Vehicle control devices

Abstract

The goal is to enable more appropriate abnormal control by an integrated circuit when a malfunction occurs in the microcontroller of a motor control device. [Solution] The motor control device includes a motor microcontroller that controls the motor based on commands from the main control device, and an integrated circuit that performs abnormal control when the motor microcontroller malfunctions. When an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller, the integrated circuit resets the motor microcontroller and sends a signal to the main control device indicating that the motor microcontroller has been reset. After waiting for the communication status to stabilize, the integrated circuit receives a status confirmation signal from the main control device and then performs abnormality monitoring, including abnormalities in communication with the main control device. The results of the abnormality monitoring are then sent to the main control device before a predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the status confirmation signal from the main control device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device including a main control device that controls the entire drive system including a motor and a motor control device that controls the motor based on a command from the main control device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of vehicle control device, there has been proposed one including a main control device, a microcomputer that controls one motor based on a control signal from the main control device, and an integrated circuit that executes abnormal control so as to run with the operation of the engine and the gate cutoff of the inverter and the boost converter when an abnormality of the microcomputer or a communication abnormality with the microcomputer is detected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described vehicle control device, when detecting an abnormality of the microcomputer or a communication abnormality with the microcomputer by the integrated circuit and executing abnormal control, if communication between the main control device and the integrated circuit is performed in an unstable state until communication between the main control device and the integrated circuit is established, an inappropriate signal may be transmitted from the integrated circuit to the main control device or vice versa from the main control device to the integrated circuit, and there may occur a case where abnormal control is not properly performed.

[0005] The main object of the vehicle control device of the present disclosure is to enable more appropriate abnormal control to be performed by the integrated circuit when an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer in the motor control device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device of this disclosure employs the following means to achieve the main objective described above.

[0007] The vehicle control device described herein is A vehicle control device comprising a main control device that controls the entire drive system including a motor, and a motor control device that controls the motor based on commands from the main control device, The motor control device comprises a motor microcontroller that controls the motor based on a command from the main control device, and an integrated circuit that performs abnormal control of the motor based on a command from the main control device when the motor microcontroller malfunctions. The integrated circuit resets the motor microcontroller when an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller and transmits a signal indicating that the motor microcontroller has been reset to the main control unit. After waiting for the communication state to stabilize, it receives a status confirmation signal from the main control unit and then performs abnormality monitoring, including abnormalities in communication with the main control unit. It then transmits the results of the abnormality monitoring to the main control unit before a predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the status confirmation signal from the main control unit. It is characterized by the following:

[0008] The vehicle control device of this disclosure comprises a main control device that controls the entire drive system including a motor, and a motor control device that controls the motor based on commands from the main control device. The motor control device includes a motor microcontroller that controls the motor based on commands from the main control device, and an integrated circuit that performs abnormal motor control based on commands from the main control device when the motor microcontroller malfunctions. The integrated circuit resets the motor microcontroller when an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller and sends a signal to the main control device indicating that the motor microcontroller has been reset. After waiting for the communication state to stabilize, it receives a status confirmation signal from the main control device and then performs abnormality monitoring, including abnormalities in communication with the main control device, and transmits the results of the abnormality monitoring to the main control device before a predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the status confirmation signal from the main control device. This makes it possible to avoid inappropriate signal exchange based on unstable communication between the main control device and the integrated circuit when an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller of the motor control device, and enables more appropriate abnormality control by the integrated circuit.

[0009] In the vehicle control device of this disclosure, the integrated circuit may initiate the abnormal control when it receives the result of the abnormality monitoring and the abnormality control request signal from the main control device. This allows the integrated circuit to perform abnormal control more appropriately.

