In contrast, integrating the control of the drive system and the braking system in the motor controller 40 integrated by domain control can, on the one hand, omit the vehicle controller's reading, calculation of sensor signals, and transmission of control signals to the motor controller, enabling the control of the drive system to be independently completed by the motor controller 40. On the other hand, the motor controller 40 can also replace the central controller to control the braking system, thereby reducing communication nodes. Additionally, the motor controller 40 integrated by domain control can also perform coordinated control of the drive system and the braking system by combining multiple sensor signals, which is beneficial to reducing the coordination error between multiple actuators caused by differences in control signal transmission time, and thus improving the control accuracy of the electric vehicle. Furthermore, the motor controller 40 integrated by domain control can also reduce the number of control boxes for each actuator, reducing the requirements for vehicle layout.

[0115] According to an embodiment of the present application, the signals of the accelerator pedal sensor and the brake pedal sensor are connected to the motor controller 40 integrated by domain control. The motor controller 40 controls driving and braking according to the sensor signals, which can not only shorten the control delay of driving but also achieve coordinated control of driving and braking, being beneficial to improving the control accuracy of the electric vehicle 10.

[0116] As Figure 5 shown, in some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further includes a motor control circuit 44 accommodated in a housing 41. Among them, the control circuit 42 is specifically configured to send a drive control signal to the motor control circuit 44 according to the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal sensor, and this drive control signal is used to indicate the magnitude and frequency of the alternating current output by the inverter circuit to the drive motor 30. The motor control circuit 44 is used to control the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor according to this drive control signal. Among them, this drive control signal can be a torque command or a speed command, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0117] That is to say, the domain control integrated motor controller 40 provided by the embodiments of the present application may include an independent control circuit 42 and a motor control circuit 44. The control circuit 42 is used to receive sensor signals in the electric vehicle 10 and serve as a computing center for controls such as driving, braking, and suspension. The motor control circuit 44 is used as an execution unit to receive the drive control signal output by the control circuit 42 and achieve torque control of the drive motor through controlling an inverter circuit.

[0118] It can be understood that the electrical components of the control circuit 42 and the motor control circuit 44 may be integrated on the same circuit board or separately arranged on different circuit boards. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0119] It can be understood that a separate motor control circuit 44 may not be provided in the motor controller 40, that is, the motor control circuit 44 may be integrated in the control circuit 42, so that the control circuit 42 can also serve as an execution unit while serving as a computing center to directly achieve torque control of the drive motor through controlling the inverter circuit.

[0120] According to the embodiments of the present application, separating the control circuit 42 serving as a computing center and the motor control circuit 44 serving as a drive control execution unit can reduce the hardware requirements for the control circuit 42 and is beneficial to reducing the structural complexity of the control circuit 42.

[0121] As Figure 6 shown, in some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further includes another inverter circuit 45. The another inverter circuit 45 is used to receive power supply from a power battery through a DC input interface and output alternating current to another drive motor of the electric vehicle through an AC output interface. The drive motor 30 and the another drive motor are used to drive two coaxial wheels of the electric vehicle 10. Among them, the control circuit 42 is further used to control the another inverter circuit 45 to output alternating current to the another drive motor according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by a throttle pedal sensor.

[0122] It can be understood that for a drive system architecture with a distributed powertrain, the domain control integrated motor controller 40 may be a dual-motor controller. The control circuit 42 may drive two drive motors of the electric vehicle 10 through two internal inverter circuits respectively to drive two front wheels or two rear wheels of the electric vehicle 10 to rotate. Specifically, the control circuit 42 may respectively calculate the torques that the two drive motors need to output based on the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensing, so as to respectively control the two inverter circuits to output alternating current to the two drive motors. Among them, the electrical parameters of the alternating current output by the inverter circuit to the drive motor 30 and the electrical parameters of the alternating current output by the another inverter circuit 45 to the another drive motor may be the same or different. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0123] In some embodiments, the throttle pedal sensor interface is configured to receive at least two throttle pedal signals from the throttle pedal sensor, and the brake pedal sensor interface is configured to receive at least two brake pedal signals from the brake pedal sensor. It can be understood that the throttle pedal sensor usually outputs two sensor signals, and the motor controller 40 can receive the two output throttle pedal signals. The brake pedal sensor also outputs two sensor signals, and the motor controller 40 can receive the two output brake pedal signals.

[0124] In this application, the signals output by the sensors, such as the throttle pedal signal and the brake pedal signal, are single edge nibble transmission (SENT) signals, or analog voltage signals, or analog current signals, etc.

