阅读说明：本技术 电力转换装置、马达模块以及电动助力转向装置 (Power conversion device, motor module, and electric power steering device ) 是由 远藤修司 锅师香织 于 2018-11-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供能够改善PWM控制的载波周期中的电压的有效利用率的降低从而实现逆变器的高输出化的电力转换装置。本公开的电力转换装置(1000)具有：第1逆变器(120)；第2逆变器(130)；以及控制电路(300),其按照至少一种开关方式对第1逆变器和第2逆变器的开关元件进行PWM控制。控制电路(300)针对各相的H桥,按照以下的至少一种开关方式进行PWM控制：在使一对支路中的一个支路的高边开关元件接通的状态下,对另一个支路的低边开关元件进行开关,或者在使一对支路中的一个支路的低边开关元件接通的状态下,对另一个支路的高边开关元件进行开关。(Provided is a power conversion device which can improve the reduction of the effective utilization rate of voltage in a carrier cycle of PWM control and realize the high output of an inverter. A power conversion device (1000) of the present disclosure includes: a 1 st inverter (120); a 2 nd inverter (130); and a control circuit (300) that performs PWM control of the switching elements of the 1 st inverter and the 2 nd inverter in accordance with at least one switching method. The control circuit (300) performs PWM control for the H-bridge of each phase according to at least one of the following switching modes: the high-side switching element of one of the pair of legs is switched on while the low-side switching element of the other leg is switched on, or the high-side switching element of the other leg is switched on while the low-side switching element of the one of the pair of legs is switched on.)

1. A power conversion device for converting power from a power source into power to be supplied to a motor having n-phase windings, n being an integer of 3 or more,

the power conversion device includes:

a 1 st inverter connected to one end of each phase of the winding of the motor and having n branches;

a 2 nd inverter connected to the other end of the winding of each phase of the motor and having n branches; and

a control circuit that performs PWM control of switching elements of the 1 st inverter and the 2 nd inverter in accordance with at least one switching pattern,

the n-phase windings, the n legs of the 1 st inverter, and the n legs of the 2 nd inverter form n-phase H-bridges each having a pair of legs,

the control circuit performs PWM control for the H-bridge of each phase in accordance with at least one of the following switching modes: the high-side switching element of one of the pair of legs is switched on in a state where the high-side switching element of the other leg is switched on, or the low-side switching element of the other leg is switched on in a state where the low-side switching element of the one of the pair of legs is switched on.

2. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1,

the at least one switching pattern includes a 1 st switching pattern of:

the low-side switching element of the other branch is switched in a state where the high-side switching element of one branch of the pair of branches is turned on and the low-side switching element is turned off and the high-side switching element of the other branch is turned off, or the high-side switching element of the other branch is switched in a state where the low-side switching element of one branch of the pair of branches is turned on and the high-side switching element is turned off and the low-side switching element of the other branch is turned off.

3. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 2,

the at least one switching pattern further includes a 2 nd switching pattern of: the high-side switching element and the low-side switching element of each of the pair of legs are switched according to complementary PWM control.

4. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 3,

the control circuit switches the at least one switching method from the 1 st switching method to the 2 nd switching method near a time when the voltage command value becomes zero.

5. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 3,

the control circuit performs PWM control according to the 2 nd switching method in a zero-cross period in the vicinity of a time point at which the voltage command value becomes zero, and performs PWM control according to the 1 st switching method in a period other than the zero-cross period.

6. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 5,

the zero-crossing period includes a period in which the two directions of the voltage command value and the current command value do not coincide with each other.

7. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,

the width of the zero-crossing period varies according to the rotation speed of the motor.

8. The power conversion apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the power conversion device further includes:

a 1 st switching element that switches connection and disconnection between the 1 st inverter and a ground terminal;

a 2 nd switching element that switches connection and disconnection of the 1 st inverter to the power supply;

a 3 rd switching element that switches connection and disconnection of the 2 nd inverter to the ground; and

a 4 th switching element that switches connection and disconnection of the 2 nd inverter to the power source.

9. A motor module having:

a motor; and

the power conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An electric power steering apparatus having the motor module of claim 9.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a power conversion device that converts electric power from a power supply into electric power to be supplied to an electric motor, a motor module, and an electric power steering device.

