Load driver

Abstract

To provide a load drive device which can detect an abnormality of a reverse connection protection relay provided on a ground line.SOLUTION: An inverter (power converter) 60 is provided between a power supply line Lp and a ground line Lg connected with a battery 15 and converts DC power of the battery 15 to be supplied to a motor (load) 80. A control circuit 301 controls an operation of the inverter 60. A reverse connection protection relay 52 is provided on the ground line Lg and blocks current flowing to the power supply line Lp via the inverter 60 from the ground line Lg when the battery 15 is reversely connected in OFF. The reverse connection protection relay 52 is constituted of a transistor having a parasitic diode for conducting current from a source to a drain. The control circuit 301 detects an abnormality of the reverse connection protection relay 52 on the basis of monitor voltage Vm equivalent to voltage drop from the source to the drain of the reverse connection protection relay 52 and voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a load driving device. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a technique for detecting an abnormality in a reverse connection protection relay in a load driving device that converts DC power from a battery using a power converter such as an inverter and supplies the converted power to a load is known.

[0003] For example, in the motor drive device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a power supply relay (first FET) on the battery side and a reverse connection protection relay (second FET) on the inverter side are connected in series to a power supply line between the battery and the inverter. The high potential side electrode of a capacitor is connected between the reverse connection protection relay and the inverter.

[0004] During the initial check, the control unit detects a short-circuit fault or an open-circuit fault in the power supply relay and the reverse connection protection relay based on the voltage at point P1 between the power supply relay and the reverse connection protection relay, and the voltage at point P2 between the reverse connection protection relay and the inverter, while charging a voltage to the high-potential electrode of the capacitor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-139021 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Previously, load drive devices such as auxiliary motors mounted on vehicles were generally designed assuming a battery voltage of 12V. In the future, the battery voltage for auxiliary devices in electric vehicles is expected to increase to 24V or 48V, which will exceed the voltage resistance of conventional 12V drive circuits. For example, if a reverse connection protection relay made up of an N-channel MOSFET is installed on the power line, a driver is required that can apply a high voltage to the gate, which is the sum of the battery voltage and the gate drive voltage.

[0007] Therefore, by providing a reverse polarity protection relay on the ground line, it becomes possible to drive the gate at a low voltage, eliminating the need for a high-voltage driver.However, the prior art of Patent Document 1 is intended for a configuration in which a power supply relay and a reverse polarity protection relay are connected in series on a power supply line, and cannot be applied to detecting abnormalities in a reverse polarity protection relay provided independently on a ground line.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a load driving device that can detect an abnormality in a reverse connection protection relay provided in a ground line. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The load driving device of the present invention includes a power converter (60), control circuits (301, 302), and a reverse connection protection relay (52). The power converter is provided between a power supply line (Lp) connected to a battery (15) and a ground line (Lg), and converts DC power from the battery and supplies it to a load (80). The control circuit controls the operation of the power converter.

[0010] The reverse connection protection relay is provided on the ground line, and when it is turned off, it cuts off the current that flows from the ground line through the power converter to the power line when the battery is connected in reverse.

[0011] The reverse polarity protection relay is composed of a transistor with its drain connected to the battery side of the ground line and its source connected to the power converter side, and with a parasitic diode that conducts current from source to drain.The control circuit detects abnormalities in the reverse polarity protection relay based on the monitor voltage (Vm) equivalent to the voltage drop from source to drain of the reverse polarity protection relay and the voltage drop (VF) of the parasitic diode.

[0012] The present invention can detect an abnormality in a reverse polarity protection relay provided in a ground line in a drive circuit to which a battery voltage of, for example, 24 V or 48 V is applied. For example, by detecting an abnormality in the reverse polarity protection relay during an initial check after starting up the load drive device, it is possible to take measures to deal with the abnormality at an early stage, improving reliability. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a motor drive device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a control circuit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing the detection of a reverse connection protection relay abnormality during the initial check. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a reverse connection protection relay abnormality detection process during normal operation. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a motor drive device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a control circuit according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a motor drive device according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A load driving device according to multiple embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In multiple embodiments, substantially identical components are assigned the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted. The first to third embodiments are collectively referred to as "the present embodiment." The load driving device of the present embodiment is a motor driving device. This motor driving device converts DC power from a battery in an electric power steering device and supplies it to a steering assist motor as a "load." The steering assist motor is configured as a three-phase brushless motor.