[0125] In some embodiments, the brake control interface is configured to connect four wheel-end braking devices through at least two internal local area network buses. The domain control integrated motor controller 40 is connected to each wheel-end braking device through at least two groups of internal CAN buses, and can be increased to three or four internal Controller Area Network (CAN) buses according to the actual communication load rate. In other implementation manners, other high-speed communication manners can also be adopted for connection.

[0126] It can be understood that when one CAN bus fails, another CAN bus can be used to maintain the connection between the motor controller 40 and the actuator, and maintain the control of the motor controller 40 over the braking system 60.

[0127] In some embodiments, in response to the brake pedal opening being greater than zero and less than a preset opening, the control circuit 42 of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 is further configured to control the drive motor 30 to stop outputting torque, and control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking forces to the four wheels according to the brake pedal opening. In response to the brake pedal opening being greater than the preset opening, the control circuit 42 of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 is further configured to control the drive motor to output reverse torque according to the brake pedal opening, and control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking forces to the four wheels, wherein the torque direction of the reverse torque is opposite to the rotation direction of the wheels.

[0128] Wherein, the preset opening can be understood as a relatively small brake pedal opening. When the brake pedal opening is less than the preset opening, it can be understood that the driver has a relatively small braking demand for the electric vehicle 10. Therefore, when the opening of the brake pedal depressed by the driver is less than the preset opening, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 can control the drive motor 30 to stop outputting torque, and output corresponding braking forces according to the brake pedal opening, so as to achieve rapid braking of the electric vehicle 10.

[0129] Among them, the brake pedal opening being greater than the preset opening can be understood as the driver having a relatively large braking demand for the electric vehicle 10. Therefore, when the opening of the brake pedal depressed by the driver is greater than the preset opening, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 can, while controlling the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking forces, control the drive motor 30 to output a reverse torque to assist the braking system 60 in braking the wheels of the electric vehicle 10. Under the combined action of the reverse torque output by the drive motor and the braking torque output by the corresponding wheel-end braking device, the wheels can quickly reach the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening. It is easy to understand that the control circuit 42 can flexibly configure the magnitude of the reverse torque output by the drive motor 30 and the proportion of the braking torque output by the wheel-end braking device in the total torque corresponding to the brake pedal opening, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0130] According to the embodiments of the present application, the domain-integrated motor controller 40 can enable the electric vehicle 10 to quickly output the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening through the coordinated control of the drive system and the braking system, which is beneficial to improving the safety and handling performance of the electric vehicle 10.

[0131] In some embodiments, one of the four wheel-end braking devices is further used to connect to another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle. The control circuit 42 is further used to receive at least two brake pedal signals from the another brake pedal sensor through the in-vehicle local area network bus.

[0132] It can be understood that multiple sensors can be provided for the brake pedal of the electric vehicle 10. The multiple sensors are divided into two groups. The motor controller 40 receives the brake pedal signals output by one group of brake pedal sensors, and one wheel-end braking device receives the brake pedal signals output by the other group of brake pedal sensors. In the embodiments of the present application, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 can also receive the brake pedal signals output by the other group of brake pedal sensors through the in-vehicle local area network bus between the motor controller 40 and the wheel-end braking device, so that the control circuit 42 can still obtain the brake pedal signals through the other group of brake pedal sensors even when the connected group of brake pedal sensors fails, thereby achieving accurate braking control based on the brake pedal signals.

[0133] Exemplarily, brake pedal sensors 1 / 2 are in one group, and 3 / 4 are in another group. The brake pedal sensor signal 1 is (5V power supply 1, sent signal 1, GND1); the brake pedal sensor signal 2 is (5V power supply 2, sent signal 2, GND2); the brake pedal sensor signal 3 is (5V power supply 3, sent signal 3, GND3); the brake pedal sensor signal 4 is (5V power supply 4, sent signal 4, GND4). Among them, the brake pedal sensor signals 1 / 2 are connected to the motor controller 40; the brake pedal sensor signals 3 / 4 are connected to the above-mentioned one wheel-end braking device.

[0134] It can be understood that the above-mentioned one wheel-end braking device can be any one of the four wheel-end braking devices. For example, it can be the wheel-end braking device 61 for braking the left front wheel of the electric vehicle 10.