Background

In a motor drive system having a voltage-type inverter, a complementary PWM (Pulse width modulation) control is generally used. The motor drive system converts Direct Current (DC) voltage to Alternating Current (AC) voltage. The complementary PWM control is control for switching by supplying control signals of opposite phases to two switching elements connected in series in a branch, for example, field effect transistors (typically MOSFETs) and inverting the switching elements of both.

In the complementary PWM control, in particular, there is a possibility that the FETs on the high side and the low side are simultaneously turned on due to a delay in turning on and off of the FET as the switching element, and as a result, the electronic components are broken. To prevent this breakage, a dead time needs to be inserted. The dead time is the time when both the high-side and low-side FETs are off. MOSFETs typically require a dead time of a few mus.

Patent document 1 discloses complementary PWM control in which a carrier frequency of PWM and a time of inverse PWM control (inverse time) are determined in accordance with a duty ratio. When the duty command signal is less than a predetermined duty, the PWM control means performs PWM control such that: the carrier frequency is fixed to a predetermined value (for example, 20kHz) and the inversion time is changed according to the duty ratio. When the duty command signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined duty, the PWM control means performs PWM control as follows: the inversion time is fixed to a prescribed value (for example, 20 μ s), and the carrier frequency is changed in accordance with the duty ratio. In particular, the specified value of the inversion time is preferably longer than the specified dead time.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the complementary PWM control, a dead time is inserted to generate a section where no voltage can be applied in the carrier cycle, which causes a problem that the carrier cycle, that is, the effective utilization rate of the voltage is lowered.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a power conversion device capable of improving a reduction in the effective utilization rate of a voltage in a carrier period to achieve a high output of an inverter (motor), a motor module having the power conversion device, and an electric power steering device having the motor module.

Means for solving the problems

An exemplary power conversion device of the present disclosure converts power from a power supply into power to be supplied to a motor having windings of n phases, n being an integer of 3 or more, wherein the power conversion device includes: a 1 st inverter connected to one end of each phase of the winding of the motor and having n branches; a 2 nd inverter connected to the other end of the winding of each phase of the motor and having n branches; and a control circuit that PWM-controls switching elements of the 1 st inverter and the 2 nd inverter in accordance with at least one switching method, wherein the n-phase winding, the n legs of the 1 st inverter, and the n legs of the 2 nd inverter constitute the n-phase H-bridge, each of the n-phase H-bridge has a pair of legs, and the control circuit PWM-controls the H-bridge of each phase in accordance with the at least one switching method as follows: the high-side switching element of one of the pair of legs is switched on in a state where the high-side switching element of the other leg is switched on, or the low-side switching element of the other leg is switched on in a state where the low-side switching element of the one of the pair of legs is switched on.

Effects of the invention

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a power conversion device, a motor module having the power conversion device, and an electric power steering device having the motor module are provided, which can improve a reduction in an effective utilization rate of a voltage in a carrier period to achieve a high output of an inverter.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of an inverter unit 100 of exemplary embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram mainly showing the block structure of the power conversion device 1000, and shows the block structure of the motor module 2000 of the illustrated embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a graph illustrating a current waveform (sine wave) obtained by plotting current values flowing through the respective windings of the a-phase, B-phase, and C-phase of the motor 200 when the power converter 100 is controlled in accordance with three-phase energization control.

Fig. 4A is a schematic diagram showing a representative switching pattern and a flow of phase current of the 1 st switching pattern.

Fig. 4B is a schematic diagram showing a representative switching pattern and a flow of phase current of the 1 st switching pattern.

Fig. 4C is a schematic diagram showing a representative switching pattern and a flow of phase current of the 1 st switching pattern.

Fig. 4D is a schematic diagram showing a representative switching pattern and a flow of phase current of the 1 st switching pattern.

Fig. 5 is a graph illustrating a voltage waveform and a phase current waveform in the case where PWM control is performed according to the 1 st switching method.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the phase relationship between the phase current I and the phase voltage V.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating logic for generating a switching pattern according to PWM control.

Fig. 8 is a graph illustrating a voltage waveform and a phase current waveform in the case where PWM control is performed according to the 2 nd switching method.

Fig. 9A is a schematic diagram illustrating a representative switching pattern and flow of phase currents for hybrid PWM control.

Fig. 9B is a schematic diagram illustrating a representative switching pattern and flow of phase currents for hybrid PWM control.