[0015] While the voltage of auxiliary batteries mounted on vehicles has generally been 12V in the past, this embodiment primarily assumes 24V or 48V, which are expected to be adopted in electric vehicles in the future. In the drawings and the following specification, "24V / 48V" means "24V or 48V." However, the configuration of this embodiment is basically the same even when a 12V battery is used. As is clear from the use of the term "IG (ignition)," this embodiment may be applied not only to electric vehicles but also to engine vehicles.

[0016] Specifically, the ECU of the electric power steering device functions as the motor drive device. The ECU is composed of a microcomputer, a customized ASIC, etc., and is equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and bus lines connecting these components (not shown). The ECU performs control by software processing, in which the CPU executes a program stored in advance in a physical memory device (i.e., a readable non-transitory tangible recording medium) such as ROM, or by hardware processing using a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0017] (First embodiment) The reference numeral for the motor drive device of each embodiment has the number of the embodiment added as the third digit following "10." A motor drive device 101 of a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Hereinafter, connection of the battery 15 in the normal orientation will be referred to as "forward connection," and connection of the battery 15 in the opposite orientation to the normal orientation will be referred to as "reverse connection." As shown in FIG. 1, in the normal connection state, the positive electrode of the battery 15 is connected to the power supply terminal Tp of the motor drive device 101, and the negative electrode of the battery 15 is connected to the ground terminal Tg of the motor drive device 101. The positive electrode of the battery 15 is also connected to the IG terminal Tig of the motor drive device 101 via the step-down circuit 14.

[0018] The wiring connected to the power supply terminal Tp, the ground terminal Tg, and the IG terminal Tig is called the power supply line Lp, the ground line Lg, and the IG line Lig, respectively. The voltage applied to the power supply line Lp is called the PIG voltage, and the voltage applied to the IG line Lig is called the IG voltage. In this embodiment, the PIG voltage is 24 V or 48 V, and the IG voltage is 12 V. A wake-up signal is transmitted via the IG line Lig.

[0019] Motor drive device 101 includes inverter 60 as a "power converter," reverse connection protection relay 52, step-down regulator 18, control circuit 301, etc. While Fig. 1 illustrates the configuration of motor drive device 101 with one system, it may also have a redundant configuration with two or more systems. For example, in a two-system motor drive device, power is supplied from two inverters to a double-winding motor having two sets of windings.

[0020] The inverter 60 is provided between a power supply line Lp connected to the positive electrode of the battery 15 in a forward connection state and a ground line Lg connected to the negative electrode of the battery 15 in a forward connection state. The inverter 60 includes three-phase upper and lower arm switching elements 61-66 connected in series between the power supply line Lp and the ground line Lg. More specifically, the upper arm switching elements 61, 62, and 63 of the U phase, V phase, and W phase and the lower arm switching elements 64, 65, and 66 are bridge-connected. In this embodiment, MOSFETs are used as the switching elements 61-66 of the inverter 60. The MOSFETs used in this embodiment are basically N-channel type.

[0021] Inter-arm connection points Nu, Nv, and Nw, which are connection points of switching elements 61-66 of the upper and lower arms of each phase of inverter 60, are connected to three-phase windings 81, 82, and 83 of motor 80, respectively. Inverter 60 converts DC power from battery 15 and supplies it to three-phase windings 81, 82, and 83. For example, in the case of Y-connected motor 80, the three-phase windings 81, 82, and 83 are connected at neutral point Nm. Note that the three-phase windings 81, 82, and 83 may also be delta-connected.

[0022] Motor relays 71, 72, 73 are provided in the motor current paths between inter-arm connection points Nu, Nv, Nw of each phase and three-phase windings 81, 82, 83. Parasitic diodes of motor relays 71, 72, 73, which are formed using MOSFETs for example, conduct current from inter-arm connection points Nu, Nv, Nw to three-phase windings 81, 82, 83. When motor relays 71, 72, 73 are turned off, they block current from the motor 80 side to the inverter 60 side.

[0023] A shunt resistor 67 is provided on the ground line Lg side of the inverter 60. In at least the second embodiment, the shunt resistor 67 is used as a means for detecting the ground current Ignd flowing through the ground line Lg. However, in a configuration in which the current of each phase is detected in the current feedback control of the inverter 60, the three shunt resistors provided on the ground line Lg side of the lower arm of each phase may also be used as current sensors for detecting the ground current Ignd.

[0024] The inverter capacitor 56 is connected in parallel with the inverter 60 between the power supply line Lp and the ground line Lg. The inverter capacitor 56 is formed by an electrolytic capacitor, and is charged with energy supplied from the power supply line Lp to the inverter 60. During normal operation of the motor drive device 101, the inverter capacitor 56 functions as a smoothing capacitor.