[0010] Furthermore, in the vehicle control device of this disclosure, the integrated circuit may not operate until an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller. That is, abnormality monitoring and abnormality control may be performed only when an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This diagram shows a schematic configuration of a hybrid vehicle 20 equipped with a vehicle control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the signal exchange between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 under normal conditions. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of signal exchange between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 when microcontroller 40a malfunctions. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of how ASIC40b and HVECU70 handle microcontroller failures when a malfunction occurs in microcontroller 40a. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates an example of how the state of microcontroller 40a, ASIC 40b, and HVECU 70 changes over time when an abnormality occurs in microcontroller 40a. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Next, embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a hybrid vehicle 20 equipped with a vehicle control device as one embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in the figure, the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment includes an engine 22, an engine electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "engine ECU") 24, a planetary gear 30, motors MG1 and MG2, a motor electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "motor ECU") 40, inverters 41 and 42, a battery 50, and a hybrid electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "HVECU") 70. The vehicle control devices are the HVECU 70 and the motor ECU 40.

[0013] Engine 22 is configured as a 6-cylinder internal combustion engine that outputs power through four strokes: intake, compression, expansion (explosive combustion), and exhaust, using a fuel such as gasoline or diesel. Engine 22 is controlled by the engine ECU 24. Although not shown in the diagram, the engine ECU 24 is configured as a microprocessor centered around a CPU. The engine ECU 24 receives signals from various sensors necessary for controlling the operation of engine 22, and outputs various control signals for controlling the operation of engine 22. The engine ECU 24 communicates with HVECU 70, and controls the operation of engine 22 based on control signals from HVECU 70, and outputs data regarding the operating status of engine 22 to HVECU 70 as needed.

[0014] The planetary gear 30 is configured as a single-pinion type planetary gear mechanism. The rotor of the motor MG1 is connected to the sun gear of the planetary gear 30. The drive shaft 36, which is connected to the drive wheels 39a and 39b via a differential gear 38, is connected to the ring gear of the planetary gear 30. The crankshaft 23 of the engine 22 is connected to the carrier of the planetary gear 30.

[0015] Motors MG1 and MG2 are configured, for example, as synchronous generator motors. The rotor of motor MG2 is connected to the drive shaft 36. Inverters 41 and 42 are used to drive motors MG1 and MG2 and are also connected to the battery 50 via the power line 54. Motors MG1 and MG2 are rotationally driven by the motor ECU 40, which controls the switching of multiple switching elements (not shown) of inverters 41 and 42. The motor ECU 40 has a microcontroller 40a that normally controls the drive of motors MG1 and MG2, and an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) 40b that controls the drive of motors MG1 and MG2 in place of the microcontroller 40a when a malfunction occurs in the microcontroller 40a. The microcontroller 40a, although not shown in the diagram, is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU, and the ASIC 40b is configured as an integrated circuit that resets the microcontroller 40a when an abnormality occurs in the microcontroller 40a, and performs retraction and travel control by switching the switching elements of inverters 41 and 42 based on torque commands Tm1* and Tm2* from HVECU 70 using basic operations such as PWM control.

[0016] Figure 2 shows the signal exchange between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 under normal conditions, and Figure 3 shows the signal exchange between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 when the microcontroller 40a malfunctions. In the figures, solid arrows between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 indicate that signal exchange is taking place, while dashed lines between HVECU70, motor ECU40, and inverters 41 and 42 indicate that a communication circuit exists but no signal exchange is taking place. Under normal conditions, the microcontroller 40a controls the switching elements of inverters 41 and 42 using PWM control or square wave control based on torque commands Tm1* and Tm2* from HVECU70. When an abnormality occurs in the microcontroller 40a, the ASIC 40b resets the microcontroller 40a and performs retraction control by switching the switching elements of the inverters 41 and 42 based on torque commands Tm1* and Tm2* from the HVECU 70 using basic operations such as PWM control. For this reason, signals from various sensors necessary for driving and controlling motors MG1 and MG2, such as the rotational positions θm1 and θm2 from the rotational position detection sensors 43 and 44 that detect the rotational position of the rotors of motors MG1 and MG2, and the phase current from the current sensor that detects the current flowing through each phase of motors MG1 and MG2, are input to both the microcontroller 40a and the ASIC 40b. In addition, the microcontroller 40a and the ASIC 40b output switching control signals to multiple switching elements of inverters 41 and 42 (not shown). The microcontroller 40a and ASIC 40b each communicate with the HVECU 70, and drive motors MG1 and MG2 according to control signals from the HVECU 70, and output data regarding the drive status of motors MG1 and MG2 to the HVECU 70 as needed.