Fig. 9C is a schematic diagram illustrating a representative switching pattern and flow of phase currents for hybrid PWM control.

Fig. 9D is a schematic diagram illustrating a representative switching pattern and flow of phase currents for hybrid PWM control.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a typical configuration of an electric power steering apparatus 3000 according to exemplary embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the power conversion device, the motor module, and the electric power steering device according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, in order to avoid unnecessarily long descriptions below, those skilled in the art will readily understand that excessive detailed descriptions may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters and repeated descriptions of substantially the same structure may be omitted.

In the present specification, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described by taking as an example a power conversion device that converts power from a power supply into power to be supplied to a 3-phase motor having windings of 3 phases (a phase, B phase, and C phase). However, a power conversion device that converts power from a power supply into power to be supplied to an n-phase motor having windings of 4 or 5 equal n phases (n is an integer of 4 or more) also falls within the scope of the present disclosure.

(embodiment mode 1)

[1-1. construction of inverter Unit 100 ]

Fig. 1 schematically shows a circuit configuration of an inverter unit 100 of the present embodiment.

The inverter unit 100 has a power supply cutoff circuit 110, a 1 st inverter 120, and a 2 nd inverter 130. However, the inverter unit 100 may not have the power shutoff circuit 110. The inverter unit 100 can convert electric power from the power sources 101A, 101B into electric power to be supplied to the motor 200. For example, the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 can convert the dc power into 3 rd ac power which is pseudo sine waves of a phase, B phase, and C phase.

The motor 200 is, for example, a 3-phase ac motor. The motor 200 has a winding M1 of a phase, a winding M2 of B phase, and a winding M3 of C phase, and the motor 200 is connected to the 1 st inverter 120 and the 2 nd inverter 130. Specifically, the 1 st inverter 120 is connected to one end of the winding of each phase of the motor 200, and the 2 nd inverter 130 is connected to the other end of the winding of each phase. In this specification, "connection" of components (constituent elements) to each other mainly means electrical connection.

The 1 st inverter 120 has terminals a _ L, B _ L and C _ L corresponding to the respective terminals. The 2 nd inverter 130 has terminals a _ R, B _ R and C _ R corresponding to each. The terminal a _ L of the 1 st inverter 120 is connected to one end of the winding M1 of the a phase, the terminal B _ L is connected to one end of the winding M2 of the B phase, and the terminal C _ L is connected to one end of the winding M3 of the C phase. Similarly to the 1 st inverter 120, the terminal a _ R of the 2 nd inverter 130 is connected to the other end of the a-phase winding M1, the terminal B _ R is connected to the other end of the B-phase winding M2, and the terminal C _ R is connected to the other end of the C-phase winding M3. Such motor wiring is different from so-called star wiring and delta wiring.

The power supply cutoff circuit 110 has 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113, and 114. In the inverter unit 100, the 1 st inverter 120 can be electrically connected to the power sources 101A and GND through the power source cutoff circuit 110. The 2 nd inverter 130 can be electrically connected to the power source 101B and GND through the power source cutoff circuit 110. Specifically, the 1 st switching element 111 can switch between connection and disconnection of the 1 st inverter 120 to GND. The 2 nd switching element 112 can switch between connection and disconnection of the power source 101A and the 1 st inverter 120. The 3 rd switching element 113 can switch the connection and disconnection of the 2 nd inverter 130 to GND. The 4 th switching element 114 can switch between connection and disconnection of the power source 101B and the 2 nd inverter 130.

The turn-on and turn-off of the 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113 and 114 can be controlled by, for example, a microcontroller or a dedicated driver. The 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113 and 114 can cut off bidirectional current. As the 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113 and 114, for example, a thyristor, a semiconductor switch such as an analog switching IC or a field effect transistor (typically, a MOSFET) having a parasitic diode formed therein, a mechanical relay, or the like can be used. A combination of diodes and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) or the like may also be used. In the drawings of the present specification, MOSFETs are exemplified as the 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113 and 114. Hereinafter, the 1 st to 4 th switching elements 111, 112, 113 and 114 may be referred to as SW 111, SW 112, SW 113 and SW 114, respectively.