[0135] It can be understood that the control circuit 42 can receive at least two brake pedal signals transmitted by the in-vehicle local area network bus from another brake pedal sensor through the brake control interface, or can also set a separate interface on the surface of the housing of the motor controller 40 and receive at least two brake pedal signals transmitted by the in-vehicle local area network bus from another brake pedal sensor through this separate interface.

[0136] It can be understood that the above-mentioned one wheel-end braking device can directly output the received signal to the motor controller 40 when receiving at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor, or can also output the received signal to the motor controller 40 after responding to the warning information from the control circuit 42 for indicating the failure of the brake sensor. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0137] According to the embodiments of the present application, the electric vehicle 10 includes two mutually backup brake pedal sensors. On the one hand, the two brake pedal sensors can more accurately detect the movement state of the brake pedal. On the other hand, if one of the brake pedal sensors fails, the other brake pedal sensor can still detect the movement state of the brake pedal alone and transmit it to the motor controller 40, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the braking system 60 and ensuring the safety of the electric vehicle 10.

[0138] In some embodiments, in response to the motor controller 40 being effective and the brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit 42 is configured to control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal sensor. In response to the motor controller being effective, the brake pedal sensor failing and the other brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit 42 is configured to receive the brake pedal signal from the one wheel-end braking device and control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0139] It can be understood that when the brake pedal sensor is effective, the control circuit 42 can control the four wheel-end braking devices to output the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening according to the brake pedal signal received from the brake pedal sensor interface.

[0140] It can be understood that the failure of the brake pedal sensor includes the failure of the brake pedal sensor itself or the failure of the brake pedal sensor to transmit signals to the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40. When the brake pedal sensor fails, the control circuit 42 cannot obtain an accurate brake pedal signal. In the embodiment of the present application, when the brake pedal sensor fails, since the control circuit 42 can receive the brake pedal signal from another brake pedal sensor through the above-mentioned one wheel-end braking device, the control circuit 42 can still control the four wheel-end braking devices to output the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening based on the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0141] In some embodiments, in response to the failure of both the brake pedal sensor and another brake pedal sensor and the decrease in the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor, the control circuit 42 is further configured to control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels, wherein the braking force increases as the throttle pedal opening decreases.

[0142] It can be understood that after both the brake pedal sensor and another brake pedal sensor fail, if the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor decreases, it can be regarded that the driver starts to release the accelerator pedal. At this time, the motor controller 40 can control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force, so as to assist the electric vehicle 10 to gradually decelerate until it stops. That is to say, even if the brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle 10 fails, the driver can control the four wheels of the electric vehicle 10 to brake by operating the throttle pedal.

[0143] It can be understood that after both the brake pedal sensor and another brake pedal sensor fail, the control circuit 42 can also report an alarm message to the vehicle controller. The vehicle controller can prompt the driver that the brake pedal has failed through the in-vehicle display screen, sound, flashing of the ambient light, etc., and display a preset animation on the in-vehicle display screen to guide the driver to control the vehicle to brake by slowly releasing the throttle pedal to ensure driving safety.

[0144] Furthermore, in some embodiments, during the process of the throttle pedal opening decreasing, if the throttle pedal opening is greater than or equal to the preset opening, the motor controller 40 can still control the drive motor to output torque. When the accelerator pedal opening drops to less than the preset opening, the motor controller 40 controls the drive motor to stop outputting torque and controls the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force. Exemplarily, the preset opening is 30%. During the process of the throttle pedal opening decreasing from greater than 30% to 0%, it will be divided into two stages. When the throttle pedal opening is greater than or equal to 30%, the motor controller 40 can still control the drive motor to output torque. When the throttle pedal signal is less than 30%, the motor controller 40 controls the drive motor to stop outputting torque and controls the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force, and the smaller the throttle pedal signal, the greater the braking force output by the four wheel-end braking devices.

[0145] According to an embodiment of the present application, the motor controller 40 provided by the embodiment of the present application can still control the four wheel end devices to output braking force based on the degree of decrease in the throttle pedal opening in a scenario where all the brake pedal sensors configured in the electric vehicle 10 fail, avoiding the risk of braking failure caused by the failure of the brake pedal sensors and improving the safety and reliability of the electric vehicle 10.

[0146] In some embodiments, functions such as braking force demand identification and braking force distribution can be redundantly implemented in the motor controller 40 and the above-mentioned one wheel end braking device. That is to say, the control function of the one wheel end braking device at least includes basic braking. According to the actual chip resources and cost, the control function of the one wheel end braking device can also include an antilock brake system (ABS), a traction control system (TCS), a vehicle dynamic control (VDC), or some functions.

