How to control the alternator of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an alternator electrically connected to a battery of a motor vehicle and to a first electrical network of the motor vehicle, the method comprising: a first step (E1) of operating the alternator according to a first mode in which a first current generated by the alternator is supplied to the first electrical network and to the battery for recharging; a second step (E2) of detecting an operating condition in which the intensity of the current flowing through the rotor of the alternator needs to be limited to a first maximum intensity value; and a third step (E3) of operating the alternator according to a second mode in which a second current generated by the alternator is supplied only to the first electrical network, wherein the intensity of the third current flowing through the rotor of the alternator to generate the second current is less than the first maximum intensity value.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the battery (3) of a motor vehicle (100) and an alternator (2) electrically connected to a first electrical network (4) of the motor vehicle (100), A first step (E1) is to operate the alternator (2) according to a first mode (M1) in which a first current generated by the alternator (2) is supplied to the first electrical network (4) and to the battery (3) for recharging, A second step (E2) is to detect an operating condition in which it is necessary to limit the intensity of the current flowing through the rotor (22) of the alternator (2) to a first maximum intensity value (I_rotor_max), and thereafter, A third step (E3) is to operate the alternator (2) according to a second mode (M2) in which the second current generated by the alternator (2) is supplied only to the first electrical network (4), Equipped with, A control method in which the intensity (I_rotor) of the third current flowing through the rotor (22) of the alternator (2) to generate the second current is less than the first maximum intensity value (I_rotor_max).

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the first maximum intensity value (I_rotor_max) is determined as a function of the rotational speed of the heat engine (1).

3. The control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first electrical network is a low-voltage network that supplies power to a set of equipment in a motor vehicle, particularly a network whose voltage fluctuates between 12V and 14V or even between 12V and 15.6V, and the set of equipment comprises a lock-prevention braking system, a passenger compartment seat adjustment system, a lighting management system, a passenger compartment thermal comfort management system, a driver assistance system and / or a multimedia system.

4. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first step (E1) and the third step (E3) perform an adjustment loop between a voltage setpoint (U_C) transmitted to the alternator (2) and a voltage (U_A) measured at the terminals of the first electrical network (4).

5. The first step (E1) comprises the application of a first voltage (U_1) to the terminals of the first electrical network (4) by the alternator (2), wherein the first voltage (U_1) is strictly higher than the reference voltage (U_ref) of the battery (3), and the reference voltage (U_ref) of the battery corresponds to a voltage value that, when applied to the terminals of the battery (3), does not cause the battery to charge or discharge. The third step (E3) comprises the application of a second voltage (U_2) to the terminals of the first electrical network (4) by the alternator (2), wherein the second voltage is less than or equal to the reference voltage (U_ref) of the battery. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein if the second voltage (U_2) is strictly less than the reference voltage (U_ref) of the battery (3), the third step (E3) comprises supplying a fourth current to the first electrical network (4) by the battery (3).

6. The second step (E2) includes a step of confirming a condition for limiting the intensity of the current flowing to the rotor of the alternator (2), A substep (E21) of comparing the rotational speed of the heat engine (1) with a first threshold (S11) of the rotational speed of the heat engine (1), A substep (E22) of comparing the temperature of the heat engine (1) with a first temperature threshold (S21) of the heat engine (1), A substep (E23) is performed to compare the charge level of the battery (3) with a first charge threshold (S31) of the battery, A control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising:

7. The fourth step (E4) further comprises detecting the end of the limit on the intensity of the current generated by the alternator (2), the fourth step (E4) is: A substep (E41) is performed to compare the current rotational speed of the heat engine with a first threshold (S11) of the rotational speed of the heat engine (1), A substep (E42) is performed to compare the temperature of the heat engine (1) with a second temperature threshold (S22) of the heat engine (1), A substep (E43) is performed to compare the current charge level of the battery (3) with a second charge threshold (S32) of the battery (3), Equipped with, The second temperature threshold (S22) of the heat engine (1) is strictly less than the first temperature threshold (S21) of the heat engine (1), The control method according to claim 6, wherein the second charge threshold (S32) of the battery is strictly less than the first charge threshold (S31) of the battery.

8. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second step (E2) comprises determining a second maximum value of engine torque required to cause a current of an intensity equal to the first maximum intensity value (I_rotor_max) to flow through the rotor (22), and transmitting the second maximum value to the heat engine (1).

9. A device (10) for controlling a battery (3) of a motor vehicle (100) and an alternator (2) electrically connected to a first electrical network (4) of the motor vehicle (100), comprising hardware and / or software elements (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 101, 102, 511, 512, 513, 514) that perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in particular hardware and / or software elements (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 101, 102) designed to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A motor vehicle (100) equipped with a device (10) for controlling the alternator (2) as described in claim 9.

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