The SW 111 is configured such that a forward current flows toward the 1 st inverter 120 in the internal parasitic diode. The SW 112 is configured to flow a forward current in the parasitic diode toward the power source 101A. The SW 113 is configured to flow a forward current in the parasitic diode toward the 2 nd inverter 130. SW 114 is configured to flow a forward current in the parasitic diode toward power supply 101B.

The power cutoff circuit 110 preferably further includes 5 th and 6 th switching elements 115 and 116 for reverse connection protection, as shown in the drawing. The 5 th and 6 th switching elements 115, 116 are typically semiconductor switches of MOSFETs with parasitic diodes. The 5 th switching element 115 is connected in series with the SW 112 and configured such that a forward current flows in the parasitic diode toward the 1 st inverter 120. The 6 th switching element 116 is connected in series with the SW 114, and is configured such that a forward current flows in the parasitic diode toward the 2 nd inverter 130. Even when the power sources 101A and 101B are reversely connected, the reverse current can be cut off by the two switching elements for reverse connection protection.

The number of switching elements to be used is not limited to the illustrated example, and is determined as appropriate in consideration of design specifications and the like. In particular, in the field of vehicle mounting, it is preferable to provide a plurality of switching elements for each inverter in advance because high quality assurance is required from the viewpoint of safety.

The power supply may have a power supply 101A for inverter 1, 120 and a power supply 101B for inverter 2, 130. The power supplies 101 and 101B generate a predetermined power supply voltage (for example, 12V). As the power supply, for example, a direct current power supply is used. However, the power source may be an AC-DC converter or a DC-DC converter, or may be a battery (secondary battery). Power source 101 may be a single power source common to 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130.

A coil 102 is provided between the power supplies 101A and 101B and the power supply cutoff circuit 110. The coil 102 functions as a noise filter and smoothes the voltage waveform supplied to each inverter so that high-frequency noise included in the voltage waveform or high-frequency noise generated in each inverter does not flow out to the power supply side.

A capacitor 103 is connected to a power supply terminal of each inverter. The capacitor 103 is a so-called bypass capacitor, and suppresses voltage ripples. The capacitor 103 is, for example, an electrolytic capacitor, and the capacity and the number of capacitors to be used are appropriately determined in accordance with design specifications and the like.

The 1 st inverter 120 has a bridge circuit having 3 legs. Each branch has a low-side switching element and a high-side switching element. The a-phase branch has a low-side switching element 121L and a high-side switching element 121H. The B-phase leg has a low-side switching element 122L and a high-side switching element 122H. The C-phase leg has a low-side switching element 123L and a high-side switching element 123H. As the switching element, for example, an FET or an IGBT can be used. Hereinafter, an example in which a MOSFET is used as a switching element will be described, and the switching element may be referred to as SW. For example, the low-side switching elements 121L, 122L, and 123L are denoted as SW 121L, SW 122L and SW 123L.

The 1 st inverter 120 includes 3 shunt resistors 121R, 122R, and 123R included in a current sensor 150 (see fig. 3) that detects a current flowing through a winding of each of the a, B, and C phases. The current sensor 150 includes a current detection circuit (not shown) that detects a current flowing through each shunt resistor. For example, the shunt resistors 121R, 122R, and 123R are respectively connected between the 3 low-side switching elements included in the 3 legs of the 1 st inverter 120 and GND. Specifically, the shunt resistor 121R is electrically connected between the SW 121L and the SW 111, the shunt resistor 122R is electrically connected between the SW 122L and the SW 111, and the shunt resistor 123R is electrically connected between the SW 123L and the SW 111. The shunt resistor has a resistance value of, for example, about 0.5m Ω to 1.0m Ω.

Like the 1 st inverter 120, the 2 nd inverter 130 has a bridge circuit having 3 legs. The a-phase branch has a low-side switching element 131L and a high-side switching element 131H. The B-phase branch has a low-side switching element 132L and a high-side switching element 132H. The C-phase leg has a low-side switching element 133L and a high-side switching element 133H. Further, the 2 nd inverter 130 has 3 shunt resistors 131R, 132R, and 133R. These shunt resistors are connected between the 3 low-side switching elements included in the 3 branches and GND.

The number of shunt resistors is not limited to 3 for each inverter. For example, 2 shunt resistors for a phase and B phase, 2 shunt resistors for B phase and C phase, and 2 shunt resistors for a phase and C phase may be used. The number of shunt resistors used and the arrangement of the shunt resistors are appropriately determined in consideration of product cost, design specifications, and the like.