[0147] In these embodiments, the motor controller 40 can be used as the main controller of the braking system 60, and the above-mentioned one wheel end braking device is used as the redundancy of the main controller. When the motor controller 40 as the main controller is normal, the motor controller 40 as the main controller is responsible for controlling the four wheel end braking devices to output braking force based on the brake pedal signal output by one brake pedal sensor or another brake pedal sensor. When the motor controller 40 as the main controller fails, the one wheel end braking device as the backup can continue to control the four wheel end braking devices to output braking force based on the brake pedal signal output by another brake pedal sensor, thus avoiding the failure of the entire braking system 60 caused by the failure and being beneficial to improving the safety and reliability of the braking system.

[0148] In some embodiments, in response to the failure of the throttle pedal sensor, the control circuit 42 is further configured to control the four wheel end braking devices to output a preset braking force to the four wheels of the electric vehicle 10. Among them, the failure of the throttle pedal sensor includes a failure of the throttle pedal sensor itself or a failure of the throttle pedal sensor to transmit a signal to the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40. When the throttle pedal sensor fails, the control circuit 42 cannot obtain an accurate throttle pedal signal.

[0149] It can be understood that if the accelerator pedal sensor fails during the driving of the electric vehicle 10, the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 will not be able to obtain and calculate and distribute torque based on the accurate accelerator pedal opening, resulting in the out-of-control power output of the electric vehicle 10. At this time, in order to prevent the driver from being unable to perform correct operations in a timely manner due to the interference of driving confidence, the control circuit 42 will actively control the four-wheel end braking devices to output a preset braking force, so that the electric vehicle slows down slowly until it stops, thus ensuring the driving safety of the electric vehicle 10. Among them, active control means that the control circuit 42 can control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force without being based on the change of the braking pedal opening indicated by the braking pedal sensor, but can control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force in response to the failure of the accelerator pedal sensor.

[0150] It can be understood that the specific value of the preset braking force is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Moreover, the control circuit 42 can also dynamically adjust the braking force output by the four-wheel end braking devices in combination with the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle 10 and the wheel speeds of the four wheels.

[0151] According to the embodiments of the present application, the control circuit 42 can actively control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force when detecting the failure of the accelerator pedal sensor, and actively reduce the vehicle speed to ensure the driving safety of the electric vehicle.

[0152] In some embodiments, the surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a height sensor interface and a suspension control interface. The height sensor interface is used to connect the height sensor of the electric vehicle 10, and the suspension control interface is used to connect the suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle 10. The control circuit of the motor controller 40 is also used to control the suspension system 70 to adjust the suspension damping according to the vehicle body height indicated by the height sensor. In these embodiments, the motor controller 40 can also be connected to the height sensor of the electric vehicle 10 through the height sensor interface on the surface of the housing 41, so that the control circuit 42 in the domain control integrated motor controller 40 can obtain the height signal from the height sensor transmitted through the internal line through the height sensor interface, and this height signal is used to indicate the vehicle body height. Further, the control circuit 42 can output a suspension control instruction generated based on the height signal, such as a lift force instruction, through the suspension control interface, so as to control the suspension system 70 to adjust the suspension damping.

[0153] The suspension system 70 is used to connect the body of the electric vehicle 10 to the wheels, providing support, buffering, and stability during the driving of the electric vehicle 10. The suspension system 70 includes shock absorbers. Each wheel is individually connected to the body of the electric vehicle 10 through a shock absorber. In the embodiments of the present application, for the suspension system 70 with damping-adjustable shock absorbers, the motor controller 40 sends a target damping coefficient or a target damping level to the suspension system 70 to adjust the damping of each shock absorber. The suspension system 70 includes an air suspension or a fully active suspension. The motor controller 40 sends a target wheel suspension height to the suspension system 70 to adjust the suspension height at the wheels of the electric vehicle 10.

[0154] In some embodiments, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller 40 is used to connect to the suspension controller of the electric vehicle 10 through a suspension control interface. The control circuit 42 is used to send a suspension signal to the suspension controller, and the suspension signal is used to instruct the suspension controller to drive the suspension actuator to adjust the suspension damping. That is to say, the motor controller 40 is used to control an independent suspension controller 20 through the suspension control interface, and the suspension controller 20 is used to drive the suspension actuator to adjust the suspension damping. For suspension actuators in the form of CDC, air springs, or active suspension oil pump actuators, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller 40 controls an independent suspension drive board through the suspension signal, and the suspension controller 20 sends a PWM solenoid valve drive to the CDC, or sends a PWM solenoid valve drive to the air spring, or sends a control instruction to the oil pump actuator through a communication instruction to adjust the suspension damping.

