control device

Abstract

This invention provides a control device that can shorten the time it takes for the redundant power supply to enter sleep mode after the ignition is turned off, in vehicles that are not equipped with shift-by-wire. [Solution] A control device for a redundant power supply capable of supplying power to a load, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a shift-by-wire system after the vehicle's ignition is turned off; and a control unit that, if the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system, shortens the communication timeout period for waiting for a response from the shift-by-wire system to a time set to an initial value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device that controls a redundant power supply capable of supplying power to a load.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle power supply system including a redundant power supply capable of supplying power to a load (door lock motor). In this in-vehicle power supply system, it is described that the discharge power of a capacitor is effectively utilized from after the ignition of the vehicle is turned off until the redundant power supply is transitioned to the sleep state.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to transition the redundant power supply to the sleep state after ignition off in a vehicle, it is necessary to confirm that the power backup of the shift-by-wire (SBW) is unnecessary. Whether this power backup is unnecessary or not is determined by the control device, which is the judging entity, communicating with the shift-by-wire and receiving an answer as to whether it is required or not.

[0005] However, when the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire, no response comes for the transmission made by the control device to the shift-by-wire after ignition off. For this reason, the control device waits for the elapse of a predetermined communication timeout period and then transitions the redundant power supply to the sleep state. Therefore, when the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire, there is a problem that it takes time from ignition off until the redundant power supply enters the sleep state.

[0006] This disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a control device that can shorten the time from ignition off until the redundant power supply enters sleep mode when the vehicle is not equipped with shift-by-wire. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a control device for a redundant power supply capable of supplying power to a load, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a shift-by-wire system after the vehicle's ignition has been turned off; and a control unit that, if the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system, shortens the communication timeout period for waiting for a response from the shift-by-wire system to a time set to an initial value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the control device of the present disclosure, when the vehicle is not equipped with shift-by-wire, the time from ignition off to the redundant power supply entering sleep mode can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram of a redundant power supply including a control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Flowchart of the communication timeout control process performed by the control unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The control device described herein shortens the default communication timeout period if the vehicle is not equipped with shift-by-wire. This reduces the time from ignition off until the redundant power supply enters sleep mode. Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] <Embodiment> [composition] Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of a redundant power supply 100 including a control device 140 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The redundant power supply 100 is connected to loads such as a door unlock 210 and a shift-by-wire (SBW) 220 so that power can be supplied. This redundant power supply 100, door unlock 210, and shift-by-wire 220, etc., may be mounted in a vehicle.

[0012] The redundant power supply 100 is a unit that functions as an auxiliary power supply to provide backup power to the door unlock 210, shift-by-wire 220, etc., when an abnormality occurs in the power supply from the main power supply 300 to the door unlock 210, shift-by-wire 220, etc., due to a power failure of the main power supply 300 or the like. The redundant power supply 100 illustrated in Figure 1 includes a sub-power supply 110, a DC-DC converter 120, a communication function unit 130, and a control device 140.

[0013] The sub-power supply 110 is a power source composed of, for example, energy storage elements such as capacitors or secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries configured to be rechargeable and dischargeable. This sub-power supply 110 is connected to a DC-DC converter 120 so that it can charge the power input from the main power supply 300 and discharge the power it has stored (backup power) to the door unlock 210, shift-by-wire 220, etc.

[0014] The DC-DC converter 120 is a power converter for controlling the charging and discharging of the power supply 110. Based on instructions from the control device 140, the DC-DC converter 120 can convert the power input from the main power supply 300 into power of a predetermined voltage and output it to the sub-power supply 110, or convert the power stored in the sub-power supply 110 into power of a predetermined voltage and output it to the door unlock 210, shift-by-wire 220, etc.

[0015] The communication function unit 130 is configured to mediate communication between the control device 140 and the shift-by-wire 220. In this embodiment, if the vehicle is equipped with the shift-by-wire 220, the communication function unit 130 can inform the control device 140 of the determination of whether or not the shift-by-wire 220 requires power backup.

[0016] The control device 140 is configured to control the operation of the redundant power supply 100, and a microcontroller, for example, is used. The control device 140 receives an IG signal indicating the ignition status of the vehicle and can determine whether the vehicle is ignition on (IG-ON) or ignition off (IG-OFF). In addition, the control device 140 communicates with the shift-by-wire 220 via the communication function unit 130 to determine (confirm) whether the vehicle is equipped with a shift-by-wire 220 and whether a power backup is required.

[0017] The door unlock 210 and shift-by-wire 220 are on-board loads necessary to perform specific functions related to the vehicle, and are devices that require a particularly redundant power supply configuration. The door unlock 210 is a device that performs door locking / unlocking control, allowing the vehicle doors to be locked / unlocked using electrical signals. The shift-by-wire 220 is a device that performs electronic shift control, allowing the gear position of the transmission (not shown) to be changed using electrical signals. Note that the loads mounted on the vehicle are not limited to those shown in Figure 1.