As described above, the 2 nd inverter 130 has substantially the same configuration as that of the 1 st inverter 120. In fig. 1, for convenience of explanation, the inverter on the left side of the drawing is referred to as a 1 st inverter 120, and the inverter on the right side is referred to as a 2 nd inverter 130. However, such expressions should not be construed as limiting the intention of the present disclosure. The 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 can be used as the constituent elements of the inverter unit 100 without distinction.

[1-2 ] constructions of the Power conversion device 1000 and the Motor Module 2000 ]

Fig. 2 schematically shows the block structure of the motor module 2000 of the present embodiment, and mainly schematically shows the block structure of the power conversion apparatus 1000.

The motor module 2000 has a power conversion device 1000 and a motor 200, and the power conversion device 1000 has an inverter unit 100 and a control circuit 300.

The motor module 2000 can be modularized and manufactured and sold as an electromechanically integrated motor having, for example, a motor, a sensor, a driver, and a controller. The power conversion device 1000 other than the motor 200 can be manufactured and sold in a modular manner.

The control circuit 300 includes, for example, a power supply circuit 310, an angle sensor 320, an input circuit 330, a controller 340, a drive circuit 350, and a ROM 360. The control circuit 300 is connected to the inverter unit 100, and drives the motor 200 by controlling the inverter unit 100.

Specifically, the control circuit 300 can control the position, the rotation speed, the current, and the like of the target rotor of the motor 200 to realize closed-loop control. In addition, the control circuit 300 may have a torque sensor instead of the angle sensor 320. In this case, the control circuit 300 can control the target motor torque.

The power supply circuit 310 generates DC voltages (e.g., 3V, 5V) necessary for respective blocks in the circuit

The angle sensor 320 is, for example, a resolver or a hall IC. Alternatively, the angle sensor 320 may be implemented by a combination of a Magnetoresistive (MR) sensor having an MR element and a sensor magnet. The angle sensor 320 detects a rotation angle of the rotor (hereinafter referred to as a "rotation signal") and outputs the rotation signal to the controller 340.

The input circuit 330 receives a motor current value (hereinafter referred to as "actual current value") detected by the current sensor 150, converts the level of the actual current value to an input level of the controller 340 as necessary, and outputs the actual current value to the controller 340. The input circuit 330 is, for example, an analog-digital conversion circuit.

The controller 340 is an integrated circuit that controls the entire power conversion device 1000, and is, for example, a microcontroller or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The controller 340 controls the switching operation (on or off) of each SW in the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 of the inverter unit 100. The controller 340 sets a target current value based on the actual current value, the rotor rotation signal, and the like, generates a PWM signal, and outputs the PWM signal to the drive circuit 350. In addition, the controller 340 can control on and off of each SW in the power shutoff circuit 110 of the inverter unit 100.

The driver circuit 350 is typically a gate driver (or pre-driver). The drive circuit 350 generates a control signal (gate control signal) for controlling the switching operation of the MOSFET of each SW in the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 based on the PWM signal, and supplies the control signal to the gate of each SW. The drive circuit 350 can generate a control signal for controlling on and off of each SW in the power shutoff circuit 110 in accordance with an instruction from the controller 340. When the driving target is a motor that can be driven at a low voltage, the gate driver may not be necessary. In this case, the function of the gate driver can be mounted on the controller 340.

The ROM 360 is electrically connected to the controller 340. The ROM 360 is, for example, a writable memory (e.g., PROM), a rewritable memory (e.g., flash memory), or a read-only memory. The ROM 360 stores a control program including a group of instructions for causing the controller 340 to control the power conversion apparatus 1000. For example, the control program is loaded once in a RAM (not shown) at the time of startup.

[1-3. hybrid PWM control ]

The control circuit 300 turns on all of the SWs 111, 112, 113, and 114 of the power shutoff circuit 110. Thereby, power source 101A is electrically connected to 1 st inverter 120, and power source 101B is electrically connected to 2 nd inverter 130. In addition, the 1 st inverter 120 is electrically connected to GND, and the 2 nd inverter 130 is electrically connected to GND. It is assumed that the reverse connection protection SW115 and SW 116 of the power shutoff circuit 110 are always on. In this connected state, the control circuit 300 drives the motor 200 by energizing the coils M1, M2, and M3 using both the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130. In this specification, energization of three-phase windings is referred to as "three-phase energization control".