[0025] A filter capacitor 16 and a choke coil (inductor) 17 that constitute an LC filter circuit for power supply filtering are provided on the battery 15 side of the inverter 60. The choke coil 17 is provided on the power supply line Lp. The LC filter circuit is not limited to an L-type configured with one filter capacitor 16 and one choke coil 17 as shown in the figure, but may also be a π-type using two filter capacitors 16 or a T-type using two choke coils 17.

[0026] Typically, filter capacitor 16 is a polar electrolytic capacitor such as an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, and forms an LC filter circuit together with choke coil 17. Because polar capacitors have a lower negative bias withstand capacity than positive bias withstand capacity, there is a risk that the aluminum electrolytic capacitor may be destroyed (exploded) if a negative bias voltage is applied when battery 15 is reverse-connected.

[0027] If the battery 15 is reverse-connected, current will flow from the ground line Lg to the power supply line Lp via the inverter 60 unless the current path is interrupted. Even if the switching elements 61-66 of the inverter 60 are OFF, current will flow via the parasitic diodes. The reverse connection protection relay 52 interrupts this current when it is OFF.

[0028] In this embodiment, the reverse connection protection relay 52 is provided on the ground line Lg. More specifically, the reverse connection protection relay 52 is provided on the ground line Lg closer to the battery 15 than the negative electrode of the filter capacitor 16. The drain of the reverse connection protection relay 52 is connected to the battery 15 side of the ground line Lg, and the source is connected to the inverter 60 side.

[0029] The reverse connection protection relay 52 is configured with a transistor having a "parasitic diode that conducts current from source to drain." Specifically, the reverse connection protection relay 52 of this embodiment is configured with a MOSFET. In the figure, "D" represents drain, "S" represents source, and "G" represents gate. The voltage equivalent to the voltage drop from source to drain is defined as the "monitor voltage Vm."

[0030] The parasitic diode of the reverse connection protection relay 52 conducts the ground current Ignd in the ground line Lg from the inverter 60 side to the battery 15 side. The voltage drop of the parasitic diode when the ground current Ignd is conducted is represented as "VF." The monitor voltage Vm and the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode are defined as positive values.

[0031] A gate voltage is supplied to the gate of the reverse connection protection relay 52 via a gate voltage supply path 53 (in other words, a gate signal is input). In this embodiment, the reverse connection protection relay 52 is driven by a gate signal from a control circuit 301. For example, a voltage of about 5 V generated by the control circuit 301 is supplied to the gate of the reverse connection protection relay 52. ​​When the battery 15 is reverse connected, the control circuit 301 does not operate and no gate signal is supplied, so the reverse connection protection relay 52 does not turn on.

[0032] In this embodiment, a circuit configuration is assumed in which a power relay is not provided. However, a power relay may be provided at the position X indicated by the two-dot chain line on the power line Lp, i.e., between the choke coil 17 and the inverter 60. In this case, the parasitic diode of the MOSFET constituting the power relay conducts current from the inverter 60 side to the battery 15 side. When the battery 15 is forward-connected, the power relay cuts off current from the battery 15 side to the inverter 60 side when it is turned off.

[0033] The step-down regulator 18 steps down the PIG voltage of 24V / 48V supplied from the power supply line Lp after the choke coil 17 to 12V and outputs it to the control circuit 301 and the three-phase pre-driver circuit 40. When the motor drive device 101 starts up, a wake-up signal is input from the IG line Lig to the step-down regulator 18 and the control circuit 301.

[0034] The control circuit 301 includes a microcomputer, an ASIC, etc., and operates on voltage supplied from the battery 15. It controls the operation of the inverter 60 via the three-phase pre-driver circuit 40. During normal operation of the motor drive device 101, the control circuit 301 calculates a drive signal for the inverter 60 by current feedback control based on phase current detection values ​​and the motor rotation angle so that the motor 80 outputs a command torque. In the case of a two-system configuration, control information may be exchanged between the microcomputers of each system. The three-phase pre-driver circuit 40 drives multiple switching elements 61-66 of the inverter 60 based on the drive signal calculated by the control circuit 301.

[0035] The control circuit 301 also outputs ON / OFF signals to the reverse connection protection relay 52 and the motor relays 71, 72, and 73. Furthermore, the control circuit 301 detects abnormalities such as a stuck-ON abnormality or a stuck-OFF abnormality of the reverse connection protection relay 52 based on the monitor voltage Vm of the reverse connection protection relay 52 during the initial check and normal operation.

