Auxiliary Battery Voltage Control ECU for Electrified Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control systems for electrified vehicles face complexity in managing auxiliary voltage control for various low voltage components, making it difficult for OEMs to integrate these components effectively.
Innovation Solution
Separate travel control and auxiliary voltage control devices are implemented, allowing the auxiliary voltage control device to determine voltage and operation conditions independently, with the ability to prohibit voltage requests when necessary to protect in-vehicle components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If travel control and auxiliary voltage control are integrated in the same ECU, then device complexity is reduced, but the control device cannot adapt to various low voltage components due to design constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into two separate ECUs: a travel control ECU and an auxiliary voltage control ECU. The auxiliary voltage control ECU is specifically designed to handle low voltage components, while the travel control ECU focuses on vehicle travel functions. This segmentation allows each ECU to be optimized for its specific purpose, enabling the auxiliary voltage control ECU to adapt to various low voltage components without compromising the overall system structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If auxiliary voltage control is performed by the travel control device, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to determine appropriate voltage levels and operation conditions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary voltage control function is extracted from the travel control ECU and placed in a dedicated auxiliary voltage control ECU. This dedicated ECU has the specific capability to determine appropriate voltage levels and operation conditions for low voltage components, which would be difficult for the travel control ECU to accomplish due to its different design focus.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate control devices are used for travel control and auxiliary voltage control, then adaptability to various low voltage components is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary voltage control ECU, while dedicated to voltage control, serves multiple functions including monitoring battery state, determining appropriate voltage levels, controlling the DC-DC converter, and protecting in-vehicle components. This multi-functionality justifies the addition of the separate control device by consolidating multiple auxiliary functions into a single dedicated unit.
4Speed
If voltage request signals are always transmitted to control auxiliary battery voltage, then auxiliary battery control responsiveness is improved, but in-vehicle components may be damaged due to voltage drops
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary voltage control ECU continuously monitors the state of the auxiliary battery and receives feedback about the operational status of in-vehicle components. Based on this feedback, the ECU intelligently decides when to transmit voltage request signals to the DC-DC converter and when to prohibit such transmission to protect sensitive components, thus balancing responsiveness with component protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device for an electrified vehicle includes a travel ECU that controls the travel of the electrified vehicle, and an auxiliary ECU that controls the voltage of an auxiliary battery separately from the travel ECU. The auxiliary ECU receives battery information indicating the state of the auxiliary battery from the travel ECU, generates a voltage request signal that requests voltage from the DC-DC converter based on the battery information, and sends the voltage request signal to the travel ECU. When the travel ECU receives the voltage request signal from the auxiliary ECU, it outputs a control signal corresponding to the voltage request signal to the DC-DC converter.