Fig. 3 illustrates current waveforms (sine waves) obtained by plotting current values flowing through the respective windings of the a, B, and C phases of the motor 200 when the power conversion device 1000 is controlled in accordance with three-phase energization control. The horizontal axis represents the motor electrical angle (degrees), and the vertical axis represents the current value (a). In the current waveform of fig. 3, the current value is plotted every 30 ° in electrical angle. I is_pkThe maximum current value (peak current value) of each phase is shown.

In the current waveform shown in fig. 3, the sum of currents flowing in the windings of the three phases considering the current direction is "0" at each electrical angle. However, according to the circuit configuration of the power conversion device 1000, since the currents flowing through the three-phase windings can be independently controlled, it is also possible to perform control in which the total sum of the currents is not "0". For example, the control circuit 300 controls the switching operation of each switching element of the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 by PWM control capable of obtaining the current waveform shown in fig. 3.

The microcontroller generally modulates Duty (analog signal) as a modulation wave with a PWM carrier as a carrier wave, and outputs a complementary output signal of complementary PWM control as a digital signal of a carrier frequency. The carrier frequency of the inverter when the MOSFET is used as the switching element is typically about 16kHz to 20 kHz.

As described above, as a countermeasure against breakage of the electronic component, insertion of the dead time is necessary in the complementary PWM control. However, by inserting the dead time, a section where no voltage is applied occurs in the carrier cycle, and therefore the carrier cycle, that is, the effective utilization rate of the voltage is reduced. For example, if the dead time is set to 2 μ s, the effective utilization rate of the voltage decreases by 4% for a carrier cycle of 50 μ s.

The control circuit 300 of the present embodiment performs PWM control of each switching element of the 1 st and 2 nd inverters 120 and 130 in accordance with at least one switching method. The at least one switching method includes a 1 st switching method and a 2 nd switching method described later.

First, the 1 st switching method will be described with reference to fig. 4A to 6.

Fig. 4A to 4D schematically show a representative switching pattern and the flow of phase current of the 1 st switching pattern. Fig. 4A to 4D illustrate phase currents of the a phase flowing through the H-bridge of the a phase among the a phase, the B phase, and the C phase. The H-bridge control of the B-phase and the C-phase can be performed in accordance with the control of the a-phase described below.

The 3-phase H-bridge (full H-bridge) is formed by the 3-phase windings M1, M2, M3, 3 legs of the 1 st inverter 120, and 3 legs of the 2 nd inverter 130. The 3-phase H-bridges each have a pair of legs.

The 1 st switching method is as follows: the control circuit 300 switches the high-side switching element of one of the pair of legs in a state where the high-side switching element of the other leg is turned on, or switches the high-side switching element of the other leg in a state where the low-side switching element of the one of the pair of legs is turned on, for the H-bridge of each phase.

More specifically, the 1 st switching method is a method in which: the control circuit 300 switches the low-side switching element of one of the pair of legs in a state where the high-side switching element of the other leg is turned on and off and the high-side switching element of the other leg is turned off for the H-bridge of each phase, or switches the high-side switching element of the other leg in a state where the low-side switching element of the one of the pair of legs is turned on and the high-side switching element is turned off and the low-side switching element of the other leg is turned off.

As shown in fig. 4A, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121L of the branch on the 1 st inverter 120 side and the SW 131H of the branch on the 2 nd inverter 130 side in the off state. In this state, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121H of the leg on the 1 st inverter 120 side on, and switches the SW 131L of the leg on the 2 nd inverter 130 side according to PWM control. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 4B, the control circuit 300 may switch the SW 121H of the leg on the 1 st inverter 120 side by PWM control while keeping the SW 131L of the leg on the 2 nd inverter 130 side on. By these controls, phase current Ia flows from inverter 1 to inverter 2 130 through winding 1 in inverter 1. The phase current flowing in this direction is referred to as "forward current", and the phase voltage in a state where the potential of the terminal on the 1 st inverter 120 side of the winding M1 is higher than the potential of the terminal on the 2 nd inverter 130 side is referred to as "forward voltage".