[0036] For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2012-139021 A, corresponding US publication: US2012 / 0161681A1) discloses a technique for detecting a short-circuit fault or an open-circuit fault in a power supply relay and a reverse connection protection relay connected in series to a power supply line Lp. However, this conventional technique cannot be applied to detecting an abnormality in a reverse connection protection relay 52 provided independently in a ground line Lg. Therefore, the present embodiment aims to detect an abnormality in a reverse connection protection relay 52 provided in a ground line Lg.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the control circuit 301 of the first embodiment includes a VF storage unit 31 and an abnormality determination unit 33. The VF storage unit 31 stores a range of the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode as a fixed value. The range of the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode is determined based on the individual variation of components and the range of fluctuation in characteristics due to current or temperature changes under initial check conditions. During the initial check, the VF storage unit 31 notifies the abnormality determination unit 33 of the upper limit value VF_UL and lower limit value VF_LL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode.

[0038] The abnormality determination unit 33 acquires an ON-time monitor voltage VmON, which is the "monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay 52 is turned ON," and an OFF-time monitor voltage VmOFF, which is the "monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned OFF." The abnormality determination unit 33 determines an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay 52 based on the ON-time monitor voltage VmON, the OFF-time monitor voltage VmOFF, and the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode, and outputs a normal / abnormal signal.

[0039] Next, with reference to the flowchart in Figure 3, the detection of an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay 52 during the initial check after startup of the motor drive device 101 will be described. In the following explanation of the flowchart, the symbol "S" denotes a step. At S1, the control circuit 301 switches the inverter 60 and motor relays 71, 72, and 73 from OFF to ON. By driving the inverter 60 in a predetermined pattern, a current flows from the power supply line Lp to the ground line Lg via the three-phase windings 81, 82, and 83.

[0040] The control circuit 301 turns off the reverse connection protection relay 52 in S2, and acquires the OFF monitor voltage VmOFF in S3.

[0041] In S4, it is determined whether the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF is equal to or less than the upper limit value VF_UL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode. If the result in S4 is YES, the process proceeds to S5. If the result in S4 is NO, that is, if the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF is greater than the upper limit value VF_UL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode, the control circuit 301 determines that the reverse connection protection relay 52 has a terminal open abnormality. A terminal open abnormality is an abnormality in which at least one of the source and drain terminals of the reverse connection protection relay 52 is isolated from the ground line Lg, and corresponds to a terminal disconnection or poor contact.

[0042] In S5, it is determined whether the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF is equal to or greater than the lower limit VF_LL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode. If the result in S5 is YES, the process proceeds to S6. If the result in S5 is NO, that is, if the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF is smaller than the lower limit VF_LL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode, the control circuit 301 determines that the reverse connection protection relay 52 is stuck ON abnormal.

[0043] The control circuit 301 switches the reverse connection protection relay 52 from OFF to ON in S6, and acquires the ON monitor voltage VmON in S7.

[0044] In S8, it is determined whether the ON-time monitor voltage VmON is smaller than the OFF-time monitor voltage VmOFF. If the answer is YES in S8, the reverse connection protection relay 52 is determined to be normal in S9. If the answer is NO in S8, that is, if the ON-time monitor voltage VmON is equal to or greater than the OFF-time monitor voltage VmOFF, the control circuit 301 determines that the reverse connection protection relay 52 is stuck-off abnormal.

[0045] If the answer is NO in any of S4, S5, or S8, an abnormality action is taken in S10. For example, a warning message is displayed to notify the user of the abnormality, and normal operation is prohibited depending on the abnormality mode. Alternatively, if an abnormality is detected in only one system of a two-system motor drive device, single-system drive using the normal system may be performed.

[0046] If a normal judgment is made in S9, the system transitions to normal operation. During normal operation, current is passed through the inverter 60 with the reverse connection protection relay 52 turned ON. The only abnormality mode that is detected during normal operation is a stuck-OFF abnormality that occurs over time. With reference to the flowchart in Figure 4, abnormality detection of the reverse connection protection relay 52 during normal operation will be described. S7 to S10 in the flowchart are the same as in Figure 3. Except when operation is stopped due to abnormality measures, the routine of S7 to S10 is repeatedly executed.

