Hybrid Vehicle Fail-Safety Control via Torque Interruption
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid vehicles face challenges in simultaneous control of multiple units, leading to difficulties in managing failures, which can result in dangerous situations like sudden acceleration if no active processing is implemented upon motor control unit failure.
Innovation Solution
A fail-safety control method where the transmission control unit intervenes by interrupting the motor control unit's operation and cutting off hydraulic pressure to prevent power transmission, ensuring safety by controlling fail-safety mechanisms when the motor control unit encounters trouble.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple control units (ECU, MCU, TCU, BMS, HCU) are used to control hybrid vehicle operations, then the vehicle can achieve high fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness, but the complexity of simultaneous control increases and failure management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a fail-safety control mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the motor control unit (MCU) and transmission control unit (TCU). When MCU failure is detected, this intermediary mechanism automatically activates the TCU to take over control functions, preventing dangerous situations while maintaining the benefits of multiple control units for fuel efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing fail-safety protocols and automatic takeover mechanisms before failures occur. The control units are pre-configured with contingency plans, so when a failure is detected, the appropriate unit can immediately assume control without requiring complex real-time decision-making, thus reducing control complexity during critical moments.
2Reliability
If active processing is implemented upon motor control unit failure, then dangerous situations like sudden acceleration can be prevented, but the control system complexity and response processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fail-safety control mechanism is pre-configured with predetermined response protocols. When failure is detected, the system executes pre-programmed actions immediately without requiring complex real-time analysis, thus ensuring rapid response while maintaining reliability. The takeover logic is established in advance, allowing the TCU to assume control instantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous monitoring and feedback mechanisms that detect MCU failures in real-time. When abnormal torque generation is detected, the feedback loop immediately triggers the fail-safety protocol, activating the TCU takeover. This closed-loop feedback ensures rapid detection and response, minimizing the time loss while maintaining high reliability.
3Reliability
If the transmission control unit takes over control upon motor control unit failure, then fail-safety can be maintained, but the device complexity and control coordination difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a standardized intermediary communication protocol between the MCU and TCU that simplifies the takeover process. This intermediary layer provides a uniform interface for control signal transfer, reducing the complexity of direct control unit integration. The communication protocol handles the coordination automatically, making the takeover mechanism less complex while maintaining reliable fail-safety control.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a fail-safety control method for a hybrid vehicle. The method includes a hybrid control unit which, when commands for demand torque are received from a driver, giving instructions to a motor control unit to generate the demand torque, determining whether or not to a normal torque corresponding to the demand torque is being generated by the motor control unit according to the instructions from the hybrid control unit, and if it is determined that an abnormal torque is being generated by the motor control unit, giving commands to output an interrupt signal to interrupt operation of the motor control unit.