Integrated Circuit Drive Signal Generation for Motor Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated circuits used in control systems for rotating electric machines face reliability issues when abnormalities occur in the microcomputer, leading to reduced controllability of the motor due to unreliable drive signals.
Innovation Solution
An integrated circuit with a drive signal generating unit, a monitoring unit, and an angle converting unit is designed to generate drive signals for switching elements, where the monitoring unit determines abnormalities in the microcomputer and adjusts signal generation accordingly, ensuring reliable operation even in abnormal conditions by using rotation angle information from an angle sensor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drive signals are generated based on generation information from the microcomputer, then the control functionality is complete, but the reliability decreases when the microcomputer experiences an abnormality
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into two independent parts: the microcomputer that generates generation information, and the integrated circuit that generates drive signals. This segmentation allows the drive signal generation to continue independently even when the microcomputer experiences an abnormality, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated circuit is pre-configured with the capability to generate drive signals using rotation angle information from the angle sensor, independent of the microcomputer's generation information. This preliminary preparation ensures that when a microcomputer abnormality occurs, the system can immediately switch to using only the rotation angle information without requiring complex real-time decision-making or reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If the monitoring unit detects microcomputer abnormalities, then the reliability of drive signals is maintained, but the system requires additional monitoring functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring unit, angle converting unit, and drive signal generating unit are merged into a single integrated circuit. This consolidation allows the system to add monitoring functionality without proportionally increasing overall system complexity, as multiple functions share the same physical platform and control logic infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
In an integrated circuit formed into a single chip, a drive signal generating unit generates drive signals for switching elements of a power conversion circuit. A monitoring unit monitors a microcomputer that calculates generation information that is information used to generate the drive signals, and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the microcomputer. An angle converting unit converts an output signal of an angle sensor to rotation angle information of a rotating electric machine. A drive signal generating unit generates the drive signals for controlling driving of the rotating electric machine based on the generation information and the rotation angle information when the monitoring unit determines that an abnormality has not occurred in the microcomputer, and generates the drive signals based on the rotation angle information, without using the generation information, when the monitoring unit determines that an abnormality has occurred in the microcomputer.