[0018] The main power supply 300 is a power source that supplies power at a predetermined voltage (+B voltage) to the redundant power supply 100, door unlock 210, and shift-by-wire 220, etc. This main power supply 300 is composed of a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion battery or a lead-acid battery.

[0019] [control] Next, referring further to FIG. 2, the control performed by the control device 140 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of communication timeout time control executed by the control device 140. The communication timeout time control shown in this FIG. 2 starts when the ignition of the vehicle is turned off (IG-OFF).

[0020] (Step S201) The control device 140 determines whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a shift-by-wire (SBW) 220 (function as a determination unit). The fact that the vehicle is not equipped with the shift-by-wire 220 can be determined, for example, by the fact that communication for confirming the necessity of power backup for the shift-by-wire 220 has never been established.

[0021] When the control device 140 determines that the vehicle is equipped with the shift-by-wire 220 (Yes in Step S201), the process proceeds to Step S202. On the other hand, when the control device 140 determines that the vehicle is not equipped with the shift-by-wire 220 (No in Step S201), the process proceeds to Step S203.

[0022] (Step S202) The control device 140 sets the communication timeout time, which is the time to stop waiting for a communication response from the shift-by-wire 220, to the first time (function as a control unit). This first time can be set to a predetermined value (for example, 180 seconds) based on the delay time in the communication path and the like.

[0023] When the communication timeout time is set to the first time by the control device 140, the process proceeds to Step S204.

[0024] (Step S203) The control device 140 sets the communication timeout period, which is the time it takes to stop waiting for a communication response from the shift-by-wire 220, to the second time (function as a control unit). This second time is set to a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) that is shorter than the first time set in step S202 (second time < first time). The predetermined time is determined, for example, according to the desired amount of time for which the redundant power supply 100 is to sleep.

[0025] When the control device 140 sets the communication timeout period to the second time, the process proceeds to step S204.

[0026] (Step S204) The control device 140 determines whether the communication timeout period has elapsed since the vehicle's ignition was turned off (IG-OFF). Specifically, the control device 140 determines whether the first time has elapsed since IG-OFF if the vehicle is equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220, and whether the second time has elapsed since IG-OFF if the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220.

[0027] If the control device 140 determines that the communication timeout period has elapsed (step S204, yes), the process proceeds to step S205. On the other hand, if the control device 140 determines that the communication timeout period has not yet elapsed (step S204, no), it waits until the communication timeout period has elapsed.

[0028] (Step S205) The control device 140 performs a predetermined sleep process to transition the redundant power supply 100 to a sleep state with reduced power consumption.

[0029] When the control device 140 performs sleep processing on the redundant power supply 100, this communication timeout control terminates.

[0030] <Effects and Actions> As described above, according to the control device 140 of one embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication timeout time is shortened when the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220. As a result, after the vehicle's ignition is turned off (IG-OFF), the redundant power supply 100 can immediately transition to a sleep state after only a short communication timeout period (second hour).

[0031] Therefore, by simply changing the control system without requiring any changes to the system's hardware configuration, it is possible to shorten the time from ignition off (IG-OFF) until the redundant power supply enters sleep mode, in order to accommodate vehicles that are not equipped with Shift-by-Wire 220.

[0032] Furthermore, according to the control device 140 of this embodiment, if the vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220, the communication timeout period is shortened. This prevents situations where the ignition is turned on again (IG-ON) while waiting for the communication timeout period to expire, and backup of other systems cannot be performed until the priority communication timeout period has elapsed (the startup process does not proceed, and the time until backup becomes possible is extended).

[0033] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which it is determined that a vehicle is not equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220 by the fact that communication to confirm whether or not a power backup for the shift-by-wire system 220 is required is never established. However, since it is known in advance (during manufacturing) that a vehicle will not be equipped with a shift-by-wire system 220, a short communication timeout period (second time) may be set in advance for the control device 140 of such a vehicle. In this case, the processing of steps S201 to S203 shown in Figure 2 can be omitted.

[0034] Although one embodiment of the disclosed technology has been described above, the disclosed technology can be understood not only as a control device, but also as a control method performed by the control device, a program for the control method, a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium storing the program, and a vehicle equipped with the control device. [Industrial applicability]

[0035] The control device of this disclosure can be used in vehicles that have a redundant power supply but are not equipped with shift-by-wire. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 100 redundant power supplies 110 Sub-power supply 120 DC-DC converters 130 Communication Function Unit 140 Control device 210 Door Unlock 220 Shift-by-wire (SBW) 300 Main Power Supply

Claims

1. A control device for a redundant power supply capable of supplying power to a load, A determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is equipped with shift-by-wire after the vehicle's ignition is turned off, If the aforementioned shift-by-wire system is not installed, the system includes a control unit that shortens the communication timeout period for waiting for a response from the shift-by-wire system to a time initially set shorter than the initial time. Control device.

2. The determination unit determines that the vehicle is not equipped with the shift-by-wire system if communication with the shift-by-wire system is never established. The control device according to claim 1.

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