[0017] The battery 50 is configured as, for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery or a nickel-metal hydride secondary battery. The battery 50 is managed by a battery electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "battery ECU") 52. The battery ECU 52 receives the voltage (battery voltage) Vb of the battery 50 from a voltage sensor 51a attached between the terminals of the battery 50, the current (battery current) Ib of the battery 50 from a current sensor 51b attached to the output terminal of the battery 50, and the like. The battery ECU 52 calculates the input power Pin and the output power Pout of the battery 50 based on the product of the battery voltage Vb and the battery current Ib. Further, the battery ECU 52 calculates the state of charge SOC of the battery 50 based on the integrated value of the battery current Ib.

[0018] Although not shown, the HVECU 70 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU. The HVECU 70 receives, for example, an ignition signal from an ignition switch 80, a shift position SP from a shift position sensor 82 that detects the operation position of a shift lever 81, an accelerator opening Acc from an accelerator pedal position sensor 84 that detects the depression amount of an accelerator pedal 83, a brake pedal position BP from a brake pedal position sensor 86 that detects the depression amount of a brake pedal 85, a vehicle speed V from a vehicle speed sensor 87, and the like. The HVECU 70 communicates with the engine ECU 24, the motor ECU 40, and the battery ECU 52.

[0019] Next, the operation of the vehicle control device configured as described above, particularly the operation when an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer 40a, will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing at the time of a microcomputer abnormality in the ASIC 40b and the HVECU 70 when an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer 40a.

[0020] In the microcontroller abnormality handling, first, the ASIC 40b resets the microcontroller 40a (step S100), and transmits "unreliable" which is a signal with low reliability due to the abnormality of the microcontroller 40a as a signal indicating that the microcontroller 40a has been reset from the ASIC 40b to the HVECU 70 (step S110).

[0021] Upon receiving the "unreliable" signal from the ASIC 40b, the HVECU 70 recognizes that an abnormality has occurred in the microcontroller 40a and also recognizes that the microcontroller 40a has been reset by the ASIC 40b (step S200). Then, it waits for the time required for the communication state with the ASIC 40b to stabilize, transmits "status confirmation" as a request to transition to the standby operation to the ASIC 40b, and starts counting the timeout determination for the response to the abnormal monitoring result from the ASIC 40b (step S210).

[0022] Upon receiving "status confirmation" from the HVECU 70, the ASIC 40b recognizes the "status confirmation" and starts abnormal monitoring including communication with the HVECU 70 (step S120). Then, it transmits the result of the abnormal monitoring to the HVECU 70 before the timeout (step S130).

[0023] If the HVECU70 receives an "abnormal" result from the ASIC40b's abnormality monitoring before the timeout (step S220), it determines that the ASIC40b should not perform the evasive maneuver, stops the vehicle (step S250), and terminates this process. Also, if the ASIC40b's abnormality monitoring result is not transmitted before the timeout, i.e., if the ASIC40b's abnormality monitoring is not determined (step S230), it determines that the ASIC40b should not perform the evasive maneuver, stops the vehicle (step S250), and terminates this process. On the other hand, if the ASIC40b's abnormality monitoring result is received as "normal" ("no abnormality") before the timeout (steps S220, S230), it starts the evasive maneuver using the ASIC40b (step S240) and terminates this process. When the ASIC40b initiates the evasive driving operation, the ASIC40b starts evasive driving control based on the torque commands Tm1* and Tm2* from the HVECU70 (step S140). As described above, since the ASIC40b starts abnormality monitoring after the time required for the communication state between the HVECU70 and the ASIC40b to stabilize has elapsed, it is possible to avoid performing inappropriate processing based on the results of abnormality monitoring transmitted when the communication state is unstable.