[0047] The control circuit 301 stores in advance the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF, acquired during an initial check, for example, when normal operation begins. At the start of normal operation, in S8, the ON-state monitor voltage VmON is lower than the OFF-state monitor voltage VmOFF. During normal operation, if the ON-state monitor voltage VmON becomes equal to or higher than the OFF-state monitor voltage, the determination in S8 is NO. At this time, the control circuit 301 determines that the reverse connection protection relay 52 has become stuck-off abnormal. In the abnormality action in S10, for example, the motor drive of the system in which the abnormality was detected is stopped.

[0048] (Effects of this embodiment) [1] Simplified configuration of reverse polarity protection relay drive by low voltage gate drive In a drive circuit to which a 24V / 48V battery voltage is applied, if a reverse connection protection relay made up of an N-channel MOSFET is provided on the power supply line Lp, a driver is required to apply a high voltage to the gate, which is the battery voltage plus a gate drive voltage. In this embodiment, the reverse connection protection relay 52 is provided on the ground line Lg, which enables gate drive at a low voltage and eliminates the need for a high-voltage driver.

[0049] [2] Protection of polarized capacitors, etc. against negative bias voltage If the battery 15 is reverse-connected, the control circuit 301 does not operate, so no gate signal is supplied to the reverse connection protection relay 52, and the reverse connection protection relay 52 is turned off. Furthermore, because the reverse connection protection relay 52 is located closer to the battery 15 than the filter capacitor 16, no negative bias voltage is applied to the filter capacitor 16 when the reverse connection protection relay 52 is turned off. Therefore, the polarized filter capacitor 16 can be protected from the negative bias voltage.

[0050] [3] Reverse connection protection relay abnormality detection In a drive circuit to which a 24V / 48V battery voltage is applied, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay 52 provided in the ground line Lg. For example, by detecting an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay 52 during an initial check after starting up the motor drive device 101, it is possible to take measures to deal with the abnormality at an early stage, thereby improving reliability.

[0051] (Second embodiment) Next, a motor drive device 102 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. In the second embodiment, a control circuit 302 has a VF setting unit 32 that variably sets the range of the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode in accordance with the current or temperature, instead of the VF storage unit 31. The VF setting unit 32 acquires the ground current Ignd from a shunt resistor 67 provided on the ground line Lg side of the inverter 60.

[0052] Furthermore, in a circuit configuration in which a temperature sensor 57 is provided near the reverse connection protection relay 52, the VF setting unit 32 may acquire the temperature Temp of the parasitic diode from the temperature sensor 57. Alternatively, the VF setting unit 32 may estimate the temperature Temp of the parasitic diode by adding Joule heat calculated from the ground current Ignd and the resistance of the parasitic diode to the initial temperature before current is applied, which is acquired from an outside air temperature sensor or the like.

[0053] The VF setting unit 32 stores the current characteristics and temperature characteristics of the voltage drop VF of the parasitic diode in the form of a map or the like. The VF setting unit 32 sets an upper limit value VF_UL and a lower limit value VF_LL of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode according to the ground current Ignd or the temperature Temp, and notifies the abnormality determination unit 33. The abnormality determination unit 33 performs an initial check to detect an abnormality using the notified upper and lower limit values ​​VF_UL and VF_LL.

[0054] When the current and temperature conditions during the initial check vary, setting the upper and lower limits VF_UL and VF_LL of the parasitic diode voltage drop to fixed values ​​may result in an erroneous determination in the detection of an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay 52. ​​In the second embodiment, the range of the parasitic diode voltage drop VF is set to be variable depending on the current or temperature, thereby improving the accuracy of abnormality detection.

[0055] (Third embodiment) A motor drive device 103 according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In the third embodiment, in contrast to the first embodiment, an OFF delay circuit 54 is provided in which a Zener diode 54Z, a resistor 54R, and a capacitor 54C are connected in parallel between the gate and source of a reverse connection protection relay 52. ​​When the voltage supplied to the gate drops, the OFF delay circuit 54 delays the rate at which the gate-source voltage drops based on the time constant of an RC element, thereby delaying the time until the reverse connection protection relay 52 is turned OFF.

[0056] If a negative surge is applied to the battery voltage while the reverse connection protection relay 52 is ON, the energy charged in the inverter capacitor 56 is regenerated into the battery 15. At this time, if the gate-source voltage drops and the reverse connection protection relay 52 turns OFF, the drain-source voltage rises and reaches the breakdown voltage of the MOSFET. If this state continues, avalanche breakdown may occur.

