Automobile air supply unit serving as actuator

Abstract

The utility model discloses an automobile air supply unit as an actuator, which comprises a valve body, an electronic communication module and an actuating element are integrally mounted on the valve body, the electronic communication module is in communication connection with the actuating element, a communication board is mounted in the electronic communication module, and the actuating element is in communication connection with the communication board. The communication board is in communication connection with a control module located at an automobile end, is only configured to realize electric energy transmission and data interaction functions, and does not comprise a processor, a microcontroller or a programmable logic circuit which are used for executing function control of the automobile air supply unit; the communication board receives a control signal from the control module located at the automobile end and transmits the control signal to the execution element, meanwhile, state data of the automobile air supply unit is transmitted to the control module located at the automobile end, the communication board is adopted to replace an original control board, and the whole automobile air supply unit does not have a control function. And the device is only used as an actuator, so that various costs and failure rates are reduced, and the universality is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of automobile air supply unit, concretely is a kind of automobile air supply unit as actuator. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the gradually increasing comfort requirement of automobile, air suspension obtains rapid development, and the design of electronic product tends to modularization and miniaturization;Closed air supply unit ASU is recognized by many customers due to higher inflation efficiency and less external gas exchange. With the continuous improvement of the function of air supply unit and the closer interaction with vehicle information, the control board of the current mainstream ASU generally adopts the integrated design of "control function + electric energy transmission + interaction function", that is, the control board itself is equipped with MCU (micro control unit), control logic circuit, sensor signal processing module, etc., which can realize the core function control (such as air pump start-stop, pressure regulation, fault diagnosis, etc.) of ASU independently or cooperatively with the ECU of automobile end. The existing ASU control board needs to integrate independent control module, and the ECU of automobile end itself has stronger control ability (such as multi-task processing, vehicle-level data interaction), which leads to repeated deployment of core control resources between ASU and automobile end ECU, resulting in high material cost, high design cost and high maintenance cost of the existing ASU control board with integrated control function.

[0003] Furthermore, in the existing design, the control logic of ASU depends on the cooperation of local control of control board and global control of ECU of automobile end, which has two reliability risks of dense fault points and difficult fault positioning. For example, if ASU has functional abnormalities (such as insufficient air supply), three types of problems need to be checked, including ASU control board control module failure, ECU instruction sending failure and control board and ECU interaction failure, which has complex troubleshooting process and low maintenance efficiency.

[0004] In addition, different control logics (such as pressure threshold, start-stop timing) are needed for ASU of different vehicle models, so the control module of control board needs to be redesigned for each vehicle model (such as replacing MCU model and modifying control algorithm). Even if the mechanical structure (such as pump and valve) of ASU is the same, only the control logic is different, the control board also needs to be redeveloped, which leads to that the control board cannot be used across vehicle models, and the hardware modification cost is high and the cycle is long when adapting to new vehicle models. INVENTION CONTENTS

[0005] The utility model provides a kind of automobile air supply unit as actuator, which can be directly used as actuator without complex control elements and modules, and can solve various problems caused by the integrated design of control function, electric energy transmission and interaction function of the existing ASU control board.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the utility model provides the following technical scheme: An automobile air supply unit as an executor, including valve body, electronic communication module and execution element are integrally installed on valve body, electronic communication module is connected with execution element communication, communication board is installed in electronic communication module, communication board is connected with control module at automobile end communication, communication board is only configured to realize electric energy transmission and data interaction function, does not contain the processor, microcontroller or programmable logic circuit for executing automobile air supply unit function control, communication board receives control signal from control module at automobile end and transmits to execution element, simultaneously, the state data of automobile air supply unit is transmitted to control module at automobile end, adopts communication board to replace original control board, only retains electric energy transmission and interaction function, the whole automobile air supply unit does not have control function, only as executor is used, has reduced research and development design cost, material cost and maintenance cost, and has improved the commonality, has made full use of the control function of control module at automobile end, has reduced the failure rate.

[0007] As preferred, the execution element includes a motor module, a solenoid valve group and a sensor module integrated on the valve body, and the communication board can realize communication of the main execution element on the automobile air supply unit, including generation of compressed gas, control of air suspension and monitoring of working condition parameters.

[0008] As preferred, the electronic communication module is provided with a communication interface module connected with the communication board, and the communication interface module and the control module are connected through a CAN bus, a LIN bus or a vehicle-mounted Ethernet to meet the communication requirement of large data volume.