As shown in fig. 4C, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121H of the branch on the 1 st inverter 120 side and the SW 131L of the branch on the 2 nd inverter 130 side in the off state. In this state, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 131H of the leg on the 2 nd inverter 130 side on, and switches the SW 121L of the leg on the 1 st inverter 120 side according to the PWM control. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 4D, the control circuit 300 may switch the SW 131H of the leg on the 2 nd inverter 130 side by PWM control while keeping the SW 121L of the leg on the 1 st inverter 120 side on. By these controls, phase current Ia flows from the 2 nd inverter 130 to the 1 st inverter 120 through the winding 1. The phase current flowing in this direction is referred to as "negative current", and the phase voltage in a state where the potential of the terminal on the 1 st inverter 120 side of the winding M1 is lower than the potential of the terminal on the 2 nd inverter 130 side is referred to as "negative voltage".

According to the 1 st switching method, PWM control can be performed without inserting a dead time. This is because the high-side switching element or the low-side switching element included in one of the pair of legs of the H bridge is always in the off state, and similarly, the high-side switching element or the low-side switching element included in the other leg is always in the off state. In other words, this is because one pair of switching elements of two pairs of switching elements diagonally arranged in the H-bridge is always in an off state.

Fig. 5 illustrates a phase current waveform and a PWM modulation wave (voltage waveform) of the a phase in the case where the PWM control is performed according to the 1 st switching method. The horizontal axis represents time(s), the vertical axis on the right side of the graph represents current (a), and the vertical axis on the left side represents voltage (V). Fig. 6 schematically shows the phase relation of the phase current I and the phase voltage V.

As shown in fig. 6, phase current I lags phase voltage V by a phase angle θ. The phase angle θ is obtained by a resistance component and an inductance component. The waveform of the phase current represents an analog waveform of the current, and the waveform of the phase voltage represents an analog waveform of the voltage. The electrical angle or time at which the voltage command value becomes 0V is referred to as "zero crossing". In the vicinity of the zero crossing, more specifically, immediately after the zero crossing, a period in which the two directions of the phase voltage and the phase current do not coincide with each other is generated. In other words, a period in which the two directions of the voltage command value and the current command value do not coincide occurs. Hereinafter, this period will be referred to as "non-coincidence period".

When only the 1 st switching pattern is employed, the phase voltage is uncertain during the inconsistency. As a result, it is difficult to appropriately apply the reverse voltage, specifically, to appropriately switch the applied voltage from the positive direction to the negative direction or from the negative direction to the positive direction, and there is a problem that a current circuit cannot be appropriately secured. Therefore, the control circuit 300 according to the present embodiment switches the switching method from the 1 st switching method to the 2 nd switching method that performs switching according to the complementary PWM control, in the vicinity of the zero crossing. This eliminates uncertainty in the phase voltage. In this specification, PWM control according to the 1 st and 2 nd switching modes is referred to as "hybrid PWM control".

The 2 nd switching mode is a mode as follows: the control circuit 300 switches the high-side switching element and the low-side switching element of each of the pair of legs in accordance with complementary PWM control for the H-bridge of each phase.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating logic for generating a switching pattern according to PWM control. The control signal Leg1_ Logic is supplied to the branch of the H-bridge of the a-phase including the high-side switching element 121H and the low-side switching element 121L, and the control signal Leg2_ Logic is supplied to the branch including the high-side switching element 131H and the low-side switching element 131L. The two switching elements of the branch are supplied with control signals of different polarities by an inverter. The H-bridge of the B-phase and C-phase is also controlled in the same manner as in the A-phase.

Fig. 8 illustrates a phase current waveform and a PWM modulation wave (voltage waveform) of the a phase in the case where the PWM control is performed according to the 2 nd switching method. The horizontal axis represents time(s), the vertical axis on the right side of the graph represents current (a), and the vertical axis on the left side represents voltage (V).

The control circuit 300 performs PWM control according to the 2 nd switching method in a period (rectangular region in fig. 8) near the time at which the voltage command value becomes zero, that is, near the zero crossing, and performs PWM control according to the 1 st switching method in a period (rectangular region in fig. 5) other than the period. Hereinafter, a period near the zero crossing is referred to as a "zero crossing period".

The zero-cross period may be a period before and after the time at which the voltage command value becomes zero, or may be a period after the time, that is, a non-uniform period. Thus, the zero-crossing period includes the above-described non-uniform period. The width of the non-coincidence period varies depending on the rotation speed of the motor, etc. Therefore, the width of the zero-cross period also varies depending on the rotation speed of the motor or the like.