[0155] In some embodiments, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller 40 is used to connect to the suspension actuator through the suspension control interface, so that the control circuit 42 of the motor controller 40 can directly control the suspension actuator through the suspension control interface to adjust the suspension damping. In these embodiments, the domain-controlled integrated motor controller 40 includes a drive circuit for the suspension, and the domain-controlled integrated controller 20 can directly send a PWM solenoid valve drive to the CDC, or send a PWM solenoid valve drive to the air spring, or send a control instruction to the oil pump actuator through a communication instruction to adjust the suspension damping.

[0156] In some embodiments, the surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a steering control interface for connecting to the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle 10. The control circuit 42 is further configured to control the rear-wheel steering system to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle 10 through the steering control interface. Specifically, the control circuit 42 can send an angle command and an angular velocity command to the rear-wheel steering system through the steering control interface, so that the rear-wheel steering system controls the rear wheels to adjust the rotation angle indicated by the angle command at the speed indicated by the angular velocity command. Integrating the control of rear-wheel steering and coordinating with the control of driving, braking and suspension can more effectively improve the handling performance and comfort of the electric vehicle 10.

[0157] In some embodiments, the surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a parking switch interface, and the motor controller 40 is configured to connect to the electronic parking brake system switch of the electric vehicle 10 through the parking switch interface. The electronic parking brake system switch is used to control the electronic parking system of the electric vehicle 10, and the driver can perform parking braking through the electronic parking brake system switch. The surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a parking control interface for connecting to the electronic parking brake system of the electric vehicle 10, and the control circuit 42 is configured to control the electronic parking brake system of the electric vehicle 10 to output a parking braking force through the parking control interface.

[0158] Among them, the electronic parking brake system switch is used to control the electronic parking system of the electric vehicle 10, and the driver can perform parking braking through the electronic parking brake system switch. When the electronic parking brake system switch indicates that the electric vehicle 10 needs to park, the control circuit 42 controls the electronic parking brake system to output a parking braking force.

[0159] In one embodiment, the surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a wheel speed sensor interface for receiving a wheel speed signal from a wheel speed sensor, and the wheel speed signal is used to indicate the rotational speed of the wheels of the electric vehicle 10.

[0160] The surface of the housing of the domain control integrated motor controller 40 includes a wheel speed sensor interface, and the control circuit 42 is configured to connect to the wheel speed sensor through the wheel speed sensor interface to receive wheel speed signals from multiple wheel speed sensors through the wheel speed sensor interface. The wheel speed signals are used to indicate the rotational speed of each wheel of the electric vehicle 10, so that the control circuit 42 can control the torque output by the drive motor of the electric vehicle 10 and the braking force output by the wheel-end braking device according to the rotational speed of the wheels indicated by the wheel speed signals.

[0161] Such as Figure 7As shown, in some embodiments, the motor controller 40 further includes a backup control circuit 46 housed in the housing 41. Among them, the backup control circuit 46 can take over from the control circuit 42 to perform at least one of the following when the control circuit 42 fails: controlling the inverter circuit 43 to output alternating current to the drive motor 30, controlling the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle, controlling the suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle to adjust the suspension damping, or controlling the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle.

[0162] That is to say, in the domain-controlled integrated motor controller 40, a control circuit 42 as the main control and a backup control circuit 46 as the backup control can be set. When the control circuit 42 is effective, the control circuit 42 can control the drive system 20, braking system 60, rear-wheel steering system, and suspension system 70 of the electric vehicle 10 according to the accessed sensor signals. When the control circuit 42 fails, the backup control circuit 46 can take over the control circuit 42 to send control instructions to the lower-level actuators, such as sending torque instructions or speed instructions to the drive system 20, sending clamping force instructions or braking force instructions to the braking system 60, sending cornering instructions and steering speed instructions to the rear-wheel steering system, and sending lifting force instructions to the suspension system 70. Among them, the specific manner of calculation and control of the backup control circuit 46 can refer to the relevant content of the control circuit 42, which will not be elaborated here.