[0009] As preferred, the communication board is provided with a power protection circuit for preventing overcurrent, overvoltage or short circuit from damaging the execution element.

[0010] As preferred, the automobile air supply unit further includes a dryer module with a desiccant heating regeneration function, and the dryer module is connected with the communication board in communication, so that the air in the automobile air supply unit can be fully dried, and the communication between the dryer module and the control unit at the automobile end can be realized through the communication board to facilitate unified control at the automobile end.

[0011] As preferred, the dryer module is integrally installed on the valve body or separately installed from the valve body, and can be flexibly arranged as required.

[0012] As preferred, the electronic communication module and the motor module are respectively arranged at two sides of the valve body, the electromagnetic valve group and the sensor module are all integrally arranged in the valve body at positions corresponding to the communication board, the integrated degree is high, the communication board can directly hard-connect with the electromagnetic valve group, the sensor module and the motor module, and the connection reliability is high.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the advantages of:

[0014] The communication board is used to replace the original control board, only the electric energy transmission and interaction function is reserved, the whole automobile air supply unit has no control function, only serves as an actuator, the research and development design cost, material cost and maintenance cost are reduced, the universality is improved, the control function of the control module of the automobile end is fully utilized, and the failure rate is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Fig. 1 It is the control principle diagram of the utility model;

[0016] Fig. 2 It is the three-dimensional structure diagram of the automobile air supply unit of the utility model;

[0017] Fig. 3 It is the three-dimensional structure diagram of the electronic communication module after opening of the utility model.

[0018] Reference signs:

[0019] 1, control module, 2, communication board, 3, dryer module, 4, motor module, 5, electromagnetic valve group, 6, sensor module, 7, valve body, 8, electronic communication module, 9, communication interface module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical scheme in the utility model embodiment will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the utility model embodiment.

[0021] As Figs. 1-3The utility model discloses to solve the various problems produced by the integrated design of control function, electric energy transmission and interactive function of the control panel of the existing ASU, and provides the following technical scheme: an automobile air supply unit as an actuator, comprising a valve body 7, the valve body 7 is integrally installed with electronic communication module 8 and execution element, the electronic communication module 8 is connected with the communication of execution element, the electronic communication module 8 is installed with communication board 2, the communication board 2 is connected with the communication of control module 1 at the automobile end, the communication board 2 is only configured to realize electric energy transmission and data interactive function, does not contain the processor, microcontroller or programmable logic circuit for executing the function control of automobile air supply unit, the communication board 2 receives the control signal from control module 1 at the automobile end and transmits to execution element, and the state data of automobile air supply unit is transmitted to control module 1 at the automobile end, the technical scheme in the embodiment of the utility model dispenses with the MCU chip, programmable logic chip and algorithm storage chip of traditional control panel, the number of components is greatly reduced, the control function of control module 1 at the automobile end and the control panel of ASU is avoided to repeat deployment, and material cost, research and development cost and maintenance cost are greatly reduced, for example, only need to replace the simplified communication board when fault, need not replace integrated control module. Because only the electric energy transmission and data interactive circuit are reserved, there is no complex control logic fault risk, so the fault point is reduced, different vehicle types only need to pass through the software adjustment parameter of control module 1 at the automobile end, and the communication board 2 can be universal, and the adaptation new vehicle model period is greatly shortened.

[0022] Specifically, the electronic communication module 8 is an ABS plastic shell fixed on the right side boss of the valve body 7, the communication board 2 is an FR4 glass fiber substrate, the electric energy transmission circuit adopts a LM1117-5V linear stabilizer of TI, and the data interactive circuit adopts a TJA1050 CAN transceiver of NXP. The control module 1 is an ECU at the automobile end, the communication board 2 is connected with the ECU through a CAN bus, the control signal sent by the ECU is a 1kHz PWM wave, and the state data returned by the communication board 2 includes pressure, temperature, and execution element fault codes.

[0023] In the embodiment, the execution element includes a motor module 4, a solenoid valve group 5 and a sensor module 6 integrated on the valve body 7, the communication of main execution elements on the automobile air supply unit can be realized through the communication board 2, including generation of compressed gas, control of air suspension and monitoring of working condition parameters, the sensor module 6 can include a pressure sensor, an NTC thermistor and the like, and is connected with a signal conditioning circuit of the communication board 2 through an SMA joint.