[0024] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the time changes in the states of microcontroller 40a, ASIC 40b, and HVECU 70 when an abnormality occurs in microcontroller 40a. When an abnormality occurs in microcontroller 40a at time T1, the microcontroller 40a is reset by ASIC 40b at time T2, and a "not reliable" signal from microcontroller 40a is sent to HVECU 70. Upon receiving this "not reliable" signal, HVECU 70 sends a "status check" to ASIC 40b at time T3, after the time required for communication with ASIC 40b to stabilize has elapsed. Upon receiving this "status check," ASIC 40b starts abnormality monitoring (monitoring permitted) at time T4. Then, at time T5, ASIC 40b determines that the abnormality monitoring result is "normal" and sends this "normal" result to HVECU 70. Upon receiving this "normal" result, HVECU 70 starts safekeeping by ASIC 40b at time T6. Since the ASIC40b starts monitoring for abnormalities only after the necessary time has elapsed for the communication between the HVECU70 and the ASIC40b to stabilize, it is possible to avoid the exchange of inappropriate signals based on communication between the HVECU70 and the ASIC40b in an unstable state, and thus enable more appropriate evasive maneuvers.

[0025] In the vehicle control device installed in the hybrid vehicle 20 of the embodiment described above, if an abnormality occurs in the microcontroller 40a of the motor ECU 40, the microcontroller 40a is reset, and a signal of "unreliable" indicating that the microcontroller 40a has been reset is sent to the HVECU 70. Upon receiving "unreliable," the HVECU 70 sends a "status check" to the ASIC 40b after the time required for the communication state with the ASIC 40b to stabilize, and starts counting down the timeout. Upon receiving this "status check," the ASIC 40b sends the result of the abnormality monitoring to the HVECU 70 before the timeout. As a result, when an abnormality occurs in the microcontroller 40a, it is possible to avoid the exchange of inappropriate signals based on communication between the HVECU 70 and the ASIC 40b in an unstable state, and the ASIC 40b can perform safeguard driving more appropriately.

[0026] In the embodiments described, the present disclosure was applied to a hybrid vehicle 20 comprising an engine 22, motors MG1 and MG2, and planetary gears 30. However, it may be applied to any vehicle configuration as long as it is equipped with a main control device that controls the entire drive system including the motors, and a motor control device that controls the motors based on commands from the main control device.

[0027] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained. In the embodiment, motor MG1 and motor MG2 correspond to "motors", hybrid electronic control unit 70 (HVECU70) corresponds to "main control device", motor electronic control unit 40 (motor ECU40) corresponds to "motor control device", microcontroller 40a corresponds to "motor microcontroller", and ASIC40b corresponds to "integrated circuit".

[0028] Furthermore, the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem is merely an example to specifically explain the form in which the embodiment implements the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem, and does not limit the elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiment is merely one specific example of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem.

[0029] Although the present disclosure has been described above using embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial applicability]

[0030] This disclosure can be used in industries such as the manufacturing of vehicle control devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 20 Hybrid vehicle, 22 Engine, 24 Engine electronic control unit (engine ECU), 30 Planetary gear, 36 Drive shaft, 39a, 39b Drive wheels, 40 Motor electronic control unit (motor ECU), 40a Microcontroller, 40b ASIC, 41, 42 Inverter, 50 Battery, 70 HVECU, MG1, MG2 Motor.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device comprising a main control device that controls the entire drive system including a motor, and a motor control device that controls the motor based on commands from the main control device, The motor control device comprises a motor microcontroller that controls the motor based on a command from the main control device, and an integrated circuit that performs abnormal control of the motor based on a command from the main control device when the motor microcontroller malfunctions. The integrated circuit resets the motor microcontroller when an abnormality occurs in the motor microcontroller and transmits a signal indicating that the motor microcontroller has been reset to the main control unit. After waiting for the communication state to stabilize, it receives a status confirmation signal from the main control unit and then performs abnormality monitoring, including abnormalities in communication with the main control unit. It then transmits the results of the abnormality monitoring to the main control unit before a predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the status confirmation signal from the main control unit. A vehicle control device characterized by the following features.

2. A vehicle control device according to claim 1, The integrated circuit, upon receiving the result of the abnormality monitoring, initiates the abnormality control when it receives the abnormality control request signal from the main control device. Vehicle control device.

3. A vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, The aforementioned integrated circuit will not operate until a malfunction occurs in the motor microcontroller. Vehicle control device.

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