[0163] In these embodiments, the backup control circuit 46 is at least connected to the brake pedal sensor, so as to be able to control the normal operation of the braking system 60 in the case of a failure of the control circuit 42 and ensure the safety of the electric vehicle 10. Further, according to the actual chip resources and cost, the backup control circuit 46 can also be connected to one or more of the accelerator pedal sensor, body acceleration sensor, height sensor, and wheel speed sensor, so as to control the drive motor 30, suspension system 70, and rear-wheel steering system in the electric vehicle 10. It is easy to understand that when sufficient chip resources are allocated to the backup control circuit 46, the backup control circuit 46 can achieve full redundancy of the control circuit 42, and the safety of the electric vehicle 10 is higher.

[0164] According to the solution of the present application, the backup control circuit 46 can be used as the hardware redundancy of the control circuit 42, take over the control in the case of a failure of the control circuit 42, and send control instructions to the actuator, which is beneficial to further improving the safety of the vehicle.

[0165] In some embodiments, the backup control circuit 46 is further configured to connect to the brake pedal sensor interface through an internal line to receive at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle 10 through the brake pedal sensor interface.

[0166] It can be understood that the standby control circuit 46 can receive at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor through the brake pedal sensor interface, or a separate interface can be provided on the surface of the housing 41 and at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor can be received through this separate interface.

[0167] According to the solution of the present application, the electric vehicle includes two mutually backup brake pedal sensors. On the one hand, the two brake pedal sensors can more accurately detect the movement state of the brake pedal. On the other hand, if one of the brake pedal sensors fails, the other brake pedal sensor can still independently detect the movement state of the brake pedal and transmit it to the control circuit in the motor controller, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the braking system and the safety of the electric vehicle.

[0168] In some embodiments, the control circuit 42 is further configured to connect to the standby control circuit 46 through at least two internal lines, so as to interact with the control circuit 42 through the at least two internal lines to receive signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle 10.

[0169] Among them, the signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle 10 that are interacted between the control circuit 42 and the standby control circuit 46 include some or all of the signals from the accelerator pedal sensor, the brake pedal sensor, the body acceleration sensor, the height sensor, and the wheel speed sensor.

[0170] It can be understood that the control circuit 42 and the standby control circuit 46 can receive the signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle 10 through the same link, or can receive the signals from the sensors of the electric vehicle 10 through different links. For example, for the control circuit 42 and the standby control circuit 46 integrated on the same PCB, the two can be connected to the accelerator pedal sensor interface on the surface of the housing 41 through the same accelerator pedal sensor terminal on the PCB to receive the signals from the accelerator pedal sensor, or can be connected to the accelerator pedal sensor interface on the surface of the housing 41 through different accelerator pedal sensor terminals on the PCB to receive the signals from the accelerator pedal sensor. Another example is that the control circuit 42 and the standby control circuit 46 can be integrated on different PCBs, so as to be respectively connected to the accelerator pedal sensor interface on the surface of the housing 41 to receive the signals from the accelerator pedal sensor. Another example is that the surface of the housing 41 further includes another accelerator pedal sensor interface, and the standby control circuit 46 can receive the accelerator pedal signal through this another accelerator pedal sensor interface, that is, the multiple sensor interfaces 413 can include two accelerator pedal sensor interfaces and the control circuit 42 and the standby control circuit 46 can respectively receive the accelerator pedal signals through the two accelerator pedal sensor interfaces.

[0171] It can be understood that the electric vehicle 10 can be provided with one or more sensors of the same type. The control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46 can receive signals from the same sensor of the same type, or can receive signals from different sensors of the same type. For example, the electric vehicle 10 is provided with a throttle pedal sensor, and both the control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46 receive two throttle pedal signals output by the one throttle pedal sensor. For another example, the electric vehicle 10 is provided with two brake pedal sensors. The control circuit 42 can receive two brake pedal signals provided by one of the brake pedal sensors, and the backup control circuit 46 receives two other brake pedal signals provided by the other brake pedal sensor. For another example, the electric vehicle 10 is provided with two height sensors. The control circuit 42 can receive one height signal output by one height sensor, and the backup control circuit 46 can receive the other height signal output by the other height sensor.

[0172] It can be understood that the backup control circuit 46 may not be connected to the sensors, but receive signals from each sensor of the electric vehicle 10 through the control circuit 42. Specifically, after receiving the sensor signal, the control circuit 42 can transmit it to the backup control circuit 46, so that the backup control circuit 46 can obtain one or more sensor signals. In this way, the backup control circuit 46 does not need to be connected to the multiple sensor interfaces 413 on the surface of the housing 41 through additional lines, which is beneficial to reducing the structural complexity.