[0024] In the embodiment, the electronic communication module 8 is provided with a communication interface module 9 connected with the communication board 2, the communication interface module 9 is in communication connection with the control module 1 through a CAN bus, a LIN bus or a vehicle-mounted Ethernet, so as to meet the communication requirement of a large amount of data, wherein the CAN bus has a rate of 500 kbps, a strong anti-interference ability, is suitable for multi-node communication of commercial vehicles, a transmission distance ≤40 m, the LIN bus has a rate of 19.2 kbps, a low cost, is suitable for low-rate sensor data transmission of passenger cars, the vehicle-mounted Ethernet has a rate of 100 Mbps, is suitable for multi-sensor large data transmission of new energy vehicles, such as laser radar and ASU cooperation. The communication interface module 9 can adopt an independent PCB subboard, is connected with the communication board 2 through a row of pins, and an EMC protection circuit can be integrated on the communication interface module 9, and an electromagnetic interference level reaches the ISO11452-2 standard.

[0025] In the embodiment, the communication board 2 is provided with a power supply protection circuit for preventing overcurrent, overvoltage or short circuit from causing damage to the execution element, the power supply protection circuit can be arranged at a connection position corresponding to the communication interface module 9, and the power supply protection circuit can include a Tyco 0452005.MRL self-recovery fuse, a transient voltage suppression diode SMBJ18CA and a Letika 0451006.NR fuse. The self-recovery fuse is connected in series at a 12V input line, the TVS diode is connected in parallel between an input terminal and the ground, and the fuse is connected in series at a front end of an input of a voltage stabilizer.

[0026] In the embodiment, the automobile air supply unit further includes a dryer module 3 having a desiccant heating regeneration function, the dryer module 3 is in communication connection with the communication board 2, the dryer module 3 can sufficiently dry the air in the automobile air supply unit, the communication between the dryer module 3 and the control unit 1 at the automobile end can be realized through the communication board 2, so as to facilitate unified control at the automobile end, the dryer module 3 can adopt an internal heating mode or an external heating mode, and a temperature sensor and / or a humidity sensor are internally installed, and the control module 1 can control the heating work of the dryer module 3 according to the temperature or humidity parameters. The dryer module 3 is integrally installed on the valve body 7 or is separately installed from the valve body 7, can be flexibly arranged as required, the integrated installation can save the space in the vehicle, and the separate installation makes the installation of the entire air supply unit more flexible.

[0027] In the embodiment, the electronic communication module 8 and the motor module 4 are respectively arranged at two sides of the valve body 7, the electromagnetic valve group 5 and the sensor module 6 are integrally installed in the valve body 7 at positions corresponding to the communication board 2, have a high integration degree, and the communication board 2 can be directly hard-connected with the electromagnetic valve group 5, the sensor module 6 and the motor module 4, so as to have a high connection reliability.

[0028] As a specific implementation in this embodiment:

[0029] In this embodiment, the core functions of the automobile air supply unit, such as air charging, pressure regulation and dryer regeneration, are all decided and controlled by the control module 1 at the automobile end, and the communication board 2 is only responsible for signal and power transmission. The specific process is as follows:

[0030] 1. Start and air charging process

[0031] Wake-up stage: After the automobile is started, the control module 1 sends a CAN wake-up signal to the communication board 2, the power supply protection circuit of the communication board 2 is turned on, and the output voltage of the voltage stabilizer is used to power the sensor module 6;

[0032] State acquisition: The sensor module 6 acquires the current pressure and temperature, which are amplified by the signal conditioning circuit of the communication board 2 and then returned to the control module 1 in the form of CAN message;

[0033] Control instruction sending: The control module 1 calculates the motor speed requirement according to the air suspension target pressure, and sends a PWM control signal to the communication board 2, which is directly transmitted to the motor module 4;

[0034] Air charging execution: The motor module 4 drives the air pump to operate, and after the airflow is dehumidified by the dryer module 3, the control module 1 controls the communication board 2 to transmit instructions to the electromagnetic valve group 5, and the corresponding switching valve is opened, and the airflow enters the air suspension;

[0035] Pressure closed loop: The sensor module 6 returns pressure data every 50ms, and when the control module 1 detects that the pressure reaches 0.8MPa, it sends a PWM signal to stop the motor module 4, and the inlet valve is closed, and the air charging is completed.