[0057] Therefore, by using the OFF delay circuit 54 to delay the time until the reverse connection protection relay 52 is turned OFF when a negative surge voltage is applied, it is possible to prevent the drain-source voltage from rising and reaching the breakdown voltage, thereby preventing avalanche breakdown of the reverse connection protection relay 52.

[0058] (Other embodiments) (a) The "load" of the load driving device is not limited to the three-phase motor 80, but may be a single-phase motor or a multi-phase motor other than three-phase, or may be an actuator other than a motor or other load. Furthermore, an H-bridge circuit or the like may be used as the "power converter" instead of an inverter.

[0059] (b) The reverse connection protection relay 52 and the like are not limited to MOSFETs and may be configured with other transistors having parasitic diodes. In the case of a bipolar transistor, the collector and emitter may be interpreted as the drain and source of an FET.

[0060] (c) The reverse connection protection relay 52 is not limited to being driven by a gate signal from the control circuits 301 and 302, and may be driven by a gate voltage supplied from another location via the gate voltage supply path 53. For example, the output voltage of the step-down regulator 18, the IG voltage supplied to the IG line Lig as a wake-up signal, or the PIG voltage supplied to the power supply line Lp from the battery 15 may be supplied to the gate of the reverse connection protection relay 52. ​​The gate voltage supply path 53 may be provided with a diode that prevents a reverse current from flowing from the gate side, or a resistor that limits the current flowing to the gate.

[0061] (d) As described above, in a circuit that uses a polarized filter capacitor, it is preferable that the reverse connection protection relay 52 be provided on the ground line Lg closer to the battery 15 than the filter capacitor 16. On the other hand, in a circuit that uses a non-polarized filter capacitor that is resistant to negative bias voltages, the reverse connection protection relay 52 may be provided on the ground line Lg closer to the inverter 60 than the filter capacitor 16.

[0062] (e) The load driving device of the present invention may be applied to in-vehicle devices other than electric power steering devices, and to driving devices for various loads other than devices mounted on vehicles.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0064] The control circuitry and techniques described herein may be implemented by a special purpose computer configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control circuitry and techniques described herein may be implemented by a special purpose computer configured with a processor comprising one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control circuitry and techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more special purpose computers configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions in combination with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 10(101-103)···Motor drive device (load drive device), 15. Battery, 301, 302: control circuit, 52 Reverse polarity protection relay, 60···Inverter (power converter), 80···Motor (load), Lp···Power line, Lg···Ground line.

Claims

1. a power converter (60) provided between a power supply line (Lp) connected to a battery (15) and a ground line (Lg), for converting DC power of the battery and supplying the converted power to a load (80); A control circuit (301, 302) for controlling the operation of the power converter; a reverse connection protection relay (52) that is provided on the ground line and that, when turned off, cuts off current flowing from the ground line to the power supply line via the power converter when the battery is reverse connected; Equipped with the reverse connection protection relay is configured by a transistor having a drain connected to the battery side of the ground line and a source connected to the power converter side, the transistor having a parasitic diode that conducts current from the source to the drain, The control circuit detects an abnormality in the reverse connection protection relay based on a monitor voltage (Vm) corresponding to a voltage drop from the source to the drain of the reverse connection protection relay and a voltage drop (VF) of the parasitic diode. A load driving device.

2. The control circuit performs an initial check after starting up the load driving device, 2. The load driving device according to claim 1, wherein when the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned off is an OFF monitor voltage (VmOFF) that is smaller than a lower limit value (VF_LL) of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode, the reverse connection protection relay is determined to be stuck ON abnormally.

3. The control circuit performs an initial check after starting up the load driving device, When the ON monitor voltage (VmON), which is the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned ON, is equal to or greater than the OFF monitor voltage (VmOFF), which is the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned OFF, the reverse connection protection relay is determined to be stuck OFF. The load driving device according to claim 1.

4. The control circuit performs an initial check after starting up the load driving device, When the OFF monitor voltage (VmOFF), which is the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned OFF, is greater than the upper limit value (VF_UL) of the voltage drop of the parasitic diode, at least one of the source or drain terminals of the reverse connection protection relay is isolated from the ground line. The load driving device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that a terminal open abnormality has occurred.

5. During normal operation in which current is passed through the power converter with the reverse connection protection relay turned on, The control circuit stores in advance at the start of normal operation an OFF monitor voltage (VmOFF), which is the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned OFF, and when the ON monitor voltage (VmON), which is the monitor voltage when the reverse connection protection relay is turned ON, becomes equal to or greater than the OFF monitor voltage. The load driving device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit determines that the reverse connection protection relay has become stuck OFF.

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