The hybrid PWM control will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 5, 8, and 9A to 9D.

Fig. 9A to 9D schematically show representative switching patterns and flows of phase currents of the hybrid PWM control.

Fig. 9A illustrates a switching pattern in which a forward voltage is applied and a forward current flows according to the 1 st switching method. For example, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121L, 131H off. In this state, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121H on, and switches the SW 131L according to PWM control. The rectangular area i shown in fig. 5 corresponds to the period during which this control is performed.

Fig. 9B illustrates a switching pattern in which a negative voltage is applied and a positive current flows in the 2 nd switching manner. The control circuit 300 switches the SWs 121L, 121H, 131L, and 131H according to the complementary PWM control. The rectangular area ii shown in fig. 8 corresponds to the period during which the control is performed. The rectangular region ii includes an inconsistency period in which the current is positive and the voltage is negative.

Fig. 9C illustrates a switching pattern in which a negative voltage is applied and a negative current flows in the 1 st switching manner. The control circuit 300 keeps the SW 121H and the SW 131L off. In this state, the control circuit 300 keeps the SW 131H on, and switches the SW 121L according to PWM control. The rectangular area iii shown in fig. 5 corresponds to the period during which this control is performed.

Fig. 9D illustrates a switching pattern in which a positive voltage is applied and a negative current flows in the 2 nd switching method. The control circuit 300 switches the SWs 121L, 121H, 131L, and 131H according to the complementary PWM control. The rectangular area iv shown in fig. 8 corresponds to the period during which the control is performed. The rectangular area iv includes an inconsistency period in which the current is negative and the voltage is positive.

In this way, the control circuit 300 performs the hybrid PWM control using the rectangular regions i, ii, iii, and iv shown in fig. 5 and 8. According to the hybrid PWM control, the effective utilization rate of the voltage in the carrier period can be improved, and thus the high output of the inverter can be realized.

(embodiment mode 2)

Fig. 10 schematically shows a typical configuration of an electric power steering apparatus 3000 of the present embodiment.

Vehicles such as automobiles generally have an electric power steering apparatus. The electric power steering apparatus 3000 of the present embodiment includes a steering system 520 and an assist torque mechanism 540 that generates an assist torque. The electric power steering apparatus 3000 generates an assist torque that assists a steering torque of a steering system generated by a driver operating a steering wheel. The operation burden of the driver is reduced by the assist torque.

The steering system 520 includes, for example, a steering wheel 521, a steering shaft 522, universal joints 523A and 523B, a rotating shaft 524, a rack-and-pinion mechanism 525, a rack shaft 526, left and right ball joints 552A and 552B, tie rods 527A and 527B, knuckles 528A and 528B, and left and right steered wheels 529A and 529B.

The assist torque mechanism 540 includes, for example, a steering torque sensor 541, an automotive Electronic Control Unit (ECU)542, a motor 543, and a speed reduction mechanism 544. The steering torque sensor 541 detects a steering torque in the steering system 520. ECU 542 generates a drive signal based on the detection signal of steering torque sensor 541. The motor 543 generates an assist torque corresponding to the steering torque based on the drive signal. The motor 543 transmits the generated assist torque to the steering system 520 via the speed reduction mechanism 544.

The ECU 542 includes, for example, the controller 340 and the drive circuit 350 of embodiment 1. An electronic control system with an ECU as a core is built in an automobile. In the electric power steering apparatus 3000, for example, a motor drive unit is configured by the ECU 542, the motor 543, and the inverter 545. In this unit, the motor module 2000 of embodiment 1 can be preferably used.

Industrial applicability

Embodiments of the present disclosure can be widely applied to various apparatuses having various motors, such as a dust collector, a dryer, a ceiling fan, a washing machine, a refrigerator, and an electric power steering apparatus.

Description of the reference symbols

100: an inverter unit; 110: a power supply cutoff circuit; 120: 1 st inverter; 130: a 2 nd inverter; 150: a current sensor; 200: a motor; 300: a control circuit; 310: a power supply circuit; 320: an angle sensor; 330: an input circuit; 340: a controller; 350: a drive circuit; 360: a ROM; 1000: a power conversion device; 2000: a motor module; 3000: an electric power steering apparatus.