[0173] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of signal interaction between the control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46. The control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46 can be integrated on the same PCB. At this time, the control circuit 42 can interact with the backup control circuit 46 through metal wires, vias, optical transmission, etc. on the PCB. For another example, the control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46 can be provided on different PCBs. At this time, the control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46 can interact with each other through a cable connecting the two PCBs, or through a wireless communication module on the PCB.

[0174] According to the solution of the present application, the control circuit and the backup control circuit can interact with each other through the internal line to receive the sensor signals of the vehicle, so that the sensor signals received by the control circuit and the backup control circuit are backed up to each other, thereby improving the reliability and accuracy of the motor controller for control.

[0175] In some embodiments, in response to the control circuit 42 being effective and the brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit 42 is configured to control the four-wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal sensor. In response to the control circuit 42 being effective, the brake pedal sensor failing, and the other brake pedal sensor being effective, the control circuit 42 is configured to receive a brake pedal signal from the backup control circuit 46 and control the four-wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

[0176] It can be understood that when the brake pedal sensor is effective, the control circuit 42 can control the four-wheel-end braking devices to output a braking force corresponding to the brake pedal opening according to the brake pedal signal received from the brake pedal sensor interface.

[0177] Among them, the failure of the brake pedal sensor includes a failure of the brake pedal sensor itself or a failure of the brake pedal sensor to transmit a signal to the control circuit 42. At this time, the control circuit 42 cannot obtain an accurate brake pedal signal.

[0178] It can be understood that when the brake pedal sensor fails, since the control circuit 42 can receive the brake pedal signal from the other brake pedal sensor through the internal line between the control circuit 42 and the backup control circuit 46, the control circuit 42 can still obtain the brake pedal signal through the other group of brake pedal sensors even when a connected group of brake pedal sensors fails, so as to achieve accurate braking control based on the brake pedal signal.

[0179] In some embodiments, the domain control integrated motor controller 40 further includes a backup domain control integrated motor controller (hereinafter referred to as the backup motor controller). The backup motor controller is configured to be connected to the motor controller 40 through at least two internal controller area network buses. The backup motor controller is configured to take over from the motor controller 40 to control the drive system 20, the braking system 60, the suspension system 70, and the steering system when the motor controller 40 fails.

[0180] The domain control integrated motor controller 40 is connected to an accelerator pedal sensor, a brake pedal sensor, a body acceleration sensor, a height sensor, and a wheel speed sensor. The backup controller is at least connected to the brake pedal sensor. The motor controller 40 integrates the control of the drive system 20, the braking system 60, the rear-wheel steering system, and the suspension system 70 as a computing center. The backup controller takes over the control in the event of a failure of the motor controller 40 and sends control commands to the lower-level actuators.

[0181] It can be understood that the domain control integrated motor controller and the backup controller can be any two motor controllers in the electric vehicle 10. Exemplarily, for Figure 2For the electric vehicle 10 shown in (a) therein, the domain control integrated motor controller may be the motor controller 401, and the standby controller may be the motor controller 402. Exemplarily, for Figure 2 the electric vehicle 10 shown in (b) therein, the domain control integrated motor controller may be the motor controller 402, and the standby controller may be the motor controller 404. Exemplarily, for Figure 2 the electric vehicle 10 shown in (c) therein, the domain control integrated motor controller may be the motor controller 403, and the standby controller may be the motor controller 401.

[0182] According to the solution of the present application, as the hardware redundancy of the domain control integrated motor controller 40, the standby controller takes over the control in the case of a failure of the motor controller 40 and sends control instructions to the actuator, which is beneficial to further improving the safety of the vehicle.

[0183] The above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, and all should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.

Claims

1. A domain control integrated motor controller, characterized in that The motor controller is used to control the operation of an electric vehicle according to signals from multiple sensors of the electric vehicle. The motor controller includes a housing and an inverter circuit and a control circuit accommodated in the housing, wherein: The surface of the housing includes a DC input interface, an AC output interface, an accelerator pedal sensor interface, a brake pedal sensor interface, and a brake control interface. The DC input interface is used to connect to the power battery of the electric vehicle. The AC output interface is used to connect to the drive motor of the electric vehicle. The accelerator pedal sensor interface is used to connect to the accelerator pedal sensor of the electric vehicle. The brake pedal sensor interface is used to connect to the brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle. The brake control interface is used to connect to four wheel-end braking devices; The inverter circuit is used to receive direct current output by the power battery through the DC input interface and output alternating current to the drive motor through the AC output interface; The control circuit is used to receive an accelerator pedal signal from the accelerator pedal sensor through an internal line and control the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor according to the accelerator pedal opening indicated by the accelerator pedal signal. The control circuit is also used to receive a brake pedal signal from the brake pedal sensor through the internal line and control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

2. The motor controller according to claim 1, characterized in that, The brake control interface is used to connect to the four wheel-end braking devices through at least two internal local area network buses.