[0036] 2. Dryer regeneration process

[0037] Regeneration trigger: The control module 1 triggers the regeneration instruction by sensing the parameters inside the dryer through the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor;

[0038] Heating stage: The control module 1 sends a CAN instruction to the communication board 2, and the communication board 2 controls the relay to be attracted, and the PTC heater is powered on to heat the molecular sieve for 3 minutes;

[0039] Cooling stage: After heating is completed, the control module 1 sends an instruction to disconnect the relay, and the PTC heater stops heating, and at the same time, the exhaust valve of the electromagnetic valve group 5 is opened, and the airflow carries away the moisture in the dryer, and cools to room temperature;

[0040] Regeneration completion: The communication board returns a regeneration completion signal, and the control module 1 records the regeneration log and waits for the next trigger.

[0041] In summary, in the technical solution in the embodiment, the control board 2 only retains two types of mature circuits of power transmission and interaction, such as a voltage stabilizing circuit and a CAN bus interface, which are automobile-level general modules, so the failure rate is extremely low, and therefore the overall failure probability of the ASU is significantly reduced. Moreover, when the ASU is abnormal, only two types of problems need to be checked: ① whether the control board is normally powered; and ② whether the control board normally transmits the instructions of the control module 1; if both are normal, the ECU control logic or the execution element (pump, valve) is directly located as a fault, and the troubleshooting time is shortened.

[0042] The ASU of different vehicle models only needs to adjust the control logic (such as a pressure threshold and a start-stop timing) in the control module 1, the control board can be directly reused because it has no control function, and only needs to match general parameters such as a power supply voltage and a bus protocol without modifying hardware. The control module 1 directly sends control instructions to the execution element (pump, valve) as the only control unit, and the control board is only responsible for instruction transmission and power supply, and there is no instruction conflict. Therefore, the technical solution in the embodiment can solve various problems caused by the integrated design of the control function, the power transmission function and the interaction function of the control board of the existing ASU.

[0043] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present application are only used to explain the relative positional relationship, movement condition, etc. between components in a certain specific posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the specific posture changes, the directional indications also change accordingly.

[0044] In addition, in the present application, the description such as "first", "second" and the like is only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can be explicitly or implicitly included at least one of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0045] In the present application, unless otherwise specifically defined and limited, the terms "connection", "fixing" and the like should be broadly understood, for example, "fixing" can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral; can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise specifically limited. For ordinary skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0046] In addition, the technical solutions of various embodiments of the utility model can be combined with each other, but must be based on that a person having ordinary skill in the art can realize, when the combination of technical solutions appears mutual contradiction or cannot be realized, it should be considered that the combination of such technical solutions does not exist, also not within the protection scope required by the utility model.

Claims

1. An automotive air supply unit as an actuator, comprising a valve body (7), wherein an electronic communication module (8) and an actuator are integrated and mounted on the valve body (7), the electronic communication module (8) being communicatively connected to the actuator, characterized in that, The electronic communication module (8) is equipped with a communication board (2), which is connected to the control module (1) located at the vehicle end. The communication board (2) is only configured to realize the functions of power transmission and data interaction, and does not contain a processor, microcontroller or programmable logic circuit for performing the function control of the vehicle air supply unit. The communication board (2) receives control signals from the control module (1) located at the vehicle end and transmits them to the actuator, and at the same time transmits the status data of the vehicle air supply unit to the control module (1) located at the vehicle end.

2. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuators include a motor module (4), a solenoid valve assembly (5), and a sensor module (6) integrated on the valve body (7).

3. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electronic communication module (8) is provided with a communication interface module (9) connected to the communication board (2). The communication interface module (9) and the control module (1) communicate with each other via CAN bus, LIN bus or vehicle Ethernet.

4. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication board (2) is equipped with a power protection circuit.

5. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that: The automotive air supply unit also includes a dryer module (3) with a desiccant heating and regeneration function, and the dryer module (3) is connected to the communication board (2) for communication.

6. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to claim 5, characterized in that: The dryer module (3) is integrated on the valve body (7) or installed separately from the valve body (7).

7. The automotive air supply unit as an actuator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The electronic communication module (8) and the motor module (4) are respectively located on both sides of the valve body (7), and the solenoid valve group (5) and the sensor module (6) are integrated and installed in the valve body (7) at the position corresponding to the communication board (2).

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