3. The motor controller according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The accelerator pedal sensor interface is used to receive at least two accelerator pedal signals from the accelerator pedal sensor, and the brake pedal sensor interface is used to receive at least two brake pedal signals from the brake pedal sensor.

4. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The surface of the housing further includes a height sensor interface and a suspension control interface. The height sensor interface is used to connect to the height sensor of the electric vehicle, and the suspension control interface is used to connect to the suspension system of the electric vehicle; The control circuit is also used to control the suspension system to adjust the suspension damping according to the vehicle body height indicated by the height sensor.

5. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The surface of the housing further includes a steering control interface, and the steering control interface is used to connect to the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle; The control circuit is also used to control the rear-wheel steering system to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle through the steering control interface.

6. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The motor controller further includes a backup control circuit accommodated in the housing. The backup control circuit is used to take over the control circuit to execute at least one of the following when the control circuit fails: Control the inverter circuit to output alternating current to the drive motor, control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle, control the suspension system of the electric vehicle to adjust the suspension damping, or control the rear-wheel steering system of the electric vehicle to adjust the steering angle of the rear wheels of the electric vehicle.

7. The motor controller according to claim 6, wherein The standby control circuit is further configured to connect to the control circuit through at least two internal lines, so as to interact with the control circuit through the at least two internal lines to receive signals from sensors of the electric vehicle.

8. The motor controller according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The standby control circuit is further configured to connect to the brake pedal sensor interface through an internal line, so as to receive at least two brake pedal signals from another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle through the brake pedal sensor interface.

9. The motor controller according to claim 8, wherein, The control circuit is further configured to: In response to the control circuit being valid and the brake pedal sensor being valid, control the four-wheel end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal sensor; In response to the control circuit being valid, the brake pedal sensor failing, and the other brake pedal sensor being valid, receive the brake pedal signal from the standby control circuit, and control the four-wheel end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the brake pedal signal.

10. The motor controller according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The control circuit is further configured to: In response to both the brake pedal sensor and the other brake pedal sensor failing and the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor decreasing, control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels, where the braking force increases as the throttle pedal opening decreases.

11. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The control circuit is further configured to: In response to the brake pedal opening being greater than zero and less than a preset opening, control the drive motor to stop outputting torque, and control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels according to the brake pedal; In response to the brake pedal opening being greater than the preset opening, control the drive motor to output reverse torque according to the brake pedal opening, and control the four-wheel end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels, where the torque direction of the reverse torque is opposite to the rotation direction of the wheels.

12. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The motor controller further includes a motor control circuit accommodated in the housing, where: The control circuit is specifically configured to send a drive control signal to the motor control circuit according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor, and the drive control signal is used to indicate the magnitude and frequency of the alternating current; The motor control circuit is configured to control the inverter circuit to output the alternating current to the drive motor according to the drive control signal.

13. The motor controller according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The motor controller further includes another inverter circuit, and the other inverter circuit is configured to receive power supply from a power battery through the DC input interface and output alternating current to another drive motor of the electric vehicle through the AC output interface. The drive motor and the other drive motor are used to drive two coaxial wheels of the electric vehicle, where: The control circuit is further configured to control the other inverter circuit to output alternating current to the other drive motor according to the throttle pedal opening indicated by the throttle pedal sensor.

14. A powertrain, characterized in that, The powertrain includes a drive motor and a motor controller as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, and the motor controller is configured to receive power supply from a power battery and supply power to the drive motor to drive the drive motor.

15. An electric vehicle, characterized in that, The electric vehicle includes four wheels, four wheel-end braking devices, and a powertrain as described in claim 14. The powertrain described in claim 14 is configured to drive one or more of the wheels to rotate and control the four wheel-end braking devices to output braking force to the four wheels.

16. The electric vehicle according to claim 15, characterized in that, One of the four wheel-end braking devices is further configured to connect to another brake pedal sensor of the electric vehicle, and the one wheel-end braking device is further configured to: In response to the failure of the motor controller in the powertrain, control the four wheel-end braking devices to brake the four wheels of the electric vehicle according to the brake pedal opening indicated by the another brake pedal sensor.

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